Good Values & Gooder Splurges! w/ Pics! (3-Trips-in-1-Report) - UPDATE 11/7

[NorweJenNY]

Day #4
May 2010

What a beautiful day this was to be! We checked out of our Cypress Pointe villa to move onsite... and after check-in, this is the transportation we got to look forward to...

We were actually checked into Disney's Beach Club Villas for the first time ever in our lives! We took the boat over to Hollywood Studios... so convenient!

We'd already eaten breakfast (leftover Domino's), so we didn't need to find food right away, but when it was lunch time, we did have that pickle to deal with - which CS shall we attempt to tolerate today?

We were near ABC Commissary so we tried that... and we got there early enough (before noon) that there weren't many crowds. We had a choice of tables for all six of us.

I, for some reason, wasn't all that hungry, so I just got a strawberry parfait, which was adequate. It had some berries (though I think there were blueberries, not just strawberries like the name suggests) and... I think it was vanilla pudding or yogurt, and some type of crushed cookie or graham cracker. It was sweet, cool, creamy, fruity... nice for a hot day when I wanted something small but more substantial than ice cream.

The boys had their typical meals... nuggets for Little Guy... cheeseburger for Big Guy...

Hubby and his Mom got double cheeseburgers...

I'm not sure why the lettuce is on top here... They were typical Disney CS burgers. Nothing special.

My Mom ordered the Chicken Bleu/Blue? We didn't really know what this meant... either cordon bleu or blue cheese... we weren't sure, but Mom would've liked either. She was pleasantly surprised by the grilled chicken (she prefers this over breaded chicken)... and the "bleu" was indeed for cordon bleu.

I thought the cheese melted over this looked wonderful, but I just didn't feel like a hot meal at this point.

Everybody got fries as the side here, though apples is another option... I would've done that had I ordered something with a side, as I was looking for those cooler, more refreshing options... but I was all alone in my mindset. I knew we'd have a big meal this evening to look forward to anyway.

Before we left DHS, I was starting to get hungry, and I knew it wasn't gonna be time for dinner for a few hours, so I stopped in Starring Rolls to grab something to take back to the room with me (I didn't intend on eating it all in one sitting, fortunately!)

I got another chocolate-peanut butter treat... the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake!

This was a quick shot right before I packaged it up to take with me back to the Beach Club... I think it was a lot bigger than this picture makes it seem... it didn't fit in the plastic clamshell they gave me to pack it in! I had to lay it down diagonally and squish it a little!

Back in the room, I sliced it open to show the cross-section...

This tasted heavenly! Oh my! Trying to decide whether this one or the chocolate peanut butter brownie... It's a close one!

And if you look at the frosting on top, you can see that it was about twice the thickness of the width of the plastic knife... we're talking really thick frosting here, people!

The cake part itself was moist, soft, and chocolatey. The frosting was a chocolate-peanut butter frosting, not just chocolate on top and peanut butter in the middle like I thought. There was a definite peanut-butteryness to all the frosting and filling. The shavings on top were straight chocolate. I do have to say this was terribly rich! I enjoyed every bite that I ate... which was gradually, as I picked at it over the course of the next couple days... savoring every chocolatey-peanut-buttery morsel...

So here's my summary for the earlier part of the day's dining experiences...

Good: Chicken Bleu served as a nice change of pace for a meal option in DHS that my Mom enjoyed.

Gooder: ABC Commissary was an uncrowded place (at least at first) to eat... and even just to simply sit in the air conditioning! We needed it on such a hot, exhausting day!

Goodest: Chocolate peanut butter cupcake!!!

 

[kima86]

A little late in joining your food party, but I sat & read through all of your reviews in one sitting! There are so many new things I want to try this trip - especially the cupcakes from Starring Rolls in DHS. The picture of the chocolate peanut butter one looks so sinfully rich, I might have to get that AND the Butterfinger cupcake that I've heard so much about lately!

Looking forward to the rest of your reviews & I hope things are looking better for you on the job front. Sending pixie dust your way....

 

[Tinker12]

Oh My Gooey Goodness! The cupcake looks sinful! I always wanted to see what they looked like inside and thanks for sharing!! I want one!

 

[NorweJenNY]

A little late in joining your food party, but I sat & read through all of your reviews in one sitting! There are so many new things I want to try this trip - especially the cupcakes from Starring Rolls in DHS. The picture of the chocolate peanut butter one looks so sinfully rich, I might have to get that AND the Butterfinger cupcake that I've heard so much about lately!

Looking forward to the rest of your reviews & I hope things are looking better for you on the job front. Sending pixie dust your way....

Thanks for the pixiedust!

It is so fun to read other reviews and then try out the stuff you read about once you get there!

I think Disney World is one of the best places to get cupcakes!

Oh My Gooey Goodness! The cupcake looks sinful! I always wanted to see what they looked like inside and thanks for sharing!! I want one!

"Gooey Goodness" - that's exactly what that cupcake is!

Let's take another spin on the "sinful" aspect of it... how about we replace that term with "angelic"... I see one of those cupcakes and it's like I see the heavens shining down on it, and a halo is forming around it... I even hear a full choir in the background... singing something on the order of Handel's Messiah...

 

[basketlacey]

I was so sure my "snack" in HS was going to be the carrot cake cookie from the Writer's Stop. Now I am not so sure....that cupcake - wow!

Sounds like I need to convince one of my kids that they need a cupcake (that shouldn't be too hard )

 

[NorweJenNY]

I was so sure my "snack" in HS was going to be the carrot cake cookie from the Writer's Stop. Now I am not so sure....that cupcake - wow!

Sounds like I need to convince one of my kids that they need a cupcake (that shouldn't be too hard )

Solution:
One for breakfast, the other for lunch!

 

[NorweJenNY]

Day #4 (cont.)
May 2010

Dinner Time! Had to hit up one of the must-do's at Beach Club - the New England Clambake Dinner at Cape May Cafe!

We checked in for our ADR and had a short wait (5-10 minutes) before we were seated. We walked in by the desserts (nice little sneak peak) and then proceeded past the main buffet which was set up like a square, one side with salad, one side with seafood, and two sides with various American fare, kid's food, and a variety of breads.

Here's my first plate (kid's plate in background), it pretty much shows off the food we indulged in at our table.

I rather enjoyed the ribs... always nice to find yet another flavor of BBQ ribs in Disney! Yes, it had a unique flavor... can't quite put my finger on it... slightly sweet, slightly tangy. The corn was pretty good... as was the New England clam chowder.

The potatoes were forgettable, as was the mac and cheese... the steak was horrid! I felt so bad for hubby, a non-seafood eater, who was stuck with that! And I don't blame my kids for not eating it either! Several dishes, especially the steak, had a peppery flavor to it... the chef here was in love with pepper. My family isn't really fond of pepper, so it wasn't the best for our individual tastes.

My kids pretty much ate chicken nuggets and bread... hubby too. At least the breads all seemed fresh and comforting to the tummy.

One thing people rave about that was fabulous is the lobster pasta dish (tortellini?) Creamy and really tasty! Not at all fishy flavored.

Mom and I got a second plate just for these bad boys...

We had no clue how to start (except that we knew we needed melted butter... for which they had a fabulously large dispenser, btw). The waitress came over with gloves and showed us how to open the crab legs. It was a lot of work for a little meat, but very good - particularly liked the meat in the claws.

I'll continue with dessert... but if you'll excuse me, I have an important application to fill out right now...

 

[NorweJenNY]

I got my application in for the Disney World Moms Panel... here's some pixie dust to share with you other applicants...



I have no idea how any judge can decide amidst 20,000 applications! It's like the Julliard auditions I watched once... all appeared equally exceptional, but there are only a certain number of available spots!

Anyhoo... back to my review...

Dessert at Cape May...

Here's Little Guy's desserts...

Two oreo bon bons, one chocolate chip cookie, and one chocolate lava cake. For a kid who likes chocolate, Little Guy surprised me... he ate the cookie and the raspberry from the chocolate lava cake, but only a bite off each of the other things... someone had to help him finish it.

Big Guy had the cookie and the lava cake... but the lava cake was just too rich for him to finish himself.

Honestly, that lava cake was sooo tasty, and despite it's small size, I had a hard time eating much more than one of those myself. It was dark, rich chocolate that oozed out of the center of this moist, rich cake. Rather than the raspberry, I just wished they'd cover it in raspberry sauce and leave off the additional chocolate sauce over the top of it too. I think that would tone it down and lighten it up a bit.

Here's my plate...

Thanks to Little Guy, this Oreo bon bon made three for me! I guess I liked it. I also feasted on a raspberry cheesecake (creamy and light, but slightly more raspberry flavor would've been nice), and I enjoyed the flan - though it didn't help my sweetness overload for the evening! With everything else, I should've never attempted more than just my own lava cake, but I did help the boys' with some of theirs too.

My mom had a couple of other things on her plate (besides the chocolate lava cake and raspberry cheesecake like I had)...

She thought the key lime pie was pleasant... much lighter than the other desserts. She also had a bar cookie. Part of me wants to say it was a peanut butter bar cookie, but I didn't take one, which isn't like me when it comes to peanut butter. Maybe I just ran out of room on my plate. Anyway, I don't remember any comments from my mom about this dessert, so maybe it's for the best that I didn't take it.

Hubby just ate like the boys - cookies for the most part. To me, no big deal, but my boys... all three... loved their cookies!

Here's my three guys by the end of the meal...

This is when I was glad that we were staying at Beach Club and could just walk back to the room... didn't want to deal with a bus ride for any sleepy child! Though their was one problem... the boys did wake up in time to remember that Daddy had promised them ice cream for the progress they made in the pool earlier (both have certain fears of water), and Cape May didn't have ice cream. We weren't going to wait in line at Beaches and Cream tonight, so we made a stop at the Beach Club Marketplace on the way back to the room... you'll read about that in my next post...

As for Cape May, here's my summary...

Good: Yay! Another variety of ribs!

Gooder: The lobster pasta dish - yum!

Goodest: Dessert! Yeah, I'm gonna leave this fairly general... I liked all the unique options (even if there was no ice cream). Gotta have one (got that? one!) chocolate lava cake... gotta try the oreo bon bons... and there are several other options that would appeal to a variety of tastes.

 

[NorweJenNY]

Day #4 - continued again...
May 2010

Ok... as if it weren't enough already, as I explained, hubby promised the boys ice cream... so it was late, and we just had a Disney buffet... but it was time for dessert... again...

I kept my mouth closed for this one, and just took pictures... I was still battling a bunch of oreo bon bons and some chocolate lava cake that was ready to explode through my insides... but I held it together.

I'll let the pictures do the talking from Beach Club Marketplace.

Big Guy...

Little Guy...

Hubby...

With our tummies full, we all slept very well overnight.

Though we didn't go to bed right away... we had to catch IllumiNations fireworks from our bed! Yep, outside our window, just over the trees. We could even hear some music when I opened the outside door to our balcony! So cool! I fell in love with the Beach Club, and this was just the first night!

 

[worm761]

I am loving your reviews. As for what to eat at Rainforest Cafe, we always have to get Bambas BBQ Chicken Wrap. It actually comes in beef or chicken but the chicken is better. We love Rainforest. We did try T-Rex. If you choose to go there, then get the ribs. Fall off the bone, finger licking good!

 

[NorweJenNY]

I am loving your reviews. As for what to eat at Rainforest Cafe, we always have to get Bambas BBQ Chicken Wrap. It actually comes in beef or chicken but the chicken is better. We love Rainforest. We did try T-Rex. If you choose to go there, then get the ribs. Fall off the bone, finger licking good!

More ribs to try?! I'm so there!

And a BBQ Chicken wrap sounds good too...

Now I really feel like BBQ... doh! And most of the BBQ around here is Carolina style... blah... not so much into the vinegar-based BBQ sauces... I need another trip to Disney!

I'm actually saving on My Points online to get a Landry's Gift Card... so that should help me out with the costs of trying some of this new stuff on a future trip.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[NorweJenNY]

Please excuse this brief intermission in my personal reviews for someone else's...

As a chocolate peanut butter enthusiast, I couldn't resist sharing this with readers who may have similar tastes and are headed to Disney very soon.

Check out this cookie on the Disney Parks blog... (follow the link and see a picture too!)

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...eeth-into-this-a-sweet-treat-at-disney-parks/

 

[sandym718]

Please excuse this brief intermission in my personal reviews for someone else's...

As a chocolate peanut butter enthusiast, I couldn't resist sharing this with readers who may have similar tastes and are headed to Disney very soon.

Check out this cookie on the Disney Parks blog... (follow the link and see a picture too!)

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...eeth-into-this-a-sweet-treat-at-disney-parks/

I saw this earlier today, and immediately thought of you and your reviews!!! Hope this sticks around. I actually had something similar from an Amish restaurant a couple years ago. They have a bakery/gift shop and I bought a box of PB cookies with a chocolate frosting on top -soooooo good. I make them myself now - for quick and easy, I use the Betty Crocker bag PB cookie mix, whip those up and buy a can of chocolate frosting, spread some on top of each. yum!!

 

[worm761]

More ribs to try?! I'm so there!

And a BBQ Chicken wrap sounds good too...

Now I really feel like BBQ... doh! And most of the BBQ around here is Carolina style... blah... not so much into the vinegar-based BBQ sauces... I need another trip to Disney!

I'm actually saving on My Points online to get a Landry's Gift Card... so that should help me out with the costs of trying some of this new stuff on a future trip.

Thanks for the suggestions!

I do the same thing with MyPoints. Did you know that BOTH you and your husband can do it? You are allowed more than one account per household.

 

[NorweJenNY]

I saw this earlier today, and immediately thought of you and your reviews!!! Hope this sticks around. I actually had something similar from an Amish restaurant a couple years ago. They have a bakery/gift shop and I bought a box of PB cookies with a chocolate frosting on top -soooooo good. I make them myself now - for quick and easy, I use the Betty Crocker bag PB cookie mix, whip those up and buy a can of chocolate frosting, spread some on top of each. yum!!

I am truly honored that you thought of me!

I have to try to control my non-Disney eating... but boy that sounds good!

I do the same thing with MyPoints. Did you know that BOTH you and your husband can do it? You are allowed more than one account per household.

I did not realize you could... in fact, I thought I read about people's accounts being canceled for doing just that... but I just read the terms of service, and it doesn't say anything about one account per household, just one account per email address... that's interesting.

I am scared of the reports of several people who've had their MyPoints accounts suddenly close mysteriously. I just hope it's ok that I use my MyPoints account on different computers. I don't know if that could raise red flags.

 

[DiggleBelle]

Enjoying your review and great pictures!
Thanks for taking the time

 

[NorweJenNY]

Enjoying your review and great pictures!
Thanks for taking the time

It's so fun to relive my experiences through reviews! Glad you're enjoying it too!

 

[NorweJenNY]

May 2010
Day #5

Epcot Day! So easy! Since we were at Beach Club, we just walked there through the back entrance by the International Gateway... no wait... and we got to see the quiet World Showcase... well, at least Canada and the UK.

We had nibbled on stuff for breakfast in our room... the guys had cereal. I just had a bite or two of that heavenly chocolate peanut butter cupcake from DHS.

So I was still hungry by mid-morning and got something "to go" from theSunshine Seasons bakery in The Land pavillion... I ordered apple flan... which, I'm hoping, is what I got!

I just questioned the flan part because it seemed to have a crust, and I didn't think flan came with a crust. It wasn't as gelatinous as other flans (like the one I had the previous night at Cape May). Whatever I had though was quite tasty and sweet, not terribly heavy, with just a slight seasoning like apple pie might have. I'd say the consistency was a cross between a flan and a cheesecake. I snacked on it between activities, as I had put the plate in a "to go" box and could keep it covered up... it was a very pleasant substitute for the breakfast that I didn't really have this particular morning.

I will say it was hard to choose this when I was so in love with the strawberry shortcake there (which isn't really shortcake... I know, I know...), but I'm glad I tried something new. Next time I go, however, I'll have to pick between the apple flan, strawberry shortcake, and something new... because I do like trying new stuff too... as I just did with the flan!

We also did Club Cool this morning... so nice that my non-soda-drinking Little Guy actually does enjoy the VegitaBeta there...

Priceless expression... it's like he's in another world... his "happy place."

The rest of us enjoyed our favorites - apple soda for me, Kinley for hubby... I think my mom just kinda enjoys a few different ones every time.

Big Guy, however, refuses to try anything in Club Cool and sought his own refreshment out back...

So, if I had to some up this morning's "dining," the little that there was...

Good: Club Cool... hey, free soda! (With a water fountain out back for non-soda drinkers.) Refreshing place to stop... every time we're in Epcot

Gooder: Apple Flan... if that's what it was... Whatever it was, I liked it!


No "goodest" here, as I didn't have more to compare here, so let's move on to the next review shortly... I'll definitely have a lot to report on there... food in France... good stuff coming up next...

 

[DLo]

you aren't helping my sweet tooth i'm not sure if i want chocolate, flan,
cheesecake or a cookie oh wait or a cupcake! enjoying your reviews!

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

I'm drolling over the pictures. Great updates. We never had Cape May clam buffet, we always go for breakfast buffet and I need to put it on must to do.
Thanks for the reviews and loving it.