A Foodie Celebrates 40 TR (Sept. 28-Oct. 7, 2012) About This Page:

[shazza]

What a delicious update! Your iPhone photos came out great. Thanks for the detailed descriptions, and I agree - the two of you looked very nice all dressed up. A night to remember.

We had a similar experience at V&A's - but it was years ago. Have to go back.

(A bit off topic: people compare Remy on DCL to V&A'S, and it does have some similarities, but I think V&A'S serves about twice as many small courses which really adds to the overall experience - not as far as quantity, but with the overall taste experience)

[Colexis Mom]

Wow, what a meal!

[KMB733]

Sounds like an AMAZING meal at Victoria and Albert's!!!

[dutchdisneyfamily]

Love all the food porn! Your dinner at V&A is amazing! Wow!

[Cam22]

What an incredible dining experience!

[llgmommy2]

I really want to dine there now. I just feel guilty not taking our daughter with us, she is quite the foodie for only being 14 years old.

[MayraLR]

What an amazing meal! So much food, I got full just reading about it.

[shnewell]

Originally Posted by lauriep

What a fantastic meal! I've never eaten there, and probably never will, but the experience looks just amazing. You know you're a foodie when the food makes you cry! You both look wonderful all gussied up!

Laurie, I hope you will get to eat there someday. This experience was worth every penny!

Originally Posted by chezp

Oh wow - everything just looks so good. I was thinking only yesterday that as we may be in WDW for our 14th anniversary next year, that maybe a return trip back to Victoria and Albert's might be in order. Looking at your photos, I think we should!

Absolutely!! This was our first time eating there since our honeymoon. I remember that you and I got married in the same year, so it's been 13 long years that we've been waiting to return.

Originally Posted by shazza

What a delicious update! Your iPhone photos came out great. Thanks for the detailed descriptions, and I agree - the two of you looked very nice all dressed up. A night to remember.

We had a similar experience at V&A's - but it was years ago. Have to go back.

(A bit off topic: people compare Remy on DCL to V&A'S, and it does have some similarities, but I think V&A'S serves about twice as many small courses which really adds to the overall experience - not as far as quantity, but with the overall taste experience)

Thanks for the info on Remy. We are cruising on the Dream next year for the first time, and I'm a total DCL newbie, so I'm trying to soak in all the info I can!

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Wow, what a meal!

Originally Posted by KMB733

Sounds like an AMAZING meal at Victoria and Albert's!!!

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

Love all the food porn! Your dinner at V&A is amazing! Wow!

Originally Posted by Cam22

What an incredible dining experience!

I can say without hesitation that this was the best meal I've ever eaten in my life! The food was amazing, but equally as important, the service was absolute perfection!

Originally Posted by llgmommy2

I really want to dine there now. I just feel guilty not taking our daughter with us, she is quite the foodie for only being 14 years old.

She would love it! I hope someday you'll be able to take her there, now that she's old enough!

Originally Posted by MayraLR

What an amazing meal! So much food, I got full just reading about it.

It was an incredible meal. Not only was it a lot of food, but it's amazing how those little tasting pours of wine (and sake!) really sneak up on you!

[taylan1]

Love your food photos from V & A! We too ate there on our honeymoon and now I really want to go back! Yes it is totally worth every penny you spend there. Absolutely amazing service and amazing food!

[shnewell]

Originally Posted by taylan1

Love your food photos from V & A! We too ate there on our honeymoon and now I really want to go back! Yes it is totally worth every penny you spend there. Absolutely amazing service and amazing food!

Glad you enjoyed it!

[shnewell]

We woke around 8:30, got ready and headed for an MK bus at 9:20. When we arrived, we were absolutely thrilled to see MK all decorated for Halloween, which was a first for us.






I love how the guy in the scooter cooperatively wore orange and ended up right in the center of my photo like he’s part of the decor!



We took several Photopass pictures on and near Main Street, then headed for Splash Mountain, which was a walk-on. The line for ride photos was 4 or 5 people long, so I didn’t stop to load it on our Photopass+.













From there, we headed to BTMRR, which had a posted wait time of 10 minutes, but the line looked to be backing up, so we grabbed FPs with an 11:20 return time.

We then headed to Liberty Square and spent some time playing in the cemetery outside HM before walking right on to the ride. The hitchhiking ghost switched our heads, which was pretty funny. We stopped to look at the Liberty Bell, which I knew was there because I had read about it, but hadn’t ever really stopped to look at before.


“Pass and Stow” always makes me think of “National Treasure”

Next up was Adventureland, where I stopped at Aloha Isle for a Dole Whip on our way to the Tiki Room. I hadn’t seen this show in many years, and it was fun to get reacquainted with it. When the birds had finished singing to us, our FPs were ripe, so we went back to BTMRR for a wild ride in the wilderness.

Then we crossed back to Adventureland for a ride on POTC, which had about a 5-minute wait. We couldn’t decide what to do next, so we decided to see how long the line was at Jungle Cruise. The posted standby time was 10 minutes. Just as we were about to enter the queue, a CM spotted my birthday button and wished me happy birthday. Then he asked if it was just the 2 of us together, and we said yes. He told us to follow him and led us to the area of the dock where you normally exit the ride. He told me that a certain mouse had called earlier and told him I was coming and that I was celebrating my birthday so I should be given special treatment. He said you shouldn’t question the boss, so he had made special arrangements for us to be able to get on the ride right away.

After all the guests had disembarked from the Nile Nellie, we climbed aboard and sat at the front with our skipper, Chris. He did a good job, and David and I were in stitches, but most other guests weren’t really into it. At one point, Chris looked at us and said under his breath, “I wish I could have you on every one of my cruises!” I mean, really, no one else on the boat threw up their arms in victory/delight when we passed by the back side of water. How could you NOT want me on board?!?

Once we were safely back on land, we walked through the Swiss Family Treehouse (a first for us), then headed to IASW. The wait was about 10 minutes, but just after we entered the queue, it started to rain, so we didn’t mind being under cover for a little while. By the time our happy cruise was over, the rain had stopped. We headed for the front of the park and caught a monorail to Epcot. On the way out, I snapped some castle photos.








Continued...

[shnewell]

We stopped for a Photopass picture at the Epcot entrance, then headed straight to WS to enjoy more F&WF offerings for lunch. I was so hungry that I forgot to take pictures of some stuff today!



First stop was the Craft Beer booth. A note here: neither of us are big beer drinkers; we prefer wine.. But there is a local bar at home that serves only craft beers. They have a challenge where, if you drink 200 different craft beers, you get a plate on the wall with your name on it. We signed up for the challenge because (a) we don’t back down from a challenge! and (b) we thought it would be an opportunity to learn more about beer. So, 30+ beers into the challenge, we were actually looking forward to the craft beer booth! We tried the Full Sail IPA and the Florida Beer Company’s Devil’s Triangle beers.

Speaking of not backing down from a challenge, once we saw that you could get a completion stamp on your passport if you got stamps from all 29 booths, it was game on! We were determined to visit all 29 booths during our stay. Oh my.

We decided to go counter-clockwise around the lagoon today, so our next stop was Terra, the vegan booth. Though I am most definitely a carnivore, the menu offerings here intrigued me, and I was looking forward to trying them. I ordered the Trick’n Chicken Curry with Basmati Rice and the Chili Colorado with House Made Chips and Cashew Cheese, along with a glass of Paul Dolan Sauvignon Blanc. The chili was really wonderful, but I was less crazy about the “chicken” dish. Something about the texture of the protein was a bit off.


Trick’n Chicken

Next was the Caribbean Islands booth, where we had the Ropa Vieja with Cilantro Rice, Jerk Spiced Chicken Drumstick with Mango Chutney, and Bacardi Frozen Dragon Berry Colada. The ropa vieja was amazing! It was one of my favorite dishes from the entire festival. The jerk chicken was just ok, but we were a little disappointed that the flavors weren’t a bit stronger.





In Argentina, we tried the Beef Empanada and the Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato puree. These were both pretty good.





Australia was next in line, and we got Shrimp on the Barbie with Pepper Berry Citrus Glaze, the Grilled Lamb Chop with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies, and a glass of Rosemount Estate Cabernet Sauvingnon Merlot Shiraz (obviously a meritage!) wine. David really enjoyed his lamb, but I thought the shrimp was just so-so.





From there, we went to Mexico, where we ordered a Crispy Shrimp Taco with Chipotle Lime Mayo and Cabbage Served on a Flour Tortilla and the Natilla de Cajeta (caramel custard with caramel sauce). I enjoyed the taco quite a bit -- the veggie fillings were very fresh and crisp. The custard was good, but it was just a bit TOO much caramel for both of us. I noticed later in the week that they changed the dessert offering to flan, which I think we would have enjoyed better.

We went inside the pavilion to browse the shops and ride the Rio de Tiempo (I refuse to call it the new name!). Just as we went inside, it started to rain again. And, once again, by the time we came back outside, the rain had passed.

We hit the Scandinavia booth next, where we just got an order of Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberries. The meatballs were good, but David really didn’t care for the berry/meat combo. They were also selling Iron Horse Fairy Tale Cuvee. We had tried this for the first time at V&A on our honeymoon, then had it again on DCL during the “sea” portion of our honeymoon. We had been able to purchase a bottle on the ship and brought it home with us to enjoy on our first wedding anniversary. This sparkling wine is bottled exclusively for Disney, so we always try to take advantage of an opportunity to have some! I ordered a glass for each of us and the CM pouring drinks noticed my birthday button and also gave me a free sample of Xante, a type of liqueur. It was pretty strong, but not terrible.



At the China booth, we ordered Mongolian Beef with Chinese Steamed Bun and Pork Pot Stickers (David’s favorite). Both were pretty good. If you are familiar with char siu bao (perhaps if you eat dim sum with any regularity), this steamed bun was the same kind of bun, except used like a taco shell.





From there, we hit South Korea and got a Lettuce Wrap with Roast Pork and Kimchi Slaw and the Bohae Black Raspberry Wine-Bokbunjajoo. I really liked this lettuce wrap. The pork was incredibly tasty. The black raspberry wine was an interesting flavor, but more than the small portion we got probably would have been too much.

Our final F&WF stop for the day was the Fife & Drum in the American pavilion. Unable to decide which drink to get, David ordered both the Red Stag Frozen Lemonade and the Red Stag Frozen Honey Tea Lemonade. Both had whiskey in them and we both remembered why we are not whiskey drinkers! We couldn’t finish the drinks, but we got our passports stamped, by golly!

As we left Fife & Drum, it started to rain again, so we donned our ponchos and headed back to the villa.

Continued...

[shnewell]

Before our trip, I had read on the DVC member website that the Top of the World Lounge at BLT would be open to all DVC members (not just those staying at BLT) until the end of the year. I really wanted to see Wishes from up there, so we made plans to arrive early to be sure to get a spot. At 6:00, we boarded an MK bus, then took the resort monorail to CR. We took the skywalk to BLT, but discovered that you need a KTTW card to access the skywalk and the BLT building. Fortunately, some guests were exiting as we were approaching the door, so we snuck through. Once inside BLT, we took the elevator to the 1st floor to look for the check-in desk. After showing our room key, indicating that we were DVC members, we were escorted to the elevator by a CM who used his key card to grant us access to the 16th floor and TOTW.

We arrived shortly after 7:00, snagged a table by the window and ordered some drinks. Eventually we also ordered a cheese plate. The lounge itself is really cool, and made us want to stay at BLT some time just to have access to it!


Looking toward the bar


Light fixture

And the view (sigh...)









By 8:00, it was really getting full. At 8:45, we headed out on the balcony to get a better view of the fireworks, even though it was raining somewhat steadily. Wishes was lovely, even in the rain. As per usual, I couldn’t get many good shots with my DSLR camera, mainly because there was nowhere to set up my tripod. But I did snag a couple of good pictures with my iPhone (go figure).







As soon as Wishes ended, we made a mad dash for the monorail (in the rain). We had just missed a monorail and had to wait for the next one, which came only a few minutes later. We took it to GF and ended up being about 7 minutes late for our 9:30 ADR at Narcoossee’s. We were seated after just a short wait. I had Wild Line-Caught Alaskan Halibut and David had the Roasted All-Natural Ashley Farms Chicken Breast.


Menu from 10/2/12

Dinner was good, though I thought it was expensive for what it was. I know that sounds weird to say the night after dining at V&A, but I just wasn’t as blown away by the food here as I expected to be. We did get to see the EWP while we ate, which was fun. For dessert we had a chocolate something or other (I neglected to write it down). The suggested drink pairing was a beer. We were skeptical, but since we’re doing this “learn about beer” thing, we decided to try it. We wished we had ordered port.









We left the restaurant around 11:15 and fell into bed.

Day 5 Recap:

The weather today was...muggy but cooler with intermittent rain.

The best thing today was...Wishes at Top of the World

The worst thing today was...rushing to dinner

Today we tried...Narcoossee's
and the result was...we enjoyed it, but it was expensive.

The most magical moment today was...getting special boarding privileges at the Jungle Cruise

Up next: Who are our new idols?

[MayraLR]

What a great day! I must say though that your updates should start with a disclaimer: "This update may cause hunger".

[Hugmonster]

SO glad I read your TR on a full stomach!