**Back to the old stomping grounds- but this time with real food! -Raglan Road-**

[jude&jonah]

I am so excited to start my dining report- I started one for my 2011 trip and only made it half way through but this time I have "pre-written" the entire thing on my computer so I am determined to make it through it all this time!

I'm Erin and I'm 26- I traveled with Ryan who is also 26. We met 7 years ago at Disney World as cast members- he worked photopass at various parks and I worked as a lifeguard at the Grand Floridian. Although we live in opposite sides of the country- (Connecticut and Wisconsin respectively)- we have stayed very close friends all these years. I've been back to Disney once since working there- but this was Ryan's first time back to the magic. Last time Ryan was at Disney we lived on Raman noodles- and this time we get a whole dining plan just to ourselves. And we went nuts with trying things!

We stayed 6 nights at CBR and then I surprised Ryan with a 1 night stay at the Polynesian for our very last night. When we worked at Disney we were the kind of cast members that took advantage of all things Disney. We went to parks, walked around resorts all the time, and just stayed in the Disney magic as much as possible. Our favorite thing to do was drive over to the Polynesian and lay in the hammocks with ipads and books for an afternoon- so naturally a night at the Polynesian was a must- it was our dream resort.

When I came in 2011 with my Mom I did basically every signature restaurant imaginable- but this time we decided to do regular dining and try lots of 1 credit restaurants and quick-service options to change things up a bit. We did do one repeat from my last trip- Jiko!

We will be reviewing:

Old Port Royale
Raglan Road
The Plaza
Sunshine Seasons
Yorkshire Fish Shop
Boulangerie Patisserie
Flame Tree BBQ
Sanaa
Wolfgang Puck Express
Jiko
Starring Rolls
Chefs de France
Cap'n Cooks
Grand Floridian Cafe

And we did cover important snacks and cocktails such as:

The carrot cake cookie
Crepes
DHS cupcakes
An assortment of pretzels
Magaritas (blood orange and jalepeno)
The grey goose slushi
Hot germany red wine
And a few more

I will be starting the trip reports tonight- have loved everyone else's and can't wait to get started!



Oh- and a few photos of us so you know who we are:

Me with a dole whip:

Us heading to the Poly to check in:

Ryan at Chefs De France:

And I think one of our only few non-sunglasses photos- us waiting for Fantasmic!

Can't wait to start!

 

[129hutch]

Love it already! Can't wait to read more!

 

[jude&jonah]

Love it already! Can't wait to read more!

Thanks!!!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Definitely looking forward to your reviews!

 

[disnut1149]

Hi
I can't wait for your reviews!!! You're a really cute couple!!

 

[rachel09985]

I am in!! Sounds fun

 

[jude&jonah]

Thanks guys! Just best friends- haha but we are an awfully cute set of friends About to get started!

 

[jude&jonah]

Starting the dining review! We both flew into MCO and met up together and then took the magical express to CBR. We arrived at CBR around 4:00 and checked into Jamaica 45- our top choice! The look of the buildings and the location is so awesome- we really loved it. You cannot beat that yellow/blue coloring in my opinion. View from our front door- little courtyard and then about 50 paces from here you could see the water.

This was more or less our building:

We walked over to Old Port Royale to grab some food before heading to Magic Kingdom for the night. The Old Port Royale was just fine to us- typical food court- but I did like it slightly better than the CSR food court since you didn't have to have a server which I found easier.

Old Port Royale


We each got the Jerk Chicken Sandwich with fries and took it outside to eat. I love that first moment when you get to a resort and are just taking it all in- thinking about how lucky you are to be there- and seeing everything through rose colored glasses. We just sat and gushed about how happy we were to be on vacation. Okay onto the sandwich photo...

We both agreed it was just alright- pretty dry. For dessert I got the worms and dirt (which were exactly what you'd expect- so enjoyable if you like this combo of oreos and pudding) and Ryan got the caramel corn which he managed to eat everyday, albeit stale, until the last day of the trip. It was very basic but good.

That night we went to Magic Kingdom to see Wishes. We rode Big Thunder Mountain a bunch of times as we generally do at night (I think 3 times that night) and then watched the fireworks. Then we headed to a 10:00pm Raglan Road reservation- Raglan Road coming next!

 

[jude&jonah]

Raglan Road

We arrived a few minutes late but there wasn't a wait time anyway. We asked to be seated in front of the band- which was both a blessing and a curse. The atmosphere was fun- but it was so loud we could barely have a conversation at all. Our server was good- altho after a few beers I had I didn't really pay attention. An Australian couple started chatting with us for awhile and we chatted back- but it was seriously so hard to hear.

I got the fish and chips. I'm from CT so I've had a lot of fish and chips in my life and these were some of the best. Not too greasy, really nicely done and light, etc. I ended spilling beer on them in the end which kind of ruined the experience- but hey- I guess it just made them 'beer battered'?

I think this was after I ate one piece of fish:

Ryan got the some form of meat and I hate to say this this early into our dining review (because I think this is the only one where we don't know what it was) but we still can't figure out what it was. I'm pretty sure it was a special. Can anyone help out based on the picture?

Ryan isn't a vegetarian and actually probably ate more meat than me on this trip- but he does often favor a vegetarian diet at home. Although he had some meat in Disney he really loved- this was not one of the things. I think it might have just been first night exhaustion or how loud it was in Raglan Road- combined with the fact that he really didn't like the dish.

We both ordered the obvious dessert choice- the bread pudding. It was the most incredible dessert of my life. I'm a huge bread pudding fan so I was pretty curious what it would be like. Here's the thing- I would rank it a 9 out of 10. How is that possible with it being the BEST of my life? It was so amazingly good- it was hard, even when you tried to push it out of your mind, to not think about how much butter was in it. The dessert alone had to be at least 2k calories if not more- so although it was truly heaven in my mouth- I couldn't 100% let go of the thought that it was basically a heart attack on a plate.

Here is where the story gets very sad. Ryan took a lot of his to go- as you'll see he often does on this trip- and was planning to eat more back at the room that night. I was carrying everything and tripped on the bus stairs back to the resort. I'm super clumsy in life- embarrassingly enough. Not only was I humiliated out of my mind in front of everyone- but the bread pudding went EVERYWHERE! On top of it- this grumpy old bus driver stares at me and goes, "Are you going to clean it up or just sit there looking at it?" while I was laying there on the ground.

It was humiliating, had a skinned knee (which didn't matter, but still it wasn't a light spill) and I ended up crying on the dark bus on the way home since I'm sensitive to stuff like that- first for Ryan's bread pudding and second for how mean that guy was. At Disney nonetheless. I remember back to my days of working at Disney and I followed the Disney friendliness policy to a t- so I could never imagine treating someone like that. I offered to buy Ryan more later in the trip- but he declined. He did like it as much as me though.

We got back to the room- bread pudding-less unfortunately- and I think Ryan had a few handfuls of his caramel corn. We had a long day the next day at Animal Kingdom and Epcot!

 

[Rarity]

Raglan Road

Ryan got the some form of meat and I hate to say this this early into our dining review (because I think this is the only one where we don't know what it was) but we still can't figure out what it was. I'm pretty sure it was a special. Can anyone help out based on the picture?

That's the Lambo - lamb shank I had it myself during our trip last December, and loved it.

I know what you mean about that bread pudding. We took our leftovers back to the resort, too, and it made a great breakfast. Sorry about your fall and the way that mean bus driver treated you. I can't imagine treating someone like that, either

 

[jude&jonah]

Thanks for letting me know what it is!

I thought about calling Disney about his behavior- but figured karma would take care of it!

 

[disnut1149]

Hi
That was so mean of the bus driver to say that to you!! I don't know what I would've done. I probably would be crying too!! How would you even clean it up. Does he think you carry paper towels with you? Accidents happen. Thanks for sharing. I'm enjoying reading about your trip!!

 

[jennylyn_b]

Great start! I'm in. Sorry about Mr. Cranky pants bus driver.

 

[MrsB1228]

Really enjoying your reviews so far! Raglan Road is one of our favourites, we're planning to try the new Sunday brunch on our next trip, it looks fabulous!

So sorry about your experience on the bus, that driver's treatment of you was unacceptable. What if you had been badly hurt? I have no tolerance for people who ask stupid, sarcastic questions like that, so if it had happened to me I probably would have made his ears ring, then reported him to Disney. Sorry you were embarassed and feeling so sad.

Looking forward to the next installment!

 

[seawatersarah]

Erin! I love your restaurant reviews! I'm looking forward to all of them!
I need to hunt down your last Disney vaca review... I want to do one sig restaurant...tried booking Cali Grill but they aren't taking reservations yet

I cannot get over the bus driver. I would have reported him in a heartbeat! That's awful. He should have been more concerned over the fact that you fell...making sure you were ok. Not about something that fell. I'm so upset for you!

Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
Sarah

 

[bluejasmine]

Oh! What a start I'm so sorry that bus drive was a "donkey"!!! Did Ryan at least help you? Looking fwd to the rest if the TR!

ASMU/POR Dec 16-22, 2012 & BWI Sept 8-15, 2013

 

[Adgie128]

I'm in! Really enjoying it so far and looking forward to more.