Memories of the DREAM come true .. 08/09 All 30 days done!

[dizneeat]

That is quite the wave! That poor little guy ahead of you. I imagine that wave hit him hard.

Those waves are huge! And they knock over grown ups too!

We have never been to one of the water parks. It seems we never have enough time, but it looks like you had a lot of fun. And that fried shrimp looks great. Can't wait to hear about Le Cellier!

You HAVE to try the water parks! It took us years to try them, but now we really enjoy them. Typhoon Lagoon is so much fun, you even have a water coaster there!
And Blizzard Beach is so much fun too! If you go there you have to do Summit Plummet! SO much fun!!!!
Le Cellier coming up pretty soon.

I really think Mark and I need to get back to Typhoon Lagoon...we've not been since 2000 and it is my favorite. Which pool were you close to at Old Key West? It looks so inviting (better than the dreary, rainy weather we currently have).

Kathy, you need to make time for Typhoon Lagoon next time ... and I guess your little urchins would love it there too!
That's the quiet pool on Turtle Pond Road. We really love it there, so peaceful!

Hi Karin
Wonderful photos from Typhoon Lagoon
I wish I was floating round that lazy river right now

Oh, my, to float in that lazy river right now on a dreary foggy December day!

 

[dizneeat]

I love those wave pictures...those are great. Lunch looked delicious and just a nice relaxing day....someday I am going to have a relaxing trip.......some day

Glad you like the photos, Jen!
We bought a water camera a few days before we left on that trip and it really worked well!
Lunch was wonderful and the whole day was just really nice.
You need to take a longer vacation one day and "enjoy" Disney without all the pressure of having to go to a park.

What a great idea, the advent calendar. Day one looked yummy.

I am very happy you like the calendar ..... just keep checking back every day, there are a few more yummy surprises!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 6, August 18

Water fun and more - Part 3

We had another shower, I dried my hair and we were on our way over to Epcot for dinner at Le Cellier.
It was hot and humid and we took our time to walk over to Canada. Off Kilter was playing when we walked by, so we stopped and listened for a while and took some photos of Jamie for our friend Mary Ellen.

Then it was time to sign in for our reservation at Le Cellier. We were looking forward to experience this new signature restaurant. We were told that we would have to wait about 20 minutes and while we were waiting we could see that they had to turn away a lot of guests without ADRs.
After about 10 minutes wait we were called and taken to our table, one of the very small tables in the middle of the room. Not the best location for a table, but there was nothing we could do about it.
We sat down and the host gave the spiel about which province you are seated in and it really sounded like a spiel, no extra information, just the basics. She told us that our server would be coming by shortly and left us with the menus. We were still studying the menus when our server introduced himself and asked for our drinks order.
We ordered the usual Diet Cokes as neither of us felt like having an adult drink. It took a while until our drinks were served and our server was ready to take our order. We ordered our main courses and the server rushed away to put our order in and then returned with

a basket of bread. He told us which one was which, there were some Pretzel sticks, some sourdough rolls and some multigrain rolls and put

a small plate with butter sprinkled with sea salt on the table. We nibbled a little bread while waiting for our entrees and were a bit annoyed by the server, who would ask about how we were doing every time he walked by our table. A short time later a food runner brought out our entrees. Tom had ordered

the Grilled Bone-in Ribeye, a 16 oz. bone-in ribeye with herb-parmesan potato wedges and maple-pink peppercorn butter, which he enjoyed a lot. I knew what I wanted, an old favourite,

the Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon, a 8 oz. Canadian AAA Beef Tenderloin with wild mushroom risotto, white truffle butter sauce and micro chervil. Both pieces of meat were perfectly cooked and we enjoyed them very much. There was still dessert to conquer. We both were not sure what to order and had not seen the display they had at the entrance.

So Tom decided on

the Peach Clafoutis, with Ginger Ice Cream, Peach Nectar and Ginger Snap, while I tried

the Trio of Chocolate, Canadian Club Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Sorbet, and warm Chocolate-Almond Cake. All in all our dinner was nice, but we did not think it was a signature dinner.
Once we had finished our dinner the server brought the bill and we settled it, got up and left. When we walked outside we were greeted by a downpour. It was raining cats and dogs and we neither did we bring a poncho nor an umbrella.
It didn't look like it would let off any time soon, so we speed walked over to the shops and bought a poncho. Since the rain had picked up even more we spent some time inside the shop before the rain got a little lighter and we were able to walk outside again.
We had signed up for the Preferred Fireworks viewing for that evening, and we actually wanted to stay for Extra Magic Hours, but the rain really put us off and after a visit to Mousegear we decided to just go back to the resort and have an earlier night.
So we slowly walked back towards the International Gateway and the Beach Club again. Since we still had quite a few snack credits to spend we decided to have a look inside the shop there and find something we might be able to bring on the cruise. We picked up

two lollies for two girls who celebrated their birthdays on the cruise,

a Mickey Mint chocolate bar and

three little containers of Mickey Head Cheese Crackers. All our purchases in hand we got in line for the next cash register and when a new cast member opened a new till we were expected to head over there.
The cast member was still earning her ears and we told her we wanted to use snack credits for our purchases and she told us it would not be a problem. So she rang up our snacks, we handed her the Key To The World Card and she processed it and handed us the bill.
I took a look at how many snack credits we were supposed to have left and it did not say anything about snack credits, she had billed us for the snacks. Well, we did not want to use our credit card for the snacks, so she had to call over a manager, who had to reverse the purchase and ring it up again to use the snack credits.
He was very apologetic, but we did not mind at all, the issue was being resolved and that was it. The only issue was that it had taken about 20 minutes to get things straightened out.
While we walked back to our car we could hear the fireworks and later see them from the road, while driving towards Old Key West. Once we were back in our villa we watched a little TV and then called it a day and went to bed early.

To be continued ..........

 

[kid-at-heart]

Foodie ADVENT'S CALENDAR - very cute!!!

By the way, we were in WDW at the same time as you guys. At one point a lady passed me and I thought, "That looks like someone I know". Later I realized that it might have been you.

Thanks for the calendar,
kate

 

[dizneeat]

Foodie ADVENT'S CALENDAR - very cute!!!

By the way, we were in WDW at the same time as you guys. At one point a lady passed me and I thought, "That looks like someone I know". Later I realized that it might have been you.

Thanks for the calendar,
kate

I am glad you like the calendar!

Oh my - I would have loved to meet you!

 

[KatMark]

Great update, Karin. I'm glad we were not the only ones who thought that LeCellier was NOT a signature restaurant. While thd food was good, it was not as good as it had been in the past. And they were not very accomodating.

 

[jenseib]

I was leaving that day. We were almost delayed because of the rain. it looked awful in the distance and i think we lifted off right before it hit hard.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi Karin! Caught up here! I forgot to say how wonderful your TL day looked. I like BB better, but the food is better at TL, I think.

I have been hearing that Le Cellier has gone downhill. I think alot of people have been disappointed lately. Too bad they made it a signature dinner just because it was a popular place. Off Kilter sounds so fun to see - I hope we run in to them sometime.

 

[Linda67]

Hi Karin

Just dropping in to say thanks to you and Tom for the Advent Calendar

I love it

Have a great day

 

[dizneeat]

Great update, Karin. I'm glad we were not the only ones who thought that LeCellier was NOT a signature restaurant. While thd food was good, it was not as good as it had been in the past. And they were not very accomodating.

Thank you, Kathy.
No, we were not impressed with LeCellier and will not be returning for dinner any time soon.
If they want to be a real signature restaurant they need to rethink the crammed atmosphere and train the servers accordingly.

I was leaving that day. We were almost delayed because of the rain. it looked awful in the distance and i think we lifted off right before it hit hard.

I cannot believe that your trip was already over then! But the rain was torrential that night.
Glad you were not delayed flying out.

Hi Karin! Caught up here! I forgot to say how wonderful your TL day looked. I like BB better, but the food is better at TL, I think.

I have been hearing that Le Cellier has gone downhill. I think alot of people have been disappointed lately. Too bad they made it a signature dinner just because it was a popular place. Off Kilter sounds so fun to see - I hope we run in to them sometime.

We have been to both waterparks and while I loved Summit Plummet, I just found TL a bit more relaxed.

The food was still nice at LC, but not worth the price they were charging and the service was not that of a signature restaurant.
We have never stopped for Off Kilter, but Mary Ellen loves them and after having listened to them a few times together with Mary Ellen and Joe we now at least stop and listen to a song or two.

Hi Karin

Just dropping in to say thanks to you and Tom for the Advent Calendar

I love it

Have a great day

I am glad you like the Advent's Calendar, Linda. Tom is very proud that so many DISfriends are enjoying it.

 

[dizneeat]

Day7, August 19

Meeting Rosie and receiving special treatment - Part 1

We got up early today and after a quick look into the fridge we thought about where to have breakfast. We didn’t feel like anything on site, so we decided to drive offsite and just find a restaurant along the way.
The first restaurant we came across was a Denny’s. It was our very first US dining experience and it didn’t need much persuasion to stop and walk inside. We were seated on the spot in a nice booth and the server was on hand right away. We ordered our drinks,

orange juice and tea and coffee and went to study the menu. They had some specials and

the Pancake Puffs, six bite-sized round pancakes rolled in a delicious blend of cinnamon and sugar and served with warm syrup for dipping, peaked our interest. So we ordered one helping for both of us to share as a starter. Tom ordered

the Ultimate Omelette, three egg omelette with bacon, sausage, fire roasted peppers and onions, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, topped with cheddar cheese, served with hash browns and toast. My choice was

the Florida peaches, French Toast Skillet, two thick slices of their fabulous French Toast, topped with caramelized peaches, served with two scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns. All the food was wonderful, our server very attentive and fast and we really enjoyed the trip down memory lane.
About 50 minutes after we had entered the restaurant we were on our way out again. With sufficiently filled bellies we discussed on whether to drive to a park or go shopping offsite. Since we were already offsite, shopping won.
We drove to the Prime1 Outlets and started to explore some shops. I was amazed at all the different kinds of Crocs they offered and there were several other shops that we walked through, but there was one shop that we both had been looking for the most. The Disney Outlet store.

They always have a lot of interesting and reduced articles and there were several that actually went into our baskets. When we left the store it was nearly 11.30 and we headed back towards our villa to pick up our goodie bag for Rosie and I tried

the Mickey chocolate mints before driving over to Pop Century to pick her up. We arrived at the Pop Century right on time

and walked into the lobby and there she was. We hugged and we it felt like we had known each other for years. Rosie led us outside to the pool area, where her family was having fun in the pool.

We exchanged a few words and our gift bags. Rosie had gotten Tom a really nice postal themed keyring and I got some Vera Bradley paper clips. Then it was time to drive over to Wolfgang Puck’s Express for lunch. Tom took the top down and we had fun riding in the convertible together.

To be continued ..........

 

[Linda67]

Sounds like a lovely day and how nice to get some Krispy Kremes for the CMs at OKW

 

[melmar136]

Those pancake puffs from Denny's actually look really good!
Are the prices at the Disney Outlet store good?

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Mmm breakfast looks good! I keep trying to catch up on some TRs and everyone's food porn is making me hungry - I might need a bedtime snack I love that Disney outlet store! What did you find?

 

[jamiesgirl]

Hi Karin!
I finally made it back & have alot of catching up to do again! I love Tom's advent calenders...you know the hat one is my favorite. Tell him thanks for me.

 

[jenseib]

Rosie looks like a lot of fun! Dis meets ar so much fun!

 

[dizneeat]

Sounds like a lovely day and how nice to get some Krispy Kremes for the CMs at OKW

We had a great day, meeting Rosie was so much fun and we just love handing out doughnuts to the CMs!

Those pancake puffs from Denny's actually look really good!
Are the prices at the Disney Outlet store good?

The pancake puffs were very good. We do not have anything like it here, so I was eager to try them and they were yummy!
The prices at the Disney Outlet store are really good. Many items are half price. I bought several pairs of Disney flip flops for 50ct per pair. Tom got an embroidered white shirt for 9.99. They had several Jim Shores marked 50% off.
You have to look though, there are some items mixed in that are not discounted at all.

Mmm breakfast looks good! I keep trying to catch up on some TRs and everyone's food porn is making me hungry - I might need a bedtime snack I love that Disney outlet store! What did you find?

Breakfast was yummy and meeting Rosie was a lot of fun.
Tell me about catching up on everyone's trip reports - sometimes I fall so far behind that I take nearly a whole weekend to catch up again.
We love browsing those Disney Outlet Stores.
I cannot remember what exactly we bought when we were there that time, but I remember stocking up on extras for our Fish Extenders (for the kids mainly) and we got some T-shirts as well.
They had a wonderful Disney Wonder throw, which was 9.99 I think. I remember buying it much more expensive when we were on the Wonder in 2010.

Hi Karin!
I finally made it back & have alot of catching up to do again! I love Tom's advent calenders...you know the hat one is my favorite. Tell him thanks for me.

Hi Mary Ellen!
Good to know that you are back! I really need to make a move on with this trip report - we are leaving for WDW again in less than 9 weeks.

Rosie looks like a lot of fun! Dis meets ar so much fun!

You really need to meet Rosie too, Jen, she is so much fun. We laughed as much that day, as when we met you!

 

[dizneeat]

Day7, August 19

Meeting Rosie and receiving special treatment - Part 2

Tom took the top down and we had fun riding in the convertible together. Luckily we found a parking spot at Downtown Disney and walked straight over to the restaurant.
Again, we were surprised, at how full the restaurant was. We got in line ordered our lunch and were disappointed to hear that they were out of Crème Brulee. Bummer!
I wanted something else than pizza, so I ordered

the Crispy Chicken Tenders & French Fries, while Tom chose

the Pennette Chicken Alfredo with peas, bacon and parmesan. While we waited we introduced Rosie to our favourite server there, Maritza.
We had a fun conversation while waiting for the food and once it arrived and after we had taken multiple photos of the food we finally got to enjoy it. All the while we talked and had lots of fun. Finally we were finished and it was time for dessert. Rosie and I had been looking forward to the Crème Brulee and now we had to settle for

the Cheesecake. And we were glad we did, it was surprisingly smooth and tasty and had a perfect burnt sugar top. We both loved it a lot. Tom had taken

a Brownie and since he didn’t really feel like it, we gave it to Rosie, as her grandchildren would certainly like it.

We chatted for quite some time before we headed back to the car and drove back to Old Key West, so Rosie could have a look at our villa and a feel for the resort.

We sat and talked a little more before we needed to take Rosie back to Pop Century. When we arrived at Pop, we found Rosie's family having fun in the pool and they had already been assigned a room and we went to check it out. It was a nice room overlooking the pool area.
After some time the kids came back to the room to get ready to head for dinner and I think Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom, so we sadly said our goodbyes and parted ways.
Tom and I drove over to Publix to stock up on things we wanted to take on the cruise and then went back to Old Key West. We chilled for a while, then changed and got ready to head to the Contemporary Resort for dinner at the California Grill. We made our way up to the second floor to sign in. I asked if Ron was working that day and yes, he was, so we asked if we could be seated in his area.

To be continued ..........

 

[KatMark]

Kathy, you need to make time for Typhoon Lagoon next time ... and I guess your little urchins would love it there too!
That's the quiet pool on Turtle Pond Road. We really love it there, so peaceful!

That is the pool that we used...it was a short one minute walk from our room.

 

[KatMark]

Great update, Karin. So glad you got to spend some time with the pole-loving, Rosie. Your meal looks yummy (I especially like the looks of Tom's...minus the peas ). Mark would LOVE that cheesecake.