No calories in a picture, unless you eat the picture -COMPLETED 12/8/14

[AllyinWonderland]

Hello everyone! Welcome to my first ever dining review! We spent 8 nights at Pop Century 10/28-11/5 with free dining that we upgraded to the standard plan. Our anniversary was on 10/29, so we had that noted on all of our reservations. This trip we tried to go to mostly new to us restaurants. Here is a little bit about us:

I’m Ally and I love Disney! I like a wide variety of foods and enjoy trying new things. Unfortunately, I am allergic to seafood so you won’t see me trying any of that. I love sweets, especially chocolate so expect to see lots of yummy desserts.

DH is slowly turning into a Disney lover. 2 years ago he somewhat reluctantly agreed to go to Disney World with me. He had never been there before, but he ended up loving it. DH is a somewhat adventurous eater. Since I don’t make seafood at home, he loves getting it when we go out. Breakfast is his favorite meal of the day, and he loves sweets just like I do.

And last but certainly not least is our 21 month old DD, the best souvenir ever from our 2012 trip. She may be young, but she is a Disney fanatic. This was her first Disney trip and she loved it. I loathe the term “kid food” and choose to feed her what we eat. She eats a wide variety of food but at Disney she was too distracted to eat well at most meals. DD’s favorite foods are probably eggs, fruit, anything with carbs and salsa. At home I am very particular about what she is allowed to eat so she enjoyed getting to try lots of yummy treats on vacation.

This trip we discovered some new favorites, enjoyed old favorites and tried some things that we will never eat again. We had some outstanding service and some completely unacceptable service. All in all it was a great trip and I don’t regret a single choice that we made. I did my best to take as many pictures as possible, unfortunately with a 1 year old it wasn’t possible to capture everything.

**Explanation of thread title: On our first day in MK, we hopped on the carousel around 9:30 a.m. and rode it with Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella. Since we were directly in front of Lady Tremaine, I asked for a picture. She responded by saying, “Sure, no calories in a picture, unless you eat the picture.” The entire ride was hilarious and definitely a highlight of our trip.

Here is a line-up of the reviews:

Tuesday, October 28
Goofy’s Candy Co.
Raglan Road- Dinner

Wednesday, October 29
Everything Pop- Breakfast
Be Our Guest- Lunch
Kona Café- Dinner
Custom Cake from Boardwalk Bakery

Thursday, October 30
Via Napoli- Lunch
Food and Wine/Epcot Snacks

Friday, October 31
Cape May Café- Breakfast
Starring Rolls- Lunch
Everything Pop- Dinner

Saturday, November 1
Tusker House- Lunch
Boma- Dinner

Sunday, November 2
Kona Café- Breakfast
Cosmic Ray’s- Lunch
Magic Kingdom Snacks
Whispering Canyon Café- Dinner

Monday, November 3
Landscape of Flavors-Breakfast
La Cava del Tequila
Karamell Kuche
Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie
Boardwalk Bakery
Wolfgang Puck Express- Dinner

Tuesday, November 4
Pecos Bill- Lunch
Be Our Guest- Dinner

Wednesday, November 5
Wolfgang Puck Express-Lunch
Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop

 

[AllyinWonderland]

DH and I don’t like to rush off to parks the second we arrive, we would rather take it easy on our first day. As soon as we checked into our room, we headed straight for Downtown Disney. Once we reached Downtown, we knew exactly where to go to start our vacation off right, Goofy’s Candy Co! At Goofy’s you can find a huge selection of delicious treats. The hidden gem is the custom creation option, which is somehow never busy when I am there. We walked straight past the delicious display case and picked up our order sheet. I pretty much dream about these pretzels, so there was no question what the base of our creation would be. Now on to the tough part, toppings.

When customizing your treat, you get to select whether you want it dipped in milk, white or dark chocolate. Then, you select what kind of toppings you want, the first is free but you can add additional for an extra charge. I was too excited to take a picture of the order form but some of the choices include oreo, butterfinger, nuts, sprinkles, m&m’s and various types of chocolate chips. The final decision is whether you want milk, white or dark chocolate drizzled over the top of your treat. While I was debating whether to get oreo or butterfinger, the cast member informed me that I could get different toppings on each of the 3 pretzels! What? Why didn’t I think of that? All 3 pretzels were dipped in milk chocolate and drizzled with dark chocolate. 2 of the pretzels were rolled in butterfinger and one was rolled in oreo.

The friendly cast member took my order form and handed it off to a cast member who appeared to be new and had absolutely no energy. This cast member began processing my order without any sort of interaction. Once she nestled the pretzels in the delicious toppings, she walked away to chat with some of her colleagues. I love this part, this is where they make sure those pretzels are really loaded with deliciousness. Unfortunately, this cast member forgot about my order while she was chatting. Another cast member reminded her several minutes later. Eventually I received my order without a single apology, but whatever, I was at Disney and about to enjoy one of my favorite treats.

It was hot out, so we opted for a table inside. I was so excited to start stuffing my face that I forgot to get a picture right away. So the only pictures I have are of DD grabbing at them. They were delicious and just as I remembered them. This will continue to be an arrival day tradition for us.

Since the crisped rice treats had been calling to me all week, we made a stop on one of our last few days. This was dipped in milk chocolate, coated in peanut butter chips and drizzled with dark chocolate. It was very rich but so good. I didn't write down the exact price but it was around $5 or a snack credit, which is a great deal in my opinion.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Hi! I'll read along Your baby girl looks so sweet!

 

[Bronxgirl]

OMG that looks so yummy. have a great trip. I can't wait to read the rest.

 

[starousse]

Joining in.

 

[hockeygirl14]

Sounds like you had a great time! Following along.

 

[DaisyNY]

Looking forward to your reviews...we'll be visiting many ofthe same restaurants during our Dec visit.

 

[EmilieK]

Joining in, cant wait to read the rest. Have a lot of thesame places booked for our next trip so this will be interesting.

 

[MrsJobba1]

Looking forward to the rest of your reviews,

 

[AllyinWonderland]

After finishing our pretzels we decided to explore Downtown Disney a bit. About 10 minutes before our Raglan Road dinner reservation, DD fell asleep in the stroller. I wasn't sure how to handle it, but I figured we would let her sleep until our table was ready, and then we would wake her up. When I checked in at the host stand, they saw the sleeping little one and asked if we would like a table where we could roll the stroller right up next to it. I was so excited that it was an option so I gladly accepted the offer and thanked them for accommodating us. Now, sleeping baby in a loud Irish pub, is that really a good idea? Let's see how it plays out...

We were seated a minute or two later in the room that was off to the side, so we did not really have a view of the entertainment. Technically, if I leaned to the side just right, I was able to see a bit of the stage. We rolled DD right up next to the table and headed straight for the drink menu. After a day of travelling with a 1 year old, I desperately needed a drink. We were promptly greeted by a cheerful server. She wished us a happy anniversary and asked if we had been there before. When I said that we had not, she explained a bit about the history of the restaurant and what to expect with our experience. I asked her for drink recommendations and she made a few suggestions which of course I forgot to write down. She sounded very knowledgeable about the menu. I ended up deciding on the Jay'Gail Sangria, the menu description is, "A refreshing blend of Magners Cider, Peach Schnapps and fruit liqueurs & squeezes." There definitely was more of a beer flavor than you would typically find in sangria because it is made with cider instead of wine. I enjoyed it but I would probably try something different next time.

I'm pretty sure DH ordered a Magners Cider. Since whatever he ordered was just a standard drink, I didn't take a picture of it.

To start off our meal, our server brought out the soda bread and Guinness reduction. She explained the ingredients in the reduction and obviously I don't remember exactly what she said. The bread was good but I'm not a big soda bread person in the first place. I was a bit skeptical of the Guinness reduction because I am not a huge fan of Guinness, but after all the amazing reviews I've heard, I had to try it. OMG, it is one of the best things I've ever eaten. It is sweet and delicious. I couldn't get enough of it. DH agreed.

DH ordered the Shepherds Pie, which had an elegant presentation for this type of comfort food. I am not a fan of shepherds pie, but decided to try this. Yeah, I was right, I still don't like it. DH said it is the best Shepherd's Pie he has ever had.

I ordered the Braised Be. Beef which is served with horseradish mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and parsnips. Again, the presentation was beautiful, I love the use of fresh herbs on both entrees. The roast was tender and flavorful. The juices in the bottom of the pot made it moist and brought the flavor out to another level. I considered substituting green beans for the carrots and parsnips but I decided not to, which ended up being a great decision. The vegetables were cooked but still had a bite to them, which is exactly how I liked them. They needed a bit of salt and pepper, but after I added that, they were perfect. Even though the menu stated that my entree came with horseradish mashed potatoes, I was surprised to discover that they were in fact different than the ones served with DH's meal. The horseradish mashed potatoes were not my first choice to be honest. They had a sour tang that I didn't really care for, but to be fair, I am not a horseradish fan in the first place. I would absolutely order this again, but I would probably substitute the regular mashed potatoes.

Back to the sleeping baby... early in our meal, our server informed us that after the Irish step dancers were finished performing on stage, they would be coming into our area to do a mini performance. Since they typically perform right next to our table, she asked if we would like them to go to the other side of the room instead. We said that it was no big deal and that they could just stick with what they normally do it. It was wonderful how accommodating they were. Where we were sitting, we could definitely hear everything happening on the main stage but we were at least able to carry n a conversation. DD slept through most of it and woke up when we were half way done with our entrees. When she woke up, we quickly assembled a plate of food for her. A few minutes later, the dancers showed up by our table and she loved the show as much as we did.

Now, on to dessert. I heard amazing things about the bread pudding, but DH and I are not huge fans of bread pudding. Somehow, I talked him into ordering it. It was served with 2 sauces that definitely made the dish. I tried a bit and it was absolutely the best bread pudding that I have ever eaten.

Being a chocolate lover, I had to order something with chocolate so I opted for the Dunbrody Kiss. It was a very rich chocolate dessert with a mousse like consistency on the inside. DH said it was too rich for him after the end of a heavy meal (says the guy who ate almost that entire portion of bread pudding), but I thought it was perfect. The raspberries were probably a great addition but DD decided those were hers.

Overall, the food, service and atmosphere were phenomenal. We agreed that this will be our arrival day tradition.

 

[Illuminations_Rocks]

Great reviews so far! That Dunbrody kiss looks sooo good!

 

[GeminiAngel]

I too had the shepherds pie. That chocolate dessert, holy moly!

 

[poohangel]

Loving reviews so far. Beautiful daughter.

 

[buteraa]

Signing on. I enjoyed reading your first post and looking forward to more.

 

[vettegirl]

Enjoying the reviews! Love RR and I really like their shepherds pie. Your DD is so precious our son just be hitting the five month mark on our trip next month.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[nanhol]

Joining in, I'm really looking forward to hearing about your trip & food!

That rice krispie treat with peanut butter chips and chocolate drizzle looks so yummy, that's going on my list for next summer! Raglan Road is on our maybe list--but your review is making me think we need to try it!

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Raglan Road looks so good. Following for more.

 

[Echo queen]

Great review

 

[ribollita]

Enjoying your review!

 

[JennyPooh]

Looking forward to the rest of your reviews It will help me narrow down our wish list.