Graduation Trip/6 Days Deluxe Dining w/ Pics & a few Videos too!*UPDATE:Sci-Fi*

[aggiegirl1234]

Hello fellow DISers! Just back from my graduation trip! Yes, post Disney depression set in about 12 hours after our plane landed But it was a great trip, and unlike previous failed attempts, I managed to take pictures (and a few videos) of everything we ate! I felt like I owed it to the boards since I spent hours here researching and figuring out my ADRs (which I changed about 50 times btw ). So here's the lineup of restaurants up for review:

The Crystal Palace
California Grill
Coral Reef
Teppan Edo
Yak & Yeti
Narcoosee's
Liberty Tree Tavern
The Wave
Sci-Fi Dine-In
Hollywood Brown Derby
Ohana's
Chefs de France

And snacks from: Main Street Bakery, Kringla in Norway, Kusafiri Bakery, Drinkwallah, Contempo Cafe, UK and Japan pavilions, BVG at the CR

So who's doing the reviewing?

Me! I'm Shelley, I just received my master's in accounting and will be starting work next month, so I HAD to get in one more trip to DW. This was my 6th trip there and 1st time using the Deluxe DP. I was really excited about it because it allowed us to experience some of their Signature restaurants.

And DBF! Well, he won't actually be writing any reviews, but he'll be indirectly reviewing through me, or at least what I remember him commenting about things He's still in school, a nuclear engineering major, and this was his 3rd trip to DW (but first that he was old enough to remember). I think he's probably what people would call a "foodie" and was really looking forward to the World Showcase restaurants we'd be trying.

So what's to come? Reviews, pics, videos! What did we absolutely love? What was the best appetizer, entree, and dessert? What one restaurant were we disappointed with? Who was our "celebrity sighting"? Stay tuned to find out

 

[catne]

patiently waiting...OK, not so patient.

Bring on the photos

Living vicariously through dining reports...

And congrats on the Masters

 

[PixieDustandEeyore]

Cannot wait to read your reviews I just graduated myself can't wait to hear how you celebrated!

 

[MarieA]

Looking forward to your reviews!!!!

 

[aggiegirl1234]

I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but the CP was a madhouse when we got there. There was a line just to check-in, and it was hot! I saw at least two people waiting in line ahead of us get turned away because they didn't have ADRs and I felt pretty bad for them. Maybe they could put signs out front alerting that there is no availability for walk-ins so that they don't wait in line for 20 minutes for nothing

Anywho, we got there early and were seated just around the time of our reservation. However, it took the CM quite awhile to get to our table for our drink orders, and we were hungry and just wanted to grab some food! She finally came, took our orders, and named all the characters that would stop by our table for pictures. As crazy as it was outside, it was just as crazy inside! I'm talking loud, and kids running around everywhere. If I weren't just a big kid myself, this might have bothered me, but I thought it was a really fun atmosphere! Now onto the food!

My first course! The Mac & Cheese was creamy and perfect! The chicken was well seasoned and not too fatty. The salad was salad And the pasta...no idea what it was but if you see it, eat it! A little spicy, but delicious!

DBF's first course. He actually likes broccoli He said everything was very tasty. Then he went back for seconds and got the exact same thing!

My second course+dessert. You can tell what I liked best from the first course. DBF got the same desserts btw. The lemon square was delish and the chocolate mess was good too (would have been much better if they left out the coconut).

Tigger! I was pretty bummed that he was the only character to make it to our table even though we were there for almost two hours waiting.

Overall: We both liked it and would go again. Next time I might make a really strange ADR time to avoid some of the craziness. The food was good, the selection probably bordered on the "limited" side. We didn't get much attention from our CM or characters, but both seemed WAY overworked, so that's okay.

Peanut butter and chocolate fudge from Main Street Confectionary! It was fudgey perfection. DBF also got a HUGE cinnamon roll from Main Street Bakery, which surprisingly was one snack credit. He said it was great and ate it before I was able to snap a picture He also got a frozen lemonade from a cart in Fontierland, became addicted, and subsequently got one every day after that (I'll have a pic soon from our AK day).

Next up, California Grill and a celebrity sighting! Thanks for reading y'all!

 

[catne]

2 hours at CP and only one character

Suggestion-try CP for breakfast before the park opens...we just did an 8:05 on a Saturday (May 22) and no crowds, no noise, and all the characters had plenty of time to visit every table. And bonus, good breakfast, too.

 

[onelilspark]

Joining in!

 

[Gouden Leeuw]

Great review so far! Cant wait for more.

 

[aggiegirl1234]

Well, my plan for the first night was to head back to our room at CR, get ready, check-in for our 9:25 ADR about 30 minutes early, head to the 15th floor observation deck and watch Wishes before dinner. Didn't actually work out that way. I was on the phone going on about the great half day at MK and how little crowds there were blah blah blah and the next thing I know it's 9:10 Oh well! I was also planning on watching Wishes from Narcoosee's the following Sunday and on our full MK day. Three Wishes in one trip is probably excessive anyway.

So, we go to check in around 9:15 and head up to the 15th floor. The first thing I noticed was the noise and the crowd. Wow. Probably noticing that there wasn't any room at the bar (or anywhere else for that matter), the host suggested we go out on the observation deck to look at the castle, even though Wishes was over, it was still a great view. Gosh was he right.

After we'd stood outside for about 15 minutes, we decided to come back in and try to find a chair. And we were in luck! Then we sat and waited about 15 more minutes. Hmmm, loud, crowded, and quite a long wait. Oh well! We didn't have anywhere else to be!

And finally the buzzer went off. We walked past a couple whom we had been sitting by and I had noticed for whatever reason. As soon as the host seated us he started to look really excited and said, "Do you know who that was?!" Of course we didn't really know because it was Prince Edward and his wife Sophie. Of course after dinner I immediately looked them up on Wikipedia to see what rank in line to the throne he was...and exactly who he was Queen Elizabeth II's son, Prince Charles' brother, and 7th in line FYI. How cool! Now onto the food!

One of the four Shirley Temples the waiter brought me. He was great, but a little too attentive (I hadn't even finished the first three). And when I asked for water, he brought me two glasses. So six glasses total. I mean, I guess too much is better than too little The bread was really good, especially with the sea salted butter. DBF just loved the sea salt. I think it's a great touch too.

I ordered the Malibu Roll. How on earth this is considered an appetizer is beyond me. I could only eat half, and that was pushing it. It was really good though. Different than any sushi I've tried. I thought the dish was also presented very well, and even the sesame seaweed salad was tasty!

DBF had the Yellowfin Tuna Three Ways. He thought it was kind of strange, very interestingly prepared, but good. He also couldn't finish his.

We both got the Oak Fired Filet and OH MY GOSH, we both agreed it was the best filet we'd ever had. The teriyaki sauce was a little sweet, but definitely not overpowering, and it really added something to the dish. The meat itself was perfectly cooked, and tender. It wasn't like biting through meat...more like biting through butter. Ew. Not like eating butter though. Y'all get what I mean. The only problem was with DBF's cut; it seemed to have a small blood clot toward the center. Strange because everything else was perfect. He didn't care though because otherwise it was the best filet ever!

For dessert, DBF got Valrhona chocolate cake with a molten center. He thought it was good, but I wasn't overly thrilled. It was kind of dry, and I'm not really sure how a molten cake can be dry. Oh well, the ice cream it came with was good.

By this point, I was stuffed so I got my dessert to go. This one isn't on the menu. Apparently it's the only dessert the chef will allow to be boxed to go because nothing else keeps very well. It was pretty tasty two days later when I was hungry enough to eat it. Just a simple fudge chocolate cake drizzled with caramel and raspberry sauce.

Overall: DBF and I would definitely go back. I would probably make the ADR earlier in the day, share an appetizer, and probably not do dessert. The waiter was very attentive, the food was close to perfection, and the presentation was lovely. It was loud, crowded, and the wait time stunk even with reservations (probably because it gets backed up when people want to hang around for Wishes ), but the food and service completely made up for it!

Up next is day two and dining at EPCOT!

 

[letstalkboutdisney]

I'm in! Great start! Your pictures are great!

 

[SweetMommy]

Totally subbing! You have 2 great reviews already and I'm interested in the rest My family is dining at a few of the same places in August so I am trying to see everyone's opinions of these places since a lot of them our new to us. We are doing Crystal Palace for dinner and Cali Grill for the first time so your reviews showed me some new stuff

 

[aggiegirl1234]

Welcome and thanks for the compliments and encouragement everybody (it's my first food report so I'm hoping that I'm doing it correctly)!

Cannot wait to read your reviews I just graduated myself can't wait to hear how you celebrated!

Congrats! Doesn't it feel great to finally be done with school

2 hours at CP and only one character

Suggestion-try CP for breakfast before the park opens...we just did an 8:05 on a Saturday (May 22) and no crowds, no noise, and all the characters had plenty of time to visit every table. And bonus, good breakfast, too.

That's a great tip! The same thought actually ran through my head while we were sitting there, I wondered if breakfast would have been a better choice but I had no idea. We'll have to try that next time!

Totally subbing! You have 2 great reviews already and I'm interested in the rest My family is dining at a few of the same places in August so I am trying to see everyone's opinions of these places since a lot of them our new to us. We are doing Crystal Palace for dinner and Cali Grill for the first time so your reviews showed me some new stuff

Thanks! Most of the restaurants we tried this trip were actually new to DBF and me, but I used other people's reviews to gauge how well we might like them. I hope mine can help now too!

 

[aggiegirl1234]

Not sure if I mentioned this earlier, but most of the restaurants we tried this trip were new to DBF and me. However, I had already been to Coral Reef once, on my last trip over Christmas in 2008. I remembered liking it then, so I decided to put us down for it again this trip. We had a later ADR, around 2PM, showed up 20 minutes early and were seated within 5 minutes. This actually happened at several restaurants on our trip, so that was great

Our server was really nice, but like the server at CP seemed a bit overworked (poor guy) and was on the slowish side. Oh! And our table...I was hoping since it was just the two of us we might get a seat in front of the tank. Nope! We were seated in the next to farthest row of tables away from it. I wasn't too bummed though because of how they arrange it; we're at least higher up than the other tables and still had a great view of the tank. And the tank! We saw sharks, rays, giant sea turtles, and a cool scuba diver who was interacting with guests at the tables (so cool! I hadn't seen this the first time I visited the restaurant). He had them hold up their menus and was pointing at what they should get to eat

Oh and the restaurant itself was lovely. I really love the atmosphere with all of the blues. DBF said he could take a nap there, and I think they did a great job making it feel like you're under the water. The noise level wasn't too bad either. I think people were mostly just munching and watching the tank Now onto the food!

I had the creamy lobster soup! Yum! I'm a soup fan and let me tell you, this one was good. Boy was it creamy and the little lobster pieces were nice and soft (I can't stand chewy pieces). I slurped this up pretty fast

DBF had the crab cakes. He said they were some of the best he'd ever had and kept trying to make me try some (when he does this, you know he seriously enjoys it). He didn't care for the mess in the middle though You can also just see the bread at the top of the picture. Sorry I forgot to get a full picture of it. This might have been the one batch of bread without sea salt...which kind of disappointed us. Oh well!

For the entree, I had the seared chicken. Again, yum! It's crust was especially tasty because it had bacon. The chicken itself wasn't dry either, which is a feat in and of itself because I feel like chicken is just inherently dry. The little spaetzle things were funny tasting though.

Pretty sure DBF got the Tilapia. I thought it was presented well and he said it was good (didn't rave about it or anything, but said it was good).

For dessert I had the Bailey's and Jack Daniels Mousse. That thin top layer of chocolate and the chocolate straw were the best thing about it. If you're a chocoholic like me, that alone will be enough to satisfy you. The middle layer was "eh", and by that time I was questioning the "*contains alcohol" warning. When I got to the bottom layer it hit me That's where it all went. Yuck, what a waste of good chocolate! But I'd still say the rest was worth it.

DBF got the Chocolate Wave for dessert. He liked it well enough I suppose, but I thought it was a little dry and "blah".

Overall: We would definitely both go back. The service was a little slow, but the waiter was so nice, the food was so good, and the atmosphere was great, so I didn't mind waiting around at all! And, I award best appetizer to the Creamy Lobster Soup! The Malibu Roll at Cali Grill the night before was good, but just too darn filling to be an appetizer in my opinion. Not only was the lobster soup yummy, but it wasn't so filling that I couldn't finish the rest of my meal, and it even made me a little more hungry for my entree to come, if that makes any sense.

And as an added bonus

The Cloudberry Horn from Kringla Bakery in Norway. DBF actually got this prior to lunch as a snack. We both thought it was very tasty. I especially liked the large granules of sugar coating it, although we both though the amount of cream inside was a little much.

Thanks for reading everybody! Up next, Teppan Edo!

 

[onelilspark]

California Grill & Coral Reef are two restaurants I've written off as not being bad but being "not as good as they could be." I've been seeing a lot of great reviews lately, and yours just put them back into the rotation!

 

[aggiegirl1234]

California Grill & Coral Reef are two restaurants I've written off as not being bad but being "not as good as they could be." I've been seeing a lot of great reviews lately, and yours just put them back into the rotation!

Thanks! I had read some "iffy" reviews but some good ones too, and based on my past experience with Coral Reef I definitely wanted to give it another go. I agree that there are certain things that definitely could be better with both but we must have gone at just the right time and ordered just the right things because overall we really enjoyed them!

 

[SweetMommy]

The chicken dish from Coral Reef is probably what I will be having when we go and glad to hear it wasn't dry. I might just have to go w/ the creamy lobster soup as well.

 

[aggiegirl1234]

Menu

So this restaurant was on the list just because DBF loves Japanese food. It wouldn't have been my pick, and honestly it was the restaurant I was least looking forward to. I had looked at the menus and seen the food pictures on the boards and it just seemed pretty boring. "Chicken." "Beef." "Beef and chicken." Well, it turned out to be one of my favorite meals! The waitresses were SO nice and polite, the atmosphere of the restaurant was just cool (if you like sushi bar/hibachi style restaurants), and the chef was very talented.

We actually were seated with two other families who were nice, but I noticed some women (who were seated together but not in the same group) at the table next to us getting into an argument I missed what it was about, but I guess that's a hazard of seating strangers together. Other than that, the meal was very pleasant and fun.

I had some Miso Soup while the chef prepared the entrees. It was pretty much your average miso...minus tofu cubes but with these two big soppy cruton things (sort of strange actually) that I ate before I took the pic. Sorry! You can see the three dipping sauces in the picture also. Um, DBF said the farthest two were good. I thought they were sort of watery and I only used the ranch for my chicken

Loved the onion volcano!

DBF got the beef and chicken and gobbled it right up. It was also served with noodles. The other dish was his appetizer that was SO good. It was steak wrapped around green onions, and it came with hickory smoked sea salt. I cannot even begin to explain how flavorful it was. Yum! I got the same thing, just minus the beef. It was just the right amount and so yummy with ranch. The noodles were very tasty too, and I think they had sesame seeds sprinkled over them.

DBF had the Chocolate Ginger Cake for dessert and was pleasantly surprised by it. I had the soft serve...no picture needed there. Just your basic vanilla/chocolate swirl. A nice ending to the meal, not very filling at all!

Overall: We definitely will be returning to Teppan Edo. Both of us considered it to be one of our favorite meals. It was so different from anything else in the park, the service was outstanding, the meal preparation was fun and entertaining, the food was quite yummy and well portioned, the atmosphere was lovely. I really can't find any negatives!

Thanks for reading y'all. Up next, some AK snacks and the Yak & Yeti!

 

[aggiegirl1234]

The chicken dish from Coral Reef is probably what I will be having when we go and glad to hear it wasn't dry. I might just have to go w/ the creamy lobster soup as well.

Go for it!

 

[PixieDustandEeyore]

loving your TR...and my mother said to say you spell Shelley the correct way

I wanted to do Teppan Edo but since im anaphalactic to mushrooms my food would be cooked on a separate grill and that just would not be as fun for me!

 

[aggiegirl1234]

loving your TR...and my mother said to say you spell Shelley the correct way

I wanted to do Teppan Edo but since im anaphalactic to mushrooms my food would be cooked on a separate grill and that just would not be as fun for me!

Thanks! And I always say that I spell it the correct way! And the more symmetrical way! That's too bad about the mushrooms. It probably wouldn't be as fun with your food being cooked away from the table, but you could still see all your neighbors' food being cooked, and you'd still get the onion volcano! Or you could try Tokyo Dining for more Japanese food, it's pretty good too!