View Full Version : Fred and Wilma do DVC, DCL and DDP - the food!
wilma-bride
09-25-2007, 08:13 AM
We had a 10 day trip to WDW in August, consisting of 3 nights at Saratoga Springs, a 3-night Disney cruise and 4 nights at All Star Music with free dining. To make things easier on me, I intend to review all our meals here, including the DCL food.
For the most part, I did take pictures although I was struggling to get to grips with the settings on my new camera so some of them didn’t come out as well as I could have hoped. We didn’t have ADRs for the first part of our trip but did for the last part.
So, I'll start by introducing us and letting you know what we like and, more importantly, what we don't ;)
Me (Wilma) – I am what you might call a picky eater – I prefer to think of myself as selective. I know what I like and I like what I know. I like very plain food, no sauces, and I don’t like vegetables!
DH (Fred) – Much more adventurous than me but isn’t a great fan of seafood or anything with garlic.
This is us!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/FloridaAug07116a.jpg
From memory, I will be reviewing the following:
Earl of Sandwich
Rainforest Café at DTD
Whispering Canyon Café
DCL
All Star Music food court
Crystal Palace
Le Cellier
50s Prime Time
Wolfgang Puck Café
There will be some other bits and pieces thrown in here and there (as I remember). Buckle up and hold on tight, here comes the food…
wilma-bride
09-25-2007, 08:37 AM
We flew from London Heathrow to Miami International, arriving around 2:30 pm. By the time we had retrieved our rental car and driven the loooooong drive up the Florida Turnpike, it was gone 8 pm by the time we checked in at SSR.
We were given a room in the Paddock section, which is quite a walk from the main lobby, pool area and food court. The last thing either of us really felt like doing was walking all the way back to the food court to eat but I was determined I wasn’t going to miss out on a possible dining opportunity.
By the time we got back to the food court, it was gone 9 and, much to DH’s horror, I decided I didn’t really fancy anything on offer. I suggested that we catch the boat over to DTD and get something there. I could tell he wasn’t keen but he agreed (anything to shut me up, I suspect :rotfl: )
Over at DTD, it was a toss up between Wolfgang Puck Express and Earl of Sandwich. As we really weren’t all that hungry, we settled for EoS.
I haven’t got any pictures from today but here is one I took a few days later, in honour of Brenda (Oybolshoi)
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/FloridaAug07628a.jpg
I ordered the Earl’s Club with no lettuce, tomato or sauce – basically, just turkey bacon and cheese – yum!
DH ordered the BLT with no sauce (I think it came with mayo and DH doesn’t care much for mayo)
We also got 2 diet cokes and a bag of chips.
Service was pretty fast and, surprisingly, we were easily able to find a table indoors which we were both pleased about (even that late at night, it was really warm outside).
The sandwiches were great - hot and fresh - and I just love the bread they use. To be honest, I was that tired I didn’t really appreciate it as much as I should have. DH didn’t enjoy his sandwich as much as I did mine but he wasn’t really in the mood for eating. Earl of Sandwich remains a firm favourite of mine and a great option for counter service. We will definitely return here.
Total spend - $18.91
Rating - B+
oybolshoi
09-25-2007, 08:57 AM
:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:
HOT ROAST BEEF SMOOTHIES!!!!
I feel so proud ... like I've finally done something with my life to make a difference. :lmao:
Joh, you rock! :thumbsup2
Looking forward to reading more!
wilma-bride
09-25-2007, 09:25 AM
:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:
HOT ROAST BEEF SMOOTHIES!!!!
I feel so proud ... like I've finally done something with my life to make a difference. :lmao:
Joh, you rock! :thumbsup2
Looking forward to reading more!
Lol Brenda - I thought of you every time I saw that sign outside EoS. You feature (kind of) later in my report too ;)
wilma-bride
09-25-2007, 09:32 AM
Today we were at Islands of Adventure – it was hot, hot, hot! DH was fed up because we were so far from the food court, I couldn’t be bothered to do my usual early morning tea run so he was grouchy before we even left for IOA.
It was early entry for Annual Pass holders so we agreed that we would do a couple of rides and then get him a cup of tea (the man is unbearable unless he’s had his tea in the morning ).
After a couple of goes on Spiderman, we stopped at Croissant Moon bakery for refreshments.
I had an apple danish and a diet coke.
DH had a cherry danish and a large hot tea.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/FloridaAug07095a.jpg
The pastries were absolutely delicious. Slightly chilled, the apple filling was fruity and sweet and the icing complemented it perfectly. The pastry itself was light and flaky, but also slightly gooey. DH really enjoyed his cherry Danish and was starting to seem like my husband again, now he’d had his ‘fix’. It was really nice to sit inside and get out of the heat for a little while – it was only 9 am but we could tell it was going to be a scorcher!
Total spend - $8.58 (with 10% AP discount)
Rating – A
We stopped a couple of hours later, after getting soaked on Ripsaw Falls and Bilge Rat Barges, to get a drink and dry off a little.
I really wanted ice cream but the Hop on Pop Ice Cream Shop didn’t open until 12 and it was only 11:30. We were desperate for liquid refreshment, so went into Snookers and Snookers. While paying for my diet coke, I noticed these yummy treats called Gourmet Smores and couldn’t resist so got one each for DH and I. We had no idea what they were but they had chocolate on – how bad could it be?
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/FloridaAug07104a.jpg
In reality, it was a deliciously crisp cookie with a marshmallow filling covered in thick milk chocolate and sprinkled with chocolate chips. For anyone reading from the UK, think Wagon Wheel without the jam – and about 1000 times nicer.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/FloridaAug07103a.jpg
We polished these off quickly, firstly because they were so nice and secondly because they were melting in the sun. Washed down with a diet coke, they set us up for the rest of the day.
Total spend - $8.13 (with 10% AP discount)
Rating - B+
Later on, after spending a couple of hours at the SSR pool, we decided to get the boat over to DTD again and find some place for dinner. I guessed that we would have a bit of a wait wherever we went as we hadn’t made any ADRs. Seeing as the boat docked just by Rainforest Café, we decided to try for a table there.
When I enquired at the podium, we were told a 90 minute wait. DH was reluctant but I pointed out that we would be likely to wait just as long anywhere else at that time of night – and, to be honest, I couldn’t be bothered to walk down to Planet Hollywood, which is where he wanted to go. We decided to try and get a couple of seats at the bar and have a couple of drinks while we waited for our table.
As luck would have it, a couple had just vacated their seats at the bar and we quickly grabbed them. We were handed a couple of menus and I decided I might try a cocktail. In hindsight, given that I had eaten nothing but a Danish and a chocolate cookie all day, this might not have been the sensible thing to do – but, hey, I’m on vacation.
I’m afraid I really can’t remember the name of the drink I ordered (a side effect of drinking alcohol on an empty stomach ;) ) but I think it was a Raspberry Rainfall or something like that. It was a raspberry/pineapple frozen concoction with copious amounts of vodka thrown in for good measure – and it was delicious. Very refreshing on a hot day.
DH had something similar but without alcohol (he is the sensible one out of the two of us), which was like a raspberry-flavoured frozen lemonade. I tasted his and it was really yummy.
This is what they looked like – mine is on the left.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/FloridaAug07117a.jpg
After a couple more drinks, our table was finally ready. We were seated in the gorilla section, next to a large fish tank. By now, I had a bit of a headache and was feeling decidedly off-colour :sick: I assumed it was because I was so hungry so we ordered straight away, having had plenty of time to peruse the menu.
Me – Blue Mountain Chicken Sandwich with no peppers, lettuce or sauce (are you sensing a theme here ;))
DH – Honk Kong Chicken Stir Fry with no mushrooms (I’m actually thinking DH is a lot more picky than he makes out!)
We also ordered a couple more drinks, although I opted for the non-alcoholic version this time.
The food came quite quickly, even though we had been told there was a 30 minute wait on food orders.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/FloridaAug07122a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/FloridaAug07124a.jpg
DH began to tuck into his stir fry but I was feeling even worse and, no sooner had I started eating then I felt sick. I excused myself and headed to the rest rooms, where I closed the cubicle door and sat on the toilet with my head between my knees. I stayed like that for about 15 minutes, thinking I was going to pass out and DH wouldn’t even realise because he was so busy eating
To cut a long story short, after returning to the table, I attempted to eat and decided against it. DH finished his meal, we paid the check and left. It took everything I had to stop myself from being ill on the boat back to SSR but I learned a valuable lesson – make sure you eat something before you drink lots of alcohol :lmao:
DH enjoyed his meal but he didn't like the long wait for the table. I didn't think it would be fair to rate this restaurant as I didn't really eat much at all.
Total spend - not known (I lost the receipt)
Rating - C (The drinks get an A+ though ;) )
natalielongstaff
09-25-2007, 10:06 AM
:woohoo: love your report so far !! EOS was a real find for us we ate there twice and even the kids loved the food....i agree the bread is outstanding :thumbsup2
keep it coming !!
mandymouse
09-25-2007, 10:19 AM
Keep 'em coming Joh, I can't wait to hear your opinions on the DCL food - did you go to Palo ?
I look forward to reading some more
Mandy :)
Minniespal
09-25-2007, 12:02 PM
Great start Joh, looking forward to reading more:thumbsup2
Booknut
09-25-2007, 12:14 PM
Looking forward to the rest...am already super hungry!!!
saratogagirl
09-25-2007, 02:05 PM
great start Joh, looking forward to more
tony64
09-25-2007, 02:34 PM
Great report Joh, keep um coming.:thumbsup2 :goodvibes
BRobson
09-25-2007, 05:03 PM
Great start Joh :goodvibes I love EoS too !! Cant wait to read some more
TigerKat
09-25-2007, 05:33 PM
I'm joining the party!!
Busymom85
09-25-2007, 06:11 PM
Can't wait for more. Thanks for posting.
wilma-bride
09-25-2007, 06:26 PM
We were at Epcot today and, again, DH was grouchy first thing, having not had his tea. After securing FPs for Soarin’ and riding once, we headed to Sunshine Seasons for breakfast.
We bumped into some friends from the DISboards and ended up eating breakfast with them, which was nice.
Anyway, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to eat here. I’m not really a breakfast person but, as we hadn’t yet got any plans for meals later in the day and we were heading to Jellyrolls that night, I figured I ought to make a start on lining my stomach ;)
DH and I both ended up with a bacon, egg and cheese croissant. DH had tea and I got a diet coke. We also got a bottle of water for later, as it was extremely hot again today.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07126a.jpg
The breakfast croissants really hit the spot. The croissants themselves were light and flaky and the egg was perfectly cooked (as you will see from my tag, I’m strange about my eggs :) ). The bacon was a little chewy (rather than crisp) but that was only to be expected, given that it had been stuck in between a warm croissant and an omelette for a little while.
Total spend - $16.36
Rating – B-
With breakfast over, we hit a few more rides. A bit later on we were thirsty. Again, I fancied ice cream and, again, I was disappointed as Fountainview Café was closed. I couldn’t think where else to get ice cream so we decided on Club Cool, where we got a frozen coke and a frozen raspberry Fanta.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07133a.jpg
The coke was really not to my taste. I was kind of expecting it to be fizzy and was disappointed that it wasn’t (yes, I know…) and I really didn’t care much for the taste. The raspberry Fanta was nice, though, and very refreshing. The coke really wasn’t.
Total spend – not known (another lost receipt)
Rating – D
We had pretty much finished everything we wanted to do in Future World so we decided we would leave and get a late lunch somewhere. I fancied the idea of visiting a resort and getting lunch there. We stopped by guest relations and were able to get a reservation for Whispering Canyon Café just over an hour later, which gave us enough time to take a slow stroll out to the bus stops, catch a bus to Wilderness Lodge and take a look around the resort before checking in for our ADR.
We were slightly early checking in but were seated right on time. Our server was Doc Willis who, to be honest, freaked me out a little. He had some kind of squeaker thing in his pocket, which he kept pressing when he was at our table. It was just kind of weird - the kind of thing I would have expected him to do if we'd had kids with us. We saw some tables around us having fun but our server just didn’t seem to be into it much, although he did throw our straws and napkins at us :rolleyes:
He asked if we were on the dining plan, which we weren’t at that point, and took our drinks orders. DH ordered diet coke and I decided on the bottomless milkshake – chocolate flavour, of course ;)
The drinks came fairly rapidly and the milkshake was very nice, although it could have been a bit more chocolatey (is that even a word?). DH tried it and didn’t like it – he said it tasted ‘odd’.
We ordered our entrees – chicken and mashed potatoes for DH and the chicken sandwich for me (I still had a chicken sandwich craving to satisfy after the episode at RFC the night before).
While waiting for our entrees, I was laughing at another server giving some kids next to us a hard time. He had brought out plates with massive desserts on them, paraded them past the kids and said ‘Guess what these are?’. When the kids asked ‘What?’ quick as a flash he replied ‘Not yours!’ It was hilarious and I laughed out loud, only to be told by the server to ‘quit staring’ and try holding a conversation with my husband ‘for the first time in years’ :rotfl2:
The food came out shortly after and looked yummy - I realised I was pretty hungry.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07162a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07163a.jpg
DH said his chicken was delicious, tender and juicy, and the mashed potatoes were cooked and seasoned perfectly.
My chicken sandwich was exactly what I wanted – again, the chicken was slightly spicy, tender and juicy and the bacon was crispy. The bun was soft and tasted fresh and the fries were crispy but needed salt. My only criticism (and this is not just WCC but WDW in general) is that the fries just don’t taste the same now they use all these non trans-fat oils or whatever it is. I am sure it is healthier and everything but the fries just aren’t what they used to be.
Having finished our entrees, Doc asked us if we wanted dessert. I was dying to try the Smores cheesecake but was pretty stuffed at this point. I tried to persuade DH to share with me but he was having none of it. So I did the only thing I could – ordered dessert anyway :rotfl:
Me – Smores cheesecake
DH – Banana dustbowl
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07165a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07164a.jpg
The cheesecake was incredible – melt in the mouth crust, rich and creamy filling with a decadent chocolate topping and mini marshmallows. It was extremely sweet, though, and after a few bites I was done.
DH really enjoyed his banana thing – the tortilla was light, crisp with a lovely cinnamon taste. The bananas and sauce were sweet and sugary. He finished every last drop – and then finished the rest of my cheesecake :rolleyes:
All in all, a great meal and a positive experience. We will definitely come back here again – next time with the kids.
Total spend – An extremely reasonable $45.82 (with 10% passholder discount)
Rating - A
I just wanted to add, at this point, that the totals I have included are for the meals only - we always left at least 20% tip in addition at TS restaurants.
momof2disprincesses
09-25-2007, 06:55 PM
Your reviews are awesome and I'm lovin' the pictures. Can't wait to read more!!
Thanks for taking the time to post.
disneyjunebug
09-25-2007, 09:37 PM
Great pics and Great review! Looking for more -- especially more Smoothies, roast beef or otherwise!
wilma-bride
09-26-2007, 07:14 AM
Today we were driving to Port Canaveral to board the Disney Wonder for our 3-night Disney cruise. Whilst I was excited about the cruise, I was filled with some trepidation about the food. I will readily admit that I am fairly choosy about what I eat and, from what I had read and seen of the food served on board, I was thinking that I would find myself either going hungry or living on fries for 3 days. Having paid out the money to go on the cruise, I really wanted to experience all the restaurants that the Wonder had to offer so I steeled myself and went with an open mind, determined that I would make the effort to be a little more adventurous.
We didn’t have time for breakfast this morning – after a late night at Jellyrolls last night, we just had time to go check out and get straight into the car to begin the drive. We had some Lays potato chips left over from earlier in the stay so munched those on the way.
I won’t go into too much detail about the cruise itself as I am hoping to write a full trip report (someday :rolleyes: ) but suffice to say the ship was everything I had imagined – and more!
Once on board, we headed up to Beach Blanket Buffet, where there was plenty to choose from – even for me ;)
We loaded up a couple of plates, grabbed two diet cokes and found ourselves a table outside.
My plate, which contained carved cold roast beef, cold pork schnitzel, potato wedges, turkey, ham, cheese and bread.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07209a.jpg
DH’s plate, with pork schnitzel, rice, ham and bread.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07210a.jpg
The beef was pretty horrible, to be honest. It was very tough and chewy and I didn’t eat much of it. Everything else was pretty good. DH said the rice was perfectly cooked. We’re not massive fans of cold buffets but there was loads of other stuff to choose from, including lots of hot dishes and seafood.
There was a dessert buffet also and, when we’d finished eating, we got a couple of plates of dessert. We didn’t want to go too overboard (pardon the pun :rotfl: ) with dessert so I got a piece of chocolate cake and a cookie and DH opted for fresh fruit salad. The chocolate cake was really good – fresh and light, with just the right amount of chocolate icing on top. The cookie was chewy and tasty. I tried some of DH’s fruit, which was – well, fruity!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07211a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07213a.jpg
I also got one of these from a guy who was wandering around the tables – my first ever Bahama Mama!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07212a.jpg
DH drank most of this as it wasn’t really to my taste (sorry Mandy :guilty: )
We were on late dining and were eating at Animators Palate tonight, which I was really excited about as I’d read so much about the ‘show’ they put on there.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07233a.jpg
Our servers, Grace and Alfredo were absolutely fantastic – nothing was too much trouble for them. To start with, they were both very professional and courteous and, although, they remained that way throughout the cruise, it was fun to see how they loosened up a little with us as we got to know them over the 3 nights.
Neither of us ordered appetisers as nothing on the menu really appealed to us. For entrée, I opted for the bacon-wrapped filet with a jacket potato.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07275a.jpg
DH settled for simple roast chicken and a jacket potato, from the ‘lighter bites’ section of the menu. I didn’t take a picture but just imagine a piece of juicy, roasted to perfection chicken and a large, perfectly cooked jacket potato.
My filet was delicious, although the ‘sauce’ was a bit overpowering. I felt very proud of myself for ordering – and eating – a meal which had sauce on it. DH tried mine and didn’t like the flavour at all but I enjoyed it and ate every bite.
For dessert, DH ordered the much-anticipated peanut butter pie.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07278a.jpg
And for me it was flourless chocolate cake.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07279a.jpg
It’s a good job I was quick with the camera as DH devoured his in just a few bites, despite having protested he was really full. He declared it the best peanut butter pie he’d ever had. One of the things he really loves about Florida and WDW is the ability to get lots of peanut butter flavoured stuff. The UK isn’t big on it, for which I am eternally grateful as I hate it.
My chocolate cake was good but could have used some ice-cream as it was a bit dry on its own.
Our table mates were most amused at me taking pictures of our food but, from the conversations we had with them over the 3 nights, it was obvious they weren’t DISers so it’s hardly surprising they thought I was strange.
After a couple of hours entertainment in Wave Bands, we returned to the room and, amazingly, I was hungry. No problem – the cruise ship has 24 hour room service. I quickly ordered some chicken strips and fries (no picture), which came within 20 minutes. The chicken strips were typical Disney fare – crunchy and slightly spicy but the fries were cold and soggy. It was no surprise, really, that I felt slightly sick when I finished eating. That's the trouble with free food, as we were to discover in the coming days...
Total spend - $26.40 (the Bahama Mama and drinks in Wave Bands)
Ratings:
Beach Blanket Buffet – C
Animators Palate – B
Room service - C
Booknut
09-26-2007, 07:23 AM
Yummy yum yum!!!
That drink looks great, what's in a Bahama Mama? I've heard so much about them :goodvibes
PS sorry you weren't that keen on the food!
wilma-bride
09-26-2007, 07:51 AM
:woohoo: love your report so far !! EOS was a real find for us we ate there twice and even the kids loved the food....i agree the bread is outstanding :thumbsup2
keep it coming !!
Thanks Nat - I agree about EoS,a lthough Gary is not as keen as I :sad2:
Keep 'em coming Joh, I can't wait to hear your opinions on the DCL food - did you go to Palo ?
I look forward to reading some more
Mandy :)
Mandy, we didn't go to Palo with it only being a 3-night cruise - we didn't want to miss any of the main restaurants.
Great start Joh, looking forward to reading more:thumbsup2
Looking forward to the rest...am already super hungry!!!
great start Joh, looking forward to more
Great report Joh, keep um coming.:thumbsup2 :goodvibes
Great start Joh :goodvibes I love EoS too !! Cant wait to read some more
Thanks for the comments guys :)
I'm joining the party!!
Welcome :)
Can't wait for more. Thanks for posting.
Your reviews are awesome and I'm lovin' the pictures. Can't wait to read more!!
Thanks for taking the time to post.
Great pics and Great review! Looking for more -- especially more Smoothies, roast beef or otherwise!
Thanks so much - I must admit, now I've started, I am really enjoying writing these and reliving all that wonderful food :thumbsup2
wilma-bride
09-26-2007, 07:54 AM
Yummy yum yum!!!
That drink looks great, what's in a Bahama Mama? I've heard so much about them :goodvibes
PS sorry you weren't that keen on the food!
Eloise, it's Coconut Rum (Malibu???), Triple Sec, orange and pineapple juice.
Booknut
09-26-2007, 07:59 AM
that sounds so heavenly...i'm adding it to my list of 'Cocktails i'm having this Xmas after baby is born!!!' :lmao:
wilma-bride
09-26-2007, 08:02 AM
that sounds so heavenly...i'm adding it to my list of 'Cocktails i'm having this Xmas after baby is born!!!' :lmao:
:rotfl2: You definitely need to add Skyy-Berry Martini to that list Eloise - it is by far and away the nicest drink I have ever had :thumbsup2
wilma-bride
09-26-2007, 08:33 AM
I will apologise in advance for the fact that I haven’t got many pictures of today’s food offerings. I think I must have been so overwhelmed, I forgot to take them
We had ordered room service for this morning, although we only requested tea and orange juice. When it was delivered, however, we got toast and croissants as well, which was a nice surprise. We planned to eat breakfast in Parrot Cay, though, so I only ate one piece of toast and half a croissant – purely for research purposes, you understand ;)
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07287a.jpg
There was a selection of teas, along with two glasses of ice cold orange juice. The toast was cold and, therefore, pretty soggy but the croissant was nice and fresh, buttery and flaky – just how I like them :)
Down in Parrot Cay, we helped ourselves to some of the buffet offerings. No pictures here but DH had granola with raisins and some fruit (not all together).
I had bacon, sausage and waffles.
The food was pretty good and DH got a bit of a taste for granola, which continued throughout the rest of our vacation and even after we got home (he found some at the local supermarket but maintains it doesn’t taste as good here). I was slightly disappointed that there was no french toast on offer, as I had a real craving for it.
In Nassau, we visited the Hard Rock Café, where DH had a diet coke and I decided to be adventurous and got a Pickled Tink. It was a bit like a pina colada, with strawberry, and it was very cold and refreshing.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07296a.jpg
I couldn’t drink it all as brain freeze set in ,so DH finished it off. All around us, people were tucking into wings, nachos, burgers and fries – it all smelled and looked really good but it seemed silly to eat here and pay for food when it was free on the boat.
We had lunch at Pinocchios, back on board. I had chicken strips with fries and also got a burger bun which I used to make a sandwich with the strips. DH got a burger, I believe. Again, no pictures of this – sorry. It tasted pretty good, though, and the fries were nice and fresh this time, which really made a difference.
That night, we ate in Parrot Cay. Our server, Grace, met us at the door and escorted us to our table. I loved how she called us ‘Mr Gary’ and ‘Miss Joanne’ – it kind of reminded me of Gone with the Wind :rotfl:
We both ordered the Spice Island Chicken Wings to start.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07373a.jpg
These were delicious, hot and spicy with just a hint of chilli. I could have eaten a whole plate of these and been happy.
I couldn’t decide what I wanted for entrée and narrowed it down to Caribbean roast chicken or Island roasted rib-eye of beef. Grace said it wasn’t a problem and she could ‘mix and match’ for me. To my horror, when she brought out the food, I got two full meals :eek: I tried both, although the beef was not to my taste. It was far too pink (I like my beef pretty well done) and was very heavily spiced, although I couldn’t tell what with. The chicken was delicious, though. Hot, juicy and cooked perfectly. Not at all dry and well seasoned. Again, no pictures – I think it was the shock of being presented with two massive plates of food.
DH had the baby back pork ribs with sweet potato fries. The fries were lovely – a nice change from standard potato fries. I didn’t taste the ribs (DH can be very over-protective of his food – think Joey from friends) but they looked and smelled delicious. They were gone pretty quickly so I reckon he must have enjoyed them.
We passed on dessert since it was Pirate night and there was a huge dessert buffet up on Deck 9. I did manage to get some pictures of the buffet offerings – so much food and I hate to think how much got wasted.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07374a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07378a.jpg
When it came to it, though, we found we really didn’t have much room for dessert and so shared a piece of chocolate cake and some meringues. The chocolate cake was delicious, very similar to the piece I’d had the day before. The meringues were like little crispy clouds, with a slight crunch on the outside and chewy inside.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07381a.jpg
Total spend today - $29.75 (mostly on bottled water, which we took into Nassau, and alcohol)
Ratings:
Room service – B
Pinocchios – C
Parrot Cay – B
TigerKat
09-26-2007, 08:49 AM
Really enjoying your reviews - that dessert buffet is enormous!!!!!
granmaz
09-26-2007, 09:54 AM
Enjoying your report Joh, especially as we are on a 4 night cruise in Dec(our first).
wilma-bride
09-26-2007, 10:08 AM
Enjoying your report Joh, especially as we are on a 4 night cruise in Dec(our first).
Marilyn, you will absolutely love it :thumbsup2
wilma-bride
09-26-2007, 10:09 AM
Really enjoying your reviews - that dessert buffet is enormous!!!!!
It really was huge. Those are only a couple of the photos - I've got about 4 more - but it stretched almost half the length of Deck 9 :eek:
Ms. Heimlich
09-26-2007, 11:44 AM
Loving your reports!!!
I'm looking forward to trying Sunshine Seasons for breakfast!
wilma-bride
09-26-2007, 11:58 AM
Today’s pictures seem to be of nothing but alcohol and desserts, for which I make no apologies :rotfl2: Rest assured, though, I definitely ate other things today :)
This morning we didn’t have room service. Instead, we headed straight to Parrot Cay again for breakfast. Today they did have French toast so I loaded my plate with a couple of pieces as well as some bacon and sausage. DH had his usual granola, plus the mandatory 2 cups of hot tea.
The French toast was soggy, as if it had been soaked in the egg/batter mixture too long – yeuch! The bacon was good, though – hot and very crispy.
We didn’t linger too long over breakfast – we had an appointment with a beach and a hammock!
On Castaway Cay later, we ate at the BBQ down by the adults-only beach. Everything from the grill was being cooked to order as there really weren’t many people there. DH and I both had steak and chicken, with some bread and salad offerings (well, I didn’t have salad but DH did). The steak was delicious, cooked and seasoned perfectly, as was the chicken.
For dessert, there were chocolate chip cookies, fresh fruit and soft serve cookie dough ice-cream or strawberry frozen yoghurt. I decided to try and make an ice-cream cookie sandwich.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07396a.jpg
This would have been perfect if it hadn’t been for two things. A) It was far too hot to be messing around with ice-cream and b) I was much too stuffed from lunch to really enjoy it. I ended up leaving about half of it, in a soggy, melted mess in my bowl.
Feeling really full, we made our way back up to the family beach, got ourselves a drink from the Conched Out bar and DH went for a swim.
Back on the boat, our final meal was at Tritons. Neither DH nor I were keen as the menu did not appeal to us but we didn’t want to miss our last night with our new DCL ‘family’ so we went anyway. Before dinner, we went to the Promenade Lounge for a couple of drinks. I got a lime daiquiri and DH got a peach one.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07401a-1.jpg
My lime daiquiri was almost as yummy as my much-loved Skyy-berry Martini (almost, but not quite). I didn’t care much for the peach one but DH enjoyed it – so much so that he had another and he rarely drinks cocktails.
When we went in for dinner, Grace met us at the door and carried my drink to the table. I felt a bit uncomfortable letting her do it and told her so but she just replied that it was her job to look after us both to the best of her ability and that included carrying my drink. She really was so lovely.
Again, we didn’t bother with appetisers tonight. For entrée, I ordered the chicken and DH opted for lamb shank. I really, really fancied the duck but wasn’t sure about the accompaniments and I didn’t like to be too awkward. One of our table mates ordered the duck, however, and when it came I had serious ‘food envy’. It looked absolutely divine and I really wished I’d gone with my instincts and chosen that instead. He very kindly offered me a couple of bites of his duck and, I must admit, it tasted loads better than it looked. If we ever go on another cruise, I will definitely be getting the duck! DH really enjoyed his lamb. He said it was tender and flavourful, falling easily away from the bone. The accompanying ‘pommes boulangeres’ were delicious too. My chicken was perfectly adequate and, had it not been for my food envy, I am sure I would have really enjoyed it.
I made up for my disappointment by asking Grace if I could ‘mix and match’ desserts. She happily brought me the two I wanted to try, white chocolate dome and honey and cinnamon apple tart.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07415.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07417a.jpg
They were both incredible. The apple tart was an open pie, with thin slices of apple with a honey and cinnamon flavoured jelly/glaze over the top. As for the white chocolate dome, this was also delicious. It was a light and tangy raspberry mousse on the inside, with a layer of white chocolate mousse covering that and a white chocolate coating. Absolutely gorgeous. Can you tell I’m a dessert person ;)
DH ordered the crème brulee. I don’t like crème brulee at all so I didn’t try it but he said it was the best dessert he’d had on the whole trip.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07416a.jpg
While at the table, I also decided to have another drink. Alfredo recommended a Mojito so I thought I’d give it a try.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07408a.jpg
For anyone who doesn’t know, this is basically white rum, lime juice and fresh mint all mixed together. It was quite weird tasting with the combination of lime and mint and, I’ll admit, I wasn’t keen at first. Once the mint stopped floating around in the glass, though, it tasted quite nice. DH didn’t like it at all and went back to his staple diet coke.
Although we had been dreading it, I think Tritons actually ended up being our favourite restaurant and we were really glad we’d eaten there.
I’ll end today’s review with a picture of our wonderful servers, Grace and Alfredo.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/FloridaAug07414a.jpg
Total spend today - $41.71 (alcohol, alcohol and yet more alcohol)
Ratings:
BBQ – B+
Tritons – A- (probably would have been an ‘A’ if I’d chosen the right entrée)
Ms. Heimlich
09-26-2007, 12:16 PM
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07408a.jpg
For anyone who doesn’t know, this is basically white rum, lime juice and fresh mint all mixed together. It was quite weird tasting with the combination of lime and mint and, I’ll admit, I wasn’t keen at first. Once the mint stopped floating around in the glass, though, it tasted quite nice. DH didn’t like it at all and went back to his staple diet coke.
I love Mojitos!! i agree, tho, you should wait for the mint to settle!
Keep up the good work!
oybolshoi
09-26-2007, 02:12 PM
Great pics Joh! And may I suggest a Kahlua colada the next time you visit the Hard Rock? It's one of our favorite drinks there. :thumbsup2
granmaz
09-26-2007, 03:29 PM
Marilyn, you will absolutely love it :thumbsup2
I'm so excited about it. Believe it or not we have 7 nights with dining plan before the cruise, so I guess nothing is going to fit!!:eek:
It really was huge. Those are only a couple of the photos - I've got about 4 more - but it stretched almost half the length of Deck 9 :eek:
That dessert buffet!!:love: I'm a dessert person too.:banana:
winkers
09-26-2007, 08:11 PM
Great food report Joh! But I can't bleieve your dh doesn't like garlic!!!:sad2: That's one of my favorite food groups!
By the way, when are you going to do your trip report????popcorn::
wilma-bride
09-27-2007, 06:16 AM
I love Mojitos!! i agree, tho, you should wait for the mint to settle!
Keep up the good work!
Thanks :)
Great pics Joh! And may I suggest a Kahlua colada the next time you visit the Hard Rock? It's one of our favorite drinks there. :thumbsup2
Hmm, Kahlua? Isn't that coffee? Joh doesn't do coffee :sick:
I'm so excited about it. Believe it or not we have 7 nights with dining plan before the cruise, so I guess nothing is going to fit!!:eek:
That dessert buffet!!:love: I'm a dessert person too.:banana:
I put 7 lbs on while we were away Marilyn - towards the end of our trip, some of teh clothes I had taken with me were getting too tight :eek:
Great food report Joh! But I can't bleieve your dh doesn't like garlic!!!:sad2: That's one of my favorite food groups!
Thanks Cherie - DH says to tell you he doesn't hate garlic, he just doesn't like too much of it - picky, picky, picky :rotfl:
By the way, when are you going to do your trip report????popcorn::
Soon, oh impatient one, soon ;)
wilma-bride
09-27-2007, 06:22 AM
We had breakfast at Triton’s this morning, before disembarking from the Wonder. The rule on DCL is you eat breakfast at the place where you dined the previous night. It was great to see our wait staff one more time before we left. No pictures from this morning but we both had scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. I asked for my eggs to be ‘well done’ and they were perfect. The bacon was crispy and hot and the breakfast set us up for the drive back to WDW.
A couple more pics with our servers before we left and Grace suggested we do a ‘Charlies Angels’ type pose. Here it is!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/FloridaAug07429a.jpg
Total spend - $0.00
Rating – B+
Back at WDW, we checked in to ASMu and picked up our ‘Keys to the food’! After checking out the room, we decided to get lunch at the food court.
DH – cheeseburger and fries, with cherry pie for dessert
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07438a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07441a.jpg
Me – chicken strips and fries, with marbled cheesecake
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07439a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07440a.jpg
The food was typical food court fare, although it was all freshly prepared so it was nice and hot. The chicken strips were better than the ones on the cruise, maybe because they were hot and fresh. DH enjoyed his cheeseburger but said he'd had better burgers.
I didn’t taste his cherry pie but he said it was pretty good. My cheesecake was OK, but nothing special - just cheesecake really. For some reason, every time I think about DH’s cherry pie, I just can’t get that Warrant song out of my head ‘She’s my cherry pie, put a smile on your face ten miles wide’ :rotfl:
Total spend - $0.00 (would have been $27.44 if paying OOP)
Rating - C-
Later, we went to Universal for the Blue Man Group show. I deliberately hadn’t booked a TS meal for tonight, thinking the show started at 6:30 but, unfortunately, we got there to find it started at 8. In order to get out of the rain and for want of something better to do, we ended up at NBA City for some dinner.
This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the food was excellent. We had no wait for a table, given it was so early and we ordered quickly. I had a craving for pizza but, as I don’t like tomatoes, I asked if they could make a plain margherita without the tomato (essentially cheese on toast!). That was no problem at all. One thing I love about America is that, unlike the UK, restaurants are generally happy to accommodate special requests without making you feel uncomfortable or awkward.
DH chose the General Jins chicken - chicken tenders sauteed in sesame oil, teriyaki, fresh ginger and garlic, served with Asian noodles and vegetables in General Jin's mildly sweet and tangy sauce
The food came very quickly and was piping hot – something we’ve often found, even in sit-down restaurants, is that the food is rarely hot when it reaches you. It was here, though, and it was nice to know it had obviously been freshly prepared and brought straight to our table as soon as it was ready.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07445a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07444a.jpg
My pizza was exactly what I expected, a thin and crispy crust with just the right amount of cheese. I hate it when the crust is burned at the edges and this wasn’t at all. It was absolutely perfect.
I tried DH’s chicken and that was lovely too. The sauce was sweet and very mild and the chicken was extremely tender. There were some crispy noodles artfully presented on top of the dish. They were pretty tasteless but I suspect they were more for decoration than anything else.
We were pretty stuffed when we’d finished but I really wanted to try one of the delicious-sounding desserts. DH agreed to share, which is something of a phenomenon, so we ordered the Brick Oven Pastry, which was described as sliced cinnamon apples in an open faced puff pastry baked in our brick oven until golden brown topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel and chocolate syrup.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07446a.jpg
Oh my God, this dessert was to die for. The puff pastry was light and flaky and the apples were perfectly cooked, still slightly hard and nice and sweet. The ice cream and chocolate sauce went well and the combination of hot and cold was marvellous.
I had been slightly peeved that we were having to pay for dinner when we had free dining but this meal was worth ever single penny – it was delicious.
Total spend - $40.84 before tip (I forgot to use my AP for a discount here)
Rating – A
oybolshoi
09-27-2007, 09:44 AM
I must defend the Kahlua colada ... Kahlua is a coffee flavored liqueur, you are correct there. But in this drink it's mixed in with pineapple juice, cream of cocount, and some rum.
Sounds revolting, doesn't it? :lmao:
But I swear you can't taste the coffee at all - I'm not sure how to describe the taste other than lightly sweet and very refreshing.
Tell you what we can do ... next time you plan on being in Florida let me know and we'll see if we can't meet up over at the Hard Rock at USO (I can just hear my hubby now ... what do you mean we're flying to Florida to buy someone a drink at the HRC???). If you don't like the Kahlua colada I'll finish it up for you and buy you a substitute drink. :thumbsup2
Enough about that ... on with the show! That dessert from NBA looks super-yummy. We've never eaten at that restaurant ... mainly because we don't care for basketball.
Are you going to give us a review of the Blue Man Group? Jay and I haven't had a chance to see them yet, but have heard great things about their shows in Chicago and Las Vegas.
DisneyJo
09-27-2007, 12:28 PM
Great review so far Joh, wow those desserts on the DCL look amazing :faint:
winkers
09-28-2007, 05:27 PM
thanks Joh, now I have that stupid cherry pie song stuck in my head!;)
wilma-bride
11-08-2007, 08:21 AM
Firstly, massive apologies for not finishing these reviews sooner. Real life tends to get in the way sometimes. I’ll try not to let it happen again ;)
We had decided to use four of our TS credits today; for breakfast and dinner. A bad use of credits maybe – but we had two extra due to eating at Universal last night so this was the easiest way to ensure we used them all.
Our first stop was breakfast at Crystal Palace. We had done this previously in October 2006, when we visited with my daughters, and really loved it – particularly the puffed French toast – so we decided to give it another try. Whether it was due to the heat, too much food so far this trip or absence of children, neither of us enjoyed it as much this time round. Our ADR was for 8:05 and we were seated promptly. Our server was Ruth, who was courteous and professional but seemed hurried and didn’t really explain to us about the buffet or how it worked. Luckily, we already knew so, after ordering OJ and a hot tea, we set off to fill our plates – and our tummies!
Our first plates consisted of bacon, eggs, sausage and some yummy puffed French toast – OH MY GOD, this stuff is to die for. I could almost be tempted to say it is worth coming here just for this. I have still to try Kona’s Tonga Toast, though, so that may become my new favourite breakfast offering in April.
I went back for more French toast but really couldn’t bring myself to eat any more than a couple of bites, while DH declared he was full. At this point, I was very glad the food was ‘free’ as this would have been a very expensive breakfast otherwise.
No pictures of the food here this time, I’m afraid, but here’s a picture of DH with Piglet (who we hadn’t seen on our last visit here)
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07456a.jpg
And the two of us with DH’s favourite, Tigger:
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07458a.jpg
Just to note that the CMs were very good about making sure we got pictures with the characters, if we wanted them (which, obviously, we did). I have read previously that adults dining at character meals without kids sometimes felt the characters were passing them by. We definitely didn’t get that.
Total spend - $0.00 (would have been $47.29 if paying OOP)
Rating – C (just average – although the puffed french toast gets an A+)
After our hearty breakfast, we spent the day wandering around Magic Kingdom. It really was almost unbearably hot so we spent a lot of time trying to stay out of the sun. We visited a lot of attractions we hadn’t done before (despite 4 previous trips) and had a wonderful and relaxing day.
At lunchtime, neither of us were hungry but really fancied a refreshing snack – so we stopped at the Sunshine Tree Terrace (behind the Flying Carpets ride) and got a Citrus Swirl and a frozen raspberry lemonade.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07516a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07517a.jpg
I was slightly disappointed with the Citrus Swirl. Despite it being refreshingly cold, I was expecting the orange part to be sweet and tangy and it really wasn’t – it didn’t even taste that sweet to me. DH ended up eating most of this – he had to be quick, though, as it was melting almost as fast as he could eat it.
The raspberry lemonade was perfect – it really hit the spot on this hot day. Tangy, sweet and icy cold, it was just what I had been craving. We finished this off while in the 30-minute line for Pirates of the Caribbean (why, oh why, does this ride not have Fastpasses).
Total spend - $0.00 (2 snack credits – would have been $6.80 if paying OOP)
Rating – Citrus Swirl gets a D, raspberry lemonade gets a B
Later, after a brief detour back to the room to change, we caught the bus to Epcot for our ADR at Le Cellier. This was the most anticipated meal of our trip – would we be disappointed? Stay tuned to find out….
phabric
11-08-2007, 09:20 AM
Looking forward to reading more.
Ms. Heimlich
11-08-2007, 11:39 AM
keep :banana: 'em :banana: coming!:banana:
Loving your reviews!
The frozen desserts look really good!
PrincessTiff
11-08-2007, 04:05 PM
Wow, can't wait for more! Thank you for sharing.:)
winkers
11-08-2007, 05:43 PM
I also loved the puffed french toast! It's basically the same as what we call scones. Totally different from english scones. It's basically bread dough that's deep fried! YUM bread and grease!
maiziezoe
11-08-2007, 06:24 PM
Love your reviews!! :thumbsup2
FirstMagic
11-08-2007, 11:11 PM
This is such a neat trip report, with three kinds of food:
regular park food
cruise food and....
FREE food! :goodvibes
I'm so enjoying your review and the pictures, especially those desserts! Can't wait to read more.
AnninIowa
11-08-2007, 11:32 PM
Great job!!!! :cool1:
wilma-bride
11-09-2007, 05:00 AM
We arrived at Epcot just before 3.30 pm (our ADR was 4:20) and walked slowly towards the back of the park. On the way, I mentioned to DH that I would like to see if there were any fast passes available for Soarin’. I wasn’t holding out much hope, given how late in the day it was, but I thought I would try anyway. DH must have thought I was fighting a losing battle and refused to walk over to The Land, claiming it was too hot to waste his energy so I went alone - and scored us two FPs for 7 pm. Result!!!
Arriving at Le Cellier just a few minutes early, we checked in and took a seat in the waiting area. We were escorted to our table right on time. It’s been said before but I will say it again – the tables here are close together!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07533a.jpg
Although there was nobody at the table right next to us when we arrived, another couple were seated there shortly afterwards – and we may as well have been dining together. In fact, we ended up spending the whole time chatting with them – it was difficult not to really as they were almost sat with us. They were a very pleasant couple, though, which made things a lot easier and we very much enjoyed having dinner with them :rotfl2:
Shortly after we were seated, our server, Lauren, arrived at our table, introduced herself and explained how the Dining Plan worked. We were told we could get non-alcoholic drinks, including smoothies, but no refills. She brought us some bread and gave us a few minutes to peruse the menu.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07536a.jpg
Obviously, being the conscientious DISer that I am, I had already chosen what I was going to have several months prior to our trip but DH gave the menu some consideration before ordering the Beef and Barley Broth. I opted for the Duck Two Ways as I love duck.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07538a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07539a-1.jpg
The appetisers arrived quickly and we happily tucked in. My duck was absolutely delicious. The sauce was sparse, which I was happy about – as I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a fan of sauces at all. This was not like a sauce, more of a light and sweet dressing and it complemented the rich duck leg perfectly. The little pieces of duck were very tasty too and this dish was an outright winner. DH really enjoyed his broth too – he only really ordered it because nothing else grabbed his attention but he was very pleased he did. He said it was very well seasoned, rich yet light and extremely tasty. It went very well with the wholegrain bread (which was lucky, seeing as I’d already polished off most of the pretzel bread :rotfl: ).
Next up was the entrée. For DH, it was the signature Maple Barbecue Filet with cream cheese mashed potatoes. I chose the New York Strip with roasted potatoes. To my utter disgust, DH ordered his filet cooked medium-well, which seemed a sacrilege with such a nice cut of meat, but he insisted he couldn’t eat it if it was bloody.
For some reason, the picture of DH’s meal didn’t come out too well but here is mine!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07541a.jpg
At the time I took this picture, the guy at the next table asked me what I was doing. DH then launched into the whole story about the DIS and trip reports, at which point the guy asked me if I wanted a picture of his entrée as well. So, what else could I do? He had the mushroom filet so here it is :rotfl:
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07543a.jpg
DH inhaled his entire entrée as if his life depended on it, declaring it the best steak he had ever eaten. Mine was slightly disappointing – the food envy kicked in big style when DH paused just long enough to allow me to taste a tiny morsel of his steak. Unfortunately, that morsel was enough to make me wish I’d ordered the filet instead. I deliberately hadn’t got it because I was concerned about the sauce but I needn’t have been – again, it was more of a glaze than a sauce and it was fantastic. That said, my steak was very tasty and I was enjoying it before I tried the other one :rolleyes: My only complaint would be that the potatoes were slightly undercooked.
Finally, it was on to dessert. Lauren took our dessert orders, then those of the couple seated next to us. I went for the smores, having dreamed about them since first seeing a picture on the DIS some months ago. DH chose the crème brulee. We didn’t think anything of it when the table next to us received their desserts first but, within minutes, Lauren had arrived with ours – and an apology. She said that the orders had been backing up and someone had just grabbed the nearest thing, bringing it out to our fellow diners. As I say, it really hadn’t bothered us but Lauren seemed concerned.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07546a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07545a.jpg
A few seconds later, Lauren returned to our table and asked us if we had a problem with alcohol. It was quite funny the way she said it but she then re-worded her question to ask if we didn’t drink for any reason. I said that we didn’t have a problem with alcohol at all, thinking she may be about to recommend the ice wine I had read so much about but she didn’t – just left the table and us feeling puzzled. A minute later, she returned again with two glasses of champagne – having noticed our Anniversary pins, she told us the champagne was compliments of Le Cellier. It was a delightful and unexpected surprise.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07544a.jpg
Having confirmed that we didn’t require anything else, Lauren brought us the check. DH and I had already discussed it and decided to leave an extra tip as she had been so attentive and we’d had such a wonderful meal. Imagine our surprise when she returned to us, bringing this time a fast pass valid for us both for any ride in the park. This, she explained, was by way of an apology for the mix-up over the desserts. Again, a real surprise and definitely not necessary – but we gratefully accepted it.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07547a.jpg
Check paid and tip left and we were on our way. Our earlier fast passes, together with the ones from Le Cellier, meant we were able to ride Soarin’ twice before leaving the park – what a perfect end to the day.
Final thoughts – Le Cellier was our first real dining experience in Walt Disney World and it certainly opened our eyes to what we had been missing. We will most definitely be back – in fact, the ADR is already made for next April - and I will be ordering the filet next time ;)
Total cost - $20.00 tip (check would have been $107.48 if paying OOP)
Rating – without a doubt, Le Cellier gets an A+
wilma-bride
11-09-2007, 05:55 AM
Today we were at MGM. We originally had an ADR at Kona Café for tonight but MGM was a zoo and, by mid morning, DH and I felt we really needed to have a relaxing lunch somewhere to give us a break from the madness! We enquired at Guest Relations and were able to get a lunch ADR at 50s Prime Time Café. We promptly cancelled the Kona reservation (a decision I have regretted ever since, having seen the fantastic reviews :sad2: ).
At 11.40, we arrived at 50s Prime Time for our lunch ADR. We were called through almost immediately and seated just inside the restaurant area. We didn’t get a ‘TV table’ but that didn’t bother us too much. We could still see a TV from where we were sat.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07586a.jpg
Our server was Li’l Brother Charlie, who arrived at our table and told us Mom expected us to do our chores before we could eat. He left the menus, explained how the dining plan worked and told us to set the table :rotfl:
When he returned, I ordered a chocolate milkshake and DH got a diet coke. Neither of us wanted appetisers, partly because nothing appealed and partly because we just weren’t hungry enough. We chose our entrees – pot roast for DH and chicken sandwich for me.
Charlie returned with our drinks and poured my milkshake into a glass. It looked so thick and creamy, I couldn’t wait to try it. And it was delicious. I tried not to drink too much as I wanted to save myself for the food.
While we were waiting, we witnessed lots of antics going on around the restaurant. A guy at the table next to us went off to the restrooms. When he returned Charlie asked if he’d washed his hands, to which the guy replied ‘yes’. However, when Charlie asked him what colour the soap was, the guy told him it was pink and Charlie promptly replied ‘Mom doesn’t use pink soap, get back there and wash your hands’. It was hilarious :lmao:
Our entrees arrived soon afterwards.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07582a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07583a.jpg
DH loved, loved, loved his pot roast. I wasn’t too enamoured with my sandwich – my bad, really, for not liking sauce as I had requested it without. It was far too dry, the chicken was dry and the ham tasted really salty. I left quite a bit of mine.
When Charlie returned, he brought the dessert menu and DH thought he would be clever. He said to Charlie ‘Is she allowed dessert seeing as she didn’t finish her dinner’. Charlie’s response? ‘Nobody likes a tattle tale’ :rotfl2: I loved that Charlie put DH in his place like that. For dessert, we ordered a hot fudge sundae and, you guessed it, smores.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07587a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07588a.jpg
The smores were completely different to those at Le Cellier – much sweeter and dripping with melted chocolate. Very yummy. DH really liked his sundae, although he said it was nothing special.
Overall, we really enjoyed our experience at Prime Time. DH really loved the food – he still raves about the pot roast now – and, although I didn’t enjoy mine as much, we will definitely return, if only for the atmosphere and fun.
Total cost - $0.00 ($59.56 if paying OOP)
Rating – B (for DH’s food and the atmosphere)
Later on, after a rest back at the room, we headed over to Port Orleans French Quarter for a look around. I really, really wanted to try the beignets as well. Although we weren’t that hungry, we had counter service credits burning a hole in our pockets and decided to get something light from the Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory (try saying that when you’ve had a few :rotfl: )
DH fancied the jambalaya so ordered that and I decided to have the rotisserie chicken. It came with two sides and I asked if I could just have fries. I think the guy must have given me a double helping of fries because there were loads of them. I wasn’t even that hungry and knew I wouldn’t finish them. The jambalaya came with some kind of cornbread muffin, I think. We both got desserts from the bakery counter – DH got carrot cake and I chose a chocolate brownie. Because we knew we wanted beignets but had read they needed to be eaten hot, we decided to take our desserts back to the room and use a snack credit for the beignets when we’d finished eating.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07599a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07600a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07601a.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07602a.jpg
We found a table easily and DH went to fill our cups (we had been able to get large soft drinks with our meals).
My chicken was absolutely delicious, tender and juicy and cooked to perfection. DH really enjoyed the jambalaya but found the sausage (chorizo?) a bit spicy. He ended up picking that out and leaving it on the side. I didn’t eat many of the fries but I ate every last morsel of that chicken – and could easily have gone back for more. I have already told DH we will be going back to Sassagoula on our next trip, just so I can get that chicken :thumbsup2
After we’d finished eating, we ordered a half dozen beignets (1 snack credit). These were prepared fresh while you wait and took a little time but it was most definitely worth it. They are little pillows of dough, deep fried and then covered in powdered sugar. Dough…fat...sugar…what’s not to like?
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b261/wilma-bride/WDW%20food/FloridaAug07603a.jpg
We ate three each and then waddled back to the car, taking our carrot cake and brownie with us.
Total cost - $0.00 (1 snack credit and 2 CS credits) ($36.03 if paying OOP)
Rating – B+
wilma-bride
11-09-2007, 06:02 AM
I must defend the Kahlua colada ... Kahlua is a coffee flavored liqueur, you are correct there. But in this drink it's mixed in with pineapple juice, cream of cocount, and some rum.
Sounds revolting, doesn't it? :lmao:
But I swear you can't taste the coffee at all - I'm not sure how to describe the taste other than lightly sweet and very refreshing.
Tell you what we can do ... next time you plan on being in Florida let me know and we'll see if we can't meet up over at the Hard Rock at USO (I can just hear my hubby now ... what do you mean we're flying to Florida to buy someone a drink at the HRC???). If you don't like the Kahlua colada I'll finish it up for you and buy you a substitute drink. :thumbsup2
Sounds like a deal to me, Brenda - how are you fixed for April next year? :rotfl2:
Enough about that ... on with the show! That dessert from NBA looks super-yummy. We've never eaten at that restaurant ... mainly because we don't care for basketball.
Are you going to give us a review of the Blue Man Group? Jay and I haven't had a chance to see them yet, but have heard great things about their shows in Chicago and Las Vegas.
DH and I don't care much for basketball either (it's not an English sport ;) ) but NBA City is worth it for the food alone.
As far as Blue Man Group goes, suffice to say it was an excellent show - I much preferred it to La Nouba (although it's completley different) and some day I will get round to writing my trip report so you may hear more about it then.
Great review so far Joh, wow those desserts on the DCL look amazing :faint:
The food was pretty good on DCL Jo - it's no wonder I'm still dieting now :rolleyes:
thanks Joh, now I have that stupid cherry pie song stuck in my head!;)
Me too Cherie :rotfl:
Looking forward to reading more.
keep :banana: 'em :banana: coming!:banana:
Loving your reviews!
The frozen desserts look really good!
Wow, can't wait for more! Thank you for sharing.:)
Thanks guys, I'm really loving writing these reviews. They're bringing back lots of yummy memories, even 3 months after the event.
I also loved the puffed french toast! It's basically the same as what we call scones. Totally different from english scones. It's basically bread dough that's deep fried! YUM bread and grease!
I couldn't have said it better - bread and grease, yum :thumbsup2
Love your reviews!! :thumbsup2
This is such a neat trip report, with three kinds of food:
regular park food
cruise food and....
FREE food! :goodvibes
I'm so enjoying your review and the pictures, especially those desserts! Can't wait to read more.
Great job!!!! :cool1:
Thanks - glad you're enjoying them. I've a few more to come so keep reading :)
DisneyJo
11-09-2007, 12:29 PM
Yay Joh is back with lots of reviews :yay:
We loved Le Cellier too, I got the fillet though :rotfl2: How sweet of your server to be so concerned about your delayed desserts!
I had pot roast at 50's too, your DH and I obviously have very good taste :lmao: and it was delicious.
OMG I really want to try some beignets next trip :cloud9:
winkers
11-09-2007, 03:19 PM
Oh my heavens, I LOVE bengiets! Again bread, grease, & sugar my 3 favorite food groups!!
rgrgirl
11-09-2007, 03:27 PM
Thanks for posting the pics. THe food looks great!
SnwflkCts
03-23-2008, 11:15 AM
I know this is a little bit older review, but just came across it ... drooling as usual over all the pics! I thought you had some unusual pics (of some different meals), plus all the cruise meals! I loved it.
Believe it or not, I didn't know what beignets were! :scared1: but they look very tasty!
I liked when your waiter at 50s Prime Time told your DH "nobody likes a tattle tale!" Hilarious!
Thanks for all the great reviews! :thumbsup2
suzimar57
03-23-2008, 10:33 PM
oh i love those photos at the 50s and Port Orleans!!
i'm going to dream about the beignets tonight.... :love:
averill94
03-29-2008, 07:58 AM
Just getting ready to make ADR's ... was wondering if I should try for LeCellier- we couldnt get it last year.
I will try for the next trip -
DCL looks yummy.
Thanks
jrsmom
03-29-2008, 09:33 AM
Your reviews are simply amazing. I am looking forward to your trip report and the dining report from your next visit!
penguintux
06-05-2009, 03:15 AM
I realize this is an old-ish thread, but I discovered it from the links in your signature..
I just wanted to say that your pictures made me absolutely CRAVE the 50's Prime Time pot roast. That is BY FAR my favorite dish in the World. Oh and the chocolate peanut butter and jelly milkshakes.. Mmm... :]
vBulletin® v3.8.1, Copyright ©2000-2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.