That Foo's Boo Is Incredible!!! - Jan 14 TR *THE END 7/19 Pg. 51*

[IheartDDuck]

Wow I am actually caught up on both your TR'S!! YAY me (just kidding) Epcot for your last day is perfect.

Glad your mom is feeling better being sick at Disney stinks!

Yay you!!!!! That's totally my equivalent of a party btw. LOL.

It was a great way to end the trip. I love Epcot, so it's always a good choice. Plus, I wanted to make sure Mom didn't miss out on anything.

My philosophy is that the more people that dislike the "lame boat rides" the shorter the wait for me will be. I'll gladly take walks owns for Pirates and LwtL because some guests just don't appreciate Disney.


Whew, good thing you had those FPs for Figment, you could've risked standing in line for a solid 5 minutes if not. (Complete side note, but did the CM look at you like you were crazy when you went to use them? Like "silly tourist, wasting your FPs...)

I like your philosophy. I think I'll remember that in the future.

I know right? Man, having to stand in line for five minutes. What hard work.

Oh yeah, the CM was totally thinking that with us using our FP+ for Figment. But I mean, seriously. What else was I going to use it on?!

HAHA funny girl....

I know. I'm hysterical.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Day 8 - Friday January 24, 2014

It was another cold one today, so we all bundled up.

We were staying at the WL that day and according to my notes it was 42 degrees that morning. We were going to try and get to MK for the opening show, but when I saw that temp, I decided that it was a perfect day to take the free lodge tour. It was a good choice. You made a wise decision to hang out in The Land building that chilly morning. We went over there that evening and ended up spending quite a bit of time there because we were in no hurry to get out into the cold. At least it was warmer than it was back in Chicago.

After that it was off to Living With the Land.

When we got off of Living with the Land a bunch of people were passing by the ride talking about how it's just a lame boat ride.

How about I lame boat ride you in your face, you jackwagon!

I'm teasing. Only a little. I appreciate the ride for what it is. I know that some don't like it, but I do. So there.

Did you see that they made this a tier 1 ride? I can only guess that there was some sort of issue over the huge Soarin' crowds choosing this fp+ option. Although I can't imagine why it may have been a problem.

 

[CarolynK]

Epcot is a great last-day park!! Your mom looks cozy and warm.

A freezing 4-1/2 hour wait?! Wow, kids really have that much patience? I doubt it.

So no FP+ for Imagination is necessary - who'd of thought thank goodness there are some attractions that are still accessible without all the crazy planning! Last week we did Star Tours with our FP+ time, then got right back into the standby line to do it again...yaay!!

Breakfast looks yummy

 

[TinksThree]

I love Living with the Land! I'm with you...appreciate it for what it is! I know Donald is your favorite duck (like me!! ) so do you say "Hey Donald!" every time your see a duck?

 

[RGirl]

Um, so, didn’t I get caught up on here last weekend???? I am losing my mind! Or you have too many TRs….

Well, I have no idea what’s going on with my inability to keep up with TRs, but I have read everything, and I’m still here! Sorry for the lack of specific comments - I will do better!!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

We were staying at the WL that day and according to my notes it was 42 degrees that morning. We were going to try and get to MK for the opening show, but when I saw that temp, I decided that it was a perfect day to take the free lodge tour. It was a good choice. You made a wise decision to hang out in The Land building that chilly morning. We went over there that evening and ended up spending quite a bit of time there because we were in no hurry to get out into the cold. At least it was warmer than it was back in Chicago.


Did you see that they made this a tier 1 ride? I can only guess that there was some sort of issue over the huge Soarin' crowds choosing this fp+ option. Although I can't imagine why it may have been a problem.

That definitely sounds about right. It was pretty cold that morning. I'm all for bundling up though. Epcot is a good park for it, especially if you stay in Future World.

I always tell myself that! At least it's warmer than back home.

I did see that they made it a Tier 1 ride. Kind of strange, but I think that everything with this is going to continue to go through different iterations.

Epcot is a great last-day park!! Your mom looks cozy and warm.

A freezing 4-1/2 hour wait?! Wow, kids really have that much patience? I doubt it.

So no FP+ for Imagination is necessary - who'd of thought thank goodness there are some attractions that are still accessible without all the crazy planning! Last week we did Star Tours with our FP+ time, then got right back into the standby line to do it again...yaay!!

Breakfast looks yummy

She was cozy and warm, which was very important to me.

Yup. 4 1/2 hours. Insane right?!

I know! No need for a FP+ at all. Shocking. I love being able to use a FP+ and then get in line! Definitely ideal.

I love Living with the Land! I'm with you...appreciate it for what it is! I know Donald is your favorite duck (like me!! ) so do you say "Hey Donald!" every time your see a duck?

I don't say "Hey Donald!" every time I do see a duck. However, I do go "ducky ducky ducky ducky!" Yes, I am five years old.

Um, so, didn’t I get caught up on here last weekend???? I am losing my mind! Or you have too many TRs….

Well, I have no idea what’s going on with my inability to keep up with TRs, but I have read everything, and I’m still here! Sorry for the lack of specific comments - I will do better!!!

I have too many TR's. I'm planning on wrapping this one up soon. Then there's only one to worry about. For a while.

 

[IheartDDuck]

I had a destination in mind at this point. I really wanted one of those new brioche ice cream sandwiches from L'Artisan des Glaces. However, we wanted to do some quick shopping in Mitsukoshi.

One of my favorite things in the Japan pavilion is the candy they have. Oh dear, they have some awesome candy selections. If you've never gone in there and perused their candy selections, you are missing out. They have such great flavor varieties. Kiwi flavors, Lychee flavors, just outstanding stuff.

While we were inside, I did note that they had a few sugar free options, which was good for Pop, who is diabetic. We bought it for him, but not before reminiscing about what sugar free gummies and candies can do.

Not aware of the side effects?



OMG, this just cracks me up!

It's important to note that the sugar free candy from Japan was perfectly fine for Pop and gave him no problems. The Goofy's Candy Company sugar free gummies though? Let's just say......



Don't say I didn't warn you. However, if you do want an excuse to not go in to work, my advice is, consume them the night before. Blammo. You can call in the work the next day. Bahaha!

My yummy, not sugar free treats in hand, we headed to France for my other treat.



If you haven't been here yet, you must visit. It's an awesome addition to the pavilion.





So there are many options here. So you can simply get some ice cream, or you can get the big rammer jammer, which is the brioche ice cream sandwich. I highly recommend this treat.

They take a fresh brioche bun and slice it. Next, you pick the ice cream flavor that you want. Once they scoop that in, you can pick either raspberry sauce or chocolate sauce. Then....the ultimate happens. They take it, put it in a panini style press, and warm the entire thing up.

What you get....is incredible.



You've got the warmth from the brioche surrounding the ice cream, and then the sauce you pick just melts into the brioche. It's just the perfect combination. My selection on this day was hazelnut ice cream, with chocolate sauce. It was absolutely heavenly.

With that, we ended our lovely morning at Epcot. Mom still wasn't feeling the best, and we had a long drive ahead of us starting the next day. And believe me, nothing is worse than having to take a lengthy drive in the car feeling like absolute crud!

We took a leisurely stroll to head out of the park and say goodbye to Epcot.







With that, we stopped for some final PP shots of the trip.







We also stopped at Mouse Gears on the way out to make some final purchases. Mom had told me that she wanted to buy me a Disney Dooney, but I still hadn't decided on which one I wanted. It's serious business!

After much deliberation, which one did I pick?



I love it! Everyone at my work said that it is the absolute perfect bag for me, and that they were surprised I hadn't gotten one yet. I have to love it. I have to think about it. Because they are so expensive, I don't want to just get one for the sake of getting one. I loved the placement on this one. I seriously have the best parents ever for getting me this. I count my blessings every day.

Soon, we were out of the park, but I had to get a final picture of the monorail.



Am I the only one that totally gets the Simpson's monorail song stuck in my head when they see one?



We had packing to do and a dinner reservation to make it to that night, which was part of why we headed out a little early. On top of poor momma still not feeling the greatest.

She actually took over a week to fully recover after we even got home. This was a heck of a cold for her to get on vacation.

Continued in next post:

 

[IheartDDuck]

Continued from previous post:

We still had lunch to eat, even though I had a treat from France. I mean, I'm not going to miss out on lunch?

We decided to eat back at Saratoga Springs when we got there, because I had one thing on my mind.

Cheeseburger flatbread!



Again, I'm going to wax poetic about this thing. It's so so good! If anyone makes it out to Artist's Palette at Saratoga, make sure to try this. It's incredibly yummy. I would seriously make a trip out there just to get this.

Pop got the same as me, and Mom got a turkey and brie sandwich.



Mom and I also took the opportunity to go to the pin trading board in the lobby before heading back to the room. She hadn't had the opportunity to do much trading this trip. We didn't trade at all in May, but we plan on it in November.

Then we headed back to the room to start packing, and I of course has to document some of my purchases and our trades.



I LOVED my trades!



We made as quick of work packing as possible. Pop wanted to get our big bags in the car that night, and then the smaller items in the morning. That way we didn't have to worry too much early in the day. We had an early breakfast reservation before leaving WDW the next day. We packed everything we could and set aside the items we would need in our overnight bags. We tried to get Mom to relax for a while too before heading out.

Soon, it was time for us to get ready for dinner.



I love that sweatshirt. We headed out to take the car to the Boardwalk. It was a bit cold outside that night, so we valeted the car.



I was super excited just walking through there, knowing I would be staying there that May!



Our reservation was a first time restaurant for us. In all of our years, we had never eaten there.



This was Pop's restaurant choice. All of our restaurants were either new to us restaurants, or in the case of 'Ohana, a new time of day to eat there.

We got there a little early, so they wouldn't check us in at first. They also seemed to have a full reservation plate, as they were turning away all walk ups.



We sat in the entrance for a little while before they were able to check us in. I think all in all we waited about 20 minutes before being seated.

Their menus are seasonal, and our server pointed that out to us. We all decided to get some appetizers, which we don't normally do. But since this was a special meal, we figured why not.

I got the clam chowder, but this one was unique. They put hush puppies in it and use cream fraiche and leeks. It was really good and full of clams, which is always a plus in my world.



Mom got the Epcot Land Salad, which if you couldn't tell by the name, is made with items that come from the Land Pavilion at Epcot. It was very light and fresh. Mom and I always split things, so we shared our appetizers.



Pop got calamari, which is a favorite. You can also tell that he is not a food picture taker, as his photo turned out all blurry.



We all opted for the Flying Fish duo for our entree, which is potato crusted red snapper and charred New York strip steak.



Now, the potato crusted red snapper was a winner in this plate. It was really lovely.

I ate a bit of the snapper first and then got to my steak. I get my steak rare. This didn't even qualify as rare. When I got to the center of it, it was cold. There was no heat in the steak whatsoever. The outside was charred beautifully. On top of it, the server had told us they had the best steak on property. I beg to differ greatly on that point. It was supremely disappointing.

When the server finally came back around, I told her about the fact that it was literally cold in the middle. I was pretty full at that point, and I wasn't going to demand that they cook me another one. But, I wanted them to be aware. Mom and Pop had no problems with theirs, it seemed to be only mine.

I'm not a difficult person. It actually takes me a lot to complain about anything at all. But this meal is $55, and that's a lot of money for cold steak.

Because of the situation with the meal, she told us that she would give us complimentary desserts that evening.

We got white chocolate and raspberry creme brûlée.



And chocolate cake with mousse and salted caramel.



The desserts were lovely. I know many people would have probably wanted my entire meal to be comped, but I just don't operate that way. I thought the comped desserts were more than enough, due to the fact that I did eat half of my food, as the snapper was really good.

Would I return to this restaurant? At this point, probably not. It was good, but I don't think the restaurant was worth the premium price that you pay for it. It's a very expensive meal. If I did end up going back, I would likely just get the snapper, and not the steak. Because their statement that they have the best steak on property is very much exaggerated.

At this point, it was time for us to go back to our room. We spent well over 2 hours at this meal, and Momma looked a bit on the tired side.

Once we got back to the room, we packed a little bit more, and I actually did something responsible and picked up my work phone. I wanted to try to clear out some of my emails. I figured putting it off wouldn't do me any favors at all.

Soon, it was time for us to turn in. Had this trip gone exactly how we had planned? No, not at all with Mom getting sick. But, as always, we still had a great time together.

Up next: Our final Disney meal and final thoughts.

 

[katt789]

I NEED to get one of those ice cream sandwiches!! It was definitely on my list last time but I definitely forgot about it! This go around I will hopefully not, your choices of flavours sound amazing as well!!

Dinner looks interesting, crappy about the steak though. I can't stand it when steaks aren't done right! At least the snapper was good and the desserts look/sound amazing!!

 

[Neeny17]

Omg that ice cream brioche sandwich looks so yummy! Its bad that your steak was all cold in the middle, but good that they gave you free desserts. The crème Brulee looks especially good.

 

[dawnbu40]

Oh my goodness the Brioche ice cream sandwich is amazing! It was our favorite treat last month!

How sweet of your mom and dad to get you that bag! I am addicted to all the Disney purses. Dooney, Vera and LeSportSac I love em all

I'm sorry your steak wasn't better (and while they should have comped your meal) the free dessert was nice and looks yummy!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Ooh, it looks like I need some Goofy's Candy Company sugar free gummies stat!!! I do not wanna work.

Ummmm.... did you miss uploading a PP photo or two. These ones look WAY too normal.

Bahahahaha, I so get the Monorail song in my head. Always!!!

Oh dear, cold steak... BAD!!! But complimentary desserts... YUM!!

Oh I totally always check my emails in Disney. Delete... Delete... Delete... etc.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

The brioche snack looks simply awesome. I could use one right about now!

I was laughing so hard on the package warning for the sugar-free candy bag especially the suggestion of trying a quarter of a bag first.

Am I the only one that totally gets the Simpson's monorail song stuck in my head when they see one?

Nope! It happens to me every time I get on the monorail at Disney. DW catches me every now and then humming the tune. "But Main Street's still all cracked and broken, Sorry Mom, the mob has spoken. Monorail~ Monorail~ Monorail~~~"

Sorry to hear about your disappointing experience at Flying Fish. I tried the restaurant for the first time back in October solo and my good impressions of the place is solely based on a single appetizer dish - Yellowfin Tuna Tartare and Crispy Tempura Tuna-Vegetable Sushi Roll. That may have been the second best sushi roll I've ever tried (the best one still goes to Sushi Ota restaurant in San Diego). I don't even remember what I ordered for the entree or dessert.

 

[DisFanEY]

I have been following (lurking) along but had to post to thank you for the info about the ice cream sandwich!!! How have I not seen it before?! I and the fam have put it on our must-do list for the fall, and we will remember your pics when we place our orders!! Thx again!!!

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

It was disappointing about Danielle's steak being cold. I don't think we will eat there again any time soon.

 

[Octoberbeauty]

Speaking of the sugar free gummies, have you read the reviews on Amazon? If not, you are in for a laugh! http://www.amazon.com/Haribo-SUGAR-Classic-Gummi-Bears/dp/B006J1FBLM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1404079486&sr=8-3&keywords=sugar+free+gummies

I that Disney Dooney! I haven't seen that pattern before. It's awesome!

 

[MEK]

Ooh, it looks like I need some Goofy's Candy Company sugar free gummies stat!!! I do not wanna work.

Me too! I have a 24 hour work day coming up. think these will work?

Plus - the first ingredient IS sugar. I'm so confused?

I am so sorry you did not love your FF meal. The apps look great. That soup looks wonderful. Yum! But a cold steak is NOT acceptable. I think comp'ing you dessert was fair. The desserts look amazing. I'm glad you enjoyed the snapper.

I have had several wonderful meals there but I always stick to fish/seafood.

Love the sweatshirt.

So sad to your trip come to a end.

 

[Poolrat]

Caught up finally.

So Sorry your mom was still not feeling well. I am glad she took it easy and didn't try to tough it out, that could have been really bad.

4 1/2 hours - no way

Looks like a couple of nice days- glad mom could join you for part of them. Not a total washout.

Nice Jacket...... so nice of you to GIVE it to your mom...


I had a great meal at FF but had the snapper only I think. Looked at the snapper and steak but if I had the steak too it was not memorable especially as the best steak on property.

Last days are hard but you got most of your stuff packed up early to beat the last morning rush.

Can't wait to see where breakfast was.

 

[Dugette]

Wow, what a great food update!

I had no idea that the brioche ice cream sandwich even existed. Now I have two things I want from that place...that and the ice cream martini!

That cheeseburger flatbread looks tasty!

The chocolate salted caramel dessert looks awesome! WANT!

 

[Millie12591]

Poor Mama, I hate that she came down sick on the trip.

You are such a good daughter to take such good care of her. I love y'alls relationship, yours and your parents. I'm sure I've mentioned this before.

I'm glad mom got to enjoy some of the park and not stay in the room the rest of your time there.

Your make-up was really pretty. Those are great colors! And yes, mom looked adorable on y'alls Epcot day, you really should let her have that jacket.

Who says Living With The Land is lame?!? Those people were lame!! Don't you poo-poo on my ride!

Buzz behind the curtain......"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain..."
Sorry, you can take the girl out of Kansas, but you can't take the Kansas out of the girl.

Sunshine Seasons is one of my all time favorite places to get breakfast. I think their quality has gone down a bit since our first time eating there in 2007 but I still like it there. Now that I've discovered so many other places to eat in Epcot, I have a hard time finding my way back there.

Speaking of, I'm for sure wanting to try that ice cream brioche sandwich you had! OMGoodness!! It sounds like heaven!!
It's the last thing I need, but that would have to be a for certain worthy cheat, treat. Holy smokes! I'd have NOOO regrets eating that baby!

I learned a trick over the time it took me to lose the weight and that is, if you are going to cheat on your healthy way of eating, it better be worth the cheat.
No junky Cheetos, or some stupid thing like a crappy candy bar, it's going to be a high quality cheat, or nothing!
That way I don't look back on the cheat and think....."I really wish I hadn't had that."
Uh-uh ba-by!! I want to look back on that bad boy and say...."That's the best dang cheat I've had in a long time!!" If don't have them all that often you don't feel the pangs of guilt and you don't see the results on the scale, just a hold off from getting where you are going for a little while. Provided you're still working out religiously and going back to eating healthy ASAP.

I'm glad you told us about your experience at the Flying Fish, my DS21 and I were contemplating a signature dining experience and thought about going here next May. I'm glad Ty didn't like the menu, we've decided on Artist Point....I think. The menu looked the best out of all of them, at least to Ty. I'd try just about any of them at this point.

Last day is so sad. But as often as y'all have been going, it's not as bad to hear about this time.