The (Foodie)Force is Strong with Us...a Feb/Mar 2016 trip! THE END - NEW 9/13 Disneyland TR link!

[Dugette]

Did you find that the lines at Disneyland are longer than WDW? Trying to plan our DLR trip but I have no idea what to expect!!

You know, I think our experience was unusual. Kylo Ren was almost a no-show to the Disney Visa meet and the CM didn't know what was going on. Just as we were thinking about leaving, he showed up (late to his own meet). So, not sure what's normal.

To start we shared the fried pickles. I was surprised they came in spears as I thought they usually come in slices but I think I prefer them this way! They were good, hot and crunch on the outside and tangy crisp on the inside!

Strangely, this is the second update in a row I've read tonight that features these fried pickles. Yum! I agree - the whole spear is different, as I'm used to the little medallions. Pretty good, though.

We had a some time before our FP+ for Indiana Jones so we went to Muppet Vision 3D where I promptly fell asleep again. Why is it I fall asleep when it's cool and dark now? Oh yeah, #thisisforty #oldage.

Eh, I was dozing in the Hall of Presidents in my early 30's.

For the last shot, he said, do the force choke!! So of course, I obliged.

Love it!

We had to duck out early though since we wanted to be one of the first ones in to the dessert party. So we left before Elsa appeared and did her finale.

Wonder if anyone saw that and thought you were walking out on a disappointing show.

The dessert party was much less crowded than it was last year. I guess with it being Star Wars Weekends last year everyone packed into the dessert party (which was also only offered on weekends). This year it's offered pretty much every night, so it was much more flexible to pick and choose your dates, so although there were a lot of people, there were plenty of tables to choose from and lots of room to move around especially if you got there early. Since there was no stage show you didn't need to get a table right at the front. So it's actually better to get a table further back to get a full view of the fireworks.

That does sound a lot better than last year. I definitely remember the elbow to elbow and how hard it was to get around.

A lot of those things sound really good.

As soon as you walked in we first saw a made-to-order station, which was a Flash Frozen Nutella Truffle. Nutella mousse is basically scooped and dropped in some liquid nitrogen which froze the concoction to little ice cream balls. This was not there last year so we were excited to try it.

They were really good, but who doesn't like Nutella? However, they melted really quickly. You could have raspberry (light side) or chocolate (dark side) sauces with it and we opted for raspberry for a nice contrast. I took a bite and really liked it but by the time we got to our table, the mousse had melted and it was just runny. So I suggest eating this as soon as you receive it.

Thanks for the description - I was wondering what that was, as I love Nutella.

Yoda pistachio and morello cherry bites:

Mmmm, I remember really loving these last year.

I especially liked how they had a savory table this year, so it wasn't just all sugary desserts. They had cheese, olives, fruit, savory crackers and biscuits.

This is great! Love having some more savory options and you can't go wrong with cheese.

I got some cheese skewers and biscuits and hid them in the body of BB-8. Yes, he does come in handy, that little droid!

Resourceful!

 

[chunkymonkey]

That dessert party looks awesome! I wish we would have booked it now, .

And to see two fireworks shows in one night? A+.

They were a lot of fun, but it's not a must do, really. We just usually do it because we love all things Star Wars. But I've yet to do it with Illuminations or Wishes even.

I am really excited to see the new fireworks on my next trip! In 2013 they had that "Limited Time Magic" campaign and we lucked out that we were in WDW when they had a special fireworks show for May 4th. Those were fantastic fireworks and I was so sad that DHS does not get fireworks on a regular basis. Very happy that this has changed now! And I will be able to see the fireworks now without a stupid hat blocking the view.

Yes, they are great! I like them better than Wishes and Illuminations at the moment. I just want to watch it over and over again. (and we did. twice more.) LOL.

The food selection looks really good, but what a shame that the drink selection was so bad. If those were better, I could be nearly tempted to try this dessert party... Normally I am far too cheap to pay that much money to see the fireworks. But here the location looks very good and you can actually make the dessert party dinner between the savory and sweet snacks...

Definitely a good deal on the desserts and lame on the drinks. But it's the same each year...just some colorful fruity flavored water mixed with sugar and some alcohol and there's your signature drink! It would be great if I were in Senor Frogs during spring break. Ha Ha Ha. Although they made the effort to make them, so I drank one of each. Not the worse thing I drank, but definitely needed a lot of water after it as it was too sweet.

We made sure we were able to view Wishes from the Poly beach one night! Such a great experience! We also were in Tokelau on the 2nd floor! Maybe we had the same room! LOL!

That's so funny! I have to remember my room number but I can't seem to find it. I think i took a picture of it but it's not there. hmm.

We were in awe of these fireworks! I wanted to film some, but from the time they started we were not able to take our eyes off of them! And the finale! WOW! Glad you enjoyed the dessert party! Looks like something we could get into...sweets...adult beverages...

They were soooooo good weren't they? I mean they are the only fireworks to make me tear up (well maybe the alcohol was doing some of the talking.) LOL

Oh my gosh I think I gained 10 pounds just looking at all those dessert photos!! I wouldn't even know where to begin lol

Gorgeous fireworks!!! And to see two showings in one night

Yup dessert parties as Disney does best...lots of food and sweets to stuff you for the whole night! It was a lot of fun though. I'm glad I did it but not sure I'd do it again unless they start offering something new.

You answered some of my questions about whether or not to do the HS dessert party.....it stinks that there are no chairs! I'm excited to read your Victoria and Alberts review. I just booked all my dining this morning and snagged lunch with an imagineer - have you ever done that?

Ooh, I'm happy to have helped you. Did you decide to do it? Yeah the no chairs thing is a little rough. Not sure if Wishes or Illuminations has chairs or not.
I've never done lunch with an Imagineer, I wonder what that will be like! It sounds like fun. I wonder what kind of questions I would ask...probably silly things like what's your favorite ride you designed or what is your favorite that you didn't. Hehehe. I'd love to know how it goes!

 

[cajunfan]

Whew! All caught up! I'm glad you did a review of the Star Wars Dessert Party. Next trip Matt is with me, we will have to do that. Can you believe I never stepped foot in Launch Bay last week? The group I was with were not Star Wars fans and since I am not that huge of a fan, I just let it go!

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Wow what a fun TR! I will have to check out your TR from your cruise for sure!
So our last couple of days at Disney overlapped with yours! We left late on the 29th (and actually had our first meal at the Poly that day!). I thought the crowd level was pretty good during our trip. End of February/Beginning of March seems to be a great time to go!

I love your Star Wars obsession! Your Dooney bag is so cute!! And your Mickey watch/bangles are BEAUTIFUL!

 

[takingkidstodisney]

Loved reading this TR!

 

[FancyNancy]

Thank you for the dessert party review. It looks amazing!

 

[kastoney]

Thanks for the dessert party review. We saw the fireworks last month and really enjoyed them (don't tell wishes I thought they were better). You know I'm not a huge Star Wars fan but something about that dramatic music that really added to the fact. Think if they add a pre-show in the next iteration we may give the party a whirl. I'm sure Jason and I could eat and drink or money's worth, just $40 for the kiddo who will ask incessantly when the fireworks are gonna start seems a bit ridonkulous

 

[chunkymonkey]

You know, I think our experience was unusual. Kylo Ren was almost a no-show to the Disney Visa meet and the CM didn't know what was going on. Just as we were thinking about leaving, he showed up (late to his own meet). So, not sure what's normal.

Hmm, good to know! Maybe Kylo Ren was delayed due to his job as a radar technician

Strangely, this is the second update in a row I've read tonight that features these fried pickles. Yum! I agree - the whole spear is different, as I'm used to the little medallions. Pretty good, though.

They were quite good, surprisingly. I would order then again at Sci Fi.

Eh, I was dozing in the Hall of Presidents in my early 30's.

Wow you've been to the Hall of Presidents?!? LOL I'll have to do that one day....

Love it!

Thanks!

Wonder if anyone saw that and thought you were walking out on a disappointing show.

I should have said "I find the like of faith in this show disturbing" and walked out.

That does sound a lot better than last year. I definitely remember the elbow to elbow and how hard it was to get around.

Quite different from last year! We had to run in and find one of the last few open tables last year. This year we strolled in and had our choice of tables. Much less stressful!

A lot of those things sound really good.

the first one of each dessert was good...then it all starts getting too sweet. I'm glad there were some savories.

Thanks for the description - I was wondering what that was, as I love Nutella.

It was yummy but it became nutella soup quickly. I wonder how this will fare when it's in the heat of summer...they might as well not bother freezing it. LOL

Mmmm, I remember really loving these last year.

I love pistachio too!

This is great! Love having some more savory options and you can't go wrong with cheese.

It was a great addition for this year!

Resourceful!

That droid comes in handier than you think!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Whew! All caught up! I'm glad you did a review of the Star Wars Dessert Party. Next trip Matt is with me, we will have to do that. Can you believe I never stepped foot in Launch Bay last week? The group I was with were not Star Wars fans and since I am not that huge of a fan, I just let it go!

You didn't go to Launch Bay?!?! LOL, I can see it not being a draw for non Star Wars fans...I mean, it is all Star Wars so there is no reason to go if you won't get anything. The meet n greets are fun though.

Wow what a fun TR! I will have to check out your TR from your cruise for sure!
So our last couple of days at Disney overlapped with yours! We left late on the 29th (and actually had our first meal at the Poly that day!). I thought the crowd level was pretty good during our trip. End of February/Beginning of March seems to be a great time to go!

Thank you for reading! Oh that's so funny! Yeah it was a great time to be at WDW! The crowd level was pretty low and the weather was nice, except for that one cold evening on my b-day. Did you find President's weekend more crowded though? I heard it's pretty high crowd level during that time.

I love your Star Wars obsession! Your Dooney bag is so cute!! And your Mickey watch/bangles are BEAUTIFUL!

Thank you! Yeah...we love Star Wars around here.

Loved reading this TR!

Thank you very much!

Thank you for the dessert party review. It looks amazing!

Thank you for reading! It was a lot of fun and the fireworks were my favorite show of the trip.

Thanks for the dessert party review. We saw the fireworks last month and really enjoyed them (don't tell wishes I thought they were better). You know I'm not a huge Star Wars fan but something about that dramatic music that really added to the fact. Think if they add a pre-show in the next iteration we may give the party a whirl. I'm sure Jason and I could eat and drink or money's worth, just $40 for the kiddo who will ask incessantly when the fireworks are gonna start seems a bit ridonkulous

I said the exact same thing about the SW Fireworks being better than Wishes! They totally are. It's definitely the music. It's so iconic and when you're looking up into the night sky with the fireworks...it feels like you're on some grand space set. I really enjoyed them and i'm glad you did too! I know they are changing it up soon so I hope it gets better!

I'm pretty sure you guys could do some damage at the dessert party hehe. I'm sure your daughter will have fun too...unlimited Mickey bars as a distraction maybe?

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

I came the Wednesday after President's weekend so I think the crowds had died down a bit.

 

[Elevationist]

The blue milk panna cotta makes a comeback!

Oh, how funny! I love this! I hope it tasted good!

Mini BB-8 Cupcakes...these were soo cute!

Okay, yeah, I need ALL of these.

Vader cupcakes

These too.

We tried one of each alcoholic drink.

So wait, were the cocktails included in the party ticket price?

I did actually take some stuff to go. I got some cheese skewers and biscuits and hid them in the body of BB-8. Yes, he does come in handy, that little droid!

Bahaha! That's awesome!

And then, the most decadent dinner at...Victoria and Alberts (crosses one off the bucket list)...coming soon!

I am so excited to read about this!!

 

[DVCAlisha]

I am loving your report so far. Thank you for sharing!

 

[natebenma]

Caught up on your first Disney day.

What a fabulous welcome to the Poly by Becky!

That is a really cute tank top at Trend-D

I cracked up at you and your niece facetiming, trying to find CS.

Love, love, love the picture of the Lego dragon. Never thought to do a panorama to get it all in.

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Morimoto's restaurant looks and sounds awesome! The chandeliers are gorgeous. The menu looks extremely tasty. I don't know what I would get. Your sushi choices and the ramens looked incredible. But the lunch set also sounds great. But for sure, the Thai iced coffee (or ice tea) would both hit the spot.

Hmmmm.... need to think about the Mochi Mochi. Strange. But I like all the flavors.

*********************************************************************************

I didn't know there was a whole Star Wars outpost at Disney Springs. Neat! The prints you got are incredibly cute!

The Cool Headed Monkey and the Singapore Sling both sound good. Would have to try the monkey, though.

*********************************************************************************

I need to give Ohana another shot. We were too tired the only time we ate there. Ben loved the menu and now Nate loves all of the things they bring out.

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Closing down the MK has to be the perfect way to celebrate your birthday. 7DMT/Big Thunder/Fireworks from the Hub garden. TTA, Buzz, Jungle Crusie and keepsake photopass pictures with the castle =

 

[chunkymonkey]

Oh, how funny! I love this! I hope it tasted good!

I'm not a huge blue milk fan. I would be ok if it was just milk colored blue, but it had a fake blueberry taste. They were pretty to look at though.
I usually have a few bites of the blue milk dessert before realizing I don't like it that much. LOL

Okay, yeah, I need ALL of these.

I ate some for your, hehe.

These too.

and these

So wait, were the cocktails included in the party ticket price?

Yup cocktails are included

Bahaha! That's awesome!

I had to take some back, having and empty round BB-8 was like holding an instant doggy bag.

I am so excited to read about this!!

Coming up soon!

I am loving your report so far. Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for reading!! I appreciate it!

Caught up on your first Disney day.

What a fabulous welcome to the Poly by Becky!

It was! It was very sweet of her.

That is a really cute tank top at Trend-D

I cracked up at you and your niece facetiming, trying to find CS.

Thanks! Yeah...fun times in World of Disney...we never did find each other while she face timed us though!

Love, love, love the picture of the Lego dragon. Never thought to do a panorama to get it all in.

I couldn't fit it all into one picture so it just randomly occurred to me to do that!

Morimoto's restaurant looks and sounds awesome! The chandeliers are gorgeous. The menu looks extremely tasty. I don't know what I would get. Your sushi choices and the ramens looked incredible. But the lunch set also sounds great. But for sure, the Thai iced coffee (or ice tea) would both hit the spot.

I'll definitely return one day. I like how his restaurants around the world seem to offer different stuff. It's more compelling to me.

Hmmmm.... need to think about the Mochi Mochi. Strange. But I like all the flavors.

It's not as weird as you think...it's mainly fruity and light. Like a jello with fruit almost.

I didn't know there was a whole Star Wars outpost at Disney Springs. Neat! The prints you got are incredibly cute!

I didnt' know either until we stumbled upon it. This is the first time in a loooong time that I've walked this far at Disney Springs!

The Cool Headed Monkey and the Singapore Sling both sound good. Would have to try the monkey, though.

I liked the Monkey better too!

I need to give Ohana another shot. We were too tired the only time we ate there. Ben loved the menu and now Nate loves all of the things they bring out.

I've been there so many times I think I should try something else. It's so hard to not go when we're at WDW, especially when staying at the Poly.

Closing down the MK has to be the perfect way to celebrate your birthday. 7DMT/Big Thunder/Fireworks from the Hub garden. TTA, Buzz, Jungle Crusie and keepsake photopass pictures with the castle =

Definitely a night to remember! We didn't do every ride but we did just enough , and they are the rides I really cared about!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Day 4 Part 1: Surf's up at 'Ohana!

Today we woke up excited to go to DHS again. I had a whole other Star Wars outfit that I wanted to wear to our meet n greets at Launch Bay. We'd stay in the park until the afternoon and then we head back to the Poly for a rest/pool break before our long dinner at Victoria and Alberts. I knew we wouldn't be eating much for lunch to not ruin our appetites for the 5-star dinner, so I made sure we could eat a hearty breakfast...and I made a breakfast ADR at 'Ohana! It was between 'Ohana and Kona - I really enjoy Kona but I wanted another character meal so 'Ohana it is!

We were seated promptly for our 8:25am reservation. It was so nice to stroll from our room to breakfast. Last year we stayed at AoA so we didn't have a restaurant at our resort and we didn't bother to eat table service breakfast at other resorts. It's just such a hike to get from resort to a park, to another resort, and back to a park, and too early in the morning. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. We generally like to eat breakfast in the parks anyways.

Our server brought us yummy POG (passion, orange, guava juice, also known as jungle juice at Boma) and the warm sweet rolls. These rolls are delicious. Am I hearing right that these rolls are used in the bread pudding at dinner? No wonder I liked them so much We also got coffees with our meal.

First was a fruit platter. I appreciated the fruit during breakfast and liked that they had some raspberries and pineapple in it so that wasn't just boring cantaloupe and melon.

Look at these delicious sticky rolls. They had raisins and a light icing on the top. You pull them apart and they are quite yummy!

Then our giant skillet came out. It had everything you'd want on a breakfast platter: Eggs, bacon, sausage, Mickey waffles, biscuits, and potatoes!

Aloha Stitch! He was making his way around the restaurant with all the kiddos.

then Mickey!

I don't know how it's possible but we got another skillet full of food. I think we only wanted more eggs and sausage, but in the end they just brought us another platter, which had more food than the first one. OMG so much food!!

I really liked how one of the waffles was a Stitch waffle though! So cute!

Mickey stopped by our table first!

Then Lilo!

Stitch came around next. He saw my birthday button and got really excited!

He was really curious about the fruit.

Aloha Stitch! Thanks for visiting!

And finally, Pluto!

It was a yummy and filling breakfast filled with Aloha. They also brought me a birthday cupcake, which i could only take a bite of because I was too full. I forgot that Ohana does this but I thought it was just for dinner. But I've had cupcakes for breakfast before...hehe

I like Ohana's breakfast a lot and we took advantage that we were at the Poly to have a sit-down breakfast here, so it was a nice treat.

Up next...some RnRC and more Star Wars Launch Bay!​

 

[bcwife76]

Looks like a super filling and delicious breakfast! I love how Stitch is poking at your food

And you're on vacation, so a cupcake is perfectly acceptable at breakfast!!

 

[FancyNancy]

That b-fast looks amazing! We are huge Lilo & Stitch fans in my house. Who doesn't love that adorable alien?

 

[ArielSRL]

I've always wanted to do 'Ohana so I'm putting it on the June 2017 list. We'll probably do a later breakfast though. Also love Lilo & Stitch!

Food looks so yummy!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Day 4 Part 2: Launch Bay and Watto's Grotto (take two!)

We hopped on a bus and made our way back to DHS again. Today we weren't there for rope drop so forget about getting in line for TSM. Luckily we did get to ride it twice yesterday. Today I made FP+ for RnRC, Star Tours, and the Lights Motors Action! show, which was having its final run at DHS. Glad we were be able to catch this before it closed for good!

We made our way to RnRC for our first FP+. I really love this ride, but it's always terrifying when you first walk in and hear the 5-4-3-2-1 and hear the screaming and watch the lightening speed of the cars. I always feel like it's my first time riding this every time I walk into the ride area.

We did the shaka signs because we were full of Aloha spirit from breakfast! And also very full from breakfast.

After RnRC we headed over to Star Wars Launch Bay, and we caught a PP Photographer outside ToT. OMG I look so windblown, LOL!

Act terrified!! He said...so we did.

In front of Launch Bay I still had no success of gathering any attention of the Stormtroopers.

Hmph.

Back inside Launch Bay we immediately went to the meet n greets.

First was Chewie...he gives the most furry hugs!

He loved my dress! Today I was representing the Light Side whereas the day before I was the Dark Side. Chewie was much more pleased with my attire this time around. He also kept pointing to DH's shirt. I said, "Those are the droids you're looking for!!"

A close up of DH's t-shirt:

Next up was Kylo Ren, who gave us disapproving looks at our outfits.

Whatever, Ren!

Then we got this picture outside of the Chinese Theater

It was actually pretty warm now, and I didn't want to be wearing leggings, but unfortunately my dress is way to short without them. We walked over to Star Tours where we used our FP+ and then went back on about 2 more times just because the lines were about 5 minutes long! No, I was not the Rebel Spy. I'm convinced I'll never be the Rebel Spy!

It was at this point that we decided to split up as I wanted to go to Watto's Grotto again and DH wanted to go check out the line for TSM. I said "Good luck!" We agreed to meet right before our show at Lights, Motor's Action.

I enjoyed my solo time at DHS! I walked around the Streets of America (what is it called now, did they change it's name?) and took pictures of all the details on the streets.

Right before I got into Watto's Grotto, look who I run into! There was no line and they were awesome!

I love this pic!

Finally I made it to Watto's Grotto!

I had more time to spend here which was nice. I ended up buying some gifts for coworkers and family (some lightsaber keychains, t-shirts) and bought this dress for myself! My sister has the same dress which she wore during Star Wars Day at Sea on our cruise, and I liked it so much I had to get one of my own. So don't be surprised if you see us wearing them at the same time in a future TR!

Here's a little video of the interior of Watto's Grotto. It's really big and spacious and not crowded at all. I'm sad that it's closed now, but I assume they will just be building an even better store when Star Wars Land opens.

And here's some pictures:

Look at these funky shoes! I thought they were cute, but they were over a hundred bucks and not actually that comfortable on me.

Meanwhile...DH did not get to ride TSM so he went back on RnRC instead!

Coming up....Lights, Motor, Action...and Victoria and Alberts!

​

 

[soniam]

I saw those shoes too. They looked like house loafers to me. I pictured some guy wearing them with a velvet smoking jacket This thought almost made me get some, but they looked very impractical and uncomfortable. That dress is cute. You will have to wear them together in pics