Sorry I got so behind on my responses. I am trying to get the posts written and keep up with all the insane NEWS coming out of Disney recently! Thank you all for reading along with me -- I love sharing the trip with you!
Sorry about Flying Fish
that meal didn't sound like it was good at all.
It wasn't good at all, but now with hindsight I am thinking it was due to a combination of very high expectations, New Year's Eve crazy busy kitchen function, and poor ordering...
How disappointing! I ate at the remodeled FF last September and it was as good as ever. The thing that was lacking for me was the dessert list. I've read just mediocre reports on their desserts so I went with the Peanut Butter Freeze from the cocktail list; it was a delicious spiked pb milkshake!
How could I have forgotten about that?! I had heard that they had amazing after dinner cocktails but it totally slipped my mind at crunch time!
I am so enjoying your reports! Sorry to hear about Flying Fish. We are staying at the BWV for the first time in August and this was on our "maybe" list..so is Narcoossee's (as we just booked the Grand Floridian for our last 3 nights of the trip...still cannot believe that)... so I am looking forward to your review! It looks like you had a very memorable trip!!
It was a truly memorable once-in-a-lifetime experience! I know you will looooove the split Boardwalk and Grand Floridian trip! We really loved Citrico's at the Grand Floridian and I just love having all the choices on the monorail loop and around Crescent Lake and in World Showcase. You will have tough decisions to make for sure!
Enjoying your report! Sorry that your FF experience wasn't great. In all the many times we've been to WDW, we've never tried FF, and I don't know why, lol. When I read great reviews, I'm like, "have to get there"! Then I read not so great reviews, and I'm like, "nah, too expensive, not worth it, let me continue to go to my tried & trues". Can't wait to hear your review of Narcoossee's brunch! We were torn between that & the Sunday brunch at California Grill last trip, and we went with Cali. It was worth every penny!
Totally agree - so hard to force ourselves out of the comfort zone when we know that we have tried and true favorites that deliver great meals every time. California Grill brunch is my favorite signature meal on property
we are going for my coworker's birthday celebration in TWO WEEKS! I can't wait.
That really is unacceptable pacing. I am all about taking my time with a nice a meal, but having to wait an hour and a half for your entrees and then rush through them is not cool! Plus your server sounds weird. At least you had a nice massage to help recover from your brunch stress
I was trying not to bash the server too much as I have a feeling there aren't too many of them, but yeah... the service was a low. And OH that massage. Wish that was something that was in the budget every trip!
Wow it was crazy how long that took!
I have a question about the Cali Grill brunch. I'm considering it, and wanted to know if you can go back at night to watch the fireworks? I've read conflicting things.
I don't actually know, but I would be really surprised if they said no. Maybe if you went on the busiest week of the year they would say no... I will try to remember to ask for you in two weeks when I go back!
So neither Flying Fish nor Narcoossee's brunch were on point, it seems. Sorry about that. Those are signatures, yes? They should be exceptional.
The massages sound wonderful though. I'm glad you made it on time. You obviously needed a massage after the stressful timing of your brunch!
They ARE signatures - and your comment absolutely gets at the crux of my disappointment - these restaurants are supposed to be the creme de la creme of Disney dining so I expect both excellent service and excellent dishes. I love Disney perspective "Yes, we NEEDED massages because we were so stressed about our expensive signature meal" LOL
I'm so bummed for you about your brunch!! We have dinner booked there for my birthday. They better step it up before then
I think you will have a wonderful dinner! I think the pacing issue was 100% our server - a large party (10+) who were still waiting on their table when we were seated left before we did
Ugh. How disappointing
That California Grill brunch like, haunts my dreams. I think I like the buffet idea of it more than a plated brunch. Especially because bad service will completely ruin a meal for me.
No kidding. I love the California Grill brunch so so much - maybe it's Disney's fault for ruining everything else for me with the amazing CG brunch? haha. I wish that we'd had a different server at Narcoossee's as I have heard lots of good things about their brunch that was very different from our experience!
Wow, that really bites, regarding your Narcoossee's Brunch. I'd be totally disappointed, too. Whatever took so long for those entrees? I just posted some pics on another thread from our Cali Grill Sunday Brunch. That was OMGosh so good, and so worth every penny! Can't wait to do it again. If there's one thing I hate, it's spending a good deal of money on a mediocre meal. Glad your massages were great!
Yes, I totally agree. I will have to go look for your pictures to hold me over until we're at California Grill in just a few weeks!
Really enjoying your report, wow that was a long brunch! We stayed at GF last August but did not try Narcossees, we are thinking of the CG brunch one of these trips. I travel with a 17yo so most of the time Signatures are not worth it so it is really fun to read your experiences!
My sister isn't 17, but she is a very light eater so we have a hard time justifying all you care to eat experiences when we travel with her. I love the California Grill brunch so much that I would have no problem "wasting" the money on her meal there as I think there is a high value on the view, the ambiance, and the service there. When we do regular meals (order off the menu and pay for what you order rather than all you care to eat) my sister often gets kids meals at signatures or just orders from the appetizer menu and that works better for us. She has some as-yet undiagnosed digestive issues so she eats light and with a few restrictions so often appetizers work best anyway.
I had no idea this existed until recently when I was looking at the entire list of tours for some reason; I think it's the only Segway tour left!
I think it is too and it was a really fun change of pace since there's a little more action in this tour. It sounds silly to say that the segways are thrilling but they are interactive at the very least!
We've never really explored FW since it's not a place that greatly appeals to us, but like you said once we've done more "things" it'll probably be something to put on our list to try.
Fort Wilderness has never ranked high for me either but after this adventure I totally "get it" why others always want to stay there. It truly was like being transported somewhere very different than Walt Disney World. There was an incredible peacefulness and I can see it being a great choice for a no-parks trip.
Attagirl! When you mentioned the pecan sticky bun I was like, "that looks good but when is she going to try the MAGIC BAR??"
UM YEAH, I knew I had to get with the program!
Hey, I was just sitting out there the other day!! It's so relaxing and such a nice view.
I know... I saw on facebook and died of jealousy. My trip in two weeks revived me though
Eventually I'll get to this in my report on my recent trip, but I had the filet mignon sliders and it was hands down the best meal I had the whole time. In fact I cant' wait to go back and have them again! So when you get the chance I'd definitely give the Boathouse another try.
I am sure I will! In fact my coworker wants to do an afternoon dining around Disney Springs so Boathouse is back on the short list for a lighter table service lunch...
I suppose it could have been due to NYE.......
I think it was. Everyone else is raving about FF, so I think it was an aberration.
All caught up. Sorry to hear about Flying Fish and Narcoose's. Good see you've had fun on some of the activities and had a great evening of fireworks
Oh yes, so much fun!!! We had a wonderful trip peppered by a couple of less than stellar experiences but overall incredibly wonderful.
Even though I hate that your Narcoossees brunch was not up to par, you are making me happy that I decided to go with Cali Grill for brunch on our birthday trip. Every review I've seen of that brunch looks fantastic!
THE BEST BIRTHDAY CHOICE EVER
I knew I liked your style. I have a birthday brunch under my belt and a review of it here if you are interested:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/au...g-report-complete-8-19.3537061/#post-56297640
I've always wanted to do that Segway tour, it looks so fun. Plus I can't pass up an opportunity to look dorky in a helmet
I'm so bummed you didn't have great experiences at the Boathouse or Narcoossee's or Flying Fish. I've never been to Narcoossee's but have had such great experiences at the Boathouse and FF they have been the only Sig's we've been to twice.
I love that tuna app at FF but serving bruised avacado is no Bueno !
Well the dorkiness was a great choice. We loved that tour! I am convinced that the FF experience was an isolated incident since everyone else was loving it. It doesn't help that the reviews here and on the podcast gave me really high expectations and it's always even more tough when you are expecting greatness and things fall flat.
Your experience on New Year's Eve at Flying Fish is similar to ours, years ago! We were there for literally two hours (with our kids), I had the potato crusted fish, which was served COLD and awful. None of our food was good in the slightest, and taking so long to even get served was absurd (especially with kids). Sorry to hear it was so bad for you! I'll never go back there again (many places I will give a second chance, but not that place).
Okay, I am thinking the common denominator was it being NYE. What a bummer! You always want a holiday meal to be even more special, not crappier. Sorry that happened to you guys too!!! We will go back to FF at some point I'm sure, it's just down at the bottom of the list for now.
That room at AKL and that meal at JIKO, just so jealous!! Sounds heavenly indeed!!!
Oh it was divine!
Hoping we have the exact same experience in August (like getting that room). What an incredible end to your Signature journey.
I hope you do too. I requested any partial savanna view and near the lobby (with some suggested room numbers). Crossing my fingers for you!
A lame joke about my very bad cut of beef. So fibrous it must have been the kneecap of the cow right?
(thank goodness my full time job is not comedian!)
Hi there! All caught up on your latest adventures (yet again). All I can say is wow, you guys are eating some amazing food and having some experiences I didn't even know existed. The AK tour especially looks good.
Glad you all enjoyed Tiffins again. We ate there on our trip too and like you the appetizers were underwhelming but the entrees were on point. Speaking of point, aren't their drinks heavenly. We might have visited Nomads lounge a few times on this trip and did our part to work our way though the menu
Love all your CG fireworks pictures. I had no idea they did different fireworks on NYE. Looks absolutely amazing!
Sorry FF was a NYE bust for you all. We ended up skipping it on our trip in favor of Via Napoli, sounds like that was a good decision
Speaking of bust, what the heck was going on with the Narcoossee's timing. That is just ridiculous. And wasn't the prosecco supposed to be all you can drink???? Wonder why they were so put off about it.
Your Jiko meal looks amazing. We had an equally good experience there on our trip. I must say its the one disney restaurant that has never disappointed us.
Can't wait for more!!!
I highly recommend the Backstage Tales tour. It wasn't super expensive compared to some of the other tours Disney offers and I am not sure what the minimum age is for the tour but when you guys get back around to putting Disney into your trip rotations I would check this out. I kinda want to do it again already...
Tiffins/Nomad lounge for the win! Those drinks are unbeatable. Animal Kingdom has surpassed Epcot for our favorite park to drink around... And the Nomad Lounge ambiance outside is just so relaxing. The apps are better at Nomad too.
The NYE fireworks are just too incredible to describe (or even see photos/videos of and imagine). So many booms! At least we had the awesome fireworks to make up for the FF bust of a meal on NYE. And some Mumm Napa bubbles
Our server at Narcoossee's was just weird. Who knows why she wanted us to order every dish on the menu but no additional drinks. I wanted 3 or 4 proseccos but only asked for the one since she kept disappearing and I knew being only half buzzed would just make me grumpy before my massage
Totally agree with you about Jiko! Come to think of it... maybe there is a "AK/AKL only" dining review ahead, could be a fun challenge