Follow me to the Boardwalk! 10/23 - 11/7 UPDATED 4/13 BEACHES & CREAM

[dawnmichele]

Oh my goodness, I just finished lunch and you're making me hungry again already!! Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[jesswindsor]

I love your reviews!!! I can't wait to read more!!!

 

[Lori74]

where is the refreshment cool post? elephant calling my name

 

[Arielle71]

Subscribing! And I've been following your daily highlights on instagram...might try to do do the same on our trip !!!

 

[jabead]

Delicious updates! You tried some of my favs

Now that I'm back I need to get caught up on your dining report to compare our notes on the F & W Festival booths!

Following

Subscribing! Hi Barb, I've been enjoying your pics on Instagram. Looks like a wonderful trip! -Michelle a/k/a michwild123

Thanks for following along on Instagram! It was really hard to choose just one photo to post each day from the 100's that I took. I'm glad to have you here too, thanks for subscribing!

I always love your reviews! Can't wait to read along.

Thanks so much!

Oh my gosh, I'm going to have to try that Frozen Brown Elephant! I love Amarula! Had it for the first time at Victoria Falls Lounge at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

I thought I might make it back there again for another one but sadly never did. Hopefully since the Refreshment Cool Post is a permanent kiosk at Epcot, they will continue to offer the Brown Elephant even after the F & W Festival is over.

I was eyeing that Frozen Brown Elephant when I was there but didn't get it. will have to in the future. also loved the chilaquiles and warm chocolate pudding

Yes, I'm hoping the Brown Elephant will stick around after the festival is over.

Another great update that is making me oh so hungry. Especially that carrot cake, totally drooling over it. What is the liquor in that coke? Didn't know there was a liquor out there I hadn't tried, but apparently there is ; )

Amarula is a cream based liqueur from South Africa that is made from the fruit of the African marula tree (hence the name I guess ). To me it tasted similar to Baileys, so in other words...it's pretty good stuff!

Looks like you made some good choices already! I would try every one of those things!

I only made one more visit to the booths and it too was pretty successful. Only ran into one thing that day that was bad, the rest was all good.

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Following along! Can't wait to see all the deliciousness you enjoyed on your trip.

Love it!! And thanks for following!

Following along for another great dining report from you! All the F&W stuff is of special interest to me as I finally get to attend it about a year from now.

I'll do a full review of everything I tried from the booths. I also attended two of the special lunches (both Italian), a Party for the Senses, and the Swan & Dolphin Food and Wine Classic so I'll be reviewing those as well. And of course, there will be lots of photos to look at!

Oh my goodness, I just finished lunch and you're making me hungry again already!! Can't wait to hear all about it.

Glad to have you here! Get ready for lots more food photos coming your way!

I love your reviews!!! I can't wait to read more!!!

Thank you so much!

where is the refreshment cool post? elephant calling my name

It's a permanent kiosk that is located in World Showcase just as you round the corner between China and Germany. Enjoy!

Subscribing! And I've been following your daily highlights on instagram...might try to do do the same on our trip !!!

Hi Gisele! I for one would love to see photos from your upcoming trip on Instagram!

 

[jabead]

I'm back but unfortunately brought along an unwanted passenger with me...and no, it wasn't one of the hitchhiking ghosts from the Haunted Mansion. Instead it was a nasty cold. But I'm finally starting to feel better today and nearly caught up with the huge pile of paperwork that accumulated on my desk while I was gone for two weeks. So hopefully I'll be able to kick off this dining report either tonight or tomorrow. Because of the time factor (as I think this will only be held through Dec. 30th), I will begin by reviewing the Merry & Bright Dessert Party which I attended on the final night of my trip.

So Next Up: Merry & Bright Dessert Party

 

[vettegirl]

Awe hope you feel better! I can't tell you how many times I have returned from WDW with either the flu or a cold

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Ugh - hate bringing home sickness from WDW! Brought home the worst sick I have had in a long time in August! Looking forward to your reviews ... especially curious about the Merry & Bright Dessert party as I booked the M&B Dinner Reception for our very suddenly planned quick trip to say goodbye to the Lights!

 

[WildGinger]

Ugh, that stinks. I hope you feel better soon! Were you at Epcot on 11/4 for Illuminations? We had a FP and I wonder if that was you? LOL!

 

[jabead]

Awe hope you feel better! I can't tell you how many times I have returned from WDW with either the flu or a cold

Yes, it was no great surprise that I came home with a bug after being there for two weeks. But even so, it was still totally worth it!

Ugh - hate bringing home sickness from WDW! Brought home the worst sick I have had in a long time in August! Looking forward to your reviews ... especially curious about the Merry & Bright Dessert party as I booked the M&B Dinner Reception for our very suddenly planned quick trip to say goodbye to the Lights!

So happy to hear that you will be seeing the lights one last time! I thought about you and the rest of our group who saw the lights together in December 2013. I missed you guys!

Ugh, that stinks. I hope you feel better soon! Were you at Epcot on 11/4 for Illuminations? We had a FP and I wonder if that was you? LOL!

Oh my gosh, YES!! I wish you would have said hello. But how about the FP line that night? I thought I was going to reach Mexico before I found the end of that line.

 

[jabead]

You may recall from my report intro that when I heard that this would be the last year for the Osborne Lights at Hollywood Studios I extended my trip by 4 days in order to be there on the official opening night of Friday, Nov. 6th. I also reserved (and prepaid $69, including tax & gratuity) the Merry & Bright Dessert Party to try and avoid much of the probable large crowd that would be in attendance on opening night. Here is the description of this special event from the official Disney World website:

‘Tis the season for the ever-popular Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. And to add even more magic to your holidays, treat yourself and your family to a decadently delicious dessert party in a special reserved viewing location set apart from the crowds. Guests also receive a heart-warming keepsake—a custom roll-up stadium blanket!


So I was super excited about my opening night dessert date with the amazing lights. And to be honest, feeling pretty proud of myself and my Disney "smarts". Well, that lasted until Monday, Nov. 2nd. As I was sitting at a picnic table in the American pavilion area at Epcot enjoying my carrot cake from the Hops & Barley booth, I was joined at the table by a very nice couple. We struck up a conversation, and I soon discovered that they had a daughter who was a DHS cast member. She had told them that the Osborne Lights would be in soft opening all week, and in fact they had already seen the lights the night before. How had I completely forgotten about the Disney "soft openings"? So my forgetfulness cost me an extra four days at Disney World. Ummm...darn it!!


So anyway, I had other plans that night (Monday) but on Tuesday I made my way over to DHS to take part in the "sneak preview" of the lights.




It wasn't very crowded so I thoroughly enjoyed this visit to the lights. Actually I enjoyed it so much that I almost lost track of the time and missed my dinner reservation.


So when I attended the dessert party and saw the lights again three days later it seemed a bit anticlimactic. Especially since this second time around there was an insane amount of people there. In fact, when I arrived at around 6:00 (just before the lights were turned on in a special opening night ceremony) the Streets of America area had apparently already reached capacity level and the "on deck" area around the corner was crammed full of people impatiently waiting to get in. I was stuck in this area, worried that I wasn't going to be able to make it in before the dessert party started at 7:00. But thankfully after the "lighting ceremony" the crowd started moving slowly and I eventually made it in and found my way to the gated area underneath the big blue globe (located at the end of the street, in front of the entrance to Lights, Motor, Action! show).




I got into the short line that had already formed for the dessert party and was there for only a few minutes before two CMs with a list of participants reached me and marked my name off their list. They gave me this sticker to put on, which would allow me to reenter the special reserved area if I should decide to venture back out into the mob of people in the street...which I DID NOT!





Oh, and the sheet which had the sticker affixed to it also had a coupon to redeem for the souvenir stadium blanket once we were allowed in. And we also received a pair of 3D glasses to view the lights. Here is a photo of the royal blue blanket I received, which has a pocket attached with the Osborne Lights 2015 logo printed on it...



On a cooler night, the blanket would have come in handy. But since it was in the 70's (even after sundown) there was no need for a blanket. So the souvenir was tucked away in my bag and later that night was packed in one of my checked suitcases. Boy was that a mistake! The next day while sitting on a freezing airplane for 4 1/2 hours (I wasn't able to get a cheap non-stop flight when I changed my return date) I would have paid another $69 for that blanket.


But anyway, the party was scheduled to begin at 7:00 but according to the time on my first party photos we were allowed in much earlier...at about 6:35, which made me very happy! Tables were not pre-assigned, all were first come, first serve. So I chose an empty table that had a pretty good direct view of the street and plopped down my bag in a chair to stake my claim, which is what everyone else seemed to be doing.





A few more photos of the view from my table...



Since the reserved area was located behind the "Merry Christmas" lights, we had a backwards view of them...





From what I could see, all of the tables were the same size and had 4 or 5 chairs so I fully expected to share my table with others. However, that didn't happen for probably about an hour, as it seemed to take awhile before many of the party guests arrived.


Believing that the Alcoholic Beverage station would be the most popular one, that was my first stop of the evening.



I think they had only these three bartending stations and three bartenders manning them so I was probably right to hit up this station early. Here was their drink menu:




Even though it was a balmy Florida night, I couldn't resist getting the hot chocolate and Bailey's. My next stop was at a nearby station that had two huge bowls of what looked like cobbler, but they called them pies.


Peach Pie topped with Old Fashioned Pecan Sugar Crumbs



Caramel Apple Pie


Both of these were served warm. Oh, and as an added bonus there was a CM at this station who was dishing out scoops of vanilla ice cream for those of us who like their pie "a la mode". It was a tough decision since both pies looked great, but I chose the Caramel Apple Pie with a scoop of ice cream, of course!



Warm Caramel Apple Pie a la Mode and a cup of Warm Mistletoe (Hot Chocolate, Bailey's and White Chocolate Syrup)

The pie and ice cream were delicious! The spiked hot chocolate was tasty but it was just too warm outside and I soon decided to seek out a cold beverage. Before finding a tub filled with small bottles of water and cans of soda on ice, I first tried one of the beverages from the Non-Alcoholic Beverage Station...



I also filled a plate at the Holiday Themed Dessert Station. Here are some photos of the treats offered at this station...


Stuffed Wreaths - Chocolate Cake Wreaths stuffed with Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles



Cup of Christmas - White Chocolate Peppermint Mousse with Green and Red Sugar (Gluten-free)

A Present - Coconut Cake with Bow




Red Shiny Things - Lemon Curd with Raspberry Glitter Glaze



Light Bulb Eclairs - Light Bulb Color Dipped Eclairs

Crispy Gifts - Colorful Rice Crispy Bon Bons

I passed on the coconut cake and lemon curd desserts, but tried one of each of the other four.



Along with these desserts I tried a glass of the Rosy Cheeks punch (Passion, Orange and Guava Juice with a touch of Grenadine) but it didn't seem to pair very well with the desserts so switched to an icy cold bottle of water. As for these desserts, the chocolate wreath one was pretty good. The chocolate hazelnut center tasted like Nutella so if you are a fan then you will surely enjoy this dessert. The other three desserts were nothing special and consequently I only took a few bites of each. IMO, the best dessert of the party was the one I started with, the warm caramel apple pie. And my four tablemates agreed with my assessment. Speaking of which, I was just beginning on my plate of desserts when a woman approached me to ask if the other four places at my table were taken. I welcomed her and her three girlfriends to join me. The four of them were so nice and I really enjoyed our conversation, which included comparing notes regarding the food and beverages. A couple of them tried the lemon curd dessert that I didn't have and thought it tasted weird. One mentioned really liking the eclairs, while I thought they were just so-so. But as I mentioned before, we all really enjoyed the caramel apple pie! So if you attend one of the remaining dessert parties and the caramel apple pie is still offered, be sure to give it a try. Oh, and one more interesting tidbit regarding my tablemates is that one of them (Faith D. of South Carolina) was actually one of the roughly 50 official Disney Parks Moms Panelists. I felt like I was dining with a Disney celebrity! Faith was super nice, as were her three friends and I was very happy that I was able to share a table with them.
So was the Merry & Bright Dessert Party worth its $69 price? On this night, the official opening night of the Lights, I believe it was. It was so nice to have a place to sit down and enjoy the music and lights away from the chaos that was taking place throughout the night out in the street. At the end of the party, which was at park closing time of 8:30, the crowd had finally thinned and I was able to walk down the street without getting up close and personal with about a thousand other people. If this had been another, less busier night would the party been worth $69 for me? Probably not. But then again, with this supposedly being the last year for the lights, will there ever be a night when it is not busy? I guess that's the $69 question.

​

Next up: Breakfast at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater

 

[vettegirl]

I am so on the fence about doing the dessert party. I really don't eat a ton of desserts but the idea of a nice table to relax at does sound appealing.

 

[dvc4life]

So glad to read your report on the Dessert Party. We have been contemplating it. While we are not big dessert eaters either, that apple pie looks amazing. So I will talk to DH about it and we will probably pass, but it is a nice idea though. Just really bummed that this will be the last year for the lights. That is why we are going. December 10th. Can't wait!

 

[rteetz]

Looks great! I unfortunately will never have gotten to see the lights in person but I will have just deal with that I guess. Hopefully someday they come back in some form. The dessert look great and that pie looks fantastic. Whats wrong with an extended Disney vacation

 

[momof3princes]

So sorry you brought back sickness with you from your trip! I always say the combo of lack of sleep and being around so many people is a recipe for disaster!
The dessert party looks great, even just from a place to sit and enjoy the lights and music. I would think every night of this last year will be mobbed. The desserts looked good too, especially the caramel apple pie

 

[samsteele]

I was at WDW roughly during the same time frame as you were and also was at the official opening night of the Lights. I left DHS for dinner at Cape May and then re-entered the park around 7pm. I agree, it was packed. I had no idea about the soft opening earlier in the week and could have kicked myself when I found out from others that Fri night. However, so worth going back through security/bag check to see the Lights one last time. I left by 7:30pm as it was my last night and I had to pack for an early flight home the next morning. Like you, I also picked up a nasty cold but fortunately it didn't hit until I was on the plane home. It will be fun comparing notes. It looks like I ate at a number of different restaurants but always wonderful to see something different as it encourages me to try something new for my next vacation!

 

[blrem]

Wow - your reports, details and pictures are truly one of the best I've found - including guidebooks! Thanks so much for all the great info!!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Thanks for the review, I have never been to one of the dessert parties around the world. I was able to see the Osborne lights last November so very glad I saw them then, love your pictures, makes me get in the Christmas mood.

 

[kastoney]

Welcome back, hope you're feeling better.

my forgetfulness cost me an extra four days at Disney World. Ummm...darn it!!

Which my forgetfulness equated to four extra days at disney ; )

Believing that the Alcoholic Beverage station would be the most popular one, that was my first stop of the evening.

Ah a woman after my own heart, when in doubt start with booze.

Here was their drink menu:

These sounds awesome and much more appealing than some of the dessert party options.

I also filled a plate at the Holiday Themed Dessert Station. Here are some photos of the treats offered at this station...

These look absolutely delicious. Too bad the taste wasn't the same.

So was the Merry & Bright Dessert Party worth its $69 price? On this night, the official opening night of the Lights, I believe it was.

I'm not all that familiar with the holiday event as we've never visited during November or December. Does the part just give you access to a private area to view the lights? Does anything else happen while you are there, besides food of course?

 

[pangyal]

Thank you for this wonderfully comprehensive and helpful review! I was leaning towards cancelling our booking for this, but now I am on the fence again. If only for the eclairs lol.