Week 52 - SeaWorld Christmas (Dec 22)

Well, this is it. 52 weeks of Disney.

I know, I know. The end of the year doesn't quite match up in dates. But, trust me, you do not want to be at Disney, Universal Studios, SeaWorld or even the new LegoLand the week between Christmas and New Year's.

Why? The parks are zoos. During Christmas week, the parks often cut off admission due to capacity (usually by 12 noon to 2pm) so arrive at park opening if going. And, be prepared for lines that will be 2+ hours long for popular attractions.

Our last holiday adventure (well, for 2011... Disney holds over some of their holiday special events until the first week of January) was SeaWorld.

I'll just say it. SeaWorld for Christmas is awesome.

We were there for 12 hours and started by buying the SeaWorld all-day dining pass. Yes, we did it again. First stop, Voyagers for breakfast:

Next, we headed over to my favorite SeaWorld Christmas attraction - The Polar Express. I still can't believe they transform this "ride" just for the holidays. Awesome virtual experience.

Classic Christmas music played all through the parks making our hand-in-hand strolls romantic and full of holiday cheer. After much walking around, enjoying the details of all the decorations, we had lunch at Mango Joe's. My lunch was a "holiday special" of roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy in a bread bowl topped with cheddar cheese. Good, but the roast beef was a bit chewy. And, a bit pricey at $15 (but, it was included in the eating pass).

From our lunch spot, we had a daylight view of the "Sea of Trees". A really cool idea that lights up at night to music. Fun!

We strolled around more, taking in the full experience of a SeaWorld Christmas and found ourselves hungry again. So yes, it was time for dinner. And, I'm happy to report it was one of the best chicken and ribs meals we've ever had at Voyagers. The chicken was so moist and meaty. The ribs were hot and not too fatty. The "holiday meal" which included ham and turkey was pretty good, but not awesome. If it was not included in the meal deal, we would not have paid the hefty $15 price.

After dinner, it was time for the SeaWorld Christmas at night. We started with brand new show,  "The Greatest Christmas Story Never Told". Puppets, choir singers and live animals put on a heartwarming holiday performance.

One of my favorite decorated areas was the Pizza and Pasta Buffet area. It was decorated with brilliant red Christmas trees. Really looked amazing:

Next we grabbed a spot for the SeaWorld ice skating show (we were almost too late for a seat). The stadium filled up quickly. Get there early! We loved the skating show. It was a really warm night (still in the 70s) so the ice had many puddles. Luckily no one took a fall!

Last, but not least, the evening at SeaWorld ends with spectacular fireworks and multiple performances of the Sea of Trees. The entire waterway is filled with Christmas trees that light up and change colors to music (similar to Disney's Osborne Family Lights). Really fun.

Well, that does it. 52 weeks (sort of) of Disney. I didn't exactly meet my goal of one visit per week, but I sure did come close. And, I made many more than 52 visits total so I'm going to count this year as "goal met". Thanks for joining me.

Week 51 - Islands of Adventure Grinchmas (Dec 20)

I couldn't wait to see Grinchmas at Universal Orlando Islands of Adventure.

This was my first day out in 10 days. Despite being a germaphobe and extra careful, I apparently caught a cold during our visit to Magic Kingdom. As a consideration to others, I always stay home until I'm recovered. I wish others would (or at least cover their coughs and wash their hands). Then I wouldn't have been sick!

So, anyway, we decided to grab a bite to eat at a burger place near Harry Potter. BIG mistake. We stood on line for 45 minutes to pay $25 for two cold burgers and Coke. Miserable experience.

The restaurant inside Potterville was closed due to capacity. In fact, they should have shut down the whole "land" because it was shoulder to shoulder. Lines for butterbeer wrapped around for a block. My best guess, is that the line was 30  minutes or more for a taste of butterbear. Wait times for the rides exceeded 90 minutes.

Even though this was our first chance to see this new addition to Universal, we couldn't wait to exit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. People were pushing and fed up. And, can you believe there was a condom on the sidewalk. Not a wrapper, but an actual condom. Nice, right? Somehow I don't think I'd see that at Disney.

We bailed and headed over to Seus Landing.

It was our main reason for being at Universal today. We arrived at the Grinchmas theater at 3:10pm for the 3:30pm show. Before entering, we decided to use th restrooms located right outside the entrance. In the 5 minutes we took to use the restroom, the Grinchmas show closed due to capacity. Lesson learned. Arrive at least 30 minutes early (probably an hour early on super busy days).

Talk about a disappointing day! After that, we left. We did nothing at the park except make our way through the crowds, stand on lines, pay too much for cold food and miss out on everything due to capacity.

Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait until next year...

Week 50 - Universal Orlando Macy's Parade (Dec 10)

Growing up in New Jersey, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade always signaled the start of the holiday season for me. When I found out that it visits Universal Studios in Orlando each holiday season, I knew I had to be there.

Several of the Macy's parade balloons are transported to Orlando after Thanksgiving to share the magic of this special parade.

Some of the balloons are perched on top of buildings all day rather than just showing up for the parade. It was a bit windy tonight and some of the balloons swayed quite a bit from side to side including Captain Macy below.

Of course, the famous Rockettes make an appearance and signal the arrival of Jolly St. Nick. He looks just like the Santa you see on TV in the Macy's parade.

If you go and you want to see the "tree lighting" ceremony (Santa lights the tree) make sure you stand in front of Macy's. Beware, it becomes very crowded on the sidewalk. Once you get a spot, you are "stuck" until the end of the Parade. If you think you might need to exit the parade for any reason, look for other spots where you can easily get to a side street.

Week 49 - Magic Kingdom Holiday Lights and Fireworks (Dec 8)

I fell in love with the special Christmas lights on Cinderella Castle a few years ago. We try to see them at least two or three times each season. The changing colors and the "iced" effect is awe inspiring.

Now Disney has made the holiday celebration even more special (I didn't think it was possible) with the addition of the new "memories" show.

The castle literally changes before your eyes in brilliant colors and effects. Honestly, you can hardly believe your eyes as the castle transforms.

Following the amazing transforming castle, of course, is the grand finale of the "Wishes" fireworks.

Our only "complaint" is that it was cold. Well, cold for us. We literally dressed in long johns and multiple layers with hats and gloves. How cold was it? An embarrassing 62 degrees. Let's just say that we have become acclimated to Florida's warm weather. 

Week 48 - 2011 Osborne Family Lights Disney Studios (Dec 7)

OK... so I'm having to fudge a little on my weeks and dates matching up. We learned our lesson a long time ago to avoid the Orlando theme parks during peak holiday times. So... we avoided Disney and the other parks during the weeks just prior and after Thanksgiving.

After our short "break" from the parks, we headed back to Disney Studios for more of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights.

In between light shows, we dropped into the bookstore to warm up with some cocoa and desserts. The carrot cake sandwich cookie is awesome!

The dancing lights are our favorite. We'll be back before the Disney World holiday season ends!

Week 47 - Epcot Rose & Crown Pub English Bulldog (Nov 18)

Today we decided to split our time between Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios. We wanted to end our day at Studios (to see the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights) so we parked at Studios and took the walkway to the World Showcase entrance of Epcot.


The walk along the water between Studios and Epcot takes about 20 minutes at a leisurely pace (and believe it or not can actually be quicker than taking the water taxi certain times of year:

Epcot - U.K.
Rose and Crown Pub
We heard many good things about the English Bulldog (even though it sounds a bit odd) that we decided to finally share one. We also added a Pimm's Cup and an order of house made crisps.

The English Bulldog is a split banger with mashed potatoes, cheese and bacon topped with mustard. I guess you could say it is a sandwich version of "bangers and mash". The sausage was tasty and overall we liked the sandwich but wouldn't rush out to get it again. It came with chips (french fries) which were hot a delicious. We've had the fries from the fish and chips cart outside the Pub and always agree they are the best fries at Disney. We added a side order of crisps (potato chips) which were equally yummy!


The Pimm's Cup was interesting and while we enjoyed it, wouldn't rush to get this again either. It was worth it to try something different. Pimm's is a citrus and spiced flavored gin. This drink mixes the Pimm's with Sprite and sliced fruit.


On our way back, we stopped by the Beach Club where Disney pastry chef's were assembling a giant gingerbread house. We even got a sample of gingerbread. We always thought they just pulled these out of storage every year. Didn't realize they make these giant gingerbread house displays fresh:

We ended our day by visiting Disney Hollywood Studios for the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights:

More on this amazing display of Christmas lights in a future blog entry. This is by far one of our favorite holiday experiences at Walt Disney World. We last saw it during Week 1 of this blog and will see it many times more before the holidays come to a close.

Week 46 - Epcot Food & Wine Last Day (Nov 13)

I kind of missed week 46 by a day, but I'm still counting November 13 as squeaking in. I was off celebrating a birthday. Normally, I'd celebrate my birthday at Disney World but lately I've been a bit disappointed. But, that's another story...

Today we made sure we got over to Epcot because it was the last day for the 2011 Epcot Food & Wine Festival. Today was all about desserts:

Desserts and Champagne
We should have ordered the champagne to go with our dessert trio because it would have been a perfect pairing. These desserts were awesome and a bargain at just $1.50 each or $3.75 for all 3. My favorite was the white chocolate mousse (right) and my husband loved the lemon meringue (left). The tre leche (back) was good too... kind of a sponge cake, but it had coconut sprinkles that I didn't really care for.

My husband also enjoyed the flan from Mexico. A very nice portion for $3. Overall it was good, but it was a bit bland (I think that makes it authentic flan)! The servers were all smiles and very friendly.

Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy
Our photos did not turn out at the concert, but we both loved Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy. They put on a fantastic performance... even did a song from Disney's Jungle Book. Too cool! Loved it.

I just heard Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy be performing a Universal Orlando for New Year's Eve. We're about to pick up a pair of annual passes for Universal Studios. Hmmm...I think I'll start a new blog for A Year at Universal Orlando.

Week 45 - Epcot Food & Wine Belgium Chocolates (Nov 3)

We went to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival for tonight's performance at the Eat to the Beat Concert series - The Pointer Sisters.

It was a sold out show. More than 45 minutes ahead of show time, nearly the entire theater was already filled. We knew there was no chance of getting a seat. Plus, we were very hungry. So instead of trying to get a seat, we dropped inside the American Pavilion's Liberty Inn counter service restaurant. We knew that you can hear just as fine (if not better) by standing near the rear of the theater.

Once again, Liberty Tree disappoints us. We walked in and it was surprisingly empty. Only 2 registers open (one on each end). A family of 5 on the right and a woman with her daughter on the left. We chose left. Big mistake.

The mother and daughter could not decide and asked questions about nearly every menu item. We watched 3 other families go through the right side before they finally decided on a salad and some chicken nuggets.

Just as we thought that it was our turn, the cashier asked us to wait as she waved over another woman who had been studying a big food binder with a cast member to determine her order based on food allergies. Again, we watched several families go through the line on the right side as the food allergy order was placed. (Several families got on and off our line during this process). We somehow felt that if we jumped ship to the other line, we would somehow be worse off. We should have known better.

Seriously... couldn't the cashier have said to us that she had a special order ahead of us and that we'd get faster service at the other register. We shared an 8-piece order of chicken nuggets. They were not good. Honestly, an order of nuggets I had from McDonad's a few weeks ago was better. Disney changed their chicken nuggets. We knew this, but hoped for the best. Cold, more coating than meat, chewy...

At least the icky Heinz honey mustard was gone (the BBQ sause was still Heinz). The newest honey mustard is pump-your-own. It is still not Ken's, but it is at least creamier and sweeter than the Heinz. This meal along with a bottle of water cost $11. 

Well, back to The Pointer Sisters. We stood at the back of the theater (behind the roped off area). The theater was closed to new entry. If you left (for a snack or restroom) you needed to grab a card from a cast member for re-entry. Great show. There was only 1 original sister on stage, but they all gave an entertaining performance. Not surprisingly, we watched several folks leave complaining that the sound was too loud. I'm not sure why this continues to be a problem.

Finally, some good news. At least I thought. The chocolate truffles were back at Belgium.

During our visit on October 28, the Belgium chocolates were sold out. I was very (pleasantly) surprised that they were packaged in a box. I did not eat the chocolates until the next day. The outer chocolate shell was a swirled mixture of milk, white, and dark chocolate and was a bit waxy. The inside had a nice texture, but tasted mostly like sugar. Overall, super sweet tasting and not a lot of chocolate flavor.

Week 44 - Epcot Food & Wine Italy (Oct 28)

It was a rainy Friday at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival today. We had planned to stick around to see the Gin Blossoms in concert, but just found ourselves too wet and uncomfortable to stick it out. Navigating the crowds with umbrellas is challenging. Trying to sample food is even more difficult.

Today, we decided to give Italy a try.

Italy - Ravioli Di Formaggio all'Emiliana
In English, this is baked cheese ravioli with a creamy beef bolognese sauce, Parmesan cheese, and melted mozzarella. It looked amazing, unfortunately, I found it to be disappointing. First, I would call this lasagna before ravioli. There was no pocket or pillow of pasta. The bolognese was unevenly layered on the bottom of the dish (sans pasta), followed by a layer of cheese, a strip of pasta and a top layer of mozzarella. Second, it was very bland with very little red sauce. I will say it was a hearty portion for the $4.50 price. It just lacked in flavor.

Italy - Cappellini con Gamberi Piccanti
My husband tried the cappellini pasta with spicy shrimp. He enjoyed very much and said that except for one shrimp (I believe there were 5 in total), all of the shrimp tasted very fresh. He even enjoyed this dish a bit more than the Black Pepper Shrimp with Sichuan Noodles he had at China. This one cost a bit more than China too at $5.25.

 Belgium Truffles - Sold Out!
We ducked under an awning of a pastry kiosk near Italy to eat our Food & Wine items and afterwards I decided that I'd like to grab an order of the Chocolate Seashell Truffles at Belgium for dessert. At $1.75, this item was the lowest-cost sample on my list. There was a very permanent-looking sticker on all menu boards that said they were sold out! Bummer. That will teach me to wait until too long. Update: Truffles are back.

We decided to turn around and head back to Germany's Karamell Shop where I planned to pick up my annual Halloween caramel apple. The line was out the door so I decided to try another time. This is the second time I've tried to get a caramel apple this season and walked out because of the heavy lines. There's a reason for the long lines - it is worth it. However, I'll try my luck another visit.

Week 44 - Disney Studios Hollywood and Vine Review (Oct 25)

Today we visited Disney Hollywood Studios including a dinner reservation at the all-you-can-eat buffet at the Hollywood and Vine restaurant. We visited here as a "make-up" anniversary celebration because of our disappointing experience at Yak & Yeti over at Animal Kingdom.

Hollywood and Vine offers character meals for both breakfast and lunch. The dinner buffet does not include characters.

We had reservations for the opening of dinner. There are two sides to the buffet, however, only the right side was immediately opened. The food items are identical on both sides. We were seated on the left side of the restaurant. Everything we sampled from the original right side was moist and delicious. 

About half-way through our meal, the left side of the buffet opened. When we tried the left side, many of the items were dried out. I assume from being held for a longer period at a hot temperature.

Here is a sampling of what we put on our plates:

My husband chose from the large selection of cold appetizers including a variety of salads including a very delicious cold bowtie pasta and chicken salad. The bowtie chicken is the only item I took from the cold side (except for 2 green olives I plucked from one of the salads).

As a picky eater, I mostly bypassed the cold section and headed straight to the main entrees where I picked up two different kinds of baked chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, prime rib and a crusty (in a good way) dinner roll with whipped butter. Everything was super.

The second time around I grabbed second helpings of my favorites (the prime rib and garlic mashed), and tried some new items including Parmesan crusted chicken breast, pasta with meatballs, rice, mac and cheese from the kid's buffet and roasted pork loin. This time I topped by prime rib with a red wine demi-glaze sauce - awesome!

My husband's favorite entree selection was the salmon. He also raved about the green beans and broccoli. Other items on his plate that I did not try included a cornbread spoon bread and a seafood pasta. 

Let me just say, there was hardly any room left for dessert, but I managed to take a few tiny bites of a chocolate mousse, a red velvet cake square (my favorite) and cookie and an apple cobbler with vanilla sauce. There were several other options including carrot cake, a berry cobbler and self-serve soft-serve ice cream.

We were much happier with our meal at Hollywood and Vine. The food was well prepared and plentiful with lots of options. Be aware, that the menu for this buffet is always changing so you are unlikely to have the exact same items shown above.

Prices for the buffet vary by meal time and season but hover around $28-$36 per adult. Our final bill after taxes, tip and a small Disney annual passholder discount was just under $70 for two of us. While the dining room is not very romantic (it feels a bit like a diner/cafeteria inside) we both agreed that we had a much better experience at Hollywood and Vine than Yak & Yeti.

Week 43 - Epcot Food & Wine Poland & Brazil (Oct 20)

Our fifth visit to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival in 2011 brought us to Poland and Brazil.


Poland - Kielbasa and Potato Pierogies
I first tried the kielbasa and pierogies many, many years ago. I'm a fan of both items, but I wasn't overly impressed in years past so I've been skipping it in favor of trying other items. The $5.00 price has also kept me away.

Since reading that this is the 2nd most popular dish (after Canada's cheese soup), I decided that I should give it another try. The fact that it is popular, may also be the reason it is one of the more expensive items at the Festival. It costs as much as the seared beef filet from South Africa. Go figure. 3 small slices of kielbasa, 1 potato pierogi drizzled with a squirt of sour cream and caramelized onions. While everything was tasty enough, it was just OK and I had wished that I saved my $5 to try something different.


The Polish sausage was a bit fatty. The potato dumpling was rubbery and not much different than what you can pick up in a grocery store freezer case. I gave most of my caramelized onions to my husband.

Brazil - Seared Mahi-Mahi
If you read this blog, you know that I'm a picky eater and that I definitely do not eat seafood. My husband is mildly interested in seafood and had never tried mahi-mahi. After looking at it on several restaurant menus, he decided that $4.50 at the Epcot Food & Wine was the perfect opportunity to try mahi-mahi.

The dish came with steamed rice, hearts of palm and a coconut-lime sauce. His review was that the fish was mild and had a nice texture. He didn't think the fish itself had much flavor, but that it would easily take on the flavors used in preparation. Overall, he decided he would probably stick to salmon when ordering out, but might give mahi-mahi a try if it was prepared with interesting flavors.

Week 42 - Epcot Food & Wine China, South Africa & Germany (Oct 14)

Our fourth visit to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival in 2011 brought us to China, South Africa and Germany.

China - Pork Pot Stickers
My husband and I always enjoy the pot stickers from Lotus Blossom Cafe at Epcot so I just can't resist when they are also offered at the Food & Wine Festival. The price is $3.50 for 2 pot stickers from the Festival booth (at the cafe they cost $5 for 3 pot stickers). I've always thought the sauce was the same at the booth and cafe, but this year the booth sauce had a different flavor. It was tasty (maybe some ginger?), but I think I enjoy the cafe's sauce more. And, I enjoyed them way more than the pot stickers from Yak & Yeti at Animal Kingdom. China knows how to sear them right!

China - Black Pepper Shrimp with Sichuan Noodles
My husband splurged on this shrimp and noodle dish for $4.50 and did not regret it. The shrimp were small, but he was prepared for that. Other than small, the shrimp were good and he said it was a good portion of noodles. His review is positive.

South Africa - Bunny Chow
I don't know why, but I thought this vegetarian option from the Food & Wine Festival was going to be served cold. And to be honest, before I learned it was vegetarian I thought it was rabbit. My husband didn't think that at all and he was quite pleased with the warm vegetables served in a bread bowl $3.25. He offered me a bite, but I don't care for curry (or for vegetables, really). It looked like stew to me without the meat. Hubby liked it a lot!

Germany - Apple Strudel
One word - wow. The apple strudel for $3.25 was a wonderful dessert. The portion size was large compared to other dessert options at Food & Wine. It was nearly the size of the plate. I didn't taste much of the Werther's caramel which was a slight disappointment (see my review of the Werther's caramel popcorn) but I did taste the vanilla sauce. Best of all - no raisins! The apples were perfectly sweet and the pastry was exactly as I had hoped. I rate this one a winner!

Week 42 - Epcot Food & Wine Canada, France & Scandinavia (Oct 11)

Today was our third visit to the 2011 Epcot Food & Wine Festival and I have reviews to share from the food we sampled at several more countries.

Scandinavia - Sweedish Meatballs
Two thumbs up. I love Sweedish meatballs, but I was a little nervous about getting these. Why? Well, I ordered them once at the Ikea cafeteria in Orlando and did not care for them. I figured I must only like the "Americanized" version. Also, the Epcot Food & Wine version (priced at $3.50 for 3 meatballs) was missing my favorite part - the egg noodles. One more thing - they came with Lingonberries. The picky eater in me didn't know what to think about Lingonberries, but I found them to be delicious. They tasted very much like cranberry. The sweet-tart flavor was a perfect compliment to the meatballs and sauce. Yum!

Hawaii - Kalua Pork Slider
My husband sampled the Kalua Pork Slider and really enjoyed it. It was served with a sweet and sour pineapple chutney and spicy mayonnaise for $3.00. He offered me a bite, but I'm not a big fan of mayo. His review, "best value of the Festival".

Canada - Cheddar Cheese Soup
This a must-do for me every year at Food & Wine even though I think it is crazy expensive at $3.75. Every year the portion size seems to go up and down a bit. Either I'm getting used to the small cups or I actually had 3 or 4 more spoonfulls this year. My best guess is that the portion size is about 3 ounces. My review? Worth every spoonful. If you like the Canada cheese soup, be sure to try the cheese fondue at the Cheese station.

Greece - Greek Salad with Pita
My husband decided to give the Greek Salad a try for $3.00. He thought it was good but small and compared it to the Greek salad at Disney Studios. While he very much liked the Greek salad at Studios, he felt the Food & Wine version was more authentic.

France - Creme Brulee au Chocolate
The creme brulee is another Food & Wine item that is always on my must-do list. While it was still tasty (it gets bonus points for the caramelized sugar top), I was a bit disappointed with it this year. I can't remember if it has always been "milk chocolate", but the chocolate flavor was a bit weak. I remember a deeper chocolate flavor from years past. France priced it at $3.95. Most food booths price items either in whole dollars or fifty cents.