We nailed it with a newborn, why not tackle it with a toddler?!? Updated with Trip Video!!

[DisneyParkLover]

Joining in... Better late than never! Luke is absolutely precious! Glad you figured out the fastpasses for 7DMT, it's always disappointing when CMs are dismissive especially since we're spoiled with so many eager to make magic!

and thank you! The FP thing was frustrating, not just because she told us no, but because I was fairly certain from reading here on the boards that your FP is still good if the ride comes back up or I've heard of people being emailed a list of other options for rides they can use the FP on. Not only do I think she was misinformed, but she was just dismissive when I tried to talk to her.

Lots of fun with the mountains. I'm glad naptime worked pretty well. I agree about the toddler play areas - it's hard to find places where the little ones don't get pushed around. Boo to the "no" CM at 7DMT. When a ride closes and you do have a FP+, I believe it will work anytime later in the day. That was what we were told, at least. Glad you ended up getting the paper ones. Looking forward to your signature dining!

Naptime worked out ok this trip, I was just surprised by the amount of napping. We were pretty much napping twice a day at home, but 3 or 4 short ones at Disney. I think you and I are right on the FP thing, and the CM was misinformed or just didn't care. I am glad my parents ran into another CM. We had FP for it later in the week, but didn't know if maybe there would be a timing problem or maybe the ride would be so awesome we'd want two chances to ride. Signature dining coming up!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

What a pleasant surprise indeed!
I can imagine how it would be nice. When DH where there in Oct '13 there were quite a few dishes that we thought were tasty but that it was too hot to enjoy them.

It really was the perfect Food and Wine evening. I don't know if the cool weather ran everyone off, but we thought it was great! I only wish that we had more room to try more things, but we were still pretty full from our late lunch.

Nope just an hour past Hollywood Studios closing.
Well at least the captain was nice enough to take you anyways.

Thanks! I'll know for next time.

That's okay, people really can be clueless. The number of times I have had DD dressed head to toe pink with big pink bows on her head and yet still be called a boy!

Bwahahaha! How does someone mess that up?

Ugh! Such a pet peeve. Leaving really is the best thing to do in those situations.
Who needs a playground when there are boats to watch?!

I know anyone can use the playground, but I would guess it is primarily there for those kids too short to ride. And those are the kids who can't use it because there are 10+ year olds jumping all over it and acting like fools.

I wonder if he even knew what he was talking about. How rude of him.

I don't really think she had any idea and she didn't care to learn.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Dinner at Narcoossee's

After Pooh, we started working our way out of the park. But we couldn't pass up some Photopass pictures.






And I had to stop and take the requisite balloon picture.




When we got to the front of the park we stopped at the restrooms. While we were there we took a few more pictures and caught the flag ceremony. It was really neat to watch.







After our brief stop, we exited Magic Kingdom and hopped on the resort monorail. A couple pictures along the way:





Before long, we were pulling up to our destination for our first signature restaurant of the trip!

Side note: On our first free dining trip, we had more credits than days, so we booked a meal at Le Cellier. My mom and I had discussed options and this was the signature that appealed most to us. We had such an awesome meal there that trip that we knew we wanted to try a couple more signatures. So we went over our dining credits this trip, but we had already purchased the Tables in Wonderland card, so we were able to use that for our OOP meals. Did one of the new signatures beat out Le Cellier, or is it still at the top of our list? You'll have to wait and find out.

We disembarked at the beautiful Grand Floridian since we had dinner reservations at Narcoossee's! We were immediately blown away by the beauty and grandeur of the lobby. I know everyone has their personal choice, but this would be my bucket list resort. It is so gorgeous and classic Disney. While we were taking the time to soak it all in, we took some photos.










Finally, we were able to pry ourselves away from the lobby to begin our walk to our destination! The grounds of the resort were really pretty. I love how Disney even themes the plants/vegetation of its resorts. The Polynesian has the lush tropical plants, whereas the Grand Floridian has the more neatly manicured feel. I took some pictures of the resort/grounds along the way.






And some of our lovely destination:






We had the earliest reservation time and the restaurant was not open yet. So we let Luke run around and burn off some energy while we waited. Before long, we were let in and seated. We had a lovely table next to the window. Luke wasted no time in getting started coloring!




My mom and I started with some drinks:






I don't have notes on what either of these were, but mine was the glowing one and it was delicious! Luke quickly took possession of the glow cube.




We ordered Luke the Mickey macaroni and cheese.




Luke only had a few bites of this, but DH and I ate quite a bit and it was really good macaroni and cheese. (Maybe that was the problem - too fancy? Not enough like Gerber mac and cheese for him? )

The rest of us all ordered the Surf and Turf. Grilled Filet Mignon with Butter-poached or Steamed Canadian Waters Lobster Tail - Boniato-Idaho creamed potatoes, Early Autumn Vegetables, and Herbed Cabernet-oxtail reduction.






This was very yummy! The steak was nicely done and the lobster was just perfect (I think we all got butter poached). I believe we had a choice of cut of steak as well, which explains why the two steaks pictured look completely different. I enjoyed all of this and cleaned my plate!

Next up were desserts. Luke was starting to get a little restless, so DH took him out while I ate dessert and then we switched so he could eat dessert.

My dad ordered the cheese plate for dessert (he was very excited, since there were not a lot of restaurants where he could do this).






He really enjoyed this. Based on the recommendations of you fine Disers and our waiter, the rest of us ordered Almond-crusted Cheesecake - finished with Lambert Cherry Sauce.




The verdict? Meh. Sorry guys, but this was just okay. It was a little too sweet and just didn't wow any of us. Nothing wrong with it, just not great. Overall, we really enjoyed Narcoosee's, but we didn't love it as much as Le Cellier. We would definitely come back if we were on the dining plan, since it is a good value (especially for a signature). But I wouldn't pay $75 OOP for my entree or $12 OOP for my dessert.

When I was done with my dessert, DH came in to eat his dessert and everyone paid their checks. I walked around with Luke (who had fallen asleep in his stroller) and took some nighttime photos.


View from our table






It took a little while to pay the checks, but soon everyone came out and joined Luke and I and we decided to head to the boat launch for our trip back to Magic Kingdom!

 

[Dugette]

That is one restaurant we have never been to. Nice to hear about it, as I don't think I've seen it in a lot of TRs either.

My dad ordered the cheese plate for dessert (he was very excited, since there were not a lot of restaurants where he could do this).

Mmmm, yum! Nice that they allowed that as an option!

But I wouldn't pay $75 OOP for my entree

Wow, that's crazy talk!

Glad you had an overall good experience there. And yay for going back to MK!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Mmmm, yum! Nice that they allowed that as an option!

It was really nice as he is not a big sweets eater. I wish I had chose that too, he thought it was excellent!

Wow, that's crazy talk!

I agree. I have to wonder if there are people who pay $75 for this entree? I have paid for my entree at Le Cellier out of pocket, but it is only about $37 after TiW. Plus, the filet at Le Cellier is AWESOME! My meal at Narcoossee's was very good, but I would never pay that price for it!

Glad you had an overall good experience there. And yay for going back to MK!

I love MSEP and Wishes and was sad we missed them last trip (even though we did see Hallowishes from Ohana). So I very excited to be going back for evening entertainment!

 

[JKeenz]

Joining in a little late here! We are taking our then-16-month-old in November, so it's great to read about your experiences! We are also planning on getting his 1st haircut at Harmony Barbershop when we are there... although my husband's not too sure we'll be able to hold out, since he is already getting quite a bit of hair!

Now, a few points about your pictures:
- Luke is absolutely adorable!
- You caught some great shots of Illuminations (my favorite nighttime show!)
- The Grand Floridian lobby... gorgeous... agree that is a bucket list resort!
- And can we talk about the haircut photos.... I literally almost cried seeing those.... I hope we have a similarly wonderful experience there!

 

[RockinDisney]

Ok so now I'm worried, we were thinking of trying this as our high end meal in Oct. Maybe we will try the California Grill instead..... Still love that haircut.

 

[ksinniger]

I'm loving this trip report as we were staying at the CR from 11/1-11/8. Maybe I'll spot myself in one of your photos (or more likely, one of my kids, who have an uncanny knack at photobombing).

And you are SO right on the temperature variations and need for light layers! We were in the Magic Kingdom our first night and the stoes were running out of the fleece blankets, as just about every family had at least one prson wrapped up in one!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Wow - that is awesome that the crowds weren't bad for a weekend F&WF evening. Our last time doing F&WF we were there one Saturday and one Thursday and vowed to never do the weekend ever again - was crazy!

Why can't they just serve it at Food and Wine with a piece of pretzel bread? I would pay extra.

That is a really good point. and I bet some people would want to try the pretzel bread even on it's own ... I mean, Disney, we are giving you ideas to make more money ... hello!!!

Sounds like a really lovely time drinking and relaxing and watching Illuminations. That is surprising about the boats not running as you can't really take a bus from EPCOT to DHS. I guess you could walk but that is far at night, especially if you aren't expecting to have to do that. Love your pun by the way!

I think FP+ is so great for families / those with really little kids as you can ensure you have your 1 or 2 "must dos" reserved and not kill yourself to get there for rope drop, etc.

Luke did great with the haircut! I think it is such a neat thing they do (and it isn't crazy expensive or anything). I wanted to do that for my kids but it was just too long of a wait. Oh well. And man, Luke really, REALLY like those bubbles! Oh, and it is amazing how they age like 2 years after getting a haircut!

Love lunch at BOG! The braised pork is what I have gotten each time as it is so good. Also really like the thriple chocolate cupcake (actually liked it better than the Master's Cupcake, even if that one has the gray stuff)

I didn't realize there was a tractor in the arcade by Space Mountain - we could have gone in there and my son would have been set for the entire day!

Man, that CM woke up on the wrong side of the Castle that day ... they definitely are supposed to give you paper FP if the ride is down during your window. Glad you got them in the end from another CM though.

Great shot!

It's funny how some people gravitate towards the Grand Floridian and some not so much - it definitely wouldn't be my first choice, but I have read other TR's where even people who were a bit worried about it being too stuffy, etc. really enjoyed their time there

OMG - the glow cubes are like gold for kids! just so facinating!

wow - that cheese plate looks really good (I mean, your entrees do as well, but that is a really nice option to have for dessert). Glad you enjoyed your meal but can undestand not wanting to pay out of pocket for it. Darn nice setting though

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Joining in a little late here! We are taking our then-16-month-old in November, so it's great to read about your experiences! We are also planning on getting his 1st haircut at Harmony Barbershop when we are there... although my husband's not too sure we'll be able to hold out, since he is already getting quite a bit of hair!

The "First Haircut" is worth waiting for. Luke's hair was pretty long (and apparently girly) for a few months prior to our trip, but I'm glad we waited. We have since had a haircut at the Kid's Boutique Salon in town and it was fine, but nothing special.

Now, a few points about your pictures:
- Luke is absolutely adorable!

Thank you!!!

- You caught some great shots of Illuminations (my favorite nighttime show!)

Thanks again! I love Illuminations, but I am partial to Wishes.

- And can we talk about the haircut photos.... I literally almost cried seeing those.... I hope we have a similarly wonderful experience there!

Don't feel bad, I cried like a baby! I'm sure you will be really pleased with your experience - they really seem to go out of their way to make it special!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Ok so now I'm worried, we were thinking of trying this as our high end meal in Oct. Maybe we will try the California Grill instead..... Still love that haircut.

Nothing wrong with it - the food was very good. And our meal was the most expensive on the menu. It's not that I wouldn't pay to eat there, I just wouldn't pay the $75 OOP for that meal. Plus, we also had steaks at Le Cellier and Yachtsman this trip, so the steak couldn't stack up to those. And we always make a stop at Boston Lobster Feast at least once when we are in Orlando. Yes, the lobster was better at Narcoossee's, but I can eat 10 really good lobsters for half the price of one great lobster at Narcoossee's!

I'm loving this trip report as we were staying at the CR from 11/1-11/8. Maybe I'll spot myself in one of your photos (or more likely, one of my kids, who have an uncanny knack at photobombing).

Entirely possible! It was a great time of year to go! Are you writing a trip report from that trip?

And you are SO right on the temperature variations and need for light layers! We were in the Magic Kingdom our first night and the stoes were running out of the fleece blankets, as just about every family had at least one person wrapped up in one!

My husband, who swore he didn't need to pack a jacket, bought a windbreaker one of our first days there. It worked out well, though, since he really loves it and wears it all the time!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Wow - that is awesome that the crowds weren't bad for a weekend F&WF evening. Our last time doing F&WF we were there one Saturday and one Thursday and vowed to never do the weekend ever again - was crazy!

That's what we thought after our first weekend night at Food and Wine. But this night it was so empty. We barely saw anyone in World Showcase.

Sounds like a really lovely time drinking and relaxing and watching Illuminations. That is surprising about the boats not running as you can't really take a bus from EPCOT to DHS. I guess you could walk but that is far at night, especially if you aren't expecting to have to do that. Love your pun by the way!

I would have thought they ran back and forth until both parks were closed, but I was wrong.

I think FP+ is so great for families / those with really little kids as you can ensure you have your 1 or 2 "must dos" reserved and not kill yourself to get there for rope drop, etc.

I really do think it's a good system, especially if you do a little planning. For us, we liked not having to have "runners" to get FP. It made things more leisurely for us.

Luke did great with the haircut! I think it is such a neat thing they do (and it isn't crazy expensive or anything). I wanted to do that for my kids but it was just too long of a wait. Oh well. And man, Luke really, REALLY like those bubbles! Oh, and it is amazing how they age like 2 years after getting a haircut!

It was actually cheaper than the one in my hometown! Luke loved the bubbles - still does! I couldn't believe how grown up he looked afterwards - it was like he went from a baby to a toddler in 15 minutes!

Love lunch at BOG! The braised pork is what I have gotten each time as it is so good. Also really like the thriple chocolate cupcake (actually liked it better than the Master's Cupcake, even if that one has the gray stuff)

I want to try the pork. My mom really likes it, but I have never gotten anything besides the Croque Monsieur since it is always so good. I like the triple chocolate one better too! I didn't think the Grey Stuff was all that.

Man, that CM woke up on the wrong side of the Castle that day ... they definitely are supposed to give you paper FP if the ride is down during your window.

I totally thought something was supposed to happen, I just couldn't remember what.

Great shot!

Thanks!

OMG - the glow cubes are like gold for kids! just so facinating!

Luke loved it! I am packing it for our next trip! (Although, if I had to, I would have another glowtini to get him one. The sacrifices you make for your kids! )

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Evening in Magic Kingdom

Before I resume where I left off, here are a couple cute pictures that I believe were taken on the way to Magic Kingdom on this morning. They got left out of the trip report since I was so focused on the haircut photos. Oops!








These are some pretty cute pictures of my then-long-haired boy, so I didn't want them to get left out!

Now....where were we? Ah yes, we left off as we were waiting at the Grand Floridian's boat launch to catch a boat back to Magic Kingdom. The boat came fairly quickly, but it was much smaller than I expected. I wound up holding a sleeping Luke and also trying to prop up a folded up stroller. Next time I would probably walk back to the monorail.

We enjoyed our boat ride, though, and before long we were back at the Magic Kingdom! We made it just in time to walk into Town Square and see the Main Street Electrical Parade. I love this parade! This is the one that I remember from my childhood and when I see those sparkling lights and hear those electro-synthe-magnetic musical sounds, I can't help but tear up! Especially when you are surrounded by the people you love, watching this face take it in for the first time:







He loved the parade so much - he just danced and waved and clapped the whole time! And I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm tearing up a little right now just thinking back to this moment. It's just one of those magical moments where your childhood memories are flooding over you and you have that realization that you are there watching that same parade and being able to share it with your own child over 20 years later. And you can experience the same awe and magic you experienced through their eyes. It really was magical.

I only took a few parade photos, since I was mostly enjoying watching Luke, but here's what I have:










After the parade, we went up to the train station and were able to find seats to wait for Wishes. I was wearing Luke in my Ergo and he was pretty content in there as long as I stayed in motion. So my family sat and I mostly walked back and forth from one end of the train station to the other. Before too long it was time for Wishes! I was so glad to be seeing my beloved Wishes (instead of Hallowishes) in the Magic Kingdom (instead of from Ohana). I loved Hallowishes and I do enjoy the fireworks from Ohana, but it's a different experience. I feel much more immersed in the experience if I am actually in the Magic Kingdom. Luke seemed to like Wishes and was interested in watching, but it didn't top Main Street Electrical Parade in his book. I really loved it, as always. Here a some of my favorites of the approximately 8 billion pictures I took:


















After a wonderful evening, we made our way out of the Magic Kingdom before most of the crowds and were back to our car and to our resort in no time. And we all crashed pretty quickly after another full day, especially Luke!


Up next: a full Epcot day!

 

[kastoney]

Hi Katie! Just finding your report and I'm all caught up. You are a far braver sole than I on taking a toddler, let alone a newborn. We waited until our daughter was 2 1/2 before we ventured to the world. It was a long wait....

Loving all your pictures and your son is beyond adorable. His first haircut is absolute perfection.

And the food. Biergarten, food and wine, Narcossee's, loving the way your roll. Can't wait to read more.

 

[Dugette]

It's just one of those magical moments where your childhood memories are flooding you and you have that realization that you are there watching that same parade and being able to share it with your own child over 20 years later. And you can experience the same awe and magic you experienced through their eyes. It really was magical.

Love this! You can tell Luke is having a great time and that in and of itself is so magical as a parent - but then topping it off with your Disney memories from your own childhood? Yeah, pretty magical.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Hi Katie! Just finding your report and I'm all caught up. You are a far braver sole than I on taking a toddler, let alone a newborn. We waited until our daughter was 2 1/2 before we ventured to the world. It was a long wait....

Loving all your pictures and your son is beyond adorable. His first haircut is absolute perfection.

And the food. Biergarten, food and wine, Narcossee's, loving the way your roll. Can't wait to read more.

Thank you very much! If you are enjoying the food so far, then stay tuned. We love good eating, especially on vacation. And Luke is still so little that we can plan most of the dining around us. So we do like 25% character meals and 75% whatever we want. We know those percentages may flip flop as he gets older, so we are enjoying it now!

And we really aren't that brave. He is actually pretty easy going when it comes to traveling. We just try to have reasonable expectations and go at a more leisurely pace. Even with 8 day trips, we may not get everything done, but we really enjoy our trips!

Love this! You can tell Luke is having a great time and that in and of itself is so magical as a parent - but then topping it off with your Disney memories from your own childhood? Yeah, pretty magical.

It really was one of those magic Disney moments, where you just look around and realize how beautiful and special that moment is. I feel so lucky to have been able to enjoy those moments as a child and now to be able to share those same memories with my child.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Day 3 - Fishies!

Despite being at Magic Kingdom late the night before, we were all up and going first thing in the morning. So we went ahead and headed to our park for the day (and my personal favorite park)....Epcot! We made great time and were there well before rope drop. So we lined up and took turns hitting the restrooms and taking photos.










Luke was ready and excited!




We already had our fastpasses booked for the bigger rides (especially since we had been able to take advantage of the glitch that temporarily removed tiering!), so we had no need to rush anywhere! So we stopped for some Photopass pictures:






And then we headed in a completely different direction from any crowds! This was a really nice perk of FP+, since we had everything booked we were able to use a leisurely approach at rope drop. Even without the tiering glitch, we could get all the rides we wanted by combining fastpass+ and rider swap at every park except Magic Kingdom. At Magic Kingdom, we still had to utilize rope drop. But this day we just strolled over to The Seas! Not surprisingly, it was completely empty at that time of day. So we rode the Nemo ride and then explored the aquarium. Luke loved the aquarium and seeing the fish (or fishies/"ishy" as Luke called them! More recently, he has started calling them "feesh" instead! ). Having the aquarium basically to ourselves was really nice. Luke was able to just run free and explore!












We spent quite a while in here. Luke just ran back and forth to all the different areas pointing out all the fishies to us!

This was a really nice activity for him. I normally wouldn't spend a lot of time in here since we have two amazing aquariums within a short drive from our home. But this was all part of the "smelling the roses" mentality and letting Luke have some "say" in what we did. And it was really nice! After Luke had had his fill, we moved on to another super crowded attraction:





Okay, maybe not! But despite this ride not getting a lot of love, I really do like it. I wouldn't mind a well done refurb, but I would hate to see a Maelstrom-type butchering. Imagineers, if you are reading this, you can refurb this ride, but please keep Figment!

Luke really seemed fascinated by this ride:






And here's the rest of the fam enjoying it too:






When we got done here, it was time for our first FP of the day, so we headed over to Test Track! As I said before, this isn't a favorite, but we enjoyed a chance to ride it again. We got rider swap and took turns. While my parents rode, Luke fell asleep. So DH and I walked over to the Festival Center to see if they had a Food and Wine pin for my mom. Sadly, since it was the last week of Food & Wine, the pins were all sold out for the year. But we took the opportunity to take a couple pictures of the area. It was really pretty over there! (Another place we usually blow right by with commando touring!)







And one photo of sleeping Luke!




Next up: a Food & Wine lunch!

 

[Dugette]

Sounds like a nice, relaxing start to your morning at Epcot. I think that's one of the best things about FP+; it gives you time to just enjoy the park after rope drop, rather than dashing off to everything.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Sounds like a nice, relaxing start to your morning at Epcot. I think that's one of the best things about FP+; it gives you time to just enjoy the park after rope drop, rather than dashing off to everything.

I agree! I always book our FPs for late morning or early afternoon. That way if we want to sleep in we can. And if we do hit rope drop it's just a bonus! I do feel like you really need to aim for RD at MK because there are so many rides, but we can take a more leisurely approach to the other parks.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Food & Wine Lunch

After a morning of exploring Future World, we had all worked up quite an appetite. So we headed over to World Showcase to hit up some Food & Wine booths! Since we had gone right towards Canada on our first day, this time we headed left towards Mexico. Our first booth was New Zealand, where we enjoyed the Lamb meatball with spicy tomato chutney.




On our last Food & Wine trip, we tried all three things at the New Zealand booth. And while they were all delicious, we all agreed the meatball was the best! It did not disappoint this trip either! The meatball was juicy and the chutney was robust with just enough spice (well, I could have had more spice, but I like things a lot spicier than most people!).

Up next was Mexico where DH and I split the Shrimp taco: Fried shrimp, pickled habanero pepper and onions on a flour tortilla and the Sweet corn cheesecake. My parents split the Shrimp taco and the Rib eye taco: Marinated rib eye, roasted chipotle salsa and grilled scallions on a corn tortilla.




Everything was very good, but the cheesecake was the clear winner! I would have gotten another one, but the line for the Mexico booth is so long with no shade. I'm not sure why Mexico has such a disproportionately long line. The food is good, but nowhere near the best. If they have the same offerings this year, I will probably just skip Mexico.

Next stop was Farm Fresh, which was new this year. DH and I split a Nueske’s® Pepper Bacon Hash with sweet corn, potatoes, hollandaise and pickled jalapeño. My parents split the hash and the Griddled “Yard Bird” with braised greens and house-made habanero sauce.




The hash was awesome. Really delicious with so many flavors going on! I didn't have the "yard bird", but my parents said it was equally superb. We all thought this was the best booth of the festival this year! But as much as we wanted seconds, there were more things we wanted to try! As we were walking around looking for shade to enjoy our snacks, we met these people:




If you guys happen to be Disers, just know I love you and your clever shirts! And one of my dad in his Maelstrom shirt next to the closed ride:




I cannot begin to tell you how sad this makes me. I don't mind refurbishments, but I don't like the re-theming of classics to trendier things. I understand Frozen is great and popular and all that, but it could have had a new ride of its own. At least Luke got a chance to ride Maelstrom before it closed (he was only 9 weeks old, but it still counts!).

Moving on, we stopped at China. DH and I had the Black Pepper Shrimp with Sichaun Noodles and my parents had the Chicken Potstickers.




Both of these were just okay. Not bad, just nothing special. This is another booth I may skip this year. We were starting to get pretty full (even splitting everything!), but we wanted to get midway (Hops and Barley) before stopping. We stopped at Germany next. DH and I had the Schinkennudeln: Pasta gratin with ham and cheese and my parents had the Roast bratwurst in a pretzel roll.




The Schinkennudeln was one of my favorites last year, but this year it was so onion-y I could only have a bite or two. Let me say that I have an onion aversion, so too onion-y for me is probably fine for other people. In fact, DH thought it was delicious and was not sad to have the whole thing to himself. My parents enjoyed theirs, but really how can you go wrong with bratwurst and pretzel roll? I was disappointed to see that the apple strudel was replaced with an apricot jam filled doughnut. So I skipped dessert, but I had other dessert plans!

Our last and final stop was at Hops and Barley. We had this great plan that we would get our items and take them up to the Chase Visa lounge to enjoy them with some of the complimentary soda. Well, we ran into some snags. #1. They don't allow food up there. So we decided to eat outside. Then snag #2, they were completely out of the carrot cake that I had really wanted to try. So we got 2 each of the Artisan cheese plate featuring Cabot Cloth wrapped cheddar, Purple Haze chèvre goat cheese and Cave Man blue cheese and the Baked lobster alfredo.





These were both very good, but not nearly as good as the lobster tail or lobster roll which they replaced. Here's hoping they bring back the lobster roll for 2015!

So we headed over to the Chase lounge when we hit snag #3 - no strollers allowed. Okay, so we pulled Luke out of the stroller and waited and waited for an elevator before giving up and lugging the heavy baby up the stairs (snag #4). But we were finally there and excited for a restful place to have a seat and a refreshing beverage. Unfortunately, the lines for the soda were quite long and the portion was about a thimble full (snags #5 and 6). So there was really nothing refreshing about it. And then we went to find a nice comfortable seat...and they were all taken (snag #7). Plus, Luke was not amused by just sitting quietly on the floor (snag #8). If we had had a seat, he may have been willing to sit in a chair or someone's lap. But being on the floor seemed like an invitation to run around. It was too crowded for him to do that, plus there were too many dangerous or fragile things up there. So needless to say, this was not a great experience, and I think we all got a little crabby. No one really wants to wait 20 minutes for a thimble of soda, then have to drink it on the run because you have to save the baby from electrocuting himself! Not our best trip moment.

I think this would be a lovely resting spot on a less crowded day or if you didn't have a toddler. But it just didn't work out for us, which was disappointing as we had built it up in our heads to be this great spot to have an extended rest in the middle of the day.

DH took Luke out first and I had one more thimble full of soda before joining him. We let Luke run around outside near the pavilion for a little while so my parents could enjoy their break in the lounge. Before long, they joined us and we decided to take the boat back to Future World. But not before I finally got some dessert! I been thwarted on strudel and carrot cake, but I would not leave Karamell Kuche empty handed!






I enjoyed the caramel bar (this is my favorite thing I have tried there!) and DH had some kind of caramel cluster. Both were delicious (of course!), and were a sweet finish to a very nice Food & Wine lunch. And right as we finished eating them our transportation to Future World arrived!


Up next: Luke's first character interaction of the trip. How will it go? Stay tuned.