A Disney Dining Diva's Summer Surprise Dining Report -COSMIC RAY'S *COMPLETE* PAGE 8!

[iloveeeyore]

Delicious food posts between today's small lunch and dinner still 3 hours away... You got me wishing for that delish PB&J shake! Mmmmmmm!

BTW, I noticed ya got a nice new ticker there. Nothing better than a "Disney Super Mom" with a ticker!

Thank you for the ticker, Aladdin! Isn't it the most beautiful one yet? EVERYTHING is better with a ticker! And no shakes for us...until August!

 

[iloveeeyore]

Hi, friends. I sure hope you're all still with me! So sorry it has been too long since my last review, but, in case you didn't notice...I HAVE A NEW TICKER!!! So I have been very busy here on The DIS planning our next adventure...and firming up our DELUXE DINING PLAN line-up for early August, which I can't wait to share with y'all! I can start making ADRs in only 15 days, so I just finished ironing out our "wish list" with Aladdin, Belle and Herc. Phew, we all agree for the most part, with only minor arm-twisting on a few meals necessary. I will reveal the line-up when I finally finish this report!

So our next day was AK day, and where else would we grab a CS lunch with free dining plan credits besides Flame Tree BBQ? I regret to say that we have no photos of this lunch, nor of the gorgeous view of EE from our table, but I can tell you we enjoyed this lunch in the shady pavilion on the water immensely! The boys got ribs, and Belle and I ordered the chicken and ribs combo, and we all had the key lime mousse (or cheesecake) for dessert, because it was something different than what we had seen at other places. The meals were served with beans and coleslaw, too. Everything was yummy and extremely filling, and the setting was perfect. I highly recommend this CS restaurant for anyone spending the day in AK.

Next up...dinner at Raglan Road!

 

[CanadianPaco]

Your reviews are wonderful!!!!! Thanks for sharing

 

[irishsharon]

Loving your reviews, would HDDR be good for a 6 & 9 year old? Of topic...did you like CSR? Thanks and congrats on planning another fun trip!

 

[iloveeeyore]

Your reviews are wonderful!!!!! Thanks for sharing

Thank you so much for the compliment! I am thrilled that you are reading! Stay tuned for more...and for my lineup for my NEXT trip!

Loving your reviews, would HDDR be good for a 6 & 9 year old? Of topic...did you like CSR? Thanks and congrats on planning another fun trip!

I went to HDDR for the first time at age 5 and LOVED it! Went again at ages 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 34, 37, 39, 43 and 44. Loved it more each time! I brought my kids when they were 5 and 7 for the first time and they have begged to go back each trip. My younger kid (DS, now 15), says that his most vivid memories from our first trip are of HDDR. So I would say YES, BRING YOUR KIDS!

We did like CSR. We didn't LOVE it, but it was a great value for the money, considering how much we saved by NOT going to a deluxe. I really recommend requesting a water view, because the side of the resort that is standard view faces the parking lots and sometimes other rooms and it feels very "motel-like" on the "outside" of the resort. Water views face inside, which is much more picturesque and feels more upscale. We also thought that the Casitas section was the prettiest and had the most upscale feel. If we stay at CSR again, I will pay for the water view and request Casitas. The pool was fantastic and beautiful, and the Pepper Market has some great and different options. Bus service was phenomenal, the best we have had on property!

 

[iloveeeyore]

On our AK day, we like to go to DTD for a late-ish dinner. We chose Raglan Road this time because of the mostly excellent reviews we have read here on TheDIS. We didn't care for it too much last time (many years ago) and decided it was time to give it another shot.

Our table was right next to the small dance stage in the middle of the big room, Perfect! We had a great view of the small band (actually I think it was 2 guys) and the dancers, which we loved! As it was a Saturday night, the place was hoppin' with a pretty rowdy bar crowd and the diners seemed to all be in a good meed.

I cannot find my bill for this dinner so I can't remember our server's name, but he was very good, and gave us good suggestions ETA: Herc seems to remember his name was Mike.. I started off with a sangria (recommended by our waiter) and it was good, but not your typical sangria, maybe a little more juicy than usual:

Aladdin opted for the beer flight, which he enjoyed a lot:

For an appetizer, we chose the scallop forest to share amongst the four of us:

These were absolutely delicious! They tasted very fresh and were prepared perfectly. They didn't need the dipping sauce, but it was very good, too.

For his entree, Aladdin chose the steak (with basil oil):

The meat was very good and perfectly cooked, but I'm sorry, I just don't think that basil goes very well with steak. I love a good steak and I love me some basil...just not together. I am a big chimichuri fan, too, but it calls for parsley and/or cilantro, not basil. JMO. Aladdin didn't love the combo either. No big deal, he'd order steak here again, but would just ask them to leave this off next time.

Belle went with the same thing she had last time and loved, the Shepherd's Pie:

She loved this again! This was a truly tasty dish, and I think it was the winning entree of the night! It was simple yet with a little bit of a spin, nothing bland about it. We all loved it!

Hercules was in the mood for a burger, so he decided to go for one, medium rare, with Dublin cheddar:

It was served with big steak fries ("chips") and was cooked perfectly. ETA: He wanted me to add that the burger had some kind of sweet chutney on it. He can't remember what kind it was exactly, but he said the sweetness of the chutney perfectly complemented the sharpness of the cheddar, and this was the only burger he has ever had that did not "need" mayo. This was one of his favorite meals of the trip. The goodness and simplicity of the food, combined with the really fun atmosphere, has him begging to return to RR.

I chose the (GRRRR, why oh why, did I choose this?!) It's Not Bleedin' Chowder:

Bottom line is, I do not like this dish! It gets a lot of rave reviews, so I thought maybe I just hit it on an "off" night last time. I also asked the waiter and shared my trepidation, and even he recommended it. Well...no. This is just yucky to me. Fishy and watery and raw garlic-y. I will return to this restaurant for the atmosphere and because the rest of my family insists, but I promise you, I'm done trying to get along with this dish! It will be either scallops as an entree or maybe the shepherd's pie. And I'm open to other suggestions, if you care to offer any, friendly DISers!

For dessert, of course Aladdin and I each had Ger's Bread and Butter Pudding:

This is really delicious. I didn't enjoy it as much this time as I did last time...I think it was just a little over cooked this time, but still yummy! Aladdin loved it.

Hercules had this, I think it's the Trifle?

He didn't really care for it too much.

Belle had this, and I have no idea what it is. Anyone, please feel free to jump in for others. I think it looks like merengue in a sea of fruit syrup?

Jury is back with the verdict, we will return to RR on our AK night this summer! There will be no chowder at our table!

 

[raniroo]

I have been tossing up whether to add Raglan Road to my wish list as I didn't do it last trip...but I have decided to do it.....I am enjoying reading your report!

 

[iloveeeyore]

I have been tossing up whether to add Raglan Road to my wish list as I didn't do it last trip...but I have decided to do it.....I am enjoying reading your report!

Hi, Roo! I'm so glad you are following my DR! I'm glad you're enjoying it, as I'm loving yours as well. I would say definitely give RR a try. Check the entertainment schedule first to make sure you catch the dancers. I really think that the fun entertainment elevates this place from ordinary to very good. And I'm looking forward to enjoying those scallops again in August!

 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

Really enjoying the report! Great pictures!

 

[iloveeeyore]

Really enjoying the report! Great pictures!

Thank you so much for reading along! I'm glad you're here. More coming right up!

 

[GoBirds]

Raglan Road looks great! Thanks for the reviews! Since we don't get over to Downtown Disney a lot, we have yet to eat there, but it is shooting up our "gotta try at some point" list!

 

[iloveeeyore]

Raglan Road looks great! Thanks for the reviews! Since we don't get over to Downtown Disney a lot, we have yet to eat there, but it is shooting up our "gotta try at some point" list!

Thanks for reading!

I know what you mean about not getting to DTD very often. I could really skip it! I find the transportation pretty horrendous usually and I feel it's just not worth the time, with all the other spectacular things there are to do at WDW. But my family has now fallen in love with RR, so back we will go again! Yeah, I guess it is in the category of "gotta try at some point!" I would recommend at least that.

 

[iloveeeyore]

Pecos Bill's has been a family tradition every trip, and we have usually loved it, though our meal in summer of 2010 was a bit disappointing (dry burgers). It wasn't really any better this time. In fact, we arrived shortly after the place opened and were one of the first few parties in line, but we waited about 20 minutes for our food. When we went over to the fixin's bar, there were no mushrooms (I gotta have the mushrooms), and when I asked for mushrooms, I was told they would be right out. I waited for five more minutes, and still no sign of mushrooms, so I gave up. By the time I sast down to eat my burger, it was dry and luke-warm.

Our bill seems to have gotten drenched at some point, so it's difficult to read. I know we ordered at least one Deluxe Burger and one Angus Burger (I think we got two of each). I think the Angus Burger is the one with the onion rings and the bacon (pictured here).

We all had soft drinks and again, typical carrot cake and chocolate cake, but there's no way we finished them.

We won't be rushing back to Pecos Bill's any time soon. We have found Cosmic Ray's burgers (review upcoming) to be superior on each of our last two trips, and now that we have experienced problems with the fixin's bar at Pecos, we are officially disillusioned. (Plus Ray's now has that spectacular mango sorbet!)

Up next, dinner at The Wave!

 

[iloveeeyore]

For dinner on our MK night we decided to give The Wave a try. This was our first experience at this restaurant and we enjoyed most of the food in the moment, but it wasn't particularly memorable and there was nothing particularly special or inviting about the atmosphere (the no windows thing kind of bothers me), so I doubt we will rush back any time soon. Our server told us that the menu would be changing the following week, so I'm not too sure how useful this review will be to you, but I will do my best anyway.

Our server was Joahn and she was lovely and very personable. She knew the stuff she was serving. I was going to order a particular cocktail, but she talked me out of it, said it would be very sweet (can't remember now), which isn't really what I was looking for before dinner, so instead I ordered the Agave Nectar Margarita:

This was very refreshing and also pretty strong. It wasn't too sweet and IMO tasted exactly as a margarita should. I had had one at Boma last summer, but this one tasted slightly better to me.

The bread they served was hearty and very good:

For an appetizer, we ordered an Avocado House Salad because we had read wonderful things about it and we knew it was locally grown:

I'm sorry this photo is so overexposed. I took another without the flash, but it's way too dark. The salad was OK, nothing particularly special about it. The dressing was a little bit blah, not as much flavor as I expected.

For my entree, I chose the Flat Iron Steak:

This was scrumptious! It was tender, cooked perfectly, and the chimichurri type sauce on in was so good! I really enjoyed this entree.

Aladdin and Herc both chose the Filet Mignon:

There was nothing especially great about this, and Herc was particularly disappointed. It wasn't bad, just not much flavor. The veggies were kind of bland. I think everything was cooked right. I shared my steak with him after giving Aladdin a few bites, and I took some of his. The Flat Iron was way better, but I didn't mind sharing with my kiddo!

Belle ordered the Pork Tenderloin:

This was very delicious also, and Belle enjoyed it. The pork looks a little dry in this photo, but I think that it wasn't or we wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as we did. That thing on the right side of the plate is some kind of yummy spoon bread or stuffing sort of thing, maybe corn bread with cheese and herbs mixed inside? It was Belle's favorite component of the dish. Too bad we had two Filets and not two of these or the flat iron!

The desserts were good. I think there were 3 choices; each came with 3 tiny dishes of something sweet. We ordered one of each, plus an extra of 1, since there were 4 of us.

We opted for 2 Ice Cream Flights:

Now that I am looking at the picture, it's coming back to me that these were really really good! I think there was a buttered popcorn, a peanut butter and jelly and a rocky road. I think we all enjoyed all of these (I don't even like chocolate ice cream, but this was delicious), so I'm glad we ordered 2 of these.

We also ordered a Creamy Indulgence and an American Flavors. I think this is the Creamy Indulgence:

Maybe it's chocolate mousse, creme brule and pana cotta?
I think this is the American Flavors:

Maybe Boston cream pie, a blondie or pecan pie and cheesecake? Surprisingly, we all liked the ice cream the best... I say "surprisingly" because ice cream isn't really something that any of us would choose to order at a restaurant. I'm thinking we had some useful input from the fabulous Joahn on this.

I'm sorry I can't remember exactly what everything was, but I'm learning my lesson that I have to take better notes at our meals next time. I vow to have fewer "I can't remember"s on my next DR.

BTW, did I mention that I have finished making all our ADRs for our next trip??!! These will be revealed soon, and I can't wait to share!

Coming up soon, another yummy day at Epcot!

 

[Linda67]

I'm with you on the 'no windows' thing
I popped into the bar at The Wave to pick up a drink once but I didn't feel that the atmosphere was very warm so we've never eaten there

 

[raniroo]

I have put The Wave down as a restaurant on my ADR planning sheet, but still tossing up whether I should go or not...decisions are hard when it comes to Disney restaurants!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Thanks for the reviews! I'm anxious to try the Wave someday. Looking forward to hearing about EPCOT.

 

[iloveeeyore]

I'm with you on the 'no windows' thing
I popped into the bar at The Wave to pick up a drink once but I didn't feel that the atmosphere was very warm so we've never eaten there

Hi, Linda! Thanks for sticking with me. Yeah, I don't really know what to say about that atmosphere. It's too bad it's like that! Even if this place were NOT in Disney, despite the interesting spin on the food, I probably wouldn't go back. I hear they have some really nice sustainable fish dishes which I imagine you would really enjoy...but so do lots of other restaurants WITH windows.

I have put The Wave down as a restaurant on my ADR planning sheet, but still tossing up whether I should go or not...decisions are hard when it comes to Disney restaurants!

I agree, it's so hard to choose Disney restaurants! For us, it gets even harder as we try more places, because we have so many to which we know we want to return, yet so many still to try! Complicating that matter, the 4 of us don't always agree what's worthy of another visit or not (so meal planning is starting to turn into some lively...er...discussions...in our house)! Thankfully, this is one on which we agree. We're really glad we gave The Wave a try, and don't need to return. I would recommend sampling it for yourself to see what you think. The preparations are very innovative, for the most part, and most of what we ordered was very tasty! Of course, I'll read your review when you return!

Thanks for the reviews! I'm anxious to try the Wave someday. Looking forward to hearing about EPCOT.

Thank you so much for reading, and I appreciate your saying "hi!" I'll be watching your reviews, awaiting one on The Wave. I'd love to read what you think. EPCOT coming up really soon.

 

[GoBirds]

DW really wants to try the Wave, but I've always thought that it just looked kinda "average." Nothing to go out of your way for. Am I correct in thinking that? Or should we give it a try? Thanks for all the great pictures and reviews!

 

[iloveeeyore]

DW really wants to try the Wave, but I've always thought that it just looked kinda "average." Nothing to go out of your way for. Am I correct in thinking that? Or should we give it a try? Thanks for all the great pictures and reviews!

I agree with you that The Wave is nothing to go out of your way for. It's like a restaurant you could find almost anywhere, not anything especially "Disney" about it. Some of the food was downright delicious...but so is the food in other Disney establishments, and those have windows with great views, or intriguing scenery, or entertainment of some kind. I personally wouldn't spend the time/money/credit of a meal in WDW on The Wave again, unless it were a really long trip OR I were staying at the CR and wanted to immerse myself in all it has to offer. There are too many other great restaurants in WDW, even on the monorail, to allure my family over The Wave.

A fews notes about that, though, to give you some perspective about my family so you can take our opinion for what it's worth. My family really rates a restaurant based on overall experience, not just food. Believe it or not, we would rather go back to Chef Mickey's (for a first-night celebration) than The Wave, even though we unanimously agree that the FOOD is way better at The Wave. Also, I can give my family's opinion on this because we have tried it! Your mileage may vary! If DW is REALLY into trying it, maybe you could go for her, and in exchange, ask her to go to one that intrigues you that she has little interest in? (Not during your F&W trip, though! Save it for a time when all of those yummy dining opportunities in WS aren't present!)

Thanks for following my report, I'm glad you're enjoying the pics. It helps motivate me to finish this one and start to get ready for my NEXT one!

And thanks for your sportsmanship! I noticed you congratulated Giants' fans in your DR (I am one of the biggest). I always root for the NFC East team in the playoffs. I hope your birds have a great season next year (but not as great as the Giants' )!