Walt Disney World, January 2017, Part 5

By Nick

Wednesday January 25th


Up early and over to Disney's Hollywood Studios to meet our friends Meghan, Todd and their son Flynn, our Godchild.

We met at the entrance and followed a majority of the crowd to Toy Story Midway Mania at opening.

We headed to Tower of Terror next.

Flynn was somewhat reluctant to ride.

He did indeed ride however, and , well...

Flynn recovered quickly, and we managed to catch the First Order March, before heading to Star Tours, where everyone except me took a trip to a galaxy far, far away. Darn motion sickness!

We went to Muppet Vision 3D next, and made sure to get our last photo of the Kermit balloon, which was recently removed, as it would be visible from the upcoming Star Wars themed area.

We had lunch at Backlot Express before watching Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular.

After the show we hopped a bus to the Magic Kingdom, where we went right to Tomorrowland and rode the People Mover before using our FastPasses for Buzz.

Making our way around the park we hit Fantasyland next, where those who can stomach spinning rides rode the Mad Tea Party followed by a trip Under the Sea.

We made one last stop to Haunted Mansion before hopping a boat over to the Wilderness Lodge.

Since we were a little early for dinner at Whispering Canyon, we took a nice rest in the lobby.

We met up with Kandi, John and their kids Sawyer and Grayson for what turned out to be my favorite meal of the trip. The adults all shared the house specialty the All You Care to Enjoy Skillet, which includes family-style Mixed Greens tossed in an Apple Vinaigrette Dressing and Fresh-baked Cornbread. Featuring Slow-smoked Pork Ribs, Barbecued Pulled Pork, Roasted Chicken, Oak-roasted Beef Strip Loin, and Western-style Sausage served with Seasonal Farm Fresh Vegetables, Mashed Yukon Potatoes, Corn on the Cobb, and Cowboy-style Baked Beans and it was excellent, especially the strip loin, which I'd say is on par with any steak I've ever eaten at WDW!

We'd eaten dinner there with Kandi and John several years ago, but were not impressed with the service, and we didn't even enjoy the food that much.

This time, our server was hilarious and entertaining, and, in fact, every server seemed to be on point. If you are not familiar, the Cast Members here are what some might call "surly" and loud, which is part of the theme. Get it, Whispering Canyon. 

After dinner we headed to the dock where we were about 30 seconds late for the boat back to the Magic Kingdom, but a boat for the Contemporary was just boarding, so we decided to take a ride there and walk to the park to try and work off a bit of the bloat.

We used our last FastPass of the evening on Pirates, before taking a walk through the Castle and out for the evening.

Please check out:
Part 1 
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Best Walt Disney World Dining Day

By Nick

Recently, my friend Dave Tupper suggested a show topic for The Disney Exchange Podcast, which I co-host with Lisa Green and Dave Hodges.

"Best Disney Dining Day"

There were some rules: Stay on property. No budget. All food from waking up to bed time. It has to be possible, the time between establishments has to make sense.

Okay. That seemed easy, but when I started to think about it... not as simple as I originally thought!

I decided breakfast would be at a resort I love, which is The Wilderness Lodge, at a restaurant I know has a pretty terrific breakfast, Whispering Canyon. The All-You-Care-to-Enjoy Breakfast Skillet consists of Scrambled Eggs, Western Home Fries, Bacon, Sausage, Waffles, Buttermilk Biscuits, and Sausage Gravy for $17. Coffee, well, couldn't find the price. With that, tax and tip, let's call this meal $27.

I'm going to get a boat over to the Magic Kingdom and waddle around the park digesting the large breakfast before having lunch at Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen.

I'm starting with House-made Arepas, "a trip down the Amazon with Slow-cooked Beef, Black Beans, Tostones, and Queso Fresco" for $9.50, followed by the Grilled Lamb Chops seasoned with a North African Berber Spice Blend served with Green Lentil Stew for $25. For my drink, I'm going to have a Coca Cola product from Brazil which I know to be tasty called Guarana Kuat. Like the coffee at breakfast, the price is elusive. Let's say it's $4 since it's exotic.
 For dessert I'm going with the Kungaloosh! Fans of the late great Adventurers Club at the also late great Pleasure Island will get the reference. The Kungaloosh! is an African-inspired Chocolate Cake with Caramelized Bananas served with Cashew-Caramel Ice Cream topped with Coffee Dust. $8.00.
And a coffee, why not. With tax and tip, $60.
Please don't check the math. I'm really bad at math.

So, I clearly need to walk this off, so I'm going to lap the Magic Kingdom before hopping the monorail to Epcot. I'll take a walk through World Showcase, stopping at the United Kingdom Pavilion on the way for a refreshing Innis & Gunn Draft for $9.75.

I'm continuing on through the International Gateway and heading for dinner at a restaurant I've never eaten at, but always wanted to try, Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club.
Starting with the Artisanal Cheeses, $15, and a Scotch. What Scotch? Not sure what they have, but it's a good one, so $27.
My 10oz Black Angus Filet Mignon with Mashed Potatoes and Cabernet Wine Sauce is $54, and I will need another $27 Scotch to go with. And a side of Sauteed Mushrooms please. $9.
Desert. I just couldn't. Okay. I'll look. The Yachtsman Sundae, Trio of Gelato and Amarena Cherries sounds great though, soooo, why not?! $10. And a water. Tax and tip, and, $190.

Wow. Please charge that to Dave Tupper. Thank you.

To hear me, Lisa Green and Dave Hodges discuss this topic in full detail, please check out Episode 70 of The Disney Exchange.

Wordless Wednesday: The Christmas Tree at Disney's Wilderness Lodge

Photos: Barbie

Wordless Wednesday: Disney's Wilderness Lodge Lobby

Photos: Barbie

Disney Food Favorites of 2014

By Nick

We ate a lot of great food in 2014, so I thought I'd take a look at some of our favorites.

My new favorite Snack, well, it's new to me anyway, is the Dole Whip Swirl. Pineapple and Vanilla. As a purist, I'd been avoiding it for the longest time, but Barbie thinks plain Pineapple is too sweet, so I gave this a shot. And, she was right, swirl is better!

Snack runner up and Barbie's fav, the Croissant Donut.

Favorite Breakfast: The All You Care to Enjoy Breakfast Platter (and then some, in our case) at Whispering Canyon in the Wilderness Lodge, which consists of Scrambled Eggs, Western Home Fries, Bacon, Sausage, Waffles, Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Gravy. Not only was the food delicious, but our server, Jeffro, was excellent.

Our friend Jill with Jeffro

  
Favorite Cheeseburger: Cheeseburgers are my favorite food. Surprisingly, the best Disney burger I had all last year was on the Disney Dream, from Tow Mater's Grill! So good, I forgot to get a photo of it!

Favorite Lunch: Afternoon Tea in the Garden View Lounge at the Grand Floridian. Delicious tea, alcoholic beverages, tiny sandwiches, and pastries. Plus we met and made friends with a wonderful couple. A great afternoon!

Favorite Epcot Internationl Food and Wine Festival offering: the Seared Sea Scallop at Scotland, moist and tender and the spinach-Cheddar Gratin and Crispy Bacon was amazing. So good, I had 2.

Favorite new beer: Einstok, Icelandic White Ale, light and refreshing on a hot day.

 
If I'm honest, no dinner entree stood out as being better than my perennial favorite, the Pork Chop at the Hollywood Brown Derby. 

I'd be completely wrong in not giving an honorable mention to The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley at Universal Studios, which offers traditional British fair. We ate 2 excellent dinners there, and I look forward to returning in the future.

 The Bangers and Mash

Also, at Universal, they now serve warm Butterbeer, which is better than the cold, and that is saying something indeed!

Please stop back Monday for a variety of favorite attractions and experiences from 2014. 

December '14 Walt Disney World Trip Report : Part 5

By Nick

Wednesday, December 10th

Barbie and I had breakfast at Roaring Forks, the counter service restaurant at the Wilderness Lodge, and met up with the rest of the gang and headed to the Magic Kingdom for the day.

 Jill, me, Barbie, Josh and Nicole

We stopped at Gaston's so Jill, Nicole and Josh could get a bite to eat.

Have you seen the Cinnamon Roll at Gaston's? It's the size of a small child.

We rode Under the Sea-Voyage of the Little Mermaid and followed it up with a photo with Ariel.

We hit several more attractions before breaking for lunch at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe.

A few more attractions, various photo ops...

...and a lot more walking made us hungry for dessert, so Josh, Jill and I got ice cream from The Plaza Ice Cream Parlor while Barbie and Nicole got popcorn.

Barbie got me the Mickey Elf popcorn bucket!

We picked a spot for the Festival of Fantasy Parade.

We headed back to the Wilderness Lodge where we had to sadly say goodbye to Nicole.

That evening, Jill, Josh, Barbie and I headed to Epcot, where we stopped at several photo spots, really trying to get the most out of Memory Maker.

We had dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel...

 ...with the perfect end.

No, not a shot of tequila and a beer!  Illuminations Reflections of Earth, with the special Holiday tag.

Earlier Parts of the trip report:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4