Be Our Guest Restaurant at Magic Kingdom

Date of Visit: February 5, 2017

For years we've been wanting to try the dinner at Be Our Guest, but never seem to be able to plan out our dining soon enough to manage a reservation (we did the quick service lunch back before they did reservations for that). This time I only managed a reservation because I couldn't get one when planning our November trip and booking for February had just opened. I am glad we ended up finally doing it this trip as while it would've been enjoyable on our own, it turned out to be a great dining experience for our family trip.

There are three different rooms you can end up being seated in. We were in the main dining room and really enjoyed the atmosphere, although either of the other wings seem just as good and it would be interesting to end up in a different one if we go again.

We all enjoyed the appetizers and entrees we ordered and found the portions to be good. Mik had the potato leek soup and the pork chop. I had the sauteed shrimp and scallops.

For dessert, since no one else ordered it, I just had to try the grey stuff. Sadly, it was not delicious, but only because I don't like frosting. The tart it was on top of was good, though. Mik ordered the Elcair a l'Orange and that was very delicious.

Before leaving, we visited the Beast for a group photo minus Mik who didn't want to do it.

Overall we really enjoyed Be Our Guest. We liked that it had a good themed atmosphere and that while there was a character opportunity, it was very easy to skip if you wanted because it was separate rather than being something they send you through before seating you or having the character(s) come around. Not sure if we would go for dinner next time, but only because the breakfast menu looks interesting.

Destination Info:
Be Our Guest Restaurant
Magic Kingdom
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Epcot International Festival of the Arts

Date of Visit: February 5, 2017

When we planned our trip the Epcot International Festival of the Arts hadn't been announced. Finding out we would be able to enjoy it when it was announced was exciting, but we were kind of disappointed it's only a weekend thing because we had already booked our two dining reservations for our week trip 2 of the 3 days we could've enjoyed eating at the festival. We did fit in trying a few things on Sunday for lunch before our early dinner at Be Our Guest, but Mik was disappointed we didn't instead eat at the festival booths on Monday, especially since it was the park we were in for our lunch and it turned out to be our worst Disney dining experience ever (not actually bad, but disappointing...will try to remember to do review later).

On Sunday, Mik and I park hopped by boat from Hollywood Studios and were planning to grab some lunch with my Starbucks gift card on the way over to meet up in Magic Kingdom for dinner. We had forgotten about the festival until we spotted the booth in Canada and then we picked up the little booklet that lists what all the booths have. Mik quickly spotted a picture of doughnuts and when I found the description we knew what we had to have for lunch.

On the way to get the doughnuts, we stopped at the E = AT^2 booth for some cold drinks. Mik enjoyed the Deconstructed Breakfast (non-alcoholic version), which is a spiced apple chai tea shake with maple syrup, a waffle crisp, and candied bacon. It reminded me of the pumpkin one they had at the Food & Wine, which was my favorite last time.

The Trio of Savory Croissant Doughnuts at the Painter's Palate did not disappoint. Mik enjoyed the chicken mousse one and I enjoyed the herb cream cheese with sea salt one. We split the tuna one. Mik's favorite was the tuna and mine was the herb cream cheese.

We also enjoyed the exhibits in the Showcase Plaza where Painter's Palate was located. In particular, we enjoyed seeing the Mary Blair art. However, they were rather small and left us wanting more of a real exhibit to experience.

Overall we enjoyed our little taste of the Epcot Festival of the Arts and hope to enjoy a lot more of it on Friday. In particular, it would be fun to get a photo in one of be part of the paintings displays.

Destination Info:

Epcot International Festival of the Arts
Lake Buena Vista, FL

National Gallery of Art: East Building

Date of Visit: January 22, 2017

Somehow after all these years of visiting and living in the D.C. area the National Gallery of Art is one place Mik has never been except their sculpture garden, which reminds me I still haven't taken him over to the Hirshhorn one. The East Building in particular has been on our list to visit ever since it reopened in November.

 
One of my favorite parts of the museum is the Terrace, where they have a few sculptures on display and you can get a good view of Pennsylvania Avenue. Mik liked the giant rooster, but he thinks it should be repainted red.

He also really enjoyed the Alexander Calder pieces on display in one of the exhibits on the Terrace level.

Mik also had fun taking this picture of our cousin, Kirsten. He thought this art looked like a tongue and he knew if he asked her to stick her tongue out for a photo she would without question.

We did not have much time to explore the whole museum because Kirsten had to get on the road home, so we kind of bounced around to a few of the different towers and levels to get a general feel of what was on display currently. This did still allow us to experience what I think is the most interesting thing to do at this museum - the elevators.

The elevators vary greatly in size depending on where you are in the museum, although thankfully there are none that are like the tiny one at the National Portrait Gallery. The most fun in the giant elevator in Tower 3, especially if you can get it to yourself, which we did the first and last time we used it. The second time we were on it there were other people and Kirsten said that if there weren't any people in the elevator she could probably do a cartwheel in it. Thus, when we got on it to go back to the ground level to leave and we had it to ourselves I told her now she could do a cartwheel.

If you want to experience the terrace you have to go to that level from Tower 1 or 2. These towers both have elevators have a sort of hexagon shape and are quite small, but were still adequate for a wheelchair and probably five people. Tower 2 also has a second elevator near the stairs that is a good size for those that want to access the terrace and not experience the small elevators that can be kind of claustrophobic.

Mik's favorite piece of art was this one that reminds him of the art he has hanging in his room.

Overall it was a fun visit to the museum and Mik wants to go back to see the parts we missed this time.

Destination Info:
National Gallery of Art - East Building 
4th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC

National Postal Museum

Date of Visit: January 12, 2017

I thought it had been awhile since we visited the National Postal Museum as we probably hadn't gone since moving to D.C. in 2013, but Mik then thought it hadn't been since I went to American University for a semester in 2006. While I definitely have been since then, it really may have been that long ago for him considering it seems we never have posted about it on this blog. Also, last we remember the museum was all on the lower level and the exhibit space on the level you enter apparently has been there since September 2013.

Despite the museum now at least partially existing on the level you enter, it still remains the most awkward of the Smithsonian museums to enter because it also an active post office building, which makes it a government building with security you actually go through versus the Smithsonian museums often just checking bags. While I ignored Mik pointing out the accessible entrance for the actual post office, I did find out that in fact you can go through there to get into the building for the museum, although it seems easier to just use the entrance we always use on 1st Street.

Our focus for this visit was the temporary exhibit "Trailblazing: 100 Years of Our National Parks," but we also spent some time exploring the permanent exhibits in the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery since that exhibit space was all new to us, although to some extent it seemed to be just a refresh of exhibits that used to be downstairs. Overall we really liked the area and even enjoyed the interactive parts, although Mik couldn't really use them on his own.

Of course, the "Trailblazing: 100 Years of Our National Parks" exhibit did end up being our favorite. The layout was interesting with it having different display cases about the various types of national park units including National Historical Parks, National Seashores, and obviously actual National Parks. We also enjoyed experiencing the old postmaster's suite, which is an area they now use as temporary exhibit space. The interactive part of making your own national park stamp was particularly fun as you even got to crop the photo, but we were disappointed you couldn't email it yourself like you could the stamp collection in the permanent exhibit area.

Destination Info:
National Postal Museum
2 Massachusetts Ave. NE
Washington, DC 20002

U.S. Botanic Garden: Season's Greenings 2016 - National Parks and Historic Places

Date of Visit: November 24 & December 5, 2016

I misremembered what day we had gone last year and we ended up only seeing the Christmas tree (and Yellowstone model) in the West Gallery on Thanksgiving because there was no way we were going to wait in a line out the door and around the building to see the trains when we've always seen it with no wait and it's crowded enough in the exhibit then.

Today we visited right when it opened and enjoyed it at our own pace without too many other people in the exhibit, although there were quite a few little kids that I kept almost running over because I couldn't see they suddenly got in front of Mik.

We particularly enjoyed the exhibit this year with the theme being National Parks and Historic Places. Mik did not have a favorite this year, but only because he truly liked seeing all the different models representing the places. My favorite was the Grand Canyon National Park display because they featured the train station, which totally fits the model train theme and is also the only way we have ever visited the Grand Canyon.

We enjoyed seeing the models of some of the National Park units we've already visited and other National Parks and historic places we still want to see, such as what we call the other Monticello (the real one...not our home/boat).

Overall this was our favorite Season's Greeting theme, yet, but the tunnel area really disappointed us. They always have a tunnel and in general it is a great feature, especially for kids. However, Mik is always afraid he won't fit under and this year in fact he couldn't. He was still able to mostly see the little scenes by looking in from each end, but it's not the same, especially when it's meant to resemble the drive through tree experience. At least we have actually done that for real.

Destination Info:
United States Botanic Garden
100 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20001

Walt Disney World: Epcot - Disney Vacation Club Lounge

Date of Visit: November 17, 2016

We meant to check out the lounge last trip, but forgot (and it probably would've been too crowded to enjoy like the rest of Epcot was most of that trip since it was during the Food & Wine Festival). Since not even the holidays had really started at Epcot, it ended up being a good time for regular Epcot stuff including checking out the DVC Lounge.

To access the lounge there are steps and to take the elevator up they have someone bring it down as it apparently is set up to only be called by the button from upstairs, which makes sense as a way to control access to the lounge since check in is downstairs. Mik liked the interior styling of the elevator and it's unique shape (reminds me that I have to take him to the National Gallery of Art East one of these days as he'll really like those ones).

We enjoyed taking a break in the lounge, especially since they have almost more outlets than seating so you can recharge your devices. We also enjoyed that they not only have free fountain soda, but it is the Coke Freestyle machines. They also came around once while we were in there with a snack cart that you could choose something from for free including gummy bears, chips, and Cheez-its.

Destination Info:
Epcot
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom - Country Bear Jamboree

Date of Visit: November 21, 2016

Finally got Mik to see the Country Bear Jamboree this trip. He enjoyed the show for the most part, but didn't like the wheelchair seating only being up front, especially afterwards when he realized it resulted in him missing one entire segment.

To enter the show there are turnstiles. We were confused what to do because unlike most attractions with turnstiles there is not an area right there with a rope and a wheelchair symbol to know where to go. After a few minutes a cast member showed us over to another door around to the left that leads you inside to wait in a separate part of the lobby for the doors to open.

The only option for wheelchairs is to sit in the front row. Since usually you end up in the back, it is kind of a nice change from most shows. However, for this show in particular it means enjoying some of the best parts is hard to impossible to do.

One part I wasn't sure Mik would be able to enjoy was the animal heads on the wall to the right. Once I pointed them out to Mik, he did glance at them, but you don't really get the same experience when you have to remember to look back up at them as when you sit up on the higher rows.

Overall Mik enjoyed the show, but when talking to him later I asked what he thought of the view of the part when the bear is singing from a swing and he didn't know what I was talking about. Turns out he was totally confused by that part of the show because he thought it was just singing with no bear to be seen because he didn't know he had to look up to see it. Not that he really missed anything because from the front all you can do is look up at her butt.

Destination Info:
Country Bear Jamboree
Magic Kingdom
Lake Buena Vista, FL