Sunday 9/16 La Cellier
We had a 2pm ADR at la Cellier for myself, DH and his parents. There was some initial confusion at check in, as they had the ADR for only 2. We were still seated right away. I had the filet, which came with some type of cherry glaze (I asked for it on the side) and mashed sweet potatoes. I subbed the sweet for the roasted with no problems. I also had the cheese soup. My first bite had much beer flavor, but it mellowed as I ate. It was just as good as everyone says! I plan to try to make this one at home! The filet was cooked perfectly and was tender. My DH had the strip steak and his was very good as well. I had crème brulee for the first time for dessert and oh my! It was out of this world good! They did not offer the vanilla/maple combo, but served us a huge bowl of vanilla. DH passed on dessert but sampled mine. DFIL had the strip, soup and chocolate whiskey cake (must have been good because he didnt share and it was gone in 2 seconds!) DMIL had the same meal as I did, only she kept the sweet potatoes.
Lunch was a good option, just the right portions. We left full, but not in an overly sick kind of way.
We ordered pizza from the food court that night. By picking it up ourselves we got a large pie, 2 desserts and 2 drinks for 2 CS credits. The pizza was okay, for frozen pizza. It would have easily fed 4 people as it was very thick. FYI, if you have the pizza delivered to your room it will cost 2 TS credits (but includes appetizers for 4, 4 drinks and 4 desserts).
Monday 9/17:
Raglan Road:
This was one of favorites of the trip. Myself, DH and DMIL and DFIL ate here at 6pm. We began with yummy irish soda bread served with a guiness/honey reduction dipping sauce. I could have made a meal on this alone. I had a strongbow cider and DH tried a beer flight. For a started I had the tomato/gin soup (creamy and delicious, I forced myself to only eat half to save room for the entrée and dessert). DH had the seared scallops, DFIL had the colconnon (sp?) soup and DMIL had the drunk chicken. The portions were all large. For an entrée I had the beef stew. It was served in acute little cast iron pot. It was good, but tasted more like my moms pot roast than beef stew. The beef was so tender it fell apart when I speared it. DH had the lemon sole. He was given 3 huge filets of the fish. DMIL had the pie in the sky which was massive and DFIL had the heavenly ham. DFIL was the only one to finish his entrée. We all felt bad about the wasted food, but knew there was no way we would eat it if we took it back to the room.
For dessert 3 of us had the Gers bread and butter pudding (served with vanilla and butterscotch sauce). Oh my gosh! This was soooooo good! Almost like French toast with yummy sauce. The serving was massive, enough for 2 to share easily. DH had the baileys crème brulee, which looked more like cheesecake. Not sure why I didnt try this, but it looked good.
Another meal we had to be rolled out of! But no back to the room tonight, we were off to ESPN club to watch the eagles play (and lose) in Monday night football.
Tuesday 9/18:
Spirit of Aloha Luau at Poly: The food here was great. There was 7 of us (Me, DH, DMIL, DFIL, DSIL, 2 DBILs) We were served salad and pineapple-coconut bread for starters. Beer and wine are included in the price of the luau. We had cat 3 seating due to the
DDP, but had a perfect view of the stage. The dining area isnt all that big, there were maybe 3 tables in front of us and we were elevated a few steps up. Next came the big platters of chicken, ribs, rice and veggies. The food was simple, nothing fancy but was very good. The chicken was moist and the ribs were very good. We all enjoyed the rice (white rice with a few simple seasonings) and veggies too. Dessert was a bit of a let down, it was the chocolate volcano (more like a mousse covered in fudge). Luckily we had requested a cake for my DSILs bday. The cake was just one of the small pre made ones, but was very good and large enough for the 7 of us with leftovers. For $12.50 it was a good bargain.
The show itself was a bit boring, at least until the last 20 minutes or so that featured fire dancers. Im not sure if it would hold the attention of small children. I would say it was a good dinner in a nice atmosphere, with the show just being a bonus. Transportation after the show was a nightmare, as we were at the later show and the parks were already closed. They sent resort buses to the Poly, but the lines were huge and several resorts were sharing buses. We ended up taking a cab, which was $11 (the cabbie took us right to our door though, not to the front of the resort). I would suggest a cab for after the show. The price is worth it especially is splitting with multiple parties.
Wednesday 9/19
Princess Storybook Lunch at Akershus/Norway: This was originally supposed to be breakfast (which probably would have been much better, but we switched it to lunch in order to take my niece to Bibbidy Boppity Boutiques beforehand. There were 14 of us at lunch and I cant say that any of us would go back. The princess interaction was good: we saw Belle in her yellow dress (when we first arrived for the photo package). We also saw Ariel, Cinderella, Aurora and Jasmine. As we were leaving I did notice Pocohontas as well. The princesses came around quickly not long after we were seated, which was good since it gave us time to enjoy our meal. There was nothing on the menu that appealed to me, so I ordered mickey ravioli off the kids menu (they served me a grown up portion). DH ordered the salmon sandwich, which he said was dry. It came with soup and he had the seafood chowder. My DFIL ordered lamb stewed which he enjoyed, but everyone else thought the food was so-so. We do realize that at most of the character meals its more about the atmosphere than the food. Dessert was just okay as well: rice pudding, a jam spongecake and a coffee flavored type mousse.
Thursday 9/20:
Wolfgang Puck Café: This was delicious as well. They bring yummy foccachia (sp) bread and olive oil. The appetizers were HUGE! I had the BBQ chicken quesadilla, which was good, but a bit spicy. DH had the calamari which was big enough for the whole table to share. DMIL had the artichoke dip, which was also good. Everyone else had various soup or salads. For an entrée I had the gnocchi in a truffle cream sauce. It was good and filling, but my portion seemed to be much smaller than everyone elses. Most of the table had the mahi mahi, which was good as well. For dessert we tried the flourless chocolate cake, which tasted like fudge to me. The drinks here were delicious, but pricey!
Friday 9/21: Chef Mickeys
My least favorite meal of the trip. We went with DFIL, DMIL, DSIL and her DH and 4 kids. Again another meal that is more about the characters than the food. Not that the food was bad, but they seemed to have a very small selection for a buffet. Prime rib was good but very fatty. They also had carved ham, salmon, roast chicken one or 2 pasta dishes, a veggie dish and the salad bar options. Not much else. Honestly the chicken nuggets and mac and cheese on the kids bar were my favorite! The cookies for dessert were good and still warm. The ice cream bar had a ton of toppings, but the ice cream itself was of the ice milk variety and I dont care for it too much. We were seated in the back which was nice since there were only 2 other tables and the characters spent a lot of time with us. The kids enjoyed it and I guess thats all that matters. I probably wouldnt eat here again, unless I was with my nieces and nephews.
