Going to California

Posted on June 21, 2012 by hjones

Today we are headed to Disney California Adventure. Unlike Disneyland, which is somewhat weirdly familiar, this park would be totally new territory for us. Now DCA, as it will henceforth be referred to, has had it’s fans and it’s detractors and has suffered a bit of an identity crisis over the years.  At it’s opening in 2001, the park’s Californian theme was criticized as being redundant, seeing as the park itself  is located in the same state it represents. Why would people want to go to a re-creation of Hollywood or the rugged Mountains when the real thing is located less than an hour away from the park? Well I, for one, can attest to the fact that Disney’s version of Hollywood is MUCH better than the real thing, but that’s for a later discussion. Since then, the park has had a couple major facelifts and seems to be coming into it’s own.

Newly Refurbished Entrance

Modeled after Disney Hollywood Studios...

Which was modeled after the Pan Pacific Auditorium.

Once you enter, what YOU will see is Buena Vista Street, a meticulously detailed plaza representing 1920s Los Angeles.  What WE saw unfortunately, were construction walls.

So close to being finished!

"Sorry folks, Buena Vista Street's closed. Moose out front shoulda told ya."

 

The finished product, courtesy of the internet.

We started our exploration at Paradise Pier, a romantic Victorian-style boardwalk.

Look how big my hair is, good grief!

 

Entering the Boardwalk area

 First order of business was lunch of course. I had heard good things about Boardwalk Pasta and Pizza-plus they had beer.

This elaborate pizza oven is just for show. They only had those pre-made flat breads you just heat up. They actually put them on a conveyer belt that comes out through the fake oven. I can’t decide if this is clever or simply ridiculous.

I'm on to you!

 

Victorian architectural details

 

 

We split a heaping plate pasta along with a nutty, fruity salad. Plenty of food for two.

Chicken Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta - Campanelle Pasta lightly tossed with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

 

 

Boardwalk Field Greens - Fresh Greens, Topped with Tomatoes, Blue Cheese, Cucumbers, Craisins® Dried Cranberries, Caramelized Pecans, Golden Raisins with a Basil Vinaigrette.

 

Outdoor Seating Area

As we were enjoying our lunch we were treated with some real Disney Magic. We noticed a small stage with some instruments lying about it, most notably a stand up bass. The band showed up and proceeded to play the most sunshiney, happy 1920s jazz music! The smiles on our faces were about a mile wide. We grabbed another beer and spent the next hour relaxing and marveling at the enormous talent of these musicians.

Ladies and gentleman, I bring you the Ellis Island Boys:

Ellis Island Boys is the group’s “Disney Name”, they actually play outside the park under the moniker of  The Reynolds Brothers. They are not supposed to tell guests this information because they are “on stage” when they are in the parks, but Jeff managed get it out of them. Their pedigree is quite impressive. The guitarist has played for Cab Calloway and Julie Andrews. Although Orlando has it’s share of talented musicians and singers, the proximity to Los Angeles gives Disneyland the clear advantage in the talent department.

You may have noticed  that there is a huge, daunting roller coaster in this area of the park. I’m not a fan of the several stories high, outdoor coasters. I’m absolutely sure that my restraints will let go and I’ll be flung into the atmosphere. Give me a dark, disorienting indoor coaster any day. Consequently, this attraction did not make it onto my touring plan, but Jeff pulled the “You can’t travel ALL the way to Disneyland California and not go on the roller coaster” argument on me. Dang it!

Check out the girl sitting behind me.

 

He also made me go on  Mickey’s Fun Wheel (a misnomer if I’ve ever heard one) with the cars that swing perilously back and forth. They had sick bags in the seats!

Keen observers will noticed the extreme angles of the swinging cars.

View from Mickey's Crazy Insane Wheel of Death.

 

I think we can do with a more serene ride about now. New to DCA is Ariel’s Under Sea Adventure. This is in the tradition of the “Dark Ride,” meaning you sit in a moving vehicle which takes through a series of animated vignettes. This attraction showed some big improvements in the genre, but it’s not the most exciting of rides. I can see kids really digging it though.

There is a huge facade and queue area.

Seaweed themed queue area.

 

This Ariel animatronic has recently been changed. Apparently her previous hairdo was supposed to look like it was swirling up in the water, but ended up resembling a Soft Serve Ice Cream Cone. Fans made such a fuss that they changed it. I thought she looked just like a Hon from Baltimore.

New and improved Ariel

 

Dairy Queen Ariel

 

"Welcome to Baldimore, Murland!"

 

She changed her hair and they lived happily ever after.

 

Another dark ride we checked out was Monster’s Inc. Mike and Sully to the Rescue. The concept is the same, but the cool factor was ratcheted way up for me.  They had me from the start when played the Ragtime Music (surprisingly scored by Randy Newman) from the movie as we wound through the queue. It was the cat’s pajamas!

 

 

Plus, the posters that hung on the walls of the queue were so super cool!

An ad for HarryHausen!

Harryhausens Sushi restaurant is straight out of the movie. It’s a tip of the hat to Ray Harryhausen, a pioneer in stop-motion animation and special effects.

 

I would totally redecorate my living room around this poster!

if only you were for sale...

LOVED the vending machine!!! Blort must be a big seller.

Finally, some truth in advertising!

 

When you climb into your taxi cab the onboard TV screen announces a city-wide calamity. A toxic tot is on the loose! The Child Detection Agency is dispatched to keep her from infecting the entire city with her humanity. On the TV, multi-eyed-witnesses tell reporters the horrors of the child thing running amok! I’m not sure how we could be of assistance though.

I love the little song Boo sings...

Whatever you do, don't forget to fill out your paperwork!

 

Next we made our way through  A Bug’s Land.  In this area you are made to feel like you are shrunk down to the size of a little ant (Heimlich reference). The theme is so adorable and filled with detail. There’s a problem though. It’s lousy with children! I know, can you believe it? I would have loved to have nosed around some more to enjoy the theming, but it was over-run with screechy toddlers.

 

Look at all the details on this little ride. So cute!

Flik's Flyers

Ok, the giant Band Aid is kinda gross.

Even the restrooms are cuteness overload!

The lights are Firefly tushies!

 

Next up: Carsland-A study in poor timing or the perfect scheme to ensure a second visit?

 

 

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Take It Easy…

Posted on June 5, 2012 by hjones

For me, nothing compares to World Showcase, but wandering around  New Orleans Square served as a delightful substitute. If only they served real  Mint Julips  instead of the fake ones  I might possibly have stayed there all day. But alas, Disneyland is a dry park so you don’t get the full authentic N’awlins experience. Instead we took advantage of the nearby train station and hopped on the Disneyland Railroad.

 

 

I’m not a train buff by any stretch, but the Railway is one one those things that is integral to the origins of the Disneyland Park. Walt was a huge railroad enthusiast and is responsible for preserving steam railroading for generations to enjoy at Disney theme parks around the world.

Sadly, I’ve never ridden on the Railroad in Walt Disney World. There are only so many geeky things per trip that I ask the rest of the family to participate in; like the Carousel of Progress or the Tiki Room. On this trip however, it was just the two of us, so I could geek out without the fear of teenage, eye-rolling judgement.

 

 

I'm not sure if I took this on purpose, but I threw it in anyway.

 

View of the Main Entrance from the train.

The slow journey around the park was quite relaxing, plus there was an informative schpeel that played overhead. The train ride did expose some of the challenges of the Anaheim Park. Unlike Orlando, Disneyland is plopped smack in the middle of a busy city. This means that there isn’t the Disney “bubble” that you are encapsulated in as with Walt Disney World. You can see the Matterhorn  peeking over the fence right from Harbor Boulevard and you can see non-Disney Hotels and the back sides of unattractive buildings from the train.  I’m looking forward to giving the WDW train a whirl next time we go to Orlando (she said hopefully).

Keeping with the slow moving transportation theme, we decided to  take a cruise over the Rivers of America on the Mark Twain River Boat.

The Rivers of America

The Mark Twain

 

If you make your way to the very top deck you get  the most expansive views of Frontierland and New Orleans Square.

 

 

These interior cabins look perfect for napping!

 

I can see all the way to tomorrow!

 

 

New Orleans Square

 

You also get to look down and judge the people in the  smoking area.

Tsk, Tsk

 

 The Hungry Bear Restaurant

There is a Fried Green Tomato Sandwich waiting there that I never got to eat.

 

Splash Mountain Log Flume

What happened to those poor people?

 

 

 

There are classic nature vignettes set up all around frontier land. They looked pretty fake, but there was a jumping fish that fooled us.

How silly, NOTHING could live in that water.

 

Native American Village

Insert your time sensitive, micro-regional Elizabeth Warren joke here.

 

At dusk most guests (ourselves included) are usually occupied in the back of the park. Because of this, most people miss something pretty special. Each afternoon, right inside at the entrance on  Main Street, you’ll see the Flag Retreat Ceremony.

Looking down Main Street to the front entrance

 

The Disneyland Marching Band plays patriotic songs, and pay homage to the various military branches.

Members of the different branches of the military gathered around the flag.

 

 

Conductor

 

Young and old are recognized.

 

If you’ve spent any time in a Disney Park you have seen evidence of Walt’s patriotism, from Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln to The Hall of Presidents. Walt famously said that his parks would continue to grow and change, but he insisted that the Flag Retreat Ceremony would always be carried out each evening.

Here is a short video of the conclusion of the ceremony; the singing of “God Bless America”.

 

I’d like to say that we had made it a point to see the Flag Retreat, but that wouldn’t be true. The reason that we happened to be at the front of that park that evening was because we were heading out to meet our hosts, April and Chris, for dinner.  We had asked them to choose their favorite place for a nice meal- our treat.  When they told us to meet them at a place called Taps Fish House and Brewery, I thought they might be selling themselves short, it didn’t exactly sound like fine dining. Boy was I wrong.

 

 

We were supposed to meet them at 6:00pm, but our or oh-so inacurate GPS over shot us by about four miles beyond our destination, so we were a wee bit late.

They're still smiling though!

 

April and Chris had already ordered an amazing cheese and charcuterie board. They showed incredible restraint, leaving most of it intact while patiently waiting for us to finally arrive (or supreme prowess in arranging the platter to still look full).

Meat and cheese perfection

 

The dining room had a perfect combination of casual energetic buzz and white table cloth sophistication. Our server was non-plussed about us arriving so late, and was very gracious every time he came to the table to discover that we were still chatting incessantly and not looking at our menus.  Let me also just say that he was handsome. I mean chiseled out of stone handsome. So good looking in fact, that as he listed the specials, even Jeff said he couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying due to is blinding good looks. No, I didn’t take a picture.

 

The food was beyond fabulous, and rivaled some of the best signature dining experiences we’ve had. April and Chris indulged my food photo obsession. They get me.

April’s dinner as listed on the menu:

Seared Jumbo Maine Sea Scallops accompanied by roasted sweet corn, asparagus tips & creamy tomato risotto finished with lemon butter sauce.

 

Chris’s meal must have been a special, because I couldn’t find a description on the menu. I’ll do my best to describe:

Perfectly cooked salmon (?) probably with mashed potatoes and definitely asparagus- finished with the lemon butter sauce.

 

Taps Fish House’s menu made a bold statement, yea, a challenge that Jeff decided to take  on. “If you have only one thing, this should be it”.  Mr. jones concurred that it was the right choice.

Miso Marinated Chilean Sea Bass: Moist, mild, silky and sweet, pan-roasted marinated Chilean sea bass served over Japanese rice and sauteed spinach. Accompanied by red, green and yellow pepper jam

 

My dinner was excellent, but it almost seemed like it should be two separate dishes. The crab tostadas were served chilled and were tasty, but the risotto and Mahi-Mahi were served hot. It all ended up in my belly either way!

Drunken Mahi-Mahi:Lightly blackened and splashed with tequila over a tomato risotto. Accompanied by crab tostadas topped with tomatillo-avocado salsa & cotija cheese

 

I’m so glad we took the time to slow down and experience things like the railroad and the flag retreat. It can be tempting on a trip to just go-go all the time and not notice the things that make Disney so unique, but actually leaving the park to spend time with our new friends made the day truly special.

Next Up: Exploring new territory- Disney California Adventure

 

 

Posted in Dining Review, Disneyland, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

It’s a Small (But Charming) World After all

Posted on May 31, 2012 by hjones

Truth be told, I really didn’t have much of a desire to go to Disneyland in California. To me, it just seemed like a smaller, less impressive first draft of the Magic Kingdom in Orlando (DLR fans, gasp and clutch your pearls now). Plus there is no Epcot in California, and we all know how I feel about my World Showcase. However, my attitude quickly changed when we actually had the opportunity to go out there. I started listening to Disneyland focused podcasts and doing a lot of reading about Walt’s park- the original Magic Kingdom. I soon became nostalgic and protective of the legacy. “Hey man, Disneyland’s not small, it’s charming!”

Jeff however, isn’t the Disney geek that I am, so I had to prepare him.

Me: “Do you know about the castle?”

Jeff: “What about the castle?”

Me: “It’s really, really ummm…small”

How small is it? You could tuck it into your pocket and sneak it out of the park.

Isn't that just the cutest little thing?

View of the castle from Mainstreet. No seriously, it's there.

Cinderella Castle in Walt Disney World

 

Some say Walt and his investors simply ran out of money before the castle was finished, others say he purposely chose a smaller, unimposing structure to greet his guests. It was probably the former, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We haven’t even gotten through the gates yet!

This day we actually got to the park right after opening. That would seem more impressive if I neglected to inform you that the park didn’t open until ten o’clock, but I couldn’t lie to you!

Oh yeah, and there's a clock in the picture.

 

Opening hoopla with Alice and the Mad Hatter.

I’m not the type of Disney fan who is concerned with getting pictures with the characters. They are amusing enough, but I’m not willing to either A) stand in line for thirty minutes or more or B) Spend gobs of cash on a character meal (usually in restaurants with no booze) to have a one-on-one with Winnie the Pooh. I am, however, perfectly willing to snap pictures of other people who’ve stood in line for photos. Let’s pretend that I know them.

My adorable niece Kimberly. She just lost her first tooth!

My cousin Sharon and her beautiful family. I warned them not to wear flip flops. Boy, did their feet hurt by the end of the day!

As you make your way down Main street, the look and feel of the area is similar to the Magic Kingdom but the shops and attractions are different. It’s a little disorienting.

 

 

 

We stopped and got our breakfast from the brand new Jolly Holiday Bakery (or Holly Jolly as one cast member called it). It’s a highly themed little café based on the Mary Poppins movie.

 

 

 

The display was so perfect I thought it might be just for show, but they snatched our banana bread right from the case.

 

Banana Bread and Fruit Salad. Still trying to be healthy at breakfast.

 

After our snacks, we moved on towards the diminutive castle. Maybe crouching down to take the picture will make it seem more impressive?

Nope

 

Hey, what are you doing down there?

 

There’s a lovely grotto area beside the castle. It’s very romantic, with a wishing well and lots of hearts and flowers.

 

 

An adorable couple was getting their engagement photos done here.

 

Something  that becomes apparent quickly is that the beautiful California weather has informed the look and layout of the attractions here.

Screen shot of the weather forecast for our visit. PERFECT!

 

In Florida, most of the year it’s either blazing hot and humid or torrential downpours, so all of the queues are indoors or at least covered. Not so here. Attractions like the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party are completely open to the air.

 

 

The It’s a Small World  attraction starts out outdoors as well, winding through a series of gorgeous topiaries.

 

 

Don't worry, the cloying song still plays throughout.

 

If this is Holland, then where are the red lights?

Several years back, they added some characters to this attraction from current and classic Disney films.

Woody and Bullseye

Believe it or not, this caused quite a controversy.  When it’s an attraction that Walt actually created, you don’t go about changing things lightly. I thought it was incorporated well, but who am I?

 

This is about how tall my grass was by the time we got home

Hey, do you think that this will horrify the toddlers? Nah...

 

The park is divided up to to the familiar sections like Frontierland and Tommorowland, but Disneyland has a couple of unique areas not found in Florida. One of these is New Orleans Square.

Here you can find the familiar Haunted Mansion  and Pirates of the Caribbean attractions. However, the facades are completely different.

Haunted Mansion

 

The Pirates ride in Disneyland is waaaay better!

 

This area has shops and restaurants and the kind of windy narrow paths that make you feel like you’re somewhere else completely and not at a theme park. Generally speaking, most people don’t explore these areas, they just move on to the next attraction, so it can be a very peaceful to just wander around.

 

 

The Court des Anges or  “Court of Angels” was my favorite spot.

 

I just adored the cornflower blue stairway and railings.

Someone needs to make an entrance from here.

 

This is a place where couples can stop and take a romantic photo.

I said romantic!

Closer...

 

There it is!

 

I see what you did there.

Le Baton Rouge, supplying all your Bat’s Day  needs!

 

Right next door to the gothe bat shoppe is Club 33, a super-secret, über-exclusive restaurant that only select few (ok millions of Disney fans) know about.

Keep looking

 

The "33" plaque is the only hint of the club upstairs.

The door bell hides under this brass door.

Oh, you say you would like to join Club 33? No problem! All you need is to do is pay the $25,000 initiation fee and annual dues of $10,000 and you’re in like Flynn! By the way, there haven’t been any new members accepted in the last ten years, so you should have a snack while you’re waiting.

Instead we had our lunch at Café Orleans.

 

I was hoping to dine outside, but I had already asked to move our reservation up by two hours, so I didn’t want to push it.

Where I wanted to sit.

 

Where we ended up

 

I knew exactly what we were supposed to get, the garlic frites and a Monte Cristo sandwich. The fries were dissappointing, they came out way too fast and they were cold. They were obviously sitting around waiting for the next order. We had to send them back.

They look great, though!

Tasty Salad

 

Here is the main event and it was deeee-licious. Ham, swiss cheese and turkey deep fried in a fritter batter and served with powdered sugar and jelly.

Humina, humina...

 

The Monte Cristo, giving the finger to all sandwich conventions.

 

After having what was essentially a ham and cheese donut for lunch, taking it easy was the next order of business.

 

Next Up:  Slow down, you’re moving too fast. The best of the slowest in Disneyland.

 

 

Posted in Dining Review, Disneyland | 1 Comment

Downtown, Everything’s Waiting For You

Posted on May 24, 2012 by hjones

This trip just seemed to sneak up on me. Probably because there was not as much planning required as with our Walt Disney World vacations. For Orlando, you have to be on the phone at the crack of dawn 180 days in advance just to get a decent dinner reservation. But this is SoCal dude,  it’s all chill.

We were leaving the children home (I know, terrible) so I needed to make sure that they had plenty of easily prepared  (junk) food at hand. I’m a bit of a whole-food, organic kind of shopper normally. I felt like I needed a sunglasses and hat disguise at the supemarket. There was not one green, leafy thing to be found in my cart.

A carriage full of guilt.

 

This was a pretty short trip, so we tried to make the most of our days by leaving super early and then returning late on the red eye.

 

I had heard that there was another four o'clock.

We had plans to drive right into Logan and park in the cheap lot, but it was raining like it was end times. Parking in the central parking would have been a huge chunk of change so we made a decision on the fly to park at the Braintree Logan Express and take the bus. It was a bit of a sweaty palms ride because we hadn’t allowed for the extra time.

Quick! Make a face like a chipmunk!

 

We hustled up to our gate without a minute to spare. Whew! Our layover in Minneapolis gave us just enough time for a quick breakfast. Surprisingly, we found a pretty cute place. It was about 10:00am local time but people were already drinking at the bar.

Everyone is on their own clock, I guess.

 

 

The coffee was... pretty good.

 

The menu was full of organic offerings, but it was an airport so who knows? My granola and berries were just the ticket though.

A healthy breakfast. This trend wouldn't last.

 

I handed my phone over to Jeff for him to snap a picture of his breakfast, and he obliged. I almost did a spit take with my coffee when I saw the pic. It looked like a crime scene photo.

“The victim was eating a hearty portion of scrambled eggs and bacon when the incident occurred”

Exhibit A

 

No more food photography for Mr. Jones. The rest of the leg to LAX was uneventful. We hopped into our perfectly acceptable, but unremarkable rental car and headed to our home for the next four days in Chino Hills, California.

It was like driving a bowling shoe.

 

It had been hours since our breakfast, honest. We set about finding something to eat when I spotted an In-N-Out Burger from the highway. Wanting to partake in all things local California, I thought this would be a good take.

All the staff were slim, well groomed and good looking. Hmmmm...

We should have split one. Lesson learned.

 

Condiments.

The lunch was tasty, but I have to say that Five Guys has a slight leg up on the burgers. They were a bit thin. I found out later that there is something interesting on all the wrappers, bags and cups. I wish I had noticed it myself!

If you haven’t been following along at home, I’ll get you up to speed on how we ended up coming out here. Jeff and I attended  a friend’s wedding in Savannah Georgia last September. We were fortuitously seated with a couple from California, April and Chris.  As we chatted, I discovered that they live just thirty minutes from Disneyland. Of course, my eyes widened with excitement. Without missing a beat, they invited us to stay at their home anytime. We soon after accepted their offer. It might seem crazy to travel all the way across the country to visit practical strangers, but April and Chris are warm and genuine people who immediately make you feel welcome and at ease.

We found our way to our new friends’ home which is set in a lovely neighborhood.

The best hotel I've ever stayed at.

 

On our way to the house we stopped and picked up some flowers for our hostess. Apparently this woman is loved and appreciated by everyone she meets because our flowers lined up next to FOUR other bouquets that she received that week, and it wasn’t even her birthday or anything!

Spot the adorable April!

 

April and Chris had a meeting at the house this night so Jeff and I decided to go on over to Downtown Disney to have a look around and get acquainted with the area.

You can’t know we were there unless you see our mugs in front of the sign.

 

 

When I snapped this picture of Rainforest Café I inadvertently captured a woman with the most pained look. Must have been a tough day at Disney. Let’s have a caption contest.

I’ll start:

We were finally released after ten long months in the Gulag...

 

We checked out some amazing displays outside the Lego Store.

The dragon is all Legos and HUGE!

 

Is it strange that it bothers me that the Beast is full sized and Belle is “Lego Belle”?

Something about this seems inappropriate.

Something about this seems inappropriate.

 

Jeff tries to find a suitable chapeau at the haberdashery

Not so hidden Mickeys

 

This dad and his toddler son were having a blast playing with an action figure in the fountain. The boy would stand the guy up and the dad would sweep the water over it and knock it down. Lots of giggles! I tried not to look too creepy taking this picture.

Me pretending not to be weird.

 

Look out!

 

Downtown Disney is a great place to visit on the first day of your Disney trip. You certainly don’t want to blow a park ticket on less than half a day in the parks. Another thing that you can do is hang out in the hotels. These are not like regular boring hotels in the REAL world (yawn). They are highly themed and have excellent restaurants –and bars, which is what we were after.

Walkway to the Disneyland Hotel

 

The Disneyland Hotel had recently gone through a total refurbishment. This included the addition of a new bar called Trader Sam’s.

This tiny bar is an  amalgamation of the Jungle Cruise and the Enchanted Tiki Room plus booze.

There are tons of details and inside jokes everywhere. I tried not to be too much of a goof wandering around and taking pictures. I don’t want to embarrass Jeff so much that he won’t take me back (to Disneyland I mean, not the marriage).

 

The Tiki gods are always watching.

 

All the lighting is mismatched

 

Classic Jungle Cruise reference.

 

This guy with his hat on backwards must have started early. His wife had to walk him out, not before he nearly fell onto me. So needless to say, the drinks are good here!

Wobbly Patron

I don’t go in for fruity drinks, of which the hilariously scripted menu had plenty. But they did have a bourbon mint drink called a Shipwreck on the Rocks that hit the spot.

As worded on the menu: Have too many of these and you'll be setting a course for Davy Jones' Locker! -- Bourbon with Freshly Muddled Lemon and Mint with Organic Agave Nectar.

When you order this cocktail, you also get a show. The staff bellows, “Shipwreck!!!, the lights dim and flash and then you hear the rumbling of the volcano. I’m not sure what this has to do with a shipwreck, but the effect is pretty cool!

All is peaceful until...

 

The lady on table seven ordered the bourbon!!!

 

It was getting on time for some food. Trader Sam’s has just the kind of menu I like- all tasty appetizers.

We started with some wings. These were fantastic, nicely balanced with between and spicy. The papaya slaw was crunchy and delicious. I tried to experiment with the lighting for the photos. It was so dark, but flash makes food look unappetizing. Jeff held his camera flashlight behind these. The results were only so-so, but at least you can see the goods.

Sweet and Spicy Asian Wings with Papaya Slaw

 

Fish Tacos!

Grilled Mahi Mahi, Cabbage, and Lime-Tartar Sauce wrapped in Corn Tortillas

 

Reasonable people would have shown some temperance, but noooo, we ordered the flat- bread too. All the dishes we got had a sprinkling of cilantro, which in my book makes everything better.

Pulled Pork, Red Onion, Cilantro, Barbecue Sauce, and Mozzarella

 

We finished our shipwrecks and walked (not stumbled) out of Trader Sam’s.

Wow, we must have been in there a while!

 

 

The Disneyland Hotel's new Monorail Pool

 

Surprisingly we weren’t that tired, so we decided to take a sneak peek at Disneyland’s flagship hotel, the Grand Californian. We would be going back here on our last evening for our splash out meal at the Napa Rose (Spoiler Alert: It was amazing!!!!!).

The huge lobby is reminiscent of the Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando.

Grand Californian Lobby

Craftsman Details

 

We stepped up to the bar at the Napa Rose for a night cap.

Elegant Bar

 

 

Lounge Area

 

 

Ceiling Details

 

 

The color palette for the restaurant is fashioned after the actual “Napa Rose” flower which is a soft pink and peach color. Everything has an orange glow.

Napa Rose Soft Bar Lights

It looks very flattering in person, makes for poor photographs though.

Orange you glad to see us?

 

 

After dinner scotch for the gentleman.

 

House Cabernet for the lady.

The mixologists and bar ingredients are top notch. No Rose’s Lime juice here (yuck!). This bartender was creating three custom cocktails for the patrons seated next to us. They were sort of know-it-all hipsters who had a lot of specific requests. I wouldn’t have been able to restrain myself from an eye roll but this guy was a true professional, unlike me who neglected to get a photo of the finished product!

Fastidious Mixologist

 

It had been literally tens of minutes since we last ate so we asked to see the dessert menu. What’s great about the lounges at these high end hotels is that usually you can order right from the restaurant dinner menu. You don’t need reservations to do this, so you can be spontaneous. Also, because it’s a bar, you don’t feel bad about taking up a table to just have dessert or split an appetizer.

Dessert Menu

 

 

REAL silver cutlery (or silver plate but, wow).

 

We went with the Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp.

Loved the presentation!

Your close-up

 

 

Is this too intimate?

 

It was looking like it would be  wise idea to go on back to Chino Hills and get some rest before our first full day at Disneyland, so this time we did the responsible thing and called it a night.

G'night, Downtown Disney.

 

Next up: Disneyland- The Bizarro Magic Kingdom for Walt Disney World Fans.

 

Posted in Dining Review, Disneyland, U. S. Travel | 3 Comments

To All Who Come To This Happy Place, Welcome…

Posted on May 7, 2012 by hjones

This week, Jeff and I are sneaking off for yet another Disney vacation. I’m feeling a bit guilty about this one and not only because we just went to Walt Disney World last October. What is most guilt inducing is the fact that we are going on this trip without the children. However, there are several good reasons why this trip is justified.  C’mon, work with me here…

Reason #1 : It’s Disneyland this time– We are not going to Orlando, but to the original park in California. Every Disney geek must visit the park that Walt built!

Reason #2: We are going on the cheap– Between taking advantage of miles points built up on our Amex card and  staying with friends who are kind enough to welcome us into their oh-so-close to Anaheim home, the cost of the trip will be minimal.

Reason #3:  We are entering into the college years- This means that it will be a cash strapped, vacation-less existence for the next six years- or more. We gotta get while the going is good, right?

I hope to see and experience (read: eat) as much of Disneyland and Southern California as possible on this brief jaunt.  Stay tuned for obnoxiously detailed trip reports in the coming weeks!

 

 

 

 

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Whiskey is Liquid Sunshine

Posted on April 20, 2012 by hjones

We had somehow managed to accomplish four decades of living without ever having experienced whisky, and we were ok with it. We were perfectly happy with beer, wine and the occasional martini. That was until one evening when we attended a dinner party hosted by a lovely lady who just happened to hale from Scotland. After our meal, she told us that she was going to share a very special bottle of Scotch. We politely accepted and that’s how it all began. Since then we’ve discovered the complex, peaty world of Islay Scotch whisky and now we are hooked. Well, not hooked. We can stop anytime. Really.

Anyhooo… when Jeff caught wind of a whiskey pairing dinner being held nearby, we jumped at it. Jeff’s brother Ken (of our “trip to the aquarium” fame) also came down for the event. He at one time proclaimed that he would NEVER pay that much for one bottle of booze, so of course we had to have him try a dram of fine scotch. Now he’s one of us. Bwahahaha!!!!

Here is the advertisement for the Event:

 

The location of the event was at the MIT Endicott House in Dedham Massachussetts. This is a grand, French style mansion built in 1934.

Why yes, that is a Mercedes pulled up to the front.

 

 I thought the place looked suspiciously like Wayne Manor.

Alfred, I'm ready for my whisky!

Details

We only saw a small portion of the house. The entry hall was filled with paintings, tapestries and flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

The first portion of the evening was a reception. The room that this was held in was awesome. It looked like the kind of place where you might run into Earnest Hemingway- all leathery and filled with dead animal heads, guns and whiskey.

 

I felt safe.

 

Oh, reely.

Antler Chandelier.

 

There was a small bar set up where you could start with a cocktail,  beer or wine while enjoying some hors d’oeurves.

I stayed close to the Salmon.

They also passed around some crab cakes that were absolutely delectable. I couldn’t get a picture because I would have had to put down either my wine or the crab cake to take one.

Now that everyone had had a bit to eat, the whisky came out. Each tasting was about one ounce, which was a prudent amount.

Tasting table

Yowza

 

I had to sneak a shot of this guy’s jacket. You don’t see a crest on a sport coat everyday! I did some CSI work to find out that it represents the  Royal Caledonian Curling Club.

Ok, now I feel weird.

 

This guys seems nice enough...

 

...until he stands in front of you during the lecture!

 

We were each given a sheet of paper with lists of about a billion flavor descriptors that we challenged to identify.

The Taste.

 

"I'm getting fruit loops with an Ovaltine finish."

I didn't do my homework, I just drank the hootch.

 

Now it was time to move on the dinner. This was in a separate dining room. The paneling and details along the way were impressive.

Staircase

Amazing hand-carved panels.

 

We were set up in an intimate dining room. The tables were dressed beautifully.

Extra forks equals more food!

 

Once we were seated we were given the choice of a lager or Guinness with the meal. Yes please.  The first course was stuffed peppers, not usually a favorite of mine, but these were terrific. The peppers were cooked just right and the rice stuffing was tasty.

 

Second course was a salad that prominently featured bacon.

Just as salad should be; laden with pork.

 

I need to know what kind of plant produces these butter flowers!

 

The main meal was a choice of Lamb Osso Bucco paired with Macallan 12 year Highland Scotch or Filet Mignon paired with Auchentoshan 12 year from the Lowlands. I’m not a big fan of lamb, but this was fabulous- and unfortunately Jeff’s. I got a a few good bites before he snatched his plate back. I could have finished this, no problem.

Lamb Osso Bucco

 

My filet was also scrumptious. You can see that it was cooked perfectly since I took a couple of bites before remembered to take a photo. On a completely different note, is it just me or do you also find the flowery pattern on the plates a turn off?

Steak: good. Plate: a little twee.

 

It was time for this lady to visit the powder room. It wasn’t a long walk, but If I needed to I could have rested here.

 

 

Class-y

The dessert course also included more whiskey, of course. This time it was Jameson served with a decadant chocolate bread pudding.

Irish Coffee

Chocolate Bread Pudding

 

We had an extraordinary evening. We didn’t actually taste any new whiskies, but the selections they had were a very good sampling of Irish and Scottish varieties. The lecture portion was a bit disappointing. The host just played a series of videos, which would have been ok, but he also butchered the pronunciation of one of the most well known Islay scotches, Lagavulin – lost a bit of credibility there. However, the food, the atmosphere and the company far outshined any flaws I have mentioned. I will be on the look out for any other events happening at the Endicott House in the future.

Hey, the Bat Signal... must be a wine dinner coming up!

 

*Editor’s Note: You may have noticed that I spelled our featured libation  both “whiskey” and “whisky”. This is not my typical sloppy grammer. The E differentiates Irish from Scottish whiskies.

 

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Two days in Boston Part II

Posted on April 4, 2012 by hjones

So here we are, back in Bean Town, though no one from New England actually calls it that. Just like nobody from Boston really talks like Cliff Clavin, but I digress… Before we had even thought about our Christmas plans, we had suggested to my brother-in-law, Ken that he and the kids come down  from Maine for a day or two during school vacation so we could take them into town for a good ol’ time. No worries though, I love the city.  Any excuse to go gallivanting is just fine with me! Ken and the kids had never been to the New England Aquarium so that needed to be rectified. We decided to spend the afternoon with the fishes and then have dinner at Faneuil Hall. We parked across from Durgin Park.

Mediocre food plus free abuse!

New England Aquarium

Outside of the aquarium there is a seal exhibit that you can check out without paying the entrance fee.  This is a “no money fun” activity that we participated in when our kids were little and we were completely broke. I think they were about ten years old before they realized that you could actually buy toys from the mall and not just look at them.

Freebie

This time we were forking over the cash and taking it all in. It was the last day of school vacation so I thought that it might not be too crowded. I was wrong.

One does not simply walk into the New England Aquarium.

It was packed. You can see in the picture below that there is an auxiliary tent set up. The line for tickets switch-backed through the tent. It was probably an hour wait just to get in!

The waiting is the hardest part

Thankfully, Jeff had purchased our tickets online ahead of time. This meant that we scooted through the mass of humanity right to the door. It was like having a Disney World Fastpass.  Hallelujah! The penguins were pleased to see us.

Yay!!! The Joneses are here!

 

It was feeding time as we arrived. The caretakers had clip boards and were meticulously recording who ate what and when. Good thing I don’t work here. I couldn’t even keep up with the baby feeding/poop chart with my one child!

 

I have to confess that most of the pictures from the aquarium are not mine. They are from my talented daughter Meghan. Usually I’m ok with my iPhone pics, but side by side the difference was pretty pathetic. Case in point:

My Seahorse......

 

...Meghan's Seahorse

As a borderline obsessive Disney person, you know I had to assign the Nemo characters to all the sea creatures.

Dory!

Bubbles!

Gil!

 

Mr. Ray!

 

Crush!

 

Du nah...Du nah...

Duh Nah, Duh Nah, Duh Nah, Duh Nah, NAH!!!!

 

Hi Bruce!

 

Patrick! Oh wait, that's not Disney...

 

The colors of the anemones and grasses were just stunning. One of the pictures in this group is actually mine and not Meghan’s. Can you spot which one?

 

 

Wow! The composition of this one is brilliant! Amazing!!!

Picture these guys whistling "Bridge Over The River the Kwai"

A study in orange.

 

 

Peek-A-Boo!

 

Poor Salmon, no one gives them any love.

I love salmon...on my plate!

Would somebody please kiss me, already!?

 

The Amazing Jellies is a permanent exhibit. They are miraculous!

 

 

 

I hadn’t been to the New England Aquarium for a number of years. I knew that they had done some refurbishments, but what I didn’t realize is that they removed the dolphin show. I’m assuming that it was a matter of animal rights concerns. I did some research but I couldn’t find any news articles on the decision, only a court case brought on by the Citizens to End Animal Suffering and Exploitation.  I won’t make any value judgements here, but what I can say is that the huge corrugated building is gone, leaving a beautiful open space with a gorgeous view of the Harbor.

 

 

 

If you are missing the old dolphin show, you can reminisce about it while watching this vintage New England Aquarium  commercial.

Curiously, the girls in both the New England Aquarium commercial and the Museum of Science ad are named Karen. Hmmm…

There is still a small pool area where they have some demonstrations. Here they were teaching us about seals…or sea lions. I guess I wasn’t paying too close attention.

 

Dude, I'm a sea lion.

 

We had one more exhibit to see, the  Shark and Ray Touch Tank. How cool is it to be able to touch a real live shark! What’s that you say, the wait is two hours? Um, nevermind.

My feeding chart was telling me that it was time to find some dinner. Let’s say a quick goodbye to our penguin friends.

Hey, don't be that way. We'll be back!

 

We made our way across to Quincy Market. I have to say that being a pedestrian in Boston is sooo much more pleasant than it used to be now that you can just skip on over the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Worth every penny of the Twenty Two Billion Dollars the Big Dig cost us.

Custom House Clock Tower

 

Quincy Market

 

Rotunda

 

 

Plaza Area

 

Hey, you've got a string out.

 

I hadn’t decided on a restaurant ahead of time (very unlike me, I know). I have no problem being a bossy britches with my immediate family, but not so much with the rest of the gang. I needed to be more democratic, which meant I picked somewhere that I thought looked good and then led them to believe that they had some choice in the matter. We ended up at Ned Devine’s Irish Pub.

This is right in  the Quincy Market Building. The space is an  immense loft with the original brick, paired with modern artistic lighting and imported Irish wood work.

My way too dark interior picture

 

Thank you, Google images.

 

View from our table

 

The best nephew and niece ever.

 

The adorable Meghan

I snapped a picture of Matt but it didn’t come out. How ’bout we use this one:

Gratuitous senior photo. That's my boy!

 

The food here was pretty darn good. The kids had a hummus and vegetable appetizer, but I feared I might lose a limb trying to photograph it, they were attacking it so hard. The grown ups shared a margherita pizza to start. This was tasty, but there was a bit of a problem. We found a piece of plastic in it. No big deal, the world is an imperfect place. They handled the situation well, comping the pizza and apologizing profusely.

Margherita Pizza plus plastic.

The rest of the dinner went with out incident. I like to order an appetizer as my dinner instead of an entree. When I go out, I don’t want to fool around with a whole mess of vegetable and potato nonsense.

My Crab Cakes were tasty.

The portions were generous. Matt and Ezra both got the pulled pork sliders. Emma’s burger is looming in the background.

Most of this came home in boxes.

Ken's clam chowder. It wasn't as orange in person.

Meghan was crazy over her sandwich.

Grilled chicken, roasted red peppers, herbed goat cheese, focaccia roll, basil pesto aioli

 

Jeff got a gorgeous piece of cod. You can’t call it Fish and Chips because he got sweet potato fries instead or traditional chips.

Sacrilege!

We opted out of dessert at Ned Devine’s because we were just blocks from Mike’s Pastry. You can’t be this close to the North End and not have a cannoli!

Guess they got the lights straightened out.

 

The North End  shops and restaurants were all decked out for Christmas. I have to remember  to come back here during the holidays and spend some more time soaking in the atmosphere.

 

This night we just took a quick run in to get our Italian confections. We double parked as Ken jumped in line at Mike’s. What we didn’t realize was that they don’t take credit. The poor guy waited for fifteen minutes before discovering this. He hopped out of line  and got some cash at the ATM and was graciously let back in the queue by another customer. Crisis averted.

THE box.

 

Worth the trouble, if I do say so myself.

 

Hanging out for two days in Boston was great fun, but what makes any travel adventure invaluable is the company of good friends- old or new. On these exploits, my friends just  happened to all be named Jones.

 

 

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Two Days In Boston

Posted on March 18, 2012 by hjones

This past Christmas Jeff and I had a hard time figuring out what to get for the kids. When they were little, it was easy to swing through the toy aisle and grab some Legos or Fisher Price toys and know that they would be thrilled. But now that Matt and Meghan are both teenagers, it’s a bit more challenging. That, coupled with the fact that they are both soon to be off to college, made us decide to DO something with them rather than buy them stuff.  We had pretty much just gotten back from Disney, so another trip was not in the cards, though we did consider driving to Québec for a couple of days (it looks so picturesque at Christmastime!). However, we concluded that being confined in  an SUV for eighteen hours with your parents might not feel like much of a treat. So in the end we decided to take advantage of living so close to the “Schitty of Bawston” (That’s a Kevin White impersonation, youngsters) and spend the day in town . We would divide among gender lines; Jeff and Matt would take in a showing of Blue Man Group, while Meghan and I would luxuriate at a Spa on Newbury Street, daaahling. After this we would meet up for a nice dinner together. We started the day by fortifying ourselves at the local breakfast joint.

This oughta hold me for a while

We drove in parked at a neutral location. The boys escorted us girls through the Boston Commons before we parted ways.

Boston Commons in the bleak midwinter

 

Aaaaggghh! What is that???

Meghan and my appointments weren’t for an hour, so we had a little time to nose around the high falutin’ boutiques on Newbury Street. We first needed to make a pit stop. When my mom and I used to come here occasionally when I was a teenager, we would always try to use the bathroom at the swankiest place we could find. Weird I know, but there’s something about sneaking the use of the facilities at a five star hotel that makes me giggle like I’m getting away with something. I felt that I needed to pass this tradition on to my daughter. We ended up at the Taj Boston. How posh was it? The gift shop sold fur coats, just fur coats.

Well, they are on Sale!

They lobby was filled with the aroma of ginger from an astonishing gingerbread Taj Mahal.

The bathroom was just ok.

 

On to the stores then…

Several of the furriers and fancy handbag stores had well dressed secret service type gentlemen on the door guarding our entrance …and judging us. This shop was one of those. Can you guess what purveyor this might be?

Nope it's coffee.

At Ann Taylor Meghan managed to procure a cute red  belt and a sweater.  There was a pretty hefty sale. Times are tough everywhere I guess.

Ann Taylor- moderately priced for Newbury Street

 

Bling!

I love the way Meghan just waltzed right into Dianne Von Furstenburg like it was the Gap.

Hey, there's my thumb, I've been looking all over for that!

We unfortunately witnessed the final hours of Filene’s Basement, a Boston institution now gone. Another sad sign of the times.

 

It was quite enjoyable to take in all the Christmassy sights without the crowds…seeing as though Christmas was like, you know- over.

 

Our appointment time was upon us, so we found our way to Belle Santé Spa.

Bella Santé

 

Just let that roll around in your head a few times.

 

Flower Accent

 

Lobby Area

 

Fruit Infused waters

 

We got ourselves changed into robes and filled out some forms in the lobby. You wouldn’t think that there would be much risk of liability at a spa, but wouldn’t you know it, we did actually have an incident…

Our appointments were for a facials and manicure/pedicures. They do full massages there, but I wasn’t keen on that idea for my baby daughter. I thought we would be together but they took us to separate rooms,  which was fine. There wouldn’t be much opportunity to talk with a hot towel on your face anyway.  The space was super dark with flickering candles and new agey music playing. I felt a lot a pressure to relax! The steps of the facial went something like this: Hot towel, lotion applied,  lotion removed, face massaged &  steamed, repeated about twenty times.

Our faces felt like butter! Below is a rare shot of Meghan without -SHOCK-  make-up! You might think it’s risky putting that in here, but my children NEVER, EVER read anything I write. She’ll never know.

Fresh faced Meghan

So, on to the pedicures. For this we got to hang together which was fun. We were chatting up with the technicians who were very nice and down to earth. I was a little concerned that a Spa on Newbury Street would be kinda snooty, but it wasn’t at all. Everyone was super friendly and warm. The ladies were doing a thorough job sloughing off our dead cells (gag!), and trimming our cuticles when the girl working on Meghan cut a little too close. Her toe started bleeding and it just wouldn’t stop. They tried everything from styptic to super glue but the blood just kept pumping. They finally had to give in and just bandage it up.

This little piggy is bleeding profusely.

My pedicure, however, was coming along swimmingly!

Red hot!

The manicure yielded no casualties. They ended up giving us a gift card for twenty-five dollars off of our next visit. Unfortunately  twenty-five dollars off of about a gazillion dollars isn’t much help.

 

Meanwhile at Blue Man Group:

Creepy

 

The boys had a blast at Blue Man, they absolutely loved the show. It got out a bit earlier than I had planned so they had to wait for us at the spa for about an hour, the poor dears. Jeff paid our bill and did a super job not having a heart attack over the final figure. Let’s just say that my first car cost less than our day of beauty. It was worth it though, the girl and I made some good memories together.

Believe it or not, that omelet did eventually wear off , so we headed to dinner. I had done some research on restaurants in the area, and discovered a place that made me very excited. I’m a fan of the Top Chef series  and this restaurant, Tico is owned by a Top Chef Master, Michael Schlow. What’s  even better is that it’s a tapas bar. Snap!

tico

The style of the place was Spanish hipster. Very cool

Bar Area

 

Chef's Counter

 

I just love an open kitchen. It gives me confidence that we are in for something good. The dining room was very low lit, but the kitchen was illuminated like Fenway park. It looked like the “light” Carol Ann was supposed to walk into.

Open Kitchen

I think I became semi-obsessed with the cutlery because I took a ton of pictures of it. It was very classy.

 

 

Now, that's a knife!

I have this ritual when we go out; I like to ask the server or bartender if they have a specialty drink or something they just love to make. I usually get what they recommend   hopefully thinking that this time I’m gonna like it, but inevitably I’m disappointed.  Tonight it was the Tico-tini. I’m sure it was executed well, I guess I just have to come to terms with the fact that I don’t like fruity drinks.

Ticotini

The menu here consists of mostly tapas along with some heartier main dishes. They also offer up something interesting that we decided to go for. You can pay a per person fixed price and have the chefs create a menu of their choosing.  There are three tiers: “Kind of Hungry?” “Forgot to Eat Lunch?” and the  “Full-on Tico Experience!“. We went all the way, baby. I was so excited about what they brought out that I forgot to take a picture of the first dish,  Beef with Green Chile. I assure you it was fabulous. The next picture I took I forgot to turn off the flash, which makes food look horrid. I threw it in anyway, but my apologies.

Homemade Chorizo with Chimichurri

Next were tacos that consisted mostly of bacon. Yup, this was turning out to be a great meal.

Bacon,Cabbage and Green Tomato with Chipotle

 

Your close-up, Bacon Taco!

Next came some buttery skillet corn also with bacon. It was amazing. Everyone loved it, which was a good thing cause Meghan didn’t dig the first two dishes.

Sweet Corn with Bacon, Chiles and Thai Basil

 

This one was odd. It was a green salad that had the usual suspects of lettuce, cabbage and onions, however it was spiked with mint. I’m still not sure if I liked it.

Shredded Cabbage and Vegetable Salad with Salsa Verde and Crushed Almonds

 

These quesadillas were crispy and delectable…

Mushroom and Cheese Quesadilla with Black Truffle Salsa

 

Let’s cleanse our palates with a Bass Ale, shall we?

 

This next dish is a good example of why an experiment like this is so fun. I would never order cauliflower, I don’t care for it one bit. However, this was absolutely delicious! The cauliflower was roasted and took on a this deep, nutty flavor. Then there were the Fava Beans (insert Silence of the Lambs reference here). They were almost dry roasted. Yummy! I never would have gotten this on my own devices.

Roasted Cauliflower with Creamy Chipotle and Crushed, Crunchy Fava Beans

As you can imagine, we were getting pretty full by now, but the entrées were now upon us. This was by far my favorite item. Look at the sear on this salmon, LOOK at it!!!!

Salmon with Mushrooms, Hominy, Swiss Chard, and Spicy Shellfish Vinaigrette

By the time the steak hit the table we were ready to bust. I loved it, but Jeff felt it was a bit salty. I like a bit salty. The fries were perfection! Most of this went into a take out container.

Grilled Skirt Steak with house-made fries, grilled zucchini and pickled red onions

Frites!

Finally, dessert. This first item was not on the menu, so I don’t have an accurate description. Let’s just say it was all manner of peachy goodness.

Peach Dessert

We managed to hork this chocolate tart down despite being over-the-top full. The description is as it reads on the menu, not my editorializing!

Super Delicious Chocolate Tart with tres leche ice cream- it’s good for you, loaded with lots of vitamins

 

Our adventures in Boston were an all around success. I consider it a privilege to have access to such a great city and  to be able to go back to our quiet country home. You may recall that this post is titled Two Days in Boston. Circumstances led us back to the Hub just a couple of days later, but the word count of this post informs me that I’ve gone on waaaay too long already.

 

Next Up:  Part II: “I can walk like a penguin!”

Posted in Dining Review, U. S. Travel | 3 Comments

“Goodbye May Seem Forever”

Posted on January 26, 2012 by hjones

This is it, the last day. So sad I know, but I had a plan to get the very most out of these dwindling hours. On our first Disney trip as a family, our flight home was early in the afternoon which meant that there was not enough time to venture out to a park before having to leave for the airport. Let me tell you, there’s nothing more depressing than watching happy,  Mickey-eared families gleefully hopping onto the bus to the Magic Kingdom  as you are sitting on a bench waiting go home. This time our flight wasn’t until 6:00pm, which meant we could squeeze in another full day at Epcot. Yee haw!

We started off the day with coffee on the balcony.

Yup, Epcot is still there!

 

A week at Disney makes him even more handsome!

 

After relaxing as long as possible (meaning not so long that would I get antsy over NOT being in the park) we gathered our belongings for bell services pick up and headed downstairs to the lobby. I needed to talk to guest services about our ticket situation because I flubbed up on the dining plan. I wasn’t thinking that the credits expired when we left Pop Century. Our night at the Beach Club wasn’t part of the package, it was a “room only” reservation. We had four counter serve meals which we were planning to use on the last day that were now gone. I was hoping that the Beach Club would make it right, but they didn’t. Not a huge deal because we ate at the Food & Wine booths anyway, but I was a bit disappointed.

Now, off to Epcot. I can’t tell you how delightful it was to be able to walk from the resort right over to the park.

Just a few steps and BOOM there's France!

World Showcase opens later than Future World at Epcot. You are able to walk through,  you just can’t enter into any of the pavilions or shops. It was just splendid to be in the park when it was nearly empty.

Empty tables in the United Kingdom Pavillion

We even caught a glimpse of a Segway Tour group. Disney has lots of tours available where you can go “back Stage” and get inside information from cast members and imagineers. They can be expensive (they range from about thirty dollars to several hundred dollars a per person), but it’s a great way to change things up after you’ve visited multiple times. I’d like to take the Segway Tour sometime, but I’m pretty sure I’d be the one knocking over cones after an hour of training, keeping everyone from “getting going already!”.

Segway Tour cruising through World Showcase

I discreetly snapped a picture of a girl bandaging her blistered feet. I restrained myself from making  an audible “tsk, tsk” for going for cute shoes over sensible ones. It would have been cruel.

Get some Crocs, missy!

 

We had an hour or so before World Showcase opened, so we headed over to Future World to see  Turtle Talk with Crush.

Turtle Talk is a part of The Seas Pavilion which was taken over by Nemo a few years ago.

Mine! Mine! Mine!

Dory, Marlon and Nemo

Bloat!

The main portion of the pavilion is a ride-through that combines a real aquarium with animated characters from the movie. They do a pretty convincing job with it.

Hard to get a good shot of this one. The effect is dang impressive, trust me.

Pretty, fake corals.

Then you blast off from zero to sixty right out of the ocean!

Just kidding, the camera got bumped.

 

Turtle Talk a separate event in a small theater with shows running every thirty minutes or so.  There is bench seating for the adults, but the children are encouraged to sit down front on the carpeted floor.

The show begins when crush swims out. This may look like it’s just a movie, but it’s actually a totally interactive experience. Crush talks directly to the audience and takes questions from the kids.  The cast members who do the acting here have to be on their toes, because you never know what the kids will come up with.

 

Check out this video of a child trying to explain what chicken nuggets are. There’s some adult humor to be had here.

 

World Showcase was now open so we started back that way. The family objective here was to devour as many delicacies from the Food  & Wine Festival kiosks as humanly possible before having to board the bus to the airport. I, however, had an additional mission. You may recall from the first post of this trip report that we had a bit of a *ehem* mix-up at the airport that would have left us stranded after our return flight. My dear mother worked everything out so as to get our car and us safely back home. I decided that a nice thank you would be a “candies of the world” gift basket. In order to accomplish this feat, I would need complete focus and concentration. I had to do this on my own! I said goodbye to my loved ones and began my quest…

 

The first stop: Oh, Canada.  This is a re-creation of Victoria Gardens. Simply breathtaking.

You have my permission to use this photo as your desktop image. I don't mind.

 

 

Canadian conifers

 

The building here is an homage to the Chateau Frontenac Hotel in Quebec City, but look closer. It’s actually under scrims.

A re-creation of a re-creation

This is the trading post where I got my first item. I could kick myself for not taking photos of the candy from each country!!!

Trading post

 

On to the United Kingdom, Gov’nah.

Gorgeous plantings

 

Awww…

Mr & Mrs. Jones, 2052

I can't talk, Alice! I'm late, I'm late!

 

Candy number two.

The Queen's Table

 

More Shops

 

 

Way in the back of the U.K. pavilion are beautiful gardens and seating areas. A band called the English Channel plays there several times a day. You really have to go off the beaten path to find these places.

Gardens and Gazebo

 

Maintenant, France.

France Pavilion

 

Le Chat

I actually remember that I got salted caramels here, they looked so amazingly good.

Charming Provincial gift shop.

I’ve decided to take the apartment over La Maison du Vin.

My new home.

 

Ok, I’ve said it before but this time I REALLY mean it. Morocco is my absolute favorite pavilion. The detail and authentic feel of this area is without equal.

 

Beautifully crafted lanterns

 

 Once you’ve entered through the archways, the rest of World Showcase disappears.  The alley ways wind around so far that you feel as if you are in an actual Marrakesh market.

How many Dirham for the cooking pot?

This inner courtyard area is so peaceful, with the water sounds of the fountain and cool shaded benches, you can’t hear the hustle of the rest of the park.

There is gorgeous tile covering practically everything.

Morocco is also where you can get a Henna Tattoo. Meghan has gotten one on each of our last two trips. It lasts about a week or so. It’s the ultimate souvenir for a teenage girl.

 I ended up getting some sort of wafer cookies here. They didn’t seem very Moroccan.

Bye, Morocco

 

A good portion of Japan Pavilion was walled off under construction. Too bad, the gardens and Koi ponds are exquisite .

Epcot version of the Torii Gate found in the Hiroshima Bay at Itsukushima.

Goju-no-to Pagoda

I don’t remember what candy I got, but I’m sure it must have had cute Japanese characters on the wrapper .

 

I did actually stop and eat. I’m human, you know.

Lamb Slider with Tomato Chutney from New Zealand

 

America, America!

America Pavilion, home of the Charleston Chew!

Let me take a moment here to remark on how empty the park was on this day. This was a Tuesday at about noon. I knew it was going to be less crowded than on the weekend (locals come out in droves), but I was stunned to see empty queues at lunch time!

No lines, no waiting for beer and lobster!

To give you some perspective on how crowded it can get on the weekends during the Food & Wine Festival, here is a of photo taken on the Saturday before we arrived:

Egad!

 

Nearly vacant Italy pavilion. Hellloooooo!!!!!

St. Mark's Square

The architecture replicates Doge's Palace in Venice.

 

Faux marble arches

 

Germany was next. The aroma of sauerkraut permanently wafts through the air.

 

 

The Germany pavilion recently opened a new candy kitchen called the Karamell Küche. It is sponsored by Werthers so I got some boxed caramels. Everything in here looks spectacular, but I’ve had heard some not so great reviews. It seems that it might be all style and no substance. I’ll let you decide for yourself.

 

 

Dang, everything looks good though!

Mile High Cupcakes

 

 

This qualifies as fruit, right?

Germany sure does export the most beautiful people!

 

People looking fabulous.

 

China is the only place where I came up empty. I circled the gift shop a couple of times and didn’t find any candy. I might have just been missing it, but I didn’t have time to fool around!

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, a one-half scale reproduction of the Temple of Heaven complex near Beijing

 

Ok, I must have had a little time to fool around ’cause I stopped for another snack.

Lettuce Wraps with Roast Pork and Kimchi Slaw from South Korea

I washed this down with an herbal rice wine called Bek Se Ju. This was a nice surprise. It was like Sake but with a nice floral finish, not too sweet.

Bek Se Ju. Try to ignore my un-manicured nails.

 

Norway was next.

Village Area

Stave Church

Maelstrom is one of only two “rides” in World Showcase. You load onto dragon-headed ships for a voyage through the “fabled rivers and seas of Viking history and legend”.

Maelstrom

 

I have no recollection  of what candy I got so instead I’ll tell you about the best bakery in World Showcase (Well, France’s Boulangerie is pretty incredible too…they’re both the best),  Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe .

Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe

It’s here where you can find another fabled attraction, School Bread. This is basically a giant sweet roll filled with an audacious amount of delicious vanilla custard and covered in shredded sweet coconut.  It is  believed that they are actually made of magic straight from the Norse gods.

School Bread

 

Seating area behind the bakery, where School Bread is surely being consumed.

 

We have made it to the last pavilion! Picture me running though Mexico with my final sweet purchase,  breaking through an imaginary ceremonial ribbon and with arms raised in victory!

Mexico Pavilion

The prize, a gift bag filled with love from around the World!

Tadah!!!

 

I met up with Jeff for one more tasting. We sat at a table right outside the Aztec Temple in Mexico and had some tacos.

Grilled Ribeye Taco with Chipotle Sauce and Grilled Scallions

Shrimp Taco with Chipotle Lime Mayo and Cabbage

After our snack we rounded up the children via text (as you do) and we decided to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour as a family. Awwww….

 

Maybe I should have shared my taco?

It's a Small, Mexican World

Even my photos of FAKE fireworks are bad!

 

It just seemed fitting to end the day with some tequila. Jeff got a shot but I went with a Margarita instead.

One more shot

I absolutely despise sour mix, so I asked the bartender if they used it here. They do, but he offered to make me a Margarita the old fashioned way. It was tasty…

Margarita

 

There was no more use in denying, it was time to leave.

Goodbye World Showcase, you know how I feel about you!

 

We timed things just perfectly. Back at the Beach Club, we only needed to wait a few minutes for our ride.

This bench is a bit classier than the one we waited on at Pop Century!

 

The bus that brings you from the Orlando Airport to the Disney Resorts is called the Magical Express. We like to call the bus back the Tragically Depressed!

Meghan trying to look sad. She's so cute.

At the risk of making an already obnoxiously long post even  longer, I’d like to thank you for coming along with me on this trip. If you already love Disney, I hope that it brought you a smile and some warm remembrances.  If you’ve never been, I hope that you’ve seen that Walt Disney World is not just for kids.  It’s more than Mickey ears and spinning teacups, it’s a place where anyone of any age can create memories for a lifetime.

“Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart is a memory
And there you’ll always be “

-The Fox and the Hound

 

Posted in Walt Disney World | 5 Comments

“Very Good Advice”

Posted on January 18, 2012 by hjones

There are some restaurants that have a certain buzz in the Disney community. One of those is Beaches and Cream, a tiny soda fountain and burger joint that has earned legend status.

Retro Menu

If you are a Disney foodie nerd you must make a pilgrimage to Beaches and Cream to have a burger and a “No Way Jose” once before you die. It’s mandatory. Lucky for us it’s located right in the Beach Club resort where we were spending our last night in the World. Was it the spiritually fulfilling experience that one would hope for? Well sort of…

I’ve written a full review of our lunch at Beaches and Cream for the Disney Food Blog, that you can read HERE. …I’ll wait.

The concoction that Beaches and Cream is most famous for is the Kitchen Sink. This is an obnoxiously huge ice cream sundae served in a bowl fashioned to look like an actual sink.

The Famous Kitchen Sink

The idea of this is novel I guess, but the thought of all those melty  Ingredients combining into a gloppy mess gives me pause.

Those with delicate constitutions, look away!

Blegh!

Here can see the construction of the Kitchen sink. The young man in the video was actually our waiter.

 

Right next door is the Beach Club’s Sister resort the Yacht Club. It’s really nice, but I don’t find it as warm or appealing. It is crosses the line of fancy over to feeling uptight. However, I wouldn’t refuse a night there…

Yacht Club

It’s definitely the sort of place that Thurston Howell III would stay.

Lovey!!!!!

Both resorts look out to Crescent bay across to the Boardwalk. This area is fashioned after an idealized 1930s Atlantic City boardwalk.

Boardwalk Area

 

A closer view

This is a great place to just stroll around. There are restaurants, shops and Baked goodies to be had.  You can also rent a surrey bike and do a loop, but that seems too much like work to me.  At night there are entertainers like jugglers and magicians roaming around for your amusement.  The best part is that you don’t need a park ticket to go over to the Boardwalk, it’s free! We had  Dinner over there once on a previous trip, but I feel like we’ve never spent enough time just hanging out. The case to go back is building…

The Yacht and Beach Club also share a beach. Most of the deluxe resorts have some kind of beach area. They are very inviting, with the soft sand under your toes and comfy lounge chairs to recline in, but the thing is, you CANNOT go in the water!  We don’t need to get into details, but there are many creepy things in the lakes that you do not want to run in to. Suffice it to say, we should all take the advice of a crabby, albeit sage  Disney podcast host who ends every show with the tag line “Stay Out of the Damn Lakes!”

Yacht and Beach Club Beach Area

Careful there, duckies!

Now that I’ve warned you about the “Damn Lakes”… here’s a tip. Anyone can visit and hang out at these deluxe resorts, you don’t have to be staying there. With the exception of  the swimming pools, the public areas like the beaches are accessible to anyone. I’ve never done it, but a lot of people like to go to the Polynesian resort beach to hang out in the hammocks and watch the fire works show or the electric water pageant.

Polynesian Resort Beach- Man, do I want a drink in a pineapple right now!

After our lunch we checked on our luggage. It was now officially lost. The hotel manager was just about beside himself and ready to drive over to Pop Century to see what was what but  I wasn’t too concerned.  It was almost our last day and we had our necessities with us, so headed on our way to spend the evening at Hollywood Studios.

Dock leading to the boat launch

 

Another pleasant boat ride.

 

 

Dusk at Hollywood Studios

It was pretty late in the day, but we still had a few good hours to spend at the Studios. You might be wondering if it’s worth it to use up a park ticket for such a short visit. The answer to that is, it depends. If you are only able to visit Disney World for a day or two then you would want to make the most of the cost of your tickets by spending full days in the parks. But with Disney park tickets, the longer you stay less it costs.  After just three days, the cost of each subsequent day is just a few dollars.  If we had decided to just continue to hang at the pool we wouldn’t stand to lose anymore cash than the cost of a movie ticket.

Sunset at sunset!

It’s nice to have the opportunity to revisit a park  after you’ve gotten the most popular rides under your belt.  Some really great attractions can get lost in the shuffle of roller coasters and 3D simulators.

The Animation Academy is something that you actually have to seek out. There are no exterior signs or lights to draw you in or squeals of delight heard as you walk by, but this drawing class is a fantastic little find.

Animation Academy Classroom

The classroom is hidden away in the Animation Courtyard. Once inside you’ll find rows of  adorable Mickey shaped light up desks equipped with paper and pencils.

Meghan lookin' cocky.

Once all are seated, the instructor welcomes everyone and reveals the Disney character you are about to draw.  I always hope for Mickey but to no avail. This class, we drew Woody from Toy Story. Over the years we’ve done Goofy, the Genie from Alladin and Rapunzel. The animator takes you through step by step, and before you know it you have a pretty darn good represention of a Disney character.

Meghan's looks just like Woody

 

Mine looks like some guy dressed as Woody

There are very few attractions or activities at Walt Disney World where you can obtain a level of personal satisfaction AND collect a free souvenir along the way. Here’s another  tip just for you. After the class, you exit into a gift shop. Ask the cast member at the register for an elastic and a bag so you can roll up your artwork and get it back to your room in one piece.

 

For the rest of the evening we roamed around and tried to hit our favorites one more time.

The Tower of Terror is even more impressive at night!

We got to ride Rockin’ Roller Coaster again using our super secret single rider method, but the park turned out to be packed. This kinda made sense because it had been raining for the previous two days straight so everyone was out trying to make up for lost time.

Rockin' Roller Coaster

 

When it’s shoulder to shoulder like this it can be a challenge to remain in your happy place. That’s when you just have to change your objective. We grabbed a snack and a beer and planted it for a while and watched the suckers…uh folks standing in a two hour line for the next showing of  Fantasmic.

After nosing through the shops and bathing in the neon, we moseyed back to the resort where we were reunited with our luggage!  This would be our *sniff* last night at Disney, but don’t get tissues out yet.  We have one more day to take in as much Epcot as physically possible before departing.

G'night Stormalong Bay

 Next Up: My photo-packed, mad dash around the World!

 

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