12/20 - Epcot with lunch at Rose & Crown, Dinner at the Yachtsman and snack in France

12/20 Epcot with Lunch at Rose & Crown, Dinner at the Yachtsman and snack in France.

Another early day, headed out to bus stop and we were lucky, there was a bus just pulling up.  Also, no one in line. We walked right on and then had to wait as more people came. Bus was only about half full and we headed out, made it to the security check point and went through the metal detector. (which happened every time we went to Epcot.)  Then we waited, but I had remembered reading about the line to the right that is for those with Pre-RD ARDs, so I kept an eye on it. There were a lot of people waiting to get in and finally they started to let people in. We went over to the far right and were able to get in with only 4 people in front of us.  Then we passed on pics at the very front and headed to Mission Space Green (yes, we are wimps when it comes to this). We were first in line for the Green side.  The wait was supposed to be 14 minutes and it was not even 1 minute.  I enjoyed it but don’t plan on doing it again.  Andrea will probably want to do the Orange side the next time and I won’t stop her.  Next up on our TP, Spaceship Earth but we had got a little turned around and were over by Test Track and saw that the single rider line was 5 minutes, so we jumped in line and went right in.  We did miss getting to fully design the cars but to be able to bypass the wait that was already developing, it was worth it. We also didn’t get to sit next to each other but we were in the same car.  We loved it and will do it again on future visits.  After we got out of the car (oh the one we “designed”), we stopped and checked out the Corvette and both received a Tomorrowland trading pin.  (It’s easy to get if you give them your information.)  Now off to Spaceship Earth. We had a FP for this and the wait was supposed to be 2 minutes (TP), but it ended up being 15.  Yes, we did know that people go to this ride first things, however, we figured with the FP and what TP was saying, we would be right on.   That’s ok, no problem.  The ride was informative and interesting and the one issue we ended up having was where you are going down backwards a little after the very top, the ride stopped and we stopped for about 5 minutes and then we were moving again.  We don’t plan on riding this again unless we have family or friends with us that have never rode it.  Now off to the next FP, Soarin’.  The standby line was already backing up with a wait of 45 minutes but we walked with not stop until we were about 5 minutes from where we would go into our “flight”, the theater.  We enjoyed it.  I do still love the old Soarin’ but I enjoyed this one, only thing that was weird was some of the transitions from one place to another, that threw me off a bit.  We will ride this again during future vacations here.  After the ride, we took some pics and then off to France to try some pastries.

Our plans we had for World Showcase for the 3 different days we would be in it was to hit 4 countries today, then on the 23^rd and then only 3 on the 24^th.  We did this so that we could also enjoy the Holidays Around the World shows we wanted to hit.  Another thing we did was to try and group the countries so that we could limit the amount of walking, which we were glad we did. We still did a lot, and I do mean a lot of walking.  We loved having the Fuel Rods with us but the one drawback was where we had to go to exchange them, the one giftshop to the right when you enter World Showcase.  I know that they have now added at least 2 more locations, for a total of 3 - both gift shops at front of World Showcase and one in Future World.  I would suggest they add locations near the International Gateway, The American Pavilion and at the Outpost area, or at least just add one up at the American Pavilion. At AK and HS, add a few more rather than just have one in each of those parks. We did love having the Fuel Rods and will use them on our next visit.  Enough on the Fuel Rods, now it’s time to eat. 

 First stop is Boulangerie Patisserie des Halles, and if you look on Disney’s website, it is listed as Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie, (yes, I can’t say that either one and Andrea makes fun of me on the way I pronounce some of the places at Walt Disney World) so for me, it’s off to the Pastry shop in France.  We are glad we made this one of the stops we had to try some food. 

Andrea ordered a cup of ice water and the Parfait Aux Fruits – Yogurt Mousse with Berries. This had some blueberries, Red Raspberries (which had some of the strawberry gel in them) and strawberries (well 2 halves of a strawberry) along with the vanilla yogurt mousse and strawberry fruit swirl.  Andrea said that the yogurt mouse and strawberry swirl were tasty together, this dish was both sweet and tart but very balanced.  It was her favorite breakfast break and she didn’t want to share it with me but did let me have a spoonful.  I will say, it is good.  For her, this was the winner, but then I think mine was.

David ordered a cup of ice water and the Tarte Aux Fraises (listed as just Fraises) – Vanilla cream topped with Strawberry.  This was much lighter than I expected.  On top, there was some whipped cream and then 7 strawberry halves with a thin layer a thick juice (I think it was to keep the strawberries looking fresh but tasted good too). The Vanilla cream was wonderful and the pastry was light and flakey.  I loved the favor combination.

We will be making sure to plan this as a stop at least once, if not for every day we come to Epcot for future vacations.  Well worth the money.  Okay, speaking of money, these snacks cost us nothing, well 2 snack credits, but would have cost $10.17.  That is a deal for how good these are.  We did have one issue, we both wished that they were bigger, so next time, order at least an extra, not sure what the extra one will be but an extra one or even two, mmmmm so excited.  Oh, one more thing, they need more tables and chairs, just saying.

We checked out the shop and picked up a pen, then it was off to Impressions de France.  While it was informative, it did seem to drag and it looks dated.  With that said, we did enjoy it, especially the music.  France is Andrea’s favorite country, she has been to the real France and wants to go again, she pointed out things that I would have missed in just watching it.  Will we see it again, I’ve a feeling we will, as it brought back memories of her trip to France and she wants us to go there for real, so do I.  (Can you say Adventures by Disney) We then headed out to check out the France Pavilion and then to the United Kingdom pavilion.  We looked around and found some things we liked but decided not to get, way too expensive, then it was time to check in for lunch at Rose & Crown dining room.  We were giving a pager and told it would be about a 15-minute wait, so we went back into the shops and looked around more, then the pager went off and we headed back to Rose & Crown. 

We were seated at a small table right next to the small swinging door that leads into the pub area.  A bit busy but we didn’t mind.  Nick of Sheffield was our server.  He greeted us, thanked us for coming in and congratulated us on our engagement and wanted to know about it.  He presented us the menus, explained about the beers and then said if we had any questions, to just ask.  He excused himself for a moment, then came back for our drink order.  

Andrea ordered a coke with grenadine and I ordered a Sprite.  (as you may have noticed, and will see, this was our normal drink order for lunch and dinner with an occasional glass or wine flite added in). He asked if we had any questions about the menu, and we did.  He explained about the Scotch egg, Yorkshire pudding (it is mashed potatoes in a pastry shell), and the difference from the steak and fish combo and just the steak entrée (combo is a 6-oz, and just the steak is 10-oz).  We then placed our order.

 Apps – Andrea ordered the Scotch egg – Golden-fried Hard-boiled Cage-free Egg wrapped in Sausage with Mustard Sauce -  The mustard sauce was more like a dressing and Andrea age the greens that came with it.  The egg was cooked perfectly and the addition of the sausage which had a crispy outer edge with the mustard.  Mmmmmmm! (her word for it)

 David ordered the United Kingdom Cheese Platter – with Stilton, McCall’s Irish Cheddar, and Cotswold Cheese.  The cheese where in order a blue cheese, cheddar cheese and a sharp cheese.  It was ok, but neither of us would order it again, not big on these cheeses.

Entrees – Andrea ordered the Grilled New York Strip Steak and Fried (6-oz) Fish – with Loaded Yorkshire Pudding. Seasonal Vegetables, and Jameson Irish Whiskey-Peppercorn Sauce. Andrea loved the Yorkshire Pudding, almost thought she was eating the filling of a pierogi.  The outer crust was very good.  The fish did not have a “fishy” taste but tasted fresh, flaky and tender.  The breading was crisp and not oily.  She doesn’t like tartar sauce but she ate the tartar sauce that came with the fish.  She finished the fish before anything else on the plate.  The green beans were firm, not over cooked and fresh.  The steak with the sauce was good but on the lower end of the what we like, but still was very good, better than most outside of WDW.

 David ordered the Grilled New York Strip Steak (12-oz) – with Loaded Yorkshire Pudding. Seasonal Vegetables, and Jameson Irish Whiskey-Peppercorn Sauce.  Loved the loaded Yorkshire Pudding.  The steaks were ordered medium and were perfect.  This is a New York Strip, so it is nowhere as tender or juicy as a filet or Rib-eye but it was so good.  The sauce really added to it. (Sorry no picture of my entree plate but looked just like heres, only no fish and bigger piece of steak)

Dessert – Andrea ordered the English Trifle (Ice Cream Sundae) – Layers of Strawberries, Vanilla Custard, Graham Crackers, and Whipped Cream, with Mickey Sprinkles on top. This was one of the least favorite desserts.  It was underwhelming and she discovered something that I have known, she hates the hard Mickey Sprinkles.

David ordered the Sticky Toffee Pudding – Steamed Pudding “Cake” served with warm Vanilla Custard and hot Butter-Rum Sauce. First thing with this, I don’t like Toffee, as in what I know Toffee to be, but what I was told is that the Toffee is the hot Butter-Rum sauce.  Andrea didn’t like this but I found it to be very good.  I enjoyed every bite.

Our costs - $111.83 (2 TS) and tip was $21.00 for a grand total of $132.83.  Was it worth it, Yes. The food and the experience was very good.

We then headed off to Germany Pavilion checked it out, plus had planned on getting some caramel corn at Karamell-Kuche but we passed on the corn for 2 reason, one we were not hungry and because of that, had decided that we wouldn’t wait in the long line.  We watched the Holidays Around the World in Germany and Helga was very entertaining and informative.  We found we enjoyed the Holidays Around the World very much.  Now it was off to Italy to check out the Pavilion and the Holidays Around the World to see Le Befana. I loved how everyone would refer to our Santa Claus but also included about Christ’s birth.  We were planning on getting some Gelato but again still way too full.

We then headed off to Japan, where we were looking forward to some shopping and 2 shows, Matsuriza and Daruma.  At Matsuriza, we had watched this show on You Tube and it was great.  You must be in shape and have great rhythm to do what they do.  We saw the 3 female drummers perform.  On another day as we walked past, there were 2 females and 1 male drummers performing using some different drums.  I would highly suggest trying to catch both shows as they are different. Then we watched the Holidays Around the World” Daruma in Japan.  Loved the whole story. 

We then headed into Mitsukoshi.  This was one place that we knew we would be doing some shopping and getting a few things.  We watched someone that had picked an oyster and the show they put on for it, then we went and looked around.  As we looked around, one thing that made me laugh was that we were in a store with Japanese things and wouldn’t you know it, some are made here in the US, and when you go to the American Pavilion and shop, things are made in Japan and China.  It is just funny to me.  Andrea found a pen that she liked and she wanted to get a fan.  I found the fans and brought her over to them.  She at first couldn’t decide on which one, so we pulled out the choices so she could settle on one.  We took these up to the counter and were being checked out when Andrea asked if there was any place where she could get our names put on the fan.  The CM asked our names and she wrote them on it in Japanese.  Very nice touch and personalized.  Now to the main reason for coming in here, to go pick an oyster.  We had decided that we would get 2 oysters, she would pick one for her mom and I would pick the other for Andrea.  We looked over the oysters on both sides and each picked out a few, as there were 3 guests picking in front of us.  We both got our first choices.  Andrea picked hers first and the oyster had a 7mm pearl with a slight pink tint to it, I picked mine and it had a 7.5mm pearl with a very light pink and green tint, a very interesting color.  The total time it took us from getting our number and paying for it, to being given our pearls, was less than 10 minutes.  This was good as we needed to be heading out to do a Meet and Greet and then off to the Yachtsman Steakhouse. 

We did something that we felt helped make the dinners be that much more special, if in the parks and going right to one, we brought in at least a nicer shirt to change in to.  This made it so much more special, like it was a date night, not just eating.  Other times, we went back to the room to change, like we did yesterday before going to Hollywood Brown Derby.  If you can do it, we both highly suggest doing it to make it feel more special.  We stopped in a restroom just past Canada and changed, then headed off to the Epcot Character Spot. The walking to this from Japan, then back to the International Gateway, well that was a lot of extra walking but we still enjoyed our walk, taking our time and even stopping in the middle of the grass to get pictures taken by a Photopass Photographer, with the pyramid shaped glass building (I believe it is the closed Wonders of Life) in the back ground. 

Oh, another thing, loved the MDE maps and being able to use them, only complaint was that they don’t rotate on the phone, so that took some getting used to and remembering when to rotate the phone.  

At the Epcot Character Spot, there was 50-minute line for the standby line, but since we had the FP, it wasn’t that bad, we ended up with a 5-minute wait to get in to see the first of the 3, Mickey Mouse.  As you may have noticed, we are 2 adults and we are going to character meet and greets and we are having fun during them.  I can tell you, we had more fun than some of the families with kids.  Never force your kid to meet any character.  Yes, it is okay to try and get them to but don’t force them (and just so you know I am a parent, I have 3 children, 2 of them are grown and married and I was never able to take them to WDW, however, my youngest, Stephen who is now 7 yrs. old, has been to WDW 2 times, once when he was 20 months and the 2^nd time when he was 6 years old. so, I am speaking from personal experience of a parent.  For the longest time, he loved Santa but he would not want to go sit on his lap and then during a Craft fair, there was a scarecrow to get pictures with, he wanted nothing to do with it.  Disney was no different.  I have stood in line and he was great, until we got up to meet, and then well it was, I don’t want to, I’m scared, things like that.  We ended up not doing the meet and greet.  Yes, it is frustrating but in the end, it was best that we didn’t force him as he had a ball the last time he went)

 Okay, enough on that, now to our experience with it.

First up, Mickey Mouse and we had fun.  We wanted to know why he hadn’t proposed to Minnie over there.  If he could have, he would have blushed, he then wanted the pictures taken. 

 Next up, Goofy.  He is tall.  I’m 6’1” and he was much taller than I am.  What was fun with him, was that he kept trying to take the handlers markers and even wrote on his glove.  It was funny.  We think that goofy had a crush on her. 

  Now off to one of the best interactions we had with any character, it was with Minnie.  She made a big, and I mean big deal out of us just getting engaged and the ring.   She also pointed at Mickey and her finger and then put her hands up as if to say, what is wrong with him, I’m waiting!  She had me get on my knee and hold Andrea’s hand.  We had a ball with her. 

  We left and headed to the International Gateway, a long walk, but we took it all in stride. Yes, I know not funny but that is me.  We reached the International Gateway and thought about walking, but also were hoping there would be a boat, so we could sit and relax.  As luck, would have it, there was a boat loading so we boarded it and had a nice relaxing ride. Being that it was dark, we could not see as much as if during the day, but still loved the ride.  What I loved about the Captain, is he explained what way to go depending on where you were going at our stop.  This made it easy for us to go in the right direction.  We walked along the dock and then into the Yacht Club resort. We took our time as we were still almost 25 minutes early.  It is a beautiful resort; the theming is perfect for the name.  It did seem like a bit of a maze to reach the Yachtsman, but we made it.

There was a line people waiting to be seated.  We walked up to the check-in podium and we were then asked to sit over in a small room, that it seems is used for couples who are celebrating things, but I can’t be positive.  There was another couple, 2 females and they too had recently become engaged, so therefore, I am thinking that is what they use that room for.  We had about a 10-minute wait which wasn’t bad at all as we had checked in 20 minutes early. 

Our name was called, we were congratulated on our engagement and then led to our table.  It was a table for 2 right next to the front window that overlooks the porch, and you could see the pool and beach and the water.  It was beautiful.  Then we met our special server, Oscar.  Let’s just say that Oscar played a big part in making this our 2^nd favorite place to eat for fine dining.  He started off with presenting us with special menus.   

 

The menus had 2 red hearts at the top with Congratulations! between them.  He then said, “Congratulations on your engagement. Was it here at Disney or someplace else?” We told him it was here at WDW and was at Jiko.  He said ‘That is a beautiful place to eat at.”  Then he said, “I am here to serve you, you tell me what you want and I go get it for you.  You tell me to jump and I jump.”  Well he was a man of his word, and as much as I love to have fun, we never did try to see if he would really jump, we just felt that it wasn’t the right place to do that at, unlike say at Whispering Canyon Café, where I would say jump just to see the server jump.  Oscar than made some suggestions and explained about the steaks and how they age them and about the butcher.  He asked if we knew what we would like to drink:  Andrea ordered, yes you guessed it, Coke with grenadine along with a glass of water, and I ordered, yes you guessed it, Sprite and a glass of water.  He excused himself and I swear in only 2 minutes our drinks were on the table.  (It was longer but he did get back fast) Now we asked a few questions about the menu.  To say that he knows the menu, well most servers know the menu, but he knew it and what went best with what and what he thought was best based on talking with us.  I must say, he knows the food there and makes it so that you can understand it too, in other words, you don’t have to be a foodie to come here and feel like you really do know what you are eating and to enjoy it.  So, let’s get to our meal. He brought us a basket with different rolls and a plate with butter on one side and a roasted garlic clove on the other.  You get the roasted garlic out and mash it and combine the butter, mmmm sooo good.

 Now for our Appetizer we could order from either the Appetizers or from the Soup & Salad sections.

Apps – Andrea ordered the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail – Old Bay Poached jumbo shrimp, Lemon, Homemade Cocktail sauce.  These come with the heads still on but Andrea asked if they could be removed, and Oscar said “no problem, if that is how you want it, I will take care of it for you” When it arrived, he told her that he also had them cut off the tails.  These are large shrimp served over ice.  The season had a slight heat but was great.  They were fresh.  I didn’t try them as I do not like shrimp.

David ordered the French Onion Soup – Sourdough Crouton, Gruyere Cheese, Rich Onion Broth.  Oh yes, this was perfect, and it was as I remembered from over 8 years earlier.  It is still the best on property (from all the places I have eaten at) To say the broth is rich, mmmm yes. I can still taste it and I would go here just for this soup, it is that good.

 Entrees – Andrea ordered the 16-oz Prime Rib-Eye Steak – Brioche, Bone Marrow (she asked for Mashed Potatoes instead), Point Reyes Blue Cheese Butter.  This was ordered Medium and cooked perfectly.  The butter came in a small dish just in case she didn’t like it.  Well she liked it.  It added to the Rib-eye. The mashed potatoes were good, creamy and flavorful.  The perfect amount with the steak.   This was a beautiful rib-eye, and yes there was fat.  Let’s be real, the fat plays a big part in the flavor of a rib-eye, However, it was just the right amount.  Unlike another place, we ate at, which we will talk about on another of these blogs.

David ordered (one guess at a Steakhouse, yes you are right), the 10-oz Black Angus Filet Mignon – Mashed potatoes, cabernet wine sauce.  Ordered medium and came perfectly cooked.  This was soo good, beat out Hollywood Brown Derby for steak by a huge margin.  Now it is only 2^nd to Jiko.  Won’t spoil if it is better than the others.  It was tender, just not as tender as Jiko but it was very flavorful, the wine sauce added so much to it.  Out of the 2 steaks we ordered, the Filet beat out the Rib-eye.

I was tempted to order a side order of the Truffle Macaroni & Cheese – orecchiette Pasta, Reypenaer (I have no idea what those are) but decided against it because I didn’t want to be stuffed when we left.

We were brought 2 dishes which had some interesting little desserts.  This was one of the things that Oscar did to make this night extra special.  Each dis had on it a Pistachio macaroon, a strawberry-mango gel that was sea shell shaped, and cube of Raspberry pate with sugar on it.  Well, I guess if we were foodies, this is where we would go into each one and the specifics of them.  Well we are not foodies, and we were not fond of them The Strawberry-mango shell was the favorite of Andrea.  Me I didn’t like any of them much.  The funniest part was when it came time to try each.  We cut off some and tried them one at a time, the Pistachio first, which neither liked, then the Strawberry-mango, which Andrea liked, I didn’t. Now to the funny part of this.  I had a feeling that the Raspberry Pate was going to be extremely concentrated in flavor.  I took a very small corner off and Andrea cut one in half.  Well, it was concentrated and we didn’t like it at all.  Andrea very gracefully spit it out in her napkin.  As with all the reviews, we are only going based on our tastes and observations.  I am sure there are others that would love all 3 of these, just not us. 

 Dessert – Andrea ordered the Yachtsman Sundae – Trio of Gelato and Amarena Cherries. Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry Gelato with the Amarena cherries and some of the juices for it, whipped cream and nuts.  The cherries are very, very strong, almost over powering the rest of the dish.  (Maraschino cherries would be better).   The best part of this dish was the Vanilla Gelato.  The others were ok but not that great.

David ordered the Crème Brulee – Vanilla Custard and Mixed Berries.  The blueberries and Red and Black Raspberries, added so much to the dessert.  It had the perfect crunch when you used your spoon to get to the crème Brulee.  Very tasty, perfect ending to the meal.

Our costs - $176.77 (4 TS credits) and tip was $33.20 for a grand total of $209.97.  It was worth every penny and more.  The food and experience was second only to Jiko.  Where the Yachtsman beat every other location, the service.   

We cannot speak about any other server there, as we only dealt with Oscar.  Oscar was not only the best server I have encountered at all of Walt Disney World property (yes there are many locations I haven’t had the chance to eat at) but he was also the best server I have EVER encountered.  He was so good, that we felt it right to make sure that the manager knew and we waited till the manager was at the table to present Oscar one of our special Thank You cards, as well as gave one to the Manager for the restaurant.  The manager was truly grateful for the positive feedback.  (Something we found anytime we spoke to a manager about the experience, as I’ve been told, people are quick to point out the problems or issues, which they should, but much less likely to point out the good or great things.  Trust me it does make a difference and helps future guests.)  Oscar made us feel like he was there to only take care of us.  We know he had other tables but we cannot think of a single time that we were sitting there looking around waiting on our server to come do something.  If we were sitting around it was because we were holding hands or looking outside or just enjoying the whole meal and experience. I highly suggest anyone reading this, try doing this as it will help make your vacation and dining an experience that you can talk about for a long time to come but also a much less stressful vacation. As some people say, take the time to smell the roses, well in this case, just take the time to let yourself enjoy the total experience.

We left the Yachtsman Steakhouse and decided to check out the lobby.  We enjoyed seeing all the different things that they had.  The big globe that has an old map of the world on it is great. The Christmas tree was decorated with white lights and some interesting ornaments, which included glass ball and several ships.  We finished looking around and then ordered a LYFT to take us back home, I mean to POP.  We relaxed outside and waited for the Lyft.  It arrived and we went back to the resort.  We knew that tomorrow was our only off day, and we would be sleeping in, so we didn’t rush at all, just took our time.

Tomorrow, 12/21.  Off day YAAAAA. Sleep in, then Off to O’hana for breakfast with Stitch and friends, some shopping at Disney Springs, laundry (Boohoo), and Dinner at California Grill.