*Bye Bye black out dates & HELLO summer of Disney! EPCOT CARB-A-THON! [12/8/13]

[rachel09985]

minnie was kind of anti-social to us. maybe she was just tired. or maybe i stunk? either way, she wanted to be nowhere near us. goofy stole the show.

we spent some more time inside innoventions which i didn't mind as it was blazing hot outside.

we made our way to world showcase so i could enjoy a nice cold stella & we could go on a mission.

Haha she looks like she is going to cry in this picture.

 

[JulieODC]

I was interested to hear your take on the banh mi --- we love banh mis, so I was thinking this might be on our list when we visit, but I never hear of anyone ordering it! Might be back off the list - the bread is key!

 

[emmebear]

I was interested to hear your take on the banh mi --- we love banh mis, so I was thinking this might be on our list when we visit, but I never hear of anyone ordering it! Might be back off the list - the bread is key!

i'm use to banh mi's looking like this:

this is from my local vietnamese place & i took this photo a few weeks ago. it's sooo good. the bread is crusty & crunchy but soft in the middle. the ingredients are so super fresh & i have to dip my bread in the home made fish sauce. also the pickled veggies are a must as well. this thing only cost $3.50!



this is the banh mi @ sunshine seasons.

it kind of looks like a pulled pork sandwich on thick bread with some veggies on top. maybe it's adapted for a more americanized palette but if i had ordered this sandwich, i would have been really disappointed. thank goodness there are pictures!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I get what you mean about the banh mi - there's a food truck near my university that makes a great one with chicken or tofu, and it's perfect on a fresh baguette with pickled veggies, spicy peppers, and cilantro. Disney's version looks underwhelming in comparison.

 

[JulieODC]

Oh yeah, that doesn't look very authentic at all....we live in N. Va and have lots of great authentic Asian food in the area, so I think we'll eat it here and skip the Epcot "knock-off"!

 

[jagfanjosh3252]

Joining in. I love Sunshine Season, but sadly don't go enough. So many other choices at Epcot!

The 24 hour party at MK on the 24th was CRAZY from 6pm-12pm, but after that it was dead. So much fun!

 

[emmebear]

I get what you mean about the banh mi - there's a food truck near my university that makes a great one with chicken or tofu, and it's perfect on a fresh baguette with pickled veggies, spicy peppers, and cilantro. Disney's version looks underwhelming in comparison.

very underwhelming!

it's the great banh mi controversy!

kind of like the le cellier poutine controversy.

i'm really craving a banh mi now.

Oh yeah, that doesn't look very authentic at all....we live in N. Va and have lots of great authentic Asian food in the area, so I think we'll eat it here and skip the Epcot "knock-off"!

i think skipping it would be the right decision.

va has amazing asian food....had my top 3 pho experiences in virginia!

Joining in. I love Sunshine Season, but sadly don't go enough. So many other choices at Epcot!

The 24 hour party at MK on the 24th was CRAZY from 6pm-12pm, but after that it was dead. So much fun!

if it wasn't for the soaring FP i probably would have never eaten here. but it's been good both times.

i wish we would have gone to MK during that time!

 

[princess aleya]

The chicken pasta looks really good. I think I will tell Dh that we need to do the monorail crawl. That looked like so much fun Im really going to look forward to that

 

[emmebear]

The chicken pasta looks really good. I think I will tell Dh that we need to do the monorail crawl. That looked like so much fun Im really going to look forward to that

chicken pasta was tasty & the monorail pub crawl was super fun!

i can't wait to do it again either!

 

[emmebear]

updated 6/5/2013


WORLD SHOWCASE!



we arrived to world showcase & it's a tradition of mine to make a beeline here for my first drink:

to get one of these bad boys:

STELLA ARTOIS


this is a really nice pour by any standard. it's super cold and almost $9.00. the stella never disappoints & i am such a happy camper with it.



emme loves the missions with perry & we did the mission in the UK.

AGENT E IN THE HOUSE!



while on a mission, i saw this gorgeous flower:

after completing the mission, it was time for emme to take a nice long nap in the stroller. i love spending time with emme but i also love it when she decides to take a nap during world showcase time. i feel like less of a degenerate drinking while she sleeps in her stroller. i've curbed the stroller many a times while trying to steer the jogging stroller & balance my drink at the same time.


i decided on a "light" lunch as we had reservations at garden grill @ 6pm. it was after the initial lunch rush so the france area wasn't too congested.

i once tried the ham croissant at boulangerie & i didn't like it. i think it was because a) i didn't get it heated & b) i didn't eat it right away.

i don't have much of a sweet tooth & i really wanted to try the croissant again after rachel had gushed over it so much. the line at les halles is kind of tricky in the aspect that there is no line. the CM's kind of just stare at you & then there was an awkward moment of them staring at me & me staring at them. finally, one CM came forward & took my order. she heated the croissant for me & then she stared at me some more. maybe she expected i wanted something else but all i wanted was the croissant. it was an awkward lunch ordering moment but it was worth it.

i then made my way to the slushie stand in france. the drink is pricey but the weather was so hot & i also spotted a few empty benches in the shade that had my name written all over it.

Grey Goose Citron Slushie



i made my way to a nice shady bench. i was about 3 benches away from where aurora was signing autographs & taking pictures. emme was passed out in la la land and i was a pretty happy camper. it was a perfect disney moment. just me, my ham & cheese croissant & my slushie.

A perfect lunch/


the croissant was absolutely divine. it had cooled slightly & the cheese wasn't bubbly anymore but who cares. this thing was delicious. my slushie was beginning to melt so i was enjoying it rather quickly.

slushie time = happy time.


whie enjoying my small slice of disney heaven, i was charging my iphone with this:

i love this thing. my 4S has absolutely horrid battery life & this thing is a lifesaver. it charges quickly & is such a handy gadget.



emme was still sleeping so i made the journey to mexico. it was a nice leisurely stroll & by the time i got to mexico, it was definitely time for a frozen margarita.

of course there would be the group in front of me that ordered a gazillion drinks. i thought i was going to melt it was so hot. i sprayed tons of sunscreen on and patiently waited to order.


finally, i was rewarded.

Frozen Mango Margarita


even though these things are made in bulk, my drink was really strong. it also tasted like mangoes. i really enjoyed it & it was the perfect drink on this hot day.


i continued my walk but was getting a wee bit nervous as our FP window was almost coming to an end & she was still sleeping. i made our way to the land stroller parking & woke emme up. she said she as "ready to fly" so off to soarin we went!

the FP line was pretty quick. we waited about 5 minutes until we made it to our seats. i was hoping to get aisle 1 but we were in aisle 2. i was so excited to ride soarin again.

we had a blast on soarin! afterwards, we headed to see figment.

Figment design by emme.

after figment, emme got a treat!

emme wanted to head back to the seas to see the manatees again. i was just happy to go back into airconditioning!


up next, GARDEN GRILL!!

 

[Gin0818]

Hi Patty- I was excited to find this thread, I have read your other reviews but haven't commented before.I am also a single mom to a daughter, so your reviews give me some good ideas, while I miss the stroller days for the napping I do not miss trying to find it in stroller parking after they have rearranged ... I'm glad to hear Emme enjoyed the agent p missions we plan to try it out in August when we are there.

 

[brunelldara]

My family ad I are coming back November 26th to December 7th. We are staying at POP during our stay. We were going to be split half between two hotels: half of us at AOA and half at POP but they would not let us use my FD offer on the room at AOA so I switched us all to POP. It is my mom, me, my boyfriend, my two sisters, my sister's long time boyfriend and my 5 year old son. All adults are over the age of 25. After reading about the monorail pub hop I talked to my sisters and we may take a night out while my son spends some quality time with his memere. We are so excited to go to WDW but I do not want to wish away the summer either.
I was wondering if you had some advice for travel to 1900 Park Fare. We have a 9 am reservation there for Supercalifragilistic Breakfast. Is it easier/faster to take the bus to Magic Kingdom in the morning and then a bus to the Grand Floridian or should we take the monorail. We were told to leave 90 min. in advance is that true? I do not know if buses run that early since MK opens at 9 that morning. We are flying in and using Magical Express so we will not have a rental car. With so many adults I am worried about the cost of a taxi. I think we would need at least 2 cabs, 3 if they do not let people sit in front. Also I would not have a booster seat for my son. Any suggestions?

 

[emmebear]

updated 6/12/13


THE GARDEN GRILL

i chose the garden grill to be one of the two character meals i had planned for this trip. we've eaten here before & i really loved the character interaction. plus, the food was quite tasty the last time we dined there.

here is a menu of the family style platter you are served during dinner:

we arrived early for our reservation at about 545. our ADR was at 6. we were seated in about 5 minutes. i was pleasantly surprised!

i really enjoy my time with just me & emme. but when it comes to seating, when you are with 2 people, you don't get really optimal seating. we were seated on the lower level but had a very small table and we also shared a bench with another family. there's just so much "stuff" already on the table that it made for a very cramped dinner. i love it when there's a third person because you get a larger table....but alas, this was fine i guess.



our server was a bit frazzled and the table next to us had 4 boys, a husband & a very tired mom. i think they ate an entire cow by the time they left. HA!


she brings over the warm bread.

the butter has maple syrup drizzled on top of it.



also, here comes the gigantic salad...YUMMY!

i love this salad. most of the produce comes from epcot. plus, it had crumpled bacon on top! the best part...it's so lightly dressed that you can actually taste every veggie in the salad. i almost ate the entire bowl myself. i loved it!



our first round of characters were a bit rushed. it was about shift change when they first came around. the second & third encounters with the characters were so much better.

emme shared her purse & rapunzel with all the characters.

onwards to the food:

emme got the children's meal. she didn't ask me if emme wanted it. she just brought it out to me. i'm not quite sure if i had to order this for emme or not. i wish i had asked as emme just ate the macaroni & cheese. it was a $15.99 bowl of macaroni & cheese.



and now the family style platter for me:

the red meat was cooked perfectly & very moist. it was yummy.

the tilapia was once again my favorite protein. i got 2 servings of it. i almost cringe as i wonder if it's the same tilapia that's swimming in "the land" boat ride.


the turkey & dressing was also very good. the turkey was moist & i love dressing.


the only thing i wished was different was how they served me the food. since it was just for me, they crammed everything onto a plate instead of a platter. so everything underneath kind of got mixed up. small thing to complain about but i don't like my food to touch like that. it bugged me slightly.

i also asked for a side of macaroni & cheese. i love disney's nuclear orange macaroni & cheese. it's so comforting & probably something i shouldn't eat but man, it's sooo good. the goldfish are "baked" & really bring nothing to the dish. i picked them all out & then devoured the entire portion.

i totally didn't like my dinner. [ha]
but see how everything is on top of each other? it was hard to distinguish which side went with what protein....the only thing you knew was that the dressing went with the turkey. everything else was just mixed up.



now onto some more character fun:

dale was awesome. he emptied the contents of emme's purse & used everything inside. he talked on the phone & he put on the lip gloss. he also danced with emme & rapunzel. it was so awesome! emme loved every minute of dale.

chip

chip was more of a ladies man. he kissed my cheek & also kissed emme's hand. such a gentleman he is.

and then came dessert:


the kids meal was suppose to come with a bugs life cake which is red velvet cake with cream cheese. unfortunately, this is what we got instead:

i really wanted the red velvet cake.



this was my dessert:

this was my second time having this and again, i didn't like it. it's just not my kind of a dessert.


and finally, the mouse, the myth, the legend...

overall, another great dinner @ garden grill. i really enjoyed the food & the characters interaction was awesome. with my TIW discount, the meal was $55.00 which also included gratuity. it was nice to get out of the heat & have a very relaxed meal in air conditioning.

 

[rachel09985]

My family ad I are coming back November 26th to December 7th. We are staying at POP during our stay. We were going to be split half between two hotels: half of us at AOA and half at POP but they would not let us use my FD offer on the room at AOA so I switched us all to POP. It is my mom, me, my boyfriend, my two sisters, my sister's long time boyfriend and my 5 year old son. All adults are over the age of 25. After reading about the monorail pub hop I talked to my sisters and we may take a night out while my son spends some quality time with his memere. We are so excited to go to WDW but I do not want to wish away the summer either.
I was wondering if you had some advice for travel to 1900 Park Fare. We have a 9 am reservation there for Supercalifragilistic Breakfast. Is it easier/faster to take the bus to Magic Kingdom in the morning and then a bus to the Grand Floridian or should we take the monorail. We were told to leave 90 min. in advance is that true? I do not know if buses run that early since MK opens at 9 that morning. We are flying in and using Magical Express so we will not have a rental car. With so many adults I am worried about the cost of a taxi. I think we would need at least 2 cabs, 3 if they do not let people sit in front. Also I would not have a booster seat for my son. Any suggestions?

I would take the bus to the Magic Kingdom then the monorail or boat to the GF. FYI- there isn't a bus that goes to the GF from MK. I would probably leave 90 minutes early from your hotel. You might get there a little early but the Grand is such a beautiful place that you can look around.

You could take a taxi too, and request a van. Those will have exactly 7 seats (i think?). You would have to request a chair for the 5 year old too. We called for a cab and they brought a carseat for her! It would prob be 20 dollars to the GF.

 

[rachel09985]

updated 6/12/13





this was my dessert:

this was my second time having this and again, i didn't like it. it's just not my kind of a dessert.





overall, another great dinner @ garden grill. i really enjoyed the food & the characters interaction was awesome. with my TIW discount, the meal was $55.00 which also included gratuity. it was nice to get out of the heat & have a very relaxed meal in air conditioning.

What fruit was in that dessert? Our dessert looked different, it was some sort of crumble with oats on top. I loved that whipped vanilla bean cream though, but didn't like the crisp/crumble part.

 

[Gin0818]

When we went to Garden Grill we also really enjoyed, my dd still talks about the characters but I agree while I really enjoyed the meal I did not care for the dessert, I did request a kids dessert for myself though and they had no issues with bringing me one

 

[kanadar]

My family ad I are coming back November 26th to December 7th. We are staying at POP during our stay. We were going to be split half between two hotels: half of us at AOA and half at POP but they would not let us use my FD offer on the room at AOA so I switched us all to POP. It is my mom, me, my boyfriend, my two sisters, my sister's long time boyfriend and my 5 year old son. All adults are over the age of 25. After reading about the monorail pub hop I talked to my sisters and we may take a night out while my son spends some quality time with his memere. We are so excited to go to WDW but I do not want to wish away the summer either.
I was wondering if you had some advice for travel to 1900 Park Fare. We have a 9 am reservation there for Supercalifragilistic Breakfast. Is it easier/faster to take the bus to Magic Kingdom in the morning and then a bus to the Grand Floridian or should we take the monorail. We were told to leave 90 min. in advance is that true? I do not know if buses run that early since MK opens at 9 that morning. We are flying in and using Magical Express so we will not have a rental car. With so many adults I am worried about the cost of a taxi. I think we would need at least 2 cabs, 3 if they do not let people sit in front. Also I would not have a booster seat for my son. Any suggestions?

My family and I stay at the Polynesian all the time. I would suggest taking the bus to MK as rachel09985 suggested and say take the boat, especially if you realize you are pressed for time. The boat from the MK stops at GF first, where as the monorail stops at GF last.

 

[psindone]

I have been reading your reviews and they are great. I have been going to Disney for years and also never tire of it. We don't live as close but still manage to go 3 to 4 times a year. Yes we are DVC members but it took many years before we did it. Your reviews make me want to revisit many of the places that you have eaten.

Thanks for your great pictures.. You do a great job, that's coming from one Patty to another.

 

[Finkerfell]

I love your reviews! Your pictures are beautiful and I love the variety of foods you try! ( Especially of the alcoholic variety)- Oh, and your daughter is adorable! You are so fortnate to make so many Disney memories with her!

 

[emmebear]

I have been reading your reviews and they are great. I have been going to Disney for years and also never tire of it. We don't live as close but still manage to go 3 to 4 times a year. Yes we are DVC members but it took many years before we did it. Your reviews make me want to revisit many of the places that you have eaten.

Thanks for your great pictures.. You do a great job, that's coming from one Patty to another.

thank you for reading along & for the nice comments patty.

i wish i could invest in DVC but right now it's a bit out of my budget. one day, i want to stay at a monorail resort! that would be fantastic. i have my eyes on the polynesian!

I love your reviews! Your pictures are beautiful and I love the variety of foods you try! ( Especially of the alcoholic variety)- Oh, and your daughter is adorable! You are so fortnate to make so many Disney memories with her!

hello & thank you for reading along. i appreciate all your nice comments.

i wish i could post better pictures with my fancy camera but for the summer, it's just me & my iphone.

i want to try different adult beverages on my next trip to disney. it's hard not to chose my favorites each time.

i do feel very blessed to be able to spend time with my daughter at disney. i wish we could spend one solid week there together. that's another dream of mine. i don't even want to think about how much $$ i've given walt disney in the past 2 years.




and here is one of my favorite pictures of me & emme @ epcot. she's actually looking at the camera!