**Rockin the expandable tutu!! -- F&W in 1.5 hours & a DISmeet! [updated 9.29.14]

[emmebear]

updated 2/22/14


the next posts will be from my 1.5 days in Disney in December. many of the ladies would be visiting disney in december & there were so many that i haven't met.

rachel & corey were also making the trip & emme and i stayed with them during our really short stay.

i could only manage 1.5 days as i had final exams on monday and then traveling to nyc the weekend after. but in the short amount of time, we did so much & got to meet some really awesome DISfriends.

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PART 1

despite emme & i staying the shortest amount of time (1.5 days), we had a great time meeting everyone. my only regret is that i wish i had more time or could have cloned myself to be in 3 places at one time.

emme & i arrived in disney early friday evening. we had dinner adr's at ohana and after changing out of my scrubs and into disney attire at AOA, we made a frantic drive to the polynesian for our ADR.

emme & the beautiful AOA christmas tree

rachel & corey would be meeting us & afterwards we would be attending MVMCP. our dinner was early enough so that we wouldn't miss any of the party (or so we thought). after texting rachel (you probably read about her super late bus ride), i decided to grab a drink at tambu lounge while we waited.

Ice cold Stella Artois

the stella went down too quickly & easily. i contemplated another one but decided that i needed to make room for dinner.


rachel asked if i could check us in earlier & then the pager went off. still no corey & rachel. i let them know and the hostess said that once they arrived, they would seat us immediately. if any disney hostess tells you this ever, this is a LIE! LOL.


finally, we see rachel & corey. unfortunately, our immediate seating turned into another 25-30 minute wait for the table. it was inevitable now that we would be getting a late start for the christmas party but at this point, all i wanted to do was eat. i was starving!

rachel had her DSLR and i had no desire to use mine so i snapped a few pictures with my iphone.

even though i consider the salad a "filler" (we're all there for the meat, aren't we?!), the salad is so refreshing and delicious. i love that the salad is lightly dressed and the papaya is so yummy! i don't feel like such a gluttinous pig when i eat some of the salad with the meal. big props to disney for not drenching the lettuce in dressing....that is one of my pet peeves. i can't stand over dressed salads. this salad is dressed perfectly.

i crave these potstickers from ohana. the filling is VERY authentic tasting. my mom makes a filling very similar to these. the wrapper is a bit thick which is why i'm a weirdo and only eat the middle of the potstickers. the potstickers were perfectly hot & incredibly tasty.

however....the wings. i really dislike these wings. i have issues with these wings. the skin is always soggy. i love me a crispy chicken wing but these wings are always cold and soggy. my aunt had a hot wing place and wings should be crispy hot. initially, these wings are totally crispy but because the sauce is so thick, it completely ruins a perfectly good wing. it is really tragic.


items not pictured as i was too busy stuffing my face: friendship bread (emme ate the inside of two loaves), veggies & lo mein, steak, shrimp & chicken plus dipping sauces

usually the pork is my least favorite meat of the bunch. but on this trip, the pork was deliciously moist and it had a really nice flavor. i enjoyed it very much.

my favorite meat was the steak on this trip. i had 3 pieces of perfectly cooked medium rare pieces. then it would be pork, shrimp & chicken (i have a fear of undercooked chicken)...but corey literally had 2 skewers of chicken & enjoyed it very much.

this was my portion of bread pudding. rachel & corey split a portion. i don't have much of a sweet tooth but the bread pudding is pretty good. it's not life changing like others have reported and i like it with just a tiny amount of sauce. the best part is right smack in the middle. i had about 3 bites and was finished.


so what did emme eat for $16.95?!

she had some rice, milk and the insides of 2 loaves of bread. i did ask for some macaroni & cheese which they brought out of us. the sinfully good nuclear orange macaroni & cheese.

i wish they had a separate ala carte menu for kids like emme. $16.95 is such a huge price for a kid who doesn't eat much. it's not that she doesn't eat, we just don't eat a lot of american food at home. it's tough eating at disney with her & my wallet suffers for it. but i was talking to vicki about it & she made a good point that some children 3-9 eat like adults so $16.95 is a bargain. but until emme can eat $16.95 worth of food, i guess i will keep complaining. HA!

our server was kind of all over the place. i can't really fault her as it's a very tough place to be a server in but sometimes she'd just disappear and reappear. i enjoyed dinner but was still bitter about the cost of the child's meal & that emme ate so little. overall, i would return to ohana (seems like i always do!).


onwards to MVMCP!

i really hated starting the party so late. it is a very EXPENSIVE party and we were already about 1 hour late. i don't like feeling rushed & i felt like we were running out of time even though the party just started. the weather was sticky for december & it was pretty crowded.

emme & rachel! (so happy i brought my flash with me even though it's so dang heavy)


last year, emme got the cutest picture with scrooge & scrooge was a character rachel really wanted to see. the line was SOOOO long for scrooge, daisy & donald. when it was our turn to see scrooge, he LEFT. so we took pictures with daisy & donald and as we were finished, here comes scrooge.

ever see the family (or better yet, standing behind the family) who takes FOREVER with pictures and has like 10 different photographic devices going off at the same time? that would have been us. it was a total hot mess trying to get a picture with scrooge but we did it to the dismay of those behind us in line.

and after all that talk about scrooge, i didn't get a single decent picture.

picture from rachel's camera & one of the few with all three of us (emme's doing a great job looking at her feet)

donald & daisy were so cute in their winter outfits. i love donald!



during MNSSHP & MVMCP, the princesses are escorted by their princess! it's such a great photo opportunity. i haven't posted my MNSSHP pictures yet (that will be in my other dining report) but emme was so excited to see the princes again.

anyone notice the pink piggy bank? emme (or rather me) carried that thing everywhere. she gets obsessed with one toy a week & drags that thing everywhere. cinderella & prince charming were totally geeking out over it. it was the funniest thing as did emme. they spent about 10 minutes with emme & asked emme to show them how the piggy bank worked. the piggy bank talks & sings too and they thought it was hilarious.

then we saw some more friends who also loved the piggy bank:

after emme & i finished our character meet & greets, rachel & corey had saved us a spot for the parade. we had a great view right on main street usa.

i loved the interaction between peter pan & pinocchio.


and our hosts for the evening:

donald & daisy looking so cute together!

more parade pictures:

it's snowing on main street!

and my favorite part of the parade...the toy soldiers!

and of course santa's helpers....

btw, emme passed out at the end of the night but i still got a picture with minnie.

after working 8 hours, driving 2 hours, dinner at ohana & MVMCP, i was exhausted. i felt rushed all day and was so happy to get to our room at AOA and sleep. it was a great 7 hours at disney and an awesome start to our very very short trip.


emme & i missed breakfast at crystal palace with barb, brenda & emily the following morning but we were looking forward to dinner at YSH later on in the evening.

 

[emmebear]

part 2


i still hadn't met up with the other ladies yet. we were moving to our new hotel room at the boardwalk and met up with rachel & corey. after sorting our room, we headed to boardwalk bakery for a little snack.

i stopped here & grabbed a snack for me.

and my snack:

an ice cold bud light (yeah, not the best beer ever but it served it's purpse).


after our snacks, we took the boat & headed to DHS.

we had FP+ at TSM & headed to the ride.

after the ride, rachel & corey and emme & i separated and continued with our day at DHS. they were going for the thrill rides and emme isn't tall enough for the rollercoaster...yet. ha!



we ran into a few friends along the way...

after a few more rides & 2 shows, it was time for lunch for emme.

we headed to:

Pizza Planet


emme has broadened her food horizon & now eats cheese pizza. this is a HUGE step forward for her as we mainly eat only korean food at home which turns into a total pain when we are at disney. but i'm happy to say that she likes the disney pizza!


we ordered our food & then headed upstairs where it was quiet & close to the bathroom.

Kid's cheese pizza meal

i learned on our last trip, i learned that i can trade the cookie for a yogurt. emme doesn't eat cookies (shocking, right)...so the yogurt trade is a good deal.

Kid's cheese pizza


one thing i will say about disney is that the kids QS meals are priced great. for $5.99, you do get a large amount of food. it's the perfect amount of food for emme & she is happy & full. this opinion changes at TS where kids meals are so expensive especially at buffets. emme is a total epic fail in terms of pricing at buffets for what she eats & the price it costs.

but i digress....


moving onto our beverages:

mickey milk for emme

free water in a festive disney parks up

and another beer for me


overall, it was an enjoyable meal for emme at pizza planet. it's our favorite CS for emme while at DHS. two thumbs up for us.

after lunch, we continued onwards in dhs. emme fell asleep but i wanted to say hello to some friends before we exited the park.

phines & ferb saw that emme was asleep & wanted a picture with her. SO CUTE!

we made our way back to the boardwalk to get ready for dinner at YSH. it was finally time for us to meet the others.

 

[emmebear]

part 3


YACHTSMAN STEAKHOUSE


after our day at DHS, emme & i took the boat back to the boardwalk as our room was finally ready. we were staying in the villas & sharing the room with corey & rachel. i picked up the room keys & also made sure the key was activated on my mickey band.

the villas are on the 1st floor and our room was probably 1/4 mile walk from the elevator. it was far especially when i had all my bags, plus a kid, plus a jogging stroller. when i got to my door, none of my keys worked. neither did my mickey band. what was worse was that there was no phone reception so i had to drag all my stuff back to the check in desk. i was so unhappy & really irritated because now i would be late for dinner & it is a total pain to keep dragging my things back and forth. i had the girl at the front desk follow me down to my room in case my door did not open....and voila, after giving me a new set of keys, my door opened.

i felt so rushed now & i was still really irritated. i decided to walk to the yacht club instead of taking the boat. instead of enjoying the beautiful scenery, i was still really irritated & was speed walking but i was on the verge of being late. we arrived to yachtman & turns out that i was one of the first people there. *phew*

by now, i was a hot sweaty mess. i burned off a ton of calories & was ready to eat. barb, linda & vicki were already at YSH. i was so sweaty & didn't want to hug anyone but hugs for everyone. emme decided she wanted to be shy.

we were taken to our table & the hostess saw emme and said in a not so nice way, "oh, no one mentioned there would be a child". i was a bit taken aback & i literally had to bite my tongue because i would have said some not so nice words. i really needed a drink. a very stiff drink.

seating was really tricky. i had emme & i didn't want to burden anyone by having them sit next to emme. some people aren't kid friendly, some people are...you just never know. but GOD BLESS phillip for being emme's knight in shining armor. he totally entertained her, indulged her & kept her company throughout dinner. he was a total star.

emme was well prepared to stay occupied during dinner. she practically carried all her earthly belongings to dinner & phillip played with all her toys with her. what a guy!

me & my emme.


our server was really sweet but i think he was a little overwhelmed with our entire table. i was seated next to beth & across from vicki, barb & linda. emme was to my right & phillip was sitting at the head of the table on our side. beth & i both ordered martini's. she ordered a hendrick's and i ordered a dirty vodka martini.

the ambiguous Martini


beth tried her martini & realized her martini had olive juice in it. i tasted mine & i'm pretty sure i had beth's but mine also tasted like it was a little dirty (maybe from the olives) but i like gin so i didn't care. i was going to send it back but it was taking our server forever to get us situated so i happily enjoyed my martini...gin or vodka, at this point....it didn't matter.

part of the menu



while we were reviewing the menu, bread service begins.

this was my first time at YSH & honestly, besides this trip, i've had no desire to dine at YSH. however, after eating these ridiculously delicious onion rolls, i would come back....just to eat another one of these onion rolls. oh my. they are scrumptious. the inside was chewy & tasted of onion...it wasn't overwhelming but had a definite onion flavor. i could have happily just eaten onion rolls with a side of dirty martinis for my dinner. mmmmm mmmmm.



beth & i were talking and we somehow got onto the topic of california grill. we both had really awful service our last visit to CG and turns out we had the same server....JORGE. small world! after our CG discussion, we decided to both order a wine flight after noticing linda's generous pour she received with her wine flight.


unfortunately, our entrees arrived before our wine did.


for my entree, i chose the charcuterie board. i wasn't feeling a steak & who doesn't like cured meats?

Charcuterie Board -suckling pig, country sausage, cured meats, and accoutrements $18.00



the wine finally arrived.

linda's pour was much nicer than mine but hey,it's wine, i'm not complaining. however, beth & i both concluded that we should have split a bottle.



some close up's of my charcuterie board:

Country style sausage

this was my second favorite of the bunch. it was paired with a really delicious blackberry sauce that paired perfectly with the sausage. total match made in heaven.

Calabrese

this had a bit of a kick due to the cayenne pepper. it was also very good.

Pepperoni

i am not a pepperoni fan & i could feel my sodium level going through the roof with a bite of this. it had a really nice depth of flavor & would have devoured the entire thing if i were a pepperoni fan. it was really well made, however.

Chicken pate

i love any type of pate. the pate was paired with a hazelnut powder which i thought was pretty neat. the pate was so very pretty & was very flavorful. there was no "gamey" taste to the pate at all. two thumbs up from me.

Duck pastrami

the duck pastrami was absolutely delightful. even though it as served room temperature, the fat didn't become jelly nor was it hard. it literally melted in your mouth (fat is flavor, right?). the mustard was paired nicely with the pastrami. i wish i saved an onion roll so i could have made me a duck pastrami slider. it would have been divine together.


my favorite item on the board was the Chasseur pate. it is the item on the top row & in the middle. it was stuffed with pistachios that brought a nice amount of sweetness to suckling pig. again, there was no gamey taste to this. the chasseur was mouth watering good. i savored every bite. yummy!



and here is a picture of my table setting with the entree:

this charcuterie board was $18 and i thought that was a total bargain. i had the "duck" charcuterie board at CG and out of the two, i prefer the one at YSH.



as if the charcuterie board was not enough food, i also ordered:

Truffle Mac & Cheese - Orecchiette Pasta and Reypenaer Cheese $12.00

now would be the perfect time for smell-o-vision or scratch & sniff. YSH version of macaroni & cheese was sinfully good. the cheese was so creamy & didn't become a hardened mess after it cooled. it was a HUGE portion & i tried to pawn if off to my fellow diners but everyone was so full. it does say "truffle" mac & cheese but there was such small amounts of truffle in there. i couldn't tell if it was cracked black pepper or actual super tiny shavings or gratings of truffle. (i love truffles btw). the dish was beautifully presented and worth the $12.00. i don't say that about a lot of disney food.



what did emme order?

Pasta tossed with butter

BRAVO YSH for finally presenting a butter pasta dish that looks & tastes good. YSH has been the only place so far where it looks like the chefs actually cared as to what they were preparing for a child. the butter was actually melted on the pasta & they put some fresh parmesean cheese on top.

the worst offender for butter pasta is BOG. their pasta is atrocious & disgusting.

but i digress....

emme didn't want macaroni & cheese so i asked if they could put some butter on her pasta and toss some cheese into it. needless to say, i was ecstatic that her pasta was edible & the fact that she actually devoured the entire thing. it blows my mind that most disney restaurants mess up the most simplest of dishes or they just don't care.

was the pasta worth the $8.00? absolutely not, but i was happy emme ate.



the 2+ hours at YSH went by so quickly. thanks to phillip keeping emme company, i actually got to take part in adult conversations and really enjoyed my time speaking with barb, linda, vicki & beth. i wish the table was a circle so that i could have easily see & talk to everyone. during dinner, i regretted not being able to meet up with the others at the other meals but my time at disney was so very short. i was grateful for the time that we did have together.


my first experience at YSH is mixed. i felt bad for our server as he was completely overwhelmed with everything. he was as sweet as can be & eager to please but i know he was having a tough night.

would i return to YSH? i think i would just to indulge in the onion rolls and the mac & cheese. maybe i can convince rachel to go there during our trip in march & we can just eat appetizers. i secretly just want to munch on those onion rolls all night. those things are ridiculous.

the quality of the food was super high. everyone's food looked really well made & very fresh. i applaud YSH for figuring out how to cook buttered pasta for emme. it made me a really happy mom that emme actually ate her entire dinner.

and despite it being a signature, i didn't feel out of place with emme & didn't feel like it was a place that parents could not bring their kids. it was loud but not as loud as flying fish. the lighting is dim so it might not work well with some children. emme had a great time (thanks to phillip) and our server was super sweet to her as well....even though he tried to give phillip his drink in a kids cup by accident. ha ha.

i was sad that i had to say good bye to everyone. it was definitely nice to put faces to names & i really enjoyed my time with everyone! i hope to see some of you again & share another meal (or two).

dinner was a bit long and everyone needed to get to the boat. emme & i were headed to magic kingdom to see wishes and squeeze in some more rides. but before we said our final farewells, i took some photos & made this collage:

minnie mouse ears for vicki, barb & linda!



after saying farewell, we had a much more nicer walk back to the boardwalk...we changed clothes & hopped onto the bus and made our way to MK...just in time for wishes.

 

[emmebear]

part 4


while everyone was at kona, emme & i made our way to animal kingdom. we tend to always spend our last few hours at animal kingdom.

marie minnie was stylin on the tram

this is my favorite tree during the holidays.

she still carrying the piggy bank around.


after an unsuccessful attempt to purchase a croissant (they were all sold out), we went to a stand and got some breakfast for emme.

over-priced watermelon

the first batch of watermelon was not the freshest so i took it back & got this. although it looked sweet, the watermelon was not sweet. total bummer as this portion cost me $4.00. emme still ate it as she was hungry & it was better than nothing.

she also got a yogurt that cost $2.50. i didn't even take a picture of the over-priced yogurt...i was too agitated with the cost of it.



for myself, i chose from the same kiosk:

Jalapeno cheese stuffed pretzel


this is probably my favorite snack at the park. since it was still early, the pretzel was soft and the cheese was gooey. it was very tasty.


we had FP+ for kilimanjaro safaris & had some time to kill, so i changed my fp+ time & headed for mickey & minnie meet & greet.

minnie & mickey were so cute in their matching holiday wear!

minnie gushed over the minnie marie doll & mickey loved the target bullseye dog dressed in mickey costume.

i still couldn't get over how cute these two were in their matching outfits. it was probably one of the best meet & greets we've had at disney.

i used this image on our holiday cards.


and emme has perfected the "i'm not going to look at the camera" pose quite well.

after the awesome interaction & a few rides it was time for lunch. more on that later.

 

[emmebear]

part 5


sadly, this is my last update from the december DISmeet. emme & i were only able to squeeze in 1.5 days & we spent our last few hours at animal kingdom.


after the mickey & minnie meet & greet, i was thirsty & emme was getting hungry.

we stopped at our favorite QS at animal kingdom which is the yak & yeti counter service.

i decided on a liquid lunch & chose:

Bud light



emme chose:

Chicken Fried Rice


the chicken fried rice is a really great deal for $3.99. the serving is pretty generous & the rice is tasty. emme doesn't like the chicken so i picked out all the chicken for her....so i guess i had a lunch of chicken & a bud light.


after finishing our lunch, we said hello to some friends:

so cute!

after the meet & greet, we headed toward dino land. the weather was really warm, especially for december & we split a snack.

and we shared:

Vanilla soft serve ice cream

emme go denied to ride primevil whirl...LOL. not tall enough...yet. it's very strange because she can ride big thunder railroad and test track but she wasn't allowed on this ride.


we got denied on one ride so we rode triceratops after.

after some time in dino land, we sadly walked to africa as the safari was our last ride.

i've never seen a lioness or a lion awake while on safari.


and our favorites:

after safaris....we made our way to the tram, got in the car & drove the 2 hours home. it was a sad drive as our trip was so dang short.

we had a wonderful time meeting everyone & the dinner at YSH was fantastic. i hope we will be able to have some more DISmeets in the future.

in march, emme & i will be having our longest stay at disney (9 days, 8 nights!!!) & we will be sharing this vacation with our friend rachel! i am so excited as i have never stayed more than 4 days at disney so this is a new record (even beating our the 7 day cruise on the fantasy).

just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone for your kindess, love of food & awesome conversations on this short trip. it was a total pleasure to meet everyone. emme & i had a fantastic time.

 

[partyof2]

Always appreciate the honesty in your reviews Patty, thank you for sharing.

 

[emmebear]

Always appreciate the honesty in your reviews Patty, thank you for sharing.

Thank you!

And thanks for reading along.

 

[emmebear]

updated 2/23/14


DINNER @ RAGLAN ROAD

emme & baby monkey.


emme & i headed down to disney for a special reason....to celebrate her 4th birthday! we were going to have a long weekend as it was MLK jr holiday & i was extra excited about our time together.

we stayed off site but we were just one mile outside of the disney gates. after checking into our hotel, we made our way to downtown disney. we were also very close to DTD...technically could have walked but i wanted my car

i wasn't sure about the parking situation as parking always sucks at DTD. after doing a first sweep with no luck, i was just going to suck it up and park my car in valet. then i found out that if i use my TIW, valet would be free! i read that over the holidays that valet was free with TIW but i was happy that this offer still applied. what's even better is that with valet, you can text after dinner & your car will be ready when you arrive. there's virtually no wait for your car.

we began our walk from west side DTD to pleasure island.

i loved this frozen scene! it was so adorable.

beautiful balloon.


i booked raglan road using open table. i love open table as i was able to adjut my time as i was running late due to the parking situation. also, another benefit with open table is that you are not penalized for not showing up & when you do show up, you get points.

we arrived and checked in & waited about 10 minutes before we were taken to our seats. i was really excited about eating at raglan road as it was my first time eating here. i like guiness...a lot so i figured i'd love raglan road.

the menu outside of raglan road.



when she took us to our seat, she brought us to a high top table. i asked to be reseated as emme would probably fall out of the stool and bust her head open. she took us to another table that was much better but also had a great view of the stage.

i've read about how LOUD raglan road can get & it is indeed loud inside. but it was so festive that i did not care. the dancers took to the stage & emme was loving every minute. she takes ballet & loves everything about dancing.

i was so ready for a drink & i was so happy when my black & tan (they call it half/half?!) arrived.

what a beautiful site!


as i was enjoying my drink, the dancers came out & collected kids to take up stage. emme was so excited to dance!

using her ballet skills.

busting out her ballet skills.


it was so very sweet to see all the children on the stage dancing. after dancing on stage, all the dancers received a very special certificate.

we then started our bread service.

Soda bread

the bread was warm & comforting. i have mixed emotions with the dipping sauce. part of me hated it as it had a sweet element but i kept dipping my bread in it & it slowly grew on me.


our server returned and asked to take our order. for my appetizer i chose:

Tart Art - Asparagus and goat cheese tart with garden peas, leeks and lemon oil dressed arugula $10

i love me some goat cheese & the tart was absolutely fantastic. the tart was so creamy & it paired perfectly with the peppery-ness of the arugula. there wasn't much lemon oil on the arugula but i was happy that it wasn't because i loved the fact that i was able to taste pure arugula...the arugula cut into the richness of the goat cheese & the tomatoes brought a bit of acidity to the dish. i was perfectly happy with this tart & it was actually quite filling. it is probably my favorite appetizer that i have had at disney. the dish was so pretty as well.



btw, baby monkey fell asleep.

this monkey is animated and responds to touch. it's very creepy but also really cute. the eyes open & close, the mouth moves, it turns it's head...very much alive & weird...emme takes baby monkey everywhere.

and emme keeping busy while waiting for dinner:

for her dinner, emme chose:

Grillin' Chicken - tender chicken breast served with mashed potatoes and veggies $11

emme loved the mashed potatoes & the broccoli. the chicken looks dry in the picture but it was pretty moist on the inside. i appreciated the fact that her plate looks like a "grown up" plate & wasn't dumbed down because it was a kid's plate. emme said it was her "big girl" dinner & she was really proud of her dinner. that may sound silly but some of the kids meal at disney are really terrible & i give raglan road props for delivering a really nice kids meal. and for $11, i felt like the plate was worth it.


despite being full, i still chose an entree & i chose:

Bangers and Booz - Guinness and onion bangers on mash, topped with caramelized onions and beef stew $18

bangers & booz...an entree cooked in booz (guiness)...what's not to like? i was so full from the goat tart that i don't think i appreciated this dish like i would have on an empty stomach. the stew was very hearty & thick. i could have eaten a bowl of this with a piece of crusty bread. so good! i absolutely loved the caramelized onions & i was very surprised that the "bangers" had a little bit of heat to it. i ate 1/4 of the entree & took the rest home with me.


and now, back to more dancing:

i had no room for dessert but there's always room for guiness. i had a guiness and emme had:

Vanilla ice cream


and look...baby monkey is awake.

overall, we had a super fantastic dinner at raglan road. it was loud but the noise level wasn't obnoxious and i loved the ambiance that the dancing and live music created. it certainly isn't a place to hold a conversation during dinner.

the food was really tasty & reasonably price. another bonus is that the left overs ate well the next day & was a yummy late night after park snack for me. i can't wait to return to raglan road in march on our next trip. we had a really great food experience & also the server was very nice & efficient.

two thumbs up from me!!

 

[nanienamou]

Love your reviews, I think it's awesome that you make some great memories with your daughter at WDW. It must not be always easy to travel with a little kid - I have three boys and sometimes I just want to hide under the bed, lol!

 

[emmebear]

Love your reviews, I think it's awesome that you make some great memories with your daughter at WDW. It must not be always easy to travel with a little kid - I have three boys and sometimes I just want to hide under the bed, lol!

Thank you so much!

It's getting much easier traveling down with Emme but it has it's moments especially maneuvering the parks with a jogging stroller.

I don't think I could do it with 3 emme's. I am one and done!

I give much props to families who travel with more than 1 child. It has to get super expensive. Now that Emme is eating a child's menu, my Disney funds are depleting quickly. Ha Han

 

[Sephora]

So glad you gave a review of Ragland Road. That is a resy I made for our trip in May. I think my hubs and the girls will enjoy!

 

[emmebear]

So glad you gave a review of Ragland Road. That is a resy I made for our trip in May. I think my hubs and the girls will enjoy!

I really enjoyed everything about raglan road. It was a really delicious meal & the entertainment was great. I'm really happy we tried it & can't wait to return.

When is your trip in May? I plan on being there in May as well!

 

[emmebear]

updated 3/1/14


AKERSHUS PRINCESS STORYBOOK DINING: BREAKFAST

i am a total fan of the breakfast at akershus. it is my favorite character breakfast in all of disney. whenever we have the chance to go, i am more than thrilled to book an ADR. this trip was no different as we were celebrating emme's 4th birthday.

my friend sophie created a "queen elsa" inspired dress for emme. the dress was absolutely beautiful & it even included a chiffon cape that had a bustle for it. pretty crazy for a disney costume but it was such a pretty dress. emme felt so special in her dress.

while checking in, i saw the photo op for elsa & anna. the line opened at 11am & people were already lining up at 9am. there weren't very many people yet so i felt pretty confident about our chances to see elsa & anna.

at akershus, included with your meal is a photo package with belle. the meal at akershus is pricey so having the inclusion of a picture is always nice. belle was in her gorgeous yellow dress & it was now our turn for a picture.

after the picture, we were taken to our seat. we were seated in the section closest to the maelstorm. again, i nervously continued to peek outside to check on the line for elsa & anna and as of this point, there was hardly no line.

our cm took our drink orders and we headed to the cold buffet. the cold buffet has so many great items including very fresh fruit, pastries, smoked fish & cheese, yogurt and toppings. there's something for everyone here.


we started with:

emme's plate of croissants, yogurt, strawberries.

my plate of blackberries, strawberries, cheese, smoked salmon & fish.

i love the fruit at akershus. it's always super fresh and very refreshing. we were really enjoying our "appetizer" as we waited for the main course.

BUT

we cannot forget our friend:

baby monkey.


as we were happily eating, i decided to have some fun with the swiss cheese:

and emme enjoying her cup of joe.

we were then greeted by some good friends:

i loved cinderella's winter ensemble!!


emme was prepared for her next visit:

we had another guest stopping by:

snow white looked so cute in her winter gear!


and finally, i was reunited with my cheesy potatoes:

the main entree is served family style & it is all you can eat. it includes cheesy potatoes, sausage, scrambled eggs & bacon.

please note that this is probably the best bacon you will get a disney buffet. it's not the tragically limp & sad bacon you will find elsewhere. instead, it's thick, crunchy & delicious.

the cheesy potatoes at akershus are heavenly & sinfully good. they are my favorite breakfast food while at disney. chef mickey's has their own version but it's not as good at akershus. the potatoes are perfectly cooked & so creamy. the potatoes are soul satisying & worth every calorie. i was in total heaven with these.


i was really happy to have some more friends stop by and say hello as i was inhaling my potatoes:

sleeping beauty

ariel


and i had to get a picture with princess emme:

overall, it was another enjoyable meal at akershus. out of all 3 meals, breakfast is my favorite. i was kind of shocked at the price increase of $44.99 for an adult & $21.99 for a child (that's nuts for some cheesy potatoes) but i did use my TIW card and received my discount. after all my meals at disney, i still go into sticker shock as to how expensive everything is there. despite the price increases each season, we are there. i'm a bit nuts i think!

we exited & walked across the "street" to wait for anna & elsa.

and once again, i was shocked at how long our wait was estimated. any guesses on how long we waited to meet anna & elsa??

 

[AliceandAriel]

we exited & walked across the "street" to wait for anna & elsa.

and once again, i was shocked at how long our wait was estimated. any guesses on how long we waited to meet anna & elsa??

I want to say three hours, as that's what I endured in early February. But I feel like you're going to pull a fast one and say something amazing like 45 minutes.

Also, popping in to say I've been browsing through here more than once since you started it. I love it! And so impressed you've held your tongue on a few instances at little Emme. I wouldn't have managed had I had kids and some of those things happened.

 

[Sugarglider]

I am only up to page 4 but I wanted to pop a note in and say thanks for loading all this up! you take great photos and I love how you do everything with so much heart and fun and energy! This is an awesome report - you appreciate the food and are doing fun things! so cool!
oh and BTW: I am Australian and we don't eat Rapini - as in - I've never even heard of it - I have not seen it for sale - we don't have recipes with it - it appears to be sth european / Italian. So please don't hold that dish against Australia!! (Also I have never seen potato chips on a lamb cutlet either - makes me wonder how Disney "interpret" other countries! )

 

[emmebear]

I want to say three hours, as that's what I endured in early February. But I feel like you're going to pull a fast one and say something amazing like 45 minutes.

Also, popping in to say I've been browsing through here more than once since you started it. I love it! And so impressed you've held your tongue on a few instances at little Emme. I wouldn't have managed had I had kids and some of those things happened.

i will update my time in my next post!

thanks for reading along and commenting. i appreciate it.

despite being the happiest place on earth, some of the CM's working are pretty unhappy people & despite my inner tigress wanting to rage and bite their heads up, i really have to take a deep breath and count to 10 so that i don't get a lifetime ban from the parks.

I am only up to page 4 but I wanted to pop a note in and say thanks for loading all this up! you take great photos and I love how you do everything with so much heart and fun and energy! This is an awesome report - you appreciate the food and are doing fun things! so cool!
oh and BTW: I am Australian and we don't eat Rapini - as in - I've never even heard of it - I have not seen it for sale - we don't have recipes with it - it appears to be sth european / Italian. So please don't hold that dish against Australia!! (Also I have never seen potato chips on a lamb cutlet either - makes me wonder how Disney "interpret" other countries! )

that dish has scarred me from anything rapini related. it was the most awful bite of food...ever.

disney loosely interprets all the countries food. i'm korean & the korean food was really watered down but hey...at least they made an attempt.

i have friends in australia...i'm hoping to visit one day. but i bet there's some rapini there...somewhere.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Just read your whole report in two evenings! Loved it! You've got me craving things I've never eaten at WDW before. Emme is so adorable. Looking forward to reading your other reports.

 

[emmebear]

Just read your whole report in two evenings! Loved it! You've got me craving things I've never eaten at WDW before. Emme is so adorable. Looking forward to reading your other reports.

Thank you for joining in & for the nice comments!!

I'm glad my reports are helpful.

I will be trying some new places on my upcoming trip from march 9-17th & will be adding along with this report.

Thank you again for reading along.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Thank you for joining in & for the nice comments!!

I'm glad my reports are helpful.

I will be trying some new places on my upcoming trip from march 9-17th & will be adding along with this report.

Thank you again for reading along.

Can't wait!

 

[emmebear]

updated 3/6/14

I am happy to report that rachel & i will be TANDEM DINING REVIEWING once again as we will be traveling to disney together from 3/9/14-3/17/14!

We had a really great time with our TANDEM DINING REVIEW for our trip last april & are both excited to be doing it again.

We have some amazing ADR's planned (22 on my last count!) and we will also be attending the flower & garden festival! 90% of our meals will be together but there are a couple of adr's where we will be dining apart.

This will be our 5th disney meet up (which is pretty crazy since rachel lives in minneapolis & i live in florida) & what makes this trip even more awesome is that this is my longest disney trip EVER. It is really nice to be together with rachel at disney because she understands my pain of traveling with a dslr & not eating our food until a photo is taken. rachel has a fancy new camera & i have a fancy new lens. i can't wait to use my new lens....so excited!!

Rachel will be traveling with her sister jessica (the birthday girl) & of course, emme will be with me.

we have split stays at animal kingdom lodge [jambo house], old key west & finishing our stay at my favorite themed room in the royal guest room @ port orleans.

i still have some posts remaining from my january trip but will try and catch up as quickly as possible. we will also be sending barb some updates in the "not so live dining review thread" for a sneak peak of what's to come.

stay tuned & happy eating!!