And We Thought We Ate A Lot Before...the semi-live deluxe dining report updated!

[jonilovesdisney]

Hi!! I've been lurking on these boards the last several months, mainly devouring the dining reviews and pics as we planned our trip. I've enjoyed reading everyone's dining report so much that I've decided to return the favor and add my share.

My husband and I are leaving for Disney on Friday morning, May 1st. It will be just the two of us. My grandparents are DVC owners and are thinking of selling, so we decided to have one last splurge while the room is still free. They got us a week at OKW and then we added 2 nights at Pop since we had some extra vacation days. I did get exciting news today that we have been upgraded to Wilderness Lodge, so we'll be there May 1 & 2 and then on to OKW. Our splurge is the deluxe dining plan which will start on May 3rd once we transfer to OKW. The reason we waited to start it is so we could eat at some places not included in the dining plan. I've been to Disney several times with my family and we always eat at the same places. Since this is our first alone trip we decided to stick to some old favorites, but also try out some new places (by your recommendations, thanks a bunch!!).

Ok, so we are going to try to do this thing live because I'm thinking we might not ever finish if I wait until we get home. So you'll have to tune in and see if we can pull it off. I love the live dining reports!!!!

Here's the plan for dining, feel free to add comments and suggestions or let us know if we should try to make last minute changes!

Friday after arrival - Gardenview Tea at Grand Floridian
Friday dinner - O'hana
Saturday BF - Kona
Saturday Lunch - Earl of Sandwich
Saturday Dinner - House of Blues
Sunday Lunch - T-Rex (DH's request)
Sunday Dinner - Yachtsman Steakhouse
Monday Lunch - Yak & Yeti
Monday Dinner - Jiko
Tuesday Lunch - Coral Reef (DH's request)
Tuesday Dinner - Le Cellier
Wednesday Lunch - Tony's Town Square
Wednesday Dinner - California Grill
Thursday Lunch - 50's Prime Time Cafe
Thursday Dinner - Brown Derby-Fantasmic package
Friday BF - Boma
Friday Lunch - Chefs de France
Friday Dinner - Narcoosee's
Saturday Lunch - Sci-Fi Dine-In
HOME-SAD

So join us for the ride and stay tuned. (We may need some accountability)
We'll see you real soon!!

[MickeyNicki]

I love reading LIVE reviews and your food line up looks fantastic! Have a great time and take tons of pics for us! :worship:

[msce2]

Looking forward to hearing how your trip went!

[GoofySon'sMom]

Signing on! Can't wait! Have a great trip!

[natalielongstaff]

Hope you have a great time :cool1:

[skellingtonfreak]

I can't wait! Bring it on!

[Isthatyoutiger]

Enjoy your trip :) Your Dining Plan looks really good.

[jonilovesdisney]

Hi All!! So sorry I said I would do this review live and am just now showing up to do it! DH has kept us busy and we just got free internet when we switched resorts.

So...on with the reviews. When we arrived Friday afternoon, we had reservations at 2 for tea at the Garden View Tea Room at the Grand Floridian. I love this resort. I think it is beautiful. The tea room is nice and has a great view of the gardens.

Here's a picture to give you an idea of the view. This is also the dessert pastry table.

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/P5010013.JPG

Here's a picture of us:

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/intro.JPG

We ordered the Buckingham Palace Tea. DH got the Eros tea which is an orange and vanilla flavored black tea. I got the Princess Breakfast tea which was strawberry & vanilla. They were both wonderful, but I liked mine better.

Here is the first course of tea sandwiches. From left to right, the sandwiches are pear and gorgonzola (this was good, I'm not a strong cheese person, so this was a lot better than I expected), chicken salad (standard, tastes good), shrimp salad (this was DH's favorite), egg salad (this was my favorite), watercress & cucumber (least favorite), and an onion tart (yummy!!)

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/tea1.JPG

The second course was a scone with devonshire cream and jam and a raspberry tart. I love scones, so this was my favorite course. The cream was wonderful!!

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/tea2.JPG

For the final course you could choose strawberries & cream or two pastries. I chose the amaretto pastry (left) and the fruit tart (right).

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/tea4.JPG

DH chose the chocolate eclair (left) and the white chocolate swan (right).

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/tea3.JPG

Our favorites were the white chocolate swan and the amaretto pastry.

We really enjoyed the tea. I would definitely recommend it. It is a beautiful setting, they gave me a rose at the end of the tea, and it only cost $19.50/person. This is less than our afternoon tea cost at home. It's a very nice way to spend the afternoon.

Up next....O'hana.....

[llqool]

that looks yummy....i have reservations there in a week and a day!

were you able to choose your sandwiches, or was that a set plate?

[TXMomof3boys]

I enjoyed your first review of your tea time at the GF. Can I tell you what a lucky girl you are that your DH would have tea with you?! My DH is a wonderful husband - but he would never do that with me - so you definitely have a keeper!! :rotfl:

Looking forward to reading more of your review. Have a fabulous time!

[jonilovesdisney]

Friday night dinner was at O'hana. This was a good dinner, but not quite as good as I remember it being last time we were here in September 2007. This could be because I planned our ADR to be there to watch Wishes from the restaurant. Unfortunately, Wishes started soon after they brought the appetizers, noodles and veggies and they waited to bring the meat until after the fireworks, so our food was cold by the time the fireworks were over. I know we could have been eating while they were showing, but I really wanted to watch them. Anyway, my suggestion would be to plan to watch your ADR time to either be at the very beginning of your dinner or closer to dessert time.

They seated us with a loaf of bread. The bread was warm and yummy. We forgot to take a picture. Sorry!

The first thing to arrive was the salad with honey-lime dressing. This is great and was one of our favorite things. DH said the dressing was excellent.

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/ohana1.JPG

Next, they brought out the dipping sauces, pork dumplings, and honey-coriander chicken wings.

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/ohana2.JPG

We really enjoyed the pork dumplings, especially dipped in the peanut sauce. The wings were good as well.

Then they brought out the vegetables (broccoli & snow peas) and noodles. These were both very bland. They needed sauces on them for some flavor. We ate the noodles with peanut sauce.

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/ohana3.JPG

They brought out the meat on skewers. We didn't take pics of the meat since our plates were not very pic worthy. They served turkey, pork, steak, and shrimp. Our favorite was the turkey. It was so tender and juicy. I loved it dipped in the sweet and sour sauce. The pork was good in the hot mustard. The hot mustard had some heat, so beware if you don't like hot (as in spicy) food. The steak was okay. It wasn't very tender. The shrimp tasted nice, but was super hard to peel. They were charred which made the peeling stick to them. We only ate a couple.

The best part of the meal, by far, was the dessert. Pineapple and coconut bread pudding with ice cream and hot caramel/banana sauce poured over the top. Here's a pic after we poured the sauce. We finished this whole thing. It was delicious, especially when you got bites of pineapple or bananas.

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/ohana4.JPG

Overall, we enjoyed O'hana (besides the fact that we let our food get cold) and would go again. I'm not sure it's a must do for us after this trip since we didn't love it, but if you've never been...give it a try!!

Up next... Kona breakfast....

[jonilovesdisney]

that looks yummy....i have reservations there in a week and a day!

were you able to choose your sandwiches, or was that a set plate?

Awesome! You'll have a nice time. The sandwiches were a set plate. You may be able to ask if you can sub one if you know you won't like it, but I'm not sure. The sandwiches were our least favorite part, but they were okay.

[jonilovesdisney]

I enjoyed your first review of your tea time at the GF. Can I tell you what a lucky girl you are that your DH would have tea with you?! My DH is a wonderful husband - but he would never do that with me - so you definitely have a keeper!! :rotfl:

Looking forward to reading more of your review. Have a fabulous time!

Thanks so much!

He is a keeper. He even enjoyed it. There were several men there. Maybe you'll be able to talk your husband into it some day!

[jonilovesdisney]

Yesterday morning we went to the Polynesian to have breakfast at Kona Cafe. After reading so many rave reviews of the tonga toast, I knew we had to try it. :)

I got some lilikoi juice to drink. It was a passionfruit, orange, and guava juice blend. It was delicious. Different. Perfectly sweet.

DH had the Kona blend coffee. He had talked about getting the 100% Kona press pot, but since we were paying oop, he decided to pass. He could definitely tell that the blend was not 100% though.

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/kona1.JPG

DH ordered the Tonga Toast with sausage. I decided to try the Macadamia-Pineapple pancakes with bacon instead and just taste his Tonga Toast. I'm really glad I got the pancakes because I thought the Tonga Toast was super sweet and rich. It was delicious, but I couldn't eat more than a bite. DH loved it. He's a sugarholic. The pancakes were wonderful. Just sweet enough and the macadamia nuts were mixed into the pancakes and the butter. I would definitely get this again. I didn't like my bacon very much. It was not crispy enough for me. If you like soft bacon, you'd probably like it. DH liked his sausage. The portions here are huge, we could have split a plate. We each ate about half.

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/kona2.JPG

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/kona3.JPG

We liked Kona a lot and were super full, so we changed our lunch plans around a bit. We were planning on an Earl of Sandwich lunch and House of Blues dinner, but decided to eat a later lunch at Beaches and Cream and dinner at Earl of Sandwich. So...

Next Up....Beaches & Cream....

[TXMomof3boys]

The Macadamia-Pineapple pancakes look so good! We do not have Kona on our list for upcoming trip - I could not fit everything in on my wish list.

I told my DH that there were other men at the GF tea and he said he might consider going if we take a trip without the boys sometime. I won't hold my breath - I can not even get him to go to La Madeleine with me. ;)

Your doing a great job with your reviews! Looking forward to more.

[cnorth]

Love the reviews. You have a lot of the same restaurants that we have planned, so it's great to get your view of the foods. Hope you're having a great time!

[skellingtonfreak]

Loving the reviews!

[gardengirl628]

Great reviews so far! Thanks for sharing!

[TigerKat]

Great job, I'm signing on!:thumbsup2

[Dopey7]

The macadamia-pineapple pancakes are wonderful! I was going to try the Tonga Toast also when we were last there but was afraid it would be too sweet also. The pancakes were perfect! I'm looking forward to going back just for those!

[Ms. Heimlich]

I am really enjoying your reviews! Keep 'em up!

Those pancakes look divine!:yay:

[jakenjess]

I'm in! Great start! I keep saying next trip I'm going to do the tea, but I haven't managed it yet!:rolleyes: It looks wonderful. Kona is our absolute favorite for breakfast. Looks like you have some great places coming up!:thumbsup2

[binkytell]

im signing in too, i think i will have to do the tea with my dd 7,
she would love it :love:

[chipper10]

I love the reviews. I can't wait to hear about Beaches and Cream and Earl. DH and I want to eat at both of those places. We leave in 3 days (Yea!!!).

[tink1957]

I'm enjoying your reviews, thanks for posting the pics of GF Tea, it's a tradition for DD & I. I'm going to have to fit a Kona BF into my plans for our Sept trip after seeing those pics.

I can't wait to read the rest.popcorn::

[followthatmouse]

What gorgeous photos and reviews! The afternoon tea looked wonderful.

I must admit that my cholesterol spiked while viewing that Kona breakfast. ;)

[jonilovesdisney]

Thanks everyone for reading and for your nice comments! I'm glad you're enjoying it. We're having a great time and eating some great food. Yesterday was our best day yet, so I'll try to catch up soon.

[dancemomnj]

Loving your reviews!:thumbsup2 Have a great trip!:woohoo:

[jonilovesdisney]

We were full from breakfast at Kona, so we had a late lunch at Beaches & Cream. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a seat at the counter at 2:30. That place is really tiny. Be aware of the wait if you plan to go. I loved the atmosphere. It reminded me a bit of Johnny Rockets, except at the beach.

We were seated at the counter and decided to try the cheese burger. Here is a pic of us at the counter and a pic of our burger:

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/P5020135.JPG

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/beaches1.JPG

So...This burger and fries was pretty average. It's been a long time since I've had a burger at a counter service in Disney, but I can't imagine this being much better. I live in Texas, so I've had much better burgers. My suggestion...don't go here for the food, BUT DO go here for the atmosphere and DEFINITELY the dessert!!!

We actually weren't going to get dessert because I was full and left half my burger. DH was going to get a chocolate shake to go since he gets chocolate shakes everywhere, but as we sat there a few minutes watching them fix ice cream for everyone else, I decided I wanted to try a banana split. I'm sure glad we did because it was one of the best banana splits I've had.

Here's a pic of our split:

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/beaches2.JPG

Sitting at the counter was fun because we could watch them make everyone's ice cream treats. A lady and her daughter ordered the kitchen sink. They put in a whole plate full of cookies/brownie/candy bars, etc. Tons of ice cream and toppings, and a whole can of whipped cream. Here's a pic of the final product before they brought it out:

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/beaches3.JPG

To sum up Beaches & Cream...fun place, definitely order dessert!

Up next...Earl of Sandwich...

[jonilovesdisney]

Ok, so I'm really sorry...but we forgot to take pictures of these places. Well...we remembered, but they were half eaten and not very pic worthy. We got to Earl of Sandwich later...probably about 8:30-9ish and it was still packed. We ordered the Original 1762 and the All American to share. I also got some barbeque chips-they were good. I took a couple bites of the Original and decided to let DH eat it all. It was okay, but the horseradish was too strong for me. He liked it. I liked the All American, especially the bites with cranberry sauce, but neither of these were as good as what I had gotten last time when we were at Disney. I'm pretty sure I had gotten the Hawaiian Bar-B-Q sandwich last time.

Anyway, maybe I was just tired, but it didn't seem to live up to my too high expectations, but DH really enjoyed it. We would go again...it's good food and a really good value. We were still paying oop, so our total bill here was about $14.

We stopped by Ghiradelli to get a shake before we left. We got Quake shakes which is where they put a whole giant candy bar in your shake. DH got the dark chocolate & mint candy in mint ice cream. I got the milk chocolate & caramel in vanilla ice cream. DH's was good if you like mint...it had a lot of flavor. Mine was hard to taste the chocolate. It kind of tasted like milk with a few bites of chocolate every now and then. These were $6.50 a piece. We've usually gotten sundaes here and I think I would go back to getting that instead of the shake I got.

Up next...T-Rex...

[jonilovesdisney]

We're heading out now for a full day at Epcot...I'll try to catch up my reviews when we get home tonight. I should have Yachtsman, Yak & Yeti, Jiko, and then Coral Reef and Le Cellier from today. Thanks so much for reading! It's fun to hear from all of you. :)

[GoofySon'sMom]

We're heading out now for a full day at Epcot...I'll try to catch up my reviews when we get home tonight. I should have Yachtsman, Yak & Yeti, Jiko, and then Coral Reef and Le Cellier from today. Thanks so much for reading! It's fun to hear from all of you. :)

Have fun! I can't wait to see these reviews!

[jonilovesdisney]

I just have one comment...has anyone notices how many ads there are on these pages for diets? I guess they figure after eating like this at Disney, we'll all need to be on one! HA!

So, Sunday afternoon was our last meal oop, so we went to T-Rex. This was DH's request. He's into dinosaurs. The atmosphere was cool. It's similar to Rainforest, except dinosaurs. There's a cave room and an ice room and an underwater room and a meteor shower happens ever 20 min. or so. We got the lost world chicken salad sandwich (pic 1) and the paleozoic chicken sandwich (pic 2) and split them. We both liked the Lost World Chicken Salad Sandwich the best. We subbed fries for chips and fries were excellent.

Here are the pics:

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/trex1.JPG

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/trex2.JPG

Our meal cost about $35 for these 2 entrees. The portions are big. We probably could have split either of these. We'd probably go again. It's a fun place!

Up Next...Yachtsman Steakhouse...

[jonilovesdisney]

FYI on our pictures...we just got a new camera, so DH is trying out all the settings with different lighting. That's why they all look different.

Sunday afternoon we checked into Old Key West and our deluxe dining started. Our first meal on the plan was at Yachtsman Steakhouse. I'd seen such good reviews about their steaks, so we definitely wanted to try it.

We got tea and coke to drink. They brought us delicious bread with roasted garlic and butter with Hawaiian sea salt. I loved the onion roll. This could quite possibly be the best part of the meal for me!

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/yacht2.JPG

For our appetizers, we both decided to try the Seared Maine Diver Scallops with Diamond white cheddar risotto and aged sherry vinaigrette. We'd never had scallops before and they were good. I don't know that I'd want to eat a whole bunch of them, but these three were a good portion. The risotto was good. DH liked it a lot. I'm not into the strong cheeses too much, but it was still nice. The asparagus pieces were especially good.

Here's a pic of the scallops:

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/yacht3.JPG

For our entrees, DH got the Cowboy Steak, a 20-ounce bone-in rib-eye with fried onion and red wine butter

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/yacht4.JPG

and I got the New York Strip Steak, a 12 oz. Strip Steak with Peppercorn Brandy Sauce and Potato Gratin with Diamond White Cheddar

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/yacht5.JPG

We decided the better steak out of these was the ribeye. It was a lot more tender. I did like the Potato Gratin, especially the crispy top.

We liked these steaks okay, but have since had steaks at Jiko & Le Cellier, so the Yachstman steaks are at the bottom of our list.

For dessert, DH ordered the Trio of Valrhona Chocolate

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/yacht6.JPG

and I got the Antique Apple Tart with Caramel Gelato

http://ryanshore.jalbum.net/Dining%20Review/slides/yacht7.JPG

We both liked our desserts a lot. The apple tart had golden raisins and was quite yummy. The chocolate dessert was super rich, but DH liked it. He's always up for chocolate.

Overall, Yachtsman was good, but I'm not sure we'd go back. So far, we've liked Jiko and Le Cellier better.

Up next...Yak & Yeti....

[wdwfanatic316]

Great reviews! :thumbsup2 Hope you're having a wonderful time! :goodvibes

[skellingtonfreak]

Yummy! Those scallops looked good. And the pics aren't half bad...I have been doing testing with my new camera before I go, but I will probably end up having all different sorts of pics as well because no matter how hard you try, it never comes out the same way at home.

I think everything looks great and it looks like you guys are having a good time!

[OurDogCisco]

Great reviews... can't wait to see the rest!

[amandelba]

Great reviews... can't wait to see the rest!

Me too!

[medicgirl911]

Can't wait to read more! The tea party looks great, I have never been to anything like that before... I live in farm country central Illinois...no afternoon tea around here, unless it's iced tea lol! I hope your having a fabulous vacation!! :goodvibes

[ddstratton]

Just read through your reviews. They are really good! Can't wait for more...

[BEASLYBOO]

Enjoying your reviews, we are trying trying T-Rex on Jun 8th and my son and his friend both 12 are really looking forward to it. I've read good things about the menu and from your pictures, sharing will be a must (the sandwiches looked humongous).

I've enjoyed the Yachtsmen and I love Le Cellier but I don't like the rushed/loud ambiance of Lecellier, I prefer Yachtmen for that reason.

Thank you for the great pics, for whatever reason I just can't take pictures of my food, even though I really enjoy looking at pictures of your food. Maybe I'll get over it!

[JLS]

Good job with these reviews. I love the pictures. Look forward to hearing more.