Yo Ho Yo Ho a Tipsy Life for Me - A November '17 Dining Adventure - Complete 5/27

Yay for last minute ADRs! Those crowds sound horrible! We're planning on doing our F&W main stuff between Tuesday and Thursday that week. If we go into EPCOT on Friday, its for a special event only.

All your sushi look good. The mango roll seems interesting! I always find it amazing how your daughter has such an amazing palette in comparison to most children. I hear stories from people at work about their kids and then I see stories about yours and another one of my friends and I really believe its about exposure!
 
And speaking of healthy, Jason and I needed something healthy as well so we went with a Sea Dog Sunfish Beer, which is a wheat ale with hints of peach and grapefruit.
Peach and Grapefruit totally counts!


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Gotta love when beer can be a conduit for 2 daily servings of fruit. Though does anyone feel like they are being watched?
Ha! I also love the cheek full of cheese.

To start with we ordered the Tuna Ponzu with Truffle Oil and Yuzu-Ponzu Sauce.
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That looks AMAZING!!!!! I want some now.

Sushi loving Mother & Daughter. I love it. I also love how they fix the chopsticks for kids (and adults who are novice chopstick users)
 
Catching up again. The highlight of the last few updates for me is Homecoming (and yes, I agree, keep the "g"!). I love how most southern comfort food seems to be carbs, which happens to be my main food group. I really need to try going there if I ever make another trip.
 


I like the ingredients in those sushi rolls, interesting without being obnoxious and overly rich. That last one looks particularly fantastic with wakame salad, never had that on a roll before. Now we’ll have to try Tokyo Dining sometime. And I’m officially starving.
 
HERE I AM :cool1: OMG I can't believe how behind I am on everyone's reports! I know you've missed me :hug:


Seasoned Fries with Tzatzki Salad and Siracha Ketchup
I don't think I've ever even noticed these on the menu board, but I believe I would like them!

Plus they include the tentacles - and these didn't - and who doesn't want to munch on a suction cup?
:crazy2: :faint: You know I don't like seafood. Have I ever told you the story of my aunt giving me the squid milkshake one Xmas Eve? Needless to say a tentacle is something I will never, ever put in my mouth.........

We had a nice and relaxing lunch and our only regret was sitting inside instead of enjoying a nice meal on the water
The one time I ate there, Cathy and I sat outside on a gorgeous day and it was so nice. If my family ever agrees to eat there I'd definitely choose to sit outside again, although inside does look really nice.

given the cheap grocery store quality of our cookie, our snack expectations were to be dramatically lowered.
:laughing: Last time we did the Xmas party they only had snickerdoodle cookies and I don't think they could have been any more stale!

Note the chocolate in Jason's mouth!
:hyper:

Somewhere in there Casey actually let me get some photographic evidence that we were indeed at a Christmas Party.
That's an adorable picture, and you really did need to capture yourself wearing a Disney shirt. 'Cuz you never do that.

But given that we had next to no interest in waiting over an hour to meet characters and Casey could have cared less about the fireworks or parade, in the end it probably wasn't worth the money for us. I'm glad we tried it though and good news is Christmas would surprisingly redeem itself the next night.
Yeah, we much prefer the Halloween party. There are characters I'd love to meet at each party but I can't deal with the lines; we did Jack and Sally at the last Halloween party for Chris but managed to get on line before the party started and didn't have a crazy wait. However I do love all party fireworks and parades and luckily my kids like the parades. Still good you tried it or else you'd always wonder what the parties are like. Still, MNSSHP is to me completely different and Casey may enjoy the party extras more.

Unfortunately at noon on the Friday of the last weekend of Food and Wine, the festival was insane.
I've heard this! I know F&G isn't as bad but it still gets busier on weekends. Steve and I plan to eat/drink around the booths more on the Sat. night we arrive in May and I expect it to be fairly packed. You just need another F&W trip!
 


Arrrrr, Captain we just love Tokyo Dining and their slushie! Our last visit was a noon ADR, so we enjoyed the Opening Bows and a lovely table by the windows. It is rather nice on a hot day to sit in a cool and relaxing place as the world glides by. They used to have an all-female sushi chef crew. I don't know if that is still the case, but their slushie is very good. You are training Casey and her palate beautifully!
 
Tokyo Dining is so good and I love all the presentations of the rolls you guys ordered. My DH hates sushi so I have only been once with Alexander and I loooooved it.
 
I think you just talked me into Tokyo Dining for my September trip! Hubby and I luv slushi.
Great TR. Enjoying every minute
 
I like sushi, as long as there is no raw fish in it. :crazy2: And I have to ask, does slushi rhyme with sushi, just with an extra l stuck in there? That's how I've always read it in my head.
Sushi without raw fish, are ya crazy :P

Yes slushi rhymes with sushi with an l added in. In retrospect I see that it basically reads like slushy, but its definitely slu-she!

I love me some Japanese candy! We were actually lamenting yesterday how our currently planned trip (that DH keeps trying to cancel on me) does not include Epcot. We may have discussed if it would be weird to stand outside Epcot and give someone $$ to get us Japanese candy and caramel yumminess.
That wouldn't be weird at all and I'm sure they would never take your money and of course return with some candy, caramels, and even a school bread for good measure :-)

Ahh Andi loved the firecracker roll as well, she loves spicy. We really enjoyed our food there too! F&W can be a mad house at times. I am like. You all I want no part when it is like that. Yay for women making the slushi! The first roll you had with the mango looks really tasty yum!
Good to now the sushi wasn't an anomaly for us and you all had a good experience too. I was definitely surprised at how good it was.

GAH now I want sushi... errr, slushi ASAP!​
Me and you both. Send some to Virginia stat!

The sushi looks amazing. I never considered Tokyo Dining before because, well I don't know why, but it looks like someplace DH would love (he's a bit of a sushi addict and would eat it for every meal if I'd let him.)
It really was great. I was totally surprised. You should definitely take your hubby there. For the price point and Disney its a great value!

We too loved Tokyo Dining a few years back!!! I love how Casey calls it slushi!!! That cracks me up. She's so darn cute!
Good to know I"m not in a club of one. You'll have to turn Gia onto the whole slushi thing!

These look really good. I'm very new to eating sushi, but have recently discovered I really love a lot of the different types. Spicy Mayo is one of my favorites to have on top of sushi.
Glad to hear you are enjoying sushi. Its definitely something you need to start slow with and work your way up. I didn't start eating it until my 20's but now love it all. We started Casey early so she's got an innate love of it at this point

I've never tried Tokyo Dining before, but these pictures make me want to give it a chance. I have a couple upcoming trips I need to plan Epcot dining so this might get moved up to the top of the list. My favorite thing about eating sushi is I never feel stuffed afterwards, but it's always really filling.
You should definitely give it a try. I'd eaten there once before and had their tempura which was also quite good. I love how sushi never fills you up too much either. We usually get 4 or 5 rolls and share them and its perfect for us.
Jason's impression of Casey's drink picture has me :rotfl::rotfl2:. The expression on his face is priceless! Ugh on the F&W crowds. Any Friday gets progressively more :crowded: but I'm sure the last hurrah was especially so. You guys have great luck with the last minute ADRs. I have started dabbling with the "wing it" strategy and it is very freeing but I'm so obsessive that I'm not sure I can fully let go. :rolleyes: I have never tried Tokyo Dining. I knew it was there but I never seem think about it either in the moment or when planning ADRs.
Jason is certainly good at channeling his inner child. Of course that is because he largely still is one :-)

As you know we love the last minute ADRs. I can certainly appreciate why people want to make sure they have where they want to eat locked down, but I'm definitely all for flexibility. Of course that is easier with only 3 people. We're going again in August, but that will be a bit more of a hybrid. My best friend and her hubby are joining us for a few days so I'll book some ADRs in advance after we figure out our FP plans
 
I’m envious or your last minute ADR strategy...or lack thereof....I’m very tempted to go this route minus Cal Grill brunch as we are only there one Sunday and I’ll need bottomless mimosas after flying a red-eye. :scared:
 
Yay for last minute ADRs! Those crowds sound horrible! We're planning on doing our F&W main stuff between Tuesday and Thursday that week. If we go into EPCOT on Friday, its for a special event only.
During the week is definitely the way to go. Though we had gotten in the previous Friday and gone to F&W and didn't have near those crowds. I think it being the last weekend (and the Veterans Day holiday) made it all the worse.

All your sushi look good. The mango roll seems interesting! I always find it amazing how your daughter has such an amazing palette in comparison to most children. I hear stories from people at work about their kids and then I see stories about yours and another one of my friends and I really believe its about exposure!
The mango was definitely good. We ordered it largely for Casey since it wasn't spicy, so I was surprised at how much we enjoyed it.

Casey definitely has a good palate. I think we largely got lucky that she comes at it naturally, but we also never dumbed down food for her and she just ate what we ate. I think when chicken fingers and mac and cheese weren't all we put in front of her she grew to love more refined things. Heck just tonight everyone was on their own for dinner and she elected to make herself a salad with some beets and leftover roasted pork :-)

Ha! I also love the cheek full of cheese.
Too funny. I didn't even notice it was there!

That looks AMAZING!!!!! I want some now.
It really was amazing. I'd never had truffle combined with fish before and it was a great combo.

Sushi loving Mother & Daughter. I love it. I also love how they fix the chopsticks for kids (and adults who are novice chopstick users)
Casey is slowly learning how to use the real things, but in the mean time she loves her kids sticks. Funny aside, my only Disney food memory as a kid was eating at Teppan Edo. We really didn't do table services growing up and I'd never been to a Japanese steakhouse and I thought it was the greatest meal ever. I also distinctly recall the chopsticks they fashioned up for me to eat with.

Your reviews are always so amazing! You're definitely making me hungry! :)
Thanks so much. I'm making myself hungry too!

Catching up again. The highlight of the last few updates for me is Homecoming (and yes, I agree, keep the "g"!). I love how most southern comfort food seems to be carbs, which happens to be my main food group. I really need to try going there if I ever make another trip.
Hi Jeff! Hope you all are doing well in the great white north.

You should definitely try and fit homecoming in. Carbs on carbs with a side of carbs and topped with carbs is the Southern speciality :-)

I like the ingredients in those sushi rolls, interesting without being obnoxious and overly rich. That last one looks particularly fantastic with wakame salad, never had that on a roll before. Now we’ll have to try Tokyo Dining sometime. And I’m officially starving.
I think you nailed the rolls perfectly. The worked off the familiar but added some unexpected notes that really elevated them.

HERE I AM :cool1: OMG I can't believe how behind I am on everyone's reports! I know you've missed me :hug:
Do I know you? Don't recollect ever seeing you here before? :P

:crazy2: :faint: You know I don't like seafood. Have I ever told you the story of my aunt giving me the squid milkshake one Xmas Eve? Needless to say a tentacle is something I will never, ever put in my mouth.........
Oh that's right, you're the lady who was fed a squid milkshake and was scared from all seafood for life. I remember you now :P

The one time I ate there, Cathy and I sat outside on a gorgeous day and it was so nice. If my family ever agrees to eat there I'd definitely choose to sit outside again, although inside does look really nice.
Outside is definitely where its at. It should be a great place to be come August :sunny::sunny::sunny:

:laughing: Last time we did the Xmas party they only had snickerdoodle cookies and I don't think they could have been any more stale!
Wow, apparently we had the cookie red carpet rolled out for us and I didn't even know it. I'll take walmart santa cookies over stale snickerdoodles anyday of the week.

That's an adorable picture, and you really did need to capture yourself wearing a Disney shirt. 'Cuz you never do that.
I do have a few, just not many as most Disney shirts are crew necks and I can't stand anything around my neck. Oddly most of the shirts I've bought on trips are actually sweat shirts, so apparently my Xmas one just amplified that.

I've heard this! I know F&G isn't as bad but it still gets busier on weekends. Steve and I plan to eat/drink around the booths more on the Sat. night we arrive in May and I expect it to be fairly packed. You just need another F&W trip!
We had gone the prior Friday when we arrived too and it as no where near as crowded. Hopefully your F&G trip isn't the last weekend because that was bad news.

And this sounds ahmazing!!!
It was sooooo gooooood!

Arrrrr, Captain we just love Tokyo Dining and their slushie! Our last visit was a noon ADR, so we enjoyed the Opening Bows and a lovely table by the windows. It is rather nice on a hot day to sit in a cool and relaxing place as the world glides by. They used to have an all-female sushi chef crew. I don't know if that is still the case, but their slushie is very good. You are training Casey and her palate beautifully!
Arrrgh Matey!

Great to know there are other Tokyo Dining fans out there. I was really surprised by how good the slushi was. Last time Casey and I ate there it was dinner and we had a window seat too, but I think we'd only had a California roll. What are the opening bows, I'm not familiar with that?

Tokyo Dining is so good and I love all the presentations of the rolls you guys ordered. My DH hates sushi so I have only been once with Alexander and I loooooved it.
Sounds like Alexander will be eating slushi with Casey before we know it :-)

I think you just talked me into Tokyo Dining for my September trip! Hubby and I luv slushi.
Great TR. Enjoying every minute
If you love slushi you'll definitely enjoy Tokyo Dining. Cali Grill has great sushi too, but I'll go for equal quality for half the price any day of the week
 
I’m envious or your last minute ADR strategy...or lack thereof....I’m very tempted to go this route minus Cal Grill brunch as we are only there one Sunday and I’ll need bottomless mimosas after flying a red-eye. :scared:

Depending on how many of you there are it can work really well. We're obviously 3 and most of what you saw on this report - less CG as you so eloquently stated why - was done at the last minute. It because almost a game of what is open, what do you feel like eating, and how can those 2 things combine! As long as you are open to times and locations, its a great way to go! If you're gonna go that route I'd suggest a few weeks before your trip getting on the dining app a few nights and seeing what would be available for your party. That gives you a great perspective on what you may find.
 
Depending on how many of you there are it can work really well. We're obviously 3 and most of what you saw on this report - less CG as you so eloquently stated why - was done at the last minute. It because almost a game of what is open, what do you feel like eating, and how can those 2 things combine! As long as you are open to times and locations, its a great way to go! If you're gonna go that route I'd suggest a few weeks before your trip getting on the dining app a few nights and seeing what would be available for your party. That gives you a great perspective on what you may find.


It'll be just DH and myself. Wine Wed at Jiko is the only other reservation I'd keep as it's only offered once during our trip and the two things DH loves more in this world than me is Africa and wine. Then the kids. ;) You have me thinking.

I am loving room your report and reading your older ones. Your little Casey is growing up and so cute!
 
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That wouldn't be weird at all and I'm sure they would never take your money and of course return with some candy, caramels, and even a school bread for good measure :-)

Ha! DH & DS would appreciate the school bread, I'm sure. I, however, am one of those weirdos who doesn't like coconut, so it would be all theirs! My new plan, if free dining can be acquired and requires a park hopper, is to make it to Epcot so we don't have to be those crazy people trying to give people money.
 
And Jason did his best Casey impersonation while enjoying our favorite beer of the Festival
Nailed it.

I thought it was awesome that they were all women!
Yes!

After lunch we hit up Mitsukoshi for some candy to take home for Casey.
This is a must-do for me, too. I love me some Mitsukoshi candy!

Sounds like a somewhat surprisingly amazing meal at Tokyo Dining! I love slushi too, so I might have to try one of these days. :thumbsup2
 
I feel your pain regarding the crowds the last weekend of Food & Wine. We usually arrive that weekend and after trying at lunch on one trip said never again. I think we ended up at either ESPN or Big River instead. Glad you found a spot at Tokyo Dining.
 
Homecoming (still refusing to drop that g Chef Art Smith)

Both Dan and I had the pleasure of eating here a few weeks ago and fell in LOVE! With Homecomin', not each other :rotfl2: I laughed at this quote though because we both kept saying 'Homecoming' too and had to keep correcting each other. Don't care what you call it, it's BOMB DIGGITY!

He went for a moonshine flight and let our server pick his options. I don't recall what he got, but I did note he liked the 125 proof one best. It did come with some yummy spiced pecans that we all munched on. It also came with a pickle juice chaser :confused3I got nothing on that.

Pickle juice, what the devil? I would have done it though. Cause i'm gross like that.

The pimento cheese was good too, but our local grocery store makes a much creamier one that has spoiled me for all other pimentos to come.

We ended up sharing several appetizers too and got the biscuits and our waitress asked if we wanted the pimento cheese on top. Uh yeah?! Cheese on anything is a yes please. My gosh, was it scrumptious. I live in a pretty crappy (but I strangely love it) area in CA where we don't have cool, trendy grocery stores that make their own stuff. So to me, this was :cloud9:


I knew I was going to regret this. We were bar hopping and (supposed to be) food hopping so I totally skipped out on the Hummingbird Cake even though it was calling me name. I should have done it though. We just drank. No more eating.:sad:

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He apparently stopped for some artsy photos along the way.

Cool shot!

We found a nearly empty Pandora as apparently everyone was in the 4 hour line for FoP!!!! As we meandered toward the Safari we saw the line wrapped all the way back to Festival of the Lion King.

Dude, I got to see firsthand this crazy-people line. Absolutely insane. This is totally a spoiler alert for my solo TR but I was at AK at 6:15am with the masses for EMH at 7am and it was incredible. It's crazy all the effort it takes to ride this without a FP (even though I had a FP, I knew I would regret not going there first thing to try it in Stand-by!) so I got to ride multiple times this day (got a surprise FP that morning loaded onto MDE!)


You must be proud. I would be!

Notice the fancy glass. #Keepin'ItClassy

This is my mom. She's a Miller lite lady. But always asks for a glass and I asked her years ago, if she felt classier with the glass and she said yes :rotfl2:

We did find it odd that they have absolutely no beers on tap.

Yo, what?!:faint: How does this even happen? Someone dropped the ball here.

This was probably a bit of an odd choice given their expansive menu, but I love fried clams and can't find them often so I dove right in

YES! Oh my gosh!!!! I WISH we had done this as I love fried clams too, and not many places have it! Ugh!! *raising fists into the air*

My nostalgic kid also wanted to ride Carousel of Progress but we vetoed a non-ride that we can walk on any other day of the week.

Aw she's so cute!

This is where we somehow decided that taking Snack Selfies - aka a Snalfie - was in order.

Your terminology is perfect.




Your snalfie's are super strong!

We ended up shutting the party down and didn't get back to Caribbean Beach until after 1.

Girl. you guys are amazing! For reals.

When Tokyo Dining can have beer on tap the the Boathouse didn't, something is definitely amiss (and yes I'm still bitter)

Me too, me too.


This looks delicious!

I didn't think I'd like this because I don't generally like sweet slushi,

I'm not a fan of the overly sweet sauces on rolls either. If anything, I prefer sashimi to rolls, but when sharing with Dan, he will always prefer the rolls, so we go with those. They are so much more fun though!

Dang chopsticks got me again

:laughing:
 

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