Ultimate Bragging Rights! TCD's New Fantasyland Passholder Preview TR

[Duane 152]

Andrew that food looked awesome, and at 3:34 PM here in rainly dreary NC, I am suddenly very hungry....

Hey as you wondered around the BOG restaurant, did you see any references to Lumiere or Cogsworth? I thought they both played large parts in the movie and thought they would at least play something in the new area...

[dvccamper 32]

I thought it was hysterical you asked your server about the grey stuff. But the fact they actually had it blew me away! So am I correct that they don't have it on the menu there, it's only for people who ask for it?

Excellent review of the restaurant, I hope we get to try it someday.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Oh that looks REALLY good. The shrimp dish I HAVE to try!!!!!!!

That dish is a winner.

I meant to mention that a guest at the table next to us had the ratatouille. As far as I know I have never had it, and had no intention of ever trying it. But, it looked pretty good. I might try the onion soup and ratatouille next time.

Our server highly recommended the steak. I am sure it good, but it didn't seem very unique or French to us. Plus, it's wicked expensive.

That's funny. I have been playing Be Our Guest at the beginning of the meal at most gigs I play for well over a decade, actually since about '95. I always thought it was funny that the lyrics said "try the grey stuff, it's delicious!". Now I know...there's Grey Stuff!

Yep. All these years, I've been wondering about the Grey Stuff, and come to fine out it's cookies and cream mousse.

Who knew?

Of all the things you just showed us, the grey stuff sounds amazing!

Looks like a huge restaurant. Is it dark in there or is it just your photos?

Where's devores? I'm SURE he could give you some pointers, if it's the latter.

(For Dave: :nahnah: )

Can't wait to see all of this in person!

It is pretty dark in the restaurant. I'm not sure if it is the same in the daytime, but it was that night. There aren't any real windows, and there's those big windows on the end simulate a snow storm at night.

I'm sure a real photographer could get much better photos than I did.

But, I was first!

Wow, it is not a good idea to get behind on TCD TR reading. Once the train leaves the station, it's full steam ahead.

You shoud know better.

You're hardly a newbie.

I want to try the Grey Stuff

Lumiere wasn't lying about it- it is delicious.

Glad to hear you had such a great experience at BOG for dinner! Your pics are great.

Thanks- I am curious to hear about lunch.

This is so going on my bucket list.

Thank you!

Bucket List.

Yes.

Andrew that food looked awesome, and at 3:34 PM here in rainly dreary NC, I am suddenly very hungry....

Hey as you wondered around the BOG restaurant, did you see any references to Lumiere or Cogsworth? I thought they both played large parts in the movie and thought they would at least play something in the new area...

Lumiere has a big part in the Enhanted Tales with Belle next door.

Cogsworth doesn't.

He needs a better agent- you're right, he had a big part in the movie.

I thought there would be more "enchanted" stuff in the BOG restaurant. Other than the suits of armor, there wasn't.

I thought it was hysterical you asked your server about the grey stuff. But the fact they actually had it blew me away! So am I correct that they don't have it on the menu there, it's only for people who ask for it?

Excellent review of the restaurant, I hope we get to try it someday.

That's a good question.

The people at the next table has the same server as us, and they got the Grey Stuff.

Our server made it sound like she has pulled some strings to get us some.

Maybe that was just an old server trick.

I'm not sure if you have to ask.

And I'm not sure if you always get it if you do ask.

It is definitely not on the menu.

Here is something really important I forgot to mention- there was no charge for it on our bill.

That's right, we got free Grey Stuff!

Actually we got two free Grey Stuffs!!

It's good to be TCD.

TCD

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Caught up!

Good job getting the free grey stuff!

How was the beer?

[Big Kahuna aka John 71]

Simply fabulous... thank you...for the trip report...

[Seals 111]

Playing along at home, I read the menu and decided what I would order. Shrimp and scallop dish if someone else was paying, ratatouille if I was paying. And triple chocolate cupcake for dessert. So I align with Twin #1.

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

Whew.........all caught up!!

Wow, you three can certainly pack A LOT into a one day visit!!!! Very impressive!

Love, love, love all of the photos of the new Fantasyland!! Thanks so much for sharing. It will be great to see it in person, but for now, your photos will hold me over.

How exciting that you were able to dine in the new BOG restaurant!! Your daughters will certainly have soooooo many fun memories of time spent with you.

Heidi

[kampfirekim 260]

I can see myself being a big fan of the BOG! Love the atmosphere and the food looks delish!

Way to score the Grey STuff! That's even better than lame photos of the snickering rabbit room.

[LONE-STAR 370]

Nice beer.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Caught up!

Good job getting the free grey stuff!

How was the beer?

Good question.

The beer was very good.

I'm not much of an imported beer drinker.

But, this one was good.

I would definitely have it again.

I am going to try a different one next time, though. Maybe I will go for the Grande Slam.

Simply fabulous... thank you...for the trip report...

You are most welcome.

And, it's not over yet.

We still have a couple more fun things we did.

Plus that trip to Tortuga Taven.

And . . .

To top off the night . . .

A drive by at the Fort.

Playing along at home, I read the menu and decided what I would order. Shrimp and scallop dish if someone else was paying, ratatouille if I was paying. And triple chocolate cupcake for dessert. So I align with Twin #1.

Yup, that's exactly what Twin #1 had.

When I go back, I am going to try something different. I'm not sure what yet.

Whew.........all caught up!!

Wow, you three can certainly pack A LOT into a one day visit!!!! Very impressive!

Love, love, love all of the photos of the new Fantasyland!! Thanks so much for sharing. It will be great to see it in person, but for now, your photos will hold me over.

How exciting that you were able to dine in the new BOG restaurant!! Your daughters will certainly have soooooo many fun memories of time spent with you.

Heidi

Yeah, it's hard to believe that this is just a one day trip report.

We do pack it in.

I almost forgot that we had already been to Hollywood Studios and Epcot before visiting the MK.

And, as I mentioned above, the MK was not our final destination on this trip.

I can see myself being a big fan of the BOG! Love the atmosphere and the food looks delish!

Way to score the Grey STuff! That's even better than lame photos of the snickering rabbit room.

I'm a big fan of BOG too.

But, I would trade a serving of Grey Stuff to see what's inside that Snickering Rabbit Room.

Nice beer.

Thanks.

It's French.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I will have to load the videos lately but once again you got some awesome pixie dust

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I will have to load the videos lately but once again you got some awesome pixie dust

I know.

And, the pixie dust isn't over yet.

Read on.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

According to the email we got when we registered for the Passholder preview, our time slot for the Preview was from 5:00 to 8:30 pm.

It was just about 8:30 when we finally finished at BOG.

The MK was scheduled to open until 1 am, so I wasn't sure what was going to happen in the New Fantasyland area after 8:30. We had been here two weeks before on a Saturday night, and tried to get in after the Castmember previews, but they weren't letting regular guests in, and there were a lot of folks still enjoying the New Fantasyland area well past 10 pm. So, I thought maybe that we could stay past 8:30 and continue to enjoy the area without the crowds which will surely flock to the place once it is open to everyone.

There was no line at all over at Enchanted Tales with Belle, so we headed over there. We weren't expecting to get to do this on this trip, but they let us in.

We had to wait for a little while outside of the entrance to the cottage. That gave us a chance to admire the Beast's Castle at night:

Pretty cool.

You can also see Cinderella's Castle from here:

For some reason, even though it wasn't busy, they weren't letting us in.

I wandered around the queue area, and took a photo of this well, which looks like one you see in the movie:

You may remember the cool waterfountain from the Ariel queue. Well, the waterfountain guy got to design one for the Belle queue too:

I think the trashcan is the same style as the one we saw in Ariel.

Finally, we got let in.

We moved through the first room kind of quick.

Sometime, I want to be able to hang out in this room and really look at all the details.

This is a chair in the room. You can really sit on it, which isn't normally the case in places like this. They usually put something on the chairs so guests don't sit on them (like in the pre-show in TOT for example) :

There is a checkerboard in here:

Since Lou is still MIA, I can safely say that there is a Hidden Mickey in this stack of firewood- it's about halfway down and over to the right:

After walking through the main room of the cottage, we entered Maurice's workshop.

This was our third time that we enjoyed this attraction. On our first two visits, as soon as we entered the workshop, the lights dimmed, and the CM there directed our attention to the magic mirror on the wall. This time, the lights stayed on, and the CM pointed out a lot of details around the room.

For example, she pointed out this drawing, which is of the wood chopping machine Maurice built in the movie:

And, she pointed out the objects on the shelves above our heads:

And, this drawing, which shows some other contraption:

And this light fixture, which was too bright for my camera:

And another shelf:

And a cuckoo clock:

And yet one more shelf and plans rolled up in the rafters:

Finally, she directed our attention to the mirror:

That was very different from our previous visits.

The CM was stalling for some reason.

Finally, we were ushered into the next room.

There is an animated Wardrobe in here, and it is pretty funny.

But today, the Wardrobe's face was covered:

This is what the Wardrobe is supposed to look like:

The CM on duty here acted like nothing was wrong, but the Wardrobe malfunction (LOL) took away from this part of the experience.

As you may have heard, what happens here is that they pick guests to play parts in the retelling of Belle's story, which will take place in the next room.

On both of our previous visits, I was picked as one of the guards.

I saw the CM eyeballing me as soon as I walked in the room, and I knew I was about to be picked again.

So, I made no effort at all to be chosen.

I stayed in the back and didn't move a muscle or make eye contact with the CM.

Still, he headed my way with the guard helmet.

Luckily, a very pushy guy practically grabbed the helmet out of the CM's hand.

I had been spared.

Which is what I wanted to do this time- I just wanted to watch.

So, we went into the next room and we did just that.

What a travesty.

The men who played the guards did a terrible job.

I must never shirk my duty again.

And, even though I intentionally tried not to be a part of the strory, I still managed to get dragged into it.

There is a part where the guests parade around the room behind Belle while the song Be Our Guest plays.

As Belle led the group around the room, she stopped and practically draped herself on me, and loudly whispered in my ear: "Try the Grey Stuff, it's delicious!"

Wow.

I might need a restraining order or something before I visit Belle's house again.

That woman really has a thing for me.

If Mrs. TCD ever visits Belle's house with me, there will be problems.

After the odd delays we ran into in Belle's house, it was about 8:45 when we were let out.

I noticed as we headed out that they had the front door shut, and weren't letting anymore guests in.

I guess we were the last folks who got to see Belle today.

I suggested to the girls that we go back to the Ariel ride again to see how things looked at night.

But we soon found out that wasn't going to happen tonight.

I'll pick it up from there in the next update.

TCD

[BuckeyeFortFan 35]

The BuckeyeFortFamily has ADR's for BOG on Christmas Eve.

I'm gonna' drink those 4 beers.....H.A.M..

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

The BuckeyeFortFamily has ADR's for BOG on Christmas Eve.

I'm gonna' drink those 4 beers.....H.A.M..

Wow!

That is a great plan!

Expensive,

But great.

Have fun!

You may be the first BOG Grande Slam Award recipient!

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

You have me excited about our dinner at BOG in April. We're going a few days after my son's birthday and a couple of days before our anniversary (both happen on the trip), so hopefully our buttons score us some gray stuff.

And does it count as a grand slam if I split the beers with my husband?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

You have me excited about our dinner at BOG in April. We're going a few days after my son's birthday and a couple of days before our anniversary (both happen on the trip), so hopefully our buttons score us some gray stuff.

And does it count as a grand slam if I split the beers with my husband?

I am sure that between now and April, the secret of how to score Grey Stuff will be figured out. From what little I understand now, you a birthday and anniversary ought to qualify.

No, you can't have help with the Grande Slam.

You've got plenty of time to train for it, so get busy.

TCD

[Southern Blessings 4]

Your reports are so detailed, it's hard to believe your trip was only a day. The restaurant does look amazing!

[BuckeyeFortFan 35]

Wow!

That is a great plan!

Expensive,

But great.

Have fun!

You may be the first BOG Grande Slam Award recipient!

TCD

8 nights in a FW cabin at Christmas - $3500.00

MK admission for 6 - $480.00

Dinner for 6 at BOG - $200.00

4 imported beers - $35.00

TCD BOG Grande Slam Award - priceless

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

We did get into see Belle about 3 days after you and you really don't get much time in the cottage even if there is a wait. Five minutes max and the wardrobe was still non functional.

[caveat lector 181]

Wow, as usual this TCD TR is a buffet of exciting tid bit to fill everyone's appetite. OK, I'll admit it. That first sentence was in deference to the BOG predominance in this report.

All the NJ talk takes me back a bit. I spent time in Flanders before moving over to Budd Lake. I really enjoyed my time there and met some nice folks.

I will abide by the sausage talk moratorium.

I wonder why they didn't install utildors? Aren't they supposed to used for movement of CMs, which keeps them from spoiling the show in other lands. What about the vacuum lines for trash removal?

Looking forward to seeing this new land. Thanks for all the great pics and details.

[fortpartyof4 108]

Whew.........all caught up!!

Wow, you three can certainly pack A LOT into a one day visit!!!! Very impressive!

Love, love, love all of the photos of the new Fantasyland!! Thanks so much for sharing. It will be great to see it in person, but for now, your photos will hold me over.

How exciting that you were able to dine in the new BOG restaurant!! Your daughters will certainly have soooooo many fun memories of time spent with you.

Heidi

These are my thoughts exactly! I am blown away by this TR!!

But, I would add that I wish I could tag along with you and the girls some time. My boys wouldn't do all of that with me without a WHOLE lot of griping!

I got so behind on this……just a couple of comments from many pages back……..

I caught that Flip Wilson reference and am still giggling! He or she is a dead ringer!

Your fellow NJ born fiend (spell check wants to make fiend "dead"??) probably got clued in to your roots by your use of the phrase "on line". I've said it before, in no other place but NJ/NYC/LI will you hear people say that when referring to waiting in a line!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Your reports are so detailed, it's hard to believe your trip was only a day. The restaurant does look amazing!

Yes, it was just one day. The truth is, we went to three parks, but didn't do a whole lot in any of them. This was a great trip for us, but probably wouldn't be a good idea for someone who can't visit as often.

The restaurant is amazing. There is nothing in any of the other parks to compare it to.

That said, is is a theme park restaurant. The menu is limited, and the prices are high. Are there restaurants on property where you could get a better meal? For sure, but not in the middle of the Magic Kingdom.

8 nights in a FW cabin at Christmas - $3500.00

MK admission for 6 - $480.00

Dinner for 6 at BOG - $200.00

4 imported beers - $35.00

TCD BOG Grande Slam Award - priceless

Nicely done!

What's with the cabin? Don't you have an RV?

We did get into see Belle about 3 days after you and you really don't get much time in the cottage even if there is a wait. Five minutes max and the wardrobe was still non functional.

Hmmm.

I didn't know that the Wardrobe malfunction was for more than just our visit.

I haven't seen any reports of it anywhere else.

I hope it's fixed. It adds a lot to the show.

Wow, as usual this TCD TR is a buffet of exciting tid bit to fill everyone's appetite. OK, I'll admit it. That first sentence was in deference to the BOG predominance in this report.

All the NJ talk takes me back a bit. I spent time in Flanders before moving over to Budd Lake. I really enjoyed my time there and met some nice folks.

I will abide by the sausage talk moratorium.

I wonder why they didn't install utildors? Aren't they supposed to used for movement of CMs, which keeps them from spoiling the show in other lands. What about the vacuum lines for trash removal?

Looking forward to seeing this new land. Thanks for all the great pics and details.

They don't need the utilidors back here, because this is the back of the park. If I'm not mistaken, a main utilidor entrance is right outside of the Pinnochio restaurant, which is right next door to the new Belle area. I think there is a big road back there, and they truck stuff in and out of the utilidors from there. Since the backstage area is so close here, they don't need access underneath any of this new stuff. They can just wheel the trash out the back door to the trucks that remove it.

These are my thoughts exactly! I am blown away by this TR!!

But, I would add that I wish I could tag along with you and the girls some time. My boys wouldn't do all of that with me without a WHOLE lot of griping!

I got so behind on this……just a couple of comments from many pages back……..

I caught that Flip Wilson reference and am still giggling! He or she is a dead ringer!

Your fellow NJ born fiend (spell check wants to make fiend "dead"??) probably got clued in to your roots by your use of the phrase "on line". I've said it before, in no other place but NJ/NYC/LI will you hear people say that when referring to waiting in a line!

Hey, I'm glad someone got the Geraldine reference- well done!

As far as tagging along with us on a trip, Stefa70 has asked to do that too. She just has Nate and Trevor, and they aren't big on the princess stuff either.

Maybe when the girls go off to college, I'll start offering TCD tours. I can take folks on tours at the Fort and at the parks. There might be something to that.

You are right, I do say let's get on line. I didn't even realize it was wrong until you pointed it out. It's weird, because I didn't realize there was any Yankee left in me.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

After our visit with Belle, we tried to go back to the Little Mermaid area, but found a bunch of castmembers lined up across the path telling us all that the area was now closed. This photo was taken at 8:52 pm:

So much for that plan.

The only thing left open was the restaurant, and we had already been there.

They were letting guests hang around to watch the fireworks from here. They were going to begin at 9 pm:

We decided to hang out and watch the fireworks from here. We all wondered what the fireworks would look like over the Beast's castle.

It's kind of a weird place to watch the fireworks. For Wishes, there are smaller fireworks that are shot off close to the castle, and then big ones that look like they are over the castle, but are actually shot off from outside the park.

I decided to video the beginning of the show. You can see Tinkerbell fly out of Cinderella's castle, and then I turn the camera to film over the Beast's castle. You can see the guests in this video turning their heads back and forth like they are watching a tennis match:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMBtU3DaHOk&feature=youtu.be

This ended up being a pretty neat place to watch the fireworks. Maybe not the ideal place, because you are in between where the smaller and larger fireworks are shot off, but the fireworks look really good over the Beast's castle.

A few still photos:

This one is so bright because there are fireworks going off over Cinderella's castle at the time:

One huge plus about this area is that it wasn't mobbed like the hub on Main Street.

We will probably watch the fireworks again from here.

When the fireworks ended, there was nothing else for us to do in New Fantasyland.

So, we decided to head out.

There was one more new thing we were going to try to do.

And, I had a visit to Tortuga Tavern planned as well.

TCD

[fortpartyof4 108]

Yes, it was just one day. The truth is, we went to three parks, but didn't do a whole lot in any of them. This was a great trip for us, but probably wouldn't be a good idea for someone who can't visit as often.

The restaurant is amazing. There is nothing in any of the other parks to compare it to.

That said, is is a theme park restaurant. The menu is limited, and the prices are high. Are there restaurants on property where you could get a better meal? For sure, but not in the middle of the Magic Kingdom.

Nicely done!

What's with the cabin? Don't you have an RV?

Hmmm.

I didn't know that the Wardrobe malfunction was for more than just our visit.

I haven't seen any reports of it anywhere else.

I hope it's fixed. It adds a lot to the show.

They don't need the utilidors back here, because this is the back of the park. If I'm not mistaken, a main utilidor entrance is right outside of the Pinnochio restaurant, which is right next door to the new Belle area. I think there is a big road back there, and they truck stuff in and out of the utilidors from there. Since the backstage area is so close here, they don't need access underneath any of this new stuff. They can just wheel the trash out the back door to the trucks that remove it.

Hey, I'm glad someone got the Geraldine reference- well done!

As far as tagging along with us on a trip, Stefa70 has asked to do that too. She just has Nate and Trevor, and they aren't big on the princess stuff either.

Maybe when the girls go off to college, I'll start offering TCD tours. I can take folks on tours at the Fort and at the parks. There might be something to that.

You are right, I do say let's get on line. I didn't even realize it was wrong until you pointed it out. It's weird, because I didn't realize there was any Yankee left in me.

TCD

Well, I wouldn't say it's wrong. Just regional dialect that is distinct to that area. Had a roommate in college who I used to tease about saying it! And that was before the Internet came along…..boy we would have fun with that now.

I am all for being a twin stand-in and visiting princesses with Stef!