TheMaxRebo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2008
Day 6 - Part 4: Magic Kingdom ... The Ariel Ride and Lunch at Be Our Guest
We again found ourselves trying to figure out what to do and ultimately decided to go on the ride with the longest name: Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid ... a.k.a. Ariel's ride. While everyone had already gone on this ride this trip everyone liked it and it was new to all of us for this trip so we figured why not - plus the girls had not gone it together yet.
One thing I noticed that I haven't seen mentioned yet is that the queue for this ride now makes it so there are two places within the Magic Kingdom you can see that wonder of the world The Backside of Water:
I really like the boarding area for this ride - especially the large mural behind the clammobiles ... I tried both rides to get a good shot of it, and this is the best one I got:
Some other ride photos I got - didn't get too many great shots as I was trying to not use my flash and not the best camera for low light:
After we got back up above the sea we again debated what to do ... Olivia wanted to meet Ariel in her fin, but the wait was 40 mins and people were getting hungry and a little cranky. So now we debated what to do to eat. I really wanted to eat lunch at Be Our Guest but people were concerned about the line and were thinking of leaving the park to find some food - we contemplated taking the monorail to Captain Cooks at the Pollynesian.
Ultimately though we decided that it would probably take longer to go elsewhere and there was enough of an interest in eating at BOG that we decided to at least get in line and see how it moved.
While not happy about the wait, the girls were excited about the prospect of eating in Beast Castle and were in a good mood:
View from where we got on line:
One of the statues on the bridge:
The line moved fairly well so we decided to wait. It was quite hot though - but they did have water out to drink which was good. They also had umbrella's to use, but there weren't nearly enough of them and we when we finally go a few we were literally about 2 minutes away from the the front of the line so it didn't really do much good. Oh well.
Once we got in the castle we were a bit overcome with all the detail and just how impressive it all is. Though, Peter wasn't quite sure what to make of the talking suits of armor:
We weren't sure where we wanted to sit but it was extremely crowded and the CM that completed our order indicated that bigger groups would have better luck in the main ball room, so that is where we went ... definitely an impressive space:
The space is really amazing and the level of detail was breathtaking. I love the idea of being able to eat here for lunch but found the level of service from the CMs to be laking a bit. Nothing was overtly bad but just a lack of "magic" for lack of a better way of putting it. It took them a while to clear tables (maybe just not enough people doing that job) and we basically had to hover over a dirty table and wait for it to be cleared in order to get a seat. Also, no one really directed us to find things so took us a while to find napkins and silverware, etc. (at least that day it was kind of around the corner, hidden a bit). Again, nothing really bad and wouldn't prevent us from going back, but did take away from the overall experience a bit.
Anyway, you didn't come here for my rants, so on to the food.
And to give away the verdict, it was very, very good - definitely above expectations for a quick-service.
Braised Pork: Eight Hour Slow-cooked Pork with Mushrooms, Onions, Carrots and Bacon served with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans Jardiniere.
I had gotten this as did Mike we both found it to be excellent - very tender and a good sized portion as well. I could see some people finding it a little salty but I like things salty so enjoyed it!
Vegetable Quiche: Mushroom, Zucchini, Bell Pepper, Onion and Chive Quiche served with Baby Lettuce coated with Champagne Vinaigrette.
Bob got this and enjoyed it as well - did say the salad could use more dressing though, but the quiche itself was quite good and, again, good sized portion
Carved Turkey Sandwich: Carved Turkey Sandwich served warm on a Baguette with Dijon Mayonnaise and Pommes Frites.
Judi got this and it was another solid choice. Only negative were the "pommes frites" which were really just normal french fries and just ok.
Kids Slow-cooked Pork: Slow-cooked Pork with Sauteed Green Beans and Mashed Sweet Potatoes.
The kids split a couple of orders of this and I have to say it was one of the best kids meals I have seen. Same pork as the adults got and nice sized size that had some flavor to them. Not sure if they liked it as much as chicken nuggest but I like the change of pace for them
We then split / sampled the various cupcakes:
Clockwise starting from the top:
Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake: Vanilla Sponge Cake, Strawberry Mouse Filling and Cream Cheese Icing.
The Master's Cupcake: Chocolate Sponge Cake topped with Lumieres special Grey Stuff
Lemon Meringue Cupcake: Vanilla Sponge Cake, Lemon Custard Filling and Flamed Meringue Icing.
Triple Chocolate Cupcake: Chocolate Sponge Cake, Chocolate Mousse Filling and Chocolate Ganache.
While they were all good, and I am glad we got to try "the gray stuff" with The Master's Cupcake, the real winner here is the Triple Chocolate Cupcake - just super rich and chocolatey!
Overall, other than the mentioned lack of enthousiasm from the CMs' and just the general craziness of the place we really enjoyed lunch - the food was of a very high quality and the setting is amazing. Super happy we waited.
Unfortunately no TIW savings for lunch, but oh well, still a pretty good value for what you got.
We of course had to get a picture in front of the Stained Glass Window on the way out:
Next - some dreaming and parade fun!
Loved your greeting and the photos. 
I can see that. 
