But Why Is The Rum Gone?-A May 2022 Disney/Universal DTR- Completed 8/5

[Raeven]

to another DTR!

If you've been following my PTR you know that we have two trips this year. This trip was for my 30th birthday, and was definitely all about the food.

My name is Raeven, and here I am at my birthday dinner:



I'm 29 years old (turning 30 next month), and I'm the planner, photographer, and DTR writer for our trips.My favorite food is french fries/poutine, I love dessert, and this trip we had some very ambitious dining plans for Disney & Universal. The title of this DTR comes from the fact that we were clearly inspired by Jack Sparrow this trip, and had some delicious rum drinks.





My trip partner is my boyfriend, Josh.



He’s 36, and likes include steak, BBQ, burgers, & coffee. He used to eat gluten free due to an intolerance, but after changing his diet he's been experimenting with adding gluten back into what he can eat.

This DTR will have snacks from F&G, Disney dining, Universal dining, an elaborate brunch, new restaurants, and some old favorites.




If you want to follow along on my TR it's here:
It's My Birthday Everyday!-A May 2022 Disney/Universal TR

& my PTR is here:
May/September 2022 PTR

​

We ate at:

​

-Airport Food (Chick Fil A/Starbucks)/Margaritaville
-The Daily Poutine/Polite Pig/Salt & Straw
-Trader Sam's/Sanaa
-Cityworks Eatery & Pour House (Brunch)
-Strongwater Tavern
-Trattoria Del Porto (Mother's Day Brunch)
- Confisco Grille
-Amatista Cookhouse/Boardwalk Bakery
-Flower & Garden Festival
-Boma/Boardwalk Ice Cream
-Shula's Steakhouse
-Dluxe Burger/Snacks at Magic Kingdom (Eggroll Cart, Aloha Isle)
-Chef Art Smith's Homecomin'
-Antojitos
-Coldstone Creamery/Bice Ristorante
-Island's Dining Room/Voodoo Doughnuts
-Wrap Up (The Best & Worst of the Trip)

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Can’t wait to read all about it! Happy birthday

 

[erinch]

I’m in! We leave June 3 for WDW and Universal

 

[Raeven]

Can’t wait to read all about it! Happy birthday ​

Thank you!
​

I’m in! We leave June 3 for WDW and Universal​

Thanks for following along! & have a great trip! ​

 

[Raeven]

Airport Food & Margaritaville

I'm just going to jump into our first day with some airport food.


(Just pretend he's saying airport food).

For some reason our airport has this giant ball covered in door knockers and held together with what looks like a bunch of staples so here's my Pink Drink in front of that.





The Chick Fil A in the airport only serves two things, and that's a chicken sandwich and chicken nuggets. So I grabbed some nuggets and fries.



Nothing new here, but these are pretty good for fast food chicken nuggets. I tried the Chick Fil A sauce this time and I didn't care for it so I stuck with the buffalo sauce.

We arrived pretty late so we only had time for dinner. I had picked Margaritaville because it's been a few years since we'd eaten there.


Before we got there they had texted us several times, and they weren't asking if we wanted to come earlier; but texting us like our reservation was earlier and we should come asap or lose our table. This was pretty strange, and the only thing I can think of is they were trying to get people in sooner so they could close on time or earlier? But we weren't going that close to closing time, and the restaurant was quite busy when we got there so it doesn't seem like it was because of that. And once I answered them that we wanted to keep our regular reservation time they didn't seem to have an issue.
To drink I got the:

Bama Breeze
Cruzan® Vanilla rum, Margaritaville Silver rum, orange juice, coconut and mango purée



This was very good, and one of those drinks that could be dangerous because you can't really taste the alcohol.

I have no idea what Josh ordered and neither does he. He wanted a pour of a specific rum, but I think there was a drink on the menu also named after that rum or something similar, and that's what they gave him. There was live music playing so we think the waitress didn't hear him, and he said he was fine with whatever this was instead.



Not to upset all the Jimmy Buffet fans out there, but I was a little bit glad there was some live music going on tonight because hearing the same few Jimmy Buffet songs over and over at top volume isn't my idea of a good time. However we were seated really close to the speakers/stage which was also loud. But the guy doing the live music was actually pretty good.

We had discussed before going that we've only had the Cheeseburger in Paradise in the past, and wanted to try some different things on the menu.

So Josh got the:

Cheeseburger in Paradise
American cheese, lettuce, sliced tomato, pickles, paradise island sauce, brioche bun



He was super hungry since we were at airports/on the plane for most of the day, and he ate this pretty quickly. I'm going to guess this was cooked just right and was very good.

I got the much more exciting:

Volcano Nachos
Tortilla chips layered with chili, cheese, pico de gallo, fresh guacamole, sour cream and jalapeños



I think this appetizer is bigger than most the meals on the menu. I will say the plate is not as deep as it looks, but this is a tall stack of nachos. These were pretty good since there are a lot of toppings throughout and that's what makes nachos good in my opinion. But one weird thing was there were two kinds of cheese, and which one you got depends on which side you ate from. One side seemed to have a cheese sauce, and the other had melted shredded cheese. Both sides were good, but I feel like there's usually there's only one kind of cheese.

I also somehow dropped the very first nacho I picked up which was covered in every kind of topping imaginable right on my pants.



And don't worry at some point the live music ended, and we did get to hear plenty of Jimmy Buffet music.
While all food was definitely more expensive this trip (since I think they increased food prices everywhere at Disney and Universal). I still think Margaritaville is a good value, and I don't think I've ever had a bad meal there. Plus where else can you get a literal mountain of nachos? ​

 

[erinch]

But why is the report gone? Please, May we have some more?

 

[Raeven]

The Daily Poutine/Polite Pig/Salt & Straw

If you’ve read one of my dining reports before you know I have to get some of the Canadian poutine from The Daily Poutine at least once a trip. And while I miss the larger bowls they used to have, the poutine is still delicious every time.



Josh got the brisket at Polite Pig. I no longer see it on the menu, only a brisket sandwich but as far as I know it's always been available whenever we've gone there. While this was pricier than it has been in the past it seemed to be a bigger serving and came with sides. Josh loves the brisket here and it’s one of his favorite QS meal items. The fries had a bbq-esque rub on them which wasn’t for me, but Josh ate most of them.



After lunch Josh wanted to get something from the Coca Cola rooftop. Apparently the line took forever. I went to Salt and Straw in this time, ate my ice cream, and shopped and he was still in line somehow.

I’ve been to Salt and Straw once before in San Diego, but somehow didn’t try the chocolate flavor which is usually my favorite. Salt and Straw had a very short line, and I decided I had to try a sample of the Strawberry Balsamic flavor because I was curious about it. It was actually really good and mostly tasted like strawberry with a little kick to it. But the aftertaste was heavy on the honey and I don’t think I’d enjoy a full scoop of it. I went with the Chocolate Gooey Brownie. Which was good although a little chewier than I think brownie in ice cream usually is (it was very brownie heavy). The cup was pricy but cheaper than the one I got at Vivoli Il Gelato’s cart last year that was just a plain flavor, and they didn’t fill it in a messy way so I was able to eat it before it melted.



Overall we had a good QS lunch in Disney Springs, and luckily had very low crowds so we didn’t have to do a lot of waiting at any of the three places we went to.


​

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I can’t wait to hear about the rest of the trip (seems like we have a few of the same favorites!)

 

[TinkerbellinNY6]

I know that airport! I usually fly out of there too and have never understood why they have that there...

 

[Raeven]

I can’t wait to hear about the rest of the trip (seems like we have a few of the same favorites!)​

Thanks for following along!
​

I know that airport! I usually fly out of there too and have never understood why they have that

there... ​

I don’t think we’ve ever walked far enough down another terminal to look around before I think they try very hard to seem like an artsy airport. ​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Well that's an unusual art installation in your airport. I wonder what the artist was going for. They guy in Margaritaville totally looks like a guy on Nancy Drew! I still haven't tried Polite Pig ... need to change that! And I always forget about the poutine stand. Potatoes and specifically fries are my love language so going to need to remedy that as well! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[Raeven]

Well that's an unusual art installation in your airport. I wonder what the artist was going for​

It is ! I have no idea ​

They guy in Margaritaville totally looks like a guy on Nancy Drew!​

Haha I'm glad you see it too. ​

Potatoes and specifically fries are my love language so going to need to remedy that as well!​

Same! You have to try the poutine then! ​

 

[Raeven]

Trader Sam’s/Sanaa

We arrived at Trader Sam’s sometime around opening and the wait was 2-3 hours so they recommended we go to the pool area. Apparently you can get the non souvenir glass versions of the drinks out by the pool. I got the:

Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum
Pyrat XO Reserve Rum, Cream of Coconut, and Pineapple and Orange Juices dusted with cinnamon and nutmeg



This was really good and very creamy! I’d definitely order it again, and I liked it better than the drink I ordered later at Sanaa which had a similar description.

Josh got a rum flight: ​

Rum Flight (3/4-oz pour of each)​

Bacardi 8 yr, Pyrat XO Reserve, and Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 yr.
He likes sampling flights, but he had a rum flight at Strongwater that blew this one out of the water.

Later that night at Sanaa we started with the bread service.
​

Indian-style Bread Service​

Choice of Five Breads and with all Nine Accompaniments - Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kulcha, or Paneer Paratha. Accompaniments - Cucumber Raita, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney, Tomato-Date Jam, Tamarind Chutney, Coriander Chutney, Garlic Pickle, Red Chile Sambal, or Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle



I miss the days of being able to pick just a few dipping sauces because I never use them all, but you do have to get them all now. My favorites are the cucumber rarita and the hummus because spicy isn’t my thing, but Josh likes the spicer ones. In Josh’s opinion all the naan breads taste the same, but I think the onion and paneer ones have the most flavor. The regular one was also very fluffy, buttery, and delicious.

I decided to get the Kandee Coconut Kooler (pictured above) because the description sounded delicious.
​

Kande Coconut Cooler​

A refreshing combination of Starr African Rum, Coconut, Vanilla Ice Cream, and Orange Juice

But it was kind of blah. Way too sweet, and you couldn’t really taste the ice cream which is what I thought would make it different. It was just really sweet.

For an entree we split the:
​

Potjie Inspired​

Choose one from the Journey - Goan Seafood Curry, Butter Chicken, Braised Beef, or Pork Vindaloo. Choose one from the Harvest (Plant-based) - Rajma Masala, Chickpea Wat, Sukuma Wiki, or Lentil Daal served with Scented Basmati Rice



We got the double butter chicken and kidney beans for the veggie.
The butter chicken was tender and delicious as always although I wish there was more basmati rice.

Overall we had a good meal at Sanaa. I probably wouldn’t order that drink again, and I wish you could cut down the number of dipping sauces; but overall the food has been good every time we’ve gone there. ​

 

[Raeven]

Cityworks Eatery and Pour House

We started the next day with the brunch at Cityworks. I’d heard so many good things about it, and I was really excited because we hadn’t been able to go on our previous trip.

It's really just a sports bar so the theming isn't anything special, but I'd heard the food is really good.

We started with an appetizer: ​

​

Buffalo Chicken Dip​

Pulled Buffalo Chicken, Bleu Cheese Cream, Housemade Giardiniera, Corn Tortilla Chips



For some reason they gave us about 15 chips with this giant container of dip. The container was actually really deep, and there was a ton in it. I’d wondered why they asked if we wanted blue cheese on top, and I think it was because there was blue cheese throughout it too. I thought it was good, and I like blue cheese; but eventually it got to be a little much and it started to taste like that was the only flavor. I don’t think Josh liked it much, and we were done eating it before our small chip portion ran out.

For Josh’s entree he got the: ​

Mother's Little Helper​

Our "hangover bowl" filled with smoked Cheddar Grits, Braised Pork Belly, breakfast Sausage Links, fried Eggs, smoked Tomato Charred Scallion Relish



He said this was good, but a little colder than he expected which was unfortunately a common trend with the food.

I got the:

Let It BLTE
Breakfast BLT - thick-cut Hardwood-smoked Bacon, Baby Arugula, Beefsteak Tomato, Sunny Side Up Egg, Roasted Garlic Aioli, Toasted Challah, Cheesy Potato Casserole



I had debated getting this or something else, and I think I made the wrong choice. The cheesy potatoes were probably the best part although they had A LOT of seasoning on them. The BLTE was very messy and hard to eat, but the worst part was it was already cold by the time I received it. It also lacked any real flavor really aside from the bacon in it.

Overall the food was okay and the service was fine. I think maybe I choose the wrong brunch dish. However, I found our experience at Cityworks was underwhelming, and I don’t think we’ll be back anytime soon. ​

 

[DJFan88]

Cityworks Eatery and Pour House

We started the next day with the brunch at Cityworks. I’d heard so many good things about it, and I was really excited because we hadn’t been able to go on our previous trip.

It's really just a sports bar so the theming isn't anything special, but I'd heard the food is really good.

We started with an appetizer: ​

​

Buffalo Chicken Dip​

Pulled Buffalo Chicken, Bleu Cheese Cream, Housemade Giardiniera, Corn Tortilla Chips

For some reason they gave us about 15 chips with this giant container of dip. The container was actually really deep, and there was a ton in it. I’d wondered why they asked if we wanted blue cheese on top, and I think it was because there was blue cheese throughout it too. I thought it was good, and I like blue cheese; but eventually it got to be a little much and it started to taste like that was the only flavor. I don’t think Josh liked it much, and we were done eating it before our small chip portion ran out.

For Josh’s entree he got the: ​

Mother's Little Helper​

Our "hangover bowl" filled with smoked Cheddar Grits, Braised Pork Belly, breakfast Sausage Links, fried Eggs, smoked Tomato Charred Scallion Relish

He said this was good, but a little colder than he expected which was unfortunately a common trend with the food.

I got the:

Let It BLTE
Breakfast BLT - thick-cut Hardwood-smoked Bacon, Baby Arugula, Beefsteak Tomato, Sunny Side Up Egg, Roasted Garlic Aioli, Toasted Challah, Cheesy Potato Casserole

I had debated getting this or something else, and I think I made the wrong choice. The cheesy potatoes were probably the best part although they had A LOT of seasoning on them. The BLTE was very messy and hard to eat, but the worst part was it was already cold by the time I received it. It also lacked any real flavor really aside from the bacon in it.

Overall the food was okay and the service was fine. I think maybe I choose the wrong brunch dish. However, I found our experience at Cityworks was underwhelming, and I don’t think we’ll be back anytime soon. ​

I wanted to try the brunch here too, but there’s so many great breakfast places to try I’m debating. This review helps as the Buffalo chicken thing was something I was contemplating. They make the menu sound so great. I wanted dinner items too, so I made a dinner reservation for day 2, and I think I’ll decide based on how that goes if I’ll keep brunch day 7 or not. Looks like the other adrs I would put in its place are still available so def an option

 

[Raeven]

I wanted to try the brunch here too, but there’s so many great breakfast places to try I’m debating. This review helps as the Buffalo chicken thing was something I was contemplating. They make the menu sound so great. I wanted dinner items too, so I made a dinner reservation for day 2, and I think I’ll decide based on how that goes if I’ll keep brunch day 7 or not. Looks like the other adrs I would put in its place are still available so def an option​

Glad I could help! It is a big brunch menu so I’m sure some of the items are better, but in my opinion there are better places. I think you’ll have a good idea after eating dinner there if you want to go back. They’ll definitely still be breakfast adrs available by then, and last minute there’s always some good ones too. ​

 

[Ellie_]

Can we please talk about this double order of butter chicken at Sanaa? How much additional did it cost and how’d you order it?

Double butter chicken is the dream

 

[Raeven]

Can we please talk about this double order of butter chicken at Sanaa? How much additional did it cost and how’d you order it?

Double butter chicken is the dream ​

Instead of doing one from the journey and one from the harvest I asked if we could have two butter chickens, but they also still gave us a veggie too. I’m not sure how much additional it is but I think it’s like $10 more. It is the dream! It’s a lot of food & we definitely don’t need two separate meals after the bread service so I like that it’s an option. ​

 

[Raeven]

Strongwater Tavern

We have somehow never been to Strongwater despite staying at Sapphire Falls multiple times. Tonight we decided it was time to change that.



I’ve heard so many great reviews from @schumigirl over the years and knew we finally had to try it on this trip. And guess who we were seated next to We finally got to meet Tom and Carole! (I’ll have to talk about that more in the TR but it was lovely to meet them and we chatted for a bit).



To drink I got the:

DAIQUIRIS
Diplomatico Planas Rum • Shaken, Not Frozen • Classic, Hemmingway, Blackberry, Breakfast



This was delicious, light and fruity.

Josh got the:



I'm not sure what the first flight was called, but the rums are all labeled on it.
He really liked this flight, but he especially liked that at Strongwater a rum captain (or rum captain in training) comes over and talks about all the rums with you. We had Anthony who was fantastic and very knowledgeable. I didn’t really take notes on the first flight but later he ordered another one and I did. Josh said he wasn’t aware there were so many kinds of rum before and we were now in our “rum era.” Jack sparrow would be so proud.




To eat Josh got the:

ROPA VIEJA
Shredded beef, garlic, onions, peppers, sofrito sauce.



He said this was delicious! He’s had ropa vieja before but he said this was the best he’d ever had.

I got the:

HOUSE-MADE BLACK ANGUS BEEF SLIDERS
Two beef sliders, caramelized onions, cheese.

Boring I know, but I’m not big on seafood and that’s part of why we’d never been before. These sliders were cooked well and reminded me of my dad’s burgers (which is high praise). I also got a plate of French fries with it which never hurts.


Josh decided to get a second rum flight:




This one had a rum you can’t get anymore (the first one), a Bruno Mars rum (the Selva Ray one), and a french one (the last one). I sampled these with Josh, and the Bruno Mars one was my favorite. Anthony also gave us a small sample of a chocolate rum.



I don’t normally like straight alcohol, but this was really good. It tasted just like chocolate.

Finally for dessert I got the:

BANANA BREAD PUDDING
Served with rum raisin ice cream.



I was getting full but this was amazing! It was pineapple-y and creamy and one of the best bread puddings I’ve ever had.

The service was amazing here, the singer on stage was really good, and the food and drinks were extremely high quality. It was also great to finally meet Tom and Carole. We’ll definitely be going back to Strongwater on our next trip. ​

 

[Raeven]

Trattoria Del Porto (Mother's Day Brunch)

I wanted to check out the Mother's Day brunch at one of the Universal resorts because I'd heard they were really elaborate with a lot of delicious menu choices. We ended up choosing Trattoria Del Porto because the menu sounded the best to me out of all the resorts.



As you can see there were many, many choices and it was quite a pricey meal because of that.


And here we are:



We realized this was actually our first buffet since 2019, and what a buffet to return with!

Some of the charcuterie:



I did make sure to photograph alllll the desserts though :




We decided to focus on one station at a time because there was so much going on. Our first plate was for the breakfast foods. There wasn't a huge selection of these, but they did have an omelet station.

I got bacon, an omelet, and potatoes.



The bacon was crispy, the omelet was good, but the breakfast potatoes were kind of blah.

Josh got bacon, eggs, and coffee.
Next we moved onto the salad and charcuterie. They had so much here, including everything to make your own Cobb Salad which I thought was really cool.

I got the Cobb Salad, and some charcuterie selections. Plus the red bliss potatoes from the carving station. And from the main dishes I got the Italian rice pilaf dish, and a different kind of whipped potatoes.



The Cobb Salad was good and red bliss potatoes were really flavorful. But I think my favorite thing was the Italian rice pilaf.

Josh got all the meats and some salad.
He said the ham was okay, the salmon was great and not fishy at all, but his favorite was the prime rib.

Next I went to the pasta station and got alfredo with red peppers and chicken.



This was good and creamy, but the seasoning with the peppers was a little spicier than I thought it would be, and the chicken in it wasn't very good. I also think the garlic bread should've been here instead of at the kid's station because I totally forgot to get some.

The sign at the station said they had gluten free pasta, but when we asked they said they didn't have any.

So Josh grabbed more prime rib.
Since I was nearing the end of my stomach space naturally I had to sample every dessert.
I got the bananas foster with gelato, strawberry shortcake, flourless chocolate cake, red velvet cake, cannoli, and something I think was birthday cake but it wasn't labeled.



The strawberry shortcake was probably my favorite thing on the plate, and the cannoli was good too with a nice, crisp shell. The chocolate cake was extremely chocolate-y, but good, and the red velvet was much better than ones I've had at similar buffets since the cake was actually moist. The birthday cake thing was terrible though, and the bananas foster with gelato was good but it caramelized too fast and was hard to eat after that. (Maybe that was the point, but it was better when it was warm and gooey with the gelato instead of hard and sticky).

Josh grabbed the flourless chocolate cake, and something else that neither of us knew what it was, but he said he just liked the little container it was in.
He did not eat much of this because he was so full, but he did get a cappuccino.


It was a beautiful day so we also took some pictures outside when we were done.





We'd never been to Trattoria Del Porto before so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I'm glad this is the restaurant we picked for the Mother's Day brunch. The service was incredible, and there were so many choices. When buffets have this much variety sometimes none of the dishes are more than just okay, but there were definitely some stand outs here. It's also hard with this much variety because you want to sample everything, but that's impossible. I do think we did a good job at trying all the things we wanted, and aside from the few things they didn't refill often they really did a great job keeping everything frequently filled and cleaned. At $75 a person it's hard to know if we really got our money's worth. If you count in dishes/courses alone then yes I think we did, but if you count how much I actually ate out of those dishes then I'm not sure. But Josh thinks he ate that much in prime rib alone.

Though this is something only offered once a year (although I think they may have something like this on other holidays too), I think it was really good and had a lot of great choices. I'm glad we picked this one over the others. But I also do think it was very pricey and it may not be worth it if you aren't planning to eat a lot or if you have a lot of people in your party. ​