So much to do (and eat) we need to go twice! A food-focused trip report. COMPLETE 7/28/22

[mickey916]

Day 3 - continued​

We walked the Maharajah jungle trek and then headed to Dino Bites for our much anticipated 50th Celebration ice cream sandwich. We asked to have chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla. While the chocolate cookies were very delicious, the ice cream was but a "smear". This was another occasion of our actual treat not quite living up to the pictures we've seen on social media. Here's what we expected: DFB photo
and here's what we received:

Definitely not enough ice cream but it was a really good "cookie sandwich"! We watched the Feathered Friends in Flight show which we really enjoyed. We were grateful we got the show in before it started to rain. We put on our ponchos and soon the skies just opened up. We found a little covered area that had tables so we took refuge under the roof along with lots of other people. The only problem was we didn't notice it was downhill. Soon we were flooded with water over our ankles. We decided to run for cover and ended up under the roof of the Warung Outpost. Since we were hanging out waiting for the downpours to end, we decided to get a couple Shangri-La Berry Freezes. These were sooooo delicious! One of the best frozen drinks we had all week!



When the rain lightened up enough, we headed to Pandora and I used my ILL$ for Flight of Passage. DH didn't ride as screens and motion don't agree with him. I was very nervous as I had heard of people feeling claustrophobic but didn't experience that at all! It was absolutely incredible! I can't wait to ride it with my sons in two weeks! We explored the Valley of Mo'ara and decided to try a pineapple lumpia from Pongu Pongu. We had heard that it's a divisive snack and we're in the camp of "no thanks". We enjoyed the pineapple flavor but the cheese made it very mushy.


The rain stopped for a bit so we wandered around Discovery Island admiring the Tree of Life. The skies opened up again so we took refuge in Tough to be a Bug! which was better than we remembered. With not much else to do, we placed a mobile order for dinner at Flame Tree Barbecue for pulled pork mac n cheese with a side of onion rings.



We thought the mac n cheese was good but not great and the serving size was smaller than we expected. The onion rings were crispy and flavorful. The rain was still intermittent and we were kinda out of things we wanted to do as we sloshed around in our wet shoes so we decided it was probably time to leave. But then I decided I wanted to go on the Safari one more time to see the evening animals. We found our way to Africa and stopped by Harambe Fruit Market to try the famed corn on the cob. I saw the young woman take it off the grill but there was no char and it was cold, like it just came out of the cooler. Perhaps the rain had put out flame on the grill? The spices were very flavorful and it was buttery but definitely not good on cold corn.

We then went to the Safari to discover we were the ONLY people in line! DH and I had our own private safari tour! Our guide was fantastic and it made up for ALL the other frustrations, disappointments, and wet feet! After our safari, we figured it was a good time to quit while we were ahead so we headed back to the hotel.

 

[mickey916]

Day 4 4/3 Having fun outside the parks​

We didn't schedule a park for this day as my DH knew he'd have to meet the advance prep team for his upcoming convention at some point. We went to church in Celebration and had a surprisingly satisfying breakfast at iHop and then returned to the hotel so my DH could work. While he met with the team, I did what any self-respecting DIS'er does, caught up on the DisBoards!

After my DH was released from his tasks, we headed to Disney Springs. As soon as we arrived, we put our name on the virtual cue for Gideon's and were given a three hour estimate. Then, since it was lunchtime, we placed an online order at Earl of Sandwich. The line was really long and inside was chaotic but with the online order, our food was ready quickly. I went to the front counter to pick it up, avoiding all the crazy crowds. We got two combo meals to share.

The Italian on wheat with potato wedges




The holiday turkey sandwich on wheat with potato wedges


We really enjoyed both of these sandwiches and sharing our halves gave us the best of both worlds. The potato wedges were very good as well.

We walked around Disney Springs and stood on the bridge next to the Rainforest Café for about twenty minutes, just so I could get this photo:


Two hours after we put in our name at Gideon's, our virtual spot was called. Since it was a new month, we wanted to get the cookie of the month and try a slice of cake. First up, the April cookie, Toasted Coconut Caramel.


We didn't eat it until a couple days later but it was REALLY good. It was the best one of all the ones we tried, much better than March's Coffee Toffee Chocolate Chip. (P.S. Really looking forward to the May cookie this month).

Then, we scored big time with the Peanut Butter Cup Cake being available:


We found a spot on the water and immediately ate this glorious cake. This is the best slice of cake we have ever had! It was also hands down the best dessert we had the whole week. I told my DH when we go in May we'll have to stalk Gideon's every day just to get it again. I know Gideon's is known for their cookies but in our opinion their cake is where it's at!

Fully satisfied for a bit, we decided it was time to go on a boat ride. One of my goals during this trip (besides trying a bunch of food) was to see if we could visit every resort. For those keeping track at this point we had visited Port Orleans French Quarter, Port Orleans Riverside, and Coronado Springs. So, we hopped on the boat and headed to Old Key West Resort. We enjoyed walking around this beautiful, laid back resort and worked up a thirst. We each got a Pineapple Coconut Slushy (Virgin Pina Colada) from Goods Food to Go. This was extremely tasty and our favorite frozen drink of the week.

After our delicious drink and leisurely tour around the resort, we took the boat back to Disney Springs for the best dinner we had all week...this was definitely a day of "bests"...

​

 

[Mich123]

Those Gideon’s desserts look so delicious! We are flying in to MCO tomorrow and heading straight to Disney Springs, luggage in tow. I’d love to go to Gideon’s but I think I’d need some major pixie dust to get in at that hour.

 

[mickey916]

Those Gideon’s desserts look so delicious! We are flying in to MCO tomorrow and heading straight to Disney Springs, luggage in tow. I’d love to go to Gideon’s but I think I’d need some major pixie dust to get in at that hour.

Sending pixie dust your way! Have a great trip!

 

[mickey916]

Dinner on Day 4 - Chef Art Smith's Homecoming​

Our dinner reservation was for Chef Art Smith's. It was very busy and even though we had an ADR we had to wait a bit for our table to be ready. So, we spent our time people watching. It was cool to see all the people with their medals from the RunDisney race that day. While we waited we also looked over the menu and thought we knew what to order (more on that below)..

We decided on a half order of Church Lady Deviled Eggs.


These were good but I like the ones my mother-in-law makes better.

We also ordered the Thigh High Chicken and Biscuits. These were absolutely phenomenal! So, so good!


We also thought it wouldn't kill us to have a few vegetables so we decided to get a salad. I couldn't get the QR code to work at the table so we couldn't double check the menu but for some reason I thought we had decided on the Hamilton Salad when we had looked at the menu outside. (Truth is, we actually had decided on the Harvest Salad.) So, we erroneously ordered the Hamilton Salad with added fried chicken.



As we started eating the salad, I said, "hmmm, I don't think this is what we meant to order.." I then went in MDE and looked up the menu and lo and behold I had ordered the wrong salad. Based on the description we never would have ordered it, as pickled onion and fried pimento cheese sounded weird to us on a salad. However, this salad was soooo good! The fried pimento cheese balls were incredible. I'd like a whole plate of just those! The tasso ham and fried chicken we added were really good as well. We told our server about the mistake we made and how much we were enjoying the salad. She offered to bring us the Harvest salad instead but we were enjoying our "mistake" salad so much we didn't take her up on her offer. Overall this food was homecooked deliciousness and the service was excellent. So glad we get to go again on our May trip to try some of the other items. This restaurant takes first place in our book!

 

[mickey916]

Day 5 4/4 Experimenting with Genie+ at Hollywood Studios​

Our plan for this day was to practice using Genie+ so that we'd be pros on our May trip. Boy did we learn a lot! I added Genie+ at 6:45 am and then booked Slinky at 7:00 am and ended up with a 12:15 timeslot. Since we were offsite, I couldn't purchase Rise until park open which was 8:00. We arrived about 15 minutes before park opening at HS and as soon as it turned 8:00, I attempted to buy an ILL$ for Rise. As expected there were none available. We headed directly to MMRR which showed a 20 minute wait but we walked right through the cue. As we walked I refreshed furiously and snagged a 7:55 pm Rise ILL$. My DH was a little annoyed as he kept trying to point out cute things in the queue but I was attached to my phone. Not really a "relaxing" way to start the day. We both really enjoyed MMRR. It is very cute!

After our ride we headed to Woody's Lunchbox for breakfast. We had hoped to get a hazelnut lunchbox tart and a blueberry lemon one. However Banana Fudge and Raspberry were the only options so we went with it.

They were both good. The banana fudge mostly tasted like peanut butter. We didn't notice a lot of banana or fudge. We surprisingly preferred the raspberry tart.

We explored Toy Story land and then made our first critical Genie+ error. I knew our next time to book would be two hours after park opening which was 10:00. It was only 9:30 so we decided to head to the Muppets. We didn't time it well and ended up waiting at least 20 minutes to go into the theater. Unfortunately that meant that we were in the middle of the show when my 10 o'clock window opened. I didn't want to be rude so I figured I'd just wait until the show was over to book my next Genie+. BIG MISTAKE!!!! As we exited the theater at 10:10 I looked to see what was available and ToT and RNRC were both gone. I refreshed a million times during the day and occasionally a time would pop up for them but I was never able to successfully grab them. I also tried for Toy Story Mania and couldn't get one for that either...I ended up with Aliens for 2 pm...not really what I wanted for my second Genie+. We briefly looked around Galaxy Edge and then decided to head to Indiana Jones for the first show. It was super crowded and we were afraid we wouldn't get in but we made it into one of the last rows.

I had placed a mobile order earlier for Backlot Express and it was ready as soon as the show ended so we picked up our lunch. We shared a Cuban sandwich that was pretty good. It could have used a little more substance but had nice flavor.
We also shared the new teriyaki chicken bowl. This was very good!

And then, the real reason I chose Backlot Express, we got the Wookie Cookie for dessert. It was soft, not too sweet and delicious. We preferred this over the gingerbread cookie we had gotten at Epcot.

After lunch it was finally time for our SDD Genie+ and my next window opened at 12:10 as we were in line. Since I had accidentally put myself 10 minutes behind everyone else by missing the 10:00 window, there was really nothing left when my time opened up. I ended up booking Frozen Sing A Long just to book something. I could have also chosen Muppets but we had already seen that.

We enjoyed our ride on Slinky and then my DH headed off for an afternoon meeting. I watched the Pixar cavalcade and then headed to my useless Frozen Genie+. There really was no advantage at all to have a LL for this. However since this was my most recent, I was able to re-book something and started my mad refreshing hoping for something to pop up. I saw RNRC and TSMM a bunch but it would never book. FINALLY I snagged at 5:45 for TSMM and that was the end of my LLs for the day. I had read on Touringplans that Genie+ was most useful on a 4-6 crowd-level. This was supposed to be a "6"...turns out it was a 9 so not surprising we didn't get much for our Genie $.

Luckily for us, we weren't there simply for the rides and still had some more great food to enjoy (and our Rise ILL$) yet to come.

 

[mickey916]

Day 5 continued - Snacks & Dinner​

I used my LL for Alien Swirling Saucer. It's a cute ride. Took a bunch of pictures and then decided to use the single rider line for Smuggler's Run. I was a little nervous as Star Tours makes me nauseous. I was an engineer of course since I was a "single". The two women who were pilots didn't seem to have a clue what to do so it was very bumpy ride but it didn't bother me at all. It was really fun and I can't wait to ride it with my boys, my brother, and his girls on the next trip!

My DH was heading back to meet me so it was time to order a snack. I've been waiting for this one for a while...Jack Jack's Num Num cookie.

This was warm, thick, chocolately and delicious! This may not be a popular opinion but we thought it was even better than Gideon's original chocolate chip.

After our snack we used our LL for TSMM and watched the Mickey & Minnie movie. Then we headed to see if I could ride ToT or RnRC...Both lines were over 100 minutes. I got into the single rider line at RNRC and the CM told us that line would likely be even longer than standby (and there were almost as many people in the single rider line as the standby so I believed her). I decided it wasn't worth the wait since we can rope drop it on the next trip so I got out of line. We had fun with Photopass photographers and then headed to our dinner reservation at Mama Melrose.

We started with the rolls that were very good. They reminded me of Bertucci's rolls.

We decided to share two meals. First, the chicken parmigiana.

This was a nice chicken breast that was crispy and delicious.

We also ordered the shrimp campanella pasta but subbed chicken instead.



This was very good! It was cheesy and full of flavor. While the chicken parm was good, this was even better. I had mentioned we've been married 30 years to the server and she brought us a cute little dessert to celebrate.



After our delicious meal, we explored Batuu as we awaited our Rise LL time. When it was finally time to get in line we discovered the ride had gone down. But, luckily we arrived just as they were allowing people back in line. I had avoided watching any videos because I wanted to be surprised. What an incredible attraction! We can't wait to take the rest of the family this month. It was a great way to end our day.

We had a good day and learned some important lessons about Genie+:

• Make sure you're not going to be in a theater when your next window opens​
• Don't worry about the time you're being shown because most likely it's not going to be the actual time. Just click it.​
• Don't take time to edit out someone who doesn't want to ride (except for ILL$). Just cancel them afterwards.​
• Keep refreshing if no times are available, especially for Rise at park open​
• After you book, the actual time you book shows on My Day tab not the Tip Board (which confused me for quite a bit).​
• Hope that you're not doing HS during a day that ends up being a 9 as your options will be very limited.​

I had done a lot research about Genie+ before going but this "practice session" makes me feel much more prepared for when we return, as I've been designated the Genie Person for our group of 8. My opinion is it's not a great system but necessary if you want to avoid the lines on a busy day.

 

[tigerlilly]

I am really enjoying your trip report! My husband and I will be in WDW in September for our "31" anniversary (didn't do 30 for the obvious reasons lol).

I am still making all of our "food" plans and your reviews are super duper helpful!!!

I read so much about Gideons and I think I would like it.. but my DH is not a fan of soft/undercooked/cookie dough consistency cookies. He is weird! Who likes a crunchy cookie? lol
After your review I think maybe the cake would be his go to lol

I love that you wanted to visit the resorts also. Did you have a favorite after this trip?
We have been blessed to visit a few different resorts and we are getting to try BC this fall and AKL Jambo.

Can't wait to hear more.

 

[mickey916]

I am really enjoying your trip report! My husband and I will be in WDW in September for our "31" anniversary (didn't do 30 for the obvious reasons lol).

I am still making all of our "food" plans and your reviews are super duper helpful!!!

I read so much about Gideons and I think I would like it.. but my DH is not a fan of soft/undercooked/cookie dough consistency cookies. He is weird! Who likes a crunchy cookie? lol
After your review I think maybe the cake would be his go to lol

I love that you wanted to visit the resorts also. Did you have a favorite after this trip?
We have been blessed to visit a few different resorts and we are getting to try BC this fall and AKL Jambo.

Can't wait to hear more.

Your husband sounds similar to mine. He felt the Gideon's cookies were too soft and tasted undercooked but he is a HUGE fan of the cake. I've already worked in three possible days for our upcoming trip just to try and snag that Peanut Butter Cup Cake again...We loved so many of the resorts, now we have a big bucket list! Our favorites: Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, Riviera, Animal Kingdom Lodge and Port Orleans French Quarter, probably in that order of preference. Right now we have a December trip tentatively booked at POFQ (just couldn't handle the sticker shock that week for the others). Congrats on 31! Our 31st is in October so we're right behind you.

 

[mickey916]

Day 6 4/5 Another trip to Epcot​

My husband's conference kicked off officially this morning so I slept in and hung out on the hotel balcony. After his meetings broke at noon, we headed off for a late lunch at Via Napoli and dessert at Space 220 lounge. At Via Napoli we ordered the large Picante pizza with added pepperoni and the house salad for 2 (see how healthy we are?). The salad was very fresh and had tasty peppadew peppers.

We really enjoyed it and I liked the cool slanty serving bowl. I want one of those!

The pizza was soooo good! As I was eating it, it reminded me of the pizza my Nana made when I was little. Then, I realized her dad was from Naples and he taught her how to make pizza...so Via Napoli is definitely authentic from my experience. It was such a great food memory for me! As much as we shouldn't have, we ate the ENTIRE pizza..glad we didn't get the Mezzo Metro size one!

We walked off our meal by exploring the World Showcase some more and then went to check in at the Space 220 lounge for dessert. We each ordered a zero-proof cocktail. My DH ordered the Lightyear Lemonade.

He thought it was too tart. He didn't enjoy it at all. I got the Milky Way. I really enjoyed this drink! It was like a fancy iced coffee but had a LOT of ice so it went down fast.

We decided to also try two desserts. First up, the Chocolate cheesecake (whipped chocolate ganache, chocolate sauce, white chocolate crunchy pearls, cookie crumbs, dark chocolate shards).

This was creamy and rich in chocolate flavor. We thought it was very good!
We also ordered the Short cake (matcha air cake, mascarpone mousse, strawberries)

This was excellent! I'm not really sure why they called it a short cake. It was definitely more of a no-bake cheesecake consistency but it was extremely good. We were very surprised that we actually liked it better than the chocolate dessert (that's not like us at all!).

After our dessert and drinks, I had to drive my DH back to the hotel for his corporate dinner and then I returned to Epcot to dine solo.

Next up...a disappointing dinner at Le Cellier, but not for the reason you may think...

 

[mickey916]

Day 6 - Solo Dinner at Le Cellier​

After dropping my DH back at the hotel, I headed back to Epcot for my first solo dinner. I was a little early so I went in to see Canada Far and Wide. After enjoying the show, I checked in for my meal. I had decided long ago exactly what I wanted to order. The problem was all that pizza we ate at Via Napoli followed by dessert at Space 220. Even though it was over 4 hours later, I was still full! I really wanted to at least try the Canadian cheddar cheese soup but knew I couldn't eat an adult size portion. I asked my server if it was possible to get the children's size and she happily accommodated me. It was a very small bowl, with only a few spoonfuls, which was just enough for me to taste it.

Unfortunately, I didn't care for it. It was way too salty. I paired it with a pretzel roll and that just made it worse, salt on salt. I thought it would have more of a beer cheese flavor. I really expected to love it but just didn't care for it.

Then, for my main entrée I ordered the filet mignon. I was so looking forward to this!

It looked absolutely beautiful! The meat was flavorful and I enjoyed the asparagus-tomato relish. I didn't care for the mushroom risotto though and I love risotto. There was an odd flavor that I didn't care for. I've never had truffle butter before so maybe it was that flavor that I didn't like. I was also really full so maybe that affected my opinion. To make matters worse, all I kept thinking was. "I'm paying $59 for this filet so I better eat it." So even though I wasn't enjoying it and I was full, I kept eating it until I just couldn't eat any more. Another big mistake. I paid my bill and headed out with the plan to try to ride Frozen and maybe Soarin'. The problem was my stomach hurt and I couldn't bear the thought of riding anything.

So, with two hours to kill before Harmonious I headed to a prime viewing spot near the Port of Entry and found a spot to sit and try to feel better. Shortly after I sat down a friendly couple came and sat next to me and we chatted for a full two hours as we waited for the show. Since I wasn't up to riding anything, I was very grateful for the company.


We had a fantastic view of Harmonious and then I headed back to the hotel still wishing I hadn't eaten so much!
Up next...a solo day in Magic Kingdom.

 

[Inlovew/disney]

What a wonderful trip report! Looking forward to your MK day report!

 

[mickey916]

What a wonderful trip report! Looking forward to your MK day report!

Thank you! First time writing one and I'm enjoying it...trying to get it done before we go again. We go back next Friday.

 

[FunnyLady1966]

After walking off our treats, we caught the boat back to Disney Springs and headed over to Polite Pig for lunch. The line looked really long but actually moved quite quickly. Our original plan was to share some sides and the slider trio. But upon doing the math, we realized that the Butcher Board was a much more economical plan (especially when we learned from watching Paging Mr. Morrow that we could sub out the sausage and get turkey instead). So we shared the butcher board with pulled pork, chicken, brisket and turkey, with brussels sprouts and sweet potato tots as our chosen sides. The butcher board also comes with coleslaw, corn bread, and pickles. After placing the order we were instructed to find a table and they would bring us our food. It was a great way to have a "quick service" meal without playing table roulette. We quickly found a high top table and our meal was promptly brought to us.View attachment 664929Here's our thoughts: the turkey was the best meat on the platter tender and flavorful but all the meats were very good. We enjoyed the brussels sprouts and sweet potato tots a lot but not as much as we imagined we would. We did eat ALL of the sprouts and most of the tots though, so we definitely enjoyed them. Neither of us cared for the coleslaw, we felt it was just okay. The pickles were surprisingly good and the corn muffins were moist and tasty. We were very happy with our lunch choice and very full.

We then walked around Disney Springs for a bit, taking in the sights and I got this cool action photo of the amphicar.
View attachment 664930
We headed to the rooftop of the Coca-Cola store to check out the view and discovered we could see our hotel clearly from there....Orlando World Center Marriott, and yes it's massive!
View attachment 664931
Next up...checking in to the Gigantuan hotel...

Bring me that food from the Polite Pig!!!

 

[mickey916]

Day 7 - 4/6 My Solo day at Magic Kingdom
​

My DH was in meetings from early morning through a late dinner so this day I was completely on my own. He suggested I do "all those things" that he and the boys don't care if they miss (so I booked two special meals). I also purchased Genie+ to practice using it in this park and found that it caused me a lot of anxiety throughout the day, which I'll explain as I go along. First, I selected Space Mountain for 9:00 and it returned a 9:30 time. The problem was my ADR for breakfast was 9:25 but I hoped I'd make it work. I also scored a ILL$ for SDMT at 7:55 p.m.

I made rope drop and rode Little Mermaid. I cut it a little close and then found myself rushing to Cinderella's Royal Table for my ADR (this ended up being a trend for the day). I made it there at 9:22 for my 9:25 ADR. We had to wait in the main foyer and eventually Cinderella came by to greet guests. There was no photopass photographer and since I was alone I didn't get a picture with her. I just said "hi" and headed upstairs. I got a lovely table by the window.


The server brought a tray of pastries: blueberry muffins, plain croissants, and mini chocolate croissants.

My favorite was the mini chocolate croissants, I ate both! The blueberry muffins were very good too and the croissant was flaky and buttery but pretty basic (I only one of each of those). The strawberries were fresh and delicious too.

For my main entrée, I ordered the shrimp and grits. I've never had grits before but thought these were very tasty, creamy and cheesy. The shrimp were cooked well but I would've liked maybe a couple more. The garlic baguette was hard as a rock so I didn't eat more than a bite. Overall it was a good tasting meal and I loved seeing inside the castle. Probably not something I would do again but was glad that I finally got to eat here.



I finished up and headed out with about ten minutes to make it to my LL for Space Mountain. I have to admit I was a little stressed that I might be too late for my LL but I made it. As soon as I tapped in, I grabbed a LL for Big Thunder Mountain RR at 3:30. After Space, I rode the People Mover. I just love that ride!

I headed to Main Street and watched the Dapper Dans and then headed to Pirates which was showing a 40 minute wait. At this point everything was showing long waits to I figured I'd just wait it out. It ended up only being about a 30 minute wait. When my 120 minute rule passed, I snagged a LL for Splash for 3:15.

After Pirates, it was time for a snack. I ordered a Tropical Serenade and enjoyed it while watching the Enchanted Tiki room. I loved the coconut dole whip and the POG juice was refreshing. The pineapple cake pop was very sweet and little greasy.



I then got in the line for Haunted Mansion which was posted 30 minutes and it was pretty accurate. After HM, it still wasn't time for my LLs so I decided to go to It's A Small World. It was showing just a 20 minute wait and it was only 2:45. I was making good progress in line and then, just like happened at the safari, suddenly there were many, many people going down the lightning lane including a couple VIP tours and our line just stopped. I started to feel anxious that there was no way I was going to make both my Splash and BTMRR timeslots. After 45 minutes, I finally made it on the ride and ended up having to book my next LL for Buzz while riding. Needless to say I didn't really enjoy the ride due to the Genie+ induced anxiety between booking the next LL and worrying about the two I might miss. The Small World "gods" must have known I needed a pick me up as they said "good-bye" to me on my way out.


I made it to Splash Mountain a little before 4:00, so still within my LL window, rode Splash and made it to BTMRR at about 4:25. Turns out I didn't miss either LL but it was pretty stressful.

It was time for another snack so I picked up a Cheshire Cat Tail at the Cheshire Café. My DH called on his break just as I got it so by the time I ate it, it was no longer warm...it was good but probably would've been better if I ate it right away.

I then rode Buzz with my Lightning Lane for 5:00 and booked a LL for Pooh at 7:30 as soon as I tapped in. The ride stopped as I was in front of a target so I got the best score I've ever had since I was able just keep shooting...I'll take any advantage I can get.

Up next...another meal in another castle.

 

[mickey916]

Day 7 continued - Dinner with a Beast​

After my high scoring time on Buzz, I headed to Be Our Guest for my much-anticipated dinner. I had BOG booked for our three previous canceled trips and I couldn't believe I was finally going to be able to eat in the Beast's castle. I was seated right away in the Grand Ballroom.
The Beast came quickly through the room right after I was seated. I was against the wall so he didn't really come anywhere close to me. But, thanks to zoom on my phone, I was able to snap this action photo.

I ordered the French onion soup. This was cheesy and delicious! I also enjoyed the rolls, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.



For my main entrée, I ordered the Center-Cut filet mignon. This was absolutely scrumptious! I enjoyed this way more than the filet from Le Cellier the night before. In fairness, I wasn't overly full when I arrived at BOG so that may have been part of it. But, this filet just seemed to have much better flavor and the potato puree, asparagus, and red wine sauce were way better than Le Cellier's risotto.



Then, came dessert...this was a total miss for me.


My server said the macaron was an almond macaron. I'm not a big fan of that artificial almond extract flavor and it was very strong. I only took one bite of it. The truffle was dark chocolate but had a weird cherry-like flavor. I found out later it's a grand marnier ganache. Apparently I also don't care for grand marnier. Then, the grey stuff that I had heard such great things about...it didn't really taste like much of anything and the chocolate tart was very bland, it needed more sugar. Overall it was a fantastic dinner minus the dessert tray. I would definitely dine here again sometime and even bring my DH along.

After my meal, I rode Pooh with my LL, the 7DMT with my $ILL and took one more ride on the Little Mermaid, figuring I'd end where I started my day. I decided not to stick around for Enchantment so I made my way out to the ferry (I forgot my mask so couldn't take the monorail).

I was able to catch the Electric Water Pageant on my ferry ride so that was an extra special end to the night.


My first (and only) solo park day was done. Overall, I had a great day and it was nice to just do what I wanted to do. However, I will say it was a little weird not to have anyone to talk to all day. I'm a pretty outgoing person but never really had any opportunity to strike up a conversation with anyone. So, while I definitely had fun, I prefer sharing the experience with someone. Luckily, I got to do just that on Day 8.

 

[mickey916]

Day 8 - 4/7 - Magic Kingdom Revisited​

My DH's conference ended so the rest of our days were ours to do as we pleased. We headed to rope drop Magic Kingdom and rode the Little Mermaid before heading to Gaston's for a long awaited Cinnamon roll. my DH also got a LeFou's Brew and I went with a coffee. We asked for extra icing on the side but it really didn't need it. The roll was soft, sweet, and delicious. This is "on the list" for our visit next week.

My DH liked the LeFou's brew but found that the passion-fruit mango foam flavor tended to resurface on him all morning. Not one of his favorite drinks.

Side note: I had purchased Genie+ and got LLs for Peter Pan, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Small World, Buzz Lightyear, and Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor throughout the day (don't remember the order and my pics don't help). We also did the PeopleMover, Enchanted Tiki Room, Carousel of Progress and Hall of Presidents with little to no waits. I was much more comfortable using Genie+ and spaced things out much better. I'll be a pro now on our May trip.

About mid-day the skies opened up just as we were headed to Casey's Corner to try to hear the piano player. We put on our ponchos and took refuge under the overhang (there was no piano player in sight) and played around with the silly filters in MDE. Eventually it was time for our lunch ADR at the Plaza Restaurant so we made a mad dash through the rain across the street. We were seated promptly in a nice little side room. We knew exactly what we wanted to order as we have been drooling over the videos we've seen with the Plaza Fries and Monte Cristo. This was one of our most anticipated meals all week.

First up, the Plaza Loaded Fries (serves two):

These were very good but the serving size was pretty small especially since it was described as "for two". We polished these off pretty quickly. Next we shared the Monte Cristo with a side of mashed potatoes (as we had assumed we were going to already have lots of fries). We were so excited to try this.

It was terrible! It was greasy and just plain gross. Here's a side view (and yes that's a puddle of grease on the plate):

We were very glad we shared it and didn't order two. So disappointing! Our server also wasn't great so overall this one was a miss!

After our meal we rode the People Mover a second time and we had a cool experience as the Space Mountain had broken down so all the lights were on when we went through. It was really interesting to see all the twists and turns (Spoiler Alert):

After our disappointing lunch we decided we needed two coconut cups from Aloha Isle so we braved the pouring rain to head that way. Once again our shoes were soaked up over our ankles. We got the pineapple/coconut twist. I thought the pineapple really overpowered the coconut but it was very good. I think coconut is my favorite though.

After our dole whip and visit to the Enchanted Tiki room, we caught the Rainy Day Cavalcade, which was a fun surprise!


Next up....dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern!

 

[jrmint427]

Overall this food was homecooked deliciousness and the service was excellent. So glad we get to go again on our May trip to try some of the other items. This restaurant takes first place in our book!

Homecomin' is one of the restaurants I'm most excited to go back to on our next trip!

We arrived about 15 minutes before park opening at HS and as soon as it turned 8:00, I attempted to buy an ILL$ for Rise. As expected there were none available. We headed directly to MMRR which showed a 20 minute wait but we walked right through the cue. As we walked I refreshed furiously and snagged a 7:55 pm Rise ILL$. My DH was a little annoyed as he kept trying to point out cute things in the queue but I was attached to my phone. Not really a "relaxing" way to start the day.

I'm so worried about this - being glued to my phone as the Genie+ person for my group vs. being able to enjoy being at the parks. But it sounds like it was worth it since you got the ILL! We're also staying offsite so I'm not feeling confident we will get ROTR.

Unfortunately that meant that we were in the middle of the show when my 10 o'clock window opened. I didn't want to be rude so I figured I'd just wait until the show was over to book my next Genie+. BIG MISTAKE!!!!

I'm worried we'll be in a show when a 2 hour alarm goes off on my phone... going to do my best to watch that but could imagine this will happen to others too!

We had a good day and learned some important lessons about Genie+:

Thanks for sharing these lessons!

After our meal we rode the People Mover a second time and we had a cool experience as the Space Mountain had broken down so all the lights were on when we went through. It was really interesting to see all the twists and turns (Spoiler Alert):

It's so cool to see Space Mountain with the lights on!

 

[mickey916]

Homecomin' is one of the restaurants I'm most excited to go back to on our next trip!

It was so good that we're going again when we return next week!

I'm so worried about this - being glued to my phone as the Genie+ person for my group vs. being able to enjoy being at the parks. But it sounds like it was worth it since you got the ILL! We're also staying offsite so I'm not feeling confident we will get ROTR.

It was worth it for Rise but it is a pain! You'll get it, just keep refreshing. Ours was a "9" level day and we still got it.

It's so cool to see Space Mountain with the lights on!

It's funny we rode the People Mover a second time because the first time the "Paging Mr. Morrow" announcement was all muffled and we wanted to hear it and then we saw the lights on. I was so happy I was able to grab a pic.

 

[mickey916]

Day 8 continued - Liberty Tree Tavern dinner
​

We had an early dinner reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern, mostly because we wanted to try the Oooey Gooey Toffee cake. We were seated promptly at a window seat just off the main entry way. Our meal started with the Declaration salad and dinner rolls.

The salad had lots of fresh vegetables and we enjoyed the house made dressing. The rolls were just standard dinner rolls but my DH really liked them.

Next up the Patriot's Platter: Roast Turkey Breast, Pennsylvania Pot Roast, and Oven-roasted Pork with Mashed Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables, Herb Stuffing, and House-made Macaroni & Cheese.



These meats were all delicious but the pot roast was amazing! The herb stuffing was excellent. My DH also really loved the cranberry sauce which he said was more like a cranberry chutney. I'm just not a fan of cranberry sauce in general so I didn't even have any.


The mac n cheese was very good but not the best we had all week (that's coming up).

The green beans were tender crisp and the mashed potatoes were also very good. We really enjoyed all of this food and asked for a refill of pot roast, stuffing and mashed potatoes

Then, the reason we came...Oooey Gooey Toffee cake.

This was soooo good. We devoured it. Our server, David, who was excellent, asked us if we'd like another. Um...yeah, why not...Then he brought us this beauty!

This one was even better than the first one! We ate the whole thing! As I was paying the bill, David took the time to show my DH some hidden Mickeys. It was just a fantastic meal with excellent service, quite a difference from our lunch at the Plaza earlier in the day. As we were leaving David said "come back again sometime"...and we responded "I think we just might." I didn't have this meal scheduled for our May trip, as I wanted to try Jungle Skipper Canteen but after we got home my DH said, "we have to bring the boys for that meal." So after stalking ADRs last week I finally moved my Jungle Skipper Canteen ADR to lunch and snagged a dinner ressie for Liberty Tree! Surprisingly it was the Jungle Skipper lunch that was harder to get. So, we'll return there next week!

We rode a few more attractions and then headed out before the mad rush. This was our final day in the parks but we still had a lot more adventures planned as we continued our resort exploration and food journey.