Trip Report Food & Wine with a Long Line, but plenty of Sunshine! (and beer)

Trip reports are great and there's so much to know...
climb aboard explorers, its time to gooooo!

Welcome everyone to my overdue trip report! Apologies again for the delay and for a complete lack of updates and pics while we were actually in WDW, but there was a reason for that. Well, it was actually due to a mistake but we turned it into something new for us in terms of this TR. Allow me to explain. About an hour after we were on the road my wife turns to me and asks, "did you grab the camera bag out of the office"? I paused, then slowly turned my head to look at her as my bottom lip rolled up against my teeth in the manor which you make an 'F' sound. It was like the scene in the movie Christmas Story when Ralphie slowly says, "ffffffffudge". Although I didnt say fudge, well neither did Ralphy actually, but anyway... we realized that we had left our camera back at home. Ugggghhhhhh! There was no way I was turning around since we were already an hour into the trip. We both had our phones and we figured it would have to do.

Then she drops another bomb on me. She reminds that her phone memory is full and she cant take pictures. She had an issue syncing her iphone to her laptop to transfer pics and after a long call with tech support they told her she would have to bring her phone in and they would take care of it. Of course she hadnt brought it in yet which left us with one phone capable of taking pictures for the trip. I recently upgraded to the LG 4 (or whatver its called) and it has a great camera and decent battery. In that moment, my phone became Obi-Wan Kenobi because....it was our only hope! So after a short discussion we decided that the best plan was to take pictures and video and conserve battery whenever we could which would mean not going online to often, especially Instagram, which for some reason is a battery killer for my phone. No Instagram! This was gonna be tough, lol. Then my idea for this TR was born. We wanted to take more videos this trip for Food and Wine and I proposed that we do a mash up of a normal TR mixed in with some videos and reviews. We thought when we returned home we could do a video review of both of us going over the events of the day as well since we wouldnt be able to get everything on film in the event my phone died during the day (which it did, EVERYDAY!)

So thats how this bad boy is gonna roll! We will write a summary of the day with pics and then add our video at the end which will be us at home going over the day. We made the first video last night and had a lot of fun. It took several attempts because Akira and the cats decided to all act up once we started (youll see in the video). But if anybody doesnt like videos or doesnt want to watch, I understand. But if you wanna get to know us a little better, give the vid a try. Hope you guys like it! Im gonna post this part now and then begin day writing day one and post it within the hour. Sorry for no pics in this part, I just wanted to explain what we would be doing. There is plenty of good stuff ahead, dont worry!

 

[MississippiBelle]

Very sorry to hear about your sister. I know Disney is a very family oriented vacation for my family as well, I haven't been without my parents and brother present yet and still can't really imagine going without one of them! Know that when you do decide to go back to Port Orleans, we are all thinking of you and sending you love! Loving the trip report so far! Y'all seem like such a fun couple!

 

[MinnieM123]

I understand what you're saying about memories of your sister at WDW. I've been through similar recollections about my mother, when I've visited WDW many years after her passing away. Those fond thoughts will manifest themselves from out of nowhere, too. However, there's one memory that's consistent, year after year. It's when I walk down Main Street USA and look at the castle; I always "sense" that she's still there walking alongside me, enjoying the view.

 

[fractal]

Sorry about your sister. Enjoy the wonderful memories.

 

[wdisney9000]

Thanks for the all the kind words about my sister. I know many of us have loved ones that we wish we could share the magic with just once, or just one more time, but thats part of what makes WDW so special. It evokes such a warm loving feeling when you are there that I believe can allow us to open our hearts and minds a bit more than normal and perhaps thats a conduit for our loved ones to be closer to us or send us little messages in the form of a memory or emotion. I think there is so much more to reality and the world as we know it that you cant dismiss anything like that. And if its merely just electrical impulses in the brain causing a reaction that results in emotion, Im fine with that too. Its the emotion and the memories that are important. But thank you all very much for your kind words and thoughts

So....., back to the trip........

After leaving MK we got back to our room at BCV and it was probly around 1 pm-ish. I recall our Biergarten reservation was around 2-230 pm. We enjoy it for lunch because its sooooo much food that you have the rest of the day to walk it off and its usually about $10 cheaper person for lunch hours. So we relaxed for just a bit and sat on our huge patio. We grabbed quick showers even though we had just showered that morning. I like to feel fresh and clean when we leave the room and plus I had packed more clothes than needed so I wanted to wear a new short I had bought. I had scoured the mall the day before the trip looking for summer clothes but the mall had already shifted to winter stuff so I was very happy I found a few shirts and this one in particular was in the goldy lox zone, you know..., just right. Fit perfectly, comfortable and looked great on me (at least I think so). So with my awesome new shirt on, we poured a few beers for that very short walk from the resort to International Gateway, lol, and we headed out. We Hit the Intl Gateway entrance and headed for Germany.



We

 

[wdisney9000]

Biergarten contd....


Sorry for brief last post. One of our laptops (the one i prefer to use) is an old Gateway that runs Windows Vista. Google and Microsoft do not even send out updates for it anymore, lol. I prefer it because its a good lil computer and it has several of the programs I use a lot but when it comes to uploading pics or linking to youtube I have trouble because there are no recent updates to allow Windows Vista to do it. We have a new laptop but I just cant stand Windows 10. Id rather use this one and deal with all the issues.than mess with Windows 10. Im slowly learning Ubuntu so I can just move away form Windows completely.

So we got seated after a short wait and our table was on the left side of where you walk in. If you have eaten at Biergarten then you know you get seated at a big table with several other groups. Its always a toss up of what kind of crowd youll be sitting with. We hit the jackpot this time! (no, this isnt the celebrity we met, but that wil be up shortly). We were seated at a small table with a younger guy and girl. After we introduced ourselves they told us they were both CM's. The guy had been working at Disney for several years and the girl was from Australia and had worked a year. She was a character CM ( Minnie, Winnie the Pooh, etc) They were cool and not afraid to dish up a lil WDW dirt. They told us all kinds of stories of rude guests and the crazy things they had to deal with. Apparently a lot of people just use the bathroom wherever they feel like it. In the bushes, in the lakes, on the rides!!! They told us about how since FP+ had started that people will just say and try anything to avoid a long line. How people would literally get upset with them and tell them how much they paid for their trip and they shouldnt have to wait in line, or that they are with Make a Wish and their child has access (even though they didnt have the proper paperwork or CM escort). Stories of horrible maintenance and rides having issues all the time behind the scenes. The guy even had a few cool stories about George (the POTC ghost). They also had plenty of nice things to say about working at WDW. The parties at the Disney dorms and what not, meeting a lot of new people and getting to visit the parks whenever they like. They said even though they see all the backstage stuff every day that when they visit for fun, it didnt spoil the magic.
'
We did actually eat and drink too, lol. I ordered the half liter of Hefeiweizen and my wife got the smaller one

We had a great time and the food was good as always. Didnt catch much of he show as we were intently listening to all the CM stories. Before we knew it, nearly 2 hours had flown by and the place was almost empty and getting ready for the next crowd. We said our goodbyes to our new friends and finished our beers.

With full stomachs and a good buzz we set out to walk it off around WS. We hopped around the pavilions browsing the shops and enjoying the atmosphere of WS. Its such a great place to just sit on a bench (or a rock since the benches are so few) and talk and relax with a good drink. We walked thru the former Stave Church that is now a Frozen shrine with just one or two actual Norwegian relics. She got a picture of me as I shook my head in confusion for loss of what was once a nice cultural (real) experience, hahaha.

Disney and its army of defenders can try and force all the "inspired by Norway" crap they want, but that will never fly with me. Its lazy, unimaginative and disrespectful to the very same people who defend it because Frozen and its fans deserve much better. Ahhh, I got that off my chest....for the millionth time, lol. No disrespect either to anybody looking forward to the new ride. Im not hating on the ride. We will most definitely ride it, and probly enjoy it (for what it is). My frustration lies more with the decision and placement. But I digress and I will keep any further rants in the Frozen forum. I still think its crazy the mods locked the construction thread when some new random guy started crying and whining EVERYDAY about off topic discussion. There was 2 pages to catch up on and he was crying that he didnt have the time to go through all the chatter to find an update. Anyway.....

We strolled around for a little while and I think we rode TT and Nemo. Cant remember cuz my phone was dying and I didnt take any pics. I know we rode something, lol. So we made our way back to the room because we wanted to hit Crews Cup Lounge at Yacht Club to watch some Football. We fell in love with YC many years ago and I would hit Crews Cup to grab a beer and watch baseball or football while my wife would chill in the room and do her crossword puzzles (she LOVES them). About 2 years ago, she joined me to watch a football game and really enjoyed it so now its kinda become a tradition to watch an NFL game at Crews Cup together. It may seem odd to ditch the parks and go watch Football which is something you can do at home, but for us, taking a little time to do the same things we do at home, but do them at WDW, really slows down the pace of the day and the trip as a whole. I love the feeling of putting my feet up and kicking back knowing my resort room is around the corner or we can head back to the parks if we choose to later. I cant get that feeling when Im watching a game at my local sports bar, or I usually prefer the pizza place around the corner from our house. Granted, we have visited many, many times since we live close so its easier for us to not feel pressured to get a lot done because we know we will back soon. It does drive my brother absolutely insane though. He is the SUPER DUPER planner with Excel spreadsheets and all to manage the time. I send him pictures of us doing random things like riding the bus to AKL just to get a few beers at Victoria Falls Lounge (our second fav). He will actually call me to explain how much time we are wasting. The typical call goes something like this... "The bus ride is twenty minutes each way, thats 40 minutes total. Your there for two hours! So now its close to three hours total. Do you know how many rides you could have done in all that time!!! Why do you even go to Disney if your just gonna waste half the day!!!" He seriously gets upset, and its absolutely priceless.

So We hit the room to freshen up and got to the lounge and snagged our favorite spot, a small sofa with a table facing the bar. Its the best seat in the house, IMO. They usually have Sam Adams on tap so I ordered the seasonal and she got a Sweet Water to support our home town brewery. She even slipped in her tradition of telling me I am #1

So after about an hour or so she ran back to the room to grab her phone that had been charging and also to grab two beers that we could drink on our way back to Epcot (please dont judge us, haha, we were on vacation). While she was gone, I noticed a couple walk in and they were dressed very nice. The man looked kinda familiar but I couldnt place him. I assumed they had a reservation at Yachtsmen Steakhouse and were waiting for their table. I am always pleased to see people adhering to the dress code and the wife had a nice dress on but there was nowhere to sit. I offered them our sofa since we were leaving shortly and they politely declined. I told them I insisted and that my Mother would smack me upside the head if I didnt offer my seat to a lady in need. The sofa was big enough for three people and there are chairs on the side as well. They obliged and offered to buy me a beer. Of course i said yes! They introduced themselves, (Graham and Jodi). He pulled a chair up on the side of the sofa and we all sat down together. He asked the server (in his brittish/australian sounding accent) if we could pull another chair around because his "agent" was joining them. Hmmmmm, agent? the plot thickens. He didnt say "agent" in an arrogant way either. Shortly after that, his agent arrived and joined us. They were very polite and aksed where I was from, what resort we were we staying at, etc. I complimented them on their attire and told them my pet peeve of people violating the dress code and wearing flip flops and shorts into a place like Yachtsmen. They laughed and told me how they 100% agreed and they see it every time they visit WDW. So we are laughing and having a good time drinking our Sam Admas and then my wife walks in with the back pack full of beer and gives me a "whats going on" kinda look (in a nice way). I introduced my new friends and now they insisted she have a beer with us all. Of course she was game. So about 20 minutes go by and they asked if wed like to have another drink. I said of course, but didnt want them to miss their reservation. His agent stood up and said , "ill be right back". So Graham ordered another round of beers and a glass of wine for his wife. A few moments later his agent returned and said he had the reservation pushed back, I was impressed. So I asked how often they visit and his wife said, "Every October for the last several years when he performs for the Eat to the Beet concerts". Again, it wasnt in an arrogant way at all. So I asked, "are you in one of the bands?" He replied , yes, Im in a band called Air Supply, your probly to young to know who we are, he said with a chuckle. I laughed and said, I may not have recognized you by your face, but my mom used to make us clean the house with her for hours and play every type of music you could imagine and she loved Air Supply. I said the only one I could name was "Lost in Love", but I knew a few others, just not the exact name. He was surprised I knew anything about them at all.

We wound up spending about another hour hanging out with them. It was awesome. After awhile we told them we did not want to hold them up for their dinner and Graham said not worry as he looked at his agent with a grin, who then told me they could could walk in whenever they were ready. His agent was great, he just kept ordering drinks for us all as we chatted away. My wife and Jodi were talking about fashion, since my wife works for Chanel and us guys talked about music and booze. They were telling us about the perks they get from Disney as far as a nice room and dinners and drinks at places like Yachtsmen. He told us plenty of "touring during the 80's" stories as well. It wound up being a great evening. So after about an hour of kicking it with one of the founders of Air Supply!!!, I decided it would be best if we made or move to head out first as to not seem like we were trying to hang around them too long once we knew who they were. We took a picture together and said our farewells and they headed over to have their dinner.

After they left, My wife was sifting through the back pack looking for something and then Jodi (his wife) walked up to us and handed her a piece of paper with her cell phone number on it. She told us to call her and they would love to have us at the show backstage to hang out again. We were FLOORED. We acted cool though, or at least I think we did, lol. We had just said to each other how we hoped we hadnt acted to dorky with them. We thanked her and told her we would be in touch.

So after our second fun sit down of the day (first the CM's then Air Supply) we strolled to Epcot (and yes, we drank our now warm beers on the walk). We caught some of Illuminations and hung out back by Canada pavilion and the waterfall. It was great end to a really fun, long day.

 

[LisaBelle]

I am enjoying your TR. My sister and I loved Biergarten when we visited back in February. Love your story of sitting with the CMs and hearing all about what goes on backstage. OMG! You met someone from Air Supply! I am old enough to remember them. I even went to one of their concerts. What an awesome experience!! Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Tuvalu]

I knew exactly who you were talking about when you said Graham! I was a big Air Supply fan back in the day myself. So fun that you guys got to hang out together! And see what your brother misses when he stays in the parks doing the commando thing!!???!!!

Chillin' at WDW can't be beat.

 

[bee]

OMG! What a story!

Also loved the bit about your brother and the spreadsheets. I make spreadsheets too but they are more general and I don't stress over deviations from the plan.

PS I have the same Star Wars shirt as your wife and so does my wife!

 

[lostpro9het]

Sorry for brief last post. One of our laptops (the one i prefer to use) is an old Gateway that runs Windows Vista.

I'm sorry...

 

[MinnieM123]

They told us all kinds of stories of rude guests and the crazy things they had to deal with.

That must have been quite the interesting conversation with the CMs at your table. I am appalled at what they have to deal with there from (some) rude/classless guests, on a daily basis. At least they also had some positive stories about guests as well.

I ordered the half liter of Hefeiweizen and my wife got the smaller one

I don't think I've ever seen such a large "glass" of beer in my life!!

We walked thru the former Stave Church that is now a Frozen shrine with just one or two actual Norwegian relics. She got a picture of me as I shook my head in confusion for loss of what was once a nice cultural (real) experience, hahaha.

Ugh. I'm "bracing" myself for what they've done there . . .

It may seem odd to ditch the parks and go watch Football which is something you can do at home, but for us, taking a little time to do the same things we do at home, but do them at WDW, really slows down the pace of the day and the trip as a whole. I love the feeling of putting my feet up and kicking back knowing my resort room is around the corner or we can head back to the parks if we choose to later

I think it's a great idea to step away from the parks for a while and do something else. It's kind of a nice little break and makes you feel even more excited to return to the parks after that. When I'm at WDW, I take a break every afternoon (if for nothing else--to get out of the hot sun), and chill out in my hotel room for a few hours. I always get my "second wind" that way, and look forward to returning to the parks afterwards.

"The bus ride is twenty minutes each way, thats 40 minutes total. Your there for two hours! So now its close to three hours total. Do you know how many rides you could have done in all that time!!! Why do you even go to Disney if your just gonna waste half the day!!!" He seriously gets upset, and its absolutely priceless.

This is hysterical. I think you and your wife are a bit more like myself, in that you take in all aspects of the WDW "experience" whether that is a ride on a bus (looking out the windows along the way), or a leisurely stroll along a walkway you've never seen before, etc. In my earlier years visiting WDW, I was probably more gung-ho every minute, but now, I savor all the sights and sounds, while still enjoying the rides, and shows as well.

Oh, almost forgot--I was so happy for the two of you meeting a member of Air Supply!! Aren't you lucky!!!

 

[fractal]

Great update! You were blessed with two rounds of wonderful company that evening.

I was a young teenager when Air Supply was hot. Many awkward slow dancing to their music. lol.

 

[sheriffwoody]

That's such a neat experience you had!! I love meeting people at WDW that you hit it off with, even better if they're in a great band haha.

I got that same beer you got at Biergarten, but we were only there for about an hour, so you can imagine how I felt walking out of the park with a half liter of liquid and 2 lbs of sausage and potato in me. I thought I was going to explode before I got to the park exit! I was determined not to be one of those hoodlums puking in the bushes though.

 

[DisneyJeff]

Hey @wdisney9000 , I just came across your trip report and love it. Your style of touring is right up my ally. I was thinking about doing a monorail pub crawl myself this August. I was trying to find a way to throw the Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness in there as well.

 

[bee]

SB! Green Flash Tangerine IPA, 6.5% ABV

And from last night, Einstöck Doppelbock, 6.7% ABV

 

[wdisney9000]

SB! Green Flash Tangerine IPA, 6.5% ABV

View attachment 141990


And from last night, Einstöck Doppelbock, 6.7% ABV

View attachment 141991

Great beers! Green Flash is one of my favorite breweries too.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

So cool you met a celebrity! Sounds like you guys had a great time!

 

[me_stitch]

more, more, more

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 4...

Today we hit Animal Kingdom in the morning and then we head over to Epcot for some Food and Wine action in the afternoon. We made a few videos of the different food samplings with a quick review of each. Hope you guys and gals enjoy!

After (another) looooooooong evening of drinking the night before we were up fairly early to get to AK. We did our usual routine and hit the bus stop after geting ready. Skipped coffee as we were looking forward to visiting the new Starbucks in the park. One of our favorite things about Animal Kingdom is hearing Hapa Duniani begin to play on the speakers in the bus as you pull into the entrance for the park. Its also the same song you can hear on the Safari. For us, it really sets the tone for the time we will spend at AK. It puts us in such a good mood. We love the song so much that we will randomly sing (our horribly twisted version) at home sometimes. My wifes version is just singing " Ah boom boom boom, Ah boom boom boo-oo-ooom. For anybody not familiar with the song, here is a quick video I took as we pulled in.

We got inside and b-lined it for Starbucks. Coffee deprivation can really start to set in for us after an hour of being awake! We both thought the new location was very well done. I admit I moaned at the first rumors of Starbucks in the parks but theyve done a great job keeping it discreet. The AK one is especially nice. We got our usual orders and found a seat outside to relax.

After coffee we deiced to check out the new areas

Very cozy little market place. We strolled around while we finished our coffees and then pounded a few waters so we could get ready for a few beers soon. We had already drank a few bottles of water each, which we do every day we drink to prevent dehydration. So without any delay we went for our first drinks of the day. We seriously enjoy our beers at AK. Its something about the environment that is so relaxing and inviting to just sit down and take it slow.

Kingfisher Lagers all around!!! We had FP+ for EE so we sipped our beers on our way over there. Breezed thru the FP+ line and grabbed a quick picture.

She used to be terrified of roller coasters (well, she still is) but she loves Everest. She will NEVER open her eyes on the lift hill but Im proud of her for getting over her fear a few years ago when she first rode. She always says that she trusts a Disney coaster and none else, lol. So for this next picture Ill give you a quick back story. Like many others, we enjoy doing silly things for the on ride photos the various rides have. My brother and I mainly are the ones who try and come up with something. So for this trip I thought it would be fun to bring the phone from our resort room with us and get random pictures with it.

As I was getting the picture of this, there was a British man who said out loud, "look at that chap, he is on the tellie"! I was cracking up. This would would not be the last time I would hear someone say something about the phone.

When we entered the park, I had the phone in our back pack. The security guard pulled it out and gave me the most odd look. I kinda just stood there in silence to see what he would say. After a few moments, he holds the phone up to his ear and then says to the other security guard, "here, phone call for you"..the other guard looked over and sees a corded phone coming out of the backpack and made the funniest expression. We had a good laugh and he was cool about it.

So next up was Dinosaur. Of course we needed to refuel on some beer so we stopped at one of the small spots outside of Restaurantosauras. She had the Sunfish beer, I had the Sunset Ale. They were very good.

As we were sitting there we had one of those Disney moments wen you over hear something funny from another family. A little boy and his mother walk up to the window to place an order. He tells his mom he wants a drink and she points to the beverages. He begins to read them out loud, "bottled water, coffee, Sunfish draft beer....Mom, I did not like that one last time" the mom starts cracking up, as do we. Then the boy continues reading, "Sunset Ale....I didnt like that one either, I do not like beer". We just cracked up as the mom explains to him that he has never had it and he responds with, "well, I still dont like it". It was a great show as we drank our beers that he obviously did not approve of.

We finished our drinks and hit Dinosaur. We debate which ride like we best at AK but I always get excited for Dinosaur. Great queue,great pre-show and AWESOME ride (especially when everything is working). We often recite the line form the pre-show, "access denied".

We saved the Dinosaur and I made a call right before the meteor struck.....

After Dinosaur, we took some time to browse around all the shops. We had a FP+ for Safaris I think, or maybe it was Bugs Life, I cant remember but we wound up skipping it to just chill in the park and relax. We planned on hitting Epcot for F&W later since the weekend was over so we even skipped my wifes favorite place to eat (Yak and Yetti QS) She loves the honey chicken. We didnt want to be too full for F&W. It may seem we had a short day at AK but we were actually there for a good amount of time. We didnt take too many photos because I didnt want to have to wait an hour in the room for my battery to charge. We were planning on making some video reviews of F&W booths, which will be coming up in the next segment!!! We did a grab a snack when for the bus ride back tho. We cant resist the big doughnuts...

Thanks as always for following along and we will have some fun time at Food and Wine next!!!!! have a great day everybody

 

[Tuvalu]

OMG that phone!!!!!!

 

[wdisney9000]

OMG that phone!!!!!!

Hahaha, glad you enjoyed it, you guys/gals will be seeing a lot more of that phone for the rest of the trip. It became a game of sorts to find stuff to do with it.