Having a "Me Party" - A solo trip dining review! Update 9/10

[librarygeek]

Plaza Restaurant

For this meal I was able to meet up with my two friends that had just gotten married this week and we dined together. I had never been to the Plaza before but I chose it because I wanted to try something new and because it's a relatively cheap sit down.



I ordered the Vegetarian sandwich (fresh mozzarella, hummus, basil pesto, cucumber, roasted red pepper, tomato, and lettuce on a freshly baked foccaccia):



This was pretty good. A well balanced amount of ingredients, though nothing terribly special. The fries were really good though! I'd give the dish a 7.5 out of 10.

My friends both ordered the Angus Chuck Cheeseburger (served on a flour-dusted kaiser roll with lettuce, tomato, and onion. Choose from the following toppings: Cheddar, American cheese, Bacon, Grilled Mushrooms and Grilled Onion):



I think they both liked it. Honestly, we were so caught up in talking to each other that we didn't pay much attention to the food!

They were on the dining plan so they each got a dessert. One of my friends didn't want hers, however, so she gave me her banana split. This was a lot of ice cream!



I ate about 2/3 of it, but it was very good. 8 out of 10.

Overall I'd give the Plaza a 7 out of 10. It's good if you want to sit down and be served but don't want to spend a fortune, or you can't get a reservation anywhere else. Or if you're a picky eater and just want burgers, sandwiches, and salads. But it's really nothing all that special, and I would definitely prefer to go other places in the future.

I don't have the TiW discount here because my friends were kind enough to secretly pay for my meal!

 

[wilma-bride]

The Plaza is one of our favourite TS locations inside the parks, purely for the reasons you've stated - it's relatively cheap, the food is basic but tasty and it's quite easy to get a walk-up (or last minute ADR).

That banana split looks great

 

[librarygeek]

The Plaza is one of our favourite TS locations inside the parks, purely for the reasons you've stated - it's relatively cheap, the food is basic but tasty and it's quite easy to get a walk-up (or last minute ADR).

That banana split looks great

It's definitely cool that there's a place you can get a table in air conditioning with service for just a little bit more than a counter service meal!

 

[shalom]

The Plaza is one of our favourite TS locations inside the parks, purely for the reasons you've stated - it's relatively cheap, the food is basic but tasty and it's quite easy to get a walk-up (or last minute ADR).

And it's centrally located, which for my family is a huge benefit.

 

[librarygeek]

And it's centrally located, which for my family is a huge benefit.

Another very good point!

 

[Linda67]

Count me in an another fan of the Plaza

It's not much more expensive than grabbing counter service and so much more relaxing !

 

[TigerKat]

Another Plaza fan.....BEST fries in the World!!!!!

 

[boundfordisney]

great report so far! Im jealous as Id love to do a solo trip, hopefully in the future I will , I just have to plan it in secret as whenever I talk about planning a trip friends and family hop onboard with it , even dh is eager to go.

 

[librarygeek]

Count me in an another fan of the Plaza

It's not much more expensive than grabbing counter service and so much more relaxing !

Yes, definitely a good way to spend a meal!

Another Plaza fan.....BEST fries in the World!!!!!

Those fries were really fantastic! I could use some now!

great report so far! Im jealous as Id love to do a solo trip, hopefully in the future I will , I just have to plan it in secret as whenever I talk about planning a trip friends and family hop onboard with it , even dh is eager to go.

I know what you mean - a lot of my friends have that problem too. In fact, we planned a girls trip last February that was supposed to be girls only but there were a few husbands there because they couldn't stand not going for a trip. In some ways I get sad that my DH isn't ever really eager to go to Disney, but I guess it has some benefits too!

 

[librarygeek]

The Mara

I had spent the morning in Hollywood Studios but none of the counter service options there were appealing to me, so I headed back to AKL and decided to try the Mara.

For my lunch I got the chicken pita with french fries (chicken breast served on a warm pita with sun-dried tomato hummus, cucumber, tomato, and mixed greens with mint yogurt sauce):





Yum, yum, yum! This was so good! Maybe it was partially because I was starving, but I thought it tasted great. The pita was very soft and delicious, but also sturdy enough so that the sandwich didn't fall apart. All of the flavors worked so well together. I couldn't pick out the individual components but together they created a great flavor. I'd give this sandwich a 9 out of 10.

I also treated myself to dessert: a giraffe cupcake (orange marmalade):


As I was going out the door with it, someone opened up the door very quickly and knocked the cupcake out of my hand. Of course it fell frosting side down right on my exposed foot! Since I was only wearing flip flops, I was covered in it. Luckily, Disney was awesome and helped me get cleaned up - and they got me another cupcake! It was very yummy. I liked the frosting the best. There was a good deal of orange marmalade in the center - almost too much, as it got very messy! But I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

My total cost at the Mara including tax was $13.83.

 

[RGirl]

Wow! More great reviews. All the pizza looks delicious, and the Plaza food looks pretty darn tasty too. I have to say though, the Mara lunch looks really yummy - and totally different, which is a huge plus. I really want to stay at AKL at some point - nice that it has such a good CS option. We love the BW, but there is no real CS at all there.

 

[librarygeek]

Wow! More great reviews. All the pizza looks delicious, and the Plaza food looks pretty darn tasty too. I have to say though, the Mara lunch looks really yummy - and totally different, which is a huge plus. I really want to stay at AKL at some point - nice that it has such a good CS option. We love the BW, but there is no real CS at all there.

Yes, I agree - the Mara definitely has some "different" options, which is great for me because I love things that are more interesting than just hamburgers or chicken fingers! AKL is gorgeous, the only downside is that if you stay at Kidani village the CS place is at Jambo House - it's a short bus ride away but still slightly inconvenient. But I asbolutely adore AKL so if you get the chance to stay there definitely do it!

 

[RGirl]

Yes, I agree - the Mara definitely has some "different" options, which is great for me because I love things that are more interesting than just hamburgers or chicken fingers! AKL is gorgeous, the only downside is that if you stay at Kidani village the CS place is at Jambo House - it's a short bus ride away but still slightly inconvenient. But I asbolutely adore AKL so if you get the chance to stay there definitely do it!

You know, the ONLY thing that has kept me from booking AKL in the past is my fear about the amount of time transportation would take. How did you find the bus transportation to the parks? Did you feel like you spent an inordinate amount of time commuting? (For reference, we have stayed at the BW the last two trips largely because of the ability to get to two out of four parks quickly and easily.) I would LOVE to stay at AKL, and I am thinking that my concerns are probably unfounded - with a small child who no longer merits a stroller, I don't exactly get to use the walking path to DHS or even Epcot all that much from the BW anyway. Hmmmmmm

 

[CallieS]

My husband and I found Mara by accident. We were visiting AKL just to look around, decided we were hungry, and found Mara. We split the falafel pita, and it was one of the best meals I've ever had. No joke, I still think about it. At some point in the future we're going to have to go back.

 

[librarygeek]

You know, the ONLY thing that has kept me from booking AKL in the past is my fear about the amount of time transportation would take. How did you find the bus transportation to the parks? Did you feel like you spent an inordinate amount of time commuting? (For reference, we have stayed at the BW the last two trips largely because of the ability to get to two out of four parks quickly and easily.) I would LOVE to stay at AKL, and I am thinking that my concerns are probably unfounded - with a small child who no longer merits a stroller, I don't exactly get to use the walking path to DHS or even Epcot all that much from the BW anyway. Hmmmmmm

The transportation wasn't too bad. Once you got on the bus it took about 15-20 minutes to get to DHS, Epcot, and MK. I think the longest I ever waited for a bus was maybe 10 minutes, so it wasn't bad at all. It seems about on par with the other on property places I've stayed, which are POR, Old Key West, and Caribbean Beach. And on the plus side AK is right there, so it's only about a 5 minute bus ride! I am so in love with AKL that I definitely think it's worth it and the transportation isn't too bad!

My husband and I found Mara by accident. We were visiting AKL just to look around, decided we were hungry, and found Mara. We split the falafel pita, and it was one of the best meals I've ever had. No joke, I still think about it. At some point in the future we're going to have to go back.

I'm sure the falafel pita was just as good as the chicken one! I stayed at AKL again this past August and got to try a few more things on the menu - all good, but the chicken pita has definitely been my favorite so far!

 

[Linda67]

I really need to get myself over to the Mara one of these days - the menu looks great

I really want to try the falafel pitta

Yay for Disney replacing your awesome looking cupcake

 

[Linda67]

Sorry double post !

 

[librarygeek]

I really need to get myself over to the Mara one of these days - the menu looks great

I really want to try the falafel pitta

Yay for Disney replacing your awesome looking cupcake

Yes, you definitely should try the Mara - I would recommend hopping over for lunch while visiting Animal Kingdom. It's not far at all and I like the Mara better than the AK counter service options!

 

[librarygeek]

Tomorrowland Terrace

I've been to the Tomorrowland Terrace for the dessert party, but I never tried it for dinner. It's not often open since it only serves food seasonally, but it was 4th of July week and the parks were getting pretty packed, so they were serving food! Since it's called the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station I was excited to try it, since pasta is pretty much my favorite food in the world. I went with the pasta primavera with shrimp:



This was not quite as good as I had hoped. The shrimp was big and juicy and great. The pasta itself was good. But the dish was covered with balsamic vinegar. I've had pasta primavera a number of times, and it's never had balsamic vinegar before, so I'm pretty sure that's not standard and not at all what I was expecting. It just had the whole dish taste very vinegar-y. Everything else was good but that taste was so pervasive. It was still good, but nothing great. I would give it a 7 out of 10. Definitely much better with the shrimp! I didn't get a drink because I had just filled up my reusable mug at the resort, so my total was $10 and change.

For dessert later that evening I headed over to Aloha Isle for a Dole Whip:



I went with the pineapple and orange swirl. It was good, but not nearly as good as the wonderful citrus swirl I had discovered earlier in the trip!

 

[shalom]

That Mara sandwich looks terrific! Less excited about the cupcake now I know it's orange marmalade. But WDW has so many terrific desserts, I doubt I'll ever get any at Mara anyhow -- too much other unique stuff to try there. Everything we've had there I've liked, although I do think we lucked out with one combination and I wouldn't have liked either dish as much without the other.

The pasta primavera looks good to me, and sounds potentially good as well (I like olive and vinegar dressing). But I expect pasta primavera sauce to be maybe garlicy, but otherwise mild -- usually the sauce is lightly flavored to let the flavors of the vegetables shine (garlic is a vegetable, right? ) -- so if I was in the mood for pasta primavera, not sure I'd like it. That's really an odd variation.

Are you an orange julius fan? and do you like Creamsicles? I've never liked either, so have never given the citrus swirl a shot, but the orange pineapple one sure sounds good.