Bob & Larry Visit Walt Dinner World, February 3-9, 2004 (Completed 2/16/05!) About This Page:

[BostonTeaParty]

Great TR as usual, Larry!! Please feel free to gush all you like about MS. Those of us who haven't experienced it yet can't get enough of it.

I met up with Joe (Elliot's Dragon) in Boston just last week. He told me about meeting up with you!! He said he didn't realize right away that you were "The Larry" from the boards.

Looking forward to hearing about your PS in Germany, as I haven't eaten there yet either.

[LLaffinPlace]

Wednesday, February 4, 2004 - Day 2: Our Incredible World Tour, Part 5

Biergarten at Germany in Epcot, February 4, 2004

We proceeded in the clock-wise direction around World Showcase and arrived in Germany in good time for our PS. It was rather crowded, loud, and confused, as one would expect. However, this is where the fun began . We registered and a short while later, we heard what sounded like the name under which our party was registered. Marti repeated the name to the CM, who asked, "Party of four?" So, thinking this was us, we followed her around to the left up on the second tier with a good view of the stage and the open area in front, and were seated at a table where we were joined by two other couples. The CM left the party slips on the end of the table and, having confirmed the other two groups of two, we then discovered that the name on the remaining slip was NOT ours. Mike went back to the check-in station to tell them, and the basic attitude seemed to be that if we were happy, then they were happy and did not see that this was a big deal. Our major and, I guess, only concern was that the other folks would NEVER get called because their slip had disappeared.

Our very nice server appeared and greeted us, and she took our drink orders. Mike and Bob and I ordered beer (I had Beck's dark but did not note the other guys' selection) and Marti had wine. We were invited to help ourselves to the "all you care to eat" buffet, and were soon perusing the choices. [I will tell you in advance that I always find it difficult to write in a coherent fashion about buffets because everyone samples all sorts of things. And my TR 'system' is geared towards keeping a copy of the restaurant menus and making notes on them about what everyone orders, which works fine except when there aren't any menus! ]

That said, Biergarten offers the following sorts of things at Dinner: salads, including Brat Salad, Cucumber Salad, Carrot Salad, Bean Salad, Potato Salad, and lettuce salad with dressing; cheeses and cold cuts; chicken soup; beets, Red Cabbage, Wein Kraut, Potatoes and Spaetzle; assorted breads; Sauerbraten and Fish (note that these are not offered at lunch), Rotisserie Chicken, Roast Pork, and Chicken Schnitzel. Desserts include Apple Strudel, Vanilla Custard, Black Forest Cake, Bavarian Cheesecake, and Raspberry Almond Cookies.

I first sampled some of the salads: lettuce, carrot, potato--I don't eat Cukes) and found them surprisingly good. I had a small piece of salmon that was cooked very nicely--more on a par with AK's Tusker House than the WL's Artist Point, of course. The Sauerbraten had a good flavor, but Bob pointed out that the texture was somewhat strange because after one begins chewing it, it sort of disintegrates. I of course had to sample the wurst (somehow omitted from the list above) as well as the sauerkraut and found these to be quite good. [Huntsville has an interesting German heritage--some people here really were/are Rocket Scientists!--so I have that as well as a trip to Germany for comparison.] I did not try the Chicken Schnitzel; a number of folks would have preferred 'real' snitzel, i.e., veal, but I guess that would have run the buffet price up and a lot of people do not eat veal. Oh, and the beets were quite good; they are not something I have very often and I am not sure exactly why. I had some bread which was acceptable although nothing particularly special.

There is live entertainment, along the lines of what one might find in Munich Bierstubben such as the Hofbrau. This included music, singing (with audience participation), with the drinking songs, some dancing--mostly by adorable children from the audience, etc. One of the songs I enjoyed the most was accompanied by Alpenhorns, those enormously long horns with such deep, beautiful tones. This took me back to my one trip to the Swiss Alps during a canton holiday in Zermatt. There was a parade and we were sitting on the hotel's porch up on the side of the valley on a perfect clear and sunny day, and the sound of the horns just resonated throughout the valley. Sigh.

Okay, I'm back. As I mentioned, we were seated at the table with two other parties. Now this is one aspect of the Biergarten that I have considered slightly off-putting, but we had very nice conversations with these two couples at the table and my advice is to go for it! It can be a lot of fun to find out where others are from, what brings them to WDW, where they are staying, and how they are enjoying their trips.

I sampled most of the desserts. [I do it all for you, Gentle Reader! ] I found them to be somewhat under the standard set by, say, Boma, and well under specialty desserts at places like California Grill, Artist Point, Flying Fish, and Jiko, but this comes as no surprise as the cost of a single dessert there can equal one-third to one-half the price of dinner (supper to us Southerners) at Biergarten. The best dessert was probably a tie between the Apfel Strudel (just a hint of toughness to the pastry) and the Black Forest Cake (could use slightly more intensity in the chocolate flavor).

When the server went to get our bill done up, they acknowledged that we were not the party on the slip (Oh, so now it matters) because while we were indeed a party of four, none of us was an infant. They therefore felt obligated to charge us for four adult meals.

Anyway, well-satisfied, we exited Germany and strolled in the direction of Canada to take up our viewing spot for the fireworks (etc, etc.) show, Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. Our position was between the store that is directly in front of you as you enter World Showcase from Future World on the main walkway, and Canada around to the right. This is where we had viewed Illuminations back in April with my sister. It is a good spot because the viewing is good (though perhaps not exceptional) and positions you reasonably well to make for the bus back to the resort afterwards.

I truly enjoy Illuminations, which includes, fire, water, fireworks, lasers, video, and music--especially the music, and get into it each and every time. I even stood apart from the others a bit so that I could sing along with the song at the end. It was a good show and the temperature, while turning slightly cool at this point, was still comfortable to me.

After Illuminations we made our way to the AKL bus stop, noting as always the fiber optic lights embedded in the sidewalk in FW. Once back at the Lodge, Marti and Mike checked in, and are in the room next to ours. This is quite handy because when they got into the room and went out onto the balcony, they spotted giraffes! Marti knocked on our door and alerted us. The giraffes were some distance away, illuminated by the 'moonglow' lighting. Because they were so graceful and completely quiet as they moved, they really looked more like some sort of spectral image. We could also see some of the Ankole cattle because of the white horns.

To finish out the day, we grabbed our mugs and refilled them in Mara, and met Mike up in the Victoria Falls lounge, where he enjoyed his beer, we put our feet up, and discussed our very successful day. Bob and Marti and I made some plans for tomorrow, and then all retired for the evening.

In summary, here is what we did today. It would just not have been possible during a more crowded time in the parks.

<Bus to Animal Kingdom>
Kilimanjaro Safaris
It's Tough to Be a Bug
Tarzan Rocks!
Dinosaur
Primeval Whirl
<Bus to Disney-MGM>
50's Prime Time Café (Lunch)
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (x2)
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (x2)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire-Play It!
The Great Movie Ride
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Star Tours (sans Marti and Larry)
<Friendship to Epcot>
Mission: Space (sans Marti)
Biergarten (Supper)
Illuminations: Reflections of Earth

A good day in many parts!

[LLaffinPlace]

Jennifer, thanks for the feedback. I am sure Marti will be especially interested.



Nancy, good to hear from you, and I hope the description will entice you to try Biergarten. Honestly, I had a lot of fun and more than I expected. The entertainment and the conversation added a lot. I have read a bit about the Boston meet and am very jealous. I had this fantasy that one might happen when I was in Boston (really Cambridge) on business. Maybe some day!

[BostonTeaParty]

What an amazing day you all had! I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to hear Mike's pronouncement of WDW!!!

What curious offerings at Biergarten, Larry. Lettuce salad? (Is it the same thing as a garden salad?) Cucumber salad? Carrot salad? Sounds like they could throw them all in one bowl and serve a garden salad. I'm sure that can't be the case.

Your description of the Alpenhorns brought to mind the "Ricola" commercial. Although I can only imagine how stunningly beautiful the Swiss Alps must be. Sigh.



[ QUOTE ]
I sampled most of the desserts. [I do it all for you, Gentle Reader!]

[/ QUOTE ]

Larry, your selflessness brings a tear to my eye.

[GoofyMom]

Larry, I'm really enjoying your details in your TR. I can't believe how much you managed to cram into one day!



And I wasn't particularly interested in eating at Biergarten because of the complete strangers we would have to eat with, but after hearing your descriptions of the food, I just may decide to exercise my right as a woman to change my mind!

[BostonTeaParty]

[ QUOTE ]
Nancy, good to hear from you, and I hope the description will entice you to try Biergarten. I have read a bit about the Boston meet and am very jealous. I had this fantasy that one might happen when I was in Boston (really Cambridge) on business. Maybe some day!

[/ QUOTE ]

Having not a drop of German ancestry in me, I am definitely interested in the Biergarten as a completely new experience. The buffet sounds quite tasty, and the entertainment quite fun!

As for Boston/Cambridge, just PM me when you are planning a visit here. (I'm thinking due to your job description you visit MIT?) We will show you a wonderful time, and, recommend the best restaurants.

[luvnwdwgal]

Thanks for the info about Biergarten! I will admit I'm a bit leary of eating at the restaurants that seat you with others. Looking forward to more!

[LLaffinPlace]

[ QUOTE ]
What curious offerings at Biergarten, Larry. Lettuce salad? (Is it the same thing as a garden salad?) Cucumber salad? Carrot salad? Sounds like they could throw them all in one bowl and serve a garden salad. I'm sure that can't be the case.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, the lettuce salad was essentially a garden salad. The dressing was quite good also. The Cucumber salad and the carrot salad were marinated veggie-type salads. I don't know if they had enough to appeal to a vegetarian or not. Certainly one would have to be very careful of the potato salad or which potato salad because some of the German ones contain bacon.

We'll have to ask Marti to tell us Mike's pronouncement on WDW.

[Bob's sister]

For those of you who are wondering if Mike enjoyed our marathon day, here are his comments: First, he said, "Well, I've done that now so I never have to come back here again." Then, when we were driving to Daytona on Monday & I explained that we had not used the "plus" on our Park Hoppers, he said, "Does that mean we could go back to the parks today?" Then, just today we were talking about it and I mentioned that he'd said he'd never go back, and he said, "Well, I said that 20 years ago, too." Sooo, my assessment is that I WILL be going back WITH Mike (& hopefully Larry, Bob & maybe even our kids)..

re Biergarten: I had printed menus for the French, Italian, Canadian & German restaurants before we left & told Mike to pick one. He happens to LOVE German food, after a 2 week trip to Germany & Austria a few years ago, so he immediately chose Biergarten. When we arrived, he mentioned that he hadn't noticed that it was a buffet.... He & I are really anti-buffet types, but we thoroughly enjoyed Biergarten, primarily because of the entertainment, which was, as Larry noted, lots of fun! I especially enjoyed the chicken schnitzel... it was moist & tasty! The Bavarian cheesecake was a nice surprise, too, even though I had to hide it from the food police (who just joined us on Wednesday ).

[Irenaroo]

Wow, another Larry TR! I thoroughly enjoyed your others, and was anxious to start reading your new one! Thanks for the great description of MS. I can't believe how much you did that day! I think during our week between Christmas and New Year's, we did those things in 2 or 3 days, and not even all of them! YOur descriptions are phenomonal. Looking forward to more!

[Colexis Mom]

Great update Larry Sounds very yummy Keep it coming

[Two4Disney]

Oh my goodness! We were on a whirlwind house-buying expedition this weekend and didn't realize so much posting had gone on. The good news is, we did buy a house and can now concentrate more on day trips to the parks!

Good to know we weren't so late getting back to the boards that we missed the Flying Fish Report. The Biergarten sounds yummy. It is on our growing list of places to eat, especially since Rich is half German and loves the food. And Kathy loves the music. And we both love the beer ...

Sounds like you had a great day--especially with the park-hopping, which is what we like to do.

-- R&K

[LLaffinPlace]

My thanks to the folks checking in and providing encouragement!



Rich & Kathy, I had to laugh when I read your post about not missing the Flying Fish report! It took me so long to get through the first full day that you were never in any danger!



I'm working on another post, so I hope it won't be too long in coming.

[chezp]

Thanks for the latest updates - I've only just caught up. I'm changing my mind about Biergarten after reading your review of it. I'd always thought it didn't have much for veggies (I eat fish) but now I'm thinking again. Maybe one day we will eat there after all.

[Luv2plan]

I've just caught up with your trip report, and I'm really enjoying it!! I've obviously missed out in the past so I'll have to go back now & read some of your old reports.

Looking forward to more