MLinDisney and Kimpup CELEBRATE and GO DELUXE!! 1ST DR! TONS OF PHOTOS! COMPLETE

[MUFFYCAT]

I second the great idea of popping the bread in the microwave and love that you requested a one in your room. , never thought of that.

I also love the bread pudding at O'Hana's.

They do make good drinks, did you have a Lapu Lapu?

 

[scojos]

im stiill lurking, but as your next post is about the wild africa tour, i have a wierd, non food, related question. i am thinking of treating myself to this as my 40th b day gift....but the kids need to come too, do you think a 13 and 15 yr boys would enjoy this?? they re pretty easy going if there is stuff to see/do esp if its interesting/educational info from guides, but would get bored if it was more of a photography tour... does that make sense? what do you think?
ty tracy

 

[MLinDisney]

That carrot cake cookie is a great way to start your day!!! I love the pretzel bread from Le Cellier - what a great idea to pop it in the microwave to heat and eat!

Yes, we were glad we had that pretzel bread on hand. Just saw your DR! It's great. I'll catch up after I update mine.

I second the great idea of popping the bread in the microwave and love that you requested a one in your room. , never thought of that.


I also love the bread pudding at O'Hana's.

They do make good drinks, did you have a Lapu Lapu?

Ask for the microwave when you check in. We checked in so early in the morning that I think that's why they had one available that day.
I had planned to have a Lapu Lapu on the Poly Beach while watching wishes, but never got to do that.

im stiill lurking, but as your next post is about the wild africa tour, i have a wierd, non food, related question. i am thinking of treating myself to this as my 40th b day gift....but the kids need to come too, do you think a 13 and 15 yr boys would enjoy this?? they re pretty easy going if there is stuff to see/do esp if its interesting/educational info from guides, but would get bored if it was more of a photography tour... does that make sense? what do you think?
ty tracy

If they are animal lovers, they will love it. There are guides there to talk all about the animals. They will love those bridges to cross. Not sure what you mean about photography tour. The CM who takes the photos is very unobtrusive. She rarely poses you. I think its well worth it!

 

[MLinDisney]

In some reviews, I've heard this referred to as a snack, but there is enough here for lunch. In the middle of the trek, we stopped on the boma to have lunch. We were brought a multi-layer covered metal bowl. I don't know what these are called. I'm sure there is a name for them. They look like 2 very large girl scout mess kits stuck together. Here is one half of mine:

This is fruit, some sort of chicken salad and prosciutto. It has an edible orchid in the middle. Notice the jungle juice, POG, or lilikoi juice depending on where you are. It was delicious. I ate all of this! Here is the other half of mine:

Shrimp, hummus, salmon with cream cheese and bread. They looked like mini pita bread all puffed out. I don't know the african names of all of these. I ate everything except the edible orchid. I just took a bite of that. I liked this meal and rated it
DD ordered the vegetarian version:

fruit, rice and tofu with some type of sauce on it. She said the tofu was delicious and tasted like chicken. She also had the edible orchid too. Her other half:

She also had the same bread and hummus that I had. The other two dishes were some type of salsa and a corn salad
I didn't taste hers. She rated her meal:

There was a beautiful view of some giraffes while we were eating. This meal was included in the price of the tour. We were the only ones on this tour. We had the guides to ourselves. Great tour.

When we left this tour, we continued to go to attractions at AK. On our way to one of the attractions, we got this as a snack:

Jalapeno cheese stuffed pretzel!! We got this at Safari Pretzel Kiosk. This was so delicious. We shared this. This is a snack credit. It is $4.29 without tax. I rate this as a snack!!!
DD also rated it: She said she wishes she could find this at home!

NEXT UP: Dinner at Jiko

 

[Terrie..]

Can't wait to try one of those pretzels!! They look delicious

 

[celeste.]

the wild africa trek food looks tasty! what did the edible orchid taste like? was it a real orchid or food that looked like an orchid?
great update, can't wait for more!

 

[MLinDisney]

We left AK around 4:30 and headed for AKL for our 5:30 ADR at Jiko. I knew we were early, but since Jiko is a signature, we put a nice blouse in our backpacks and also some sandals. After a day at AK, we needed to freshen up. We found a ladies room at AKL and changed and freshened up. We then went to look around the lobby and out the windows. Then we went to the gift shop to kill some time. After that, we found a sofa in the lobby and just relaxed a little. We then checked into Jiko. We ordered drinks I ordered:

A Zebratini!! Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur, Frangelico, Amarula, and a shot of Espresso in a Chocolate Zebra-striped Martini Glass! This was delicious and I ended up having two of these!
DD ordered:

Well DD couldn’t decide, so our waitress, brought out a bunch of different wines for her to taste. Here are the glasses she brought out:

African red wine. DD also ended up having seconds of the wine. Our waitress was very knowledgeable on the wine list. She ran one of the Jiko Wednesday night wine tastings and invited us to come. We never made it there though.

She brought us bread service:

Not sure what the bread is called, but it had African-spiced butter.
Next I ordered my appetizer:

Grilled Wild Boar Tenderloin Mealie Pap, Chakalaka, White Truffle Oil, and Micro Cilantro. I never had wild boar. This was very good. Tastes a lot like beef. Not gamey at all.
DD had

Crispy Beef “Bobotie” Roll Cucumber Raita, Green Mango At jar, and Honey-roasted Groundnuts. This was very delicious! I rated this
It was crispy and had African seasoned beef inside! DD rated it

JIKO PART 2 CONTINUED IN NEXT POST..............

 

[MLinDisney]

For my entrée:

West African Braised Beef Short Rib Roasted Peanuts, Roasted Vegetables, and spicy Tomato Demi-glace. This was the description on the menu, but I didn't see peanuts in mine. This was very good. It wasn’t tough and the sauce was tasty. I rate this
DD Had:

Oak-grilled Filet Mignon Ancient Grain Pilaf, Heirloom Pole Beans, and South African Red Wine Sauce, but substituted pilaf for mac and cheese. I tasted the mac and cheese. It was ok. I thought the filet was good though. I rated this DD rated it: She said the mac wasn’t as good as Lecellier’s and the steak was ok

Next we ordered pressed pot coffee that we shared and dessert.

Pressed Pot Coffee. I ordered:

Milk Tart - Port Reduction, Figs, and Goat’s Milk-Balsamic Ice Cream The milk tart was ok. I liked the goats milk ice cream. I gave this
DD gave it

DD ordered:

Safari S'mores from the children's menu!!! Many of the desserts that we read about were gone. We wanted to try the coconut bread pudding or the beautiful "one last cup" but these are no longer on the menu! The waitress saw we were having a hard time deciding on dessert and suggested the Safari S'mores. I don't remember tasting these. DD rated these: She said this was tasty and made her feel like a kid. She said she enjoyed the taste and the fun of making a S'mores!

This meal wasn’t as good as I thought it would be for a signature, but the service was more than outstanding. The appetizers were the best part. I was also disappointed that those desserts were gone. This was 2 credits each on the dining plan. The total for the meal was $140.90 without tip. The drinks were $43.66, which were put on a gift card.

After we left Jiko, we went to the quick serve, Mara to get some zebra domes.

This is what happened to them on the way back to the Poly. It wasn't really a long ride maybe 20 minutes. We stuck them in the fridge and had them a few nights later. They were just ok. Maybe because they melted. I'm giving them another chance when we stay at the AKL in January. These were a snack credit. They cost $3.59 without tax.

After this, we headed back to the Poly to watch Wishes and the Water Pageant on the beach!

NEXT UP: BREAKFAST - GRAND FLORIDIAN CAFÉ

 

[MUFFYCAT]

Everything looks so good! How fabulous that your DD had her own private winery tasting! Your drink looks great too!

 

[starousse]

I completely felt the same way about Jiko. Loved the place and the service was excellent. I loved the great wine selection and the flatbread app was amazing. The entrees were good, nothing spectacular as was the desserts. We were gonna give it another try on our upcoming trip, but decided to take it out and try Yachtsman instead.

 

[MLinDisney]

We had a 7:00 am ADR at Grand Flordian Café. We drove over there with our rental car and arrived a little early. The parking lot was so far away from the Grand Floridian because we chose not to have it valet parked. We could have walked from the Poly! We looked around the downstairs lobby a little and then walked back to the desk and were seated:

We were the first ones there. This is a very pretty restaurant. We started out with coffee. DD ordered:

Maple Vanilla French Toast - Challah Bread dipped in Maple and Vanilla flavored Batter with Bacon or Sausage She started to dig in! I don't remember what these tasted like or if I even tasted these. DD rated them Not sure if she didn't order bacon or sausage or she did and gave it to me.
I ordered:

Eggs Benedict. Two Poached Eggs on a Toasted English Muffin, Canadian Bacon, and Hollandaise Sauce served with Asparagus. I ate some of mine too before I took the picture It also looks like I might have DD's bacon there too. This was outstanding. The blending of the hollandaise, egg and muffin was great! I finished it all except the asparagus. I couldn’t bring myself to eat them in the morning! I rated this Notice my KTTW card in the upper right. I was taking care of the bill so that when we finished we could leave and go to Hollywood Studios!
We finished here in half an hour. I can't find the receipt for this, but I looked it up and for the two meals and coffee it was $34.98 without tax and tip.
We headed back to the parking lot to get the car so that we could drive to Hollywood Studios!

NEXT UP: SNACK: STARRING ROLLS

 

[MLinDisney]

Can't wait to try one of those pretzels!! They look delicious

They were! We bought some from EPCOT too!

Everything looks so good! How fabulous that your DD had her own private winery tasting! Your drink looks great too!

I kept ordering a Chocolate Martini at each restaurant. I changed up here and there though as you will see!

I completely felt the same way about Jiko. Loved the place and the service was excellent. I loved the great wine selection and the flatbread app was amazing. The entrees were good, nothing spectacular as was the desserts. We were gonna give it another try on our upcoming trip, but decided to take it out and try Yachtsman instead.

Oh we wanted to try Yachtsman on this trip, but they were closed for refurb Hopefully we will be able to do that another trip. Will you be doing a dining review on Yachtsman after the refurb?

the wild africa trek food looks tasty! what did the edible orchid taste like? was it a real orchid or food that looked like an orchid?
great update, can't wait for more!

It was a real orchid! It didn't have much of a taste. Sort of like lettuce without dressing!

 

[nanienamou]

I love the decor at the GF Café. It seems so nice and calm.

 

[kimpup]

the wild africa trek food looks tasty! what did the edible orchid taste like? was it a real orchid or food that looked like an orchid?
great update, can't wait for more!

Hi Cel! It was tasty! Even they tofu which i normally would not eat was really great! mom had the flower, i just couldnt get myself to eat a purple flower!!!!

 

[MLinDisney]

I love the decor at the GF Café. It seems so nice and calm.

Yes it is. I liked how the lobby is decorated too. I don't know what the fragrance is but the lobby smelled so good!

 

[MLinDisney]

We heard so much about the cupcakes at Starring Rolls that we had to try some out as a snack. We decided to try two and share.

The butterfinger cupcake! and

The chocolate peanut butter cupcake.
Here is what it looks like inside:

You can't see too much in there, but there is some peanut butter filling in there. I thought this one was good, better than the other one. They were both very sweet. I rated this one DD rated it because she loves peanut butter, but she also said it was way too sweet.
Here is the butterfingers inside:

This one was very very sweet. I rated this one DD also rated it I'm not sure if I wasn't in the mood for something very very sweet or not but this was just ok.

These were two snack credits on the dining plan. They were $3.99 each, for a total of $7.98.

We then headed for the car and off to Downtown Disney.

NEXT UP: RAGLAN ROAD.

 

[MLinDisney]

After we walked around Downtown Disney for a little while, we were ready for our 2:00 ADR at Raglan Road. This was for lunch so there were no Irish dancers. The waitress came and brought our Water:

I never take photos of water, but I liked how this had a little palm stuck into the lemon. DD wished that the waitress was from Ireland. All the waiters and waitresses at Epcot were from the Country that the restaurant represented, so she thought it would be nice there too.
Then we ordered drinks.

I ordered a chocolate Martini. This wasn't on the menu, but she said she could make one up for me. DD ordered:

One for the Road. A blend of Ciroc Vodka & Midori Melon with the juice of oranges & pineapples.
The waitress brought out bread service:

Irish soda bread. This was Dark Soda bread. Very good. This was brought out with it:

I think this is olive oil with Guinness reduction.
For appetizer we shared Calamari City - Salt ‘n’ pepper calamari & mixed tempura vegetables served with a spicy remoulade. I don't know why but I didn't have a photo of this. I enjoyed this. Maybe because I was very hungry. We ate at 7am and just tasted some cupcakes at HS.

Our Entrées:

Sod the Stew - Its beef stew infused with a hint of Guinness. The auld sod personified. This was outstanding. The beef was tender the veggies were soft. I don't know what the spices are but the flavor was excellent! I have been online looking for this recipe. I cannot find it even on Allears! I give DD also liked the stew and gave it
DD's Entrée:

Fish & Chips - beer battered fish n chips served with fresh tartar sauce. I don't remember tasting these. DD rated them

RAGLAN ROAD CONTINUED IN NEXT POST.....

 

[MLinDisney]

Dessert! ...and coffee. Of course we ordered:

Ger’s Bread & Butter Pudding!! We poured this into that long plate and smothered it with those two sauces. Caramel and I think Vanilla. This was soooo good! Very very moist. I rated this DD said the bread pudding was amazing and rated it

DD ordered:

Dunbrody Kiss. They describe this as chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. It was very chocolatey and tasted great, but I think I was too consumed with the Bread pudding! I gave this DD said it was too sweet and chocolatey and gave it
This meal was overall great. I enjoyed the meal and atmosphere. We used 2 dining credits, one each. The total for this meal was $71.89. The drinks were $19 without tax and we paid for them with a gift card.
We were ready for shopping!

NEXT UP: TOMORROWLAND TERRACE DESSERT PARTY!

 

[MLinDisney]

We spent the afternoon at DTD, got back to the Poly around 5:30 and rested up for our Dessert Party at 8:10. We took the monorail to MK and arrived at Tomorrowland Terrace before 8:00 so we waited by the entrance.

They showed us to our seat around 8:00. We had the second table right up front by the railing. I think it's because I got online so quickly when September opened up.
Our name was on the table. We went over to the dessert buffet:

One side. At the end there is an ice cream sundae set up with little bowls in front and coffee set up.

Same side. You can see the ice cream sundae fixings on the end next to the ice cream bowls.

The middle. This part had fruit too.

DD's first plate:

My first plate:

I had a creme brulee on the side and we both had ice cream sundaes.

View from our seat:

When the fireworks started, we tried to get Tinkerbell when she came close to the Tomorrowland Terrace. This is the only shot that came out, when she was close to the castle. We saw her right on top of us, when she came closer to where we were sitting. That was a great view of her so close to us!

This is a photo of the castle during the fireworks that I never saw before. It had a moon and star projection onto it.

I didn't get too many good photos of the fireworks. Here are a few:

When the fireworks started, we walked up to the railing, even though we were really close to it. I noticed some people still stayed seated. The desserts were ok. My favorites were the mango shooter, crème brulee and key lime pie. I went up for seconds of the crème brulee. The ice cream sundaes were good too. I tried the pink lemonade, which was pretty good. DD had coffee.

Overall, I really liked this party! I had a great seat, good view of fireworks and the desserts were fair to good. DD said it was worth every penny for the view!! As far as the desserts, she said she only liked the ice cream.

I would recommend this highly!

After the party, we left and went down Main Street to shop. Here are a few things we bought:

A necklace for me.

The bag that you get for $16 or so, if you buy $20 or $25 worth of merchandise. I forgot the deal. I ended up giving this to my son and daughter-in-law. Actually I'm not sure if I bought this that night or the second night we were in MK. I did buy two of these:

A huge cup with all the characters on it! This is huge and fits so much coffee in it. I gave one of these as a souvenir and one I kept!

After shopping, we headed back to the Poly by boat again. The boat was very convenient and a nice ride at night.


NEXT UP: EPCOT

 

[Terrie..]

Those desserts look so good!! and you can't beat that view! I think the view alone is worth the price.

Love that mug!! It's the perfect size!