100 Eats & Drinks in 3.5 Days! ~ Updated 1/10: December TR Started!

[A&Bmama]

Good thing we had stuff to eat while passing the time. We ended up waiting far too long for a boat. We’d just missed one by a minute or so (we could see it leaving as we approached the dock). Our hopes of being towards the front of the TSM Stampede were not looking so good.

Bummer. I love DHS and I love TSM, but I hate that it has such an impact on how you have to tour.

While we were in the boiler room, I was thinking about A&Bmama’s daughter’s “frightening flip flop fiasco” (from her TR).

I actually took a picture of the flip flop and was going to include it in my TR. When it came time to write that installment I was too embarrassed to include it. Really, it looked like absolute garbage, it had so much ground in dirt and paint splatters that you could hardly tell that it had been pink in a former life.

So, we made a clip of Dug looking around suspiciously, whispering to the camera, “Ssshhhh…it’s a secret!”

We like to make fun of the whole “best kept secret” campaign, since it’s plastered on the sides of buses, on billboards, etc. If you have a secret, don’t tell it to Disney! They don’t seem to understand the concept of keeping a secret!

Disney's worst kept secret is more like it. Maybe they think that telling everyone it is a secret gives it an air of exculsivity?

There was one family ahead of us. I had a feeling that the call was going to prompt the CM to send that family the other way. Sure enough, it did! AND…they sent us the super-pixie-dusted-Fast-Pass way too!!!!

Yay! Glad you caught a break when you needed it!

Got off the boat at Epcot and entered through the International Gateway. Just inside, the Tangled characters were out:

DD and I went to see Tangled the day it was released and loved it!!!!

The lid of the platter has a little joystick/button built into the handle. You can see the handler manipulating it as Remy does his thing.)

Ohh, I love a secret spy message.

It was now time to head out. We had to get some time in at Stormalong Bay while it was still warm and sunny out!

Can't wait to hear about it.

 

[jc040404]

Mmmm.. More food. I've never had any interest in Chefs de France, but now it's on the list. Remy looks too cute. Is he always there? (What is he from anyway? I think we must've missed that one.)

Aren't the morning TSM FP lines insane? I'm glad I get to send dh in that and run to standby instead. Andrew likes your Potato Head pic. I caught him checking out your TR when I read it earlier today. He said most of the food looks "gross" though. Andy-Roo is not an adventurous eater, I guess.

Totally cracked up at the comments about Disney's secret, too! I think that everytime I see those signs/commercials/whatever.. Too funny!

Can't wait to hear about Stormalong Bay!

 

[Dugette]

Hmmm.. Probably not the best TR to catch up on when you're trying to avoid a late night snack.. Everything looks sooo yummy!! I wasn't super impressed with our last Le Cellier experience, but I could totally go for another try right now.

Loved the Moose! That was so cute.

What's with the chemically smell going on in your room? I'm glad they're going to stop the harsh stuff and hope you don't have to deal with it anymore.

LOL @ Dug's jump!

I don't know what was with the chemically smell. I know the first day they were spot cleaning the carpet, but I don't know why it was so bad the second day too...maybe they were working on the carpet again?

I don't know much about wine but I have recently discovered that I like Rieslings. I have been doing a little research and so far have not met a riesling that I didn't like, although, some have been better than others.

My apologies for making you paranoid!

No worries, we knew right when we first saw them that these photos would need an apology...there really was no way to avoid it, though.

I am so going to that shop!

Yes, I really want to go back there. Now that I've been able to get a better look at their goods online (the store was too crowded to see much), there are some things I'd like to try. Like a caramel brownie, for instance...yum!

Bummer. I hate when you get something that you really don't like and are trying to like it anyway just so that it doesn't seem like such a waste.

I would be with you. I am a wimp when it comes to the cold.

Us northerners are such cold-weather wimps, huh?

The upside of getting cold is that once you get to warm up it feels absolutely luxurious.

Good tip. I would have never thought of that.

They actually suggested it towards the beginning of their performance. I don't think we would have sat on the floor otherwise! They also encouraged us by telling us that, since it was their first performance of the day, the floor was super clean!

Bummer. I love DHS and I love TSM, but I hate that it has such an impact on how you have to tour.

Yeah, it made for a very different DHS experience than what we were "used to."

I actually took a picture of the flip flop and was going to include it in my TR. When it came time to write that installment I was too embarrassed to include it. Really, it looked like absolute garbage, it had so much ground in dirt and paint splatters that you could hardly tell that it had been pink in a former life.

I wonder if people drop things down there a lot? It seems like it would be fairly easy to do.

Disney's worst kept secret is more like it. Maybe they think that telling everyone it is a secret gives it an air of exculsivity?

I'm sure there's some reason like that. We just find it amusing and ironic, though. But, sssssshhhhhhhhhhhh, cause it's a secret!!

Yay! Glad you caught a break when you needed it!

DD and I went to see Tangled the day it was released and loved it!!!!

Ohh, I love a secret spy message.

Can't wait to hear about it.

Yeah, seeing Tangled is on our to-do list. Glad you liked it!

Mmmm.. More food. I've never had any interest in Chefs de France, but now it's on the list. Remy looks too cute. Is he always there? (What is he from anyway? I think we must've missed that one.)

He's from Ratatouille. I think you guys would enjoy it. We just happened to see it on TV again the other night. Remy's a "little chef".

Oh, and he's there at certain times. I think he's never there on Sundays and the other days there's a regular schedule. When we booked, the CM told us that it would be a time that Remy was appearing. I think the schedule's probably somewhere on the Dis. I know I've seen it somewhere.

Aren't the morning TSM FP lines insane? I'm glad I get to send dh in that and run to standby instead. Andrew likes your Potato Head pic. I caught him checking out your TR when I read it earlier today. He said most of the food looks "gross" though. Andy-Roo is not an adventurous eater, I guess.

Both lines were so long! Boo!

Thanks, Andrew, I'm glad you liked the Potato Head pic!

Funny comment about the food! I will say that some of it looked kinda gross, but tasted good.

Totally cracked up at the comments about Disney's secret, too! I think that everytime I see those signs/commercials/whatever.. Too funny!

Can't wait to hear about Stormalong Bay!

I always want to run up to the DVC booths and make sarcastic remarks about the secret. Never have, but it's tempting to break into a DVC sales pitch and tell the CM, "Nooooooo, don't tell them about it! It's a secret!! It's Disney's best-kept secret! They're hiding it on billboards, buses, and all kinds of places in plain sight. Don't ruin it!" Etc.

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

Great update! The Cherry Colada sounds sooo good and I never knew Remy was the parks.....you learn something new everyday on the boards!!!

 

[Dugette]

Great update! The Cherry Colada sounds sooo good and I never knew Remy was the parks.....you learn something new everyday on the boards!!!

I seriously wish I could have a Cherry Colada every day...is that bad? Oh, well.

We accidentally found out that Remy was in the parks on our first trip, back in Sept. '09. We were doing the Kim Possible Mission in France and happened to catch a glimpse into the window of Chefs...and there was Remy! We thought it was super-cool, but had never really planned to dine there. Until I happened to read enough trip reports where people raved about Chefs de France...and I saw that we could split a $20-ish meal involving a lot of cheese...sold! Remy was fun, very cute (well, for a rat). I loved the squeaking!

 

[Nermel9]

Mmmm that cherry colada sounds SO good! I didn't get to have one, there were so many booths we had to skip because the lines were so crazy, hopefully that drink will be around for a while so I can try it!

The stampede for TSM seems so annoying, I don't know if I could deal with that! We used our GAD FP's for it when we went on...I wish they would do a promotion like that again, those FP's are so great!

Chef's de France looks so good, and Remy is so cute! We had an ADR there but we ended up canceling it for our Le Cellier ADR...I really need to try it someday!

 

[Darkfirewolfe]

Subbing - sorry for the late add...but I love all the foodie pics!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

You are totally right about the stampede to TSM in the morning. When I was there over the Thanksgiving weekend, the fastpass line was all the way past One Man's Dream!

I love the prix fixe menu at Chefs de France. Yummy choices!

 

[Dugette]

Mmmm that cherry colada sounds SO good! I didn't get to have one, there were so many booths we had to skip because the lines were so crazy, hopefully that drink will be around for a while so I can try it!

Bummer that you didn't get one. I hope they keep them around. I, personally, thought it was worth waiting in line for!

The stampede for TSM seems so annoying, I don't know if I could deal with that! We used our GAD FP's for it when we went on...I wish they would do a promotion like that again, those FP's are so great!

It's amazing what a difference less than 5 minutes can make in a DHS day, due to the TSM stampede! I wish we had GAD FP's. We actually were going to do it and had picked out a volunteering thing to do, but when we actually got around to going back to sign up, they were all out of GAD stuff! If only we'd known how limited it was! Oh, well.

Chef's de France looks so good, and Remy is so cute! We had an ADR there but we ended up canceling it for our Le Cellier ADR...I really need to try it someday!

Yeah, try to squeeze in a lunch there someday. I'd say the food was pretty good and it's always cool to see the smallest audio-animatronic at work!

Subbing - sorry for the late add...but I love all the foodie pics!!

The more the merrier! We definitely have a lot of food pics! Dug has become quite skilled at taking those pics. This will get us an eyebrow raise from our waiter at the CA Grill later this night...

You are totally right about the stampede to TSM in the morning. When I was there over the Thanksgiving weekend, the fastpass line was all the way past One Man's Dream!

I love the prix fixe menu at Chefs de France. Yummy choices!

That FP line for TSM is insane!! I must say I've been spoiled from our other trips. I've always been in that first part of the line, never had to worry about how long it got. Until this time.

Yeah, with Chefs, sharing like we do makes it not much pricier than counter service to sit down to a nice meal. Good value!

 

[Dugette]

When we got back to the Beach Club, we found a towel animal(s) waiting for us:

The other noticeable thing was that the room was finally NOT reeking of cleaning chemicals! Yea! I think this was also the first day that I did not get a headache. Probably not a coincidence.

We quickly got changed and headed out to Stormalong Bay. Walking all the way across the lobby, of course. Weird layout.

Anyway, once we arrived at SAB, there was a short line to get in. They were indeed checking room keys and putting on wrist bands this time. Once we were banded, we grabbed some towels and headed in.

Our first priority was to try out the lazy river. We rented a double tube at $3 for an hour. Dragged it over to the nearest entry point. There were not any chairs to put our stuff on in that area, so we followed the example of others and piled our stuff on some rocks.

We managed to both successfully get into our sides of the tube without flipping it, which is always good. And we were off! Well, sort-of. The reviews I’d read were right…there is not much current in this “lazy river.” I guess it really is a LAZY river! There were occasional jets that moved things along, but not enough of them.

The other problem we had is that we were drifting all over the place. So, we had to keep watching out for the walls and pushing off of them (as opposed to getting various body parts rammed in the collision). Also, there were lots of people, including little kids, swimming without tubes in the (deep!) lazy river. When you are in an out-of-control, heavy, 2-person tube barreling down on an oblivious 8-year-old, and ineffectively paddling with your hands is your only option, it’s kind-of scary. This happened a lot. Luckily, we managed to not run anyone down. I didn’t get to be very lazy on this river, more like hyper-alert. Dug did get in a few nice, nappy moments while I played look-out, though. Right until I would start shrieking at him to move his feet before they were crushed against a wall.

We returned our tube after two laps. Way less than an hour. I can’t imagine any possible reason to do the full-day tube rental here.

After our not-so-lazy river experience, we explored the rest of SAB. We walked around sand-bottomed areas (the best part!). We went down the slide. We (well, Dug) stood under waterfalls. It was all very nice. I could’ve spent a lot longer just hanging out in the sand-bottom areas. But we pretty much just walked/swam through each area once. Thought about hitting the hot tubs again at the end, but decided we needed to get back to Epcot. Dug finished up with a non-tube lap around the lazy river while I got our stuff from the rocks and dried off. Another soggy stroll past Cape May and through the lobby and we were back to the BCV.

Once we’d stopped back in the room to change, we were on our way to Epcot. Feeling reasonably refreshed.

Our first stop was just inside the International Gateway, at Spain. Here we just wanted the Taste of Spain – Serrano Ham, Chorizo, Manchego, Olives, and Tomato Bread:

This was pretty good. However, our only real ugly un-Disney moment of the trip occurred at this time. Dug accidentally dropped one of the two pieces of bread on the ground. Okay, no biggie, we threw it away. However, he then (unthinkingly) proceeded to eat the remaining piece of bread himself. No bread for me.

I guess I over-reacted, saying something to the effect of, “You never think about my needs…”, which sent him storming off (to Japan) and me following, still upset that it didn’t occur to him that I might have wanted some of the bread too. Dug's side of the story was that it was just a momentary lapse in thinking, and that one moment didn't mean that he never thought about my needs.

Since standing angrily in line together was not much fun, I went off to grab a seat (on that wall by the drummer tower I mentioned earlier!) and Dug stood in line.

He returned with the stuff he’d wanted, the Wafu Ribettes and some Sake:

While sitting there on the wall, we patched things up, or at least let them go.

Dug said the Ribettes had great Teriyaki taste and the Sake was dry and smooth. I think I tried a bite of the Ribettes and they were good.

I should also probably mention at this point that we were both pretty sore by this time in the trip. It had been getting worse and worse as the days went on. Dug was primarily plagued by sore feet and a sore hip. My lower back was killing me. Which is odd, because I never, ever have back problems at all, except at Disney. Primarily Epcot, actually. So, sitting down on this wall was actually difficult for me, as it was getting really hard to bend. Once I was down, I was okay, though.

After a bit, we started walking again. Once we passed America, we saw the giant “main line” of people forming for the upcoming Big Bad Voodoo Daddy show. This night, despite Dug being very excited to see BBVD, we opted to avoid lines entirely and just show up right before the show. So, we kept walking. The view across the lagoon was stunning at this time of night:

We hadn’t hit China yet, so that was our next destination. I stood in line here and Dug went to find us a place to sit. We got the Pork Pot Stickers for me and the Xinjiang Barbecue Chicken Stick for Dug:

We both enjoyed our stuff (and sampled the other’s). If I’d had more room, and the line wasn’t so long, I could have had seconds on those pot stickers. Yummy!

Next up, I saved the nice bench that Dug had found us while he went over to nearby South Korea to obtain Lettuce Wraps with Roast Pork and Kimchi Slaw. While I waited, I realized that the Chinese acrobat thing was going on across the way from me. I could hear it, but not see it over people’s heads. We hadn’t seen the acrobats yet, but I really wanted to. However, I did not want to lose our bench. Neither of us was in any shape to stand any longer than we needed to. The best I managed was to stand on the bench for a minute and catch a few glimpses between/over audience heads. Oh, well, maybe next time.

Dug got back with the food:

This was very zesty! I wished I had another Cherry Colada to wash it down!

It was getting close to BBVD concert time. We had a couple more things to grab on our way there. We stopped at the South Africa booth to get the Flavors of Africa (Salad, Bread and Spreads). We then stopped at the Singapore booth for the Coconut-Braised Beef Rendang with Jasmine Rice. Since we were thirsty, we briefly considered the Singapore Sling, but decided not to as I thought I’d remembered seeing rather “eh” reviews of it. Good thing…the guy ahead of us got one and took a drink right away and practically spit it out! I don’t think he liked it at all!

We took all our food over to the America Gardens Theater. All gates were open and the theater was mostly full. The show had already gotten underway. But the theater wasn’t entirely full. There was a low wall along the right-hand side and people were sitting on it. There were empty spots, so we grabbed a seat there too. Perfectly good seats. Here’s the view:

It was especially cool that, if we turned to our right, we could see a beautiful view of Spaceship Earth across the lagoon. Here’s the food that we “ate to the beat”:

The food was decent. Not my favorites, but acceptable. A little zesty for me without a drink to wash it down.

As a side note, Dug is a good swing dancer (and I manage to follow him okay, so people think I'm a good swing dancer). We had thought about dancing to this music, but we were just too sore to attempt it at that point. It’s probably a good thing we didn’t, though, as I saw a couple of pairs dancing that ended up being “moved” by the security folks. They weren’t kicked out, but were apparently asked to dance WAY over to the right side of the area (further back than our wall). I guess it’s probably a safety thing.

We enjoyed the music. Another fun tweet from Dug:

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy singing about Minnie the Moocher. Love this song! Wonder what Mickey thinks?!

For what it’s worth, if you want a seat on the benches at one of these concerts, I would advise just arriving a bit late. Tons of people cleared out of the benches during the show. We elected to stay on our wall, so we could get out easier, but we definitely could have grabbed a nice bench seat.

Since we still had a bit more food and wine to obtain, we decided to skip out on the show just a bit early to beat the crowds. We could still hear the music, after all. We made our way over to the nearby Hops and Barley where there was absolutely zero line! Nice!

We got all the food that was offered here, primarily for Dug. It was the New England Lobster Roll, the Boston-Style Crab Cake with Cabbage Slaw and Remoulade, and the Pecan Bread Pudding:

I’ll just borrow a tweet from Dug to describe them:

Hops and barley: crab cake warm and yummy. Lobster roll fresh and light. Pecan bread pudding the best, nutty, warm like a good hug.

Dug took the food over to a bench in France and started in on them. I got into line at the France booth to rectify a passport-stamping oversight that had occurred earlier. We hadn’t gotten a stamp last time from the France booth. Plus, what a great excuse to get more yummy French drinks!

Reprise of the Cosmo Slush and Pomegranate Kir:

I tried a bit of the bread pudding, which was delish. Dug had finished up his other items. We took the drinks and started strolling towards the International Gateway. However, we were taking our time on the beverages and forgot that you can’t go though the IG with them. They reminded us at the gates. Ooops. So, we had to chug them down. And then we were on our way back to the BCV for a short nap before heading to the California Grill.

With this, our Food & Wine adventure was complete! We had something from every single booth that offered food! The only booths we didn’t hit were the two beer-only ones: 15 Beers for 15 Years and Brewer’s Collection. Other than that, our passport was complete! Apparently, for a totally complete passport, you get an extra stamp, but we decided it wasn’t worth trying to get those other two in for a stamp. We loved the whole F&W experience and would go back again in a heartbeat. But for longer. More time would have been nice!

Up next: Could we possibly have any room left to eat at the CA Grill? (Did we pack the extra stomachs? )

 

[Dugette]

Hi, all. We are taking off for WDW again tomorrow. I will finish this TR when I get back. As you know, if you've been following the current PTR, we've had an eventful few days and I couldn't quite get this done before our trip. It's very close, though. I have half of the CA Grill update written up. Then there's only that late night at the MK and our departure morning. So, I'll have that up when we're back! Bye for now!

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

I hope you are having a great trip!!!!

 

[Dugette]

I hope you are having a great trip!!!!

Check the PTR to see how it's been so far!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Have a good trip!

 

[Dugette]

Have a good trip!

Thanks, we did!

 

[Dugette]

Back at the BCV, we settled down for a nice (albeit short) pre-dinner nap. Lovely!

All too soon, we were up and getting ready for the CA Grill. Since we were going directly to the MK afterwards, we dressed in attire that was acceptable for both. Well, I guess Dug wore a tie, which you don’t see that often at the MK!

Now we got to make our first (and only) trip to the Beach Club bus stops. It was actually a very pretty walk. I liked all the water and fountains just off the path.

Soon, a MK bus pulled up and we hopped on. The bus driver must have noticed our anniversary pins, because we soon heard an announcement about wishing two very special people on the bus a happy anniversary! The whole bus cheered and congratulated us! So fun! A little embarrassing, but fun!

As we drove by the Contemporary, it was so tempting to see if the bus driver would work some anniversary Disney magic and just drop us off there. We didn’t ask, though, and I’m sure it’s not allowed. We caught glimpses of the beautifully lit up castle during the bus ride also.

Once off the bus, we just needed to get across the (bus only) street to the walking path to the Contemporary. This is where we got in Disney security trouble! Such hooligans we are!

We didn’t want to walk quite a bit out of our way, over near the MK entrance, just to double back to 20 feet from where we were. There were absolutely NO buses coming. Just an empty street to cross to the path. No fences. Nothing that appeared to be a problem. There was even a crosswalk nearby. There was a sign that said no one was allowed to walk to our left (where the crosswalk was), but we were going straight across and to the right, so that didn’t seem applicable. So, we walked across the street to the path.

And then the security guy started screaming at us! Even though we had already crossed safely to the path, he made us go back to the other side of the street! Is it just me or wouldn’t that double the risk of us being hit by a bus (which is what I presume they are trying to prevent)? So, we had to spend probably a good 10 minutes walking all the way back to where we’d already been standing. So much for actually getting to an ADR on time! By the way, as we walked by that area on the path again, the security person was screaming at some other people who had safely crossed the empty street, making them go back.

The walk over to the Contemporary was otherwise pleasant. We checked in (almost on time) and headed up to the CA Grill. There were no chairs available for us to wait in, so we had to lean against a wall to wait for our table. Which was challenging, given how excruciatingly sore we both were at that point. But, we did it, and it paid off in a window seat with a nice view of the castle:

Here is a zoomed-in version of the view:

Since this was a (belated) anniversary dinner, the table was decorated with Mickey-fetti:

It was actually funny later in the meal that one of the Mickey-fettis got stuck to the back of Dug’s iPhone. It made it easy to smile for iPhone pics since Mickey was right there on the camera!

Now here’s where the Dis really came in handy. We remembered that we had a fantastic wine at the CA Grill in Sept. 2009, but we couldn’t recall for sure which one it was. So, I used Dug’s iPhone to find our CA Grill dinner in that 2009 TR, since we had a picture of the receipt in it. And, sure enough, it confirmed which wine it had been: the Montalcino (which had been Dug’s guess):

We actually just ordered one glass to share, but they split it into two for us. Nice!

They brought out the bread. We tried not to fill up too much on that, as we didn’t have tremendous appetites left at this point. We started off by ordering the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli, as I’d heard it was a delicious signature dish here. It did not disappoint:

While we were enjoying this yummy dish, Wishes started. We turned to the window and just enjoyed the show. Great view. After Wishes, we finished up the Goat Cheese Ravioli and decided to order the Cheese Board. Here are the cheeses we had:

And here’s what they looked like (except that it looks like we ate one before the picture):

I’ll spare you the extreme close-ups of every item on the plate, but Dug did take them. And you should have seen the waiter’s face when he walked by and saw Dug taking an extreme close-up of a fig!

Actually, I should mention that the accompaniments were (from front to back):

Some sort of pear – candied, maybe?

Honeycomb

The fig

Some yummy almonds, I think candied

Crispy bread

We sampled everything one by one and really enjoyed them. I liked that they were very small portions, as we were not very hungry at the time.

Presumably for our anniversary, they also brought out complimentary champagne:

We were not sure if we actually wanted to order meals here. Due to the lack of appetite, we’d been seriously considering just doing appetizers and desserts. But the waiter was pushing us to decide, as the kitchen was closing soon. And Dug had fantastic memories of having had the scallops last time we were here. So, pressed for a decision, he went for it and ordered the scallops. Which made me feel like I should order something too, so I got a Triple-Cheese Flatbread. The food:

Both were good, but we knew quickly that our stomachs would not be nearly big enough for our meal. I think I ate two of the eight pieces of my flatbread. And Dug had one piece and part of his scallops. I also knew that I had to save room for dessert. I’d seen the menu in advance and knew there was something I absolutely had to have.

Not wanting to waste the food, and knowing that we had a fridge and microwave in the room, we wanted to get it boxed up to go. However, we were going directly to the Magic Kingdom after dinner, so we didn’t want scallop sauce to be leaking all over the backpack while riding things. And we still had two plastic containers in the backpack that we’d brought in case we got full at Food & Wine.

But we thought it might be tacky to whip them out and box up our food at the CA Grill. We finally decided to ask the waiter if their to-go containers would hold up for a trip to the MK. He explained that they were boxes and that the flatbread one should be fine, the scallops one was more like a Chinese take-out box and he thought it would probably be okay. We mentioned that we just happened to have some containers in our pack, so he could bring us the boxes and if we didn’t think they’d work, we’d use ours. Luckily, he didn’t seem to think this was too weird (after the fig picture thing, he probably was expecting strange things from us).

He was right, the box for the flatbread was fine. We weren’t so sure about the scallops, though, it seemed like it could leak if the box flipped, so we used our own container for them.

All boxed up, we ordered the long-anticipated dessert: Valrhona Chocolate Cake (Warm Chocolate Cake with Molten Center, Marshmallow, and Peanut Butter Gelato). We’d had the Valrhona Cake (with other accompaniments) last time, so we knew that it was delectable. And, as you may know if you read my other TRs, I cannot say no to something with Chocolate and Peanut Butter! Plus, I love gelato!

The treasure arrived:

Here’s what happens to the cake after you cut into it. It’s a lava cake:

So, so, so good!!! Dug described it as a Reese’s/S’mores combo. It was great! We cleaned up every last bite!

With that, we tossed the leftovers in the backpack and rolled ourselves on out of the CA Grill.

Up next: Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom! A sneak preview of the holiday décor! And there just might be something of interest on Buzz…

 

[A&Bmama]

Soon, a MK bus pulled up and we hopped on. The bus driver must have noticed our anniversary pins, because we soon heard an announcement about wishing two very special people on the bus a happy anniversary! The whole bus cheered and congratulated us! So fun! A little embarrassing, but fun!

Nice touch. I might find it a little embarassing too. I hate to unexpectantly find myself the centre of attraction.

Once off the bus, we just needed to get across the (bus only) street to the walking path to the Contemporary. This is where we got in Disney security trouble! Such hooligans we are!

You rebel you!

And then the security guy started screaming at us! Even though we had already crossed safely to the path, he made us go back to the other side of the street! Is it just me or wouldn’t that double the risk of us being hit by a bus (which is what I presume they are trying to prevent)? So, we had to spend probably a good 10 minutes walking all the way back to where we’d already been standing. So much for actually getting to an ADR on time! By the way, as we walked by that area on the path again, the security person was screaming at some other people who had safely crossed the empty street, making them go back.

Me thinks someone takes their job a little too seriously...

I’ll spare you the extreme close-ups of every item on the plate, but Dug did take them. And you should have seen the waiter’s face when he walked by and saw Dug taking an extreme close-up of a fig!

You would think they would be accustomed to seeing guests take picture of their food by now!

Luckily, he didn’t seem to think this was too weird (after the fig picture thing, he probably was expecting strange things from us).

I'm sure they have had stranger requests.


I hope you and Dug have managed to get some rest. I'm sure that the last month has been pretty hectic for you.

I hope you enjoyed your Holidays. Do you visit family for dinner or make your own?

I cooked Christmas dinner yesterday for my family and my Mom and Brother came as well. I cooked a 25lb turkey for 6 people! I wanted one about 16 lbs or so but all I could find were small ones or the 25 pounder...so I bought the big one. I've cooked many turkey dinners but I gotta tell ya, this one intimidated me. It turned out fantastic though.

I have heard that turkey is not the traditional Xmas dinner in the US since Thanksgiving and Christmas are so close together. Our Thanksgiving is early in October so by the time Xmas rolls around we are good and ready for another turkey. What is the traditional Christmas dinner choice for you?

 

[IheartDDuck]

Man, that food looks good! I'm so hungry right now.......

You dang hooligans walking across the bus area! Maybe the security guard just wanted to annoy you to teach you a lesson!

 

[Nermel9]

Mmmm everything you had a CA Grill looks sooo good!

 

[Dugette]

Me thinks someone takes their job a little too seriously...

Agreed!

You would think they would be accustomed to seeing guests take picture of their food by now!

I think that, in general, they are. The waiter saw us doing some of that earlier and didn't bat an eye. I think it was the camera directly next to the fig that caught his eye...probably thinking, "These people have never seen a fig before?!"

I hope you and Dug have managed to get some rest. I'm sure that the last month has been pretty hectic for you.

I hope you enjoyed your Holidays. Do you visit family for dinner or make your own?

I cooked Christmas dinner yesterday for my family and my Mom and Brother came as well. I cooked a 25lb turkey for 6 people! I wanted one about 16 lbs or so but all I could find were small ones or the 25 pounder...so I bought the big one. I've cooked many turkey dinners but I gotta tell ya, this one intimidated me. It turned out fantastic though.

I have heard that turkey is not the traditional Xmas dinner in the US since Thanksgiving and Christmas are so close together. Our Thanksgiving is early in October so by the time Xmas rolls around we are good and ready for another turkey. What is the traditional Christmas dinner choice for you?

We've gotten some rest, but really not enough. It has been a very hectic month!

We went to Dug's parents' house for the holidays (about 20 minutes away). His sister and brother-in-law came and his brother came back from out of state. And we all got some sort of stomach illness. Possibly food poisoning from going out to dinner on Thursday night? Not sure. That's why I'm here today--stayed home from work to try to feel better.

Impressive on your dinner! I've never tried to host a big holiday dinner. Although we almost did at Thanksgiving, until Dug's parents changed their minds and decided they wanted to host it after all. I think Dug would have to be in charge of the turkey; I'm too weirdly squeamish for that.

You know, we were discussing "typical" Christmas dinner choices while we were with Dug's family. I guess they usually do turkey for both T-Day and Xmas, but decided to change it up this year. We had a roast and it was good. (Between bouts of illness, of course!) I don't remember growing up with any "set" Christmas dinner...just whatever the grandparents/aunts/uncles wanted to make.

Man, that food looks good! I'm so hungry right now.......

You dang hooligans walking across the bus area! Maybe the security guard just wanted to annoy you to teach you a lesson!

The food was pretty good. Too bad we weren't hungrier then!

I just wish the security guard was a little quicker at his job. I understand trying to keep people from crossing the bus lane, but why not do so before they've crossed, rather than after? Made it kind-of ridiculous.

Mmmm everything you had a CA Grill looks sooo good!

It was yummy! I forgot to mention, by the way, that the ravioli is one big ravioli and they split it for us to share (so the pic is of half). And the dessert was worth saving a bit of room for. I wish they always had that flavor combo! Yum!