Celebrating 20 years at WDW - Bonus features, A few posts from May, Updated 9/11

[Pinkocto]

What a fun and yummy evening The CM swimming the Nautilus over is too funny!

When is your Fantasy cruise again? Do I get to see you guys afterwards or is it too short?

 

[irene_dsc]

Strawberry Soup

2 ½ pounds frozen Strawberries
16 oz Heavy Cream
2 oz Sour Cream
3 oz plain Yogurt
½ pound fresh Strawberries

1) Mix Strawberries, heavy cream, sour cream and yogurt
2) Beat Slowly until well mixed and a smooth consistency
3) Chill, shake well before serving.
4) Garnish with fresh strawberry halves.

Ooh - I copied that to my recipe file. Will have to try that out some time!

They were both really good, but that was to be expected. Pretty much they always are. And I love the soup, nice to have it without having to make an ADR, or cook it at home which is what I normally do.

Sounds like another fun recipe, especially since who knows when I'll get back to Epcot! (I did mention the concept of an October adult-only trip with dh, to see all the cool fall / Hallowe'en stuff, F&W, and coincidentally, celebrate our anniversary. Just don't know what year we might be able to pull it off...)

When you ordered a shrunken Zombie Head, this effect came on. Last time we were sitting right underneath it so it was hard to see.

This seems like another fun couple outing for this hypothetical adult-only trip!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Well now they moved it back to 5:30 because one of them had something come up at work. Normally I don't like meeting with folks after dark, but the next alternative was Sunday and I don't want to wait that long!

I hope everything went well and you did not waste your time.

Until I have their first month's rent deposited in the bank, I am not at ease.

I can understand this.

Found it! Must make!

• 
  Pepper Bacon Macaroni
• 1 pound macaroni
• 8 slices pepper bacon
• 1/2 cup diced white onions
• 1/2 cup diced green pepper
• 1/2 cup diced red pepper
• 3 small jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced

• 
  Cheese Sauce
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 pound (4 cups) shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 pound (1 cup) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/4 pound sliced American cheese
• 2 ounces (1/2 cup) shredded Gruyere cheese

• 
  Topping
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 slices pepper bacon, cooked and chopped
• 3 green onions, sliced
• Coarse salt, freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

• 
  For pepper bacon macaroni:
• Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
• Cook pepper bacon until crisp. Chop and set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons of grease.
• Heat grease in a medium-skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes.
• Add onion, green pepper, red pepper and jalapeño. Sauté for 3-5 minutes, until vegetables are warm, but still crisp. Set aside.

• 
  For cheese sauce:
• Heat cream in large saucepan over medium heat. When it begins to simmer, slowly stir in all of cheese, mixing well to melt cheese.

• 
  To assemble and serve:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Combine cooked pasta, vegetables and cheese sauce in a large bowl.
• Pour into a 9- x 13-inch baking dish and top with breadcrumbs. Bake 15 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are golden brown.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle with green onions and bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Thanks for sharing. I have to try this, too.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

Fun events at Trader's Sam! I am starting to warm to the idea of an October WDW trip. Maybe I do want to try some of those food samples. The mac & cheese sounded wonderful. And it has been years since I had the Canada cheese soup... Sounds like you had a good afternoon

Well after the whole getting sick and nap thing..... I think you and Michael would enjoy F&W, he wouldn't have to eat any seafood and you could find plenty you both like.

And good luck on the rental process getting moved further towards a new tenant!

Thanks!

Sounds like a nice solid base for some drinks.

It worked out pretty well for us.

I really enjoyed this in 2015.

I don't remember it from your report, but then again I'm getting old and senile.

Wow, that is what I call a result. I love the photos of all the special effects.

It's a fun place. We had a good time there!

 

[franandaj]

Well, that's certainly easy enough! I could do that tomorrow. LOL! (and might)

So did you?

Easy enough! That I can remember!

I was wondering why you thought you needed a spreadsheet...this is an easy one!

Then let's DO it !!! I'll be in touch..

Kewl.

UGHHHHHHHHH. Just not fun. Nope.

Well at least he got it fixed.

Then, no need for Ambien. It's for those of us who stress until 3:00AM with no relief.

The only time I lay awake at night is when I drink coffee after 3PM.

Sigh.... Yet, we all still do it.

LOLOLOL!! I cracked up at that.

Yours get fresh cooked turkey though.

And steak too!

OH right. QS.... back to Allears..

Come up with anything?

Well, your last update will end up being almost identical to 2 of my upcoming ones. Same photos almost verpicturim. Both F&W and Trader Sam's.

Hmmm...great minds?

Ok, yeah, loaded mac cheese? HOLY cheesaroni! I got it 3 times it was so good. Totally going to find the recipe and make it.

Look what was in my Photopass Photos when I got home:

 

[franandaj]

What a fun update!!!

Food before rum; why would you do that?

Because we didn't want to end up like you, Jill and Cynthiana did that one time.

The Canada kiosk looks amazing!

It had one of the longest lines of all the kiosks.

Is WDW's Trader Sam's a joke in terms of seating like the TS at Disneyland?

They may have twice as many seats as the one at DLH does. It's a lot bigger in terms of square footage, but there is a lot of wasted space. They could fit several more tables in there.

Love the serving with the floatie swimming to you to serve the drinks!!!!!

That's only when you order the Nautilus, but then again other drinks do other things.

Glad you got to enjoy WDW Trader Sam's! So yum!

It is fun, and much easier to get into than the one at DLH.

 

[pepperandchips]

It is fun, and much easier to get into than the one at DLH.

Don't say that! I am counting on it in June when I swap over to the West (best?) coast!

Loved reading all about your experience at the WDW Trader Sam's though. The CM antics are my favorite part!

 

[afwdwfan]

On our way to the Polynesian, we decided it would be a good idea to have some food in our bellies before we started drinking rum.

Probably not a bad idea.

They were both really good, but that was to be expected. Pretty much they always are. And I love the soup, nice to have it without having to make an ADR, or cook it at home which is what I normally do.

If only it could be obtained at a quick service window all year long.

Pretty soon we were on the Monorail to the TTC. Instead of boarding a resort monorail we just hightailed it over to the Great Ceremonial House. Fran stopped in the gift shop while I went to get a pager. There was no wait! I went back to find her in the gift shop and luckily no one had snatched up the seats while I was gone. We were seated at the end of the bar in the middle of the room. I was amazed at how much better a view we had of what was going on this time since the last time we were here.

Wow! That's great! I'm glad you were able to get in right away and enjoy a few drinks and the ambience of Trader Sam's!

 

[franandaj]

What a fun and yummy evening The CM swimming the Nautilus over is too funny!

It really was. I could use a fun night like that right now.

When is your Fantasy cruise again? Do I get to see you guys afterwards or is it too short?

It's two weeks from tomorrow. We are only there two nights after the cruise but if you want to meet up, that's fine. We're thinking of trying to see Rivers of Light one of the nights, but not quite sure how it works. We don't want to do a dining thing for seating. Do you make FP+ online?

Ooh - I copied that to my recipe file. Will have to try that out some time!

It's super easy and really tasty!

Sounds like another fun recipe, especially since who knows when I'll get back to Epcot! (I did mention the concept of an October adult-only trip with dh, to see all the cool fall / Hallowe'en stuff, F&W, and coincidentally, celebrate our anniversary. Just don't know what year we might be able to pull it off...)

It's an easy way to get a taste of Epcot at home! Adults only trips are great! I've never been with kids since I don't have any!

This seems like another fun couple outing for this hypothetical adult-only trip!

There is so much adult stuff to do at WDW, I'm surprised more people don't know about what there is to do.

 

[Flossbolna]

Yes, there are Riv rs of Light FPs available. It is not running every night and the FPs are going quickly. If you think you want to see it, I would recommend to be quick and see if you can still find any!

 

[franandaj]

I hope everything went well and you did not waste your time.

Well due to my own stupidity, I did. I forgot to witness them signing the application and Fran refused to process it, and now one of the gals has put her application on hold. So back to the drawing board.

I can understand this.

See situation above. No check in bank, no rest.

Don't say that! I am counting on it in June when I swap over to the West (best?) coast!

The thing is this, at the Poly they have a hostess who gives you a pager and you wait, either in the hall or at Captain Cooks. At the DLH you lurk at the entrance waiting for a spot to open up. There's less than 30 seats in there so it's hard to get a spot.

Loved reading all about your experience at the WDW Trader Sam's though. The CM antics are my favorite part!

There isn't as much room I'm the DL version so most all the antics take place behind the bar.

Probably not a bad idea.

And the kiosk food was much cheaper than the apps at Trader Sam's.

If only it could be obtained at a quick service window all

I think you have a great idea! They're probably afraid it would take away from the table service restaurant.

Wow! That's great! I'm glad you were able to get in right away and enjoy a few drinks and the ambience of Trader Sam's!

I was shocked there was no wait.

 

[franandaj]

Yes, there are Riv rs of Light FPs available. It is not running every night and the FPs are going quickly. If you think you want to see it, I would recommend to be quick and see if you can still find any!

Thanks. As soon as I read this, I ran to my computer only to find that they are all gone for the two nights we are there.

 

[irene_dsc]

It's an easy way to get a taste of Epcot at home! Adults only trips are great! I've never been with kids since I don't have any!

Lol! We definitely have done more trips with kids than without, in our 20 years together! (Overall, not just Disney) Plus a fair share of one kid/one parent trips, too, or us 4 plus extended family.

 

[Flossbolna]

Thanks. As soon as I read this, I ran to my computer only to find that they are all gone for the two nights we are there.

I am sorry to hear that. Keep checking back, there might be cancellations from people who just rushed to get something.

 

[franandaj]

Lol! We definitely have done more trips with kids than without, in our 20 years together! (Overall, not just Disney) Plus a fair share of one kid/one parent trips, too, or us 4 plus extended family.

The closest we have come was my parents, Fran, myself and my sister's family took a trip to Cape Cod about 15 years ago. Fran and I got a hotel room and the rest of them stayed in the summer home which belonged to my Grandparents. That was an interesting trip.

I am sorry to hear that. Keep checking back, there might be cancellations from people who just rushed to get something.

I will. Do you know if there is general seating available?

 

[franandaj]

Day 8

This morning I woke up with that impending feeling that the trip is slowly coming to an end. I started mentally packing. You know figuring out which clothes I would need for my last days and start to decide which ones to start putting into suitcases, so I didn’t have to do it all the last morning. Today was trash and towel service day, and I knew we would get a new box of laundry detergent when the maid cleaned up the room, so I decided to wait on doing the last load of laundry until we got new (read-*free*) detergent.

My first FP+ was for Mission Space at 9:30, but I wasn't really up for that so I decided to skip it. The next one opened at 10:45, and I figured that was doable.

Today we were meeting up with Pam, she said that it takes her about 90 minutes to get to WDW and we were planning for somewhere between 10-11. I fixed us French Toast and bacon for breakfast to use up the last of the bacon and almost all the eggs.



After we ate, Fran said she wasn't feeling very well and wanted to lie back down. Pam was just getting on the road so we had at least an hour until we needed to leave the room, so Fran decided after some rest she would figure out if she felt up to going out.

I cleaned up the kitchen and I worked on the TR and caught up on other folks reports while she rested. After an hour or so she felt much better and decided to go with me. On our way to Epcot I got a text from Pam that she was going through security and I texted back, “So are we.”

Soon we caught up at SE and I gave Pam Fran's MB and the two of us rode together.



































And when we came back from our journey, they didn’t even have our faces in the little movie at the end. I was so disappointed!

Right about this time our FP+ for Frozen opened up so we headed over there. I decided not to take the camera so that I could just live in the moment.

After riding, I was really glad that I didn't wait much longer than 15 minutes. It was a cute ride, don't get me wrong, but after having been on it once, I don't feel the need to do it again. Even to try and take pictures. I heard people talking about how cool the effects were, but after having seen the stage show at DCA, the effects on the ride were underwhelming. You can see that in my face on the Photopass picture.



Then it was time to hit the kiosks. Fran and I started with Mexico.





We got the Tacos y Camerones, which was good, only a little spicy.



We also got the Barbacoa enchiladas. Both were good but nothing spectacular.



We also got the pineapple Mezcal margarita and the sangria.





She ate the Flan.




[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

We turned the other direction into WS after that. Fran and I had been playing the Remy game and we still needed to find him in Germany, Italy and the USA. We contemplated the kiosks for China, South Korea, South Africa and Germany. Instead we picked up some treats at Karamel Kuche after finding Remy on a barrel near the water.



This is one of my favorite treats from Karamel Kuche, it’s a Caramel S’more.



We also got some other goodies to take back to the room.



Then we made a stop in Poland.





Fran has been looking for stuffed cabbage at every grocery store deli counter we visit, and she has not found any yet. She was thrilled to see that was one of the items at the Poland kiosk. It was good, but I wasn't as thrilled with the flavor of the filling, and the sauce was a little too sweet for my taste. She loved it.



We also got the perogie and kielbasa. This was very good, but sadly I was already starting to get full.



I had a little glass of wine to wash down the food.



It was 2PM and we have 5 hours until our 7 course dinner, so I declared this my last food item of the afternoon. We had also ordered the drink Apple Pie which was very tasty and quite unique.



We continued around World Showcase looking for Remy in Italy and found him on the water in a Gondola.



Since America was the last country we needed, Fran was able to deduce which Remy sticker went with that country (one sticker, one country, no brainer). Once we had the first sticker sheet completed, Fran and Pam filled the other two so we could redeem our souvenir pins. We found Remy in America and moved on.



We were just chatting and enjoying the day while on our way to the next destination, Brazil. Pam really liked the cheese bread here and it was gluten free as well. I got a Capirainia to drink, you’ve already seen what it looks like so I didn’t take another picture.

We continued to Ireland where Pam also enjoyed the gluten free chocolate pudding with cream liqueur.

Since we finished up the Remy game we stopped in at Disney Traders to show our completed sheets and they gave us a choice of one of six pins for each sheet.



There were two more food items on Pam’s list, the liquid Nitro Almond Truffle from the Chocolate Studio and the peanut butter and white chocolate mousse from the Chew studio. Since the Greenhouse Guru was right next to the Chew, I didn't see the harm in ordering an Heirloom Tomato Salad. That shouldn't kill my appetite for dinner. Again, you already saw it so no picture.

We had a few minutes to kill before Pam had a FP+ for Frozen and Fran and I needed to head back to the room. We tried to head up to the DVC Lounge for a free beverage, but the line was out the door. We gave up on that and said goodbye. However not before deciding to get together the following night and maybe watch the fireworks over at DHS.

On our way back to the room, Fran decided that she wanted to just purchase the other three Remy pins and we went back to Disney Traders. As we exited the store, we realized that we never got a picture with the Mickey Grilling topiary at the entrance to World Showcase.



As we got to the topiary I also realized we had once again forgotten to take a picture with Pam. And then who should come walking up? She had stopped at Club Cool and another spot before making her way back to Norway, so we did actually get a picture!



Then we parted company for real and Fran and I went back to the room.


Next up, will there be horseradish on a sharkskin paddle?

 

[tiggrbaby]

Trader Sams looks like so much fun!

How nice that you were able to meet up with Pam.

 

[orangecats2]

Trader Sam's looks really cool.

rench Toast and bacon

My favorite!!!

trip is slowly coming to an end

Oh no! When is your next TR?

She ate the Flan.

I want to try that.

the drink Apple Pie

What was in it?

 

[Pinkocto]

I was wondering when our day together was. I forgot it was near the end of your trip. What a fun day, I enjoyed that very much! and more fun to come!

Sorry about the Rivers of Light FP. I have no idea if they're using the big amphitheater for that or is it going to be somewhere else. If they're using the theater there's lots of seats but it can be confusing where to go when there's tons of people. When I saw the Jungle Book show it was a bit crazy.