Wait while I take a picture, I cant eat any more, NO KIDS! Sept 2012 Trip Report

nngrendel · Sep 25, 2012

Okay. Time for Lunch at Le Cellier. Again I have been looking forward to this reservation for quite some time. Its been a long time since I had visited Le Cellier and I couldn't really remember much about it. However with all the reports and how hard it is getting this ADR I had my expectations very high.

My wife ordered the Wild Mushroom Filet Mignon Le Cellier “Signature Dish” served with Wild Mushroom Risotto and White Truffle Butter Sauce.

I have to say she was very happy with her dish. She loved everything about it and still talks about it today. She absolutely loved the risotto. I must say the same. Very good dish. Also if you love mushrooms you will go nuts over this dish. Portion size for me was a little small but it was for my wife and she felt it was plenty.

I ordered the New York Strip Steak topped with Bercy Butter served with Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes.

The portion size was about what I expected for lunch but I wanted the biggest steak they had to offer for the lunch menu and this was it. I felt the steak was no better than what you can get anywhere else for that matter. It was not as tender I would like my steak either. The Mashed Potatoes were nothing special either. To be honest this was just an average steak.

Maybe my expectation were just too high or something but felt this was just ordinary. Good but I expected more.

However the Cheddar Cheese Soup and the Pretzel bread was excellent.

My wife also got a side. She ordered the Poutine - Canadian cheddar, truffle salt and red wine reduction.

These were ordinary Potato French Fries until you get to what they are sitting on top of. OMG this was amazing! Although I was stuffed I couldn't stop myself from eating this. Plus the portion size was huge. I would share this as an appetizer next time. The Canadian Cheddar was awesome!!

Now we move on to dessert.
Wife ordered the Cheesecake - Topped with fresh seasonal fruit compote. Notice the Happy Anniversary white chocolate.

I decided to get the Maple Creme Brulee after our waitress raved about how good it was. Not that had room for it by this time but I was going to give it a shot.

I must say I was in awe. Loved every single bite of it. Had no problems finding room after eating everything we had. I was close to throwing in the towel but I pushed on. Mission accomplished. Another meal consumed and it was time to leave no matter how miserable I was.

I will continue later. Time to get something to eat.

soarin · Sep 25, 2012

nngrendel said:
Time for the next installment of my Trip Report. We are still on the first full day of our trip. I know I know. Hurry up already!
If you are just now joining us you can go back to my Arrival Day, Ohana, Night of Joy and 1st Day at HS by clicking on the links to catch up.

Now on to the evening of our first day. I am a bit excited as the rain has stopped now and we are headed to Epcot. My most favorite place at Disney! Not to mention 7:50pm ADR's at the Rose and Crown! Its going to be a great night!!

So after a short rest at the hotel room we freshen up, I clean off my memory cards for the camera, grab some fresh batteries, get my tripod and were off to Epcot! And before we know it here we are!

OH how I have missed you Spaceship Earth! There are a few pictures that are begging to be taken. Thank you to my wife for being so patient with me!

Since the line was not long we decided to go ahead and hop on! Always something I enjoy doing when arriving at Epcot in the afternoon.

Smile for your picture!

Thought this would be funny but it didnt capture my face for the designing my future thingy. Oh well we will just have to ride again to get it. No problem its my first day!

Here are a couple of on ride shots I got.

After this we built up quite a thirst. So there is only one logical place to go.....

Coca Cola Cool Spot to grab me a swig of that drink everyone loves!

Thats right!!

Notice the description for Beverly that it "stimulates the appetite before dinner." Glad I going to get some of this before my dinner at Rose and Crown!

And here we are!

Our ADR's were not for about another hour so we explored shops around the UK. We found Mary Poppins and Alice having a nice chat.

Shortly after this we heard the music start up. No longer the British Invasion its the British Revolution.

They even played Crazy Train. Too funny. Never would have thought you would be listening to Ozzy Osborne music at Disney World. Times change!
After the show I go ahead and check in for our ADR and explain to the cast member that sitting on the veranda is our desire. She was very understanding and said she would put that request in but couldn't guarantee it. However I wasn't worried and knew they would work us in.

We decided to go inside the pub to wait as the crowd was fairly light.

Then its time to order my Carl's Combo. Carl was not here this week.

If you do not know what a Carl's Combo is its listed as a Golden under the Pub Blends on the Beer Menu. It is Half Stella Artois and Half Bass Ale. I very much enjoyed this.

While enjoying my Golden I grabbed a few shots before they called us to our table.

More to come.....

I love a Golden! I can't wait to have one in 44 more days! Live the TR so far.

nngrendel · Sep 26, 2012

Continuing now after our lunch at Le Cellier.........

So were back out and stuffed! I really wanted to start my beer tasting but it was going to have to wait until some of this food settled down! So we just strolled around shopping in the UK for a few.

We also ran into Mary Poppins again.

Then its off to France. To be honest we havent really spent too much time in France but as we didnt have the kids with us this time we were able to stay awhile and not be rushed through by teenagers.

Were were just in time to see Serveur Amusant.

And then we were able to go see Impressions de France.

After checking out France and catching the movie we had managed to allow enough time to elapse so I could continue my beer tasting.

Wife wanted to try the Grand Marnier Orange Slush.

I grabbed a Kronenbourg 1664

So we decided to just sit back and relax awhile and enjoy our drinks. While sitting in the shade we noticed the Food and Wine Festival carts that were set up.

Doesn't that start this weekend?? Wish we were there!

Then we make our way to Morocco.

Enjoyed our walk and I believe this is the most I have ever explored this area.

Then we arrive in Japan.

And a visit to Japan isnt complete without browsing through the Mitsukoshi Department Store.

Then we make our way to the back to the Sake Bar.

Wife tried the Hana Awaka (sparkling sake)

And I tried out the Plum Wine.

Very sweet! That is my only comment.

While finishing up our treats from the Sake Bar we decided to check out the Ancient Stories to Anime Stars that is there now.

Im not into Anime but was fun to walk through.

Time to leave Japan but not before one more picture.

I will continue........

Cant believe I haven't made it to the next day yet.

nngrendel · Sep 26, 2012

Continuing around the World Showcase...

We didnt even stop in America this trip. We were meaning to come back but never got back there to visit The American Adventure.

Something for our return visit...

Next up in Italy.

Although I was trying to continue my beers from around the world I decided not to get a beer from here as we had future ADR's for Via Napoli so it would wait until we returned. We did however spend some time browsing shops.

The Ziti Sisters made an appearance and I was enjoying the show until they started getting people out of the crowd to help with the performance. Well..... I dont do well with being put in the spot when really not wanting to be put on the spot so we left in fear I would be dragged into the show. hahah.

So we went back to checking out everything in Italy.

I think they should put the mask where you cant touch them rather than put the sign stating to refrain from touching the mask in the back ground.

After this we walked over to Germany and thats where I will continue later......

myhappyplace · Sep 26, 2012

I always try to get a pretty shot of the masks, but have never succeeded. You have, though, sir! Lovely pictures and sounds like a lovely stroll through World Showcase

nngrendel · Sep 26, 2012

myhappyplace said:
I always try to get a pretty shot of the masks, but have never succeeded. You have, though, sir! Lovely pictures and sounds like a lovely stroll through World Showcase

Thank you. You're too kind. It was a nice stroll and such a change of pace from any other time we have been there. Its always rushed.

nngrendel · Sep 27, 2012

Continuing.

We noticed it was getting pretty late in the day and we still wanted to make it back to our room to freshen up before we headed out the the MK for our Dessert Party. So we didnt visit Germany this time around. I must say it wasn't easy just passing this all up.

On the way out we wanted to hit up Maelstrom

After Maelstrom it was time for one more beer before we left Epcot for the day.
A Carlsberg was needed to complete my day.

So we took another break enjoying a beverage. Wanted to take a picture of what I was looking at while enjoying this beer. Was great to sit back and relax here.

So now were headed back out of Epcot for the day. What a great visit and enjoyed our leisure stroll through the World Showcase. Great visit!

We were on a bus and back home at POP and welcomed with this.

Wife loved this and we brought it home. We asked housekeeping first of course if it was okay.

I will begin our visit to the MK and our dessert party next......

ctosh · Sep 27, 2012

I can't wait to heear about the dessert party.. please post lots of photos..lol We are considering attending it on our next trip down.

nngrendel · Sep 27, 2012

ctosh said:
I can't wait to heear about the dessert party.. please post lots of photos..lol We are considering attending it on our next trip down.

I have pictures of this. I didnt take lots of pictures of the dessert bar but did take quite a few of our view of the fireworks. I would say book this as soon as you can. Its worth it and being able to view the show away from the crowds makes it a no brainer. Also after the show no one rushes you off. It was a great place to sit back and relax and let the crowd leave. We will be doing this again.

ctosh · Sep 27, 2012

Thanks I will book it...I'm so excited

nngrendel · Sep 27, 2012

I have several threads here about how hard this is to book. I would start checking daily around 60 to 90 days out for availability for this. These book up extremely fast.

ExtinctJenn · Sep 27, 2012

I think it's a rule that you can't look "thrilled" when singing your national anthem...

nngrendel · Sep 27, 2012

So now were back at the MK.

I must say most of this trip it remained cloudy. There were brief periods of blue sky but for the most part it was cloudy. Not much rain during after that Sunday but really think it made the temperatures very nice for our week. I wasn't complaining. I think the cloud cover helped a lot.

The feeling of fall was all around. Love the Halloween decorations.

So the main reason for our visit here this night is for the Dessert Party. We were planning to visit the MK the very next day so were were not too worried about hitting any of the rides tonight. We just wanted to hit up Casey's Corner and then walk around until our reservation time. I was very excited about the dessert party. I had searched and searched for months on availability for this event and it felt like a huge accomplishment just to be able to book it.

So we decided to grab a hot dog at Casey's since it had been since noon that we ate lunch. I didn't think it would be wise to do on an empty stomach to the dessert party. On the way to Casey's I realized why it was such a big deal to have the dessert party booked. And this was why.........

Its only around 6pm and everyone is starting to gather for the parade. So happy we can relax and know we have great seating for the show. Maybe not so much for the Electrical Parade but thats okay with me. I want Spectro back.

So anyway were at Casey's.

I would have taken pictures of the awesome dog but it was so crowded there at this time. We were lucky to even find a seat so we could eat. I didnt even bother with my camera just ate and got out of there. Crowds were getting very thick at this time. We were ready to get out of there.

Great view from this area. No wonder these are great seats for Wishes. It was also kind of fun to see all the fighting ducks around this area and little kids throwing bread to them. Those ducks can get quite mean.

So before our reservations we decided to get a picture of us in front of the castle and its the same spot 4 years ago we had our picture taken right after I proposed. Right next to the rose garden.

Aint we nice!!

Then a quick ride on the TTA.

After our ride on the TTA were ready and we head off to get in line for our reservations for the dessert party.

I will continue this later. I have lost of shots from Wishes I would like to share and talk about our experience with the Wishes Dessert Party.

To be continued......

nngrendel · Sep 28, 2012

Finally after watching for availability day after day after day and finally being able to book the Dessert Party here we are. I have been wanting to do this since I found out about it just before our 2010 trip. I have to say this is something I would love to do again. There is nothing like being able to relax and watch Wishes. Not to mention woof down awesome desserts. I didn't really get a chance to hit the dessert bar as much as I really wanted to because I was so much into wanting to get shots of the fireworks. It was a very windy afternoon and most of my shots didn't turn out as good as I wanted but it was a great time.

So I heard through the grapevine that usually you are seated closer to the wall depending on how early you booked. Well our table was the very first table on the very first row! Awesome. Seems all seating for two is on the front row. Or thats how they had it set up for our party or maybe it was just me who was so excited to see our name up on the front row that I didn't notice anything else.

So directly in front of us our view was like this....

If you looked to our left our view was just like this....

Notice the crowd on the bridge waiting for the parade.

And if you looked behind us our view was like this.....

And if you looked down at our table it looked like this....

It made me smile....

Yummy!! Creme Brulee was good but not like from Le Cellier. Really enjoyed the desserts.

The crowd at this party was great too. They do allow people to stand at the wall during the firework show however they do not allow anyone to drag chairs up to the wall and watch the show. Just an FYI. You have to stand. The only thing that scared me during our party was we noticed a small Brazilian group entering in the party. When I say small group I mean like 10 or 15 people. They were very quite during the entire thing and caused us no issue. However after reading other horror stories here my wife and I did worry a bit. However everything went very well.

If you are thinking of doing the dessert party I say you need to book it. Just know this is very hard to book. Matter of fact the people sitting next to us agreed that they had to practically watch daily for this to open up. If catching the Parade is important to you then you may be slightly disappointed on your view for that. You are quite a way from Main Street. Although I could see the tall floats okay anything else was blocked off from the heavy crowd standing on the street. The music is piped in but the view is poor. However the Electrical Parade was not important to us.

Oct 2008 I proposed to my wife during Wishes so seeing Wishes again is always special. Enjoy...

Notice the blue and green streak in the top center of this picture. Thats Tinker Bell if you were wondering where she flies over. She was just over our head.

So Wishes was over and what better way to sit and wait the crowd out was to sit back down in our seats for the Dessert Party and just relax. They were in no rush to run people off and it was great to sit back and watch the castle. With that came a few more opportunities to take pictures of Cinderellas Castle.

We were the last to leave the area. I had to apologize to the photographer that Disney has at the Dessert Party as well. They are not allowed to leave until all guest have left. So when we packed up and walked out so did she. I told her I was sorry she had to wait on me and of course they said no problem. But just in case you were wondering if they have a photopass photographer there they do. For any other photographers reading this report I asked one of them what setting they choose to shoot. I was told they are not allowed to use manual and use automatic. I was shocked. Anyway.....

So I wanted to go get a picture of Tomorrowland. Well since we left after everyone else had cleared out this is the way I found the entrance of Tomorrowland.

I was so excited and at that point I knew it was going to be a great night to catch some shots of an empty Magic Kingdom. Those shots are coming up next......

disney1077 · Sep 28, 2012

nngrendel said:
Finally after watching for availability day after day after day and finally being able to book the Dessert Party here we are. I have been wanting to do this since I found out about it just before our 2010 trip. I have to say this is something I would love to do again. There is nothing like being able to relax and watch Wishes. Not to mention woof down awesome desserts. I didn't really get a chance to hit the dessert bar as much as I really wanted to because I was so much into wanting to get shots of the fireworks. It was a very windy afternoon and most of my shots didn't turn out as good as I wanted but it was a great time.

So I heard through the grapevine that usually you are seated closer to the wall depending on how early you booked. Well our table was the very first table on the very first row! Awesome. Seems all seating for two is on the front row. Or thats how they had it set up for our party or maybe it was just me who was so excited to see our name up on the front row that I didn't notice anything else.

So directly in front of us our view was like this....

If you looked to our left our view was just like this....

Notice the crowd on the bridge waiting for the parade.

And if you looked behind us our view was like this.....

And if you looked down at our table it looked like this....

It made me smile....

Yummy!! Creme Brulee was good but not like from Le Cellier. Really enjoyed the desserts.

The crowd at this party was great too. They do allow people to stand at the wall during the firework show however they do not allow anyone to drag chairs up to the wall and watch the show. Just an FYI. You have to stand. The only thing that scared me during our party was we noticed a small Brazilian group entering in the party. When I say small group I mean like 10 or 15 people. They were very quite during the entire thing and caused us no issue. However after reading other horror stories here my wife and I did worry a bit. However everything went very well.

If you are thinking of doing the dessert party I say you need to book it. Just know this is very hard to book. Matter of fact the people sitting next to us agreed that they had to practically watch daily for this to open up. If catching the Parade is important to you then you may be slightly disappointed on your view for that. You are quite a way from Main Street. Although I could see the tall floats okay anything else was blocked off from the heavy crowd standing on the street. The music is piped in but the view is poor. However the Electrical Parade was not important to us.

Oct 2008 I proposed to my wife during Wishes so seeing Wishes again is always special. Enjoy...

Notice the blue and green streak in the top center of this picture. Thats Tinker Bell if you were wondering where she flies over. She was just over our head.

So Wishes was over and what better way to sit and wait the crowd out was to sit back down in our seats for the Dessert Party and just relax. They were in no rush to run people off and it was great to sit back and watch the castle. With that came a few more opportunities to take pictures of Cinderellas Castle.

We were the last to leave the area. I had to apologize to the photographer that Disney has at the Dessert Party as well. They are not allowed to leave until all guest have left. So when we packed up and walked out so did she. I told her I was sorry she had to wait on me and of course they said no problem. But just in case you were wondering if they have a photopass photographer there they do. For any other photographers reading this report I asked one of them what setting they choose to shoot. I was told they are not allowed to use manual and use automatic. I was shocked. Anyway.....

So I wanted to go get a picture of Tomorrowland. Well since we left after everyone else had cleared out this is the way I found the entrance of Tomorrowland.

I was so excited and at that point I knew it was going to be a great night to catch some shots of an empty Magic Kingdom. Those shots are coming up next......

What beautiful pictures! I agree the dessert party is the best. I had the same table as you did, I was so excited about sitting in the front row. I remember in 2009 I made the mistake of waiting till the last minute to make the ADR and they had no openings for the whole two weeks I was there, I was so upset. So when I went last year I made sure I checked every day online to make the adr and sure enough I got it.

Allen C · Sep 29, 2012

Fantastic dark ride shots, awesome fireworks, and beautifully done HDR!

nngrendel · Sep 29, 2012

Allen C said:
Fantastic dark ride shots, awesome fireworks, and beautifully done HDR!

After looking at your Flicker page its awesome to get compliments like this from you. Im just learning actually. BTW your shot of the flag during the flag retreat is awesome. I tried to get good shots of this but was on the back side. Oh well next time. I didnt listen to my wife who told me to be on the other side. Shes so awesome!

nngrendel · Sep 29, 2012

disney1077 said:
What beautiful pictures! I agree the dessert party is the best. I had the same table as you did, I was so excited about sitting in the front row. I remember in 2009 I made the mistake of waiting till the last minute to make the ADR and they had no openings for the whole two weeks I was there, I was so upset. So when I went last year I made sure I checked every day online to make the adr and sure enough I got it.

Never wait until the last minute to book the dessert party. It books up crazy fast.

nngrendel · Sep 29, 2012

There is really not much more to say about the end of our night at the MK. However I took many shots of the park emptying out and I will share some of those. Its awesome to sit back and wait for everyone to leave. Seeing the MK almost empty at night was such a great experience. I also didnt know they did the Kiss Goodnight multiple times. I think we saw the Kiss Goodnight 4 times. Pretty cool!

After at least an hour of shooting it was finally time to say goodnight to the MK.

We were able to catch the last bus to POP for the night. One other benefit of waiting until late to leave is they had more buses going to the value's than the moderates so they told us to use like stop number 7 vs stop 18 to board our bus for POP. This happened at the MK and Epcot one night. So nice not having to walk all the way to the end of the bus stops.

Time to head back to POP after a long day visiting Epcot and the MK. The next day we will wake up and visit MK once again. That is up next.

myhappyplace · Sep 29, 2012

Gorgeous!!

Wait while I take a picture, I cant eat any more, NO KIDS! Sept 2012 Trip Report

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