Apparently, according to our pictures, we stopped at American Adventure, although it didn’t rate a mention in my journal that night. I think I prolly sat on a bench while DH took this picture:
And this one:
Next stop: Japan!
We gave the Mitsukoshi Dept. store a thorough going over, and I was pleased to find myself
not gripped by the usual spontaneous and previously nonexistent desire to pick a pearl to be made into jewelry I’d never wear....
Our FASTPASS window had opened by then, so we hoofed it back to Future World to ride Soarin’
(over California). I love the look of this part of the queue, although I think the aviation memorabilia we have at DCA is more interesting to look at when you have to wait in line:
I was *very* excited when we got inside the theater to discover that we were in THE best seats: Middle section, top row (no feet dangling from above!). And it was fun to see all the shots of our homeland, including Downtown LA (sped up – the traffic never moves that fast!) and
DISNEYLAND!!! Of course I always notice that they shot that footage before Sleeping Beauty Castle got its repaint a few years ago – it looks so washed out.
After Soarin’
(over California) we took a turn through the ginormous Future World gift shop (Mouse Gears?), which holds a special place in our hearts as the site where, several times on our honeymoon, we decided to blow off IllumiNations and go to Downtown Disney for Ghirardelli sundaes. Fortunately, that didn’t happen this time.
There is an unfounded rumor going around on the Weddings & Honeymoons board that Disney is discontinuing the bride and groom mouse ear headband and top hat just because they recently added bride and groom mouse-ear hats. So I took this picture of the scads of bride headbands as proof that it’s not so (top hats have always been hard to find).
I would show you a pic of the new mouse-ear hats, but they are so controversial that I fear this thread would go right off the rails!
Pretty candy!
So by this time, we were getting pretty hungry, but we still had time to kill before our 7:30 ADR at Le Cellier, and we were BORED!
This is ironic in a way that only a WDW nerd would understand: I have never ever ever scored an ADR for Le Cellier at a normal hour. It is so popular that even when I called 180+10 days ahead (back in the good old days), I could only ever get dinner at some weird hour like 4:30pm. But when they started shortening the 180-day window last fall, it happened that reservation windows would open when no one knew about it, so I miraculously scored THREE prime Le Cellier ADRs. I made them all for 7:30pm, just because I could. A few months before the trip I cancelled one, cuz three was just too dang many. And a few weeks before we confirmed our hangin’ out with the Roots day, so I gave that ADR to a mother in need on the DIS Restaurant boards.
So here we were with our prime ADR and an hour to kill and the rain starting again and we couldn’t think of anything else to do, SO.... we did something that entirely defeats the purpose of an ADR and will surely earn me warning points on the DIS: We went to Le Cellier early and sat in the lobby waiting to get a walk-in spot. Not only that, but – despite their estimate that we could get a table within 20 minutes – we waited an entire HOUR for a table to open up and went in at our original time. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! (OK, I guess, in the grand scheme of things, there are worse things than this. Like being eaten by a gator.... Maybe.)
To make matters worse, the lobby was packed with people because of the rain, including one family who decided to drape their wet ponchos over the full length of the hand rail leading to the dining room and then scream obscenities at each other. Classy!
I was pretty grumpy by the time we got a seat, but then something wonderful happened. We got THE nicest server we’ve ever had at Le Cellier. Usually they just wanna hustle you in and out, but he let us take our time and actually seemed to be trying to cheer me up!
EXXXTREME pretzel bread close-up
We split a bowl of the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup - Made with Moosehead Beer and Smoked Bacon
We also split the Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon but swapped out the wild mushroom risotto for cream cheese mashed potatoes; it still had the white truffle and herb butter sauce
And here’s the best part. At the end of the meal.... WE GOT A FREE DESSERT! We didn’t get free
anything at Le Cellier on our honeymoon, and I was starting to think that non-Signature restaurants were prohibited from passing out freebies. But there it was – and something I’d been wanting to try, too!
Chocolate "Moose" - Chocolate Mousse rolled in Toasted Chocolate Crumbs with Maple Leaf Antlers
Kinda grim, really... a moose with a flaming candle stuck in its head... and a dead-looking tongue flopping out of its mouth... Grim, but tasty!
So, I guess I grudgingly have to admit I like Le Cellier. I tried to think it was overrated, but the food really is delicious. It’s just too bad they can’t make it bigger to accommodate more people and take that snobby exclusivity out of the picture.
By the time we got out of Le Cellier, the rain had let up. I dragged DH over to the Lower UK terrace to see if I could find out the scoop on Toni’s dessert party. We couldn’t see anybody down there, so I grilled the event guide guarding the rope and learned that the desserts had been moved inside the Wonders of Life pavilion, but guests would be coming out to Lower UK in time for the fireworks. Hooray!!!
I took a really bad picture to post on my blog....
...but then I thought it might be scooping Toni’s trip report to share the insider info I was so proud of. So I saved it for ... now! And I can’t wait see pix of the set-up inside Wonders of Life – I think one of the rooms is done up like a circus tent.
It was still kinda damp and chilly out, so we decided to go back to our room for IllumiNations. It wasn’t the greatest view, but it was fun to be able to see at least part of the show from the comfort of our room.
Up Next: The Day Before Cake!!!
about your crazy family. I think you are right!
That was the funniest installment yet! I would have been so honored to have the Lurkyloo's crash my wedding! Thats when it would have been a party!!! You should have waited when we came out for the fireworks to slip into the group of guests and view the fireworks down with us! 
)
I think, also, a lot of cake is just dry and blah, so I can totally see why you wouldn't like it. 
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When I was writing my trippie I started this whole big caption about how much I love colored pencils, until I looked closer and saw they totally aren't pencils! I think maybe they are colored glass to be used to make some handcraft in Germany or Italy. Oooh! Maybe for the Murano glass in Italy?
!
