A Birthday Trip without a Birthday - 2/16: Conclusion and Bonus Birthday Tea

[englishrose47]

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag Katharina!

Ich hoffe, Sie haben eine ganz besondere und wunderbare Tage mein Freund, gefüllt mit allem, was Sie wollen, um es perfekt!

Wow Marv you are bi lingual!! Well at least I think you areCould be all giberish, but sure looks good although I speak enough to know you are wishing Katarina a Happy Birthday and that it is perfect !!! I second those emotions Katarina

 

[nodnol]

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag Katharina!

Ich hoffe, Sie haben eine ganz besondere und wunderbare Tage mein Freund, gefüllt mit allem, was Sie wollen, um es perfekt!

Wow Marv you are bi lingual!! Well at least I think you areCould be all giberish, but sure looks good although I speak enough to know you are wishing Katarina a Happy Birthday and that it is perfect !!! I second those emotions Katarina

Thank you very much! I had a wonderful birthday: Magdalene was visiting for the weekend and we had High Tea at one of Berlin's very posh hotels yesterday

 

[lovealldisney]

Happy Birthday Katharina! Hope you had a wonderful day!

 

[brookelizabeth]

A bit late (again!), but HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHARINA! I hope you had a wonderful day!

I've been meaning to try some more of the Swolphin restaurants, I just added Fresh and The Fountain to my "WDW List".

We really enjoyed Olivia's for breakfast as well, that whole resort just has this lovely laid-back feeling.

 

[englishrose47]

Thank you very much! I had a wonderful birthday: Magdalene was visiting for the weekend and we had High Tea at one of Berlin's very posh hotels yesterday

High Tea sounds wonderful

 

[Flossbolna]

I really love Oliva's. They have some multigrain bread that is fantastic. Such a good breakfast and I love the laid back feeling.

Jill in CO

We did not get any bread as we were there for breakfast. I am campaigning for a meal at Olivias for my next trip, but my friend is not so convinced.

I have to agree the eggs benedict at Olivias are AWESOME!!! I was very pleased with the restaurant !!We took a group there once and the chef was increduble for our special diets. Made special pancakes , customized the potatoes etc !!We were really impressed !!!

I think it is a place that has a very homely atmosphere, like the neighbourhood family favourite. That shows in the whole attitude there, I think.

I LOVE pancakes too... I could eat them everyday but then I'd probably gain 50 pounds... I love dipping my bacon or sausage in the maple syrup too... YUM..

Hmmm should I have DD bring you a box of pancake mix when she visits??? All you need to do is add Oil, Eggs, Water....

Nice reviews Magdalene... Thanks for sharing..

Yes, I better stay away from eating pancakes everyday - even though I guess the breakfasts on the cruise will be fattening anyway, whether they include pancakes or not!

Thanks for the offer of the pancake mix, but I managed to make very nice pancakes with just the basic ingredients in the past. I think one could even buy pancake mix in the "foreign specialties" section at higher end supermarkets.

But I might contact you about some spices between now and June!

A bit late (again!), but HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHARINA! I hope you had a wonderful day!

I've been meaning to try some more of the Swolphin restaurants, I just added Fresh and The Fountain to my "WDW List".

We really enjoyed Olivia's for breakfast as well, that whole resort just has this lovely laid-back feeling.

I never thought I would like OKW - but we were there twice on that last trip and both really liked it. It just seems so peaceful! When I was at DLP last spring, we stayed at the Marriott Vacation Village at DLP (it is actually on the grounds where the DLP DVC was supposed to be built, but when DLP was struggling so much, they sold the land off to Marriott) and it has a very similar vibe, but French country instead of Florida island. It was so wonderful there!

And, yes, make sure to try the Swolphin restaurants! I thought they were great and came at a slightly lower price point as the comparable Disney places. And they give you a very nice DVC discount! We were not too impressed with the food options at Picabu though, but we did not try anything, just weren't impressed with the menu, but that might have been just that we wanted something different from what they had at that time.

 

[Flossbolna]

High Tea sounds wonderful

It was quite wonderful! I uploaded a few pictures to share.

Here is the the birthday girl perusing the menu - and deciding that we would go for the one that included a glass of fancy sparkling wine:

The tea included tea obviously, we even got free refills and could have chosen a different type of tea. We were served three courses on a three tiered platter thing. The next picture is of our first course - sandwiches, already served on my plate. They advertise this tea as something special as it is being served on Meissen china. This is one of Germany's oldest and most prestigious china manufacturers. I guess one plate was many times what we paid for our tea!!!

And then I also took some pictures of the other two courses as they were served. First the scones:

Those were delicious and very buttery (which was quite unusual) and we got a generous portion of clotted cream to go with it! Usually I find that outside of England they tend to be far too economical with it!

And then finally the cake course: Raisin bread, raspberry tarts and white chocolate truffles:

I am quite impressed with the quality of these pictures. I used the food setting on my new camera for these and despite very adverse lighting and not using the flash, the pictures turned out quite ok, only slightly blurry. I guess I need to practice a little bit more before my next trip!

 

[Flossbolna]

So that brings us to the end of this TR. All in all it was a wonderful trip with my sister and definitely worthy for a 40th birthday celebration.

The trip was also rather different from my previous trips to WDW. Since I now know that I will be back to make use of my DVC I was less concerned with seeing everything (also since there weren’t really that many new things built by Disney and I knew the old things well enough by now). I also did not have the pressure of making sure that my sister had a really fabulous first trip to WDW.

Meeting people I had gotten to known through the internet certainly added a new layer to the trip. I had done it in the past, but we really got to spend quite some time with Marv and Jonathan as well as our other friends whom we had dinner with at Tchoup Chop. This was different from just a brief meet in the park or at the resort. It was really great and I think Katharina and I made some very good new friends!!

It’s also the first time that I left the “Disney bubble” while staying at WDW. I have had trips that incorporated other parts of Florida, but never any of the other sights in Orlando. I really liked that and I think in the future I will venture out more while I am at WDW.

I am really happy with the choice of my home resort for DVC. I did something which on the DVC board is always something people advise against: I bought sight unseen. I had visited the Boardwalk, but never stayed there, so it was a bit of a gamble, but it turned out well! I truly love the resort and would be happy to stay there on many more trips. But I also want to try so many of the other DVC resorts, so who knows when my next stay at the Boardwalk will be…

I am not so sure whether I like the fall for a WDW trip as much as I tought I would. The many MNSSHPs cause the MK to close early on so many nights that it makes it difficult to schedule evenings there to see the fireworks. I am also not sure I would want to pay for party tickets every time I am there in the fall. I also found the Food & Wine festival much less to my liking than I expected. I mentioned it before that I thought that it cluttered the World Showcase. And I also think that while I enjoy good food, I also enjoy the atmosphere it is presented in. Having difficulty finding a place to eat your tasting from a paper plate with plastic cutlery is not very atmospheric for me.

So, since after the 2010 trip I decided no more trips in winter as it might be too cold and I know that summer is definitely to warm and humid for me – this leaves spring. I really hope that this will be my perfect time for WDW! So this is the plan for this year. Unfortunately, that trip will be without my wonderful sister. But we both hope that we get her to return to WDW sooner than later – somehow!!

As for the new trip: you won’t see a PTR – my travel companion does not like the idea of our travel plan details being publicly known beforehand. But you will be able to find a trip report once I am back. I will be travelling in late spring with a friend who lives in Southern Florida and the trip will consist of three elements: a stay at AKL Jambo House – I splurged and got us a one bedroom villa -, a cruise on the Disney Wonder from Miami and some time in Southern Florida – I am counting on getting in some beach time there! All in all it will be nearly three weeks, so I have no idea how long that TR is going to take me to write!

 

[englishrose47]

Great conclusion to your TR!!! I love October in Disney!!I do however agree that the F & W clutters up the World and makes Epcot super busy!!! I think I would enjoy it if by myself and NOT wi9th8 Individuals !!

The High Tea looked splendid !!

 

[Poolrat]

Great wrap up to the TR.


I totally agree on the DVC thing and being able to really slow down after I purchased.

I like F&W but have also been enough times to know when to avoid it becaus of the crowds. I like the variety and only being committed to a small portion so if I don't like it I have not blown a whole meal price on it.

Of course I still need to work out the whole - what is in this question before this year. I think I will email when the food and wine website comes up and try to get out in front of it. I know last year they had a special email to inquire about allergies but I never got around to it.
I just really need to know what is in it and then I can plan.



Have a blast on your next adventure. Looking forward to hearing all about it.

 

[eandesmom]

Getting caught up today! I enjoyed your review of Fountain and Fresh, need to check those out at some point, they sounds very appealing!

Meeting people I had gotten to known through the internet certainly added a new layer to the trip. I had done it in the past, but we really got to spend quite some time with Marv and Jonathan as well as our other friends whom we had dinner with at Tchoup Chop. This was different from just a brief meet in the park or at the resort. It was really great and I think Katharina and I made some very good new friends!!

It's a pretty wonderful thing and definitely lasting!

I am really happy with the choice of my home resort for DVC. I did something which on the DVC board is always something people advise against: I bought sight unseen. I had visited the Boardwalk, but never stayed there, so it was a bit of a gamble, but it turned out well! I truly love the resort and would be happy to stay there on many more trips. But I also want to try so many of the other DVC resorts, so who knows when my next stay at the Boardwalk will be…

That truly is the beauty of DVC, being able to try so many different wonderful places. I bought sight unseen at SSR so we'd have the treehouse advantage but it was definitely staying at BWV that had me wanting our add on to be there. I do think that if you know you like the BW area then it's really not all that risky to own there, more a matter of preference between BC and BWV.

I am not so sure whether I like the fall for a WDW trip as much as I tought I would. The many MNSSHPs cause the MK to close early on so many nights that it makes it difficult to schedule evenings there to see the fireworks. I am also not sure I would want to pay for party tickets every time I am there in the fall. I also found the Food & Wine festival much less to my liking than I expected. I mentioned it before that I thought that it cluttered the World Showcase. And I also think that while I enjoy good food, I also enjoy the atmosphere it is presented in. Having difficulty finding a place to eat your tasting from a paper plate with plastic cutlery is not very atmospheric for me.

It does clutter it and weekends were a bit ugly but I do still like it. I think for me I tend to view it more of a series of snacks, than a dining experience so I am ok with the ambiance. I do agree though that the party impacts MK quite a bit and if that wasn't part of your plans, other times of year would be better. I did like the culinary seminars we did and felt it added a lot to my F&W experience.

So, since after the 2010 trip I decided no more trips in winter as it might be too cold and I know that summer is definitely to warm and humid for me – this leaves spring. I really hope that this will be my perfect time for WDW! So this is the plan for this year. Unfortunately, that trip will be without my wonderful sister. But we both hope that we get her to return to WDW sooner than later – somehow!!

Spring is wonderful, the weather is just perfection. And Flower and Garden didn't seem to me to be nearly as crowded as Food and Wine. I think you will have a wonderful trip, it sounds absolutely lovely!

As for the new trip: you won’t see a PTR – my travel companion does not like the idea of our travel plan details being publicly known beforehand. But you will be able to find a trip report once I am back. I will be travelling in late spring with a friend who lives in Southern Florida and the trip will consist of three elements: a stay at AKL Jambo House – I splurged and got us a one bedroom villa -, a cruise on the Disney Wonder from Miami and some time in Southern Florida – I am counting on getting in some beach time there! All in all it will be nearly three weeks, so I have no idea how long that TR is going to take me to write! [/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

 

[lovealldisney]

As for the new trip: you won’t see a PTR – my travel companion does not like the idea of our travel plan details being publicly known beforehand. But you will be able to find a trip report once I am back. I will be travelling in late spring with a friend who lives in Southern Florida and the trip will consist of three elements: a stay at AKL Jambo House – I splurged and got us a one bedroom villa -, a cruise on the Disney Wonder from Miami and some time in Southern Florida – I am counting on getting in some beach time there! All in all it will be nearly three weeks, so I have no idea how long that TR is going to take me to write!

Thanks so much for sharing your adventures with us Magdalene! I can't wait for your new report! Something new and different for you and sounds wonderful!

Loved the tea pictures! Everything looked really yummy especially those raspberry tarts! Looks like you had a lovely visit with Katharina. I can't wait to visit with you both in 2014..

It's funny you mentioned spices, as that is what I was thinking also when DD comes to visit. I was going to ask what it is you wanted. Do you still have a catalog? I can send one if you wish. I was thinking of sending some to her host family as well. Not sure what to get though??? Thoughts???

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Happy belated birthday Katharina! Sorry I missed it earlier.

So that brings us to the end of this TR. All in all it was a wonderful trip with my sister and definitely worthy for a 40th birthday celebration.

Magdalene, I really enjoyed the report! It was interesting reading a TR that wasn't in strict chronological order.

The trip was also rather different from my previous trips to WDW. Since I now know that I will be back to make use of my DVC I was less concerned with seeing everything (also since there weren’t really that many new things built by Disney and I knew the old things well enough by now). I also did not have the pressure of making sure that my sister had a really fabulous first trip to WDW.

Sounds like you and Pat (Poolrat) have both experienced DVC Zen now.

Meeting people I had gotten to known through the internet certainly added a new layer to the trip. I had done it in the past, but we really got to spend quite some time with Marv and Jonathan as well as our other friends whom we had dinner with at Tchoup Chop. This was different from just a brief meet in the park or at the resort. It was really great and I think Katharina and I made some very good new friends!!

I'm really glad to got to meet up with them! I've found the folks here on the DISBoards to be uniformly wonderful people.

So, since after the 2010 trip I decided no more trips in winter as it might be too cold and I know that summer is definitely to warm and humid for me – this leaves spring. I really hope that this will be my perfect time for WDW! So this is the plan for this year. Unfortunately, that trip will be without my wonderful sister. But we both hope that we get her to return to WDW sooner than later – somehow!!

I'm sure each season has its good points and bad. The important thing is that they do enough things right to make you want to keep coming back.

As for the new trip: you won’t see a PTR – my travel companion does not like the idea of our travel plan details being publicly known beforehand. But you will be able to find a trip report once I am back. I will be travelling in late spring with a friend who lives in Southern Florida and the trip will consist of three elements: a stay at AKL Jambo House – I splurged and got us a one bedroom villa -, a cruise on the Disney Wonder from Miami and some time in Southern Florida – I am counting on getting in some beach time there! All in all it will be nearly three weeks, so I have no idea how long that TR is going to take me to write!

Well, PTR's are overrated anyway.

Anyway, sounds like a great trip! 3 weeks sounds heavenly.

By the way, any good tips for dealing with jet lag?

 

[brookelizabeth]

Excited for you and your upcoming trip! We love going to WDW in the fall because of the lower crowds, even though, I do agree-it can be hard to schedule due the parties. But! The spring is wonderful!!!! The F&GF is, hands-down, my favorite. I'm not hugely into the F&WF either, it just seems very overpriced to me...and most of the items I can find outside my front door living where I do. It sort of lost it's appeal/wonder for me. I do like the idea of it all though, giving people a chance to try things they otherwise might not! I think I will also enjoy the mix of the F&GF with the food & beverages this year.

So glad you enjoyed the Boardwalk too! I remember you asking me about it. We seem to have similar opinions on most anything - so I figured you might like it. It's a beautiful resort, and the location is superb. We haven't stayed at the Beach Club or the Villas at WL yet, but so far the Boardwalk is my favorite, followed by Old Key West.

Very much looking forward to your next TR! If you remember, please alert me when you start it in case I miss it!

 

[podsnel]

The tea looked beautiful! Happy belated birthday!

So glad yu enjoyed olivia's- we are hoping to have breakfast there May 3rd, before we move over to AKV!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Happy very Belated birthday to Katharina!

That tea looked absolutely wonderful... I love that kind of thing...


It does sound like you have some lovely plans between the stay at AKL... love, love, your cruise and some further exploration of Florida... I'm starting to feel the desire to do some further exploration in Florida myself... when you know you're going to come back... I think you feel less necessary to see everything in Disney every single time...

You are the third person who's mentioned Olivia's recently... it was not on my radar but I now feel I really should check it out...

 

[nodnol]

When was this trip again??? Sorry everyone that it took me so long to add my conclusion and thank you for all the birthday wishes.

As a good travel companions, I have to agree with most of what Magdalene concluded:

1. It was a wonderful trip with my sister.

2. It was much more relaxed which I enjoyed a lot even though I didn’t know when I’ll be back.

3. It was great to meet with internet friends who became „real“ friends!

4. Leaving Disney for Universal was a great idea and thank you very much, dear sister, for inviting me to Universal. The only problem: Now there are two locations I have to visit when I finally get to Florida again. And next time I would really like to stay at one of the Universal hotels to have a more relaxed visit.

5. I am also very happy with Magdalene’s choice of home resort for DVC. I was not so sure about it before, we didn’t spend much time at the Boardwalk the last time. But it really is a great location with so many parky and places in walking distance. But it still had more of a normal hotel feeling to me compared to AKL.

6. I agree on the Food & Wine Festival. I think I would enjoy it more, if it would be there for only one day of my trip, to taste all the things that seem interesting to me, and then enjoying an emptier and cleaner Epcot and nice sit down meals for the rest of the trip.

7. I also agree that it is unfortunately that Magdalene’s next trip will be without her wonderful sister and I do hope that I will return…

As much as I enjoyed WDW, the last trip really left me with the big wish to explore more of the country. The last time I was on a non-Disney vacation to the US was in 1992… So last summer Remy (my DH) and I finally went on our big trip to the US to Kentucky and the South West. And it was my best vacation ever!!! Sorry, WDW… We want to go back and DH agreed to make a stop at Disney property as well!!! But we don’t have any definite plans yet. I guess 2014 or 2015 either the West coast and Disneyland or WDW and a road trip to Kentucky, but we’ll see. But maybe there is another sister trip in the future or a trip do DLP! Until then I will have Magdalene’s next trip and the Dis.

Thanks to all of you who didn’t abandon this TR although it was one of the slowest moving ever…

 

[glennbo123]

I'm sorry that I was behind on your thread Magdalene and Katharina!

But, I learned that you love American pancakes...how refreshing that there's at least one food item that you crave "our version". Usually, European food is quite frankly, better. If you ever visit us here in southeast Pennsylvania, I know what to make for you.

I love eggs benedict too, but it's been years since I've had it.

Happy belated Birthday Katharina! Your Tea looked like a lovely time. Very Grand Floridian-like.

Very insightful wrap-up Magdalene (and Katharina, with your additions), as always. I appreciate the learnings that you have with every trip.

I'm sorry that Katharina won't be able to join you for your next adventure, but I know she'll get there again someday.

I understand your travel partner's misgivings about posting information beforehand. Sometimes I wonder about it myself!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

So last summer Remy (my DH) and I finally went on our big trip to the US to Kentucky and the South West. And it was my best vacation ever!!!

Cool! What did you get to see?

 

[nodnol]

Cool! What did you get to see?

We started in Kentucky, visiting with friends close to Elizabethtown. Remy stayed with them more then 20 years ago as an exchange student. So there were many places for him to re-visit, but we also went to Mammoth Caves and on a distillery tour. I don't know whether I ever mentioned it on your TR, how I impressed Remy at Mammoth Caves how I knew everything about the desinfection of shoes, hehe. The Dis is educating! Oh, and about the Slugger factory Thank you very much
We then flew to Las Vegas and drove to San Francisco - but not on a direct route: via Valley of Fire, Hoover Dam, Painted Forest NP, Momunent Valley, Natural Bridges NM, Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Cedar Breaks NM, Capitol Reef NP, Wendover, Great Basin NP ...... and San Francisco. We didn't spend as much time as we wanted at most of the parks, but it was too hot for hiking anyway - at least for us. That's why we have to get back...