9 day food hits and misses. 8/25-9/3

[eliza61]

Sort of a spinoff from a short trip report.

We were a family of 6 doing a family reunion (actually we were a family of 18 but we did not all eat together, thank the good lord. ) We do not do the DDP and as a DVC member I do get a discount on most TS restaurants

TS restaurants we ate at:

BOG
Big River grille and brewery
Via Napoli
tutto Italia
Cape may Buffet
Paradiso 57
Portebellos
Sci fi diner.

QS or Food court service

Sunshine seasons food court outside of Soarin
Boardwalk Bakery
Cosmic Rays starlight cafe.

First let me say that because of Hurricane Erika the weather was such that during the day it was bright, sunny and hot but usually around 4 torrential storms rolled it. so we quickly adjusted our normal routine and started eating big late lunches.

Hit #1

Sci Fi diner. We didn't expect much as this is a park restaurants and park restaurants generally are mediocre. We love the atmosphere though. This time we were pleasantly surprised. The menu is basic but everything we ordered was hot, fresh and good. so much so that I mentioned it to a cm. I was told that the new folks in charge decided to concentrate on making staples really good instead of a flashy menu. great move.
Our onion rings were hot, crispy and onion-y. I hate onion rings that are more batter than anything else. not overly greasy either.
All burgers where juicy, not dried out, cooked to order perfectly and flavorful.
we also had a order of shrimp pasta. Surprise, you actually get plenty of shrimp.
Milkshakes were great.

Hit #2

Big river grille and brewery.

excellent appetizers and brewed beer.
My cousin the "quacomole" queen raved about the Quacomole and chips.
Chicken nachos were excellent and the cheese and crab dip was awesome.
We tried a few of the house brews but I'm not a beer afficianado. I thought they tested great.

Miss #1

BOG Breakfast
First let me say, that part of the problem is on the dis, so much get over hyped. I had reservations about BOG breakfast because of the price. 90 bucks for breakfast? seriously but decided to give it a try because I had heard how "awesome" it was.

Next. it is no where near enough to remotely keep 3 adult males full after 30 minutes.
pastry tray was store brought quality at best.
I had the scrambled egg whites. tasteless. long story short. I had to dump a days worth of salt to get some flavor.
Lastly, we came, we tried, we'll go to Ihop next time. we had an 8:45 reservation, by 10 am we were debating should we have an early lunch.

I'll report on the other places shortly.

 

[BuzzyBelle]

We tried Sci-Fi for the first time this trip and really enjoyed it as well. Good to hear that they are focusing on food quality and this will hopefully continue to be a fun spot for dinner It's #1 on DD's list for next trip. Looking forward to hearing about your other experiences. We ate at a few of the same places.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

I'm questioning my BOG breakfast reservation...we'll be there for Christmas and I was able to grab an ADR for before current park opening (part of the appeal) but I think once the hours are finalized it won't be pre-opening anymore. The menu is not very big and most of those items my kids will not eat. I was considering doing two meals for the 5 of us to share (we have an early lunch ADR already scheduled) but not sure it's worth it. I am leaning towards cancelling it but don't want to be hasty...

 

[Vernie822]

Thanks for the reviews. We have BOG breakfast on our next trip at my fiance's request. We like lunch there so we have that as well. After some mediocre reviews I'm almost tempted to cancel the breakfast.

 

[eliza61]

I'm questioning my BOG breakfast reservation...we'll be there for Christmas and I was able to grab an ADR for before current park opening (part of the appeal) but I think once the hours are finalized it won't be pre-opening anymore. The menu is not very big and most of those items my kids will not eat. I was considering doing two meals for the 5 of us to share (we have an early lunch ADR already scheduled) but not sure it's worth it. I am leaning towards cancelling it but don't want to be hasty...

This IMO is one of those places that you try once simply for the surroundings. No doubt about it the castle is beautiful and I wonder how many people would actually eat there if they allowed folks in just to see it. LOL.

My main complaint is that I find it expensive and we were hungry within 90 minutes after finishing. the pastry tray had 3 normal sized pastry (a croissant, a cinnamon roll, not cinnabon size but normal bakery size and an apple turnover type thing and a few smaller bite sized pieces). so really 4 adults will not get a full size pastry. at least we didn't. I had the scramble egg whites. I would say it was about a small ice cream scoop size of eggs. You do get a fruit cup but imo that's garnish. lol. The open faced egg sandwich looked nice and I wish I had gotten that.
The croissant donught is a regular donught with banana slices over top and whipped cream in the hole. again you get a side of fruit.

During my work week I don't eat breakfast but when on vacation I do like to have a big breakfast, so if I go to say Denny's I'll have something like the 2X2X2. where you get two pancakes, 2 meat slices. sausage or bacon and 2 eggs. My kids will definitely get a pancake stack or a waffle with a breakfast meat.

I just felt that it was twice the price for 1/2 the food and it wasn't nearly as tasty.

like I said my recommendation is that if you want to see the inside of the castle go for it. If you want a good breakfast, skip.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We also have a dinner ADR so the breakfast one was just an add on...because I could.

I think the cost is outrageous! And even the things my kids (all Disney adults - 11, just turned 16, and will be turning 17 on the trip) would eat have things they wouldn't...like the donut...they would not like the toppings on it...and a $20 donut is ridicules!

We're on the deluxe Dining Plan so I figured I could use our last two credits there but from the pics I'm seeing and the reviews I'm hearing, I don't know that's I think it's worth it anymore...

I still have time to decide though...

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

Yes, I really enjoyed my sandwich at BOG for lunch, but can't justify breakfast.

Very pleased to hear that about Sci-Fi! It's on my to-try list.

 

[eliza61]

This trip was a celebration for my Aunt who turns 100 at the end of the month. LOL, 18 of my nearest and some times not so dearest family where at the world. After a few general whole family celebrations we kinda split up and did our own thing.

Via Napoli is a fam favorite. we always have a good meal here and this time was no difference. this time it was a party of six.

We don't use the ddp mainly because we cant get it free and because we generally have appetizers instead of dessert.

Our server recommended the Arancini balls, you get 3 balls with a tomato based sauced over them. they are fried risotta balls. my son's enjoyed them, they had a weird texture to me.
also had fried Calamari. It was very good. lightly breaded and fried.

We ordered a small pepperoni and a large Piccante pizza and a large Capricciso pizza. alll were delicious


Great meal

Also had the Italian soda. very good but a bit pricey. no free refills

 

[ReneeA]

Looking forward to your reviews! We enjoyed Sci Fi as well last week.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Truth be told, the only reason I booked 8am BOG is to get in to the park early. We aren't too enamored with the menu. I'll cancel it in a second if they change park hours on us. Thanks for the honest review!

 

[lovin'fl]

We just did the Sci-Fi for the first time in many years and also were very pleasantly surprised. We thought the food was very good.

Thanks for posting!

 

[eliza61]

Miss #2

Sunshine Seasons food court.

This was our first time trying this food court, although of course most folks have passed it on their way to Soarin. I was disappointed because I thought this would be a great opportunity to get something fast to eat that was not burgers and fries.

Now, full disclosure. we ate here around 7 pm and it looked like it was closing up for the night. not sure if its supposed to stay open as long as Epcot is open or not. It was fairly empty as a huge thunderstorm had just passed and Epcot was closing at 9 pm that night. in fact Soarin only had a 20 minute wait.

Sunshine Seasons offers a variety of quick mini meals at different "stations". there is an Asian/Chinese type venue. a salad/soup area and a seafood station, you can get limited sushi rolls.

I had a simply caesar salad with chicken. the greens were soggy and limp. Once again I'm not sure if that was bad quality or simply that they were sitting on ice all day. chicken was tasteless.

My oldest had a turkey and cheese sandwich. He said it was ok, it too was premade, I thought it would have been nice if it was made fresh to order. I mean how long does it take to make a sandwich.?

My youngest had the sweet and sour chicken with rice. He thought it was awful. He said the chicken was cooked weird and the jasmine rice soggy.

All and all, I would not discount this place all together, it maybe that we got the end of night leftovers.

I will say it is one of the few places I found reasonably priced. the prices were ~8 bucks each and included drinks with free refills.

 

[goofyintoronto]

@eliza61 Thanks for your reviews! Two of my faves have always been Via Napoli and Sci Fi. With Sci Fi, despite one dish of mediocre ribs, all of our meals have always been tasty. The shakes are amazing. We always enjoy our meals there. The atmosphere is quite unique. Definitely a must do each trip. (we only go to disney once a year thou).

Via Napoli, oh my goodness....I cant say enough about that place. im addicted. Their candele pasta, mouth watering. Their pizza, wow! Its my fave place to go and a must do each trip as well. Absolutely wonderful.

I agree with you about sunshine seasons. Food was good the first time, but the last time there, a bit of a let down.

 

[loves to dive]

Good reviews so far.

We did the BOG breakfast last trip pretty much for the same reason, to say we did and since it was an early morning ADR we walked onto SDMT so bonus. I will disagree about the amount of food, we actually had half a pastry left over because none of us could finish and I didn't finish everything from my entre. We were my adult son and DIL and myself. Full disclosure I'm not a big eater and normally order a child's meal for breakfast. DS can eat like a horse but we all three go pretty big entres. We felt it wasn't worth the money and we aren't really big fans of the place to start with, we've done lunch there in the past but it was o.k. for a one and done sort of thing.

We did a walk in at Sci-Fi for lunch last time we were there, after 30 something years we had never eaten there and weren't in the mood for QS so we asked and they said it was waitlist first come, first serve and we would be seated in the back at a table and not a car. We actually got in before most people with ADRs and sitting at one of the little booth/car/4tops in the back was perfect for us since all three could actually see and talk. We loved the food, I got the veggie burger and it was one of the best I've ever had, DS and DIL got regular burgers and loved theirs.

I'm not a huge fan of sunshine seasons either, we've eaten there in the past, if the kids were late getting up and needed breakfast or to grab a quick lunch but we always do it as a last minute and can't think of anything else we want and it's there sort of thing.

 

[ZebraDomeCrazy]

Funny, we love Sunshine seasons! My husband loves the Mongolian Beef meal. I have had the grilled veggie sandwich, the grilled salmon, and sushi. I think it is an excellent value for a quick service meal. Their desserts are Amazing and fresh! Lots of dessert choices, rather than the standard two choices at most quick service locations.

 

[vettegirl]

Thanks for sharing

 

[Pally]

Miss #2

Sunshine Seasons food court.

This was our first time trying this food court, although of course most folks have passed it on their way to Soarin. I was disappointed because I thought this would be a great opportunity to get something fast to eat that was not burgers and fries.

Now, full disclosure. we ate here around 7 pm and it looked like it was closing up for the night. not sure if its supposed to stay open as long as Epcot is open or not. It was fairly empty as a huge thunderstorm had just passed and Epcot was closing at 9 pm that night. in fact Soarin only had a 20 minute wait.

Sunshine Seasons offers a variety of quick mini meals at different "stations". there is an Asian/Chinese type venue. a salad/soup area and a seafood station, you can get limited sushi rolls.

I had a simply caesar salad with chicken. the greens were soggy and limp. Once again I'm not sure if that was bad quality or simply that they were sitting on ice all day. chicken was tasteless.

My oldest had a turkey and cheese sandwich. He said it was ok, it too was premade, I thought it would have been nice if it was made fresh to order. I mean how long does it take to make a sandwich.?

My youngest had the sweet and sour chicken with rice. He thought it was awful. He said the chicken was cooked weird and the jasmine rice soggy.

All and all, I would not discount this place all together, it maybe that we got the end of night leftovers.

I will say it is one of the few places I found reasonably priced. the prices were ~8 bucks each and included drinks with free refills.

I have to agree with you here. Last time I went with my sister and we did not like our meals. In fact, they were basically inedible. I had the Mongolian beef. Terrible. My sister did not like her meal either. My family and I have tried a couple of different places down there over the years and have not once had a meal I have enjoyed. It is now off our list. I would rather go to Tangiere in Morocco.

 

[neatokimmo]

I have to agree with you here. Last time I went with my sister and we did not like our meals. In fact, they were basically inedible. I had the Mongolian beef. Terrible. My sister did not like her meal either. My family and I have tried a couple of different places down there over the years and have not once had a meal I have enjoyed. It is now off our list. I would rather go to Tangiere in Morocco.

I agree with both of you. I had the Mongolian beef right at opening one time, received a free side of wicked food poisoning.

There are so many good choices in epcot in the worlds, we wait until they open.