Meet our tour guide. She's two! March 2012 TR UPDATES 15 APRIL

[ChildAtHeart82]

Okay, so I started my PTR for our October trip! The link is in my signature. Nothing too exciting yet. It's just intros and I borrowed heavily from the intro post from this TR.

I love the Pooh and Tigger pictures! How sweet!

Thanks! There are even more Pooh and Tigger pictures to come!

That's a great update! And such sweet pictures of your dd!

D~

Thanks! We've gotten cute pictures in previous trips but this was our first trip that DD could walk. Her being able to run up to them and then back and forth between them was really entertaining!

 

[dara00]

I like the new backdrop for the pooh meet and greet! I hadn't seen it yet.

lucky you going back in October!

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

Hello, friends! With DD dreaming of her recent encounter with Pooh and Tigger and Sis chilling on a hammock the rest of us were enjoying a quiet hour or so in our room. After a quick nap DD was ready to go again. DS relaxed on the bed while the rest of us got ready to go.

We headed back to Epcot for a few attractions before dinner. Our first stop was Spaceship Earth. I rode with DD and DW and Sis rode with DS. I always enjoy this ride. Here are the pics of our future.

Returning to our present it was time to soar over California. The Fastpass CM very kindly reminded us that in two days we would have to return during the printed window. I thanked him and we moved on. We had wonderful seats for Soarin, the top row and right in the middle. I could ride Soarin over and over again if it weren't for the ridiculously long line.

After Soarin it was almost time for our ADR so we made our way toward the Boardwalk. We checked in a little early at Kouzzina and were seated a few minutes later. Kouzzina was one of our favorite meals on our 2011 trip. We enjoyed it so much that we booked it a second time while we were there and had it planned for two dinners this trip. I want to start my review with a blanket apology for bad pictures because this was a poor picture taking night for us.

Our server was very knowledgeable and had a lot of good information to offer about the menu. We started with the Kouzzina spreads.

This is a picture from our 2011 trip. I don't know how I managed to not get a picture on this trip because I remember wanting to show it on my trip report. My first reaction on getting the spreads this trip was that it was a much smaller portion. There was a lot less of each spread and there was a little less pita bread. The spreads were all still delicious but I missed the bigger portion. Despite the smaller portion here, all of our entrees were the same size as our last trip.

For entrees, we had

Me, the Kouzzina Trio. This has smaller portions of the lamb burger, the cinnamon chicken, and the greek lasagna. The lamb burger was good and has a good spice. This time I think it was a little salty. The lasagna was delicious. The sauce is a lot creamier than an Italian lasagna. The chicken is flavorful but it's easily my least favorite of the tree. I wish that they sold a bigger version of the lamb burger as a standalone entree.

DW, Pork Tenderloin. This was very tasty and was too big of a portion for her to finish. The beans that came with it were also good.

Sis, the Greek lasagna. This was a bigger portion of the lasagna. Sis really liked it.

DD, the fish of the day with strawberry yogurt and granola and green beans. Our server brought out the yogurt first and DD ate all of it. When the rest of her meal came out I guess they forgot they had alread brought the yogurt and brought another portion. DD ate even more then. She didn't really eat much of the green beans or the fish. The fish was pretty good but after bread and one and a half servings of yogurt I don't think she had any more room.

I'm not sure why but none of us were in a dessert mood this night and so we didn't order any.

Overall, I think our experience at Kouzzina was good but after two great experiences in 2011 we left disappointed. We ended up cancelling our second Kouzzina ADR and it has gone from a must do every trip to a will eventually try again. I still recommend Kouzzina to anyone who hasn't been.

After dinner we enjoyed a casual walk back through Epcot to our car and drove back to the resort. We realized that we had forgotten a few things on our last trip to Target and made another quick shopping run. With round two of shopping complete we went to sleep.

Here are the numbers for our Kouzzina dinner.

We spent OOP: $108.75
TiW Discount: $19.49

Dining Plan: 3 TS credits
DDP OOP cost: $25.73
DxDP OOP cost: $10.30

Our running totals, including the afternoon coffee are:

OOP: $281.26
TiW Discount: $48.62

Dining Plan: 9 TS credits, 3 Snack credits
DDP OOP cost: $47.55
DxDP OOP cost: $24.68

Up next, a trip to the dark side.

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

I like the new backdrop for the pooh meet and greet! I hadn't seen it yet.

lucky you going back in October!

The new backdrop is nice. It's themed to be Christopher Robin's bedroom.

I used some great circular logic to justify a second trip this year. Annual Passes made sense because they were cheaper if we made two trips this year. Then, once we had the annual passes, a second trip made sense because we needed to take advantage of the passes.

 

[DMGeurts]

Thanks for the excellent review on Kouzzina... I think I want to put this on the list for our next trip... It just seems so non-park/non-buffet/not the same food everywhere kind of place.

And your lamb burger looks TDF!

The new backdrop is nice. It's themed to be Christopher Robin's bedroom.

I used some great circular logic to justify a second trip this year. Annual Passes made sense because they were cheaper if we made two trips this year. Then, once we had the annual passes, a second trip made sense because we needed to take advantage of the passes.

OK - you just summed up the exact reason I would like to be a passholder.

D~

 

[DMGeurts]

Oh and I forgot to add... I love your little DS' shirt... He is just precious!

D~

 

[Lidian]

The Pastitsio just wasn't my thing when I tried it back in 2010 .... I think the cinnamon beef really threw it off for me. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, it was actually good ... but it was very heavy and after a few bites, I was done and looking at DH's plate to see if there was anything I could nibble on.

This year, I had the Rib-Eye and DH had the Lamb Shank from Kouzzina. We enjoy Kouzzina and will gladly return as well! Sorry that you didn't have a stellar experience and cancelled a future ADR.

Still anxious to hear how the DDP vs TiW all adds up!

 

[CarolineB]

I've enjoyed reading your TR -- you have a lovely family.

 

[archdandy]

Every time I see the Kouzzina trio it makes me want to try it. I've never had lamb though so I would be a little squeamish.