Food and "Boo"ze - An October 2016 PTR/TR UPDATED 11/28/16 x3

[mindylee847]

Day 2: Pumpkin Carving in Disney

We got back to the Festival Center nice and early - about an hour in advance... and found no line. So I grabbed myself a drink and sat down with Mike. I picked up an apple pie cider from the booth in the center. It was really weird, because it actually tasted like pie.

We eventually started lining up about 10 minutes or so in advance and the pumpkin carver that was doing our demonstration came out and talked to a few of us in line. He reminded me a lot of my uncle who is kind of weird and distant, but also fun.

We were let in and picked our seats.

We were given glasses of more of the prosecco that we received at the pasty demonstration.

We learned a bit about pumpkins before we started doing anything with our pumpkins. He told us about how you should use a brown Crayola marker so that it's easy to wash off as pumpkins will absorb markers. Also, that pumpkins actually heal themselves. So if you do any carving, you should make sure that you are doing it thick enough. The skin will actually start to try to close up otherwise. We were also told not to start by carving at the top on the way down because the top portion of a pumpkin is four times thicker than the rest of it.

We also received a pumpkin panna cota dish to enjoy.

We were then asked to draw our designs. We weren't going to be doing puncture carving, but just surface carving. I decided to try my hand at Mickey Mouse.

He came around about once to check on us... and he didn't really seem to want to talk to me about my pumpkin?? Idk, it was really odd.

Mike decided to do a cat!

Overall it was a really weird experience. Nothing compared to the first two and it felt distant and weird. Afterwards we were given plastic bags for our pumpkins and also goody bags. In the bags we were given a Food & Wine cutting board and some pumpkin carving sketches.

The price of this was about $45 I believe... I don't think it was really worth our time or money. I had been really looking forward to this event and thought the first two demos we did were really great.

Oh well... after that we headed out to the World Showcase to start really exploring.

We made it over to China where I decided to try a drink.

Strawberry Plum Wine Cooler

I ordered the Strawberry Plum Wine Cooler because I had had a plum wine back at Flower and Garden that I lovvvvved. This was fine, a bit too sweet for my liking but it was nice since it was hot out.

Next, we made our way to Italy since Mike wanted a drink too.

Mike orderd the Moretti La Rossa Double Malt Beer... and when I was taking a picture, a CM wanted to join in.

Mike enjoyed this beer and finished it a bit quickly... so we swung by Hops and Barley to grab him another.

And look who we found in America!

Here he ordered a Dogfish Head Chicory Stout. I told him not to get it because we had gotten a Dogfish brew back home that was pumpkin flavored and we haaaaated it. We thought it was probably the worst pumpkin beer we'd ever tried. And guess what? He didn't like that beer either. He finished it of course, but we will stay clear of Dogfish Brewery going forward.

After that, we made our way back to Norway to ride Frozen Ever After!

There was a 105 minute wait but we got on within 15 minutes with our fastpasses.

I LOVED this queue and I LOVED this ride! I know people miss Maelstrom but this ride was really breathtaking. The new audioanimatronics are just unbelievable. I would probably not wait more than 45 minutes for this ride, but I did really love it.

After that, we made our way back around the world to check out what other foods and drinks we may want on Friday. Here is where I'll tell you that it was BUSY and people were DRUNKKKKKKK. It basically made me not look forward to coming back on Friday. I don't know if I'll want to go back to Food and Wine with the crowds and drunks we saw. I definitely enjoy Flower and Garden more.

Mike decided he needed another beer so we stopped at Scotland.

He went up to order the Irish Whiskey Aged Stout... and was told "We're out." That's it. They were out. So he asked, "So, like... for today? for the week? foreverrrr?" and he was told it would be back the next day. So we decided that we should start on the Canada side of the festival and work our way around because he was most looking forward to trying this beer on Friday.

We then made our way over to Coral Reef Restaurant.

We were about 30 minutes early for our reservations, so we were given two fastpasses to hop on The Seas while we wasted some time before we could check in.

It was great as always. Since it was still too early to check in, we walked around and enjoyed The Seas aquariums. It was really nice this close to 8 PM. There weren't a lot of people and the music was really calming. I have anxiety and problems with crowds so the festival had me really on edge. Being here was like a magical wash that I needed in order to enjoy the rest of my night in Epcot.

Coming up next, I'll talk about our experience at Coral Reef Restaurant!

​

 

[mindylee847]

Day 2: Dinner Under the Sea

I was really looking forward to our dinner at Coral Reef. After walking around The Seas and checking out the aquarium, I was much more calm after such a busy day in the park. Being around water and sea life can just be so relaxing. We went to get our buzzer and we waited... and waited... and were seated about 10 minutes after our reservation time.I knew the place was busy, so I figured we'd have a bit of a wait for food and things.

We got a seat right next to the tank, but also pretty much right next to another couple. It was pretty awkward how close we all were together. Luckily, they were further into their meal so they did leave before we were done and since it was so late, nobody was sat next to us.

Coral Reef Menu

Fish Guide

We were given menus and then we waited... about another ten minutes before anyone came by to greet us and take our drink/appetizer orders. So when our server did finally make it around, we placed our entire order with him right away. He seemed disgruntled and frustrated that he had our table. I know it was busy and I usually give servers slack, but honestly I could see him at other tables laughing it up and being very charming. This is the first restaurant I feel I regretted ever telling someone we we were on Tables in Wonderland - it's an automatic 18% tip. Once we told him that, our service went completely downhill.

We waited about fifteen to twenty minutes for our bread and drinks. But we did have the company of this guy.

He ended up settling right down next to us.

Our bread came and the server placed down the butter... and accidentally stuck his entire thumb into it. I didn't take a picture of the butter because I was so grossed out because he LEFT it on our table.

I honestly couldn't even say anything because he imprinted our butter and was gone in a flash.

As far as drinks go, we both ordered waters and a specialty cocktail each.

Mike ordered the Coral 'Rita.

Coral 'Rita - A Margarita with Patrón Añejo Tequila and Cointreau

He was on a margarita kick since he had had his first the night prior from the Gurgling Suitcase. This was nowhere near as good as those.

I ordered The Abyss cocktail.

The Abyss - Skyy Vodka, Bacardi Superior Rum, Blue Curaçao, and Pineapple Juice

This was fine. It was sweet and what I expected. Part of the orange looked a little gross so I pulled it out.

For appetizers, we both ordered a salad. I assumed it would have been similar in size to the appetizer salads I've had before in the parks which are a good size, but not overly filling. THIS SALAD WAS HUGE. Having placed orders for appetizers and entrees, I feel like the server should have mentioned it - but again, our server was nonexistent. He dropped off the salads and ran.

Friseé and Endive Salad - Heirloom Apples, Poached Cranberries, Goat Cheese, and Toasted Walnuts

The salads were pretty good. Nothing I thought really stood out to me about them. The salad looks smaller here, but the bowl was quite deep. We both ended up eating about half of our portion. Our server came by and asked if he could take by dish and I said "yes"... he ten asked me how my salad was, and as I started to answer him he literally turned and walked away from us.

It took quite a while for our entrees to come, which I expected because of how busy it was. But having such a junky server was really starting to get to me. The table next to us had a man named Art as their server and he was phenomenal. I didn't even have him and I remember him. I had wished we had such a great experience as all of his tables... or even the experiences at the tables of our server that weren't us.

After what felt like a long time... and was, it was about 9:45 PM at this point. An hour and a half into being there, we got our entrees. Mike ordered the mahi mahi and I ordered the chick'n dish.

Seared Mahi Mahi - with Shrimp-Mango Salsa, Boniato Mashed Potatoes, and a Coconut-Lime Sauce

Marinated Grilled Vegetables and Vegetarian Chick’n Breast

Mike had decided here that he was going to have some fish throughout the week. Sometimes we make exceptions as to what we will eat. I usually stay clear of any and all meats, poultry, and seafood. Being out though for a full week means it can be hard to get necessary proteins since we aren't making our own food.

Anyways, our food was delicious. It sealed the deal for me that I would absolutely go back, even though our service was awful. I lovvvved my chick'n breasts. They were cooked perfectly and the rice it came with was delicious.

Finally at about 10:20 PM, our server came back and started talking to us... it seemed like a last ditch effort to try to get a few extra bucks from us. He even took this horrible, blurry picture of us.

After taking a good ten+ minutes to take care of the check, we headed out to the busses. The park had closed at 9 PM and it had taken us over two hours to eat at Coral Reef with touched butter and a nonexistent server. This picture of Mike pretty much sums up where we were at.

We had to wait for a second bus and we eventually made it home to Old Key West. I'm glad our food was so great at Coral Reef or I would have been really disappointed. I always hear so many different reviews of the place though, so I guess I shouldn't have expected too much.

Coming up, our day in Magic Kingdom and our first Halloween Party!​

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a nice day at EPCOT! I'm sorry the pumpkin carving demo wasn't great, but sounds like the other 2 were hits! Ah what a frustrating dinner experience that must have been. But I'm glad the food made up for it! And it was nice that they gave you a FP to ride Nemo while you waited!

 

[mindylee847]

Sorry for the delay guys. I've been having a really rough time with the holidays approaching this year and missing my dad. Last year, I just escaped and didn't really deal with them but this year I actually wanted to celebrate. I didn't realize how difficult that would be for me without my dad around.

Anyways...

Day 3: A Friendship Celebration!

We got ready for the day and headed over to the bus stop right outside our building. We had breakfast this morning at Magic Kingdom at 8:25 AM with a park opening of 9:00 AM.

We got to the park in no time and I stopped for a picture because I was SO excited for my first Halloween party that night!

We were there early enough to snag a photopass picture.

The line took a lot longer than I expected it to take so we snagged our picture right before having to run back over to Crystal Palace!

I was really excited about eating here. I really love Pooh and Friends and I have always been in love with the architecture of this building. We were seated within five minutes of checking in and we had some time before the characters made their way to us so we grabbed some plates.

My bowl was the breakfast lasagna and on my plate I grabbed Pooh's Puffed French Toast, strawberries, tomatoes and capers, potatoes, hashbrowns with cheese, and scrambled eggs. I also asked for coffee, orange juice, and water. The food was good. The breakfast lasagna was farrrrr too sweet for my tastes but the French toast was just right. I still ended up splitting it with Mike, but yum!

Tigger was first to our table!

Then Piglet!

The main man himself, Pooh Bear!

The lighting was getting worse by the minute so I kept trying to get out of the glare!

Lastly, Eeyore came over.

I believe we had gotten some seconds of our favorite things and then we made our way out. We were in the park by about 9:30. Not too bad!

Overall, I really really enjoyed Crystal Palace! It's definitely going to be a must do for us when we have a kid. The buffet was easy to navigate. I didn't feel too cramped. They had plenty of options food and drink wise. They also had the miniature tabasco sauces that Mike loves. So we snagged a few of those off of our waitress.

Coming up - Spending our day in Magic Kingdom and lunch at Be Our Guest!​

 

[mindylee847]

Day 3: An Afternoon in Fantasyland

After our awesome breakfast with Pooh and Friends, Mike wanted to go meet another one of our friends in Pixie Hollow! The line was about 15 minutes long for Tink so we crossed Main Street and got in line. Last time we had met Tink, it was kind of a disappointment. It didn't seem she really had known to interact with older guests without kids... but this time, we had an amazing interaction!

She took lots of time with us and we talked about whether or not Mike was a good or bad pirate. She also asked us to show her our silly faces because she wanted us to poke fun at Captain Hook if we ran into him.

So much fun! After that, we decided to make our way to our first ride of the day. On the way, we saw the trolley and they were all dressed up in Fall clothes!

Our first ride also happened to be our first fastpass of the day and I was glad we had a fastpass for it as it was up to 40 minutes! And if you guessed it was Pirates because I have an addiction to this ride, good job!

After Pirates, we made our way through Frontierland to head over to Liberty Square. We wanted to take a peek to check out the new Muppets shows there. On the way, we ran into a photopass photographer.

After that, we made our way to Liberty Square. There were a lot of people outside standing in the sun and watching but we snagged a spot in the shade by the bell.

We only caught the end but it was really funny and entertaining.

We decided to recreate a picture Mike had taken with my dad... of course, sans my dad... but I took it in spirit. My dad was big into history and Mike is also.

We swung by the Haunted Mansion store, Memento Mori.

We found ourselves in Fantasyland at this point and decided to go see PhilharMagic. It's one of my absolute faves!

After our journey through a few classic Disney movies, we decided to try LeFou's Brew again. I've had it one other time before and wasn't too impressed. I wasn't sure if butterbeer had just spoiled me and since I hadn't had one for a year and a half... perhaps I'd like it!

Apparently I didn't take a picture of the brew itself, but it was pretty much what I remembered. I wasn't too big of a fan and I really do love apples so I'm surprised I don't like it more. Ah, well. Now I know!

Next we made our way to the Little Mermaid ride.

The line had to be posted at 15 minutes or less... and I think it was only that long because that's how long it takes to walk this queue line! Haha!

After that, our fastpass was ready for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It was great as always!

We wandered Fantasyland for a while.

We decided to get a ride in on "it's a small world" next and Mike was given a red card!

We were in line for probably about 20 minutes. A bit longer than I ever want to wait for small world, but it was still a great ride. We did end up getting stuck and backed up just prior to entering the final room so as you can imagine, it took a while to get off...

Next up, we had our fastpass for Peter Pan. The line was pretty long for this one as expected.

After our flight to Neverland, we knew it was time for our own version of pixie dust - Starbucks!!

I believe Mike got the creme brûlée frappachino and I ordered a very berry refresher.

As we started making our way back towards the castle, the Elena of Avalor welcome celebration began so we stopped to watch.

We LOVED the welcome show and decided that we should try to meet Elena if possible at some point on our trip.

Coming up next - lunch at Be Our Guest!!​

 

[mindylee847]

Day 3: Be Our Guest Lunch

After we welcomed Elena, we headed back to Fantasyland for lunch. Our lunch was late - about 2:35 PM. We were there a bit too early so we had to wander around before checking in. We found a photopass photographer.

We went back over to BOG check in.

We had preordered our meals so we were given a yellow rose and bypassed the enormous line to order.

I'm not even kidding... the line to order was inSANE. I was really glad we had preordered our meals.

We checked in to make sure our preorder was right and then we were let into the castle. We grabbed our silverware and napkins and snagged a spot right by the windows in the ballroom.

I tried to take a picture of the snow falling, but it didn't turn out that well.

Not too long after sitting down, our food and drinks were brought out to us on a cart by a server.

Vegetable Quiche - Mushroom, Zucchini, Bell Pepper, Onion and Chive Quiche served with Baby Lettuce coated with Champagne Vinaigrette

The vegetable quiche was sadly lacking in flavor, but we had swiped a good amount of that tabasco sauce from Crystal Palace so we put some of that on it. The salad was fine, but had a bit too much dressing on it. I honestly wasn't really into this dish at all. i was glad we decided to split our entire meal though as there was a LOT we had ordered.

The Master's Cupcake and Lemon Meringue Cupcake

We had the lemon cupcake before when we had gone for dinner and it was just as good as I remember... but the Master's Cupcake was new to us. This was fine. I'm not really big into cookies and cream so I wasn't too enamored with it like everyone else seems to be. I much prefer the lemon cupcake!

French Onion Soup

I was really excited to try the french onion soup here as it is vegetarian. French onion soup is always made with beef broth, so it was great to actually get this somewhere! Mike ate most of it because it was far too cheesy for me to handle but he LOVED it.

Potato Leek Soup

I ate most of the potato leek soup. I love this soup. I had it when we had gone for dinner before so I knew I was going to enjoy it.

Overall, I love the experience at Be Our Guest. The food didn't really floor me, but it seems to be hit or miss for a lot of people. I'd come here just for that soup though and the ambiance. It's a nice break from the crowded atmosphere you get at the quick service locations in the rest of the park. We currently have a breakfast reservation for our trip in March but I'm on the fence about keeping it. I probably will just because then I'll have experienced BOG for every meal. I think so far, I prefer dinner.

Coming up - the rest of our late afternoon AND MNSSHP!​

 

[missangelalexis]

I'm sorry to hear you have been struggling. Lots of hugs to you!

I love your Halloween outfit!

Glad you enjoyed Crystal Palace! They definitely have a great breakfast selection (I love the puffed french toast). Cute character selfies!

Cute pics with Tink! Glad you had a good interaction this time around

What a nice morning/afternoon at MK!

 

[Britbrie]

Awesome TR so far! I'm sorry that you are having a rough holiday season, I hope it gets better for you soon!
Also, that sucks to hear that you guys had poor service at Coral Reef, but the food looked awesome!
I cannot wait to read more!

 

[mindylee847]

Hi, everyone! Thanks so much for those following along. I just wanted to let you know that I probably won't be able to make another update until closer to the end of this month. Things are going to be CRAZY busy at work and I go to Disney on Friday for the weekend!! So I haven't forgotten about this and I definitely intend on completing it. Photobucket has been kind of a jerk for me lately so not all my pictures have uploaded correctly either. I'll be back at it soon though!! Hope everyone is having a great December!

 

[missangelalexis]

Have a wonderful upcoming trip!!!