Burning the Candle at Both Ends - A Holiday Dining Report

[Misha72683]

I'm sorry about the storytellers, how disapointing. Obviously it just means you'll have to make another Christmas trip sometime. I'm looking forward to reading your review of Biergarten.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I'm sorry about the storytellers, how disapointing. Obviously it just means you'll have to make another Christmas trip sometime. I'm looking forward to reading your review of Biergarten.

Thanks! And, you must be right. Another December trip is in order one of these days.

Biergarten coming up shortly.

 

[SmallWorld71]

December 30th - Epcot - dinner
Arthur's choice - Biergarten

Back story: During our trip in 2007, Arthur had requested that we dine in Germany and loved it. His favorite things were the Bavarian cheesecake and the beer. Like me with the 'Ohana bread pudding, he had been dreaming and talking about that cheesecake for over 8 years. So, when it was time to put in his request for this trip, Biergarten it was.

We finished our walk around Crescent Lake and returned to Epcot. We decided to explore Innoventions for a while. Hermione and I learned about saving $ with the aide of a friendly piggy bank (RIP) and Ron and Harry gave Sum of All Thrills a try.

We headed back to World Showcase to check in for dinner. After a very iffy weather day, it was a gorgeous evening and the World Showcase looked all pretty lit up for the evening. I checked us in and then we found a place to relax while waiting. After a short wait, we were led to our table. It was a table for 8 and we ended up sharing with a family of three. (mother, father, boy about 8 or 9)

Biergarten was all decked out for Christmas and looked beautiful. I apologize for the poor quality of these photos, but rest assured the place looked beautiful. I love those restaurants that look like you are outside, when you are really inside. Similar to San Angel Inn in a way. Our server was a bit flaky, but very sweet. She was telling us about how her CP was ending soon and she was so sad to be leaving. I hope things work out for her.



The band playing:







Unfortunately, I don't have too many pictures of the food. I just haven't yet mastered the are of buffet pictures. I do have some to share, though.

Arthur's beer:


Harry's lemonade:


They were also serving complimentary Gluhwein. Apparently, it's a traditional German Christmas mulled wine that is served warm. I'm not sure if I liked it or not, but I kept drinking it nonetheless, lol.

Arthur's first plate. He decided to start with dessert and I'm happy to report that the cheesecake was as good as he remembered! Phew! The apple strudel is pretty good, too.


Here's Arthur's dessert plate and first plate of savory food:


Harry's first plate: (Which you can tell is Harry's because there is a hunk of pineapple in the middle. As far as Harry is concerned, pineapple goes with everything.)


My first plate:
It was all quite good. But, I was particularly fond of the schnitzel (at 3 o'clock on the plate) and the red cabbage (at 12 o'clock).


I don't seem to have a picture of Ron's first plate and Hermione still wasn't feeling up to eating and mostly ended up eating a plate of applesauce and a little mac & cheese. This disappointed her a bit as she is a big fan of cheesecake, but just wasn't up for it.

This picture is actually borrowed from the internet, but Harry wanted to be sure to include the berry dessert you see on the left and we failed to get a picture. He loved these and ate about 7 or 8 of them!


Some more desserts:


Biergarten is a pretty, fun, energetic restaurant. The food is yummy and plentiful and the CM's are sweet. The band is a nice touch. If you are traveling with a group that does well with buffets (read teenage boys) then I highly recommend you check it out. I lost count of the number of trips that the 2 boys made to the buffet, but lets just say it was enough that I think we shocked our table mates who commented on how they obviously had a lot of buffets to look forward to as their son grew. They made 4 or 5 trips just to grab dessert, never mind the food!

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

Up next: Caramel heaven!

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

That all looks so good. I had to learn how to make schnitzel at home after our first Biergarten dinner! Can't wait to get back.

 

[SmallWorld71]

That all looks so good. I had to learn how to make schnitzel at home after our first Biergarten dinner! Can't wait to get back.

LOL! DH did the exact same thing! He also looked up how to make Bavarian cheesecake, but it's a bit too involved for him. He's a great chef, but doesn't enjoy baking.

 

[michael's mom]

I'm glad Arthur got his meal! This is where Disney loses $$$...buffets with teenage boys! Stinks Hermione was still not feeling well but it sounds like the end of your day was better than the beginning

 

[Vernie822]

Great review of Biergarten. I've never been here, but I'm mostly of German descent so it looks like a place we'll have to try. I originally didn't think to try there because we have Hofbrauhaus near us so that's fun for beer and entertainment. But the food looks great. Certainly seems like you got your money's worth with the boys, lol. I think I might have to go there for the cheesecake alone!

 

[SmallWorld71]

I'm glad Arthur got his meal! This is where Disney loses $$$...buffets with teenage boys! Stinks Hermione was still not feeling well but it sounds like the end of your day was better than the beginning

They really did eat a shocking amount of food! That free dining was a life saver! I don't know where Harry puts it, though. He must have a hollow leg. The day definitely ended better than it started, especially food wise. My favorite food of the day is coming right up.

Great review of Biergarten. I've never been here, but I'm mostly of German descent so it looks like a place we'll have to try. I originally didn't think to try there because we have Hofbrauhaus near us so that's fun for beer and entertainment. But the food looks great. Certainly seems like you got your money's worth with the boys, lol. I think I might have to go there for the cheesecake alone!

I don't know of any German restaurants in our area, so it seems a bit more 'exotic' to us. We're inundated with Italian and seafood places around here. I am not a big cheesecake eater, but the rest of the family assures me that it is delicious. Harry said that Ron actually ate 5 pieces.

 

[SmallWorld71]

December 30th - Epcot - late night snack
Karamell Kuche - Germany

So, we left Biergarten stuffed to the gills. But, there was a place Harry and I'd had our eye on for a long time that we really wanted to try - Karamell Kuche. Back in 2013, Harry, Hermione and I had been fortunate enough to visit Epcot for a day and had planned on stopping by. But, Epcot had all the booths out for Flower and Garden and by the time we arrived in Germany we were so full that we passed it by. We weren't going to make that mistake again! So, in we went.

Harry and I decided to each pick something out and share. He chose the s'mores and I couldn't make up my mind so I asked the CM what her favorite was and she said the pineapple. So, that's what I got. Arthur also got a s'mores and Ron got some caramel corn, I believe, and some packaged Werther's to bring back home. The place was too packed for pictures inside, but here are Harry's and mine that we got a picture of back at the resort:


OMG!!! These were delicious! Harry and I split them and loved them both, but I have to give a shout out to that CM. That was the best chocolate covered pineapple ever! The caramel just adds such a nice touch. 10/10 from both Harry and I.

But, those weren't even the best treats of the night! While waiting in line at Karamell Kuche, we kept seeing people walking around with these drinks and raving to each other about them. So, naturally we inquired. They turned out to be special holiday around the world drinks (the drinks were allowed to stay a day later than the storytellers, LOL) and they were from the stand right next door. After purchasing our treats, we went in search of what all the fuss was about. For your viewing pleasure:



The one in the middle is: Caramel Mocha Iced Coffee. Harry and I don't drink coffee, so we'll just have to take Ron's word for it that it was delicious.

The other two drinks were given the very clever name of: Hot Salted Caramel Beverage. Such a simple name for a simple looking drink, but when we took a sip, choirs of began to sing. It was like taking the best salted caramel you've ever had and then putting it in warm, liquid form. Amazing! Very sweet, so I recommend sharing. But, they really hit the spot on a cool evening. If you are ever at WDW during the holiday season, I highly recommend. It gets a 10/10 from all of us.

Coming up: New Year's Eve and our last day at Disney

 

[michael's mom]

great review! I'm surpried Harry didn't choose the pineapple given his love for it. I'm definetly adding that on my list of must try places this summer!

 

[kastoney]

First, so glad your Biergarten meal was so good after they day you'd already had. Seems like you had the right idea to take advantage of all the mulled wine ; )

Yeah for Arthur and his cheesecake!!!! Always good when things live up to our expectations, especially when they are 8 years in the making. Never done Biergarten, but it looks like a delicious and fun experience. We have something similar at a near by amusement park that we love to go to.

Ahh, Karamel Kuche, one of my personal favs as i am a sucker for all things caramel. And that drink. OMG I think I would die and go to caramel heaven. Was there alcohol in it?

 

[SmallWorld71]

great review! I'm surpried Harry didn't choose the pineapple given his love for it. I'm definetly adding that on my list of must try places this summer!

I was surprised too!
And, if you like caramel, you must go!

 

[SmallWorld71]

First, so glad your Biergarten meal was so good after they day you'd already had. Seems like you had the right idea to take advantage of all the mulled wine ; )

Yeah for Arthur and his cheesecake!!!! Always good when things live up to our expectations, especially when they are 8 years in the making. Never done Biergarten, but it looks like a delicious and fun experience. We have something similar at a near by amusement park that we love to go to.

Ahh, Karamel Kuche, one of my personal favs as i am a sucker for all things caramel. And that drink. OMG I think I would die and go to caramel heaven. Was there alcohol in it?

There was not alcohol in it. I bet it would be very good spiked with some, though! We will definitely return to Karamel Kuche - there are so many more things we want to try!

 

[totebagg]

Love your Biergarten review. We did this on our first trip and had it on the list to do this year but got knocked off by some new ones. I also love the feel of the restaurant like you are outside! Glad Arthur enjoyed his pick and so sorry Hermione was not feeling well. OHHH Karamel Kuche, love the smell of that place! We went for the first time last year and was overwhelmed so we only got some Karamel Korn but it was delish. So I too love pineapple so I have this on my must eat snacks while at Disney. I think it is because we go during F&WF so we tend to overlook some of the yummy snack places in the World. Also that salted caramel drink looks heavenly and would be a favorite of my husbands I am sure since he loves all things salted caramel. Looking forward to hearing more!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Love your Biergarten review. We did this on our first trip and had it on the list to do this year but got knocked off by some new ones. I also love the feel of the restaurant like you are outside! Glad Arthur enjoyed his pick and so sorry Hermione was not feeling well. OHHH Karamel Kuche, love the smell of that place! We went for the first time last year and was overwhelmed so we only got some Karamel Korn but it was delish. So I too love pineapple so I have this on my must eat snacks while at Disney. I think it is because we go during F&WF so we tend to overlook some of the yummy snack places in the World. Also that salted caramel drink looks heavenly and would be a favorite of my husbands I am sure since he loves all things salted caramel. Looking forward to hearing more!

It's so hard to pick the TS, isn't it. We'd have to go for a month to visit all the places we really want to. Hermione was disappointed that she wasn't up for cheesecake. Now that I know that they can pack that caramel goodness to go, I think I may just have to stop there each time I'm leaving Epcot and bring some deliciousness back to the resort.

 

[Misha72683]

We're going to Biergarten on our trip. This review has me excited! We love schnitzel (I'm part-German and my husband is Croatian, so it's a staple around here) and I just think the atmosphere looks like so much fun.

 

[SmallWorld71]

We're going to Biergarten on our trip. This review has me excited! We love schnitzel (I'm part-German and my husband is Croatian, so it's a staple around here) and I just think the atmosphere looks like so much fun.

Enjoy!
I'm a big fan of their schnitzel!

 

[SmallWorld71]

December 31, 2014
New Year's - Hollywood style!

This was our last day at Disney. No time to be sad, though. It was New Year's Eve! Plus, we still had Universal to look forward to. We slept in this morning, with the intent of staying out late. We just headed to Cafe Rix at our resort and used some snack credits for bagels and then got ready to head out. Hermione still wasn't feeling well and wanted to rest. I told the boys to head out and I would keep in touch with them.
They arrived at DHS where they spent some time enjoying these guys:


And, using a Tower of Terror FP+:


Meanwhile, back at the room, I did some laundry - woo hoo! - while Hermione rested. If you recall, she hardly eaten the day before and didn't eat her breakfast today. After her nap, I convinced her to take some tylenol and eat some peanut butter crackers that we had in the room. That did the trick and I texted the boys that we were on our way!
We decided to stop at the park entrance:


There were just a few other people at the park that day:


I had gotten a text from DH letting me know that they were at R'n'R in the single rider line so we headed that way. On our way, I realized that we were at the very end of the Tower of Terror FP+. Ron was the first one off R'n'R so I gave him my band and he and Hermione raced off to see if they could still get in. It was after the official end time of the FP+, but still in the 15 min. grace period. Success! * For anyone wondering, it's fine to swap bands for the FP+. Disney did not give a hoot that a teenage boy was using a middle age woman's Cinderella decorated band.


After that, we met some friends, used our Star Tours and Toy Story FP+. If anyone knows the message that Etch is sending, could you let me know, I haven't been able to figure it out.









Continued in next post....

 

[SmallWorld71]

December 31st - Part 2
New Year's Eve - Hollywood Style!

We were starting to get hungry. Ron had already requested Pizza Planet. He and Toy Story have a long history together. He was born the same year that the first movie was released and was a huge fan as a kid. He used to have all the toys. He and Harry have both been Buzz for Halloween. When Ron was little, he would often dress up in his Buzz costume and stand on the side of the couch and speak into the thermostat to call Star Command. The he would shout, 'To infinity, and beyond!' and jump off, LOL. I think we've eaten at Pizza Planet every single trip. But, no matter. I don't have any photos of the boys in Pizza Planet, but here they are playing on RC at All-Star Movies back in 2001.


We headed over to Pizza Planet for late lunch/ early dinner. Not surprisingly, it was a zoo in there! I was surprised that they didn't have someone stopping people from holding tables while waiting for their food. But, they didn't. So, after giving their orders, Harry and Hermione set off to scout for a table. They have been well trained over the years in the scan, stalk and pounce approach and soon enough Hermione was back to report that they'd had success and let us know where our table was.
Meanwhile, Arthur, Ron and I waited for the food. All the registers were open. The problem was, when you got to the counter to pick up your food, they called out what was on the tray and not what the order # was. Ummmm......have you seen the menu there? Not very extensive. So, they'd call out things like, 'two pizzas with sodas' and then hand it off to the nearest person who claimed it. I'm quite sure people were getting other people's orders and some people were starting to get quite upset. The CM's were clearly flustered. Anyway, we eventually got our food.
Hermione had a cheese pizza, Ron a meat pizza, and Arthur a veggie pizza. I'd already had my Disney pizza fix at Pizzafari; Harry and I decided to try the meatball sub. We all got cupcakes for dessert (holiday gingerbread for the boys and I, cappuccino for Arthur) except Hermione who got a chocolate chip cookie. The meals all came with a Caesar salad.




*Please excuse the rear of the man at the table next to us. It was close quarters in there!

The meatball sub was surprisingly decent! The meatballs reminded me of those you would buy at BJ's or Costco. Which, is not a bad thing at a DHS counter service. The pizza tasted like fast food Disney pizza - and Hermione finally ate again! The gingerbread cupcakes were adorable, but sadly we did not like them. The cute little Mickey toppers got eaten, but the cupcakes themselves were just way too sweet and mostly ended up in the trash. (I sense a theme, maybe we just don't like sweet cupcakes.....?) The cappuccino cupcake, OTOH, was quite yummy. It had a chocolate cake base which is just not Arthur's thing, so I ended up eating most of that. It was surprisingly moist!

Ratings:
Me: food (7/10), Dessert (6/10), Atmosphere (7/10 - do try to eat at an off time - this place gets packed, even when it's not New Year's Eve)
Harry: food (7/10), Dessert (2/10), Atmosphere (8/10)
Hermione: food (7/10), Dessert (6/10), Atmosphere (9/10)

The park was jammed, so after filling our tummies, we passed time visiting attractions such as One Man's Dream, Beauty and the Beast and Indiana Jones. It was then I realized my mistake. We'd already used up all our TS so I hadn't booked a sit down meal this day. But, the CS places were nuts! I wished I had booked 50's Prime Time or Sci-Fi and just paid out of pocket. Oh, well. Since we didn't want to brave CS again, we ended up snacking for dinner.

We got multiple boxes of these - yummy as always!


We also headed into sweet spells again where Harry got another chocolate covered pineapple and Hermione got these:


I'm not sure what the others got.

Our food that day may not have been the best, but the atmosphere that evening was incredible! We ended up setting up camp on Hollywood Blvd. about 2 hours before the fireworks and enjoyed some Mulch, Sweat and Shears. The fireworks were amazing! Not only did they come from behind the hat, but they came from buildings all around us! We were completely surrounded and it was just a great experience.





Up next:
We check out of Coronado and head to Portofino Bay.

 

[michael's mom]

I love the pic of Ron and Harry as littles! Hermione looks like she was feeling a but better this day! Those cupcakes are ADORABLE...but, I am always disappointed by the cupcakes that everyone raves about because they are too sweet for me too (and I like sweets!) I tried the Red Velvet at Starring Rolls and was so bummed because I couldn't have more than 2 bites. It hurt my teeth! I'm already sad for you leaving Disney