Go Big or Go Home! 17 Days of Disney Dining! COMPLETE & Food & Wine Fest Index

[wilma-bride]

Cheesecake - yum, Dole Whip - hmmm, lovely food...yada yada yada...

Now please share with me how to score BIG on Buzz (my DS is always so disappointed when he only gets a few thousand and his Dad whoops his butt so I would love to tell him how to score more).

 

[campercaseyjr]

Hi there! I'm new to the boards and wanted to say I'm 'subbing' to your thread.

 

[Haygar2]

I just found your thread and can I just say..."wow!!" The pictures of your food. Amazing!! I am OCD when it comes to planning our upcoming trip. My family thinks I am crazy. We do the Disney Dining Plan, so I was trying to plan our meals accordingly. We will be celebrating 2 occasions while at Disney. My birthday and our 20th anniversary. I was bound and determined that we were going to 'Ohana on our first night. (my actual birthday). The only problem I had was trying to figure out when we were going to be able to fit Earl of Sandwich into our trip. And then I started looking at the menu for Raglan Road and I knew I wanted to try it. I changed stuff around and decided to go to RR for my birthday dinner. We will be paying that one OOP. Anyway...sorry I am making this so long...I saw the picture that you posted of the Gnocchi Sea Gnocchi Do, and for the first time ever, my mouth started to water. That looked AMAZING!!! I am hoping that they have it when we go in September. You just helped to make my decision to go there for dinner. Lunch will be at EoS. Looking forward to our day at DTD. I really wanted to try the bread pudding, but after seeing more of your pictures, I think we will need to head to Ghiaradelli for my birthday sundae. Thank you so much for your posts.

 

[Haygar2]

Sorry, I guess I should have said that we were using 2 credits to go to Artist Point for our anniversary dinner. I have to include him in something. LOL. Besides, our kids our going with us, my son is excited to try the salmon at AP.

 

[disneymom1229]

I came across your review a couple of days ago and have to say that I am hooked! Your reviews and pictures are fantastic and everything looks so delicious....

I am just 33 days away from making my ADRs (but who's counting??) and my DH and I had just decided to give Paradiso 37 a try when I read your review of it. Reading about it helped me feel better about our choice.

Keep up the great work, can't wait to read more....

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

What a trip, I think you've spoilt yourselves with all these lovely resorts.

Why is the line always so long (and slow) at Aloha Isle? But like you said, definitely worth the wait

We are definitely spoiled now! I really want to stay at BLT again next trip. I'm hooked!

The line there was so huge every time we went there or even went past it this trip. They need more menu signs in the line somehow so that (hopefully) people could have a more clear idea of what they want to order before they reach the sign at the window. The ordering process seems to take the most time for a lot of people.

I'm once again catching up but I'm glad that I am because I've had a virtual feast to behold with your updates!

Trails End looks like a great option for that quick boat ride from BLT. I'm looking to add something new to replace The Wave so Trails End looks really good. And for the amazing price of only $17.99 and accepting TiW - excellent.

What a brilliant idea to order the cheesecake from Narcoosees. I've not had dessert there so I'm wide open to the power of suggestion. That, and I've heard it is pretty fabulous.

I've skipped AP the last couple trips since I've not really liked the entrees. Your DHs pork dish looks good but then again so did mine 3 years ago but it was blah. I'll have to have a more compelling menu to go back soon.

CP - my favorite buffet next to Boma! I love the puffed French toast. I try to take it easy on the breakfast lasagna but that stuff is addictive.

You had so many great dining experiences this trip. I don't know how anyone could top your dining line up.

Glad you had a chance to catch up! I need to catch up on other reviews as well. My new work schedule has had me exhausted! I finally have some time to get caught up today.

I definitely hope you give Trail's End a try for breakfast! That is our new go-to breakfast place. I think you would enjoy it. It's always nice to visit other resorts for meals too.

You must try the Narcoossee cheesecake too! If you're staying at BLT again next trip it would just be a short monorail ride away.

Woohoo, another CP fan! The breakfast lasagna IS addictive. I had to limit myself to one helping of it this time. This trip converted me to a Boma breakfast fan too. That review is still coming up!

Cheesecake - yum, Dole Whip - hmmm, lovely food...yada yada yada...

Now please share with me how to score BIG on Buzz (my DS is always so disappointed when he only gets a few thousand and his Dad whoops his butt so I would love to tell him how to score more).

I forget what target I was hitting in that particular room, but I put a link to a site that tells you where some of the high point targets are in the different rooms right HERE.

I hope your son kicks some butt next time! I am always looking for a competitive edge over Rob, who destroys me in all games, so I feel your son's pain!

Hi there! I'm new to the boards and wanted to say I'm 'subbing' to your thread.

Welcome to the boards! Thanks so much for reading along!

I just found your thread and can I just say..."wow!!" The pictures of your food. Amazing!! I am OCD when it comes to planning our upcoming trip. My family thinks I am crazy. We do the Disney Dining Plan, so I was trying to plan our meals accordingly. We will be celebrating 2 occasions while at Disney. My birthday and our 20th anniversary. I was bound and determined that we were going to 'Ohana on our first night. (my actual birthday). The only problem I had was trying to figure out when we were going to be able to fit Earl of Sandwich into our trip. And then I started looking at the menu for Raglan Road and I knew I wanted to try it. I changed stuff around and decided to go to RR for my birthday dinner. We will be paying that one OOP. Anyway...sorry I am making this so long...I saw the picture that you posted of the Gnocchi Sea Gnocchi Do, and for the first time ever, my mouth started to water. That looked AMAZING!!! I am hoping that they have it when we go in September. You just helped to make my decision to go there for dinner. Lunch will be at EoS. Looking forward to our day at DTD. I really wanted to try the bread pudding, but after seeing more of your pictures, I think we will need to head to Ghiaradelli for my birthday sundae. Thank you so much for your posts.

Thanks so much for joining in! And congrats on your upcoming anniversary!

I hope that you get to try the gnocchi at RR. It really was one of the best things I ever ate. The bread pudding at RR and Ghirardelli are both so amazing. You can't really go wrong either way. The hardest part is actually being hungry enough to enjoy it after you eat your meal!

I hope you enjoy AP as well. That is a great place for an anniversary meal.

Hope you have a great time on your trip later this year! I think we will be down there in September celebrating our anniversary as well.

I came across your review a couple of days ago and have to say that I am hooked! Your reviews and pictures are fantastic and everything looks so delicious....

I am just 33 days away from making my ADRs (but who's counting??) and my DH and I had just decided to give Paradiso 37 a try when I read your review of it. Reading about it helped me feel better about our choice.

Keep up the great work, can't wait to read more....

Thank you so much for the lovely compliments!

Planning ADRs is always exciting! Gets you pumped up for the trip.

I hope you and your DH enjoy Paradiso. We had a surprisingly nice time there. I would definitely go back there again. With my refillable mug of course.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

After we left MK we drove over to our final resort of the trip. This was the resort I had been looking forward to the most. Boardwalk Villas! We stayed here for 8 nights on our honeymoon in 2009 and had the best time. This resort holds very fond memories for us. Check-in was once again a breeze and soon we were headed to our room. Instead of a one bedroom villa with a boardwalk view like we had on our honeymoon, we were in a studio with a pool or garden view. Big difference! I was not crazy about our room at all. It was in serious need of refurbishment. Everything in the room looked old and worn. I liked all the other rooms this trip so much better. But, it was still an amazing resort overall and I love the convenience of being able to walk to 4 other hotels and 2 of the parks. Not too shabby.

Anyway, after we got settled into our room we headed out in search of lunch. We decided to walk over to Beach Club.


We walked through the halls outside of Cape May Cafe, which I thought were so beautiful with the sun coming through the windows.


We finally ended up at... Beaches & Cream! Again!


We were seated at the counter right away. After brief consideration we both decided on the same exact meals we ate here on our first visit. Rob once again had the Pot Roast Sandwich.


I had the Bacon Cheeseburger subbing cheddar cheese for the blue cheese.


Not too much new information to report on this meal. We once again had a great meal with great service. It really hit the spot. This was our third and final meal here this trip. If you couldn't tell, this is definitely a new must-do for us. It's really simple but tasty food with a great atmosphere and great service. And this time it was convenient since it was a short walk from BWV to BC.

Here is a lovely panoramic shot on our walk back to BWV.


Up next, Parisian treats!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

We had a leisure day at the resort for the rest of our day and that night we decided to walk over to Epcot for a late night treat. It was a very quick walk from our room over to the WS entrance and within a matter of minutes we were in France!

We stopped at Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie.


I like that the bakery is now much larger than it was before, but I don't like that they got rid of the sacristain I enjoyed here on my previous trip. I was very disappointed to find it missing from the menu. Everything in here looked incredible, but few items really intrigued me. We ended up deciding on one savory and one sweet item each and then went to the gift shop next door for a bottle of wine. We took our goodies back to the resort to enjoy while we caught up with last 3 episodes of Survivor we had missed on my laptop. How's that for a relaxing night!

Okay, I totally dropped the ball here and I have NO IDEA what the names are of the items we ordered. Feel free to correct me later on!

First, a lovely bottle of white wine.


Very enjoyable!

Rob had some type of chicken sandwich. I swear there is a large piece of chicken under that cheese!


He liked it, but he regretted not listening to my suggestion of having them heat it before we left.

I had some type of bacon and cheese bread.


This was heavenly! It smelled amazing and tasted even better. It had a strong bacon flavor, so really how could you go wrong!

For dessert Rob had this chocolatey delight.


He loved it!

I had an apple turnover.


This was delicious! The pastry was so flaky and fresh. If I had a thick slice of cheddar cheese with this I would have been in heaven!

I really enjoyed my two items and so did Rob, but to be honest, nothing else really stood out to me in there as items I want to come back for. The savory items looked better than the sweet ones. I really want to try a ham and cheese croissant there on a future trip, but that's about it. Bring back the sacristain!!!!

Up next, breakfast delivery!

 

[wilma-bride]

Great updates Jeri. Thanks for the link to the site I might just pick up a few pointers myself since I always like to give Gary a run for his money too.

I have to say, I was not at all impressed with Les Halles on our last visit. I had the apple tart, which was delicious but we also had the (extremely expensive) macarons, which I found to be actually quite disappointing. They looked far better than they tasted.

I'm sorry you were disappointed with your room at BWV. My daughter and I are staying in a pool/garden studio in March but have requested a village green view so I am hoping the room we get will be fine. I do love the Boardwalk Villas generally though. It's the first DVC resort we ever stayed at and were what persuaded Gary to buy in to DVC.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

The next morning Rob was pretty tired, but I was up and at 'em pretty early, so I decided to be a nice wife and went out to get us breakfast.

Boardwalk Bakery, here I come!


I ordered our food, which they bagged up very nicely for me and then I headed back to our room. Rob was still half asleep so it looks like breakfast in bed!

I got Rob a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit which came with a side of fruit.


He liked it and liked the fruit cup which had his two favorite fruits. Pineapple and blueberries.

I had a chocolate chip Mickey-shaped muffin and milk.


The muffin was yummy, but then again, aren't all Mickey shaped foods yummy?!? One of my biggest pet peeves in Disney is the fact that they only sell regular milk in these tiny little paper cartons in most of the QS locations, but they sell great big things of chocolate milk. I don't like chocolate milk, but I'm not paying for two of those tiny cartons. Sell regular milk in the 12 oz plastic bottles too Disney World! Geesh.

Quick food related construction post.

After breakfast I finally dragged Rob out of bed and we went over to DTD for an early movie.


As soon as we entered the West Side we saw that Wetzel's Pretzels was all boarded up.


We had just been in there a few days earlier when Rob was in search of an iced coffee and it was shocking to see it suddenly gone. This is probably old news now, but it looks like there is another Starbucks coming to WDW.




I think I just read that there is one coming to AK soon as well. I would imagine that means one for HS in the future too. A lot of people complain about Starbucks coming in, but I love it! The more opportunities for frappuccinos, the better!

Up next, more F&W Fest!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Great updates Jeri. Thanks for the link to the site I might just pick up a few pointers myself since I always like to give Gary a run for his money too.

I have to say, I was not at all impressed with Les Halles on our last visit. I had the apple tart, which was delicious but we also had the (extremely expensive) macarons, which I found to be actually quite disappointing. They looked far better than they tasted.

I'm sorry you were disappointed with your room at BWV. My daughter and I are staying in a pool/garden studio in March but have requested a village green view so I am hoping the room we get will be fine. I do love the Boardwalk Villas generally though. It's the first DVC resort we ever stayed at and were what persuaded Gary to buy in to DVC.

Thanks Joh! Good luck on Buzz Lightyear next trip!

I had a feeling that might be the case with the macarons. I wish they didn't change up the options in there so much.

I think my issue with my room at BWV was that we had just come from OKW which had HUGE studios and BLT which had really new and modern rooms with a lot of nice touches and by comparison our BWV studio just seemed so old and rundown compared to BLT and tiny compared to OKW. Rob said it looked like a nursing home room. It didn't have a lot of outlets either, which was annoying. I had a hard time finding a place to plug in my phone and there was no plug for my laptop near the table like there was in all 3 other rooms including Pop. I had to struggle with plugging it in behind the entertainment center every time, which was a pain in the neck. Plus, some of the stuff in our room was very old. Our nightstand was dinged up very badly and there were a lot of little signs of wear and tear in the room. It looked tacky for how expensive those rooms are. I was also getting tired of being on the bottom floor at this point too. I love sitting out on the balcony and just don't care for it as much when it's patio on the bottom floor. I'm a nut, I know. It is an amazing resort though. Loved the pools and at least we weren't too far down those long hallways this time. We were able to be out on the boardwalk within 2 minutes of leaving our room.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

The cheese and bacon bread looks delightful, I could eat it now

My dream is to stay at the Y&BC (some day!), and I would be mightily disappointed if the room were shabby As you said, the location makes up for it and the YC is so beautiful. At Christmas we happened to be there when a choir was singing in the hotel lobby, it was lovely. The rocking chairs are a great place to sit and people watch.

 

[vettegirl]

What great updates. The burger at Beaches and Cream looks so good. We haven't tried it yet. Also that bacon cheese bread, my goodness I could go for a bite of that right now!!

 

[RGirl]

Back from our little trip to Disneyland and ready to get caught up with DRs!

for B&C again! I wish I had that burger and fries right now - looks delicious!

Okay, what a perfect evening is that? Hmm, I think I’ll just walk into Epcot and pick up some snacks in France to take back to my resort for dinner. No big deal…. PERFECT! And your choices look very tasty too.

The BW Bakery breakfast looks good too. My DD enjoyed that Mickey muffin a couple of times in August. 

I’m with you on the addition of Starbucks. I really enjoyed its availability at Disneyland Resort last week.

 

[collegeprogram01]

Thanks for a great read and great info!!! we are from South Jersey as well and go back to Dis April…Cant wait!!!!

 

[DisGirlAllie]

I always love your trip reports They make the wait between our next Disney trip more bearable! I'm so glad I finally found this one.

Btw, I love your Ariel headband! So cute!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

The cheese and bacon bread looks delightful, I could eat it now

My dream is to stay at the Y&BC (some day!), and I would be mightily disappointed if the room were shabby As you said, the location makes up for it and the YC is so beautiful. At Christmas we happened to be there when a choir was singing in the hotel lobby, it was lovely. The rocking chairs are a great place to sit and people watch.

All of the resorts back in that area are so gorgeous! I'm torn between which I love more, those Epcot resorts or the MK area resorts.

I could go for another piece of that bacon and cheese bread right now myself!

What great updates. The burger at Beaches and Cream looks so good. We haven't tried it yet. Also that bacon cheese bread, my goodness I could go for a bite of that right now!!

The burgers at B&C are basic but so tasty. And sometimes the simple items are still the best items.

I highly recommend the bacon and cheese bread! I think that item will require a repeat visit next trip!

Back from our little trip to Disneyland and ready to get caught up with DRs!

for B&C again! I wish I had that burger and fries right now - looks delicious!

Okay, what a perfect evening is that? Hmm, I think I’ll just walk into Epcot and pick up some snacks in France to take back to my resort for dinner. No big deal…. PERFECT! And your choices look very tasty too.

The BW Bakery breakfast looks good too. My DD enjoyed that Mickey muffin a couple of times in August. 

I’m with you on the addition of Starbucks. I really enjoyed its availability at Disneyland Resort last week.

Wow Disneyland, how fun! I really hope I can get back there within the next few years. I haven't been in so long and I would love to see all of the things they have added on to the parks since the last time I was there.

It really was a perfect evening! I love the convenience of being so close to Epcot. It is my favorite park for food options, so it's so convenient to be able to just walk right in whenever the mood strikes.

I think the Mickey muffin was my favorite thing I got there this trip. Like I said, sometimes the basics are simply the best!

That's fantastic that Starbucks is available in Disneyland as well. Love those frappuccinos!

Thanks for a great read and great info!!! we are from South Jersey as well and go back to Dis April…Cant wait!!!!

Hi there! Thanks so much for reading along! You're trip is pretty close. I'm jealous! Hope you have an awesome time in April!

I always love your trip reports They make the wait between our next Disney trip more bearable! I'm so glad I finally found this one.

Btw, I love your Ariel headband! So cute!

Thank you so much! I'm so happy you are enjoying my DR!

I love my headbands. I was just wearing one this past weekend. I'm just a big kid.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

After our afternoon in DTD we made our way back to our hotel and then we walked over to Epcot to enjoy another day at Food and Wine Festival!


I had yet to make a stop at Canada because every time I walked by it had such a huge line. This time was no exception but I decided to brave the line today.



First I tried the Seared Rainbow Trout with Bacon, Frisee & Maple Minus 8 Vinaigrette.


This was delicious! I loved the skin on the fish. It was one of my favorite items at the Festival.

Even though it was stinkin' hot I really wanted the soup, so what the heck. Cheddar Cheese Soup in 90 degree weather it is!


This is so creamy and delicious. I am happy to be able to get this here without having to make a reservation to Le Cellier in order to enjoy it.

There is a reason why the line is so long here. The food is incredible!

While I was in line in Canada, Rob was across the way at Greece.




He had the Domaine Skouras Moscofilero.


He really enjoyed the wine here. It was a favorite for him.

He also tried the Chicken Gyro with Tzatziki Sauce.


He thought this was just okay. A little basic.

Next we moved onto Argentina.


Rob had the Terrazas Reserva Malbec, which he enjoyed.


We both had the Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Puree.


Wow! This was a favorite for both of us. I can't believe I only got one the whole trip. The beef was so tender and the flavor was so buttery and rich, but not too rich. Fantastic!

Next I stopped at Mexico for a Shrimp Taco with Purple Cabbage.


This was tasty and very flavorful, but I slightly preferred the Rib-Eye Taco to this one. Loved the squeeze of lime on this too!

Then Rob stopped at South Korea.


He had the Blackberry Wine.


He liked this. He gave me a sip and I enjoyed it as well. It was sweet, but not sickeningly sweet.

He also had the Kimchi Dog with Spicy Mustard Sauce.


As you may remember, I HATE MUSTARD, so I wanted no part of this thing, but Rob was looking forward to trying it. He said it was good, but nothing special.

Next we made a stop to a booth we were both looking forward to. Cheese!


Rob had the recommended pairing of the Once Upon a Vine's Big Bad Red Blend and the Almond Crusted Blue Cheese Souffle with Fig Jam.




He was looking forward to the Blue Cheese Souffle quite a bit and for him it did not disappoint! He really loved this and he enjoyed the wine as well.

I had the Once Upon a Vine's The Fairest Chardonnay.


This was very basic chardonnay, but the name is cute!

I also had the Artisan Cheese Selection: Beecher's Flagship Reserve served with honey, La Bonne Vie Triple Creme Brie served with Apricot Jamand Wynagaard Goats Goudawith Craisin Bread.


I couldn't even tell you which one was my favorite. They were all so unbelievably delicious. Another Festival favorite for me!

Next it was time to beat the heat with my favorite cool treat. Schofferhofer Grapefruit! I wasn't playing around this time and I got the nice big stein.


You can't really tell in this picture, but I was so hot and this beer really hit the spot!


I had a very intoxicated woman walk past me with a stein of this too and stopped to toast with me. Hey, she loved the grapefruit beer, so she's okay in my book!

Continued in next post...

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Then we both stopped at the Florida Local booth. Rob had his favorite wine, the Key Limen.


He even talked too other women in line into trying it. I don't think he had to twist their arm too much though.

We both had the Florida Grass Fed Beef Slider with Monterey Jack and Sweet & Hot Pickles.


This was very basic, but it was tasty. The pickle was a nice touch because it gave this a nice crunch and good flavor.

Next I stopped at Japan.



I had never tried sushi before this trip (I know, crazy right?) and I was very excited to try it. I decided to try the California Roll.


I put the first piece in my mouth and... I almost threw up. Ewwwwww! Not a fan at all! Rob insisted that maybe I would like it better with soy sauce. I was dubious, but I listened to him for a change and got a soy sauce packet and put it all over the next piece. Now it's gross and salty. That got spit right into a napkin. Thankfully I still had some of my beer left to wash it down. Rob decided to brave the last piece and guess what... he loved it! I guess I'm just the only person on the planet who doesn't like sushi. Firsts sushi experience was a disaster, but I have tried it again since I've been back home and I thought the next kind I had was okay. Still not totally sold on sushi though. Oh well, at least I tried!

Next Rob stopped at Morocco.


He had the Ksar White Wine.


Then he shocked me and got the Baklava.


He rarely gets sweets like that, so I was very surprised he randomly got this. He absolutely loved this! I was so glad he did because I love it too. We have a place near us that we can get this, so we have enjoyed it together a few times since we have been home too.

Next we both stopped at France.


Rob got the Sparkling Pomegranate Kir.


I think this ended up being his favorite drink of the trip. He was a big fan of this drink.

I once again got my beloved Escargot.


Need I even say how amazing these were?!

We made our way around the Festival again and once again I was extremely hot and a cool treat was in order. I decided to stop at the Champagne & Dessert booth.




Champagne grapes in line.



I tried the Frozen S'mores


Unfortunately mine was marshmallow-less. It wouldn't have helped though. I was thankful it was cold, but that was about it. It was basically a slushy chocolate milk. There was really no flavor at all.

Rob decided to cool off at the Craft Beer booth.




Here he got the Red Hook Audible Ale.


He gave me a sip and it was okay. It was no grapefruit beer!

Continued in next post...

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Next, I decided to stop at China.


I wanted to try the Black Pepper Shrimp Rob had tried on our first day.


I thought this was really good! The shrimp were flavorful and the noodles were surprisingly good! They had more flavor than I would have expected. This was so filling. It put me over the edge. I was too full for anything else at this point.

We decided to take a break and found seats for the concert getting ready to start. Boyz II Men!










This was my first Eat To The Beat experience and it was so fun! We walked up about 10 minutes or less before the start of the first show and we had no problem finding an empty seat in the back. There isn't really a bad seat in the place, so that was fine with us. They put on a really fun show and we had a blast. 9 year old me would have totally freaked out at this concert! I used to love these guys, so it was really fun to see them live.

After the concert was over I made one last stop for the night. I made my first stop at Belgium.


This booth always smells incredible when you walk by. The smell of the waffles cooking is intoxicating. I decided to try the Belgian Waffle with Warm Chocolate Ganache & Whipped Cream.


This was not nearly as good as it smelled or looked. It was extremely bland. I was definitely disappointed with this.

We had such an awesome day at F&WF! It was one of my favorite days of the trip!


We made our way back to Boardwalk to settle in for the rest of the evening. How can you have anything but an amazing time when you can see a view like this one?!?


Up next, late night Boardwalk treats!