We had a lazy morning this morning. Our plan of action throughout the holiday had been, up very early, break in the afternoon and back to the parks in the evening. Today, as we had booked the Fantasmic package at Mama Melrose's we did a morning by the pool followed by an afternoon/evening in the one of my newly found favourite parks, Hollywood Studios.
But first, a snack
white chocolate and macadamia nut cookie at Coronado Springs. They have a lovely selection of baked goods and desserts. These cookies became a staple in our Disney diet! YUM. Mum got the name of cookie monster before the trip was over.
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These cookies were soooooooo good. Moist and a little crisp with chunks of white chocolate generously sprinkled throughout and plenty of macadamia nuts to match it! They were HUGE as in like bigger than my hand huge lol loads for two to share.
On to our fabulous day at DHS.
After doing all the rides and in need of some rest and relaxation we headed over to Mama Melrose's.
We walked in to check in and the place was so busy. Some people couldn't understand why they couldn't get a reservation and were being quite rude to the CM's about it. I was surprised to see people who didn't know you have to book well in advance. Though in 2008 I was one of those people for sure minus the rude attitude!
Anyway, we checked in and were seated within 5 minutes.
This restaurant is so different, its really homely and cosy or something. It has a very welcoming vibe.
We started our meal off with a wine flight. We both went for the Bella Italia.
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I cant remember the names of the wines in this I know the white was a Pinot Grigio. This was such a good start to the meal. All the wines were very good. We both just had a moment of, oh my goodness we are actually here sitting back relaxing together after a lovely morning and preparing for an even nicer evening. Good mother daughter bonding time
On to the food! Soon after our server brought out the bread.
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The olive oil had cracked black pepper and herbs in it. It was a nice change from butter. I had one roll with butter and the other I dipped in the olive oil-best of both worlds lol The bread was fresh and warm which was a plus
As this was the fantasmic package we got appetizers, mains and dessert.
So on to the starter:
I went for the caesar salad. It was ok. I would have preferred the lettuce a little bit crisper. The taste of the dressing/cheese was good, but was shadowed by the almost dead lettuce.
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Mum went for the mozzarella and tomatoes. This was really good. The tomatoes were fresh and juicy and the balsamic sauce was perfect with it.
Both of us tucked happily into this dish. Leaving the droopy salad to one side.
I went for the,
Oven-baked Chicken alla Parmigiana - with marinara sauce topped with melted mozzarella over spaghetti
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And mum went for the Penne alla Vodka - with Pancetta and Sweet Onions finished with Tomato-Basil Sauce, Cream, Vodka, and Pecorino Romano
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I had seen these dishes on the Disney food blog and we had to try them.
initially mum wasnt overly fond of hers, on later inspection this was because she liked the look of mine better. Let the dish swapping commence!
At the start of the main course, we were both rooting for the chicken parmesan. Raving about how rich and tasty it was.
It was very rich, getting mouthfuls of the cheese, sauce, crispy breaded chicken and spaghetti. Very delicious. It became too over powering, the more you ate the more you were like....woah hold on a second my tastebuds need a break.
This is where we swapped dishes.
The penne alla vodka was a welcome break from the the intense richness of the chicken parmesan.
It was much lighter. The creamy tomato sauce was so so so good!!! It had little bits of bacon in it as well which was just divine!
Both dishes were good but I dont think I could handle a whole chicken parmesan on my own it was very rich. My over all favourite in the end was the penne alla vodka and mum would agree even with her initial " yours looks better than mine".
Next we were brought out a dessert sampler.
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One was like a berry cheesecake, the other was tiramisu, another nutty cheesecake and then a light mousse filled chocolate tart.
I couldnt find a proper description for these.
Anyway, they were all very good. We nibbled away at each of them I know one had ricotta in it which I dont like at all but I cant remember which one...oops
Over all they were enjoyable. I have heard horror stories about this dessert sampler though. This plate was perfect for two people, but if they brought it out to be one between three adults(as I have heard done) it wouldn't be enough to be honest.
Over all we loved our meal at Mama Melrose's and will definitely be making a return trip next year again for the fantasmic package.
We both give it 8/10.
We strolled from here to the Tune in lounge. I had heard to much about it I had to try it! Another gem!!! We just thought it was fab. Like stepping back in time. We got two seats and the bar and ordered these
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Mum went for the Mowie Wowie which was the yellow one. I went for Grandma's Picnic Punch which was pink.
Both were similar in taste, very sweet neither had a major kick from it and were way to easy to drink
Aside from the cocktails, this place has a lovely atmosphere and we just chilled out enjoying our non regimental park day.
From here we wandered in the direction of the great movie ride and on our way there was a DJ/show starting for Monsters University homecoming
How exciting!!! It was Limited time magic and coincided with the release of the movie.
They had a band called Scare supply on when we were there. It was really good fun!
And I saw these,
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Before you cart us of as complete alcoholics.......in my defence it was limited time magic I couldnt help myself and we ordered these.......
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The green eye tea and the prickly pink.
Now these packed a punch! Woah were they strong! Both were fruity and sweet with the after tang of alcohol.
We sipped on these and sang and had a little dance along with the band. We stopped off and got some popcorn
and found a place to sit, finish our drinks, eat popcorn and listen to the show. It was blissful.
And we havent even been to fantasmic yet!!!!