After lunch, we got got FPs for Peter Pan, used our Space Mountain FPs, rode the TTA, rode Carousel of Progress, watched the beginning of the parade so my sister could see the Muppets, watched the Country Bear Jamboree, and got a quick snack at a snack cart in Adventureland:
I got a strawberry bar, my sister got a frozen lemonade.
After this, we did some shopping, used our Peter Pan FPs, and then went to get in line for dinner. Well, to be quite honest, I didn't know there was actually going to be a
line. But there was.
This is coming from the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon, going through the bathroom area leading into Adventureland, and going down the wall a bit.
Something funny did happen here, though. We were basically next to last getting in line, and then a mom and her 2 daughters walk by. The mom says to her daughters, "Here, stand in line and I'll go see what it's for."
Who does that?!
Anyway.. We eventually made it up to the entrance:
We were instructed that it would be best to find a place to sit before heading to the buffet. Easier said than done, considering all the people that got inside before us. I just couldn't believe they weren't sitting people in order to make room for everyone. It was a madhouse inside
We eventually settled for two seats upstairs, near the far right side of the stage.
Needless to say, we didn't have a very good view of the screen. But we couldn't do anything at that point. So I went downstairs to try to find out what we were supposed to be eating. I had contacted the D23 staff right after we bought our tickets, and they assured me there would be something available for us. This is the reply I recieved to my e-mail:
Hello Andrea,
Thank you for your letter.
We have gone ahead and contacted the Walt Disney World resort and
alerted them about your dietary restrictions. They have confirmed that
they will be able to accommodate your requests. Please alert the D23
staff upon check-in to make sure you receive the appropriate meal.
Considering we didn't really have a "check-in", I attempted to do what I was supposed to. In the sea of hungry Disney fans, I tried to find a D23 staff member to help me.
First I saw a soup station that had minestrone soup. I asked the man serving it if there was any kind of beef or chicken broth, and he said the soup was completely vegetarian.
They also had some kind of chowder + chicken, shrimp, and croutons that could be added to either soup. But he assured me the minestrone was fine. so I got a bowl of that.
I found a woman near the buffet area, and I asked her if she knew what was vegan on the buffet. She wasn't sure, and went to go ask a chef. I stayed where I was for a good 5 minutes, while watching everyone else pile food on their plates.
When the lady came back, she started saying that I could have the mashed potaotes and the polenta (wait, what?), and I stopped her, asking if the chef knew what vegan meant? I explained to her that I didn't eat eggs, dairy, meat, fish, etc..
^Can't eat this!
She said that I should have e-mailed the staff when I ordered my tickets to explain my situation, and I told her that I had and that they assured me there would be something available. She said, "Oh," and, once again, went to talk to a chef.
(This is where I was awkwardly standing the whole time. Very uncomfortable spot, with all the people crammed in there, trying to get by me.)
Another 5 minutes go by, the presentation had already started, and I was getting kind of annoyed watching everyone else eating and enjoying the speeches. Eventually the woman came back out with a chef and he explained that I could have the minestrone soup (which I had already picked up), the sauteed greens, and the fire roasted corn + various beans.
After looking at the buffet all this time, I had figured these would be the only things we could eat. He asked where we were sitting, and I pointed to where my sister was upstairs. He said he would cook some tofu and bring it up to us for our entree. I thanked him, and then my sister came down and we got plates of the greens and the corn/beans to take back upstairs.
At eat place setting, there was a glass of lukewarm water, watered down lemonade, and at some point, some guy came around and gave us all champagne for a toast.
I could have been under 21 for all he knew! I couldn't believe they just poured me a glass of champagne. I don't drink, but I did take a sip and nearly gagged. So gross.
This is the plate I got from the buffet. It had the sauteed greens (which also had red and yellow bell peppers), the fire-roasted corn with red, black, and white beans, and the minestrone soup.
After all that hassle, I sure was hoping the food would be good. And it definitely was. Everything was really tasty and very hearty. But I don't think it was worth all the trouble, or the price.
After about five minutes, the chef came upstairs bringing two plates of food for us:
Mine.
My sister's.
On these plates was what we had already picked up from the buffet, plus red quinoa, white rice, and some seared tofu with an olive/red pepper relish.
The beans were really good mixed with the rice. The quinoa was really plain. I don't think they even added any salt. The tofu was just seared tofu. It was nicely seasoned, but it was still just seared tofu.
I appreciated the gesture, but I could have done without the grains and the tofu.
And I don't think you can tell how incredibly small the space each person had was in these pictures. Everyone sitting upstairs was literally bumping elbows with the person next to them as they ate. It was really difficult to find room for all those glasses, plus the two plates each that me and my sister had. Really uncomfortable.
Oh, and also: At some point, when I was talking to the chef and the lady, the chef mentioned that somone had come in at the previous dinner seating, asking for a vegetarian meal and that they had thought that was what the special request was for. Nevermind that I had mentioned in my letter that we were going to be at the second dinner seating and that we were
vegan.
I wonder if they got a better meal than us, considering they thought that was the special request for the night.
They also had this little salad section set up, but I never made it over there:
It looked kind of pitiful, to be honest..
The best part about the meal, by far, was the guy playing the piano on stage:
He played this amazing, 10-minute long montage of classic Disney songs and, I swear, I thought it was a recording until someone said to give him a round of applause at the end. It was amazing!
And that concludes my experience at the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon D23 Dinner. Not a very good one. But at least the outside of the restaurant is pretty:
Coming Up: D23 Fantasyland Dessert Party
I will definitely be asking for that stuff next time I'm there!
To be honest, that's actually what happened almost our entire trip at Disney in November. We filled out the dietary request form, got that same response in the e-mail. When we got to each restaurant they were never informed we would be there.
