The Graduates Gorge on Glorious Goodies! Jan. 4-11 [UPDATED 1/31 Post #28]

[Cloudless Nights]

Hello all! I just returned from a trip to Disney World with my parents and my older sister. It was a high school graduation present for me (I graduated last May) and a college graduation present for my sister (who will graduate this May), and as such, we decided to go all out! We stayed at the Beach Club, which was FABULOUS, if I do say so myself, and purchased the basic DDP. :goodvibes

About us:

DDad: Pretty much will eat anything. Loves any kind of meat or beef--as you will see--and everything Disney.
DMom: Sort of picky about what she eats; although she will try new things, she often reserves judgement on any new delicacies.
DSis: Like DD--will try anything and everything (she was eating my grandfather's fried fish and mussels by age two!) She loves seafood, but tends to not like red meat or a lot of chocolate. (!) :confused3
DMe: And then there's me! :goodvibes I'm very picky. I usually try everything, but I don't like much--though the scale tells me otherwise. ;) I don't eat any seafood besides shrimp, and I love meat as much as DD. I'm also the Disney planner in the family, making all the ADR's and such. Can you tell I'm obsessed? :lmao:

Okay, so the places I'll be reviewing are:

Mama Melrose's (dinner)
Boardwalk Bakery (various breakfast items and cinnamon rolls)
Pizzafari x2 (lunch)
Chef Mickey's (dinner)
Wolfgang Puck Express [the one in the Marketplace] (lunch)
Coral Reef (dinner)
Beaches 'n' Cream (late night snacks)
Pecos Bill's (lunch)
Goofy's Candy Company (make-your-own snack)
Yak and Yeti (dinner)
Main Street Bakery (breakfast items)
Columbia Harbour House (lunch)
Sleepy Hollow (funnel cakes :lovestruc )
Boulangerie Patisserie (snacks)
Teppan Edo (dinner)
Dino-Bites (snacks)
Le Cellier (dinner)
Sunshine Seasons x2 (lunch)
Kona Cafe (dinner)
Aloha Isle/Sunshine Tree Terrace (late night ice cream)
Beach Club Marketplace (breakfast items)

Wow, until I typed it out I didn't realize we ate so much! :rotfl2: Stay tuned!

[luckytobeme88]

First in line, woohoo :cool1:

[Cloudless Nights]

Aren't check-in days the best? :goodvibes I think so. We arrived on Sunday, January 4th at around 2PM or so. Our flight left Logan airport in Boston at 6AM that morning (stupid Airtran connections!), so needless to say we were starving!

After exploring the Beach Club (really) quickly, we popped over to the Boardwalk Bakery for some snacks. DM, DS, and me each got a cinnamon roll with our snack credits, while DD watched us eat--he's just so stubborn sometimes, it's hard to take him anywhere! :lmao:

Anyway, I KNOW I took a picture of the cinnamon rolls, but sadly they're not on my memory card; I think DSis got tired of me taking pictures of the food all the time that she deleted them in anger. :confused3 Whatever--they were very tasty and hit the spot. They were cleary very fresh and soft and pretty big. Definitely a good use of the snack credit.

We then walked to MGM (it will never be anything else to me) from the Boardwalk as it was the last night of the Osborne lights, and we wanted to see them. As such, we watched the Beauty and Beast show, did some quick rides and then checked in around 5:30PM for our 6:00PM ADR at Mama Melrose's.

We had eaten here last time with free dining and loved it, even though it gets a bad rap. While the food was good this time as well, the service was not so good.

First of all, it was crazy busy when we got there, with people congregating outside as well as inside, but DD checked in early anyways. We were seated at around 5:55 at the SAME EXACT TABLE we had eaten at last time. Seriously, how does that happen? :rotfl:

Anyway, onto the food:

DDad ordered the pork marsala, which I don't see on the allears menu:

http://i43.tinypic.com/70jghf.jpg

He liked this--he said it was 'different'--but I don't think he loved it. He thought it would be like chicken marsala, which he enjoys greatly, but the sauce was different, I guess. Either way, he ate the whole thing!

DSis ordered the spaghetti fra diavolo: with clams, calamari, mussels and shrimp, tossed in a spicy Marinara sauce $19.99.

http://i41.tinypic.com/73dq2o.jpg

She really enjoyed this. All of the seafood, she said, was extremely flavorful, and she said the spagetti was perfectly al dente. She devoured it quickly and said she would definitely order it again. It was a smallish portion, however.

DMom ordered the eggplant Napoleon: eggplant, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes over a warm cannellini bean ragu $14.99.

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She really loved her dish as well. It was the perfect sized portion, and the perfect temperature. Her favorite part was the eggplant itself--the way it was seasoned, I guess. She was very happy with her choice! :goodvibes

And last but not least, I ordered the spicy Italian sausage: with rigatoni pasta, peppers, onions, and a tomato basil sauce topped with caprino cheese $16.99.

http://i44.tinypic.com/28jvbyx.jpg

First of all, there is A TON of sausage in this dish, even if you can't see it--it had at least three huge links in there. And although it says spicy sausage, not all of it was; however, the pieces that were spicy were extremely spicy. It was very good sausage. The rigatoni was also good, though it was lukewarm by the time it got to our table. Overall, still very tasty and flavorful. I would definitely get it again. And it is a HUGE portion. I'd have to have an empty stomach to take on that whole baby again! :laughing:

Very pleasant entrees, overall. Now for dessert:

DSis and DM ordered the spumoni gelato, and I ordered the vanilla gelato, but unfortunately I only have a picture of the spumoni:

http://i43.tinypic.com/2mch84x.jpg

Thumbs up all around, though DSis was imagining the 'spumoni' ice cream that you get in the supermarket that has strawberry instead of vanilla. Still, she was satisfied. I've had better gelato myself in old Beantown, however.

DDad ordered the tiramisu:

http://i42.tinypic.com/5nkr2d.jpg

He also said this was different, and I don't think he liked it very much. He ate it anyway, like the stubborn person he is.

Overall, a good meal at Mama Melrose's. Our waiter was not that good however. He just seemed rushed, but he took a long time getting our food and delivering our drinks/refills. Maybe it was because a lot of the people (like us) were trying to get out quickly to the see the lights, but I don't know. He was not very gracious at all and didn't smile at all. Oh well, at least the food was tasty!

Deliciousness: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
Service: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
Would we return?: Yes, but probably not right away--we'd like to try other places first.

After MGM, we caught a bus to MK for EMH, and surprisingly didn't eat anything there! :scared1:

Oh well, stay tuned for day two!

PS: Sorry about the picture quality in these--I was figuring out my new camera. They'll get better, I promise. ;) Here's one I took later in the week:

http://i43.tinypic.com/35itafn.jpg

See ya next time! :goodvibes

[KatMark]

I'm in--can't wait for more. popcorn:: Good start. We go to Mama Melrose every year and always enjoy our meals there.

[msce2]

Count me in! I was just explaining my love of "food porn" to my DH. He just doesn't get it. Thank you for the reviews! Looking forward to seeing more!!!:woohoo:

And CONGRATS on both of your graduations!!!!

[Krissalee]

You are off to a great start - looking forward to reading more!

[MickeyNicki]

Love this report! Cannot wait for more!

[Mich123]

Look forward to your next report!

[Jenvenza]

Great start!

[chocolateMinnie]

great start and DEFINITELY subbing.

[CarKey]

looking forward to the rest.

[lynn71092]

Subscribing.
Finally pictures I can actually see!!
Our work blocks all photo bucket pictures.:confused3

[Ciciwoowoo]

:goodvibes Very nice so far!

[natalielongstaff]

fab start :thumbsup2

[JESW]

Great job! It's just that your pictures are really BIG! :)

Jill

[TigerKat]

I'm signing on!:thumbsup2

[frdeb1999]

Great start! Looking forward to more! :)

[avick10]

:thumbsup2 great start........can't wait to read more!!

[SmallWorld71]

Count me in! I've never been to Mama Melrose before. But, if they keep the showings of Fantasmic down, I'll be booking a Fantasmic package there for sure. :thumbsup2

[Tricia7]

Can't wait to hear more. We are planning on going to many of the same restaurants on our October/November trip this year!

Great job so far!

[mimi'sgirl]

Loving your report. Can't wait for the rest.

[Cloudless Nights]

Sorry for the delay! College is really crazyyyy right now. Anyway...on to day two!

DDad picked up breakfast from Boardwalk Bakery for us this morning--chocolate chip muffins for himself, DSis, and me, and a bran muffin for DMom. No pictures, sorry. The muffins were very tasty, except for DMom's--she thought it would be a raisin bran muffin instead, so she didn't eat the whole thing because it was blah tasting (in her own words). Also, the muffins here were the exact same kind at the Beach Club Marketplace, so no need to trek over there everyday. Still, a pretty good breakfast overall.

AK had morning EMH today, so we got there bright and early. Someone's a morning person:

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And we even saw the King himself!

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After a festival...

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...we went to eat at Pizzafari! It was our first time ever eating there--as we usually eat at Flame Tree Barbeque--so we were excited to try something new. We got there at around 11AM, so there were only a few people there at the time, but it was PACKED by the time we left.

We all ordered the Hot Italian Style Sandwich with Carrot Sticks or Chips - Turkey, ham, Swiss and Provolone Cheese topped with Caesar salad and pesto marinated tomatoes - $7.49. We all got the chips.

http://i42.tinypic.com/25qagqw.jpg

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And here's our drinks and desserts. DDad and I got the Chocolate Cake $3.59, while DMom and DSis got the Apple Pie $3.59.

http://i42.tinypic.com/29aqfx1.jpg

We were VERY pleasantly surprised. The sandwich was very, very good, with lots of flavor from the tomatoes and the Caesar dressing. We all raved about it. The sandwich itself is massive--almost as big as a human skull--but even so, we all finished it. It was soooo good. The chips, just ordinary Lay's, were extremely fresh as well.

DMom and DSis both loved their apple pies as well and devoured them quickly. DDad ate his chocolate cake, without so much as a word, so I think he liked it. As for me, I liked the cake part, but the frosting was just too chocolate-y for me. So I peeled it off in one fell swoop and just ate the cake. It wasn't extraordinary, but it wasn't bad either.

So we all thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Pizzafari!

Deliciousness: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
Service: N/A
Would we return? YES. And we did later in the trip! :rotfl2:

We spent a few more hours at AK, riding the rides and enjoying the ambience before leaving at around 3PM and catching the bus to the Contemporary. We had plenty of time to spare before our 5PM ADR at Chef Mickey's, so we looked around in the shops, and eventually went outside to the pool bar.

I got a virgin Pina Colada, DSis got a Pina Colava, DDad got a Mai Tai, and I believe DMom got a Mango Margarita. There was very few people around, and even less in the pool, so the bartender was just standing there until we arrived. The drinks were okay, but I don't think she blended DMom's and mine enough--there was lots of chunky ice still in them. But they hit the spot anyway.

We went back inside at about 4:45PM and were one of first groups to check in. We bypassed the plate picture--as DSis thought it was demeaning--and sat down in the lobby area. I thought the Chefs' opening was rather cute. They started to seat people at exactly 5PM, and our table was to the right of the desserts all the way against the back wall--a good choice with not too many people around. Our server was Claudette, a woman with Southern ettiquette. DMom and DDad thought she was overdoing it, but I think that's just her natural style.

Now first of all, DMom did NOT want to eat here. She doesn't like lunch/dinner buffets in general, as she believes they try to make many mediocre dishes into a good meal overall. But DDad and I reeeeeeally wanted to try it because who doesn't like massive mice surrounding your table at dinnertime?

We had also eaten at Chef Mickey's way back when it was in Downtown Disney on the Empress Lilly (I think), and DMom didn't think it would compare. She was wronggg.

Some plates:

Salad. Can you tell I like pepperoni?

http://i40.tinypic.com/ams22h.jpg

Pasta salad and cole slaw. The pasta salad was goooood, with just enough dressing on it.

http://i43.tinypic.com/15xpn5y.jpg

Dinner plate: clockwise from top--shrimp lo mein (a special of the day), roasted chicken (another special, though I forget what kind of roast it was), beef bourguignon (a special), Mickey ravoli, and chicken nuggets. Everything was delicious, even the ravoli which seemed like more a novelty than an actual meal. I especially liked the lo mein and the chicken--both were very flavorful and delicious. The only thing I didn't like here was the beef, and that was because I really didn't like the sauce, and I felt they used too much.. I wiped some of the sauce off, and the beef itself was good. And I love chicken nuggets--blame the kid in me!

http://i40.tinypic.com/30jisd1.jpg

And some peel and eat shrimp from the salad bar, which I also devoured!

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The rest of DFamily got other things that I didn't take pictures of--i.e. the carving station items and vegetables such as rice and broccoli that DSis and DMom loved--partly because the character interaction was so good! You would think that the characters would snap a picture with us--two adult daughters and their parents--and then continue on their way, but they interacted with us like we were as young as the children at the table next to us.

http://i40.tinypic.com/2a81g6a.jpg

So we enjoyed the meal and the characters thoroughly, and still found room for the extensive dessert bar!

A chocolate mousse Mickey dome, which was okay, a chocolate chip cookie, which was good, and a sugar cookie that was AMAZINGLY good (so good in fact that I took some to go for later!).

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And some ice cream.

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This meal certainly changed DMom's mind! By the time we left (around 6PM), there were a lot of people waiting to be seated. I think 5PM would be the best seating time because the food is fresh, the characters are around more often (because there are less people there), and you don't have to wait long to be seated.

Our service was also quite good, with Claudette, who always made sure our drinks were filled before they needed to be and our plates were cleared as soon as we were done. A very enjoyable meal!

Deliciousness: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
Service: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
Would we return? Yes, but maybe not right away.

Thanks for reading! Next up, an Epcot and DTD day with meals at Wolfgang Puck Express and Coral Reef.

[loralie]

Great reviews. Can't wait for the rest. :cool1:

[Cloudless Nights]

Great reviews. Can't wait for the rest. :cool1:

Thanks for reading! :goodvibes I see you're staying at the GF--it's my DREAM to stay there! Let me know how it is. :flower3:

[skellingtonfreak]

Great reviews...I am in for the rest!

[SmallWorld71]

Back in 2007 we ate at CM's. Our reservation was for right after they opened, too. I agree with you that it is a great time, a couple characters even stopped by twice before it filled up. :thumbsup2

[loralie]

Thanks for reading! :goodvibes I see you're staying at the GF--it's my DREAM to stay there! Let me know how it is. :flower3:


I still can't believe I will be staying at the GF, thanks to the buy 4 get 3 deal we were able to swing it. I will be doing a trip report and a dining report so I am going to make sure I take plenty of pics. :cheer2:


Loralie

[Cloudless Nights]

Hey guys! Thanks for reading! :goodvibes Onto the food.

Today was morning EMH at Epcot, so we grabbed another quick breakfast of muffins at the Beach Club Marketplace and walked over (that's the great part about staying there).

How much juice does this make? :rotfl2:

http://i43.tinypic.com/2zgelvt.jpg

After getting through many rides, we walked back to the BC and caught a bus to DTD, arriving there around 11AM. Before we did any shopping, however, we ate lunch at one of our favorite counter service places, Wolfgang Puck Express!

There was only about two other parties there at the time, so it was a great time to go. I snagged a table outside while the rest of the fam ordered.

Here are our drinks. DSis and DMom got juice, while I got Sprite and DDad got Diet coke. And DMom got the fruit cup as her dessert! She said the fruit was very fresh and tasty.

http://i43.tinypic.com/slpgdh.jpg

DSis and I got this: Chicken Tortilla Melt - spicy all natural chicken, onions, sautéed red and yellow peppers and oven-roasted tomatoes, tossed with tortilla sauce, topped with mozzarella, wrapped in warm, all natural garlic focaccia bread. Served with a side of sour cream slaw and tortilla chips $10.95. It came with the chips and a salad, though. :confused3

http://i44.tinypic.com/241knlz.jpg

OMG, it was sooo good. It was the perfect temperature, and the flavors worked really well together. The bread was also VERY good. I could eat this everyday! DSis thoroughly enjoyed it too.

DMom and DDad got this: Mediterranean Vegetable - a savory blend of fresh goat cheese, mozzarella, and Grana Pordana Parmesan, sautéed zucchini, mushrooms, eggplant and peppers blended with sun-dried tomatoes and rolled in warm, all natural garlic focaccia bread. Served with a side of fresh greens. $10.95.

http://i40.tinypic.com/r7ss3p.jpg

DMom loves warm Veggie pockets from places like D'angelo's at home, so she naturally chose this, and she loved it as well. I didn't get DDad's opinion on it--as he was too busy stuffing his face--but from the way he cleared his plate, I would guess that he thought it was good. :rotfl2:

Onto desserts! DMom got the fruit cup, as mentioned above. The rest of us had the frozen yogurt with the choice of toppings. (Frozen Yogurt with one Topping $3.95.)

DSis got vanilla with strawberry topping:

http://i40.tinypic.com/2mocops.jpg

DDad got chocolate/vanilla twist with chocolate chips:

http://i41.tinypic.com/24q3dw7.jpg

And I got the vanilla with cookie crumbles:

http://i41.tinypic.com/rjhc1c.jpg

The frozen yogurt was very refreshing, and surprisingly, some of the cookie pieces were still soft.

Our server was also very good! One thing we like about WPE is the table service atmosphere--once you order, someone brings you your food and refills your drinks. He made sure we always had we needed!

Another great meal at WPE!

Deliciousness: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
Service: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
Would we return? Most DEFINITELY. ;)

I'll finish the rest of the day later today. Will our trip to Coral Reef be as good as our last trip's? Stay tuned! :goodvibes

[Mich123]

Yum! WPE is going onto my list now! Thanks for the terrific review.:)

[TigerKat]

We ate at WPE for the first time last Nov and agree it's probably the best CS in all of WDW!:thumbsup2

[BreTyPres87]

I'm subbing these are good reviews so far!!popcorn::