"What exactly is a schnitzel!?" March 2015 DR - November Trip Plans 9/2

[Vernie822]

I love the look of the Boardwalk Bakery. What cute muffins! I spot my favorite multigrain croissant, too. They're so good and a total breakfast favorite in WDW.

I like the croque monsieur at BoG lunch. I ordered that when I went and thought it was great.

I haven't been to 'Ohana in years, so I really want to return to try the much updated menu since I've been. The bread pudding, which I've gotten at Kona, is incredible. You had a really packed day, but looks like you fit in tons of good stuff!

The bakery is adorable. Pretty small inside but there's lots of outside seating which was nice! I was eyeing up those croissants, too. They looked delicious.

The Ohana bread pudding is soooo incredible.. I love it. We did fit in a ton of stuff that day!! By the end of the day we were beat.

What a great first day!! So this was your first time visiting the Boardwalk? We it!! BW is our favorite resort, there is nothing like walking to and from EPCOT so easily, especially after Illuminations. And you're right about the bakery, so many delicious things to try!! It's also hard not to get ice cream from Seashore Sweets every night when you return to the resort

I think you should stay at an EPCOT resort for your trip after your Nov. one

We visited the Yachtsman for dinner last year so we walked around the Boardwalk area after, but it was dark and I honestly didn't notice how close it was to Epcot. I figured there was some lengthy path to walk - it was sooooo close!! We totally fell in love with the BW resort area.

I think we might have to do just that!! I am excited to stay at AKL and the Poly, but we love Epcot and I think that resort area is perfect.

 

[Vernie822]

Day 2: BREAKFAST @ EVERYTHING POP
LUNCH @ YAK AND YETI

On our second day, we were up bright and early and made it to Animal Kingdom for rope drop. We hadn’t managed to do that at all on our first trip together, so this was a pleasant surprise.


For breakfast, we just stopped by Everything Pop.


I had a chocolate croissant. These are delicious! It’s not really anything special, but they are good. Pop had a nice selection of pastries/bagels/bread to choose from if you didn’t want something huge.

Justin had a cinnamon roll. He had one of these when we stayed at Coronado Springs, and he really likes them.

We made it to Animal Kingdom by probably 8:30, and they started letting everyone in around 8:50.

As you can see, some walls around the Tree of Life.. When I was here in March, I don't remember these being here too much, but in September I remember them being worse.

We had some FP’s for that morning. We got to Expedition Everest pretty quickly and jumped on that.


We made it to the Safari next, and at that point we walked right on. We realized then that we wouldn’t really need our FPs and switched them to Epcot for that night.


We also did Festival of the Lion King, some pin trading, and walked around the new Harambe Market area.


Our lunch ADR was for 12:00. We really like Animal Kingdom, but I absolutely will not ride anything in Dino Land (if it spins, I won’t go near it). We skipped a Bug’s Life and Dinosaur that day. We’ll get on those next time. So by noon, we were pretty much done riding. With only 4 days, we wanted to split the day up and get to Epcot that night.


My company has this program where you can send/receive appreciation points from others. For helping out on a project, doing something great, etc. I’ve accumulated some points over the last few years, and you can cash these in at an online store for various products and gift cards. I found one for Landry’s, verified that I could use it at Trex, Rainforest, or Yak and Yeti, and cashed in my points. It was really nice.


The night before, I had logged on to MDE and found a 12:00 and a 2:45 PM ADR for Yak and Yeti. When we approached the restaurant, there were lots of people walking up and asking if there was a table available. Fortunately they were able to get most of those people seated with only a 10-20 minute wait.

Our server was fantastic. One of the best we've had in WDW for sure.

Since seeing others post about the ahi tuna nachos, I have had my eye on them. We knew we'd order those (Justin said he'd just pick around the tuna, what a good sport). Justin decided on the sweet and sour chicken for his entree.

I didn't want an entree since the nachos would be really big, so I just asked about a side of fried rice. I think a side of chicken fried rice is $5.99 and their house fried rice is $10.99. I was curious what the difference was - the house fried rice includes chicken, shrimp, and pork. I decided to go with that.

Our nachos came out and were in one word, delicious. Sweet, tangy, spicy, all at the same time. I loved them. The wonton chips were great, too.

Ahi Tuna Nachos for Two - sushi grade ahi, Asian slaw, crispy fried wontons, wasabi aioli, sweet soy glaze $14.99

These were awesome and we'll definitely get them again.

Our food came out next.

Justin really liked his Sweet and Sour chicken. His only complaint was that it's not a lot of food. I think he had 5-6 pieces of chicken. He didn't eat the veggies though which is probably why he said it wasn't enough! Haha. But he had some of my fried rice and some of the nachos so it was all good.

Sweet and Sour Chicken or Pork - tempura chicken or pork, ginger, garlic, bell peppers, pineapple with jasmine or brown rice $18.99


He chose to get fried rice as his side which was $2 extra, and so worth it!

The house fried rice was a HUGE portion..

It was basic fried rice, with pork, chicken and shrimp. We barely made a dent in this. It was so good!

We both had diet coke to drink, which our server so nicely put in a "to go" cup for us.

I think our total here was somewhere around $55 after tax. My gift card was for $50, so it worked out great. Don't forget a 10% AP discount!

Ahi Tuna Nachos, $14.99
Sweet and Sour Chicken, $18.99
House Fried Rice, $10.99
Soft drink, $2.99 x 2 = $5.98
Plus tax, less 10% AP discount = $50ish.

After lunch, we headed back to Pop for a dip in the pool (me) and a nap (Justin). Next up, a night at the races at ESPN club, and dinner at our favorite, Via Napoli!

 

[Adgie128]

Your lunch pictures are making me so hungry! I think I ordered poorly at Yak & Yeti, because every review I've read shows that apps are the winner here.

The chocolate croissant looks delish. I might have to try that next time. I love light breakfasts at WDW, especially when it's hot out.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Yum! Great food choices. My daughter wants a chocolate chip Mickey muffin for breakfast. I will have to indulge her on our trip.

 

[Vernie822]

Day 2: DRINKS @ WORLD SHOWCASE
APPS @ ESPN CLUB (BOARDWALK)

After some R&R at the pool and a quick nap, we were out the door by probably 3:30. We wanted to get a bus to Epcot and then walk over to the Boardwalk. Justin loves horse racing, so he made me swear we would get to see the Belmont race that night.

We had tried to find a table at ESPN Club via the MDE app, but we couldn't find anything. I know they do VIP seating (with a required purchase of $90 worth of food and drinks per person), maybe they don't do reservations? It was pretty busy, so it's possible they were just all booked.

We also tried to get a FP+ for Test Track, but they were gone for the day.

We walked around the World Showcase for a little before heading to the Boardwalk.

Our first stop was our favorite drink in all of the World Showcase - a Schofferhofer Grapefruit from Germany. They had a Bier stand out on the walkway, in addition to just the normal bier stand or Sommerfest, so we stopped there.

My brother was studying abroad in Germany for 3 weeks at the time, so I sent him a picture of myself having a beer in the homeland!

We also had to have our other favorite, a Tokyo Sunset. We saw this last September too. They weren't on their menu, but there was a sign advertising them. This was at the small bar in Japan across from the stairs leading up to Tokyo Dining and Teppan Edo.

I had to take a picture of these so we can make them again!

While we walked through the World Showcase, Justin and I discussed our dinner plans. I was fine with grabbing QS in Epcot. He requested that we eat pizza on the trip, preferably at Via Napoli, but he said he'd settle for Pizza Planet at Hollywood Studios. We checked the MDE app to see if there was anything available at Via Napoli.

I mentioned Tutto Italia, which was still Italian, and he seemed to like the idea. As we walked past the Italy pavilion, he suggested we just walk up to Via Napoli and see if they had anything available for later that night.

I was a little skeptical, but it was a good idea. We were in the area, so why not.

They let us know that they could take us at 6 PM or 8:10! Woo hoo! We excitedly took the 8:10 reservation and headed for ESPN Club.

We stopped for a picture along the way.

Around 5:45 we arrived at the ESPN Club to watch the Belmont. It was set to take off at 6:50, but we wanted to make sure we were early just in case.

There was a long line of people hoping to get in to watch the race or the Stanley Cup game that night.

Thankfully, there was hardly a wait and we were seated right away.

We ordered an appetizer and some drinks. No alcohol for us since we had just split some drinks and we needed some water (Diet Coke for Justin).

We went with the Over Time Fries. They came out within 10 minutes.

Overtime Fries - A generous portion of French Fries topped with Chili and Cheddar Cheese $9.49

These were just ok. Nothing special. The fries with cheese were good! The cheese was just "plastic cheese" which some people might dislike but I say hey, bring it on. The more cheese the better (my stomach will disagree with that statement). The chili was not good, no beans or big chunks of meat, it just wasn't very good quality. But you'll have that! I just love a good bunch of pub cheese fries!

We had a really nice waiter. He came around and filled up our glasses a bunch of times. I felt guilty for not ordering more food, but we just made sure to tip him well since he was a great waiter.

It was starting to get really busy in the bar area as we grew closer to race time.

We watched a Triple Crown win, which was really exciting! The fries were also plenty large enough to tide us over until our ADR at 8:10.

Yay for a Triple Crown!

Overall, I'd say ESPN Club is a great place to grab some drinks and apps and watch a game. A family seated next to us ordered dinner and their burgers looked great, too. We would definitely come back here for a football game or something. It was a fun atmosphere and the staff was friendly. However, I can't say I'd come here for a meal over visiting one of the other great restaurants at WDW. Overall I'd give this a 7/10.

Next up.. Dinner in Italy.

 

[JessLovesDisney]

I'm a little late to the party, but loving your reviews!! I've been dying to try Via Napoli... We finally have an ADR for our August Trip!

 

[kastoney]

I had a chocolate croissant. These are delicious! It’s not really anything special, but they are good. Pop had a nice selection of pastries/bagels/bread to choose from if you didn’t want something huge.

Wow, this looks pretty darn good. Go Pop!

Our nachos came out and were in one word, delicious. Sweet, tangy, spicy, all at the same time. I loved them. The wonton chips were great, too.

OMG had to show my hubby a picture of these because how have we not ever ordered them. The look absolutely amazing. Gonna have to work this into our September plans fo sho

The house fried rice was a HUGE portion..

This is huge. Think apps and rice may be in order.

Our first stop was our favorite drink in all of the World Showcase - a Schofferhofer Grapefruit from Germany. They had a Bier stand out on the walkway, in addition to just the normal bier stand or Sommerfest, so we stopped there.

Ahh, grapefruit beer perfection

We also had to have our other favorite, a Tokyo Sunset. We saw this last September too. They weren't on their menu, but there was a sign advertising them. This was at the small bar in Japan across from the stairs leading up to Tokyo Dining and Teppan Edo.

How have I never even heard of this. It looks and sounds delicious.

They let us know that they could take us at 6 PM or 8:10! Woo hoo! We excitedly took the 8:10 reservation and headed for ESPN Club.

Yeah for last minute reservations. Can't wait to hear how it was

Overall, I'd say ESPN Club is a great place to grab some drinks and apps and watch a game. A family seated next to us ordered dinner and their burgers looked great, too. We would definitely come back here for a football game or something. It was a fun atmosphere and the staff was friendly.

We did a Steelers game there a few years back and it was definitely great. And you were right, they don't do ressies at all

 

[Vernie822]

Day 2: DINNER @ VIA NAPOLI

After watching the race, we headed back to Epcot via the International Gateway. We had our Via Napoli reservation for 8:10.


We picked up a couple pastries in France for breakfast the next morning. I chose a frangipane (triangular pastry with almond in the middle and powdered sugar on top – yum) and Justin chose the French-est thing he could find, a biscuit au chocolat. AKA a chocolate chip cookie. Hey, he likes what he likes, and he loves his chocolate chip cookies.


They stayed pretty well overnight. We left them in the white paper bag they came in, and I think we had put them in the fridge. Sorry I forgot to take pictures. I love anything from Les Halles.


We soon found ourselves in Italy around 8 PM, so we checked in for our reservation. We were seated just behind the check in area (which is enclosed in glass) next to the giant communal tables. It was a cool spot.


We decided we would share a pizza. I wasn’t too hungry, so I suggested the individual size. Justin said that was crazy (I always forget how thin the pizza is there) and suggested the large, which for $10 more gave us 8 slices instead of 4. So we went with a large.


He decided for pepperoni on his half, which is his usual choice. He really likes the pepperoni pizza at Via Napoli.


I was in between a few. My beloved Carciofi (artichokes and truffle oil UMMM YUM), the Quattro Formaggi, or something with red sauce, like a Margherita. I ruled out the Margherita, as I’d had it before, but loved the Carciofi so much more. Wasn’t really feeling artichokes that night and instead went with the Quattro Formaggi. Our server recommended adding prosciutto (one of my favorite things!!) – What a great idea! I’d never thought of that. So I went with it. And it was awesome!!


Our pizza came out within 15ish minutes. I just can’t get enough of that pizza. And we even had some left to take home. We managed to take home 3 slices that we ate cold for a mid-afternoon snack the next day. It was delicious cold as well.

Justin was less than thrilled that my picture taking was standing between him and his pizza.

Our total here I believe was somewhere around $45 (pizza + adding prosciutto + 2 drinks). You do get an AP discount if you have lunch here which is nice!

The service was fine, nothing stellar but it was good. You have one person that takes your order and brings your check and another that refills your drinks (I believe he brings you your food too).

We left as Illuminations was starting so we were able to watch it on our way to the bus. Another great meal at Via Napoli. Some day we’ll try the pasta but for now, we love the pizza.

Next up, I believe, is some snacks at Hollywood Studios!

 

[Vernie822]

Day 3: SNACKS @ HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

The next day we were up early and ready to go to Hollywood Studios! The night before, I had tried to make FP’s, but no luck for Toy Story Midway Mania. Justin was bummed, but we knew there was a chance we wouldn’t get FP’s for everything, especially since we were only booking them the night before.


We decided to get there ASAP, so we were up early and out the door by maybe 7:50. We got the park by 8:20 and I was shocked to see that they were already letting people in. I had sworn the park opened at 9 because there were no EMH for DHS that day.. well, I was wrong! Silly me, the park opened at 8 for SWW.


Our plan to dash to TSMM and then get over to Tower of Terror and Rock’n Rollercoaster was going to need tweaked.


So we rushed over to TSMM anyways, and waited probably 30 minutes in line. It wasn’t so bad. We probably had 15-20 minutes left when a CM approached us and asked how many in our party. When we said “2” she said “Follow me” and took us into what might have been the FP+ lane. We got right on. Major pixie dust. I’m not sure what the deal was, maybe a ton of families and they needed to fill in some space!? Whatever it was, I was excited!



We did a few more rides including RNR (Justin’s first time and he loved it!) and at his request, we skipped TOT. We saw Beauty and the Beast (my request) and by the end of that we were REALLY hot. It was probably only 11 AM, but honestly we aren’t huge fans of the current state of DHS.


We aren’t Star Wars fans by any stretch, so the huge crazy crowds for SWW didn’t help!


It was hot and we were getting hungry, so Justin suggested a snack. He wanted a soft pretzel. He spied a cream cheese pretzel and went with one of those. I was insistent on fighting crowds towards Starbucks for a Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcake. I think we found this pretzel stand near the Great Movie Ride? Honestly, I can't remember..

They also had churros and regular Mickey pretzels. Everything looked so good.

We both really, really enjoyed the sweet cream cheese pretzel. It was so delicious! Hot and fresh, and the cream cheese was quite melty.

Once we got through the crazy traffic to Starbucks, we grabbed two ice waters (free and oh so wonderful) and a chocolate peanut butter Darth Vader cupcake. We were between this guy and the Butterfinger. The Butterfinger lost and will be attempted next visit.

This cupcake was SO. GOOD. It was HUGE, so I’m glad we split it.


The top was a chocolate ganache. Under that it was iced with what I think was chocolate peanut butter icing. It may have been distinctly peanut butter, but I think I remember there being chocolate in it, too.

I prefer my cake cold as opposed to room temp, and this was nice and cold, so once I got to the cupcake part, it was awesome! It was so moist, not crumbly really at all.


The only complaint I have, is that I thought it should have been filled! Other people I’ve seen have mentioned it’s filled, so maybe this one wasn’t because it’s a special Darth Vader one!? I have no idea.


It was so delicious though, and worth the $5.19 we spent here.

After some more time in Hollywood Studios, we decided to head to Downtown Disney. I wanted to check out some of the DVC resorts while we were there, so we decided to play a little game of bus roulette. Whichever bus came first between Old Key West and Saratoga Springs, we would take. And then we'd boat or walk to DTD.

We ended up getting on to a Saratoga Springs bus. We found the main building and walked through the Turf Club area out to the dock where a boat was loading. We took the bus to Downtown Disney for some shopping.

Perfect day for a boat ride!

Once we were there, Justin spotted the Boathouse. We had no lunch plans, so we thought maybe we'd grab something at DTD. The Boathouse was really nice inside! We looked at the menu (I knew it would be really pricy) and decided to go elsewhere since we weren't really feeling anything on their menu that day. I can't wait to try it sometime, though!

We contemplated Raglan Road (I didn't love it the last time I was there, but their Sunday brunch looked good), and Earl of Sandwich. We had eaten at Earl of Sandwich before.

Then Justin suggested something awesome again - I am really teaching him well, haha. He said "Why don't we take a bus to Art of Animation and check out their food court!?"



Boy, was I happy to hear that. I had mentioned to him that their food court was supposedly awesome.. and spoiler alert - it was!

 

[Pfau]

What a fun day of hopping around ... just exploring. I love it!

 

[kastoney]

You're a girl after my own heart between the artichokes and prosciutto. So love Via Napoli and your pizza looks AWESOME!!!!!

Yeah for snacks at MGM. I had no idea they had the cream cheese pretzel there, we typically get it in MK, so great to know. And that cupcake looks awesome.

Can't wait to see what AoA has in store for ya

 

[Vernie822]

What a fun day of hopping around ... just exploring. I love it!

Thanks! It was really nice to just relax and take it easy. Planning is so much fun, but it's so nice to just go with the flow.

You're a girl after my own heart between the artichokes and prosciutto. So love Via Napoli and your pizza looks AWESOME!!!!!

Yeah for snacks at MGM. I had no idea they had the cream cheese pretzel there, we typically get it in MK, so great to know. And that cupcake looks awesome.

Can't wait to see what AoA has in store for ya

Oh, that pizza - still drooling! It was deeeeelish. We didn't expect to see the pretzel there, either - for some reason I had heard of it being in MK in Tomorrowland so I never really thought to look elsewhere.

 

[Vernie822]

Day 3: LUNCH @ LANDSCAPE OF FLAVORS (ART OF ANIMATION RESORT)

So, we ended up on a bus to AOA with not that many other people. I think one other couple, and a family of 4.

The poor family of 4 - an adult couple and I think her parents - they were trying to get from Downtown Disney to Hollywood Studios so they took a bus back to AOA and then back to HS. She didn't realize that there was no bus transportation from DTD to the parks and they were going to miss their FastPass. It was not a pretty sight!! Lol. I felt so bad - sometimes so much planning and thought goes in to it, then something goes wrong, and there's nothing you can do about it. I hope they made it, they were running once we got off the bus to get on a Hollywood Studios one!

We had never set foot on AOA property. It was beautiful! I loved the theme and the life-sized Cars, Nemo, Lion King stuff was pretty neat. We didn't walk around the resort too much but we did explore a little.

Ever since hearing John and Kevin's Art of Animation review on the DisUnplugged podcast, I had been wanting to check it out. Kind of one of those 'eventually we'll get there' things. Today was the day, thanks to my smart fiance for thinking of this one.

They just have SO MUCH to choose from here. Honestly, if you're staying at Pop, I'd highly suggest walking over for a meal.

They have a create your own salad area, create your own pasta, create your own burger, Tandoori oven, drool-worthy gelato, pizza, and other sandwiches.

Here are the options for creating your own pasta:

A couple of things that stuck out to me: the Tandoori oven sounded awesome (I love naan bread!), there was a yummy looking caprese sandwich (perfect for a summer lunch), and a salmon club sandwich.


Justin decided that the sandwich area sounded good to him. I had one thing on my mind that I had been wanting to try for-ev-er. The surf and surf burger! With the create your own burger, you could choose from a regular one, a veggie one, or a chicken burger. So lots of options here.

They had so many options for the burger toppings which Justin really liked.

He ended up choosing a burger with bacon, cheddar cheese, and BBQ sauce.

Everything was made right to order, which was really nice. It took a while and the waitress was confused with his request (he wanted the BBQ sauce on the side) but all was good.

Here's Justin's burger and house-seasoned fries:

Create-Your-Own Burger - choice of Burger, cheese and toppings on a multigrain Kaiser bun with coleslaw or house-seasoned fries $11.49

And of course, my Surf and Surf burger:

Surf and Surf Burger - Crab Cake topped with fried Popcorn shrimp, tomato, lettuce, and cajun remoulade on a brioche bun served with coleslaw or house-seasoned fries $11.49

And the inside:

We got a drink to share. Our total came to $27 here which I figured was comparable to what we'd pay for burgers and fries in the parks.

If I had to rate this sandwich, I'd give it a 10/10. It was a little messy (the tomato was causing the top half to slide) but it was seriously delicious. The crab cake was moist and the remoulade went along with it really well. The shrimp were a nice accompaniment. The taste of the remoulade really just pulled it all together. The lettuce and tomato were a nice touch and the brioche bun was perfect.

The fries were just as good. We were used to just regular Disney fries all weekend but these ones had a nice seasoning on them. Justin loved them, too.

He really enjoyed his burger. He'll eat just about any burger but he said that he liked getting to choose the toppings and switch it up with some BBQ sauce. He really liked the fries as well.

We walked around a little afterwards and the pool was swimmin' with little kiddos. We passed by this guy...

And took the bridge back to Pop.

It was definitely a hot day, but the walk was easy and we liked seeing everything. It probably took us 10-12 minutes from the back of Landscape of Flavors to our room in the 50's section. Maybe more like 15, I'm not sure. But definitely worth it if you have some down time in the afternoon or evening!

 

[Vernie822]

Day 3: LA CAVA DEL TEQUILA & SOMMERFEST

Prior to our trip, I had snagged just a few reservations. Be Our Guest and Ohana by luck, and Beaches of Cream a couple weeks later. Our ADR was for 8:50 on the third day of our trip (Sunday). I had contemplated cancelling it - really all I wanted was the No Way Jose - so on Saturday, the night before, we decided we were enjoying 'winging it' and we would cancel it.

The next day, we were talking about it again and figured we'd double check just to see if there was an ADR available so we could get ice cream. Our 8:50 was still there so we figured that would be great!

After some napping in the room that day, we decided to head to Epcot before our B&C reservation. We decided to hop on Test Track, as Justin didn't get to ride it the first time we had been there. I really like it and I'm a ride chicken, so I was excited. We probably waited for 40 minutes (no more FPs) but it was worth it.

Afterwards, we headed towards Mexico. We decided to get a margarita. I've only ever had the frozen ones from the margarita booth, so we decided to go inside and try La Cava del Tequila.

Holy moly, was it crowded and tiny in there! It took a few minutes to get through the line to the bar, but wow, those bartenders move quickly.

I thought the pineapple margarita sounded good. Justin liked another, I can't remember what it had in it. Neither of us liked the one the other one had suggested, but we settled on a passion fruit margarita!

This had tequila, ginger liqueur, passion fruit, mango nectar, fresh lime juice, and mango foam. It was probably the most expensive margarita I've ever had.

To tell you the truth, it was OK. I'm honestly not a tequila connoisseur so I couldn't tell you much more than it tasted good. I'm perfectly happy with a frozen strawberry margarita from the margarita booth which I think I'll stick to!Heck 3 years ago I used to run on Natty Light and Arbor Mist, so my palate probably isn't sophisticated enough yet. Ha.

By the time we were done, we ended up in Germany. I ran into Karamell Kuche for a giant bag of caramel popcorn.

Justin was getting kinda hungry here and decided that for his dinner, he wanted to try Sommerfest. I was still slightly full from lunch, so I passed and figured maybe I'd grab fish and chips from the UK before our ice cream.

He decided on a bratwurst and some potato salad. I instead decided on a liquid dinner, my beloved Schofferhofer.

Bratwurst - Fresh-cooked Brat with Roll and Sauerkraut $7.49

Cold Potato Salad - Traditional Cold Potato Salad with Eggs $3.29

Schofferhofer Grapefruit, $8.25


Justin liked his meal here. He doesn't like sauerkraut so I ate that off the top. And I ate a couple bites of each, they were good! $11-ish isn't too bad for a decent sized brat and some potato salad.

We snagged a seat in the shade, relaxed, then enjoyed the rest of the World Showcase before heading to Beaches and Cream.

Next.. Unexpected entrees & an absolutely amazing ice cream sundae at Beaches and Cream!

 

[aj23]

So glad to read your review on Landscape of Flavours. I'm staying at POP for the first time and heard it was really convenient to pop over to AoA for their QS. That surf and surf burger looks amazing! When I first read it I thought it was a mistype of surf and turf. But after seeing the description I know I'll have to try it! I love all the options for the build your own burger too.

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

 

[Vernie822]

Day 3: DINNER @ BEACHES AND CREAM

If you think a majority of our trip seems like it was spent in/around World Showcase and the Boardwalk, you’re right. We spent so much time there this time around. We really love WS and can spend every evening there!

I had heard great things about a little restaurant called Beaches and Cream. A couple of Disers and a podcaster I listen to all raved about the No Way Jose ice cream sundae. I knew it was a place we’d get to visit eventually.

Now I love, love, love anything with peanut butter. And even more, I love anything with chocolate AND peanut butter. So when I saw pictures of the No Way Jose I was immediately excited. I had also seen pictures of something similar at Ghirardelli (Gold Rush maybe!?) but I had read sometime this spring that Ghirardelli was discontinuing the use of peanut butter at the DTD store. Not sure if this applies to all of the Ghirardelli ice cream places or not!?


It’s honestly not a far walk from the back of the World Showcase to the Beach Club, but today we decided to take the boat over. It was really hot and we had walked a ton that day, plus the boat was right there, so we hopped on it and we were there in no time at all. We decided to explore a little before our meal (and look for B&C because we had no clue where it was).

When we arrived that evening, we were slightly earlier than our 8:50 ADR. It might have been 8:20-ish. I was getting hungry so we checked in early and they were able to seat us after maybe a 10 minute wait.

The place is so tiny inside, but it’s adorable. We were seated at a teeny tiny table for two facing the jukebox. The “to go” area was to my left, so it was fun to watch all of the guests come in and leave with their ice cream. Everything looked delicious.

At first we weren’t planning on ordering anything more than ice cream, but I hadn’t eaten dinner (other than the liquid dinner I had consumed a few hours earlier). Plus everything on the menu looked really good!

Justin was amazed at a table nearby us that had ordered the kitchen sink. They didn’t finish (I think it was parents, grandparents, and 2 grandkids), but they definitely had made a good effort.


We had an adorable server. I don’t mean this in a rude way whatsoever, but she was no less than like 77 years old. She was so sweet and nice! We each ordered a Diet Coke – I mentioned to Justin about the flavorings since he usually loves to add cherry, but he passed this time.


Their menu isn’t extremely extensive but they definitely have a variety of options here. They had a lot of sandwiches to choose from, some burgers, a Ruben, and a couple salads. Regret: I did not order the onion rings, which I have heard are fantastic.

I was between a few things here: the vegetarian falafel, the chicken sandwich with brie cheese and raspberry vinaigrette, and the grilled cheese. Oh, and the roasted turkey on brioche sounded good. Ok, all of these items sounded delicious, so I’m going to tell you the descriptions so you can see for yourself.


Vegetarian Falafel – Served on flatbread with black olive hummus (!!!!!), cucumber, tomato, and lettuce topped with a soy tzatziki-style sauce. $11.49.


Chicken Sandwich – Grilled herb chicken breast topped with brie cheese, cucumber, and frisee tossed with raspberry vinaigrette on a fresh baked multi grain bun. $13.99.


Roasted Turkey on Brioche – with smoked gouda, Craisin jalapeno jam, and fried onions, $13.99.


Grilled Cheese and Tomato Bisque – with six cheese blend. $9.99.


I ultimately ended up ordering a grilled cheese. At home I hardly ever make these, but on vacation, who doesn’t want a grilled cheese with SIX KINDS OF CHEESE!!! I have read a few reviews saying this entrée is awesome, so I thought I couldn’t go wrong.


My tummy is sensitive to dairy so in hindsight, perhaps I should’ve sopped up some of that milk from the ice cream with some meat or veggies, but hey, I’M ON VACATION! I’m gonna eat as much cheese as I want!


Justin went with a hot dog with chili. Again, one of those things he hardly ever eats at home (he consumed a chili/cheese combo 3 times in 4 days here! Haha) so he was excited to try the Beaches and Cream version.


Our food did take a while to come out, which was OK with us because it was a fun atmosphere to be in. It’s such a small place so I wasn’t expecting our food to come out right away.


Our server brought us a little basket with some condiments for our meal.

Our food came out and in a few words, it was simple yet delicious.

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Bisque - Six-Cheese blend on fresh-baked sourdough bread; served with lettuce, tomato $9.99 (this description is from AllEars - mine didn't come with lettuce or tomato which is OK because that's what I prefer!)

The grilled cheese was an awesome combo of a bunch of cheeses. Most of them were white and there was something with herbs in there because it had kind of a kick. Not like the traditional American cheese many are probably used to on a grilled cheese. The tomato bisque was awesome as well! I make tomato bisque from scratch at home in the winters (Justin eats it by the gallon, I swear) and this was just really delicious. I didn’t eat the crackers so I tossed them in to my bag. They make for a good “I just got off Expedition Everest and everything hurts” snack.

And Justin's meal:

Beaches Hot Dog - Add your favorite fixin': Sauerkraut, Cheese, Coleslaw or Chili .99 each; $8.49 (this came with fries and he added chili)

Justin really enjoyed his meal as well. Compared to the chili cheese fries we had the previous day at ESPN, he said the chili here was of much better quality. I didn’t have any but I did sneak a fry or two and they were great as well.


For our dessert, Justin would’ve liked something like a brownie sundae or the Milky Way sundae, but he knew I wanted to try the No Way Jose (and there was No Way I was finishing this on my own) so he was happy to let me choose the dessert.. what a keeper. About halfway through our meal, our server put our order in for our ice cream. So right after she cleared our plates, she delivered the ice cream!

No Way Jose - A Peanut Butter and Hot Fudge delight featuring Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Morsels, Whipped Cream, and a Cherry $8.49

I have heard a couple mention that this isn't any different than ice cream you can get at The Plaza, or perhaps even at home. For us this was a special treat. We do ice cream on occasion but never like this! I loved everything about it. The peanut butter just tasted like melted Jif but that was perfectly fine by me. Between the two of us we only finished about half of this.

Our bill came to around $34. I think I had a Diet Coke, but I'm not sure, I might have had water. $34 wasn't too bad in my opinion, again, for $9.99 and $9.39 for each entree, you'd pay the same or more at a QS place. The dessert was definitely worth it.

We'll absolutely come here again! If we stay at the Boardwalk or Beach Club (which we would love to do), I can see us coming here for lunch. It's by no means an upscale signature-esque restaurant, but for a fun atmosphere, good old fashioned food and ice cream, it's definitely a fun experience.

After our meal, the Boardwalk was lookin good at night..

We walked out to the boat dock and waited for a ferry. We decided to take it to DHS (I believe there were EMH that night), and then a bus back to Pop. I think Epcot was closed at this point. MK was open but we were heading there the next day and we knew we wouldn't make it up with our bags packed nice and early if we didn't go to bed a little early.

We also booked a breakfast ADR while on the bus back. I was between Kona and Whispering Canyon. Justin could do without a sit down breakfast. I love breakfast food and I could not imagine leaving WDW without stuffing my face full of Mickey waffles at least once. So we booked Kona. And then I cancelled it and booked WCC, since we are staying at the Poly in November and we have a Kona breakfast booked then!

 

[Vernie822]

So glad to read your review on Landscape of Flavours. I'm staying at POP for the first time and heard it was really convenient to pop over to AoA for their QS. That surf and surf burger looks amazing! When I first read it I thought it was a mistype of surf and turf. But after seeing the description I know I'll have to try it! I love all the options for the build your own burger too.

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

It definitely is convenient! When I first saw it I thought Surf and Turf as well. It was seriously soooo good, and they have so many unique offerings there! I hope you get a chance to check it out.

 

[aj23]

I love Beaches & Cream. You were lucky to get in early for you ADR I always find theres a wait. But it definitely is a deal. When I've gone with my friend and her family we usually go there for dinner the first night and pay OOP if going the DDP. I can't really justify a TS credit when the entrees are only around $10. Plus then we can bank it for a signature later on in the trip.

 

[Vernie822]

Day 4: BREAKFAST @ WHISPERING CANYON CAFE (WILDERNESS LODGE)

On our final Disney day (wahhhh) we were up early, packed up our bags, and took everything down to airline check in. My fiance was impressed – the first time we were in WDW we rented a car so we had not utilized this awesome perk. We checked in what we needed to and we were through airline check in and the check out line at Pop within 10 minutes.


The check out line at Pop was a few families deep, but a CM with an iPad was able to check us out pretty quickly and we didn’t wait long at all. She was even from the same university as my sister.


I mentioned in my previous post that I talked Justin in to having breakfast at a table service once. He can grab a cinnamon roll or a bagel and be fine for a few hours, but I like a nice sit down breakfast once per trip. We ended up booking Whispering Canyon Café, which was a place I had been wanting to try. Plus, I knew he would like the Wilderness Lodge, and in our quest to check out lots of resorts this trip, I thought it would be a fun place to visit.


I was nervous (always am) that we wouldn’t make it in time. The idea of catching a bus from Pop to MK, then a boat from MK to Wilderness Lodge, worried me a little. Our breakfast ADR was for 9:45.


Thankfully we made it to MK in no time and we were quickly on a boat to Wilderness Lodge.

I gotta say – this was one awesome boat ride. I hadn’t done it in years (maybe even ever) so we really took it all in and enjoyed it.


We arrived to Wilderness Lodge and did some exploring. It really is a beautiful resort. The lobby is breath taking. Justin said he would love to stay here. This is the closest he will get me to camping.

When we were planning our November trip, and trying to decide where we would like to rent DVC points, Wilderness Lodge was towards the top of our list. Price wise it was not too bad, and it had some availability at the time. We found out from the rental company at 7 months out that the Poly Villas also had some availability, so it was a no brainer to switch. I’m actually glad we did this because they just announced lots of construction at WL!


We used the restrooms and checked in at the Whispering Canyon Café desk. It has such a fun theme! A couple of families approached the desk after us and were told it was a 5-10 minute wait. Not bad.

The hostess lead us to our table which was practically two feet from the hostess desk. We were facing the dining room, so we had an awesome view of everything that was happening.


I was torn between a few items on the entrée list here. I knew the all you care to eat breakfast skillet was right up my alley. I hadn’t had Mickey waffles yet (oh the blasphemy!) and I wanted to make sure I did before we left! Justin loves biscuits and gravy, and sausage and bacon.. and everything else on the skillet, so that’s what he decided to get.


The banana bread French toast sounded SO good.. but I just couldn’t pass up the Mickey waffles.


So we both went with the breakfast skillet, and Diet Cokes to drink. They came in adorable mason jars.

Our server was “Nickoftime” (Nikki) and she was THE BEST SERVER WE HAD ALL WEEKEND. Seriously. If you can sit in her section, do it. She is fantastic.


They brought us coasters and told us that we could flip it one side up if we wanted to play along, or the other side up if we would like to “watch from the fence”. I knew coming here that Justin would be opposed to the antics. That’s just not his thing. I could go either way, so we chose to “watch from the fence”.

This is where Nikki shined. A family next to us with 2 kids, probably 10 and 12-ish, were all for the games. They joked back and forth and sassed each other. It was hilarious.


There was a family next to us of 3, mom, dad, and a teenage boy. They were hilarious too – the mom ended up with a HUGE mason jar of iced tea. I only hoped that Justin would get one full of Diet Coke, I think that would be his dream come true.


There was a family behind us: mom, dad, and I think triplets. They were probably 8. One of the boys I believe was autistic. They chose not to participate, and Nikki was really respectful of that and she transformed from completely silly server to a very professional server the minute she approached them. It was great and I think that she treated everyone equally, whether they wanted to be silly or just enjoy a quiet meal. All three of the kids ordered the kids banana bread French toast, and let me tell you it looked delicious!!


Our food took a little while to come out but we didn’t mind because we were enjoying the show. I love ketchup with my eggs and potatoes but I was not going to ask for it here.. haha. I’m sure we wouldn’t have had 30 bottles but still – I wasn’t willing to risk it lol.


Here’s the skillet! It has Mickey waffles, biscuits and gravy, eggs, potatoes, bacon, and sausage. It also came with some butter and syrup. This is $16.49 per person.

We both really enjoyed this. Yeah it was somewhat greasy, but what do you expect with all of those items!?


Justin really loved the biscuits and gravy, eggs, and sausage.


I loved the Mickey waffles the most! I wish there had been more than 2 on the plate for two people - I could eat 6 of these myself.


You can order more of any of the items. I know we got more Mickey waffles and I think we also got more sausage.


We also got a 10% discount for using my AP here which was great!


The skillet is $16.49 per person. I think in the future I’ll order off the regular menu – these items were delicious, but all seemed like items you can get on a bounty platter for half the price at a resort food court. On the other side of things, at a buffet, you'd likely pay at least $10 more. Now of course you can eat all you want, but one plate of breakfast is pretty decent for both of us so we didn’t load up too much. I think it all depends on what you think is "worth it" - some people could eat 2 or 3 of these skillets themselves, so that's a decent price!


Our bill was $35-ish after our AP discount (we had both ordered a Diet Coke).


In the hour we were here, we experienced numerous people needing ketchup, a couple of pony rides, and some hilarious moments with Nikki. At one point she asked me if I wanted one of the kids from the table next to us, I immediately replied “Oh no thank you!” and she thought it was hysterical. She also took a liking to my Ariel ears… she wore them and was singing “Part of Your World”… ha!!


We then took a boat back to MK where I believe we ate everything in sight before needing to get back to Pop for the Magical Express.

 

[kastoney]

Catching up on your last couple of updates.

Glad you all liked AoA. We stayed there a few trips back and really enjoyed the resort (and food court, BTW I had that caprese sandwich and it was indeed yummy). That surf and surf looks really good and love that you can actually see lumps of crab in it.

Sorry your La Cava margarita was a bit of a bust. We love them, but I've never been able to pull myself away from the avocado one. Maybe next time they will have one with some Natty light ; )

Beaches and cream looks awesome. Still can't believe we've never managed to eat there as I'm sure we could eat our weight in onion rings and ice cream alone. That grilled cheese sounds and looks heavenly. Your no way jose looks amazing. My hubby and daughter would totally be in heaven with that one.

Glad you got over to WL. It's one of our favorite resorts as it is right there in the craziness of MK but feels so remote and quiet at the same time. And like you, that is as close to camping as this girl is gonna get ; ) Your server at WCC sounds awesome!