Food Fest '07 with lots of pics!

[akalittleeva]

Great reviews! The potatoes at Coral Reef and Garden Grill look very similar - was there much difference between the two?

 

[TigerKat]

Enjoying your reviews very much!!!!

 

[irongirlof12]

really enjoying your reviews, thanks for sharing

 

[PrincessTiff]

Wonderful, thank you for sharing!

 

[Tinkerbell_Girl]

Tinkerbell girl, that has got to be the cutest image of Tinker Bell I've EVER seen!

Thanks!

 

[penguingirlie]

Great pictures and reviews. I am glad you enjoyed the Garden Grill. It was one I was a little unsure about.

 

[Busymom85]

Great reviews and pictures. Thank you.

 

[DLo]

Awesome reviews and pics. It sounds you and your sister had a great time together.

looking forward to the rest.

 

[wilma-bride]

Excellent reviews - you may just have persuaded me to try Coral Reef on our next trip.

 

[intricatejewel]

How are the lines at World Premier Court in the morning? At Pop they are so bad!

Actually, they weren't too bad. The lines to pick out your food always moved fairly quickly and they usually had enough CM's at the register that I never had to wait more than a few minutes to pay for my food.

 

[intricatejewel]

Great reviews! The potatoes at Coral Reef and Garden Grill look very similar - was there much difference between the two?

Yeah, you'll notice they serve scalloped potatoes EVERYWHERE! But to answer your question: yes, they were different- in flavor, at least. The potatoes at Garden Grill were so cheesy and creamy, they melted in your mouth unlike the ones at Coral Reef which I thought were dry and I only took a bite out of them before pushing them to the side of the plate.

 

[intricatejewel]

Okay, time to finish up!

Sunday, September 9 (Day 6)

Today, we decided on spending the whole day 'Animal Kingdom Style.' We got up early for our 9:10am reservations for Donald's Breakfastosauras. I've NEVER had my picture taken with Donald, so we mainly booked this place for him! When we arrived, I was surprised to see how packed it was. I had to wait in a line of about 10 people just to check in! The CM at the reservation slip gave me a slip and directed us to a photographer taking pictures just outside the restaurant. (At this point, my sister and I were getting photopass photographers to snap our picture at every opportunity- we wanted to get the most out of the CD we planned on buying at the end of our trip! ) After the photographer took our photo, she took the slip and informed us that we could view the photo and purchase it after our meal. (We were disappointed to find that this wasn't a photopass option We didn't get the picture because they wanted $30 for a 5x7! ) We were sat within a very short time. Oh, that air conditioning felt so good. Anyone ever notice that Animal Kingdom just seems so much hotter and humid than any other park? I think it's because of all that foliage. Okay, back on to the reviews...

This restaurant was utterly packed. We were tucked away to the farthest corner of the restaurant in a room that was kind of seperated from the main dining room. That was just fine by us since it was much quieter. Our server was friendly and there was immediately a caraf of orange juice and water on our table. She explained that we simply grab a plate located near the buffet and eat to our little hearts conent. My kind of restaurant!

They offered a huge array of breakfast items: Scrambled eggs, frittata, chocolate chip pancakes, sausage gravy and biscuits, waffles, bagels, cold cereal and fresh fruit. I mean, just look at our plates! We definitely made oinkers of ourselves!

The food was so-so. The fresh fruit was just that-fresh and I ate mostly of this. The character interaction was extremely disappointing. They stayed barely long enough to snap off one picture and then they were gone. Pluto almost skipped me and this other guy sitting next to us. He and I just kinda glanced at each other with puzzled expressions. My sister practically dragged Pluto back by his collar and told him that he'd entirely skipped that guy and me. Pluto gave such an attitude: He put his hand on his hip and the other hand up in the air as if implying we were wasting his time. Mickey seemed the least impatient. When I asked the server what was going on she told us that they had to be 'somewhere else.' After hearing this, I was ready to go. We decided not to waste TS credits on this, paid OoP and left. I will most definitely NOT be back!

We stayed until the park closed and hopped a bus on over to Animal Kingdom lodge for our reservations at Boma. I made the reservation for 5:25pm but they had us in the system for 5:15pm so I guess we were late. Didn't matter as we still had to wait over 30 minutes for our table. That was kinda understandable as this place was completely packed as well! My DBF and I had such a good experience here last year, that I decided to come back again this year so my sister could try all the African inspired meals.
Our server seemed a little aggravated and short with us that night, but I think she just felt overwhelmed. I was a little irritated that she told me off for not immediately telling her we were on the dining plan. I mean, we hadn't even given her a drink order when she did her scary, exorcist head spinning stunt. She seemed to calm down later on in the night as her tables left and became a little more friendlier...
Boma is your typical buffet: just grab a plate and help yourself. They had frattitude potatoes, prime rib, roasted vegetables, hummus dips, watermelon rind salad and my all time favorite, curried chicken soup. The pork in curry sauce was especially good that night as was the prime rib. I was very sad that my curry soup was extremely thick; more like a gravy than a soup. I think I wasn't feeling very good from the heat all day and I'm sad to say I only took one bite of everything. For some reason, I concentrated on the fruit again. My sister, on the other hand, ate enough for the both of us. She was really regretting it later that night when she was still burping up all those spices.

Of course, I'm sure most of you reading this have heard about the famous zebra domes! You know, I'm really not that big a fan. I don't really care for rich deserts and I think zebra domes are just that. But they have so many other desserts to choose from: coconut cake, milk flan, chocolate mousse, apple cobbler, flaky pastries and banana pudding.

I'd decided to return the favor to my sister and told the CM at the front desk that it was my sisters 'unbirthday.' The server brought out a board with chocolate frosting wishing her a happy birthday. It was nothing more than some cookies, a couple gummy bears and mickey sprinkles on a wooden board but my sister was thrilled by it, nontheless.

We tipped the server extra for at least putting on a show when she brought out the birthday board.
It wasn't the best experience this time around, but the food is unique and delicious and definitely worth trying out. I know I'll return again.

We stopped at Downtown Disney to finish up our shopping. I have to say, we're such a bad influence on each other. I'm going to be paying off this shopping spree for some time now.
We stopped in at Goofy's Candy Co and used up the rest of our snack credits. We each got the pretzel rod creations and then some peanut brittle, lollipops, trail mix and cotton candy to take home to our nieces. Anything under $4 can be used for snack credits. It's a great place to use them up!

 

[intricatejewel]

Oh no, our last day at Disney! But, we definitely saved the best for last

 

[intricatejewel]

Oops, my cat jumped on the keyboard and somehow sent my last message before I was finished! Anyway....

Monday, September 10 (Day 7)

We slept in a bit and then headed off to Typhoon Lagoon where we got lunch at Leaning Palms. We got hungry around 1:00pm and stood in a long line to order our food and an even longer line to GET our food. We both ordered the chicken wrap with apple slices, HUGE orange sodas and a cookies n' cream ice cream sandwich for me mickey ice cream bar for her. The CM traying up the orders was offering everyone to come back for their ice creams so it wouldn't melt while they ate their meals, but we didn't want to wait in line again so we just took ours. We found a spot under cover and ate our meals in comfort while it rained.
The chicken wrap was fresh and pretty huge. We didn't bring the camera with us to the water park, so of course I didn't get a picture. Sorry. The apple slices were extremely fresh and flavorful and I was sorely tempted to take my sisters packet. Don't worry, I resisted temptation... She made me mad, though when she broke up some of her apple slices into bite sized pieces to give to the birds. It wasn't just that I wanted them, but those birds can be a darned nuisance when you're eating and she was only encouraging their behavior.
The ice cream wasn't too badly melted and we made short work of those. All in all, it was a nice, relaxing lunch and I wouldn't mind going back for one of those chicken wraps again.

And now, for the best part of the whole vacation! Can you feel the anticipation?

We went back to our room, barely had enough time to change and then raced back out the door to catch a bus to Epcot so we could hop the monorail over to the Grand Floridian for our reservation at 5:45pm at Narcoosee's. All was going smoothly and right as scheduled until we got on the monorail. Of all the modes of transportation that Disney offers, I always believed that the monorail was the most reliable and time efficient way of traveling. We truly waited and sat in that monorail for 30 minutes before it left the station. My sister and I were pretty frustrated by the time we arrived at the Grand Floridian at 6:15pm, a full 30 minutes later than our reso. We couldn't immediately find Narcoosee's and had to ask a passing CM for directions. We arrived a little sweaty from our speed walk to the restaurant. Oh, and I feel I should go a little off topic with a related story...
Last year, my DBF and I decided to do a signature dining experience over at Yachtsman's Steakhouse. We knew it was a little upscale and decided to gussy ourselves up and make a night of it. But when we walked in, we were painfully aware that we were overdressed compared to the other diners. I was simply wearing a light, summer red dress and my man opted for some slacks and polo shirt. Nothing I'd call glamorous, but appropriate for the occassion. We felt a little self conscious but still made a good night of it.
So, now I'm getting to the point... We both brought nice clothes to dress up in but neither of us felt like wearing heels so I insisted to my sister that it would be okay to wear jeans and a T-shirt. Up until that day, we realized we hadn't worn any disney character t-shirts while we were there, so we decided to try out a couple of new shirts that night. I think it's also very important to mention that this was officially my sisters Birthday and she wanted to be a little eccentric that night and had us wear tiaras.
Yes folks, she really wanted to be a princess for the day. She's still bitter that Bippity Boppity Boutique couldn't give her a make-over. I'll share my secret with you guys: I wouldn't mind dressing the part as a Disney princess either...
So moving on, we arrived a little out of breath in jeans, disney shirts and sparkly tiaras. The poor CM just didn't know how to react. I was more than a little frantic when I explained the reason we were late and practically begged them to still take us. Fortunately, it was still early and there was plenty of seating. The manager at the front desk got a chuckle when he saw us and offered us a nice view of Cinderella's castle. By the time my sister and I sat down and looked around us, we were painfully aware that we were REALLY underdressed and looking even more ridiculous than I could imagine. We tried to laugh it off as best we could.
We had the best server named Amer. It's been over a year since I served in fine dining, but my sister still does and between the two of us, we know what to look for in good service and Amer honestly went above AND beyond! He jokingly admired our attire and helped us feel a little more at ease. My sister and I decided to order a bottle of the IMAGINE chardonnay. It was very delicious and not too oaky as some chardonnays tend to be. I took pictures of the wine bottle, but they came out extremely blurry. Well, to be truthful, I think it was the wine that was making me blurry by that time! :
We started with the mussels in garlic sauce. I don't think I can emphasize enough that these were the best mussels either of us had ever had the pleasure of tasting!!! I would have happily gone on eating that all night. Oh yeah, the butter they serve the bread with is sprinkled with Hawaiin Sea Salt. If you scrape off some of the larger salt grains, it doesn't make the bread overwhelmingly salty and it adds a pleasant saltiness to the bread. When I thought no one was looking, I dipped my bread into the garlic mussel sauce. ::sigh:: It was so divine.

We'd both ordered the surf and turfs medium rare. Sadly, my filet came out medium well, but it was still very tender so I told our server not to worry about it. Regardless, 10 minutes later he surprised me by bringing out another filet cooked perfectly for me. Way to score some brownie points!!

The filets were truly the melt in your mouth variety and the flavor was more than you could hope for in a steak. The lobster tail was succulent and tender and wonderfully flavorful. I don't know what broth or seasoning they cook the lobster in, but its perfect and I hope they never change it. The asparagus was cooked like a dream and, even though it's a recurring theme here, the scalloped potatoes were the best I'd had on this trip. (and that's saying something- as you can see I'd had my fair share by this time) I almost wanted to cry when my tummy ran out of room and I couldn't fit another bite in.

I was a little wary of dessert, but ordered one anyway so I could at least taste it. I chose the warm chocolate-almond gateau and my sister went for the key lime creme brulee.

My sister was excited when she saw that they'd written happy birthday to her in chocolate and had a little candle for her to blow out.

I don't know how it happened, but I somehow managed to eat half my dessert. It was delicious and gooey and right now, I wouldn't mind having another go at that baby!
I sampled my sisters creme brulee and it tasted like a creamy key lime pie. I'm sorry it's such an unimaginable description, but it's exactly how it tasted. Which isn't to say it was bad. On the contrary, my sister said she liked this dessert best out of her trip and ate the whole thing!

If you come here, I highly recommend that you request Amer. With a lovely ambiance, great service and some of the best food we've ever had the pleasure of tasting, it'll come as no surprise that we unanimously agreed that this was the BEST MEAL of the entire trip. And, in my case, of the past three years I've gone to Disney. I can't recommend this place enough. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Of course, I couldn't let you all go without seeing part of our lovely outfits and our server Amer.

Yes, I believe the fashion police have wanted posters of us in this getup.

 

[minnie0121]

i love the pics! they make me so excited to be going in two weeks!! i always take pics with my servers too! thanks for the reviews!

 

[Tinkerbell_Girl]

Great pics! I love the tiara's!

 

[Krissalee]

Loved all of your reviews.

And don't worry about your clothing at Narcoossee's. There is nothing prohibiting Disney T's and jeans. Whenever I have been there, the clothing of the patrons ranged from shorts/jeans and T's, to dress pants and tops, to prom gown attire. You fit in fine! Plus, you had a great meal with a great server!