12/23
Magic Kingdom in morning snack at Gaston’s Tavern. Epcot rest of day with lunch at Le Cellier and
dinner at Chefs de France.
We arrived at security at 6:40am for a 7:00am rope drop. Got thru the security and tap stiles in no
time. Watched the Welcome show and we
were so glad we did, especially, now that it’s been moved to the castle and has
changed. For me, who has been to WDW 5
other times, and in MK at least 2 to 3 times on each of those trips, this was
the first time for me to see it. We both
enjoyed it. We then went in with the
throngs of people, having to weave this way and that, to avoid running into or
over people who would stop right in front of us for pictures or look at the
maps or something else. I wish they had
brake lights on as it would make it a bit easier but that won’t happen.
We headed straight for 7 Dwarfs Mine Train and could
get almost all the way thru the que and to the front where they load before we
had to stop. Total time from when we got in the line till we got on the ride, -
16 minutes, which beat the TP by 3 minutes, and the wait time by 4. We switched sides this time from when we rode
it last time, enjoyed it just as much. If
you have a bag, it can be a tight fit but still lots of fun. When the ride finished, we exited and went
right over to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which the TP said was 5
minutes.
Well the 5 minutes was about
how long it took to just walk thru the que.
Enjoyed both the que and ride.
Now it was off to Peter Pan’s Flight which TP said was a 13-minute wait
at 7:36am and it took 15 minutes. We had
bypassed this ride back on the 18th because of the long standby
lines. Still, for me, it was the first
time I rode this ride without using a FP.
Loved the que with the special magic that happens, just depending on
where you are in the line, what that is.
I do hope that they update it some but keep it mostly the same. 
After this it was across the way to “it’s a
small world” ride. The TP had a wait
time of 12 minutes, we walked in the standby line around the que and to the
boat, it took 7 minutes. We rode it and
then headed off to The Haunted Mansion to use our 1st FP.
This que and ride were so much fun as we both
were quoting the lines and singing the songs because of listening to it over
and over on YouTube. You can get some
strange looks from people. It also wasn’t
like we were singing it load, more of a soft whispering singing to each other.
We then headed to Prince Charming Regal Carousel. Neither one of found Cinderella’s horse but
still enjoyed the short ride.
As we were
heading to Gaston’s Tavern, we had a surprise Meet & Greet, it was the Ugly
Step-sisters. This was fun, Andrea loved
it. The joke – What do you call a pile
of cats? Ready? A Meowntin. We were told this because of Andrea’s love of
cats. I did manage to get the 2 step
sisters jealous because I didn’t have any ring to give them. As I have said before, great interaction even
though it was 2 adults.
So, remember,
have fun and do the Meet & Greets, interact, don’t just get your picture
taken. Much more memorable experiences
this way.
Now off to Gaston’s Tavern. We ordered 1 Cinnamon Roll and a Sprite which
we shared. The Cinnamon roll is big, but
it is also light and airy, not heavy. It is ok, not great but it was enough to
tide us over till our lunch.
Our cost was $8.32 (2 snack credits). We would get it again but would also split it
again, as it is so big.
We then headed off to ride the Liberty Square
Riverboat. We walked up as the boat was
docking and there were no people waiting us. Nice relaxing ride. We went up to the top, in front of the
Captains control house. Interesting view
from up here.
We then headed off to Big Thunder
Mountain Railroad with our 2nd FP.
Andrea liked this more the 7DMT. I do too but love 7DMT. Andrea was laughing when we would go around
the corners, depending on which way we went, one of was sliding against the
other.
Our next attraction was supposed
to be the Tiki Room but as we walked by the Country Bear Jamboree we saw that
there was almost no wait, asked a CM and was told that they next show would be
starting in just a few minutes.
Since we
were ahead on our TP by just over 20 minutes, we decided to go in today instead
of later in the vacation.
We headed in
and prepared for the corny jokes and songs, with both of us quietly quoting and
singing along, oftentimes, taking turns on the parts, as we had done in our
preparing to come to WDW, thanks again to YouTube. Enjoyed it so much and then it ended, would
have loved it longer. Now off to another
one I had never seen, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room. We made it in to the show with no wait but
missed the pre-show. If you were sitting
next to us you would have, maybe, heard us as we were singing along, quietly,
and saying the lines right along with the birds. Loved it and wished I had seen it before. We
also wish that it was like the show on the Album we had listened to on YouTube
as we planned this vacation. As we were
walking out the door, the family that had been in front of us said, “Wow, you
must come here a lot, how many times have you seen the show?”, we both smiled
and said, “This is our first time seeing it, but we have listened to the album
on YouTube a lot in our planning.” It made us both smile and laugh.
Now off too another attraction I had never been on, no
matter which of the 2 names it goes by, the Jungle Cruise or as we were going
on – The Jingle Cruise. This was our 3rd
FP for the day. We enjoyed it a lot, yes,
the jokes are often so bad that you just had to laugh but it was a lot of fun,
and our Captain helped make it fun, she was really into her job.
It was now time to park hop so it was off to the front
of the park and the Express Monorail to the TTC and then switch to the Monorail
to Epcot. We didn’t have to wait for
either of these. She liked the ride
around part of Epcot. Went thru Epcot
security and then the tap stiles. We were in the park by noon, I think it took
us about 40 minutes in total.
Looked around in Future World some, and then headed
off to World Showcase where we would spend the most of the day and check out
Canada, United States (yes, I know it is listed as America) then France and UK.
First stop is Canada. Looked around and then checked in at Le
Cellier. I have always had to laugh at
how so many people want to eat in a place that translates to The Cellar. Also, it doesn’t help any, that it is dark
and you have no windows. We had only a
few minute wait and were seated at a small table for 2. It was still nice and relaxing. We took our time as we were in no rush. Christina was our server. She congratulated us on our Engagement, asked us if it was here in the Worlds or before. We told her where and she wanted to know all about it. Then she presented us with our menus, They had Happily Ever After.... on top, very nice touch.
We ordered drinks – Andrea a Coke with grenadine and
David a Sprite.
Our server Christina brought the drinks and a basket with 3 different breads to represent different providences
in Canada. I wish I could remember what
they were but I was waiting to try the pretzel bread. It was so good that she
brought us 2 more pieces of it. |
| Sorry, I kind of forgot to take the picture |
For Apps Andrea ordered the From the Larder
(Charcuterie) - House-made Meats, Fish, Pickles, and Breads (sorry about the
picture, it was already partly eaten.)
This is the breakdown of what was on it.
Peameal Bacon, Bacon-Pork Sausage served with a Maple-Pommery Mustard
Sauce, Asian Spice Sausage, Mousse De Foie De Canard served with a grilled
ciabatta bread (A smooth duck liver mousse), and Cold Smoked Canadian Lox. You
can see the descriptions of each in the one photo. Now to the review. The Peameal Bacon was very good, the
Bacon-Pork Sausage was on the bland side but the Mustard sauce was very good,
The Asian Spiced Sausage was on the weird side flavor wise and as for the
Mousse de Foie de Canard and Cold Smoked Canadian Lox, well just one word
YUCK. As I have said, this is how we
felt about it and there are others, especially the dedicated Foodies who would
love this, it is just not something we would get again.
David ordered the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup –
Moosehead Beer, Nueske’s Applewood-smoked Bacon. A bit on the salty side but
was very rich and full of flavor. I
enjoyed it, well the Pretzel bread really made it so good and yes, I know for
all who have had it, the pretzel bread had salt on it but that didn’t matter.
Main course – Andrea ordered the Le Cellier Signature
Coffee Rubbed Black Angus Rib-Eye came with Crisp Fingerling Potatoes, Nueske’s
Bacon Vinaigrette, Frisee, Heirloom Carrots and Maple Bordelaise Butter (she
had the Crisp Fingerling Potatoes and Heirloom Carrots replaced with mashed
potatoes) The mashed potatoes had garlic in them and she finished them right
away. The Rib-Eye looked good and was
cooked to Medium but the issue she had with it was, well when she cut into it,
there was so much fat. She even had me
try to cut it. It ended up looking like
it had been butchered right on the plate.
Christina saw this and had them make a new one right away and this one
was not as fatty and was so much better.
This steak was not high on our list for ones to get again. Lower than most of the others we had tried.
 |
| Here is the replacemnet Rib-Eye. Much better. |
David ordered the Filet Mignon – AAA Canadian Tenderloin,
Mushroom Risotto, Asparagus-Tomato Relish, truffle-Butter Sauce and ordered a
side of the Smoked Mac & Cheese.
The
side of Smoked Mac & Cheese was ok but salty. Something I noticed, if it had the cheese, it
was on the salty side. I loved the
mushroom risotto with the truffle-Butter sauce, very good. If it wasn’t for those, the Filet would have
been the worst Filet we had the whole trip.
The Filet was cooked to medium but to be honest, I’ve had a much better
Filet at Long Horn Steak House many times at a much cheaper price. You can also do away with the Asparagus-Tomato
Relish, I tasted it and one word – YUCK!
For dessert, Andrea ordered the Chocolate Mousse Maple
Leaf with Whipped Cream and Sesame Tuille.
This is a no sugar added. The
best part of this dessert was the whipped cream and the little white chocolate
Congratulations piece that they added.
As for the rest, the sesame tuille, well she had an expression of just
tasting something that you wanted to spit out but had nowhere to spit it
out. She did spit it out. The Maple Leaf Shaped Chocolate mousse, well
the red stuff on top of it and the sesame seeds on the bottom, well this whole
dessert was the worst so far. A total
bust.
David ordered the Camenbert Cheesecake – Double-Cream
Cheesecake, Cherry Galee, Pistachio Cream Florentine (I requested no Pistachio
Cream Florentine).
This was an
interesting cheesecake and I didn’t like the Cherry Galee, that they could have
left out. If they had left that out,
this would have been the best cheesecake I had on this trip. Wouldn’t order it again.
After our desserts, Christina brought us our bill and a small piece of chocolate. We tried it and it was ok.
|
This picture is closer to the size of the piece of chocolate, it was small,
Our
cost - $187.25 (4 TS credits) plus the $10.95 for the Mac and Cheese and a tip
of $35.00 for a total of $232.90. Was it worth it and will we eat there again? We don’t think it was worth what we would
have had to pay out of pocket or for the 4 TS credits. We don’t plan on eating there again, but
might be willing to give it another chance.
Now off to the Voices of Liberty and The American Adventure. I never had watched the American Adventure before and it was a nice break and show. Unfortunately, I thought we could watch the show then the Voices of Liberty, well I had it wrong on the TP and we missed about half of the Voices of Liberty. What we saw of them was fantastic and have plans on seeing them on the 24th. They have great harmony. As for The American Adventure, we wish we could say that we saw the whole thing but kind of nodded off during part of it. We enjoyed what we saw but the very early wake ups for RD and the late days, will they did take a bit of toll on us both. We both loved the extra touches as you were going up to the show, all the different flags.
Never knew we had
so many in the history our country.
Also.
the eagles that seemed to be added all around. Andrea liked it so much she went to see it again on the 24th,
more on that review during the next installment.
After this, we went to the American Adventure
Pavilion, then off to the France Pavilion to wait for Holidays Around the
World: Pere Noel in France. I stopped
and bought a crepe from the Kiosk for: Crepes des Chefs de France. It
was strawberry filled. The cost was
$5.29 (1 snack credit) This was not worth the money or snack credit. 
Based on the reviews in the Unofficial Guide
to Walt Disney World that said that they are so good that even the French love
them, I was expecting an incredible crepe.
Well, first off, I thought they would be made fresh, which they weren’t,
they were pre-made and reheated. The
strawberry was a strawberry preserve. The
crepe was not light and tender but dense and tough. We did not enjoy this, in fact, didn’t finish
it.
Pere Noel, he was worth it and he
even told me that next year I will get my wish, to be married to Andrea. Loved it, had to get my picture with him,
even though I am not a child. Well I am
a child at heart.
Now off to UK to see Holidays Around the World: Father
Christmas. He was the jolliest of all the
people who were doing the Holidays Around the World and closer to who you would
picture from Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol”. Enjoyed this and got my picture taken with
him.
We had dinner scheduled for Chefs de France but also
had time to kill before it, so we headed off to Future World and watched Disney
& Pixar Short Film Festival. It was
ok, but we both really think that they should use this to highlight new,
upcoming talent and shorts, not ones that you have seen in the past before
other Disney Movies. Then we went to
Journey into Imagination with Figment. (these were me kind of making her go to
them so she could say that she experienced them) We won’t be going back but
still was a nice little break for us.
She didn’t enjoy Figment.
We headed back to World Showcase to Morocco just to
look around, as we hadn’t been here and still had time to kill. We met Jasmin which was not a bad experience. She made a big deal about the ring. Andrea ended up getting a Sea Shell Necklace
with her name written in Arabic.
Now off to dinner in France at Chefs de France. We first stopped out front and had our picture taken then we checked in at 7:25pm for our 7:40pm ADR. We knew were were early. The didn't look that busy and had a number of open tables. Our only request, if possible was a table by one of the windows but if not, it was okay with us. We took the pager and sat on the on of the benches that they have just outside the door. We waited for 15 minutes and were led to our table, it was one by one of the front windows.
Our server was Segolene. She was polite and didn’t make any suggestions. We ordered drinks – Andrea a Coke with grenadine and David a Sprite.
As you look at the menu, you might notice the
mistake on the Holiday wishes, it is just above the Plats Vegetariens.
It's on the picture to the left here.
You would think that this would have been
caught and corrected. Well it was
caught, as the J in Joyeuses was missing and was hand written in, but what was written
in English was not the full translation from what was in French. Since these are on paper and at Disney, you would
think, replace them with corrected ones, you know the extra Disney touch but
that was not the case.
Apps – Andrea ordered the Plateau de fromages de
France (Cheese plate) – Imported cheese board with raisin and walnut bread. There were 5 different cheeses. Neither us remember all of them but should
have been from mildest to strongest. Which
isn’t how it appeared on the board. The
first one, starting from the top middle and going counter clockwise was, kind
of like a goat cheese. It was about the
size of a silver dollar but thicker. She
liked this one the most. It was creamy
and good. Next, a swiss type, it was dry
and strong. I love swiss and this was
too strong and much too dry. Next was the
Brie, she didn’t like it and I did. It
had a nice texture and flavor. Next up,
Roquefort, this was the strongest of them all in both smell and flavor. She thought it was gross and hated it. I liked it, as I love blue cheese, but did
find it to be overpowering. The last one,
was like a Muenster, we were told it was like a common cheese you would find in
France. We loved the texture and the
flavor, much like a Muenster. There were
3 pieces of Raisin-Walnut bread. Neither
of us liked it at all. She now says she doesn’t
like walnuts in bread. The walnuts and
grapes were an interesting addition.
David ordered the Soupe A l’oignon gratinee (French
Onion Soup) – French Onion soup topped with Gruyere cheese. This was just as I
remembered the last time I had it about 15 months earlier. Not that good. The onions are not tender and soft but were on
the crunchy side as if not fully cooked caramelized. The cheese, well the cheese was more like a
puck of cheese, and the broth, not thick or flavorful, think of it more like a
bullion. So far, this is in 2nd
as far as what is the best on property from what I have had, behind the
Yachtsman Steakhouse. Haven’t had it at
BOG on this trip, yet (Christmas night I will) and if BOG is anything like it
was the last time I had it, this one will be the worst, but only time will
tell.
She brought us a baguette with 2 little wrapped pieces
of very hard butter. The baguette was
fresh but not warm. The crust was hard
and the inside soft. We enjoyed it but
would have preferred there be more butter, softer butter and if for it to be a warm
baguette
Main course – We both ordered the Filet de boeuf
grille, sauce au poivre vert Gratin Dauphinois et haricots verts (Steak) –
Grilled tenderloin of beef with green peppercorn sauce, potato au gratin and
green beans. The green beans were fresh
and not over cooked. The rest of the
dish, well here goes. The green peppercorn
sauce, well it is a gravy. The potato au
gratin was bland, which only the green peppercorn sauce saved. The Filet.
Where shall we start, the filets both were thin, not much flavor and
were the toughest cut of meat we had anywhere on property. These filets look more like a strip or
sirloin steak. I would even say if it
was a strip or sirloin steak, it would still be the worst we had anywhere.
For Dessert, Andrea ordered the Tarte au pommes (apple
tart) Apple tart with almond cream, caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. This looked like one type of shell that was
inside a different type shell. The scoop
of ice cream was very small, much smaller than what David had. The flavor was different. She thought it was going to be like an apple
turnover inside. It was basically sliced
apples baked in a pastry. It was ok and
the combination of the flavors were good.
David ordered the Gateau au chocolat (Chocolate cake)
Chocolate layer cake with chocolate mousse, chocolate sauce and mint chocolate
ice cream; This was the strangest layer cake I have ever had in my life. It was about a one inch cubed long slice thru
the layers. It looks like there are 5 layers but come on, I was expecting a
piece of cake, not something that you would give someone on a diet or were
trying to tease them. I will say this,
the combination of everything together in one bite, mmmmm. That was good. These
2 desserts were the highlight of the meal.
Our
costs and was it worth it? Cost $128.82 (2 TS credits) and we had a tip of
$21.17 (we almost didn’t even tip that much) We both say NO! This was the worst table service we encountered. Here is why.
We checked in at 7:25pm for a 7:40pm ADR, and sat on
the benches for 15 minutes before our names were called and led to our table. From the time of checking in at the podium to
the time we got the check, 57 minutes. That is including us sitting for 15
minutes and then being led and sat at our table. We felt so rushed. I had only had 4 spoons of my French Onion soup
and they brought our steaks. The food was
not that good. Would we come back for
just desserts, Yes!
NOTE:
On the 24th, after eating at Monsieur Paul, as we came down the
stairs, one of the managers from Monsieur Paul, who is also in charge of Chefs
de France, asked us about our dining experience upstairs at Monsieur Paul (we
will review that in the next installment).
We told him all about it. Then we
mentioned about what we experienced at Chefs de France the night before (this
one), and he said that it was totally unacceptable. They have standards in place and one is their
table turnaround. It is supposed to be
90 minutes, from the time a guest first sits at the table to the time they are
finished, it is cleaned, reset and the next guest sits down. So, figure about 80 minutes from sitting down
to getting up. He asked who our server
was and I let him know and he said he would address it and remind all the
servers to not rush the guests. For
future reference, if you are eating there or anywhere, make sure they slow down
if you feel rushed, that they adhere to their standards.
In thinking back on this, this was the only TS we had for dinner that we wore t-shirts and it was the worst TS we had. Hmmm, maybe it was because we didn't dress up for it. On second thought, I don't think it would matter if we had been dressed up, still wouldn't have been good.
We were feeling tired so instead of waiting around for
Illuminations, since we were eating at Monsieur Paul at 8:00pm tomorrow night
and could watch it then.
We headed back to the start of World Showcase, then stopped and had our pictures taken. Then we headed up thru Future World and to the bus stop. We had a bit of a wait but not long, however,
we ended up taking the bus to AoA, as there was none for POP and this one was loading. We got to AoA, and Andrea had wanted to see
the pin board at the front desk. She talked with a Stephanie, who not only
showed her the one pin board but brought out another one they had. Andrea traded for 2 and I traded for 2 that
she wanted but there was one more that Andrea really wanted and Stephanie told
her “since it is your engagement trip, I’ll trade you one more”. Andrea traded
and thanked Stephanie, then gave her one of the Thank You cards we had for the
trip. She was very grateful for our
thanking her. We then headed to our room
at POP and crashed.
Tomorrow, 12/24 is all day at Epcot with Pre-Rope Drop
ADR for Akershus for breakfast, Lunch at Biergarten that included the CLP
package, and dinner at Monsieur Paul. I had promised when we made the
reservations that Monsieur Paul would be so much better then Chefs de France along
with most other places we would be eating at, and now, I was hoping that I
wasn’t wrong. We will see.
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