Trip Report We shoulda got the grouper! - F&W total domination

EDITED 07.07.17 - Photobucket has updated their policies so my photos aren't displaying. I'll try to switch them all over to Flickr eventually!

Hello, friends! It's been about a week since our trip and I figured I better do this report now before I forget everything. It was a fantastic trip (as usual), and we are already planning our 2017 trip. That one will be pretty big. We'll be celebrating our 5th anniversary and my 30th birthday!

I'll get to the explanation of the title eventually. It was a little joke with us on the trip, but hopefully it'll be funny to y'all as well

Day 1: Thursday

We got up around 4:15 to get ready to leave for the airport. We left out of the Memphis airport, which is 1.5 hours away. We figured that early in the morning the traffic wouldn't be bad, but we were wrong. They've been reconfiguring an interchange for a few years, and it bottlenecks really bad, apparently even at 6am! We had already gotten a late start because I left my AP and a giftcard at work and we had to stop by for them, so I was sweating when we hit that traffic. We still made it to the airport about an hour before takeoff, and Memphis security is really quick most of the time. So we got to our gate in plenty of time. Whew!

Here we go!

This is us on the plane, the fonorail and in line for the bus. The plane landed pretty early, but we didn't gain any time because we got lost finding the Magical Express. It's been 3 years since we flew down, so I had forgotten that you have to cross to B side

We hopped in line for the bus at 10:55 and were on the bus by 11! I also got the text that our room was ready, so everything was going super smoothly. I was just waiting for something to go wrong

The bus driver said the total route was 40 minutes, but we were the first stop, so it wasn't bad. Woot! We headed to our room at the Yacht Club to drop off our bags. We thought it seemed really far from the lobby because it was a lot of turns, but it really wasn't bad. I LOVED the lobby and the general atmosphere at Yacht Club. It smelled so good in there, I just wanted to bottle it up and use it as perfume

Here are some pictures of our room and the Yacht Club lobby

I want that headboard!



Bug spray that I didn't use...I'm the worst. Also, that lamp


The bathroom counters look a lot like my kitchen ones. My fav!


Didn't take a picture of the view, but it was just trees as you can see. It was unfortunately very close to the bus stop and some kind of loading dock, so it was pretty loud sitting out there on the balcony. I was able to tune it out though.


Here's a phone shot since I didn't bring a wide angle lens for my camera.


I wanted a picture with the captain, but I was too shy




This is R buying sunglasses. He realized after we were through security at the airport that he forgot his. We didn't think it was worth going back to get them, so he grabbed some at this gift shop before we left for Epcot. They were just as ugly as the ones he wears at home

That's it for now! I spent like an hour trying to get my pictures on Photobucket and organized, and they're still out of order. ARGH.

Up next, our first foray into Food & Wine Festival for the year!

 

[Trisha Lynn]

I really wanted to check out the pool. He has absolutely no interest in swimming or pool lounging with me, unfortunately.

My hobbit is the same way, though, I think we'll be so busy that I won't have time to be at the pool during our vacation next year. Might as well bring the suit, though...

 

[Doc Disney]

@Doc Disney had me wanting to try their pizza! We ate there on our honeymoon, and it was just ok. We weren't blown away, but we didn't get pizza (rookies).

Oh you mean because I eat there approximately once a month? hahah

 

[Tiggerish]

Loving your photos! So jealous of your safari--all the big cats!! And baby giraffe (and is that a baby elephant, too?).

I love all the offerings at the South Korea booth, although I'm not sure what "all" the offerings are now, last time I was at F&W the kimchi dog was being served at S. Korea, not "Africa" (totally agree with you on the need for quotes).

 

[sheriffwoody]

Loving your photos! So jealous of your safari--all the big cats!! And baby giraffe (and is that a baby elephant, too?).

I love all the offerings at the South Korea booth, although I'm not sure what "all" the offerings are now, last time I was at F&W the kimchi dog was being served at S. Korea, not "Africa" (totally agree with you on the need for quotes).

I think that was a baby elephant! Or at least a teenager. I just remember it being smaller.

I honestly can't remember if we had the kimchi dog before, but it sounds vaguely familiar, so maybe they had it at South Korea before like you said? It would make sense. I also don't remember ever going to those Refreshment Post places for F&W before, but they were in the passport, so we did.

 

[bee]

R thought the enchilada would have been better with a flour tortilla, but I disagree. I really like corn tortillas and I wish more places used them! They do fall apart easier, but I like the texture.

Corn tortillas all the way! My wife prefers flour but I think there's too much risk of them getting soggy and/or gummy, especially with something like enchiladas.

 

[Trisha Lynn]

I dislike the texture of corn tortillas and prefer flour. My hobbit is the other way around.

 

[MinnieM123]

Corn tortillas all the way! My wife prefers flour but I think there's too much risk of them getting soggy and/or gummy, especially with something like enchiladas.

I like both kinds (I'm fickle . . . ). When I go to a Mexican restaurant, I love getting some sort of combination plate with both corn and flour, and maybe one crispy corn taco shell to round out the selection.

 

[DisneyMorgan]

Still loving this! All of your Food and Wine pics are making me so excited for Monday!

That flyover.. we'll see if it helps! Hopefully it will. I'm just glad I don't have to take the interstate everyday! We're leaving the house a little early just in case there's any crazy traffic!

Yay!! IKEA!!! It opens December 14 I believe, but we probably won't make it there until January or so. I'm pretty sure it will be a madhouse,
especially where it is located, because that whole Wolfchase area is a nightmare anyway!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Still loving this! All of your Food and Wine pics are making me so excited for Monday!

That flyover.. we'll see if it helps! Hopefully it will. I'm just glad I don't have to take the interstate everyday! We're leaving the house a little early just in case there's any crazy traffic!

Yay!! IKEA!!! It opens December 14 I believe, but we probably won't make it there until January or so. I'm pretty sure it will be a madhouse,
especially where it is located, because that whole Wolfchase area is a nightmare anyway!

Oh yeah, I think I've decided I should give IKEA a month or two to calm down. haha! My best friend lives off Rock Creek Pkwy so I have to deal with that busy area pretty often :/

Have SO MUCH FUN at Food & Wine!! I am missing it so much.

 

[sheriffwoody]

Day 3: Saturday (again)

We rested in the room for a good hour, maybe longer and headed back at about 3. Our Frozen FP was for 2:45-3:45, so I figured we'd get there toward the end of it. I didn't feel rushed, so I made R stop for the Photopass picture on the bridge



He was irritated at me because he didn't want a picture to make us late for Frozen (not that he cares about Frozen, he just hates pictures). It was literally a 30 second stop. See what I have to deal with?

We got to Frozen with plenty of time, and I was so excited! I was way more excited to ride this than I thought I'd be when I first heard they were replacing Maelstrom. The idea has grown on me, and I guess it is what it is. Anyway, with our FP we waited about 20 minutes. We still got to see a lot of the queue, which I was thankful for. I like seeing all the cool details.





I really enjoyed the ride! The animatronics looked great to me, though in the few pictures I took, the faces flicker too much to get a good shot. Doesn't matter though, it's better to just enjoy the ride! I got chills during the part with Elsa. As much as I got sick of Let It Go, that song is designed to make you feel something, and it does! As you can tell from the ride photo, I couldn't remember how much of a drop we were in for . I thought it was bigger!

Anyway after our ride, we headed over to Italy for our reservation at Via Napoli that I'd gotten us earlier.



I'm trying to pick out a new chandelier for our dining room, and I swear I would instal this one if they'd let me. It's kind of hideous, but also pretty...somehow?

We waited about 5 minutes and then they called us. We walked in and off to the right in a little room. We were by the window where there are some tables outside. I didn't like that spot. It was super loud, and I like the big open dining area with the pizza ovens. Oh well! The waiter came over, and took our order. One he realized we were splitting a pizza, he kind of stopped paying attention to us .


Yummy sangria


Italian sausage. I think we got the 10", which I know is small, but we planned on having more F&W items.

Ok, this is going to break @Doc Disney's heart, but we were underwhelmed again. To be fair, we have some really, really good pizza places in town, and I know most people like what they get used to. I am used to more cheese, more topping and less burnt crust. I know the wood stoves do that, but the place I love in my town uses those exact same kind of ovens, and they don't scorch their crust. It was still better than any chain pizza I've had, but it didn't live up to my local favs. Oh well! I'm glad we tried it at least.

(@MorganInWonderland one of the places I like here is Rock N Dough, which started in Memphis. Have you tried it? We love it!)

Ok, so after our meal, which was pretty quick, we headed out. I got us a FP for Spaceship Earth earlier in the day, so we decided to make our way there. It was noticeably more crowded even than it was earlier that day. It was at the level of crowded where we got separated a few times, and there were groups everywhere who would stand in the path. It takes every ounce of restraint I have not to walk by those people and passive aggressively yell something about blocking walkways being the smart thing to do.

There was a short line at one of the booths as we walked by, so we hopped in line at Morocco

• Spicy Hummus Fries with Cucumber, Tomato, Onions and Tzatziki Sauce – $5.00
• Chocolate Baklava: Rolled Phyllo Dough with Toasted Almonds and Dark Chocolate Sauce – $3.95

This was another highlight of the festival for me! When I had the hummus fries at Spice Road Table last January, I was blown away. I need those in my life every day! I was so glad I could get them at the booth, and I kind of wanted more. I kept myself under control though. I also really love baklava, and this one was delicious! I don't remember it being a roll last year, so that was interesting. It wasn't nearly as rich as last time, which I appreciate. It's easier to eat it all when it isn't sooooooo sweet.

We didn't try any more booths over there, we were just trying to get the heck out and breath. It was seriously a madhouse!

We did stop by Wine & Dine since we skipped it the other time we were in that area.

• Pork Tenderloin with Cannellini Bean Ragoût and Zinfandel Reduction – $5.00
• Michael David Winery Seven Deadly Zins Zinfandel, Lodi – $4.50 (I think?)

This was forgettable.



We stopped in Club Cool next. I can't believe we didn't even know about this the first few trips! I love going in there now. We sampled a few of our favs, but didn't linger. I think our window for Spaceship Earth was getting close to closing, so we got our tails over there. R doesn't care for this ride, and I think that's ridiculous. It's so great!



A couple of my dark, grainy photos . R rolls his eyes at me for taking pictures on rides. I tell him I need them for the trip report!

When we got off Spaceship Earth, I wanted to go to the Festival Center. We'd been in the park three days now, so we could go get our Annual Passholder glasses! If you haven't seen those, here's a link. Since R had just upgraded, we were able to get two. We love them! I have them on the window sill above the sink.

We meandered around the festival center for a little while, and I think I got my Three Caballeros Food & Wine Festival pin. I LOVE it so much!! I had gotten the Yacht Club pin earlier in the trip, and I think at this point, I was officially hooked on pins. Taking after @DimpledDevil18!

As we headed back toward World Showcase, we decided to ditch Epcot for the night. I figured we would when I saw how crowded it was that afternoon. I still wanted to try Ample Hills and Abracadabar, so we figured we may as well do that.



It was a beautiful evening!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Day 3: Saturday (concluded)

Forgot to post this Photopass picture. We snagged this on the way out since I didn't get one with Spaceship Earth that morning. I like it at night better anyway.





We made it to the Boardwalk! We walked in and there was almost no one there, so that was nice!




It is so darn cute in there, and it smells amazing. I had a hard time deciding, but I've seen/heard several folks talk about the Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, so I got that. It was so much ice cream! R got the same thing, and we probably could have shared. We couldn't find a place to sit down, so we just walked around and ate. Once we were done, we headed into Abracadabar. I love the name. Love me some wordplay!



The atmosphere is amazing, and the design of the place is so stunning!



I realized after taking this that they had a better looking menu. I think this was a temporary one or something.



Pepper's Ghost and a Magic Mirror (with something added )




I had a saison and R had the same Petrus sour that he had at Ale & Compass.

And with that, we wrapped up our 3rd day! It was a wonderful day, and I felt like we got a lot accomplished. We were back in our room by about 9:30 and packed our bags to move resorts the next day.

Up Next: You guessed it, more Epcot!

 

[Tiggerish]

I'm trying to pick out a new chandelier for our dining room, and I swear I would instal this one if they'd let me. It's kind of hideous, but also pretty...somehow?

Have seen it in person many time, but I just now realized those are bunches of red & white grapes hanging throughout that chandelier.

As you can tell from the ride photo, I couldn't remember how much of a drop we were in for . I thought it was bigger!

HA! That made me laugh.

Pork Tenderloin with Cannellini Bean Ragoût and Zinfandel Reduction

I'm really surprised to read that it was forgettable. Your mad photo skills made it look delicious!!

It was a beautiful evening!

Gorgeous photo. Epcot makes for the best sunset shots.

 

[lostpro9het]

we were underwhelmed again

We're in the same boat as you!

 

[sheriffwoody]

I'm really surprised to read that it was forgettable. Your mad photo skills made it look delicious!!

Haha thanks! It wasn't bad, by any means. It just wasn't as good as a lot of the other things we tried. I'm not much of a bean person though, so that might have been my problem

We're in the same boat as you!

Ok that makes me feel better! I want to try some of the other Italian restaurants on property though.

 

[lostpro9het]

Ok that makes me feel better! I want to try some of the other Italian restaurants on property though.

Il Mulino!!!!

 

[Tiggerish]

Il Mulino!!!!

I need to be able to like this more than once.

 

[Tiggerish]

Haha thanks! It wasn't bad, by any means. It just wasn't as good as a lot of the other things we tried. I'm not much of a bean person though, so that might have been my problem

Ok that makes me feel better! I want to try some of the other Italian restaurants on property though.

I do love me some cannellini beans, so that might explain it.

And I'm also a member of the "underwhelmed by Via Napoli pizza" club. I'm not a fan of charred food.

 

[Trisha Lynn]

One he realized we were splitting a pizza, he kind of stopped paying attention to us .

Oh, I'm disappointed by this. Why would a waitperson do that? It's not like they work on commission, right?

 

[sheriffwoody]

Oh, I'm disappointed by this. Why would a waitperson do that? It's not like they work on commission, right?

I assume it's because he knew we wouldn't be spending as much, so his tip percentage would be less. I understand the logic, but I think it's a crappy thing to do.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I assume it's because he knew we wouldn't be spending as much, so his tip percentage would be less. I understand the logic, but I think it's a crappy thing to do.

He might have assumed that his tip would be less. Sometimes people who order less leave a bigger tip and sometimes people that order a lot leave very little tip. A savvy server should never make assumptions and take care of everybody the same or they might lose out.

I like your pics of the drinks at Abracadabar, I want to try this next time as well as Ample Hills but we might not have time. There is just so much to do there!