Burning the Candle at Both Ends - A Holiday Dining Report

[PirateD]

Love the update! Hermione's disbounding outfit is perfect! CP is my family's favorite restaurant so your report brings back many fond memories. The last time we were there, the characters spent so much time with my nephew who had just turned 3. He was so enchanted with them all. The characters truly make it a magical place!

 

[Vernie822]

I love her pink piglet-y outfit! So fun. We really love Crystal Palace, too. I've never done lunch or dinner but we love it for breakfast.

 

[iheartbelle87]

Following along! Everything looks so delicious... I can't wait to try one of the burgers at the Pepper Market in a few weeks!

 

[kastoney]

Catching up on your last couple of updates.

What an unexpected surprise Mama Melrose was indeed. It's never been on my radar but now you've firmly put it there. That seafood pasta looks divine. All your snacks after look relish too. I always wondered how disney expected people to eat the apples, now I know they cut them. Duh!

The Osboune light show pics make it look absolutely beautiful. Though I gotta ask, what is the black cat?

Can't believe MK opens at 7 all Xmas week, but it looks like early arrival makes a big difference.

Love Hermoine's disneybound outfit. Piglet clearly loved it. Can't wait to see how the food is...

 

[DnA2010]

Really enjoying your report, yummy snacks!!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Love it! Those pictures of Hermione through the years are priceless! Can't wIt for food pics! We're doing CP for lunch this year for the first time!

Lunch will be a great escape from the brutal summer heat!

Love the update! Hermione's disbounding outfit is perfect! CP is my family's favorite restaurant so your report brings back many fond memories. The last time we were there, the characters spent so much time with my nephew who had just turned 3. He was so enchanted with them all. The characters truly make it a magical place!

She put the outfit together herself and loved how it all worked out. I suspect she'll try some more Disneybounding on future trips. We love CP too which is a good thing since we end up there so often.

I love her pink piglet-y outfit! So fun. We really love Crystal Palace, too. I've never done lunch or dinner but we love it for breakfast.

I love the look of the breakfast food but we are just not a group who eats a lot in the morning; pre-park ADR's are a waste on us. Maybe will try a late breakfast one of these days. I really want to try that puffed french toast!

Following along! Everything looks so delicious... I can't wait to try one of the burgers at the Pepper Market in a few weeks!

Sending pixie dust for a fabulous trip!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Really enjoying your report, yummy snacks!!

Disney snacks are the best! Yummy and guilt free since you walk off all the calories!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Catching up on your last couple of updates.

What an unexpected surprise Mama Melrose was indeed. It's never been on my radar but now you've firmly put it there. That seafood pasta looks divine. All your snacks after look relish too. I always wondered how disney expected people to eat the apples, now I know they cut them. Duh!
Seeing Ron enjoying his apple made me wonder why we'd never gotten one before. I always just assumed they be so difficult to eat. Turns out, they're quite shareable!
The Osboune light show pics make it look absolutely beautiful. Though I gotta ask, what is the black cat?
Supposedly a black cat (Halloween decoration) was put in with the Christmas lights by mistake the first time around. Ever since then, the imagineers have moved it to a different spot in the display each year. If you google it, a ton of information should come up, including pictures of what the cat looks like. It's kind of like looking for a hidden Mickey.

Can't believe MK opens at 7 all Xmas week, but it looks like early arrival makes a big difference.
Made a bigger difference than we could have imagined. MK went from empty to total insanity, LOL.

Love Hermoine's disneybound outfit. Piglet clearly loved it. Can't wait to see how the food is...

Thanks! She had a lot of fun with it.
Food coming up.

 

[SmallWorld71]

December 27th - Magic Kingdom
Lunch - Part 3
Crystal Palace - The food

So, I am starting this update with a confession. I have photos of food. But, what you see here is only a fraction of what we ate. In fact, we were all total gluttons. Some of us (read: teen aged boys) may have even gone up to the buffet 5 or 6 or even more times. In fact, I think teen aged boys may be the reason why Disney feels the need to charge so much $ for these meals.

Some food photos:
















My rating: Food 8/10, Dessert 8/10, Atmosphere 9/10 (pretty setting, many tables have a view of the castle!)
Harry's rating: Food 9/10, Dessert 10/10, Atmosphere 9/10
Hermione's rating: Food 9/10, Dessert 9/10, Atmosphere 10/10 (no surprise!)

Overall, we really enjoy Crystal Palace. The food is not fancy, but you'd be hard-pressed to not find anything you liked. There is quite the range of food: fruits, salads, side dishes, pasta dishes, fish, meats etc... And, IME, since it is usually pretty busy, the dishes are replaced often. I'm sure we'll be back on our next trip.

Coming up: late night at MK

 

[michael's mom]

Was that Hermione's plate with pasta, Mac n cheese, and 2 grapes

 

[SmallWorld71]

Was that Hermione's plate with pasta, Mac n cheese, and 2 grapes

Yes! She said to tell you that she had more grapes, but ate them before we took the picture! She laughed when she saw how silly the picture looks.

 

[SmallWorld71]

December 27th - Magic Kingdom
Dinner update - Columbia Harbour House

After our lunch at Crystal Palace, we headed back to our resort for a much needed rest. Even though we had opened MK at 7 am, it was open until 1 am and the kids wanted to try closing it down. So, after our rest, we headed back to MK with thoughts of dinner foremost in our minds.
Let me tell you, it was packed! So packed, as a matter of fact, that when we entered under the train station on the right hand side, we weren't even allowed on Main Street. Instead, we were ushered onto the Main St. bypass which let us out in Tomorrowland. I should have taken this as a sign and suggested Cosmic Rays. The outcome might have been better. But, I had Columbia Harbour House in my head. I hadn't been there in quite a few years, but had always had good experiences in the past. So, we soldiered on through the frightening crowds in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland until we arrived at CHH.
Due to the crowds, they had a special queue set up that you got in before you went to the registers. The CM's manning the queue handed you a menu and then sent you to the register to order. This worked incredibly well and we were actually at the register much quicker than I have been in the past. Before I get to the food part of this review, I want to say that all the CM's here were very friendly. I actually ordered the wrong item by mistake and the CM behind the food counter was very pleasant about switching my meal out for me with no hassle at all.

Here's what we all ordered:
I got the Anchors Aweigh Sandwich: White Tuna, Lettuce, and Tomato on Toasted Multigrain Bread with Potato Chips. (I had mistakenly ordered the Lighthouse Sandwich)
Arthur had the Battered Fish Platter with Coleslaw and choice of Steamed Fresh Broccoli, Apple Slices, or French Fries. (He chose fries.)
Ron had the Seafood Macaroni & Cheese: Lobster and Shrimp served over Macaroni & Cheese.
Harry and Hermione had Fried Shrimp Platter: with Coleslaw and choice of Steamed Fresh Broccoli, Apple Slices, or French Fries.
For dessert: Arthur, Harry and I chose the Seasonal Cobbler (blueberry) and Ron and Hermione chose the Greek yogurt.







I hate to say it, but this was some of the worst food we experienced all week and some of the worst I have had at WDW. The battered fish was awful; Arthur says it was hands down the grossest thing he ate all week. The tuna sandwich was the worst tuna sandwich I have ever had. The bread was soggy in the middle and stale on the outside and the tuna had absolutely no flavor which I didn't even know was possible. Ron said the seafood mac & cheese started out OK, but about half way through he no longer was able to enjoy it and didn't finish it. (Which is unheard of for him!) The shrimp were a bit better, but not much. And don't even get me started on the cobbler. Not a one of us could stomach more than one bite. Nasty!

On the brighter side, the fries were good for CS fries, the coleslaw was surprisingly delicious and Hermione and Ron enjoyed their yogurt.

Out of the 5 of us, only Harry and Hermione would consider ordering their entrees again. Though it will likely be a long while before we go back.

Ratings:
Me: Entree 4/10, Dessert 1/10, Atmosphere 7/10 (I enjoy the Colonial theme and the seating upstairs is usually plentiful)
Harry: Entree 6/10, Dessert 1/10, Atmosphere 8/10
Hermione: Entree 5/10, Dessert 6/10 ('the yogurt was better than the shrimp'), Atmosphere 9/10

After dinner, we were in the restrooms, when we thought maybe we had gone back in time and the British were attacking! The place was shaking with booms! After getting over our fright, we quickly realized that Wishes had just started. We hurried outside and watched from near the extended queue for the Haunted Mansion. Not a vantage point I would recommend for someone who has never seen MK fireworks, but it was blissfully uncrowded.

After that, we amused ourselves by doing attractions we hadn't done in ages since the lines weren't long for those. (H of P, Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise...) We decided to watch the 12:15 am! MSEP. There were major technical difficulties (they ended up having to tow the America float) so it was about 12:45 when it finally finished. We all decided to call it a night since we were already on Main St. We headed back to CSR and collapsed in our beds.
Goodnight, MK!


Coming up: a no park day and Ron's pick

 

[SmallWorld71]

December 28th - resort day
Pepper Market breakfast

After four days of early mornings and late nights, we finally slept in! We headed to Pepper Market for some breakfast.
* Note: breakfast hours were until 10:30 and then lunch began at 11. As long as you were in the Pepper Market before 10:30, you were good to go for breakfast. However, they lock the door at 10:30 to incoming guests and then reopen it at 11. This is how they do the changeover to lunch. So, don't show up in the 1/2 hour they are not letting people in.

I only have one picture from breakfast. The waffles are Hermione's and the other meal is mine. We had to wait a bit for waffles - very popular! So, the boys (who all got omelets) arrived at the table first and were so hungry they forgot to take photos. I'm pretty sure I have omelet pictures on another day.


Rating: 8/10 Tasted exactly as expected.

We spent the afternoon at our resort doing laundry and this:


and this:


And then headed out to explore the Contemporary:


And the Grand Floridian:




Coming up: Ron's choice - dinner at the Poly

 

[TeresaNJ]

Fun report!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Fun report!

Thanks!

 

[Vernie822]

That sooo stinks that CHH was your worst meal. I hate when that happens. We ate there on Monday and we really enjoyed it. We split 2 lobster rolls and 2 fish/chicken combos. I do agree that the fish is so weird.. definitely not as good as the fish at Yorkshire County in Epcot that's for sure!

 

[SmallWorld71]

That sooo stinks that CHH was your worst meal. I hate when that happens. We ate there on Monday and we really enjoyed it. We split 2 lobster rolls and 2 fish/chicken combos. I do agree that the fish is so weird.. definitely not as good as the fish at Yorkshire County in Epcot that's for sure!

We were surprised; we've always had good experiences. Oh, well. The reviews are generally good, so maybe they were just having an off night. I'm sure we'll be back at some point; though most of us will be getting new items. I wish they had the lobster roll at dinner! DH would definitely go for that.

 

[SmallWorld71]

December 28th - resort day
Dinner - 'Ohana

We left the Grand Floridian and headed to the Poly for dinner at 'Ohana.




Harry and I both agree that we liked the old Poly lobby better. It's more open now, which is good for the flow of people, and the light fixtures were cool. But, the loss of the water feature cost it much of it's charm, in our opinion. Hardly the end of the world, but we will miss it. I have some nice pictures of the kids in the Poly lobby when they were little and would have loved to duplicate them.

'Ohana was Ron's choice for dinner. We had been there once before and really enjoyed it. Here are Ron and Harry from our visit in 2007.


I had originally planned on requesting a seat with a view of the grill. But, somebody (read:me) didn't sleep late enough and was acting all tired and cranky and forgot. No matter. We were actually led to what ended up being the perfect table. It was a round table (which I love when traveling with 5 or more) and next to the window (which I also love). It was interesting to be able to check out all the Poly construction.
I decided a drink was in order. I ordered a white sangria and Arthur ordered a beer (not sure what kind). This was surprisingly good; after a few sips all signs of cranky were gone.


For anyone who doesn't know, 'Ohana is a set menu served family style. (All you can eat.)
First comes the Pineapple-Coconut bread. We all liked this and Harry loved it. (He loves all things pineapple.)



Then the lettuce wraps. *I've heard the salad is back?
These have gotten mixed reviews on the boards, but Arthur, Ron and I all enjoyed them. (Harry and Hermione didn't touch them.)


Next were the wings and potstickers. Yummy! I think Hermione ate her weight in potstickers. In fact, they brought her her very own bowl of them.


The noodles and veggies. The noodles were a bit sweet for our taste though Ron and I ate a fair amount of the veggies.


Then the meats:
The steak which was a perfect medium rare. The pork which was delicious. (*I think it might be back to chicken again.) And, the grilled shrimp. If you've never been, the servers come around with these on skewers. They kept coming back to our table begging us to finish off their skewers for them. We happily obliged!







Then the dessert. Bread pudding a la mode with bananas-caramel sauce. OMG! This is my favorite dessert in all of WDW! I normally consider myself a chocolate girl, but there is something about this dessert.... I swear they put something in there that they are not disclosing. I loved it in 2007, but thought that I had built it up in my mind and it wouldn't be as good as I remembered. Nope! It was even better! Hermoine doesn't care for this dessert and asked for some plain vanilla ice cream, which they brought out for her.



Ratings:
Me: Food 9/10, Dessert 10/10, Atmosphere 9/10
Harry: Food 10/10, Dessert 9/10, Atmosphere 9/10
Hermione: Food 9/10, Dessert 7/10, Atmosphere 9/10

After dinner we crawled out of there stuffed to the gills and did a little shopping at the Poly.


We were all in a quiet mood, but not ready to head to bed, so we headed to MK and caught a boat to Ft. Wilderness and went on the wagon ride. So relaxing and so much fun! I highly recommend. It was relatively inexpensive. ($8 for adults and $5 for children under 12)


After the wagon ride we headed back to MK via boat and then to our resort. Wishes began while we were on the boat! Another new fireworks view for us and a great way to end the evening.

Coming up:
Back to MK and my dinner choice

 

[Vernie822]

Dinner at Ohana is one of my favorite meals. I'm with you, I just love that dessert. I'm determined to re-create it at home.

We ate there last Monday on our trip, and they did serve salad instead of lettuce wraps, and chicken instead of pork on the skewers.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Dinner at Ohana is one of my favorite meals. I'm with you, I just love that dessert. I'm determined to re-create it at home.

We ate there last Monday on our trip, and they did serve salad instead of lettuce wraps, and chicken instead of pork on the skewers.

Thanks for the update on the menu. I liked the lettuce wraps and pork, but I'm okay with salad and chicken, too.
Just as long as they leave the dessert alone!
Good luck re-creating it!