A Walt Disney World Virgin Talks About Her First Time...With The Food! [pictures]

[somethingblue]

Alright, so. In May of 2008 I went to Walt Disney World for the very first time, not to mention my very first vacation ever, with my lovely boyfriend and his mom. While there I took photos of almost every meal, but never got around to writing a review.

Well, I'm writing one now! The cast is as follows:
Chantell - 40-something grandma, considers herself a princess
Curtis - my DBF, 17, obsessed with Wall-E
Me! - 17, new recruit to all things Disney

Our very first meal at Disney World was an impromtu breakfast at 1900 Park Faire. We'd tried to get reservations months earlier but they were all sold out. When we arrived for our reservation at the cafe, however, we decided to just see if they had any openings...and lo and behold, they did! It was a great introduction to Disney and the magical experience that is a character dining.

Although loud, the scenery was beautiful, and I loved the way the characters were gliding around the large dining room, meeting everyone at least once. The food was arranged in several buffets, with everything from Eggs Benedict to Mickey Waffles. Being the light-but-frequent eater I am, my plate was pretty dainty. The only thing I wasn't terribly thrilled with was the little iced pastry with chocolate filling. Though it looked appetizing, it had a strange consistency, so I stuck with my standard french toast and bacon combo.

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The boyfriend got a bit more on his plate than I did, including some eggs and potatoes, two of his favourite breakfast staples. All of the food I tried was delicious. This was the best bacon on property and the French Toast was cooked perfectly. I was very impressed with the food.

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Chantell enjoyed a sampling of fresh fruit and some tasty ham. I was especially fond of the strawberries they had available. She was trying to watch her carb intake during the trip, but those croissants were hard to resist!

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[Iggipolka]

Woohoo! Great start! Love the pictures. :)

[MickeyNicki]

I'm in!

[adsrtw]

I'm in too!

[KatMark]

I'm in. popcorn::

[TigerKat]

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

[ShannonMB]

Count me in! Can't wait to read more!!! popcorn::

[somethingblue]

I'm so happy that all of you are interested in my food reviews! Yay!

So, after the breakfast, which was delicious and filling, we moseyed around the Grand Floridian and stumbled upon a pin board. We rode the monorail to Epcot, which was my introduction to Disney World. We rode some great rides, but after a while we were ready for some lunch. We ate at the cafeteria-like eatery that's located under neath the Garden Grill and Soarin'. It's called "Sunshine Seasons", but we always remembered it as "that one really good place in Epcot."

I got half a chicken breast and double garlic mashed potatoes. It was so delicious! I was so pleased with this meal that I had it twice that trip. The chicken and potatoes went perfectly together, and there was some tasty BBQ sauce that I totally loved.
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For desert I got a large cinnamon roll. I was super full after eating my meal, however, so I saved it for later. It made a great bedtime snack that night in the hotel!
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Curtis decided to try out the Asian food line, which offered you two types of meat and two sides. Being the meat-and-starch boy that he is, he got Mongolian Beef, Orange Chicken, and double rice. We love our carbs! He thought that it was good, but not quite as good as my chicken and potatoes.
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His desert was a decadent piece of chocolate cake. It had a bite, and it was moist and rich. Delicious!
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Chantell went through the same line that I did, however she got a pork chop, mashed potatoes, and salad. The meat was more moist than she had expected, however most of the salad was pretty wilted. It was still her favourite counter service meal.
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For desert she picked a tiny lemon meringue cake, which was another one of her favourite things. She was disappointed later on, however, that she couldn't trade a side item for a dessert. It seems kind of strange, but I guess that's just the way it goes.
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More to come soon!

[somethingblue]

Dinner that night was served up at the Kona Cafe. I must admit, I was not very excited by the food or the service. I was already pretty exhausted from my first day at Disney, dehydrated from not drinking enough water, and trying to get pumped up for the Pirate and Princess party that night. Our server was incompetent, and we had to be waited on by the manager for the rest of the evening. The smoothies we ordered were melted when we first got them and had to ask for new ones. They were, however, quite tasty.

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I got the Orange-PassionFruit and Curty got the Strawberry-Banana. We also enjoyed a couple of tall glasses of ice water!

My meal was the Macadamia Nut & Chive-crusted Mahi-Mahi. It came with some sort of soy sauce however I requested it on the side, as I do not like soy sauce. The previous, rude waitress made fun of me for getting Waterchestnuts and watercress salad confused. =[ The meal was good, but the lack of soy sauce made it a little bland.
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Curtis ordered the Beef Teriyaki, something that he orders no matter where we are. It's always a favourite for him. It came with Yukon mashed potatoes and broccoli, which he didn't eat much of. He's not big on vegetables. The beef had good flavour, however, and he ate all of it.
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Chantell decided on Pan-Asian noodles with shrimp. Honestly, I don't remember much about this meal. I was being pouty and trying to hydrate myself. She enjoyed it, however.
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For dessert, Chantell ordered creme-brulee, but for some reason I didn't get a photo of it. Curtis, on the other hand, ordered the Kilauea Torte, which was like a chocolate lava cake with raspberries.
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I ordered chocolate fondue. It was terrible. It tasted like nail polish remover and the strawberries were mushy. I was very unhappy. =[
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All in all, I would not recommend the Kona Cafe.

[Pumbaa_]

Nice start! Looking forward to reading the rest of your review :)

[5infam]

Subscribing - very interested to see what comes next!!:thumbsup2

[suzimar57]

enjoying your reviews and photos!

[Tricia7]

Great review so far! Can't wait for more!

[somethingblue]

Fist of all, let me say that the Pirate and Princes party was AWESOME! Practically no lines, great parade and fireworks, I would suggest it to anyone. I always think the parties are worth the extra cash.

Anyway, the next morning we ate breakfast at our hotel, The Coronado Springs. The way the cafeteria, aka Pepper Market Food Court, was arranged was much like the eatery in Epcot, with diffferent lines following different themes. Curtis went through the Grill station, which offered scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon or sausage, and a biscuit. This was a lot of food!

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I went through the Mexican line where I ordered a Southwestern omelet that came with potatoes and a biscuit, but somehow I ended with Curtis' as well. They were a little dry, but I lathered them up with butter and jelly and made them quite tasty. This meal was very filling.

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I also ordered a strawberry smoothie, which was more like a slushie, but was quite refreshing.

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[KatMark]

DH and I ate omelets at the CSR this past September (we've stayed at the CSR seven times and had never had a hot breakfast at Pepper Market). They were very accommodating--as I wanted an American Cheese omelet and they had no American cheese. But the cook went and found me some. And you are right: it was a LOT of food, but very tasty.

[luckytobeme88]

extremely impressed with your first experience.;)

[feistygalkmc]

That chicken from Sunshine Seasons looks so good. I have been dying to try it ever since I saw it featured on one of the travel channel shows about WDW. The mongolian beef looks good also. I am thinking about doing the QSDP and this is for sure a place I will be eating. Can't wait to see more. :thumbsup2

[Nursegirl1964]

Look forward to hearing more from your visit. That chicken and potatoes looks delicious!!:woohoo:

[msce2]

I'm subscribing! Thanks for taking the time to post them!!!:)

[WAHMto5]

Great reviews! Thanks for sharing with everyone.

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Great reviews! You are making me so hungry!

[somethingblue]

Thank you guys so much for your comments!
I've just come down with the flu but I will be posting more reviews ASAP.

[somethingblue]

Lunch that day was had at Pizzafari in Animal Kingdom. The boy and I rarely turn down an opportunity at pizza, and since we were pretty hungry, we decided we just had to stop and try it out. I had a personal cheese pizza with a cola to drink and a frozen lemonade for dessert; cake or pie just seemed too heavy for a day of walking. The pizza was tasty, but nothing to write home about. Just a bit better than cafeteria pizza.

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Curty got the pepporoni pizza, also with a cola and a frozen lemonade. We both thought that the frozen lemonade was way too big; neither of us could finish it, and he suffered from a brain freeze. I told him not to eat so fast!

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As you can see, we also got some breadsticks for the three of us to share. Chantell, not a fan of pizza, decided on the Kid's meal which included a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich, apple sauce, grapes, and chocolate milk. I must admit, I wished I would have gotten a kiddie meal too!

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[PiperGirlInWondrland]

great reviews, keep them coming! I hope you feel better! :goodvibes

[somethingblue]

Thanks Piper! Me too. =[ Pretty much all I have the energy to do right now is copy and paste and reminisce about Disney food. =]

We had dinner at Tony's that night. I've read a lot of negative things about Tony's but this is one of Curt and Chantell's favourite restraunts on property. I'm sort of in the middle. If they had eggplant parmigiana I'd be a lot happier! But, when it came time to eat dinner, I wasn't very hungry, so I just ordered a salad. Crisp, fresh, delicious.

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Curtis, being the stereotypical guy he is, ordered the Chicken Parmagiana. It's his favourite thing they offer and he ate the whole thing. He loves Italian and was quite pleased with it.

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Chantell started things off with a Tomato & Mozzerella Salad, which is an appetizer she often makes at home. She was thrilled with it, however, a trip on a later date revealed that they have changed the way they serve this appetizer. She liked it best the way it is pictured here, along with our fabulous bread.

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Her entree, however, was less fabulous. In fact, we have no idea what it was. It was a new item they were featuring on their menu, and I can't find it listed anywhere. I believe it was a sausage of some sort with Yukon potatoes, but this is a total guess. She sent it back upon eating two bites and got steak instead. But here is the mystery dish. Anyone know what this is?

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While Chantell was finishing her meal Curtis and I went outside to watch the fireworks and walk along the street with all the shops lit up. Disney World, despite the screaming children, can really be a romantic place. The lights, the sounds, they're all brilliant!

Our Mother's Day Brunch in Epcot still to come!

[5infam]

Oh, mystery meat and mush do not look good. I have no idea what it is, but I am glad to hear she sent it back for something else. I am glad you had more than one picture of the pizza, because the first picture made it look like a full size large pizza:banana: - I guess I was dreaming about what I could get on a CS meal.

Hope you feel better soon!!!:thumbsup2

[somethingblue]

5infam, thanks for the well-wishing.
We were on the dining plan, and I've found that you really get plenty of food with it. We always end up with a couple of snack credits left over because sometimes when you're in the park you forget that you can use your snack credits, since you're thinking about a sit down dinner that night.

The best CS, in my opinion, is Sunshine Seasons at Epcot. Heaping food portions, everything's delicious, plus they grow a lot of it on property. Second best would be the Fish & Chips at Epcot.

[5infam]

We will be trying the DP for the first time coming up in April, and Sunshine is definitely on the list. Epcot is our favorite park, and the majority of our TS dinners are reserved at Epcot. Can't wait - until then, we are living vicariously through your review with great pictures.

[msce2]

Thank you guys so much for your comments!
I've just come down with the flu but I will be posting more reviews ASAP.


Hope you are feeling better soon!!!

[fizz13]

Great reviews, keep them coming and hope you feel better soon:hug:

[loralie]

But here is the mystery dish. Anyone know what this is?

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Great review so far. It looks like the yellow stuff is polenta. Polenta is like mashed potatoes but instead of potatoes it uses cornmeal. I am just guessing.:confused3 Can't wait to read more.

Loralie

[Todd&Copper]

It does look like polenta, which is "Italian grits" (and not like mashed potatoes).:)

[darthtatty]

great reviews :cool1:

[somethingblue]

Sorry for the delay in posting, guys. Just went to the doctor and got a shot. Ouch!

We happened to be in Disney for Mother's Day, and so we signed up early for the Mother's Day Brunch in Epcot. This was truly a beautiful event. Any of you Pin Event Veterans will recognize the venue, I'm sure. Beauty and the Beast, and later Aurora and Prince Phillip were posing for pictures. Every mother was treated like a Princess and the food options were endless. Here's a snapshot of the beverage station.

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There were different stations offering various types of food. I went to the egg station first and got an omelet with two different types of cheese, spinach, and mushrooms. The breakfast bread table was giant, but I got a piece of blueberry loaf and some coffee cake. I also had a couple of slices of bacon. Yum!

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Curty took advantage of the fresh fruit sampling, as well as potatoes, sausage, and many different types of breakfast breads with various spreads.

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I didn't get a photo of Chantell's plate, but she was simply glowing! It was a great event and I'd reccomend it to anyone.

[DWFan4Life]

Another great review from you. My mom would also love this, hopefully I can treat her someday, enjoy and having fun.

I'm glad you had a great trip. :)

[nick.turpchinoff]

making me hungry!

[Mrs.K]

Oooo la la! I'm getting so excited! I'll be dreaming about these food pictures:)
What kind of camera do you have? Your pics look great!

[somethingblue]

Sorry for the delay in responding everyone.
I finally got rid of that nasty flu!

Anyway, the camera I use is a really old Canon Power Shot, believe it or not. It's not sleek or sexy, but it takes amazing pictures! I love it. =)

I think that's all for this trip.
I'm going back in March and will be photographing food for four!

[Mich123]

Thanks for the great reviews and pictures! I'm definitely going to try Sunshine Seasons on my next trip.

[frdeb1999]

Great reviews and pics! Thanks for posting! :)

[BiancaBernard&Penny]

I haven't been to Disney in years and the dining plan has changed... Did Sunshine Seasons count as counter service? I'm impressed if so! And so there!!

Bernard says Disney has the best bacon, aside from his favorite local brand at home. Glad to her you agree and that hasn't changed! I'm a veggie so what do I know? ;)

[somethingblue]

Indeed it did count as counter service!

[momofdbsdc]

Great reviews! Thanks for posting!!! I hope that you are feeling better!!!!!

[elisa'smom]

great reviews...we're visiting WDW for the 1st time in March and this really helps!