It's ALL About the Food (We go to WDW to eat and drink!!) ~ October 2009 TR

[PNO4TE]

Today is “Around the World” as-far-as-we-can-get day! We decided to cancel our Sci-Fi Dine-In reservation and spend the late morning/early afternoon in our favorite park. With the reason we came on this trip. Food and Drink!

It was Bob’s turn to choose which way to turn when we got to the top of the International Gateway but he deferred to me since he got to choose our dining place the night before. I chose… RIGHT! That would put us into France first.

I had agreed to an experimental tasting at this country’s kiosk and I had to keep my promise.

Behold… the Parisien Cosmo Slush (it tasted as bad as it looks… )

(I think I need to try this one again before recommending it wholeheartedly to Lori ~ BriarRosie)

Looking forward!

Praline Bread Pudding with Bourbon Caramel Sauce ~ New Orleans

Torii Gate in Japan

Scenes from Italy

Polpettini (Italian Meatballs with Traditional Tomato Sauce)

Goulash mit Servietten Knoedel (Paprika Beef Stew with Bacon Dumpling) ~ Vienna

Willkommen!

Nürnberger Sausage on Pretzel Roll (looks like it got smaller this week!) and Späetzle Gratin with Ham and Cheese ~ Munich

We also split a Beck’s Oktoberfest at this location. Perfect with the three foods we were juggling!

By now we were pretty full and it was getting hot again so we decided to go back to the room, stopping first at The Hops and Barley Mart. Bob had a plain old Sam Adams Boston Lager. I had already had the Oktoberfest on Friday so I decided to try the Festival Beer. It was listed as a lager. There was a fruitiness to it; I thought cherry maybe, but online friends seem to think it might have been blackberry? I don’t know, but I will go back to the Oktoberfest. It was not my cup of tea. Or beer.

Bob wanted to stop at Boulangerie Patisserie in France for something sweet for dessert. On the way we found some entertainment!

No pictures of the sweets, but I was horrified to discover that they no longer have my favorite – Coconut Pyramid!! I had to settle for the Coconut Macaroons. They were nice and light but not what I really wanted. Bob had a chocolate croissant of sorts. He enjoyed his selection too.

Continued on next post...

 

[PNO4TE]

We each had some downtime in the room, Bob reading and me uploading photos. Pretty soon it was time for my 5:30 Wine Seminar so I had to go back to Epcot. We had originally intended to go together and Bob would sit in the Festival Center and read for the 45 minutes I was in the seminar. We had reservations for the Wishes Dessert Buffet in the Magic Kingdom at 7:50 so we figured we would just grab a bus from Epcot. But it had started to rain and I really didn’t think Bob would enjoy being stuck in a wheel chair if the skies decided to open up. I offered to go into Epcot alone and then return to pick him up to go over to the MK. He liked that idea very much! As it turned out, there was very little precipitation so we could have gone with our original idea, but I got double my walking in that afternoon.

This winery is actually in Oregon, not Washington! But the wines presented by Randy Ford were very good. The King Estate Signature Pinot Gris was a big wine for a white and would stand up to cellaring for a number of years (he said 8-10 but I don’t know about that). King Estates Winery was the first American vineyard to plant the pinot gris grapes in Oregon. They pioneered the culture. It was a fascinating story.

The second selection was King Estate Pinot Noir and it was a “nice” wine. Just like yesterday, this seemed to be the weakest of the three wines poured.

The final selection was a NxNW (North by Northwest ) Cabernet Sauvignon. I love the label and the wine was wonderful. I will buy a few bottles of this at home.

Very soon the seminar was over and I was hot-footing it back to BCV to get myBob. The trip on the bus to the MK was easy and the park was crowded. That’s what happens when Spectro and Wishes are only shown a few times without MNSSHP being held. But we had a reserved seat waiting for us!

I have no pictures from the Dessert Buffet. There are tons of them on other reports. I hadn’t booked this for the food, actually! It had been over 10 years since myBob had gone to see the parade or fireworks. He hates the crowds that push and shove and the parade doesn’t do much for him anyway. But, with reserved seating we could see Wishes together for the first time.

Here is what happened: We got in line; we were checked in and given a seating section ticket and purple armbands; we were escorted to our reserved table in Section C which was right up front in line with the castle and Tink’s wire. The desserts were plentiful and pretty tasty. There was lots of choice in the beverages: coffee, hot tea, iced tea, lemonades, milk and water. I think that is it. You could have all you cared to eat. We ate too much. There was also a PhotoPass photographer there to capture the moment for you.

I had planned to video the whole show but left my @*%^#! camera back in the room so I decided to try it on my phone. I think it would have worked fine but just as Tink took flight this BIG man strolled right down front with his ENORMOUS video camera and stood in front of our table. That was the end of that pipe dream. I was able to see the fireworks by moving my chair off to the other side of the table, but I continue to be stunned by the oblivion with which some people approach their vacations! Sorry, folks… it is NOT all about you.

We had a great time, despite The Hulk. We stayed after everything was done and talked to the people at the tables on either side of us for a while. The couple on our left was from the UK and the woman behind was from Virginia! Eventually the crowds had thinned out a bit and we meandered our way to the busses, stopping first to try to pick up a bag of banana salt water taffy for a friend back home. They didn’t appear to have any at the Main Street Confectionery so I will have to try DTD later this week.

We stopped for a nightcap and Martha’s Vineyard and were home by 12:30 and sound asleep before 1:00. It was another great day.

And tomorrow…

We’ll be back!

 

[ChelleinNC]

Love the updates

Really glad the weather held out for you last night How was your view of the parade? I love the parade, but my family is not fond of "wasting" time to watch a parade. Being 'mom' means I don't enjoy it if everyone else is miserable, so we usually skip it but if I could have a good view & we could all eat more than we should of yummies this could be the perfect solution

Hope you have another wonderful day!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Elin, next time you need to borrow this quote from DH.
"I hope you don't think you are going to STAY there?" You say it LOUD, in an incredulous tone. It worked for us at IllumiNations.

 

[PNO4TE]

Love the updates

Really glad the weather held out for you last night How was your view of the parade? I love the parade, but my family is not fond of "wasting" time to watch a parade. Being 'mom' means I don't enjoy it if everyone else is miserable, so we usually skip it but if I could have a good view & we could all eat more than we should of yummies this could be the perfect solution

Hope you have another wonderful day!

Chelle - I won't lie to you. You can only see the tops of the floats. But, I could hear the music and that was enough for this old softie to tear up a bit! It was the perfect solution for us because otherwise I would have been there alone last night.

 

[PNO4TE]

Elin, next time you need to borrow this quote from DH.
"I hope you don't think you are going to STAY there?" You say it LOUD, in an incredulous tone. It worked for us at IllumiNations.

I am trying to find the little clip of the video where you can clearly hear me saying, "Hey! You just stepped in front of my camera!" It didn't matter to this jerk! I ought to see if HIS video is out there on youTube...

 

[Disneygrl36]

OMG that bread pudding looked wonderful....did it taste as good as it looks?
Glad you got to go to your dessert party & it didn't get rained out, but sorry that the HULKSTER was oblivious. I just don't get people sometimes.

 

[Tammi67]

You are making me hungry, Elin! And thirsty too.

I hope you and Bob were able to enjoy Wishes in spite of The Hulk.

 

[PNO4TE]

Melanie - the bread pudding was delicious. Bob didn't like the texture but the flavor was wonderful.

 

[PNO4TE]

You are making me hungry, Elin! And thirsty too.

I hope you and Bob were able to enjoy Wishes in spite of The Hulk.

We did, Tammi! And I will try to continue encouraging gluttony at home with more postings from today!

I forgot to post that this morning when I checked my email I found a pin code for next spring. April through June, I think.... I have to go back a check for sure. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.... :

 

[tinknme]

Elin what a wonderful day you & Bob had! Sorry about the Hulk, I would have had to say something. No one gets in my way of seeing Tink

 

[onelilspark]

Quick question: how early do you need to line up for the seminars? We're doing one at 5:30 on a Saturday, do I need to be there a good half hour ahead of time? (I already bought the tickets.)

 

[Flossbolna]

Willkommen!

Nürnberger Sausage on Pretzel Roll (looks like it got smaller this week!) and Späetzle Gratin with Ham and Cheese ~ Munich

Love the Welcome poster, but then this is all wrong!!!! How can they sell Nürnberger Bratwürste at a Munich stand!! Nürnberg (aka Nuremberg) and Munich are the two largest cities in the state of Bavaria (Germany is made up of 16 states, similar to the structure of the USA) and you might guess, they are not on friendly terms. Bavaria used to be much smaller, but thanks to Napoleon it became a kingdom and a lot of previously free cities like Nuremberg became subjects of the Bavarian king. Which they did not approve of. Nuremberg is the commercial center for Frankonia, a region in Northern Bavaria and Frankonians still today would rather split away from Bavaria to form their own state.

But the smallness of the sausage has to be applauded! Nürnberger sausages are small, only around 3 inches long. If served in a roll, you normally get three like in this picture:

If served in a restaurants, you can order 6, 8, 10 or 12, depending on how hungry you are.

Sounds like you had another wonderful day, I really love those live updates! So sorry for that Hulk. I am always amazed how people can live in their own world without noticing others...

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

OMG...Elin, so sorry about that jerk at the dessert party. It always amazes me that people are in their own little world and lack common courtesy. Glad you still had a good time though. Your WS foodie adventures are mouthwatering. I have a feeling my Fred and your Bob would get along very well. Fred always come to Disney armed with a good book to pass the time while I do my thing. If we aren't eating, he's reading. 40 more hours and I'll be on my way to Disney! I'm not too excited, am I?

 

[Me&3]

Elin, next time you need to borrow this quote from DH.
"I hope you don't think you are going to STAY there?" You say it LOUD, in an incredulous tone. It worked for us at IllumiNations.

I agree and if that doesn't work try these and make sure you say them LOUD. YOUR KIDDING ME RIGHT? or try YOUR MOVING RIGHT!. I hope today is as great as the others have been for you and Bob.

 

[John's Mom]

Great updates and pictures! So glad you and Bob are having such a wonderful time.

My DD and I are going to the Dessert Party on Dec. 9. I'm trying to keep it a secret from my DD. Desserts are a major food group for us.

 

[praisehisname]

Just wanted to let you know I am really enjoying your report! Someday I would love to experience the F&W Festival.

Denise

 

[lovesdumbo]

Elin-I am really enjoying your live updates! Sounds like you guys are having a really great time!!!

 

[TigerKat]

I am trying to find the little clip of the video where you can clearly hear me saying, "Hey! You just stepped in front of my camera!" It didn't matter to this jerk! I ought to see if HIS video is out there on youTube...

What an idiot! Glad you didn't let him spoil your evening. Your tasting and drinking around the world is getting me very excited! Are you going to make a list of your favorites, or have I missed it? I've been trying to take notes.

 

[oybolshoi]

Great update Elin - thanks for sharing! Everything looks delicious and I'm so glad you enjoyed the dessert party despite the incredible bulk who positioned himself in front of you.