Dining Wars: Drinking's Edge - An August 2018 Dining Report - Updated 2/18: Completed

[ncc1701]

One day Columbia Harbour House will have a New England beer or 2 ( or so I keep telling myself). The Chicken dish at Skipper's does look good, but I am not sure the menu would appeal enough to DH. Would have to be one of those last minute ADR after we have a chance to look over the current menu.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I can see you and she wandering world showcase now seeking out the sweetest drinks the Nations have to offer

This MUST happen. I'll take Casey and do that for a day and you can have a date day with the hubs. I make no promises how well she will sleep that night though

 

[MeghanEmily]

What did the rice use to be like? I have an odd fascination with plain steamed (preferably Jasmine or Basmati) rice. Whenever we get Chinese food Jason and Casey eat fried rice and I just want the plain steamed stuff out of the carton.

Hmmm...it's been long enough now, that I kind of forget exactly. It was more savoury/salty. And, like, cooked in some kind of stock/broth or something.

 

[buzzrelly]

Bellies full and vacation tipsiness started we decided to brave the scariest ride in Animal Kingdom.


The terror was real!

The margarita is Tequila with Strawberry and Blood Orange flavors topped with Strawberry Boba Balls and I did not like it at all. Sweet and frozen drinks are generally not my jam and this was sweet on sweet on sweet with some frozen topped with cheap tequila. No beuno Pandora: The World of Avatar. No bueno.

But of course I finished it anyway.

Of course you did! You wouldn't be able to show your face around here if you didn't

We were able to pick up a 4th fast pass for Casey’s favorite Dinosaur and no sooner had our vehicle taken off than the woman sitting next to J decided she didn’t want to ride and tried to jump off. Jump off!!!! Well this somehow shut down the whole – dang – ride – and she proceeded to cry hysterically that she didn’t mean to do it. The ride never came back up and we were “evacuated” the whole 2 feet back to the entrance.

What?? That's terrible!

At this point we were exhausted but we stopped for one last photo to commemorate J and D actually being in Disney World and the earth not simultaneously combusting.

Great pic!

From there we got our soak, I mean splash, on

Where is your poncho?? Don't worry, when we go in May, either Ariane or I will share ours with you!

After lunch we went on a trippy ride with Donald and looked for some dwarfs in them thar hills, before getting our space on. I skipped this as the heat was getting to me and thankfully I did or else we would have missed the Jason and Casey doppelgangers who rode along with J.


That’s some serious outer space trippiness right there.

What is happening?? That is so funny!!

 

[cadien]

We took a road trip this weekend and one gas station was selling Boozy Mango Swisher Sweets. Limited edition!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Thanks for cheering me up today with a little Mk tour
Laughing at the idea of beers for adults and cigars for kids!
Casey seems remarkably happy to have her own personal restaurant She really is a character (no idea who she could possibly take after).
I LOVE the idea of you guys employing body-doubles to distract us from the real you!

 

[Simba22]

We love Y & Y! It always makes me happy when other people love it too!

I am definitely one of those people that prefers super sweet and fruity drinks so I would probably love that margarita. Although I was not a fan of the margaritas at the booth in Mexico at Epcot - the alcohol flavor way overpowered the fruitiness and I couldn't handle it. I need to get sloshed without knowing I'm getting sloshed

Bummer that Skippers wasn't that great! I always want to try it but the menu never seems all that appealing to us so we never tried it. I so totally agree that MK food needs some severe help (along with DHS, but that's another story for another day ). We usually eat at CHH or just hop on the monorail and go over to The Poly because the food options are pretty sad in MK.

Can't wait for more!

 

[thumper*]

OMG Kari as I was going through all your quick pics before your lunch Bad Reputation by Joann Jet was playing and it worked great with your pics. It was almost like a slide show set to the song.

Gotta admit other than the beers Skippers Canteen looked disappointing.

Casey also got Schweitzer Slush which I for some reason, and much to the amusement of everyone else, ordered as a Swisher Sweet.

That’s some serious outer space trippiness right there.

 

[goofy78]

Wow! Doppelgänger!
That is so crazy! Loved your breakfast of champions although no alcohol?
I love Y&Y (can’t wait to go in May) and while we enjoyed Skipper Canteeen we might head to Casey’s restaurant in MK in May for lunch. Dying to get the fried green tomato sandwich which we got to get a taste of in DL a few years ago.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Yeah it was really disappointing, especially for that much money. But hey we got a cup out of it

Do you keep it with that glow cube you didn't want from Nomad lounge? It's strange too that they put it in the cup to keep. When it first opened they never had enough cups.

 

[kastoney]

You fool, you sat on the wrong (right) side of the log!!!

Stupid waterfall...

However, if we ever ride splash together please forget this comment

Is there really a wrong side of the log???? I had no idea

I am dead. Totally deceased. RIP Melinda.

Sending a fruit basket to R now

I laughed so hard I am surprised I didn't wake sleeping teacher husband up in the other room. WHAT did the skipper say? I can just picture it now. "I'll have the Michelob Ultra, and for the little lady we will have a swisher sweet" Plus you know they are used a lot for the partaking of certain herbal healing remedies...

Seriously can't stop laughing, this is even better than tipsy notes.

We had a very unenthusiastic skipper who just corrected me and moved out. Clearly she was in need of some healing herbal remedies herself.

Okay I sadly feel like $15 is par for the course at Disney for six dang shrimp but WHO ON EARTH thinks oh my shrimp appetizer will come in a souvenir mug? Someone who made the menu was using swisher sweets for the

The whole thing was odd. I get 6 shrimp from Disney but these were not large enough to only come 6 to a souvenir mug. But of course there was that randomness

That is too weird. Or is it that your reports have become so popular you have to travel with body doubles to distract the masses? QUICK, LOOK OVER THERE, A CHILD WITH SLUSHI AND A MAN POSING FOR ANKLE GLAMOUR SHOTS!

You found me out! I'm not that interesting but the throngs of fans chasing Casey and Jason has just gotten to be too much.

One day Columbia Harbour House will have a New England beer or 2 ( or so I keep telling myself). The Chicken dish at Skipper's does look good, but I am not sure the menu would appeal enough to DH. Would have to be one of those last minute ADR after we have a chance to look over the current menu.

It certainly seems like that isn't out of the realm of the possible these days.

I can certainly see how Skippers doesn't appear to everyone but honestly the "exotic" is so benign I think most could find something they like. I of course want them to dial up the exotic dial a bit.

This MUST happen. I'll take Casey and do that for a day and you can have a date day with the hubs. I make no promises how well she will sleep that night though

Is tomorrow too early?

Hmmm...it's been long enough now, that I kind of forget exactly. It was more savoury/salty. And, like, cooked in some kind of stock/broth or something.

I'm sure that was the exact description on the menu

Of course you did! You wouldn't be able to show your face around here if you didn't

While I've certainly met plenty of drinks I didn't like, I don't think I've ever found one that I couldn't finish

Where is your poncho?? Don't worry, when we go in May, either Ariane or I will share ours with you!

You two can have the ponchos all to yourself! My hair in Florida is usually so bad a little water may actually help

What is happening?? That is so funny!!

Crazy, huh???

 

[MeghanEmily]

I'm sure that was the exact description on the menu

And this is why I don't write dining reports.

 

[kastoney]

We took a road trip this weekend and one gas station was selling Boozy Mango Swisher Sweets. Limited edition!

That sounds disgusting!!! And amazing!!!!! Booze and a cigar? I'm so confused

Thanks for cheering me up today with a little Mk tour
Laughing at the idea of beers for adults and cigars for kids!
Casey seems remarkably happy to have her own personal restaurant She really is a character (no idea who she could possibly take after).
I LOVE the idea of you guys employing body-doubles to distract us from the real you!

Glad I could send a little bit of cheer across the pond!

I have no idea where Casey gets it either. We're such a conservative family, especially her father, she really doesn't fit in Maybe she should go live with the doppelgänger family

I am definitely one of those people that prefers super sweet and fruity drinks so I would probably love that margarita. Although I was not a fan of the margaritas at the booth in Mexico at Epcot - the alcohol flavor way overpowered the fruitiness and I couldn't handle it. I need to get sloshed without knowing I'm getting sloshed

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you are right. I think I would have been happier of the alcohol overpowered the sweet

Bummer that Skippers wasn't that great! I always want to try it but the menu never seems all that appealing to us so we never tried it. I so totally agree that MK food needs some severe help (along with DHS, but that's another story for another day ). We usually eat at CHH or just hop on the monorail and go over to The Poly because the food options are pretty sad in MK.

As far as table service goes I think MGM is actually ahead of MK. We were excited when Skippers opened but it definitely seems to have gone downhill. Think we'll have to leave on a future trip too.

OMG Kari as I was going through all your quick pics before your lunch Bad Reputation by Joann Jet was playing and it worked great with your pics. It was almost like a slide show set to the song.

That is perfect!!! I do a video of all of our adventures at the end of every year. May have to see if I can work a little Bad Reputation into the 2018 version.

Wow! Doppelgänger!
That is so crazy! Loved your breakfast of champions although no alcohol?
I love Y&Y (can’t wait to go in May) and while we enjoyed Skipper Canteeen we might head to Casey’s restaurant in MK in May for lunch. Dying to get the fried green tomato sandwich which we got to get a taste of in DL a few years ago.

Yes, breakfast would have been oh so much better with alcohol! I'll make up for it the next day when we start drinking margaritas on an empty stomach before noon

I had no idea Casey's had a fried green tomato sandwich!!! That sounds right up my alley and better than Skippers.

Do you keep it with that glow cube you didn't want from Nomad lounge? It's strange too that they put it in the cup to keep. When it first opened they never had enough cups.

Oh I could have a whole collection of needless things Disney gives you to get you to pay more Oddly I have no idea where the mug is. We may have left it at the hotel

 

[ariane37]

Ooh, yeah Skippers doesn't look as good as it usually does. At least your eats at AK the day before impressed your non-Disney loving trip partners in crime!

We decided to head out from there but not before Casey (and her adolescent father) got a picture with “her” restaurant.

THIS needs to be your Xmas card Does Jason have a Linkd In account? His own FB account? Because it also needs to be his profile pic if he does
Can you let your child eat there please???? The fake plastic cheese sauce is SO good on the fries...................

Where is your poncho?? Don't worry, when we go in May, either Ariane or I will share ours with you!

Um, speak for yourself @buzzrelly, I need all the poncho I can get to fit over my massive head!

 

[suse66]

I have been a bad Dis'er and am way behind on your report! Too much time over on the Trip Reports board!

Thankfully sitting in the bottom of a tree with a bunch of bugs was enough to appease her and before noon I was in my most favorite hidden base, Nomad’s Lounge, with a drink in my hand and all was right with the world.

Nomad is the perfect place!

Meet my most favourite (shout out to my Canadian peeps) and simply the best drink in Disney World. This is Bombay Sapphire East Gin, Passion Fruit Purée, Mint, Simple Syrup, and Lime Juice topped with Ginger Beer. Slightly tart from the passion fruit, nice and fizzy from the ginger beer, and most importantly good and ginny this was the perfect start to my vacation.

One of your Canadian peeps appreciates seeing the correct spelling... Love this drink as well!

This comes with three types of bread – not recalling what they are we’ll just call them flatty, crispy, and fluffy – and 3 dipping sauces, Tadka (an Indian spiced tomato chutney), Smoked Baba Ghanoush (Eggplant), and Blatjang (Apricot Chutney). We had never had this before and, while no Sanaa bread service, it was still exceptional. “Crispy” bread was my favorite (sorry flatty you made a good run at it) as it was light and airy as was the baba ghanoush but I love all things eggplant. Both the chutneys were great as well as they mixed with some familiar ingredients with more exotic spices.

Best bread description ever.... flatty, crispy and fluffy...lol!

She’d gotten these fancy churros on our last trip to Nomads and made it known she wasn’t leaving without more.

These look delicious!

The boys got the Mo'ara High Country Ale and us girls went with the Mo’ara Margarita. The margarita is Tequila with Strawberry and Blood Orange flavors topped with Strawberry Boba Balls and I did not like it at all. Sweet and frozen drinks are generally not my jam and this was sweet on sweet on sweet with some frozen topped with cheap tequila. No beuno Pandora: The World of Avatar. No bueno.

But of course I finished it anyway.

Sweet and frozen is however Casey’s vibe as she loved what appeared to be the non alcoholic version of my margarita.

I can't do sweet drinks either....what is it with Disney and their sweet, fruity drinks??? A little complexity and balanced flavours is a good thing.

We were able to pick up a 4th fast pass for Casey’s favorite Dinosaur and no sooner had our vehicle taken off than the woman sitting next to J decided she didn’t want to ride and tried to jump off. Jump off!!!!

What????? Some people are too much!

We decided to split several items again instead of getting individual entrees. First up we have the Pork Egg Rolls with a chili plum dipping sauce.

These look yummo!

We also go the Dim Sum Basket with Pork pot stickers, shrimp siu mai, cha su bao and pork siu mai steamed with soy lime dipping sauce.

Too bad the filling/dough ratio was off.

I’ll spare you the adjectives since I’ve oohed and ahhed over this for years but just take it from me these are CrunchySpicyTunaWontonPerfection (trademark pending)

My DH would LOVE these. If I could get over my aversion to tuna I would try them for sure.

To keep the trend going we figured some Dole Whip was in order.

Is that upside down cake not the best thing ever???

Before too long our adult cravings were met with a round of Michelob Ultra’s for the girls and some Kungaloosh Spiced Excursion Ale for the boys.

Beer makes everything better!

We also got the Orinoco Ida's Cachapas with House-made Corn Pancakes, Mojo-braised Pork, Black Bean Salad, and Avocado Cream

This looks awesome!

Unfortunately the Perkins Thai Noodles where not as good. They are described as
Chicken, Tofu, Seasonal Vegetables, and Rice Noodles tossed in a Spicy Soy-Chili Garlic Sauce and a “favorite of our friend Pamelia Perkins, President of the Adventurers Club.” Well Pamelia needs to stop putting unnecessary vowels in her name and start traveling because thai noodles these are not. The noodles themselves were undercooked and the soy-chili-garlic sauce appeared to be a broth made of about 90% soy sauce. Someone liked them though.

They look good, too bad they were so disappointing.

 

[kastoney]

Ooh, yeah Skippers doesn't look as good as it usually does. At least your eats at AK the day before impressed your non-Disney loving trip partners in crime!

I think on the whole they were happy with everything we ate and I must say most of it was better than we got in Savannah

THIS needs to be your Xmas card Does Jason have a Linkd In account? His own FB account? Because it also needs to be his profile pic if he does
Can you let your child eat there please???? The fake plastic cheese sauce is SO good on the fries...................

It will certainly in the running. Sadly Jason and social media don't largely get alone. He does have a Facebook account but I don't think he has checked it in at least 5 years. This is his picture though.

Gonna be hard to pull him away from this one.

One of your Canadian peeps appreciates seeing the correct spelling... Love this drink as well!

You aure moust welcoume

Best bread description ever.... flatty, crispy and fluffy...lol!

This is why I'm such a good dining reporter. Quality descriptions right there.

I can't do sweet drinks either....what is it with Disney and their sweet, fruity drinks??? A little complexity and balanced flavours is a good thing.

THANK YOU!!!!! I don't know but they need to tone down the booze and up the alcohol quotient. #BalancedFlavoursPlease

Is that upside down cake not the best thing ever???

It really is. If only I could eat it for breakfast everyday

They look good, too bad they were so disappointing.

They did look ok, but sadly were just not good. Skippers should leave the thai to the thai folk

 

[kastoney]

Episode IV: Pre-Birthday Wars: Tipsy’s Edge

After our adventurous day in Magic Kingdom we headed back to Boardwalk for a break. The boys napped and drank a few beers (not in that order) while us women folk visited the Creepy Clown Pool.


We also stopped by the Boardwalk Bakery to pick up some coffee for the aforementioned napping boys and some sweets for us.

Casey got the mermaid cupcake which she said tasted like old freezer. Gonna go out on a limb and say that was not the flavor profile they were going for. I also got a cheesecake brownie that Jason thought was for him and ate while I was in the shower. #AnotherBirthdayWin

After snacks and cleaning up our plan was to head to Disney Springs for some bar hopping. Unfortunately it was pouring rain so we enjoyed a few adult beverages in the room while we contemplated our options. There weren’t too many ADRs for 5 open so we decided to chance it and head to Animal Kingdom Lodge to see what trouble we could find.

Sadly, after first stopping at Kidani, the Sanna lounge was packed but thankfully after a quick bus ride we found an empty Jiko lounge to spend our evening in.


We started with a bottle of Guillermo Swartland Pinotage

And toasted my last night of 43


This was one of several bottles we went through over the course of the evening and things (or at least my notes) went downhill from there. Thankfully Casey had seen this rodeo before and came prepared with her electronics.


For eats we started with the Elk Flabtread which the menu describes as Elk Loin, Harissa-infused Goat Cheese, and Olive-Arugula Salad.

My tipsy notes however had a different take. “Elk flatbread awesome elk nog dry spicy good pears goat cheese crunky arugula.” Translation: We liked it.

We also ordered their other seasonal flatbread the South African Succotash Flatbread with Corn Salad, Patty Pan Squash, Toy Tomatoes, Fava Bean Puree, and Four Cheese Blend.

Or you could go with my tipsy notes description: “No bueno stink cheese Jason smells drity feet. No corn but like peter pan.” Translation: It smelled like dirty feet but we liked the paddy pan squash.

Next up we have the Pork Tenderloin with Mealie Pap, Chakalaka, Herb-smoked Oil, and Micro Cilantro

Clearly they should instead change their menu to say “Cooked pinky n juicy. Love PAP!!!! Tomata spicey chaka.”

Oddly all of this was not food for 4 adults downing a few bottles of wine so bring on round two.

Here we have the Taste of Africa with African-inspired Dips (Red Sambal, Hummus, Mango Chutney and Raita), Pappadum, Sesame Fatir, and House-made Flax Seed Naan.

I’m going to go with we liked it because “Love warm Egypt amazing rival Sanna naan naan but do not flax just plane crunch. Live sambal most hummus nned more olive mango chuty nice good thick cuc stuff.”

Lastly we have a charcuterie plate and God only knows what was on this because….

“Packing on meat side Smoked prociuto and salami mustard more stink casey spit but berry sauce eat honeycomb and one with stachios like stinky best” Translation: There was some prosciutto and salami and more stinky cheese that I believe Casey spit out.

You’ll be shocked to know I didn’t write down how much we saved with Tables in Wonderland. Hopefully we actually used it.

We eventually uber’d back to Boardwalk and put Casey to bed before a night cap in J and D’s room. They were kind enough to pack my favorite tipsy foods – Chex mix and Potato Chips – so we did some serious damage before succumbing to bed.


Up next, tipsy birthday around the world!!​

 

[ariane37]

I......don't even know what to quote here except that I'm not jealous of the smells going on at Jiko that night But it definitely appears you all had an awesome time!

Casey got the mermaid cupcake which she said tasted like old freezer.

Fantastic. She should have gotten some BW pizza window pizza first.

And toasted my last night of 43

Ah, I remember 43. Not saying how long ago it was for me!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

My tipsy notes however had a different take. “Elk flatbread awesome elk nog dry spicy good pears goat cheese crunky arugula.” Translation: We liked it.

I have never had Elk before. That looks really good.

Or you could go with my tipsy notes description: “No bueno stink cheese Jason smells drity feet. No corn but like peter pan.” Translation: It smelled like dirty feet but we liked the paddy pan squash.

Man, that is NOT a good review of that one. Dirty Feet should never be in teh description.

Next up we have the Pork Tenderloin with Mealie Pap, Chakalaka, Herb-smoked Oil, and Micro Cilantro

That is looking amazing.

I always am amazed by Casey. My girls would not have survived your evening. I clearly didn't train them properly.

 

[m3owbox]

Your drunk notes are hilarious!