Dining help please.

[paoil]

My eldest daughter & I are heading to Orlando for her college break. Flight arrives at MCO at 5:30 on 3/16. We'll probably get to the Portofino by 7:00. We've never been to Universal.

We love Italian food. I read about an Italian buffet at the Portofino. Is that food good? (I can't find a menu for it.) The problem with eating there is we won't get out to either park before the 8 PM closing.

Is there good Italian dining in either park?

Or, would you suggest not bothering to try to get to either park and maybe do CityWalk instead. How about Pastamore?

We'll be at Universal for 3 nights, so we have a chance to try a few different places.

Since we're staying on property will we need to get up and go early to the parks, or will our express pass (we're staying at Portofino) make that unnecessary?

After Universal we're off to Disney--POFQ. Many trips to Disney but we've never seen POFQ or POR. Looking forward to the boat ride to DD.

Thank you for the help.

 

[Amity 3]

I've heard nothing but great things about Bice at Portofino.

I can't be much help because we're huge Italian food fans. Carraba's and Buca di Beppo are good enough for us. Louie's in Universal is good.

your Express Pass will eliminate the need to be at the parks early, unless you don't want to wait in line for the front row on the Hulk or Dueling Dragons.

 

[highlander447]

Hi the Tratoria Del Porto at PBH buffet is excellent very fresh, chef will prepare personal pizza, pasta whatever u want plus you have what's on offer at the buffet, be warned though it gets busy, if intending to eat there make a reservation, have seen many turned away, when u arrive on the 16th thats a Friday and its character night at the Tratoria so pretty busy but well worth the visit, Pastamore is also pretty good although I'm probably biased as I love the peach sangria there, at the Tratoria in the PBH make sure you try the marshmallow milkshake its delicious,
as said your FOTL access on the 17th will get u on everything very easily, the PBH has a great pool area, plus the thirsty fish bar is a great spot to have a nightcap and reflect on the day you've had as you look out over the bay,

on a side note the boat ride to DTD from POFQ is very relaxing, only problem is the boat is usually full from POR before it arrives at the FQ but they do add another boat if needed

 

[richvalle]

Hi. We just returned from a weeks stay at Hotel Portofino. It is a wonderfull place!

(I tried to post a link to our Hotel Portofino pictures but looks like I'm not allowed to do that... )

We did the buffet one night and it was quite good. The price was $30 per adult and... $12ish (?) for kids. We bought 2 of our kids items off the menu as they are light eaters and our oldest (10) the buffet as she is, currently, a big eater.

There was a salad section, some cheese and meats and 3-4 hot items in typical buffet style warmers. There was also a person there making fresh pasta dishes where you pick what goes in it/on it and a meat carver.

For dessert there was a chef making fresh (though small) Creme brulee's and berries with a Grand Marnier cream sauce. This is in addition too a whole table full of other sweet goodies.

There was also a kids section for the buffet where they had pizza, chicken fingers, cookies and brownies.

Where the kids buffet was setup is a 'kids section' where there is a tv playing cartoons and bean bags and other thinks for the kids to do. The night we were there was a lady doing face/arm paintings and making balloons.

I can also suggest trying the deli (Sal's Market Deli) and Mama Della's Ristorante. The deli has great pizza's and sandwiches. The only problem with Mama Della's is that in typical Italian restaurant fashion they give way too much food to eat at one sitting. As we didn't have a microwave in our room there was no way to take the extra with us.

We didn't eat Italian outside of the hotel.

The crowd levels while we were there 2 weeks ago were very low. Most days we got to the parks around 10ish and lines were no issue. In fact, the only advantage to having the express pass was that it let us walk though a shorter empty line! I think it only helped us twice or so in all the time we were there.

The first boat left for the park at 8:30 AM. There was neve a long wait for the boat.

It is also a nice walk.

Hope that helps some.

rv

 

[Fan2CSkr]

richvalle, I would love to see your pictures! Can you PM me the link? Thanks! Was the pool slide open while you were there? Did they have a dive-in movie? What room type did you stay in? Did you have breakfast at Trattoria del Porto?
We love Mama Della's but you are right, the portions are large and we try and take that into consideration when we eat there. It sounds like you had a great trip.

paoil, here is the menu for Trattoria del Porto.
http://www.allearsnet.com/uni/menu/men_tratd.htm
http://www.luxurydisneyguide.com/menu_TrattoriaDinner.htm

 

[richvalle]

Heh... I can't send PM's till my post count gets up to 6.

The pool slide was open... except for the day that my wife was pinched on it. They closed it down to tighten up the slide parts.

They had a pool side movie on Sat but we missed it.

I never tried the breakfast at Trattoria del Porto but one of our party did. From what he said, he liked it. They had a buffet or order off the menu.

We stayed in a 'kids suite'.

rv

 

[richvalle]

Sorry, lets see if I can do two short posts to get my post count up to 6 so I can PM that link. If I can get it up to 10 legitimately I'll come back and post the link.

 

[richvalle]

Ok... last one. This makes 6! How exciting.



rv

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks to Fan2CSkr, we are now huge fans of Mama Della's. As others noted, the portions are huge. When we (DH, DS(14), & I) travel, we typically order an appetizer, entree, & dessert each night for dinner. We like to sample a variety & share with each other. They also serve a house salad that is wonderful. The salad alone is worth dining there. Anyway, we ended up eating less than half of what we order, but it was all delicious.

Pastamore is okay, but it's more like fast food. IMHO, it's similar to what you would find at a mall food court. We haven't tried Bice, but hope to on our next visit. That is, if we don't go back to Mama Della's for the salad.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

HI RV,
Welcome to the DIS, & the place we call home, the Universal boards. You can now reply to my welcome & that will give another legit post. I'm sure Fan2CSkr, Damo, & Bubba's Mom welcome you as well, so you can post a seperate thanks to them too. I think that makes 10.

OP,
Sorry to hijack your thread. As soon as we're able to see those pics, we'll quickly return to the regularly scheduled programming. Promise!

 

[richvalle]

Why thank you! Very thoughtfull of you.

(This makes 8...)




rv

 

[Fan2CSkr]

Heh... I can't send PM's till my post count gets up to 6.

The pool slide was open... except for the day that my wife was pinched on it. They closed it down to tighten up the slide parts.

They had a pool side movie on Sat but we missed it.

I never tried the breakfast at Trattoria del Porto but one of our party did. From what he said, he liked it. They had a buffet or order off the menu.

We stayed in a 'kids suite'.

rv

OUCH! I'm glad they fixed that. Thanks so much for the link, the pictures and videos you took are great! Are you able to post that link here now? Sorry I made you up the post count to send a PM. We stayed in a kids suite at PBH and HRH and we really like those suites a lot. HRH's kids suites are even larger and I like the layout a little more.

 

[Fan2CSkr]

Thanks to Fan2CSkr, we are now huge fans of Mama Della's. As others noted, the portions are huge. When we (DH, DS(14), & I) travel, we typically order an appetizer, entree, & dessert each night for dinner. We like to sample a variety & share with each other. They also serve a house salad that is wonderful. The salad alone is worth dining there. Anyway, we ended up eating less than half of what we order, but it was all delicious.

Pastamore is okay, but it's more like fast food. IMHO, it's similar to what you would find at a mall food court. We haven't tried Bice, but hope to on our next visit. That is, if we don't go back to Mama Della's for the salad.

Hello tarheelmjfan I just LOVE that salad and can't wait to have it again soon! Still havent tried Bice either but I really would like to. I totally agree with you on Pastamore but others like it.

 

[richvalle]

OUCH! I'm glad they fixed that. Thanks so much for the link, the pictures and videos you took are great! Are you able to post that link here now? Sorry I made you up the post count to send a PM. We stayed in a kids suite at PBH and HRH and we really like those suites a lot. HRH's kids suites are even larger and I like the layout a little more.

This post makes 9...

I took a short video of the room we were in but didn't post it.

We checked out HRH... it was nice but a lot more noise. Portofino was a lot more relaxing.

Though... they did play one song over and over again. Funny thing is that the song is used on Veggie Tales Top 10 Silly Songs. The one where Larry has a big hat and some chocolate. I ended up humming the song all the time (you can hear me doing it a bit on the vidoes).

rv

 

[paoil]

Wow, I logged on to the Board, saw 13 responses and thought I'd see a whole library of restaurant information! LOL But I'm glad you got your posts.

The information has been very helpful as we've never been to US before.

I think we'll follow tarheel's advice and head to Mama Dellas since we love salad. And after dinner we'll wander around and get the lay of the land to see what else looks good.

I'm still confused about the need for advance reservations. I know our room card takes us to the head of some list. Will I need to make advance reservations? We'll be there 3/16 to 3/19.

Thanks.

 

[richvalle]

Sorry to mislead you with the number of posts.

We never made a reservation and never had problems with getting tables. Though, we tend to eat dinner early (5 or 6).

I think the night we had the dinner buffet we ate around 7ish and also didn't have to wait at all.

From what I heard (but never used) was that the hotel keycard would get you a 'first avalable' table at the resturants in the Citywalk. Not sure if it works in the hotel or if it would matter much as 99% of the people there have to be guests.

rv

 

[richvalle]

And... that makes 10!!!

http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l183/richvalle/2007 Orlando Trip/Hotel Portofino Bay/

Those panoramic pictures look a lot better when they are not shrunk down so much.

rv

 

[Fan2CSkr]

Wow, I logged on to the Board, saw 13 responses and thought I'd see a whole library of restaurant information! LOL But I'm glad you got your posts.

The information has been very helpful as we've never been to US before.

I think we'll follow tarheel's advice and head to Mama Dellas since we love salad. And after dinner we'll wander around and get the lay of the land to see what else looks good.

I'm still confused about the need for advance reservations. I know our room card takes us to the head of some list. Will I need to make advance reservations? We'll be there 3/16 to 3/19.

Thanks.

Here are some links and a small picture. I wouldnt worry about a reservation for your dates but it couldnt hurt to be certain you get the time you want.
Open daily for dinner at 5pm; Reservations recommended 407-503-DINE (3463).
Say hello to Mama!

http://www.allearsnet.com/uni/menu/men_mdr.htm
http://www.luxurydisneyguide.com/menu_mamadellas.htm
http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/menuusmd.html

 

[Fan2CSkr]

And... that makes 10!!!

http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l183/richvalle/2007 Orlando Trip/Hotel Portofino Bay/

Those panoramic pictures look a lot better when they are not shrunk down so much.

rv

Make your own thread on the Hotel board so your link will get the exposure it deserves! Thanks for posting it!

 

[paoil]

Those are great videos and pictures! Wish we were going tomorrow and not next month.