Please join me in celebrating my 50th Birthday...Deluxe Style! FINALLY COMPLETE

[gardengirl628]

omg...i think i just gained 5 pounds looking at the picture of that cupcake....it looks delicious!

[lovesdumbo]

Originally Posted by jabead

OMG!!! You saw us??? Yep, that was me in the left-hand corner in the back of the restaurant...the crazy lady taking pictures of her bread. I had meant to look for you and your friends that night but got caught up in the excitement of our first meal of the trip and totally forgot. Two nights later (on Saturday, the 14th) we were returning to the hotel from Epcot after closing (so maybe around 9:30ish???) and as we entered the left-side entrance (just past the FF) there was a small group of ladies wearing bday tiaras. Was that by chance you and your friends? I hope so, because they looked like they were having a good time! :


I hope you too had a great 50th birthday celebration trip and that you and your friends were able to de-stress.

Not us in the tiaras. We had a great trip! My friends had never stayed at BWI and they really loved it.

We never even went into the bakery but I think I'll have to try one of those PB cupcakes when I go back with my family in August.

[Linda67]

Oh my word, the peanut butter cupcake looks AMAZING

I am just sitting here with a morning coffee and that would go down a treat with it!

[jabead]

Originally Posted by Disneyfreak616

Mmmmm that cupcake looks fantastic!!!

Originally Posted by gardengirl628

omg...i think i just gained 5 pounds looking at the picture of that cupcake....it looks delicious!

Originally Posted by lovesdumbo

We never even went into the bakery but I think I'll have to try one of those PB cupcakes when I go back with my family in August.

Originally Posted by Linda67

Oh my word, the peanut butter cupcake looks AMAZING

I am just sitting here with a morning coffee and that would go down a treat with it!

Yep, that cupcake was really good! I wish I would have been able to finish it. I worked on it for almost two days but then it was time to switch hotels so I had to admit defeat and throw away what was left. DD doesn't really like cake much so she was very little help.

And to think that when I first got it I had the thought of doing my own cupcake throwdown (like what they did on the Disney Food Blog website). I had great plans to try one of the cupcakes from Starring Rolls Bakery at DHS and one from the Caramel Shop at Epcot...you get the idea. : I guess in this case my ideas were bigger than my stomach! Those other cupcakes will just have to wait for another trip when my teenage son (aka "the bottomless pit") is along to help out. 'Cause he could probably eat all of these cupcakes in one day and not gain a pound. Oh, and then ask me, "What's for dinner? I'm hungry.

Anyway, I'm putting the finishing touches on my Coral Reef review now so I should have it posted soon.

[jabead]

Early Morning at EPCOT



We made it to Epcot for rope drop (on the World Showcase side) and did/saw most everything we wanted to do in Future World before it was time to check-in for our 11:30…

Lunch at CORAL REEF







THE SHORT VERSION

Highlights – Mahi Mahi, More Beverage Options Available with Dining Plan, Very Good Service, Table Location

Disappointments – Lobster Ravioli, No longer have Butterscotch Crème Brulee, New Appetizers

Would we Return? – Probably Yes



THE LONG VERSION

We checked in about 10 minutes early and there were just one or two other parties ahead of us waiting for them to begin seating guests, as this restaurant opens at 11:30. I asked if we could be seated by the tank and was thrilled when my request was granted. I’ve eaten here at least 5 or 6 times before but have only sat next to the tank one other time and that was about 10 years ago. So it was quite a treat to have a front row seat to watch all the sea creatures in the tank.





DD Seated at our Table by the Aquarium





My (Not so Good) Picture of the Restaurant (while it was still empty)






A better picture (borrowed from the Disney website) so you can better see how pretty this restaurant is.


Our server here was friendly (but not annoyingly so ) and efficient. She first told us about the many options available as our included non-alcoholic beverage on the Dining Plan. Frozen drinks like virgin daiquiris, pina coladas, and pina colavas were included, in addition to the usual options. So DD ordered a virgin pina colada (listed as a coconut freeze on our receipt) and I had a virgin pina colava (listed as a pina colava smoothie). In case you have never tried a pina colava, it is a pina colada with raspberry puree added. I have never tried the alcoholic version of this drink (with Bacardi Razz Rum) and really wanted to on this trip, but sadly never got around to it. Anyway, both of these drinks were quite good and were a nice alternative to the limited choices offered at most of the other one credit restaurants.




Virgin Pina Colada and Pina Colava



For bread we received a basket of rolls. These were good…not YSH rolls good, but good.






About this time a stingray appeared in the tank right next to our table and remained resting there throughout the remainder of our meal.





Our friend, the stingray, who joined us for lunch



There had been some changes to the Coral Reef menu recently. For appetizers, the Sea & Land (Grilled Shrimp with cucumber salad and barbecued beef tenderloin skewer) was gone. Two new appetizers were on the menu that sounded interesting to us so we gave them a try. The first was Crispy-fried Shrimp with a Jícama Slaw and Spiced Rémoulade. {Note: In case you were wondering, the Crispy-fried Shrimp replaced the Sea & Land as part of the Appetizer for Two} IMHO, the shrimp wasn’t anything special. I would have to say I preferred the Sea & Land better, so for me this was not a change for the better.




Crispy-fried Shrimp with Jicama Slaw and Spiced Rémoulade




The second new appetizer was the Fish Tostadas with Napa Cabbage, Avocado-Cilantro Cream, and fresh Lime. I was kind of expecting these to be similar to the Crab Tostadas at San Angel Inn (and used to also be available at La Cava de Tequila…but that’s another story ). Unfortunately, they were not nearly as tasty as they sounded from their description and paled in comparison the Crab Tostadas.





Fish Tostadas with Napa Cabbage, Avocado-Cilantro Cream, and fresh Lime



On my last visit to Coral Reef (in Nov. 2010) I had the Mahi Mahi and really enjoyed it, so I again ordered the Grilled Mahi Mahi with Rock Shrimp served on a bed of Jasmine rice. This is covered with a coconut-lime sauce that I think is a good complement to the mild taste of the fish. This was again very good.




Grilled Mahi Mahi



My DH had ordered and enjoyed the Lobster Ravioli on our last visit. Since DD loves lobster, I recommended this dish to her and she followed my recommendation. Unfortunately she did not enjoy it nearly as much as her father had. She thought it was just okay and wished she had instead gotten the Mahi Mahi after she tasted mine. Her main complaint though regarding the ravioli was that it was too heavy of a dish for lunch. So I think this may have been more a case of her ordering the wrong thing than that the ravioli was not good. I guess that for our family (DH really liked it, DD did not), the jury is still out in the case of the Lobster Ravioli.





Lobster Ravioli




As for dessert, I was very disappointed to see that my favorite dessert here, the Butterscotch Crème Brulee, had been replaced by a different flavor…Passion Fruit Crème Brulee. This may have been equally as good as the butterscotch but I just wasn’t feeling the “passion” that day. So I decided to go with the restaurant’s signature dessert, The Chocolate Wave served with raspberry gelato. This was good but not nearly as good as another Disney restaurant’s chocolate lava cake, the Valrhona Chocolate Cake at California Grill.




The Chocolate Wave



For her dessert, DD ordered the Baileys and Jack Daniel’s Mousse. I had seen many pictures of this dessert previously and they all looked like this:




Out with the Old Bailey's & JD's Mousse



However her B & JD’s Mousse looked like this:




And in with the New Bailey's & Jack Daniel's Mousse



So I guess they are now serving this in a different glass. Also, the rolled chocolate has been replaced by a caramel crisp. I’m not sure if it tastes the same, as this was our first time having it. But sadly, like the rest of her food here, DD rated this as just okay.





So in conclusion, the food on our recent two visits to Coral Reef (both in 2010) had been very good. But I would have to say that food-wise our meal here this time was just average, with the exception of my Mahi Mahi, which was still very good. However, we have always had above-average to excellent service and the atmosphere is very nice, although it can get quite noisy at times (as DH is always quick to point out). So we will probably return here again, but it just might not be on our next trip.



I will end this review with two more pics that I took during our meal. Sorry they aren’t the best, but hopefully they will you give an idea of what it’s like to dine in the presence of sea creatures.











Now for the numbers...

Total cost of meal (not including tip) - $103.76 (or $51.88 per Dining Plan credit)

And so I can do a DDP vs. TIW Cost Comparison at the end...

Total cost of meal (again not including tip) if we had used my Tables in Wonderland discount of 20% instead of the DDP - $83.01

TIW Card not used, as all was covered by Dining Plan


2 Deluxe Dining Plan Credits used, 18 Remaining


NEXT UP: Drinking and Snacking around World Showcase

[danalee]

Oh.... My.... Goodness.... that.... PB&CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE I was thisclose to licking my computer screen

So glad I found your cupcake...er I mean reviews

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Great reviews so far! I had to comment that the stingray thing also happened to me during my lunch at Coral Reef two days ago. And I agree with you on the fried shrimp and chocolate wave...I would say I've had better food at Applebee's. Coral Reef is a shell of its former self, and I can't believe it was a signature restaurant at one point.

[LuvLuvLuv]

our lunch was at 12:45 we probably just missed you at coral reef!

i'm jealous you got the shrimp appy... we got the appy for 2 and fought over the shrimp, lol. i loved them

i think in the future i'll ask not to be by the tank. everyone was right about how people take over your meal standing up against your table. glad you had a good time!!

[Disney_Mama]

Great pictures and reviews. Can't wait for the rest.

[MickeyNicki]

I fainted when I saw that cupcake!! That looks right up my alley, I love anything peanut butter and chocolate!

The shrimp at Coral Reef sound very yummy....I wish I could convince DH to go back there but he says there are much better places to eat at in Epcot

[jabead]

Originally Posted by danalee

Oh.... My.... Goodness.... that.... PB&CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE I was thisclose to licking my computer screen

So glad I found your cupcake...er I mean reviews

I'm glad you found my cupcake too. Stay tuned for much more "lick-worthy" food and beverages.

Originally Posted by DonaldDoleWhip

Great reviews so far! I had to comment that the stingray thing also happened to me during my lunch at Coral Reef two days ago. And I agree with you on the fried shrimp and chocolate wave...I would say I've had better food at Applebee's. Coral Reef is a shell of its former self, and I can't believe it was a signature restaurant at one point.

Hmmm...I wonder if the stingrays are trained to do that???

Btw, I just read your review from your most recent visit to Artist Point. The Copper River salmon looks and sounds amazing. I had the regular salmon there last Nov. and really enjoyed it...one of my favorite entrees of that trip. I can only imagine how good the Copper River salmon was. Almost makes me want to plan an early June visit sometime...until I remembered how hot it is there in the summer! Anyway, I'm looking forward to hearing about your experience at Coral Reef.

Originally Posted by LuvLuvLuv

our lunch was at 12:45 we probably just missed you at coral reef!

i'm jealous you got the shrimp appy... we got the appy for 2 and fought over the shrimp, lol. i loved them

i think in the future i'll ask not to be by the tank. everyone was right about how people take over your meal standing up against your table. glad you had a good time!!

Shoooot, we did just miss you!!! I looked at our receipt and it was suspended at 12:43 so we probably passed you on our way out the door. How did you like your lunch at Coral Reef? I'm looking forward to reading your review. The shrimp was definitely the better of the two new appetizers. They were good, just not as good as I was expecting I guess. And I was a little nervous about sitting by the tank but it worked out fine for us...no strangers joined us at/near our table. Well, not unless you count the stingray!

Originally Posted by Disney_Mama

Great pictures and reviews. Can't wait for the rest.

Thanks Disney_Mama and welcome to my celebration!

Originally Posted by MickeyNicki

I fainted when I saw that cupcake!! That looks right up my alley, I love anything peanut butter and chocolate!

The shrimp at Coral Reef sound very yummy....I wish I could convince DH to go back there but he says there are much better places to eat at in Epcot

You should definitely give the PB cupcake a try! :

As for Coral Reef...it is a "hit or miss" kind of place I suppose. But then again, I can't really think of an Epcot restaurant where I haven't had at least one disappointing meal. In most cases though, that hasn't stopped me from returning. So I say, you and Todd should give Coral Reef another try sometime.

[Tinker12]

Wow! I didn't know that there were changes to the Coral Reef menu. I'm disapponited with the Chocolate Wave. It looks different than before. I was hoping they would add sometype of surf and turf. Wishful thinking.

Your reviews are wonderful!

[jabead]

Originally Posted by Tinker12

Wow! I didn't know that there were changes to the Coral Reef menu. I'm disapponited with the Chocolate Wave. It looks different than before. I was hoping they would add sometype of surf and turf. Wishful thinking.

Your reviews are wonderful!

Thanks Tinker! My next review will be up shortly.

[jabead]

For those of you who aren’t already familiar with it, there is a great website called PARTY THROUGH THE PARKS. Their motto is… “We love theme parks. We also love a good drink. A good drink at a good theme park is even better.” I really love this website!!! In the Theme Park Games section they have a game called DRINK AROUND THE WORLD AT EPCOT’S WORLD SHOWCASE. Basically, with this game you receive points for having a drink/flight, eating a snack and/or meal, and riding the ride/watching the movie (we added watching the live entertainment) in each of the countries of Epcot’s World Showcase. Here is the link in case you want more details:

http://partythroughtheparks.squaresp...es-park-style/

Anyway, DD and I decided this was something we had to try! Luckily, it doesn’t say in the rules that you only have one day to complete this game, ‘cause it took us 4 days…mostly because I am pretty much a wimp. Being a college student, DD can hold her liquor much better than her dear old mom. Therefore, I decided that this should be a joint venture (with us sharing everything) rather than a competition between us. So anyway, for your viewing pleasure, here is our…




DRINKING (AND EATING) AROUND THE WORLD–PART I

We began our adventure in one of our favorite WSC countries, Mexico. Now there are quite a few places in Mexico in which to get the required drink/food…and we went to most of them! But not all in one day of course.

Our first stop today was at…





La Cantina de San Angel




Where we shared this tasty frozen drink…





Lime Raspberry Margarita (I think???)



Now on their menu (see pic below) this was listed as a Frozen Wild Berry Margarita so that is what I asked for when ordering. However, our receipt lists it as a Lime Raspberry Margarita and that is what it tasted like, so that’s what I’m going with on this one. Anyway, this was good but didn’t make it into my top 3 favorite margaritas of this trip.






Also in Mexico, we caught a performance by Mariachi Cobre. However, I didn’t award us points for it because we also ride the Gran Fiesta Tour on our last day.





Mariachi Cobre




OOP cost - $9.99 (including tax)
Points earned – 10



Next, we decided we wanted to do the Wine Walk so headed to the closest country in which to purchase a wine passport, Germany. However, as we were on our way to the wine shop we were enticed by a wonderful smell to make a slight detour into another shop in Germany.





Karamell Kuche


Here is some of what we saw there:










The wonderful smell came from the freshly made caramel corn, so even though we were still pretty full from our Coral Reef lunch we couldn’t resist getting this…




Small Bag of Freshly Made Caramel Corn



1 snack credit used (Value approx. $3), 12 more to go
Points Earned – 10



With our caramel corn in hand, we went next door to…




The Weinkeller (from the outside)




The Weinkeller (from the inside)


Where for $20 we received a wine passport which entitled us to six 2-oz. wine samples from the countries of Germany, Italy, and France (2 per location). So at the Weinkeller, along with getting our first passport stamp, we tasted samples of these two wines…





Valckenberg Madonna Spatlese and Liebfraumilch (along with our passport)


We liked both of these, but I preferred the Spatlese and DD the Liebfraumilch.



Then it was on to Italy and the…





Enoteca Castello



Where we sampled these two wines:





Castello Banfi San Angelo Pinot Grigio and the red sparkling wine, Rosa Regale
(also pictured is our caramel corn from Karamell Kuche)



We’ve had Rosa Regale many times before and it continues to be a family favorite. Of the six wine samples, this was definitely the one we liked the most. Although it pairs very well with chocolate, we had ours with caramel corn. And believe it not, they tasted pretty good together. The caramel corn did not however go very well with the Pinot Grigio wine. Neither of us liked this one very much, but we finished it anyway.



Last on our Wine Walk was a visit to the wine shop in France, Aux Vins de France (sorry I forgot to take any pictures of this shop). For our wine samples here we received…





Chateau Tour de Segur (Bordeaux) and Georges Duboeuf Pouilly Fuisse (Chardonnay)



I only liked the white wine (Chardonnay) and DD the red (Bordeaux), so sharing worked very well here.



OOP Cost for Wine Walk - $20
Points earned – 15 (I counted as a Wine Flight from Italy)



That concludes our drinking and eating around World Showcase for Day 1.



GAME TOTALS FOR DAY 1

OOP Cost - $29.99
1 Snack Credit Used
Points earned – 35


NEXT UP: Dinner at Narcoossee’s

[GoofySon'sMom]

I had never heard of the wine passport until about a month ago. Great seeing your review of it! Can't wait to try it with DH in August!