Stellablue & Goofypajamas Dining Reviews 1/31-2/6 Parks & Resorts!

[stellablue]

Hi guys:goodvibes

I'm in process of writing my trip report as well: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1713965,
but this part is much easier. Unfortunately the only photos of food we have are our Goofy's Candy Connection concoctions (just need to figure out how to post this!), but we did get to try a variety of places that I hope will be helpful to you:surfweb: .

We did not do DDP. This was our 1st trip to WDW together and 1st trip in several years, so we thought we'd calculate how much we spent this time around to see if it's worth it for next time. Just got back, so DBF will be calculating our meals and stuff to see if we would use it for next time.

Just DBF and I so prices are meals for two. If we split something, I'll mention it.
I will rate each place on a scale of 1-5 (1=aweful, 5=terrific) in categories of:
:thumbsup2 Taste
:thumbsup2 Portion size
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance
:thumbsup2 Service
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple
:thumbsup2 & will note if we would eat there again.

Enjoy and feel free to comment or ask questions!!
__________________________________________________ ________________
Overview:

Here are the places I will be reviewing:

Table Service & Buffets:

1) Beaches & Cream (BCR)
2) Boma (AKL)
3) 50's Prime Time Cafe (DHS)
4) Sci Fi Drive In (DHS)
5) Liberty Tree Inn (MK, Char Din)
6) Crystal Palace (MK, Char. Brk)
7) Biergarten (Ep/Germany)

Counter Service:

1) Captain Cooks (Poly)
2) Mara (AKL)
3) Tangierine Cafe (Ep/Morocco)
4) Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe (Ep/Norway)
5) Boulangerie Patisserie (Ep/France)
6) Lunching Pad (MK)
7) Main Street Bakery (MK)
8) Pizzafari (DAK)

[TigerKat]

I'm in.......popcorn::

[stellablue]

Beaches & Cream:

Type: Table Service *Does not take ADR's*

Location: B&C is located in the Beach Club Resort right by Storm-a-long Bay. We took a bus from our resort to Epcot and walked through Future World, through the World Showcase to the International Gateway. I'm sure there is a more remote route, but we had just arrived and wanted to take everything in and this was a very pleasant route to do so.:)

Time of Day: around 1pm/Lunch

Cost: Around $30 with 20% tip (total for two)

We chose this place based on the wonderful reviews on the Disboards and we were not disappointed! It is a really cute place-much smaller than we expected, located right in front of Storm-a-long Bay. It was pleasantly themed with 50's style beach decor. you can sit in booths, at the counter, or tables. It was not busy when we arrived and we only waited 10 minutes max before our buzzer went off. We sat at a table in front of the working jukebox.

Our server was Maria and she was so sweet and smiley! She was also very attentive. I do not remember waiting long for the food and she was great with refilling our soda and water and also just checking in to make sure we were comfortable. I loved the outfits the servers wore-really added to the atmosphere of the restaurant! :cutie:

I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich on multigrain bread and a Diet Coke. The sandwich came with fries or onion rings, but I asked for fresh fruit instead. The grilled chicken was fantastic-made in some sort of vinegar marinade. The lettuce & tomato were very fresh, as was the mixed fruit.
DBF ordered a cheeseburger & french fries and a Diet Coke. I couldn't help but taste his and the fries were so good! The burger was great too and I don't usually care much for burgers. It reminded me of the grilled burgers we used to get on the beach on Cape Cod when I was younger.

Portions were huge and as sad as we were about it, we just did not have room for dessert:guilty: We were able to peek at other people's desserts and they looked wonderful! But definately looked like at least two people could split one sundae.

:thumbsup2 Taste=5
:thumbsup2 Portion size=5
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=5
:thumbsup2 Service=5
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=5
:thumbsup2 We would DEFINATELY eat here again! We enjoyed this place so much, it has become part of our arrival day tradition:goodvibes

I think next time though, we will split a meal and split dessert.

Next up: Captain Cooks!

[TigerKat]

WOW - Perfect 5's already, hope the rest of your meals measured up!:thumbsup2

[Sunshein]

Great start! I have always wanted to try the No Way Jose at Beaches and Cream. We have just never taken the time to go to the Yacht and Beach Club.

[stellablue]

WOW - Perfect 5's already, hope the rest of your meals measured up!:thumbsup2

Hi Kathy!
Thanks for being my first reader!:goodvibes
Yes, this B&C was excellent all around! We loved everything about it and can't wait to go there again during our next trip!

[stellablue]

Great start! I have always wanted to try the No Way Jose at Beaches and Cream. We have just never taken the time to go to the Yacht and Beach Club.

Well, we had plans to get the No Way Jose, but we were so full from lunch! We are definately going to split a meal next time to save room for dessert!

It's really not that out of the way to head over the the Beach club from Epcot. It was a very pleasant walk. We walked around the Boardwalk after that before heading back to Epcot.

[TruBlu]

Great so far! :goodvibes

[TigerKat]

Hi Kathy!
Thanks for being my first reader!:goodvibes
Yes, this B&C was excellent all around! We loved everything about it and can't wait to go there again during our next trip!

I can't believe we spent 12 days at the Boardwalk and never even thought of B&C.......:confused3

[Melisa1]

Great so far!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup2

[stellablue]

Captain Cooks:

Type: Counter Service

Location: Captain Cooks is located in the Polynesian Resort on the first floor of the Great Ceremonial House. We took the monorail from Epcot to TTC & switched trains to the monorail resorts.

Time of Day: around 8:30 in between Wishes & Electric Water Parade

Cost: Around $18 total (*In addition, we bought a refillable beverage mug here for *I think* $12.50)

We chose this place because we planned to watch Wishes & the Electric Water Parade from the Poly Beach that night. The Poly Resort itself is a beautiful resort. The beach was so beautiful and a very romantic and quiet place to enjoy Wishes and the Electric Water Parade.

Captain Cooks was very easy to find. Although it was a bit busy, there was ample seating. This counter service restaurant was set up a bit different-you order your food on computer screens & then just wait for your food to be called, grab your tray, and wait in line to pay. I'm not sure how I felt about this. On one hand, we found this system very easy and efficient to use. On the other hand, they didn't provide descriptions of the meals on the screen-just the sandwich names. Also, I'm not sure how to make substitutions or changes to your meal. I didn't feel like trying, but I guess you just need to catch the food prep person in time, but it does seem hard to get their attention if it's busy.

The theming was very simple, nice ceiling fans, and VERY clean. Service staff were all very friendly and efficient.

Food was great at this place! I swear we lucked out all around on our first day:thumbsup2. I ordered the Multigrain Turkey Club. It comes with a choice of sides and I chose steamed veggies. Being our first night, we also purchased our refillable mug. I love that the new mugs are universal across all resorts. Anyways, the turkey was very high quality deli turkey, fresh multigrain bread, and fresh lettuce and tomato. I don't eat bacon, so I pulled that off easily. My sandwich also came with mayo on it which I don't like (reason why I wish they listed descriptions on the computer screen!) but I only ate half the bread and it was fine. The steamed veggie side was very good-plain/no sauce just the way I like it.
DBF ordered the Aloha Pork Sandwich with Polynesian chips as his side. His sandwich was basically BBQ pulled pork & cheese on pineapple coconut bread. I didn't try this because I don't like BBQ sauce or pulled pork, but DBF thought the sandwich was great! I did try the chips-they were yummy! They tasted like a Terra Chip type mix with a great spice to them.

Portions were huge and we both were only able to finish half our sandwiches. We packed up the rest to bring home, since we were heading back to our own resort later that night.

:surfweb: Attention all you Dole Whip fans: Yes this is the ONLY other place I saw in WDW besides Magic Kingdom that serves Dole Whip! & it's a self service machine:thumbsup2 We ended up splitting a Dole Whip: vanilla/pineapple swirl. I didn't care for the pineapple, but DBF loved it. I did love the vanilla side and DBF didn't care for that-geez aren't we perfect for each other?? :hug:

Watching Wishes from the beach at Poly was so romantic and beautiful. The beach was not too crowded and we shared a lounge chair within perfect view of the castle. We headed back to the beach after dinner to catch the Electric Water Parade which was also a fun treat. Not too many people love the EWP, but I think it's great!

:thumbsup2 Taste=5
:thumbsup2 Portion size=5
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=5
:thumbsup2 Service=4 (due to my minor quams with the computer system)
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=5

:thumbsup2 Again, this is going to become part of our arrival day routine, so we will definately eat here again. We had planned to go to Poly that night and figured we'd eat the CS there, but it far exceeded our expectations. I would say that this place had the highest quality food out of all our counter service places.

Next time we might again opt to share a sandwich, as the portions were so big....although it was also nice to have leftovers since we were staying in a resort with a fridge!

Next up-Day 2/Epcot lunch & snack at Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe & Tangerine Cafe!:goodvibes

[TigerKat]

Just curious - what resort did you stay at?

[Minniespal]

Excellent:thumbsup2

[my3disneygirls]

Great so far. Thanks for taking the time.

[stellablue]

Just curious - what resort did you stay at?

We did a split stay of CBR & AKL. We were at CBR during this particular part of our stay. But we traveled to both B&C and the Poly from Epcot. The travel was very easy and pleasant. Walking through Epcot to get to B&C was a fun and relaxing way to kick off our trip. We did some monorail resort hopping on our way to Poly, stopping at CR and GF!

This agenda was so perfect for us for our arrival day and I can't wait to do it again! Walk through Epcot to B&C, walk around the BW, enjoy Epcot for a few hours, hop on the monorail and visit GF (we might skip the CR visit next time), head to Poly for Wishes, dinner at CC, and EWP. :cloud9:

The only thing we will change for next time is our resort. CBR was an ok resort, but I think next time we'll save up a bit more $$ and opt for WL or BWI for our first half of the trip.

[disneyfav4ever]

We did a split stay of CBR & AKL. We were at CBR during this particular part of our stay. But we traveled to both B&C and the Poly from Epcot. The travel was very easy and pleasant. Walking through Epcot to get to B&C was a fun and relaxing way to kick off our trip. We did some monorail resort hopping on our way to Poly, stopping at CR and GF!

This agenda was so perfect for us for our arrival day and I can't wait to do it again! Walk through Epcot to B&C, walk around the BW, enjoy Epcot for a few hours, hop on the monorail and visit GF (we might skip the CR visit next time), head to Poly for Wishes, dinner at CC, and EWP. :cloud9:

The only thing we will change for next time is our resort. CBR was an ok resort, but I think next time we'll save up a bit more $$ and opt for WL or BWI for our first half of the trip.It is extremely easy to go from Epcot to just about any resort. It has the boat to the ones by the lagoon, and the monorail to the other resorts. Definatly easy for park-hopping to, since you can also get to MGM by the boat, and MK by the monorail.

[TigerKat]

CBR is our fave mod resort, but after we made the jump up to BWI we can't imagine staying anywhere else.:goodvibes

[stellablue]

Thanks for the positive reviews so far-I'm glad you are all enjoying! :goodvibes

[stellablue]

CBR is our fave mod resort, but after we made the jump up to BWI we can't imagine staying anywhere else.:goodvibes

I agree! :thumbsup2

We enjoyed CBR....until we moved to AKL deluxe! It really does make a difference-bed was more comfy, shower was much better, overall atmosphere much better. As long as we continue to go during Value season, I think we can do it if we save up a little extra. To me, after a long day in the parks when my feet are killing me, I want to be pampered at the end of the day:cloud9:

[stellablue]

Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe (snack)

Type: Counter Service/Bakery

Location: Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe is located in Epcot's World Showcase in wonderful Norway.

Time of Day: around 11:30am DBF got hungry for a snack and we had schoolbread on our list of must-tries (as suggested by fellow Disboarders!)

Cost: about $5.00 (schoolbread + soda)

As mentioned, we had schoolbread on our list of must-tries and we happened to be walking through the World Showcase when DBF was hungry for a snack.

The Norway area itself is such a nice place to walk around in. It's definately one of our favorites in the WS. There's lots of stuff to do and see like the Maelstrom ride and the Viking exhibit at the Stave Church.

The Kringla bakery is very small and cute inside with lots of other yummy looking goodies, including sandwiches. They display the goodies in the glass case so nicely! I can't remember if there was seating inside (I don't think there was-it's very small and quaint), but there was ample covered seating outside. It was a bit drizzly at this point (drizzle only lasted a short while before the sun came back out), so I was glad for the covered seating.

It was not busy at all when we were there. The CM working there was very sweet and friendly.

We got one piece of schoolbread (it was pretty big!) and a large diet coke. I wasn't really hungry, so I only had a taste. DBF liked this. He didn't think it was the best dessert he's ever had, but said he enjoyed it enough that he would order it again. It looked kind of like a donut (minus the hole) completely covered in coconut with some sort of vanilla custard inside. I really liked the custard inside, but thought the bread part was rather bland.

:thumbsup2 Taste=4
:thumbsup2 Portion size=5
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=5
:thumbsup2 Service=5
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=5
:thumbsup2 We both agree that we would definately visit this bakery again. DBF said he would order this again. I think I would opt for something else for myself-my guess is most everything is yummy here!

__________________________________________________ ________________
Tangierine Cafe:

Type: Counter Service/lunch

Location: Tangierine Cafe is located in Epcot's World Showcase in Morocco.

Time of Day: around 2pm

Cost: about $14 (shared one meal + large soda)

We were originally going to have lunch at the Sunshine Seasons food court in The Land, but I was hungry while we were in Morocco and suddenly got in the mood for hummus! We had also read a number of great reviews for this place on...you guessed it-the Disboards!! ;)

We enjoyed the Morocco area. Beautiful buildings and scenery, such pretty tiles everywhere, pretty stuff in the stores, and the Mo' Rockin' band was great!

Tangierine Cafe itself had a very busy and kitchen-like atmosphere. Nothing to write home about. Service staff were efficient, but more business-like than smiley/homey, but CERTAINLY curteous. I guess I'm just very used to extra smiley and friendly CM at WDW. It was a little busy when we were there, but moved along quickly and food was ready in no time.

There was ample seating outside. Seating area was nice, but not as nice as the decor of the rest of the country.

Portion size of the platters are HUGE and splitting a meal was more than enough food for us. We shared one chicken shwarma platter which came with hummus, tabouleh, piece of bread, and raisin couscous. The chicken was good, but had a texture I'm not used to. We are both picky about hummus, but this hummus was yummy! The tabouleh was the most fresh I've ever had! I liked the couscous-it was different and sweet. I didn't eat the bread, but DBF did and said it was just a plain roll. I thought that they should have served this platter with pita bread. The hummus and tabouleh were our favorites from here.

:thumbsup2 Taste=4
:thumbsup2 Portion size=5
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=3
:thumbsup2 Service=4
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=5
:confused3 I think we might eat here again, but I might just opt for a side of hummus and tabouleh next time.

Next up: Dinner at Biergarten! :goodvibes

[stellablue]

On a roll so I thought I'd keep going while it's still fresh in my head!

Biergarten:

Type: Buffet

Location: Smack in the middle of Epcot's Germany in the World Showcase. You can't miss the huge banner that says "Oktoberfest!"

Time of Day: 6:55pm ADR's. It was pretty busy and they were turning away all walk-ins. Our beeper went off within 10-15 minutes (closer to 10 minutes).

Cost: $75 (buffet for two + beer flight + 20% tip)

DBF chose this restaurant because he used to live in Germany and also loves German food.

We loved the Germany area as a whole-it is so pretty and festive. The inside of the Biergarten is fantastic! It looks like a little village, the band is wonderful! When we got back, I learned that one of their band members tragically passed away the night before we were there :sad1: DBF says he remembers them dedicating a song to someone. Despite this tragedy, the band was so fun and enthusiastic. I was amazed at how much this place appeals to kids as much as adults! I figured because of the cuisine and the beer, it would be mostly adults. Kids LOVED getting right up and dancing to the band's music-it was so cute to watch them:goodvibes

It was a good sized restaurant and definately full of people! Very loud in there, but a fun and pleasant loud-not annoying at all. The thing with this place is they do seat you with other people, unless you happen to be a family of I think 8 people. They also do not seat you until the entire table has arrived (i.e. we waited a few minutes for the other party of two to arrive). We had a group of 4 business men, another couple, and us (couple). This was a very interesting experience. I felt a bit shy and uncomfortable at first. I am shy with strangers in general. DBF is a much more outgoing than me. The business men pretty much ignored us the whole time-which was fine with me. Don't get me wrong, they were very respectful and polite. They just acted as their own table, commented a few times as if they were the table next to us. the couple sat across from us. They seemed just as uncomfortable as I did at first-just felt pressured to try and chat and "make friends." After a little while, I think they all kind of identified the atmosphere and it was fine. They were a very nice couple and we did end up chatting a little.

Our server was fantastic!! I wish I could remember her name. It might have been Melissa? Young girl with shorter dark hair-very friendly and attentive. Anyways, I would love to have her again. She checked on us often and kept our tables clean, despite how super busy she was!

The food was surprisingly great! I didn't think I would find much to eat since I do not like sausages. The salads were terrific, liked the pretzel bread, the shnitzel was my favorite, and the bavarian cheesecake was so good! I ended up eating too much and had a tummy ache afterwards:sick: but it was worth it.
We also shared a beer flight. We very much enjoy good beer, but we are not big drinkers and the size of the regular beer is ENORMOUS!! I would highly recommend the Beer Flight-gives you a taste of everything. My favorites were the Becks Dark and the Hoegarten.
*There was another dark beer in our flight that I loved as well-I wish I wrote down the name of it. Anyone have a list of their beers??:confused3

:thumbsup2 Taste=5
:thumbsup2 Portion size=5
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=5
:thumbsup2 Service=5
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=4 (great for adults, but definately NOT an intimate romantic place-more fun and festive)
:thumbsup2 We would definately go here again for dinner. I did feel a bit weird with the seating, but the rest of it is worth it and I can just make DBF do all the talking :laughing:
Next time I would definately eat less and have us each order the beer flight instead of just one-I could have definately gone for more!

Next up: Day 3: DHS-Sci Fi Drive In & 50's Prime Time Cafe!

[John's Mom]

Enjoying your reviews!

[stellablue]

Sci-Fi Dine In:

Type: Table Service/lunch

Location: DHS on Commissary Lane

Time of Day: 11:30am ADR's. I requested a car at check in and was told that as long as I had an ADR, I was garunteed a car. They were excepting walk-ins, but most walk ins got a table instead. Our beeper went off within 5 minutes.

Cost: $42 (including 20% tip)

DBF chose this restaurant because he loves sci-fi movies:scared1:

Cool atmosphere inside! They really do make it seem like you are outside at night sitting in a car at the movies! Even the regular tables look fun, but we were excited to get a car. Because there were only two of us, we got the back of a car shared with a family. This was no big deal and NOT like sharing your table at the Biergarten. Because everyone is facing forward, you barely notice the people in front of you and it just feels like they are at a separate table. We thought the seats were cozy and there was a good space between us and the people in front of us (girl in front of me had long hair, but it was no where near my food). Table was a bit small due to the set up of the car, but we didn't feel squished. It was actually great for a couple, because we got to snuggle in together :hug: I am glad we went for lunch instead of dinner though. I do think I would have felt cramped at dinner-since for us, lunch is more like intermission between park stuff and dinner is more sprawl out and relax time. The movie screen is large and they give you speakers at your car to listen. I had read a review on here that the speakers were too soft, but I disagree. They were low, but we could still here them. I liked that the movie screen was designed to be more background ambiance instead of the focus of the restaurant. We were able to chat the whole time and still glance over to the movies when we wanted to. They are short movie ads instead of full length movies, with cartoons thrown in between. The entire cycle was about 20 minutes before it repeated itself. The clips were so fun-black and white and hilarious-not scary for kids in case anyone is wondering. I didn't notice any scared kids while we were there.

Our server was very good. His name was Touriq. He was very polite and attentive, very accomodating to all the alterations I wanted done on my meal. I even got a free strawberry shake (due to a mess up with the order in front of us!). They had a full restaurant, so they were quite busy, but overall service here was SLOW. This seemed to be due to a problem in the kitchen, NOT due to our server. He brought us our drinks and milkshakes right away, was very good about refilling our sodas and waters without our asking, coming by to ask how we were doing, apologized for the delay with the food, and let us know when the food was coming, very calm and smiley the whole time :). Overall, we waited at least 35 minutes for our food. We really didn't mind the wait though. We had our milkshakes and sodas to sip and the movie screen is quite entertaining. and we were definately not ignored by our server.

The food was pretty good. I was expecting gross, due to several bad reviews I read. I ordered the italian chicken sandwich with cucumber melon salad, diet coke, and also my free strawberry shake. I asked for my chicken served plain on multigrain bread with bruschetta on the side. Chicken was pretty good-not the best, but certainly not aweful. I loved the side of bruschetta. Multigrain bread was good too. I did not like the cucumber melon salad-I didn't think I would when I ordered it-just wanted to try it. I'm not really one for mixing fruit with veggies. DBF also thought the salad was a bit weird. Strawberry milkshake was yummy! DBF got the cheeseburger and fries with an oreo milkshake. DBF said that this was the BEST burger he had at WDW-he even liked it better than the one he had at B&C! He said it was a handmade patty and perfectly cooked. I had a few of his french fries and those were great too. Of course, the oreo milkshake was yummy-how could it not be?:confused3 The lettuce and tomato that came with both of our sandwiches was very fresh.

:thumbsup2 Taste=4
:thumbsup2 Portion size=5
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=5
:thumbsup2 Service=3 (but NOT due to the server!)
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=5
:thumbsup2 We would definately eat here again-for lunch, not dinner. The theming was so fun and DBF loved his burger!

[whogirl'smom]

I'm enjoying your reviews! You guys went to several places I'm considering for our next trip. Thank you for commenting on portion size, too; I'm leaning against the DDP this time since there are several table services places we want to try, but I don't want a huge amount of food. Thinking about sharing at lunch to be able to try more things...

[TigerKat]

So glad to hear someone other than myself finds the texture of the meats at Tangierine Cafe odd. I couldn't eat it, it was like beef jerky.:scared:

[stellablue]

I'm enjoying your reviews! You guys went to several places I'm considering for our next trip. Thank you for commenting on portion size, too; I'm leaning against the DDP this time since there are several table services places we want to try, but I don't want a huge amount of food. Thinking about sharing at lunch to be able to try more things...

We were thinking about the DDP, but b/c we hadnt been back to WDW in so long and had never been together, we wanted to try it without first. I think we would have done well using it this time and we might consider using it next time...DBF is still tallying up our spendings so I'll know once the review is completed!:thumbsup2

[stellablue]

So glad to hear someone other than myself finds the texture of the meats at Tangierine Cafe odd. I couldn't eat it, it was like beef jerky.:scared:

Yes, it was a strange texture. We have shwarma restaurants at home and the chicken is certainly not that texture. The spice of it was good, it just didn't taste like real chicken. :confused3 I was vegetarian for over 10 years and it actually had a texture similar to a food called seitan (wheat gluten)

[stellablue]

Enjoying your reviews!

Thanks!:goodvibes
I didn't think anyone would actually read them because we didn't take photos of the food.....but keep a look out for when I review Goofy's Candy Connection-we did take photos of those!:cloud9:

[apurplebrat]

Great reviews! Really enjoying reading them

[stellablue]

50's Prime Time Cafe:

Type: Table Service/dinner

Location: DHS on Mickey Avenue

Time of Day: 5:30pm ADR's. It was INSANELY busy and they were turning away all walk-ins. Our beeper went off within 10 minutes.

Cost: $45 (including 20% tip)

I chose the restaurant because I went here with my family when I was a little girl. I remember how much I loved it here....& I couldn't believe they have smores!! :cloud9:

The restaurant is a good size, but I did get a little lost in there on my way to the bathroom & such. I think this is because they really do set it up like separate rooms in a house. It was also so busy-lots of people everywhere & servers running around like maniacs. The theming of this place is unbelievable-so much detail to make it look like a 1950's kitchen. We were seated next to a table with a tv, so I got to watch a little.

Once we got seated, things got a bit rocky...:sad2:

To the right of us was a family of a mom, dad, toddler, and young girl. The mom was completely ignoring her kids-more interested in watching tv:confused3 , leaving dad to deal with their quite misbehaved toddler who was climbing up on the seats, on dad, on the table, and screaming:sad1: To the left of us was a huge scary looking scowly dad, mom, kid, and grandma. Later, our waitress nicknamed him Big Ugly Dad so that's what I will refer him as :laughing: Please forgive me for saying this, but I'm not sure they had ever left the bayou! :upsidedow It took a good 10-15 minutes before our waitress came over-she did pop in once to say it was crazy busy and she would be back. The threw the napkin/silverware basket on the table and ordered DBF to "make himself useful" and set the table:rotfl: We thought she was funny. DBF is a server himself, so he could relate to the super crowded restaurant. The Big Ugly Dad next to us was staring DBF down after that and complaining to his family because his waitress was late as well. His waitress finally came over to them and put on her 50's Prime Time act, but Big Ugly Dad was NOT buying it:scared: He was talking back to her, not laughing at her jokes or silly sarcasm, and talking to her in a very demeaning and humiliating fashion. The server tried a little bit more with them, but Big Ugly Dad just didn't get the act. I'm not sure this family understood the theming and character of the restaurant. The rest of his family didn't seem to mind, though they also looked a bit scared of crossing or disagreeing with Big Ugly Dad! Big Ugly Dad proceeded to make this poor server's time with them HELL!:sad2: I felt so bad for her. He sent their appetizer back twice, acting very demeaning and rude to her each time and making it very obvious that he was just doing it to act like a d!@% to get back at her for her innocent act. He sent his drink back to her to change once. In between harrassing his waitress, he was yelling at his kid to shut up for breathing basically Uggh... I could see my DBF's face getting red and fists clenched and I was praying he wasn't going to say something. DBF gets very upset when he sees men disrespecting women like that...aww, ain't he sweet?:love:

Our waitress finally came back in between all this and introduced herself as Cousin Ellen. She was so funny. She came running in and sat down next to me and put her feet up next to DBF saying "you don't mind, do ya sweetie?" and started complaining about how she was so tired and had to sit down for a minute. She said everyone was so shocked at how busy they were. The park had been so calm for he past few weeks and then tonight they just got slammed. She was so funny complaining and in between complaints, telling DBF to get his elbows off the table, asking if he washed his hands, etc...:rotfl2: DBF thought she was great!

Anyways she took our order and promised to be back as soon as possible. Food only took about 20 minutes to get here. Ellen made sure to pop in for a quick hi or yelled to us across the room to check in on us.:goodvibes

I ordered the grilled chicken & diet coke. I substituted the root hash for green beans. It was a HUGE portion! The chicken was excellent, but I was only able to eat half of it. Green beens were a huge portion as well-I think they purposely do this so they can yell at you to eat your veggies because theres no way to finish all of them! DBF ordered the pot roast. It was a smaller portion than my chicken, but he certainly said it was enough food. He really liked his pot roast......until....:scared1:

Halfway through our meal the family to our right was leaving & the toddler got sick all over the floor next to DBF :sick: I know, I know kids get sick & we shouldn't be so shocked because WDW is full of kids and blah blah blah, but it was still gross & unpleasant for DBF as he got some on his shoes & didn't do much for he already hectic atmosphere with our unpleasant neighbors. I also thought the family should have apologized, but they didn't. They didn't even bother to help clean it up! Ellen came over & was mortified. She immediately gathered up our food & sent us to a new table in another room. I personally was psyched to move and saw this as an act of God because I was so happy to get away from Big Ugly Dad!! Another 5 minutes of being there, I think my DBF would have gone after Big Ugly Dad and...uggh:eek:

Our new spot was much more pleasant-nice couple next to us. A manager came over to us and apologized for our troubles. DBF cleaned himself off and all was well. We noticed that another manager had taken over Big Ugly Dad's table, I guess that poor server had enough!

Anyways, Ellen returned and pushed DBF over on the bench and said "Give a gal some room, I'm exhausted!" :rotfl2: She apologized profusely for our experience and was so funny commenting about Big Ugly Dad:scared1: We had a good laugh with her. She went on and on about how she couldn't believe how busy they were for this time of year (they really were slammed!). We really are an easy going couple, so we were just content to be in a new spot. Plus, DBF is a waiter himself, so he understood about the crowds. Ellen demanded we order a dessert on the house and we were very happy about that. I had been looking forward to those infamous smores for months now and free was even better!

We could have ordered two on the house, but we knew we couldn't finish all that, so we just shared one. The portion was MUCH bigger than the recent photos I've seen posted on here, so I'm wondering if she got a larger size made for our troubles. It was DELICIOUS!! Crispy gooey marshmallows, rick chocolate, crunchy graham crackers, more chocolate drizzled around the plate:cloud9: Despite not being that hungry, we polished off the entire plate!

:thumbsup2Taste=5
:thumbsup2 Portion size=5
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=5
:confused3 Experience=3 (wanted to add this in)
:thumbsup2 Service=5 (despite everything, we thought service handled it very well & Ellen was very funny & down to earth!)
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=5
:thumbsup2 Despite the mishaps, we would definately eat here again-we would even love to have Cousin Ellen again. Maybe next time we will try for lunch or a less busy time for dinner. If it weren't for the crowds and neighbors, I think our night would have gone much better.

Next up: Day 4: MK-Lunching Pad & Main St. Bakery!

[TigerKat]

WOW - Between Big Ugly Dad and the sick toddler, you two could have really had a horrid night, easy-going is an under statement. You two are saints!!!:lmao:

[stellablue]

WOW - Between Big Ugly Dad and the sick toddler, you two could have really had a horrid night, easy-going is an under statement. You two are saints!!!:lmao:

Well, I'm a special ed. preschool teacher and DBF is a waiter, so none of this phased us too much...except for the attitude and behavior of Big Ugly Dad-uggh! :eek: I couldn't believe how aweful and DEMEANING he was towards that poor waitress. She was just a young girl, just doing her job and fitting in to the theming of the restaurant. I mean maybe they didn't do their research (I'm not even sure they could read!) and were taking it too personally, but there was no need to make her feel like a piece of dirt because he didn't approve of the onion ring sauce or eye her up and down like that!

I'm pretty sure they left zero tip for her :sad2: I almost wanted to leave her something because she handled it as well as can be expected until the manager finally took over.

[my3disneygirls]

You and your BF seem so nice. To have such aweful things going on around you and still be able to focus on how wonderful your server was nice to hear. Big Ugly Dad deserved a pop in the chops, how anyone can behave like that is beyond me. He should be living in a cave somewhere.

Now I have 3 children. If one on my kids threw up near someone I would be on the floor cleaning it up, especially if it splashed on someone.:scared: Sounds like the servers and management had their work cut out for tham that day.

[TigerKat]

You and your BF seem so nice. To have such aweful things going on around you and still be able to focus on how wonderful your server was nice to hear. Big Ugly Dad deserved a pop in the chops, how anyone can behave like that is beyond me. He should be living in a cave somewhere.

Now I have 3 children. If one on my kids threw up near someone I would be on the floor cleaning it up, especially if it splashed on someone.:scared: Sounds like the servers and management had their work cut out for tham that day.

I was just going to post the exact same thing!!:thumbsup2

[stellablue]

Thank you for your kind words:goodvibes

Yeah, we are a pretty laid back couple in general and honestly just so happy and grateful to be in WDW!! We had such a magical vacation :cloud9:

I have to say that most guests were VERY nice. Aside from this one instance, children in the parks were pretty well behaved. I was very impressed with the parents-most were VERY good about watching their kids, apologized if one of them was disruptive. The tour groups and mass of Mardi Gras vacationers definately added to the crowds but were very pleasant to be around.

Being a teacher, I'm very tolerant of young children....honestly the only age group that annoys me are unchaperoned arrogant teenagers. I have very little patience when they act up:scared: We only had one bad experience with them while waiting in line for Fantasmic, this group of 6 teens pretended they were looking for someone and pushed in front of several people to get a better spot in line. and then proceeded to laugh loudly at their endeavors and act obnoxious while we were waiting. DBF had to distract me from pushing back with that one!!:laughing: Funny thing is, once the doors opened it seemed like the Fantasmic theater is so big, it didn't really matter where you were in line. Heck we got there 30 minutes early and were about halfway back in line and we got 2nd row seats, a little bit left from the center and we thought our seats were perfect!

Sorry to get OT, just my little rant...

[stellablue]

Lunching Pad:

Type: Counter Service/snack

Location: MK in Tomorrowland at Rocket Tower Plaza

Time of Day: 10:30am. We skipped breakfast, due to a late start & stopped off for a snack

Cost: about $10.00

We honestly chose this restaurant because I was starving and we came upon it! We were originally going to go to the Main St. Bakery, but the line was enormous!

Anyways, the Lunching Pad is a no frills snack stop. Ample outdoor seating in front. The service worker was friendly and quick.

We had read great reviews about the stuffed pretzels and decided to give them a shot. I got the cheese stuffed and DBF got cream cheese stuffed. We split those and a diet coke.

The pretzels were pretty good-not the best, but tasty enough. I think I liked the cheese one better, but that's just preference. Table wasn't the cleanest, what what do you expect from an outdoor very busy area?

:thumbsup2 Taste=4
:thumbsup2 Portion size=5
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=4 (it is located right in the heart of Tomorrowland which is pretty neat)
:thumbsup2 Service=5
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=3 (average, kind of a chaotic area)
:confused3 Not sure if we would eat here again. We really just stumbled upon it. It was good, but there are better places in the MK for a snack IMHO

__________________________________________________ ______________
Main Street Bakery:

Type: Counter Service/lunch (lunch for us, you can also go there for a snack)

Location: MK right towards the end of Main Street

Time of Day: 3:00pm.

Cost: I think around $15.00 (forgot to save receipt on this!)

We had a late "breakfast" and wanted to come back here when it was less crowded. First off, I love Main Street! I think all the shops and places are so cute, I was content to eat here. The bakery is so cute inside. Warm and simple with Smuckers products everywhere (obviously the sponsor!). It's a fairly large place with ample seating inside. Seating areas were very clean. We opted to sit indoors, but I think I saw outdoor seating as well. I was very happy to see that it wasn't crowded when we returned. It was a very relaxing atmosphere and a wonderful break from the crowds outside :goodvibes

You go to the display cases and it's sort of an assembly line of workers there to take care of you. The service workers were all very friendly and efficient.

DBF and I split a premade ham sandwich, frozen latte, and some sort of apple raisin pastry that I can't recall the name of-any guesses?:confused3 EVERYTHING looked yummy here! The sandwich was huge and very fresh. Frozen latte was yummy! The apple thingy very good too. This food was definately plenty to split between two people.

:thumbsup2 Taste=5
:thumbsup2 Portion size=5
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=5
:thumbsup2 Service=5
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=5
:thumbsup2 We would definately eat here again for lunch, breakfast, a snack or whatever!

Next up-Liberty Tree Tavern Character Dinner!

[stellablue]

Liberty Tree Tavern Character Dinner:

Type: Table Service/Family-Style Meal/Dinner/Characters

Location: MK in Liberty Square

Time of Day: 6:45pm ADR's

Cost: $67 (including 20% tip)

I kind of messed up with these ADR's. When I booked the 7pm time frame, I felt for sure this would give us plenty of time for Spectromagic at 8 and Wishes at 9.
**Word of advice: ALWAYS check the WDW calendar on their website for show and parade times prior to making ADR's because they change from season to season and day to day. It turned out that Spectro was at 7pm:guilty: All was not lost though because the helpful Dis'ers on this board let us know that Spectro actually comes right by LTT at 7:15! So, at 7:15, we were able to step outside on the porch and watch part of the parade. This was fine for us-it wasn't our favorite and we just wanted a little taste of it. You do get a pretty good view from the porch though.

Anyways, we got seated pretty quickly. It was very busy and looked like a full house of guests. We were seated in a corner, which I liked. Characters were out and about when we got there.

Our waitress showed up very briefly to say that "She might be back in a few minutes if we were lucky" and hurried off-:confused: DBf didn't seem to notice, but I thought this might not have been the best way to greet a table. Anyways, she showed up about 5-10 minutes later with rolls and salad. She explained that the computers were down so she would take our order, but she wasn't sure when it was going to get filled. No apologies or anything. She introduced herself finally (I won't mention her name because I didn't care for her & don't want to be rude & single her out). she rushed through the info about the family style meal-described the food and dessert and how family style worked, talked a bit about the characters making their rounds, took our drink orders, smiled quickly, and was on her way. To her defense they were very busy and DBF understood how hectic it is when the computers break-makes it very hard for the kitchen to get the orders, but I still thought she could have been a bit friendlier. Anyways, the characters hurried off abruptly because they had to go "join the Spectromagic Parade":) I thought this was a very good tactic on Disney's end. The all came back out promptly after the parade ended.

Our food ended up arriving in a timely manner, but our waitress just sort of dropped it off and left. Throughout the evening, she never asked if we needed anything. Never came back on her own to check in, ask if we were enjoying our meal, or ask if we needed anything. Now, I am a very tolerant person (as you can see from my 50's PT experience), it doesn't take much to please me, but the point of "family style" (as she explained) was when/if we wanted seconds, she would bring us some. I just thought it would be good customer service for her to offer from time to time "Can I get you anything else?" I do understand they were very busy, it was hectic with the characters floating around, plus their computers were having trouble, BUT she was in our area several times tending to other guests-right next to us a few times, all she had to do was turn around and check in with us. She did give us seconds when we flagged her down, but it was hard to flag her down. Once we were done, she quickly brought us over dessert and the check at the same time. DBF didn't think any of this was a big deal and still gave her the full 20% tip. I personally was a bit put off (certainly NOT enough to ruin my meal, I was with great company!:lovestruc) and would have only given her 15% because, regardless of the crowdedness and computer problems, I think she could have been a little bit warmer and should have checked in with us. I guess I just appreciate that in a server. I think our server at the Biergarten put in twice as much efforts and attention at our table and that was a full buffet! This was the only subpar serve we experienced during our whole trip, and it wasn't that bad, just could have been better I guess.

Anyways, the food was very good! We loved the bread and salad. Bread had some sort of honey taste to it (or this could have been the butter, I couldn't tell). Turkey was yummy, DBF liked the beef (I didn't eat it just due to preference). I didn't like the ham/pork thing at all. Very strong smoked taste that just didn't appeal to me. Veggies and stuffing were good and the mac & cheese was great! Apple crisp dessert was good too, but we only had a taste (we were full from our meal).

The characters not rushed at all. They took their time and paid attention to every table:thumbsup2 They were cute too, but....I get so shy around them!:rotfl: I love watching them interact with others, but I get so shy and feel silly when they approach me. Thank goodness for DBF who was hamming it up with them! I liked Chip/Dale the best. He kept coming over and giving me kisses :lovestruc We weren't sure who was who with those chipmunks and when one came to us, DBF said "I can never tell you apart-are you Chip or Dale?" The character just shrugged "I don't know" :lmao:

Now for the bummer of the whole evening:sad2: After a while I noticed that we met almost all characters: Minnie, Goofy, and the chipmunks....but where was Mickey? We saw him when we first arrived and then he was gone for Spectro and never returned. and that's when we heard it-fireworks. We were missing Wishes!!!!:scared: I was so upset:guilty: I thought it had started at 9, but it turned out it was for 8pm that night. It was too late to go outside. I was so bummed-my itinerary had been working out so beautifully so far. DBF said we would go another night, but the night we went back, the MK closed early for a P&PP and we were unable to see it.:sad1: We did catch a beautiful and unforgettable viewing from the Poly on our first night, but we had never seen Wishes before and I was looking forward to seeing it close up to the castle....oh well, whadaya gonna do, right? The rest of the trip was magical enough to make up for it. :cloud9:

Anyways...
:thumbsup2 Taste=5
:thumbsup2 Portion size=5
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=4 (kinda hectic environment, though the characters made up for it)
:snooty: Service=2 (sorry, I know DBF will disagree, but it wouldn't have taken much effort for her use a bit more customer service skills)
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=2 (better for kids I think)
:snooty: I don't think we will eat here again. Partly due to the experience and BAD ADR timing on my part. If I were to have done it again, I would have either skipped LTT dinner and opted for CS somewhere, or maybe tried lunch when it might have been less hectic.

Next up-DAK Pizzafari lunch & AKL Boma dinner!

[stagemomx3]

Great reviews so far, thanks for sharing!

[stellablue]

Great reviews so far, thanks for sharing!

You're welcome-thanks for reading!:goodvibes

[mom2fivecs]

Thank you for sharing your reviews...I am really enjoying all of your descriptions.

[stellablue]

Pizzafari

Type: Counter Service/lunch

Location: DAK Safari Village (I think in Camp Minnie & Mickey?)

Time of Day: around 1pm

Cost: $20 (part of this price was the souvineer sports bottle w/drink)

We chose this place based on positive reviews we read on the Disboards. The decor of this place is so bright and fun-great colors! There are several rooms of seating, though I didn't notice the extra rooms until we were leaving and ended up saving a table in the main room while DBF waited in line. The place was PACKED! DBF was in line for at least 20 minutes....but we stuck it out because we really didn't notice many restaurants in general in this park and we are not fans of Mcdonalds.

One thing exceptional about this place is it's cleanliness. Top notch in that department. Tables were constantly being wiped down between sittings, condiments counter was constantly being maintained.

We split a pepperoni pizza and italian sandwich. DBF got the sports bottle drink topper which got us $.99 refills anywhere in the park for the rest of the day. It was so hot outside, this was a great deal!
This was our first experience with the infamous WDW pizza. We didn't think it was that bad-DBF actually thought it was pretty good. It just tasted like frozen pizza quality pizza. I picked off the pepperoni (just due to preference). The italian sandwich was surprisingly very good. Neat idea to use caesar salad instead of just plain lettuce.

:thumbsup2 Taste=4
:thumbsup2 Portion size=5
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=4
:thumbsup2 Service=3 (there's got to be a way to reduce those lines:confused3 )
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=3 (average)
:confused3 We might eat here again for the italian sandwich, but after exploring the park later that day, I think we might just opt for a grab and go sandwich & some fruit from one of the stores. The lunch was a bit heavy for such a hot day. They really do need to add some more meal options at DAK

Next up-Boma!

[stellablue]

Boma

Type: Buffet

Location: AKL downstairs from the lobby, near pool area

Time of Day: 8:30pm ADR's

Cost: $70.00 (including 20% tip & wine)

We chose this place based on positive reviews we read on the Disboards :goodvibes .

Restaurant was busy, but we were seated within 5 minutes of checking in. We had just spent all day at DAK going semi-comando style for part of it and had been on the go for 4 days and we were hungry, achy, and exhausted! :guilty: We got home from DAK around 6:15 and were able to nap for a bit and clean up and we were ready for a relaxing dinner and evening at our very cool resort :cloud9:

The decor of this place is beautiful, just like the rest of the resort. Dark wood and low lighting makes it a very romantic place for couples. We got seated in the back near a window and I loved our spot-private and out of the way. It's a pretty large restaurant. Very busy, yet still a calming atmosphere.

We had a very nice server-I wish I wrote down his name, but I forgot. He was very polite, explained the buffet in detail, and got out drinks and cleared our plates in a timely fashion.

We ordered a south african pinot noir. I thought it tasted ok (nothing special), DBF didn't care for it at all-he thought it had a smokey flavor. The food here was spectacular! The only thing I didn't care for was the salads (lots of fruit mixed with veggies & I don't care too much for that), but there was plenty more to eat. Soups were great. DBF had some sort of seafood stew, I had a creamy chicken. They didn't have the signature squash soup that night or that would have been my first choice. My absolute favorites were the fufu and...sounds silly, but the chicken fingers they served in the kids section-best I've ever had! Desserts were...too many to choose from! They were all great-from the zebra domes, banana bread pudding, to the homemade cookies.

We were so full and comfy from dinner and spent the rest of the evening exploring the AKL & retiring early ;)

:thumbsup2 Taste=5
:thumbsup2 Portion size=5
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=5
:thumbsup2 Service=5
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=5(very romantic atmosphere:lovestruc )
:thumbsup2 We will definately eat here again on our next trip! Only thing we will do differently is choose a different wine or try one of the beers.

Next up-MK Crystal Palace Character Breakfast w/Winnie the Pooh!

[TigerKat]

I'm so sorry you didn't get to see Wishes up close, that's a great excuse to go back real soon!

[DisneyJo]

Loving your reviews so far :)

[phabric]

Enjoyed reading your reviews.

[Disneyof3]

:cool1:

Awesome reviews. Sorry about Big Ugly Dad, he sounds like he didn't want to be there at all. Hope his kids don't have bad memories of WDW... Cant wait for your review on CP. Were heading there in March for the first time...:surfweb:

[stellablue]

Crystal Palace

Type: Buffet

Location: Magic Kingdom, between Main Street & Adventureland

Time of Day: 8:25am ADR's

Cost: about $45 (including 20% tip)

We chose this place for one main reason: Winnie the Pooh! :) Also, after seeing all the long lines of people waiting in character spots for pictures, we realized that this is a great way to meet the characters without waiting in line. I could be wrong, but there does not see to be a discrepency in price between character buffets and regular ones.

Anyways, this is a lovely restaurant-reminded me of the Grand Floridian theming and the class of Main Street. White and clean decor with lots of sunny windows and a beautiful view of the castle from the porch. They were very busy when we arrived, but it was fun to wait. The park wasn't even open yet and we got some great shots of an empty Main Street & the castle. We were called within 10-15 minutes of checking in.

Can't remember our server's name, but he was an older man with glasses. Very professional, thorough, and friendly throughout our entire meal and checked in with us often.

The characters were great...and of course I got shy again!:sad2: :goodvibes I loved watching them with everyone else and got shy when they came by us. Thank goodness for DBF who was hamming it up everytime they came by. I think he made Piglet laugh by saying "Oh d-d-d-dear, it's P-p-p-piglet!" when he came by:rotfl: Anyways, the characters were all great, very attentive to each table and very good with some kids who looked a little nervous (first time jitters I think!). We saw Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, & Pooh. Personally, I think they should have expanded it to also having Owl, Rabbit, Kanga, & Roo, but I guess there is only so much space & time in the meal.

They had a cute Pooh-rade :laughing: every 20 minutes or so where all the characters and kids marched around the restaurant. It was fun to watch the little ones and I love Winnie the Pooh songs :cutie:

Food was fantastic! Lots of variety to choose from. My favorites were the honey yogurt w/granola & dried fruit, vegetable fritatta, grits, & Pooh's breakfast lasagna. DBF favored the breakfast lasagna and honey yogurt as well. There was also a variety of breakfast meats, potatoes, breads, pastries & muffins, make your own omelet station, fresh fruits, and cereals. This huge meal definately took care of our food for most of the day till dinner!

:thumbsup2 Taste=5
:thumbsup2 Portion size=5
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=4
:thumbsup2 Service=5
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=3 (kind of adult decor mixed with kid entertainment)
:thumbsup2 We would definately consider eating here again, though I've learned that I'm really not one for character interaction...:scared1: I know, it's a horrifying thing for a WDW fan to say! I love watching them and I get so excited when they come out, but I like watching them from a distance and I feel silly and shy when they approach me for some reason. But that said, the food, atmosphere, service, and location of this place would make me want to return here. Between the two character meals we went to (LTT & CP), we both liked CP better and this is aside from my bad timing incident the other night. Definately more of a relaxed atmosphere.

Almost to the end of our trip :guilty:
Up next is late lunch/snack at Boulangerie Patisserie!

[DisneyJo]

Glad you had a good breakfast, the characters are so cute aren't they :)

BTW the way to tell the difference between Chip and Dale is that Chip has a black nose, think chocolate chip :thumbsup2

[my3disneygirls]

Glad you had a good breakfast, the characters are so cute aren't they :)

BTW the way to tell the difference between Chip and Dale is that Chip has a black nose, think chocolate chip :thumbsup2

I know that wasn't directed at me, but I appreciate it. I can't ever remember Chip or Dale, so chocolate chip will surely stick with me. Thanks!

[stellablue]

Boulangerie Patisserie

Type: Counter service

Location: Epcot, toward the back of France in the World Showcase

Time of Day: 4:30pm

Cost: $7.00

After a huge breakfast at CP, we were good for most of the day, but started to get a little hungry by 4:30 and decided to stop by the French bakery for a snack. I had been curious about this place and figured, it's a french bakery-how could it be bad? :confused3 Well, it was!:guilty:

They were very crowded (line out the door), but it went by really fast. They have two separate lines/display cases/registers when you get in and a few people working behind the counter at each. It was not all that decorated in there-very tight spaced and sort of plain. The servers were efficient, but I wouldn't say all that friendly. Most didnt speak much and interacted with very plain faces.

There is very limited seating outside (but I think I saw more indoor seating in a separate area), but we were lucky enough to grab a table as soon as someone was leaving. It was pleasant seating though. The France pavilion is really nice IMO and I enjoyed sitting outside with the french ambiance.

Anyways, we got a ham & cheese croissant and a frozen cappuccino. I asked for the sandwich heated. He overcooked it a bit so the cheese was very dry. Ham was on the lower side of quality (& I'm being kind here!) and this was my first experience with a croissant-I am not a fan. The frozen cappuccino was DISGUSTING! It almost tasted like medicine-very bitter yt watery at the same time. I"m not sure if they forgot to add sugar or what but-yuck!:sick: I was also a little surprised by the size-I thought it would be a bit bigger...

I was surprised because the ham and frozen latte we had gotten at Main St. Bakery back at the MK was SO good! The ham was a completely different quality and frozen latte was Starbucks quality. Apparently, they do not get the same base ingredients from the same vendor.

Maybe we should have tried something different-dessert maybe? But honestly, I thought the pastries looked much better & fresher at the Norway Bakery.

So here we go....my only overall bad ratings :snooty: :
:snooty: Taste=1
:snooty: Portion Size=3 (sandwich was a decent size, latte was not)
:snooty: Restaurant Ambiance=2 (nothing special inside)
:snooty: Service=3 (efficient but not friendly)
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=5 (sitting outside)
:snooty: It is unlikely that we will be visiting here again. IMHO, there are way better choices of snack food in the World Showcase. I think we'll hit up Norway next time we are looking for a special treat.

Ok, only a few more to go! Next stop-late night dinner from The Mara (AKL)!

[stellablue]

The Mara

Type: Counter service

Location: Animal Kingdom Lodge, a bit passed the pool

Time of Day: around 10:30pm

Cost: around $15

We arrived home from our last evening at Epcot and decided to grab some dinner from the Mara to go and eat it in our room in our pajamas. We were so happy to see that they were still open!

Mara has a nice variety of food choices. Lots of grab & go choices that looked like some stuff they also serve at Boma-we spotted some hummus, zebra domes, and several other desserts, good looking salads and sandwiches. They also have a small bakery section, packaged snacks, fruits, and a hot counter.
There is also a good variety in their condiments/toppings area. Sosa fountain has Sprite Zero as well, which was a nice change from Diet Coke. I opted for the chicken strips and french fries (since the ones I got at Boma were so good). The chicken strips at Mara were even better than the ones at Boma-I swear these are the best chicken strips I've ever had! Good quality juicy chicken and crunchy slightly seasoned coating. They were huge! French fries were good as well. DBF had some of mine and thought it was yummy too. For his own meal, DBF got a pepperoni flatbread pizza. He thought it was good, but liked the pizza from Pizzafari at DAK better. I had a taste (minus the pepperoni) and I preferred the Mara one, but to each their own :)

Decor is nice in there-casual, soft African music, ceiling fans, brighter lit than the lobby area. It was semi-crowded, but pleasant. The servers were outstanding! Very friendly, efficient, and chatty. There is ample seating inside and I think you can also take your food to the pool area if you wish. We ate our food in the comfort of our room in our PJ's in front of the t.v. so the ambiance was terrific for us after a long day at the parks. :goodvibes

:thumbsup2 Taste=4 (had to knock off 1 pt b/c DBF preferred the DAK pizza)
:thumbsup2 Portion Size=5
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=4
:thumbsup2 Service=5
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=3 (just average, very casual)
:thumbsup2 We would definately eat here again for lunch/dinner meal!

Next up-Goofy's Candy Company-WITH PHOTOS!!:)

[ScarletFire]

Hey there. I enjoyed your reviews. You should give the Boulangerie Patisserie in France another try. The pastries are delicious and I particularly love the chocolat mousse. As for the coffee, we know that coffee is not a Disney specialty.:sad2:

[stellablue]

Hey there. I enjoyed your reviews. You should give the Boulangerie Patisserie in France another try. The pastries are delicious and I particularly love the chocolat mousse. As for the coffee, we know that coffee is not a Disney specialty.:sad2:

Hi ScarletFire (love your username!:hippie:),

Yeah, I know I shouldn't have been so surprised by the frozen cappuccino (I prepared myself this trip for Nescafe:sick: ), but we had such a wonderful frozen latte at MK a few days before, I guess I assumed the frozen coffees were different. Maybe we'll try a pastry next time. I almost got a chocolate chip cookie with our order, but I figured we'd be too full to get to it. Looking back, I'll bet it would have been the perfect thing to wash down the taste of everything else!:idea:

[okiegirl]

Great Reviews:thumbsup2 .. The dark beer at Biergarten is Spaten Optimator (our favorite). Keep reviewin' and I'll keep readin';)

[stellablue]

Goofy's Candy Co.

Type: candy store, custom sweets

Location: Downtown Disney

Time of Day: around 12 noon

Cost: around $6.00

Stopped off in DTD on our last day to check it out AND had to stop in at Goofy's Candy Co. after spending many months drooling over everyones photos on here!:cloud9: We thought we'd be good and get it for dessert, but :teacher: our top lunch choice, Earl of Sandwich, was packed and we really could not find a decent CS lunch place around there-:confused3 So, we were "forced" to have Goofy's treats for lunch :rotfl:

As an aside, we didn't care much for DTD. We thought it was really more of a tourist trap. We are also not huge shoppers (& not huge partiers so PI was out for us) and we were surprised at the lack of CS places. Only other appealing place we saw was Wolfgang Pucks Express, but they were closed. We did go during the afternoon & were thinking that maybe it's better at night??

Anyways, Goofy's is so cute inside! and if you like candy or buying a gift for someone who likes candy-be prepared to shop!! We made our way to the infamous customized treats counter and grabbed a slip to fill out.

It was not crowded in here at all. In fact, we were the only ones at the counter while we were there!

Sha was our server and she was so friendly and really talented with her concoctions. She was very funny too-VERY proud of her work :) I'm guessing that lots of people take pictures of their finished products because she asked us before she packed it up and displayed our slips and everything.

All I have to say is....WOW!!! :cloud9: Why don't we have places like this at home?

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii124/rufus3901/IMG_0809.jpg

I got: Rice Krispy Mickey dipped in milk chocolate, butterfinger, oreo cookies, rainbow sprinkles, and drizzled with caramel and white chocolate.
DBF got: Rice Krispy Mickey dipped in milk chocolate, peanut butter cups, oreo cookies, and drizzled with caramel.

I was going to pick up one for my best friend to bring back home later that evening, but I was afraid it would ruin from the heat and also traveling. I think this is true, mine started to get melty while we were sitting outside. DBF polished off most of his. Shamefully, I could only finish a little less than half of mine:eek: It was yummy, but huge and I'm not used to the intense sweetness of this concoction. I think I went a little overboard with the toppings, but when you see the choices you just want to try all of them! :laughing:

:thumbsup2 Taste=4 (knocked off 1 point b/c it was just a bit too sweet-BUT if you look at my overboard toppings, you might understand!)
:thumbsup2 Portion Size=5 (huge!)
:thumbsup2 Restaurant Ambiance=4 (very cute in here)
:thumbsup2 Service=5 (Sha was terrific!)
:thumbsup2 Good for adults/a couple=5 (I would count eating an over the top Mickey Rice Krispy treat as romantic, wouldn't you??)
:thumbsup2 We will definately stop here again on our next trip. Though next trip I think I will either try to convince DBF to split the rice Krispy treat or I might try a candy apple and go a little lighter on the toppings so I can finish it!

& this concludes my dining reviews & the last of our great WDW dining until our next trip! We left WDW around 6:30pm later that day for the airport. Our next meal was disgusting Sbarros at the airport-which was yet to be desired!! :sad1:

:teacher: Overall, our experiences were positive.
-We had great luck in finding lots of great meals that we will be repeating for our next trip.
-Overall portion sizes at restaurants were adaquate to huge! So much that next time we will likely share more meals.
-We thought that overall, WDW does an exceptional job in restaurant theming and ambiance.
-Overall service was excellent!
-Lots of places that were very appropriate for couples/adults.

:teacher: Top 5 favorite restaurant choices for our whole trip:
1) Boma dinner at AKL
2) Beaches & Cream lunch at BCR
3) CP breakfast at MK
4) Main St. Bakery at MK
5) Biergarten at Epcot

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed and maybe found it helpful for your trips to come!!:goodvibes

[stellablue]

Great Reviews:thumbsup2 .. The dark beer at Biergarten is Spaten Optimator (our favorite). Keep reviewin' and I'll keep readin';)

Oh thank you so much for the info on that beer!!! :thumbsup2 I've been searching and searching for the name of it since we got home!!

I know we are from different states, but have you been able to find this beer at your home? It was one of the best beers I think I've ever had!:drinking1

[Tink2312]

Great reviews :thumbsup2
Crystal Palace for breakfast sounded really lovely! I'm with you on the whole character interaction - I love watching them interact with other people but get so shy when they come to me :blush:
I'm definitely going to try CP next trip though- I was salivating reading the review! But can I ask, what the yummy heck is breakfast lasagne?? :confused3

[DisneyJo]

Thanks for your reviews, it took me 3 days to finish my Goofys rice crispy treat :rotfl2:

[BabyPiglet]

Great reviews! Sorry to hear about Big Ugly Dad, he seems like a real meanie. Hopefully he was just having a really bad day and he's not like that in real life.

Oh and I'm surprised to hear about Boulangerie! I had a Napolean (layered puff pastry with cream in the middle) and it was fantastic. Even on a super crowded F&W festival night. I guess you just caught them on a bad day, I'm sorry. :(

Glad you had a great bunch of meals for the most part!

[stellablue]

Great reviews :thumbsup2
Crystal Palace for breakfast sounded really lovely! I'm with you on the whole character interaction - I love watching them interact with other people but get so shy when they come to me :blush:
I'm definitely going to try CP next trip though- I was salivating reading the review! But can I ask, what the yummy heck is breakfast lasagne?? :confused3

The breakfast lasagna was a hodge podge of several things-very good & nothing I've had before! If I can remember correctly, the layers were pancakes (instead of "pasta") with different kinds of fruit in between and doused in syrup.

We loved it!:goodvibes I would love to find the recipe for this to make it at home.

They also had a really good breakfast pizza in the kids section-flaky pizza slices topped with eggs, cheese, & I thin potatoes.

CP is a must try for both the cute characters, theming, & the food variety!!

[stellablue]

Thanks for your reviews, it took me 3 days to finish my Goofys rice crispy treat :rotfl2:

That's good to know! I sadly couldn't salvage mine-I tried to carry it around with me, but it ended up melting:headache: I ate as much as I could. Next time I'm not gonna get it on my last day so I can drop it off in the hotel fridge and snack on it gradually.

[stellablue]

Great reviews! Sorry to hear about Big Ugly Dad, he seems like a real meanie. Hopefully he was just having a really bad day and he's not like that in real life.

Oh and I'm surprised to hear about Boulangerie! I had a Napolean (layered puff pastry with cream in the middle) and it was fantastic. Even on a super crowded F&W festival night. I guess you just caught them on a bad day, I'm sorry. :(

Glad you had a great bunch of meals for the most part!

No, it's sad to say, but my guess is this was Big Ugly Dad's demeanor all the time. He didn't come off as having too much class or knowledge of how civilized humans interact, and his family seemed very well trained on keeping their mouths shut for their own sake :sad2:

I think with Boulangerie, the trick might be to just not get lunch food. Maybe the desserts are better...

Yes, most of our meals were fantastic!! I think that was the only one where the food wasn't tasty! Even though I was disappointed in the service at LTT, the food and characters were great!:thumbsup2

[TigerKat]

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts with us!:goodvibes

[stellablue]

Great reviews :thumbsup2
Crystal Palace for breakfast sounded really lovely! I'm with you on the whole character interaction - I love watching them interact with other people but get so shy when they come to me :blush:
I'm definitely going to try CP next trip though- I was salivating reading the review! But can I ask, what the yummy heck is breakfast lasagne?? :confused3

Just to keep on file for those interested :) ...wow, I guess there was MUCH more in this than I thought! Now I know what I'll be preparing next Christmas or New Years morning!!:love:

Yield: 8 servings

Make the pastry cream first:

Pastry cream

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
1-1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar

1. In a 2 quart saucepan, combine sugar, flour, salt and milk and whisk; over medium heat, cook while stirring until mixture thickens.

2. In a small bowl with a fork, beat egg yolks slightly, beat small amount of milk mixture into yolks.

3. Slowly pour egg mixture back into milk mixture.

4. Stirring constantly, cook over medium low heat until mixture thickens.

5. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Chill cream until ready to use.

While cream is chilling, make pancakes, waffles and pound cake below:

Pancakes

1 1/2 cups sifted flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/4 cups milk
3 TB. shortening, melted and slightly cooled, or salad oil

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Mix egg, milk and shortening. Pour milk mixture into dry ingredients and stir only enough to moisten. Do not beat or the pancakes will be tough. Bake on a hot griddle, lightly greased if necessary. Turn pancakes only once.

Waffles

1 1/2 cups sifted flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 TB. shortening, melted and slightly cooled, or salad oil

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Mix egg, milk, vanilla and shortening. Pour milk mixture into dry ingredients and stir only enough to moisten. Do not beat or the waffles will be tough. Bake in waffle iron following waffle iron instructions.

Pound Cake

3 cups cake flour
6 large eggs
1 pound butter
1 pound sugar
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Stir in sugar, using a large spoon. Add room temperature butter. Add eggs. Using a mixer on low speed, slowly add the milk, and then the vanilla extract. After thoroughly stirred, turn mixer to medium for a few minutes, then to high. Mix thoroughly. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a standard tube pan with butter, then lightly flour it, shaking the excess from the pan. Pour in the mix and bake the cake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check the doneness of the cake with a toothpick. Allow cake to cool for 15-20 minutes in the pan, then crumble the cake into small crumbs with your hands.

Custard

6 large eggs
1 1/2 pints heavy cream
1 pint half and half
1 ounce brandy
1/4 ounce nutmeg
1/2 ounce cinnamon
1 1/2 cups sugar

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisky until fully incorporated. Chill until ready to use. Makes 1 1/2 quarts.


Assembly

8 pancakes
6 waffles
6 cups crumbled pound cake
(Use the recipes above, or your own recipes. Store-bought/frozen are also OK.)

1 cup frozen raspberries
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 1/2 quarts custard (recipe above)
3 bananas
1 TB. butter

Put a layer of waffles in a buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle a quarter of the pound cake over the waffles. Peel and slice the bananas. Layer with half of each of the following: the cut bananas, frozen raspberries, and frozen blueberries. Sprinkle half of the remaining pound cake over the fruit, then top with the rest of the fruit. Top the fruit with a layer of pancakes, the sprinkle the rest of the pound cake on top. Press down on the layers to pack firmly. Slowly add the custard mix until the entire dish is saturated.

Baking and Garnishing

2 1/2 cups pastry cream (recipe above)
1 banana
1/2 pint your favorite fresh berries
1/4 cup brown sugar

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 60 minutes. (Oven thermometer placed in center of dish should register 165 degrees.) Top the lasagna with a layer of pastry cream. Slice the banana and layer on top of cream. Sprinkle sugar on top and place casserole under the broiler until browned. Garnish with fresh fruit and serve.