2 Happy Diners+1 fussy kid's quest for Grilled Cheese do DDP Updated-FIGARO FRIES!!

[andrews1ma]

Hey there- this is my first ever Dining Review and first time on the DDP- so bare with me- will try to have fun!

We were there April 11th through April 20th and stayed at All Star Sports.

Intro to the cast of characters:

Me: 34 and lover of all things Disney- including the food ( well... most of it...stay tuned)

DH: 33- not so much a lover of all Disney- especially the crowds! but in the process of being converted to a Dis Lover! read my TR to see why ( TR will come later as I find Dining Reviews to be so much fun to read so figured I would start with this)

DS: 8 -super fussy pain in the ..neck eater-ugh- only eats Grilled Cheese, Soft Pretzels, Pasta with Butter, Bagels , Bread- most types but no seeds, and your basic fun kids foods- pancakes, mac & cheese ( only certain types though-you'll see what I mean) & Chicken Nuggets-( How many meals will we have to exchange for something else.....hmmm) and we will now refer to him as Eeyore as he was somewhat of a downer on this trip but that didn't stop DH and I from having a blast!

OK- a little background- I have been going to Disney since it first opened- haven't truly kept track of how many times I have actually been there- but I estimate about 50 times- we averaged once a year and twice a year every so often... only stayed on property 3 times including this trip though as my mom was always a big fan of the time-shareresorts. DH has only been 3 times including this trip ( once with his family when he was young and the 2nd time with me - 12 years ago before we got married- and what are the odds of this- we traveled the exact dates!! crazy!)- anyhow- my mom and I would take my DS- this was DS's 10th trip -his first one when he was just 8 months old- we have taken him every year since- and he always had fun- but this year proved to be a challnge fr him- I dont think he could keep up with my pace!


Now for the fun part...I will be reviewing the following Restaurants & Snack counters:

Counter/Quick Service


Pizzafari-AK
Yak & Yeti's-AK
Captain Cooks- Poly
Pinocchio House-MK Cosmic Rays- MK
Wolfgang Puck Express- DTD
All Star Sports Cafeteria -Resort
Leaning Palms- TL

Table Service

Tutto Italia -Epcot
Whispering Canyon Cafe -Wilderness Lodge Resort
Rose & Crown -Epcot- UK
Le Cellier- Epcot- Canada
Prime Time Cafe- HS
Mama Melrose-HS
Nine Dragons -Epcot- China
Biergarten -Epcot - Germany
Tusker House -AK


Snacks

Kringla Og Bakery- Norway
Lunching Pad-MK
Kaki Gori- Japan
Popcorn Stand -MK- Toon Town
Aloha Isle -MK
French Patisserie
Goofy's Candy Co-DTD
Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich
Itzakadoozie



ok- off to bed-exhausted and still trying to fully unpack- unpacking is definitely the worst part about vacation- what to do with all the little stuff! arghhhh! will be back hopefully tomorrow night to review our first TS restaurant- Tutto Italia- what will DS eat.........?

 

[MousekaMaddi]

sounds yummy, bring it on baby!

 

[andrews1ma]

welcome to my Dining Report and thanks for reading!-....lot's of food to talk about- have to get my notes out- seriously the trip is now a blur! thank goodness Eeyore has a great memory so he will have to help me out with this one....

'til tomorrow!

nite.....

 

[undertheseas]

I can't wait!

 

[TruBlu]

Bring it on!

 

[phabric]

I will be looking forward to your reviews.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Looking forward to more!

 

[mindyd]

Looking forward to your reviews

 

[SuzieN]

I'm in!

 

[Bev J]

Looking forward to your reviews!

Bev

 

[bekkiz]

I'm excited! Bring 'em on

 

[TigerKat]

I'm on board......

 

[wswhorselover]

Subscribing! You have a lot of restaurants that I want to try!

 

[andrews1ma]

Hoping to get my first review up tonight- still not sure how to get pics loaded- also must warn you and hope not to dissapoint but couldnt take too many pics- DH thought I was nuts and then rubbed off on Eeyore who ussually goes along with my craziness when DH is not around- so then Eeyore started calling me crazy mama when i tried to take pics and then would put his hand in front of the camera so I couldnt take any- sooooo as to not draw any additonal attentiion to our table I decided to choose carefully what I should photograph- got mostly dessert pics which in my opinion are the best!

will also update you on the ADR's I gave up/changed mind on/swapped etc.... and I hope I did make the right choices.

 

[sherry8253]

Joining for the ride. Looking forward to your reviews.

 

[donaldtutter]

Looking forward to your reviews.

 

[John's Mom]

 

[andrews1ma]

Ahhhh.... Be my guest, Tie your napkins around your neck and I'll provide the rest....hee hee

Ok here goes

Day One: Drove straight from NC to Disney - left the house around 6 am and arrived at All Star Sports at about 3pm- completely uneventful drive- which was wonderful ( oh except car charger plug for dvd player broke half way down-ugh but will save detail fo my TR)

Checked into room- didn't get bldg 7- Touchdown which I requested at least a dozen times- oh well no biggie- brought bags to rooms- changed clothes and headed right out for Epcot- about 4:30pm

had ADR's for Tutto Itlalia's for 7:45 so we had some time to kill- i figured Club Kool ( this fits into dining review in a sadistic way..right?)would be a pretty funny place to start since neither DH or Eeyore had ever been-and I took them straight to ...The Beverly- hahaha
Eeyore went first

I think the face says it all!
Then DH's turn

Oh man were they mad... but how can you be mad when you are in the Happiest Place on earth!! oh well moving right along

ok so I have been craving School Bread since the day I found it on the Disboards in another Dining Review- as soon as I saw the picture I just had to try it - so Norway first stop!

I got the School Bread of course-forgot to take a pic until I ate half...oops!

I have to say that this is probably my new favorite dessert in the whole wide world! It is amazing- the perfect balance- the bread/ donut part is not too sweet and the cream filling is to die for- then you have the yummy sweet icing and coconut on the outside which is just truly perfection! ( BTW I am a dessert lover- I will seriously eat less of my dinner to save room for dessert)


DH got the Sweet Pretzel ( not the one with almonds which was my suggestion-but this was his dessert so who am I to say)

Here is the pretzel- again we started to eat before the pic- was still getting used to thought of photographing my food

Dh said the pretzel was ok- so my advice to him for future choices was to trust me- I told him I have been researching the reviews on the dis boards for months- and funny thing- for the remainder of the trip- every restaurant we ate in he asked if I knew which dish to get! HAHA



Eeyore got the Chocolate Chip Cookie and absolutely loved it- said it was the best ever- no pic sorry but it had a white chocolate emblem thingy embedded into it- he made us go back later in the trip for another one of these cookies- I did not taste so I cant comment- although Eeyore is a cookie-aholic/expert so I would take his word and try one!

walked around for a little while to kill time and our bellies were starting to rumble.

It was now about 7:00pm- so we decided to head over to Italy to see if we could check in early....



be back later tonight for Tutto's review- still trying to get through the mound of laundry!

 

[PixieDustandEeyore]

Enjoying your review thus far Eeyore is a cute kid for the r ecord

 

[andrews1ma]

Ok so I tried to check in early but was told no that 7:35 was the earliest- I have to say that the scenery and courtyard in Italy is one of the most relaxing areas to chill... and we needed to anyhow after such a long drive- also needed time to digest the schoolbread before taking on the next meal.

They were doing an improv show in the courtyard- Romeo and something or other- cant remember the other name- was very funny with audience participation- I love these little shows when you can catch them- anyway made time pass qucikly and before we knew it it was time- checked in at 7:35 and was seated within about 5 minutes

just a little side note- we noticed right from the start that the crowd levels were going to be very high- Epcot was supremely packed but overall having booked ADR's saved the day- as I was checking in for Tuttos they were turning away hordes of people telling them that they were not taking any walk in's- so my advice to anyone planning on going to Dis during Peak and moderate crowd levels- MAKE ADR'S- they truly made our vacation a much smoother and more enjoyable trip!

ok back to Tutto's- we were seated in the main dining room at a table for 4- this happened to us most of the time which is so nice when you are a paty of 3- the extra seat comes in handy for the bags and gives us more room at the table for food!

Our waiter was Pasquale and he was super nice and attentive and super Italian( lol) - because this is when DS officially became Eeyore-he was exhausted and would rather have been back at the hotel sleeping- but noooo crazy psycho Disney Mom ( as I was soon referred to as for the remainder of the vacay- no prob though I can handle it!) thought it would be so fun to have our first night in Epcot for dinner and then Illuminations fireworks.

First up Pasquale brought out our drinks- brought Eeyore's sprite out in a large glass-it was only a matter time.... spilled in about 2 minutes- so that is where empty seat #4 came in handy! refill came out conveniently in covered kids cup.

I had an iced tea- and DH had Sprite- ( we are boring drinkers so I probably will not share the drinks unless there is anything interesting )

next out - yummy bread, selection of Olives and Olive oil for dipping- the bread was yummy- went through 2 baskets- they were very generous with the bread - even offered us a 3rd refill!

Entrees ( no pics- so sorry)

Me: Penne Caprese- was perfectly cooked al dente topped with the freshest crushed tomatoes, basil and mozzarella- I absolutely loved this as it was light and the flavor was delicious.

DH- ordered the lasagna- which I recommended after reading on the dis that they use bechamel type sauce which DS loves in his lasagna ( I think its yuck and refused to taste) he does not like Ricotta cheese so this too was perfect - he said this was probably on of the best lasagna dishes he has had in a long time- definitely would recommend.

Eeyore- my super adventurous eater- perused the cute kids menu in search of the holy grail- aka- a grilled cheese- no luck here- so he settled for Penne with butter ( not even on the menu- menu listed spaghetti with sauce and meatballs- but of course they accommodated) and allowed Pasquale to sprinkle Parmesan cheese- he ate most said it was yummy because they melted the butter in a dish on the side and he got to pour tons on it- ugh!

Now for my fav part of the meal- the Dessert-with a pic! woohoo- gotta love the DDP cause you are basically forced in my opinion to order dessert with every meal!

Me: Profiteroles- yummy little puffy balls stuffed with vanilla ice cream and topped with hot fudge sauce-mmmmmm-delish!

they may look a little odd in the pic cause the ice cream was startig to melt and things were swirling together- but trust me they were good- highly recommend these

DH: Canolis- he always orders canolis if they are available- said they were good- sorry no pics

Eeyore - I believe had vanilla ice cream- he only likes vanilla- made him happy

I would definitely eat here again- if we get back before it changes again- im confused about the future of this restaurant- havent really gotten to the bottom of it but from what I understand this is only temporary and if so what a shame because they got it right at this one! Excellent service- beautiful restaurant and delicious fresh food- I give this one a 9 ( 1 being the lowest and 10 the highest)

so after we rolled out of there -we found a great spot right outside of Italy to watch Illuminations and then home and off to bed...

lots to do tomorrow- DH's first time to AK-
ADR's lined up: CS undecided as of that point
Snack Cart
Yak & Yetis- Snack
Dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe- 7:45 ADR's cant wait- first time there for all- will Eeyore be impressed/annoyed/amused??????? and what will he eat?

oh just for fun made these cute little homemade daily schedule cards to help keep us on track- not sure if you can see them too well in the pic- but basically they contained our itinerary and ADR's for each day- although did alter some ADR's but all worked out well- night night!