Chunkymonkey and Chubbyhubby Stuff Themselves Silly! THE END..on to the next TR!

[oboedm]

Haha, I like that perspective. I'm absolutely fine with it not being anything like authentic Chinese. If it were, I wouldn't want to eat it, haha. And I've never had luau food before, so I don't expect anything from that end! PERFECT!

Yes-- make sure your expectations are right! Mine were, and I liked it. However, I wish I would have set my BIL and SIL's expectations! There were expecting Polynesian food-- Samoan food specifically. My SIL was VERY vocal about expressing her disappointment. I was ready to throw the yummy bread acress the table!

 

[Simba22]

Yes-- make sure your expectations are right! Mine were, and I liked it. However, I wish I would have set my BIL and SIL's expectations! There were expecting Polynesian food-- Samoan food specifically. My SIL was VERY vocal about expressing her disappointment. I was ready to throw the yummy bread acress the table!

I'm so glad we aren't food snobs! We don't ever go into anything with expectations for the most part, so we are pretty hard to let down!

I think I would die laughing if I ever saw someone throw bread at someone else in a restaurant. My sister threw soda in my brother's face once and it was one of the funniest things I think I've ever witnessed!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Day 3 Part 3: Beer and Illuminations


So we head off to Germany to make our ressies at Biergarten. We had been to Biergarten last year for the first time. DH had enjoyed it a lot so he was looking forward to this. I do love German food, and although I enjoyed Biergarten last year, I didn’t think the food was that great. However, I was looking forward to having an appetite again since the Tonga Toast filled me up All. Day. I really thought I could squeeze in some school bread from Norway, or a napoleon from France. But no, I didn’t eat anything else save for a frozen cappuccino until dinner! Maybe I am on to something…instead of slim fast, have tonga toast and stay full all day! That would be a pretty good diet. LOL

So over at Biergaten, we get our pager but it went off in about 2 minutes, so there really was no point to it, LOL. We sat down, and DH immediately orders the beer sampler. I order a lemonade. There wasn’t anyone else on our table at that point, so we just head out to the buffet for grub

The beer sampler + beer menu

Think this was my first round

How was the food? Well. I was really much more impressed by the food this time. I felt everything tasted fresher, and better prepared. Last year, we ate at around 8:30 so we expected some of the food to be sitting around for a while. This year our ADRs were at 7pm so everything looked like it was freshly prepared. My favorites last year was the meatloaf, which I thought tasted like spam, LOL, this year it was actually the salmon, which I didn’t like at all last year. All the sides were great! I definitely was happier with the food this year.

Here’s the entertainment

I’ve always thought the interior was cute. It looks like the outside…indoors. LOL

While we were eating, I think round 2...or 3...we got a family seated on our table. They weren’t really that talkative so we didn’t really talk to them at all, which was ok, since everyone pretty much just ate the entire time. I got a round of dessert, which I couldn’t really eat much of. I was so full again by this point!

After stuffing our faces yet again at Biergarten, we still had about 45 minutes until Illuminations. We walked around some of the stores. I love the Germany store because they had the cutest t-shirts. I didn’t buy any because I am not really a t-shirt person, I wear tank tops more often in the summer. But I wanted to get one for DH but whenever I held up anything I liked, he just grunted. I think he was really full too. LOL.

I can’t remember where this was…think it was Norway? I decided to try on a tiara. I am really not a tiara person, I don’t even like anything in my hair, but I did it for my sister, who LOVES tiaras and has decided when she gets married she will wear the biggest one ever.

Also saw these giant gummy bears. Think they are like 20000 calories each. LOL

So I think we make it over to Italy before the stores start closing and we decided to plop ourselves down on a bench to watch Illuminations. It wasn’t the most spectacular view we could have gotten, but it was good enough. So….I’m gonna just post the pics of Illuminations, and that pretty much was the end of our night at Epcot…so here is…Illuminations:

Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Three trips to Epcot, and I STILL haven't seen Illuminations.

That food doesn't look too bad! I've considered making an ADR there, but the food doesn't look that much different from just a regular American buffet. What part of their menu is actually German food?

I love the interior of the place too! It's just like inside the Mexico pavilion, only better lit. It's very cute

 

[chunkymonkey]

Haha, I like that perspective. I'm absolutely fine with it not being anything like authentic Chinese. If it were, I wouldn't want to eat it, haha. And I've never had luau food before, so I don't expect anything from that end! PERFECT!

Great, then I'm sure you'll have a blast!! I happen to actually like Americanized Chinese food, because I grew up in the US, and my mom didn't really cook Chinese food when I was younger, so whatever I know of Chinese food is basically a myriad of flavors.

Yes-- make sure your expectations are right! Mine were, and I liked it. However, I wish I would have set my BIL and SIL's expectations! There were expecting Polynesian food-- Samoan food specifically. My SIL was VERY vocal about expressing her disappointment. I was ready to throw the yummy bread acress the table!

Wow, has your SIL had Samoan food before? I wouldn't even know where to get that. When we went to Tahiti on our honeymoon, most of the food was French or American. We tried some local dishes, like Poisson Cru, which was like ceviche with coconut milk, but for the most part, it was your typical French-style cuisine with some tropical island flavors thrown in.

That would be so funny if you threw the bread! I absolutely cannot stand eating with people who complain about food all the time. I prefer NOT eating with some of my friends like that, and rather meet them for just drinks instead. I like to enjoy my meals with people who do too

I'm so glad we aren't food snobs! We don't ever go into anything with expectations for the most part, so we are pretty hard to let down!

I think I would die laughing if I ever saw someone throw bread at someone else in a restaurant. My sister threw soda in my brother's face once and it was one of the funniest things I think I've ever witnessed!

That is great. I can't stand food snobs either. I mean, I consider myself a huge foodie, and I love to eat all sorts of things, but I basically enjoy most things I eat. I am pretty easy to please

Three trips to Epcot, and I STILL haven't seen Illuminations.

That food doesn't look too bad! I've considered making an ADR there, but the food doesn't look that much different from just a regular American buffet. What part of their menu is actually German food?

I love the interior of the place too! It's just like inside the Mexico pavilion, only better lit. It's very cute

You must watch it! I only started watching it a few years ago and I can't believe I missed it in the years before...

In German food, there are alot of different sausages, like bratwurst, braunwurst, etc. They use a lot of sauerkraut, lots of potato dishes, pickled stuff, etc. AND they have wonderful soft pretzel rolls...yum. They also threw in some American items, like mac n cheese, roast chicken and stuff like that because I'm sure some kids would be picky about other things. But the food was great this year, and for dessert, there was a great apple strudel with vanilla cream sauce.

 

[DisneyYahoo]

Those gummy bears...are they for REAL? I can't imagine how you are supposed to nosh on them!! I have never seen anything like that. That would be my daughters greatest treasure LOL!! Love your pics!

 

[Tracy161]

So happy your experience at Biergarten was better than last year's! Your pictures of Illuminations are amazing!!!

 

[natebenma]

We're both big fans of the Kona Brewing Company beers! My favorite is the Wailua Wheat Ale which they don't have at the Poly!!!! So sad! It's passion fruit flavored beer and it's sooo good! I love passion fruit!

I've never done the green side... what's it like?

Are you serious?!? Passionfruit Flavored Beer? YUM!

I have never tried M:S orange, but my husband and DS(9) went on in July. When Ben joined me in the waiting area after the ride, he had a HUGE smile on his face. "I puked! 3 times!"

We are all fine on M:S green

 

[natebenma]

Another super update!

Thanks for posting the pictures of the HUGE Gummy Bears!

For a not so great viewing spot, your photos of Illuminations are spectacular. I love the look of the lanternposts in the pictures. Beautiful!

Dee

 

[annmarieda]

Yes-- make sure your expectations are right! Mine were, and I liked it. However, I wish I would have set my BIL and SIL's expectations! There were expecting Polynesian food-- Samoan food specifically. My SIL was VERY vocal about expressing her disappointment. I was ready to throw the yummy bread acress the table!

Oh, I can't wait to hear that story!

Day 3 Part 3: Beer and Illuminations


So we head off to Germany to make our ressies at Biergarten. We had been to Biergarten last year for the first time. DH had enjoyed it a lot so he was looking forward to this. I do love German food, and although I enjoyed Biergarten last year, I didn’t think the food was that great. However, I was looking forward to having an appetite again since the Tonga Toast filled me up All. Day. I really thought I could squeeze in some school bread from Norway, or a napoleon from France. But no, I didn’t eat anything else save for a frozen cappuccino until dinner! Maybe I am on to something…instead of slim fast, have tonga toast and stay full all day! That would be a pretty good diet. LOL

So over at Biergaten, we get our pager but it went off in about 2 minutes, so there really was no point to it, LOL. We sat down, and DH immediately orders the beer sampler. I order a lemonade. There wasn’t anyone else on our table at that point, so we just head out to the buffet for grub

The beer sampler + beer menu

Think this was my first round

How was the food? Well. I was really much more impressed by the food this time. I felt everything tasted fresher, and better prepared. Last year, we ate at around 8:30 so we expected some of the food to be sitting around for a while. This year our ADRs were at 7pm so everything looked like it was freshly prepared. My favorites last year was the meatloaf, which I thought tasted like spam, LOL, this year it was actually the salmon, which I didn’t like at all last year. All the sides were great! I definitely was happier with the food this year.

Here’s the entertainment

I’ve always thought the interior was cute. It looks like the outside…indoors. LOL

While we were eating, I think round 2...or 3...we got a family seated on our table. They weren’t really that talkative so we didn’t really talk to them at all, which was ok, since everyone pretty much just ate the entire time. I got a round of dessert, which I couldn’t really eat much of. I was so full again by this point!

After stuffing our faces yet again at Biergarten, we still had about 45 minutes until Illuminations. We walked around some of the stores. I love the Germany store because they had the cutest t-shirts. I didn’t buy any because I am not really a t-shirt person, I wear tank tops more often in the summer. But I wanted to get one for DH but whenever I held up anything I liked, he just grunted. I think he was really full too. LOL.

I can’t remember where this was…think it was Norway? I decided to try on a tiara. I am really not a tiara person, I don’t even like anything in my hair, but I did it for my sister, who LOVES tiaras and has decided when she gets married she will wear the biggest one ever.

Also saw these giant gummy bears. Think they are like 20000 calories each. LOL

So I think we make it over to Italy before the stores start closing and we decided to plop ourselves down on a bench to watch Illuminations. It wasn’t the most spectacular view we could have gotten, but it was good enough. So….I’m gonna just post the pics of Illuminations, and that pretty much was the end of our night at Epcot…so here is…Illuminations:

Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!!

Thats it! Your pictures make me sooo jealous! LOL, your pictures are so amazing. I think you should hire yourself out and go with people on their vacations so that you can take the pictures.

Dinner looks great. I have never been there, but have considered it a couple of times. We always just opt to go to Summerfest.

Your spot for Illuminations was awesome! The pics turned out (of course) beautiful. (seriously.. you should travel with others so that they can get some decent photos )

Those gummy bears...are they for REAL? I can't imagine how you are supposed to nosh on them!! I have never seen anything like that. That would be my daughters greatest treasure LOL!! Love your pics!

In February, we actually bought one. It took a knife to cut it up. The edge pieces tasted a bit like plastic though...the inside was pretty good.

 

[Krisscot]

Day 3 Part 3: Beer and Illuminations

How was the food? Well. I was really much more impressed by the food this time. I felt everything tasted fresher, and better prepared. Last year, we ate at around 8:30 so we expected some of the food to be sitting around for a while. This year our ADRs were at 7pm so everything looked like it was freshly prepared. My favorites last year was the meatloaf, which I thought tasted like spam, LOL, this year it was actually the salmon, which I didn’t like at all last year. All the sides were great! I definitely was happier with the food this year.

How did you like this? We have reservations next Wednesday and I am kinda nervous with the kids... I know princess DD5 will eat anything but the 11 year is picky. Do you think they wil like it or is it just too far out there... Our other choices were Tokyo, San Angel, or Tutto...

 

[Cat0727]

You must watch it! I only started watching it a few years ago and I can't believe I missed it in the years before...

In German food, there are alot of different sausages, like bratwurst, braunwurst, etc. They use a lot of sauerkraut, lots of potato dishes, pickled stuff, etc. AND they have wonderful soft pretzel rolls...yum. They also threw in some American items, like mac n cheese, roast chicken and stuff like that because I'm sure some kids would be picky about other things. But the food was great this year, and for dessert, there was a great apple strudel with vanilla cream sauce.

Biergarten sounds so good! And I love the picture you got of its interior...I've never seen pics of it before. Very cute!

Your photos of Illuminations are breathtaking. What spot where you guys at? I still haven't seen it either, after all the times I've been to WDW. I am such a bad Disney fan

 

[Nermel9]

Biergarten looks like fun! I've never considered going there, I'm kind of afraid I won't like the food there, but I should give it a try! I love the picture you got indside, I've never seen that view before, it looks so cute in there!

LOVE your Illuminations pictures! I can never get good pictures at night, no matter what setting I have my camera on!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Those gummy bears...are they for REAL? I can't imagine how you are supposed to nosh on them!! I have never seen anything like that. That would be my daughters greatest treasure LOL!! Love your pics!

Thank you!! Yes they are quite nutty. My DH saw the giant gummies on some website one day and he sent the link to all my sisters and told them to expect one for x-mas. LOL. Men.

So happy your experience at Biergarten was better than last year's! Your pictures of Illuminations are amazing!!!

Thank you!! Biergarten was a lot of fun. Even just to go for the entertainment.

Are you serious?!? Passionfruit Flavored Beer? YUM!

I have never tried M:S orange, but my husband and DS(9) went on in July. When Ben joined me in the waiting area after the ride, he had a HUGE smile on his face. "I puked! 3 times!"

We are all fine on M:S green

Yeah that beer does sound good right??
Oh no, was he serious when he said he puked??? Woah! Yeah Orange is NOT fun in my book.

Another super update!

Thanks for posting the pictures of the HUGE Gummy Bears!

For a not so great viewing spot, your photos of Illuminations are spectacular. I love the look of the lanternposts in the pictures. Beautiful!

Dee

Thank you! We actually found a semi decent spot in front of Italy. We found a better one later on in our trip, but these were taken with my dslr and the others were not. You will see if you can tell the difference coming up.

Thats it! Your pictures make me sooo jealous! LOL, your pictures are so amazing. I think you should hire yourself out and go with people on their vacations so that you can take the pictures.

Dinner looks great. I have never been there, but have considered it a couple of times. We always just opt to go to Summerfest.

Your spot for Illuminations was awesome! The pics turned out (of course) beautiful. (seriously.. you should travel with others so that they can get some decent photos )

In February, we actually bought one. It took a knife to cut it up. The edge pieces tasted a bit like plastic though...the inside was pretty good.

Biergarten would be fun with a lot of people because it's communal seating. As opposed to Teppan Edo, where there is somthing to look at all the time, at Biergaten the performance is only once every 20 mins or so. So sometimes you are just sitting there with strangers around you. Also it can get hard getting out to get food since some of the tables can be squished together, but overall the food is yummy enough for us to go again! Lots of meat and potatoes.

Thank you!! Hahaha, it sounds like a good business plan. Maybe when Tankgirl wins the lottery we can all go to WDW and have a fantastic portrait session. I'll get a tripod and set it up with a remote shutter so I can be in the pics too.

How did you like this? We have reservations next Wednesday and I am kinda nervous with the kids... I know princess DD5 will eat anything but the 11 year is picky. Do you think they wil like it or is it just too far out there... Our other choices were Tokyo, San Angel, or Tutto...

Biergarten is great! I think there will be enough things for kids. Most of it is pretty standard meat n potatoes. There is nothing too weird at all. They have mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, potato salad, roast chicken, I think pork too and sauerbraten, which is basically pot roast. Some of the meats may be prepared differently but nothing out of the ordinary. Think it would be a lot of fun for your family!

Biergarten sounds so good! And I love the picture you got of its interior...I've never seen pics of it before. Very cute!

Your photos of Illuminations are breathtaking. What spot where you guys at? I still haven't seen it either, after all the times I've been to WDW. I am such a bad Disney fan

Wow you haven't see Illuminations either? It's really amazing. I may like it more than wishes. But then again, Epcot is my favorite park.

Thank you!! We were situated right in front of Italy, the lamposts were in that area that is roped off in front of Italy.

Biergarten looks like fun! I've never considered going there, I'm kind of afraid I won't like the food there, but I should give it a try! I love the picture you got indside, I've never seen that view before, it looks so cute in there!

LOVE your Illuminations pictures! I can never get good pictures at night, no matter what setting I have my camera on!

Thank you! I think you will enjoy Biergarten. It is a lot of food. And there is something for everyone. The reason most night pictures look strange is because flash makes everything washed out, so I don't really use flash too much and I find that helps.

 

[tinacaplan]

Again, your pictures are beautiful. I LOVE Illuminations. It is my absolute favorite fireworks show. And we love Biergarten, as well. We went in February and are headed back this time, too. There is something about it that I think is just quintessentially Disney.

Also, quick question: how many days were you originally scheduled to be there? Just curious. Been thinking about whether or not it would be worth it to ever go over a long weekend.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Again, your pictures are beautiful. I LOVE Illuminations. It is my absolute favorite fireworks show. And we love Biergarten, as well. We went in February and are headed back this time, too. There is something about it that I think is just quintessentially Disney.

Also, quick question: how many days were you originally scheduled to be there? Just curious. Been thinking about whether or not it would be worth it to ever go over a long weekend.

Thanks Tina! Haha us too, we're gonna have to go back to Biergarten again on our next trip since we're used to going there now!

We were there for 6 days this time, but last year we were only there for 4 days. It was definitely challenging fitting everything into 4 days but it's doable, especially if you already know the lay of the land. It would be hard if it were a first-timer, I'd feel like there was too much to do in so little time! 4 days is enough to do your favorite rides and fit in a few good meals.
When were you planning on going?

 

[natebenma]

Oh no, was he serious when he said he puked??? Woah! Yeah Orange is NOT fun in my book.


Totally serious! My DH said that Ben successfully utilized the barf bag in the command module. So he did it "cleanly" if that was possible. He really was smiling when he came out and the incident did not keep him down. But I think that was his last go on M:S, either color, for the rest of the trip.

 

[beansf]

I bought one of those giant gummy bears at World Market. I thought it was a case where bigger is not always better. Yuck. Mine tasted awful and I threw it out. I think I will stick to the smaller guys from now on. Although, I prefer Swedish Fish to any bear out there.

Still enjoying your TR!

 

[tinacaplan]

Thanks Tina! Haha us too, we're gonna have to go back to Biergarten again on our next trip since we're used to going there now!

We were there for 6 days this time, but last year we were only there for 4 days. It was definitely challenging fitting everything into 4 days but it's doable, especially if you already know the lay of the land. It would be hard if it were a first-timer, I'd feel like there was too much to do in so little time! 4 days is enough to do your favorite rides and fit in a few good meals.
When were you planning on going?

Hmmm...four days, huh? I was thinking about Columbus Day Weekend, but Veteran's Day falls on a Friday next year, so who knows? I think it would only be doable if Max is potty trained by then, we really know what we're doing in terms of going with a small child, AND we could get an amazing deal on a flight. So, yes, if all the stars were to align properly, it MIGHT work!

 

[topdog]

I can't wait until I get to eat Tonga toast. I think I can eat 2 and I am not a bread person.

I don't believe I ever ride M:S green. Orange is the only one I ever ride. The green side will probably feels like kiddie ride to me.

O'hana is my second most favorite place right under Artist Point. I can eat their shrimp until it comes out of my ears. I still remember their bread pudding alamo. Ummmm... I love noodles too. I love the Wonton Garden noodle shop at Mott street Chinatown. They've been there for 30+ years. I remember I used to deliver stuff to them when I was a teenager. At Chatham Sq, there used to be a Shanghai noodle shop called 456. Their Shanghai noodle was the best in the city. And their fried dumplings, I can eat a dozen every visit.

Not sure I would like to try Biegarten. Not a beer drinker and not a potato kind of person. Although I do like their setup, it's almost like going to Sunday morning dim sum in Chinatown. But meatloaf taste like spam, that's intriguing. I love spam. I made spam fried rice all the time. I can't get enough. DW thought it was gross.

Those large gummy bear looks interesting too. I think I might like to try one. There is this local candy maker not far from where I live. They make the best chocolate cover gummy bear.