Will You Chill Out if I Sprinkle You With Pixie Dust? The End p136 *New TR Link* p138

[glennbo123]

Nicely framed by the tree.

Ooo, I see what you did there -- the architectural elements of the roof being echoed in the lamp. Wait, did I just say that? 'Cause I only know six colors!

I also enjoyed your food descriptions.

And nice fountain pictures!

 

[khertz]

Okay, so I had gotten VERY far behind in your updates but I'm all caught up now! Just want to say, you get some great detail shots around World Showcase of things I have probably seen a million times but never paid attention to. It must be so nice to be within walking distance to a park, that's something we have never done but would love to someday!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Ooo, I see what you did there -- the architectural elements of the roof being echoed in the lamp. Wait, did I just say that? 'Cause I only know six colors!

Ha! I'm one up on you. Thanks to ROY G BIV.

 

[Moira222]

But for now I will leave you with this thought.......


Untitled by dvcmek1, on Flickr

slowly catching up Mary Ellen but had to comment on you & Bo. NICE! Can't wait to read more about your trips!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Lovely photos of WS! I've only seen the china film once, but I'd like to see it again.

We also had a lovely meal at Bistro last Oct, and I'm glad to see that you also had a great experience. My original plan was to go with the fixed price menu with the wine pairing, but I was a little afraid that I'd get knocked on my butt with all that wine at once.

I agree it is a great meal, and a nice date atmosphere. I'm glad there are a few places like that in the World, and I'll be sorry to see it go (if the rumors are correct and they are turning it very kid friendly).

 

[jecskc]

Thanks for the food pics !! Your meal looks delicious, but I always wonder if the signatures are worth that much money really. We have only eaten at California Grill and we were on the DDP at the time, so we didn't worry about price so much. we did really enjoy our meal and experience there. DD's macaroni was waaayy too salty though and completely unedible. But paying OOP, I dunno ...... Do YOU think it was worth that much ?? Just curious.

I also thought it was interesting that your amuse brouche came in a bowl with a pretty noticeable chip in it. Kind of bad show for such an upscale place. Just an observation. Enjoying your TR and photos !!!

 

[saintstickets]

Hold the phone...all these crisp, clear, fantastic pics and this particular one is blurry?!?!? I suspect a conspiracy here!!! She wiggles pretty fast but not THAT FAST!!!

No conspiracy. I think Sheree was right - I was hurrying to get some food. Actually, I think I always feel a little weird taking pictures of the belly dancer, so I rush.

Hmmm...I never feel weird taking a pic of the belly dancer...and another pic...and another...and another...

DW and I loved Bistro in Dec, 2010. I hated to hear that they were changing the menu and the attire of the CMs. I liked the upscale menu. Having the CM flambe your crepes at the table or carve the rack of lamb on a carving table next to you made it very high-end and special. Bistro was voted the best theme park restaurant in Florida for three years in a row by readers of "Theme Park Insider". I don't understand why you would want to change things with accolades like that!

 

[Wicket's Mom]

I, too noticed that chip. It was quite large, I was surprised a signature would be so slack as to serve that bowl to a customer.

What a romantic dinner that was, a beautiful setting for a dinner.

 

[amandaw]

What a nice dinner for the two of you! The food all looks really yummy! I really liked the Illumination picture that had the "ToT vibe".

 

[MEK]

Your meal at Bistro looks awesome!!! Hahahahaha million calorie buttery soup is a very accurate description, based on the soup I had had there!!!

I guess I wouldn't make a very good food critic, would I? I really enjoyed my meal and the over all experience. It was a great evening.

And your view of Illuminations!! I'm interested to see what happens to this restaurant after its refurb.

I loved watching Illuminations from that vantage point.

I am starting to get nervous about the refurb. I thought they were just spiffing things up a little, but it sounds more involved than that.

What an amazing meal that looks to have been. Gorgeous view...and the pairings!! Red...white...sparkling. Works for me since that is all I know to call them anyway. Viewing Illuminations from there must have been amazing!

It was really a great experience. I am so glad we decided to go there. It was the perfect adult evening and our table view was amazing.

Yeah - I'm not very good at wine, as you can tell.

I actually tried to do this too, after I read your update to see if I could figure out what you had! LOL

Looks like you had a great meal, though.

Somewhere in my pictures is a copy of the menu. Its kind of hard to read, so I'll have to enlarge it. But maybe I can really figure out what we ate and drank.

What a perfect afternoon and evening!

Hooray for some chillin' time at the pool even if the pool wasn't chilly.

It was a really fun afternoon and evening. I felt like we were finally alone and we could finally enjoy that alone time.

I'm glad you made it to Soarin' and the rest of your World Showcase time sounded really nice.

I'm glad we went back, too. When you are staying that close its silly not to take advantage of it.

The warriors in China are really impressive! I remember liking (not loving) the movie in China, but it has probably been 15 or 20 years since I have seen it. Not as good as the French or Canadian presentations.

You're right - its not as good as the other movies, but I still enjoyed it. It had been awhile since I last watched it.

I love the way you photograph the lanterns and light fixtures. I can see why you take a lot of pictures of those.

I love doing that. I learned it from another DISer who doesn't DIS much anymore. Her pictures made me realize I was missing so much detail, so I started taking my own.

My favorite pictures in these updates were the one of the roof in Norway (great detail), the slushie stand from Bistro and the Pearl Girls. Beautiful!

Thanks. I do love the Pearl Girls. They are so animated. And what's not to like about the slushie stand? I mean - slushies!!!!!! Yeah!

Your "vivid" description your meal and wine was a riot! The food was beautiful, if not entirely memorable. I was going to look up the menu, too, so I'm glad others had posted that I shouldn't bother since the menu items have changed.

I will try to find the picture I took of the menu. I bet I can figure out what we ate if I take a little time to investigate it.

That is really a cool view of Illuminations from the restaurant. The window reflections really did make for some interesting pictures.

I never noticed those reflections at the time. Its interesting how they really just "pop".

Hmmm. What to do on your last day? MK maybe. You haven't been there for a little while.

True. I had to make a choice between AK and MK, so I managed to combine some of the best of both. Stay tuned.

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

The dancer looks like Selena! I love that movie!

The pictures are excellent! The fountain pix and of course the food pix are my favorites! The top of the filet almost looks likes the huge crouton they stick on the top of french onion soup. Oh Gosh, that sounds good. I might need to eat some of that tonight.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Grrrrrrr. You mentioned my one peeve with the Boardwalk too. I hate the refillable mug situation. It just drives me up the wall. Because I'm an incessant mug users. I want my free drinkies dangit!

Hahaha, blurry belly dancer. I was curious if Denny had taken the picture and not you because of the blurriness.

I love the Bistro so much. It's my every once in a while restaurant though because of the price.

I love the Illuminations pictures. It's awesome to be able to watch it from the restaurant.

 

[MEK]

Wow, big update!

You always do such a wonderful job telling your story through pictures. They are all lovely but I am partial to the one with the American flag waving in the wind. I am always moved by the site of our flag

Thanks for sharing!

I really wanted to wrap up this day so I can get on to my last day and then get on to the F&W trip report!

Thank you so much for the compliment on the pictures. You know I too love the American flag and I love taking pictures of it in different places. That picture just happened to turn out good because the rest of the pic managed to have a lot of depth of field. pure luck!

Love the description! I'm sure that would make it a top seller if they had it listed on the menu that way. Your dinner menu descriptions cracked me up...I have a feeling my Oct descriptions might end up the same as after day 1 I didn't take a single note!

Oh my October descriptions are going to be equally as bad. I think part of my memory problem might be with the amount of alcohol I had that day. After a couple generous pool drinks and a wine flight I had no memory left. Plus I was starting the feel the fatigue of a long trip by then. I just know I enjoyed the food, atmosphere, and experience there immensely and I am so glad I made an ADR there.

I liked the villa pool but out of the 3, it was my least favorite and I'm not sure why. I think part if it had to do with the lounger layout. Works well around the pool but didn't face the sun right. LOL! I adore the hotel side pool near the cottages and was surprised by just how much I liked the Luna Park pool...I was prepared to really dislike it.

Actually, once I was sitting in the pool deck area of the Luna Park pool I really liked the whole atmosphere better than I thought I would. It was fun watching the kids on the slide. The villa pool does have a lot of shaded areas, but its still an nice atmosphere.

You are right though, that cottage pool might be the prettiest quiet pool out there.

Go figure.

Oh Cynthia - when I went back there after you left for the airport I was one of about 4 people. In the pool was a mother duck and her brand new baby ducks. 5 of them. Another lady told me she saw them for the first time just the day before. Well, there was always one little duck who couldn't quite get back out of the pool. It was so cute. The baby would chirp and the mother would quack back and then finally have to bring all the babies back into the pool until that one could get out. Of course, I left my phone charging so I couldn't take any video. Those ducks where literally right near us in the pool and we were all cheering them on. It was precious. Really one of the neatest things I have seen in a long time.

I'm exicted to see what they do with the refurb, it really looks like a perfect date night place and I bet was such a wonderful change after all that counter service! How lovely to be able to walk to dinner and back...ah, perfection.

It really was. Denny and I so really enjoy the signature dining and we knew we wouldn't be doing much of it during this trip, so I think we picked the perfect spot.

Some really great pictures!

Thanks! I thought of you when I saw those boats lining up for the Illuminations cruise. That looked so cool.

I just realized....I don't think we ate at a single counter service place in Oct...other than the F&W kiosks. Oh wait, dinner during the party. Was that it? Wild.

We ate at Pecos Bills during the party, but otherwise we ate all TS. I think that worked out great. I will definitely do more of the spontaneous TS in the future. I loved that we gave my TIW card a good workout, but I really only used it for 3 meals last December and 4 meals in June. I think I am going to purchase another one this summer. I like it and I think the CM's like it because it guarantees them a decent tip and its easy to figure out. Their response always seems positive to it.

I thought you'd just hang out and have coffee on the verandah.

No, that would be Cynthia hanging on the verandah with her coffee. Me - I'll stick with the pool drinks!

Man, you guys live on the edge.

We are just the daredevils, aren't we? Trying to fly in at the last minute for our FPs. Phew - the adrenaline surge sometimes gets to be way too much.

Is "entertaining" the right word? I still don't understand the point of Duffy.

I don't either, but I blame it on the fact that I have older kids. I have no clue what attracts the younger kids. I do know that my nephews didn't seem to care a hoot about Duffy.

No apology necessary. It's such a beautiful building. You got some great shots.

Thanks! I haven't been inside China in a while, so I'm glad we took the time.

Oh Gatlinburg!

I have to laugh, because this sounds about as specific as I would ever get. You know how men only know 7 colors? The same goes for food and wine.

Nice pictures! Looks like a very pleasant evening.

Perhaps that's why I didn't even ask Denny what he thought about the meal. I'm sure he wouldn't have been able to recall one detail (except perhaps the belly dancer on the way there).

Nicely framed by the tree.

Thanks! Another lucky shot!

Ooo, I see what you did there -- the architectural elements of the roof being echoed in the lamp. Wait, did I just say that? 'Cause I only know six colors!

Uhm...yeah....right....sure.....that's what I was going for......the emphasis of the various architectural elements of the roof and lamp with an emphasis on depth of field....... Cause you know - I only know about 8 colors, including magenta!

I also enjoyed your food descriptions.

It was the best I could do. Hopefully I can redeem myself with our next TS dinner. Maybe.....

And nice fountain pictures!

Aren't the fountains great at night when no one is there to get in the way?

 

[MEK]

Oops - sorry I missed this. Yikes. I'm slipping!

I looked on touring plans and this is what they had:

Marinated Tuna
with limes and herbs, Mediterranean salad, peppers coulis
Included

Thanks for looking that up. I promise I am going to find the picture I took of the menu and I am going to verify what I actually did eat for dinner.

And the soup was butternut squash?

Not sure if that was correct but their menu was from 12/2011.

I don't know and if I ask Denny know he most certainly will not know. As Mark said - men only know 6 colors and Denny probably only knows 4. Ouch - burn - did I just say that?

It did look yummy....

The food was very good and I definitely give 5 stars for overall experience. It was a great evening in every way.

I agree the photo of the slushie stand was very lovely...

When does a photo of the slushie stand not look good? Just sayin! There is just something about that stand that invokes relaxation because yummy stuff comes from there. Its a visceral response.

Nice photos of the details on the China ceiling...

Thanks. I actually forgot I had taken all those shots, so I was pleased to find them.

I have no recollection of the Martin Short film in Canada... Is it worth doing?

Well, I am a sucker for the films in the countries, but I especially like this film. I think adding Martin Short is a nice touch and I love seeing gorgeous video of the beautiful Canadian countryside. If you have time, stop by and see it. It's not a must do, but it is certainly pleasant and a great time filler.

Your meal looks really great... even the "yellow soup"

Yes - the mystery yellow soup that I am now determined to find the name of. I don't recall if I tasted it because I was pretty infatuated with my tuna.

(Hey Mary Ellen... whatcha think about this new Noreaster coming tonight... Up for a little November snow...)

All I can say is I am so glad we didn't get snow. We rarely get snow down here. It can snow 6 inches in Wilmington and I might get 1 inch at my house. Ugh to the poor people who got clobbered. Nothing like adding insult to injury!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Oh btw... thanks for mentioning your TR... Queue up Another Dis Trip... It was very helpful in helping with the plans for next summer...

 

[Pinkocto]

Loved the ceiling shots, very beautiful, definitely not too many. And the 'ToT' one. You really have a fantastic eye Mary Ellen.

How wonderful you and Denny had such a lovely dinner. I've never given that restaurant much thought. There's just so many of them to choose from. Oh how I love WDW.

 

[MEK]

Okay, so I had gotten VERY far behind in your updates but I'm all caught up now! Just want to say, you get some great detail shots around World Showcase of things I have probably seen a million times but never paid attention to. It must be so nice to be within walking distance to a park, that's something we have never done but would love to someday!

Welcome Back. I hope you had a great trip. I just subbed to your TR today!

Glad you like the detail pics. I can't wait to see your DH's pics from your most recent trip.

Staying at the BWV was so great. Loved it. I think its my new favorite resort.

Ha! I'm one up on you. Thanks to ROY G BIV.

OK - that totally went over my head. Get back here and 'splain that last part.

slowly catching up Mary Ellen but had to comment on you & Bo. NICE! Can't wait to read more about your trips!

I hear ya. I think I am finally starting to feel caught up and I have been home over two weeks. Sometimes it doesn't take much to get and stay behind.

Isn't Bo great?

Lovely photos of WS! I've only seen the china film once, but I'd like to see it again.

I think that is only my second or third time seeing the China film. For some reason I always end up at the other two - I think its a location thing.

We also had a lovely meal at Bistro last Oct, and I'm glad to see that you also had a great experience. My original plan was to go with the fixed price menu with the wine pairing, but I was a little afraid that I'd get knocked on my butt with all that wine at once.

I was definitely feeling no pain at the end of that meal, especially since I had also had a couple pool drinks that afternoon. I really do enjoy a wine pairing. I like someone else to pick for me since I know nothing about wines, other than I like to drink them.

I agree it is a great meal, and a nice date atmosphere. I'm glad there are a few places like that in the World, and I'll be sorry to see it go (if the rumors are correct and they are turning it very kid friendly).

I didn't hear that rumor, but I also never go over to the dining boards. Yup - that would be a shame because the total childless atmosphere was nice. Not that I mind seeing kids in signature restaurants, but it was such a quaint, small space that....well, you know what I mean.

Thanks for the food pics !! Your meal looks delicious, but I always wonder if the signatures are worth that much money really. We have only eaten at California Grill and we were on the DDP at the time, so we didn't worry about price so much. we did really enjoy our meal and experience there. DD's macaroni was waaayy too salty though and completely unedible. But paying OOP, I dunno ...... Do YOU think it was worth that much ?? Just curious.

Nah - it wasn't worth quite that much, but I'll tell you why we went that route. We did a timeshare tour back in April where the award was a $125 Visa gift card. We had to put a refundable $75 deposit down for the place we stayed. So essentially we still had this $200 Visa Gift Card and we figured, why not? It was our one big food splurge for the trip and it was more for the experience. I do agree that the deluxe dining plan really comes in handy for siggie restaurants. I also can justify it by saying that we really don't go out to eat that much at home, so Disney is more our splurge place. That, and I'm on a mission to eat at every restaurant in Disney.

I guess I should also mention that if we hadn't had the wine pairing the whole dinner would have been more reasonable.

I also thought it was interesting that your amuse brouche came in a bowl with a pretty noticeable chip in it. Kind of bad show for such an upscale place. Just an observation. Enjoying your TR and photos !!!

I really didn't even notice that until you pointed it out. But that IS a huge chip. Yeah - that is pretty poor. Obviously someone there has the same poor observational skills that I do.

Hmmm...I never feel weird taking a pic of the belly dancer...and another pic...and another...and another...

I am not surprised one little bit!

DW and I loved Bistro in Dec, 2010. I hated to hear that they were changing the menu and the attire of the CMs. I liked the upscale menu. Having the CM flambe your crepes at the table or carve the rack of lamb on a carving table next to you made it very high-end and special. Bistro was voted the best theme park restaurant in Florida for three years in a row by readers of "Theme Park Insider". I don't understand why you would want to change things with accolades like that!

I guess I should really pay more attention to what they are doing there. I am glad I got to eat there before the changes. I had no idea it was named best theme park restaurant, but I guess that makes sense because almost all the other siggies are outside of the parks. Glad to hear that you and DW loved it.

I, too noticed that chip. It was quite large, I was surprised a signature would be so slack as to serve that bowl to a customer.

What a romantic dinner that was, a beautiful setting for a dinner.

Once you guys pointed that out I noticed it. Do you think it might be because all my own dishes are chipped?

Honestly, if they had known that picture was going on the internet, they may have thought twice about using that bowl.

It was a romantic evening. I really did enjoy the whole experience.

What a nice dinner for the two of you! The food all looks really yummy! I really liked the Illumination picture that had the "ToT vibe".

It was a lovely meal and a great experience. I really enjoyed it. It was a nice treat.

That picture looks like the twilight one speckles. I did a double take when I first saw it.

 

[rachel09985]

Table for Two

Honestly, I am not even sure if I am going to make it to dinner because I probably took a hundred pictures between pool time and dinner.



Continued in Next Post..........

I love your pictures from this post! Especially the friendship boat's flag!

 

[MEK]

The dancer looks like Selena! I love that movie!

She does look like Selena. I really enjoyed that movie, too. What a loss.

The pictures are excellent! The fountain pix and of course the food pix are my favorites! The top of the filet almost looks likes the huge crouton they stick on the top of french onion soup. Oh Gosh, that sounds good. I might need to eat some of that tonight.

That filet looked so good. It makes my mouth water too when I look at it. Glad you liked the pics, especially the food porn.

Grrrrrrr. You mentioned my one peeve with the Boardwalk too. I hate the refillable mug situation. It just drives me up the wall. Because I'm an incessant mug users. I want my free drinkies dangit!

It is so annoying, mostly because I hate bothering the bartender and I really don't want to advertise that I am using the soda for an adult beverage. But its pretty obvious when you keep going back with two mugs. I did hear that they are going to add a mug station. Thank goodness.

Hahaha, blurry belly dancer. I was curious if Denny had taken the picture and not you because of the blurriness.

Ah - you must know about Denny's tendency to take blurry pictures. Nope. Can't blame it on Denny this time. It was me. All me.

I love the Bistro so much. It's my every once in a while restaurant though because of the price.

Yeah - it was a little pricey for sure, but it was fun and I probably won't be back there for awhile. Glad we did it though. Great experience.

I love the Illuminations pictures. It's awesome to be able to watch it from the restaurant.

It really was fun to watch from up high. I totally enjoyed that new experience.

Oh btw... thanks for mentioning your TR... Queue up Another Dis Trip... It was very helpful in helping with the plans for next summer...

I'm glad it helped and I'm going this April, so if there is anything you want me to check out, let me know. All I can say is you HAVE to go to that Kaminsky's bakery. OMG - best cheese cake ever!!!!!!!!!! Amazing. I also use a AAA agent who lives in Mt Pleasant (right outside Charleston), so if you want to contact her for anything or want me to ask her anything. She is awesome and I'm hoping to meet up with her for lunch while we are there.

Loved the ceiling shots, very beautiful, definitely not too many. And the 'ToT' one. You really have a fantastic eye Mary Ellen.

Thank you for such a nice compliment. You know - your pictures aren't to shabby either. I love them.

How wonderful you and Denny had such a lovely dinner. I've never given that restaurant much thought. There's just so many of them to choose from. Oh how I love WDW.

We have been slowly checking off the signatures and I thought it would be fun to go there since we were staying at the Boardwalk. I narrowed it down between the Bistro and the Yachtsman. I'm glad I picked the Bistro because it was such a great experience.

I love your pictures from this post! Especially the friendship boat's flag!

Thank you. that is one of my favorite pictures from this series because the flag just seemed to pop.

 

[eandesmom]

Oh my October descriptions are going to be equally as bad. I think part of my memory problem might be with the amount of alcohol I had that day. After a couple generous pool drinks and a wine flight I had no memory left. Plus I was starting the feel the fatigue of a long trip by then. I just know I enjoyed the food, atmosphere, and experience there immensely and I am so glad I made an ADR there.

Yep, we will have a lot of "Call this white wine" "Call this...whatever" LOL! Although actually I have my kiosk passport and menus are on all ears so that always helps. Holy cats did I take a lot of pictures! Have to upload them all and I haven't finished editing my summer trip ones yet (though I'm still a day or 2 ahead of the TR at least).

Actually, once I was sitting in the pool deck area of the Luna Park pool I really liked the whole atmosphere better than I thought I would. It was fun watching the kids on the slide. The villa pool does have a lot of shaded areas, but its still an nice atmosphere.

Oh I'm glad to hear that, I felt like I kind of made you go there due to my time constraints. I really liked it. Just the whole vibe was really cool and I know the E's will love it.

Oh Cynthia - when I went back there after you left for the airport I was one of about 4 people. In the pool was a mother duck and her brand new baby ducks. 5 of them. Another lady told me she saw them for the first time just the day before. Well, there was always one little duck who couldn't quite get back out of the pool. It was so cute. The baby would chirp and the mother would quack back and then finally have to bring all the babies back into the pool until that one could get out. Of course, I left my phone charging so I couldn't take any video. Those ducks where literally right near us in the pool and we were all cheering them on. It was precious. Really one of the neatest things I have seen in a long time.

Awww!

Thanks! I thought of you when I saw those boats lining up for the Illuminations cruise. That looked so cool.

I would love to of that on the big trip but we'd need 2 boats and then it just gets priced out of reach.

We ate at Pecos Bills during the party, but otherwise we ate all TS. I think that worked out great. I will definitely do more of the spontaneous TS in the future. I loved that we gave my TIW card a good workout, but I really only used it for 3 meals last December and 4 meals in June. I think I am going to purchase another one this summer. I like it and I think the CM's like it because it guarantees them a decent tip and its easy to figure out. Their response always seems positive to it.

Spontaneous TS. Isn't that an oxymoron? We did manage it twice though and they were both really great meals!

No, that would be Cynthia hanging on the verandah with her coffee. Me - I'll stick with the pool drinks!

nothing like a good cup of coffee on the verandah.