Bucket List NYE at WDW with Platinum Plan - new 2/28 bonus post, wrap up, and COMPLETE
- Thread starter pepperandchips
- Start date
TeresaNJ
Magic Begins With Me
- Joined
- Sep 13, 1999
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!
disneyAndi14
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2014
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!
ariane37
Dis veteran
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
OK I got way behind being away and all, so going to do my best catching up!
Attagirl! When you mentioned the pecan sticky bun I was like, "that looks good but when is she going to try the MAGIC BAR??"
what can I say, I'm an exhibitionist 
We never went to FF before the refurb and haven't been there since, but all the recent reviews I've read have been so positive. I suppose it could have been due to NYE.......
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!
LOL dorky, but cuteThis picture makes me laugh SO HARD every time I look at it. We look so dorky. I love it!
I think I'd definitely like to do it someday, but there are a few other tours I'd like to do first. 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.
Attagirl! When you mentioned the pecan sticky bun I was like, "that looks good but when is she going to try the MAGIC BAR??"Unlike some people (cough @ariane37 cough) I didn't take pictures of the nuts - covered or not!
what can I say, I'm an exhibitionist Hey, I was just sitting out there the other day!! It's so relaxing and such a nice view.
I had the red and I didn't think they watered it down; normally I prefer white but now I'm glad I went with the red in this case.
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.
Ugh, that sucks
We never went to FF before the refurb and haven't been there since, but all the recent reviews I've read have been so positive. I suppose it could have been due to NYE.......Best decision EVER!!!
Disneyhayes
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2011
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
ShelbyWagon
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
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!
cinderkelly
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 9, 2014
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 !
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 !
happymommy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2006
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).
pepperandchips
[melinda]
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2014
1/1/17 part two
Well guys, the end is in sight. This was our last day on the Platinum Plan and you'll soon read about our final meal on the package.
We'd just had amazing massages at Senses at the Grand Floridian, and around 4:40 we arrived at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where we were treated to the gorgeous holiday decorations.
This lobby has got to be my favorite on property - it feels like home each time we arrive and simultaneously manages to surprise me each time with how truly beautiful and grand the soaring lobby is here. We were staying in a standard DVC Studio Villa with a lovely view. It was close to the lobby as I had requested, which was good because we used this evening to do a few loads of laundry in the DVC laundry room in order not to take home suitcases full of dirty clothes.
Unfortunately our luggage transfer from the Wilderness Lodge did not go seamlessly - we called for our bags around 4:45 and called again at 6:00 to find out where they were - I don't actually think the Wilderness Lodge had even sent them over when we called at 4:45, so that was a little frustrating but ultimately we loved the room as usual. We hung out in our room, watched the animals, did laundry, and soaked up more of the Florida sunshine. We eventually went down to the Mara and spent our last two snack credits on Zebra Domes and a Zebra Cupcake. We had stayed in a value villa at Jambo house and after staying in the standard studio now too, I have to say the overall verdict is two big thumb up. We loved the studio villa much more than when we've stayed in AKL standard rooms (this is for two people, I can see not wanting to go the pull out couch route for a family of four).
After relaxing for a while (and maaaaybe eating some zebra domes), we went down to Jiko to check in for our 8:15 pm dinner reservation, our last meal on the platinum plan. We had a few minutes' wait, which was unusual to me as normally Jiko is very quiet. We went back upstairs and got a couple of photopass pictures in front of the tree. We got our text that our table was ready at 8:40. Jiko was hopping this night! We were seated in the wine room, a different experience for me since I'd previously only eaten in the main sunset-themed dining room.
We had an excellent server - Adam. He really knew how to help us maximize our value on the dining plan (nevermind you that it also maximized his tip
). We asked for water and ended up with a $7.00 bottle of Evian to share, and we asked his help selecting a bottle of wine. We had been on a pinot noir kick but he convinced us to give the Cederberg Cabernet a try ($55 for the bottle). He was right - we really enjoyed this wine. We like cabernets anyway, but this was an easy drinking red that paired well with the bold flavors at Jiko. The Cederberg website says that this varietal has black currant, cedar, and smoky flavors. I would agree and recommend this wine.
Adam also explained that at Jiko on the platinum plan we were able to have salads or soup in addition to the usual appetizer, entree, dessert per person. I felt like I had done nothing but eat for a year after the last few days of marathon meals, but we did seize the opportunity to order one extra item between us.
We started with the charcuterie board, which was smoked rabbit salumi, smoked chicken rillettes, duck prosciutto, elk sausage and accoutrements ($20). We tucked into this before I snapped a photo but I can't find a photo that looks like what we had. I see a lot of photos online with cheese on the charcuterie but we did not have cheese on ours.
We really enjoyed this unique charcuterie and I think we may have finished it.
We also had the Taste of Africa, which includes African-inspired dips, pappadum, sesame fatir, and house-made flax seed naan ($13). My only complaint about this dish and the charcuterie was that a food runner rather than our server brought the appetizers to our table, and he basically just threw the stuff down on the table and scuttled off, so we had no idea what was what. It was all delicious though! I think the green dips were my favorites.
R wanted to share a salad, so we ordered the Jiko Salad - Epcot land pavilion greens, heirloom apples, cookie crumble, dried fruit chutney, feta, walnut dressing ($15). This was sweet and light, a delicious salad and the best execution of the sweeter, fruit topped salads we had over the course of our trip. Plus if you're gonna eat a salad, why not pick one with cookies on it?!
Time for entrees, and I had only one thing on my mind:
The incredible Oak grilled filet mignon (I chose the smaller 7 oz steak), which was served with pumpkin pap "isidudu"
laughing:what), brussels sprouts, and caramelized onions ($49). In short, this filet was amazing. This was everything I'd dreamt of and more than made up for the bull's kneecap I'd been served at FF. Jiko has steak perfection down to a science! I wanted to try this dish as the chef prepared it and the autumnal flavors of the pap were incredible, but in retrospect I wished I'd ordered the classic macaroni and cheese to go with it. The Brussels sprouts were also great. Definite win.
R was talked into his entree by lovely Adam, describing the Buffalo Ribeye as a great steak for a discerning health-conscious diner (okay so I paraphrased). This was served with a medley of root vegetables and a port wine sauce. It is not appearing on the current online menu, so I don't have a much better description, but it was $55. R really enjoyed this and I tasted it and enjoyed it as well. Buffalo tends to be leaner than beef so the Ribeye was a good choice to give the steak some fat and flavor. This was perfectly prepared as well and very tasty. I liked R's vegetables better than my pap.
With dessert, R got a pot of floral jasmine green tea ($7.49) and I finished up the wine, because I am selfless like that. I really didn't want dessert but Adam convinced us to try something and R has a hollow leg for dessert, so we opted to go with the Pistachio Layer Cake "dark chocolate mousse, morello cherry-honey compote, piri piri desert salt" ($11). This was our only misstep this meal. Upon review of the receipt, this is listed as the sugar free dessert and now I can see that this is probably why we didn't much care for the cake. I love all of the components separately - pistachio flavored anything, dark chocolate, morello cherries, and salt are some of my favorite things, so it was odd that this was kind of flavorless. It just wasn't very satisfying, but we did not need dessert anyway, so we were not overly disappointed.
Our meal ended around 10:30 and was the perfect final signature meal of the trip. $188.58 was the total paid by our platinum plan after Adam's deft upsells on the water, tea, salad, and dessert. We could have had two salads and two desserts based on our entitlements but there was just NO WAY we could eat that much food! Nevertheless we had impeccable service, incredibly delicious meals, and a very relaxing and upscale experience. THIS is what I expect of Disney's signature restaurants! Absolutely heavenly.
We rolled our gluttonous bodies to the elevator and up to our room for our last night at Disney.
Math in this post: 2 snack credits at the Mara ($9.78) and 2 meal credits at Jiko ($188.58).
Up next: THE MATH! plus our final meal at Walt Disney World of the trip and my overall thoughts!
Well guys, the end is in sight. This was our last day on the Platinum Plan and you'll soon read about our final meal on the package.
We'd just had amazing massages at Senses at the Grand Floridian, and around 4:40 we arrived at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where we were treated to the gorgeous holiday decorations.
This lobby has got to be my favorite on property - it feels like home each time we arrive and simultaneously manages to surprise me each time with how truly beautiful and grand the soaring lobby is here. We were staying in a standard DVC Studio Villa with a lovely view. It was close to the lobby as I had requested, which was good because we used this evening to do a few loads of laundry in the DVC laundry room in order not to take home suitcases full of dirty clothes.
Unfortunately our luggage transfer from the Wilderness Lodge did not go seamlessly - we called for our bags around 4:45 and called again at 6:00 to find out where they were - I don't actually think the Wilderness Lodge had even sent them over when we called at 4:45, so that was a little frustrating but ultimately we loved the room as usual. We hung out in our room, watched the animals, did laundry, and soaked up more of the Florida sunshine. We eventually went down to the Mara and spent our last two snack credits on Zebra Domes and a Zebra Cupcake. We had stayed in a value villa at Jambo house and after staying in the standard studio now too, I have to say the overall verdict is two big thumb up. We loved the studio villa much more than when we've stayed in AKL standard rooms (this is for two people, I can see not wanting to go the pull out couch route for a family of four).
After relaxing for a while (and maaaaybe eating some zebra domes), we went down to Jiko to check in for our 8:15 pm dinner reservation, our last meal on the platinum plan. We had a few minutes' wait, which was unusual to me as normally Jiko is very quiet. We went back upstairs and got a couple of photopass pictures in front of the tree. We got our text that our table was ready at 8:40. Jiko was hopping this night! We were seated in the wine room, a different experience for me since I'd previously only eaten in the main sunset-themed dining room.
We had an excellent server - Adam. He really knew how to help us maximize our value on the dining plan (nevermind you that it also maximized his tip
). We asked for water and ended up with a $7.00 bottle of Evian to share, and we asked his help selecting a bottle of wine. We had been on a pinot noir kick but he convinced us to give the Cederberg Cabernet a try ($55 for the bottle). He was right - we really enjoyed this wine. We like cabernets anyway, but this was an easy drinking red that paired well with the bold flavors at Jiko. The Cederberg website says that this varietal has black currant, cedar, and smoky flavors. I would agree and recommend this wine.
Adam also explained that at Jiko on the platinum plan we were able to have salads or soup in addition to the usual appetizer, entree, dessert per person. I felt like I had done nothing but eat for a year after the last few days of marathon meals, but we did seize the opportunity to order one extra item between us.
We started with the charcuterie board, which was smoked rabbit salumi, smoked chicken rillettes, duck prosciutto, elk sausage and accoutrements ($20). We tucked into this before I snapped a photo but I can't find a photo that looks like what we had. I see a lot of photos online with cheese on the charcuterie but we did not have cheese on ours.
We really enjoyed this unique charcuterie and I think we may have finished it.
We also had the Taste of Africa, which includes African-inspired dips, pappadum, sesame fatir, and house-made flax seed naan ($13). My only complaint about this dish and the charcuterie was that a food runner rather than our server brought the appetizers to our table, and he basically just threw the stuff down on the table and scuttled off, so we had no idea what was what. It was all delicious though! I think the green dips were my favorites.
R wanted to share a salad, so we ordered the Jiko Salad - Epcot land pavilion greens, heirloom apples, cookie crumble, dried fruit chutney, feta, walnut dressing ($15). This was sweet and light, a delicious salad and the best execution of the sweeter, fruit topped salads we had over the course of our trip. Plus if you're gonna eat a salad, why not pick one with cookies on it?!
Time for entrees, and I had only one thing on my mind:
The incredible Oak grilled filet mignon (I chose the smaller 7 oz steak), which was served with pumpkin pap "isidudu"
laughing:what), brussels sprouts, and caramelized onions ($49). In short, this filet was amazing. This was everything I'd dreamt of and more than made up for the bull's kneecap I'd been served at FF. Jiko has steak perfection down to a science! I wanted to try this dish as the chef prepared it and the autumnal flavors of the pap were incredible, but in retrospect I wished I'd ordered the classic macaroni and cheese to go with it. The Brussels sprouts were also great. Definite win.
R was talked into his entree by lovely Adam, describing the Buffalo Ribeye as a great steak for a discerning health-conscious diner (okay so I paraphrased). This was served with a medley of root vegetables and a port wine sauce. It is not appearing on the current online menu, so I don't have a much better description, but it was $55. R really enjoyed this and I tasted it and enjoyed it as well. Buffalo tends to be leaner than beef so the Ribeye was a good choice to give the steak some fat and flavor. This was perfectly prepared as well and very tasty. I liked R's vegetables better than my pap.
With dessert, R got a pot of floral jasmine green tea ($7.49) and I finished up the wine, because I am selfless like that. I really didn't want dessert but Adam convinced us to try something and R has a hollow leg for dessert, so we opted to go with the Pistachio Layer Cake "dark chocolate mousse, morello cherry-honey compote, piri piri desert salt" ($11). This was our only misstep this meal. Upon review of the receipt, this is listed as the sugar free dessert and now I can see that this is probably why we didn't much care for the cake. I love all of the components separately - pistachio flavored anything, dark chocolate, morello cherries, and salt are some of my favorite things, so it was odd that this was kind of flavorless. It just wasn't very satisfying, but we did not need dessert anyway, so we were not overly disappointed.
Our meal ended around 10:30 and was the perfect final signature meal of the trip. $188.58 was the total paid by our platinum plan after Adam's deft upsells on the water, tea, salad, and dessert. We could have had two salads and two desserts based on our entitlements but there was just NO WAY we could eat that much food! Nevertheless we had impeccable service, incredibly delicious meals, and a very relaxing and upscale experience. THIS is what I expect of Disney's signature restaurants! Absolutely heavenly.
We rolled our gluttonous bodies to the elevator and up to our room for our last night at Disney.
Math in this post: 2 snack credits at the Mara ($9.78) and 2 meal credits at Jiko ($188.58).
Up next: THE MATH! plus our final meal at Walt Disney World of the trip and my overall thoughts!
Sailormoon2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2015
That room at AKL and that meal at JIKO, just so jealous!! Sounds heavenly indeed!!!
Sailormoon2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2015
That meal looks heavenly indeed! So jealous of that room too!! Hoping we have the exact same experience in August (like getting that room). What an incredible end to your Signature journey.
kastoney
Disney foodie served with a side of sarcasm
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2010
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!!!
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!!!
pepperandchips
[melinda]
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2014
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!
we are going for my coworker's birthday celebration in TWO WEEKS! I can't wait.
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 
(thank goodness my full time job is not comedian!)
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
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...Sorry about Flying Fishthat meal didn't sound like it was good at all.
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!
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!
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. 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!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 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!
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" LOLSo 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!
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 didI'm so bummed for you about your brunch!! We have dinner booked there for my birthday. They better step it up before then
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!Ugh. How disappointing
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!
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 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!
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.
UM YEAH, I knew I had to get with the program!
I know... I saw on facebook and died of jealousy. My trip in two weeks revived me though
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 think it was. Everyone else is raving about FF, so I think it was an aberration.
Oh yes, so much fun!!! We had a wonderful trip peppered by a couple of less than stellar experiences but overall incredibly wonderful.
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 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.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 !
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.
Oh it was divine!
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!)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...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
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!!!
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
ArielSRL
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2006
I prefer to do this as well. We had a washer/dryer in the 1 bedroom last June, but we won't in the studio villa this trip, so I plan to do some laundry on our rest/pool breaks. It's so much nicer to get home and not have to do loads and loads!
Sounds heavenly!
I love a good salad and this sounds wonderful.
Oh my...looks delicious.
So glad this one was the final signature as opposed to the missteps from earlier!THIS is what I expect of Disney's signature restaurants! Absolutely heavenly.
ariane37
Dis veteran
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
Your filet at Jiko looks divine and the dessert was looking like something I needed to try until you mentioned sugar-free.....if I'm going to bother with dessert I'm NOT going sugar-free lol. We still have a few signatures we haven't tried and Jiko is one of them, definitely looks more appetizing than FF!
ShelbyWagon
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
THE BEST BIRTHDAY CHOICE EVER
Thanks! Now I'm even more excited about our brunch at Cali Grill! Everything looks delicious. Good tip on being able to order prosecco instead of mimosas. I love a good mimosa but the sugar gets to me after a few.
Disneyhayes
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2011
That steak looked amazing! It's odd to see a charcruterie (sp) without cheese. Maybe I just haven't paid enough attention to what's on them tho lol
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