Somebody wise, I think it was Hemmingway, once said that, “the hardest thing about writing is applying the seat of your pants to the seat of a chair”. Old Ernest and I don’t have much in common (but apply for the list of Grumpy/Hemmingway similarities if you wish) but when I heard that I did a small lambada to celebrate that recognition.
Forgive me Mickey - it has been a long time since my last confession!
Today I write about something that is close to my heart. Well it’s a little to the south really (steady, ladies) - my stomach. But hold, brave viewer, I won’t be giving an in-depth dissection of the human intestinal tract (at least not today - watch this spot!), I aim to talk about FOOD!
Those of you with an keen interest in culinary fare, and those of you who just like their food, will be aware that eating is a big part of American culture and, therefore, the Disney Experience. The range of dining available is wide and, like many of our colonial friends, so is my waistline by the end of each trip. That said Dopey (see earlier posts - partner, life-partner, boyfriend, whatever-the-latest-term-is) has a particularly delicate stomach which makes him a fussy eater (through necessity)…and I don’t eat fish but do eat everything else.
Being in the home of the all-you-can-eat-buffet (which apparently isn’t a challenge), we try and have a couple of these in the parks as there’s usually something we can enjoy. We went to the breakfast buffet at Ohana for the first time this trip and LOVED it. The setting is lovely and our table looked out over the lagoon towards the Magic Kingdom. We were visited at the table by Mickey (in an Hawaiian shirt), by Lilo (again another Disney girl who was very flirty with these two boys) and by Dopey’s all-time favourite character Stich - who was a hoot, other than pulling my already large ears to general hilarity. (I think that Pluto may have been there but I seem to have blanked it out - perhaps I suffered some sort of emotional trauma which will only be uncovered when I am regressed using hypnotic techniques - the type that usually tell me that I was a hand-maiden in the court of Neferrtiti). They also do that lovely thing when all the kids get given a percussion instrument and do a little parade around the restaurant with the characters (they pleasingly snatch the instruments from the children before they sit down, so there is no maraca obligato for the remainder of the meal). Oh yes, the food.: coffee, very nice fruit juice, melon, grapes, bacon, scrambled eggs, sausages, fried potatoes and Mickey waffles - and as much as you liked. I found this good value and we were certainly set up for the day food wise.
Of note is the care Disney seem to be taking over allergies this year. I was asked here and at every other restaurant (except one - details below) what allergies I had. Fish - I pronounced boldly to the hostess. Within minutes the chef was at my table to explain what might contain this (to me) deadly substance . At Ohana the chef told me that there was no fish in their breakfast menu but he would ensure that the food I had was not cooked in pans that had held the satanic scaly creatures.
The same thing happened at the Crystal Palace. Although the food is clearly labelled they asked me if I wanted the chef to run through everything with me. Imagining carnage I declined, but appreciated the thought There is a good variety of foods here: for those of you who have never been there are several types of salads and breads with differently flavoured butters, there are pastas, cold meats, cooked meats, rice dishes, vegetables, potatoes in various guises (I spotted roasted, mashed and some disguised as Zsa Zsa Gabor), lots of other bits and pieces (including naughty fish) and to top it all off there’s a selection of desserts. Once again characters wander around (I think there’s also a ’it’s-my special-day’ parade for the tinies). Tigger was fun, and I particularly enjoyed him refusing to shake a mans hand unless he bounced in the time honoured tradition, once he did the man was hugged immediately - his kids loved it. Eeyore was his usually cheery self and Piglet was sweet (though I always wonder about the suitability of serving pork at this restaurant - have they no feelings?). Pooh is there but every time we’ve been to this placed we seem to have caught him with a bit of an attitude and he doesn’t like having his picture taken. We chased after him one day (before rugby tackling him to the floor - this turned into a major diplomatic incident which UN peacekeeping forces had to be called in). This restaurant is quieter during the parades (aren’t they all).
I think the only other sit-down meal we had (in the MK) was at the Liberty Tree Tavern and this was the lunchtime set menu rather than the evening character eat-all-you-want-kind. I had the MOST beautifully braised beef here with about a field full of mashed potatoes and some vague green things around the edges. Once of the nicest things I’ve eaten in Disney. Dopey had the traditional Turkey and this is always of a good standard here with lovely gravy. It was all nice and I can’t think of anything else to say about it so I’ll shut up!
We booked the Fantasmic Dinner Package and went back to Hollywood and Vine. We’ve had some disappointing meals there in the past few years, and this maintained that standard. I’ve read a couple of reports that said that the people on the Dining Package got better service. I can tell you that on our visit here that was undoubtedly true. We were about 10 minutes early for our reservation (as instructed) and waited for about 30 minutes. We were ushered into an almost empty restaurant. Our sever came to our table and took our very complicated drinks order (2 diet cokes please) then disappeared. We went to the buffet to discover 4 fish dishes (oh joy, oh rapture - and I wasn‘t asked about allergies today), 3 chicken and…erm that was it. We chose as best we could (cruel god, why do you mock me) and sat and ate…and waited for our drinks…then went back up and poked around for more inspiration at the buffet, then sat down. Our server then appeared with our drinks and plonked them down in a charmless manner. I was very thirsty and gulped mine down - as the server dashed past I asked for a refill. We went up for dessert and when we got back she’s cleared the table - or all our cutlery too. We had to ask the server for a neighbouring table for a spoon (I was all for just falling face forward into my ice cream and chocolate naughtiness but apparently that isn’t the done thing) . I got my second coke just before we left. The people the other side of us, who were on the dining plan, had winged angels carry their food forth on silver salvers whilst cherubs plucked harps and sang songs of mysterious pleasures in Elysium fields. (Well that’s not quite true, but the server was attentive and funny and sat and chatted with them and generally did her best to make their meal special). Before I get irate messages telling me had hard these people work and we can all have a bad day - I KNOW. I am the MOST considerate person to people waiting tables - I know it’s awful and you don’t always want to keep smiling and you’re tired and…everything. But she did it for some and not for others. For the first time in our numerous visits to the US we did not leave a tip. I dare say that the people on the other side made up for it as they even called the chef over to congratulate him on the food - which was nice of them. (They did look like they ate possum and squirrel at home).
We had a similarly inattentive server in the Garden Grill in Epcot - well not all that similar, she did make the odd effort to see how we were getting on. They did check about allergies here and did their best to make sure that I didn’t come into contact with any sea creatures (I’m talking socially as well as edibly).
I won’t give you a mouthful-by-mouthful account of every meal we had. I will say that we went to Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club for the first time and were completely smitten by it - on three occasions. I’d heard that this place has the best burgers in WDW and, you know, it probably has (though I do like the Rainforest Burger in the Rainforest Café). The big thing here is the desserts and, for me, the milk shakes. I had mint-choc-chip and strawberry flavoured milk shakes (not at the same time) and ended up gently weeping on the floor as I thanked the milk-shake-maker-lady for making my day (It’s not often you’ll find me on the floor sobbing at a women but…well you should have been there). A couple of families had something called the Kitchen Sink. A HUGE dessert, seemingly made to biblical proportions, which contains a bit of everything they serve in the ice-cream and toppings range. People applauded as it was taken to the table. It looked the most sickly thing in the world and I know I would have attempted to eat the whole thing myself if I hadn’t had that electric probe thing attached to my brain to stop me eating too much dairy (I get over excited and go native - lets just say there was an incident involving Mr Whippy - which certainly sounds and reads much worse than I imagined).
Oh yes...we are booking the Disney Dining Plan this year
A wise man once said, “I think I’d better leave right now” (Will Young).
Forgive me Mickey - it has been a long time since my last confession!
Today I write about something that is close to my heart. Well it’s a little to the south really (steady, ladies) - my stomach. But hold, brave viewer, I won’t be giving an in-depth dissection of the human intestinal tract (at least not today - watch this spot!), I aim to talk about FOOD!
Those of you with an keen interest in culinary fare, and those of you who just like their food, will be aware that eating is a big part of American culture and, therefore, the Disney Experience. The range of dining available is wide and, like many of our colonial friends, so is my waistline by the end of each trip. That said Dopey (see earlier posts - partner, life-partner, boyfriend, whatever-the-latest-term-is) has a particularly delicate stomach which makes him a fussy eater (through necessity)…and I don’t eat fish but do eat everything else.
Being in the home of the all-you-can-eat-buffet (which apparently isn’t a challenge), we try and have a couple of these in the parks as there’s usually something we can enjoy. We went to the breakfast buffet at Ohana for the first time this trip and LOVED it. The setting is lovely and our table looked out over the lagoon towards the Magic Kingdom. We were visited at the table by Mickey (in an Hawaiian shirt), by Lilo (again another Disney girl who was very flirty with these two boys) and by Dopey’s all-time favourite character Stich - who was a hoot, other than pulling my already large ears to general hilarity. (I think that Pluto may have been there but I seem to have blanked it out - perhaps I suffered some sort of emotional trauma which will only be uncovered when I am regressed using hypnotic techniques - the type that usually tell me that I was a hand-maiden in the court of Neferrtiti). They also do that lovely thing when all the kids get given a percussion instrument and do a little parade around the restaurant with the characters (they pleasingly snatch the instruments from the children before they sit down, so there is no maraca obligato for the remainder of the meal). Oh yes, the food.: coffee, very nice fruit juice, melon, grapes, bacon, scrambled eggs, sausages, fried potatoes and Mickey waffles - and as much as you liked. I found this good value and we were certainly set up for the day food wise.
Of note is the care Disney seem to be taking over allergies this year. I was asked here and at every other restaurant (except one - details below) what allergies I had. Fish - I pronounced boldly to the hostess. Within minutes the chef was at my table to explain what might contain this (to me) deadly substance . At Ohana the chef told me that there was no fish in their breakfast menu but he would ensure that the food I had was not cooked in pans that had held the satanic scaly creatures.
The same thing happened at the Crystal Palace. Although the food is clearly labelled they asked me if I wanted the chef to run through everything with me. Imagining carnage I declined, but appreciated the thought There is a good variety of foods here: for those of you who have never been there are several types of salads and breads with differently flavoured butters, there are pastas, cold meats, cooked meats, rice dishes, vegetables, potatoes in various guises (I spotted roasted, mashed and some disguised as Zsa Zsa Gabor), lots of other bits and pieces (including naughty fish) and to top it all off there’s a selection of desserts. Once again characters wander around (I think there’s also a ’it’s-my special-day’ parade for the tinies). Tigger was fun, and I particularly enjoyed him refusing to shake a mans hand unless he bounced in the time honoured tradition, once he did the man was hugged immediately - his kids loved it. Eeyore was his usually cheery self and Piglet was sweet (though I always wonder about the suitability of serving pork at this restaurant - have they no feelings?). Pooh is there but every time we’ve been to this placed we seem to have caught him with a bit of an attitude and he doesn’t like having his picture taken. We chased after him one day (before rugby tackling him to the floor - this turned into a major diplomatic incident which UN peacekeeping forces had to be called in). This restaurant is quieter during the parades (aren’t they all).
I think the only other sit-down meal we had (in the MK) was at the Liberty Tree Tavern and this was the lunchtime set menu rather than the evening character eat-all-you-want-kind. I had the MOST beautifully braised beef here with about a field full of mashed potatoes and some vague green things around the edges. Once of the nicest things I’ve eaten in Disney. Dopey had the traditional Turkey and this is always of a good standard here with lovely gravy. It was all nice and I can’t think of anything else to say about it so I’ll shut up!
We booked the Fantasmic Dinner Package and went back to Hollywood and Vine. We’ve had some disappointing meals there in the past few years, and this maintained that standard. I’ve read a couple of reports that said that the people on the Dining Package got better service. I can tell you that on our visit here that was undoubtedly true. We were about 10 minutes early for our reservation (as instructed) and waited for about 30 minutes. We were ushered into an almost empty restaurant. Our sever came to our table and took our very complicated drinks order (2 diet cokes please) then disappeared. We went to the buffet to discover 4 fish dishes (oh joy, oh rapture - and I wasn‘t asked about allergies today), 3 chicken and…erm that was it. We chose as best we could (cruel god, why do you mock me) and sat and ate…and waited for our drinks…then went back up and poked around for more inspiration at the buffet, then sat down. Our server then appeared with our drinks and plonked them down in a charmless manner. I was very thirsty and gulped mine down - as the server dashed past I asked for a refill. We went up for dessert and when we got back she’s cleared the table - or all our cutlery too. We had to ask the server for a neighbouring table for a spoon (I was all for just falling face forward into my ice cream and chocolate naughtiness but apparently that isn’t the done thing) . I got my second coke just before we left. The people the other side of us, who were on the dining plan, had winged angels carry their food forth on silver salvers whilst cherubs plucked harps and sang songs of mysterious pleasures in Elysium fields. (Well that’s not quite true, but the server was attentive and funny and sat and chatted with them and generally did her best to make their meal special). Before I get irate messages telling me had hard these people work and we can all have a bad day - I KNOW. I am the MOST considerate person to people waiting tables - I know it’s awful and you don’t always want to keep smiling and you’re tired and…everything. But she did it for some and not for others. For the first time in our numerous visits to the US we did not leave a tip. I dare say that the people on the other side made up for it as they even called the chef over to congratulate him on the food - which was nice of them. (They did look like they ate possum and squirrel at home).
We had a similarly inattentive server in the Garden Grill in Epcot - well not all that similar, she did make the odd effort to see how we were getting on. They did check about allergies here and did their best to make sure that I didn’t come into contact with any sea creatures (I’m talking socially as well as edibly).
I won’t give you a mouthful-by-mouthful account of every meal we had. I will say that we went to Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club for the first time and were completely smitten by it - on three occasions. I’d heard that this place has the best burgers in WDW and, you know, it probably has (though I do like the Rainforest Burger in the Rainforest Café). The big thing here is the desserts and, for me, the milk shakes. I had mint-choc-chip and strawberry flavoured milk shakes (not at the same time) and ended up gently weeping on the floor as I thanked the milk-shake-maker-lady for making my day (It’s not often you’ll find me on the floor sobbing at a women but…well you should have been there). A couple of families had something called the Kitchen Sink. A HUGE dessert, seemingly made to biblical proportions, which contains a bit of everything they serve in the ice-cream and toppings range. People applauded as it was taken to the table. It looked the most sickly thing in the world and I know I would have attempted to eat the whole thing myself if I hadn’t had that electric probe thing attached to my brain to stop me eating too much dairy (I get over excited and go native - lets just say there was an incident involving Mr Whippy - which certainly sounds and reads much worse than I imagined).
Oh yes...we are booking the Disney Dining Plan this year
A wise man once said, “I think I’d better leave right now” (Will Young).
great report
More, please...
