MAMA MELROSE F! PACKAGE
after our amazing breakfast at
CRT & spending the hot morning at magic kingdom, we headed back to the hotel as my daughter passed out & we needed a little break.
we headed over to hollywood studios as we had a F! dinner reservation @
MAMA MELROSE at 2:30 pm.
upon arrival at the podium, i let the check in person know that we had 2 adults and one infant in our party. one adult (me) was on the dining plan & the second adult was not. my seating ticket said 2 adults, 1 child (which caused a huge headache later on).
the place itself was charming. the place was quite busy and we waited 10 minutes to be seated. our server was very frazzled from the get go. i also explained to her that one adult was on the dining plan & the second was not but that he would also like the F! package.
sangria ordered by my friend.
we ordered two appetizers as part of the package (1 appetizer, 1 entree, 1 dessert, 1 non-alcoholic drink per adult)
our cm brought our drinks in addition to warm bread (looked like mini loaves) & olive oil with cracked pepper to dip the bread in. my daughter ate just the insides out of about 5 pieces.
Clams Oreganatta - oak fried Clams cooked in oregano butter and italian sausage over toasted foccacia
Clams Oreganatta - oak fried Clams cooked in oregano butter and italian sausage over toasted foccacia
the clams were very small but had great flavor. there was one unopened clam (which is a big no no) on the dish. the foccacia was sliced thin and i made the mistake of eating the middle which soaked up the butter & flavorings. it was very very salty & not what i had anticipated. i love dipping my bread into steamed mussels and i was expecting a similar taste but boy was i wrong. despite my mouth being violated by the saltiness of the bread, the clams were good. the sausage was pretty good too.
Mozzarella and Tomatoes - Served with marinated sweet onions, balsamic drizzle, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh sweet basil
this is a take on a caprese salad. the cheese was very cold & there was not enough balsamic vinegar for the thick slices of tomato & mozzarella cheese ratio. the tomato slices were large & thick which i found a bit unusual. something was just a bit "off" with this appetizer. not my favorite.
for our entrees, i wanted the most bang for my buck, so i ordered:
Charred Strip Steak - Italian roasted potatoes with carmelized sweet onions, aged Balsamic shallot butter and Chianti Wine reduction
i ordered my steak medium & it was cooked perfectly. the steak was a bit tough. the macaroni & cheese was very good. the fat was not trimmed off one of the sides of my steak but i just trimmed it off before eating. it wasn't the best steak of my life but it wasn't terrible. i thought my entree was just "ok".
Chicken Campanelle - Wood grilled chicken and campanelle pasta tossed with broccoflower, sun dried tomatoes, fresh spinach and sweet onions.
my friend ordered this entree and after having a bite of his, i wish i had ordered this meal instead. the pasta and creamy sauce was delicious and very satisfying! the chicken had a smokey flavor from the wood grill and the pasta wasn't over cooked.
the finale to our meal was a shared dessert.
both desserts were very pretty but very underwhelming. my friend is a total dessert person and he commented that the desserts were pretty terrible. maybe they forgot to add the sugar to the mix but one bite was enough for me. the best part of the dessert was the thin wafer on top of the black chocolate dessert. it tasted like a very crispy ice cream cone.
the cm brought over the check. the first check had both our meals together as well as charging my daughter for a child's F! meal. after explaining (again) that i was on the dining plan & that my friend was not but would pay for the F! meal & that my daughter is only 2 & should not pay for a F! seat (i just asked to pay the $8.99 for her meal and not the $11.99 for the F! price which i even regret ordering her anything as she had one bite of the pasta & that was it) she left to correct the ticket. on her second try, she made a mistake again and went to correct it for the third time. on her third attempt, things were still wrong. on the fourth attempt, she still charged me for the children's F! package and i was too tired to get her attention again. it's only $3 but out of principle, i was just trying to get a correct check.
after a disappointing meal & service at
MAMA MELROSE, we left to conquer hollywood studios. toy story mania had a wait time of 80 minutes & no more fast passes were available. we then watched the little mermaid, had a blast at the disney junior live on stage & met woody & buzz (again).
i'm so happy emme got to meet jake. i chose mama melrose over hollywood & vine for the F! package & after my experience, i almost wish i chose h&v despite the negative reviews i've read.
handy manny was very sweet to emme.
we got to experience toy story mania in april so i was ok with missing it this trip. we waited about 15 minutes in air conditioning to meet woody & buzz. they are such fun character greets! i really appreciate their energy & entertaining us (it must be so hot in those costumes). emme loves toy story but she was very shy this time around with woody & buzz. i think she was just tired as she passed out right after the pictures.
woody & emme shooting buzz with her wand from CRT. so cute.
of course, the one time i'm in a picture, she refuses to look at the camera. ha
after emme fell asleep, we found a quite table & indulged in a adult beverage. i got the frozen margarita & he got a very weird strawberry daquiri. it was pepto-bismal in color.
very good frozen margarita. there was definitely tequila in that. my stomach hated me after i drank it.
i think it was just a day of disappointment at hollywood studios today. i really wanted a cream cheese stuffed pretzel. we arrive at the pretzel cart and there were no more cream cheese stuffed pretzels. *le sigh* i settled for a regular pretzel but it was just a very sad pretzel.
it was finally time to head over to get our seats for F!. we arrived 45 minutes before show time. people were already starting to line up but the line was moving quickly for the regular line & reserved seating. we parked our stroller by the light post so we could easily retrieve it later.
the reserved seating is to the right of the stage but it really was not a bad view. we sat at the top (right below wheelchair seating) to give us easy access for potty breaks & hopefully for a quick exit after the show.
finally, a happy snack moment at hollywood studios!
emme & i watched F! online but i have never seen it in person. i was really excited to see the show live. it was finally time for the show!
this is a non-zoom picture of the stage from our seat. not too bad & emme was able to stand to see better as there was a very tall person in our view & no one was behind her.
this moment was very amazing to see live! emme ooooooh'ed when she saw mickey and the sparkles. she was jumping up & down & cheering mickey on.
snow white!
emme was very scared for mickey. she told him to "watch out for the snake."
this sequence was so beautiful. i loved every minute of it.
go mickey!
black & white mickey was very neat.
everyone clapped & cheered during this moment. it was awesome.
mama melrose was not my favorite meal of the trip. there was nothing memorable or remarkable about my meal. the pasta was delicious and my biggest regret was not going with my instinct. instead, i tried to get the most bang for my buck & ordered the steak. the desserts were memorable in the fact that they were not very good. how does a dessert look sweet but not be sweet? i felt tricked. (ha ha). the confusion with the server also added to the overall experience.
if i had a do over, i would have picked hollywood & vine for lunch as at least my daughter could have seen the characters. if i didn't like something on the buffet, i'm sure i could have found something else to eat. but i'm glad i got to try
mama melrose. i will not be giving this place another shot. i don't like writing a bad review as i love to eat but i think i'm better off at my local italian eatery.
i am glad to have had the F! dinner package. it was great seats, no wait and we exited pretty quickly & painlessly. it was very nice to just be able to relax & sit without having to wait despite it being very humid & hot. we were close the bathrooms & food + drinks (hooray cold beer!). the view was good and we had a total blast during the show.
minnie dressed as the little mermaid was a great find at hollywood studios!
up next, breakfast at
CAPE MAY CAFE!!!
if anyone needs any special shirts for their upcoming disney trips, i highly recommend ann!! 
