A Wedding, A Honeymoon, and Lots of Disneyland Dining Updated 7/22

[DLFan123]

After the morning and day we'd had, we were so relieved to finally hit our last stop at Target to buy the new camera and to get back on property. I was feeling like I could really use some Disney magic by this time!

We were also about starved, since we'd only had that one serving of chili cheese fries between the two of us (those fries were delicious as always, btw, and the chili was fresh and full of veggies).

Originally we'd thought about eating in DTD this evening, but after the fiasco of the day, we decided we needed a full serving of magic, as only being in the parks can bring.

I knew which favorite of mine I was craving by the time we got through the turnstyles: Rancho del Zocalo.

I just love sitting outside at the quaint little tables in Frontierland, and the food is really pretty tasty for quick service. It's something I actually crave between visits, and the price is right of course.

Now those of you who've read my other reviews know there is always the question: to share or not to share. DP always warns me against ordering my own food, because one portion is too much for me, and I won't waste food by leaving it on my plate. So this evening the topic DID come up, but I quickly shot her down, because all I'd had so far this day was a half order of chili and I was too hungry to even attempt sharing.

I chose my usual favorite and old stand-by, the cheese enchiladas. I have to order a side of guacamole and sour cream, because the dish used to be served with these items, and that is now how I like it. The sides are bigger than I need, but I knew DP would help me out.



Delicious as always! The year before, the rice had a funny taste. I was pleased to find out that this dish was exactly as I'd remembered it (minus the small sides being served directly on the plate). It comes with 3 enchiladas, which is a large portion. It may not be the most authentic tasting Mexican food you'll ever have (it definitely won't be), but the enchilada sauce has a good smoky taste that you don't get from other enchilada sauces, authentic or not. So for me, it's something I can only get at DL.

DP decided to try something new, which made me secretly very happy, since I always review the same old DL food here. She chose the mahi mahi tacos.

Personally I did not like the looks of these. I don't like when they put a whole huge piece of fish into one taco. I prefer it to be smaller pieces. She did not seem to mind, however, and she gobbled all the fish right up. (She did exclaim more than once that it was too much food, and she only ate one set of the tortillas because she claimed to be just too full.)

Both of these meals come with rice and beans, so again, the portions are large enough for splitting (on a traditional day).



It was a nice quiet nice with perfect weather, so after we ate we just sat for a while soaking it in and letting the Disney magic wash away all the sand from our crevices.

After dinner, we enjoyed the night of light crowds and hit some of our favorite rides before heading back to the hotel for another big (and fun!) day at DL!

 

[kastoney]

Welcome back! Hope all is well and the house drama is settled soon.

Your meal at Ariels Grotto looked delicious. For the non-DL aficionado, is this a character meal or just themed to be under the sea?

Yeah for a beach day. Despite the picture, I can tell those fries were delicious. After all they must be to keep you all going back. And love the "crowded" beach day. Clearly you have not had to suffer through an East Coast beach in the summer ; ) That looks downright solitary to me.

Can't believe DW got dragged out to sea. Crazy surf. Lucky her new wife was there to save her ; )

Your Rancho food looks awesome. Sitting her at 9pm trying not to eat, I would suddenly totally kill for some enchiladas right about now.

 

[vettegirl]

I have not tried that place, but have always wanted to. I know their portions are huge.

 

[DLFan123]

Congratulations!

Great reviews thank you for taking the time to write them. Hoping you can write more, that wave sounds scary (i am not a good swimmer)

Too bad about the camera, but at least you were able to salvage some pictures.

Yes, I think the waves were dangerous on this particular day. We heard later that they made national news. Since we are both fairly comfortable at the beach and in the water, it didn't even occur to us that we needed to stay well up in the dried sand. All that being sad, little kids were playing the entire time we were there, and they all did just fine. The good thing about the beach and the crazy waves is that when they take you down, they usually bring you right back in a few seconds later.

Welcome back! Hope all is well and the house drama is settled soon.

Your meal at Ariels Grotto looked delicious. For the non-DL aficionado, is this a character meal or just themed to be under the sea?

Yeah for a beach day. Despite the picture, I can tell those fries were delicious. After all they must be to keep you all going back. And love the "crowded" beach day. Clearly you have not had to suffer through an East Coast beach in the summer ; ) That looks downright solitary to me.

Can't believe DW got dragged out to sea. Crazy surf. Lucky her new wife was there to save her ; )

Your Rancho food looks awesome. Sitting her at 9pm trying not to eat, I would suddenly totally kill for some enchiladas right about now.

Thanks! I need to get a few minutes to get caught up on your review too.

Ariel's Grotto does character dining for breakfast (princesses), but then in the evening, they do regular dining plus the World of Color dining package, kind of like the Fantasmic dining at WDW. You eat there and each member of your group gets a FP for a WOC viewing area. You can get a FP for free from a kiosk, but there will be more people in your section (usually) and you'll have to get there sooner to get a good spot.

Trust me we have seen the west coast crowds too, so many people, umbrellas and towels you can't even walk. But Newport beach is generally pretty quiet during the work week, especially early in the day when we aim to get there.

I think saying I saved DW would be a bit of an exaggeration. She was coming back in and up to surface whether I was there or not. But that's how I tell it, too...

In the past, I've been able to use the Disboards as a good diet tool. Hungry? Look at pictures of food instead of eating. Craving enchiladas? Look at Rancho pictures. Did it work?

I have not tried that place, but have always wanted to. I know their portions are huge.

You have never been to Rancho del Zocalo? We've been going since I was a kid...it had a different name back then, and I'm sure my mom remembers what it was, but I can't right now for the life of me. It's always just been a place we love, even though the name and the food has changed over the years. I'd stick with the cheese enchiladas, though. I can't really vouch for anything else.

 

[DLFan123]

After our satisfying dinner and some fun rides, we stopped at the Jolly Holiday Bakery on our way out of the park. Pretty much everything at this bakery is good.

Finally, I was able to select something I've been wanting to try since the bakery opened, the pineapple upside down cake:


We ate this in our hotel room, and boy was it delicious. I enjoyed every bite, and thankfully DP was full enough she didn't eat very much of it. More for me!!!

 

[DLFan123]

The next morning, we were up early and in the park. We headed straight for Fantasyland and caught all of the rides there before any lines could begin to build. It was a beautiful morning.

After taking advantage of the best hours in the park as long as we could stomach, we were both feeling really hungry! We had learned earlier in the week that the Jolly Holiday no longer serves the vegetarian quiche, which was a real blow for us and our eating plans. Having let that news settle, we both realized we didn't want to miss out on sitting out in the hub for breakfast, so we headed over unsure of what we would order.

When we got there, we both decided that neither of us was in the mood for something sweet. We entered the line hoping to order the egg and cheese croissant without meat, but prepared that they may not be able to do this since we were pretty sure these sandwiches were made ahead and then just warmed up when ordered.

Although our ordering generated some confusion, we were eventually able to come away with this:


We were also hoping that it wouldn't be like the egg and cheese croissant we'd had a couple of years ago at the Pacific Wharf Café, forever known by us as the worst breakfast sandwich ever. And guess what?!

This was great! The eggs were good, and there were two kinds of cheese on there. There were a few little chives to make it a bit more interesting, and the croissant was fresh and soft.

We split this and the fruit and weren't too full to enjoy lunch in one of our favorite spots in just a couple of hours.

Coming up next: Hungry Bear.

 

[Pfau]

That croissant looks positively flaky! Yum!

 

[kastoney]

Glad you finally got a good quick service breakfast. Is the restaurant in the hub area or do you all just take it there to eat it?

 

[DLFan123]

After a few more rides and obtaining a FP for Splash Mountain, we headed to Hungry Bear just after their opening at 11 am. This is a nice counter service place back in Critter Country where you can sit at rustic tables all along the back part of the Rivers of America. I snagged a table while DP ordered.

Our view:


Love those canoes! However, this photo does nothing to capture how hot the beating sun was at this time. I did not envy those people in the canoes and was happy to be in my nice shady spot along the water.

DP returned to the table with our old stand-by, the fried green tomato sandwich with sweet potato fries:


This is served on a multi-grain rolls with whole oats baked on top.

This has been one of DP's favs since they started serving it at Hungry Bear. It took me a time or two to really appreciate it, because the first time I ate it, I thought there was too much bread. I think sometimes people get small tomatoes, and maybe that's what it was on my first try.

Anyhoo, we typically split this, finding that a half portion of fries and half sandwich is enough to hold us over but still leave room for snacks (or one of Hungry Bear's most amazing lemon filled cupcakes, which we decided to skip this year).

Here is another angle:


There is a slice of cheese, as well as some light and refreshing slaw, as well as the corn-breaded fried green tomatoes.

The sweet potato fries are really quite good when they are fresh.

We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch, and this meal is yet another example of the excellent counter service choices provided at DL. They serve their food in baskets here, which I think is still better than paper plates.

After our lovely meal and cool, shady rest, we headed off to use our FPs for Splash Mountain...


Everybody's got a laughing place...this were moving along just swimmingly on this particular day, all the way from the dining to the crowds to the rides.

Up next a snack, a new show, and some Tortilla Jo's!

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

That Fried Green Tomato sandwich looks so good... and so do the fries.

 

[DLFan123]

That croissant looks positively flaky! Yum!

It was. The croissants at Jolly Holiday are always good!

Glad you finally got a good quick service breakfast. Is the restaurant in the hub area or do you all just take it there to eat it?

Jolly Holiday is just at the end of Main Street very near the path to Adventureland. There is only outdoor seating, some up on the veranda of the actual structure and some just down on the pavement in the hub area. So no need to take it there...it's there already. We also like to sit out on the patio of Carnation Café which is right on Main Street about halfway down near the Penny Arcade. It's full-service, though, and lately you almost always need a reservation it seems, at least during busier days.

That Fried Green Tomato sandwich looks so good... and so do the fries.

Those fries were really having a good day, and the sandwich is always a reliable choice!

 

[kastoney]

Wow, that fried green tomato sandwich looks awesome!!!!! Wish the world had something like that

 

[DLFan123]

For this next post, I must admit that we got ice cream brain, and therefore managed to take our pics too late! In case you don't know, ice cream brain is when you get really hot, while visiting a theme park, and then you get really excited about ice cream. After you order, you are such an overwhelming combination of hot, excited, and fearful (fearful that your treat is about to melt) that you begin eating before taking pictures of your food! That is what happened to us. We were both really looking forward to watching the new live show in the new Fantasy Faire theatre, and we planned it perfectly for when we'd be hungry for our afternoon snack. What we didn't anticipate was just how hot it would be at that perfect time. One of us held a spot in the waiting area for the show while the other zipped up to the ice cream parlor on Main Street. Man was that a hot walk!

I decided to go with the Nestle Tollhouse cookie flavor...kind of like cookies and cream but with some pieces of cookie too, and some fudge swirled in I believe. They no longer have this flavor. It was my first time getting it, and it was delicious!


DP chose the strawberry, feeling that would be nice and refreshing on this hot day.


Since she let me share it with her, I can personally vouch for it. It was nice and refreshing!

We had a nice seat more towards the back, and we were both quite pleased with the quality of the show.


It was funny, interesting, and very well done. We enjoyed it so much, in fact, that we decided we'd have to return another day to catch the Beauty and the Beast show. (But maybe at a time of day that was no so hot!)

Up next, we finally make it to Tortilla Jo's. It's margarita time!

 

[kastoney]

Everyone is allowed one ice cream brain a trip. But just one, understand ; )

Can't wait for margarita time

 

[DLFan123]

I feel pretty ashamed, but I'm back! Better late than never, right? We just got back from a fabulous trip to the world, and I'd really love to share the story of all the food, but I can't start one thing without finishing another. So...this is attempt #3 to finally complete this horribly late report.

I have a very good excuse...after the best of intentions, I got very ill in August of 2015, and it wasn't until Feb of 2016 that we actually knew I was going to get better. During that time, I was actively grieving the thought that I might not enjoy a WDW vacation again, so the Dis boards was the farthest thing from my mind. But now I'm back on the road to good health, and as I said, we've just had a glorious 8 night trip to WDW, so it is once and for all time to finally wrap up this delinquent review.

When I left off, we'd just finished our honeymoon ice cream...

We refreshed back at the hotel for a bit, then headed to DTD for one of favorites, Tortilla Jo's!

Mexican food again!? Yep...we have an excuse. We miss Mexican food living in Denver where we feel we simply cannot get good Mexican food.

We started out with the complimentary chips and salsa:


We both selected margaritas, but this time we knew enough not to fall for the expensive tequila they tried to push. House tequila would be just fine for these discerning palates:


No matter how many times we do this, we just never learn. On our quest to self destruct from eating *too much food* we decided to order the tableside guacamole:


This picture is so deceiving. This is a huge dish, and it contains guacamole made from three good-sized avocadoes. As always, it was delicious. They prepare it tableside, just how you want it. So if you want it without jalapenos, for instance (like me), they will leave those out for you.

Now unfortunately, since our last time here, when they mini crab tostadas as an appetizer which became my new favorite thing, they changed their menu. I was so prepared to order JUST those and nothing else, that when they were absent from the menu, I was sent spiraling. In an effort not to do too much, I ordered a single seafood enchilada a la carte:


I know what you're thinking. Gross, right? Who wants to see a plate of half-eaten food? Nobody. I'm sorry...apparently our ice cream brain from earlier had now turned to margarita mush...

This seafood enchilada was just ok. It was covered in a fairly bland but hot green sauce. I never really like seafood enchiladas, so I don't know why I ordered this. I was just so sad about the crab tostadas that I could hardly function.

DP went ahead with the shrimp tacos. At least they look a little better when you've already started eating:


There were originally three, but one is missing here. I can't remember what happened to it.

These were ok. Nowhere near as good as the most perfect shrimp tacos ever, found at La Hacienda in Epcot. The shrimp here are broiled, so I guess these are a little healthier for us? The tacos themselves were large, in keeping with the over-sized portions at this place.

We couldn't just eat these meals. We had to order a side of beans and rice:



Again, this dish is larger than you can tell. Because we don't eat meat, we have to have the black beans and the cilantro rice. Honestly, these were the best part of the meal, alongside the guacamole. The beans are tasty and seasoned well, topped with cotija cheese. The rice is place but goes with the beans nicely.

We were so full but managed still to split a third margarita between the two of us before heading to the park.

Even though we were stuffed, we managed a cute picture in front of the Mickey head as well as a park hop over to Carsland to catch the lights, take a last spin on RSR and then watch fireworks explode over the Cozy Cone Motel.

 

[DLFan123]

The next morning we were up early, and either we didn't eat breakfast at all, or we munched on something in our room. We were at DCA this morning, and wanting to branch out a little, we decided to try the veggie sandwich from Award Wieners. Honestly we were just happy they had something for us at a place with "Wiener" in the name.
Vegetarian Portobello-Mushroom Philly - grilled Portobello, onions & bell peppers sauteed in Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale, topped with pepper jack cheese:


Honestly this wasn't the greatest thing I've ever had, but it wasn't the worst either. I've found that if I put enough mayo on any sandwich, I'll end up enjoying it at least a little. There wasn't much in the way of portabello on here, though, and the shredded cheese on top didn't seem to do much. Also it was a little overwhelming, loud and hot in the covered outdoor seating area for this spot in Hollywood Land. We split this and it satisfied us for the time being.

We probably wouldn't go out of our way to eat here again, though.

Up next, dinner at the Blue Bayou!

(I'm trying not to get shut down--will be wrapping this up so quickly it'll be over before you know it!)

 

[kastoney]

Welcome back. So sorry to hear about your health troubles, but glad you are feeling better and more importantly got to the world to celebrate. Can't way to eat all about it

 

[DLFan123]

Welcome back. So sorry to hear about your health troubles, but glad you are feeling better and more importantly got to the world to celebrate. Can't way to eat all about it

Aw thank you. I'm so glad you're still here reading along.

There is nothing less magical than being really ill. One of the hardest parts was thinking about Disney vacations, until I knew for certain it was something I could do again soon! Who knew that Disney trips could have such power.

Thanks for your grace on the ice cream brain. Apparently there were more lapses...call it margarita brain, ice cream brain...on this last trip one could consider it pina colava frenzy. It happens though...

 

[DLFan123]

After our non-award winning "wiener," we headed to watch the incredible stage show Aladdin, which has now been retired.


This is the pretty stage area before the show, since photography is not allowed during the show. Can't wait to see what they'll do in here next. This was definitely a shortened version of a Broadway quality show.

After the cool break inside, we park hopped across for our early dinner reservation at Blue Bayou.

After just a short wait, we were taken to our table right along the water. This was the view from our table:


You can see one of the pirate's ships floating by in the background.

For anyone who has never eaten here, it is hard to realize just how dark it is, especially at these tables along the water. The tables closer to the entrance to the dining room have much more light, but where we were sitting, you cannot even see the food you are about to eat. I love photographing my food with a flash just so I know what it looks like!

Unfortunately they changed the menu at this restaurant and took away my beloved crab cakes! On the fortunate side, this means that DP and I would now just share her typical entrée choice, the portabella maque choux. But first things first!

We started out with a bread basket, a new selection since our last visit here when they just had pretty standard rolls:


You can see some of the ordinary BB rolls there in the basket, a mild sourdough, and then the newest additions, the sweet potato cornbread.

Here is a close up of the cornbread:


I am not typically a cornbread fan myself, believing that the natural dryness of the cornmeal is simply too dry no matter how much butter I use. These heavenly little wedges, however, are not dry in the least. I'm assuming the sweet potato lends itself to the moisture, perhaps as well to the richer color. I didn't really taste any sweet potato, but this bread also had a mild sweetness to it. I was quite pleased with this change, unlike my sadness over losing my favorite crab cakes from the menu.

One exciting thing about sharing an entrée means that I'd have room for an appetizer. I had always wanted to try the shrimp cocktail, and seeing as how it was our honeymoon, and I was having to go without my crab cakes and was getting a *mushroom* instead, DP agreed I could finally try it!

Here it was:


I'm so glad I had the picture so I could figure out what was going on here! The shrimp were without tails, and they were diced a bit so you could enjoy this with a fork. Perfect, since it was too dark to see any of what we were eating.


This was served with a nice spicy cocktail sauce blended in, as well as diced tomatoes and celery. It was the perfect way to start the meal on such a hot day. I loved it and look forward to having it again.

Then our salads came:


The typical BB house salad, with the house dressing

When you split a meal at BB, they charge you a fair split-plate fee. This means you also get two salads with your meal.

The house salad is served with a nice tangy dressing, which, depending on who prepares it, may be applied in excess. This was not the case today. This was just the right amount. It also has candied pecans, cherry tomatoes, sliced red onions, and my favorite part, the cheese! I believe this is a mild goat cheese. I'm sorry I don't recall. It is not blue cheese...if it was, DP wouldn't have eaten it, and I know she ate this. There is also the little cracker thing on the side...crusted parmesan shavings I think? The new, trendy version of a crouton, I'm told. I believe there is a special fancy name for this now.

After our salads, our meal came.

The portabella macque choux:


We'd modified this item a bit. At the time, they were serving it over a bed of couscous. DP prefers the BB potatoes (who doesn't), so we had it placed over those. We also ordered a side of those so I wouldn't have to compete with her for these.

The mushroom itself is very tangy, too much so I believe. There is too much acid in the marinade...the potatoes help to balance it, but over the couscous it's enough to make me pucker.

This is served with a nice sweet balsamic reduction (could use a bit more of that if you ask me, and less of the vinegar in the marinade), diced veggies and yummy spinach.

The spinach goes great with the delicious potatoes! The potatoes are a heavenly au gratin type of potato with a good deal of spice, I believe from horseradish. Even though I am a wimp when it comes to spice, I could eat these all day!

We had a lovely meal here, and we decided to forego the dessert since we'd be having the Fantasmic dessert package later with reserved seating, a treat which has also since been retired.

When we were finished and just delightfully full, we hopped on the train to head over to Tomorrowland to catch a few attractions, before rounding our way back to Fantasyland and then back to New Orleans Square to check in for dessert.



Up next, Fantasmic dessert! All aboard!

 

[DLFan123]

After enjoying Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, we headed over to check in for the Fantasmic reserved seating and dessert in New Orleans Square. Who knew this would be the last time that we'd have a chance to experience this.

This is not an all-you-can-eat experience like the Wishes dessert party in MK, but it should be when you think of the cost! Instead, each person is presented with a dessert box containing one of each type of dessert, plus some cheeses, grapes and crackers. Honestly it's well over what one person can eat (except maybe for the dads in your group), so it doesn't really matter that it's not a buffet. Plus, you get to keep your leftovers in the Fantasmic box, and you can munch on your yummy desserts later. You also get unlimited pop, bottled water, and hot drinks like tea, coffee or decaf, and cocoa.

I was not surprised to find the box selection was the same as it has been in the past when we've done this:


Starting on the lower left going clockwise, you have a flourless chocolate cake, below that a tiny macaroon, a plain New York style cheesecake with the chocolate Mickey head, a lemon tart, a raspberry filled shortbread cookie with frosting and star decals, three types of babybel cheese plus crackers, a milk chocolate and white chocolate truffle, and grapes.

Everything in this box is very good. One thing I've always been impressed with is the quality of these tiny desserts. At WDW, I've experienced that sometimes the tiny desserts at these special events aren't as good as they are cute. This really is not the case here, with each of these tasting as good as their large counterparts might.

My favorite is almost always the lemon tart, because the fruity sour taste makes it seem more refreshing. We typically save our cheese and grapes to eat for breakfast one morning. Somehow, the grapes they use in these boxes are always better than other grapes found on property. They are just crispier and not limp at all.

The main reason we have chosen this dessert package is to get a confirmed seat, an actual chair, not just a seat on the ground, for Fantasmic. And boy is it worth it.

We thoroughly enjoyed the show, as well as our great view.




After Fantasmic, we headed back to our room and found this:


Although we were only staying in a standard room, and although we'd not received turn down service any other nights of this trip, all of sudden we started receiving it this night. My guess was that our housekeeper changed, and either it is a perk that we should have received the entire stay, or this new housekeeper thought we were CL guests. Either way, we enjoyed it. As always, this was Disney chocolate, so it was very delicious.