A Mom and Daughter Deluxe Dining at Resort Only Review! Updated 7/11

[NoraG]

Hello Everyone,

I've never done a dining review, so I'll hope you cut me some slack here. My Mom and I took a last minute trip to WDW (we live in Orlando) and stayed at GF for 2 nights with the DxDDP. This was a relaxing Spring Break trip (it was the last semester of my Master's program), so no parks for us. Instead, we enjoyed all the resort dining we don't get a chance to do when we visit the parks.

Here's where we ate:
Day 1:
Lunch-Turf Club at SSR
Dinner-Jiko at AKL

Day 2:
Breakfast: Kona Cafe at the Poly
Snack: Roaring Forks at WL
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Flying Fish Cafe

Day 3:
Breakfast in room: leftovers
Lunch: Kona at the Poly
Snack: Garden View tea room at GF
Dinner: Sanaa

 

[NoraG]

We scoured menus for about 2 weeks before our trip (when we booked) to make our selections. We originally planned for 3 nights, but it was due to rain our last night and we knew we wouldn't really be able to enjoy the resort, so we shortened our stay to 2 nights. We had a 40% AP discount, but the trip was still pricey.

I didn't take a whole lot of pictures, but I will post the ones I have when I get on my laptop and learn how. I'm slightly technologically challenged

So, on to lunch. We checked into GF about 10:30 or 11 AM. A CM drove us and our luggage to our room. I don't remember the names of the sections but it was the building to the right of the main building as you face the pool. We payed for a standard view, but we had a terrific pool view from our room. We could watch both the humans and ducks swim in it each day. We set our stuff down-we didn't have much- and drove to the Turf Club at SSR. Now, one thing to keep in mind about GF is that we had to park in self-parking, walk back to the main building (though we dropped off our luggage with bell services), check in, and walk back to our car to leave. It was quite a walk. We knew this ahead of time and found that sometimes we enjoyed the walk and occassionally it seemed like a hassle. I wouldn't want to do it for a long trip, but if you were not going from resort to resort, WDW transportation would have been fine.

Okay, so now I'll really talk about our lunch. We had a little trouble finding SSR, so we drove past it twice before actually arriving, but we made it and it is beautiful. If it weren't so secluded and far from the parks I'd love to stay there, but it doesn't seem too practical for a parks-only trip. Anyway, the restaurant was pretty empty and we sat on the patio. My Mom and I each ordered a milkshake as our drink plus water. I got strawberry and she got chocolate. The were good, but a bit icey. I ordered the cheese stuffed mushroom caps for my app and Mom got the crab cakes. These were both very good. I was saving my crabcake app for FF. I loved the mushrooms. They were an excellent light choice. I highly recommend getting these when dining deluxe as they allow you more "room" for your other dishes.

For our entrees, Mom got the Tuna, which comes with these delicious sesame bagel chips. We both have TMJ and we worried we wouldn't be able to eat them, but they weren't too crunchy and were very yummy. The tuna also had a wasabi sauce and avocado. It was one of my Mom's favorite dishes on the trip. I ordered the chicken sandwich. The chicken was breaded and covered with argula between tow pieces of bread with a wonderful cheese spread and balsamic sauce. It was very good and could have fed two. I saved half of it for later. For dessert Mom made the better choice: she had the apple crumb tart/pie thingie a la mode. It was amazing. I managed to get only one bite. I had the chocolate dessert, which was very rich and almost like a soft fudge. I took most of it with me. I did eat all of the yummy ice cream that comes in a cappacino cup. It seemed to have a liquor flavor that was amazing!

This meal was definitely a winner! If you're looking for a beatiful resort to explore with a reasonably priced menu, I'd recommend the Turf Club, but only if you have a car.

 

[NoraG]

Unfortunately, this was one of the most disappointing meals of our trip. We were so looking forward to it, but it just wasn't right. We were seating pretty promptly at a table by the window right next to wheree the waiters print checks, but glasses and plates, get silverware, and congregate. This was a bad location and I wish we had switched. My chair was bumped several times and I could hear the waiters complaining to one another.

Our waiter whose name I cannot remember started off friendly, but quickly got too chatty. He talked about how much money his son's education was costing him and seemed to be fishing for a very lage tip. He must have talked for ten minutes. Too long in our opinion. He was difficult to understand, so we nodded a lot, but didn't ask questions, yet he kept going and going and going.

We looked at the menu and decided we were going to split this meal. We were much more excited about the apps than entrees, so if I ever gave this place another shot, I'd like to order a meal of apps. However, this time we go the Bobotie roll. This was amazing. It was the perfect amount of spice and was kind of like an African egg roll (so it was fried, for anyone trying to avoid fried foods) with beef. I would not recommend it for anyone who doesn't like spicy foods, but we found it to be delicious-the only high point of the meal. For our entree we ordered the beef short ribs with potatoes. They did not split this dish in the back the way WDW restaurants normally do, so we were left to fend for ourselves. Not such a big deal. There were very few potatoes and only 3 or 4 carrots-no other veggies. I think this entree was around $38 dollars. While the beef was good, it wasn't anything outstanding. We had enough to eat, but thought the meal was seriously lacking, especially for the price. We had the cheesecake for dessert. This was good, but neither of us would order it again. We ordered tea with our dessert as our drink. We were able to get two types of tea with no extra charge, so that was a plus. Overall, I think our expectations just weren't met. However, a different table and waiter could have altered the experience for us.

 

[MickeyNicki]

The Turf Club sounds great!

 

[NoraG]

I had read all about the Tonga Toast on the Dis, so I was excited to try it finally. Neither my Mom nor I can eat eggs, so this severely limits our breakfast options. We can eat foods that contain eggs, but no scrambled, fried, hardboiled, or deviled eggs, and no quiche, souffle, or creme brulee. Well, you get the idea.

So, I ordered the Tonga Toast and Mom ordered the Macadamia Nut Pineapple Pancakes. I liked the Tonga Toast, but the pancakes were the real standout. Sweet, but not too sweet. And, no need for syrup. I hate jam and jelly, so I didn't use the strawberry sauce on my Tonga Toast, but I enjoyed it anyway. We also both got sides of bacon, which were very thin, tasteless slices. I'd get a different breakfast meat if we return. Overall, a great meal though.

I think we had the Kona blend coffee as neither of us drink very strong coffee, so we didn't want the 100% Kona.

Edit: I forgot to mention we paid OOP for this meal. If anyone has actually counted, we have used 6 of out DxDDP credits so far. This meal was pretty cheap and we really wanted to have a breakfast out. One can get tired of cold cereal and oatmeal...

 

[Dizneydaz]

Nice start to your reviews! Can't wait to see your pictures. I use photobucket.com for all the photos I post.

How rude of that waiter to bend your ear about his child's education cost! Very un-Disney like. I hope you tipped accordingly.

more please...

 

[NoraG]

The Turf Club sounds great!

It really was one of our favorites. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[NoraG]

Nice start to your reviews! Can't wait to see your pictures. I use photobucket.com for all the photos I post.

How rude of that waiter to bend your ear about his child's education cost! Very un-Disney like. I hope you tipped accordingly.

more please...

Photos will be delayed slightly (okay, more than slightly) as I am in the middle of a huge move, but I will try to get the few photos I have up.

It did ruin the move to have the waiter discuss his financial issues at such length. We didn't mind him mentioning his son's college education and its' associated costs, but it just went on too long. More to come!

 

[NoraG]

I forgot to mention that we received mugs on this trip as part of the dining plan. Not being fans of the old mug design, we were pleased with the change. Mom got pink and I got blue. We used them a few times for lemonade and hot chocolate (and maybe tea) from Gasparilla's. I'm not a fan of Nescafe and neither of us drink coffee, so we didn't have a whole lot of uses for them.

We also caught a glimpse of the Electrical Parade the first night from the lake near the main building of GF. The following night we got a much better view from the dock. Wishes was also well viewed from the dock near Narcossee's. If you are planning on visiting those two areas, I'd get there early. There are a few seats, but people will stand in front of you. However, if you can't stand for 15-20 mins to view it all, I'd try to grab a seat.

You'll notice that I won't be able to mention how we used our snack credits much, because I really don't remember. I think we got something at Gasparilla's once and maybe it was a pastry or a Mickey bar, but I don't remember. I guess it wasn't that memorable.

 

[NoraG]

After our breakfast at Kona we hung around the Poly a bit and I bought a shirt, which I actually wore yesterday

We took the monorail to the Contemporary and shopped there a bit too. I think Mom got a pair of Mickey Crocs, which she likes.

From there we went to WL. I'm pretty sure we took the Express Monorail to MK, then the boat to WL. We'd never seen the resort and we quite impressed. We'd love to take our cousins to see it on our January visit. After wandering around, we had a snack at Roaring Forks. I got a side salad and Mom got the Chicken Noodle soup, which she thought was quite good. I tasted it and enjoyed it as well. We shared both items, as usual. At least I remember where 2 of our snack credits went!

After this light snack we left WL lodge by boat to MK, where we waited an insane amount of time for the boat to GF. While most of our boat captains were friendly, this time they didn't greet anyone, yelled at people for waiting in line at the wrong place (though there really wasn't a huge crowd. We all fit on the boat), and talked mostly to themselves. Odd really...

Back in the room, we lunched on our leftovers from Turf Club. We were able to have a microwave delivered to our room, but it was an interesting experience. I called housekeeping before we left for Turf Club the first day and when we returned, we found a Pack n' Play. Hmmm....does Disney know something that I don't? I don't think Disney Magic works that way. I called again and housekeeping came up empty handed. I gave them the Pack n' Play and explained that we wanted a microwave and that there was no infant on our reservation, so no Pack n' Play was needed. She found it quite humorous and I wondered what she would return with next. She came back a few moments later with the microwave, which we used a few times.

 

[Forever Fairy]

Looking forward to the rest of your review and pics.

 

[NoraG]

Here is a photo of the Apple Crisp my Mom had at the Turf Club at SSR. It was very yummy!

Here is a photo my my Chocolate Torte with Espresso icecream. It was extremely rich. I actually thought the icecream was better than the torte and I am a huge chocolate lover. But, I could only take about 3 bites at a time.

Another View. See my strawberry milkshake in the background?

As you can see photobucket worked well for me.

 

[Uncle Remus]

Goin' to only resort restaurants is a wonderful idea.

And I agree with ya, those macadamia nut pineapple pancakes are outta this world.

 

[vettegirl]

Great reviews! We too had a bad experience with the waitstaff at Jiko in May. The food was pretty bad for us also. My expectations were so high for this restaurant, so I don't think we will ever be going back.

 

[tluvstink]

Great reviews!! I didn't know you could have a microwave delivered to your room Is that something that only the deluxe resorts offer?

Terri

 

[NoraG]

Great reviews! We too had a bad experience with the waitstaff at Jiko in May. The food was pretty bad for us also. My expectations were so high for this restaurant, so I don't think we will ever be going back.

Sorry you had a bad experience. None of our food was awful, just not as good as we expected. Except for our appetizer. We're still considering going back for a meal of Apps.

Great reviews!! I didn't know you could have a microwave delivered to your room Is that something that only the deluxe resorts offer?

Terri

I've only ever requested it at GF, due to some reading I did here on the Dis. I imagine you could request one at any deluxe and it couldn't hurt at a mod. It is subject to availability, but since many people don't know about it, you might have some luck.

If you tried at the values, you might expect a charge, considering they charge $10/night for a fridge. Worth it if you use it!

 

[NoraG]

I know this is a dining review, but I thought someone might be interested in my pics of GF and our room. Here they go:

The view of the main building from our balcony:

The view of the pool from our balcony:

Some pics of the room itself. Sorry I didn't get any of the microwave on the desk. But it's a standard size microwave, not a mini.

The balcony:

And, turndown service:

 

[NoraG]

This was the dinner I was most looking forward to. I knew I had to have the signature potato crusted snapper-though after arriving I did consider other menu items.

We loved the ambiance and decor of the restaurant and our waiter was fantastic. Mom started with the calamari, which she loved. She may have finished them, though I got a few bites. Yum! As previously mentioned I knew I would have the crabcake here. I loved it. It was huge, there was tons of crab, the sauces were amazing and I love red bell pepper. A winner!

Next, I ordered the potato encrusted snapper. When it arrived, I I thought the glaze would be too much, but this was the most amazing thing I have ever eaten-ever! I dream about this dish. The snapper was delicious, the leek fondue was rich, and the glaze was very good too. I think I ate the whole thing because it was so good, I couldn't bear to leave any on my plate.

Also, we really liked the bread that was served. We thought we'd take the rest back to the room to have for breakfast, but the waiter cleared it away before I could ask. I asked nicely and he brought us some fresh bread to go. Yay!

Mom and I chose to have coffee after our meal, but knew we'd have to take dessert back with us. Coffee was a nice addition to this huge meal. Back in the room, I had the key lime tart, which was very good, but the tequila flavor is very, very strong. I would have preferred less tequila, but that didn't keep me from finishing it! Mom made the better choice and got the banana napoleon. This was an incredible dessert, which I enjoyed tasting-several times.

This was my absolute favorite meal of the trip. All three courses were very good as was the timing of the meal and the service.

Sorry, I don't have pictures of this one. Too busy stuffing my face I guess.

 

[NoraG]

The next day, Mom and I had breakfast in the room. Leftover bread from FF and sesame bagel crisps from Turcf Club. We didn't want to eat much because we had an early lunch at Kona Cafe.

I had been to Kona for dinner with a friend and while the food was good, it didn't wow me. After looking at the lunch menu, I decided it appealed to me much more.

So, Mom and I both began with the curry soup. This was not my favorite curry soup, but it was very good. More sweet than spicy in my opinion, but very rich.

Next, I had the Poly chicken plate with macaroni salad. The macaroni salad was awful in my opinion and the chicken was good, but not great. It could have used more flavor. My mom got the Teriyaki Steak salad, which was big enough for two and absolutely delicious. She still talks about this salad. It had either spinach or arugula- I don't remember which. Also thin strips of meat, broccoli, peppers, noodles, and tons of other veggies, plus a terrific dressing. We easily could have split this. Mmmm. When Mom couldn't eat another bite, I happily finished it for her, since I did not eat my Macaroni salad.

For dessert, I got the Chocolate Torte, which was one of the best desserts I've had on property. It could be split in my opinion. Big, and quite rich. Mom got the sugar free Apple stack with wontons, sugar free ice cream, and caramel. This was very good. Even if you're not sugar free, this is still a nice choice.

Pics below:

We were celebrating that I was accepted into 2 PhD program (I later got a third acceptance letter), so the waitress kindly brought us 2 cupcakes on this adorable plate. We saved them for later!

There might be a break for a while everyone. I am beginning to move on Wednesday, so this is a very stressful and hectic time.

 

[vettegirl]

I have heard such amazing reviews from FF, that I am going to have to book it for our food and wine trip in November. We will be OOP, but it sounds worth it.