“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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“… Aaah, The Perfect Day to be at Sea!”

Posted on December 29, 2011 by hjones

For this trip, I did a bit of scheming. I decided not to get the Park Hopper option on our tickets so I could  instead use the difference in price to help pay for one night’s stay at the Beach Club Resort.  Brilliant!  So this would be our last morning in our teeny tiny quarters at Pop Century Resort. For the most part, when we are at Disney, the room is just as a place to crash and shower and that is just fine. The goal is to spend as much time in the parks as possible and not to spend a ton of cash for a resort that we aren’t making full use of.  But staying at the Beach Club for the last night made sense for a couple of good reasons. First, we would be taking the day off from the parks and enjoying the AMAZING sand bottom pool (more on that later). Second, The Beach Club is just steps from Epcot so we would be able to hop over and make another pass through the Food & Wine Festival before having to leave for the airport the following afternoon…and I really wanted to know what it was like to stay at a deluxe resort.

There is an episode of Seinfeld where Jerry argues with Elaine over who should get the one first class seat available for their flight:

Elaine: Why should you get the first class?                                                                              Jerry: Elaine, have you ever flown first class?                                                                    Elaine: No.                                                                                                                                 Jerry: All right then. See? You won’t know what you’re missing. I’ve flown first class,      Elaine– I can’t go back to coach. I can’t… I won’t!

Friends, I’m not saying I won’t go back, but it’s going to be dang hard…

We packed up our stuff, leaving out one change of clothes and our bathing suits to keep with us. Bell services would be delivering our luggage to our new room-eventually. There are no buses that go directly from resort to resort so we headed to Hollywood Studios where we could then take a boat to the Beach Club.

Morning, ladies.

Of all modes of Disney transportation, the boats are the most relaxing. On a beautiful day like this they are practically an attraction in and of themselves.

I love how the back side of Tower of Terror is just as detailed as the park side.

 

En route to the Beach Club we got a nice view of the Swan and Dolphin. This resort is on Disney property but not owned by Disney. Which means that if you  stay at the Swan and Dolphin you can participate in the Extra Magic Hours, but you can’t use the dining plan. You can use Disney transportation around the parks but you can’t use Disney’s Magical Express bus service.  Yeah, I’m confused too.

 

Swan

Dolphin

Another point of confusion are the ginormous statues on top of each of the resort buildings. If you take a closer look, you can see that the icons don’t match the decorative design schemes. The swans are on the building with the ocean waves and seashells; the dolphins (or more accurately, dolphin fish) are on the building with the leaves and park-like fountains.

Swan

 

Dolphin

There is a rumor that the helicopter crew installed the statues on the wrong buildings so the hotel company had to swap the names. The Swan became the Dolphin and the Dolphin became the Swan. The architects have since denied this. I’ve read an account of the True Back-Story and honestly,  it would be easier for them to just go with the mix-up story. I couldn’t follow it and I’m REALLY interested!

Palms

 

Bridge leading into Crescent Lake 

 

There it is! 

 Dock

Our home for the next twenty-four hours. 

 

Landscaping and a woodland creature.

 

I had read every review and seen 360 degree videos of the place and I was still wowed by its elegance. It has a New England Beach theme. I know what you are thinking; “Why would you want to stay in a place themed ofter the area where you live?” The thing is, the only beaches we frequent are the Nantasket/Hull variety- not Martha’s Vineyard caliber like this.

Disney resorts are categorized into value, moderate and deluxe. On our first trip that we took as a family we stayed at a moderate, Port Orleans. It was a lovely place but I don’t think I would go that route again. It’s nearly twice as expensive as a value, yet the room size is really not that much different- and you are no closer to the parks. As you can see from the nifty diagram below (thank you Touring Plans), the leap in room size from value to deluxe however, is huge!

Here we go now, up to the room.

Hidden Mickey in hallway the carpet.

Seahorse Details on the way 

The room was beautiful and well appointed; real duvet covers instead of scratchy bed spreads, fluffy pillows and towels…

Beach Club Room

 

Mickey Towel

The writing desk next to the bed had a table that pulled out for extra room. I didn’t do any letter writing though.

Writing desk 

 

Mickey Lamp. Does his nose look…odd?

This room could sleep five quite comfortably; Meghan slept in the day bed. In our quarters at Pop Century she slept on the floor, the poor dear.

Divan

 

The vanity area was generous with lots of storage space and a coffee maker with real ceramic mugs. The value resorts don’t provide a coffee maker so you best be believin’ I brought my own! I just buy a cheap four-cup number and leave it there at the end of the trip.

Vanity area. You don’t want to be looking at yourself in that close-up mirror, trust me!

 

Details, details…

You can pay an extra hundred dollars or more per night for a preferred room at the Beach Club and it’s still not a guarantee that you’ll get the view you’d expect. I’ve heard it said that if there is as much as a bird bath out the window they’ll charge you for a “water view”.  An exaggeration I’m sure, but probably not by much.  In the description on the Disney website, standard view rooms may look out on to a rooftop or parking lot- not so magical. However, there are some rooms that fall into the standard category that are pretty awesome. I did some research (shocker!) and it was recommended to request a room on the fourth floor with a full balcony. Here’s what we got:

Look over the tree tops…

 

Closer…

Yup, that’s Spaceship Earth!

I was pretty much psyched about the view. It may just look like a forest, but to me actually seeing Epcot from my room seemed super posh. If we had an extra night to hang out we could have seen the IllumiNations show right from our balcony. A reason to go back I think!

The Beach Club (along with its sister resort The Yacht Club) without a doubt has the best pool on property, Stormalong Bay. It’s really like a mini-water park. The pool gained such a reputation that non-guest pool hopping became a real problem. This prompted Disney to surround the complex with a fence that is guarded by cast members checking resort IDs. Now you have to be wrist banded like you are going to Lollapalooza.

I hopped into my helicopter to get this aerial view of Stormalong Bay. No worries.

The pools at Stormalong Bay make up three acres so it’s impossible to view the whole thing from one place. There are two main sections of pools, all shaped in a lazy river-type formation that, if stretched out, would equal almost a mile in length!

One of the cool features of the pool is that it is sand bottomed. The kiddie pool has a beach area for castle building. Great spot for young families so yeah, we stayed away from there!

View from the patio area. 

 

Fancy a bit of shade?

 

Nestled in the peninsula is where you’ll find the hot tubs!

View from the hot tub.

 

And then there is the water slide…

The theme (no, you can’t escape the story thing even at the pool) is based upon the legend of the gigantic sailor named Stormalong who ran his ship ashore.  He plowed into the shoreline creating the pools and waterways that exist today. The wreck of the Albatross can still be found where the storm deposited her (aarghh). But her usefulness has not been lost to the calamity. Now-a-days, kids (and adults) can climb her mast and find a water slide that whisks them to the nearby pool. The water slide is 230 feet long with 110 feet enclosed in tubing.

The Albatross

Stairs leading to the water slide.

 

Where the slide spits you out

Here is a video of the slide experience. These are not my feet, I got it off the interweb.

All this frolicking in faux pirate era pools can be quite taxing, but fear not! There’s relaxation and refreshment to be had. You can visit Hurricane Hanna’s for a snack or the essential poolside adult beverage.

Captain’s Mai Tai – Captain Morgan spiced rum, Amaretto, and Pineapple juice with a float of Myers’s Dark Rum

Our day at the Beach Club and Stormalong Bay couldn’t have been better. The weather was perfect despite some dodgey forecasts. I guess you could say it went swimmingly-Waka Waka!

 

Next Up:  Hey Annette, Let’s meet at the Soda Fountain! – Frankie

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“Part of that World”

Posted on December 17, 2011 by hjones

I just love going to the Magic Kingdom at night. To me it’s a whole different experience than the daytime. Maybe it’s because I’m easily distracted by shiny things, but seeing Cinderella Castle lit up in its morphing pastel glory makes me giddy.

One area of the Magic Kingdom that we only visit after dark is Fantasyland. Being in Fantasyland at ten o’clock in the morning is like entering into one of the Nine Levels of Hell. It’s total stroller gridlock.

I'd rather have a root canal, thank you.

The din of the mid-morning meltdowns and frustrated parents is completely stress inducing. However, by ten o’clock in the evening, all the little darlings should be sound asleep in their port-a-cribs at the hotel, making Fantasyland a peaceful destination.

Ahhh...Zen

Here you can find many of the classic dark rides like Peter Pan,  Snow White’s Scary Adventures and… It’s A Small World. Sadly, this time around I couldn’t convince my family to go on any of these!  *Sigh* I think that if I ever want to ride Small World again, it’s going to have to be on a solo trip.

It's a Small World After All... but not for me.

What we all can agree on is Mickey’s Philharmagic.

Mickey's Philharmagic

 

Queue Area Posters

 

This is  3D movie experience that also incorporates fantastic audio, scents (mmm… apple pie) and you might get even spritzed too. The music here is wonderful, classic songs from Disney films through the decades. My favorite is  Part Of Your World  from The Little Mermaid. I’m still singing it.

The theater starts off looking like an average movie house, but as your are drawn into the performance the golden framework of the proscenium disappears to reveal the largest seamless projection screen in the world.

Proscenium: The gold framework around a theater stage. I didn't know either.

 

"Show's over, now get out!"

Okay, sheesh!  Donald is the poster duck for anger management.

Look away from the Tea Cups!

 

The gang was starting to get weary, so I took advantage of their soporific state and suggested that we pop into the The Country Bear Jamboree in Frontierland to rest and regroup. Snap!

Grizzly Hall

In the queue area there is a Disney detail you need to look down to see. The hardwood floors of the Country Bear’s Grizzly Hall are scratched up with claw marks.

A detail you'd bearly notice... bwahahaha!!!! Ehem, sorry about that.

Who knew there would be another opportunity to use the word proscenium?

An attraction like this would NEVER be made today, not because it’s passé but because it is altogether politically incorrect.  These animatronic entertainers put on a twenty minute show featuring songs about cheatin‘, drinkin‘ and whoopin‘ and the southern stereotypes abound .

The Five Bear Rugs

Plus Gomer

The last of the big time swingers, Teddi Beara.

I can’t imagine today’s Disney Imagineers sitting around the table to put together an attraction that would include a ditties like “MY WOMAN AIN’T PRETTY (But she don’t swear none)”  or  “MAMA, DON’T WHIP LITTLE BUFORD (I think you should shoot him instead)”. 

And then there’s the cowboy classic sung by Big Al: “BLOOD ON THE SADDLE”

It was well past midnight and  everyone was starting to drag so despite the fact that the park was open until two a.m., we made our way back towards Main Street (I totally could have made it til two!).

Main street in lights

 

More harvesty details.

*So Pretty!

*A small detail to notice in the picture above: The building to the left in the photo is under refurbishment. What you are seeing is actually a painted scrim. Notice the blue sky at the roof line.

Toy store window display

 

One of the stores had these charming vignettes  set up in the windows. There was a guy with a huge honking camera taking photos of them. It took forever for him to move on so I could snap them with my iPhone. I thought they came out dang good!

Beauty and the Beast

Okay, you can see my ghostly image in this one...

Matt was thirsty so I suggested that we stop into Casey’s Corner to test something I had read about which turned out to be true.

Casey's Corner

If you go up to any counter service restaurant in the parks and ask for a cup of ice water, they will give it to you for free! It’s not just a Dixie cup either, it’s a full sized soda fountain cup. I’m guessing that they put some sort of policy in place so that people don’t get dehydrated and pass out because they refuse to cough up two bucks for a drink. The down side: it’s Florida tap water. But hey, it’s free!

Casey's Menu Board

One of the things that I find remarkable about Disney is the amount of detail and effort they put into something that they really don’t have to. Casey’s Corner is a hot dog joint. They sell dogs, fries and drinks, that’s it. Chances are, if you wanted a hot dog you would buy it from a cart or a plain old walk up place and not expect anything more. But whether it’s the trash cans that are themed to go with every different land of the parks , or a hot dog stand, they go the extra mile to amuse and delight the guest.

Victorian Details

Pennants and baseball cards decorate the walls.

Score board and "stadium seating"

Baseball Tchotchke

Ditto

Our time at the Magic Kingdom had come to a close. I paused to take a last long look back at the castle. Despite the fact that the Magic Kingdom is not my favorite park (I’m looking at you, Epcot) there is something about it that gives me that lump in the throat feeling when I leave.

She looks like she doesn't want to leave either. I hear you sister!

Next: Bye Bye, Pop Century…We’re Movin’ on up to the Beach Club!

 

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“All Our Wishes, Will Come, True… “

Posted on December 7, 2011 by hjones

Aside from Cinderella Castle, the Contemporary Resort has to be the most recognizable structure in Walt Disney World.

File photo of the Contemporary on a non-monsoon day.

If you were a kid who was fortunate enough to visit the Magic Kingdom in the 1970s or 80s, chances are not only do you remember this resort,  you’ve always wanted to stay there. Ok, that might just be me. Anyway, what makes it so memorable is the fact that the Monorail runs right through it.  So cool!!!

Monorail in the Grand Canyon Concourse

For most of us, staying at the Contemporary is just not happening. It’s waaay too expensive, but we can dream right? As with any Walt Disney World Resort,  you can always traipse around and pretend like you’re staying there.

In the Grand Canyon Concourse area you’ll see a stunning ninety-foot-high tile mural.

The mural was designed by Imagineering artist Mary Blair. She’s  best known for her work on “It’s a Small World.”  The Small World influence is easy to see in the bold colors, geometric shapes and styling of the Native American children depicted here.

 

This night we had reservations at the California Grill.  This is the resort’s signature dining restaurant and is situated at the very  top of the Contemporary.

See, it’s way up top there.

 

Our plan was to take the bus to the Magic Kingdom and then hop on the monorail and swoosh right into the restaurant with time to spare. Unfortunately our nap ran a bit over, so we were really cutting it close on our reservation. Plan B was to walk over so as not to chance a long wait for the monorail. I heard that there was a walkway from the the Magic Kingdom so we hoofed it over, but we never found the actual side walk. Instead we trudged through tall soggy grass and crossed a busy intersection where we got chastised by a bus driver, but we made it just in time! Whew.

The California Grill is a very popular restaurant not just for to cuisine but also for the view. It’s a prime location for watching the nightly Wishes fireworks spectacular. You can’t just wander in and watch the show, you must have a reservation. (Tip: If you eat here earlier in the evening, you can come back and watch the show from the observation deck, just save your receipt). Because of this you have to check in downstairs at the lobby and then be escorted by a cast member to the dining room.

Adorable young lady who escorted us upstairs.

Whenever we have reservations at a place where the view is key (La Hacienda for IlumiNations, Sanaa for a savannah view) I make it my goal to get a primo table, and I haven’t been dissappointed yet. Here’s the script:

(Big smiles people)                                                                                                                      

“Hi there! We have a reservation for _______ party of _____. We are SO excited to be here!!! We are are celebrating_______ (birthday, anniversary, the dawn of a new day, whatever) and we would just LOVE to be able to sit by the window. We don’t at all mind waiting for one.”

Host/Hostess: Right this way please….

View of the Magic Kingdom from our table

Focus on Space Mountain

 

A zoom in of the Castle

We were actually celebrating Meghan’s birthday so they had decorated the table with Mickey glitter for the occasion.

Birthday Girl

 

What, are you kidding? We are making memories here!

 

The low lighting seemingly erased my wrinkles...and my eyebrows.

 

There are also interesting views inside.  You can watch the goings on in the open or show kitchen, which brings the culinary theater into the dining room.

Open kitchen

Chefs working diligently on my dinner.

Among staff there since the restaurant’s opening fifteen years ago is Yoshie Cabral, one of just a handful of female sushi chefs in the United States. You can request a seat at the sushi counter and watch the master at work.

Chef Yoshi

We would have had a cocktail here, but we got ushered to our supurb table almost immediately.

Bar area

 

Now that we’ve fully gone over the atmosphere, let’s get on to the food! We didn’t get a bottle of wine on this occasion, so I don’t recall what this was other than pleasingly good.

Unidentified White Wine

 

Keeping with the California theme; Sourdough bread served with salted butter

Once again we were doing our best to navigate our meal around the dining plan. Our server (who was fabulous and who I forgot to take a picture of) let us know that we could choose to trade one of our dessert options for the Cheese Board. Yes, please!

I forgot to snap a picture before was dug in, so it looks a bit stingy.

We sprung for this next appetizer out of pocket. The crab was very good but the little tomato salad garnish was plate-licking delectable.

Dungeness Crab “Stack” . . . Avocado, Cucumber, Tomato-Ginger Vinaigrette

The menu here changes seasonally, so this is a snap shot of the fall offerings. However there are a few items that stay year round. I had heard great things about the pork tenderloin and planned to order that, but Matt beat me to it.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin . . . Goat Cheese Polenta, Roasted Mushrooms, Zinfandel Glaze, Sage

This was absolutely fantastic! The pork was cooked perfectly; just done, with a slight hint of pink. Most restaurants are too nervous to let pork be served this way. I didn’t want any duplicates on the table so I decided on the halibut.

Pacific Halibut . . . House-made Shrimp Dumpling, Stir-fry Vegetables, Chinese Long Beans, Shiso Broth

The halibut was a bit dry, but along with all the components it was quite good, though my eye kept wandering over to Matt’s plate. “You gonna eat all that?”

Jeff got all cowboy and ordered the bison. I don’t recall if I tried it but I know I tasted the Truffle Mac & Cheese. YUM!

Cast Iron-seared Bison with Truffle Mac & Cheese, Brussel Sprouts, Cipollini, Smoked Bacon, Glace de Viande

Meghan surprised me by ordering the snapper, but she’ a risotto junkie so that’s probably what she was going for.

Florida Yellowtail Snapper . . . Dungeness Crab Risotto, Zellwood Sweet Corn, Snap Peas, Sauce Choron.

Sometime between dinner and dessert the lights were dimmed, the music was piped in  and we got to enjoy Wishes from our table. If you’ve never seen this show before, I would recommend first seeing it in the Magic Kingdom near the hub to get the full effect. From the Contemporary, the fireworks are off center instead of directly over the castle. That being said, it’s an acceptable trade-off  to be sitting in the comfort of a fine dining restaurant sipping wine instead of shoulder to shoulder with the masses.

I took about a hundred crappy pictures, but I’ll only burden you with a couple so you get the idea.

Zoomed in shot

 

Here is a short video of the Wishes finale taken from inside California Grill.

The desserts here were just beyond fabulous. We started with cappucino. Normally I’d have wine with dessert, but tonight we would be heading back out into the parks so I needed a pick me up.

 

We ordered a variety of plates to share. The chocolate dessert was presented as Meghan’s birthday treat. Very nice.

S'mores Valrhona Chocolate Cake Warm Chocolate Cake with Molten Center, Tahitian Vanilla Marshmallow, Graham Cracker Sablé, and Peanut Butter Gelato

The lemony desserts:

Lemon Curd with Blueberry Compote, Pudding Cake with Citrus Syrup, and Lemon Infused Tapioca

And for the Bacon dessert (record scratch) yup…

Heirloom Apple Bread Pudding - brown butter and candied bacon ice cream, Jack Daniel's Anglaise

 

Matt and I decided to go outside to the observation deck while the others finished up.

Observation Deck

This shot is looking down on the concourse. It was a bit vertigo inducing.

Looking down into the Grand Canyon Concourse

 

Artsy parking lot shot.

We took another gander at the kitchen before we headed out. Oh My!

Another round of desserts anyone?

My expecations, ok dreams of dining at California Grill were pretty high and I was not at all disappointed. If we were paying out of pocket, it still would have been worth the investment for such a memorable night.

 

Next Up: Stay tuned as we catch few more hours in the Magic Kingdom…

 

 

 

 

Posted in Dining Review, Walt Disney World | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

“I’m Walking Right Down The Middle of Main Street USA”

Posted on November 30, 2011 by hjones

This morning started off looking pretty bleak, the weather forecast was even worse than the day before. However, as I was monitoring the radar on my phone, I saw a glimmer of hope. There was a small window of clear sailing between two huge blobs of hateful looking storms.

You know things are bad when it's ten a.m. and the streetlights are still on.

Main Street Fire Station

I knew that the Magic Kingdom was going to be decked out for the  Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party  and  truth be told, I’m not a big fan of Halloween.  I was prepared to detest the swathes of orange bunting and Jack O’ Lanterns dotting Main Street but I must admit to you that I really liked it. It was less about Halloween and had more of a harvest feel.

City Hall

Harvest Decoration Details

Just between you and me, I think I actually preferred this over the Christmas decorations, mostly because those wreaths they string up on Main Street block the dazzling view of Cinderella Castle.

Bah Humbug!

That's better.

On this morning we planned to have breakfast at the  Main Street Bakery. Here you’ll find a cinnamon roll that is not only as big as your head, but is as delicate as the brush of angels’ wings.

A head to head comparison.
A closer look…

We were on the Free Dining Plan so the treats at the bakery could have been counted towards our snack credits, but we had already blown through our week’s worth of points at the Food & Wine Festival.  We did have plenty of counter service credits left (usually a full meal like a burger, fries, drink and dessert) but that’s not how the bakery rolls (Ha!). I decided to do a bit of an experiment based on some tips I found on the Disney message boards. This required loading up with more bakery items than any sane person should ever desire in order to make a “counter service” meal. Our haul: Four Cinnamon Rolls, Three Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits, Two OJs, One Ham & Cheese Croissant, One milk and One Cappuccino .

But it was FREE!!!!!

After we horked all this down we waddled over to Adventureland to ride some low key attractions. Our first stop was the classic Pirates of the Caribbean.

FYI those Mickey ponchos cost eight bucks. Thank you dollar store!!!

This will stick in your head for the rest of the day or until you ride “It’s a Small World”

I don’t have any pictures of the inside of this attraction and that is for a very good reason. In these dark rides there is supposed to be NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY! Somehow this escaped the notice of the large foreign tour group with whom we were stuck on this adventure. It was as if Paris Hilton was in the building. I nearly had a seizure from all the flashes. We tried to politely ask them to stop, but they didn’t “understand” English. The cast members even stopped the boat at one point during the ride to make an over head announcement about not using flashes, but it was to no avail. These people also talked incessantly the entire time. Needless to say it was hard to immerse ourselves in the pirate’s life.

We had gotten  fastpasses to ride the Jungle Cruise later, so we had a bit of time to kill. I really wanted to check out the newly refurbished “Enchanted Tiki Room“.  This attraction had gotten a retro make-over after a small fire this past winter. Gone are the obnoxious Disney bird characters Iago and Zazu that were added in the late nineties.

Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room

 

Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, as it is now called,  pays tribute to the Disneyland original – notable in theme park history for ushering in sophisticated Audio-Animatronics technology.

Pre-show area

 

Tiki Birds

Singing Orchids

 

Singing Birds of Paradise

 

It should come as no surprise that this show is well, dated.  It might hold some enchantment for small children (there was a baby in front of us that was enamored) but my family thought it was corny, which it was. However, if you are a fan of the Sherman brothers music or if classic attractions like the Carousel of Progress tend to give you a thrill up your leg, you are geeky enough to appreciate the significance of  the Tiki Room.

Uncle Walt!

 

We moved on to the Jungle Cruise  which is also extremely corny but my family loves this one for some reason.  The boat captain will deliver a script full of the most groan worthy puns! A skillful cast member makes all the difference here. Ours performed an admirable deadpan act.

The Jungle Cruise seems even *Junglier ™  in the rain.

 

Enough time and digestion had  progressed for it to be safe to head over to Tomorrowland to see about riding Space Mountain. Something most miraculous happened as we arrived,  blue sky appeared!

Hallelujah!

It had rained so long I think we were actually pickled, but now we were able to take off the plastic outerwear.  The line for Space Mountain was a bit long so we got Fastpasses to ride later on in the day.  This was just fine because it gave me an excuse to drag the gang onto the The Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover  or the TTA. At first glance a slow moving tram ride may seem pretty lame but I feel it is arguably the best take in the Magic Kingdom. It seldom has any sort of a line, you get to sit down for ten minutes and rest your doggies, plus you get a bird’s eye view of  Tomorrowland with sweeping vistas of the central hub and castle.

Space Mountain from the TTA

View across to the hub and Castle

Tomorrowland Speedway = a lung full of gas fumes

TTA train  goes through Space Mountain and passes a large diorama containing a an architectural model of the City of Tomorrow as envisioned by Walt Disney. This was the precursor to the Epcot we know today.

City of Tomorrow

 

Astro Orbitor

 

Another gem of the Magic Kingdom that doesn’t seem to get it’s due is Liberty Square.  This is an area people tend to scoot through on the way to the Haunted Mansion.

Welcome, Foolish Mortals...

Admittedly there is not a lot to do here except of course visiting the Hall of Presidents (something I’ve yet to get my family to agree to),  but there is so much to see. I love the architectural details in this area, probably because it reminds me of World Showcase. This colonial style building is home to Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe. It’s  purpose is to remind you that you haven’t finished your Christmas shopping yet.

Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe

Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe

 

There's no way I could get one of these home in one piece.

Eighteenth Century Crock Pot

 

You have to be looking up to catch this homage to Paul Revere’s Ride.

One if by land, two if by sea!

Also in Liberty Square you’ll find  a Liberty Tree. The original Liberty Tree was in Boston and served as a meeting place and a symbol of rebellion for the pre-revolutionary war activities.

The lanterns hanging from tree represent the thirteen original colonies.

I spy with my little eye...

I’m not much into character greetings, but I had to stop and  snap a pic of Frontier Donald!

I love the feet, they look like my Crocs!

 

I would like have to ended this on that ducky note but the second dark and stormy blob had finally moved in on us.

People seemingly unaware of their impending doom.

 

This is probably a good time to head back for a nap, wouldn’t you say?

Up Next:  A Contemporary dinner in California or a California dinner in the Contemporary?

 

 

 

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“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…”

Posted on November 21, 2011 by hjones

All the months of meticulous planning and preparation suddenly came unraveled when we woke up on day three to this:

It was raining like the end times.

I had been watching the weather in the weeks leading up to the trip, but I had to stop checking because it was giving me anxiety. If it rained, our vacation would surely be ruined, ruined! I couldn’t bear the thought of it so I decided to blithely ignore Weather.com. What do they know anyway?

But now, here we were faced with the reality of absolutely torrential rain. Our first thought was that we could wait it out at the hotel and maybe have some breakfast down at the  Everything Pop Food Court...genius! But somehow everyone at the resort seemed to catch wind of our scheme!

'Doh!

 

That was supposed to be MY waffle.

So we decided to poncho up and and head out to our destination,  Animal Kingdom.

It's all about attitude.

We got into the Animal Kingdom after dealing with  the jerky security check guy who made us take off our rain gear to remove our bags for inspection (I get it, you have power) and hustled over to the only place that has a counter serve breakfast in the park, Pizzafari. We juuuust missed breakfast so they already had switched over to the lunch menu. No waffles for me here either. I consoled myself by having a “before noon” beer.

 

 Good morning Yuengling.

Inside of Pizzafari you will find room after room of spectacularly themed animal murals, although those themes are not always obvious.

Ornamental Animals such as peacocks and butterflies.

Animals that spend a lot of time hanging upside down: monkeys, opossums, bats, and snakes.

The wood carvings that you see throughout Pizzafari on the walls, rafters, and ceilings are authentic Oaxacan Wood Carvings from Mexico.  You can also find Oaxacan style carvings in the Mexico pavilion at Epcot.

Oaxacan Wood Carvings from Mexico

Jeff and I did swapsies with a pizza and panini. The pizza is basically Boboli bread with sauce and cheese, not terrible, but the sandwich was actually quite good. It had a nice dressing and the bread seemed fresh.

Pepperoni Pizza and Hot Italian-Style Sandwich

Oh joy, more dessert that's not worth the calories.

I watched hopefully out the window for any sign that it would clear, but it only seemed to range from driving rain with tropical storm gusts to just driving rain. I guess if you’re going to tour a park in the rain, Animal Kingdom would be the most apropos. The lush foliage of the landscape definitely lent to a rain forest feel. Unfortunately, There was really no way to take pictures as we were walking around.

Animal Kingdom is kinda known as a half day park. There’s a lot to take in and see if you are into details and theming, but there are not many actual attractions. The Kilimanjaro Safari  is worth the trek over there though. Like all things Disney, there has to be a story. You can’t just go and see the animals.  Whilst you are enjoying the view of the Savannah danger is lurking and it suddenly becomes your mission to save a group of elephants from would-be poachers. Apparently a bone rattling jeep ride is supposed to add to the realism so people with bad backs, be warned.

I was thinking as they loaded us onto the vehicle that we wouldn’t see any animals in this nasty weather and that they were just stringing us along. Then I remembered that animals like LIVE outside in the elements and you know, are used to getting rained on.

It's as if these Hippos are totally unaware of the water falling from the sky

These Rhinos are really that close to us, no zoom!

 

Can you detect my flinching?

Giraffes

Elephants...cool

 

But get ready for….

 

Baby Elephants!!!!!

 

All of these elephants and rhinos remind me of a joke:

 

After the safari it actually cleared up long enough for us to ride Expedition Everest… about 5 minutes.

We moved on to an indoor attraction. Finding Nemo the Musical is a must see at Animal Kingdom and we had already seen it a couple of times. Typically we would arrive at the last minute and slip into the back. This time, because we were looking to escape the rain,  we got there early were able to sit right down in the front. Being so close to the stage made it feel like we were seeing this for the first time. It gave us a whole different perspective.

The characters are represented in this show by puppets but no attempt is made to hide the actors controlling them.  It may sound odd to picture an actor emoting and singing full voice alongside a puppet that he’s clearly operating, but the human/puppet duality somehow works.

 

Here for your enjoyment is a fantastic HD video  of “Just Keep Swimming”.

 

We had dinner reservations at Sanaa in  Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Kidani village that night so we decided to make our way over and enjoy the warm dry resort for a bit.

 The Animal Kingdom Lodge is nothing short of spectacular.

Animal Kingdom Lodge Lobby

View of the Savannah

African Head Dresses

Super Awesome Light Fixtures

Fire Pit

Ostrich Egg Torches

Humongous Art Piece

 

We still had some time to kill before our reservations. What to do? Hmmm…Oh, I know a drink!

Victoria Falls Lounge

We ordered some very expensive scotch to split but Jeff’s super bloodhound scotch nose detected that the bartender did not give us what we ordered.

Lagavulin 16 ...or is it?

It wasn’t. But we worked it out.

 

Downstairs is the buffet restaurant Boma. We had eaten there on one of our previous trips and it was quite good, but I’m just not into buffets anymore.

Boma Restaurant

 

They were getting ready to open and had a Djembe drummer playing for a ceremony. Matt noticed an unmanned drum and fretted over whether or not to ask to play. He was glad he did. I tried to get a picture without totally embarrassing him. I restrained myself from saying “that’s my boy!” as I walked by.

Matt playing the djembe drum.

 

Meghan was proud.

Sanaa  is in the Kidani Village area of the resort. You could walk over under better weather circumstances but thankfully this day they were running shuttle vans. The lobby at Kidani is on a much smaller scale but still quite exquisite.

 

We headed downstairs to check in to Sanaa Restaurant.

Sanaa Lobby area

 

Beautifully Carved Bench

Art work in the Lobby

 

I had passed on trying  Sanaa on our previous trips because at first glance the Menu seemed kind of boring and plain, but since then I had heard so many raves about the place that I had to try it out. Sanaa does an opening ceremony too, kinda fun.

They paraded us into the dining room to our table right next to the huge floor to ceiling windows. One of the perks to dining here is that these windows give you an unobstructed view out to the savannah. You can watch the exotic animals graze on grasses while you graze on less exotic animals.

I was psyched that we were able to get one of the coveted window tables, unfortunately what we mostly saw was the near hurricane conditions.

 

We did see some unidentified creatures in the distance and at one point a giraffe booked it by our window. He must have been trying to catch the shuttle.

Yaks? Gazelles? Gnus?

 

Meghan was chilled to the bone so our server helped her choose a lovely vanilla tea to warm herself up. They have quite an extensive tea menu.

Pot of Loose Leaf Vanilla Tea

Matt chose  the Mango Lassi. This is a traditional Indian drink and is supposed  help cool the fire of the spicy cuisine.  Matt got to put this theory to the test later.

Mango Lassi Smoothie

 

Our server was terrific, very informative without being over bearing. I need to remember to take pictures of these people! She helped us choose an African wine that we absolutely loved.  A word to the wise though, ask how much it costs!  It turned out to be about twice as much as we would normally be comfortable spending. However, I enjoyed every last drop and that was before I knew how much it set us back!

Spice Route Chakalaka

 

We started with a couple of appetizers. First the Indian bread service.  You can choose three types of bread and three sauces to accompany them.

Breads - Naan, Onion Kulcha, Papadum

 

Red Chile Sambal, Cucumber Raita and Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus

The red chile sauce was hot, hot, hot! Very tasty though. The naan was the big hit, we ended up ordering more later on. The papadam (the thin crispy one) was kinda weird. It was very salty and was spiked with cumin seeds. I love cumin, but this was not so pleasant. The cumin seeds would make another appearance before the meal was over.

Next were these delectable Mustard Seed-crusted Scallops – with a Coconut Cream Sauce, absolutely fantastic.

Three scallops divided among four people, serious math went into the portioning!

 

Matt and I both ordered from the section “Slow cooked in Gravy, simple and well seasoned”.  You could chose two items and either basmati rice or five grain pilaf.

My meal: Shrimp with Green Curry Sauce, Basmati Rice and Beef Short Ribs

Matt's meal: Spicy Durban Shrimp, Beef Short Ribs with Basmati Rice

My green curry shrimp were amazingly juicy and flavorful, and the short ribs were fall apart tender. The sauce almost had a molé quality.  Matt’s spicy shrimp were incredible but also reaaally hot. He ended up flagging down our server for another Mango Lassi.

Jeff's meal: New York Strip - served with warm Potato and Spinach Salad, Tomato, and Golden Raisin Chutney

Meghan: Tandoori Shrimp with Apple-Raisin Chutney and Basmati Rice

The basmati rice that came with our meals also had cumin seeds in it, like the bread we had earlier. None of us dug it, we all really wanted plain rice especially to offset the spiciness of the other elements. Don’t feel too bad for us, we just ate more naan bread!  If I were to get the chance to go back, I would try to get it just plain. Despite being nit picky about the rice,  it was a tremendously good meal.

On to dessert, now THESE were worth the calories! The favorite was the Chai cream. It was almost like an eggnog pudding.

Chai Cream

Vanilla Coconut Rice Pudding

I got a dessert sampler and it was really good, especially the chocolate cake. It was as if you took a yummy piece of devil’s food cake and pressed all the air out of it until you had one fudgy dense bite.  The Tropical Fruit Kulfi was pretty much orange sherbet. I really enjoyed my teeny cup of chai cream the best. Next time I’d just order that.

Dessert Trio - Chocolate Cake, Chai Cream and Tropical Fruit Kulfi

 

We made a stop at the restrooms (as you do) before we made the  bus trip back to Pop Century and Meghan and I thought the sinks were so cool they were photo worthy.

It's a sink and a work of art

I think I’ve shared more than I should have…

Next up: Can we catch a break from the rain for Our Magic Kingdom day?

 

Posted in Dining Review, Walt Disney World | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Be Our Guest

Posted on November 15, 2011 by hjones
One of the things that helps a Disney fanatic bear the long drought between trips is listening to Disney Podcasts. There’s a surprisingly large variety of Disney Podcasts out there. Some focus on discussion of news and rumours about the parks or answering questions about trip planning, others cater to more specific groups  like solo travelers or the techie geek demographic.  I enjoy them all, but one of my favorites is the

Be Our Guest Podcast.  This fine crew puts out two episodes each week and one of those episodes is usually a chat with a guest sharing about their Disney vacation experiences. This past week that guest was yours truly. I had a great time talking Disney with Mike and Rikki. You can listen to my episode “Pop Century with a Side of Beach Club” right from here, but I encourage you to also check out the Be Our Guest website  for yourself. Enjoy!


Podcast Powered By Podbean

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Hooray for Hollywood! …Part 2

Posted on November 14, 2011 by hjones

We had our afternoon rest in the oh-so-spacious accommodations of Pop Century resort.

Good thing the children are easily stackable

We headed back to Hollywood Studios to hit a few more attractions before our late reservation at ’50s Primetime Café. It was near dusk so the Studios was just beginning to shine in it’s neon glory.

Sid Cahuenga's One-of-a-Kind Antiques

Sid Cahuenga’s is one of those places that can easily go unnoticed as you’re booking it to the popular attractions. Here you can find interesting items like old movie posters or cancelled checks of Hollywood stars. There are signed photos for sale of anyone from Audrey Hepburn to Justin Beiber. Everything is pretty pricey but hey, there’s gotta be somebody who’s in the market for Bert’s blazer from Mary Poppins.

Bert's Blazer from Mary Poppins Price: $65,000

If you’re wandering around the Streets of America area of the Studios in the evening chances are you will run into a group of landscapers like no other:

Mulch, Sweat n' Shears

Mulch, Sweat, n’ Shears  is the horticultural name for a great rock band that is hidden under the guise of a group of landscapers. The landscaping gimmick gets your attention, but it’s their kitschy covers of classic rock songs like “Life in the Fast Lane,” “Heart Breaker” and “Walk This Way” that will make you  want to stick around to hear more.

The band rolls up for their gig in their yellow truck filled with landscaping and musical equipment. These guys are talented musicians and a lot of fun.

The ’50s Prime time Café is in the Echo Lake area of the park where you can find nods to the “California Crazy” architecture of the  1930s and 40s.

I think something is afoot...(self-satisfied grin)

 

Land of the Lost?

Nope, it's just Gertie the Dinosaur who sells ice cream out of her belly.

 

Also on Echo Lake is Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner .

Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner

 

The snacks they have here are just ok but they do have our favorite Disney beer, Yuengling. Why don’t they sell it in the northeast, dang it?!

Yuengling pic borrowed from another day.

The boy got a gorgeous frozen lemonade .

Frozen Lemonade

 

We checked in a bit early for our dinner reservation at the ‘50s Prime time Café. The outside the of restaurant reflects the progression of the architecture in the Studios from 1930s Art Deco style to the 1940s and ’50s Los Angeles designs of famous architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright.

'50s Prime time Café, reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's "Falling Waters"

'50s Prime time Cafe Sign. Can you find the punctuation flaw?

 

We sat outside and enjoyed the resplendent sunset over Echo Lake. 

 

 

We also got to watch some cast members help the youths busy themselves hula-hooping.

Now that's talent!

 

This was the point where we witnessed the demise of the beautiful weather that we had been experiencing right before our very eyes.

Going...

 

Going...

...and gone!

Before we go in and enjoy our dinner, let’s take a moment to discuss the complexities of the “Disney Dining Plan”.  When Disney first introduced this plan in 2006, it was a pretty good deal. For about $38.00 per person per day you got credits entitling you to one Table-Service Meal (anyplace that you sit down and have a server) which included an appetizer, entree, dessert and a non-alcoholic drink – plus it covered the tip;  one Counter-Service Meal (your typical burger / drink / fries combo with dessert) and a snack. However, every year since they have taken more and more away and raised the price crazy high. Now, the same plan is $51.00 but with  no appetizer and no tip included! It’s true that if you take a look at the menus at some of the more expensive restaurants you will see entree items (like the New York Strip) priced at more than forty dollars but be warned, these “signature restaurants” require that you use TWO of your credits! Not such a good deal. Plus,  if you get sick or just plain don’t feel like eating a big meal just one night that money is lost. There is really no way to arrange things to make this is a value.

Now that I’ve ranted about NOT getting the Dining Plan… this time around Disney was offering a FREE dining plan promotion so you betcha we got it, don’tcha know!  I still don’t like it though. Free or not, in order to feel like you are getting a value, you have to order stuff  that you wouldn’t normally eat, like dessert after every meal!

This lunch was just for three of us! Meghan was off somewhere else.

Barbecued Pulled Pork with Coleslaw

Macaroni and Cheese Hot Dog with Bacon and Truffle Oil! I guess this IS the place "Where dreams come true"!

Must... eat... dessert!

Now, off to dinner. What’s the matter,  you’re not hungry after all that lunch? But we have to make the most of the dining plan!

This place is one of the mostly uniquely themed restaurants in Walt Disney World. It’s like walking onto a 1950s TV set.

Reception Area

I’m pretty sure that they stole some of the decorations right out from my Nana Chubby’s rumpus room.

That is THE panther that sat on top of my grandmother's big old TV set!

 

Waiting area

The waiting area is adjacent to the "Tune In Lounge"

You know we started the evening with one of "Dad's Classic Cocktails"

 

Mommy's having her Martini.

This place is pretty big but it’s divided up into small kitchen vignettes. If you’re lucky you might get seated at one of the TV tables. Classic shows like the Mickey Mouse Club and the Dick Van Dyke Show run on a loop.

TV table

We didn’t get one of those, but there was a TV up in the corner like in a hospital room.

This is cool too I guess.

 

The Martini is making my picture blurry

Your server will be either an aunt, uncle or cousin and Mom is in the kitchen.  There is a playful schtick that they do here; a lot of cajoling about whether or not you washed your hands (tip: make note of the color of the soap in the restroom) and reprimands for having your elbows on the table. This really depends on your server and whether or not you’re game to play along. The food here is simply for comfort, nothing gourmet or fancy, but it’s really spot on.

Vanilla Malted Milk Shake

Another Yuengling. Yes we had more than one...stop judging me!

I’ve only ever had the Fried Chicken here, because I love fried chicken. If I were on death row I’d have a bucket of KFC as my last meal,  before well you know…

Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Collard Greens

Mom's Sampler: Fried Chicken, Pot Roast, and Traditional Meatloaf with all the fixings

Mom's Sampler: Fried Chicken, Pot Roast, and Traditional Meatloaf with all the fixings

Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot Pie!

 

Cousin Barry's Olive Oil Poached Salmon

 

Time for dessert, burp!!! We were celebrating Meghan’s Sweet Sixteenth Birthday on this trip so I made sure to note it on all our reservations. Some places made a big deal, others didn’t. All during our dinner our “cousin” was teasing Meghan about her nose ring. When our dessert came she brought out a bowl of ice cream with a candle in it and dragged Meg out into the middle of the dining room. Before she had the whole place sing “Happy Birthday” she told everyone that the girl had been snagged in the nose by her grandpa’s fishing hook, priceless!

Nothing says "We love you, birthday girl" like public embarrassment.

 

For dessert I ordered Dad’s Brownie Sundae which is a warm brownie, vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and whatever was left in the candy jar.

Go ahead and throw some popcorn on there too.

 

I didn't get very far...

 

The park was closing so it was time to head out. We took a slow stroll down Hollywood Boulevard to enjoy the neon lights.

 

 The cleaning crew was lined up like the warrior army in Braveheart.

“You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here!”

 

As you can tell by the pavement, the rain had begun… Next up:  Care for a swim through Animal Kingdom?

Posted in Dining Review, Walt Disney World | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Hooray for Hollywood! …Part 1

Posted on November 6, 2011 by hjones

Today’s destination is Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Disney’s MGM Studios (as it used to be called) was once a working television and film lot. The main attraction when the park first opened was a two hour tram tour of the studios, now it seems a bit disjointed. There are some areas that hearken back to the back lots of the 1940s and 1950s, but there are also thrill rides thrown in like the Rockin’ Rollercoaster that don’t seem to have anything to do with movie making. Despite my criticisms, I love this park! Some of my favorite attractions are here.

Guess which Pixar film just came out on DVD and Blu Ray?

Lightning McQueen

 

Mater

 

As you enter Hollywood Boulevard there are grand Art Deco styled buildings and towering palm trees lining the street.

View down Hollywood Blvd towards the entrance

It used to be that the view down the boulevard led your eye to an authentic re-creation of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, but since 2001 there has been a huge honkin’ Sorcerer’s hat in the way.

Grauman's Chinese Theater

 

Grauman's Chinese Theater totally obscured by a ridiculously large hat

"Excuse me enormous hat, you're ruining my suspension of disbelief!"

There’s some  Internet folklore concerning the reason for this style choice. I’m not sure what the real story is, but we can all hold on to the hope that the imagineers will loose the hat someday soon.

 

Just a few short years ago EVERYONE headed right down to Sunset Boulevard to ride the Hollywood Tower of Terror and Aerosmith’s Rockin’ Roller Coaster. Now everyone does the patented Disney walk/run to get their Fastpasses to Toy Story Midway Mania. This attraction  is a lot of fun. We managed to ride it last year during the late Extra Magic Hours. As I’ve said, we were not making to the parks right at opening and the Fastpasses to see Woody and Buzz are gone by mid morning. You can wait in the standby line, but the amount of pleasure one gains from an attraction is  greatly diminished the longer you have to wait for it, so after you’ve stood in line for two hours to ride Toy Story, it’s about as fun as a cup of warm water.

Wait... 210 minutes, that's three and a half hours!!!!

 

So, on to the Tower of Terror. The theming  (a Disney nerd term) here is amazing.  The setting is a 1930’s luxury hotel that is suddenly abandoned and we are left to wonder why…bwahaha !!!!  That was supposed to be a menacing laugh.

Hollywood Tower of Terror

The queue area winds through the cobweb laden lobby.

The ride itself is essentially a free-fall in an elevator, an awesome feeling to be sure, but really not any more intense than many other amusement park rides. The thing that Disney does so well is create a story that draws you into a total experience. The elements are impressive enough on their own, but what’s even more amazing are the lengths to which they go to add  authentic details that most people will never even notice. They actually had a group play this Mahjong game before abandoning it on the table.

The design of the lobby is not just random either, it’s modeled after the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles

Lobby of the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles

 

Tower of Terror lobby ceiling

 

 

I don’t want to give anything away, but something goes terribly wrong at this point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aerosmith’s Rockin’ Roller Coaster is right across from Tower, so we hopped on over.

We walked right up to the front using the single rider line. I just don’t understand why more people don’t use this! It’s not like you can carry on meaningful conversation with your family member and/or friend while screaming through the inverted loops of a roller coaster at 60mph, but whatever…

The pre show is gives you the opportunity to see Steven Tyler in action before he became a candidate for a Life Alert System .

I've fallen and I can't get up!

This coaster goes from zero to sixty in 2.8 seconds, so there’s no time to say              “Stop! I’ve changed my miiiiind!!!!”

Next up was our first ride on the newly refurbished Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.  This is a flight-motion simulator with state of the art digital 3D video.

Star Tours entrance

Where you AT-AT?

Children being instructed on they ways of the Force at the Jedi Training Academy.

Hopefully they haven’t chosen the Dark Side as some have done before…


The kids and I got to check out the original ride on our first trip.  Jeff had bailed because he was feeling queasy which was a huge bummer because as soon as he left the queue we rounded the corner to see C-3PO.

Now, I wouldn’t know a Tuscan Raider from Shinola. I’m not a Star Wars fan at all really, but knowing that for some people Star Wars had a HUGE impact on their formative years I can see how just being in the presence of this droid voiced by the original actor would be thrilling.

The big deal about this new rendition of Star Tours is that you can travel to multiple destinations and have a totally different experience each time you ride.

Intergalactic TSA agent

I usually have trouble with 3D movies, but this one was spot on for me. Plus I looked     bad- a**  in the glasses.

Step off, Vader

 

Over in the Streets of America area is  Muppet Vision 3D . Unfortunately, this is one of the older 3D movies that my eyes just can’t adjust to. But come on, it’s the Muppets!!! You gotta see it…

Kermieeeeeee!!!!

Fabulous fountain

 

I'll take the Bucket O' Frogs, please.

 

It’s getting near time for our afternoon nap so I’ll leave you with a slide show from the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. When we return we’ll entertain the question “Just how many free desserts can one be forced to eat?”

[slideshow custom=1 auto=”on thumbs=”off”]

 

 

Posted in Walt Disney World | Tagged , | 3 Comments

“A Whole New World…”

Posted on October 26, 2011 by hjones

Without a doubt, the World Showcase is is my favorite place on property. This is one of the most relaxing and scenic areas of Disney World.

World Showcase Lagoon

 

There are eleven countries represented here.  Add to that thirty additional countries serving tasty tapas sized samples of their regional cuisine for the Food & Wine Festival and you have one happy lady.  The theme of this year’s event was  “Passport to a World of Flavors”.

This was our first visit to the festival. I understand that in previous years there have been certain special exhibits for things like Cajun cuisine or the cowboy cooking of Oklahoma. One time they featured the wonders of the pear in fictional “Pearville“. But this year they teamed up with Ocean Spray to extol the virtues of the cranberry. Yup, we flew thirteen hundred miles to experience new and different foods and we are met with the cranberry. People, my backyard is a cranberry bog. My email address is “heather@bognet.org”. I am fully and totally aquainted with the cranberry!  This might be irony, but I’m usually wrong about that…

What is this cranberry you speak of?
Cranberry bog demonstration area.

 

“Hey Mister, I think there’s something wrong with your pool.”

We started at the  festival center to get our map.

Festival Center Area
Click image for a full version of the Festival Map

 

Our first stop was Hawai’i. I know what you’re thinking, when did Hawai’i become a country? Disney just recently opened a New Resort on the island of Honolulu so they are trying to subliminally influence us here.

The menu board gives you an idea of the price points. The food offerings tend to be quite reasonable, the drinks however are pricey.

 

* If you haven’t had a snack, now is the time to stop and get one. Gratuitous food Photos will follow.

Kahlua Pork Slider (the region not the coffee flavored drink)
Tuna Poke with Seaweed salad

 

Kona Long board and Pipeline Porter

 

On to Greece:

The Greece booth is among the cutest
Griddled Greek Cheese with Pistachios and Honey

 

Ireland:

Lobster and Scallop Fisherman’s Pie and Guinness

Oh Guinness, how I love ye! It was really good with the Fisherman’s Pie, but the dark chocolate notes paired even better with the Lava cake.

Lava Cake with Baileys Irish Cream Ganache

 

Time to do a bit of walking and  make some  more room. We wandered around the U.K. Pavilion. I’m going to say that this is my favorite area of World Showcase now, and then contradict myself later when I say that the next pavilion is my favorite.

I’m pretty sure I’m making the case to Jeff for our next trip here.
I know it’s fake Europe, but it’s still beautiful!

 

Things had settled down in the belly  so it was time to head down undah to Australia.

Grilled Lamb Chop with Potato-Goat Cheese Salad and Shiraz Reduction
Greg Norman Estates Shiraz
Shrimp on the Barbie with Pepper Berry Citrus Glaze

I’m not a big lamb fan but I think that even if I was this dish would be disappointing. The chop was very fatty and the potatoes were still quite al dente. I didn’t realize there was goat cheese in there until I read the description later.  The shrimp however was fantastic; flavorful and spicy. Too bad they were Meghan’s, I only had one bite…

 

Belgium was next.

Leffe and Steamed Mussels with Roasted Garlic Cream & Baguette

Meghan and I agreed that the mussels were just ok. The bread was supposed to be grilled and it wasn’t.  Belgium waaaay  more than made up for that with this:

Freshly Baked Waffles with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream

Oh my, this waffle was even better the the one I had in the real life Belgium. Disney, you’ve done it again!

It’s time to visit my faaavorite pavilion, France.

C’est Magnifique!

I have one of those hedge trimmer thingies. I could totally re-create this at home!

 

 

It was getting pretty hot by this time. I don’t usually go in for slushy, fruity drinks but this hit the spot!

Parisien Cosmo Slush (Ciroc Vodka, Grand Marnier, Cranberry Juice)
Escargot

Snails in the garden, eewwwww!!!! Snails in garlic butter served in brioche… fabulous! This was a big hit in our family.

Coq au Vin

France has a winner with this one too. The chicken was delectably tender. It was served over a macaroni and cheese cake. Genius!

About this time we went back to the resort for a rest. One of the best ways to get the most out of the parks is to take a break about mid afternoon. It’s a good idea to go back to resort, have swim, take a nap then head back in around five or six. It’s amazing how much more fun you have when everyone is rested!

Happy rested family.
Does somebody need a hug?

The only thing I love more than the World Showcase is the World Showcase at night. It was shaping up to be a beautiful sunset.

During the Food & Wine Festival Epcot hosts the Eat to the Beat concert series. They had some pretty cool acts this year like Howard Jones and Sister Hazel. This evening’s entertainer was Jon Secada. Meh.

Jon Secada

We continued our munching and strolling around the pavilions. Jeff made a stop into Germany for a beer and a ribald sausage roll.

Nürnberger Sausage in a Pretzel Roll and a Altenmünster Dunkel Beer

 

"A salute to all natios, but mostly America"-Sam Eagle

At this point I must of gotten tired of chewing because I only have pictures of cocktails  for the rest of the evening. I wanted to try some unusual drinks. Scandinavia was featuring something called Xanté. It was described as being a pear liquor. I found it to be way too sweet. To me it tasted like melted butterscotch candies. Blech!

Xanté

 

Another of the festival’s offerings was the Singapore Sling.

Singapore Sling

When I approached the Singapore booth and saw this concoction bubbling in a drink dispenser I assumed that it would just be a fruity drink with barely any kick. Ladies and gentleman, this is not the case; this drink packs a real punch. I suggest Disney transportation after sampling this one.

We finished up the evening in Mexico.

Mexico at night, stunning!

The inside of the Mexico pavilion is set up like a market place and it is perpetually night time. This is where you can take that picture in the sombrero that everyone has had on their head but nobody has ever bought.

Market place area

In the back of the market place there is a restaurant called The San Angel Inn.

San Angel Inn

I’ve not tried it because the food gets somewhat mixed reviews (anyone remember El Torito’s?). One of the things that some people do rave about though  is the ambiance. Some find it’s dim lighting quite romantic; others are pulling out their cell phones trying desperately to read the menu.

It’s not just my bad camera skills, it’s really that dark in here.

Another “perk” of dining here is that the seating area is right next to the Gran Fiesta with the Three Caballeros boat ride, but I’m not so sure that “theme park boat-ride water” would be such an appetizing aroma during dinner…

Our reason for stopping inside Mexico was to check out La Cava del Tequila.  Translated literally as the tequila cave, this place is teeny tiny. The maximum occupancy is fifty three.

La Cava Bar

 

La Cava seating/standing area
The main event!

We asked for a recommendation for a sipping tequila. The shots are served with the traditional salt and lime along with a chaser of a tomato drink which tasted a lot like gazpacho. The place was just closing when we stepped up to the bar, so we were trapped behind the gated doors and separated from our children; it was like being in a tequila jail. It was getting near time for the IllumiNations fireworks show so we told the the kids (read over-dramatically): “You must go on without us!”

We finished our drinks and were released from La Cava. We met up with the kids and plopped down on the stairs to watch the rest of the fireworks.

IllumiNations and the backs of people’s heads.

The park was officially closed now so they made us leave. We had accomplished a lot of eating on this day, but there was so much more left to try…

Next up:  Aerosmith, droids and fried chicken with our long lost cousin at Hollywood Studios…

Posted in Dining Review, Walt Disney World | Tagged , , | 2 Comments