How about a couple of EPIC quickies? DRs, that is! update 8/6 - Festival and Territory Lounge

[ArielSRL]

And... here’s where I probably lose all my friends. For $7, I was thrilled to order:
Yachtsman Signature Bread - Sourdough Baguette, Pull-Apart Onion Rolls, Roasted Garlic, Butter

Y’all. This was not good. The sourdough bread was fine. The onion rolls were fine-to-good depending on your sweetness tolerance. The butter was fine-to-good. The garlic was narsty.

I haven't had this but you bet I will be in June. I'll let you know after that who I agree with....lol.

It was an impressive burger! But remains dethroned by the following “Melinda’s Best Burger on Disney Property Award” winners (tm)

1.) the Boathouse classic cheeseburger (also $2 less than this one at $18)
2.) Homecoming’s “the Art burger” (also $2 less)
3.) yak and yeti Kobe beef burger ($20)

Good to know.

"The Bear Band bears will play now - In the good ol' key of G"

*Love*

I keep going back for Sleepy Hollow waffles imagining them to be as good as Mickey waffles but they're just never crisp and I don't love the weird chewy texture.

I am still hoping to try a fruit and nutella waffle sandwich one day. Even if it isn't as good as Mickey waffles, which underwhelm me. You know, for research purposes!

 

[ariane37]

This is also where I’ll tell a cautionary tale that if you are meeting an internet friend you should make sure your undergarments are not hanging from your dresser knobs as I nearly died of embarrassment after Wendy and her husband came to our room to chat/collect figment phone case, and I turned around to notice my bra on prominent display - egads!

#partystartshere

Your internet friends just didn't know what kind of party

don’t know if something was wrong with our serving or if something is wrong with me

I vote B!

 

[thumper*]

HI Melissa following along.

I have been hoping to read a TR for your cruise. I hope you write one.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

First off, all of your magic kingdom photos were amazing! And so nice to look at on this hump dat...

I won't tell you what I did with the shower gel in the pump at the OKW studio we were in this last time

I kind of like the bottle ones... you can... ah hem.... get more .... if you ... ah hem.... plan ahead.... (Basically, I have no idea what you may or may not have done)

This is also where I’ll tell a cautionary tale that if you are meeting an internet friend you should make sure your undergarments are not hanging from your dresser knobs as I nearly died of embarrassment after Wendy and her husband came to our room to chat/collect figment phone case, and I turned around to notice my bra on prominent display - egads!

Too funny!

Minnie made a fuss over my ears and dress, which you know had me giggling like a preschooler. I don't know if I will ever grow old enough that meeting Minnie Mouse is not a big deal. She's my spirit animal. Oddly enough, the photopass photographer and character attendant would not let me get a photo with just Minnie, which is weird because since then some of my friends on the Epic trip posted photos of just the girls or just the guys - guess the CMs I had that morning were more committed to character integrity with the meet (or maybe the policy since changed). Whatever, I don't hate having both Mice to love on me!

Great photo. I wish I had made Morgan go and meet them on her birthday. She didn't want to. But it would have been a great photo.

Front row!!!

Ha! Love it!

 

[lauraleh]

Following along!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Excited to heat just how Epic your trip turned out to be. You travelled with such a quiet, demure, teetotal bunch of people I’m sure there were no shenanigans at all!
Seriously looking forward to hearing all about your trip and glad to know that and R were able to cope without Kari’s scaffolding club view
Sorry Crew’s Cup didn’t quite live up to your expectations. We used to love it there but it’s been a while. Great photos of MK and Epcot

 

[ariane37]

Excited to heat just how Epic your trip turned out to be. You travelled with such a quiet, demure, teetotal bunch of people I’m sure there were no shenanigans at all!

Oh yes, no at all......................

 

[fallonkendra]

As we traversed the many yards to our intended dinner , I noticed the floral display with several of the flowers from our wedding arrangements. Though I gotta say, Disney, these are hideous. Talk about phoned in. “Let me just cram $60 worth of protea in this quadrant and $60 worth of white roses in this quadrant. Now, where's that giant stick I just had? Et voila! Art!”

That's more like it...

Your wedding centerpieces definitely beat whatever Disney was trying to put together there....

We found a booth and settled in. Some kind of sportsball thing was on. Don’t ask me what. As Monica would say, “Teams played sports.”

And... here’s where I probably lose all my friends. For $7, I was thrilled to order:
Yachtsman Signature Bread - Sourdough Baguette, Pull-Apart Onion Rolls, Roasted Garlic, Butter

Y’all. This was not good. The sourdough bread was fine. The onion rolls were fine-to-good depending on your sweetness tolerance. The butter was fine-to-good. The garlic was narsty.

Gasp! You take that back right now!

It was an impressive burger! But remains dethroned by the following “Melinda’s Best Burger on Disney Property Award” winners (tm)

1.) the Boathouse classic cheeseburger (also $2 less than this one at $18)
2.) Homecoming’s “the Art burger” (also $2 less)
3.) yak and yeti Kobe beef burger ($20)

I'm not a big burger person (I know, I'm weird), but I showed this list to Luke and he approves. He's never tried the one from the Boathouse, but he was a big fan of Farthsmith's burger and the one from Yak & Yeti. I think he said the Crew's Cup burger would be third behind those two.

Edited to add: Luke has now joined the Disboards, so I’m sure he will chime in on this at some point.

Cuties!

Minnie made a fuss over my ears and dress, which you know had me giggling like a preschooler.

Great picture!

Of course we had to go sing along with my favorite bears

But did you actually meet any bears that day?!

 

[suse66]

Yay! Welcome back Susan! I hope you are back on your feet and feeling great after your procedure. We missed you on the Epic trip!

Awww, thanks Melinda! Everything went very well and I feel great! Of course I was so disappointed to miss out on all the shenanigans on the Epic trip! Next time for sure!

I found the pool temperature comfortable but DH was a little chilly so we decided to check out the hot tub near our room (which looked out over the quiet pool). Oddly enough the “hot” tub was a cold/normal tub that afternoon so we didn’t spend long in it and returned to our balcony and Crescent Lake-gazing.

Don't you two look relaxed and happy!! Our room was in the same location when we stayed at BC in 2015......we were on the 4th floor overlooking the quiet pool.

Since we’d risen early and taken no nap, we debated dinner options but one choice stood out for convenience (and because it used to be such a favorite of ours that we’d travel from another resort for it): Crew’s Cup Lounge.

Used to be?? Oh no!

Yes, I know, I know, I could hear you all clicking the "x" simultaneously... but... I love garlic! I love the flavor of roasted garlic! I hated this garlic on both types of bread! I don’t know if something was wrong with our serving or if something is wrong with me but I didn’t enjoy this. I also think it’s pretty ridiculous that they charge you $7 for a basket of bread if you’re ordering other stuff. I mean, I could see if you just plop down and order a couple of beers and want bread, the restaurant being justified in charging you for it, but our bill ended up close to $100. And we can’t have the bread that’s free next door even if we just ordered salad and water? #salty

Yes, I would be salty too! That is an expensive meal. Too bad you weren't in the love it camp....I have very fond memories of an incredible love affair with roasted garlic during dinner at Yachtsman.

Overall we had good service from a CM in training and enjoyed our dinner, even though we were exhausted and I think Crew’s Cup’s best days were in its past. I would return again if staying at Crescent Lake but would not go out of my way in the future to return.

Too bad! We haven't been there since 2016 and were tossing around popping by this July. I guess there may be other places we would enjoy more.

The first thing we did was to meet celebration Mickey and Minnie

Love this picture! Your dress is so cute!!

I loved the trolley and the hardworking Disney horse just standing around for admirers!

Of course we had to go sing along with my favorite bears

Love the Country Bears!

This outfit it wicked cute with matching Tevas.

Agreed! Love how cute and fresh you look!

 

[kastoney]

Excited to heat just how Epic your trip turned out to be. You travelled with such a quiet, demure, teetotal bunch of people I’m sure there were no shenanigans at all!
Seriously looking forward to hearing all about your trip and glad to know that and R were able to cope without Kari’s scaffolding club view

Glad to see after all this time you clearly know us all so well

 

[HeiChewChewChewsYou]

I'm not a big burger person (I know, I'm weird), but I showed this list to Luke and he approves. He's never tried the one from the Boathouse, but he was a big fan of Farthsmith's burger and the one from Yak & Yeti. I think he said the Crew's Cup burger would be third behind those two.

Edited to add: Luke has now joined the Disboards, so I’m sure he will chime in on this at some point.

I’ve been voluntold to respond even though I’m not really much an expert on WDW burgers. I’m better equipped to comment on pot roasts with green beans. Mostly I just hope all the burgers have fun being devoured. Especially that Cali Grill brunch bison burger that was opulently soaked in butter.

 

[Hettie]

That's too bad about the bread at Crew's Cup, I would have also ordered it. We used to roast garlic that way all the time and it was delicious on pretty much anything. I wonder what went wrong? I do love the atmosphere there though, but I love hanging out anywhere that I can lounge around on couches or comfy chairs and have someone bring me food and drinks.

Sleepy Hollow is on my list, the bad one. The service is terrible, the waits are always long, and we always end up with half-cooked or cold food. We just keep going there out of desperation in the morning when Chad gets hangry.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Oh yes, no at all......................

Glad to see after all this time you clearly know us all so well

Practically perfect angels the lotta ya or so I believe

 

[Steppesister]

Hey Melinda! I"m here! Finally making my way around the Boards to find everyone's TRs and get caught up. It was SO, SO fun to meet you and be able to sit with you at O'hana. As I've been telling so many others, we need a do-over; I just feel like I didn't get nearly enough time with anyone really. I felt very spread out. I guess Fall, 2021 will be our next opportunity to get another chance.

Anyway, all caught up and am loving your comments so far. Now that I've read up to this point, I'll try to be a better commenter as well.

 

[pepperandchips]

The burger looks good from Crews Cup. Some of the ladies tried some appetizers there and I tasted the meatballs and Parker rolls, these were very good!

I think I saw those on the menu! I was deciding whether or not to also order sliders so there is plenty of opportunity to return and try something different!

I'm so happy you got the picture thing worked out! I went back to your first post to look at them, and they are beautiful! Love your ears! They match the flowers hanging from the Main St Trolley!

Thank you so much, that is so kind!

Where do you get such cute dresses? You always look so adorable!

Oh goodness, all over the place. A lot of my dresses come from Target, actually, but I still have a handful (like the yellow one with flowers) that came from J. Crew.

And thank you again, you're the sweetest. My secret is that I like dresses as they don't have to match anything else

Love your room and view at the BCV, but I do think Kari's @kastoney was a bit better! We used to own quite a bit of DVC points at he BCV, as well as what is now known as Boulder Ridge Villas. We bough when they first opened, and had them until 2014 when my husband convinced me that we should sell the contracts so we could buy a house with acreage so he could hobby farm. In my weakness I agreed. We did buy a resale at AKV in the beginning of 2017, and I love Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo & Kidani, but I have to admit I really really miss my Beach Club & Wilderness contracts. Oh well. I know I can transfer in to them at the 7 month window, but at peak times of year, like during the Epcot festivals, it's almost impossible to book the BCV. Live & learn.

You know, we only have 75 DVC points because we just don't plan that far ahead most of the time. On this most recent trip we stayed in a Polynesian studio on rented DVC points. That's what I do most of the time if I am staying DVC! And of course we try to get good prices on regular hotel rooms in between. I do wish we had Animal Kingdom points though, it is such a wonderful resort.

There were three different sets of iron-on patches to choose from. One was a very Flower and Garden specific set, but it was those same blah colors and designs as most of the merch...weird greens and a little pink. Ariana and I both ended up going with the Figment set. Not that I will be ironing them onto anything anytime soon, but they were the cutest for sure!

You know what, now that you say that, I was actually there when Sarah got her patches Some memory I have, huh! They were cute and I was glad t see them offering a different prize this year. The plastic cups were sort of pathetic to me but I like the idea of patches and pins!

Chunky Take Over!!!! That was really so fun...though I spent most of our time there in line to see Minnie Mouse. I took my flight out into the rain with us, and drank them fast enough that the rain didn't dilute it too much

I know, I came in before the group made it over there (I was maybe a little grumpy haha), took one look at the Minnie line, and NOPED my way back to the table we all later gathered 'round. I LOVE MINNIE but I do not love lines and at that time there was no way Ariane or Steve or R were coming with me... sooo... next time?

I ALWAYS give myself a hand eye-patch and finger hook!! My husband is embarrassed of me, but I am glad to see I'm in good company

I always do this too but I don't think anyone is embarrassed of me, they're too used to my hijinks at this point

But yes, you have my full support, pirate pal!

Hello! Just joining in and have some catching up to do. Just wanted to say it was so nice meeting you and your DH! The EPIC trip was such a fun adventure and I can't wait to do it again!

Jen, it was such a pleasure meeting you! You are so kind and wonderful to be around I wish we had had more time together!

I'm here!! Hi, Melinda!

The party has arrived!

I swear, minus the beer sampling (#glutenprobs #brainprobs) you're speaking directly from my own brain. You have excellent taste.

This is probably why I adore you so! No beer necessary.

Omg I can't wait for this. Even if we won't feel much like walking in August, I'm totally gonna do it anyway. This is what dreams are made of.

Hey now hey noooowwwwww (sorry, can't help it)

It was sort of astounding how short the walk was, especially coming out of the side door nearest IG. It would have taken us longer to get to the boat!

I'm actually not physically capable of reading this without singing it in my head.

"...Welcome to Must-Do Disney. I'm your host, Stacey. You know there's [sic] a lot of thing in life that you must do, but there are only a few of those must dos that you really want to do!"

I will neither confirm nor deny that I have Must Do Disney saved on my Desktop for quick access when the mood hits...

Any time anyone comes into my office at work, I generally have to hit mute pretty fast as I tend to listen to background music or the resort tv channel. I think I need to start every weekend with a viewing of "must-do" from here on! I am dreading the day that they replace this. Nothing makes me feel like "you are home" as much or as well as Stacey does!

Since it’s in the past,I’m hoping it’s not creepy to say I know exactly where your room was. Great location!! I actually prefer the quiet pools.

Not creepy at all! We loved that quiet pool just a hop, skip, and a jump from our room. Actually you could probably omit the hop and skip if you were willing to jump the bushes

I already liked you but you’re a burger lover??? Disney food sister!!!!

Speaking of creeper... I may or may not have started reading your trip reports from many moons ago and I totally agree! I loved getting in the time machine and going on your vacations with you!

Crew’s Cup will always be a favorite of mine. I don’t add the garlic to my onion rolls - maybe that makes a difference?

I think that definitely makes a difference - although honestly, I think our roasted garlic was maybe just overroasted. The onion pull apart rolls were good, I think I just had set my expectations unreasonably high after hearing how much everyone enjoys this bread service at the Yachtsman!

I like their burger too. I think my current best burger crown goes to either Boathouse or Ale & Compass.

I have still not made it into Ale & Compass other than to get a drink (because of course I did) but I will have to give it a whirl next time I am in the burger mood! Their breakfast has also gotten quite a few accolades lately as well. Though I think it will be hard to beat the Boathouse. Their burger is just sublime.

OMG HIIIIII! Aren't you just a delight?!? This DR is giving me much needed happy vibes with all this terrible rainy weather we're having up yonder

Hi Natalie

Your check is in the mail for being so sweet, hahaha

GASP....are these your centerpieces?!?!? They are gorgeous!!

Aren't they though? My anniversary is in a week, I can't believe it - and I still haven't gotten many wedding pictures posted to facebook. They were EXACTLY what I wanted. I'm ready to have another blowout party!

I'm so glad you got Beach Club. It's the perfect place to stumble home to honestly! Supes excited to read more!!!!

I totally agree. Glad to have you along here!

I'm late but here! Just started so I'll be back to comment later....

You're forgiven! Glad you made it! Tag me if you start a report (when school gets out?) so I am sure to see it!

Following along! It was so nice to meet you for the hot second that it was. All these TR’s are going to be amazing!

Yes it was! And your kids are absolutely wonderful too. I hope you guys had an amazing time celebrating and that we run into each other again in the future!!!

 

[pepperandchips]

Hey we all can't have the pixie dust of @ariane37 Roy Disney Suite or my Beach Club Scaffolding room but you all were troopers for making the most of it.

Yes, it was a hardship having that lovely proximity for only two nights, but we did manage to survive the experience.

I'm pretty sure there is some tinder joke in there but after the day I've had I just can't quite find it

What that I met a stranger from the internet for the first time with my ladies on the loose?! (in fairness, I did have on a swimsuit, I wasn't nekkid or anything)

Sportsball. My favorite kind of balls

You know, I'm not sure I believe this.
.
.
.
There are meatballs.

Oh its you, its totally you.

I cannot believe they make you a. pay for bread but b. that it wasn't good. I do think this has gone down over the last few years. I recall thinking it was heaven the first time I had it, but I'm not sure what they are doing different but it just isn''t up to par as much anymore. Heck they don't even give you all onion rolls anymore and mix it in with something inferior.

I think it must have been me! Maybe I was just too tired, or maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe it was my irritation at having been served a very poorly made old fashioned. It probably marred my tastebuds

As one person without a burger problem to another, burger order dually noted. We've only had the one at the Boathouse, but did really enjoy it. I think d'luxe burger may be our favorite though. Have you all tried it?

We have! It was good, as I recall, but again, I think we went late at night and suffered for being tired. BUT they have fairly good beers on draft (or did at the time) and they have all those sauces! So yeah, we need to go back to D-Luxe sometime.

Aargh matey!!!! Thats a wee hook ye have. I would have expected an EPIC one

that's probably about the only thing that's wee on me these days so I will take it. A tiny hook.

Gorgeous! Maybe we could call this the prison wall and it could get a whole counter-culture ironic cult following going?

OMG hahaha yes it does rather look like the outer space penitentiary doesn't it?

I can see the Disney merch already once this catches on - "Meet me at the prison wall!"

My lord...how do you guys get up early enough for this kind of arrival? We are good with around 2pm or so.

Oh girl, that is nothing. We show up at rope drop half the time! Explanation:
1.) no kids
2.) holding it with the exception of our beloved Exit 18
3.) really hate driving in traffic and there is none at 2:00 am!

I so wanted to try this on the EPIC trip but never got to. Boo.

This one has returned several times so hopefully it's back next year too. I love it!

HS has one on a stick. It's dipped in white chocolate, I think. I'm trying it in June.

Oooh that sounds good, I will have to look for that one next time... whenever that is

 

[pepperandchips]

I haven't had this but you bet I will be in June. I'll let you know after that who I agree with....lol.

I have a feeling I know how this is going to go...

I am still hoping to try a fruit and nutella waffle sandwich one day. Even if it isn't as good as Mickey waffles, which underwhelm me. You know, for research purposes!

Yes, you must research all of the options! We had the egg one that day, it's fine, it's just overhyped, I think.
(like the yachtsman bread)

#partystartshere

Your internet friends just didn't know what kind of party

I vote B!

I knew I was going to lose all my friends over that darn garlic...

I have been hoping to read a TR for your cruise. I hope you write one.

Hi Glenda! I definitely would like to write one as we had a WONDERFUL time. I will link it if I start one! But I will also be dropping some food photos here after I get my next post written the food was awesome on our ship!

First off, all of your magic kingdom photos were amazing! And so nice to look at on this hump dat...

Thank you so much! It really is awesome to "go back on vacation" once we are home from the happy place. MK photos are perfect for hump days!

I kind of like the bottle ones... you can... ah hem.... get more .... if you ... ah hem.... plan ahead.... (Basically, I have no idea what you may or may not have done)

I can only imagine mousekeeping. "Gosh these people must really like being clean"

Great photo. I wish I had made Morgan go and meet them on her birthday. She didn't want to. But it would have been a great photo.

Yes it would have! I get not being in the mood though, I have to pretty much be first-thing-in-the-morning-fresh to want to meet characters. Unless they're country bears.

Following along!

Thank you! So glad to have you here reading!

Excited to heat just how Epic your trip turned out to be. You travelled with such a quiet, demure, teetotal bunch of people I’m sure there were no shenanigans at all!

Nope, no shenanigans ensued I think we were *fairly* well behaved...

Seriously looking forward to hearing all about your trip and glad to know that and R were able to cope without Kari’s scaffolding club view

We should have told them we were celebrating and specifically needed the scaffolding special. I bet we could have gotten the pixie dust

Sorry Crew’s Cup didn’t quite live up to your expectations. We used to love it there but it’s been a while. Great photos of MK and Epcot

I definitely wouldn't write it off - the burger was good! And the service was good. I just got really excited about that bread Probably too excited, and that's why it didn't live up.

Your wedding centerpieces definitely beat whatever Disney was trying to put together there....

Thank you, I arranged them myself! although you know, I don't think it was hard to beat Disney's.... offering...?

Gasp! You take that back right now!

TAKEN BACK! TAKEN BACK!!!

See, I knew I'd be making enemies over that darn bread service...

I'm not a big burger person (I know, I'm weird), but I showed this list to Luke and he approves. He's never tried the one from the Boathouse, but he was a big fan of Farthsmith's burger and the one from Yak & Yeti. I think he said the Crew's Cup burger would be third behind those two.

Edited to add: Luke has now joined the Disboards, so I’m sure he will chime in on this at some point.

WHAAAT! Hi Luke! (formal hi Luke to come later)

Cuties!

Takes one to know one

But did you actually meet any bears that day?!

No, but now that you ask, I forgot to mention that I basically chased Wendell all over frontierland and that fool bear wouldn't stop for a photo
RUDE!

Hey Melinda! I"m here! Finally making my way around the Boards to find everyone's TRs and get caught up. It was SO, SO fun to meet you and be able to sit with you at O'hana. As I've been telling so many others, we need a do-over; I just feel like I didn't get nearly enough time with anyone really. I felt very spread out. I guess Fall, 2021 will be our next opportunity to get another chance.

Anyway, all caught up and am loving your comments so far. Now that I've read up to this point, I'll try to be a better commenter as well.

Liesa, welcome! Yes, I really enjoyed sitting with you and your mom at dinner. It was hard to get to spend time with everyone over such a short trip (for us) so I am definitely looking forward to another opportunity! No worries about the comments - I tend to be a lurker myself when I get busy so I totally understand.

 

[pepperandchips]

I’ve been voluntold to respond even though I’m not really much an expert on WDW burgers. I’m better equipped to comment on pot roasts with green beans. Mostly I just hope all the burgers have fun being devoured. Especially that Cali Grill brunch bison burger that was opulently soaked in butter.

Welcome to the boards, Luke!!!



R lurks around but he doesn't have a username. I fully expect to see a dining report full of pot roasts from you in the future, though! I loved Fallon's report that was written out of both of your posts so you guys should do a joint one sometime!!

EXCUSE ME, there is a butter soaked bison burger at California Grill? Why oh why did I skip it this trip?!

That's too bad about the bread at Crew's Cup, I would have also ordered it. We used to roast garlic that way all the time and it was delicious on pretty much anything. I wonder what went wrong? I do love the atmosphere there though, but I love hanging out anywhere that I can lounge around on couches or comfy chairs and have someone bring me food and drinks.

Yeah, I don't know, I usually love garlic everything so I don't know what was wrong with this (or us) that night, but neither of us liked it. Although I totally agree, especially at Disney, give me a comfy seat and some air conditioning and bring me drinks and I will be a happy camper!

Sleepy Hollow is on my list, the bad one. The service is terrible, the waits are always long, and we always end up with half-cooked or cold food. We just keep going there out of desperation in the morning when Chad gets hangry.

That's just it, I think, there's nowhere else to get a quick breakfast so we keep ending up there. Come on disney, offer a breakfast biscuit option at Casey's or something!

 

[Steppesister]

Liesa, welcome! Yes, I really enjoyed sitting with you and your mom at dinner. It was hard to get to spend time with everyone over such a short trip (for us) so I am definitely looking forward to another opportunity! No worries about the comments - I tend to be a lurker myself when I get busy so I totally understand.

It was. I felt like I needed a LOT more time with each lady there. Hoping the next trip DOES pan out for Fall, 2021!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Any time anyone comes into my office at work, I generally have to hit mute pretty fast as I tend to listen to background music or the resort tv channel. I think I need to start every weekend with a viewing of "must-do" from here on! I am dreading the day that they replace this. Nothing makes me feel like "you are home" as much or as well as Stacey does!

My office used to sound the same before I went back to school. Now I just listen on my headphones while I study at the library. I highly recommend frequent doses of Must-Do Disney! Sometimes if I'm anxious I like to fall asleep to background noise, so I'll play this on my computer as I drift off. The sound of vacation bliss...