We Smelled It...It Had to be Eaten, Part II ... Ding, Dong, Done!!!

[jakenjess]

Hi Brenda!

I'm glad to hear they revamped Ghiradelli's a bit; it was total chaos the last time we were there! They should expand the seating, though. When we were there it was raining and EVERYONE decided it was a great idea to have a chocolate-y delight, all at the same time. The picture of Jay describes it well

So sorry they neglected to omit the nuts, but glad the second sundae was better anyway. Since we're staying at BCV for a few nights, I think I'm going to try the No Way Jose -- sounds delicious!

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Originally Posted by oybolshoi

If I were a little more well endowed I might think you were on to something.

Ahhhh...you don't give yourself enough credit there Brenda. I'm sure Jay would argue that you have a very nice decollete. I just thought the pics were kinda funny...because Fred would have taken very similiar shots of me- in the name of food of course.

On another note...our experience at Ghirardelli hasn't been all that great in the past few years. We went in October and it was a stampede zone, totally not what I want to endure before trying to have a leisurely bite of ice cream. I agree that B&C is better. Sorry about your peanut debacle.

[ChelleinNC]

Glad you got the 2nd sundae because V1 didn't seem to have any hot fudge at least not nearly enough

I LOVE the No Way Jose and can't wait to get one when we stay at BCV this summer

[BriarRosie]

I think the best part of the sundae you had was probably the chocolate square. I'd rather stick with the No Way José, too. And they were stingy with the fudge on the first sundae, too.

The guy behind Jay looked ready to hurl. But Jay looked great in his festival tshirt, even with the "madhouse" face. LOL.

I also stand by my earlier comment about Brenda flashing the bewbs before dessert.

[whogirl'smom]

I am ready for the yummy ice cream! It has warmed up to 14 degrees here!

We still have never been to Ghirardelli's b/c I'm always too dang full from just having dinner somewhere, or we're about to go to dinner somewhere. Maybe next time, ice cream can be dinner!

[rentayenta]

I think I'll stick with Beaches. If Bendy says it's better then dagnabit, that's good enough for me.

[oybolshoi]

Originally Posted by jakenjess

Hi Brenda!

I'm glad to hear they revamped Ghiradelli's a bit; it was total chaos the last time we were there! They should expand the seating, though. When we were there it was raining and EVERYONE decided it was a great idea to have a chocolate-y delight, all at the same time. The picture of Jay describes it well

So sorry they neglected to omit the nuts, but glad the second sundae was better anyway. Since we're staying at BCV for a few nights, I think I'm going to try the No Way Jose -- sounds delicious!

Hi Lori! Nice to see you here!

I've yet to ever pay a visit to Ghirardelli when it hasn't been busy ... early afternoon ... mid-evening ... late evening ... raining ... meteor shower.

Oh yeah ... if you're staying at BCV go with the No Way Jose - much much better!

Originally Posted by *KeepMovingForward*

Ahhhh...you don't give yourself enough credit there Brenda. I'm sure Jay would argue that you have a very nice decollete. I just thought the pics were kinda funny...because Fred would have taken very similiar shots of me- in the name of food of course.

On another note...our experience at Ghirardelli hasn't been all that great in the past few years. We went in October and it was a stampede zone, totally not what I want to endure before trying to have a leisurely bite of ice cream. I agree that B&C is better. Sorry about your peanut debacle.

Awww, thanks. Jay always says more than a handful is a waste.

Wait ... can I say that here?

It sounds like we all agree that B&C is the place to go for dessert ... yum!

Originally Posted by ChelleinNC

Glad you got the 2nd sundae because V1 didn't seem to have any hot fudge at least not nearly enough

I LOVE the No Way Jose and can't wait to get one when we stay at BCV this summer

You are right now that I look at the pictures again ... not nearly enough fudge unless it was on the other side of the glass.

Another vote for Jose!!

Originally Posted by BriarRosie

I think the best part of the sundae you had was probably the chocolate square. I'd rather stick with the No Way José, too. And they were stingy with the fudge on the first sundae, too.

The guy behind Jay looked ready to hurl. But Jay looked great in his festival tshirt, even with the "madhouse" face. LOL.

I also stand by my earlier comment about Brenda flashing the bewbs before dessert.

The chocolate square was pretty tasty now that I think about it. And I think it was either filled with caramel or some kind of peanut buttery goop. That doesn't probably sound very appealing but it was good.

I thought Jay looked great in that picture!

Originally Posted by whogirl'smom

I am ready for the yummy ice cream! It has warmed up to 14 degrees here!

We still have never been to Ghirardelli's b/c I'm always too dang full from just having dinner somewhere, or we're about to go to dinner somewhere. Maybe next time, ice cream can be dinner!

Miss Whogirl'smom ... if you're going to make ice cream dinner then do it at Beaches and Cream instead of Ghirardelli. I think you will all be happier.

Originally Posted by rentayenta

I think I'll stick with Beaches. If Bendy says it's better then dagnabit, that's good enough for me.

Apparently everyone here thinks Beaches & Cream is better ... I definitely think their No Way Jose is better.

[cntkg1]

If I actually liked ice cream I'd be all over that sundae of yours B. Chuck and I could share it and he'd eat the icecream as long as I could have all the sauce...oh yeah, and the peanuts!

BTW, I love your eye for picking out all the goofy looks of others on your pictures. Since reading your TR's (all the way back to the Molar Express TR), we have picked up a lot of those pictures you can get while exiting one of the attractions. They're a hoot!!!

Thanks for the entertainment on this frigid Friday night.

[Tink rules]

Originally Posted by oybolshoi

Awww, thanks. Jay always says more than a handful is a waste.

Wait ... can I say that here?

I always offer 2 handfuls - keeps him out of trouble...

[whogirl'smom]

Originally Posted by oybolshoi

Miss Whogirl'smom ... if you're going to make ice cream dinner then do it at Beaches and Cream instead of Ghirardelli. I think you will all be happier.

I bow to the Ice Cream Goddess of Stinktown!

Originally Posted by Tink rules

I always offer 2 handfuls - keeps him out of trouble...

Naughty, naughty girls....

[rentayenta]

I think the No Way Jose looks so much better than the Kitchen Sink. The Kitchen Sink looks like a breeding ground for germs. Every photo I see has like 435 different spoons in it.

[oybolshoi]

Originally Posted by cntkg1

If I actually liked ice cream I'd be all over that sundae of yours B. Chuck and I could share it and he'd eat the icecream as long as I could have all the sauce...oh yeah, and the peanuts!

BTW, I love your eye for picking out all the goofy looks of others on your pictures. Since reading your TR's (all the way back to the Molar Express TR), we have picked up a lot of those pictures you can get while exiting one of the attractions. They're a hoot!!!

Thanks for the entertainment on this frigid Friday night.

you don't like ice cream?

and when you're as goofy as I am, you tend to have an eye for the goofy in others as well.

Originally Posted by Tink rules

I always offer 2 handfuls - keeps him out of trouble...

Originally Posted by whogirl'smom

I bow to the Ice Cream Goddess of Stinktown!

Thank you, thank you!

Originally Posted by whogirl'smom

Naughty, naughty girls....

What else did you expect with this crowd?

Originally Posted by rentayenta

I think the No Way Jose looks so much better than the Kitchen Sink. The Kitchen Sink looks like a breeding ground for germs. Every photo I see has like 435 different spoons in it.

I think the Kitchen Sink looks like it would be fun to try, but the end result that I see in pictures around here does tend to be rather revolting, doesn't it?

[oybolshoi]

Monday, October 13th - Free Food at the Rainforest Cafe ... Why Else Would We Eat Here???

Even though we knew it was a decision that would qualify as a special kind of stupid - you know, like blow-drying your hair in the shower or placing a cup of scalding hot coffee between your legs while driving - we made an 8:30AM reservation for breakfast at the Animal Kingdom Rainforest Cafe knowing full well that Monday morning was EMH at the park and that it would likely be packed to the gills.

But hey, we're nothing if not adventurous, especially with a $25 gift card burning a hole in our vacation wallet.

Upon arriving at our resort bus stop we were delighted to find a CM there with a walkie-talkie; he asked us where we were headed, radioed the request in to the transportation powers-that-be, and within five minutes our chariot had arrived. And no one else in the entire resort apparently wanted to go to the Animal Kingdom because we had the bus to ourselves. Ahhh, what a luxurious waste of gasoline and space!

We've always dreamed of our own private bus...


If you've ever wondered where the entrance to the Rainforest Cafe is, the restaurant actually has two - one outside of the park near the baggage check area and another entrance that dumps out into the Animal Kingdom itself. We chose the front entrance outside the theme park so as not to deal with security or any crowds that were waiting for the official 9AM park opening.

Enter at your own peril...


The Rainforest Cafe is a ... you guessed it ... tropical rainforest themed restaurant minus the six-foot bugs, incurable diseases, and social unrest that you might expect to find in a real rainforest. The theming is quite detailed and engaging ... fake trees and vines form an overhead canopy through which birds and butterflies and monkeys and flowers are scattered. There are large aquariums with real fish marking the area between the restaurant and the retail village where young children will find many delights to further part you from your hard-earned cash. And the bar is actually an aquarium, too, which we thought was very cool indeed.

We were seated near the front of the restaurant where an elephant we referred to as Stampy peered threateningly over our shoulders. I can totally understand why families with children enjoy dining here, but after the first five thunderstorms / eruptions with squawking birds, screeching monkeys, and stampeding elephants (get it ... Stampy!), Jay and I couldn't wait to get the hell out of there.

Front dining room...


The bar ... pretty cool, huh?


Stampy!!!


Our waiter was a little strange ... when he first showed up at the table he spoke English to me and then turned to Jason and began speaking Spanish. I gave Jay one of those looks that plainly said, "Would this be a good time for you to tell me about the double life you've been leading?"

He returned that look with one of his own, "I haven't got a clue as to what's going on here ... I've been mistaken for a Russian and an Arab, but this is a first."

When Jason failed to respond, our waiter switched back to English and apologized ... he thought Jay looked like a native Spanish-speaking person and that's why he was using a different language. We told him he didn't need to apologize ... it's not as if we were offended ... but we were definitely confused and suggested that coffee, water, and juice would be a refreshing way to clear away the mental fog we were both struggling with.

Water and coffee ... drink it up!


Jason is always more adventurous with juice selections than I am, and he boldly chose the Rainforest Ricky, which we believe was a combination of pineapple, guaveberry, grapefruit, and strawberry juices blended together with ice. There may even have been an option to include alcohol in this, but Jay requested the booze-free version. I was skeptical when it was first delivered to the table - it fairly oozed sweet gackiness to my eyes, but Jay pronounced it quite good and urged me to give it a try.

And he was right! It was surprisingly good and not very sweet at all. I promptly requested a serving of my own when we placed our breakfast orders.

Rainforest Ricky ... not at all icky!


I ordered the Breakfast of Bandits which the menu described as follows: scrambled eggs and choice of bacon or sausage served with breakfast potatoes and fresh fruit.

But where's the fruit?


This was a very generous serving; the eggs occupied at least half of my plate and they were very well cooked, not too hard and not too runny. The bacon was cooked just the way I like it - chewy but not crisp - and the potatoes were well seasoned, slightly crisp little cubes that burst with hot, pulpy goodness at the first bite. My only quibble was with the fresh fruit ... or lack thereof. I guess I'm going to have to learn how to lower my expectations, but when I read "served with fresh fruit" I tend to think that means more than one strawberry and an orange quarter. And that lemon poppyseed mini-muffin doesn't qualify as fruit even if it did have a nice citrusy flavor.

Jason ordered the Benedict Bamba described as: traditional eggs benedict accompanied by breakfast potatoes and fresh fruit.

Hello ... fruit?


Jason said the same thing about his breakfast as I did about mine - it was all very tasty but he was disappointed by the miserly fruit serving. We had a good laugh about it, but we did think the menu was a bit misleading in this regard.

And thus ended the meal - overall it was a good start to the day and we enjoyed the food. Would we ever go back again for breakfast or any other meal? Highly unlikely unless another gift card finds us because we think that the Rainforest Cafe is over-priced, especially at lunch and dinner. In addition to that it's just not our kind of place... too loud, especially for my delicate nerves.

And a warning to those of you with small, sensitive children - there were some little ones who were frightened by the noise and, thus, ironically added to it. You might want to take that into consideration when looking into a meal at the Rainforest Cafe.

[ChelleinNC]

Originally Posted by oybolshoi

Monday, October 13th - Free Food at the Rainforest Cafe ... Why Else Would We Eat Here???

Even though we knew it was a decision that would qualify as a special kind of stupid - you know, like blow-drying your hair in the shower or placing a cup of scalding hot coffee between your legs while driving - we made an 8:30AM reservation for breakfast at the Animal Kingdom Rainforest Cafe knowing full well that Monday morning was EMH at the park and that it would likely be packed to the gills.

Rainforest Ricky ... not at all icky!

blow-drying your hair in the shower

"Rainforest Ricky ...not at all icky" Honestly had tears in my eyes over that one.

We've only eaten there once and I have absolutely no memory of the food. Just that it was very loud and we were freezing (ok that part was our fault, got soaked on Kali before going for lunch--just didn't expect the A/C to be that strong) Did I mention it was very loud in there? I don't see us going back, unless it was free

[kabuki]

Originally Posted by oybolshoi

Monday, October 13th - Free Food at the Rainforest Cafe ... Why Else Would We Eat Here???

Even though we knew it was a decision that would qualify as a special kind of stupid - you know, like blow-drying your hair in the shower or placing a cup of scalding hot coffee between your legs while driving - we made an 8:30AM reservation for breakfast at the Animal Kingdom Rainforest Cafe knowing full well that Monday morning was EMH at the park and that it would likely be packed to the gills.

But hey, we're nothing if not adventurous, especially with a $25 gift card burning a hole in our vacation wallet.

If I have a GC I am going to use it goodness! No matter how many monkeys are yelling at me ..
I am just happy you both made it out without going CRAZY This place is SO LOUD!

Thanks for the report Brenda!