Chunkymonkey's Year of Disney Dining Reviews Dec 2016 - COMPLETED 1/5/17!!

[chunkymonkey]

The Year of Disney Begins...

Hi everyone! If you've followed over from my PTR, you know that my DH and I recently got some annual passes and put them to first use Dec 2-7th! Since I'll be doing so many trips over the next year plus I'm currently writing a PTR and a Disneyland TR, I thought the best way to remember this trip would be to just report on the most important thing...FOOD! Not just any food, but FOOD at DISNEY!!

Some brief intros, you can read more on my PTR or on one of my other TRs in my siggy:

Hi I'm Chunkymonkey, aka Su-Lynn. I love Disney and food and everything that combines Disney and Food! I'm 40 years old and work in IT. My favorite park is Epcot and my favorite WDW restaurant is 'Ohana, although I will honestly eat anywhere. Sadly we didn't get ADRs for 'Ohana for this trip but we have it planned for our trips next year! My favorite rides are BTMRR, 7DMT, TSMM, and the Peoplemover. ​

My DH is Chubbyhubby, aka Steve. He's also 40 years old and works in finance. his birthday is actually in a few days so he got himself a birthday pin during the trip! He likes any thrill ride, but he loves loves TSMM because of his competitive streak. He thinks he can beat me all the time but I usually get in a few wins before my arm gets tired. He also loves 'Ohana but he does like Garden Grill and Yachtsman's Steakhouse, both of which we did eat at during this trip.

For this trip (the first of five in the next year!) we stayed at the Dolphin (thank you SPG points). We didn't do the dining plan (but couldn't even if we wanted to, thank you SPG), but we got the Tables in Wonderland card anyways so most likely won't be doing a dining plan for any trip.

Here's where we ate at on this trip:

Friday Dec 2nd:
We had a late flight and I have absolutely no recollection of what we ate...haha

Saturday Dec 3rd: AK and Epcot
Breakfast at Kusafiri Bakery
Snack/Lunch at Sunshine Seasons
Restaurant Marrakesh Candlelight Processional Dinner Package
Gluwein at Holiday Booth + Illuminations

Sunday Dec 4th: MK
Dole Whip
California Grill Brunch at the Top
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
Casey's Corner

Monday Dec 5th: Epcot
Breakfast at Sunshine Seasons
Via Napoli Lunch
Snack - Avocado Margarita and Three Kings Bread
Yachtsman Steakhouse Dinner

Tuesday Dec 6th: DHS and Epcot
Hollywood Brown Derby Lunch
Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM Dessert Party
Late night meals at Katsura Grill and Yorkshire County Fish Shop

Wednesday Dec 7th: Epcot + Departure Day
Garden Grill Lunch
Alpine Haus Fondue

Since this report is mostly dining reviews, to see more pictures of our actual trip you can check out this post in my PTR where I have more pictures and details of the trip. ​

 

[chunkymonkey]

Saturday Dec 3rd: AK and Epcot

Kusafiri Bakery

We started our day heading to AK. AK is my least favorite park, not because of the theme but I just don't love any of the rides there aside from the safari. I do however like FoTLK and visiting Rafiki's Planet Watch so that's what we did. I didn't make ADRs at AK so we were just going to wing it. We spent most of the morning getting our APs activated as well as getting the Tables in Wonderland card so we were way past rope drop once we got in. It was pretty crowded there so we didn't get on the safari but I did get myself a large latte from the Starbucks and we did stop for a quick bite at the Kusafiri Bakery, which is more like a very small quick service stand as opposed to a bakery.

We were going to get the breakfast sandwich but they had sold out of it, so we ended up with the only other breakfast-y thing they had, the giant cinnamon roll.

It was definitely big enough for two people, maybe even three if you're not that hungry. I was clamoring for something salty so I wasn't craving these flavors but it was not bad. Definitely sweet with all the icing they put on it but it was warm and flaky and it gave us energy for the morning. I would get it again but only if I was craving something really sweet and had someone to share it with. DH thought it was decent but he's not a real sweets person in the morning.


Sunshine Seasons - Cuban Sandwich

In the afternoon we hopped over to Epcot as we had all our FP+ there. We were kinda hungry but we had early dinner reservations at 4pm at Marrakesh so we didn't' want to eat to much. We were still in Future World and it would be a pain to walk all the way to World Showcase and then back again (since we still had a Soarin' FP+) so we just ate at Sunshine Seasons. I was torn between what to eat. I couldn't decide, so DH selected a Cuban sandwich and we shared it.

Sorry this is the one picture I have of it and it's blurry. I didn't notice it was blurry when I took it. But overall it was a pretty standard pressed sandwich that had ham, roast pork, cheese, pickles and mustard. It also had lettuce in it and I think tomato which I think it could have done without. It was decently tasty and hit the spot but far from the best cuban sandwich I've had. It came with plaintain chips on the side.

Restaurant Marrakesh

We had the Candlelight Processional dining package but that only means that you're guaranteed a ticket to the show, there is no set menu for it so you order off the regular menu. DH got one of the feasts that comes with appetizer, entree, and dessert, while I just got an entree. The space inside is nice and airy and you don't feel like you're sitting that on top of the next table.

We started with some bread, which is really just a crusty roll and nothing special about it, but it was nice and warm.

DH tried out one of the beers, Casa Beer, which he said was pretty good, and I got a refreshing non-alcoholic drink, Berber Passion - peach daiquiri, cream de coco, and orange juice. It was really good, although I drank it in about three sips. For 6 dollars I think it could have been served in a bigger glass.

DH got the Marrakesh Feast - Harira Soup, Beef Brewat Roll, Marrakesh Mix Grill, Assorted Moroccan Pastries. His appetizer was served first. The soup and the beef roll came together. Both were really good. I remember eating the exact same meal with my sister a few years ago and enjoyed it. The soup kind of a beef and vegetable soup but thick and hearty. The beef roll is kinda like an egg roll but it has cinnamon sugar sprinkled on the outside which is different and you don't exactly think it goes with a savory treat but it did.

For his entree, DH received a mixed grill: chicken, sausage, beef, served with potatoes and a tomato salad.
DH liked this enough but thought some of the chicken was a little dry and I agreed, but there was nice variety in the meats.

I got the Lemon Chicken Tagine - braised half chicken with garlic, green olives, and preserved lemon. This was really good and I enjoyed it. The flavors in the sauce were delicious. You have to like olives and a tangy flavored sauce but I thought it complemented the chicken well. My chicken was cooked better than DH's grill and was tender and moist. It was also served with potatoes. I thought the potatoes could have been cooked a little more but that was my only complaint of the dish.

For dessert, DH got some baklava and assorted filo dough type pastries. I really liked the one that tasted like pistachio. I thought the sauce it came with was some sort of caramel but it wasn't, it was a fruit preserve but nothing like I've tasted, had a strange floral flavor so we didn't really eat the sauce.

Overall a very pleasant meal at Marrakesh. I think this restaurant tends to get overlooked at times but I'd go back for the lemon chicken any day!

With our TIW card, we saved 20% which was nice. They were supposed to give us special stickers for the Candlelight Processional but I think they forgot. They just gave us a card which we thought was our ticket. When we went to get seated, they told us to go to the information booth and get our ticket swapped out for stickers. So remember if you're doing this package that you need a sticker!

Here's some pictures from the Candlelight Processional we saw. Whoopie Goldberg was the narrator. It was very nice and the choir was great. I don't see myself doing this over and over but it's nice to do once in a while.

Later that evening while walking around Epcot we got some Glühwein from the Prost! booth near Germany. It's a spiced mulled wine served hot. I thought it tasted good but I think they also added some schnaps or some other liquor to it as it was definitely packed a punch. The alcohol really hit you and I got a little tipsy. As evidence when I tried to take Baymax home with me!

We watched Illuminations and they had a special holiday version. The only difference is at the very end they had extra fireworks set to "Let There be Peace on Earth." The show itself is the same as it always is.

Coming up...day 2!
​

 

[jakenjess]

Great start! Thanks for sharing all your AP food adventures!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Count me in! I'm looking forward to following along. I totally agree on Marakesh being an overlooked option. I was very skeptical but also loved the lemon chicken. Can't wait to hear more!!

 

[ArielSRL]

I'm definitely hitting up Kusafiri on our AK day! I was thinking the breakfast sandwich but we'll probably eat a little something in the room, so I may go for one of the specialty cupcakes. I think there are almost too many choices at Sunshine Seasons...at least for a person who doesn't do well with choices (like me...lol). I've done CP before when we used to go around this time every year and always enjoyed it.

Looking forward to more!

 

[Simba's Mom]

You've convinced me to try Restaurant Marrakesh. Now I want to hear about Via Napoli and the Garden Grill lunch.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Great start! Thanks for sharing all your AP food adventures!

Thank you! Thanks for reading! It's my first dining review! It's so much easier than doing a full-blown TR!

Count me in! I'm looking forward to following along. I totally agree on Marakesh being an overlooked option. I was very skeptical but also loved the lemon chicken. Can't wait to hear more!!

Thanks for reading! Marrakesh really did leave an impression on me so much so that I wanted to take DH there during this trip. I will definitely return in the future.

I'm definitely hitting up Kusafiri on our AK day! I was thinking the breakfast sandwich but we'll probably eat a little something in the room, so I may go for one of the specialty cupcakes. I think there are almost too many choices at Sunshine Seasons...at least for a person who doesn't do well with choices (like me...lol). I've done CP before when we used to go around this time every year and always enjoyed it.

Looking forward to more!

Hi Renee! Great to see you here! I really wanted that breakfast sandwich at Kusafiri but I guess we'll have to try it on a next trip. I agree Sunshine Seasons has too many choices which is both good and bad. I too am really indecisive when there are too many choices. The CP was lovely and I'm so glad we had reserved seating because we saw huge lines for the stand-by during the days we were at Epcot.

You've convinced me to try Restaurant Marrakesh. Now I want to hear about Via Napoli and the Garden Grill lunch.

Hi thanks for reading! Marrakesh is definitely one of those places where you don't know what to expect but it exceeded my expectations. More dining reviews coming soon!

 

[chunkymonkey]

December 4th: Brunch at the Top and MVMCP

We spent our morning at MK. We enjoyed BTMRR, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, and various other rides. We also had an FP + for 7DMT for after lunch. Since we had a very big meal planned for lunch, I didn't' want to eat too much for breakfast. So I had a Dole Whip float. Perfectly acceptable breakfast right?

I don't' think I need to give a review of a Dole Whip float, just yummy artificially-flavored tropical goodness floating around in some pineapple juice. Yum yum.

Brunch at the Top - California Grill

Before noon, we headed to the monorail for our brunch...at the Contemporary's California Grill! We checked in at the California Grill desk and we had a personal escort up to the the top.

We were greeted with live music and amazing views. I know the views in the night are amazing but the daytime views are just as awesome, if not better.

We were immediately asked if we wanted some mimosas and we obliged.

Brunch at the Top includes two parts, a buffet "appetizer" selection, and an entree that is made-to-order.

Here was the drink selection, although there was also a bloody mary bar for an upcharge that had unlimited DIY bloody marys. Since we are not big drinkers the included mimosa was perfectly fine with us so we just stuck with that.

We both got coffees and they brought us each our own carafe of French press which were very good. As entrees, DH eyed the steak or the shrimp n grits. I was eying both as well so we got one of each. I wondered if we could order more than one entree each, but we did not as there ended up being plenty of (if not too much) food.

As soon as we placed our orders, we went up to enjoy the buffet part of the meal. Here are some pictures I took of the offerings.

Fruit and yogurt station:

Smoked salmon and accoutrements:

Charcuterie:

Wedge salads:

Kale salad and deviled eggs:

Sushi:

There were other things as well but these were the pictures I got. It's hard to juggle plates and a camera!

Here's one of the plates I got. The sushi was better than I expected and I went up for more. There was a bit too much rice in each nigiri though but that tends to happen at buffets I notice.

The food was a good quality, better than any buffet I've been to at WDW. For example, the California roll used real crab meat instead of the imitation crab meat. The sushi tasted fresh, and everything was prepared really well. I wish there could have been some crab legs or caviar. That would have taken this to the next level.

DH was quite pleased with his plate of food!

The buffet itself, although not a huge selection, is quite filling. We were also brought over a bread service which had delicious cheddar biscuits. I know you're not supposed to fill up on bread at buffets but this one was really quite delicious so I had to make an exception. LOL.

The sticky bun was also quite good with an ample serving of nuts. There was also a small scone and I think a danish. All of it tasted freshly baked and I enjoyed the selection of breads. I really love my carbs!

Soon we were brought our entrees. First up is the steak and eggs - Grilled Hangar Steak with eggs, chimichurri, potato hash and red onion. Sorry the light was shining through the window so the over easy eggs blend into the plate!

The steak was very well-prepared and everything tasted great.

Here were my shrimp n grits: with cheddar grits and a spicy tomato bacon broth

This was my favorite thing I ate. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the grits were creamy and cheesy. The spicy tomato broth was delicious and tied everything together and gave it a great flavor. A winner for sure!

We spent some time at brunch just because we were so full we couldn't move. We enjoyed another carafe of coffee each and our server brought out a dessert platter to share. As if we could eat any more but I did take a nibble of everything.

It was a really nice afternoon to sit and relax although we were very full. We went outside to the patio to enjoy views of MK. They really are something. I can see why this places fills up for Wishes.

On an exciting note, I have dinner reservations here for my birthday next year in February! We're staying at the Contemporary too so I can just roll from dinner to our room. Thank goodness because after our super-filling brunch we were too tired to move. The past two days with the late night travel and the parks were really hitting us and we still had to go to MVMCP that night. We decided to forgo our 7DMT FP+ and just return to our resort (the Dolphin) to rest.

One last shot of the view from California Grill:

Everything was great about Brunch at the Top except for the price..80pp. Yikes! Thank goodness we had TIW. I think the food quality and ambiance are definitely what you are paying for. The beautiful views, live music, and service ensured a wonderful afternoon. Definitely a splurge and I would eat brunch here again but not for a while. I would be more inclined to return if they threw in some caviar or more variety of sushi though.

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

We headed to MVMCP at around 6pm. The party started at 7pm but everything looked like it was in full swing when we got there. A lot of people were heading out of the park who didn't have tickets, but the lines for photographers were really long. DH managed to get his hands on a limited edition SoTMK Christmas card while I lined up for this picture. DH just made it before the PP photographer snapped the pic!

When the party started we headed to try some of the treats. The treat locations had these giant blow-up candy canes so you knew where to go to. Everything was sweet, hot cocoa, eggnog, cider, sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, snow cones, and ginger cookies...after a while my mouth was covered in a layer of sugar!

Would you like some sugar with your sugar?

It was definitely fun to have these treats but they need to break it up a bit, maybe offer some popcorn or bags of chips to offset the sweetness. This was an issue I had with all the dessert parties I've been to but luckily they decided to offer some savories now, so MVMCP should take a cue from that!

The party itself was great and I got to hang out with @cinderkelly and her DH and DD.
We saw Elsa freeze the castle, the Holiday Wishes, and the Parade. It was definitely very festive even though it wasn't really that cold out. I spent an hour in line to meet the Seven Dwarfs! That was the longest line we waited on but I really wanted to meet them. The character lines were the longest, but the ride lines were short. We even got to go on 7DMT with a 25 minute wait on standby!

Dopey!

On an empty Peoplemover:

Frozen Cinderella's Castle. It was really pretty!

Fireworks:

We had a very late dinner at Casey's Corner. I totally forgot to take a picture of our corn dog nuggets, but I'll tell you that they are exactly the same as it always is!

I got this pic from the Disney Food Blog:

Coming up the next day - Lunch at Via Napoli and dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse.

​

 

[cinderkelly]

Your California Grill brunch looks really good, but I agree with what you said at the MVMCP, that for the price there should have been unlimited mimosas! I do love that view though . What day in Feb. is your birthday? Bob's is the 17th and Kiya's is the 7th. All these Feb. birthdays!!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

The sushi at CA Grill really looks good and fresh. Great reviews so far, can't wait to read the rest!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

You're on a roll with these reviews. Love it!! Cali Grill looks heavenly. But $80pp for breakfast w/o unlimited mimosas is steep. That said, it's vacation and I'd give it a try!!

 

[jakenjess]

That brunch looks tempting. Thinking about it for our February trip while we still have our TIW. I don't think I could pay full price for it, but it sure looks good!

 

[ArielSRL]

That brunch looks amazing! But yes, I also agree that they could step it up a notch for $80pp!

MVMCP looks so fun. I miss being able to go.

Great reviews thus far!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Your California Grill brunch looks really good, but I agree with what you said at the MVMCP, that for the price there should have been unlimited mimosas! I do love that view though . What day in Feb. is your birthday? Bob's is the 17th and Kiya's is the 7th. All these Feb. birthdays!!

I didn't even ask if it was unlimited mimosas, but they never offered so I just assumed it was one. If it were unlimited drinks I think Disney would tack on another 30 bucks! My birthday is on the 27th! So it'll be the day before we leave! I know what you mean, I know so many people with b-days in February. I've had so many joint birthday parties lol! It's very festive in February!

The sushi at CA Grill really looks good and fresh. Great reviews so far, can't wait to read the rest!

Thank you! I was surprised by the sushi quality. I guess I was just expecting supermarket-quality sushi since that's usually what you get at Disney but this was much better.

You're on a roll with these reviews. Love it!! Cali Grill looks heavenly. But $80pp for breakfast w/o unlimited mimosas is steep. That said, it's vacation and I'd give it a try!!

Thank you! It was a fun experience but yeah, very pricey. I say the same thing...I'm on vacation so I can splurge, right?

That brunch looks tempting. Thinking about it for our February trip while we still have our TIW. I don't think I could pay full price for it, but it sure looks good!

It's a lovely brunch and definitely a nice break from the parks. It's less painful with the TIW card. I wasn't going to get the TIW card when they announced all these AP discounts but I realized that some of our favorite restaurants were not included, plus many of the Epcot restaurants don't honor the discount on weekdays so we just got the TIW card. I think it's worth it for the number of trips we'll be taking!

That brunch looks amazing! But yes, I also agree that they could step it up a notch for $80pp!

Definitely. But I guess you are paying Disney prices and you get Disney views

MVMCP looks so fun. I miss being able to go.

Great reviews thus far!

Thanks! Enjoying doing these dining reviews as I have to remember less. MVMCP was a lot of fun! I hope to go again!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Joining in, I love a good dining report. The brunch looks very good and the views are awesome. We did the Halloween party this year so fun to see the Christmas one in your report! My DD and I are AP holders as well and we will be at Disney in February as well, staying at AKL

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

What great reviews! (BTW, I was there the same time as ya'll! My BF, son and I were there 11/30 - 12/08.)

That Cali Grill brunch looks soooooo good - I hope they keep that as an option b/c we probably won't be back for a couple years and I'd love to try it!

And I had that Gluhwein at the Germany pavillion too...omg I am glad I am not the only one who got tipsy drinking it. It was WAY stronger than I expected! I had a pretty nice buzz going on afterwards, my boyfriend couldn't stop laughing at me

Looking forward to reading more of your yummy reviews!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Joining in, I love a good dining report. The brunch looks very good and the views are awesome. We did the Halloween party this year so fun to see the Christmas one in your report! My DD and I are AP holders as well and we will be at Disney in February as well, staying at AKL

Thank you and welcome! Having the AP was awesome! I love the 20% discount on merchandise and it can be on any amount! I usually try and use the Disney Visa 10% discount but then you'd have to buy 50 bucks worth of stuff and I end up spending more just to get the discount.
We thought brunch was great but quite pricey for what you get...and I am no stranger to pricey food. We live in the NYC area and dining out is usually expensive.
We stayed at AKL once and we loved it! It was farther from the parks than I'd like but just love the atmosphere there. When are you going? We'll be there from the 23-28. I'll be attempting to run the Princess 5k!

What great reviews! (BTW, I was there the same time as ya'll! My BF, son and I were there 11/30 - 12/08.)

Hi Thank you!!
h that's so cool! The weather was so nice! We had that one day of rain on the 5th, but otherwise it was beautiful in FL! I really miss it so much. It's like 24 degrees here (NYC), blech!

That Cali Grill brunch looks soooooo good - I hope they keep that as an option b/c we probably won't be back for a couple years and I'd love to try it!

It seems fairly popular so I think it'll be around for a while! It's only offered on Sunday (maybe Sat too) I think, on the weekday they have their regular lunch menu.

And I had that Gluhwein at the Germany pavillion too...omg I am glad I am not the only one who got tipsy drinking it. It was WAY stronger than I expected! I had a pretty nice buzz going on afterwards, my boyfriend couldn't stop laughing at me

I know!! I was so surprised when I took that first sip! I thought it would be kinda fruity, but it was really alcoholic! Hahaha.

Looking forward to reading more of your yummy reviews!

thank you!! more coming soon!

 

[soniam]

I got the feast at Marrakesh that came with the lemon chicken and beef brewat. Those were my favorites. Your review is making me impatient for our trip. We will be trying California Grill for dinner for the first time. That brunch looks fabulous though. I am glad to hear the sushi is good. I am looking forward to it. I think we might try the corn dogs at Casey's this trip. We've never had them. With it being so crowded, I plan to mainly snack except for an ADR a day. Looking forward to your Via Napoli review too. We will be eating there for the first time in a little over 2 weeks

 

[kastoney]

Hi Su-Lynn!!! So excited you're doing a dining report cause A its you and B its FOOD!!!! Looks like a great start to far. Especially loving the CG brunch. I'm dying to do this, but I can't stomach having to pay $50 for the kiddo to eat what I'm sure would be a waffle and some OJ. I'll just have to eat vicariously through you for now.

 

[chunkymonkey]

December 5th: Sunshine Seasons, Via Napoli, La Cava del Tequila and Yachtsman Steakhouse

After our fun night at MCMCP we went to Epcot the next day. We had an early lunch at Via Napoli (around 11:30am) so we decided to get something small for breakfast. We were in The Land for our Soarin' FP+ so we decided on Sunshine Seasons. We had already eaten some leftover cookies that morning (from MVMCP) so I wasn't super hungry. I just wanted a bite of some bacon and eggs, so we got a kids meal to share. This was actually a good portion as I literally just wanted 3 bite of food. It came with eggs, bacon, and a piece of the French toast bread pudding. This was not as good as their croissant berry pudding they used to have at Sunshine Seasons. That was really yummy and I was sad to see it go. The new French toast version just tasted like a sweet moist bread - kinda like banana bread . It was good but not as great as the croissant berry pudding. The kids meal comes with a drink so we got some chocolate milk.

I like how adults can get the kids portions as well! I would get this again. We continued around Epcot and had a fun morning. I think we completed everything we wanted to.

About 20 minutes before our ADR time, we headed over to Via Napoli in Italy. It is located all the way in the back of the Italy pavilion.

I think they had just opened as there were still a number of people waiting to be seated but they were seated quickly and soon we were brought to our table. It was our first time eating here and we liked the spacious interior and high ceilings.

I thought the brick ovens in the picture above with the heads as the mouths of the oven were really cool.

Here's the menu at lunch:

We got a drink to start the afternoon: some special take on a Russian "mule" but with Limoncello. It was very good and we enjoyed sharing it. This wasn't on the regular menu but on a specials menu they had on each table. I also got an iced tea.

To order, we got two individual pizzas, mine was the Carciofi Pizza: white pizza, artichoke, fontina, mozzarella, truffle oil
DH got the Piccante Pizza : tomato sauce, Italian spicy sausage, mozzarella

We also got the "Family Style" House Salad (minimum 2 people): served exclusively with pizzas, it has leaf lettuces, diced tomato, peppers, marinated mushrooms, olives, peperoncini, and red wine vinaigrette. This was served first as an appetizer. I requested the peppers be left out as I am not a fan of bell pepper.

It was a good salad and I especially appreciated it because I felt as if I hadn't had anything really healthy ever since Thanksgiving happened. I liked the marinated mushrooms and the olives to give it some flavor so it wasn't just greens.

Here's my Carciofi Pizza: I took a cue from @kastoney and added arugula to my pizza and it was really good that way. Thanks Kari for inspiring me to order this! The arugula kinda broke up the richness of the cheese and truffle oil. There was a pronounced truffle flavor and lots of gooey cheesiness. Next time I will ask them to cook the pizza a little more as I like the my crust to be a little more "done."

Here's DH's Piccante Pizza. He enjoyed it too, although there wasn't' much spicy sausage on top. It was fine with me as I sometimes find when they overload toppings it weights down the pizza. Wish it were spicier though.

We enjoyed our lunch and we will return to Via Napoli again!

We didn't get dessert because I had something else on my mind. We walked back around World Showcase and I had to stop by Mexico to get something I've always wanted to try, the avocado margarita at La Cava Del Tequila. Let me tell you that I don't know what took me so long to try this as I love avocado...and anything with avocado in it! The margarita was refreshing, creamy, and sweet at the same time.

Actually I know why I don't drink margaritas during the day...tequila does something to me that makes me really sleepy. YAWN. I was so tired after that drink. Still we managed to plow on. We went on the new Frozen ride. Our first time. I didn't even know there was a ride picture in there. I will post it in my PTR.

We stopped by Feast of the Three Kings to try the Three Kings Bread. It looked really cute in the pictures and I thought it would be like an iced cake or sweet bread.

But here is a PSA: Do NOT get this!!! It's nothing like what I expected. It looks cute but is incredibly dry and bland. I don't think I've ever thrown out anything half eaten from these kiosks before but today I did. Totally not worth it. I don't know if this is how they are normally served but I don't think any kiosk would serve dry flavorless bread with hard icing. Maybe this was an off day.

We took the ferry back to the resort and just rested up before our late dinner ADR at Yachtsman Steakhouse. I had initially made dinner late (8:30pm) because I thought that River of Never...I mean River of Lights would be on by now, but by the end of November it wasn't the case. In the end I just kept the late ADR just in case we would be doing something else before. It just so happened the day before we left for our trip they announced on the Disney Park Blogs they were having a Rogue One event on Dec 5th where they would turn Spaceship Earth into the Death Star. I signed up for it as soon as I saw the announcement and I thought oh yeah I may have to cancel our ADR anyways. But, I never got a confirmation email. It says if you didn't get a confirmation email that you weren't on the list even though I kept checking every day, including all my junk mail. So as a consolation we'd be going to Yachtsman Steakhouse after all.

We took a walk over from the Dolphin. It was a nice walk at night.

Here's some Christmas decor from the lobby of the Yacht Club. I really love this resort as it's just a classic New England feel. Both DH and I went to school in Boston so we kinda miss some of the old world New England charm.

We got seated at Yachtsman right away. Our server's name was Beverly (I think) and she was really sweet. I was surprised to see the restaurant so packed that late at night. But really I'm not, as it's such a good restaurant!

Our first time here was in 2015 during our Star Wars Weekends trip and we had a delicious meal. This time we were seated in the same area we sat in last time, maybe only a table or so away. I looked around to see if our server from our last visit, Dave, was working tonight...and lo and behold, he was there working in the same area! In this post in my trip report from May, I mentioned we had a mutual friend, Betsy, whom I met on the Disboards. We've stayed friends over the years even though she's not on the DIS much. We've met up in Boston and New York, as well as in WDW over the past few years. She was the one who told me to go to Yachtsman and that her favorite server Dave was there. She set up everything a year ago and we loved our special meal!

For this trip since our plans for that day were iffy to say the least, I didn't want to trouble her to let David know we were coming only to cancel (as we've done that for our last trip), so I was really happy to see him working tonight! David seemed so busy that I didn't want to bother him right away. I said I'll wait for a moment when things start to die down in the evening before I stopped to say hi (they didn't seem to as more people kept coming!)

We started with delicious rolls including those onion pull-apart rolls, served with butter, and roasted garlic so soft it's spreadable!

I love spreading the garlic onto the bread. It's sweet and savory, and no sharp garlic flavor.

We started with the Country-fried Rock Shrimp and Calamari served with Avocado Toast, Pickled Tomatillos, Radish, Jalapeno, Cilantro. It was really tasty and best eaten when hot.

It was at this moment that I sort of waved Dave over to say hi, and he totally remembered us from last year! He was surprised to see us, but also happy we decided to return. (Of course we'd return!). We had a lovely conversation and I told him about how we didn't get into the Death Star thing that night. He didn't even know about it!

Here's a picture of David and I. If you're at Yachtsman Steakhouse, definitely try to get David as he's super duper nice. Actually everyone there is super nice and some of the best service we've had on our many trips so you can't really go wrong!

David brought over some palate cleansers, some berry sorbet. It was yummy! thank you David!

For entrees, I got the 16-oz Prime Rib-Eye Steak served with Brioche, Bone Marrow, and Point Reyes Blue Cheese Butter. Look how amazing this steak is!!

Here's a close up of the bone marrow:

Everything was cooked to perfection and the bone marrow was divine. However it is a VERY rich dish so you have to be prepared for that.

DH wanted the prime rib but they had just ran out. He instead opted for the New York City strip. It came with a side of sweet potato gratin, which is basically yummy sweet potatoes in a buttery brown sugar glaze topped with pecans. It tasted like a Thanksgiving side, which happens to be my sister, Chunkysis's favorite thing to eat. She would have loved this side!

Here's a closeup of the sweet potato side

We also got a side of sauteed mushrooms which were great (sorry forgot to take a picture). We thoroughly enjoyed our food although it was a lot of food. Next time I think DH and I will share the porterhouse like we did last time. It was exceptional!

We didn't get dessert as it was so full. I also had aspirations that we may stop for ice cream at Beaches n Cream, but really, that feeling was short-lived. I was way too full! Thank you Yachtsman for a glorious meal! And Thank you David and the other servers for a wonderful time!! He even suggested we stop by Epcot just to see if our name was indeed on the list for that night. But it's ok, I think it wasn't meant to be, so we just headed out for our walk back to the Dolphin.

On the way back we caught Illuminations which was nice!

And then when we got back to our room we watched them turn Spaceship Earth into the Death Star from my iPad. SAD. We were just a stone's throw away.

Coming up the next day...Brown Derby and the Jingle Bell, Jingle Jam dessert party!​