Disney Honeymoon June 1-11 Closing thoughts

[Tinkfan10]

As it has been discussed on the Disboard many times Animal Kingdom is the hottest park. Now in our trip the first week was hot but by the second week we started going into that horrific heat wave that Florida saw this summer and our Animal Kingdom day was the first day of that. By the time lunch rolled around I wished we had had an ADR for anything and I really probably could have tried to walk up to the restaurant Yak and Yeti, but we stayed with the counter service. DO NOT EAT SOMETHING SPICY WHEN YOU ARE HOT!!!!!!! Lunch was very good and I would eat here again but we both got the Kung Po beef and boy oh boy was it spicy which we like but in that sun and heat it was killer. The rice was yummy and a nice was to cool off the heat. We got cookies that we didn't eat but oh well.

Through out the day we used snack credits on things that were cold and I regret to report that i didn't take pictures. My fav was the pineapple frozen bar it was so refreshing and the juice really helped give an energy boost in the hot sun. DH had the strawberry one and he felt the same. While in line for Nemo show we had frozen lemonaids that hit the spot and I could have drank a huge bucket of them.

Next up is dinner at Jiko---Our least favorite of the trip.

 

[catne]

thanks for the review of Yak & Yeti counter service...we'll be trying that out in a couple of weeks

 

[Tinkfan10]

Sorry I disappeared for awhile, I missed you all and truly am almost done with my review. As a reader I never realized how long a review like this takes, especially when we ate as much as we did and were there for so long. First Happy Labor Day to you all and i hope everyone in the dis is doing well.

First up pics of two of my fav snacks from the trip....at the Boardwalk Baker you can get these little mickey cakes that are covered in a chocolate ganache. OH MY GOD!!!!! so good that I went back the day we left to take one on the plane with me. These are a great use of the snack credit and can be split with someone very easily. YUMMMMMMMYYYYYY!!!!!!!!

Next up a favorite of many of you and I highly recommend them....I wouldn't have known to go into the Mara to find them had it not been for the disboard family so thank you. Zebra Domes....little pockets of heaven that have a taste all their own. These and the beignets at FQ are snacks that I was looking forward to....were so absolutely wonderful yet I had no real room for The deluxe plan is great but snacking is really not an option and toward the end of the trip I couldn't think about eating in between meals.

 

[NorweJenNY]

I remember seeing your ice cream cookie sandwich pictures from a few months ago... glad to see some updates! Doesn't matter how long it takes to review! Any time is better than never!

Incredible experience at the Chef's Table at Victoria & Albert's! You WILL always remember an experience like that! Glad you were able to do something like that on your honeymoon!

And thanks for even adding those snack pictures... cute Mickey cake! I have never tried that nor the zebra domes... what are the zebra domes exactly? Everyone raves about them, but I don't know what it is that makes them so good... are they chocolate?

 

[Tinkfan10]

I remember seeing your ice cream cookie sandwich pictures from a few months ago... glad to see some updates! Doesn't matter how long it takes to review! Any time is better than never!

Incredible experience at the Chef's Table at Victoria & Albert's! You WILL always remember an experience like that! Glad you were able to do something like that on your honeymoon!

And thanks for even adding those snack pictures... cute Mickey cake! I have never tried that nor the zebra domes... what are the zebra domes exactly? Everyone raves about them, but I don't know what it is that makes them so good... are they chocolate?

zebra domes are part chocolate as you see from the pic because they were melting. Inside is cake on the bottom with a kahula/coffee like mousse. The interesting thing to me was they were not very strong with the coffee flavor just creamy and wonderful. Hope that helps and if anyone out there can explain them better feel free. See you all tonight after work for more updates.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

thanks for the update. When we went for my son b-day we got him the big size Mickey head cake but I'm glad Broadwalk sells the small one b/c he was asking if he can get the Mickey head again (I explained Mickey gave it to you for your b-day and we are not going for your b-day but he said its will be Daddy's b-day so Mickey can give it to him. So now I'll go to Broadwalk and get that small size cake and my son will be in heaven). Thanks again.

 

[Tinkfan10]

Okay...this is the post I have been dreading because it does not have good things to say. Last year my mom and dad ate at Jiko and raved about it, also the reviews here have always been very good. We are always looking for something new and I thought this would be a nice way to spend the evening after the day at Animal Kingdom. My original thought that day was to head over to the Lodge this is not a very good idea with the Florida heat. The best decision we made that day...one of the first of the summer heat wave was to leave the park early...about 4....to go back to the resort and shower and spend time cooling off. We got there and we were both stunned with the beauty of the resort taking time to go see the zebra and other animals outside.
Our first impression of Jiko was that it is pretty and a nice looking place to relax and have a more adult dinner.

The place setting.

We got there early and had to wait about 15 minutes which we thought was interesting as the restaurant was only half full. It has been mentioned on the dis in recent reviews of Jiko that many have had complaints about the staff. This was 100% true for us...they all seemed to be standoffish and very Non-Disney in their customer service. We were finally shown to our table where we waited another 10 minutes to see our server. There were three tables near us for the night that our server had as well and they were all getting attention from him but throughout the night we were treated as afterthoughts. Omar was his name and when he finally showed up we ordered our drinks and wanted to discuss the menu with him. Well Omar never wanted to discuss the menu with us...I asked about the lamb as I love lamb and he had nothing to say about it rather pointing me to the filet with mac and cheese. Told him I didn't really want a steak but was looking for something more unique and inquired about another dish again all he talked about was the "special" dish being the filet. So I was like fine we need more time but for apps we would like to try something adventurous "how is the ostrich?" He tells us it is good but not any details...he treated us like we were a bother and he was annoyed with us. We ended up getting the ostrich and the flatbread as I had read about both.
Sorry we took bites of each...by the time our drinks came and then the apps which also took forever we were really hungry and frustrated, resulting in me forgetting.

The ostrich was alittle to rare for me but the flavor was amazing....these dishes were the only high point of the night.
DH and I both decided on the steak...he wanted it and I settled because I had no idea what else to get as any question was pushed right back to the steak so I was whatever, maybe it is great....I have seen enough pics here to know that it is popular. Well....the mac and cheese was dry and under flavored and the steak was a too thick average cut of beef.

Outback steakhouse has better steaks then what we got and this only made he more as I didn't want it to begin with...now I know that it is partly my fault as I let him talk me into it but when I go to new restaurants I trust the opinions of the staff...that is their job....at Artist Point it resulting in me trying things I never would have and loving them...same with Flying Fish....Jiko not so much. Omar never came back to see if we needed anything and we had to hunt him down to get our drinks refilled. Remember how I said that the other tables got better attention...well he went back to them and answered their questions checking to be sure all was well...so why not us. When I went to the bathroom and got a chance to overhear other servers I was so upset because they were making recommendations and helping their tables. We had finished our meal and it took Omar 15 minutes after we were finished to even ask us if we wanted dessert. At this point all we wanted to do was leave but we gave him a third chance....not a favorite here and I didn't ask for opinions I just ordered. The lemon curd was way way too sour and after one bite I gave up on it and DH who loves chocolate cake hated his and after taking a bite I agreed that it was too dense and the flavor was not right.

We again had to hunt Omar down for the bill reminding him again that we were on the dining plan. I had ordered a glass of wine with dinner so I included cash for that with our room key for the dining plan. He didn't allow me to explain anything just took the folder and left, so I expected to get my change which I was going to leave part of as his undeserved tip. He comes back with the receipt to sign and no money I ask him about my change explained that the cash was for the wine and he said "oh I charged the wine to the room" I explained that he was to void the charge as he had no permission to do so and that I wanted all my change back now or a manager. He actually took all the money for his tip which when computing it would have been a 25% tip I DON"T THINK SO!!!!! Now all I want is to get out of Jiko but am so worried that my room has still been charged. The whole time we let all the other stuff go. We went over to Mara to get Zebra Domes and DH and I still are discussing our experience. Now any other day I would have demanded the manager but I was trying to not make a big deal about it but we both decided that no we were worried about the charge and while we knew we wouldn't get anything out of it...free meal...we still went back and demanded the manager as to fix the issue and hope that others didn't get the same service and experience. The manager was livid and assured me that he would look into the issue and make sure himself that our room was not charged...and when I told him that Omar had taken all my money without asking if it was his tip that made him even more embarrassed and upset at his staff. By the time we got back to FQ there was a message already on the phone that our room had not been charged and he again was so sorry we had a negative experience. Well I can say that this is one restaurant I won't be going back to...not only was the service terrible but the food was not very good, other then our apps. Sorry this is so long but like i said i have been avoiding this post.

 

[oybolshoi]

Sorry to read that you had such a poor experience at Jiko - it has always been a good dining spot for us. And I totally know how you feel ... we tried Artist Point a few years ago and had a similar experience and were stunned because it gets such raves from people. Sometimes it just isn't your night ... it would just be nice if that happened at CS instead of a signature restaurant.

Thanks for taking the time to share and for being honest. If you have a bad experience you should let people know ... nothing at Disney is perfect all the time, more's the pity.

 

[disneygirlinnj]

I hate when one server makes the whole experience horrible! I'm sorry you had such a terrible time.

 

[Golf4food]

Sorry to hear about your bad Jiko experience. It was our favorite place last week. We did not have Omar for a server, however! Our server was Ron and was perhaps the most helpful and friendly server we've ever had anywhere. A good or bad server can make all the difference in the world. We wish we could take Ron with us everywhere we go to eat!

 

[Aimeedyan]

This is the thing that bugs me about WDW dining - with the exception of V&As, the restaurants are incredibly inconsistent. Both in food quality and service. We had a fabulous meal at Jiko but a HORRID meal at LeCellier.

You really can't write off a restaurant after 1 visit, but on the other hand when you have a bad experience you don't want to even bother giving it another try in case it disappoints you.

Love your reviews so far!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I am sorry about Jiko.

 

[cbg1027]

I just found this thread today and I have to say....I love it! Your reviews are great! I spent like an hour reading all the pages at one time.....when I should be writing a paper

Congrats on the marriage! I feel like it's a good omen for your marriage that you were able to call and get a 'last minute' CRT meal!

Thanks for taking the time to post all photos! This has actually helped me in regards to an upcoming trip. My 90+10 opens Sunday and there was one dinner I hadn't decided on yet, but was considering Flying Fish, Jiko, Boma, or Kona.....and now of course, I'm leaning towards Flying Fish!

You mentioned you've spent time in France. Did you just visit or live/study there? I lived there for a year and went to language school. The top two obsessions in my life are France and Disney! I too learned the importance of having some pink in your meat while living there. I always order stuff medium-rare now

I'm practically drooling now.....but have to get back to that paper....ugh.

 

[Tinkfan10]

This is the thing that bugs me about WDW dining - with the exception of V&As, the restaurants are incredibly inconsistent. Both in food quality and service. We had a fabulous meal at Jiko but a HORRID meal at LeCellier.

You really can't write off a restaurant after 1 visit, but on the other hand when you have a bad experience you don't want to even bother giving it another try in case it disappoints you.

Love your reviews so far!

I am glad you are enjoying my review...you are so correct LeCelliar was so good to us and we plan to go back. It really is any where you go that if you have bad service and then are not overly impressed with the food you don't want to bother for fear of a repeat. Will I go to Jiko on our next trip or the one after that no...but will I write it off forever...no that is silly, we just know where we plan to return and I have several others I want to still try first.

 

[Tinkfan10]

I just found this thread today and I have to say....I love it! Your reviews are great! I spent like an hour reading all the pages at one time.....when I should be writing a paper

Congrats on the marriage! I feel like it's a good omen for your marriage that you were able to call and get a 'last minute' CRT meal!

Thanks for taking the time to post all photos! This has actually helped me in regards to an upcoming trip. My 90+10 opens Sunday and there was one dinner I hadn't decided on yet, but was considering Flying Fish, Jiko, Boma, or Kona.....and now of course, I'm leaning towards Flying Fish!

You mentioned you've spent time in France. Did you just visit or live/study there? I lived there for a year and went to language school. The top two obsessions in my life are France and Disney! I too learned the importance of having some pink in your meat while living there. I always order stuff medium-rare now

I'm practically drooling now.....but have to get back to that paper....ugh.

GO finish your paper and good luck. I am so glad that you are enjoying everything. I would call about your upcoming trip now because I think they went back to or are planning to go back to the 180+10. France...I did a summer study abroad there and as they all say it did change my life, but a year I would never have left wow!!!!!

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

Ohhh..I hate when bad service ruins a dining experience!

I still remember our horrible server named Angela at the Kona cafe many years ago. We still haven't been back and it was always our very favorite place to eat.

 

[Shenanigoat]

Service is one of the main key ingrediants to a good meal, it can make crappy food seem better and good food seem terrible. That's horrible that you had that experiance. When I go to Jiko I'll be looking out to make sure I don't get your server.

 

[thejman]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience at Jiko It is true a bad server can spoil your dining experience. Enjoying your reviews.

 

[cbg1027]

I finished my paper at about 3am

Yes, France for a year had a huge impact on me. Next time I go back I have to combine my obsessions and go to Disneyland Paris!

 

[Tinkfan10]

I finished my paper at about 3am

Yes, France for a year had a huge impact on me. Next time I go back I have to combine my obsessions and go to Disneyland Paris!

Funny I have said the same thing...there wasn't time when I was there to go to DLP and boy do i want to go.