Doing It Deluxe, Indulgence for 14 Nights... With Pics!! **Update: CALIFORNIA GRILL**

[Alice BlueBonnet]

Just found your review! I'm loving the detail, and am thrilled that you're reviewing almost everywhere we want to eat next year when we're on deluxe. Thanks for doing such a great job.

 

[ireland_nicole]

Finally caught up; and Absolutely Loving your reviews; they're extremely well presented; I appreciate your seperate rating for atmosphere, food, etc. Great attention to detail. Really looking forward to more! BTW; can't believe how much food your teeny tiny DD can put away lol. Impressive.

 

[RebeccaDreamsDisney]

Great reviews!! I'll be going Deluxe Dining Dec/08 so I'm really enjoying seeing the different appetizers etc. Great job!

 

[Credit Man]

Wonderful reviews. Someone sure likes crab cakes.

 

[mcrabeck]

Okay- I am all caught up.Great reviews and fabulous pictures. Thanks for posting!

 

[KSG'sDisneyMem]

Thanks for the review and pics of Narcoossee's World Bouncer. I have been waiting for this one. The food looks awesome! Can't wait to take my mom there in December. The cheesecake is a definite for me to order as I have read great things about it. My mom and I are from Massachusetts so Maine Lobster is not necessarliy a must for me. My mom was born in Maine and grew up on Maine lobsters as did I. I am undecided on my entree at this point and will decide on that when I get there. Great review. The info is very helpful. Sorry to hear of the loss of your neighbor. How is the tooth?

 

[WDisneyWforMe]

We live for our trip on December the 12th and I've got mixed feelings about several of our choices and am considering some last minute changes. When you are finished reviewing would you give us a run down of your best and worst? Maybe in two categories, 1TS and 2TS? Thanks!!

 

[World Bouncer]

Maybe it was fennel (anise) gelato?

Looks like Narcoossee's is going to be on my next trip food list!

Great reviews and photos!
Based on the licorice flavor and the leaf across the top of the bowl, I would guess that was a Tarragon gelato? Sounds really interesting.

I think you may be right, it seems that tarragon might be what he said? I remember asking him if it was anise and he said this was a common response , that it leaves that flavor. In any case ... it was very interesting!

The lobster looks yummy! Still waiting to see how you liked Brown Derby.

Brown Derby is coming up soon, I will try and get it posted by Monday!

Your reviews have been so helpful in planning our April trip. The pictures and writing were so enjoyable to read through.

I'm glad you and your family had such a nice vacation; thank you for taking the time to post all of this information!

You're very welcome.... hope you have a great trip!

OMG,cant wait, looks so yummy..... lobster it is.

We live no where near the water, and about the only place to get lobster is, Red Lobster.... we don't go there very often. 2 days of lobster in a row was a huge treat!!

I just found your wonderful reviews. Loving the pictures and the details. I can't wait to read more.

Thank You!!!

I'm finally caught up with your posts!

I see a huge difference with the shrimp batter at Narcoosee's vs. Yak and Yeti. I definitely find the Narcoosee's batter more appealing, IMHO. Looked really good. Don't get me started on that lobster!

Excuse me while I get a mop for the drool.

Shrimp at Narcoosees most definitely better, but then it is of a different nature... the shrimp at Yak n' Yeti is what I have come to expect from "Tempura" shrimp. They were both good, but Narcoossees, knows how to get it done!

I was so excited to see your review of Narcoosee's! I just made an ADR for this restaurant for our trip in mid-March. We will be travelling with my dd's friend and her family, and this will be our adults night out dinner while the kids go to the kids' club. My dh and I have eaten here several times before, and the last time was not quite up to our usual experiences. Glad to see that it is back to its regular greatness, and I can't wait to eat here!

Thank you so much for the terrific reviews, and pics!!!!

You're welcome, hope you have a great night out, and it lives up to its potential for you!!

Love the Narcoossee's review. I'll be eating there for the first time this December.

Wow! How cool that you got there in time to see Wishes and the water pagent. The food looked wonderful.

Looks so yummy. I have already told DD that one time we have to go by ourselves and do DDX and stay at a Deluxe Resort (GF or Poly) as we want a Magic Kingdom view.

Just found your review! I'm loving the detail, and am thrilled that you're reviewing almost everywhere we want to eat next year when we're on deluxe. Thanks for doing such a great job.

Finally caught up; and Absolutely Loving your reviews; they're extremely well presented; I appreciate your seperate rating for atmosphere, food, etc. Great attention to detail. Really looking forward to more! BTW; can't believe how much food your teeny tiny DD can put away lol. Impressive.

Thanks, glad you're enjoying them... I think that the separation is really important, because good food can be sometimes ruined by bad service, and to judge an entire restaurant as bad because a server was having an off day wouldn't be fair!

I have no idea where she put all of that food.... I do know that she had a blast the whole time!

Great reviews!! I'll be going Deluxe Dining Dec/08 so I'm really enjoying seeing the different appetizers etc. Great job!

Thanks... That is one of the big reasons we went deluxe... the appetizer are always so appealing to me! Most of them were great and I am sure glad we went that way, and we were never hungry.

Wonderful reviews. Someone sure likes crab cakes.

Crab Cakes... Did Somebody say Crab Cakes!!!

Okay- I am all caught up.Great reviews and fabulous pictures. Thanks for posting!

Thank you!

Thanks for the review and pics of Narcoossee's World Bouncer. I have been waiting for this one. The food looks awesome! Can't wait to take my mom there in December. The cheesecake is a definite for me to order as I have read great things about it. My mom and I are from Massachusetts so Maine Lobster is not necessarliy a must for me. My mom was born in Maine and grew up on Maine lobsters as did I. I am undecided on my entree at this point and will decide on that when I get there. Great review. The info is very helpful. Sorry to hear of the loss of your neighbor. How is the tooth?

Thanks! The tooth is doing much better!

We live for our trip on December the 12th and I've got mixed feelings about several of our choices and am considering some last minute changes. When you are finished reviewing would you give us a run down of your best and worst? Maybe in two categories, 1TS and 2TS? Thanks!!

No problem, I would be happy to do that for you!!

 

[World Bouncer]

Ok... Next up...

Sci - Fi

I will get this posted today sometime!

 

[distherapy]

Thanks for the reviews! These are great!

 

[englishrose47]

I'mWaiting!!!

 

[World Bouncer]

Sci-Fi Drive In, Lunch, 09-22-08

Lunch reservations were for 11:30am. We started our day with rope drop and headed straight for Toy Story Mania. We got in line and was on the ride within 20 minutes, we go off and grabbed a fast pass to use for later. Did some pin trading and did Muppets 3D, Rock n' Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, then Rock n' Roller Coaster again!

Then off to lunch we went.....

We arrived and the waiting area was empty, we were taken directly in to our seats. The cars as you can see in the picture are 3 rows that seat 2 people each. We were seated in the front 2 rows and then right behind a couple was seated in the last row. There are tables where you can face each other, but sitting in the car was half the fun!




Appetizer

DD & DW
Crispy Onion Rings - A generous portion of battered onion rings. - $6.99
The onion rings were big and cooked to a golden brown perfection!

ME
Spinach & Artichoke Dip - A blend of mozzarella, Swiss, and asiago cheeses, spinach, and artichokes served with corn tortilla chips. - $6.99
I am the only one who chose this dish because of the artichoke an spinach mix, the ladies will eat these items but don't make a habit of ordering them.... they were very surprised to find that they liked it! I liked this as well, very cheesy and not too runny.

Entrees

ME
Shrimp Penne Pasta - Made with garlic, capers, plum tomatoes, baby spinach, and white wine topped with asiago cheese. - $18.99
I do not normally order the pasta, but the combination of flavors in here had my attention. This dish did not let me down, full of flavor and not swimming in sauce. The different flavors came together very well!

DD & DW
Smoked Baby Back Ribs - Basted with BBQ sauce served with French fries and coleslaw. - $18.99
The ribs here were good but not impressive, the french fries were good and a nice change to a casual menu, from all the adventure we were on!

Desserts

DD
Chocolate Tart - Made with a mix of chocolate mousse, fudge, and ganache. - $5.99
A very good dessert, lots of chocolate, we all liked it!

DW & ME
Warm Apple & Pecan Crisp - Warm apple & pecan crisp. - $5.49
We decided that this would be a little less rich than the chocolate choice.

Beverages

DD & DW
Milk Shakes - Choice of Chocolate, Strawberry, or Oreo Cookie ice cream. - $4.29
A thick and tasty shake, they both chose the Oreo Cookie one, none for me, because I knew that there was ice cream coming with dessert.

ME
Flavored Sodas - Sprite blended with watermelon, blackberry, or sour apple flavors. Coke blended with vanilla or cherry flavors. Unlimited Refills! - $3.09
A vanilla coke for me. I remember as a kid going to the local pizza place just to get this. A much better taste than what comes in the can!

Beverage $ 11.67
Food $ 98.49
Tax $ 7.17
Total $117.33



Service
Nothing impressive, but nothing really bad either. For us, it just felt like your typical diner type service.


Atmosphere
Very fun, and entertaining to try at least once. The movies are all sci-fi "B" movies, and a clip included with Walt and a robot. The movies run in something like a 30 minute loop. The restaurant is very dark and there are "dashboard lights" on each table to help you see better. It is a very large place, with lots of tables..... we expected it to be loud, but were pleasantly surprised by how quiet it was. Everything was very clean, including the restrooms.


Food
For the most part a very casual fare, like burgers and such... everything that we tried made us completely happy. The portions were good, some of them big enough for sharing and some of them not.

Overall
A fun place to eat. One of the things that sticks out in my mind is... this place is HUGE! On the affordable side as far as Disney is concerned. If you are trying to choose which places to use the DDP on and which ones to pay OOP... pay out of pocket for this one and save your credit for a more expensive place. A restaurant where almost anyone could be happy with the menu. I wouldn't expect too much, but can't see no reason why you couldn't enjoy the experience...We did! A great place to take the kids for the drive in atmosphere or for the parents and grandparents to reminisce. The regular car tables do not accommodate high chairs, but as I mentioned earlier there are some more normal types of tables in limited amount that can. If you are not sure about how you will like sitting in the car seating, there is one out front of the restaurant that you can try out before hand.

 

[JoAnnPan]

Another great review - are you getting sick of hearing that yet?
I have my Sci Fi lunch ADR all set for Feb - will be our second time going there...cannot beat the atmosphere.
What review is next??

 

[World Bouncer]

Another great review - are you getting sick of hearing that yet?
I have my Sci Fi lunch ADR all set for Feb - will be our second time going there...cannot beat the atmosphere.
What review is next??

Thank you!
No.. not sick of hearing it! I was so nervous that I wouldn't do very well at these.

Next Up....

Hollywood Brown Derby

 

[englishrose47]

I am doing SciFi OOP next time !! I will try the burgers and the oreo cookie milkshake ! The shake is my favorite from last year !! Great review again !!

 

[belle8306]

My husband and I went to the Sci Fi on our honeymoon in 2001. The Oreo milkshakes were really good! I love the pink car! I am enjoying your reviews!

 

[ty&brenmom]

Yumm for sci fi - I can't wait to try that dip there in march.

 

[World Bouncer]

Here are a few more pics of the inside of the restaurant.....

1. This is the projection booth and kitchen entrance

2. A screen shot with Walt

3. The license plate on the back of our car

 

[Wendi2000]

I am so glad I finally got to see and hear about the shrimp dish at SciFi - that's what I'm planning on having when we go. I do have a question though... was it strange to have cheese on a shrimp dish, or did it seem to go together alright? It always seems odd to have cheese with seafood, but the rest of the pasta looks like it would be good with the cheese.

 

[World Bouncer]

I am so glad I finally got to see and hear about the shrimp dish at SciFi - that's what I'm planning on having when we go. I do have a question though... was it strange to have cheese on a shrimp dish, or did it seem to go together alright? It always seems odd to have cheese with seafood, but the rest of the pasta looks like it would be good with the cheese.

I thought it went very well, but then I really love cheese! The asiago having somewhat of a stronger flavor than say your typical colby or mozerella, gave a very nice contrast, and complimented the rest of the dish.