huggiebear23
Can't wait for Disney!!!
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2006
Holy crowded at mk!! That's insane!!
The Whole Enchilada - a 2 week CSR trip & food report combo
- Thread starter momof2disprincesses
- Start date
momof2disprincesses
I love my INCREDIBLE family!!!
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
Thursday, Dec. 26 conclusion
So DD21 and I were off for our mother/daughter dinner.
I am a big couponer and I had a few coupons for our favorite Mexican chain restaurant Chevy's. We don't have a Chevy's near our hometown, so we like to eat there when in Orlando (and visiting DD21 in Minneapolis). So DD21 and I headed there. They had just totally remodeled the restaurant and apparently are using the Orlando location as a model and plan to change most of the other restaurants eventually to match this one.
It was somewhat busy here, so we were offered an immediate table in the bar area. Here was the chandelier above our heads (made of beer bottles).
I got the chicken chimichanga and subbed out rice & beans for triple corn cake. MMM!
We had a very nice relaxing dinner and a good chat about her future - she's graduating from college this May. I was glad we split up and each parent had some rare alone time with our adult kids.
We headed back to CSR after dinner and DH and DD17 joined us around 11pm.
Friday, Dec. 27
We slept in again. This is becoming a nice theme. I actually was able to sleep in this morning, so I was a happy person!
We were volunteering again at Give Kids the World from noon-3pm. So we took it easy this morning and headed to the Pepper Market for breakfast around 10:30am. Well, it appeared 90% of CSR guests had the same idea. It was insanely crowded in the Pepper Market at this time of the morning.
After literally about a 20 minute wait to get food, here's what we got:
DD21 got this:
The rest of us each got a ham & cheese omelet:
After breakfast, we headed right to Give Kids the World to volunteer. We did not want to be late AGAIN!
So DD21 and I were off for our mother/daughter dinner.
I am a big couponer and I had a few coupons for our favorite Mexican chain restaurant Chevy's. We don't have a Chevy's near our hometown, so we like to eat there when in Orlando (and visiting DD21 in Minneapolis). So DD21 and I headed there. They had just totally remodeled the restaurant and apparently are using the Orlando location as a model and plan to change most of the other restaurants eventually to match this one.
It was somewhat busy here, so we were offered an immediate table in the bar area. Here was the chandelier above our heads (made of beer bottles).
I got the chicken chimichanga and subbed out rice & beans for triple corn cake. MMM!
We had a very nice relaxing dinner and a good chat about her future - she's graduating from college this May. I was glad we split up and each parent had some rare alone time with our adult kids.
We headed back to CSR after dinner and DH and DD17 joined us around 11pm.
Friday, Dec. 27
We slept in again. This is becoming a nice theme. I actually was able to sleep in this morning, so I was a happy person!
We were volunteering again at Give Kids the World from noon-3pm. So we took it easy this morning and headed to the Pepper Market for breakfast around 10:30am. Well, it appeared 90% of CSR guests had the same idea. It was insanely crowded in the Pepper Market at this time of the morning.
After literally about a 20 minute wait to get food, here's what we got:
DD21 got this:
The rest of us each got a ham & cheese omelet:
After breakfast, we headed right to Give Kids the World to volunteer. We did not want to be late AGAIN!
momof2disprincesses
I love my INCREDIBLE family!!!
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
momof2disprincesses
I love my INCREDIBLE family!!!
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
Thursday, Dec. 26 continued...
This time we arrived with a few minutes to spare at Give Kids the World for our volunteer shifts starting at noon.
DD17 and DH chose to help in the ice cream palace. Here's the description of this volunteer opportunity from GKTW website:
Ice Cream Palace
The ICP Volunteers are responsible for serving all ice cream and fountain drinks to families. Duties include preparing milkshakes, sundaes, banana splits, restocking food items and clean up.
Age Requirement: 12+ with an adult; 16+
They got to work with a young woman from Germany. She is doing a year-long volunteer experience at Give Kids the World and when it was slow, they were fascinated to hear about her life.
DD21 and I helped in the castle.
Castle
The Castle Monitor is responsible for greeting families, assisting with the Star Fairy program and the Dream Pillow Tree Machine, playing with kids, cleaning up play areas, supervising and monitoring arcade and
completing tasks for the Entertainment department.
Age Requirement: 16+
We LOVED this! Basically the families would come in here usually on their first day and we would do this adorable ceremony with them about a star fairy and the fairy would "hang" their star on the ceiling and the next day they could come back and see it hung up. Also, alumni families would come and "visit" their star. It was truly magical and I would do this again in a heartbeat!
After our joyous volunteer shifts, we raced back to Disney to meet up with our church friends at Epcot. Don't tell any of our other church friends, but this is basically one of our favorite families from our church. The Mom and Dad are wonderful and dear friends and the kids are so well behaved and mature and FUN! My DD21 used to babysit for them and now DD17 does. We just adore them.
This was their first time to Disney!!! Don't you just love going with first-timers! The Dad had been to Disney about 20 years ago, but this was the first time for everyone else and their first time as a family. They were visiting relatives in FL for Christmas and decided to do 2 park days and stay overnight 1 night at the Dolphin.
So they'd been at Epcot all day and we were hoping to meet up with them before 5pm so we could let the 2 adults and 2 older kids use our MB for fp+ on Soarin'. We were in phone communication with them and by the time we left Give Kids the World, faced holiday traffic (AGAIN) and made it to Epcot, parked and speed walked to Soarin' - it was 4:50. So we did quick hugs and they handed over their 2 year old and went on Soarin'.
Here we are entertaining the 2 year old while the family rode Soarin'
He loved DD17's new toy (Sonic Screwdriver). They actually watch Dr. Who together when she babysits him.
We brought these ears for their daughter to wear. They even matched her outfit!
We also got 2 muffins to share from Sunshine Seasons while we waited. Sorry no pictures.
Cutie pies!
After Soarin' we rode Finding Nemo and did Turtle Talk with Crush. We had fp+ for both attractions but there was basically no wait for either, so we didn't use them and all went together. That was better anyway!
After Turtle Talk, they played here!
Their oldest:
After the Seas building, we headed over to Innoventions for our 2 free Disney Visa photos. Here is all of us with Mickey & Goofy.
Coming up next - the rest of Thurs. Dec. 26!
This time we arrived with a few minutes to spare at Give Kids the World for our volunteer shifts starting at noon.
DD17 and DH chose to help in the ice cream palace. Here's the description of this volunteer opportunity from GKTW website:
Ice Cream Palace
The ICP Volunteers are responsible for serving all ice cream and fountain drinks to families. Duties include preparing milkshakes, sundaes, banana splits, restocking food items and clean up.
Age Requirement: 12+ with an adult; 16+
They got to work with a young woman from Germany. She is doing a year-long volunteer experience at Give Kids the World and when it was slow, they were fascinated to hear about her life.
DD21 and I helped in the castle.
Castle
The Castle Monitor is responsible for greeting families, assisting with the Star Fairy program and the Dream Pillow Tree Machine, playing with kids, cleaning up play areas, supervising and monitoring arcade and
completing tasks for the Entertainment department.
Age Requirement: 16+
We LOVED this! Basically the families would come in here usually on their first day and we would do this adorable ceremony with them about a star fairy and the fairy would "hang" their star on the ceiling and the next day they could come back and see it hung up. Also, alumni families would come and "visit" their star. It was truly magical and I would do this again in a heartbeat!
After our joyous volunteer shifts, we raced back to Disney to meet up with our church friends at Epcot. Don't tell any of our other church friends, but this is basically one of our favorite families from our church. The Mom and Dad are wonderful and dear friends and the kids are so well behaved and mature and FUN! My DD21 used to babysit for them and now DD17 does. We just adore them.
This was their first time to Disney!!! Don't you just love going with first-timers! The Dad had been to Disney about 20 years ago, but this was the first time for everyone else and their first time as a family. They were visiting relatives in FL for Christmas and decided to do 2 park days and stay overnight 1 night at the Dolphin.
So they'd been at Epcot all day and we were hoping to meet up with them before 5pm so we could let the 2 adults and 2 older kids use our MB for fp+ on Soarin'. We were in phone communication with them and by the time we left Give Kids the World, faced holiday traffic (AGAIN) and made it to Epcot, parked and speed walked to Soarin' - it was 4:50. So we did quick hugs and they handed over their 2 year old and went on Soarin'.
Here we are entertaining the 2 year old while the family rode Soarin'
He loved DD17's new toy (Sonic Screwdriver). They actually watch Dr. Who together when she babysits him.
We brought these ears for their daughter to wear. They even matched her outfit!
We also got 2 muffins to share from Sunshine Seasons while we waited. Sorry no pictures.
Cutie pies!
After Soarin' we rode Finding Nemo and did Turtle Talk with Crush. We had fp+ for both attractions but there was basically no wait for either, so we didn't use them and all went together. That was better anyway!
After Turtle Talk, they played here!
Their oldest:
After the Seas building, we headed over to Innoventions for our 2 free Disney Visa photos. Here is all of us with Mickey & Goofy.
Coming up next - the rest of Thurs. Dec. 26!
momof2disprincesses
I love my INCREDIBLE family!!!
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
UGH! I'm so sorry it's been awhile since my last update.
The past week and upcoming week are very busy. As I mentioned, I work as a Volunteer Manager and we have our annual recognition event next Tuesday, so I've been super busy at work. AND, my youngest daughter (DD17) is now DD18! Yes, she turned 18 this past Saturday.
Although it wasn't a Disney celebration, we celebrated by seeing WICKED. It was my 3rd time seeing it and her 2nd. That musical is so amazing, moving and wickedly good!
So I promise more updates as soon as I can. Thanks to those who are following along. Of our 2 week trip, I still have 8 days left to share and I promise some more good food porn and lots more photos of our fun.
The past week and upcoming week are very busy. As I mentioned, I work as a Volunteer Manager and we have our annual recognition event next Tuesday, so I've been super busy at work. AND, my youngest daughter (DD17) is now DD18! Yes, she turned 18 this past Saturday.
Although it wasn't a Disney celebration, we celebrated by seeing WICKED. It was my 3rd time seeing it and her 2nd. That musical is so amazing, moving and wickedly good!
So I promise more updates as soon as I can. Thanks to those who are following along. Of our 2 week trip, I still have 8 days left to share and I promise some more good food porn and lots more photos of our fun.
momof2disprincesses
I love my INCREDIBLE family!!!
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
Conclusion of Thursday, Dec. 27
So after we took our Disney Visa photos, our DD's and the other family went to ride Spaceship Earth while DH and I went to the Camera store in Epcot to fetch the photos we just took.
Now you'd think that they were off the ride far before we were done simply picking up photos. OH NO! In fact, they got off the ride, played with all the stuff after the ride and waited a little while before calling us to say "where the heck are you?"
It took about 45 minutes to wait in line to get the Disney Visa photos - even longer than the other day at park closing. They really need to figure out a better system to get people through that line quicker!
Regardless, the photos turned out great. We got the 2 free ones and then we bought an extra one for our friends. We wanted them to have a group shot and a photo of just their family and we wanted one of the entire group.
After all this, we went back to Innoventions and played the Great Piggy Bank Adventure. We all teamed up, named our pigs and reached our goals!
After this, we went our separate ways. They needed to head back to the Dolphin to put the kids to bed and we had a late reservation at Teppan Edo (8:30pm).
Our family ate here once before when we did free dining. It was one place my DH really wanted to go to again. None of us are actually big fans of Japanese hibachi food, but we love how it's dinner AND a show with the chef. It did not fail! It was once again a very fun dining experience!
Here are some of our photos:
After dinner, it was enjoyable walking through an almost empty Epcot. I think we even stopped in a few stores on the walk back.
Up next, we awaken at 5am to meet our friends at Magic Kingdom!
So after we took our Disney Visa photos, our DD's and the other family went to ride Spaceship Earth while DH and I went to the Camera store in Epcot to fetch the photos we just took.
Now you'd think that they were off the ride far before we were done simply picking up photos. OH NO! In fact, they got off the ride, played with all the stuff after the ride and waited a little while before calling us to say "where the heck are you?"
It took about 45 minutes to wait in line to get the Disney Visa photos - even longer than the other day at park closing. They really need to figure out a better system to get people through that line quicker!
Regardless, the photos turned out great. We got the 2 free ones and then we bought an extra one for our friends. We wanted them to have a group shot and a photo of just their family and we wanted one of the entire group.
After all this, we went back to Innoventions and played the Great Piggy Bank Adventure. We all teamed up, named our pigs and reached our goals!
After this, we went our separate ways. They needed to head back to the Dolphin to put the kids to bed and we had a late reservation at Teppan Edo (8:30pm).
Our family ate here once before when we did free dining. It was one place my DH really wanted to go to again. None of us are actually big fans of Japanese hibachi food, but we love how it's dinner AND a show with the chef. It did not fail! It was once again a very fun dining experience!
Here are some of our photos:
After dinner, it was enjoyable walking through an almost empty Epcot. I think we even stopped in a few stores on the walk back.
Up next, we awaken at 5am to meet our friends at Magic Kingdom!
momof2disprincesses
I love my INCREDIBLE family!!!
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
Saturday, December 28
We were up bright and early this morning. We had most of the day ahead to spend with our friends from church at Magic Kingdom and we all wanted to get there at park opening to make the most of the limited time we had.
To get 4 people ready with 1 bathroom in our family means getting up at least 2 hours in advance, so at 5am, we started waking and getting ready.
We made it to MK by 7am (EMH). Our friends followed shortly after. We met at the hub by the park entrance and proceeded to a fp+ kiosk to make their fp+ plans for the day. Our overall plan was to allow them to use our 3 fp+ options and then make 3 more for themselves so they could get the most out of the park. We wound up not needing them all. Really until lunch, the park was not that crowded.
We then headed to Buzz Lightyear (DH and their youngest even went on it twice in a row with NO wait). Their kids and ours went on Astro Orbiter. Unfortunately Space Mountain was closed down at this time, so we had to skip that until later. Then they did the Speedway. We then headed into New Fantasyland which at this time of the morning was virtually empty! They all rode on Dumbo TWICE with zero wait. In fact, they didn't even have to get off between rides! Then was Goofy's Barnstormer. We noticed the character buildings looked pretty empty (there was literally NO ONE there except us), so we had some amazing interaction with the characters, which was so fun for us because it's been awhile since we had little ones.
Even DD21 and I enjoyed it!
By now it was 9am and we hadn't eaten yet so we got some snacks in the store you exit after seeing the characters. We were glad to share some snack credits with our friends!
Then we headed to Peter Pan's Flight and realized one of us lost our magic band. My smart DH thought it might be back at the fp+ kiosk where we were talking to a CM earlier and sure enough it was there! That was easier than we expected.
Next was Philharmagic and back to Space Mountain which was now open. Then the Winnie the Pooh ride and then off to lunch.
We got in the long line for Be Our Guest, but it went quickly. We were happy to have enough ddp credits to treat our friends to lunch. Everyone enjoyed it very much! The kids loved seeing Beast's castle. BOG was crowded so it was a bit hard to really move around a lot.
After lunch, our girls and their family headed to ride both Big Thunder and Splash. DH and I went to see if we could get regular fp's for Jungle Cruise (renamed Jingle Cruise for the holidays). We were able to get them for our friends and DH and I proceeded to wait on a bench by the POTC bathrooms for the rest of the group.
Well, something happened when we went to lunch at BOG - MK got insanely CROWDED again!!! It took them about 1.5 hours to ride both rides (even with fp+).
Once they met back up with us, DH and I were tired. Getting up at 5am and sitting on a bench for an hour and a half left us craving naptime!
So we handed over the old fashioned fp's to our friends and headed back to CSR. DD17 and I took naps for about an hour and DH and DD21 hit the hot tub.
Here are some more pool photos. As you can see, it was chilly and few people were at the pool area.
The hot tub:
After we were all rested & refreshed, we headed to Epcot to have dinner at LeCellier! That's coming up next...
We were up bright and early this morning. We had most of the day ahead to spend with our friends from church at Magic Kingdom and we all wanted to get there at park opening to make the most of the limited time we had.
To get 4 people ready with 1 bathroom in our family means getting up at least 2 hours in advance, so at 5am, we started waking and getting ready.
We made it to MK by 7am (EMH). Our friends followed shortly after. We met at the hub by the park entrance and proceeded to a fp+ kiosk to make their fp+ plans for the day. Our overall plan was to allow them to use our 3 fp+ options and then make 3 more for themselves so they could get the most out of the park. We wound up not needing them all. Really until lunch, the park was not that crowded.
We then headed to Buzz Lightyear (DH and their youngest even went on it twice in a row with NO wait). Their kids and ours went on Astro Orbiter. Unfortunately Space Mountain was closed down at this time, so we had to skip that until later. Then they did the Speedway. We then headed into New Fantasyland which at this time of the morning was virtually empty! They all rode on Dumbo TWICE with zero wait. In fact, they didn't even have to get off between rides! Then was Goofy's Barnstormer. We noticed the character buildings looked pretty empty (there was literally NO ONE there except us), so we had some amazing interaction with the characters, which was so fun for us because it's been awhile since we had little ones.
Even DD21 and I enjoyed it!
By now it was 9am and we hadn't eaten yet so we got some snacks in the store you exit after seeing the characters. We were glad to share some snack credits with our friends!
Then we headed to Peter Pan's Flight and realized one of us lost our magic band. My smart DH thought it might be back at the fp+ kiosk where we were talking to a CM earlier and sure enough it was there! That was easier than we expected.
Next was Philharmagic and back to Space Mountain which was now open. Then the Winnie the Pooh ride and then off to lunch.
We got in the long line for Be Our Guest, but it went quickly. We were happy to have enough ddp credits to treat our friends to lunch. Everyone enjoyed it very much! The kids loved seeing Beast's castle. BOG was crowded so it was a bit hard to really move around a lot.
After lunch, our girls and their family headed to ride both Big Thunder and Splash. DH and I went to see if we could get regular fp's for Jungle Cruise (renamed Jingle Cruise for the holidays). We were able to get them for our friends and DH and I proceeded to wait on a bench by the POTC bathrooms for the rest of the group.
Well, something happened when we went to lunch at BOG - MK got insanely CROWDED again!!! It took them about 1.5 hours to ride both rides (even with fp+).
Once they met back up with us, DH and I were tired. Getting up at 5am and sitting on a bench for an hour and a half left us craving naptime!
So we handed over the old fashioned fp's to our friends and headed back to CSR. DD17 and I took naps for about an hour and DH and DD21 hit the hot tub.
Here are some more pool photos. As you can see, it was chilly and few people were at the pool area.
The hot tub:
After we were all rested & refreshed, we headed to Epcot to have dinner at LeCellier! That's coming up next...
momof2disprincesses
I love my INCREDIBLE family!!!
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
We had a lovely dinner at Le Cellier that night. But before I write about that, I forgot to post these 2 more photos of our friend's wonderful children. We just enjoyed being at Disney with them SO much!!!
While getting our fp+ at MK, Mary Poppins came out and the kids had time with her all to themselves!
This picture is practically perfect in every way!
And one more after Buzz...
Now to show off my beautiful girls. I have taken photos of them in this spot in Canada before and I just love this photo spot!
Now back to dinner. We were seated right away and had a wonderful server named Christina. We talked with her about Canada and her time in the US.
Our drinks! Red Maple and Niagara Refresher. DH got a chocolate shake.
MMMMMM! The bread!! This is my favorite place to have bread in all of WDW.
DD21 and DH both got this:
Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon - Canadian Beef Tenderloin with wild mushroom risotto, pickled pearl onions, white truffle butter sauce $44
Sorry about the photo quality. I forgot the camera and these all came from my iphone and we all know how dark it is in Le Cellier.
I had the ribeye. Delicious!
Dry-Aged Bone-in Ribeye - dry-aged for 21 days, with fingerling potatoes, roasted garlic butter $56
DD17 had the chicken:
"Palmetto Farms" Poussin - roasted baby turnips, glazed globe carrots, vanilla scented turnip puree, black garlic coins, lavender chicken jus $32
For dessert, we had these:
Trio of Chocolate - Chocolate "Nanaimo" Bar, Chocolate Sorbet, and Chocolate Lava Cake $10.00
Chocolate Mousse (from the kids menu!):
After dinner, it was a lovely stroll around the Boardwalk area and stopped in the bakery to get goodies for the next morning's breakfast in the room.
Then back to CSR for relaxation and bed. We were super tired from getting up so early that morning. We slept 13 hours!!! Now that's what I can VACATION!
Up next, our lazy day in the room, Via Napoli dinner and Candlelight Processional with Amy Grant!
While getting our fp+ at MK, Mary Poppins came out and the kids had time with her all to themselves!
This picture is practically perfect in every way!
And one more after Buzz...
Now to show off my beautiful girls. I have taken photos of them in this spot in Canada before and I just love this photo spot!
Now back to dinner. We were seated right away and had a wonderful server named Christina. We talked with her about Canada and her time in the US.
Our drinks! Red Maple and Niagara Refresher. DH got a chocolate shake.
MMMMMM! The bread!! This is my favorite place to have bread in all of WDW.
DD21 and DH both got this:
Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon - Canadian Beef Tenderloin with wild mushroom risotto, pickled pearl onions, white truffle butter sauce $44
Sorry about the photo quality. I forgot the camera and these all came from my iphone and we all know how dark it is in Le Cellier.
I had the ribeye. Delicious!
Dry-Aged Bone-in Ribeye - dry-aged for 21 days, with fingerling potatoes, roasted garlic butter $56
DD17 had the chicken:
"Palmetto Farms" Poussin - roasted baby turnips, glazed globe carrots, vanilla scented turnip puree, black garlic coins, lavender chicken jus $32
For dessert, we had these:
Trio of Chocolate - Chocolate "Nanaimo" Bar, Chocolate Sorbet, and Chocolate Lava Cake $10.00
Chocolate Mousse (from the kids menu!):
After dinner, it was a lovely stroll around the Boardwalk area and stopped in the bakery to get goodies for the next morning's breakfast in the room.
Then back to CSR for relaxation and bed. We were super tired from getting up so early that morning. We slept 13 hours!!! Now that's what I can VACATION!
Up next, our lazy day in the room, Via Napoli dinner and Candlelight Processional with Amy Grant!
huggiebear23
Can't wait for Disney!!!
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2006
Great update!!
Disney before Sally
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2011
I loved reading your trip report so far and will look forward to more updates. You sound like a lovely person. Thank you for all that you do and share.
momof2disprincesses
I love my INCREDIBLE family!!!
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
Thanks so much for following along!
momof2disprincesses
I love my INCREDIBLE family!!!
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
Thank you for those kind words and for following along! More to come soon I promise. My big volunteer recognition event for work is tonight (expecting 400 people), so after tonight, I will have more free time to keep writing my report.
momof2disprincesses
I love my INCREDIBLE family!!!
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
Sunday, December 29
We had a lazy morning in the room. We slept in and ate the snack items we had bought the night before from the Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast.
We watched movies on DD21's laptop and just took our time getting ready.
We left around 2pm for our 3:30 ADR at Via Napoli. We were doing the Candlelight Processional dinner package!
We parked again at the Boardwalk and arrived around 2:30pm. It was raining cats & dogs! So we pretty much just put on our ponchos and went down to the boat dock and got pretty wet in the process. We arrived at Epcot and had a quick stroll in the pouring rain towards Italy.
When we got up to Via Napoli, the line was OUT THE DOOR! Everyone was trying to get in to eat to escape the rain. We heard family after family get turned away because they didn't have an ADR.
Finally it was our turn and we were seated in the little all glass room you can see when you come in to the entrance of the restaurant. Oh my goodness was it LOUD in there! We could barely hear our server or each other.
Here we are at our table:
Because we were doing the CP for dinner, we got an appetizer for this meal. Two of us got this:
Arancini - fried risotto balls filled with mozzarella and meat ragu $11.00
Someone got the Caesar salad:
I believe DH got this:
Gamberetti Fagioli - jumbo shrimp, cannellini bean salad, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice $9.00
For entrees, we got a sausage pizza. Piccante Signature Pie - Italian spicy sausage $Individual $19, Large $30 (serves 2 - 3), Mezzo Metro $41 (serves 3 - 5)
Pepperoni Signature Pie - pepperoni, tomato, mozzarella $Individual $19, Large $30 (serves 2 - 3), Mezzo Metro $41 (serves 3 - 5)
MMMM! I got this and it was so delicious!
Candele - candle stick pasta, sausage ragu, polpettine meatballs, mozzarella, ricotta $24.00
Desserts:
Gelato e Sorbetto - pistachio
Coppa dii Brutti Ma Buon! - Amarena cherry and vanilla gelato sundae $14.00
Overall, it was a very good meal. It was one of the ones I was looking forward to the most since I LOVE the pizza here. It didn't disappoint but unfortunately the room we were in was so loud, it did take away some of the pleasure of this meal.
Up next, Amy Grant and the Candlelight Processional!
We had a lazy morning in the room. We slept in and ate the snack items we had bought the night before from the Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast.
We watched movies on DD21's laptop and just took our time getting ready.
We left around 2pm for our 3:30 ADR at Via Napoli. We were doing the Candlelight Processional dinner package!
We parked again at the Boardwalk and arrived around 2:30pm. It was raining cats & dogs! So we pretty much just put on our ponchos and went down to the boat dock and got pretty wet in the process. We arrived at Epcot and had a quick stroll in the pouring rain towards Italy.
When we got up to Via Napoli, the line was OUT THE DOOR! Everyone was trying to get in to eat to escape the rain. We heard family after family get turned away because they didn't have an ADR.
Finally it was our turn and we were seated in the little all glass room you can see when you come in to the entrance of the restaurant. Oh my goodness was it LOUD in there! We could barely hear our server or each other.
Here we are at our table:
Because we were doing the CP for dinner, we got an appetizer for this meal. Two of us got this:
Arancini - fried risotto balls filled with mozzarella and meat ragu $11.00
Someone got the Caesar salad:
I believe DH got this:
Gamberetti Fagioli - jumbo shrimp, cannellini bean salad, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice $9.00
For entrees, we got a sausage pizza. Piccante Signature Pie - Italian spicy sausage $Individual $19, Large $30 (serves 2 - 3), Mezzo Metro $41 (serves 3 - 5)
Pepperoni Signature Pie - pepperoni, tomato, mozzarella $Individual $19, Large $30 (serves 2 - 3), Mezzo Metro $41 (serves 3 - 5)
MMMM! I got this and it was so delicious!
Candele - candle stick pasta, sausage ragu, polpettine meatballs, mozzarella, ricotta $24.00
Desserts:
Gelato e Sorbetto - pistachio
Coppa dii Brutti Ma Buon! - Amarena cherry and vanilla gelato sundae $14.00
Overall, it was a very good meal. It was one of the ones I was looking forward to the most since I LOVE the pizza here. It didn't disappoint but unfortunately the room we were in was so loud, it did take away some of the pleasure of this meal.
Up next, Amy Grant and the Candlelight Processional!
momof2disprincesses
I love my INCREDIBLE family!!!
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
In case anyone cares, I forgot to show you the bread and oil we got at dinner at Via Napoli. Here you go...
After our meal at Via Napoli, we wandered around the WS for awhile. The rain was not as bad as when we arrived, but it was still misting a bit.
DD21 and I checked out the caramel shop in Germany and bought these snacks for sometime later.
We then made our way over the CP dinner package line and were pretty close to the front. We were hoping for basically a front row seat because it looked like the rain was going to start back up again and the front few rows are under cover (as is the stage).
We got exactly what we wanted - very front row to the left when facing the stage. We were right in front of the percussion section. WAY back a long time ago when I was in junior high school, I did band and was in percussion, so I liked watching them in action. They were AMAZING!!!! They went from one thing to another the entire performance with ease and professionalism. We even got to chat with them after the show and told them how engaging it was watching them so close up. WOW!!
Here is the empty stage.
Now I have to say I felt a bit like a groupie waiting for Amy Grant. I've been a fan of Christian music since I was a young teen and in the 80's Amy Grant was the TOP of Christian music. I had everyone of her tapes (YES, I said tapes) and listened to them until they wore out. So the anticipation of seeing her in person was terribly exciting. Therefore, DH and I took like 100+ pictures of her. I won't bore you with all of them, but here are some of my favorites from the show.
Those awesome percussionists!
We were so glad we were in the front row because it did start to lightly rain again. Overall, this was my very favorite Candlelight Processional ever. We've seen Steven Curtis Chapman twice, Abigail Breslin once and now Amy Grant once. She was beautiful & did an excellent job. I loved sitting in the front row too. It really felt like we were part of the show and there were literally no distractions. It was a really fantastic night!
Up next, a little more Epcot before bed.
After our meal at Via Napoli, we wandered around the WS for awhile. The rain was not as bad as when we arrived, but it was still misting a bit.
DD21 and I checked out the caramel shop in Germany and bought these snacks for sometime later.
We then made our way over the CP dinner package line and were pretty close to the front. We were hoping for basically a front row seat because it looked like the rain was going to start back up again and the front few rows are under cover (as is the stage).
We got exactly what we wanted - very front row to the left when facing the stage. We were right in front of the percussion section. WAY back a long time ago when I was in junior high school, I did band and was in percussion, so I liked watching them in action. They were AMAZING!!!! They went from one thing to another the entire performance with ease and professionalism. We even got to chat with them after the show and told them how engaging it was watching them so close up. WOW!!
Here is the empty stage.
Now I have to say I felt a bit like a groupie waiting for Amy Grant. I've been a fan of Christian music since I was a young teen and in the 80's Amy Grant was the TOP of Christian music. I had everyone of her tapes (YES, I said tapes) and listened to them until they wore out. So the anticipation of seeing her in person was terribly exciting. Therefore, DH and I took like 100+ pictures of her. I won't bore you with all of them, but here are some of my favorites from the show.
Those awesome percussionists!
We were so glad we were in the front row because it did start to lightly rain again. Overall, this was my very favorite Candlelight Processional ever. We've seen Steven Curtis Chapman twice, Abigail Breslin once and now Amy Grant once. She was beautiful & did an excellent job. I loved sitting in the front row too. It really felt like we were part of the show and there were literally no distractions. It was a really fantastic night!
Up next, a little more Epcot before bed.
momof2disprincesses
I love my INCREDIBLE family!!!
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
A sweet ending to a practically perfect day.
Except for the rain, it was pretty much one of the best days of our trip.
We ended it by enjoying something new to us - ice cream from the new France ice cream shop (formerly the France Bakery).
The menu:
LOVE the milk bottle light fixture!
SOOOOOOO many choices of yumminess!
Even with so many choices, we all wound up getting the exact same thing - the profiterole. MMMMM!
After this sweetness, it was time to head back to our car at the Boardwalk and then back to our beds at CSR.
Tomorrow, we have a surprise visitor...my brother and his family show up to say HI.
Except for the rain, it was pretty much one of the best days of our trip.
We ended it by enjoying something new to us - ice cream from the new France ice cream shop (formerly the France Bakery).
The menu:
LOVE the milk bottle light fixture!
SOOOOOOO many choices of yumminess!
Even with so many choices, we all wound up getting the exact same thing - the profiterole. MMMMM!
After this sweetness, it was time to head back to our car at the Boardwalk and then back to our beds at CSR.
Tomorrow, we have a surprise visitor...my brother and his family show up to say HI.
momof2disprincesses
I love my INCREDIBLE family!!!
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
Monday, December 30
Today was a relaxing day! We all slept in, except for DD21. We woke up and she was gone, but I texted her and found out she wanted to read and call a friend, so she went outside and enjoyed some time on one of the hammocks at CSR. Now that is relaxing!
When I got up, I did some more laundry.
We went to Chevy's for lunch. As I mentioned before, we don't have that chain in WI and we love their food.
Then we headed back to the resort and took naps. See the theme - RELAXATION!
The girl's bed was made up like this with their blankets. I thought it was cute!
Around 5pm, my brother and his family were coming up from spending a week in the Florida Keys. They decided since they'd basically be driving right through Orlando that they'd come and visit us. They didn't want to go to a park or even downtown Disney, so we decided to just have them come to CSR and we'd enjoy a drink and snack by the lake. It wound up being an ideal location to just sit and visit.
My brother and his family live in Madison, WI and we live in Appleton, so we're about 2 hours away from each other. We both have older kids and super busy lives, so we don't often just get to sit and talk. In fact, I don't recall the last time it was just our family and theirs sitting and talking for a few hours. It was a lovely time!
While waiting for them to arrive, I took a bunch more photos of CSR.
Where we sat while visiting with my brother and family:
We found the cutest CM ever to take a photo of us in the CSR lobby by the Christmas tree. My brother and I are in the middle and his family is to the left and mine to the right.
Up next...dinner at O'Hana!
Today was a relaxing day! We all slept in, except for DD21. We woke up and she was gone, but I texted her and found out she wanted to read and call a friend, so she went outside and enjoyed some time on one of the hammocks at CSR. Now that is relaxing!
When I got up, I did some more laundry.
We went to Chevy's for lunch. As I mentioned before, we don't have that chain in WI and we love their food.
Then we headed back to the resort and took naps. See the theme - RELAXATION!
The girl's bed was made up like this with their blankets. I thought it was cute!
Around 5pm, my brother and his family were coming up from spending a week in the Florida Keys. They decided since they'd basically be driving right through Orlando that they'd come and visit us. They didn't want to go to a park or even downtown Disney, so we decided to just have them come to CSR and we'd enjoy a drink and snack by the lake. It wound up being an ideal location to just sit and visit.
My brother and his family live in Madison, WI and we live in Appleton, so we're about 2 hours away from each other. We both have older kids and super busy lives, so we don't often just get to sit and talk. In fact, I don't recall the last time it was just our family and theirs sitting and talking for a few hours. It was a lovely time!
While waiting for them to arrive, I took a bunch more photos of CSR.
Where we sat while visiting with my brother and family:
We found the cutest CM ever to take a photo of us in the CSR lobby by the Christmas tree. My brother and I are in the middle and his family is to the left and mine to the right.
Up next...dinner at O'Hana!
momof2disprincesses
I love my INCREDIBLE family!!!
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
We had an ADR at O'Hana at 8:45pm. Originally when we found out my brother and family were coming up that evening, we asked if they wanted to join us. My brother is exactly like my Dad when it comes to eating. He couldn't believe we were going to eat dinner at 9pm! He said no way and they had already eaten dinner before they met us at 5pm. 
So after they left, we headed to the Polynesian. Oh, what a gorgeous place! We have never stayed here but now that they'll be building DVC units here, some day we will I'm sure!
We arrived a little early and had quite a wait for our table, but what a beautiful place to have to sit and wait, huh?
Here are photos of this delicious and wonderful meal:
We ordered the non-alcoholic version of this. I thought it was fun drinking out of a pineapple but it was not worth the $10 extra we paid for it. It tasted like watered down fruit juice.
This was my personal favorite part of the meal! MMMM!
Bring on the meat!
Last but certainly not least...dessert!
After our very enjoyable and delicious meal at O'Hana, we wandered around the shops at the Poly. Here's us in a playful moment...
We were in search of a CD of the soundtrack from Frozen, but never were able to find it in all of Disney World (even DTD) during our 2 week trip. We finally ordered it on Amazon when we got home.
Up Next...New Year's Eve at Hollywood Studios!!
So after they left, we headed to the Polynesian. Oh, what a gorgeous place! We have never stayed here but now that they'll be building DVC units here, some day we will I'm sure!
We arrived a little early and had quite a wait for our table, but what a beautiful place to have to sit and wait, huh?
Here are photos of this delicious and wonderful meal:
We ordered the non-alcoholic version of this. I thought it was fun drinking out of a pineapple but it was not worth the $10 extra we paid for it. It tasted like watered down fruit juice.
This was my personal favorite part of the meal! MMMM!
Bring on the meat!
Last but certainly not least...dessert!
After our very enjoyable and delicious meal at O'Hana, we wandered around the shops at the Poly. Here's us in a playful moment...
We were in search of a CD of the soundtrack from Frozen, but never were able to find it in all of Disney World (even DTD) during our 2 week trip. We finally ordered it on Amazon when we got home.
Up Next...New Year's Eve at Hollywood Studios!!
scottny
<font color=blue>You better have crackers<br><font
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2007
I need to try Via Napoli one day. The meals looked good.
I do not know Christian music but I love Amy grant form her POP days.
She looks good.
That ice cream looks delicious.
Nice family photo.
Lapu lapu are good but so strong. Never had the alcohol free version.
I do not know Christian music but I love Amy grant form her POP days.
She looks good.
That ice cream looks delicious.
Nice family photo.
Lapu lapu are good but so strong. Never had the alcohol free version.
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