The Mostly Very Merry Holiday/Bday Grand Gathering Update 4/6 Calf Grill

[janloz]

Awesome family pictures! Seeing yours makes me think about doing a photo shoot...just don't know if the baby would cooperate. I like your shirts. Where did you get them?

The shirts are on sale on Disneyshopping.com for $9.99 each under personalized section.

 

[Happy Elf]

The shirts are on sale on Disneyshopping.com for $9.99 each under personalized section.

Thanks for letting me know! I will check them out!

 

[janloz]

Ok, when we left off, we were taking the monorail over to Epcot for our 11:30am ADR at Tutto Italia. the group headed to Italy while I tried to get FP for Test Track or Soarin but both return times were already after 6pm so we would not get to ride either that day. Someday I will get to ride TT. I caught up with the group and mom was taking Sarah's pic

and I checked us in at Tutto.

Here again was the menu:

They said it would be a few minutes so I looked at the decorations and cooled off in the AC. The group came in and used the facilities and we were ready to go when they called us in. We were given the large round table in the main dining room and the CM quickly came over. We explained that we had the dlx dining plan and he immediately said that it would take extra time to get checks at the end of the meal so plan accordingly. Apparently, they had been having issues for weeks. They brought over bread with olive oil which quickly disappeared. We ordered drinks and our appetizers while we decided what we wanted for entrees. My FIL and SIL got the Antipasto Misto - generous platter of appetizers and Italian specialties, serves two for their appetizer which could easily have been a meal. They raved about it. I got the Fresh Mozzarella - vine ripened tomatoes, basil and Tuscan olive oil, YUMMY, it was so fresh and good. Mom and DH got the Calamari Fritti - with spicy marinara sauce which they loved. We actually got Sarah and Mark to try it too, we didn't tell them what it was other then fish. Sarah said she liked it but not the after taste. For entrees, SIl got Spaghetti with Clams, cherry tomatoes, garlic and parsley which she said was the best she has ever eaten. I got the Sacchetti - pasta pillows filled with ricotta and mozzarella cheese and pomdoro sauce which was so good, like ravioli. Mark got Spaghetti - with veal meatballs and pomodoro sauce which he really liked. Sarah of course got pasta with butter. I think between everyone at the table, we tried all the desserts. I got the Copetta Sotto Bosco - berries, zabaglione cream gelato and chocolate sauce, WOW was it good and not too heavy. Mark, Sarah and Dave had various gelatos. I have to say that this was one of the best meals of the whole week and the service was amazing. Then it was time for the checks and the CM was not kidding, it too FOREVER (about 15 minutes) which was an issue since we were scheduled for the Behind the Seeds tour at 1:30pm and we still had to walk to the Land from the other side of the WS. Yes, it took 2 hours for lunch. Total for lunch was $205 which included $32 tip OOP but it was SOOO worth it but we used 4TS credits.

So FIL and I stayed to sign the checks and we sent the rest of the group ahead to check in for Behind the seeds. By the time we got to the gateway, SIL called to say that we missed the 1:30pm tour but that they could take us on the 2pm tour instead. We made our way to the check in desk which is next to the FP machines for Soarin and waited for a little bit and then our guide, Theresa came out to get us. She is in the college program at the Land. She took us into the experimental and insect area which the kids really enjoyed. Then we were off to the green house that you go through on the Ride the Land attraction.

How many of you had the "sensitive" plant growing up? I did. The kids were amazed that the leaves closed when touched and then opened up later.

Here is Theresa, she explained their many different planting methods.

We got to try some cucumber.

World's largest tomato plant.

Eggplant.

Mickey watermelon.

then onto the animal section:

We got to feed the alligators (these were about 9 months old, they keep them until they are about 2 years old) and tilapia fish.

Then we saw the spice plants and banana trees. The whole tour took about 1 1/2 hours and we really informative and even kept the kids attention. For the $12/person, a really good buy.

After the tour, we made our way to the bus since we had 5:30pm ADR at Calf. Grill.

 

[Nicole786]

Came here from the dining report, gonna go back and catch up but once again I have to ask where your SIL teaches because she is the spitting image of my 11th grade english teacher. This would be crazy if true but would love to know where she teaches in NY

 

[MeMom]

The Behind the Seeds Tour is on our long list of things to do and has been for about a year. Since we'll be going with a little baby the next time, it'll be getting bumped again, I'm sure. I hope we will get around to doing it before they decide to axe it!
I'm going to want to sneak in a bag and come out of there with a bunch of great fruits and vegetables!

You have so many great family pictures from the Poly. What treasures they will be in the years ahead!

If your sister-in-law ends up really being Nicole's English teacher, will you have her come on here and tell stories about what kind of student she was?

 

[janloz]

Came here from the dining report, gonna go back and catch up but once again I have to ask where your SIL teaches because she is the spitting image of my 11th grade english teacher. This would be crazy if true but would love to know where she teaches in NY

She teaches English at Lakeland High School. The true meaning of "small world" if true.

 

[janloz]

The Behind the Seeds Tour is on our long list of things to do and has been for about a year. Since we'll be going with a little baby the next time, it'll be getting bumped again, I'm sure. I hope we will get around to doing it before they decide to axe it!
I'm going to want to sneak in a bag and come out of there with a bunch of great fruits and vegetables!

You have so many great family pictures from the Poly. What treasures they will be in the years ahead!

If your sister-in-law ends up really being Nicole's English teacher, will you have her come on here and tell stories about what kind of student she was?

The tour might be a good thing for you to do if Jill takes Isabella back to hotel for nap especially in summer heat. It only take about 1 1/2 hours and was really interesting. She said most of the vegetables and fruits grown there are actually used by the restuarants in the WS and FW. The cucumbers were yummy.

We are so happy with the pics from Poly especially since I was able to get the session for the $25 fee. We used the hammock one of the kids for our christmas card.

I will ask SIL to give us the dirt on Nicole if she was her teacher. Small world.

 

[Nicole786]

She teaches English at Lakeland High School. The true meaning of "small world" if true.

GRADUATED THERE IN 2004! I had her in 2003. Lets NOT have her come on here and talk about my student antics.

She lost a lot of weight so congrats to her, the reason I recognized her (besides the name) is she still has the same glasses from 6 years ago! haha!

She may have stories on me, but I have some pretty good ones on her too!

 

[MeMom]

GRADUATED THERE IN 2004! I had her in 2003. Lets NOT have her come on here and talk about my student antics.

She lost a lot of weight so congrats to her, the reason I recognized her (besides the name) is she still has the same glasses from 6 years ago! haha!

She may have stories on me, but I have some pretty good ones on her too!

That's crazy that you discovered this

Yes, we want the stories on BOTH of you, so let's have 'em!!!

 

[Nicole786]

I don't want to hijack the thread, just some little info on your SIL. First of all, if you were in 11th grade, and you didn't have her as your english teacher, you were upset. I remember when I got my teacher assignment, sharing it with my friends, and they would go "Aw you got _____??? Thats not fair!" It was honestly like a grand achievement haha. In class, I don't remember a lot, but I do remember one of the first days of class she ruined the ending of Fight Club for me. Someone had done a book report on it and she got really excited about it and said something like "Does anyone mind if I ruin the ending its just too awesome!" so recently about a year ago when I actually sat down and watched it, I was like "dammit ms. ___!" Your DH is her only brother right? I remember her mentioning him a lot. "Im going to see my brother this weekend" Etc. They must be very close. I remember watching a movie on Hamlet or whatever shakespeare book we read that year with Maura Tierney, where her words were "we shouldn't watch it because its innapropriate but i'll just skip through the dirty parts" and she did. LOL! On one of the last days of class she apologized to me for snapping at me once when I was being annoying (I have a tendency to do that) for which I have no recollection of. I assume I was annoying her for whatever reason so i'll take her apology for it haha! There was this kid in my class his name was Joe and he was one of those behavioral problem kids. He was the class clown always had something to say. She called him "Joey" and this was always funny because I knew him since we were little and nobody called him that! For whatever reason, he managed to come to every one of her classes

Overall if you're going to say anything to her, say that she was (and probably is) a great teacher, I enjoyed her class and obviously have some nice memories from it. Here's a picture from Junior prom. Thats "Joey" to the left

But enough of the hijacking although this has been a nice blast from the past!

 

[janloz]

GRADUATED THERE IN 2004! I had her in 2003. Lets NOT have her come on here and talk about my student antics.

She lost a lot of weight so congrats to her, the reason I recognized her (besides the name) is she still has the same glasses from 6 years ago! haha!

She may have stories on me, but I have some pretty good ones on her too!

I don't want to hijack the thread, just some little info on your SIL. First of all, if you were in 11th grade, and you didn't have her as your english teacher, you were upset. I remember when I got my teacher assignment, sharing it with my friends, and they would go "Aw you got _____??? Thats not fair!" It was honestly like a grand achievement haha. In class, I don't remember a lot, but I do remember one of the first days of class she ruined the ending of Fight Club for me. Someone had done a book report on it and she got really excited about it and said something like "Does anyone mind if I ruin the ending its just too awesome!" so recently about a year ago when I actually sat down and watched it, I was like "dammit ms. ___!" Your DH is her only brother right? I remember her mentioning him a lot. "Im going to see my brother this weekend" Etc. They must be very close. I remember watching a movie on Hamlet or whatever shakespeare book we read that year with Maura Tierney, where her words were "we shouldn't watch it because its innapropriate but i'll just skip through the dirty parts" and she did. LOL! On one of the last days of class she apologized to me for snapping at me once when I was being annoying (I have a tendency to do that) for which I have no recollection of. I assume I was annoying her for whatever reason so i'll take her apology for it haha! There was this kid in my class his name was Joe and he was one of those behavioral problem kids. He was the class clown always had something to say. She called him "Joey" and this was always funny because I knew him since we were little and nobody called him that! For whatever reason, he managed to come to every one of her classes

Overall if you're going to say anything to her, say that she was (and probably is) a great teacher, I enjoyed her class and obviously have some nice memories from it. Here's a picture from Junior prom. Thats "Joey" to the left

But enough of the hijacking although this has been a nice blast from the past!

Wow, small world it is!! She has lost over 70 pounds in the past 18 months and actually ran in her first 5K race a few weeks ago.

She is now co-chair of the English department and really enjoys her job. I know she is tough on her kids but wants them to work as hard as she does.
She has actually brought our son to her class for a day and my husband (her only sibling) has sat in on her class in the past. She actually moved about 10 miles from us about 3 years ago so she could spend more time with our kids.

I'll let her know that you saw her on the TR but won't send her along to share stories.

 

[janloz]

I am going to try and finish this TR this week. Even though we don't have our next Disney trip booked yet, we are hoping for Sept 2010 for my bday celebration but like a lot of you are waiting to see what the economy does.

So, I left you on the bus back to POP and we ran in to change clothes for our ADR at Calfornia Grill and then back to the bus to MK and then transfer to monorail to Contemporary. MIL/FIL/SIL decided that they would take a taxi instead so we met them there. It was a MVMCP night so most of the people on the bus were going there, we met several Disers (the matching shirts with Dissigners designs were the give away ) but I can't remember their names now 4 months later. Sorry. Once we arrived at Contemporary, we make our way down the escalator and then to the elevator to the CG. It was a little confusing but we made and the others were waiting there with cocktails in the lounge area. When we checked in, they told us it would be about 10-15 minutes until we were seated so I decided to take the kids, my mom and Dave out on the observation deck. Here is the view:

When I made our ADRs, I was not aware that the would not having the Wishes fireworks at 6pm as they did the previous years so we were not able to watch them from the deck. But the view was incredible and we did get to see the castle in icicle lights. Then we were called for our table and seated at the first round table next to the lounge area next to the bar. It was not very quite there especially as the night went on and more people were waiting in the lounge for their tables.

We were greeted by our CM Billy and knew immediately this was going to be a great evening. He was our favorite CM of the whole week. I was a little worried about taking Mark & Sarah to a Signature dining TS but he made the kids feel like they were the most important guests in the room. He was extremely friendly and told us that he is a father of 6 (i think) and he understood picky eaters and what kids liked. He is also studying for his sommelier top level certification and was very helpful with wine selections. He joked with everyone and didn't make us feel rushed at all. He brought us out the yummy bread and some goldfish for Sarah which she loved. Then it was time for her to order dinner, she didn't like anything on the kids menu and was very sad so Billy asked her what she liked. So she ended up getting a plate of Cucumbers for app, Pasta with butter (surprised aren't you??) and for dessert:

Dessert Sushi. Her favorite for the week.

I got Triple Cheese Flatbread - Pecorino, Asiago, Provolone with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Basil Pesto which was out of this world. The whole table stole some it was so good. Dave had the California Roll - jumbo lump crab with avocado and cucumber which he loved and I forgot what Mark had but I know he shared some of my flatbread. For entrees, we all had the Oak-fired Filet of Beef with cheesy Yukon gold potato mash, sautéed broccolini, and and teriyaki barbecue sauce. All I can say is WOW. It was only of the best steaks I have ever had and cooked perfectly which is always an issue when ordering med-well. Even though we were full, we all wanted to try desserts, we did get pics of those.

Chocolate Temptation - (No Sugar Added) Chocolate pyramid with chocolate gelato, berry compote and chocolate-hazelnut crunch

Mark and I had Valrhona Chocolate Cake and Raspberry - Warm chocolate cake with molten center, housemade raspberry ice cream and raspberry sauce and several had the The Original" - The California Grill's legendary butterscotch creme brulee with a duo of banana cakes and caramelized bananas. All of which were really good and the perfect way to end the evening.

Total for the 4 of us: $296 with tax which was 8TS total since signature meal plus $80 tip for our great CM Billy which was OOP. We decided that CG would be a MUST do for all future trip and we would ask for Billy again.

 

[k_reile]

Wow...it really is a small world! And those deserts (even Sarah's) look soo good!

 

[janloz]

After dinner, FIL & SIL decided that they wanted to go to DTD for some shopping and to use the remainder of their snack credits so the rest of us got a taxi back to POP so we could get our suitcases packed and ready to go.

When we got to our door, we found the Magical express paperwork and only 4 luggage tags (we had 5 bags to check) so I had to work things out with LS and finish packing but since it was 10:30pm and everyone was tired it would have to wait until the morning. Up next, the saddest morning.....we are heading home.

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

Your meal at CG sounds so good!

I love a good steak done exactly right! Yum!

The rice crispy treat sushi is cute. Very creative, I may copy it for my DD.

We are at your final night, I feel for you....the worst thing is that sad goodbye feeling, knowing you are leaving.

Pretty pics of the POP icons.

 

[trivial]

I'm impressed by your fortitude in continuing your TR after all this time. I came across it today, as we've got a grand gathering trip coming up in a couple of years, and we're planning on staying at POP also. I've enjoyed reading your TR very much, and I'm actually feeling kind of sad being near the end of the trip.

 

[MeMom]

Up next, the saddest morning.....we are heading home.

I do believe I see someone sitting at 'our' table - the last one on the right. We have shared many meals and much time just sitting around talking and relaxing there.

I'd like to be taking a morning walk around Pop right now.

It is so sad to have to leave. The only cure that helps in any way that I am aware of is beginning to plan another trip.