PNO4TE
I used to be the DIS Musician and a Jamborini...
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2001
- Messages
- 31,531
This has now become my Trip Report, so if you have been following along and want to jump right to the report itself, here is a link to where it all starts to happen. Below that link is where I will link to specific days or event. Hope that helps!
Thanks again for reading!
Trip Report Starts Here!
It is time for serious planning for our annual Food & Wine Festival (F&W) trip. So that means it is time for an annual pre-trip report!
Introductions are in order:
Dates - October 2-8, 2009
Digs - Beach Club Villas (we are not DVC owners, we just play them in this trip report). We have Tables in Wonderland (TiW) but our DVC friend booked the Disney Dining Plan (DDP) just in case we decide it works well for us. We canceled the DDP and will go strictly with our TiW 20% discount. Seems the best for our eating habits.
This is our 12th year to be at WDW during this event. We love it. There is so much to do and we get to come without our grown DDs who love WDW almost as much as I do (usually) and get to plan what we want to do and splurge a little because it is just the two of us.
We booked a Bounceback offer at BC last year when we were at the Poly but have the before-mentioned friend with DVC points to rent and she was able to get us a 1BR at BCV so we decided that would be our way to go. We requested an "Epcot view" meaning we want to be on that end of the resort so we can easily use that back walkway into the International Gateway for quick access to the World Showcase.
We are meeting lots of friends when we are there this time. This makes me very happy because part of my enjoyment of WDW is the sharing with those I love.
Here is what we have planned so far:
We fly out of Baltimore on Friday, October 2 in the morning so we will drive up from our home in Virginia south of DC the night before and spend the night at a Park 'n' Fly so we don't have to fight that nasty I-95 traffic that morning. We should arrive at MCO about 11:00 and have decided to use a Towncar company. Last Christmas we used
ray Transportation and they were wonderful getting our DDs to us for the holiday so we have opted to use them again. They offer a free 30 minute grocery stop which means we don't have to ship anything down with us. The DIS doesn't like the name of the company, apparently, as it was ******ed out. I used my own version of their name. 
We have booked and re-booked and tweaked ADRs numerous times. myBob read the Festival brochure (came in the mail while I was at MagicMeets 2009 this weekend) from cover to cover this morning and said that he really wanted to spend more time at World Showcase eating. We never got to everything last year and I missed that part of it too.
In the past we have done Signature Dinners, Party for the Senses (PFTS), Food & Wine Pairings and many presentations and seminars. This year things are tighter economically and Disney has thought it a great time (insert as much sarcasm here as you can muster) to raise prices.
So I will not be on the phone on Tuesday to book any special events this year. I did consider the Bordeaux Regional Luncheon at Bistro for myself only, but a friend I was going to go with can't make it, so I am not going to that without myBob and alone. It is not that I don't want to go alone, exactly, but when one spends over $100 for lunch one wants to know with whom one will be dining. (At least this "one" wants to know.) Instead, we are going to go back to our roots, so to speak, and intend to experience the F&W Festival like we did the first couple of years: pigging out at the kiosks and finding a demonstration or two that appeals to us that day. We will start each day at the Festival Welcome Center with our glass of bubbly. Probably prosecco as that is our favorite these days. So....
Here is what we have decided on as of 2:15 pm on Friday, August 28, 2009. (changes are in red)
Eats and Drinks
More to come later. Thanks for reading!
Thanks again for reading!
Trip Report Starts Here!
It is time for serious planning for our annual Food & Wine Festival (F&W) trip. So that means it is time for an annual pre-trip report!
Introductions are in order:
- Me - 58 year old lover of WDW and all things there. Food, wine, restaurants, parks, attractions, events, resorts, people, smells, shows, planning... there you have it! I have an annual pass (AP) and have been to WDW more than 60 times.
- myBob - 59 year old DH who likes the resorts where he can read, food and beer (not necessarily in that order). That's about it. He has an AP and has been to WDW more than 25 times.
Dates - October 2-8, 2009
Digs - Beach Club Villas (we are not DVC owners, we just play them in this trip report). We have Tables in Wonderland (TiW) but our DVC friend booked the Disney Dining Plan (DDP) just in case we decide it works well for us. We canceled the DDP and will go strictly with our TiW 20% discount. Seems the best for our eating habits.
This is our 12th year to be at WDW during this event. We love it. There is so much to do and we get to come without our grown DDs who love WDW almost as much as I do (usually) and get to plan what we want to do and splurge a little because it is just the two of us.
We booked a Bounceback offer at BC last year when we were at the Poly but have the before-mentioned friend with DVC points to rent and she was able to get us a 1BR at BCV so we decided that would be our way to go. We requested an "Epcot view" meaning we want to be on that end of the resort so we can easily use that back walkway into the International Gateway for quick access to the World Showcase.
We are meeting lots of friends when we are there this time. This makes me very happy because part of my enjoyment of WDW is the sharing with those I love.
Here is what we have planned so far:We fly out of Baltimore on Friday, October 2 in the morning so we will drive up from our home in Virginia south of DC the night before and spend the night at a Park 'n' Fly so we don't have to fight that nasty I-95 traffic that morning. We should arrive at MCO about 11:00 and have decided to use a Towncar company. Last Christmas we used
ray Transportation and they were wonderful getting our DDs to us for the holiday so we have opted to use them again. They offer a free 30 minute grocery stop which means we don't have to ship anything down with us. The DIS doesn't like the name of the company, apparently, as it was ******ed out. I used my own version of their name. We have booked and re-booked and tweaked ADRs numerous times. myBob read the Festival brochure (came in the mail while I was at MagicMeets 2009 this weekend) from cover to cover this morning and said that he really wanted to spend more time at World Showcase eating. We never got to everything last year and I missed that part of it too.
In the past we have done Signature Dinners, Party for the Senses (PFTS), Food & Wine Pairings and many presentations and seminars. This year things are tighter economically and Disney has thought it a great time (insert as much sarcasm here as you can muster) to raise prices.
So I will not be on the phone on Tuesday to book any special events this year. I did consider the Bordeaux Regional Luncheon at Bistro for myself only, but a friend I was going to go with can't make it, so I am not going to that without myBob and alone. It is not that I don't want to go alone, exactly, but when one spends over $100 for lunch one wants to know with whom one will be dining. (At least this "one" wants to know.) Instead, we are going to go back to our roots, so to speak, and intend to experience the F&W Festival like we did the first couple of years: pigging out at the kiosks and finding a demonstration or two that appeals to us that day. We will start each day at the Festival Welcome Center with our glass of bubbly. Probably prosecco as that is our favorite these days. So....Here is what we have decided on as of 2:15 pm on Friday, August 28, 2009.
(changes are in red)Eats and Drinks
- Friday, October 2 - early lunch at F&W kiosks, possibly the Starship concert, dinner at Chefs de France with friends. It has been 10 years since we have eaten here.
- Saturday, October 3 - lunch at Tusker House with friends (we enjoyed it last year), both of us will do the Beam Distillery seminar (!!
!!) and then I am going to go to Warren Brown's culinary demonstration and wine presentation alone, late dinner at Flying Fish
- Sunday, October 4 - breakfast at Kouzzina (new for us, and everyone else!), I am doing the Concha y Toro Wine Seminar, dinner at Raglan Road (love this place)
- Monday, October 5 - breakfast in the villa, lunch at Sci-Fi (new for us), I am doing the King Estate Wine Seminar, dinner at the F&W kiosks, Wishes Dessert Buffet
- Tuesday, October 6 - breakfast in the villa or Beaches & Cream, I am doing the Milbrandt Wine Seminar and the Taste of Puglia Wine Seminar and will grab something to eat at the kiosks, Bob will have lunch at Hurricane Hanna's or wherever he wants, dinner at Kouzzina, possibly dessert at the F&W kiosks
- Wednesday, October 7 - breakfast at Fresh (we try to go here every couple of trips... we enjoy the variety!), lunch at the F&W kiosks with friends, possibly the Better Than Ezra concert, dinner at Todd English's bluezooTM (this is our first time here and I am very excited!)
- Thursday, October 8 - possibly lunch at Rose & Crown (myBob likes their Shepherd's Pie and they only serve it at lunch. Last two times we were there we had dinner ADRs), or we may eat lunch at ESPN, and ending with a snack at the kiosks before we leave for home that evening
More to come later. Thanks for reading!
I hope they are still offering breakfast there in October!
