It so is. I had to go back for another research trip, you know, for science. And it was still FABULOUS! 
Yes, share one with your husband! Always a good way to try something new. That way if you don't like it, you can make your compadre down the rest
Also I am going to tag you so I can try to double notify you @toomuchtv I LIED TO YOU! I re-sampled the carne asada last week at Florida Fresh in Epcot and every time it was spicy! I think it was in the black bean patty 
maybe if you asked for just the beef and salsa/sour cream, because the salsa was definitely mild. I don't want to cause you tastebud or gastrointestinal distress so I wanted to make sure I came back and reported that I lied. 
It would be fine for someone who can do mild spice but I just remembered your question the whole time I was eating it and I was like oooh. Yea, more spice than I remembered. Still super tasty though!Hmm... good question... but I still remember it being pretty sweet. I tend to end up with boozier drinks because the sweet ones make me just feel icky if I drink more than one, and one Lapu Lapu is my limit
. In fairness I find the Tambu bartenders delightful so if you told them you wanted a tiki drink that's less sweet they could probably hook you up!
I had sooooo much fun with you guys! Did you end up getting a glow cube? Did you get to try Tiffins?! I guess I better stay tuned to your DR...SEE YA REAL SOON!
Oooooooo!!
But you had water, right!?I am so jazzed to see this show! I might also need the probably stupidly overpriced ROL glowing flower.
Ugh, I am dying to try Tiffins and this is not helping. That cheese board sounds fantastic.
BARGAIN CITY. I really love a good bargain... if there is such a thing in WDW. I am part of the Ohana cult following.. ashamedly. We've skipped it as of late (ok, we skipped it once and we're skipping it this time) because I can think of a lot of other places I'd rather drop $50/person on dinner. The bread pudding is just amazing though.
YESSSS.. Cannot wait to read that one!!
ABOUT DANG TIME
Happy to have you as always Renee!Errrr.. I think we left Buckhead around 5:30, we were on the Plane Train at 6:30, and on the Magical Express around 10:10. I didn't take any photos between then and Trader Sam's which doesn't really help me with what time we actually arrived but I would say it was about the same as driving. The difference was there was NO ATLANTA RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC (which means even more now than it did in early March), I got to have drinks before (and on
) the flight, and I got to watch most of a really great movie. Which I definitely do not get to do in the car! So this particular time it was worth it. But it's definitely a splurge and I probably wouldn't fly with kids. Oh and those peach pass lanes down by Eagle's Landing are great!!LOL! You don't play around. I will let this go this once. If there's a next time I will be messaging you..
Don't even let yourself look at the Kidani one bedroom with TWO FULL BATHS!
Oh it was so wonderful - but we truly thought of them as a "bonus" and it ended up working out great and having more availability than I thought.
It was truly a moment of jealousy when she came back with that cute glow lotus! We saw ROL again and yep, still love it. The ribs and "water" at Tiffins are amazing!!! Definitely check that out!I love the lotus glow cube. I hope they still have them when we go. I am looking forward to seeing ROL. I think i have heard enough about it to know what to expect and love it!
Those ribs looks amazing!!!!
And I am sure all of your "water" was super tasty!
Well if I had any comrades in arms, I knew I could count on my girl Kari.No scorn from here. Nothing but love, admiration, and pure green eyed jealousy
Uh yeah, I feel like seeing animals later in the day is a combination of voodoo, guessing, and dumb luck. About an hour before sunset is the closest I've done it and this one still didn't have too many great animal sightings other than the scant few pictures I posted. What we did see was at least cool!!!
You live among geniuses. Seriously, I never would have thought of that! When they perfect the recipe, hook yo friend up with the at-home know how!
Gotta love it when Disney actually hits one out of the park with something "out there". Makes me optimitic about Pandora.
UM YES, BEST RIBS EVER! I feel fortunate that I got so many at Nomad but seriously they hooked us up since it was so close to closing (I think, I mean that's the explanation I got for the free bread)
It really is so good! I don't even mind paying for more bread, just give me the option, people. I mean... I can eat cheese off my naked fingers... but who really wants to see that?
Well you let your family go ride triceratop spin and the safari and whatever while you chillax with the glory of an Annapurna Zing! (I mean, to expound on your DR thoughts, what are those grandparents for anyway
JK)Maybe that's what I need to embrace... I'm just not that much of a "mains" person at a fine dining place. I want to taste all the appetizers, cocktails, and desserts!!!Nor I. The Poly is so fun to visit, but I would be just as happy having a Lapu and a hunk of bread pudding at Tambu.
I am so proud of you for keeping yourself hydrated with all that water
Seriously ALWAYS something for next time. Always!
I... may have actually never *seen* fantasmicI can see why you'd love itIt was definitely beautiful but, and don't get mad, it didn't "wow" us. I guess I, like many others, expected more after the long wait and all the hype. I definitely prefer Wishes and think I even prefer Fantasmic!......................
Oh yeah! Gimme tasty berry globs of sweetness. Thinking about that cheese plate is making me hungry and I seriously just ate.
I definitely think you made the right choice! It's almost too much pressure for a signature to deliver when you're so worried about everyone having a satisfactory option. Tusker House seems like they do great with allergies and the food is SO GOOD for a buffet! I think it's perfect for a mixed group. I've been loving your report and I am sorry I am so far behind. I promise to scuttle back over there soon and get back to commenting. And I so blame you for the massive baked potato craving I've been having...
It was such a fabulous trip! Happy to help provide some intel for your plans. That's why I love the Dis so much. Everyone's reports always keep me supplied with information for my future trips!!!
Oh yeah! I think it's on our "must do" list for just about every trip now. We just revisited it and it was great, AGAIN!
Yay! Su-Lynn! Glad you made it over.Just wanted to say, loving the dining report!
Nomad lounge is totally on my list to get drinks and apps next time. Everything sounds delicious especially that cheese board. Mmmm.
And totally psyched that you can get the Ohana bread pudding at the Tambu Lounge ala carte now. It's probably my favorite old school dessert in Disney and I'm not a big dessert person nowadays (but I always end up doing a dessert party or two, go figure)
And your delicious Plaza Inn lunch!! Wow I've never been there but looks like I'll have to give it a try for a cheap yet good meal! That is so cute about the twitter thing. I had no idea they would respond!
Nomad Lounge was so great. I think I would go there if it was here in Atlanta and that's high praise. It's definitely come into our regular rotation, and I know you guys would love it since you enjoyed Tiffins!ME TOOOO
I may or may not (may) own it and drink out of it when I have a bad day
1.) FPs will be MORE fun with a beverage or 3
POOP. Well Spaceship Earth is one of my all time favorite rides so I guess I would ride it even if there were no pictures and we were just riding down a weird black tunnel with some missing ceiling tiles in the dark.
Yeah, I really feel like it's pretty much necessary with this new one. It's even better if you can get the middle of the middle but I try not to act like a diva.
THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN, BRING US A YEAR-ROUND LA VIE EN ROSE!
Not sure I have really ever had it elsewhere either... but it's yummy!
yes yes yes! Thanks for the encouragement, it's nice to know people love to eat, drink, and read about eating and drinking as much as I do! Glad to have you here for the shenanigans.Oh my gosh they all but changed my life. I got them for a cruise... I think in 2015? And I had no car sickness and no sea sickness at all. I even rode star tours! I still haven't braved Mission Space but I can do pretty much anything at Universal with a patch on. Transformers still made me feel unwell but I don't have any reason to ride that one again anyway...
I would imagine this plan will definitely work! A couple of times we were at the kiosk around 10 like you will be and we just kind of took our time, backed out of the system and refreshed if we needed to but I think we just got lucky a couple times as well. We also had really good luck with 4th floating FP+ and doing modify and refresh a bunch of times on the app. I even saw SDMT as an option when modifying...
This comment makes me want that salad again, and I even had a similar salad for dinner!
Love this whole plan! That sounds perfect. Ours was still light out but at least an hour before sunset. Love those roving lions!!!
A man of discerning and excellent taste, I see.
LOL
He wasn't, but not to worry - the bartender whipped us up a captain's mai tai and a magical star cocktail to go! Yes, that's right, KJ got ANOTHER glow cube! 
. (Behind the magic: you can see KJ's real name if you are curious on her birthday button. Actually maybe that's hard to read. It rhymes with "whim")
It tasted like the disney standard old fashioned, which is not really how I like them, I feel like the Disney bars go crazy with the symple syrup and cherries and I don't really like much sweetness in an old fashioned, but it was fine.
. Also I love martinis. Anyway, Bryon even arranged to have the band play Happy Birthday for KJ! She was extremely impressed. We had such a fun, silly time with Bryon that we hated to leave but we had big plans ahead for our evening, so we bade him farewell and went back to the Poly to change and get ready for the evening plans.
You've also made me really want to try California Grill brunch. Maybe on that future F&G trip 
The charcuterie spread here is insanely delicious and a unique offering for a buffet. I am obviously a big fan of cheese and also a fan of charcuterie so I love the option to grab just a few pieces of each and not feel obligated to eat a massive pile of the stuff (but still be granted the freedom to eat a pile of cured meat if I want to, GOSH!)
KJ had the eggs benedict - two soft poached eggs with toasted english muffin, orange honey ham, and classic hollandaise. She loved this! Her eggs were noticably more well done than mine, I will say.
Upon our return to the table, we asked our server if we could possibly try a couple of the other macaron flavors we'd seen served to other tables.
For entrees, I decided to revisit a previous "miss" for me and give it another chance to shine. So I ordered the Grilled Hangar Steak with chimichurri, marbled potatoes, and charred red onion, served with two eggs any style.
The steak was so much better this time! I don't know if I just had a better cut or if it was actually prepared improperly last time but this steak was tender and flavorful, and I really enjoyed the zesty chimicurri. The potatoes were still a little bland. I ordered my eggs poached but these were a little too "rare" for me. I didn't even attempt to eat them as I cannot do undercooked egg whites at all.
Our fantastic server accomodated us with two each of the "colors" we'd requested - delicious, decadent salty caramel with just a subtle smokey buttery flavor to the caramel. I thought the other flavor was pistachio when we requested them, but after tasting them I think it was actually green tea. The caramel was much better but I've never said no to a macaron so I still ate the green tea anyway!
Love it!
How nice of you!
Sounds like somethin gI need to try on a girls' trip (@ariane37 ahem) or a couple's trip with the DH!
Um...of course!As was the prosecco...
Which was unlimited and we took full advantage of that fact.
This sounds delicious.
For sure.
Looks so yummy!
Very nice!We of course had more prosecco and took our bubbles outside to soak up the gorgeous view
So everyone gets different flavors?? I would probably want to try as many as I could as well.Upon our return to the table, we asked our server if we could possibly try a couple of the other macaron flavors we'd seen served to other tables.
Nice photo!We really enjoyed this experience and it was a great way to celebrate KJ's birthday!
Too funny! I think I have actually had the magical star cocktail at Chef Mickey's. Yes, with the glow cube. And I still have it in my freezer. Ask me how many times I have used it. Oops.the bartender whipped us up a captain's mai tai and a magical star cocktail to go! Yes, that's right, KJ got ANOTHER glow cube!
I'm not sure I have had one in 43.5 years. I mean, its possible I have and don't remember, but they have just never appealed to me. Too strong is what I assume. I like cocktails where you can just barely taste the alcohol.
Ok, so I had no idea what this was and looked it up (along with chimichurri). Looks like something I really need to try.
How nice!
Ooh,
some more!You are a VERY good friend because I don't know that I would've done that lol. I certainly would've been happy to be the bday girl on the receiving end of the 2 macarons though!
How nice! When I was in Universal in Feb. I became a huge fan of macarons so I knew I would love all of those flavors.
Yes, share one with your husband! Always a good way to try something new. That way if you don't like it, you can make your compadre down the rest
Of course the crowning jewel of this delightful brunch experience is the dessert tray! This time our desserts weren't quite as impressive looking as they had been in the past.
Upon our return to the table, we asked our server if we could possibly try a couple of the other macaron flavors we'd seen served to other tables.
Our fantastic server accomodated us with two each of the "colors" we'd requested - delicious, decadent salty caramel with just a subtle smokey buttery flavor to the caramel. I thought the other flavor was pistachio when we requested them, but after tasting them I think it was actually green tea. The caramel was much better but I've never said no to a macaron so I still ate the green tea anyway!
Which was unlimited and we took full advantage of that fact. There is a beautiful clear sparkling beverage with fruit skewers offered as a non-alcoholic option. Clearly KJ and I did not investigate that option so I am sorry to say I have no photo of it, but it looked great and a woman seated at those booths in the background of the above picture had a few of them.
KJ ordered her very first martini (I know, how do you make it through life 26 years without having had a martini?) a "very dirty grey goose martini with extra olives"... which Bryon translated as a "filthy martini with chunks"
I don't think I've ever had a martini, either
Usually a lurker, but I love all your DRs, so I had to pop in and say how much I'm loving this one! We are definitely kindred spirits. I too love any drink with St. Germain and especially love a champagne and St. Germain cocktail! And now I'm desperate to try the La Vie en Rose! I may have to plan a F&G trip just to try it
Aw, shucks. I am flattered. So glad you came out of lurkdom to say hi!! Any friend of St. Germain is a friend of mine! I'm surprised you haven't done the CG brunch yet. It's fantastic. Martinis are apparently a very divisive topic! I'm surprised that folks don't like them or haven't tried them. Oh well, more for me! (And I do love gin, but I'm a vodka martini type chick... but give me bourbon any day of the week and I'll be saying "martini who?")
Ummm good call on the Territory Lounge! Plus there's always next time to try Tiffins/Nomad Lounge.
Yay! Su-Lynn, glad you made it over!!! The first time we did the CG brunch our server offered the prosecco without orange juice, and since then I've always asked for it (too much OJ gives me heartburn) and our servers have never batted an eye. I think every server we've had so far has tried to ply us with more mimosas and/or prosecco. They are so great at making the brunch a truly special and celebratory event!
I am certain they would have happily cooked me a fresh pair of eggs but at that point I'd eaten so much tasty stuff from the buffet that I didn't even finish my steak, much less need eggs! My mom has had the lobster eggs benedict at the CG brunch as well and she loved them too. I think a California Grill eggs benny brunch is calling your name!
That is a good name for it
I hope Josh gets this so I can sample some! I have my eye on the chicken cutlet and/or pancakes for myself. And I don't want to order 3 entrees just for me
Salted caramel sounds good, but green tea flavor sounds strange. I've actually never had one though so this trip will be the first time
So, I had read your response but hadn't had a chance to reply and I thought of you this morning. I saw a gentleman crossing the street on my way to work this morning who had on a shirt that said "How can you drink all day if you don't start in the morning?"That brunch just looks sooooo yum. One day it shall be mine! I like how you girls roll with the steady stream of cocktails, by the way.
And tell us about San Angel Inn already! I want to know what happened! LOL
Oh it was so fantastic! I can't wait to do it again but my wallet says not every time
I am guilty of this too but every once in a while I have a very bad day and my cocktail dons its fanciest light up glow cube to cheer my mood
But I did just clear out some cabinets this past weekend and noticed the light up cup I got at Food and Wine in 2014, just sitting around collecting dust. At least the glow cubes take up less room!I had no idea that martinis were not a universally experienced phenomenon! You are right, they do usually taste very strong. That's why I encouraged KJ to order Grey Goose since that vodka is very light. With so many tasty options, why even bother with a standard martini? I totally get where you are coming from!
I know, I have no idea what came over me that day to pass up my favorite treat. In fairness, she told me to eat whatever else I wanted and I might have eaten both of the jam cookies
Yes, unfortunately this one is only on Sundays. There was a time period that we all had a scare that the CG brunch wouldn't be continued but then it seems like the popularity caught on and hopefully it stays a while. I can only imagine how much more fabulous it would be if the green macaron was, in fact, pistachio. My two favorites!
Yeah, I am pretty impressed with our day drinking capability over this trip as well, but (non-surprising spoiler alert) I paid dearly for this day's overindulgence. THE BRUNCH WAS SOOO GOOD. The eggs were just overkill at that point anyway, so no harm done!Oh I totally could, and have in the past. The good news is that they will box your entree selection if you happen to eat too many wedge salads from the non-buffet
I mean who would do such a thing?!Weeeeelll. It's not YOU I'm worried about, I told you about my fears at Trader Sam's!!! CreepersI don't think I've ever had a martini, either
So we were resigned to drink our margaritas, eat our crappy appetizers if they ever showed up, and find more food elsewhere. 
Chile relleno de Picadillo: battered poblano pepper filled with ground beef served with tomato sauce and garnished with queso fresco and toasted almonds. Now, I am a huge fan of chile rellenos but this was not good. It tasted like it'd been there a while, which is odd because this was pretty much prime dinner time. Actually what it really tasted like was a freezer burned stouffer's meal that had been overmicrowaved (delicious, mmm) since it was kinda chewy. And I see nary an almond to be found! Liars. ($6 wasted)
Anyway, I was disappointed upon reviewing the menu that the highly lauded Chicken Tinga Tostadas were no longer available. Honestly there wasn't much on the menu that looked good to me, for whatever reason, but we had been big on getting avocado margaritas from there and so we picked out two decent looking appetizers and ordered our margaritas and obviously pissed off our ABYSMAL server who I will call out by name because I don't think I've ever had worse service or experienced a worse attitude in any dining experience before or since (thanks, Sebastian, you're a jerk). We had noticed huge cones of chips being delivered to every table in sight distance, and KJ sweetly asked our terrible server if we could have a basket of chips. Sebastian, despite having just put in $60 worth of orders for margaritas and appetizers for us, refused to bring us chips and salsa. This was not a situation of me being pissed that he informed us we could pay for them, he more or less flipped out on us and scolded us to inform us we could not have the chips and salsa because we had not ordered entrees. Umm. Okay.
The margaritas, at least, were tasty.
And then we waited. And waited. And waited. 45 minutes later (seriously, I checked the time stamps on my pictures) our appetizers had not come, our margaritas were long gone, and Sebastian was nowhere to be found.
A manager had been making the rounds and had checked on us early on (I think before we even ordered) so we flagged him down explained that we had been waiting for a really long time, had not seen Sebastian in quite a spell, and vented our frustration about wanting chips at least to pass the time and ease our tummy rumbles but we were not even offered the opportunity to pay for them. Well, lo and behold! Out comes Sebastian with a cone of chips shortly thereafter that he "made a special exception" for us on. Basically from the interaction where KJ asked for chips until we left (which I think was three total appearances) Sebastian would spend 2.5 seconds at our table saying something rude and literally throwing something (chips, dinner, check) down on the table before turning tail and stomping off. I have no idea what this guy's problem was.
That all looks delicious and really fresh!
I was trying not to be TOO weird of a vacation pal to KJ so I only took one picture of her plate but I got a few angles of mine.
The charcuterie spread here is insanely delicious and a unique offering for a buffet. I am obviously a big fan of cheese and also a fan of charcuterie so I love the option to grab just a few pieces of each and not feel obligated to eat a massive pile of the stuff (but still be granted the freedom to eat a pile of cured meat if I want to, GOSH!)
You might be able to see the sticky bun and cheese biscuit on my plate, which were previously brought to the table on a pastry plate. Probably better to put these on the buffet as we certainly did not need one each of every bread option.
Glad you got a better steak this time. It does look good but those eggs yeah not so much.The steak was so much better this time! I don't know if I just had a better cut or if it was actually prepared improperly last time but this steak was tender and flavorful, and I really enjoyed the zesty chimicurri. The potatoes were still a little bland. I ordered my eggs poached but these were a little too "rare" for me. I didn't even attempt to eat them as I cannot do undercooked egg whites at all.
This looks amazeballs though! I love me a good eggs benny.KJ had the eggs benedict - two soft poached eggs with toasted english muffin, orange honey ham, and classic hollandaise. She loved this! Her eggs were noticably more well done than mine, I will say.
Yeah martinis do not look appetizing to me. Filthy with chunks is pretty accurate haha.KJ ordered her very first martini (I know, how do you make it through life 26 years without having had a martini?) a "very dirty grey goose martini with extra olives"... which Bryon translated as a "filthy martini with chunks"
I was not a fan of this either. There wasn't enough filling.
Chile relleno de Picadillo: battered poblano pepper filled with ground beef served with tomato sauce and garnished with queso fresco and toasted almonds. Now, I am a huge fan of chile rellenos but this was not good. It tasted like it'd been there a while, which is odd because this was pretty much prime dinner time. Actually what it really tasted like was a freezer burned stouffer's meal that had been overmicrowaved (delicious, mmm) since it was kinda chewy. And I see nary an almond to be found! Liars. ($6 wasted)
Sorry you had such crappy service and mediocre food. At least the manager made up for it! I've only been to San Angel once and we had this chicken in a cream sauce and it was really good. But the churros we had for dessert were amazing. I think they've taken them off the menu though.Anyway, I was disappointed upon reviewing the menu that the highly lauded Chicken Tinga Tostadas were no longer available. Honestly there wasn't much on the menu that looked good to me, for whatever reason, but we had been big on getting avocado margaritas from there and so we picked out two decent looking appetizers and ordered our margaritas and obviously pissed off our ABYSMAL server who I will call out by name because I don't think I've ever had worse service or experienced a worse attitude in any dining experience before or since (thanks, Sebastian, you're a jerk). We had noticed huge cones of chips being delivered to every table in sight distance, and KJ sweetly asked our terrible server if we could have a basket of chips. Sebastian, despite having just put in $60 worth of orders for margaritas and appetizers for us, refused to bring us chips and salsa. This was not a situation of me being pissed that he informed us we could pay for them, he more or less flipped out on us and scolded us to inform us we could not have the chips and salsa because we had not ordered entrees. Umm. Okay.
The margaritas, at least, were tasty.
And then we waited. And waited. And waited. 45 minutes later (seriously, I checked the time stamps on my pictures) our appetizers had not come, our margaritas were long gone, and Sebastian was nowhere to be found.
A manager had been making the rounds and had checked on us early on (I think before we even ordered) so we flagged him down explained that we had been waiting for a really long time, had not seen Sebastian in quite a spell, and vented our frustration about wanting chips at least to pass the time and ease our tummy rumbles but we were not even offered the opportunity to pay for them. Well, lo and behold! Out comes Sebastian with a cone of chips shortly thereafter that he "made a special exception" for us on. Basically from the interaction where KJ asked for chips until we left (which I think was three total appearances) Sebastian would spend 2.5 seconds at our table saying something rude and literally throwing something (chips, dinner, check) down on the table before turning tail and stomping off. I have no idea what this guy's problem was.
Fortunately the manager was amazing and spent quite a few minutes with us, just chatting (about how he'd been brought out from Burbank, actually, to help out at San Angel Inn specifically) and he later arrived at our table with complimentary jalapeno margaritas that he wanted us to try and offered gratis as an apology. I didn't even take pictures of the appetizers - we had pork tacos and the queso fundido. They were meh at best and it was super dark in there and I was not very happy by the time the food arrived anyway. (Per my additional research for you lovely people, they were the tacos al pastor and I didn't like them because I thought the pineapple on them tasted like canned pineapple and it was too sweet). This is the only time I can recall that I didn't leave anything additional on top of the TIW gratuity, and the total came to $55.73. The only positive thing I can say is that the manager was excellent and rehabbed the situation as best as he could, and the margaritas were delicious. After the rage wore off, I grabbed this photo (sorry for the partially consumed photo).
The jalapeno margarita was very good, I must admit. I had just had such an unpleasant time at dinner that I can't even describe it well. It tasted like frustration and disappointment. ha.
After having had really quite enough of the Mexico pavilion, we watched half of Illuminations and scooted out to the monorail to beat the crowd. Because what is there to do when you experience crappy food and service?
Normally the thought of chocolate and alcohol is not appealing to me but that looks really good. I might have to change my mind.GO BACK TO THE LAST AWESOME PLACE YOU WENT! So we traipsed back over to a bustling Mizner's lounge and helped ourselves to two seats at Bryon's hospitable bar. KJ had yet to experience the majesty and wonder of a Mizner's chocolate martini (or as I like to call it, an adult Yoo-Hoo) and Bryon was only too happy to introduce her to this marvel. We even got chocolate Mickeys! I believe the official name of this masterpiece is the Godiva Chocolate Martini - which is comprised of Stoli Vanil Vodka, Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, White Crème de Cacao, and Frangelico. ($10.75)
