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

[emmysmommy]

Mmmm your crabcake/shrimp burger looks pretty awesome! I would have been worried about soggy fries by the time you got back to the room as well but it sounds like a great option.

I'm a breakfast burrito lover so I'd have been disappointed if I ordered something else and then saw that. But your Danish does look tasty.

I miss some of the old options at MSB. I'm not a coffee drinker so I'm neutral for Starbucks. Sure wish they hadn't removed the inside seating though.

 

[smile4stamps]

We LOVED the MB's and had NO issues with them..

The burrito does look good! We didn't eat at POP. I wanted the King cupcake but they weren't ready when I headed to the Food Court to find out.

I'm also a HUGE fan of salted caramel items!

 

[Roma]

Oh my word 17 days!! Sign me up for that next time . My family went once for ten days but that seems like a blip in comparison.

Mr. Roma and I did F&W last year and loved it so much! I totally agree that it's hard to imagine not going again once you start.

I'm glad Starbucks is at MB now. I'm super boring and usually just order a short vanilla blonde roast, but it beats that nasty Nescafe!

Excited to read more!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Mmmm your crabcake/shrimp burger looks pretty awesome! I would have been worried about soggy fries by the time you got back to the room as well but it sounds like a great option.

I'm a breakfast burrito lover so I'd have been disappointed if I ordered something else and then saw that. But your Danish does look tasty.

I miss some of the old options at MSB. I'm not a coffee drinker so I'm neutral for Starbucks. Sure wish they hadn't removed the inside seating though.

The breakfast burrito was awesome! From the few bites I had anyway. Definitely a much better offering than that boring bounty platter they serve at breakfast. I am disappointed in myself for not going back for one another time during our stay at Pop.

I miss the old offerings at MSB too. I agree about the seating too. They need some other type of quick service breakfast option in MK now. Why not serve breakfast at Pecos Bill or something like that. Use an existing CS location and throw some bfast my way. I don't understand the lack of breakfast offerings outside of character meals.

We LOVED the MB's and had NO issues with them..

The burrito does look good! We didn't eat at POP. I wanted the King cupcake but they weren't ready when I headed to the Food Court to find out.

I'm also a HUGE fan of salted caramel items!

Glad you loved the MBs too! I totally forgot about the King cupcake while I was at Pop. Come to think of it, I don't even remember seeing it in the selections. Maybe they didn't have any ready when I was there certain times either.

Oh my word 17 days!! Sign me up for that next time . My family went once for ten days but that seems like a blip in comparison.

Mr. Roma and I did F&W last year and loved it so much! I totally agree that it's hard to imagine not going again once you start.

I'm glad Starbucks is at MB now. I'm super boring and usually just order a short vanilla blonde roast, but it beats that nasty Nescafe!

Excited to read more!

It was crazy how long our trip ended up being! It's going to be hard to go back to an 8 day trip. The really crazy part was all the stuff we still didn't get to do, even after all that time.

It looks like the Starbucks are popping up all over now. We saw construction starting on one in DTD while we were there. I'm sure HS and AK locations aren't far behind.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

After our morning/afternoon in MK it was really starting to get crowded and the lines were crazy so we decided to head back to the hotel. After a dip in the pool we decided on our dinner spot. Paradiso 37!


We have never eaten here before and now seemed like a good time to try it. We were both in the mood for Mexican food and a drink... or two.

The drink menu


We saw a lot of people with the large Paradiso Bowls and they looked very appealing. Why not! It's vacation!


This is the Category 37 Hurricane. You are allowed to share these large drinks, which if you're drinking as a couple, is really the way to go. It was $20 for a 45oz drink, which isn't bad, but the real deal is the refills. You can switch to another drink, or stick with the same drink, and the refill is only $10! That's the best deal on alcohol you're going to get in WDW. The other great part is that you keep the glass and can bring it back anytime for the $10 refill deal. No too shabby.

Next we were actually able to agree on an appetizer to share. Here are the appetizers listed on the menu.


We went with the Central American Crazy Corn. Fire roasted corn on the cob, spicy yellow pepper sauce and imported cheeses


This was good, but I would have liked a lot more of the sauce and cheese on it. Rob was a little disappointed. It was slightly boring. I also have to add that I am really annoyed that they don't provide complimentary chips and salsa here. Every Mexican restaurant I have ever been to gives you chips and salsa at no charge. The thought of paying for the chips really annoyed me because it's not at all what I'm used to. I really wanted some to munch on. Especially when I'm drinking.

Up next, entrees. Here are a few menu shots.




Sorry for the semi-blurry pics. I got a little to used to taking pics on my cell phone some of the time.

Rob shocked the heck out of me and ordered the Baja Fish Tacos. Crispy seasonal fish, roasted corn salsa, lime crema, spicy slaw, tortilla salad


He loved these! In fact, they are one of the things he is still talking about from the trip. He asked the waitress what kind of fish it was and she said it was mahi mahi. So now I guess we know he likes mahi mahi!

I was very unadventurous and went with the Chicken Burrito. Choice of Grilled Chicken or Beef, flour tortilla, Sauteed Peppers, Squash, Red Onions, Imported Cheeses, Sweet Chipotle BBQ Sauce, Cilantro Rice and Black Beans


This was really tasty! I enjoyed the cilantro rice and the black beans. Yum!

We stuck around for a little while and had another refill... or two. Our waitress was super friendly and had no problem with us sitting there for a little while sipping our drink. She was prompt with our refills of the Hurricane too. We were able to use TiW here for our entire bill, which was great since $40 of it was alcohol. This was one of the few places we left a little extra on top of the 18%

Now we're off to watch our first movie of the trip!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

After our dinner we headed over to the West Side.



We headed straight for the AMC Theater because it was almost time for our movie to start.



I love this movie theater! Last December we FINALLY got a good movie theater near us that has an IMAX. We used to have to drive about 20 minutes to a terrible theater and 30 minutes to an okay theater, but now we have a good one 15 minutes away. However, this is still our favorite place to see a movie. Every theater is huge and so comfortable. You can't beat the concession choices either and having a bar at the theater is kinda awesome. Plus they have a Coke Freestyle machine which is double awesome.

After we got our tickets and made our way inside Rob ordered us drinks at the bar.




I got an Angry Orchard Crisp Apple and he got a Blue Moon.


And just because I couldn't resist the intoxicating smell, I got a bag of popcorn and put a very unhealthy amount of butter on it at the self serve butter machine.


Now we were all set for our movie. Runner Runner with Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake. I LOVE Ben Affleck, but even he couldn't save that stinker. Oh well, at least I got some popcorn and the Angry Orchard on draft was especially delicious.

 

[smile4stamps]

I'm not a fan of spicy food so Paradiso 37 (or any mexican I haven't been to before) kinda scares me! But I won't know until I try it! The unlimited refills for only $10 is a great deal! As long as they don't skimp on the alcohol?!?!

I LOVE Angry Orchard on Draft!! Yum!

We need to make sure we hit Downtown Disney in May (I'm thinking its not going to happen in December!) and catch at least one movie and maybe some bowling!!

 

[DisneyMom2Boyz]

Hey Jerri,
Im following....can't wait to see some more!
Alicia

 

[vettegirl]

Angry Orchard on draft, you would not get me to leave haha!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[iwasdaisy]

Reading along!

 

[tybrilinja]

Oh my, that's my kind of movie. A beer and popcorn. We might have to check out a movie on our "off" day.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

I'm not a fan of spicy food so Paradiso 37 (or any mexican I haven't been to before) kinda scares me! But I won't know until I try it! The unlimited refills for only $10 is a great deal! As long as they don't skimp on the alcohol?!?!

I LOVE Angry Orchard on Draft!! Yum!

We need to make sure we hit Downtown Disney in May (I'm thinking its not going to happen in December!) and catch at least one movie and maybe some bowling!!

I would tell you that what I had at Paradiso 37 wasn't spicy, but I wouldn't swear to it. I have a super high tolerance to spice, so most of the time I don't even notice it. I can eat the hottest hot wings at Buffalo Wild Wings with no problem, so I am a bad judge of what is and isn't spicy. That being said, I understand your issue. My mom is the same way. I would recommend just stopping in for some drinks though. They DID NOT skimp on the booze at all. We were feeling no pain during that movie.

I highly recommend the theater! I hope you get a chance to spend some time in DTD in May!

Hey Jerri,
Im following....can't wait to see some more!
Alicia

Hey there Alicia! More updates coming up!

Angry Orchard on draft, you would not get me to leave haha!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Angry Orchard on draft was so delicious! It's already good, but draft was waaaaaaaay better! I'm actually drinking some right now. Rob picked me up a six pack on his way home.

Reading along!

Hi there! Thanks for joining in!

Oh my, that's my kind of movie. A beer and popcorn. We might have to check out a movie on our "off" day.

The only thing better than popcorn at the movies is beer and popcorn at the movies! You should definitely check out a movie. It's our favorite way to relax on vacation. People always think we're weird for going to the movies on vacation, but we love it!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

The start of day three at WDW started a little slow. We decided to spend the morning at AK and got a little bit of a late start. We decided not to eat anything at the hotel and headed straight to the park. When we arrived we hit the first attraction we saw. It's Tough To Be A Bug of course! Here I am as an honorary bug.



It's a good look on me I think.

I had Fastpass+ booked for Everest at 10:45am and we still had a few minutes to kill, so we went off in search of a snack. We were walking by the Yak & Yeti counter service location at the exact moment they were opening for the day, so we decided to stop. We were the very first customers of the day.





We loved the pork egg rolls here on our last trip, so we each got one.


The delicious egg roll interior.


They were so tasty! Since they had JUST opened, the egg rolls were hot and fresh too. Excellent timing on our part.

After our morning egg rolls we walked right across the way to Royal Anandapur Tea Company for our morning caffeine fix.





We split the Frozen Cappuccino



And by split I mean, Rob drank all of it and I got about three sips.

Now it's off to my favorite AK ride, Expedition Everest! Here we are while waiting in line.


After our ride on Everest, Rob insisted on playing the silly midway style games in Dinoland. Ughhhhhh. I didn't want to, but I caved. He did win though!


How can I say no to that face!

Then we were headed to see the Finding Nemo musical. But first, a detour. I saw some pictures online of a very yummy looking drink and needed one of my own. I knew right where I was headed and what I was getting.


Trilo-Bites!


Menu


I had the Frozen Blueberry-Mango Rum Lemonade




Sounds great, right? Wrong. This was NASTY! It was like drinking pure sugar with the teeniest tiniest bit of alcohol in it. I learned on this trip, no more boozy drinks out of machines. Bartender created drinks only. To add insult to injury, I tried to take this into the Nemo show with me and got brutally rebuffed. No food or drinks in the show. Come on now! I don't understand the harm of me sipping my drink during the show. What is the issue? I don't get it. It was almost time for the show and I did not want to wait for the next show time, so I stood outside the entrance trying to suck down this gross sugary drink in 2 minutes without getting serious brain freeze. After about 60 seconds I decided it wasn't worth it and chucked my nearly $10 drink in the trash. It broke my heart to be so wasteful with something so pricey. Oh well, you live and you learn, right? At least Nemo was as fun as always!

Up next... lunch and another trip to the movies!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

After the Nemo show it was time to use our Fastpass+ for the safari. We walked back over to Africa and saw an obscenely long line for the Fastpass return. That was an issue quite a few times for us this trip. Especially for the popular rides. I can't even quite describe how long this line was. All we knew was it was too darn hot to wait in it, so we left for the day to go to DTD.

On our way out of the park we saw signs promoting the fact that there are now buses to take you from AK directly to DTD, but they didn't start running until later in the day. No problem, we will just take a bus to SSR and walk to the Marketplace. Well, we JUST missed an SSR bus that was pulling away, so we waited 20 minutes for the next bus. A bus finally came and we made our way to SSR. Then we sat through all the stops before it finally stopped at Congress Park so we could take the walking path. Well, I was a bad DISer because I did not know that the walking path is currently closed for construction. There was a sign stating that the walkway was closed and you had to take a boat or a bus. Now we had to sit and wait for another bus. This took awhile. Over an hour of total transportation time later we finally reached our destination. Our beloved Wolfgang Puck Express!





We already knew what we wanted. It was the one Disney food item we had been talking about on a daily basis for the past year. The meatloaf sandwich!

For those of you unaware of the system at WPE, first you place your order and pay at the register. They give you a number and you are free to sit at any table in the restaurant. If you order fountain drinks you are given cups which you can fill right near the register. Then, once you sit down and display your number a server comes over to you and brings you silverware. They also bring out your food and will fill your drinks, although we usually end up refilling our own drinks most of the time.

Here is our table. Waiting patiently to receive meatloaf sandwiches.



And here it is! The meatloaf sandwich with provolone, bacon, tomato chutney, horseradish cream and crispy onions




Okay, I will be totally honest here. It wasn't as good this time. It was still good, but this time they put way too much horseradish cream. It really threw the whole sandwich off. We looked forward to this more than anything else, so it made the disappointment that much more disappointing. It still doesn't diminish my love of WPE though.

Now we were in a hurry to make movie number two. Prisoners with Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman. This movie was awesome! Our favorite one of the trip. One of my favorites this year actually. I highly recommend!

Up next... An ice cream dinner!

 

[emmysmommy]

What, no free chips/salsa at Pardiso?? That's crazy! I won't pay for them either. At least the fishbowl size drink was awesome! After sharing more than one of those I would have likely snoozed during the movie. (Sorry that one wasn't good!)

I love the egg rolls at Y&Y, I think they may be the same at the CS?? If they are the same it's a much better bargain since they are $5.99 inside the restaurant.

WPE is my favorite DTD restaurant!! I've not had the meatloaf sandwich but it does look temptingly good. And those fries look pretty good too!

 

[SweetSpot]

I love this movie theater! Last December we FINALLY got a good movie theater near us that has an IMAX. We used to have to drive about 20 minutes to a terrible theater and 30 minutes to an okay theater, but now we have a good one 15 minutes away. However, this is still our favorite place to see a movie.

I give! I know you live close by, where is an IMax close to us? I thought the closest was the Franklin Institute or King of Prussia but both have been there a long time.

 

[kastoney]

Yum...those egg rolls look delish. What time were they opening? The one time I had them they were cold so piping hot sounds good. And thanks for the heads up on th blueberry rum. It sounds wonderful but I too hate sweet drinks.

Great idea to catch a movie at DTD. I'd never considered that but it sounds great, especially on a hot day. Of course as the mother of a 2 year old I am so sadly behind in life that I'd never heard of either movie. I need to get with it ; )

 

[smile4stamps]

I'm sorry your meatball sandwich did not live up to your expectations! That is always a HUGE disappointment when that happens! From the description it does sound delicious though!

 

[OurDogCisco]

Wow, 17 days.... I can't wait to read more. The movies sound awesome.

 

[RGirl]

I just read through all of your reviews to date, and I am in!!! I have really enjoyed everything so far - including reading about some places we have never been like Paradiso. Looking forward to more!