"Hee hee hee, haw haw haw!" A vegetarian and a carnivore EAT again! COMPLETE!!!

We adored Cali Grill during our Dec 2012 trip and have Adrs for it this October....now im wondering if we should cancel for something else? I would really hate wasting a 2 ts credit meal! I tried doing all new TS restaurants this trip but couldn't pass up CG and its amazing view for Wishes.....did you go back in December and have better luck? Can you request a specific server???
 
OK, your review helped me decide between Hollywood Brown Derby and Yachtsman...Yachtsman it is! :)
 
Great reviews- still reading them all. My husband proposed in front of the castle after 8 years of dating - my picture almost looks identical lol:

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So sorry you had a bad bus experience getting to YS. We had something similar happen to us a few years ago and I was not in the best mood by the time we got to the restaurant. But I'm glad the server and the food made up for it and you had a wonderful meal! Those rolls are seriously heaven.
 
Ahhhh well in that case I'll be doing a full food trippie, of course!!! Ahhhh when in 2016 are you going? :) :) xxxxxxx
We go June 11-17, 2016 and we're staying at the Beach Club! I was hoping for the Boardwalk since we havent stayed there before, but the youngest DS (14) decided that the POOL was most important!!
 
On a random note, I'm making my trip plans for February and your review of the cheese sauce at Cosmic Ray's is still pushing me to eat there. RIP cheese sauce, I never even got to know you.
Love you review of YSH. I really want to eat there, mostly for the bread. Love that you guys go to signatures. As a veggie I always check what Ben is eating to see if it's worth going! Hate to spend a lot on "blah" food. Of course your personality and writing style make reading it all extremely enjoyable! Looking forward to the rest of this report and the ones you've got coming up!
 


I'm so sold on YS! If we do a signature, this will be the one!!! :tinker:

It's so funny you hated your mojito @ Bongo's. I have a cruise planned & had that on my list to try, now I'm not so sure if I'll enjoy it. I have a feeling Bongo's would be pretty authentic. Your description sounded pretty gross :lmao:LOL!!!!:scared:
 
I am drooling at your YSH meal...yum yum yum.. I want that bread again! And I absolutely LOVED the chocolate peanut cake too :lovestruc Stuffed to the max afterwards for certain!
 
I just found your report. Thank you for you great review of Yachtsman. I was deciding between that and Flying Fish. I am sticking with Yachtsman. I don't think my daughter would do the "char crust" at Flying Fish. Oh my goodness!! Thank you for the picture of Eddy. We saw him when we were there last September. We still talk about him. I can't wait to show my daughter his pictures.
 
Guys I'm so so sorry for the long delay! It's now been over 2 years since we got back from this trip which is so ridiculous but I'm determined to finish it!! I want to start my Christmas dining reviews haha! I hope y'all still find these useful! :)

Restaurantasaurous (and bonus parade story!)

So! The plan today was Animal Kingdom for the second time, to tackle all the bits and bobs we hadn’t done on the first visit. Read: Festival of the Lion King. We were planning to spend the while day at AK, to finish up all the attractions we hadn’t seen. However, I woke up feeling really coldy booo :( We both fancied a lie-in and I felt I could really use one, so we stayed in bed til about 8am and didn’t rush around to get ready like we normally did. We left about 9.15. Soooo much later than normal for us! We did Everest first, then decided to do FOTLK at 11.30 as that was our main reason for visiting!

Before that though, I was starving and we wanted to get a jalapeno cream cheese pretzel to tide us over until lunch. However, our plan was scuppered! It was ‘too early’ for the jalapeno cream cheese pretzels. I wholeheartedly disagreed with this statement but unfortunately they just weren’t ready yet :( So, I got a packet of chips (crisps) to keep me going, whilst Benj bravely went without. It was around this time that we made a joint decision not to stay at AK for the whole day. Neither of us can really remember why, I think it was just both of us felt like we’d kinda done AK for the time being, and we were both gagging to get back to Epcot and do some more F&W :D So our new plan was made: we would leave at 12 after FotLK, go for lunch at WPE in DTD, and then head to Epcot for the remainder of the afternoon/evening. It was a good plan, and I was excited for it :D

It was 11.10 by this point so we made our way over to the theatre, stopping to use the restrooms en route. As we came out of the restrooms, we met up outside, as you do when you’re a couple :D Out of nowhere, a guy came up to us and said ‘Hi guys, my name is Tim, are you having a good time today?’ We were like errrr yes, thank you! He went on to ask us where we were from, so we told him. He then asked us if we were celebrating, and I told him we’d just gotten engaged :) I was wondering who this chatty Cathy was but he had a Disney lanyard on and looked official so I just figured he was like a survey guy. He then said ‘Do you guys have a moment to speak with me?’ Oooooh, awkward. Obviously we didn’t want to be rude but we actually were en-route to FotLK and there was only ONE showing we could see that day and I did once famously say it was the best attraction in all of WDW. So staying to chat with this random guy and potentially missing the start of the show/not being able to get in, may have ruined my entire holiday. I said to him “ooooh we’re just on our way to see FotLK actually!” and he was like ‘no problem, I won’t keep you long!’ (You better not, Tim.) He continued to chat to us whilst I hopped from foot to foot like a mad nervous woman, desperately trying to keep one eye on what I was sure would be hordes of people making their way to FotLK, sittin’ in our seats, blockin’ our view, and preventing us from having the amazing experience I had planned.

Then, Tim dropped the bombshell. “I work for Animal Kingdom Entertainment and I’m looking for fun families to be in this afternoons parade.”

Cue dropped jaws from both of us.

“Is this something you guys might be interested in?”

UMMM! Wow. Insanity. I had read a few trippies before of this happening, but I couldn’t believe it was happening to US! But but but…we had a new plan! We were going to have lunch at WPE, go shopping in WoD and then go to Epcot! WE HAD A NEW PLAN DAMNIT. It sounds absolutely ridiculous now and trust me when I say neither of us can believe how reluctant we were, but neither of us were keen at first! I think we knew our time was limited and having to hang around at AK when we didn’t really want to, wasn’t ideal.

Back to the conversation:

Me: “Oh, wow! Thank you so much! Hmmmm I’m not sure though, what time is the parade?”

Tim: “4 o’clock. I will meet you at 3.15, you’ll be done by 5.00.”

Me and Ben: “Oooooh wow, it sounds so amazing, oh it would be so cool, but what about Epcot, what about shopping, ooooh it would be so awesome though…” etc etc

After a few minutes of this, I said to Benj, well we have to really don’t we! Tim looked slightly confused but relieved, and he gave us a map and told us to meet him at a certain spot at 3.15. We thanked him profusely, said goodbye, and continued walking down to FotLK.

And then it hit me. WE WERE GOING TO BE IN THE PARADE.

OMGOMGJSNSJNBVJNBVBDBBBBBZZZZZZ

I honestly think we had both been so shocked, that it hadn’t sunk in. But like 30 seconds after saying bye to Tim, it sunk in. Massively! We were jumping around and dancing and whooping and shouting like gen-u-ine crazy people :D Wooooooooooo! I couldn’t believe it. Out of all the people in the park that day, he’d chosen us. He said he was after fun families. We were a fun family! I felt like I’d won the lottery :D I began to feel sooooooo bad that we hadn’t been super duper excited when Tim had been speaking to us, but we really were in shock! I was hoping we could apologise later! We took our seats in FotLK (good ones, phew!) and while we waited for the show to start, started to analyse why he’d chosen us :D We figured that we were both wearing Disney t-shirts, we were probably both smiling and joking when he saw us (we generally are :) ) and our Just Engaged badges obviously meant we were celebrating! Whatever he saw in us, we were chuffed :)

The show itself was, obviously, amazing. At the end, we cheered and cheered and cheered, and cheered some more until our throats hurt :D yay! We then went to see if our pretzels were ready, and they were YAY! So 2 x one of the best uses of a snack credit done :D It was getting kinda near lunchtime by this time but we both really fancied one and it was one of our only chances to get one. So we did!

It was then time for our EE FP’s so we did that, before walking over to Dinoland (not the real name but CBA to type it) as I had a sudden urge to go on Dinosaur. SUCH A GOOD RIDE!

After this pleasant hour or so, it was lunchtime! Felt like 2 minutes ago we were eating pretzels (it pretty much was) but this is the way when one is inside a Disney park.

Today’s lunch choice was Restaurantosaurus, an excellent decision I think you’ll agree. I was feeling in a CRAZY mood, so opted for chicken strips which I never normally get. Very much a cheeseburger girl. Benj, on the other hand, was feelin’ the burger, so chose the veggie burger. We both got fountain drinks, and cheesecake and choc mousse. 2 x CS meals, mmmmmm sooooo much food! My chicken strips were actually really good and I was glad I’d chosen them. Note my condiment choices neatly lined up on the tray. And lettuce on my chips. Not sure about that? My plate is just so much neater than any of my Pecos Bills ones. I think maybe cause they don’t have cheese sauce here :( sigh Otherwise you KNOW that stuff would be slathered all over everything.

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Ben’s veggie burger, jaunty angle.

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The cheesecake was….not good. Don’t get it. The choc mousse was pleasant.

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Oops just found this photo of even more condiments! I really do love condiments. No sauce for her fries makes Libby a sad girl.

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It’s a nice CS location, I’d recommend it if you aren’t feeling the meatfest that is Flametree.

The Verdict

It's a blue dress! Good food but not life-changing!

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Bonus - That time we were in a parade!!

I feel like this needs sharing! So I'm going to share it!!

After lunch, we did a couple more rides and then it was getting close to the time we needed to meet Tim. EEEEK!!! We went to the restroom to spruce ourselves up a bit before stardom really hit us, and then went to stand by the big blue bear to wait for Tim.

After a while, another family joined us, and then another young couple like us. There was no eye contact made haha, I think we were all wondering if we were in the right place! After a few minutes, Tim rocked up and we were all relieved. Yay! We hung around chatting for a bit and me and Ben had a chance to apologise PROFUSELY to Tim, who looked slightly peeved at the memory and gave us a ‘no problem’ which I personally felt was more like a ‘you’re lucky I didn’t change my mind’ hahah! It was all good though and he thawed out after a bit, we apologised sooooo many times! Once everyone had arrived, there was me and Benj, a young couple on their honeymoon (we LOVED them! ) a big American family (big as in amount of family members…not weight…) a small English family, and two CM’s who replaced two no-shows at the last minute. Why would you be a no-show!? Jeez, that’s almost as bad as being really reluctant to be in the parade! …….*tumbleweed*………..

Tim then led us all to a room in Pizzafari. There was a bunch of tables and chairs so we all sart down. We sat down on the same table as our new BFF’s, the honeymoon couple. Obviously we were great friedns as I can’t even remember their names hah! We were SO EXCITED at this point, and BFF’s were too :D We were all chattering excitedly about what was going to happen. I was pretty much losing it. On each table, there was a photopass document with each couple/groups name on, YAY! Free photos! We already had Photopass, but YAY! There was also earplugs, as apparently the music was gonna get louudddd on the parade!

Tim gave us a speech about what we were going to be doing which was exciting :D He then invited us all to queue up to get our COSTUMES! It was a hat and jacket, and we were allowed to choose which colour hat we wanted :D Me and Benj got matching, cause we’re cool like that.

Then, we had our photos taken!

Look at the pure joy on my face

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Our honeymoon mates asked us to take a photo of them, so naturally we asked them to return the favour :D

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And then we took 1 more picture of us both, well, just because.

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I thoroughly enjoy Ben’s face in this:

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I’m really really not a hat person so was slightly freaking out about having to wear one, but Ben said I looked cute :D so it was all okay.

Once everyone had their costumes on and had their photos taken, Tim gave a short speech about safety etc and what not to do (take photos backstage, obviously! ). According to my notes, he finished his speech with ‘Turn Up, Be Safe, and Have Fun.’ which I think is a motto we can all apply to infinite areas of our lives. What a wise man!

AND THEN, ladies and gentleman, it was time to go backstage.

Now obviously, we’d already been backstage a couple days before on our KTTK tour *flicks hair smugly* so it was no biggie.



I’M KIDDING! It was incredible and we were like the cats that got the cream. We were all lead out in single-ish file though a door and backstage. We paused by some lockers and were asked to put all unnecessary items in them. I of course kept back my lipbalm, and a pair of sunglasses, and put my bag into the locker. Ben didn’t have anything, as he is a man.

Most of the group was then held back, and one family at a time were led out of sight and we presumed, towards the actual backstage area. EEP! While we waited, we chatted with our honeymoon mates.

And then it was our turn! We had SUCH A BANGIN’ FLOAT! We were led to a rikshaw being led by a hippo! Only in Disney, eh! The guy driving the hippo was dressed as a bird too! Love itttt. He was already sat atop his hippo when we rocked up, so we waved at him and he waved back :D Even more excitedly, guess who was behind us? Only MINNIE HERSELF! Oof it was all too much. We hopped atop our rikshaw and got comfy, then we were pretty much left to soak up the atmosphere! There were seatbelts on the float so we got strapped in, then sat back and just took it all in.

Honestly, this bit before the parade was even more fun than the actual parade. Seriously! I am fascinated by all things backstage. This was like a limited time backstage experience, for FREE! I’m going to try and extract every single memory from my head and write it down, partly to try to give you guys a glimpse into our experience, and partly because I want to remember it myself!

The floats were all lined up in the order we’d be going out. We were nearly in the middle, towards the front. We had a great view of everything going on around us as we were quite high up on our float :D It was amazing!

To the right of us was the place where all the fur characters were hangin’ out. There was a giant fan and they all just kept standing there bless em, must have been sooooo hot! After a few minutes, a few of the characters noticed us, and that’s when the fun really started :D :D :D

First of all, we had Timon. Now, I don’t mean to be big headed or anything, but he took a bit of a shine to me and it was honestly one of the funniest 15 minutes of my life. First of all, he looked over at us and we waved, and he waved back. Then he did like a double take, and stroked the place his hair would be if he had long hair like mine, then pointed at me and nodded. Lol! I thumbsed up :D Then he went all like coy and stuff (what an amazing CM to be able to act all this out wearing that costume? So impressive!) and shuffled over to Baloo (love the random mix of characters all hanging out together!) He tapped him on the shoulder, Baloo turned around, and Timon pointed at me and fanned himself! Lol! Then Timon kept looking over at me, checking his pulse (LOL) walking over to the giant fan and peeking behind his shoulder at me! He then walked away but was still looking at me and kept bumping into other characters! Our driver turned around and said “Are you doing that to him!?” hahaha we were absolutely cracking up, it was so funny! I was smiling so hard my cheeks hurt! Massive props to whoever was Timon as they honestly made our day :)

Another CM then walked past, saw Timon, looked at me, and said “Stop being a troublemaker Timon!” hahah ohhhhhh. We were also big time loving Baloo, who was just walking around the fan area, twiddling his thumbs!

If we peeked behind us, we could see Minnie getting her costume checked for the final time :D I just loved how in character they all were. I mean I know they have to be, because there were civillians there (guests :p) but we still just found it incredible! Minnie was dancing around her float once her costume was all ready, so cute!

After about 20 minutes, the music started. It was go time! We had absolutely no idea what we were going to do haha, we were just going to go with the flow! As the characters left the fan area and went over to their floats, we got a big wave from Timon, and then Chip and Dale waved to us! HIGHLIGHT.

Thennn, we were off! The music was super loud but bearable, and we got used to it pretty quickly. We didn’t wear our earplugs. The float moved a lot slower than we thought it would, but before we knew it we were onstage! Ironically, we’d never watched Mickey’s Jammin Jungle Parade but I could already tell from the bangin’ tune that we were going to love it! It has such a catchy song!

Honestly, it was such a surreal experience to be on a float, in a parade, with thousands of people staring at us. I actually could not believe it was happening to us. It was initially really crazy and a bit scary, and we didn’t know what to do! However, we just started dancing and jiggling like crazy people, and after a few minutes I was KNACKERED and drenched in sweat and thinking ‘OMmmggggg this is going to be loooooong! ’

I knew it was really important to smile the whole time, and look like we were having an awesome time. Which we were! I had a whole new respect for parade CM’s – if we were knackered sitting down, imagine doing it walking/jogging along, and dancing, and smiling, and singing!? And imagine doing that in a costume! ? Exhausted.com!

We were able to have brief conversations as we went along when there was a break in crowds, and I remember us both wondering what the other guests were thinking as they saw us!? Were they like ‘Ooh, who are these guys? ’ or was it more ‘Ummmm what are these guests doing in the parade!?’ haha! I quickly learned it was more rewarding to direct my attention to children/younger guests, as they weren’t fussed either way who we were and were just chuffed when we waved to them! Hehe :D I did enjoy interacting with adults though and we got loads of cheers and woops which was nice :D Possibly they were also thinking “why hasn’t Ariel got her tail on” hahha but we’ll never know! I loooved it when adults waved to us, felt like a right celeb :D

We improvised some dance routines during the route which I think is fairly impressive given the circumstances; in particular there was a bit during the music where it went ‘BOOM, BOOM BOOM BOOM’ and we worked out a little move around that bit which involved some foot jiggling and air punching. If only we had a video!

By about halfway through the parade route, we were both sweaty messes, but having a ball! There were lots of CM positioned along the route who gave us mad support, which was nice :D They made us feel like we were doing a good job! I was SO HOT and sweaty by this point.

Towards the end of the parade, there was a couple of photopass guys positioned right next to the parade route and he took a load of photos of us, which I will share here for your viewing pleasure!

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(think this one is half way through that special move I mentioned ;) )

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Amazing, right!? So glad we have these! :)

Eventually, we spotted our honeymoon mates bouncing up and down and waving to us on the right hand side of the parade route, and then our float stopped and we hopped off :D DONE!
Tim was there and he said well done :D We stood with our chums and whooped and cheered everyone else on as the other floats bought up the rear. Chip had been walking behind us and he came up and hugged us as he walked by :D

And then who should come over to us but Timon himself! He walked over clutching his heart hahaha, and then Benj showed Timon his ‘Just Engaged’ badge and pointed to it! Lol! Timon took a step back, shook his head and shook Ben’s hand! He then kissed my hand and waved goodbye as he walked backstage. Awwwww. So sweet.

Once the other familiies had hopped off their parades and we were all stood together, we waited for the whole parade to go backstage and then were led back to the lockers. We got our stuff out and then went to the Pizzafari room again where there was cold water, YES! I downed mine in like 2 seconds. We then gave our costumes back :( said goodbye to our honeymoon mates, hugged Tim and thanked him profusely, and then we were back out into the park! It all happened so fast, it was like it had never happened!

What an incredible experience!! Okay, back to the food!!!
 
Food and Wine Snacks!

After our amazing AK experience, we nipped back to SSR to change and freshen up, then got straight on a bus for an evening of Epcot fun :)

When we got to Epcot, obviously we made a beeline for the F&W Fest. Ben decided to start his feasting with a cheeky bite to eat at Terra. We got into the habit of doing this, because being a veggie he can’t guarantee being able to get something at every booth. in fact, at many, there isn’t anything :( Or it’s dessert! We always get so excited when the see the V sign but then realize it’s dessert. Of course it’s vegetarian! It’s dessert*!

*I realise lots of desserts have gelatin in which isn’t veggie but my point is, who wants to eat dessert when they’re drinking and eating round the world! Ahem.

So, he went to Terra, and we arranged to meet at Canada as I wanted to start things off right with the mushroom filet. However, I forgot how far it was! It really is a trek from the WS entrance, to Canada. There was a big queue when I got there too so I figured Ben would pretty much be on the way back by this point haha! I got in the queue anyway, and I ordered the filet. Just after I got my food, I remembered Benj had asked me to get him a Moosehead. Doh! The queue was short so I hopped back in to order it for him. Just as I emerged from the queue with all my goodies, he was there to meet me :D Perfect timing! We walked over to the waterfront bit and asked a couple stood at a table if we could possibly share their table with them. They were totally up for it which was lovely :)

The filet. Oh lord, the filet. It was so incredibly tender, well cooked, flavoursome. It was a generous portion too! I was impressed.

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Would love to try the actual filet at Le Cellier, maybe next year ☺

Whilst I ate my filet, and Benj drank his Moosehead and ate his chilli, we chatted with our table-mates. They were seriously the nicest couple and we ended up chatting for aaages! We spoke abut their travels across Europe, basketball (they were big fans!) and how rubbish football is (we are not fans! ) We also talked at length about FOOD which is my number 1 topic of conversation, and the differences between English and American food. So lovely. I swear everyone we spoke to this trip was just the nicest. Must be a Disney thing! We eventually said goodbye and wished them an awesome rest of their trip. We headed on over to Greece as there was food at the stall for Benji. He got the spanokopita which we had the previous time, and I got the ‘taste of Greece.’

Ben enjoyed his fried cheese but it was slightly overcooked so it was all chewy and not soft and delicious like previously. He still ate it all though! Fried cheese, hello!
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Mine was…gross. I don’t know why! The olives were nice, but the spread was like taramasalta and it was not good! I ended up leaving almost all of it (Benj couldn’t have it due to the fish) which was gutting as I hate leaving food! Oh well.

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We stopped in Ireland so Ben could get the Kerrygold cheese selection, he loooooves this!

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While in Ireland, I was unable to resist the lure (geddit!?) of the Lobster and Seafood Fisherman’s Pie. This was SO GOOD!

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Look at that lobster! Sweet lord, it was beautiful. So sweet and succulent, and I thought SO generous! You’d imagine it would just have a hint of lobster, maybe a crumb, but it had an entire claw! I was freaking out, and the whole pie was gone in like 10 seconds. So good! Def recommend getting this seafood treat if you’re passing Ireland!

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We were quite full after these nibbles. We paused in France for a bit and had these lovely photos taken by a PP photographer!

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"Kiss the girl"

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THE RING

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After this we watched Smashmouth before heading back to the hotel for some much needed sleep!! :)

The Verdict

Although there's always a few duds, collectively F&W food is always good in my opinion :)

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Welcome back! I'm so glad you're continuing your trip report. I've been anxiously awaiting another installment and you DID NOT disappoint! That is too wonderful that you guys were picked to be in the parade. Good thing Benji proposed when he did...you might have run off with Timon instead!
 
I love, love, love your report! I just spent tonight reading both of them! Congrats on your engagement! I see that you live in Hampshire - I taught in Portsmouth about 25 years ago!
 
Welcome back! Love that yall got to do the parade. Such a great memory. I cant wait for your review of yalls wedding viewing trip!
 
Sunshine Seasons


Another day of the holiday, another day of amazing food! We spent the morning in Epcot Future World today, and after doing some rides we decided it was an appropriate time for breakfast. We weren't sure where to go but we decided to walk BACK to the land because I knew Sunshine Seasons had some yummers options.


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I believe we both got the Adult Breakfast Platter, but Benj got his with no meat and extra eggs and potatoes.


These were really good! And sooooo filling! I LOVED the biscuit with those little tubs of whipped butter they give you, mmmmm.


Meaty


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Meatless


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We were major full after these plates ‘o’ goodness! So good!


The Verdict


Really good value for a CS credit!


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Chefs De France

After breakfast we did a few more attractions before heading over to France for our 12.15pm Chefs de France. We had made a slight tactical error eating breakfast so late, as neither of us were remotely hungry for our lunch. Oops. We both really wanted to eat here though so we decided to man up and push through. How many times have I said that this dining review!?

We were sat at a nice table by the window in what is a really lovely restaurant. It was a bit weird though, the atmosphere was just odd and we both got weird vibes from the CM’s working there :/ Not even sure why! Our waiter was nice though.

We started with a gorgeous fresh baguette and proper butter. YUM!

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Cute lunch date!

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Our waiter offered to take a photo of us, bless his heart.

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I’d known what I was having here for about 4 years haha, and chose to get two starters as my main and have them at the same time.

First up, the infamous onion soup.

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Wow, was this cheesy. It was almost TOO cheesy, even for me! It was also very rich and buttery, with a strong beefy stock as the base of the actual soup. I tried to make a dent in it but it was a struggle! I also wasn’t a fan of the cheese hugely, I think it was Gruyere? Very strong with a distinctive taste! (retrospective 2 years later opinion – I love gruyere now haha!)

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I also got the A la Flamme Alsacienne (Alsace specialty Flatbread) - With Crème fraîche, onion and bacon which was very nice but a little dry. I only ate about half a slice of this, and asked for the rest to be boxed up! What a wimp!

Benji got the Gratin de Macaroni (Macaroni Baked) - With cream and Gruyère cheese. He really liked it but said it was also sooooooooo rich! I think he gave it a good effort though, and managed to force most of it down.

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We paid up, paying OOP as it’s quite reasonably priced, and I had 2 starters instead of a main.

The Verdict

A lovely restaurant and we enjoyed our lunch, but it wasn't as amazing as I'd expected it to be I don't think. It's a blue dress!
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Kouzzina

After lunch at Chefs de France we both really felt like a nap. We got the bus back to SSR, had an hour's nap, and then headed back out to Epcot for a wander and some cocktails! Our plan was to go and watch the Pacers game at ESPN before our dinner at Kouzzina :)

We had some lovely PP photos taken at the entrance :)

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We both got drinks from Hawaii, and then went to France to get a Grey Goose Slushie each :D These were SO GOOD! SO expensive but so very worth it. Gotta treat yourself sometimes haven’t you (like, every day of the holiday in our case haha) We sat on a cute little bench in France and sipped our drinks :)

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I have absolutely no idea who took this photo for us! I really like it though.

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I have in my notes “Ben decided he was having too much fun” I guess he decided he was having too much fun so we abandoned the ESPN plan, and stayed in Epcot for a while longer wandering around before our ADR at 8.30. No idea what we did during this time though as there are no photos!

About 8pm we finally walked through the walkway towards the Boardwalk. As I’ve said many times during this trippie, we heart the Boardwalk :) Especially at night when it’s all lit up and beautiful!

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As we were still a little early for our ADR, we decided to get a margarita from THIS little beauty – Margarita Joe’s!

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I’m not a huge fan of margs so I got the always amazing Magical Star Cocktail, complete with light-up ice cube.

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Benj is 90% margarita so he got a classic marg.

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Cheers!

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We sat on the bench beside the stall, looking out over the water and enjoying our beverages :)

At about 8.20 we walked over to Kouzzina. As we did saw, I saw a petite blonde lady walking out of the restaurant in chef’s whites, and totally freaked out. It was CAT CORA! Now, I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of hers, I don’t watch Iron Chef really (have seen it a couple times) so I’m not entirely sure how I knew it was her, but I think I just recognized her from reviews and her picture at the front of the restaurant! I was so excited though and couldn’t believe she was actually here! Ben steered me into the restaurant and we checked in and got a buzzer. We went and sat on a bench outside the restaurant and watched as loads of people came out to talk to her, or came over from walking along the boardwalk to talk to her and take photos. It was exciting! Ben was telling me to go over and say hi but I was too shy and because I’m not actually a fan, I thought it’d be awkward if she asked me a question I didn’t know or something lol! It was so awesome watching her interact with guests though, she seemed super friendly and nice :)

Our buzzer then went off and we were led to a nice table for 2. It was weird being here in the night after being here in the morning earlier on in the holibob! Our greeter apologised that our server was trying to sort out a split check with another table and she’d be a few more minutes, so she took our drinks orders. Not a problem at all! I had a glass of pinot and Ben had an Angry Orchard. Our server came over after a little while and introduced herself, she was a TOTAL BABE. She was called Mary-Anne, and we just got on with her straightaway! She was really friendly and easy going and helped us with all our menu choices.

We were bought out delicious bread and oils to start, YUM!

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We then ordered the Saganaki - Seared Haloumi Cheese with Lemon and Oregano - $7.99 and the Spanakopita - Traditional Phyllo Pie of Spinach, Feta, Leeks and Dill - $7.99 with the aim of sharing them as they were both veggie.

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Both were really good!

I then ordered the Kouzzina Trio - Tasting size portions of Greek Style Lasagna, char grilled Lamb Burger and Cinnamon stewed Chicken with Orzo.

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Close up of the lamb burger, which was spicy!

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I can’t really remember what Ben had and I can’t seen anything on the online menus that really looks like it, but I think it was this:

Oven-roasted Vegetables with fresh Herbs topped with Goat Cheese served with Herbed Orzo Pasta

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as that looks like what it is!

I did enjoy mine BUT we literally spent so long chatting with our server, she came over and crouched by our table as the restaurant was clearing around us and it got really cold as I was only nibbling it lol. So it’s my fault, I think it was an amazing dish, but I didn’t make the most of it :( I guess I never will now, as the restaurant is closed!

But it was so nice to talk to Mary-Anne. We talked aaaalll about the American healthcare system, Obamacare, holiday, sick pay, work contracts, her children….so much! She basically didn’t make a lot and had to work crazy hours, and it was very enlightening for us. When we heard that Kouzzina was closing both of us immediately thought of Mary-Anne, and I really hope she has been able to get a new job close-by, or move to another Kouzzina branch or something :( She is such a sweet lady, she deserves it.

I believe we shared a Baklava as you have to really, don’t you!

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It was very nice, cute presentation too. We were literally the last ones in the restaurant by the time we’d finished dessert and we’d stayed taking to Mary-Anne and saying goodbye for like another 10 mins haha! We gave her a massive tip in the end, don’t even want to remember how much but we felt she really had done such a great job serving us. We paid OOP for the wine and the starters so the final bill wasn’t too crazy. We said bye to MA and headed back out onto the Boardwalk!

The Verdict

We had an amazing experience here :) It's almost a wedding dress because of Mary-Anne, but the food wasn't 100% so it's a pink dress!

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