Forever Could Even Start Today, Wedding & Disneymoon Sept 17 update 10/1: Last Day, Budget recap

I'm selfish and ready for an update so I don't see "BLT" on my alerts page :rotfl2:

It makes me hungry!!!

Speaking of which, that's one of the DVC resorts we have not tried. R has expressed some interest, so maybe in 2019 we will do that. I need to look up the room configuration- I can't visualize that kitchenette!

California Grill is always a winner. I'm not sure how I felt about our last visit but it was more the host and two "surprise guests" (my balloons for the next day's photos) that sort of made things weird. Food was great as always! I have a reservation there in right about a month from now so I am looking forward to returning, obviously.

I always love your posts. I really hope May works out! Would love to hang out irl and catch up :hug:
 
I also appreciate it because I'm always the one behind the camera :) So I get shots of Zack sometimes doing things, but if Zack takes photos of me they tend to come out like this:

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What do you know this is exactly how we roll in our house. Now I'm generally fine not being in too many pictures, but the few times Jason turns the camera on me the results are never quite the same.

PS. That is no normal burrito. That is a Yankee burrito from a trip back home - A hot dog and cheese rolled up in a tortilla and dropped in the fryer. It's as disgusting as it sounds, yet especially delicious as a child! They had recently brought them back :laughing:
Sounds like the perfect hangover food to me!

Originally this was going to be a DHS/MGM day
Love how you slipped MGM in there :love:

Speaking of love, Jason would love Zach's shirt. Did you get it in Disney Springs?

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I love the For Lease sign
The way MGM is right now I think the entire park is up for lease :-)

She just kept going on and on about how it tasted like bacon, and telling everyone who came over to wait for a drink. “I hope yours doesn’t taste like bacon!”
:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:

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Crispy Chicken with Griddled Cornbread and Red Eye Gravy – $4.75
This was delicious and we thought a really big serving for the price, though it doesn't quite look like it in this photo
Yum! This was one of our favorites at the festival too.

Is it bad if I tried this wine because I like the movie Overboard? :confused3
OMG me too!!!!!!! In fact it was just on the other day. I like it when she goes buh buh buh buh :-)

Amazing view!

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It's really amazing to see how big these are and the perimeter fireworks from a distance!
Oh you have me so excited. Doing CG for my birthday next month and can't wait to see the fireworks.

We enjoyed California Grill, but I'd probably try out some other signatures before rushing back personally.
Sorry your filet wasn't the best. I haven't done too much steak at CG, largely because I can't pull myself away from the sushi or seafood options
 
Dine with an Imagineer and Epcot
aka, this update fits in one post?

Today was our Dine with an Imagineer day! Originally this was an Epcot day. We had this really ambitious plan to get up and hit Epcot for rope drop, then head over to Hollywood Studios for the lunch.

That didn’t happen.
The late nights and early mornings finally caught up with us, and we just did not want to get up. So we had a lazy morning. Eventually we got up and had breakfast at Contempo Cafe. I don’t remember what Zack had, but there is a good chance we both had:
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How could we not?

Mickey was fluffy and delicious, as per usual.


Contempo Cafe: $23 including tax, after saving $4 with APs
Then we headed over to DHS, and must have arrived around 11am or so. We decided we had time to visit the Muppets before lunch.

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We checked in at Hollywood Brown Derby. There were a few people waiting in the lobby, which made me suspect they were also there for the lunch. After waiting maybe 10 minutes, we were escorted back to a private room in HBD, where little personalized menus awaited us. I don’t have a photo of that, of course.

Our Imagineer arrived and introduced himself, and I can’t remember his name now! I’ll have to look. He was really nice though. He talked a lot about Kringla Bakery, because he was one of the head people on the expansion they’re working on now. He also talked about his time in the College Program, and that he and his wife’s favorite celebration meal used to be Yachtsman but now it’s Jiko :thumbsup2:
At some point, I think when he had us introduce ourselves, he asked about our buttons and we mentioned that we’d been married, you know, 6 days ago… or last Tuesday. So the waiter brought us out champagne and someone offered to take a picture.

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The other guests seemed nice. There were two other older couples, if I remember right. Then there was a family with a daughter just slightly younger than Zack and I. They seemed mostly concerned with mentioning they’d been on lots of Disney Cruises, been DVC members for a long time and had lots of points, knowing all of the secrets, and magically loving everything the imagineer did. So… why are you guys here? :confused3:
I didn’t take any food photos, but I can tell you this is probably the meal we were most anxious for, food-wise. Even more so than Tiffin’s! Brown Derby got the axe in general looking at the menu. It was a bit too out-there for us.

And then this was one with a pre-set menu. It did have a filet on it, so I figured we’d live. I couldn’t really find any recent ones however to see the starters, desserts, and entree sides...

The first course was a soup. Ours was a cold corn soup with crab meat. It was not our thing. Don’t get me wrong, I love corn. Hot corn. With butter and salt. Or mixed in a meal, or in salsa. Not a cold puree. We couldn’t do it. I felt a little bad when the waiter cleared our bowls because we were the only ones who didn’t finish it :rotfl:
Next up was the famous Cobb Salad. I could have done without the bleu cheese, personally, but I was surprised that I actually liked it. I’m really not much of a salad eater, and always go for ranch dressing. I was even more surprised that Zack reallly disliked the cobb salad :confused3:
I believe our entree choices were pretty similar to this:
Charred Filet of Beef - forest mushroom and white truffle oil mashed potatoes, sauteed rainbow carrots, haricot verts, red wine reduction

Vegetarian Pho - ginger-lemon grass broth, mushroom and tofu spring rolls, ginger-soy dipping sauce

Pan-seared Black Grouper - with a half a herb-crusted lobster tail, heirloom tomato, baby spinach, orzo salad, cognac-mushroom beurre blanc

We both went with the filet, which was very good. I’d say this one beat out the one at California Grill.
And for dessert, we got a sampler with a small piece of the famed grapefruit cake and some other s’mores themed dessert that I can’t quite recall. The grapefruit cake was not as bad as I expected :laughing: but not something I would order again, personally. The s’mores dessert was pretty good I felt. Zack was not a fan of either.

So we had a meal where I enjoyed more things than Zack! That is pretty unusual since I’m the picky eater; typically he likes more or we’re pretty even. Don’t worry, we had another meal on this trip where we completely flipped this experience.
Dine with an Imagineer: $209 including tax and tip

After our lunch, we took the boat over from Epcot. This time we got off at Beach Club and walked :thumbsup2:

We picked up a drink to split on our way in, so we could wash away the taste of the cold corn soup!

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La Passion Martini Slush - Vodka, Grey Goose Le Citron, Cranberry and Passion Fruit Juice $10.75
It seems we did some exploring in World Showcase.​
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Look at these adorable owls! They remind me of a cat I picked up in London at the British History Museum.
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Rode Test Track, still no photos…
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And Spaceship Earth!
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I have recently learned this is Space Jesus. :worship:
Then we went to Mars.
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We had dinner reservations this night, per Zack’s request. I would have been happy with more food booths :rotfl: It was a place you may recognize...

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San Angel Inn!
We started with:​
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Queso Fundido - melted cheese with chorizo, poblano peppers and onions, served with flour tortillas $14
This was good, but not extraordinarily special or anything. A solid start, you can’t go wrong with cheese!
I felt like something a little lighter and some of the entrees weren’t appealing to me as much, so I chose another app as my entree​

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Tostadas de Pollo - Crispy Corn Tortilla, Smothered with Black Beans, Topped with Chipotle Chicken, Garnished with Crema Mexicana, Queso Fresco, Avocado, and Tomatillo Sauce $12​
These were really good, but grab a fork because those tostadas are not holding up :)
I can’t remember what Zack got, and don’t have a photo either. However, I do have this photo​
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Does that make up for it?

And after reading so much on here, I couldn’t not get

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La Cava Avocado Margarita - tequila casa noble blanco, melon liqueur, fresh avocado, agave nectar, and fresh lime juice, served frozen with hibiscus Himalayan salt rim $14.50​
Yum! I usually skip guac and all forms of avocado, but after reading about this thing so many times on the boards I went for it and it was creamy and delicious! Even if the salt made it look like I bled someone out on the tablecloth.​

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We skipped dessert because we were pretty stuffed, especially for a 6pm dinner after a 3 hour lunch.
San Angel Inn: $65 including tax and tip, after saving $13 with TIW

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I think we wandered over to visit Figment after dinner, and then I made Zack wait for some monorails to come by for some photo opportunities.
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After we visited the Land pavilion to ride Soarin’, and finally worked up some stomach room for dessert.

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But not any old dessert would do, I had something specific in mind which involved traveling most of the way around world showcase.

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Croque Glace - Any Flavor Ice Cream, With Choice of Sauce in a Brioche, Pressed Warm $7.04
At this point is was about 15minutes until Illuminations, so we nabbed a table near the rail to enjoy our dessert as we waited for the show.

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Show lights!
And it was an excellent position, let me tell you.
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I won't torture you with a million photos of our fantastic view...
Good thing we’d already had several good views of the show :rotfl:
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And then it was time to join the crowds on the way out. We grabbed a monorail back to the Contemporary because we were fancy monorail resort-ers now!
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Food Budget
Budgeted $312
Actual $310
TIW Savings: $13
AP Savings: $4
 
This looked so good, and I hope they bring it back because I didn't get it last year.
Me too! It was a favorite... fried chicken and carbs, smothered in gravy... what more do you need?

Ooo those look amazing!
Easily favorite part of the meal :)

I think they might have been banana before, that menu changes constantly from what I see online.
They must have been when we were there! You know, I would have sworn that cheesesteak flat bread wasn't on the menu too the last time I'd looked before we went... :laughing:

Beans are evil. I will spend more time picking beans out of a dish than actually eating it. However, last night I did order fish tacos and forgot black beans came on it, and I put on my big girl panties and just ate it as is.

I only made a face once :lmao:
:rotfl: I must have many things around my beans normally... like I'll eat pinto in a taco soup recipe I have, or a burrito bowl recipe... but not too many beans haha!

I actually hate Halloween, because I hate being scared. But I LOVE MNSSHP. I'd go every year if I could. Last year Joe and I were Belle and Beast. This year we're going as a Disneybound Duchess and O'Malley
I want to see! I do want to do the Halloween party, I've been debating about this year...

Now I wish I had been a Duck convert in September. I had it a bunch in France, and yum!
I would have never tried it if my German professor in charge of my college lab (the one with the goats :thumbsup2) hadn't made us all try it one year near Thanksgiving. He and his wife had us all over that Sunday night after and cooked a big dinner :)
 


Google photos did good! Ahhh, this sight fills me with good Disney feels.
:lovestruc

Oh cool! I hadn't thought of being able to see it from ToT.
I'm usually too busy anticipating the drop to take in the view :rotfl:

Oh my goodness! This is so crazy!! Like...how? Those flavours aren't at all similar.
People are strange. Zack's on grandfather apparently liked to order fish at restaurants and then complain it was too fishy and send it back :confused3

I love him! I remember discovering his instagram a while ago and realizing where I recognized him from. We had a different historian last time we watched, and he was good too, but it just wasn't the same without Equity Ben!
He makes the show for us!
Your room looks great! Though it sounds like the other studio type might have worked better for you. I'd love to do Contemporary or BLT someday, even just for the proximity to MK. It's on my list.
It was really great to just walk to MK. Lots of people seem to take the monorail still, so the security on the path is a breeze! I can see BLT having lots of nice storage if you had a family and were doing a good number of meals in your room. Or if you had small kids that needed to take breaks in the room and such. We're not good at that now... but maybe when there's more than two of us some day down the road...
Thanks for your review here! We've still never been, and someday I'd like to go, but I'm not in a rush. Some people find it really amazing, but I've also heard some reviews about it being okay but not living up to the hype. We are going for brunch next month though, so hopefully that will be good. But hopefully you have even better experiences with other signatures you try in future. We had a really good meal at Citricos last trip!
Yum. I'm sure we'll be back at some point. I'm torn on trying the brunch, since I've read good and bad too (for all meals)! Hope yours goes well and I can't wait to hear. But there are so many places to try, it's hard to pick!
I'm selfish and ready for an update so I don't see "BLT" on my alerts page :rotfl2:

It makes me hungry!!!
:rotfl:
Speaking of which, that's one of the DVC resorts we have not tried. R has expressed some interest, so maybe in 2019 we will do that. I need to look up the room configuration- I can't visualize that kitchenette!
It's like a teeny galley kitchen in a teeny apartment :laughing:
California Grill is always a winner. I'm not sure how I felt about our last visit but it was more the host and two "surprise guests" (my balloons for the next day's photos) that sort of made things weird. Food was great as always! I have a reservation there in right about a month from now so I am looking forward to returning, obviously.
Ha! We took our surprise guests on the bus, which was super fun :rotfl: The food was really great, and we debated going back in September... but there's so many places to try! We've had so many great waiters at the parks on both coasts, but I didn't feel like ours at Cali Grill lived up to that... he just barely came by our table but kept stopping to talk to the couple next to us, which was a girl around our age and a much older guy, from Australia. And it just made me feel like, are we not cool/classy/fancy enough to get my water glass refilled? :confused3
I always love your posts. I really hope May works out! Would love to hang out irl and catch up :hug:
Aw thanks! Fingers crossed!

What do you know this is exactly how we roll in our house. Now I'm generally fine not being in too many pictures, but the few times Jason turns the camera on me the results are never quite the same.
:laughing: Yes, I'm like look at these cool candid shots of Zack checking something out, with family, walking on the beach, etc. And then I get... those :rotfl:

Sounds like the perfect hangover food to me!
Oh it so would be! I'll have to remember that next time I'm back, they'd been gone since I was probably 14 so a little early for Hangover food :laughing:

Love how you slipped MGM in there :love:
Just for you ;)

Speaking of love, Jason would love Zach's shirt. Did you get it in Disney Springs?
I think we got that one at the co-op. It's from the 28 and Main line, he has a lot of them. I have a few too :) I like that you usually have to know Disney to realize it's a Disney shirt. I like to have a few nice non-fitted shirts, and I actually got Zack started on them when I found one I wanted at Disneyland a couple years ago, with Schweizer Falls :D

The way MGM is right now I think the entire park is up for lease :-)
:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:

OMG me too!!!!!!! In fact it was just on the other day. I like it when she goes buh buh buh buh :-)
I love Overboard! Eat your checkers!
Overboard and Christmas Vacation are two movies that never get old for me, and I'll sit to watch them whenever I come across them.

Oh you have me so excited. Doing CG for my birthday next month and can't wait to see the fireworks.
This was my very favorite part of eating here!
Sorry your filet wasn't the best. I haven't done too much steak at CG, largely because I can't pull myself away from the sushi or seafood options
I need to like more seafood, obviously :laughing: It wasn't a bad filet, but the others were easily better when we had them. And it had the tomato risotto working against it :rotfl:
 
We had this really ambitious plan to get up and hit Epcot for rope drop, then head over to Hollywood Studios for the lunch.

That didn’t happen.

:rotfl:

Mickey was fluffy and delicious, as per usual.

:laughing: Poor Mickey! I like to eat his ears off first so he's not tortured by the sound of his own pained screams. But really, those Mickey waffles though...we have SO many cool things planned for our August trip...and yet when I think about what I'm excited about, I just keep coming back to eating Mickey waffles in the happiest place on earth.

They seemed mostly concerned with mentioning they’d been on lots of Disney Cruises, been DVC members for a long time and had lots of points, knowing all of the secrets, and magically loving everything the imagineer did. So… why are you guys here? :confused3:

Hmmm, they sound like lovely folks. :laughing:

Next up was the famous Cobb Salad. I could have done without the bleu cheese, personally, but I was surprised that I actually liked it. I’m really not much of a salad eater, and always go for ranch dressing.

Yay! Glad you liked it! I'm also not a fan of salad for the most part, but I really like this, too. Though I get mine without the bleu cheese because of allergies, so that's probably part of why I like it. :laughing:

I have recently learned this is Space Jesus. :worship:

Right!? Who knew! But now that I know, I can't unsee it.

La Cava Avocado Margarita - tequila casa noble blanco, melon liqueur, fresh avocado, agave nectar, and fresh lime juice, served frozen with hibiscus Himalayan salt rim $14.50

Yummm. If I drank, this would be at the top of my list.

Even if the salt made it look like I bled someone out on the tablecloth.

:rotfl:


So pretty!

I won't torture you with a million photos of our fantastic view...

Good thing we’d already had several good views of the show :rotfl:

Haha maybe not the clearest view of Illuminations! :rotfl2:
 
Lovely Epcot photos! I tried not to quote them, so figured I'd get that out of the way!!!

We decided we had time to visit the Muppets before lunch
Or you MADE time, because, priorities!!!

he and his wife’s favorite celebration meal used to be Yachtsman but now it’s Jiko
Hmmm now I feel seriously awful that I have never managed to make it to Yachtsman. We keep putting it on "the list" and then subsequently not making it there. The food just looks so heavy!

At some point, I think when he had us introduce ourselves, he asked about our buttons and we mentioned that we’d been married, you know, 6 days ago… or last Tuesday. So the waiter brought us out champagne and someone offered to take a picture.

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A-freaking-dorable! (Cheers!)

The first course was a soup. Ours was a cold corn soup with crab meat. It was not our thing. Don’t get me wrong, I love corn. Hot corn. With butter and salt. Or mixed in a meal, or in salsa. Not a cold puree. We couldn’t do it. I felt a little bad when the waiter cleared our bowls because we were the only ones who didn’t finish it
As someone who doesn't like corn... even hot... woof! :crazy2:

We both went with the filet, which was very good. I’d say this one beat out the one at California Grill
:scared1: Really?! I gotta get back there at some point other than to order the most delicious hamburger...

Dine with an Imagineer: $209 including tax and tip
Was it worth it?

We picked up a drink to split on our way in, so we could wash away the taste of the cold corn soup
:thumbsup2 Good call! Love these.

I have recently learned this is Space Jesus.
maui-youre-welcome-GqD83RQdaysWk

(If the gif didn't work from my phone it's Maui saying YOU'RE WELCOME!!)

Tostadas de Pollo - Crispy Corn Tortilla, Smothered with Black Beans, Topped with Chipotle Chicken, Garnished with Crema Mexicana, Queso Fresco, Avocado, and Tomatillo Sauce $12
I was so upset when I went there with my friend Kim and these weren't on the menu! I still want them...

Does that make up for it?
Omg YASSSS :rotfl:

Even if the salt made it look like I bled someone out on the tablecloth
Looks like the murder cupcake that ThreeBoyMama's son had... :rotfl2:

:laughing: Poor Mickey! I like to eat his ears off first so he's not tortured by the sound of his own pained screams.
Omg Meghan :laughing: this is so dark and yet so hilarious.
 


Loving all the FOOD in this update. Sorry that HBD wasn't quite up your alley, but it certainly would be mine. Provided you had enjoyed all the food, do you think the price is "worth" it?

Glad to see you finally got to try the avocado margarita. Its a true thing of beauty!
 
How fun you dined with an Imagineer! Was it worth it? It's something that has crossed the back of my mind but never committed due to the price.
But it sounded like the food wasn't really the draw. I did like the cobb salad once but didn't like it the last time I was there, but it think it was because it was overdressed so next time, dressing on the side for me. At least there were choices you get to choose from for your entree.
Sounds like a really fun evening at Epcot! I had no idea about Space Jesus but now I can't not see it, LOL.
 
we have SO many cool things planned for our August trip...and yet when I think about what I'm excited about, I just keep coming back to eating Mickey waffles in the happiest place on earth.
Because Priorities!
Right!? Who knew! But now that I know, I can't unsee it.
I know! I can't wait to tell Zack when we get in line next month :rotfl:
Or you MADE time, because, priorities!!!
Welllllll....

duh. :rotfl:
As someone who doesn't like corn... even hot... woof! :crazy2:
*shudder* I feel like fancy cold corn soup is a little out there even for a signature when you don't get to choose :confused3
Was it worth it?
I'd say yes, especially being someone who hangs out on these boards :) The average guest maybe not, but it was really fun and interesting to hear about all of the different functions of imagineering, ones you don't even think of, and all of the thought and detail going into something as simple as a decorative cabinet in Kringla :)
Those look delicious.
They were so good. I'm sad they're not there now!
Loving all the FOOD in this update. Sorry that HBD wasn't quite up your alley, but it certainly would be mine. Provided you had enjoyed all the food, do you think the price is "worth" it?

Glad to see you finally got to try the avocado margarita. Its a true thing of beauty!
I think it was worth it. I knew going in the food wasn't up our alley, it never made our list of places to dine in general, and obviously we still decided to go :) I was a tad bit taken aback by the soup, it was even more out there than I expected :laughing: But it was really neat to hear more about the imagineering department and everything involved, and cheesy as this may be, it makes me happy to hear someone who is around there all the time for their career say that a Disney signature restaurant is their celebration meal. I am no food connoisseur, but there is some great food around property as you well know!
How fun you dined with an Imagineer! Was it worth it? It's something that has crossed the back of my mind but never committed due to the price.
But it sounded like the food wasn't really the draw. I did like the cobb salad once but didn't like it the last time I was there, but it think it was because it was overdressed so next time, dressing on the side for me. At least there were choices you get to choose from for your entree.
Sounds like a really fun evening at Epcot! I had no idea about Space Jesus but now I can't not see it, LOL.
Thank @pepperandchips! :rotfl:

Dining with an Imagineer was really fun! And we were wary of the food going in anyways, the soup just took us by surprise still :laughing: But it was a really great experience. I would book it again in a heartbeat, no worries about the food (maybe about the price though!).
 
Photos and Words
Part One: Magic Kingdom

I didn't take too many photos these days (comparatively...) so this will be a few random photos, some fireworks, a few food pictures, and words!

We started the morning off in Magic Kingdom. This is probably the morning when we took the walking path over from BLT and the security guys were being weird. If you haven't been, along the path they just have one, maybe two metal detectors? And the table to check bags. But it's not a popular path, we saw many people take the monorail even to MK over our stay, so it works for the amount of people using it. This day we got over there and had to wait while they checked a family with two strollers. And while the one security guy was looking in the strollers, he kept saying to me and Zack, "should have taken the monorail, it's way faster, it would have been better, you're waiting so long now..." :confused3

We survived our 3 minute wait somehow... and made it in the park!

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Tipsy castle... after effects of Avocado Margarita?

Looks like we made it around 10am... we got a little bit lazier at this point in the trip :P

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Thanks to some investigative work (thanks photopass) I have deduced that we rode Mine Train and Space Mountain.

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And of course the Peoplemover, because you can't go to MK and not ride the Peoplemover.

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More photos... (just imagine this in an Eeyore voice)

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Hello Astro-orbiter, perhaps I will finally ride you next month...

Then I made Zack stop for some more photos before we headed to Frontierland to hang out before our lunch.

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Liberty Tree Tavern!

I loved the themeing! They had switched to only doing the AYCE platter for lunch sometime after our dining window opened, and I gave serious thought to canceling because I just wasn't as excited about that, but Zack talked me into keeping it. I think at that point it just felt like one more semi-expensive meal where we stuff our faces when we already had lost of expensive meals and F&W booths to try! But good thing we kept it, as it ended up switching back to the normal not long before our trip!

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Sweet Corn Fritters with House-Made Pepper Jelly - $7

After seeing these on @kastoney's dining report, I couldn't not get them, and they were delicious! So good! Even Zack thought so, even without the jelly (because the kid will eat almost everything in the world as long as it doesn't swim in the sea, except for a few very random things like jelly...). When we went back last December, we were in MK on our last day and I kept showing Zack I could get a last minute ADR here and these are what were on my mind :P

An occasion where we could have/should have just split a meal, we both had:

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Freedom Pasta with Grilled Chicken - Pasta, Artichokes, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes, Tossed in a Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce $23
I remember this being a good tasty pasta dish, but not like a live or die, craving to go back type. A solid choice I would probably end up with again.

And of course:

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Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake - vanilla cake with a gooey toffee filling, vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce $8

So normal people (like moi) found this AMAZING. Yum yum yum. Back to the random weird things Zack does not like: that list includes toffee and cruncy stuff in candie (like Kit Kats, Twix, Nestle Crunch bars...). So I got this mostly to myself. I'm really excited to do the After Fireworks Dessert Party next month since this is on the menu.



Liberty Tree Tavern: $67 including tax and tip, after saving $14 with TIW



After we visited some happy haunts and a red-headed gal...

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Oh yes, this was the time that a lady took flash photos the entire ride, hence our PP looks like this:

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See me in the back giving the evil eye?

I hadn't paid them any attention in line, but Zack had noticed them and said they were acting like they were on a first date or very early in the relationship, but talking about... artificial insemination... :confused3:confused3:confused3

ANYWAYS!

We headed out to hop over to Epcot.

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Photos and Words
Part Two: Epcot

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After we got there, we rode Test Track.

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I have a feeling I was mainly responsible for this beautiful vehicle...

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And then the next photo I have is this:

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Oops! Turns out B and her family were having an Epcot day, so after TT we wandered our way around World Showcase and met up with them. We spent some time hitting food booths which I mostly don't remember and have no photo evidence of.

I believe we stopped by Brazil for the amazing cheese bread, of which I got all of it because see exhibit C of random things Zack won't eat. They had a special hard orange tea slushy drink at the little round drink kiosk in America - the name escapes me, but the drink being good does not! :drinking1

Anyways, we split up as they went to hit Spaceship Earth before trying to beat the crowd out, and we stopped for that photo on the way out of the park before Illuminations - we were also trying to beat the crowd to the monorail! We were the last ones to get a photo before they dimmed Spaceship Earth for the show :thumbsup2

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I must have been excited when the monorail showed up :confused3

We had a goal: watch the fireworks from our room! There was a Halloween party this night, and after some searching on the Dis I figured out what channel to tune the TV to so we could hear the music.

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I still can't believe how big this display is!


There you have it! A simple day overall, probably the simplest we'd had on the trip!



Food Budget
Budgeted $125
Actual $148
TIW Savings: $14

I think we did some good damage on the F&W booths...
 
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:D Spreading the good word... of Space Jesus!

And while the one security guy was looking in the strollers, he kept saying to me and Zack, "should have taken the monorail, it's way faster, it would have been better, you're waiting so long now..." :confused3
When people say weird junk like this to me I spend the next hour or so coming up with the world's most awkward comebacks...

"Oh, this isn't the line for the monorail?"

"I had to walk or I'm not allowed to eat later"

"We lost our kid earlier and are retracing our steps"

"We don't believe in train travel"

"Does the monorail take you to Harry Potter Land?"

More photos... (just imagine this in an Eeyore voice
Oooookay, if you say so (also in my best Eeyore voice):eeyore:

loved the themeing! They had switched to only doing the AYCE platter for lunch sometime after our dining window opened, and I gave serious thought to canceling because I just wasn't as excited about that, but Zack talked me into keeping it. I think at that point it just felt like one more semi-expensive meal where we stuff our faces when we already had lost of expensive meals and F&W booths to try! But good thing we kept it, as it ended up switching back to the normal not long before our trip!
Oh thank goodness! I've still not eaten here because I usually think of that platter thing. What you had looks great though, I need to remember that!

After seeing these on @kastoney's dining report, I couldn't not get them, and they were delicious!
Paging Hollywood Brown Derby, here's a corn appetizer you could serve that people would like :laughing:

So normal people (like moi)
(Now I'm hearing you in a miss piggy voice)

found this AMAZING. Yum yum yum.
Oh my gosh that looks SO GOOD! I'm going to have to look for a recipe for this now...

I hadn't paid them any attention in line, but Zack had noticed them and said they were acting like they were on a first date or very early in the relationship, but talking about... artificial insemination... :confused3:confused3:confused3
:scared1:

(Insert snide comment and/or joke in poor taste about people who take flash photos on dark rides and this couple's topic of conversation)

Looks like a great day!!! The fireworks from your room is AMAZING!!!
 
Oooookay, if you say so (also in my best Eeyore voice):eeyore:
I'm sad I forgot about the Eeyore emoji! We drug Zack's parents to Christopher Robin over the weekend because his mom is an Eeyore/Tigger fan. I loved Eeyore!
Paging Hollywood Brown Derby, here's a corn appetizer you could serve that people would like :laughing:
I would get about 3 orders of these and maybe a cobb salad :rotfl:
(Now I'm hearing you in a miss piggy voice)
That was what I heard as I typed that... but I decided I was too lazy to look for a miss piggy gif/meme :laughing:
(Insert snide comment and/or joke in poor taste about people who take flash photos on dark rides and this couple's topic of conversation)
Exactly.
Looks like a great day!!! The fireworks from your room is AMAZING!!!
I'm trying to decide if I can scheme my way into an Epcot view room at the Dolphin next month :laughing: This trip someone on the S&D thread saw my post there about how I noted it was our wedding/honeymoon trip on the reservation and was secretly hoping for an upgrade... and someone from here upgraded us to a fireworks view :) It was so sweet. Next month we have a standard king room on points again, and I've been debating if I should call in and upgrade with points. With the Marriott/SPG changes I'm not sure what I'll do with my points now :confused3
 
Simple or not looks like a great day to me. Of course any day that starts with fritters, ends with fireworks in your room, and has artificial insemination in the middle has gotta be good :-)
 
La Cava Avocado Margarita - tequila casa noble blanco, melon liqueur, fresh avocado, agave nectar, and fresh lime juice, served frozen with hibiscus Himalayan salt rim $14.50

Yum! I usually skip guac and all forms of avocado, but after reading about this thing so many times on the boards I went for it and it was creamy and delicious! Even if the salt made it look like I bled someone out on the tablecloth.
SO, I love avocados and guac but I am afraid to try this. Something about drinking my avocado that I am not sure I deal with..

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Croque Glace -
Any Flavor Ice Cream, With Choice of Sauce in a Brioche, Pressed Warm $7.04
How was is!??!! I have been wanting one of these!


I love the face no the woman all the way in the front. It's not that scary of a ride, lady.

Hello Astro-orbiter, perhaps I will finally ride you next month...
Do it at dusk! Really pretty.

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See me in the back giving the evil eye?

I hadn't paid them any attention in line, but Zack had noticed them and said they were acting like they were on a first date or very early in the relationship, but talking about... artificial insemination... :confused3:confused3:confused3
Look how they are sitting, totally early in the relationship. A romantic ride around on Pirates!
 
Simple or not looks like a great day to me. Of course any day that starts with fritters, ends with fireworks in your room, and has artificial insemination in the middle has gotta be good :-)
:rotfl: Nothing to complain about here!
SO, I love avocados and guac but I am afraid to try this. Something about drinking my avocado that I am not sure I deal with..
I'm not an avocado or guac fan, like I scoop guac off nachos or eat around it, but I had to try it! I don't think it's much avocado taste, it's just really creamy. Not sure if that helps? I liked how creamy it was vs how a typical frozen margarita is.

How was is!??!! I have been wanting one of these!
Delicious! A bit messy, but aren't all the best snacks?


I love the face no the woman all the way in the front. It's not that scary of a ride, lady.
I missed that completely!

Do it at dusk! Really pretty.
I'll remember that!

Look how they are sitting, totally early in the relationship. A romantic ride around on Pirates!
:rotfl:
 
Magic Kingdom Again!
Part One: MK ALL DAY


Today was MK ALL DAY!
I totally said that rhyming in my head.​

Somehow I took 372 photos this day?
I won't torture you with all of them.
It seems we headed straight for Space Mountain, and then rode the PeopleMover. Because when in Tomorrowland, You Peoplemover :thumbsup2

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We hit a lot of shows this day since it was our last MK day, starting with Carousel of Progress.

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Man is that song catchy!
Then we bounced through Fantasyland, probably using our FPs.

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This could have been interesting, except for that pesky exit sign!

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My 7DMT selfies need work. Zack was like, why are we doing this???
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Then headed up Main Street for an early lunch…
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Love the fall decorations. Could I get one of these for my non-existent front door?

Tony’s Town Square

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I would be lying if I said I didn't watch while we waited for our table...

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The most appealing thing to me about this ADR was the Lady and the Tramp theme. It’s one of my all time favorites. I really didn’t want to go here, but Zack was determined - our first married compromise?
We got some average bread. Not bad, but not special… but I’ve rarely met bread I don’t like, so I think I finished it...​
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Zack had:
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Chicken Parmigiana - Lightly-Breaded Chicken Breast with Melted Mozzerella and Tony's Marinara Sauce over Spaghetti, and Local Vegetables $26
He was very happy, but he is also easy to please. So I would go with some other people’s reviews that call this average italian food? Not special, but not bad? Personally, I’m pretty biased, because I had:​
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Shrimp Scampi - Linguini tossed in white wine and garlic butter $25
I was not a fan. I really really disliked this. And I like wine and butter! On pasta even! The shrimp were okay, the sauce wasn’t very good to me. If there had been an alfredo dish on the menu I would have just had that, but there wasn’t. Not even on the kids menu. That seemed so strange to me! They have added it since last September. The more I think about it, I think @fallon had it in December, so they added it not long after we were there… :(

I think we skipped dessert. Our waiter did not seem happy to be here. It felt like we were rushed along with no offer of dessert anyways, even though the restaurant was half empty and no many were waiting either. I barely touched my food - it was a personal preference, I didn’t want anything for it, but typically a waiter acknowledges that and asks if they can do anything? Not this time.

As we went to leave, Zack ended up in a coversation with the man seated next to us. He was alone, in his 70s, and telling us how he’d come to MK the first year it opened and has come in September every year since. And I remember him saying he’d recently had a surgery and his doctor didn’t want him to go, but he told him there was no way he was missing that year. :) He was basically an adorable old man. And while he talked, our waiter was pushing/reaching around us to clear our table. It was just a bit strange overall, and didn’t help my bias against Tony’s in general.
Tony’s Town Square: $55 including tax and tip, after saving $11 with TIW
Zack asked if we should go back this September, and I was like

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Though I do see Alfredo on the menu now, so it probably would be a bit better.

I had pretty good luck with our extra FPs this day. Nothing super fancy, but just a lot to skip 20-40min lines, like Buzz, Jungle Cruise, Winnie the Pooh, Pirates, and Peter Pan!
:tinker:
I was excited about that one.

So we worked our way through those along with a few other classics.


Jungle Cruise is quite possibly my very favorite ride.

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Wave goodbye to the people on the dock... you'll never see them again!

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Head hunter territory... a terrible place to be-headed!

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They got my jeep to turn over!

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A herd of lions protecting that sleeping zebra, so sweet... it's DEAD tired!

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Before the return of the rhino

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We had a skipper in December I think? That told us to look the other way, they couldn't talk about those...

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A sacred Indian Elephant bathing pool! Don't worry, they've all got their trunks on today!

I hope you all enjoyed cruising vicariously through my photos. Hope you didn't feel like it went on... for niles and niles and niles...

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Is it just me, or does Pierre look a bit tipsy?

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At some point I made Zack stop for more castle photos...

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I feel he same way about Tony's. We ate there way back in 2011 on our first trip because that was my dd's favorite movie at the time and we have never gone back.
 

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