Mother/Daughter DxDP 150 FOOD Pictures!!! 10/2-10/10 *COMPLETED TODAY 12/27*

[Tracerr00]

What a great start to your trip! I'm so glad to hear that your dinner at Fulton's was so yummy. And your 4 year old is a way more adventurous eater than my 13 year old. She'd never touch a crab leg! I'm very bummed that I haven't been able to try that cupcake. Nex time, right?

 

[budafam]

We had a 1:15 ADR at Brown Derby and we decided to try to get in early at 12:30. We ended up having to take a seat on their couch and wait. While we were waiting one of the waiters came over and started talking in a Mickey voice to DD. He wished her a Happy Birthday and made her a rose out of a napkin. Then he told me to check our phone when we got back to the resort for a special message from someone. Our name was called around 12:50 to go sit down.
My last trip to Brown Derby was a disappointment because of the server we had. We had been so full from the deluxe dining plan that I could not bare to eat more than the Cobb Salad (yes, I wasted 2 credits on that Cobb Salad). The waiter kept telling my son to eat more before he would bring his dessert out. Then he just brought out a chocolate dessert without even asking (DS HATES chocolate). I hate when the waiters just bring out a dessert... drives me nuts! Even with the bad experience, I knew this place deserved another chance.
We were seated on the upper deck part of the restaurant at a small table decorated with confetti for DD's birthday. Our waitress took our orders and came back with bread & butter.

DD had one roll. I tend to not eat these since I want to save room for my actual food. DD said they were good though.
DD's appetizer was celery and carrot sticks. She's not a fan of either but it was our best option for sharing considering the other two choices were soup or salad.

I ordered the Blue Lump Crab Spring Rolls - snow crab claw and a Asian slaw with spicy miso aioli. I'm sort of a spring roll snob. I could eat spring rolls everyday for the rest of my life (if I wanted to weigh 6,000 lbs.) These were fantastic! The sauces provided enough spice to make me really like them. The crab claw was served cold which didn't really fit with the rest of the dish but hey, I can't complain about a big piece of crabmeat. Yum!

For her entree, DD ordered Tempura Fish Strips - with steamed broccoli and dipping sauce. She normally loves broccoli so I figured this would be perfect for her.

They brought it out with green apples which were the only food that got completely devoured. It was a nice meal for a kid though (without being the norm.. pizza or mac & cheese).
I ordered the Chared Filet of Beef - over Brentwood corn and Pancetta Risotto, arugula peston and pickeled rainbow chard. This was the best steak I have ever eaten. I LOVED it. The risotto was good as well.. I loved the flavor that the corn brought to it. The sauce was fantastic as well. Everything about this dish was just perfect.

For dessert DD ordered the Hidden Treasures. The waitress brought out 2 desserts for her.

She began by eating the cookie and then took a few bites of the ice cream till she discovered there were gummy worms hidden underneath the ice cream (hence "hidden treasure"). She was one happy camper!
I ordered the Banana White Chocolate Toffee Tower - on Cocoa-Almond Cookie and Bananas Foster.

This was good but I did not care for the cocoa cookie. I couldn't taste any almond in it and cocoa just does not do it for me. The banana flavor was good though.
Our grand total came to $87 which wasn't too bad. I would return here even if I didn't have the dining plan. I just wouldn't order the dessert next time.

*Note* When we returned to the resort that night, there was no message waiting for us on our phone

 

[jabead]

Your filet looks wonderful! Oh, and your daughter is just as cute as can be!

 

[WDWaddictt]

I am in!! Your daughter is adorable!

 

[t_daniels]

Food porn...yummy.


DH and I LOVED Fultons. He had a stuffed lobster. I had this filet topped with bearnaise and blue crab.

Amazing.

 

[mnrhannah07]

Omg I didn't even realize you went AND came home already!!!!! Can't wait to read more!!

 

[emmysmommy]

That lobster at Fultons looks amazing!! HBD has been on of my favorites and of course who doesn't love a red velvet cupcake? Your DD is such a cutie - I can totally see why the wait staff was so smitten with her and showered her with desserts!!!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Great start!

Your meal from Fulton's looks quite good. I love lobster, so I am quite intrigued by what you ordered.

HBD looks great as always.

 

[budafam]

Your filet looks wonderful! Oh, and your daughter is just as cute as can be!

I am in!! Your daughter is adorable!

Thank you BOTH!

Food porn...yummy.


DH and I LOVED Fultons. He had a stuffed lobster. I had this filet topped with bearnaise and blue crab.

Amazing.

Yum, that sounds so good.. might have to try that next time.

Omg I didn't even realize you went AND came home already!!!!! Can't wait to read more!!

It went by so quickly and it was our longest trip yet I wish I was still there!

That lobster at Fultons looks amazing!! HBD has been on of my favorites and of course who doesn't love a red velvet cupcake? Your DD is such a cutie - I can totally see why the wait staff was so smitten with her and showered her with desserts!!!

Aww, thanks!!!

Great start!

Your meal from Fulton's looks quite good. I love lobster, so I am quite intrigued by what you ordered.

HBD looks great as always.

Lobster is my favorite and this was excellent. I will go back there again for sure!

 

[t_daniels]

Thank you BOTH!

Yum, that sounds so good.. might have to try that next time.

It went by so quickly and it was our longest trip yet I wish I was still there!

Aww, thanks!!!

Lobster is my favorite and this was excellent. I will go back there again for sure!

Was phenomenal. And I'm iffy on seafood.

Stole some of DHs new potatoes to dip/mix with the sauce.

 

[mnrhannah07]

I know what you mean about it going so fast! I was so sad at the end of our 10 trip in 2010, we did a 16 day trip last nov!!! I loved getting up some mornings and literally enjoyed sitting on the patio or taking a walk, we even had a pool day...it was so nice not having to rush to the parks everyday

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Joining in!

 

[budafam]

That night we had a 9:30pm ADR at California Grill. I was very excited about this one. I had never been before. We got all dressed up and decided to try our luck at getting in early. We arrived at the desk around 7:45pm and they said they would be able to get us in before our reservation (yay!) The lounge is so nice... we took a nice break and just got to sit and relax on some comfy couches while we chatted. DD was in a great mood.. I had a good feeling about this meal Finally our buzzer went off around 8:00. We took it over to the elevator and gave it to the hostess. She brought us and a few other people up to the restaurant which is on the top floor.
We were brought to our table which was great. It was against the windows near the open kitchen so we could see all of the action.
As soon as we sat down, a lady sitting next to us asked me about my camera. She said she's been wanting one like that for awhile. I told her to go and buy one. It is amazing! The waitress brought us out some bread, butter and goldfish crackers. DD was thrilled.

We ordered and my appetizer came out very quickly. I got the Spicy Kazan Roll - crab, shrimp, bay scallops, tuna and fireball sauce.

I must confess. This is the first time I had "real" sushi. I've had the stuff on the all you can eat buffet at home but I know that doesn't even begin to compare with this. They brought out chopsticks and I tried to use them but I was unsuccessful. I ended up just going for my fork. lol... this was absolutely AMAZING. I LOVED it! To this day, it's my favorite dish in all of WDW. I ate about 2/3's of it and our waitress offered to package up the rest so we could take it back to the room (yay!) DD stole the flower that was on my plate before I had a chance to take a pic with it on there so here she is with the flower:

DD did not want an appetizer since all they had was a soup or salad... both which she would not even take a bite of. Her entree was the Grilled Chicken Breast - with roasted potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

She also barely touched this and I couldn't blame her. It was covered in barbeque sauce which was way too overpowering for the piece of chicken. She did eat a lot of the rice which she loves. For my entree I got the Oak-fired Filet of Beef - horseradish whipped potatoes, heirloom baby rainbow carrots, teriyaki barbecue. Here it is:

I was not impressed at all with this. The filet was okay but with the barbeque sauce all of it, I just thought it was too much. The potato "salad" was blah. It tasted like something I would make and bring to a potluck... not something that should be on a menu of this caliber. The brussel sprouts were okay but they're really not my favorite. If I return here, I would not order this again. Brown Derby has them beat in steaks if you ask me
While we were eating, I realized it was almost time for Wishes so we got up and went to find the deck viewing area... lol, I found the "private" deck viewing area first which was not right (confusing!) and then we finally found the one for California Grill's guests. We got a good spot and waited for the show to start.
It was so great getting to see the fireworks from a different view like that. DD sang the entire song (she knows it by heart) and I took pictures & recorded it... again. lol.. we went back into the restaurant afterwards and found our plates were covered to keep them warm. How nice! We sat back down and ate a bit more. Our waitress came over with the dessert menu. I ordered the Pear and Almond Tart - Poached Pears, Lemon Shortbread Crust, and Toasted Almond Ice Cream.

I LOVED the ice cream. The poached pears were yummy but I didn't really care for the tart. I would still order this again, just for the toasted almond ice cream. So good.
DD ordered the Crisped Rice Sushi Plate but before she got that, our waitress brought out this:

YUM! DD loved it so much, we asked to box up her sushi dessert to take back with us. No problem whatsoever. So here's a pic of that once we got back to the resort:

All in all, we loved Cali Grill. I will return if not just for the sushi that I eat with a fork.. lol. Yum!

 

[budafam]

Sorry for the long break. I'm participating in a Photopass share (first time) and this past weekend was my time to edit so I've been busy with that. Back into the reviews...

Originally I had a noon reservation for T-Rex. I LOVE T-Rex but in all reality, I just did not see that ADR happening. We were going to MNSSHP that night and we had a 3:15 Crystal Palace ADR. See the problem there? NO naptime for DD! Yeah, and she NEEDED naptime before a late night soooo I opted for Kona Cafe instead. I've heard such great things that I needed to try it for myself. We arrived 30 minutes before our ADR but they said they would be able to seat us. We took the pager and walked around for about 5 minutes when it started buzzing. We brought the buzzer back to the podium and a CM took it from us. Then we sat there for about 5 more minutes before anyone came to get us. Finally we were seated.

DD ordered Minnie's French Toast. I ordered her one of the glowing Tinkerbells on the straws of the cups. It was a pomegranite lemonade. I thought the drink was disgusting. But she loved it and really loved the Tinkerbell.

I ordered the Tonga toast with bacon.

This was "okay". I failed to see the hype about it. The strawberry topping really added to it.

I would never waste a credit on this with the dining plan again. I could see paying OOP for it possibly. It just wasn't a great value and the service was mediocre. Now I'm sorry we didn't go to T-Rex Lesson learned. Stick with the gut feeling.. lol.

 

[budafam]

DD had a great nap and we were off to MK for MNSSHP. I scored a 3:15 ADR at Crystal Palace. It's a bit early for dinner but hey, you do what you gotta do for MNSSHP, right? We checked in at 3:00 and our buzzer didn't go off until 3:10. I don't know why but that place is always slow. The lady that seated us asked for DD's autograph. This was the first time that had ever happened.. DD did not know how to react. lol.. it was cute.

We had dined here on our very first trip. We were there for lunch. I heard that dinner was much better so we thought we'd try it out. Lunch did not impress me the very first time. We're not huge Pooh fans. I'd rather meet other characters than a giant teddy bear... lol. Here are our plates:
DD's first plate:

The big hits on this one were the bun & corn dog.
My first plate:

I love Disney's mac & cheese. Yum! The shrimp were good. They had good flavor and the salmon was pretty good as well.
Here's my second plate (the lighting got me on this one):

Nothing really struck me as great on this plate. The cucumber salad was okay. Once again, I was going to leave Crystal Palace not impressed. It wasn't bad by any means but just nothing special.
The characters made their rounds and when Eyeore came, they brought out a cupcake. DD got some stickers from the CM that was with Eyeore and he signed her notecard with a birthday cake drawing. Super cute. Everyone sang Happy Birthday to DD and she blew out the candle.

We paid the bill and left. On our way out the door, the guy opening the door for everyone asked for DD's autograph. lol...
So as a recap, I doubt I'll go back to Crystal Palace anytime soon. IF I do, it may be a for a pre-ropedrop breakfast but that would be my only option left.

 

[WDWaddictt]

I feel the same about Crystal Palace, not my fav. I didn't mind it for breakfast, but it's like every other breakfast buffet. My DH loved it though so we have been back a few times. On our next trip I was able to pick somewhere else to go...BOG, so I was happy about that.

Good review....thanks for the update.

 

[budafam]

MNSSHP ended up being a complete washout. We only had ponchos on us and they did NOTHING to keep us dry. We were soaked from head to toe by just walking down Main Street. None of the outdoor candy stops were setup and the characters were non-existant They cancelled the parade and pushed back the fireworks. We walked around the entire park in the POURING rain only to stop at Pecos Bill for a quick bite to eat.

We got the onion rings & french fries with a drink (all snack credits). I was very impressed with the toppings bar. I had heard wonderful things about it but wow... really worth eating there just for that as an extra We found a table and took our time eating everything. It was all great and we finished in no time. We decided to leave the park and on our way out there was a ginormous line up in Town Square... I asked someone what the line was for and they said to get a refund for the MNSSHP tickets or to exchange for another night. So we got in line and spent another 2 hours in the rain in order to exchange for the following night. DD's fingers were wrinkled like raisins and my costume was so heavy from being wet... ugh, it was just gross. The line went from City Hall all the way over to the Theater, around the circle and back over to the door where the floats disappear behind (yeah, it was LOOOOOONG)!!!

 

[budafam]

The next day we went to Epcot... it was time for some Food & Wine snacks!!!
Our first stop was the "Terra" booth. I got the chili colorado with house-made chips & cashew cheese featuring gardein beefless tips

This was SO yummy! I'm not big into vegetarian stuff (I love me some meat) but I honestly could not tell the difference. I didn't care for the chips too much but DD liked those
Next up I had to try the jerk spiced chicken drumstick with mango chutney. I LOVE mango so I figured this would be great...

It was okay. The mango was yummy of course but the chicken drumstick was just eh... not a ton of flavor like I was expecting.
Argentina was our next stop. I got the beef empanada.

This was really blah. It had no zing to it whatsoever. I thought a bit of spice would've really improved this but then again, I really have no idea what a "real" empanada is supposed to taste like.
After those couple of snacks, we had a lunch ADR at San Angel Inn... I will review that on my next post. After eating lunch we continued onto the other booths...
South Africa was our next stop. I got the seared filet of beef with smashed sweet potatoes and braai sauce.

This ended up in the garbage after about 2 bites. The filet was okay but I didn't care for the sauce and I'm just not a huge sweet potato fan.
It was time to get back to future land so we got on a boat and then decided to do a few more booths... Hawaii caught my eye first.
I got the kahlua pork slider with sweet and sour dole pineapple chutney and spicy mayonnaise.

Ummm, yum? Yes, very. This was excellent. I ate every bite and loved it. Could've eaten them all day long.
DD was getting bored so we went over to the Desserts booth. She perked right up. We ordered the Nesquick Frozen Strawberry Foam and the Dessert Trio.

The foam was SO yummy. It was like a slightly melted milkshake. The desserts were pretty good as well but very rich. We were unable to finish any of them but our favorite was the lemon.

 

[jabead]

Just got caught up on your report. Great reviews so far, budafam! Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Ro Z]

Catching up!