Hi! Just joining in here - long time lurker though haha
I can't even begin to tell you how happy it makes me to read your trip reports! I've finally found someone around my age who's just as disney crazy as me!
Your stay at BLT at christmas updates have totally given me something to work towards! it looks so beautiful it makes me want to cry!I can't wait to read more!
The Yuletide Fantasy tour sounds really cool!!!! How neat to learn about all these different traditions. I'm interested to see if he talked about St. Lucia in Norway!
We actually didn't go to Norway - after this post we left Epcot.What a great tour! And a perfect way to spend the day after Christmas which I agree would normally be kinda depressing.
As for breakfast at CC - at least the bagel was ok, I'll remember not to get the yogurt parfait!
I'm so glad you like them!! That makes me feel better lol. I wax them... I wish they were naturally like that! But they turn out decent so it's all good!the Yuletide tour sounds really interesting so far!
That tree in the American Pavillon everytime I saw it I wondered why there was pineapples on it
Anxiously awaiting part 2!
Loving your TR. Just wanted to say you totally inspired me to change my September 2013 plans to December 2013! I have seen the Christmas decorations in the parks before. But, my parents have not- so it will be a nice treat for them! Can't wait to read more and jot down more tips
I can not wait to hear about the rest of the tour! I think that would be such a fun tour to go on! Those facts about the different traditions each country has are very interesting! Thanks for sharing!
hahaha I'm glad that statue thing (I forgot what it's called lol-- I know it started with a D haha) didn't break when you dropped it!
That sounds totally like something I would do!
) but I'm writing it as much for me as for you! because I thought the fireworks were at 10pm. But then I realized that because it was July 3, MK was having their special Independence Day fireworks show (they do it on the 3rd and the 4th, and I can't remember what it's called) and those were scheduled for 9pm. So I was a little bummed 
about that, but the food there is still so good, I didn't think it would blow the whole experience. 
and the three of us (my mom, my sister, and myself) piled into the car for the hour long drive. About 20 minutes in, we started seeing lightning all over the place, and then it started POURING down rain. Traffic was slowed practically to a crawl for about 15 minutes; the wind was brutal and it was dark and raining so hard you couldn't see very far ahead. 
Traffic picked up eventually as the rain slowed a little, and about 20 minutes from the park it stopped completely. We were riding along on world drive (the main way to MK) around 9pm, and noticed that the rain must have delayed the fireworks, because nothing was happening up there. (oh man, could we be that lucky? 
)
(and noisy) and you could tell a lot of people were just milling around the bar area waiting for the fireworks. A cast member came over to us and said that they had just announced that the fireworks would now be at 10pm. (COULD we be that lucky?) But because they had been delayed, a lot of the tables that should have been emptying weren't. My mom decided to ask the hostesses for a window seat, 
even though it was pretty obvious EVERYBODY wanted a window seat. (She wasn't ashamed to mention that it was my sister's first Independence Day in the USA in like, 5 years, and that she works for the state department and that she's moving overseas this week. She knows Disney likes to add magic for special occasions.)
It had the PERFECT view of the Castle and the Seven Seas Lagoon and the Grand Floridian and the whole Magic Kingdom!! 
OMG, I thought I knew how awesome Disney fireworks are, but the 4th (or 3rd) of July fireworks were probably the BEST I've ever seen. (I've seen Wishes, Hallowishes, Fantasy in the Sky, the Christmas party fireworks, AND the pirate and princess party fireworks; the only ones I haven't seen are the new year's eve fireworks) And we had the PERFECT vantage point. I can't even explain how good it was. The music plays and the restaurant's lights are dimmed during the show too. They set off fireworks behind the castle AND FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE SEVEN SEAS LAGOON. So it was like double vision. and then toward the end they started setting off fireworks ALL AROUND THE MK. Just a giant circle of red, white, and blue fireworks, all simultaneous and set to the music. My mom and I knew they could do that, because they did it for the P&P party fireworks, but I wasn't sure it was coming, and my sister had NO IDEA they could do that and the three of us were just freaking out about how awesome it was. It was even better because we could see ALL the fireworks at once, without craning our necks or whipping our heads around. And before the finale was even over the whole restaurant was clapping like crazy, because THEY WERE JUST THAT GOOD. If you haven't seen them, you should try, because the 4th (or 3rd) of July Fireworks are FREAKING AMAZING. 
I just had to update you on how our California Grill dinner went. (because we're Disney people and we always like hearing Disney stories, right?)
RIGHT! And I always like to find reasons to procrastinate on my summer class homework.
Sorry it's kind of long, but I'm writing it as much for me as for you!
When I made the reservation for 9:35pm I was really excited
OH MY GOSH aww I feel really bad. I would have been so angry with myself if I did that. But that's alright. It's CA Grill. I'm hope it was okay!
So we got all dressed up
OH NO RAIN. That's awful. We had a monsoon here on that night too! Oooh I wonder....!
We checked in for our reservation a little early, maybe 9:20, and took the special elevator up. The restaurant was packed
Oh yeah, it gets SO noisy in there. OH MY GOD 10 O'CLOCK!!! That's good! And haha way to go, Mom! Milk it for all it's worth!
And then we stood around waiting. People started drifting out to the observation deck, so a few chairs opened in the waiting area. Around 9:40 I was getting worried that we might not even get seated before the fireworks, but like a minute later our pager went off. The hostess (who I had a hard time understanding because it was loud and she had an accent) led us around the bar to the side of the restaurant I've never been to, but then we curved back around and she put us at a table RIGHT NEXT TO THE WINDOW!
OH MY GOD, NO YOU DIDN'T!!!!! AHHHH I'm so happy for you! Disney Magic at it's finest!
Our waiter came and took our drink order; while he was gone we discussed the menu. We went family style for the whole thing, ordering a bunch of things we all wanted to try and just sharing them all. (more on the food in a bit)
Very smart!
Our appetizers came about 5 minutes before the fireworks, and we were happily munching on them when the show began!
That's PHENOMENAL. I'm sure the 3rd/4th of July fireworks are right up to par with the NYE fireworks... which were INSANE. So I know what you're talkin' about! I was FLOORED when I saw those!
The music plays and the restaurant's lights are dimmed during the show too. They set off fireworks behind the castle AND FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE SEVEN SEAS LAGOON. So it was like double vision. and then toward the end they started setting off fireworks ALL AROUND THE MK. Just a giant circle of red, white, and blue fireworks, all simultaneous and set to the music.
Yeah they doo like surround sound... only with fireworks! Like a 360 degree experience!
My mom and I knew they could do that, because they did it for the P&P party fireworks, but I wasn't sure it was coming, and my sister had NO IDEA they could do that and the three of us were just freaking out about how awesome it was. It was even better because we could see ALL the fireworks at once, without craning our necks or whipping our heads around. And before the finale was even over the whole restaurant was clapping like crazy, because THEY WERE JUST THAT GOOD. If you haven't seen them, you should try, because the 4th (or 3rd) of July Fireworks are FREAKING AMAZING.
Someday I will for sure! Ahhh I would have loved to see the crowd's reaction!
The restaurant practically cleared out after the fireworks, so it wasn't super noisy for the rest of the meal either. Our waiter also kind of disappeared though, and we had to keep asking for refills because the glasses there are small and they overload them with ice (even the water!)
That's very nice1 And aww I hate when that happens with drinks haha. Such a pet peeve.
And now the food!!
We ended up ordering:
for appetizers:
-the three cheese flatbread (delicious!)
-the Heirloom BLT flatbread (bacon is the magic word, and this was also delicious)
-the California Roll sushi (probably the best sushi I've ever had, although I don't eat a lot of sushi)
NOM NOM NOM FABULOUS CHOICES.
First course:
-Corn chowder (which we all agreed was the best thing we ordered)
-Peach-something salad (they liked this better than I did, but it had candied hazelnuts and some kind of cheese crouton in it too, and those were really good)
-Squash blossoms with mini crab cakes (Mom didn't like this, but my sister and I loved it)
-Sonoma goat cheese ravioli (they didn't like this as much as I did).
Interesting choices! I would have tried the corn chowder!
We skipped the main course because we went so bonanza on the other things.
For dessert we had:
-the cookie platter which had:
~ a chocolate cookie sandwich with peanut butter cream filling (really good)
~ a shortbread cookie (kind of dry, but still good)
~ a lemon bar with strawberry cream mousse (amazingly delicious and light and sweet and tart and creamy and wonderful)
~ some kind of chocolate dipping sauce that was basically cold hot chocolate (dipped my shortbread cookie into it, then my mom drank the rest of it, she said it was yummy (duh, it's chocolate));
-the Florida blueberry tart, which had some kind of lemon flavored ice cream on top (it was really good, but not my favorite thing)
-Vahlrona chocolate cake, which was a mini gourmet chocolate volcano with strawberry-rhubarb puree and strawberry ice cream (this was my favorite, sans the puree. The cake was all ooey gooey and the ice cream was the best strawberry ice cream I've ever put in my face)
YUM those all sound wonderful!
It was an expensive meal, but not as expensive as it could have been because we skipped the main course, which was the priciest. And we all agreed it was worth driving through the storm to catch those fireworks!
That sounds like the most magical night you could have ever asked for!
Needless to say it was an absolutely magical experience and not one I'll forget anytime soon. I was so happy to share it with my sister before she left, and I was even happier that everything worked out so perfectly.
I'm so happy for you guys! WOW you'll remember that forever!
Ok, novel over. I'll let your narrative resume now!
What a cool tour!! That would be so much fun and so interesting!!!
Wurzburg is the beginning of the Romantic Road in Germany and it is amazing! It winds through vineyards with castles on hillsides, rivers and little villages. If you ever travel in Germany, I highly suggest touring the Romantic Road. It is soooooooo beautiful!
Let me just say, you are pretty much my source for insider Disney information. You always know about these amazingly cool things that I've never even heard of! So yeah, you're pretty much the coolest person I know.
Okay, so I didn't read a lot of the update because I might want to do that tour someday, but I still wanted you to know I'm around and reading... at least most of the update hahh.
That's AWESOME that your tour guide did a perfect monorail guy voice though. UGH, be still my heart. I don't want to hear the new guy. I have a feeling I will have way too many emotions on the monorail.
ahhh the yuletide fantasy tour looks so splendid. It's so fun to learn about different cultures and figure out where traditions stemmed from and all that.
And OMG I never noticed that street labeled "The Romantic Road" in Germany. That is a very real place in Germany and it is GORGEOUS. My bff is a big traveler and she has actually lived in Germany the past year and a half (and is FINALLY back in the states). She has been dating a guy and actually started to fall for him after their trip to see the Romantic Road! There's castles (I think even one of the ones that inspired Cinderella's) and caves and waterfalls and all sorts of stuff up and down it! Amazing. The views of the Alps are so great. I also remember them all doing "The Sound of Music" pose at a stop along the way. Not sure if it's the exact spot where it was filmed or not.
ANYWHO...Love the little details in Disney and loving your trip report
: That's really precious. Wow, I love hearing about all of that stuff! Germany sounds like a really fantastic place.Hi! I have been lurking for awhile but had to comment on your Wurzburg sign photo! My twins were born in Wurzburg when we were stationed there. Every time we are in the World Showcase we take their picture under that sign!
That tour sounds amazing!
You're so sweet. I'm so glad that you learn a lot from my reports! I have SO many more instances of insider info coming up in this trip report... just you wait! If you liked this... you're gonna love the rest of this stuff! 
