Now Showing...Our first trip out of the Loonybin! May 2011 *Completed:7/27*

[chocolateMinnie]

great reviews, we love akershus breakfast - you did well not to put any weight back on!

 

[PrincessTrisha]

I don't blame you for not eating those eggs!

I would have had to have the platter replaced because I couldn't eat anything that touched liquid egg (because I can not handle moisture in eggs let alone uncooked egg like that).

Really great reviews - I understand about first day meltdowns - even though we're all adults in my family (I usually take my mother and father with me to WDW), it's not unusual for one of us to flip out a little after so much travel time (we drive from Toronto). It's one of the reasons I love doing room service for our first meal - it's more relaxing, quiet and less pressure.

Can't wait for the rest!

 

[angelsmith52]

It's a shame about the eggs! I love Disney eggs and would have sent them back! Loving the review though!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

great start - enjoying the reviews so far.

Sorry about your troubles with travel and forgetting the gift cards

Also sorry you didn't have a great experience at Raglan. We ate there our last trip and were seated in a back room that had mostly families in it and it worked out great. It was actually one of the best meals of our trip.

There wasn't a band playing though, so maybe that helped things

 

[DisOrBust]

our family has the same thoughts about wdw bacon. Why is it that only at park fare its decent??

 

[Disneyfreak616]

our family has the same thoughts about wdw bacon. Why is it that only at park fare its decent??

Ain't this the truth.

 

[Jonesloonybin]

OK, I am back to finish this! This month has been CRAZY!! Medical emergencies, 2 birthday parties, A LOT of Dr appts and end of year testing!!UGH!

I cannot believe it has been a month since our trip. It feels like 6 months! We are already planning our next trip!!

Here are some more reviews!!

Terri

 

[Jonesloonybin]

May 2 – Chefs de France Lunch

We arrived a minute or two early and were seated within 5 minutes. Our server here was Kimberley. We all started off with drinks. The girls had Sprite (dd15) and orange juice (dd7). DH and I stuck with water and lots of lemon to cover the taste.

We ordered our appetizers next.

Dd7 ordered the cheese pastry- $4.00. I knew from reading the DIS that this is not what she was going to expect, but we knew that there would be lots of food.

I think she took one bite of this. DH and I tried it. It was very dry and had no real flavor.

DD17 ordered the Salade maison - Selected greens, house dressing. - $5.99.

She asked for the dressing on the side, since she was not sure if she would like it or not. When they brought it out, the dressing was on the salad. I flagged down the waitress and asked for it to put on the side. (The waitress made my dd feel bad about this by saying “You want me to take this back and have them make a whole new one?? Why don’t you try it first???”) I sent it back for a new one. Good thing too. She did like the salad but thought the dressing had a very strong flavor.

DH ordered the Tarte a la flamme Alsacienne - Alsace specialty. Flat bread baked with cream fraiche, onion and bacon - $11.99.

He thought that this was ok. DD7 had some of this also, but they both pretty much just picked the bacon off. I did not try this because I cannot eat bacon.

I ordered the Bisque de homard - Lobster bisque - $7.99.

I really like lobster, so I thought this would be a great soup….but it was not. It had an awful fishy taste. It really tasted like the lobster had gone bad. I took one bite and that was it. DH gave it a try and he agreed that it tasted bad. YUCK! This was the worst appetizer of the whole trip.

We also got a baguette. It was still warm! This was great!! DD7 had some trouble with the crust (she was missing some teeth that the tooth fairy took). We asked for a second one when we were done with the first.

For Entrees:
DD7 chose the kids fish. Filet de limande saute avec haricots vert et tomates - Pan roasted flounder served with green beans and tomatoes - $8.00

This was ok. The fish was dry as a bone! She only ate a few bites of it. The green beans and tomatoes were pretty good. Nothing great though, and not a lot of flavor. She ended up eating more of our food.

**Part way through the meal, dd7 asked if she could get a booster seat. We asked the waitress and she brought one back. DD7 got off her chair and the waitress put it down on the seat. Then the waitress picked up dd7 and put her on the chair. I thought this was a little weird. DD7 in about average size for a girl turning 8, and she could have easily got on the booster seat herself. DD7 was slightly uncomfortable with a stranger picking her up.

DD15 ordered the Gratin de macaroni - Baked macaroni with cream and gruyere cheese $14.99.

This was FANTASTIC! Everyone agreed that this was the best dish out of all!! It was very creamy, with a hint of nutmeg. I know many people have stated that they did not like the nutmeg in it, but I think it was great. It is nothing like Mac and Cheese from a box.

DH ordered the Mahi-Mahi sandwich, pommes frites et sauce tartare - Mahi-Mahi in a mediterranean bread, braised peppers and onions, French fries and tartar sauce $16.99

He liked this. I gave it a try and it wasn’t too bad. I scrapped off the peppers and onions from my piece (because of my IBS), so I thought it was lacking a bit. The fish was good, but it just seemed really plain. DH agreed with me, even with the peppers and onions. The fries were ok too. I don’t think either one of us would order that again. Keep in mind that we don’t eat peppers at home.

I ordered the Croque monsieur et sa salade verte - The classic French toasted ham and cheese sandwich served with a green salad $13.99

This was really good. We all love a good grilled sandwich and this was up there. It is nothing like a regular grilled ham and cheese. I think they put nutmeg in this too, so that gave it a taste similar to the mac and cheese dish. Everyone gave it a try and thought that it was pretty good.

**Next we were going to order our dessert. When the waitress came by, we told her that we were done with the entrees. DD7 still had most of her food on the plate (tomatoes and some green beans were gone.). The waitress gave her a hard time about it. She kept telling her to eat more. I just kept repeating that we were done and she ignored me and told dd7 that she needed to eat more. It was very annoying and dd7 was starting to get confused and upset. (She had eating a good amount of our food.) Finally the waitress took her plate away but she was tsking and shaking her head like she was disappointed in dd7. I talked to my daughter and told her that she did great and not to worry. I just said that the waitress was from a different county and was having a hard time understanding us. (This was not the case, she understood us fine, but I did not want dd7 to think she had done something wrong.)

For dessert….
Dd7 ordered the sorbet (Raspberry) $3.00

This was GREAT sorbet! She loved it. It was light and fruity and very refreshing. It was a great way to end a heavy lunch before heading back out to the heat.

Dd15 ordered the Chocolate cake $8.99 (I don’t see it on the DIS menu now)

This was GREAT too. It was very rich and decadent. We all tried some and thought that this was the best dessert here.

DH had the Crepe a la pomme et cannelle, glace vanille, caramel jus de pommes - Crepe filled with cinnamon, apple, vanilla ice cream and apple caramel sauce $8.99

He liked this. I tried it and did not like the texture, but it was the first crepe I had ever had, so I am not sure if it was THIS crepe I did not like or crepes in general. It had the taste of an apple pie (which is my favorite pie) but the crepe was soft and I thought it needed something crunchy. He said he would get this again but that he did like the chocolate cake and the sorbets just a bit more.

I had the Assiette de Sorbets du jour et son palmier - Daily assortment of fresh sorbets served with an elephant ear $8.99

The flavors of the day were raspberry, kiwi, and coconut. I got one of each. This also came with fruit, as you can see. All the flavors were very good, but all of us agreed that the coconut was the best. DH is not a fan of coconut, but he liked this sorbet a lot. He might have preferred the kiwi a smidge more than the coconut. I wish I had just ordered all coconut!
DD7 took all my blueberries and some of the strawberries as well. I did not like the blackberries. They were VERY tart, almost like they were not ripe yet, even though they were the right color. (This was true all throughout our trip)

We also had a visit from the Chef himself!!!

At the end of our trip, we all decided that this was one of the best meals. We had some other favorites coming up, but we will be adding Chefs de France for our next trip!!

Our total here was: $127.69
Total so far: $376.50

 

[Jonesloonybin]

May 2 - Snacks

Later in the day, we stopped by the France bakery for some snacks.

We got a cheese cake ($3.50), a chocolate croissant ($2.85) and a chocolate chip cookie ($2.25).

I did not try the cheese cake (I do not like cream cheese) but DH and the girls all said it was good, but it would have been better with a sauce or berries, something.

The chocolate chip cookie was ok. It was not as soft as we like our cookies, but not too bad. The chocolate croissant was very good. We had a few more throughout our trip.
Snack credits used: 3 / 37 credits left
Total for here: $9.20
Total so far: $385.70

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Chefs is one of DH & DS's favorites and I have found it hit or miss. We are going back for lunch this year and I know I am getting that croque monsier! It is actually making me look forward to the meal!

Very odd with your DD and the waitress. My first thought is that I would have complained to a manager but then again, that may have upset DD even more (or in my case, DS). Certainly out of line in my book though.

 

[Jonesloonybin]

Chefs is one of DH & DS's favorites and I have found it hit or miss. We are going back for lunch this year and I know I am getting that croque monsier! It is actually making me look forward to the meal!

Very odd with your DD and the waitress. My first thought is that I would have complained to a manager but then again, that may have upset DD even more (or in my case, DS). Certainly out of line in my book though.

We would go back, skip the appetizers and order either the mac and cheese of the croque monsier. For dessert, the cake or the sorbet (depending on how full we felt.

The things with the waitress was very odd. I am not sure what was up but since it was our first park day, we did not want to upset the girls more. We just let it go and took the time to explain to dd7 that other cultures are different from ours and just left it at that. besides those times mentioned and in between each course (clearing and serving) we did not see our waitress much. We expected that dd7 would not eat much of the kids meals. She preferred our food most of the time.

 

[Shleedogg]

our family has the same thoughts about wdw bacon. Why is it that only at park fare its decent??

Mine too. Well, at least my DH. I don't like bacon (I know, I know, lol). My DH is obsessed with bacon and will only eat bacon and cereal at a breakfast buffet. I always feel bad booking them at Disney because DH doesn't enjoy them at all. Paying $30 for bad bacon and a bowl of cereal always feels like a waste for him.

Blech at the eggs, I wouldn't have eaten those either. We were debating about Akershus breakfast for our trip in Oct but decided against it, partly because of the breakfast and bacon issues of my DH, lol. Also because it was just too much work to get from BBB to Epcot/World Showcase in time.

Loving your reviews and looking forward to more!

 

[Jonesloonybin]

May 2 - Teppan Edo Dinner

Our ADR was for 6pm. We arrived right on time and only waited about 5-7 minutes. The lobby/check in area was a bit confusing with Teppen Edo and Tokyo dinning sharing.

They called us up with two groups of two diners. They led us all back to our room. The room we were in had two of the tables/grill stations. It was a tight squeeze and made me feel a little claustrophobic all through dinner.

We started by ordering our drinks. DD15 and I had Iced Green tea $2.95 each. It was pretty good. It was not sweetened (just FYI). DH just had water and dd7 had juice. (I don’t remember what kind and it is not on the recipt.)

For our appetizers:

DD7 did not get one.

DD 15 got the Garden Salad - Mixed greens, tomato, asparagus, and seasonal vegetables. Choice of dressing: Ginger, Creamy Sesame, or Oriental (with the Ginger dressing). $5.95

She thought that this was just ok. It was just a basic salad, nothing really stands out. The disappointing part is that there were no asparagus or any other special veggies, just what you would find in a basic bagged salad mix.

DH ordered the Tuna Sensation $8.50.

As you can see, he pretty much finished it by the time I got out my camera and took pictures of everyone else’s food. I don’t see this on the DIS menu either. It had raw tuna and avocado. He really loved it (obviously!)

I ordered the Edamame - Young soybean pods. - $4.50

I have never had Edamame before, so I was not sure how to eat this. LOL A nice lady seating at our table told me what to do. I thought these tasted great! I could have eaten a lot of these but I was worried about how they would do on my IBS (I was right to worry!). I ate about a handful and dd7 helped me with a few more.

For our entrees: (There are not great pictures of the entrees because we were served things one at a time.)
I have a picture of the food on the grill.

(You can see the swordfish behind the iced green tea.)

DD7 ordered the Kids Ebi - Large Shrimp with seasonal vegetables with Udon noodles and steamed rice. - $13.50
(this picture shows her veggies & noodles)

She loved this! She loves shrimp, mushrooms, zucchini and Udon noodles. This was her dream dish! We enjoy hibachi places but they usually are served with rice rather than noodles. She was very happy.
DD15 surprised me by ordering the Kajiki Maguro – Swordfish steak $26.95
(Sorry no picture - It looked just like cut up chicken too!)
She does not really like seafood. Not shrimp, lobster, etc. I was happy that she was willing to try something new. Surprisingly, she liked this. I had a taste and I tasted EXACTLY like my chicken. If I had not seen him cook it, I would have sworn it was chicken.

DH and I both ordered Ueno - Chicken breast and large shrimp with seasonal vegetables, Udon noodles, and steamed rice. - $26.95
(this is a picture of the shrimp and noodle/veggies)

This was good. It was about what you would expect. The chicken and shrimp were cooked perfectly. The zucchini was a bit over cooked.

The sauces that they give you:

The white was the seafood sauce, middle is the mustard/gingery sauce and the last was a soy based sauce. They were all very good. I liked the middle sauce the best and then the seafood one.

I did not get a picture of the desserts. DD7 & DD15 got chocolate/vanilla swirl soft serve ($4.95ea). DH & I got the chocolate ginger cake ($6.50ea). The ice cream was what would expect. We were pleasantly surprised by the chocolate ginger cake. Most reviews I had read were negative, but we both loved it. It did have a ginger taste but ours was very mild.

The chef was great with dd7. He asked her to come and pose with him. Here is a picture of them.

Our final thought was that this was an average with above average prices hibachi place. It is not a must do, but we would be open to coming back on the dining plan.

**(We ended up leaving Epcot not to long after dinner because I discovered that edamame is awful for the IBS!! I was in so much pain, I barely made the walk to the bus, then from the bus to our room. That was one of the worst nights ever.)

Total here: $151.34
Total so far: $537.04

 

[Jonesloonybin]

Mine too. Well, at least my DH. I don't like bacon (I know, I know, lol). My DH is obsessed with bacon and will only eat bacon and cereal at a breakfast buffet. I always feel bad booking them at Disney because DH doesn't enjoy them at all. Paying $30 for bad bacon and a bowl of cereal always feels like a waste for him.

Blech at the eggs, I wouldn't have eaten those either. We were debating about Akershus breakfast for our trip in Oct but decided against it, partly because of the breakfast and bacon issues of my DH, lol. Also because it was just too much work to get from BBB to Epcot/World Showcase in time.

Loving your reviews and looking forward to more!

Thanks!! Dh and dd7 tried bacon everywhere that we went, that offered it.
They agreed that Disney does not really do bacon very well. DH tried the eggs (one bite from the top of the pile) and that was it. (He is our guinea pig when it comes to food.)

Terri

 

[Jonesloonybin]

May 2 - Snacks

After Dinner lunch we picked up 2 Frozen Raspberry lemonade slushies with our snack credits. I did not get a picture. We bought them at the "Wash" near test track, in futureworld.

Total here: $8.00

We also got two Smart waters after dinner.

Total here: $6.50

Total so far: $551.54
Snack credits left: 33

Next up: Crystal Palace/Liberty Tree/Kona!!

Terri

 

[Jonesloonybin]

On the 2nd we discovered that my husbands KTTW card would not work for the dining plan. When we got back to Pop, we went to the front desk and told them our problem. A few minutes on the computer and a new card to DH, and we headed off to bed. The next day was going to be Magic Kingdom!!
(This info will be relevant later!!)
Terri

 

[Jonesloonybin]

May 3 – Crystal Palace Breakfast

We had an 8:05 am ADR for CP, so we could get into the park early. It was so cool walking down Main Street while it was practically deserted.

We walked towards the castle and then took a left. This is what we saw.

They were not even open yet, so we waited about 10 minutes. Then they called our name and took us to our table. They were great about explaining how the characters would come through the room. We ordered some drinks (Waters w/ lemon & OJ for the girls). Then we went up to get our food. They had all the basic things, as well as an omelet station. We passed on the omelets since we were not that hungry.

Here are some of our plates:

This was one of dd7’s plates.

Chocolate Mickey waffle, pancake and bacon. She preferred the regular Mickey waffles to the chocolate ones. The pancake was average, no real flavor. The bacon was typical Disney bacon.

This was also dd7’s plate.

Syrup for everyone, cheese cubes, donut, fruit (grapes, strawberries, blueberries and a few raspberries.) Everything was good. The fruit was very fresh and tasty.

This is dd15’s plate.

On top, I think, is a crumb cake with raspberry in the topping. Then, starting with the cinnamon roll and going clockwise, we have fruit (strawberries, watermelon, & cantaloupe), cheese cubes, biscuit, cottage cheese, bacon & sausage, and then scrambled eggs. The cinnamon roll was ok, but kind of dry. The biscuit was dry as well. The eggs were just a bit blah. No real taste to them.


This is dh’s plate.

Biscuits and gravy were just so-so. He really liked smoked salmon and the pineapple.

Here is my plate

The banana is actually for dd7. I loved the fruit and the Mickey waffle! I ended up going back for another waffle (or 2). The sausage was ok, but I am not much of a meat eater at breakfast.

This was a plate we shared.

DH had the croissant, he thought it was good. I had the chocolate croissant and thought it was very good. (I had a few more throughout our trip.)

Overall we liked this buffet and will most likely go back. The restaurant is very open and airy, with a nice flow to it. We loved getting into the park early too!!

***When it came time to pay, we discovered that now, not only did DH’s card still not work, but my card no longer worked either. We ended up using our dd15’s card for the dining plan. UGH!

The total for here: $87.29
The total so far: $638.83

 

[candy0730]

I am loving your reviews. I have to ask....did you try the puffed french toast at Crystal Palace? I didn't see any in your pictures? It is so yummy.

 

[DLo]

Enjoying your reviews. Thanks for taking the time to write them. We have only had CP for lunh/dinner. May have to try b'fast. looking forward to sci fi review. (and why you canceled via napoli - I am on the fence on that one myself - canceled it last trip)

strange experience at Chef's - we also liked our food there but the service - not so good - not scary like yours just our server disappeared for long periods of time.

 

[Jonesloonybin]

I am loving your reviews. I have to ask....did you try the puffed french toast at Crystal Palace? I didn't see any in your pictures? It is so yummy.

We did not. They had it tucked away at the kids station and I did not notice it the first trip up. By the time I did see it, we were not in the mood. Maybe next time!!