When we arrived, the cast memebers were very friendly, gave us anniversary pins to wear, and drove us to our building (the Conch Key) on a little golf cart. We were given a tour of the resort. When we entered into our room on the fourth floor, we saw that our balcony overlooked part of the mariana, the monorail, and if we turned sideways, we could see part of Cinderella's castle. Our room was decorated in pastels blues and yellows. We had a lovely marble vanity with sconces softly lit. A towel shaped Mickey head was left on our bed. It was a nice room, though there is no way I would have thought it was worth the price if I had not had not gotten the deal. Also, as a side note, we got the package that included park hopper tickets and deluxe dining. I know that a lot of people think that it is too much food, but it isn't really if you look at it as a way for trying new things because you have already paid for it. We have certainly gotten our money out of this. Many of our meals were nearing the $40-$50 dollar a piece because of our being able to get an appetizer (each), entree, and dessert. I recommend this when you know you are going to try a lot of sitdown eateries. Back to the trip report.
Our first day, we had no plans. We also didn't have any dinner reservations. First off we got us something to eat at Gasparilla's at our resort. Chuck ordered some sushi, while I ate chicken nuggets. Neither one of us were impressed by any of this. My nuggets were rubbery, and his sushi, well... it just wasn't fresh. It would be nearly six days before we would give this place one more chance.
We decided to walk around DHS and look around at everything. Chuck gets motion sickness easily, but he came prepared to ride everything. His doctor had given him a prescription for nausea medicine. He took some while we were walking so that he could experience Star Tours for the first time. I have ridden it many times in the past, yet have not riddent it since 1998. This ride is definitely showing its age. Even my husband was hoping for something more. We can't wait to see what George Lucas is creating. We also talked to the cast members about the Jedi Training. They have roped off an area for kids to line up for the experience. The cast member told me that they try to take around 15 kids at a time. They are also going to offer more times during the day so that a lot of kids can have a chance. They recommend that you get your child in line at least 20-30 minutes before it begins.
After leaving DHS, we took the boat over to Epcot, and began to tour the World Showcase. Chuck decided to try some of their authentic drinks, and snacks. We started in France, then went and got some baklava at the kiosk in Morocco. We then got a ginger salad in Japan (now remember my husband is also trying some of their beverages), then egg rolls in China. After this, I couldn't help but laugh when his stomach began to feel a little queasy. He had quite a mixture going on. About an hour later, we went to the Rose and Crown Pub and Dining Room. We had never been here. It was around 8:40 pm and out of curiousity, we asked if they had a table for us. They sat us immediately outside for Illuminations, and we had some of the best food!
With our plan we each got an appetizer, entree and dessert. I ordered the Potato and Leek soup, Chuck ordered the Scotch Egg (hard boiled egg fried with bacon wrapped around it). Both were fabulous. For our entree, Chuck ordered the Bangers and Mash, while I went for the Fish and Chips. We nearly hurt ourselves eating these. We loved every bite. We had no room for dessert, so they boxed us up some Chocolate Scotch cake to take back to our room. We watched Illuminations without anyone in front of us, with heaters above us keeping us warm, and great food to munch on.
When we arrived back to our room, we had a few surprises waiting for us. Our resort had turned down our covers, left chocolates on our pillows, Mickey and Minnie had sent us a bottle of Champagne on ice, two glasses, and autograph picture of the famous couple, and a message on our phone from the duo singing "Happy Anniversary". This was a great way to end the evening. Neither Chuck nor I had ordered the Champagne. It was a gift from our resort, or Mickey, for those who believe.
I shall type up some more days for tomorrow. It was a light crowd during our trip. It was also quite cool, staying in the 50's for the highs on most days.
Thanks for checking on the new Jedi Training queue. I figured all the rumors were true but an eyewitness account from an official TPI investigator is all the confirmation I need. Sadly, it means just one more line during our visit, and it means my ham of an 11-year old won't be able to get involved just because he can jump up and down and scream with the best of them!
Looking forward to more details in the days ahead, Amanda!
I am glad you tried Rose and Crown since I have been hearing good things about it. Personally, I try to avoid it like heck, but I guess I gotta try it again. Still, when I think of UK, good food is not top of my list. Now beer, thats a different story!
Nice Disney Suprise when you got back!
I too was fearful of the Rose and Crown Pub. I had never heard anything good about English food. It was such a nice surprise to have great food.
Maybe next time we will try some of the "nice" restaurants at the Grand Floridian. We really tried to spend a majority of our time at the parks since it was such a low crowd level.
It's an urban myth that we don't have good food here in the UK. ( a rumour no doubt started by our friends across the Channel ! ). But don't forget that it was Napoleon himself who named us the " Ros Boeufs " because we actually taught the French how to cook roast beef properly.(and that's a fact).
But I have to agree that we do also have great beer and with some excellent names too.
That said ...we've only been to the Rose & Crown once in all our visits to EPCOT.
I wonder just how many overseas visitors actually eat at their own Country's exhibit on the Showcase ?
