7 days/6 nights..and NO COOKING for Mommy!--updated 2/21

[ladyfoundhertramp]

Hey everyone! We just returned from a fantastic trip at the Caribbean Beach Resort with free dining promo. This was DD3 first trip and we had the most magical time. I just wanted to give a little review of the places we dined at.
I am still coming down off my Disney high (sigh)..I did manage to make a trip to the grocery store today once I realized the real world was a place where I had to cook and pack lunches

Day 1: Saturday 1/21
Animal Kingdom:Lunch @ Flame Tree Barbecue. We used 3 counter service credits and boy should we have only used 2 and shared!! These portions were huge. DD12 ordered the 1/2 chicken and that came with bbq beans and cole slaw. She destroyed her lunch! DH ordered the 1/2 chicken and ribs combo also came with beans and slaw. He said the chicken and beans were great but he didn't love the ribs. I had the BBQ pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw. This was so good! Bun was perfect soft goodness that held all the juice from the pork and never fell apart, the pork was tender and tasted wonderful. I ate my slaw and DH's as well, this was great. We all opted for the chocolate mousse dessert and it was rich and yummy.

We will return to Flame Tree every trip! We will just be sure to share meals and bank some counter service credits, keep that in mind if you are on the dining plan.

After a very early morning of traveling and then the afternoon/evening at Animal Kingdom we headed back to CBR for some poolside relaxation. We just ordered a pizza from Old Port Royal--this was basic Disney pizza but it hit the spot. We did not use 2 counter service credits for this, just paid $14 OOP.

Day 2- breakfast at OPR and dinner at CRT coming up next...

 

[iloveeeyore]

Thanks for taking the time to do this report. Count me in! Can't wait to read about dinner at CRT!

 

[ladyfoundhertramp]

Great! Thanks for joining. I will write that just as soon as I tackle this laundry monster that seems to have come back with us!

 

[irishsharon]

Looking forward to your CRT review,I want to go there with my hubby and ds6 & ds9.....I so want to eat in the castle hopefully they wont mind to much

 

[ladyfoundhertramp]

Ok onto Day 2:

We had ordered some snacks/cereal and drinks from garden grocer so this was a cereal morning for breakfast. How exciting I know..ooohh ahhhh Cheerios and OJ.

Off to Magic Kingdom for the day and our CRT dinner ADR Dinner wasn't until 7 so we had to eat something small to tide us over, you know since we only had cheerios at 7am! LOL

DD & DH decided to hit The Launching Pad for a Philly Cheesesteak Hot Dog..they ate that thing so fast they never even offered me a bite! I assume it was good because I never heard a complaint from them. I decided to head over to Sleepy Hollow and try one of the new Waffle Sandwiches (this is not on the DDP yet but it's only $5.99) I had the nutella and fruit. YUM is all I have to day about that. Waffle was hot and fresh, the nutella was spread all over and the strawberries, bananas and blueberries were falling out.

Now for the main event: Dinner at CRT

I was a little un-sure about using 2 TS credits for one meal, but since this was DD3 first visit and she is a princess freak I pulled the trigger and made the ADR. (and not so secretly I have always wanted to eat in the castle) We checked in and were taken to meet Cinderella, this girl was stunning. My husband and I were stunned by how pretty this particular princess was. We did our little photo session and waited about 3 mins before we were called upstairs. The dining room is beautiful, it's a round room with high ceiling and banners and flags. And the front of the room is all windows over-looking Fantasyland. Well guess who got seated in front of the window!! YUP!! We did. Pixie Dust!! Our waiter came right over took drink orders and came back with drinks and wands for our DD's. We were served a bread basket after we ordered, just your basic dinner rolls. For the apps DH went with the trio of cheese--it was goat cheese, brie and gouda, he said it was delicous, DD ordered a garden salad and I went with the Shrimp Cocktail- now this was good--its in a mini maritini glass with corn and shrimp and a horseradish style vinagrette over it. I finished every bite. For our entrees DH ordered the Pork 3 ways--not so great. It was dry and the spoon bread was more like polenta. Not like a send it back awful dish, but not the best. DD and I both ordered the Beef Tenderloin--FANTASTIC! It was served over mashed potatoes with grilled asparagus and a mushroom burgundy reduction. I cannot say enough about how good this was. For dessert DH ordered the almond cheesecake, this was very good. The raspberry sauce made the dish. DD ordered the chocolate mousse and thought it was too rich. I ordered the trio which was a mousse, apple tart and cheesecake..All yummy. We had also special ordered the chocolate slipper desserts for our DD's. They were so good. Dark Chocolate Slipper filled with Chocolate Mousse. over a angel food cake pillow and surrounded with fresh fruit. And personalized for whatever you like. The meal was fantastic. The Princesses were all sweet and not rushed, Snow White, Belle, Aurora & Ariel were there. The best part of the entire evening for me was we were able to stay in our seat and watch wishes out the castle windows over Fantasyland. This entire experience was covered in Pixie Dust!! I would highly recommend CRT, it is worth every bit of 2 TS credits.

 

[iloveeeyore]

We totally agree with you about CRT. We think it is worth every penny...and we have been 3 times with no window seat, and it's still absolutely wonderful for us. We have done breakfast and lunch, never dinner. Hope to try that tenderloin someday! Glad you have a great experience!

 

[ladyfoundhertramp]

Breakfast was at OPR- we had the bounty platter, mickey waffle and choc chip pancakes. All items were fresh and hot. So can't complain about that. Only complaint I have about OPR was the coffee. It was just nasty --i savored every fresh cup I had once we returned home.

Breakfast filled us up until our 330 ADR

Before I made our ADR's I let everyone pick a place wherever they wanted to go,DH chose 50's PT. I hadn't been there since I was a kid and thought it would be fun for all of us, so I didn't fight him on that choice. We were seated right away at a corner/kitchen table with a TV. Our Cousin/Server was Ron and he was just enough for our family. Not too over the top with the antics but made it enjoyable. We passed on milkshakes because we wanted to have room for dinner. I did however have an old fashioned cherry coke and that was delicious! We started with a lettuce wedge to split, this is a large portion for an appetizer. It was great. Fresh lettuce wedge covered in a creamy blue cheese and bacon crumbles. For our entrees I had the pot roast--so good--tender and flavorful served over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes. DD12 & DH ordered the sampler plate with pot roast, fried chicken, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, collard greens & green beans. They raved over this. DH ate his meatloaf and DD's as well. They both destroyed the pot roast and friend chicken. Our cousin didn't make us clean the plates--but we came close on our own. For desert DD & I chose the Boston Parfait--well this thing is SO stinking good!!! I highly suggest this goodness--I would go back just for that. DD12 chose the Dads Brownie Sundae--she loved it, this was a very large soft brownie covered in ice cream and hot fudge. She asked to leave the caramel sauce off and they sent it out covered in caramel popcorn This gets from our family and we would certainly return!

Next Up Askerhaus Storybook Dinner

 

[ladyfoundhertramp]

Man life sure does get in the way when you get back from Disney vacations--isn't it funny how we find all the time in the world to play on the DIS before we go but when we return we have no time at all. My laundry won't stop multiplying on me

Onto my Askerhaus Storybook Dining Reviewinner

We had a 5.20 ADR in Norway. We arrived at the little podium outside the restaurant and checked in around 5.10. We waited about 15 mins before being called into the building to be greeted by Belle in her evening gown. Yet another striking Princess. After our family photo we were seated in a little alcove right by the cold buffet. It's a very small restaurant, maybe one of the smallest I have been in yet on property. But it is quaint, looks like a cottage almost in the front and the back looks like a medieval dining room with banners and flags as well as coats of armor on the walls. We were greeted by our server and she informed us that dining plan guests could also order shirley temples or any of the alcoholic mixed beverages in a virgin version. The cold buffet was nice it offered a house salad, cheese and meats (we had swiss, gouda, turkey and salami) various cold pasta salads, salmon, pickled herring, cold shrimp and various rolls. It was a nice change of pace for a Disney dinner. For entrees DD12 ordered the baked chicken over risotto--she didnt care much for this at all. I never tried it so I cant comment. DH and I both had the beef tips over potatoes with a mushroom gravy--this was delicious! We nearly licked our plates clean! For dessert you get a family style sampler with chocolate mousse, puffed pastry with fresh fruit and rice cream with a strawberry sauce. The rice cream was my favorite--it was a sweet and creamier version of rice pudding topped with a fantastic strawberry sauce. DD & DH loved the mousse, very rich and good.We all sampled the pastry, but that fell a little flat with flavor. The princesses were lovely as usual--we were greeted by Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel and Aurora. They are always so fantastic with the kids--DD3 was in heaven! They even do a small parade of princesses about halfway through the meal and the children can join them. It is worth a try if you have a Princess lover.

 

[st4rrab0vemybed]

Sounds like you and your family had a lovely time! I remember eating at CRT many years ago, and they had the most amazing salmon I ever had. Looking forward to trying Flame Tree BBQ for lunch next month- sounds like a lot of good food!

 

[tluvstink]

Great reviews I have to be honest and say I never really thought about dinner in Norway because my DDs have outgrown the princesses. After reading your review I may have to reconsider it

I'm looking forward to reading more!

Terri

 

[ladyfoundhertramp]

Sounds like you and your family had a lovely time! I remember eating at CRT many years ago, and they had the most amazing salmon I ever had. Looking forward to trying Flame Tree BBQ for lunch next month- sounds like a lot of good food!

We had an amazing trip--I'm so bummed we aren't going back until 2014. But I really don't want to spend the $$ until FL expansion is done.

Flame Tree is wonderful--I thoroughly enjoyed the pulled pork sandwich. And the rib/chicken meals were HUGE. Definitely enough to split that's for sure!

 

[ladyfoundhertramp]

Great reviews I have to be honest and say I never really thought about dinner in Norway because my DDs have outgrown the princesses. After reading your review I may have to reconsider it

I'm looking forward to reading more!

Terri

We weren't too sure about Norway either--but I am glad we did it. Those beef tips we absolutely wonderful. I felt it should have been a 2 credit TS for sure. SO getting all that great food for only 1 credit is a steal IMO.

 

[ladyfoundhertramp]

Next Review is coming as soon as life slows down a bit!!

Chef Mickeys breakfast and then some fantastic munching around the world!!

 

[ladyfoundhertramp]

We had an 850 ADR at Chef Mickeys, we took the bus from CBR to MK and then hopped on the monorail over to the Contemporary. We checked in and decided to by-pass the photo op, we waited about 5 mins before we were seated in the top area of restaurant by windows. We have been here many times before, its a trip must do restaurant for DD12 (I have already broke the news that next trip we will be skipping CM and going to Cape May..they were devistated but will get over it )

We ordered our coffee and juice and were off to get some food. We like the food here...yummy disney scrambled eggs..mickey waffles..pancakes..biscuits and gravy..hashbrowns..breakfast potatoes...bacon..sausage..turkey hash (this is so good!)..grits..oatmeal..fresh fruit..cereal..amazing little doughnut holes..rice krispies treats. All in all we like it here and have never had cold food or bad service. We enjoy it here. The Fab 5 are here for the meal and are great and not rushed at the tables. I would always go back for breakfast..


We hopped on the monorail and headed over to Epcot for the afternoon-

More on that coming up