COMPLETE - Disney World & Disney Cruise Line – A June 2024 Trip Report - I Write for the Users (and Foodies)!

[gregf71]

Preface & Day 1 - Travel & Arrival

First of all, our cast of characters: me (52), my wife (48), and our daughter (18); Southern Californians born and raised and San Diego is home. Disneyland veterans of countless visits, several trips to Disney World, a handful of Disney cruises, a trip over to Disneyland Paris nineteen years ago for my wife and me, and two stays at Aulani.

As far as I am concerned, the trip planning part is almost (almost) as fun as the vacation itself. Not only is researching the destination and potential sites and activities enjoyable, but the same goes for treats and meals. In the end, you can only hope that it all pays off and that all of the effort was worth it.

This time out, the primary portion of the vacation was a 7-night cruise on the Disney Fantasy, but it was prefaced by 5 nights at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (our first time actually staying there), with 3 individual park days (which one didn’t we visit?!) and 1 day spent away from the parks.

And us, well we like to travel on our stomachs as they say, so food is always an important part of our vacations (even without an Epcot festival on the calendar this time out). So, making the effort to get the dining reservations we want is totally worth it…even at ungodly hours of the morning…remember, the online ADR window opens at 6am eastern time, so for us on the west coast that means up and at‘em at 2:45am on our reservations day! But hey, I am not going to complain at all when I compare the Disney World ADR process (with its arrival day plus 10 days policy) to what I had to go through with our Aulani vacation in 2022.

The one thing…the ONE thing though…that I will say about our ADR experience this time is this…when the heck did Yak & Yeti become the hardest to get ADR in Animal Kingdom?! I mean, seriously, it is good stuff, but sheesh! We’ve enjoyed lunch there twice in the past and relished the meals very much, but we don’t recall it ever being a challenging ADR to grab. I recall reading on the boards here that it was now a challenge to obtain one and sure enough, when I tried at 3am Pacific, there was nothing to be had. Oh well, we pivoted to another favorite of ours, and were super happy that we did.

Another dining note…we got the regular dining plan for this trip. I know that there is a lot of debate about the value of the plans, but when offered, we’ve always jumped at it. When I’ve read posts, articles, or watched videos online debating its value, they always seem to focus solely on the dollar value of what you pay versus, what you can get, and how you actually use it. A fair way to look at it indeed, but for us, we have one additional variable that is rarely if ever mentioned in these dining plan reviews…the Disney Visa Card. We have this card and use it all the time to earn rewards points for our Disney vacations. Beyond that, there is one other perk…and that is 6 months of 0% financing on Disney vacation packages. Since the dining plan was part of our WDW vacation package, its cost fell nicely into the financing when we paid our final balance, which in turn helped us out with the post-vacation payoff that we all know so well. And yeah, I still did the math afterwards, using our receipts to see if the plan saved us any money in the grand scheme of things. Guess what?! It actually did. How, do you ask? Well, a few words of wisdom…pick the right restaurants (single credit character meals are a wise move) and take advantage of the non-alcoholic specialty drinks or, assuming you are of age and enjoy them, the adult beverages that are now included! Ok, if I am honest, we ended up saving only about $42 when it was all said and done, but still, anything in the negative value category is a win, especially when we can tack on the cost of the plan to our credit card payment plan.

Ok, enough of the preface! Let’s get to the trip itself!

We have become BIG fans of direct flights. Bad memories of running to a connecting flight in Boston years ago (and barely making it) because our flight out of DC was delayed still stick in our memories. Today, we were flying on Alaska Airlines from San Diego to Orlando. We arrived to the airport with plenty of time, checked our bags out front, paid the fees associated with checking said bags, and hit the security line. Unfortunately, once there, the TSA officer discovered a couple data entry errors made by the person who checked us in outside. One of us had the incorrect gender indicated and another had one value wrong with a birthday. As a result, the TSA agent wouldn’t let us pass and referred us over to the Alaska counter nearby. Thankfully, there was hardly a line there and the airline representative was able to quickly fix the errors. Told to return to the TSA agent through the priority line this time, they graciously received us back, confirmed that everything was all good now, and let us pass. Phew!

Through security and grabbing some morning munchies at a couple airport dining locations, we secured some seats in the waiting area by our gate and settled in for about 90 minutes. Interestingly, while we were waiting, our daughter received an unexpected call on her cell. Recognizing the number from her soon to be (she starts this fall semester) college academic counseling office, she answered. Her counselor finally received some of her AP test results, which apparently negated a couple classes she had previously registered into for this upcoming fall semester. So, they needed to make a couple changes. Thankfully, she was able to login to her campus portal via her phone while continuing the conversation with the counselor. After a little discussion, consideration of options, and selection validations, she was all set! Glad they called before we got on the plane!

The flight itself was uneventful. We ended up leaving San Diego a little late, but thankfully the pilots made up for that time in the air and we actually landed in Orlando a bit earlier than originally scheduled, around 5:30pm. Jumping on the famous MCO monorail, we trekked out to baggage claim and were pleasantly shocked to see our luggage was already there! Fab!

For this trip, we had our travel agent book us a rental car through Pleasant Holidays as part of our airfare package; some sort of Fly and Drive thing. Usually, I like to take care of the car rental myself through Costco Travel, but this time we decided to try something a little different…and that may have been a small mistake. Our car was reserved with Hertz, a rental service that we had not used before while traveling. The car type that our travel agent arranged for us was Intermediate, which for all intents and purposes, for just the three of us, we figured would be fine. I checked us in at the Hertz service desk, stood in a short line that moved slower than a snail stuck in the mud, and eventually got called up to square away all of the paperwork. So far, not really liking the Hertz experience compared to other MCO car rental experiences. Not sure why there wasn’t any online app checkin and bypass the desk option, but I don’t recall there being one. Maybe it was the way that our travel agent booked it?

Oh, and one little anecdote about the Hertz service desk. The gentleman who assisted me was really pushing the add-ons, especially pre-paying for filling up the gas tank when returning the car. He warned me that there would be a penalty fee if the car wasn’t returned with a full tank. Showing me the pre-pay gas rate Hertz was offering that day, he said, “You won’t find gas any cheaper near the airport.” First, looking at the price, I had to laugh. Coming from Southern California, our per gallon price for gas was much higher, so pricing anywhere near what he was showing me was awesome! Second, which I told him, we usually fill up the tank near the WDW resorts before driving back to the airport. “Oh, you don’t want to do that. The tank won’t be full enough after the drive back here.” I just smiled and politely declined the pre-paid gas, telling him that we’d just fill it up by the airport…which of course we didn’t do. We had the car for 5 nights, drove it from MCO to Disney and then around Disney for 4 days; we used under 3 gallons of gas. I know this because before driving back to the airport, we filled up the tank at a station near the Boardwalk Resort. The pump showed us buying less than 3 gallons of gas. When we turned it in at MCO, it still read Full, and their employee cleared us, so all was good.

Now, during previous Orlando trips, using other rental car companies, we enjoyed the ability to select a car from a designated row upon arrival, but not this time, not with Hertz. This time, we were assigned a car; not a fan if I am honest. We walked over to the Hertz area and quickly found our car. Well, um, it was a little smaller than we had hoped. It was a 4-door, but it really needed to be stretched out of bit. Opening up the rear hatchback, we immediately realized that the “trunk space” (if you want to call it that) was sorely insufficient for our three pieces of luggage. Using our smarts, we figured out how to “TETRIS” half of our stuff into the trunk and half of the back seat with our daughter. It worked, but just barely. Truth is, it was a fine little car, but I wouldn’t call it an Intermediate size (wish I could remember the model). For driving around, sans the luggage, it worked great for our family of three, but driving from and back to the airport wasn’t ideal.

We ended up arriving at our resort, the Animal Kingdom Lodge, close to 7pm. I had checked in online while at the airport, but we stopped by the front desk nonetheless to get physical room cards, a property map, and to make sure that my and my wife’s Magic Bands were all setup properly (they were). Our daughter didn’t have one yet since she didn’t find one online ahead of time that she liked. The plan was to hit Disney Springs the next day to get one for her.

Arriving at our savanna view room, we enjoyed a wonderful view:





There were a few animals out and about this evening. Not having a lot of time before our dinner ADR, we tried to unpack a bit, freshened up a little, and then headed down to a meal that we hoped would kick off our vacation right…Jiko!

Thankfully, as our daughter has grown up, so has her palette. Like mom and dad, she is now more interested in trying new cuisines, experiencing new flavors! Now, that said, she still loves a good old-fashioned steak and would never turn down a plate of mac and cheese. So, when I mentioned that Jiko offered a choice of steak with their famous mac and cheese, she was totally on board!

What can I say about Jiko? The service and the meal were spectacular. The ambiance was serene. We enjoyed a table along the windows, which we could see through at first, enjoying the greenery and pond, but as the sun finally set, we mainly saw our reflection. For our meal, we shared the Duck Confit and Honey-Raisin Flatbread appetizer. It was phenomenal!



Next came the bread service, called Giraffe Bread, which admittedly is not as special as the Indian-style bread service at Sanaa, but it was unique and delicious in its own right.



For our entrees, our daughter and I both ordered the “From the Oak Grill” steak, but a little differently. While she got the New York Strip, I requested the Bone Marrow-crusted Filet Mignon; and while she chose the included four-cheese macaroni, I added the Bobotie Mac & Cheese enhancement and replaced the included mac and cheese with some seasoned rice. My wife? She ordered the Sustainable Fish entrée. Everything was spectacular!









I should note that this meal was not on the dining plan because as a Signature restaurant it would have cost us two table service credits, which we didn’t feel was a value.

Dinner happily over and all of us very content, we then stepped out back and meandered over to the Mara to claim our resort mugs (part of the dining plan of course). Our vacation was starting off strong!





Next…Day 2: Fantasia Gardens & Disney Springs!

 

[gregf71]

Day 2: Fantasia Gardens & Disney Springs!

Of the four days on Disney World property, today was our day to not visit a theme park. Instead, the plan was to get a good breakfast, hit the two courses of Fantasia Gardens, and then enjoy the rest of the day and evening in Disney Springs.

Breakfast this morning was one that I specifically requested because it was such an awesome meal in 2021, when we last visited Disney. Up and out of the Lodge, we jumped into our rental car (much easier without the luggage) and headed to the Boardwalk Resort and Trattoria al Forno.

Seated fairly quickly, we had a table in the central space of the restaurant with a nice view of the open kitchen. Our daughter ordered the Avocado Toast, my wife the Caprese Omelet, and me the Al Forno Eggs, which I absolutely fell in love with in 2021. Unfortunately, while the Toast and the Omelet were winners (especially the Toast), my Al Forno Eggs were a major disappointment this time. Why? They changed it since 2021 by adding polenta to the tomato sauce. What was a glorious, dark red, sweet and spicy tomato sauce in 2021, perfect for sliding the country bread into, was now a thicker orange-colored mass of goo that simply lacked the flavors that I remember so fondly. As before, the eggs were cooked great, but the tomato sauce, which had been the star of the show, was not good in my opinion. It wasn’t a horrible dish by any means, but it wasn’t what I wanted. It didn’t deserve to be sent back, but it was a disappointing change for my taste buds. The server noticing that I didn’t eat much of it, asked about it, so I told her my thoughts and she indicated that she would let the chef know. If life brings us back here again for breakfast and the polenta is still one of the ingredients, I may ask if it can be excluded.

Al Forno Eggs image from 2021:



Al Forno Eggs image from 2024; can you see the difference?:



Breakfast over (and again, not on the dining plan since it was a less expensive meal), we meandered a bit on the Boardwalk and looked through a couple of the shops that had since opened. Next, it was time to head over to Fantasia Gardens for a little miniature golf!

In the past, we’ve enjoyed rounds at Winter Summerland, but this was our first-time playing Fantasia Gardens. If you are not aware, Fantasia Gardens offers two courses; one, of course themed on the animated feature Fantasia, and another, called the Fairways, themed to look more like a real golf course (which we heard was pretty challenging).



We decided to play the Fairways first and yeah, it was pretty difficult at times, even without all of the fun and crazy features that one usually experiences on a miniature golf course. Plus, while there were what appeared to be sand traps along the course, they weren’t actually filled with sand, so balls rolled through them with ease (if they had enough power behind them). Overall, it was a fun course, especially since it was so different from any other miniature golf course that we’ve tried. How’d we do? Pretty good actually, but certainly no course records.

As part of our Disney vacation package, we received four vouchers for miniature golf rounds, so our turn on the Fairways course was free. For the Fantasia Gardens course, having one voucher left, we had to pay for only two of us; plus, since we had played the first course already, they discounted the price for our two Fantasia round tickets.



If I am honest, we liked the Fantasia Gardens course much better. It was just more fun and fancy free, especially those holes with the water features, though not all of them were working that morning. We especially liked the Bald Mountain hole, which not only offered a short indoor respite from the hot sun, but acoustically it was awesome because it allowed our daughter, who enjoys singing, to perform a little song for us.

Finished on the mini links, we returned to our rental car and managed to exit the parking lot just before the time ran out on our free parking. Yeah, it is a controlled parking lot that assesses a fee if you stay too long. We just made it out at no cost! Off to Disney Springs!

Parking in the Disney Springs structures is always super easy (especially around noon on a Tuesday). We ended up finding a nice end spot on the floor just above the security checkpoint and the escalator down to the Springs. Our daughter had a little issue getting through security because the metal detectors alarmed for something in her backpack. We forget what it was exactly that was the culprit, but ultimately the security officer checking her bag figured it out and it proved to not be an issue, so they let her pass. That said, we made sure to remember it when getting through security at the parks the next several days.

Lunch was our first priority…and our first use of dining plan meal credits. Our destination was the Polite Pig! We’d never dined here before and I for one was very excited to try it given everything that I have read and seen about it. The menu was pretty big, so when it was our turn to order at the counter register, we notified the person that we wanted to use our dining plan (which are quick service meal credits here), and they kindly pointed out our options, including some adult beverages. Making our selections, the Southern Pig pulled pork sandwich, the Fried Chicken sandwich, and the USDA Prime Brisket plate, plus a soda for our daughter and a loaded drink for both my wife and me, we then scrambled to find a table in the busy restaurant.

Food delivered and extra sauces procured, we feasted! Boy, did we feast! This stuff was plentiful and delicious! The fact is, the two sandwiches were pretty massive and neither my wife nor daughter were able to finish them. They liked them very much, but it was just too much food. I, on the other hand, polished off the super tender brisket, enjoying the various sauces we grabbed to dip the pieces into. And those Polite Baked Beans as my side…sublime! I was a happy man!

And while I won’t do this for every meal in this trip report, the receipt came to $95.85 (excluding gratuity), which was fully covered by our dining plan. Many blogger and vlogger experts claim that you should approximate the value of a table service meal at $63.00 per person, a quick service meal at $25.00, and a snack at $6.00; anything above those numbers is essentially savings. Well, if we were to use those values for this meal, then for the three of us, we’d be looking at a number of $75.00, so for this meal we beat it by around $20.00! Truth is though that this was the only quick service meal of our entire WDW trip where we identified dining plan savings. Why? Well, looking back, this was the only quick service meal that my wife and I ordered adult beverages versus a soda or a non-alcoholic specialty drink; adult drinks are really where the value can be captured for QS dining plan meals.

OK! Food thoroughly enjoyed; it was time to walk it off. I won’t detail all of the various shops that we visited. It’s not really important information, but I will mention a few things before I get to the fun we had at Disney Springs that afternoon.

First, as I mentioned in the Day 1 report, our daughter didn’t yet have a Magic Band+ for this trip. My wife and I both pre-purchased ours, but our daughter simply didn’t see one online that she liked. Now, the location that we were actually referred to by a CM at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was Disney’s Pin Traders in the Marketplace section of Disney Springs. Finding ourselves there, they did have a decent selection of Magic Bands. Our daughter wasn’t blown away by the options (she was really hoping to find a Rapunzel/Tangled themed one), but ultimately, she settled on a Pixar character band. Additional information shared by the Lodge CM was that the CMs at the Pin Traders store could also setup our daughter’s new band to our account, easy-peasy. Well, either that wasn’t truly the case or the CM who sold us the new band at Pin Traders didn’t want to do it or didn’t know how. Oh well, later that evening, upon returning to the Lodge, a very nice CM at the front desk helped us get it all squared away.

The second “shopping” location of note that we visited was the Disney PhotoPass Studio, also in the Marketplace. Before our vacation, I received an email from Disney about the Memory Maker package that we had linked to our trip. Strange thing was, we hadn’t purchased Memory Maker for this vacation. Confused, I opened a chat session via the Disney World website back then and the CM confirmed that there was a “previously purchased” photo package that wasn’t used, so they tacked it onto this trip for us. Even more confused, but not wanting to argue, nor look a gift horse (or mouse I guess) in the mouth, I said ok and figured that I would test the waters as it were while at the PhotoPass Studio. After talking to a CM, I called over my family, had the photographer scan my band, and we posed for some pictures in front of their backgrounds. Sure enough, after a few minutes, the pictures appeared in my photo section of the My Disney Experience app. Cool!

Third location to mention…World of Disney. Here, a particular Starbucks bottle caught my wife’s eye, a Magic Kingdom themed one in fact. She liked it very much and noted to me that it was actually priced lower than one she had seen at Disneyland weeks earlier. While wandering around the massive store, I stumbled upon a large table that had these Starbucks bottles upon it. Interestingly, what caught my eye, was the sign attached to the table, listing the price of said bottles as higher than the one my wife grabbed. I started looking more closely at several of the bottles themselves, noticing an inconsistency. Some had price tags that matched the higher price indicated on the sign, while there were many others that had price tags with the lower price that my wife found. There was no rhyme nor reason about the discrepancy. Identical bottles had one price tag or the other. So, I grabbed one of the lower tagged items and asked a CM to confirm the price. Scanning the barcode, it came up at the higher price, but then I pointed out the price tag on it and others. Confused, they called over a manager, discussed it, and agreed to honor the lower price for us. I then heard the manager say, I think these bottles are all over the store! Uh oh.

Alright, now for the fun! During previous Disney Springs visits, one thing that always caught my eye were the amphicars. Not only are they beautiful to look at, but it just looked like so much fun! Well, this time, weather allowing, it had to happen! Plus, it didn’t hurt that in the back of the Birnbaum Disney World 2024 trip planning book there was a coupon, $25 if I remember correctly!

Though there was a decent crowd around the amphicar launch, it turned out that the majority of the people were just observers. Checking in the nearby Boathouse shop, they confirmed that it would be about a 20-minute wait, so I whipped out the coupon and paid for the experience!

When it was our turn, they texted my cell phone and we approached the launch kiosk. There, we had to each complete a waiver on a supplied tablet and then were directed to then stand by a gate. Stepping out to our car, a sweet light-teal number, our driver welcomed us and gave us the rundown. Before entering the vehicle, they positioned us next to it to pose for some pictures. Figuring that it was just another money-making thing for the operation (for digital downloads or maybe prints), we smiled, but had no intention of buying pictures. But then! But then…our driver asked if we had the Memory Maker package, which I confirmed; and he happily told us that all of their pictures would be included for free. After the cruise, we simply needed to return to the Boathouse shop, find our images on the interactive kiosks inside, select our pictures, and tap our Magic Band! Sweet!

Now in the car, my wife and daughter jumped in the back while I sat in the front passenger seat, we began our slow drive into the water in front of us. As luck would have it, Mr. Weather decided that right now was the best time to rain on Disney Springs. Thankfully, it wasn’t bad at all, more of a hard drizzle. Our driver offered us umbrellas to hold above our heads, but we politely declined. It was actually still rather warm, so the light rain was actually refreshing.





The ride itself lasted about 20 minutes. It was a nice little cruise and we were all very glad that we did it. Tipping our driver with cash after departing the vehicle, we headed back to the Boathouse shop to get our pictures and as fate would have it buy several rubber (actually plastic) duckies, mostly tiny ones for our daughter, but one larger one where the duck was sitting in a light-teal amphicar, wearing a captain’s hat (that one was mine!).

Dinner tonight, also not on the dining plan, would be at Morimoto Asia. This was our daughter’s #1 choice for a meal during this visit. In 2021, my daughter and I shared the Peking Duck for two and it was wonderful. This time, having checked the menu out ahead of time, we planned to try the Kan Kan Pork Chop for Two. Alas, fate dictated otherwise, for even though it had only been on the menu for a few weeks prior to our visit, our server notified us that it wasn’t available that night. Bummer. Instead, our daughter ordered the Orange Chicken and I got the LA BBQ Kalbi Beef Ribs. Both were good, but neither of us felt that either was spectacular; we both kind of wish that we’d gotten the duck again, but oh well. My wife, on the other hand, ordered the Morimoto Buri-Bop, finished tableside. It looked and smelled amazing and my wife confirmed that it tasted amazing too!







We skipped dessert at Morimoto’s because we had visited Gideon’s Bakehouse in the Landing area earlier. We adore Gideon’s and are always blown away by their cookies and cakes. This time around, it was just a cookie for each of us, but given their size, that was more than enough.



Sadly, our evening ended up being cut a bit short. While we had hoped to enjoy the new drone show, again Mr. Weather decided to throw us a curveball and both of that evening’s shows were canceled. Oh well.

Next…Day 3: Magic Kingdom and TRON (Finally)!

 

[gregf71]

Day 3: Magic Kingdom and TRON (Finally)!

Let me start by admitting that the original TRON film is my favorite of all time. No, it is not the greatest movie ever, and there are others that are honestly better movies overall, but there is a very special place in my heart for the original TRON. Years ago, when I first saw footage of the first TRON attraction at Shanghai Disneyland, even though it is based more upon TRON: Legacy, I was blown away and wanted to figure out how to get us over there. I had to ride a light cycle!!! Thankfully, fate brought it to Walt Disney World, but fate also delayed its opening, meaning that it wasn’t an option when we were last there in 2021. In 2024, with only 1 day in the Magic Kingdom, I wasn’t going to take any chances and I prayed that fate would be my friend!

At 12am that morning, still technically up from the Disney Springs day before, I was online and purchased Genie+ (this was before they switched to the new Lightning Lane service) for our Magic Kingdom day, which, yes, I know, didn’t include TRON access. Can I add that it sure annoys me that they charge sales tax for Genie+ in Florida, but not California. Then, at 7am, I was online again, purchasing Individual Lightning Lane access for TRON! And the beauty of it is that with ILLs you get to choose your preferred arrival window, so wanting to experience it at night with all of its exterior blue glory, we got 9:25pm to 10:25pm! I was beyond excited!

The day itself proved to be rather blustery weather-wise. My wife and I took it in stride, but for whatever reason our daughter was very displeased. But then, it’s Orlando, weather blows in and it blows out, right?! Well, while that has been our usual experience during previous trips, today decided to stay blustery most of the daytime, specifically in the late morning and early afternoon. It wasn’t until the evening that the rain clouds finally left. During the day, there was more than one instance when we scurried into a shop to get out from under the deluge outside.

Breakfast (with dining plan) was set for the Crystal Palace, with mimosas (included) for my wife and me. It was as wonderful as we remembered and we were very excited to enjoy the famed churro Mickey waffles! While watching YouTube videos about Disney Cruises, we learned about the mystical churro Mickey waffles that apparently only make an appearance one morning in the cruise ship buffet line. It was unanimous in these videos that the waffles were awesome, so when I discovered that they were included in the Crystal Palace buffet menu, we were super excited to finally try them! They did not disappoint! With or without syrup, it’s totally up to you, they were fantastic!



Breakfast thoroughly enjoyed, it was time to hit some attractions. Thinking back on the day now, I don’t think we realized, nor even really cared too much that we didn’t get onto a ton of rides that day, even with Genie+. I mean, we did good, and used the service well, but we didn’t have any real sense of urgency to hit everything. That may have been because we had recently spent two days up at Disneyland. So, which attractions did we enjoy today? Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (three times), Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, the Haunted Mansion, the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain (twice), the Swiss Family Treehouse, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid, and Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. You may have noticed that we skipped a few of the more popular attractions, but that was ok with us (truth be told, we are actually not fans of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train attraction…GASP!). And, yeah, don’t forget about TRON!!!!



And of course, at some point this morning, we simply had to burn a couple snack credits to grab a couple LaFou’s Brews to share! I wish we had these at Disneyland!



Lunch time happened to coincide with more downpours that afternoon. During our trip planning, this particular meal, which needed to be a quick service for the dining plan, we honestly weren’t too hyped about what the Magic Kingdom offered. We considered popping over to the Polynesian Resort and go to Capt. Cook’s (oh, I love those pulled pork nachos!), but given that we had an ADR at Ohana for dinner that night, we figured that two trips over wasn’t a good use of time. So, we settled on Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café. Why? Well, given the weather, we really wanted something indoors. Plus, we just felt like getting something basic for lunch and the Starlight Café ticked both of our boxes. This was also our first attempt at using the My Disney Experience app to make a mobile order to use dining plan credits; and may I say, it worked perfectly!

The greatest challenge was that we were by no means the only people to pick Cosmic Ray’s that afternoon. Having never actually seen Ray perform, we hoped to find a table in the large room where his stage is, but the place was absolutely packed and other people looking for tables were circling like sharks. In fact, all of the seating areas were filled to the gills! With that being the case, we waited to actually place our mobile order until we found a table, which we ultimately did, but it was tight, as we had other tables full of people sitting very close to us.

Seated, we reviewed the menu on our phones and I then placed the mobile order through the app. It couldn’t have been easier; not to mention, the lines for those ordering in person were crazy too, so we effectively bypassed them completely. For our entrees, we got a burger, a spicy fried chicken sandwich, and a Greek salad; to drink we ordered a Sulley Slush, a Lunar Lemonade, and a large iced tea. How was everything? Meh, it was fine. The food was not great, but not bad at all. The highlights were the two specialty drinks!



Fed, we returned to enjoying attractions and the weather that got increasingly warmer and increasingly clearer:



Eventually, it was time to head over to the Polynesian Resort for our 6:45pm ADR at Ohana. Boy, do I love taking the boats between the park and the resort. Arriving too early for our reservation, we amused ourselves in the gift shops for a bit and grabbed some lobby chairs to just crash in. We were tired.

When I got the notification that our table was ready, we jumped up and made our way over to the awaiting CMs, identified ourselves, and were whisked away to our table! It wasn’t a window table this time, but that was ok. Our server greeted us, quickly filled us in on the Ohana routine (which we already knew very well), and then took our drink orders (yep, adult beverages and a specialty Moana smoothie…all included with the dining plan credits)! As our server turned away, it happened…a fire alarm!

Yep, everyone had to evacuate the Great Ceremonial House. As you could expect, a little bit of orchestrated chaos. Everyone that we saw behaved themselves and left the building in an orderly manner. I was honestly surprised how many people were standing outside with us. The CMs did a good job directing folks out of the building, but I was a little shocked that they allowed so many to stand so close to the doors. I’d say that we stood outside for 20 minutes or so, give or take, before the all clear was given and we were able to return to our table in Ohana. In the grand scheme of things, we really lucked out. None of our food nor drinks had arrived to our table when the evacuation occurred, which was certainly not the case for most of the other tables we saw. How was our meal? Mostly really good. Loved the citrus vinaigrette on the salad and the signature Ohana bread is always a hit! The wings, dumplings, and noodles were excellent, but the stir-fried veggies were more filler than tasty. The teriyaki beef was hit and miss and I kind of wish that the peel and eat shrimp was less self-peeling and more flavorful. The grilled chicken with guava-pineapple glaze was tasty. And finally, the Ohana bread pudding dessert was great as always! In the end, a fine meal and a good value for table service credits on the dining plan.



Now back in the Magic Kingdom, time was ticking away as the sun finally set, the night’s darkness took over the clearing sky, and it was nearing TRON-time! To say that I couldn’t wait was an understatement! Finally, it was time and we made our way up and under the dazzling sapphire blue cover and exterior track space, coasters roaring overhead and riders screaming gleefully (at least I think most of them were feeling glee!). Making our way up by the virtual queue lines, we were struck immediately by their length. Wow, did we ever feel that buying the Individual Lightning Lane passes were worth it! Sure, for the three of us it added up (plus that darn sales tax), but still totally worth it!

I was awestruck by the visuals and sounds that enveloped us as we progressed through the remaining bit of the exterior and then interior queue. Walking through the initial “circuitry” hallway, we ended up being the last ones in the next introductory room. I think that we missed a little of the video displayed there, but did manage to catch the amazing visual when we are “digitized” into the World of TRON! The effect whereby the front wall suddenly goes from opaque to transparent, looking down upon the attraction’s loading bay was spectacular! I’d seen videos online, but they simply didn’t do this justice! Stunning!

Welcomed to the Grid, we entered the locker hallway, selected two that were available, stored our stuff, and made our way down to the loading area. Still fully enveloped in the sounds and the scenery, I just continued to soak it all in. Since the cycles are paired, we would have to sit two together and one of us with a stranger. Most of the time, our daughter chooses to sit with mom, but knowing how special this experience was for me, our daughter decided to be my partner this time. I was very pleased!

All secured on our cycles, it was finally time…and it was completely AMAZING! The only thing that I would say, which I have heard and read countless times online, is that it could have been longer; it felt sort of short. Still, it was incredibly smooth (exponentially better than Space Mountain, which I actually came off of in some level of pain this time out). The visuals were thrilling and the soundtrack was perfection. Plus, as I am someone who as I’ve aged “enjoys” bouts of motion sickness on certain attractions, there was absolutely none with TRON!

After reclaiming our things from the storage lockers, we made our way into the gift shop. My hands were literally shaking from all the adrenaline coursing through my body. Knowing that I was going to take a while finding some TRON souvenirs, my wife and daughter asked if they could go hit another ride while I perused. I happily approved, as they went on their way and I torturously made my selections. I wanted just about everything that I set my eyes upon, but that couldn’t happen. I considered mightily a custom figure with my scanned face and recorded audio tracks uploaded into it, but ultimately, I decided not to mainly because the figure was from TRON: Legacy, not the original film. Had it been designed more like an original film character, then I would have been all over it! In the end, I went pretty conservative (mainly because I knew I wanted things from the cruise and Castaway Cay), buying just a baseball hat and coffee mug, and I was very happy…though that TRON biker helmet did look awful good on me! Family having not yet returned, I went back outside to soak up the ambiance some more and take pictures.







Eventually meeting up with the family, there was one more thing that our daughter really wanted to do before we called it a night. She learned that over in Fantasyland, only at night, there was a particular Rapunzel/Tangled-themed Photo Pass shot available. Trekking over there, we easily found the photographers nestled in an alcove by the Peter Pan attraction, looking off towards the Tangled bathrooms in the distance; and thankfully the line was short! When it was our daughter’s turn, they handed her an illuminated lantern inspired by Tangled. Holding it with her hands on the base, she was instructed to turn her eyes three different ways for the pictures. Scanning my Magic Band, the images soon found their way onto the app for downloading to my phone. They were beautiful.

Tired at this point, we figured we'd head out, making sure to hit some Main Street shops on the way; but of course, I had to take one more magical image on our way out:



Next…Day 4: EPCOT

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Fun read! Following

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more

 

[gregf71]

Working on Day 4, friends. Hope to have it up soon!

 

[KenyaSierra]

Your report is awesome so far. I appreciate your efforts- keep it up!

 

[gregf71]

Day 4: EPCOT, Part 1

Arriving before opening, we entered the “new” World Celebration area and scouted out the place a bit. When we were last here in 2021, all of this was still behind construction walls. What we saw sure looked nice, new, and clean. Needing to be in the Land Pavilion for breakfast, we sauntered over in that direction and found that CMs were still blocking off access because early entry hadn’t officially started yet. Thankfully, we found an open building right there with air-conditioning and ample seating and tables. It was an oasis because even though it was early in the morning, it was already hot.

Once we noticed the crowd of waiting people outside start to move, we quickly joined them and made our way into the Land Pavilion and over to the Garden Grill. We’ve always had a soft place in our hearts for the Garden Grill, especially for breakfast. In fact, thinking about it, I believe that every meal that we’ve had here was breakfast. In 2021, we actually skipped it for Trattoria al Forno at the Boardwalk, which turned out then to be a great meal itself. This time, we very much wanted to return, but with one hopeful caveat. The last time we dined at Garden Grill (two visits ago), we were seated at a table up above in the inner ring. If I am honest, none of us liked that at all. The food and characters were fine as always back then, but to us a major part of the Garden Grill experience is the rotation and view and sounds of the Living with the Land attraction below. Up there, in the upper inner space, it felt absent.

For this meal, when checking in, I made a humble request to be seated at a table on the lower outer ring. Thankfully, they were able to accommodate my request and we were super stoked about it! If you don’t know, the meal is themed as Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Harvest Feast. It’s an all you care to enjoy meal with fresh fruit, pastries, waffles, eggs, potatoes, bacon, and grilled steak; even better, all the POG juice one could want (and we got coffee too). And yes, this meal would be on the dining plan.



How was it? Tasty food, excellent service, great characters, and a splendid view. It was all we could ask for to start off our EPCOT day!

Now, I should mention that we did buy Genie+ for EPCOT this day, but we didn’t buy any Individual Lightning Lane passes. And to be honest, looking back on it now, while we did use it and take advantage of it, I don’t think that it really offers the same value as it does for the Magic Kingdom.

After breakfast, since we were in the Land Pavilion, plus it was still pretty early, we walked right onto Living with the Land (no Genie+ required), but did then use it for Soarin’.



Staying in the area, we visited the Seas with Nemo & Friends, but again no need to use Genie+. Our daughter was most excited to come here because she is greatly enamored with manatees!



Next, again staying in the vicinity, we walked over to the Imagination Pavilion and rode Journey Into Imagination with Figment, yet again no need to use Genie+.

Leaving Imagination, we wanted something cold, so we stopped at a nearby popcorn cart. Honestly, we had zero intention of buying a popcorn bucket today (unless we happened to see a particular Pixar pizza delivery truck one – which we never did), but then there it was! The Imagination Pavilion popcorn bucket, which I believe were leftovers from an earlier seasonal festival. Yeah, we had to have it.

Next, we visited the Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana thing. I mean, is it an attraction, an exhibit, what? All I can say is that it was beautiful and most of the water effects worked for us, but a couple seemed offline. Still, it was a refreshing experience.





We have always felt that EPCOT is a great meandering park. We just love to take our time and meander around it. Now, that philosophy is great when you are staying for several days and visiting the park more than once, but when you only have 1 day there, it may have been a slight error in judgement. Like the Magic Kingdom, while we experienced many things at EPCOT this day, we certainly missed a few things (sorry Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure), but were fine with that.

What did we do? Living with the Land, Soarin’ Around the World, the Seas with Nemo & Friends, Imagination, Journey of Water, Frozen Ever After, Gran Fiesta Tour, Reflections of China, Spaceship Earth, and of course Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind! But, I must caveat Guardians, while all of us did wait in the queue for Guardians, my concern of motion sickness on that one (which was validated by my wife and daughter after they rode it), kept me literally holding the popcorn bucket while they enjoyed the attraction…and they loved it! Add to this list of actual attractions, all of the wonderful shops and World Showcase pavilions that we walked through. Even with us missing a couple things, it was a full and exhausting day.





For lunch, we decided to go to the France pavilion and Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie to use our next set of quick service dining plan credits. This place is wonderful, but it sure needs more seating. To say that it was a madhouse in there is an understatement. While I got into the physical line (oh yeah, there is no mobile ordering here), my wife and daughter scouted the seating area for a table to hopefully become available. At first, they both missed a couple tables as other sharks were circling the space as well. Finally, both managed to get a table separately, so we kept the larger of the two.

Table procured, my wife joined me in the queue and our daughter reviewed the menu online, eventually texting us what she wanted. Knowing that we had a good dinner ahead of us this evening, we didn’t want to go too heavy here. In the end, we ordered a trio of sandwiches and three large sodas.



Our take? All of them were very good, but my wife, who got the simple ham and cheese baguette, really regretted after the fact that she didn’t have them heat her sandwich. My croissant sandwich was delicious, as was our daughter’s pesto sandwich. All in all, a good choice for a fine lunch, but man that seating area is the pits!

As already noted, we took our time enjoying EPCOT throughout the day. Even though we missed a few, we felt content with the attractions that we did experience, especially with all of the World Showcase shops and exhibits open. And there is no better place than the World Showcase to use up some dining plan snack credits, especially at Karamell-Kuche in Germany...can you say, caramel butter bar?! And a bit later, when we hit a heat wall, three frozen drinks from the Refreshment Outpost.

And oh, did I want one of these Spaceship Earth “things” that we found in a shop in the Germany Pavilion, but alas the price tags prohibited that for sure!





Next…Day 4: EPCOT, Part 2

 

[gregf71]

Day 4: EPCOT, Part 2

NOTE: I decided to break the EPCOT day into two parts for one reason, and one reason alone…you need to see the pictures of our dinner! Here we go!

Dinner tonight was originally planned, pre-ADR booking window, for Le Cellier Steakhouse, one of my personal favorites, but ultimately, we decided to try something new…Shiki Sai Izakaya and Sushi!

During our trip planning phase, once Shiki Sai opened, the vast majority of the reviews I read and viewed online were spectacular! Over the past year, our daughter’s taste buds finally started to enjoy sushi, so when I mentioned this restaurant as a possible dinner destination, she was all for it. Plus, unlike Le Cellier, it cost only one table service credit per person on the dining plan.

Seated along the front window, we had a wonderful view of the World Showcase below. Though it was totally unintended by us, this turned out to be very advantageous for viewing that evening’s performance of Luminous.

Now, I will say this, as far as trip planning goes, figuring out exactly how the dining plan worked here was a bit challenging. The rules of the dining plan are generally pretty simple; for a non-buffet or family-style table service meal, one gets an entrée, a dessert, and a drink. The problem is that the Shiki Sai menu doesn’t really have an entrée section, particularly the one posted on the Disney World website. It wasn’t until I started online research away from the WDW site, that I learned of the existence of a special Omakase page in the restaurant’s physical menu that isn’t present on the WDW Shiki Sai menu page online.

So, for the dining plan at Shiki Sai, as an adult, you are allowed to select from one of two omakase options: the Nishiki or the Gion; there is also a separate Kids option for the kiddos. For the adults, five non-dessert categories are offered to make selections from depending on which omakase you select. The Nishiki allows you to choose one Starter, one Izakaya Plate, and one Roll/Tamaki/Nigiri Sushi option. The Gion allows you to select one Starter and one Main option. Both also allow you pick one item from a list of desserts; and of course, you can select a drink too, including from a select group of adult beverages and non-alcoholic specialty beverages. Anything ordered outside of this is outside of the dining plan and must be paid for separately.

Truth be told, I am less of a “traditional” sushi fan. I prefer rolls and I shy away from nigiri (you know, the slice of fish sitting atop an oval-shaped mound of rice) and straight-up sashimi; both of these types are more to my wife’s liking. And when I say “rolls”, I mean those that are more complex (less traditional, I suppose), beyond the more simplistic stylings of rolls like a California Roll. Looking at the menu, the rolls that I prefer fell under the Chef Specials category, but none of them were included in the omakase menus. Sure, I could order any of the Specials if I wished to, but they would be outside of the dining plan.

So, what did we order? First of all, we all ordered the Nishiki omakase menu. Our starters: the Japanese Potato Salad (sweet and heavenly), Japanese cucumbers (beautifully presented and tasty), and the Edamame seasoned with spicy garlic (so flavorful); we also ordered, thus out of pocket, the Grilled Wagyu Gyoza (three pieces [pictured below], so one for each of us, of foodie glory…get these!!!).









From the Izakaya Plate section, we ordered the Chicken Nanban (oh that tartar sauce was finger licking good, not to mention a rather good-sized portion), the Fried Squid (crispy and delicious according to our daughter), and the Tomato Garden Salad (just splendid).







Now, the specific sushi that we each ordered escapes me, but I do have a picture:



The sushi? Delicious! The fish was certainly quality; no doubt about that. They were fresh and very, very tasty…but for me a little too simple. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my roll very much, but there was a small part of me that wished it was more than what it was. Yes, I could have ordered a Dragon Roll or something more complex, but that would have been out of pocket and I chose not to (and it's not like I left hungry!). My wife, who prefers the simpler sushi items, absolutely loved hers. Our daughter? She’s still evolving her sushi palette, but tends to be more like me.

And yes, we got fancy drinks to go with our fantastic meal. My wife got the Violet Sake, me the Tokyo Sunset, and our daughter a Calpis Dragon, Pink ombre-colored mocktail with dragon fruit and Calpico. Each of them was beautifully presented and wonderful.



Lastly, for our desserts (sorry, not pictured), my wife and I both requested the Yuzu Cheesecake (which was fabulous), while our daughter got the soft serve ice cream.

As our meal ended, the sun had already set and the torches around the World Showcase were already lit. Technically, it was still about 15 minutes before Luminous was scheduled to begin, but our server was by no means eager to have us leave. In fact, she made a point of coming over to tell us that we were more than welcome to stay and enjoy the show from where we were seated. After a little debate about the benefit of getting ahead of the exiting crowds, knowing the fact that there was an after-hours event in EPCOT that night (which we chose not to buy tickets to), we ultimately decided to go with whatever our daughter wanted…and that was to stay and watch the show.



I am so glad that we did. They dimmed the lights a bit and pumped the soundtrack into the restaurant. It was glorious and a fantastic way to end our EPCOT day.

Next…Day 5: Animal Kingdom

 

[gregf71]

Day 5: Animal Kingdom

Since the official opening time for Animal Kingdom was 8am, early entry this morning began at 7:30am. Breakfast today was planned at the Mara, in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, using another set of quick service dining plan credits. Opening at 6:30am, we figured we could swing down there around opening, grab a good meal to start the day, and then hopefully make it over to the park for a little bit of the early entry. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be…and I will tell you why.

Arriving at the Mara around 6:40am, there was a good amount of people already there, but by no means was the joint crowded. The strange thing was that there was a small mass of guests just standing around over by the various food service counters. The CMs were hustling and bustling behind the counters, but there was no service yet. Confused, I turned and asked a CM working one of the registers what was going on and she told me that the food service counters didn’t open until 7am. Well, that’s nuts! Especially when early entry for resort guests opens at 7:30am!

The coffee bar just to the left of the food service counters was open and serving coffees, but unless you wanted something to eat out of the refrigerators, then you simply had to wait. Normally, that wouldn’t be a big deal whatsoever, but when you hoped to hit some of early entry and this service reality wasn’t clear, then it gets a tad frustrating.

In front of the food service counters was a single line created by stanchions. Within that line stood that small mass of people, all eagerly waiting for the food service counters, of which I recall there being four and each offering different food options, to open. We joined the queue and once the time finally came, the CMs behind the counters beckoned the customers to come forward. But, again, each station offered different things and since most of the people in front of us wanted something from one particular station, they effectively blocked the rest of us and the line didn’t move. My wife and I actually wanted a selection from one of the stations that had no line. Making eye contact with the CM behind that service counter, I smiled at them. They gestured at me, inquiring if it was their station that we wanted, and I nodded. At this point, they simply waved us over, so we backed out of the stanchions and walked straight over to place our order and get our food. Our daughter, conversely, preferred grabbing a couple things from the adjacent refrigerators.

So, two things, and these are just my opinions based upon our experience at the Mara this morning. First, Disney, if you are going to open at a designated time, then please have all of your food offerings available at that time. And second, re-evaluate how the hot food service space is organized because that single line solution proved to be more of an obstacle than a solution. Needless to say, we didn’t make it to Animal Kingdom in time to enjoy any of the “bountiful” 30 extra minutes that early entry provides.

How was the food? It was good. I had the Kilimanjaro Bowl, potato barrels topped with scrambled eggs, sausage gravy, chakalaka, cheddar, bacon, and chives. It was very hearty and flavorful. My wife enjoyed the Ancient Grain Power Bowl very much, while our daughter just felt like a bowl of cereal and some cut up fruit. We never did end up dining here for any other meal, which I regret because their lunch and dinner menus looked interesting. Oh well. Off to Animal Kingdom!

First things first, I should mention that once again we purchased Genie+ for our park day. With just one day in each park visited (yep, no Studios this trip!), we figured it might be worth it. For Animal Kingdom (and EPCOT), it certainly wasn’t as needed as it was at the Magic Kingdom, but it did give us some level of peace of mind each day.

After getting the requisite Animal Kingdom image…



…we headed straight for our top priority, using Genie+ of course, and that was Kilimanjaro Safaris! I am sure that you’ve heard this before, but in our opinion, the best time to experience this attraction is earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon. During the heat of the midday hours, the animals (like most of us) are looking for cover and shade (maybe even a nice cold beverage), but when it is cooler outside, the animals tend to walkabout a bit more. And during our safari, walkabout they did, including this friend who decided to take their sweet time in front of our safari vehicle:



If I am honest, I miss the old storyline that used to accompany this attraction. Don’t get me wrong, the current version is fine, but coming from San Diego, with two world class zoo facilities here, I liked the more creative, yet instructional, safari that Animal Kingdom used to offer. Still, as always, this attraction was as great as ever! The king of the rock was even out and about, and making some noise this morning:



So, what did we enjoy this day in the park? Well, of course we meandered through virtually all of the live animal exhibits, but didn’t go out to Conservation Station.



We took a little break from the heat, allowing for a bit of a foot rest, and watched the Winged Encounters – The Kingdom Takes Flight show. It was fun. Of course, even though my wife has an irrational fear of dinosaurs and has never been a fan of the attraction, we had to ride DINOSAUR one last time given the potential that it will be re-themed in the future. Expedition Everest was a must, at least for my wife and daughter; that backwards segment messes with my motion sickness pretty hard, so I skip it now. Since it is no longer at Disney California Adventure, we needed to experience It’s Tough to be a Bug, but no Festival of the Lion King nor Finding Nemo this trip.

Lunch today ended up being at Flame Tree Barbecue. If you don’t know, and you really should know, while Flame Tree offers some tasty food, it’s the outdoor (mostly covered) seating areas that is the best! Finding a table first and foremost in a covered area near the water, we mobile ordered our lunch and waited to be summoned. Our daughter ordered the Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Pulled Pork, my wife the Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich, and me the St. Louis Rib Dinner; add three large fountain drinks and it was completely covered by the dining plan, using our final quick service credits! How was it? Very good. I mean, it was no Polite Pig, but it was still tasty, and the views cannot be beat along the water.







Now, you may have noticed that I have not yet mentioned Pandora – The World of Avatar. Surely, we didn’t skip Pandora! Nope, we didn’t. The fact is, that we saved it for the later afternoon, planning for it to be our grand finale for the day before we had to head out for dinner. We got onto and enjoyed Na’vi River Journey, with Genie+ of course, then had one of our favorite icy treats, the Night Blossom from Pongu Pongu, and just soaked in the ambiance of the space before getting into the queue for Avatar Flight of Passage.

Thankfully, the line for Flight wasn’t terribly long, and it helped (I guess) that there were a few portions of the interior line that were being bypassed for some reasons, for example within the lab area. Plus, we scored a little bit, but maybe not looking back, and were allowed to jump ahead of some folks when the CM needed a group of three. Alas, that was where our luck ended. Completing the pre-show, we entered the ride chamber and mounted our banshees. The ride began and it was as amazing as usual, but about halfway through the experience it happened! Everything went kind of white, as bright lights turned on, effectively washing out the images being projected in front of us. After about 10 to 15 seconds of that, the film stopped and our banshees returned to their default position. Very soon, a CM came into our room, telling us that they were trying to reset everything. We could hear chatter on walkie-talkies and random noises up and around us, as we stayed sitting on our ride vehicles. After about 5 minutes, the CM returned, notifying us that they needed to temporarily shutdown the attraction, scanning our Magic Bands to grant us a pass to return later that evening once it was back online. Unfortunately for us, there simply wouldn’t be time for that given our dinner (and packing) plans. Oh well, it’s not like we hadn’t ridden on Flight before, but this was certainly a bummer.

Leaving Pandora, we hit a few shops on the way out of the park. As you may recall my mentioning in the Preface of this trip report, we initially hoped to have dinner at Yak & Yeti, but that ADR proved un-gettable. So, we pivoted, very happily I might add, to one of our perennial favorites, Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge…which happened to be our resort this trip, so that was convenient, no?

Back at the Lodge, we had time to return to our room first for a little freshening up and to start packing. Since it was still light out, I popped out onto our balcony to find a few giraffes and zebra out and about. Not realizing it at first, I noticed something off about one of the zebras in the near distance…it had extra legs. In reality it had the standard four legs, but as it turned out, it was a mother and its baby that had apparently been born the week prior!





Dinner at Boma – Flavors of Africa; what can I say about that besides, “Go here!” It is something special and very much worth the dining plan table service credits! The various buffet offerings are unique and delicious. Breads, salads, soups, carved meats and ribs, bobotie, sweet corn pudding, and desserts galore (can you say all you care to enjoy Zebra Domes?!) only scratches the surface! Oh…and the Boma Mustard!!!! Do not, and I mean DO NOT, pass on the Boma Mustard!! If you get any of the meats, try the mustard for dipping! Heck, put it on a Zebra Dome! Ok, maybe not, but that stuff is legendary!

Dinner thoroughly enjoyed, and I mean THOROUGHLY, we needed to walk around a bit, and there is no better resort than the Animal Kingdom Lodge to do that in. It was dark out side by this time, so there were no animals to be easily seen, so we focused on the main lobby and the bridge that spans it on (I think) the fifth floor. Snapping several pictures of the various lobby décor, I sent my wife and daughter up to the 5th floor and onto the bridge. With me, standing down below, they smiled down at me as I took several pictures. As they returned to our room, I made my way to the bridge and took more images from that vantage point, this being one of them:



After a quick jaunt down to the Mara to fill-up our refillable mugs, we returned to our room to finish packing. Tomorrow, a great breakfast, then back to the airport to drop off the rental car and grab the Disney Cruise Line bus to Port Canaveral! Vacation 2024 Part 2 was about to begin!

Up next…Day 6: Bye Bye Disney World, Hello Disney Fantasy!

 

[gregf71]

Day 6: Bye Bye Disney World, Hello Disney Fantasy!

Remember how I advised everyone to go to Boma for dinner?! Well, don’t sleep on breakfast there! We didn’t! And please don’t ask me which Boma meal is better, breakfast or dinner. They are both special on their own accord and worth the effort to trek out to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to enjoy them. Granted, it sure made things easier that we were staying here, but we’d have no problem driving out here if we were staying at another resort.

Fully fed, we retreated back up to our room to grab all of our stuff and yet again managed to figure out a way to get all of our luggage into our rental car. After a quick jaunt by a nearby gas station to top off the tank, we drove back to MCO and thankfully made it through the labyrinth of roads and exits, finally arriving at the Hertz rental car return area. Pulling in, an attendant met with us immediately as we emptied all of our belongings from the vehicle. They scanned for any damage (all good there), checked the fuel level (all good there), pushed some buttons on their handheld device, printed us a return receipt and we were off…into the airport that is!

Thankfully, all we really had to do was cross the street. When we initially arrived here days ago, I noticed that the Disney Cruise Line kiosk was on the same level as the rental car service desks, just out by the windows and doors. As we made our way back into the airport terminal, all we had to do was look off to the left, where DCL representatives were already setup for cruise arrivals like us.

There were maybe four lines for checking in and none of them had more than about a dozen or so people in them. We picked one and waited our turn, and it moved pretty quickly. The DCL CM who assisted us was super nice and helpful, reviewing all of our documentation, trip materials and identification, fully checking us in (meaning we didn’t have to do it again at the Port Canaveral cruise ship terminal), and provided us with our transfer bus group character tags. We got Hercules, much to our daughter’s enjoyment! It is one of her favorite Disney films! At this point, we grabbed some nearby chairs and hunkered down until our bus group was called, using the time to make sure that we put our DCL luggage tags on our three pieces of checked luggage. We thought about doing it while at the Lodge, but didn’t want to risk any of them getting accidentally torn off while trying to get them into the rental car. We believe that was a wise decision.

I cannot remember how long we ended up sitting there, but it wasn’t a horrible wait by any means. It gave us plenty of time to relax and use the nearby restroom facilities if need be. Finally, our group was summoned! Rolling our luggage over to the designated DCL attendant, we officially checked it for our bus and we boarded! After watching the storage bays of the bus get loaded with everyone’s luggage, we were eventually off to Port Canaveral!

Now, they told us that the drive to the port takes about an hour, but if you map it online, then it usually lists a travel duration of around 40 minutes. I guess it really depends on the traffic and how heavy the driver’s foot is on the gas pedal. While we didn’t really time it, we felt that we got there closer to the 40-minute mark, which we didn’t mind in the least.

Arriving at the Disney Cruise Line terminal, we were given some unfortunate news. We couldn’t take any perishable, unsealed food onto the ship. Makes sense and normally that wouldn’t be a big deal, but both my daughter and I suddenly realized that we hadn’t finished our Gideon’s cookies from the other day and they were in our backpacks! We had both chosen to take our sweet time and savor them over the course of our Disney World visit; as a result, I’d say that we both had about half of our respective cookies left. I don’t know about you, but trying to choke down even half of a Gideon’s cookie in one go can be quite the challenge. Grabbing a bench outside of the terminal, we did our best (boy, did we need some milk to help wash them down), but in the end (even with my wife’s help), we just ended up tossing portions of each. So sad. Live and learn…eat your cookies!

Entering the terminal, we quickly made it through security and up into the waiting area, where, again, we didn’t need to physically check-in a second time since it had already been taken care of at the airport. Having completed the online check-in process well before our vacation, our official port arrival time was 10:45am, which if memory serves was about the time we got there, give or take. The point being, when we looked up on the boards, our group had already been called and we could immediately join the queue to get on the Fantasy!

Once onboard, we instantly soaked up the glorious ambiance of the main lobby area. Magnificent is the proper word methinks! Knowing that access to the cabins wasn’t an option yet (and neither was the shopping…we have to be at sea before the shops open on the ship), we just walked around where we could and started making mental maps to where everything was (this was our first time on the Fantasy after all). Our travels eventually brought us through a wildly hectic Cabanas (with lots of folks grabbing food) and out into the nearby Sweet on You confectionary and ice cream/gelato shop.



Not having had any lunch yet, and still a bit full from Boma breakfast and remnants of our leftover Gideon’s cookies, we debated if we had room in our tummies for any of the glorious treats being offered at Sweet on You. The discussion didn’t last long at all, as we each ordered a couple scoops of the amazing looking gelato! And no, in case you are not aware, the selections at Sweet on You are not included in the price of your cruise; you must charge any purchases here to your ship account, but it’s totally worth it in our opinion. Honestly, for the quality offered, we felt the prices were actually really good! And yes, the gelato tasted just as amazing as it looked!

After a bit more exploring, especially the adults only area (which our daughter was now old enough to enjoy), we eventually decided to grab a little lunch. Remembering the chaos that was Cabanas, we decided to try a few selections from the quick service counters that made up Flo’s Café on deck 11. Exactly what each of us chose escapes me, but I will say that we were all very pleasantly surprised at the overall quality, especially the French fries! Note this comment because it honestly comes into greater context when we later hit our rotational dining restaurants during this cruise. Queue an aura of foreboding!

Happily satisfied with our lunch, we continued exploring the ship some more, making sure to find Pepe the Prawn’s cabin on deck 5 (room 5148 ½ to be precise). We simply had to find it and get a picture of my wife in front of it! Why? Because she “hates” Pepe and her sentiments towards him are a longstanding joke in our household. Whenever we think about it, my daughter and I frequently send my wife funny memes or videos with Pepe in it just to see her reaction! It’s priceless!



Finally, it was time to go to our stateroom! Cabin #8148! Arriving there, as with every other room I suppose, we found our physical keycards in a small envelope, left outside the door. I’ve always wondered about this process. I mean technically, anyone could walk up to a cabin, claim and open the envelope and access the room with the provided keycard(s), right? I guess that never really happens, otherwise this process would be different; but I digress. Inside our room, we found three DCL Castaway Club lanyards (two gold for my wife and me and one silver for our daughter); in addition, there was a nice Castaway Club tote and wet/dry bag.

Thankfully, two-thirds of our three pieces of checked luggage were already outside of our stateroom (the third arrived a bit later; not sure how or why they got separated, but they did), so we dragged them inside and started to unpack after checking out the space. 8148 is classified as category 05B, a Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah. As with most of the standard DCL cabins, it included a split bath, with one space providing a sink, vanity, and toilet, and the other a sink, vanity, and shower; the space was tight inside both of these “bathrooms”, but you made it work. The cabin offered decent storage overall when you include the closet space, the adjoining floor-stationed drawer unit and shelves above it, as well as the desk area that provided various shelves and cubbies. And of course, there was the beautiful verandah…which while standing upon and leaning up against the railing, our daughter felt one of her loop earrings fall off and down onto another verandah (or so we thought) on a lower deck! Hmmm…how were we going to get that back?!

While mustering for the mandatory evacuation drill, we realized that our report station was actually below and close to the “verandah” where the earring had landed. Now, I keep putting quotation marks around “verandah” because as it turned out the space where it landed wasn’t actually another stateroom’s verandah. Honestly, looking up from our muster location, at what we believed to be the location, it seemed to be connected somehow to an exterior wall-mounted ladder, which was of course secured from guest access. So, after a little deliberation and affirmation from our daughter that it wasn’t a particularly “nice” earring, we just decided to, as they say, “Let it go!”

Finally, it was time to depart! Making our way up to the top decks, we wandered around, taking in the views as we officially started our cruise! I should note that we didn’t stop to watch the Sail Away Party because we stayed up and outside on the deck while the party was moved inside, into the main lobby space, due to a tiny, tiny bit of drizzle (which lasted a very short period of time and disappeared very quickly); better safe than sorry I suppose.









Back to the room, we finished unpacking and got dressed for dinner a tad early (we had second seating at 8:15pm) because we wanted to visit the shops beforehand. A good recommendation…visit the shops when a dinner seating is happening (assuming that you are not going to see a show at that time). It seriously reduces the potential number of other guests in the shops at the same time.

Our first rotational dining location for this cruise was the Enchanted Garden. Walking into the space was very tranquil (at least once we made it through the masses trying to get into the place). A cupid Mickey stood atop a fountain in the center of the restaurant, while the ceiling and surrounding walls presented as if we were sitting inside a large atrium. The lamps hanging from the ceiling resemble flowers, and as the meal progressed, the imagery on the ceiling panels changed, slowly passing from sunlight to sunset and twilight, and the lamps opened up like blooming flowers. It was cool and pretty, but certainly not an attention grabber.





Our two primary servers greeted us very warmly. They introduced themselves to us and us to them. Drink orders taken, we received menu recommendations and considered our options. Here is where I sort of fail you, my friends. I didn’t take any specific notes or pictures about our meal this particular evening. In fact, looking through my pictures from the cruise, I didn’t take images of the food at most of the rotational dinners; but there was a reason for that…for the most part, the food was surprisingly not that great. Truthfully, we were genuinely shocked at how most of our rotational meals during this cruise were quite bland and in one case so poorly plated that my wife actually sent it back (but that is a tale for another Day of this trip report). I mean, it wasn’t bad per se (except that one dish), but it was seriously lacking, especially in general flavor, compared to our memories of previous Disney cruises on other ships in the fleet. Thankfully, if post-dinner snacks were deemed necessary, we already knew that the options up at Flo’s were good!

Tired from a long day, we returned to our stateroom after dinner, not yet truly realizing all the fun to be had into the late hours of the evening down in the Europa area. Don’t worry, we figured it out soon enough, but just not this night. Walking into our room, we noticed my wife’s shoulder Figment (you know, those characters that you can buy in the parks that use a magnet to sit on your shoulder) sticking to the ceiling above our bed. Obviously placed there by our room attendant, we all enjoyed a nice laugh and looked forward to where Figment found himself each night of our cruise!



Up next…Day 7: Day at Sea #1, Part 1

 

[Dreams&wishes]

Thank you your report is great. Any reasons why you went back to MCO to get transportation to Port Canaveral?

 

[gregf71]

Thank you your report is great. Any reasons why you went back to MCO to get transportation to Port Canaveral?

Hiya! Thanks for reading!

Why did we return to MCO to get transportation to Port Canaveral? Well, I can think of a few reasons that made sense to us. First, less hassle. Sure, we could have returned the rental car to a location close to the port, but then that came with a few extra things to then have to worry about, such as more driving (at least 40 extra minutes), more tolls, more gas to top off the tank (plus finding a gas station over there to top off at beforehand), and the Hertz car rental location is a mile away from the port terminal, which, as I understood it, they provide a courtesy shuttle service from, but then we'd have to deal with the luggage onto and off of the shuttle, and then again checking it in with the Disney Cruise staff, plus I am sure there would then need to be a series of cash gratuities (which isn't a problem per se, but all of the little things can add up). Driving back to MCO to then take the Disney transportation meant that we didn't have to deal with any of that.

I also believe that our check-in process at MCO was way less stressful than what I observed at the port terminal. When we rode the escalator onto the upper floor of the terminal, things seemed pretty hectic up there. It was my perception that the number of guests arriving and checking in were significantly higher there than those who did it with us at the airport. It was really nice knowing that all of that stuff was already taken care of for us.

I also looked at it like a Disney Cruise excursion...for peace of mind. If you are on the cruise and purchase one of the excursions that Disney offers, if there are any delays getting back to the ship, then the ship will wait for you. However, if you leave the ship to do something on your own and your return is fraught with delays, Disney has no obligation to wait. I looked at the DCL shuttle service in this same light. If we were passengers on their shuttle service from MCO to Port Canaveral and there were unexpected traffic delays, then there wouldn't (I would hope) be any risk of us missing our cruise. Odds are that nothing like this would happen, but you never know. And perhaps I am wrong in making this analogy, but it just made sense to me.

In the end, we were beginning Part 2 of our vacation (the cruise), which to us meant way more chill, a lot more sitting back, and relaxing. I believe taking the Disney Cruise shuttle from MCO to Port Canaveral was the perfect way to kick that off.

 

[ocalla]

Loved your report!!! Every year I end up wondering WHY they don't open up breakfast spots in resorts at least by 6:00/6:30? You have to either pick to eat before park arrival and miss early entry, or head to park for early entry and eat later. I don't care of either of those options.

and for coffee lovers like myself, and early early early risers.....the Keurig in the room doesn't cut it LOLOL

 

[gregf71]

Loved your report!!! Every year I end up wondering WHY they don't open up breakfast spots in resorts at least by 6:00/6:30? You have to either pick to eat before park arrival and miss early entry, or head to park for early entry and eat later. I don't care of either of those options.

and for coffee lovers like myself, and early early early risers.....the Keurig in the room doesn't cut it LOLOL

Thanks! I am glad that you are enjoying it so far! I still have a lot more to share!

Yeah, it sure would be nice if the resort quick services offered full service earlier in the morning to accommodate those wanting to hit early entry. Maybe some day.

And yeah regarding the Keurig in the room. In all of my years traveling for pleasure and work, to this day I have never touched the in room coffee options. My wife and I recall once using an in room Keurig to make our daughter a watery hot chocolate, but that's it!

 

[ocalla]

Thanks! I am glad that you are enjoying it so far! I still have a lot more to share!

Yeah, it sure would be nice if the resort quick services offered full service earlier in the morning to accommodate those wanting to hit early entry. Maybe some day.

And yeah regarding the Keurig in the room. In all of my years traveling for pleasure and work, to this day I have never touched the in room coffee options. My wife and I recall once using an in room Keurig to make our daughter a watery hot chocolate, but that's it!

Exactly!!! I love a very dark, very bold coffee.......Joffrey's Keurig cups just don't measure up LOL

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

Very much enjoying your trip report. Can’t wait to hear what comes next!

 

[gregf71]

Day 7: Day at Sea #1, Part 1

Today was going to be a BIG day! What am I saying? Every day on the cruise was going to be a BIG day! But today, I was going in for a spa treatment, my wife and I had a martini tasting scheduled, and then a family dinner at Remy (our first ever experience there)!

Before I continue, I need to turn the time machine back to the day before. When we first gained access to our stateroom, I noticed that there was a message alert on our phone. I accessed the voicemail and learned that I needed to contact the Senses Spa & Salon because there was an issue with the treatment I had booked for the next day. Figuring that it would be easier to get out of my family’s way while they unpacked, I made my way up to the spa to find out what was going on. The person I spoke with was one of the assistant managers, who told me that there was an overbooking during my timeslot and they wondered if I would be willing to reschedule my treatment. Sure, I figured, no problem, so they shifted me to earlier in the morning from my original afternoon appointment and confirmed (this is important) that I was getting the “same treatment”, even though, which I specifically pointed out to her, was now called something else. Her response was that my new treatment was just using different products.

Back to today, since my spa treatment was now in the early-ish morning, I decided to forgo breakfast at Cabanas, instead paying a solo visit to the Cove Café for a “real” coffee. How was it? Excellent! Yeah, you have to charge the coffee drinks from here to your room account, but totally worth it! Plus, the atmosphere is so chill and I just loved scoping out the coffee chemistry set they had up on the end of the counter!



Oh! And I got a Mickey printed atop my coffee! I also used the opportunity of the early morning hour and lack of other guests in the area, to snap some pictures:









As I had been instructed, I arrived at the Senses Spa & Salon about 15 minutes early to check-in. I was greeted very warmly and offered a cup of ice-cold water with a twist of lemon in it, which I happily accepted. Grabbing a seat near the exterior window, I just sat and relaxed for a few minutes, soaking in the ocean view.

The treatment that I originally booked (keyword “originally”) was called the ELEMIS Pro-Collagen Grooming Treatment with Shave; basically, a men’s shave and facial treatment with an arm massage included. Being in IT support vocationally, spending most of my time working on a computer workstation, I get achiness from time to time in my arms, so this treatment seemed right up my alley!

After only a few minutes of waiting, I was summoned by my very nice therapist and escorted into the salon area and into my chair. One thing to point out is that I generally have a goatee, a fairly full one that I like to extend a few inches down beneath my chin. Having not shaved at all during our Disney World vacation, my full beard was filling in somewhat on my cheeks, but there was still an obvious demarcation between my longer goatee and the shorter hair scruff.

I enjoyed a mixture of hot and cold towels on my face in preparation for the shave; getting the skin ready, I guess. As the shave commenced, she used an electric razor to complete an initial clearance of the scruff from my cheeks and neck area and then she turned to my goatee. Unfortunately, she decided to remove more of it than I preferred (especially under my chin), but I didn’t say anything because it’s not like she could put it back! Maybe with some of the shavings from the floor and a little glue, but no! I mean, it didn’t look bad, but it just wasn’t my look.

Eventually all shaving creamed up, she then pulled out a straight razor to give me the fine shave. This was followed by more hot and cold towels and the application of a moisturizer with a little facial massage. Yeah, it felt great and was very soothing, but I realized after the fact that with my face covered in towels, shaving cream, and moisturizer, I totally lost track of the time. Why is this important? Well, the next thing I know, my chair was raised up, the cover was removed from my front, my hour was done, and that was it. Um, what about the arm massage?! I asked her about it and very confused, she apologized but told me that the service I had was solely the shave experience. Ok, so I thanked her, signed off on the gratuity, and begrudgingly made my way out to the Senses front desk, which was unfortunately not being staffed at that moment. A tad perturbed, I waited for several minutes, but no one showed up, so I eventually left.

I decided to head over to the Guest Services desk and speak to a CM there, explaining what happened, and making a case that I booked a service that was changed, reducing what I was provided, yet charged the same amount as my original booking. The CM, understanding my frustration, immediately called the spa and ended up speaking to the same assistant manager who assisted me the day before. In the end, I was offered a new arm massage treatment at no additional cost, plus a 10% refund on the treatment that I had just received, both of which I thankfully accepted. I was then asked to return to the spa so that I could schedule the courtesy treatment.

Back at the spa, the same assistant manager greeted me, but not knowing if she had any clue who I was (I assumed not) or why I was there, I explained the situation, how they overbooked my original treatment, rescheduled me, promising the same treatment, but giving me something lesser than what I expected. Unfortunately, here is where things got a little odder. For some reason, the assistant manager became very focused on my statement about them overbooking my timeslot. “We didn’t overbook anything,” she said. Confused, I replied, “That’s not what I was told yesterday.” Again, she repeated her claim, but them immediately pivoted to setting up my arm massage appointment. Whatever, I thought, in the end I was getting what I originally booked, even though it was with a little annoyance.

Reconnecting with my wife, we made our way to the Skyline Lounge for our 12pm Martini Tasting class. It was a nice little space in the Europa section of the ship, called Skyline because the imagery behind the bar displays a variety of international city skylines. Checked in and assigned our seats directly across from the bar, we noticed the beautiful menagerie of bottles splayed across it that would be used to create a series of 5 drinks for us to enjoy!



The class was led by a single instructor (bartender), who was assisted by a small group of other CMs, but as we soon learned, it was a very interactive process! Dividing all of the attendees into small groups, each group participated in the pouring of ingredients into the mixing/shaking vessels, and some of us even got to give the mixtures a mighty shake (and, yeah, a few of us got really into the shake part)! For each drink, the instructor provided a bit of background, detailed the various ingredients, and educated us on the pour amounts based on timed counts. Once poured and shaken, the assistant CMs took those shakers and poured the mixtures into tiny martini glasses, garnished them as appropriate, and delivered one to each of us.







The types and tastes ranged from bitter to sweet, from the more traditional James Bond-style Vesper (sorry, not pictured above) to one sourer and lemonier and finally a sweet Chocolatini! How did we feel after downing 5 tiny martinis? Oh, just fine. A few of our classmates seemed to walk out of there a bit wobbly, but we suspected (based upon our observations during the class) that they quite possibly enjoyed a little something else beforehand. No judgement here, they were fine folks and definitely brought a little extra energy and laughter to our hour-long tasting!

Around 1:00pm at this point, I wanted a little something to offset the alcohol in my system, so we popped up to Flo’s Café to grab a little something to eat, eventually meeting up with our daughter, who was just finishing an origami activity in the Tube (LOVED the ceiling here) for a trivia contest!



Now, this was our first experience with the modern Disney Cruise Line trivia contest and the victory medals subculture. Back in 2013, while on the Disney Wonder, enjoying an Alaskan cruise, I participated in a Disney theme park attractions music trivia contest. I thought I was going to team-up with a couple on their honeymoon, whom I had met at a beer tasting class earlier on that cruise, but unfortunately one of them ended up with a headache and they chose to head out, leaving me alone to battle a number of teams in the room. How’d I do? I won…all by myself! I only mention this because back then there weren’t any plastic medals awarded to contest winners. I actually ended up with a great prize pack with a number of DCL branded items. But, now, it seems that it is all about these medals!

It was funny; when the CM managing the trivia contest introduced themselves and the contest, they made a point of detailing certain rules pertaining to honesty, cheating, and team size (no more than 4 people, mainly since they awarded no more than 4 medals for each contest). Come on people! We are on a Disney cruise! Is this serious?! Yeah, apparently it is. As we soon came to learn, these little plastic medallions, strewn with the word “Winner” across it, emblazoned with either a Disney animated charter or a Disney cruise ship, are quite the hot commodity. People apparently have a goal to collect all of the different variations and back hallway trading is not uncommon, nor is a certain online auction site!

How’d we do? We didn’t win, which was totally fine. We came close, but alas someone else did better than us, and that was ok. I will say this though, it did light a competitive fire under us (in a fun sort of way) that ended up burning hot for the duration of the cruise, as we competed in many trivia contests throughout. More on how we did on those later.

Eventually, it was time for us to return to our stateroom and get gussied up for a family dinner at Remy! This was going to be an absolute culinary highlight of our vacation!

Up next…Day 7: Day at Sea #1, Part 2

 

[gregf71]

Day 7: Day at Sea #1, Part 2

On prior Disney cruises, we’ve enjoyed Palo, especially brunch, several times, but we’ve never experienced Remy. In fact, the only other opportunity we ever had to try Remy was back in 2011, while cruising on the Dream, but for reasons I cannot recall, we didn’t. Now, in 2024, it was time…for all 3 of us!

And just so you know, I am splitting up the Remy dinner portion of this report into 3 parts so that I can share all of the pictures!



Arriving a little early, we were asked to make ourselves comfortable in the Meridian Lounge that sits in-between Remy and Palo. It’s a very beautiful place, with a lot of brown and bronze, that overlooks the back of the ship, with patios on two sides. But be aware, guests can smoke on these patios. In fact, they have a humidor behind the Meridian bar and sell cigars.

After a few short minutes, we were beckoned and escorted into Remy. As you enter, you are stopped in the entry hallway, where a filled wine rack sits behind glass to the right. There, you are shown two specific bottles of wine that are very important to the story of Ratatouille, a ‘47 Cheval Blanc (left) and a ‘61 Latour (right).



No, we didn’t buy either of these wines!

Seated in a nice booth, facing, but a bit away from the windows, we were introduced to our wonderful server. Welcoming us to Remy, he asked us a series of questions and explained how things worked. While we were well aware that we could choose to make a la carte selections, we all planned to choose one of the prix fixe selections; my wife the French option and my daughter and I the American option, and I upgraded my selection with the Miyazaki beef enhancement, which would include a small pour of Skywalker Pinor Noir! No wine pairings for either my wife nor I, though she did order a recommended glass of wine; but our daughter did order the mocktail pairings.

First things first, our welcome drinks. Being 18, our daughter received a Linguini, a mocktail made with passionfruit, jasmine tea, and raspberry puree. Since my wife and I are both over 21, we both enjoyed the Collette champagne cocktail:





Both were excellent! Next, came the canapes, two per person, one with gruyere and champagne vinegar and the second with wagyu tartare:



These were followed by the amuse-bouche, which for this evening was macadamia nut, salted caramel, and foie gras. We’ve never enjoyed anything like this before! Very much outside of our norm, but delicious nonetheless!



On with the sourdough bread service with three types of butter (from left to right, seaweed, plain [but there was nothing “plain” about it!], and red pepper) and a small pot of fleur de sel (a very fancy and rare form of sea salt harvested in France):



Next, my wife received the warm “salad” with lobster:



And my daughter and I got Alaskan king crab served in a shellfish hollandaise sauce:



I will add this bit of information. I have never liked crab, but this was amazing!

And for the final image of this report entry, I give you the Arctic Toothfish that both my daughter and I enjoyed very much…and neither of us are “fish people.”



Stay tuned! There is more goodness to come!

Up next…Day 7: Day at Sea #1, Part 3

 

[gregf71]

Day 7: Day at Sea #1, Part 3

Let’s continue our Remy dinner experience! First a picture of the mice seen in the fabric of our booth:



Having left off at my daughter and I enjoying the Arctic Toothfish, this was my wife’s course:



The problem is that none of us can recall what it was! We recall that the object in the center was fit to be cracked, broken into parts to then enjoy with the goodness that rested beneath it. Try as we might, we cannot remember what it was! I am just kicking myself that I didn’t photograph the actual menu that night. Either way, my wife recalls it being delish!

The next course for my daughter and me…grilled quail with black truffle risotto. First time for us having both quail and black truffle. Spectacular!



And my wife very much enjoyed her turbot (which is a fish) with cauliflower:



Finally, it was time for the final primary course (we still had a way to go before this meal was done)! My wife’s selection presented her a very unexpected looking dish. Would you believe that there is pigeon in there?!



Soon, our server set down a beautiful glass of pinot noir in front of me. Skywalker Vineyards, I presume! Listen, I am no wine connoisseur whatsoever. In fact, the nuances of a fine wine are very often wasted on my taste buds, but darn it, this stuff was incredible!



And then, this arrived in front of me (and no disrespect to my daughter’s final entrée plate, but it paled in comparison to mine):



Upper left, a wonderful layered potato forward piece of edible art (at least that’s what I called it!). Upper right, a jus for the two pieces of beef, but our server flat our told me not to use it on the Japanese Miyazaki beef. Lower left, the aforementioned Japanese Miyazaki beef. And lower right, the American wagyu.

Mere words cannot properly express how supercalifragilisticexpialidocious this plate was. I mean, seriously, that small piece of Miyazaki was like nothing I have ever tasted before, and we’ve enjoyed other Japanese wagyu in the past at Morimoto Asia and at a high-end local steakhouse at home in San Diego. Those experiences didn’t even come close to this! The tenderness, the flavor was beyond compare! And I am so very glad that the Miyazaki came paired with the American wagyu, which on its own was spectacular, because it then allowed me to truly taste the difference!

So, how could they possibly follow this?! Say, “CHEESE!”



We are talking about the wonderful nation of France after all, and they know their cheese! Boy, do they know their cheese! Having wheeled up the cheese cart behind my seated wife, our server introduced the impending cheese service to us, which was a mixture of 10 to 12 different French cheeses! Fixing two plates, he prepared portions of every cheese for each of us. So wonderful!



Gee, what could possibly come next?! Oh, I know! Dessert!!!!

Up next…Day 7: Day at Sea #1, Part 4