*Bye Bye black out dates & HELLO summer of Disney! EPCOT CARB-A-THON! [12/8/13]

[emmebear]

updated 6/25/13


CHEF MICKEY'S BREAKFAST!

i lucked out with an ADR to chef mickey's for our farewell breakfast. we had such a great time at chef mickey's with rachel in april that i was so happy we got to go again. given, i was a bit apprehensive for our experience as my last dinner experience was absolutely terrible. fingers were crossed for breakfast!


after checking in, we went to get our picture taken with the chef mickey figure. the first picture was really bad & blurry. on our way out, we re-took the picture & it was in betterfocus this time.

we were actually seated in an area i've nver sat in before. it was the section located behind the dessert station. it ha some really cool nostalgic mickey pictures along the walls.

emme had her vanity set with her (of course!).

oh hai there mickey!



we were greeting promptly by our CM and it was off to the buffet we go.

emme's first plate.

blueberry yogurt (one of the things that emme survives on while at disney).

she loves her yogurt.



emme wanted me to take a picture of her biting mickey's ear off. she said, "mommy, get a picture of me biting mickey's ear". this is coming from a child who purposefully looks away from any camera i point at her (she's traumatized for sure as i've taken so many photos of her).

and there goes his ear.

she's very proud of herself & notice she's not looking at the camera.


emme doesn't eat waffles at home but she loves the mickey waffles. the batter is much fluffier that regular waffle batters and it's just so darn cute. it's perfect for dipping.



here is my first plate:

HELLO CARB FEST!


i was reunited with this:

CHEESY POTATOES!

these potatoes were just as good as they were in april. i actually had 3 servings from 3 different batches and they were all equally delicious. these aren't as good as akershus cheesy potatoes but come pretty close. these potatoes are divine. i love everything about them. so.so.good.

Smoked salmon w/ red onions & capers

i always love the smoke salmon at disney but this salmon was a little too cold. parts of it was still frozen.



as i was totally stuffing my face, emme had a friend visit.

donald using the dinglehopper in emme's ariel vanity set. so funny!



back to the food, here is my second plate:

the fruit was on there to try and balance out all the bad stuff on my plate. i also picked out the crispiest bacon i could find. chef mickey's also has tragically sad-limpy bacon.

the bacon was pretty crisp so it doesn't look AS tragic but it's pretty thin. i saw people with mounds of bacon on their plates. looking at those plates pass me by gave me high cholesterol.




we had another friend stop by for a visit:

goofy picked out the straightener to use.

and here is my third plate:

yes, more cheesy potatoes & italian sausage. i couldn't pass up the nacho cheese either. i just had to have it on my plate to dip the sausage into. the cheese blintz was located on the dessert portion of the buffet. the strawberry sauce was very very sweet. it wasn't for me. i'm more of a savory girl & i ate all my cheesy potatoes....again.



as we were finishing up, emme had some more friends stop by to say hello.

YAY PLUTO!



overall, we had another fantastic breakfast at chef mickey's. so far, breakfast is 2/2 whereas dinner was 1/2.

chef mickey's is a really fun place to eat as there is singing & dancing during your meal. the buffet was clean & always replenished. i also had another fantastic CM during this meal. he sometimes got busy but he did try his best and my coffee was never empty.

i really loved the cheesy potatoes and the potatoes alone are worth the visit. the characters also were really fun and had a lot of energy. emme had some great interactions with her friends.

chef mickey's also accepts TIW so that's another bonus. i valeted my car for FREE using the TIW card. i kept my car parked at the contemporary which was great because MK parking & taking the tram is a total pain. i will mention that they were actually checking ADR's at the security gate as parking was limited due to the holiday.

side note: i wish they served mimosas here. that would be perfect!

two thumbs up again from me & emme!!!



up next, farewell snacks at magic kingdom.

 

[princess aleya]

Chef Mickey's cheesy potatoes look so good. I don't remember having them the last time I was there. I will make sure to try them the next time I go.

 

[marshallsmommy]

Gosh are those Picts of Emme and the characters too cute! Has she always been okay with them? When we went in jan my son was 20 months old and wanted nothing to do with the charters unless they were in a parade! Hoping this year will be better! I miss the contempo cafe I loved the chips and cupcakes!

 

[emmebear]

Chef Mickey's cheesy potatoes look so good. I don't remember having them the last time I was there. I will make sure to try them the next time I go.

they are so scrumptious! you must try the next time!

Gosh are those Picts of Emme and the characters too cute! Has she always been okay with them? When we went in jan my son was 20 months old and wanted nothing to do with the charters unless they were in a parade! Hoping this year will be better! I miss the contempo cafe I loved the chips and cupcakes!

thank you for the kind comments!

emme absolutely loves the characters. our very first trip to disney together was when she was 26 months old. our very first character meal together was dinner @ chef mickey's.

here are some pictures from that night.

pluto was the very first character that came to our table. emme was in such shock. it was so cute!

she was still in shock when minnie came around.

now she is over the initial shock of seeing the characters "live".

she's always loved donald.




and my friend took this picture. it pretty sums up emme's emotions from her first character meet & greet.

i've always wondered what kids think when they see these cartoon characters for the first time. it has to be completely trippy.

i will never forget the look of awe, shock, surprise & wonder of emme's face during dinner. it was a pretty disney magical experience...and thus began our obsession with visiting disney.

funny story: when we were at cape may for the first time, there was a kid sitting in a high chair. he LOST it whenever a character came around. somehow, he picked up the knife and was stabbing the table AND hysterically crying at the same time when minnie came up to him. it was one of the funniest moments EVER. i wish i video taped him. he would be an internet sensation!

 

[marshallsmommy]

thank you for the kind comments!

emme absolutely loves the characters. our very first trip to disney together was when she was 16 months old. our very first character meal together was dinner @ chef mickey's.

here are some pictures from that night.

pluto was the very first character that came to our table. emme was in such shock. it was so cute!

she was still in shock when minnie came around.

now she is over the initial shock of seeing the characters "live".

she's always loved donald.

and my friend took this picture. it pretty sums up emme's emotions from her first character meet & greet.

i've always wondered what kids think when they see these cartoon characters for the first time. it has to be completely trippy.

i will never forget the look of awe, shock, surprise & wonder of emme's face during dinner. it was a pretty disney magical experience...and thus began our obsession with visiting disney.

funny story: when we were at cape may for the first time, there was a kid sitting in a high chair. he LOST it whenever a character came around. somehow, he picked up the knife and was stabbing the table AND hysterically crying at the same time when minnie came up to him. it was one of the funniest moments EVER. i wish i video taped him. he would be an internet sensation!

I love it! How precious I also love that in the one with Donald even the mom sitting behind her is making the awwww face at Emme! Marshall hasn't stabbed anything or even cried really hahaha just doesn't like the fur characters he will kiss a princess any day, how I wish I had those kind of pictures with Mickey you are soooo lucky! Marshall's first meal was Chef Mickey too!

 

[sephorachick]

OMG I know how u feel about those same potatoes. We were there in Oct & I had 2 huge helping of them. Does anyone have the recipe?! They taste almost cream cheesy almost???? Great pics & review. Your daughter is so cute w/ the biting off ear part LOL

 

[rustyanchor]

Omg, the characters using the vanity set... That's great.

 

[DSNY4ever]

Oh my goodness, your daughter is darling! Thanks for the reviews!

 

[lillygator]

You can't order mimosa's there? I could have sworn I ordered drink drinks at dinner.

 

[brunelldara]

I would take the bus to the Magic Kingdom then the monorail or boat to the GF. FYI- there isn't a bus that goes to the GF from MK. I would probably leave 90 minutes early from your hotel. You might get there a little early but the Grand is such a beautiful place that you can look around.

You could take a taxi too, and request a van. Those will have exactly 7 seats (i think?). You would have to request a chair for the 5 year old too. We called for a cab and they brought a carseat for her! It would prob be 20 dollars to the GF.

Thank you very much. It was nice to not have to bug the travel agent about another question. I think we will do the boats and then my son will be able to experience it at least once this trip. Thanks again.

 

[kanadar]

Hey Patty! I've been reading a few of your other reports, commented on a couple but not much haha. My family and I LOVE Disney, we've been a lot. Your daughter is absolutely adorable!!! It looks like in a few of the recent pictures shes looking at the camera, or at least looking close to it so it looks like it haha. Maybe shes getting better

 

[emmebear]

updated 7/2/13



after breakfast at chef mickey's, i kept my car at the contemporary and we rode the monorail to magic kingdom.

we made our way to fantasyland & emme had her favorite treat.

she's perfected the fake smile.



we grabbed a FP for the little mermaid ride. as we were in fantasyland, i noticed how much progress the new rollercoaster was making. it was exciting!

of course, we had to ride the tea cups. emme loves this ride!

while we waited, we used our fans i purchased at target. they are misters and only cost $8.00. they worked perfect!

it was time to get another FP, so we got one here:

then made our way to the little mermaid. this is by far emme's most favorite ride.

finally, it was time for buzz lightyear.

she wanted to show me her muscles & note that she's still holding onto that vanity set.



i was making our way to adventureland for my last snack and then emme heard the beginning of the show. we always have to stop. every time she watches this, it's as if she's seen it for the very first time. she never gets tired of it & has to watch the entire thing.

after the show, emme was getting a little tired. she was starting to fall asleep which was a perfect time for me to have my last snack.

Dole Whip

this was sooooo refreshing on this hot day. i took refuge by the swiss family robinson tree and devoured it. emme had drifted to la la land. i didn't want her to sleep as i wanted to ride some more rides but it was time for us to go.



i really enjoyed my time with emme at disney. it was indeed a magical time. emme is at such a fun age right now & i'm not going to lie...i still like the fact that she naps as it gives me some quiet time to myself (this means...adult beverage time).

we will be returning on friday & meeting up with rachel & corey. we are so excited!!!

thanks for reading along!!

up next, SURPRISE SOLO TRIP!!

 

[emmebear]

OMG I know how u feel about those same potatoes. We were there in Oct & I had 2 huge helping of them. Does anyone have the recipe?! They taste almost cream cheesy almost???? Great pics & review. Your daughter is so cute w/ the biting off ear part LOL

i think it is cream cheese or even sour cream. whatever it is, it is so dang tasty!!

she was very proud to bite the ear off.

Omg, the characters using the vanity set... That's great.

i love the character interaction at chef mickey's! it makes the hefty price tag worth it.

Oh my goodness, your daughter is darling! Thanks for the reviews!

thank you for the kind comments!!

also, thank you for reading along.

You can't order mimosa's there? I could have sworn I ordered drink drinks at dinner.

you know...i never thought about ordering a mimosa there. they have a full bar. i've had beer at dinner before. a mimosa would have been heavenly.

Hey Patty! I've been reading a few of your other reports, commented on a couple but not much haha. My family and I LOVE Disney, we've been a lot. Your daughter is absolutely adorable!!! It looks like in a few of the recent pictures shes looking at the camera, or at least looking close to it so it looks like it haha. Maybe shes getting better

thank you for reading my reports.

i appreciate your kind comments.

she is getting a little better but for the most part....she likes to be difficult.

 

[princess aleya]

The dole whip looks really yummy. I have not tried one yet, but I will soon.

 

[emmebear]

Just returned from Disney with Emme.


Emme spent the second half of yesterday with a high fever & vomited 6 times total. . We had a really rough evening & I barely slept as she was up about every hour crying.

However, she woke up & said she didn't feel sick anymore & was ready to go to magic kingdom. Kids are so resilient despite me being really worried.

I will be updating my solo day at Disney in June & our time in July soon.

Thanks for reading everyone!

 

[rustyanchor]

Just returned from Disney with Emme.

Emme spent the second half of yesterday with a high fever & vomited 6 times total. . We had a really rough evening & I barely slept as she was up about every hour crying.

However, she woke up & said she didn't feel sick anymore & was ready to go to magic kingdom. Kids are so resilient despite me being really worried.

I will be updating my solo day at Disney in June & our time in July soon.

Thanks for reading everyone!

poor emme!!! glad she is feeling better. can't wait for your new reports!

 

[emmebear]

poor emme!!! glad she is feeling better. can't wait for your new reports!

thank you so much! i'm glad she's feeling better too. i was a complete disaster this morning & caffeine from MSB was a total life saver.

this was emme before she got sick on saturday.

she went from super happy to completely miserable. it was really sad.

but we made the most of our time today before we had to leave.

 

[emmebear]

updated 7/7/13



SOLO TRIP PART 1!



on father's day weekend, i was able to get an entire 30 hours to myself. i'm both mom & dad to emme & 30 hours to myself was an awesome gift. so off to orlando i went.

as many times as i have been with emme, i am not able to ride the thrill rides as it's just me & her. it was my mission to hit all 4 parks & ride all the thrill rides in one day.

i made my way to test track. i've never ridden test track before & the single rider lane was awesome. i waited less than 5 minutes for the ride.

i loved test track. it was so much fun!



after test track, i was starving. world showcase was closed however boulangerie patisserie was open. it started to drizzle so i quickened my pace to france.

there were so many options:

but i chose this:

Croissant Jambon Fromage - ham, cheese and bechamel in a croissant $4.75

i love everything about this croissant. it's so tasty. it's everything i shouldn't be eating but i figure i could burn it off with lots of walking. the croissant is so rich & buttery yet very light & flaky. you MUST get this thing toasted. the cheese & bechamel are sinfully good & pairs so well with the ham. this croissant is epic.



i paired my croissant with this:

Mimosa


i asked for " A LOT of champagne with a splash of OJ". the cm asked if i was driving. ha ha. he literally filled the glass with all bubbly and a tiny splash of oj. it was the perfect drink with my croissant.

i also got an ice water to keep myself hydrated & to help me not look like such a lush while having an adult beverage at 10am.



the total cost of the meal was $13.00. not too bad!



i also spotted stitch!

this is so darn cute!




after my breakfast, i was heading towards future world for soarin. i really wanted to get a stella from the rose & crown bar but they were not open yet. so instead, i said hello to a friend.

here are some more photos from france to the UK:

after soarin, i wanted to ride test track one last time.

and my favorite part:

after a very productive morning at epcot, it was time to move on to my second park.


farewell epcot!

up next, ANIMAL KINGDOM!

 

[rustyanchor]

that mimosa looks great. i guess i haven't ever paid much attention, but i didn't even know you could get them at boulangerie patisserie. now i know where i will be on my next morning at epcot... love the fisheye pics!!

 

[emmebear]

that mimosa looks great. i guess i haven't ever paid much attention, but i didn't even know you could get them at boulangerie patisserie. now i know where i will be on my next morning at epcot... love the fisheye pics!!

i had no idea about the mimosa either but i was so happy to see it on the menu.

they serve beer & wine but i don't think i ever saw mimosa on a menu online.

it was a really nice pour & the perfect way to start my day!