Anniversary Trip Report 10/4-10/11 with food reviews and pics!!

[Jenna319]

We just got back from CSR yesterday and I thought I would post some of my thoughts and pics of some of the restaurants we went to, along with some other pics as well!

First, I will introduce myself and DH.


I am a 26-year old that is in love with everything Disney!!! My first trip to Disney was when I was 5 years old and we have been going pretty much every year, sometimes twice a year, since 1987. I work at a hospital in registration in the Chicago suburbs and this past year was very difficult for me because I lost my dad on Valentines Day to cancer, just four months after he walked me down the aisle.....
Me and my dad at Disney sometime in the 80s?



My DH is 30-years old and is also a big fan of Disney. He is an underwriter at AIG and loves the Los Angeles Dodgers, even though we are from Chicago!!



We got married on October 6, 2007.
Pic from our wedding:



This trip was to celebrate our 1-year anniversary. We had our disneymoon at the World last October and stayed at BCV, which I must say is my all-time favorite now.
Pics from our honeymoon last year:





Everyone we know always tell us to try someplace different next time we go on vacation but we are Mickey Fanatics! There's no place like Disney and whenever I plan our next trip, I always find myself wanting to go nowhere else but the World!
Restaurants being reviewed are:

1) Pepper Market
2) ESPN Club
3) Boma *breakfast*
4) Sunshine Seasons
5) Jiko
6) 1900 Park Fare
7) Spoodles
8) Wolfgang Puck Express
9) Maya Grill
10) Yachtsmans Steakhouse


So we arrived at CSR on Saturday, October 4th in early afternoon.







After check-in, we headed straight to the Pepper Market for lunch. I got the bourbon chicken w/ rice and DH got tacos.... he said the tacos were just okay but I loved the bourbon chicken!! Made a second trip here later in the week just to get the bourbon chicken one more time.... and I must say, they serve the biggest portions at the Pepper Market! Here is a pic of the bourbon chicken:


I got a M&M cookie for dessert and DH got a chocolate chip muffin..... I got 3 more cookies along the trip because these cookies were FABULOUS!

We had originally had ressies for Ohana's but since we ate so much for lunch, we decided to skip this one (since we ate there last time), and just eat late at ESPN Club.... we headed over to DD to do some souvenir shopping where John had to get a LA jersey at Team Mickey.... he was happy since we used a $50 gift card we got for him signing up for the Disney Visa so this only cost him $25!



and I just fooled around....



That night, we headed to the ESPN Club at the BW because DH had to watch his LA Dodgers beat our own Chicago Cubs, and they didn't have TBS in the resort (which I must say was a huge complaint for us, not just TBS but all the stations were HORRIBLE). We shared the nachos here and they were also very good, sorry no pic of the nachos.... I also had to run next door to Spoodles to try a glass of the much-talked about sangria! Very yummy!



Up next, Day 2 and 3, review of Boma breakfast, snacks at Goofys Candy Company, Sunshine Seasons, and Jiko for anniversary dinner!

 

[TigerKat]

I understand how hard it is to lose your Dad, I lost mine three years ago and it does get easier. Y'all are a cute couple!

 

[frdeb1999]

Happy Anniversary!! And Welcome Back! Looking forward to your review!

 

[jeminni]

Happy 1st anniversary. You two are a cute couple .

Looking forward to more reviews.

 

[Jenna319]

On day 2, we headed over to Boma for breakfast.....
I had heard such wonderful things about this place and was willing to try it even though me and my husband are very picky eaters.... when I got up to the reservations desk, they didn't have my reservation! I had my confirmation number but my number pulled up someone else's reservation!! But we still got seated fairly quickly.... Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the food but I will not be going back here.... we did not try everything because we are not that adventurous so my review is not going to be for everybody..... but I just did not see what was so special..... I did enjoy the jungle juice and the fresh fruit, I also had the sausage, bacon, banana bread, and some other things and not that anything was bad, but I just would not be willing to come here again when I can get a better deal at Ponderosa off-property! Just my opinion, I know a lot of people love it!

We spent the afternoon relaxing and reading in the hammocks at the Cabanas section at CSR..... definitely my favorite spot at the resort....






We saved a dinner credit this day because we were heading over to Universal's Halloween Horror Nights and ate off property BUT we did go over to Goofy's Candy Company at DD to create our own snacks..... after reading about this on the boards, I could not WAIT to try this and made a special trip over there just to do this. My husband, again not being adventurous and not being much of a sweets person just got a rice krispy treat dipped in dark chocolate.....



I tried to get him to add more stuff but he wouldn't budge! I, on the other hand, was much more creative.... I chose the pretzel rods, dipped in milk chocolate, with butterfinger and oreo crumbs, topped with caramel drizzle.... OMG DELICIOUS!



I went back on our last day because our CS at our hotel told us we could convert our 2 CS credits into 6 snack credits! So I wanted to bring some snacks home but Goofys couldn't convert it for us and we even tried Guest Relations at DD and they said it was up to each particular restaurant! I was looking forward to getting more of these and yeah, I could have paid but I wanted to use up our credits!! I would have rather gotten snack credits instead of having a breakfast on our last day.....

Like I said, this night we headed over to Universal for the Halloween Horror Nights..... just a quick note about that, to me, it was NOT as scary as I had hoped for! For me, it would have been scarier if there had not been so many people going into the haunted houses at the same time, because I always saw ahead where the actors were jumping out at you so I knew where they were hidden! Here is a pic of a blood bag! AKA a jello shot....



Day 3 was our first day at the parks!!! We headed over to Epcot for our Behind the Seeds tour at the Land.



I would recommend this tour if you like the boat ride at the Land, which we do! It was very cool to go behind the "seeds!"

After our tour, we got right on Soarin' with our fast passes we got before the tour! The line would have been 90 minutes! Then, we chose to go to Sunshine Seasons for lunch..... For me, this was our worst meal on our trip. I would never go back here. I got sweet and sour chicken


and DH I think got a turkey sandwich....



He enjoyed his sandwich and my chicken was just okay but there was only like 6 pieces of it!!! The rest was veggies, which I know I should eat but yuck! I was very disappointed and I had been starving and this just did not do it for me! For dessert, DH got a cookie and I got a butterfinger brownie which looked really good but I didn't like it. Too sweet....



This day was our actual anniversary so I planned reservations for Jiko, which we went to on our honeymoon and LOVED!
Again, this place did not disappoint! When we were seated, our waiter brought us over a happy anniversary card! Only at Disney!




We both got the filet mignon with macaroni and cheese......


This is my favorite meal ANYWHERE!! It is just sooooooooooo tasty! The mac and cheese is just perfect and the sauce it is in...... WOW.... I got the lemon curd for dessert and I don't remember what DH got here.... but everything was fantastic and we will definitely come back.... It is so worth the 2 credits for us!!!!

Overall, it was a great day for our 1-year!!! Up next, Day 4 & 5- 1900 Park Fare & our surprise cake I ordered for DH, MNSSHP, and my 2nd fave meal of the trip, Spoodles......

 

[TigerKat]

I have to agree with you on the Asian food at Sunshine Seasons, it's the one thing they don't do well. OMG, there have been many pics of the filet at JIKO posted before but yours is the winner, it's so close I can taste it!!!

 

[Jenna319]

LOL thanks! Ya I need to start uploading the pics so that they are a little smaller! They take over the screen! But it is good for the filet pic! hehehe

 

[World Bouncer]

I am throwing in another vote for your pic of the Filet at Jiko....

Winner, Winner, Winner!!!

 

[Jenna319]

Day 4- We had reservations for 1900 Park Fare for dinner. I was looking forward to this dinner because 1) I love the Grand Floridian and would love to be able to one day afford to stay there! and 2) I had ordered a surprise cake for DH for our anniversary! We had about a 15 minute wait when we checked in.... the restaurant was PACKED due to MNSSHP that night. Food was really good, standard buffet fare, whenever i go to a buffet, I just love all the cheapest things! Ex: cottage cheese, salad, macaroni & cheese! YUM! =) The characters were great, especially the wicked stepsisters!! Hilarious! Here are some character pictures:




The service was just okay. Since DH did not know about the cake, the waiter took FOREVER to bring it out after we were done and DH kept asking me to get the waiter for the bill so we could get going over to MK! I just kept saying, "Oh he knows to bring the bill.... he'll bring it when he gets around to it. Let's not rush!" But the cake was worth the wait! I wanted it to be LA Dodgers themed because DH loves the Dodgers.... of course, he wore the Chicago White Sox sweatshirt I got him to dinner and the waiter thought they had made a mistake with the cake! It was brought out with 2 glasses of champagne:





After dinner, we rushed over to MK for MNSSHP..... it was not nearly as crowded as last year when we went! We got on all the rides we wanted to without a wait, and was happy when the photopass woman took a pic with our camera too for this pic!




Day 5- Spent the day at Typhoon Lagoon and headed over to the Boardwalk for dinner at Spoodles.... this was one reservation that I thought I might cancel because I had not heard many reviews about this place and thought it might not be our cup of tea since we are both picky eaters..... in the end, I am thrilled that we kept this one! After Jiko, this is now my favorite restaurant on property!! We both LOVED the food and the service.... our waiter Wayne was hysterical and was our best waiter for the trip.... The bread was sooo tasty....


DH ordered the Oak-fired Steak Kabobs and finished every last bite! His favorite meal of the trip....


I ordered the Lemon-Garlic Shrimp Linguine....


all I can say is WOW.... I am not a big shrimp fan or pasta fan, more of a steak girl.... but I thought I would try something different for a change.... even though I was full, I forced myself to finish all the shrimp, this was SO tasty and refreshing, I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed it!! For dessert, DH ordered the Chocolate Financier cake and I got gelato.... dessert was nothing spectacular but enjoyable....

That night, I had bought tickets for DH's anniversary gift to the House of
Blues at DD to see the Blues Brothers featuring Dan Akyroyd and Jim Belushi!


He is a HUGE blues brothers fan and was thrilled to be able to go to this!! The concert was FANTASTIC and I got Jim Belushi's autograph!!!! Such a fun night!!

Up next, our final 2 days at Disney- Maya Grill and Yachtsmens Steakhouse....

 

[TigerKat]

I think we must be twins, I LOVE the shrimp pasta at Spoodles. Their Sangria is excellent.

 

[CanadianPaco]

So far so good! Thanks for the reviews!

 

[Nohal]

Happy Anniversary. Can't wait for more reviews.

 

[apurplebrat]

Great reviews
Happy Anniversary

 

[vikkii19]

Great review, can't wait for more.

 

[SunnieRN]

Great reviews, Happy Anniversary!

 

[KatMark]

Day 5- Spent the day at Typhoon Lagoon and headed over to the Boardwalk for dinner at Spoodles.... this was one reservation that I thought I might cancel because I had not heard many reviews about this place and thought it might not be our cup of tea since we are both picky eaters..... in the end, I am thrilled that we kept this one! After Jiko, this is now my favorite restaurant on property!! We both LOVED the food and the service.... our waiter Wayne was hysterical and was our best waiter for the trip.... The bread was sooo tasty....


DH ordered the Oak-fired Steak Kabobs and finished every last bite! His favorite meal of the trip....


I ordered the Lemon-Garlic Shrimp Linguine....


all I can say is WOW.... I am not a big shrimp fan or pasta fan, more of a steak girl.... but I thought I would try something different for a change.... even though I was full, I forced myself to finish all the shrimp, this was SO tasty and refreshing, I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed it!!

Welcome back. Hope you enjoyed your stay at CSR. You, along with MickeyNicki, have now convinced me that we MUST go to Spoodles next year so that I can have that Lemon-Garlic Shrimp Linugine. I love shrimp and both of your pictures have me drooling. Can't wait to read more.

 

[Jenna319]

On Day 6, we woke up early to rush over to MK for our Behind the Steam Trains Tour.... DH is a Lionel train fan and I thought this would be something he would enjoy.... it was a good tour, cool to go to the roundhouse where they work on the trains and the monorails!



and very cool to get a pic of MK before it opened!


Everyone was already lined up to get in because it was a EMH day and only tour people got to go in early, I was like "YEAH!" I felt soo cool going in first!

For lunch, we headed over to DD to go to Wolfgang Puck Express, one of my fave CS places! We went there last year on our honeymoon for the first time and it is well worth a CS credit on the dining plan.... we both love the pizza!! I chose the pepperoni and mushroon pizza and he got the margarhita pizza.... both were delicious!!! I just love this place if you are a pizza fan.... Here is a pic we took of our pizza last year at WP.....



We then we over to Hollywood Studios where my focus was to get on Toy Story Mania!!


The standy-by line said 70 minute wait and all the fast passes had been distributed for the day so we grudgingly got in line..... we were in line for 2 hours!! The ride was really fun!

I was pretty tired after waking up early for our tour and walking around HS and my original plan had been dinner at Mama Melrose but I had been there before and we had already missed our original reservation time because we were in line for TSM.... I really wanted the fantasmic package (which I couldnt get) and of all my times to disney, I have YET to see Fantasmic!!! But again, it didn't work out for us.... I didn't want to hang around for another 3 hours waiting for the fireworks.... so we chose to go back to CSR for a relaxing night in and dinner at Maya Grill.

Sorry I have no pics from the Maya Grill.... and I won't ever be posting any! This was my pick for worst meal of our trip..... Our waiter was BEYOND slow and the restaurant was not crowded at all. It took forever to order, get our drinks, get our meals, get our dessert, and get our bill..... it was just SLLLOOOWW.... And the food was mediocre to me. I ordered the beef tenderloin tips and DH got the ribeye steak.... after going to places like jiko for steak, I just couldn't enjoy this meal.... maybe if I went here the first night, I would have enjoyed it better..... but the food and service for me was not good. I wished we would have kept our MM ressie!

 

[Jenna319]

Day 7- our final day at Disney

We drove up to St Petersburg during the day and planned on spending the whole night at Epcot (this was EMH night!!). I had a reservation for the Yachtsmans Steakhouse.....


The Yacht and Beach Club resorts will always hold a special place in my heart because this is where we spent our honeymoon last year..... I just loved the Beach Club so it was really great to spend our last night's dinner here.... we were given a great table right by the window with a view of SAB! They handed us menus with a personalized message at the top!


It's the little things that count! This made my night! I love Disney! We decided to share a Caesar Salad and it was nice when they brought it out they had split it up on 2 plates for us.... I ordered the Yachtsman filet mignon...


DH got the New York Strip Steak



For dessert, they brought us out a special anniversary dessert!


I ordered the seasonal sorbet (I think?)


and DH got some kind of caramal apple tart


The service for this meal was exceptional and the steaks didn't disappoint either! We would definitely come back!

Well that's all for my reviews! Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!

Here are some random pics to leave you with.....

the gator in the lake at CSR!



A pic of us at our last dinner- Yachtsmans Steakhouse



Pyramid in Mexico Pavillion:

 

[KatMark]

Thanks for your reviews...enjoyed them. We have been debating whether to do dinner at Maya Grill next year. We figured since we stay at the CSR every year that we ought to give it a try. But your review made up my mind.

 

[TigerKat]

Thanks for taking the time to post your reviews!