Half the Calories, All the Fun - A "Healthier" Food-Focused Trip Report (12/2-12/13) RL update 4/10

[DaisyNY]

Loving your reviews...thanks for sharing!

 

[suse66]

Really enjoying all your yummy food choices. I love Primo Piatto as well, so many fantastic choices. The grilled veggies are fabulous!

 

[mickey916]

Loving your reviews...thanks for sharing!

Thanks for joining in!

Really enjoying all your yummy food choices. I love Primo Piatto as well, so many fantastic choices. The grilled veggies are fabulous!

We are eager to have those veggies again and would love to try some of their other offerings. So good!

 

[mickey916]

12/8 continued...Checking out the Resorts Around the Boardwalk​

We walked over to the Swan to see their holiday decor. Each year they have a display made out of chocolate. It's usually all the same pieces but arranged differently. This year they didn't include the fireplace they had previously.

The Swan’s decor always has a level of sophistication.

We love the Swan Resort and stay here whenever the budget allows. Unfortunately for our past couple trips the prices have been too high. I’m happy to say though that I found a great AP rate for 7 days on our next trip in April/May when our sons come to join us. Looking forward to staying here again. Can’t beat the proximity to Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and the Boardwalk.

Back to this trip...

We headed next to the Dolphin resort.

This tree is simple yet elegant and huge.

Over at the Swan Reserve, the tree is a bit of an afterthought over in a corner but still pretty.

The upstairs bar area is very pretty.

We walked from the Swan Reserve over to the Boardwalk Inn. I like that they have an outdoor tree on their grounds.

And, an indoor tree in the lobby as well.

We checked out the gingerbread display which last year was our favorite one.

We didn’t time it correctly to see the bird who pops out of the top door on the hour. Last year it was Orange Bird. We don’t know what it was this year. While we liked this display, it was EXACTLY like last year’s. Even the treats that Mickey was baking were the same even though that pastry is no longer available this year.

I know it’s being a little picky but it would’ve been nice if it was something just a little different. It’s still a really cool display though.

Up next…a delicious new treat from a new place!

 

[mickey916]

12/8 Continued...Skyliner Resorts & Free Dessert!​

From the Boardwalk Inn, we walked over to the Cake Bake Shop to try something new! We opted not to order a piece of cake since at almost three times the cost of Gideon’s Cake, we didn’t see how it could be three times tastier. We decided instead to order a slice of peanut butter pie.

This was as delicious as it looks! The peanut butter filling was rich and creamy, the cookie crust had great texture and it was topped with decadent ganache. This ranked number 2 on our list of sweet treats, second only to the Riviera cookie. While this was excellent, we’re not sure it was worth $18.00 especially since that’s the equivalent cost of two slices of Gideon’s cake.

After our treat we walked to the Epcot skyliner so that we could continue our skyliner resort crawl. We took the skyliner to the Art of Animation resort.

I like how this tree was white and the different colored garlands look like they come from paint tubes.

Behind the check in desk, each different colored section had a matching wreath in the same color scheme.

We walked next over to Pop Century to check out their tree.

This tree had lots of fun decor from the various decades. I also liked the wreaths from each decade. Since I’m an eighties girl, here is the 80s wreath.

Having completed our Epcot/Skyliner resort tour, we took the skyliner back to Hollywood Studios for some dinner and to check out the nighttime holiday decor.

For dinner, we opted to share one of our favorite salads, the Mediterranean Salad with Chicken from ABC Commissary. We discovered this salad on our last trip and it is now a must-do. I placed a mobile order and also attempted to order the seasonal dessert, the Linzer Cookie Mousse Torte: Layers of Hazelnut Cake, Raspberry-Blackberry Currant Mousse, Raspberry Jam, and Sweet Snow-dusted Linzer Cookie. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to be available for mobile order so I only ordered the salad.

When I picked up my order, I asked the CM why the Linzer Torte was missing from Mobile Order. She went and asked a supervisor who came over to explain that they only had a few left so they took it off of mobile order and then she proceeded to hand me one for free! Pixie-dusted desserts are the best kind of desserts. I was so surprised and thankful!

Here’s our salad:

We really enjoyed this salad once again! It is so full of flavor that it didn’t even need the ranch dressing. It is loaded with feta cheese, olives, and pepperoncini. The veggies are abundant and the hummus is flavorful. The chicken wasn’t dried out and the grilled pita was fresh.

We then shared our free Linzer Mousse Torte.

Despite being free, this dessert was just okay. The cake was a little dry and the mousse layer was weird and gelatinous. It ended up getting a “C” on our ranking but we were happy we had a chance to try it.

Up next…admiring the nighttime decor at Hollywood Studios.

 

[mickey916]

12/8 continued...Nighttime at Hollywood Studios​

After dinner we walked around taking in all the beautiful lighted displays.

We also made sure to take this photo with its secret hidden message before it goes away.

We loved these red and orange trees in Muppet Courtyard.

We caught Santa making a delivery up the fire escape.

Echo Lake is just beautiful during the holidays at night.

Before leaving for the night, we stopped to watch the Sunset Seasons Greetings on the Tower of Terror. This was my favorite projection. Very cool to see!

Total steps: 26,731

Up next…our least healthy eating day (with some healthy choices).

 

[LavishWig]

Wow ToT looks very cool! Love reading along on your trip, always do a little yay when i see the notification!

 

[mickey916]

Wow ToT looks very cool! Love reading along on your trip, always do a little yay when i see the notification!

Thank you so much! It was very cool!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I love DHS at Christmas! I also really loved the trees in Muppet Courtyard!
I have never ordered anything from Pizza Rizzo. I might have to try a little something from there at least once on my next trip! It will be a fond farewell to the Muppet Vision 3D

 

[mickey916]

I love DHS at Christmas! I also really loved the trees in Muppet Courtyard!
I have never ordered anything from Pizza Rizzo. I might have to try a little something from there at least once on my next trip! It will be a fond farewell to the Muppet Vision 3D

This is our first trip experiencing DHS at Christmas. Didn't know what we were missing! We've never ordered anything from Pizza Rizzo either. I was thinking about getting a treat there but we were too full. We did go inside though and check out the "function room" upstairs. Maybe we'll get something in April if it's still open.

 

[mickey916]

12/9 Starting Our Day at Epcot​

We arrived five minutes before regular rope drop and headed directly to the Land. DH rode Living with the Land while I rode Soarin’. The posted wait time was 15 minutes. I was pulled a little ahead of the line as a single rider and still ended up waiting 17 minutes. We met up after our rides and headed over to Finding Nemo which had a posted 5 minute wait. The line stopped when we were about 10 people away from getting on the ride. We stood there for 16 minutes and watched cast members calling someone on the phone. No one made any announcements to us in line or to the poor people just sitting there in the clam shell. Eventually when it appeared nothing was going to move, we decided to walk back through the line and leave. Every time we checked on Nemo throughout the day it appeared to be still down. We rode Journey into Imagination with Figment and then headed into the World Showcase for a treat.

We had made a list prior to our trip of our must-do festival treats. We picked up this day’s first treat at Le Marche de Noel Holiday Kitchen in the France Pavilion, the Buche de Noel au Chocolat et Caramel (Chocolate Fudge Christmas Log with a Caramel Cream Center) for $6.95. Here is how it was pictured on the display:

This is what we received:

As you can see, it didn’t have nearly the amount of caramel pictured. It was also very dry and very small. This is pictured on a six inch plate:

I don’t have very big hands and you can see its size in relation to my thumb. It was about two inches long and an inch wide.

To top it off, it wasn’t even good tasting. It was dry and flavorless. For almost $7.00 it was a total rip off. Even last year’s small chocolate peanut butter cannoli from Italy was at least tasty. This “treat” ranked dead last on our list and for the first time ever in our rankings, got itself an “F”.

We decided that this treat was so bad, we needed a do over and headed to get something else. We headed to L’Chaim and purchased the rugelach to share.

This treat was wayyyyy better! It was sweet and flaky with great textures from the walnuts and raspberry jam with a nice hint of cinnamon. And, to top it off we got three pieces (each of which were at least the size of the Buche Noel) and it was only $4.25. DH absolutely loved this and I enjoyed it as well. We gave it an A-.

We walked around the World Showcase and then headed for our lunch reservation at a “new to us” restaurant, the Coral Reef. We have always avoided this restaurant due to the limited menu and bad reviews. However we had seen a recent review of their new plant-based options that looked quite good so we decided to give it a try.

We were seated immediately upon check-in and seated at an upper level table. We still had a great view of the tank however.

I actually took this photo from our table using zoom on my iPhone.

Our meal started with the bread service, the delicious pineapple coconut bread also served at ‘Ohana and Olivias.

The bread was warm and delicious! We ate it all!

For our appetizer, we opted to share Caribbean Salad: Tomatoes, Onions, Avocado, Crispy Plantains, Pigeon Peas, Key Lime Vinaigrette

This was just okay. The crispy plantains lacked seasoning and the rest of the salad also lacked flavor. It needed a pineapple salsa or something to give it some Caribbean flair to live up to its name. It ended up ranking last of all the salads we ate on this trip. We gave it a C.

We also shared the Coastal Palm Cakes: Hearts of Palm, Quinoa, Kale, Pearl Peppers, Toy Box Tomatoes, Red Onions, Roasted Corn

This dish was phenomenal! It had so many flavors and textures. It was so unique and so different from anything we would usually order. We loved it so much that if it’s still on the menu during our next trip we will eat here just to order it again (but maybe not the salad).

Overall our experience at the Coral Reef was excellent. Our server provided great service, the view was cool, and our meal was very good.

After our lunch, we decided to get another festival treat and stopped by the Funnel Cake stand for the Gingerbread Funnel Cake.

Unfortunately I think ours was overcooked. The funnel cake was just completely crispy and tasted burnt. This wasn’t nearly as good as the Strawberry funnel cake from the Flower & Garden Festival. The ice cream and gingerbread crumbs were good but the funnel cake wasn’t. I think we just got a bad one.

After our dessert, we stopped by the Germany pavilion to watch the performers. It was a fun little show.

Up next, finishing our afternoon at Epcot and heading to Disney Springs, where our healthy eating plummeted for the day (perhaps it started with that funnel cake.)

 

[mickey916]

12/9 Continued...Epcot, Disney Springs, Coronado Springs​

We stopped to watch the Barn Santa in Norway. It was an entertaining show.

We made our way to the Creations Shop to pick up our Annual Passholder gifts. DH wanted to get his own so we got two of them. It was an envelope of recipe cards with stencils. Disney must have struck some sort of deal with a local stencil maker as it seemed all the prizes were stencils. Next we rode Spaceship Earth. I ended up striking up a conversation with an Annual Passholder in line and gave her my AP “gift” so she wouldn’t have to go wait in line for hers.

After Spaceship Earth it was time for my LLSP for Guardians of the Galaxy. I originally had purchased a LLSP for our first Epcot day but unfortunately it was down the entire day. There was a huge line that day at Guest Services to get refunds but I just chatted in the app and got one right away (hot tip for anyone who has a LLSP canceled). I was really hoping to have a chance to ride it this day and luckily it was up and running! GoG is my favorite ride in all of the parks. I can’t wait to have my sons experience it in May on our next trip. I have ridden it several times but they haven’t been to Epcot since 2022 before it opened.

We decided to depart Epcot and head to Disney Springs for dessert and dinner. We arrived at Disney Springs, walked around for a bit, and then got in line for Gideon’s. Our plan was to buy one slice of Cookie Butter cake, as we’ve never tried that one before.

We each only took one bite of this to try it and it was a nice piece of vanilla cake, albeit a little dry. We really didn’t taste as much cookie butter flavor as we anticipated. We gave it a B-. We probably wouldn’t order it again.

Temptation got the best of us however and we also purchased the Chocolate Churro Cake.

We each took one bite of this one as well to sample it. We’ve had this one before so we knew we liked it. It was good but for some reason still not as good as we remembered. We’re really not sure if our tastes changed, the ratio of cake to frosting changed, or if we just didn’t eat it at the proper temperature (it was usually cold out of the fridge when we had it). Both pieces of cake lasted us several days and the one day when it got to room temperature before we ate it, it seemed better. This one got a B+.

I also ordered a peanut butter cold brew.

I’ve ordered several of these, waiting to be wowed with peanut butter flavor and it just doesn’t happen for me. It’s a fine cold brew but I really don’t taste the peanut butter. It just tastes like a sweet coffee.

After sampling our desserts we did some Christmas shopping. We picked up a couple candles from Bowes Candles and walked around Disney Springs.

When dinner time approached we were so happy to finally catch the 4 Rivers Cantina Barbacoa food truck open! We decided to share a burrito bowl with lettuce and chicken.

This was pretty good but in all honesty the bowl we had earlier in the week at Pecos Bill’s was better. We were glad we finally had a chance to order something from the food truck but probably wouldn’t get it again.

We walked around Disney Springs for a bit and then decided to head to Coronado Springs. We planned on checking out the decorations and then heading to the Dahlia Lounge for dessert.

We just love the holiday decor at Coronado Springs.

We took the elevator up to the Dahlia Lounge. We discovered on our last trip that Toledo is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays so the Dahlia Lounge is pretty quiet on those nights. There was one couple at one of the outside seating areas and a server was talking to them as we arrived. She smiled at us as we walked past and then we sat down at one of the couches. The server continued her conversation with the couple for at least 20 minutes and never came over to us to take our order. So, we took a picture of the view and then left. She smiled at us as we walked by to leave. Very strange.

Our plan had been to get churros and the Ponche de Frutas at the Dahlia Lounge but instead we headed down to El Mercado de Coronado for Plan B….the cinnamon pretzel.

We had to wait quite a while for this to be cooked fresh in the pizza oven but it was worth the wait! To give you a sense of the size of this thing, that is a pizza box that it is served in! This came with three sauces, caramel, chocolate and cream cheese icing. The taste of the pretzel dough with cinnamon sugar was so good, it didn’t even need the sauce. It was so huge that it easily could’ve/should’ve been shared by at least four people. This is where we went off the deep end and ate the whole delicious thing! So, so very worth it. This pretzel is also available freshly made as a pepperoni pizza. Next time we hope to try one that is half pizza/half cinnamon pretzel, if they will agree to make it that way.

Feeling overly full, we took a lap around Lago Dorado and took some pictures of the resort. So beautiful!

While we made healthy choices for our actual meals this day, we ate way too many sweets and our bellies could feel it! Live and learn, do better next time…that pretzel though was the best thing all day. At least we got a lot of steps in.

Total steps: 28,393 (10 miles)

 

[disneyAndi14]

I have only tried one slice of cake at Gideon’s Bakery and it was good not spectacular It was the red velvet with walnuts. My sister and I tried it. I honestly have never tasted peanut butter in the cold brew either. The seasonal French toast cold brew was my favorite.
How strange at Dahlia, we have always had excellent service up there. The churros are very good there but Nomad Lounge makes a better one.
I’m glad you got the pretzel instead it looks amazing!
I love the tower at Christmas time.

 

[mickey916]

I have only tried one slice of cake at Gideon’s Bakery and it was good not spectacular It was the red velvet with walnuts. My sister and I tried it. I honestly have never tasted peanut butter in the cold brew either. The seasonal French toast cold brew was my favorite.
How strange at Dahlia, we have always had excellent service up there. The churros are very good there but Nomad Lounge makes a better one.
I’m glad you got the pretzel instead it looks amazing!
I love the tower at Christmas time.

We have loved the cake at Gideon's but not this time. I've been tweaking my own cake recipes at home to mimic some of the flavors and DH says he thinks the problem is my cakes are now better. We think their cake ratio to frosting is now off. Glad I'm not the only one that can't find the peanut butter in the cold brew. I'll have to try the French Toast Cold Brew next time they have it. It was very strange at Dahlia. The CM was very engrossed in the story she was telling the guests. They probably were wishing she would come wait on us too, lol. We love the Nomad Lounge churros! They definitely are the best. The pretzel was amazing (and we just couldn't stop eating it!)

 

[mickey916]

12/10 Disney Springs Resorts Tour​

We started our morning walking around Disney Springs and then took the first boat to Port Orleans Riverside, since we had not yet taken pictures of the decorations there.

I like the Santa and child on horse decoration in this wreath.

Port Orleans Riverside has a great spot for its large tree.

We walked from Riverside over to the French Quarter and then took the boat back to Disney Springs. It was time for lunch so we walked over to Saratoga Springs and picked up the Saratoga Salad with Chicken at Artist’s Palette to share.

This was yet another different but delicious salad. This one had: Mixed Field Greens, Feta, Dried Cranberries, Apples, Spiced Walnuts, Crispy Ciabatta Croutons, and Lemon-Poppy Seed Vinaigrette. We asked a Cast Member if he thought one was big enough to share and he said, “absolutely”. We’re glad we shared because this was huge! We gave this an A-, ranking it just slightly above the ABC Commissary salad. It was really surprising to us how many different ways we enjoyed salad on this trip!

We took pictures of the decorations in the lobby of the Saratoga Springs Resort. We didn’t find a big tree but I love the roses and horses on this tree and wreath.

Next we decided to walk the path over to Old Key West Resort to complete our resort holiday tour.

This year we found the tree in the lobby. It’s pretty but small. Since this is a DVC resort, there is no grand lobby.

I like how this wreath in Olivia’s Cafe mirrors the wall of photos. Very creative.

With our Disney Springs resorts tour completed, we rode the boat back to Disney Springs and then headed to Magic Kingdom for our last night in Disney World.

Up next..a delicious treat and disappointment at dinner that had nothing to do with the food.

 

[mickey916]

12/10 A Magic Kingdom Afternoon​

Since we were at Disney Springs, we decided to take the bus to avoid having to park at the TTC. Even though we can park for free as Annual Passholders, we just hate the parking lot at the TTC and figured we’d save the hassle of parking there. We planned on taking whichever resort bus on the monorail loop came first, so we ended up taking the Polynesian bus. Once we arrived at the Polynesian, we walked over to the TTC and took the ferry to Magic Kingdom.

After entering the Magic Kingdom, we took a ride on Under the Sea and then attempted to do the Smellephants on Parade. We were able to smell most but not all of them. It was a little tricky because there seemed to always be people sitting in front of the elephants which made it a little awkward to be sniffing near them. We headed into Big Top Treats for a look around. We’ve never gone there before. We decided to try a “new to us” treat…the Chocolate Covered Mickey Chocolate Chip Cookie.

This cookie was huge and very tasty! We enjoyed it way more than we expected. It did taste a little like it had been in the display case a bit so we hope to get a fresher one maybe at Main St. Confectionery next time. It is definitely on the list to try again.

We took a ride on the railroad, visited the Haunted Mansion and rode It’s a Small World. This was a party day and the crowds were starting to pick up so we skipped riding Pirates as the long looked too long. We walked around for a bit as we waited for our dinner ADR.

When I initially planned our meals for this trip, I figured we would just get quick service for dinner. However, in the week or two before the trip, I was looking back at my photos from last year and remembered how much we loved eating at Tony’s Town Square and sitting out on the patio watching all the people arrive for MVMCP. Even though Italian food didn’t fall into our “healthy eating” category, we decided to splurge just so we could sit on the patio. I was very happy to score a last minute ADR at 5:50 for Tony’s. As we approached the restaurant we could see that there was only one party sitting out on the patio so I put in our request to be seated there.

We were called within a few minutes and the host proceeded to bring us to a table in the main dining area, not to the patio. We were disappointed but didn’t say anything initially. Unfortunately though as we were attempting to discuss what to order it was so loud that we were having trouble hearing each other. Our server came over and asked if we were ready to order, DH said “yes” as I said “no”. She looked very confused and then I said “I’m sorry, it’s so loud in here we’re having trouble communicating. We were hoping to sit on the patio but for some reason we were seated here.” The server replied that she would see if there was room to move us to the patio and went to see if there were available tables. There were, but then she had to check with the manager for approval to move us. She returned to tell us that there was a new policy that only people with party tickets can sit on the patio after 4 pm. Apparently in previous years people without tickets were requesting the patio and then refusing to leave and staying to watch the parade. Seriously??? I can’t imagine doing that. So, unfortunately even though we would have been able to order, eat, and leave well before the official start of the party, we weren’t allowed to sit out there. Our server was very apologetic but we certainly didn’t blame her.

We decided to start with Tony's Garlic Bread for the Table.

This is the “before” photo, before we poured the delicious Parmesan Fonduta over it. This garlic bread is the best garlic bread we’ve ever had. Worth the trip to Tony’s just for this!

For our entrees, we shared two entrees. First, we split an order of spaghetti and meatballs.

This was very good. It had a nice marinara sauce with well seasoned tender meatballs. It is a basic but solid dish.

We also shared Chicken Parmigiana. We usually sub in fettuccine alfredo for the spaghetti but went with the spaghetti this time, figuring marinara sauce is slightly healthier than alfredo sauce.

This dish was also very good. The chicken was cooked well and had lots of melty cheese. It too was a basic, solid entree. Overall we enjoyed our meal at Tony’s but it wasn’t nearly as good sitting in the very loud restaurant. I don’t think I would eat here again unless we could sit on the patio. We will have to make sure to go on a non-party day next time. It’s too bad some people ruin stuff for others.

As we exited the park after our meal, I took some photos of the beautiful lights and decorations.

After exiting the park, we made our way to the resort boat launch, planning on checking out the decorations at Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge. But then the weirdest thing happened to me, as we were approaching the line for the boat, something locked up in my hip and I couldn’t take a step. I was stuck in place! A CM came over and asked if we needed to know where to go and I said “We are trying to go right there (pointing to the line) but I can’t move right now.” He offered to get me a wheelchair. I thanked him but said I was going to try to loosen up whatever it was and should be fine. I stood there for a bit wiggling and then eventually I was okay to move. It was very embarrassing! So if you saw some woman shaking her booty at the resort launch it was probably me, haha!

We took the boat first to Fort Wilderness, passing the beautiful Contemporary on our way.

My original plan was to see the Fort Wilderness tree and then walk around to see some of the campers' decorations at their site. Unfortunately due to whatever was going on with my hip, I didn’t quite dare walk around too much. So we just took a picture of the tree.

We then waited for the boat to Wilderness Lodge.

Up next..visiting the last resort on our holiday resort tour and making our way back to Disney Springs.

 

[disneyAndi14]

That cookie is Andi’s all time favorite. We get one each visit for her.
We love sitting on the patio at Tony’s bummer you weren’t able to. The dining room is hectic and very loud. I’m glad the food was good

I’m sorry your hip was giving you problems, ugh I hope it got better quickly!

 

[mickey916]

That cookie is Andi’s all time favorite. We get one each visit for her.

She has great taste!

We love sitting on the patio at Tony’s bummer you weren’t able to. The dining room is hectic and very loud. I’m glad the food was good

It was such a bummer!

I’m sorry your hip was giving you problems, ugh I hope it got better quickly!

Thank you! It was very strange. It came on quickly but thankfully went away quickly too. It felt like something was just in the wrong spot...It was all better the next morning.

 

[mickey916]

12/10 Ending Our Day at the Wilderness Lodge​

Upon arrival at the Wilderness Lodge, we spent some time wandering around enjoying all the spectacular holiday decorations. We feel Wilderness Lodge and Coronado Springs are the two best resorts when it comes to holiday displays. So very beautiful.

Close ups of the decor on the big tree.

I would love to stay here some time especially during the holidays.

After checking out the resort, we took the bus back to Disney Springs to retrieve our car and head back to our hotel.

For our last full day in Orlando, we certainly jammed a lot in: Disney Springs, Port Orleans Riverside, Port Orleans French Quarter, Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, Magic Kingdom, Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge…phew! No wonder my hip was complaining!

Total steps: 26,185

Up next…one last healthy-ish lunch before we hit the road to head back home.

 

[flowergirl45]

Love the look of those grilled veggies! I am unfamiliar with the Riviera Resort….did it used to be called something else?