How Many Days In A Row Will We Wear Tie Dye (or Disney 2009 review): Part 9.2featured

by Nicole on November 21, 2009

Photo reminder: If you want ’em, ask, don’t grab.

Nothing starts a day better than a good cup of coffee, and with a tummy full of 100% Kona coffee (and half of a Big Kahuna platter), the fam and I set out for a day at Epcot. With our vacation quickly nearing a close (only two days left after today!), I was determined to pack as much into our days as I could. And, since we’d be at Epcot today, I made sure to clear some time out to go around more of World Showcase.

We entered the park, made our way through the heavy lines at bag check (one of these days, I’m going to learn to not bring anything that can’t fit in my pockets with me and avoid bag checks) and into the park and split up: Mom and grandma went to do some shopping and for a ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour and Stephanie and I went off to grab Test Track Fast Passes and get some of the Future World attractions out of the way so I’d have more time to take pictures of anything and everything in World Showcase before the forecasted rain for later that afternoon came through.

Our FP’s had a return time in a half-hour, so we just had enough time to do Spaceship Earth, which had a queue wait just about as long as I’ve seen it. In all of my trips to Disney throughout the years, I’ve never, ever seen the lines for SSE as long as they were this week. And I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: a queue line that constantly moves (as SSE does since it’s a continuously loading ride) is not a place to take pictures. If you need a picture of your special snowflake or love of your life, do it outside the queue. I just don’t get why everyone takes pictures of themselves in line for SSE when there is literally nothing to see and nothing special in the background. And cell phones? Don’t get me started on those. Waiting in line is boring as hell. I get it. But as many people were holding up the line trying to get a perfect picture of the line-waiting experience, just as many had no idea what was happening in front of them because they were furiously texting. That’s one of the things I love best about cruising: cell phones are obsolete. No more is more permanently attached to their cell phone than I am (for real…when I’m not on vacation, it’s never more than a foot or two away from me, if not in my hands, at all times that aren’t when I’m driving, working or sleeping), but there’s a certain freedom that comes from leaving it in a drawer for a week and not seeing any cell phones around you. It’s refreshing. I loathe the day when I go to dinner on a cruise and someone’s talking loudly on their cell phone the next table over.

Anyways.

We had a long wait for SSE, compounded by the textaholics, the amateur photogs and the disgustingly wet heat but we eventually made it through the maze of metal poles onto the ride for a long, cool ride through the history of communications.

From SSE, we headed over to Test Track, where we didn’t experience much of a wait with our FP’s, and then over to the Seas with Nemo and Friends, where there was no wait at all. After Nemo, Stephanie and I went around the pavilion to explore, which we almost never do, and I thought it was a really cool area. Not nearly as nice as the Shedd Aquarium we have at home (then again, not much is), but it has a nice aquarium display and a room to observe the manatees (which Stephanie made a beeline for, despite the fact it smells like dirty elephants in there).

Mom and grandma met up with us at the Living Seas pavilion and we discussed our lunch situation. We had a 1:15 pm reservation at the Coral Reef restaurant (which we’ve dined at before and have mixed opinions about) and Mom and Stephanie really didn’t have a taste for it, grandma wanted to rest and since I don’t eat seafood and didn’t want another steak (and didn’t have a taste for their vegetarian option), we decided to cancel it. We called Disney Dining from inside the park instead of heading to the front of the park to guest relations (where they can also make dining reservations for you, much like the hotel concierge) and they found us an opening at Rose and Crown at 2:15 pm. Since we missed our reservation at Rose and Crown earlier in the week with our Test Track mishap, we jumped at the chance to take it.

After sorting out the lunch situation, we strolled around Future World, doing a bit of shopping along the way. When we’d get too hot, we’d duck into the closest Innoventions plaza (which I’m convinced are the most frigid rooms in all of Disney World outside of the freezing room on Test Track…they’ll dry the sweat off you in three seconds). Grandma was getting tired, so we all headed back to the resort for a quick early afternoon siesta.

Grandma grabbed a flatbread, a bottle of Vitamin Water and a cupcake from the Contempo Cafe to go (I think it was around $13 and she used one meal credit) on the way back to the room. She and Mom watched some TV while Stephanie and I grabbed new water bottles out of the freezer and stocked up for the day and got our rain supplies ready. We rested for about an hour before leaving grandma to nap and heading back to Epcot to lunch.

There were no lines to reenter the park (probably due to the fact that many people take breaks mid-day…the lines thin out dramatically between 1 pm and 4 pm) and we decided to walk to the UK pavilion instead of taking a launch to France since it’s one pavilion over from the World Showcase hub.

The UK pavilion is gorgeous, and there’s little touches everywhere that are so…English (or what I imagine England to be as someone who has never been to England or the United Kingdom). We checked in at the podium and were handed a pager to wait for an available table. The pavilion was packed with people grabbing a beer or some fish and chips from the quick service area. I wish Stephanie didn’t hate World Showcase so much because I’d love the time to sit and absorb everything from every country. As it was, she and Mom grabbed a bench and I walked around for a few minutes before our pager went off.

What would a UK pavilion be without some English Tea Roses?

There is an outdoor dining patio (which is covered on the top…I imagine these are the primo seats for Illuminations since they overlook the World Showcase lagoon), but thankfully were were led inside by a delightfully conversational hostess. I loved the inside of the Rose and Crown. It was very homey…like I was inside someone’s home or a really comfortable pub. There were little decorations and odds and ends everywhere we looked and it all seemed so personal. And if you run out of things to look at? Turn your siblings into hidden Mickey’s.

I don’t remember the name of our server, but he was a fantastic and charismatic young man from a small town in Scotland, I believe. He was still in training, but he was very helpful in describing the menu and what items he really liked. I started with a nice, cool iced tea while Stephanie and Mom went straight for the (shocker) diet Coke.

To start, Mom ordered the Apple and Stilton Salad (Mixed greens tossed with candied walnuts, apples, English stilton cheese and cranberry vinaigrette), which had some wonderfully fresh field greens mixed with some crunchy julienned green apple, sweet candied walnuts and blue cheese. The salad was exceptionally fresh and the texture and slight bitterness of the greens and the exceptionally pungent stilton crumbles paired off perfectly with the slightly tart apples and sweet nuts. The vinaigrette was light and more savory than it was sweet and it was probably the most balanced salad any of us had that week.

Apple and Stilton Salad

Stephanie and I decided to split the Rose and Crown Meat and Cheese Selection for Two, which was a smorgasbord of options (including a mushroom brie, amongst other cheeses, a regular sausage, some blood sausage and various accompaniments like candied walnuts, mini gherkin pickles and a fruit and onion relish). Stephanie didn’t care for most of it but I found it fantastic. The mushroom brie was certainly different (and seemed much heavier than a normal brie), but it all was very good. We both enjoyed the regular sausage, but neither of us had the courage (or stomach) to touch the blood sausage (which is, as the name alludes, a sausage made of congealed blood). The portion was more than ample, and was more than the two of us (with Mom grabbing a few small bites) could handle and really could feed an entire table for a starter).

Rose and Crown Meat and Cheese Selection for Two

For her entree, Mom ordered the Corned Beef Sandwich (Warmed corned beef on toasted sunflower bread and swiss, cabbage and spicy mustard served with house-made crisps). It was an amply-stuffed sandwich, with a little too much saltiness coming from the meat and cabbage and some nice crunch coming from the sunflower seeds in the toasted bread, but it was just a good sandwich…nothing great. But, we have some great deli’s around Chicago and Mom really knows a great corned beef sandwich when she tastes it. The sandwich was served with some potato chips that were nice and crispy.

Corned Beef Sandwich

Stephanie ordered the Rose and Crown Pub Burger (served with bacon, cheddar, oven-dried tomato, English chips and house-made malted ketchup) and while she thought the burger was a tad overcooked and mundane tasting (especially given the bevy of flavors in the description), the chips (or, for us American-folks, fries) and malted ketchup were the clear winner in the dish. Oh my God were they fantastic. The chips were thick-cut…almost like steak fries…and I kept sneaking one off her plate (I thought the presentation was adorable with the fries), dunking it in the flavorful ketchup concoction (which I assume was just ketchup and malt vinegar), sprinkling on an extra dose of the heavily flavored vinegar and popping them into my mouth. Those babies are amazing (and I think you can get them for a snack credit at the counter service restaurant…maybe…I’ll have to check the next time we go).

Rose and Crown Pub Burger

In the interest of trying a new and native food (and upon the recommendation of our server), I ordered the Bangers and Mash (Traditional English sausages with braised cabbage and bacon, mashed potatoes and shallot gravy). Put simply? I finished every single bite. These were absolutely delicious and exactly as our server described. The sausages were extremely mild (almost to the point of bland, seasoning-wise) but the flavor really came from the salty braised cabbage. The mash was creamy and rather plain, but with all of the flavors and textures in this dish, I really appreciated some good, plain mashed potatoes.

Bangers and Mash

While we were perusing the dessert menu, I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation at the table next to us. There was a family visiting from England and they had a little girl who just didn’t want to stay at the table. The father and brother got up to use the bathroom (which was across the “street” in one of the shops and this little girl wanted so desperately to go with them. At one point, she broke out crying “Mummy, I have to wee. I have to use the loo.” It was the most ADORABLE thing. She had such an angelic face and was SO upset that she couldn’t follow her dad and brother outside (though, her Mum insisted that she had already used the loo an hour ago and there was no way she needed to go again). The kids were otherwise very well-behaved and the parents made sure they used their manners, which was refreshing given some of the other parents we’d encountered that week.

Mom decided on the no-sugar added fruit trifle (Yellow sponge cake layered with fresh fruit and custard topped with whipped cream) for dessert. It was lighter than a normal trifle and very flavorful for a no-sugar added dessert. Mom thought it was pretty good.

Fruit Trifle

Stephanie ordered the Warm Apple Crumble, which was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and she didn’t really care for it. I took her for her word and didn’t try it because I don’t like apples.

Warm Apple Crumble

Since I really enjoyed our server’s entree recommendation, I went with his dessert recommendation, which was the Chocolate Scotch Cake (with chocolate filling and scotch ganache served with Crème Anglaise). True to his word, this cake was surprisingly light and not nearly as rich as I thought it would be with the ganache and Crème Anglaise. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a distinguishable note of scotch, but that’s just the lush in me. There were shallow dollops of raspberry sauce adorning the edges of the plate, which provided a nice contrast to the chocolate. It was a really good cake and a nice end to a fantastic meal.

Chocolate Scotch Cake

The cheque came to $88.07 and we used three meal credits. We all really enjoyed this meal. The service was impeccable and everyone was so nice. The ambiance was nice, too, but the food was overall very good. You wouldn’t think that a meal of cheese and sausage, bangers and mash and chocolate cake would be anything but deathly heavy, but everything was surprisingly light and flavorful without being too heavy on the seasonings or flavors.

After lunch, we spent some time exploring the shops in the pavilion and exploring the area. I spent some time looking around the tea shop (one of these days, I’ll get around to buying one of those really nice tea services with a really lovely rose pattern that I admire every time we visit) and contemplated purchasing some clotted cream and other tea accompaniments to go with the loose tea I bought, but decided against it and went off to take pictures. I discovered a quiet, quaint little area behind the shops that didn’t get any foot traffic. It’s a bit hidden, but a lovely place to enjoy some of those fish and chips from the stand near the Rose and Crown.

The UK Pavilion…in pictures