Eight Excellent Nights of Disney Dining - Deluxe Style

[Tinkerbellie16]

I'm with you on the cheese danish - the "cheese" center is my favorite part!

 

[TheNewMrsB]

Loving these reviews! And I'm really looking forward to reading about Narcoossee's - it's our first dinner this upcoming trip and we enjoyed it so much last time.

And ps, just to let you know, your review of Ohana's bread pudding has totally tipped the scale. I just texted DH and told him that it is my MISSION IN LIFE to have that bread pudding. Mission in life. In caps. To show how serious I am about this.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Loving these reviews! And I'm really looking forward to reading about Narcoossee's - it's our first dinner this upcoming trip and we enjoyed it so much last time.

And ps, just to let you know, your review of Ohana's bread pudding has totally tipped the scale. I just texted DH and told him that it is my MISSION IN LIFE to have that bread pudding. Mission in life. In caps. To show how serious I am about this.

I like bananas but banana bread pudding just sounded ok to me so I wasn't expecting much when I went to Ohanas but WOW! It is really THAT GOOD! I'll be there 9/18 and can't wait to EAT!!!!

 

[scanne]

Ok, had we not be on the DxDP, this meal would have cost us well over $400!!! I'm so glad we were on the DxDP as I felt it was an excellent value for what we would have paid oop!

This meal was, by far, the highlight of our trip! Our table was right along the windows and we had a beautiful view of the Seven Seas Lagoon, Cinderella Castle and the Contemporary.

Our server was also excellent. He was attentive, friendly, helpful and had a lot of great Disney tales to tell. He's been with the WDW since 1971!!! Yup!!! Since it opened! So, it was really something to get to talk to someone who'd been there through every transition over the years. I wish we had had more time to just talk to him as I'm sure we barely scratched the surface of his wealth of Disney knowledge!

We began with the bread and butter with Hawaiian sea salt.

We ordered a bottle of Fess Parker Reisling for the table.

We love Reisling. It's sweet and slightly crispt and it really paired well with the seafood entrees we had.

My parents both ordered the caesar salad.

DH and I had the alaskan king crab salad.

This was succulent! OMG! The crab was sweet and full of flavor. My DD loved it, too, and I ended up sharing my salad with her.

The kids had the chicken nuggets. Last year, my DD had the kids filet and I asked her if she wanted it again, but she wanted the chicken this time.

DD got her chicken with a side of macaroni and cheese.

The rest of us all had the surf and turf. Here are a couple of shots. The filets were all tender and the lobster tails were perfectly cooked and not rubbery at all. I asked for roasted potatoes with mine. My parents had the potatoes gratin.

For dessert, we had the desserts from the menu - I had the creme brulees, my parents had the gelato sampler and DH had the fruit pyramid.

The kids had the make-your-own-smores. They LOVE this dessert! It's just so much fun!!!

Now, I had ordered an anniversary cake for DH for this meal. I ordered a 6" almond cake with bavarian cream and fresh strawberries, decorated in rolled fondant and stamped silver Mickeys. It was cute when I checked in to the restaurant and the host even mentioned how the staff had been admiring the cake that day. We got many compliments on the cake from the servers and people sitting around us. Not only was it beautful, but it was delicious!!!!

As a side note, I found that Pat was very helpful when I called the hotline to order this cake. Also, I was originally going to dine at California Grill and order a cake through the Contemporary because I had heard/read/saw pics of the wonderful cakes that CakeManBri has created. Unfortunately, Cali Grill fell through, but next time we go to Disney, Cali Grill is a must do - and so is a cake from CakeManBri!

So that's Narcoosee's. We love it there and hopefully will fit it in again on our next trip.

Up next - 'Ohana for breakfast!

 

[Joshua_me]

Wonderful reviews ! Thanks for taking the time to post them !

Sushi and chocolate milk for breakfast, huh ?

Your DH sounds like a brave and potentially gaseous man !

 

[scanne]

Sushi and chocolate milk for breakfast, huh ?

Your DH sounds like a brave and potentially gaseous man !

DH had the sushi and a powerade - no chocolate milk for him. He's lactose intolerant! I would HATE to see the potential hazard of the sushi and chocolate milk in his system. Not a pretty picture.....

 

[adsrtw]

Happy belated anniversary!

My heart fluttered at the price, but it sounds like everybody enjoyed their meals. I really can be a sappy gal and let me tell ya, that cake brought a tear to my eye (specifically the happily ever after piece). It is so elegant!

We plan to visit Narcoosee's in September. Wow! The stories that your server must have. Simply amazing!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

That cake looks fabulous! I'm seriously considering getting one for DH and I while we are there. YUM!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Wow that cake looks amazing, did it taste anyway near as good as it looked?

 

[JerseyJanice]

Happy birthday and anniversary!

Love reading your reviews and seeing pics of your adorable children.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Happy birthday!!!

My husband and I love Narcoossee's too. I love the cake.

 

[scanne]

Happy belated anniversary!

My heart fluttered at the price, but it sounds like everybody enjoyed their meals. I really can be a sappy gal and let me tell ya, that cake brought a tear to my eye (specifically the happily ever after piece). It is so elegant!

We plan to visit Narcoosee's in September. Wow! The stories that your server must have. Simply amazing!

Thanks for sharing!

Thank you! The cake really wowed my DH as well as many onlookers in the restaurant! I hope you have a great meal in September!

 

[scanne]

Wow that cake looks amazing, did it taste anyway near as good as it looked?

Yes, the cake was absolutely delicious!!! It was moist and fresh and everyone loved the taste! Even the fondant tasted good!

 

[scanne]

Happy birthday and anniversary!

Love reading your reviews and seeing pics of your adorable children.

Thank you!

 

[scanne]

Since we were staying at the Polynesian, I figured it would be nice to try breakfast at 'Ohana. We had a 7:45am ressie, but didn't show up until 8:30, and they sat us right away regardless.

We were first served fresh fruit.

All the fruit was very sweet and delicious, especially the pineapple.

Then they brought out a basket of pastries.

They were ok. I was expecting more, but the breads were a bit on the dry side. I was hoping for something with a muffin or danish texture, but these were a bit more like a dried out bread.

These are Mickey waffles made without any dairy. My DH is lactose intolerant so the chef made him his own batch of dairy-free waffles. And they were really good, too, because DH finished them off!

The other platter was eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes and biscuits. Standard breakfast fare - good eats!

Character interaction was good. We met Mickey, Stitch, Lilo and Pluto.

I won't rush back to 'Ohana for breakfast unless we're staying at a monorail resort, just because of the travel to and from the Polynesian if you're not staying there.

Next - GF Cafe for dinner!

 

[scanne]

We made an early dinner ressie for GF Cafe that day....it was easy to get a reservation right when they open at 5:30. We got to the GF around 5:10 and walked around and shopped a little bit. I love the GF - it is my true favorite at heart - but for me and my family, we see it as "adults only" even though it is very family friendly. DH and I will stay there when the kids don't want to go to Disney anymore. We already have it all planned - a theme park view room in the main building. I'm sure if we booked that with the kids, they wouldn't complain, but I'll probably wait until they're older - like teenagers - and could appreciate it more.

OK, back to the food. I loved the GF Cafe! I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone, especially if you're staying at a monorail resort and are looking for a nice place to eat with a bright and cheerful ambiance.

Here is the bread basket.

And the same butter and salt that is served at Narcoosee's.

DD had the kids chicken noodle soup as her appetizer.

I had the caesar salad.

DH and my mom had the field greens with strawberries and goat cheese (or maybe it was feta or gorgonzola?).

My dad had the mussels. Mind you, this is an appetizer portion. He loved it!

The salads were all fresh and dressed nicely - no heavy dressing. I love caesar salads at Disney for some reason. They never disappoint! DH and my mom's salad was also very tasty and my dad was in heaven with those mussels!

For entrees, we went light and healthy.

DD had the kids salmon. The grill it on a piece of sugar cane, so it imparts a sweetness to the fish. She loved it and ate it all up!

DH and my mom had the pasta with shrimp and peas, but both asked for it in a marinara as opposed to a cream sauce. They both enjoyed the dish. It was a very large portion as well.

I had the salmon with asparagus and mushrooms and I also got an order of mashed potatoes on the side. I wasn't charged for the extra side of mashed.

My dad had the pork chop with some kind of veggie ragout. He loved this, as well, and wished he had room to finish, but was quite full from all those mussels!

DS had the chicken nuggets. I didn't take a picture of those, sorry.

For dessert, the kids both had worms in dirt.

My mom and I shared the dessert sampler. Tiramisu, lemon cheesecake, key lime pie and....

Chocolate hazelnut cake, I think.

The lemon cheesecake and key lime pie were the best, but my DS ate most of the cheesecake. I had the key lime pretty much to myself, since no one else cared for it.

DH and my dad had the lemon sorbet with raspberry sauce. This was very good and refreshing!

I loved the GF Cafe and will go back! I'd even go there for lunch to take a break from the MK one day. It was excellent!!!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Thank you so much for your Narcoossee's review, DH and I are going to try it in Oct and I cannot wait!

I also agree with you on GFC, we stumbled on it a few years ago and were so thrilled with our meal.

And I also agree about CP, our last dinner there was our LAST dinner there....everything was so salty it was inedible.

 

[iloveeeyore]

Hi, scanne! I loved reading your live report because it kept me going before my own trip. Now I have returned from WDW and I am catching up with your dining reviews. Thank you so much for sharing!

 

[rodeo65]

Narcoossee's sounds wonderful. We've booked Cali Grill this trip, but I'd like to try Narcoossee's some day. I'd also really like to try GF Cafe as well.

Hmmm, maybe I should switch it for our Coral Reef - that didn't sound great and plays into my already unsure thoughts about that ressie. DH just thinks the kids will love eating and seeing the fishies. I'm still not sold - booked but not sold.

 

[sherriepaul]

The pics are wonderful! Helped me to change my mind about a couple of places. Thanks!