A Bash, a Benson, and a Banshee: A DIS 20th Event Solo Trip ** new Aug 2nd, 2017 - Complete! **

[rteetz]

Well I missed an update somehow. Great gifts for your kids!

My mom is a huge Dooney person. She has like 6 now... the small world one is really colorful. My mom wasn't huge on that one but is looking for a new one again.

That sucks you missed out on Polite Pig. I wanted to try it too but I had other meal plans. Can't wait to hear about Homecomin!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Love the report! It's great getting to relive everything we did through your report! Looking forward to hearing what you thought of lunch even though I was at your table.

Thanks Zach! And I am sure there will not be a lot of surprises to you with my review of Homecomin' .... or will there?!?!?!?

Well I missed an update somehow. Great gifts for your kids!

My mom is a huge Dooney person. She has like 6 now... the small world one is really colorful. My mom wasn't huge on that one but is looking for a new one again.

That sucks you missed out on Polite Pig. I wanted to try it too but I had other meal plans. Can't wait to hear about Homecomin!

Judi wasn't really into Doony's but she enjoys a nice purse and she does find them practical as she uses them every day and gets compliments on them so she is pretty happy with the few she has

Homecomin' is coming up next! (was hoping to get to it this weekend but life got in the way)

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Thanks Zach! And I am sure there will not be a lot of surprises to you with my review of Homecomin' .... or will there?!?!?!?

The suspense is killing me lol.

 

[afwdwfan]

You can never go wrong with princess dresses for the girls and legos for the boys. Always a win.

Sorry Polite Pig didn't work out for you, but I'd have been too tempted to want to try more of the menu than that so it wouldn't even work before a planned lunch elsewhere!

 

[missangelalexis]

Looks like you did good with the souvenirs for everyone back at home! That's a beautiful bag you got Judi!

Mixed drinks on tap? That's so interesting!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

You can never go wrong with princess dresses for the girls and legos for the boys. Always a win.

Sorry Polite Pig didn't work out for you, but I'd have been too tempted to want to try more of the menu than that so it wouldn't even work before a planned lunch elsewhere!

Well, at first Olivia was trying to convince Peter that he wanted the Anna dress for his souvenir (since she wanted both and he is easily manipulated) but I think it worked out for the best in the end

Yeah, I definitely would like to do a full meal at Polite Pig but knew that wasn't going to happen - worked out ok in the end and definitely some place to hit up in the future

Looks like you did good with the souvenirs for everyone back at home! That's a beautiful bag you got Judi!

Mixed drinks on tap? That's so interesting!!

Thanks Alexis, I think everyone was happy and Judi is liking her bag, so that is good!

I think I just have in my head bad drink mix stuff but I am sure this is good stuff, guess I will just have to get one at one point .... for research purposes of course

 

[afwdwfan]

Well, at first Olivia was trying to convince Peter that he wanted the Anna dress for his souvenir (since she wanted both and he is easily manipulated) but I think it worked out for the best in the end

Well played, Olivia. Well played.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 18: Homecomin'
Thursday June 1st 12:30am - 2:15pm​

We had left off with me leaving the line at Polite Pig to get to Art Smith's Homecomin' (and for any of you that regularly listen to the DIS Unplugged Podcast, I can now only think of the name of this restaurant being said by Kevin in the overly exaggerated way he did it after they changed the name - from "Homecoming" to "Homecomin'")

This was one of the first "un"official events that got planned. I wound up booking the first table which was for 8 people and then another table got booked for 6 people, and then a third one after that as well. So I did want to be there a bit early and ensure I got us checked in on time, etc. I did get a picture quick of the actual "springs" of Disney Springs - and I must say they did a really nice job with this area - it really does look nice

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But then I arrived at Homecomin' - which would be another new restaurant for me this trip. After the very positive review the Podcast team has given (based on multiple visits at this point) I knew it was a place I wanted at least try out. Flatties Heidi and PJ were excited to try this place out as well

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I wasn't as organized as @AMusicLifeForMe was as far as having the attendee list printed out to track - but I did have a screen shot from the thread where I had, at least the user names, of everyone at my table

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When I got there, a few people from the various tables where there and before too long everyone was there. One of the other tables actually had their ADRs just before mine (they were 12:45 and I had 12:50) so they got seated while we waited a few minutes. They have both indoor and outdoor seating and they informed us they had a table that was outside. We were a little worried bout the heat but they assured us it was cool on their patio as there were fans running and they had a machine to take the humidity away. So we figured it was better than waiting longer so we took it. It wasn't bad at all out on their patio - but was still ab it warm.

At least they had fun coasters I could amuse myself with:

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And we did get a group pictures - that's @AMusicLifeForMe (Zach) and his dad in the front, @GAN to their left, @Ravens girl next to him, me in the back, and then @PrncessA next to Zach's dad and then her friends

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The Flatties were perusing the menu

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They had an extensive drink list and people ordered a variety of stuff. I decided to be a little different and got a flight of moonshine - though wasn't really sure which ones to pick.

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I wound up sending a tweet to Ryno to ask what ones he liked as I recall he had tried some when they ate here - he didn't get back to me in time but @WebmasterJackie saw it and wrote back that she thinks it was the apple pie one he liked. That was one (the Ole Smokey Apple Pie) I was thinking of anyway so that meant it was one I would get. I wanted to try some of the fruit flavored ones, so picked the HFK Watermelon Shine. I asked our server for suggestions for the third and he suggested the Tim Smith's Climax (clearly people who name moonshines for a living enjoy their job). The flight also comes with a spicy pickle chaser (which had a definite kick to it ... since, I guess, you need something with a kick as a chaser to moonshine) of and some candied pecans. It is served with a nice presentation and overall I really enjoyed trying this - though I definitely found I prefer moonshine with flavors added ... the apple pie one specifically was really good!

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I then had to decide on what food to get. I did have some help for this part - though I am not sure who is the Angel and who is the Devil

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I knew I wanted something with Fried Chicken in it - but was afraid the entree options would be too much food as I heard the portions were large here. So I wound up getting from the appetizer menu the Thigh High Chicken Biscuits (Three biscuits topped with Chef Art's famous fried chicken thighs and bread and butter pickles. Drizzled with hot honey) and a side of Momma's Mac and Cheese as that was one other thing I heard was really good

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So the verdict? It was pretty darn good! And the portions were huge (I only ate 2 of the 3 biscuits - I brought the last back to my room but wound up not having time to eat it later). I will say, if I had to do it again I might have gotten one of the chicken entrees instead just so I could try the chicken without the other ingredients. Don't get me wrong, the chicken biscuits were really good - but the honey and stuff was very noticeable, etc., so hard for me to evaluate the chicken on it's own. The mac and cheese was excellent. I think everyone was really happy with their food so definitely a place I can recommend.

One thing to mention is the service - as we had a bit of an odd experience on that front. Our server was very friendly and seemed quite helpful - at the beginning. Towards the end he was around less often and then we had some issues with the check in that it took forever for them to get them processed and then there was a mix up where they ran one check through on the wrong card and had to re-run things which then took more time, etc. I literally took close to 1/2 hour to get all the checks properly processed and during that time our server wasn't really around to give us updates or anything. So it was hard to really judge as we had good service for about 60% of our meal and then it fell off a cliff. I don't recall hearing any service issues from any other reviews so I am thinking this was a one off and for some reason they were having issues running the bills. Not something that would keep me from coming back, but something worth noting as to our overall experience.

We were all full so no one got dessert and I couldn't linger too much as I had to go and purchase Judi's bag and then make it over to the Boardwalk as a bit before lunch the bidding on the DIS 20th auction to raise money for Give Kids the World ended and I wound up winning a few things so I needed to get to the Boardwalk before 3pm to pick up my items. I wound up getting a picture of Walt with Lillian and then also a few art prints on canvas of concept art from Hong Kong Disneyland. I like concept art and also as Hong Kong Disneyland is the only international Disney park I have been to I thought it would be neat to have those so I was glad I won them (and I was glad I was able to get everything for not too-crazy of prices). We wound up hanging up the Hong Kong Disneyland art last night (at least in a temporary spot) - I think it looks pretty good!

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I wound up getting there a bit after 3 but there were still people there so I was able to get my items. I also ran into Gabi there and she offered me a ride back to Pop which was super nice of her!

But I was only able to rest there for a bit as I had my next meet to get to ... and what turned out to be the most stressful and tiring part of my trip ... but that is for another update

TTFN

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

So the verdict? It was pretty darn good! And the portions were huge (I only ate 2 of the 3 biscuits - I brought the last back to my room but wound up not having time to eat it later). I will say, if I had to do it again I might have gotten one of the chicken entrees instead just so I could try the chicken without the other ingredients. Don't get me wrong, the chicken biscuits were really good - but the honey and stuff was very noticeable, etc., so hard for me to evaluate the chicken on it's own. The mac and cheese was excellent. I think everyone was really happy with their food so definitely a place I can recommend.

I agree the food was really good, but it was a lot of food. I ended up eating the rest of my meal for dinner.

The only problem we had was when we got our checks, and then it took them forever to bring the revised check back to us. I don't know if I liked the service that much, and I'm not just talking about the checks issue. I'll be happy to give it another try though.

Also, I only had the names printed out, because that would have been easier for me lol.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I agree the food was really good, but it was a lot of food. I ended up eating the rest of my meal for dinner.

The only problem we had was when we got our checks, and then it took them forever to bring the revised check back to us. I don't know if I liked the service that much, and I'm not just talking about the checks issue. I'll be happy to give it another try though.

Also, I only had the names printed out, because that would have been easier for me lol.

yeah, I probably should have mentioned about the checks and the service in general. It was odd in that I thought the service was quite good - for about 60% of the meal and then fell off the cliff. I don't recall hearing service being an issue for others and the DIS Podcast team is usually pretty up front about mentioning bad service in their reviews, so I am thinking this was a onetime thing

edit: I went back and added a paragraph about the service

 

[PrncessA]

I love the Small World Dooney! I really considered getting that print before going with the new sketch design.

Yay! time for my appearance in an epic TheMaxRebo trip report!

I wasn't as organized as @AMusicLifeForMe was as far as having the attendee list printed out to track - but I did have a screen shot from the thread where I had, at least the user names, of everyone at my table

Don't worry I was HORRIBLE at organizing the Star Wars Dessert Party meetup and didn't even see everyone!

It wasn't bad at all out on their patio - but was still ab it warm.

But what a beautiful view!

And we did get a group pictures - that's @AMusicLifeForMe (Zach) and his dad in the front, @GAN to their left, @Ravens girl next to him, me in the back, and then @PrncessA next to Zach's dad and then her friends

This was such a great group to lunch with!

And the portions were huge

Gigantic! I didn't come close to halfway finishing my meal!

The mac and cheese was excellent. I think everyone was really happy with their food so definitely a place I can recommend.

The mac and cheese was the star of my meal. I do wish I had went with my first instinct though and just ordered a couple of appetizers.

 

[ashleymrush]

I did get a picture quick of the actual "springs" of Disney Springs - and I must say they did a really nice job with this area - it really does look nice

I think this part is beautiful too! My boys thought it was a pool and got all excited and ran up to it asking if we brought their suits. I then had to disappoint them and tell them it wasn't for swimming in.

At least they had fun coasters I could amuse myself with

This picture was great! And you said you couldn't take a good selfie!

So the verdict? It was pretty darn good!

I'm so jealous that you were able to eat here. It looks so good. I avoided it for the same reason that I avoided the Polite Pig. I live in the south and thought it would just be another southern meal. It's gotten such good reviews though that I regret that decision, especially after where we did end up eating. It's a shame you were too full for dessert but who knows how long it would've taken you to get out of the restaurant then!

 

[missangelalexis]

Glad you had a nice meal! Though sorry to hear the service ended up getting a little sloppy!

Sounds like some nice auctions you won!

 

[SorcererHeidi]

The "real" Heidi would be VERY excited to eat at Homecon' too, and she also can only hear Kevin's voice saying it "just that way". LOL And when it comes to food - NEVER an angel, ALwAYS a devil, much to my detriment!

Thanx for another great update, and can't wait to try this place for myself someday, as it's DEFINITELY on my "must try" list!!!

 

[samsteele]

I enjoyed Homecomin' last Fall. I had the chicken with donuts. Subbed out the included mashed potatos for mac n cheese. Pecan Pie for dessert. It was very good. The fried chicken was great although, and this isn't a dig at all, the Florida Publix fried chicken is just as good. So a hint if you are in the Orlando area & can get to a Publix, you can great take out fried chicken from their deli section. the donuts weren't anything special but were fresh. I loved Homecomin's mac & cheese. Just yum. The pecan pie was incredible. Pecans are wildly $ in Canada so an absolute treat. My service was decent. Making a hard choice between Homecomin' and Raglan Road this Fall. The food at both is great. RR has the advantage of live bands & dancing. Tough call.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

I cannot wait to try Homecomin' on my upcoming trip in November. I love southern comfort food and fried chicken. I don't get it much at home because I'm trying to be healthy-ish.

I hate that they struggled so much with the bills, though! That would be so frustrating. The worst thing to me is feeling like I've been held hostage at a restaurant after I've already finished eating because they don't bring the check/take forever to process your payment/etc.

 

[annie170]

Wow! Your lunch looks downright drool worthy!

I hate when it takes forever to get a check settled. I've had that happen many times when doing separate checks. That's so annoying, especially when you want to get somewhere.

 

[TinkerTerry]

Phil...I had the same meal as you. And I didn't come close to finishing mine either. It was excellent tho. We could have split it if we were sitting at the same table. The mac and cheese side was way too much. It's a good spot and will go there again.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

I enjoyed Homecomin' last Fall. I had the chicken with donuts. Subbed out the included mashed potatos for mac n cheese. Pecan Pie for dessert. It was very good. The fried chicken was great although, and this isn't a dig at all, the Florida Publix fried chicken is just as good. So a hint if you are in the Orlando area & can get to a Publix, you can great take out fried chicken from their deli section. the donuts weren't anything special but were fresh. I loved Homecomin's mac & cheese. Just yum. The pecan pie was incredible. Pecans are wildly $ in Canada so an absolute treat. My service was decent. Making a hard choice between Homecomin' and Raglan Road this Fall. The food at both is great. RR has the advantage of live bands & dancing. Tough call.

I was totally thinking I NEED to try the pecan pie there too, @samsteele !!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I love the Small World Dooney! I really considered getting that print before going with the new sketch design.

Yay! time for my appearance in an epic TheMaxRebo trip report!

Don't worry I was HORRIBLE at organizing the Star Wars Dessert Party meetup and didn't even see everyone!

But what a beautiful view!

This was such a great group to lunch with!

Gigantic! I didn't come close to halfway finishing my meal!

The mac and cheese was the star of my meal. I do wish I had went with my first instinct though and just ordered a couple of appetizers.

The new sketch bag was one of the other options I sent her - I think she gets worried that ones with a white/light background would get dirty quicker - one reason she was happy with the one I picked.

Well, I think we all got good experience for planning events for the 21st party or whatever will be next year

Yeah, I had a lot of fun at lunch - and while it was a bit of a bummer we couldn't all fit at one table in some ways it was nicer being with a somewhat smaller group so we could all chat and stuff collectively

Wish they had like a tasting menu or something there ... or maybe if more of hadn't practically just met we could have tried to share a few things or something. Agree about the mac and cheese!

I think this part is beautiful too! My boys thought it was a pool and got all excited and ran up to it asking if we brought their suits. I then had to disappoint them and tell them it wasn't for swimming in.

This picture was great! And you said you couldn't take a good selfie!

I'm so jealous that you were able to eat here. It looks so good. I avoided it for the same reason that I avoided the Polite Pig. I live in the south and thought it would just be another southern meal. It's gotten such good reviews though that I regret that decision, especially after where we did end up eating. It's a shame you were too full for dessert but who knows how long it would've taken you to get out of the restaurant then!

I am sure they are not the first people to think they could swim in the springs - they are very inviting .... especially on a hot day!

ah - so the one good selfie I take has half my face blocked

yeah, in the end we were all very glad we didn't do dessert. I am definitely glad I ate there and it does seem to get reviews as good southern food (not like barbq or soul food or anything like that, but good, legit southern food)

Glad you had a nice meal! Though sorry to hear the service ended up getting a little sloppy!

Sounds like some nice auctions you won!

yeah, it was just frustrating because the meal had been going so well but it was just taking like a ridiculously long amount of time and then they got the cards mixed up, etc.

I was pretty happy with what I got at the auction and I am a sucker when that is combined with money going to a good cause