COMPLETE: LIVE Triple Florida! November/December 2021

[gjdjud]

Originally Posted by orlandoamber

These were SO good, better than Voodoo. However, we totally could’ve shared one, they were HUGE!

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Share donuts? I don’t think so

[ClaireNJ]

Those donuts looked AMAZING 😋😋

[orlandoamber]

After The Boathouse, we strolled around Disney Springs for a while and I looked for a spirit jersey. I actually got my hands on a 50th anniversary one but couldn’t decide between two sizes, left it and then when I went back they were all gone. I didn’t realise how elusive they were 😭

We then decided to queue for Gideon’s. I’d heard that there’s usually a virtual line for this and when you’re called you join the main queue. It was obviously a slow day yesterday as it was just a standard standby line and we queued for about 20/25 mins. They asked us in the line if we’d been naughty or nice this year, I told them W had been naughty and we got given the naughty list menu (for December, 1 day early!).

We ordered one Original Chocolate Chip and one Triple Chocolate. They were also selling pots of marshmallow buttercream at the counter, so we got one of those too! We went and sat by one of the stages to share the first cookie, the Original Chocolate Chip, and a band started playing who were actually pretty good - apparently the front man had a number 1 a few years ago!

When I opened the bag, before looking I said to W ‘oh they’ve put both cookies in the same pouch’ because it felt so thick. Well, they hadn’t, the cookies are just so BIG.

We shared the Original Chocolate Chip and it was amazing! W said it was much better than the Batch cookies in Fort Lauderdale - I think it was similar (probably a bit better) however the Batch ones were warm and these ones weren’t, I think if Gideon’s had also been warm then this would’ve won hands down. They do a warm cookie hour each day so it might be an idea to go there for that!

The cookie was super thick, covered in chocolate and had some salt on it which really brought the flavours together. We dipped it into the buttercream too but couldn’t taste much, but the buttercream by itself was really good and we may have to finish it off with a spoon today! We also have the Triple Chocolate cookie left to eat.

Overall this was definitely worth the wait and I’d go back to Gideon’s again. I really wanted to try the red velvet cake too!

We then managed to catch it ‘snowing’ around the main Christmas tree which was beautiful.

It was then time to get the bus to the Polynesian to watch Enchantment from the beach! When we arrived, we quickly put our names down on the Trader Sam’s wait list and then hurried out to the beach. There were quite a few people watching there and they piped the music in. I will reserve full judgement until I watch the show in Magic Kingdom with the projections next year however on first watch it didn’t live up to Happily Ever After for me. Some parts the music was great and seemed to match the fireworks and provided a bit of a story, but then other times it seemed to fall flat. I liked it and it was nice to watch, but I didn’t love it.

We were actually called for Trader Sam’s while watching and so as soon as the show finished we walked straight there. There were no seats when we arrived but after hanging around for a bit we snagged a good table with comfy seats.

W ordered the Hippopoto Mai-Tai in the souvenir mug.

He really liked this, he said it was refreshing and tropical, and the little show that came with it was fun! We are really pushing this suitcase room now with a heavy ceramic glass to take home 😂

I ordered the less fun but very tasty Tahitian Torch. This was meant to come with ByeJoe Dragon Fire Spirit but they had ran out so offered to swap it for vodka or gin. I don’t really like gin so went for vodka.

This was really good! You could mainly taste all the tropical juices and passion fruit rather than the alcohol which is always good by me.

W also liked my drink so much that he ordered one for himself but with gin instead of vodka. He drank some before I could get the photo

This was actually even better than mine! I still couldn’t really taste the alcohol in it but the gin clearly went with the juices more and it’s officially the only gin drink I’ve ever liked

The bill including tip was just over $60 which we thought was worth it for the experience, really nice drinks and the souvenir glass!

We then got the monorail over to the Grand Floridian to have a look at their Christmas decorations and the gingerbread house.

It’s beautiful! The tree is amazing, as is the gingerbread house, and the smell of the lobby was perfect 😍

We considered staying for a drink in the Enchanted Rose Lounge but we were both feeling the Trader Sam’s drinks and so decided to call an Uber back to HRH.

It was so lovely to be back in Disney and it’s made me feel a little better about being booked at Disney over thanksgiving next year. I was really worried about the crowds especially with no FP+ but this showed what a great Disney day you can have without any parks!

[dannigizmo]

Those cocktails.

Given me some ideas for my resort hopping next week... if I get... i hope lol!

Enjoy!

[Disney Planning]

I’ve seen a few bloggers at Gideons, glad the cookies were tasty, they look delicious.
What a lovely day you had, we often enjoy a Disney Day like this, but without the cocktails, which is a shame as they sure look good 👍

[WIGGYSMUM]

Originally Posted by orlandoamber

Today we had such a great day at Volcano Bay! It was really hot from late morning and the crowds were super low all day; we actually didn’t queue for a single ride and that included going on Krakatau 4 times.

We loved having the premium seating!

We paid $53 for it months ago which is partially offset by the fact you get a lockbox included and so don’t need to rent a locker. The seats are much comfier than the standard sunbeds there and it’s a nice perk to be able to eat your lunch easily on your sunbed facing the volcano.

We mobile ordered the following:

Vol’s Fire Punch and Haku-Puini were our cocktails, both rum-based, which came in souvenir glasses. I never think the prices are quite so bad when you get a nice glass to take home!

These were both good and it was so nice to sit in the sun with them looking at the volcano.

Both pizzas were great. The pork on the pork belly pizza was especially good and it also had plantain on it.

The fries were also nice and crispy, but expensive for the portion!

Some pics of the seating/views at the end of the day - we didn’t want to leave!

We were kings of the bus on the way back to Hard Rock (we were this morning too!)

This evening, we made our way to the Vineland Outlets. There were some huge deals to be had for Black Friday week and we are going to have to go back another time this trip because we didn’t even get half way round as there were so many good items… wish me luck sticking to 23kg for the return flight!

We then headed to the new Cheesecake Factory. It’s walkable from the outlets, not the nicest walk but only about 10/15 mins. We both liked this new Cheesecake Factory and thought it was much more relaxed than the other one at Mall at Millenia.

To drink, I went for the raspberry lemon drop (left) and W went for a strawberry infused margarita (right).

W’s margarita was good and even I thought it was nice when I don’t usually like margaritas very much, which must have meant it wasn’t that strong I think my cocktail was also actually one of the best of the trip so far, it was the perfect amount of sweet and just really lovely.

We were given bread but tried not to eat much as we knew how big the meal would be!

We then shared a couple of the small plates as appetisers (their usual appetisers are huge and much larger than these). We got the crispy sprouts and loaded baked potato tots.

If you read my last report, you’ll know these tots are one of our favourite food items in the USA. They were just as good as we remembered and I highly recommend getting them! The filling is so smooth and tasty.

The sprouts were also good but not as good as the ones we had in Fort Lauderdale at the Boathouse at Riverside.

For entree, W had the spicy crispy chicken sandwich with chipotle mayo and fries.

W loves this - it’s his staple meal from the Cheesecake Factory. They gave him ketchup to dip rather than more chipotle mayo as usual though, so he said it wasn’t quite as good but still amazing.

I had the shrimp and chicken gumbo with white rice.

This was so good! I’ve not had gumbo before but fancied something different and I really liked it. A little spicy and just the right amount of shrimp and chicken, far too much rice though so a lot of that was left over.

A great meal!

Another brilliant day.

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I have no shame in saying I’m really tuning in for the food and today as exceptional 😋 I really cannot wait to have a Cheesecake Factory 😉
Thanks for posting such tasty photos 😂

[WIGGYSMUM]

Originally Posted by orlandoamber

This afternoon we got an Uber across to Disney Springs. It was so lovely to be back in the Disney magic!

We had a wander around and visited Everglazed which is a new donut shop.

I got the 50th anniversary special and W got the strawberry iced + sprinkles.

These were SO good, better than Voodoo. However, we totally could’ve shared one, they were HUGE! Mine was really sweet and the butter cream in the middle was absolutely amazing. W said his was also great - he didn’t even share 😮 so it must’ve been good!

We then had our reservation for lunch at The Boathouse.

We got a lovely table outside and I ordered the Duck Duck Razz (vodka, peach schnapps, blue curacao, lemon juice and simple syrup).

This was lovely! Really refreshing and who doesn’t want a duck in their cocktail?!

W ordered a Diet Coke to start with but then also ordered a Strawberry Gin Fizz.

He liked this but said it was really strong!

We also got bread which was beatiful, soft and came with whipped butter (which could’ve been a better temperature, it wasn’t that easy to spread).

To start, we shared the Duo of Dips and Chips (the dips were pimento cheese and a fresh salsa roja). The salsa was good however the pimento cheese dip was the best! It was creamy with a little kick.

For my entree, I got the lobster roll and upgraded my fries to their truffle ones.

This was excellent. The lobster was really good quality and the fries were also really crispy and tasty, although there were far too many! The lemon aioli dip was also really nice and went well with both the lobster roll and the fries.

W ordered the grilled Mahi tacos.

He said that these were nice however having seen my dish he had food envy. We did share my fries as there were far too many but I think he wishes he’d ordered the lobster roll or something similar for himself!

The total was $102.77 + tip.

We also went to Gideons and hopped over to the Poly, went to Trader Sam’s and then finished the night at the Grand Floridian. I’ll write this section up tomorrow.

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Another place to try donuts, they look so good 😊

[Rescuer]

Wow, your day out over to the Disney bubble looked great. Those cookies looked awesome!

[Goldia]

What a lovely Disney day. Those Gideon cookies look delicious as do the cocktails at Trader Sam's.

[KarenG]

Love Trader Sam’s
Your cocktail bill was extremely modest compared to ours 😐