chocolateMinnie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2008
Great review of V&A. Definitely one for future trips when the children are older. I am impressed with the concierge lounge offerings as I had always imagined they would be much more basic.
21 nights in WDW+DXDDP =over 300 food pics!! (& a huge weight gain!)COMPLETED 11/30!
- Thread starter iluvpluto27
- Start date
chell
Mushu's Best Friend
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2001
I LOVE beets so I can spot them anywhere.
We might have to see if we can get it for our Honeymoon.
iluvpluto27
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 25, 2008
Thank you very much. I was also really impressed with the concierge food, they even had vegetarian hot offerings for my DH which I was especcially impressed with, as normally he's out of luck.
I LOVE beets so I can spot them anywhere.
I hope you can swing it for your honeymoon, it really is a perfect honeymoon dining spot.
Thank you very much. We thought it was a fantastic experience for both vegetarians and meat eaters. Hope you give it a go.
iluvpluto27
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 25, 2008
Today we started off with our usual breakfast in the lounge. I didn't take pictures of everything but I think we had cereal, followed by fruit and a couple of pastries.
Then we were off to Epcot, for a morning at Future World. At 11am we headed across to World Showcase for our F&W sampling. We'd tried very little of the festival offerings up to this point, so today we had a lot of booths to hit and a lot of food to try.
We started at Vienna where I tried the Tafelspitz. This was a big portion of boiled beef brisket, potatoes and horseradish cream. It was nice but I'm not a huge red meat lover and I wanted to save room for the other booths, so I only finished about half.
We carried on to China so I could try the Pork Potstickers. These aren't a common thing in the UK but I thought they were tasty and had a nice flavour with the soy sauce on them.
Next was New Delhi so DH could try a vegetable samosa. We eat these quite frequently at home and this one was pretty good. The pastry was nice and crisp, the filling tasty and the tamarind sauce added a good kick.
On to South Africa so I could try the Durban Spiced Chicken with coconut milk infused root vegetables. This was tasty but the vegetables were too spicy for me. The chicken was nice and moist and had a nice flavour to it. I tried a pinotage with this which was also very good.
After this we did the Australian wine walkabout which we both enjoyed. We bought a passport which entitled us to 4 wine samples from australian vineyards. We each chose different wines so we got to try 8 wines, most of which were pretty good. Here's our passport which also told you a bit about each of the regions:
While in Australia I decided to try the Chilled Baramundi with fennel slaw. I'd never tried this fish before and although it was tasty it had almost a very meaty texture, similar to mackrel. It was ok but nothing special.
After our little wine adventure we headed to Germany where we tried a selection of offerings. I had the sausage with sauerkraut in a pretzel roll which I really enjoyed, while DH tried the Mushroom Spaeztle. He said this was very nice but the spaeztle was a little hard, the sauce though was really good. He also tried the Apple Strudel which was very nice, with thin slices of apple and crisp pastry.
Following our feast in Germany, we head on to Ireland. DH surprise, surprise decided to try the cheese plate. He said this was nice but had been in the fridge too long so the cheese didn't have as much flavour as it should. I had a frozen irish coffee which was absolutely gorgeous. It was sweet and creamy and had a good bailey's flavour to it, only criticism is it could have been a bit bigger.
And the coffee by itself:
At San Fransisco DH tried the Roasted Beet and Goats Cheese salad. This was gorgeous and was probably our favourite dish of the day. It was a lovely pairing of sweet beets and sharp goats cheese, with candied pecans adding a crunchy texture.
On to New Zealand I tried the Bay Scallops with greens and cranberry vinigiarette. I didn't really like this one, the scallops were chewy and the dressing very tart, most of it got thrown away. I did get a Riesling from here which was very nice.
At Morocco I tried the Brewat Spicy chicken pastry. I wasn't too impressed with this, the pastry was nice but the chicken filling was very dry, chewy and didn't have a lot of flavour to it. This was another one where some got thrown away.
My final sample of the day was the Manti with yogurt sauce from Turkey. I really like these little dumplings, with chewy pastry, meaty filling and a good cooling yogurt dressing. I discovered them at the F&W festival last year, and enjoyed them just as much this year.
DH's last sample was the Dulce de Leche from Chile. This was really nice, a creamy type caramel dessert, with pieces of almonds. We've had dulce de leche before while in the Dominican Republic, and although they make it differently over there we liked both versions. A very nice dessert.
To finish up we stopped at Mexico for a Fiesta Margarita. This was ok, but I didn't love it. I couldn't taste the tequila too much and it was mostly just sweet slush.
We really enjoyed our day at the festival. We sampled lots of different foods and although it cost quite a bit, it was one of my favourite days of the holiday.
Tonight we were planning on spending the night in and taking advantage of the lounge offerings.
We headed up there at five and I had some lovely carrot and ginger soup.
The hot offerings this evening were some type of chicken and vegetable samosa's. I tried both and both were very nice.
Around this time I started to feel really ill. We headed back to the room and I was really, really sick for the rest of the night. I'm not sure if it was something I ate at one of the booths, or if it was just the sheer mix of different foods but something really upset my stomach. I had an early night and hoped to feel better in the morning.
Then we were off to Epcot, for a morning at Future World. At 11am we headed across to World Showcase for our F&W sampling. We'd tried very little of the festival offerings up to this point, so today we had a lot of booths to hit and a lot of food to try.
We started at Vienna where I tried the Tafelspitz. This was a big portion of boiled beef brisket, potatoes and horseradish cream. It was nice but I'm not a huge red meat lover and I wanted to save room for the other booths, so I only finished about half.
We carried on to China so I could try the Pork Potstickers. These aren't a common thing in the UK but I thought they were tasty and had a nice flavour with the soy sauce on them.
Next was New Delhi so DH could try a vegetable samosa. We eat these quite frequently at home and this one was pretty good. The pastry was nice and crisp, the filling tasty and the tamarind sauce added a good kick.
On to South Africa so I could try the Durban Spiced Chicken with coconut milk infused root vegetables. This was tasty but the vegetables were too spicy for me. The chicken was nice and moist and had a nice flavour to it. I tried a pinotage with this which was also very good.
After this we did the Australian wine walkabout which we both enjoyed. We bought a passport which entitled us to 4 wine samples from australian vineyards. We each chose different wines so we got to try 8 wines, most of which were pretty good. Here's our passport which also told you a bit about each of the regions:
While in Australia I decided to try the Chilled Baramundi with fennel slaw. I'd never tried this fish before and although it was tasty it had almost a very meaty texture, similar to mackrel. It was ok but nothing special.
After our little wine adventure we headed to Germany where we tried a selection of offerings. I had the sausage with sauerkraut in a pretzel roll which I really enjoyed, while DH tried the Mushroom Spaeztle. He said this was very nice but the spaeztle was a little hard, the sauce though was really good. He also tried the Apple Strudel which was very nice, with thin slices of apple and crisp pastry.
Following our feast in Germany, we head on to Ireland. DH surprise, surprise decided to try the cheese plate. He said this was nice but had been in the fridge too long so the cheese didn't have as much flavour as it should. I had a frozen irish coffee which was absolutely gorgeous. It was sweet and creamy and had a good bailey's flavour to it, only criticism is it could have been a bit bigger.
And the coffee by itself:
At San Fransisco DH tried the Roasted Beet and Goats Cheese salad. This was gorgeous and was probably our favourite dish of the day. It was a lovely pairing of sweet beets and sharp goats cheese, with candied pecans adding a crunchy texture.
On to New Zealand I tried the Bay Scallops with greens and cranberry vinigiarette. I didn't really like this one, the scallops were chewy and the dressing very tart, most of it got thrown away. I did get a Riesling from here which was very nice.
At Morocco I tried the Brewat Spicy chicken pastry. I wasn't too impressed with this, the pastry was nice but the chicken filling was very dry, chewy and didn't have a lot of flavour to it. This was another one where some got thrown away.
My final sample of the day was the Manti with yogurt sauce from Turkey. I really like these little dumplings, with chewy pastry, meaty filling and a good cooling yogurt dressing. I discovered them at the F&W festival last year, and enjoyed them just as much this year.
DH's last sample was the Dulce de Leche from Chile. This was really nice, a creamy type caramel dessert, with pieces of almonds. We've had dulce de leche before while in the Dominican Republic, and although they make it differently over there we liked both versions. A very nice dessert.
To finish up we stopped at Mexico for a Fiesta Margarita. This was ok, but I didn't love it. I couldn't taste the tequila too much and it was mostly just sweet slush.
We really enjoyed our day at the festival. We sampled lots of different foods and although it cost quite a bit, it was one of my favourite days of the holiday.
Tonight we were planning on spending the night in and taking advantage of the lounge offerings.
We headed up there at five and I had some lovely carrot and ginger soup.
The hot offerings this evening were some type of chicken and vegetable samosa's. I tried both and both were very nice.
Around this time I started to feel really ill. We headed back to the room and I was really, really sick for the rest of the night. I'm not sure if it was something I ate at one of the booths, or if it was just the sheer mix of different foods but something really upset my stomach. I had an early night and hoped to feel better in the morning.
PiperGirlInWondrland
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2007
Yum, everything looks delicious! Thank you for the wonderful reviews, so sorry to hear you were ill I hope you felt better quickly!
richardsa98
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2007
I had the scallops also and both my husband and i took one bite and threw the rest out! Something tasted very off! Perhaps that is what made you 
iluvpluto27
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 25, 2008
Thank you very much, I'm pleased you enjoyed it.
Thank you very much. Luckily I felt better the next day.
I had the scallops also and both my husband and i took one bite and threw the rest out! Something tasted very off! Perhaps that is what made you
I'm pleased I wasn't the only one who didn't like the scallops. That was my first thought when I started being sick, but it's so difficult to tell when you've eaten as many different foods as I did that day.
iluvpluto27
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 25, 2008
Ok, I'm afraid that's the end of my disney food pictures, as we spent the last 3 nights of our holiday at Universal. I'm going to add my universal food pics here, just to keep it all together. I know it's not disney but it was part of my trip, hope that's ok.
I'll write days 19 and 20 in one installment as we didn't eat much the first day.
I still felt really ill the next morning and I was worried about how I would cope with the transfer to the Hard Rock Hotel, and the possibilty of not having a room all morning.
We had our last breakfast in the lounge, I wasn't feeling up to taking pics and said our good byes to Animal Kingdom Lodge. We had a pre-booked transfer at 9:30, and our driver was there on time. Luckily I was ok in the car, although I still felt a bit rough.
We arrived at the Hard Rock and checked in. I was so happy when they had a room ready for us immediately! It was a great room with a fantastic view of the theme parks.
We chilled out for a bit, and by lunchtime I felt much better so we headed across to Universal Studios. I was starving by this time so we went to Louie's for a quick meal.
I got spaghetti and meatballs, while DH got pasta alfredo. Both of these were fine for a CS meal, and big portions too.
That night we took advantage of the club lounge offerings, then went to the cinema so my dinner consisted of cinema nachos!
The next day we had breakfast in the club lounge. By the way I liked both AKL and HRH club offerings, but AKL won due to the size of the lounge. HRH always seemed crowded, and we often had to take food back to our room as we were unable to get a seat.
For lunch I really fancied trying Margaritaville, so we headed over around 12ish and were seated immediately. It was a nice restaurant, with Jimmy Buffet playing constantly on the big screen, and it was pretty quiet while we were there.
I ordered a cocktail (of course
), I think it was a Wildberry Colada. If you paid an extra $5 you got to keep the glass so I now have a nice souvenior. It was very good, but very sweet.
DH got a beer of some sort, and he also paid an extra $5 to keep the glass.
I ordered the crab cake sandwich, which was a seared lump crab cake served with a remoulade and fries. This was really nice, the bread was good and soft, the remoulade had a really good tang to it and there was plenty of crab in the cake. My only criticism is the crab cake had been slightly over-seared on one side, giving it a slight burnt flavour.
DH ordered the veggie burger, and got it with onion rings instead of fries. The burger was a pretty standard veggie burger, but the onion rings were really good, huge rings and nice and crisp.
The portions here were bigger than what we were used to at Disney restaurants so we were both too full for dessert. Overall we both enjoyed this restaurant, and I think we'll return next trip.
That night we were going to Halloween Horror Nights, this was the night I'd been looking forward to all trip. We had appetisers and wine in the lounge around 5ish, then went to the Uni gates at 6 to be let in.
We didn't eat anything at the event (too busy hitting the houses and dodging the rain) but did try a Blood Bag cocktail. This was actually just a jello shot but was a fun way of presenting them.
We got back to our room around midnight and we were starving, so decided to order two of the halloween horror night specials. DH ordered mozarella sticks and I ordered nachos. It took about 30 minutes to arrive, but when it did it was fabulous. There were tons of cheese sticks and a huge portion of tomato sauce to dip them in. The nachos were a make your own type thing, with tortilla chips, a huge bowl of cheese sauce, and a plate of sour cream, guac and salsa. These were really good and even with DH's help I didn't come close to finishing the nachos.
Ok coming up next, Hard Rock Cafe.
I'll write days 19 and 20 in one installment as we didn't eat much the first day.
I still felt really ill the next morning and I was worried about how I would cope with the transfer to the Hard Rock Hotel, and the possibilty of not having a room all morning.
We had our last breakfast in the lounge, I wasn't feeling up to taking pics and said our good byes to Animal Kingdom Lodge. We had a pre-booked transfer at 9:30, and our driver was there on time. Luckily I was ok in the car, although I still felt a bit rough.
We arrived at the Hard Rock and checked in. I was so happy when they had a room ready for us immediately! It was a great room with a fantastic view of the theme parks.
We chilled out for a bit, and by lunchtime I felt much better so we headed across to Universal Studios. I was starving by this time so we went to Louie's for a quick meal.
I got spaghetti and meatballs, while DH got pasta alfredo. Both of these were fine for a CS meal, and big portions too.
That night we took advantage of the club lounge offerings, then went to the cinema so my dinner consisted of cinema nachos!
The next day we had breakfast in the club lounge. By the way I liked both AKL and HRH club offerings, but AKL won due to the size of the lounge. HRH always seemed crowded, and we often had to take food back to our room as we were unable to get a seat.
For lunch I really fancied trying Margaritaville, so we headed over around 12ish and were seated immediately. It was a nice restaurant, with Jimmy Buffet playing constantly on the big screen, and it was pretty quiet while we were there.
I ordered a cocktail (of course
), I think it was a Wildberry Colada. If you paid an extra $5 you got to keep the glass so I now have a nice souvenior. It was very good, but very sweet.DH got a beer of some sort, and he also paid an extra $5 to keep the glass.
I ordered the crab cake sandwich, which was a seared lump crab cake served with a remoulade and fries. This was really nice, the bread was good and soft, the remoulade had a really good tang to it and there was plenty of crab in the cake. My only criticism is the crab cake had been slightly over-seared on one side, giving it a slight burnt flavour.
DH ordered the veggie burger, and got it with onion rings instead of fries. The burger was a pretty standard veggie burger, but the onion rings were really good, huge rings and nice and crisp.
The portions here were bigger than what we were used to at Disney restaurants so we were both too full for dessert. Overall we both enjoyed this restaurant, and I think we'll return next trip.
That night we were going to Halloween Horror Nights, this was the night I'd been looking forward to all trip. We had appetisers and wine in the lounge around 5ish, then went to the Uni gates at 6 to be let in.
We didn't eat anything at the event (too busy hitting the houses and dodging the rain) but did try a Blood Bag cocktail. This was actually just a jello shot but was a fun way of presenting them.
We got back to our room around midnight and we were starving, so decided to order two of the halloween horror night specials. DH ordered mozarella sticks and I ordered nachos. It took about 30 minutes to arrive, but when it did it was fabulous. There were tons of cheese sticks and a huge portion of tomato sauce to dip them in. The nachos were a make your own type thing, with tortilla chips, a huge bowl of cheese sauce, and a plate of sour cream, guac and salsa. These were really good and even with DH's help I didn't come close to finishing the nachos.
Ok coming up next, Hard Rock Cafe.
CanadianWDWfan
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2008
So sorry you were a little ill. Glad it was only for a night.
I loved Margarittaville too, but the portions were huge. We ordered nacos as an appetizer and it was a mountain (we could have all just eaten those). Very fun atmosphere and I regret not getting the glass. Next time.
I don't share your love of horror...the blood cocktail...
I have just loved your TR, you did a fabulous job.
I loved Margarittaville too, but the portions were huge. We ordered nacos as an appetizer and it was a mountain (we could have all just eaten those). Very fun atmosphere and I regret not getting the glass. Next time.
I don't share your love of horror...the blood cocktail...
I have just loved your TR, you did a fabulous job.
iluvpluto27
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 25, 2008
The next day we had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. I'd never eaten here before but it sounded good so we thought we'd give it a try. By the way the thing I love about Universal dining is that you don't need to make ADRs, we just walked up to wherever we fancied and were seated immediately.
We ordered drinks. I really wanted to get another souvenier glass, but DH intervened and explained there was really no room at all left in the suitcase so unless I wanted a shot glass, I would have to go without.
I ordered a Pickled Tink, which was possibly my favourite cocktail of the holiday. It was very sweet, frozen pina colada type mix, with a tangy raspberry puree. DH had another beer.
We decided to order an appetiser of santa fe spring rolls to share. These were absolutely gorgeous, they were filled with black beans and cheese rather than the more traditional shredded vegetable filling, and served with sour cream and salad.
For my entree I had the Hickory smoked pulled pork sandwich, served with french fries, beans and coleslaw. Oh my god, this thing was huge! When I tried to cut it in half I was left with a mountain of pulled pork on the plate. It was really good, but I didn't come close to finishing it.
DH had the Hard Rock Veggie Burger. He said this was good, the patty was moist and it was topped with plenty of cheese.
Both way too full to contemplate desserts, we practically rolled out the door.
That night we had appetisers in the hard rock hotel club lounge, and I took full advantage of the free wine. I think I had around 4 glasses, so we just stayed in and bought a movie. It was a nice chilled out way to end the holiday. At some point during the evening DH popped down to emack and bolios, to get a sundae for us to share. Again this was huge, with three massive scoops of ice cream, big brownie chunks, loads of cream, chocolate sauce and marshmallows.
On our last day in Orlando we visted NBA city before heading to the airport. We were seated in the bar upstairs and the bartender was our server. He was an absolute riot, insisting we take pics with him and just having a good laugh with us.
Once again I ordered a cocktail, this time a Mango Passion. This was good, it just tasted like a mango daquiri. DH got a beer again.
I had some sort of chicken penne dish. I don't remember exactly what was in it, but it was really tasty, with big chunks of chicken and a creamy sauce. It was served with a piece of garlic bread which was also really good.
DH ordered a cheese pizza which was a very nice pizza, nothing special but good.
We were there quite a while as DH's pizza took a long time to cook, but our waiter kept us entertained. Another nice meal, and sadly our last one in Orlando.
Ok, I'm afraid that's all the reviews written. We both really enjoyed our disney dining, and loved the deluxe plan. We had some fantastic meals, and some that were just so-so, but nothing that was really bad.
I'm now planning and looking forward to our next trip, where I'll have another 3 weeks worth of food pictures to write about. I hope you've enjoyed this report and you'll join me, when I write next years reviews.
We ordered drinks. I really wanted to get another souvenier glass, but DH intervened and explained there was really no room at all left in the suitcase so unless I wanted a shot glass, I would have to go without.
I ordered a Pickled Tink, which was possibly my favourite cocktail of the holiday. It was very sweet, frozen pina colada type mix, with a tangy raspberry puree. DH had another beer.
We decided to order an appetiser of santa fe spring rolls to share. These were absolutely gorgeous, they were filled with black beans and cheese rather than the more traditional shredded vegetable filling, and served with sour cream and salad.
For my entree I had the Hickory smoked pulled pork sandwich, served with french fries, beans and coleslaw. Oh my god, this thing was huge! When I tried to cut it in half I was left with a mountain of pulled pork on the plate. It was really good, but I didn't come close to finishing it.
DH had the Hard Rock Veggie Burger. He said this was good, the patty was moist and it was topped with plenty of cheese.
Both way too full to contemplate desserts, we practically rolled out the door.
That night we had appetisers in the hard rock hotel club lounge, and I took full advantage of the free wine. I think I had around 4 glasses, so we just stayed in and bought a movie. It was a nice chilled out way to end the holiday. At some point during the evening DH popped down to emack and bolios, to get a sundae for us to share. Again this was huge, with three massive scoops of ice cream, big brownie chunks, loads of cream, chocolate sauce and marshmallows.
On our last day in Orlando we visted NBA city before heading to the airport. We were seated in the bar upstairs and the bartender was our server. He was an absolute riot, insisting we take pics with him and just having a good laugh with us.
Once again I ordered a cocktail, this time a Mango Passion. This was good, it just tasted like a mango daquiri. DH got a beer again.
I had some sort of chicken penne dish. I don't remember exactly what was in it, but it was really tasty, with big chunks of chicken and a creamy sauce. It was served with a piece of garlic bread which was also really good.
DH ordered a cheese pizza which was a very nice pizza, nothing special but good.
We were there quite a while as DH's pizza took a long time to cook, but our waiter kept us entertained. Another nice meal, and sadly our last one in Orlando.
Ok, I'm afraid that's all the reviews written. We both really enjoyed our disney dining, and loved the deluxe plan. We had some fantastic meals, and some that were just so-so, but nothing that was really bad.
I'm now planning and looking forward to our next trip, where I'll have another 3 weeks worth of food pictures to write about. I hope you've enjoyed this report and you'll join me, when I write next years reviews.
WDisneyWforMe
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2008
You're reviews have been wonderful and the pictures fantastic!! Thank you so much for sharing your vacation with us!!
iluvpluto27
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 25, 2008
So sorry you were a little ill. Glad it was only for a night.
I loved Margarittaville too, but the portions were huge. We ordered nacos as an appetizer and it was a mountain (we could have all just eaten those). Very fun atmosphere and I regret not getting the glass. Next time.
I don't share your love of horror...the blood cocktail...
I have just loved your TR, you did a fabulous job.
I really wanted to try the nachos at Margaritaville, but I'd seen pics of them before hand and knew I wouldn't come anywhere a near finishing them!
Thank you very much, I really enjoyed writing the report.
Thank you, I'm really pleased you enjoyed them.
Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed the reviews.
John's Mom
Jambo Wildbunch Gang
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2004
Thanks for sharing your great reviews and pics! 
iluvpluto27
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 25, 2008
Thanks for sharing your great reviews and pics!
Thank you so much.
Thanks so much for taking the time to post your reviews. I'm getting excited about Universal dining on our next trip!
Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoy universal dining as much as we did, they have some great restaurants and I love the spontaneity of walking up to wherever we feel like, and knowing we'll be seated quickly.
BellaSoleil
Mommy of Belle~ Wife of Goofy
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
What a sad day it is! 
I look forward to reading your report every day. Thank you again for all of the wonderful reviews!!!! This is the best dining report around. (I would also like to add, that I would imagine you saying them all to me in your British accent. 
)
I look forward to reading your report every day. Thank you again for all of the wonderful reviews!!!! This is the best dining report around. (I would also like to add, that I would imagine you saying them all to me in your British accent. )
iluvpluto27
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 25, 2008
What a sad day it is!
Thank you so much, it's really great to hear you enjoyed my report. And
at the british accent thing!Share this page
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