Pudge Controls the Weather-A Land and Sea TR Apr 6-Apr 15 ( Last Day new 5/26)

[marDgreen88]

I can't get over how pretty Kidani Village is, honestly! (You're gonna get sick of me saying this most likely, hahah.) That's TOO funny that you watched all those people get sprayed with water. I probably would have gotten a huge kick out of that too.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Here is a panoramic view

I love this one!!!

The AKL pool sounds awesome! I also think it's great that they give you an animal guide in your room!

 

[jecskc]

I love this one!!!

The AKL pool sounds awesome! I also think it's great that they give you an animal guide in your room!

Got lots of pans this trip since I finally figured out how to use that feature on my camera.

I liked the animal guide, too. But we didn't stay long enough to see them all. We lots of giraffes though, which is all that matters.

 

[jecskc]

Day 2 – Part 5

So we were heading back to Epcot for a tour of World Showcase.

Spaceship Earth was walk on – YAY !!

So we rode it and we were glad we waited to do this later. More Epcot photos.

DH liked the panorama feature on our camera.

We headed towards the World Showcase and entered on the Mexico side.

We rode the Mexico boat ride.

I have always wanted to sneak into the La Cava del Tequila

and try a specialty margarita from there. I wanted to try a Hibiscus one, but they said they didn’t make them anymore, so I had think quick and ordered an Avocado one. I know this sounds icky, but it was really smooth and good. Kinda different, but in a good way.

This isn’t my photo. My margarita had hibiscus salt on the rim. Which was red. I got it to go since this wasn’t a stellar environment for kids and we headed back out to the World Showcase. Our next pavilion was Norway.

We checked in on Maelstrom.

And the wait was about 30 minutes. With a fast pass return time of …… 30 minutes. So, duh, we got a fast pass and went over to China to spend about 25 minutes. I wasn’t finished with my drink anyway, so this worked out for me.

Panda Topiaries – loved them.

Puppets

China Pavilion

 

[marDgreen88]

I don't drink, but I think that avocado drink sounds really good! Love avocados. The panda topiaries are adorable! Hahaha, that puppet looks like she's wearing those glasses that turn to sunglasses when you go outside. Kinda fancy for a puppet!

 

[jecskc]

I don't drink, but I think that avocado drink sounds really good! Love avocados. The panda topiaries are adorable! Hahaha, that puppet looks like she's wearing those glasses that turn to sunglasses when you go outside. Kinda fancy for a puppet!

That margarita was so yummy. DH was like ..."an avocado margarita ??". If I hadn't have read on the DIS that they were yummy, I would never have gotten one.

I loved those Pandas. Sooo cute !!

Yes, that puppet had a very Muppet-y feel to it.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Aren't the avocado margaritas good??? I thought they sounded strange too, but they're nice and creamy!

I love your F&G panoramic shot (forgot to link it in before I hit reply!) too!

You guys might just be the first people I've ever heard of that got a FP for the Maelstrom!

 

[LissaW16]

Aren't the avocado margaritas good??? I thought they sounded strange too, but they're nice and creamy!

I love your F&G panoramic shot (forgot to link it in before I hit reply!) too!

You guys might just be the first people I've ever heard of that got a FP for the Maelstrom!

We FP'd Malestrom - gave us just enough time to walk the length of World Showcase and back (which is all you get with a 5-year-old in tow)...

 

[jecskc]

Aren't the avocado margaritas good??? I thought they sounded strange too, but they're nice and creamy!

I love your F&G panoramic shot (forgot to link it in before I hit reply!) too!

You guys might just be the first people I've ever heard of that got a FP for the Maelstrom!

They really are good. We really enjoyed it.

Of course we got a fast pass. Why wait 20-25 minutes when you can spend them drinking an avocado margarita and looking around the World Showcase ?? Make the most of your time, I say.

Since you and Wingnut always go during low crowds you probably never see a need for Maelstrom FP's, but during Spring Break, believe it or not, the wait for it can get up to an hour. And we love that ride. It is one of the ones we all ride together as a family since DD and DH are chicken of some of them and the others make me

We FP'd Malestrom - gave us just enough time to walk the length of World Showcase and back (which is all you get with a 5-year-old in tow)...

I know what you mean Melissa, I never feel like I get enough time in the World Showcase. We are on the waiting list for BLT and Boardwalk for Thanksgiving. Even though I would really love to stay on the "monorail loop", I wouldn't be crying in my beer to stay at Boardwalk again because it is so close to World Showcase.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Mmmmm La Cava. So good.

I was so depressed when I found out they didn't have the hibiscus one, because that was honestly my favorite one on the menu. But, there are so many good choices there. I may have to try the avocado one next time.

 

[jecskc]

Mmmmm La Cava. So good.

I was so depressed when I found out they didn't have the hibiscus one, because that was honestly my favorite one on the menu. But, there are so many good choices there. I may have to try the avocado one next time.

I asked for the hibiscus one because everyone waxed poetic about it, so I was disappointed as well. I had to think quick !! I will try the cucumber one next

 

[jecskc]

Day 2 – Part Six

Still in Epcot - China Pavilion

We saw this dragon topiary which was really cool.

Inside – so beautiful.

We explored some more and then headed back over to Norway.

We rode Maelstrom, skipped the movie and headed into the gift shop.

Yes, she to buy that silly little poodle. Actually, she used her gift card money, but I tried to explain to her that this was just the second day and she needed to pace herself on the spending. DS was saving most of his money for the Lego store in DTD.

Then we headed to the Germany Pavilion.

And spent some time in there. We usually get a pretzel and some beer, but since we had an ADR for Via Napoli for dinner in Italy on this night, we held out for that. After some exploring, it was time for our ADR. We headed to the back of Italy

and Via Napoli

(this is a stock photo. The night we were there, they had a good bit of outside seating and it was really pretty. And, of course, the weather was amazing.)

Anywho we got there and there was a SUPER long line. We were a little worried that it was a line for reservations, but it turned out it was just the line for walk-ups so we headed into the reception area and let them know we were there. We only waited a few minutes and then we were seated. We were so excited about this ADR, so we ordered right away.

We told the waitress we wanted to split an entrée and we also ordered an appetizer and a bottle of wine. After a bit the waitress came back and told me we couldn’t share. And this made me mad because we always share, everywhere. Except for the buffets and places like Whispering Canyon which has an all you can eat option. I asked for the manager and she told me that it was their “policy”. So I cancelled the appetizer and ordered another entrée. I was not happy about this at all because I knew it would be too much food.

The waitress brought our wine and when she did, she apologized. I was still unhappy, but it wasn’t her fault and I told her so and tried really hard to be nice.

DH ordered

Candele - candle stick pasta, sausage ragu, polpettine meatballs, mozzarella, ricotta

DS ordered

Lasagna Verde - spinach, parmesan, besciamella

I ordered

The individual signature pie - Quattro Formaggi - mozzarella, parmesan, fontina, provolone

And DD ordered kids pizza (I didn’t get a photo)

And here’s what happened. The Candele and Lasagna came out right away. The dishes were too hot to touch but the actual food was lukewarm. DS decided he didn’t like his lasagna so I offered to eat it knowing he would probably like the pizza I ordered, which had not arrived yet. So DH and I started on our entrees. DH’s was good, but I wasn’t too wild about the lasagna. It had a white sauce that I thought was too heavy. It tasted OK, just not my thing. DH helped eat it but we both liked the Candele better. Still no pizzas for the kids.

The waitress brought some bread, some pepper and some parmesan cheese, but no olive oil for dipping, so the pepper and parmesan were useless. The bread was cold and hard anyway and we didn’t eat it. Yuck.

So after about 20 minutes, DD’s pizza comes. And it is burned on the bottom. Not just brown, but black. You could smell the burned smell when the plate came to the table. Completely inedible. She was pretty upset, but thankfully, the other pizza came at that time.

The kids tore into it so quickly, that it was gone pretty quick. So since they were happy with their food, I didn’t bother complaining about DD’s pizza because I knew it would take forever to get another one. And she was supposed to get an appetizer which was a fruit cup, but we never got it.

Then came dessert. DD is allergic to nuts, so her only option was.

Which she ate. And she’s super picky, so they must have tasted OK.

DS ordered

Coppa Di Brutti Ma Buoni - Ugly, but good. Amarena cherry and vanilla gelato sundae with ugly, but good cookies of carnevale

He said it was just OK. DH said it was pretty good, though.

DH ordered

Tiramisu - Mascarpone cream, espresso coffee, lady fingers, and chocolate

He said it was pretty good and liked it

I ordered

Zeppole di Ricotta - Ricotta cheese fritters, served with whipped cream and chocolate sauce

Now these saved the meal for me. These were heavenly and the cream and chocolate that came with them were really good as well.

And after about an hour and a half, we were finished. And here is the run down on the whole meal. I will start with the negatives first so we can end on a positive note.

Negatives – Not being able to share. SLOW service. Cold bread. No appetizer for DD. No oil for the bread. Food brought at different intervals. Lasagne – I just didn’t like this version. DD’s pizza was burned and inedible.

Positives – Candele was tasty. Kids loved the adult pizza. Desserts were very yummy.

Many people have had a positive experience here, so don’t NOT go based on our experience, but since WDW has so many other options, this is a place we will not return to. We were so disappointed because we were looking forward to this ADR and we really wanted to like it. But no, we won’t go back.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I'm sorry to hear you didn't have a great experience at VN, after looking forward to it!! I have heard about the "food coming out when it's done" thing, which I'm not a fan of either. Especially since the kids were waiting for quite some time!

 

[marDgreen88]

I'm sorry you didn't like your meal. When we went for lunch (basically at opening time) the service was great and the food was really good too. I'm not saying the place is perfect but yeah, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it.

 

[jecskc]

I'm sorry to hear you didn't have a great experience at VN, after looking forward to it!! I have heard about the "food coming out when it's done" thing, which I'm not a fan of either. Especially since the kids were waiting for quite some time!

I'm sorry you didn't like your meal. When we went for lunch (basically at opening time) the service was great and the food was really good too. I'm not saying the place is perfect but yeah, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it.

Yeah, it was a bummer. Not everything is perfect for everyone. And none of it was really one person's fault, they were just off their game that night. If we ever went again, I would know what to order to make it a better experience for sure. But like I said, with so many other options, we will just try some other places or go back to our favorites.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Your DD is a girl after my own heart. When I was younger I had the hardest time budgeting my spending money correctly. It was typically gone by like the third day. Now, I'm the polar opposite. "Do I really want that, maybe I should wait....."

I haven't eaten at Via Napoli yet, but I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[jecskc]

Your DD is a girl after my own heart. When I was younger I had the hardest time budgeting my spending money correctly. It was typically gone by like the third day. Now, I'm the polar opposite. "Do I really want that, maybe I should wait....."

I haven't eaten at Via Napoli yet, but I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

She just wants everything she sees right now. She is getting better, but I couldn't talk her out of that silly pink poodle for nothing. And it was her money.

Go and see of your own Via Napoli experience will be better. It wasn't horrible. It just isn't a place we will go back to. Those Zeppoles (sp?) were really tasty. It was crayz busy, too, so maybe that was part of the problem.

Whatta ya gonna do ??

 

[kyirish25]

Bummer on dinner. That is one thing that every restaurant should know and do is to make sure the kids get their food first. I think it is just rude not to sit their plate down first. I would have thrown a huge fuss over her pizza after having to wait so long. You are much nicer than I would have been at that point.

Doug used to have a peanut allergy that he outgrew just a few years ago. We found out when we 1.5 years old. He still avoids tree nuts as he had possible reaction on the blood test and then had issues with the food challenge on the Brazil nut. But can you blame the kid on not wanting to eat that nasty nut?

 

[mickeystoontown]

Got behind but am caught up again. It's too bad that the service and food at Via Napoli weren't so great. We have an ADR for dinner there in a few weeks and I hope we have a better time than you guys did.

 

[jecskc]

Bummer on dinner. That is one thing that every restaurant should know and do is to make sure the kids get their food first. I think it is just rude not to sit their plate down first. I would have thrown a huge fuss over her pizza after having to wait so long. You are much nicer than I would have been at that point.

Doug used to have a peanut allergy that he outgrew just a few years ago. We found out when we 1.5 years old. He still avoids tree nuts as he had possible reaction on the blood test and then had issues with the food challenge on the Brazil nut. But can you blame the kid on not wanting to eat that nasty nut?

I was just too tired to fight the waitress about that pizza for DD. Besides, Illluminations was getting ready to start and the kids had already eaten the other pizza and were fine, so I just let it go. We would have never gotten it on time for us to get out and watch the fireworks.

Our DD's peanut allergy is pretty serious. I would love for her to outgrow it but when she was tested at 4 (we found out at 18 mos. and they retested her at 4 to see how severe it was) her reaction was so strong that they said don't even try to introduce nuts. It just isn't worth it. and we carry an epi pen everywhere.

They were really diligent about it on the boat, too. She couldn't got the kid's club without the epi pen and they called about a lot of the stuff she might be eating. I felt good that they were looking our for her.

Got behind but am caught up again. It's too bad that the service and food at Via Napoli weren't so great. We have an ADR for dinner there in a few weeks and I hope we have a better time than you guys did.

I hope your experience is better. I hope at least my experience helps you prepare for it. It was OK. But it wasn't GREAT and there are so many great places at Disney, we won't waste our time with this one again. Good luck !!