Better do the dishes, Cinderfella! 7 days of Free Dining!
- Thread starter tggrrstarr
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tggrrstarr
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- Joined
- Apr 28, 2008
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- 507
All we kept hearing about all day Tuesday was this huge storm (& Tornado warning) that was supposed to happen about 3pm. As the day wore on, we noticed the winds, but the rain never started as expected. Until about 6pm as we were waiting for our bus to Epcot.
This was our first time in Epcot and our full day in the park would be the next day. Our original plan had been to enter the park by the International gateway. So glad we gave up that idea, could you imagine riding a boat through such a horrible storm?!
Our dinner reservation for Biergarten was at 7:30 pm, so we had plenty of time to get there and maybe even stop for a ride or gift shop on the way. (Which we kind of ended up being forced to do!) Our only other plan was to try and see Illuminations tonight after dinner so we wouldn’t have to on Wednesday.
It started to drizzle as we waited for our bus, and as we arrived at Epcot it was down right pouring. We were prepared with heavy sweat shirts and ponchos at least! We made our way to the main gate, but my dad wanted to wait before entering the park to see if the rain let up. After a few minutes, it was obvious it wasn’t going to be stopping, so we started hopping from overhang to overhang until we were inside. Even with the ponchos and hoods, the rain was coming down really hard and Eric wasn’t happy about it. Funny thing, as we were making our way in, you could see crowds of people emptying the park. They must have thought we were crazy! We found an overhang that took us directly to Spaceship Earth, so we decided to jump on that to kill some time for the rain to let up. After the ride, we spent a half hour playing around inside the pavilion.
When we left the pavilion, the rain wasn’t as bad, but was still coming down pretty steady. Our next hop was to Mousegears. We spent about 20 minutes in there before gathering the courage to step back out into the rain. I had overheard a CM inside say that Illuminations would still be happening despite the storm. By now the rain wasn’t quite so bad, but we still hurried to Germany.
We got to a nearly empty Biergarten just before our reservation time and were seated right away. At this restaurant, you share a table with strangers because that is how they do it in Germany. At first I thought we would be by ourselves, but a couple soon joined us and my dad made yet another friend! We all made our way up to the buffet and began sampling different foods.
Some of the choices included:
Potato Salad
Pretzel Bread & Butter
Salmon with Dill Sauce
Schnitzel (breaded Chicken) and a dark mushroom gravy (yum!)
Some kind of meat roll (gross!)
Roasted Potatoes
Potato Dumplings (YUM!)
German Pot Roast (not bad)
Desert Included Apple Strudel (not very good this time) and a berry compote (yum!)
We made sure to get Eric’s picture with some German girls, and of course a picture of the entertainment.
This reservation was for my dad and Mic, and they both loved it. The food was very good, I especially liked how there were plenty of choices for picky eaters. We were one of the last to leave the restaurant, but I think that was because of the storm. As we went outside, it was barely raining and Illuminations was 10 minutes from starting. We made our way to Mexico and stopped there to watch. There was barely anyone in the park! We had the area completely to ourselves.
On the bus ride home, we found out that a tornado had hit about 30 miles away. The monorail had been shut down and Disney had had to hire charter buses to get people home, ours was one.
This was our first time in Epcot and our full day in the park would be the next day. Our original plan had been to enter the park by the International gateway. So glad we gave up that idea, could you imagine riding a boat through such a horrible storm?!
Our dinner reservation for Biergarten was at 7:30 pm, so we had plenty of time to get there and maybe even stop for a ride or gift shop on the way. (Which we kind of ended up being forced to do!) Our only other plan was to try and see Illuminations tonight after dinner so we wouldn’t have to on Wednesday.
It started to drizzle as we waited for our bus, and as we arrived at Epcot it was down right pouring. We were prepared with heavy sweat shirts and ponchos at least! We made our way to the main gate, but my dad wanted to wait before entering the park to see if the rain let up. After a few minutes, it was obvious it wasn’t going to be stopping, so we started hopping from overhang to overhang until we were inside. Even with the ponchos and hoods, the rain was coming down really hard and Eric wasn’t happy about it. Funny thing, as we were making our way in, you could see crowds of people emptying the park. They must have thought we were crazy! We found an overhang that took us directly to Spaceship Earth, so we decided to jump on that to kill some time for the rain to let up. After the ride, we spent a half hour playing around inside the pavilion.
When we left the pavilion, the rain wasn’t as bad, but was still coming down pretty steady. Our next hop was to Mousegears. We spent about 20 minutes in there before gathering the courage to step back out into the rain. I had overheard a CM inside say that Illuminations would still be happening despite the storm. By now the rain wasn’t quite so bad, but we still hurried to Germany.
We got to a nearly empty Biergarten just before our reservation time and were seated right away. At this restaurant, you share a table with strangers because that is how they do it in Germany. At first I thought we would be by ourselves, but a couple soon joined us and my dad made yet another friend! We all made our way up to the buffet and began sampling different foods.
Some of the choices included:
Potato Salad
Pretzel Bread & Butter
Salmon with Dill Sauce
Schnitzel (breaded Chicken) and a dark mushroom gravy (yum!)
Some kind of meat roll (gross!)
Roasted Potatoes
Potato Dumplings (YUM!)
German Pot Roast (not bad)
Desert Included Apple Strudel (not very good this time) and a berry compote (yum!)
We made sure to get Eric’s picture with some German girls, and of course a picture of the entertainment.
This reservation was for my dad and Mic, and they both loved it. The food was very good, I especially liked how there were plenty of choices for picky eaters. We were one of the last to leave the restaurant, but I think that was because of the storm. As we went outside, it was barely raining and Illuminations was 10 minutes from starting. We made our way to Mexico and stopped there to watch. There was barely anyone in the park! We had the area completely to ourselves.
On the bus ride home, we found out that a tornado had hit about 30 miles away. The monorail had been shut down and Disney had had to hire charter buses to get people home, ours was one.
tggrrstarr
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2008
- Messages
- 507
The pretzel bread really is amazing! I wish I could get it all the time!
tggrrstarr
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2008
- Messages
- 507
A little light rain and a nearly empty Epcot Wednesday morning were the only signs of the storm from the night before.
We took advantage of the light crowds and found some characters throughout the day for Eric. We were first in line at Character Spot!
One quick note, just because the times guide says a character will be somewhere at a certain time, doesnt mean its true. We found this out the hard way with Mary Poppins! (No Show). After a few rides, we made our way over to World Showcase right at 11am for an early lunch. My dad & Eric decided they wanted Mexican, so we dropped them off on our way to China.
Now Ive mentioned before that Mic is a picky eater. Lotus Blossom Cafe is a place where we almost ran into a problem. The last time we had come here, Mic had had beef fried rice and loved it. This is the only Chinese food he eats. The menu now has a beef dish with white rice. Similar, but not quite right. He also took one look at the desert options and got that Im not happy look. He wasnt, but he ordered anyway. (I could tell he was too hungry to go all the way to the American pavilion, which would be the only other place hed eat at).
Mic chose the Beef Rice Bowl
And the strawberry red bean ice cream for desert.
He really wanted a smoothie, but they wouldnt allow you to get those as a desert option on the ddp. He doesnt like strawberries (except in smoothies), so he took a few bites of the desert and set it aside. He did like the rice bowl, but didnt eat all his rice, of course!
My mom chose the shrimp fried rice with egg roll.
And the strawberry red bean ice cream.
She liked both of these.
I went with Orange Chicken with steamed rice. Yummy! So good!
I chose the caramel ginger ice cream because it sounded interesting and the girl told me the ginger was barely noticeable.
She lied! There were chunks of ginger in it and it had quite a bite! I took about 4 spoonfuls and had to set it aside. Luckily there was an abandoned strawberry icecream nearby! It was sooo good. The strawberry flavor was really strong.
Eric and my dad had joined us at our table with their food from La Cantina de San Angel. They both got Tacos de Pollo. Chicken Tacos with tortilla chips.
By the time I got the picture, they were almost gone. I think they liked them!
Eric chose a cantaloupe popsicle for his desert. Paleta (traditional fruit popsicle).
Looks like he likes it!
My dad chose Churros con Cajeta caramel sauce.
He liked it ok, but wasnt thrilled with it.
Just after we finished eating we were just in time to get in line for this picture:
Mostly everyone was very happy with their food (I think you know the exception!) and this was a perfect location to set us up for another hour or two of character shots!
Our longest wait: (he showed up 25 minutes late!).
We took advantage of the light crowds and found some characters throughout the day for Eric. We were first in line at Character Spot!
One quick note, just because the times guide says a character will be somewhere at a certain time, doesnt mean its true. We found this out the hard way with Mary Poppins! (No Show). After a few rides, we made our way over to World Showcase right at 11am for an early lunch. My dad & Eric decided they wanted Mexican, so we dropped them off on our way to China.
Now Ive mentioned before that Mic is a picky eater. Lotus Blossom Cafe is a place where we almost ran into a problem. The last time we had come here, Mic had had beef fried rice and loved it. This is the only Chinese food he eats. The menu now has a beef dish with white rice. Similar, but not quite right. He also took one look at the desert options and got that Im not happy look. He wasnt, but he ordered anyway. (I could tell he was too hungry to go all the way to the American pavilion, which would be the only other place hed eat at).
Mic chose the Beef Rice Bowl
And the strawberry red bean ice cream for desert.
He really wanted a smoothie, but they wouldnt allow you to get those as a desert option on the ddp. He doesnt like strawberries (except in smoothies), so he took a few bites of the desert and set it aside. He did like the rice bowl, but didnt eat all his rice, of course!
My mom chose the shrimp fried rice with egg roll.
And the strawberry red bean ice cream.
She liked both of these.
I went with Orange Chicken with steamed rice. Yummy! So good!
I chose the caramel ginger ice cream because it sounded interesting and the girl told me the ginger was barely noticeable.
She lied! There were chunks of ginger in it and it had quite a bite! I took about 4 spoonfuls and had to set it aside. Luckily there was an abandoned strawberry icecream nearby! It was sooo good. The strawberry flavor was really strong.
Eric and my dad had joined us at our table with their food from La Cantina de San Angel. They both got Tacos de Pollo. Chicken Tacos with tortilla chips.
By the time I got the picture, they were almost gone. I think they liked them!
Eric chose a cantaloupe popsicle for his desert. Paleta (traditional fruit popsicle).
Looks like he likes it!
My dad chose Churros con Cajeta caramel sauce.
He liked it ok, but wasnt thrilled with it.
Just after we finished eating we were just in time to get in line for this picture:
Mostly everyone was very happy with their food (I think you know the exception!) and this was a perfect location to set us up for another hour or two of character shots!
Our longest wait: (he showed up 25 minutes late!).
I love your report, and I especially love Eric's smile. My son is 21 and at this time is high functioning AS. We took him on a 15 day Disney Magic Repo cruise when he graduated HS. The smile and feeling he gets at Disney run properties is priceless to us. I also love so much how your DH is so special with your brother. My middle DS has a girlfriend who is so wonderful with my AS DH I hope she one day is a daughter in law. I fell in love with her the first time I saw her interact with him. You are so very lucky, and so is Eric. Thank you for this trip report!!
Christine9125
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2008
- Messages
- 1,719
We really werent prepared for how busy Hollywood Studios was going to be when we made reservations at Cape May, but luckily it all worked out. All I can say is TOUR GROUPS! Everywhere. I know that January is a busy time for them, but this was insane. But it was more than just tour groups, there were just tons and tons of people. In 5 trips during off season times, this was the busiest I had ever seen it. Even for an EMH day. We barely got seats for the first Fantasmic showing (an hour early!) and by the time we braved the crowds out of the park and waited for a boat to show up, we arrived at the Beach Club Resort about 8:05 pm, 10 minutes before our Reservation. We got our pager and were seated right on time.
I was really looking forward to this meal with my new expanded love of seafood, and the crablegs were especially calling to me. My dad is also a big seafood fan so I picked this reservation out for him.
My mom and dad went straight for the salad bar first, while Mic went straight to the meat, and I to the seafood.
All but Mic got the peel and eat shrimp. It was good, but seriously, just offer chilled shrimp. No one wants to peel their shrimp!
Mics plate had the basics, roasted potatoes, carved prime rib, roasted chicken and ribs. He avoided the mashed potatoes because they were green.
I did try the potatoes, the green was pesto and was really good. I also got some of the carved pork and prime rib. I loved the lobster tortellini.
Here are some pictures:
Lobster Tortellini and Seafood Pot Pie
Corn and Mahi Mahi with Green Beans
Clams and Crab Legs
Roasted Red Potatoes and Pesto Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Chicken and Ribs
Everything was very fresh and good. The only thing I didnt like was the ribs, but Mic did like these. I noticed more than once that a dish on the buffet would be replaced even if it wasnt gone yet.
My desert plate had strawberry cheesecake, a brownie, blondie, key lime tort and an oreo bon bon. The Oreo Bon Bon was amazing! Everything else was ok, but the bon bon was fantastic. Must get recipe!
Mic and Eric both had the bon bon and cookies. Mic isnt a fan of cheesecake or brownies. And I still married him.
My mom tried the flan. She didnt like it very much. Im not a fan, so I didnt even try it.
We were all very happy with our dinner. It was a perfect end to a very long day. We had another great waitress and the overall service was great. We will definitely be back!
Thank you for this review, we had looked at going here, but I told my Husband we couldn't afford it, not doing DDP, but we can afford it and we do have reservations for our 10th anniversary (he just doesn't know it)
tggrrstarr
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2008
- Messages
- 507
Fountainview
After about 2-3 hours of exploring World Showcase and getting character pictures along the way, Eric decided he wanted ice cream. Wed be eating dinner in about 3 hours, so I didnt want to spoil my appetite, so I didnt get any.
We had almost stopped at Fountainview earlier, so this was where we went now. Mic and I split a raspberry smoothie.
My dad got a butter pecan cone (sorry, no picture).
Eric got a cookies and cream waffle cone dipped in Mickey confetti.
Good thing we got the bowl! This didnt take long to fall apart!
Sometime between now and dinner, Eric lost the badge on his lanyard with his KTTW card. Unfortunately, we didnt notice it gone until we sat down for our reservation. We dont know what happened to it, but luckily it was never used. One quick call to our hotel and it was instantly cancelled.
After about 2-3 hours of exploring World Showcase and getting character pictures along the way, Eric decided he wanted ice cream. Wed be eating dinner in about 3 hours, so I didnt want to spoil my appetite, so I didnt get any.
We had almost stopped at Fountainview earlier, so this was where we went now. Mic and I split a raspberry smoothie.
My dad got a butter pecan cone (sorry, no picture).
Eric got a cookies and cream waffle cone dipped in Mickey confetti.
Good thing we got the bowl! This didnt take long to fall apart!
Sometime between now and dinner, Eric lost the badge on his lanyard with his KTTW card. Unfortunately, we didnt notice it gone until we sat down for our reservation. We dont know what happened to it, but luckily it was never used. One quick call to our hotel and it was instantly cancelled.
tggrrstarr
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2008
- Messages
- 507
We made our reservation at Coral Reef because it is Mics favorite restaurant at Disney. We also thought Eric would enjoy eating dinner in a restaurant inside an aquarium!
We arrived 10 minutes prior to our reservation time, as they suggest. I dont know what it is about this restaurant, but they never seem to seat you on time here! We almost always end up waiting 20-30 minutes past our reservation time, and tonight was no exception.
Finally we were seated, and this is where we realized Eric was missing his KTTK card. The waitress came over to get our drink orders while we were checking under the table, and she told us it would be ok, we could have the hostess station call our hotel to cancel the card and wed get a new one later. (Unfortunately, the hostess told us they couldnt make outgoing calls, so I just called from my cell phone). My dad and Mic spent about ten minutes retracing Erics most recent steps to see if they could find it, but no luck. Once we knew the card was cancelled, we all sat down to relax at dinner.
I decided to splurge on an appetizer and got the Appetizer for two. I cant seem to find my picture of this, but it came with two crab cakes with fruit salsa, sea and land- grilled shrimp and bbq beef skewer and a taste of the lobster soup. I split the crab cakes with my dad, very good. I ate the grilled shrimp and the soup and Mic had the only thing he would eat, the beef! My mom had the 2nd soup. This was very good, but I love lobster bisque.
For their Entrees both my dad and Eric got Pan Roasted Jumbo Sea Scallops with pasta, chorizo, mussels and tomato broth. Eric got my dads mussels.
My dad liked it, but I dont think it was quite what he expected.
Mic got his usual. Grilled New York Strip Steak served with mashed potatoes!
This dish almost always comes with roasted potatoes, so Mic was very happy to see Mashed. He devoured it all.
My mom ordered Grilled Mahi Mahi with Ragu of Rock Shrimp served on Jasmine rice.
She really liked this.
I ordered the Pan-Seared Seasonal Catch with Wild Mushroom and Bay Scallop Risotto.
The seasonal catch was called Tile. This was amazing! The risotto was so yummy, just as good as the mushroom risotto at Le Cellier. I must come back here asap!
Now for Desert. Well start with me.
Id been reading dining reviews before my trip and had seen a desert that looked amazing, so I ordered that!
Almond Gelato - with granola marshmallow cookie, peaches and passion fruit sauce. It was topped with a type of caramel and nut bar.
My mom also ordered this. I loved it. It was a perfect lightly flavored desert. She was kind of bored with it and wished she had ordered the chocolate wave.
Mic and Eric both ordered the Chocolate Wave.
My mom stole a bite of Erics. My dad ordered the Cheesecake Napoleon.
He didnt like the consistency of the cheesecake. It was more of a cream than cake. He barely ate it.
Ive always enjoyed this restaurant, but its never been my favorite, until now! I just dont think I was ordering the right thing (remember, I never liked fish before). Matter of fact, my meal here this trip made me realize I no longer need to go to Le Cellier! More on that to come
Up next: Boma for Breakfast & Snacks at Animal Kingdom
We arrived 10 minutes prior to our reservation time, as they suggest. I dont know what it is about this restaurant, but they never seem to seat you on time here! We almost always end up waiting 20-30 minutes past our reservation time, and tonight was no exception.
Finally we were seated, and this is where we realized Eric was missing his KTTK card. The waitress came over to get our drink orders while we were checking under the table, and she told us it would be ok, we could have the hostess station call our hotel to cancel the card and wed get a new one later. (Unfortunately, the hostess told us they couldnt make outgoing calls, so I just called from my cell phone). My dad and Mic spent about ten minutes retracing Erics most recent steps to see if they could find it, but no luck. Once we knew the card was cancelled, we all sat down to relax at dinner.
I decided to splurge on an appetizer and got the Appetizer for two. I cant seem to find my picture of this, but it came with two crab cakes with fruit salsa, sea and land- grilled shrimp and bbq beef skewer and a taste of the lobster soup. I split the crab cakes with my dad, very good. I ate the grilled shrimp and the soup and Mic had the only thing he would eat, the beef! My mom had the 2nd soup. This was very good, but I love lobster bisque.
For their Entrees both my dad and Eric got Pan Roasted Jumbo Sea Scallops with pasta, chorizo, mussels and tomato broth. Eric got my dads mussels.
My dad liked it, but I dont think it was quite what he expected.
Mic got his usual. Grilled New York Strip Steak served with mashed potatoes!
This dish almost always comes with roasted potatoes, so Mic was very happy to see Mashed. He devoured it all.
My mom ordered Grilled Mahi Mahi with Ragu of Rock Shrimp served on Jasmine rice.
She really liked this.
I ordered the Pan-Seared Seasonal Catch with Wild Mushroom and Bay Scallop Risotto.
The seasonal catch was called Tile. This was amazing! The risotto was so yummy, just as good as the mushroom risotto at Le Cellier. I must come back here asap!
Now for Desert. Well start with me.
Id been reading dining reviews before my trip and had seen a desert that looked amazing, so I ordered that!
Almond Gelato - with granola marshmallow cookie, peaches and passion fruit sauce. It was topped with a type of caramel and nut bar.
My mom also ordered this. I loved it. It was a perfect lightly flavored desert. She was kind of bored with it and wished she had ordered the chocolate wave.
Mic and Eric both ordered the Chocolate Wave.
My mom stole a bite of Erics. My dad ordered the Cheesecake Napoleon.
He didnt like the consistency of the cheesecake. It was more of a cream than cake. He barely ate it.
Ive always enjoyed this restaurant, but its never been my favorite, until now! I just dont think I was ordering the right thing (remember, I never liked fish before). Matter of fact, my meal here this trip made me realize I no longer need to go to Le Cellier! More on that to come
Up next: Boma for Breakfast & Snacks at Animal Kingdom
Jasmine_710
And they lived happily ever after...
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2010
- Messages
- 18
I wasn't able to get Coral Reef our last trip and after looking at these pictures, I am so excited for the next trip!. I am definitely getting that ADR!
great reviews!.
great reviews!.
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