Impossible to see, the future is. - Nov 2020 Dining Report - Update 1/5 F&W Booths & California Grill (Complete)

[Dis_Yoda]

Trattoria al Forno

Today was an EPCOT day and with the delayed opening, we weren’t in too much of a hurry. I figured this would be a good day to do some laundry and work on my graduate school essay that was due on Friday before our breakfast reservation. Luckily the folding table makes a great desk. My husband went for a run around the Boardwalk.


Laundry Room

As this visit to EPCOT was going to focus on the front half of the park and rides, we decided that having a hearty breakfast would be the way to go, with a possible snack or two before dinner in the evening.

While my husband had his usual Diet Coke/Coke Zero, I went fancy this morning and got the Iced Coffee with Whipped Cream on top that was very quickly stolen by my husband. He’s lucky I love him


Iced Coffee

Breakfast at Trattoria is pretty much the same as what the Princess Breakfast had just without characters and without the Princess flair to the food. My husband loved his breakfast. The eggs were nicely scrambled and the meats were cooked appropriately. He had it gone in no time!


Two Eggs Your Way, Breakfast Potatoes, Bacon, Ham, Sausage

I went with the pancakes. That stack is really huge and I couldn’t finish them. Luckily my husband could.


Buttermilk Pancakes with Bacon

Very full, we headed back to the room to brush our teeth and get ready for our EPCOT early afternoon!

We headed straight to Soarin followed by Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, Nemo, Test Track, etc. Spaceship Earth gave a great laugh with our faces.


Living With The Land Separators


Joy


My Creepy Face


Elsa

We weren’t too hungry for a full meal after everything so before our afternoon relaxation time, we got a small bite from France. The duck was excellent but the sweet potatoes met the trash can. My husband had his brioche cake gone quickly and can you really ever go wrong with sparkling wine or beer?


Canard Confit à l'Orange: Braised Duck Confit with Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Tarte Tropezienne, Coulis Framboise: Brioche Cake filled with Light Pastry Cream & Raspberry Coulis​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Le Cellier

Properly relaxed, we walked back towards EPCOT near our reservation time and checked in. We were too early for Mobile Check In and were waiting outside for the right time when they saw us and said, we’ll manually do it for you. Thank you! It was a little chilly out today.


Baby Yoda says hello

Le Cellier was the first restaurant we felt the tables were just on the edge of being too close together. We made sure to sit at certain seats to help get that edgy feeling to go away. We also ordered a bottle of wine to really make the feelings go away. This is a lovely pinot noir which isn’t too overpriced for wine by the bottle.


Chappellet Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir


Bread Basket

To start, we shared the signature poutine. You can never go wrong with cheddar cheese and red wine can you?


Le Cellier Signature Poutine - Fresh-cut French Fries, Canadian Cheddar, Truffle, Red Wine Reduction

Both my husband and I went with the Filet. So tender! Mushrooms were easy to pick around in the risotto for us fungus haters


Le Cellier Filet Mignon - AAA Canadian Tenderloin, Mushroom Risotto, Truffle-Butter Sauce

I wanted something sweet for dessert while my husband didn’t really want anything so I ordered the children’s chocolate moose. This version isn’t as good as previous ones have been and it was like $13 or something ridiculous enough that Shaun made a comment about it so I think it will be a pass for us going forward but at least it hit the spot!


Chocolate Moose

After dinner, we headed back to the room to watch tv as I had to set the alarm to experience the very first day of a major change...​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

The (relatively) late open of EPCOT really threw me for a loop this last trip but it is nice to have a lazy morning. In the "before times" Le Cellier was pretty much a no-go for me because of the ridiculously tight table spacing ... I was wondering how they'd manage the current circumstances. Sounds like I will continue to skip it. I do love that mushroom risotto though (and I generally don't like mushrooms) - hoping that will be at the kiosk during the Festival of the Arts as it has been the last few years

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Just getting caught up! Great pics. Oh those tuna nachos...I dream about them!

 

[nursejackie]

Your review is bringing back wonderful memories of past dining experiences in Disney. We'll be back for more once the borders are open again.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

The (relatively) late open of EPCOT really threw me for a loop this last trip but it is nice to have a lazy morning. In the "before times" Le Cellier was pretty much a no-go for me because of the ridiculously tight table spacing ... I was wondering how they'd manage the current circumstances. Sounds like I will continue to skip it. I do love that mushroom risotto though (and I generally don't like mushrooms) - hoping that will be at the kiosk during the Festival of the Arts as it has been the last few years

It was much better than "before times" but of the restaurants, it was the closest to exactly 6 feet rather than extra spacing. Hopefully they do have that kiosk! If the world is still crazy next fall, we'll probably end up at Shulas if Yachtsman still isn't up and running.

Just getting caught up! Great pics. Oh those tuna nachos...I dream about them!

They are dream worthy. No Yak & Yeti in January's trip so it may be next November before I can get them again!

Your review is bringing back wonderful memories of past dining experiences in Disney. We'll be back for more once the borders are open again.

I'm glad to bring back memories to you! I can't wait for the world to be normal again, borders open and Disney Magic back to the level it used to be.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Baseline Tap House

Today was Election Day but it also was the very first day that Rise of the Resistance Boarding Groups were going to be available to all of those with a park reservation to Hollywood Studios at 7AM. This meant we had to wake up (which given our normal bedtimes/wake ups would never be an issue anyway) and hope for the best.


Boarding Group Attempt

Well, it didn’t go perfectly. The system didn’t think my husband existed but I figured once we got into the park later that day, I could visit Guest Services or one of those Umbrellas throughout the park and fix it, hopefully before it became time for our group to be called. I mean, it's not like my husband would be stealing a seat from anyone since there are 3 seats in a row and Covid restrictions. My husband went for a run and I continued my grad school essay. (Which btw, I got a perfect score on and comments from the professor that I was the most thorough yet concise so yay!) Around 9:15AM, we got moving and started walking to Hollywood Studios along the pathway from the Boardwalk. I got annoyed at people because half of those on that walk weren’t wearing masks. What part of masks are required everywhere don’t these people understand?


Magical Crowds

Upon arrival into the park, we headed to Toy Story Land for a ride on Slinky Dog (about a 30 minute wait).


Toy Story Land


Fixed Boarding Group

After our ride, we headed towards Star Tours and I was able to get my husband added at the Umbrella station without too many issues. So many people were being mean to them and I was like, hi, I figured there might be issues with the launch of this change, can you help me? And it was done very quickly. When we got done with Star Tours, I was hungry and thirsty as was my husband. We went very nearby to fix that problem with a large beer and a warm pretzel. My husband ended up claiming all the fondue but at least I like mustard. Both of us were happy with our beer selections.


Bavarian Pretzel w/ Beer-Cheese Fondue & Spicy Mustard
Golden Road Hefeweizen
North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner

We had time to kill before my husband’s Savi’s reservation so we headed to the new Mickey’s Short Exhibit that is in the old Sounds Dangerous theater.


Mickey’s Seat

A visit to the Muppets, it was finally time for Savi's where my husband built himself a lightsaber.





When we finished up with his build and ran to the restroom, it was perfect timing as our boarding group was called. We enjoyed Rise of the Resistance and then headed back to the room to get ready for our only trip to Disney Springs as I was planning on some heavy drinking this evening.

​

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Which btw, I got a perfect score on and comments from the professor that I was the most thorough yet concise so yay!)

Good for you!!! Also, I would like to hear more about this heavy drinking please

 

[lcc2]

Nice job on the essay!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Good for you!!! Also, I would like to hear more about this heavy drinking please

Thank you! Heavy drinking incoming!

Nice job on the essay!

Thank you! Going back to graduate school for a degree not related to my initial major has been a fun journey. 4 courses in still with a 4.0 but still lots more to go!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Homecomin’

Around 4:30pm, we drove over to Disney Springs. I said to my husband, we should probably take the bus so we both could enjoy ourselves but he kept insisting that he would behave enough for the two of us. Good, because I wasn’t going to. We went to two shops but didn’t buy anything before deciding to check in a little early for our dinner reservation. We were willing to sit outside so we were very quickly seated around 5:30pm which was perfect for us.

Before we even looked at the food menu, we decided on what bourbons were going to go on our flight along with my ordering of a moonshine cocktail because why not?

Our flight included the Michter’s Small Batch, Stolen X Rock and Rye from the first section and Materson’s 10 Year Old Rye from the second section. Our chaser was a local brew they had on tap but it's not currently on the menu so not sure what it was now. We enjoyed each of these and I love how it comes with the pecans.


Bourbon Flight

My other cocktail we started with was very refreshing. The watermelon probably hid how strong of a drink it would be. It went down easy and quickly.


Moonshine Mash - Watermelon-infused moonshine, fresh watermelon, lime juice and simple syrup

We started with sharing the thigh high chicken biscuits. This is the ultimate comfort food. The biscuits are wonderful and the chicken is perfectly fried. It's also good drinking food for the stomach.


Thigh High Chicken Biscuits

As the shots and moonshine were done by the time we were through the chicken biscuits, I needed another drink. This time the blue hooch! Strong and citrusy, I was very happy to indulge. I was also happy to have water to make sure I was hydrated.


Blue Hooch

My husband went with the Fried Chicken for his meal. He was in love. He usually hates chicken on the bone but it didn’t matter here as it was that good. I stole some of the crispy skin and could easily see why. He loved the mashed potatoes as well but they were extremely rich so he didn’t really eat too much of them.


Art’s Famous Fried Chicken w/ Donuts

I went with shrimp and grits along with added bacon and cheese as who doesn’t love bacon and cheese in their grits? I mean look at that amount of bacon piled on there! The sauce for the shrimp was great and the grits were the perfect amount of creamy. I felt bad for all the grits I left behind but I was stuffed quickly here.


Shrimp & Grits

We felt more full than we had in a long time. I wasn’t feeling any pain whatsoever but my husband was ok since he only had half the whiskey flight. Back at the hotel, I got a bottle of wine from the store and my husband got himself candy and a beer before heading back to the room. I only ended up with another glass before I just needed to stop watching the news.​

 

[lcc2]

Ugh, we were supposed to go to Homecomin' during our Thanksgiving trip but I cancelled it the day before! It all looks so good! We would have ordered the same as you both did, so thanks for sharing pictures. Now I just have to make it there to eat lol. Glad you enjoyed it

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Ugh, we were supposed to go to Homecomin' during our Thanksgiving trip but I cancelled it the day before! It all looks so good! We would have ordered the same as you both did, so thanks for sharing pictures. Now I just have to make it there to eat lol. Glad you enjoyed it

I feel you! Homecomin' has been in our initial plans many times but we always end up changing our minds 90% of the time. With so many places closed, we weren't tempted this time around! It is so tasty. Art Smith used to have a restaurant here in Naples which we loved but when his hand picked head chef left - the hotel went another way. It made me very sad to lose that place!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Via Napoli

I didn’t wake up hungover so I had that going for me at least. We were slow going this morning but we really didn’t have anywhere to be for a while so there is that. I think my husband ran and I judged the teacher next store having conversations with students loudly outside on our shared patio at 7AM. I passive aggressively may have started loudly listening to my murder podcast after 45 minutes of it and a visit outside to see how close the noise was actually coming from and giving the “look”.

We had a very easy day planned. Around 10:30AM, we wandered over to EPCOT to get on Test Track and then look at some shops.


Selfie


Test Track

Around noon, we checked in for lunch and were sat at the middle long table which just felt odd but I guess it works well for socially distancing overall. Our plans for this meal were simple. Sangria and Pizza! We went fancy with the sangria as we did the version with an entire bottle of prosecco involved. We split the large pepperoni pizza and were wise this time to save half of it which proved to make great breakfasts the next two days. Can you ever go wrong with cheese and pepperoni? It makes me so happy.



Prosecco Sangria


Large Pepperoni Pizza

We wandered more of the shops on our way out when Shaun convinced me that I should get a massage. It's something I hadn’t done since COVID life started and he’s like, if anywhere would be safe enough - it would be Mandara/Disney. I was able to get an appointment for 2PM for a 90 minute deep tissue. We returned to the room and I shortly left to head towards the Swan.


Spa


Rope

Having not had a massage in over 11 months this was so blissful. It was painful but that's because its been so long and I said it was ok if my knots needed it. I took a spa shower and slowly returned to the room so that we could get ready to head back into EPCOT for dinner.​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Teppan Edo

We walked back towards EPCOT just as it was getting dark out, I love EPCOT at night! We were headed to Japan to enjoy Teppan Edo. Another place we normally wouldn’t have picked for dinner since we have great hibachi at home but 2020 made our choices be a little different than normal.


I wish I had a friend with a Shiba

We were sat with another family but separated by a plexiglass divider so we each had our own space at the hibachi table.

For our drink, my husband and I each went with the Shandy as that seemed like a fun option and wouldn’t be too heavy since we had drunk a lot in the last 24 hours. I went with the lemon while my husband did the grapefruit. Build your own shandy as you are provided with the fruti and squeezer to add to your Kirin. We loved it!


Beer Shandy - Ice Cold Kirin Draft w/ Grapefruit & Lemon

I loved the starter salad. The cucumber is just slightly pickled so it still has crunch and isn’t over powered by vinegar


Sunomono Salad


Mickey


Veggies

And then apparently I stopped taking photos as they weren’t pretty. We were happy with our meals though. I had shrimp and my husband had chicken. Properly cooked and we loved the veggies and rice. We weren’t a huge fan of the noodles but that's ok we had more than enough to eat!​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Brown Derby

This was our second Hollywood Studios day so that meant a second chance to try to get on Rise of the Resistance. I succeeded! I had a slice of pizza for breakfast from yesterday’s lunch while my husband was the healthy one and ran. (Yes, he ran every day) I think I also did more laundry.


Boarding Group

We also notice prior to the park opening that Qi’ra went Winners Female Dog (its called something else but the moderators may not like that word) at her show for a 3 Point Major! At least she now had both of her majors done in order to become a Champion - we just need a few more singles.


Qira Photo

We headed towards Hollywood Studios around 9AM as we wanted to be among the first push towards Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railroad. This 2nd time on the ride was much more enjoyable than the first as we were able to pay attention to the little details more.



Next it was off to Toy Story Mania where masks + 3D glasses just adds a new level to the game. My husband did much better than I did.



Then it was off to Galaxy’s Edge to spend entirely too much money on Jedi and Sith items before heading to our lunch reservation at the Brown Derby.


Guestbook

We checked in and were quickly seated at a two top on the bottom floor of the restaurant. Our server was friendly enough but a little odd. Oh well. Disappeared come time to pay the check for like 20 minutes but luckily we weren’t in a hurry.

I got a drink because vacation. Drinking a Cosmo just feels right at this restaurant.


Cosmo

I wasn’t too hungry so I just ordered an appetizer for my meal. It was just the right amount of food. The scallop was perfectly seared and the pork belly was the right amount of crispy and melty.


Pan-Seared Sea Scallops & Roasted Pork Belly - Red Onion Gastrique

My husband went with the burger. It was gone in about a minute so I think he liked it.


Wagyu Burger: Pastrami, Gruyere Cheese, Avocado, Heirloom Tomato, Fried Egg, Cognac-Mustard

Rise of the Resistance was having issues running this day and was down most of the time since the park opened. They were down when we were done with lunch so we called it and headed back to the hotel.​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Catching up instead of doing all the holiday prep that I need to do. I can't wait until Rise of the Resistance operates more consistently and they start offering fast passes. I always love stopping at Baseline. I really hoped that Oga's would be like it in the sense that you could just "stop in" ... maybe in the future when the novelty wears off. I also hope that at some point in the future it will be possible to watch the lightsaber ceremony/show without purchasing one. Or I just need to find a friend who wants one and tag along.
Ah, Homecomin' (still shaking my head at dropping the 'g' from the name) - those biscuits are divine!!! Not sure if I dare go the next couple of weeks with the crowds but gosh am I tempted!

Via is another favorite and, oddly enough, I've always wanted to be sat at that big table - no idea why.

We ate at Teppan Edo in November and I was really uncomfortable. We were party of 3 sat with party of 5 (so every seat was taken) and while the food was great I was just uneasy the whole time sitting next to the other party, even with the divider. But I am fairly neurotic. And all ended up fine.

LOVE Brown Derby. Cosmo is my go-to there, too. I agree with you - it just "feels right" in that setting. Hoping that the outdoor lounge goes back to serving food soon.

Happy Holidays to you, your husband, and your fur babies! Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I'm looking forward to hearing more.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Loving all the updates! And what a great photo of Qi'ra--she's a beauty! Congrats!

 

[olliesmom]

I am loving reading all of your updates and living vicariously through you until we can return!

 

[tweetylori]

Thoroughly enjoying your report and pics, thank you so much! I can't think of a more perfect time than Via Napoli pizza and a massage. sigh. Enjoying getting my thrills vicariously thanks to you. Looking forward to more!