A Vegetarian, an Omnivore, and lots of pics!

[etoiles]

After enjoying our Norwegian treats we headed to the Hollywood Studios. We had no ADR's for today and had been planning to wing it at a counter service to save funds.

After going on some rides one thing I had to try was the peanut butter and jelly shake from the 50s PrimeTime Cafe. We did not have a reservation but I learned from the DIS board that you can try one of these shakes by picking it up at the attached bar.

I have a picture of me drinking it and will upload it later.

The peanut butter and jelly shake was so yummy and hit the spot for a day at the hot park. DH tried it and thought it tasted just like a pb&j. It was one of my must try items while I was in the World and was glad I got to try it!

We headed back to the hotel during the afternoon to rest and ate some of our snacks there for lunch. Then, headed back to the Hollywood Studios in the evening. I found out then that DH wanted to go to a sit down place but the Primetime Cafe was fully booked and was not accepting walk ins. We ended up going to Toy Story Pizza Planet since it would definitely have something vegetarian. We stopped at one counter service place before this that only had a Greek salad as vegetarian.

These are the actual pizzas from Toy Story Pizza Planet. Came with a side salad of romaine lettuce and tomatoes and choice of dressing. There was plenty of indoor seating since you could sit up or downstairs.

Veggie pizza:

Pepperoni pizza:

Somehow I had a bad memory about taking photos at the pizza places! The pizza tasted fine like any normal pizza and was a good, filling meal.

Overall today besides breakfast was a blah food day but very good for the budget!

 

[SSRJen]

The Shepherds Pie looks great. I told myself I wouldn't go back to Rose and Crown after eating the Fish and Chips there last time. However, that picture might make me rethink things.

 

[Shenanigoat]

I really like your reviews! I'm totally going to do the culinary tour on my next trip, I had no idea about it.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

Thank you for your reviews!

I didn't know about the culinary tour at the AKL. I will have to see if I can't go on it next time I'm there!

 

[etoiles]

The Shepherds Pie looks great. I told myself I wouldn't go back to Rose and Crown after eating the Fish and Chips there last time. However, that picture might make me rethink things.

I highly recommend it! And, if you eat meat, you can get one with lamb under the 'lamb two ways' entree.

I really like your reviews! I'm totally going to do the culinary tour on my next trip, I had no idea about it.

Thanks! I didn't think many people knew about the tour which is why our group was so small probably.

Thank you for your reviews!

I didn't know about the culinary tour at the AKL. I will have to see if I can't go on it next time I'm there!

It's a great experience! Convenient if you have a reservation at Boma, Jiko, or Sanaa after the tour too.

 

[etoiles]

Wednesday the 17th we headed over to the Magic Kingdom.

Mid morning we had headed over to Adventureland to get some fast passes for Splash Mountain and I knew I had to head over to the Aloha Isle to get a Dole Whip float since I had heard so much about it on the DIS! I had read a good tip about watching each of the cashiers to see who made the largest dole whip swirl but since there was no line we just went straight to the counter and lucked out anyways. Here it is:

Everyone who saw it was so jealous!! I felt very well informed by the DIS because otherwise I wouldn't have known to buy it either. We had one couple even ask what it was since it looked so yummy! It was so delicious as well! Really hit the spot on that hot day. We found a nice table underneath a fan to enjoy it as well.

Later that day still in the adventureland area we were ready for lunch and so we headed to Pecos Bills. I had read they had a great fixins bar. Although it is not an actual menu item I got the veggie taco salad. They give you an empty shell and then you fill it up at the fixins bar. Here is is with the toppings all mixed up:

They had lettuce, tomato, cheese sauce, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed onions, salsa, hot peppers, and shredded cheese to fill up the taco bowl yourself. Made a nice filling! I just wish they would have had some beans to put in it as well. They did give a discount for the veggie taco bowl.

DH had a burger with fries. He ate it so fast by the time I was about to take a photo it was gone!

One thing I like about Pecos Bills was the air conditioned seating and that they don't let people sit down until they have their order. This made it very easy to find seating without looking at tables filled by people with no food.

 

[etoiles]

In the evening we headed over to the Plaza Restaurant where we had reservations. One of the things that looked so great about the Plaza was their delicious sounding vegetarian sandwich!

DH ordered the Tomato Bisque soup as an appetizer. For any vegetarians out there, this is not vegetarian. (I inquired to see if I could give it a taste)

It came with several croutons on top. DH really enjoyed it and said it was thick and creamy. It looked delicious to me.

For my entree I ordered that delicious sounding vegetarian sandwich with broccoli slaw:

It comes with hummus, tomato, cucumber, red pepper, mozzarella, pesto, and lettuce. I thought it was good but it sounded better than it tasted. I think a little more hummus and pesto would help make it nice and saucy and help you taste their flavors more. The cucumber and tomato overwelm them a little bit. The broccoli slaw was so yummy! I was glad to have such a large scoop of it on my plate. The bun that the sandwich was on was delicious as well! Lots of asiago cheese on top!

DH ordered the rueben with broccoli slaw:

DH thought it was just okay. He has high expectations for ruebens though. He thought it could have used more sauce and only put sauce on part of the sandwich. He enjoyed the broccoli slaw.

While we were eating we were watching all of the desserts come out of the kitchen that our table was near so we got to see everything. We ordered what we thought looked best - the brownie sundae to share. We were in such awe that we ate it right away and forgot to take a picture! It was delicious!

 

[etoiles]

Thursday the 18th was out last full day in Disney World and we didn't have anything scheduled so we could go back and do whatever our favorite things ended up to be.

While in the magic kingdom we had picked up some items from the Main Street Bakery to eat for breakfast this morning. We split two things.

One was an apple charlotte: (the picture is of half)

I loved the apple charlotte and thought the apples were juicy and similar to the consistency of apple pie. The crust was flaky and delicious and had a yummy glaze over the top. I would highly recommend it!

We also split a brownie with nuts: (who has a brownie for breakfast? We do on vacation!)

The brownie was rich and chocolately! It had a dense texture that was appropriate for a brownie. The walnuts in it were nice and crunchy. DH also enjoyed both items. However, a friend of mine makes the BEST brownies ever and hers is still the best.

 

[etoiles]

We headed to the Hollywood Studios to go on some of the thrilling rides and then headed back to our hotel for a break before changing and going to Epcot. We ate lunch there at the Pop Century Food Court but avoided the Asian area.

I got the vegetarian calzone:

It was filled with spinach and ricotta. The crust had a nice chewy texture and tasted good dipped in the marinara sauce. I enjoyed it much more than the Asian entree previously!

DH got the parmesan chicken:

He enjoyed the chicken and said it tasted good.

We split a side of breadsticks:

Tasted good, your normal breadsticks.

This was a much better Pop Century food experience!

 

[etoiles]

In the evening we headed to Epcot. We did not have ADR's anyplace and my idea was to go around and try different foods from the counter service places at different countries but DH really wanted to do a sit down place. He went and checked at Marrakesh in the Moroccan pavilion and they only had a ten minute wait for tables so we decided to try it. I hadn't read much about it since we did not make an ADR for it but I remember the Unofficial Guide saying it was overpriced.

Upon looking at the menu it DID seem pretty pricey but at least the meals came with bread:

When I saw it I thought it looked the same as the bread served at the counter service place. It was good and served warm. When we asked for more it was given.

DH ordered the beef shishkebab:

He thought it tasted good and the meat was tender. He enjoyed dipping the bread in the hummus and the sauce that was on the plate. He only wished the portion size was a little greater. Was the most $$ entree during our trip - $28.

I ordered the vegetable couscous. It was the only vegetarian entree I noticed on the menu:

This really disappointed me more than any other restaurant we had gone to. The couscous tasted very plain as if it had been cooked with no salt or veggie broth or anything. The vegetables on top were tender and I enjoyed the cabbage but did not have much flavor. I wondered where the delicious Morroccan spices were but could not find any.

I make my own Moroccan veggies with couscous at home and I think I could give them a new recipe to work with. It just tasted so plain and I know that is not the flavor or Morocco at all. Also, the portion size I thought was small (only seven garbanzo beans???) which is why we asked for more bread.

When I had first looked at the menu one of the desserts sounded delicious - fruit salad with mint ice cream. However, when a table next to us got it it was ordinary fruit (mostly apples, other standard stuff) with normal mint chocolate chip ice cream on top. After seeing that I figured I could just make that at home very easily so didn't end up getting any dessert.

The flavors really disappointed me. DH was also slightly disappointed but more about the price and the portions than the flavor.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Really enjoyed your reviews so far. My husbands vegetarian so I always look for veggie dining reviews. Disappointed in your Marrakesh experience, I would really like to try it but the thought of DH being served plain cous cous put me off. Your review sealed the deal, I imagined it would be a bland dish and it obviously was!

 

[BebopBaloo]

I really enjoyed your reviews!! Thanks so much for sharing! Dining at Disney is one of the best parts for me. I think because I'm lactose intolerant and it's so easy to find things to eat with their handy ingredient notebooks. Also, thanks for sharing about the culinary tour!

 

[englishrose47]

Great reviews !! I agree about Pops asian section !! The shrimp LoMein was sortof blah too! The Y &Y cs was much better !!

 

[etoiles]

Really enjoyed your reviews so far. My husbands vegetarian so I always look for veggie dining reviews. Disappointed in your Marrakesh experience, I would really like to try it but the thought of DH being served plain cous cous put me off. Your review sealed the deal, I imagined it would be a bland dish and it obviously was!

They could have been having an off night but there was no comparison between Marrakesh and the Rose and Crown.

I really enjoyed your reviews!! Thanks so much for sharing! Dining at Disney is one of the best parts for me. I think because I'm lactose intolerant and it's so easy to find things to eat with their handy ingredient notebooks. Also, thanks for sharing about the culinary tour!

Thanks! It is easy to eat at Disney with a special diet since they are so open and knowledgeable about their ingredients!

Great reviews !! I agree about Pops asian section !! The shrimp LoMein was sortof blah too! The Y &Y cs was much better !!

Thanks! What is the Y&Y cs?? I might have to try that one next time!

 

[etoiles]

On our last day as we drove off we stopped at Downtown Disney for lunch since we had not gone there before and went to the Wolfgang Puck Express.

Although it was a counter service place and much cheaper than other restaurants we went to DH loved it and declared it his favorite restaurant!

I got a pasta dish that came with a side salad:

The salad was a good, average salad. I like the greens that came with it since they are better than average iceburg lettuce.

The pasta dish I ordered was a four cheese baked macaroni:

It was just okay for me. The flavors of the cheese were not too strong but it was very creamy. The pasta was cooked al dente. After seeing DH's flatbread dish though I immediately regreted my order.

DH ordered the BBQ beef flatbread:

He loved this!!! The flatbread did look delicious. It had carmelized onions with cheese and the BBQ beef. The bread was chewy in some parts and crispy in others. He did give me a few chips to try and they were delicious as well. Crunchy and covered in a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. He told me that if we go back again he definitely wants to return here for this dish!

We shared a side of fries:

Since I normally rarely have french fries I made sure I had an abundance on this trip!! They were crispy and delicious!

Overally, we would definitely go back but I would skip the pasta and order the veggie flatbread!

 

[etoiles]

Before we left Disney we walked right across from the Wolfgang Puck Express and stopped at Goofy's Candy Company since I had heard such nice things from the DIS about the customized candy creations!

DH and I both ordered customized pretzel sticks. We both filled out the form wrong though since there are three pretzel sticks. The CS person told me that I could have one topping on each pretzel stick (and originally I only marked two toppings).

Here are my creations:

I got all three dipped in white chocolate and then one was coated in reese pieces, one oreo cookie, and one butterfinger. Then, they were drizzled in milk chocolate.

Here are DH's creations:

All three were dipped in white chocolate and coated in M&Ms, mini chocolate chips, and oreo cookie. Then, drizzled in milk chocolate.

I don't think you need an explanation of how these tasted. Pictures speak for themselves!!! It is a miracle that these survived the drive home before they were eaten.

 

[etoiles]

That's my dining report! I had a wonderful trip and had great meals thanks to the advice of the DIS boards. Thanks everyone!!

Now just sadness that the trip is over.

 

[tlynk]

Yummy- that BBQ beef flatbread does look good.

 

[BebopBaloo]

The pretzels look really yummy. Do you know if they have a dark chocolate that you can dip them into that is lactose free? Most dark chocolates don't have milk... Then I could have it rolled in oreo crumbs! Just curious.

Thanks for your reviews! We're 2 weeks outfrom our trip!

 

[hucifer]

Thanks for your reviews! I'm a vegetarian and I love to read about other experiences.

I agree that vegetables can be hard to find in the World sometimes. And I'm VERY disappointed looking at some of the vegetarian options on the menus at AllEarsNet...all Pasta With Vegetables. How boring! These are upscale restaurants, can't they get more creative than that? I would love to throw these chefs a vegetarian cookbook so they can dream up better ideas than Pasta With Vegetables. Ugh. I mean, imagine being a meat eater and every restaurant you visited only had Chicken Parmesan.

That's why I fell in love with Jiko, Boma, and Liberty Tree -- vegetarian options that go beyond Pasta With Vegetables.

I have a solo trip coming up in a week and am eating at the Rose and Crown for the first time, so I'm happy to read your positive reviews there.

I actually liked the couscous dish at Marrakesh, although I agree it could have used a little more flavor.

Thanks again!