Yo Ho Yo Ho a Tipsy Life for Me - A November '17 Dining Adventure - Complete 5/27

[rentayenta]

Cute update, sounds like a fun night!

 

[Raeven]

This is also where we realized that given the cheap grocery store quality of our cookie, our snack expectations were to be dramatically lowered.

I was so disappointed by the cookies too.

At this point I realized all Casey wanted to do was ride stuff, so I gave up on watching the parade later, and just let the kid be a kid.

That's basically what we ended up doing too

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

What is a clam belly? I don't think I've ever heard of these

So, in New England you usually get Clam Strips and Clam Bellies. They are kind of like oysters but clams tend to have sand in them sometimes...

I saw these the other day. Love, love, love the pretzel. Hope you all pick a few up on your trip!

Oh just wait till I get to that trip report.

Christmas card photo, check!

We always try to get some sort of photo for Christmas Cards on our trips. This is perfect!

This is where we somehow decided that taking Snack Selfies - aka a Snalfie - was in order

I love the Snalfies!

Improvement from the Santa cookie, but still a long way to go.

Too funny! The cookies def seemed pedestrian. Maybe you should do the Halloween party and just HIT EVERY trick or Treat station!

From there we took a ride in a honey pot and two of us decided to flash their gang signals before spinning into an oblivion.

I hear that Tea Cup Gang is tough!

Then it was on to riding in an elephant's belly

I had to think for a minute, what ride would be an elephant. oops.

o I gave up on watching the parade later, and just let the kid be a kid.

Good Mom, Although, it is hard sometimes to let go.

We ended up shutting the party down and didn't get back to Caribbean Beach until after 1. Casey was a trooper til the end though.

What a trooper! Both of them!

But given that we had next to no interest in waiting over an hour to meet characters and Casey could have cared less about the fireworks or parade, in the end it probably wasn't worth the money for us. I'm glad we tried it though and good news is Christmas would surprisingly redeem itself the next night.

The parades and fireworks take up a lot of the party time. It is hard to prioritize what you want to do at the parties.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Oh my gosh, I read your Homecomin(g) review before I ate lunch, and I was so wanting what you had! We've yet to eat there, and now I want a reservation there so bad on our trip, and I can't find an opening that will fit in with our plans! I saw what you did there regarding your calamari appetizer at the Boathouse, ! You didn't even get suction cups! Sorry your first Christmas party was less than stellar. In my opinion, the Halloween party is much better. Maybe you'll give that a try on a future trip!

 

[iheartbelle87]

Loving the update!! I’ve done both the Halloween and Christmas parties (once each) and I fully planned on loving the Christmas party more bc I love Christmas... but I agree with you, the crowds are crazy! I ended up loving the Halloween party much better and I’m not a Halloween frenzy kinda girl.... anyhoo I hope you had a great Easter! Can’t wait to hear more!

 

[toomuchtv]

Unfortunately it was the first party of the year so thanks to every blogger on the planet it had sold out and was much more crowded than we anticipated.

Good to know. I was kinda bummed that the first Halloween Party was the day we leave, but maybe it's a blessing in disguise.

This is also where we realized that given the cheap grocery store quality of our cookie, our snack expectations were to be dramatically lowered.

Boooooooooo! Disney is better than that!

We meandered our way to Frontierland to ride the wildest ride in the West, but for some reason they put us all in one car so I just skipped it. Clearly they did not have a good view of my ample derrière.

That's a bummer. I don't think I'd want to ride 3-wide with my son, and he's 2 (and also not tall enough, but that's not the point).

We ended up shutting the party down and didn't get back to Caribbean Beach until after 1. Casey was a trooper til the end though.

What a trooper!

Overall the Christmas party was a great way to ride attractions with little to no wait (mine train was only 30 minutes)

Mine Train in 30 minutes sounds good, though I need to ride it again to get the hype. I think my expectations were too high the one time we've ridden it.

But given that we had next to no interest in waiting over an hour to meet characters and Casey could have cared less about the fireworks or parade, in the end it probably wasn't worth the money for us.

I can't see waiting over an hour to meet characters, but I am interested in the fireworks/parade someday. We'll see if DS will be as well. Of course, if we go to the Halloween party, he'd probably just be all about the candy.

 

[kastoney]

Happy Easter! Or is it Merry Christmas? Glad you were able to try out the Christmas party. Love your Christmas outfits. It's been years and years since I've done it but I also recall not being all that impressed with the party. Mulled wine, eggnog (but not for me - yuck!) and other cocktails would definitely kick the festivities up a notch. I don't know why they couldn't do that for special party nights. It sounds like the rides and reduced wait times are definitely the main attraction of the party. 30 min for mine train is awesome! Although seeing it 'snoap' on Main St is pretty cool too. It's been years but as I recall the fireworks and parade didn't hold a candle to the Halloween party so I'm not sure you missed too much there. Looking forward to more. I sure hope you don't reach your F&W limit! But it sounds like fun to try!

Merry Easter to you! Hope it was a nice day.

Adult drinks would most definitely have made the party all the better or at least decent non-adult offerings. I know they had a lot of people to feed but the cookies were not definitely uninspired. Though as you said the ride lines were great. I think I'd prefer the After Hours events they had last year as I've heard there are far less people and I'll take popcorn and ice cream over bad cookies any day.

Happy Easter. I hope you all had eggs for breakfast of the chocolate variety like we did. I’ve always fancied doing a Christmas party at MK but I’m not so sure I could sell the value of it to my other half as he doesn’t really eat sweet things weirdo isn’t he
Mind you don’t think it’s the snacks you go for given your review but the short wait times sound perfect and who doesn’t love snoap on Main Street
Great Christmas card photo of you guys

Happy Belated Easter to you! A week on I have no recollection of what I ate for breakfast, though I know for sure that Casey was digging into some chocolate first thing.

After doing it I think I'd be a hard sell again too. We'd gotten cheaper tickets which made it an easier pill to swallow, but (gasp) like your other half I'd much prefer savory to sweet so they certainly didn't get me there.

Happy Easter! Glad you got to at least enjoy the snacks of the Christmas party and the rides. I’m with you on the worth of the event price wise.

Very cute photo with Goofy!

Happy Belated Easter! I'm definitely glad we did the party and snow on main street was awesome, but we most definitely won't be rushing back!

Love, love, love the pic of you all and Goofy! Super cute! Also, love the pic of Jason and Casey at the end of the night!
I'm glad you got to experience MVMCP. We are debating going to MNSSHP again in October...I just like the minimal wait for rides part...

Thanks Jenny! Goofy was pretty late in the night and we had to wait about 15 minutes, but thankfully Casey let us do it

Our 1 hour Christmas party in November was very crowded as well and the peppermint cookie was my favorite too.

Glad you were able to ride many things that night!

I forgot you only got to spend an hour at the party. At least we got a whole night in to know it wasn't for us. Though the after hours event I think you did a few years back definitely sounds more like our style.

That is an impressive amount of rides and re-rides! I'll assume this was more by virtue of going on during the fireworks and parade times more than just because you were at a party.
Casey's make-up is fantastic by the way...I almost want to do something similar on my next visit! (Is 40 too old for face paint??)

I hadn't even thought about the wait times being so low because of the fireworks and parades. Of course everyone else was doing was you were supposed to do at the party while us weirdos were clueless about why the wait times were so low

No one is ever too old for face paint! They really did a fabulous job on the Christmas ones. Definitely better than everyday offerings.

Hey Happy Easter! I am finally caught up on your always fab reviews. I think I need the Boathouse truffle fries in my life! They look amazing. Looks like the Christmas party was a lot of fun as well. You have had so much good food this trip. You have me wanting to go back to Sanaa as well. I haven't been there in many many years now.

Hi there Jeri! Happy belated Easter to you all.

You should most definitely have the boathouse truffle fries, they are a thing of wonder! Speaking of wonder, Sanaa is a must do every trip for us. I don't think I could do a disney trip without that amazing bread service!

I had to hunt for it because I have since gotten a new phone...but here it is.View attachment 313184

OMG that is too funny!!!!!!!! No way I can show Casey that or she'll be trying to do it every time we have calamari! Thanks for finding it!

Happy Easter!

I love all of your snack-selfies…hilarious!

Hi there Kelly! Happy belated Easter to you and more importantly hope you had an awesome trip!

Bummer…don't count out the Halloween Party yet, though…I personally prefer that to the Christmas Party.

I think Halloween may be more our style, but only if I go in knowing Casey isn't gonna let us watch anything worthwhile

Poor showing, Disney, I've seen those same mass-produced cookies at Walmart

I know right??? These tickets ain't cheap. Step it up Disney!

Love this picture! And your shirts!

Thanks Tracy!

YES! Excellent idea... well executed, too!

When the snacks were as pathetic as they were we had to step it up somehow

You sure got on a ton of rides - that might be a driving force for my attendance at one of these things someday.

The short lines were a definite plus and the only reason I'd consider doing it again.

Happy Easter!!! I really appreciate the honest review of the Christmas party. Touring plans was there that same party and it seemed very busy, and I would have been just like Casey. . . ready to ride Going during the spring this year, but perhaps next year I'll see if it is worth doing a night of just a party and not having an extra day of park tickets. I can't wait for your next review!

Happy belated Easter to you.

In retrospect we should have gone the next night versus the first night to the party. We could only get the discounted tickets for that night but I didn't even think that being the first one that Touring plans and every other site/blog out there would be trying to get a preview. Probably would have been better to pay full price and just go on the 2nd night. Plus as you said, I didn't even think not getting a ticket for that day as well. That would have helped.

 

[kastoney]

Loving your report.

We are also planning on doing the first party of the year this November. It'll just be DD12 and myself and we already decided not to do rides and just focus on the party stuff. Parade, fireworks, shows, dance parties, treats and meeting the 7 Dwarves. But we will have 8 day hoppers with plenty of time to ride MK rides. DD is older and understands but I'm sure at 6 she would've lost her mind and want to ride ALL OF THE RIDES!

Sounds like you have a much better party plan than we did. Our party ended up selling out so if you can you may want to consider going to the second one (which didn't sell out). Even without the rides, I'd think lesser crowds would be helpful. Looking forward to a day when Casey may want to actually experience the party aspects of the party

Happy Easter (Monday). Love the Christmas party recap. It looks fun but not sure it would be worth it for us either.

Happy Easter (Sunday once removed)! Though a friend of mine is Russian Orthodox and today is actually Easter for them because they follow a different calendar.

The peppermint cookie is definitely the best snack option they have...but overall the snacks are disappointing.

You said it. Definite disappointments. I think the peppermint cookie standing out in a sea of crappy options really doesn't make it real-world good

Cute update, sounds like a fun night!

Thanks! It was a lot of un.

I was so disappointed by the cookies too.

Good to know we weren't the only ones. Though if I recall you were smart and actually ate some food instead of using free snacks as a substitute for dinner!

That's basically what we ended up doing too

Great minds....

So, in New England you usually get Clam Strips and Clam Bellies. They are kind of like oysters but clams tend to have sand in them sometimes...

Got it, so the bellies are just the full clam??? I've had those before just don't think there were called bellies.

We always try to get some sort of photo for Christmas Cards on our trips. This is perfect!

Yes the photo was one of our saving graces.

Too funny! The cookies def seemed pedestrian. Maybe you should do the Halloween party and just HIT EVERY trick or Treat station!

Yes all of the candy would definitely have been much preferred!

I hear that Tea Cup Gang is tough!

You got watch out for them. They'll take a dis'er down

What a trooper! Both of them!

I think we were all troopers this night. Definitely took lots of patience to get through it.

Oh my gosh, I read your Homecomin(g) review before I ate lunch, and I was so wanting what you had! We've yet to eat there, and now I want a reservation there so bad on our trip, and I can't find an opening that will fit in with our plans! I saw what you did there regarding your calamari appetizer at the Boathouse, ! You didn't even get suction cups! Sorry your first Christmas party was less than stellar. In my opinion, the Halloween party is much better. Maybe you'll give that a try on a future trip!

Definitely keep looking for a Homecoming reservation. If I recall we got ours just a day or 2 before we went. We knew we wanted to eat there and couldn't find an opening either, but persistence paid off.

We may try a Halloween party at some point, but most likely not until casey gets older. I think they are actually starting in August when we'll be there this year but I can't bring myself to do Halloween 2 months early.

Loving the update!! I’ve done both the Halloween and Christmas parties (once each) and I fully planned on loving the Christmas party more bc I love Christmas... but I agree with you, the crowds are crazy! I ended up loving the Halloween party much better and I’m not a Halloween frenzy kinda girl.... anyhoo I hope you had a great Easter! Can’t wait to hear more!

Sounds like we are similar being Christmas lovers who didn't like the party. Maybe we should give Halloween a try

Good to know. I was kinda bummed that the first Halloween Party was the day we leave, but maybe it's a blessing in disguise.

I think it is. Our party ended up selling out because it was first and I now wish we would have gone to the second one, even if we would have had to pay full price.

That's a bummer. I don't think I'd want to ride 3-wide with my son, and he's 2 (and also not tall enough, but that's not the point).

I have no idea what they were thinking!!!!

Mine Train in 30 minutes sounds good, though I need to ride it again to get the hype. I think my expectations were too high the one time we've ridden it.

It definitely isn't worth the long wait and I don't get the hype either. But this was the first time we did it without a fast pass so it was fun to at least see the queue.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Got it, so the bellies are just the full clam??? I've had those before just don't think there were called bellies.

Maybe it is just my husband that calls them that? Who knows!?!

 

[Tracy161]

The short lines were a definite plus and the only reason I'd consider doing it again.

Oh, come on. I know you loved the fine dining that was available throughout the evening

 

[Raeven]

Good to know we weren't the only ones. Though if I recall you were smart and actually ate some food instead of using free snacks as a substitute for dinner!

We would’ve preferred to eat cookies for dinner though!

 

[kastoney]

So Long Food and Wine

After our very late night, we let Casey sleep in until 10 before we made our way to Epcot to experience one last bite of Food and Wine. Once there we did our best crash test dummy impersonations and met a purple dragon whose impersonations I'd like to soon forget, before some sugar and alcohol was in order.


Casey got her club cool on.

And Jason did his best Casey impersonation while enjoying our favorite beer of the Festival, the Founders Watermelon Gose.

Unfortunately at noon on the Friday of the last weekend of Food and Wine, the festival was insane. No line had less than 15-20 people in it so we got our child who'd had nothing but sugar for the last 18 hours something relatively healthy.

This is a fruit and cheese plate we got at a kiosk right by the land.

And speaking of healthy, Jason and I needed something healthy as well so we went with a Sea Dog Sunfish Beer, which is a wheat ale with hints of peach and grapefruit.

Gotta love when beer can be a conduit for 2 daily servings of fruit. Though does anyone feel like they are being watched?

We ventured into the World Showcase only to find crowds got worse the further we went. Sustained only by fruit beers and cookies from last night, we were in need of something, and thankfully were able to find a last minute reservation at Tokyo Dining. Casey and I dined here alone a few years ago when Jason wasn't feeling well, so this would be a first for him. Plus we all love our slushi (aka what Casey named sushi at the age of 3 and it stuck) and never met some raw fish we didn't like.

We were seated right away and had a great view of the slushi chefs.

I thought it was awesome that they were all women!

We of course needed something to drink so when in Japan we'll take a Kirin please.

When Tokyo Dining can have beer on tap the the Boathouse didn't, something is definitely amiss (and yes I'm still bitter)

To start with we ordered the Tuna Ponzu with Truffle Oil and Yuzu-Ponzu Sauce.

Clearly someone was hungry and couldn't keep their chopsticks out of the picture! And I now know why because this was amazingly fresh and I loved the combination of truffle and Yuzo. Definite winner!

Continued in next post....​

 

[kastoney]

So Long Food and Wine Part II: Tokyo Dining Awakens

For our meal we went with several slushi rolls to share. Up first we have Tropical Roll which is a Salmon and Avocado Roll topped with Fried Plantain and Mango-Sweet Chili Coulis.

I didn't think I'd like this because I don't generally like sweet slushi, but the mango and salmon combo was awesome and the crunch from the plantains truly put it over the top. We had something similar at Kona on a previous trip and this one put poor Kona to shame.

Next we have Spicy Crunchy Roll which is a Tuna and Salmon mix, topped with Tempura Crunch, Dynamite and Volcano drizzle.

Dang chopsticks got me again! Again this was amazingly fresh fish and they were topped with either a spicy wasabi or spicy sriracha mayo. I'm not a huge wasabi fan so I didn't love that one, but the mayo was amazing.

Lastly we have my favorite the Firecracker Roll, which is a Tempura Shrimp Roll with Wakame Salad and Jalapeno finished with Eel Sauce, Shredded Red Pepper, and Sriracha drizzle.

The chopstick bandit strikes again! This was a great blend of crispy shrimp and spicy sriracha and totally hit the spot.

We were happy slushi girls!


While I was disappointed we didn't get any more Food and Wine, Tokyo Dining made up for it. I had low expectations going in as I'd never heard much about their slushi, but it was all top notch. Dare I say I'd put it on par with California Grill, and given most of the rolls are half the California Grill prices, we'll most definitely be back.

After lunch we hit up Mitsukoshi for some candy to take home for Casey.
And stopped in Africa to get our beat on

Before we finally headed out. Epcot was quite literally busting at the seams and we wanted no part of it.

Up next, we get our caveman on! ​

 

[toomuchtv]

Plus we all love our slushi (aka what Casey named sushi at the age of 3 and it stuck) and never met some raw fish we didn't like.

I like sushi, as long as there is no raw fish in it. And I have to ask, does slushi rhyme with sushi, just with an extra l stuck in there? That's how I've always read it in my head.

After lunch we hit up Mitsukoshi for some candy to take home for Casey.

I love me some Japanese candy! We were actually lamenting yesterday how our currently planned trip (that DH keeps trying to cancel on me) does not include Epcot. We may have discussed if it would be weird to stand outside Epcot and give someone $$ to get us Japanese candy and caramel yumminess.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Ahh Andi loved the firecracker roll as well, she loves spicy. We really enjoyed our food there too! F&W can be a mad house at times. I am like. You all I want no part when it is like that. Yay for women making the slushi! The first roll you had with the mango looks really tasty yum!

 

[iheartbelle87]

almon and Avocado Roll topped with Fried Plantain and Mango-Sweet Chili Coulis.

Lastly we have my favorite the Firecracker Roll, which is a Tempura Shrimp Roll with Wakame Salad and Jalapeno finished with Eel Sauce, Shredded Red Pepper, and Sriracha drizzle.

GAH now I want sushi... errr, slushi ASAP!​

 

[areno79]

The sushi looks amazing. I never considered Tokyo Dining before because, well I don't know why, but it looks like someplace DH would love (he's a bit of a sushi addict and would eat it for every meal if I'd let him.)

 

[Jenny Sanders]

We too loved Tokyo Dining a few years back!!! I love how Casey calls it slushi!!! That cracks me up. She's so darn cute!

 

[FSU Girl]

This looks delicious and love the color on the fish.

Dang chopsticks got me again! Again this was amazingly fresh fish and they were topped with either a spicy wasabi or spicy sriracha mayo. I'm not a huge wasabi fan so I didn't love that one, but the mayo was amazing.

These look really good. I'm very new to eating sushi, but have recently discovered I really love a lot of the different types. Spicy Mayo is one of my favorites to have on top of sushi.

I've never tried Tokyo Dining before, but these pictures make me want to give it a chance. I have a couple upcoming trips I need to plan Epcot dining so this might get moved up to the top of the list. My favorite thing about eating sushi is I never feel stuffed afterwards, but it's always really filling.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Jason's impression of Casey's drink picture has me . The expression on his face is priceless! Ugh on the F&W crowds. Any Friday gets progressively more but I'm sure the last hurrah was especially so. You guys have great luck with the last minute ADRs. I have started dabbling with the "wing it" strategy and it is very freeing but I'm so obsessive that I'm not sure I can fully let go. I have never tried Tokyo Dining. I knew it was there but I never seem think about it either in the moment or when planning ADRs.