A Foodie Celebrates 40 TR (Sept. 28-Oct. 7, 2012) - Page 5 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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We love Coral Reef! We have found that since we usually get a table on the upper level because of our son's wheelchair that the noise level up there is not as bad. I think perhaps the sound on the lower levels is more amplified. But great food pics and glad you had quick service. Sorry you got soaked but hey it is another Disney poncho added to the stash. lol
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I'm afraid we're on different sides in football as Luke and I are big Titan's fans. I totally get the rivalry but from the other side. Sorry about the rain!
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sounds like a nice relaxed day! Sorry about the rain I have lived here for 22 years and still don't always know better to pack ponchos and such...lol I'm glad both of your teams won! That always makes for a better start to your day!
It's hard for me to complain. I think this is the first time in 6 years we've had to wear ponchos, so we were overdue for a rainy trip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
I knew I liked you two! We are Pats fans here too! Sounds like a good time!!!!
Before the Pats fans next to us started cheering for the Texans, he asked me, "So, you don't like the Patriots?" I said, "Oh, I'll cheer for the Patriots any time they're not playing the Texans!" That seemed to satisfy him. Of course, we are playing on Monday Night Football this year...
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
That dessert looks delicious!
It definitely was -- we cleaned the plate!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Your lunch at ESPN sounds like it was fun-- with the two games and two sets of fans cheering for each other. I'm impressed that you even got out of bed at all that day. I think I'd have stayed in and taken several long bubble baths. Hope your aching body is better for the next day's touring.
David was more sore than he anticipated, too. I think the super-high humidity just took more out of us than we realized!
Quote:
Originally Posted by disney_duke
Night races will do that to ya. It's so hard to move the next day!! You plowed through though, good work. I remember that downpour! We were at MNSSHP that night!
Ugh -- MNSSHP in the rain is no fun (foreshadowing...)!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince
That Chocolate Wave is my very favorite WDW dessert, and I've never seen it as pretty as yours! I'd go to CR just for that dessert.
We love Coral Reef! We have found that since we usually get a table on the upper level because of our son's wheelchair that the noise level up there is not as bad. I think perhaps the sound on the lower levels is more amplified. But great food pics and glad you had quick service. Sorry you got soaked but hey it is another Disney poncho added to the stash. lol
Good point. I might be one of the few to actually request a table on the upper level next time! I realize we were at Disney, but I guess I just expected that the aquarium would lend itself to a more soothing atmosphere. I suppose, though, that the lower level had more than it's fair share of kids running to and fro trying to see the fish.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jillybean
Your simple statement of pinning the grape soda cap pin on David's medal ribbon made me tear up. Now that's love.
Jill
As soon as I saw the pin, I knew that I wanted to get it and give it to him, even though he's not a pin collector. When I pinned it on him, he looked at me and said, "What was that for?" I just said, "Because I love you the way Ellie loved Carl."
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Sorry about your foot and the rain, but it sounds like you made the best of it.
Yep, I was determined that I was not going to let anything -- weather, rude guests, my aging body -- spoil this trip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Sounds like you had some good eats today! Sorry about being sore from the race!
Oh, the good food is only just beginning!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Sounds like an easy day after the race. That dessert looked delicious
It was a nice, easy post-race day, which is just what we needed. Knowing that we still had a week of vacation left helped us relax because we still had plenty of time to see and do the stuff we really wanted to. In fact, we didn't do much Disney stuff for the first 3 days we were there!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
I'm afraid we're on different sides in football as Luke and I are big Titan's fans. I totally get the rivalry but from the other side. Sorry about the rain!
It's ok -- you're geographically close enough to Tennessee that I forgive you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shazza
Yum - the wave looks delicious. And ESPN sounds like fun.
You definitely should try The Wave if you eat at Coral Reef! It was quite yummy, as was the rest of our food!
[B] As soon as I saw the pin, I knew that I wanted to get it and give it to him, even though he's not a pin collector. When I pinned it on him, he looked at me and said, "What was that for?" I just said, "Because I love you the way Ellie loved Carl."
We woke up at 7:00 so that we could be out the door by 8:30. We weren’t sure what to expect crowd-wise given that it was a special day at Epcot, our favorite park. I grabbed a Clif bar on my way out, and I think this was the last breakfast food I ate on the entire trip. Every other morning, I was still too full from the day before!
I decided to wear my tiara, princess sash and birthday button today. I hadn’t originally planned on wearing my birthday button every day. I felt funny because my actual birthday did not occur during our trip. However, David encouraged me to keep wearing it, since it was the reason we were at WDW. I had learned a lesson from the day before and pinned my princess sash to my shirt at the shoulder so it wouldn’t keep slipping off.
We walked to the International Gateway and found a manageable crowd waiting to enter. There was a little girl dressed as Merida who was admiring my tiara and sash. Her mom asked where we got them (we actually got this question quite frequently during our trip), and I explained that David had bought a princess in-room celebration for me. I complimented Merida on her beautiful dress. She was shy and didn’t say anything, but she looked pleased.
We were held at the IG until about 8:40 a.m. Upon entering, we received a souvenir 30th anniversary park map and button. A button. Not a pin, as had originally been advertised. I was happy to have the button, but I admit to being slightly disappointed because Disney had advertised a “limited edition pin.” Oh well, I still had a souvenir for the scrapbook!
On our way to FW, I snapped a few photos.
We headed straight to Soarin’. We grabbed FPs with a 9:45 return time then walked on to the ride. We got the first row. We finished the ride shortly after 9:00, then headed over to the Seas with Nemo and Friends, just as the crowd began filtering in from the front gate -- I guess they weren’t let in until 9:00?
After our ride in the clamshell, I took David’s photo with Bruce, then we headed over to Turtle Talk, which David had never seen. My kids only saw it once, when it was brand new, and it was during one of our marathon weekend trips, so David had been back in the room resting while I continued touring with the boys. We had to wait about 10 minutes for the show, and I got to take lots of pictures in the pre-show area. This was not here the last time we did Turtle Talk, so I enjoyed looking around. The show was fun, as always, and Crush did a magnificent job of talking with the kids while sprinkling in some zingers that were funny only to the adults.
From there, we went to find our Leave a Legacy photo and snapped a picture of it. We purchased this on our marathon weekend trip in 2001, I believe. We look so young!
Then we got Photopass pictures in front of SE.
Our Soarin’ FPs were ripe, so we headed back to The Land. It looked like the first row was full, so we asked if we could wait for the next flight. The CM sent us to the next loading bay without missing a beat. Hooray! David sat next to a young man in his 20s who was VERY into the music on the ride--pretending to conduct the orchestra, air drumming on the drum beats, etc. We figured out that he was likely on the autism spectrum. He was there with his dad, and it was clear that it gave dad joy to see his son so happy.
By now, it was 10:45, so we headed toward WS, which was to open at 11:00. F&WF, here we come!!
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We figured that the first few booths just over the bridge would quickly have long lines, so our strategy was to skip over the first few and come back to them later.
We went counter-clockwise around the lagoon today, so Canada was the first booth we stopped at. We had the Le Cellier Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle Butter Sauce , the Chicken Chipotle Sausage with Sweet Corn Polenta and Onion Jam and a Mission Hill Syrah. I desperately wanted the cheddar cheese soup, but it was blazing hot outside, and I just couldn’t face a cup of hot soup. The food was, of course, wonderful. We love going to Le Cellier because it is the only place we’ve ever found Mission Hill wines. These wines are from a vineyard in British Columbia, and David’s parents had brought us back a couple of bottles from a trip to Banff many years ago. Since then, we’ve searched in vain for them anywhere in Texas. So we were quite happy to see them served at the Canada booth.
Next we went to Greece, where we tried the Griddled Greek cheese with Pistachios and Honey, Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki, Spanakopita, and a wine (I can’t remember which one). It was all good, but the griddled cheese was my favorite.
In Ireland, we got the Kerrygold Cheese Selection (aged Irish cheddar, Dubliner, and Cashel Blue with apple chutney and brown bread), Warm Chocolate Lava Cake with Bailey’s Ganache, and Bunratty Mead Honey Wine. I love cheese, but I wasn’t overly impressed with this cheese plate. The chocolate lava cake, however, was a different story. It was one of my favorite dishes at the festival.
Next up was France. We ordered escargot, creme brulee, and a glass of merlot. I enjoyed the escargot. This was only my second time to eat them -- the first was on DCL on our honeymoon! I figure that with enough garlic and butter, you can make pretty much anything taste good.
After 4 countries in a row, we needed a break (and it was hot), so we headed in to watch Impressions de France. Luckily, they were just beginning to seat guests as we walked in, so we didn’t have to wait at all. I tried to remember what it was about this movie that makes Princess Sharon giggle, and I thought it had something to do with a sheep, so I tried to keep an eye out for the comical ewe. I love the the beauty of this movie. David has been to Europe, but I never have -- sigh. So this is as close as I’ve gotten to experiencing the grandeur of France. I think David sensed my wistfulness, because he leaned over and whispered, “Don’t worry, someday I’m going to take you there.”
After a nice 20 minutes or so in the air conditioning, we were ready to soldier on. The Belgium booth was next, and we had the Belgian Waffle with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream and a Hoegaarden beer. I was looking forward to the waffle, and it did not disappoint! I think David is lucky I was willing to share it with him at all, because I easily could have scarfed down the whole thing.
Mine, mine, mine!
Then we traversed the ocean to New Zealand, where we tried the Seared Sea Scallop with Kumara Red Curry Puree and Apple Radish Salad and Lamb Meatball with Spicy Tomato Chutney. I had a glass of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc (one of my very favorite wines), and David had a glass of Kim Crawford Pinot Noir. The scallop was just ok, but David really liked the meatball, which came in its own mini-bread bowl.
We were torn about whether to try to squeeze in one more country, but Morocco was next and it had absolutely no line. The guys working at the booth greeted me with an enthusiastic, “Happy birthday, Princess!” when we walked up to order. We ordered a Kefta Pocket (ground seasoned beef in a pita), Merguez Sausage (beef and lamb sausage) with Grilled Peppers and Onions, and a sangria, then found a shady spot to sit outside Tangierine Cafe. I liked the sausage better than the kefta pocket, which was just a bit dry.
Sausage (left) and Kefta Pocket (right)
It was starting to rain again, so we headed back to the villa. We relaxed and took a nap, then got up around 4:00 to start getting ready for dinner.
Next up: The Best Meal of My Life! (subtitle: Why are you crying?)
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Sorry about being sore from the race! 
I have lived here for 22 years and still don't always know better to pack ponchos and such...lol I'm glad both of your teams won! That always makes for a better start to your day!
As soon as I saw the pin, I knew that I wanted to get it and give it to him, even though he's not a pin collector. When I pinned it on him, he looked at me and said, "What was that for?" I just said, "Because I love you the way Ellie loved Carl." 
Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
We finished the ride shortly after 9:00, then headed over to the Seas with Nemo and Friends, just as the crowd began filtering in from the front gate -- I guess they weren’t let in until 9:00? 
David sat next to a young man in his 20s who was VERY into the music on the ride--pretending to conduct the orchestra, air drumming on the drum beats, etc. We figured out that he was likely on the autism spectrum. He was there with his dad, and it was clear that it gave dad joy to see his son so happy. 
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