First visit, wedding & honeymoon trip (with photos) 10/22 - 10/30, Updated 12/23

[Lulu83]

Hi everyone This is my very first dining review! I scoured these reviews when planning our trip, so I thought it would be great to write my own to help out any other planners. My husband and I made the long trip from Australia to the US and took our first trip to WDW in October and were married (just the two of us) at Sunset Point at the Polynesian.

As we received annual passes as part of our wedding package, we decided not to do a dining package (as we didn't need park tickets) and purchased Tables in Wonderland instead. I'm pretty sure I managed to take a photo of almost everything we ate, and have kept all of our receipts so I can include the cost, and how much we saved using TiW.

I was a little over ambitious in planning our ADRs, and actually ended up cancelling some of them once we arrived, as I realised there was no way we'd be able to fit in everything I'd hoped on our first visit! This gives us a great excuse for another visit. Because of this we ended up eating at a lot more quick service venues than I'd planned.

We are not huge eaters, usually only order dessert at dinner and on several days we only ate two meals (had a combined breakfast and lunch). I think we would really struggle on a dining plan! We aren't very picky eaters and enjoy pretty much everything. I have a bit of a sweet tooth and particularly enjoy ice cream!

The restaurants I'll be reviewing are;

* Plaza Restaurant (dinner)
* Tangierine Cafe (lunch)
* Nine Dragons (dinner)
* Crystal Palace (breakfast)
* Victoria and Alberts, main dining room (dinner - wedding night) Part One
* Victoria and Alberts, main dining room (dinner - wedding night) Part Two
* Earl of Sandwich (lunch)
* France Wine Kiosk EPCOT (snack)
* Ohana (dinner)
* Riverside Mill Food Court (lunch)
* ABC Commissary (dinner)
* Beaches and Cream (snack/dessert)
* Flame Tree Barbecue (lunch)
* California Grill (dinner)
* Aloha Isle (snack)
* RIX Cafe at Coronado Springs (brunch)
* Columbia Harbor House (lunch)
* Rosies All American Cafe (dinner)
* Beverly Sunset (snack/dessert)
* Starring Rolls Cafe (lunch)

The above restaurants are for our stay from 10/22 - 10/30. We then drove down to Miami, and the Keys for a few nights. DH knew how sad I was to have left WDW and surprised me by sneaking in another two nights! So my "bonus" reviews will be;

* Music Intermission Food Court, All Star Music (breakfast)
* Turkey Leg Cart (lunch)
* La Cantina, EPCOT (dinner)
* Plaza Ice Cream Parlor (snack/dessert)

I love reading reviews with cute rating systems, so couldn't resist creating one for my review. I'm a big Cars fan if you couldn't tell

* 1 star - Sir Miles Axelrod

Terrible, possibly inedible.

* 2 stars - Chick Hicks.

Disappointing, and not enjoyable, we probably wouldn't go back.

* 3 stars - Mater.

Average, no major complaints but nothing particularly memorable.

* 4 stars - Sally.

Very good, almost perfect.

* 5 stars - The man himself, Lightning McQueen!

A meal we loved and couldn't fault in any way.

Thanks for following along!

 

[Lulu83]

We had a 7pm ADR here, but ended up being about 15 minutes late as we had trouble trading in our annual pass vouchers as I'd forgotten my photo ID and had to go back to our hotel to get it! Fortunately this didn't end up being a problem, and our pager went off after about 5 minutes.

We were seated in the main dining room, in a nice quiet corner. Service was fast and efficient. We noticed that there were quite a few tables that hadn't been cleared, a lot of them seemed to have uneaten and rapidly melting ice-cream, which made me a bit sad as I hate seeing food wasted (seriously some tables had sundaes that looked untouched on them!)

We both ordered the Angus Chuck Cheeseburger with American cheese. DH also added bacon and onions. I ordered fries as my side, and DH went for potato chips, and we shared these. We each got a Diet Coke (as we did pretty much every meal!)

We loved the condiments that came with our burgers. DH loves to add lots of ketchup to his burger so he was very happy. We thought the burgers were average, tasty but nothing special. The lettuce was pretty limp and the potato chips were a little soggy. Our meals were also a little cold by the time they reached us.

For dessert we shared the Plaza Restaurant Sundae, "Ice Cream of your choice topped with choice of Hot Fudge, Strawberry Sauce, Crushed Pineapple, Chopped Nuts, Whipped Cream, and a Cherry". We chose cookies and cream ice-cream with hot fudge sauce. This was delicious and a perfect size for sharing.

The total cost came to $42.02;

* Two burgers at $13.99 each
* Plaza sundae $5.49
* Two diet cokes $5.98

We hadn't purchased our TiW card yet so there was no discount on this meal.

Rating;

We enjoyed this meal and had no real complaints, but would probably try somewhere different next time. We didn't really feel the burgers were substantially nicer than the quick service burgers. The ice-cream sundae was delicious, but we figured it's almost impossible to get ice-cream wrong so this isn't really reflective of the restaurant itself.

 

[Lulu83]

We slept quite late this day as we'd stayed in the Magic Kingdom until 1am for Extra Magic Hours. Because of this we skipped breakfast and started the day with lunch. DH unfortunately woke up with a bad headache so wasn't feeling particularly hungry and we shared one meal for lunch. We actually ended up heading back to the hotel so he could sleep it off for a few hours afterwards.

We ordered the chicken and lamb Schwarma combo platter, which came with (not surprisingly!) chicken and lamb, "served with side of Hummus, Tabouleh and a Tangierine Couscous Salad with fresh Moroccan bread", and a large diet coke. We find the US drink servings are a lot more generous than those at home, so a large soda is usually more than enough for the two of us to share.

This meal was seriously delicious. The meats were tender and beautifully marinated and the yoghurt dressing on top was very tasty. The hummus and couscous were delicious. We could have done with some extra bread to scoop up all that yummy goodness! My only complaint was that I'm not a fan of raw onion so I took this off (of course this is a personal preference thing, I know lots of people love it!) I also thought this meal was a bargain, it was only $1 more than the price of the lamb platter to add chicken, definitely worthwhile, and plenty for two people with light appetites/who are mild-moderately hungry to share

The total cost came to $17.56

* Combo chicken lamb Schwarma platter $13.99
* Large diet coke $2.49

Rating;

For me this is as good as quick service gets!

 

[librarygeek]

Yay! I'm looking forward to your dining review! So first of all, I love the fact that your husband surprised you with a few extra days in Disney - that is so sweet. I also love your rating system! I didn't come up with anything clever for my last dining review, maybe I'll be inspired to do something for my next one!

* Plaza looks decent. I've never eaten there, but I'd guess your rating is pretty accurate. The ice cream looks tasty though!
* I think my DH would really like Tangierine Cafe. He can't stand onion though so he would take it off like you! We are also not huge eaters and that looks like the perfect plate for sharing!

I'm looking forward to hearing about a lot of the places you tried - especially Victoria and Alberts!

 

[pumba]

I too am anxious for your reviews and photos..
We have been to Tangierine Cafe and had the
same platter...it was to much for one person and
we had purchased two...very good though..
Thanks for your honeymoon sharing with us..
Congratulations

 

[klacey1]

Great reviews so far! Subscribing!!

 

[butiflfeet]

Congratulations! And thanks for sharing your reviews. Tangierine Cafe always looks really good but we've never tried it We have a lot of really good middle eastern restaurants where we live so we end up trying other cuisines while on vacation.

 

[MissPrice]

Joining In

 

[emmysmommy]

Congratulations on your wedding and Dismoon!!

Your reviews are off to a great start - I love Plaza Restaurant and the burgers!

I'm looking forward to reading more.

 

[bluechic03]

Congrats! Can't wait for more

 

[Lulu83]

Yay! I'm looking forward to your dining review! So first of all, I love the fact that your husband surprised you with a few extra days in Disney - that is so sweet. I also love your rating system! I didn't come up with anything clever for my last dining review, maybe I'll be inspired to do something for my next one!

* Plaza looks decent. I've never eaten there, but I'd guess your rating is pretty accurate. The ice cream looks tasty though!
* I think my DH would really like Tangierine Cafe. He can't stand onion though so he would take it off like you! We are also not huge eaters and that looks like the perfect plate for sharing!

I'm looking forward to hearing about a lot of the places you tried - especially Victoria and Alberts!

Thank you! You should totally do a Harry Potter themed rating system for your next review I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates raw onion, I had one other bad experience on this trip coming up later in the review (lobster roll at Columbia Harbor House) so I'd strongly recommend your DH avoid that too!

I too am anxious for your reviews and photos..
We have been to Tangierine Cafe and had the
same platter...it was to much for one person and
we had purchased two...very good though..
Thanks for your honeymoon sharing with us..
Congratulations

Great reviews so far! Subscribing!!

Congratulations! And thanks for sharing your reviews. Tangierine Cafe always looks really good but we've never tried it We have a lot of really good middle eastern restaurants where we live so we end up trying other cuisines while on vacation.

Joining In

Congratulations on your wedding and Dismoon!!

Your reviews are off to a great start - I love Plaza Restaurant and the burgers!

I'm looking forward to reading more.

Congrats! Can't wait for more

Thanks everyone, I'm so excited to have some readers!

 

[Lulu83]

We didn't have anything planned for dinner this night, but knew we'd be in EPCOT. The first thing we did when we returned to the park for the evening was buy our Tables in Wonderland card. Then we had a wander around World Showcase to see what took our fancy.

I was interested in going to Lotus Blossom Cafe, but DH preferred the look of the menu at Nine Dragons. They were able to seat us as a walk-in no problems, and we didn't have any wait.

I did find it a little deceptive that the menu outside the restaurant didn't have prices on it, but said something like "entrées from $10". We soon realised that was a bit of an underestimation and most were closer to the $20 mark. This wasn't a big deal, but next time I'd possibly ask to look at a menu first so I have a better idea.

We had two servers, as one was a young lady in training. She was very nervous, probably because of the older lady constantly looking over her shoulder, but did a good job. The tables in this restaurant are quite close together, but it didn't bother us. We really liked the decor inside.

We both love Chinese jasmine tea, so ordered one each, which we enjoyed. For our entrées we shared the Honey Sesame Chicken and Sweet and Sour Pork. The chicken came with steamed rice and the pork with "lightly spiced spinach noodles". I apologise if these photos are a little dark, I didn't like to use the flash.

Honey Chicken

Sweet and Sour Pork (with tea in the background)

The honey chicken was very tasty. Not too sweet, not too doughy (I hate it when you get a mouthful of raw batter because it's been put on too thick or not cooked long enough) and the chicken was moist and tender white meat. The rice was nicely cooked.

The sweet and sour pork was also nice, but not as good as the chicken. The sauce was a little odd, not unpleasant and still tasty but just not like the sweet and sour we are used to/were expecting. It was very thick and dark coloured (we are used to a thinner pinkish sauce). Maybe this is what sweet and sour is like in the US and we're just used to something different in Aus? Again I liked that the pork wasn't oily or coated in a thick batter.

The weirdest thing about the pork though was the noodles it came with. Again these were nice and we enjoyed them, but we didn't feel they went with the pork at all. They had more of an Italian, than Asian, taste to us (strong flavours of chilli and garlic).

The bill came to $40.59

* Two hot tea $3.36
* Honey Chicken $18.98
* Sweet and Sour Pork $16.98
* 18% Tiw gratuity $7.08
* 20% TiW discount -$7.86

Rating;

Definitely a lot nicer than food court Chinese and an above average meal. While some of the food was not what we were expecting it was still tasty and we ate it all! It was a nice environment to relax in and have a break from the park.

 

[Lulu83]

This was our wedding day! Our ceremony was at 5pm and we knew we'd be unlikely to have much for lunch so figured a buffet breakfast was the perfect way to start our day.

This was our hands down favourite meal of our whole trip. Mainly because of the amazing service we received here, the staff went way above and beyond to make our wedding morning special. This restaurant now has a very special place in our hearts and will be a "must do" for our future visits.

Our ADR was for 8:50am, and the MK opened at 9am on this day. We loved being able to take some shots in front of the castle and Main St while they were so empty. We had about a 10 minute wait for our table, which was decorated with this;

Our waitress noticed our "Happily Ever After" buttons (this was the first day we'd worn them) and was very excited to hear we were getting married that afternoon, we heard lots of congratulations on our trip but you could tell she was genuinely thrilled for us. A few nearby tables also overheard and wished us congratulations which was very sweet. We were bought some orange juice and coffee which were both very nice.

We were lucky that all the characters were close to our table and met Pooh and Piglet before getting our food. Our waitress told Pooh we were getting married that day and he gave me a super big hug which was very sweet!

We then got our first plates;

This is DH's. I can't remember what's hiding under his toast (yup it is actually toasted, I say it's more like hot bread!) but he had sausage with sausage gravy, bacon and eggs to start. This was the first time he'd tasted sausage gravy (we don't have it back home) and he raved about it!

This is my first plate. I had bacon, sausage, eggs, Pooh's puffed French toast with strawberry sauce and a pancake with syrup. I soon realised that as calm as I was trying to be my appetite was very light due to wedding excitement, and although I had a taste of everything I only finished the French toast and gave the rest to DH. The French toast was incredible, best breakfast food ever!

As we were finishing up our first plates our waitress came over to us with the manager of the restaurant. She'd heard we were getting married and snuck out to buy us a present! I was so touched by their thoughtfulness, I'm very surprised I didn't cry! They gave us mugs, a card from the staff and a signed photo from the characters. It was so sweet and the absolute perfect start to our wedding day. Especially as we didn't have any guests at our wedding it was lovely to be able to share our excitement with others.

After this I was quite overwhelmed and just sat at our table with a massive grin on my face and enjoyed watching the children interact with the characters. We met and had our photo with Tigger and Eeyore. We did go back for more food (all I could eat though was another piece of French toast and a Mickey waffle, both delicious!) but I didn't get any more photos. I'm a bit sad there were a few things I'd hoped to try and didn't get to, but hopefully I'll have more of an appetite next time!

The total cost came to $47.46

* Two adult breakfasts $45.98
* 18% TiW gratity $8.28
* 20% TiW discount -$9.20

Rating;

Best meal of our trip, delicious food, great character interaction but most of all amazing staff.

 

[librarygeek]

Thank you! You should totally do a Harry Potter themed rating system for your next review I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates raw onion, I had one other bad experience on this trip coming up later in the review (lobster roll at Columbia Harbor House) so I'd strongly recommend your DH avoid that too!

Haha too late! He actually ordered the lobster roll on our honeymoon and not surprisingly was disappointed with the onion in it. He spent forever trying to pick it all out.

The honey sesame chicken at Nine Dragons looks pretty tasty. I don't read a lot of reviews of that places so it's good to see it. And how sweet of the CMs at Crystal Palace!! That's some true Disney magic right there. I'm so glad you got such awesome treatment on your wedding morning!

 

[CaliBear]

Congratulations! And what a nice story about your wedding day breakfast! Thanks also for the Nine Dragons review. Subscribing

 

[J.ThaddeusToad]

Joining in! Great reviews so far! I love that the Crystal Palace gave you two some extra magic/pixie dust on your wedding day. Sooo special and really the epitome of Disney magic! Can't wait to read more.

 

[BonvillainFamily]

Congratulations! Joining in! So glad you got special treatment on your wedding day!

 

[Lulu83]

Haha too late! He actually ordered the lobster roll on our honeymoon and not surprisingly was disappointed with the onion in it. He spent forever trying to pick it all out.

The honey sesame chicken at Nine Dragons looks pretty tasty. I don't read a lot of reviews of that places so it's good to see it. And how sweet of the CMs at Crystal Palace!! That's some true Disney magic right there. I'm so glad you got such awesome treatment on your wedding morning!

Oh I can so sympathise with the onion! We hadn't heard much about Nine Dragons before either, I think the fact it isn't one of the most popular restaurants is why we were lucky enough to be seated without an ADR!

Congratulations! And what a nice story about your wedding day breakfast! Thanks also for the Nine Dragons review. Subscribing

Thank you

Joining in! Great reviews so far! I love that the Crystal Palace gave you two some extra magic/pixie dust on your wedding day. Sooo special and really the epitome of Disney magic! Can't wait to read more.

Thanks! You summed up Crystal Palace so well - definitely the epitome of Disney magic, I can't imagine getting special treatment like that at any other restaurant outside of WDW!

Congratulations! Joining in! So glad you got special treatment on your wedding day!

Thanks for following along!

 

[Lulu83]

I'm going to apologise in advance that these photos are a bit too dark. I just didn't feel comfortable to use flash in such a lovely restaurant. Hopefully you can still get a good idea of what everything looked like anyway! I also didn't get any photos of the bread service. DH was very patient with my photo taking on this trip, but he adores bread and was very hungry having missed lunch. I knew he wouldn't have appreciated me insisting on taking even more photos!

What better place to have a romantic dinner for two on your wedding night than Victoria & Alberts?!

We had an 8:30pm ADR. We had to get up at 3:30am the following morning to get ready for our wedding photos in front of the castle, but we knew we wouldn't be able to make it in time for the 6pm seating so we hoped that the excitement of being in the MK before anyone else would get us out of bed the next morning! (it did ) Because of our early start we skipped the alcohol and stuck to sparkling water.

We ate in the main dining room at V&As, which was more than fancy enough for us. As it was a Wednesday night it wasn't particularly busy, maybe about half full? We were seated along a wall, and the restaurant had a very intimate romantic feeling with dim lighting and lovely harp music.

When we sat down I was bought a hook for my handbag so it wouldn't have to be on the floor. My dress had elbow length sleeves (I changed out of my wedding dress!) so I was comfortable in the air conditioning, but I saw a waitress offer another lady with a sleeveless dress a shawl if she got cold. Our menus were personalised with our names and "congratulations on your marriage" which was very sweet.

We had the option to add white truffle or caviar to our meal, but declined this.

Our amuse-bouche was a "taste of melon". This is the one course I didn't get a photo of because I got such a shock when they bought it out. I am very allergic to watermelon (as in my throat swells shut, I have breathing difficulties etc.). I had completely forgotten to mention it when they asked us at the time of booking if we had any special dietary needs, so I didn't say anything, but there was no way I could have eaten it. Luckily my new DH has a very healthy appetite and secretly ate both amuse bouches! I didn't mind as I knew there would be more than enough food to come!

For our first course we both had;

Roasted Long Island Duck with Pomegranate, Pistachios and Hearts of Palm

This was delicious! The duck was perfectly cooked (we both like our meats on the rare to medium side) and very tender. The white powder next to the duck is dried duck fat! It melted when spread over the meat and added a beautiful rich flavour. The absolute best thing about this dish though was the crispy crepe filled with a salad with shredded duck meat. The salad was so good! We both loved this course.

For our second course we both ordered the same again;

Onion Ash Crusted Black Grouper with Zellwood Corn Ragout

This dish had three different textures of corn, which was the highlight for me as I love corn! The grouper was moist and tender, but had less of an ashy flavour than I was expecting. Again we both really enjoyed it.

For our third course I had;

Braised Oxtail and Cherry Ravioli with Roasted Red Peppers

DH had;

Porcini Mushroom Soup with Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding

The ravioli was seriously delicious, even better than the duck! The meat inside the ravioli was tender and falling apart, and the cherry blended so well with the other flavours. I enjoyed this so much I don't think I even let DH have a taste!

DH also enjoyed his soup. The bread pudding had dried shiitake mushrooms on top which he particularly enjoyed.

We were also served three different breads throughout our meal. From memory I think one of them was a white bread/sourdough, then a chives/herb bread and our favourite was a delicious wholegrain bread that the pastry chef makes with grains shipped in from his home town in Austria! They were also served with different butters to compliment them. I was worried about filling up on bread but they were too delicious I couldn't resist trying them all.

Up next; our final three courses

 

[suburbiatexas]

congrats on your forever happiness.....loving the reviews!