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

[tiggrbaby]

Yummy looking meal!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

The Riverbelle Terrace looks like a lovely place to have lunch. What a lovely menu. Both your and Frans choices look good. Tater tots mmm.

Yeah for heading to Orlando.

 

[Pinkocto]

Fun jaunt to the park. What are these LE pins you speak of?

I like the look of that empty park!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Wow! That food does look good. I didn't realise they had converted to a TS.

I need to catch up again on the TR.
And looking forward to updates on F&W.

 

[afwdwfan]

After this we headed home. Another quick jaunt to the park!

I know I always say it, but I'm so jealous of your quick little jaunts to the park to have some lunch, see the sights and grab a pin. If only I could do that...

 

[dizneeat]

All caught up again!
That Beauty and the Beast event looks and sounds AWESOME! So jealous that you live so close and get to go to all those amazing events - but then, feeling so lucky you are willing to share your experiences here with us.

Your Riverbell Terrace lunch looks super yummy!

 

[rentayenta]

Lucky ladies and your quick jaunts to the park! I am sad I missed the MSEP this last trip. I will not miss it in May. The crowds for seating are just overwhelming. People were lining up 3 hours early.

Riverbelle looks yum!

 

[franandaj]

Nah. I'm right.

What? Did you go back and watch the movie?

You must lead an interesting life.

You wouldn't believe... I didn't tell you hardly any of my stories when you were here.

I swear I have an alibi.

I keep googling it to find out if there was ever a follow up to the story, but there's nothing.

I think I might take you up on that.
Seriously enjoyed your company Alison.
(Fran's too!)

Cool! We would enjoy your company inside or outside Disney. We can make that happen as long as you can get here!

Where is everyone? This was not my experience.

I know! And it was like that up until Easter weekend when I was there, I was surprised that Easter weekend had low crowds. Go figure!

What is that in your sandwhich? Deep fried onion shreds?

Yes, they were yummy!

I am getting to the point now where this cannot come round soon enough. We are both so ready for a vacation.

And now you guys are probably arrived in Sydney! I hope you have a great vacation!

I had not realised this. Looks like the menu is pretty similar though.

Pretty much, but a few changes, they were trying to make up for the closing of Big Thunder BBQ.

That looks amazing.

It was very good!

 

[pkondz]

What? Did you go back and watch the movie?

Just worked with what was in the memory banks.


Those things are kinda faulty, though.

You wouldn't believe... I didn't tell you hardly any of my stories when you were here.

No, you didn't!

Must rectify this.

Cool! We would enjoy your company inside or outside Disney. We can make that happen as long as you can get here!

 

[franandaj]

Yummy looking meal!

Thanks! We need to make a trip back there to try the pulled pork sandwich.

The Riverbelle Terrace looks like a lovely place to have lunch. What a lovely menu. Both your and Frans choices look good. Tater tots mmm.

Yeah for heading to Orlando.

It was a very nice lunch, more things on the menu we want to try.

Fun jaunt to the park. What are these LE pins you speak of?

I like the look of that empty park!

They are always putting out LE pins, that must means Limited Edition, so when the pins come out there is a finite number of them. They did it for Pirates 50th Anniversary, for Easter, for F&W, for Flower and Garden, etc.

Wow! That food does look good. I didn't realise they had converted to a TS.

I need to catch up again on the TR.
And looking forward to updates on F&W.

When Big Thunder BBQ closed they tried to "make up" for it at the Riverbelle Terrace.

I know I always say it, but I'm so jealous of your quick little jaunts to the park to have some lunch, see the sights and grab a pin. If only I could do that...

It is something that takes getting used to. When I first became an AP holder and Fran and I would take her mother out for lunch, she was frail and couldn't do a lot. Fran would let me go on one ride, but mother had to get back home pretty quick after we ate, so it was frustrating. After a while though I got used to it, and just picked the ride I wanted to do most. Now staying all day just kicks my butt!

All caught up again!
That Beauty and the Beast event looks and sounds AWESOME! So jealous that you live so close and get to go to all those amazing events - but then, feeling so lucky you are willing to share your experiences here with us.

Your Riverbell Terrace lunch looks super yummy!

I'm glad you folks enjoy hearing about this stuff! I want to share it with someone and my friends here just aren't interested, so it's great to tell all of you about it!

Lucky ladies and your quick jaunts to the park! I am sad I missed the MSEP this last trip. I will not miss it in May. The crowds for seating are just overwhelming. People were lining up 3 hours early.

Riverbelle looks yum!

You'll get to see it! The crowds are crazy like that!

 

[franandaj]

Just worked with what was in the memory banks.


Those things are kinda faulty, though.

No, you didn't!

Must rectify this.

Well, the only way it might happen is in person and with alcohol....

 

[franandaj]

March 10 marked the beginning of DCA’s F&W Festival and I had seen several demos on the schedule that sounded interesting. Booking began February 1st and demos, tastings, and celebrity chef sessions could have been booked 60 days in advance. This meant we could book everything in March on that day, but would have to book our April stuff day by day as the window opened. I did end up getting everything that I wanted.

So let's start with day 1.

We had a 2PM demo called Little Fatty. The name intrigued me, so I let Google be my friend. Evidently it's a restaurant in Santa Monica and the chef/owner was given that nickname (although it was in Chinese). The menu at the restaurant sounded good, so I signed us up. We also booked a Tequila Tasting at 5PM.

Being the merchandise hound that she is, Fran wanted to get there early and shop. So our first stop was the Festival Center.







They had all kinds of stuff, carafes,wine glasses, both tervis and glass.









There were T-shirts, pins, ornaments, and pint glasses.







They also had these little cards AP holders could get that were $45 and you got 8 tabs which were good for any food item. If it was over $5.75, then the tab made it worth your while. Now technically these pictures are out of order. I didn’t think to take a picture of the lanyard until the last day. Here is ours with all the tabs gone.



I actually approached a random stranger and asked if I could take a picture of hers since we had just used our last tab.



You could also buy wine in 1oz, 3oz and 5oz pours. Just take a card to the register and pay for it. Bring back your receipt, they would stamp it, push the button that corresponded to your size of pour, and your wine would dispense. I was pretty fascinated with this machine, and tried several of the selections from there over the course of the festival.



After our shopping, and my glass of wine, we got in line. They were very good about accommodating Fran and other disabled patrons by putting her on the end of the long rows. Looking back on the merchandise area from the queue for the demo.





And a look at the stage.



Seating area. Rarely did this ever fill up, probably mostly for the Celebrity Chefs.



Once we were seated we waited for the chef to come out.



Eventually he came on stage. The lady behind him “hosted” every demo on this stage and she got to be kind of annoying because she had the same spiel for every time she came out, and was so overly "bouncy" (and I don't mean like Tigger) and energetic, I kinda wanted to hit her over the head.



Our chef informed us that he would be making Three Cup Chicken which is a standard Chinese Comfort Food. It would use a cup of sesame oil, a cup of soy sauce, and a cup of vinegar. That’s not actually how his recipe worked out. I took notes as he spoke, and for a period, I lost the pad where I wrote the notes. When googling the recipe I found so many variations of the recipe (which our chef told us would be the case), but none were like his. I was glad to find my notes, and I even made this dish once (minus the Thai Basil, I’ll need to special order that from Gelson’s next time). Sorry it’s so blurry. I have a few tweaks that I will make to the recipe next time I try it at home.



They had a camera over the stage so you could see what they were doing.



The first thing they did was put the sesame oil in the pan and add the garlic and ginger and really cooked it down.





Then they added chopped boneless chicken and cooked it until it was seared. My mistake was too much sesame oil and it never really cooked off so that the chicken got a good sear. Next time!



They added some chili flakes (to taste, I’m a spicy wimp!). The Rice Wine Vinegar, and he added a mix of Soy Sauce and Sweet Soy Sauce, otherwise known as Keycap Manis (Ketchup Manis) Thank you @PrincessInOz.

The dish is finished with a sprinkle of Thai Basil. Must order or go to the right Asian grocery store next time. And we were served our sample.



Obviously it was good otherwise I wouldn’t have made it at home!

And that concludes our first demo at the F&W Festival!

 

[PrincessInOz]

WOW! What a great first demo. That food is right up my alley! 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil? Hmm. I tend to just add 3 or 4 drops to the pan with normal oil. That chicken with kecap manis and thai basil sounds divine. Bet it won't take you long to head to the right chinese/asian grocer.

And I love the F&W v-neck t-shirt. Gorgeous.

 

[franandaj]

WOW! What a great first demo. That food is right up my alley! 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil? Hmm. I tend to just add 3 or 4 drops to the pan with normal oil.

Actually it said half a cup! I only used one chicken breast so I used 1/4 cup. Next time I'd use a tablespoon.

That chicken with kecap manis and thai basil sounds divine. Bet it won't take you long to head to the right chinese/asian grocer.

Next time I'll check at that market we went to first. I'd been to three stores, called three more, and hit one Asian market. They were Cambodian and did not take kindly to me asking about anything Thai.

And I love the F&W v-neck t-shirt. Gorgeous.

We have an extra, Fran bought me the wrong one and we never took it back. I wanted the regular one.

 

[irene_dsc]

That chicken recipe sounds doable! But the sesame oil bottle we buy at Trader Joe's is so small, that might use the whole thing! I just use a tiny bit for flavor for stir fries, but I never bother to measure, lol. Not sure if I've ever seen sweet soy sauce, however. I do sometimes mix teriyaki sauce with soy sauce - I wonder if that is similar.

 

[franandaj]

That chicken recipe sounds doable! But the sesame oil bottle we buy at Trader Joe's is so small, that might use the whole thing! I just use a tiny bit for flavor for stir fries, but I never bother to measure, lol. Not sure if I've ever seen sweet soy sauce, however. I do sometimes mix teriyaki sauce with soy sauce - I wonder if that is similar.

It seemed like a lot of sesame oil to me, but that's what he said, and when he put it in the pan, it was quite a bit. I had never heard of sweet soy sauce until a few years ago when we did a trip to WDW with a whole bunch of folks who hung out on the Community Board. Fran and I were there for a week, and on the Saturday night of our stay, we had a cookout at the Beach Club Villas. It was a pot luck and my friend @PrincessInOz made Fried Rice. She said that she needed sweet soy sauce, so I checked out the Asian Markets in town and found this stuff. I packed it in my suitcase. We all found it pretty funny that Heinz makes it. If you don't have an Asian grocery store in town, you could order it online. It is much thicker and more viscous than regular soy sauce. It really adds great flavor to dishes I have made with it.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

That would have my attention too the name little fatty! Thank you for history.

The merchandise looks nice. Lovely t shirts and glasses. It's funny because one day I had a lanyard on and a lady asked if she could take a photo. Of course! I think it was the Star Wars event.

The food demo looks good. Nice chicken dish but holy moly is he going to serve some chicken with that oil! Sounds like it works though! He is the masterchef!

Sounds like a great event.

 

[Pinkocto]

Any pictures of the LE pins???

Yummy event! I'm impressed you make so many things at home. I wonder if it could be done with fish. Sounds like a tasty recipe.

 

[pkondz]

Well, the only way it might happen is in person and with alcohol....

 

[pkondz]

I did end up getting everything that I wanted.

Great!

We also booked a Tequila Tasting at 5PM.

No! This is so unlike you!

wine glasses, both tervis and glass.

I had never heard of Tervis. Had to Google.

They also had these little cards AP holders could get that were $45 and you got 8 tabs which were good for any food item. If it was over $5.75, then the tab made it worth your while.

No restrictions this time?

I actually approached a random stranger and asked if I could take a picture of hers since we had just used our last tab.

You didn't!!

I was pretty fascinated with this machine, and tried several of the selections from there over the course of the festival.

Now you want one?

Eventually he came on stage. The lady behind him “hosted” every demo on this stage and she got to be kind of annoying because she had the same spiel for every time she came out, and was so overly "bouncy" (and I don't mean like Tigger) and energetic, I kinda wanted to hit her over the head.

Yeah, I can see how that would get old pretty fast.

Our chef informed us that he would be making Three Cup Chicken which is a standard Chinese Comfort Food. It would use a cup of sesame oil, a cup of soy sauce, and a cup of vinegar. That’s not actually how his recipe worked out. I took notes as he spoke, and for a period, I lost the pad where I wrote the notes. When googling the recipe I found so many variations of the recipe (which our chef told us would be the case), but none were like his. I was glad to find my notes, and I even made this dish once (minus the Thai Basil, I’ll need to special order that from Gelson’s next time). Sorry it’s so blurry. I have a few tweaks that I will make to the recipe next time I try it at home.

How did it turn out at home vs what you had? (I get that you had too much oil)

They had a camera over the stage so you could see what they were doing.

Nice. Otherwise it's tough to follow.

Sweet Soy Sauce, otherwise known as Keycap Manis (Ketchup Manis) Thank you @PrincessInOz.

Never heard of that.

Obviously it was good otherwise I wouldn’t have made it at home!

Obviously!