Nothing Fancy! August 24th-September 1st

[Scutapipig]

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[Scutapipig]

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[Scutapipig]

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[McDISer]

Gotta love those matching outfits. My wife tried, saw them starting to come to our house UPS. I am going to forget to pack mine.

I don't have it peppered with witty comments and detailed dining

Sort of refreshing!

 

[pumba]

Your report is fantastic and your photos are too.....thanks so much for letting us share in your vacation. Your outfits are adorable .....is that alright to say about mens shirts too? HAHAHA.......You all looked great...
thanks so much for your report

 

[swillis]

Just wanted to say that I loved your report. Lots of pictures and the "wit-less" details gave me a true sense of your family, and what a wonderful time that you had.

 

[kpk89]

Scutapipig, your family is beautiful. You definitely had some memorable moments on that trip -- thanks for posting it.

((What does your screen name mean? If you don't mind me asking))

 

[EastonCat]

You hear about people who go through much of their lives never making it to WDW, and you think, "I wish I could have talked them in to going sooner." But your story is just plain shocking. You've never had creme brulee before? My heart skipped a beat when I read that.

Want the recipe?

 

[Scutapipig]

Thanks all for your very kind comments.

Gotta love those matching outfits. My wife tried, saw them starting to come to our house UPS. I am going to forget to pack mine.

Believe it or not, I was the hold out and my DH was all for it. It does come with benefits. The day my DH rode the Haunted Mansion on his own, he walked toward the teacups looking for us. As he walked by the kiosk selling film, the kind CM smiled and said, "They went that way. And I love your outfits!" He found us within seconds!

What does your screen name mean? If you don't mind me asking

Our screen name is quirky and most certainly something only we would come up with. My DH calls me Scooter and while watching the Summer Olympics years back, I loved a runner named Ute Pippig. I loved the way her name flowed. One day DH combined the two and called me Scooter-pippig and the named evolved from there. If we ever inherit millions, we want to open a B&B and call it the Scutapipig! LOL

You've never had creme brulee before?

Creme Brulee...sad, isn't it? I'm a chocolate girl and if there was chocolate to be had, then that's what I had. I've eaten escargot, crocodile, and wildebeast in my travels, but creme brulee evaded me until this past trip to Disney. I will NEVER make that mistake again! LOL And yes, I would LOVE the recipe if you're willing to share!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Hi SP! Can I call you SP?

Any who, I just wanted to ask about the weather and the crowds? We're going at the same time next year and I was wondering if the crowds thin a bit during the later part of August.

Thanks for posting, I really enjoyed your TR. Short and sweet!

BTW, you have a beautiful family!!!

 

[Scutapipig]

Hi Disneyland Mama! Thank you for your kind comments! SP is just fine! LOL

We LOVED the last week of August. We weren't sure we would withstand the humidity and heat, but since Michigan can get pretty nasty at times, we thought we would chance it. It really wasn't any worse than what we were used to. Plenty of water and popping into shops for air conditioning make August touring bearable. We tour at a very leisurely pace due to a number of factors and never rush anywhere, so that helps quite a bit, also.

For weeks prior, I was glued to the Weather Channel in fear that a hurricane would delay our plans, but we really had no issues and Ernesto's rain never stopped us from touring. In fact, I really believe the threats of Ernesto actually helped us to see the Wiggles without crowds or issues.

As for the crowds, we were very surprised to find we could walk on just about everything. The longest wait we saw was 20 minutes standby at Peter Pan, so we fastpassed and had no issues at all. Soarin' was a walkon which surprised me, as was Turtle Talk with Crush. The wait here was simply for the next show to start and not because of the length of the line.

We've visited in August, December, the end of September, and March and so far, the last week of August wins as far as crowds.

Oh...we made ADR's well in advance and had absolutely no issues getting any ressie, nor any issues with waits longer than 10 minutes after check-in. The dining plan was a breeze for us, also.

 

[aide4]

Great trip report!

 

[EastonCat]

There are lots of different recipes, but this one is easy to remember and provides a nice, creamy custard.

1 qt heavy cream
6 egg yoks (I use large. Extra large yolks yield a firmer custard.)
1 vanilla bean (a tsp or two of natural extract works fine, but the bean is better)
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c light brown sugar (this if for the crust. Some people use white)
2 qts really hot (recently boiled) water. (Boil extra if you're going to use a big roasing dish or baking pan to hold the ramekins. It'll make sense after you read the whole recipe)

A deep baking dish or roasting pan
6-8 baking ramekins depending on the size.
A blowtorch or broiler (if you're broiling, make sure the ramekins can take it, Emile Hernry makes nice ones that will last forever)

Preheat the oven to 325F

If you have a vanilla bean, split and scrape it then throw the bean and scrapings into a saucepan.

Put the cream in the saucepan and heat to just simmering and remove from heat. Make sure it bubbles just a little bit before you pull it off.

Whisk egg yolks and granulated sugar until sugar dissolves in the yolks and the mixture looks smooth. If using vanilla extract, put it in to the egg/sugar goo Alternatives to vanilla extract include such things as amaretto or Godiva liquer). The custard will tolearate up to 2 tablespoons of booze or extract without ruining the chemistry.

Temper the eggs and sugar by ladling a little heated cream into the mix and whisking. Keep pouring a little cream at a time into the mix and stir constantly.

Once all of the cream is mixed in, pour the mixture (I use a ladle, actually) into your ramekins.

Put the ramekins into the roasting pan or baking dish and pour the hot water into the pan until it comes half way up the ramekins.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the custard sets. It should be quivery, not hard-set.

Now the hard part. These things have to cool for a couple hours in the fridge. It hardly seems fair. They can be kept in the fridge for a day or two, but I recommend covering them with wrap if it's going to be more than just an couple of hours. If covering, the wrap needs to touch the custard.

Topping:
If broling the topping, preheat the broiler with a rack in the top position. If playing with fire, maybe now would be a good time to make sure your kitchen fire extinguisher isn't expired.

Remove the ramekins from the fridge and let them warm up on the counter for about 30 minutes. If you don't do this, the final product will be a little watery. Not a crime, but not what you're looking for either.

Sprinkle brown (or white if preferred) sugar to lightly but completely cover the custard in each ramekin.

If you have a blowtorch (kitchen-style is best as they aren't so dangerous), fire it up, melt and caramelize the sugar. If you've eaten creme brulee, you know the color you're looking for. I advise putting the ramekins on a cookie sheet during this process in case you aren't so precise with the flame.

If broiling, put the ramekins on a cookie sheet and place on the top rack. It will only take about a minute or two for the sugar to melt and get crunchy, so don't get distracted. I'd recommend keeping pets and curious small children at a distance so you can peek in there without getting surprised and losing your eyebrows. Brown sugar has considerably more moisture than white, so it will take longer to do its thing.

Serve and listen to everone bang on the sugar coating.

 

[OhMari]

I saw those matching outfits this summer on clearance. I am pooh-sized and the dress didn't come in a 18. So I went with some clearance t-shirts and made my dd a t-shirt. Wow, it took 5 phone calls with the t-shirt issue. I guess highschool names and WDW cannot be put together.

 

[Scutapipig]

EastonCat...THANK YOU! I'm going to give it a try for the holidays!

 

[happybratpack]

Super report and really love the pics. They're always my favorite part of TR's.