So to end our day in Epcot we had a ressie for the Rose & Crown Pub. The reason we choose the Rose & Crown Pub is we read on the DIS boards that it has a private patio that is made available to diners that has one of the best views of Illuminations.
So we made a ressie for 7pm. Now at the time I made the ressie I swear the park schedule said Illuminations would be at 8pm, so a 7pm ressie seemed certain. About a week out I was double checking everything and noticed that Illuminations was starting at 9pm. To this day I don't know if they changed it or I just missed it but now it was 9pm and and our ressie was for 7pm, I hoped this would not be a problem.
The sole reason for picking Rose & Crown was the private seating for Illuminations the kids are small and I thought it would be great to watch it without having to fight the crowds, to be honest nothing on the menu looked that great, England is known for its food, and Fish and Chips are not my thing.
So we get to Rose & Crown at 7:12 we are late. We just had to go on Test Track one more time, by far my kids favorite ride in Disney. So we check-in and wait and wait and wait. It was cold that night and it was not a great experience. I didn't feel like I could complain because we were late but we had been waiting a long time. At 7:51 we got seated.
The bar area was packed and we got seated at the table that shared the half-wall with bar, so it was really loud. So far not the event I had hoped for and I was prepared to be disappointed in the food.
Our Waitress Kayleigh came and greeted us and asked if we had waited long. I said yes and when I told her how long she apologized over and over again.
Now Kayleigh was great she was attentive without be bothersome, and like most parents treat our kids great and we are happy even though the place was packed she took the time to talk to our kids about Disney and ask them about all the things they were doing and who they met. She really made an effort to reach out and the kids loved it. She also told the kids all about her home in England.
Now for the food
My DS had the Cheese Pizza with apples, he liked nothing really surprising here.
My DD really stepped out the box and the had good kids menu with lots of choices and she tried the grilled chicken, fries and green beans. She ate it all and this choice and that she ate it all really surprised us. As you can see in the pic she got a little help from Mom.
For the table there was bread served on faux newspaper really cool touch
After asking for recommendations from Kayleigh our waitress my wife choose the Sunday roast. Kayleigh talked about how in England it is a long held tradition to eat this every Sunday and how her Mom made this every Sunday for the family. We love Epoct because we had great rides but we learned so much about other cultures the kids enjoyed that more than I thought they would. The plan was to learn how to say Hi in evry country saying Hi in England was so funny to my DD she said they say hi too.
The Sunday Roast was great my DW loved it and thought it tasted homecooked, and had the warm you from the inside feeling you get from drink hot cocoa on a cold day.
So I had checked out all the menu items on allears and I was just set that nothing on the menu was my cup of tea(we are in England
)Nothing jumped out at me so after talking to Kayleigh and weighing my options and her recommendations I went with the Chicken Mushroom Pie. I was really worried that it would taste like the a chicken pot pie nothing special kinda of boring and mushy. Here is what it looked like.
Ok it looks great the top is super flaky, it is going to be terrible inside I thought. I was so wrong it was great the chicken and mushroom and the sauce were perfect. It had a unique flavor that was different but in a strange way I knew. I would describe it as comfort food. It was really well done and great on a cold night. The food was great zero complaints only praise would eat there with or without Illuminations. Oh Illuminations I will get to that first our appetizers I had some Shrimp and the wife had a salad and we all got dessert.
My shrimp were tasty and the DW enjoyed her salad.
My dessert was The Bakewell Tart and it was Tart and Sweet perfect for me just had trouble eating it all I was stuffed.
The DW had the Lemon Tart which she consumed quickly which is such a surprise as she is a dainty thing.
The kids had their favorite
When we first got seated I told Kayleigh our waitress that we wanted to see Illuminations and she said she would take care of it no worries. Well about 8:55 she came and got us and said follow me and took us to their private patio where she seated us at a table for four and right next to one of those outdoor patio heaters and we saw the amazing Illuminations with no crowd and no one to see over or around and it was great and it was warm.
When the show was over she escorted us back and we ate dessert.
Rose & Crown started as a means to an end and in the end the means out did the end. The food was great, the show was great, but the CM Kayleigh was the best, the kids wanted to take a pic with her, and come see her again the next day. They acted like she was Mickey Mouse. At the end of the evening I asked if I could speak to her manager the manager came out and I told her and Kayleigh how great Kayleigh was and how she really made our night special after waiting 45 mins. The manager said that Kayleigh had already told her about our waiting and they were only going to charge us with 3 dining credits instead of 4!!! Now if that wasn't enough then Kayleigh hit us with the biggest surprise tonight was her FIRST night serving she had just started. Wow!
A few more shots of our time at R&C
The one and only most amazing CM Kayleigh
If anybody knows where we can write and tell someone else in Disney Management about the amazing Kayleigh please let me know
The cost we got the free kids meal so just keep that in mind
Total cost with tax without tip was $84.52 or three dining credits
What a nice CM at Rose. 
