There used to big a huge swarm of birds that would hang out in the trees along the western edge of the pool area. I don't know how they got rid of them but taking out trees probably helped.
We used to do this all the time when we had "kids". Now we only walk to HS.
Thanks, I figured other Disney fans would love to see the older pictures of Disney World just as much as I do, it's so cool seeing how things have changed over the years!
Awww, thank you!
Oh really? I remember seeing tons of ducks there, but I don't remember that flock of birds!
Yeah, these days we'll occasionally do the reverse trip from MK so we can stop at some food booths as we walk through Epcot, but it's very rare that we'll walk through Epcot to get to the MK via monorail! I think the last time I did it was during FArts, but I had a LL for Guardians, so hit that first, then took the monorail up to MK, so not quite the same!We used to do this all the time when we had "kids". Now we only walk to HS.
That is so cute! I'm kind of obsessed with Disney ducks, especially when they have babies! I didn't post them, but I had like an entire roll of film from the 2013 trip that was just a Disney duck family being escorted by security at HS.
Thank you! I couldn't place them in Epcot at all, makes much more sense it was in Toon Town!
OMG OMG, we were probably there days away from each other! We had the exact same meal! From the pics on my phone we were there June 13, 2013.
June 2013 Part 19: Chefs Table at Victoria and Alberts, Part 1We had a nice break at the BC, I took pictures of my ever growing towel animal collection.
I had a towel animal zoo!
After getting ready I went over to my parent’s room to check on my mom and see if she was ready.
This evening we were doing something very special….eating at the chefs table at Victoria and Alberts!!!!!
We had ate at Victoria and Alberts once before for my graduation back in 2000, so it had been some time, and back then we ate in the main dining room, so this was super special for us.
I decided to surprise my mom this trip and hired a town car service ahead of time to pick us up and take us over (this was before Uber). My dad knew about it, but we kept it as a surprise for my mom, and she was shocked to have this fancy car come pick us up!
This evening it was just mom and I dining at Victoria and Alberts. My dad HATED it the previous time we ate there, he complained constantly about how small the portions were each course, and in reality, he’s more a burger and fries kind of guy, so he opted to stay at the BC and just get a burger at the pool, while mom and I dined in style.
Since we both were dressed up for this dinner, I had the car come a bit early since I wanted to get a bunch of pictures around the Grand Floridian with us all glammed up for the night before dinner.
Well, imagine my surprise when we arrive at the porte cochere to find some random woman in a ball gown also doing a photoshoot, and I swear, every single location we went inside to get pictures, she would show up and act all annoyed we were getting pictures when it was clearly her photoshoot time.
We got plenty of pictures though and ignored the very overdressed woman!
I really really miss this band.
Finally, it was time to check in for our dinner! I believe the start time was 5:30, and when we arrived they quickly brought us back to the kitchen/our dining room.
This was just so incredibly cool, there was a large table, but both our chairs were set up so we could face the kitchen and see all the action. Photos were permitted, however videos were not.
We decided to get the wine pairing with dinner, because, well, why not!
Dinner started with the amuse bouche, which for us was the caviar!
This was surprisingly good, and I’m not usually a caviar person.
Now, I do have the menu from this experience somewhere, however I don’t know where. A few years ago I repurposed the drawer this menu was in for wrapping stuff, and I moved the menu somewhere safe, which of course means I have no idea where it is anymore. I’ve been looking for weeks for it and can’t find it, so unfortunately I can’t tell you what each dish was. I do know we had boar and steak for two courses, and I’m pretty sure one course was lobster (because it looks like lobster). So sorry I can’t describe the meal as well as planned! If the menu does pop up I will update this with the food items.
After the caviar we had this delicious looking course. I want to say this was a fish.
As would be the norm for this dinner, this was also delicious!
Our next course had this cool presentation. It was smoked, so arrived with a cover keeping the smoke in, very cool, and of course, very delicious! I have no idea what this could be…duck maybe?
Up next: Chefs Table at Victoria and Alberts, Part 2!
Wow, thank you so much for posting this! It does look like we ate there days apart, we ate there on June 10th. This is so awesome, I bet it's the same stuff we had, this is great!OMG OMG, we were probably there days away from each other! We had the exact same meal! From the pics on my phone we were there June 13, 2013.
I have pics of our menu and hope it matches up with your pics!
Alaskan King Crab "jar" with Siberian Ostera Caviar
Octopus "a la Plancha" with Black Truffle Aioli
Hot "smoked" Niman Ranch lamb with Fuji Apple and Curry Dressing
(not on menu but in my pics - a tray of diferents salts to try on buttered bread)
Butter Poached Lobster with Spinach and Toasted Filberts
Poulet Rouge with Morel Mushrooms and Black Truffles
Colorado Bison with Caraway Seed Vinagrette
Australian Kobe-Style Beef Tenderloin with Smoked Garlic Potato Puree
Cheese plate - Sottocerene Al Tarufo, Parmigiano Reggiano, Colston Basset Stilton, Gouda Reypenaer XO
Green Apple Mille-Feuille (that was the desert in your pics that was served with sour cream ice cream, sounds odd but was soooo gooood)
Peruvian Chocolate Cylinder with Elder Flower Sauce
Chocolate and Navan Bubble
and last "celebs coffee"
We also got the wine pairing for each serving (wines on the pics of the menu). An absolutely wonderful experience, but at for the price, a once in a lifetime experience.
What shocked me most flavor wise was the smoked lamb, absolutely over the top delish, next was the bison. I was skeptical based on the caraway seed vinagrette, but I actually liked it more than the beef tenderloin.
The swarm of birds at SAB were in the trees above the tables and loungers to the west of the sandy bottom kid's pool. If you didn't sit there then you wouldn't have noticed them.
Very few people sat there. It was the one section of SAB where you could find an empty table.I thought that the Mickey arm was very well done. I didn't mind it at all. Now the giant birthday cake over Cinderella's castle was a different matter. I hated it.
Ah, that would be it, back then we usually found chairs in the area in front of Beaches and Cream.The swarm of birds at SAB were in the trees above the tables and loungers to the west of the sandy bottom kid's pool. If you didn't sit there then you wouldn't have noticed them.
Haaa, yes! The castle cake was so ugly, my dad still calls it the pepto bismol castle!
I too liked the arm, I thought it looked cool, especially at night.
Yep we were days apart. Pics on my phone say June 13. And ironically, we were staying at a 1BR in the Beach Club villas!! How cool is that too.
It's from the hub facing Tomorrowland/the bridge to Fantasyland. The closer building isn't there anymore (think it was used for the swan boats back in the day), and those paths through the rose garden are gone. Here's a more recent picture from Google street view of the area.View attachment 891492
I'm having trouble picturing where this is.
I forgot that Cinderella's castle had that big oval picture frame at one time.
That's so wild! And thank you again for sharing the menu, I can't believe I lost mine!Yep we were days apart. Pics on my phone say June 13. And ironically, we were staying at a 1BR in the Beach Club villas!! How cool is that too.
