12 Days of Good Eats **Completed 8/29**

[Pixiedust34]

Tusker House is one of our favorite cs places in all of WDW, and we are sad to see it go. I hope that the buffet restaurant that replaces it will be good.

Knowing that this will be our last chance to do Tusker House, we ate there twice. We had dinner there one day (no pics) and a very late breakfast there another day.

For dinner, dh and I both had the chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans. It's a good and filling meal, and I love the fresh green beans! The kids had kid meals.

For breakfast, dh and I got breakfast platters and the kids just wanted a couple of pastries.

Breakfast:

I'm curious to see what the new buffet restaurant will be like.

Stay tuned.....more pictures and reviews are coming.

 

[averill94]

OOOh thst HDDR pic! My DH talked about that salad for 2 years! Both times we went the food was awesome (right down to the cornbread) and such a hoot- the laughter is infectious.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[PatsMom]

I will do Hoop Dee Doo tomorrow. I didn't take many pictures there (messy food! LOL) but I have a couple.

I'll have to ask dh what kind of dressing was on that cucumber and melon salad, if any. I looked for a recipe online and couldn't find one.

PatsMom, are you the Dis'er I met at Spectro on 8/8? I think you might be, but I'm not sure. : ) If it wasn't you, then it was someone else with "Pat" in a screen name.

Unfortunately it wasn't me at Spectro on the 8th. I haven't been to WDW since February but am leaving Sunday morning for a very badly needed visit!

 

[Mom of Belle Buzz &T]

Thanks for all of the detailed reviews!!!!
Since you were just recently at the Riverside Mill can you please let me know if you remeber if they still offer supreme pizzas and mexican items, like nachos? These are two items that we've had there in the past but they no longer appear on the menu on line. I hope you know the answer! Thanks!

 

[Pixiedust34]

Unfortunately it wasn't me at Spectro on the 8th. I haven't been to WDW since February but am leaving Sunday morning for a very badly needed visit!

Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[Pixiedust34]

Thanks for all of the detailed reviews!!!!
Since you were just recently at the Riverside Mill can you please let me know if you remeber if they still offer supreme pizzas and mexican items, like nachos? These are two items that we've had there in the past but they no longer appear on the menu on line. I hope you know the answer! Thanks!

I'm afraid I'm not sure of the answer. If the nachos are still at Riverside Mill, I don't remember seeing them on the menu. They do have nachos in Mexico in Epcot, but I tried those (the picture is in this thread) and IMHO surprisingly they are not that fresh nor flavorful there.

I'm sorry that I also can't remember if there was a supreme pizza or not.

There's one thing I forgot to mention about our POR pizza. We ordered a pepperoni pizza. After we carried it over to Muddy Rivers to eat it, we discovered that they gave us a cheese pizza by mistake. We ate it anyway, as neither dh nor I felt like walking back to Riverside Mill to fix the situation.

Enjoy your next stay at POR! I wish I were there right now, hopping on the boat to Downtown Disney for shopping and dinner.

 

[Pixiedust34]

OOOh thst HDDR pic! My DH talked about that salad for 2 years! Both times we went the food was awesome (right down to the cornbread) and such a hoot- the laughter is infectious.

Thanks for sharing!

That salad was good! My dh is all about the cornbread, but I'm all about the salad. We were both happy when we sat down to chow down!
(The bottomless sangria pitcher wasn't too shabby, either. And my kids were in heaven with their own pitcher of root beer.)

For mass produced food for three shows per evening, I thought that everything (the chicken, ribs, potatoes, beans, & dessert) was excellent! My hat is off to the cast members who work at Hoop. Those trays and food buckets are heavy, and they keep 'em coming! And the performers are top-notch!

 

[memomuffin]

pixiedust34 (and anyone else who want to chime in ), I have a question for you. My fiance and I are both turning 30 soon (hence, spending money we don't have on a weeklong WDW trip coming up October 6 ). I can remember being in 3rd grade and having a good time at this but also I think I get it confused with the Country Bear Jamboree (I don't know why Jamboree, Revue pretty different but hey??).
Anyway, we're both on the basic dining plan and we're trying to figure out if it's worth 2 dining credits. Usually Matt and I LOVE a delicious sit down dinner so we're kind of mulling over either going to one of the top rated restaurants (California Grill, Jiko, Citrico's, Hollywood Brown Derby) OR doing the HDR OR Spirit of Aloha(if there's even any space left, who knows). For two fun loving 30 year old (though my fiance hates musicals except for Chicago) do you think we'd have fun at HDR?
How about the Spirit of Aloha - I've read some negative reviews, at least for the begging part of the show, which stinks because it sounds kind of up our alley.
Sorry about this rant but have you been to any of the 4 top rated restaurants that I mentioned above? Which one would you recommend for a great meal (currently we have reservations for California Grill but I'm still leary b/c of the off/on reviews).
OOh, which brings me to one more question: Akershus Royal Banquet, would you say that would be more of a lunch or a dinner thing, and would you recommend it (we want to do one character meal, that's what we have the reservation for, but again, we could try to change our reservations for that as well).
THANKS so much for listening to my long entry, and even more appreciation and thanks for helping me with answers and advice.
Memomuffin

 

[2manypets]

I'm coming in a little late, but that rueben from Sci-Fi looks so good. We haven't been back there since '98, but may have to rethink the ban we have on them.

Loved your reviews and pics

 

[Pixiedust34]

Our lunch at Kona was one of the best meals on the trip! The food was outstanding, and the service was excellent.

Everyone: sticky wings to share
Dh: Poly lunch plate with chicken and peanut sauce (dh and I shared a creme brulee)
Me: Lapu-lapu, Kona Club sandwich with Asian slaw
Kids: Kid's meals with chicken noodle soup, hot dogs & fries, and Kona Kones
Dd was given a birthday treat.

My lapu-lapu:

Sticky wings:

We shared these and they were so good!

Kid's meal chicken soup:

I didn't try the soup, but the kids emptied their bowls and said that it was good soup.

Hot dog kid's meal:

Dh's Polynesian Lunch Plate with chicken:

He said that everything was excellent.

My Club Sandwich:

The sandwich was good, and it was so big that I couldn't finish it. The Asian slaw and the pickles were outstanding! Both the slaw and the pickles were very flavorful.

Creme brulee (caramel and banana):

Dh and I were full from our meals, but we still ordered a creme brulee to split because we wanted to sample it. There's always room for a few bites of creme brulee, right?! : ) It was as yummy as it looks.

Kona Kones

These are no longer on the kid's menu, so we paid extra for them. It was well worth it, as these cones were the kids' favorite desserts on our whole trip. What's not to like--cotton candy, ice cream, and chocolate?! It's a dream come true on a plate! The kids are still talking about this dessert.

After we were done eating with all of the above, we were expecting to get our bill and pay for the meal. Our server came over and asked us if we could stay for a few extra minutes, and we did. Then he brought this

for dd, as her birthday was mentioned on our ADR. We were blown away with what a nice gesture that was! Dd was pretty full by the time she got this (she ate just about her whole Kona Kone after the meal), so she took a few bites and then ds was happy to help her finish her special dessert. I'm glad I got a good picture of this surprise!

We enjoyed Kona! I hope we can eat there again on another trip.

 

[Pixiedust34]

pixiedust34 (and anyone else who want to chime in ), I have a question for you. My fiance and I are both turning 30 soon (hence, spending money we don't have on a weeklong WDW trip coming up October 6 ). I can remember being in 3rd grade and having a good time at this but also I think I get it confused with the Country Bear Jamboree (I don't know why Jamboree, Revue pretty different but hey??).
Anyway, we're both on the basic dining plan and we're trying to figure out if it's worth 2 dining credits. Usually Matt and I LOVE a delicious sit down dinner so we're kind of mulling over either going to one of the top rated restaurants (California Grill, Jiko, Citrico's, Hollywood Brown Derby) OR doing the HDR OR Spirit of Aloha(if there's even any space left, who knows). For two fun loving 30 year old (though my fiance hates musicals except for Chicago) do you think we'd have fun at HDR?
How about the Spirit of Aloha - I've read some negative reviews, at least for the begging part of the show, which stinks because it sounds kind of up our alley.
Sorry about this rant but have you been to any of the 4 top rated restaurants that I mentioned above? Which one would you recommend for a great meal (currently we have reservations for California Grill but I'm still leary b/c of the off/on reviews).
OOh, which brings me to one more question: Akershus Royal Banquet, would you say that would be more of a lunch or a dinner thing, and would you recommend it (we want to do one character meal, that's what we have the reservation for, but again, we could try to change our reservations for that as well).
THANKS so much for listening to my long entry, and even more appreciation and thanks for helping me with answers and advice.
Memomuffin

Without knowing you in person, it's hard to say whether Hoop or a Signature Dining dinner would be most enjoyed. Maybe some others can chime in with opinions.

We ate at Akershus for breakfast, which is the small buffet with a couple of Norwegian items (plus pastries and fruit) and an American breakfast platter that is served family style. If you go for lunch or dinner, you'll have the small buffet plus a Norwegian entree. If you're on the dining plan, dinner will give you more bang for your buck.

My dd liked the character meal because she's into the princesses and she liked talking to them.

 

[taylorl25]

Loving your reviews and pics. Can't wait to eat at Kona now!

 

[Schucraig]

Thanks for the great reviews and pictures!

 

[Pixiedust34]

Thank you for reading my reviews!

Dd and I ate breakfast at Akershus on a morning when dh took ds to MGM to do some of their favorites there. I made this ADR only a couple of months before our trip, as dd didn't mention until then that she wanted to do a princess meal.

We saw Belle in her yellow gown, Snow White, Mulan, Mary Poppins, and Aurora. Character interaction was good. Dd was ready with something unique to say to every princess, such as warning Snow White not to eat apples and asking Mary Poppins to say Supercalifragilisticexpealadoious (sp??) backward (and she did!). Dd was especially looking forward to meeting Mulan, as we've never seen her in the parks except for in the parades. She finally got to meet Mulan in person!

We enjoyed the buffet so much that we could have eaten only that. In fact, we did eat only that. When our platter came, I think all dd had from it was one piece of bacon and I tried the potato casserole and that's all we took from the platter. Service was OK. They were a little slow with the coffee/juice refills, but that can happen anywhere. We did wait a while to meet the princesses, but once they came to our section of the restaurant, they came at a steady rate. I'm glad we did this breakfast. Dd had fun with the princesses, and we both liked the food.

From what we tried at the buffet, food here was fresh and good! I'd like to do lunch or dinner here sometime.


Samples from the buffet:

Our breakfast platter:

Dd with Mulan:

 

[SeaSpray]

Excellent review and pictures!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

 

[irongirlof12]

whooaaa, loadsa food. Excellent.

 

[justadisneygirl]

thanks for the great reviews and pics...greatly appreciated

 

[Pixiedust34]

Thank you for your replies!

Columbia Harbour House is my favorite cs in the MK. The food is good, and relatively speaking, it's a pretty quiet setting for a cs meal. If you sit upstairs, it's even more quiet. And, you eat in the a/c here, which can't be beat in August. : )

We ended up eating here twice on this trip. Once because it was our cs of choice. The other time we planned on eating at Pecos Bill (gotta love that fixin's bar!), but when we got to Pecos Bill it was crazy-crowded. There was no way we were going to turn our quick dinner into a zoo. So, we went to CHH where it wasn't nearly as crowded as Pecos Bill.

I took a picture of some of our food here, but not all of it.

Dh: chicken and fish platter
me: BLT salad
ds: fish and chips
dd: kid's mac & cheese

Everyone liked both of their meals here. For our second meal, I think dh had the tuna sandwich. I tried chicken strips instead of one of the salad entrees I usually order here. Ds had the fish again, and I think dd had her usual standby. : ) It was all good. We sat upstairs and it was a nice retreat from the crowded park.

 

[Pixiedust34]

We had breakfast at 'Ohana. It was crowded, and we had to wait a little bit past our ADR time for our table. I didn't take food pictures here because the breakfast platter hasn't changed from the last time we ate here and I thought I had the old picture on file. I can't find the old picture, so it must have been erased.

Anyway, you start with a bread basket and fruit bowl. The pineapple bread is yummy, and the fruit is fresh. Then you get a platter of scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, and Mickey waffles. All of the food was good and fresh, and service was prompt. For some reason, Mickey waffles always taste better than regular waffles.

We met Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto. Dd participated in the character parade, and we celebrated dd's birthday here by ordering her a cake. The cake we ordered was the same 6" standard cake that we ordered ds at The Garden Grill, but the icing on her cake was applied differently (more neatly) and her cake tasted slightly better than the one we had at The Garden Grill. I'm not sure why there was a difference, as they were both the standard 6" frozen cakes. Her cake came with a candle and we all sang "Happy Birthday!" to her.

Here's Stitch with me & the kids:

Dd's birthday cake:

Character interaction was fun. We asked Stitch if he had his coffee and he went a little crazy.

 

[swankybeth]

Great reviews and pics, thanks for posting.