Disney first-timer's dining review! UPDATE Pizzafari

[MyTwoPrincesses]

Hi, I'm "Belle." I planned an awesome trip to the World with a lot of help from the DIS. I would like to do my part and let you know what we ate around the world this week during my first trip to WDW since 1989.

I am going by Belle in this review. I'm 31 (I celebrated my birthday at WDW ). If you do the math I was 10 during my first and only trip to WDW. I am not a picky eater. I love fish and seafood, spicy food, ethnic food - pretty much anything but pork products, cold sandwiches, and sweet main dishes.

My DH, Grumpy, is 35 and it was his first ever trip to WDW. He had no desire to go to WDW , but I made him go and he had a pretty good time - especially eating! DH loves fine dining but is not a picky eater at all.

Our two daughters, also Disney first-timers, traveled with us.

Cinderella is 4 (almost 5). She isn't big on kid food - her favorite food is the Quesadilla followed closely by most soups. She doesn't care for chicken nuggets or mac and cheese, but thankfully likes pizza. We have a Peruvian nanny so she is used to different flavors.

Minnie is 3. Unlike Cinderella, she loves kid foods - her #1 favorite meal is mac and cheese.

We had the dining plan for 6 nights. During our trip we ate at:

Pepper Market (x2)
Casey's
Akershus (breakfast)
Biergarten
Columbia Harbour House
The Wave
Pizzafari
Sanaa
Sci Fi
Coral Reef
Rose and Crown
Pecos Bills
Lunching Pad

I can't remember all of our snack credits - we had 2 left over. We mostly got water, but got pocorn at Epcot and I got a Dole Whip Float (today!). The kids got pink vanilla ice cream at Aloha Isle too. Oh and the kids got giant ice cream scoops in waffle cone bowls (with mickey sprinkles!) at the Fountainview in Epcot.

Reviews will start in my next post. Sorry no pics.

EDIT: We also ate at Main Street Bakery and I had an appetizer, dessert and drinks at Raglan Road. I forgot about that last night.

 

[KatMark]

Hi, I'm "Belle." I planned an awesome trip to the World with a lot of help from the DIS. I would like to do my part and let you know what we ate around the world this week during my first trip to WDW since 1989.

I am going by Belle in this review. I'm 31 (I celebrated my birthday at WDW ). If you do the math I was 10 during my first and only trip to WDW. I am not a picky eater. I love fish and seafood, spicy food, ethnic food - pretty much anything but pork products, cold sandwiches, and sweet main dishes.

My DH, Grumpy, is 35 and it was his first ever trip to WDW. He had no desire to go to WDW , but I made him go and he had a pretty good time - especially eating! DH loves fine dining but is not a picky eater at all.

Our two daughters, also Disney first-timers, traveled with us.

Cinderella is 4 (almost 5). She isn't big on kid food - her favorite food is the Quesadilla followed closely by most soups. She doesn't care for chicken nuggets or mac and cheese, but thankfully likes pizza. We have a Peruvian nanny so she is used to different flavors.

Minnie is 3. Unlike Cinderella, she loves kid foods - her #1 favorite meal is mac and cheese.

We had the dining plan for 6 nights. During our trip we ate at:

Pepper Market (x2)
Casey's
Akershus (breakfast)
Biergarten
Columbia Harbour House
The Wave
Pizzafari
Sanaa
Sci Fi
Coral Reef
Rose and Crown
Pecos Bills
Lunching Pad

I can't remember all of our snack credits - we had 2 left over. We mostly got water, but got pocorn at Epcot and I got a Dole Whip Float (today!). The kids got pink vanilla ice cream at Aloha Isle too. Oh and the kids got giant ice cream scoops in waffle cone bowls (with mickey sprinkles!) at the Fountainview in Epcot.

Reviews will start in my next post. Sorry no pics.

I'm here...bring on the reviews.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

After a 2 hour flight and a ride on the Magical Express , we checked in to CSR and headed to the Pepper Market for an arrival day lunch.

Grumpy and I both had the cheese steak sandwiches with french fries. I liked mine. The bread was soft on the outside, toasted on the inside with garlic butter flavoring. The cheese steak had just steak and cheese. I didn't notice any peppers or onions, which was fine by me as I don't care for the pepper. It wasn't amazing, but it hit the spot. It came with a ton of fries too. Overall it was a large portion.

DH added lettuce and tomato to his and he didn't like his at all. After this lunch, he really did not want to return to Pepper Market.

Cinderella got the kids pizza. It came with chips and a cookie. I think she got apple juice in a juice box as her drink. The pizza didn't look very good too me - it looked kind of pale. But she liked it and ate a good amount of it.

Minnie got the Mac and Cheese. It also came with chips and a cookie. It was a good sized portion of mac and cheese and Minnie ate most of it. Unlike most mac and cheese, the noodles were penne and not macaroni noodles.

Both girls enjoyed their lunch and mine was pretty good. As I said, DH hated his food. As for dessert, I don't think DH got any. I got a cheese danish with the intent of eating it for breakfast the next day, but I forgot it at the Pepper Market and never tasted it.

----

After Pepper Market, we headed to the Park. While waiting for Spectro to start, we had Casey's.

DH and I had hot dog meals and the kids had corn dog nuggets. The hot dogs were ok. We are a hebrew national family, and I found these hot dogs to be a bit bland. The texture was off too. They were edible though and were fine, but I wouldn't rush back to get some more. I didn't taste the corn dog nuggets. Cinderella liked them, Minnie hated them. DH thought they were good.

The hot dogs were a good size and I was still full from lunch. I ate my hot dog, but barely touched the fries. All of our meals came with a lot of fries. They also came with dessert. We got two bags of cracker jacks (one of which we never ate, the other was eaten a few days later) and two brownies. I ate the brownie (in a package) a few days later for breakfast. It was pretty good - nice and moist. The second brownie was never eaten.

The dining plan also includes HUGE drinks. We ended up getting two large (HUGE) sodas and two bottles of water for later. I can barely drink 1/4 of the dining plan sized sodas so sharing the sodas and getting water for later was a good move.

Casey's was good. I would definitely eat there again when waiting for a parade, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there if you know what I mean!

Next up: Akershus and Biergarten!

 

[danielle.st]

great review so far!

 

[2Tiggies]

Looking forward to the next part

 

[Linda67]

great reviews, can't wait to hear more

 

[leeann32]

Great job! Cant wait for more reviews

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

November 12 was our first full day at Disney and we headed to Epcot. We got to the park about 45 minutes in advance of our 10:35 breakfast reservation. We first went to Soarin and got fastpasses. Then we walked over to Norway. At this point it was abut 10:00 or 10:05. When I went to check in, I was told that it was too early so we went into the little store across from the restaurant and purchased a tiara to match Cinderella's sleeping beauty dress and a Cinderella plush doll for Minnie.

At that point I went to check in again and this time, the hostess took our information. It was chilly and drizzling on and off, so we were in and out of the shop. I was nervous that the wait would be really long based on warnings on the DIS about late breakfast reservations. However, around the time of our reservation (I think it was 10:40) our name was called. We waited in another line for pictures with Belle. That line was a bit slow and was unfortunately outdoors for the most part.

After our picture with Belle, we were seated. Then, the chef came to chat with us about allergies. Cinderella is allergic to strawberries and we were told that the Cherry Danishes have strawberry in them. Who knew! We also requested that pork products be brought on a separate plate and I also asked the chef to cook our eggs until they were dry. I hate runny eggs.

We also ordered drinks. The girls got apple juice. DH and I got coffee. The coffee was very weak. It was the worst part of the meal. We went to the buffet and got assorted pastries and fruit. Cinderella loved the lingonberry muffin. I ate a bagel with smoked salmon. That was good. I am a bagel snob (I'm originally from NY) so the bagel was just ok, but the herb cream cheese and smoked salmon made up for the lakluster bagel. DH skipped the fish products but ate a cheese danish and liked it.

Around the time we returned from the buffet, our plate of eggs and cheesy potatoes arrived. As requested, the bacon and sausage was on a separate plate. Servings for the meats were very generous.

The eggs were good. They weren't too runny. The cheesy potatoes were fantastic, as reported by others. DH and I wolfed those down. Minnie loved them too. I think they reminded her of mac and cheese. We requested a refill of both the eggs and potatoes. This time the eggs were too runny. However, I used it as an excuse to eat extra potatoes.

All in all, the food was great. Once we were done eating, the princesses came around. We saw Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, and Aurora. They moved rather quickly and said a few words to the girls before pictures were taken. I actually found it a bit rushed and was disappointed with the character interaction. This isn't to say that the Princesses weren't sweet, but we had better interactions with Snow White and Belle in the world showcase and Ariel in the Grotto. I just thought that at the meal we'd get more one on one time compared to waiting in line to see the princesses, which wasn't the case. Nonetheless, we were glad we did the breakfast as it was a good way to see some princesses and get that over with (the girls were VERY eager to see them). We'd definitely do Akershus again - the food was delicious - and hope for less rushed princess interaction next time.

Breakfast lasted about 45 minutes to an hour. After breakfast the world showcase was empty and we walked on to Maelstrom and the Mexico boat ride .

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

On 11/12, after a day in Futureworld we headed to Germany for our 6:45 reservation at Biergarten. This was a cold day, so we ended up NOT doing much in World Showcase this day. But by the evening we were ready to head back around the lagoon for dinner.

We were a bit early for our reservation. I checked in and got a pager. DH procured a beer (sorry, I can't remember the name of it but it was yummy). We had just enough time to finish our beers while sitting by the fountain in the Germany pavilion when our buzzer went off.

We were seated with another family at a table right on the dance floor. The location was FANTASTIC as Minnie and Cinderella immediately wanted to dance. The band wasn't playing yet, but the restaurant pipes in German music so the kids were able to dance at all times! The chef came to talk to us about allergies and we ordered drinks. DH got a HUGE mug of beer (there are two sizes - normal and HUGE) and I got a beer sampler. Then, DH and I took turns going to the buffet. The kids both enjoyed the potato soup. I brought roasted chicken, spaetzel, and chicken schnitzel for the girls. Cinderella also nibbled on a veal sausage. But they were mostly focused on the dancing. Because right then the band came out, the dance floor filled up, and they had a BLAST. I can't remember what I ate, but I got a lot of food and seconds. I know for sure that I ate pretzel bread, chicken schnitzel, veal sausage, beef brisket, sauerbraten, spaetzel, potato dumplings, and potato soup. The food was good, not amazing, but good. My favorites were the spaetzel, soup and pretzel bread. It went well with the beer and I liked the variety. DH enjoyed his meal too. He got many of the same things as me plus some pork sausage.

We ended up finishing our beers and watching the girls dance. As we were about to leave, the band came out again, so we watched the show again. The second show was a bit different than the first - we liked it even more, as they played the cowbells and this long alpine horn. They didn't do either of these things during the first show.

Biergarten was one of our favorite meals. It wasn't the best meal of our trip food-wise, but it was so much fun. The atmosphere in the restaurant is great and relaxed and we would not hesitate to return.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Thanks for the Akershus review. I was wondering which princesses had been seen there lately. We are dining there on 11/28.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

First, I wanted to add a quicky review of the Fountainview Ice Cream parlour, located by the Epcot Character spot. We stopped there on 11/12, our big eating day, in the afternoon for a snack. Cinderella really wanted an ice cream sandwich, but these are NOT available with snack credits. Both Minnie and Cinderella ended up getting one scoop of vanilla ice cream. The ice cream was Edy's and obviously tasty. It was served in a large waffle cone bowl and the scoop size was very large. In my opinion, two scoops would be too much. They also got it with mickey sprinkles. The ice cream was a big hit with the girls. DH and I got water. My only gripe was that service was slow. I wanted an extra cup for the water and it took a while to get the girl behind the counter's attention.

--

On to 11/13... My birthday!!!

We started the day with cereal bars in our room and then went to MK. We had lunch at Columbia Harbour House.

I had the fish and chips. They were a bit greasy, but fresh and tasty. I'd definitely get them again. The batter was flavorful and the portion was sizeable. The fries were good too - nice and crispy and salty, just like I like them! (Overall, I enjoyed Disney fries). For dessert I got the chocolate cake. I did not really like the cake. It was too sweet for me. Minnie enjoyed it however and ate almost the entire thing.

Grumpy got the chicken/fish and chips combo. Like my meal it was a bit greasy. He liked it and ate the whole thing. I think he would have preferred something less greasy because he is trying to eat more healthily - I thought he would get the hummus sandwich - but he didn't notice it on the menu and picked the chicken/fish combo instead. For dessert he got the apple tart and enjoyed it. He finished it. As you can see, although he's trying to eat healthily, he isn't trying TOO hard.

Minnie got the kids mac and cheese which she adored. This came with carrot sticks (DH didn't know you can sub for fries) and grapes (DH didn't know you can sub for a cookie). As usual, she loved the Mac and Cheese. She did not touch the carrot sticks. I saved the grapes for later, but we didn't eat them. As noted, she polished off my chocolate cake instead.

Cinderella got the chicken nuggets. If you recall my intro, Cinderella does not like chicken nuggets. But she despises mac and cheese and fish, so chicken nuggets were the best choice for her. Luckily she enjoyed these nuggets. I got her some ranch dressing from the cutlery and condiment area and she enjoyed dipping her nuggets in the ranch. She ate all of the nuggets and she ate her grapes as well. She ate a few of her baby carrots, but like her mommy, she isn't the biggest carrot fan.


Columbia Harbour House was tasty. We enjoyed our meals very much and would eat here again. The kids and DH liked it too. This was one of the better counter service meals of the week, although not our favorite however!

 

[disnut1149]

Hi
Great reviews!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

On 11/13, the Magic Kingdom was scheduled to close at 7. We had a 6:55 dinner reservation at The Wave and we headed over to the Contemporary Resort at 6:30. We checked in about 15 minutes before our reservation and were seated immediately.

The Wave is a very nice restaurant and has a luxe feel. The decor was elegant, but we were not the only ones with little kids. Grumpy was very happy with the environment when we were seated and commented that he could not imagine that the Signature restaurants are nicer.

Grumpy ordered an organic beer from the menu and I ordered the chardonnay flight. The wines were very tasty and DH enjoyed his beer. I think he got the pale ale. We also started with a very delicious multigrain bread with soft butter topped with rock salt. Grumpy and I ate two peices each.

We also ordered the lump crab cake as an appetizer. This was delicious! It had nice chunks of crab meat and very little filler. The crab cake was a nice size. My only complaint here is that we just started on the crab cake when our entrees arrived.

As for our entrees, Grumpy got the sustainable fish with the corn and edameme stew. The sustainable fish was sea bass. This dish was delicious. I sampled more than a few bites and really enjoyed the flavor combination. The serving size was plentiful too.

I ordered the linguini in chunky tomato broth. Instead of clams I asked for only rock shrimp. The dish was also a good size and loaded with shrimp. I could not finish it. Grumpy enjoyed it as well.

For their "starter" Minne and Cinderella shared a chocolate milkshake with me. At The Wave, milkshakes count under the meal plan as a drink. We all enjoyed this! Cinderella and Minnie both got pizza with mixed fruit. Cinderella seemed to enjoy her pizza and fruit. She finished about half of it. Minnie barely touched her pizza. Instead, she was very naughty this evening and had to be taken out of the restaurant twice for time outs. The waitress and Wave staff were very non-chalant about this. When we apologized, they said that it's Disney and they are very happy to have kids, even naughty ones, in the restaurant.

Because it was my birthday, the staff brought me a balloon bouquet. This calmed Minnie down (she was hyper). They also brought me the creamy indulgence with a candle. The creamy indulgence is the signature dessert sampler and includes Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis, Coconut Panna Cotta with Passion Fruit Drizzle, or Chocolate-Passion Fruit Mousse with Pecan-Olive Brittle. All three of the desserts were rich and tasty. My favorite was the cheesecake , but they were all good. Grumpy shared this with me and did not order dessert as he was stuffed from dinner.

Cinderella and Minnie both had the create your own sundaes. This was the first time they ate this at Disney and they were both very pleased with their selection.

The Wave was my favorite Table Service meal on the trip in terms of the food. Everything was delicious! It also seems like a nice, relaxing place to eat. I would have had a better time had Minnie behaved herself, but that was obviously not the restaurant's fault. Generally Minnie is very reserved and calm, but a full day at MK left her a bit over-stimulated.

 

[natalielongstaff]

great reviews so far

 

[sherry]

I am enjoying your reviews. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Belle5]

Thanks for your reviews! I enjoyed reading about your experience at the Wave and am looking forward to your review of Sanaa!

 

[2Tiggies]

I am loving the detail you put into your reviews. Really great!

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

On Saturday, 11/14 we headed to Animal Kingdom. We got there on the late side - at about 10:45. After getting our bearings (and our safari fastpasses), we headed over to Pizzafari for lunch.

Grumpy and I each got the chicken caesar salads with Diet Cokes. Grumpy got an extra water in lieu of dessert. I got the mousse parfait. Grumpy enjoyed his salad, commenting that it was very tasty. He ate the entire thing. I, on the other hand, didn't care for the salad. In my opinion, the dressing had an odd, garlicky flavor and the chicken tasted like pre-packaged chicken strips and not fresh grilled chicken. The texture was kind of rubbery. That said, I didn't regret choosing the salad, as I am sure that I would have hated the pizza. As a native New Yorker, I am extremely picky about pizza and I did not think that the Pizzafari pizza would have satisfied me.

The mousse was the best part of the meal. It was very rich - I only had a few bites, but Minnie ate a lot of it.

Cinderella and Minnie both got cheese pizza kids meals. They got double cookies as we do not enjoy baby carrots. Minnie also dislikes grapes and Cinderella is lukewarm on them. The kids got sprites. At Pizzafari, they do not put covers on the soft drinks. Had I known this I would have ordered apple juice for the kids. Almost immediately after sitting down, Cinderella knocked over her entire sprite (which hey filled to the top!), flooding her pizza. Luckily some CMs saw this happen and they gave us a fresh pizza and drink after helping mop up the mess. The kids nibbled at their pizzas but I don't think they liked them all that much.

Overall I was not a fan of Pizzafari. I thought the food was sub-par.