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

[jerseytinkerbell]

Loving all the F&G updates! The food there looks amazing. I want to go! Just what I need, another time of year to try and fit in a Disney trip.

 

[jabead]

I wanted to share a photo of Barb and her Emily but then I came across this gem...

Barb and her lovely Emily

Thank you Brenda for taking and posting this photo of Emily and me. Yesterday I went through the thousand photos that Emily took that night and other than the one of DeeDee and me, they were pretty much all of the castle and the fireworks. So it was great to see this photo and all of your other pictures that actually have people in them. Oh, and I love the one of Hunter!

 

[Linda67]

Great job on the MVMCP reviews ladies
Not too much to add from me, I think you've pretty much hit the highlights
I remember that when Brenda and Paula were getting their cute character pics, I headed over to Journey Of The Little Mermaid with Barb and Emily.
After the ride we all headed to the hub to view the fireworks which were spectacular
Boy, was the hub busy when we tried to head off to find a parade spot.
Myself, Vicki and Philip ended up watching the parade from just outside the Main Street Bakery/Starbucks with a nice hot coffee
Loved seeing it snow on Main Street
Vicki headed back to her resort right after the parade so me and Philip hit a few rides (very short lines) before grabbing a few PP photos on the way out





Another wonderful day

 

[jabead]

Patty sent us some more live updates yesterday from what looks like a great day at Magic Kingdom...well, except for breakfast.




She said, "We joined Rachel and Jessica on their pre-park opening ADR at...





"I regret the decision."


First a photo op with Cinderella...





Then the princesses in attendance upstairs yesterday morning were...














Next the food...





First up, the plate of assorted breakfast pastries...






Patty said, "I should have read the menu before I ordered. I had the steak and eggs before and it was really delicious. But this time I got this atrocity."



Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Feta and Egg Custard, Garlic Spinach, and Blood Orange Gastrique


"There was about 2 oz. of sirloin (not filet like last time), a weird creamed spinach on top of the fake round egg and some really weird blood orange gastrique that didn't even match any of the flavors. I was so incredibly disappointed."



"Here is Emme's Kids Plate with the embarrassing bacon...



"Ugh! I felt bad forcing Emme to eat these eggs."



"So $79 for a really terrible breakfast."



"Our server was awful. She didn't even ask if Emme wanted a drink and when I asked for a white milk she rudely said, "What?" I wish I had a do over and chose not to go so I could've slept in."





"However, we got some really priceless moments afterwards."





"We rode the carousel with Drizella!"








"It was an amazing Disney moment that I will never forget."










Then a few more photo ops...








Next up from Patty: Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern and lots of great photos from the new Magic Kingdom parade. ​

 

[emmysmommy]

Patty: Bummer about the CRT breakfast. That is a far departure from what the breakfast looked like before. I'd be peeved too.

However, those photos with the step-sisters - Oh my gosh too adorable!

 

[jabead]

For lunch yesterday, Patty, Emme, Rachel, and Jessica went to...





Patty said, "After the terrible breakfast I was starving. Emme was passed out. I was holding a 45 pound kid in my lap when they sat us. I looked over and saw that a booth had just cleared. I asked if we could sit there and he said, "No". And I said, "But" and before I could finish, he again said no. He said, "That's not my table. Are you leaving?"


"So I asked another server and he said he would figure it out and actually smiled. We were then reseated in that booth 10 minutes later."


"I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger with everything on it...






"It was cooked medium. It also had two kinds of cheese and mushrooms and was huge. I loved this burger and ate the entire thing minus half the bun. I loved the pickle spear and the fries were awesome! This was everything I wanted and needed, especially after the disappointing breakfast at CRT."



"Jessica got the Veggie Burger, served with Sweet Potato Fries...



"She said she enjoyed it."



"And Rachel loved her Pot Roast...





"I didn't eat this but the other girls ate the entire thing so it must've been good."



Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake






"Our server was the best server on this entire trip. He went out of his way to help me with a sleeping Emme and his stupendous service continued throughout the entire meal. I really appreciated him very much."





"After lunch it was time to see the new Festival of Fantasy Parade."























And Patty's favorite float...

​

 

[jabead]

Our Tuesday reviews are now complete so it's time to move on to Wednesday, December 11th. This was both a happy and sad day for me. It was happy because Emily was now with me and we had some great mother/daughter time together. However, it was also a sad day because both Paula and Vicki left for home on Wednesday. So we started out this day with 6 reporters but by dinner time we were down to just 4. However, we still managed to consume at least 6 meals plus snacks, appetizers, and several cocktails.



I started my day by getting some breakfast to go from...






I had something in particular in mind here...







I chose the Kids portion (two waffles instead of three) of the...




Bananas Foster Mickey Waffles with warm bananas in a buttered rum-flavored sauce served with bacon and choice of applesauce or grapes


I took my breakfast up to my room on a tray...





Notice the Mickey stickers that the CM gave me when I paid for my kids meal.





But before leaving Roaring Fork, I took a gander at the Seasonal Cupcakes in the display case...











However, none of these looked quite as good as my Holiday cupcake from the Boardwalk Bakery once did.



And speaking of the Boardwalk Bakery, Emily enjoyed her Chocolate Croissant that I had gotten for her there on Tuesday.




But she was still hungry after finishing it so I gave her my bacon and my grapes, but NOT my Mickey waffles...they were all mine!! ​

 

[jabead]

We received a couple of great updates from Patty yesterday, the first of these was from Epcot's Flower & Garden Festival.











Hmm...I wonder if Rachel made Duffy show her his butt again???







Then it was time to don a different kind of magic band...





...and hit up some booths, starting with some liquid refreshments from Florida Fresh.





Patty also had...




Shrimp and stone ground grits with andouille sausage, sweet corn, tomatoes and cilantro


From here, they also received a free package of watermelon seeds...





Then they moved on to Japan's Hanami booth for...



Hanami sushi – A flavorful combination of salmon, scallop and beef-topped rice balls served atop a shiso violet sauce (TRYit! Selection)





Frushi – Fresh pineapple, strawberries and melon, rolled with coconut rice, topped with raspberry sauce, sprinkled with toasted coconut and served with whipped cream on the side

"Rachel liked the Hanami better than the Frushi."



Next stop was at Fleur de Lys in France, where Patty again got the...



Gnocchi Parisien à la Provençal – Parisian-style Dumplings with Vegetables and Mushrooms


"Emme loved it!"







Then last was the UK's Buttercup Cottage for...



Iron Horse Fairy Tale Cuvee


"$5.75 cuvee...best deal of the festival!"




"Rachel bought Emme her first Vinylmation!"


Then the group was off to the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue...Patty's review of the revue will be posted later today! ​

 

[vettegirl]

I love the watermelon seed packet, it's too cute!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[jabead]

Now for Patty's final update from her trip, which was from their dinner last night at...





Patty said, "We were seated at table 25 which was right behind the piano but it wasn't too loud. I loved our table."








"Dinner was pretty tasty and a really great value! All you can eat."





"The corn bread was delicious especially with the soft butter on it. Even Emme enjoyed it."





"The fried chicken wasn't better than Prime Time Café but I thought it was pretty good. If the chicken was served hotter, it would have been more crispy but with the amount of people they had to serve at one time, I was impressed."






And speaking of the amount of people there...



Patty said, "There was about 200 high schoolers from NYC attending with us. They were very enthusiastic.


Now back to the food...



"The ribs were nothing to write home about but I'm not a BBQ sauce fan. I did try one rib and they weren't super tender but had a great smoky flavor."





"The baked beans were like canned baked beans. I had one bite and was over it."





"The second batch of mashed potatoes were better, as they came out pretty hot.





"The corn was bathing in butter which is always a plus."





"Here is a tip on the all you can drink alcohol: you are only allowed two different types of beverages at a time. I had a sangria and chardonnay and I wasn't allowed a beer unless I surrendered a drink. Pretty weird. The sangria was way too sweet and not to my liking. And then Bob cut me off after three chardonnays and brought me coffee which I thought was weird and sad."



"The show was super fun and we all enjoyed it, even Emme. There were two Frozen one liners and Emme lost it and "cackling" so loud that one of the actors called her out (in a funny way) during the show."










Then it was time for dessert...






"The strawberry shortcake wasn't my favorite but Emme enjoyed the strawberries and whipped cream."








"Overall, we had a fantastic time at HDDR...even though Bob cut me off after three drinks and gave me coffee. I'm so glad we tried it and I would happily return. It was the best food deal of the trip and they also accept TIW. Super fun time!" ​

 

[rachel09985]

We are back! I can attest to the awful CRT breakfast. It takes a LOT for me to dislike disney food and I hated that entree. I couldn't even finish it. I should have asked for something else. I loved the old steak entree but this one was bad.

We had a great great time and I am totally missing Patty and Emme!

Paula, we saw Chef Eddie at the california grill! I said hi to him!

 

[buzz1121]

After our wonderful night at MVMCP, we decided to take a "down day", ha! wait until you see our loop, as in no parks during the morning or afternoon hours.

As we were staying at WL, I had the perfect opportunity to finally, finally make it to an elusive bucket list member for breakfast and I am thrilled to say we did in fact make it there, and it was so good, we went more than once!!

On the fourth day of our Christmas trip, our family chose to eat...Breakfast at Trails End.


Barb probably remembers that I have been planning to go to TE for at least the past three trips. It always looks so good. We did venture there for the a la carte lunch a few years back when they debuted the chicken and waffles option.

Every trip up to this one though, TE would get bumped largely because I would rationalize that it was just too much of a pain and time delay to get there. If you aren't familiar with it, TE is located at Fort Wilderness and if you choose to park at the front the interior bus system of the campground can be quite tedious and time consuming.

My personal recommendation would be to either take the boat from MK to Fort Wilderness, the boat from The Contemporary/Wilderness Lodge to Fort Wilderness, or a third option and the one we chose to take....walk the path from WL to Fort Wilderness.

The walk was a nice change of pace and it really didn't take that long to get there, with three kids, one of which was a baby we were carrying, it took about twelve minutes. And those twelve minutes were at a strolling pace. We even got to see a baby deer and three doe en route.

Sadly, I need to warn you that the first part of this post is without pictures. We arrived at TE about 9:30 and immediately noticed a huge crowd. Now, my assumption was that TE is one of those "hidden gems" that rarely requires an ADR, and for the most part, I believe that still to be the case. But on this day, we were immediately behind a group of 37 senior citizens who were stopping at TE prior to resort hopping to tour the Christmas decorations. These 37 people were walk ups and let me just say they were hilarious! Despite the large party creating some obvious immediate issues with the quantity of food available on the buffet, they had me laughing out loud. It just added to the experience to be in line with them.

The buffet consisted of an assortment of cereals, pastries, doughnut holes, warm pecan sticky buns(absolutely not to be missed, when these are hot and fresh they are out of this world good), yogurt parfaits in small mason jars with available additions of fresh berries and granola and fresh fruit. There were scrambled eggs, a frittata dish, pulled pork eggs benedict, hash brown casserole, bacon( not the paper kind!), sausage, cheese grits(so good!), regular grits, oatmeal, chocolate chip Mickey waffles(yummy!), tomatoes, an out of this world french toast bread pudding with pecan caramel sauce.

The french toast bread pudding is similar to the offering at Boma and it appeared to be a huge favorite as it was gone quickly each time the dish was replaced. They have small jars of "moonshine", also known as frunch at Boma and Lillikoi juice at Kona.

The service at TE is so friendly and gracious. They really do a great job of helping you step back and forget that you are in a huge theme park.

The kids loved it and so did DH and I. My only regret is that it took us so long to get there! The buffet is well priced as well.

We liked it so much, we went back to TE twice more during the trip. For what meals? Keep reading to find out.

Part two of our review with pictures coming up in just a few minutes!

 

[buzz1121]

Having finished our cornucopia of delicious breakfast treats, we found ourselves following the group of 37 senior citizens to the FW boat dock. Apparently, we had the same plan of attack in mind.....touring the resorts to check out the Christmas decorations.

Our Christmas decoration tour had a very specific purpose though, I wanted to look at the gingerbread themed decorations of The Contemporary, the Grand Floridian, Yacht Club(no gingerbread, but an amazing train set), Beach Club, and Boardwalk Inn.

This tour would lead us on an adventure that spanned the three most common modes of transportation at Disney, boat, monorail, and bus.

We boarded the boat at FW headed for the first leg of our tour, The Contemporary.

The Contemporary's gingerbread tree was terrific this year. I have such a fondness for It's a Small World as it was my favorite ride on my first Disney trip.




It's such a cute, cheerful Christmas display that perfectly melds the season with a iconic ride of the Magic Kingdom. I also learned here that the gingerbread recipe at each resort is completely different from each other. Some have more spice content and some have more honey/sugar. I thought this was very interesting.

We boarded the monorail and headed for our next stop, the Grand Floridian and it's larger than life gingerbread house.







The level of detail on the house is amazing! As anyone knows who has had the opportunity to see this house in person, there are actually cast members who work within the house selling various chocolates and gingerbread goodies.

We actually arrived at the GF at the perfect time as we were able to hear and see a gingerbread house decoration presentation by one of the chefs. It was amazing how quickly she worked. My understanding was that every demonstration results in a uniquely decorated gingerbread house. We were also given a sample of the gingerbread. I found the GF gingerbread to be a little sweeter, with less spice than it appeared The Contemporary's contained.

Here are a few pictures of the demonstration.










Before we left the GF, we let the kids take a roam break before we boarded the monorail.

I was able to get two really cute shots of them.







Roam break over we boarded the monorail to head to the MK to catch a bus to the Yacht Club/Beach Club.


We headed into the Yacht Club first. The lobby tree was just beautiful.




The Christmas train set on display, while not made of gingerbread, is simply amazing. The level of detail with included Disney characters and items begs a close look to appreciate the masterpiece that is this train set.











After viewing the train, we headed to the gingerbread carousel of the Beach Club. This was easily the favorite of DD1. Check out all of the intricate details on the carousel and the horses themselves!











With one final leg in our journey, we headed around Crescent Lake to the Boardwalk Inn. If I am not mistaken, I believe the BWI had a change in their gingerbread decoration for 2013. The last time we visited, they had a fireplace scene. This time, we were treated to a spin on the GF gingerbread house, with cute boardwalk flair. Notice the Mickey detailing around the sign.





Gingerbread tour complete, the kid's began to escalate their cries of "starving" hunger. They were being taunted by the smells of gingerbread everywhere we went.

We needed something fairly close by that was quick and fast. Stay tuned for our lunch choice.....

 

[smile4stamps]

We are back! I can attest to the awful CRT breakfast. It takes a LOT for me to dislike disney food and I hated that entree. I couldn't even finish it. I should have asked for something else. I loved the old steak entree but this one was bad.

We had a great great time and I am totally missing Patty and Emme!

Paula, we saw Chef Eddie at the california grill! I said hi to him!

Did he remember you?


DeeDee! I am happy to hear the Trail's End was so good! Hoping to make it there on our trip! I was planning the boat but maybe the walk would be okay! Does the path take you right near the restaurant?

 

[buzz1121]

Paula, yes the path does take you very close to Trail's End. You come out right at the stables to the side of TE. The girls loved getting to see the horses for a minute before we checked in.

 

[Linda67]

Did he remember you?


DeeDee! I am happy to hear the Trail's End was so good! Hoping to make it there on our trip! I was planning the boat but maybe the walk would be okay! Does the path take you right near the restaurant?

Paula, we've walked from WL many times and love it
The path takes you right to Trail's End

 

[jabead]

We are back! I can attest to the awful CRT breakfast. It takes a LOT for me to dislike disney food and I hated that entree. I couldn't even finish it. I should have asked for something else. I loved the old steak entree but this one was bad.

We had a great great time and I am totally missing Patty and Emme!

Paula, we saw Chef Eddie at the california grill! I said hi to him!

Welcome back Rachel! From the live updates, it looked like you guys had a great time. I can't wait to read all the details in your joint dining report with Patty.

So now the question is, have you started planning your next trip? Are you still going to Disneyland this summer? And what about Disney World? Any chance you will be going in the fall...more specifically, in late October?

 

[smile4stamps]

Hi everyone!

Hunter and I had one last meal before we were leaving WDW property. Not knowing if ME would be early or late and not wanting to take any chances I ran to Roaring Forks to get us some food. Unfortunately because of this I forgot menu and sign pictures!

I did have to wait a few minutes for it to switch from Breakfast to Lunch but they our food was readt pretty quickly.

I ordered the Wilderness Salad.. Chicken, Walnuts, Cheddar and Croutons

I had REALLY been hopping this would be similar to the Colony Salad from LTT but sadly it was not! I think its all about the dressing! And maybe the craisins!

Hunter had the Roast Beef and Blue Sandwich with Cucumber Salad

I THOUGHT I had him trained!!

We couldn't forget about Dessert!!

I love the Magic Bars! I think I need more of these NEXT MONTH!

We ended up having plenty of time to eat our lunch while waiting for our bus... Better be safe than sorry!!

Thats all for my reviews! I'll be back with a summary of our highlights and lowlights of the trip soon! (Maybe tomorrow after working 12 hours last night!)

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

My last meal of the trip was also my favorite meal in WDW. If I could only eat one Disney meal, it would be lunch at Rose & Crown. It is partly the food but I think mostly the atmosphere. I love sitting out on the patio and overlooking the World Showcase.

First up, the menu …


 
 






Barb’s daughter, Emily, joined us for lunch ….



Since it was my last meal, I ordered a drink – my favorite Welsh Dragon along with an iced tea. Unfortunately they did not have any Crème de Menthe so instead of the usual pretty green it was this unappetizing yellow color. I don’t like Crème de Menthe and thought I would enjoy the drink without it but I did not. I couldn’t drink it and the waitress ended up taking it off my bill.

A group pic …



Somewhere along the way Brenda had mentioned that she never had a scotch egg and wasn’t sure she would like one. I told her I would buy one to share so she could try it …



Brenda, Emily and I each had a piece of the egg. This is one of my favorite foods in all of WDW. Not something you would eat everyday but a definite treat while on vacation. I especially love the sauce served with it.

I also ordered the soup – Potato Leek …



It was delicious! Creamy & just the right seasoning. I have had this soup several times in the past and it did not disappoint.

So I always get the Bangers & Mash here. I told myself all week that I was going to try something different this time as I had just had the B&M with Andrew in August. So what did I order?



Yup, the Bangers & Mash. I couldn’t help it. It is just sooooo good. Creamy potatoes, sausage that is a bit spicy. I really love this dish.

And no meal is complete at R&C without dessert …



This is right up there with the sticky toffee pudding at LTT and the wontons at Y&Y as my favorite desserts in Disney. Very happy I got to have all three this trip. It is served warm & the custard is actually nice and light. I have tried to replicate this at home with no success.

After lunch I headed over to the BW to grab a cab back to POP to wait for the “Magical Depress” as Paula referred to it. My trip was over. I am so blessed & grateful that I was included in the planning of this trip with these wonderful people that I now considered friends for life. This was a big step for me. Any of you that “know” me, know that DS Andrew is my Disney travelling buddy and he will be heading off to college in August. I have spent the last 18 years being his Mom and now need to remember how to be “Vicki”. This was my first step for sure. Hopefully DH and I will be going back in September for our first empty next trip. I know it will be a bit melancholy for me but also look forward to being a couple again.
Like Paula, I will post the highlights of the trip for me shortly … I really don’t know that there were any real lowlights.

 

[jabead]

Barb's Review of Lunch at Rose & Crown on December 11, 2013


On Wednesday morning, my daughter Emily and I headed to DHS and rode all of our favorite rides, including Toy Story Mania. Emily thoroughly trounced me and of course then documented her triumph by taking a photo ("snap") of our scores and "snapchatting" it to all of her friends. Oh well, at least I was shamed for only a few seconds, instead of being forever shamed on Instagram or her Facebook.

Anyway, soon it was time to head over to Epcot to meet up with Vicki, Brenda, and Em for lunch at...




Our lunch was off to a great start when we were seated in a perfect location, outside on the deck with a great view of World Showcase.

Emily and I had a few goals that we wanted to accomplish today and one of these was to try to finish out our Epcot Bar Crawl by going to all the remaining places that our group had originally intended to visit on Monday. Emily had just turned 21 last October so she was entirely on board with this plan.

So since the Rose & Crown Pub was one of those places which we failed to get to on Monday, Emily and I began our lunch by ordering a cocktail.



Welsh Dragon - Peach schnapps, melon liqueur, creme de menthe (which they were out of that day) , orange and pineapple juice
& English Rose - Beefeater Gin, apricot brandy, sweet vermouth, pineapple, orange & cranberry juice

She had the Welsh Dragon and I went with the English Rose. Both of these were sweet, fruity drinks that we enjoyed.




Then we each also ordered an appetizer and shared them both.




Trio of United Kingdom Cheese with Accompaniments - $10.49

The cheese plate at the Rose & Crown includes three cheeses — a Cotswolds Cheddar-like cheese with chives, an aged Irish Cheddar, and Stilton blue. Emily doesn't like blue cheese but I love it so I had that one all to myself and let her have the other two. The Stilton was covered with dried cranberries (aka Craisins), walnuts, and honey...which only made it better in my book! I shared some of my honey with Emily, as she was not thrilled with the other accompaniments. The cheddar cheese was paired with a sweet onion jam. And you can't identify the other accompaniment in the photo but it was two small Gherkin pickles. My daughter doesn't eat pickles, but I think I might have eaten one. However, I can't even tell you if it was the sweet or savory version.



For our other appetizer, we chose the...



Scotch Egg - Golden-fried Hard-boiled Egg wrapped in Sausage Meat with Mustard Sauce - $9.49

This was my second time having the Scotch egg here and Emily's first and we both enjoyed it very much. I am generally not a fan of mustard but the sauce served with this goes very well with the egg/sausage combination.




Then for our entrees, I thought Emily would order the Cottage Pie, as it something that she has had here before and enjoyed. But instead she surprised me and chose the entree that I had intended to order...




English Breakfast Burger - Angus Beef Patty with Applewood-smoked Bacon, Cheddar, Fried Egg, and House-made HP Sauce, served with chips (aka thick cut French fries) - $14.99


She really enjoyed this but wasn't able to eat it all because this thing was pretty massive. In hindsight, we probably should have just shared it. Looking at the photo there is an item in the top left corner of her plate and I have no idea what it is. It almost looks like a small piece of fried fish, but Emily doesn't do fish so if it had been fish it would have promptly been removed and put on my plate. She would not have wanted it touching her burger. So out of curiosity, does anyone know what this might have been?




So instead of doing the smart thing and sharing the burger that we both wanted to order, I went with my old stand-by from here at the R & C...



Fish and Chips - “Rose & Crown’s Signature Dish” Beer-battered and served with House-made Tartar Sauce - $18.99


This was good, but not really worth the $18.99 price.


We passed on dessert because we had some other sweet treats in mind from across the (World Showcase) pond.


Overall, this was a solid meal in a perfect setting with good friends. Although Rose & Crown is not yet on my "must-do every trip" list, it remains a strong candidate on my list of possible dining choices at Epcot.


Following our lunch, we had to say good-bye to Vicki, as she was flying home that afternoon. At the time I was sad because I didn't know when I would be seeing her again. But now I know that I will probably only have to wait until October, since we are both planning to attend the Swan & Dolphin Food & Wine Classic. So now my frown is turned upside down.


Emily and I then forged ahead on our quest to complete the Epcot Bar Crawl. Were we successful? Stay tuned to find out.
​