Annual Passholder's 2011 Eats! Updated 7/11

lsmommy

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 30, 2011
Messages
36
Hi!

So this is going to be a different kind of food review report. We live about 30 minutes away from Disney (in a suburb of Orlando) and have annual passes (well I have an annual and my husband has a seasonal and the kiddo doesn't need one) and we pop over to Disney every other Friday during seasonal dates! And more frequently during food and wine!


Cast Members

Me - I'm a stay-at-home mommy most of the time who does software consulting to a big defense company for vacation (and savings boo!) money. I've always liked Disney and visited a lot as a kid growing up in SW Florida. My family either took day trips or stayed at Fort Wilderness. I'm fairly crafty and I think I'm super hilarious. I'm trying to shed my pregnancy weight but Disney calories don't count right! It just adds to the excitement of heading over to WDW property. My favorite park is Magic Kingdom because there's nothing I don't throughly enjoy in that park.

My eating habits include lots of sweets and a serious love of shellfish. I have been on a sushi kick ever since the birth of my daughter. I ate sushi for every meal but breakfast for a week (and breakfast was always a tall coffee!) for the 2 weeks we were in the hospital following her birth. My favorite restaurant at WDW is California Grill. My least favorite restaurant is the Sci-Fi dinner. I don't like a lot of fried foods. Also, watching small children eat grosses me out. and sometimes gives me the heaves. I'm working on it.

Mr. Incredible - my husband. He is my own personal Mr. Incredible… without the hair. He works for the same defense company that I consult for (although we met through mutual friends) and is very brilliant. He's also very understanding, likes to have everything neat and organized (a touch OCD), and generally likes everything I suggest. He would probably say that I am his Mrs. Incredible. He didn't like Disney when we met (something about a bad experience at MVMCP with his sister in their teens) but wanted to go on a Disney cruise for his 25th birthday (he heard they were the cleanest). He then changed his mind about Disney (I think part of it was the food) and actually MISSED it when our passes lapsed.

When we met he would eat nothing but junk (chicken fingers, taco bell) but when we started dating I would offer him some of my plate and I think he ate it to be polite but really started liking food! I take credit for introducing him to all kinds of things but he still won't eat plain sour cream (has to be hidden), delicious smelly cheeses, or raw fish sushi. His favorite restaurant is Artist Point (he loves buffalo meat) and his least favorite is Raglan Road.

Roo - my baby. Roo is 5 months old at the beginning of our adventures (March 2011) and is very small for her age. She was born 3 lbs, 9 oz and even though she grows on the correct curve she's in the 5th percentile for weight and the 25th percentile for height so she's still itty bitty! She's very bright and interested in things. She's usually very smiley but at Disney that goes out the window because she is so intense about the different things we are seeing! I'm lucky because she very rarely cries at WDW, so far just at Basin (intense smells) and on the harder changing tables. You may see me slip up in my recaps and call her Buddha, which is the other nickname due to her fantastic belly. Her nickname of Roo came early on in the NICU because she looooved Kangaroo time.

Roo just started solids and her favorite foods are oatmeal and applesauce. She does not like peaches. I think in a couple of months she'll start eating off our plates? She's my first kid so I'm not really sure how that works… any advice is appreciated!

Our eating adventures begin March 3, 2011 and will go until the end of the year so stay tuned all year long!
 
Sorry, we didn't get a chance to take pictures at this meal. Roo was antsy and hungry so we had to do the "you feed her while I eat, I'll finish up while you eat." rush.

My meal: 4 Cheese Pizza and a Cherry Coke.

The 4 Cheese Pizza is my absolute favorite thing to get at a Disney Counterservice. It is the perfect balance of crispy and chewy. There is some slices of tomato and basil on the pizza but not so many that they overwhelm the cheese. It could use some more goat cheese in my opinion but for me there's never enough goat cheese!

Mr. Incredible's meal: Chicken Pesto Sandwich and a diet coke.

When Mr. Incredible saw the words "Chicken Pesto Sandwich" he was instantly transported back to our honeymoon and this amazing Chicken Pesto panini that he would get in the cruise boat's creperie while I gorged myself on crepes of every kind imaginable. He loved that panini.

However, the Chicken Pesto sandwich at Wolfgang Pucks is not a panini but more of a Chicken Pesto SALAD variety.

Mr. Incredible was sad. He said that the sandwich was ok but it was cold and not warm and not a panini. You know how something can be good but it's not good because it's not what you were expecting. I think that was his experience.

And to top it off the sandwich came with chips that were not crispy yet burnt at the same time.

I took half my pizza to go and Mr. Incredible shrugged off his sadness and we headed out. I ate my pizza one night later in a fit of starvation at 1 am. It was still delicious.

Up Next: Artist Point
 
First, I'd like to say :cheer2:Welcome:cheer2: to our community! Next, I'd like to express my jealousy...a sweet new baby, wonderful family, and close proximity to WDW....:worship:you are living the dream! I'll be looking forward to all your dining adventures, so please keep eating, LOL!
 
Great start! You are so lucky to live so close to be able to visit multiple times throughout the year. I'm looking forward to more of your reviews!
 

A quick update before I have to finish packing...

On Friday (3 days ago!) I got a call from a family friend who has a friend who has a DVC membership. And this friend of a friend had points that were going to expire at the end of this month that she couldn't use. So, to make a story short we will be staying at a 1-bedroom in Old Key West May 23-May 27 and a 1-bedroom in Saratoga Springs May 30 - June 1! We're really excited.

It won't be a traditional vacation in the beginning. My husband works about 15 minutes away from Disney so today - Wednesday he will be going to work from Old Key West! I do have some consulting work that I had promised to do on Tuesday and Wednesday night so I will be working those days from the condo.

But enough with that... here are our eating plans!

Tonight: kicking the trip off right with Earl of Sandwich and some treats from Goofy's!
Tuesday night: Beaches and Cream with GiGi (my mother)
Wednesday: lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express, dinner in the 1 bedroom
Thursday: eating around the world at Epcot all day long (back up plan in case the baby is too tired to stay at Epcot for dinner: Disney pizza take-out)
Friday: lunch ADR at Tony's Town Square

Then we'll go home for the weekend and we have a beach party to go to on Saturday and a day with my in-laws on Sunday. Then back to Saratoga Springs on Monday.

Monday: dinner ADR at The Turf Club Bar and Grill
Tuesday: lunch at Artist's Palette, dinner at Artist Point

We plan on eating breakfasts and some lunches in our condos at the resorts to save a little bit of money since this is a last minute vacation and opposed to saving for the vacation we're going into our savings for the vacation. And for some reason it just feels different that way!

Can't wait to report on all our goodies!
 
On Friday 5/13/2011 we decided to check out DHS for the day!

As soon as we exited the Great Movie Ride I knew that I realized that not only was I hungry but so was Roo! I could smell the hamburgers from ABC Commissary (or possibly Sci-Fi) and that's what I wanted so off we went.

Seeing it was barely after 11 am we the Commissary was very empty but there was a little bit of a line forming at the registers.

After looking at the menu I discovered that my hamburger would come with fried shrimp. I didn't know if I could handle a burger, fried shrimp, and fries and still feel great enough to go tromping around DHS in the heat so I suggested to my husband that we split the burger.

Reluctantly Mr. Incredible agreed after reassurance that we would also get a kid's nugget meal and if he was still hungry he could order another item we got in line to order!

What we ordered was:

Hamburger with Fried Shrimp and Fries
Large Diet Coke
Kids Chicken Nuggets with all the unhealthy sides (soda, fries, and a cookie)

Off to the side was the condiments station which had ketchup, mustard, and mayo but no cheese sauce. I was hoping but no dice.

After easily finding a place to sit we decided that I would start feeding Roo while Mr. Incredible downed the chicken nugget meal (I didn't want any of that).

While feeding the baby I looked around at the decor. It was nice and quiet and air conditioned. There were palm trees around but they were nicely spaced out. One of my favorite shows, Modern Family was playing and that won me over. I officially liked the atmosphere.

Back to the food. Mr. Incredible scarfed the chicken nuggets and kid's fries. They were like flat round disks of breaded chicken. He liked them a lot but he was also hungry so that could have affected his judgement.

We switched roles and I cut the hamburger in half. It looked pretty nice with it's tower of shrimp!


2011_05_13_hollywood_studios-125 by michaelsnead, on Flickr

The burger itself was overdone and dry. Bleh. The bun had a nice creamy subtle horseradish sauce.

The fried shrimp were fantastic! Just like the ones at Columbia Harbour House. I was happy when Mr. Incredible didn't want any. They are perfectly cooked. Not too much breading and no burnt sections.

The fries I thought were ok. By the time I got to them they were a little cold so I don't feel like I could give them a fair review. I like piping hot fries!

For desert I ate the kid's chocolate chip cookie. It was moist and crumbly. Nice flavor, similar to my at home choc chip cookie recipe.

We did go to the bathroom before we left the Commissary and this was the one area that I didn't like. The bathrooms are too small to share with Sci-Fi dinner and the lunch rush hadn't even hit yet! Also, it's hard to change a baby on their slick metal baby care center. As I was pulling off her shorts she was sliding all over the place.

Overall we'd be back to ABC Commissary for lunch. I really enjoyed my fried shrimp and although the burger wasn't wonderful, it was ok. Mainly I liked the cool calm atmosphere with a good TV show playing. It was a relaxing break but that could be because we were there at the start of lunch on a day of medium crowds.

Oh, and did Mr. Incredible go get a second lunch? Nope, he was pleasantly full but not overstuffed! He admitted I was right and I basked in my glory for a bit!
 
First, I'd like to say :cheer2:Welcome:cheer2: to our community! Next, I'd like to express my jealousy...a sweet new baby, wonderful family, and close proximity to WDW....:worship:you are living the dream! I'll be looking forward to all your dining adventures, so please keep eating, LOL!

Great start! You are so lucky to live so close to be able to visit multiple times throughout the year. I'm looking forward to more of your reviews!

Fun!! I can't wait to read your ongoing reviews! :cool1:


Ongoing reviews sound great. Lucky you to be so close! popcorn::

great idea - oh to just need a short trip togo through the gates at Disney :goodvibes:

This should be fun!!

I do feel lucky to live so close. Thank goodness we ignored the local scorn about WDW and gave into the Disney hype!

That is some burger! :laughing:

Right! I mean, I have no idea what inspired a burger topped with a stack of fried shrimp.
 
So 2 Monday's ago we checked into Old Key West for the week! :woohoo:

But my husband still had to work until Thursday so it didn't feel like we were officially on vacation yet. To try to inspire that vacation feeling we decided to go down to DTD and have dinner at Earl of Sandwich.

We decided to drive because I wasn't sure about the buses yet or how the baby would react to being in a restaurant lately or being out later than usual and I wanted the comfort of knowing that our car was nearby to zoom back to OKW if needed.

First we checked out the little parking lot near Team Mickey but it was crazy! People jumping out of vans and going to stand in recently vacated spots. Fists waving out of windows. So we went to the bigger lot next door which was half empty. :laughing: I hate fighting over parking spots.

DTD looked busy at first but I think that was just because there were performers out and they attracted crowds so there were big groups of people and then lots of empty space.

Earl of Sandwich had was bustling inside but had lots of empty tables outside and it was nice so Roo and I got settled while Mr. Incredible got the food.

I had the Best BLT (smoked bacon, lettuce, Roma tomatoes and seasoned mayonnaise), Mr. Incredible had the Cannonballs (meatballs, mozzarella and parmesan cheese and marinara sauce), and we each had a bag of chips and a soda.


IMG_0161 by michaelsnead, on Flickr

My Best BLT

I loved my best BLT! I usually get The Original but last time it had a lot of fat on it and I wasn't feeling all that excited about it anymore. The best BLT was the perfect choice for me!

The bread was amazing, as usual, and the bacon was crispy and salty and plentiful. The veggies were very fresh and the mayo had a nice peppery spice to it. I will say that I enjoy salt throughly and this sandwich was this short of too salty for me. If you're sensitive to salty I would not recommend this sandwich. But I will definitely be getting this next time!

Mr. Incredible loved his Cannonballs. He's a big fan of meatball subs and EoS is his favorite. He didn't say much but "it's awesome."

The chips were meh. Worse than the kettle cooked I pick up at Publix on the regular. But since I do like to have something with my sandwich next time we will try a salad.

Roo did shockingly well. She sat on my lap and ate Gerber puffs from her little snack ball and drank water and was happy. That kid is always happy with a cup of water.

We didn't get dessert... we were too close to Goofy's Candy Company to settle for EoS dessert!
 
I love Downtown Disney. It gives me a little fix of Disney on those weekends where I don't want to full-out go to a Disney park (usually due to heat and crowds) and there's delicious food and a wonderful candy store!

I usually get people special little gifts from Goofy's Candy. I think that it just makes people smile a little bit more than normal candy.

After our EoS dinner we went over to Goofy's to grab some treats to go. Ms. Roo was getting very tired.

I got something that was labeled "Giant Fudge-filled Cookie". It was a giant mint oreo.


IMG_0163 by michaelsnead, on Flickr


IMG_0165 by michaelsnead, on Flickr


IMG_0164 by michaelsnead, on Flickr

It tasted just like you would think, a giant mint oreo! I love oreos but don't have them often (I try to keep cookies out of the house...) and I was in love.

Mr. Incredible got a bag of Runts.


IMG_0167 by michaelsnead, on Flickr


IMG_0168 by michaelsnead, on Flickr

Apparently he is crazy for Runts. I never knew. I thought they were overpriced so I'll be trying to find Runts elsewhere (I've never looked so maybe their regular grocery store candy?). But they made him very happy so whatever. It was his birthday trip.

I kept meaning to go back to Goofy's and grab the regular giant oreo but it never worked out. I'm considering going tomorrow after our Circque du Soliel/Wolfgang Puck Cafe' date!
 
The next day was a bit of a hectic one. The defense company that we work for got hacked and it was chaos all around.

My mother GiGi came to visit us because she loves a free vacation home (who doesn't?) and I think she desperately wanted to go to Disney with Roo and this was a way to accomplish that wish without buying a park ticket.

Also she knew I would be working on Tuesday and then she could "babysit" and have the baby all to herself. My mom LOVES to come up on days that I work.

Anyhoo, breakfast was oatmeal and lunch was GiGi's famous pasta salad. But dinner was going to be special. I wanted to take GiGi to Beaches and Cream.

Mr. Incredible came "home" and we drove over to the Beach Club and valet parked with our TIW card. After dragging GiGi through the Beach Club (she can be a bit of a slowpoke) we arrived at Beaches and Cream.

The hostess was terrible and incredibly unenthusiastic. When I asked for a table for 3 with a highchair she told me it would be a 20 minute wait. That was fine with me, we would just feed Roo dinner in the meantime. So I told her to sign me up. She asked if I was sure. I was sure. She asked if the baby would be able to wait that long. For what? I said it would be fine and she reluctantly handed me a pager and wrote my name down. She did the same thing with the family right after us!

We waited 10 minutes. In those 10 minutes we fed Roo a sweet potato/corn/apple concoction. I make homemade puree's for her at home but on vacation she was getting the pouched processed stuff. She loves the pouched processed stuff.

Our buzzer went off and our hostess showed us to our table by handing us menus and pointing to a table inside. Prior to this trip I decided that we would be trying Roo in a highchair. She crawls and sits very well on her own and rides around in the shopping cart just fine so I figured we'd give it a try.

It took 3 requests from the hostess to get a high chair. Not because she forgot but she kept refusing to give me one. Finally I asked to see a manager and she handed over the chair.

Ms. Roo took to that chair like a champ.


2011_05_24_okw_vacation-51 by michaelsnead, on Flickr


2011_05_24_okw_vacation-46 by michaelsnead, on Flickr

"Where's my puffs woman!" Geez. I pulled out her snack ball and started doling out the Gerber puffs.

Before our trip I asked Mr. Incredible his top three restaurants and was told: "Artist Point, Beaches and Cream, California Grill." He loves fries and burgers and peanut butter so he was excited for this dinner. GiGi was excited to be in public with Roo showing her off. I was excited about eating a dinner without a child on my lap. This was going to be awesome!

And the food was awesome too! GiGi and I split the Roast Beef Sub (Grilled Roast Beef with Au Jus and topped with Provolone Cheese, Grilled Onions, and Peppers) minus the peppers. Mr. Incredible got Cheeseburger (A juicy beef patty served on a fresh baked bun) without the cheese.

The Roast Beef Sub was very yummy. The bread was nicely toasted, the cheese perfectly melted and the meat was flavorful and not too fatty! It came with Au Jus and was wonderful dipped and then eaten. It was also served very hot. The fries were typical diner fries. They could have been a bit more crisp.

According to Mr. Incredible the burger was good. Typical burger nothing special.

And then we got what we came for. A No Way Jose' (A Peanut Butter and Hot Fudge Delight with Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Morsels, Whipped Cream and a Cherry).


IMG_0174 by michaelsnead, on Flickr

You can see the waitress shaking the puff snack ball in her hand to get my child's attention. It worked.

This No Way Jose' seemed to be the best so far. Loads of chocolate and peanut butter sauce and a lot of whip cream. All 3 of us went to town on the sundae but could not finish it all.

We used our TIW card, left an extra tip because our waitress also acted as our photographer, and left for another dreamy night in our dreamy bed at Old Key West.
 
Wednesday was a horrible day where we didn't eat one single Disney meal because the world blew up at Mr. Incredible's work and I got called in to solve a crisis and it was all nuts. We had beans n rice for dinner from a box at 11 PM at night.

But Thursday we were finally on vacation! And I had deemed Thursday Epcot day. And taco day. We were going to have tacos if we did nothing else!

We strolled over to La Cantina de San Angel around 10:50 AM got a primo spot and by the time we were all set up they were taking orders! For once I got the food and left Mr. Incredible to feed Roo.

We had only had a brief breakfast of Special K bars in line for the Character Spot so we were hungry. But I also had a plan. A plan to eat around the world!!!! To keep you from getting terribly excited, I failed.

I ordered tacos de carne (grilled beef tacos served on fresh handmade corn tortillas with Pico de Gallo, lime and corn tortilla chips) and tacos de pollo (marinated grilled chicken served on fresh handmade corn tortillas with Pico de Gallo, lime and corn tortilla chips). I considered a margarita but the last Epcot margarita I'd had was incredibly watery and I wasn't about to pay $9 for a watery margarita.


2011_05_24_okw_vacation-267 by michaelsnead, on Flickr

These were very simple (i.e. not a lot of toppings just some cilantro and lime) but very delicious tacos. Mr. Incredible's favorite tacos ever. The chips were good too, very salty. We both liked their pico de gallo and it's very similar to the way I make it at home. The carne tacos were made with beef brisket I do believe. It had a nice smokey flavor to it but we both preferred the chicken tacos. This order was a perfect amount of food for the both of us and we enjoyed looking out over the water eating delicious tacos.

This meal was a little heavy on the lime and salt so if you dislike either of those things I would go to another counter service. There are plenty!
 
Just found your reviews and I love them!!
It must be wonderful to live so close to WDW :)
Looking forward to reading more
 
A No Way Jose at B&C is my favorite dessert!
Your Roo is a cutie!

Were you at Winnie Palmer with her, if you don't mind me asking? My daughter who lives in Clermont had a PPROM at 29 weeks and had her baby there. I flew down to be with her and boy that is one great hospital.
 















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