999 Meals, But There's Room for 1,000 - An April 2016 Dining Report - Complete/New DR Link - 10/16

[kastoney]

Breakfast of Champions

It was the best of times, It was the worst of times, It was the last day in Disney But bound and determined to make it the best day we could, we opted to kick it off with our favorite breakfast on property: Kona Cafe.

Kona was crazy as usual this day, but we had something occur that has never happened before. Our server (wait for it, wait for it) was pleasant. I wouldn't say nice per say, but she was actually efficient and didn't make us feel like we were impeding on her day like the usual hash slingers we've encountered here. So kudos to Maria, the mythical pleasant Kona server.

Now onto food!!!!! We of course started with a pot of their amazing Kona coffee.

But given our evening before, I elected to skip the bloody marry this time around

Without my usual spicy start to the day, I decided to really go out on a limb and skip my usual savory breakfast and finally try for the first time the Tonga Toast.

For those who have been living under a DISBoard dining rock, Tonga Toast is Banana-stuffed Sourdough French Toast rolled in Cinnamon Sugar and served with a Strawberry Compote.

Before I get vilified for my thoughts on it, I will say for someone who doesn't like sweets in the morning this was pretty good but not the OMG moment I was expected. The edges of mine were way overcooked (like had trouble chewing it overcooked). The inside was where all the wonderful banana gooeyiness was, but I was a bit disappointed that it the banana was just a thin layer in the middle. I think I'd prefer much more stuffing.

This wasn't bad by any means, but I'll definitely stick with the Samoan from here on out.

Jason had a big revelation on this trip and realized that while he always gets the Big Kahuna combo, its really the pancakes he love the most, so he just went that route.

These are the Macadamia Pineapple Pancakes with with Macadamia Nut Butter, Pineapple Sauce, and what appears to be some really dark sausage. He loved this as usual and even commented if it would be acceptable to just roll his body in the sweet and nutty butter

Casey got the kids french toast, which must have been good cause she cleaned her plate.


All in all, Kona remains our favorite breakfast on property. While I missed my bloody mary, the first decent service we've ever had there made up for it With our tables in wonderland card we saved $8.20

Up next, a few last snacks in the wild.....

​

 

[kastoney]

Last Minute Snacking

We elected to spend our last few hours in my most favorite park, Animal Kingdom!

We of course had to start the day in the Boneyard (aka the Rascal Park to Casey) so she could run around like a banshee for a while. Jason and I just chilled, but I stand by my past assessments that they totally need a bar in here (aka the night before and worn off and I was ready to roll again)!!!

From there we checked out the prehistoric dumbo ride, trekked through the African safari, and became honorary ants, before our bellies started to rumble again. Casey elected to get the Olaf themed Strawberry and Lemonade bar.

I have no earthy idea what this has to do with olaf or frozen (except for actually being frozen of course) but she was a happy camper.

And someone else may have batted clean-up


For the adult snacks, we wanted to finally check out the Harambe Village for some of their deliciousness. Unfortunately after waiting 10 minutes in the full sun and not moving a single person we elected to leave. Not sure if anyone else has encountered this, but they seemed to have a very inefficient ordering system wherein they only have one cashier at each stand and you order, pay, and then wait for your food before its someone else's turn. Didn't seem to make too much sense to me.

Instead we ended up at one of their kiosks, which I believe was Mr. Kamals. To share Jason and I got the Samosa's with mango salsa.

And Falafel with Tzatziki

For $5 or $6 each, these were a pretty good deal and comparable with what you'd get as an appetizer in a table service restaurant. Both had a decent amount of spice to them, but it was cut through with the mango salsa and yogurt sauce. The falafel was nowhere on par with Skippers Canteen, but they were well cooked and solid.

And of course we had to have a few adult beverages to knock it all back with.



That's a Kingfisher for Jason and a Mango Margarita for me. For a pre mixed margarita this was pretty darn good, largely cause there was copious amount of tequila coursing through it.

Sadly it was time to head back to WL so we could catch DME and head back to good ole DC. I contemplated seeing what would happen if we missed the bus, but being a mostly responsible adult we were there on time and were tucked in our beds later that night.

Up next, that's a wrap.....

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[nursejackie]

We are creatures of habit, and this Christmas as with the last 6, we will be at Narcoossee's having filet mignon and almond crusted cheesecake. Great food with a wonderful view of the castle in a christmas-themed resort, what more do we need?

 

[kastoney]

Deep Thoughts by Kastoney

To I'm sure no one's surprise this was another amazing trip. We loved having Jason's parents with us and reintroducing them to the world we love so much. I'm not entirely sure they "get it", but they were troopers and have even mentioned going back again.

The Wilderness Lodge remains our Disney home away from home and even with all the construction is still the pillar of getting away from it all. And can I pay an ode to the amazing April weather. I had no idea 80's everyday, no rain, and more importantly no humidity could even exist in Florida. April weather I'm not worthy.

Jason and Casey loved the RunDisney races and both want to do them again soon. I on the other hand will continue to be the supportive wife and mother who would much prefer to have a drink in her hand.



I couldn't resist not using this photo again ; )

So onto my food favorites.....

Favorite Breakfast

The Wave. This was a great surprise and a wonderful (dare I say it) buffet. They had me at Key Lime Eggs Benedict, but really completed me with....

Favorite Drink

The Wave Again. Their Bloody Mary was miles better than the typical Disney version, with great spice and flavor. Wish I had one in hand right about now.

Favorite Flower and Garden Item

Udon noodles from Japan. Now it may have had something to do with my level of tipsiness at this point and severe need for carbs, but these bad boys hit my proverbial carbtastic spot!​

Favorite Appetizer

Artist Point. These bad boys were fried oyster perfection!​

Favorite Side

Yachtsman Steakhouse. Beef Fat Potatoes. 'Nuff Said.

Favorite Entree

California Grill. Technically this was second favorite (see below on best meal), but the unexpected pairing of halibut and beets was a real winner.

Favorite Dessert

Liberty Tree Tavern. It's an oldie, but a goodie. Ooey Gooey Toffee cake I am not worthy!

Favorite New Experience

Hoop Dee Doo. Great show, great food, and free booze!!!!!! What's not to love!​

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Favorite Meal

Narcoossee's!!!!!!!! From the calamari to the almond cheese cake and the scallops to the (dare I say it) mushrooms Narcoosee's was perfection. And oh yeah all the wine of course helped

And I'd also like to give an honorable mention to my beloved Tables in Wonderland Card. I didn't do all the math (I'm too pretty for math ), but I'd venture we saved over $400! Not too shabby.

Thanks to everyone for following along. I of course have another one right around the corner and I'll post a link as soon as I get it started. Till then, see ya real soon

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[ArielSRL]

Fast and furious finish! Kona sounds good but we are going 'Ohana next trip. We are still on the character dining train! Love me some Mango Margarita (what can I say, I'm easy to please). Love the faves list. Bloody Mary looks good. We may have to try Hoop Dee Doo on an upcoming trip!

Looking forward to the next one!

 

[Candycane83]

I love your reviews (especially the drinks.. Makes me wish I drink more too and I mean that in a positive way) and am looking forward to the next report! Love Casey's pictures too! That last picture of her concentrating on her run is too precious! We're going in December for my two year old's first trip and am hoping he would eat as well as Casey!

Oh and am especially looking forward to reading about your appetizer crawl! We did that in Vegas and SF pre baby. Maybe in a few years we would be able to do it again

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Love your reviews--can't wait for the next one! And that pic of your hubby will never, ever stop being funny.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

One can never be too pretty for math! (Or else how would I do the job I do )

Looks like a good last day! Glad you got a pleasant server at Kona. I used to like Tonga Toast but it really is too much sweets too early in the morning for me at least now. When I was younger it was ok!

Your samosas do look good at Animal Kingdom! I almost got those last weekend but the stand was out of my friend's need for Hummus so we left and got alcohol instead.

 

[winnieatepooh]

This was such a great report! I loved every bit of it, and just adore your family. I'm really looking forward to your next report!

PS Because of you, I have made an ADR at LTT (in less than 2 weeks)! MUST try the ooey gooey cake!

 

[Neverland_Girl]

Spent the entire weekend reading all of your dining reports. Love you writing style! Have you ever done V&A? Would love to hear your foodie thoughts on that. Once I'm no longer a broke college students it's the first thing on my list. Can't wait for the next report!

 

[TeeterTots]

Another great report! Until you showed the race picks I forgot we were still on F&G and not Augusts trip! Lol

 

[ariane37]

Nice ending, now you can get on to the dining report where you met some really cool peeps
We did Kona breakfast a few years ago and Steve tried the Tonga toast after reading so many great reviews here and even hearing a friend rave about it. Not impressed. I had the pineapple mac pancakes which I thought were fine but if you haven't gotten this idea yet, if Steve doesn't like a place, we don't tend to go back lol. That's too bad Harambe was taking too long because I really think you guys would enjoy it! Actually when we ate there last month we were annoyed with their ordering system too; there was hardly anyone in front of us and it still took awhile because of how they do it
I totally forgot about the samosas there, I've been wanting to try them!

And OMG how was Amy Schumer? LOVE her.......

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Thanks for the read! You have given me so many ideas of things to try on future trips. Glad to have another report coming soon to follow along

 

[disneyAndi14]

Love your notes when you have had a few, so funny. I have to say Narcoosees dinner looks really good, maybe someday I will get there. I tried Tonga toast at Kona and liked it but probably one and done for me, we actually had a nice waiter there! I will be joinin in and reading your new report, thanks for all the great reviews!

 

[keahgirl8]

Coming out of lurk-dom to say the drunk Kari notes are cracking me up....loudly....at work...

Yeah...I'm glad I wasn't at work when I read it!

Breakfast of Champions

It was the best of times, It was the worst of times, It was the last day in Disney But bound and determined to make it the best day we could, we opted to kick it off with our favorite breakfast on property: Kona Cafe.

Kona was crazy as usual this day, but we had something occur that has never happened before. Our server (wait for it, wait for it) was pleasant. I wouldn't say nice per say, but she was actually efficient and didn't make us feel like we were impeding on her day like the usual hash slingers we've encountered here. So kudos to Maria, the mythical pleasant Kona server.

Now onto food!!!!! We of course started with a pot of their amazing Kona coffee.

But given our evening before, I elected to skip the bloody marry this time around

Without my usual spicy start to the day, I decided to really go out on a limb and skip my usual savory breakfast and finally try for the first time the Tonga Toast.

For those who have been living under a DISBoard dining rock, Tonga Toast is Banana-stuffed Sourdough French Toast rolled in Cinnamon Sugar and served with a Strawberry Compote.

Before I get vilified for my thoughts on it, I will say for someone who doesn't like sweets in the morning this was pretty good but not the OMG moment I was expected. The edges of mine were way overcooked (like had trouble chewing it overcooked). The inside was where all the wonderful banana gooeyiness was, but I was a bit disappointed that it the banana was just a thin layer in the middle. I think I'd prefer much more stuffing.

This wasn't bad by any means, but I'll definitely stick with the Samoan from here on out.

Jason had a big revelation on this trip and realized that while he always gets the Big Kahuna combo, its really the pancakes he love the most, so he just went that route.

These are the Macadamia Pineapple Pancakes with with Macadamia Nut Butter, Pineapple Sauce, and what appears to be some really dark sausage. He loved this as usual and even commented if it would be acceptable to just roll his body in the sweet and nutty butter

Casey got the kids french toast, which must have been good cause she cleaned her plate.


All in all, Kona remains our favorite breakfast on property. While I missed my bloody mary, the first decent service we've ever had there made up for it With our tables in wonderland card we saved $8.20

Up next, a few last snacks in the wild.....

​

I agree about the Tonga Toast. It wasn't inedible or anything, but it wasn't my favorite. It was very heavy, not enough filling, too much bread (which is a lot, coming from me...I LOVE BREAD) and the bananas were too green. I didn't finish it. The bird that stole some off my plate seemed to enjoy it though!

 

[cinderkelly]

But given our evening before, I elected to skip the bloody marry this time around

Wait what? Hair of the dog sister!

this was pretty good but not the OMG moment I was expected.

I'm afraid that's how I would feel about the Tonga Toast. I love it in theory but am afraid it would be to bready for me. I'm all about sauce and not fruity sauce, so any kind of "Benedict" is more my style

even commented if it would be acceptable to just roll his body in the sweet and nutty butter

I'm sure you wouldn't have an issue with that

but I stand by my past assessments that they totally need a bar in here (aka the night before and worn off and I was ready to roll again)!!!

And of course we had to have a few adult beverages to knock it all back with

Now that's our girl

Jason's parents with us and reintroducing them to the world we love so much. I'm not entirely sure they "get it", but they were troopers and have even mentioned going back again.

So cool that they went and had a good time. I'd love to show my parents that same world we all know and love but it's never gonna happen, they just aren't Disney people

Jason and Casey loved the RunDisney races and both want to do them again soon.

Best race photos ever


Another super awesome food and drink report Kari! Can't wait for the next round!

 

[KnK]

Love your whole report.....looking forward to your next one. I'm starting to work on mine but know it will pale in comparison.

 

[tinabina919]

Another great report, can't wait for the next one!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Great wrap up! I swear the pic of Casey running is just one of my all time DIS faves- she's just too cute for words. I am really not a breakfast eater but maybe I should give Kona a try - not the Tonga though, I too am not so much a sweets person. Those samosas in AK look amazing - putting on the must try list!

Can't wait for your next report. I'm so excited it will be right around the corner!!M

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Awesome wrap up! Thinking you may have still been tipsy from the night before if you actually reported happy service at Kona! LOL That is something I would love to see whenever we visit there again!

Looking forward to the next one!