12 Days of Deliciousness...5/29 Mara and Sunshine Seasons

[bellebookworm9]

Hey everybody! We're currently down here now, but this probably won't be a live report. We're renting DVC points, and our KTTW cards say DVC member, but I'm not sure if the internet is free, and if it's not, I don't want to pay for it everyday. Anyway, we just arrived at Kidani Village last night. For our first two days adventures, click on my PTR link at the bottom of the page; I've updated that. Let the deliciousness begin!

Mara Dinner
Crystal Palace Breakfast
Columbia Harbour House, Aloha Isle, Casey's Corner
Frosty the Joe Man, Ohana Dinner
Studio Catering Co, Ice Cream Stand, Johari Treasures
Mara, Candy Cauldron, Wolfgang Puck Express, Ghirardelli, Goofy's Candy Co, and Earl of Sandwich
Le Cellier, Espresso Coffee & Pastries, Kaki Gori, Kringla Bakeri and Promenade Refreshments
Drinkwallah, Dino Bite Snacks, Maji Pool Bar
Liberty Tree Tavern, Cosmic Ray's, The Lunching Pad
50's Prime Time Cafe, Fantasmic Cart
Boma
Mara and Sunshine Seasons (Lunch & Dinner)

 

[bellebookworm9]

Okay, so we walked from Kidani over to Jambo House for dinner at Mara. Not too bad of a walk. We decided to get African Stew & Zebra Domes, as well as a refillable mug for both of us to share-though it's mostly mine. We are only familiar with the All Stars and their ordering systems so didn't realize there is a central line. Once we were directed where to go, they gave us a pager and it was only a few minutes before our food was ready. To drink, we got the Gold Peak White Tea with Citrus. It was DELICIOUS, as was the rest of the meal.

I now understand the hype about zebra domes. They were AMAZING. Our only complaint was that the stew was a smaller portion than expected, considering we shared. But we ate the bread bowl too and that helped to fill us up.

African Stew: $7.89
Zebra Domes: $3.69
Refillable Mug: $13.49
TOTAL: $26.71

Service: 4/5
Quality: 5/5
Quantity: 4/5
Economic Cost: 3/5
Overall Grade: 4/5

 

[KatMark]

I'm in.

 

[Gouden Leeuw]

looks yummy!!!!! cant wait for more!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

subscribing, love the zebra domes too. Booked AK lodge for Boma next year but Mara food looks good for quick service too.

 

[bluejasmine]

Yummy!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Mara looks yummy! Can't wait to read more.

 

[bellebookworm9]

I'm in.

looks yummy!!!!! cant wait for more!

Everything was delicious!

subscribing, love the zebra domes too. Booked AK lodge for Boma next year but Mara food looks good for quick service too.

The Mara was excellent. We'll be eating there again in the next week, once for breakfast & once for dinner.

Yummy!

We still haven't had a bad meal!

Mara looks yummy! Can't wait to read more.

It was great!

I'll be updating later this evening with photos from Crystal Palace breakfast, Columbia Harbour House, and Ohana, and either Backlot Express or Studios Catering Co., since I'm not sure where I'm eating lunch today.. I'll be putting up reviews-no pics- from Casey's Corner and Snowless Joe's Coffee Shack.

 

[bellebookworm9]

Tuesday morning we had an 8:05am ADR at Crystal Palace. We were the second family into the park, and we stopped to take Photopass pictures. When we got to Crystal Palace there was about a 3 minute wait to check in, and maybe a 2 minute wait to be seated. Our server was Amir and he was fantastic. Here are our plates:

My plate going clockwise: Mickey waffle, Donut Hole, Pooh's Puffed French Toast, Biscuit, Bacon.

Mom's plate going clockwise: Scrambled eggs, mickey waffle, pooh's french toast, breakfast pizza, cinnamon roll. She also had a bowl of Pooh's Peach Casserole.

We also shared a plate of fresh fruit-it had strawberries, watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe, and honey dew.

The characters were also fantastic. I got pics and autographs from them all. Tigger was such a flirt; he kissed me and posed us like we were dancing. Eeyore looked sad, like always, but he was so adorable.

Mom and I are celebrating the midway point between our birthdays, so they brought us cupcakes and cards signed by all the characters, and Amir took our picture.

Exterior panoramic shot:

Interior Shot:

2 Breakfasts @ $20.99 = $41.98
TOTAL (includes tax & tip): $49.71

Service: 4/5
Quality: 5/5
Quantity: 5/5
Economic Cost: 4.5/5
Overall Grade: 4.62/5

 

[bellebookworm9]

Tuesday evening we had dinner at Columbia Harbour House. According to our recepit we ate at 4:08pm. We shared the Anchors Away (Tuna fish) Sandwich. The receipt says it comes with chips, but we didn't get any. The sandwich was HUGE! It was very finely chopped tuna with celery bits in it, with lettuce & tomato. It came on toasted multi grain bread. We thought it was very yummy.

Interior Shot:

View of Fantasyland:

Anchors Away Sandwich: $8.09
TOTAL COST: $8.61

Service: 4/5
Quality: 4.5/5
Quantity: 4.5/5
Economic Cost: 4/5
Overall Grade: 4.25/5

We got a Dole Whip float about 45 minutes later.

It was light and refreshing and we both enjoyed it.

While waiting for Wishes I got corn dog nuggets from Casey's Corner but I don't have a picture. They were good and there were a lot of them.

TOTAL COST: $4.47

TOTAL COST: $4.25

 

[bellebookworm9]

Wednesday morning we went to Blizzard Beach. At 1:22 on our way out of the park we stopped at Frosty the Joeman's Coffee Shop. We got a mango smoothie and a giant sprinkle cookie to share. Both were very good, but again no pictures.

Cookie: $3.00
Medium Smoothie: $5.25

TOTAL:$8.25

For dinner we went to Ohana. Our ADR was at 5:00. We checked in about 10 minutes early. The line was sort of long. They gave us a buzzer and we looked in some of the shops. It wasn't too long before we were seated. Bill from Pennsylvania sat us, and Samantha from Chicago was our server.

I didn't take pictures of the food for the most part, because everyone knows what it looks like.

Pineapple Bread: We thought this was amazing and we ate almost the whole loaf.

Salad: We loved this. The dressing was good, and there was a lot of green lettuce, no iceberg.

Potstickers & Lo Mein: Delicious! They were out of this world!!

Chicken Wings: Just okay, but we're from Buffalo so we're picky about our wings!

The meats: We thought they were dry but flavorful. Mom's favorite was the shrimp and mine was the steak. We both thought the turkey & pork loin were just okay.

Stir Fry Vegetables: I didn't really care for these.

Bread Pudding: Mom LOVED this. I thought it was good, but not fantastic. I'm also not a fan of bananas foster.

Before:

After:

They also brought us cupcakes (bigger than the ones from Crystal Palace):

Our view out the window-the castle is in the distance:

Coconut races-we were right on the aisle:

2 Dinners @ $30.99 = $66.01
TOTAL COST w. tax & tip :$77.01

Service: 5/5
Quality: 4/5
Quantity: 5/5
Economic Cost: 3/5
Overall Grade: 4.25/5

 

[KatMark]

Great updates. We love CP--it is a must do for us each trip (love that puffed french toast).

 

[bellebookworm9]

Today we went to Hollywood Studios. We ate lunch at Studio Catering Co. at 12:26pm. We had no issues finding a table. Our choice off the menu was the grilled vegetable sandwich with apple slices (I also thought the buffalo chicken sandwich looked good), a bottle of water, a Coke, and a marble cheesecake.

The sandwich was very good. I was expecting much worse, especially because DHS is not known for it's food, but it surprised me. The apple slices tasted chemicalized. The cheesecake was great for being prepackaged!

We had a view of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground.

Regular Coke $2.19
Bottled Water $2.50
Cheesecake $3.59
Veggie Sandwich $8.39
TOTAL $17.60

Service: 5/5
Quality: 5/5
Quantity: 4.5/5
Economic Cost: 3/5
Overall Grade: 4.38/5

We also bought an Edy's Strawberry Bar for $3.25 as we left the park. It was cool and refreshing-it even had chunks of strawberry!

From our resort gift shop I bought two Minnie's bake shop cookies in White Chocolate Raspberry and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. They were $3.25 each and completely worth it-HUGE and DELICIOUS.

I also bought a bag of Chip & Dales Mickey head cheese crackers and those are good as well. They were $3.50.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Joining in!

I graduated from Geneseo, DH works in buffalo!

 

[butiflfeet]

Great reviews so far!

 

[disneymomof1]

Love your reviews so far, everything looks great.
Love the Tuna Sandwich from CHH, I so would love that right now !!!

Keep the reviews coming !!!

 

[jenbear123]

Oh my goodness. I didn't even know you had started a dining review thread too! I'm all caught up and along for the ride

Great reviews so far! So glad you tried a Dole Whip Float!

 

[Cookie Princess]

Add me to the list!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Friday we went to Downtown Disney, but first we had breakfast at Mara. We got the Breakfast Bounty Platter (scrambled eggs, Mickey waffle, potatoes, bacon, sausage, biscuit), a fruit cup, a bottle of apple juice, and a bottle of water. The platter was more than enough to feed us both. Everything was great! I had a bite of the eggs because I'm normally not an egg person, but mom said they were out of this world, so I had to try them. She was right, they were really good. The fruit was really fresh, the sausage was huge, the biscuit was soft and delicious. The apple juice was also very large. Unfortunately, in our hunger, I forgot to take a picture.

Bounty Platter: $8.29
Water: $2.50
Apple Juice: $2.59
Fruit Cup: $3.39
TOTAL: $17.70

Service: 5/5
Quantity: 5/5
Quality: 5/5
Value: 4.5/5
Overall Grade: 4.88/5

We stopped at Candy Cauldron to get some chocolate covered strawberries. Two milk chocolate dipped, and one milk chocolate dipped drizzled with white. (Mom had already eaten one because her blood sugar was dropping).

Because mom wasn't feeling well, we next headed over to Wolfgang Puck Express. We ordered a Margherita Pizza, a small coke, and a bottle of water. This pizza was gigantic. It was literally more than a foot in diameter and soooo yummy. Here's a picture. (Sorry that 1/2 of it is gone, my camera wasn't cooperating when it was first dropped off). This was at 1:07pm.

Pizza: $10
Bottle of Water: $3.00
Small Pop: $2.65
TOTAL: $16.67

Service: 5/5
Quality: 5/5
Quantity: 6/5
Value: 4/5
Overall Grade: 5/5

Later (4:57pm) we headed to Ghirardelli for a Very Berry Sundae. This is the description from allears: Very Berry Sundae - strawberry cheesecake ice cream smothered with sliced strawberries under a layer of vanilla ice cream with blueberry topping, whipped cream, our chocolate-covered blueberries and a chocolate dipped waffle roll $7.95 This was huge and delicious. We polished it off in no time.

Total cost was $8.47

Next on our list was Goofy's Candy Co. I love this sign, made out of Jelly Beans.

We were also very intrigued with the giant Mickey & Minnie rice crispy heads. They could be yours for just $49.95 per head.

I got the pretzel rods. All three are dipped in milk chocolate and drizzled in white chocolate. From top to bottom they were also dipped in Mini M&Ms, Reese's Pieces, and Butterfinger.

Mom chose the rice crispy treat dipped in milk chocolate & mini m&ms, then drizzled in white chocolate.

Pretzel Rods: $5.95
Crispy Treat: $3.95
Total Cost: $10.55

Our final stop for the evening was Earl of Sandwich, which we would take back to the room for later. We decided on The Original 1762 (roast beef, melted cheddar, and horseradish sauce) with a side of coleslaw. Everything was delicious. The roast beef was obviously fresh, and even an hour later, the sandwich was still warm!

Sandwich: $5.99
Cole Slaw: $1.59
Total Cost: $8.08

Service: 4/5
Quantity: 5/5
Quality: 5/5
Value: 5/5
Overall Grade: 4.75/5

 

[bellebookworm9]

Saturday saw us to Epcot. I had secured our coveted Le Cellier ADR months in advance for 12:55pm. We arrived a few minutes early and were seated right on time at a table for four near the entry way. Our waitress was Dana from Manitoba; she was very friendly and provided excellent service. We chose the prixe fixe menu: the cheddar cheese soup, shaved prime rib sandwich, and maple creme brulee. We found the soup to be strong and a bit salty; however when the breadsticks were dipped in it, it was fine (the breadsticks were great!).

Our sandwich was amazing. It was cut in half for us and it was so very fresh. Mom just kept saying "Mmmmmm". We couldn't finish the whole thing, it was so large. It was served with a side of potato salad and a pickle. Mom liked the potato salad; I didn't really care for it, but I also don't really like red peppers, and they were prominent in the dish.

Our dessert, the maple creme brulee, was very good as well. I always thought this was a dish that was supposed to be warm, but on the two occasions I've had it, it's been cold both times. No matter, it was amazing! The strawberries were very sweet and juicy.

Coke: $2.69
Adult Meal: $28.99
Total Cost: $39.74

Service: 5/5
Quality: 5/5
Quantity: 5/5
Value: 3.5/5
Overall grade: 4.63/5

Later in the afternoon we stopped for a Kaki Gori from Japan.

Mom thought the honeydew was the most flavorful while I thought it was the strawberry. The tangerine was sort of blah.

Total Cost: $3.50

I also stopped for a cheese danish and a bottle of water. The danish was extremely large and had hints of cinnamon and banana in it.

Total Cost: $5.50

For dinner we stopped at Kringla Bakeri. We ordered a ham, cheese, and apple sandwich to share and it was very good, if a little different.

We also got a school bread and a sweet pretzel for later. We both loved the school bread. Mom enjoyed the pretzel, I did not.

Wter: $2.50
Sandwich: $6.89
Pretzel: $4.29
School Bread: $1.99
Total Cost: $16.53

Lastly, I got a salted pretzel with cheese dip and a frozen lemonade while waiting for IllumiNations. The pretzel was very good and the lemonade hit the spot.

Total cost: $9.04