Celebrating 20 years at WDW - Bonus features, A few posts from May, Updated 9/11

[franandaj]

Which was...?

Evil Elsa, and then she turned her sister evil....

Jo had to eat humble pie last night over inside Trader Sams lol...

Did you show her your photographic evidence?

Sadly I don't have her recipe but one my cousins may, I'll reach out to her.

I have a recipe that Fran found for me. I liked it, but she wasn't as happy with it. I have a feeling there isn't one that will please us both. She wants a sweet sauce and I want a more savory.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Did you show her your photographic evidence?

Oh yes! She was amazed!

 

[franandaj]

Oh yes! She was amazed!

 

[franandaj]

Long "real life" update ahead, skip to the text in blue to get to the Trip Report.

So I have good news on the apartment front. Tuesday I rented the vacant place! If you read the chatter last week, I messed up taking an application and the tenants ended up backing out. Well this was actually a stroke of luck. The first tenants were barely qualified, but once they backed out another gentleman who had seen the place earlier in the week, submitted an application. On his own he was well qualified, and a nice guy to boot!

The Contractor got a look at the next vacant place and it's pretty much a mess! The tenants let their kids have free range with their crayons. Thank goodness the place has hardwood floors. If we had carpeting in there I'm sure it would be trashed as well. The only time I've seen walls in worse shape was when we had an older woman who lived there at least a dozen years and she was a chain smoker. After her daughter removed the pictures from the walls you could still see their outlines in the tobacco filth. However it's nothing that can't be fixed with a mess of TSP and primer. They will be starting on that next week. Say buh-bye to that security deposit though.

Remember the gas leak? This turned out to be a weird situation. Skip this paragraph if you aren't a DIY network kind of person. Well the water heater is in a closet in the laundry room, until about two months ago the door was vented in only one place. The laundry room is poorly insulated, so in summer it's 15° warmer than the rest of the house, in winter it's 15° colder. I began closing the laundry room door once Olga didn't need to stay in her “wing” of the house. That's how the problems with the water heater began. At first the pilot light just went out. Then once they vented the door at the bottom (the top was already done) the gas started to leak. This took some serious detective work to figure out. Our heat/AC return vent is in the laundry room about 4-6 feet from the water heater. Well when you shut the laundry room door, it creates negative pressure. Essentially the laundry room is in a vacuum while the heat/AC is running, thus sucking the gas from the heater into the house. Pretty much our only solution (that makes sense) is to install a tankless on the exterior of the house. Cha-ching! there goes another couple grand. And don't get me started on the leak in the jacuzzi skimmer.

And while all this work will be going on, Fran and I will be going on our last cruise (until we get the old place done). That is progressing but still not done yet, but more on that later. Planning for this cruise has thrown a bit of a curve at us. I didn't realize that the Oscars are taking place during our cruise. It turns out that the show might start just as the late dining is getting underway. I found out that Cabanas serves dinner between 6:30-8:30, so there is another option for a sit down meal besides Palo, Remy or the Main Dining rooms. We won't know when or where they're showing until we get our Navigator the first night. However in the interest of potentially skipping dinner in the MDR that night, I called Disney and put in a rotational dining request for Rotation #1 (Royal Court, Animator's Palate, Enchanted Garden, RC, AP AP, EG) That means we’ll be eating in each of the restaurants once and Enchanted Garden twice (two additional nights beyond the Oscars we are skipping the MDR for Palo and Remy). So with this rotation we’ll be skipping the Rotational Menu in Animator’s, which is becoming my least favorite of the rotational menus. The night we are in Animator’s will be the Star Wars Menu. So many details!

Fran also reminded me that the Flower and Garden Festival is going on when we get to WDW. I haven't even looked at the kiosks menu, and we have way too many ADRs to enjoy the kiosks. Then again we are there on a weekend, so they will be busy. This is another wrench thrown into our plans!

So back to the old apartment. The shot glass collection is all packed up. The wine is halfway removed from the cabinet and we took another load of stuff to the thrift store. We won't be done before the next trip, but stuff is steadily disappearing from the apartment. The biggest worry is statues of the three hitchhiking ghosts. The are rather bulky and we just don't have a space for them. They need to be photographed and put up on eBay, but we keep forgetting to bring the camera over. Other than that our furniture is slowly leaving either via Craigslist or Thrift Store.

So back to the TR!

We had just said “goodbye” to Pam after visiting a few kiosks around World Showcase. Back in the room, we had some dressing up to do! I showered first since my hair takes longer to dry and I refuse to use a blow dryer. Fran got showered and ready. I don't know where we lost all the time. We were supposed to be leaving the room at 5:15 but somehow we didn't get on our way until closer to 6PM. Rather than take a bus to MK and monorail to GF, we decided to take the friendship boat to DHS and a bus to the GF. That plan went out the window when there was already one scooter in line for the GF. Instead we got in the line for the Contemporary and then we would take a monorail to the GF.

Once we were on the bus, Jill let us know that the monorail was experiencing delays due to a sick train that needed to be taken off the tracks. Hence the reason we didn’t take a bus from the Beach Club to the MK!

Once we got to the Contemporary we went up to the Monorail boarding platform only to find out that we would be experiencing a 10 minute delay at the Poly because of the sick train. Jill was already at the restaurant and assured us that we were OK. They knew we were having transportation issues. I did get this shot of the sunset on our way there.



Finally we were underway and headed to the GF. Once we were seated we could finally relax.





Here are the menus, sorry they are so blurry. I would have taken another picture, but I have no idea what happened to the menus once we got back home! In our old house, I had a drawer where I put all the fancy menus, but I don’t have one of those in the new house, so they’re floating around somewhere, and no I don’t mean like Madame Leota’s head!

Jill went with the 10 course menu.



While Fran and I went with the 7 course menu, although Fran swapped in some extras from the 10 course menu.



All three of us opted for the wine pairings. Before I get started let’s just say that everything was incredibly good. The only thing picky about my eating is that I don’t like different flavors of food to touch. Other than that, I will eat just about anything that someone puts in front of me (with a few exceptions). Each little plate that they brought us was just spectacular, and the flavors become more complex over the evening to challenge your palate.

First came the Amuse bouche, I believe that it was Sea Bass sashimi with Creme Fraiche.



Jill’s Amuse Bouche was a Caluliflower Panna Cotta with American Caviar. Not being a fan of Cauliflower I was happy to have gone with the 7 course menu. I borrowed these pictures from Jill and for some reason they are at a much smaller resolution than my own.



The bread is always my downfall. Because I am usually starving by the time I arrive, it takes all my restraint not to dig into the bread. If I do, then I use up too much space on bread and can’t finish the dessert!



And here is the butter (which was hidden under the little dome on the table.



Fran and I had a choice on this one. Octopus with Baby Beets or Rohan Duck with Soba Noodles. I don’t mind Octopus, but I do not like beets, so both of us went with the Duck.



Jill’s first course was King Crab with Cucumber and Dill. This is where Fran got creative and ordered one of those for us!



On our menu, we had a choice of Popcorn Crusted Diver Scallop, Panisse and Blood Orange or Wild Turbot with toasted capers and preserved lemon. So we ordered one of each and switched halfway through. Both of us were pleased with this choice!





While Fran and I were eating our three second courses, they brought out a Diver Scallop with Baby Bok Choy for Jill.



I think Fran and I were either still working on ours, or we took a break when Jill was also served the Wild Turbot with capers and lemon. I believe it was the Turbot that was served with the horseradish on a sharkskin paddle, but we have no photographic evidence of it!

Next they brought us Truffle Bread.



I didn’t get a picture of the butter evidently, but Jill did!



On our next course, Fran and I had a choice of Chicken or Rabbit. She had a pet rabbit. Fran does not eat rabbit. So we both went with the Green Circle Chicken with Chestnuts and Butternut Squash.



Jill was working on her New Zealand Langoustine with Nage Crema at this point.



Fran and I were slowing down a bit. And Jill was served the Smoked Rohan Duck with Fuji Apples and Celery Root. We all oohed and aahed as the smoke came out from the dome on her plate.



They made a serious presentation for the butter for our last bit of bread. They brought out this Toque shaped butter and shaved off pieces for us.





Then Jill was served a Marcho Farms Veal “En Croute”.



Our Mains (of which we only got one) arrived. I had the Lamb Loin and Belly with Smoked Paprika Red Pepper Sauce. This was very very tasty, but I could tell I was quickly running out of room, so I had them pack it up to go about halfway through.



Fran went the extra mile and paid the upcharge not only to have the Australian Kobe Beef with Bordelaise Sauce, she also got the Miyazaki Japanese Beef.



Jill also was served Australian Kobe Beef with Roasted Garlic Potatoes. I think she did the upcharge for the Japanese beef as well.



[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

Fran and I had a choice of a Selection of Cheeses or Dragon Fruit Lychee Sorbet. That was a no brainer, Cheese of course! I have no idea what they were and chances are, I wouldn’t find them and purchase them at home anyways, so I just enjoyed them.



And then we got the cool coffee machine. I think Jill ordered tea, so that’s why there are two in there.



Now if you could have deciphered the dessert choices on the menu and and you have been paying even the slightest bit of attention on my cruise trip reports, you should already know what I’m having for dessert. Perhaps this will give you a hint.



I believe while they were pouring my drink, Jill was served her Spiced Caramel Apple Mousse.



Then she got her Peruvian Chocolate Crunch. We had been served this dessert the last time we dined here.



And there it is! The thing of beauty! A Grand Marnier Souffle!



Fran ordered the Caramelized Banana Gateau.



AND a Grand Marnier Souffle!



They brought the Truffle Cart to the table and we left with a selection of Truffles.





Now here’s where the funny part happens. After dinner, Fran said that I didn't want to see the check. She was just being funny. I'm not sure how it all happened but Jill and I ended up having a pseudo struggle over the check. All I wanted to do was see it as I curious how much damage we had done. Once I finally got a hold of it, I'm not sure what happened, but somehow we ended up leaving with BOTH copies of the check! We took the monorail to the MK and had to catch the next bus back to the BCV as the one that was there when we arrived was already full. I fell asleep at the bus stop at MK waiting for the next bus. Once they got us tied down, I laid my head back down on the tiller and fell back asleep.

When we arrived at our room about an hour or more later (it was after 1AM) there was a message on the voicemail asking us to call our server's cell phone so that they could settle our check. Ooops! Fran handled everything while I continued to bed.

 

[Steppesister]

So much deliciousness!! So similar, and yet many things so different than mine. Will have to come back to comment later.... but have read.

 

[happymommy]

OMG - Thank you, Allison, for allowing me to "binge read" your amazing trip report!

I love your trips. You and Fran have the best trips, and I love your reports!

When are you going in March? My DD (she is a proud LGBTQ girl and I've known since she was 12 and totally am happy that she is cool with herself, unlike how it was many years ago when folks had to be quiet) I love how the world is now. We're going (again) mid-March. I love the Flower and Garden Festival, and it's her senior year, so not sure when she and I can go back (but I want to do F&W some time).

I love your older photos - you guys have been on so many awesome trips!

 

[rentayenta]

Oh em geeeeee! Jill told me about your fabulous dinner but wow, it looks amazing! Glad you ladies had a great time and didn't stiff the server.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Yay for getting the first flat rented! Hopefully the other one won't be too hard to prepare.

You have made lots of progress on clearing out items.

I am the same about no hair dryer and not having my food touch!

The dinner looks very elegant! I'm afraid I'm not that adventurous.

When will you be in FL for the F&G?

 

[Pinkocto]

WOWZA! What a MEAL!!!

That banana dessert Fran had looks beyond fabulous.

Congratulations on renting the apartment!!!

Totally unrelated, but thanks to your fun experience at the Hoop Dee Doo Review I just booked it for my birthday

I have not gotten my March schedule yet, so hopefully I can run over one day and see you after the cruise.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Your dinner looks awesome. It seems they finally switched up the menu enough that we may consider going back again. (For a period of like 6 years - it felt like nothing every changed).

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am glad that this will all work out.

So back to the old apartment. The shot glass collection is all packed up. The wine is halfway removed from the cabinet and we took another load of stuff to the thrift store.

That sounds like great progress.

The biggest worry is statues of the three hitchhiking ghosts. The are rather bulky and we just don't have a space for them.

What a shame.

That is a beautiful photo. What a shame about the transport issues. The meal looked delicious.

When we arrived at our room about an hour or more later (it was after 1AM) there was a message on the voicemail asking us to call our server's cell phone so that they could settle our check. Ooops!

Oh dear, that must have been a bit of a shock for everybody involved. I am glad that this could be sorted out without having to go back.

Corinna

 

[cruisehopeful]

All I wanted to do was see it as I curious how much damage we had done. Once I finally got a hold of it, I'm not sure what happened, but somehow we ended up leaving with BOTH copies of the check!

Dine and dash at V & A? It is very funny to read about it, but I am sure you weren't laughing at the time. My daughter almost passed out when we got our bill at Carthay Circle last month. I don't think we could handle a V & A meal without smelling salts. It's nice to just go all out once in a while, though.

Regarding people commenting that they want to trade places with Fran on her scooter - I know that can get frustrating. Sometimes my husband walks with hiking sticks and people will say things to him about how they've never seen anyone try to ski on pavement, etc., as if it is a choice or a fashion statement. Once in a while, someone will say they want his sticks and he will tell them that he wants their knees.

I push one of my dogs in a stroller and the rest of my dogs walk. People often ask me why he is so special that he gets a ride. I usually just say he is blind, which is true, but he also has severe arthritis, cushing's disease and cancer. He'd much rather walk if he could. Most people have a rather shocked expression to hear he is blind. It's like it never occurs to people that there is a reason why he isn't walking.

 

[franandaj]

So much deliciousness!! So similar, and yet many things so different than mine. Will have to come back to comment later.... but have read.

That's how I felt reading your TR!

OMG - Thank you, Allison, for allowing me to "binge read" your amazing trip report!

I love your trips. You and Fran have the best trips, and I love your reports!

I've got to wrap this one up quick! Next one starts in 5 days. We're at WDW the first weekend in March.

When are you going in March? My DD (she is a proud LGBTQ girl and I've known since she was 12 and totally am happy that she is cool with herself, unlike how it was many years ago when folks had to be quiet) I love how the world is now. We're going (again) mid-March. I love the Flower and Garden Festival, and it's her senior year, so not sure when she and I can go back (but I want to do F&W some time).

That's so great that she can be open about it. Even better that she has realized. For me that was the hardest part.

I love your older photos - you guys have been on so many awesome trips!

Thanks!

Oh em geeeeee! Jill told me about your fabulous dinner but wow, it looks amazing! Glad you ladies had a great time and didn't stiff the server.

We had a great time! And I would never stiff a server. She got a nice tip.

 

[KBOhio]

I am loving your trip report! So happy you rented out one apartment and good luck leasing the other!
Victoria and Albert's looked amazing ...that would be a dream for us!

 

[dhorner233]

I remember. Sorry you felt so lousy. We should plan to meet up at least for a little bit. We get to the Boardwalk on Saturday morning. Lunch at Chefs de France, so far nothing, but hoping to get a Paddlefish dinner reservation. Sunday we're having lunch at Art Smiths in DS and dinner at Via Napoli. Monday is our standard breakfast at 1900 PF. Then we catch the plane home.

So you are arriving at DW on Sat. March 4th? Staying at the Boardwalk and going to dinner in Epcot. We should be able to meet up then. We are planning to be in Epcot on Sat. and Sunday.

Strawberry Soup

2 ½ pounds frozen Strawberries
16 oz Heavy Cream
2 oz Sour Cream
3 oz plain Yogurt
½ pound fresh Strawberries

Oh geez! I wish you hadn't told me! I have no business eating all that cream! But I can't wait!! :

I decided not to take the camera so that I could just live in the moment.

What a concept!!! I am always taking pictures and forget to be in the moment!

Dine and dash at V & A? It is very funny to read about it

I wonder what the waiter thought when he realized you had left without paying the bill! Glad they were able to track you down and take care of it over the phone.

Every dish in that V&A meal was a work of art!

 

[happymommy]

Darn, we're going March 17th! Hope you have a great next trip!

 

[franandaj]

Yay for getting the first flat rented! Hopefully the other one won't be too hard to prepare.

You have made lots of progress on clearing out items.

It's slow going, but we are making progress.

I am the same about no hair dryer and not having my food touch!

The dinner looks very elegant! I'm afraid I'm not that adventurous.

When will you be in FL for the F&G?

Yay for another person crazy like me! I have always loved adventurous multi course meals. Ever since my parents took me to a place that had multi course meals and served us sorbet in the middle of the meal. Since then I've always loved them.

We are in Florida the 4-6 of March.

WOWZA! What a MEAL!!!

That banana dessert Fran had looks beyond fabulous.

I'm not a fan of banana desserts, but she liked it. And yes it was quite a meal!

Congratulations on renting the apartment!!!

It's a huge relief. Hopefully by the time we get back from our trip it will be ready to rent.

Totally unrelated, but thanks to your fun experience at the Hoop Dee Doo Review I just booked it for my birthday

I hope you enjoy it!

I have not gotten my March schedule yet, so hopefully I can run over one day and see you after the cruise.

So far I have nothing concrete, but I'm trying to fill in my dance card...

Your dinner looks awesome. It seems they finally switched up the menu enough that we may consider going back again. (For a period of like 6 years - it felt like nothing every changed).

I know what that's like. It's been three years since I ate there. It seems that we make it there about every three years.

 

[franandaj]

I am glad that this will all work out.

That sounds like great progress.

Now we just need to get the last of the stuff out of there.....

What a shame.

They are really big, like they would take up at least six or eight feet in whatever room they went in.

That is a beautiful photo. What a shame about the transport issues. The meal looked delicious.

It was delicious. So perhaps again in 2019.

Oh dear, that must have been a bit of a shock for everybody involved. I am glad that this could be sorted out without having to go back.

We did have to call and add the tip the next day, but they billed our room charge for the meal cost.

Dine and dash at V & A? It is very funny to read about it, but I am sure you weren't laughing at the time. My daughter almost passed out when we got our bill at Carthay Circle last month. I don't think we could handle a V & A meal without smelling salts. It's nice to just go all out once in a while, though.

I imagine that one person's meal with wine pairings might rival the bill at Carthay. Although I haven't eaten there in years.

Regarding people commenting that they want to trade places with Fran on her scooter - I know that can get frustrating. Sometimes my husband walks with hiking sticks and people will say things to him about how they've never seen anyone try to ski on pavement, etc., as if it is a choice or a fashion statement. Once in a while, someone will say they want his sticks and he will tell them that he wants their knees.

I push one of my dogs in a stroller and the rest of my dogs walk. People often ask me why he is so special that he gets a ride. I usually just say he is blind, which is true, but he also has severe arthritis, cushing's disease and cancer. He'd much rather walk if he could. Most people have a rather shocked expression to hear he is blind. It's like it never occurs to people that there is a reason why he isn't walking.

Some people can say some pretty idiotic things.

I am loving your trip report! So happy you rented out one apartment and good luck leasing the other!
Victoria and Albert's looked amazing ...that would be a dream for us!

We enjoyed our meal there, I can't wait to eat at Remy next week!

So you are arriving at DW on Sat. March 4th? Staying at the Boardwalk and going to dinner in Epcot. We should be able to meet up then. We are planning to be in Epcot on Sat. and Sunday.

Perhaps we can meet up after our lunch in Epcot. We are planning on shopping for a while after we eat.

Oh geez! I wish you hadn't told me! I have no business eating all that cream! But I can't wait!! :

It's really rich, I only have a small bowl, maybe another half of one.

What a concept!!! I am always taking pictures and forget to be in the moment!

On a first time on a ride, I try to enjoy it all. Second time I'll take pictures.

I wonder what the waiter thought when he realized you had left without paying the bill! Glad they were able to track you down and take care of it over the phone.

Every dish in that V&A meal was a work of art!

She was probably freaking out. She asked us to call her cell phone, so she was pretty desperate.

Darn, we're going March 17th! Hope you have a great next trip!

I'll actually be staying at DL that night. We accidentally rented a two bedroom villa instead of a one bedroom.

 

[dhorner233]

Perhaps we can meet up after our lunch in Epcot. We are planning on shopping for a while after we eat.

Sounds good. What time is your lunch? I see I still have your phone number in my cell phone. Unless it has changed.