Social Disney-ing...a Feb/March 2021 Chunky Birthday trip! COMPLETED 8/28!!

[MrsPMcD]

Back on the DIS after quite a break but loving catching up on your trip reports. Over in Scotland so still waiting for things to open back up, trip reports are giving me my WDW fix!

I really had the most amazing birthday

Disney birthdays are the best and this looks like such a great one!

After a couple of hours chilling we got ready to head out that evening for a quick jaunt around Epcot and to say hi to our CM friend David who works over at Martha's Vineyard at the Beach Club.

This made me smile so much! We love David and I've been hoping he had kept his job, so glad to hear this great news. We are booked for 2 weeks in Sep 2022 (Beach Club!) so can't wait to get back to the Yachtsman and hopefully see him back in his usual haunt!

 

[disneyforsix]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I'd heard that too. Makes me wanna go there and drive for Uber/Lyft and make a gazillion bucks!! LOL!

I know right? Esp after next year when you have to PAY for ME, you might as well take an Uber! I suspect the Uber and Lyft areas will be packed and that will NOT be fun!

Probably with crowds galore now.

I'm sure!

At the Italy Pav. Gelateria.

“Affogato” Espresso Gelato,Fresh Italian espresso poured over vanilla gelato with an amaretto cookie
“Affogato” Espresso Gelato, “Affogato” Espresso Gelato
$11.75

Thank you! On my list!

I've gotten behind but now I'm caught back up. Lot's of great food in Epcot. I'm not an oyster person but the ones you got look pretty pitiful. My girls love the Chargrilled oyster they get at our local place and look 10x better than those. That's a poor representation of food from Louisiana. I didn't sample any of the food you did so I really missed out.

Epcot usually has such great food but those oysters are definitely a miss! I'm sure Louisiana is reeling LOL

Nice pics of you two!

Thank you!

I was going to say....aren't you a little casual for a Signature? I know they let people in who are even more casually dressed than you two, I've seen it. Bit I really wish more people respected upscale restaurants and dressed the part. Just yesterday I heard that many restaurants have dropped the dinner jacket requirement for men because the practice of providing loaner jackets isn't safe post covid.

Ah I see. That's too bad. I usually always dress a little nicer for dinner, but we do notice people in shorts and t shirts all the time at signatures! Sometimes it's unavoidable especially when transportation is so slow there's not time to go back to your resort and change!

I think I'd rather have the ice wine straight up rather than as a cocktail. And I love my straight up vodka martini!

You can have both and have a deconstructed ice wine martini!

I almost thought that looked perfect until you got to the coconut part.

Ah yes you and @pkondz aversion to coconut!

They're so sweet with the birthday surprises!

I have a great Disney group family and friends!!

I'm not sure that I would be able to finish all that over the course of the trip!

Er...we did not finish everything. Except for the Strawberries and Champagne!

You can just cancel your ADRs and just stay in the room!

Trying to figure out a way to stay there forever LOL!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Back on the DIS after quite a break but loving catching up on your trip reports. Over in Scotland so still waiting for things to open back up, trip reports are giving me my WDW fix!

Aw thank yuo so much! I'm glad to help spread the Disney joy after a rough year and probably for the next few years too
Wow Scotland! Bucket list destination for me! I'd love to visit one day!

Disney birthdays are the best and this looks like such a great one!

They indeed are the best kind of birthday!!!

This made me smile so much! We love David and I've been hoping he had kept his job, so glad to hear this great news. We are booked for 2 weeks in Sep 2022 (Beach Club!) so can't wait to get back to the Yachtsman and hopefully see him back in his usual haunt!

Aw how cute! Another David fan, yay! We're seeing him in July! I've heard the steakhouse will open soon too, but who knows at this point!

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for reading!

 

[Dugette]

Just caught up. Love reading about Epcot Flower & Garden! Gorgeous pictures and the food booths are getting me excited for F&W during our next visit (late August).

 

[chunkymonkey]

Sorry about the lengthy delay between posts! Just been very busy that's all. Hope to finish this TR soon so I can get to work on my Chunkysis's Birthday Trip TR!

Part 10: Flower and Garden continued

After doing some rides we continued our walk back to World Showcase. I slowly checked off more stuff to eat from the Garden Graze as well as the Spike the Bee challenge.

I got the Grilled Baby Vegetables with Hummus Cream and Red Pepper Coulis from Flavor Full Kitchen. So I thought that this dish would be my least favorite because, well, it just sounded so boring! Grilled vegetables? Blech. But I was wrong, it was really good! Hot off the grill and just cooked perfectly! I asked them to leave off the red pepper coulis because I don't like red pepper and I thought it was perfectly seasoned as is and the hummus was creamy and complemented the baby vegetables well.

Continuing our walk around the World for the first day of Flower and Garden...we got some dessert at Refreshment Port. This was the trio of popsicles. They were mini sized and so cute!

Popsicle Trio: Honeydew, Raspberry-Mint, and Coconut-Lime

I can't say which one I liked the best, they were all pretty good, very refreshing and had unique flavors that you don't normally have every day.

We stopped in World Showplace to check out the offerings.

We weren't super hungry anymore at this point but we did try the Watermelon Salad with Pickled Onions, Feta, and Balsamic Reduction. Always a nice and fresh salad!

Here are some Photopass pics we took that day:

And here's some shots that I took. Look at that sky!!!

Would be so perfect minus the Stargate and tacos!

I was quite enamored by this pizza-shaped purse! Very cute but not very practical LOL!

We headed out and back on the Skyliner to the Riviera because we had dinner plans at Topolino's! I really love this restaurant and love it even more when we are staying at The Riviera, LOL!

I was a bit tired though but the perfect pick me up was an ice cold Almond Cold Brew while soaking in the tub.

Steve thought it was a good time to do some laundry too so while he was doing laundry I got ready.

Ready for Dinner!

I love it when I just have to walk indoors and take and elevator to dinner LOL

We started with the delicious Epi Bread and glasses of wine:

For appetizer we shared the Escargot, which is served in-shell at Topolino's

For a main, I got the Rigatoni with Braised Chicken Sugo, Broccolini Rapini, Wild Mushrooms, Parmigiano-Reggiano which never disappoints, it's so rich and so delicious!

And Steve got the grilled Tomahawk Veal Chop with Potato-Spring Onion Gratin and Lemon-Veal Jus

He really loved this! It was very tender. We don't eat a ton of veal and I think this is the first time we've ever had a veal "chop" - usually we've had it milanese style or like veal marsala over pasta. We got it medium rare like how we get a steak, as per our server's suggestion, but I think having it medium will be fine too.

Since it was so late, we didn't want dessert but I got a birthday madeleine anyways!

Its so lovely outside on the patio, I think it's a must do when dining at Topolinos!

It was a great day filled with plenty of delicious food and it continues tomorrow with lunch at Via Napoli!
Stay tuned!​

 

[pkondz]

Sorry about the lengthy delay between posts! Just been very busy that's all.

That's okay. Life happens.

I got the Grilled Baby Vegetables with Hummus Cream and Red Pepper Coulis from Flavor Full Kitchen. So I thought that this dish would be my least favorite because, well, it just sounded so boring! Grilled vegetables? Blech. But I was wrong, it was really good! Hot off the grill and just cooked perfectly!

I don't think I'd order that, but... it does look good!
So maybe I would!

This was the trio of popsicles. They were mini sized and so cute!

Yum! 2/3 of that sounds great!

we did try the Watermelon Salad with Pickled Onions, Feta, and Balsamic Reduction. Always a nice and fresh salad!

I like that one too.

That looks almost real.

Love this shot of you guys.

And here's some shots that I took. Look at that sky!!!

Very pretty!

Would be so perfect minus the Stargate and tacos!

I was a bit tired though but the perfect pick me up was an ice cold Almond Cold Brew while soaking in the tub.

Ah... love a good tub. I might have something else to drink, though; not being a coffee drinker.

Ready for Dinner!

You look very nice.

For appetizer we shared the Escargot, which is served in-shell at Topolino's

oooooohhhh.... Loooove a good escargot.

For a main, I got the Rigatoni with Braised Chicken Sugo, Broccolini Rapini, Wild Mushrooms, Parmigiano-Reggiano which never disappoints, it's so rich and so delicious!

That looks super rich! But...

And Steve got the grilled Tomahawk Veal Chop with Potato-Spring Onion Gratin and Lemon-Veal Jus

But... I think I'd order this. It looks amazing.

 

[DisneyDillyDally]

.

 

[Tracy161]

Yay! Was so happy to see an update from you, Su-Lynn! What a great way to finish off the day at Epcot and your dinner sounds lovely

 

[suse66]

After doing some rides we continued our walk back to World Showcase. I slowly checked off more stuff to eat from the Garden Graze as well as the Spike the Bee challenge.

I love those fun challenges...such a great way to explore around World Showcase.

I got the Grilled Baby Vegetables with Hummus Cream and Red Pepper Coulis from Flavor Full Kitchen. So I thought that this dish would be my least favorite because, well, it just sounded so boring! Grilled vegetables? Blech. But I was wrong, it was really good! Hot off the grill and just cooked perfectly! I asked them to leave off the red pepper coulis because I don't like red pepper and I thought it was perfectly seasoned as is and the hummus was creamy and complemented the baby vegetables well.

I would love that!

Popsicle Trio: Honeydew, Raspberry-Mint, and Coconut-Lime

Mmmmmm!

Here are some Photopass pics we took that day:

Great pictures!

I was a bit tired though but the perfect pick me up was an ice cold Almond Cold Brew while soaking in the tub.

Perfect......love a nice soak in the tub.

Ready for Dinner!

I love your dress!

We started with the delicious Epi Bread and glasses of wine:

Oh my gosh, that looks fantastic!

For a main, I got the Rigatoni with Braised Chicken Sugo, Broccolini Rapini, Wild Mushrooms, Parmigiano-Reggiano which never disappoints, it's so rich and so delicious!

Yum....that would be right up my alley!

Since it was so late, we didn't want dessert but I got a birthday madeleine anyways!

Cute!

 

[Wood Nymph]

And here's some shots that I took. Look at that sky!!!

The early evening sky in Epcot on several nights of our trip in March was just gorgeous.

Ready for Dinner!

Cute dress

Its so lovely outside on the patio, I think it's a must do when dining at Topolinos!

It is really nice to have the restaurant inside the resort building. The view from the restaurant must be amazing, especially at night. I'm sure it is better with fireworks.

 

[kclark9830]

Sounds like a great day!

 

[franandaj]

We started the 2nd full day of our trip with a successful attempt at a boarding group for Rise!

Yay for getting a BG!

This is our favorite breakfast to share:

The Croque Madame at Primmo Piatti with side of bacon.

Interesting. I thought the Croque Monsieur that they offer for lunch and dinner was sort of Meh and that looks very prefabricated too.

I cannot start the day at Riviera without an Almond Cold Brew, it's really good! I've actually taken to making it at home, but I just use regular coffee and a few pumps of almond syrup topped with whipped cream.

I see a trend, perhaps we have a lit of different tastes. Almond is another flavor I can put up with but I'm not fond of.

Next up was MMRR.

Yay! I can't wait for this to open at DL!

We hadn't eaten in Sci Fi since Epic Trip 2019 so we were looking forward to it. We checked in and were soon called for our table.

Oh look they have predicted 2020:

I haven't been there in longer than that! So funny!

We got some fried pickles to start. When we had these before, they were fried spears but this time they were rounds. Not sure which one are the official ones, LOL but I kinda like the spears better.

I've only had the rounds, spears sounds strange to me.

And for my mainI just got a bacon cheeseburger with onion rings.

Can't go wrong with that.

I'm not a fan of iceberg as it's so flavorless!

I'm seeing a definite difference of tastes. I love iceberg for that reason cause your salad tastes more like the dressing and not the bitter greens!

Somehow about 10 minutes after we got in line, the ride broke down. Luckily we were at the part of the line that just reached the shady section so we weren't waiting in the sun. We waited about 40 minutes though, and FINALLY we started moving again. So overall we waited an hour to ride. I guess they didn't think the issue was big enough to require all of us to leave and get return times for later.

I wonder if it was the #1 reason the DL version shuts down. Some idiot loses their hat and they need to do a full reset.

After our lengthy wait on RoTR we decided to head back to the resort for some pool time.

Sounds like a good idea!

 

[Steppesister]

Hope to finish this TR soon so I can get to work on my Chunkysis's Birthday Trip TR!

Totally get that. I was anxious to get my next one started so did. The longer I wait, the more I forget so just took the plunge and got it going.

This was the trio of popsicles. They were mini sized and so cute!

I wanted to try those, but never made it to that booth. It was on my list though; shoot!!

We weren't super hungry anymore at this point but we did try the Watermelon Salad with Pickled Onions, Feta, and Balsamic Reduction. Always a nice and fresh salad!

I LOVED this salad!! It was absolutely delicious and I'd totally get it again!

And here's some shots that I took. Look at that sky!!!

Just perfect! Looks like a gorgeous early evening!

Would be so perfect minus the Stargate and tacos!

YES!! What an eyesore.

I was a bit tired though but the perfect pick me up was an ice cold Almond Cold Brew while soaking in the tub.

Ohhh, I could manage this!

Beautiful!! The butter is generous to soak them in!

 

[franandaj]

Chugging my way along....

Hey everyone! I'm back from my girls trip with Chunkysis! If you followed along on Instagram you'd know that she celebrated her 40th birthday!

Wow you've already come back from two trips and I'm not even caught up yet!

Too bad Chunkysis was deprived of her character meet n greets, but that didn't mean we didn't get some fun character pics.

I keep wondering if they will go back to the old way of doing them, I miss the interactions.

Hopefully I will get that TR started in a bit, but it takes a lot to write two TRs at a time, not to say that I haven't done it before, LOL!

Just do them consecutively....unless you've already started and that's why this one had a gap for a while....

OK everyone I'm going to reveal some of the special pixie dust that we have been receiving on our recent trips, and normally you cannot do this even with a park hopper nowadays. On certain days of our trips we get some special privileges that allow us to park hop at any time, not just after 2pm. Because of this, even if we don't have a park pass for DHS, we can still get a RoTR boarding group at 7am. We are VERY lucky, I know!

If this is what I'm thinking, they just announced this perk for us last week or so.

Unfortunately there is no way to really guarantee a ride with a specific driver (unless someone knows something different?!?) so we will just keep riding until we get Lowell again, LOL.

I would imagine that there are probably so many drivers, you'd be lucky that he would even be working the day you rode!

After oogling at the tigers a bit we got the call that our table was ready! Yay! We headed back to Yak n Yeti where we were quickly seated.

Yay! Not a bad wait at all!

And here, the mighty ahi tuna nachos!!
Ahi Tuna Nachos: Sushi grade Ahi tuna, Asian slaw, crispy fried wontons, wasabi aioli, sweet soy glaze

I'm guessing the Tuna was raw...in which case I would have to eat it all by myself. It does sound good, but I bet there is cilantro hidden in there somewhere!

I got the special that day which was shrimp and hibachi steak. It was very good, with nice deep fried shrimp, and a decent steak in a sweet teriyaki glaze.

Wow! That is a TON of food! I wouldn't be able to eat even a quarter of that after sharing the nachos. Then again you guys are still young and get a lot of exercise. I'm old worn out.

Wow we managed to do all the good rides at DHS!

Nice when that works out!

It was almost park closing so we headed out as we had to get to the Grand Floridian for dinner.

Ugh, I hate the crowds at park closing.

Only redeeming thing about waiting so long for the boat is witnessing the return of the Electric Water Parade:

Oh fun!

OK finally after 30 minutes we get a seat on a boat, and another like 10 minutes or so to get loaded and across the lagoon to GF. It should not take this long to get to the GF!!

Why I never wait until park closing to leave or wait until well after it's closed.

For my meal I got the Buttermilk-fried Chicken

Whoa! Another huge portion!

Steve got the Lobster 'Thermidor' Burger

I keep thinking that I want to try this, but we always get something else.

We Uber'ed back to the Riviera as there was no way we would be heading back to MK after that lengthy wait.

I wish this was an option for us, but they don't take scooters, even if I left mine in the room.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Love the World Showcase sky photos! Topolino's quickly became my favorite spot to dine. Their food is AMAZING! I actually wound up ordering a bottle of the French Olive Oil they serve with the bread. (Jean Reno Reserve - Black Fruity.) It is SOOO Tasty!

 

[KathyM2]

ice cold Almond Cold Brew while soaking in the tub.

I don't think I've tried an almond cold brew but it sounds good!! Well especially while soaking in the tub lol.

All the food looks so good. Love a watermelon salad!!

 

[amazingact21]

Having dinner at your resort is always such a relaxing way to end the day. It's nice, sometimes, not to have to travel far for a nice meal! Your main dish looked delicious.

 

[MrsPMcD]

Aw thank yuo so much! I'm glad to help spread the Disney joy after a rough year and probably for the next few years too
Wow Scotland! Bucket list destination for me! I'd love to visit one day!

Well if you are looking for travel tips, just shout!

Aw how cute! Another David fan, yay! We're seeing him in July! I've heard the steakhouse will open soon too, but who knows at this point!

Yay! Please tell him hi from the McDonalds from Scotland (Gemma & Stu) and we hope to see him in September next year! Soooo far away!!

We headed out and back on the Skyliner to the Riviera because we had dinner plans at Topolino's! I really love this restaurant

This is 100% on my 'to try' list, we haven't even been at Disney since the Skyliner was finished/Riviera was built The character breakfast looks great and a dinner with some time on the terrace would be lovely... might have to make it two visits!

For a main, I got the Rigatoni with Braised Chicken Sugo, Broccolini Rapini, Wild Mushrooms, Parmigiano-Reggiano

This looks delicious. I love Rigatoni.

 

[kastoney]

So jealous you got to stay at Riviera and eat there. I had zero interest in this resort until we walked into it and wow! It just seems so much more refined than other Disney resorts. Plus being able to walk to Topolinos which may be my new favorite restaurant. Cherry on the Riviera cake. Hope we can stay here some day.