A Fantasy of Food and Wine: A tale of two trips

[teekathepony]

Welcome back! Glad to hear you had a great time!

 

[jedijill]

Friday, October 5 Departure Day!

After a long night of dropping off the dog, last minute packing, and no sleep because I was "too excited to sleep!", the alarm went off at 4AM so I could make my 7AM flight out of DIA. I gathered all my bags, set the alarm, and went outside only to figure out it was 38 degrees and snowing! The forecast had put the cold and snow on Saturday so I was a little surprised. Oh well, I was headed to Florida!!!!

The temp still hadn't dropped all the way to 38 yet when I took the pic!

Dropped my car off and made it through security with no issues. I decided to stop for a little breakfast before the flight. Stopped at Caribou Coffee for a poppyseed muffin and chai latte.

Muffin wasn't awful but the chai latte hit the spot!

The flight left on time but we had to stop to get de-iced (hey, its only October!) but made it on time to Orlando. I made my way to the ME check in and waited for close to 20 minutes for the bus. The bus stopped at WL, Contemporary, Poly, and GF. Thankfully I was the second stop at the Contemporary.

I walked over to BLT from the Contemporary and checked in (it was after 2pm Florida time by now) Of course the room was not ready so I walked out to the pool area to meet my friends that I would be cruising with. It was hot and humid! Coming from 38 degress and zero humidity to 88 and 100% humidty was a shock to my system!

I hung with my friends for a bit but I was starving and the pool snack bar didn't call my name. I dropped my carry on in my friends room and walked over to the Contempo Cafe for a quick bite.

Knowing we had dinner at CG later, I opted for the Chicken Caesar Salad and the Peanut Butter cupcake. I was doing one night of the DxDDP so I picked up my mug and used a snack credit for the cupcake. I walked back over to the BLT pool to see if my friends were still there (they abandoned me!..not really...one family had a photo shoot at the BW and the others had gone back to nap after taking the red eye from CA the night before). The salad was good...typical Caesar salad...and I refilled my mug at the drink station by the pool bar. I saved the cupcake to take back to the room.

My room was finally ready so I gathered up my cupcake and refilled mug and checked out my room. This was my first time at BLT and I really liked it. This is a standard view studio.

Here is the view from my room.

I settled into the room and decided to snack on the cupcake. It was delicious! The chocolate cake was moist and the peanut butter center wasn't a hard mass like the PB cupcake I had a couple of years ago at Starring Rolls. The frosting was a light peanut butter butter cream. I thought the frosting/filling/cake ratio was perfect! Definitely a hit for me. Contempo also had a Apple Spice cupcake that I didn't have a chance to try.

After eating most of the cupcake, I settled out on the balconey to read and relax. A storm rolled in and the rain was practically coming in sideways so I headed inside and took a nap. At about 6 I met my friends at the Top of the World lounge for drinks. My friend Mic forgot her ceramics over at SSR so we took a quick drive over to pick them up and then headed over to check in for California Grill!

Jill in CO

 

[MickeyNicki]

Ooh apple spice cupcake? I have to get over to the CR this trip!

 

[jabead]

That cupcake looks very yummy! Great start to your reviews, Jill!

I can't wait to hear about your dinner at California Grill.

 

[jecskc]

YAY !!! You started !! We are staying at BLT for the first time in April. We are beyond excited !!!

 

[teekathepony]

What a gorgeous view from your room! And a very yummy looking cupcake too!

 

[nanhol]

Joining in! Can't wait to hear about the cruise, the food, the F&W...okay, I can't wait to hear it all!

 

[jedijill]

So sorry I'm taking so much time! Getting back to reality has really been hard...but at least I have another trip to look forward to in just 5 days! I need to get the cruise portion wrapped up and get ready for the F&W trip!

Jill in CO

 

[jedijill]

California Grill

CG has always been one of my favorite restaurants in WDW. I love the food and the view. Tonight was going to be even better since I was sharing the meal with old and new friends.

After everyone arrived at the check in desk, we checked in a few minutes early for our 9:15 reservation. We were taken upstairs in the elevator and told we might have to wait 30 minutes for our table. We were already starving so not looking forward to the wait but figured we would watch the fireworks in the meantime. However, about 2 minutes late we were led to our table on the far side of the dining room (closer to the appetizer/dessert kitchen area.)

Sadly, things went downhill from this point. We were seated and we waited, and waited, and waited, and waited for our server to acknowledge us and take drink orders. After about 10 minutes of being ignored she stopped by and acknowledged us and finally 5 minutes after that we finally got drink orders taken. She returned with drinks in a reasonable time and we all placed our appetizer and entree orders. At that point I noticed that it was almost time for Hallowishes to start so we headed outside to watch. The deck was wet and there was some drizzle still in the air but not too bad. Hallowishes was amazing as usual. We headed back in and sat back at the table. (I was wearing new dressy flats tonight which I planned to wear throughout the trip so I could save on luggage space...new shoes plus water did not make my feet happy!)

We arrived back at the table expecting that our appetizers would appear soon. I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger flatbread.

Bacon Cheeseburger . . . Wagyu Beef, Tillamook Cheddar, House-made Dill Pickles, Heirloom Ketchup

This was really tasty although a bit greasy for me. (Sorry, I took a bite before I remembered to take the picture!)

I don't have the pictures but I know that one of our party ordered the Dragon roll which was HUGE! He loved it. I know that someone else ordered the apple salad that I don't see on the menu any longer. The salad wasn't a hit. Someone else ordered the cheese plate and really enjoyed it.

Sadly, the service issues continued. We all finished our appetizers (it was after 10:30 at this point) and were waiting on our entrees. And we waited. And we waited. And we waited some more. (Remember, we had placed our entree orders at the same time we ordered appetizers.) I finally flagged down the server and asked her when we might be getting our food since it was so late. She made some excuse about because one gentleman in our party ordered 2 appetizers that was holding up the rest of our dinners. None of us understood what that had to do with anything but our entrees finally showed up nearly 1 1/2 hours after we first sat down.

Almost the whole table ordered the Oak fired filet.

Oak-fired Filet of Beef . . . Tillamook Potatoes, Blue Lake Beans, Bacon Vinaigrette, Teriyaki Barbecue

I loved this and glad I ordered it again. The filet was perfected a perfect medium. The potatoes were ok...more like a homemade casserole...the top layer of cheese was hard and I couldn't cut through it so I just ate a few of the potatoes underneath. Mine was served with brussel sprouts which were not bad.

Since I was using my deluxe dining plan, I ordered dessert with the intention of sharing with the table. I am apparently unable to order anything other than the Valrhona Chocolate Cake served with blackberry ice cream. This is so good if you love chocolate!

The server, obviously trying to make up the issues earlier, brought 3 or 4 pieces of the chocolate cake for the other couples at the table. Unfortunately, it was so late by this time that most of the cake went to waste (except the piece that was eaten by my friends 17yo son for breakfast the next morning!)

Overall, the food was great but we hit an off night with the service. They were already closing down the restaurant by the time we got finished and we were all so tired that we didn't try to flag down the manager. We had a nice chance to visit and get to know each other. I'm excited to see what changes that they make during the refurb planned for next year.

Jill in CO

 

[jedijill]

Saturday, October 6 aka CRUISE DAY!!!

After our extremely late meal and the travel day the day before, we made a command decision and decided to cancel breakfast at Kona this morning. I'm sad but there was no way I could handle a big breakfast at 7:30! I was catching a ride with my friends Jeff and Mic and their 2 kids to the port so we make plans to meet at 9 to load the car. I got up and packed everything up and decided to use my last TS credit for breakfast at the Contempo. (Not the best use of a TS credit...in hindsight, I should have used it for lunch the previous day but who knew we would cancel Kona).

I ordered the bananas foster waffles (after hearing the wonderful reviews of the ones at WL!) with bacon and a water with my meal credit and another bottle of water with my other snack credit. I also refilled my mug with some diet lemonade (I should have gotten that apple spice cupcake but didn't want to carry it on the ship...oh, well..I'll get one next week!)

The waffle was a standard Mickey waffle but the addition of the banana foster sauce was really tasty and a nice change from the normal butter/syrup combo. The bacon was the typical thin Disney bacon. Belly full, I met my friends up and we managed to get everyone's suitcases in the back of the SUV and we were off to the port!

After an uneventful 75 minute drive, we saw the Fantasy! She is huge and beautiful! We drove over and unloaded our luggage with the porters and then drove away to hit the liquor store and turn the rental back in. I directed us to the Publix where I found a bottle of wine and some sweet tea vodka. My friends picked up some beer and a couple of sandwiches to snack on. I ate the leftover chips to tide me over.

We headed over to Hertz and missed the first shuttle but made it on the next one. After the shuttle dropped us off at about 12:30, we quickly made our way through security and up to check in. I had a boarding number of 4 but my friends were somewhere in the 30's. I told them to board with me...Mic thought we would get in trouble but I told her to just stick with me! We walked on with no issues and soon we were being announced onto the ship and seeing the huge and gorgeous atrium for the first time!

Since rooms were not ready yet, we headed up to Deck 9 and grabbed a table near Flo's. I grabbed some chicken tenders and fries to nibble on and we washed it down with a drink of the day, Bahama Mama!

Tasty!

Mic and I went downstairs to Royal Court to see if we could get one of her favorite servers. Unfortunately, he had just gotten off the week before to go on vacation. We left our rotation as it was and then headed up to Palo to combine our 3 brunch reservations into one. Palo was able to do that with no hesitation at all. Business taken care of, we headed back down to get our stuff and find our rooms.

I was in room 2511 which is an inside cabin (no split bath). I noticed that the room was a bit smaller than the Wonder and the Magic but there were a lot of improvements as well. The top of the improvement list was the virtual porthole! I loved this and can understand why they are so popular. The VP is actually a broadcast from a camera at the front of the ship and occasionally Disney cartoon characters show up on the screen. Very cute!

I was excited that my luggage was already outside my room so I pulled it in and quickly unpacked. One of the changes that was not an improvement was less drawer space. I used up the 3 drawers in the desk for my own clothes and I know it would be hard with more people. I did find space for everything and I like that the beds are now raised and you can easily store your luggage underneath. Another difference in the cabins is that the beds no long split which I liked because I didn't hit the divide in the mattresses but would be difficult if you were sharing a cabin with someone else. My room had a pull down bunk and the sofa was also a bed I believe.

After my room was organized, I headed down to the spa for the tour and a raffle. I am a sucker for the spa and decided to act on their offer of 10-20-30% of services. I booked a facial at 10% for today and then a seaweed wrap at 30% off and 20% off the bamboo massage I already had booked. Sadly, I didn't win anything in the raffle. I headed back to my cabin and then to the Walt Disney Theater for the muster drill. I do like not having to take the life vests now and I lucked out with another inside, A/C muster point this trip! A difference this year was that the CM's would scan your KTTW card to check you in. Very nice.

After the drill was over, I headed back to the spa for my facial. The treatment room had a beautiful view outside and I was able to see the storms starting to come up as we sailed away. After a wonderful hour of bliss (and a long sales pitch...I forgot to mark no sales pitch on my form) I headed down to the theater to watch the first show. I was able to duck into a seat in the back just as the show was getting started. I wasn't super impressed with the production show but they featured one of the variety acts, Buckets and Boards. These guys are fantastic! I highly recommend going to any of their shows if you get a chance.

http://www.bucketsnboards.com/

After the show, I headed back to the cabin to get cleaned up and ready for dinner. Tonight's dinner was at Animator's Palette. Tonight was the Crush show which was really cool.

I started with the:

Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes
Pasta Purse filled with Truffle scented Cheese and coated with a delicate Champagne Sauce

These were very tasty and not very mushroom-y.

I decided on trying 2 of the soups.

Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup
With Bacon Bits and Chives
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Garnished with Chives and drizzled with Sour Cream

These were both delicious! I was glad I got both. I actually preferred the Butternut Squash soup.

Main course was the:

Ginger-Teriyaki dusted Angus beef Tenderloin
Carved to order on Wasabi Mashed Potatoes with Bok Choy and a Tamarind–Barbecue Reduction

I asked to sub out the sour cream mashed potatoes for the wasabi. My server convinced me to try the wasabi but brought me a side dish of the sour cream mash. I was right and I didn't care for the wasabi mash. The tenderloin was tasty and cooked perfectly medium.

Dessert was the white chocolate brownie cheesecake which I liked very much.

After a delicious dinner, I headed back to the cabin to change and get some sleep!

Jill in CO

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I love the sound of that cheeseburger flatbread at Cali Grill. And the virtual porthole in your cruise room is so cool!

 

[jedijill]

Sunday, October 6 -- Sea Day

Ah, I love a day at sea. It is so relaxing. I started off the morning with the DVC Celebration. I love free swag and free Mimosas. I didn't win the OBC but tried to make up for it with Mimosas. I hadn't eaten breakfast yet because today is also Palo brunch day!

We had our brunch at 11 or so. After our whole group got to Palo, we were escorted to our table and met our server Olivera. She is a doll and so fun. Loved her! She took our drink orders and gave us the tour of the buffet. I really like the layout on the Fantasy as compared to the classic ships. I never felt like I was in people's way when I went to the buffet.

Pizza display

Dessert Table

Gorgeous sugar sculpture on the dessert table

Pastry table

Seafood selections

Antipasti selections

Hot entree selections

More Hot entree selections

This is my first plate of goodies.

We were also served a complimentary mimosa. We also ordered a half grape and half margharita pizza which was delicious!
After giving us time to enjoy the buffet selections, Olivera offered us our choice of hot entrees. They have both breakfast (eggs benedict type dishes) and more lunch selections. I went with my absolute favorite, the chicken parmesean. Oh my, this is fantastic. The breading on the chicken is light, the chicken moist and juicy, and the risotto is really creamy and cheesy.

After licking my plate clean, I hit the dessert buffet and tried a little bit of everything. I found everything to be delicious.

After lingering over another mimosa and good conversation, Olivera offered to take pictures and she took this self portrait.

We rolled out of Palo and I headed back to my cabin to change and then went to the Anyone Can Cook demo in the D Lounge. I watched the chef make an Apple Strudel. It was amazing to watch him work the dough. The sample we were served was yummy too! We were also given the recipe. I may try to recreate it some of these days.

After the demo, I played Bingo and didn't win anything. I met up with one of my friends and we checked out the Captains Reception. There were choices of some sort of cocktail, beer, and white wine. My friend tried the cocktail and wasn't thrilled. I grabbed a glass of wine. After that we hit the theater and found prime seats for Aladdin. This show was fantastic! The Genie was hilarious and had a lot of topical jokes. Very similar to the show at California Adventure.

Tonight's dinner was at Enchanted Garden. The table we were assigned was back in a corner and we couldn't see any of the effects very well. We said something to the Head Waiter and he immediately and graciously found us a new table (not easy with 7 of us!)

I started off with the lobster ravioli. This was light and tasty.

I ordered 2 soups again tonight. The Cream of Green Asparagus and Heirloom Tomato Soup.

The Tomato soup was far superior and I ended up not eating more than a spoonful of the asparagus.

For my main dish, I had the Slow Roasted prime rib. This was really tasty and tender. I loved the double baked potato that was served with it.

I took picture of the pork tenderloin dish as well. I was helping my friends son expand his meat horizons and urged him to try the pork. I think he liked it but skipped the polenta cakes.

For dessert, I had the Bananas Foster Sundae. This was really good!

After dinner, we headed to the Tube to try to catch the adult show of Buckets and Boards. The Tube was at capacity so they had set up a screen in La Piazza. It was packed too and there were some technical difficulties with the video but we could hear. The show was hilarious! Wish we could have been the room to actually watch. The seating situation ended up being a running joke in BnB's show. Boo-Yah to everyone in La Piazza!

After the show wrapped up, it was time for bed after another fantastic day!

Jill in CO

 

[jedijill]

Monday, October 7 Day at Sea

Today was another glorious day at sea! I started the morning with breakfast at Enchanted Garden which was just around the corner from my cabin. EG is buffet for breakfast. I'm not a huge buffet fan but found enough to tide me over.

I loved the fruit and that was mostly what I ate. The eggs were nasty.

After breakfast I played bingo and managed to win the first game..Sadly I had to share with 6 other people so I won enough to cover that session. Better than not winning!

After Bingo finished, I headed back to my cabin to change so I could attend the Remy Champagne Lunch. I had been anxiously awaiting this and was prepared to rush to book this as soon as I got onboard but they opened up online bookings about 2 weeks before I sailed. I was able to grab a spot. Lunch is $50 and you can add on a champagne pairing for $25.

I was ushered into Remy where a group of us met with the chef in the little alcove/room where the meat slicer is located. We were all served a complimentary glass of champagne and a small plate of freshly sliced pata negra (very similar to parma ham or prosciutto) while the chef talked a bit about the slicing machine and then about the dishes we would be enjoying. After the presentation, each diner was led to their seats by a server. The only slip up in Remy's impeccable service was that I got stranded as no one came for me. The Chef was able to flag down the manager who quickly escorted me to my seat. Very small hiccup which in no way impacted my visit. I was seated in the "kitchen" room....at the end is a painting of the kitchen from Ratatouille.

I was quickly greeted and was served some freshly baked brioche with real French butter and 2 types of salt that you could sprinkle on if you liked.

(Pardon my pictures. My camera was not behaving well with bright or low light situations this trip.)
First course that was served was the Gnocchi Chili. Oh my, these were little clouds of air! The chili was a foam that was served on top of the gnocchis. Wow, this was amazing!

Since I was doing the pairings, I was served the first of the 3 champagnes. This course was a Taittinger Prestige Cuvee Rose. This was delicious..crisp and not too sweet.

It paired very well with the next course, the Lobster Cannelloni with Caviar. The cannelloni was a very thin sheet of pasta with a large chunk of lobster inside. This was very good and very light.

3rd course was Sea Bass, Egg, Thai. I wasn't sure what to make of this but it was really delicious. The sea bass is served on a bed of a corn and scrabble egg "casserole." It sounds weird but it was excellent!

I was then served the second of the champagnes the Pommery Gold 04. It was served in a little individual bottle. I was told that this was made for the Millennium and proved popular. I liked it a lot.

The 4th course was the Gascogne Pork Loin with candied turnips. The pork was fantastic. Very flavorful and tender. The turnips were very sweet...although the sweetness was toned down when eaten with the pork. Another delicious dish!

The dessert course was served with the Moet and Chandon Ice Champagne. This is the first champagne designed to be served on ice. I was skeptical but it was really nice. The dessert was a Duo of Chocolate. A luscious chocolate mousse with caramel "pearls" with a chili chocolate sauce. O.M.G. This was fantastic. The mousse was so light and chocolatey and the sauce or more of a broth was chocolate with slight hint of chilis. The little pearls were made from caramel and added a touch of molecular gastronomy to the plate. I would order this every day if I could. Very very tasty!

Recap: This was an amazing event. I think the price is fair for the experience. The food was divine and I am really glad I did the champagne pairing. I will definitely book this again when I get to cruise again.

I headed down to the theater and caught most of the Buckets and Boards family show. I love these guys! After the show, I played another round of Bingo but sadly didn't win again. Later that evening I saw Wishes which was another great show.

Dinner was in Royal Court tonight. I loved the mosaics on the walls.

I ordered the Double baked Spinach and Cheese souffle. I've had this on the Wonder and the Magic before and I still think its really tasty!

Bread was served in these super cute Cinderella's Carriage baskets.

I had the french onion soup but I missed getting a picture. It was really good but so hot that everyone was done before it was cooled down enough to really eat.

I had the Roasted Wild Boar tenderloin for my entree. This was tasty. I didn't care much for the carrot and onion potato cake but I wasn't in any danger of going hungry on this trip.

Dessert was the Gran Marnier souffle. This is sooo good! I love the citrus taste.

Another fantastic day. Next stop, land!

Jill in CO

 

[MrsB1228]

My DH enjoyed that cupcake from Contempo too and I LOVED the apple spice one, it was incredible!!

Love the pics of your room, BLT looks like a great resort and the proximity to the MK can't be beat! I'd love the convenience of being able to walk there.

Enjoying your reviews and I still have more to read, just had to stop and comment on those cupcakes, YUM!

 

[jecskc]

LOVING your reviews !!! You ate a lot of the same meals that I ate at all of the restaurants. We were only able to go to dinner at Palo, though. We hope to snag the brunch on our next cruise. And I hope to talk DH into doing Remy. I love all of your photos and descriptions. And those champagne parings look like so much fun. It looks like you had a really great cruise. Looking forward to reading more !! Thanks so much for sharing !!

Susan

 

[MrsB1228]

Have to comment on your cruise reviews now that I've caught up. I love your cabin, that virtual porthole looks like a great feature. It would make an inside a little less claustrophobic, which is my biggest issue with insides.

The Remy Champagne lunch looks amazing! That dessert is seriously making my mouth water, lol!

Thanks for more great reviews!

 

[jedijill]

My DH enjoyed that cupcake from Contempo too and I LOVED the apple spice one, it was incredible!!

Love the pics of your room, BLT looks like a great resort and the proximity to the MK can't be beat! I'd love the convenience of being able to walk there.

Enjoying your reviews and I still have more to read, just had to stop and comment on those cupcakes, YUM!

LOVING your reviews !!! You ate a lot of the same meals that I ate at all of the restaurants. We were only able to go to dinner at Palo, though. We hope to snag the brunch on our next cruise. And I hope to talk DH into doing Remy. I love all of your photos and descriptions. And those champagne parings look like so much fun. It looks like you had a really great cruise. Looking forward to reading more !! Thanks so much for sharing !!

Susan

Have to comment on your cruise reviews now that I've caught up. I love your cabin, that virtual porthole looks like a great feature. It would make an inside a little less claustrophobic, which is my biggest issue with insides.

The Remy Champagne lunch looks amazing! That dessert is seriously making my mouth water, lol!

Thanks for more great reviews!

Thanks so much for the kind words. The cruise was fantastic! The Fantasy is gorgeous and of course, Disney service never fails to amaze me. I'm hoping to get the rest of the report up this week before I leave for WDW on Friday.

Jill in CO

 

[nanienamou]

Awesome reviews! can't wait to read more!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Oh. My. Goodness!

I would love to go on a cruise but Todd will not go on one, like ever. Even pictures of drool worthy food will not change his mind!

 

[jedijill]

Oh. My. Goodness!

I would love to go on a cruise but Todd will not go on one, like ever. Even pictures of drool worthy food will not change his mind!

What is wrong with Todd???? Remy is AMAZING and should not be missed.

Jill in CO