A Thankful Thanksgiving in the Happiest Place On Earth - UPDATED 12/6 COMPLETE

[jknicholas]

Hello everyone,
So I figured I would give the whole food review thing a shot. I figured, it couldnt hurt - how bad or hard could it be? Well let me tell you, it wasnt bad at all! My hard part was remembering to take pictures of the food! I will admit, through out my review, you'll see I missed a few shots. Next time, I will do better!

Quick background! My wife Kara and I (see below,) were originally supposed to go for F&W next year October 2016. When I found out DHS was doing away with the Osbourne Lights, I said - we have to go! So I sprinkled a little pixie dust and upped out trip to this Thanksgiving!



So, away I booked and stayed at the POR and was able to score a 4 day/3 night trip in a Royal Guest Room with a Disney Dining Package. My wife recently lost her mother unexpectedly prior to summer, so I figured, what better way to spend Thanksgiving this year in DISNEY!

Over the next few posts, I will outline where/what we ate, some reviews and pictures as well. I made sure to take lots of notes during my meals. Everyone around us mustve thought I was nuts sitting at dinner on my cell phone with this beautiful woman sitting across from me...

LETS GET STARTED!

 

[jknicholas]

11/24/15 - Arrival/Epcot

• Sunshine Seasons
• Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar
• Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie
• Coral Reef Restaurant

11/25/15 - Animal Kingdom/Hollywood Studios

• Coffee/Bagel
• Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano
  
• Trattoria al Forno Restaurant

11/26/15 - Magic Kingdom (Thanksgiving)

• Be Our Guest Breakfast
• Friar's Nook
• Be Our Guest Dinner

11/27/15 - Disney Springs/Departure

• Riverside Mill Food Court
• Fantasy Fare Food Truck
• Au Bon Pain (MCO)

 

[Vernie822]

Hi! Hope you had a great trip. Can't wait to read more. We were also able to catch the Osborne Lights this year - so glad we were able to make the trip down.

 

[jknicholas]

Hi! Hope you had a great trip. Can't wait to read more. We were also able to catch the Osborne Lights this year - so glad we were able to make the trip down.

Yes we did - thank you! Very glad we got to see the lights one more time. It truly is/was something to see, even though I've seen them each of my last 3 trips. It's just something you cant describe - even seeing Goofy flick the power switch!

I would like to start off briefly by giving a little description to my restaurant choices. My goal for this trip was to, while enjoy it myself, to truly make this something magical and special for my DW. It is never easy, whoever you are, to lose a parent. So my intent was to book the restaurants that I would think she would enjoy and love. Hence, you'll see on Thanksgiving day, we dined at BOG not once but twice. She's always loved Beauty and the Beast growing up, so what better way for her to enjoy it than to do it twice in one day, on a Holiday? I rest my case!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Fantastic reason for a trip - hope you enjoyed all your meals - I look forward to hearing all about it!

 

[jknicholas]

11/24/15 - Arrival/Epcot

• Sunshine Seasons
• Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar
• Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie
• Coral Reef Restaurant

OK so lets begin with some reviews.... so a little back story - this day we were champs! We were literally running on fumes by the end of day one. The night prior we were at Gillette Stadium for Monday Night Football. We went to bed around 2am, only to be out the door for 3:30am and board our Providence to MCO flight to Disney! Hence why I missed a couple of pictures here this day! I do apologize.

Once Magical Express got us from the airport to our hotel in literally less than an hour, we jumped the first bus within 10 minutes to get to Epcot. First stop, breakfast!

Sunshine Seasons
DW and I figured - lets at least split an Adult Breakfast Platter. We had never stayed on Disney property so it was our first time using the Magic Bands - went off with the hitch. Overall, the Platter was just good and nothing more noteable. Eggs were ok, Biscuit was pretty solid, Crispy Bacon. Potatoes were a little lack luster but nothing a little S&P couldnt fix!

Next up, for lunch Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar!
DW and I met her Godparents, who are full-time Tampa residents, for lunch. DW ordered the Tomato Mozzarella Panini w/ Caesar Salad while I opted for the Meatball Sliders (as well as her Godparents.) Unfortunately, no pictures here - I couldnt keep calm, I was in Disney!!

• DW said that the Panini was perfect! Crispy on the outside, creamy Mozzarella on the inside! and the Caesar salad was just enough. If I am not mistaken, it was literally just a small chunk of lettuce with their creamy caesar. She was more than content.
• Meatball Sliders.... I must say. I am from an Italian family, so I know what meatballs are supposed to be like. Putting them in a slider bun? OK you got attention. These things were out of this world! They were so simple - Meatball, little sauce and some fresh shaved Parmigiano Reggiano. The little focaccia bun was a perfect accompaniment to the Meatball. The fresh shaved Parmiagiano Reggiano was a great salt component. Truly a great slider to try!

TIME FOR PICTURES!
Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie
After walking around with her Godparents for while, I needed a snack! DW's Godmother suggested here - so we went.

• Chocolate Eclair - DW's Godfather had a simple eclair. It's his go-to here every time. Washed it down with a Hot Coffee. I could tell he enjoyed it - he didn't say much while snacking!
• Palmier which is a Cinnamon and Chocolate Elephant Ears - DW's Godmother had the Elephant Ears which looked amazing. She said it was so sweet and flavorful, buttery and flakey! The cinnamon with the hard chocolate ganache paired perfectly.
• DW & I split I believe it's called a Broiche Chocolat. I am almost positive of the name. But if not, it was a little dessert with a chocolate/nutella-like filling inside. This litlte guy was SO decadent! The flavors meshed so well together I truly wanted another but I wanted to save up for Coral Reef. I borrowed one of the pictures below of my Beignet and the Elephant Ears from Disney Food Blog to see it whole.

And lastly, Coral Reef Restaurant

• Let's start with the Bread and Butter. Basic bread, nice and soft on the inside. However it was the Black Sea Salt on the butter that really won me over! Very good!
• DW got the Grilled New York Strip Steak. She said it was cooked perfectly to her liking. However, in her opinion it was those Cheddar Mashed Potatoes that were the star of her dish. Very creamy and flavorful - truly enjoyed it!
• I got down on the Shrimp & Grits. The creole spices were out of this world! The shrimp were cooked perfctly. The grits were just out of this world. The saltiness and sharpness from the cheddar mixed in seriously had me wishing I ordered just a HUGE plate of the Grits themselves. The corn succotash mixed with the andouille sausage, paired with the Shrimp and the Grits - truly made this probably hands down my best dish of the trip!
• For desserts, which were included in the meal plan, I truly felt like I had to force it at this point. I was SO stuffed! We opted to get ours to go. DW got the Chocolate Wave and I got the Turtle Cheesecake with Caramel. I will say, neither of us were big fans - HOWEVER, I do believe it was because we ate them later in the evening.
• Overall, while the food was excellent - if we werent on the dining plan I do not think I would return, as it was the most expensive meal out of all. If we do the dining plan again next time, I do think I would maybe use it as a back up plan

 

[jknicholas]

11/25/15 - Animal Kingdom/Hollywood Studios

• Coffee/Bagel
• Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano
  
• Trattoria al Forno Restaurant

So after being exhausted from Monday and Tuesday, we surprisingly got up early to hit up both Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, with finishing our night down at Disney's Boardwalk - which we had never been before prior to.

Coffee/Bagel

• So our first stop was at a little coffee stand in Animal Kingdom. I didnt bother to take a picture because I am pretty sure everyone has seen a bagel one or twice in their lives! The bagel was pretty bad since they didn't have a toaster or oven in there. And the coffee was just alright. We ended up stopping at a Starbucks in there later in the afternoon to give ourselves a little shot of caffeine before heading over to DHS.

Mama Melrose Ristorante Italiano

• Let's start at the beginning - the BREAD! The woman delivered breadsticks with an oil/italian herb mix. The bread sticks were just standard - nothing to wow over... nothing to write home to mom about.
• DW and I decided to grab the Crispy Calamari since, being from Rhode Island, its one of the staples up here. I will start with the good - it had three dipping sauces -- a Marinara, Sweet and Sour, and a Pesto. Now the bad.... when something says CRISPY Calamari - i like others expect Crispy. The Calamari, although good, they were very inconsistent. Some were crispy, some were soft. I think next time, I will try something else for an Appetizer.
• Next I went for a Caesar Salad. It truly was average, however, I also truly was not expecting much here.
• DW and I decided to split the Carne d'Italia flatbread. We asked our waitress if we could have Fresh Mozzarella on it. She gave us that most unusual stare as if we were nuts and then proceeded to tell us it came with shredded cheese. I guess she didnt think to let us add it, in addition to the regular cheese? Who knows! But here came the pizza finally. First I will start off with saying it was straight out of the oven, so piping hot! The crust was extremely thin and crispy, which i loved. and to be honest, with the toppings and the added mozzarella, that thin crust held on beautifully! The crispy pancetta on top was truly a nice touch. The saltiness from the Pancetta and the Mozzarella, cut by the acid in their Marinara worked wonders together! My only complaint was their sauce gave me SUCH heartburn after. It was a little too spicy for me!
• Lastly, DW and I, again, decided to split the Dessert Sampler. Let me just start by saying we were NOT impressed. The presentation was just OK! So it had a cannoli cake, tiramisu and an amarettini. I'll definitely say that the tiramisu and the amarettini was VERY boozey!. The cannoli cake - to be quite honest - it just SUCKED. Nothing like the cannoli cakes back home - thats for sure!
• Overall the food here wasnt bad. Had a few hiccups, but I think the Pizza saved it! Our first time we went here we loved it, this time not so much. It's nothing I would cross off, but it wont be my first choice next time!

Trattoria al Forno

• We've wanted to eat here for awhile since its opened and planned to give it a whirl. Also, we've never been to Boardwalk before - so what better time to kill two birds with one stone. We had an ADR for 9:15pm, however we showed up about 1.5 hrs early to see if they had anything and sure enough, they sat us right down for 7:45pm as they had a cancellation!
• First - the bread. Little odd to me. The bread itself was good however, little odd when our waitress delivered it wrapped in a wax paper and placed it on our table.
• I started off with a Caprese Salad. Let me just start by saying this was, by far, the best Caprese Salad I had EVER had! The tomatoes were very crisp and fresh, and some slivers of fresh red onion. The mozzarella cheese itself was out of this world. Very creamy, and also VERY fresh. I believe they hand roll their mozz and let it sit in an ice bath until service. Their balsamic reduction was a nice added touch to the plate.
• DW had the Sweet Potato Ravioli and said they were OUT of this world!! She said that the Sweet Potato was very creamy and savory. It was tossed in a butter and nutmeg sauce. Me personally, my only complaint if I were to eat it was there was only 5.
• I myself went with the Braised Short Rib Bolognese. Very good - the short rib fell right apart. Nice big chunks of it! The pasta was very fresh. Would totally order it again!!
• For dessert, we both split our desserts. DW had the Cannoli Pizzelli, which were crunchy pizellas filled half pistachio and the other half ricotta w/ chocolate chips. Absolutely delicious. The pizella shell was a nice different addition from your standard cannoli shell.
• The last dessert we split was the Bomboloni which is essentially an italian filled donut. Came out warmed, so the center was nice and gooey. The gelato paired well together with the gooeyness!
• Overall impression, I thought this restaurant was very good. I heard some people walking by out side who spoke negatively about it, however we both thought it was very good and would most likely return again for a second trip.

And one more picture of Trattoria al Forno's Chef's working their service

 

[disneyAndi14]

Enjoying the reviews, we are going to try Mama Melrose in April so nice to hear a recent review. Did you have the deluxe dining?

 

[pumba]

ok you made me drool....can hardly wait to go back to The House of the Mouse..thanks so far for the great photos and reviews...

 

[jknicholas]

Enjoying the reviews, we are going to try Mama Melrose in April so nice to hear a recent review. Did you have the deluxe dining?

I will be honest, we havent had anything at Mama Melrose entree wise except for the pizza. This was our second time trying this pizza exactly the way it came with added mozzarella and it was just as delcious as it was the first time. I will reiterate, again, that their Marinara sauce is on the spicy side!

We were not on the deluxe dining, so if you see us having any apps that is us paying out of pocket for those portions. Out of all of our sit down meals, Coral Reef (if not using the dining plan that is) wouldve been our most expensive meal and there we only had entrees and a few drinks.

ok you made me drool....can hardly wait to go back to The House of the Mouse..thanks so far for the great photos and reviews...

thank you! I can hardly wait to go back myself. No return date in the near future, unfortunately... Unless I hit the powerball and I can go buy my Golden Oak property OR DVC


hope to finish the last 2 days of my trip more than likely tomorrow. DW's birthday is this evening - MAYBE I'll take pictures @ Dinner locally tonight. It wont be the same as Disney though

 

[PghPiratesGirl]

Off to a great start! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Vernie822]

Your meal at Trattoria Al Forno just looks SO delicious! I have also heard mixed reviews, but your food looks so awesome. We'll definitely have to go sometime. Usually we eat at Via Napoli in Italy but it would be nice to switch it up.

Crispy Calamari sounds delicious. Soggy calamari, not so much!

 

[Jerusalem Gal]

Yummy!

 

[jknicholas]

Your meal at Trattoria Al Forno just looks SO delicious! I have also heard mixed reviews, but your food looks so awesome. We'll definitely have to go sometime. Usually we eat at Via Napoli in Italy but it would be nice to switch it up.

Crispy Calamari sounds delicious. Soggy calamari, not so much!

i think next time I will give Via Napoli a try. My feeling is, mixed reviews or not, your experience is ALWAYS going to be different than others. Different preferences, different palettes.

Soggy calamari absolutely kills me. Espescially, being from Rhode Island, Calamari is our state's Official Appetizer. But then again, I was in Orlando and NOT Rhode Island at the time LOL but still, we enjoyed it that day!

 

[Madilynsmommy]

Jumping in! We are staying at POR next Thanksgiving week

 

[jknicholas]

11/26/15 - Magic Kingdom (Thanksgiving)

• Be Our Guest Breakfast
• Friar's Nook
• Be Our Guest Dinner

So for Thanksgiving, DW and I went to Magic Kingdom. Truly, where else would I have spent it? The main thing for the evening was to make sure I was able to get a BoG Dinner Ressie. I was able to grab a 5:55pm dinner reservation! I figured for lunch, do whatever, but DW truly wanted to try the breakfast at BoG. I was so excited that I was able to get an 8:50am ressie for this as we were going to get an empty Main St........or so we thought! A few weeks prior, I realized that Disney ended up changing the opening times for the Week of Thanksgiving so, there went my empty Main St.... theres always next time... ONTO THE FOOD!

Be Our Guest Breakfast

• So, we walked up to the booth and I reviewed with the Cast Member what we had ordered. Once I completed that, we walked right in, past all of the hustle and bustle. So the whole pre-order option worked very well. After finding a seat, grabbing our drinks, our food came out shortly after.
• First, the pastries were your basic pastries to be honest. I didnt think anything was great here. Just my honest opinion!
• DW ordered the Eggs Florentine. I was able to try some of hers, and she would agree, it was VERY good. The eggs were nice and cheesy, and the puff pastry worked very well with one another. The sliced ham on the plate was just OK. It was average, some pieces slightly dry. I truly wasnt expecting the wheel to be reinvented here.
• I ordered the Open Faced Bacon/Egg/Cheese Sandwich. Let me just get right to the point. It sucked! The toast, like others have said was stale. It wasnt even toasted. It was not made fresh, as I could tell by the cheese on it was not even melted or creamy. The eggs were ok but cold. Not even warm - cold. At this point I was totally turned off by the meal that I didnt even want to talk to a Manager or something.
• Would I do this breakfast again? Maybe, and thats the slightest maybe I will ever say. Like if I walked by and they said HEY Jimmy, free food - I would probably think of it. However, I would not go out of my way like I did to get an ADR. AND, if i was not on the dining plan, I certainly would NOT pay the amount they have per dish - no way!!

Friar's Nook

• DW and I decided we were going to split lunch. However, once she realized Coleslaw was on it, she X'd out that decision and ordered one of those Uncrustable PB&Js to hold her over. I took this as a Win for me .... Not even going to post a review on the Uncrustable PBJ... I mean, its PBJ LOL
• But this Mac and Cheese, I will most certainly write a review. First, the mac and cheese itself was great - very creamy and rich. Wasnt too too heavy, but just enough. On top of the Mac and Cheese they added coleslaw, barbequed smoked pulled chicken, and some bread crumbs. This little guy, although $10/11 totally made up for my crappy breakfast! Would certainly order again 110%

Be Our Guest Dinner

• Arrived a few minutes early and were sat right down. The CM let my wife hold Lumiere, but when we sat down she took it away, I told DW to squeeze it in her purse but we got caught lol jk. We sat in the West Wing this time for the first time. Our first time we sat in the Rose Gallary and for breakfast that day we sat in the Ballroom.
• First off, we were greeted by a very nice waiter. He took our drink order and went off to tend to some other tables while we decided what we wanted. Through out the night, he was a little stretched thin to be honest. Most of his tables were 4 or 6 parties with the exception of ours and another.
• So DW and I started with a couple of small appetizers. I started with a French Onion Soup and wife went with just a Garden Salad. The French Onion Soup was very good, but it was your typical French Onion Soup. DW said her Garden Salad was just your very generic - nothing to write home to about this.
• DW went for the Shrimp and Scallop dish. Now, let me start off by saying that this was her second time having this dish. The first time it was in a puff pastry. This time, it only had a wedge of puff pastry on the side. Her shrimp and scallops were in side of a little ramekin. DW said that the seafood was prepared perfectly and that there was A LOT of each. The flavoring was very very good.
• I went with the Braised Pork (Coq au Vin Style.) This too is my second time having it. I absolutely love it... It does not need a knife one bit. It literally falls apart as soon as you touch it with the fork. It's flavored and seasoned incredibly. I had asked the waiter originally to try a side of the Herb Goat Cheese Polenta that usually comes with the Lamb dish (not pictured.) My waiter was running around so much, but apologized a million times but still brought me a piece to try. This was probably, aside from my fathers, one of the best polentas I've ever tried. The polenta and the goat cheese was SO creamy and the char-grill marks on the outside was incredible!
  
• Next, Dessert!!! I, of course went witht he Grey Stuff. My wife went with this Seasonal Pumpkin Dessert. It was a grapenut crust, pumpkin filling and a chocolate ganache. She said it was VERY good, but was a little too sweet.
• My Grey Stuff was OUT of this world. I always love it! Never have any complaints about it.
• Our waiter was so apologetic that he shared with us his favorite dessert, which was the Lemon Meringue. He ended up making us a dish and gave it to us on the house to split. This too was very good, great flavors!
• Overall, I would certainly return but again, I dont think I would try to get a special ADR as hard as I did. Ive now ate dinner there twice, and thoroughly enjoyed it both times. However, I would like to give maybe another restaurant a try next time. As for our waiter, we gave him the benefit of the doubt that evening as it was Thanksgiving and it was extremely busy. I felt he made up for it with some extras like the portion of Polenta and the extra dessert!

 

[jknicholas]

Jumping in! We are staying at POR next Thanksgiving week

Youll love it! It was very easy taking the boat to and from Downtown Disney! I felt the buses were super easy and quick as well!

 

[Vernie822]

Awesome snag on BOG for Thanksgiving day. Woo hoo! We had planned on having breakfast there on our last trip, but it was on our last day and by the end of the trip we just decided to cancel the day before. We were paying out of pocket and honestly I couldn't justify it when Captain Cooks at the Poly was less than half the price. We had planned on the exact same entrees, too. Sorry your sandwich wasn't as good as it could've been - I feel like a baguette with bacon, brie, and eggs could have been SO yummy.

The mac and cheese looks wonderful, I would've been excited to have it all to myself as well. Crazy how that QS option was so great but the BOG breakfast was done so poorly.

I really enjoyed the scallops and shrimp dish there as well, but it's weird to see that it's in a little pot now? Maybe it's easier to make that way or holds better or something? Who knows. The pork looks delicious, too.. yum. Love the grey stuff!

 

[jknicholas]

Thanks Ashley! She was very excited when i told her where we were going for Thanksgiving....

The breakfast, youre absolutely right! I thought it couldve been so much better... I get it, its Quick Service, but essentially Dining Plan or not, you should still get a good meal. But, like I had mentioned, I was SO turned off at that point another dish would not have done any justice.

Still am not sure about the whole Scallop/Shrimp Dish, especially since they use the puff pastry for breakfast..

Still have one more days review to do. i will try to get this done today! It's truly not much!!

 

[jknicholas]

11/27/15 - Disney Springs/Departure

• Riverside Mill Food Court
• Fantasy Fare Food Truck
• Au Bon Pain (MCO)

It is the dreaded day we all werent truly waiting for.... Last day! This day we took it easy, slept a little later than we did during the week. Today's day was all about Disney Springs, some shopping and spending some money! Only pictures I didnt take were the Au Bon Pain... Truly no need as it was MCO food! Since they closed their food court my choices there were Au Bon Pain or a Burger Joint in there that had a 40 minute wait for the burger. Sorry, no burger is wait THAT long... But, I am getting ahead of myself here - lets get started!

Riverside Mill Food Court

• DW and I both ended up going for the Bounty Platter. I was more so excited about this since I have never had one of the famous Mickey shaped waffles! First, it was very filling! THe eggs were super cheesy, bacon was nice and crisp. I shouldve asked for extra bacon in place of the sausage as mine wasnt great. The biscuit was pretty good - felt like a lead weight after but whatever - I AM AT DISNEY! But that Mickey shaped waffle won me over. I loved it. The star player on this dish, however, honestly were the eggs. I was pleasantly surprised as I was expecting your generic food court eggs.

Fantasy Fare Food Truck

• For lunch, while shopping we decided to stop at one of the food trucks. I love the food trucks back home so we figured lets go for it.
• DW had the Grilled Ham and Cheese sandwich. She said that the star player for this dish was the Waffle Fries. The sandwich did not come even close to how their picture looks. Their ham and cheese shows a nice and gooey sandwich. DW's however did not. The cheese barely metled in some parts (as pictured below.) She ate it until she gave up.
• I went with the Buffalo Chicken and Waffles. It was very good but it lacked the heat I was expecting. It says it uses Sirarcha, but there certainly wasnt much it in. BUt overall, the chicken was crisp, the waffle was crisp, and even the Blue Cheese Cream was incredible. Even had some nice blue cheese chunks in it.
• Overall, I think I would give it a try again, however, I think there are better options to try before going back for a second try.

Au Bon Pain MCO

• I'll keep it simple here... I went with a Turkey Bacon Avocado sandwich. It was pretty good but they ran out of all of the good bread that night... So it did its justice and held me over to the next AM

So that is the end of all my reviews. i hope everyone enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed eating them... UNTIL NEXT DISNEY TRIP!