Trip Report Everything is So Contemporary (Fall Anniversary Trip)

prfctlyximprct · Oct 11, 2015

Your food pictures are gorgeous! I love your trip report so much! I love that you wanted to punch the boat, definitely laughed out loud at that! I always wanted to avoid Food and Wine because I thought all the food carts out ruined World Showcase, but your descriptions of the details makes me wanna go! And man, I am craving a beer right about now!

Thanks again for sharing! So glad I stumbled upon your report!

sheriffwoody · Oct 11, 2015

prfctlyximprct said:
Your food pictures are gorgeous! I love your trip report so much! I love that you wanted to punch the boat, definitely laughed out loud at that! I always wanted to avoid Food and Wine because I thought all the food carts out ruined World Showcase, but your descriptions of the details makes me wanna go! And man, I am craving a beer right about now!

Thanks again for sharing! So glad I stumbled upon your report!

The food carts are integrated pretty well into World Showcase. I think it actually adds to the atmosphere in places! It's a lot of fun to see more countries represented. Thanks for reading! I could go for one of those beer flights too

MinnieM123 · Oct 12, 2015

Just scanned through your TR (I wish I had more time to read more of your commentary), and wanted to let you know that I really enjoy your photos! Even if I don't have the time to read the TR all the way through, what I can tell you is that (as the expressions goes . . .) each picture is worth a thousand words!

sheriffwoody · Oct 12, 2015

Day 6: Last Day

Can it be? Is it really our last full day at my favorite place?! Sadly, yes. And we were so exhausted already that we had to take it easy. Our original plan was MK in the morning, so that I could finally see the opening show, then Epcot for some food. Since we were up late, I proposed just skipping MK and sleeping in. Crazy, right? I don't regret it, because we felt refreshed and got to Epcot in time for some more food!

*Just a note. When I packed, I forgot my camera battery charger (despite actually marking it off my list). So my battery was almost gone by this day and I used my phone. Photos aren't so good

Would we make it through all the kiosks?

First up was Scotland, and I couldn't bring myself to try the haggis. This is the potato pancake with Scottish smoked salmon and herb sour cream, and it was very tasty! The salmon wasn't as tender as I would have liked, so it was difficult to cut, but the taste was great. The potato pancake was a bit like hash browns, but way less greasy. I also got an Innis & Gunn oak aged beer. Why? I DON'T KNOW. I've had this before at home, and it wasn't my favorite. I guess I just wanted something refreshing, and this was recognizable.

Canada: wild mushroom beef filet mignon with truffle butter sauce and the cheddar cheese soup. I thought the soup was yummy! My husband really enjoyed the mushrooms that came with the steak. The steak was delicious, but we don't get as pumped up about it since we have steak at home pretty often. Of course filet is an excellent cut, so this was nice and tender.

We wandered through the shops in most of the countries. I also enjoy walking around the UK. I love how secluded it feels over there in the gorgeous gardens.

I was really excited to try the escargot at France! It was a little underwhelming, but I'm glad I tried it. They mask any flavor the meat might have with garlic. So. Much. Garlic. The escargot reminded me a lot of little mushrooms. We took our garlic breath into the Impressions de France film. It was wonderful! I was really wanting to go to France after that (not that I didn't already...)

Well, while we're in France, we might as well grab some ice cream! Well, I did. I wanted to try a macaron sandwich last year, and it's been on my mind ever since. They had a peach (I think) one, so I got that one. It was so fresh and summery! The macaron was softer than I imagined, but it was yummy. This is one of those places where I really want to try everything. I sat outside in that courtyard to have my treat and enjoy the amazing atmosphere there.

At the Brazil kiosk we grabbed escondidinho de carne, a layered meat pie with mashed yucca. We tried the pork belly a couple of years ago, and I didn't love it. I did love this meat pie! I've never tried mashed yucca, but it was delicious. A couple of nice ladies shared a table with us while we ate. One of them was local and said she comes several times during the festival to sample the offerings. I was jealous! Also, at this point it had started raining, so we finished up our snack and ducked into Morocco for a little rest. It was amazing! It was so quiet over there.

On my list of places to eat is Tangerine Cafe, but if we keep coming during Food and Wine, that'll never happen! I just can't resist snacking around the world.

Belgium might have been my favorite kiosk. My husband was gracious enough to share a little of his chocolate waffle with me, and it was heavenly. I wish I'd gotten the one with the berries too! I was more interested in the beer flight though, which didn't disappoint. Belgium knows how to do beer! They were all wonderful. I wish I'd had enough room in my stomach left to get a full size of one of them.

Next up was the Morocco kiosk, where I got some baclava. This is my second favorite dessert after peach cobbler, and it was divine! It was a pretty huge piece, so I was feeling quite full after this. I musn't give up though!

We are huge sushi lovers, and this was pretty decent, especially coming from a kiosk. It was the spicy hand roll. It was also REALLY steamy outside at this point. I was having trouble holding it together, I was so full. We should have spread our eating out a little more in retrospect. After our little sushi snack, we went into my favorite shop in Epcot, the Japan shop! I could spend sooooo much money in there. If it hadn't been so hot out, I would have loved to get some candy. I just knew it would be a mess by the time we got back to the resort.

My husband wanted to try the Dogfish Head Sixty-One IPA since he hadn't been able to find it at home. I think he liked it! I'm not an IPA drinker, but this was one that I could actually enjoy. Some of them are too bitter for me. I'm fine with a bitter kick, but it needs to finish off smooth. I don't want to be still tasting it 30 minutes later.

At this point I was so over eating. I didn't want to see another bite of food, but my husband was fine, so we kept going. I felt like such a pansy! We got the ravioli at Italy. It was...fine. It was like eating a frozen lean cuisine

So, if you're going to the Italy kiosk, get something else. This is just boring.

I had to try some pierogi at Poland! I love kielbasa (and hate kraut with a passion), so I got the kielbasa and potato pierogi with caramelized onions and sour cream. I would love to try making this at home sometime.

At this point we passed up quite a few kiosks, so I had resigned to the fact that we weren't going to hit them all. I did want to try the Berbere-style beef tenderloin tips with onions, jalapeños, tomato and pap at the Africa kiosk though. The beef had great flavor! The pap wasn't my favorite, but the beef made up for it. At this point, I HAD to throw in the towel. Done. Done. Done. All that food out in the heat was just getting to me in a bad way. I think we were out there around 3 or 4 hours. I can't remember exactly.

We headed back to the resort via monorail. Rhett made me mad during the journey, so I was sulking. It was justified! But when we got off the monorail at the Contemporary, I had one of my favorite guest interactions.

So we got off and started walking toward the escalator. We were behind a little boy and his grandmother, and she was really slow. It's too narrow to pass people, so we just kind of poked along behind her. When we finally got to the escalator, she got on but the little boy balked. He was about 7 or 8 I'd guess. He was scared! The grandmother was worried because she'd already gotten on and couldn't come back up, so I just tried to convince him it wasn't scary. I think I said something about it being just like stairs except you don't have to walk. I offered to show him how to get on there. He looked up at me and said "will you hold my hand?" It was the most pitiful thing! Poor kid. So I took his hand and we rode down the escalator. I told him it'd be fun to jump off at the end, so we did. Hopefully he has gotten over his fear now! :joyfull:

Up Next: Anniversary dinner

ScarletBegonias · Oct 12, 2015

Loving your report so far! You guys are making a pretty good dent in the food kiosks.

Mickey2422 · Oct 13, 2015

I think Belgium might be my favorite booth as well - love all the waffles and beer!!!

MinnieM123 · Oct 13, 2015

sheriffwoody said:
When we finally got to the escalator, she got on but the little boy balked. He was about 7 or 8 I'd guess. He was scared! The grandmother was worried because she'd already gotten on and couldn't come back up, so I just tried to convince him it wasn't scary. I think I said something about it being just like stairs except you don't have to walk. I offered to show him how to get on there. He looked up at me and said "will you hold my hand?" It was the most pitiful thing! Poor kid. So I took his hand and we rode down the escalator. I told him it'd be fun to jump off at the end, so we did. Hopefully he has gotten over his fear now!

Oh, that is a sweet story. How nice of you to help out the little fella, and I'll bet he rides escalators now with confidence, thanks to you.

Love your food pictures by the way; they're making me hungry!

sheriffwoody · Oct 13, 2015

MinnieM123 said:
Oh, that is a sweet story. How nice of you to help out the little fella, and I'll bet he rides escalators now with confidence, thanks to you.

Love your food pictures by the way; they're making me hungry!

He was just so precious! Also, thanks

I need to start finding recipes for some of that stuff!

sheriffwoody · Oct 14, 2015

Day 6 (continued): Anniversary dinner

We had a few hours between getting back to the resort and dinnertime. Since I sweated so much at Epcot, I took a shower and then laid down for a nap (I was still mad at my husband from earlier, so I figured I'd get over it if I napped). I think I slept for an hour, but the loud pool noises from outside woke me. I wanted coffee, but I'd already packed mine up, so I headed down to the Contemporary lobby for Joffrey's. I got iced coffee, and a couple of guys in front of me seemed to have gotten the same. All three of us were at the counter dressing up our coffee and they asked me what was in the carafe I was using. I told them cream, and they asked if that helped cut the bitterness (the guy I talked to was British, so I wonder if he was used to tea). I assured him it would, and we laughed about how awful the Joffrey's coffee is :joyfull:

It truly is terrible, but when you need a little caffeine boost, it'll do.

I also still needed to get some souvenirs for my boss's kids. I'm not a suck up, I just have a soft spot for them. Their youngest is going through treatment for ALL, and Make-a-Wish is sending them to Disney World next fall. I figured some gifts would get them pumped up about it! I also found something for my little sister, and of course myself

. I got the attraction poster pack. 14 posters for $20! I thought that was a great deal, I just need to find somewhere to put them.

At this point, I headed back to the room and finished getting ready. We didn't have an easy way to get a picture, so behold our messy room! And check out that curved wall. It's so contemporary.

We had one shot because I was afraid the battery would die (it was already flashing red). It turned out ok!

We headed over to the Contemporary to be let up to Cali Grill. Now, I don't feel like I can do this experience justice with words, so y'all just trust me when I say it's 100x better than what I'm going to make it sound like. We got checked in and they confirmed we were celebrating our anniversary (it was actually a few days after this, but we'd already be home by then). We rode up the elevator with a cast member and our hostess walked us to a table in the very back left. She gave us a lot of info about the restaurant on the way over, and was very sweet. I think her name was Dorothy? I should have written it down!

At first I was disappointed that we weren't in the other side of the restaurant with the MK view, but when I realized how loud it was, I was glad we were in the secluded room in the back. They informed us they usually keep this area kid-free so that it's more relaxing.

They gave us Mickey confetti on our table. So cute! I put a piece in between my phone and case, so I can look at it and remember this awesome night. I know, I'm weird.

Our view on this rainy, stormy evening. We could see Spaceship Earth and the Orlando Eye from there.

We had to get some sushi! We're big sushi fans, and despite the astronomical cost of these, we couldn't leave without trying some. We got the Dragon roll, and it was small but delicious.

We ordered a couple of beers. I always feel a little less than classy getting beer instead of wine, but I can't even pronounce 99% of the wines I see on menus, so I just stick with what I know. Our amazing (amazing is an understatement) server started our pours for us and brought us some yummy bread.

My husband is obsessed with that salty butter. Ok, let me pause here to talk about the experience so far. There were only about 5 tables in our little room and two servers, Lisa and Ryan. Lisa was our server and she treated us like family from the time we walked in. I loved chatting with her, and she had the perfect balance of friendly conversation and letting us enjoy our meal. I can't remember if she gave us suggestions from the menu, but we pretty much knew what we wanted anyway. I wasn't in the mood for red meat, so I got the Bell & Evans chicken and my husband got the bison striploin. Mine had EXCELLENT flavor, but the chicken was a bit dry. I still enjoyed it a lot. The veggies and sauce were spectacular.

I've become a Mary Blair fan recently because of her connection with Disney, and I was excited to see this next to our table when we came in. I was 99.9% sure that's who it was, but I asked just to confirm. Lisa and Ryan were shocked that I knew who she was! I was hoping they would know somewhere on property where I could buy a print, but they didn't. I just really loved this little detail and history in the restaurant, and the new carpet is a derivative of this painting (I assume...it's close to the same design, but not quite).

At this point, I felt like I was going to explode I was so full! But our sweet, sweet server wanted us to have an anniversary treat, so she brought us this

It was a BLT flatbread, and it was delicious! I wish I hadn't been so full and could have enjoyed it more. We also got a dessert beer...hey, we're celebrating over here!

This was yummy! It was a perfect closer for the meal.

At one point while we were waiting for our food, another couple came over and said they heard us say we were celebrating. They thought honeymoon, but we told them it was our anniversary. They were on their honeymoon! We chatted for a minute and congratulated each other. It was so nice of them to come over, but we didn't realize until later that they had given us their leftover dining credits (they were leaving the next morning). WHAT?! I felt bad that we didn't know that before because I would have hugged them. Maybe that's why they didn't tell us

. When they were leaving, they told Lisa they had extra credits and asked her to pick someone to use them, and she chose us. Talk about some pixie dust! I don't think I realized they let people do this, but I was thrilled.

So, random couple from Detroit, if you're on these boards, thank you SO MUCH for your generous gift!

I had planned on us spending $200ish dollars here, and our bill was only $40 (beers). We live pretty comfortably, but we live a simple lifestyle, rarely spending extra money (except on beer, clearly). It's just the way I was raised, so it was kind of making me nervous to drop so much money on this meal, and I didn't end up having to do that. It was a huge blessing! I had to fight to keep back some tears.

I kept looking for a manager as we were leaving to compliment Lisa, but it was kind of chaotic out there. We just headed back to our room until Hallowishes was set to start. It was raining hard, so I wasn't sure it would happen.

The rain stopped, so we headed on back up! I guess they remembered us because we didn't show them anything to get back on the elevator. We went to the viewing area on the left (not the side closest to MK). I like the view there better! There were a bunch of people with their tripods out blocking the view on the other side. Hallowishes was delayed by about 20 minutes, but we got to see it! It was an amazing view, and of course I was having to hold back dancing and singing along. I love this show so much!

My camera died after dinner, but I had to get a shot with my phone. It was such a romantic and perfect end to the evening. I will cherish this anniversary celebration forever, and I'm not sure we can ever top it.

Up next: One Last Glance

fractal · Oct 14, 2015

Great pics, and how awesome to have someone else treat your anniversary dinner!

Mom@disney · Oct 14, 2015

What a beautiful night! That was really nice to have someone else treat you to dinner. I always say good things happen to good people

ScarletBegonias · Oct 14, 2015

That was so sweet of the couple to do that! Made a nice dent in your cost!

bee · Oct 14, 2015

I love that the couple you met treated you to your dinner! That is so cool!

When we ate at CG in February we were also in the back left corner. We may have even been at the same table as you. We were a little disappointed at first but we loved being able to see Spaceship Earth since we love Epcot so much, and definitely noticed it was quieter.

Tuvalu · Oct 14, 2015

It's called the Monterey Room. We dined there in August, Ryan was our amazing server :joyfull:

. We have dined in the main dining room three times (twice with a window table) and will always pick the Monterey Room from this time forward!

sheriffwoody · Oct 14, 2015

Tuvalu said:
It's called the Monterey Room. We dined there in August, Ryan was our amazing server . We have dined in the main dining room three times (twice with a window table) and will always pick the Monterey Room from this time forward!

Thanks for the info! If you dine in there again and have Lisa, tell her I said hi :joyfull:

. I think we'll have to make Cali Grill a tradition from now on.

MotherofaPrincessLover · Oct 15, 2015

Your trip sounds awesome. It really makes me want to head down to F&W someday!

sheriffwoody · Oct 15, 2015

MotherofaPrincessLover said:
Your trip sounds awesome. It really makes me want to head down to F&W someday!

Thanks for reading! I definitely recommend it. It's a lot of fun. I wish we'd had even more time to try more of the offerings

MinnieM123 · Oct 15, 2015

Very nice vacation pictures you shared.

Just wanted to mention that I am also a Mary Blair fan! What a pleasant surprise to see her photo on the wall. I'm always awestruck when I see her 90-foot high, "Mosaic" tile masterpiece in the Grand Concourse Lobby, at the Contemporary. As you probably know, she completed that mural in 1971, in time for the opening of the hotel at WDW. I also enjoy her influence on Small World and various other Disney (and Disneyland--I've only seen in pictures) attractions.

Tuvalu · Oct 15, 2015

For you Mary Blair fans, @sheriffwoody and @MinnieM123 ~

This hangs in my kitchen :happy:

Tuvalu · Oct 15, 2015

And this one is in the study ~

Trip Report Everything is So Contemporary (Fall Anniversary Trip)

prfctlyximprct

Well-Known Member

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member

MinnieM123

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member

ScarletBegonias

Well-Known Member

Mickey2422

Member

MinnieM123

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member

fractal

Well-Known Member

Mom@disney

Well-Known Member

ScarletBegonias

Well-Known Member

bee

Well-Known Member

Tuvalu

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member

MotherofaPrincessLover

Well-Known Member

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member

MinnieM123

Tuvalu

Tuvalu