Aulani to WDW: The Lurkyloos' Anniversary Vow Renewal: THRILLING CONCLUSION 8/5!

[lurkyloo]

The new Rapunzel restrooms were not ready yet, so we shot what we could.

Wow, that is gonna be one TINY restroom!

Finally we gave in and wandered back to Enchanted Tales With Belle, willingly standing in line for 50—FIFTY!—minutes because we seriously could not think of anything better to do. I’m pretty sure I’ve never waited in a 50-minute line for ANYTHING at Walt Disney World, even an E-ticket. That’s how bored we were with New Fantasyland.

Patrick was drawn to the lights like the shutterbug he is...

It took forEVER to get into this show, but at least we weren’t waiting in the blazing sun. When we did finally get into the first room, we shot like a million photos because we were so excited to be looking at something new for the first time in almost an hour.

 

[lurkyloo]

This mirror’s magical power is the ability to make you look dumpy!

Crowd: “Magic mirror, sure, whatever....”

Crowd: “What the...?!!!!”

The magic mirror’s transformation into a doorway is pretty dang awesome! Maybe not 50-minutes-in-line awesome, but still...I haven’t gotten that “how did they DO that?” feeling since we saw Shiriki Utundu at Tower of Terror in Tokyo Disney Sea. Little did I know, however, those 30 seconds were the highlight of Enchanted Tales With Belle.

OK, to be fair, the animatronic Madame Wardrobe and Lumiere are both really, really well done. But they are wasted in a show that’s basically just storytime at your local library. This guy leads the group in “auditions” for the roughly 200 audience-participant roles in the story Belle tells. If you roar or squeak or sing loud enough, you too get a flimsy cardboard prop to wave around when you get your cue during the story.

I landed the coveted role of Madame Wardrobe herself by belting out a few notes in my best faux operatic warble.

Little girl: “I was ROBBED, I tells ya!”

There is a slight resemblance...

After basically everyone in the room has a role in the show, Lumiere makes his entrance to announce Belle.

Belle and the Beast trip the light fantastic...

At the end, everyone who was in the show/room gets a photo with Belle and Lumiere. They also hand out PhotoPass cards with the dozens of images shot during the show, in case you prefer to have strangers in your vacation photos.


Belle: “Best. Wardrobe. EVER!!!”

 

[lurkyloo]

I also scored a bookmark that guarantees I will always be part of Belle’s favorite story.

Amazingly, it was STILL not time for our Be Our Guest reservation, but we checked to see if we could get in early anyway, and this time we could! We still had to wait about 10 more minutes for them to come and get us, but at least they let me use the restroom inside while we waited (just don’t try peeking into the dining room... they get cranky!).

We were seated right smack in the middle of the ballroom. Maybe it feels different if you’re up near the windows, but with that many tables, that close, and no tablecloths or much of anything soft to dampen the din, it feels like you’re eating in a tarted-up cafeteria.

I think I would’ve gotten a better first impression if we’d been seated in the West Wing. At least you can hear yourself think in there... until the thunderstorm happens, anyway!

 

[lurkyloo]

Yeah, I liked you better as a beast too, Beast!

The snow effect is very cool but not that easy to see even up close. The glass is kinda rippled or something.

We’ll be seeing you a little later, dessert cart...

We went halvsies on the Sauteed Shrimp and Scallops and Thyme-scented Pork Rack Chop.


Sauteed Shrimp and Scallops - with seasonal vegetables served in puff pastry with a creamy lobster sauce

Thyme-scented Pork Rack Chop - with au gratin macaroni, seasonal vegetables and red wine au jus

The food was not bad, it just wasn’t great either. It’s better than at Cinderella’s Royal Table, so I guess I can’t complain about the high prices. I was surprised that the sauteed shrimp and scallops weren’t fishy and the pork was actually moist. But it wasn’t as good as the pork at Biergarten, and the macaroni and cheese was pretty much identical. I think I could have made both better at home, and I’m not exactly Julia Child. Oh, and everything had way too much pepper in it.

The Beast marches through the middle of the room at regular intervals so that diners can take blurry iPhone shots with one hand while shoveling down grub with the other.

Man, that guy can MOVE!

Why, yes, I WAS wearing earplugs!

For dessert we tried a triple chocolate cupcake that was just kinda blah and a dreadful “cream puff” with a bare, doughy shell and bland chocolate mousse inside. Putting a waxy chocolate square on top does not make it a chocolate cream puff. Where’s the glaze?

We’d paid the bill and were standing up to leave before I realized that no one had asked us to try The Grey Stuff, despite our pins and numerous mentions of our anniversary. Much to her annoyance, I hunted down our server and requested it. It was super awkward, but who knew when we’d ever be back?

The Grey Stuff turned out to be about 1 1/2 tablespoons of mousse that tasted like some kind of artificial flavoring. I’ve heard it might be cookies ‘n’ cream? Hard to tell....

I guess the whole “white tablecloths at dinner” thing was another lie D23 Expo told me...

At dinner, Beast hangs out in the lunchtime ordering area so you can get a photo with him on the way out.

 

[lurkyloo]

“No more grey stuff for YOU, Missy!”

“What are YOU looking at?!”

“Oof! Sheesh! ... A little help...?”

When we got out of the restaurant, it was cold! So everything we did after that was at a run. First we dashed over to the Little Mermaid standby line so Patrick could see it.

There are some nifty little film tricks in the queue that help entertain you while you wait, mostly these crab guys who scamper around.

 

[lurkyloo]

Then we dashed over to Storybook Circus to see if we could get some good nighttime shots of the place.

Oh, Patrick!

We always find at least one “big fig” we like when we check Main Street, but who has the room...?

We finally packed it in and went back to the Contemporary for.... surprise cake! I always love working with Chef Brian there because he’s really good at translating the very specific ideas I usually have. Of course I couldn’t have known that our Aulani cake would be so dreadful, but it was great to have this one make up for it.

I emailed the chef about a month or so out and sent pictures of a vaguely Moroccan-looking cake I liked that captured the feel of our wedding but was different from any of our previous anniversary cakes.

Inspiration Photo

He determined that the pattern of fondant cutouts was too intricate to be achieved on a standard mini cake, so I splurged on a sort of maxi-mini cake—a 3-inch layer atop a 5-inch layer. After we worked out the details, I called Private Dining at the Contemporary to place my order. Two days before we arrived, I called back to confirm it, and they had all the details exactly right.

The cake was waiting for us when we got back to the room that night (we'd asked for a 10pm delivery time), and it was GORGEOUS! Not only that, it tasted fantastic! I love how WDW cakes have real old-fashioned buttercream under the fondant, not that whipped Chantilly nonsense they use at Disneyland and Aulani.

For flavors, I went with Patrick’s favorite tier of our wedding cake, red velvet with cream cheese buttercream frosting (not cream cheese mousse, which is too cheesy for me). We ate it on the balcony while watching the Electrical Water Pageant again.

I love that they covered the standard cake board with matching blue fondant for better presentation of the cake.

Up Next: Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings’ Bridal Showcase!

 

[dukehoopsfan]

Carrie - your anniversary cake is beautiful...great choice on the design!

 

[lurkyloo]

Oh yeah! And here are some videos of Lumiere and Madame Wardrobe!

 

[lurkyloo]

Carrie - your anniversary cake is beautiful...great choice on the design!

Didn't they do a great job? We could hardly bear to cut into it.... but boy were our taste buds happy when we did!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

It took a while, but I'm back from Hawaii and all caught up! Reading about your trip east to Florida made me jet-lagged all over again!

 

[jedijill]

We did Belle and LM during the FL previews last fall. I'm glad I saw Belle once bu there is no way I will ever do it again or stand in a line for it. LM was ok but not spectacular. I was more impressed with the hidden Mickeys and hidden Nautilus in the queue.

Your cake is gorgeous! So simple but so beautiful! Glad it tasted better than the Hawaii cake.

Oh, and thanks for the link to your hubby's puppet company. They do some cool work!

Jill in CO

 

[blabbermouth]

Ugh, I have been meaning to watch Best in Show for-everrrrr. Must. Do. It.

I LIKE test track, but don't have strong feelings either way. I will miss the crash test dummy on the wall that's the size of an average 13 year old or whatever, because it's my size. I'm so short!

DHS, you let lurky down! Makes me wonder why they call them FRIENDSHIP boats. Should be friendship golf carts.

That's a healthy looking squirrel.

Love that Little Mermaid queue! A billion times better than DCA.

Nice light shots, Patrick. Disney has the best lights. Maybe you only notice them if you're extra super bored though.

Yay, CAKE!

 

[Disneybuckeye]

I glanced at the picture of Patrick with the Dopey painted on the wall. With his hand covering the K, I was like OMG! What is Disney encouraging? Obviously not enough sleep on my end.

Glad you got the grey stuff. I am so tired of ADR stalking over the years that I am over BOG. If I eat there someday then great, if not oh well. Tangerine Cafe makes me happy anyway for a lot less.

What can I say about ETWB. Thirty minutes of my life I will never get back. Maybe someday if I ever have grandkids..............Or maybe not.

I also think most of the Ariels look creepy on her ride. Maybe if she had real hair instead of molded fiberglass that would help.

I hope everyone else loves these two attractions though so they are not in front of me on the good rides.

This was a heck of an update Carrie and I loved all the pictures. Your cake is gorgeous. We hit the big 25 in November and might have to spring for one for our October trip.

As always, thanks for sharing.

Mary Kay

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[aboveH20]

So glad you're enjoying it! Patrick does indeed make puppets—both for his company, Swazzle, and for Jim Henson's Creature Shop. That is so cool that you learned that stitch! I always say that Patrick's a better seamstress than I am, yet somehow I'm the one who always ends up sewing on the buttons around our house.

I spent some time poking around his website. Cool puppets and what a creative company -- very swazzly.

Maybe someday we can crash a Disney wedding together!

Oh good, a plan. It's always best to start with a plan.

(Did you ever "mention" to the Aulani folks what a horrible job they did impersonating a cake?)

 

[lurkyloo]

It took a while, but I'm back from Hawaii and all caught up! Reading about your trip east to Florida made me jet-lagged all over again!

Hope you had a swell time in Hawaii!

We did Belle and LM during the FL previews last fall. I'm glad I saw Belle once bu there is no way I will ever do it again or stand in a line for it.

I feel the same way. I wish Disney were reading this so they'd think about the repeatabilty of the attractions they've been adding.

Ugh, I have been meaning to watch Best in Show for-everrrrr. Must. Do. It.

Oh my goodness, yes! Tonight! Drop whatever you're doing and stream it!

Nice light shots, Patrick. Disney has the best lights. Maybe you only notice them if you're extra super bored though.

You might get a kick out of this two-part blog post covering the lights of the Magic Kingdom in my kind of exhaustive detail!

Glad you got the grey stuff. I am so tired of ADR stalking over the years that I am over BOG. If I eat there someday then great, if not oh well. Tangerine Cafe makes me happy anyway for a lot less.

I'm with ya on both counts!

I hope everyone else loves these two attractions though so they are not in front of me on the good rides.

This was a heck of an update Carrie and I loved all the pictures. Your cake is gorgeous. We hit the big 25 in November and might have to spring for one for our October trip.

Oooh! I hope you do, and that you share pix!

Great pics!

Thanks a heap!

(Did you ever "mention" to the Aulani folks what a horrible job they did impersonating a cake?)

Well, I did mention it to my planner in passing, but the poor girl was so distraught over all the other things that went wrong with our vow renewal that I didn't want to dwell on it.

 

[librarygeek]

I'm sorry Under the Sea ruined your plans! I had a similar experience this past trip with Toy Story Mania. I had been at MK extra magic hours until 1am the night before, but I still dragged myself out of bed to make rope drop at Hollywood Studios so I could ride Toy Story. And then it was closed the entire time I was there! Unfortunately I had plans to go to MK that night for the 4th of July fireworks and it was my last day, so I never did get on Toy Story.

Sorry new Fantasyland didn't impress you. As a big Beauty and the Beast fan I love what they've done! And Enchanted Tales with Belle, while mainly for kids, is so cute that it's one of my new favorite attractions I've done it four times since it opened (same for LM) so at least for me they have repeatability! I also loved our food at Be Our Guest. And the costumes of the characters at the meet and greet in Storybook Circus are really neat! I haven't been in there yet.

Your cake is beautiful! I hope it tasted as good as it looked!

 

[lurkyloo]

I'm sorry Under the Sea ruined your plans! I had a similar experience this past trip with Toy Story Mania. I had been at MK extra magic hours until 1am the night before, but I still dragged myself out of bed to make rope drop at Hollywood Studios so I could ride Toy Story. And then it was closed the entire time I was there! Unfortunately I had plans to go to MK that night for the 4th of July fireworks and it was my last day, so I never did get on Toy Story.

Argh! That's the worst! But that's great that you enjoyed New Fantasyland! I can see how nifty it would be for a big Beauty & the Beast fan to see environments from their favorite story in real life. So, of the four times you did Enchanted Tales, did you ever get to be in the show? I'm trying to think what would be the best part to get....

 

[lurkyloo]

Today was the big day: Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings’ Bridal Showcase! I’d been wanting to interview my favorite makeup artist, Patricia LeJeune, for an episode of the Disney Wedding Podcast, so I’d hit on the idea of hiring her to do my hair and makeup that morning so we could chat in person. As it turned out, Patricia squeezed me in before working the same wedding the Roots had come to Orlando to shoot!

She showed up with an assistant, which made it easy for us to conduct the interview while I was being primped. I don’t have any photos of this part, though, because Patrick had graciously volunteered to head over to Hollywood Studios for rope drop and get me those photos of the Captain Jack Sparrow experience (or whatever it’s called) before the crowds showed up.

He’s so adorably thoughtful—check out the first few photos he took for me...

Back when it was Prince Caspian, Uh, the Legend of Prince Caspian, or whatever, and before that, when it was a snowy scene from Narnia, this spot was a little-known event venue. Since I am convinced that Disney will still happily take your money to do a small party here, I wanted some nice shots that really show off the space—not an easy task in a place that dark. Here’s what Patrick got...

Sigh... what a romantic place for a wedding..... tee hee!


What the WHAT?!! Oh, maybe he shot this from the monorail on his way back...

It was so nice having Patrick accompany me to the bridal showcase this time—and not just because I could leave all the picture-taking to him. He helped keep me on an even keel (there was a lot of sugar, after all), and he found us seats for the PACKED David Tutera presentation, and he was a charming conversationalist with all the brides and grooms we met. I’ve been his date to a lot of work-related parties and events over the years, but now that I think about it, this was the first time he’d accompanied me to one of my wedding things, and it made the whole experience so much more fun!

Fellow Disney bride and Biergarten fan Fran snapped this photo of me and Patrick having so much more fun

What follows is a revised version of the post I did on the bridal showcase when I first got back, but with more photos of us, personal opinions, and possibly a cameo thrown in...

This time around, there were fewer components than at 2011's showcase—no dresses to try on, no fashion show, no panel of experts, no luncheon with David Tutera—but the main event was bigger and more focused. They also improved the "talk to a planner" option, moving from brief meet-and-greets with the promise of an email to blocks of one-on-one time for asking questions and getting real answers.

 

[lurkyloo]

The 2013 showcase was held at the Contemporary resort instead of the Grand Floridian. The extra space and the addition of a dedicated room for appointments with planners was great. The bland main ballroom would have benefited from more draping and uplighting, though, which would have doubled as a showcase of the types of decor available.

My favorite part is always the display cakesand minicakes! The folks on the DIS Boards' Cake Chatter thread are always looking for cake inspiration, and this year's might be the best yet.

Click here for a slideshow of all the mini cakes: http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t63/lurkyloo/DFTW Bridal Showcase 2013/9f2541ad.pbw


I was interested to see this R2D2 mini cake, which appeared to be a direct response to the dreadful R2D2 groom's cake the Grand Floridian made for a DISer a few years ago that ended up on CakeWrecks... Interestingly, everyone who's called them up since the showcase to request this mini cake has been told they can't actually make it due to licensing issues...

FAVORITE!

Cinderella's Glass Coach was on hand for photos...

As was... Headless Cinderella?!!

There was a check-in table for appointments with wedding planners, and then a separate room set up for the meetings.

It was a nice example of some of the types of furniture you can bring in for an event, including (inexplicably but awesomely) FIRE!

Registration for the event included a bag full of brochures, plus bride and groom pens.

Alfred Angelo had a table, more sample gowns, and a drawing for a gift bag.