Pre-Trip 2 Broke Guys (and a dog!) and $200 French Fries?! multiple short trips

Who:

Tony:

Wait, a little more recent, please (but remember the blue tufted sofa for later.)

"Hidden Mickey" ears behind me? It's actually a wall mural with ocean waves.

Brian:

That picture of him is 8 years old, but still adorbs.

...and sometimes Kylie:

60 pounds of German Shepherd/Chow Chow love & anxiety. She is as old as that picture of Brian, and also adorbs!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

omg, I found it. The abandoned (haunted?) trip report.

Going to have to change that title in a day or two. No cruise is happening in the very near future, although I continue to pay attention and collect little tips here and there. It will probably be more like Fall 2020 (?)

I don't even know what happened next - but I know what's happened since - a few short trips, some WDWMAGIC gatherings. (Spoiler alert: I am right now typing this in the same hotel in Tampa where the previous marathon TR began. And I've let some things out on the Chit Chat thread and elsewhere.)

So we're going to have to speed things up a bit - some pic dumps, some quick summaries, some dogs in hotels...

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Continuing the New Orleans theme, but having zero to do with Disney, I took Brian to see Harry Connick, Jr.’s New Orleans Tribute concert at the Hard Rock.

And then we took Brian’s brother Brad (oh, @MinnieM123 !) to stay at Margaritaville for a few nights, complete with cabana. Since Brian worked there, it was VIP treatment all the way. Awesome time.

And at an industry event shortly afterwards, the surprise guest was Tony Freaking Bennett. I was this close!

Then for another industry event, I brought Brian along to the real New Orleans. Look, @Tuvalu:

Horsies!

We stayed at Hotel Monteleone. Loved it. And I read Scott Bakula had shot scenes from NCIS here. Would we run into him? No. I wouldn’t even tease about something like that.

Also, this:

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Hotel Monteleone is famous for their spinning Carousel bar. I probably talked about this last year. Let’s see if I’ve learned to post video from my phone yet:

(Ten minutes elapsed.) Nope. No idea.

There’s a video of me and Brian sipping and spinning at the Carousel bar. It’s the best video you’ve ever seen.

Pic dump from the trip (@Rista1313 )

Food pics are from Mr. B’s across the street from the hotel. This was our favorite.

My own Mr. B had to go home after a couple of days. Wait, how was he able to come at all? Margaritaville let him go? Yup. Not in a good way. They let him go in July. Another company bought the management of the resort, and they cleaned house of almost every manager. He got his previous job back right away, and we’re grateful for that, but he had to get back and go to work.

I stayed on for music industry stuff. You know, meetings, etc.

But I really wanted another spin on the carousel, and another meal at Mr. B’s.

My last day was a half day, and I had to leave for the airport around 1pm.

Challenge accepted!

I snuck out of the last class early, sat & spun & sipped another fabulous Vieux Carre (a bourbon cocktail originated at that very bar.)

I asked for late checkout so I wouldn’t have to drag my bags, ran across the street, and went for the jambalaya over linguine and the $1.50 Bloody Mary! (What?!)

 

[Tony the Tigger]

And yes, that lunch came with a whole loaf of crispy Italian bread. (Heaven!)

I ate at the bar, chatted with the bartender a bit, and he decided to brag that his own version of Monteleone’s Vieux Carre is better(!)

Of course I had one!

He used a different kind of bitters. I don’t know if they were better bitters, or less bitter bitters, but a better drink? Bah. kidding. Of course it was excellent.

I barely made it to the airport in time, but it was worth it. My suitcases were overweight (and so was I) so I had to throw away clothes (again) to make room for all my freebies from the event.

It was like an episode of The Price Is Right. I’m on the floor in the front of the line, pulling certain items out, rezipping and reweighing the bag, X, try again. (All this on 2 Vieux Carres and a Bloody Mary.) Finally, I was still 2 pounds over, and the guy mercifully said, “Close enough.” Whew. Flew home.

Will we ever go to Disney again??

 

[MinnieM123]

I took Brian to see Harry Connick, Jr.’s New Orleans Tribute concert at the Hard Rock.

I like him. Would also enjoy seeing his concert sometime.

And then we took Brian’s brother Brad (oh, @MinnieM123 !) to stay at Margaritaville for a few nights, complete with cabana.

Aha! SEE!! There IS a Brad connection! (Close enough . . .)

And at an industry event shortly afterwards, the surprise guest was Tony Freaking Bennett. I was this close!

Oh my! He is such a legend. What an awesome treat to see Tony Bennett! Nice photo, too. You were lucky to be up close in the crowd to get a good picture of him.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Will we ever go to Disney again??

Of course we will. We already did. And you already knew that. Remember that crazy last minute rent-a-mustang convertible trip? Finally, I get to tell about it!

To refresh: this was a completely last minute 11 year anniversary quickie trip - booked like the night before. (180 days? 60 days? Pshaw!)

(Btw after reading back, I just realized I repeated myself about Brian’s job, sorry.)

So I booked everything on Tuesday, picked up the mustang, and told Brian he needed to pack as soon as he got home, we were leaving tonight!

Not gonna lie, that’s exciting.

The drive up was fun. Both of us had really old cars with no modern features that were breaking down left and right. It was so nice to drive something “hooked up” - although the top was down on the highway for fear of Kylie pulling a Mary Poppins - or at least the sheets I had put down all over the back seat might go flying and cause an accident.

We had a pleasant sleep at La Quinta (well, Brian did. You know I can’t sleep at a time like this.)

Woke up early, grabbed a hard boiled egg, and took Kylie to BFPC.

B and I went over to Yacht Club (thank you, Chase points, I love being able to splurge for a special occasion!) The person who checked us in was “family,” and super cool. We got a room right away, nice and early, like 10:30AM. I was so happy. It’s a bummer when you do an overnight stay and can’t check in until late.

Yacht Club pic dump:

What’s that?

Individual soaps! (Scandal!)

More!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Btw, the bathroom door had some kind of automatic closing feature, and I was all fascinated with that.

Take a little time to enjoy the view:

...and a little Crown Vanilla.

Ah, we’re here! Who’da thunk it three days ago?

Now what time was that lunch again? Uh-oh...

And this thing didn’t work:

 

[MinnieM123]

We got a room right away, nice and early, like 10:30AM. I was so happy. It’s a bummer when you do an overnight stay and can’t check in until late.

I'm jealous--I haven't had an early check-in for probably 5-6 years now (and I'm talking about all hotels). Usually, you can't even rely on a 3:00 PM check-in anymore. So, I'm happy to hear that you guys were accommodated early in the day. Excellent!

Btw, the bathroom door had some kind of automatic closing feature, and I was all fascinated with that

Ha! It's the unexpected, little things that are so much fun!

As for the door lock, do they give you a plastic card to open it (like they always did in the past) , if your phone app doesn't work? I'm hoping they do, as I don't carry a phone with me to the parks (I lock it in the room safe during the day).

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I'm jealous--I haven't had an early check-in for probably 5-6 years now (and I'm talking about all hotels). Usually, you can't even rely on a 3:00 PM check-in anymore. So, I'm happy to hear that you guys were accommodated early in the day. Excellent!



Ha! It's the unexpected, little things that are so much fun!

As for the door lock, do they give you a plastic card to open it (like they always did in the past) , if your phone app doesn't work? I'm hoping they do, as I don't carry a phone with me to the parks (I lock it in the room safe during the day).

We just used our magic bands!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

For the first time ever, we had the pleasure of walking from our room to Epcot. Loved it!

Arrived just a few minutes early for the special Food & Wine luncheon with wine pairings in Morocco. (We loved the Mexican one so much last year, we had to try another. Not to knock the food booths, but this is such a better use of F&W cash.)

Upon entry, a little champagne.

And a toast to 11 years.

We had never been to this bar before (there’s a sentence I can’t say often) and it was impressive.

The tables were set with the wines, and descriptions of each. This looks good already!

“Anyone can cook.”

Sorry, had to.

First course:

Beautiful! And de-lish! (Siri changed “lish” to “lush.” She wasn’t far off.)

I have come to really appreciate a well done wine pairing, and the different, enhanced flavor you get from a bite. They didn’t all work perfectly, but this one certainly did.

Now, did you notice on the table, to my right, glasses of wine with no one sitting behind them?

Yep. Abandoned alcohol. After the first course, a CM came over and encouraged our table to divvy those up and enjoy.

Well, twist my arm!!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

And that’s why we have no pictures of the other courses!

But here are the descriptions:

Another fabulous lunch, and boy did we get our money’s worth. Plus we enjoy the conversation with other folks at the table, the educational portions of the presentation, and trying new things.

Head to head, I’d have to say the Mexican tequila pairing was more “wow” and more unique, but we were very happy with this and can’t wait to try another one.

With a full belly, a nice buzz, we wandered a bit, found our Christmas ornament, and (love it) walked back to the room for a short break.

 

[krisri18]

For the first time ever, we had the pleasure of walking from our room to Epcot. Loved it!

Arrived just a few minutes early for the special Food & Wine luncheon with wine pairings in Morocco. (We lived the Mexican one so much last year, we had to try another. Not to knock the food booths, but this is such a better use of F&W cash.)

Upon entry, a little champagne.
View attachment 350789
And a toast to 11 years.

We had never been to this bar before (there’s a sentence I can’t say often) and it was impressive.

View attachment 350790

View attachment 350791

The tables were set with the wines, and descriptions of each. This looks good already!

View attachment 350792

“Anyone can cook.”

Sorry, had to.

First course:

View attachment 350794View attachment 350795

Beautiful! And de-lish! (Siri changed “lish” to “lush.” She wasn’t far off.)

I have come to really appreciate a well done wine pairing, and the different, enhanced flavor you get from a bite. They didn’t all work perfectly, but this one certainly did.

Now, did you notice on the table, to my right, glasses of wine with no one sitting behind them?

Yep. Abandoned alcohol. After the first course, a CM came over and encouraged our table to divvy those up and enjoy.

Well, twist my arm!!

Abandoned alcohol is a serious matter! Good thing you were there to help!

 

[Rista1313]

And that’s why we have no pictures of the other courses!

But here are the descriptions:


View attachment 350796View attachment 350797

Another fabulous lunch, and boy did we get our money’s worth. Plus we enjoy the conversation with other folks at the table, the educational portions of the presentation, and trying new things.

Head to head, I’d have to say the Mexican tequila pairing was more “wow” and more unique, but we were very happy with this and can’t wait to try another one.

With a full belly, a nice buzz, we wandered a bit, found our Christmas ornament, and (love it) walked back to the room for a short break.

View attachment 350798

View attachment 350799

How do you book these?

 

[Tony the Tigger]

How do you book these?

When Food & Wine bookings are open, there are special listings for them, I think under “event dining.” Not sure if they come up in a regular ADR search. Sorry, that was a bad answer lol.

You do have to pay in full at the time of booking, and prices vary from $60+ to $90+ per person, depending on the venue.

I don’t see anything listed for 2019 F&W yet.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Could this day get any better after that? We didn’t have a dinner ADR, but we walked back to Epcot, did some wandering, had a FP for Frozen later on, but went to visit our three amigos first. Loved the Coco displays - that movie!

It blends perfectly into the Gran Fiesta.

 

[Swissmiss]

Disneyland Paris goes all out Coco at Halloween :

 

[PacNWTigger]

That huge Dante is beautiful!! Do you guys have the Coco show over there? DLR had it for a while, and it is definitely worth catching it if you get the chance.

 

[Swissmiss]

That huge Dante is beautiful!! Do you guys have the Coco show over there? DLR had it for a while, and it is definitely worth catching it if you get the chance.

I don’t think so, but it sounds like something I would like to see so I’ll pay more attention to the show schedule next time we go. The Coco decorations at Halloween were really fantastic; in fact all the Halloween decorations are really good. Along Main Street they are lots of brightly colored ghosts and pumpkins.

 

[Ariel1986]

Hotel Monteleone is famous for their spinning Carousel bar. I probably talked about this last year. Let’s see if I’ve learned to post video from my phone yet:

(Ten minutes elapsed.) Nope. No idea.

There’s a video of me and Brian sipping and spinning at the Carousel bar. It’s the best video you’ve ever seen.

Pic dump from the trip (@Rista1313 )

View attachment 350633View attachment 350634View attachment 350635View attachment 350636

Food pics are from Mr. B’s across the street from the hotel. This was our favorite.

My own Mr. B had to go home after a couple of days. Wait, how was he able to come at all? Margaritaville let him go? Yup. Not in a good way. They let him go in July. Another company bought the management of the resort, and they cleaned house of almost every manager. He got his previous job back right away, and we’re grateful for that, but he had to get back and go to work.

I stayed on for music industry stuff. You know, meetings, etc.

View attachment 350637

But I really wanted another spin on the carousel, and another meal at Mr. B’s.

My last day was a half day, and I had to leave for the airport around 1pm.

Challenge accepted!

I snuck out of the last class early, sat & spun & sipped another fabulous Vieux Carre (a bourbon cocktail originated at that very bar.)

I asked for late checkout so I wouldn’t have to drag my bags, ran across the street, and went for the jambalaya over linguine and the $1.50 Bloody Mary! (What?!)

Omg we love Mr B's! We discovered it by accident and went in thinking it might not be too good- as it was the only place with a table available with everywhere else booked up or having a long wait- but it was awesome! And the bread!!

Looking forward to hearing more about the spontaneous Disney trip! Staying on the Boardwalk is the best.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

This trip was so long ago, I’m having a hard time remembering little details. That may or may not have anything to do with Epcot drinks!

Seriously, I usually save all my receipts to jog my memory about various booths, etc. but I can’t find those right now.

I know I wanted a special dinner. We loved our first taste of Jiko a year earlier, and at the last minute, decided to do it again - late, so we’d be done for the day and full before bed.

We sat with the chef!

No big deal, just asked for a seat over there, no extra charge - what an experience! I highly recommend it.

This guy was awesome (and closer to last September, I remembered his name! Brian will probably remember.)

My natural inclination (thanks, Mom) is to feel like we are bothering someone or imposing in this kind of situation. The guy is cooking, after all! He’s at work, we didn’t pay extra for this. But he was so attentive, genuinely seemed to enjoy talking about food and Disney - and Brian being in a similar industry always gets along well talking shop with restaurant staff in their lingo.

Oh, dinner!

Holy appetizer!

My giant lamb - and I adore parsnip purée!

Brian had something, too. Whatever!

Plus, drinks. Wine pairings according to the menu, and my “smoked turkey” cocktail.

The whole thing was so good, one of those dining experiences we will always remember, like our 4 year anniversary at Flying Fish.

ETA: we were supposed to get on some kind of email list for Jiko dining events, but I haven’t seen anything come through yet.

Could this day get any better?

Random shot of the empty AKL lobby on our way out. Goodnight, AKL!