Greetings From England – The Brits Are Back!! **COMPLETED 07/05**

[Linda67]

Cool, I'm all caught up now.

So sorry that your Le Cellier dinner was a disaster! I had the salmon in March and really enjoyed it, but if it had been cold and overcooked I certainly would have felt the same way.

And I found the waffles at Roaring Fork completely delicious! We tried every kind except the chocolate one, and the strawberry-orange waffles were heavenly.

Really happy to have your reading along, I love your reviews
Mmmm ......... strawberry-orange waffles, I've just had oatmeal for breakfast and it's just not quite the same

The atmosphere at Narcoosees is wonderful, but DBF and I were also both disappointed in our meals too. (We both had the Surf and Turf.) Sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy all of your meal either

We had a lovely evening at Narcoossees and it wasn't that the meal was 'bad' but more a combination of perhaps not ordering the right thing for our tastes and there needs to be a little more attention to detail on the side dishes

Am glad you enjoyed Narcoosee's but it's a shame it did not have the wow factor. I have to say though DHs appetiser and dessert look yummy!

Oh he loved that crab cake, I really can't remember why I didn't try it

Too bad Narcoosee's wasn't as spectacular as it should have been. Your desserts do look very pretty though!

Yep they sure were pretty, just the way desserts should be

You are not the only one to say that the Duchess potatoes were dry. I just read a trip report earlier concerning CRT. They served Duchess Potatoes as well, and the entire serving of potatoes could be lifted from the plate with a fork. Hmmm, I'm not a cook but I'm wondering if they were left out to long.

Great trip report!!

DH did the exact same thing! he picked up the entire serving on his fork and suggested he eat it like a mickey bar!
I gave him a gentle kick under the table

Wow, I've never seen any 100% positive comments about the Narcoossee's lobster or surf n' turf. You'd think for a plate that costs almost $60 that they would really get it right. I like Narcoossee's, but I'll probably stick to the crab-crusted halibut/flounder/mahi mahi.

And I agree with you that the almond-crusted cheesecake isn't my favorite dessert. I prefer the chocolate mousse dome or the mango sorbet (although the strawberry-lemon tart looks delicious!)

I really should have chosen the crab-crusted halibut as I am sure I would have enjoyed it more and I also think that the mango sorbet would have been more to my taste ...... You should chose all my courses for me

At least you had good service at Narcoossees - we enjoyed the food but the service was bad! A shame as we liked lots of other things about the restaurant.

Everyone has different experiences - that's what's makes reading the food reviews so interesting!

Very true
Our server was really great and certainly made for a much more enjoyable evening

Another report from Linda!

I've just read the whole thing from start to finish and, I must say, you're doing an excellent job. I can't wait to read more!

Lauren, your here! where have you been you're late

Loving your reviews so far! I'm sorry to hear about your experience about Le Cellier - I've never been but heard it's one of the most popular, so I'm surprised to hear negative reviews!

Narcoossee's looks pretty good, we are going there for our first night in Disney and I'm looking forward to it

And congrats on your first S'mores! Aren't they yummy?

I am sure you will have a wonderful time at Narcoossees, there is a lovely atmosphere and what a beautiful setting

 

[Linda67]

Wednesday 18th May

Today was a non-park day but we still had a relatively early start as we wanted to do the 9am Wilderness Lodge Tour (which is well worth doing )

We took advantage of a totally empty pool to have a swim and enjoy the hot tub.

After we had showered and dressed we headed to Roaring Fork to top up our mugs with coffee and picked out a treat to share

Maple & Pecan Cinnamon Roll

Wow, wow, wow this was delicious

I love pecans, I love maple syrup and I love cinnamon, put them all together and you have one hell of a yummy breakfast. The only downside is that I had to share

After the tour we jumped in the car and headed off to melt our credit cards at Mall At The Millenia before heading back to Downtown Disney for lunch at the awesome ................................

We absolutely have to eat here every trip (usually more than once)

I am excited to hear that there is a branch opening at Disneyland Paris soon so that is reason enough for another trip on the Eurostar!

We decided to get two sandwiches that we both enjoy and split them

The Caprese - fresh mozzarella, roma tomatos, fresh basil and drizzled balsamic vinaigrette

Tuna Melt - albacore tuna salad and Swiss cheese

Totally delicious as always and a great counter service option

The bread is just wonderful and I am a big fan of the balsamic dressing on the Caprese

The Tuna Melt is gooey and yummy and a particularly good sandwich to share as a whole one can get a little bit sickly

On the DDP you can choose any dessert up to a value of either $2.49 or $2.99, I can’t remember which and here is what we chose

Three Berry Yoghurt & Granola Parfait & Strawbery & Cream Pound Cake

Both of these were really good, certainly the best counter service deserts we had eaten so far

We headed back to WL to drop off our shopping and freshen up before driving the short five minutes up the road to watch the 6pm torch lighting ceremony at the Poly

I picked up one of these from the pool bar to enjoy whilst watching the show

Pina Colada

If you prefer your cocktails on the tame side then this is the one for you.

It was very refreshing and just what was needed on a very warm evening but not much of a kick to it

This made me smile more than my Pina Colada

We decided to head back to WL for a while to relax and pack for tomorrow’s cruise but that we would return to the Poly later that evening for drinks and to watch Wishes from the beach

First stop when we returned was the Tambu Lounge

The usual coke for DH but something far more interesting for me

Captain’s Mai Tai

Don’t you just love the Tiki glass

We then headed to the beach to watch Wishes, you really do get a great view from the beach and we found a lovely peaceful spot after picking up one of these from the pool bar

Mango Margarita

I hope that nobody is keeping count of the number of alcoholic beverages in this post

After Wishes we were both getting hungry so headed straight for Captain Cook's

Aloha Pork Sandwich All sandwiches served with Asian Slaw, Chips, Steamed Vegetables, or Fries

This was DHs choice and he hardly came up for breath whilst eating it, he tells me it was a 10 out of 10 sandwich and packed full of flavour

And for me;

Grilled Cheese Sandwich cheddar, swiss, and Boursin cheeses served on multi-grain sunflower bread with Asian slaw

Oh my word, Earl Of Sandwich may have some competition, this was just wonderful. I enjoyed every last bite and the Asian Slaw was the perfect side dish

So what’s the real reason Captain Cook’s is so popular? ……………… self serve Dole Whip

What a wonderful way to end a perfect evening

Coming Up Next ……….. Setting Sail On The Dream!

 

[mamaboogie]

Great food, lots of lovely cocktails and a hunky new friend - the perfect trip! (Which one made me want to lick the screen though.....)

I too love pecans, syrup and cinnamon!

The EoS sandwiches look so scrummy!

And all those cocktails! I love a mai tai too - and I must try a pina colada!

Linda, I am absolutely loving your trip report as much as I knew I would!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Great reviews - can't wait to try EoS!

Adding a new friend into the mix made it even more fun to read!!

 

[PrincessBetsy]

Maple & Pecan Cinnamon Roll

That looks quite delcious! I love cinnamon rolls and this one looks devine.

This made me smile more than my Pina Colada

So good! I actually just read about the torch lighting ceremony yesterday and decided we must check it out on our next trip. It's so funny that you mentioned it here as well!

I hope that nobody is keeping count of the number of alcoholic beverages in this post

Nah... By my reckoning you haven't had any

Comments in red. Loved the new update and can't wait to hear about the Dream!

 

[Linda67]

(Which one made me want to lick the screen though.....)

Great reviews - can't wait to try EoS!

Adding a new friend into the mix made it even more fun to read!!

We love EOS
I can't wait to the one at DLP opens!
Glad you enjoyed the additional photo

Loved the new update and can't wait to hear about the Dream!

Hope to start the Dream reviews this weekend

 

[scanne]

The drinks look so lovely....

Looking forward to your Dream review!!!

 

[librarygeek]

Mmm, Earl of Sandwich! I'm definitely going to order the Caprese when I'm there, it looks mouth watering good

 

[Linda67]

The drinks look so lovely....

Looking forward to your Dream review!!!

Coming right up

Mmm, Earl of Sandwich! I'm definitely going to order the Caprese when I'm there, it looks mouth watering good

I love the Caprese sandwich
It's the balsamic dressing that makes it so great

 

[Linda67]

Thursday 19th May 2011

Morning everyone

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend

So where was I?

Oh yeah we are about to set sail on our first ever cruise

We woke early and took our luggage to the car before heading to Roaring Fork to grab some tasty treats for the journey down to Port Canaveral

Blueberry Muffin for DH

Raisin Scone for Me

We hit the road and before long we saw this;

The Disney Dream



After a quick and easy check in process our boarding number was called and we casually strolled on board ……OK we skipped and giggled like school-girls and bounced on-board

I’m not going to turn this into a trip report as I know you are all here for the food but needless to say we were speechless when we walked into that lobby (do you call it a lobby on a ship?) and we were re-booking our next cruise before the bags were even un-packed (well not quite that quick but I am trying to build dramatic effect )

Anyway onto the food

First stop was Cabanas

We were really impressed with the variety and quality of food here; I must admit I didn’t have very high expectations heading into our first cruise but boy I was wrong!

DH loaded up his plate

Prime Rib, Minted Lamb Chops, Mashed Potato and another cut off beef that I am unsure of?

He loved this; he sure loves meat, so this was a wonderful dish to him

Here’s my plate ……………………….

I was actually too excited to eat much and knew that the peel and eat shrimp and crab claws etc on the buffet would take too much concentration so I just picked away but everything was very good and fresh

I think the fish that you see was Mahi Mahi and it was really well prepared, I sometimes find this to be a bit dry, especially on buffets but this was perfect

Everything else you see is pretty self explanatory but top marks for the freshness of the salads

Servers wandered around the tables with trays full of the cocktail of the day which was the Bahama Mama, well it would be rude not to

BAHAMA MAMA
White rum, Meyer’s rum, crème de banana, Malibu rum, orange juice, pineapple juice, dash of grenadine

After lunch we went off for a bit of an explore as we wanted to take a look at the amazing kids clubs before we set sail and they would be out of bounds

Once we had checked out our stateroom and un-packed a few bits we headed up to Currents Bar on Deck 10 to get a drink for the sail-away party

A Coke for DH and a ‘Bon Voyage’ for me

BON VOYAGE

I can’t seem to find a recipe for this on-line but I seem to remember it was Tequila based

Mmmmm - I could get used to this cruising game

Coming Up Next – Animators Palate

 

[dizneeat]

Bon voyage, Linda! Bon voyage!

Okay, finally caught up .......... again! I wish work would not interfere with my DIS time!

Okay, comments!

Sorry about your meal at Narcoosee's. Ours was really NOT nice at all, but at least you had a nice window seat with a view of the castle.

Love EoS too! And you picked my two favourite sandwiches - what can I say? Um, oh, yeah, they have a wonderful bread pudding too!

Captain Cooks: We LOVE the Aloha sandwich - soooooooooo good! And I really want to try the grilled cheese in the summer. MickeyNicki recommanded it, and now I see it on your review - wanna have it too!

And finally we are sailing! Love what I see and read of Cabanas and don't hesitate posting a few more pics of the DREAM.
Can't wait for AP! Thank god it's a long weekend here (it's Whitsun here and Monday is a holiday too - schools are closed on Tuesdays as well! ) and I can stay tuned!

Have a fun weekend, Linda!

 

[mamaboogie]

So excited to read about your cruise!

We have never done one....we keep saying - 'Someday...'

Can't wait to hear all the food details!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Im a big EoS fan too! Yummy! I have heard a lot about the grilled cheese sandwich...will have to add that to my Oct to-do list. And your picture is an excellent advertisement for the torch lighting ceremony.

Your cruise sounds like it is off to a great start. I love the drink of the day concept!!

 

[Tinker12]

I wish that I could get me DH to get excited about a Disney cruise. He LOVES Disney, but does not see why people want to get on a boat. Oh well.

Yur report is still great!!!

 

[dixonsontour]

Fantastic report again Linda

 

[PrincessBetsy]

I have never been on a cruise, but I would love to travel on the Disney Dream someday. Preferably sooner than later! Your first lunch looks great and your 'Bon Voyage’ looks quite refreshing indeed!

 

[librarygeek]

I've never done a Disney cruise, but hope to some day! So it's great to see all of the delicious food on board.

 

[Linda67]

Bon voyage, Linda! Bon voyage!

Okay, finally caught up .......... again! I wish work would not interfere with my DIS time!

Okay, comments!

Sorry about your meal at Narcoosee's. Ours was really NOT nice at all, but at least you had a nice window seat with a view of the castle.

Love EoS too! And you picked my two favourite sandwiches - what can I say? Um, oh, yeah, they have a wonderful bread pudding too!

Captain Cooks: We LOVE the Aloha sandwich - soooooooooo good! And I really want to try the grilled cheese in the summer. MickeyNicki recommanded it, and now I see it on your review - wanna have it too!

And finally we are sailing! Love what I see and read of Cabanas and don't hesitate posting a few more pics of the DREAM.
Can't wait for AP! Thank god it's a long weekend here (it's Whitsun here and Monday is a holiday too - schools are closed on Tuesdays as well! ) and I can stay tuned!

Have a fun weekend, Linda!

Hi Karin
Hope you are enjoying your long weekend, it sounds like you have been really busy so enjoy your well deserved break
The Grilled Cheese and the Aloha Pork Sandwich were a big hit with us both so I hope you get to try them on your next trip
It's funny how reading the reviews on the DIS means that we all end up with long lists of 'must try' items
I do it all the time

So excited to read about your cruise!

We have never done one....we keep saying - 'Someday...'

Can't wait to hear all the food details!

Hi Shari
I had never even considered a cruise before, I thought I would get bored but ended up loving it
We have re-booked for a seven day cruise next year as three days did feel a bit rushed but a great way to find out if cruising is for you or not

Im a big EoS fan too! Yummy! I have heard a lot about the grilled cheese sandwich...will have to add that to my Oct to-do list. And your picture is an excellent advertisement for the torch lighting ceremony.

Your cruise sounds like it is off to a great start. I love the drink of the day concept!!

Ooh you are going to be there in October are you going to go to the Food & Wine Festival?
We are really exctited to be going for the first time this year

I wish that I could get me DH to get excited about a Disney cruise. He LOVES Disney, but does not see why people want to get on a boat. Oh well.

Yur report is still great!!!

I have to be honest that's kind of what I thought.
DH was actually more into the idea of cruising than me
The only reason I decided to give it a go was because it was a Disney ship
I'm glad I tried it though as it turns out I really enjoyed it

Fantastic report again Linda

Thanks for reading along, I hope to get another quick update up today

I have never been on a cruise, but I would love to travel on the Disney Dream someday. Preferably sooner than later! Your first lunch looks great and your 'Bon Voyage’ looks quite refreshing indeed!

The Disney Dream is an amazing ship, it's great fun to just explore and check out all the details

I've never done a Disney cruise, but hope to some day! So it's great to see all of the delicious food on board.

I was really impressed with the food on board
I didn't really expect much in terms of quality, I mean there's an awful lot of people to serve but it was actually really good

 

[Linda67]

Thursday 19th May 2011 Continued

Hello from a not so sunny England

Here we go, our first eveing on board the Disney Dream

Ahead of our cruise we had requested the late seating for dinner which suited us perfectly; we would go to the early show each evening and then have an hour to freshen up before heading to our designated restaurant

We decided not to try and get a reservation for Palo or Remy as we really wanted to try the three rotational restaurants

Our rotation was Animators Palate, followed by The Enchanted Garden and finally the Royal Palace.

If I could have picked an order in which to visit the restaurants this would have been it so we were delighted with our rotation

I wasn’t sure how I would fell snapping photos of my food whilst dining at a shared table aboard The Dream so I headed down to dinner on the first night to meet our table mates unsure if my camera would ever be taken out of my purse

I’m afraid my lovely DIS peeps I have let you down because the three dinner reviews will be photo free

Our table mates were lovely people but weren’t very chatty and seemed to want to keep themselves to themselves and enjoy a peaceful dinner so it really didn’t seem appropriate to keep whipping my camera out!

So you are going to have to try to visualise the dishes whist being subjected to my dreadful use of the english language and inane ramblings

Animators Pallet was probably the most child friendly of the three main restaurants on board The Dream and it was a great setting in which to enjoy dinner.

As I am sure you are aware the artwork on the walls comes to life throughout you dining experience with various characters from Finding Nemo ‘swimming’ past your table.

The star of the show is Crush and if you have ever see Turtle Talk With Crush you’ll get the idea of him interacting with the diners; the kids in the restaurant got a real kick out of this

As soon as we were seated our servers for the next three nights introduced themselves and let me tell you, the service that these guys provide night in night out is outstanding

First off we placed our drink orders

DH again stuck with the water and I ordered a 'Blueberrilicious'

Tequila, Fresh Blueberries, Passion Fruit Juice, Triple Sec, Sour Mix

This was lovely and with all that blueberry goodness it must surely be healthy

The bread served this evening was Herb Foccacia and Ciabatta Bread with a Roasted Garlic Dip

This was wonderfully warm and fresh

For my appetiser I ordered Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes - Pasta Purse filled with Truffle scented Cheese and coated with a delicate Champagne Sauce

This was simply delicious

I have to be honest and say that I had fairly low expectations of the food ahead of our cruise.

I just figured that with so many people to cater for the food would be sub-par; well if this dish was anything to go by I was wrong

The pasta parcels were delicate in flavour and melted in your mouth. I would have happily eaten another portion of these right away

DH ordered the Sesame -flavored Rock Shrimp and Caramelized Onion Cheesecake with Asian Barbecue Sauce and topped with Micro Greens

This was a lovely light appetiser, full of shrimp and the caramelized onion worked really well with the creamy texture of the cheesecake - a big hit with DH

For my Entrée I chose Grilled Pacific Black Cod with Sautéed Morel Mushrooms on a Yellow Split Pea Purée

The fish was perfectly cooked.

I was worried it would be over cooked which can often the case when a kitchen has so many to prepare but this was spot on.

The mushrooms and pea puree worked wonderfully with the peas adding a nice textural balance

DH tried the Marinated Angus Beef Tenderloin, carved to order on wasabi mashed potatoes with bok choy and a tamarind barbecue reduction

He's not a fan of wasabi so asked if he could have regular mashed potatoes which our wonderful server said wouldn't be a problem

DH really enjoyed his entree and cleared his plate.

The beef was tender and cooked exactly as he had requested and he says that the tamarind barbecue reduction gave the dish a welcome asian twist

As always he adored the creamy mash potato

For desserts there just wasn’t anything on the menu that grabbed me so our wonderful server suggested a Mickey Bar ………….. Hell yeah

I loved the presentation of this all-time classic with the addition of Mickey sprinkles so I threw caution to the wind and took a photo

Mickey Bar

DH ordered the Cookies & Cream Sundae, Vanilla Ice Cream, Chocolate Wafer Cookies and Whipped Cream

And his verdict ……….. Yummy, his only criticism was that his spoon wasn’t long enough to reach the bottom

We were both really impressed with our first ever cruise dinner and now felt really excited about the following three nights

COMINING UP NEXT ……… Day Two Of Our Cruise And The Enchanted Garden

 

[dizneeat]

Great review, Linda, even without photos!

Tablemates can be hit or miss. On our first cruise last year we had "Mr. Know it all" at our table, cruise no two last summer had a DISer at our table and we made instant friends!

Your descriptions of the food sound yummy - I cannot wait to try the restaurants myself.
And for ordering a Mickey bar - they are always delish!

Can't wait for more!