Social Disney-ing...a Feb/March 2021 Chunky Birthday trip! COMPLETED 8/28!!

[buzzrelly]

I got the Grilled Baby Vegetables with Hummus Cream and Red Pepper Coulis from Flavor Full Kitchen. So I thought that this dish would be my least favorite because, well, it just sounded so boring! Grilled vegetables? Blech. But I was wrong, it was really good!

Lol! I LOVED this so much in April that I got it twice!

And here's some shots that I took. Look at that sky!!!

Gorgeous!

Ready for Dinner!

So pretty! I definitely need to try Topolino's soon!

 

[franandaj]

Thank goodness today was a rest day! We definitely had a really fun but long day yesterday and we decided to just chill at the resort and go to Disney Springs for the day. We have dinner later that evening with Kara and Molly at one of our faves, Beaches n Cream, yum yum!

Yay for a day of chillin'! You guys really travel hard!

We got ready and headed to Disney Springs. BTW here are the chocolates from the Ganachery which came in the champagne gift bundle from our friend Chunkydust. They are so adorable!!

Mmmm.....Ganachery.....

For lunch we tried a place new to us, Chicken Guy! I cannot turn down chicken fingers and fries! They were yummy!

Huh. I've heard of his place, but I'm not a huge fan of chicken nuggets/tenders. Maybe sometime we will give it a try.

Well, I thought it was good, but not great. The first bite is all chocolate chips. Then as you get closer to the center it tastes more like raw cookie dough, which is great if you like that sort of thing, but I prefer my cookies to have a nice chewy consistency instead of just crumbly dough. I mean it was good but definitely not something I would wait hours for. I'd rather get the peanut butter cold brew! Steve agreed with me, and he's not a sweets person anyways.

It doesn't look all that. I too prefer my cookies to be a litle bit more cake like, but still chewy.

It was such a pretty day, and fortunately it only rained for that bit at Disney Springs.

Beautiful picture!

So there wasn't that much there really, just a long walk way with a bathroom at the end. The entrance to Ratatouille is there too. So nothing much to see at this time, but can't wait until Oct 1st when it opens!

I can't wait to see it and ride the new Ratatouille ride!

We did not hesitate on what to order. I think we just wanted to eat something!
I ordered the Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

That's a huge amount of food! Fran and I split that and were still stuffed!

We all split a No Way Jose sundae! It was a bit melty by the time it go to our table.
Still it was yummy and we managed to put away a decent amount of it!

Those are giant sundaes! I'd have to have that as my whole meal!

It was pretty late then so we left but as we were walking to the Skyliner we realized it had stopped running. Ooops we had lost track of time! So we took an Uber back to the Riviera. Oh Well! Too much fun (drinks) can do that to you.

That's another reason that I don't like the Riviera. Ubers won't take scooters and so if you're late coming home, you're toast!

Today was the first day of the EPCOT Flower and Garden festival! I got to wear the tank I bought at last year's Flower and Garden, just a few days before Disney shut down.

Yay for finally getting to wear the new tank!

we didn't expect the Skyliner to have such a huge line to Epcot. Think it is because they have to wait for an empty cabin to arrive from the hub at Caribbean Beach, which is also equally as crowded right before park opening. Needess to say, we waited for a while.

Yeah, that's a thing with the Riviera, CBR loads them up and it takes a while for the empty ones to come along.

But that day was for Flower and Garden, which means eating, our favorite activity, YAY!

Yay for good food!

It was a perfect start with a La Vie en Rose Slushie from Fleur de Lys: Vodka, Grey Goose L’Orange Vodka, St. Germain Liqueur, White and Red Cranberry Juice. Yum!

I love this one!

We explored a bit of Morrocco. It's really empty back there, it was like a ghost town almost! Still really pretty.

Wow! Just like Liesa's pictures! Totally empty!

the Soy-glazed Pork Shank with Truffle Mashed Potatoes, Crispy Lotus Flower, Garlic Chips, and Green Onion.

That sounds delicious!

When we got to Italy I had to get an Italian Margarita, so yummy and share an order of the Arancini: Sweet Sausage Fried Risotto Balls with Pomodoro Sauce. They were very good! I didn't taste any sausage they were just like mini rice balls with cheese to me.

I love Arancini! I need to find a place locally that makes it. I've made it once, but it's just a little labor intensive.

We checked out the booth near Test Track and tried the Avocado Toast with Marinated Toybox Tomatoes and Fresh Goat Cheese on Toasted Ciabatta. It was very good and so pretty!

It's pretty, but I'm not a fan of eating flowers.

Some pictures of my favorite views in Epcot:

You've been getting some beautiful photos!

 

[franandaj]

Sorry about the lengthy delay between posts! Just been very busy that's all. Hope to finish this TR soon so I can get to work on my Chunkysis's Birthday Trip TR!

Hey! I was finally able to catch up with said delays!

This was the trio of popsicles. They were mini sized and so cute!

Popsicle Trio: Honeydew, Raspberry-Mint, and Coconut-Lime

Those really are tiny!

We stopped in World Showplace to check out the offerings.

Is that the old Odyssey building?

We weren't super hungry anymore at this point but we did try the Watermelon Salad with Pickled Onions, Feta, and Balsamic Reduction. Always a nice and fresh salad!

That sounds like an odd combination but potentially tasty!

I love it when I just have to walk indoors and take and elevator to dinner

I love that too. There aren't many situations where you can do that!

For a main, I got the Rigatoni with Braised Chicken Sugo, Broccolini Rapini, Wild Mushrooms, Parmigiano-Reggiano which never disappoints, it's so rich and so delicious!

That sounds delicious!

And Steve got the grilled Tomahawk Veal Chop with Potato-Spring Onion Gratin and Lemon-Veal Jus

OK, I'm sorry but Steve wins dinner this night! A tomahawk always wins. I never heard of a veal version!

Since it was so late, we didn't want dessert but I got a birthday madeleine anyways!

That's actually perfect. Especially with all the treats you had in the room!

It was a great day filled with plenty of delicious food and it continues tomorrow with lunch at Via Napoli!

Sounds like a great yummy day. I can't wait for my next opportunity to do this! I think Topolino's needs to be on the dining list. And we can take the Skyliner from BCV!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Part 11: Moving to the Yacht Club

Today we moved to the Yacht Club for two nights. It was an awesome stay, Riviera, and we will miss you! We had to grab a last breakfast and this time we tried the lemon blueberry pancakes with a side of bacon from Primo Piatti. They were sooo good! I am sad it was our first day discovering these pancakes but I guess we will just have to stay there more often or maybe make a specific stop there for breakfast other than for Topolino's!

We hung around and packed up until it was time to leave and we called Bell services to come and collect our Owner's Locker and luggage and have them transferred to the Yacht Club. Then we made our way to Epcot!

It was a beautiful day at Epcot! We walked around a bit and soaked in the atmosphere.

And grabbed a few Photopass:

We met up with @Mollydolly334 (Molly) and @paradesintherain (Kara) for lunch at a favorite...Via Napoli! We were trying to decide on more meals together and this just worked out since we were all at Epcot together!

I got an Italian Mule which is super good!

And Steve got this drink which I am not sure the name of but he liked it and I'm pretty sure he had it before. It definitely had some sort of berry puree in it and prosecco.

Molly and I shared the Carciofi with arugula of course, ala Kari (@kastoney) - we got the regular size because we needed more than the personal size! But it really was huge!

I believe Steve and Kara had a regular margherita pizza and split that or maybe they each got personal pizzas because I failed to take a picture since Molly and I were just digging into our delicious pie! It was a lot of pizza so Steve and I took the leftover Carciofi to go.

We had some great service from some awesome waitstaff. Kara and I also got cupcakes for our birthdays! I wish I can post video as there was some fun birthday moments and singing to boot!

After lunch we all just walked around, it was such a nice day. We got a few Photopass pics too:

Looks like Molly's been practicing her Smyze!!

At France, Kara got a Citron slushy and Molly went to get a La Vie en Rose but her line was pretty long so what do we do when Molly is in line?
We celebrate Kara getting her drink first!

LOL too funny.

We parted ways as they were going to hop to another park I think and I got the text that our room was ready so Steve and I headed to the Yacht Club settling into our room and get our bags. We were going to meet up later that night since we were ALL at the Yacht Club! Yay!

I really like the updated lobby at the Yacht Club, it was a really nice modern New England vibe.

Here is our room:

And here was our view:

Very nice! I love the Yacht Club!

We decided to immediately go to Stormalong Bay since we only had a few days at the resort and wanted to experience Stormalong at least once!

Leftover Via Napoli by the pool is pretty

Later that evening after a nice long afternoon at Stormalong we headed into Epcot to grab a drink and a bite. We weren't super hungry but I was craving some Fish n Chips!

We went to Yorkshire County Fish Shoppe and Steve got in line there while I headed into Rose n Crown for a drink. I settled on the Welsh Dragon, it's made with Midori and super bright!

It was good for the first few sips but it is quite sweet. It reminded me of college when I used to drink Midori sours, LOL. But my tastes have changed and I don't really drink Midori anymore but it was a nice way to reminisce, LOL.

Yummy Fish n Chips while enjoying the view!

We walked around after our dinner and I also had to try the lobster salad over at the Citrus booth. It was ok, I thought my lobster was a little undercooked, but I guess better than overcooked?

We did a few rides that evening including Soarin and LWTL!

LWTL is so different at night, LOL, I think they should just have the Holiday lights all year round as it's pretty dim!

Us before leaving Epcot:

Such a beautiful night!

We hung out with Molly and Kara all night, they came over to our room and we started chatting, which led to champagne drinking, and eating more Gideons Cookies (they like it way more than we do which was good since I had like 5 left LOL). It was so nice to sit and chat with friends after a very long socially distanced 2020....it was much needed and much appreciated! We all had a great time and it was in the wee hours of the morning until we parted ways, LOL!

Coming up...our last full day at the parks complete with an amazing surprise!​

 

[pkondz]

we tried the lemon blueberry pancakes with a side of bacon from Primo Piatti. They were sooo good!

Whoa! That sounds great! Lemon and blueberry????

Like how you're holding your glasses.

We met up with @Mollydolly334 (Molly) and @paradesintherain (Kara) for lunch at a favorite...Via Napoli! We were trying to decide on more meals together and this just worked out since we were all at Epcot together!

DISmeets are the best.

And Steve got this drink which I am not sure the name of but he liked it and I'm pretty sure he had it before. It definitely had some sort of berry puree in it and prosecco.

That sounds like something I'd have.

This photo makes it look like the pizza is eight feet across!

Cute shot.

Looks like Molly's been practicing her Smyze!!

Had to Google that one. And... yes it does!

And here was our view:

Nice pool view!

We decided to immediately go to Stormalong Bay since we only had a few days at the resort and wanted to experience Stormalong at least once!

I'd love to try Stormalong just once.

I settled on the Welsh Dragon, it's made with Midori and super bright!

Looked up the recipe (perhaps a faux recipe?) Sounds sweet and perfect for moi.

Gorgeous.

We hung out with Molly and Kara all night, they came over to our room and we started chatting, which led to champagne drinking, and eating more Gideons Cookies (they like it way more than we do which was good since I had like 5 left LOL). It was so nice to sit and chat with friends after a very long socially distanced 2020....it was much needed and much appreciated! We all had a great time and it was in the wee hours of the morning until we parted ways, LOL!

What a great way to spend an evening!

Coming up...our last full day at the parks complete with an amazing surprise!

Last day... ugh. But... amazing surprise???

 

[Tracy161]

Yay! Was so happy to see another update

Totally obsessed with your dress!

It was good for the first few sips but it is quite sweet. It reminded me of college when I used to drink Midori sours, LOL. But my tastes have changed and I don't really drink Midori anymore but it was a nice way to reminisce, LOL.

I won't even discuss the terrible drinks I used to get in college. My tastes have definitely changed too Love the color of that drink though!

LWTL is so different at night, LOL, I think they should just have the Holiday lights all year round as it's pretty dim!

OMG as obsessed with LWTL as I am and the number of times I've ridden it, I don't think I've EVER ridden it at night?!?!?!?! Gotta fix that! There's an ever-so-small chance I'll be heading to Disney (for the first time since January 2020!) at the end of August. I'm trying not to get too excited because I think it's unlikely to happen, BUT if it does--LWTL at night, here I come!!!

 

[buzzrelly]

we will miss you! We had to grab a last breakfast and this time we tried the lemon blueberry pancakes

Yum! That sounds delicious!

Molly and I shared the Carciofi with arugula of course, ala Kari (@kastoney) - we got the regular size because we needed more than the personal size! But it really was huge!

haha! I don't know if it's the angle, but that looks like a HUGE pizza!

After lunch we all just walked around, it was such a nice day. We got a few Photopass pics too:

You all look great!

Very nice! I love the Yacht Club!

Me too! I loved it way more than I thought I would!

Leftover Via Napoli by the pool is pretty

Looks like a perfect afternoon!

 

[MrsPMcD]

I really like the updated lobby at the Yacht Club, it was a really nice modern New England vibe.

Ooh I hadn't seen any pics of the updated lobby! I keep forgetting we're not staying at the YC though, we're BC next trip. Blatantly going to get that wrong multiple times when we are there

Leftover Via Napoli by the pool is pretty

Yup, that's a pretty perfect moment right there!!

We decided to immediately go to Stormalong Bay

I have "been to" Stormalong Bay so many times in my head during lockdowns and interminable Scottish winters Floating around the lazy river with the Florida sky, palm trees and the windmill

LWTL is so different at night

Never done LWTL at night! That's going on the to do list!

eating more Gideons Cookies

Did you not like the Gideons? They are definitely on my list to try next year but I won't be waiting for hours to queue.. Were there any favours that you preferred?

 

[Wood Nymph]

Today we moved to the Yacht Club for two nights. It was an awesome stay, Riviera, and we will miss you! We had to grab a last breakfast and this time we tried the lemon blueberry pancakes with a side of bacon from Primo Piatti. They were sooo good!

We were staying at the Yacht Club until Friday, March 5th. It seems to me that we had great weather.

The blueberry pancakes look delicious. It would almost be worth taking a trip to Riviera just for these pancakes.

And Steve got this drink which I am not sure the name of but he liked it and I'm pretty sure he had it before. It definitely had some sort of berry puree in it and prosecco.

It looks delicious, and very pretty.

I really like the updated lobby at the Yacht Club, it was a really nice modern New England vibe.

It think the Yacht Club lobby looks great.

Later that evening after a nice long afternoon at Stormalong we headed into Epcot to grab a drink and a bite. We weren't super hungry but I was craving some Fish n Chips!

We like to head into Epcot for a drink and something to eat, too. It is the main reason we like to stay at the BC/YC. Yorkshire Fish is one of our favorites.

 

[KathyM2]

We had to grab a last breakfast and this time we tried the lemon blueberry pancakes with a side of bacon from Primo Piatti

Yum, this looks so good!! I love anything with lemon!!!

And grabbed a few Photopass:

Figment!!!! Love it!! I don't think I've seen any with him before!

Very nice! I love the Yacht Club!

We decided to immediately go to Stormalong Bay since we only had a few days at the resort and wanted to experience Stormalong at least once!

This is one place I really want to try staying!! Or anywhere in that area.

LWTL is so different at night, LOL, I think they should just have the Holiday lights all year round as it's pretty dim!

I don't think I've ever tried this...looks like fun!! And something new!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Ahh hanging with some of my favorite people, including you and Steve, just perfect

We are staying at the Riviera for 2 nights in August and I am super excited! Can’t wait to try some of your favorites there!

 

[Lsdolphin]

LOVE your trip reports

 

[chunkymonkey]

Just caught up. Love reading about Epcot Flower & Garden! Gorgeous pictures and the food booths are getting me excited for F&W during our next visit (late August).

Thanks! We are heading back next week for F&W! I'm really excited except that it'll be so hot I am not looking forward to that part.

I don't think I'd order that, but... it does look good!
So maybe I would!

I predict...that you would!

Yum! 2/3 of that sounds great!

Haha, for the record it didn't taste like coconut.

That looks almost real.

I strive to showcase the most real magic shots!

Love this shot of you guys.

Thank you!

Ah... love a good tub. I might have something else to drink, though; not being a coffee drinker.

Definite a glass of wine would be nice but then I'd fall asleep and never make it to dinner!

That looks super rich! But...
But... I think I'd order this. It looks amazing.

Take it from me...order both! Usually if we have more than two people we will order the pasta "for the table" - its worth it!

Yay! Was so happy to see an update from you, Su-Lynn! What a great way to finish off the day at Epcot and your dinner sounds lovely

Thanks Tracy! An Epcot day is always the best day!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I love those fun challenges...such a great way to explore around World Showcase.

I agree! I only started doing them and don't know why I waited so long! I love getting the prize at the end, makes me feel so accomplished, LOL!

Great pictures!

Thank you!

Perfect......love a nice soak in the tub.

I look forward to one every day!

I love your dress!

Thank you!

Oh my gosh, that looks fantastic!

Everything there is so delicious, especially the bread!

Yum....that would be right up my alley!

So good!

The early evening sky in Epcot on several nights of our trip in March was just gorgeous.

Wasn't it? So pretty! Loved it!

Cute dress

Thank you!

It is really nice to have the restaurant inside the resort building. The view from the restaurant must be amazing, especially at night. I'm sure it is better with fireworks.

Yes!! We are dining there again next weekend and this time we will get to see the Epcot fireworks!

Sounds like a great day!

It certainly was thank you!

Well if you are looking for travel tips, just shout!

100% will take you up on that!! Thank you!

Yay! Please tell him hi from the McDonalds from Scotland (Gemma & Stu) and we hope to see him in September next year! Soooo far away!!

I will tell him...next weekend! We are headed down for a short trip for a friend's birthday! I will definitely relay your message to David! We will also be in WDW next Sept! We booked b2b cruises on the Wish and it is in Sept! Let's hope we can say hi!

This is 100% on my 'to try' list, we haven't even been at Disney since the Skyliner was finished/Riviera was built The character breakfast looks great and a dinner with some time on the terrace would be lovely... might have to make it two visits!

Oh for sure, on your next trip you need to do both breakfast and dinner there. The breakfast is my favorite because of the cute characters and all that delicious bread, my guilty pleasure, LOL!

This looks delicious. I love Rigatoni.

It is sooo good!! I really love that pasta!

 

[pkondz]

I predict...that you would!

Maybe!

Haha, for the record it didn't taste like coconut.

It would to me. You'd be shocked at how sensitive I am to that.

Definite a glass of wine would be nice but then I'd fall asleep and never make it to dinner!

You make it sound like that's a bad thing.

Take it from me...order both! Usually if we have more than two people we will order the pasta "for the table" - its worth it!

Huh! Had no idea that was possible.

 

[franandaj]

We had to grab a last breakfast and this time we tried the lemon blueberry pancakes with a side of bacon from Primo Piatti. They were sooo good! I am sad it was our first day discovering these pancakes but I guess we will just have to stay there more often or maybe make a specific stop there for breakfast other than for Topolino's!

That sounds really good! But we never make it anywhere in time for breakfast unless we have some sort of ADR, and I don't see us getting there. We usually just do breakfast in the room.

Molly and I shared the Carciofi with arugula of course, ala Kari (@kastoney) - we got the regular size because we needed more than the personal size! But it really was huge!

Hmmmm....that sounds pretty good althought I'm not a huge fan of Arugula. That does look HUGE!

I really like the updated lobby at the Yacht Club, it was a really nice modern New England vibe.

I thought the old lobby looked pretty New Englandy.....

We decided to immediately go to Stormalong Bay since we only had a few days at the resort and wanted to experience Stormalong at least once!

Good choice. I need to remember my bathing suit and go there on our BCV stay.

It was good for the first few sips but it is quite sweet. It reminded me of college when I used to drink Midori sours, LOL. But my tastes have changed and I don't really drink Midori anymore but it was a nice way to reminisce, LOL.

I used to love Midori in college, but I'm sure my tastes have changed as well. I'm not really fond of sweet drinks anymore.

LWTL is so different at night, LOL, I think they should just have the Holiday lights all year round as it's pretty dim!

I've never been on it at night. That sounds fun!

We hung out with Molly and Kara all night, they came over to our room and we started chatting, which led to champagne drinking, and eating more Gideons Cookies (they like it way more than we do which was good since I had like 5 left LOL). It was so nice to sit and chat with friends after a very long socially distanced 2020

That's great to hang out with friends! Who would have thought that it would be so much of a treat! We did that the night before my birthday outing last May and it was so nice just to be normal again.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Yay for getting a BG!

I feel like this is so stressful sometimes! At least you don't have to be in the park but still...

Interesting. I thought the Croque Monsieur that they offer for lunch and dinner was sort of Meh and that looks very prefabricated too.

I usually get the Madame with the egg on it and it's always usually been good.

I see a trend, perhaps we have a lit of different tastes. Almond is another flavor I can put up with but I'm not fond of.

Haha perhaps we do!

Yay! I can't wait for this to open at DL!

OOOh they are opening this at DL? Where will it be?

I've only had the rounds, spears sounds strange to me.

Me too, I'm used the rounds but that last time we had spears which I thought was unique, but now they have converted back to rounds LOL

I'm seeing a definite difference of tastes. I love iceberg for that reason cause your salad tastes more like the dressing and not the bitter greens!

Haha we definitely do! I'm ok with iceberg in like a wedge salad but sometimes I find it just filler. Like I'd prefer my burger without the lettuce sometimes because it doesn't add anything especially when it's gone soggy!

I wonder if it was the #1 reason the DL version shuts down. Some idiot loses their hat and they need to do a full reset.

Heh, probably!

Wow you've already come back from two trips and I'm not even caught up yet!

I'm taking my time with this one!

I keep wondering if they will go back to the old way of doing them, I miss the interactions.

Me too, but who knows when that will happen.

Just do them consecutively....unless you've already started and that's why this one had a gap for a while....

Will def do them consecutively because one at a time is all I can handle right now!

If this is what I'm thinking, they just announced this perk for us last week or so.

Yup it's what you're thinking

I would imagine that there are probably so many drivers, you'd be lucky that he would even be working the day you rode!

Yeah the odds are not in our favor, LOL!

I'm guessing the Tuna was raw...in which case I would have to eat it all by myself. It does sound good, but I bet there is cilantro hidden in there somewhere!

Yup it's raw. I'm pretty sure there is cilantro in there but everything is mixed together it's hard to distinguish. I'm sure you can leave it out though!

Wow! That is a TON of food! I wouldn't be able to eat even a quarter of that after sharing the nachos. Then again you guys are still young and get a lot of exercise. I'm old worn out.

We didn't anticipate the size of the nachos but should have gathered from all the pictures we have seen. Next time Steve and I will share an entree.

Ugh, I hate the crowds at park closing.

Ugh me too, we didn't realize the park closed so early.

Why I never wait until park closing to leave or wait until well after it's closed.

Yeah true!

I keep thinking that I want to try this, but we always get something else.

It was our first time trying it. I honestly didn't think it sounded good (I think I like my seafood and beef separate?) but can see it's appeal, and Steve liked it.

I wish this was an option for us, but they don't take scooters, even if I left mine in the room.

Aww yeah true. Wish there was a special option like accessible rideshare options - especially at Disney, as there is a demand for that.

 

[amazingact21]

Sounds like a really fun day! I'll never underappreciate the fun of hanging out with friends again after this pandemic. Glad you guys were all able to relax and chat and you had someone to pass Gideon's on to.

Man, Via Napoli pizza poolside at Stormalong Bay is a life goal of mine.

 

[franandaj]

I feel like this is so stressful sometimes! At least you don't have to be in the park but still...

It really is stressful. In one of my future updates we actually had the discussion of whether or not we wanted to try for a BG for RotR and we chose not to because it just added a layer of stress to our day that we didn't want to deal with.

OOOh they are opening this at DL? Where will it be?

It will be in Toontown!

 

[MrsPMcD]

100% will take you up on that!! Thank you!

Definitely! It's not the easiest country to navigate/know what to prioritise so will definitely help you. Pre Covid I travelled all over for work so have a few top tips.

I will tell him...next weekend! We are headed down for a short trip for a friend's birthday! I will definitely relay your message to David! We will also be in WDW next Sept! We booked b2b cruises on the Wish and it is in Sept! Let's hope we can say hi!

How exciting for you and thank you! Oh yay, that would be awesome, would love to meet if our dates overlap and let's hope all this craziness is a distant memory! Have a great trip!

Oh for sure, on your next trip you need to do both breakfast and dinner there. The breakfast is my favorite because of the cute characters and all that delicious bread, my guilty pleasure, LOL!

It is so high up the list, cannot wait. Am a big Donald fan and his little outfit is super cute! Hoping they bring back the buffets too because Tusker House is another must do character breakfast/brunch for us...