Mine too... Plus I have not used my points in ages.... I will not get to go in 2014 either.. Now I have to rent them out again..
I'm sorry.
But you are having some amazing alternative trips. WDW is a great destination for us since we know what to expect, everything is HA and there is always something new for us to do. We are getting in the Southwest Road Trip beforehand and that was one thing Fran requested that we go somewhere else before WDW again. We may not hike a lot, but from PIO's latest update, we could just sit in the hotel room enjoying the view for quite some time. However, we do plan on at least two jeep tours on that trip maybe three. We are there three nights so we have lots of options. Then we go to Bryce. I think that's a pretty cool "non WDW" trip to break up the monotony!
I was going to say that it was going to be a long time and long lived moment between visits to WDW if you were planning on 3014.
Finally caught back up on your trip report and glad to hear that you and Fran had a great time. The last day at EPCOT was a nice way to end your trip and the food during the F&W Festival looks great.
I enjoyed your TR and looking forward to your next one.
Thanks Bret! I'm glad we got to pop into Epcot for that last time. We didn't get to all the F&W booths that I wanted to this trip, but we sure did have a lot of great F&W experiences!
Been off the boards for the holidays, so I'm back and all caught up!
...and it's over.
Great costumes! Looks like the Halloween party was a lot of fun. And I really hate leaving too, but I'm sure we all feel that way.
Now I'll have to get over to your new TR so I can read one from the beginning!
I can't disagree!
I hope that you had some great holidays. Julie must be about to burst (or at least feel that way!)
I don't think any carnivore would disagree!
Loved seeing the photos of you prepping for the Dismeet dinner
I usually don't drink champagne (or more than one glass) because I get headaches too. Didn't know there was a proper way to make it. So if it's a better champagne, are you less likely to get a headache? Did you wake up with one from your nap?
It was really fun to put together the dinner as well as enjoy it. PIO and I both love to cook so even though most people don't enjoy cooking on holiday, I think she had good time sharing home cooked food with friends. Me, I'm weird, I like to cook because I like to bring a taste of home to my vacations as I get tired of eating out every day. That was one of the big draws for DVC was the ability to have a kitchen and occasionally fix meals that bring me back home.
As far as champagne, if you don't mind I'll give you an abridged version and when you go to Napa, you can tour the Chandon Champagnery and learn the same things that I did. We always drank cheap "sparkling wine" because of the budget, and I never liked it because of the headaches. Then Fran and I toured the Chandon facility and I learned.
There are two ways to make "bubbles". The way that cheap wines do it is to inject CO2 into the wine and it's bubbly. The old fashioned traditional way is called "methode champinoise" but only French Champagnes from Europe can use that name other countries like Spain use the phrase "Methode Traditionelle" for their Cava. You might see any variation on US sparkling wines.
The traditional method is to ferment the beverage in large barrels like wine, but when the Champagne is bottled they put a calculated amount of yeast and sugar into each bottle. Then the bottles are temporarily capped with a cork and placed into these racks where they are "upside down" and the yeast and sugar cause the bubbles to form. There were folks employed who would pull the bottles out one at a time and turn them about a 1/4 turn every day to enhance the process of fermentation. This process is called riddling and the folks who did it were called riddlers.
Evidently today only the most high end Champagnes are still hand riddled, but there are still folks today who actually do this. Most are now mechanized.
The NV Champagnes are required by law to remain 15 months in the bottle. I have no idea what the deal is outside France, but I found this on Wikipedia. If the Champagne is Vintage it must remain three years in the bottle. I don't know if CA vintners follow these rules, but once the bottle has reached maturity, they remove the temporary cork and the deposits which have formed in the bottle cap (notice the angle of the bottles in the above pictures). They replace it with a permanent cork (obviously until the bottle is opened for consumption) and the wine is ready to be drank.
I don't remember when I took the tour but it was probably about 15 years ago and it totally explained a lot to me why when we drank Andre's Cold Duck I got and awful headache, but when my parents (wine snobs) served me Moet and Chandon I was fine. There are plenty of reasonable CA sparkling wines that use the traditional method so you don't have to spend a bundle, but if you know, it makes all the difference.
Alison, you look gorgeous, but I gotta say, Fran's costume is FANTASTIC!!!
We got caught in that rain too...
I know I LOVED her costume, it was so funny! Mine was pretty ordinary there were quite a few Cinderellas there that night, I think she was the only singing fish!
Love me a good A&F report.
Thank you.
If you do I will probably be over on a cloud somewhere watching from above 
Don't tell anyone, but in all honesty I'd take the BBQ Tri Tip over most any meal if I had to make the choice. I think someone on your TR said it best about your Anniversary Dinner, "you can't beat a good hunk of dead cow!" 
I'm so glad you came out of lurkdom to share your thoughts. We love dining, whether it's at home or out. We love it all from the foo foo cuisine to the down home steaks and believe it or not we even make Frito Pie for dinner at home!
