Becca's Trip Report "The Rollercoaster of Food"

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Becca's Trip Report "The Rollercoaster of Food"

FYI - I'm singing the title of this trip report to RHCP's version of "Rollercoaster of Love" in my head. Rollahcoastah of foooood! Rollahcoastah! Whoo hoohoo! laugh

Can't believe how quickly our visit to The World has passed. It seems like just yesterday I was doing the in-the-teens and single-digit countdown dances and now, it's all over sad It was a great time, however, and we are happy to be home. Personally, since I work from home, I'm super happy to be back to my not-doing-my-hair and wearing stretchy clothes with drawstrings again! haha!

So here we go!

Day minus 1 - Saturday 12/1 (Think of this as waiting in line for the 'coaster)

I finished up packing in the morning and we had hair appts. Came back from getting our do's did and did the last minute things around the house (feed the cats, make sure everything is unplugged, review the checklists [yes, that is plural, I'm just a wee bit freakish about our Disney vacations], leave the notes for the pet-sitter, etc.) and then we were off to Syracuse. Because we're about an hour from the Syracuse airport and we had an earlier flight (7:30am) we decided to stay near the airport the night before to reduce some of the stress. We also were able to do a "park and fly" and left our vehicle at the hotel rather than in airport parking. The hotel had a free shuttle to and from the airport. We checked into the hotel around 4ish and settled into our room. We had planned on going out for dinner, but after reading the hotel restaurant menu, decided to stay at the hotel. It was a good decision! We had a very nice, relaxing meal. Nothing on par with what we would experience in WDW, but still nice. Smile

Day 1 - Sunday 12/2 (Load the ride vehicles, pull down on your safety restraint and away we go!)

I didn't need to be up until 5, but I was up at 4. Who can sleep the night before going to Disney? (besides Jess's mom, haha!) We got ready, brought our overnight stuff out to the car, rechecked the duplicate checklists (freakazoid planner rears her ugly head again!) and took advantage of the free breakfast at the hotel. It was very nice and quite tasty! We requested the shuttle at the front desk and were told that the driver "Would be right there, he's just putting more sausage out on the buffet" <- struck me as funny, talk about multitasking! haha!

It took about 2 minutes to drive to the airport and after a bit of confusion at the airline desk about our checked luggage (this was our first time flying Jetblue, we usually fly Southwest), we sailed through security and sat to wait for the flight. The flight was on time, very smooth and uneventful.

We landed, took the tram into the main terminal and proceeded to level 1 to catch the Magical Express. We walked to the left...nothing. Hmmmm? Must have come in from a different direction than last time? So, we walked to the other side. Still no ME?! Looked at the booklet and aha! Wrong side. We went toward Baggage Claim A, not B. Back up the escalator, through the terminal and back down to level 1 and Baggage Claim B and what-do-ya-know? There's Magical Express! And about 50 million Pop Warner players and cheerleaders sarcastic Luckily, they were going to different resorts, so we waited for about 1/2 an hour and we were on our way. Let the magic begin! yay

Wilderness Lodge was the third stop so we go to see GF and the Poly (every time we passed there I thought of mrhub and Scrappy!) and then we were 'home'! We had requested a room on the ground floor past Roaring Forks because that's just a hop down the hallway to the boat launch, and a king-size bed. No luck on the king-size, but we did get a room just past Roaring Forks, it was perfect (and ready when we got there)! We dumped our carry-ons and winter jackets (gladly) and skipped down the hallway, out the door and down the dock to the boat launch to catch the boat to the MK. mickey

We were starving so we changed it up a bit. The plan was to go straight for the Dole Whip Float, but we stopped at the Main St. Bakery and shared a cinnamon bun first. It was warm and ooey and gooey and delicious! awesome Then we bee-lined over to Aloha Isle and got our Dole Whips. Smile We stopped at the Enchanted Tiki Room first, then Jungle Cruise and POTC. Then headed over to BTMRR and Hall of Presidents. Stopped by Mickey's Philharmagic and then toured through the New Fantasy land and rode the Barnstormer (mrhub was not lying about having to squiiiiish two adults into those cars! but it was cute) on our way to Tomorrowland. Rode Space Mountain and then my favorite, Carousel of Progress (There's a great big beautiful tomorrow! Shining at the end of every day!). Because I wanted to check and make sure our luggage had arrived, we made our way back to WL, browsing in the shops along the way. Our luggage was there, so I unpacked before we headed back to the boat launch to catch a boat to the Contemporary.

Dinner was scheduled for 6:55 at The Wave....of American Flavors. We checked in at 6:50 and were seated almost immediately. Our server was Jesus (DH got a chuckle out of my text message to myself to remember his name) and he was wonderful throughout the meal. I spaced when we were in the hotel room and didn't think to bring the camera with us, so no pictures because I totally forgot about the camera in my phone too. sarcastic I got the Autumn Salad (Wave Autumn Salad - with Alligator pear, cranberry Vinaigrette, and Point Reyes Blue Cheese) and Sean got the Cobb Salad (The Wave Cobb - with locally-sourced greens and tomatoes, Naturally Raised Eggs, Bacon, Florida Avocados, lime-chili vinaigrette and Midnight Moon cheese). The Cobb was very good, but that Autumn Salad? I seriously think it was the BEST salad I've ever had. It was amazing! We both got the Filet (Grilled Beef Tenderloin - with Goji berry-red wine reduction, three potato hash, locally-sourced butternut squash risotto), med-rare for me, medium for Sean. We both give it two thumbs up! The Goji berry-red wine reduction was perfect and the potato hash and squash risotto were delish. Dessert for me was the Creamy Indulgence (Creamy Indulgence - Butterscotch creme brulee with espresso macaroon, New York cheesecake with apple-cranberry compote, olive oil-infused chocolate truffle mousse with salted caramel sauce) and Sean had the Fall Ice Cream Trio (Fall Ice Cream Trio - Pumpkin pie with maple glazed pecans, double chocolate chip, salted caramel swirl). Loved the three different flavors to try, it's a really great idea. Smile Overall, a fantastic way to start our gastronomic tour of WDW! lol!

We ran (or rather, floated) back to WL and got our complimentary mugs at RF and picked up the camera because we were on our way to DHWS to check out The Osbourne Spectacle of Dancing Lights!

I took a few pictures of the Christmas Tree and then we headed straight toward the glow. Wink We were speechless for a while! It's incredible! Amazing! Fantastic! Indescribable! Insert any other good descriptive adjectives here! We wandered around for quite a while, it was fairly quiet since it was during extra magic hours so we didn't have to fight the crowds. And, I found the black cat! Didn't find the pumpkin though. After staying for 5 songs or so, we headed over to Star Tours. WOW! I think our first 'tour' was the perfect combination - Darth Vader, Hoth, Yoda and Naboo. Since the wait was only 5 minutes we took two more tours and then called it a night.

Next up, day 2 at Epcot.....

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Great start to the Report!! Dole Whip . . . . My idea of kicking it off right! laugh

I am gonna stalk this thread so as to keep my mind calm before our WDW adventure in TWO WEEKS!!

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Woo Hoo - Sounds like Day 1 was a blast! Can't wait for more!

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Your meal at The Wave sounds incredible! Can't wait for the rest!

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I am enjoying your trip report. Looking forward to the next installment mickey

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Whoohoo!! Nice pic of the refurbished Wilderness Lodge rooms Smile

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Great start to the trip. The Autumn salad sounds really good.

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Love the first day of your trip report Smile All that food sounds so yummy....And love that I or rather my mom got a shout out in your trip report...LOL...Just mean's that I know what one person here actually reads my trip reports...LOL

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Becca1005

Had to edit because I forgot about our tour through the New Fantasyland. We didn't really do anything but the Barnstormer because the lines were too long for our liking. You know you're spoiled when a 20 minute wait is "too long" laugh

awesome Reading your trip report got me through till my vacation, Jess! muchlove You, Mase, Mrhub and Scrappy were my Disney heros the last couple of weeks!

Stay tuned. LOOOOTs more food is on its way! Smile

Becca1005

A few more pics of the WL room.... I loved the character tiles in the shower! Too cute!

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Becca1005 wrote:
A few more pics of the WL room.... I loved the character tiles in the shower! Too cute!

I love the shower tiles as well.....I've never seen any pics of the rooms there

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Jess wrote:
Love the first day of your trip report Smile All that food sounds so yummy....And love that I or rather my mom got a shout out in your trip report...LOL...Just mean's that I know what one person here actually reads my trip reports...LOL

Jess I enjoy reading your report. I like to see how your experiences are different and yet the same as Mase (if that makes any sense. laugh )

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That is another reason why I like to stay on property. You just don't get the same decor at a cookie cutter motel.

Becca1005

More Osbourne Lights...But not too many...I think most of them might be too large in MBs and it won't let me attach them. I'll see if I can compress them later.

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Jess wrote:
Becca1005 wrote:
A few more pics of the WL room.... I loved the character tiles in the shower! Too cute!

I love the shower tiles as well.....I've never seen any pics of the rooms there

Yes! I do to! Give me ideas for whenever we move! lol

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Oh! You found the Black Cat! Know the story about it?

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- 2013 Trip Report!
- My Int3ractiv3 Trip R3port '12 - CLICK HERE!
[url='http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/forum/pick-mases-dinner-disney']- My Interactive Trip Report '11[/url]

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Becca1005 wrote:
Had to edit because I forgot about our tour through the New Fantasyland. We didn't really do anything but the Barnstormer because the lines were too long for our liking. You know you're spoiled when a 20 minute wait is "too long" laugh

I told DH the same thing when we were there in October! I felt like such a brat skipping rides because they had a 20 or 25 minute wait when I know during the summer those same rides are easily over an hour!

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I've got a fever and the doctor says the only cure is more WDW trip reports. Keep it coming!!!

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Oh, that ice cream trio sounds delicious! And I love the photos of the room. Wilderness Lodge looks so warm and cozy. awesome

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Becca1005

Mase wrote:
Oh! You found the Black Cat! Know the story about it?

I know that some of the Halloween decorations got mixed up with the Christmas stuff and they've 'hidden' them in the displays ever since. Does it go deeper than that? Oh, and I knew about the pumpkin but didn't know about the black cat till I saw your post on another thread. Hubby thought I was nuts (like he hasn't figured it out by now) when we were walking out and I stopped dead in my tracks and yelled "Oh my gosh! There's the black cat! I need a picture!" lol! laugh

Allie wrote:
Becca1005 wrote:
Had to edit because I forgot about our tour through the New Fantasyland. We didn't really do anything but the Barnstormer because the lines were too long for our liking. You know you're spoiled when a 20 minute wait is "too long" laugh

I told DH the same thing when we were there in October! I felt like such a brat skipping rides because they had a 20 or 25 minute wait when I know during the summer those same rides are easily over an hour!

I know, right? But, that's why we don't go in the Summer! awesome

BuffaloBill wrote:
I've got a fever and the doctor says the only cure is more WDW trip reports. Keep it coming!!!

rolling rolling Love it!!! And for curiosity's sake....does your user name indicate that you're a fellow Buffalo Bills fan? crossfingers

The Cookie Crumbler wrote:
Oh, that ice cream trio sounds delicious! And I love the photos of the room. Wilderness Lodge looks so warm and cozy. awesome

DH looooved the ice cream. Although, I knew he would. He's never met an ice cream he didn't like Wink Thanks! Oh it is! And even more so during the holidays....more photos of the decorations to come! Smile

Becca1005

Some "appetizer" photos to get you ready for Day 2 Smile

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WOW Sounds amazing! Eager to read day 2!!!

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Becca1005

Day 2 - Monday 12/2 - Part 1 (Wheeeeee!)

Breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe. We had the BEST server ever, I highly recommend you all request her if you're having breakfast at WCC. Her name is Midi and she's originally from Japan. She doesn't do a lot of the crazy things, but she is so incredibly sweet! She even made me an origami horse that does flips! Smile Again no pictures because it was just breakfast, although I should have thought of it. I had the Egg White Omelet (Egg White Omelet - served with spinach, Chipotle pico, goat cheese, and chipotle barbecue served with fresh fruit and a Biscuit) and Sean had the Belgian Waffle with Bacon (Belgian Waffle - with maple butter, candied pecan topping and choice of bacon or sausage). My omelet was deeelicious and Sean said the waffle was great and very, very filling. Wink

Then we hopped on a bus to Epcot. We usually take a boat over to the Contemporary and then take the Monorail due to our dislike of the buses, but we thought the bus might be quicker. I don't think it was and it was much more aggravating! We're really not fans of how packed the buses get. We decided that we'd go back to traveling by Monorail for the two other days we were going to Epcot.

We immediately headed over to The Land pavilion to get a fast pass for Soarin. The return time was during our lunch so we rode Livin with the Land (one of my all-time favorites) and when we went back for the FPs, the return time was perfect so we grabbed 'em. We wandered out and decided to ride the Journey Into Imagination ride. This was always one of my favorites as a kid, I still adore Figment but I miss Dreamfinder! Anyone else miss the old imagination rooms? The pin table? A germ-a-phobe's worst nightmare I'm sure, but it was soooo cool!

We then decided to amble our way around World Showcase to our lunch reservations at the Biergarten in the Germany pavilion, starting in Canada. It was lovely, since WS had just opened it was very quiet. We got to stroll leisurely around the lagoon hand-in-hand. Smile

Coming up in Part 2 - The Biergarten and one VERY large beer!

Becca1005

Day 2 - Part 2 (more Wheeeeeeee!)

Our reservations at Biergarten were right at opening, 12:00 and we got there around 11:45 so we waited in line to check in. They called our name (well, we actually looked for the hostess who looked confused when she read the ticket and knew it was us, for some reason people have major issues with our last name, more on that later in the report) along with the other folks who were going to share the table and introduced us. I thought it was a nice touch. Smile To anyone who hasn't eaten at Biergarten before, they seat you at tables of 8, so if you're a small party, odds are, you'll be seated with some strangers. It's all luck of the draw. Sometimes you get great table-mates, sometimes you don't. We were seated with two other couples with children who were traveling together. They were all very nice! Table-mate win! Smile Since it's a buffet, again, no pictures. But some of the tried and true favorites are the cucumber salad (me) and the sausage salad (Sean) and whatever type of Schnitzel they have (it was pork this time). They also had Beer and Cheese Soup that I tried. I was just as advertized! I can definitely confirm that there were large amounts of beer and cheese in said soup. Wink DH also decided to try the "German sized" beer aka the liter. He chose Hovels because he prefers a darker beer. Me, not a fan of beer, my many German ancestors must be so disappointed in me. Although, I am a fan of wine. Anyhoo, here's my wonderful hubby with his oversize beverage as well as proof that he did finish it. clapping awesome

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Wow that's alot of beer

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Becca1005

Jess wrote:
Wow that's alot of beer

I sure was. Sean's not a big drinker, maybe one or two beers, so he really had to work to finish that monster! laugh

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Beer I attempted to drink one of those in Munich a few years ago. I barely made it 3/4 of the way. I gave it the old college try though.

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Becca1005

Day 2 - Part 3 (some Wheee! and some of the click-click-click not-so-fun set up)

After lunch we regrouped on a bench overlooking the lagoon. Mostly for Sean to digest that giant beer! I called the family and gave them some updates and then we walked over to Mission: Space. We saw that Test Track was running, but decided to check that out on a different day. We rode the Orange/More Intense MS, as always. We always ask if they're going to come up with a Red/Ridiculously Intense version because we would SO ride that! My only concern on MS is if the other people riding with us will freak out in the enclosed space, or worse, throw up. yuck Personally, I have a cast-iron stomach. I've been known to eat on various roller-coasters and tilt-a-whirls without any issues. It's a blessing and a curse sarcastic After a fun and thankfully freakout/vomit free ride we walked up to the "Golf Ball" and rode Spaceship Earth. Another one of my favorites. We always try to make the goofiest faces we can think of when they take the picture so we can laugh like loons at the video. Then our Soarin' FPs were up so we walked back over to The Land and glided over the great state of California. That is such an incredible ride! After Soarin' we rode the Finding Nemo ride in The Seas, toured the aquariums and checked out the manatees. I just had to see Turtle Talk with Crush and we managed to skip right in just before they closed the doors. Hilarious! The cast member who voices Crush deserves an award. The stuff the kids come up with is hysterical. One little girl asked Crush if he wanted to grow a beard. Where do they come up with this stuff? laugh Crush's responses are always priceless. awesome

After TTwC we started wandering back to WS for our ADRs at Les Chefs de France. I had moved our reservations up to 4:40 hoping that we might see Chef Remy (Thanks to Magic Mirror for the info on his appearances!). We were seated almost in the middle of the room and whoa! was it loud in there! Our server was very nice, but she was very, well, French. She didn't seem to have much of a sense of humor. Either that or the humor was lost in translation. Oh well, she did a good job and recommended a great wine for my dinner. And this time, pictures!! yay

Appetizers were - French Onion Soup for me (Soupe a l'oignon Gratinee - the classic onion soup topped with Gruyere cheese) and the Cheese Board for Sean (Plateau de fromages de France - French imported cheese board with raisin and walnut bread). The soup was really good and Sean liked the cheeses, except the Bleu Cheese....it was very bleu. Very, very bleu. Like chewing on a penicillin mold kind of bleu. I know, because I tried it. silly So, that didn't get finished. Main courses were Filet for me (Filet de boeuf grille, sauce au poivre vert Gratin Dauphinois et haricots verts - Grilled tenderloin of beef with green peppercorn sauce original potato gratin of Savoy and green beans) medium-rare (you're going to notice a trend here by the end of the trip report!) and the Beef Short Ribs for DH ( Plat de Cote de Boeuf au Cabarnet avec pates - Beef short ribs braised in Cabernet with pasta, pearl onions and mushrooms) with no mushrooms. Hubby is not a fan of mushrooms. I keep trying to tell him that giving those little fungi a chance will open up a whole new world of culinary delights to him. But he stands firm, no fungus for him. Ever. I really enjoyed my Filet. Sean wasn't so keen on the short ribs. He got a lot of fatty pieces so this meal wasn't a home-run for him.

As we were finishing our entrees, Chef Remy showed up! Oh my goodness! He's so cute! His 'handler' is super funny too. One little girl started to reach toward Remy and the handler said "Oh no, I am sorry, but I must insist that you do not touch Chef Remy. I don't know where you have been all day!" laugh When he came around to our table, he asked Sean if he knew the color of the soap in the restrooms. Having not been to the restrooms, Sean was stumped. Whoosh went the cover over Chef Remy! laugh

After Chef Remy moved on, our desserts arrived. And oh! were they heavenly! I got the Creme Brulee (Creme Brulee - Vanilla creme brulee served with a Madeleine) and Sean got the Profiteroles (Profiteroles au chocolat - Puff choux with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce). Sean looooved the profiteroles and I'm still trying to decide if the Creme Brulee was the #1 or #2 CB I tried during the trip. Either way, it's up there!

This meal was probably our least favorite of the whole trip. It certainly wasn't bad, it was quite good, it just didn't blow our socks off like the rest of the meals. I also think the combination of the language barrier with the waitress and the noise level kept the total score down.

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Becca1005

more from Les Chefs. Sorry about the divots out of the food, sometimes I forgot to take the picture until after we had already dug in! laugh

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The great report continues. Don't you think the paper place mats in Chef's are tre gouche? Looks like the beer was just the thing to cut the dust of the trail around the WS. I really like the idea of the RED version of Mission Space.

FYI - Pats fan from NH.

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Becca1005 wrote:
Sean liked the cheeses, except the Bleu Cheese....it was very bleu. Very, very bleu.

That's the best kind. Ollie - back me up here.

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