How Many Days In A Row Will We Wear Tie Dye (or Disney 2009 review): Part 10.3featured

Happy (early) New Years, everyone!!! Here’s to health, good fortune and good travels for all :o) Oh, and I got an insane deal on a car for our February trip. I’m writing that here to remind myself to write about it when I start my planning journal.

When we got back from lunch and our excursion to the Grand Floridian, Mom and grandma started doing all of their laundry and packing so that Stephanie and I could do ours later. Stephanie and I headed to our room to lay down for a bit. Our energy was waning by the moment and since our dinner reservation wasn’t until 8:00 pm, we had a late evening ahead of us.

The sun had been slowly creeping behind quickly darkening clouds all afternoon and the big, huge storm that we had managed to escape all week (in favor of smaller, shorter storms) was crawling in.

Naturally, Stephanie decided that this was the time for her and I to go back to Magic Kingdom because it would be empty. Insert me, facepalming. See, I hate getting wet when I’m not bathing or swimming. I hate wearing wet clothes. I hate when your shoes get wet and your feet slide all over. I hate how ponchos make you sweaty so you’re wet inside the poncho and outside. I made a deal with her: we’d go ride the monorail a few times (always a fun and free activity) and then if it let up, we’d go into the park. But I wouldn’t go into the park if it was anything more than drizzling.

We ended up riding the monorail for almost an hour. It was actually kind of peaceful. I caught up on my sports scores and news on my iPhone. Stephanie kept telling me the rain was getting better when it wasn’t and when we finally got off the monorail, the rain was just a drizzle and we walked into a very empty park.

Earlier in the week, I saw a few people who would keep a washcloth from the hotel room and use it to keep their cameras nice and dry by draping it over the camera or using it to wipe off any condensation on the camera body, so it’s a habit I adapted and it allowed me to use my camera in the light drizzle. Next time, though, I’ll bring a camera poncho.

I totally forgot to mention it, but we had gotten Fast Passes for Peter Pan earlier in the day, so Stephanie and I cut through the castle and started in Fantasyland instead of our usual path through Adventureland. And get this: Peter Pan *still* had a 45-minute standby wait…despite the fact that the park was nearly empty. That ride…I don’t get it. I *love* Peter Pan’s Flight, but I will never ride it standby unless the wait is less than 20 minutes. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen the wait under a half-hour. Immediately in front of us was a family with a guest assistance pass who was allowed in the FP line and I heard a lot of people snickering and talking about them cutting, but what they couldn’t see like I could is that it was a woman, her young daughter and her mother, who had cancer (she was wearing a hat so her hair loss wasn’t immediately evident). The woman was quite lovely (we talked about my camera because she had just started shooting with one, too, and was wondering about some of the different settings) and I felt bad about the misinformed ramblings of mindless idiots who had nothing better to do than speculate why some people were let in a line.

After a ride on Peter Pan that lasted a fraction of the 15 minutes we waited in the FP line, we went on It’s a Small World and then headed over to Mickey’s Philharmagic, which was walk-on.

The rain started a little heavier when we got out of Philharmagic, so the camera went away and we went off to Tomorrowland and did Buzz Lightyear (where I smoked Stephanie). We were both still peeved that the TTA was shut down. It’s one of our favorite rides because there’s never a wait and it’s the perfect way to relax and recharge.

We decided to head back to the resort after Buzz, and hit a few shops to look around on our way out. We stopped into the Main Street Bakery to use up some snack credits and picked up two pastries for Mom and grandma and two jumbo cinnamon rolls for us to snack on later before heading back to the resort.

Mom was in the shower when we get back and so Stephanie and I took grandma into the Contemporary for some shopping for a little while after we put a load of laundry into the machine. Seriously, one of the best parts of the 1-bedroom villas at the BLT was the in-room washer and dryer. All of our clothes were clean and folded when we came home and we were able to do laundry at our leisure instead of waiting for a machine.

It was getting late and we both had to get ready so Stephanie took a shower in the guest bathroom and I took a shower in our bathroom. Another perk of the BLT: two bathrooms. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to go back to a regular hotel for anything more than a few days at Disney. Grandma isn’t one for fancy dinners where she has to get dressed up and opted to eat in the room instead of going out for a heavy, late dinner.

We had 8:00 pm reservations at the California Grill and we arrived promptly at 7:50 pm to check in, only to be told they were running about 40-minutes late. Why? Because people make reservations at 7:00 pm (and earlier) and try to draw out their meals to make a 10:00 pm Wishes show. Tonight, the wait staff were apparently trying to kindly get them to vacate when they finished their meals because there were a lot of people lingering. They told us we could go up to wait and escorted us in the dedicated elevator up to the 16th floor. It was packed to the gills and insanely loud, with overstimulated and screaming kids who probably weren’t used to such late meals. This wasn’t the kind of experience I’d expect at a signature restaurant at Disney, but I suppose the dining plans have made signature meals more accessible to all families. Needless to say, we went back into the elevator and decided to wait it out in the Contemporary concourse.

The wait was actually more towards 50-minutes to an hour before we were actually buzzed, taken back up the elevator and seated. We were led to a table with a lovely view of the bustling kitchen. Our server was Andy and he was quite the pro, very knowledgeable about the menu and quite the conversationalist. He explained to us that he’d pace our meal so that we’d be good to see Wishes in between courses and explained the places to watch and left with our drink orders.

Andy returned with our drinks (iced tea for me and diet Cokes for Mom and Stephanie), a basket of freshly-baked sourdough bread and a small bowl of a soft, homemade butter sprinkled with kosher salt. The bread was divine. It was hot and had a nice, rough crust and a smooth and soft inside. The butter was fresh and thankfully spreadable, and the salty butter on the yeasty bread was just fantastic. It really hit the spot after such a long wait.

The California Grill has a large and extensive menu that changes frequently to reflect seasonal ingredients, and it took all of us a long time to choose our selections. Mom started with the Triple Cheese Flatbread (Pecorino, Asiago and Provolone with sun-dried tomato and arugla pesto). Mom’s not a big pesto fan, but she really enjoyed this (even though I think it was a little heavy on the pesto). The flatbread was a rather long pizza and was more than ample for one person (I think this appetizer would more than satisfy two or even three). The crust was nice and crispy and the different cheeses made for a nice and interesting combination, though the flatbread was rather light on the cheese. I didn’t care for the heavy pesto and sun-dried tomato drizzles because it made the flatbread taste like how grandma’s garden used to smell in spring time, but Mom really enjoyed it.

Triple Cheese Flatbread

Stephanie ordered the house specialty, which is the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli (Sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, shiitake mushrooms and basil). As much as the menu changes at the California Grill, this item has withstood the test of time and is one of the original items from when the restaurant opened. It was one rather large ravioli in a pool of watery tomato sauce. Stephanie really, really enjoyed it. She left me a bite and it was much heavier on the goat cheese than I thought it would be (which was fine because I enjoy goat cheese), but I couldn’t distinguish any of the other flavors in the dish because the cheese overpowered them.

Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli

I ordered my starter off the dessert menu and went with the California Grill Cheese Board. The cheeseboard came with nicely-sized chunks of Kunik (a semi-firm cheese made from goat’s and cow milk), Appleby’s Farmhouse Cheshire (a dry, sharp and crumbly cheese) paired with a fig pate, Carre du Berry (a creamy goat cheese that is covered with fresh herbs, peppercorns and juniper berries) paired with a fig, Robiola (a soft and creamy Italian cheese) paired with almonds in honey and Queso de Valdeon (an earthy, mild blue cheese made with both cow and goat’s milk that is wrapped in sycamore leaves before the aging process and hails from Spain) paired with a tomato relish. My favorite was the Robiola (again), which was just creamy and fantastic…almost like a brie with a milder flavor. The Kunik was a nice, soft cheese. The Appleby’s Farmhouse Cheshire was a little drier than I typically like my cheeses, giving it a flakey texture. I did not like the Carre du Berry. It was a nice, soft goat cheese, but it tasted like it was dredged in potpourri. The Queso de Valdeon was a nice blue cheese with a subtle earthy flavor, but it wasn’t the best blue I’ve ever had. I thought the relish it was served with made for an odd pairing, but it matched alright.

California Grill Cheese Board

Mom went with Andy’s suggestion and ordered the Pan-Roasted Pacific Halibut Fillet (with “stir-fry” vegetables, sticky rice and ginger-soy-Hijiki broth). Mom thought it tasted amazingly fresh and enjoyed the lightness of the dish. If it comes from the sea, it’s not for me, so I took her word for it.

Pan-Roasted Pacific Halibut Fillet

Stephanie ordered another specialty of the house, the Grilled Pork Tenderloin (with goat cheese polenta, button mushrooms and zinfandel glaze). Stephanie said it was one of the best things she ate all week. The pork was SO tender, the polenta was soft and tangy and the mushrooms were fantastic. She gave me a small bite and the pork was so soft that it literally melted in my mouth. It was really, really great.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

If there’s a filet on the menu, I’ll probably order it, so I went with the Oak-Fired Filet of Beef (with warm Yukon potato salad, blue lake beans mustard vinaigrette and teriyaki barbecue). The filet was really good and was perfectly cooked. Was it the best I had all week? No (that went to the filet I had at the Wave). But it was really great. The teriyaki barbecue was smoky, salty and sweet all at the same time and really took the flavor to another dimension and the potato salad was in a mustard vinaigrette (thankfully, because you can’t pay me to touch mayo), which gave it a nice, deep flavor.

Oak-Fired Filet of Beef

We placed our dessert order before heading out to the terrace for the fireworks. It was PACKED by the time we got out there. We didn’t have the best spots, but there really isn’t a bad spot in the area. As I was getting my camera set up, a man literally PUSHED his child on top of me (I was standing behind a wall of sorts) and started to walk away. If looks could kill, this man wouldn’t be walking out of the restaurant alive and he caught my glance and moved his child. You don’t push your children in front of other people, especially without asking and especially if you plan on moving away. You ask. Nicely. It’s called manners. I swear, Disney brings out the absolute worst in some people. Before I could get too steamed, the lights dimmed, the music began and my thoughts faded away.

Andy brought out our desserts as we returned to the table. I was getting pretty sleepy and I don’t remember what Mom and Stephanie thought of their desserts. I’m pretty sure I didn’t even try theirs. But Mom ordered the Blueberry Clafoutis (with salted blueberry carmel sauce, lemon sorbet and pistachio cookie) and Stephanie went for the trifecta of California Grill specialties and ordered the Valrhona Chocolate Cake and Cherries (Warm chocolate cake with molten center, housemade cherry swirl ice cream and balsamic macerated bing cherries).

Blueberry Clafoutis

Valrhona Chocolate Cake and Cherries

I ended up going with the no-sugar added Trio of Temptation (Cheesecake with pistachio cookie and chocolate banana sauce, white chocolate mousse with passion fruit puree and Florida strawberries with mojito “sabyon.”). It was truly decadent and I couldn’t tell it was no-sugar added. The cheesecake was fantastic and I was glad the banana flavor was undetectable because I’m not a fan of bananas. My only gripe was that while the cheesecake part had a fantastic texture, the cookie it sat upon was more like a hard biscuit and I didn’t care for it. The mousse was fantastic and light and the strawberries were amazing, with a nice mojito flavor cutting into the sweetness of the ripe fruit.

Trio of Temptation

The cheque came to $208.48, and we used six meal credits. Overall, the food and service here was fantastic, but the ambiance leaves quite a bit to be desired for the price of the meal. Between the screaming and cranky children sprinkled throughout the restaurant that were probably out much later than their bedtime and eating well-past their normal eating times (it was pushing 11:30 pm when we finally left the restaurant), it wasn’t a relaxing dining experience by any means. I think in the future, if we decide to eat there, we’ll dine earlier in the evening. The fireworks aren’t enough of a draw to deal with the tardy reservations and cranky kids and if you dine earlier in the evening, all you need to do is present your receipt to gain entrance to the terrace to watch Wishes if you wish.

We were stuffed and sleepy and oh so grateful that our room was a short walk away. Grandma was already asleep by the time we got back and we got straight into our pajamas and went to sleep. It was a long day and the next would be our last in the parks before our vacation drew to a close.