*4/10*GF Cafe & final thoughts* Dead Lizards & Deluxe Dining: A December Trip Report

[All7OfUs]

Such a beautiful photo essay! I like how you gave us a progression and told us how they do it with a show. I didn't know that.

LOVE me some Caseys!! I wouldn't even kiss my DH after kraut and chili on my dog!

ruh-oh!! Troubled waters comin' up...

 

[serrotak]

The castle pics are awesome and that hot dog looks great too...

 

[Native NYer]

Beautiful castle photos.

And the Casey's hotdog looks so good. I wish I had one for lunch today.

 

[shannn]

Really pretty pictures of the castle lighting! Call me bad but I can't wait to read about your bit of drama!

Coming up soon....

Your pictures are GORGEOUS!! My favorties are from California Grill!

Thanks. I'm still learning how to use my husband's fancy camera!

I have just read your entire report! Yes, I burned the rice and had to recook it because I couldn't pull myself away but it was worth it!! Thanks for sharing and I can't wait for the rest!

Oh my gosh, Sorry it was my fault you burned dinner! I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm sad to be almost finished!

Don't worry, you're not the only one!

How can you ever tire of looking at it, though? It's so gorgeous!

Not looking forward to "the tiff" but it's not a true Disney TR without some drama!!

Kathy

Honestly, the castle at Christmas was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. No pictures can really do it justice! I could have just sat and stared at it changing colors forever. Funnily enough, we thought the orange color was kind of ugly in person, but it turned out pretty in the pictures.

It's only 6:30am right now, but I wish I had that right now!

Oh no!

Denise

It was a yummy hot dog! I could go for one right now too.

Thank you thank you THANK YOU for posting the lighting ceremony in such detail. It made me feel like I actually saw it. If I scroll down fast enough, it's like it's lighting up right before my eyes

I've been seeing a lot of raves about Casey's. I don't know why, but I've never had the urge for a hot dog. Are they really that good? I think I ate there once before as a last resort but I had chicken nuggets or something. That was back in '05 when I didn't know about the importance of ADRs

For me, it wasn't the hot dog that was so incredible as much as the toppings on it!

I'm so glad you liked the castle lighting pictures. I was wondering if it was overkill when I was posting all of them, but I loved seeing the lighting ceremony!

Love, Love, LOVE the pictures of the castle all lit up!! BEAUTIFUL!!! I cannot wait to see this in Dec!!! Thank you for all of the pics!!

The castle was amazing. I'm so glad I got to go at this time of year.

Such a beautiful photo essay! I like how you gave us a progression and told us how they do it with a show. I didn't know that.

LOVE me some Caseys!! I wouldn't even kiss my DH after kraut and chili on my dog!

ruh-oh!! Troubled waters comin' up...

I took SOOO many pictures, but it was fun to put them all together into a series. I really enjoyed the show.

The castle pics are awesome and that hot dog looks great too...

Thanks!

Beautiful castle photos.

And the Casey's hotdog looks so good. I wish I had one for lunch today.

It's all TarzansKat's fault that I had to have Casey's. She has drooled over them so much that I just had to try for myself! Yummy!!

 

[erika412]

The castle pictures were beautiful. You didn't go overboard at all!

 

[Dizneydawn]

Hi Mrs. Gorgeous!

Love all the pics from your posts and am laughing at you two globe trotting around the world to make the most of every day!

I hate when you are not well at Disney. Not fun but glad you made it toyour cruise! I want to do one now! John I ma sure made it better than if it were a quiet trip!

That hot dog at Casey's is making me hungry too!

I have had an hour plus to catch up on some TR's this morning so that is what I have done while Dan sleeps in!

I can't wait to see you in a bit over a month!

 

[shannn]

The castle pictures were beautiful. You didn't go overboard at all!

Thanks!!

Hi Mrs. Gorgeous!

Love all the pics from your posts and am laughing at you two globe trotting around the world to make the most of every day!

I hate when you are not well at Disney. Not fun but glad you made it toyour cruise! I want to do one now! John I ma sure made it better than if it were a quiet trip!

That hot dog at Casey's is making me hungry too!

I have had an hour plus to catch up on some TR's this morning so that is what I have done while Dan sleeps in!

I can't wait to see you in a bit over a month!

We had such a great time, and it was such fun to get to really see the World Showcase!

The wishes cruise was so interesting. I learned/ saw so much. I'm not sure it's the best place for fireworks; honestly, I'm starting to think that nothing beats just being in MK for that. But it was a fabulous way to see the waters and learn things I'd never known. Plus I'm all about seeing the different resorts, and I got to at least see Fort Wilderness & the Wilderness Lodge from the water. It's got me itching to see WL up close!

Hey, when is that date again? I can't wait to see you either!!

 

[shannn]

Hopefully, I still have some readers who've been waiting patiently!! Things have been crazy around here lately. I have a cold and I haven't been sleeping so I have been grabbing naps whenever I can which really is cutting into my DIS time. But, here's the chapter you've all been waiting on:

Some background: Courtney and I had been talking DVC the whole time we'd been in WDW. My grandmother died a year ago, and I stand to inherit some money from her estate. With that money, we plan to buy into DVC. My grandmother loved to travel so I think DVC would be something that she would really appreciate me spending her money on. At that time, we were still really up in the air about which resort to choose as our home resort.

One of the things I had really been excited about was the chance to stay in a DVC resort for this trip. A good friend of ours had rented me the points and I wanted to check out Old Key West. While I absolutely loved the room and think it's perfect for people who need two beds, the location was a little remote for me. I'm the type of person who loves to be in the middle of the action. When we stayed at the Poly, I would gaze out the window at our view of the castle for hours. I'm an apartment looking out over the city kind of girl. Courtney, on the other hand, loves remote places. She used to live in a cabin in the woods with bears in her backyard. (and loved it! I would have been asking where the nearest mall was...) OKW was just her speed. She loved the quiet remote feeling. The other resort she really wanted to see was Wilderness Lodge.

Well, the Beach Club had been our favorite when we visited it a few years earlier, and I was so excited to share it with her. We got on a bus to the Yacht Club. I had never been on that side of the BC/YC complex and I was thrilled to get to see it. When we walked in the door, I thought it was beautiful. All old wood, a beautiful tree, and these guys in the lobby:

Courtney didn't really seem that impressed, so we hurried back to the entrance to the Yachtsman and got our pager. I walked outside on the back porch so that I could share the pool area with her. I don't think there's anything prettier than Stormalong Bay at night: (I totally stole this shot.)

So, we kept talking and somewhere in there Courtney used the word "stuffy" to describe the YC; and I used the word "boring" to describe OKW.... and that was all she wrote. I started crying. Courtney's voice got shorter. And 2 tired chicks = 1 silly tiff. OF COURSE, I wasn't saying that Courtney was boring...and OF COURSE, she wasn't saying that I was stuffy. But at that moment, those words were all it took for everyone to get their feelings hurt. And...right about then... the pager went off....

I quickly starting wiping my tears (I am such a cry baby! And of course I'm not a pretty crier. I'm a red-faced, stuffy-nosed, puffy-eyed crier!) We both had realized that we had hurt each other's feelings completely without meaning to, and that we were taking this way too seriously. I'm pretty sure that choice of resort shouldn't be a friendship ender! As we followed the poor hostess to our table, we were trying to end this misunderstanding. It took a lot of deep breathing and a lot of apologizing, but we finally did come to the conclusion that we were both exhausted, sad that our trip was coming to an end, and our emotions were completely heightened by everything that was going on. After a heartfelt talk, we agreed that perhaps we weren't going to agree on resort choice and that was okay! (I sound like Barney, huh?) Can't have a girl trip without a little drama, right??

That out of the way, we had to order:
For an appetizer, we both got the Lobster Bisque - Maine Lobster and Creme Fraiche finished with Brandy.

It was okay. It had a fishy taste to me (I'm not a fan of fish), although the creme fraiche was yummy on top of it.

I don't have a picture of them, but they brought us rolls~ sourdough and onion. Courtney loved the sourdough rolls and I loved the onion rolls. I could have eaten a million of those things!

We both had the Yachtsman Filet Mignon - 8-ounce Filet with Mashed Potatoes and a Red Wine Sauce for an entree.

Courtney got hers medium well, and she said it was cooked perfectly. I got mine medium and it was a little rare for me. The mashed potatoes were obviously homemade and really good.

We also both had the Creme Brulee with fresh berries and rolled chocolate for dessert.

It was a very thin custard in this brulee, mostly crust. I crumbled up the chocolate in it, and it was pretty good. But I kind of wished I had gotten the Valrhona Chocolate instead.

Courtney also got a birthday cupcake:

It was a cute little one bite cupcake.

All in all, this was an okay meal, but definitely not my favorite. I'm not sure I'd waste 2 TS credits on it again when there are such better choices. Now that Shula's has been added to the meal plan, I'm wondering if it's a better steak house choice (besides, of course, Le Cellier).

After dinner, we wandered over through the Beach Club lobby and checked out their Christmas tree and decorations.

gingerbread carousel!

From there, we caught the bus back to the Magic Kingdom to close out our night.

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I'm here Shannon!
Sorry you are sick with a cold...

I think you must have been very tired to let a difference of opinion about resorts get to you.
I know what you mean, I like to be in the middle of what's going on too, but I do love OKW at the same time.
I'm fickle that way....

Will you be staying at the same place when you go back at Christmas?

I'm interested to know what you are thinking about your DVC purchase, feel free to bounce those thoughts off of me! I'd be happy to listen!

 

[PamelaKay]

Wow. Thanks for the awesome trip reports. This one and the one from October. I have spent the last 2 hours sitting on the sofa reading them. My BFF turns 40 in May. Sadly, her husband is in Afghanistan. Her husband and I wanted to surprise her with a trip to WDW for her birthday, but like you, half the fun is in planning. The 2 of us have been to Disney together 2 other times and had so much fun planning. We still wanted to surprise her some how so we booked deluxe dining with a stay at CBR then I actually cancelled that ressie and booked us at Grand Floridian. That is the surprise part. Reading your trip reports have given me so many great ideas. Thanks!

 

[Native NYer]

Glad you were able to move forward after your disagreement. Exhaustion will do it every time.

We were considering Yachtsman. But after your review, I think we're going to pass.

 

[shannn]

Wow. Thanks for the awesome trip reports. This one and the one from October. I have spent the last 2 hours sitting on the sofa reading them. My BFF turns 40 in May. Sadly, her husband is in Afghanistan. Her husband and I wanted to surprise her with a trip to WDW for her birthday, but like you, half the fun is in planning. The 2 of us have been to Disney together 2 other times and had so much fun planning. We still wanted to surprise her some how so we booked deluxe dining with a stay at CBR then I actually cancelled that ressie and booked us at Grand Floridian. That is the surprise part. Reading your trip reports have given me so many great ideas. Thanks!

It was great fun to surprise my friend even though I ended up telling before earlier than I had planned. I think the GF will be a great surprise!! I would love to stay there. Are you going to eat there? I loved Narcoosee's and the Grand Floridian Cafe (review for there coming up)! You should start a pretrippie. Thanks for reading both reports~ they were very different trips, but both so much fun!

Glad you were able to move forward after your disagreement. Exhaustion will do it every time.

We were considering Yachtsman. But after your review, I think we're going to pass.

If you watch the Amazing Race, there's always a point where the teams get hit by the "killer fatigue" and I think Courtney and I got it that night. Luckily, we've been through a lot together and it takes more than that to get us down.

Yeah, Yachtsman was just all right to me. Not my favorite by far. Le Cellier had way better steak for only 1 TS. And Narcoossee's & Cali Grill both had better atmosphere.

 

[shannn]

I'm here Shannon!
Sorry you are sick with a cold...

I seem to keep a cold all winter. I'm so sick of it!!

I think you must have been very tired to let a difference of opinion about resorts get to you.
I know what you mean, I like to be in the middle of what's going on too, but I do love OKW at the same time.
I'm fickle that way....

We were both exhausted, and we both wear our emotions on our sleeves too. I really love being in the middle of everything, although the laid back feel of OKW was really relaxing. (Somehow, I don't think of Disney as relaxing though.

Will you be staying at the same place when you go back at Christmas?

We haven't gotten that far on the whole Christmas trip decision. I'm still trying to convince Sam that it's doable.

I'm interested to know what you are thinking about your DVC purchase, feel free to bounce those thoughts off of me! I'd be happy to listen!

Okay, so here's a brain dump:
We are leaning prettily heavily toward Boardwalk right now. We can get BWV resale for a price in the $70s per point, while BC is going for the $80s. While Stormalong is definitely a pull, I'm not sure it's worth that much more (especially when not buying there isn't a guarantee that we won't ever get to stay there). HHI and VB are definitely out. Although the price is tempting, I don't think we'd be happy as a family staying at OKW or SSR (the buses everywhere just really bother us.) BLT is awfully pricey and the theming doesn't do anything for Sam or I. What's left? Oh, Wilderness and AKL. We considered both, but AKL is in the $80s too (and the location?) and WL's theming doesn't appeal to us either.

So, we really did get it down to BCV or BWV and the price seems to make more sense at Boardwalk. There seem to be a fair number of contracts that we're looking at (in the 250-300 point range), but we're still waiting for the estate to be closed (there was a question caused by a typo in the will (!) so it has to go before a judge). We haven't made any definite decisions, but that's our thinking right now.

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Okay, so here's a brain dump:
We are leaning prettily heavily toward Boardwalk right now. We can get BWV resale for a price in the $70s per point, while BC is going for the $80s. While Stormalong is definitely a pull, I'm not sure it's worth that much more (especially when not buying there isn't a guarantee that we won't ever get to stay there). HHI and VB are definitely out. Although the price is tempting, I don't think we'd be happy as a family staying at OKW or SSR (the buses everywhere just really bother us.) BLT is awfully pricey and the theming doesn't do anything for Sam or I. What's left? Oh, Wilderness and AKL. We considered both, but AKL is in the $80s too (and the location?) and WL's theming doesn't appeal to us either.

So, we really did get it down to BCV or BWV and the price seems to make more sense at Boardwalk. There seem to be a fair number of contracts that we're looking at (in the 250-300 point range), but we're still waiting for the estate to be closed (there was a question caused by a typo in the will (!) so it has to go before a judge). We haven't made any definite decisions, but that's our thinking right now.

I say, go for the more points....
Have you stayed at BWV before?
I'll bet that if you try you can get what you want at the 7 month window or go on a wait list.
We've had good luck with that. Our last wait list just came through for BLT and then we put ourselves on another for a castle view for our 4th of July trip. We'll see what happens there.

 

[Happydog]

Hey! That was a great post! I enjoyed reading about your dinner at the Yachtsman, b/c I have been wondering about it. I think you are totally right that any traveling with friends and or family can have its moments! AND you guys probably were tired! SO I am glad that the evening ended positively, and I am sure you both got a great sleep.

RE the resort choice, it is a hard thing to pin down... we all have different tastes, and like WigD said, there is something great about all of them!

 

[courtney881]

I have to add that Shannn and I have had a quite a few giggles over the whole "resort drama" It's amazing what exhaustion can do to a person! I think I slept for about 2 days when we got home. But the exhaustion was sooo worth it!
To the pp planning a surprise trip for their friend, you can't imagine how amazing it is to have someone surprise you with Disney!!! Truly I can't even put it into words! Have fun planning and enjoy the moment!
As for the December trip.....I'll talk to Sam and tell him how "doable" it is Shannon!!!! Especially if you have DVC, an AP and TIW!!! Soooo doable!!!!!!!

 

[KathyRN137]

I can absolutely understand how fatigue could lead to such a silly tiff between friends! Glad you were able to make up so quickly!

I am one more who votes for getting as many DVC points as you can!

BTW, we've had five DVC vacations so far and have only stayed at our home resort (SSR) once... The general feeling is "Buy where you want to stay" but I am hoping to try them all eventually!

We have only had difficulty getting our "first choice" at a non-home resort at seven months and that was totally understandable because we had been trying for the popular Wilderness Lodge in December.


Kathy

 

[shannn]

I can absolutely understand how fatigue could lead to such a silly tiff between friends! Glad you were able to make up so quickly!

I am one more who votes for getting as many DVC points as you can!

BTW, we've had five DVC vacations so far and have only stayed at our home resort (SSR) once... The general feeling is "Buy where you want to stay" but I am hoping to try them all eventually!

We have only had difficulty getting our "first choice" at a non-home resort at seven months and that was totally understandable because we had been trying for the popular Wilderness Lodge in December.


Kathy

Really?? Now I'm back to wondering if we should get even more points and go for OKW or SSR! I kind of thought I should go with someplace that we'd be want to stay for a home resort. Hmmmmmm

 

[manntra]

What would a trip be without a little bit of drama? Maybe it was a temper tummy thing too....I get that way when I am hungry! Watch out!!
I say go for the most points that you can I have stayed at the Boardwalk but not the villas....can't be too terribly different. AND I think they just did a refurb It's a great location....and you like the hustle bustle With DVC I have only stayed at SSR and AKV....didn't like SSR....way too sprawled out and didn't like the buses...AKV is my home resort and I have stayed there the most...I like the remoteness and animals..etc but I do plan to try them all ( I think I have the time...what is it 2057? ) BLT is next on my list and I never really cared for the decor/design in the beginning but it has really grown on me Any decision you make will be a good one

Tracy

 

[michellem1118]

Really?? Now I'm back to wondering if we should get even more points and go for OKW or SSR! I kind of thought I should go with someplace that we'd be want to stay for a home resort. Hmmmmmm

Well, I'm certainly going to make your decision harder, LOL. We own at SSR & AKV. We're taking a trip for spring break, in just under 4 weeks. We booked it less than 4 weeks ago, at SSR with a wait list @ BCV. Our wait list came through before our Magical Express tags were printed. So - busy week, booked less than 8 weeks out, and we ended up at BCV. It's definitely doable.