DlxDP w/ CL Kicked Our Butts! See us expand before your eyes! 1/19 All Finished!

[HerBoudoir]

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Great reviews!

 

[emmysmommy]

I will jump on the band wagon and say I wasn't impressed with California Grill at all. That is one I will not be returning too.

I love your report so far!

Thanks! And thanks for joining. I would go back to Cali Grill but definitely order something else. I'm hopeful that I just made some not so great choices this time.

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Great reviews!

Well then... more to follow just for you!

 

[emmysmommy]

Sun. 8/22/10: DHS Day

We had a 12:15 ADR for 50s Prime Time Café. I had booked this primarily for the fun antics and shenanigans. Heck, why not enjoy some comfort food with "family". The servers are your "cousin" or "aunt" and the entire dining experience is interactive. Meaning if there is a birthday, you ALL sing happy birthday to the guest. If there is someone who didn't finish their meal, you all participate in chastising them and making them feel silly!!

We checked in about 15 minutes early and were told to wait for our name would be called which would be another 10 -15 minutes. I really wish that they would make me wait for once!!! I didn’t have enough time to take that many photos of the lobby area and the kitchen before we were called to our table. We did have a Cast Member take our photo but gosh darn it – if you ask me to wait then let me w-a-i-t.

So we were seated in Cousin Carol’s kitchen and she immediately had us set the table. I love the theming of this restaurant since I’m a big fan of I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, and Leave it to Beaver. (Not that I was alive then... just to clarify!!)

We were asked if we were on the dining plan - as did almost all of the wait staff at all of our table service meals. I know they were being very clear for the various dining plans what was included. A few times they assumed we had the regular dining plan and did not offer an appetizer. Since I knew they were included it was no big deal.

This was one of the few times during our trip, Em ordered something other than water for her beverage. She had a mega-berry smoothie. It seemed to satisfy her smoothie craving!

For our appetizers Em ordered the chicken noodle soup (pretty good according to her) and I had Aunt Amy’s iceberg wedge salad with bleu cheese, bacon and chive. My salad was HUGE! It was also very delicious! There was a lot of bleu cheese on the salad - in fact there was a puddle of dressing on the plate - but maybe that is what made it so yummy!

The appetizers were better than I expected so we were off to a great start.


Now on to the entrees…. I couldn’t decide between the fried chicken, the pot pie and the meatloaf. In the end I went with the meatloaf since it sounded good and I figured how bad could it be? Well….it wasn’t horrible and it wasn’t great – it was somewhere between those. It was served with green beans which I really liked – yum – as well as mashed potatoes which were not amazing but for some reason I couldn’t stop eating them! They even had brown gravy on them and I never eat gravy. They must have had some magical powers because I‘m not sure why I couldn’t put the brakes on spooning them into my pie hole.

Em had Mom’s Old Fashioned Pot Roast. I know she compared it to the pot roast at LTT and thought that one was better than 50s PT. The veggies for this pot roast version was more diced than the big chunky version at LTT. Anyhoo…. It was nourishment and we were not disgusted with anything that we put in our mouths so it was all good.

In order to make room for dessert that typically means that you don’t eat everything on your plate. Lucky for me the things left on my plate were some green beans and a tiny square of meatloaf. Aunt Carol would have none of that - not eating all of your veggies and wanting dessert. She announced that mom ordered dessert and didn’t eat all of her veggies. The dining room joined her in airplane noises while she shoveled one last bite of green beans into my mouth. Likewise, Em didn’t finish all of her meal so she got the choo-choo train treatment. Everyone pounded the table and chanted chug-chug-chug while the train brought the veggies to the station (aka: mouth). We saw this repeated numerous times and everyone had a great time joining the fun.

So back to dessert, I ordered the Boston cream cup-cake and Em ordered an ice-cream sundae. My cupcake was awesome!!! It had a chocolate glaze with white and milk chocolate curls and a pastry cream filling. Did I say this was awesome - I meant INCREDIBLE. And it didn't taste like a stale bakery item that is mass produced. It was moist and fresh tasting.

Awesome cupcake view 1:

Awesome cupcake view 2:

Awesome cupcake view 3 - because I know you are dying to know what it looks like in the middle....ahhh really nothing much! It just looks like a 1/2 eaten cupcake.

Enough about my cupcake.... Em’s sundae was unremarkable – ice cream, fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry.

The bill was $65.31 before tip. If you are following the dining credit math (3x7x2-4=x) [there will be a quiz after class today], we now had a balance of 38 dining credits remaining on our plan.

I will say that I would dine at 50’s Prime Time Café again especially for the cupcake – I’d probably just not order the meatloaf again.


Next up: Artist's Point at Wilderness Lodge

 

[Kelly77]

Love. Love. Love. this dining report. Can't wait for the rest of it!

 

[gardengirl628]

Oh my! I can't believe I missed this. Your reviews are awesome! My DD is 10.....would love to do a mother/daughter trip with her when she is a little older. Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[tinacaplan]

We had a somewhat similar experience at 50's when we went. I was super excited about the theming, but the food was sorely lacking, IMO. I wasn't expecting gourmet food in the least, but everything was just sort of ok. Not what I was expecting/hoping for, at least. Oh well... there are so many other wonderful places to eat.

I am really enjoying your reviews! I know how hard they are to write, too. They take a lot more time than you think before you sit down and decided you're going to do it!

 

[GottaLuvMickey]

Our table was a small two top right next to the aquarium – score! The tables are arranged in tiers facing the gigantor aquarium. One really cool thing they do is provide a "fish guide" that describes the various fish in the aquarium. It is yours to keep. I didn't notice any killer sharks described in the guide so I have no idea what type of sharks were in the aquarium but it was interesting dining with these critters!!!

Hey! I am LOVING your report! I just thought I'd let you know that the sharks in the Living Seas are Sand Tigers (the big ones) according to my husband who has been SCUBA diving in there 8 times He's a *little* obsessed with the Living Seas... When we were on our internships in 2006 and he was diving one of those sharks swam over his head, literally like a foot above him! His goal in life is to get bitten by a shark

 

[milmore104]

OMG that cupcake looks amazing. They didn't have that on the menu when we were there. I can't wait for our trip to try it.

Oh and I am a member of the "mom ordered dessert and didn't finish her veggies" club. However my wonderful family wanted to video it so I got to do it twice!!!

 

[emmysmommy]

Love. Love. Love. this dining report. Can't wait for the rest of it!

Why thanks!

Oh my! I can't believe I missed this. Your reviews are awesome! My DD is 10.....would love to do a mother/daughter trip with her when she is a little older. Thanks so much for sharing!

Well, it's not like I'm a "famous" author or anything [or am I?? hmmm it's good to be annonymous!] Anyhoo.... this was the perfect trip for me and my DD. You will have great memories to carry a lifetime if you do this!!

We had a somewhat similar experience at 50's when we went. I was super excited about the theming, but the food was sorely lacking, IMO. I wasn't expecting gourmet food in the least, but everything was just sort of ok. Not what I was expecting/hoping for, at least. Oh well... there are so many other wonderful places to eat.

I am really enjoying your reviews! I know how hard they are to write, too. They take a lot more time than you think before you sit down and decided you're going to do it!

I agree completely on your perspective of what you expected (or didn't expect) at 50s PT.

And well... as far as my reviews....I wonder how much time it would take if I really turned out a detailed review?? My style is the more "dining review lite" But thanks for the compliment!

Hey! I am LOVING your report! I just thought I'd let you know that the sharks in the Living Seas are Sand Tigers (the big ones) according to my husband who has been SCUBA diving in there 8 times He's a *little* obsessed with the Living Seas... When we were on our internships in 2006 and he was diving one of those sharks swam over his head, literally like a foot above him! His goal in life is to get bitten by a shark

Thanks for answering the shark question - good to know. Now just one question....DH's goal in life is to get bitten by a shark????? Like would he think it's a sign of affection? I never want to see a shark unless it has 12" of plexiglass between it and me!

OMG that cupcake looks amazing. They didn't have that on the menu when we were there. I can't wait for our trip to try it.

Oh and I am a member of the "mom ordered dessert and didn't finish her veggies" club. However my wonderful family wanted to video it so I got to do it twice!!!

Did you get the airplane treatment or the choo-choo treatment? I messed up on videoing my DD getting the "treatment" since I pushed the off button instead of "on"...yeah, really hard to tell the difference between a red light blinking and not! And yes, that cup cake was pretty darn good!


I will try to get my Artists Point review posted today otherwise I won't get to it until next weekend since I will be traveling all this week.

 

[GottaLuvMickey]

Thanks for answering the shark question - good to know. Now just one question....DH's goal in life is to get bitten by a shark????? Like would he think it's a sign of affection? I never want to see a shark unless it has 12" of plexiglass between it and me!

Yeah, he's a special type! I've given up on the "logic" thing with him... He says he doesn't want a "big" bit that will take his leg off or anything, but he wants a "good bite" that will leave a really good scar. I'll tell you, his face was PRICELESS when that huge shark swam right over his head! It's all he talked about for a week!


Ugh, now back to my regularly scheduled Sunday morning cleaning... moping floors, laundry, & rearranging furniture!

 

[princesspeach]

I will jump on the band wagon and say I wasn't impressed with California Grill at all. That is one I will not be returning too.

I love your report so far!

I would agree. It wasn't bad just not as good as the other signatures. I won't go back to many other good places to eat.

 

[Ela1972]

Love your reviews.

We are trying the dxdp for the first time next year. I am starting to diet now ready for it!!

I am glad you and your daughter had a good time. Love her name (my DD is also an Emily often shortened to em)

 

[lindsayp]

yum everything looks great! we were considering the deluxe dining plan but thought it was too much.

 

[emmysmommy]

Love your reviews.

We are trying the dxdp for the first time next year. I am starting to diet now ready for it!!

I am glad you and your daughter had a good time. Love her name (my DD is also an Emily often shortened to em)

Ahhh dieting to indulge in all the Disney goodness... I know that concept well!

We are in the Emmysmommy club! My hubby named our daughter since we had 3 boys already and he had a girl name for a long time! He picked the perfect name for her!

I would agree. It wasn't bad just not as good as the other signatures. I won't go back to many other good places to eat.

I just have to say that I enjoyed the food of Cosmic Rays better (having compared the chicken between the two) - considering I paid four times more for CA Grill that's just not a great compliment. But the atmosphere... no comparison.

yum everything looks great! we were considering the deluxe dining plan but thought it was too much.

Thanks! For most people Dlx DP will be too much. I thought we'd try it just because there were too many table service places I wanted to try....

 

[emmysmommy]

Now that I'm done traveling (business, not pleasure ) I can get my next dining review completed... Sorry it's taken so long to get back up to speed!

Artist's Point coming up.....

 

[emmysmommy]

Sunday August 22, 2010 - Artists Point

This was a signature dining experience that had been booked due to some fantastic reviews here. In truth, I booked it more to try the smoky portobello soup that I had read about!

We took a taxi from our hotel (BC Resort) to WL. (I didn't want to walk around in heels!)

Upon arriving at WL, we noticed that it was a cookie cutter version of the Grand Californian (by Disney's California Adventure park). I love the rustic Northwest theme. We took a few photos and then made our way to Artist’s Point. We checked in, were handed a pager,and told that we could either wait in the lounge or anywhere in the lobby. We chose to wait in the lounge. We probably had our longest wait (20 min.) for this reservation and yet the net result was that we were still seated prior to our scheduled dining reservation.

We were seated at a table for two in the middle of the dining room which was a really good table since you could view all of the artwork and it was near some windows.

Our waiter was Paul who bless his heart insulted me without being malicious. Paul acknowledged that we were celebrating Em’s graduation and I must have said something about it being a girl’s trip because my hubby and 3 grown sons were left back home. He said I’m a grandparent too. Wait a minute….I didn’t say that I was a grandma!! Although conceivably I could be since my youngest son is 23, my middle son has been married for over a year and is 25, and my oldest is 27 years old. In fact, I am the same age that my mother was when I made her a grandmother. But….it just made me feel so “old” to hear Paul relate to me as a grandparent – which I’m not, just for the record. Enough said about that!

So moving on…. We perused the menus and when my daughter said that she wanted to try the buffalo steak I gave her a high five. She is adventuresome and certainly eager to try new things. She figured when would she have another opportunity to eat buffalo? I wasn’t as adventuresome and I ordered something entirely disappointing.

I’m jumping ahead too far. We were started with a basket of bread and butter that looked to be served in a metal flashing type dish. (I don’t mean flashing as in blinking… just look at the photo – I’m not sure how to describe it.)

For appetizers, Em and I both ordered the smoky Portobello mushroom soup with roasted shiitakes and chive oil. Sprinkled on top were some crunchy, garlicky croutons. This was an amazing creating and lived up to all of the wonderful reviews that I had read previously. I could order this delightful starter every meal and be so happy! I refrained from licking my bowl so some decorum was intact.

Now back to our entrees…Em ordered the grilled buffalo strip loin which she loved. I had a bite and it was a big thumbs up!

My entrée which I already mentioned was disappointing was the herb roasted pork tenderloin with barley wheat, chanterelle mushrooms, baby carrots and sherry reduction. It was essentially a tasteless, dull, dry slab of pork with even more boring and tasteless barley wheat grains. This lacked so much flavor or pizzazz that I just left most of it on my plate. (The picture actually makes it look better than it tasted!)

I had also ordered the sweet potato-hazelnut gratin which is a side-dish that is included in the dining plan. It tasted ok but it wasn’t want I was expecting. It was slices of sweet potatoes, not whipped or mashed sweet potatoes. I wouldn’t order it again since I only spooned 1 serving onto my plate and 90% of the dish was wasted.

Dessert choices didn’t thrill me so I opted to skip dessert. Em ordered the no sugar added berry mousse with chocolate ganache. I had a small spoonful and it was very light and delicious. I ended up eating the blackberries as well.

The meal totaled $117.89 without tip. We now had 34 meal credits remaining.

Overall, I probably wouldn’t waste my meal credits or worse yet my hard earned cash here unless my hubby wanted to try something more exotic. However, I would love another bowl of that soup!!!


Next up: Boma

 

[lindsayp]

great review! we've never have tried artists point before, but that soup sounds good.

 

[Mom of 2 Wife of 1]

I had also ordered the sweet potato-hazelnut gratin which is a side-dish that is included in the dining plan. It tasted ok but it wasn’t want I was expecting. It was slices of sweet potatoes, not whipped or mashed sweet potatoes. I wouldn’t order it again since I only spooned 1 serving onto my plate and 90% of the dish was wasted.

Did you know the side dish (sweet potato hazelnut gratin) was included in the dining plan or did the server alert you to this fact? I've heard conflicting reports on whether an item from the "sides" menu was included, and of course getting a server who isn't aware of this won't help matters. I'm just curious how you managed to get this to work in your situation. Thanks!

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Thanks for the update, I enjoyed your reviews.

 

[emmysmommy]

Did you know the side dish (sweet potato hazelnut gratin) was included in the dining plan or did the server alert you to this fact? I've heard conflicting reports on whether an item from the "sides" menu was included, and of course getting a server who isn't aware of this won't help matters. I'm just curious how you managed to get this to work in your situation. Thanks!

No, the server did not bring this to my attention. I had read it here so when I ordered it I said that I heard it was included in the dining plan and it wasn't a problem.

I certainly wish that I was hungrier because it seemed so wasteful but I didn't know that the portion would be so huge!!!