Firsts, Fourths, and Farewells (4/28 Back to the Future!)

[dawnbu40]

Great pictures around the UK and France

Sounds like you had fun with the phone booths!

I haven't had breakfast yet so all those bakery treats are making me hungry!

I didn't know about the Hidden Remy. That is cute!

Thanks for the update! Glad to have you back

 

[thecapells]

BACK! Mmmm those croissants look delicious! I love the pics of your daughter and Marie. The Aristocats is one of my favorites! It would be nice if Berlioz and Toulouse could be there as well. I wonder why they don't have them

Yeah, I've always thought it odd to just have Marie - she is very out of place all by herself.
Especially next to Aurora, Belle, and the Beast in France.

Honestly, I think Remy makes more sense to wander France instead of Marie.
He's more recognizable for the younger generations.

 

[thecapells]

Great pictures around the UK and France

Sounds like you had fun with the phone booths!

I haven't had breakfast yet so all those bakery treats are making me hungry!

I didn't know about the Hidden Remy. That is cute!

Thanks for the update! Glad to have you back

The Remy hunt was fun and a nice diversion for the kids while Mom shopped a bit.
We always seem to discover something new and different - even when we're not looking!!

 

[MEK]

hahahahah - this is too cute. DD has a beast cap on.

Pictures are fantastic, as usual.

Welcome back from the West Coast. I hope you do a TR about that. It's on my bucket list.

 

[boxmaster]

hahahahah - this is too cute. DD has a beast cap on.

Pictures are fantastic, as usual.

Welcome back from the West Coast. I hope you do a TR about that. It's on my bucket list.

Oh, he'll get to it. It may be late 2014 by the time it goes up, but he'll get to it. (There's a reason he can't tell which is the Beast and which is me. )

 

[thecapells]

hahahahah - this is too cute. DD has a beast cap on.

Pictures are fantastic, as usual.

Welcome back from the West Coast. I hope you do a TR about that. It's on my bucket list.

Thanks!
As J said I definitely will do a TR but I need to catch up first.
Lots more trips to go so let's get to it!

 

[thecapells]

We continued our tour of the World Showcase with Morocco.

Of course, we had to make a special stop at the Fez House.
DS was the volunteer here for our contribution to Hats Around the World.
It even matched his shirt!

And no trip to Morocco is complete without stopping by the gift shop across the promenade to search for the Hidden Mickey.
They do tend to move it around.

Japan was next and we made it just in time to hear the large drums.

However, we did not have luck finding a Japanese hat.
Mom opted to try Hello Kitty instead but it’s not the same.
And the fans were close but not quite there…

Anyone out there know of good Japanese headgear?
Speaking of striking out, we also missed the opportunity in the United Kingdom and did not find anything good in the gift shops there either.

We took a quick peek at the new Spirited Beasts exhibit (I’m a comic book geek) and then were on our way.

 

[thecapells]

Next stop on the World Showcase is the American Adventure.
We even stumbled into one of our khaki vested friends here – bonus!!

Even better was the hat we found to match DD’s outfit.
It was, however, slightly big.
Now you see her…

And now you don’t

We stopped for some snacks at the Fife and Drum and then headed over to Kidcot.
Just then, the Fife and Drum Corps marched around the corner to perform.
So we followed them out to enjoy the show – they are very cool.
And even have Hidden Mickeys!

Then we headed over to the show building as Voices of Liberty was about to perform.
Talk about a great pre-show!

Afterwards we headed in as the kids got their first viewing of the American Adventure.
DS had just completed units on the Revolutionary and Civil Wars at school so he was very interested.
And it was a great show as usual.

After the show, it was dinnertime and we were anxious to try the new restaurant.
Come join us for some scenic pics around Italy and then a tour of Via Napoli!

 

[MEK]

Now you see her…

And now you don’t

Love it!

More great pictures. What a beautiful day with a lovely blue sky!

So how many trips behind are you now?

I hoped you guys liked Via Napoli. I had the best pizza there in October. So good!

 

[dawnbu40]

I've never seen a PP guy at the American Adventure. You guys can find them anywhere!

All the hat/fez pics are adorable

I love the Voices of Liberty but that guy looks a little crazy eyed in the solo pic

Thanks for the update.

 

[Curoly06]

I like the idea of hats around the world!! My cousin is always trying on hats if she sees one when we are out somewhere. We'll have to do that when we go in September 2013.
For Japan all I can think of is the different hats the chefs wear at my local Japanese steakhouse.

 

[boxmaster]

Japan was next and we made it just in time to hear the large drums.

However, we did not have luck finding a Japanese hat.
Mom opted to try Hello Kitty instead but it’s not the same.
And the fans were close but not quite there…

Anyone out there know of good Japanese headgear?

I've got one idea: Samurai armor.

 

[thecapells]

Love it!

More great pictures. What a beautiful day with a lovely blue sky!

So how many trips behind are you now?

I hoped you guys liked Via Napoli. I had the best pizza there in October. So good!

We're behind a bunch - we splurged in 2011 with some "weekend jaunts" before a big trip in November.
And in 2012 we splurged again with a summer cruise on the Fantasy and then our first trek to Disneyland.
But we'll probably take a break now until late 2013 so I have some time to catch up!

I've never seen a PP guy at the American Adventure. You guys can find them anywhere!

All the hat/fez pics are adorable

I love the Voices of Liberty but that guy looks a little crazy eyed in the solo pic

Thanks for the update.

I love stumbling across Photopass photographers.
Even the kids are now trained to search out those khaki vests!

I like the idea of hats around the world!! My cousin is always trying on hats if she sees one when we are out somewhere. We'll have to do that when we go in September 2013.
For Japan all I can think of is the different hats the chefs wear at my local Japanese steakhouse.

That's true - when we ate at Teppan Edo some years ago for DD's birthday, they gave her a chef's hat.
On the other hand, seeing a chef's hat doesn't immediately scream Japan.
Hmmmm...

I've got one idea: Samurai armor.

Nice. Because samuari armor is the same as a hat.
Silly unca...

 

[thecapells]

We had some time before dinner so we started our trip to Italy with some pictures by the lagoon.

And here’s some taken by our future photographer – the princess herself.

Afterwards she started to melt.
I forget exactly what happened but it was clearly time to eat.

X couldn’t even wait and was down for the count.

 

[thecapells]

We had a 5:30 ADR at Via Napoli.
But first we snapped away at the entrance plaza.

Inside the décor was really nice and rustic.
The place definitely had an Italian feel to it.
And I love the ovens – each named for a volcano.

We were seated on the terrace after some wait.
However, we noticed a very strong smell once we were seated.
So strong that we were losing our appetites – not sure what it was, but it was potent.
We asked to be moved inside.
After more waiting, we shifted inside and were seated.

 

[thecapells]

After we finally seated (lots of waiting and rude staff), the kids started with some nice fruit cups and were pleased.

Mom went with the fried veggies which she liked but thought were a bit salty.

J tried the calamari which he also liked but found a bit on the salty side.

I tried the Risotto Balls which I’ve heard good things about but they were honestly disgusting. I couldn’t finish them.

The wait staff was very unattentive and bordered on the rude side.
For Disney, this was fairly surprising.
For entrees, I went with the 4 Cheese Pizza which I heard rave reviews about.
Now I’m a New Yorker and a pizza snob but I’ve been to Italy and had their pizza and loved that as well.
This thing was neither. It was gross.
I have no idea why people are raving about this place at all – I won’t be going back anytime soon.

Mom wanted to try something different and went with the Lasagna Verde and said it was an unappetizing mush.

J opted for the Pepperoni Pizza.
It was MUCH better than the 4 cheese but still not what everyone seems to be raving about.

The kids went with cheese pizza as well and those looked (and tasted) as bad as mine.

Throughout the meal, the wait staff was nowhere to be found.
Refills did not seem to exist and the entrees took a really long time to arrive.
Mom thought it was odd (or quaint) that each of the chairs was different.

Also, the planning for this place was poor.
On a return trip from the rest room, we were almost clocked by the kitchen door.
Does anyone else think this it is a bad design to have the kitchen door swing open into the walkway to the restroom?

The desserts looked better so we crossed our fingers.

Mom had the apple cake and said the gelato was good but the cake was very dry.

I went with the Ugly But Good sundae which wasn’t bad.

J had the Tiramisu and rated it just “ok”.

DD got the ice cream cookie sandwich.

And the boys got gelato but DS freaked out when he discovered fruit in his ice cream.
In his mind, that was unforgivable.

So other than J’s pepperoni pizza, dinner was basically a wash.
We were very unimpressed after all the solid reviews and really have no desire to come back after the rude waiters and amount of time we had to wait for basically bad food.
I think next time we want Italian food, we’ll try the new menu at Tutto Italia.
Heck, Tony’s in Town Square was ten times better than this place.
That should tell you something.
Basically, we were utterly disappointed.

 

[dawnbu40]

The pictures around Italy are all great

Sorry to hear Via Napoli was such bad experience! I hope it didn't spoil the remainder of your day!

 

[MEK]

Wow. Can't see your pics right now, but sorry that your meal actually s@%cked. That's too bad.

I ate there in October and someone in my group ordered calamari, which looked really yummy, but I never tasted it so I have no idea about the salt factor. I ordered the eggplant salad as an app and it was very good. My pizza was also very good. I don't feel like looking up the name, but it had ham, articokes, and mushrooms, maybe? Anyway - it was yummy.

I do agree that the refills on the drinks were absent. I remember thinking "glad I'm not really thirsty". Service was average.

 

[thecapells]

The pictures around Italy are all great

Sorry to hear Via Napoli was such bad experience! I hope it didn't spoil the remainder of your day!

We were very disappointed in the meal after hearing such good things.
But it definitely did not spoil our day - stay tuned!

Wow. Can't see your pics right now, but sorry that your meal actually s@%cked. That's too bad.

I ate there in October and someone in my group ordered calamari, which looked really yummy, but I never tasted it so I have no idea about the salt factor. I ordered the eggplant salad as an app and it was very good. My pizza was also very good. I don't feel like looking up the name, but it had ham, articokes, and mushrooms, maybe? Anyway - it was yummy.

I do agree that the refills on the drinks were absent. I remember thinking "glad I'm not really thirsty". Service was average.

We were surprised about how rude the host was and the slowness of service.
The wait staff did not even seem to care if we enjoyed the meal or not.
Usually, they come over and talk to you and check on you but these CMs could not be bothered.
As for the food, we like good Italian food and this was nothing close to it.
And, after all we've heard about the pizza with the fancy ovens, imported water, Italian ingredients - it was, at best, average.
Definitely not a big deal and not worthy of the hype of finally "solving" Disney's pizza problem.
Honestly, I'd recommend Tony's new flatbreads over what they call pizza at this place.

 

[MEK]

Honestly, I'd recommend Tony's new flatbreads over what they call pizza at this place.

So Tony's has flatbreads? Good to know. I have always like the ambiance of Tony's, but the last meal I had there was "eh", so I haven't been back. I will be putting this back on the radar screen. Thanks for the recommendation!