7 days of Deluxe Dining...full reviews with lots of pics!!! UPDATED w/ link to TR!

[lemondog]

Monday, July 21st....Princess Storybook Breakfast at Akershus

When you have 3 little princesses of your own, this breakfast is a BIG deal! It's a chance to see a ton of princesses in one pop. Although we did not get to see the girls' favorite, Ariel, we did see Belle, Jasmine, Snow White, Aurora and Mulan. They were all so wonderful with the girls and I swear makes this breakfast worth EVERY penny (it ain't cheap) if you are paying OOP. The package also came with not one but TWO 8x10 photos with Belle. Here is one I snapped...

That's Bashful on the left in front, and Grumpy on the right. (As you can see, Superstar is still milking her birthday for all it's worth and wore her birthday crown to breakfast.)

I have to mention that this breakfast started out HORRIBLY! On the monorail to Epcot I realized I had left my camera in the room. Horrors!

So I sent DH back to the Poly and the girls and continued on to Norway. (Which is quite a hike from the front turnstiles, I might add). Our ADR was for 8:30 and we checked in right on time, but they would not seat us until all our party was present. So we spent some (okay a LOT) of time in the little gift shop across the way enjoying the air conditioning (it was HOT). As a bonus, Mary Poppins showed up! The girls had fun meeting her and Grumpy even agreed to get her pic taken:

Finally DH showed up around 9:00 and we were seated at 9:05. Needless to say our touring plans for the day were shot to you-know-where, but that's okay. There were princesses to meet and food to eat!

First we hit the cold bar.

Clockwise from top left we have an apple turnover (tasty but too dry and flaky), cinnamon bun (delish), eggs (okay, those didn't come from the cold bar but I forgot to snap the pic before I put them on my plate), and lots of fruit (can't go wrong there). The bar features several kinds of breads and muffins, spreads and then there was Jarlsburg cheese (which even cheese-loving Mr. Picky hated) and salami. Also some kind of concoction which if I remember correctly was Pickled Herring and Tomatoes. Ummmm....no thanks. I am not that adventurous first thing in the morning!

Soon enough came our hot plate.

We had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and potato casserole. All of this was AMAZINGLY good! The potatoes especially. The eggs were not too runny, the bacon was nice and crisp just the way our family likes it. Once again I found the sausage a bit too spicy for my tastes.

This is an all-you-can-eat family style breakfast, but we didn't need any refills. We were stuffed! Drink options were coffee, milk, orange juice and apple juice. As an added bonus, we had Mats (prn. Motts) as our server. All I can say is....Mats is hots!!!!! He was so nice, in fact every CM we dealt with in Norway was wonderful.

DH about died when he saw the OOP cost of this meal...around $110, not including tip. He said there was just not that much food or variety to justify it. But really, you are paying for the experience AND you get TWO 8x10 photos in the package. I predict this will definitely become a 2 credit meal next year, based on the price and photo package. I hope not, because it really is a gem, but think there is a good chance it will happen.

Will we eat here again? Not sure. It was very tasty, but a PAIN to get to (it took a whopping 45 minutes to get there, and our room at the Poly was a 5-minute walk to the Epcot monorail at the TTC). Also, the earliest seating is not until 8:30 so there is no way you'll be done in time for park opening at 9:00 which means your touring plans won't work, especially if you're wanting to do the biggie rides. Still, it's a WONDERFUL experience for little girls, and IMO, would be worth it even if 2 credits.

Up next...Coral Reef dinner

 

[myladyisatramp]

Love the dining reports. Keep it coming Also the girls are adorable.

 

[pixiedust1125]

Loving your reviews-keep'm coming

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Lemondog -- you are cranking out some awesome reviews!!

 

[gigi1313]

that dessert picture had ds asking me to make him homemade 'applesauce,' so i did

 

[lemondog]

Lemondog -- you are cranking out some awesome reviews!!

Why thank you! I loved reading them before my trip so I decided I ought to return the favor!

 

[nikandboys]

you got me too. I am enjoying the reviews/pics. I have the male version of grumpy. Pulled the SAME stuff when he was 4 at WDW. Hoping this year at 6 he has grown out of it. He would only have pics taken with certain characters etc...

 

[devonsmommy]

Loving your reviews so far!

 

[lemondog]

Monday, July 21st -- School Bread, Coral Reef dinner, and...gasp...Beverly!!!

Since our touring plans for the day were shot thanks to my forgetting the camera and making us 30 minutes late for our ADR at Akershus, we played today by ear. To get out of the heat, we spent some time in Club Cool. Besides, Superstar said she was thirsty, and I told her I had the perfect drink for her! I fixed her up a glass of Beverly and told her to drink up. One gulp, and this was her reaction...

Okay, I'm a mean mommy, but I couldn't resist! I quickly fixed her a cup of ginger ale from Mozambique and she chugged it with relief. It was very good! I may be mean, but I am also fair, so I decided to try it myself. And you know what...IT WASN'T THAT BAD!!!! I am not saying I would choose to drink it, but it wasn't as bad as I had expected. After that little experience, we blew some snack credits on blue raspberry frozen drinks...

...and ice cream cones. As you can see, the scoop was about as big as Bashful's head!

Our original plan was to go back to the hotel and swim/nap/eat lunch, but due to the late start we decided to stay, do what we could before our early dinner ADRs at Coral Reef, and use snack credits if we got hungry.

Around 2pm I was getting hungry again (breakfast and ice cream are filling) and I was NOT leaving Epcot without trying School Bread, so I made the whole gang hike it back from Future World to Norway in the stifling heat. Needless to say they did not like me very much. But we finally reached Kringla, found a spot on the shady patio, and I got my School Bread!

Was it good? Definitely! Worth a 15-minute hike in the blazing hot sun with 3 cranky kids? No way! I really liked it....sweet coconut, cold creamy custard...mmmm. But the kids hated it for some reason. If I was near Norway and in the mood I would get it, but I certainly would not hike it across the park again.

Finally, after spending the day trying to stay cool and keep the kids happy, it was time for our 5:15 ADR at Coral Reef. We checked in around 5:10 and were seating with 5 minutes.

First, we ordered drinks. The kids' drinks came with these cute plastic dolphins on top which the girls loved.

Also included on the meal plan were slushies...if I remember correctly the choices were strawberry, pina colada, and a combo of the 2. Superstar got a strawberry one, and Mr. Picky went for the pina colada. We all know what I ordered to drink.

Next came appetizers. This was our first foray into a non-buffet or family style meal, so we had fun making our choices. Our server brought out some bread first, with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette for dipping. It was quite tasty!

All 3 girls had carrot and celery sticks w/ dip for appetizer.

Bashful and Grumpy were too busy coloring and looking at the fish in the tank to bother eating, but Superstar was hungry so she dove in. She took one bite, proclaimed the dressing was "NASTY!" and shoved it away. I dipped in my finger and it was VERY runny Ranch.

DH got the Mixed Greens Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

First he took a bite of the cracker on top, and it about burned his mouth out! He got some red pepper stuck in his throat and had to down half a glass of water. When he finally did make it to the salad, he took 2 bites, said it was the WORST salad dressing he's ever tasted, and pushed it away. Now Mr. Picky likes his food, especially his blue cheese (it is a cheese, after all), so for him to push it away after 2 bites is a BAD sign. I hate blue cheese so I didn't even bother tasting it.

I got the Creamy Lobster Soup

Blech! I love Lobster Bisque and this was just not that good. It was runny and there were only 2 small pieces of lobster in the whole bowl. The flavor was not to my liking either. I have read really great reviews of this soup so I was disappointed. Grumpy, meanwhile, got this little gleam in her eye when she heard the word "lobster" and next thing you know she is slurping it up with abandon, and saying "Yummy!" Well...at least somebody liked it!

On to the main course. The 3 girls all chose, what else, mac and cheese.

Same mac and cheese as everywhere else on property, they loved it, 'nuff said.

Mr. Picky ordered (shock)...the steak! His staple.

The NY Strip Steak came with Potatoes Au Gratin...potatoes and cheese together, an added bonus! He scarfed down the potatoes, but said the steak was very fatty and tough. So I had to try it myself. It was quite tough, even though it was cooked correctly (medium rare). The flavor wasn't all that greater either. I had read many people rave about the strip here, so this was another big disappointment.

I had my mind set on the salmon since the day I made the ADR, but our server recommended the mahi-mahi, so I made a last minute executive decision and ordered it.

Now THIS was excellent! The fish was seasoned perfectly, the cashew-jasmine rice was delicious and that creamy goodness at the bottom is malibu rum buerre-blanc (whatever that means). My tastebuds were in heaven. Of course, my little foodie Grumpy had to come over and share. She is not one to turn away a nice plate of fish.

Finally we got to desserts. All 3 kiddos opted for the make-your-own sundae plate over the fruit cup. Shocker! For some reason I forgot to take a pic. Basically it was a plate with 3 ramekins. One with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, one with chocolate sauce, and one with M&Ms. The girls had a lot of fun putting together their sundaes and making a royal mess of themselves.

I ordered the Chocolate Wave.

I can describe this gem in one word...FANTABULOUS! Chocolate lovers will not be disappointed.

Now Mr. Picky's best friend is named Jack Daniels, so naturally he chose the Baileys and Jack Daniels Mousse.

He loved it. I tasted a bite of the Bailey's part (I hate whiskey) and it was very yummy. The desserts here did not disappoint at all.

We really LOVED the atmosphere at Coral Reef. As most of you know the whole front wall is underwater. We were on the back side of the 2nd tier and we still had a great view. They give little cards that show all the different kind of fish you can see, and the girls had a lot of fun trying to identify all the fish and circle them on their cards. There was also a scuba diving tour going on so we had fun watching that. The main problem with this meal was the quality of food (with the exception of my entree and the desserts), and the TIME! This dinner was SO long and I have no idea why. It took over 2 hours to complete. It was almost too long for my kids, who were tired and cranky by this point.

I don't think we'll eat here again unless some changes are made in food quality. There are just too many other good restaurants at Epcot to enjoy.

Up next...Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House

 

[adsrtw]

Awesome reviews! Sometimes it's just easier to smile and nod at those named Grumpy! I am still on the line about Coral Reef. I have heard too many people say the food isn't worth it.

 

[undertheseas]

Great reviews, I'm really enjoying them! Thanks for posting!

 

[accountingbabe08]

Darnit that pic @ Coral Reef made me want one of those steaks. yum yum.

 

[lemondog]

Tuesday, July 22nd ~ Tusker House breakfast

First of all, I want to thank you all for reading my reviews and leaving such lovely comments. I am trying to blow them out as fast possible before I forget any important details! Then I'll get started on my Trip Reports.

On with the reviews...


We had 8:00 am ADRs for Tusker House on Tuesday morning. I was hoping to be done by 9:00 for rope drop. We had planned on taking a bus to AK that day, staying until about 3pm, then taking a bus back to the Poly. Well...turns out the buses didn't even start running until 8:00-8:15. So thank goodness I checked first...we would have been waiting at the bus stop a loooong time and pretty late for our ADR!

What's the moral of the story? DON'T MAKE EARLY BREAKFAST ADRs UNLESS YOU HAVE A SURE-FIRE WAY OF GETTING THERE!

Now, luckily for us we had our car with us, so we just drove. If we had not, then we would have had to take a taxi there. So off we go and we reach the parking booths by 7:30. There are lines out the wazoo but nothing going on. People are getting out of their cars, asking each other what the holdup was. Finally I just marched up to the ticket booth and asked. The man said they would not admit anyone thru until 7:45. Fine...at least we were all in the same boat. Sure enough at 7:45 the lines open and we are waived through. We used our AAA Diamond Parking pass and the location was AWESOME! We got the very first spot next to handicapped parking, and it was a super short walk to the turnstiles. We immediately checked in and started the hike back to Africa. We found Tusker House and checked in at 8:00 on the dot. Once again they tried to pose us for a family photo, and once again Grumpy was having none of it. This time she actually hid behind me so there are only 4 of us in the shot.

We were seated immediately, and this time we were at the FIRST table the characters visited! So we hurried up to the buffet.

Plate one:

Clockwise from top right we have fresh fruit (delicious as always), Coconut Sweet Potatoes (yummy but super sweet), and a Chocolate Croissant (delish).

I also prepared a bowl of Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce.

I normally like bread pudding but this just wasn't that good. The pudding was bland and the sauce was runny. One bite was all I took.

Meanwhile, Superstar went to town!

We've got eggs, bacon, sausage, cottage cheese and Krispy Kreme donuts. What a combo!

Next I hit the hot bar...

Clockwise from top we've got Beef Bobotie (bizarre...not terrible, but not great either), sausage (the only place I remember seeing it in patty form), Vegetable Quiche (tasty), potatoes (amazingly flavorful and good) and scrambled eggs (just the way I like them).

All the while, DH was snarfing down cornbread like Cookie Monster with a triple chocolate chip cookie, so I decided I had to check it out.

It was labeled Mealie Cornbread, and it was AWESOME!!! So was the whipped butter it came with! As we were walking toward Africa, some man yelled out "Try the cheese blintzes!" So I did! I put an apple sauce on top and it was GREAT! Much better than the cheese blintz w/ blueberry sauce I had at Chef Mickey's.

Not only was the food great here, so was the fun! We loved the atmosphere, DH even got up and danced in the parade. Characters we saw were Goofy, Donald, Mickey and Daisy. This was the only time the whole trip we saw Daisy, and since she is a favorite of Grumpy's, this was a real treat! We did feel the characters were really rushed here. I don't know if that's just because we were the very 1st table, or if that's normal for this restaurant.

We finished up our meal by 8:45, paid and were in line at the rope by 8:55. We were only steps away from Kilamanjaro Safaris, to boot. Doesn't get much better than that! We all enjoyed this meal, but it was DH's favorite breakfast of the whole week so we'll most likely be doing this one again. It's a great way to start the day at Animal Kingdom!

Up next....Captain Cook's lunch and O'hana dinner!

 

[accountingbabe08]

My daughter and I are wondering where you got Bashful's Ice cream cone from? Thanks so much for giving us your time and sharing your dining review with us.

B

 

[lemondog]

My daughter and I are wondering where you got Bashful's Ice cream cone from? Thanks so much for giving us your time and sharing your dining review with us.

B

It came from the ice cream shop right next door to Club Cool and the Epcot character encounter. I wish I could remember the name of it...I know it did have a big Edy's logo on the front.

 

[KPLC]

I am so excited to eat here after reading your review. I am South African and since we are living in Canada, I miss many of those meals - the Babootie is actually really yummy if made correctly and the the word Mealie is another word for corn!

 

[lemondog]

Tuesday, July 22nd ~ Captain Cook's lunch and Ohana dinner

The plan had originally been to stay at AK until 3pm or so. At 1pm we decided to find CS lunch, then see Lion King before leaving. However, Superstar was complaining of a sore throat and had done nothing but lay in the twins' stroller for about an hour. My mommy senses kicked into high gear and I realized she really didn't feel well. I decided that her resting was more important than my seeing Lion King so we decided to call it a day and grab lunch back at the hotel.

Once we got back all 3 girls (and mommy) passed out pretty quickly. Mr. Picky went over to Captain Cook's and grabbed himself a Double Cheeseburger and me an Aloha Pork Sandwich. Basically a repeat of Saturday's lunch. I am really glad I tried this again because this time it was delicious! The meat was not dried out, and the whole combination of flavors worked really well together. The chips were nice and crisp as well. DH also said that his burger was much better today and not dried out at all. For dessert we split a piece of Apple Pie. It was cold and yummy, with a tasty dutch apple crumb topping.

We had ADRs that night at 7:00 for Ohana. I had given Superstar some motrin for her throat and she seemed to be feeling much better. We checked in at 6:55 and were given a pager. Within 10 minutes we were beeped and led to our table. We were seated right against the far windows, slightly behind the woodfire grill area. Not the best location for viewing the activities in the main room, but not the worst either. Cousin Tiffany was our server, and after getting our drinks, she brought out some Ohana Welcome Bread.

It was tasty, but would have been better served with butter. Although we really didn't have enough time to worry about that, because shortly thereafter our salad arrived.

It was lightly coated in Honey Lime Dressing which Mr. Picky and I both LOVED! Just the right amount of dressing, too! Next came the dipping sauces for the meats...

That's Peanut on the top left (amazingly delicious), Chimichurri on the top right (nasty) and Sweet & Sour on the bottom (quite tasty).

Next came Pork Dumplings and Honey Coriander Chicken Wings

I personally thought the dumplings were TO DIE FOR delicious! Especially the sweet sauce they were covered in. The chicken wings, however, were just so-so. I was expecting them to be sweet and they really weren't at all. Just a matter of personal preference, I guess. Grumpy dove in with wild abandon, though. She loved those wings, and made the mess to prove it! Luckily at Ohana they provide you with piping hot wet towels to clean off your fingers and mouth.

Next the meats started coming. Although somehow I failed to get a pic of any of them! Our first round we received turkey, which was too dry, and pork, which was okay. I drenched the turkey in the peanut sauce which was a definite improvement. And the pork was yummy with the sweet and sour sauce. Next came shrimp and steak. The steak was quite fatty...we were not impressed. The shrimp was spicy and pretty dried out. But Grumpy spied them and that was all she wrote. I spent the next several minutes peeling shrimp after shrimp for her royal highness. They were pretty spicy too...I can't believe she ate as many as she did! Another round of turkey came by at this time and it was SUPER moist and delicious. More pork came too which was much better. The first batch was overcooked, the second was perfect. I guess it's just the luck of the draw.

Meanwhile, entertainment was starting. People were doing the limbo, dancing, racing coconuts...the works! My kids wanted nothing to do with it. Bashful was....well....too bashful. Grumpy was....well....too Grumpy. And Superstar was still not feeling 100%. So we watched as we ate. I then realized we had not received our noodles or veggies so I made sure Cousin Tiffany knew and the next thing you know, we had some delicious broccoli and snow peas delivered, along with noodles.

(Sorry, forgot a photo of the broccoli).

I loved the veggies, and the noodles were really good too. I was expecting a cold noodle dish but these were warm and tasted like the Lo Mein from my favorite Chinese place.

Now you notice not Mac & Cheese in sight. Not for long, though. Bashful HAD to have her mac and cheese, and it was delivered in short order.

And naturally, since Bashful got a special dinner, Superstar had to have one too. She ordered a PB&J and fries. And the wonderful CMs delivered!

Dessert was last...the famous Bread Pudding A La Mode With Bananas Foster Sauce.

Bread pudding....

Extra ice cream and Bananas Foster Sauce...

Heaven in a bowl is my description! This was FABULOUS! I just wish the sauce had more banana slices in it.

I really loved Ohana, a lot more than Mr. Picky, I fear. All he ate was 1 dumpling, 1 chicken wing, and meat. Would not touch the noodles or veggies. He did like the dessert, though. I would love to make this a WDW tradition for us. The atmosphere was great, the food was good, and it was such a festive time...it really felt like we were on vacation! I give it two thumbs up!

Up next...Boma breakfast

 

[JadeOfTheJungle]

Glad to see a positive review for Tusker House. I really want to try it for our AK day.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Loving your reviews. I'll definitely be trying that Mahi Mahi dish at Coral reef if it's still on the menu in September.

 

[emmabemmainc]

Absolutely wonderful reviews! You've reviewed a few places that we're going to in Dec., so thank you for taking the time to do them!