"Do You Mind?" - Disney Adventures with Teens August Trip Report

[stagemomx3]

Love the make up first day of school pictures!

 

[jessily]

Your pictures of the resorts are great We're staying at BCV for a few nights during our January trip. I've always wanted to stay there... and looking at your pictures just made me even more excited!

 

[swwake]

Love the make up first day of school pictures!

I know - if they can do it for school pics, why can't I do it for 1st day pics? I'm just sayin'...

Your pictures of the resorts are great We're staying at BCV for a few nights during our January trip. I've always wanted to stay there... and looking at your pictures just made me even more excited!

Thank you. You will LOVE the BC. Where are you staying when you leave in 3 days? Wait! 3 DAYS?!?! How excited are you! Enjoy that trip!

 

[mplsmom1]

Enjoying your trip report thus far....waiting to find out about 'do you mind'

 

[swwake]

Enjoying your trip report thus far....waiting to find out about 'do you mind'

Thank you. You will have to wait until Part III to find out about "do you mind", but it is coming. Slowly but surely.

 

[swwake]

Part II, Chapter 4
Saturday, August 9
He Had Me at “Rock Candy Syrup”​

Is anyone hungry? Let’s go to bluezoo!

When I was planning the trip, I used Zagat’s and some other restaurant reviews to decide where we wanted to eat. I was waffling between getting the dining plan or not. bluezoo had rave reviews, but it was not on the dining plan. I knew I wanted a seafood restaurant on our list. Since I had planned for the seafood dinner to be our first night, I narrowed it down between bluezoo and Flying Fish Café on the Boardwalk. Both were walking distance from our resort. Flying Fish was on the dining plan (but maybe a 2-TS Credit?) and bluezoo was not, as it is not owned and operated by Disney.

Ultimately, I decided not to purchase the dining plan and that made the decision to eat at bluezoo much easier. We walked by Flying Fish when we were exploring the Boardwalk, and it gets great reviews, so maybe we’ll try that one on a future trip.

Now, as dinner approached, Katie and Caitlin asked what we were eating for dinner. Remember, they hadn’t had a solid meal since breakfast before the flight. They were none too pleased when I told them that bluezoo is a seafood restaurant. At this point Caitlin asked if we had any Italian restaurants on our ADRs for the week (we didn’t). Poor Caitlin. 

But this is Disney World, right? Surely they will have something that appeals to finicky teens on their menu. We shall see.

At 7:45pm, we entered the Dolphin and quickly found the bluezoo entrance.

I was really looking forward to this meal, as I had eaten at Todd English’s Olive’s at the Bellagio in Las Vegas last October and loved it. The atmosphere, service and food were all amazing.

As you enter the restaurant, you have to walk through the lounge area to get to the table seating. They asked if we wanted to sit in the lounge, but I declined, wanting the “full bluezoo experience” (whatever that is). We walked past the bar, which is beautiful and has the metal school of fish swimming above.

I borrowed this picture from J.C. & Ali’s Mom on the DIS boards (without her knowledge), so I have to give her photo credits here.

As we were escorted to our table, our hostess stopped at this location by the kitchen. (Another shot borrowed from J.C. & Ali’s Mom.)

The hostess explained to us that this is the house specialty – the Dancing Fish, and she told us what that night’s fish selection was (but I don’t remember). This looked very intriguing. I know that you should always order the chef’s special at any restaurant, if you think you might like it at all. And in my experience, most chef’s specials are excellent. I would have to think about it.

From the menu description:
This Evening's Dancing Fish - roasted (daily fish name here), silky white bean puree, grilled romaine, lemon caper emulsion

I really enjoyed taking in the atmosphere. The décor was really modern, crisp and unique. Here is one of the light fixtures over a table near ours.

We sat just outside of a room where private parties can be held. The walls dividing the two rooms had windows in them that were made of acrylic (or similar) and had holes in them to hold wine bottles. The lights projected inside the acrylic continuously changed colors from blue to teal to green to purple and back to blue. I tried to take pictures of these, but wasn’t very successful.

Oh well, you get the point.

Here are Katie and Caitlin while we waited for our server. You can see the windows behind them as well.

If you could read their minds, I think you would hear something along the lines of “why did they bring us to a seafood joint?”

Service seemed quite slow. There was a large party at the table next to ours, which seemed to garner the majority of our server’s attention. We did have people who brought us water while we waited.

The waiter finally came to take drink orders. I hadn’t read the specialty cocktail menu and couldn’t decide if I wanted wine or a special drink. The waiter recommended the “zooberry” martini.

So of course, I had to order it.

Zooberry – ketel one vodka infused with blueberries, with a splash of both fresh lemon juice and rock candy syrup

All I can say is: he had me at "rock candy syrup". How was it, you ask? It was very good. So good, that I ordered a second one!

Chris ordered his old standby, Makers Mark and Coke.

Mom and Chris also each ordered a Ginger/Peach tea

For some reason, we felt it necessary to take an action shot of pouring the ginger/peach tea.

I should be a hand model. LOL

And, for good measure, here is the duo together.

Katie and Caitlin ordered Cokes with refills. This would be their old standby for the trip.

Continued...

 

[swwake]

As we looked over the menu, Katie and Caitlin noticed that there was a date printed on the bottom corner. They asked what this meant, and we explained that the menu may change daily, depending on seafood availability and chef preferences.

Next came the appetizers. Chris ordered clam chowder.

bluezoo's New England Style Clam Chowder - light and brothy with salt cured bacon, house-made oyster crackers

Chris really liked the chowder; however, he did not expect the clams to be in the shell, so it was a little harder to eat that he had thought it would be. I had a taste of the chowder and thought it was very good myself.

I ordered the tuna tartare.

Yellowfin Tuna Tartare - from the "Olive's" table, twisted cucumber salad, crispy rock shrimp, orange glaze, scallion cream

“Crispy rock shrimp” is just a fancy name for shrimp tempura. I LOVED this. Although it looks small, the plate was HUGE and the portion was just perfect for a single appetizer.

Grandma Bonnie ordered the jumbo shrimp appetizer with a variety of sauces.

Chilled Poached Jumbo Shrimp, avocado puree, bloody mary sauce, fennel salt

I think that is cocktail sauce on the left, avocado puree third from left, and bloody mary sauce on the right. I am not sure what the yellow one is. Maybe those are avocado slices on the bottom of the plate? Mom enjoyed this – especially the bloody mary sauce.

Entrees were next. Chris ordered the salmon.

King salmon block - macaire potato, bacon clam ragout, tomato butter, almond haricot vert

(We knew what haricot vert was (were?) because the week before I had been in Napa and it was on the menu at one of the hoity-toity restaurants there. Just small, thin green beans.) The powder you see is an almond powder, for the green beans.

Another picture from the opposite angle.

Beautiful presentation!

After much deliberation over the “Dancing Fish of the Day”, and remembering that the hostess had described it as being served “whole” (which I think means skin-on and head-on), I decided against the special and ordered the miso-glazed Chilean sea bass.

Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass - warm sesame spinach, pea tendril salad

The pea tendril salad was basically sprouts in vinegar. The warm sesame spinach looked like a tablespoon-ful. I don’t remember what the sauce is, but it may have been similar to a sweet oriental sesame sauce. The fish was wrapped in the leaf (?) when they served it, and the waiter pulled the toothpick out when he presented it. This entire plate was delicious. The sea bass was so rich that I could only eat less than half of it.

Bonnie was already feeling full, so she ordered the side lobster-stuffed potato in lieu of an entrée.

Lobster Broccoli Stuffed Cheddar Potato

She loved this. I’m not sure if she even was able to eat all of it.

Katie perused the menu and proclaimed that she really didn’t see anything she liked on it. She commented that “the dessert menu is probably fish cream cones and shrimp drizzled in chocolate”. Ok, you have to laugh at that one. Not sure where this one got her sense of humor!

Since the girls didn’t see anything appealing on the menu, we asked for kids menus for them. Our waiter was extremely hesitant to allow this, telling us three (or more) times that “they really don’t like to do that”. I got a little frustrated with this and almost told him we’d be happy to pay “adult” price for kids’ menu items. I understand that the restaurant doesn’t want older kids to order from the kids menu, because they don’t make as much money per entrée; however, there truly weren’t very many options on the regular menu that are suitable for teens. We finally did get the kids menus. I was relieved when Katie decided to order from the adult menu – at least the restaurant would get adult price for one of the two meals and we didn’t feel so guilty for breaking the rules – although we shouldn’t have felt guilty at all. I have to wonder if a Disney-owned property would have treated us this way.

Katie ordered the half-chicken from the regular menu.

Cast iron half chicken - 'panzanella' bread pudding, melted tomato, parmesan

It was a lot of food. She really dug in and loved it. I don’t think she was able to finish it, but she commented many times on how good it was.

Caitlin ordered the kids spaghetti.

spaghetti - tomato meat sauce, parmegiano reggiano

She enjoyed it well enough. It was spaghetti, after all. Caitlin is not a complainer, so I’m not sure we would have ever known if it wasn’t to her liking.

After dinner, waiting for the dessert menu, everyone was feeling great with their full tummies.

I love this picture of Chris.​

He was having such a great time. This picture really explains the emotions we were all feeling at this time. Satisfied, relaxed, happy to finally be on vacation, knowing that Magic was fine and Paxton was getting the best care available.

Alright, now it’s time for dessert. We were full, but we couldn’t resist. We watched as the table next to us (the large party) was served their dessert, and it made our mouths water.

When we were presented with the dessert menu, I was happy to see that there were no fish cream cones.

Mom wanted the same dessert she had seen at the table next to us. It was described as follows:
mai tai banana cream tart……roasted pineapple and dark rum flambéed exotic fruit sorbet

The waiter soon returned to tell us that they had unfortunately just served the last one of those desserts, so she had to choose something else.

So she ordered the napoleon dessert.

raspberry chocolate napoleon - litchi mousse and manjari chocolate cream……
raspberry litchi sorbet

Looks delicious, huh? Wait ‘til you see it from the side!

We helped Mom with this one. It was delightful! We loved the touch of the gold leaf on top. Reminds me of Goldschlagger.

Katie ordered the melted chocolate cake to share with the table.

Warm Chocolate Cake, with liquid ganache center, maracaibo chocolate cream pudding, peanut ice cream

This was also fabulous!

All in all, our review of bluezoo is as follows:
Atmosphere – excellent (clean, crisp, fresh, modern, not too loud)
Service – fair. Our waiter was very slow, although he knew the menu and made some great recommendations. I was disappointed in how he handled our request for the kids menus. The back-up servers (expos, bus-people) were a little quicker, but I still think we had to wait for water refills a couple of times.
Food – very good to excellent
Presentation – excellent

I would return to bluezoo, but it wouldn’t be top of my list, simply because there are so many other great restaurants we didn’t get to try in WDW. In my opinion, the restaurant was more Vegas than Disney, very adult-oriented. I wouldn’t mind hanging out in the lounge area for a few cocktails. It is a really nice atmosphere. The food was good, but the selection for kids was very limited. They should find a way to let people know that this is not a place where kids will be comfortable.

To be honest, until I was writing this section, going through my photos, I had forgotten just how much I liked this meal. It was expensive, but the food and atmosphere met my high expectations, based on the prices.

Next: What to do at Disney World after dinner on the first night
• Who, if anyone, went to bed?
• Who stayed up and out?
• Did we stay in the Boardwalk area?
• Did we stay at our resort?
• Did we visit a theme park?
• Did we go to Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island?
• What time did we get to bed?

 

[stagemomx3]

Bluezoo looks fabulous! I want Katie's chicken right now. I loved the "action" shot!

 

[Lady Lallie]

All of that food looks so delicious! Yummy! You all looked like you really enjoyed your meal.

 

[jessily]

Thank you. You will LOVE the BC. Where are you staying when you leave in 3 days? Wait! 3 DAYS?!?! How excited are you! Enjoy that trip!

Hard to believe it's 3 days away! I'm in crazy mode now getting everything together for the trip (everything I've been putting off for the past month... oops). We're staying at All Star Sports this time around (got suckered in by free dining so we're staying as cheaply as possible). January I'm going down to run the half marathon and rented DVC points from someone to stay at BCV

Did you eat at California Grill on this trip? (I think I remember seeing a picture in your report from there?) That's our most anticipated ADR for our January trip, so I'm looking forward to hearing what you thought of your meal there!

 

[TigerKat]

Came here from the food porn thread.....BlueZoo is my favorite restaurant anywhere!!!!!! We've only been once but I'll never forget it. Thanks so much for posting all the great pics!!

 

[katiebug86]

Yum! The raspberry chocolate napoleon looks really good! When I saw the first picture of it and was thinking "that doesn't look like much" then when I saw the second one it made my mouth water. Katie's dessert also looks really good, but anything is better than fish cream cones.

I will try to guess the next chapter.
• Who, if anyone, went to bed? Grandma Bonnie and the girls?
• Who stayed up and out? You and Chris?
• Did we stay in the Boardwalk area? Yes?
• Did we stay at our resort? No?
• Did we visit a theme park? No?
• Did we go to Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island? Yes?
• What time did we get to bed? 11:00?

I really have no idea. It's a cute idea though so I thought I'd take a stab at it.

 

[irene_dsc]

Hmm...bluezoo looks really cool inside! Just as happy we didn't go there with the kids, tho - looks like it would've made a good date night dinner, tho. We never got to the boardwalk at all - looks like fun!

For some reason, the Beach Club decor isn't really hitting me. Not sure why. Dh would probably like it - he likes to sail. (Am I getting the resorts mixed up now??? Ack - I didn't seriously look into any of the Boardwalk resorts, so I can't really keep them straight. Anyhow, I mean the one you stayed at.) But the bright & cheerful room at CBR was perfect for us anyhow, for this trip with little kids.

Oh, and you'll get a kick out of this. I was at the library, grabbing a LA travel guide in prep for our quickie trip to visit dh's dad (and catch a USC game), and dd grabbed the Irreverent Guide to Vegas. So, after reading your Vegas TR, I had to actually read it! It was actually quite entertaining...

 

[Charleston Princess]

bluezoo looks amazing -- especially those desserts -- artistic yet yummy!

 

[mplsmom1]

This is what I love about Disney reports - I get to live vicariously through others. My food pictures will be breadsticks from the AsMo food court Boy - I would like that martini!! thanks for the update!

 

[swwake]

Bluezoo looks fabulous! I want Katie's chicken right now. I loved the "action" shot!

It was great! The action shot was funny.

All of that food looks so delicious! Yummy! You all looked like you really enjoyed your meal.

I loved everything I tasted. We all enjoyed the experience. I think we were just glad to finally be there. months in the planning!

Hard to believe it's 3 days away! I'm in crazy mode now getting everything together for the trip (everything I've been putting off for the past month... oops). We're staying at All Star Sports this time around (got suckered in by free dining so we're staying as cheaply as possible). January I'm going down to run the half marathon and rented DVC points from someone to stay at BCV

Did you eat at California Grill on this trip? (I think I remember seeing a picture in your report from there?) That's our most anticipated ADR for our January trip, so I'm looking forward to hearing what you thought of your meal there!

We have stayed at ASMusic before and really liked it. You will enjoy - and who can pass up free dining? A half-marathon - that's impressive! We did eat at California Grill. You will really enjoy it. Don't worry about getting a table with a window view - you can go out on one of the two terraces during Wishes. I don't really want to say what we thought of the meal there b/c I don't want to spoil my TR. But PM me if you want info.

Came here from the food porn thread.....BlueZoo is my favorite restaurant anywhere!!!!!! We've only been once but I'll never forget it. Thanks so much for posting all the great pics!!

Welcome!! I really don't give bluezoo as much credit as I should. It was really great! It's just that we had 7 dinners after that which cloud the memory a little.

Yum! The raspberry chocolate napoleon looks really good! When I saw the first picture of it and was thinking "that doesn't look like much" then when I saw the second one it made my mouth water. Katie's dessert also looks really good, but anything is better than fish cream cones.

I will try to guess the next chapter.
• Who, if anyone, went to bed? Grandma Bonnie and the girls?
• Who stayed up and out? You and Chris?
• Did we stay in the Boardwalk area? Yes?
• Did we stay at our resort? No?
• Did we visit a theme park? No?
• Did we go to Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island? Yes?
• What time did we get to bed? 11:00?

I really have no idea. It's a cute idea though so I thought I'd take a stab at it.

Yeah, I don't think I would have ordered the raspberry napoleon, but it was recommended - and it was really yummy. I love dark chocolate. I'll have to keep you in suspense about your quiz answers a bit longer - sorry. Let's just say you got parts of some questions correct!

Hmm...bluezoo looks really cool inside! Just as happy we didn't go there with the kids, tho - looks like it would've made a good date night dinner, tho. We never got to the boardwalk at all - looks like fun!

For some reason, the Beach Club decor isn't really hitting me. Not sure why. Dh would probably like it - he likes to sail. (Am I getting the resorts mixed up now??? Ack - I didn't seriously look into any of the Boardwalk resorts, so I can't really keep them straight. Anyhow, I mean the one you stayed at.) But the bright & cheerful room at CBR was perfect for us anyhow, for this trip with little kids.

Oh, and you'll get a kick out of this. I was at the library, grabbing a LA travel guide in prep for our quickie trip to visit dh's dad (and catch a USC game), and dd grabbed the Irreverent Guide to Vegas. So, after reading your Vegas TR, I had to actually read it! It was actually quite entertaining...

I loved the inside. It's worth a walk through or a drink in the lounge even if you aren't eating there. I liked the BC. It was my first Deluxe Resort and I thought it was really nice. Check-in wasn't as chaotic as at CBR and ASMu. I do remember hanging out in a hammock at CBR - you can't get that at BC! (at least not that I saw)

Funny you mention Vegas. Tomorrow's Chris's birthday, and Wednesday we leave for Vegas AGAIN! I have two days of conference and we are spending the weekend. Fun times! I don't know if I can do a trip report for that one. I can't even keep this one up! But I will be taking pictures for sure!

bluezoo looks amazing -- especially those desserts -- artistic yet yummy!

Yes, it was really, really good. Makes me want to go back to Todd English's Olive's this weekend while we're in Vegas.

This is what I love about Disney reports - I get to live vicariously through others. My food pictures will be breadsticks from the AsMo food court Boy - I would like that martini!! thanks for the update!

That is hilarious! You will have to show your breadsticks! The zooberry was excellent! (twice!)

 

[heath-and-javens-mom]

I am not a big seafood person, but the dessert and drink look very yummy!!

 

[Marshay]

Thanks so much for posting the bluezoo photos -- very cool!! Food looks amazing.

My guesses:
Grandma Bonnie went to bed early?
The rest stayed out and went to Epcot and then you headed over to DTD.
Midnight bedtime.

 

[jessily]

mmmm now my stomach is rumbling. Great pictures! The desserts look so pretty!

 

[Mickey'sMainMami]

Hey great update! I had no idea that Bluezoo even exsisted, of course we have never even been up close of the Swan or Dolphin so how would we have known ? Anyway, it looks awesome and the food looked great. We might have to try there one day!! Thanks for the dining review and I can't wait to hear more!!