Two Saturdays in September with TCD

[kampfirekim 260]

I am sure this is a great TR but I haven't read it yet. My best chance is to jump in here and go back later.

At any rate... I'm in! :jumpforjoy:

[KeepSwimmingDory 2]

Great update. I'm glad you like the crowds. They are much less annoying in pictures. Not a fan of the crowds in person.

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

OK, up to page 3 will be back......tomorrow...for more fun!

And yes, TCD, you are correct Walt would not have approved that 4 seasons hotel

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

Eating Concord grapes as I was reading (when you grow up in Welch's country there are plenty of them). No idea which bier you went with but I think I would have gotten one of the bier flights. More bier for the money and I would get to try 4 different varieties.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I know what you had.......

I know you do.

But, you are disqualified since I told you when I saw you later that night.

Awesome trip report. Damn, you are making me so hungry.

Sorry.

Maybe you will loose your appetite when you see the sausage photos?

Funny... we are having hot dogs tonight and I am waiting on them to cook....YOU are making me very very hungry

Sorry to you too. Fair warning- there is some more food talk and some photos coming up.

But first, you may be happy to know, I got my hands on some of Twin #1's photos, and we will take a look at those before moving on.

Great update as usual!

Wow, that is quite a crowd there in Epcot!

I have never been to the Food & Wine Festival. I want to try it some year.

Heidi

The Food and Wine Festival is our favorite time to visit Epcot. I hope you do get to try it some time.

It was crowded, but wait until the weather gets a bit cooler- there have been times when it is literally wall to wall people there between France and Germany.

I just caught up. Whew. I was gonna skip the preview, but gave in. I didn't look at the Magic Mirror video though. I hope to see it myself soon! It looks like you had an awesome Birthday!

BTW, the photopass dude was mistaken. You know you should get your info from the bus drivers! Here is a picture of Ed and our tagalong with Mary Poppins!

Is that a photopass photo?

I didn't really believe the CM in the first place.

I don't think Julie Andrews was big enough a star back when Mary Poppins was filmed to negotiate ownership rights to her likeness. And, Disney certainly didn't need Rosie O'Donnell so badly as to have given away the rights to the Terk character.

I would have to think that if what the CM said was true, Disney would simply not use these characters around WDW at all.

My money is on the Dunkel. I figure Dunkel sounds about right for a guy about to show us obscene pictures of a sausage.

Nope.

Dunkel means dark ( at least I think that's what it means).

Did you ever visit the Rathskeller at UF? I had a bad experience with some Löwenbräu Münchner Dunkel there in 1981.

I have pretty much stayed away from the Dunkel ever since.

I am sure this is a great TR but I haven't read it yet. My best chance is to jump in here and go back later.

At any rate... I'm in! :jumpforjoy:

Glad to see you here, KFK.

We are getting kind of near the end- so feel free to hop on it, but then you will need to go back and read the whole thing.

Great update. I'm glad you like the crowds. They are much less annoying in pictures. Not a fan of the crowds in person.

Generally, I prefer not to be in crowds, but the Food and Wine Festival is more festive with a lively crowd.

OK, up to page 3 will be back......tomorrow...for more fun!

And yes, TCD, you are correct Walt would not have approved that 4 seasons hotel

Page 3?

Good job. You are almost one third of the way to being caught up!

Keep at it, and you will be all caught up before this one finishes.

Eating Concord grapes as I was reading (when you grow up in Welch's country there are plenty of them). No idea which bier you went with but I think I would have gotten one of the bier flights. More bier for the money and I would get to try 4 different varieties.

Where is Welch's country? For some reason, I figured Concord grapes must be grown somewhere in MA. Is PA Welch's country? I did think about getting one of the beer flights, but then you have to carry around a flimsy cardboard tray with four plastic cups of beer in it. I saw more than one person lose his beers that way. So, no beer flight for me. I had to pick one beer. And I did.

TCD

[shoreline99 137]

I always thought the only likeness they couldn't use was Amy Adams' from Enchanted, for obvious reasons. I guess they couldn't negotiate a deal, but they have action figures of just about every other person on the planet so it must have been poorly thought out.

I would buy a TCD action figure, though (complete with removable flip-flop bottle opener, automatic camera and kung-fu pixie dust action).

[charitycase20....Charity 10]

Thats it! I am definitely planning an adults only trip for F&W!!

Maybe as an add-on to our cruise in 2014. :jumpforjoy

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

Where is Welch's country? For some reason, I figured Concord grapes must be grown somewhere in MA. Is PA Welch's country?

Welch's used to be headquartered out of Westfield, NY (until it 1983). Their oldest building (1897) is still in Westfield. It is small town area, with lots of farms. My relatives still own a fruit farm near there in Ripley, NY.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Welch's used to be headquartered out of Westfield, NY (until it 1983). Their oldest building (1897) is still in Westfield. It is small town area, with lots of farms. My relatives still own a fruit farm near there in Ripley, NY.

Correct, and I grew up on a Concord farm in Silver Creek, about 30 miles up the shore from Westfield. My Dad sold some of his grapes to Welch's, but most of them to Coca Cola.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I always thought the only likeness they couldn't use was Amy Adams' from Enchanted, for obvious reasons. I guess they couldn't negotiate a deal, but they have action figures of just about every other person on the planet so it must have been poorly thought out.

I would buy a TCD action figure, though (complete with removable flip-flop bottle opener, automatic camera and kung-fu pixie dust action).

Now that you mention it, I recall hearing about the Enchanted dispute. That's too bad, too. That is a good movie.

I would buy a TCD action figure too! So they ought to produce them. They would have two guaranteed sales!

Thats it! I am definitely planning an adults only trip for F&W!!

Maybe as an add-on to our cruise in 2014. :jumpforjoy

An adults only trip to F&W is a guaranteed good time!

Welch's used to be headquartered out of Westfield, NY (until it 1983). Their oldest building (1897) is still in Westfield. It is small town area, with lots of farms. My relatives still own a fruit farm near there in Ripley, NY.

Thanks. I didn't know. I still am having a hard time believing that there are only three unique native fruits in all of North America. Surely there must be some varities of apples or cherries or something that are native to North America?

Correct, and I grew up on a Concord farm in Silver Creek, about 30 miles up the shore from Westfield. My Dad sold some of his grapes to Welch's, but most of them to Coca Cola.

What did Coca Cola do with the grapes? Grape soda? Or are there grapes in Coca Cola?

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

You may have notice that this TR was light on photos of the Food and Wine Festival food that we sampled.

That is because Twin #1 was taking a lot of photos in Epcot, and I wasn't. It's kind of hard to juggle the plates and drinks and take photos too.

Before I finished the Epcot portion of this TR, I wanted to get some of Twin #1's photos.

Which I have now done.

But, I also found she had some pretty good photos from earlier in the day.

So, we will have a brief rewind the look at some of those photos in this post. Then we will be in Epcot, and resume our trip around the world.

Backing up to our visit to Maurice's Cottage, Twin #1 captured some details that I did not.

For example, it the corner here behind the desk, we see a portrait of Belle with her mother, and a familiar looking tea pot on the shelf:

I also did not get a photo of the fireplace, but Twin #1 did. There is a lot of detail here. I would like to be able to take a good look at it some time:

On the opposite wall, there is a cute little touch where there are markings on the wall to show Belle's growth over the years:

In the next room, I did not get a photo of the open Wardrobe, but Twin #1 did. This is where the CM got the props that were passed out to the guests who would help with telling the story:

And, here's a photo of the guard on duty:

And a few of Belle flirting with me:

Here are a couple of shots of the inside of the library:

This rewind gives me a chance to make a comment that I meant to back when we went over this the first time. I have some concerns about the design of this attraction. I am thinking that it will have really long lines. They have guests first enter the cottage, then Maurice's workshop, then the room with the Wardrobe, and finally the library. That is four rooms, and four stops on the way to meeting Belle. This whole thing takes a lot of castmembers to operate too, not to mention, they must have a whole team of Belles. It was interesting to see how many suits there were around observing. Time will tell, but I think this attraction is going to have some problems with keeping up with guest demand once they open up the new Fantasyland. And once word gets out that only those who participate get the photos with Belle and bookmarks, I see problems with guests who feel slighted.

We shall see.

Here are a couple of good photos Twin #1 took of the Be Our Guest restaurant entrance:

And here's one of the Little Mermaid attraction:

It is kind of amazing to me that Disney breaks out Halloween themed cups for the months of September and October, but they do:

As some of you may recall, I didn't have any photos to share of the twins visiting the princesses while I saved us a spot for the parade.

Well, now I do.

Plus, I have an action shot of me in my new favorite parade waiting spot.

Here you go.

Anyone reading along is welcome to use this spot as long as it isn't on a day when I am in the MK:

Here are a few princess photos:

I don't want to say anything mean, but did you notice something a little off with that Cinderella?

I did.

Twin #1 uses a Mac, so when I borrow photos from her, I get some weird things. Like, the Apple software automatically creates close up photos of people's faces.

It did that for Cinderella.

When I was looking through the photos, this one kind of jumped out at me:

What The Fort?

Again, not to be mean, but I have noticed that Disney seems to be a little desperate to hire princesses lately. Think of how many Belles they are going to need. At some point, they are going to have to lower their standards. Maybe they already have?

The funny thing is that right after the girls met Cinderella, she must have rushed over to the parade float, because she was right there in the parade with her prince:

And now her eyes were fine:

So false alarm, I guess.

OK, that takes care of the MK.

Next, we will see some of Twin #1's Epcot photos, and then we will continue our journey around the world.

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

What did Coca Cola do with the grapes? Grape soda? Or are there grapes in Coca Cola?

TCD

Coca Cola owns Minute Maid. Grape juice is one of the cheapest juices, so it is used in many juice products that are labeled 100% fruit juice...even if the juice isn't labeled distinctly as "grape" juice. Look at the ingredient list, and quite often you will see grape juice.

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

TCD TR's not just entertaining but educational as well. :)

[We4mickey 6]

Yikes on Cinderella! I noticed the eyes right away. Can't wait to read more.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Coca Cola owns Minute Maid. Grape juice is one of the cheapest juices, so it is used in many juice products that are labeled 100% fruit juice...even if the juice isn't labeled distinctly as "grape" juice. Look at the ingredient list, and quite often you will see grape juice.

Of course. I should have thought of that. All of those "real" fruit juice drinks are loaded with grape juice.

TCD TR's not just entertaining but educational as well. :)

True. Of course, what you learn is rarely useful.

Like, how are you ever going to use those watermelon facts?

Yikes on Cinderella! I noticed the eyes right away. Can't wait to read more.

Yeah, yikes. Maybe Cinderella was just fooling around? Twin #2 can cross her eyes and then move one iris away while keeping the other one in place. it's pretty freaky.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

It looks like we can finish the rewind with this brief post, and then pick up the report with the beer and sausages.

Here are Twin #1's photos from the Epcot entrance. She did way better than me:

I already mentioned the free craisins. Here's a photo of one of the free small bags they are passing out:

As mentioned, Twin #1 did get some photos of the food we enjoyed at the F&W Festival up to this point.

And, I'm glad she did.

Because I in the interest of balanced reporting, I have some truths to share.

There have already been some great reports here on ff.net and elsewhere about the F&W Festival.

The first folks who went were at the CM preview. Apparently, they took their time to make things look nice for the preview, knowing that there would be bloggers around.

For example, Monique posted this photo from the Disney Food Blog of the Filet of Beef from Canada:

Boy, that looks good, doesn't it?

Well, imagine how I felt after I waited on that long line and was then handed this:

Doesn't even look like the same thing, does it?

Well, on a busy Saturday night, they have to sling the hash, so to speak.

It ain't pretty.

But, it still tastes great.

Also, you will see lots of photos on blogs of dishes posed nicely on cafe tables. There are cafe tables around. But good luck grabbing a spot on one.

The strategy that works for us is trash cans.

Yes, we use the trash cans as our tables:

You gotta do what you gotta do.

Here's Twin #1's artsy shot of the Fisherman's Pie (too bad the shot was ruined by the old man there in the background) :

You may have seen some nice photos of the Coq au Vin dish from France.

Like this, maybe (from Karla/Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo's TR) :

Well, this is what ours looked like:

We actually found some chairs to sit in around France:

I forgot to mention that the girls got to meet Aladdin and Jasmine:

Aladdin was funny. He called me the Sultan, and asked why I didn't join the princesses in the photo.

I mentioned earlier that while the girls went to Japan, I went to Florida.

Twin #1 made sure to get a photo of the Sumu beer tap in Japan. Makes me proud to be her father:

Twin #2 must have taken this photo, as I was waiting forever for my pork, corn and weeds at the Florida booth:

I never saw the sushi in person, but it looks like they served a very big portion. This was the new item that they called a hand roll:

Ok, now we are caught up.

The next photos Twin #1 had involved pretzel rolls and sausages.

So, we have reached that part of the report.

We will get to that next.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Thanks for stealing Twin #1s photos. Enjoying the TR but just can't figure out why i'm hungry every time I read it :rofl3: :rofl3: :rofl3:

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I don't think that's the same Cinderella in those two shots -- lips and noses look different. The first one is freaky!

I get hungry every time I read this TR too.

[stefa70 205]

Caught up!

Your pictures look a lot like mine. ^-^ I guess not much changes in a day.

I told you that Canada filet rocked!! I could have ate a couple of those.

I did not enjoy the Belle pictures. I may have to pay her a visit.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Caught up!

Your pictures look a lot like mine. ^-^ I guess not much changes in a day.

I told you that Canada filet rocked!! I could have ate a couple of those.

I did not enjoy the Belle pictures. I may have to pay her a visit.

Now Honey, your adopted Daddy can flirt with any trollop he likes...

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Thanks for stealing Twin #1s photos. Enjoying the TR but just can't figure out why i'm hungry every time I read it :rofl3: :rofl3: :rofl3:

LOL!

Wait until you see the sausage photos- that may cure your hunger issue.

I don't think that's the same Cinderella in those two shots -- lips and noses look different. The first one is freaky!

I get hungry every time I read this TR too.

What do you mean that's not the same Cinderella?

Are you saying there's more than one Cinderella?

No way!

Caught up!

Your pictures look a lot like mine. ^-^ I guess not much changes in a day.

I told you that Canada filet rocked!! I could have ate a couple of those.

I did not enjoy the Belle pictures. I may have to pay her a visit.

Stop worrying about Belle.

She gave me a bookmark.

NBD.

Now Honey, your adopted Daddy can flirt with any trollop he likes...

Hey, no name calling.

Belle is a classy princess.

She likes to read books.

I can't help it if she was hanging all over me.

TCD

[fortpartyof4 108]

This is such a great TR, considering it is just day trips! You are the master of "Disney in a day"!

I love the parades. But I am the only one in my party who does. So I often end up watching them by myself. I have more parade pictures than I care to admit.

So many things made me laugh. The comment on the weeds. The samurai beer tap. Showing your thespian side in that Belle gig. And I suspect you withheld your assessment of the fully sleeved couple who could not wait their turn to take the picture in front of the ball.

Probably what made me laugh the most is that the last time we went to F&W in 2010, guess who was performing at the Eat to the Beat concert? None other than Night Ranger. And, that song played as we walked by too. One hit wonder indeed. My husband had sampled a few too many of the adult beverages that night and loudly proclaimed that he had one of their albums when he was younger. I made fun of him then pretended not to know him. He also got to be in a play with Belle at the MK one time, in that little story time area near the Castle. She gets around!

Lowenbrau, 1981? Mine was Molson smuggled over the border from Canada to Rochester, NY, circa 1984. I think they called them "Brador"? MD might be able to help me remember the right name. Anyway the beer from Canada was stronger than US brew so it was a thing to drive up there and bring it back for parties in college back then.

When I saw that first photo of Cinderella, I was like, did my friend K get a job at WDW? Here is a photo of her. I seriously doubt she would ever get on FF, and even if she did, I know she wouldn't care if I shared a photo of her. The girl with her is another old friend, same goes for her not minding. K is the blonde on the right, and I think looks a lot like that first Cinderella you showed:

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Lowenbrau, 1981? Mine was Molson smuggled over the border from Canada to Rochester, NY, circa 1984. I think they called them "Brador"? MD might be able to help me remember the right name. Anyway the beer from Canada was stronger than US brew so it was a thing to drive up there and bring it back for parties in college back then.

Yep, it's called Molson Brador. 6% alcohol. Good stuff. But you must have had more money in college than my buddies and I did. A good beer for us in those days was Genny Screamers.

[fortpartyof4 108]

Yep, it's called Molson Brador. 6% alcohol. Good stuff. But you must have had more money in college than my buddies and I did. A good beer for us in those days was Genny Screamers.

Nope, just had a lot of rich friends from LI. I was dirt poor! Could barely afford the 5 cent draft nights at one of the dives we hung out in! Yes, we got nickel drafts, but before you go dating me, they were tiny little 8 or 9 oz. plastic cups full of warm Old Milwaukee. I shudder just thinking about what they tasted like!

Those Bradors were potent. But I think that was part of the appeal then. I remember after the first one I had, thinking no big deal I have drank a beer before, then trying to stand up and being dizzy.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

This is such a great TR, considering it is just day trips! You are the master of "Disney in a day"!

I love the parades. But I am the only one in my party who does. So I often end up watching them by myself. I have more parade pictures than I care to admit.

So many things made me laugh. The comment on the weeds. The samurai beer tap. Showing your thespian side in that Belle gig. And I suspect you withheld your assessment of the fully sleeved couple who could not wait their turn to take the picture in front of the ball.

Probably what made me laugh the most is that the last time we went to F&W in 2010, guess who was performing at the Eat to the Beat concert? None other than Night Ranger. And, that song played as we walked by too. One hit wonder indeed. My husband had sampled a few too many of the adult beverages that night and loudly proclaimed that he had one of their albums when he was younger. I made fun of him then pretended not to know him. He also got to be in a play with Belle at the MK one time, in that little story time area near the Castle. She gets around!

Lowenbrau, 1981? Mine was Molson smuggled over the border from Canada to Rochester, NY, circa 1984. I think they called them "Brador"? MD might be able to help me remember the right name. Anyway the beer from Canada was stronger than US brew so it was a thing to drive up there and bring it back for parties in college back then.

When I saw that first photo of Cinderella, I was like, did my friend K get a job at WDW? Here is a photo of her. I seriously doubt she would ever get on FF, and even if she did, I know she wouldn't care if I shared a photo of her. The girl with her is another old friend, same goes for her not minding. K is the blonde on the right, and I think looks a lot like that first Cinderella you showed:

Wow, that is a great post!

I didn't know Night Ranger had a regular gig at the F&W. Must be the only place they get to play all year.

Last year, we were there when Supertramp played. I remembered the name, but not their one hit. Then they played the Logical Song. That brought me right back to my High School days, and I'm pretty sure I had their cassettee tape for my super modern $99 after market cassettee stereo in my car.

Your friend K is way better looking than that Cinderella. Plus both of her eyes point in the same direction, which is always a plus.

I began my beer drinking career in NJ. I don't remember ever having Molsons there. Beer used to be a pretty simple thing. There were not that many choices. Light beer hadn't even hit the market yet.

Yep, it's called Molson Brador. 6% alcohol. Good stuff. But you must have had more money in college than my buddies and I did. A good beer for us in those days was Genny Screamers.

I remember Gennessee Cream Ale. I'm not sure if that's the same thing as a Genny Screamer.

Nope, just had a lot of rich friends from LI. I was dirt poor! Could barely afford the 5 cent draft nights at one of the dives we hung out in! Yes, we got nickel drafts, but before you go dating me, they were tiny little 8 or 9 oz. plastic cups full of warm Old Milwaukee. I shudder just thinking about what they tasted like!

Those Bradors were potent. But I think that was part of the appeal then. I remember after the first one I had, thinking no big deal I have drank a beer before, then trying to stand up and being dizzy.

Old Milwaukee. I know it well. I used to drink a lot of it. There are worse things.

TCD