No kids; AKV/BWV split stay; V&A; BM Tour; Lots of pics & video

[saintstickets]

Okay...time for dinner. There are only fourteen tables in the main dining room. The dinner menu is "prix fixe" or a fixed price per person. As mentioned earlier, you can add a wine pairing or specially selected wine with each course for an additional fee. Since the meal is a 7 course affair, DW and I split one wine pairing and received a half glass of wine with each course. The wine served was determined by our order.

Just a note, there are two other options at V&A - the Chef's Table and a special Queen Victoria's room. The Chef's Table is in an alcove in the kitchen with full view of the preparations. The Chef will discuss your options with you and this meal is up to 13 courses and can take 4 hours. Queen Victoria's room is new and very exclusive. There are only 4 tables and many of the 10 courses are finished at your tableside. Needless to say, the Chef's Table is more expensive than the main dining room and Queen Victoria's room is more than the Chef's Table. We are using our TIW card and only the main dining room honors this discount so that is our choice tonight. Here is a link for more info on V&A - http://victoria-alberts.com/index.html

We arrive on time and the hostess CM greets us by name. How did they know? We are immediately seated and CM's Jon & Terri will be our hosts. Terri brings out a small stool for DW to place her purse on beside her chair. We can't have our purse touching the floor now can we?

Jon explains the menu and the various choices. We try not to sound too much like "country come to town" and Jon is very patient, not snooty and puts us at ease right away. You are given various choices for each course. The menu will change from week to week, if not from night to night. Here is ours...

 

[saintstickets]

The chef sent out a surprise, special, extra course to start off our meal. I cannot begin to describe it but think sushi, caviar and champagne. What a way to start! Our choices for the entire meal were -
1st course: Chef's surprise
2nd course (cold appetizer) DW/DH - Amuse Bouche with Pommery Royal Brut NV (French champagne)
3rd course (hot appetizer) DW - Tuna and octopus a la plancha (grilled fillets) with Bisson Bianchetta (Italian wine) / DH - Applewood smoked buffalo "waldorf" with Domaine King Estate Pinot Gris (Oregon wine)
4th course (seafood) DW - Vegetable ash crusted Halibut with Santa Lucia Highlands chardonnay (Monterey county, California wine) / DH - Wild Turbot (white fish from Greenland) with Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay (Napa Valley wine)
5th course (soup/souffle) DW - Roasted butternut squash soup with Cru Montage Vineyard Chardonnay (Monterey county, California wine) / DH - Roulade of Ocala rabbit with Lonardi Giuseppe Valpolicella Ripasso (Italian wine)
6th course (entree) DW - Niman Ranch lamb with Ceretto Rossana Dolcetta d'Alba (Italian wine from Alba) / DH - Marcho Farms veal tenderloin with Mollydooker Shiraz (Australian wine)
7th course (pre-dessert) DW - Colston basset stilton, Southern belle chevre, Gouda reypenaer VSOP, Parmigiano Reggiano (cheeses) with Quinta do Crasto (Port wine) / DH - White chocolate gelato with Vignaioli di Stefano Moscato D'Asti (Italian dessert wine)
8th course (dessert) DW - Vanilla bean creme brulee / DH - Caramalized banana gateau

Now I can try to describe each course but there is no way I would do it proper justice. Needless to say, each course was expertly prepared, beautifully served and scrum-dilly-icious! If apropos, a choice of breads were served with that course (i.e. a french bagette with Vermont butter).

At the end of the meal, CM Jon gave us a "goodie bag" that included a banana nut-bread loaf for breakfast the next morning and the printed menu shown previously. We were greeted by the Maitre D as we were leaving, again by name, thanking us for coming. He asked if we were heading back to our resort now and we told him we would walk around the lobby for a bit before leaving to take some pictures. We were in the lobby for maybe 10 minutes and made our way out to the Valet station. The attendant at the Valet station greeted us by name (how do they know?!? ) and told us our car was ready. Sure enough it was sitting there waiting for us. How can one ask for better service than that?

We waddled to our car, squeezed ourselves in and made our way back to the AKV. V&A is a 5-star restaurant and it deserves this rating. It may not be for everyone but it is well worth trying at least once in your life. We had a fantastic meal and a not-soon forgotten memory. It is hard to imagine a better time can be had dining than the one we experienced. We were absolutely STUFFED and had just enough adult beverages. There will be no need to rock us to sleep tonight!

 

[saintstickets]

TUESDAY-30Nov2010

We "slept in" today and did not leave the room until about 9:30 to head to Magic Kingdom. We have ADR's at Crystal Palace and tickets to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP). FYI, the bus at AKV stops at Kidani Village first and then stops at Jambo House. Depending on the time of day, if you are waiting at the bus stop at Jambo House, the bus might already be full. If you are staying at Jambo, it might be worth it to walk the 5 minute walk to the Kidani Village bus stop just to make sure you get a seat.

We make it to MK and of course it is decked out!

 

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We make our way back to Frontierland to ride Splash Mountain. Can you believe there was only a 5 minute wait time? The crowd level is fantastic. If they offer a ride picture, we feel obligated to get one!

I knew what was likely to happen sitting in the front and yes, I got soaked!! Notice that no one is sitting in the last seat? Another testament to the crowd levels.

 

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Next up was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Again, only a 5 minute wait. Afterwards, it is near noon and we decide to eat at Pecos Bill Cafe. I had the Angus cheeseburger and DW had the Taco Salad. Both were very good but I believe DW made the better choice....again!!

Now it is time to do something we have never done...ride the raft over to Tom Sawyer's Island. I don't know why we have never done this but it was pretty neat. There are numerous trails and things to see. Explore the caves, walk across the pontoon bridge and visit the mill...

 

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Next up is a ride on the Liberty Square Riverboat. Again, as often as we have been to MK, we have never been on this ride. Growing up on the Mississippi river in Natchez, MS, DW and I have an affinity for riverboats. Many times have we seen the Delta Queen, Natchez or the Mississippi Queen dock at Natchez Under-The-Hill. Once you leave the dock....

.... the Liberty Square Riverboat takes a tour around Tom Sawyer's Island and gives a different view of some common attractions.

BTMRR

 

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Another stop on the riverboat ride. I want this guy's job....

 

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And last but not least....the Haunted Mansion. I never noticed the bat weather vane on top before....

 

[saintstickets]

One great thing about staying at a Disney resort is you can go back to the room if need be without it being a major ordeal. We forgot to charge the battery in DW's camera last night (I wonder if the wine pairings at V&A had something to do with that? ) so we hopped on the bus and made our way back to AKV. It doesn't take long to recharge and we are off again. Leaving the room we stop at an observation deck to see what might be hanging around....

 

[saintstickets]

We get back to MK about 3:30 and get a wristband for MVMCP at the ticket gate. We are looking thru the shops on Main Street for a Vinylmation figure for our daughter's collection. CM Becky spends a lot of time with us explaining the process of buying one, open it up and then keeping it or trading it for either an upopened box or one from a small selection. Not all places have a selection to pick from but this shop did. We buy one, open it, take a picture with our cellphone, send it to our daughter back in Mississippi so she can decide whether to keep it or trade it. The benefits of modern technology! She decides to keep it.

We leave the store and walk out to see the Main Street Philharmonic Marching Band....

These guys are great. Not only can they play pretty good, they are hilarious with the way they react with the crowd. Of course they are playing Christmas songs.

 

[saintstickets]

We walk around taking it all in waiting on our ADR at Crystal Palace at 5:20. At 5:10 we check in and the CM tells us it will be a few minutes. 25 minutes later at 5:35, they call us to be seated. I was a bit miffed because we rarely have ever waited more than 5 minutes for a dinner ressie. The hostess CM seated us and left a card on the table for the waiter. I was nosy and noticed it said our ADR was for 6:20. Hmmmm....that can't be right so I checked my iPhone WDW dining app. OOPS, 5:20 is tomorrow night....this ADR was for 6:20 Isn't that just like Disney though? We were an hour early for our ADR and they never said a word, never made a comment, just seated us as quickly as they could and never missed a beat! Just another reason why we love this place!!

CM Jamie took great care of us at Crystal Palace. Typical CM at WDW - friendly & efficient. We were at a table by ourselves, without kids, but Piglet, Eeyore, Pooh and Tigger stopped by our table to say hi. Tigger led a conga line around the restaurant and when I told DW I was going to join in, I got "the look". You husbands know what I'm talking about.

Food was great - desserts were excellent! Just what you expect.

 

[saintstickets]

We made our way over to Tomorrowland. We visited Buzz Lightyear and of course had to get a ride pic....

Compare the pic above to the one below from our trip in May....

Notice the same determination to save the galaxy?!? Unfortunately I did not beat my score from May. Sighhhh

 

[saintstickets]

The first parade tonight is at 8:15 and the second one is at 10:30. Wishes Fireworks is at 9:30. We will wait for the late parade to avoid the larger crowds at the 1st parade. Fellow DISboard members let us in on that bit of information and to ride attractions during the parade for short wait times.

It was off to Stitch's Great Escape (I got soaked by Stitch!) followed by Monster, Inc. I really like Monster, Inc. Everyone needs to see it. These CM's are extremely talented the way they incorporate the audience into the show with their jokes and ad lib comments on the fly. You could see it back to back and it would still be different enough to enjoy again.

Part of the MVMCP package is free hot chocolate and cookies at various places in MK. We stopped at the Pinocchio Village Haus to try it. Really good hot chocolate and they had apple slices and apple juice as well.

Next it is off to It's A Small World. This is a tradition dating back to my first trip to Disneyland back in 1967. We always have to ride this one.

Haunted Mansion is next and there were only 25 people in our group in the library/stretching room. I love these "crowds"!

 

[saintstickets]

The first parade is over so we make our way back to Main Street to find a place to watch the fireworks. I love the way they illuminate the Castle in different colors....

 

[saintstickets]

I tried something different this trip. Instead of taking still shots of the fireworks, I used a new Kodak PlayTouch flip-video camera. It turned out pretty good and picked up the audio much better than I expected. Turn on your sound and look at these links to videos on YouTube of the Wishes Fireworks show....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seW_o4Sqt34 (#1-3 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqZZONbDySE (#2-1 minute)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QLEcRKjssg (#3-1 minute)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOHAPCcdsuI (#4-25 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ2hEpaCAEY (#5-1.5 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU-nFl_NmOU (#6-1.5 minutes)

What do you think of this small video camera?

 

[saintstickets]

It will be time for the parade before too long. It starts in Frontierland and ends up on Main Street. Another tip I learned on the DISboards is that quite often, the crowds are less at the beginning of the parade. We head over to Frontierland to scope out a place. We find one across the street from the Hall of Presidents. Here is one of my pet peeves. I am fairly tall at 6'3" so I try to make sure I am not in front of anyone that I will block their view. We were next to the Christmas Shoppe and staked out our spot about 30-40 minutes before the parade. Now for the pet peeve. About 5 minutes before the parade began, some woman walked right in front of DW and I, another couple that were in front of us and another group in front of them. This person parked her 3 children (about 10-12 years old) on the rope line and told them to sit down. That didn't bother me at all but she decided to stay there which again would not have bothered me if she would have sat down. Instead, she kept standing up to take pictures and blocked the view of those behind her and kept sticking her head up in my pics! Why some people think they can do that is beyond my comprehension. I guess they depend on people like me that usually don't say anything....or at least people like me that have a DW that won't let them say anything!

Oh well, now for the pics of the parade....

 

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More parade pics....

 

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Two more....

 

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Here are some video links to the Christmas Parade....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpJ5NvVczy4 (#1-48 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVnuIJ9dFX8 (#2-1 minute)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVQgITfJQhU (#3-40 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcLvNmTud7E (#4-20 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn1fyoeH8Ss (#5-1 minute)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzHFU7EcCrk (#6-1.50 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGvGnARNsRk (#7-1.30 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjHkV72MSLk (#8-54 seconds)

 

[saintstickets]

After the parade, we head back to Main Street. In case you didn't know it, it snows on Main Street during MVMCP. Here are a couple of pics followed by a link to a video. (The video is better)

The video....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNUhgj8uam4 (40 seconds)