The Deluxe Dining that defeated us ...a German perspective! (UPDATE: Yachtsman)

[annichan]

Hello everyone who may be reading this,

here I am sitting in front of a task I am still slightly afraid of: My first ever dining review! However, as I have delighted in reading other people's dining and trip reports here on the boards, I would like to give it a go myself. I hope somebody will find it interesting!

First I'd like to say, yes we had the Deluxe Dining plan - and it was really too much food for us! I would never have expected that to happen to us, no matter how many times I read that exact same sentence here on the boards before :confused3

"Us", that is my DH, 32, who is a software consultant, and myself, 35 working in a book publishing house. We both love dining and food, and as soon as we made up our minds to spend our (a little belated) honeymoon in Walt Disney World, we knew pretty much straightaway that we would go with the Deluxe Dining Plan for those whole two weeks. Little did we know that we would end up leaving plates half-full, occasionally skipping desserts (me! skipping! desserts! :scared1:) and even - most incredible thing of all - flew out of Orlando with one unused dining credit still sitting lonesome in our account.

But oh well, we have still dined in quite a few restaurants, and managed to eat a lot of extremely delicious (and sometimes some not-so-nice) food, so I hope the report will still prove worthwhile reading. I didn't manage to take pictures of all we ate, but there will nevertheless be a few dozen pictures in the report - and these are the restaurants I will be reporting on, in order of appearance:

Trails' End (dinner) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&postcount=11)
The Crystal Palace (breakfast) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=2)
The Plaza (lunch) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=2)
In-Room Dining (dinner) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=3)
Whispering Canyon Cafe (breakfast) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=3)
Olivia's Cafe (lunch) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=4)
Raglan Road (dinner) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=4)
Tusker House (breakfast) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=4)
Tusker House (lunch) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=5)
Boma (dinner) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=5)
Spoodles (breakfast) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=5)
1900 Park Fare (dinner) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=6)
Sci-Fi Dine In (lunch) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=7)
California Grill (dinner) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=7)
The Wave (breakfast) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=8)
Coral Reef (lunch) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=8)
San Angel Inn (dinner) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=9)
Flying Fish Cafe (dinner) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=10)
Kona Cafe (breakfast) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=11)
Artist Point (dinner) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=11)
Whispering Canyon Cafe (breakfast) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=12)
Hollywood Brown Derby (dinner) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=12)
Chef Mickey's (breakfast) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=13)
Liberty Tree Tavern (lunch) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=13)
Narcoossee's (dinner) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=14)
'Ohana (breakfast) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=15)
The Yachtsman Steakhouse (dinner) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=16)
In-Room Dining (breakfast) (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2178729&page=16)
Yak & Yeti (lunch)
In-Room Dining (dinner)
Cape May Cafe (breakfast)
Yakitori House (lunch)
Artist Point (dinner)
Whispering Canyon Cafe (breakfast)

So while I hope that some of you will enjoy reading it :surfweb:, I am looking forward to reliving the experience in this review - trip report to follow afterwards, if all goes well!

Oh, and one last thing: I am German and English is not my mother tongue, so if some of the things I say don't make any sense I apologize in advance :)

[3BoysRDisneyFreaks]

You look like you have a nice variety. I can't wait to hear your reviews.

[katiebelle21]

Wow what a lineup! I'm in!

[luckytobeme88]

Wow, that's what I am talking about! The Vacation of my dream! :worship:

[elump1]

I'm so jealous but I am totally in!

[natalielongstaff]

count me in :thumbsup2

[Cookie Princess]

I can't wait for the details!!

[Cind]

count me in!

[TigerKat]

Great line-up, can't wait!

[annichan]

You look like you have a nice variety. I can't wait to hear your reviews.

Wow what a lineup! I'm in!

Wow, that's what I am talking about! The Vacation of my dream! :worship:

I'm so jealous but I am totally in!

I can't wait for the details!!

count me in!

Great line-up, can't wait!

Oh wow, people are actually reading this, how exciting!! :yay:
Yes, for me this has also been the holiday of my dreams: The last time I was at WDW, I was 8 years old, and I have always dreamed of a honeymoon at WDW. A mere 27 years later, this dream has come true! :woohoo:

[annichan]

Our first evening at WDW was Monday, April 27th. We had just flown in from Germany via the UK, had had a rather stressful long trip, and were tremendously tired. Moreover, something seemed to be not quite right with my stomach, which is why I was not really feeling well for our first dinner and didn’t take any pictures, either (shame, I know!).

Anyway, we had dinner at the Trails End Restaurant in Fort Wilderness. Getting there was very pleasant: As we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, we got to the restaurant with a 20-25 minute walk along the jogging path that connects these two resorts, mostly running along Bay Lake. We couldn’t believe all the wildlife we saw on that walk: rabbits, squirrels, geckoes, even a deer in the undergrowth!

Arriving at Fort Wilderness, after a short walk past the ponies and horses at the Tri-Circle Ranch, we quickly found our restaurant and were greeted by two nice ladies who had a table for us straightaway. It was great to finally experience that Disney friendliness and hospitality – not something we necessarily get at home when we go to a restaurant! What made it even nicer was that we were wearing our “Just married” buttons, and everybody congratulated us.

Anyway, the reason why I am saying so much about the surroundings instead of about the actual food is that I hardly remember anything as I was so tired, and I hardly ate anything as my stomach was giving me trouble! DH took this one picture of me with a little plate full of veggies, and that was literally all I ate that evening.


http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000154.jpg

Now, actually I had a second equally half-empty plate after this one, and I remember enjoying the sweet carrots, finding the corn a little bland and loving the old-fashioned pewter plates and the soft-drink glasses they use at the Trails’ End, but that’s about it, sorry!

What I do remember is that DH tried several meats from the carving station, and even though I could not have stomached them that day, he said that everything was very nice.

Coming up next: Breakfast at The Crystal Palace, and how to make a grown man happy with a teddybear!

[binkytell]

:thumbsup2 count me in, lookin forward to ya reviews

[medicgirl911]

I think it may have been easier to list where you DIDN't eat!! :lmao::rotfl: :goodvibes LOL! I am so excited to read your reviews, sorry you weren't felling well your first night!!

[MelanieC]

ooh - can't wait for the rest! I ate at Trail's End once, I agree it was great :)

[GoofySon'sMom]

I am definitely in for this one! Sorry to hear you weren't feeling well your first night ... hopefully it didn't last long!

[CoolPool]

:banana:

[annichan]

:thumbsup2 count me in, lookin forward to ya reviews

ooh - can't wait for the rest! I ate at Trail's End once, I agree it was great :)

Thank you for reading! :)

I am definitely in for this one! Sorry to hear you weren't feeling well your first night ... hopefully it didn't last long!

Well I was better the next day, but I am afraid there was an encore later ...

I think it may have been easier to list where you DIDN't eat!! :lmao::rotfl: :goodvibes LOL!

Actually you won't believe it but you're right: I CAN list the places where we didn't eat! :lmao:
Because all these are places where I had also made ADRs, and then we either cancelled them because we were still full, felt more like easy in-room dining or because I wasn't feeling well. So here goes - this is what you would have been reading reviews of here if all had gone according to plan (and quite an insane plan, as I now realize :rotfl:):

Akershus, Le Cellier, Marrakesh, Les Chefs de France, Jiko and Citrico's! Ah well, these will have to wait until next time ...

[annichan]

The next morning, I was feeling much better (if not totally rested) and we had an ADR at the Crystal Palace at 8:15. Normally we don’t like to get up early during holidays and on weekends, but since every guidebook kept mentioning how important it was to get to the parks early, we had planned on it. Now we found that the jetlag was actually helping us get our lazy selves out of bed: When the alarm rang at 6:45, it was actually 12:45 noon back home, so it didn’t feel early at all.

That said, it proved a bit difficult to wait that long for breakfast: By the time we left our hotel, waited forever for a bus, (we would only take the boat from then on) reached the Magic Kingdom, walked along gloriously empty Main Street to the Crystal Palace, stood in a longish line at the check-in counter and then stood around for maybe 15 minutes waiting for our name to be called, we were seriously ready for breakfast and coffee (and beginning to get really cranky, but I won’t mention that here! ;))

As it was our first time at Crystal Palace, the lady who led us to our table offered to take our picture on the bench in the entrance with the flowers behind us – the photo turned out quite well:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000193.jpg

We were then sat at our table, where we found a confetti heart waiting to greet us honeymooners. Aww!

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000194.jpg

This was our first ever character breakfast (we had been to Disneyland Paris before, but hadn’t done any character meals) so we just quickly darted off to the buffet to get some food and get back to our table as soon as possible, so as not to miss a visit from our favorite characters: Pooh and friends!

So DH and I both grabbed some eggs and bacon and fruit; we both had to acclimatize slowly to American breakfasts, since they are nothing like what we usually have for breakfast at home (me: oatmeal with milk, DH: black bread with margarine and cheese, or somesuch). Eggs and bacon is a “safe” choice since that is what we have when we go and have breakfast in a restaurant on Sundays, but all the rest was very new to us for breakfast (potatoes, waffles, pancakes and such).

The eggs and fruit were very nice, but we both found the bacon quite greasy and not crisp and salty enough for our taste. Maybe just another difference between German and American breakfast preferences? Not sure.

Now I must confess that I still wasn’t taking pictures of the food – I will get there at later meals, I promise! But since this was all new to me, I was totally busy taking pictures of the characters.
I had seated myself in a corner where I couldn’t so easily get out of (and I wasn’t yet used to just asking the characters to wait so I could position myself for another photo), which is why most pictures don’t have me but DH in them.

So along came Tigger and gave DH a big hug – and it was so sweet to see my husband react to him! He was so happy! Let me explain that in our family, I am the Disney enthusiast and he is rather the one who goes along and has fun but is not as crazy about Disney as I am.
But I guess it doesn’t really matter how grown-up and rational you are – if a big smiling tiger or teddybear comes up to you to give you a big hug, you can’t help but be totally happy!

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000196.jpg

Before the other characters came to our table, we went and got some more food, but as I don’t have pictures of it and was so excited about the characters, I couldn’t really say what it was, sorry.

The next to arrive was Pooh – and after having his picture taken with DH, he saw our buttons! At first I didn’t know what he was up to, because I wasn’t yet too fluent in Disney character sign language :)

But then he wandered off into the kitchen and started first beckoning and then even dragging a server out of the kitchen and over to our table – as it turned out, to take a picture of the two of us together! So this is why we have this cute picture:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000201.jpg

DH then took a picture of me with a banana, because we found the “100% fat-free” sticker on it so funny. I mean, how could a banana be anything other than fat-free? Anyway, at least this picture gives us a hint what else I had on my plate since I keep forgetting to take good pictures of it ;):

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000202.jpg

After that, we still had Eeyore and Piglet coming round to visit, and then it was time to head out into adventure: Our first day at the Magic Kingdom! (My first in 27 years, DH’s first ever …)

Coming up next: Lunch at the Plaza, in illustrious company.

[annichan]

After exploring the Magic Kingdom all morning, it was time for our ADR at The Plaza Restaurant on Main Street, U.S.A. at 12:25.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000230.jpg

This is where we were given our first pager, but we hardly had time to walk away from the entrance when it lit up already and we could be seated.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000234.jpg

I loved the interior of this place – it was small, cozy, and beautiful with all the glass and the chandeliers. It was not too full, either – had it been full, I can imagine that it might be really loud. Once again, we found some confetti / pixie dust on our table, just not in a heart shape this time, bus sprinkled freely on the table – which meant I could play around with it a little:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000243.jpg

We were then shown the beautiful menu …

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000242.jpg

… and decided on what we wanted. I had read so many good things about the Chicken Strawberry Salad that I knew at once I wanted to try it. Before that, however, came the starter: the Soup of the Day, which was a very nice, thick and creamy Tomato Bisque with Croutons, with just the right amount of saltiness. At first the serving size looked rather small, but it was really filling and I ended up letting DH have the rest of it. (I am so glad that DH can eat more food than I can, otherwise I would have felt so sorry about all that food I couldn’t finish!). For drinks, we ordered iced tea and Perrier water to go with our meal.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000238.jpg

DH had the tossed salad with ranch dressing for starters which he said was just the perfect amount of food when you know there are two more courses to come ;)

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000237.jpg

As entrée course, the Chicken Strawberry Salad came and was much nicer than the picture could do it justice. Fresh, with crisp salad leaves, a slightly sweet dressing, crunchy croutons and fresh strawberries, it was just as perfect as I had hoped for it to be. I don’t usually like to eat salads as often as I should, since they don’t give me the feeling of really eating something truly nice and yummy but rather something “only healthy”. This one was different, and it certainly didn’t leave me feeling hungry afterwards either, as some salads tend to do!

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000239.jpg

DH went with the Angus Chuck Cheeseburger, medium grilled, with bacon, grilled mushrooms, onions and american cheese. With it came really gorgeous tasty fries (not the flabby almost tasteless stuff you get here at home at our local takeout), and according to DH, everything was really yummy.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000240.jpg

Just as were eating our main courses, the door opened and the town mayor came in (of whom we failed to take a picture, unfortunately), with this beautiful lady by his side.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000241.jpg

It seemed they had come to congratulate a couple who were celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary – we all sang for them and they were given a present of bride and groom ears. After that, our illustrious guests proceeded around the tables and congratulated every one who was celebrating a birthday, and also us as we were wearing our honeymoon buttons. Finally, they also congratulated a lady server who had her 38th anniversary working at that restaurant (which I realized later she must have been there since the park opened in ’71, imagine that!) and left.

This left us, in turn, to contemplate whether we felt up to dessert … As far as DH was concerned, the answer turned out to be a very firm “No”. So here we were, only on Day 2 of our vacation, and already skipping stuff on the Deluxe Dining Plan! :scared1::scared1::scared1:

We just couldn’t help it, we were so full. DH asked the waitress if he could have coffee instead of dessert, and fortunately that was no problem. I was rather full myself, but I still had to try the New York Style Strawberry Cheesecake, which turned out to be huge:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000244.jpg

I only had about a third of it, and it still left me feeling that I might have been better off not eating it at all ...

Coming up next: The bug is back … with a vengeance! :sick::headache:

[poohangel]

Nice reviews. Keep it up your doing great.

[poohangel]

Nice reviews. Keep it up your doing great. Tomato soup looks really good

[jessrose18]

popcorn::

[annichan]

Incidentally, I have just re-read some of the paragraphs on dining in my Unofficial Guide, and I have noticed how most people comment on the prices of meals in their reviews there. As we were on the DDP, I will not really comment much on the costs of any meals – and moreover, I am not even sure what “normal” prices would be, as all I know of the USA is Disney World so I lack the frame of reference here (sad, I know – but we will remedy that eventually, and go see some more of the US!).

Anyway, I will just briefly list the cheapest and most expensive meals we have had – of course, I realize that this depends a lot on what items off the menu you order, so it certainly isn’t totally representative:

::MinnieMo Our most expensive breakfast came from room service, while the cheapest breakfast was at Spoodles.
pluto: Our most expensive lunch was at Yak & Yeti, while the cheapest one was at Tusker House.
:smickey: Our most expensive dinner was at Narcossee’s, while we had the cheapest dinner (by far!) at the Trails’ End.

[MuppetGuySF]

This looks so great! We're doing 9 days of Deluxe Dining on June 7 and I thought THAT was a lot. I'm loving what I've read already. Can't wait to read the rest!

Thanks,
Leigh

[MickeyNicki]

You are off to a fantastic start, you guys are adorable!

Keep it coming!

[dancemomnj]

I'm inpopcorn:: Congrats!:lovestruc

[gardengirl628]

Great start! Count me in!!

[kimgof]

Great reviews can't wait to read more.:thumbsup2

[annichan]

Nice reviews. Keep it up your doing great. Tomato soup looks really good

Thank you! Yes, the soup was really yummy!

This looks so great! We're doing 9 days of Deluxe Dining on June 7 and I thought THAT was a lot. I'm loving what I've read already. Can't wait to read the rest!

Oh wow, so you don't have long to go until your own Deluxe Dining trip! I would advise you to skip desserts when you feel too full, worked great for us! (Although right at this moment, I am so hungry that I would gladly go for a DDP three-course meal and definitely not skip a single bite :laughing:)

popcorn::
You are off to a fantastic start, you guys are adorable! Keep it coming!
I'm inpopcorn:: Congrats!:lovestruc
Great start! Count me in!!
Great reviews can't wait to read more.:thumbsup2

Thank you everybody who is reading this! I will try to update as quickly as I can, but it's always easier for me on Saturdays through Mondays when I am not working, so bear with me if the next ones take a bit longer! Anyway, here comes another one:

[annichan]

Ever since I had the strawberry cheesecake at the Plaza, my stomach was feeling a bit queasy. We briefly contemplated leaving the park for a nap, but decided to stay touring at full speed instead (NOT a good idea, that. I know. I’ve read my Tour Guide Mike. But it’s so difficult to let go when it’s your first day in the Magic Kingdom …).

I was fine for most of the afternoon, but when it was time for dinner at Tony’s Town Square, I was wasted: tired, with a headache and a stomachache, and somehow shaky and nauseous and weak. We sat down at Tony’s and even had something or other for an appetizer, but all of a sudden I decided I desperately needed to go home, so we left with the food still sitting on the table (the waitress was really nice, in fact, and booked us back one of our two meal credits, but I hardly noticed at the time).
After a speedy return to the hotel, all I could do was lie down and feel horrible and have a bit of a cry as I was feeling so miserable, lying there and wasting my precious vacation time :mad:

I am not sure today what really happened, if it was a stomach bug, the cheese cake and / or still exhaustion from the long flight, or maybe even a bit of a sun stroke (silly me, coming from Northern Europe at a cloudy 60 degrees Fahrenheit to sunny Florida at 90 degrees, and not wearing a hat or sunglasses).
Anyway, I staid in bed feeling horrible all night and most of the following day, only wanting darkness and quiet, while DH had a look around our hotel and Downtown Disney. (Originally, we had planned to spend the whole day at Epcot, with breakfast at Akershus, lunch at Le Cellier and dinner at Marrakesh – but alas, it was not to be!)

With the help of all that rest and quiet and some stomach medicine, however, I slowly started feeling better by about 3:00 p.m.

Taking it nice and slow, I had some fresh veggie sticks from the Roaring Fork foodcourt (they were delicious, by the way, and we used quite a few snack credits on them!) ...

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000327.jpg

... and we hung around the pool, had another walk along the beautiful path to Fort Wilderness and a boat ride back, and by that time I felt finally, and completely, restored to good health. Thank goodness!

Coming up next: Our in-room dinner from WL room service – upgrade us to a suite, the food won’t fit in the room!

[KatMark]

Loving your start. And you ate at two of our MUST DO'S every trip -- Crystal Palace for breakfast and the Plaza for our last lunch of the trip. And I believe the server you are talking about is Dot...a very lovely woman who waited on us when we were there for our 25th anniversary last year and told us she had been there since Disney opened.

I'm sorry you got sick and glad you recovered. Waiting for the next set of reviews with much anticipation.

[MarieA]

I'm looking forward to the rest of your reviews. We've been to WDW so many times and although we've eaten at just about every restaurant on property, I've never written a review. I enjoy reading everyone else's reviews.

[maxiesmom]

I'm loving your reviews. Having breakfast at the Crystal Palace is one of my favorite things.:goodvibes

It is such a shame you were not feeling well. I'm glad whatever was wrong, it didn't keep you down for too long. Looking forward to more pics and reviews.:)

[TigerKat]

So sorry you got sick while on vacation, that stinks.:hug:

I agree on the fries at The Plaza. I'm not a big french fry person but those are super good!:thumbsup2

[annichan]

Loving your start. And you ate at two of our MUST DO'S every trip -- Crystal Palace for breakfast and the Plaza for our last lunch of the trip. And I believe the server you are talking about is Dot...a very lovely woman who waited on us when we were there for our 25th anniversary last year and told us she had been there since Disney opened.


Yes, that sounds like the server I was talking about ... I wish I had taken a picture of the mayor giving her a hug, it looked so cute, but I wasn't quick enough with my camera.

I'm looking forward to the rest of your reviews. We've been to WDW so many times and although we've eaten at just about every restaurant on property, I've never written a review. I enjoy reading everyone else's reviews.

I have never written a review anywhere else either, but since reading AussieAngel's reviews here on the DIS, I've been wanting to. And I am determined to keep at it! :yay:

I'm loving your reviews. Having breakfast at the Crystal Palace is one of my favorite things.:goodvibes
It is such a shame you were not feeling well. I'm glad whatever was wrong, it didn't keep you down for too long. Looking forward to more pics and reviews.:)

Thank you for saying that! I am sure that we will do the breakfast at Crystal Palace again on our next trip - maybe also on the first day, it was such a great start to the first full day at Disney (even though I hope that the end to the day will be nicer than it was this trip ...)

So sorry you got sick while on vacation, that stinks.:hug:
I agree on the fries at The Plaza. I'm not a big french fry person but those are super good!:thumbsup2

Yes, I don't usually eat french fries a lot myself either, but I always get to taste those DH buys, whether he wants it or not :)

[annichan]

As I have just mentioned snack credits, I will use the opportunity to talk about them and how we used them some more, in case anybody is interested: Before our trip, I had somehow expected us to be unable to use them all up, as we had so much food on the Deluxe Dining Plan already. I saw absolutely no way to eat a whopping total of 56 snacks between the two of us.

However, we quickly found out that you could “buy” bottled water and softdrinks with them as well, so that is what we mostly did: I would guess that 75% of all our snack credits were used for bottles of water or Diet Coke, which we really needed as it was so hot all the time we were permanently thirsty (and we did not like the tap water, so the snack credits worked really well). The remaining 25% of snack credits were spread up fairly evenly, in my memory, between veggie sticks and fruit / grape cups from our food court, slushees and the occasional ice cream bar. (Yes, really only "occasional" - when I thought about the trip beforehand, I pictures myself sort of like constantly eating ice cream, but the dining plan got in the way of that :rolleyes:).

[Lynn5700]

Love CP breakfast and the Plaza!! So good!

Can't wait to read more :) Congrats on your wedding. Honeymoning in Disney is the best!

[devonsmommy]

Loving your reviews so far!
I agree...I kept reading, "the dining plan is so much food! We couldn't eat dessert!" etc. etc. And I was thinking yeah right, I LOVE to eat! No way! We're going to eat it all!
And we were also proved wrong. We ate so much that dh became physically ill, and then we decided it was too much food! And we weren't even on the deluxe plan!

Anywho, keep em coming!

[TXMomof3boys]

looking forward to reading more of your reviews! popcorn::

[frdeb1999]

Great start! Sorry you got sick! Looking forward to more reviews! :)

[jeminni]

Great reviews. :goodvibes It's definately no fun being sick at disney. My DD21 was sick when we were there in December ( she actually ended up having complicated appendicitis after we got back ) so we also ended up changing/missing some reservations. Your chicken salad at the Plaza looks great> Looking forward to the rest of your reviews. :thumbsup2

[annichan]

Love CP breakfast and the Plaza!! So good!
Can't wait to read more :) Congrats on your wedding. Honeymoning in Disney is the best!

Yes, isn't it? We loved it!! Our wedding was a while ago already, but we couldn't get enough time off work in the first months after the wedding, so this finally was our honeymoon, and I loved every minute of it! Even though we didn't buy the bride and groom ears, we wore our "Just Married" buttons all the time, and we got loads of pixie dust! :love:


Loving your reviews so far!
I agree...I kept reading, "the dining plan is so much food! We couldn't eat dessert!" etc. etc. And I was thinking yeah right, I LOVE to eat! No way! We're going to eat it all!
And we were also proved wrong. We ate so much that dh became physically ill, and then we decided it was too much food! And we weren't even on the deluxe plan!
Anywho, keep em coming!

Oh wow, I hadn't seen your review before, and now I see that I have even almost stolen your title without knowing it! Sorry for that! :worship: I will start reading it as soon as possible, it seems like you and your poor husband had similar problems to us!


looking forward to reading more of your reviews! popcorn::

Thank you, I will try to keep them coming as quickly as possible!


Great start! Sorry you got sick! Looking forward to more reviews! :)

Great reviews. :goodvibes It's definately no fun being sick at disney. My DD21 was sick when we were there in December ( she actually ended up having complicated appendicitis after we got back ) so we also ended up changing/missing some reservations. Your chicken salad at the Plaza looks great> Looking forward to the rest of your reviews. :thumbsup2

Yes, it's no fun at all being sick at Disney World, when you lie in bed and feel awful and start thinking about how much money this day in your hotel bed is costing you, and for all that money you don't even feel as comfortable as you would if you were ill at home ... But I assure you, no more sick stories from me, I was fine for the remainder of the vacation!

[annichan]

Like I said, we had a nice calm afternoon at the Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness, and by the evening I was feeling fine again and ready to tackle dinner. We didn’t want to venture out and did not have an ADR waiting for us anymore anyway so we decided on ordering in-room dining. I gave our orders to a very nice lady on the phone and was allowed to choose any delivery time I wanted, as long as it was at least 30 minutes out. She also offered to call us again just prior to delivery, which I didn’t deem necessary, however.
Absolutely right on time, dinner arrived … and kept arriving … and kept arriving! :scared1:

We could not believe the amount of plates and “metal keep-the-plates-warm thingies” (whatever they may be called in English :confused3 :)) that the server carried into the room! There were two big thingies with our entrees underneath them, and two smaller thingies with the desserts, and another smaller thingy with DH's appetizer, and a cheese plate under plastic wrap, and another thingy apparently covering some complimentary cornbread, and salt and pepper shakers, and two big plastic wrap-covered glasses of juice (tomato for me and apple for DH), and a plate full of crackers, and napkins, and cutlery, and ketchup, and salad dressing, and cream, and brown sauce … and a tiny small table to put all that onto. I swear I caught our server laughing at us! :rotfl2:

Anyway, this is what we had for dinner (not all of it fit onto the photo, unfortunately, the rest was parked on the bed meanwhile):

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000385.jpg

DH had a mixed green salad (I forget with which dressing) for starters, followed by the oven-roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and “seasonal vegetables” (in this case, beans and carrots). He liked (and finished!) all of it.

I had the cheese plate as an appetizer, however I treated it as dessert (seeing as it couldn’t get cold) and started with the entrée: A medium-grilled rib-eye steak with the same sides as DH had, mashed potatoes, beans and carrots.

The steak had a cute little yellow plastic buffalo sticking up in it, and it was also extremely delicious (the steak, obviously, not the plastic buffalo – sorry for getting tangled up in long English sentences!). The beans were a bit too “al dente”, if not to say hard, for my liking; the mashed potatoes, on the other hand, were heavenly. I have always loved mashed potatoes, but in Germany we never get them the way Disney does them, which is with a bit of the peel left in the mash. I love that!

The cheese plate was directly off the Artist Point menu, as I was told, and consisted of Fiscalini, Rogue River Blue and Midnight Moon cheeses, accompanied by Walnut toast (roasted so it was completely hard and crispy, very nice) and served with brown and yellow raisins which unfortunately both proved a bit too sweet for my liking so I ate it with just the toast and crackers. The blue cheese was slightly too strong for me, but I had been expecting that as I am a wussie when it comes to strong cheeses :rotfl:. The other two were mild and very nice.

The cornbread, incidentally, went back to the kitchen almost whole: We had so much other food that we just had a tiny little taste of it, and we didn’t really much care for it as we found it rather boring – kind of like a basic butter cake, but without any sugar.

For dessert, we both had the fruit plate: Some strawberries, red grapes, pieces of pineapple and of different types of melon, with fruit joghurt and oatmeal sprinkled on top. Very nice and light. We put most of it in the fridge because we couldn’t finish it after this food feast, and unfortunately we never got around to finishing the nice fruit. A pity!

Coming next: Breakfast at Whispering Canyon Café – what a quiet affair!

[annichan]

The next morning, we got the chance to check out our hotel's own restaurant - the Whispering Canyon Cafe. Situated on the Wilderness Lodge's ground floor, it has one open side to the lobby so every time we had walked across the lobby so far, we had been able to see and hear that this was not exactly one of the World's quieter spots: Laughter, shouting, who knew what went on there :scared1:
Yes, I must admit we were a bit apprehensive – we are not exactly morning people, so we cherish a quiet breakfast where you can glumly stare into your cup of coffee and wake up ever so slooowly. Therefore, we had not booked the Whispering Canyon for the wild experience but rather because it was so conveniently located in our hotel, only a couple of minutes away from our room. When checking in at the podium, however, I caught a glimpse of a paper pinned behind the desk that reminded the employee's not to forget the pony race on every hour :eek:. Scary, that …
Anyway, I am going to stop building up the tension now – as it turned out, our breakfast was to be really quiet and subdued. This was mostly thanks to our server, Jeffro, who was a very nice and quiet person (well, maybe he could be otherwise, but we only saw that side of him). There was one other server, a lively lady, who did a fair bit of yelling and joking, but she was far away from our table :goodvibes. Altogether, the restaurant was quite empty at this time of day (7:35 a.m.) anyway, as you can see in this picture of the restaurant (with a view of the hotel lobby in the background):

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000404.jpg

Now, what did we eat? As we were still rather full from last night's neverending dinner, we chickened out at the prospect of the "All-you-care-to-enjoy" Canyon Skillets and had some eggs instead. I went with the Ham and Cheese Omelet, which according to the menu is a three egg omelet with ham and cheddar cheese that comes with red bliss potatoes with sauteed onions.
The potatoes and onions, even though so creatively named, were the usual breakfast potatoes that come with many Disney breakfasts (or is it with many American breakfasts out of Disney World as well? I don't know …). The omelet was hearty and nice, even though I could have done with only about half the amount of molten cheese (tasted nice, but was so filling and heavy!). With the omelet came an unsweetened muffin type of thing called a Buttermilk Biscuit that I tried but did not finish, as it did not do much for me.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000406.jpg

(Sorry about the poor quality of the picture – we only just bought the camera prior to the trip and I still had some trouble figuring out how to take good pictures in artificial light settings.)
My husband had the two eggs with bacon and breakfast potatoes which turned out to be not quite enough for him – therefore it was a good thing that I, quite predictably, was unable to finish my omelet all by myself :lovestruc. This is his eggs and bacon, and our nice server Jeffro in the background:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000405-1.jpg

With the breakfast, we had orange juice and coffee. By the way, speaking about coffee: While researching for our trip, we had read a lot about the coffee at Disney being pretty dismal almost everywhere, so we were prepared for the worst ;). However, the coffee turned out much better than we had feared … A little weak, yes, but not bad at all. Maybe it's because we mostly drink instant coffee at home as well, but the Disney coffee really was a rather pleasant surprise. (And yes, we STILL loved the Kona Café coffee press pot, but that is another story :).)

Coming up next: A late lunch at Olivia's Café, and finally some nice al fresco seating!

[ChelleinNC]

Loving your reviews!

[annichan]

I had scheduled a late lunch (or call it an early dinner?) at Olivia's Café for 4:00 p.m. after I had read in several reviews that this was a hidden gem and not to be overlooked. On the day, we ended up arriving an hour early as it took us shorter than planned to "finish" Typhoon Lagoon. Getting an early seat was no problem at all since there were only about five parties dining at that time in the whole restaurant!

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000542.jpg

We immediately decided to sit outdoors: This is something that Germans love to do as soon as the weather isn't freezing anymore, probably because we like to catch all the sparse sun we can get :). Here in Florida, however, we had quickly learned to seek shade … and shaded outdoor seating opportunities at Disney seemed few and far between, to our disappointment!
Here, however, there was a perfect cool, shady, beautiful terrace – and it even had a nice view (it was much sunnier than the picture suggests, but I was once again having difficulty with the camera):

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000544.jpg

The waitress, whose name I forget, was very nice and friendly – and she did what we particularly like: She didn't rush us at all! She started by taking the drinks orders, then she came back to ask for each course individually, it also took some time to receive each course, and she only brought the bill when we asked for it and not before that. This was probably the one restaurant during our stay where we didn't feel the least bit rushed even for a single minute – great!
This was also the first restaurant where we tried that most heavenly of all drinks, the gorgeous MegaBerry Smoothie. Mmmmmh! :thumbsup2Made of (according to the menu) raspberry puree and nonfat yoghurt blended with Odwalla Berries GoMega, what ever that may be, it was heaven! Actually, I wish I could have one right now, and probably every single day afterwards :). One of us had the strawberry smoothie and we shared both of them, but preferred the MegaBerry.

I started with the Crab Cakes, which I had seriously never had before – so I can't compare them to anything. However, they were very nice and not too fatty, and I also loved the little salad they came with, as well as the key lime mustard and papaya-ginger dipping sauces (even though the latter could have been a tad less sweet).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000547.jpg

Dear husband had the Mozzarella and Tomato Salad with mixed Greens and Aceto Balsamico, which he liked but which apparently was not particularly special in taste.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000546.jpg

To follow this with something hearty and sustaining, he chose the Chipotle Barbecue Chicken Breast Sandwich with smoked bacon, pineapple jam, caramelized onions, and smoked gouda – doesn't it look great? (Oh my, I just realize I shouldn't be writing reviews while I am hungry, otherwise my strict critics' objectivity fades ;)).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000550.jpg

Meanwhile, I had the beautiful Key West Salmon Salad, a beautiful fresh mixed salad with a gorgeous lemony vinaigrette, with a yummy slice of roasted bread, sweet tomatoes, bacon and – best of all – a huge piece of medium-grilled, juicy, rosy salmon. (Oh god, get me something to eat or I don't know what will happen! :lmao:)

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000549.jpg

After this feast, we were once more totally full, happy and inclined to skip dinner. However, there was the matter of the Key Lime Tart … another item which I had read so much about, and never tasted. So we decided to share one of them, and to each have a nice frothy cappuccino to go with it – even if that meant having one on the Dining Plan but having to pay out of pocket for the other one. After all, if the honeymoon isn't the right time to indulge, then I don't know what is … :lovestruc
So here goes the Key Lime Tart with mango and raspberry sauce - tadaa:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000551.jpg

Nice, innit? I had expected it to be even less sweet and more lemony-sour, but it was still very, very nice. We devoured the meringue on top, the filling and the sauces, but we left the cake part of it. Once again, too much food.
All in all, this was our most enjoyable meal so far, and probably one of the best of the whole trip. (Remind me to compile a list of my Best & Worst once I am done with the reviews!)

Coming up next: The least motivated waitress of 'em all … meets us at Raglan Road :mad:!

[fizz13]

Great reviews! I totally sympathise with the too much food thing, I can see how you would get very full very fast but at the same time you dont want to waste the food:confused3
I did the regular dining plan a few years ago when you got 3 courses instead of 2 and I think I made it to dessert once in the whole trip, which was such a shame, but i know I can not eat an appetiser and dessert.
Anyway really enjoying the reviews and looking forward to more:)

[gardengirl628]

That key lime tart at Olivia's looks so good! Glad you had a nice meal there.

[ChelleinNC]

We had dinner at Olivia's in December and it was one of the best meals of the trip. Our waitress was a little scatterbrained, but the food was really good :thumbsup2

[TigerKat]

Enjoying your reviews! We may have to try Olivia's...:idea:

[annichan]

Great reviews! I totally sympathise with the too much food thing, I can see how you would get very full very fast but at the same time you dont want to waste the food:confused3
I did the regular dining plan a few years ago when you got 3 courses instead of 2 and I think I made it to dessert once in the whole trip, which was such a shame, but i know I can not eat an appetiser and dessert.
Anyway really enjoying the reviews and looking forward to more:)
We will definitely do the regular dining plan next time, we think we can handle that :laughing:. But probably no more deluxe DDP for us ...

That key lime tart at Olivia's looks so good! Glad you had a nice meal there.

We had dinner at Olivia's in December and it was one of the best meals of the trip. Our waitress was a little scatterbrained, but the food was really good :thumbsup2

Enjoying your reviews! We may have to try Olivia's...:idea:

Yes, I really recommend Olivia's Cafe! Even though I just found out that Anita Answer has just deemed it one of her worst Disney restaurants in her weekly Allears column. Oh well, I guess this is all in the eye of the beholder (or the eater?);)

[annichan]

First of all, let me apologize that the food photos I took here really won't do much for anybody. I must have had my camera in a wrong mode the whole time, plus I was not really motivated to take pictures at the time. Sorry!
Anyway, we arrived at Raglan Road for our dinner after a long and eventful day which had been great but very stressful on my poor aching feet, so I was glad to get off them. Accordingly, I was blissfully happy when we were seated immediately upon our arrival – or rather, being led into the beautiful Raglan Road interior …

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000572.jpg

… by a really nice and outgoing cast member who was delighted to meet Germans, as she said she loved Germany and had always wanted to go there. She had the nicest table in a corner booth overlooking the whole room for us, so everything was fantastic … until our server arrived. She looked at us glum and stone-faced and asked the usual question: were we on the dining plan? When I answered "yes, on the deluxe", she eyed me with a look that seriously shouted disbelief and asked rather rudely if she could see our card, then. I got it out to show it to her – and she grabbed it from me and marched off :confused3.
When she came back to take our drinks order, I pointed out to her that she had taken my KTTW card – after all, she had only asked to SEE it - , and she curtly said yes, she would keep it and give it back at the end of the meal. Okay … So this is our room key card, with charging privileges on it, and she wasn't even going to TELL us she wouldn't give it back for another hour or so? With this, we were not off to a good start, I am afraid.

However, moving on to nicer topics: The food and atmosphere more that made up for the rude waitress. The dining room with the glass windows up near the ceiling is beautiful, and soon some good (albeit a bit loud) live band came on and delivered Celtic classics that quite a few of the guests heartily sang along to.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000574.jpg

I had planned on a beer flight - but since we had arrived by car instead of by bus, as originally planned, DH couldn't drink so I didn't either, and we stuck with water and iced tea. A pity, in a way, but then again there are so many Irish pubs and places at home where we can get those beers, it was not too much of a disappointment.

We gladly jumped at the food intake-minimizing possibility of sharing an appetizer … and what a great one it turned out to be: "Scallop Forest" – forks of scallops served with a lime dipping sauce.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000570.jpg

(Once again, sorry for the bad picture!) Neither of us had eaten scallops before so we felt we were really brave. As it turned out, there was no reason to worry, though: They were yummy, and at the same time not half as exotic-tasting as I had feared.
As we were now both well started in seafood knowledge, we decided we would keep going in that same direction – so DH decided for the Salmon of Knowledge and I tried "It's Not Bleedin Chowder".

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000573.jpg

I can't say if it really bleedin wasn't, if I may quote its name thusly, as this was the first (not-) chowder I had ever had. However, I found it delicious – very seafoody, slightly spicy, and creamy in a yummy none-too-overwhelming way. I can proudly say that I finished every last morsel of it and would have even liked some more :).

By that time, the entertainment had turned up another notch, and a cute tap dancer came on stage – I was unable to take a clear picture of her which just shows how incredibly speedily she was tapdancing!

Tonight, there was no question of skipping desserts – we both wanted them, and we found out the most delicious combination imaginable: the "Triple Your Pleasure" (which was white chocolate mousse, dark chocolate mousse and a glass of something that was called tiramisu, but actually very much resembled normal cocoa) …

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000579.jpg

… gloriously combined with a beautiful, colourful fresh fruit plate, over which golden honey had been dribbled, with a little can of yoghurt on the side. I cannot find this dessert on the menu so I do not recall its name, unfortunately, but I believe it was the "no sugar added dessert".

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000578.jpg

Like I said, we shared both by dipping the honey-covered fruit pieces into the white and dark chocolate mousses, and the result was just heavenly – one of the best desserts ever!

In this way, a great dinner came to its end – and when taking our leave from the waitress, I tried once more to come to good terms with her by saying "by the way, I was a bit irritated when you said you had to see my card, but then you took off with it. Maybe next time it would be a good idea to explain that BEFORE you take the card." She responded with a lengthy explanation of how the system worked, and why she needed the card. I said "Yes, but I just meant it would be nicer to explain that BEFORE you take the card, next time" – to which she again responded by saying, "Well, but I needed it because … etc etc". This happened something like three times until I finally gave up.
I don't know if this was maybe just cultural or language differences between us, but all I wanted to hear was something along the lines of "Oh I see, sorry for having confused you" – but that just didn't happen. Oh, well. Maybe she was just having a bad day. Or maybe I was.

Coming up next: Donald's Safari Breakfast … a hug from the duck!

[TigerKat]

Sorry you had to deal with that snippy, rude waitress BUT isn't that chowder to die for? I had it last November and LOVED it!!!:worship:

[natalielongstaff]

Mmm maybe reading your report before going to weightwatchers wasnt a good move, im hungry now :rotfl2:

[TXMomof3boys]

I am really enjoying your reviews! Thank you for taking the time to give us such detailed reports.

I am now wishing I would have stuck with our Raglan ADR - maybe I should change back? :idea:

I am also thinking about giving Olivia's a try too. The food looked really yummy.

[devonsmommy]

No worries about the title!
It seems we both really were defeated!

still enjoying your reviews!

[annichan]

Gee, I just realize I failed to mention the little early lunch we had before eating at Olivia’s Cafe: These alligator nuggets and other bits (I almost wrote „wings“ until I noticed I had to get off the chicken assumption :laughing:)!

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000523.jpg

Actually, they only qualified as food in the very widest sense, as in fact they were rather gross. I think it’s only the way they were prepared, though, so I am prepared to give gator meat another chance at some future time! So, if you are at Gatorland, skip these, you’re seriously not missing much. Do not skip Gatorland altogether, though, if you want to take my advice: I loved it there, it is a fantastic rather old-fashioned way to spend a nice three or so hours!

[torsie24]

Loving your review so far!! :cutie:

I think your photos are wonderful, and you write really well!! (Puts me to shame seeing as english is my only language and it isn't as good as yours! :lmao:)

Can't wait to hear about meeting Donald - him and Daisy are my favourites!!

[annichan]

No worries about the title!
It seems we both really were defeated! still enjoying your reviews!

Oh yes, truly defeated! Even though I found out today, after some adding up of receipts and looking at menus, that we actually saved a large sum of money over what we would have paid for our meals out of pocket! I was really happy when I found that out, as with all that dessert-skipping and spending-4-credits-on-room-service, I never thought we would come out so far ahead!

I am really enjoying your reviews! Thank you for taking the time to give us such detailed reports.
I am now wishing I would have stuck with our Raglan ADR - maybe I should change back? :idea:
I am also thinking about giving Olivia's a try too. The food looked really yummy.

Thank you! I love writing these detailed reports, they really make me live through those nice experiences a second time. Yes, do give Raglan Road a try! I hadn't got it in my original plan, but then I cancelled the Luau as a spur-of-the-moment decision and went with Raglan Road instead, and I don't regret it! After all, you now know that they will keep your KTTW card for the duration of the meal, so you can't be as shocked as I was ;).

Mmm maybe reading your report before going to weightwatchers wasnt a good move, im hungry now :rotfl2:

Oh dear, I'm sorry! :rotfl: Look deep into my eyes and speak after me: All ... Disney food ... is disgusting ... I do NOT ... want to eat ... any of it! :laughing:
No, seriously, good on you for doing WeightWatchers, I've been wanting to do that forever and never really done it!

Sorry you had to deal with that snippy, rude waitress BUT isn't that chowder to die for? I had it last November and LOVED it!!!:worship:

Yes, loved that chowder or not-quite-chowder! I actually had another one later that didn't live up to this one in any way, but I'll get to that in a later review!

Loving your review so far!! :cutie:
I think your photos are wonderful, and you write really well!! (Puts me to shame seeing as english is my only language and it isn't as good as yours! :lmao:)
Can't wait to hear about meeting Donald - him and Daisy are my favourites!!

Wow, thank you for the compliment! :banana:
But you don't want to see me writing anything in German, it's probably all horrible compared to this! :)
Yes, Donald is my favorite too and has been so since I was little - the only one I probably like even better is Balou, whom I met in the Animal Kingdom and ran at him skipping and shouting "Balou! I've always wanted to meet you!!!" as if I was like five years old, how embarrassing :)
Oh, and Uncle Scrooge of course, but I didn't see him anywhere and I've never seen a photo of him as a character anywhere, either. Does he exist at all? I mean, does he ever appear in any of the parks?

[annichan]

The next morning (May 1st) finally saw us at the Animal Kingdom, a park I had very much looked forward to and which to me turned out just as great as I had hoped, if not even better. In fact, I can’t even decide if I like Magic Kingdom a tad better, or if the AK is my favourite park of 'em all!

It all started with a very early breakfast ADR at Tusker House at 8:10 a.m., which meant we could get into the park ahead of all the regular guests since park opening wasn’t until 9:00. Delighted, we walked along the near-empty streets of the Oasis towards Africa, frequently hailed by Cast Members congratulating us on our wedding (wearing those buttons, again!), until we saw this sight:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000587.jpg

We progressed along the deceptively long line in front of the check-in counter much faster than expected, then skipped the photo as we didn’t want to buy it anyway (incidentally, why is it that they always pose you for expensive pictures exclusively at character breakfasts, but the characters don’t pose with you? I just don’t get it!) and also because my husband was beginning to feel the need for some coffee and food. We were led into this astonishing setting:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000591.jpg

… and from then onward to our table in the very far right corner of the room. That was nice, as we love some peace and quiet in the early mornings when we are not yet really awake! Of course there is not much of that to be had at a character breakfast, but every little bit counts :laughing:. DH and I were quickly off to the buffet to grab ourselves some brekkie before the characters started heading our way – I got myself what I now believe was my first try of mickey waffles!

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000596.jpg

They are nice, but I would have liked some icing sugar on them … Or are you supposed to pour syrup over them? I’m such a newbie when it comes to American breakfast foods (as you can you can see by looking at what else I had: just fruit and joghurt and oatmeal, all nice and non-threatening and almost-European :lmao:).

DH was more adventurous, with eggs and bacon and what looks to me like a beef patty, but I asked him and he cannot remember what he had for breakfast, so it can’t have been that exciting after all :).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000595.jpg

All in all, I can really recommend the Tusker House breakfast - or Donald’s Safari Breakfast, as it is called: The food is nice, the setting is absolutely gorgeous and seems very authentically African to me, and then of course there was this friendly and outgoing guy, who gave the breakfast its name and also shamelessly hugged me in front of my husband:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000601.jpg

I have always loved Donald more than any other character in the Disney comics and short films (and I think you can see it in my smile here, too) so this was a very special moment for me :love:. I also loved his safari attire, isn’t it fancy? After posing for the photo, he gave me a biiig hug, and that was easily the best part of the whole breakfast experience :cloud9:.
A little later, as the lady at the adjacent table was so nice to offer to take pictures of DH and me together, we also got this great shot demonstrating how we finally met the one and only Mickey Mouse (not my favourite as a child, but shhhh, don’t tell him that):

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000606.jpg

Goofy and Daisy kindly payed us a visit as well, and then – as it was already past 9:00 and guests were streaming into the park - we were off to explore the wonders of Africa and beyond! But we wouldn’t be gone for long …

Coming up next: Back again – lunch at Tusker House!

[mi*vida*loca]

GREAT reviews! I think we may try Raglan Road!! The food looks good, the kids would like the entertainment and I'm going to assume some awesome beer for DH! :goodvibes

We do put syrup on our waffles. ANd that beef patty is actually a pork sausage patty. :thumbsup2

[lovedonaldduck]

I am really enjoying your reviews! Thank you for taking the time to give us such detailed reports.

I am now wishing I would have stuck with our Raglan ADR - maybe I should change back? :idea:

I am also thinking about giving Olivia's a try too. The food looked really yummy.


I would definitely change back to Raglan Road. We ate there last month and loved it. It ended up being our favorite meal of the trip and is on our to do list for the next trip.

I am loving this food review, it is totally killing my diet. If I diet between now and September, I can eat that much more in September:)

[annichan]

GREAT reviews! I think we may try Raglan Road!! The food looks good, the kids would like the entertainment and I'm going to assume some awesome beer for DH! :goodvibes
We do put syrup on our waffles. And that beef patty is actually a pork sausage patty. :thumbsup2

Ah okay, thank you for explaining some of that mysterious food to me! :banana:
I have just one word of caution concerning Raglan Road: the live entertainment was rather loud, so if your kids are easily disturbed by loud noise, you might want to think about it.

I would definitely change back to Raglan Road. We ate there last month and loved it. It ended up being our favorite meal of the trip and is on our to do list for the next trip.
I am loving this food review, it is totally killing my diet. If I diet between now and September, I can eat that much more in September:)

Oh dear! Thanks for the compliment, but I wouldn't want to kill anyone's diet! So please, stop reading my review right now. Until September. ;)

[annichan]

After about four hours of happily exploring Animal Kingdom, we were back at Tusker House for our 1:15 p.m. ADR. I had booked the “Finding Nemo Package” which would give us preferred entry tickets for the 3:15 show. (I didn’t know whether those were necessary at all, but since the package didn’t cost anything extra, I had wanted to give it a go.)

The bolivian lady at the check-in counter still recognized me from that morning, so we had a nice chat and a bit of a pin-trade before DH and I were led to our table, this time in another corner of the main dining room next to a little window to Harambe. Our server (whose name I forgot as usual, sorry) was a very nice Indonesian guy who made us several recommendations on what to eat. All of it turned out yummy!

I only took pictures of our first plates, but rest assured that each of us had about two more plates as everything tasted really nice!

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000729.jpg

Starting in the lower left-hand corner and moving clockwise around my plate, I had the vegetable samosas (delicious – a very good recommendation from our server!), some seafood stew with tamarind sauce, saffron-infused vegetables, grilled salmon with tomatoes, some couscous (I forget which one it was), and – in the middle – pearl couscous with sweet basil essence.
I absolutely loved, loved, loved those slightly oriental dishes! None of them were too spicy or too strange, hardly any of them were boring, I was in mildly-oriental food heaven! I also tried most of the other “exotic” stuff but didn’t photograph it, and I extend my praises to all of it. Especially worth mentioning: the Cape Malay curry chicken with coriander, and the Tandoori Tofu! I would not hesitate a second to eat here again, and for everybody who probably does not like his food a tiny bit exotic, there were lots of more “normal” choices like carved meat or chicken legs available. You can see that on DH’s plate, who had not only samosas and saffron veggies but also some chicken and meat:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000725.jpg

I cannot really recall what we drank, by the way – the bill lists it as “Pangani Punch” which we had to pay for out of pocket, but it doesn’t seem to have been very memorable. Couldn’t really have been alcoholic, so some fruit juice or smoothie, maybe? Anyone who knows what that is, please enlighten me :confused3.

As this was the "Finding Nemo Package", I should also mention that we were given a slip of paper at check-in which we then presented at the rope barrier in front of the Finding Nemo theatre about half an hour before the start of the show; we were then led inside and allowed to sit in a roped-off section in the front right area of the theatre. We could see very well from there, but as the theatre opened to the "general public" shortly afterwards and there were a lot of other nice seats, this package would probably not have been necessary - at least not at this not-too-busy time of the year.

Up next: Dinner at Boma!

[mi*vida*loca]

Ah okay, thank you for explaining some of that mysterious food to me! :banana:
I have just one word of caution concerning Raglan Road: the live entertainment was rather loud, so if your kids are easily disturbed by loud noise, you might want to think about it.



My kids are immune to loud noises! :rotfl2:

[annichan]

My kids are immune to loud noises! :rotfl2:

:laughing:

[MiNniEDrEameR]

i'm all caught up on your reviews and can't wait to read more!!!:thumbsup2

[Queenofallthings]

Just caught up, we were out of town for a few days, I was going into withdrawals with my Dis friends:hippie:

Great reviews, I'm thinking seriously of doing Tusker House now, we haven't been since they changed it from counter service. Your pictures are wonderful:banana:

Can't wait to read more, you are doing a GREAT job!!!:cool1:

[MiaBella05]

popcorn:: joining in popcorn::

[annichan]

i'm all caught up on your reviews and can't wait to read more!!!:thumbsup2

Thank you! I see that you don't have long to go until you're also off to a Disney Honeymoon - lucky you! I wish you a great time, just don't forget to wear your buttons and you will hear "Congratulations" so often you will feel like a celebrity :)

Just caught up, we were out of town for a few days, I was going into withdrawals with my Dis friends:hippie:
Great reviews, I'm thinking seriously of doing Tusker House now, we haven't been since they changed it from counter service. Your pictures are wonderful:banana:
Can't wait to read more, you are doing a GREAT job!!!:cool1:

Thank you! I didn't know Tusker House when it was still counter service as (like you probably read) this was my first time at Animal Kingdom as I hadn't been to the World since about 1983. But I am glad that they turned it into a buffet!

popcorn:: joining in popcorn::

I am always happy to see that people are reading this - have fun! :cheer2:

[annichan]

At 6:05 p.m., we were booked for dinner at Boma. First we had a look around the in- and outside of the Animal Kingdom Lodge:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000788.jpg

We liked it, but did not find it as grandiose or as cozy as our own Wilderness Lodge :love:. This was good, because when booking our honeymoon we had been unsure whether to go for WL or AKL, and now we could happily say that we had chosen absolutely right!

Let me admit to one thing right upfront: We found out this night that we weren’t too much into Boma.
I know that the place is getting rave reviews everywhere, but it just wasn’t for us. Maybe this was because we were still in our “Wilderness Lodge is better than Animal Kingdom Lodge” mood, who knows?
But we found both the waiting area and the restaurant itself much too dark, and way too loud, and somehow just not that nice. We spent quite a while in the waiting area, too; at least twenty minutes, and we were not used to that as we had hardly ever had to wait long at previous restaurants.
Both our server and our seater were courteous but rather hurried and impersonal. The servers appeared to be a bit overwhelmed with the number of guests as well, as there were several really dirty tables around us that stayed that way for quite a while before finally receiving their cleaning.

Therefore to all you Boma fans out there, please don’t be offended by what is nothing more than a personal opinion :worship:, but this was not our favourite dining experience and we probably would not return – not because there was anything substantially wrong with the food, but because the surroundings just didn’t do anything for us at all.

The food was actually quite good – even though I didn’t find it as tasty as the dishes we had had at lunch at Tusker House, for example.
Again, I didn’t take enough food pictures – I only snapped my first plate with salads and veggies … (and fries! Didn't I just write the other day that I wasn't into french fries? Tsk tsk ...)

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000796.jpg

… and DH’s first plate with mostly meats on it, and a bowl of lamb stew.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000795.jpg

I tried some of the African side dishes as well, the mealie pap and the fufu. The pap seemed very bland to me, but the fufu – sweet and white potatoes mashed with coriander and cinnamon - was actually very nice, probably due to the fact that by using cinnamon and coriander together, it ingenuously combines two of my very favourite spices (and I hadn't even known these two COULD be combined :love:).

There were two other things I really liked very much about Boma: One was the soups, and the other, the desserts. They had a soup bar (with a looong line of people queueing up to taste the soups) and I tried tiny bowls of four of them: The lamb stew and the she-crab soup were absolutely delicious, the butternut squash soup (I hope I am getting the name right) was a bit bland but okay, and the fourth soup I did not like and have subsequently forgotten what it was :laughing:.

Now, for the desserts: That was a nice plate I got myself there!

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000799.jpg

Some tasty fresh fruit (I can never get enough of that!), a little cheesecake (?) the name of which I forget but which was nice, and of course the not-to-be-missed zebra dome about which I had read so much in all the reviews, and which was just as good as the people say. I would just never have thought that it would taste so strongly alcoholic (apparently they put quite a lot of Kahlúa in there), but it was veeery nice :flower1:.

For drinks, we chose some iced water/tea and another MegaBerry Smoothie for each of us – love these smoothies, I wish they would offer them in every restaurant! Would never get boring for me :laughing:.

Coming up next: Breakfast at Spoodles, and all without pictures :rolleyes1!

[TXMomof3boys]

I switched my adr from the Cape May Clam bake to Raglan Road thanks to your review. Thanks for the warning about the loud entertainment, but it will not effect my boys as they are usually the loud entertainment around here! :lmao:

Thanks for your reviews - loving them! :thumbsup2

[DoodlesBow]

Wonderful!! I am enjoying the reviews!

[annichan]

I switched my adr from the Cape May Clam bake to Raglan Road thanks to your review. Thanks for the warning about the loud entertainment, but it will not effect my boys as they are usually the loud entertainment around here! :lmao:
Thanks for your reviews - loving them! :thumbsup2

I am glad I could be helpful - enjoy your Raglan Road experience!

Wonderful!! I am enjoying the reviews!

Thank you! :banana:

[annichan]

The following morning we were headed to Typhoon Lagoon for some splashing about and cooling off (not easy getting used to the Florida heat when you live where we do :sunny:). Consequently, we had decided against bringing our camera as we did not want to leave it either in the hot car in the TL parking lot, or in a TL locker. So this means no photos for the breakfast :worried:.

Anyway, we arrived at the BoardWalk (for the first time ever) at 8:00, had a quick look around and then checked in to Spoodles. We would not have needed the ADR's at all, as the restaurant was all but empty (it filled up a bit during the next 45 minutes, but nowhere near to capacity) and we could be seated straightaway. Our server brought us orange juice and coffee, but just the regular "poured from a big can" type of coffee. I saw on the menu later that they were also offering "real" press-pot coffee, but maybe we would have had to ask for that specifically, it might not have been included with the Dining Plan, who knows. It was no problem anyway, because like I said we didn't mind drinking the usual Disney coffee instead.

I had heard the Spoodles breakfast frittatas praised, so I decided on a fire-roasted vegetable and feta cheese frittata. DH had the All American Breakfast with all the usual stuff (see, at least he had gotten used to the good hot American breakfast foods by now! :)).

The frittata was absolutely delicious! I must say it was not something I would usually have for breakfast, but rather something I would have ordered when having lunch or dinner at an Italian restaurant – but apart from that fact, it tasted great: I loved the veggies, loved the feta cheese, finished everything right up and didn't even leave a bite for DH :rolleyes1.

I have heard that Spoodles restaurant will close in fall to make way for a new fancy restaurant, and I must say that I find it a bit sad how I won't be able to have breakfast there again on our next trip (fall of next year, hopefully). DH says he didn't find Spoodles all that special and doesn't really care whether he can eat there again – but then again, HE didn't get to try that gorgeous frittata ;).

Coming up next: Dinner at 1900 Park Fare – I need another beer, the prince is coming!

[TigerKat]

I had that same frittata a few years ago and it remains one of my favorite breakfast entrees anywhere, it is that good!:thumbsup2

[MelanieC]

Still loving the reviews :) yummo!

[klacey1]

Yumm! Keep them coming!

[tortoni]

Great reviews and what a great selection of restaurants you went to. Can't wait for the next installment.

[ChelleinNC]

Wow, can't believe I missed that many updates in such a short period of time :eek:

Tusker House breakfast sounds very good. Yes, we do put syrup on our waffles, sometimes fruit & whipped cream but usually syrup. The meat would be a sausage patty, you'll also find sausage links at breakfast here.

TH lunch sounds really good. We're going for dinner this summer for the 1st time and really looking forward to it.

I love Boma, breakfast & dinner. It can be loud but I think the restaurant is so neat looking :thumbsup2 I don't deal well with noise, but it doesn't really bother me there :confused3 :confused3 We've had some excellent servers there, but I've heard of some not great ones. I just don't know how you managed to eat all 3 of those meals in 1 day :scared1:

Spoodles: never had breakfast there but it sounds good. Don't worry too much about the new restaurant from what I'm hearing it's going to be very similar to what's there now but with a celebrity chef's name on it :rolleyes:

Now I need to get some more coffee and something to eat. I'm starving now for some reason ;)

[annichan]

I had that same frittata a few years ago and it remains one of my favorite breakfast entrees anywhere, it is that good!:thumbsup2

Yes, I really liked it too! That said, my favorite breakfast entree is what I had at The Wave, but I will come to that in a while :)

Still loving the reviews :) yummo!

Thank you!

Yumm! Keep them coming!

Thanks! I will!

Great reviews and what a great selection of restaurants you went to. Can't wait for the next installment.

I spent weeks and months selecting the restaurants before the 90 day reservation window opened ... Actually I spent hours drooling over the menus when I was at work and couldn't get anything to eat :rotfl:

Wow, can't believe I missed that many updates in such a short period of time :eek:


Yes, I never work on Mondays plus we had a national holiday on Thursday, so I had plenty of time to write updates! :surfweb:

[annichan]

After a fun half day at Typhoon Lagoon and some rest at the hotel, we were headed for an early dinner at 1900 Park Fare at 5:50. (Both the location and the early hour were due to the fact that we were off to Magic Kingdom afterwards with ample time to find a good viewing spot for our first ever Spectromagic. Now, as all of you probably know, this is the location of Cinderella’s Storybook Dinner – and I am sure I had read that somewhere, but not really paid much attention to what that actually meant. Well, I was about to find out …:sad2:)

This was also our first visit to the Grand Floridian, so we had a brief look around there and then headed over to 1900 PF. We had wanted to skip the photo again, but they were lightning quick in arranging us and snapping away, so oh well, we didn’t really waste any time by doing that :). Afterwards we had a 3-minute wait at most, and were taken to our table by a very nervous lady wearing an “Earning my Ears” label (poor her, we were extra nice to her but she still appeared nervous :confused3).

How can I say – as soon as we entered the dining room we knew that we were out of place here :grouphug: :scared:. I mean, we seemed to be absolutely the only couple without children in the whole dining room which made us feel weird to start with, the noise level was incredible, Cinderella was just being announced over the speaker system, and we suddenly realized that while we loooved meeting fur characters, we were both really apprehensive about meeting face characters and didn’t have a clue what to say to them :scared1:. I should have been alerted by the fact that oone of our guidebooks said this meal would be like a “wacky dinner theater”. I would never go to a dinner theater! I never do any audience participation either! I would die! So as you can see, I felt really weird about the whole experience, and I could tell from DH’s frantic expression that he probably felt even worse ;).

Our waitress told us that Prince Charming would be with us in a few minutes, so we both acted on the same impulse, ordered a beer and drank it down pretty much in one gulp when it arrived to muster all our courage :rolleyes1.

We also went to get some food, but I could hardly eat any of it as I was so nervous (yes, yes, go ahead and laugh at me if you will – I am laughing now too, but while I was there, I didn’t really find it funny :rotfl2:).

Anyway, this is what I had (and don’t expect me to show you what DH ate, I was in no condition to be organized about photographing food):

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000839.jpg

... something with seafood, and something with veggies, and something with rice. Whatever. And don’t ask me what it tasted like – what did I care, I was too busy throwing hectic glances over my shoulder to find out if some prince or princess was approaching :lmao:.

And sure enough – there he was:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000845.jpg

Actually it was over pretty quickly, as I was trying to make conversation and failing dismally, and he seemed to wonder what we were doing there without kids as well – so before I knew it he was gone, and I ordered another beer to celebrate :). (The good mood lasted only until Cinderella appeared, of course …)

That said, I must add that it was much, much easier interacting with Cindy’s stepfamily than with her and Charming: As they were not taking the whole thing seriously, and were meant to be funny, I was much more at ease and didn’t have any trouble going along with the conversation and saying something funny myself (whether they found it funny or not, is another story, of course).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000863.jpg

As it seems that I was having my non-magical and sarcastic day, I liked the evil stepmother best of all – and cracked up when seeing what happened at the table next to ours: A mother tried to take a picture of her son (maybe 5 or 6 years of age) with Evil Stepmom, and Stepmom was giving him a nasty look and kept telling him sternly to “sit up straight, child! Straight!” until he burst into tears and had to be comforted by his laughing mommy. Stepmom did not move a muscle in her face, said “A-ha! Did Cinderella make you cry again!” and stomped off. I know it probably wasn’t nice for the poor little boy, but I was in fits of laughter and couldn’t believe that Stepmom carried it off like that.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000849.jpg

After the whole royal (and not-so-royal) family had finished their rounds, I could finally go get some dessert!

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1000859.jpg

This was all really nice and the fruity tarts were very refreshing, but once more I do not know what anything was called – even though the ordeal was over, I now had the influence of two beers to battle against!

So this was the end of our evening at 1900 Park Fare, and it will not surprise you now to hear me say that we did not return for our breakfast with Mary Poppins here the next morning, but rather cancelled that ADR and stayed clear of face characters from then on :rolleyes1.
If I ever have a daughter, I am sure she will delight in meeting Cinderella and Charming, and then they will finally also make ME happy; and if I ever have a son, will take care not to try and take his picture with the evil stepmother ;).

Coming up next: Lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine-In … first some pixie dust :wizard:, then a frantic search in the dark! :eek:

[ragtopday]

I just found you today and have loved reading your reviews! I used to love Tusker House when it was CS (best CS on property, imho), but the new format looks pretty darn good too! I now simply must try Raglan Road! I never did Spoodles breakfast, but enjoyed dinner there a year and a half ago very much. I laughed out loud at your description of 1900 PF - we've never done it, but we do have princess girls who would probably enjoy it. I seem to like interacting with face characters more, since you can actually converse, but I do understand your stage fright!

Can't wait to read more!

[CoolPool]

Stepmother makes me want to bring my 7 year olds! Thanks for the laugh.

[DisneycrazedX6]

I never know what to say to the characters either. Usually I just embarrass my children. I am sure that I would have said the wrong thing to Prince Charming, he sure is really cute!!! Great reviews so far, looking forward to more!

[annie1995]

Love all of your reviews!! Question for you though...... How would you compare crystal palace and tusker house both for breakfast? I am stuck on which one to go for. We have done CP before and we really enjoyed it. Thanks so much and can't wait for more!!

[danalee]

Just found your reviews today and love them! I have to say I did start to giggle when I started reading about you guys ordering the beers and drinking them to get over being nervous! :lmao:

[princessjane]

I love your Reviews!!!! You have the same sense of humor as my German boyfriend...go figure lol! The deluxe plan is way too much! It's a ton of food even on the regular plan.

Note:And I also am not a fan of Boma either and believe me, I like exotic and ethnic food, so it was a disappointment for me.

[LLLBelle]

Joining in, love your reviews. :thumbsup2

[annichan]

Wow, I can't believe how many replies I've got! Thanks everybody! :banana:
I seem to like interacting with face characters more, since you can actually converse, but I do understand your stage fright!

Seems like I prefer hugs to conversation :rotfl2:
No, but maybe this is a language-barrier thing - I'd have to think about it, it might be easier to speak to them in German, I don't know. Anyway, unless they come up with Munich Disneyland I'm afraid that won't happen :)

Stepmother makes me want to bring my 7 year olds! Thanks for the laugh.

Yes, she was fierce! If I was in her shoes, I would either have cracked up laughing or run to the poor boy and apologized. So I guess it's a good thing I wasn't born to be stepmother Tremaine... ;)

I never know what to say to the characters either. Usually I just embarrass my children. I am sure that I would have said the wrong thing to Prince Charming, he sure is really cute!!! Great reviews so far, looking forward to more!

Well, now that you say so, I guess you're right, he WAS cute. I guess I've never looked at him other than through the eyes of total terror :rotfl:

Love all of your reviews!! Question for you though...... How would you compare crystal palace and tusker house both for breakfast? I am stuck on which one to go for. We have done CP before and we really enjoyed it. Thanks so much and can't wait for more!!

That's a bit hard to say. If you can only do one of them, I would probably ask myself which characters you prefer: Pooh and friends? Or the Donald and Mickey gang? (You can get Donald and Mickey at other meals as well, but Pooh is more unique).
The food, on my opinion, was better at Tusker House but more traditional at Crystal Palace. The whole setting at CP is lighter and sunnier, while it is a bit darker at TH.
Personally, even though I really liked TH, I would probably decide for CP as I couldn't dine with Pooh anywhere else. Hope that helps a bit!

Just found your reviews today and love them! I have to say I did start to giggle when I started reading about you guys ordering the beers and drinking them to get over being nervous! :lmao:

Yes, I know ... Repeat after me, kids: Alcohol is never the solution to any problem! :thumbsup2

I love your Reviews!!!! You have the same sense of humor as my German boyfriend...go figure lol!

Wow, that's interesting - I didn't even realize there was such a thing as a typical German sense of humour :) Say Guten Tag to your boyfriend from me!

Joining in, love your reviews. :thumbsup2

Welcome aboard, thanks for joining!

[annichan]

Our original plans for today had included breakfast at 1900 Park Fare and then skipping lunch, as we had our first signature dining experience waiting for us for dinner.
Now however, as I wrote before, the pressing need had arisen to cancel the 1900 PF breakfast so we opted for an early lunch instead, and visiting Lobby Concierge managed to get an 11:45 ADR at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Restaurant.

I had read lots of reviews about this place before our vacation, and most of them had been pretty bad. Apparently, downright dismal food was awaiting us. So was I mad or just masochistic to want to eat there? Well, it was neither: I was really looking forward to the atmosphere, and I didn’t really care if the food was bad since I was expecting a great dinner :).

Therefore, we were happy and optimistic (and hungry!) when we arrived at the Sci-Fi Dine-In.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010002.jpg

Upon check-in, I asked for a car table as I did not want to sit off to the side, but the CM assured me that they guaranteed a car table with every advance reservation anyway (I hadn’t known that).
We had to wait about 8 or 10 minutes for our table, to which we were escorted by a really sweet lady who escorted us into the dining room with a happy “Time warp! Woohoo!”. And right she was: Here we were in our night-time drive-in cinema in the Fifties.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010004.jpg

I loved, loved, loved the setting! It was soo gorgeous, and soo Disney. (Unfortunately, by the way, it was also soo cold, and I had to borrow DH’s shirt which he was wearing over his T-Shirt.)

“Our” car was a bit off to the left when looking at the screen, and we had the front row. Pretty soon, a really nice couple was seated behind us and we said hello to each other. When our server, Jannelle, arrived, she told us that we had picked us up a couple of back-seat drivers and should say hello, and we could happily say that we had already done so.
She then announced that they would pay for our meal as we gave them a ride – we thanked them profusely, but then reassured them that they were off the hook this time as we were on the Dining Plan :thumbsup2. (They got back at us by asking the server, when she put ketchup on their table and telling them sternly not to squirt each other with it, asking if they could squirt us instead :rotfl:)

We both started by ordering milkshakes – vanilla for DH, strawberry for me. Those were our first “normal” milkshakes (so not counting MegaBerry smoothies) of the vacation, and they were great! Yummy, thick, not too sweet, and so plentiful that they almost flowed over the brim.
(You can’t really see much in the picture, and I gave up on taking pics afterwards as it simply was too dark. We could just about read the menu and guess what was on our plates, but that was about it. Didn’t worry us, though – after all we were here to see the movie ;))

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010011.jpg

I then proceeded with the BLT soup. The menu sums it up by saying it is a creamy tomato basil soup, topped with an herb crouton, shredded lettuce and bacon. Very nice, tasteful and creamy! DH had the mixed greens for starters.

As an entrée, I took the Beef and Blue Salad (“Sliced butcher-tender steak with a Wedge of Iceberg Lettuce with Blue Cheese Dressing, Tomatoes and Bacon”) which was a great choice – very yummy, especially the blue cheese dressing and the great steak slices. The only thing I had not been prepared for what the salad – I mean, I was expecting something tossed or chopped, and found like half a head of salad on my plate, I couldn’t believe it! :eek:
DH found this really funny so he took a picture of it:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010014.jpg

I was good, though, I finished about two thirds of it! popcorn::
DH went with the Angus Chuck Burger with fries, and he liked that very much as well.

At this point we were the happy recipients of some pixie dust as our back-seat drivers asked us whether we would be in the park for the afternoon, as they were planning to leave right after lunch, and they gave us their Toy Story Mania fastpasses! I was so happy - we didn’t know that ride yet and we didn’t get fastpasses as the return time was like five hours away, and now we got to ride it that day after all! :yay:

For dessert, DH had ordered the fruit salad and I had planned on having the Hot Fudge Sundae. However, at this point, I was so full that no matter how much I would have loved to try the Sundae, I decided to go for the sensible choice instead and asked our server to bring me the fruit salad instead. She said, “of course, but that will be a five dollar dessert-changing fee”. I was still busy making up my mind whether this was worth it, and being slightly angry at Disney for imposing such a fee, when her and DH’s laughter told me that she was putting me on!! Gosh, I’m always so gullible :sad2:

So of course I got my fruit salad, and DH got his, and we got the bill, and this was the moment when I realized I had lost my KTTW card :scared1::scared1::scared1:. I started digging through my bag and DH’s bag and the car, and all in near total darkness. I couldn’t really enjoy my fruit salad that way, I’m afraid :guilty:. (I never found that card again by the way, so I had to go to Guest Services and get the old one voided and a new one issued – this only cost us a few minutes, though, so a big “thank you” to DHS Guest Services! :worship:)

All in all, it was a great experience – we were very happy with the setting, the food, our very friendly server Jannelle, simply everything (except for the excessively cold air-conditioning). We strongly differ from all the negative reviews and will definitely eat here again! I can’t say why we feel so much “against the trend”, though – maybe the kitchen was just having a good day? Generally, we ARE pretty critical of what we eat, but there just wasn’t much to criticize here. The only thing I can’t really comment on is the presentation of the food as we hardly saw it anyway! :smooth:

Coming up next: On top of the world – dinner at the California Grill.

[ChelleinNC]

We love Sci-fi! Always have had good meals there :thumbsup2

From your reaction, I'm guessing that lettuce wedges aren't common in Germany? :rotfl: It's not just Sci-Fi, it's seen alot at steakhouses (and other restaurants). It really is a "wedge" of lettuce usually with blue cheese dressing. DH loves 'em :confused3

[hill6]

Great review so far. Glad your bug didn't last too long and that you were able to enjoy most of your vacation.

[let'sgo]

Wow, what a great food thread! I am enjoying reading all about it. I had to laugh about 1900 Park Fare. That's actually my favorite character meal. We had such a good time there.

We're going back in Sept on the regular dining plan, so I love reading about different choices and seeing all of the pictures.

Keep up the good work!

[princessjane]

We always enjoy Sci-fi for Lunch. It's a nice reprieve from the Florida sun and we always have good Food there. I never understand the bad reviews, but then again, we only do lunch there. that Lettuce Wedge is something else!

[SPOERLX3]

It is a must for us every trip. When I started making our ADR's for this trip, the first thing my DD and DH said, was "don't forget Sci-Fi!" :laughing:

[torsie24]

Great updates!! :teeth:

Can't wait to hear about CG!

[Dizneydaz]

Just started reading your DTR but had to comment on your comment about the bacon..

The eggs and fruit were very nice, but we both found the bacon quite greasy and not crisp and salty enough for our taste. Maybe just another difference between German and American breakfast preferences? Not sure.

I absolutely hate underdone bacon. :scared1:I like mine crispy-the crispier the better. :cloud9: Doesn't taste as greasy that way. As far as the saltiness, I don't know if German bacon is saltier than American. I too like my bacon to taste a little salty-different brands/types taste different here. My DM feels the same way about cripsy bacon. My DD9 on the other hand, likes hers less done. When I make it at home I take hers out before ours. My new fav. method of cooking bacon-in the oven. Gets it nice a crispy all over! :cloud9:

Okay, now I'm going back to read more of your report. Looking forward to more pictures as well. Loving it so far, jealous that you got to go for 2 whole weeks.

ADDED-I finished your report to date and can't wait to read the rest.:goodvibes

Raglan Road-you had my favorite entree there (and the only one I have ordered since first trying it) I absolutely love It's not Bleedin' Chowder. Next time try the Bread Pudding-its TDF! (To die for!)

Desserts-we've only ever had the standard DDP and I can't imagine having the deluxe. So much food! Even with the standard plan my DM and I usually end up taking our desserts back to our room for later (or breakfast) unless we split an entree, which we do a lot.

Park Fare-we haven't been back since the added the Steps and took away the mice. We liked it before but heard the food had gone downhill. What did you think of the food? Also, when we've had PF for breakfast it hasn't been as in your face as dinner can be. But then we usually book a late breakfast ADR on our going home day.

more please....

[valeriemouse]

Great reviews!! I just caught up with all of your reviews and i'm dying to read more! Also, as an American teacher :teacher:, I have to add that there is NOTHING wrong with your spot-on English. In fact, I wish my students wrote as well as you do!!:thumbsup2

[Ms. Heimlich]

I am really enjoying your reveiws. Great work! I know how time consuming it is to write one and you are doing a great job.

I can't wait to read more!

[torsie24]

Oh, and Uncle Scrooge of course, but I didn't see him anywhere and I've never seen a photo of him as a character anywhere, either. Does he exist at all? I mean, does he ever appear in any of the parks?

They definitely have him at Disneyland Paris, I've seen him a few times there! I think you need to book up a trip!

[annichan]

We love Sci-fi! Always have had good meals there :thumbsup2

From your reaction, I'm guessing that lettuce wedges aren't common in Germany? :rotfl: It's not just Sci-Fi, it's seen alot at steakhouses (and other restaurants). It really is a "wedge" of lettuce usually with blue cheese dressing. DH loves 'em :confused3

Wow, thank you for telling me, I didn't know that! We really don't have these massive lettuce wedge things at home :rotfl:

Great review so far. Glad your bug didn't last too long and that you were able to enjoy most of your vacation.

No, that was the end of my bug, fortunately. I didn't want to become too attached to it :laughing:

Wow, what a great food thread! I am enjoying reading all about it. I had to laugh about 1900 Park Fare. That's actually my favorite character meal. We had such a good time there.

We're going back in Sept on the regular dining plan, so I love reading about different choices and seeing all of the pictures.

Keep up the good work!

Thank you! There is still quite a lot of pictures to come ...

We always enjoy Sci-fi for Lunch. It's a nice reprieve from the Florida sun and we always have good Food there. I never understand the bad reviews, but then again, we only do lunch there. that Lettuce Wedge is something else!

And in the picture I had already eaten part of it - when it arrived, it was even larger! :eek:

It is a must for us every trip. When I started making our ADR's for this trip, the first thing my DD and DH said, was "don't forget Sci-Fi!" :laughing:

I think we will say the same thing for our next trip :)

Great updates!! :teeth:

Can't wait to hear about CG!

Coming up in a minute :dance3:



Park Fare-we haven't been back since the added the Steps and took away the mice. We liked it before but heard the food had gone downhill. What did you think of the food? Also, when we've had PF for breakfast it hasn't been as in your face as dinner can be. But then we usually book a late breakfast ADR on our going home day.

more please....

They had mice there before the Tremaine sisters? That would have been nicer for me, I love the mice in the movie!
More is coming right up ...

Great reviews!! I just caught up with all of your reviews and i'm dying to read more! Also, as an American teacher :teacher:, I have to add that there is NOTHING wrong with your spot-on English. In fact, I wish my students wrote as well as you do!!:thumbsup2

Wow - picture me blushing a bright crimson! Thank you! :flower3:

I am really enjoying your reveiws. Great work! I know how time consuming it is to write one and you are doing a great job. I can't wait to read more!

Thank you! I am trying to keep up the pace, but I might slow down a little next weekend as I will be out of town for three days. I'll try to get some more reviews done before that, though!

They definitely have Uncle Scrooge at Disneyland Paris, I've seen him a few times there! I think you need to book up a trip!
That's good to know! We didn't see him there in 2005, but we might go again and take another look! ;)

[annichan]

This was probably the ADR I had been looking forward to the most: Dinner at California Grill, high atop the Contemporary, starting at 8:00 p.m. so if I had figured correctly, we could watch the 10:00 Wishes from the terrace or even from our table, if we were lucky!

We checked in at the podium on 4th floor with a very nice CM and I asked her for a window table (like everybody does, I am sure), but she said that unfortunately all the window tables had been assigned in the last half hour so we were out of luck :confused3. She also said we would have to wait about 20 minutes for our table and were free to do so up at the bar.

I didn't let that lessen my enthusiasm, however, so we rode up on the elevator to the 15th floor, walked out into the bar and … stopped dead in our tracks once we saw the INCREDIBLE view! :3dglasses I had read so much about it, and yet I found that I wasn't prepared. A couple just vacated a bar table right at the window the moment we arrived, so we jumped right in there…

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010039.jpg

… and spent our waiting time taking in this wonderful view …

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010042.jpg

… of Seven Seas Lagoon and the Grand Floridian, and also …

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010047.jpg


… of the Magic Kingdom as the sun was slowly setting.

After our wait (I think it was actually close to half an hour, but I didn't care as I was enjoying myself so much) we were led to our table – it was not right at the window, but second row from the window and I could easily see Cinderella's Castle from my seat, I almost jumped with joy! And as some additional pixie dust, there was confetti spread on our table to greet the honeymooners :bride:.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010048.jpg

As we had brought our beers from the bar, we decided to forgo the wine and just stick to beer and iced water for the evening.

We are both great sushi fans, so it was clear from the beginning that we would go for sushi appetizers. Now embarrassingly enough, I can't work out from the pictures who had which appetizer :rolleyes1. Let me just say that we shared both of them, and that they both were so incredibly delicious that I would come back to Cali Grill any day just for the sushi!

So here they are:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010051.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010052.jpg

One of them is the Double Crunch Rainbow Roll, and the other one is the Tempura Malibu Roll. I suppose I would have to go directly to Japan to ever be able to get sushi that taste any better than these (and even there I would probably have to look around for quite a while, I don't know).

As an entrée, DH and I both decided on the same thing: the Oak-fired Filet of Beef with cheesy Yukon gold potato mash, sautéed broccolini, and teriyaki barbecue sauce. Our server strongly agreed with our choice and said we were in for "the best steak you have ever eaten". Here, unfortunately, we had to differ :sad2:… We both didn't like the filet all that much. Both our filets had been ordered medium and came out more like well done (is that what you call it? I only ever order medium so I am not sure what the right word is – in any event, these had been on the fire for much too long. This made them a bit dry, and to make matters worse, I didn't really much care for the teriyaki barbecue sauce either – so all in all, this just wasn't my kind of entrée. (DH liked the sauce very much so for him it was just the issue of the filet being overdone.)

It seems that consequently we didn't even take a picture of our entreés – I could have sworn we did but I can't find any, sorry about that!

I had been thinking about sending the filet back to the kitchen, but it was such a great evening otherwise and when the server came and expectantly asked if this was the best steak I had ever eaten, I just thought "no big deal" and said yes.

(I am sure they would have brought me a great new piece of beef, but do you know this feeling where you just can't be bothered, and everything is so nice that you don't want to complain even though you're in the right? See, then you know how I felt :). )

Now, after we had finished the entrées, I looked at my watch and suddenly started getting apprehensive: They had served our food so quickly that it was still only barely 9.30, and we so wanted to stay for the fireworks as the view would be perfect from our table!

I needn't have worried, however, as the waitress probably sensed our dilemma, she only appeared to take our order for desserts and coffees fifteen minutes later - and then by the time Jiminy Cricket's announcement was piped in, she brought each of us a glass of complimentary champagne as a honeymoon gift. Thus we were all set for the fireworks, DH set his chair next to mine so we could watch the fireworks from our table holding hands and sipping champagne :love:.

And we could see so well! I hope this nice couple who was seated between us and the window won't mind if I post their picture here, it is just to show how perfectly well we could see the castle even without a window seat!

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010055.jpg

And here came the fireworks:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010063.jpg

This was easily the most romantic moment during our whole honeymoon – thank you California Grill for a wonderful evening! :flower3:

It was not quite over yet, though: As soon as the lights came back on, our desserts arrived. DH had this little beauty, the Valrhona Chocolate Cake and Raspberry:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010064.jpg

It was extremely rich so that we could not finish it (did I mention we shared pretty much everything we ordered between the two of us anyway?), but at the same time very yummy.

My own dessert is a bit of a mystery to me at the moment: I know (both from memory and what is written on the bill) that I had the "no sugar added" dessert, however I cannot really believe it is the one currently on the menu, the Chocolate Temptation. To be sure, there was chocolate in it, but it was all white chocolate … Help, does anyone happen to know what I ate? :)

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010065.jpg

After finishing this, and our coffee, it was time to go. Only after we had arrived back down at the Contemporary lobby did it occur to me that we never even ventured around to the other side of the restaurant, to check out the view towards Epcot!
But oh well, we will leave this for our next visit at the California Grill … which will definitely be right on our next trip!

Coming up: Breakfast at The Wave … finally some muesli for me! :lovestruc

[torsie24]

Great update!!

Sorry your filet wasn't perfect, but your view looked amazing!!! :)

Now you're making me want to eat at CG!!!

[MickeyNicki]

Loved the Cali Grill review, we are eating there for the first time in 9 days and I cannot wait. Your review is the third one that I have read about overcooking the filet...I guess I wll tell DH to order it med rare so it comes out med for him.

Thanks for the pics and the reviews, you are doing a great job! :thumbsup2

[annichan]

Great update!!

Sorry your filet wasn't perfect, but your view looked amazing!!! :)
Now you're making me want to eat at CG!!!

Why should you be any better off than me - I have also made MYSELF want to eat at CG, and all I'll get for dinner is some boring old toast! ;)

Loved the Cali Grill review, we are eating there for the first time in 9 days and I cannot wait. Your review is the third one that I have read about overcooking the filet...I guess I wll tell DH to order it med rare so it comes out med for him.
Thanks for the pics and the reviews, you are doing a great job! :thumbsup2

Actually, that is exactly what I did later at the Yachtsman Steakhouse (I explicitly ordered my steak "on the rare side of medium"), because I was afraid that another much anticipated steak would turned out overcooked. And it worked great!

[annichan]

The next morning saw us doing something we had not done before, nor would we ever do it again during these two weeks at Disney World: we slept later than 7:00!!! :scared1: Yes, we had read our Tour Guide Mike, and our Passporter, and our Unofficial Guide (did I mention I am quite the Type-A planner? ;)) and they all emphasized the importance of getting to the parks early. Even though we usually HATE getting up early, it was rather easy for us this time because the jetlag helped us (after all, 7:00 in the World equals 1:00 pm at home), plus we really found it to be a good idea to make as much as possible of those cool morning breezes and not-so-crowded parks.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, only to emphasize the enormity of what we did today: We had a breakfast ADR at 9:30! Like, almost noon! :rotfl:
Boy were we happy!

Thus, completely relaxed and rested, we arrived at the "tunnel" leading into The Wave restaurant and found us to be almost alone in the dining room – it was emptier even than Spoodles had been, a few days before. As soon as we were seated, I started rearranging the stuff on the table to make a quick Hidden Mickey out of the salt and pepper shaker and the sugar box lid:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010077.jpg

Our server, Mary from New York, was very nice and after she had set us up with our cups of organic bird-friendly Colombian coffee and our Supercharged Tropical Smoothies, she started a conversation on what people have for breakfast in Germany (plus the obvious topic that always seems to come up for us Germans: Are you really foolish enough to allow every madman to drive over 150 mph on your highways/Autobahns? Yup, sure are! :sad2: And no, this was not her phrasing but mine …).

I told her that I usually had muesli for breakfast in Germany, or oatmeal with fruit, and that I couldn't wait to try The Wave's own "Make Your Own Wave Muesli". She then proceeded to warn me that some people found it to taste like "sawdust and bricks", and I immediately was in heaven: That sounded just like I would love it! :rotfl2:

DH, who generally is not as weird as me, ignored the muesli as well as other interesting choices and went for the good ol' American Breakfast with bacon (see, a week in the States and already he couldn't go without his breakfast potatoes! :)):

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010080.jpg

I, on the other hand, had this wonderful mixture (makes me so hungry again just to look at it):

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010081.jpg

Muesli on the left, and little bowls of fruit and joghurt on the right. Isn't it a cute Make-Your-Own set? :lovestruc
Of course, I just put the contents of all the little bowls directly into the bowl on the left and devoured everything together, as I suppose everybody else eating this dish will also do, but it was still a cute and funny idea!

Now, for anyone wondering whether this really tasted like sawdust and bricks: No, not at all. It was even rather too sweet for me, I would have liked it even more natural and organic :laughing:. But even so, it was very nice to get some (almost) "real muesli" for a change!

Coming up next: Here, fishy, fishy … - Lunch at The Coral Reef!

[Dizneydaz]

They had mice there before the Tremaine sisters? That would have been nicer for me, I love the mice in the movie!

Yes, and they were so cute. Cinderella and her Prince would come around just once but the mice, Perla and Suzy would come around constantly. My DD had the best time dancing with them. :cloud9: Maybe it's one of the reasons we haven't been back since the added the Steps-it was just so nice with the dancing mice. :goodvibes

Here's a pix we took in the lobby a few years back.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w158/ter623/PF9-12allcharactersinlobby5800-1.jpg
Actually, I think is was more like 4-DD just turned 6.


Sorry to hear about your filet. I always order my steaks rare so they aren't overdone. And I usually order any sauce on the side, just in case. If I remember correctly though I liked the sauce at CG.

Can't wait to hear more, great job so far....

[Flossbolna]

Hi fellow German! :wave:

Love your reviews and pictures. It sounds like you had a wonderful trip. It's funny how you write about things from a German perspective that I can totally agree with: strange breakfast foods, getting up early during vacation because the jet lag really helps doing that. :goodvibes

I can absolutely understand that you felt defeated by the Deluxe Dining Plan. We were on the regular Dining Plan when it still included appetizer, entree and dessert and this was already too much for us. Since then we did two trips without any Dining Plan I actually enjoy the flexibility of not being on a plan! We actually like to share meals and I personally love ordering appetizers - more than desserts. :scared1: But still without a plan, I never get round to eating all those treats that I thought I would get. :guilty:

[annichan]

Yes, and they were so cute. Cinderella and her Prince would come around just once but the mice, Perla and Suzy would come around constantly. My DD had the best time dancing with them. :cloud9: Maybe it's one of the reasons we haven't been back since the added the Steps-it was just so nice with the dancing mice. :goodvibes


Those mice were so cute - what a pity they weren't around anymore when we were there!
On the other hand, my Prince Charming was cuter ;)

Hi fellow German! :wave:

Love your reviews and pictures. It sounds like you had a wonderful trip. It's funny how you write about things from a German perspective that I can totally agree with: strange breakfast foods, getting up early during vacation because the jet lag really helps doing that. :goodvibes
I can absolutely understand that you felt defeated by the Deluxe Dining Plan. We were on the regular Dining Plan when it still included appetizer, entree and dessert and this was already too much for us. Since then we did two trips without any Dining Plan I actually enjoy the flexibility of not being on a plan! We actually like to share meals and I personally love ordering appetizers - more than desserts. :scared1: But still without a plan, I never get round to eating all those treats that I thought I would get. :guilty:

Wow, there is another German on these boards, I'm not alone! Hello to Berlin! :yay:
Thanks for posting, that has given me the chance to show DH your signature to prove that other Germans are WDW regulars as well even though they have to go on an intercontinental flight each time:)

[ChelleinNC]

Sorry to hear about the filets being over done :sad2: I really prefer what a server double checks what you mean by "medium" or "medium rare" and responds with no pink in the center or warm pink center, etc. It helps to be sure everyone is using the same descriptions.

The sushi looked very good. Going to have to go to CG just for that :thumbsup2

[torsie24]

Mmm, that muesli looks lovely! It's making em tempted to book the wave for breakfast near the end of the trip when I'll be desperate for something healthy!!

[ShannonMB]

I am enjoying your dining reviews very much! Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us. The champagne fireworks sounds very romantic!! :love:

[disneygirlinnj]

Just caught up on your reviews and you're making me so hungry at work! :) The pictures look amazing and now I really want to try a lot of the places I haven't been to yet!

[Flossbolna]

Wow, there is another German on these boards, I'm not alone! Hello to Berlin! :yay:
Thanks for posting, that has given me the chance to show DH your signature to prove that other Germans are WDW regulars as well even though they have to go on an intercontinental flight each time:)

Your welcome! :thumbsup2 Hope your DH can be convinced... Actually our first two trips were two and half weeks of touring Florida with 5 days (first trip) and 7 days (second trip) at WDW. After that I gave up pretending to travel to Florida and just visited WDW. Actually, there is lots to see in Florida and I can really recommend to explore it! One of the absolute highlights was going to swim with wild manatees (Seekühe in German, you can also see them at the Living Seas in Epcot) in Homosassa Springs.

Still, I can understand your DH's hesitation. This year's trip was rather spur of the moment, as we got an incredible deal on the flight (380 Euros :scared1:) and we only stayed for 7 nights. That was a bit exhausting. I think you need at least ten days for not feeling like you spent your holiday on a plane. :goodvibes

I guess that's what I will do in early February 2010 :rolleyes1 - by the way in my opinion that's the best time for a trip to WDW!

Oh and sorry for taking over your thread! I am just so excited for fellow German WDW fans! :cool1:

[TXMomof3boys]

Enjoyed catching up on your reviews this afternoon. Thanks for the Sci-fi review. We have ADR's there in June but I only did it for my boys as I knew they would like the cars and the movies. Glad to hear that you enjoyed the food!! We were thinking about having cheeseburgers & milkshakes but your salad looked really good so now I am torn.

Sorry you lost your KTTW card!! But glad it was an easy fix. :thumbsup2

I hope to eat at CG someday. I am hoping that my DH and I can take a trip to WDW (no kids) for the Food and Wine festival and also eat some signature meals.

I am also a Type A trip planner. Sometimes I wonder if I enjoy the planning as much or more than the actual trip. :lmao:

[annichan]

Sorry to hear about the filets being over done :sad2: I really prefer what a server double checks what you mean by "medium" or "medium rare" and responds with no pink in the center or warm pink center, etc. It helps to be sure everyone is using the same descriptions.

Yes, I will take care to be a bit more verbal when I order the next steak - here in Germany you usually only say "rare", "medium" or "done" and the servers know (or at least pretend to know) what you mean ...:)

Mmm, that muesli looks lovely! It's making em tempted to book the wave for breakfast near the end of the trip when I'll be desperate for something healthy!!

Good idea! :thumbsup2

I am enjoying your dining reviews very much! Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us. The champagne fireworks sounds very romantic!! :love:

It was one of THE most romantic moments during this honeymoon, I assure you! :love:

Just caught up on your reviews and you're making me so hungry at work! :) The pictures look amazing and now I really want to try a lot of the places I haven't been to yet!

Thank you for the compliment! It`s difficult, isn`t it - you always want to try new places but also go back to the ones you liked the last time around. I sense a big dilemma coming up for our 2nd trip :rotfl:

One of the absolute highlights was going to swim with wild manatees (Seekühe in German, you can also see them at the Living Seas in Epcot) in Homosassa Springs.

I guess that's what I will do in early February 2010 :rolleyes1 - by the way in my opinion that's the best time for a trip to WDW!

Oh and sorry for taking over your thread! I am just so excited for fellow German WDW fans! :cool1:

Thanks for the advice about Homosassa, we only saw manatees at Epcot and Sea World so far and we love them, they're so cute!

So you think February is the best time? Why?

No worries about hijacking the thread though, I love reading all these replies! :banana:

Sorry you lost your KTTW card!! But glad it was an easy fix. :thumbsup2

I am also a Type A trip planner. Sometimes I wonder if I enjoy the planning as much or more than the actual trip. :lmao:

Yes, it was extremely easy - I was so worried when I found I had lost the card, and I really needn't have as I had a new one like five minutes later, yay!

It's so funny what you said about liking the planning at least as much as the actual trip, as I'm totally the same! :rotfl:

[annichan]

After our breakfast at The Wave we had headed to Epcot to have a look around (we had only spent one short evening there before this). For lunch, we were booked at The Coral Reef, and it was a great relief to be able to go there and get out of the infernal heat of that day :sunny: . We were told that it would be a little wait, and as I asked to be sat next to the fish tank, were also told that that might not be possible but they would do their best. Oh well, wait and see …

As it turned out, we only had to wait ten minutes at most until we were called to our table. The CM who led us there enthusiastically said that he was about to lead us to his very favourite table in the restaurant, and he was not lying – it was GORGEOUS! We were not right up at the fish tank wall, but had a 4-person table in a booth with a comfy bench to ourselves, one table further back from the tank. This meant that we were sitting much more comfortably, did not really notice all the people sitting behind us and looking our way sincere there was a wall in our backs, and did not have to twist our head to see the fish. Fantastic! There was a fish-spotting guide waiting on the table, and we proceeded to identify some of the fishies over a round of Smoothies.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010148.jpg

The fishies ...

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010154.jpg

... and the smoothies. :)

For starters, we both decided on the same item: the Sea and Land, which consisted of a grilled shrimp with cucumber salad, and a beef skewer with polenta. I can tell you: This was veery nice! It looked great, and it tastes even better.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010155.jpg

In fact, the beef was so yummy that we both would truly like to try a meat entrée here the next time (there will definitely be a next time! :woohoo:), but as this was a fish restaurant , we were determined to have fish entrées this time (and not even the sad looks on the fishies' faces in the tank opposite could sway us ;)).

I ordered the blackened catfish with pepper jack cheese grits, topped with tomato marmalade and basil oil that I had already read a lot about …

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010161.jpg

… and it was to die for! Very spicy and peppery, so probably no good for people who use pepper sparingly, but for me, really gorgeous. I loved the polenta, too. (I am sorry of my style of writing probably doesn't sound as enthusiastic as it has in other reviews – but I have just had lunch and couldn't eat another bite, and I just realize that this is not the right condition to be writing mouth-watering reviews in :rotfl2:).

Dear DH had the Grilled Mahi Mahi - served with spiced pineapple chutney over cashew-jasmine rice finished with coconut rum beurre blanc, if I may cite from the menu – and not only did it look fantastic, but it also tasted extremely nice (even though I slightly preferred my own dish).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010160.jpg

The portion sizes were just right for us, too: This is one of the few meals I clearly remember as not having stuffed myself silly, but still felt like dessert after our entrées. I decided on this little cutie …

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010172.jpg

… and I almost couldn't eat him, I wanted to take him home! :lovestruc
The tropical fruit mango sorbet he was sitting atop, however, was eaten away from under him faster than he could swim for cover ;).

DH felt that he needed chocolate to go with the coffee we were then served, so he went for the Chocolate Wave(sorry, the picture turned out a bit blurry):

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010174.jpg

This was the server's recommendation as well, but it proved to be a bit much for us – too rich and chocolatey, we couldn't finish it. Had we not had an entire lunch before it, it would have been perfect, though!

To sum it all up: We tremendously enjoyed our lunch there, giving full marks both to taste and presentation of the food as well as to the overall setting, and I would easily rate it one of our best. I can't wait to go back there!

Coming up next: Our first visit to Mexico … Dinner at San Angel Inn.

[madameleota71]

Love your reviews and pics! :)

[gardengirl628]

Glad you enjoyed your meal at Coral Reef. We enjoyed it on our last trip.

[Queenofallthings]

I'm all caught up!!!:cool1:

We ate at Sci Fi in 2000 when we were there and had horrible service so we have never been back.....but we're booked this year!!! My DD really loved the setting so she asked if we could go this summer. I said of course we can!!!!

Your review of the California Grill brought a tear to my eye....the view and your words really choked me up....I have never eaten there, but I am seriously considering it now!!

Love love love Coral Reef, we have done it on every trip....and this summer we are booked twice to go:yay: We both love it!!!

I am really enjoying your review, can't wait for next installmentpopcorn::

[MickeyNicki]

Cannot wait to hear what you think about San Angel Inn!

[Isthatyoutiger]

I finally got caught up with your review. :thumbsup2

I can't wait to read more. :surfweb:

The California Grill is the best :woohoo: You had a great view from your table....The last time I went to CG we watched the fireworks from the balcony area. popcorn:: It was awesome.

The Sci-Fi is a great place to eat. I love how it is set up.

The Coral Reef looked really nice. I have never been there :sad2: Maybe I will give it a try next time.

I can't wait until my trip in August gets here. :woohoo:

Keep up the great work on these reviews.....I can't wait to read more.

[Flossbolna]

Your Coral Reef review sounds great. You ordered exactly the dish I would get, too. It sounds so American to me! :goodvibes How were the cheese grits?

Regarding early February (before Presidents Day), I think it is a combination of the following:


value season at WDW, therefore hotel rooms are much more affordable,


the crowds are not heavy (if you know the touringplans crowd calendar: 4-7, we even once had a day with a 3 last year!!)


weather in Florida is great, not humid, but warm and generally not too hot (I would say between 20 and 28 °C). I would say like a nice May in Germany. We always had days which were feeling rather hot, so swimming was always possible. You can get a few cooler days, but those were generally sunny. We also had twice a rainy day, but those were still warm.


weather back home is horrible and by that time I really am ready for the winter to be over.


To me this sounds pretty convincing! :goodvibes

[jennyf10]

Cannot wait to hear what you think about San Angel Inn!

Me, too! popcorn::

[Dizneydaz]

Those mice were so cute - what a pity they weren't around anymore when we were there!
On the other hand, my Prince Charming was cuter ;)

I noticed right away that your PC was way cuter! :rotfl:

Can't wait to hear about San Angel. We keep meaning to try CR-your review make it sounds great!

[jenmpa]

My family and I are going to the Coral Reef for the first time on June 15th. I'm looking forward to trying the Blackened Catfish...looks yummy. Just curious, did the Chocolate Wave have the brandied cherries on them? It doesn't look like it from your picture. Can't wait to try this dessert, too!

[annichan]

Hi everybody and sorry for not upgrading for a few days - DH and I went away for the long holiday weekend and have just come back. Not sure I will manage another upgrade tonight, but surely tomorrow!

Love your reviews and pics! :)

Thank you! :banana:

Glad you enjoyed your meal at Coral Reef. We enjoyed it on our last trip.

Yes, I am still trying to put together a list of my favourite WDW restaurants, but I already know that the Coral Reef will be fairlly near the top of that list.

I'm all caught up!!!:cool1:
We ate at Sci Fi in 2000 when we were there and had horrible service so we have never been back.....but we're booked this year!!! My DD really loved the setting so she asked if we could go this summer. I said of course we can!!!!


Sorry you had a horrible server there, I am keeping my fingers crossed for you that you will get someone nice this time, like Jannelle!

Cannot wait to hear what you think about San Angel Inn!

I'll post it by tomorrow, I promise :rolleyes1 ...

I finally got caught up with your review. :thumbsup2
The California Grill is the best :woohoo: You had a great view from your table....The last time I went to CG we watched the fireworks from the balcony area. popcorn:: It was awesome.


Yes, we never did get to check out that balcony area - will do the next time we dine there!


Regarding early February (before Presidents Day), I think it is a combination of the following:

value season at WDW, therefore hotel rooms are much more affordable,


the crowds are not heavy (if you know the touringplans crowd calendar: 4-7, we even once had a day with a 3 last year!!)


weather in Florida is great, not humid, but warm and generally not too hot (I would say between 20 and 28 °C). I would say like a nice May in Germany. We always had days which were feeling rather hot, so swimming was always possible. You can get a few cooler days, but those were generally sunny. We also had twice a rainy day, but those were still warm.


weather back home is horrible and by that time I really am ready for the winter to be over.

To me this sounds pretty convincing! :goodvibes

Absolutely! :thumbsup2 So who knows, our third trip might be in February ... But first, we have planned our 2010 Disney stay a bit further, and ended up booking our first ever Cruise ... and it's going to be a Disney cruise! :yay::yay::yay: We will combine that with probably a 9-day stay at the World next October, so I can start counting the days again ;). I can't believe what cheap airfare you got, though! Wow!

Me, too! popcorn::

I will be soo busy upgrading tomorrow ... But today, the weather is just too nice, I want to sit in the garden :sunny: ...

I noticed right away that your PC was way cuter! :rotfl:

Yes, he seems to age rather well, doesn't he? :lmao:

Just curious, did the Chocolate Wave have the brandied cherries on them? It doesn't look like it from your picture. Can't wait to try this dessert, too!

Hmmm ...:confused: ... I think there were no cherries on top - or maybe DH ate them lightning quick while I was getting the camera ready :laughing: ...

[MickeyNicki]

I'll post it by tomorrow, I promise :rolleyes1 ...


Ok not to rush you but I will be eating there this weekend! :lmao::rotfl:

[disneyfav4ever]

My own dessert is a bit of a mystery to me at the moment: I know (both from memory and what is written on the bill) that I had the "no sugar added" dessert, however I cannot really believe it is the one currently on the menu, the Chocolate Temptation. To be sure, there was chocolate in it, but it was all white chocolate … Help, does anyone happen to know what I ate? :)

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010065.jpgI don't know if anyone's posted what this is yet, but I had the same dessert when I was there. I have the menu around here somewhere, I'll post what it is when I find it.

[sctigger]

Haven't been able to make up my mind on the Coral Reef. Your pictures and review on the restaurant are pushing me toward finally trying it. Thanks

[Flossbolna]

Absolutely! :thumbsup2 So who knows, our third trip might be in February ... But first, we have planned our 2010 Disney stay a bit further, and ended up booking our first ever Cruise ... and it's going to be a Disney cruise! :yay::yay::yay: We will combine that with probably a 9-day stay at the World next October, so I can start counting the days again ;). I can't believe what cheap airfare you got, though! Wow!
...

Disney Cruise sounds wonderful!! :cloud9: I haven't done one yet, but I am sure one day I will! For the airfare I recommend signing up with kayak.com. They have a German subsidiary. You can set up an account and they will email you everyday what the cheapest flight is on the days you want to fly. We got the cheap flight because there was a promition going on just for one weekend with 40% off!

[annichan]

Ok not to rush you but I will be eating there this weekend! :lmao::rotfl:

Okay, thanks for not rushing me ;) - here you go!

I don't know if anyone's posted what this is yet, but I had the same dessert when I was there. I have the menu around here somewhere, I'll post what it is when I find it.

Oh yes, please let me know what this is, nobody has told me yet!

Haven't been able to make up my mind on the Coral Reef. Your pictures and review on the restaurant are pushing me toward finally trying it. Thanks

That's great, I hope you will have fun there!

Disney Cruise sounds wonderful!! :cloud9: I haven't done one yet, but I am sure one day I will! For the airfare I recommend signing up with kayak.com. They have a German subsidiary. You can set up an account and they will email you everyday what the cheapest flight is on the days you want to fly. We got the cheap flight because there was a promition going on just for one weekend with 40% off!

Thank you about the tip - will definitely try kayak.com! :worship:

[annichan]

Our reservation at San Angel Inn was for 8:00.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010197.jpg

By 7:30, my feet hurt horribly, and DH was not feeling so grand altogether (he might have caught just the smallest whiff of my stomach bug that day - it was gone the next, though). Thus, we dragged our exhausted selves up to the San Angel Inn check-in counter half an hour early and asked whether there was a chance of getting a table straightaway.

As I am an annoying little thing who always wants it all, however, I also asked whether we could also possibly have a table right by the water. The answer was: "I don't have any now, but as you have "honeymoon" on your reservation, we guarantee a waterfront table for your reservation time anyway. So if you can wait until 8:00, we will seat you right by the waterfront."

Oooh, big dilemma – we were so wasted :sick:, but I so wanted to sit right by that volcano! It took me a moment to convince DH who really rather wanted to have some food and be out of there and back by the pool as soon as possible. Sweet husband that he is, however, he let himself be convinced and we agreed to wait for half an hour :lovestruc.

So we went on the Three Caballeros boat ride … and looked around the shops … and waited … and waited … and waited. Poor DH was starting to go a bit pale around the nose by 8:00, and at 8:10 FINALLY our beeper went off. So we hurried back to the check-in counter, only to be seated … -
NOT by the waterfront!!! :furious:

I was so mad, I wanted to complain at once, but DH stopped me and said that he didn't want the hassle and just wanted a quick meal, and he couldn't have appreciated the volcano anyway (aww, there went my romantic dinner for two :sad1: …). So we left it at that. In fact, there was really only one table between us and the volcano – but still, when I think we could have had a table almost 40 minutes earlier, this was just not good enough.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010202.jpg

Sorry to anyone who wanted to read a favorable review, but by this point you will already have guessed that that won't be forthcoming :thumbsup2. The tables were really close together so we felt quite crowded, it was loud, dark and not properly air-conditioned, so too warm (I don't know whether that was accidental, or whether it was supposed to remind us of the real Mexican evening temperatures).

Our server was nice, though (if a bit hurried), and she took this picture of us (you can see we're not completely happy, though):

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010208.jpg

Now for the food – and that is the better part of the review :). I would like to start by saying that I do not usually eat at Mexican restaurants so I can't compare this to any Mexican dining experiences outside of Disney World (except for some fajitas I made myself from a recipe in a Jamie Oliver cookbook, and those were delicious! :)).

The server started our meal by putting an absolutely enormous amount of tortilla chips with dip in front of us, which DH then proceeded to finish off (:laughing:See, he didn't really feel ill, he was probably just tired). They were nice, but tasted like the tortilla chips you would get in any cinema – the dip was more spicy, though.

For appetizers, we both decided on the Ensalada de la Casa – "Mixed greens with Jicama, spicy pumpkin seeds, fresh cheese, orange wedges, cilantro, mint, and honey mustard dressing". Now that I am copying the information from the menu it sounds really good, and I admit that I don't remember it NOT being good – but the truth is that I actually don't remember it at all, so it was probably nice but not breathtaking.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010200.jpg

As an entrée, I had the Puntas de Filete en Salsa Guajillo ("Beef tenderloin tips sautéed with fresh onions and chile Guajillo sauce, served over corn tortillas, black beans, and fresh cheese") as I had heard several nice things about them here on the boards. I really liked those – just the right amount of spicyness! popcorn::

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010207.jpg

DH had the Filete Motuleno ("Grilled beef tenderloin with beans, Oaxaco melted cheese, Ranchero sauce, Pablano peppers, and fried plaintain"). He said it was very good, but I didn't ask him to try it – sorry about this rather uninformative review, but we were both a bit cranky that evening (as you may have guessed already :rotfl:) so we weren't paying as much attention to the whole reviewing thing as we should have.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010206.jpg

After the entrées my poor DH said that he had patiently waited for the table that I wanted and that he didn't care about anyway – but now he wanted to go home, so would it be terribly bad for me to skip dessert? :worried:

What can I say – I can have dessert any day, but pass up a chance to make the love of my life a bit happier? :flower3:
So out we went without desserts, and I am pretty sure that this was the last time during this vacation that we did that!

My conclusion about San Angel Inn: Really strange check-in management; beautiful but very cramped setting; nice but not extraordinary food. We won't be back. If you are going – go when you feel well and you're not cranky, then you may be able to enjoy it more than we did ;).

Coming up next: Dinner at the Flying Fish Café …

[MickeyNicki]

Thanks for the review of SAI...I was not wanting to eat there but DH is requesting it...I can only hope he isnt "feeling it" that night and I can change it to something else

[ChelleinNC]

I've never had a desire to eat at SAI and I still don't :laughing: Doesn't sound bad, just not worth missing something that would be good :)

Can't wait to hear about Flying Fish!

[Ciciwoowoo]

I caught up!

Great reviews so far! :goodvibes

[mom2twokids]

Thank you SO much for your reviews! I have really enjoyed them and I can't wait for the rest. I love all the photos you have taken and I really appreciate it. You have helped me plan our trip in many ways!!

[annichan]

Thanks for the review of SAI...I was not wanting to eat there but DH is requesting it...I can only hope he isnt "feeling it" that night and I can change it to something else

I'm sorry not to be able to give you a nicer review, I know you were waiting/hoping for it :sad1:. Maybe just go there for drinks? They are said to have great Margaritas ...

I've never had a desire to eat at SAI and I still don't :laughing: Doesn't sound bad, just not worth missing something that would be good :)

I think that actually sums it up pretty well ... It's not really bad at all, just not really worth wasting one precious dinnertime for, either.

I caught up!
Great reviews so far! :goodvibes

Thank you! When I started this review, I would have never thought that so many people would actually be reading and liking it! :worship:

Thank you SO much for your reviews! I have really enjoyed them and I can't wait for the rest. I love all the photos you have taken and I really appreciate it. You have helped me plan our trip in many ways!!

I am truly happy (and a bit flattered) to hear that! Prior to our trip, I spent SO much time here on the boards and the dining reviews were such a help to me, that I am thrilled that I can give something back and be helpful for somebody's planning! :dance3:

[Golf4food]

Thanks for the review of SAI...I was not wanting to eat there but DH is requesting it...I can only hope he isnt "feeling it" that night and I can change it to something else

You should still give it a try. Has your DH never eaten somewhere he didn't really want to go just because you did? Hmmm? ;) (Gotta stick up for other Disney DH's - besides, our own experience with SAI was more positive.) :thumbsup2

[butiflfeet]

I'm loving your reviews so far! Thanks for sharing, it helps tide me over until our next trip popcorn::

[TigerKat]

We haven't been to SAI in over five years and have been toying with the idea of going back. The menu does seem a bit more appealing than it used to. I've heard good reviews on the duck dish. I don't think we'll be making it back there this trip. Enjoying your reviews! I remember horrible check-in service there as well.:sad2:

[kelly munro]

I'll be over working for a record company called End Of The Trail Records. Looks good. Bring it!

Kelly Munro

[aggielawyer]

I'm really enjoying your reviews--can't wait to read the rest!

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Thanks for the reviews, we also thought the tables at SAI were too close together and overall did not enjoy our meal (the service was very poor) and we will not be returning.

[rodeo65]

I've now read all ten pages in an evening and really have enjoyed your reviews!!

SAI was one I really debated as I LOVE Mexican food but I remember eating there when I was a kid and ordering the Chicken Mole and hated it! My 12 year old logic said I love chocolate and here I can have it on my dinner - chocolate, not just for dessert. It was not at all what I was expecting so I decided the restaurant was just bad.

We did not book an ADR there for this trip and in everything I ever hear about it, it just does not seem to be very popular.

Can't wait for more! :thumbsup2

[MickeyNicki]

You should still give it a try. Has your DH never eaten somewhere he didn't really want to go just because you did? Hmmm? ;) (Gotta stick up for other Disney DH's - besides, our own experience with SAI was more positive.) :thumbsup2

I think we are going to still try it...but honey if you have read my dining reviews you know that my DH ALWAYS gets his way at WDW...I could care less where we eat as long as it is Disney Food! :rotfl:

[annichan]

You should still give it a try. Has your DH never eaten somewhere he didn't really want to go just because you did? Hmmm? ;) (Gotta stick up for other Disney DH's - besides, our own experience with SAI was more positive.) :thumbsup2

You're right - and as all these dining reviews are so subjective, you never know whether you will feel the same about a place as the reviewer did (as I saw from all the bad Sci-Fi reviews, and the raving Boma reviews ;))

I'm loving your reviews so far! Thanks for sharing, it helps tide me over until our next trip popcorn::

Thank you - I hope your next trip is not too far away!

We haven't been to SAI in over five years and have been toying with the idea of going back. The menu does seem a bit more appealing than it used to. I've heard good reviews on the duck dish. I don't think we'll be making it back there this trip. Enjoying your reviews! I remember horrible check-in service there as well.:sad2:

Aren't they also going to close it down for refurbishment sometime soon? Or did that already happen?

I'm really enjoying your reviews--can't wait to read the rest!

Thank you - Flying Fish Cafe coming right up! :jumping3:

Thanks for the reviews, we also thought the tables at SAI were too close together and overall did not enjoy our meal (the service was very poor) and we will not be returning.

Yes, those tables were made for very skinny people :)

I've now read all ten pages in an evening and really have enjoyed your reviews!!

SAI was one I really debated as I LOVE Mexican food but I remember eating there when I was a kid and ordering the Chicken Mole and hated it! My 12 year old logic said I love chocolate and here I can have it on my dinner - chocolate, not just for dessert. It was not at all what I was expecting so I decided the restaurant was just bad.

We did not book an ADR there for this trip and in everything I ever hear about it, it just does not seem to be very popular.

Can't wait for more! :thumbsup2

Yes, now that you mention it ... This is actually the only ADR I made despite overwhelmingly bad reviews - and then really found it below standard myself.

I think we are going to still try it...but honey if you have read my dining reviews you know that my DH ALWAYS gets his way at WDW...I could care less where we eat as long as it is Disney Food! :rotfl:

I see that you feel a bit like my DH feels :lmao:

[annichan]

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010402.jpg

This day, dinner was our first Dining Plan meal as we had spent the whole day at SeaWorld (loved it there! :yay:).
We got our beeper from the lady at the check-in podium, then timidly started exploring the shops on BoardWalk until we got scared that we were getting out of the beeper's range – so we went back to the podium to inquire, and were assured that we could walk all around the lake to the Yacht Club and the beeper would STILL work :woohoo:.

That gave us the chance to explore a bit further – when we had had breakfast at Spoodles, we hadn't really looked around the BoardWalk much. However, eventually we were quite done with looking (and also feeling increasingly hungry), and the "still working" beeper had still not gone off :mad:. Felt like the previous night all over again ;). This time we were not the only ones, however – there were lots of people sitting on the benches holding beepers in their hands and looking increasingly annoyed.

After half an hour, I went and politely inquired if it would be much longer. The lady said she would see what she could do, disappeared inside for a couple of minutes and upon coming back, said we could come with her right away. (Really nice of her – but on the other hand, why is it that as long as one waits patiently, nothing happens – but as soon as one starts to complain, everything suddenly happens?).

Oh, and I forgot to mention that after reading some reports on allears I had asked for a quiet room in the back of the restaurant as it was said to be very noisy otherwise. Thus we were now led to the "cabana" – a nice and cozy cabana tent-like structure in the back. Strangely enough, there were lots of empty tables both in and out of the cabana – the restaurant was maybe two thirds full. They must have had some problems either with too few waiters or with their computer system to have so many people waiting outside for all these empty tables.

We got a very nice table by the wall (I love having a wall at my back, I just don't feel as relaxed otherwise – silly, I know) and were presently greeted by our server, Clifford, who was extremely nice and friendly (even a little over-enthusiastic ;) – no really, but at the same time very nice).

I felt like having a nice drink, so I decided on a Sparkling Bellini Cocktail – mmh! Poor DH knew he would have to drive after dinner, so he only had a light beer and could not try any of the cocktails :sad1:. As a beverage on the Dining Plan, we shared a large bottle of sparkling water (which I have found they do not let you do at all the restaurants – at some, they just say that sparkling water cannot be ordered on the Dining Plan as it only comes in large bottles).

Oh, by the way – the menus we were given had red balloons and "Happy Honeymoon" on them, that was so cute! We then took our time to decide among all the yummy-sounding things on the menu, and Clifford helped us by recommending dishes that really turned out to be great. I had a hard time deciding between the Chardonnay-steamed mussels and the yellowfin tuna tartare, so Clifford decided for me :).

And here it is – my wonderful, marvellous, mouth-wateringly yummy appetizer:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010406.jpg

The Yellowfin Tuna Tartare with Far Eastern Accentuations (Hijiki seaweed, Yuzu Tobikko, sweet-spicy miso sauce, wasabi-cilantro oil, sesame crisps). This was SO GOOD! I loved everything about it, the tuna, the spices, the sauce, the delicious sesame crisps! I would go back to eat at Flying Fish Café even if there was nothing on the menu except for this one appetizer (well, as long as I would be allowed to order two of those, in that case :thumbsup2).

DH had an easier time deciding, he was on to the Crispy Sesame and Togarashi-scented Calamari (spiced green papaya, Wakame and Vegetables with Asian dipping sauce) straight away.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010407.jpg

I tried one of the calamari and liked it, however I was so eager to get back to my glorious tuna that I did not really spend much time on sampling the calamari (I am sure it would not have been wasted, but that's what I say now – then, I was lost in tuna heaven :lovestruc).

For my entrée – I went for one of the Flying Fish’s signature dishes: the Potato-Wrapped Red Snapper (with Creamy Leek Fondue, veal glace, and Red Wine and Cassis Butter Sauce). This was our SeaWorld day, so I wanted to eat strictly seafood :fish:.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010409.jpg

This was nice – it didn’t blow me away the way the appetizer did as I found it a tiny bit bland, they could have used more spices on that one. It was still very good, though!

DH decided for the other signature dish of the house, the Char Crusted New York Strip Steak (with wilted Rhapini, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, rainbow carrots and Classic Sauce Foyot).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010408.jpg

Now this was to die for! Loved it! I had never heard of rhapini before, though, and I must admit I am still not really sure whether that was some spice they used or part of the vegetable :confused3.

Once again, after having thoroughly enjoyed our entrées and cleaned our plates, we did not feel like having dessert :sad2:. This time, however, we would be smarter than before and do something that seems to be really common in the USA; but here in Germany you don't do that at many restaurants: take our dessert home in a bag! ::woohoo:

We decided on the Gingersnap-crusted Deep-dish Apple Tart (with Almond cream, morello cherry coulis, cinnamon anglaise, maple tuile and rum raisin ice cream) and had Clifford pack it for us to take away. What a great decision – that way, we got to keep one of the pretty Boardwalk carry bags which we wouldn't have had otherwise because we didn't even know they existed! :yay:

When we took it home and unpacked it, we found the final surprise: They had put a message for us on the dessert!

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010419.jpg

Alas, it was the wrong one as this was our honeymoon and not our anniversary – but who cares, we were still happy and found it really sweet!

I am sorry these pictures are so incredibly bright, by the way – like I said, we are still not done exporing all the snazzy functions of our new camera ;).

On the other hand, the Wilderness Lodge bedspread on which the dessert box is sitting came out quite well; so if you have never been to WL, you can now officially see the Hidden Mickey they put on the beds :).

To sum it all up: I would definitely eat here again, most of all because of my fabulous appetizer. DH is not so sure, he was quite annoyed with the long wait for a table while there were so many empty ones, and he also found the restaurant very loud (which it was – even in the cabana, even with the empty tables. I cannot imagine how loud it would have been otherwise :scared1:. I am positive I will be able to nag him into coming back here, though ;).

Coming up next: Little Annichan conquers the big bad breakfast … at Kona Café! pirate:

[LLLBelle]

Seems like it wasn't bad, over all. My DFi and I are still on the fence about eatting at the Flying Fish.

I love your reviews! They are very informative.

[ragtopday]

Great review! I have been wanting to try Flying Fish for awhile, and your review only makes me want it more!

Can you describe the Boardwalk carry bag they put your dessert in?

[TigerKat]

Lovely review of one of my favorite places! The charred steak is the best steak on property, IMHO. I've never tried the tuna appetizer, may get it in October now that you raved about it!!:goodvibes

[Flossbolna]

great reviews again! We had dinner at the Flying Fish in January and absolutely loved it. We did not find it extremely noisy, but I guess it depends a bit on the day you are there. Also we were seated in the very front. And we were not even given a beeper, but shown to our table immediately. :confused3

[annichan]

Hi everybody - I am sorry that I haven't put up a new review for five days, I've been soo busy! But I will be better, there will be something coming up later today, I promise. :)

Seems like it wasn't bad, over all. My DFi and I are still on the fence about eating at the Flying Fish.

No, definitely not bad! The food more than made up for the wait and the noise level!

Great review! I have been wanting to try Flying Fish for awhile, and your review only makes me want it more!

Can you describe the Boardwalk carry bag they put your dessert in?

Sure! It is only a plastic carry bag, but it's cute - this is a picture I took when we left the restaurant:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010416.jpg

Lovely review of one of my favorite places! The charred steak is the best steak on property, IMHO. I've never tried the tuna appetizer, may get it in October now that you raved about it!!:goodvibes

Yes, definitely do try it - so yummy!

great reviews again! We had dinner at the Flying Fish in January and absolutely loved it. We did not find it extremely noisy, but I guess it depends a bit on the day you are there. Also we were seated in the very front. And we were not even given a beeper, but shown to our table immediately. :confused3

Yeah, well, I really think they just had some kind of computer problem, or staff shortage, on the day we were there - I don't expect they're like that every day.

[annichan]

The next morning saw us at Kona Café for our 8:30 ADR.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010428.jpg

We were going to Fort de Soto Park near Tampa today, to take a swim in the Gulf of Mexico – so we knew we had a long day ahead of us with no real lunch planned, and we better get ourselves something nice and nourishing to eat for breakfast to keep us going :).

This was the first time we were at the Polynesian resort, so we took a moment to check out the beautiful lobby and the pool area – then we checked in at Kona Café and were immediately led to our table, past the Lilo & Stitch statue made of … Well, who can tell me? I can’t say what it is, DH said chocolate, but I think that would have meldet, so I’m saying it’s wood. Or is it?

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010435.jpg

The restaurant was still half-empty and therefore really nice and relaxed and quiet – great for us since we are so grumpy in the early morning! :rotfl:

Outside the window, we had a great view if lush green foliage that almost made us believe we really were somewhere in the rainforest.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010434.jpg

Our server quickly arrived and poured us some lilikoi juice (nice, but a tad too sweet for me) and, after inquiring which Dining Plan we were on and then commenting “Great! So I can get you some real coffee!” (:laughing:), she brought us one of the glorious 100% Kona Coffee French Press Pots. Like I said before, we didn’t really mind the usual Disney coffee as we are used to instant coffee from home – but this truly was something else! Wonderful coffee!

To go with that, both of us bravely ordered Kona Café’s finest, the Big Kahuna breakfast: French toast, Macadamia-Pineapple pancakes, eggs, home fried potatoes, ham, bacon, and sausage.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010433.jpg

Now this was spot on! Very tasty eggs, the ham was very good (first place I had had ham in Disney, this was), deliciously sweet french toast, and truly yummy pancakes with the fresh pineapple and cream.
I don’t know what ever happened to me, as I had always been fighting with the American breakfasts and have craved my muesli-and-black-bread-German stuff :laughing:… Somehow, all that changed – and I joyously CLEARED MY ENTIRE PLATE, without help from hubby! :scared1:

Yes, I do admit I felt rather full afterwards, but not bad at all. Just nicely full and happy. Did this mean I had finally graduated from Deluxe Dining Plan academy? :woohoo:

Holding hands happily, we left Kona and went on our way to see the Gulf of Mexico. And even though we ended up having some french fries at the beach, that was all we needed until dinner, as the Big Kahuna so nicely kept us going.

Coming up next: Dinner at Artist Point!

[disneygirlinnj]

Ohh...that breakfast looks delicious! I've always been scared to order the Big Kahuna..it's HUGE! :) The Kona coffee though is AMAZING! I sometimes have to stop at the Poly JUST to get the coffee!

[Disneylover87]

just caught up great reviews so far! were going in sept on ddxdp and excited to eat at some of the same resturants!:cool1:

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

I've enjoyed reading your reviews so much. You and your DH are such cuties! I'm so glad you didn't feel bad for long and were able to enjoy your vacation and food. Looking forward to hearing more...

[TXMomof3boys]

Just caught up on your review - I am truly enjoying them. Thanks for all the detailed information - fabulous job.

Question - we have Raglan Road ressies but are thinking we should pick something else. Would you recommend Olivia's for dinner?

Thanks for your help.:)

[annichan]

Ohh...that breakfast looks delicious! I've always been scared to order the Big Kahuna..it's HUGE! :)

I know, I know - it really hit the spot that day, though! :)

just caught up great reviews so far! were going in sept on ddxdp and excited to eat at some of the same resturants!:cool1:

Great, lucky you! I wish I could go back this year ... but I'll have to wait another 16 months :scared1:

I've enjoyed reading your reviews so much. You and your DH are such cuties! I'm so glad you didn't feel bad for long and were able to enjoy your vacation and food. Looking forward to hearing more...

A cutie? Me? You've never seen me in the morning :rotfl:

Oh well, you HAVE, come to think of it ... On several character breakfast pix ... So ignore my last remark :rotfl2:


Question - we have Raglan Road ressies but are thinking we should pick something else. Would you recommend Olivia's for dinner?
Thanks for your help.:)

That's a bit hard for me to say, as we were only there for lunch and haven't tried their dinner menu. Also, we sat outside and loved it, but you probably wouldn't want to do that at night when it's dark. As for the whole "dinner experience", Olivia's won't be near as grand as the Raglan Road dining room, but rather casual.

So, if you like casual and laid back, and if the stuff on the dinner menu appeals to you, I think it should be fine.

[Busymom85]

Great reviews. Thanks for posting.

[annichan]

Hi everybody,

I am sorry I have kept everybody waiting so long for the next installment - I was so busy reading other people's reports that I neglected my own :worship: ... And I was also really busy at work. However, I've got one coming up in a minute and the next one will follow tomorrow, I promise!

Great reviews. Thanks for posting.

Thank you busymom!

[annichan]

After defeating the Big Kahuna we headed to Fort de Soto Park, Tampa, and spent a glorious day playing at the beach. When we got back to our hotel in the evening, we were hungry, tired and seriously ready to just hop on the elevator and try out a restaurant we could get to without any hassle or commuting: Our own hotel’s Artist Point signature restaurant!

We knew what it looked like as there was a lookout window on our floor from which you could see the restaurant from high above, and it had somehow become my habit to take a quick peek in there every time I passed by. It looked even nicer once we were down there, though: High ceilings, light woods, ceiling-high painted murals. Very nice.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010557.jpg

The soft drinks we got given once seated were even nicer, as they had Mickey straws in them!

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010559.jpg

As it turned out, these were also for sale at our food court, but we hadn’t seen them yet and were delighted to have (and of course, be allowed to keep!) them. We bought another couple later to have all four colours :).

I had originally planned on having a glass of wine, possibly even a wine flight, with this dinner. However, as I was so tired from a long sunny day, I decided to forgo the stronger alcohol and just have a Bud Lite (I wonder if that’s the Disney spirit at work on me here – I am never that timid about drinking at home! :rotfl:)

For starters, I had some trouble deciding what to get: I was really wanting to try the mussels, but never having eaten mussels (even though I love pretty much all other kinds of seafood!) and not really knowing the proper way to eat them, I chickened out on ordering :rolleyes1.
So I settled for the very nice-sounding Mixed Greens Salad - with roasted pear and champagne vinaigrette, Black Diamond cheddar and candied hazelnuts instead.

This was actually a great choice: The freshness of the salad, together with the sweetness of the beautiful vinaigrette and the hearty cheese, helped revive me a lot, and I was no longer more or less slumped over the table waiting to be allowed to go to bed and sleep ;).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010562.jpg

DH went for the Smoky Portobello Soup with Roasted Shiitakes and Chive Oil, which was a bit of an adventure as neither of us knew what kind of fruit, vegetable, herb or animal a Portobello was :rotfl2:.

Just to annoy me, he wouldn’t let me try the soup to find out, he just said that it tasted very nice but that he STILL didn’t have a clue what a Portobello was. (Yes, I looked it up on the internet since, and have found out it’s a mushroom! Bit boring, really – it sounded far more sparkling and tasty back when we didn’t know what it was and the suspense was killing me :lmao:.)

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010561.jpg

For my main course, I had really wanted to try the buffalo steak … Until I found out there was no such thing on the menu :scared1:.

There might have been earlier and they have just taken it off the menu, or maybe there never was and I misread something – but I had really been looking forward to it and now there was to be no buffalo steak for poor Annichan :mad:.

DH had also wanted to try it – but he was unfazed and simply switched to the Braised Buffalo Short Rib - with parsnip potato grain, glazed leeks, and red wine jus. He said it was very good (in fact, he liked it so much he would have it again a later evening, but here I am getting ahead of myself :)), and it looked it, too:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010563.jpg

Only problem for me, though: I don’t like ribs! So I had to choose something different. Being a total seafood and fish fan, I decided on the Artist Point’s signature plate, the Cedar Plank Roasted Pacific King Salmon with roasted potatoes, brussels sprouts, smoked pork belly, and honey-truffle brown butter.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010564.jpg

Now, this was nice but not really special. The salmon was yummy but tasted just like, well, like salmon pretty much always tastes when it isn’t somehow seasoned differently. I did not really taste anything of the honey-truffle butter. The Brussels sprouts were great, they are one of my favourite veggies and there could have been more of them, but I didn’t really like the pork belly in there. Too fatty, and not really good company to the salmon as far as I thought. So all in all, for a signature plate in a 2-credit-per-meal restaurant I found this dish a little disappointing, but by no means downright bad.

The time came to choose desserts … And once again, I knew straightaway what I was going to get: the famed Artist Point Cobbler - Seasonal berries and housemade black raspberry ice cream.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010566.jpg

I must say that I ended up only eating the berries and the delicious fresh, yummy, not a bit too sweet raspberry ice cream, as I suddenly found out I was too full for the cake part of the cobbler after all. I tried a little bit of it and liked it, but alas, it was just too much.

DH’s decision fell on an item I cannot even find on the online menu any longer, so maybe they have taken it off the menu by now: the honey-rosemary crème brulée with a dried blueberry biscotti. As he is just sitting next to me, I asked him how he liked it, and he said “please not to disturb him as he is working but the crème brulée was good”. So there you go :thumbsup2

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010567.jpg

To sum it all up, we were very pleased with our dinner at Artist Point – both with the nice atmosphere, the good food and the friendly server, and of course the fact that we only had two minutes from there to our comfy beds! :yay:

We would not hesitate to go back – and in fact we did do so during the same vacation, but I’m getting ahead of myself again.

Coming up next: death by omelet – back to Whispering Canyon …

[torsie24]

Hahaha, I love your husbands creme brulee reply!!!!!

Glad you had a good meal, :) Thank you for another great update!

[DisGirl819]

I am loving your review. It makes me chuckle to read a German perspective of American food. I'd never thought of some of the things you say, such as syrup on a waffle? :-)

Also, spelling yogurt with an "h" must be a German or European spelling b/c DH spells it that way too and he lived in Germany and Australia growing up. I always got on him about misspelling it. Haha, now I have to tell him he was right too.

And, Artist Point looks so yummy! I am actually considering adding that to my ressies for our upcoming trip! Were there kids there? we have a 1 yo DD and I don't want to go there if it is more of a couples place.

[GoofySon'sMom]

Love your review of Artist Point! It is on our list for next trip! Love seeing the pics! DH wants to try the salmon ... I will be sure to show him the review. I think he will end up getting it anyhow but I want him to be prepared that it may not be anything special!

Looking forward to more!

[SSRJen]

Wow, the salad at Artist's Point looks great. Sometimes a salad like that coupled with an appetizer, makes a wonderful entree. Thanks for the review.

[ChelleinNC]

I am all caught up now :goodvibes

Kona looked great, and there coffee is wonderful! IIRC, the Lilo & Stitch statue is chocolate.

Haven't been to AP in years, but I remember it being wonderful. Glad to hear it was good enough for you to go twice in one trip :thumbsup2:thumbsup2 The signature cedar plank salmon used to be a lot more special IMHO before every restaurant started serving a cedar plank salmon.

looking forward to the next review

[Flossbolna]

It really is a shame that they took the bufallo steak off the menu, it was fantastic. I really liked Artist Point but at the moment I find the menu not very interesting... But it is a beautiful place. Thanks for the review!

[annichan]

Hahaha, I love your husbands creme brulee reply!!!!!

Well, I'm glad HE's not the one writing these dining reviews, as the whole 30-odd reviews would have easily fit on one page! ;)


Also, spelling yogurt with an "h" must be a German or European spelling b/c DH spells it that way too and he lived in Germany and Australia growing up. I always got on him about misspelling it. Haha, now I have to tell him he was right too.


Yeehaw, go me, the spelling expert! (Not!)
Say hi to your yoghurt-eating DH from me, or rather, say "Guten Tag"!

Love your review of Artist Point! It is on our list for next trip! Love seeing the pics!

It's definitely on OUR list for the next trip as well ... Maybe they'll put the buffalo back on the menu? Mmmmh, the prospect of it ...

Wow, the salad at Artist's Point looks great. Sometimes a salad like that coupled with an appetizer, makes a wonderful entree. Thanks for the review.

Yes, you're right - and I'm sure you'll also feel less horribly full afterwards.

Kona looked great, and there coffee is wonderful! IIRC, the Lilo & Stitch statue is chocolate.


Seriously!?! Oh dear, that means that DH was right and I was wrong. Mental note to myself: Never ever let him read him this thread :lmao:

It really is a shame that they took the bufallo steak off the menu, it was fantastic. I really liked Artist Point but at the moment I find the menu not very interesting... But it is a beautiful place. Thanks for the review!

Oh, lucky you - you got to try it? Yum! I should have discovered Disney World earlier ... But well, it's never too late to start a new lifelong addiction! :rotfl:

[annichan]

Today we had originally planned to skip table service breakfast and grab a bite to eat at Starring Rolls instead, since we (or, rather, I – the obsessive compulsive planner) had today planned as a whole Hollywood Studios day. But then DH successfully put his foot down saying that a man should sometimes be entitled to have breakfast without trekking miles and miles across Disney property first. Okay honey – I have an original thought, why not go have breakfast at the Whispering Canyon for a change? :thumbsup2

This time I asked for a window table on an impulse, not realizing that that decision got us right in the middle of the territory of that most scary of all servers: the magnificent Mountain Mo. She was a lady who had scared the hell out of us when we had dined here the first time, as she was really loud and boisterous and into the whole "shout and yell at the guests" spiel. As soon as we realized we would be served by her, we braced ourselves and tried to be brave and witty at the same time ;).

So she came closer and closer … (imagine the title theme from Jaws here, and us transfixed in terror). She smiled at us and sweetly asked where we were hailing from, we said “Germany” and she then proceeded to ask what we would like to eat, and NOT ONCE THE WHOLE MORNING did she act anything else than perfectly nice and friendly! :confused3

Did she take pity on us because we looked so scared?
Or is it that Germans are generally known as wussies in the Wild West?
Maybe she just has a soft spot for newlyweds and wanted to spare us (as we were of course wearing our Just Married buttons, as always).

No seriously, I think it was really because we were foreigners and non-native speakers, she couldn’t be sure that we would understand it was all some kind of game so she didn’t even start to get into it. Do I have to tell you that I was the slightest bit disappointed …? :rotfl2:

Anyway, what did we have to eat? Once more, we both chickened out at the prospect of the ginormous All-You-Can-Eat skillet, opting for some healthy cholesterol instead :thumbsup2: I chose the Western omelet (with ham, peppers, onions, red bliss potatoes and another one of those buns I didn’t like since they tasted of nothing).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010623.jpg

DH decided to have the ham and cheese omelet I had had the last time we were here. So we dug into our egg-and-molten-cheese-fest until we could barely move anymore. (Did I mention that I have a rather high cholesterol level and only rarely eat eggs … normally?)

All the time, we looked on longingly as the other tables were subjected to all kinds of jokes including being served giant soft drink glasses (buckets, really) and the old ketchup game – while Mountain Mo treated us with nothing less than respect. Duh!

Eventually we gave up on waiting for some ill treatment, rolled out of there and were on our way to Hollywood Studios.

There will be more food pictures in the next installment, I promise!

Which will be coming up shortly: Pixie dust alert! - Dinner at the Hollywood Brown Derby

[Isthatyoutiger]

Hi Annichan,

I love the Whispering Canyon and your breakfast review was great....yum.

Western Omelet is the best. :thumbsup2

Keep up the great report.

Auf Wiedersehen

[Jagdcarcajou]

Great reviews so far, really enjoy reading this thread! :goodvibes

[annichan]

There will be more food pictures in the next installment, I promise!
Which will be coming up shortly: Pixie dust alert! - Dinner at the Hollywood Brown Derby

Uh-oh, by letting more than a week go by since writing that sentence I have given a whole new meaning to the term "shortly". Ah well, I'm a foreigner, what do I know about the English language :rotfl2:.

Anyway, next instalment coming up in a moment ;)

I love the Whispering Canyon and your breakfast review was great....yum.
Western Omelet is the best. :thumbsup2
Keep up the great report.
Auf Wiedersehen

Danke! :) Actually I wouldn't mind eating one of those omelets right now - I am so hungry, and I won't get anything to eat for another five hours, sniff!

Great reviews so far, really enjoy reading this thread! :goodvibes

Thank you - I hope you still think the same now that I have made y'all wait for so long for the next instalment :laughing:!

[annichan]

This was a really early dinner – not that we were so hungry after our omelette fest that we couldn't have waited a couple hours longer, but I had decided on trying the Fantasmic! Dinner Package, and for that, the latest dinner time I could get was 3.50 :confused3

For those among you who have never done the FDP, this is how it works (at least on the DDP):
The package is available at the Hollywood Brown Derby, Mama Melrose's and the Hollywood and Vine. When making your ADR, you simply say that you would like the FDP added. It does not cost anything extra (money- or credit-wise), and you eat off the normal menu, at least at the Brown Derby. However, with your meal you get a little voucher on which the server writes your names and party size.
This little yellow slip of paper then entitles you to preferred entry to that night's Fantasmic! show (if there are two shows on the day, apparently the voucher only works for the early one).

So this is what it sounds like in theory … In reality, however, they have eliminated the extra entrance that voucher holders were previously let in through, and you have to queue up at the normal Fantasmic! entrance at least 90 (!) minutes prior to the start of the show :scared1:!!

With all that said (and to keep you in enormous amounts of suspense regarding how we fared at getting to Fantasmic! ;)), let's get to the actual dining experience! So, here goes:

We had to wait for only about three minutes until we were seated in the back of the restaurant, on the raised part right across from the entrance. We really liked the restaurant and its athmosphere: not too busy, nice and quiet, beautifully furnished and not too heavily air-conditioned (I hate freezing indoors after melting outdoors).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010701.jpg

I don't really remember anything about our server Cheryl, apart from the name and the fact that she was nice. She highly recommended for us to start with the Cobb salad, which I had planned on doing anyway (I hadn't known that it was a shared appetizer for two, but luckily enough DH was more than willing to go for half a salad as there was the prospect of steak to come :)).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010700.jpg

The salad was chopped at our table – I wish I had been quick enough to take a picture of that! -, and consisted of finely chopped greens, turkey breast, egg, bacon, tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese, avocado, chives and Cobb dressing (whatever that may be).
We both really liked it although it was rather heavy for a salad, more like an entrée type dish, and we regretted not having asked for the blue cheese on the side, as there were lots and lots of it in there, and we both don't really care for it that much.
(As quite a few people here have already mentioned how they like reading about my European perspective on American food, I can tell you that I have not seen so many blue cheese dishes in my whole life in Germany as I have seen in two weeks in Florida. You guys sure love your blue cheese, don't you? :thumbsup2)

Now, that was the moment when we started gathering some serious pixie dust: First, Cheryl appeared with two glasses of sparkling wine, garnished with strawberries, as a little present for our honeymoon. Yay, free alcohol! :rotfl2:

So we drank to many happy years to come, and I became a bit sappy as I was so happy to have found this wonderful man, and to have married him, and to have a whole life with him ahead of me! I mean, isn't he just so gorgeous? :love:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010702.jpg

We were still sitting there and happily sipping our glasses of bubbly when another cast member appeared and asked if we were the ones celebrating our honeymoon? Yup, indeed, that's us.

Well in that case, would we mind having our picture taken? She wouldn't tell us what for, but she promised to be back in a bit so we could find out.
Intrigued, we agreed and smiled for a picture.

Shortly after that, our main courses arrived:

I had decided on the Hijiki Crusted Ahi Tuna Seared "Rare" with snow pea stir fry, amazu diakon, soy and wasabi sauces, and I will be forever grateful for that decision. Even though I can’t pronounce half of the ingredients, let alone know what they are – but who cares? This dish was ab-so-lute-ly delicious. It was juicy, spicy, soft and veggie-crunchy, hot and sweet and peppery all at the same time. My palate was really busy processing all these various tastes, then decided it was in heaven. Okay. I don’t need anything else to eat, ever – just another portion of this, please! :yay:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010703.jpg

Well, back to earth and to my dining report … DH had the char-grilled 12 oz. New York Strip Steak with herb-roasted red potatoes, cremini mushrooms, tiny onions and cabernet syrup … or did he? It's what it says on our receipt, however on the picture it looks more like the pork tenderloin … :confused3
He can't remember what he had, and for some reason I didn't try nor even really notice it, I was too distracted with my heavenly tuna :lovestruc

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010704.jpg

We were both really happy and full afterwards, so we briefly contemplated skipping dessert yet again – however, we had committed that foul deed too often already, we we picked up our menus and ordered desserts.
DH went for the Double Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee with a dark chocolate dipped biscotti (definitely a creme brulée man, my DH is).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010710.jpg

I gave the Grapefruit Cake a try, as I had read pretty much everywhere that this was the best dessert ever (or at least since the invention of cakes :)). When it arrived, it surely looked beautiful:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010709.jpg

However, I must admit that I really was too full to enjoy it. It was just too rich, and much too sweet for my taste. I guess I was expecting something really sour, therefore I was a little disappointed.
Same as with the Key Lime Pie at Olivia's Café, come to think of it – seems like I was on a quest to find a refreshing sour dessert during this vacation and didn't really succeed.
(From reading this, you would come to think that I don't eat sweets – from my dress size, however, one could infer otherwise :rolleyes1).

Anyway, afterwards we were sort of ready to settle the bill and leave – until we suddenly remembered that we were still waiting on that cast member to visit us again and let us know why she took our picture!

Almost as soon as we remembered that, she arrived – and presented us with a Brown Derby menu that only looked like a menu from the outside, but on the inside had some pictures of the restaurant and a picture of the two of us smiling happily into the cast member's camera, with the caption "Celebrating your Honeymoon"!
This was so cute, I was so happy to have received both the sparkling wine AND this for our honeymoon … What an unexpected amount of pixie dust! :goodvibes pixiedust:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010711.jpg

Now, I promised I would let you know how the Fantasmic! experience went for us with the package vouchers.

Well …

erm …

you know …

We went past the entrance to Fantasmic! two hours before the start of the show, en route to yet another ride on the glorious Tower of Terror, and we were already quite tired and really hot and almost ready to go home. Then we saw that there was already a HUGE crowd waiting in front of the entrance, and when we got back in 30 minutes there was no way we'd be able to get past all these people without some serious pushing and shoving :scared1:. And remember, once we did that, we would STILL have had to sit and wait an hour and a half for the show to start.

So what did we do, regarding the wonderful Fantasmic!, the best evening entertainment Disney supposedly has to offer, the one show that we had not yet seen and which MUST NOT BE MISSED?

We went and rode first on the ToT, then on the tram to the parking lot, then to our hotel and spent the evening lounging lazily by the pool. :rolleyes1 And the Fantasmic! Dinner Package voucher has found a new home in my scrapbook. Shocking, isn't it?

But I figure that with Disney, you can never see everything in one trip anyway (this was DH's first and my first since I was 10 years old, after all) – and there's always got to be something shiny and new to look forward to for next trip! :bounce:

Coming up next: Screams and shivers - breakfast at Chef Mickey's …

[ChelleinNC]

Uh-oh, by letting more than a week go by since writing that sentence I have given a whole new meaning to the term "shortly". Ah well, I'm a foreigner, what do I know about the English language :rotfl2:.



:lmao::lmao: Glad you're back!

For those among you who have never done the FDP, this is how it works (at least on the DDP):
The package is available at the Hollywood Brown Derby, Mama Melrose's and the Hollywood and Vine. When making your ADR, you simply say that you would like the FDP added. It does not cost anything extra (money- or credit-wise), and you eat off the normal menu, at least at the Brown Derby. However, with your meal you get a little voucher on which the server writes your names and party size.
This little yellow slip of paper then entitles you to preferred entry to that night's Fantasmic! show (if there are two shows on the day, apparently the voucher only works for the early one).

So this is what it sounds like in theory … In reality, however, they have eliminated the extra entrance that voucher holders were previously let in through, and you have to queue up at the normal Fantasmic! entrance at least 90 (!) minutes prior to the start of the show :scared1:!!


We had to wait for only about three minutes until we were seated in the back of the restaurant, on the raised part right across from the entrance. We really liked the restaurant and its athmosphere: not too busy, nice and quiet, beautifully furnished and not too heavily air-conditioned (I hate freezing indoors after melting outdoors).


I don't really remember anything about our server Cheryl, apart from the name and the fact that she was nice. She highly recommended for us to start with the Cobb salad, which I had planned on doing anyway (I hadn't known that it was a shared appetizer for two, but luckily enough DH was more than willing to go for half a salad as there was the prospect of steak to come :)).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010700.jpg

The salad was chopped at our table – I wish I had been quick enough to take a picture of that! -, and consisted of finely chopped greens, turkey breast, egg, bacon, tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese, avocado, chives and Cobb dressing (whatever that may be).
We both really liked it although it was rather heavy for a salad, more like an entrée type dish, and we regretted not having asked for the blue cheese on the side, as there were lots and lots of it in there, and we both don't really care for it that much.
(As quite a few people here have already mentioned how they like reading about my European perspective on American food, I can tell you that I have not seen so many blue cheese dishes in my whole life in Germany as I have seen in two weeks in Florida. You guys surely love your blue cheese, don't you? :thumbsup2

Now, that was the moment when we started gathering some serious pixie dust: First, Cheryl appeared with two glasses of sparkling wine, garnished with strawberries, as a little present for our honeymoon. Yay, free alcohol! :rotfl2:

So we drank to many happy years to come, and I became a bit sappy as I was so happy to have found this wonderful man, and to have married him, and to have a whole life with him ahead of me! I mean, isn't he just so gorgeous? :love:

We were still sitting there and happily sipping our glasses of bubbly when another cast member appeared and asked if we were the ones celebrating our honeymoon? Yup, indeed, that's us.

Well in that case, would we mind having our picture taken? She wouldn't tell us what for, but she promised to be back in a bit so we could find out.
Intrigued, we agreed and smiled for a picture.

Shortly after that, our main courses arrived:

I had decided on the Hijiki Crusted Ahi Tuna Seared "Rare" with snow pea stir fry, amazu diakon, soy and wasabi sauces, and I will be forever grateful for that decision. Even though I can’t pronounce half of the ingredients, let alone know what they are – but who cares? This dish was ab-so-lute-ly delicious. It was juicy, spicy, soft and veggie-crunchy, hot and sweet and peppery all at the same time. My palate was really busy processing all these various tastes, then decided it was in heaven. Okay. I don’t need anything else to eat, ever – just another portion of this, please! :yay:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010703.jpg

Well, back to earth and to my dining report … DH had the char-grilled 12 oz. New York Strip Steak with herb-roasted red potatoes, cremini mushrooms, tiny onions and cabernet syrup … or did he? It's what it says on our receipt, however on the picture it looks more like the pork tenderloin
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010704.jpg

We were both really happy and full afterwards, so we briefly contemplated skipping dessert yet again – however, we had committed that foul deed too often already, we we picked up our menus and ordered desserts.
DH went for the Double Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee with a dark chocolate dipped biscotti (definitely a creme brulée man, my DH is).


I gave the Grapefruit Cake a try, as I had read pretty much everywhere that this was the best dessert ever (or at least since the invention of cakes :)). When it arrived, it surely looked beautiful:

However, I must admit that I really was too full to enjoy it. It was just too rich, and much too sweet for my taste. I guess I was expecting something really sour, therefore I was a little disappointed.
Same as with the Key Lime Pie at Olivia's Café, come to think of it – seems like I was on a quest to find a refreshing sour dessert during this vacation and didn't really succeed.
(From reading this, you would come to think that I don't eat sweets – from my dress size, however, one could infer otherwise :rolleyes1).

Anyway, afterwards we were sort of ready to settle the bill and leave – until we suddenly remembered that we were still waiting on that cast member to visit us again and let us know why she took our picture!

Almost as soon as we remembered that, she arrived – and presented us with a Brown Derby menu that only looked like a menu from the outside, but on the inside had some pictures of the restaurant and a picture of the two of us smiling happily into the cast member's camera, with the caption "Celebrating your Honeymoon"!
This was so cute, I was so happy to have received both the sparkling wine AND this for our honeymoon … What an unexpected amount of pixie dust! :goodvibes pixiedust:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010711.jpg

Now, I promised I would let you know how the Fantasmic! experience went for us with the package vouchers.

Well …

erm …

you know …

We went past the entrance to Fantasmic! two hours before the start of the show, en route to yet another ride on the glorious Tower of Terror, and we were already quite tired and really hot and almost ready to go home. Then we saw that there was already a HUGE crowd waiting in front of the entrance, and when we got back in 30 minutes there was no way we'd be able to get past all these people without some serious pushing and shoving :scared1:. And remember, once we did that, we would STILL have had to sit and wait an hour and a half for the show to start.

So what did we do, regarding the wonderful Fantasmic!, the best evening entertainment Disney supposedly has to offer, the one show that we had not yet seen and which MUST NOT BE MISSED?

We went and rode first on the ToT, then on the tram to the parking lot, then to our hotel and spent the evening lounging lazily by the pool. :rolleyes1 And the Fantasmic! Dinner Package voucher has found a new home in my scrapbook. Shocking, isn't it?

But I figure that with Disney, you can never see everything in one trip anyway (this was DH's first and my first since I was 10 years old, after all) – and there's always got to be something shiny and new to look forward to for next trip! :bounce:

Coming up next: Screams and shivers - breakfast at Chef Mickey's …

HBD is our favorite restaurant and we have to go there every single trip! Love the Cobb Salad, I'm not a huge blue cheese fan but I'm liking it more as I get older. DH loves the ahi tuna and DD is already planning on ordering it on this trip:thumbsup2 I love their salmon with the marscapone polenta :cloud9: BTW, the pic looks the the strip steak, not the pork. DD has had both :goodvibes
When you go back, it's sweet but if they have the pumpking cheesecake on the menu you have to try it! It's delish and if you're expecting sweet maybe it'll hit the spot better :thumbsup2

The "menu picture" is wonderful! I've never heard of them doing that before!

We haven't been to see Fantasmic in years. I'm one of those people that thinks it's ok (but needs an update), and not worth the wait in line. We used to use the FDP, but wouldn't bother now without the special entrance.

Great review and worth the wait :)

[aggielawyer]

Just wanted to let you know that I'm really enjoying your review--especially your perspective on American food. You and your hubby are so cute! :)

[Lynn5700]

I love Brown Derby!! can't wait to get back! That menu is so cute.

[pezaddict231]

We love the Brown Derby! I think your DH did have the strip steak, that looks very familiar to my DF's entree and that's definitely what he had. Don't feel bad about skipping out on F!, we did that last year. We had spent all day at DHS and were just exhausted! We decided that what would really be fantasmic would be to go back to our hotel and rest!

This year we had the package, but cancelled for a later dinner time, but it ended up pouring that night so there was no show. Oh well, there's always next time!

[disneyfav4ever]

I love Brown Derby too, it is one of two restaurants that I've eaten at every trip. As far as Fantasmic goes, it's a great show, and you'll have to get back there to see it someday, but I've used the dinner package before, and have missed the show.

[Pooh&OurHunny]

My husband and I love Brown Derby...we always have a good meal there. Enjoying your reviews...thanks for sharing.

[Dreamer & Wisher]

I am really enjoying your reviews but I must head off to bed now.

I will be back to read more.

Gute Nacht!

[annichan]

I love their salmon with the marscapone polenta :cloud9:
When you go back, it's sweet but if they have the pumpking cheesecake on the menu you have to try it! It's delish and if you're expecting sweet maybe it'll hit the spot better :thumbsup2

The "menu picture" is wonderful! I've never heard of them doing that before!


Yes, you're right, if you don't expect sour but sweet it should be okay, I'll give it a try - and that salmon sounds delicious! :lovestruc
So it might be that the menu is a new thing? Wow, makes me a bit flattered to think we have experienced something on our first trip, rookies that we are, which not many others have yet experienced :thumbsup2

Just wanted to let you know that I'm really enjoying your review--especially your perspective on American food. You and your hubby are so cute! :)

Wow, thank you! I'll pass that compliment on to him! (It WAS a compliment, wasn't it?) :lmao:

I love Brown Derby!! can't wait to get back! That menu is so cute.

And to think that I didn't want to go there at first - it was one of the last ressies I made, as originally I hadn't wanted to spend two meal credits on an in-park restaurant ... Lucky for us that I changed my mind!

Don't feel bad about skipping out on F!, we did that last year. We had spent all day at DHS and were just exhausted! We decided that what would really be fantasmic would be to go back to our hotel and rest!

Thank you and everybody else who assured me that it is not such a bad or uncommon thing to skip Fantasmic! And I mean, we saw Wishes about seven times during our vacation (from the park, the Cali Grill, the Grand Floridian marina and several times from an open window on the corridor just outside our room at WL, you have a wonderful view from there!). We saw Spectro once, from a really great vantage point. And we saw IllumiNations twice, once in the park and once on a fireworks cruise which we got as a gift. And we saw the lovely Electric Pageant from our hotel beach or balcony more times than I could ever count, to the point of almost driving DH mad ("You wanna go see that AGAIN???":rotfl:). So I could say that we have had our share of pretty lights and fireworks alright, even WITHOUT Fantasmic! :thumbsup2.

I love Brown Derby too, it is one of two restaurants that I've eaten at every trip.

I have a feeling that it might come to be the same for us!

My husband and I love Brown Derby...we always have a good meal there. Enjoying your reviews...thanks for sharing.

Thank you, I'm glad so many people seem to be enjoying my (unfortunately recently so unfrequent) ramblings!

I am really enjoying your reviews but I must head off to bed now.
I will be back to read more.
Gute Nacht!

Thank you! So I shall give you something more to read - up in a minute or two!

[annichan]

The next day way May 8th, Women’s Day in Germany, and I’m not sure if it was the same in the States or not. Anyway, we had a 7:30 breakfast ressie at Chef Mickey’s which I had been debating about for quite a while: whether to go ahead with it or to skip it, I mean. I had heard that it would be very full, and very loud, and that we would probably have to wait for the longest time ever for our buzzer to go off.

In the end, however, I had made up my mind to go ahead with the ADR because I just felt like having yet another character breakfast, and also because I was really looking forward to having breakfast with the monorail whooshing pretty much right over our heads.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010766.jpg

I had forewarned DH that we might have to wait for a long time checking in, and accordingly he was quite apprehensive (he is the nicest man in the world, but not before he has had anything to eat in the morning ;)).

Anyway, when we arrived at the podium (ten minutes early, just in case) there was hardly anyone there. We got given our buzzer with no line at all, then waited five minutes max until it went off. I guess it was a good idea to eat that early! I think seating must have started at least half an hour earlier than that, though, because as we were being led to our table we saw loads and loads of people already seated and eating.

Well, speaking of “led to our table” … We walked, and walked, and walked :confused3. And walked right through into what seemed like the very back of the restaurant, a teeny tiny extra room with a low ceiling, large murky windows, an absolutely infernal noise level (echoing off the low ceiling and bouncing off the close walls), and about the coldest air conditioning level I have EVER experienced. It was like the Arctic in there, only with scores of screaming, yelling and running children and with Mickey Mouse in it.
Oh, and with furiously photographing grown-ups (in one case, a whole family of five people was frantically running around the one little girl belonging to the party, cooing and trying to photograph her with the characters from every angle imaginable). Not one of the families in this picture - this is just to give you a general impression of how tiny the room was:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010770.jpg

Please don’t take me wrong, I definitely do not mind noisy children in the least (unless I’m having a cranky moment), and I certainly know that Disney World is the one place you should avoid if you are easily annoyed by kids. But throw them into such a confined, ice-cold and not even pretty spot with me when I was expecting majestic views of the monorail swooping over my head, and you’ll know who will have a bad time (not the kids, I’m sure!) :rotfl2:.
And by the way, not DH either – he was off to the buffet at once and stocked up on hearty breakfast foods, and then had fun playing with the pancakes. Even in the mood I was in then, I had to admit that was the cutest pancake-and-syrup plate I had ever met :lovestruc.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010773.jpg

So this cheered me up quite a bit, and a cup of nice hot coffee worked towards the same end. Pretty soon, the characters started coming around – I’m afraid most of the pictures didn’t turn out too well this time (especially the one the server kindly took of DH and me with Donald, which came out all blurry – arrrgh). But this one gives you the idea:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010776.jpg

Our server was really nice, by the way, and had she noticed the picture was blurry I’m sure she would have taken another one – her name was something like Lou Ann or Sherri Ann, I’m not exactly sure. She was really sweet and complimented us on our honeymoon a lot, and she also brought out a cute Mickey cupcake for us to blow the candles out and make a wish:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010768.jpg

More pixie dust, I loved it! (I was too full to eat the cupcake, by the way, but I nibbled on the little sugar pearls a lot, they are pure calories, but I love 'em!)

After Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Pluto (lots of characters here, wow!) had all come past and said hi to us, we were off pretty quickly – we were shivering so badly from the cold, we were in dire need of some sun.

All in all, I don’t think we will be back here – the atmosphere was quite frantic, the food was comparable to other buffets but nothing that we couldn’t also get elsewhere next time, and that freezing cold was just intolerable. Also, you felt pretty cut off from the action in that tiny back room of ours.
I am sure it would have been a nicer experience in the main dining room, so if you have never eaten at Chef Mickey's and would like to give it a try, make sure to request a table in the main dining room if possible. We had fun there and our server was really sweet, but of the five different character breakfasts we had during this trip, this was both our least favourite one.

Coming up next: Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern …

[wilma-bride]

I have only just found your reviews, read every single one and absolutely loved them.

Given that there is far too much for me to start commenting now, I will reserve my comments for your Chef Mickey's breakfast and just say that I hope we do not get put in that little room in October :scared1: I think I would have asked to be moved if I were you - it puts me in mind of the kids sections they have in McDonalds here in the UK.

Looking forward to your next update now I'm subscribed :)

[Pooh&OurHunny]

I understand how you feel about CM...my husband and I think that's the most frantic character buffet but then my son loves it. Dinner I was not happy with the selection so we are going to try breakfast. Thank you for sharing and I really can't wait to read more.

[Isthatyoutiger]

The last time I was at Chef Mickey's we sat in the very same room :sad2: and I agree it was the worst room to sit in. I thought the food was ok, but not the view. Thanks for the review on Chef Mickey's. :surfweb:

[Flossbolna]

Thanks for the Chef's Mickey review! I am really not so much into character meals, so I guess you confirmed my suspicion that this is a place I don't really need to eat at. :goodvibes Which is good since we are trying to cut down the number of restaurants we might want to eat at in January. So far we have a list of 20... :scared:

[annichan]

I have only just found your reviews, read every single one and absolutely loved them.

Given that there is far too much for me to start commenting now, I will reserve my comments for your Chef Mickey's breakfast and just say that I hope we do not get put in that little room in October :scared1: I think I would have asked to be moved if I were you - it puts me in mind of the kids sections they have in McDonalds here in the UK.
Looking forward to your next update now I'm subscribed :)

Yes, that comparison sounds about right - it DID look like a McDonalds kids section! :rotfl:

I understand how you feel about CM...my husband and I think that's the most frantic character buffet but then my son loves it. Dinner I was not happy with the selection so we are going to try breakfast. Thank you for sharing and I really can't wait to read more.

I feel so bad that it is taking me so long to come up with each new installment - I never thought it would be so much work, not only the typing but even more the remembering! I feel the greatest respect for everybody here on the DIS who has managed to finish their dining report, or even a trip report, or even multiple reports! :worship::worship::worship:
However, I am aspiring to be as good as you, I will finish this! (If I will indeed dare do a full trip report afterwards is another matter, however - that would probably take until I leave for my next Disney trip in October of 2010 :laughing:).

The last time I was at Chef Mickey's we sat in the very same room :sad2: and I agree it was the worst room to sit in. I thought the food was ok, but not the view. Thanks for the review on Chef Mickey's. :surfweb:

Yes, I guess we should just have asked to be moved ... but I take it that you didn't try that, either?

Thanks for the Chef's Mickey review! I am really not so much into character meals, so I guess you confirmed my suspicion that this is a place I don't really need to eat at. :goodvibes Which is good since we are trying to cut down the number of restaurants we might want to eat at in January. So far we have a list of 20... :scared:

Flossbolna, I have to very sternly tell you that one of the reasons it has taken me so long to come up with this next instalment is that I have been busy reading your first dining report from `07 ;). So everybody, if I make you wait again for the next part, it's because Flossbolna has written another couple of reviews :rotfl:.

(It's funny what you wrote about how your nickname came about, by the way: When I read it I have an entirely different connotation, as one of my three cats (see my avatar) is called Flossie. So when I read your name I am instantly reminded neither of dental floss nor of candy floss, but of my favorite cat! :love:;))

[annichan]

This is one of the places that makes me feel a bit sorry for the cast members having to wear slightly unflattering work uniforms …
You know, like that poor lady who was about my size and was wearing a rather too-small looking space cadet uniform at the “Mission: Space” boarding area, or that young gentleman from my nation’s trendy urban Northern-German capital, Berlin, working at Epcot’s Germany pavillon and not seeming all too comfortable wearing a “lederhosen” outfit that even an eight-year-old would balk at wearing outside of Bavaria :laughing:.
Anyway, I felt the same about our poor waiter in his period costume with knee-short breeches. The women look ever so cute, but what they have done to the men is not so nice, methinks … ;)

Anyway, we were here not to look at fashion statements but to enjoy lunch, and that we did! Not before snapping a picture of a hidden mickey on a wall cupboard though, which I can’t really take any credit for finding as it was mentioned in my guide book :rolleyes1:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010819.jpg

We were sat at a big round table in a corner (far too big for the two of us, but the restaurant wasn’t too busy so it didn’t really matter) and were presented with the menus and with a little paper bag of pixie dust aka Mickey confetti that “the team” had put together for us to take home as this was our honeymoon. Awww!

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010820.jpg

Off course I did take it home, by the way, I have it still! I love every little bit of pixie dust that has come our way! (All the more so since we probably won’t get any next year, when we are no longer wearing “Just Married” buttons. What a pity we won’t be visiting during our anniversary! :sad2:)

As an appetizer, DH decided on the Declaration Salad with strawberry vinaigrette:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010825.jpg

Don’t ask me what it was like, I forgot to ask him and he’s at work now so I can’t bother him with questions about food he ate a couple of months ago (those men, they never understand … K:lmao:).

I decided on the New England Clam Chowder as I had just had my first chowder a few days ago at Raglan Road (see that review a few pages back) and absolutely loved it. This one was rather different … but then again, what did I expect, after all the one at Raglan Road was called “It’s NOT Bleedin’ Chowder” :rotfl:.

Anyway, this one was extremely thick, so thick my spoon would stand up in it (had to take a picture of this amazing trick – look ma, no hands!):

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010826.jpg

It was also very slightly too salty for my taste, and it came with a little plastic bag of croutons, which I found a bit cheap for a table service restaurant – couldn’t they put them on a little plate or something instead?
However, these are the only negative things I can say about the chowder, as apart from that it was great comfort food, rich and yummy and actually so much that it would have been perfectly sized even for a main course.

The main course, however, was yet to follow: DH had the Pilgrim’s Feast which consisted of roast turkey with a brown sauce, mashed potatoes and green beans. I tried a little of it and found it nice, however I couldn’t say whether this was typical traditional American food or not, as I have so little experience with this type of food (as my fellow German DISer Flossbolna would probably so rightly say: This roasted turkey was very “ethnic” for me ;):)).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010830.jpg

It being my turn to go for the healthy choice now, I had the Colony Salad with Washington apples, sweet pecans and applewood smoked cheddar and grilled chicken tossed with field greens in honey shallot vinaigrette – and boy, was this a good choice!

This. was. so. delicous. Absolutely fresh, and fruity, and with the yummiest ever piece of moist and tender chicken with a nice grilled taste to it, even though of course once again it was much too much and I couldn’t finish it all. Boy, was it good. In fact, I would love to have such a salad again right now!

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010829.jpg

Like so many Disney meals before, this left us so full that we weren’t even sure how we would manage leaving the restaurant on our own feet, so once again we were on the brink of skipping dessert. However, while DH actually went over that brink and settled for only a chaste cup of black coffee, I was pulled back from the brink right into the arms of this beauty:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010831.jpg

(drum roll) The glorious Oooey-Gooey Toffee Cake! To give you an impression of how much I loved this, let me tell you that I finished every last spoonful of it – no matter how full I had felt before! This was just so good, so weet and soft and … well, yes, I guess “ooey-gooey” is just the word for it, even though I had certainly never heard that one before :). And the crunchy little bits of sugar set all that softness off so perfectly!

If you have the least bit of a soft spot for vanilla, caramel or toffee, give this one a go. You won’t regret it. In fact, I would actually love to have such a – but I am repeating myself, I already said that about the salad only two paragraphs ago :laughing:.

Slightly tired but completely happy, we waltzed out of there and went on our way to explore the Magic Kingdom some more – eager to walk off some of the calories and work up an appetite for the big event of the evening to come:

Dinner at Narcoossee’s …

[SSRJen]

That toffee cake looks amazing. I might have to do Liberty Tree Tavern on our next trip. Is the dessert served warm?

[onelilspark]

I'm enjoying your reviews :)

If you want to try a character breakfast that's a little more...well, shall we say, civilizied?? Try Cape May Cafe. I find that it's much easier to deal with that one before you're cafinated in the morning ::yes::

[torsie24]

Ooooh, great LTT review!! You may have jsut sold me on it!!

Can't wait for the Narcoosees one!! I have to wait until 2011 to eat there - nad I'm looking forward to it already!

[Flossbolna]

Flossbolna, I have to very sternly tell you that one of the reasons it has taken me so long to come up with this next instalment is that I have been busy reading your first dining report from `07 ;). So everybody, if I make you wait again for the next part, it's because Flossbolna has written another couple of reviews :rotfl:.

(It's funny what you wrote about how your nickname came about, by the way: When I read it I have an entirely different connotation, as one of my three cats (see my avatar) is called Flossie. So when I read your name I am instantly reminded neither of dental floss nor of candy floss, but of my favorite cat! :love:;))

:blush: Thanks for the nice comment, it is great to hear that people actually go back and read what I wrote two years ago!! But I am very sorry for keeping you from updating! Perhaps that's a good excuse for NOT updating MY 2009 review... :rolleyes1

How funny that between your cat Flossie and my dog Bolna we can make up my nickname! :goodvibes

Yes, the turkey dinner is ethnic!! :lmao: Isn't it amazing that we think we know so much about the USA in Europe, but than those really simple things really baffle us? When I read your first breakfast review, I was so much reminded of my first visit to the US as a teenager staying with my aunt who emmigrated to the US in th 60s. We went out for breakfast one day and the only thing I found on the menu that sounded like real breakfast was toast and jam! My uncle actually ordered a steak and fried potatoes! :scared1::scared1:

LTT really is a nice place for lunch in the MK. However, I always felt very rushed there. How was your experience? While I like fast service, this was just too fast for me. Also it felt very hectic around us. For what time was your ADR? When we were there ist was rather busy.

[annichan]

That toffee cake looks amazing. I might have to do Liberty Tree Tavern on our next trip. Is the dessert served warm?

I'm not entirely sure but if I remember correctly, it was served cold. It was still delicious though, I didn't miss the warmth - I mean, when I ate it the thought never even entered my mind that this could be EVEN better than it already was :)

I'm enjoying your reviews :)

If you want to try a character breakfast that's a little more...well, shall we say, civilizied?? Try Cape May Cafe. I find that it's much easier to deal with that one before you're cafinated in the morning ::yes::

Thank you! In fact, we tried Cape May Café a few days later and found that much more relaxed ... It will be in a review yet to come!

Ooooh, great LTT review!! You may have jsut sold me on it!!

Can't wait for the Narcoosees one!! I have to wait until 2011 to eat there - nad I'm looking forward to it already!

Not to give away too much in advance - but we plan on eating there again too, in 2010! (We will both choose a different entrée, though, next time.) I won't get that review done tonight as I've got to do my workout and then it's already time for bed (8.50 pm here at the moment), but I solemnly swear that I will try to get it up by tomorrow night! Cross my heart! :)

[annichan]

:blush: Thanks for the nice comment, it is great to hear that people actually go back and read what I wrote two years ago!! But I am very sorry for keeping you from updating! Perhaps that's a good excuse for NOT updating MY 2009 review... :rolleyes1

How funny that between your cat Flossie and my dog Bolna we can make up my nickname! :goodvibes

Yes, the turkey dinner is ethnic!! :lmao: Isn't it amazing that we think we know so much about the USA in Europe, but than those really simple things really baffle us? When I read your first breakfast review, I was so much reminded of my first visit to the US as a teenager staying with my aunt who emmigrated to the US in th 60s. We went out for breakfast one day and the only thing I found on the menu that sounded like real breakfast was toast and jam! My uncle actually ordered a steak and fried potatoes! :scared1::scared1:

LTT really is a nice place for lunch in the MK. However, I always felt very rushed there. How was your experience?While I like fast service, this was just too fast for me. Also it felt very hectic around us. For what time was your ADR? When we were there ist was rather busy.

Just putting off my workout for a bit longer to write you a reply - big lazy procrastinator that I am :):

No, don't you dare putting off your report, you need to set a good example for me! :l:thumbsup2

You're right about all our misconceptions about the US - we feel that we know absolutely everything about the country as we have seen roughly 8,000 movies and tv series set in the States, but when we first go there we are baffled to find out that they didn't tell us EVERYTHING in the movies :lmao:

We didn't feel rushed at LTT by the way, or at least not more so than normal. We were there at 1:00 pm, so it wasn't really an off-time. There was one really large group of more than a dozen people near where we were sitting, so that's why it didn't feel all that empty, but quite a few other tables were. (And maybe the servers were just so busy with the large group that they didn't find the time to rush us? ;))

Well, now I'm definitely off to work off some calories, have a good night everybody- gute Nacht! :cheer2:

[wilma-bride]

Great update - although I'm disappointed you didn't have the Tavern Fried Cheese appetiser as I just love looking at pictures of those ooey, gooey little sticks of delight :)

[mamaboogie]

Hi! I'd just like to say I'm really enjoying your wonderful food reviews!:thumbsup2

You both look like you are having a great time and I love the way you describe your meal experiences. We are hoping to go back to WDW next year and this is whetting our appetite!

Sharixx

[SweetMommy]

The oyster crackers you were served on the side in a bag for your chowder is the "normal" way you would get them if you were say in New England getting New England Clam chowder. They were just trying to make it authentic for you :)

[auntfrannie]

I love your reviews! Especially the fact that you needed a couple of beers to face up to meeting Prince Charming & Cinderella!

[RedSox68]

Love your reviews, but I'm confused. I thought Liberty Tree Tavern was served family style. Is that only for dinner?

[wilma-bride]

Love your reviews, but I'm confused. I thought Liberty Tree Tavern was served family style. Is that only for dinner?

Yes, lunch is a la carte

[annichan]

Great update - although I'm disappointed you didn't have the Tavern Fried Cheese appetiser as I just love looking at pictures of those ooey, gooey little sticks of delight :)

Oh really, is that something they are famous for? I didn't know that, somehow I had never heard of it. It sounds good!

Hi! I'd just like to say I'm really enjoying your wonderful food reviews!:thumbsup2
You both look like you are having a great time and I love the way you describe your meal experiences. We are hoping to go back to WDW next year and this is whetting our appetite!
Sharixx

Thank you, I'm glad to be helpful tiding you over until your next WDW visit! :banana:

The oyster crackers you were served on the side in a bag for your chowder is the "normal" way you would get them if you were say in New England getting New England Clam chowder. They were just trying to make it authentic for you :)

Oh, is that what they were doing? Thank you for letting me know, I had no idea, I just thought they were being cheap! :laughing:Well, it's difficult giving an opinion of something if you don't know what on earth you're talking about :thumbsup2

I love your reviews! Especially the fact that you needed a couple of beers to face up to meeting Prince Charming & Cinderella!

Yeah, not that it helped too much ... But I don't even want to think about how horrifying this would have turned out to be had we been totally sober! :rotfl2:

Love your reviews, but I'm confused. I thought Liberty Tree Tavern was served family style. Is that only for dinner?

Yes, wilma-bride was quicker than me here, but she is right, there was no family-style option there for lunch.

Next review coming up in a bit ...

[annichan]

As you may have noticed if you have read my former installments, this was a very food-heavy day: three meals, four TS credits per person … Calorie overkill! :scared1:

By wandering around MK for hours and hours however, walking for what felt like literally miles and miles and miles (boy, were my feet killing me!) and then going for a swim at our resort pool, however, we had managed to train off some of those calories and miraculously work up an appetite for dinner :rolleyes1.

And this was a good thing, too, as we were facing another Disney Signature Dining Experience – this time at Narcoossee's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. I had heard lots of good things about this restaurant, and I was very much looking forward to checking it out.

Our previous experience with the Grand Floridian hadn't exactly been great (if you want to know why, flip back to my report on our 1900 Park Fare dinner ;)), and today didn't really start off much better:
We arrived by car for the first time, and DH was majorly put off by the fact that self-parking was so extremely far away from everything, even out of the grounds and across a road and through a gate ("Imagine being a guest here", he said angrily, "you pay so much per night already, and still you have to park outside the hotel grounds like some poor unwanted cousin-twice-removed if you're not willing to pay for valet parking"). Even though it didn't anger me as much as it did him, I could certainly see where he was coming from.

Consequently, when we had a look around the hotel grounds, he said he found it stuffy and unpleasant, and he was glad we were not staying here (which is good, because we couldn't have afforded staying here even if he had declared his everlasting love for the hotel! :lmao:).

Anyway, I for my part found everything beautiful and tried to calm my poor DH down a little, consoling him with the prospect of some delicious dinner. I mean really, it was so beautiful here:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010869.jpg

We entered and had to wait no more than about two minutes until we were led to our table by a very nice and friendly CM. When I saw the interior of the restaurant, it was love at first sight: I really liked the atmosphere, the round dining room and the many windows. And now finally even DH had to admit that this was neither stuffy nor pompous, but just extremely nice :thumbsup2.
Check out the view from our table, across the water to the Magic Kingdom (which you can see in the distance if you look real close – somehow it was easier to see in reality than on this photo):

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010870.jpg

Talking about drinks for a minute:
At home, we love to have a glass of wine with our dinner, and before this trip I had planned on trying lots of great wines, and cocktails, and whatnot.
However, with DH driving our rental car most nights and therefore not wanting to drink anything, and with the astonishingly high prices for alcohol, I usually settled for only softdrinks or, at most, a beer (or more than one, when Prince Charming happened to be present ;)).

Tonight, however, I decided to have a glass of red wine with my dinner. I can't remember what it was apart from it being an American dry red wine, but it was very nice! On our next trip, I'm definitely going to budget a bit more for alcohol and have wine with the dinners! (How convenient that we will be on a cruise so DH won't have to drive after dinner and will therefore be allowed to get blind drunk any day he wants :lmao: …)

Anyway – this installment has been going no far too long already without any mention on food, so here goes:

For an appetizer, I had the Chef’s Recommendation, the Grilled Jumbo California Asparagus with Prosciutto and Blood Orange Dressing. I had been looking forward to trying the Yellowfin Tuna Tartare, but alas – I love, love, LOVE asparagus so there was simply no way I could pass that up (much less since it was Jumbo Asparagus with all those formidable capital letters :thumbsup2).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010873.jpg

Well, what can I say … It was really nice, and I did not regret ordering it, even though I would have suspected something a bit more, well, fancy. This was good, but not too interestingly seasoned. I kind of expected more from that dressing. But the asparagus and prosciutto were gorgeous, nonetheless. (And I will STILL try the tuna tartare next time – after all we won’t be visiting in asparagus season! :)).

(Incidentally, another reason why I felt very much at home there that night is that there was a honeymooner couple seated at the table next to ours (much braver than us – wearing the bride and groom ears :woohoo:), and the whole time the bride was busy taking pictures of the food they were served, while the groom was acting a bit embarrassed about her strange behaviour. Just like us! :laughing:
I should probably have asked her whether she was also preparing a dining report for the DIS, but I didn’t want to disturb them. So if you are out here, DIS bride who took food porn pictures at Narcossee’s on May 8th after 7:30 pm, just say hi! :yay:)

Anyway, back to culinary matters: DH had the Crispy Duck Roll which came with spiced apple chutney and soy-chili glaze. Shame on me – I was too busy with my asparagus to try it! He really liked it, though, and it was very beautifully presented as well:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010875.jpg

For our main course, we both knew all along what we were going to order: The Surf and Turf (twin medallions of filet mignon, butter poached rock lobster tail, potato gratin, and choron sauce, that is). Both of us.
Sigh – I know it’s horrible to choose the most outrageously expensive item on the menu simply because you can and it is all paid for; but that’s what we both did! :rotfl:.
We just figured there was no way we would otherwise shell out $ 58.00 per person for an entrée, and neither of us had ever had lobster before (a bit embarrassing to admit, I know), so we went for it. We comforted ourselves with the fact that this automatically meant a bit more tip for our server, so were doing something good for everybody ;).

So here it is – probably the most expensive entrée I have ever eaten either on mine or you guys' side of the Atlantic Ocean:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010876.jpg

Awestruck, we both had our first bites. Looked at each other expectantly. And came to exactly the same conclusion, both of us:

The filet mignon was gorgeous and to die for!
And the lobster was boring and tasting of nothing but molten butter! :rotfl2:
Nothing we will ever need to eat again, probably. Maybe we are just not lobster persons (what a horribly uncultivated thing to say, though, isn’t it?).

So anyway, we won’t be having that again next time we visit Narcoossee's (which we will, that much is certain!). There are lots of other things I'd love to try here, though – like the salmon or the tuna, or maybe just have a whole big portion of that delicious filet mignon -, so I won’t go hungry! :)

By then, the time for Wishes was fast approaching, and we asked the waiter whether we could have our desserts to go, like we had recently learned at the Flying Fish. The server was really sweet, we told him we wanted to watch Wishes outside (didn't want the obstructed view with everybody standing in front of us on the verandah) - so he really hurried our desserts, two portions of Key Lime Crème Brulée, as well as our bill, and we were out of there within less than five minutes after telling him of our plans :woohoo:.

So we ambled over to the marina, snuggled up close to each other in the beautiful fresh evening air, and watched first Wishes and then my beloved Electric Water Pageant. So romantic! :lovestruc.

The dessert, by the way, didn’t look anywhere near fit to be photographed when we took them out or their carton at the hotel, so no pictures here, sorry! We enjoyed them the next day, though, no matter how they looked ;).

All in all, this was a great meal, in a great setting and with really nice and attentive service. The Surf and Turf left a bit to be desired for us, especially considering the steep price, but that was the only downside in an otherwise beautiful meal. And like I said – what did that matter? We were on the DxDDP, the food was paid for anyway! ;)


Coming up next: Breakfast with Lilo & Stitch at ‘Ohana …

[TillyMarigold]

Awestruck, we both had our first bites. Looked at each other expectantly. And came to exactly the same conclusion, both of us:

The filet mignon was gorgeous and to die for!
And the lobster was boring and tasting of nothing but molten butter! :rotfl2:
Nothing we will ever need to eat again, probably. Maybe we are just not lobster persons (what a horribly uncultivated thing to say, though, isn’t it?).


I am not a lobster person either :rotfl: so I wouldn't order it in either case, but it's been pretty widely reported that the lobster tail that comes with the Surf 'n' Turf is prepared from frozen, which might be the reason you didn't like it. (The whole lobster is fresh, however.)

[auntfrannie]

Awestruck, we both had our first bites. Looked at each other expectantly. And came to exactly the same conclusion, both of us:

The filet mignon was gorgeous and to die for!
And the lobster was boring and tasting of nothing but molten butter! :rotfl2:
Nothing we will ever need to eat again, probably. Maybe we are just not lobster persons (what a horribly uncultivated thing to say, though, isn’t it?).


I am sooo glad it wasn't just me! I, too,thought the lobster tail was very bland.

[torsie24]

Thank you for another great update!!

I'm really excited in case the honeymooner next to you was a DISer and reads this!! She sure sounds like one!!

[retiredkid]

I just found your report and read the whole thing.
However, I had to stop once for a snack and once to make dinner LOL

Great report and pictures!! Thanks for sharing.

[Flossbolna]

My sister and I are already discussing restaurants for our January 2010 trip (it's her first WDW trip) and she suddenly came up with Narcoossee's which I had never been interested in. She keeps talking about it and actually got me researching it. The thing that always turned me off was the seafood. I eat fish but nothing else that comes out of the sea. The first time I tried lobster, I hated it and later found out that I am actually slightly allergic to shellfish.

But she got me looking at the menu again and as you said, there are many intersting dishes besides the lobster. And after I started to actually look at the restaurant I realized that it is indeed very beautiful. I guess I never noticed that because I feel about the GF very much like your DH: it's too stuffy! :rotfl:

[disneyfav4ever]

I didn't really care for the lobster tail at Narcoosee's either. I would try their whole lobster though, I heard that's much better.

[donaldtutter]

The lobster on the surf and turf is Caribbean lobster. The whole lobster is Maine lobster, which is about 1000 times better. You still may not like it, but that is how a lobster should taste.

[mermaid&cinderella]

Yes, the whole lobster is alot better!

[tink1957]

I just spent the entire morning reading your wonderful reviews. You dined at several of the places that we're planning for our Sept trip.

I just wanted to let you know about the biscuits, we usually have them with butter and jam so they taste much better than the way you had them.

Thanks so much for all the great food pics.:flower3:

[wilma-bride]

Still enjoying your reviews. Shame about the lobster at Narcoossees - I wouldn't know what good lobster should taste like anyway so suspect I wouldn't have been too disappointed - still, the filet sounded great

[Flossbolna]

Hi Annichan, I have just updated my dining review. It seems like we started slacking with our reviews around the same time... Must be the summer weather in Germany! :goodvibes So now it is your turn to update, too! :rotfl:

[HARVEYSGIRL]

I just read all of your review so far. Love it!! I can't wait to read the rest! We ate at Narcoosee's in July and I thought it was great!

[annichan]

Well, well, well ... I've been slacking so badly on this dining review! Two months with no update - I know, that's pretty bad :worship:. I promise to be better - that is, if there is anyone at all still interested in my ramblings after so long a break! :rotfl2:

I will just start by answering those people who replied to my thread and have probably by now lost all hope of me ever noticing :rolleyes1.

I am not a lobster person either :rotfl: so I wouldn't order it in either case, but it's been pretty widely reported that the lobster tail that comes with the Surf 'n' Turf is prepared from frozen, which might be the reason you didn't like it. (The whole lobster is fresh, however.)
This is really good to know - that means I may have to try the whole lobster next time, see if it tastes different.

I am sooo glad it wasn't just me! I, too,thought the lobster tail was very bland.

Glad you say so - I was feeling so uncultivated! :rotfl:

Thank you for another great update!!

I'm really excited in case the honeymooner next to you was a DISer and reads this!! She sure sounds like one!!

Yes, I still thinks she was, but unfortunately she hasn't commented yet ... Are you out there, fellow DIS honeymooner? :cheer2:

I just found your report and read the whole thing.
However, I had to stop once for a snack and once to make dinner LOL

Great report and pictures!! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed my report!

My sister and I are already discussing restaurants for our January 2010 trip (it's her first WDW trip) and she suddenly came up with Narcoossee's which I had never been interested in. She keeps talking about it and actually got me researching it. The thing that always turned me off was the seafood. I eat fish but nothing else that comes out of the sea. The first time I tried lobster, I hated it and later found out that I am actually slightly allergic to shellfish.

But she got me looking at the menu again and as you said, there are many intersting dishes besides the lobster. And after I started to actually look at the restaurant I realized that it is indeed very beautiful. I guess I never noticed that because I feel about the GF very much like your DH: it's too stuffy! :rotfl:

Yes, somehow Narcoossee's somehow didn't seem to me as if it belonged to the GF at all, so much less stuffy and more down-to-earth in the décor and everything (impeccable service, of course, and also GF prices! ;)).

I didn't really care for the lobster tail at Narcoosee's either. I would try their whole lobster though, I heard that's much better.

Yes, I might just do that next time!

The lobster on the surf and turf is Caribbean lobster. The whole lobster is Maine lobster, which is about 1000 times better. You still may not like it, but that is how a lobster should taste.

Go Maine lobster! :yay:

Yes, the whole lobster is alot better!

May he beware lest I cross his path ... :rolleyes1

I just spent the entire morning reading your wonderful reviews. You dined at several of the places that we're planning for our Sept trip.

I just wanted to let you know about the biscuits, we usually have them with butter and jam so they taste much better than the way you had them.

Thanks so much for all the great food pics.:flower3:

Thanks for letting me know about the biscuits! You must be on your trip now or maybe even back already, and I hope you have / had a great time!!

Still enjoying your reviews. Shame about the lobster at Narcoossees - I wouldn't know what good lobster should taste like anyway so suspect I wouldn't have been too disappointed - still, the filet sounded great

Another thing I would really like to try there is the Seafood Cioppino they have on the menu now, makes my mouth water just to read it!

Hi Annichan, I have just updated my dining review. It seems like we started slacking with our reviews around the same time... Must be the summer weather in Germany! :goodvibes So now it is your turn to update, too! :rotfl:

Oh wow - good on you to try to motivate me, but I didn't even see your reply until weeks later! :rolleyes1 I'll go check out your updates trip report as soon as I've got the next instalment up ...

I just read all of your review so far. Love it!! I can't wait to read the rest! We ate at Narcoosee's in July and I thought it was great!

Thank you! There will be some more to read in a few minutes!

[annichan]

The next morning we were in for a treat: the Lilo & Stitch breakfast at ‘Ohana. When planning for this trip, I hadn’t been able to make up my mind at first about whether I’d book us for breakfast or for dinner there.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010438.jpg

However in the end, as I didn’t much fancy the meat fest that supposedly is ‘Ohana dinner, plus I love Stitch, the decision for breakfast here was a relatively easy one. Even DH who usually is all for having his (albeit light) breakfast straight after waking up and not after a long trek to a park or hotel, likes Stitch so much that he was really looking forward to this breakfast and didn’t mind the wait for food.

We arrived at the Poly slightly too early and extremely hungry. Fortunately, we only had to wait a couple of minutes after checking in, were presented with our cute leis and led to a table in the second row from the window, by the aisle. (The restaurant was really empty this early in the morning.) Starved as we were, we did not have to wait long: Our server, Monique, immediately put some food on our table :banana:.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010891.jpg

One was a pretty little platter of fruit, consisting of different types of melons and grapes. The other one held one of the most delicious things I had so far tasted at Disney: the ‘Ohana pineapple bread! Sweet, fresh, succulent, fruity. Before long we had to pester the server for another portion of this yummy stuff :rolleyes1.

We had hardly started eating this when a mischievous little visitor from outer space came to our table. ;) After hiding from my husband and then trying to steal some of our bread (no way pal, I won’t give that up even for you! :thumbsup2) he hugged us and posed for a picture on which you can probably see how much I like Stitch, as I look so happy:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010917.jpg

Actually, as the restaurant was still so empty, all the characters (in order of appearance: Stitch, Mickey, Lilo and Goofy) came around really soon and we didn’t have to wait long at all. Cute Stitch even came around twice – I know that the characters are kind of supposed to ignore you when you are still sitting there and they come around again, but Stitch didn’t, he played with us again and even posed for photos again. See, I know why I just love Stitch! :woohoo:.

He was up to so many antics, running around the room, leading a conga line, generally flitting here and there, that it was really hard to take any decent pictures of him – they almost all came out pretty blurry, just like this one:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010913.jpg

Anyway, back to the food: I already mentioned how the fruit and pineapple bread was delicious, but the family-style platter that was to follow turned out to be just as good. I don’t know, I suppose the items were all pretty standard Disney breakfast fare, but somehow they just tasted much better here than anywhere else. Might have just been due to my fabulously good mood that morning!

This is the family-style breakfast platter we were brought:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1010896.jpg

It held sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs and sweet scones. In the picture, you can also see our plates laden with Mickey waffles, and the hand of poor DH waiting not-so-patiently for me to finish taking photos and finally allow him to dig in:laughing:.

We were asked if we wanted another serving, but we could barely finish this platter and had to decline. After all, we were off to Typhoon Lagoon water park afterwards and wanted to be able to stay afloat ;).

Coming up next: Dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse

[Jagdcarcajou]

:yay:

You're back! I'm still subbed, and I am happy to read more. Mmm, breakfast. Sure beats the banana and granola bar I just had...

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Glad to have you back. I can't wait to read more. . .:surfweb:

[GoofySon'sMom]

Welcome back! Love breakfast at 'Ohana! Made our December trip reservations on Saturday and that one was near the top of our list! Course it will be bittersweet as it is on our departure day! (Geez, our trip is 88 days and I am already sad about our departure day!)

[nodnol]

You are back - that's great :banana:

[torsie24]

Yay, wonderful update. :)

I love Stitch too, glad to hear you had a great time at breakfast. :)

[Flossbolna]

Another update!! How wonderful!! :goodvibes I guess I was right about the summer weather... :rolleyes1 At least here in Berlin the golden September seems to be over.

Ohana looks like a fun breakfast. I love the picture of Stitch - everything is blury only his head is in focus. Very interesting effect! :thumbsup2

[welshdisneyfan]

Glad your back :woohoo:.... have really enjoyed your review. Thought you'd left us all. Looking forward to the next update :surfweb:

Heather

[annichan]

Oh wow, I am so flattered and happy that you are all still here after my long long absence and that you still want to read some of my writings! Thank you all!

:yay:

You're back! I'm still subbed, and I am happy to read more. Mmm, breakfast. Sure beats the banana and granola bar I just had...

And more will come, I promise!

Glad to have you back. I can't wait to read more. . .:surfweb:

See above ;)

Welcome back! Love breakfast at 'Ohana! Made our December trip reservations on Saturday and that one was near the top of our list! Course it will be bittersweet as it is on our departure day! (Geez, our trip is 88 days and I am already sad about our departure day!)

Yes, I am a bit like that myself - at least as soon as the first couple of days of the holiday are over, I start obsessing about its end ... Even if that is still almost two weeks or so away ... I wish I wasn't like that! :confused3:)

You are back - that's great :banana:

Thanks for having me back! :)

Yay, wonderful update. :)

I love Stitch too, glad to hear you had a great time at breakfast. :)

I am all motivated to write the last updates quickly and, hopefully, so that they interest you guys!

Another update!! How wonderful!! :goodvibes I guess I was right about the summer weather... :rolleyes1 At least here in Berlin the golden September seems to be over.

Ohana looks like a fun breakfast. I love the picture of Stitch - everything is blury only his head is in focus. Very interesting effect! :thumbsup2

Yes, it is the same where I live (further north and west than Berlin) - the weekend was glorious sunny autumn, and today all of a sudden it's become cold and rainy. What can we do but dream of the next trip to sunny Florida ... :lovestruc

Glad your back :woohoo:.... have really enjoyed your review. Thought you'd left us all. Looking forward to the next update :surfweb:

Heather

No, I would never leave, I was just so busy and at the same time, a bit lazy! I'll always be back!

[annichan]

Had I gone along with the ADRs I made prior to the trip, the Yachtsman wouldn’t have been our next sit-down meal after all: Originally, we had scheduled a 3.00 p.m. lunch at Les Chefs de France, in Epcot.
I had mainly booked this because I adore the movie Ratatouille, like anything Pixar made (the wonderful short films, Wall-E, and recently the wonderful yet sad Up!). And I had read somewhere online that a little audio-animatronic Rémy made his regular appearance at Chefs de France, so I figured I HAD to see that.

However, as real life is wont to do, it got in the way with my great plans, in the shape of my conscience telling me there was no way (or at least no healthy way) we would have a big breakfast at ‘Ohana, then spend the morning swimming, rush over to Epcot almost without time for a proper shower, consume a three-course meal at Chefs de France, and then be ready about two hours later to start the next three-course meal at the Yachtsman Steakhouse.
Good ol’ conscience, I guess it was right – and even though I was sad missing sweet little Rémy (has any of you seen him there, by the way?) I did the sensible thing – prompted by DH as well, by the way.

I gave up the reservation, we spent a little more leisure time at the water park, had some chicken wraps and chips (myself) and a nice burger (DH) at Typhoon Tilly’s there, went back to the hotel for a nice relaxing shower, and later headed out for an afternoon at Epcot, where I was even still peckish enough to try my first ever (!) Mickey Bar:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/mickeybar.jpg

… and everything was then topped off by a meal at the Yachtsman Steakhouse which we were really looking forward to.
So the essence of this story is …? When you’re a compulsive planner like myself, and you have booked the DxDP, it is only too easy to go over the top with booking all those great restaurants you don’t want to miss out on, and forget all about taking your time and being on holiday and enjoying yourself (and not putting on more than three pounds in one day, of course ;)).

Anyway, enough of this – and now definitely up next: Dinner at the Yachtsman Steakhouse …

[shannn]

Yay you're back! :banana:

I'm so glad I was subbed to you so that I knew!

[annichan]

Yay you're back! :banana:

I'm so glad I was subbed to you so that I knew!

Wow, thank you! I can't believe how many people were waiting for an update, had I known that I wouldn't have been so lazy!

Everybody, I still haven't finished the next update as I have to look in my notes what exactly it was that DH ate :) (it's really amazing how much I've forgotten in the last two months - why did I ever stop the report, silly me?), and I won't get to those notes until tomorrow. However, so that you do not think I am already reverting to my old lazy ways, let me tell you that I have used the time to finish the next update AFTER the following one, so once I've finished that you will have TWO at the same time. See? Y'all have to at least give me credit for trying :rolleyes:

Have a great day everybody,

[annichan]

Like those who have read my last couple of posts know, we had been very active that day – breakfast had been really early, then we had been swimming and riding the slides (yay for the Crush 'n' Gusher!) in Typhoon Lagoon for hours, only nourished by a little wrap or burger for lunch, and then we had walked around Epcot for hours.
After one final walk from the International Gateway to the Yacht Club, you will therefore understand that we were not only hungry. We were famished. As in, if I don't get to eat a steak this very minute I will pass out.
Now, we had come to the right place to remedy that:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1020010.jpg

But alas – we hadn't come at the right time to remedy that :confused3. When we arrived at the podium only slightly early for our 7.55 ADR, we were very politely told that the restaurant was runnung quite a way behind schedule that day, and there would be at least (:scared1:) a 30-minute wait.
You can't imagine the shocked look on poor DH's face, and I wasn't too happy either!

We repaired to the bar next door, sat down, ordered a beer and somehow managed to withstand ordering lots of food off the menu as well. I used the time to write some trip notes, and DH checked our home voicemail and heard a message from my dear cat-sitting mom who told us that our three kitties were doing well, apparently not missing us at all, but demanding to be fed all the time and then throwing up on the carpets a lot. Well, welcome to our world, mom! ;)

After a seemingly interminable 40 minutes, our buzzer finally went off and let us stumble back to the podium in a state of semi-famished bliss. We were seated by a window overlooking the cool windmill pool, and we even had two servers: One lady was new and still earning her ears, and the other was supervising her.
We only saw the new server once more during the evening when she brought us our dessert cutlery – I guess she was really really new, like on her first day, and mostly just watching and not yet doing much alone.

The more experienced server (Suzan), however, brought us the menus – and they had "Happy Honeymoon" on them! Aww, I love when they do something like that. This reminds me, by the way – I forgot all about mentioning it when I posted the review: We also got a personalized menu at Narcoossee's, and that was even more personalized as it said "Congratulations to Mr and Mrs XX". Isn't that so nice?

For starters, I ordered the Assortment of Artisanal Cheeses (accompanied with Toasted Multigrain Baguette), sorry for the picture turning out so dark:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1020017.jpg

I am afraid I can't tell you which was which anymore (not that I could have told you this at any time after the evening I ate them :rolleyes1). I remember, however, that the two on the outside were both much much much too strong for my taste, and I wasn't previously aware of being the greatest cheese wimp ever. Well, maybe I just am. The yellow cheese was really nice, though!

DH had the Chilled Seafood Salad (Lobster, Shrimp and Jumbo Crab with Lemon Creme Fraiche and Avocado Cream). It sounds nice enough now, and I have a picture, but I still don’t remember what it was like – maybe DH didn’t let me try it? Anyway, why should I be better at remembering his appetizer than mine ;).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1020020.jpg

For our entrées, we debated back and forth about which steak to take – I fully expected DH to go for the Porterhouse as I can't think of any restaurant here at home were he could get a real, manly 24 oz. cut of meat :).
He greatly surprised me, however, by saying that he didn't think he'd be able to manage that much food, and by subsequently ordering the New York Strip Steak (12 oz. Strip Steak with Peppercorn Brandy Sauce and Potato Gratin with Diamond White Cheddar, according to the menu).
This was the memorable moment it really, finally, completely dawned on me that the DxDP is TOO. MUCH. FOOD. :eek:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1020023.jpg

I tried a bite of his meat – which was delicious – and he even let me finish his potato gratin, which was even better. Yum! I think he made the entrée choice I should have made, because I clearly liked his better.
Myself, I had decided upon the Yachtsman Filet Mignon (an 8-ounce Filet with Mashed Potatoes and a Red Wine Sauce) because I just love filet mignon. The meat was very good and tender, but I didn't really much fancy the red wine sauce, and the mashed potatoes were just not as fabulous as the potato gratin. Silly me, always wanting what somebody else has on his plate ;).

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1020026.jpg

My dessert doesn’t seem to be on the menu found on the internet, and I didn’t keep the dessert menu that day :confused3. The receipt, however, only says “seasonal dessert”, so I’m really not sure what this was. (I am so sorry, this is becoming more and more frequent in this trippie! Shame on me! I promise, promise, promise to take better notes for my next report!).

The pink one on top definitely was some kind of fruity ice cream, but I don’t remember the thingy on the bottom at all, and the one on the right tasted strange and not sweet and I definitely didn’t like it. The long caramelized sugar thing was sweet and I only nibbled at it. So there you go, there’s your detailed, professional and highly descriptive report of that dessert :rolleyes:.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1020030.jpg

DH didn't have a hard time deciding, as his favourite dessert was on the menu here: Crème brulée! Here, it was quite beautifully served with fresh berries and rolled chocolate (doesn't it look delicious):

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1020029.jpg

Tasted as good as it looked, he said – I can't verify this as I was both too full to try and successfully fended off by DH who wouldn't let me ;).

All in all, it was a very good meal – what we didn't like about it was all the waiting that was connected with it. First the 40-minute wait for our table, then we always had to wait rather longish for our server to reappear, it took very long for the dessert to arrive and then we sat for about five more minutes without cutlery to eat it with, and after we asked for the bill we waited quite a bit for it to appear.
I am sure some of this was due to the fact that one of our servers was so new, and they were both really nice to make up for it, but this made the total visit to the restaurant more than two-and-a-half hours long, and that was just too much.

I wouldn't say we're not willing to ever give this restaurant another chance, it's not as bad as that, but during our next stay we'll definitely try something else.

Coming up next: The most expensive breakfast in the World …

[annichan]

(Well, this may not be as glamourous as the title suggested, but being that credit-wise it WAS our most expensive breakfast ... here goes!)

The next morning, we decided to splurge as we had cancelled so many meals that we already knew we would have a couple of table service credits to spare.
Therefore, we filled in our order before going to bed, hung it on the door and proceeded to fall into bed and be awakened by an extremely punctual knock in the morning, followed by DH's utter refusal to get out of bed so soon.
Not exactly a morning person myself, I jumped out of bed, threw a blanket over most of my husband, frantically got dressed, swiped everything off the little table onto the blanket under which DH was complaining about having things thrown at him, somehow managed to put a smile on my still-sleepy features and let the server in. Whew! Not exactly my idea of a lazy morning :rolleyes:.

Anyway, we opened our balcony door to let the first sunlight in (did I mention we had breakfast ordered for seven a.m.? What is it about Disney World that makes me plan everything so compulsively and totally forget that we have NEVER been morning people?) and settled ourselves at the table to enjoy our meal. I only took one photo, but it shows the whole works:

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv49/flossie_album/P1020034.jpg

Eggs, breakfast potatoes, toast, fruit, coffee, orange and grapefruit juice, lots of little glasses and bottles (the contents of which we were never really able to find out – I admit it, we were really lame, I don’t think we opened a single one of them!), plus the cute placemat I had bought at the hotel store. This is probably the cutest and still really cheap item I ever bought at Disney, as it was only three dollars! It now sits on our kitchen floor and we put the cats' food bowls on it, so it really serves a purpose that meets its design.

I wouldn't really order room service breakfast again, though – considering the fact that it set us back two table service credits each, it was not a whole lot of food and I think we would have been better off just bringing something up from Roaring Forks - which incidentally, we never did, as we never had breakfast in our room apart from that one time.
We will try to do that more often during our next stay, though, as it will be less stressful and give us more time in the parks. Alas, that will mean a whole lot less of those character breakfasts, but it will also mean a nice and cozy and not too stressful start to the day, and a less cranky DH :lmao:.
And I will certainly still maintain at least one or two of those breakfasts – I wouldn’t want to miss at least one or two out of the ‘Ohana, Crystal Palace or Tusker House set!

Coming up next: Dessert made in heaven – lunch at Yak & Yeti.

[Pooh&OurHunny]

thanks for a wonderful update...I'm not sure if I can wait over 40 mins after my ADR (b/c of my son...he does great eating at restaurants but if they tell me we have to wait over 30 min pass our ADR...I'll have to pass on it and just go back to our resort and order room service or eat elsewhere...thank you for your review.) I'm still going back and forth if I should keep my ADR for Yatchmans b/c we are going there on our arrival day so I'm still having second thoughts...if its worth a trip to go there or save it for another time.
Can't wait to read the most expensive breakfast popcorn::

[TigerKat]

Thanks for the update! I'm starting to get the feeling the DxDP may be a bit much for us as well.:guilty:

[wildirishrose]

Thanks for all the great reviews. We just got back and did the deluxe as well, and the very last day as my shorts were a little:confused3 snug decided that it might be too much food, but what the heck you only live once.

[Flossbolna]

I can absolutely understand that you felt that it was just too much food - and too much time spent on meals! I love getting a CS breakfast for the room and sit on the balcony. But somehow I think I like the idea of room service breakfast, too. :goodvibes

Personally, I am not a fan of sauces on my steak. While I still like some suaces, I don't really approve of it being poured over it. So I tend to order it on the side (by the way, did you know that "on the side" is in German "auf einem Extrateller" at least according to "When Harry met Sally" or as we know it "Harry und Sally". I always wondered about this weired expression about the Extrateller, and why would you put sauce on a plate and not into a bowl, until I finally watched the film in English and figured it out. I guess it is so unusual to order something on the side in Germany that we don't have a proper term for it! :lmao:). Back to the food: Ordering something on the side is great if you aren't really sure wether you like the sauce! :thumbsup2