What Do You Do On a "Mom-cation"? Eat and Drink Mostly! October 2018 Dining Report COMPLETE 12/30

What a great trip to the CG lounge. We've only been able to get in there once, but I much preferred its vibe to the tables.

Good to hear the wontons were good. I was just perusing the menu yesterday and those caught my eye. I'm a sucker any kind of wonton or dumpling so if they are still there in February we will certainly be sharing them.

Yikes on the bus situation! We've only stayed at Pop once but had some of the same issues. Smart to take the AoA bus.
 
Dinner in the CG lounge sounds like the perfect choice! As does a meal of appetizers. For some reason I never think of the lounge as an option. The bus situation sounds awful. Especially tough at the end of the day when you’re tired and just want to go “home” ... and then you’re packed in like sardines and possibly standing ... ugh. Often I walk to the Contemporary and get an Uber/Lyft/cab to save myself the frustration (I was not blessed with patience, LOL).
 
I haven't gotten around to an update this weekend, Chad and Asher have both had a virus and now it seems I am coming down with the same thing. Constant sickness since school started in August, just one of the joys of parenting a preschooler...

I've been occupying my mind with obsessing over whether to do our next Disney trip during Asher's spring break or after school is out at the end of May. Spring break will be crowded but it would be glorious to escape our cold and rainy Kentucky spring for some sun and warmth. May would be lower crowds and hotter weather for pool time-- I can't count on pool time in early April, we're really not comfortable in the pool unless it's in the solid 80s. What to do, what to do???

The wontons look delicious! Sounds like something I would really enjoy.

I thought they were a creative offering, the short rib made for an interesting flavor and texture.

Your appetizer meal looks lovely at California Grill! Those Short Rib Wontons sound tasty but I could see how it could be too much salt when you have that along with the goat cheese.

You got a decent amount done for the evening at MK! Too bad your post park snack at Pop sucked!

I was happy with the rides I managed for an evening at MK. Wish I could have seen HEA from a better spot, but I can't deal with crazy mob-like crowds after dark.

Ahhhh your CA Grill meal looks awesome. The ravioli looks great, glad to hear the broth is tasty!

Wow, those bus queues for Pop (and AoA to a lesser extent) sound awful. Good on you for hopping to the AoA bus, we have also enjoyed that tip some nights!

Also have been on the Pop food court struggle bus with only pizza/pasta available, my sincere sympathies :( Glad you at least got the cute cake to end the night on a good note :)

I guess the food courts being open at value resorts is a positive if you need something late at night and it was great for getting milk for coffee in the morning, etc. but I'm not sure it's really meal-worthy at that hour. I'll plan better in the future or just eat a bag of chips or something.

Joining in. Your trip looks like tons of fun so far!

Thanks for joining! It was pretty great, I'll get around to finishing this up soon!

What a great trip to the CG lounge. We've only been able to get in there once, but I much preferred its vibe to the tables.

Good to hear the wontons were good. I was just perusing the menu yesterday and those caught my eye. I'm a sucker any kind of wonton or dumpling so if they are still there in February we will certainly be sharing them.

Yikes on the bus situation! We've only stayed at Pop once but had some of the same issues. Smart to take the AoA bus.

The AoA bus was definitely worth walking through that resort. I was in a location on the lakeside of Pop anyway, so it was only a bit longer. Definitely a bonus of staying at Pop, who knows how long I would have been waiting for a Pop bus???

Dinner in the CG lounge sounds like the perfect choice! As does a meal of appetizers. For some reason I never think of the lounge as an option. The bus situation sounds awful. Especially tough at the end of the day when you’re tired and just want to go “home” ... and then you’re packed in like sardines and possibly standing ... ugh. Often I walk to the Contemporary and get an Uber/Lyft/cab to save myself the frustration (I was not blessed with patience, LOL).

I loved the lounge, I think even more than dining at a proper table there. It was very comfortable and relaxed, which is what I like on vacation. I was definitely packed in and standing on that bus. I was one of that last ones in and the bus driver was making everyone scrunch, but no way was I taking a chance on how long the next bus would be.
 
I'm just catching up but let me go ahead with my two cents on your next trip :D If April would be the week right before or right after Easter Sunday, I highly suggest doing May instead!!! Ok :thumbsup2

Nice morning in HS followed by lunch at F&W, love it! Your picture made me miss the sparkling Kir from France. We aren't huge CG fans however both your apps sound tasty and I'm wondering if I need to talk DH into trying it again.......

We stayed at Pop ONCE and did the AOA bus/walk to Pop and I liked it. I think AOA is so neat so getting to walk around there and over the bridge was fun. Because you know, it's not like we were doing any other walking in Disney :laughing:
 


I'm just catching up but let me go ahead with my two cents on your next trip :D If April would be the week right before or right after Easter Sunday, I highly suggest doing May instead!!! Ok :thumbsup2

Nice morning in HS followed by lunch at F&W, love it! Your picture made me miss the sparkling Kir from France. We aren't huge CG fans however both your apps sound tasty and I'm wondering if I need to talk DH into trying it again.......

We stayed at Pop ONCE and did the AOA bus/walk to Pop and I liked it. I think AOA is so neat so getting to walk around there and over the bridge was fun. Because you know, it's not like we were doing any other walking in Disney :laughing:

Our Spring break is early in April, so it's far enough away from Easter, otherwise I wouldn't even consider it! :scared: If we do go that week, we will only do three, maybe four, park days and spend the remaining days at the pool or doing fun non-park activities like going to FW to see the horses and play on the playground, maybe rent a pontoon again, eat at resort restaurants, etc. We shall see.

I only saw AOA at night and it was so pretty. I meant to walk over there during the day and never got around to it with such a short trip. Those two resorts are going to be even more desirable once the Skyliner is up and running, I think that will be very convenient. And probably increase the rates significantly. I'll be interested to see what the increase is. :scratchin
 
Day 3 – October 28
The Good, the Bad, and the Fading Fast

I was able to sleep in a little the next day, I think I woke up around 8:45. I didn’t have to be anywhere until my pairing lunch at noon and I had discovered an unidentified substance on the back of my jeans :crazy2: upon returning the night before, so I took the time to wash my jeans since I would need them later that night when the temps dropped into the 60s again.


I finished up my Minnie cake with some Joffrey’s coffee in the room and then finally rolled out to Epcot, arriving with just enough time to use my Soarin’ FP and then have a leisurely stroll back to France for my lunch.

The weather was gorgeous! It was still cool enough that I was wearing a light sweater and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

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I arrived in France around 11:45 and joined the line at the door to Monsieur Paul. We waited until 12:00, I was surprised they didn’t start seating earlier. The check-in process was time consuming with several delays. Then we waited on the steps while each party was seated at their assigned spot. I always get a little anxious about communal seating and this time I didn’t have my husband and kid to take the socializing pressure off me. Fortunately I was seated with people that were friendly, a family consisting of a couple, their adult daughter, and the wife’s sister and another solo traveler. Regardless, I was happy when drinks and food started showing up so that I could focus on something other than making small talk, at which I am TERRIBLE.

Here was our menu for the meal:

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And our first drink:

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This was a lillet rosé with tonic water and at first I thought the tonic was overpowering but it grew on me as I sipped. It was a refreshing start to the meal.

I neglected to take a photo of the amuse bouche because I was STARVING by this point and just popped it in my mouth immediately. It was a teeny tiny little dill bread with smoked salmon. It was good, but it was so small I barely tasted it. It could have a been just a little bigger, even for an amuse bouche.

The rosé for the first course was a nice one, something I would order again if I see it anywhere. It had dry fruity notes and not too much acidity, which is my preferred style of
rosé. I had a refill of this because my first pour was small and I was enjoying it. I got the feeling one of my tablemates was monitoring my alcohol intake and I wanted to say, “Don’t worry, not gonna tap dance on the table, I can certainly hold my wine.” But I didn’t. Should have though. :cool1:


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They brought around mini baguettes and butter, which I scarfed down:

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Then came the first course:

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This was a baked egg with some crème fraiche, some herbs, and couple of toast points. This course was sort of a disaster because the eggs were cooked to varying degrees of doneness with some being completely firm and some being completely raw. Mine was somewhere in between, but barely tolerable. One of my tablemates sent theirs back, then was presented with another equally raw egg. Besides the quality control problem, it just wasn’t a very impressive dish. Ho-hum. :sad2:

Then came more wine, which was already turning out to be the best part of the meal:

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I don’t drink much red wine because it tends to give me a headache, but I do enjoy drinking it. This one had a lot of tannins though, so I avoided refills which required being alert. If you weren’t paying attention, the servers would just go ahead and top up your glass. They definitely were not stingy with the wine at this lunch. :thumbsup2

At photo limit, continued in next post...
 
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French lunch continued...

Then came the entrée:


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That’s a pretty terrible picture, but what was in the casserole tasted about as bad as that looks. It was not good. First of all, it’s a chicken leg. So now we’ve been served the two cheapest protein options possible, both from a chicken, and I’m starting to think they’ve run through their budget prematurely for this event. Second, the preparation on this dish was abysmal. It was obvious that each component had been prepared separately (the beans, pork, chicken, and sauce) and then plated in the casserole for serving. Because of that, the flavors weren’t combined like they should have been and it didn’t have the richness it should have because the pork fat hadn’t rendered. It was supremely disappointing, nowhere near hot, and can I just say again—a chicken leg?!? I’ve seen reviews in which it was at least duck served in this dish, but I doubt that would have made it any better.

After that disappointment, I was happy for more wine to show up to drown my sorrows in:

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This was a nice fruity Bordeaux and it went well with the cheese course, which was a basic brie:

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Then came the sparkly for the dessert course:

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This was a nice quality sparkling wine and I may have had several refills in order to feel like I hadn’t been completely cheated after the disappointing food. Ahem. :blush:

The dessert was fun:

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Those profiteroles were filled with caramel and delicious. The green apple sorbet was a little too tart in contrast, but I get what they were going for with the caramel apple flavor.

This was it for food, but the sparkling wine refills kept people lingering a bit. My tablemates started clearing out and finally the other solo traveler dismissed herself, probably because by this point I was talking her poor ear off since the wine had eased my social anxiety. :hyper2:

My assessment of this event, which is probably obvious by now, is that the wine was great and free-flowing, the service was alright, nothing special, but the food. Was. Bad. The cheese and dessert just couldn’t make up for the terrible egg and chicken dishes. I actually left not feeling very full, which was not at all what I was expecting. I was so looking forward to this meal and it was a huge let-down.

I don’t know if I’ll do another of these pairing lunches. It’s just too much of a gamble not knowing the menu and then the added stress for me of communal seating. I think I would rather take my $100 and go to Cali Grill brunch or try one of the brunches at Disney Springs. Maybe I would fare better at the Italian lunch, but now I’m a little gun shy. We’ll see how I feel about it when next F&W rolls around and whether I get to do another solo trip.


Day 3 to be continued…
 
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I had a similar experience at the French Luncheon three years ago. The stew did have lamb (not a huge amount), but the other dishes were on the cheaper side. I think they were going for a provincial French family in the country? I don't know - I left pretty drunk because of all the wine and not enough protein to soak it up. I probably did drink $90 worth of wine, but I'm not sure that means it was worth it?
 
I feel you on the Frunch. I did the old version twice and left eh on the food, the table mates and drunk from wine. Mexican Tequila Lunch is more my speed!

There are some wonderful events out there! Sorry yours was eh. At least you had all the wine to get you by.
 
Well, the wine does look good but...the food definitely did not! Sorry it was such a disappointment. I think I would have been heading straight for the pretzel cart after that lunch.
 
I got the feeling one of my tablemates was monitoring my alcohol intake and I wanted to say, “Don’t worry, not gonna tap dance on the table, I can certainly hold my wine.” But I didn’t. Should have though. :cool1:
:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2: I don't think I could have not messed with this person. Clearly they were in the wrong place.

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Looks like this was the best thing you got to eat. I would have expected so much more from Monsieur Pauls.

Yuck, gross, ick!!!! What were they thinking?

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That’s a pretty terrible picture, but what was in the casserole tasted about as bad as that looks. It was not good.
Man oh man, did you complain about this at all? For what I can imagine you paid this is beyond ridiculous.

think I would rather take my $100 and go to Cali Grill brunch or try one of the brunches at Disney Springs. Maybe I would fare better at the Italian lunch, but now I’m a little gun shy. We’ll see how I feel about it when next F&W rolls around and whether I get to do another solo trip.
Sounds like you would fair better just about anywhere.
 
I almost gave the French wine lunch a go again this year. After your review I am SO HAPPY I went to Il Mulino brunch instead. That was just so awful!

I went last year 2017. The wine was good, and free flowing. My food was either excellent or bad. I had a great vochesseuay and mint chocolate dessert, but I had the duck version of your cassoulet. Trust me, not any better.

This makes me so sad. I love provencial French cuisine. I grew up eating wonderful cassoulet. For the price we pay for this lunch, we should get so much more. I will not do another until the format changes.
 
I had a similar experience at the French Luncheon three years ago. The stew did have lamb (not a huge amount), but the other dishes were on the cheaper side. I think they were going for a provincial French family in the country? I don't know - I left pretty drunk because of all the wine and not enough protein to soak it up. I probably did drink $90 worth of wine, but I'm not sure that means it was worth it?

I guess it wasn't just a bad menu day then. I've seen so many reviews that rave about this lunch though, maybe the copious wine clouds their judgment on the food.

I feel you on the Frunch. I did the old version twice and left eh on the food, the table mates and drunk from wine. Mexican Tequila Lunch is more my speed!

There are some wonderful events out there! Sorry yours was eh. At least you had all the wine to get you by.

The tequila lunch sounds great, I just don't think I could handle that amount of tequila at lunch time. Tequila isn't as bad as gin for me, but still something I have to limit to a couple of drinks. LOL!

Well, the wine does look good but...the food definitely did not! Sorry it was such a disappointment. I think I would have been heading straight for the pretzel cart after that lunch.

I should have grabbed a snack on my way out, I didn't think about it because I guess I didn't imagine I could possibly still be hungry. So sad.

Looks like this was the best thing you got to eat. I would have expected so much more from Monsieur Pauls.

Man oh man, did you complain about this at all? For what I can imagine you paid this is beyond ridiculous.

The baguette really was the best item, I ate two of them and normally I wouldn't bother with bread at something like this.

I didn't bother complaining since I saw the reaction when my tablemate's egg dish had to be sent back. The staff didn't seem concerned about the quality of food in the least. Maybe I should send an email though.

I almost gave the French wine lunch a go again this year. After your review I am SO HAPPY I went to Il Mulino brunch instead. That was just so awful!

I went last year 2017. The wine was good, and free flowing. My food was either excellent or bad. I had a great vochesseuay and mint chocolate dessert, but I had the duck version of your cassoulet. Trust me, not any better.

This makes me so sad. I love provencial French cuisine. I grew up eating wonderful cassoulet. For the price we pay for this lunch, we should get so much more. I will not do another until the format changes.

I agree, I won't do another French lunch unless they make major changes. I like the provencial idea and I don't mind eating less expensive meats as long as they're prepared well. They just seemed to be phoning it in with the food.

Sorry you did not enjoy your French meal. It doesn't look appealing!

It was definitely a disappointment, but lesson learned!
 
Day 2 continued…

After my lunch of mostly wine, I decided I needed a break and it was just warm enough for pool weather. Well, laying out weather for me, it has to be solid mid 80s for me to get in the pool and it was just barely 80 degrees that afternoon. It took forever to get back to Pop via Beach Club bus to AK, then a transfer but I made it with about an hour of sun left before the long shadows took over.

I grabbed one of those little bottles of food court wine to sip while I showered and got ready for the evening.

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It was decent but I was feeling a little out of sorts as I got ready to go back to Epcot. I chalked it up to all the day-drinking. :confused3

By the time I got back to Epcot, it was getting a little late for my original plan of heading over to Flying Fish or the Swalphin area for some lounges and I decided to just snack at F&W booths again for dinner.

My first stop was the Flavors from Fire booth for this:

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Charred Chimichurri Skirt Steak on a Smoked Corn Cake with Pickled Vegetable Slaw and Cilantro Aïoli – $6.75

I cut it into it before I remembered to take a photo, sorry it looks such a mess. The steak was very well prepared, a nice medium and the flavors went together nicely. It was on the tangy side and I tend to like acidic foods, so it worked for me.

I also grabbed one of these:

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Chocolate Picante: Dark Chocolate Mousse with Cayenne Pepper, Chili Powder and Mango – $3.75

This was tasty and good value for the size, very nicely done. I’m not a big chocolate dessert person but this appealed to me because of the spices. I think I prefer a very creamy basic mousse in the end, although this was fun to try and I applaud the creativity.

At this point I realized I had tried everything on my F&W list, but I was still hungry. I started wandering around and remembered that the reviews for the stroganoff at the Cheese Studio had improved later in the festival.

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Braised Beef Stroganoff with Tiny Egg Noodles, Wild Mushroom and Boursin Garlic with Fine Herbs Cheese Sauce – $5.25

This was pretty tasty except for the pickle, which gave the dish a weird Big Mac flavor, so I got rid of it immediately. It’s not your typical sour cream stroganoff, but the Boursin worked and I love spaetzle.

I sat on the “grass” in that area and ate this because I suddenly felt absolutely exhausted. I was looking around at all the people and started feeling super sad and homesick. :( I thought maybe I shouldn’t have stayed three nights by myself and just tried to shake the feeling and move along.

I couldn’t think of anything else I really wanted and then I remembered rave reviews about this item:

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Ropa Vieja Empanada with Tomato Aïoli$5.25

Terrible photo aside, this ended up being a mistake for me as I am well aware that I do not care for the flavors in ropa vieja. It tasted very authentically like ropa vieja, so it didn’t work for me but the quality was good.

I’m wandering through World Showcase with an extreme case of the weirdos at this point. :scared: I felt super anxious and not sure what to do with myself. I ended up back in Italy and thought a nice glass of wine from Tutto Gusto might help. As soon as I sat down and ordered, I was hit with a huge wave of nausea and I started to get concerned. I still managed to drink my wine and watch Illuminations with a few rogue tears escaping, both from feeling so weird in general and it being one of the last times I'll see the show.:sad1:

I really wanted to enjoy World Showcase with low crowds during EMH and I walked around the Mitsukoshi shop for awhile before I realized I just couldn’t do it. I started making my way back to Future World and my back started hurting so badly I could hardly walk. By the time I got to Spaceship Earth, I had to ride it just to get a break before I could finish the walk out to the buses. I was also freezing even with a long sleeve tee and a sweater. After almost falling asleep on the ride, I was able to make it out to the buses and fortunately a bus came quickly and I was able to get one of the last seats.:faint:

You’ve probably already figured it out, but I didn’t realize until I got back to my room that I was SICK. :sick: I dosed up on all my hippie remedies that I carry with me and got into bed for a fitful sleep with alternating chills, sweating, and stomach pains. It felt like a stomach flu but without severe gastrointestinal issues (fortunately). I was a little concerned about how I would manage to fly home the next day…

Day 4 – October 29
I Survived

I woke up feeling pretty rough the next morning, but I was determined to make it over to Epcot to pick up my Passholder cutting board and magnet. I was dragging but I made it.

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My original plan had been to get a cheese plate and bloody Mary shrimp cocktail from the Festival Center for breakfast, however, (needless to say) that was not appealing with lingering nausea. I did need to eat something and so I headed to Sunshine Seasons to find something blander.

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This is the kid menu breakfast platter and it did the trick. Typical Disney-style eggs and bacon and I liked the French toast bread pudding that came with it.

After a quick ride on Living with the Land, I headed back to Pop to finish packing and wait for the Magical Express back to the airport.

I was determined to enjoy my last few moments of vacation regardless of my misery and drank my last glass of wine by the pool:

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My travel was fairly miserable since I felt so sick, but by the time I landed at home I miraculously felt completely well. It was just one of those 24-hour viruses I suppose.

That’s the end of my mom-cation, which, aside from the punctuating illness, was a smashing success. It was exactly the kind of break I needed and I hope to make it an annual thing. My only regret (aside from the French lunch- ugh) was not having another table service meal that last night since I get tired of F&W booths quickly. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t spend the $$$ at Flying Fish though since I was obviously not feeling well at all.

Now I’m off to get caught up reading everyone else’s reports. You might see a Spring Break report from me in a few months, we’re still not sure if we’re headed back to the World then or at the beginning of summer. Thanks for following along!!!
 
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Sorry your last night was so rough, but glad to hear you got what I'm sure is some well deserved time alone.
 
Oh dear on the French meal and illness! Yuck!! I’ve also read glowing reviews of that meal. I just went back and looked at one I remember and they had a slightly different menu... the entree was still chicken (not a leg) but a creamy chicken with rice pilaf. I guess these meals are always a bit of a gamble both from a menu and tablemates standpoint. Thank goodness for the wine! But ugh on the judgment from someone at your table. So sorry you weren’t feeling well your last night. Good for you for powering through... gotta get that cutting board! I hope you are able to make a F&W momcation an annual thing!
 
Chocolate Picante: Dark Chocolate Mousse with Cayenne Pepper, Chili Powder and Mango – $3.75

Braised Beef Stroganoff with Tiny Egg Noodles, Wild Mushroom and Boursin Garlic with Fine Herbs Cheese Sauce – $5.2

Ropa Vieja Empanada with Tomato Aïoli$5.25

I first have to say that you tried three of my absolute favorite 2018 festival offerings on your last night! I did love the Rope Vieja, sorry it wasn't to your taste especially with sickness coming on :crazy2: Not the best way to end an otherwise awesome solo trip but luckily it was only 24 hours. Thank you for sharing your eats and drinks with us and Happy New Year!!
 

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