A Very Lurkyloo Christmas is FINISHED! New 3/16: Last Day of the Trip!

[lurkyloo]

Congrats on your Christmas 2011 trip—how exciting!

I am about to fulfill most of your dreams here as I post the next installment of this trippie. I hope I can wrap this baby up soon so I can get crackin' on the Halloween trippie!

 

[lurkyloo]

We bid the Roots farewell for a couple of hours (til our dinner reservation at California Grill), changed our clothes, and sprinted off to the Magic Kingdom for our D23 Cinderella Castle Tour.

Still running…

Where we were headed

They kept us cooling our heels in the tunnel while the group before ours ran long, so we added to our voluminous collection of Dorthea Redmond mosaic photos.

The door is on the right hand side just inside the passageway as you're entering from Main Street (IF you're entering from Main Street—is it ever *not* blocked off?)

I "C" my initial in the door!

At last, the door opened and the previous group was slowly pushed out, their fingers clawing at the doorjamb and heels digging into the carpet.

Our turn!

I can't remember how many of us there were—maybe 8?—but the reason the group was so small is that the suite is so small. This anteroom is where the 24-hour attendant hangs out, ready to service the every whim of the family of pin sharks who kept winning nights in the suite during Disney's (two) Year(s) of a Million Dreams contest. (Pin sharks: "Less toilet paper!!!").

"OK, you pin sharks, the toilet is there for a REASON!"

Now, The Roots had earlier taken what I consider to be the definitive photos of the Cinderella Castle Suite, so I'll sprinkle theirs in with ours just so you can see how absolutely gorgeous the place is when you see it through your eyeballs and not just the lens of a point-and-shoot camera.


After telling us, basically, DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING, the guide lead us into the elaborate elevator. This is the most awesome elevator you will ever ride because it's actually a tiny gallery, complete with display cases and REAL Mary Blair concept art!

 

[lurkyloo]

None of us wanted to get out of the elevator cuz we were still ooooohing and aaaaahing over everything in it, but then the door slid back to reveal THIS!

I was dying to swipe some of this stationery for Jensey!

This magical portrait can show you Cinderella or, like, ESPN SportsCenter…

 

[lurkyloo]

The bedroom is nice, but the sitting room is where I'd be hanging out. The afternoon light made it so inviting!

The view!

Why look, they put my initial up in honor of my visit!

The bathroom is the pièce de résistance. You see a lot of photos of the spa tub, with its beautiful light-up starry-night ceiling, but the rest of the place ain't too shabby either...

 

[lurkyloo]

The Imagineers thought it would be funny if every time you looked in the bathroom mirror, you saw this couple…

Towel Animal: Is it a glass slipper? Or a bird wearing Groucho Marx glasses?

The Royal Throne

I wanna disco tub too!

They even put out a towel for me!

When our time was up, they stuffed us back into the elevator and sent us on our way.

"Hope you enjoyed it, cuz you'll never get in here again!"

We went around the back and tried to spot the sitting room windows.

The Cinderella Castle Suite Tour was definitely the highlight of D23's Magic & Merriment event for us. It's just a shame there's no way any of us will ever get to stay there.


After getting booted out of Eden, we had a little bit of time to kill before dinner, so we wandered around enjoying what little time we had left together before Patrick flew back to LA to build puppets for Pee-wee.

 

[lurkyloo]

I was really excited about our dinner date with the Roots. For one thing, we were introducing them to yet another of our fave restaurants, but also it was going to be nice to have a chunk of time to just sit and talk (my 6-year-old self would shudder to think I'd ever find it interesting to just sit and TALK <eyeroll>). Oh, and also I had a surprise for them.


Here's what they saw on the way back to the Contemporary:

They started with one of those flatbreads, which I refuse to order because it's just bread with cheese on top that you have to PAY for!

Triple Cheese Brick Oven Fired Flatbread: Pecorino, Asiago, and Provolone with Sun-dried Tomato and Arugula Pesto*

*And you thought it was just the décor that's stuck in the '90s!


I had the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli because at least one person in your party must order it or they'll slap one of you in the face.

Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Pesto, Shiitake Mushrooms, and Basil

Patrick had a salad because he is a better person than I am.

Hearts of Romaine with Roasted Garlic Dressing, Marinated Anchovies, Olives, Aged Parmesan, and Croutons

The Roots decided to order what we were splitting, and we were so glad/relieved when they loved it as much as we do!

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Goat Cheese Polenta, Roasted Mushrooms, Zinfandel Glaze, and Sage

 

[lurkyloo]

As we got closer to dessert I got more and more excited for the surprise. Nathan and Jensey had THE most romantic elopement ever, on Christmas Eve, in the woods, with their best friend officiating. However, they never had a wedding cake! Which I think might be illegal... So, projecting my own obsession with cake onto them, I decided that they needed to be surprised with a really over-the-top Disney cake that combined their anniversary and Jensey's favorite holiday.

I scoured Flickr.com for Christmas cake ideas and then had Patrick cut out all the best parts and reassemble them in Photoshop. I asked Nate what Jensey's favorite flavor was (chocolate). I called Private Dining at the Contemporary and was given the email address of the pastry chef, so I sent him a message with the picture, the size we wanted and a request for chocolate cake with chocolate chips in it (to keep it from being dry) and chocolate mousse filling.

When our waiter brought the cake out, Nathensey got very confused, but then when Jensey realized it was for them, she freaked out—hooray!

The cake was AMAZING-looking! Check out the inspiration picture we sent…

And the finished product!

It completely broke our hearts to have to cut into the thing…

Can you tell how much my heart is breaking at the thought of cutting myself a big honkin' piece?

…So our waiter cut it for us!

Classic!

Taste-wise, I thought it was just OK, but everyone else seemed to really like it. The chocolate chips did keep it from being dry—I just thought it was kinda bland. But then, my all-time favorite cake recipe is a milk chocolate one, while most places seem to do dark chocolate, so maybe that's the difference.

The Wreckage

At the end of the meal, they boxed up the cake for Nathensey who, I believe, ate it for breakfast all the next week.

You think this day is over? Think again! Up Next: Carriatrick take on Mickey's Not-So-Scary Christmas Party!!!

 

[mrsksomeday]

Great installments!! Loved the Castle Suite pictures!! Thanks for sharing Roots ones too. Roots pictures make me happy . The Suite is just gorgeous, we were lucky enough to see it at this past December's D23.

You were so thoughtful to come up with an anniversary cake like that for them. It was beautiful, looks like they loved it. I can't wait to see what you did next!

 

[PopArtGal]

Awe yummy cake. One day I'll order myself one hehe I keep doing things for people but never think about me hehe

 

[Charleston Princess]

What a drool-fest of an update, Carrie!!! The photos of the Cinderella Suite are to die for -- I wonder if I could pull a whole fairy-tale bargain and trade my first-born for a night there... . Just getting to see the original Mary Blair (my favorite Disney artist EVER) concept art would be a thrill!

Then, as soon as I wipe my chin, you pull out the pictures of the Roots cake! Art meets yumminess! Great! Love that Tiffany blue color and the "icicles." How sweet of you to do that for them!

 

[Aburns8]

Loved this installment! That suite is a museum! I hope that one day I can spend some time in there looking around. I wouldn't want to sleep there, jut look around. The art work was amazing! And that cake was amazing as well! Too bad that you had to cut into it!

 

[Tiffanova]

That cake is so cute! Love it!

 

[princessjv]

Amazing photos (like usual)...thank you for sharing the roots ones as well!

I love following your amazing experiences through your photo's, it truely makes me feel like I am there!

 

[Princess_K]

I'm so jealous you got to see the castle suite! It is so beautiful. I wish they'd open it up for tours during the day... I would so wait in line for it

Nate and Jensey's cake was too cute! Love the penguins! And so impressed that Disney made it look just like your inspiration pic

 

[IheartDDuck]

I love the pictures of the castle suite. I would love to be able to see it sometime. That cake turned out so cute. That was a nice surprise for them. I would have been heartbroken if I had to cut into it too.

 

[PolyndianPrincessJes]

OK, so COMPLETELY not related to the topic at hand, but is this the Reyn Spooner Up shirt in the background?

And a Halloween TR?!?!?! You're killin' me, woman! We're now anxiously awaiting our return to MNSSHP this year. PM me when it's halfway completed so I can sit and bask in its glory for a while instead of crying each day while awaiting a new installment, hmmmkay?

 

[AGPrincess]

Great updates! I feel like I've walked around Cinderella's Suite now, lol. That writing desk was gorgeous, and the stationery...so wish I could stay there! Does anyone get to stay up there these days, or do they just use it for tours?

Also. that cake. adorable. (especially loved the icicles and penguins!)

 

[burly]

Wow, thank you so much for the beautiful pictures of the suite, somewhere i will probably never see myself. Stunning!!!


You are so sweet to get that cute as heck cake for them. You are really such a softy, arent you?


Can't wait for another installment.
KIM

 

[emmmms]

Beautiful photos of the suite and cake! What fun! So, what were the icicles made of? Just sugar? I would imagine that would take forever to do, but they were so cool!

 

[norybell]

WOW. That suite. Just...wow.

Here's my question: say you won a night in the suite, for some new Disney promotion or another. Would you essentially be locked in from park close to park open? What if you wanted to go jogging at 5 am, or something? Would you have the whole park to yourself?

Cuz that would be pretty sweet!

And speaking of sweet, that cake was adorable!