Keep Calm and Go to Disney! 10/21 - 11/4/14 COMPLETE

Just catching up :) We did Cape May breakfast this past October and I was underwhelmed as well. It was fine, but nothing spectacular - we only went because we were staying at Beach Club, so it was super convenient.

I had no idea about the special seating and stuff from Chase - we just opened a Disney Chase card, so I'm hoping they do it this year as well. Do you recall how many people can get in with one card? We have 13 people going, and I think 3 or 4 of us have cards :)

And I'm drooling over the pics from Karamell Kuche - I would love to try everything!!! We're partial to the choc covered caramels and the caramel/choc covered pineapple :)
 
Oh man, those chocolate and caramel covered strawberries, grapes, and pineapple are calling my name! The chocolate sea salt caramels are definitely something I'll have to try. Guess I'll be using all of my snack credits here ;)
 
All of those sweets make my mouth water. Those strawberries look really good. I may have to stop there for a treat next time.
 
Havent been to Cape May for breakfast since 2008. We had an ADR there in 2012 which was the last time we were at BW, but decided to cancel that ADR. Maybe we will get back there in a couple years as the characters do look adorable in the beach wear, but agree that CP & TH breakfast are much better.
 


I love KK. And we didn't go this year. I was actually on the plan home and I smacked my husband in the arm and said "We forgot!! Oh no!!" Just another reason to go back....right??:woohoo:
 
What a very sweet tradition you have! I have to ask in the name of research: What's the best time of day to stop in without a huge line? The smell is pretty great, though, so I guess there's worse ways to spend time waiting around the World.
 
I agree that brownie there is not very good! My husband hS been disappointed more than once by it.
 


Hi Barb! Thanks for asking about our trip. We had a good time and the weather was so nice. But I think I will avoid the Poly until after the construction is completed. We were originally assigned a room with a view of about 6 bobcats digging up dirt!

I need to try to visit the Chase lounge our next trip which is in October.

Love the caramel shop. Sadly I didn't get to visit it last time. It began to rain hard our last night at Epcot so we made it has far as Norway and turned back. It was probably for the best for our already full bellies. But it is my favorite place to grab a snack in all of the WS.
 
I've been lurking, and enjoying your reports (and imagining 'what if I did this?")

then you write your dd gets a job in Austin?

My son is packing to go to a job interview in Austin!

Good luck to your son! I've only been to Austin twice but it seems like a great city. And I just got off the phone with my daughter and she is really loving it there. :thumbsup2



We bought one of those brownies and it was dried out and rather tasteless.
That's good to hear about the AP discount. I usually think of it only for merchandise.

I really haven't figured out yet where they do or don't give an AP discount at Epcot. On my last trip they gave me the 10% discount at the market in the Mexico pavilion, Karamell Kuche, the French store by the bakery, and at one of the UK stores. However, no luck at the Moroccan store by Spice Road table. :confused3



Barb how do we find you on Instagram. Would love to see all your Instagraming?

My name on Instagram is jabead. ;)




Just catching up :) We did Cape May breakfast this past October and I was underwhelmed as well. It was fine, but nothing spectacular - we only went because we were staying at Beach Club, so it was super convenient.

I had no idea about the special seating and stuff from Chase - we just opened a Disney Chase card, so I'm hoping they do it this year as well. Do you recall how many people can get in with one card? We have 13 people going, and I think 3 or 4 of us have cards :)

And I'm drooling over the pics from Karamell Kuche - I would love to try everything!!! We're partial to the choc covered caramels and the caramel/choc covered pineapple :)

I do seem to remember that they were limiting the number of people allowed to enter the lounge for each card presented but since it was just me I never had to ask about the limit. There is usually a thread started every year here on the Restaurant board for the F & W festival information and questions. I bet you could get an answer to that question there. :thumbsup2



Oh man, those chocolate and caramel covered strawberries, grapes, and pineapple are calling my name! The chocolate sea salt caramels are definitely something I'll have to try. Guess I'll be using all of my snack credits here ;)

The chocolate and caramel covered pineapple is on my list to try next. Hopefully I'll have better luck with it than I had with the brownie. As for the chocolate sea salt caramels, I could spend a whole pile of snack credits on those! ;)



All of those sweets make my mouth water. Those strawberries look really good. I may have to stop there for a treat next time.

Definitely!! :thumbsup2




Havent been to Cape May for breakfast since 2008. We had an ADR there in 2012 which was the last time we were at BW, but decided to cancel that ADR. Maybe we will get back there in a couple years as the characters do look adorable in the beach wear, but agree that CP & TH breakfast are much better.

I'm wanting to try Chef Mickey's and 1900 Park Fare for breakfast sometime. I haven't been to either one in several years. I'm wondering how they stack up to Crystal Palace and Tusker House.


I love KK. And we didn't go this year. I was actually on the plan home and I smacked my husband in the arm and said "We forgot!! Oh no!!" Just another reason to go back....right??:woohoo:

Bummer! :sad2: Hope you get back there ASAP. ;)



What a very sweet tradition you have! I have to ask in the name of research: What's the best time of day to stop in without a huge line? The smell is pretty great, though, so I guess there's worse ways to spend time waiting around the World.

Soon after they open at 11:00 is the best time. I was there around noon and there was only a few other people there. It takes a little while for the crowds to make it that far back into World Showcase.


I agree that brownie there is not very good! My husband hS been disappointed more than once by it.

Hmm...I'm seeing a pattern here with the brownies. Too bad 'cause they look delicious.


Hi Barb! Thanks for asking about our trip. We had a good time and the weather was so nice. But I think I will avoid the Poly until after the construction is completed. We were originally assigned a room with a view of about 6 bobcats digging up dirt!

I need to try to visit the Chase lounge our next trip which is in October.

Love the caramel shop. Sadly I didn't get to visit it last time. It began to rain hard our last night at Epcot so we made it has far as Norway and turned back. It was probably for the best for our already full bellies. But it is my favorite place to grab a snack in all of the WS.

It was really hot when we were there from 5/13 - 5/21. Sounds like you might have had better luck, as far as the heat. However, we didn't have any rain, even though it was predicted for nearly everyday of our trip so I guess that's good. And that's too bad about your construction view at the Poly. We spent some time there at the new bar and at Kona but didn't really venture out of the main building so I'm surprised to hear that they still have that much construction going on.
 



With my bag loaded with Karamell Kuche goodies, I then made the long trek from Germany in World Showcase to the Festival Center, which is towards the front of Future World (in the old Wonders of Life pavilion). I picked up my ticket for the 1:00 Culinary Demonstration from the Festival Center's Will Call desk and then got in line outside of the demo area to wait for them to open up. The demo which I had come to see was to be given by a chef who was previously unknown to me, Ken Vedrinski. When the demo/wine seminar schedule was published back in July, I had looked over all those which were taking place during my two week trip. This one caught my eye because they were serving a lobster dish. :thumbsup2





Since it was scheduled on a Monday and a $2 discount is offered to Tables in Wonderland members, DVC, and Annual Passholders on wine seminars/culinary demos held on Monday - Thursday, I quickly surmised that I could have a lobster dish and a glass of wine for $13. Not a bad deal for Disney food and wine. :thumbsup2



After purchasing the ticket on the phone (to get the discount you must purchase in advance and over the phone), I did some online research regarding Chef Ken Vedrinski and was thrilled by what I found. There was article after article regarding what a great chef he is. I discovered that one of his two restaurants in the Charleston, SC area (Trattoria Lucca) was in fact an Italian restaurant (as I had suspected when I saw the name). And an award-winning one too, as Lucca was named one of the Best Italian Restaurants in the United States by Travel & Leisure in 2012. But even better than that, I read that his Italian cooking (and homemade pasta recipes) were influenced by his Italian grandmother, who had grown up in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Now it just so happens that my grandparents were also from Abruzzo. I have visited that area and loved the food there, as it reminded me of all the delicious Italian dishes that my grandmother used to make. So I became super excited about attending this demo and looked forward to seeing what lobster dish Chef Vedrinski would prepare for us. I had a feeling that it would be Italian and that it would be awesome...and I was 100% correct! :thumbsup2 But let's back up a bit and start from the beginning.

Shortly before 1:00 the line started moving and I was able to enter and choose a seat at one of the long tables close to the stage (seating is first come, first serve). A familiar face, Pam Smith (who hosts most of the culinary demos) was there to introduce the wine presenter from Rodney Strong Vineyards.




He gave a short video presentation and then we were given a glass of chardonnay.






So what was the lobster dish that the chardonnay was paired with?






Lobster Bolognese...SCORE!!! :woohoo:Both lobster and Italian, this was going to be GOOOOOD!!!






The gnocchi in this dish were little pillows of deliciousness... :cloud9:





Here is the recipe for those who might be inclined to try this...





And last, a photo of the Chef... :worship::worship::worship:





You know, I've never been to Charleston but it is now on my bucket list of places I'd like to visit. ;)

Next up: Beaches & Cream
 
I love to see the culinary demonstrations you review. Such a unique experience! Your lobster bolognese looks delicious. A great value, it seems, considering it was both enjoyable and reasonable!

I'll need to make a note to get my caramel goodies before WS gets packed. The pineapple looks so good and reminds me of the old dessert that 'Ohana used to offer.
 
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The culinary demonstration looks very cool. If I ever get to food and wine I'll have to go to one.
 
Barb, you're making my mouth water. So envious of this amazing trip and i cannot wait to hear about the most recent one. Been following on instagram and all I can say is yummo yummo which is the DisDiningReview version of hubba hubba.
 
I love to see the culinary demonstrations you review. Such a unique experience! Your lobster bolognese looks delicious. A great value, it seems, considering it was both enjoyable and reasonable!

I'll need to make a note to get my caramel goodies before WS gets packed. The pineapple looks so good and reminds me of the old dessert that 'Ohana used to offer.

Oh, I had forgotten all about 'Ohana's fresh pineapple with caramel sauce. You have a good memory! :thumbsup2



The culinary demonstration looks very cool. If I ever get to food and wine I'll have to go to one.

I only went to two on this trip (this one and Carla Hall's) but I really enjoyed both of them.




Great Reviews, I really want to go to a Culinary Demo it looks like fun.

Thanks! I really enjoyed this demo and Carla Hall's too! :thumbsup2



Barb, you're making my mouth water. So envious of this amazing trip and i cannot wait to hear about the most recent one. Been following on instagram and all I can say is yummo yummo which is the DisDiningReview version of hubba hubba.

Yep, my daily IG post has kind of taken the place of my live thread on the DIS...only a heck of a lot easier. :laughing: Anyway, glad to have you following along. :goodvibes
 
After a big breakfast and the lobster bolognese, you would think I'd be too full for anymore food. Well, you would be wrong! ;) My sweet tooth was demanding to be satisfied. At first I thought of my Karamell Kuche brownie, but then it dawned on me that I hadn't yet had one of my favorite ice cream treats on this trip. Actually I hadn't had one during the two trips prior to this one. :eek: So I made an emergency exit through the International Gateway and walked to the Beach Club.


What was my destination?




Unlike my previous failure last week, this time my walk-up attempt was successful. They said they could seat me right away if I wouldn't mind sitting at the counter. That sounded like fun to me so I enthusiastically followed the castmember to my front row seat for all of the Beaches & Cream action. :thumbsup2




I really didn't need one, however I took a menu in order to take photos of it for this review...








I love that you can have vanilla, cherry, raspberry or chocolate syrup added to your soda here...





So the first thing I ordered was a Coke with vanilla syrup added...





Then I must confess that I did a naughty thing. :guilty: I coveted my neighbor's order of onion rings when I saw them coming fresh out of the fryer. My eyes being bigger than my stomach, I succumbed to temptation and ordered...





Because what goes better with an ice cream sundae than a plateful of....onion rings??? :laughing:


And speaking of that ice cream sundae, ladies and gentlemen I present to you the glorious No Way Jose...



No Way Jose (smaller, two scoop version) - A peanut butter and hot fudge delight featuring chocolate and vanilla ice cream, topped with peanut butter and chocolate chips, whipped cream, and a cherry


And a close-up shot...




While the onion rings were very good, I concentrated my efforts (and what little room was left in my stomach) on the No Way Jose because ice cream, hot fudge, and peanut butter always trump fried onions. Period. End of story. ;) But shamefully, that meant I only ate a few of the onion rings and left behind about $5.00 worth of my $6.99 purchase. :guilty:





If I had been at 50's Prime Time Cafe I probably would have been told to stand in the corner or maybe clean the Kitchen Sink?...



The Kitchen Sink at Beaches & Cream is probably the one and only sink that would be fun to clean. ;)


But here at Beaches & Cream I was not forced to face the music...



...unless I wanted to, of course! :laughing:



So after one more look around...





...it was time for me to say goodbye to my beloved Beaches & Cream. See you in May! ;)


Next up: Via Napoli
 
I got the chocolate covered s'more at KK last time we were there and it was wonderful! There is a layer of caramel in with the marshmallow and it is divine! I will warn however not to put it in the fridge as it becomes very difficult to eat!
 
First, your goodies from karamel Kuche look amazing. Anyway you could teleport some of those this way ; ). So gonna have to start to make that a last day tradition too.

Your lobster bolognese looks delicious and the whole experience looks like a ton of fun, and a good value. I'd never heard of the chef either, but spent some time in charleston and the food is just as good as you could imagine

Love your beaches and cream meal. Can you add some onion rings to that teleportation request? Onion rings and ice cream sounds like a perfect meal to me.
 
We have been to beaches and cream once and that was to conquer the one and only kitchen sink which we did eat all of. I would love to go back there and try something else. Those onion rings and no way Jose look really good.
 
<sigh> Sea salt caramels I think I love you! They are awesome. Sadly, the No Way Jose is one item I've never tried and I need to change that! The problem is there are just too many old favorites that making room for something new is a bit of a challenge. Not enough time in the day!
 

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