16 Day Spring Break! I'm An Adult, I Do What I Want ;) *Update 8/17 Complete!

[jerseytinkerbell]

Hey everyone! Sorry for the pause in between updates. I recently started working towards my Associates degree with online classes and I am working full time, so it's been a bit hectic, but I am going to do my best to post a big batch of updates as often as possible. I am basically trying to earn my degree in the fastest speed humanly possible, so I have been working on that with every second of free time. Multi-tasking is the key moving forward!

After watching a terrible movie we caught a bus back to POR for some relaxation time at the resort. I must say, we had maybe the best luck we have ever had with buses on this trip. We had to stand pretty often, but we caught one as we walked up to a bus stop or within 3 minutes of arriving at a bus stop every time but one. It was crazy. Happy to have good luck with those this trip. But anyway, we arrived back at POR for some down time. Sadly it wasn't really warm enough to swim this trip, so there wasn't too much of that, but it was a great temperature to take a stroll. We walked around the resort a bit and oh my goodness, it is just beautiful. Here's a couple of shots from around the resort.









We hung out out in the room for a bit and watched a few episodes of Big Bang Theory. We had no dinner plans for this evening, so I pulled up menus on my phone so that we could decide where we wanted to eat. In the end we decided on dinner at Yacht Club at Captain's Grille! We made the ADR through the MDE app and I drove us over to Yacht Club. We parked with no issue after a scan of my MagicBand and since we had some time to kill we took a stroll around the resort area and over to the Boardwalk. It was a perfect temperature outside! Perfect! After our lovely evening stroll we headed back to Yacht Club for dinner.



We love this place. It is one of our favorite hidden gems.



We were seated almost immediately and our server was ready to start with our drink orders right away. Rob had a cocktail to start and went with a Habanero Lime Margarita.



He liked it. He said it was tangy and definitely had a little heat to it.

She also brought out their bread service to start us off.



I really enjoy the bread here and I love the sea salt on the butter.

We both chose appetizers. Rob went with the Seared Scallops with cauliflower puree, golden raisins, and tree nut vinaigrette.



He really enjoyed the scallops, but the portion size was pretty small, which was his only complaint.

I went with the Buttermilk Fried Rock Shrimp with chipotle remoulade, citrus cream, and chilled cucumber salad.



I have had these before and I couldn't resist them tonight. They are so good! I love the breading on the shrimp and the citrus cream is delicious. The chilled cucumber salad goes so well with it also. It definitely seems like the portion of shrimp has gotten much smaller over the past few years, but what can you do.

I had a tough time deciding what to get for my entree.



I was kind of in the mood for steak, but I have had the steak here before and it is good, but not amazing. The crab cakes here are wonderful, so I almost went in that direction. Previously they have had a Chef's Pasta Creation that supposedly changes seasonally, but has been the same every time we come here. Now it is just listed permanently on the menu. Rob has had it a couple of times and it is one of his favorite dishes ever, so I had to try it for myself this time. And because he loves it so much, he got it too. So here it is, Tagliatelle Pasta - braised short ribs, fennel, cipollini onions, veal jus, shaved parmesan, and seasoned greens.



Oh. My. Gosh. Do yourself a favor. Right now, drop an upcoming ADR that you have an replace it with Captain's Grille and order this dish! You will thank me. You're welcome in advance.

This is one of the best things I have ever eaten. Ever. Like, ever ever. The flavor in this is out of this world. Everything works in this dish. It is perfect. And it is so much food. Rob and I both boxed up a lot of this to take back to the room with us.

This is one of our best meals of the trip. The service was good, the food was incredible and the atmosphere is great here as well. You can't ask for a better evening!

Once we got back to the room Rob fell asleep and I stayed up. I had my work laptop with me to do a few work related things throughout the trip since I was away for so long, so I had to do timekeeping for my team this evening. I stayed up working on that for a couple of hours and eventually my leftovers called out to me and I picked at them a little more. I went to bed stuffed to the gills. Another very successful food day in Disney World!

Today we walked 7.72 miles with 18,942 steps. We saved $2.50 with our AP at Ghirardelli. Since Skipper Canteen doesn't yet accept AP or TiW discounts our only TiW discount today was at Captain's Grille for $16.95.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

The next morning we slept in just a little bit and got a got to HS right around 9:20 to start our day.

No more sorcerer hat!



We went right back to TSMM to use our FP. We still waited in line for ages because the ride kept stopping and starting. It took forever to finally get on it only to have Rob beat me. Again. Bummer. By the time we got off the ride there was a crazy line for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Great Movie Ride, so we did Muppet 3D and then we did Star Tours with our next FP. I loved that the incorporated characters from the new movie into the ride. Yay for BB-8!!!

We sat in Writers Stop for a few to take it in one last time and Rob got a coffee while we killed some time before our lunch ADR.

Then it was finally time for lunch at Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano!



We just ate here for the first time last year and loved it, so we were hoping it would be just as good this time.

It took about 10 minutes before we were seated as it was pretty crowded today. Once our pager went off we were seated all the way in the back of the restaurant at a nice cozy table. Our server was absolutely awesome throughout the whole meal! She was one of the best servers we had the whole trip.

We started out with rolls and olive oil with herbs for dipping.



Last time we had bread sticks which were much better than these rolls. Oh well, it was just the bread. Not a huge deal, but the bread sticks from last time were definitely better.

For our appetizers Rob had the Fresh Mozzarella and Vine-ripened Tomatoes with balsamic drizzle, olive oil and sweet basil leaves.



He enjoyed his appetizer, but didn't rave about it.

I got the same thing I did last time. Crispy Calamari topped with grilled peppers and onions, served with dipping sauces.



These were amazing once again! I would get these every time without question. The breading on them is fantastic and all three of the dipping sauces are excellent. There is a spicy marina, a sweet sauce and a pesto sauce. The sweet one is my favorite, but they are all really good.

For my entree I once again went with my same choice from our last trip and got the Shrimp Campanelle. Campanelle pasta tossed in a four-cheese sauce with broccoflower, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach and sweet onions and shrimp.



This is so, so good. I love all of those veggies. Especially when they are served with seafood and in a cream sauce. Yum! I wanted to try something else, but this was so good last time that I couldn't resist and it did not disappoint this time either.

Rob also went with his entree choice from last trip and got the Saltimbocca. Pork Tenderloin topped with Prosciutto, Sage, Fontina Cheese, Tuscan Mashed Potatoes, Broccolini, and Lemon Caper Sauce.



He absolutely loved this once again! This was one of his favorite meals of the trip.

We have really become fans of Mama Melrose. I am not a fan of Hollywood Studios's food options, so this has been a pleasant surprise.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

After our meal at Mama Melrose we walked around HS for a little bit and discovered that it was PACKED! Every ride (which there aren't many of in here anymore) had massive wait times, so it looked like our day at HS was over. We went out and caught a bus to SSR and then from there we walked over to DTD for a movie. This time we saw Eddie The Eagle which I just adored! It was so good! One of my favorite movies of the trip.

Once the movie was over we caught a bus to Boardwalk and then walked to Epcot through the International Gateway entrance, which I love to do. As soon as we got in the park I decided today was the day I was going to do the Easter Egg Hunt. Our plan was to walk around WS and hit up some F&G booths, so this is the perfect time to do it. Exciting!

Here is what the map and stickers look like.





For those of you who don't know, you can buy one of these maps, I believe they were $6.99, and it comes with the stickers and you walk around WS and look for eggs with various characters on them. You match the character sticker with the country it is located in and turn it in to get a special character Easter egg. You can just turn it is blank and still get the prize, but that's no fun. So, let the hunt begin!

We started off in United Kingdom. I love the Peter Pan topiaries during F&G.







We stopped at the Cider House booth for our first treats of the evening.





So, funny story here. I was wearing a pretty awesome stormtrooper floral shirt, coral shorts an awesome Kylo Ren button from Parkbound buttons, and a BB-8 MagicBand and I was pretty hype about my outfit on this day. That morning I told Rob to get a picture of me in my whole outfit because I wanted to post a pic on Instagram saying my Star Wars outfit was on fleek. He told me I was not allowed to say 'on fleek' because I'm too old and refused to take my picture. He's not wrong, but I still wanted to do it. When we get to the Cider House booth, the girl who waited on us was commenting on all of my Star Wars stuff and said, "Oh my god girl, your Star Wars is on fleek today!" Yes! *Jeri drops the mic* That made my trip! It was so, so, so funny and I rubbed it in Rob's face for the rest of the day. Thank you Cast Member at Cider House for making my day. Anyway, back to the food.

I got the Freshly Baked Lemon Scone with Creme Fraiche and Mixed Berries.



So, I don't really like lemon, but I love scones and this looked so good that I decided to try it. Well, thank goodness I did because this was one of my favorite things I ate on this trip! It was amazing! The lemon flavor wasn't too strong and the berries with the creme added to the scone was perfection. A definite hit!

Rob and I both got the Cider Flight of the Sonoma "The Pitchfork" Organic Pear Hard Cider, McKenzie's Black Cherry Hard Cider, Keel & Curley Mad Man Blueberry Hard Cider and Cigar City Tampa-style Lager.



It's so pretty!



I have had better pear cider from ACE and the lager was a lager, but the black cherry and the blueberry cider were very good. Definitely the two standouts for both of us.

And Rob found the first egg in the UK way up high by the ships. It's Thumper!



Up next was France.



We decided to get some ice cream from L'Artisan des Glaces.





Current flavors



I love the display case!



I got my favorite, the Cinnamon, Caramelized Apple and Crumble Crunch.



This time I skipped the cone, because the cone never seems to be very fresh, but I do love the ice cream.

Rob got the Mint Chocolate.



As soon as he took a taste of it he was not enjoying it at all. He said it wasn't like normal mint chocolate ice cream and was like eating an actual mint leaf. I tried a taste and he was absolutely right. It was kind of gross. I'm sure people must like this, but we sure didn't. You have been warned.

And Rob found the egg in France. Up high once again. Figment!



Next was Morocco. Rob stopped at Taste of Marrakesh.





He tried the Desert Rose. Sparkling wine topped with pomegranate liqueur.



And here is the egg on the building by the water. Pluto!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Next was Japan. We could not find the egg here. We walked around and walked around. Finally I took a break by the coy pond, which I somehow never really noticed before today.



And then there was another break from searching to enjoy more food.

Rob had the Beef Teriyaki Udon. Thin-sliced beef, onions and noodles tossed on the grill with soy and ginger. And he had the Yuzu Plum Wine Slushy.





He really liked them both.

We couldn't find the egg the first time around, but on our second time around WS we stopped for more food at the Hanami booth. I got one of my favorites from last year. The Frushi! Fresh pineapple, strawberry and melon rolled with raspberry coconut rice, sprinkled with toasted coconut and whipped cream on the side.





I don't know why this is so good, but it really is. I love it. I wish they had it all the time.

Rob also got some Suigei Sake.



And I won't lie, we found the egg because a kid found it and was pointing to it. Thanks kid!



Dale was a sneaky devil hiding back in the grassy area in between two of the outdoor carts which display souvenirs.

Then came America. Oh, America. We couldn't find the egg on two trips around. It was impossible. Later we got it by default and I googled it to find out where it was. You had to be almost in the line for the Smokehouse and then turn around and look up by the trees. We never would have found it. But once you knew where it was it seemed so obvious. I got a pic of it on another day. Darn you Mickey!



Next was Italy, which Rob spotted as we were walking towards the country up on the building by the railing. Hey there White Rabbit!



Then Rob spotted Perry in Germany. He didn't know who Perry was, but he saw the egg.



Next he spotted Donald at the Outpost area by the water.



Then he saw Goofy on rocks by the water in China.



Now it was time for me to take a break in Norway. This picture makes me sad. RIP Maelstrom.



We went into Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe for more treats.



I got one of my new favorite Epcot snacks, Schoolbread!



I love these! The cardamom in the bun is amazing and I love the coconut glaze on the top. It's like a donut, but better and not as sweet. These are such a treat.

I also wanted to try something I had recently seen as a new offering here at the Bakery. Traditional Kjottkake which is Norwegian meatballs with gravy, lingonberry sace and mashed potatoes.



I cannot even tell you how good this was. I will be getting these every trip from now on. Apparently they serve these at Akershus, but I wouldn't know since we never eat there. But now I get to have them without making Rob eat with princesses. I love a sweet/savory combo, so these were right up my alley. I highly recommend a stop here on your next trip. This was practically a full meal, but it wasn't terribly expensive. Bonus!

And Rob found the next egg. Are you noticing a pattern here? The man is competitive, what can I say. Norway was Daisy.



Next was Mexico. We stopped at Jardin de Fiestas on the second trip around.





Rob got the Rose Margarita.



I had some of it too and we both really like it. It was very unique.

We both got the Tacos de Camaron. Tempura shrimp served with hibiscus flower, caramelized onions and habanero sauce.



We both loved these! I wasn't sure how I felt about eating a hibiscus flower, but it was really good and the sauce was a little spicy and very flavorful. These were a big hit for us.

And here was Chip in Mexico, way up high by La Hacienda.



And then there was Canada. O Canada indeed. We could not find the egg. We looked in this area for ages. We walked all through every part of the Canada pavilion. We could not find this darn thing! But I did get a nice picture of the flowers here from up high.



On the second time around Rob was determined. We were missing Canada and America. I didn't care anymore. I was tired and my feet hurt and I just wanted to give up and google it. Rob ran all around that pavilion while I sat on a bench and quit. After about another 20 minutes of searching I was over it and googled it. Mickey in America and Minnie in Canada. Whatever. Give me my prize. I cannot even tell you how tired I was at this point. So, Rob finally gave up and I showed him where it was. At this point it was dark out so there was literally no point in searching anyway. Here is Minnie on another day when the sun was out and we could see her.



That Easter egg hunt was tough! Disney wasn't playing around. We walked over to the redemption location at Port of Entry and they stamp the back of your map and let you pick which character egg you want. It was a difficult choice but I finally decided on Stitch.



The completed map complete with prize egg. This was a fun souvenir.



On our way out of the park we stopped to pick up our Passholder print for the month of March. Since we wouldn't be there during any other months this is the only one we got. I love it. I wish we would have been able to get all of them, especially Mickey.



And the CM who gave us our print was from our area which was pretty cool, so we had a nice conversation with him.

Then we rode Spaceship Earth before we left the park and caught the bus back to POR.

Epcot Egg Hunt was tiring, but was fun and we got lots of exercise to balance out all of the food we ate.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I'm not going to lie... I've been somewhat stalking the reviews looking for an update from your trip. What a great surprise to find this mega update!!!!

Congrats on pursuing your associate's degree. That's fantastic! And no easy feat while working full time!! Good for you!!!!! I'm assuming the graduation celebration will be in WDW?

I've had good luck with breakfast at Captain's Grille but haven't tried dinner. I'm going to have to put that on my list!

I've also never tried Mama Melrose. Have they announced if that is remaining in DHS with all the new stuff coming?

Your afternoon at F&G looked so fun!!!! I agree, some of those eggs were difficult to find!!!!! Wish Rob had taken a pic of your outfit!!!

I'm sure there was more I wanted to say but it's early & the coffee hasn't kicked in. Will look forward to more next time you have a chance. Good luck with school!!!

 

[megster1123]

Love this!

 

[vettegirl]

Great update! I agree the Captains Grille is a hidden gem and that pasta dish with braised ribs looks amazing!! I love how you can always get into that place without any advance planning. I still need to get over to MM, we went back to Tutto a few weeks ago and wished we had tried that place instead as I know you guys are huge fans. Love all the flower and garden treats you guys tried, it really has become a little food and wine festival for sure. I love the Donald print, we were fortunate to get all 3 prints and I am going to frame them and put them in our new house we are building. Also congrats on going to get your degree, I know you have to super busy right now

 

[TeresaNJ]

Amazing updates & totally worth the wait! Can't wait to try the Swedish meatballs in Norway!

 

[DLFan123]

All the food looks so good, especially the apps and Captain's Grille, your pasta at HS, and the scone! Why didn't we try that scone?! Well maybe next year...

I love Indiana, and from the looks of it would love that Hangar Bar. It's too bad most people didn't seem to get the theming.

 

[KimmyAnne]

I love reading your posts! I usually don't like reading too many reviews/reports, but you have just the right amount of writing to go along with your pictures

Seems like a fun trip, lots of movies, drinking and food, right up my alley.

 

[kastoney]

Your captains grill dinner looks absolutely amazing. I'm a sucker for all things bolognese and with short ribs sounds delicious. I've heard they have really good breakfast, but dinner wasn't really on my radar. Gonna have to check it out soon.

Love your easter egg/outdoor kitchen hunt. What a fun twist on the typical eat and drink around the world. And totally on fleek

 

[disneyAndi14]

Awesome update!! Thanks to your past reviews I have now had school bread and frushi, loved them both. I had the traditional meatballs at Akerhaus and really liked them, so glad they have them at the bakery now. We are staying at the BWV in October and we have a ADR for Captain's Grille, the pasta looks really good. I thinkI will try it. We ate at MM for the first time this April and we also loved the calamari so good! I eat with my 16y.o DD so we shared the chicken parm. and it was good. Simple tastes for her LOL.

 

[suse66]

Fabulous updates! I am in awe of how many goodies you managed to sample! The Easter egg hunt looks like a lot of fun and a great way to go through World Showcase. Thanks for sharing and congrats on going back to school!

 

[hill6]

Definitely for the better. Going to try Paradiso 37 tomorrow night. Raglan Roado in September. Just arrived at SSR this morning.

I may ask them to do the scallop appetizer as a meal when we are at Captains Grille on Tuesday.

 

[TeeterTots]

Totally enjoying your dining report! Wishing my DH and I drank and ate our way around the world a few years before the kids came! Congrats on working towards your degree!

 

[plutosgirl]

Still loving your reviews. We are doing Mama Melrose for the first time this trip as our family dinner (meeting our girls there to eat) and we planned a "Date Night" starting with dinner at the Captain's Grille (my youngest and I did lunch there for the 1st time last Sept and were pleasantly surprised by how good it was and it was so nice, quiet and relaxed that I thought right then and there...I'm bringing my hubby here the next time we come! LOL) So glad you had great reviews of both!! Can't wait to hear and see more!

 

[Vernie822]

I have had these before and I couldn't resist them tonight. They are so good! I love the breading on the shrimp and the citrus cream is delicious. The chilled cucumber salad goes so well with it also. It definitely seems like the portion of shrimp has gotten much smaller over the past few years, but what can you do.

This looks amazing. I seriously looooove rock shrimp so I am always on the hunt for that type of app! Captains Grille has been on my list to try for breakfast and dinner.

Your drinks @ Jock Lindsey's look delicious.. YUM! I haven't seen it very busy in there (Though we've only walked by twice). I love fun drinks like that and although it's a little steep, totally worth it when you're drinking them in WDW and you can drink out of the glass any day you want at home.

These were amazing once again! I would get these every time without question. The breading on them is fantastic and all three of the dipping sauces are excellent. There is a spicy marina, a sweet sauce and a pesto sauce. The sweet one is my favorite, but they are all really good.

OK we must totally have the same taste, because I <3 seafood and I would've chosen the exact same app/entree, ha! I have been really wanting to try Mama Melrose. The calamari looks fantastic.

For my entree I once again went with my same choice from our last trip and got the Shrimp Campanelle. Campanelle pasta tossed in a four-cheese sauce with broccoflower, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach and sweet onions and shrimp.



This is so, so good. I love all of those veggies. Especially when they are served with seafood and in a cream sauce. Yum! I wanted to try something else, but this was so good last time that I couldn't resist and it did not disappoint this time either.

I'm a sucker for any kind of shrimp pasta, especially with a delicious cheesy sauce. Drooling!

So, I don't really like lemon, but I love scones and this looked so good that I decided to try it. Well, thank goodness I did because this was one of my favorite things I ate on this trip! It was amazing! The lemon flavor wasn't too strong and the berries with the creme added to the scone was perfection. A definite hit!

I really wanted to try this! Glad you liked it.

It's so pretty!

Also really wanted to try these, haha! We didn't have much F&G time.

As soon as he took a taste of it he was not enjoying it at all. He said it wasn't like normal mint chocolate ice cream and was like eating an actual mint leaf. I tried a taste and he was absolutely right. It was kind of gross. I'm sure people must like this, but we sure didn't. You have been warned.

LOL! The apple crumble ice cream seriously looks delicious. I had the salted caramel last year and OMG it was disgusting.. they must have some real authenticity that we don't realize until we order!! I'll keep the apple crumble in mind but make note that the mint chocolate chip tastes like a mint leaf

 

[Belle's Castle]

OMG Where do you put all this food! I wanna do it!! Captains Grill looks sooooo good!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Ok, so we leave a week from tomorrow and you made me make yet another change! I had to add Captains Grille! I know DS will love that pasta! I really had wanted to try for breakfast but I am not going to push my luck in getting either of us up early (we are sooooo not morning people!). So dinner it is! Thinking we will do a progressive type dinner ... maybe start with some sushi at Kimonos, then entrees at Captains Grille then walk off the meal before getting some ice cream at the new Ample Hills!

Love the Egg Hunt picks. DS and I were able to do it a few years back and ended up having the best time! It took us forever to find the darn egg in Japan! Thanks for reminding me of a great memory of a really fun day!

 

[Mich123]

Great reviews! The Easter Egg hunt looks like so much fun. Wish we could've seen your awesome Star Wars outfit! If I said "on fleek" at my house, I'd get major eye roll from the 17 and 20 year olds--you're definitely not too old to say that--and your story is hilarious!