No Longer coming to you Live from Disney World! Take 3 DDW'S TAMBU LOUNGE 8/6

[jabead]

Paula also sent us the First Update of the Day yesterday, this one from her Disneyland DISmeet with Brenda (emmysmommy) & Em (JustEmmy).

She said, "When I snagged my awesome Priceline price I of course messaged Brenda to see if she could get together for a DISmeet. She said she would try for Monday because she is leaving Tuesday morning for a conference in Las Vegas. When it got closer she said she could for sure do Monday so it was a date! They arrived just after 6 and we were of course going to EAT! The question is always of WHERE. However, it was easily solved this night as Emily was having a hankering for some Pomme Frites! So that meant I was finally returning to...










"The Pomme Frites!"



Traditional French Fried Potatoes topped with Parmesan, Garlic, and Parsley, served with Cajun Spice Remoulade



"Em and I both ordered a Monte Cristo...



Sliced Turkey, Ham, and Swiss fried in a light batter and served with Berry Puree dusted with Powdered Sugar


"I kept offering to share but no one was taking me up on it. I only ate half of mine but Em ate 3/4 of hers! She was determined to eat it all but that wasn't to be!"



"Brenda had the salad...




La Salade de Maison - Our Café Orleans signature House Salad featuring Baby Greens in a Raspberry Vinaigrette topped with Cherry Tomatoes, Crumbled Goat Cheese, and Caramelized Pecans



"After dinner there was no wait for the Haunted Mansion Holiday so we all squished into a buggy for that! And then with just 2 minutes till Park Close we commandeered a boat for Pirates of the Caribbean! The park was definitely closed when we got off and pretty empty in New Orleans Square."



"We made our way to Main Street."













"I think this was the most rides we've done on our DISmeets! But of course dining with Brenda and her family is always a pleasure!!"​

3 November Game Points Earned + 14 Bonus Points for name/menu pic, misc. pic, DISmeet photo with Brenda & Em, and First Update of the Day

 

[jabead]

Paula what hotel did you get for $30, I am dying to know.

Paula stayed at the Travelodge Anaheim.

 

[jabead]

Next in from Disney World yesterday were some updates from Chrissy (cree629), starting with one from their breakfast at the Polynesian's...





She said, "On Sunday morning we had breakfast at 'Ohana. I was really looking forward to this breakfast (I had never been!). We were very hungry and it took about a half hour for us to be seated. I was so ready to eat!"


"The breads came out first...




"One was a cinnamon bread, and one a pineapple bread, I believe. Honestly, these were nothing special. Maybe if they were warm or something? They were very sticky and kind of boring."



"The fruit, though, was delicious."



"Ripe and sweet and we really liked the strawberry yogurt/dip it was served with."




"The breakfast platter came out next."




"It had nowhere near enough eggs on it to serve five of us, so we had to ask for more right away."



"The kids loved the Mickey waffles."





"Our waitress wasn't my favorite of the trip... Maybe she was just having an "off" day, but she just didn't seem into it. Anyway, the food was pretty good but not exceptional. Keith was bummed that there was no sausage gravy for the biscuits. He asked if any was available, but our waitress told us they stopped offering it in an effort to make the menu more "healthy"?? I thought that was a strange answer. Anyway, everything was fine. The girls had a lot of fun with the characters (Pluto was a favorite), but overall this meal just wasn't one of my favorites. I am not exactly sure why; I think it was a combination of a few things. I am not sure I would do this breakfast again."

​

3 November Game Points Earned + 4 Bonus Points for sign and pic of DDs with Pluto

 

[jabead]

Chrissy's next update was from their dinner at...










"On Sunday night we had our long-awaited Be Our Guest dinner reservation. We were seated quickly in the West Wing and ordered some drinks. The rolls came out shortly after, and they were very good."





"JoJo and I both ordered soup. She had the potato leek, which was very, very good."





"I had the French onion, which was also good (but I actually liked hers better."





"For entrees, Keith and I both had the grilled strip steak."





"They were both cooked perfectly (his rare, mine medium) and we enjoyed them. Honestly, though, my favorite part of the meal was the truffle mayonnaise that came with the french fries for dipping! Yum!"



"JoJo had the herb crusted lamb rack."




"She said it was just okay (and it was also a little undercooked)."



"Lucy had the whole grain macaroni."




"She didn't really care for it and only ate a couple of bites."


"Sophie had the kids' grilled steak and was very happy with it."






"For dessert, our waiter brought us "The Grey Stuff" as a celebration for our anniversary."




"Keith was very happy, as he had it last year for his birthday and loved it!"


"We also ordered some other desserts to share (it's hard to resist that dessert cart!)."




"We had the triple chocolate cupcake...




the chocolate cream puff...




...and the grey stuff brownie."




"I think we all agreed that the brownie was the big winner of these three!"


"Overall, we enjoyed the atmosphere very much, had great service, and good food." ​

2 November Game Points Earned + 3 Bonus Points for name/menu and misc. pic

 

[jabead]

Sadly we then received Chrissy's final update.



She said, "Yesterday we were originally planning for a second Epcot day with an Akershus breakfast, but we had decided to cancel because JoJo and the girls weren't feeling up to all the walking that another Epcot day would entail. They voted to stay at the resort and soak in some final rays of Florida sun while enjoying the pool. I figured we would do something fun for breakfast first, and I was able to snag a last-minute breakfast at the Grand Floridian's...


1900 Park Fare



'My girls were excited to get five new autographs (all characters we hadn't yet seen on this trip!)."





"We did have to wait about 20 minutes after our reservation time to be seated. Our waitress seemed a little overwhelmed and confused. She kept forgetting to bring us things we requested (butter, ketchup, straws), but she was very apologetic and nice. I think maybe it was just a crazy morning in there."


"This buffet was maybe the surprise of the trip for me. I wasn't expecting much, but there was a great assortment of choices."




















"The omelet bar looked amazing, but none of us felt like waiting in line to have one made. Honestly, one of my favorite items on this buffet was the "breakfast pizza" from the kids' buffet section. It was delicious! The girls had plenty to eat, too, and we got some really great character interaction."


"The bread pudding was yummy for dessert (I think I discovered a newfound love for bread pudding in general on this trip!)."




"We all left happy and with stuffed bellies! As far as last-minute decisions go, we were really happy we decided to have breakfast at 1900 Park Fare."​

Then Chrissy also included her final thoughts...

So, we arrived home tonight and are slowly trying to get back to reality. It was a great trip and I really enjoyed sharing (even if my family got pretty sick of me snapping pictures of all their food before they ate it!). My favorite dinners on this trip were (starting with my favorite) California Grill, 50's Primetime, and Be Our Guest. My favorite breakfast was 1900 Park Fare (with Tusker House a close second). My least favorite meals were 'Ohana breakfast and Raglan Road (but only Raglan Road because I made the wrong menu choice!).


5 November Game Points Earned + 3 Bonus Points for pic of DDs and the Mad Hatter + 5 Bonus Points for Final Thoughts

 

[jabead]

And since that was Chrissy's final update, it's now time to say...




Thanks so much for being a Live Reporter... Great Job!!!





Cree629's Total Oct./Nov. Game Points Earned = 104
​

 

[Couchy]

The only other update received on Monday was a surprise one from Paula (smile4stamps), who was reporting from the Disneyland resort.


She said, "I was playing with Priceline 2 weeks ago and seeing if I could get a low price for a hotel to make a quick trip. Priceline approved my bid of only $30/night so I guess it was telling me I needed a trip to Disneyland! And after some of the days I've had at work recently I'm so happy I had this to look forward to! The first stop was the ticket booth to upgrade my WDW Annual Pass to the "Golden Ticket".









3 November Game Points Earned + 9 Bonus Points for pic of Paula in first update, sign, menu, and misc. pic​

LOL Paula! I am always playing around and looking for deals. I keep booking last minute weekend trips My DH is constantly telling me YOLO.
I am jealous of your "Golden Ticket"​

 

[jabead]

Our First Update of the Day yesterday was sent to us by our Disneyland reporter, Paula (smile4stamps).

She said, "So yesterday after my free breakfast at the hotel I wasn't real hungry. I decided to stop by the Cozy Cone Motel at DCA and check out what was cookin'. I found they had Dill Pickle popcorn and I'd been wanting to try it!"





"A bit later I made it back up to the front of the park and needed some Caffeine! Only one stop for that in DCA!"





"The Fiddler, Fifer, and Practical Café! No coffee here though, a Cool Lime Refresher for me!"



"For dinner I had a friend meet up with me and we decided to see if...




...had any openings. Sure enough they did!"













"The food was for the most part tasty! However my favorite, the Peanut Butter pizza was hard and cold and no good! Disappointing!! Overall we left full and satisfied though!"


"Here are some other collages from my day yesterday...
















​

5 November Game Points Earned + 25 Bonus Points for signs, menus, Paula & friend with characters, misc. collage pics, and First Update of the Day

 

[jabead]

I received just a few more updates yesterday, included this one from tallen429.


SANAA​

She said, "So I decided to send another update, but I didn't take my camera to the restaurant because it was charging, so no pics."

"On Monday evening Chloe and I made a last minute reservation at Sanaa, which is normally a favorite of mine. Sadly, this was NOT a winner..."

"We decided to share a couple of apps and one main."

"We had the salad trio and chose the Chickpeas with cucumber and tomato, the Watermelon, cucumber and fennel, and the kachumbari. We enjoyed all three."

"We also chose the Bread Service with naan, papadam, and onion kulcha. Our dips were the cucumber raita, tamarind chutney, and the coconut chutney. I liked all three breads but the papadam was too spicy for Chloe. We liked all three dips, but the tamarind chutney was the best. Chloe loved the cucumber raita."



"Ok so at this point you are probably thinking "They like their food, so what made the meal bad?"

"Probably one of the worst servers I've experienced. It was the first time I honestly felt we dropped off her priority list the minute I told her I had TIW."

"We waited 15 minutes when we were seated to get a water."

"We waited ages for the apps while she took care of other parties around us."

"I had ordered all our food at the same time so an HOUR after ordering when we were still waiting for our main to arrive, I finally told her to box it up and bring the check."

"She forgot about my wine flight for most of the meal, though I enjoyed it when it finally showed up. I tried the Durban flight. We ended up eating luke warm Slow Cooked in Gravy back in our room. We had the short rib and butter chicken. They had a nice flavor but weren't as good as they would have been hot in the restaurant."



"So overall what we ate was very good but the service ruined the meal. I won't hold it against the restaurant this time, but I hope I don't have a repeat experience in the future."


1 Bonus Point Awarded for review

 

[jabead]

Next we received the first update from a new reporter who arrived at Disney World yesterday, Tinker Pam.


Pam said, "Just checked in at AOA, we were given major pixie dust and upgraded to a suite."



"Lunch was at...

Landscape of Flavors


"We shared a large cheese pizza."




"It was pretty good. We all enjoyed it."



"Here's a bonus pic of our view...




"Looks like it may rain."​

3 November Game Points Earned + 1 Bonus Point for misc. pic

 

[Couchy]

Paula- what great pics. The collage is so cute. Looks like you are really enjoying yourself

One question- What is Peanut butter Pizza????? I am intrigued

 

[smile4stamps]

Paula- what great pics. The collage is so cute. Looks like you are really enjoying yourself One question- What is Peanut butter Pizza????? I am intrigued

It is just a pizza crust with peanut butter and jelly. Usually the crust is warm and soft. This time it was clearly old and really hard and dry.

 

[jabead]

Next we return to our Disneyland reporter, Paula (smile4stamps) for a two-part update from yesterday.


She said, "For lunch today I headed to DCA's...




...where I found the longest wait of my day."





The menu...





"I was all set to get the Broccoli Cheese soup but one of the specials caught my eye."





"I decided to go with the Turkey Pot Pie...





...and took a seat outside with a view."








"The soup was good. Tasted just like a Turkey pot pie minus the crust but the bread worked well!"


"I enjoyed my lunch! Now just deciding if I want to splurge on a dessert!"




Then about an hour later Paula sent this update.


"So I decided I would splurge...






"I got the new salted caramel sundae...



Sea Salt Caramel Sundae with Vanilla ice cream smothered with creamy caramel, freshly homemade hot fudge and sea salt. Perfectly topped with whipped cream, creamy caramel, sea salt and a Ghirardelli SQUARES Milk Chocolate.





"So good! But I ate less than half of it!!"

​

4 November Game Points Earned + 5 Bonus Points for sign, name/menus, and misc. pics

 

[jabead]

Our last update from yesterday was sent to us by Tinker Pam.


Pam said, "Dinner was at...





"My plate had Ribs, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, Mac and cheese and corn."





"DH plate was ribs, sliced beef, pulled pork and sausage."




"DS ate his before I could take a pic."



"DH had watermelon and Apple crisp for dessert."





"I had the red velvet cake."





"Once again DS ate his ice cream before I could get a pic."


"Overall score 3.5."



"After swimming DS was hungry so he got the Make your own Pasta with meatballs from...


Landscape of Flavors




"He gave it a 4 on a scale of 1-5."​

8 November Game Points Earned + 1 Bonus Point for sign

 

[Couchy]

It is just a pizza crust with peanut butter and jelly. Usually the crust is warm and soft. This time it was clearly old and really hard and dry.

If the crust is warm and soft .... it would be A MAZ ING......
sorry yours did not live up


The Salted Carmel Sundae looks fantastic. Sad you could only eat less than half...

 

[rachel09985]

I love Paula's collages! So cute! I so wish the Disney Starbucks at WDW had pastries like the disneyland starbucks! Sigh!

 

[jabead]

Tinker Pam also sent us our First Update of the Day today.

Pam said, "Lunch today was at Downtown Disney's...













"We shared the Captain Crunch chicken and some fries."








"On a scale of 1-5 that chicken is a 10."​

10 November Game Points Earned + 3 Bonus Points for name and menu pics and First Update of the Day

 

[MaryPoppinz]

Wow, this is an awesome thread, but I fear it will do very bad things to my productivity now that I have found it!

 

[jabead]

For our next couple of updates from yesterday we are going back to our Disneyland reporter, Paula (smile4stamps) for the final updates of her trip.


She said, "I had only a short time left at Disneyland this morning. I did just a couple of rides and then hiked through Downtown Disney to have lunch here...









"They are apparently just changing the menu so we had tiny copied menus...





"But look who I found to join me!!!"



Paula & her DH, Hunter

"Hunter had to drive his mom to San Diego. We had made plans for him to come up early this morning and we would have the morning together. But then when he was ready to leave from where he was staying this morning he discovered the rear passenger window of his truck SMASHED. So he had to get that fixed. By the time he got to Downtown Disney we had just about 2 hours together counting the drive time to the airport for my flight back to San Jose."


"We started our meal with the Boudin Balls...



Slow roasted cochon pork, dirty rice, Creole mustard aioli, Tabasco pepper jelly



"Hunter had the potato soup of the day...





'He then had the muffaletta sandwich...



Po-boy sandwich with ham, salami, mortadella, provolone cheese, and marinated olive salad



"I had the Grilled Chicken & Gnocchi Pesto (no photo)."



"This is a Pear Mojito...



"The server recommended it for me but Hunter ended up drinking it."


"And I ended up drinking Hunter's second Hurricane in exchange."






"I'd been dying to eat at this restaurant forever because they have my favorite dessert on the menu... Bananas Foster!"






















"They actually serve it in two bowls but we offered the second to the family next to us as neither of us wanted that much."​

3 November Game Points Earned + 5 Bonus Points for sign, menu, pic of Paula & Hunter, and misc. pics

 

[jabead]

Then Paula's last update was her traditional to-go final meal from Downtown Disney's...





"I got my Holiday Turkey sandwich I will have at work tonight (so no photo)."



"The funny part is...Hunter saw the Peanut Butter Brownie sandwiches and I said, Yes, they are very good. I'm getting one, do you want one of your own? He said no, I'll just have a bite of yours before I go! So we had to stop at the hotel for my bag and I said while I run inside for that, why don't you have your bite. I came back out to this...










"Yeah...He didn't like that at all!!!" ​

1 November Game Point Earned + 2 Bonus Points for sign and pics of Hunter