A Birthday Trip without a Birthday - 2/16: Conclusion and Bonus Birthday Tea

Great Signature Restaurant reviews !!! I too have wanted to try Cobb salad at BD !!Well maybe not so much now !!!I also just found out you cabn get Grapefruit cake at Starring rolls so that takes care of the 2 things I wanted at BD!!!:rotfl2:

I think it was just me who did not enjoy the cobb salad, others may very well like it. I would have loved to try the grapefruit cake as well, but I was so full after that huge salad. I think I might have to try to get it from Starring Rolls as well... :thumbsup2
 
I think it was just me who did not enjoy the cobb salad, others may very well like it. I would have loved to try the grapefruit cake as well, but I was so full after that huge salad. I think I might have to try to get it from Starring Rolls as well... :thumbsup2

Yes I have to try it , too!!!
 
Thanks for the reviews on BD & FF...:thumbsup2

The wait at FF seems a bit unnecessary... unforeseen things happen but an hour?

But the food experience itself seems quite lovely...:goodvibes

I want to surprise Eric with a lunch or dinner with an Imagineer... Lunches are at the Brown Derby and dinners are at the Flying Fish... I'm leaning towards the Flying Fish...
 
When are you visiting in the Spring? I will be there twice- in March and May-
 


I never had a desire to go to Flying Fish just because of the word "fish" in the title. Interesting that you instead rave about the steak! :rotfl2:
 
Thanks for the reviews on BD & FF...:thumbsup2

The wait at FF seems a bit unnecessary... unforeseen things happen but an hour?

But the food experience itself seems quite lovely...:goodvibes

I want to surprise Eric with a lunch or dinner with an Imagineer... Lunches are at the Brown Derby and dinners are at the Flying Fish... I'm leaning towards the Flying Fish...

I think the wait might have had something to do with the fact that there was a huge convention going on at all of the Epcot resorts (they even had added signs for people to find the other hotels etc.)

Well, my recommendation would be to go for the dinner at the Flying Fish for that event. Will it be just for you and Eric or for the whole family? There is entertainment out on the Boardwalk most nights and that would be fun to watch after dinner as well.

When are you visiting in the Spring? I will be there twice- in March and May-

I sent you a PM!

I never had a desire to go to Flying Fish just because of the word "fish" in the title. Interesting that you instead rave about the steak! :rotfl2:

They do have a lot of sefood dishes. But their steak ist just wonderful. I actually read a number of posts about the best steak at WDW where people recommended Flying Fish. That was one of the reasons for me to try it out in the first place as I am not that much of a seafood lover either.
 
Let’s have a look at the other table service experiences we had. We only had reservations for Kona Café and 50’s Prime Time Café. But we also had thought that we might want to try Olivia’s for breakfast and some restaurants at the Dolphin, especially Fresh for breakfast and the Fountain – all of them we were told we would not need reservations for. Not having a reservation for an onsite restaurant was quite a strange feeling, but it worked out really great and I would love it if this were possible for most of the restaurants!

50’s Prime Time Café

We had lunch here during the morning we spent with Marv and Jonathan at DHS. Marv had volunteered to go there with us as I had complained at some point that my previous experiences there were rather boring as it seemed that the servers were too hesitant to “play” with the foreigners. So Marv did his best to get into trouble! We did have quite some fun – got an additional family member from a neighbouring table as she was sent away from her family. And Jonathan was so quick in finishing his drink that he got multiple refills – all at once!!

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At first he did not realize that all of them were for him and we had a really good laugh when he finally figured out that he now had three glasses of coke!

I had the meatloaf and Katharina had the fried chicken:

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As you can see I substituted the green beans for corn while Katharina substituted the southern greens for green beans. However, Marv got the southern greens (well, he is from the South so I guess it’s in his blood…) and he let us try some. Not at all my kind of vegetable!!! The food was good, but I did not find it great. It was a bit bland and felt very “mass produced”. The highlight of the meal was certainly the company! It was great to sit down and just chat with Marv and Jonathan and thinking back now, I think we should have planned more meals together.

Kona Café

Originally we had thought about eating at Ohana, but then we just figured that it was far too expensive for us – we just felt it would not be a good value for money. However, we really wanted to visit the Polynesian on this trip and Kona is a place I enjoyed in the past and was a strong contender for our last trip already. So Kona got to replace Ohana!

We shared the pot stickers appetiser, which was delicious. I think there was some problem for Katharina with the bread, so she got plain bread rolls. However, I got the lovely warm pineapple bread with the sweet butter. This bread alone is one of the reasons to go and eat at Kona.

I orderd the Pan Asian Noodles - with Yakisoba noodles, wok-seared vegetables and Tofu in ginger-garlic sauce. I thought this dish sounded delicious, but it was actually rather boring. I should have listened to the not so good reviews I had read here on the DIS about this dish. The bread was much better…

Katharina had the Kona Coffee-rubbed Pork Chop - grilled and served with mashed sweet potatoes and seasonal vegetables. I think she was much happier with her ordering than I was with mine. I also remember that she really loved the sweet potatoes and said that they were better than the ones she had at Tchoup Chop the evening before.

Kona got a new menu some time ago and while I don’t like the price increase that came with it, I see some new dishes that sound very good. So I guess Kona is still a place that I like to come back to in the future!

To be continued in Part 2
 


Kona is still on my list !!I have to first do their breakfast for the Big Kahuana!!!!No fear of me ordering your supper meal Magdalena , I spied the word TOFU!!!
 
It's funny, Jeff was just saying that he wants to go to PTC when we have our big family trip, which was a bit of a surprise. I liked it and actually Evan just made the meatloaf from there on New Years Eve (it was quite good!) but it wasn't really on my radar as an option. Bummer that it tasted mass produced, it looks good in the picture that's for sure.

I am now wondering though if maybe Kona should be on the list as well. I was thinking Rose and Crown for dinner on NYE and then just staying in Epcot but if we timed it right we could do 1st MK fireworks at the Poly Beach, eat at Kona, go to Epcot and finish the night there. I really liked Kona although the service was very spotty and the ambiance is a little meh.

Question is, what will work best for my incredibly picky and poor eating nephews?

Hmmnnn.
 
I think the meatloaf looks pretty good. Love meatloaf, wish the rest of the family did... :worried: So I never make it at home...

Sorry your Kona dinner selection didn't turn out to be a hit. Katharina's dinner sounded really delishous though... YUM love sweet potatoes! Especially sweet potatoe french fries... Have you ever had them??? They even have sweet potatoe tater tots...YUM... :)
 
50's PT and Kona are two of my favorite places on property! They may not be "signature" dining but they fit my tastes to a T.

Sorry the noodles at Kona weren't so hot--I loved the pineapple-glazed steak there. And I wholeheartedly agree on the bread--you could make a whole meal of that!
 
Hi M and K--Its Todd.....(DK Todd)

We are once again planning a trip to WDW in March this year. Thought about the 2 of you and wondered when and if you'd be visiting Mickey again....

Hope all is well with you 2!

Godt Nytår!

Todd
 
Hi M and K--Its Todd.....(DK Todd)

We are once again planning a trip to WDW in March this year. Thought about the 2 of you and wondered when and if you'd be visiting Mickey again....

Hope all is well with you 2!

Godt Nytår!

Todd

Hi Todd! Great to see you!! I will be back at WDW in the spring, but later than you. Without my sister. But I have been thinking about you in connection with the planned trip as I will also go on a Disney cruise. And you were the first person I ever got to know who had been on a cruise! :sail: I still remember how you were telling us about your wonderful cruise vacation when we were "suffering" through the dark Slagelse winter! :goodvibes
 
Kona is still on my list !!I have to first do their breakfast for the Big Kahuana!!!!No fear of me ordering your supper meal Magdalena , I spied the word TOFU!!!

Yes, but tofu can be good. It just wasn't at Kona... :confused3 I am sure you will enjoy breakfast, I loved the Macadamia nut pancakes there!

It's funny, Jeff was just saying that he wants to go to PTC when we have our big family trip, which was a bit of a surprise. I liked it and actually Evan just made the meatloaf from there on New Years Eve (it was quite good!) but it wasn't really on my radar as an option. Bummer that it tasted mass produced, it looks good in the picture that's for sure.

I am now wondering though if maybe Kona should be on the list as well. I was thinking Rose and Crown for dinner on NYE and then just staying in Epcot but if we timed it right we could do 1st MK fireworks at the Poly Beach, eat at Kona, go to Epcot and finish the night there. I really liked Kona although the service was very spotty and the ambiance is a little meh.

Question is, what will work best for my incredibly picky and poor eating nephews?

Hmmnnn.

Well, you still have a little bit of time to decide on those ADRs!!! And I guess you do deserve a break from stressful reservations for a few months after getting your DVC booking.

Personally, I think as nice Kona is it would be too much hassle to me with the commuting here and there to do that. Also, as far as I know they show the big fireworks already on the 30th, so you could watch MK on the 30th and Epcot on the 31st.
 
I think the meatloaf looks pretty good. Love meatloaf, wish the rest of the family did... :worried: So I never make it at home...

Sorry your Kona dinner selection didn't turn out to be a hit. Katharina's dinner sounded really delishous though... YUM love sweet potatoes! Especially sweet potatoe french fries... Have you ever had them??? They even have sweet potatoe tater tots...YUM... :)

I had sweet potatoes a few times - and trying sweet potato fries is on the list of things to do in the spring! :thumbsup2

We do have meatloaf in Germany as well, it is called Hackbraten. Which kind of means "ground meat roast". And if you put hard boiled eggs inside, it would be called "fake rabbit". Don't ask why!!!

50's PT and Kona are two of my favorite places on property! They may not be "signature" dining but they fit my tastes to a T.

Sorry the noodles at Kona weren't so hot--I loved the pineapple-glazed steak there. And I wholeheartedly agree on the bread--you could make a whole meal of that!

They are both nice enough restaurants, I like Kona a lot, too. For 50's PT I am a little too much of a picky eater though. The thing with my pickiness however is that I don't like a lot of very traditional dishes. I hate braised meat, most cooked vegetables and standard gravy. I love weird sauces, any salad and unusual meats as long as they are roasted, grilled, baked or pan-fried. I had the pineapple glazed steak there once a long time ago and it was really very nice!
 
The Fountain

This restaurant is in the Dolphin, you can’t miss it if you enter the Dolphin coming from the parks, it is just to the left of the escalator which takes you up to the main lobby. It is a modern take on a traditional soda fountain, so similar to Beaches & Cream. However, it has a much larger menu. We went there for dinner one evening – around 7:30 pm and were seated immediately without a wait. I ordered a caesar’s salad and Katharina had a sandwich if I remember correctly. The food was really good and both our portions were very large, I think we could have split just one entrée between the two of us and it would have been plenty of food. One great thing about this restaurant is that it offers a discount for DVC members of 20%, so it becomes a very reasonable option for a table service meal at WDW.

Fresh

Another restaurant in the Dolphin, this is a bit hidden – kind of behind The Fountain. We had a late breakfast here on our last day. It was a very nice buffet with excellent bacon (the best I ever had on Disney property) and the name of the restaurant comes from the fact than many things are being made to order. You could get pancakes, French toast, omelettes, all kind of eggs just as you wanted them. They also had a selection of smoothies made from different fruits and vegetables which were fun to try. I really enjoyed the meal there and think it is a great option for anyone staying at an Epcot resort area resort! It was an excellent buffet and was a good value, too.

Olivia’s

This was one of the places Katharina came up with that never was on my radar. But once I looked at it, I could see the appeal. It just seems so American – an American friend of mine said that it was nothing more than a glorified coffee shop. But I guess, if you are European, that appeals to you!

We both agreed that we liked the look of the lunch menu better, but breakfast worked much better for us. The plan was to eat breakfast there and then continue to Typhoon Lagoon as that park is not very far from OKW. In theory that worked fine, but this was the one time we had really bad bus karma on this trip and we waited for ages for a bus to TL/DTD.

Back to the breakfast. We arrived without an ADR, but that was no problem at all. The restaurant has a very light feeling and we thought that it had a very friendly vibe. We were seated in a booth along the wall and I got the impression that a number of the people having breakfast there were kind of “regulars” as they appeared to know the wait staff. I guess some might have been DVC owners who have owned there since the beginning so have many years of vacations there already.

I had the pancakes with pecans and bacon – I just love pancakes and we don’t have them here in Germany (our pancakes are different and not a breakfast food). I know how to make them myself, but still, they are something I just love to get for breakfast when I am in the US! Katharina had the eggs benedict which came with a key lime hollandaise. The sauce had a very distinct citrus flavour which I thought was too die for! Lucky for me Katharina was not able to finish her dish and left the rest for me! I think I liked it better than she did…

Overall, I really enjoyed eating here very much! We also checked out OKW another day on our way to DTD and really liked what we saw. I think I would not enjoy staying here if I did not have a car as the bus taking ages for the tour around the resort would drive me crazy if I had to take it every day. But otherwise it looks so relaxing and far away from everything. I am sure that I will stay there one day – but I guess I might be back for a meal at Olivia’s before then!
 
I really love Oliva's. They have some multigrain bread that is fantastic. Such a good breakfast and I love the laid back feeling.

Jill in CO
 
I have to agree the eggs benedict at Olivias are AWESOME!!! I was very pleased with the restaurant !!We took a group there once and the chef was increduble for our special diets. Made special pancakes , customized the potatoes etc !!We were really impressed !!!
 
We do have meatloaf in Germany as well, it is called Hackbraten. Which kind of means "ground meat roast". And if you put hard boiled eggs inside, it would be called "fake rabbit". Don't ask why!!!


Some distant memory has me thinking my mom use to put boiled eggs in our meatloaf??? But not all the time....


I had the pancakes with pecans and bacon – I just love pancakes and we don’t have them here in Germany (our pancakes are different and not a breakfast food)

I LOVE pancakes too... I could eat them everyday but then I'd probably gain 50 pounds... I love dipping my bacon or sausage in the maple syrup too... YUM..

Hmmm should I have DD bring you a box of pancake mix when she visits??? All you need to do is add Oil, Eggs, Water.... ;)

Nice reviews Magdalene... Thanks for sharing.. :)
 
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag Katharina! :bday: :cake: party:

Ich hoffe, Sie haben eine ganz besondere und wunderbare Tage mein Freund, gefüllt mit allem, was Sie wollen, um es perfekt! :hug:
 

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