O'MalleytheAlleyCat
10-26-2009, 12:40 PM
Participants: Myself, DH, DD13 and DS18
So, after two very smooth flights leading us from Iowa to Orlando, we landed about 10:20 PM on Thursday night. I texted DS to let him know we had arrived and to find out where our room was at the Beach Club Villas. He didn’t answer, so I tried to call him….still no answer. By this time we had found our way to the ME bus, boarded and were on our way to the Beach Club. DD tried to call DS also and finally got him to answer. He had gone back to the room and fallen asleep! He told us the room number and how to get there. He also said he had a wonderful time at the culinary demonstration that afternoon. He got to eat quail with wild mushroom salad. He had already started his eating around the world and was about 7 countries ahead of us. Once at the Beach Club, we found the room without difficulty, said a quick hello to DS and all went right to bed.
We really didn’t intend to spend much time at other parks this trip, but did hop a quick boat ride to the Studios Friday morning to ride TSM. The crowds were not bad at all and we grabbed 4 fastpasses before walking on to the ride with only about a 10 minute wait. Of course, DS won (he always does) but I came in second and had a higher accuracy rating! We then went back to let DD and DH go on Star Tours since we had missed that one this summer. DS and I went to the little book store near there and browsed a bit. We also ended up getting something to drink and a carrot cake cookie. That cookie was really two cookies made of carrot cake with a load of cream cheese frosting in between…very good!! My kids are huge animation fans so we then went to look at that store and just happened to get in on the beginning of a drawing session where DD, DH and I all learned how to draw Goofy (I draw goofy all the time, but I mean the character!). We went to use our fastpasses at TSM with the results the same as the first time. DD and I then browsed through a few stores while the boys went to ride RnRC. We headed out to EPCOT via boat about 11:00.
We entered at the International Gateway and DD demanded that we begin our food journey at Canada because she was craving some maple glazed salmon. We accommodated her and not only went to Canada but also a couple of other booths between that one and the entrance to the World Showcase. DS and DD managed over the weekend to eat or drink something from all the different booths (well, at least the ones from different countries). I won’t bore you with all those details but will give you a list of the favorites at the end. We made it around to France before we all felt quite stuffed and ready for a break. A friend of ours from where we live sings with the Voices of Liberty and we knew he was working that day, so we went over there and listened. For anyone who has not had the opportunity to do this, please do! The singing is spectacular, the venue (with the domed ceiling) just enhances the sound that much more, and the patriotic nature of the program (which is really quite short) makes you feel so proud. After a quick hello to our friend Jon, we headed back to the Beach Club for a rest and to get ready for the Halloween parties that night. DS and DH headed over to Universal Studios for the Fright Night and DD and I went to MNSSHP at the Magic Kingdom. Both were great hits. I will say that DS commented on the quantity of alcohol that was being sold over at UA and the general drunkenness by the end of the night….not a family friendly situation at all, however the scares were good. DD and I got to ride everything we wanted to ride at the MK with minimal waits…mostly walk right on, and also collected a good amount of candy along the way. The fireworks were wonderful and the parade was also very fun. They did have “technical difficulties” with the parade that night. The headless horseman rode through at 10:30 (we watched the second parade) then the parade didn’t begin until almost 11:00. After that, we were ready to go and hopped the bus back to the Beach Club. I was amazed at the number of people in costume and the complexity of some of the costumes. It was very fun to see. DD had me make her a pirate costume to wear, which at the last minute she decided against. She says it was too hot….I think she felt silly wearing a costume. Oh well, she did get invited to a Halloween party this weekend so my work wasn’t all for nothing.
Since we had all been out late the night before, we slept in a bit on Saturday and finally made our way over to the International Gateway around 11:00 to take up our journey where we left it the day before…at France. Chocolate milk crème brulee was a favorite of everyone and one of the only repeats of the weekend as we stopped there later to get more on our way out. This time we made it to Germany before we were full enough to stop for a break. DS and I went to see the Hearty Boys from Chicago do a cooking demo and even though they couldn’t find our name on the list, we had an e-mail confirmation and were allowed in. The chefs were entertaining and informative and the food (chicken breast over porridge) was great. DH and DD hung out at innoventions during this time and also rode Spaceship Earth. We met up, went through Club Cool for a couple of quick drinks and back to the hotel for a rest.
We were really dying to see our beloved Hawkeye football team in action Saturday night, but did not get the Big Ten network in the room, so walked over to the ESPN club and finally got a table in the dining area during the first quarter so we could watch the game. I think we may have been the only Hawkeye fans in the room, but it was hard to tell since it was such a defensive battle up until the end. When we scored on 4th and goal with :02 left on the clock to win the game, then everyone else in the room knew we were Hawkeye fans!! I have to say here that I LOVED the location of the Beach Club Villas. It was a 5 minute walk to both EPCOT and the Boardwalk which was just amazing. I think we will definitely try to stay there again, especially during the Food and Wine Festival.
Sunday morning we were up and packing to leave. We got our boarding passes and ME transportation information under our door, so we just left our bags with bell services to store for us and headed over to EPCOT to finish up the rest of the countries. We began on the Mexico side this time and finally made it to Melbourne, Australia as our last stop. We then meandered over to France for one last crème brulee and sat to watch the street show which was very good (a guy who stacks up chairs and does handstands on them). We caught the ME bus back to the airport and DS was back at school by 10:00 that night and we got back home to Iowa shortly after midnight. DD was not too happy to go to school this morning, but I did notice she wore her Food and Wine Festival t-shirt!
Favorite foods from the F&WF:
1) Chocolate milk crème brulee and braised short ribs from Paris, France
2) Grilled beef skewer with chimichurri sauce and boniato puree from Buenos Aires, Argentina
3) Everything from the Mexico City, Mexico
4) Kielbasa and potato pierogie from Krakow, Poland
5) Gulab Jamun from New Delhi, India
6) Chicken and coconut soup from Bangkok, Thailand
7) Everything from Munich, Germany
8) Primavera (strawberry, peach and banana slush) from Bologna, Itlay
9) Chicken and andouille gumbo and praline bread pudding from New Orleans, LA
10) Warm chocolate lava cake from Cork, Ireland
11) Everything from Montreal, Canada
Next trip: January 2010 for DD’s 14th birthday so she can do the American Idol experience (her life plan right now is to sing on Broadway someday)
So, after two very smooth flights leading us from Iowa to Orlando, we landed about 10:20 PM on Thursday night. I texted DS to let him know we had arrived and to find out where our room was at the Beach Club Villas. He didn’t answer, so I tried to call him….still no answer. By this time we had found our way to the ME bus, boarded and were on our way to the Beach Club. DD tried to call DS also and finally got him to answer. He had gone back to the room and fallen asleep! He told us the room number and how to get there. He also said he had a wonderful time at the culinary demonstration that afternoon. He got to eat quail with wild mushroom salad. He had already started his eating around the world and was about 7 countries ahead of us. Once at the Beach Club, we found the room without difficulty, said a quick hello to DS and all went right to bed.
We really didn’t intend to spend much time at other parks this trip, but did hop a quick boat ride to the Studios Friday morning to ride TSM. The crowds were not bad at all and we grabbed 4 fastpasses before walking on to the ride with only about a 10 minute wait. Of course, DS won (he always does) but I came in second and had a higher accuracy rating! We then went back to let DD and DH go on Star Tours since we had missed that one this summer. DS and I went to the little book store near there and browsed a bit. We also ended up getting something to drink and a carrot cake cookie. That cookie was really two cookies made of carrot cake with a load of cream cheese frosting in between…very good!! My kids are huge animation fans so we then went to look at that store and just happened to get in on the beginning of a drawing session where DD, DH and I all learned how to draw Goofy (I draw goofy all the time, but I mean the character!). We went to use our fastpasses at TSM with the results the same as the first time. DD and I then browsed through a few stores while the boys went to ride RnRC. We headed out to EPCOT via boat about 11:00.
We entered at the International Gateway and DD demanded that we begin our food journey at Canada because she was craving some maple glazed salmon. We accommodated her and not only went to Canada but also a couple of other booths between that one and the entrance to the World Showcase. DS and DD managed over the weekend to eat or drink something from all the different booths (well, at least the ones from different countries). I won’t bore you with all those details but will give you a list of the favorites at the end. We made it around to France before we all felt quite stuffed and ready for a break. A friend of ours from where we live sings with the Voices of Liberty and we knew he was working that day, so we went over there and listened. For anyone who has not had the opportunity to do this, please do! The singing is spectacular, the venue (with the domed ceiling) just enhances the sound that much more, and the patriotic nature of the program (which is really quite short) makes you feel so proud. After a quick hello to our friend Jon, we headed back to the Beach Club for a rest and to get ready for the Halloween parties that night. DS and DH headed over to Universal Studios for the Fright Night and DD and I went to MNSSHP at the Magic Kingdom. Both were great hits. I will say that DS commented on the quantity of alcohol that was being sold over at UA and the general drunkenness by the end of the night….not a family friendly situation at all, however the scares were good. DD and I got to ride everything we wanted to ride at the MK with minimal waits…mostly walk right on, and also collected a good amount of candy along the way. The fireworks were wonderful and the parade was also very fun. They did have “technical difficulties” with the parade that night. The headless horseman rode through at 10:30 (we watched the second parade) then the parade didn’t begin until almost 11:00. After that, we were ready to go and hopped the bus back to the Beach Club. I was amazed at the number of people in costume and the complexity of some of the costumes. It was very fun to see. DD had me make her a pirate costume to wear, which at the last minute she decided against. She says it was too hot….I think she felt silly wearing a costume. Oh well, she did get invited to a Halloween party this weekend so my work wasn’t all for nothing.
Since we had all been out late the night before, we slept in a bit on Saturday and finally made our way over to the International Gateway around 11:00 to take up our journey where we left it the day before…at France. Chocolate milk crème brulee was a favorite of everyone and one of the only repeats of the weekend as we stopped there later to get more on our way out. This time we made it to Germany before we were full enough to stop for a break. DS and I went to see the Hearty Boys from Chicago do a cooking demo and even though they couldn’t find our name on the list, we had an e-mail confirmation and were allowed in. The chefs were entertaining and informative and the food (chicken breast over porridge) was great. DH and DD hung out at innoventions during this time and also rode Spaceship Earth. We met up, went through Club Cool for a couple of quick drinks and back to the hotel for a rest.
We were really dying to see our beloved Hawkeye football team in action Saturday night, but did not get the Big Ten network in the room, so walked over to the ESPN club and finally got a table in the dining area during the first quarter so we could watch the game. I think we may have been the only Hawkeye fans in the room, but it was hard to tell since it was such a defensive battle up until the end. When we scored on 4th and goal with :02 left on the clock to win the game, then everyone else in the room knew we were Hawkeye fans!! I have to say here that I LOVED the location of the Beach Club Villas. It was a 5 minute walk to both EPCOT and the Boardwalk which was just amazing. I think we will definitely try to stay there again, especially during the Food and Wine Festival.
Sunday morning we were up and packing to leave. We got our boarding passes and ME transportation information under our door, so we just left our bags with bell services to store for us and headed over to EPCOT to finish up the rest of the countries. We began on the Mexico side this time and finally made it to Melbourne, Australia as our last stop. We then meandered over to France for one last crème brulee and sat to watch the street show which was very good (a guy who stacks up chairs and does handstands on them). We caught the ME bus back to the airport and DS was back at school by 10:00 that night and we got back home to Iowa shortly after midnight. DD was not too happy to go to school this morning, but I did notice she wore her Food and Wine Festival t-shirt!
Favorite foods from the F&WF:
1) Chocolate milk crème brulee and braised short ribs from Paris, France
2) Grilled beef skewer with chimichurri sauce and boniato puree from Buenos Aires, Argentina
3) Everything from the Mexico City, Mexico
4) Kielbasa and potato pierogie from Krakow, Poland
5) Gulab Jamun from New Delhi, India
6) Chicken and coconut soup from Bangkok, Thailand
7) Everything from Munich, Germany
8) Primavera (strawberry, peach and banana slush) from Bologna, Itlay
9) Chicken and andouille gumbo and praline bread pudding from New Orleans, LA
10) Warm chocolate lava cake from Cork, Ireland
11) Everything from Montreal, Canada
Next trip: January 2010 for DD’s 14th birthday so she can do the American Idol experience (her life plan right now is to sing on Broadway someday)