Keep Calm and Go to Disney! 10/21 - 11/4/14 COMPLETE

[dixonsontour]

Barb I am here!
I have to catch up on what you have posted so far but will be checking in regularly from now
I will be enjoying WDW like I was there by reading your dining reviews

Lovely to bump into you in Diagon alley - hope you enjoyed the rest of your trip.

 

[sunnysideup3]

Is that lunch only a food and wine time offering? It looks fabulous!

 

[dvc4life]

I will agree with you Barb, that I am saddened by the changes in entertainment in the countries and really, really, really miss Off Kilter. I think it is one of the biggest mistakes ever. So we just pass Canada now and remember the fun we had listening to them. But, who am I, just a loyal EPCOT fan, that will tell everyone that it stinks they were replaced by lumberjackers. Of all things. Keep the music!!!!

Ok, sorry. Rant over.

Your lunch at Tutto looks outstanding! I would have loved everything but the duck. Ewwww. I hope to be able to try one of the pairings while we are there next time.

 

[partyof2]

Wow your pairing lunch looks absolutely gorgeous, all of the food sounds beautiful. I especially like the Caprese salad with a twist as I'm not a fan of sliced tomatoes.

It almost makes me sad that I don't drink!

 

[jedijill]

That lunch looks amazing!

Jill in CO

 

[smiths02]

Thanks so much for your reviews (and all your past reviews)! I am really glad to see your Yachtsman review as our next trip is on DH's birthday, and he wants steak. I know Shula's gets better reviews, but I was looking for something that might be more friendly for my twin toddlers (they are good in restaurants, but still, they are 2).

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

When I saw the Sunshine Seasons heading I knew I the croissant berry pudding would be making an appearance. I need to keep reminding myself to try that. It looks so delicious!

Lobster ravioli, yummy. Glad you had a great lunch at Tutto Gusto.

 

[vettegirl]

Beautiful lunch review! Lobster ravioli yes please!!! I am not a fan of duck either too fatty for my tastes. Glad you enjoyed the solo dine with some friendly folks! Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Linda67]

Lovely to bump into you in Diagon alley - hope you enjoyed the rest of your trip.

It was great to meet you to!

 

[Linda67]

Barb, this is already turning into an epic dining review (as always!)

 

[jabead]

Just found your report! Following along!

Glad to have you here!

Wow, the Tutto Gusto wine lunch looks fantastic. Can't wait to hear about the safari.

Part 1 of my safari review will be posted soon...I hope.

I would have LOVED that duck

I wish you would have been there with me then Joh. You could have LOVED two portions of that duck.

Great start following along

Thanks, happy to have you!

Is that lunch only a food and wine time offering? It looks fabulous!

Yes, as far as I know only the bread, cheeses and most (if not all) of the wines are regularly available on Tutto Gusto.

I will agree with you Barb, that I am saddened by the changes in entertainment in the countries and really, really, really miss Off Kilter. I think it is one of the biggest mistakes ever. So we just pass Canada now and remember the fun we had listening to them. But, who am I, just a loyal EPCOT fan, that will tell everyone that it stinks they were replaced by lumberjackers. Of all things. Keep the music!!!!

Ok, sorry. Rant over.

Your lunch at Tutto looks outstanding! I would have loved everything but the duck. Ewwww. I hope to be able to try one of the pairings while we are there next time.

I feel your pain regarding the loss of Off Kilter, Chris. I tried not to open that can of worms in my dining report but only got to Day 2 before those darn worms came slithering out of their can. Anyway, your reply got me further riled up and I had to go back and edit my post to make sure that everyone knows where I stand regarding this issue.

Here is the link, in case anyone is interested:SAVE OFF KILTER!!!

 

[jabead]

Wow your pairing lunch looks absolutely gorgeous, all of the food sounds beautiful. I especially like the Caprese salad with a twist as I'm not a fan of sliced tomatoes.

It almost makes me sad that I don't drink!

Actually the cost of this event was $94 (including tip) plus tax, which I think is pretty reasonable for a 5 course meal at a Disney World restaurant...even without the wine pairings. And I'm sure they would have other beverages available to anyone who does not partake of alcohol.

That lunch looks amazing!

Jill in CO

It was amazing Jill! In fact, I didn't think that any of the other special F & W events which I had scheduled for later in my trip could possibly top this one. I was wrong.

Thanks so much for your reviews (and all your past reviews)! I am really glad to see your Yachtsman review as our next trip is on DH's birthday, and he wants steak. I know Shula's gets better reviews, but I was looking for something that might be more friendly for my twin toddlers (they are good in restaurants, but still, they are 2).

Although I must confess that I had a great dinner at Shula's (the favorite of my April trip), after this much-improved meal at YSH I would probably choose it over Shula's. And if I had toddlers, then I would definitely choose Yachtsman, as Shula's seems to have more of an adult vibe. I've only been there twice, but both times I did not see any families with young children dining there. This is not the case with YSH, it seems much more kid-friendly IMO.

When I saw the Sunshine Seasons heading I knew I the croissant berry pudding would be making an appearance. I need to keep reminding myself to try that. It looks so delicious!

Lobster ravioli, yummy. Glad you had a great lunch at Tutto Gusto.

Ha, you know me well Rachel!

Beautiful lunch review! Lobster ravioli yes please!!! I am not a fan of duck either too fatty for my tastes. Glad you enjoyed the solo dine with some friendly folks! Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I agree with you about the duck Lori. When it comes to poultry I much prefer the leaner white meat. Since that is not an option with duck, I tend to cry FOUL when this FOWL is served.

Barb, this is already turning into an epic dining review (as always!)

Well, I'm not sure about my dining report but I know that I ate an epic amount of food on this trip.

 

[wilma-bride]

Well, I'm not sure about my dining report but I know that I ate an epic amount of food on this trip.

Although perhaps not as much as you would have done had my son not been around to 'help you out'

 

[MrsB1228]

Awesome report so far Barb! I love the inclusion of non-food posts as well, combo trip/dining reports are my favourite ones to read!

I think it's great that you gave YS one last chance, and I'm glad it was a winner for you this time. After the awful experiences you had previously, I have to give you a lot of credit for going again. I don't think I would have been so gracious. I'm glad it all worked out.

I haven't seen the new lumberjack show being presented in the Canadian pavilion and have zero intention of doing so in the future. One 2 minute viewing of a YouTube video was more than enough for me!

Signing up to Save Off Kilter as we speak ...

Great start Barb, looking forward to more.

 

[jabead]

Background Information: To be honest I do not recall where I first learned about the Wanyama Safari & Dinner but I do know that this happened just a couple of weeks prior to my trip. For those of you like me who had never heard of this before, it is a very unique experience which is available only to the guests of Animal Kingdom Lodge & Villas. I believe that it used to be limited to those staying on the Concierge/Club level but it is now open to all those staying at the AKL resort. So anyway, this consists of a semi-private (they limit it to a maximum of 12 guests) safari-style guided tour of the savannas which surround the lodge and villas followed by a multi-course dinner with wine at the resort's signature restaurant, Jiko. Since I was already thinking about spending one night at Animal Kingdom Lodge in order to have dinner at Jiko followed by an early breakfast the next morning at Boma, I decided to see if by chance they had any openings for the safari on Oct. 22nd (the night which I had in mind for my one night stay). To do this I called the Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort Itinerary Planning Office at 407-938-4755 and was happy to find that they did have availability on that night. The reservation required a credit card guarantee with a 48 hour cancellation policy. But in my excitement at being able to book this, I completely forgot to ask a very important question...How much does this cost? In the research that I had done prior to calling, I had read that the cost was $190.64. However, all of the information seemed to be at least a few years old so I figured, like all things at Disney World, the price had increased. I also wasn't sure if the $190 included tax and tip, as their posted prices for special events often don't. So I took a chance and budgeted for the safari and dinner to cost around $250. This will come into play at the end of my review.


Now picking up where I left off with my last review, which was at Epcot's Tutto Gusto. The Italian Food & Wine Pairing lunch lasted a little more than 2 1/2 hours, so I left Tutto Gusto at around 2:45. I had been told when I reserved the Wanyama Safari that I should check in between 3:15 and 3:30 at Jiko. So I had 30 - 45 minutes to get from Epcot's Italy pavilion (one of the farthest points from the park's front entrance) to Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I made a spur of the moment decision not to make the long hike to the front of the park and take a chance on quickly getting a bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge. In addition to the possibility of a long wait for the bus, I was also afraid that the bus might first stop at Kidani Village, which would further delay my arrival at Jambo House where Jiko is located. So instead I exited the park from the International Gateway and walked to the Beach Club where I immediately got a cab to take me directly to Jambo House. I reached the check in desk for Jiko at about 3:25 so I was happy with my decision.

I will be dividing my review of the Wanyama Safari experience into 3 parts - Welcome Reception, Safari, and the Jiko Dinner.


Part 1 - Wanyama Safari Welcome Reception

Most of the reviews that I read regarding this experience were older and did not include this Welcome Reception, which leads me to believe that this is a fairly recent addition. Our tour group consisted of myself and three others (a couple from New Jersey and their friend). They were all very nice so once again I lucked out with the "dining with complete strangers" thing. We were taken into the Jiko Wine Room (which I had heard about but had never been seated there during my previous visits to Jiko). I'm sorry but I completely forgot to take any photos of the room. Instead, my target was the lovely spread of food and beverages that awaited us on a large table in the middle of the room. I tried to take photos as quickly as possible, as the other tour guests seemed hungry and anxious to dig in...unlike me, who was still incredibly full from my 5 course lunch which had just ended an hour ago! In my hurry though, I didn't take the time to adjust my camera settings, etc in order to take better pictures so I apologize that these photos are not that great. But anyway, hopefully you will get a general idea of what was served at this reception.


Let's begin with the beverages...



The two choices were water and Organic Rooibos Iced Tea, along with some locally produced honey for sweetening. We were told that rooibos comes from the rugged slopes of the Western Cape Mountains in South Africa. Also that this famous red bush tea is caffeine free and tastes like a light Ceylon black tea.


Next up were these three snacks...



Tropical Fruit Chewy Granola Bars and White Chocolate Scones with Cranberries and Pistachios




African-spiced Trail Mix



Then there were these sweet treats that looked delicious...



Kenyan Coffee Mousse Tarts


And last, the chef was carving for us...



House-made Pork and Beef Boerwors Sausage


Which was accompanied by these three sauces/dips...



Harissa, Cucumber Raita, and Mango Sambal


Despite the fact that everything looked great, I knew that if I had any chance of being hungry again by dinner time I needed to refrain from partaking of this. Well, that almost worked...almost. When I approached the chef to attempt a close-up shot of the sausage, he misunderstood my intentions and handed me a small plate with two pieces of olive bread and a few slices of the sausage. Not wanting to insult the chef who would be preparing my dinner, I politely accepted the plate of food. Oh, but to make matters worse, I also added a small spoonful of each of the sauces/dips to my plate...



Yes, I am a glutton for punishment...or maybe just a glutton?? But I swear to you that I only had a nibble of each of the items on my plate, just enough to make me regret that I was too full to eat it all as it was very tasty. Also, about this time is when we were told that once we boarded the safari vehicle for our 1 1/2 - 2 hour tour we would not be able to stop for a potty break. Therefore, I decided that this would not be a good time to test the limits of my stomach capacity.

Though I was unable to fully appreciate the food and beverages which were provided to us at this Welcome Reception, I was very impressed by the number of different things offered and the beautiful way that they were presented. As further evidence of this beauty, here are a few photos of the African-themed items which adorned the buffet table...




​

Next up: Part 2 - The Safari

 

[Linda67]

Would love to stay at AKL just to try this Barb
Looks like such a fun thing to do !

 

[vettegirl]

Barb that all sounds like a dream, just amazing!!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[CanadianPaco]

This is such a wonderful thread! Your photos are outstanding and thank you for sharing!

 

[sunnysideup3]

What a fun and unique experience! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[jabead]

Would love to stay at AKL just to try this Barb
Looks like such a fun thing to do !

It was fun and I recommend that you give it a try!

Barb that all sounds like a dream, just amazing!!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Yes, and that was just the Welcome Reception.

This is such a wonderful thread! Your photos are outstanding and thank you for sharing!

You're welcome and thank you for reading!

What a fun and unique experience! Can't wait to hear more!

I'm almost done with Part 2. Hopefully will get it posted yet today.