Hollymom1229
Art's Girl
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2001
- Messages
- 1,736
Cast of Characters:
Me (27 y.o. baby of the group and planner)
DSis (36 y.o. sister, cohort in initial planning)
DMiL (57 y.o. MiL, first vacation ever)
DMom (60 y.o. Mom, birthday girl, and reason for initial trip plan)
We stayed 6 nights at the Grand Floridian for our ultimate Princess Trip. I will expand more as I get a chance to write the trip report. This would have been up sooner, but I experienced some health problems upon returning.
Sept 11 - Garden View Lounge, Afternoon Tea
This was our first meal of the trip and would set many precedents for the trip. We all chose the Grand Tea and DSis also wanted to start with the Cheese Plate. The cheese plate was brought first and was absolutely delicious. While we were working on the cheese our waitress brought us our sparkling wine with a strawberry in the glass. Delicious and a wonderful compliment to the cheeses, my favorite had cranberries in it, though I can't remember the name.
Then our waitress brought our sandwiches. Pear and cheese, shrimp salad, egg salad, chicken salad, cucumber, an onion tart, and a small duck terrine. Everything was delicious, I found the onion tart to be too salty, and the duck terrine isn't my sort of thing, but was tasty. My hands down favorite was the pear and cheese.
After the sandwiches we were presented with a fresh scone and a raspberry jam tart, served with Devonshire cream. This was my favorite course, but I adore scones and Devonshire, so I may be biased. This Devonshire though was perfect, and the scone was served still warm.
After all this we still had the dessert course, they put a crown on my DMoms head, brought her a cupcake, and got the whole place to sing her Happy Birthday. She was on Cloud 9, and it was the most magical way to start this trip. My DMom then chose the Strawberries with Whipped Cream to go with her cupcake. DMiL chose the English Trifle, which I snuck a bite of and found to be out of this world. DSis and I chose small pastries, we each had a Swan filled with Strawberry Mousse, I had a Banana Cheesecake and she had a Chocolate Covered Strawberry.
All through the meal we enjoyed our teas, DMom with Raspberry, DSis with Chamomile, DMiL with Hot Cinnamon Spice, and Me with Peppermint. The only problem any of us had was the Hot Cinnamon Spice gets to syrupy towards the end of the meal from over-steeping. We were stuffed at the end of this and ready to be rolled out. Service - A Food - A
Sept 11 California Grill, Dinner
I made a late Priority Seating here, for about 9:20. We checked in at 8:45 and went upstairs and watched Wishes from the Observation Deck, which was a little crowded, but beautiful. Five minutes after Wishes our pager went off and we were seated. DSis started with a glass of white wine, DMiL tried her first ever Long Island Ice Tea, DMom went with a Fuzzy Navel, Me being the daring one had water with lemon.
For appetizers DMom had a Tomato Soup with Mini Artisanal Grilled Cheese. It was good, but nothing extraordinary. DSis ordered Unagi (Eel Sushi), she got 3 pieces so DMom and DMiL could each try a little bit and I got the rest of the 3rd piece. Probably the best sushi Ive ever had, and DSis who eats it a lot more than I do concurred. DMiL and Me decided to split the Flatbread with Roasted Chicken with grilled corn salsa, Fiscalini Farms cheddar cheese and chipotle aioli. It was amazing and I could have had this alone for my entrée and been happy. While reluctant to do so, DMiL and Me shared pieces with DSis and DMom, it was generally agreed to be the most unusual and delicious by all.
For entrees, DMom had the Halibut, which was quite tasty and probably the healthiest decision any of us made. DSis had the Veal Tournedoes with Ricotta Gnocchi, the veal was perfectly cooked, but the ricotta gnocchi was a bit strange on the palette. DMiL and Me both ordered the Oak Fired Beef Filet with Tamarind BBQ. The beef was tender enough for a butter knife to slice through it and was absolutely delicious. The 3-Cheese Potato Gratin was the perfect compliment to this already wonderful dish.
We got the Chocolate and Cherries for dessert and split it between the four of us. The gooey chocolate center and berry ice cream were both divine we all just wish we had more room. My DSis though could not pass up the Cheese Plate that was offered at California Grill and ordered one to go, which became a great late night snack later in the week. Service - B Food - A+++
September 12 Gasparilla Grill, Breakfast
I ran down to bring breakfast back to the room the first park day morning while everyone was getting ready. One bacon and egg croissant, three egg and cheese croissants, two giant bananas, three OJs, and a skim milk. It was solid fare, tasty enough, nothing extra special. Service there was fabulous. Service - A+ Food - B
September 12 Sunshine Seasons, Lunch
We were all a little hungry for lunch, but none of us were starving so we split a Rotisserie Chicken Flatbread, a Rotisserie Beef Flatbread, and a side of mashed potatoes between the 4 of us. It was very tasty and perfect for our midday hunger. It also wasnt too heavy, which became a very good thing later. DSis has always been reluctant to try CS at WDW since her trip in 1999 when all the CS she had was gross, but she said that its improved dramatically. Service - B Food - B+
September 12 Liberty Tree Tavern, Dinner
This meal was only DSis, DMom, and Me as DMiL wasnt feeling so hot after her ride on Mission Space. She went back to the room to lay down while we went to dinner. The food as always was pretty solid here. The flank steak and turkey being the best of the meats, but as always the real reason for coming here is the wonderful character interaction. I still enjoy the solid American fare here, but Im not sure this will remain a must do from trip to trip. DMiL joined us to watch Spectromagic later and had her dinner from the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor in the form of a Chocolate Sundae. She proclaimed it wonderful. Service - B Food - C+
September 13 - Cinderella's Royal Table, Breakfast
This morning we rechecked into the GF on the plan, and began free dining. I went and took care of these logistics while the rest of the crew got ready. We had gotten our golden ears the day before and wore them to breakfast. It was surprisingly easy to get into the park, and walking up main street with no one else around was magical. We checked in for our 8:05 ADR, right at 8:00 AM and were sent straight upstairs. It seemed we were one of the first parties seated that morning. Our waitress came by got our order for drinks, handed us the bread basket with muffins, danish, and assorted breakfast pastry. She also gave us a bowl of fruit salad, which was tasty, though not all of the fruit was as flavorful as I like. I let her know we were on the dining plan and she said to just give her the card at the end of the meal.
The service here was pretty basic, took drink orders, provided refills, brought food, checked once to make sure all okay, brought check. Nothing spectacular, but almost textbook exact. It was fine though because we were here for the princesses. We saw Belle, Mary Poppins, Snow White, Aurora, and Cinderella. They all signed my DMiL's autograph book, took pictures, oohed and aahed over our ears, and complimented us on leaving the princes at home.
We were each brought our own plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, and stuffed french toast. The eggs were basic, the bacon and sausage were tasty, but a little greasy. I loved the french toast, but I was stuffed by the time I finished the first plate as were we all. The breakfast cost 4 TS credits, and we headed downstairs at 8:55. We took a quick pic with Cruella DeVil who was in the lobby and headed out to the rope drop. Overall a wonderful experience, but I'll wait until I have my own princesses to do it again. Service - B Food - B+
September 13 - Cosmic Ray's, Lunch
Around 2 PM after finishing the vast majority of MK except Tomorrowland we realized we were hungry so we headed to my perennial favorite Cosmic Ray's. My DSis, DMiL, and Me headed for burgers, while DMom wandered off to find something healthier. My DSis and Me both got the Meteor meal, and loaded the burgers from the toppings bar, we also each got a carrot cake for dessert. DMiL went with the cheeseburger and a chocolate cake. We all got a bottle of water. 3 CS credits down and we're all ready to eat, but DMom is missing. I head off in search.
When I got to the sandwich and wraps counted she was just heading out with her tray full of food. A yummy turkey wrap, carrot cake, and bottle of water and the proudest look of triumph on her face I've seen in a long time. Quick note, my mother often gets intimidated by new situations, and despite my explanations on the dining plan was apparently still unsure of what to do. The great lady at the register saw her standing there clutching her card, staring at the menu with a look of utter frustration and took pity. My mom told her that her daughter said she had the dining plan, the lady at the register took over from there explaining it all to her. I thanked the lady at the register profusely and just wish I had caught her name. You really helped my mom out, and made her a little more confident with the plan the rest of the trip. So 4 CS credits later, a triumphant DMom, and four very full bellies and two untouched carrot cakes, and we were a happy crew. Food - B+ Service - A+++
September 13 - Concourse Steakhouse, Dinner
We decided around 6 PM that we needed a nap, so we moved our 8:10 ADR to 9:30, which was no problem. It also gave us more time to get hungry again. We were seated right away at 9:30 there were only about 5 or 6 tables with guests by that point. Our waitress at first seemed very put out by having to wait on us, and it only became worse when I explained we were on the dining plan. But four grown women wearing golden Mickey ears are just too much for anyone to keep up an attitude with. Also I think it helped that we started ordering drinks. We explained to her that we weren't sure if we would be able to eat 3 courses each and she suggested we split.
For starters we got the Honey Sesame Wings and the Cocktail Shrimp, which split perfectly between the four of us. The Wings were delicious, I love the sweetness of the glaze. But I am a shrimp junkie above all else and the shrimp were plump, fresh, and full of flavor. The cocktail sauce with them had a fabulous amount of horseradish. Sooo good.
For entrees, my DMom and DSis split the 14 oz. Oven Roasted Prime Rib, which was delivered a perfect Medium Rare. The waitress brought extra plates instead of having it be split in the kitchen. My DSis let me have a bite and it was good, but no better than Prime Rib I've had in a dozen other steakhouses. I wouldn't know if the potatoes it came with were any good because both DMom and DSis were threatening to stab anyone that came near them. So I'd say it would be a safe bet that they were yummy.
DMiL and Me split the 10 oz New York Strip, it was a good cut, cooked perfectly. A quality steak overall, but once again par for the decent steakhouse course. We did take the red wine butter that came on the steak and mixed it with the garlic mashed potatoes, which was amazing. I swear no one makes potatoes better than WDW restaurants.
Dessert was the Kahlua Cappucino Cheesecake and the Peach Blueberry Crisp, both of which were fabulous, but we were hard pressed to find room by this point to put it. The Cheescake came with a really nifty chocolate backdrop that sort of looked like the Contemporary resort on it. The food only cost us 2 TS credits. The waitress by the end of the meal was laughing along with us, and didn't seem to mind so much that she was still at work. Food - B+ Service - Started at C or below and worked its way to a B+
Okay this is getting too long as it is, I will write more later when I get the chance and I need to collect my receipts to see how much everything was.
Me (27 y.o. baby of the group and planner)
DSis (36 y.o. sister, cohort in initial planning)
DMiL (57 y.o. MiL, first vacation ever)
DMom (60 y.o. Mom, birthday girl, and reason for initial trip plan)
We stayed 6 nights at the Grand Floridian for our ultimate Princess Trip. I will expand more as I get a chance to write the trip report. This would have been up sooner, but I experienced some health problems upon returning.
Sept 11 - Garden View Lounge, Afternoon Tea
This was our first meal of the trip and would set many precedents for the trip. We all chose the Grand Tea and DSis also wanted to start with the Cheese Plate. The cheese plate was brought first and was absolutely delicious. While we were working on the cheese our waitress brought us our sparkling wine with a strawberry in the glass. Delicious and a wonderful compliment to the cheeses, my favorite had cranberries in it, though I can't remember the name.
Then our waitress brought our sandwiches. Pear and cheese, shrimp salad, egg salad, chicken salad, cucumber, an onion tart, and a small duck terrine. Everything was delicious, I found the onion tart to be too salty, and the duck terrine isn't my sort of thing, but was tasty. My hands down favorite was the pear and cheese.
After the sandwiches we were presented with a fresh scone and a raspberry jam tart, served with Devonshire cream. This was my favorite course, but I adore scones and Devonshire, so I may be biased. This Devonshire though was perfect, and the scone was served still warm.
After all this we still had the dessert course, they put a crown on my DMoms head, brought her a cupcake, and got the whole place to sing her Happy Birthday. She was on Cloud 9, and it was the most magical way to start this trip. My DMom then chose the Strawberries with Whipped Cream to go with her cupcake. DMiL chose the English Trifle, which I snuck a bite of and found to be out of this world. DSis and I chose small pastries, we each had a Swan filled with Strawberry Mousse, I had a Banana Cheesecake and she had a Chocolate Covered Strawberry.
All through the meal we enjoyed our teas, DMom with Raspberry, DSis with Chamomile, DMiL with Hot Cinnamon Spice, and Me with Peppermint. The only problem any of us had was the Hot Cinnamon Spice gets to syrupy towards the end of the meal from over-steeping. We were stuffed at the end of this and ready to be rolled out. Service - A Food - A
Sept 11 California Grill, Dinner
I made a late Priority Seating here, for about 9:20. We checked in at 8:45 and went upstairs and watched Wishes from the Observation Deck, which was a little crowded, but beautiful. Five minutes after Wishes our pager went off and we were seated. DSis started with a glass of white wine, DMiL tried her first ever Long Island Ice Tea, DMom went with a Fuzzy Navel, Me being the daring one had water with lemon.
For appetizers DMom had a Tomato Soup with Mini Artisanal Grilled Cheese. It was good, but nothing extraordinary. DSis ordered Unagi (Eel Sushi), she got 3 pieces so DMom and DMiL could each try a little bit and I got the rest of the 3rd piece. Probably the best sushi Ive ever had, and DSis who eats it a lot more than I do concurred. DMiL and Me decided to split the Flatbread with Roasted Chicken with grilled corn salsa, Fiscalini Farms cheddar cheese and chipotle aioli. It was amazing and I could have had this alone for my entrée and been happy. While reluctant to do so, DMiL and Me shared pieces with DSis and DMom, it was generally agreed to be the most unusual and delicious by all.
For entrees, DMom had the Halibut, which was quite tasty and probably the healthiest decision any of us made. DSis had the Veal Tournedoes with Ricotta Gnocchi, the veal was perfectly cooked, but the ricotta gnocchi was a bit strange on the palette. DMiL and Me both ordered the Oak Fired Beef Filet with Tamarind BBQ. The beef was tender enough for a butter knife to slice through it and was absolutely delicious. The 3-Cheese Potato Gratin was the perfect compliment to this already wonderful dish.
We got the Chocolate and Cherries for dessert and split it between the four of us. The gooey chocolate center and berry ice cream were both divine we all just wish we had more room. My DSis though could not pass up the Cheese Plate that was offered at California Grill and ordered one to go, which became a great late night snack later in the week. Service - B Food - A+++
September 12 Gasparilla Grill, Breakfast
I ran down to bring breakfast back to the room the first park day morning while everyone was getting ready. One bacon and egg croissant, three egg and cheese croissants, two giant bananas, three OJs, and a skim milk. It was solid fare, tasty enough, nothing extra special. Service there was fabulous. Service - A+ Food - B
September 12 Sunshine Seasons, Lunch
We were all a little hungry for lunch, but none of us were starving so we split a Rotisserie Chicken Flatbread, a Rotisserie Beef Flatbread, and a side of mashed potatoes between the 4 of us. It was very tasty and perfect for our midday hunger. It also wasnt too heavy, which became a very good thing later. DSis has always been reluctant to try CS at WDW since her trip in 1999 when all the CS she had was gross, but she said that its improved dramatically. Service - B Food - B+
September 12 Liberty Tree Tavern, Dinner
This meal was only DSis, DMom, and Me as DMiL wasnt feeling so hot after her ride on Mission Space. She went back to the room to lay down while we went to dinner. The food as always was pretty solid here. The flank steak and turkey being the best of the meats, but as always the real reason for coming here is the wonderful character interaction. I still enjoy the solid American fare here, but Im not sure this will remain a must do from trip to trip. DMiL joined us to watch Spectromagic later and had her dinner from the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor in the form of a Chocolate Sundae. She proclaimed it wonderful. Service - B Food - C+
September 13 - Cinderella's Royal Table, Breakfast
This morning we rechecked into the GF on the plan, and began free dining. I went and took care of these logistics while the rest of the crew got ready. We had gotten our golden ears the day before and wore them to breakfast. It was surprisingly easy to get into the park, and walking up main street with no one else around was magical. We checked in for our 8:05 ADR, right at 8:00 AM and were sent straight upstairs. It seemed we were one of the first parties seated that morning. Our waitress came by got our order for drinks, handed us the bread basket with muffins, danish, and assorted breakfast pastry. She also gave us a bowl of fruit salad, which was tasty, though not all of the fruit was as flavorful as I like. I let her know we were on the dining plan and she said to just give her the card at the end of the meal.
The service here was pretty basic, took drink orders, provided refills, brought food, checked once to make sure all okay, brought check. Nothing spectacular, but almost textbook exact. It was fine though because we were here for the princesses. We saw Belle, Mary Poppins, Snow White, Aurora, and Cinderella. They all signed my DMiL's autograph book, took pictures, oohed and aahed over our ears, and complimented us on leaving the princes at home.
We were each brought our own plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, and stuffed french toast. The eggs were basic, the bacon and sausage were tasty, but a little greasy. I loved the french toast, but I was stuffed by the time I finished the first plate as were we all. The breakfast cost 4 TS credits, and we headed downstairs at 8:55. We took a quick pic with Cruella DeVil who was in the lobby and headed out to the rope drop. Overall a wonderful experience, but I'll wait until I have my own princesses to do it again. Service - B Food - B+
September 13 - Cosmic Ray's, Lunch
Around 2 PM after finishing the vast majority of MK except Tomorrowland we realized we were hungry so we headed to my perennial favorite Cosmic Ray's. My DSis, DMiL, and Me headed for burgers, while DMom wandered off to find something healthier. My DSis and Me both got the Meteor meal, and loaded the burgers from the toppings bar, we also each got a carrot cake for dessert. DMiL went with the cheeseburger and a chocolate cake. We all got a bottle of water. 3 CS credits down and we're all ready to eat, but DMom is missing. I head off in search.
When I got to the sandwich and wraps counted she was just heading out with her tray full of food. A yummy turkey wrap, carrot cake, and bottle of water and the proudest look of triumph on her face I've seen in a long time. Quick note, my mother often gets intimidated by new situations, and despite my explanations on the dining plan was apparently still unsure of what to do. The great lady at the register saw her standing there clutching her card, staring at the menu with a look of utter frustration and took pity. My mom told her that her daughter said she had the dining plan, the lady at the register took over from there explaining it all to her. I thanked the lady at the register profusely and just wish I had caught her name. You really helped my mom out, and made her a little more confident with the plan the rest of the trip. So 4 CS credits later, a triumphant DMom, and four very full bellies and two untouched carrot cakes, and we were a happy crew. Food - B+ Service - A+++
September 13 - Concourse Steakhouse, Dinner
We decided around 6 PM that we needed a nap, so we moved our 8:10 ADR to 9:30, which was no problem. It also gave us more time to get hungry again. We were seated right away at 9:30 there were only about 5 or 6 tables with guests by that point. Our waitress at first seemed very put out by having to wait on us, and it only became worse when I explained we were on the dining plan. But four grown women wearing golden Mickey ears are just too much for anyone to keep up an attitude with. Also I think it helped that we started ordering drinks. We explained to her that we weren't sure if we would be able to eat 3 courses each and she suggested we split.
For starters we got the Honey Sesame Wings and the Cocktail Shrimp, which split perfectly between the four of us. The Wings were delicious, I love the sweetness of the glaze. But I am a shrimp junkie above all else and the shrimp were plump, fresh, and full of flavor. The cocktail sauce with them had a fabulous amount of horseradish. Sooo good.
For entrees, my DMom and DSis split the 14 oz. Oven Roasted Prime Rib, which was delivered a perfect Medium Rare. The waitress brought extra plates instead of having it be split in the kitchen. My DSis let me have a bite and it was good, but no better than Prime Rib I've had in a dozen other steakhouses. I wouldn't know if the potatoes it came with were any good because both DMom and DSis were threatening to stab anyone that came near them. So I'd say it would be a safe bet that they were yummy.
DMiL and Me split the 10 oz New York Strip, it was a good cut, cooked perfectly. A quality steak overall, but once again par for the decent steakhouse course. We did take the red wine butter that came on the steak and mixed it with the garlic mashed potatoes, which was amazing. I swear no one makes potatoes better than WDW restaurants.
Dessert was the Kahlua Cappucino Cheesecake and the Peach Blueberry Crisp, both of which were fabulous, but we were hard pressed to find room by this point to put it. The Cheescake came with a really nifty chocolate backdrop that sort of looked like the Contemporary resort on it. The food only cost us 2 TS credits. The waitress by the end of the meal was laughing along with us, and didn't seem to mind so much that she was still at work. Food - B+ Service - Started at C or below and worked its way to a B+
Okay this is getting too long as it is, I will write more later when I get the chance and I need to collect my receipts to see how much everything was.
We are all loving it! Your choices sound heavenly. Do you remember what the flavoring is like for your beef at the Cali Grill? I have never had tamarind sauce.
