Never Eat More than You Can Lift~Miss Piggy,6/22 Update

[catne]

EDITED - REVIEWS FINISHED 6/22/2009
MISS PIGGY'S FANS RETURN, 5/2009 ON THE BASIC DDP

5th trip in 2 years...we are making up for lots of non-Disney years, lol. DH thinks there is a saturation point somewhere...I'm not so sure about that. This trip was Me & DH (he turned 53 mid-trip, so he was our What Will You Celebrate? poster boy) Also with us were DD20 and her BFF19. They had a grand time. Here's where we ate, including the counter service, some are new to us this trip, but some are repeats:


TABLE SERVICE
Flash! Review on Post #58Sat. May 23: Rose & Crown (new to us)
Flash! Review on Post # 67 Sun. May 24: 1900 Park Fare (new to us)
Flash! Review on Post #79Mon. May 25: Yak & Yeti (new to us)
Flash! Review on Post #91Tue. May 26: Les Chefs de France (DH & I have been there, but this is DD's choice)
Flash! Review on Post #101Wed. May 27: Le Cellier (DH's choice for Birthday dinner-one of our faves)
Flash! Review on Post #103 Thu. May 28: Mama Melrose(fave, Fantasmic dinner package)
Flash! Review on Post #107[/U][/B]Fri. May 29: Sanaa (new to everybody!)

COUNTER SERVICE:
FLash! Review on Post #45 Sat. May 23: Sunshine Seasons/Epcot-The Land
Flash! Review on Post #65Sun. May 24: Starring Rolls/Hollywood Studios
Flash! Review on Post #72 Breakfast and #75 Lunch Mon. May 25: Port Orleans French Quarter - Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory
Flash! Review on Post #90 Tue. May 26: Cosmic Ray's/Magic Kingdom
Flash! Review on Post #100Wed. May 27: Wolfgang Puck Express/Downtown Disney
Flash! Review on Post #102 Thu. May 28: Pizza Planet/Hollywood Studios
Flash! Review on Post #106Fri. May 29: Sunshine Seasons/Epcot - The Land (liked it so much the first time we went back)

Added:
Beverage Reviews
Flash! Review on Post 51Epcot/Mexico Margaritas & China Tea Cart Slushies
Flash! Review on Post #65Writer's Stop, Hollywood Studios-Mocha Slushies & carrot cake cookies


So 4 totally new-to-us choices on Table service. On counter service, we had not been to Sunshine Seasons or Cosmic Rays in a very long time, so they might as well have been new! Wolfgang Puck was also brand new...we would have had more new choices, but I had to let DH choose his own birthday meal, and DD wanted another country restaurant so went for France. We had a great time with our restaurant choices! And the counter service choices were mainly related to the parks we were at that day, so went for places we knew we liked. Reviews done!

[TigerKat]

Count me in!:thumbsup2

[got2luvtink]

Can't wait!! popcorn::

[onelilspark]

I hope you don't listen to Miss Piggy in this trip either! mmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmm

[jessrose18]

yum!

[catne]

I hope you don't listen to Miss Piggy in this trip either! mmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmm

:lmao:I'm thinking we probably won't!:lmao:

I'm busy finalizing the plans for which park in the mornings, and which place for counter service lunches now...want to try some new places (and try some different choices at some old faves, too.)

And seek new choices on snack credits...

And of course, absolutely have to seek out new adult beverages, too. Preferably frozen or glowing:banana:

And somehow find time to do some rides and that other Disney park stuff:woohoo:

[oybolshoi]

The frozen lime margarita in Mexico was pretty tasty ... and those slushies in France are always good. :thumbsup2

Key lime pie martinis at Wolfgang Puck's are the bomb!

Wait ... does anyone say that anymore? :confused3: :rotfl2:

And when you dine at Rose and Crown try the Imperial Beer Sampler ... five tasting portions of some darn fine beers!

Have a great trip ... we'll be waiting for the reviews! :goodvibes

[catne]

The frozen lime margarita in Mexico was pretty tasty ... and those slushies in France are always good. :thumbsup2

Key lime pie martinis at Wolfgang Puck's are the bomb!

Wait ... does anyone say that anymore? :confused3: :rotfl2:

And when you dine at Rose and Crown try the Imperial Beer Sampler ... five tasting portions of some darn fine beers!

Have a great trip ... we'll be waiting for the reviews! :goodvibes

DH will be thrilled at this recommendation:worship::drinking1:worship:

Do they do the key lime pie martinis at the counter service version of Wolfgand Puck's?

:woohoo:The beverage list is growing!!!:woohoo:

[oybolshoi]

I don't know if that martini is available at counter service but I know that it's available at wolfie's dining emporium on the West Side. The wildberry lemonade that they serve is good, too.

Sheesh ... I sound like a lush. :lmao:

[oybolshoi]

Here's a picture of the Imperial Sampler ... Guinness, Boddingtons, Bass, Stella Artois, and Harp.

Tasty indeed!


http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/424.jpg

[MickeyNicki]

I'm in! Cannot wait to hear all about it, you have some new ones that I want to try too!

Awesome drinks at Yak & Yeti !

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Sounds delicious and I can't wait to hear all about it. By the way, tell DH there is no saturation point with Disney.:goodvibes

[catne]

I don't know if that martini is available at counter service but I know that it's available at wolfie's dining emporium on the West Side. The wildberry lemonade that they serve is good, too.

Sheesh ... I sound like a lush. :lmao:

Don't worry about sounding like a lush...you're in good company, here: you're talking to a proud, card-carrying member of the Lush League...my list of favorite adult beverages at Disney is growing with every trip. I figure most Disney beverages are "light" so might as well enjoy:rotfl:

Here's a picture of the Imperial Sampler ... Guinness, Boddingtons, Bass, Stella Artois, and Harp.

Tasty indeed!


http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/424.jpg

Awesome Picture, thanks! DH is the beer drinker in our family (I will sample the sample, though:laughing:)

I'm in! Cannot wait to hear all about it, you have some new ones that I want to try too!

Awesome drinks at Yak & Yeti !

Nicki, what's the special good drinks at Yak & Yeti?

Sounds delicious and I can't wait to hear all about it. By the way, tell DH there is no saturation point with Disney.:goodvibes

Well, I know there's no saturation point with Disney...just slowly bringing DH around to that philosophy. He loves Disney, but has this really odd notion that there might be other places to visit, if you can believe it. Don't know where he gets these bizarre ideas from:rotfl:

Actually, we do end up traveling other places but usually in connection with business trips or family occasions. My preferred vacation when we travel strictly for fun is WDW though. One of these days going to try Disneyland, and maybe a Disney cruise...we like the way the Mouse does travel & entertainment!

[catne]

I don't know if that martini is available at counter service but I know that it's available at wolfie's dining emporium on the West Side. The wildberry lemonade that they serve is good, too.

Sheesh ... I sound like a lush. :lmao:


Wow, Brenda...just read your avatar more carefully, and you're kinda-sorta in our neck of the woods (well, middle of the country anyway)

...I'll be sure to wave in your direction when we go passed O'Fallon, MO Thursday May 21! I know just where that exit is - I think we've stopped there for fast food before. Crazy as it may be, we drive from Nebraska.
We'll be on I-70 heading to see the Mouse in just 3 short weeks.

[MickeyNicki]

Nicki, what's the special good drinks at Yak & Yeti?


I had a drink, it was Bamboo something, with rums and juices and it was huge, red and icy cold...just wonderful! All the drinks on their menu look fantastic! If you eat at Y&Y around 4pm ask to sit by the windows on the far left, you can watch the parade!

[natalielongstaff]

I think the beverage list is just as important as the food list...if not more :rotfl2:

[skellingtonfreak]

I am SO in for this!

[CoolPool]

popcorn::

[tink1957]

:cool1:It sounds delicious, I'm in.popcorn::

You're eating at alot of the places where we are planning our ADRs. This should be good.

[GoofySon'sMom]

Have a great trip! Can't wait for the reviews!

[oybolshoi]

Wow, Brenda...just read your avatar more carefully, and you're kinda-sorta in our neck of the woods (well, middle of the country anyway)

...I'll be sure to wave in your direction when we go passed O'Fallon, MO Thursday May 21! I know just where that exit is - I think we've stopped there for fast food before. Crazy as it may be, we drive from Nebraska.
We'll be on I-70 heading to see the Mouse in just 3 short weeks.

As you drive by Exit 216 on Missouri EB 70, roll down your window and yell, "SO LONG, STINKTOWN!!!"

:rotfl2:

My wish for your drive is easy traffic ... and I really mean that because traffic out here sucks a big toe. :laughing:

[JerseyJanice]

Wishing you a fabulous trip, Catne. :wizard: Happy birthday to your DH!

I'll be very interested to read your reviews.

[catne]

We take our DDP seriously (probably too seriously, waist-wise) and with just 20 days until arrival day, it's time for considering "final" DDP plans. And since I'm currently in the total OCD mode (that's Obsessive-Compulsive Disney-planning mode, lol) I'm mapping out our lunch quests...we are still managing to find new places and/or new choices at old favorites. So, in looking at our park schedules, here's where we're planning to eat lunches. Of course, we do tend to be somewhat more flexible on lunches, so these plans could change.

Saturday: Epcot - Sunshine Seasons. We ate here years & years ago, but has been at least 10 years - don't even know if it had the same name last time we were there...so it's kinda "new" again for us. Saw a review & loverly food porn of some yummy looking Asian food..and I gotta get me one of those strawberry shortcake desserts!

Sunday: DHS for a couple of hours in the A.M. - still debating where for lunch. We like Starring rolls, but are also thinking we might leave DHS & go eat lunch at Main Street Bakery in the MK--just grab some fastpasses for Sunday evening while we're there. We've had pastries from Main Street Bakery, but never sandwiches so this would be "new" to us. Another consideration might be Columbia Harbor House -- have never eaten there, either. We'll just decide on Sunday what we want to do for lunch.

Monday: will be at AK in the morning, but thinking we might duck out mid-day, and eat Lunch back at POFQ because we're eating dinner in AK that night - although we do love Flametree, so have to see. Problem is, we like the ribs at Flametree, but I'm thinking I might want the ribs at Yak & Yeti for dinner that night - don't want ribs for lunch & dinner (although DH would say there's no such thing as too many ribs in a day:rolleyes1)

Tuesday: MK for rope drop/EMH. We're eating at Cosmic Ray's - haven't been here for a few years, and had the burgers last time. We're going for the chicken/ribs platters this time.

Wednesday: We'll be at Epcot for rope drop - but just staying for an hour or two - Soarin' fix! - and we'll back at Epcot for DH's Birthday dinner at Le Cellier, so we'll probably get Soarin' fastpasses before we leave to use that evening. Then we're picking up DH's Birthday gift card on the way out of the park and heading to DTD for shopping & lunch over the middle of the day. Definitely going to Wolfgang Puck's in DTD. It's totally new to us :banana: - have seen so many good reviews we have to try it this time.

Thursday: DHS at Rope Drop, probably go to Starring Rolls/DHS - this is a replay, but we really liked the sandwiches there last time. Although DH may vote for Pizza Planet (liked getting a salad & warm cookie with lunch) or Rosie's if he's really hankering for a cheeseburger by Thursday. We'll see.

Friday: will probably be at AK this morning, but eating at AKL/Sanaa Friday night, so will probably not want to eat AK counter service. Don't know. Maybe we will eat at Yak & Yeti counter service - have never done that. Again, we might just explore another resort for lunch...maybe Pepper Market at Coronado Springs

[tink1957]

Sounds like some yummy plans. You will like Wolfgang Puck's, it's our favorite CS. Last year, while having lunch at an outside table at WP, we saw a squirrel near our table, it came up to my DS & ate out of his hand. That was the coolest thing ever & we will never forget it.

[skellingtonfreak]

Those sound like good plans. We actually liked the Backlot Express when at DHS. I know a lot of people don't like it, but they have a few different options than everyone else.

I am definitely interested in Flame Tree, as we have never been there and are going to be on the regular DDP when we go in September.

[catne]

Those sound like good plans. We actually liked the Backlot Express when at DHS. I know a lot of people don't like it, but they have a few different options than everyone else.

I am definitely interested in Flame Tree, as we have never been there and are going to be on the regular DDP when we go in September.

we really like FlameTree, both the ribs & the smoked chicken. Love to get the frozen minute maid for dessert - it's frozen nearly hard so great to take with you as you wander the park and very tart/sweet. And when you go to Flametree, don't take the seats at the first pavillion you see tables (not the big one behind the condiments carts) Instead, make sure you go all the way around behind the building for wonderfully beautiful scenery/seating - there's a reflecting pond back there - kind of looks like an ancient Asian temple pond - really pleasant, shady & serene (except for the begging birds - don't feed one or you won't get rid of them!) Or, even better, you can go on past that reflecting pond, down a little path/few steps to a covered picnic pavillion area that's on the lake with Everest in the background, awesome place to sit, eat & relax. Even on a crowded day it was peaceful back there (except for the occasional extra-loud scream from EE that carried across the water, lol.)
here's a pic taken from our table last September:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/IMG_1764viewfromtableatFTBBQcovered.jpg

[catne]

Sounds like some yummy plans. You will like Wolfgang Puck's, it's our favorite CS. Last year, while having lunch at an outside table at WP, we saw a squirrel near our table, it came up to my DS & ate out of his hand. That was the coolest thing ever & we will never forget it.


what's your favorite entree at WP? Seems like a lot of people mention pizza and a chicken pasta dish...any tips to put on my info cards?

[cnorth]

Here's a picture of the Imperial Sampler ... Guinness, Boddingtons, Bass, Stella Artois, and Harp.

Tasty indeed!


http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/424.jpg

Oh, my! My husband is literally drooling right now...:rotfl:

[catne]

:banana::woohoo::dance3::woohoo::banana:

Getting very excited now...have been packing all the miscellaneous stuff (I'm one of those that would take the kitchen sink if I could...ya never know what you'll need:laughing:)

So, I'm taking my mini notebook computer -- new Acer. It's tiny...but big enough to type regular (though the keys are just a bit smaller than a regular keyboard so more apt to make typos, fer sure.) Love the size though - about 1/2 the overall size of DH's notebook, and weighs less than 2 lbs. So hopefully I'll find time to do some live reports from WDW:banana:

And...I even figured out how to upload pictures with it (MAJOR accomplishment, let me tell you.) So maybe I'll even manage to post pictures live from WDW.

Well, back to packing...leaving Thursday mid-day on a very long driving excursion. Ohhh, hope these hours go fast.

[medicgirl911]

We recently got the acer notebook too,vactually thats what I am using now lol. We have a standard desktop, but this is nice to have to hang on the couch while I read dining reviews LOL!! :lmao: Can't wait to read you reviews, I hope you have a great trip!! (oh and I have lose track of how man y typos I have made already on this small keyboard ;) )

[catne]

We recently got the acer notebook too,vactually thats what I am using now lol. We have a standard desktop, but this is nice to have to hang on the couch while I read dining reviews LOL!! :lmao: Can't wait to read you reviews, I hope you have a great trip!! (oh and I have lose track of how man y typos I have made already on this small keyboard ;) )

have you taken it traveling yet - that's what I'm really looking forward to - so much smaller for packing & lugging around.

...mine has actually already gone traveling without me! My son borrowed it - he took it on Amtrak from Omaha to Chicago, where he joined a bunch of friends and they all took the "City of New Orleans" for the run from Chicago to New Orleans. He used it to get some work done while on the train & in New Orleans - he said Acer should have been paying his train fare & hotel bill because he felt like a walking advertisement/demonstration: people everywhere were stopping to ask questions about it & see it in action. He loved it because at one point he had to give a speech/reading and just had his info & notes on the Acer, and so was able to hold it & pace while doing his reading.

[TXMomof3boys]

Have a great trip! :goodvibes Looking forward to reading your dining reviews!!

[catne]

Had a great time...even though the weather was the absolute worst we've ever had in all our trips. Got incredibly hot & humid every day, then rained for hours in the afternoon/evening almost every day. Crowds were way larger than we've ever experienced, but we still managed to get most everything done we wanted.

Will be uploading pics & getting my reviews going over the next few days...did manage to get remember to get pictures of most our meals!

Believe it or not, was up at 5:45 a.m. this morning in our hotel in Brentwood (Nashville) Tennessee...to call Disney Dining & make some reservations for our Free Dining trip. Haven't even gotten home, or written the reviews for this one & already well into planning the next one. Disney overload (just kidding-no such thing, lol)

Now I have to go put the last load of a mountain of dirty clothes in the washer & hit the bed...in the car for 12 hours yesterday & 11 today. Ready for sleep!

[Shir Kahn]

WB! Can't wait to see all the pictures! :goodvibes

[medicgirl911]

No excuses, onto the reviews!!! :rotfl::goodvibes LOL! glad you made it home safely!
I have taken the acer notebook travelling but only to serve my facebook/disboards obsession, not for any work type uses. Glad it worked well for your Son.
Allright enough chitchat, back to posting your reviews LOL!!!

[MickeyNicki]

Welcome home, now get to posting! :lmao::rotfl::rotfl2:

[catne]

Welcome home, not get to posting! :lmao::rotfl::rotfl2:

Nicki - don't know if you saw my post on that other thread about the beignets yesterday - I see you're heading to POFQ very soon!

Anyway, I tried twice asking if they'd sprinkle the powdered sugar on both sides, and was told "no, sorry, that's not the way they make them." The second time, it was a manager making them (the 2 workers in the bakery had a line a mile long so manager came flying in there & took over the beignets production. So I just took the hot beignets to a table right away, flipped 'em and sprinkled the non-sugared side myself. That worked pretty good...almost as good as last year.

DH was thrilled to find biscuits & gravy for $3.49 at POFQ --so it's a snack credit! Don't know why he likes that stuff so much (has to be a guy thing...I'll take a bite, but no way to eat a whole plate of that stuff)

[mi*vida*loca]

Can't wait to read the reviews! :thumbsup2

Also can someone let me know where that beer sampler thing is from?? ;)

[cnorth]

There is an organic beer sampler at the Wave in the Contemporary, and also a beer sampler at the Rose and Crown, I believe.

[catne]

Can't wait to read the reviews! :thumbsup2

Also can someone let me know where that beer sampler thing is from?? ;)

DH had that beer sampler from the Rose & Crown last Saturday -- he liked it (those are 5 or 6 ounce glasses, so it's a nice supply of beer:drinking1)

[luckytobeme88]

Just caught up with your report! Better late then never.:thumbsup2

[PrincessTrisha]

...even though the weather was the absolute worst we've ever had in all our trips. Got incredibly hot & humid every day, then rained for hours in the afternoon/evening almost every day. Crowds were way larger than we've ever experienced

Yes.....but how was the food? :rotfl:

Just kidding around.

Glad to see you're back and can't wait for the reviews!

[MelanieC]

Can't wait to read your reviews - sorry the weather was horrible.

[MickeyNicki]

Nicki - don't know if you saw my post on that other thread about the beignets yesterday - I see you're heading to POFQ very soon!

Anyway, I tried twice asking if they'd sprinkle the powdered sugar on both sides, and was told "no, sorry, that's not the way they make them." The second time, it was a manager making them (the 2 workers in the bakery had a line a mile long so manager came flying in there & took over the beignets production. So I just took the hot beignets to a table right away, flipped 'em and sprinkled the non-sugared side myself. That worked pretty good...almost as good as last year.

DH was thrilled to find biscuits & gravy for $3.49 at POFQ --so it's a snack credit! Don't know why he likes that stuff so much (has to be a guy thing...I'll take a bite, but no way to eat a whole plate of that stuff)

Oooh Dh is going to be thrilled! He could live off that stuff if I let him, that and chipped beef on toast..ICK!

I wonder if I can ask for a side of powdered sugar :lmao::lmao::lmao:

POFQ here we come!

[catne]

Sunshine Seasons, Epcot The Land

We arrived at POFQ about 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, checked in, got our magic cards and headed to Epcot. We went immediately to Soarin’ to get Fast Passes for later that evening (return time was 6:45 P.M., stand-by wait time was 55 minutes at 10:40.) We don’t do waits like that, so we hopped on Living With the Land – about a 5 minute stand-by wait. Followed by a ride on SSE – that took about 10 minutes in stand-by. So far, we were having us some fun in the sun (and it was HOT! Close to 90, and humid. With big thunderheads building in the sky.)

By then it was time for lunch. Our Saturday lunch choice was Sunshine Seasons in The Land – we went there for lunch years ago (like in 2000) and really didn’t recall much about it except we liked it then. Don’t even know how it was set up back then. Anyway, it looked very busy but there were only a couple people in line ahead of us, and they are very efficient at moving the people through the lines there. We had no trouble finding a table for four, but have to say that place is very, very noisy. And we sat over to the side near where Living with the Land snake lines are—somehow we sat under an A/C vent, so it was too cold…but by the time we figured that out, we’d already started eating so just stayed there. DH & I both chose the Mongolian ginger beef (top of Plate), sweet & sour chicken (directly below the beef on the plate), white rice (right side of plate) and stir-fry vegetables (left side of plate). http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/SaturdaySSEpmkandcthyasianlunch.jpg The meat entrees & veggies were just plain lick-your-plate-good. We really would have preferred stir-fry rice, but the white rice was o.k. (especially when mixed with the other portions.) These were very generous servings – neither of us come close to finishing - had to save room for the desserts! We probably could have just split this meal. We both had cherry cokes for our beverage…nice to get the fountain cherry coke! For our desserts, DH chose the Butterfinger cheesecake, and I chose the strawberry shortcake:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/SaturdayEpSSbutterfingercheesecake.jpg
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/SaturdaySSEplunchmkandctstrawberrys.jpg

OMG!!! Both of these desserts were OUTSTANDING…worth a trip to Sunshine Seasons just for these two bites-o’heaven-on-a-plate. We were stuffed, but actually ate every bit of these yummy concoctions – couldn’t leave a bit on the plate.

Now I have to make a comment here – the way Sunshine Seasons is set up, there is the Grill Station, the Asian Station, the Sandwich Station, etc. And way over to the left, just before the soda fountain/beverage area is a bakery counter with both baked goods & creamy refrigerated items like the cheesecakes. In between the entrée stations there are those open coolers with bottled beverage choices, and a selection of the small pre-packaged desserts that are available at most counter service restaurants…you know, the little carrot cake, the little chocolate fudge cake, etc. Many, many people got their entrée & sides, then grabbed one of those dinky, boring little repeats…guess they didn’t know they could choose from the fresh, much more elaborate (and bigger) bakery items for dessert.

Anyway, to continue, the girls both went for the Asian station also, but they both got Spicy Thai Chicken, the Sweet & sour Chicken, Garlic Udon Noodles and Stir-fry Veggies: http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/SaturdaySSEpgirlsasiandish.jpg

They both really liked both chicken entrees (said the spicy Thai chicken was not very spicy, but good. DD said it was probably too spicy for me – she knows I’m a wimp with hot/spicy stuff.) They said the noodles were among the best they’ve had, but thought the stir fry veggies were too bland. Neither of them could finish either, agreed they could have split the plate & had plenty. BFF got the Butterfinger cheesecake – she loves cheesecake and thought this was superb (same picture as above, sorry.) http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/SaturdayEpSSbutterfingercheesecake.jpg
DD got the crème brulee…said it was just O.K. – she makes crème brulee and said her own is better. She did eat most of it, though. http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/SaturdaySSEpgirlscremebrulee.jpg

O.K., now I have to confess that though we saved the receipts, somehow I didn’t get the actual totals written down on these, so the best I can do is give approximates – the total for all 4 of us was about $68.00…but of course we were on the DDP, so it was 4 counter service credits instead.

We’d all give Sunshine Seasons Asian station a 9 out of 10 on food (marked down just a tad because DH & I are not fans of plain white rice, and girls thought the veggies looked great but tasted blah. But we all gave 11 out of 10 on the strawberry shortcake & Butterfinger cheesecake! Yep, it was over-the-top good.) Ambiance – NONE…with that noise level being really, really high in there. But we’d put up with the noise again just to enjoy that kind of food for lunch. (Would make a great dinner, for that matter. If you’re on the Quick Service plan, this place should be on your list for several meals - so many entree choices.) Would we go back – you betcha! In fact, we did, later in the week. Sunshine Seasons is a WINNER.

[medicgirl911]

U can't wait to try that strawberry shortcake---it looks divine!! :lovestruc
do you know if you can sub fried rice instead of plain white rice???

[catne]

U can't wait to try that strawberry shortcake---it looks divine!! :lovestruc
do you know if you can sub fried rice instead of plain white rice???

That strawberry shortcake IS divine...and huge. That chunk is like 5" x 5"...amazing. No doubt about it, was the best strawberry shortcake I've ever had - loaded with strawberries. I think you can also get it for a snack credit if you're not there during a meal time (it was under $4.00 so it should meet the criteria for snacks.)

They did not have fried rice as an option when we were there - the sides choices were the plain white rice, the udon noodles, broccoli and the stir-fry veggies. The entree choices were sweet/sour chicken, Spicy Thai chicken and Mongolian Beef. For the combo meal you chose two from the entrees and two from the sides.

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Yum those deserts look awesome! I'm in popcorn::

[MinnieNurse]

Yummo, cant wait to see more. popcorn::

[dancemomnj]

Looking forward to reading more!:thumbsup2

[catne]

Saturday Beverage Break in the World

Well, after that humongous lunch at Sunshine Seasons, no way were we going to be hungry for snacks that afternoon, even though we’d been talking about Mickey bars since Thursday all the way down on our road trip to WDW.

But Saturday, May 23 was very hot & humid, and we were ambling towards the World Showcase after getting a FastPass for Test Track (stand-by was 70 minutes…no way! We knew we would be in the park that evening, so we were stocking up on FastPasses.)

As soon as we got to Mexico and heard the mariachi band playing, we got in the mood for a margarita. Last year, we tried the Fiesta Margarita – that multi-layered/multi-colored drink that looks so pretty. But we really didn’t like it because we thought the flavors were the wrong choices - it really made for a very strange tasting combination. Only reason we finished it last year was because we were very thirsty on a hot day. So here we were again, very thirsty on a hot day. This time we decided to be extra clever and avoid the Fiesta despite it’s visual appeal. We would go with a single-flavor beverage. Wouldn’t you know it, my favorite margarita flavor – strawberry – was all gone (at 2:00 in the afternoon? On a very hot day – what kind of planning is that?) Anyway, we knew we hated the green apple flavor – that was what really made the Fiesta taste odd last year - so DH went for the lime and I chose the mango. Here’s the two drinks – they were $9.50 each. Don't they look wonderful?

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/Picture004.jpg

I don’t know why I even tried another Margarita there, or why on earth I chose Mango! It looked so appealing, and mango always sounds “exotic” and “tropical” to me…but frankly, it tastes like a cross between fake pumpkin & an old sock (o.k., that’s an exaggeration, I admit it - skip the old sock part. But it did taste vaguely like fakey-pumpkin.) But it’s certainly not sweet, nor fruity – it's more like a veggie-fruit. I know what it's like - just like a kids chewable vitamin - you know how they look appealing & smell good but they just can't cover the taste of vitamins & minerals? That's what this tasted like. Who wants a frozen cocktail that tastes like a way-too-good-for-you-veggie? A mega-vitamin slushie? SUPER YUCK! Anyway, total waste of over $9…DH – who rarely meets a drink he doesn’t like – after one sip, he didn’t want it, either. Here’s him agreeing with me on the yuck-factor of the mango flavor:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/Picture005.jpg

So after just two sips total, the mango margarita went in the trash. I tasted his lime margarita, and was not impressed. It was better than the mango, but very light on the lime flavor, and exceptionally light on the alcohol. As in you could just barely tell there was any alcohol in the thing – maybe a thimble in 12 ounces of slightly lime flavored slushy. Hardly worthy of the price tag, that’s for sure. DH did drink all of it, though, while we continued meandering around the World.

As we approached China, I had a lightening flash (or maybe the lightening was in the sky? It was getting stormy looking, lol. But still very hot & humid.)
Anyway, the flash from wherever caused me to remember reading about some wonderful adult beverages from the Tea Cart at China…and there it was! I saw a delightful sounding beverage called a Peach Snap on the menu, for $7.50. The description say it’s a tea slushy made with peach schnapps. That sounds like frozen heaven to me by this point. Here’s me feeling much better while slurping on this fabulous beverage:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/Picture006.jpg

This drink is WONDERFUL! Very strong peach flavor, and sweet (no confusing this one with veggie vitamins!) Best of all, I could definitely taste, and feel, the alcohol kicker in this one. You get your money’s worth here. China’s Tea Cart is a WINNER! We’ll be back for the Peach Snap, and to try the other offerings there. The lady next to me was getting a Green Tea/Plum slushy concoction that also looked very, very good so we’ll have to try that one too.:rotfl::drinking1:rotfl:cheers!

[momjkm]

OK..taking notes: no margaritas; go to China...unless I go right in WS and get my beverages in france.... maybe I will be thirsty by the time I get to China? It is very hot after all...
Jill :)

[MinnieNurse]

:drinking1Oh, I had a Peach Snap last trip. They are really yummy. You know I have heard several times that the Margarita's in Mexico are not that great. Thats a shame, such a wonderful drink usually. Thats why I stick with my Dos Equis in Mexico.

[MickeyNicki]

I have been hooked on the Peach Snap! since the tea stand first opened, so refreshing and wonderful!

We tried the margaritas this past March, we always see a ton of people drinking them so we plopped down our $9 and got the fiesta...well it was horrid! Tasted like bitter lighter fluid. All 4 flavors were blech so we ditched it and got another Peach Snap!

Ooh just a few more hours until I can get my booze on!

[catne]

I have been hooked on the Peach Snap! since the tea stand first opened, so refreshing and wonderful!

We tried the margaritas this past March, we always see a ton of people drinking them so we plopped down our $9 and got the fiesta...well it was horrid! Tasted like bitter lighter fluid. All 4 flavors were blech so we ditched it and got another Peach Snap!

Ooh just a few more hours until I can get my booze on!

Another tidbit for you about POFQ -- the pool bar, Mardi-Grogs, is great on a hot day. The bartender during the day (sorry, I had her name written down but can't find it now) was just amazingly fast & efficient. We had pina-colavas there our 2nd day...fabulous.

[Busymom85]

Great review so far. We like sunshine seasons too.

[MickeyNicki]

Another tidbit for you about POFQ -- the pool bar, Mardi-Grogs, is great on a hot day. The bartender during the day (sorry, I had her name written down but can't find it now) was just amazingly fast & efficient. We had pina-colavas there our 2nd day...fabulous.

Thanks, that is great info! I cannot wait to check in tonight!

[catne]

Saturday Dinner - Rose & Crown, United Kingdom/Epcot

We had an ADR for 6:00 p.m. – arrived about 5:45 just as it started to rain a little. There was a long line of people getting beer at the outside bar, and quite a few asking about walk-up seating inside (skies looked really bad, although it was just barely sprinkling at that point – people were planning ahead for the upcoming downpour.) The place looked very, very busy so I was afraid we’d be standing outside in the rain waiting for a seat for a long time, but we were seated just inside the main door, within 10 minutes of checking in. So, good for us, it was actually a few minutes before our ADR time. Just after we walked inside through the covered outdoor seating area to go to our table, the rain came pouring down – blinding sheets of rain! This was a pattern we were going to encounter all week – somehow we managed to be inside at our table service meal during the pouring-rain portion of the day. Over & over we’d just get seated, almost always at a window seat & it would rain buckets & buckets. We were so Lucky!

When we got to our table, we could hear the live entertainment from the pub – our table was only a few feet away from the pub entrance. DH & I thought it sounded like fun, but girls were not impressed (19 & 20 – their idea of entertainment doesn’t involve tipsy adults singing along to old standards, Disney songs & pub drinking songs, lol.

Here’s a photo of DD (green striped shirt) and her BFF (white shirt) at our table –
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/Picture010.jpg

DD really enjoyed getting to see the inside of this place because she’s going to London for a semester abroad this Fall…so soon she’ll be able to compare the real deal with Epcot’s version (and she’s looking forward to being “legal” over there, 4 months early. But then she comes back in December, and a few weeks later she’ll be “legal” in the USA, too.) Anyway, you can see how close our table was to the pub section of the Rose & Crown – that’s part of the very impressive bar in the background. We really liked the décor – all that dark wood paneling made for a “cozy” feel.

Here’s very happy DH with the Imperial Beer flight. They did not serve it with the cute little grid showing what’s what, though. Mel, our waitress, just gave the names as she lined them up. DH thought this was a great value ($11 for 5 glasses of beer – each was about 6 ounces)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/Picture008.jpg
That’s Harp, Stella Artois, Bass, Tennent’s and Guinness. He preferred the lighter colored ones – Bass, Stella and Tennent’s – but he finished every one of them (just to be sure he wasn’t slighting any on the taste test, of course)

I really, really meant to try one of the Rose & Crown’s specialty drinks – liked the names of them – drinks named "english rose" or “dragon” just sound so interesting, right? But then I wasn’t really sure I’d like the flavors when I read the ingredients, so chickened out and just ordered off the generic drinks menu that’s in all the Disney restaurants. I had the Magical Star cocktail:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/Picture007.jpg
Magical Star Cocktail which is described as: X-Fusion Organic Mango and Passion Fruit Liqueur, Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, Pineapple Juice, and a souvenir Multicolored Glow Cube. Delicious way to start the vacation table service meals…very fruity/tropical tasting drink but not the icky-sweet variety: more of a tart & tangy beverage, which hit the spot on a hot & humid day. (And I had great fun with the multi-colored glow cube – it doesn't show up the well in the photo, but it actually changed color red-green-blue, and we were next to the door, so slightly tipsy people kept stopping in the doorway to stare at the glass and ask how the drink did that trick! I finally had to turn the glow cube off because our meal was interrupted too much, lol. Friendly bunch hangs out in the pub.)

The girls both had some sort of lemonade – think it was a berry-lemonade, vaguely pink anyway (non-alcohol variety.) We placed our orders and then our server Mel brought out a basket of warm cheese rolls: these were very tasty – while it looks like just a little cheese sprinkled on top, they must use some seriously strong cheddar, because the cheesy taste is very good. We all liked these rolls: here’s DD doing her hungry face on a roll:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/Picture009.jpg

I have to insert a note here about the official Rose & Crown menus posted on Disney’s official website. Surprise, surprise, THEY ARE NOT CORRECT. DH & I had both decided we wanted to order the Steak & fish for dinner – description sounded good on the menu. Lo & behold – no such item on the real menu at the restaurant. Mel told us the menu changed several weeks ago. So anyway, for entrees, DD & I both ordered the Grilled steak, rare…it came with broccolini & mashed potatoes.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/Picture012.jpg
These are good-sized steaks, probably 10-12 ounces, and they were cooked perfectly – that’s a whiskey gravy/sauce drizzled over the top of the steak & the taters – was lick-your-plate tasty. We found the Disney restaurants to be very good at cooking food to order – rare was truly rare. The broccolini was meh – don’t know why they serve that stuff, but it’s a popular choice for a veggie side among the Dis restaurants. Looks like it should taste good – like broccoli, but it’s actually fairly tasteless for such a dark green veggie. And it’s stringy, too. We decided we could skip the green veggie for that meal. The mashed potatoes were delicious – some sort of cheesey/sour cream taste to them, could have had them plain and they’d still have been very good…with the whiskey gravy they were wonderful. The muffin looking thing was interesting – was like a steamed corn muffin…very dense, very heavy…not like any American version of muffins though. I liked it – used it to sop up the gravy. DD ate one bite and made a face.

DD’s BFF had the Lamb Two Ways:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/Picture011.jpg
BFF was “hooked” on lamb during a trip to Australia, so this was the first of several times she ordered lamb. (DD frowned on the practice – thought ordering lamb was akin to ordering bunny rabbits or something.) BFF didn’t care, ordered it anyway (and BFF frowns on our family’s practice of ordering rare beef…so I guess we’re even at grossing each other out, lol. We don’t look at her lambikins, and she doesn’t look at our “drippy blood” meat, lol.) Anyway, the Lamb two ways is basically a few lamb chops served with shepherd’s pie (ground lamb on the bottom) She was kind of leery of the “onion jam” on the menu description, but was relieved to find out that was basically a different name for what tasted like caramelized onions. BFF really like the lamb chops (& onions) as well as the potatoes – again a very creamy/cheesey taste. But she said the ground lamb on the bottom of the shepherd’s pie tasted like bad hamburger, so she left that.

DH had to go with the Harry Ramsden’s Fish & Chips, served with “English Chips”
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/Picture013.jpg
He really, really scarfed that fish down – was the right kind of batter for him! He liked the tartar sauce that came with the fish – tasted homemade. The English Chips appeared to me to be exactly the same as American French Fries…don’t know if that’s what they always are. Somehow, I had it in my head that English Chips are different? Anyway, they were hot, fresh & good, even if they were just Amer. French Fries.

On to the desserts…we got a variety. DD & DH both ordered the Bailey’s Irish Trifle
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/Picture017.jpg

This was wonderful – light & airy, similar to a mousse. We all thought this was good, and would order again.

BFF got the warm apple crumble topped with ice cream:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/Picture014.jpg
The ice cream is actually off to the side of the bowl. BFF thought it was good – but none of us were over impressed with this one. It’s a good standard/homey type dessert…but the kind of thing you’d have at grandma’s for Sunday dinner. Not really a go-out-to-eat special dessert.

I had to try the Sticky Toffee Pudding:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/Picture016.jpg
This was the SHOWSTOPPER! May not look impressive in the picture, but serious *drool* Food, folks. The cake was kind of a dark pound-cake like concoction-not very sweet, which was a good thing. Because OMG, the sauces on this thing were over-the-top sweet...the kind of sweet that you just know you shouldn't have one more bite of it, but you do anyway cuz it's soooo addictive. That white stuff in the bottom of the bowl is supposed to be vanilla pudding – was more like a vanilla sauce made out of frosting our something -- oooh, drooling good. And the hot-butter rum sauce drizzled all over the top – this stuff was outstanding! Like take the best caramel sauce you've ever had, and punch it up a notch. Anyway, everyone loved this one…would order it again in a flash.

Décor – give it a 10…service was excellent, another 10. Food was a 9 – main dishes & most of the sides were very good but parts of the meal were not good at all (the broccolini stuff, the ground lamb on the shepherd’s pie.) 2 out of 3 of the desserts were wonderful…the 3rd was not bad, just not nearly as good as the other 2. We’d go back, for sure.

Cash cost for the food & the girls’ beverages would have been $115.23, but on the DDP it took 4 TS credits total. Our OOP expenses here was the tip + $22.10 for the beer flight & my cocktail. Very enjoyable meal, and much better than standing outside in the pouring rain! It was still raining when we came out – in fact, pretty much rained the rest of Saturday evening – but the hardest rain did happen while we were eating. Rest of the night it was just that annoying amount of rain where you need a poncho, but don’t want to wear it…but we were full, already feeling fat & happy...after all, we were at Disneyworld, even if it was in the rain.;)

[Shir Kahn]

Great reviews so far! I'm getting some good ideas. We've got ADRs for the Rose and Crown, sounds like we're going to like it! :cloud9:

[TigerKat]

I've heard amazing things about that Sticky Toffee Pudding, may have to sneak in there if for dessert only!

[tink1957]

Oh no,:scared1:say it ain't so, the Fish & Steak is off the menu at R & C? It was my favorite meal on our last trip, well I'll just have to console myself with a Peach Snap & a Magic Star & a beer flight, hic.

[pezaddict231]

Sticky Toffee Pudding is the best dessert ever. It's even better with vanilla ice cream. Definitely look for Haagen Daas Sticky Toffee Pudding ice cream, if you manage to find it you're in a for a treat....so delicious!

[catne]

Oh no,:scared1:say it ain't so, the Fish & Steak is off the menu at R & C? It was my favorite meal on our last trip, well I'll just have to console myself with a Peach Snap & a Magic Star & a beer flight, hic.


yeah, we couldn't believe it either! They have the pdf of the menu on the WDW official restaurant web page -- and the steak & fish is listed top/left on that menu. But the one we got in the restaurant, that same place on the menu is just the grilled steak. Don't think it's a money-saving deal for the restaurant because the steak & fish had a smaller serving of steak -- the new steak entree is quite big. So don't know why they took the combo off. We would have liked both -- actually did get both since DH ordered the fish & I ordered the steak so we traded bites. Better than nothing (actually, a lot better than nothing:thumbsup2)

[catne]

Sticky Toffee Pudding is the best dessert ever. It's even better with vanilla ice cream. Definitely look for Haagen Daas Sticky Toffee Pudding ice cream, if you manage to find it you're in a for a treat....so delicious!

Now that sounds very, very tempting-get thee behind me, Sticky Toffee Pudding! I'm being very good on a DIET now! Have to lose some of this because we're going back in September for my birthday - and Free Dining! Have all ressies for September set up, except for last day. We're still debating that one.

[catne]

Sunday at Hollywood Studios-forgot the camera, so Sorry no Pictures!!!

Stayed at POFQ, so went over to the counter service (Sassagoula Floatworks Factory) to have beignets for breakfast. We were disappointed that they seem to have changed the way they make beignets – last year they were dusting both sides with a ton of powdered sugar, right after they pulled them out of the fryer. But this year, they just dust the top side. They tasted much better when both sides were sprinkled straight out of the fryer. I asked later in the week if they could just powder both sides like they did before and was told nicely “that’s not the way we make them.” So I just had to re-distribute the powdered sugar myself while they were still hot. Not quite as good as before, but pretty good. Course, as we were paying for the beignets, DH spotted biscuits & gravy on the menu and swore to be back later in the week to try those out.

After a quick breakfast, we headed to DHS – it was Star Wars weekend so was crazy crowded, even long before rope-drop. Great fun seeing the Storm Troopers on top of the buildings while waiting (forever!) to get in to the park. Don’t know how those characters can stand being in those plastic costumes…and the Wookie guy in full hairy-monster gear – whoo, that’s got to be a killer. Despite the crowds, we still had a pretty good morning cuz we were avoiding the Star Wars areas for the most part. A little girl in line behind us at ToT said Happy Birthday to DH & gave him a mini-card with a peppermint in it. We thought that was really sweet. We were amazed how many people wished him Happy Birthday all week, not just cast members but lots of fellow park-goers, too.

Mid Morning Coffee Break

Anyway, by mid-morning it was getting sticky hot, so DH & I headed over to Writer’s Stop. This is a really awesome little shop we’ve never, ever noticed before at DHS -thanks to fellow Disers for sending us to this place! Besides all the usual coffee specialty drinks, they have these “Island chillers” - marvelous frozen concoctions. Besides several fruity varieties (I think there were 5 total flavors slushing away in the machines) one of the flavors is Mocha…a coffee slushy! OMG, coffee heaven on a hot day when you want your coffee break, but not hot! It was wonderful! And then we spotted the carrot-cake cookies I’ve heard tell of on these Disboards, so we had to get one to split. SO SORRY no pictures – no camera! But I’ll describe: take two carrot-cake bars, round, ¾ inch thick & about the diameter of a saucer. Slather cream cheese frosting thickly on one (like ½ to ¾ inch thick!) , then slap the other one on top & call it a cookie. More like a breakfast entrée! Lordy, it was huge and amazingly good – definitely a treat to share. Sweet, but not too sweet. And cold, because it’s refrigerated due to the cream cheese, so again, a great treat for a hot & humid morning. There were lots of other bakery goodies in there, including other kinds of giant cookies, muffins, etc.And if you’re looking for a hot latte, it’s there. We’ll be back to this place for sure!!! The cookie was one snack credit (I think the cash price was around $3.50 or so) and the mocha slushies were also 1 Snack credit each...again, the cash price was between $3 & $4..

Did the Muppets, and then went back to use our fast passes on TSM, after which it was time for lunch. We did a repeat of our DHS favorite – Starring Rolls for the giant ham sandwiches. They were just as good as we remembered. Two of us had sea salt potato chips, two had the jalapeno potato chips & all of us had sodas with the sandwiches. DD actually wanted the veggie wrap, but that was all gone for the day (once they sell out of a lunch item, that’s it…no more for the day.) For dessert, DH had the strawberry parfait – light & fluffy, not very large – he really liked it & said perfect lite dessert after a big sandwich, especially on a hot day – it hit the spot. BFF & I both had the Napoleons – these were huge and way too “heavy” for such a hot day. Neither of us came close to finishing. They were delicious, but the kind of dessert that should be served in a petit fors cup, ya know…way to rich and dense to serve such a large portion, especially for a lunch dessert. Probably could have comfortably split the Napoleon three ways – that would have made a serving size you might be able to finish. DD had the “breeze from the keys” – a key lime tart…she said parts of it were good, but part of it seemed to not have been mixed properly so it was like gelatin-rubbery on one side of the thing. So she ate the good half, which was about as much as she had room for anyway. Consensus was the sandwiches were wonderful, the chips were good, and we all probably should have gotten the strawberry parfaits!

Park was getting insanely crowded by now (around 12:30 or 1:00) so we headed back to the hotel…the girls to sleep, and DH & I rested for awhile, then went exploring POFQ – we’d been here before, but didn’t wander around much so this time we were determined to find the fountains & such we’d missed last time. Beautiful resort, good upkeep on the landscaping. Lovely fountains, reflecting pond, etc. And soon we found Mardi-Grogs, the lovely shaded pool bar at POFQ. So we perched ourselves on a couple of bar stools to enjoy Pina Colavas…yum. Those drinks just shout “DisneyWorld” to us. Once I have a pina colava, I know my vacation is really going!

For dinner, we were off to 1900 Park Fare and then the Magic Kingdom…and we remembered the camera this time, so there will be pictures on the next installment!

[JerseyJanice]

Welcome home, Cat!

Glad to hear you had a good trip. I was thinking about you when I heard about all the rain in Florida and hoped you'd be O.K.

Can't wait to read the rest of your reviews. :)

[catne]

Sunday Evening-Dining with the Steps

So after a nice break at POFQ, we headed over to the Grand Floridian for dinner at 1900 Park Fare. The weather was again very threatening…thunderheads had been building all afternoon & by the time we got to the GF it was dark enough that outside lights were coming on. Was surely going to be a downpour soon, so we valet-parked the car…mighty handy and well worth the $$$ to DH.

Anyway, we checked in, then skipped the photo op (no characters, what’s the point?) We were seated 10 minutes later – about 3 minutes passed our 5:30 ADR so that was great – have read so many reviews of Park Fare about people getting seated really late, I was dreading that! Maybe that’s a phenom that happens with later ADRs when they have started getting backed up? Guess it’s lucky for us we like the early evening ADRs so we’re seated while food’s still fresh & tables are not backed up yet.

Anyway, we were seated in the main dining room area (the one with direct access to the buffet area) Our waitress was very attentive, noticed DH’s birthday button immediately, wished him Happy Birthday and brought out the special Celebrations laminated placemat with all the 1900 Park Fare character signatures on it. Very nice for an adult! She took our beverage orders, explained the buffet and told us which direction the characters went around the room so that we could time our absences from the table. The place was full but I didn’t think it was overly noisy or chaotic in there as I’ve read (except for the stepsisters, of course…they do get loud. But in a very funny way.) Granted, it’s not the spot for a romatic candle-lit dinner for two – but what buffet is, Disney or otherwise? We thought it was quieter than Chef Mickey’s and Crystal Palace character buffets, and definitely less crowded with people coming & going.

The characters were Fantastic! Cindy & Prince Charming were both lovely – sweet & charming. DD (age 20) really, really appreciated the Prince’s charms, KWIM. If they had a to-go box, she’d have taken him for dessert, lol. Here’s DD & HRH Prince McDreamy:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009023caitandprincecrop.jpg

And here’s both girls with him…
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009024girlsandprince-1.jpg
The stepsisters were over-the-top hilarious, but Anastasia (red-head) is outstandingly funny. Some poor guy just inside the next room must have used some sort of swear word within hearing of her – she spent the whole meal trying to get the Prince to order his guards in to teach this man some manners. She’d shriek “MOTHER! LANGUAGE!” The faces, the antics with flirting with any male around (“MOTHER! I’ll have this one!”) And of course whenever anyone actually watched her, she’d whirl around and give a lecture about “The STARING family here! Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to stare. MOTHER! This people need you!” Here’s the girls with Drizella, she was funny, but more just the pouter, and foot stomper, flouncing around.

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009033girlsanddrizella-2.jpg
Here’s the girls with Anastasia, and then DH (Birthday Boy) with Anastasia-just love her faces & poses:

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009034theGirls-1-1.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009036DHandStep.jpg
We also were visited by Lady Tremaine…she was cool & remote, right in character…dripping sarcasm but very “royal” acting. Love her comments to babies about minding their manners and using the proper utensils…was a baby at the next table, couldn’t have been more than 6 months old – barely sitting up in a high chair & she tells the infant to use the correct fork with that food.

Speaking, of…time for the food. We really were not expecting much here, having read quite a few bad reviews. However, we were pleasantly surprised. There were a few meh dishes, and one absolute yuck, but by and large we all enjoyed Park Fare. We started with the drink orders…DH chose Blue Moon beer, I went for a Blackberry mojito, and the girls ordered the green apple freeze (not on the dining plan, but what the heck.) Here’s the green apple freezes – they really enjoyed these:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009030GIRLSWITHAPPLEFREEZ.jpg

Here’s my mojito, the perfect complement with my first course – which is the legendary Park Fare strawberry soup. Oh my goodness…that soup is super! I don’t usually like cold soups (or fruity ones for that matter) but will make an exception for this one…no wonder people rave about it. All of the girls at the table had two bowls of this (DH tried it, but he preferred filling up on beef)

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009026PFstrawberrysoupmoj.jpg

DH chose a salad for his first go at the buffet, he enjoyed it…fresh & tasty:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009025PFsaladandBlueMoonb.jpg

The girls’ plates both looked basically the same, so I just took one photo – this is BFF’s plate. DD’s plate skipped the mac & cheese, she had the beef & salmon instead. On this plate it’s fresh fruit, fried rice, spiral noodles, mac & cheese, ceasar salad, and of course the strawberry soup. All of these foods were very good except the spiral noodles with whatever the meat/sauce combo was…I had some too, thought it tasted like bad plain-label Skillet lasagne. It was the YUCK medallist for the buffet.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009029fruitfriedricespira.jpg
Here’s my plate: that’s the carved beef, that YUCK spiral noodle stuff, the fried rice, a slice of bread, mashed potatoes, and salmon in hollandaise sauce. I really liked the beef – it was tender & seasoned well. The bread was seriously tasteless – didn’t know you could make bread that tasteless! The salmon was very good, the mashed potatoes were fabulous (Disney uses real potatoes & it tastes like real butter when they make a mash….yummy.) The fried rice was good, we all had it.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009026PFbeefrigatonifried.jpg

Here’s DH’s plate – basically he did this same plate twice, except for getting mashed potatoes instead of the veggies second time. That’s rare carved beef with horseradish sauce, salmon in hollandaise, and mixed veggies – think that was off the Asian food area. He love the beef, said the salmon was good and the veggies were “alright” – no seconds on them but he went back for beef & salmon:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009025PFbeefsalmonveggies.jpg

Starting to get full, so we all started picking out desserts. DD was stuffed, but can’t pass up the chance to get soft-serve ice cream. This was like a double-chocolate flavor, very good. There was a whole toppings bar for the ice cream…seems like there were M & Ms, nuts, cookie crumbles and I don’t know what all. DD was too full to add anything to the ice cream, though.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009039PFchocsoftserve-1.jpg

BFF was into more variety: that’s a giant krispie treat (very fresh & good), then that’s like a spice/carrot cake with cream cheese dollop on top (was dry, not very sweet), then a key lime tart (filling & topping good but pastry yuck) and that’s chocolate mousse cup (very rich)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009038PFRKrispietreatcarr.jpg

I ordered coffee with cream served with my dessert (since I drank mojito & water during meal, the coffee counted as the DDP drink) and I had some of the bread pudding with vanilla sauce. I have not yet met a Disney bread pudding with sauce that I do not like, and the Park Fare version measured up, too. Disney chefs seem to have the recipe for bread pudding down pat…this one was very moist, and the vanilla sauce was outstanding.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009037FPbreadpuddingvanil.jpg

Here’s another dessert plate DH & I nibbled at: that’s cheesecake at top (was o.k., just plain cheesecake), the key lime tart (agree with BFF-the key lime part & the topping were good, pastry is totally meh) and that’s the chocolate mousse cup with the chocolate straw. The mousse was very rich, dark chocolate taste. It’s tiny, but couldn’t finish it – that rich.
My favorite dessert of all was that bread pudding…
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009040PFcheesecakekeylime.jpg

Then, naturally, once we were stuffed to the absolute maximum limit, they bring out a birthday cupcake for DH...very cute. He ate the chocolate Mickey wafer off the top: all he had room for. Here's the cupcake & you can see his birthday placemat in the background:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009041PFBirthdaycupcak-1.jpg

We left, stuffed, fat & happy again - and the threatening weather had become a monsoon so we spent about a half hour exploring the Grand Floridian before going on to the Magic Kingdom for evening EMH. DD's BFF swears she's going to have a Disney wedding at the GF, so they were checking out the wedding dress display and such. As for 1900 Park Fare, well to sum it up - we liked the food & loved the entertainment. So to rate it - well for ambiance, give it a 7, it's a pretty setting & all, but it IS a buffet, and it IS busy & noisier than a non-buffet. Characters – 10+, especially Anastasia. All were very much in character all the time, they circulated constantly, going in both rooms. Near as I can tell they didn’t skip any tables. Food – give it an 8. Some very good food available, as well as some yuck stuff. But it was all fresh, hot and replenished/cleaned up constantly. Service was excellent – give that a 10, too. So overall, I’d say the place is a good solid 8+. Meal took 4 table services (one each) and we paid OOP $57.41 for beer, mojito, apple freezes and the tip. We’d go back (in fact, we are – in September – taking DS & his BFF.)

[MinnieNurse]

We did R&C in 2006 and we liked it okay, but after reading your reviews I think we might have to give it another shot.

I just added 1900 Park Fare to my list to try in 2010. 2009 trip is already over flowing with ADR's.:rotfl:

Great reviews!

[catne]

We did R&C in 2006 and we liked it okay, but after reading your reviews I think we might have to give it another shot.

I just added 1900 Park Fare to my list to try in 2010. 2009 trip is already over flowing with ADR's.:rotfl:

Great reviews!

My only suggestion on 1900 Park Fare is to eat early - before the food gets dried out, tables backed up,etc. I know when we arrived, we were seated within minutes of our ADR -- but when we left about an hour later, there had to be 100+ people waiting in the lobby area with the little pager things. They were certainly backed up by 6:30.

[Ciciwoowoo]

I am enjoying your review so far!:goodvibes

[catne]

Breakfast at POFQ's Sassagoula Floatworks

So it’s Monday, and the girls were worn out from two fairly late nights in a row, so when given the option of sleeping instead of going to Animal Kingdom early that a.m., they did what any sensible college-aged kid would do & chose sleeping in for awhile. DH & I are not late sleepers, though, so we decided to skip the cereal bars and actually have breakfast. We headed over to POFQ’s counter service, Sassagoula Floatworks. After seeing the Biscuits & gravy on the menu yesterday morning, DH was ready to try the POFQ version…it did not disappoint. We were there fairly early – before 8:00 a.m., so everything was very fresh still – nothing tasted like it had spent any length of time under a heat lamp. The biscuits were soft, the gravy had plenty of real sausage floating in it. With a cup of coffee, he was a happy man:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009045POFQBiscuitsgrav-1.jpg

I was just going to get beignets, but on the walk over there I decided I was hungry for more, so I got the King Creole breakfast platter, to share (I took one bite of the biscuits and gravy – it did actually taste like sausage gravy – not the plain white sauce heavy with pepper that some places try to pass off. But either way, I’m not that much of a fan, so DH ate most of it) Here's my King Creole platter:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009046POFQKingCreolebr-1.jpg
The eggs were cooked the way I like them, light & fluffy. The sausage was very good – not overly spicy which so many breakfast sausages seem to be; bacon was cooked just a might too soft for me – I don’t like super-crunchy bacon, but this could have been just a tad crispier. The potatoes were very good – this batch must have been fresh off the griddle or skillet because they were very hot on the outside but still moist on the inside. They were mildly seasoned - tasted something like Lawrey's seasoning salt – we both liked them. The biscuit tasted like it was fresh out of the oven, slightly crunchy on the outside and soft inside…I just ate it with butter. To complete my breakfast, I chose a cup of coke to get a cold caffeine buzz.

We paid cash for all, total was $14.66. Not bad for quite a large breakfast. We really like the Sassagoula Floatworks Factory – even when it’s “busy” it just never seems to build up super-long lines, and it’s not nearly as noisy as some of the other counter-service places we’ve been to. I kind of like the gaudy masks & such hanging off the ceiling (DD thinks it's mildly creepy)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009051POFQSASSAGOULAFLOAT.jpg

Give it an 8 on ambiance – it IS a food court, after all. Food, 9. Prices, excellent for Disney food…a 10; service was about a 9 overall (there are some very good CMs in there, but also a few that just seem to be total space-cases) - so give the overall rating of an 8.5 to a 9. We’d go back – it’s a great option for food, especially when you’re hanging around the resort.

[tlynk]

Loving your trip report! I'm gearing up for my upcoming trip, and finding it hard to figure out where I truly want to dine- everything looks wonderful!

[Twinkly-Tink]

Just found your review! and loving it!! :thumbsup2

Thanks for the info on POFQ - we leave today for our first time there! :cool1:

[catne]

Just found your review! and loving it!! :thumbsup2

Thanks for the info on POFQ - we leave today for our first time there! :cool1:


You're welcome...and hope you have a wonderful time! And enjoy POFQ...it's so beautiful there.

[catne]

Since girls were sleeping in, DH & I walked around the grounds of POFQ for awhile after breakfast…so very pretty, and peaceful, there. We stayed at POP last September and you were always running into people on the sidewalks there - clumps of people, extended families, piled high with luggage & coolers & ginormous strollers (exaggeration, sorry.) Though there seemed to be plenty of families around the food court & and the pool, somehow whenever we were out & about at POFQ there was virtually no one wandering the grounds. Which made it even more peaceful & serene. We also checked out the gift shop. DH was scouting for what he might want to buy with his gift card, come Wednesday. So far he’s leaning towards getting a t-shirt of some sort and he’d really like a golf shirt with a very small Mickey emblem. We sat in the pretty lobby for awhile, watching one of the CMs entertain some kids by throwing the shiny plastic Mardi Gras coins all over. The kids really enjoyed trying to figure out where the coins landed (he pretty much threw them every possible direction.) DH & I decided for lunch we'd sit at the tables over by the bar area just off the lobby - it was much quieter over there.

The girls had a lovely sleep-in, and then joined us for lunch at POFQ Sassagoula Floatworks, to be followed with a swim/hot tub session. Then we’d be off to AK for dinner & evening Magic hours...so Monday was working up to be a very laid back day for us.

The place was barely busy, given that it was lunch time. Guess most people were at the parks…there was one or two people waiting at each station, and when we checked out the two registers each had a couple of people in line. Not bad at all, wait wise. We did find a table for four over in the seating just outside the bar - was a really pretty spot to sit with a nice view of the lovely lobby. And it was about 1/2 the noise level of the Sassagoula Floatworks.

DD had the taco salad with all the toppings (they ask you which you want) She highly recommends getting them all – made for a very rich & filling salad. She liked the taco shell bowl, too – crispy and didn’t sog-out early on the bottom. She had a coke to drink, and ordered 2 scoops of ice cream to get after lunch (they’ll let you bring the receipt back within an hour to get your ice cream so you don’t have to take it right away & melt while you’re eating.) No one ahead of her at that station, so she had hers within a minute.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009047POFQtacosaladwithev.jpg

Her BFF ordered the grilled chicken and French fries, with BBQ sauce…she also had a coke and ordered the ice cream for later. Her food took the longest by far – they were not holding the grilled chicken under heat lamps at that point, so it was close to 10 minutes while they cooked it. She enjoyed it, ate most of the sandwich and fries.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009048POFQgrilledchickens.jpg

DH & I both ordered the muffaletto sandwiches – these are basically hot Italian pocket-sandwiches, loaded with meat & cheese. The sauce on the sandwich is an oil & vinegar with olives – very piquant. They’re served with homemade potato chips. I'm told they are not close to the original muffaletto from New Orleans, but oh well...we still find them to be quite enjoyable alternative that is a bit different from the usual burger/fries lunches. Actually, authentic or not, we loved these sandwiches last year…and they did not disappoint this year. Both of us also had cokes & opted for the “later” ice cream.

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009049POFQMuffalettosandw.jpg

Here’s the ice cream – three of us had this combo – mint chip & dutch chocolate. DD had Vanilla bean & dutch chocolate. This is really excellent premium ice cream…I think it was Edy’s? Whatever, they go through a lot so seems like every time we were in the dessert area, they were opening new cartons…never had any freezer-burned ice cream at POFQ, that’s for sure.
Was nice to have ice cream for counter service dessert instead of the prepackaged desserts like a lot of park counter service offer. There also were some bakery options we could have chosen, but we were already trying to vary the desserts by choosing non-cake items when possible. The ice cream did the trick:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009050POFQhandscoopeddutc.jpg
Ambiance again an 8 – it’s a counter service, so a little noisy, a little hectic. Cute décor (or creepy, according to DD) and it was quieter sitting off to the side near the closed bar -- with a view to the lobby & the floatworks. Lunch food – I think it’s better than breakfast – would give our lunch foods a solid 9. Loved the ice cream option for dessert – that’ll add a “plus”. Convenience & service at lunch was excellent – a 10. Overall, would give the lunch experience a 9+. We’d definitely go back, and probably order the same items…although BFF might get the taco salad instead on another trip.

So after a very leisurely Monday morning, we were headed off to Animal Kingdom for some late afternoon touring, then dinner at Yak & Yeti, then evening EMH.

[TigerKat]

The Muffuletta sold at POFQ isn't authentic but is an excellent sandwich!:thumbsup2

[catne]

The Muffuletta sold at POFQ isn't authentic but is an excellent sandwich!:thumbsup2

yeah, I know, but it's as close as I can get in WDW, darn the luck. It would take some REAL pixie dust (is there such a thing?, lol) to get authentic New Orleans food in Orlando...I'll just have to tell DH we need a trip, pronto, to New Orleans so we can do a legitimate, timely, taste test:thumbsup2

...I figure it's kind of like the taste of real Mexican food vs. Taco Bell, real Italian food vs. Olive Garden...I like the food at those places, but I know it doesn't compare to the real thing - we had a neighbor from Mexico a few years back, and when he cooked it was wonderful - but not much like what you'd get at Taco Bell. Same with the Italians I went to school with many moons ago -- when their grandmas made tomato sauce (the all-day bubbling on the stove version) and home-made spaghetti, you KNEW what pasta/sauce was really supposed to taste like. Hmmmm, now I'm off to food-memory-lane:cloud9::

[soontobewed07]

I LOVE your reviews you have sold me on Rose and Crown for one of our dinners. I also like it is a little loud LOL because DS 2 can sometimes be a little loud gotta love the terrible two's

Disclaimer: We always remove him from the rest. when he gets Loud :thumbsup2

[catne]

After our laid-back day, we headed out to AK late afternoon. Sent the girls ahead to get fastpasses for Expedition Everest, then we wandered a bit looking at some of the exhibits on the path going towards Yak & Yeti. Saw various exotic birds getting fed, including those black-necked swans. Weather was again looking very bad…this seemed to be the pattern every day…start the day with a clear blue sky, building heat through morning & early afternoon. Come about 2:00 p.m, and the clouds started moving in & piling up. By about 5:00 every day, it was raining. Most days was a major downpour, followed by off & on drizzle-to-steady-rain for the evening. By the time we got to Yak & Yeti to check in for our 5:00 ADR, it was just starting to drip a little. Five minutes later, we were seated upstairs, corner window table so everyone at the table had a view…which a few minutes later was totally obscured by pouring rain. Didn’t bother us any, because we were high & dry, once again lucking out on timing of heavy rain...enjoying our cocktails & dinner while others ran for cover. That was our real pixie dust for the week!

We started with beverage orders…DH got the Kirin Ichiban beer and I had the Big Bamboo (thanks for the reco, Nicki!)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009055YaYICHIBANBEERANDBI.jpg
He liked his beer (haven’t found one that he would turn down, actually. Some he prefers over others, but he liked this one.) I loved the Big Bamboo – can’t find a description of it, but suffice to say it was a bunch of tropical juice flavors (some liqueurs) and I think coconut rum (maybe – definitely some nice booze in there.) Very refreshing, very dangerous as it didn’t taste like alcohol, though it felt like it. :woohoo: Girls both chose “Glacier Water”, which is one of the non-alcoholic drinks featured on the menu – not covered on the DDP, but ordered anyway:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009054GIRLSYAKYETIGLAC-1.jpg

As you can see in the photo, this is a very blue drink – actually was about the color of glaciers (we’ve seen the real thing, in Alaska—they really are an unnatural looking blue! Pretty, but not what you’d think frozen water looks like. Enough of that, back to the food review, lol.) Anyway, these Glacier Waters were named after the color, not the taste. The taste was actually really sweet coconut. Like pina colada without the pineapple (and no rum of course.) I think they were almost too sweet, because the girls really sipped slowly at them and both also requested water with their meals...don't think they ended up finishing these (they are quite large drinks, though - think those are 14 or 16 oz. glasses.)

On to our entrees – we all chose different items. DH ordered the Baby Back Ribs, which are described as being slow-roasted with hoisin BBQ sauce, fried rice and sweet chili cole slaw.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009058YaYBabyBackRibs-Slo.jpg
Loved the BBQ ribs – fall off the bone tender- DH licked those bones clean. The
rice was good, but just good chicken fried rice, no special touches. The overwhelming taste of this slaw is vinegar – completely vinegar- enough to choke you. Definite yuck.

I ordered the Shaoxing Steak and Shrimp, which was like a long strip of very tender, very well marinated & grilled steak wrapped around a scoop of plain rice. But the sweet marinade from the meat soaked into the jasmine rice, giving it wonderful flavor. The tempura shrimp were very large - the photo doesn't really show them at a good angle, but each was 2-3 bites worth.The batter on the shrimp was light & crispy…the chili plum dipping sauce was just a little bit too hot-spicy for me, but I indulged anyway because it was the perfect zinger with the shrimp. The stir-fried vegetables were good, but I only ate a few because I was getting full and wanted to save room for dessert!
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009059YaYShaoxingSteakShr.jpg

DD went for the Crispy Honey Chicken, which is tempura chicken, with broccoli, carrots, honey sauce…they offer a choice of jasmine (white) rice, or long grain brown rice.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009056YaYCrispyHoneyChick.jpg
She chose the brown rice with hers. She really enjoyed this dish – it’s not as sweet as it sounds like it should be – but tasted like the honey sauce is made with honey and soy sauce. She ate all of the chicken, most of the veggies and about ½ the rice.

BFF chose Sweet & Sour Tempura chicken, served with choice of jasmine or brown rice. It’s served in a sweet/sour sauce with chunks of pineapple, green and red peppers. BFF also chose the brown rice:

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009057SweetSourChickenorP.jpg

She ate all of the chicken, some of the veggies/pineapple and about ½ her rice, too.

Everyone was well satisfied with the entrees – overall, very good Asian food. But onto the REALLY good stuff: dessert.

DD & her BFF chose the Fudge Brownie Sundae for Two – this is allowed on the DDP as long as both people are on the DDP & choose this for their dessert. They LOVED this dessert – especially the chunks of very moist, very chewy and very fudgy-brownie. It was dripping about a cup of chocolate sauce & caramel sauce. Together, they managed to eat most of this:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009061YaYChocolateBrow-1.jpg

DH & I both chose the Yak & Yeti’s celebrated Fried Wontons: these are marvelous cream cheese-filled fried wontons, on a skewer alternating with grilled pineapple. These are drizzled (that's the menu description - they're actually covered!) with a vanilla-honey sauce, and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side…and if that’s not enough, there’s slices of fresh strawberries decorating the plate. Oh, just looking at the pictures makes we want to go back and get this again: it was heavenly good:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009062YaYFriedWontons-Ske.jpg

I tried DD’s sundae – it was good, but I preferred my fried wontons. DD tried my wontons – and she preferred her sundae. We all decided that we’d enjoy coming back to Yak & Yeti, and we’d probably all order the same things again. Service was excellent, the décor was very nice – lots of Asian statuary and carvings around, pretty wall colors with those decorated windows. Tables are not as close together as some WDW restaurants, not so close you feel like you’re sitting with others. We’d give the food (entrees) a 9 – not quite a 10 due to the odd cole slaw and not-so-special rice; but the desserts & adult beverages were a 10…overall, definitely a 9+ experience. Yak & Yeti took 4 table service; had we paid cash, the bill would have been $118 & change for just the entrees and desserts. Our actual cash cost after DDP credits was $51.25 which included the cost of the beer, my cocktail, two Glacier Waters, and the tip. We’d go back in a flash.

[TigerKat]

I'm still hoping to squeeze Y&Y into a trip soon. There's just so many places to try!!!

[medicgirl911]

I wonder if we begged sufficiently enough I could get the fried wontons at the counter servvice part of Yak and Yeti?? I can do quite the puppy dog eyes!!! (how do you think I got my upcoming trip LOL!) :wizard:

[catne]

I'm still hoping to squeeze Y&Y into a trip soon. There's just so many places to try!!!

Don't I know it!!! My bucket list includes eating at least once at every WDW restaurant...so many choices, so little time! We ARE going back for Free Dining with DS & his BFF...so come September, we get to try a few more new ones, as well as a few old favorites. I guess it'll take me lots & lots more trips to get through that list.:)

I wonder if we begged sufficiently enough I could get the fried wontons at the counter servvice part of Yak and Yeti?? I can do quite the puppy dog eyes!!! (how do you think I got my upcoming trip LOL!) :wizard:

I say go for it...whatever it takes, ya know. Worst that can happen is they'll say no. Maybe if you go at an off time, they'll even seat you inside just for dessert? Worth a try:woohoo:

[floridascgirl]

Thank you so much for the fantastic reviews. :thumbsup2 You have me sold on Y&Y and R&C for our upcoming trip in December. I have so many places that I want us to try, that we really need to add a day to our trip!!! :eek:

[Lynn5700]

Hi!!! Loving your reviews so far!!

I'm thinking about trying Rose & Crown after reading your review. We're doiing Deluxe dining in Jan, so we will have a chance to try a bunch of place we have not tried yet.

I'm definitely going to try Yak and Yeti!! You have convinced me!!

[catne]

Hi!!! Loving your reviews so far!!

I'm thinking about trying Rose & Crown after reading your review. We're doiing Deluxe dining in Jan, so we will have a chance to try a bunch of place we have not tried yet.

I'm definitely going to try Yak and Yeti!! You have convinced me!!

We tried Deluxe on a 2 night trip last January...holey moley, that's a lot of food! And we stretched it out -- we checked into the Contemporary in the morning, so we went to 2 places on check-in day, then 3 on our one full day there, and 1 the day we left. But it was sooooo fun to try 6 restaurants in basically 48 hours. We had fun - especially since it was record-setting cold in Orlando when we were there -- our MK morning, it was 32F. at rope-drop! In the summer you go in the restaurants for the A/C...in January, we went in to warm up!

[catne]

Tuesday...a not-so-Magical-Extra-Magic-MK-morning

We started Tuesday up & out very early, cereal bars & coffee in the car – headed for 8:00 a.m. EMH at the MK…only to find things going very unmagical for our Magic Hour:
first at the TTC, no express monorail to MK, and no ferries running to MK: only the resort monorail, and they’re only allowing ½ of each train to be used from the TTC (saving ½ for monorail resort guests) so it took 50 minutes from the bottom of the monorail ramp to the gate of MK…no rope drop for us. Then, we hustle to Frontierland shortly after 8:00 a.m., and BOTH Mountains were down! Well, at least we got Splash fastpasses. So we did some Fantasyland rides, & went back to get Big Thunder fastpasses. Then we headed for POTC – unbelievable - POTC was down! Could it get any worse than that…

Sadly, yes it could…with all this dashing back & forth across the park, it was time for a break, and worst of all…DOLE WHIP WAS DOWN! AAAACK!!! Then DD said she saw someone walking around with what looked like a frozen mocha slushy, and I thought, oh, find me some heaven in a cup – frozen caffeine – but where?

So we were off in search of the frozen mocha slushies…asked at one of those carts that sell bottled water…she had no idea where, but suggested we stop in one of the regular counter service places like Casey’s where the employees were permanent MK people so they’d know. We stopped at Casey’s, where people were setting up to open in a bit, and asked if they knew where we could get a frozen coffee slushy drink: we were told there are none in MK.

WTH? We just saw someone with one…she says they must have brought it into the park – no frozen coffee drinks anywhere in the MK. At this point, we’re getting desperate for something frozen…it was pushing 90F. So DH says let’s go to the Plaza Ice Cream shop & see if we can get a milk shake – at least it’ll be cold.

Got in a fairly long line, waiting our turn. Lo & behold, they have Coke Floats on the menu! Perfect: a little magic has been restored in our universe: we CAN get a frozen beverage, complete with caffeine. We ordered a couple, and for some reason, our coke floats are ready in about 60 seconds flat: way ahead of about a dozen people waiting for their ice cream cones – guess floats are faster to make. The floats were delicious, although not very large – one smallish scoop of vanilla ice cream and about 8 oz. of coke. Sorry, no pictures – it was so hot, we were so parched – no time for pictures! They did hit the spot. The coke floats were 1 Snack Credit each.

And the morning recovered just a bit more of the magic - as we stepped out of the shop onto Main Street, to enjoy our floats & wait for DD & BFF…here comes the new “Move it! Shake it! Celebrate!” parade. Somehow, the crowds on Main Street right in front of the Plaza were sparse – we actually were able to lean on the building, in the semi-shade, and still see over the few people at the curb. We never even intended to watch the parade – I’m not one to go sit for an hour to save a space for a parade, so we usually miss them. Just pixie dust to be in right place & time…made a very entertaining break.

After the parade, we headed over to try and ride Buzz, but the crowds were ridiculous -- it was still before noon, yet Buzz had a 60 min. stand by – Monsters Inc had a long line, and even the dread Stitch had a 40 minute wait. Carousel of Progress was open, though, with a very short line. That is the corniest, hokiest ride ever, but DH & I have to admit we sort of enjoy it; the nostalgia is kind of charming, ya know. But the girls were severely under-impressed, and are fairly sure they’ll "never, ever feel the need to repeat that ride, really: no thanks." When we came out, the crowds & lines were even worse and everyone was hungry, so we headed for lunch.

P.S. ~ I’ve since been told that the Main Street Bakery has frozen lattes…DOH! We were sooo close to there. Oh well, now we know where to get a coke float AND where to get frozen lattes!

[PrincessTrisha]

Auntie Gravity's in Tomorrowland also serves a cappacino smoothie. Super good (and gave me my much needed caffeine fix).

[catne]

Auntie Gravity's in Tomorrowland also serves a cappacino smoothie. Super good (and gave me my much needed caffeine fix).


:worship:Thank you, thank you, thank you!:worship: That sounds even better than a frozen latte...but I'd take either when I'm wanting my coffee slushed!

We will be back to WDW in September...when it's probably going to be even hotter than end of May. Now I know 3 places to get frozen coffee yumminess. I KNEW they had to have it there, should never have believed that gal in Casey's. Maybe she misunderstood my question:rolleyes1

[catne]

Magic all week...

I keep forgetting to mention…we were signed up for the What Will You Celebrate? Promo, so when we checked in to the hotel, they knew DH’s birthday was coming…they gave him the Birthday pin. He wore it all week, and he just loved each & every “Happy Birthday, Mark” he heard. And it was very, very often – Cast Members & fellow Disney–goers alike. If I had to put a number on it, I’d guess he heard it at least 3 times an hour.

1900 Park Fare gave him the “Celebrate” laminated placemat & the special Mickey Cupcake…and of course each & every character in there either wished him Happy Birthday (or made a slightly snide/jealous remark about it.)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay20090421900parkfarebday-1.jpg

At Tower of Terror, the little girl in line behind us gave him a mini-card with a peppermint in it when she told him Happy Birthday…they obviously had made these little cards in advance, I guess just to be nice & give people a little gift. Maybe this was their family’s way to spread pixie dust themselves? It was made with heavier scrapbooking paper, maybe, and folded into a tiny little sleeve-like card, just big enough to hold one of those wrapped starlight mints. The print on the paper was like balloons and said “Happy” all over. We thought it was awesome-sweet of this girl, what a little darling. Anyway…major kudos to the parents for raising a thoughtful, generous child.

Virtually every table restaurant brought out his dessert with a lit candle (even when he ordered coconut ice cream at Le Cellier!) and he had Happy Birthday sung to him by wait staff in French, English (American English, Canadian English-which of course sounds American and also the Brits version) and then in Swahili (a trio of very good singers - complete with drum & shaker instruments…that was not traditional happy birthday song, but an African birthday song – very nice.)

At Main Street Bakery, we stopped to buy his favorite apple turnover for the next day (his birthday breakfast) and as we were standing in line at the cash register to get the snack credits rung up, the gal from behind the counter walks up with her hands behind her back and a big grin on her face…and she says “I bet you think we didn’t notice it’s your birthday, Mark” and then she pulls out a giant free chocolate chip cookie, all wrapped up on a gold-foil tray, and decorated with a Mickey sticker & ribbons. She and the two guys running registers all did a couple of lines of the “Happy Birthday” song, and other employees all chimed in with the “Happy Birthday” as we left. Here’s the cookie - sorry, we all nibbled on it before I remembered to take pictures…it was delicious and stayed fresh for several days of snacking. You can see how big the thing is - compared to the size of the T.V. remote:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009069MKMainStreetBakeryB.jpg

Anyway, DH highly recommends wearing that Birthday button just for the “make you feel good” pixie dust that lands on you every time someone smiles and wishes you Happy Birthday

[catne]

We’d decided to try Cosmic Ray’s again – hadn’t been there in years. My recollection of Cosmic Ray’s was that it was incredibly crowded, unbelievably loud, and though we had good burgers, they were plain because virtually all of the condiments were empty when we went to doctor 'em up. But I’ve seen so many reviews that promised better, so we were giving it a second go. It was busy this time, too, but not as bad as our previous encounter. There were some tables available (though a CM was standing in the doorway of the main dining room – the one where the robot lounge singer is – telling people unless their party was already at a table in that room, it was full, please look elsewhere for a table.)

The girls headed for the burger lines, which were very long. But for some reason, the chicken/ribs side was virtually empy, so DH & I quickly got our food, and started wandering around looking for a table for four – and not having much luck even though it was still shortly before noon. Then we saw the door to one of the little patio/balcony areas – and there were several empty tables out there so we high-tailed it out. Though it was hot, that area was totally shaded, and bonus! Our view was Cinderella’s Castle…great scenery for a counter service. And there was a little breeze blowing so with the shade it was actually quite pleasant. And much, much quieter out there than it was inside. We were lucky to get those seats: by the time the girls got to the table a few minutes later, all of the seats in that half of the restaurant, inside & out, were full - I assume the rest of the place was also full, since we were way around the side - out in the boonies. I can see why people get so frustrated with counter service seating issues – it wasn’t even noon yet and this place was packed. But we had our table & food, so on with it! DH & I ordered the chicken/ribs platter, served with mashed potatoes and green beans. We both chose coke for our beverage, and the little pre-packaged triple-chocolate cake for our desserts.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009063MKCosmicRayHalfChic.jpg
Oh, my, this was really good…and it did not taste like fast-food, at all. The ribs were fork-tender, the chicken was delicious, fall off the bone. The mashed potatoes are real – creamy/buttery with some chunks of taters & flecks of peel – tastes like old-fashioned down home cooking. The green beans were fresh, hot & crisp (not mushy canned beans.) So nice to get some real veggies with fast-food lunch...makes you feel like you're getting healthy nutrition with your dessert. :lmao:We loved this platter, but we decided the next time we’d get one and split it—neither of us came close to finishing even ½ of this. Ate about two bites of the cake – thought about taking it with us but we were afraid the frosting would just melt all over. The cake was fresh and wonderfully decadent (it’s about 1/3 frosting), but it was just way too rich to finish after that large lunch:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009064MKCosmicRaytripl-1.jpg

The girls both chose cheeseburgers & fries, with cokes. The condiments area was very busy, but this time everything they wanted was available to fix-up the burgers. BFF chose the chocolate cake too, DD chose the “no-sugar added brownie.” Here’s BFF’s – DD was the same, except for the dessert (sorry, didn’t get picture of the brownie.)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009064MKCosmicRayBacon-1.jpg
Both girls liked the burgers & said the fries were very good. BFF had about two bites of her cake – she loved it, but was too full too finish it. DD took one bite of the sugar-free brownie and spit it out into her napkin…this thing looked like a square cow-pie, and apparently tasted like one, too. Though it was sealed, it was dry and seriously nasty-bad. DD started reading the label, saw all the warnings about the laxative properties of the sugar-free sweeteners used in this product, and immediately threw the thing away. And then she proceeded to finish off DH’s triple chocolate cake…she just had to wash that the cow-pie taste out of her mouth with real chocolate goodness, :rotfl:. She swore she’d be very, very, very careful to read the menus in the future & avoid anything listed as “no sugar added." For the sake of those who cannot eat sugar, I sure hope other sugar-free desserts are better than that brownie!

After lunch, we headed back to Frontierland to use our fastpasses at Splash & Big Thunder. Big Thunder had stand-by wait of 70 minutes…we walked right passed all those very hot people. Went over to Splash – that was 120 minutes on the stand-by. Again, we walked pretty much straight on – had about a 5 minutes wait at the very end where you get sorted out to load. When we walked passed all those people - they had the full snake-line set up, and it was moving at a snail's pace – whoa, if looks could kill, we’d have been dead a hundred times over. But wow, how wonderful to use the Fastpass system…don't understand why more people don't use it...are there some tickets that won't work in the Fastpass machines? So, anyway, to end our morning at MK, we got just wet enough to refresh on a hot day…and our faith in magic was restored. We headed back to POFQ for a much-needed break in the A/C…and to rest up because later we were going to Epcot in search of a dinner with a French rat.

[catne]

Headed off to Epcot Tuesday night, and once again, storm threatening. This time we were not quite as lucky – had to wear the ponchos walking through Epcot to get to France and our date with a rat at Les Chefs De France. We’ve been here before (DH & I – in January) and really enjoyed our experience. This repeat visit was at the request of DD – she wanted to try another “country” in the World Showcase, and this was the one she chose…getting to meet Remy from Ratatouille was a bonus..

First off, we checked in just 10 minutes ahead of ADR time, and were able to sit on the benches under the entryway awning so we were out of the rain…thankfully, because the heavens opened up just then and really started dumping buckets of rain. We were seated just about at our ADR time, give or take a few.

We ordered our drinks first – DH got the Konigsberg (surprise – a beer! At least he tries the restaurant’s specialty beer instead of just getting Bud everywhere, lol.) I ordered the drink I had in January – the Cocktail de Chefs which is a sparkling wine with black currants. I don’t like a lot of sparkling wine, but this cocktail makes my exception list – it is very good, not too sweet:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009070EpcotLesChefsBiereK.jpg
The girls just got sodas this time, so no special photos there. But shortly after we sat down, we met a celebrity – the rodent movie star, Remy, from the movie Ratatouille, came by to see us. This really is quite cute, and the “comic waiter” (ours was a lady waiter) is also quite amusing.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009073EpcotLesChefsgirlsa.jpg
When Cedric the real waiter came back with our drinks, he began explaining the menu…including the page about the fixed-price option where you get appetizer, entrée and dessert. And, yes, it is allowed on the regular DDP. There are several choices in each category. We had been planning on getting a bowl or two of the French onion soup to share, but after reading the choices, we all figured out that the entrees & desserts we wanted WERE on the fixed price menu, so BONUS, we’d get what we wanted plus appetizers for all. All the girls ordered the French onion soup for starters; DH ordered the lobster bisque – he & I were to share the bisque & onion soup between us so we could have both. Cedric brought the hot French rolls around just before the soup was delivered to the table. Love these rolls- crispy on the outside and soft & chewy on the inside…and hot enough to melt that rock-hard Disney butter, too!
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009071EcpotLesChefsFrench.jpg
Top is the lobster bisque – I did not care for this at all, way too “fishy” tasting for me (tasted more like a fish chowder to me) Bottom of the picture, covered in melted cheese, is that lovely French onion soup…I just barely shared this with DH (bad me.) The girls enjoyed their soup, also…but quit about ½ way through to save room for the rest of the meal.

DH & I both ordered the grilled salmon (delicious), which is served with a small whole boiled potato (tasty, very buttery tasting) and whatever that round pile of vegetables was – not so tasty…was like boiled out soup veggies without the soup? Nearly tasteless. We both ate all the salmon & tater, left most of the veggie blob.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009074EpcotLesChefsSalmon.jpg
DD ordered the beef short ribs (tender, tasty) with noodles (just plain noodles)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009075PlatdeCotedeBoeufau.jpg

BFF ordered the macaroni & cheese – not to be confused at all with the blue box stuff…this was delicious, creamy & very, very rich. She could not finish it:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009076EpcotLesChefsGratin.jpg

For dessert, DD ordered the crème brulee; she ate all of this…said it was very good with just the right amount of cracklin on top:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009078EpcotLesChefsCremeB.jpg

DH, BFF & I each ordered the Profiterolles au Chocolat…that luscious combination of puff pastry, ice cream and the most wonderful chocolate sauce…which looks like Hershey’s, but oh my, way better. I actually think it would be worth eating here just to get this dessert – that good:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009077EpcotLesChefsProfit.jpg

So all in all, we enjoyed our meal at Les Chefs…service was excellent, a 10 for sure; décor is lovely, but ambiance was just o.k. – tables are a might bit too close together so that detracts from the experience a bit: give that a 7. Food averaged about an 8 before dessert…but dessert was a 10 for sure (both the profiterolles and the crème brulee are superb.) Would we go back…yes. Cost was 4 TS credits…cash cost of the fixed priced menu is $37.00 each, so would have been about $155 before tip. My cocktail was $9.75 and DH’s beer was $5.95.

[oybolshoi]

YUMMY!!! :thumbsup2

We're headed back to Chefs this fall ... we like to hit them up for lunch and have always had tasty tasty food there.

Enjoying your reviews as always! BTW ... my hubby and I like the French beer, too!

[catne]

YUMMY!!! :thumbsup2

We're headed back to Chefs this fall ... we like to hit them up for lunch and have always had tasty tasty food there.

Enjoying your reviews as always! BTW ... my hubby and I like the French beer, too!


Thanks - that's our second time there, and so far not disappointed!

Oh, hey - guess what -- we stopped in Ofallon and gassed up the family truckster on our road trip to Orlando in May!!! And I told my DH, DD & her BFF we were all supposed to yell "so long Stinktown"...and of course they all refused until they know why?:rotfl:

[oybolshoi]

Thanks - that's our second time there, and so far not disappointed!

Oh, hey - guess what -- we stopped in Ofallon and gassed up the family truckster on our road trip to Orlando in May!!! And I told my DH, DD & her BFF we were all supposed to yell "so long Stinktown"...and of course they all refused until they know why?:rotfl:

So, did you try to explain? :laughing:

I listened ... but I sure didn't hear anyone yelling about Stinktown. ;)

[catne]

So, did you try to explain? :laughing:

I listened ... but I sure didn't hear anyone yelling about Stinktown. ;)

I tried:)...but they weren't buying it. So the best I could do was muster one lonely little "so long, stinktown" as we pulled back on the interstate...but have to tell ya, your wish for us to have good driving worked out very well, lots of pixie dust on that drive. The traffic wasn't too bad going through your end of Missouri this time, because we were going through there about 7:00 p.m. on a Thursday night. We were worring about going through downtown St Louis because there was a ball game that night, but we timed our dinner stop so that we'd go through after the first pitch of the night...we had smooth sailing through all the MO Saint-towns:thumbsup2

[catne]

We started the day with breakfast in the room…DH had his beloved Apple Turnover from Main Street Bakery. He gobbled this down before I could even beg a bite:

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/IMG_1780appleturnoverEverythingP-1.jpg

I had an item that was described to me as “banana pudding bread”…well, “this was neither banana pudding, nor banana bread. Discuss.” It looked sort of like a banana bread muffin – looked like it should be moist. What it actually was - it was extremely dense. And extremely dry. And very little flavor, banana or otherwise. Not sure what it really was, but I ate about 1/3 of it and gave up. Not a good choice at all – should have stuck with those delicious cinnamon rolls, but I was determined to try something new. Live & learn.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009081POFQBananapuddin-1.jpg
I had a couple of nibbles off DH’s birthday cookie from the Main Street Bakery…much better than the banana-whatever-it-was:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009069MKMainStreetBakeryB.jpg

After doing a couple of rides at Epcot (and getting Soarin fastpasses for Wednesday night) we took off for DTD for a special birthday treat…we were going to ride Characters in Flight. Our luck was holding – the storms predicted for Wednesday morning had not shown up yet…and we bought our tickets & got in line…only one balloon-full in line ahead of us. But within a few minutes, there was a humongous line behind us. Some of the people in line were being told it would be 45-60 minutes wait. Here’s a pic of the balloon going up (this was the group ahead of us)

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009084Charactersinflig-2.jpg

And here’s a picture I took while we were up in the balloon:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009088charactersinflightr.jpg
That’s the resorts right across the water from DTD. They really looked beautiful as the balloon went up & you could see all the lush landscaping.

That’s Epcot through the net – the little white ball just to the right of center in the photo.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009087charactersinflightv.jpg
This really is an awesome ride – highly recommend it. But don’t do it if you have any fear of heights, or are prone to motion sickness. While it’s really a smooth trip going up with just a “bump” at the top when they stop, coming down and landing can be sort of unsettling, especially if there’s a stiff breeze going. Several people were fine with the ride until the landing, since down was not near as gentle as up.

Next up…lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express.

[TigerKat]

Thanks for the pics of Characters in Flight, first review I've read of it!:thumbsup2

[JerseyJanice]

I'm loving your reviews so far, Cat. :thumbsup2 Keep up the good work!

So did I read your Chefs de France review correctly in that there are now choices with the French menu? Last time I looked on allears, it appeared that if you pick it, you can get only the onion soup, roasted chicken and creme brulee.

Both the soup and creme brulee appeal to me very much, but I wasn't too excited over the chicken. If I can get the short ribs instead, that will be fantastic.

[catne]

Sorry about taking so long to get back to you folks -- been running like crazy today so very little time to get to my Disboards!

Thanks for the pics of Characters in Flight, first review I've read of it!:thumbsup2

Glad to do it -- kind of wondered if I should put it in a dining review, but it's something relatively new, thought people might like some first-hand info...we did it just before lunch that day, so what the heck figured I'd squeeze it in between reports of breakfast & lunch. We really did enjoy it -- though it's a short ride -- about 10-12 minutes from the time you step on the balloon -- we thought it was worth the price.

I'm loving your reviews so far, Cat. :thumbsup2 Keep up the good work!

So did I read your Chefs de France review correctly in that there are now choices with the French menu? Last time I looked on allears, it appeared that if you pick it, you can get only the onion soup, roasted chicken and creme brulee.

Both the soup and creme brulee appeal to me very much, but I wasn't too excited over the chicken. If I can get the short ribs instead, that will be fantastic.

Well, I always say allears is a great resource, but only for "general" ideas about what's what...I research the heck out of places we want to go, even checking right before we leave on the trip. Have never, ever found an allears menu that is actually the same as what we see. But in all fairness, we found the same thing was true with the "brand new" Disney menu links on some of the restaurants on the official Disney website - like they just put up the Rose & Crown menu shortly before our trip...and then we got there & the menu was different. So if Disney can't keep their own stuff current, how can a volunteer-run fan site do it?

But back to Les Chefs, yep, the menu had like a whole page that was all the choices for the fixed-price meal (don't think they called it "the French menu" -- I think that name was maybe what used to be on the lunch menu?) Anyway, this was the dinner menu. I don't actually recall if there was a "name" on the page...but basically there were several appetizer choices, several entree choices and several dessert choices. We were so thrilled that our entree & dessert choices were on there, because that meant we could also get our appetizer soups included - SCORE! - we had been planning on paying OOP to get the French Onion soup. I hope they keep it that way...

[catne]

How’s that for taking alliteration too far, lol. So we were off to Wolfgang Puck for the birthday lunch. This was our first experience with Wolfgang Puck -- they don't have any around our part of the world. We've seen them on our travels, just have never stopped. What a treat this place is for a counter service restaurant…first off, you go to the counter to order…and the counter guy seems 100% thrilled, really happy, to find out you’re on the DDP. He positively gushed about how great the plan was & immediately started pointing out what he considered the tastiest, most expensive things on the menu. Which just happened to be what DH & I were interested in, anyway. So you order at the counter, and then they give you a number to put on your table & a server brings your food, and constant refills on beverages too. So it’s kinda fast food/kinda table service.

Now one thing I have to point out…allears, wdwinfo AND the actual menu hanging on the wall in Wolfgang Puck Express all show “rigatoni with chicken Bolognese”…that’s actually been discontinued. Now it’s “rigatoni with beef Bolognese”…same dish, but beef. Which is what DH ordered. This comes with either a ceasar side salad, or garden greens salad. He chose the garden greens salad…and it comes with a slice of warm cheese bread. Both of us ordered sodas as our beverage. Here’s his Bolognese:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009095WPERigatoniwithchic.jpg
This is a huge serving – no way could he finish this. He loved it, though. Me, not so much. There was enough garlic in this thing to guarantee that no vampires, werewolves, or humans would want to be within 10 yards of the guy (and I had to share a bedroom with the guy, lol.) Suffice to say I was feeding him peppermints non-stop for the next 24 hours. Anyway, HE thought it was great.

I opted for the rigatoni with chicken alfredo, also taking the garden side salad; mine also came with the cheese bread. Here’s the salad
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009096WPEsalad.jpg
Very tasty, creamy ranch dressing tasted homemade. And here’s the rigatoni alfredo:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009094WPRigatoniwithchick.jpg
This was outstanding – sometimes alfredo sauce just tastes like slightly flavored white sauce…not this. This was so rich & cheesy…scrumptious. Also a huge serving – these dishes were like dinner-plates, but bowls. We could have easily split one of these meals (but not his – no way could I eat that much garlic!) Anyway, loved this pasta dish.

DD went for one of WPE most popular items, the personal pizzas. She chose the mushroom & pepperoni…she really, really enjoyed this lunch. Said the pizza was “everything a pizza should be…great crust, great cheese, great toppings, cooked just right.” This could be shared, but not quite as big a serving as the pasta dishes are.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009098WPEPepperoniandMush.jpg
BFF had the Chinois chicken salad (which they very nicely tell you is pronounced “shin-wah” so you don’t make a fool of yourself ordering it.) This thing was fabulous to look at – like a mini food sculpture. BFF really enjoyed it…and it was also a very large portion:

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009097WPEChinoisChickenSa.jpg

DH & I both opted for the WPE crème brulee, topped with a strawberry that day (server indicated that the fruit garnish changes a lot.) O.K., people have raved about the crème brulee there…have to say this: meh, it was o.k. Nothing spectacular. It was made properly & all, but was just plain crème brulee. I’d probably try the cookie or brownie next time.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009094WPECREMEBRULEE.jpg

DD did order the brownie, but ended up taking it with her because she was way too full to eat it then. BFF ordered frozen yogurt, which they brought out later…she enjoyed it, but nothing special about it either. Sorry didn’t get a picture of either of the girls’ desserts.

So anyway, on to costs – of course we paid with 4 dining plan counter service credits (one per person) Now I have to say if I’m perfectly honest about it, I doubt that we’d ever eat here in a million years if we were paying cash out of pocket…the food is very good, but I seriously don’t think DH & I had a lunch worth $48.01. Yes, that was the total on our lunch – just DH & I – before the tip. No booze or any extras. The pasta dishes were excellent, and very large. The salad was nice. The dessert was good enough, the soda drinks were soda drinks. But really, nearly $50 for lunch? In what really is a fast-food place with table delivery? Guess I’m too cheap, but pasta for $50 better be loaded with crab & lobster, served on silver by a guy in a funny black suit with a towel over his arm,lol. Thank heavens for the DDP, though. DD & BFF’s bill came to $37.70…guess they chose “cheap” menu items (but again, $37 for a small pizza and a dinner salad?) Oh, well. Décor – a step up from McD’s, but still fairly fast-food looking…give it a 6. Service , that was a 10…they really were very helpful at the counter when we ordered and then our server was always there the instant a drink needed refilling, the second a plate needed removing, etc. The food, I'd say an 8.5 (entrees were 10s but desserts just were not all that.) Overall – a high 8, I guess. Would we go back, sure, but only on the Dining Plan. Without the dining plan, don’t think so, unless those prices came down substantially. But it was a great birthday lunch for DH.

[catne]

So it actually was DH’s birthday that day, and his request for dinner was Le Cellier (when he asked, he had full confidence that I could get it booked…there must have been a lot of pixie dust when I called, because they had a table for 4 within 5 minutes of his requested time of 5:30.)

We were seated almost immediately. Our server was Laura, and she was a darling…very attentive throughout the meal. Have to apologize in advance – it was very difficult to get good pictures in Le Cellier – it’s very dark in there & I had a heck of a time with either way too bright pics or way too dark, so some just didn’The girls both opted for the pina colava smoothies (non alcohol version) while I chose the boozed up one…the version with rum has a pineapple hanging from it. Le Cellier is one of the places you can get the smoothies as your DDP beverage. I thought the girls’ smoothies tasted like an overdose of coconut, though…not near as good a blend of raspberry/coconut as the pina colava. The girls liked them, though. DH chose Molson Canadian. Smoothie and pina colava (sorry, no pic of the beer…it came out too dark):

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009099LeCellierPinaCol-2.jpg

Both girls decided to try the Chef’s Choice with the prime rib. BFF chose the Garden Greens Salad, with was large & tasty:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009102LeCelliermixedfi-2.jpg

DD wanted the cup of cheddar soup (sorry, pic didn’t come out) but DH & I ordered a bowl of the cheddar soup for the table to share as dip, because we loved it last time. It did not disappoint: among the 4 of us, we ate most of this bowl, and two helpings of the breadsticks…which were also as good as we remembered. Here’s the soup with a pretzel breadstick:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009103LeCellierCheeses-1.jpg

Have to apologize for no picture of the prime rib – the picture overfilled on the flash first so just a blinding flare, then tried with no flash & you couldn’t begin to see what’s what on that photo so I gave up. BFF had hers cooked medium well, DD requested rare…both came out correctly. The girls ate most of the meat, but did want to save room for dessert.

DH & I both had the mushroom filet, cooked rare. These were cooked perfectly (Laura did check to make sure we knew what rare was…once she was assured we were from a farm state where they know how to cook rare beef, she laughed & said just had to be sure. ) The filet was wonderful…I don’t know how they get the meat so tender there, but it is a treat, for sure. We both finished the filets, and left most of the risotto…just barely had room for dessert so no sense filling up on rice!
mushroom filet:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/IMG_2387lecelliermushroomfilet-1.jpg
DD & BFF both chose the Chocolate Mousse Moose, and had great fun eating these (and then playing with the remains once they were full…they got quite creative making art on their plates. Tried to take a picture of that, but it didn’t come out. The picture of the moose did, though:

chocolate mousse
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/disneymay2009105LeCellierchocola-1.jpg

Even though it was his birthday, DH wanted a lighter dessert than cake, so he asked if they had any ice cream. Lauren said they had coconut ice cream like they have at Les Chefs. I had that back in January and it was good, so DH asked for a bowl of that for dessert. They brought it out with a candle, and sang Happy Birthday to him. Sorry, the photo is bright – flash problems in the dark room again!
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/May2009LeCelliercoconuticecreama-1.jpg

I chose my favorite maple crème brulee – this is my 2nd favorite crème brulee in all of WDW. The maple taste is subtle (doesn’t taste like pancake syrup, lol) but it is just enough extra flavor to give a Wow factor to the dessert. They do get a perfect amount of crackle on top, too, without a burnt taste…I ate most of this, with DD & DH just taking a taste:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/May2009LeCellierCremeBrulee.jpg

All in all, a very enjoyable meal – it was a good as we remembered. Give the ambiance a 9 (just a teensy bit TOO dark in there.) Tables are close, but didn’t think it was too close. Service was a 10, as was the food. So total rating would be just a tad under a 10. We’d go back, for sure. Had we paid cash for the meal, before tip the total would have been $181.78 (including the beer & cocktail.) With the DDP portion deducted, our actual cash cost was $21.55 before tip (cost of beer, my cocktail & the extra bowl of cheddar soup.)

[catne]

So, the plan for Thursday was Hollywood Studios, all the way. We had chocolate muffins for breakfast, courtesy of Sassagoula Bakery. These were good, but not as good as I thought they would be. For as dark as they were, you’d think they would be super-chocolately tasting…but they weren’t…actually a fairly weak chocolate flavor. But they were fresh, soft & filling...just not as good as expected. Next time I'll try the ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls instead. Live & learn.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009MainStreetbakerydoublecho-1.jpg

We had a great morning at DHS…we were there at actual rope drop – near the front of the crowd. DH got to the TSM fastpass machines near the front of the pack, so the by the time the girls & I caught up and made it to the stand-by line entrance, he was joining us with fastpasses for later. So we rode TSM stand-by – basically a walk through with a few slow-downs (but not even enough stoppage in the line to take photos along the way), then we also had fastpasses for an hour later. DHS was much better on Thursday (without the Star Wars extra stuff, DHS was just regular-crowded, not crazy-crowded like Sunday.) After TSM, we headed over and walked on ToT, then had a short wait for RnR. We then headed over to GMR, followed by Muppets 3D (which is showing it’s age, but we love it anyway.) Given the title of my reviews, just had to visit the fountain with beloved Miss Piggy on the plaza outside Muppets:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009misspiggyandus-1.jpg
Since we were in the neighborhood, and wanting some lunch, we headed for Toy Story Pizza Planet. Last time DH & I were there, we arrived around 11:30, and it wasn’t busy at all. This time, it was just after noon and was getting really, really busy in there. And loud! Guess last time we sat outside where you don’t actually hear all the arcade game noise…this time it was a kazillion degrees outside so everyone voted for air conditioning. Now I know why people were sitting at the outdoor tables even with 90F & horrendous humidity levels.

All the lines were going at the counters, so we thought we’d have a long wait, but actually the people working there really had the system down so it only took about 10 minutes from the time we got in line until when we had our trays of food. Basically, we all either got the cheese pizza combo, or the pepperoni pizza combo. Here’s the cheese pizza combo – came with the side salad, a soda and chocolate chip cookie (I think there was another option on the dessert – like different kind of cookie or rice krispie treat maybe, but we all went for the chocolate chip cookie.)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009PizzaPlanetcheesepizzawithsa.jpg

When they saw DH’s birthday button, he scored a Pizza Planet cup. Here’s his tray (he has pepperoni pizza on his.)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009PizzaPlanetmealwithfreebi-1.jpg

The pizzas were fresh, and good. Not the best, not gourmet…but hot & tasty. Really enjoy the side salads…so nice to get non-chips/non-fries as the side dish on fast-food. The cookies were absolutely wonderful last time we were there –as in straight out of the oven (chocolate chips still melted—that fresh.) This time…totally different. These cookies were hard as rocks…and seriously stale tasting. In fact, they really didn’t even taste like chocolate chip cookies. These looked like a choc chip cookie, but tasted like eating a saltine cracker – without the salt for flavor. I think these had been made at least the day before, and not stored in an air-tight container so totally dried out. None of us ate more than a bite of these cookies.

Sorry, I can’t tell you what the actual cost was-that receipt is missing in my stack.We actually paid 4 counter service credits. Checking the on-line, looks like the meals were roughly $12.50 each with drink & dessert, so cash would have run about $50.00. To rate the experience – well, ambiance – if you love the arcade scene (and find game noise attractive) this would be the place for you. Us, not so much…we prefer being able to hold a conversation where we don’t have to shout over electronic buzzes,bongs, dings, clonks, etc. So ambiance – about a 2 (o.k., it looks cute – it looks like the movie. So I’ll change that to a 5.) Service was good. The salads were good, the pizzas were acceptable…but the cookies - total yuck. And unfortunately, this is a meal that is NOT the usual overly-large servings – the pizzas are most definitely single serving sized so we could have eaten those cookies had they been any good. So overall, I’d have to say this meal just barely made it over the halfway mark—5.5, maybe 6 tops. Will we go back…I’m thinking not.

After lunch, we went to ride TSM a second time using our Fastpasses. Love that ride! We headed back to the hotel for a break…DH & the girls to the hot tub, and me to the air conditioning.

[catne]

We had the Fantasmic Dinner Package at Mama Melrose with a 5:10 seating. We checked in around 4:55 or so and it was a good 20 minutes until we were seated…which was kind of surprising because when we got in there it looked like the vast majority of the tables were empty. WTH? Now I know some restaurants that just open at 4:30 or 5:00 so they don’t fill the tables all at once. But Mama Melrose is a Fantasmic restaurant, so they actually have dinner reservations starting at 2:30! They did not just start serving a few minutes before we got there. Well, anyway, our server was quick to arrive and take our drink orders, but those drinks took another 10 minutes to get back to our table. Which was odd, because we were just on the other side of a divider from the bar…maybe 12-15 feet away from it, actually - and I could see bartenders standing around chatting with each other? Where were our drinks all that time? So I have to say right off the bat that we loved the food there, but not the service. You so often hear that people felt rushed at other WDW places, yet at Mama Melrose it seems to be moving at a snail’s pace. Now we actually were out of there in about an hour & 15 minutes, which isn’t terrible…but there was really quite a bit of waiting between things. And I just don’t understand where the help disappears too? It’s not just your own server that can’t be found – no one’s around for multiple minutes so you can’t even flag down someone else to help you or find your server. And we needed help, this time

So, anywho…the girls just ordered soft drinks, but I wanted the Bellini cocktail (“A refreshing combination of Sparkling Wine, White Peach, and Raspberry”) and DH ordered a Moretti beer. When the drinks finally came, it was just as tasty as the one I had in September. While it is peach colored, it’s not an overwhelming peach taste…but it is delicious.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009mamamelrosebellinicocktailan.jpg

Shortly after we sat down, some of the DHS street characters were making the rounds in Mama Melrose, and came over to wish DH a Happy Birthday…the actress (I think her character name is Dora Nesmond) made a big production of flirting outrageously with DH, lots of behind the hand, stage whisper “call me” and such – she’s almost as funny as the stepsisters with her exaggerated acting. http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009mamamelrosecharacters.jpg

Well, anyway, on to the food. Since we were on the Fantasmic Dinner Package, we were entitled to appetizers. DD ordered the brushetta…described on the MM menu as “Marinated Tomatoes served with Crostini”. Now this was an interesting item: it was a very attractive presentation, and looked like it should be wonderful. But DD said it was “just o.k…well, not much to it.” While the crostini looks like there's some sort of butter & seasoning broiled onto it, the taste was just plain toasted white bread – no nothing flavor. It looked “golden brown” – just didn’t taste like golden anything. And the marinated tomatoes could have used some seasoning…she couldn’t guess what they were marinated in because they just tasted like plain tomatoes, albeit wet. Marinated in water? Who knows. Anyway, would not repeat on this one.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009mamamelrosebruschettaappe-1.jpg

BFF ordered the caesar salad…a perfectly acceptable rendition. Nothing spectacular, but a good salad. She ate most of the salad, but left the crostini – it was the same tasteless toasted-nothing-bread as DD had on the bruschetta plate.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009MamaMelroseceasarsaladwit-1.jpg

DH & I were here last September and had the calamari appetizer back before it was labeled “for two” – and we really like it then. So the description on the menu is “Crispy Calamari for Two topped with Peppers and Onions served with a side of spicy Marinara Sauce.” Which is the same description as before except for adding “for two” now. We both love calamari, so we ordered the “for two” version. Here’s our take on this…it’s the same size serving as before – same size bowl of dipping sauce, same coverage, on the same size plate, as in September (I even went back & looked at the picture from our September outing there.) But now it’s “for two.” Granted, it was way too big of a serving for one person before, even as an entrée it would have been large…and in fact, it’s still too much of an appetizer even for two if you’re also getting an entrée & a dessert. We just thought it was funny that the size is the same as before. But there was one difference we noticed – this was actually a good difference, for us – in September, it was close to half peppers & onions, half fried calamari. This time, the peppers & onions actually were in “Topping” quantities – there was a lot more calamari than veggies. And this was the standout appetizer – breaded correctly and then served hot & fresh. It was fried exactly crispy without getting hard & oil-logged. The dipping sauce is a little spicy – tangy, but even I like it (and I’m the wimp on “hot” spices.) We loved this stuff – and DD soon totally gave up on her bruschetta and started helping out with the calamari. This was a keeper, even as a “for two” appetizer. (We actually left some of it on the plate – with three of us eating it. There was no way we could finish this off with entrée & dessert still to come.)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009MamaMelrosecalimarifortwoapp.jpg

For entrees, DH chose the Shrimp Pipette. Which is actually listed on the menu as “Chicken Pipette” and described as “Wood-grilled Chicken over Pipette Pasta tossed
with Artichokes, Peas, Roasted Peppers, and Sweet Onions in a Basil Four-Cheese”…he couldn’t figure out what to get because he was hankering for fishy-pasta…so I pointed out that “substitute shrimp” was an option on this dish. And that’s what he did. The shrimp were large & grilled nicely…he loved this pasta & sauce and actually cleaned the plate.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009mamamelroseshrimppipette.jpg

All three of the girls ordered the “Oven-Baked Chicken alla Parmigiana over spaghetti” which is a slightly inaccurate description, since they actually serve the chicken parmiagiana next to the spaghetti, not on top of it. That’s a good thing, as far as I’m concerned because I do not like chicken parm when the breading is soggy from sitting on pasta sauce. We all thought this was excellent. The breading was crispy, the sauce was good (more of a sweet tomato sauce than a tangy one) nd the spaghetti was cooked al dente, which is how we all prefer it. The meat was probably at least an 8 oz. Chicken breast, and the spaghetti serving was about 2 cups worth…definitely a good-sized meal but we all three at most of it. Would definitely order this dish again.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009mamamelrosechickenparmigi-1.jpg

DD went for the warm chocolate truffle cake…was very good, but exceptionally rich. She would order it again.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009mamamelrosewarmchocolatetruf.jpg

DH ordered spumoni…which as you can see, sat somewhere for awhile before the waitress brought it out, since it arrived at the table looking like this. And the waitress made no effort to clean up the edge or give extra napkins or anything. Weird. It was very good ice cream, but quite the mess with the melt all over. He enjoyed it anyway.:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009mamamelrosechocolatespumo-1.jpg

BFF & I both ordered the Honey-Hazelnut Ricotta Cheesecake. This was every bit as good as I remembered (had a bite in September when DH ordered it.) We both finished most of our dessert. I also had coffee with my dessert (as my DDP beverage, since I’d been drinking a cocktail with my meal.)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009mamamelrosehoneyhazelnutrico.jpg

Now a word about service…it was slow, and at times non-existent. Refills took forever…both DH & I requested water when our appetizers came. Now we did not see the water until our entrees arrived & we reminded her about the water. The waitress never checked between servings to see if we needed anything…she just showed up with the next step of the meal. If we forgot to ask while she was around, we were out of luck because she never checked back, and there never seemed to be anyone else around that we could ask for anything. EXCEPT, at one point a different waiter walking by actually slipped and almost dumped a tray of full ice-water glasses on our table. As it was, DD jumped up & caught the edge (over my head, no less) so most of the glasses & water stayed on his tray. But at least two glasses-worth spilled all over the remains of our entrees, table & us. That guy gave a hurried “sorry” and disappeared. No one came to clean it up…when we mentioned the obvious mess on the table (and who had made it) several minutes later our server just said “sorry, I’ll get you some towels.” And came back about 15 minutes later with a stack of paper towels…and left again. I guess we were supposed to clean this up ourselves (and what were we supposed to do with the extra ice cubes all over our table – put them in our water glasses? You can see some of the ice cubes still on the table in some of the dessert pictures.) I probably should have complained to the manager or someone before we left, but after our server brought our KTTW cards & receipts…surprise, surprise there were no Mama Melrose employees in sight, anywhere. Not even at the podium out front. What were they doing, having a mandatory safety meeting right in the middle of dinner? We waited a couple of minutes…no one came back out. We had TSM fastpasses burning a hole in our pocket, so we gave up & left.

Will we be back…yes, we will. Because that’s the best choice for us on the Fantasmic Dinner Package, and the way they’re running so few shows, we really liked the reserved seats. And we actually do like the food there – the calamari, the entrees and the desserts were very good. Just wish the service hadn’t been so lacking.

So, anyway, the total cost of the Fantasmic meal package for 4 and our adult beverages, with tax was $155.98…but of course, using the DDP, the cash cost after deducting four TS credits was $15.45 plus tip. Do have to say this was one place we did not do our customary over-tipping.

[tink1957]

We had the same experience as you with Mama Melrose, good food, poor service. I guess that's why they schedule the Fantasmic Dinner pkgs so early, it takes forever to get your food & when you finally do get it, it takes forever to get the check. We decided to take our chances on our Sept trip & wait in line since you have to line up with everyone else instead of having the separate entrance at Oscar's.

[catne]

We had the same experience as you with Mama Melrose, good food, poor service. I guess that's why they schedule the Fantasmic Dinner pkgs so early, it takes forever to get your food & when you finally do get it, it takes forever to get the check. We decided to take our chances on our Sept trip & wait in line since you have to line up with everyone else instead of having the separate entrance at Oscar's.

Yeah, it really is a bummer, especially since last September, DH & I had far better service there...hopefully it was just an odd night in May. The server was much younger & appeared less experienced. We'll see.

By the way, those posts about having to "line up with everyone else" are not the way it actually works...it's true there's no separate entrance anymore, but you do not actually line up, or wait in line at all with the Fantasmic Dinner Package tickets. In May 2009, we walked straight in at 8:00 for a 9:00 show, gave our ticket to the CM at the top of the entrance ramp and they showed us exactly where to go...there were plenty of reserved seats to choose from at 8:00, an hour before the show. (but the rest of the theater was almost full. In fact, the line for people without tickets started forming two & 1/2 hours before show time -- there was quite a number of people waiting at 6:30 for a 9:00 show. By 7:00, the line was huge and went all the way down the block to the area in front of Beauty & the Beast. But they opened the theater at 7:30 (90 min. before show time), so when we walked in at 8:00, that huge crowd had progressed into the theater & taken their seats. There was just a steady stream of people going in when we went in, not really a "line" at all, and certainly no waiting.)

[catne]

The last day of our Disney vacation arrived...and Friday was “which park day?” on our schedule. We were closing the vacation out that night at the Magic Kingdom – open until midnight on Friday – so we knew MK was covered.

So in discussing which park to go to on Friday morning, DH & I didn’t really have a preference. We actually had two requests from the girls – BFF has never seen Nemo the Musical at AK— and we hadn’t been able to fit it in on our AK day earlier in the week, so she wondered if we could do AK for awhile. They both wanted one more time on Everest, as well. And, it came out that they’d “over-shopped” at Epcot (is that possible?) and had run out of time to make it onto Spaceship Earth…and BFF has never seen the updated SSE with the program-your-future part on the ride down. DH & I thought one more time on SSE would be fun, too...we actually love that ride (but then we're both history fanatics.) And we could eat lunch in Epcot - great counter service choices there, better than AK. So we decided we’d go out with a real whirl & make Friday a 3-park day. That's something I don’t think we’ve ever done before - 2 parks a day, often, but never 3. Well, we fortified ourselves with cereal bars, and headed for AK first thing…got there just a couple of minutes after rope drop at about 9:05. The girls took off at full speed for a last ride on Everest while DH & I just meandered towards Nemo since the first showing wasn't until 10:00 a.m.. We had time to look at some of the animal exhibits along the way, as well as admire the scenery around the lagoon -- love that spot on the way to Nemo when you can look across the water & see "Everest" in the distance...really a tranquil scene (except for every now & then when the breeze carries the sound of screams across the water, lol.)

We met up with the girls outside Nemo about 10:45, and found great seats right in the first row of the upper half tier -- so the wide aisle was right in front of us. That's where the actors walk several times during the show so we had the advantage of being able to see the "big picture" sitting back aways, but also got to see Nemo & some of the other characters up close because they paused to say some of the dialogue very close to us. The first showing wasn't even 1/2 full. The show was excellent – first time I saw this show last year, I was not impressed – I don’t know why. Just thought it was too much of a repeat of the movie, and didn't think the singing/dancing etc. was all that. Anyway, this time we really enjoyed it. Maybe it grew on us? All in all a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours - leisurely stroll through AK & then a 45 show in the air conditioning.

Well, after that we dashed off to Epcot, to ride SSE. We had about a 10 minute wait at SSE - only about 1/2 of that outside line was in the shade and it was really getting hot & humid by then...the dark coolness inside SSE was a very welcome relief. After SSE, it was lunch time, and the girls wanted to repeat Asian at Sunshine Seasons for lunch. They actually ordered exactly the same meals they had on Saturday, except this time one of them got strawberry shortcake and the other got the butterfinger cheesecake. The girls enjoyed their Asian plates & loved the desserts. Sorry, I didn't take pics of their entrees this time, but here's a replay on the desserts (always good to look at desserts:thumbsup2)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/SaturdaySSEplunchmkandctstrawberrys.jpg
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/SaturdayEpSSbutterfingercheesecake.jpg

DH & I both decided to try the grill station….He got the grilled pork loin, with two sides, and the strawberry shortcake for dessert. The pork chop was huge—extra thick, moist and well seasoned. He really liked this meal – he loves grilled food (cave-man at heart – cook it over a fire & it’s good.) The strawberry shortcake was every bit as good as previously.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sunshineseasonsgrilledporklo.jpg
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sunshineseasonsstrawberrysho.jpg

I chose the grilled salmon, with mashed potatoes and a salad. Sorry about the acute angle on that picture, really messed up the perspective on the plate, size-wise. I know it looks like all salad & very little salmon or potatoes...and you can barely see anything but the salad, but it was actually a good sized portion of salmon- 6-7 oz. I'd guess. And a very large scoop of potatoes.The salmon was grilled to perfection…had to remind myself this was a counter service meal! Love the Disney mashed taters – I know some have reported them as “box potatoes” but I’ve never seen (or tasted) boxed mashed potatoes that have chunks of unmashed potatoes & flecks of red peel in them? Or that taste soooo good. The salad was fresh & tasty – kind of a tangy Asian dressing for it. I loved this lunch. For dessert, I was feeling a chocolate craving that needed a fast fix…the triple chocolate cake hit the spot. This was fabulous – very rich, frosting was outstanding. And I love those little chocolate-stripe straws they use.

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sunshineseasonsgrilledsal-1.jpg
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sunshineseasonsdoublechocola.jpg

So, after quick trips to two different parks, we were actually ready to head back to the resort & rest up for awhile…then off to Sanaa for dinner, followed by Magic Kingdom until late for a grand finish to our week.

Gosh, on the totals, well don't know what happened to the girls' receipt -- but for DH & I, the total was $34.97...so girls had to be somewhere in that same neighborhood because the hot entrees prices were all similar (and of course desserts & sodas were all the same.) What it actually cost - well, it just took our last 4 counter service credits to pay for it. How sad that was to see our "0 CNTR SVC Cpns Rem" at the bottom...vacation almost over.:upsidedow

Noisy as usual, so ambiance...well there ain't any! Crowded & loud...and very busy. But cleaners going around all the time. And service is fast. The food - 10+ on both entrees & desserts. We LOVE Sunshine Seasons...highly recommend it for excellent variety of non-burger/non-nugget meals. And the desserts are fabulous.

[catne]

Our Friday Finale started with dinner at Sanaa, the new table service restaurant in Animal Kingdom Lodge. The restaurant’s décor reminded me very much of Boma…with the carved wooden pillars & such. It was very peaceful in the restaurant – apparently it’s not well known yet, because it never even reached ½ full while we were there…now granted, we had early dinner reservations (5:00) but it was after 6:00 when we left and it was still very tranquil in there…and still at least ½ empty. It is amazing place to eat if you can snag a window seat, though, because the view of the animals is astonishing…they are so close. These are pictures I took from my chair at a window table…these are NOT zoomed!
unzoomed zebras
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sanaanonzoomedzebraphoto.jpg
unzoomed zebra and giraffe
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sanaanonzoomedzebraandgir-1.jpg
unzoomed giraffes running
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sanaanonzoomedgiraffe-1.jpg
Now here’s a picture I did zoom…to see the giraffe eating leaves off the tops of the trees, and the baby giraffe running along with another giraffe (not sure it was a baby, maybe a yearling or something, but it was smaller than the others)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009zoomedphotoofgiraffeeatingtr.jpg

We really, really enjoyed watching the animals. Disney does quite an artful job of placing their feed & treats just so the people will get a great, close-up view!

So, on to the restaurant…the waiter was extremely knowledgeable…it was obvious that even though the place had been open less than a month, he had the menu memorized, and already has his own favorites. He was very good with exact descriptions & comparisons. Like I’m not very good with hot/spicy foods…he was able to give me a good indicator of “how hot” the various dishes were (as my example, I told him Pace Mild Picante Sauce is about my limit…he laughed along with my family at the wimpiness of that, but steered me correctly through the menu choices. He was right on the money telling me which dishes I wouldn’t be able to handle since the others did order some of the hotter items, and I had some teeny tastes.)

So the girls opted for ice water & smoothies with their meal. (These are not covered on the Dining Plan) They both enjoyed these very much, and finished most of them. BFF had the mega berry smoothie, and DD had the green apple smoothie (I believe both of these are listed in the generic drinks notebook that’s available at all Disney restaurants.) Anyway, since they ordered these more than once, they must be good!
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sanaasmoothiedrinks-1.jpg

DH ordered the Kingfisher Beer…supposed to be one of India’s most popular beers: DH enjoyed it. I ordered the Poolside Lemonade. This is a lovely drink…looked like pink lemonade, and tasted like it too. But has a wonderful kick to it, courtesy of vodka:thumbsup2 It’s one of the Disney drinks that’s available all over, too…but some places it comes as pink lemonade, and others it looks just like regular lemonade. I’ve had it several different places, and it didn’t disappoint anywhere. My only objection (and the girls too) was that even at this indoor restaurant, due to the animal/ecology issues, they use the paper straws just like in the AK park. Well, try sipping on a smoothie or tall alcoholic beverage for any extended length of time...you can guess what happens. Our waiter was very good at leaving us a handful of extra straws to change out as needed.
sanaa poolside lemonade and kingfisher beer
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sanaalemonade-boozedrinkandk.jpg

Our waiter talked us into an appetizer (clever man!) But really we were leaning towards getting one anyway, just so we could have the novelty of trying items that are not usually available back in the middle of nowhere (go Huskers!) So we ordered the “Indian Style Bread Service” which is basically a choose 3 each on a breads & spreads list. We had no idea which 3 of anything to choose, so we took our waiter’s suggestion and got this:
sanaa breads and spreads
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sanaabreadandspreadsappetize.jpg
Our nice waiter actually brought out 4 spreads/dips for us…he added one free of charge just to give those that liked “hot” another option. But here’s the problem…I had written down what was what & how it tasted on the receipt. Which I cannot find! I do know we liked all the breads…and that two of these dips were too hot for me (one was just too hot, the other was way too hot.) One reminded us of a tomato/pickle relish. Can’t remember for sure what the other tasted like but I think it was a cucumber-based dip. Between the four of us, we ate most of this appetizer. There was a little bit of the hot stuff left, but DH & DD ate most of that with their entrees & to jazz up the plain rice with the entree. So the consensus was, the Indian Bread service is very tasty (and ask your waiter for help choosing!)

BFF went for the Tandoori lamb chops (not surprised!) and rice. She loved the lamb chops, thought the sauce it came with was too mustardy-tasting, did not like whatever that is below the chops (some sort of pudding-consistency stuff) and she thought the rice was boring (no flavoring on the rice at all.) She ate all of the lamb chops, but left most everything else.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sanaabffmeal-1.jpg

I chose from the “Slow cooked in Gravy, Simple and Well Seasoned” section – you choose two entrees which are served with rice. I chose the short ribs and green curry shrimp.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sanaamymeal.jpg
Now I wasn’t listening very well when the waiter was describing these choices to me, because the green curry shrimp is hot! Not burn-your-tongue spicy, but hotter than I like. DH tells me he was quite surprised when I chose the shrimp, since the waiter “clearly” told me that the red curry chicken was much milder than the shrimp…oh well. I enjoyed the shrimp anyway, once I scraped off most of the sauce. The short ribs were very good – extremely tender without being mushy. Agree with the girls the rice is nothing but plain rice. Which is o.k. with me, I like plain rice. This dish was very good, but I would choose the red curry chicken with the short ribs if I was to order this again.

DD chose the Tandoori shrimp, which also comes with rice. She liked the shrimp, but agreed that the rice was a big nothing…although she at least had some sauce on the shrimp to stir into her rice. She ate all the shrimp, but only about ½ of the rice. http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sanaacaitiemeal.jpg

DH went to the “African Cooking with Indian Flavors” section of the menu, and chose the New York Strip “with spinach & mushroom pancake” served with oven-dried tomato chutney. He was fairly sure he’d like the tomato chutney and not like the spinach pancake. He was wrong…he actually really enjoyed the veggie pancake and didn’t care much for the tomato chutney. The steak he loved…cooked just as ordered, and tasty seasoning.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sanaamarkmeal-1.jpg

Now we came to the dessert portion of the evening…and have to start off by saying, I seriously let my crew down! I’d only read a few reviews of Sanaa and some of them didn’t have desserts reviewed. But I’d seen at least a couple that mentioned the rice pudding as a good dessert, as well as the dessert sampler and the cardamon cake as all being good choices. Well, we didn’t agree.

First, I chose the dessert sampler:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sanaadessertsampler-1.jpg
This is no sugar added mango pudding, egg-less chocolate cake, and cardamom-butter cake. The stand-out in this trio is the chocolate cake. It’s nothing unusual – just a very tasty chocolate cake. The cardamom-butter cake is interesting – not too sweet, but it is a sweet dessert. Not sure I’d order a whole dessert of it, but it was good. The mango pudding..what can I say. It says “no sugar added” …they should have described it as “absolutely ugghh, this tastes like a pureed vegetable that you would feed to a baby…and the baby would spit orange goo all over the place refusing this.” I give up on mango after this trip. First the mango margarita which was so horrid in Epcot, then this travesty on dessert. Yuck. Luckily I saved a bite of the chocolate cake to get the taste of the mango mush out of my mouth.

BFF ordered the Cardmom-Butter Cake – this was a very pretty presentation
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sanaacardamoncake.jpg
She liked this, but could not finish it. Although the cake part is not excessively sweet, it is a rich dessert with the sauce.

Now here’s where we really fell down on the desserts…both DH & DD thought the “Vanilla-Coconut Rice Pudding” sounded perfect to finish off the meal. Again, a very nice presentation on this dessert, love the “antlers”:

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj308/caleibman/may2009sanaacoconutricepudding.jpg
Unfortunately, the wafer-thin chocolate antlers were the only edible part of this dessert. How the menu can describe this as either “vanilla” or “coconut” was beyond us…this stuff was absolutely flavorless…literally no taste to it. If they put any vanilla in this dessert, it was like one drop in a 50 gallon vat. And the only coconut apparent in this thing was the 5-6 tiny toasted pieces sprinkled as decor on the top (look closely, you can see them near where the antlers are sticking in the pudding)- certainly not enough coconut to add any flavor. Then, on to the texture…Don’t know what’s holding this together, other than the gloppiness from the rice pushed into a mold or something? DD described the texture of this as a cross between Styrofoam and totally drained, dried out cottage cheese & as tasteless as the rice with her entree. Only she was expecting some flavor with this, given that it was supposed to be a dessert. DH said Styrofoam was an apt description for both the texture & the taste - mentioning cottage cheese in connection to this dessert was an insult to cottage cheese. Perhaps the flavor of this is meant to be “subtle”…if so, it was way too subtle for any of us. Would not recommend this dessert to anyone. Now, to be fair, our waiter did offer to bring a different dessert out when he saw the both of these had just one small bite taken but neither of them wanted to try anything else at that point.

So, to sum up on the desserts…I think Sanaa really falls down in this area. The typical Disney restaurant has 4-5 dessert choices & at least 3 of the choices are usually very good or even outstanding. In our experience, even the not-so-good choice is still pretty good. Not here. They really only have one dessert that I would whole-heartedly recommend – that was the egg-less chocolate cake. Feel bad about that, because that’s the one dessert on the menu that is more “American” than anything else. If you’re wanting a more exotic choice, then the cardamom cake would be it – but I’d only put that in the “pretty good” category. The others…um, no way.

So, to rate the place. First of all, ambiance for Sanaa…very nice, and the view of the animals was extraordinary – a 10 there. And part-way through the meal, a trio of Sanaa employees came over and sang a beautiful birthday song in Swahili to DH – that was awesome – and adds a “plus” to the 10 on ambiance. The service was also a 10: our server was fast, efficient, friendly & knowledgeable. The food…well, the consensus was that the rice needs work. Or the sauced dishes need a more generous helping of sauce to mix in with the rice. Speaking of the need for generous helpings, we all felt that Sanaa does not follow the pattern of ample portions which is common to most Disney restaurants. With the exception of DH’s steak, the other entrees were all fairly small - like on my dish, the shrimp bowl had about 6 large shrimp (not jumbo - the one-bite size of shrimp.) And the short ribs were about 4 fork-fulls also...so the protein part of the meal was a total of maybe 10 bites. That's not your usual Disney portions at all. Except the steak, the other three entrees at the table were all small enough that if we had not had the breads/spreads as an appetizer, I think we would have been leaving hungry, especially since we ended up sharing the one & 2/3 edible desserts (the mango mush on the sampler was not edible, hence the “2/3”). So for the foods…well, I’m going to give the entrees a 7 -- they tasted good, but sides were "meh" and portion sizes were small. Desserts…well the 2 servings of rice pudding are a rock-bottom zero for sure, the cake & the dessert sampler about an 8…so that average of all 4 desserts would be a 4. That bad. So, the question now – would we return? Well, someday, probably. I would say to go if you’re interested – much of the food IS very good, and the décor/setting & service were all excellent.

We used our last 4 Table Service credits here (soooo SAD! Zero again on credits remaining) I don’t have the receipts, but using the on-line menu (the actual PDF of the Sanaa menu…notice allears.net has at least one big error on their version – the NY Strip is NOT $19.00!) Anyway, the bill for the part of our meal that was covered by the DDP would have been about $120.00 including tax. I would say that Sanaa is probably one of the less expensive places if you’re paying OOP – DH’s NY Strip steak at $27.99 was the most expensive item on the menu and at many other Disney restaurants, the steaks on the menu are over $30.00. Sanaa has quite a few entrees that are under $20.00.

After finishing dinner, we headed over to the main lodge at AKL to explore that gorgeous lobby, walk out on the verandah to look at the animals over there & then wander the gift shop. We headed over to Magic Kingdom for our final night of Disney fun...adios, or I guess I should say au revoir, Mickey Mouse!

So that’s the end of my May 2009 reviews…we tried a few new places, we went back to a few favorite restaurants and in general had a wonderful time playing & dining around WDW.

So much so that we’re going back for Free Dining in September! :yay::dance3::yay:See ya then!

[MickeyNicki]

Thank you so much for your Sanaa review, I dont think we will eat there anytime soon but the pictures are great!

So sad that your reviews are over but I cannot wait for your Sept edition of reviews! BTW we have changed our Oct reservations to 11 days at the POFQ instead of a split stay and I cannot wait! Since you are there before me please save some biscuits and gravy for DH :rotfl:

[catne]

Thank you so much for your Sanaa review, I dont think we will eat there anytime soon but the pictures are great!

So sad that your reviews are over but I cannot wait for your Sept edition of reviews! BTW we have changed our Oct reservations to 11 days at the POFQ instead of a split stay and I cannot wait! Since you are there before me please save some biscuits and gravy for DH :rotfl:

Oh, I hope I didn't wreck Sanaa for anyone -- it is a wonderful place to eat & watch the animals - the view is amazing. And if you really want to eat at Sanaa, the menu I'd suggest would be the breads & spreads for an appetizer, and then have the NY Strip steaks...finish with the chocolate cake and the cardamom cake. That would give you a "little" exotic flavor, but not overboard.

And I'll try to rein in DH on the biscuits & gravy, but he's already referring to the September trip as the trip where "it will be biscuits & gravy, every morning" (which is also his way of describing what heaven will be like, too.:rotfl:) Hey, Nicki -you're doing the Epcot Food & Wine festival, right...hope to see some great reports on that. One of these years, like maybe 2010, we're going to try October, so I'd love to see some extensive reviews of the Food & Wine!

[hopeforus]

I went to the lounge a Sanaa a couple to weeks ago and went for a tour of the restaurant while I was there. The staff was great and let me look at a menu. i can't wait to go back for more. Your reviews have been a pleasure!:)

[catne]

I went to the lounge a Sanaa a couple to weeks ago and went for a tour of the restaurant while I was there. The staff was great and let me look at a menu. i can't wait to go back for more. Your reviews have been a pleasure!:)


Thanks! Were the animals in view when you were in there? We just couldn't believe how close they are when you're eating...and it was kinda funny, cuz we were eating & the animals were eating...and we were watching them, and it appeared that they were watching us. Don't know if the animals could actually see us - I think the windows might be tinted, but one zebra in particular seemed to be staring right back at us.

[oybolshoi]

Thanks for the reviews - enjoyed them all. :goodvibes

Too bad you won't be at F&W this year ... and too bad we won't be at F&W next year. :rotfl: Tell you what ... I'll provide you with some reviews this year if you return the favor next year. Do we have a deal? :goodvibes

[catne]

Thanks for the reviews - enjoyed them all. :goodvibes

Too bad you won't be at F&W this year ... and too bad we won't be at F&W next year. :rotfl: Tell you what ... I'll provide you with some reviews this year if you return the favor next year. Do we have a deal? :goodvibes

DEAL!

I would LOVE to go to the F & W this year...but the September Free Dining is for my birthday...I even get the gift card yippee. So I don't think I could convince DH to go back a few weeks later...for the 4th trip to WDW this year. Since it's a 21 hour drive:rotfl: But I'd still like to do it anyway :banana:

[MickeyNicki]

Oh, I hope I didn't wreck Sanaa for anyone -- it is a wonderful place to eat & watch the animals - the view is amazing. And if you really want to eat at Sanaa, the menu I'd suggest would be the breads & spreads for an appetizer, and then have the NY Strip steaks...finish with the chocolate cake and the cardamom cake. That would give you a "little" exotic flavor, but not overboard.

And I'll try to rein in DH on the biscuits & gravy, but he's already referring to the September trip as the trip where "it will be biscuits & gravy, every morning" (which is also his way of describing what heaven will be like, too.:rotfl:) Hey, Nicki -you're doing the Epcot Food & Wine festival, right...hope to see some great reports on that. One of these years, like maybe 2010, we're going to try October, so I'd love to see some extensive reviews of the Food & Wine!

Oh no you didnt wreck Sanaa for us, I dont think I could get DH over there to try it...he is not too keen on the menu...it was all I could do to get him to Jiko! :lmao:

The two things Todd is looking forward to are the biscuits and gravy and the taco salad at POFQ....I am sure there will be lots of pics of that!

Yup we are doing F&W again, we go every single year since it opened, we love it! I promise to take tons of pictures of everything!

[catne]

Oh no you didnt wreck Sanaa for us, I dont think I could get DH over there to try it...he is not too keen on the menu...it was all I could do to get him to Jiko! :lmao:

The two things Todd is looking forward to are the biscuits and gravy and the taco salad at POFQ....I am sure there will be lots of pics of that!

Yup we are doing F&W again, we go every single year since it opened, we love it! I promise to take tons of pictures of everything!


Sanaa really is a cool place to eat at, even if some of the food needs help. Maybe you can talk him into going there for drinks & appetizers -- that "Indian Bread Service" stuff was quite good (and the exotic breads basically taste like pita bread & soft shell tacos) Some of the other apps might be good, too. That way you'd at least get a chance at seeing the animals. Or just go for a drink...and beg a tour like HopeForUs posted.

I so envy you living in Fla! I wanna GO! Just don't know what I'm going to do next year when DH insists we have to go somewhere else in May! Oh, well, guess it's his birthday trip, so he should get to pick:upsidedow

But I know where I'm going in January...and in September 2010 for my birthday. Though I'm seriously thinking about delaying until the beginning of October for F & W.:rolleyes1

[Pleakleyfan]

Thanks for the Sannaa reviews we are going there in Aug and I am looking forward to trying new foods. I too can’t handle anything spicy hot so I am glad the wait staff will help me choose correctly.

Can you make requests for changes? I know DH would like the steak but not the tomatoes. Can you ask for them to be left off?

Thanks for the idea of checking out AKL and gift shop. It sounds like a fun way to spend the evening. :goodvibes

Take care.

[tlynk]

In close- I just wanted to tell you that I loved your reviews. You did an outstanding job- very informative.:thumbsup2

[catne]

Thanks for the Sannaa reviews we are going there in Aug and I am looking forward to trying new foods. I too can’t handle anything spicy hot so I am glad the wait staff will help me choose correctly.

Can you make requests for changes? I know DH would like the steak but not the tomatoes. Can you ask for them to be left off?

Thanks for the idea of checking out AKL and gift shop. It sounds like a fun way to spend the evening. :goodvibes

Take care.

Oh, sorry for not getting back to you. I would bet you can get the tomatoes left off the steak, unless the Sanaa chef is way different than all the other Disney restaurants...they're usually very good about leaving ingredients off if requested, especially for something that is added at the end anyway. And it was fairly easy to scrape off the excess...my DH liked the tomatoes, just thought there was too much of it so he did scrape quite a bit off.

And I highly recommend going back to the main building at AKL to check out that fabulous multi-story lobby & all the awesome decor in there, as well as walking out on that verandah to view the animals...that is like a private zoo there, complete with knowledgeable CMs out there to answer questions

[catne]

In close- I just wanted to tell you that I loved your reviews. You did an outstanding job- very informative.:thumbsup2

Thanks for reading...I enjoy sharing info since I've gotten so much great info from the Disboards. Sure makes our vacays go so much smoother!

[yooperfan]

Nicki - don't know if you saw my post on that other thread about the beignets yesterday - I see you're heading to POFQ very soon!

Anyway, I tried twice asking if they'd sprinkle the powdered sugar on both sides, and was told "no, sorry, that's not the way they make them." The second time, it was a manager making them (the 2 workers in the bakery had a line a mile long so manager came flying in there & took over the beignets production. So I just took the hot beignets to a table right away, flipped 'em and sprinkled the non-sugared side myself. That worked pretty good...almost as good as last year.

DH was thrilled to find biscuits & gravy for $3.49 at POFQ --so it's a snack credit! Don't know why he likes that stuff so much (has to be a guy thing...I'll take a bite, but no way to eat a whole plate of that stuff)

You mentioned using snack credits for biscuits & gravy because of it's price. We have never used dining plan before, are snacks figured by cost? Also, are the snacks allowed with QS dining the same as the reg. dining plan?

[Danislee]

Saturday Dinner - Rose & Crown, United Kingdom/Epcot

I had to try the Sticky Toffee Pudding...



I Love this dessert. I tried it just because I was curious when I was there last year. It was so amazing. I ordered the ooey gooey rendition at Liberty Tree, but I did not like it nearly as much. We're going back in September and I am so looking forward to having this again. We may even make an extra trip just for desserts...

[catne]

You mentioned using snack credits for biscuits & gravy because of it's price. We have never used dining plan before, are snacks figured by cost? Also, are the snacks allowed with QS dining the same as the reg. dining plan?


Loosely, the rule of thumb is generally if the item is a single serving & less than $4.00 it can be a snack credit. BUT some places have exceptions. And we have seen different Cast Members allow different things, especially at resort food courts. DH got the biscuits & gravy twice that trip - used a snack credit once, and paid cash once (because we were out of snack credits at that point.) Some items will have the "DP" symbol on them, but if the symbol is not on there, ask a cashier.

The snacks are the same no matter what plan you have.

[catne]

I Love this dessert. I tried it just because I was curious when I was there last year. It was so amazing. I ordered the ooey gooey rendition at Liberty Tree, but I did not like it nearly as much. We're going back in September and I am so looking forward to having this again. We may even make an extra trip just for desserts...

I wish they would serve that dessert at the counter service there in England/Epcot -- would love to get the fish & chips with that for sticky toffee pudding for dessert...but I guess you just get the little pre-packaged shortbread cookies for dessert there:rolleyes:

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

Catne,
I really enjoyed your review.
Thanks for all the great info and pics.

[catne]

Catne,
I really enjoyed your review.
Thanks for all the great info and pics.

thanks...we love our Disney Dining...will be back there in September for Free Dining, so Miss Piggy will be back at it 6 weeks from Saturday:banana::dance3::banana:

[abandcsmom]

I just read all of your dining reviews from this trip in one sitting. Now I am starving. LOL! Great to hear the good, bad, and ugly. I also appreciated the drink reviews. I think you have talked me into Yak & Yeti and Chefs de France (we have done Chefs for lunch, but never for dinner). I would also LOVE to do Rose and Crown, but, alas, that will have to wait until our next kid-free trip.

[catne]

I just read all of your dining reviews from this trip in one sitting. Now I am starving. LOL! Great to hear the good, bad, and ugly. I also appreciated the drink reviews. I think you have talked me into Yak & Yeti and Chefs de France (we have done Chefs for lunch, but never for dinner). I would also LOVE to do Rose and Crown, but, alas, that will have to wait until our next kid-free trip.


Thanks...and you sound just like me...reading entire dining reviews in one sitting (I do that with "MickeyNicki" reviews...Nicki takes fabulous pictures & has a very funny way with words. If you haven't read any of her reviews, try them-well worth your time. So far, she & I agree with virtually everything except 1900 Park Fare...they had a terrible time there. Nicki does a great job covering drink reviews too...she's a gal after my own heart!

[irongirlof12]

fab reviews thanks for sharing:thumbsup2

[catne]

fab reviews thanks for sharing:thumbsup2


Oh, thanks muchly! We love Dis restaurants (mostly, lol)

..I see you're going to be there a week or so ahead of us for free dining...where are you going for table service?

[irongirlof12]

..I see you're going to be there a week or so ahead of us for free dining...where are you going for table service?

this is what i have planned ( but I keep re-arranging it - those online ADR's are a blessing and a curse )

Chefs de France
tutto Italia
CRT - breakfast
mama melrose
hoop-de-doo
Cali grill
Narcoossee's
Boma
T-rex (oop)
Coral reef
O'Hana's Breakfast

The pink ones are new for us:thumbsup2

[catne]

this is what i have planned ( but I keep re-arranging it - those online ADR's are a blessing and a curse )

Chefs de France
tutto Italia
CRT - breakfast
mama melrose
hoop-de-doo
Cali grill
Narcoossee's
Boma
T-rex (oop)
Coral reef
O'Hana's Breakfast

The pink ones are new for us:thumbsup2

Agree about the online reservations...I keep checking for Le Cellier even though I don't actually care to go there this time,lol. Looks like a lot of good eats on your schedule...do come back & give us a review!

We'll be trying Tutto Italia for the first time this Free Dining trip too...celebrating my birthday there. Can't wait!

[basketlacey]

Thanks so much for your reviews! I opened up an excel file and made some notes while I was reading. We are going in October but staying offsite so no DDP for us. I still hope to have some good food and snacks though!

[catne]

Thanks so much for your reviews! I opened up an excel file and made some notes while I was reading. We are going in October but staying offsite so no DDP for us. I still hope to have som good food and snacks though!

Had to laugh when I saw this...this is sooo like me! I had so many notes I about had to set up a search to find everything,lol. And it was funny, because everywhere we went, my peeps wanted to know "o.k., what are we supposed to order here?" Didn't work when we went to Sanaa, though...too new so I didn't have much to research on it in advance.

Looks like you're going to be there just a bit after we leave...we arrive 4 weeks from tomorrow for Free Dining...4 new restaurants for us to try on that trip:banana: