Butter that bacon, boy! A dining report 9/20-9/25

[StephanieCG]

Hi everyone and thanks for checking out my dining report. We just got back from a great trip with lots of yummy eats.
We dined at:
T-Rex (dinner)
Hollywood and Vine (breakfast)
Sci Fi (late lunch)
Akershus (lunch)
Kona Cafe (lunch)
Ohana (breakfast)

All and all it was great, with each meal beating out the last. They were all great for all different reasons.

We at T-Rex on 9/20, at around 4:45. It was pretty easy to find....and we had a tough time with directions that day (more on that in the trip report.) Emily (DD age 2) was excited and scared by the dinos at the same time. She liked looking at them from far away, but if we got to close she'd cling to mama. We were seated in the "Herbavore" section...the waitress explained that they try to seat families with little ones there because none of the dinos have teeth therefore it's a little less scary. Emily was pretty much mesmerized by the whole thing. I got a martini...it was a cosmopolitan type drink served with cotton candy and it came with a souvenir martini shaker thing. Very cool. It was very tasty but not strong at all, and I'm a lightweight.
We ordered the Samplesaurus Sampler, with Ribs, and the sliders (I don't see them on the menu online, so I don't remember their cutesy themed name) Both were excellent. DH did not think that would be enough food for the three of us, but I told him to trust me. It was more than enough, we even took a box back to the hotel.

Here are some pics:
First entering the restaurant

Appetizer Sampler

Sliders

 

[StephanieCG]

The next morning we had an 8:10 ADR at Hollywood and Vine. Emily is a HUGE little einstein fan. She loves June, and I made her a purple dress with a pink sash like June's. The character interaction was priceless. Goliath and JoJo came out on our side first, Emily liked them but hasn't really seen that show. When June came over, she made a big deal about Emmy's dress and twirled around with her. Leo was cute too he gave Emily a big hug, and signed her book "To My June Love Leo". The kids get up and do a little dance which was perfect because there was no way in heck she'd sit still after that!
The food was really good. I think I ate my body weight in bacon and mickey waffles. The bacon isn't perfect, it's obviously microwaved, but "that'll do pig, that'll do." Emily ate 5 slices of watermelon and a dozen tater tots. DH had a little bit of everything and loved it too. Definitely a good choice if you want to get in the park early. We were actually the second family in the park that morning, it was great.
A side note - go on TSM first, and then get a FP. Don't do it the other way around or you wind up wasting quite a bit of time.

Inside the restaurant:

Here they come:

Goliath:

JoJo:

June!:

Leo:

 

[natalielongstaff]

We are eating at T.rex next month, can't wait

Great reviews so far !

 

[BriarRosie]

That was really cute!

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Joining in...great start. We took my son to H&V when he turned 2 and loved it, everytime we go to Disney its a must for him to eat at H&V b/c of the song/dance they do and he has a blast. Your daughter is so cute. Can't wait to read more

 

[TigerKat]

Signing on!

 

[StephanieCG]

Next stop - sci fi diner
Of all of our ADRs, this was the only one that DH was excited about. It was the one page in the Disney book I had strategically left for him in the "Reading Room" and he insisted that we try to eat there. I was just happy he gave me some input on the trip.
We ordered an order of onion rings, an oreo shake, and a cherry coke to start. No pics of those, sorry. It was gone too quick. The shake was great, just what you'd expect from a milkshake (cue the $5 shake dialog from Pulp Fiction). It had cookie crumbs and fudge and was great. Emily would have tried to down the whole thing at once, I think the child is immune to brain freeze. Here is what was left of the onion rings:

They were absolutely delicious. It was a batter type onion ring instead of the breaded kind at T-Rex, and batter is better.

I ordered the BLT soup...we had gotten caught in a pretty bad downpour and I was FREEZING, so soup never sounded so good. It was good but I wish it was a little hotter, and a little less lettuce. It got a little soggy. I should have just picked some of it out but oh well.

DH got the shrimp pasta thing, which surprised me because I thought he'd totally go for a burger. He said it was very good, and I took a little nibble and agreed.

And that was Sci-Fi. It did take a while to check in (20-30 past time) and it was at 3 in the afternoon. But the carhop was very quick and pleasant, and the atmosphere was worth the wait.

 

[StephanieCG]

Next up: Akershus - Princess Storybook Lunch

I think I was looking forward to this the most. The food sounded fun and exotic, and of course PRINCESSES!! We had a 12:10 ADR, and had a short wait (10 minutes) and the process is a little chaotic because you are outside in the sun and it's tough to just stand there and wait for you name. Or at least it was tough for someone with ADD like me who sees so many other cool stuff to explore.
The picture with Belle came out very cute. My daughter didn't smile though. Looking back at all our pics, she didn't really smile with any character...there was a half smile for Tink, Ariel, and Stitch, but that was it. It wasn't because she wasn't enjoying herself, I knew she was because meeting the characters was all she'd talk about. I digress. Anyway, Belle was very sweet and looked very regal in her yellow gown.
From what I understand, lunch and dinner are set up the same way...you get a salad bar (salad, luncheon meats, fish, cheeses) and a choice of entree, and a dessert plate with three different goodies on it. For us, it was a chocolate mousse type cake, rice cream, and an apple pastry. The salad/appetizer bar was good...I really liked the pink salad dressing (zinfandel vinegarette?) My one complaint was the bread. It was this rockhard multigrain stuff, I couldn't tell if it was stale or supposed to be like that. DH said it was probably supposed to be like that, but he likes crusty bread anyway.
We were seated and the princesses came by in a rush. Cindy was first, then Aurora. I jumped up to go to the appetizer bar and when I did, Snow White came by. Then when I came back and DH went to the appetizer buffet Ariel came by. By then Emily was pretty much starstruck.
Here's some princess pics:

I ordered the Kjottkake. I like IKEA meatballs, so I figured this would be good. DH got the Open faced Chicken Sandwich. To my surprise, Emily was able to order too and got the ravioli. I thought since she was two she could just eat off our plates, but the waitress asked what she would want...we asked Emmy "pizza or ravioli" and she tried to say ravioli, but I think that's just because she thought it was a funny word. haha.
Here are some pics:
Appetizer plate (me):

Appetizer plate (DH):

Chicken sandwich:

Kjottkake:

Mickey Ravioli:

The Kjottkake was good, and I gave DH my asparagus because he likes it and I don't. The mashed potatoes and the gravy were excellent. The potatoes were like mashed butter with a little bit of potato added, which works for me. And I don't normally care for gravy but this stuff had a great flavor. My only complaint was that the food wasn't hot enough, but that seems to be a trend in Disney restaurants from what I've noticed this week. DH loved his sandwich and DD loved her ravioli. She ate almost all of them, in a very unique way. Belle walked by because her shift was up, and she stopped by our table and said to Emily "Awww I see you like to eat like the Beast!" It was really cute. Emily had a look on her face like yeah whatever lady. Kiddo was hungry!

Dessert was great. The rice cream was "meh" I didn't care for the texture but the strawberry stuff on it was good. I loved the chocolate the most and DH loved the apple thing. We got a princess surprise cake for Emmy and she loved that too.

When preparing for ADRs I agonized for days over this or the Castle. I chose Norway because I wanted to save the Castle for when Emmy was old enough to understand and remember what was going on. I'm hoping to go again in 2011 or 2012, and she'll be 4 or 5 by then, so that will be perfect. I might do Norway again if she's still princess crazy next time we go. The princesses seemed to interact more with slightly older kids, and I think they were at the end of their shift and we were one of the last tables they visited. But they did a very good job of hiding their exhaustion and were very sweet. Overall I was happy with the experience and would come here again. DH had stuffed himself to maximum capacity. After this we walked around World Showcase for a bit and then went to the hotel for a nap.

 

[luvmyfam444]

Thanks for the reviews - loved the pics of your dd - sooo cute!