The “I’ve never been to Disney for 10 days before” - Updated 7/15 About This Page:

[Minnie Lor]

Did the love bugs go for the mango margarita or do they just do ice cream? Hurry back with more.

[dsnytina]

Just got caught up. I can't wait to read what your two munchkins do next!

Tina

[KandJluvdisney]

loved maddies hat and how she almost made it to the hole in the head
well done on the treats
every other country what a great idea
hurry back with more

[DrDolphin]

Great update Jill!!! Sounds like a great afternoon (and that margarita sounded YUM!)

[JaimeandChad]

Great update! Can't wait for more!

[Cam22]

Jill,
I just gotten through reading your report from start to this point, and it is great. Concierge sounds like the best kind of pampering as does your day at the spa. I've got to try that sometime. So glad Mary Devall loved Soarin'. Stefanie had a panic attack before it this year and I htink the CM thought we were bad parents. But she has loved it every year before. Once we were up and she remembered it we were fine. Can't wait for more.

[Jillybean]

Sunday, June 3 Day Three Part Four

We managed to steer the girls out of the playground after about twenty or so minutes with promises of “big” fun ahead. Since we were eating in Italy on Thursday night, we decided to wait until then to work on their masks but we did stop for some pictures in front of the beautiful display of potted flowers. A kind soul even stopped and offered to take a family picture for us and Mary Devall even took one herself.





Our next stop was the KidCot station in the good ole US of A. When Mary Devall sat down to work on her mask, I thought (oh, so naively! ) that Maddie might enjoy coloring on her mask a little also. I found her an empty stool and helped her with the markers, but she apparently enjoyed it a little too much because when it was time to go she pitched a full out fit. Whew! I know that the CMs in America were glad to see us go.

By the time that we made it to Morocco she had calmed down, but since we didn’t want a repeat, I went ahead with Mary Devall to the KidCot station while Thom strolled Maddie. Time was drawing near for our ADR at Rose & Crown so Mary Devall only colored her mask for a few minutes. As we were leaving Morocco, we caught the tail end of Mo’Rockin where Mary Devall was once again mesmerized by the belly dancer (Alheem, I believe). She never took her eyes off of her and copied every move that she made.

After the show, we headed straight for the Rose & Crown in England. For once, we had timed it perfectly and we checked in right before our scheduled ADR time. I was given a pager and it went off within minutes, so I quickly gathered my crew. We were lead to a table right on the water – oh, if Illuminations wasn’t 3 hours away! Our server, Carla, came by within seconds of us being seated, introduced herself and took our drink order. Thom ordered a beer (I’m beer ignorant, so I can’t tell you which one ), I ordered a glass of the Imagine Chardonnay (I love drinking wines created just for Disney while I’m at Disney - - can you say wine nerd? ) and the girls had chocolate milk.

Since this was our first table service meal on DDP this trip, I had to give Thom a quick tutorial of how it worked again. When Carla came back with our drinks, we both ordered the Fruit and Cheese Plate (Irish Cheddar, Mushroom Brie, and Stilton Pastry with individual accompaniments) for our appetizer, Thom ordered the Harry Ramsden's Fish & Chips (Battered fresh Cod served with English Chips), I ordered the Steak and Fish (Grilled Steak with black and tan demi-glace, Harry Ramsden's Battered fresh cod, green beans and mashed potatoes), Mary Devall had the Tea Time Chicken (marinated roast chicken with creamed leeks and honey lemon butter) since none of the kids meals appealed to her, and Maddie had Potato Leek Soup and the Bangers and Mash (traditional English sausage, mashed potatoes and gravy).

Before our food arrived, I took the opportunity to take some pictures of our great table.




A few minutes later, Carla came back to our table – not with our appetizers but with another CM, Melissa, who I believe was a hostess. Melissa was holding a chef’s hat that had been decorated with dragon cut outs from the KidCot station and was emblazoned with Jr. Chef across the brim. She approached Mary Devall and told her that she had been selected to help Mickey make a cake for Minnie and would she agree to help. Mary Devall’s face filled with wonder and she nodded her head in agreement. Melissa tried the hat on Mary Devall’s head and discovered that it was a bit too big, so she disappeared for a second to fix it. Once Melissa had the hat fitting perfectly upon Mary Devall’s head, she told us that someone would come back for her when it was time for dessert.

Mary Devall was just over the moon with excitement. On our trip in January, she had been selected as a Junior Chef at Boma and now this - - I figured that she must be giving off some sort of “I like to bake” vibe (one of her first phrases as a toddler was “bake, bake” meaning that she wanted to make cookies ). Throughout our entire meal, she kept asking “what will I be doing” or “when are they coming back”, but we just had to tell her over and over that we would just have to wait to find out (don’t children just love hearing that? ).

While she was wearing her hat, I had to take a picture.



Continued in next post:

[Jillybean]

Then Mary Devall decided that she wanted to take a picture. Carla happened by so we pulled her in for the picture too! What a sweetheart she was! The man standing behind us and smiling so nicely ended up sitting behind me. I had no idea that he was back there smiling until I saw the picture later.



Our appetizers arrived, so we settled down to enjoy our fruit and cheese plates. Thankfully, they had grapes on them because we quickly discovered on this trip how much Maddie loves grapes. I absolutely this cheese plate – I think it was my favorite of the three that I tried on this trip. And the little pot of caramelized onions - - yum! I could have actually made a meal from it. Since Maddie was using the child credit, we had ordered the potato leek soup for her appetizer. When she wasn’t eating grapes, she enjoyed it. Thom and I also tried it (you know, since it was there ) and thought it tasty. Being the big eater that she is, Mary Devall just had bread and butter for her appetizer.

I was quite simply in heaven - - sitting there with my family outside on a gorgeous day with a beautiful view in front of me while savoring every bite of cheese and drinking a lovely glass of wine (add in the fact that both girls were being so good and that Mary Devall was a Jr. chef and I could barely stand the happiness).

When our entrees arrived, I was further impressed with the R&C. My steak was delicious and the fish was light and flaky. Being Catholic, Thom grew up with the Friday night fish fry so I am pretty sure that he was in heaven too (no pun intended ). Mary Devall loved her chicken and Carla had offered to switch her mashed potatoes to chips, so she was about as happy as she ever gets over non-dessert food. And since Maddie has never met a sausage that she didn’t like, the bangers and mash were right down her alley.

While we were eating, one of the chefs, Amber, came out to meet Mary Devall and tell her a little bit about what they were going to do. She was so sweet and down to earth - - she made sure to ask how we were enjoying our meal and then she promised to return shortly with the surprise. When we had eaten all that we could, Carla came back to clear our plates and bring us the dessert menu.

I can’t say that any of us were actually hungry, but there was no way that any of us were turning down dessert. I quickly decided on the Sticky Toffee Pudding (steamed pudding cake with warm vanilla custard and hot butter rum sauce). I had heard too much about it on this board and the sound of it just sounded like it was meant for me. Thom chose the Baileys Irish Coffee Trifle although I’m still perplexed as to why he didn’t order the Chocolate Guinness Torte since chocolate is his life. I also ordered another glass of the Imagine chardonnay since I wanted my magical night to continue.

After we placed our dessert order with Carla, Amber returned with a tray containing a dish of ice cream and all the makings for an ice cream sundae. Mary Devall quickly put her Jr. chef’s hat back on and Amber told her that she was going to make an ice cream sundae for Mickey and Minnie. Mary Devall was speechless when she saw all of the sprinkles in front of her. Amber spent about the next ten minutes helping Mary Devall concoct the perfect sundae for Mickey and Minnie. When they were both satisfied with their creation, Amber told her that the biggest surprise was that the sundae was actually for her which thrilled Mary Devall to no end.





Continued in next post . . .

[ilovedisney0_0]

Arrgghhhh!!! A cliffhanger!! Hopefully you are busily writing the next installment. I the shoot the deer story! And Mary Devall looks sooo adorable with her chefs hat. I can't wait to find out what she got to do!

[Jillybean]

Amber also spent some time playing with Maddie who took an immediate liking to the chef (Maddie liking someone involved in the food world - - imagine that!), so I had to take a picture of them together also.





When our desserts were placed in front of us, I took one look at mine and thought something was a little off. Then I realized that they had ours switched. I remedied that very quickly although his dessert looked delicious also. With one bite of mine I realized that I had found one of my favorite desserts at Disney (heck, in the whole wide world!). That sticky toffee pudding was a little piece of sweet heaven on a spoon - - oh my word! I was about to pop from our big meal, but I ate as much as I could. And I had to leave a little bit of room to try Thom’s which was very good, but not even in the ball park with mine! Mary Devall enjoyed her sundae (especially the sprinkles) and Maddie shared some of my dessert. I don’t think there were four more satisfied people at Disney after that meal!


After we had finished our scrumptious meal, Melissa came by with one more surprise - - a certificate for Mary Devall signed by all of the CM's at R&C! What a keepsake that is! We made sure to get a picture of Mary Devall with her own personal Fairy Godmother!




Our fast passes for Test Track were ripe and there was no bill in sight yet, so I told Thom and Mary Devall to go ahead while Maddie and I waited for the bill. They quickly took me up on my offer and were gone in a flash. It took quite a while for the bill to arrive and then some more time to get the DDP portion and the DDE portion figured out. I was actually in no rush given our beautiful surroundings, but a certain small child with me was getting a bit antsy. I finally got her out of her high chair and pulled out all the stops - - singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” tickling, bouncing - - even her new BFF, Amber, came by and couldn’t get a smile out of her. Thankfully the final bill showed up just before she was about to lose it.

After thanking our wonderful server, Carla, we quickly took our leave. When we walked by the hostess stand, Melissa was standing there and asked how Mary Devall liked being a VIP. I told her truthfully that she had made my little girl’s evening. Melissa seemed genuinely pleased and chatted with me a little longer about how she chose their VIP every evening and how Mary Devall had stood out to her. With each word, she was making my evening that much more magical. She didn’t need to give us any more than she already had, but her sweet words just put the icing on the cake. I was simply bowled over by the service, atmosphere, food and magic at the R&C. It holds a special place in my heart now.

It just goes to show you how everything is relative. My first and only other time at R&C was awful. I was pregnant with Mary Devall, hungry, cold and slightly wet from the drizzle. By the time that we were seated, I was not a happy woman. I don’t even remember what I ate, but I do remember not liking it and I remember drinking watered down hot chocolate. Overall, a miserable experience and I never even considered it as a possibility when making ADR’s on later trips - - not until, I read the rave reviews from Nala and other PP’s. If you would have told me on that cold and damp evening that R&C would be one of my favorite Disney restaurants in a little over six years, I would have called you crazy.

Next up . . . Mary Devall's reaction to Test Track and checking into the villas

[Colexis Mom]

Gosh, you are having some magical time Jill What a great time at R&C

More please

[SHEANA1226]

Great updates Jill! Mary Devall looked like she was having a blast making that sundae!

[ilovedisney0_0]

Oooh, I have goosebumps after reading about the wonderful service you received at R&C, and your conclusion! Mary Devall looks gloriously happy, and that little girl behind her looks a little bit jealous!

[MontiMouse]

Now I know I have to try Rose and Crown sometime soon!!! Your meal sounded absolutely wonderful!

[Nala]

Wow, what a great update(s)! So, I'm sitting here reading about your experience and the food (and drooling thinking about the cheese plate!) and I was so glad to see that another PP had such a great meal at R&C! Mary Devall being picked as Chef of the day is just too magical for words! That had to be such a wonderful moment for her! It made me smile from ear to ear to read about it!

I have to say that I am touched that my opion of R&C may have been the cause of you giving it another try!