ANOTHER 21 days in WDW+DXDDP=hundreds of food pics (COMPLETED 3/2!)

[iluvpluto27]

I'm not much of a breakfast eater, but I really fancied getting to MK before the park opened, therefore I was able to grab an 8:05 slot at Crystal Palace, 90 days out.

We arrived at MK around 7:40, and were let in at 7:50. There were tons of people waiting to check in, some with much later breakfast reservations, so it took forever to check in. We were one of the first parties seated at 8:05, and our waiter greeted us immediately. He brought orange juice and coffee, and was attentive in that he kept our juice topped up, and brought the check quickly.

There's a large buffet here with a good selection of both hot and cold foods. For my first plate I chose a slice of breakfast pizza (nice mix of cheese and scrambled egg), potato casserole (good, potatoes and soft and sauce creamy), and some breakfast lasagne. I love this stuff, it's very good but very sweet, there were berries, pancakes, some sort of pound cake, topped with caramalised bananas which were delicious.

DH chose to get a cheese omlette made which he said was good. He also had some scrambled eggs, a biscuit, potato casserole and a croissant.

For my second plate I had some corn beef hash (very tasty), more potato casserole, vegetable fritata (ok, a little bland), strawberries and a donut hole.

DH had some raspberry crumb cake which he really liked, donut holes and a pain au chocolat which he said was good.

The food and service were good here but the characters were very slow coming round. We were there just under an hour and only saw Eeyore and Pooh. Piglet nearly got to us, but just before he reached our table they started the parade thing, and he moved to a different part of the restaurant. I wanted to make rope drop, and we'd both had more than enough to eat, so we decided just to leave.

My ankle was still hurting so we decided to leave MK around 11:40. On our way out we stopped in the Main St Confectionary store to use up some more snack credits. I chose a piece of Celebration Fudge which had biscuit and marshmallow in the middle. It was good but too sweet for me, and I think we ended up throwing most of it away.

DH chose the Reeses Pieces Fudge which we both really liked, a nice blend of chocolate and peanut butter flavour, and we nibbled on this for the next couple of days.

 

[iluvpluto27]

We'd been planning to grab a CS meal at Columbia Harbour House in Magic Kingdom today, but as we had to leave earlier than planned, we ate at Artist's Palette instead.

I rested my ankle while DH grabbed lunch. He got me a Chicken Cordon Bleu Panini which was ok. The chicken was a bit dry, the ham was fine but I don't really eat a lot of ham and the cheese was nice. The bread was soft and it was served with thick, crunchy chips.

DH had another vegetable flatbread, he said it was nice again, with the roasted vegetables adding lots of flavour, but it was a bit cold by the time he got it back to the room.

For dessert he chose cupcakes, one vanilla and one chocolate. These were good, the cake was very soft and plenty of sweet frosting on top.

Overall an ok lunch, but I much preferred the food we got from WPE the previous day.

Coming up next - dinner at Kouzzina.

 

[disney_princess_85]

Great reviews, as always!

I love the look of this:

I'm staying at SSR in August and I think I'll go for the vegetable flatbread, being a vegetarian. It looks very nice, as do the cupcakes. Did you notice any other veggie options while you were there?

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Nice update. Cant wait to read about Kouzzina. We ate there on our trip. I haven't gotten to that part on my tr yet but should be there tonight or tomorrow. I loved Kouzzina. I hope you had a good experience too.

We loved in CP breakfast when we were there in 08'. Very good breakfast. It was one of the few places that I think I would do again before having an opportunity to try everywhere else. The pictures are great. That vegie flatbread looks delicious. Let's face it, you can't beat WPE for a cs meal so you really shouldn't even try.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Great reviews, as always!

I love the look of this:



I'm staying at SSR in August and I think I'll go for the vegetable flatbread, being a vegetarian. It looks very nice, as do the cupcakes. Did you notice any other veggie options while you were there?

Thank you very much, DH really liked that omlette. I'm pretty sure the vegetable flatbread was the only vegetarian entree available at Artists Palette. A little bit disappointing but to be fair they don't have a huge selection there anyway, but it's adequate for a couple of meals.

Nice update. Cant wait to read about Kouzzina. We ate there on our trip. I haven't gotten to that part on my tr yet but should be there tonight or tomorrow. I loved Kouzzina. I hope you had a good experience too.

We loved in CP breakfast when we were there in 08'. Very good breakfast. It was one of the few places that I think I would do again before having an opportunity to try everywhere else. The pictures are great. That vegie flatbread looks delicious. Let's face it, you can't beat WPE for a cs meal so you really shouldn't even try.

Thank you very much. I liked Kouzzina but not as much as I liked Spoodles, DH enjoyed his meal more though, so may be I just picked the wrong dishes. And very true about not being able to beat WPE for cs food!

 

[klacey1]

I always drool over CP breakfasts-- it seems like people usually really enjoy that place! DBF isn't a breakfast person, though, so I probably won't be able to convince him to go here :-(

 

[Queenofallthings]

Excellent report! We just finished dinner, but somehow after reading your report I'm hungry

We are trying The Plaza for the first time at the beginning of February....I'm looking forward to trying something new!!!

Can't wait for more

 

[iluvpluto27]

I always drool over CP breakfasts-- it seems like people usually really enjoy that place! DBF isn't a breakfast person, though, so I probably won't be able to convince him to go here :-(

Crystal Palace does serve a really nice breakfast, I hope you manage to convince your DBF to go at some point!

Excellent report! We just finished dinner, but somehow after reading your report I'm hungry

We are trying The Plaza for the first time at the beginning of February....I'm looking forward to trying something new!!!

Can't wait for more

Thank you very much. We really liked the The Plaza and I hope you have a good meal there too, I'm hoping to return on our next trip.

 

[iluvpluto27]

We both really liked Spoodles and were disappointed when we realised it would be closed before our trip. As soon as Kouzzina started taking reservations we made one, in the hope we would enjoy it as much as we had Spoodles.

We had an early 6:20 reservation at Kouzzina, as we had preferred viewing for Illumninations afterwards, and I didn't want to be late. There was no queue to check in, we were given a pager but buzzed pretty much immediately.

The restaurant itself was busy and very loud, I think due to the fact it's such a big, open space. We were given a very small two top, right in front of the open kitchen which gave us a good view of the chefs in action.

Our server was good here and considering they had only been open a couple of weeks, he seemed very familiar with the menu. He kept our water topped up, chatted to us about English football and seemed attentive.

To drink I had the Sun Kissed Cocktail, this was a good citrusy drink, very refreshing.

DH had the Greek Isles Wine Flight, which he thought contained a good selection of wine, representing good value for money at $15.

To start I chose the Kouzzina spreads consisting of Harissa Yogurt, Kalamata Fig, and Chickpea Hummus with Grilled Pita bread. The harissa dip had a nice kick to it, the fig dip tasted fruity but had a fair bit of spice too and the hummus was good. Overall this was an ok appetiser, but a much much smaller portion than Spoodles used to serve with their Mediterranean dips, and probably not quite as tasty either.

DH chose the Spanakopita, Traditional Phyllo Pie of Spinach, Feta, Leeks, and Dill. The pastry was buttery and crispy, the filling was delicious with a good balance of spinach to feta cheese, and the tomato salsa it was served with was tasty, and complimented the pastry well.

For my entree I was torn between the whole fish and the fishermans stew, but eventually decided on the stew. It contained Scallops, Red Snapper, Prawns and Mussels in a white wine and ouzo sauce. The scallops were very well cooked, but the prawns were slightly overdone. There was only one piece of red snapper in the dish and that was very overcooked. My main issue with the dish was that it was so incredibly spicy, the sauce totally overpowered the delicate flavours of the fish. My mouth was on fire after a few bites, and I couldn't even taste the prawns, never mind any wine or ouzo in the sauce. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be that spicy, but if so it should really mention it on the menu as I would have ordered something else. I ended up eating the bread and a few bites of the fish before giving up on this dish.

The vegetarian option here was Spiced Briami - Oven-roasted Vegetables, Oregano, Mazithra Cheese served with Herbed Orzo. In contrast to my dish, DH couldn't taste any spices at all in this, but he said it had some good flavours from the vegetables. The vegetables were mainly aubergine, potatoes and peppers and all had been cooked well, as had the pasta. He enjoyed this but felt it was a little bland.

For dessert I chose the Galaktoboureko - Semolina Custard in Baked Phyllo Dough and Vanilla-Praline Gelato. This was nice but the texture of the custard was very thick, and it actually tasted very similar to the bread pudding we'd got from Earl of Sandwich. The pastry was well cooked and the gelato had a good strong, praline flavour to it.

DH had the Loukoumades - Freshly Made Greek Doughnuts drizzled with Warm Honey. The donuts were made with a very light batter, they were still a little bit doughy but not far off being perfect. They were served with a vanilla and a strawberry dip, both were good but DH felt the strawberry dip was just slightly too tart. It was a big portion for a dessert as he got 6 or 7 doughnuts, but he managed to finish them.

Overall we had an ok meal here. The service was really good but the food was hit and miss, with neither of us loving our entrees. I felt they needed to get the spicing of the food right, but I'm sure that will come with time. Based on this meal I definitely preferred Spoodles, but I actually think DH preferred Kouzzina.

We were out within around 80 minutes so we were in plenty of time for Illumniations. If you book your trip through Disney UK you get a preferred viewing of Illuminations included in the package. It's based at the boat dock in Morocco and opens at 8:30. I wasn't sure what the view would be like from here but it's really good and pretty quiet, definitely worth taking advantage of.

Coming next - Tokyo Dining

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Sorry this was a downer for you! Your review made me glad that I didn't try to fit Kouzzina in this trip. The menu really didn't appeal to me and I have read a few mixed review.

I miss Spoodles!

 

[Nancy for Disney]

That is so funny that you had such the opposite view of fisherman's stew than I did. It was my favorite. I didn't find the spices too hot but it was very flavorful. It just goes to show different strokes for different folks.

 

[lizzyb]

Great reviews!

 

[cbg1027]

I had a problem with the spicing at Kouzzina too. Mainly an over use of salt!

CP, however, looks divine as usual!

 

[Linda67]

Can't wait to hear your review of Tokyo Dining as we have an ADR there for our March trip
Really enjoying your reviews so far

 

[disney_princess_85]

I had the same vegetarian entrée at Kouzzina and, while I was impressed, there wasn't enough of it! I'm not really a big eater and I finished my food before DBF (who has a big appetite and eats quickly). Unfortunately, I was still hungry afterwards.

Looking forward to Tokyo Dining!

 

[klacey1]

Your reviews are so good and descriptive! Like PP said, your review convinced me that I have no desire to eat at Kouzzina. It just doesn't look appetizing...

 

[Cat0727]

Yum! I just read this entire thread and your reviews are great! I'm still on the fence over whether or not to dine at Kouzzina, it seems overrated & overhyped to me. I wish I had the chance to dine at Spoodles before it got replaced

 

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

so enjoying this thread!!! im off to look at your other one in a few. this is great- dh and i have been 4 times to disney together and without kids it was okay eat and go. until our trip in 05 we never really knew about the restuarants little lone about the ddp!!!!

october we got to use the ddp with kids- cant just feed them a diet of popcorn. so we did the basic ones for kids- not brave enough to go all out. this tip in april were going outside the box and trying some that youve reviewed. glad to see they look amazing! you can read the menus online all you want- bhut without visuals and opinions- it means nothing!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Sorry this was a downer for you! Your review made me glad that I didn't try to fit Kouzzina in this trip. The menu really didn't appeal to me and I have read a few mixed review.

I miss Spoodles!

I miss spoodles too. Kouzzina was just a mixed bag for us, if they could have got their spicing right we would have enjoyed it much more.

That is so funny that you had such the opposite view of fisherman's stew than I did. It was my favorite. I didn't find the spices too hot but it was very flavorful. It just goes to show different strokes for different folks.

I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to spicy food so I was probably more sensitive to it. This wasn't just a little hot though, it was vindaloo style hot! I'm glad you enjoyed your meal there though.

Great reviews!

Thank you very much.

I had a problem with the spicing at Kouzzina too. Mainly an over use of salt!

CP, however, looks divine as usual!

We didn't find it too salty on our visit, but I guess they were still trying to get used to the new dishes and may be hadn't achieved consistency with the spicing.

Can't wait to hear your review of Tokyo Dining as we have an ADR there for our March trip
Really enjoying your reviews so far

Thank you very much. Tokyo Dining coming up now.

I had the same vegetarian entrée at Kouzzina and, while I was impressed, there wasn't enough of it! I'm not really a big eater and I finished my food before DBF (who has a big appetite and eats quickly). Unfortunately, I was still hungry afterwards.

Looking forward to Tokyo Dining!

Glad you enjoyed the veggie offering there. DH didn't think it was too small a portion, but to be fair on the dxddp we were never starving before a meal anyway.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Your reviews are so good and descriptive! Like PP said, your review convinced me that I have no desire to eat at Kouzzina. It just doesn't look appetizing...

Thank you very much. It wasn't awful it just wasn't great either. If the reviews start to become more consistent we may give it another try next year.

Yum! I just read this entire thread and your reviews are great! I'm still on the fence over whether or not to dine at Kouzzina, it seems overrated & overhyped to me. I wish I had the chance to dine at Spoodles before it got replaced

Thank you very much. We really liked spoodles, Kouzzina just wasn't great when we ate there, but it hadn't been open very long so it may have got better.

so enjoying this thread!!! im off to look at your other one in a few. this is great- dh and i have been 4 times to disney together and without kids it was okay eat and go. until our trip in 05 we never really knew about the restuarants little lone about the ddp!!!!

october we got to use the ddp with kids- cant just feed them a diet of popcorn. so we did the basic ones for kids- not brave enough to go all out. this tip in april were going outside the box and trying some that youve reviewed. glad to see they look amazing! you can read the menus online all you want- bhut without visuals and opinions- it means nothing!

Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying the reviews. Hope you enjoy the restaurants you try in April.