11 nights of dining 11/21 to 12/1 with pictures

[OurDogCisco]

A little side note on our visit to the Garden View Tea Room at the Grand Floridian Resort. In 2006/2007, we visited WDW over Christmas. On January 2, 2007 I made reservations to eat at 1900 Park Fare and then, visit the famous Gingerbread House that I've seen on the travel channel many times. I was anixously awaiting this day. So, we had breakfast at 1900 Park Fare which I wasn't too impressed with the Character interaction. There was this horrible family that kept grabbing the characters out of line to their table. As a result our meal took about 2 hours. I wasn't happy and I shared my frustration with the waitress as well. Anyways... we walked out to see the Gingerbread house and discovered they were taking it down. I was SO disappointed. So, for the 2nd day of our trip, I made sure we saw the Gingerbread house. I even bought one at $65 even though the ones at Beach Club were only $35. Anyways... it came in the huge box. Traveling on the plane with it was a challenge. We had to lay it on it's side for the X-ray machine and the overhead bin. I was very worried we'd have a damaged gingerbread house. But to my surprised... it survived the airplane trip. But unfortunately... my dog ate it. Can you believe that!!! It smelled really good and obviously he though it was really good too... Talk about being bummed and I didn't even get to take a picture of it. So... I guess.. .I have to go back and try this all again..

 

[gellybean]

Great reviews so far! You're review of Kona Cafe dinner is making me want to switch back to Kona dinner again and drop Boma!!! Every review I read I change our ADRs. Eventually I'm gonna have to stop reading dining reviews or we'll end up without ANY ADRs.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Great reviews so far! You're review of Kona Cafe dinner is making me want to switch back to Kona dinner again and drop Boma!!! Every review I read I change our ADRs. Eventually I'm gonna have to stop reading dining reviews or we'll end up without ANY ADRs.

LOL... I feel your pain.. I'm fortunate to go back in 6 months so, I know I try some new yummy treats. Anyways... I think, you should try everything once. We did Boma for dinner on our last trip...

 

[OurDogCisco]

The next few reviews are off my cheapy point and shoot so, the quality isn't the best. I kept running out battery or space so, I had to rely on my back camera occasionally...

So, we flew Delta from CA to SLC to MCO. The layover in SLC was very short so, we didn't get a chance to grab a bit to eat. I had made sandwiches for kids to eat but dh didn't want a sandwich and ordered one on the plane (go figure and I didn't take a picture of it). I ordered Hummus with veggies because it was Todd English Dish. We never did make it to his Disney Restaurant. Anyways... it was nice to eat some veggies. Here's the menu:

Here's my dish. I didn't take one of dh's not sure why though:

The hummus was good but the pita was soggy in some places and the carrots looked very weird... Anyways... the kids help me munch on it.

On our 2nd night at Disney we took advantage of the MVMCP. My thought was since our bodies were on California time it would be no sweat to stay up until midnight with the kids. We stayed the night before at All Star Movies. Slept in and had breakfast. Walked around the resort which the KIDS loved. I'm not sure I'll get them back to a deluxe hotel again. Anyways.. we had dinner at Cosmic Rays but that's on my laptop that crashed so, hopefully I'll be able to retrieve those pictures some day. However, it was a cold night at Disney so, we took advantage of the cookie and hot cocoa. Let me tell you it was about 1 on a scale of 10. Watered down cocoa and tasteless cookie wasn't worth it. But we drank and ate it as we were cold. When left MK at midnight our car said it was 48 degrees outside:

Well.. the cookies weren't good enough so, on the way out we stopped at Main Street Bakery and had Cinnamon Rolls. They were good but my kids like the homemade version. Yep, I've created monsters...

It is a bit blurry but it was 48 in Orlando. We were hoping for warmer weather but we were at Disney so how could we complain.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Once again... I ran out of space on my card so, I had to use my backup camera. These photos didn't come out as well since it was pretty dark in that restaurant. Anyways... this is one of my favorite places at Disney. I love the food here. The desserts are so, so here. Nothing I would go out of my way to order. I ordered a martini but have no clue what it is. UPDATE: I found my receipt it is the Upsidedown Pineapple Martini. It was VERY GOOD though. I just can't remember what was in it:

Here's the bread. Just average. The bread at Kona was much better:

Kids ordered salad off the children's menu. I forgot to take pictures. Dh and I ordered salad as well. I got: Hearts of Romaine Caesar Salad - Caesar dressing, garlic croutons, and parmigiano-reggiano crisp. - $9.00

Average salad but a welcome choice as we've been eating very few veggies this trip.

Dh had the Salad of Heirloom Apples, Boston Lettuce, Frisee, & Dried Cranberries - Served with Maytag blue cheese toast, candied walnuts, orange-shallot vinaigrette. - $12.00

He is a blue cheese lover so, this was right up his alley. It was very tasty.

The kids' ordered off the children's menu and had Bowl of Mickey Pasta - Made with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. Includes choice of kids' juice, 1% milk, or bottled water. French fries and soft drinks available upon request. - $5.50

For the price I thought it was a good amount of pasta. My youngest couldn't finish it but she might have been saving room for dessert.

For the main Course I ordered Signature Flying Fish Cafe Potato-wrapped Red Snapper - Served with Cream Leek Fondue, Veal Glace and Red Wine Butter Sauce. - $36.00

I LOVE, LOVE this dish. It is so yummy... It is just perfect. Dh even wished he ordered it.

Dh ordered Citrus Zest and Schezaun Peppercorn-spiced Yellowfin Tuna Loin - Served with Bok Choy, Asian Mushrooms, Carrots and Radishes, Light Curried Carrot-Coconut Infusion - $35.00

He liked it because he LOVES tuna as evident from his ordering choices but he thought my dish was better...

DD7 ordered for dessert Mickey's Chocolate Puzzle - White chocolate puzzle, sugar "paints," chocolate cupcake, and fresh berries. - $6.00

She loved it. I had to laugh as the dessert was more than the meal. Anyways.. DD11 wasn't feeling good tummy wise and didn't order dessert.

I had the Peanut Butter Bread Pudding. It was very rich. I liked it but just average dessert for me.

Dh had some sort of Apple thing with Gingersnaps. I don't have the exact name as the picture of the menu I took is VERY blurry and I don't see it on the other menus. He liked it.

Here's dd7 finished project on her dessert:

 

[MickeyNicki]

Here is the tea link

http://www.tealeaves.com/?aspxerrorpath=/tea/product.aspx

 

[OurDogCisco]

Here is the tea link

http://www.tealeaves.com/?aspxerrorpath=/tea/product.aspx

OMGOSH... you are so awesome... Thanks for the link. I don't know why I didn't think leaves. DUH... dh told me to write it down but I said that I'd remember it. LOL...

 

[OurDogCisco]

The last 3 nights of our 11 night trip we stayed at the Swan Hotel. It was as close as I could get to the Boardwalk without buying more DVC points. I love the area so, we took advantage of the offerings. Just wish we were here more nights to enjoy more of it. We ate at Flying Fish one night. And, we had a great opportunity to enjoy meals at Epcot. I was surprised to learn how short the walk was from the Swan to Epcot. We beat the boat everytime.

Anyways... on our last morning our plane did not leave until 2:30 pm so, we decided have breakfast at Spoodles.

Both dh and I ordered tea with our breakfast:

Both girls ordered the Mickey Pancake with fruit. It also came with Bacon. The service here was VERY slow. Other tables got served before us. So, things didn't come out in order or together.

I ordered the Fritta with ham and cheddar cheese. Friattas (Open-faced Omelets) - Choose from Cheddar & Swiss $7.99, Smoked Ham & Cheddar $9.99, and Roasted Mushroom, Tomato, Onion, and Red Pepper$9.99. All omelets served with breakfast potatoes. Add bacon or sausage $2.99 and add a steak $6.00

The potatoes that came with Fritta were excellent. Very tasty. Mine came with a lemon poppy seed muffin as well. It was good. The Fritta was okay. I had a hard time finishing it. It was kinda of dry and I like my eggs moist.

Dh ordered the All American Breakfast Platter. All-American Breakfast - Scrambled eggs with breakfast potatoes, bacon, sausage, and biscuit. Add a 6-oz steak $6.00 - $9.99 This description doesn't seem right as he got french toast with his meal. He shared his stuff with the girls as the waiter suggested that as well.

We really wanted to buy some candy for the ride home but Seashore Sweets didn't open until 1 pm. So, we went to DTD to Goofy's candy to buy our goodies..

 

[luckytobeme88]

Very nice review.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Today was the 3rd day of our trip. Previously... earlier in the day we had tea at the Grand Floridian Garden Room. Then, we went to Epcot to enjoy many of the rides in Future World. For dinner we decided to have Fish and Chips in England along with beer and Hard Cider. The meal was good. I do like the Fish & Chips at the sitdown restaurant better in fact a few nights later I did have them at Rose & Crown. They were good but not as good as I remember...

Here's my Hard Cider and nope I forgot to take a picture of DH's beer. I was expecting more of apple taste but I couldn't taste any apple in it. The stuff I drink at home tastes more like a wine cooler. So, I really didn't love this. In fact, I threw away half of it.

After walking around World Showcase for a few hours we were hungry for dessert and decided to have some at Boulangerie Patisserie in France. Here's some pictures of the display case:

We ended up with the Creme Brulee:

This was good but could have been better. It is a hard dessert to have sitting out as the sugar softens on top. Not the best choice for bakery like this.

Chocolate Cake... It was the cake of the day. This was very GOOD..

Finally, we had chocolate mousse. This was very chocolatey and creamy...

 

[Jenvenza]

Great reviews and pictures!!!

 

[OurDogCisco]

What a treat!!! My kids loved the dining at Sci Fi. We've always wanted to try this place so, we opt to have lunch here.

Oh before I start here's my latest grip about Disney Reservation System. Originally, today I had planned for Sci Fi at 11 am and Dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby at around 4:45 pm on the Fantasmic Package. Well, on our 1st day I went to guest services to print out all our ADRs... Well, guess what the CM made a mistake and booked us at Hollywood & Vine. It wasn't where we wanted to eat. I was really annoyed as at this point as it was impossible to get a Fantasmic table as they were booked solid. Disney really needs to consider e-mailing or faxing or mailing dining ADRs. This has happened to us on multiple other trips. Really maybe the girl misunderstood me but if I saw the print out like 6 months ago I could have done something about it. Anyways... I wasn't too happy about this but we continued on... We did cancel Hollywood & Vine though.

Here dh and I shared the Spinach & Artichoke Dip - A blend of mozzarella, Swiss, and asiago cheeses, spinach, and artichokes served with corn tortilla chips. - $6.99 It was DELICIOUS... I liked it better than my main entree...

The girls each had a vanille milkshake. In reality they could have shared one as they were HUGE and very good.

I had the Smoked Turkey Sandwich - Smoked turkey, Swiss cheese, arugula, and plum tomatoes with mustard-mayo on multigrain bread served with cucumber-melon salad. - $10.99

The waitress tried to tell me the salad was yucky. I thought it was boring as it really didn't have any flavor. I ate it as it was healthier than french fries...

Dh had the The Reuben - Corned beef, sauerdraut, Swiss cheese, and 1000 Island dressing on marble rye bread, served with French fries and a pickle spear. - $10.99

He said that it was okay. He has had better.

Both dds had the kid's pizza with carrots.

Since, I was pissed off about the Brown Derby ADR I decided to splurge and have dessert at lunch time. I got some sort of Chocolate cake with ice cream. It was pretty good.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Really enjoying your reviews and pictures, and I also loved that dip at sci fi, it was yum!

 

[OurDogCisco]

So.... I was really bummed about missing my favorite Restaurant Hollywood Brown Derby that we decided to see if they had a table. It was around 5 pm. It was cold outside too. So, we thought we might get into the 6 pm Fastasmic show last minute but as it turned out it was full and standing room only. So, we missed the show this trip. We had every intention of going back to see the show but never made it back. But I got to eat at Hollywood Brown Derby. The restaurant was VISIBLY empty. I was shocked...

DD7 ordered Celery & Carrot Dippers - Served with Ranch dressing. - $2.19

DD11 ordered Chicken Noodle Soup - Chicken noodle soup. - $2.49

I ordered Blue Jumbo Lump Crab Cake - with Potato Crust, Green Cabbage Slaw, Dijon Mustard and Remoulade Sauces - $11.00

It was okay. I've had better crab cakes. I shared with dd11. It was very dark in the restaurant so I had a hard time taking pictures:

Dh got Market Greens Salad - Served with Asparagus, Tomato Grapes, Candied Pecans, Midnight Moon Goat Cheese, and Cabernet Vinaigrette - $7.00

I ordered the pumpkin Martini. It was okay. A bit strong on the pumpkin spices though.

Dh ordered beer but as you guess... I didn't take a picture of it.

Bread basket...

DD7 ordered hot dog with chips... Sometimes I wonder about her...

DD11 ordered the Beef and Macaroni off the kids' menu. It came with Broccoli and she said that the broccoli was cooked perfectly. She must have been missing those veggies.

I ordered the Roasted Sterling Silver Pork Rib Chop - Served with Mustard Spaetzle, White Cheddar, Rainbow Chard, Vinegar Onions, and Pan Juices - $27.00

It was GREAT. I loved it. The pork was very tender and juice. Everything tasted perfect:

Well as you can guess... Dh ordered the Tuna.. Are you surprised!!! Hijiki Crusted Ahi Tuna - "Seared rare" and served with Sesame Long Beans, Pickled Diakon, Soy and Wasabi Sauces - $28.00

He said that it was PERFECT...

We didn't order dessert thinking we could make it out in time for Fantasmic. It didn't work out but that was okay...

Oh... and Toy Story Mania has got to be coolest ride ever!!!

 

[onelilspark]

I just made an ADR last night for our February trip. I said I wanted Tokyo Dining and as we were finishing I was having a brain meltdown and asked the girl, Tokyo Dining isn't the hibachi one right? She say right, that's Tepan Edo, which is what you booked. And I had to say..."No. I want Toko Dining." I think she assumed that I screwed up the names to beging with when I actually did know what I was talking about.

....grumble grumble....

Glad I didn't discover it the day of like you did, because we're specifically going for sushi...

 

[OurDogCisco]

Last time we ate here we really enjoyed the food. I really liked the Shepard's Pie but it wasn't on the menu... I saw it on the kid's menu but it didn't dawn on me to order that in adult serving size. Anyways.. this was a good food but not outstanding as I remembered. The waitress was very friendly and talked alot about her life in Florida compared to home.

The kids ordered a drink with glow tinkerbell thingy.

Here's the bread basket... so far... Kona Cafe had the best bread this trip...

Dh had the mixed green salad for appetizer. He asked the waitress if they really had salad in England and this started a long conversation about her home and here, etc while she served us our various courses.

I had the Potato & Leek Soup - Roasted potatoes, cream and leeks. - $5.49 It was very good. But I love Potato & Leek soup...

Dh ordered beer and I finally remembered to take a picture of it after he drank half of it... I had diet coke so, no picture.

Dd11 ordered kids' cheese pizza with carrots & celery & apple slices:

Dd7 ordered the kid's mac and cheese:

I ordered the Harry Ramsden's Famous Fish and Chips - Batter-fried fresh Cod served with English chips and Garden peas. - $15.99

I really liked the fish. It was moist and had a lot of flavor. It was much better than the counter service. I also requested a side of mashed potatoes instead of the fries. I didn't get any peas with my meal.

Dh ordered the Steak and Fish - Grilled steak with Black and Tan demi-glace, Harry Ramsden's battered fresh Cod, green beans and mashed potatoes. - $24.99

He thought the steak was a cheap cut as it was very fatty.

The kids had make your own sundae. It came with chocolate fudge, sprinkles and banana chips. The banana chips must have been old because they tasted very stale.

Dh and I shared the Sticky Toffee Pudding - Toffee pudding - $4.99 It was okay. It was a bit dry.

This meal was just okay this time around. We did enjoy talking to the CM which we love about World Showcase.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Okay.... this was the 1st place I felt a little weird about taking pictures of my food. We were seated with 2 other couples. Very nice. One lived in Florida the other in Georgia. Anyways... we LOVED the entertainment here. We'd just come back for the entertainment. We got probably the worst seat in the house and still loved the entertainment. My dh loved the beer of course. The food was buffet style and included the following: Oktoberfest Adult Dinner Buffet - From 4pm - Seasonal salads, Traditional sausages, Sauerbraten, Rotisserie chicken, Roasted pork, Fish, Red cabbage sauerkraut, Potatoes, Spaetzle, Schnitzel, and Assorted Desserts including Apple Strudel, Black Forest cake and Bavarian Cheesecake. - $28.99 *

I really liked the pretzel bread, the Schnitzel, Potato & Leek soup... The dessert were definitely good. I had a sample of everything. We really enjoyed this place and can't wait to come back.

I did get a picture of the beer though and one dessert plate:

Definitely... deserves a repeat...

 

[OurDogCisco]

We decided to try their breakfast buffet. So, far we have only eaten dinner here and have really enjoyed it in the past. Anyways... we were a bit disappointed. I guess, I was expecting more. We had a GREAT waiter. Very friendly and kept our tea hot & juices filled. Very nice too. He informed us of the timing of the characters. We scheduled for the 1st seating an hour prior to the park opening. However, being a buffet it does take longer to eat. I'm use to CRT where they have you in and out in 45 minutes with breakfast. Anyways... the characters came out in weird times too. When we arrived the waiter told us we had time to get our 1st plate which we did. First, we saw Pooh and Eeyore.... Then, it was parade time. After the parade the characters took a very short break and out came Piglet. Then, we waited and waited and waited for Tigger. In fact, we saw Pooh, Eeyore & Piglet again before we saw Tigger, once. Not sure what happened as we were always at our table. Anyways... by 9 am I sent dh off to get fast passes as I didn't want to lose our opportunity. It really didn't matter in the end because the park was DEAD and we pretty much walked on every ride anyways. Anyways.. we left the restaurant at 9:20 am and we were seated at 8:08 am.

I took pictures of my plate but not the buffet line. There was a lot to choose from I had Fruit, Breakfast pizza (a bit dry no sauce on it just eggs and cheese), bacon & sausage, eggs with vegetables (I really liked this), some potato casserole, also, I grabbed the donut fritta from the kids' bar. You could get eggs made fresh, pancakes, oatmeal, etc...

My 2nd plate included the famous breakfast lasagna (and I didn't like it) It is at the top right of this plate.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Okay... I was a little nervous eating here with all the bad press this place gets. We arrived and we were seated immediately. It took a while for the waitress to show up but once she did we got our drinks as soon as we ordered them. Out came a basket of chips and a very, very mild salsa.

Oh, let me preface that I'm from California and I've noticed East coast Mexican is like West Coast Italian. The best place to get Italian in my opinion is the East Coast. Here on the West coast we have alot of chain restaurants that get us thinking we are eating Italian when we are not. I feel the same with Mexican. The East Coast just doesn't have it not like here on the West Coast.

So, I was surprised with the menu as it was more authenic than I thought it would be. It wasn't smothered in cheese and drowned in over spiced salsa. It was very traditional Mexican food that I'm use to (not the Taco Bell or Chevy's variety).

It was dark so, very difficult to take pictures:

Dh and I shared the Empanadas de Queso Con Chorizo - Fried corn tortilla filled with monterrey jack cheese and chorizo, topped with sour cream, lettuce, diced onions, and green tomatillo sauce $9

This was excellent. Very good and yummy..

I ordered the Puntas de Filete en Salsa Guajillo - Beef tenderloin tips sautéed with fresh onions and chile Guajillo sauce, served over corn tortillas, black beans, and fresh cheese $28

This was very good and what I consider Mexican food. Very tasty. It was perfect.

Dh ordered Filete Motuleno - Grilled beef tenderloin with beans, Oaxaco melted cheese, Ranchero sauce, Pablano peppers, and fried plaintain $32

It was yummy... I love Plaintain. It was very good.

I would say the girls had a hard time finding something to eat. Dd 7 got the Kid's quesdilla meal. She loved the rice and corn salad.

Dd11 got something similar to taquitos. She thought the portion was a bit small but she did like the rice and corn salad.

The dessert menu didn't look good so we decided to eat in France instead. This restaurant is a must do for us in the future. The theme was great too but I can see it being noisy and very dark for some people.

 

[OurDogCisco]

For dessert we had the Strawberry Tartlet and the cheesecake. Both were very good.