Birthday and Mother's Day Deluxe Dining...completed! Need ideas for next trip. [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

jgazda

05-22-2009, 01:23 PM

I just want to preface this dining report by saying this is my first crack at it so please bear with me...

Just returned from a trip to the world. We were there May 5-10th and celebrated my birthday, Mother's Day, and my little sisters graduation from the college program at Disney. It was stinky hot so having a break in a restaurant was very welcome. Here's who went:

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/julie_kohn_lopez/Image134.jpg

I'm the one on the right. Mother of two but my son decided not to come on this trip. He said he is getting too old and he has gone too many times. Sometimes I wonder if he is really mine. LOL! I am an adventurous eater and am willing to try almost anything.

My husband is the only man in the picture. This was only his second trip to Disney but he is already hooked. He is a cheeseburger aficionado and hates veggies.

The little one is our daughter. This was also her second trip and she thinks she owns the place. Huge into characters so we did quite a few character meals for her. She is a pizza and pasta girl.

My sister is the one with the graduation cap on. She started her college program back in January and sadly is on her way home as I type this. She worked in Epcot cleaning the bathroom at the front of the park. Some of you may have run into her. She is SUPER picky when it comes to food. No dressing on the salad, no sauces and nothing can touch. She only joined us for a couple meals since she had to work.

I didn't take any pictures of the food, sorry. It was so hot we barely brought the camera out. I did get one picture of a cake so I'll throw that in and whatever else that's appropriate.

Here is where we ate:

Sanaa (D)
'Ohana (B)
Cinderella's Royal Table (D)
Akershus (B)
Turf Club Bar and Grill (D)
Grand Floridian Cafe (B)
Plaza (L)
Artist's Palate (B,L)
1900 Park Fare (B)
Le Cellier (L)
Nine Dragons (D)
Liberty Tree Tavern (L)

Most meals were really good and I will try to give you a very honest review of the food and service as either one can really mess up a meal. Enjoy!

jgazda

05-22-2009, 01:37 PM

We were only at Kidani Village one evening so we decided to make it a pool day and hit up their new restaurant Sanaa. We had ADR’s for 5:05 and got there a little early. They put on a cute little show right before they opened and picked a family of the day…which was us! We got a certificate and were given different kinds of African dress to wear during dinner. It was very neat. We were seated by one of the windows that look out at the safari. What a view! We saw Giraffe’s, Zebra, Ostrich, Wildebeest, and some type of large horned animals. They aren’t right up against the window but are close enough for you to enjoy their presence while you dine.

Ok on to the food…

My husband and I decided to try an appetizer and we selected the Mustard Seed Crusted Scallops served with a coconut cream sauce. When they were brought out I was a little nervous because they looked like they had fish eggs on top but it was just the mustard seeds. The scallops were cooked perfectly, just melted in your mouth and the mustard seed was so complimentary to it with the different texture and taste. As if that wasn’t enough the coconut cream sauce was amazing. I wish I could get some of that now! I wouldn’t hesitate to order that on subsequent trips, as we were both very pleased.

For dinner I ordered the selections from the slow cooked in gravy section. You get to pick two meats and your choice of rice. I chose the shrimp with green curry sauce and the beef short ribs and I chose the five-grain pilaf. The shrimp were very good but I was expecting them to be a bit spicier. Perhaps they have “Americanized” their sauces. It was good, just not what I wanted in the heat department. The short ribs, well lets just say I am drooling as I type remembering how good they were. Seriously tender meat with this amazing taste. Next time I will order two servings of the short ribs until they have it as a regular menu item all by itself. If you have the chance to go there, get the ribs. It is worth a special trip to the resort for that. The rice on the other hand just wasn’t my taste. It was slightly crunchy and just seemed like undercooked rice. I wasn’t a fan at all. Even my two year old who is a rice aficionado turned her nose up at it. My husband ordered the New York Strip with spinach and mushroom pancake server with oven-dried chutney and he chose the basmati rice. He said he really enjoyed his meal and that the steak was cooked great. I tried his rice to see if it was similar to the rice I had gotten and it was very tasty, fluffy white rice. I’ll be getting that next time.

Because it was my birthday the next day, they brought out a complimentary egg-less chocolate cake. It was served with a raspberry sauce and vanilla cream and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Our server did a great job explaining each portion of the menu and what her recommendations would be and made sure we never had an empty glass. We had never eaten Indian food so we were glad to have her expertise.

I only made this ADR a week before our trip and really against my wishes as my husband was the one that really wanted to try it. I'm glad I listened to him as this was one of our best meals of the trip. Great food and great service, not to mention the great view. All in all we highly recommend this restaurant and encourage people to try it. If you can get a seat by the window it is worth the wait. Definitely enhanced our experience.

jgazda

05-22-2009, 02:38 PM

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/julie_kohn_lopez/100_1914.jpg

We had pretty early ADR’s for ‘Ohana (9:15) and when we got there, they were already backed up and we had to wait about 25 minutes to be seated. When we were on our way to being seated they were just finishing up the parade that they do with the characters throughout the restaurant and my daughter was very disappointed. (Not to worry we stayed for the next one)

Shortly after we got to our table they sent out the bread and sweet rolls and the juice. I can’t remember the different juice combination it is, but man is it good! Very refreshing! I got some of the pineapple bread and it was wonderful. Not too sweet with lots of pineapple chunks. Then they brought out a plate of fresh fruit. If I remember correctly it had grapes, strawberries, pineapple (of course), honeydew and watermelon. It was all very fresh and very good. Then the hot stuff came out. They brought a large platter with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and potatoes and then separately brought out a large bowl of Mickey waffles. Typically I’m a bit of an egg snob because I hate when scrambled eggs are runny and watery so I usually won’t touch them but my husband and sister were both raving about them so I gave them a shot and they were great. The potatoes were amazing too. We got seconds of almost everything. It was my birthday the day we were there and they brought me out a card signed by all the characters and a cupcake. Everything was great and we can’t wait to return.

The wait staff was very accommodating with refills on the hot plate and we never had an empty cup. The characters were great and spent a lot of time with my daughter. I especially like that you don’t have to get up to get your food and possibly miss characters .We didn’t have one bad thing to say about it and are going to make a return trip in November we loved it so much. This is definitely one of our new favorite breakfast spots.

jgazda

05-22-2009, 02:43 PM

We had an early ADR (4:10) for Cinderella’s Royal Table dinner. We put out name in at the podium and were called within 5 minutes. We went inside and there was quite the line for Cinderella but it moved at a decent pace and within 10 minutes we had our opportunity to meet Cindy.

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/julie_kohn_lopez/Image088.jpg

After that our daughter was given a wand and we headed upstairs to be seated. My sister joined us for this meal so we were a party of four.

The fairy godmother and 2 of the mice make appearances throughout dinner and one of the mice even came to our table.

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/julie_kohn_lopez/100_1972.jpg

We were seated fairly close to the windows looking out at Main Street and were greeted by our server fairly quickly. Can’t remember his name but he was very nice and always on top of drinks and making sure we had everything we needed. The only think I didn’t like, which had nothing to do with him, was that you had to chose your entire menu up front. From appetizer through dessert. Minor flaw. I went with the corn and crab soup, husband and sister had the BLT salad. They liked the taste of the salad just not the presentation. It was literally a quarter wedge of lettuce with all of the extra’s thrown on. Once you get to a certain point in the salad you are just eating lettuce without dressing or anything. It was good but could have been better. My soup was great, very creamy with crab pieces throughout and bits of corn. I almost didn’t get it since we had just come from outside where it was 99 but I’m glad I did.

For entrees I ordered the pork chop and that is served with a bacon and mushroom ragout, Yukon gold smashed potatoes and covered in a sweet chipotle glaze. YUM! The pork chop was cooked perfectly and not at all dry and the bacon and mushroom yumminess was so great with it. The potatoes were very tasty with the glaze as well. Really enjoyed this entrée. My husband ordered the lemon and lavender chicken with mashed potatoes and he really liked it. I tried it and you can definitely taste the lavender that is used when the chicken is cooked. It wasn’t my favorite but he really liked it. My sister ordered the prime rib and I swear the piece was as big as her head! It came with grilled asparagus and potatoes and she really enjoyed everything.

Since our little one was under two they brought her out a huge plate of buttered noodles and she happily ate almost the whole plate.

My husband surprised me with a Mickey cake for my birthday shown here:

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/julie_kohn_lopez/100_1974.jpg

Besides that we had 2 orders of the chocolate cream cheese buckle and one order of the crème brulee. When my sister ordered the crème brulee it said it was the brulee of the day, not knowing it was coffee flavored. Seeing as that she hates coffee she was not pleased with this dessert. It is probably great for someone that likes it though. The cream cheese buckles were very good. The cream cheese inside was a great compliment to the chocolate cake.

We were so nervous dining here with all the bad reviews but we were really pleasantly surprised. Both the service and the food were fantastic.

Deffenm

05-22-2009, 04:43 PM

kimgof

05-22-2009, 05:46 PM

Great Reviews! We have Ohana booked for our next trip, can't wait. We always love CRT! Looks like you had a great trip! Waiting to hear more.popcorn::

TigerKat

05-22-2009, 06:58 PM

Great so far, count me in!

jgazda

05-22-2009, 09:33 PM

Great Reviews so far. Your dd is so cute. I can't decide if I want to book CRT for our trip next June. There will be my dd (6) and 3 boys (10, 10, and 9) Plus me, ddad, dstepmom, dsis, and dsis boyfriend. I think it would be fun to say we got to eat in the castle as most of the people have never been to WDW before.

Thanks! I think she's pretty cute too! :lovestruc I think it's a great way to break in some newbies! This was my 14th trip to Disney and my first time in the castle and I'm sorry I waited so long. Have fun!

Great Reviews! We have Ohana booked for our next trip, can't wait. We always love CRT! Looks like you had a great trip! Waiting to hear more.popcorn::

We had dinner reservations booked for this trip and for the second time we weren't able to keep them so I was especially glad we got to go for breakfast. Can't wait to go back.

Great so far, count me in!

Thanks. More to come soon!

KatMark

05-22-2009, 09:37 PM

Your DD is absolutely precious. I'm in for the rest of the food porn, too!

jgazda

05-22-2009, 10:03 PM

We had an early ADR here (8:35) and hit Epcot respectively. Had no problem making it through the line to enter before park opening. They took our last name and checked us off the list and in we went. We were really looking forward to this breakfast since the princesses were actually going to mingle with us regular folk.

When we arrived in Norway we checked in at the podium and they gave us a pager and said it would be a few minutes. After about 10 minutes they called our name and we proceeded inside to have our picture taken with Belle. She was really a great Belle and interacted well with our daughter. The photopass photographer on the other hand left something to be desired. I don't know if they rush through the picture taking process because it is included with your meal so it doesn't HAVE to be cute but I was not happy with our picture at all:

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/julie_kohn_lopez/Image146.jpg

The funny thing is you can put all of the pictures they take at the breakfast on your photopass and the second shot was so much better than the first:

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/julie_kohn_lopez/Image145.jpg

Not sure if they are forced to use the first shot but I wish they would at least pick the best out of what they shoot.

Sorry to ramble...

We went to our seat and the waitress came over and filled our glasses and told us where to get the cold appetizers from and that she would be back soon with our hot plate. We made our way over to the cold selections which had cheese, fruit, salmon, sausage and some cinnamon rolls. All very good. When we got back to the table the hot plate was already there and had eggs, bacon, sausage, and cheesey potatoes. It was all really tasty. The cheesy potatoes are so incredibly good I could have had just a plate of those. There were only three of us and it was a decent size plate but my husband can eat, so we wanted to get a little more of the potatoes and eggs since our daughter was pigging out on those too. Not to mention that our drinks were empty. As the waitress approached so we can ask her for those things, she hands us our check and says she will be right back to take it. What? We were SO rushed through this meal. I was really disappointed by that. And it wasn't just us as the table behind us asked for more items as well and they were told no and given their check too. This really could have been special but with only one drink and the coldness we got from our waitress it really kinds stunk. My husband swears he will never go back but I will give it another shot. Probably not in November but definitely soon as we liked the food and I'm not letting one bad waitress ruin this sort of experience.

As a side note we saw Aurora, Cinderella, Snow White and Ariel. Mind you our daughter is 2 and doesn't really get it completely but when Aurora came by and went to sign her book she asked me if she should sign Aurora or Sleeping Beauty because she is still trying to learn both. Aren't we supposed to keep that to ourselves? :confused:

jgazda

05-22-2009, 10:05 PM

Your DD is absolutely precious. I'm in for the rest of the food porn, too!

Thank you! I see you're in Carol Stream. Howdy neighbor. We're in Hoffman Estates so not at all far from you. It truly is a small world.

jgazda

05-22-2009, 10:24 PM

We had fully intended on staying at Epcot all day after having breakfast in Norway, however it was really hot (98) and we needed a break. We took a bus back to Saratoga and hopped into our suits and into the pool. Can you say refreshing? :cool2:

Since there was no way we were getting too far away from the pool we decided to hit up Artist Palette for lunch. My husband ordered the Toga Wrap and can't remember for the life of him what was in it but said it was fantastic. It came with home made potato chips which I actually got to try and they were really good. (even the birds liked them since they stole them OFF HIS PLATE!) I ordered the cheeseburger flatbread and really had low expectations since we had three tasty table service meals and really how good could a counter service flatbread taste? Let me tell you, I loved this flatbread. It had ground beef on the top of the flatbread with american cheese melted on it and then lettuce and tomato with a decorative squirt of what tasted like thousand island dressing with a kick. It was very tasty and I would order it again in a heartbeat.

kimgof

05-22-2009, 10:50 PM

Smiling Cheshire Cat

05-22-2009, 10:51 PM

Thanks for the reviews. So well written and informative. Your birthday cake was so cute.:)

KatMark

05-22-2009, 10:56 PM

Thank you! I see you're in Carol Stream. Howdy neighbor. We're in Hoffman Estates so not at all far from you. It truly is a small world.

My best friend lived in Hoffman Estates for 20 years until she moved to McHenry. You're doing a great job on the reviews...and making me hungry.

jgazda

05-22-2009, 11:33 PM

I love all your pictures. How did you like using Photopass? I am thinking of trying that this trip. Did you find the using it convenient? I would love to not have to tote my camera through the parks if I don't have to. Your daughter is adorable by the way. And you are right, the second picture of her and Belle is a much nicer shot.;)

Thank you! This was our second time using photopass and I really like it a lot. We always do the preorder so it is cheaper and hope for the best. This time around we had 265 pictures and we were there for 6 days. We have your basic point and shoot digital Kodak and it takes a few seconds to reset and take a new picture so I like that the photopass people can get a lot of quick shots. There have definitely been some magical pictures because of it. The only thing is they are not present at every character so in some instances you will want your own camera. (for example in DHS inside Animation we saw Sorcerer Mickey and he had a photographer and right next to him were Bolt and Rhino and they didn't) Also when we were in Epcot at the Character Spot, the guy that was taking pictures for Pluto had a broken system so we have no pictures with him. They also take some great night shots that my camera doesn't and mostly I just like being in some pictures as I am typically the family photographer. You can always preorder and when you get back if you decide it isn't worth it, ask for a refund. Have a fun vacation!

jgazda

05-22-2009, 11:38 PM

Thanks for the reviews. So well written and informative. Your birthday cake was so cute.:)

Thanks! It was really tasty too.

My best friend lived in Hoffman Estates for 20 years until she moved to McHenry. You're doing a great job on the reviews...and making me hungry.

Haha, If I'm going down I'm taking you with me! It has been a bit of torture thinking about all of this great food and knowing I can't have it again for months! Get ready there is some more good stuff coming... :cheer2:

jgazda

05-23-2009, 12:11 AM

We originally had reservations for Yachtsman Steakhouse but after an early breakfast and hours in the pool, the little one was down for the count and with 2 hours to go we decided to cancel that and try and get into the Turf Club. Made no sense to wake her up, wait for the bus to Epcot, walk to International Gateway, and then wait for a boat to take us to the Yacht Club. Had we stayed at Epcot all day it would have been fine but being back at Saratoga changed everything. I did the proper thing and called Disney Dining and cancelled our ADR and got a reservation for Turf Club and because we were going from a 2TS dinner to a 1TS, I also made a last minute ADR to The Plaza for the next day.

We walked down to Turf Club and we were seated inside right away. Our waitress came right over and took our drink orders and we looked over the menu. Since we were on the deluxe plan we picked out the appetizers, calamari and buffalo chicken nuggets. The calamari was cooked just right, not chewy at all and had two different sauces to dip in. One was your typical marinara and the other was a spicy mayo. Very tasty. The buffalo chicken nuggets were also quite good. They come with a blue cheese dip but we aren't blue cheese people so he substituted for some ranch instead and we still loved them.

When it came to the entrees I had a hard time deciding between the chicken and the steak so I did something my husband HATES. I asked the server her opinion. I figure they have probably tried everything so who better to know. The chicken has a cherry glaze and she said it was way too sweet for her liking and recommended the steak, so that's what I ordered. It comes with either a blue cheese (and we all know how I feel about that) or crab meat with a mustard sauce. I went with option B. It was served with yukon gold mashed potatoes. The crab meat was such a great compliment to the steak and I was a little embarassed that I ate the entire thing. :eek: Even better than that were the potatoes. I don't know what they put in there but they were AMAZING. They are probably terribly bad for you because they tasted like a little piece of heaven. :cloud9: Mmmmm, I miss those potatoes.

My husband had the cheeseburger with fries. Big shocker. He really liked it a lot. He asked for medium and got it and said that he was really glad he picked that.

For dessert he ordered the lava cake as we were told it was their specialty and our waitreses favorite. Since I made a pig of myself I went light and went with the no sugar added lemon pound cake with strawberries. I didn't try his lava cake but he was ooohing and ahhhing with every bite he took which typically means he is loving it. The dessert I orderd was really good too, the perfect end to a heavy meal. It had probably half a tub of whip cream on top of it which I could have done without but other than that it was great.

The little one had mac and cheese with a side of green beans and a sundae for dessert. She ate very well so she must have liked it. We'll just say she was one with her sundae...

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/julie_kohn_lopez/100_2017.jpg

We were so glad that we switched from a signature dining place to the Turf Club. What a hidden gem. The food and the service were all impeccable and we loved it so much we had dinner there the next evening. (missed 'Ohana AGAIN)

kimgof

05-23-2009, 10:46 AM

Thank you! This was our second time using photopass and I really like it a lot. We always do the preorder so it is cheaper and hope for the best. This time around we had 265 pictures and we were there for 6 days. We have your basic point and shoot digital Kodak and it takes a few seconds to reset and take a new picture so I like that the photopass people can get a lot of quick shots. There have definitely been some magical pictures because of it. The only thing is they are not present at every character so in some instances you will want your own camera. (for example in DHS inside Animation we saw Sorcerer Mickey and he had a photographer and right next to him were Bolt and Rhino and they didn't) Also when we were in Epcot at the Character Spot, the guy that was taking pictures for Pluto had a broken system so we have no pictures with him. They also take some great night shots that my camera doesn't and mostly I just like being in some pictures as I am typically the family photographer. You can always preorder and when you get back if you decide it isn't worth it, ask for a refund. Have a fun vacation!
Thanks for all the info. I think I will do the preorder and maybe carry my tiny point and shoot for the shots that might be missed by photopass. Thanks again ! :thumbsup2

jgazda

05-23-2009, 05:45 PM

Originally we had ADR's for Tusker House as we were going to be in Animal Kingdom all day, however with the heat and lack of indoor activities we decided to make it a Magic Kingdom day so we swapped Tusker House for Grand Floridian Cafe.

We were seated and had a very pleasant server that took the time to speak directly to our daughter which I just love. She took our drink orders and let us peruse the menu.

We noticed that there was an appetizer section for breakfast, however, we were told that even though we were on the deluxe dining appetizers are not included. Not a big deal for us, just an FYI for those of you on a dining plan that choose to eat there.

I was going back and forth between the lobster eggs benedict and the skillet and in the end both my husband and I got the eggs benedict.
OH
MY
GOD!!!
The eggs were perfect, the sauce was perfect, the lobster was perfect. Seriously amazing breakfast. Man what I wouldn't give for the chef to come to my house tomorrow morning and whip up a batch of that. The hollandaise sauce had a lemon taste to it and the bread was a cross between an english muffin and a bagel and all the little bits of lobster sprinkled around it were melt in your mouth. It was served with asparagus which I used to slop up the rest of the sauce. I seriously considered canceling breakfast the next two days to get more of that but decided not to so the little one could meet Alice. (same hotel, different breakfast) Our server was always on top of our drinks and making sure we had everything we needed.

The little one had the Eggceptional morning which is one egg scrambled and a piece of bacon and toast. She really seemed to like it.

If you have the opportunity I highly recommend taking the time to find this lovely restaurant and trying this dish. I don't think you will be disappointed!

cmesq61

05-23-2009, 09:26 PM

We have three breakfasts there next month and I am so excited to try the lobster eggs benedict. Since you could not get appetizers, were you allowed juice as your breakfast appetizer?

TigerKat

05-23-2009, 10:17 PM

I have seen pics of that freaking lobster eggs benedict and it looks INCREDIBLE!:woohoo:

jgazda

05-23-2009, 10:26 PM

We have three breakfasts there next month and I am so excited to try the lobster eggs benedict. Since you could not get appetizers, were you allowed juice as your breakfast appetizer?

Yes she told us we could order juice, coffee, tea or hot chocolate. The smoothies were not part of the plan. Hope you enjoy your breakfast as much as we did!

I have seen pics of that freaking lobster eggs benedict and it looks INCREDIBLE!:woohoo:

Seriously one of the best breakfast items ever. :worship: I'll probably dream about it tonight now LOL! We're putting that place on our list to go to next time specifically for that. This is coming up in another report but the 1900 Park Fare breakfast also had this entree...

jgazda

05-24-2009, 12:33 AM

Had ADR's for Plaza Restaurant for 12:55 and arrived about 5 minutes early. This place was hopping and I heard them turn away at least three different walk ups. We received a pager and waited 25 minutes to be seated. Our table was in the main dining room close to the front door.

We sat down and waited, and waited, and waited some more. And then after waiting more our waitress FINALLY came over and took our drink orders. We probably waited 7 minutes for her to come by which I think is terrible. I understand the place was busy but at least acknowledge that you see us and that you will be over soon. She took our drink orders and my husband asked for her to bring two drinks for him since he was really thirsty and she seemed really miffed by it. She disappeared for another 5 or 6 minutes and then appeared with our drinks and took our appetizer and entree order. I went with the tomato bisque with homemade croutons and my husband chose the salad. I really wasn't that impressed with the soup. Our grocery store here has a better bisque. The croutons were the only thing that gave it taste and there were only about 5 in there so that went fast. My husband said his salad was, well a salad. Light and refreshing with the perfect amount of dressing.

For our entrees I went with the Plaza club and my husband went with his safety, the cheeseburger. He changed it up a bit and had bacon thrown on there. Ooooooh! :rotfl: He said it was very tasty and hit the spot. My club was really good as well. It's just like a BLT with some smoked ham and turkey layered in. It isn't so huge that you can't eat it which I like. We both got fries and they were equally good. Our server still had not lightened up at this point and didn't even make eye contact. Until...

She came by to take our dessert order and I ordered the plaza sundae with mint chocolate chip ice cream and my husband went to order the banana split but asked if instead of the ice cream that was listed on the menu he wanted to have chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. Mind you that is EXACTLY what the menu says. :confused3 At this point the waitress breaks out into a fit of laughter and from that point on did a complete 180 and was super nice the rest of the meal. Not sure why it took so long for her to come around but from that point I really liked her and we got our drinks much quicker. By the way the desserts were awesome. Hard to screw up a couple sundaes but truly they were super.

Our little munchkin had the salad for her appetizer which she didn't touch ( I might have picked at it since the soup was seriously lacking) and then got the chicken strips with apples and rice. She ate nothing. We did take her to first aid immediately following this meal because she came down with what we believe to be prickly heat so not sure if that had anything to do with it. For dessert we got her a Mickeylodeon which is basically an ice cream cone upside down in a cup with cookies as Mickey ears. That she ate. Go figure!

As a whole we thought this was a decent meal and would try it again. Once the service improved we were really happy with everything. Dessert was definitely the best part so even if you only go in for that it's worth it.

The one thing that was slightly annoying is that there is no bathroom inside the restaurant. You had to walk outside and use the bathroom right next to the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station. Not a deal breaker but a little bothersome.

TigerKat

05-24-2009, 11:09 AM

Sorry you had such terrible service, no excuse for that! We tried the Plaza for the first time last year and we loved it. I'm not much on french fries but their's were really good and we had the club as well which was great!:thumbsup2

KatMark

05-24-2009, 12:26 PM

jgazda

05-26-2009, 11:54 AM

Sorry about your service at Plaza. We go every year and love the food. Service has been hit or miss...some of those people just don't seem to be happy to be there. Last year, we had Dot (I think this was her name). She has been there since Disney opened. She was very sweet.

Not sure if it was the heat because there were a lot of cranky people around, but I was just happy she came around eventually. THe food is great so we will definitely return.

jgazda

05-26-2009, 11:59 AM

Ok let’s get in our way back machines and flash back to November 2008. We had ADR’s for ‘Ohana one evening and we got there and checked in. They said they were very behind and we may have to wait 30 minutes. Not a big deal. We sit down and relax. My son (the boy who cries sick) says he isn’t feeling well. He probably tells me this 3 or 4 times a week so I never truly know when he’s really not sick or just nervous about something. I tell him to use the bathroom to see if that doesn’t help. He comes back and says he’s fine now. Great! He sees all the goings on in the restaurant and says he doesn’t want to eat there, he doesn’t like shrimp or turkey etc etc. Right after that we get seated and they bring out the salad and wontons. I am encouraging him to eat something maybe he is just hungry. No go. I’m getting a little frustrated with him and tell him (now this is where I win bad mom award) “You better be sick!” Seriously, not more than 30 seconds goes by and he gets up and right there in front of everyone… PUKE! :eek: I felt awful. ‘Ohana doesn’t do take out so they didn’t charge us for the meal and we left immediately to get him back to the hotel. As a result he learned to only say he is sick when he is REALLY sick and I will believe him when he says so.

Anyway, my husband got to try one piece of meat while I was dealing with the fiasco at hand and loved it so much he wanted to make sure we got to go there on our next trip. At the 90 day mark I called in and got the right day and right time. Ahhhh perfection. :woohoo:

Ok, now back to May 2009…

So we had just finished up lunch at The Plaza and it was almost 2. I don’t know about you but there was no way I was going to eat again in 3 hours, especially at ‘Ohana. We decided to go back to the pool to see if we could swim ourselves into an appetite but that didn’t work so we cancelled our ADR and went back to Turf Club at 7.

One thing I forgot to mention last time that I didn't want to forget this time was the bread and butter they brought out. THe bread was out of the oven hot and the butter was the perfect temperature so that you could easily spread it and it was served sprinkled with sea salt. Wowzer. Really complimentary to each other and could have eaten an entire loaf if I didn't already know about the potatoes that were coming...

I ordered the crab cakes as an appetizer this time and they were really good. Probably more of a bread taste than a crab taste which seems to be the norm but they were still quite good. My husband went with the buffalo chicken nuggets again since he loved them so much the first time.

Speaking of repeats, I once again ordered the steak crusted with crab meat and since I was ordering it again my husband ordered it as well. One bite and he knew why I had ordered it again. It’s really good! And the potatoes! Once again, YUM! Our server was delightful and made sure we never lacked anything.

For dessert we both ordered what the other had ordered the night before. I went with the lava cake and he went with the pound cake with strawberries. The lava cake is unbelievable and there is no reason to look at anything else on the menu if you like chocolate. The center was hot and oozing and the outside wasn’t too dry. Simply devine. My husband really enjoyed the pound cake as well.

Once again we really think this is a great place and hope that more people will give it a try. Just not on a night we’re trying to get in. :rotfl:

jgazda

05-26-2009, 01:42 PM

Had an early ADR (8:25) for 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. Having had just been there the day before we knew right where to go and to leave ourselves an hour of transportation time to get there. (Next time we are staying on the monorail!)

We arrived right on time and were given a pager probably for rule following purposes because no sooner did I turn my back and the thing went off. Handed it right back to her and we proceeded to have our picture taken and were than led in to the restaurant to be seated.

Alice was pretty much at the table waiting for us so we visited with her for a bit and then attacked the buffet. There was so much food you almost don’t know what to try first. I can distinctly remember chocolate croissants, fruit, cheesy eggs, breakfast pizza, bacon, sausage, lobster eggs benedict, cereal, waffles, strawberry soup and of course ice cream. There was MUCH more than that but I think at one point someone at our table had one of all of those things. My favorites were the strawberry soup, the lobster eggs benedict, and the breakfast pizza. The strawberry soup is so refreshing and wonderful without being too terribly sweet. Really really good. The lobster eggs benedict was also fantastic. It was server a little differently then when we had it at the Café. It seemed more like the lobster was in tiny chunks throughout instead of the big chunks we were served but don’t get me wrong it was still amazing. The breakfast pizza was also really good as well. The crust was a little chewy but I still really enjoyed it. My husband is a buffet guy so he made many a trip up there and ate to his hearts content and didn’t complain about a thing. He was a very happy man after the breakfast.

Our daughter ate very little with all the characters around but she did eat some eggs and bacon but most of all wanted cereal which they did have.

Our server was amazing! We loved her. She brought us new juice when we were only halfway done and when my daughter got her cereal she brought milk over without me even asking. She was truly something special.

The characters we saw were Alice, Mary Poppins, Mad Hatter, Tigger, and Pooh. Each of them were fantastic and when the Mad Hatter realized our daughter was nervous he slowly came over and talked to her a bit before approaching for a picture. We really love the job that the characters do.

I do have a picture of some of the food seen here: (and yes she is dressed as Alice)

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/julie_kohn_lopez/100_2059.jpg

We really can’t wait to return to this wonderful restaurant and eat again. I think next time we are going to try the dinner so we can see the stepsisters.

jgazda

05-27-2009, 01:18 PM

Because we had a buffet at breakfast we chose to take a late lunch at Le Cellier since my husband HAS to eat there once a trip. Since we already missed ‘Ohana there was no way I was going to have him miss that. We arrived at 1:00 and were seated almost immediately. Can’t remember which Provence we were but it was close to the front of the restaurant. Our server greeted us immediately and took our drink orders.

Since we were on deluxe we needed to pick out an appetizer. My son had gotten the soup back in November so I faintly recall the taste after trying a spoonful of his and reading everyone on here liking it so much I was drawn to it, but it was stinky hot out and wasn’t really in the mood for soup. Nothing else on the menu was really calling my name either so I ordered the soup and my husband did the same. Our waitress brought out the soup along with the fabulous bread and the Epcot shaped butter balls (so cute!) and I don’t know if it was the heat but the soup just did nothing for me. My husband devoured his and said he loved it so I’m sure it was just me.

For entrees I choose the filet mignon with the risotto since I’m a mushroom lover. Anybody want to take a stab at what my husband ordered? You got it, the cheeseburger! I ate almost every bite of mine. I just love this dish it is so divine. The steak is melt in your mouth delicious and compliments the risotto and the risotto is rich and creamy and full of mushrooms and compliments the steak. What a perfect marriage of flavors. My husband loved his cheeseburger as well. It was cooked just the way he asked for and was very flavorful.

My husband skipped on dessert as he wasn’t feeling well but I went with my usual, the “Moose”. I just think he is so cute and tasty I couldn’t pass it up. It was wonderful as always.

The little one had pizza, veggies and a sundae and ate the pizza and the sundae only. The veggies were barely cooked and too hard for her to enjoy.

Once again we had a great meal here and even though it can take some creative planning to get an ADR, we plan on returning each visit.

MelanieC

05-27-2009, 04:14 PM

Thanks for the reviews - Loving them so far :)

jgazda

05-27-2009, 04:53 PM

Thanks for the reviews - Loving them so far :)

Thank you! Remembering all the good food can be torture. :laughing: A few more to go...

jgazda

05-29-2009, 03:26 PM

Because this was a three-meal day, we had later reservations (7:30) for Nine Dragons. We rode Test Track right before and hauled it over there as quickly as we could and were 8 minutes late but the hosts were very nice and accommodating and seated us immediately. Our waitress came over and took our drink orders and returned right away with our drink orders.

I had seen a review once that showed the shrimp and taro lollipops and I knew I was getting that for an appetizer but my husband wasn’t sure. After looking over the menu he decided on the shrimp and chicken egg rolls. I know, way to be adventurous. I am not exaggerating when I say this, our appetizers were brought out 2 minutes after we ordered. Good thing we were hungry. The lollipops were so good. Very distinct shrimp taste and the sauce they are served with enhanced the flavors. Highly recommend this dish. The eggrolls were very good too. There were noticeable chunks of shrimp and chicken and the veggies all cooked perfectly so that all the different textures meshed well. We very much enjoyed both appetizers.

For our entrees we went with the honey sesame chicken since my husband has a SERIOUS weakness for sesame chicken and I chose the peppery shrimp with spinach noodles. The noodles were spinach noodles, bright green and had a slight hint of spinach flavor. The shrimp was cooked perfect and was in a peppery light sauce. Really tasty and flavorful. There were at least 8 to 10 large shrimp in there so they didn’t skimp at all. My husband loved his honey sesame chicken. Very sweet and the sauce was a nice thick consistency and went well with the chicken. There is nothing like it around here and I think he would hop on a plane right now to get some.

Our daughter had the combo plate which had both the sweet and sour chicken as well as the meatballs and lo mein. She ate quite a bit. I love the combo plate idea so the kids can try both dishes.

We were full but I had heard rumor of a dessert here that wasn’t on the allears menu that I just wouldn’t be able to pass up so I asked her waitress and she said they had it so both my husband and I ordered it. That’s right we each got our own. Banana Cheesecake Eggroll! Not only that it is served with vanilla ice cream drizzled with a caramel sauce. :worship: It’s like a little piece of heaven. I ate more than I should have just because I wanted to savor one more bite. The waitress practically had to pry it out if my hands. If I was a different person I would have licked that plate clean. Not saying the dinner wasn’t good, but I would go again just for that. Mmmmmmmmm.

Our server was fantastic and made sure we never went without drinks or condiments, however, it was really rushed. We had our appetizers within two minutes of ordering and our entrees were served before the appetizers were even finished. Slight pet peeve. Other than that minor thing it was great and we can’t wait to return.

Malibelle

05-30-2009, 12:33 AM

Great job on the trip report. Wow, you ate a Turf Club twice! I am really thinking of trying it when we go back in Sept. We own DVC at SSR but never ate there. The Plaza is another place I want to try for lunch.

My husband is a picky eater, no sauces, no cheese, no condements, everything dry like you sister. I have gotten him to try some things but it can be frustrating.

That is so funny about you husband and cheeseburgers!

Did you find the Deluxe dining was too much food? I am considering upgrading but I think it might be too much.

jgazda

05-30-2009, 11:22 AM

Thank you!

I was having the same dilemma, but since you pay for the number of nights but get to use them for the number of days we were able to space a lot of them out enough where there were only two days that we had three meals and even then we spaced those out a lot. The plaza was a nice light lunch (except for the ice cream ;))so it was a great meal for a three day plan.

We own at AKL but stayed at SSR because of the developer points and we really like it there, especially because of Turf Club. It was really wonderful, from the food to the view to the service, we had nothing to complain about. I'm sure they can take the sauce and whatever else for your husband so he'll eat. :goodvibes I keep trying to get my husband to broaden his horizons but he won't stray either. I have a review of Liberty Tree coming up and I'm sure it's no surprise he got a cheeseburger there as well. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but there is so much good food out there at Disney!

danalee

05-30-2009, 04:05 PM

Love your reviews, and your little one is a doll baby! :goodvibes

PiperGirlInWondrland

05-31-2009, 06:08 AM

That’s right we each got our own. Banana Cheesecake Eggroll! Not only that it is served with vanilla ice cream drizzled with a caramel sauce. :worship: It’s like a little piece of heaven.

Oh my goodness, I have never heard of this but I am SO getting this next trip :worship:

jgazda

06-02-2009, 12:23 AM

Love your reviews, and your little one is a doll baby! :goodvibes

Awww thanks. We think so too but we are really biased. :love:

Oh my goodness, I have never heard of this but I am SO getting this next trip :worship:

Seriously so amazing. It's so hard to describe how wonderful this thing is. We are making decisions for our trip in November and are going to return specifically to get that again. Wow...just wow.

jgazda

06-02-2009, 12:35 AM

We originally had 8:15 ADR's at Crystal Palace, but since it was our last day :sad2: we called and cancelled and ate at Artist Palette so we could make sure all of our stuff was packed and ready to go to bell services so we could enjoy one more day in the Magic Kingdom.

Both my husband and I ordered the bounty breakfast platter and that comes with eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, waffle, and a biscuit. My husband is a big eater and was able to polish this off on his own, I split mine with our daughter and we both had plenty to eat. It is a BIG breakfast. And with the dining plan you get two juices so it was perfect. Everything tasted good, the waffles are the same everywhere and the bacon and sausage seem not to differ much either. The eggs weren't as tasty as the ones at 'Ohana but they were fine. Potatoes were good too. Definitely a good counter service breakfast and we would happily return there if we stay at SSR again.

My only issue with this place is every time we have eaten there we have waited in a line 15 minutes long to get food and then 5 more minutes to pay. Now I know that SSR is a big resort, it's just when you aren't a morning person and you are hungry...well it's not a good thing. Everyone has always been very nice and the food is good so it is worth it in the end.

jgazda

06-02-2009, 05:00 PM

We had late lunch ADR’s (2:15) at Liberty Tree so we could have one last meal before we boarded that dreary ME bus back to Orlando Airport to go home. We arrived right on time and were seated within 10 minutes. I love the cozy feeling you get in this place with the creaky wood floors. It feels like my grandparents house used to feel. Our server greeted us almost immediately and was a very nice man. (he gave us a special treat to take home…stay tuned!) He brought back our drinks within a couple minutes.

For an appetizer I ordered the declaration salad with the buttermilk dressing and it was super tasty. Very fresh and crisp and wonderful. My husband went with the clam chowder. Anytime it is available there is a 90% chance that he will order it and he didn’t disappoint. He really enjoyed it and finished every last spoonful.

I was having such a hard time deciding what to order. Last time we were here I had the pot roast and it was really fantastic but I wanted to try something new. Be adventurous. I was almost decided on the vegetarian pot pie until the server came over and explained what the fresh catch was that day, grilled salmon on top of a corn and potato mash cake served with vegetables. Ok twist my arm! I got that and I was so happy I did because it was such a wonderful dish. The salmon was cooked perfectly, couldn’t have asked for better. The potato cake was similar to mashed potatoes with corn throughout and it was really good. I think there were green beans on the plate but I was too busy with the salmon and potatoes to even notice. Sorry. The hubby went with the cheeseburger, as usual and he was very pleased with his choice. He finished the entire thing so it must have been great. Our daughter had the macaroni and cheese with fries. She ate fairly well. She was tired and ready for a nap so she wasn’t overly hungry. We made a comment to our server that she never eats this well at home (she truly doesn’t) and that it must be the plates so he came back and gave us a clean one to take home. Our little bit of pixie dust right before we left! pixiedust:

We were too full for dessert at the time so we took two orders of the ooey gooey toffee cake to go and ate them on the plane. I love this dessert. It’s like eating a skor bar but in a cake fashion. Really good!

Everything about this meal was great, from the service to the food. What a great way to end a trip to Disney. And right after we paid the bill and left we caught the end of the parade. Even more magic. :wizard:

jgazda

06-02-2009, 05:07 PM

Now that that's done...it's time to plan ADR's for our next trip! :cool1:

So far the places that we really want to try are:

'Ohana dinner (finally!)
Teppan Edo
Crystal Palace
1900 Park Fare Dinner
Garden Grill
Tusker House

We are open to more suggestions and would love recommendations on your favorite places. We have discovered a new love for sushi and would be very happy to hear what's out there as far as that goes.

Thanks for reading. :surfweb: We'll be back in November for another go at it, and this time I promise to have food porn! :thumbsup2

copperbrick

06-07-2009, 09:41 PM

Great job!

Montana Minnies

06-26-2009, 10:31 PM

Thanks for your review on Sanna.
We will be on the Deluxe Dining Plan when we go. Is Sanna a Signature Restaurant?
I would like to try it as I have read many good reviews on it.:)

Montana Minnies

Never mind I found out it is a table service restaurant

BlueBayou

09-16-2009, 02:50 AM

Great dinning report.

It is nice see you being flexible with your ADRs. One thing that I fear about our upcoming trip is that we will feel trapped by our ADRs.

jgazda

09-16-2009, 11:39 AM

Great dinning report.

It is nice see you being flexible with your ADRs. One thing that I fear about our upcoming trip is that we will feel trapped by our ADRs.

Thanks!

One thing I learned from that trip was to make an ADR of where we were going to be. If we want to have a MK day, then eat at a MK restaurant. I have all of my ADR's for November planned that way so we'll see if that goes any better. I felt like time could have been saved had we done that. If we get the opportunity to go without kids then it won't matter as much but for a princess in training who wants to see characters and ride rides, time was precious. For my november trip my biggest fear is being targeted as a line jumper since my daughter has just gotten the grasp of potty training but waits till the last minute. Fun fun!!