Can I have a side of parks with my meal? And a touch of tink for color.

[SomDayMyPrnceWillCom]

I will do this in parts as we just got back yesterday from 6 nights and 7 days on DxDP, and well, still exhausted and trying to get home stuff done. The cast: Me and DD12 - wonderful mother daughter trip!

Day 1: Open up Epcot at 9 a.m. rope drop and are able to ride many rides before lunch at Coral Reef at 1 p.m.

We arrive a bit early and are seated right about ressie time right next to glass on the floor as I have arranged for a diver sign. Diver shows up pretty quickly after being seated and we also get personalized menus. DD12 was very happy with the diver and loves this restaurant, so we were off to a great start.

I had the NY Strip as I had heard it was excellent and I am very much a steak kinda gal. I have to say, that while it wasn't bad, it was still just a steak. Nothing extraordinary in the least. It was cooked well and had a good taste, but I guess I had my hopes too high on this one and was expecting "over the top steak." Oh I also had the lobster bisque which was really good. I would definitely order this again. And for desert I went with the chocolate wave. Even though I stay away from the cherries as they are a bit too strong for me, this desert is pretty good.

DD12 wanted to try the tilapia and said it was good. She didn't seem overly enthusiastic about it, but she ate it all and didn't complain. She had the shrimp for an appetizer and the hot fudge sunday for desert. Overall - we still like this restaurant and will go back again when we get a chance.

Dinner: Teppan Edo - We were really looking forward to this meal and I must say we were not disappointed. We did get lucky and sat with people that made the experience that much more fun as they were entertaining also. We had a female chef (sorry I forgot to take pictures of food and can't remember any of the servers or chefs names from the week as I just wasn't paying that close attention.. ) None of the sushi is included in the DxDP (which I knew already but DD12 asked anyway b/c she really loves sushi). She again got the cocktail shrimp and I got the tempura for appies. For entrees I ordered the filet and she ordered the shrimp. Both were good but nothing out of this world again. I do have to say that the entertainment at the table definitely made this a restaurant worth visiting again. The food was good so we will return here also.

Day 2: Hollywood Studios

Lunch Sci Fi: I read the reviews on this restaurant and while it was iffy on the reviews, I still am a person to try it for myself. DD12 wanted to go here also so she could see the movies and drive in cars. She did like that aspect of it, but we were both very disappointed in the food and we won't go back here.

I started off with onion rings for appy and DD12 got the BLT soup. We shared and both were ok. For entrees, DD12 ordered the shrimp penne pasta and I was torn between the ribs and a burger. Waitress said both were good and I couldn't go wrong, but I beg to differ. I ordered the ribs and took a few bites out of it and asked her to take it back and send me a burger. I have rarely ever sent food back but I have to say the ribs were that bad. She didn't have any problems bringing me a burger, which was pretty good, but on the bill it was charged for the ribs. Didn't matter as I was on the DxDP, but if I had been paying OOP, I would have had that adjusted. DD12 picked the shrimp out of hers and said the rest was nasty. She said she did not want to go back here, I concurred.

Dinner: Mama Melrose

Again, this was a restaurant that had iffy reviews but I wanted to try for myself. I love tiramisu and was looking forward to it. We were both very disappointed in this restaurant.

Appies: calamari and tomatoes and mozzarrella - nothing fantastic here
Entrees: DD12 - spaghetti fra diavola - but she had marinara sauce substituted with alfredo sauce instead. She liked it ok but was not impressed too much. I had the charred butcher steak and I have to say it was really charred. It had a nasty burnt taste to it and I asked for it to be cooked medium but it was closer to medium rare. Dessert was the tiramisu for me which wasn't very good and DD12 had the honey hazelnut cheesecake - also not very good. Will not eat here again.

Still to come: Reviews for Garden Grill, Yachtman's steakhouse, Donald's Safari breakfast, 1900 Park fare, Boma, Ohana Breakfast and Dinner, Crystal Palace, Narcoosee's and Whispering Canyon Cafe

 

[suzimar57]

enjoying your reviews so far!

 

[phabric]

Enjoyed your reviews. Looking for more.

 

[TigerKat]

I'm in......

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Yum, great reviews thanks!

 

[SomDayMyPrnceWillCom]

Sorry I haven't finished this review yet, but it's been busy.

Day 3: Slept in a little bit and made lunch at Garden Grill at opening time. We checked in early and got our buzzer and caught a quick showing of The Circle of Life show with Timon and Pumbaa while waiting. We were first seated and waiter was pretty good getting food and drinks out quickly. Chip and Dale came around pretty soon after being seated and it was GREAT. Mickey and Pluto also had a great time with them. All the characters actually came around several times and after the initial interaction and pics, autographs, characters would still stop by for a moment and play, kiss our hands, wave and pat our heads, something fun. This was one of DD12's favorite character meals. She said the greenbeans were the best she had ever had and loved the cornbread also. I thought the food was pretty good, but I'm from the south and have grown up with good home cooked meals like this, so I guess I just wasn't overly impressed with it. Actually, I didn't like the catfish very much but I did like the flank steak. Overall, we will probably do this again for lunch. Character interaction was definitely what everyone said and was superb.

Dinner: Yachtman's steakhouse

Did World showcase for a while after lunch. I found some Baklava near the china pavilion at a little stand that was to die for. LOVED IT. I meant to go back for more, but we never made it back after doing Epcot for 2 days. Went back to the room to rest and change for dinner that evening. Buses were terribly late and we left 1.5 hours before dinner ressies and still was 5 minutes late that night. We didn't wait too long for a table and waitress was good.

DD12 ordered the cheese plate which she liked some but some of the others she didn't. I had the chilled seafood salad. I liked it.

Entrees: DD12 ordered the Pan Seared Sea Bass and really seemed to enjoy it. I ordered the Porterhouse with the knowledge there was no way I'd finish the whole thing, but really wanted to try this cut. It was very good too. I would definitely like to go back here but also want to try other signature restaurants on return trips. I ordered the chocolate dessert but was really too full to do anything other than take a bite from each one. I think because I was already full I didn't enjoy it as much. DD12 ordered the creme brulee and has declared this her new favorite dessert and wanted to order it whenever we went to a restaurant that had it.

Will continue with the rest of the reviews later.

 

[SomDayMyPrnceWillCom]

Day 4: Animal Kingdom

We had very early ressies at Donald's Safari bfast and were one of the first tables seated. Park didn't open until 9, so we were hoping to get finished before rope drop and make it to the safari first off.

The food was pretty good. Even though I did see some of the meats, bacon especially, that just sat in a lot of grease on the line. I had mickey waffles and liked them. DD12 is a big lover of eggs and loved the scrambled eggs. But I have to say to character interaction was so rushed it felt like a whirl.

One of the waitresses first came in and yelled above everyone that Donald would be coming in shortly to make sure you had your autograph books out already and turned to the place where the characters could sign and be able to get your pictures quickly. And I do mean quickly. The characters basically signed, posed for just a sec and moved on. I had to ask each one to take a picture with me after I took their picture with DD12 as the characters were walking off the minute the flash went off. Whew! But, seeing as how the AK is limited in its restaurant offerings, especially for breakfast, we may try this one again on an AK day to be able to make it to rope drop if nothing else. And yes, we did make it to rope drop. As a matter of fact, the African musician got us to participate in a little musical fun before the rope dropped and we were caught up in that and looked up and saw this crowd bearing down on the safari and rope line so we had to get in line really quick and still some people out walked us and beat us into the safari line. But I think we made the 2nd or 3rd car leaving. And I guess it was a trend because the safari CM driving also made a point to fly through this ride. I remember last year the driver stopping at several strategic points to get pictures of the animals, but this one as soon as he stopped, pulled right off again and I couldn't get a decent shot for anything. but oh well. I guess we could have went again later, but there was so much more we wanted to do.

Dinner: 1900 Park Fare

I ordered a cake for DD12 here (just a mother daughter trip) and I have to say we loved the cake. But the hostess and waiter both ruined it being a surprise at the end of dinner. DD12 didn't really like the food here as it was a lot of salad type items, but I found several things I liked. There were a couple of different salads I tried and liked, but can't remember the names now. I think maybe one was a watermelon salad unless I'm confusing it with one from Boma. And I did like the prime rib. I got the strawberry soup and DD12 tried mine. We both liked it. DD12 thought it should be dessert, not soup.

But I do have to say that the characters were TERRIFIC here. I don't know why I did this, but I told Anastasia that I had just cancelled my wedding and this was supposed to be a honeymoon trip. OH she had an absolute field day with this. She screamed out over the restaurant. "Druzilla, come here. You've got to hear what is going on at THIS table. All the drama!" Druzilla comes over and Anastasia informs her I had kicked my fiance to the curb and cancelled the wedding and Druzilla said, Why wasn't he rich enough? And after a few more comments between us I also adding in And it was Cinderella themed also. They about died! Laughing and cackling saying, See Cinder smella ruins everything. You just need to stay single like us girl! Oh it was a hoot and DD12 just loved it.

She didn't seem overly enthusiastic about Cinderella herself, but I think she was alittle flustered around Prince charming. She had a very big grin on her face in the picture. The stepmother, I do have to say, was quite entertaining as well. DD12 had on an orange tank top and I had on a tie dye t shirt. She pointed to DD12 and said, "Oh I see you are pumpkin colored tonight. And well, you .. I don't know what you are.. " I told her the pumpkin exploded and that's the color I got. She agreed. She was great.

We may go back to this one but not sure yet.

Day 5: Waterpark morning and Pirate and Princess Party evening

We grabbed a fruit tray and a chocolate milk from the food court before heading out to Typhoon Lagoon where we stayed from 9 - 12. DD12 had a blast here, especially in the wave pool. I rode the two slides with the tubes, the one where both of us could ride together and the one where we rode separate tubes and had fun. The lazy river was very relaxing also. DD12 said Humunga Cowabunga (sp?) gave her a wedgie. But the only food we got here was the mini donuts on our way out. We got an order of 6 with a side of chocolate. DD12 liked the choc sauce but I didn't. I thought the donuts were fantastic by themselves. These are definitely something to try if you haven't got them yet.

Dinner at Boma:

I made this ressie just a few weeks ahead of us leaving as I had originally booked Spirit of Aloha for an 8 p.m show that night, but we were given Pirate and Princess party tickets and I couldn't get the earlier show, so we were able to get Boma at 5 p.m. And we loved Boma.

The carrot ginger soup was being pushed by the waitresses as I heard several of them, including ours, telling customers to try it, it was their favorite. But I have to say, It was really really good. I had 2 bowls of it, and I am not too much of a soup person. I just love the variety and flavors of the selections at Boma. The prime rib here is really good. But I was looking forward to the desserts. The mini fruit tarts are just wonderful. There was also a coconut tiramisu that I really enjoyed. And of course, zebra domes are a must here. I have to say that I think Boma may be our restaurant that is a staple for our WDW trips from now on. We both are very full when leaving here and very happy.


Day 6: Magic Kingdom

We had early ressies at Ohana breakfast that morning and really enjoyed the family style as opposed to the buffet for this particular morning. while the buffets usually offer more variety, we didn't have to worry about getting up and missing characters, etc. And we had plenty of our favorites for breakfast that morning. The bread they start you out with is wonderful. One has pineapple in it and the other is a cinamon raisin I believe. DD12 loved both and I had to fight with her to share. When the platter was brought out, it was plenty for both of us to not have to ask for seconds. Even though I was tempted to ask for more sausage as we were brought 2 pieces, but we were pretty stuffed from everything else. Mickey waffles were brought around and I got a couple of these as well. Character interaction here was good also. We love Stitch and had a very good time with him. We will probaby do this breakfast again in the future.

After breakfast we headed over to the Magic Kingdom, but both of us were so tired we just couldn't find the energy on this day. We had pretty much rode everything we wanted to ride the night before at the P&P party, walk on at that, so we did a few things we hadn't seen yet, like the Hall of Presidents, (which I actually thought was a good place to just cool off and take a quick nap.. ) Country Bears, again cool off and rest my eyes, and the Boat Ride around Tom Sawyer's island (no cooling off here). For some reason, I think this was the hottest day we were here. We were tired, and miserable and our lunch ressies weren't until 2 p.m. at Crystal Palace so DD12 and I thought what the heck, let's see if we can get in early. Even though we had eaten breakfast just 4 hours earlier, and weren't starving, I just needed to get somewhere cool and sit for a while. We checked with the front desk and explained our ressies weren't until 2 but could they get us in earlier perhaps? She said it may be a 30 - 45 minute wait, so we had a seat and it was packed. Much to my surprise, our buzzer went off mere moments later and we were escorted to our table.

As we sat down, our waiter came over and Piglet was a few tables behind us and he said don't leave yet as Piglet will be here in just a moment. Well, as he was explaining everything to us, Piglet went by our table and on to the next but we in that circular area thing. The waiter went over to the handler and asked about Piglets route apparently as he had just told us he would be at our table and the handler said, he was doing the window aisle then coming back around. But it seemed our table was the only one skipped on the side we were on. So, I said we'll wait until he makes his way around the other side, but he got to the table right next to us on the other side and then made his way to the other area. So I asked the handler about it and this was the only time I had ever really encountered one being rude. She said well, if you were being seated after he came around then you will just have to wait until he makes his rounds again and that can be up to an hour. Wow. That kind of threw me for a loop and I explained, no were were sitting here when he came by but he skipped this table. She said I doubt that, you'll just have to wait. Well, alrighty then. DD12 and I decided that if we got ready to go and Piglet had not been back around, or was close, we wouldn't wait.

The other characters were great, especially Eeyore, he kept kissing my hand and sneaking behind DD12 and patting her head. She loved that. I wasn't extremely hungry and was so hot and tired, I tended more towards the cold item foods but did get some of the garlic mashed potatoes, which we loved and the carved meats. I think we may stick to CP for breakfast as we loved the bf here last year, but I wanted to try the lunch. It wasn't bad, but the bf was better.

After lunch, we headed back to pop for a nice long nap in a cold, dark room. LOL

Dinner: Narcoosees

This was my absolute favorite restaurant of the week. I had been looking forward to this and I was not disappointed.

For appies, DD12 ordered the Prince Edward mussels and it was a HUGE bowl and had plenty of mussels in it. I had the chowder and it was pretty good too, but I think the Lobster bisque at Coral Reef was my favorite still. I ordered the surf and turf and DD12 ordered the whole lobster. She LOVED hers and I loved mine also. Now, true enough we are from the South and don't order fresh lobster on many occasions, but we both really enjoyed our dishes. For dessert, DD12 wanted the creme brulee, go figure, and I ordered the almond cheesecake. But, I had already ordered her the Cindy slipper for dessert and without ever mentioning the fact at all, the waitress was able to sneak behind her and say, how is this creme brulee? DD12's eyes were so big and I was so pleased that the surprise was never mentioned whatsoever and carried off perfectly! The waitress did give her the creme brulee in a to go box, but she did not eat it that night and it wasn't any good the next morning. DD12 was quite disappointed at that, but life goes on. She loved her Cindy dessert. Before I could get a picture of it, she had already swiped the raspberries and ran her finger across the chocolate.

As we had finished up our desserts, we went outside for Wishes and I have to say, that is a GREAT view for Wishes. I think I liked it better than seeing it in the park, as my head wasn't tilted up looking directly up the whole time and I could follow the story a lot better. DD12 absolutely loved it also and said that she thinks Wishes is her favorite fireworks show. I am still a Fantasmic fan, but I guess the 2 don't necessarily belong in the same category. So Fantasmic is best night time show while wishes is best night time Fireworks.

Ok. so on to our last and final day: To be continued!

 

[Sandy321]

Well. I'm not sure I should thank you for your reviews

why? BECAUSE now *I* want to do the DDP!!

You've eaten and given reviews of places I havent eaten yet, but have adr's for... (Boma for instance) and - you gave rave reviews of places we couldnt 'fit' in this time (Yachtsmans for instance) and places I want to do, but couldnt fit in (Narcoosees)

so, now I'm thinkin... hmmm, what if??



and its ALL your fault!!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[catne]

Love your story about the stepsisters, and you telling them about the canceled wedding. The Disney CM's all seem to do a really good job of improv-comedy work, don't they?

I have got to do that restaurant one of these trips. Those girls sound like an absolute scream

 

[SomDayMyPrnceWillCom]

Sandy - if you can get in Narcoosees, it's definitely one I would do again. YS is good also, but I will try the other signatures before going back here. I absolutely loved being on the DxDP, it opened up a lot of options for us and being able to pay for it ahead of time and the convenience was great.

Catne - those girls were a HOOT! I kept thinking that Anastasia looked soooo familiar, like I knew the CM who was in costume or something. The only thing I could think is that she resembled Kathy Griffin and maybe that was coming to mind. This is definitely great interaction with characters that you can't see anywhere else.

 

[suzimar57]

great descriptive reviews - we love narcoosees, too!

 

[SunnieRN]

What a wonderful trip, just you and your daughter! Love your reviews and looking forward to more!

 

[abeyst]

Great reviews! I can't wait to read more!

 

[SomDayMyPrnceWillCom]

Check out day

The night before we had watched Wishes from Narcoosee's then took the boat back to MK and bus back to Pop. By the time we arrived back at the room it was after 11 p.m. and pretty much midnight or after getting to bed. So wake up call for 6 a.m. the next morning, the last day to boot, was not very thrilling. We had bfast ressies for 8:15 at Chef Mickey's and both of us decided, we just couldn't get up and get moving, so DD12 concurred we'd sleep in a little longer and skip bfast. As much as we wanted to do CM, we knew we had to finish packing, check out, we would be in the park and DTD all day have dinner at O'hana and then leave driving out that night. So, sleeping in wasn't a hard decision.

We got up finally, finished packing, put everything in the van, checked out at the front desk and headed to MK for a little while. We had lunch ressies at Whispering Canyon and took the boat over. We checked in and were given the buzzer and waited in the lobby. I do have to say that it wasn't very full and many tables were available and yet we still waited for probably 15 - 20 minutes before being seated.

We were seated and I ordered the nachos and the sausage and cheese platter to share. We didn't really touch the nachos, didn't like them at all. But we both really enjoyed the sausage and cheese platter. The BBQ sauce with the sausage was really good. Oh and we both got the bottomless shakes, chocolate and strawberry and ended up getting one refill on it. LOVED THESE.

For entrees, I ordered the skillet and DD12 ordered the trout. I really enjoyed the skillet and liked the corn, sausage and ribs the best. I was really stuffed as was DD12 and this young couple was sitting beside us. I asked the girl if they were on the dining plan and she said no. So I asked her if I could give her our desserts and they were thrilled. I said they are already paid for and we're so stuffed we just can't eat anymore. So the waitress came back and I told her to let the couple order the desserts they wanted and she brought us our check.

As for the shenanigans, our waitress didn't do anything out of the ordinary. There was one waitress who got a little loud and seemed to be trying to play some jokes and such, but overall it was a quiet atmosphere. We will probably give this restaurant another try if we can work it in on another visit. But I will make sure that we are VERY hungry we coming here.

Went to DTD and headed to Goofy's to get some last minute make your own snacks to take home, and a few other snacks too. Used our last snack credits, plus a little bit of cash and headed back to MK. I was worried about our snacks melting, so I asked at package pick up if we could leave there and was directed to City Hall where this nice gentleman agreed to hold our package in the cool air so all of our chocolate wouldn't melt in the 150 degree heat. He gave me the impression they aren't really supposed to do this, but did anyway. We also did some last minute souvenir shopping and waited until our dinner ressie at O'hana's.

Arrived early at O'hana and checked in and waited a while in the lobby to be called. Saw several people turned away as walk ups, but I have to say I called the night before to get a last minute dinner for us before leaving and was able to get the 9:30 for O'hana's so it's not impossible to get a last minute here.

Last year, we just weren't that impressed with this place and felt extremely rushed and very neglected by the waiter. This year was totally different.

Waiter brought our drinks out and another waiter came by and spoke to us and let us know what to expect and held a casual conversation for a few minutes with us. A lot better experience already from last year. Started off with the salad, which I really like but DD12 tends to stay away from salads so she passed. The dumplings and wings were brought out and both of us loved these. But for 2 people, it seemed like HUGE portions placed before us and I knew how much food was still coming, so I paced myself.

We then got the noodles and broccoli and DD12 loves broccoli and we both enjoyed the noodles too. Then he brought out the turkey and pork skewers which I loved but DD12 passed on waiting for the shrimp. She was also still making a pretty good dent in the other items still on the table. Then the steak and shrimp were brought out and I have to say we are so glad they have the shrimp as these were GREAT! Grilled shrimp is one of DD12's favorite foods and she absolutely LOVED these. I did too and thought this was definitely a hit. As we were finishing up, Wishes began but we were kind of in the far corner and had to move around some to be able to see. DD12 seemed to have a pretty good view, but I wasn't able to see everything from where I was as the top part was sort of obscured, but it was ok. I had the most wonderful view the night before from Narcoosee's.

Waiter then brought out the dessert and we were barely able to eat much of it, but ate some. We were so stuffed and full and just very content at this time, I hated looking at the left overs on the table that basically looked like we could feed a small country. DD12 then proclaimed that she liked this restaurant and she thinks she was just being ornery the year before. But I wasn't ornery the year before and had high hopes and came away last year feeling very disappointed. So, just goes to show you that the same restaurant can offer different experiences, but I am happy with the new menu. I liked the potatoes last year, but didn't miss them that much.

So there are my reviews for the week we were there. It took me long enough to get them complete, but better late than never.

 

[TigerKat]

Thanks for taking the time to share your reviews with us!

 

[SunnieRN]

Fantastic! Thank you for taking the time to write this up, I really enjoyed it! I'm so happy your last day ended on such a nice note!