Aeweddle
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2016
- Messages
- 87
I told myself that I was not going to forget to take photographs of my meals, but I got there and got really excited about food and forgot, lol. So, I am going to do this all at once and hopefully someone will find it helpful!
A little about us, I traveled with my husband and two kids, DD (almost 5) and DS (almost 2). We stayed at AoA after debating for months over which resort to pick. After seeing my kids go over the moon at AoA, I am so happy with my decision. This was my husband's 5th trip, my 3rd, DD's 2nd, and DS's 1st.
I started planning our dining as soon as we started thinking about the trip. I like food more than most people, so this was important to me.
DS is not the best restaurant goer so we knew anything too fancy would be very challenging with him. DD is more of a snacker who is going through a bit of a difficult phase as far as food is concerned. Her diet is mostly carrots, yogurt, and strawberries at the moment. We knew we wanted to keep resort hopping to a minimum because we wanted the kids to have plenty of time in the parks. We also decided that this trip was going to primarily be for the kids, so we picked a lot of character dining. I made the executive decision to go with the DDP because of my DH. He is a tightwad, plain and simple and the most difficult person in the world to go out to eat with. I see something that I want on a menu and order it; he sees something he wants and decides to get something cheaper and then regrets his decision for the rest of the meal. I wanted to go and eat without dealing with his penny-pinching ways. I did the math, and we came out $12.33 ahead by going with the dining plan, so not a huge savings but it definitely saved my patience. He marveled over getting order whatever he wanted and frequently swapped out his desserts for appetizer or snacks when they allowed it. He has a huge appetite (he's a competitive cyclist) and loved the portion sizes. Since DS was too young, he was not on the plan. We originally planned to supplement meals with snacks credits for him, but it was not necessary.
Day 1: Arrival day. Our room was ready when we arrived at AoA. We knew the kids needed a nap, but decided to do an early lunch before both kids got hangry and sleepy. We ate at Landscape of Flavors and it was tasty! DH and I both got the Surf n'Surf burger. We both got the caeser salad. I got fries and he got cole slaw. The salad was a bit overdressed but otherwise fine. I love caeser dressing but not if there is a really strong anchovy taste (I'm looking at you Carnival Cruise Line
). The dressing here was perfect, but just a bit too much.
For dinner we went to Columbia Harbour House and loved it. It was packed downstairs and our CM had some trouble with the order in front of us. There were 6 or 7 people, all doing different orders with all sorts of discounts. Instead of taking it one at a time, they were throwing all their orders at her at once. She got a bit frazzled and it took forever. Once she got to us she apologized over and over again and had them throw in free cups of soup for us for our patience. For the record, DH was NOT being patient, so I took over the ordering, lol. It just shows that patience and kindness pays off! We both had the lobster roll, the free clam chowder, and the cobbler. I loved the cobbler. It was blackberry and delicious. The lobster roll was fine, but I do think it was better the last time we ate there. It was a little on the bland side, but the house made chips were excellent. We ate upstairs and I definitely recommend it. Downstairs was swamped, but we were in a small room all to ourselves with a table overlooking the street below. So nice and peaceful.
Day 2: Epcot, my favorite! We grabbed a cronut right away and man was it delicious! Lunch was at Rose & Crown and it was one of the best meals of our trip. Our server was genial and attentive. His name tag said he was from Dumfries, but when he started talking he was clearly from the Manchester area. He said they use the town listed on their passports and that he grew up in Manchester but lived in Dumfries for a few years before moving overseas. He says he gets a lot of grief from the Scottish tourists. I really got a kick out of talking to him. DH and I both got the Steak and Fish. Steak was tender, yorkshire pudding was delightfully garlicy, and the tartar sauce was excellent. I ordered a Snakebite without looking closely at the menu. Their snakebite is cider and harp, but I was expecting cider and Guiness. I was a bit surprised when he put it in front of me because I was expecting a layered drink. It was still tasty and I would order it again. I'm a big fan of ciders. The sticky toffee pudding was ooey-gooey deliciousness. My husband got the fruit crumble and wasn't impressed. I wasn't either because the apples were still very crunchy. DS and DD split the kid's spaghetti, but DS ended up eating some of my fish and steak too. Rose & Crown will definitely get a repeat visit from us.
Dinner was at Akershus for the princess dining. DD is a princess fanatic. The service here was not as stellar, but man was I impressed at how they timed the meal and churned people through the process. I had more fun watching the timing of the production! I really enjoyed the appetizer bar. Everything we tasted was excellent. For our entrees, DH got the Fiskesuppe (scallops, shrimp, and mussels in an herb-cream sauce) and the sauce was very watery and had separated a bit. I got the Aquavit Laks (salmon on a potato cake, pickled fennel slaw, and aquavit cream sauce) and something about it seemed off. I didn't eat much of it. I don't know if it was my unfamiliarity with Aquavit, or if something had gone a bit bad. The potato cake was a glorified hash brown and slaw was very sweet. We were all unimpressed by the desserts as well. The rice pudding was dry and I can't even remember what the other two were! My daughter loved the princess interactions. Ariel was particularly fun! They rushed Aurora to our table right before the princess parade around the room and her interaction was nothing spectacular. All the other princesses took their time and made a point to speak to DS as well. Overall it was worth it for my daughter.
Day 3. Animal Kingdom. My husband hates this park with a passion and was in a terrible mood before we ever left the resort! I didn't make an ADRs for this park because I knew DH was going to be grumpy. I wanted our plans to be flexible. We took the morning off to swim and hit AK a little after noon for a late lunch. I was interested in trying Harambe Market and it did not disappoint. The Chicken Tikka Misala was some of the best I've ever had with a great curry flavor without being too spicy. DH had the beef gyro which was flavorful but not filling. He wasn't a huge fan of the sides and felt like the portion was a little small. We ended up stopping at Yak and Yeti for some chicken fried rice a few hours after lunch for DH. We planned on the kids splitting the chicken kebab, but it was tiny! Maybe three small cubes of chicken on a skewer. DS ended up eating some of my rice and we grabbed a kids power pack from a stand outside Kilimanjaro after we left Harambe for them to share. The African Milk Tart wasn't my favorite. I'm not a huge coconut fan, so the long coconut strings in the tart grossed me out. It was the only dessert option. For the record, you can order from any menu at any stand except for the ribs which can only be ordered at the rib stand. As long as you don't want ribs, go to the shortest line. It saved us a lot of time. I liked the overall theme of the market and enjoyed our experience. There was a live performer while we were there and he was fun to watch, but oh my goodness were the speakers loud! We finally gave up talking to one another. On the way out I ordered a Leopard's Eye frozen cocktail and enjoyed it! It was cold and crisp and not too terribly sweet with a strong kiwi taste.
Dinner was Flame Tree. Recent reviews have been negative so I was a bit apprehensive. Maybe we were just hungry but we all raved about our food. DH got the ribs and they were fall-off-the-bone tender. I got the plate with the ribs, chicken, and pulled pork to split with the kids. DS devoured the ribs before I ever got a taste (I ended up stealing some from my husband's plate) and DD ate a little of everything. I thought the chicken was the best. DH subbed his dessert for the pulled pork cheese fries. These are an excellent use of a snack credit! I wish I would've subbed my dessert credit for something else because the chocolate mousse was nothing special. As a side note, the crowds went way down in the late afternoon so if it fits in your plan, hit AK in the evening. We only waited 15 minutes to ride Everest.
I took the evening to take a solo trip to Epcot, which was open until 11. I grabbed another Cronut because the first one was so good! I meandered to La Cava and tried a Horchata Margarita. It was okay, a little weak in my opinion. I also tried the Schofferhoffer grapefruit in the Germany Pavilion which I loved, but totally get why it is so divisive. The grapefruit taste is rather distinctive. I grabbed some school bread on my way to Germany so I stopped on a bench to people watch and eat. I normally hate coconut, but don't mind it on the school bread because it is chopped so fine. I intended to grab a Bellini or glass of wine on my way around, but did not know they would stop serving alcohol at 10. I understand their reasoning (and saw way too many drunk people) but I was really disappointed!
Day 4. With very low expectations, we hit up the Disney Junior Play N'Dine. I did this because my kids love Disney Jr. I decided to take one for the team and brave the widely-panned Hollywood and Vine. Let me say it for the record, it's not that bad. We had an early lunch reservation (11:00) so maybe that helped. The place was clean and the food was fine. DH dropped a bit of food on the buffet line and was practically shoved out of the way by someone cleaning. I sampled a bit of everything from the buffet and there wasn't anything that I would consider inedible. There was a quinoa salad that was particularly good and my DS ate a plateful of the seafood mac and cheese. DH really liked the beef stew, but I never tasted it. They had fried potatoes with garlic, bacon, and onions that were delish. Desserts were a bit meh and the service was lackluster. Drinks were never refilled and dirty plates piled up. We asked for coffee towards the end of our meal and she seemed a bit surprised by it. We still needed to meet Jake and Manny but we were finishing up our desserts. I know they need to churn people out ASAP, so I wasn't terribly surprised when the coffee never showed. The lady at the table next to us was pretty upset because they forgot to bring out the cake she requested for her son's birthday. Overall, it was fine. The kids LOVED it and that is what counts. DD is about to outgrow Disney Jr. so maybe we can skip it next time. Oh yeah, we did the Fantasmic Package. I was very happy that they started offering the package for lunch.
Dinner was 50's Prime Time and was a lot of fun. I have a coworker who always raves about this place so I decided to give it a go. Our waiter was fun, but didn't seem to know how to interact with our young ones. He was very over the top with the table next to us with two teenagers, but was fairly normal with us and the table behind us with twin toddlers. I was a little disappointed, but the waitress in the next section over was hilarious to watch! DH got the fried chicken and I got the plate with the chicken, pot roast, and meatloaf. Everything was great. My DS loved the meatloaf and DD practically licked her bowl of spaghetti clean. I got Dad's brownie sundae for dessert and it was ridiculous in the best possible way! Caramel popcorn was the topping which my popcorn loving daughter found hilarious. It was a fun experience, but next time I hope we can try Sci-Fi and brown derby for a change.
DD and DH got in the standby line to ride Star Tours after dinner. Their 10 minute posted wait ended up being a good bit longer. I popped into Backlot Express on a quest for Blue Milk for DS. I didn't think I would find it and of course I didnt. I was intrigued by an alcoholic drink on the menu. I don't remember the name and it's not posted online. It was a hard cider topped with a shot of fireball. Not the classiest drink by ANY means, but like I said above I am a huge cider fan and love trying new blends. I loved this drink way more than a 31 year old woman should. Cinnamon apple? Yes, please!!! My next trip to the liquor store will involve swallowing my pride and grabbing a bottle of fireball so that I can recreate this drink.
Day 5. Magic kingdom. Curses to the people at Disney responsible for setting park hours. I was able to secure an 8:05 CRT breakfast at 180 days but two weeks before our trip they changed the park hours to an 8am opening. It was chaos!! i was randomly selected to go through the additional security. We asked to be let in the park early and they would not let us in. They said the gates would open at 7:45 and we would have plenty of time. Gates opened at 7:50 and we barely made it. Main Street was chaos. Once we got to CRT things were fine. The Cinderella interaction was great and she complimented DD on her Cinderella hairstyle. It was in a bun with a black headband. My excitement to see that we had a window seat quickly diminished once I realized we were directly in the sun. I couldn't see anything and ended up wearing my sunglassss throughout the meal. I ended up getting really, really hot and miserable. While I appreciated the sword for my DH I wish i could've grabbed it and shoved it in the bag before he spotted it. He spent the entire breakfast attempting to whack anything and everything, lol! The food was fine, but nothing spectacular at all. The pastries were all a bit stale. We didn't finish a single one. DD and I both had a traditional breakfast and DH had the shrimp and grits. In what world does shrimp and grits mean 4 shrimp on a piece of cornbread with a bit of sauce on top? That's what he got. That's not shrimp and grits! He said the taste was fine but the southern belle in me about died! That being said, service was wonderful and the princesses were all very attentive to both kids. We saw Aurora, snow, Ariel, and jasmine....sorry, but I'm still shaking my head over the cornbread. I wish I would've been able to see clearly enough to take a pic! We grabbed a dole whip a few hours later. We are big dole whip fans and I couldn't leave without getting it at least once.
We finished at MK early and decided to go back to Landscape for lunch. I did the make your own pasta and it was just okay. Definitely not worth the ridiculous wait. DH got the caprese sandwich and it was very dry. It was an all around disappointing meal. The only redeeming bit was the carrot cake whoopie pie, which we all fought over! Delish!
We ventured back to Epcot for dinner at Tangeriene Cafe. I got the shawarma chicken and lamb platter and DH got the falafel. Mine was excellent!! DS devoured my hummus and ate a good bit of the meat as well. I warned DH that the falafel might be dry, but he wanted to try it. It was very dry, but he went and got some extra hummus with a snack credit and that helped. He also tried a Moroccan beer. Nothing that impressive, but fun to try nevertheless.
We stopped in Japan so he could try the beer with the frozen foam. He loved the concept, but felt that the beer was mediocre. He was impressed that the beer stayed cold all the way around World Showcase as DD got her Duffy bear stamped.
Day 6. Another MK day. We had a lunch reservation a BOG. I preordered and the process was very smooth. We were able to snag a table by the windows and DD marveled over the snow falling. I had the coq au vin and it was so freaking good. The only complaint was that there was a big chunk of fatty meat at the bottom that I accidentally put in my mouth while trying to get some potatoes. Yuck! That being said, this was my second favorite meal of the trip. The kids split the turkey sandwich. I took a bite of the turkey and it was moist and flavorful. DH had the tuna Niçoise salad. He didn't say much about it. He insisted on ordering it (trying to be healthy) and I tried to convince him otherwise. I think perhaps he didn't like it but didn't want to fess up to me being right, lol! He also had the potato leek soup which was amazing! I ordered the French onion and didn't care for the vegetable broth, although I appreciate the vegetarian option. Cupcakes (strawberry, chocolate, grey stuff) were all good.
We went to Disney Springs for dinner and had a really hard time deciding what to eat and the kids both got hangry. For some reason navigating Disney Springs was really hard for us. We ended up going to D-Luxe Burger. There wasn't a long wait and the food came out quickly. DH got the el Diablo burger and as soon as he opened it he saw a huge hair sticking out! Yuck! He took it back and they promptly made him a new one. The kids split the kids cheeseburger and when I went to cut it in half I realized that the bun was completely frozen! It was slightly warm on top but the middle was ice. We took it back to the counter and once again they made us a new one. I got the southern burger. We got the garlic ranch and chipotle dipping sauces for our fries and they were both good. I will say that the burgers were huge! Almost too big. I had a hard time keeping mine together and the fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese kept falling out the other side. It was hard to get a complete bite with all the toppings. Overall, it was fine and a good use of a quick service credit but we probably will not go back.
Day 7. Back to Epcot and Garden Grill for lunch. What an excellent experience. Service was great, food was SO good and plentiful, and the character experience was the best of the trip. Dale braided my daughter's hair and she got the biggest kick out of him! My only complaint is that they brought out the main course immediately after bringing the salad. I wish we could've had a bit more time to finish our salads because the table got really crowded. At one time it seems like I remember reading that the salad was served with a chipotle ranch. I don't know if I dreamed that or what, but ours definitely had regular ranch. It was still good. I really, really enjoyed the dessert. It was a sugar coated pound cake with a berry sauce and fresh whipped cream.
Dinner was Biergarten, my husband's pick. We really enjoyed it. We both got a large stein of beer and man were we miserable afterwards! My favorites from the buffet were the warm potato salad, cabbage salad, and the cucumber salad. None of the sausages were that spectacular but the environment and huge beers made up for it. Also don't skip the potato leek soup! We were sitting next to possibly the most disfunctional family I've ever seen!! So much yelling and fighting and this is coming from a couple who doesn't hold much back when upset with each other. It was like having a holiday meal with a family who hates one another, lol. We cringed at first, but decided to just ignore them and enjoy our meal. By the end we were barely containing our laughter at their antics! The kids loved the show. My DH is a band director and musician and I'm a former musician. We've already decided DS is going to be our little band nerd. His eyes were glued to the stage the entire time. We were hoping to use some snack credits that evening after dinner but I was almost too miserable to walk. I thought they were going to have to roll me out of world showcase!
Day 8, resort and Hollywood Studios day. I originally had an 8am ppo at BOG, but I leaned on this trip that we aren't really a rope drop family. The kids and I could manage it, but DH is not a morning person and so pokey in the AM! I ended up cancelling it and we took the morning off. Lunch was back at Landscape for a surf n'surf burger repeat. This time, the portion was completely different and much smaller! Even the bun was smaller and mine only had one shrimp. The sides were much smaller as well. It was still plenty of food, but surprising to us considering what we had earlier. I was planning to take the shrimp off my burger to give to DS, so we had to go back and get him something else. As a side note, for some unexplained reason all three times we ate at Landscape we were charged a table service credit. No one could give us an explanation as to why it was happening. The concierge fixed it for us, but it just proves that you need to carefully check receipts (although ours were correct each time) and regularly check your room charges throughout your stay.
After nap, we went to Epcot and walked over to Beach Club for some ice cream at Beaches and Cream. It rained the entire walk and we arrived a bit frazzled after getting lost in the process. We walked too far and ended up going in the Yacht Club. This was a special trip for DH's 32nd bday. We got the smaller version of the kitchen sink in the keepsake Mickey pants sink. It was perfect for the four of us. I really wanted the huge kitchen sink but I knew it would be wasteful with two littles. We finished all of the smaller one and our waitress cleaned up our bowl for us and put it in a to-go bag. After ice cream, we walked to HS because DD wanted to ride the "crazy elevator" again. I was able to get last minute fast passes for ToT, TSMM, and ST. I was impressed! We weren't terribly hungry but we did order two charcuterie boards from Writer's Stop to hold us over. How I miss the old Writer's Stop. It was one of my favorite places. There was nothing special about the charcuterie board. The sausages were a little dry and the bread was a bit burned on one end. The raspberries were incredible though! I went back to Backlot Express and got another glass of the cider and fireball drink. I swear, y'all, it was so good! No judging!
Day 9: grabbed some muffins using our remaining snack credits and hopped on magical express!
And that's the end of our food journey! Thanks for sticking it through to the end. I always enjoy reading dining reviews and they helped so much when I was planning. Sorry for the lack of pics, like I said I got way too excited.
Cheers!!
A little about us, I traveled with my husband and two kids, DD (almost 5) and DS (almost 2). We stayed at AoA after debating for months over which resort to pick. After seeing my kids go over the moon at AoA, I am so happy with my decision. This was my husband's 5th trip, my 3rd, DD's 2nd, and DS's 1st.
I started planning our dining as soon as we started thinking about the trip. I like food more than most people, so this was important to me.
DS is not the best restaurant goer so we knew anything too fancy would be very challenging with him. DD is more of a snacker who is going through a bit of a difficult phase as far as food is concerned. Her diet is mostly carrots, yogurt, and strawberries at the moment. We knew we wanted to keep resort hopping to a minimum because we wanted the kids to have plenty of time in the parks. We also decided that this trip was going to primarily be for the kids, so we picked a lot of character dining. I made the executive decision to go with the DDP because of my DH. He is a tightwad, plain and simple and the most difficult person in the world to go out to eat with. I see something that I want on a menu and order it; he sees something he wants and decides to get something cheaper and then regrets his decision for the rest of the meal. I wanted to go and eat without dealing with his penny-pinching ways. I did the math, and we came out $12.33 ahead by going with the dining plan, so not a huge savings but it definitely saved my patience. He marveled over getting order whatever he wanted and frequently swapped out his desserts for appetizer or snacks when they allowed it. He has a huge appetite (he's a competitive cyclist) and loved the portion sizes. Since DS was too young, he was not on the plan. We originally planned to supplement meals with snacks credits for him, but it was not necessary.Day 1: Arrival day. Our room was ready when we arrived at AoA. We knew the kids needed a nap, but decided to do an early lunch before both kids got hangry and sleepy. We ate at Landscape of Flavors and it was tasty! DH and I both got the Surf n'Surf burger. We both got the caeser salad. I got fries and he got cole slaw. The salad was a bit overdressed but otherwise fine. I love caeser dressing but not if there is a really strong anchovy taste (I'm looking at you Carnival Cruise Line
). The dressing here was perfect, but just a bit too much. For dinner we went to Columbia Harbour House and loved it. It was packed downstairs and our CM had some trouble with the order in front of us. There were 6 or 7 people, all doing different orders with all sorts of discounts. Instead of taking it one at a time, they were throwing all their orders at her at once. She got a bit frazzled and it took forever. Once she got to us she apologized over and over again and had them throw in free cups of soup for us for our patience. For the record, DH was NOT being patient, so I took over the ordering, lol. It just shows that patience and kindness pays off! We both had the lobster roll, the free clam chowder, and the cobbler. I loved the cobbler. It was blackberry and delicious. The lobster roll was fine, but I do think it was better the last time we ate there. It was a little on the bland side, but the house made chips were excellent. We ate upstairs and I definitely recommend it. Downstairs was swamped, but we were in a small room all to ourselves with a table overlooking the street below. So nice and peaceful.
Day 2: Epcot, my favorite! We grabbed a cronut right away and man was it delicious! Lunch was at Rose & Crown and it was one of the best meals of our trip. Our server was genial and attentive. His name tag said he was from Dumfries, but when he started talking he was clearly from the Manchester area. He said they use the town listed on their passports and that he grew up in Manchester but lived in Dumfries for a few years before moving overseas. He says he gets a lot of grief from the Scottish tourists. I really got a kick out of talking to him. DH and I both got the Steak and Fish. Steak was tender, yorkshire pudding was delightfully garlicy, and the tartar sauce was excellent. I ordered a Snakebite without looking closely at the menu. Their snakebite is cider and harp, but I was expecting cider and Guiness. I was a bit surprised when he put it in front of me because I was expecting a layered drink. It was still tasty and I would order it again. I'm a big fan of ciders. The sticky toffee pudding was ooey-gooey deliciousness. My husband got the fruit crumble and wasn't impressed. I wasn't either because the apples were still very crunchy. DS and DD split the kid's spaghetti, but DS ended up eating some of my fish and steak too. Rose & Crown will definitely get a repeat visit from us.
Dinner was at Akershus for the princess dining. DD is a princess fanatic. The service here was not as stellar, but man was I impressed at how they timed the meal and churned people through the process. I had more fun watching the timing of the production! I really enjoyed the appetizer bar. Everything we tasted was excellent. For our entrees, DH got the Fiskesuppe (scallops, shrimp, and mussels in an herb-cream sauce) and the sauce was very watery and had separated a bit. I got the Aquavit Laks (salmon on a potato cake, pickled fennel slaw, and aquavit cream sauce) and something about it seemed off. I didn't eat much of it. I don't know if it was my unfamiliarity with Aquavit, or if something had gone a bit bad. The potato cake was a glorified hash brown and slaw was very sweet. We were all unimpressed by the desserts as well. The rice pudding was dry and I can't even remember what the other two were! My daughter loved the princess interactions. Ariel was particularly fun! They rushed Aurora to our table right before the princess parade around the room and her interaction was nothing spectacular. All the other princesses took their time and made a point to speak to DS as well. Overall it was worth it for my daughter.
Day 3. Animal Kingdom. My husband hates this park with a passion and was in a terrible mood before we ever left the resort! I didn't make an ADRs for this park because I knew DH was going to be grumpy. I wanted our plans to be flexible. We took the morning off to swim and hit AK a little after noon for a late lunch. I was interested in trying Harambe Market and it did not disappoint. The Chicken Tikka Misala was some of the best I've ever had with a great curry flavor without being too spicy. DH had the beef gyro which was flavorful but not filling. He wasn't a huge fan of the sides and felt like the portion was a little small. We ended up stopping at Yak and Yeti for some chicken fried rice a few hours after lunch for DH. We planned on the kids splitting the chicken kebab, but it was tiny! Maybe three small cubes of chicken on a skewer. DS ended up eating some of my rice and we grabbed a kids power pack from a stand outside Kilimanjaro after we left Harambe for them to share. The African Milk Tart wasn't my favorite. I'm not a huge coconut fan, so the long coconut strings in the tart grossed me out. It was the only dessert option. For the record, you can order from any menu at any stand except for the ribs which can only be ordered at the rib stand. As long as you don't want ribs, go to the shortest line. It saved us a lot of time. I liked the overall theme of the market and enjoyed our experience. There was a live performer while we were there and he was fun to watch, but oh my goodness were the speakers loud! We finally gave up talking to one another. On the way out I ordered a Leopard's Eye frozen cocktail and enjoyed it! It was cold and crisp and not too terribly sweet with a strong kiwi taste.
Dinner was Flame Tree. Recent reviews have been negative so I was a bit apprehensive. Maybe we were just hungry but we all raved about our food. DH got the ribs and they were fall-off-the-bone tender. I got the plate with the ribs, chicken, and pulled pork to split with the kids. DS devoured the ribs before I ever got a taste (I ended up stealing some from my husband's plate) and DD ate a little of everything. I thought the chicken was the best. DH subbed his dessert for the pulled pork cheese fries. These are an excellent use of a snack credit! I wish I would've subbed my dessert credit for something else because the chocolate mousse was nothing special. As a side note, the crowds went way down in the late afternoon so if it fits in your plan, hit AK in the evening. We only waited 15 minutes to ride Everest.
I took the evening to take a solo trip to Epcot, which was open until 11. I grabbed another Cronut because the first one was so good! I meandered to La Cava and tried a Horchata Margarita. It was okay, a little weak in my opinion. I also tried the Schofferhoffer grapefruit in the Germany Pavilion which I loved, but totally get why it is so divisive. The grapefruit taste is rather distinctive. I grabbed some school bread on my way to Germany so I stopped on a bench to people watch and eat. I normally hate coconut, but don't mind it on the school bread because it is chopped so fine. I intended to grab a Bellini or glass of wine on my way around, but did not know they would stop serving alcohol at 10. I understand their reasoning (and saw way too many drunk people) but I was really disappointed!
Day 4. With very low expectations, we hit up the Disney Junior Play N'Dine. I did this because my kids love Disney Jr. I decided to take one for the team and brave the widely-panned Hollywood and Vine. Let me say it for the record, it's not that bad. We had an early lunch reservation (11:00) so maybe that helped. The place was clean and the food was fine. DH dropped a bit of food on the buffet line and was practically shoved out of the way by someone cleaning. I sampled a bit of everything from the buffet and there wasn't anything that I would consider inedible. There was a quinoa salad that was particularly good and my DS ate a plateful of the seafood mac and cheese. DH really liked the beef stew, but I never tasted it. They had fried potatoes with garlic, bacon, and onions that were delish. Desserts were a bit meh and the service was lackluster. Drinks were never refilled and dirty plates piled up. We asked for coffee towards the end of our meal and she seemed a bit surprised by it. We still needed to meet Jake and Manny but we were finishing up our desserts. I know they need to churn people out ASAP, so I wasn't terribly surprised when the coffee never showed. The lady at the table next to us was pretty upset because they forgot to bring out the cake she requested for her son's birthday. Overall, it was fine. The kids LOVED it and that is what counts. DD is about to outgrow Disney Jr. so maybe we can skip it next time. Oh yeah, we did the Fantasmic Package. I was very happy that they started offering the package for lunch.
Dinner was 50's Prime Time and was a lot of fun. I have a coworker who always raves about this place so I decided to give it a go. Our waiter was fun, but didn't seem to know how to interact with our young ones. He was very over the top with the table next to us with two teenagers, but was fairly normal with us and the table behind us with twin toddlers. I was a little disappointed, but the waitress in the next section over was hilarious to watch! DH got the fried chicken and I got the plate with the chicken, pot roast, and meatloaf. Everything was great. My DS loved the meatloaf and DD practically licked her bowl of spaghetti clean. I got Dad's brownie sundae for dessert and it was ridiculous in the best possible way! Caramel popcorn was the topping which my popcorn loving daughter found hilarious. It was a fun experience, but next time I hope we can try Sci-Fi and brown derby for a change.
DD and DH got in the standby line to ride Star Tours after dinner. Their 10 minute posted wait ended up being a good bit longer. I popped into Backlot Express on a quest for Blue Milk for DS. I didn't think I would find it and of course I didnt. I was intrigued by an alcoholic drink on the menu. I don't remember the name and it's not posted online. It was a hard cider topped with a shot of fireball. Not the classiest drink by ANY means, but like I said above I am a huge cider fan and love trying new blends. I loved this drink way more than a 31 year old woman should. Cinnamon apple? Yes, please!!! My next trip to the liquor store will involve swallowing my pride and grabbing a bottle of fireball so that I can recreate this drink.
Day 5. Magic kingdom. Curses to the people at Disney responsible for setting park hours. I was able to secure an 8:05 CRT breakfast at 180 days but two weeks before our trip they changed the park hours to an 8am opening. It was chaos!! i was randomly selected to go through the additional security. We asked to be let in the park early and they would not let us in. They said the gates would open at 7:45 and we would have plenty of time. Gates opened at 7:50 and we barely made it. Main Street was chaos. Once we got to CRT things were fine. The Cinderella interaction was great and she complimented DD on her Cinderella hairstyle. It was in a bun with a black headband. My excitement to see that we had a window seat quickly diminished once I realized we were directly in the sun. I couldn't see anything and ended up wearing my sunglassss throughout the meal. I ended up getting really, really hot and miserable. While I appreciated the sword for my DH I wish i could've grabbed it and shoved it in the bag before he spotted it. He spent the entire breakfast attempting to whack anything and everything, lol! The food was fine, but nothing spectacular at all. The pastries were all a bit stale. We didn't finish a single one. DD and I both had a traditional breakfast and DH had the shrimp and grits. In what world does shrimp and grits mean 4 shrimp on a piece of cornbread with a bit of sauce on top? That's what he got. That's not shrimp and grits! He said the taste was fine but the southern belle in me about died! That being said, service was wonderful and the princesses were all very attentive to both kids. We saw Aurora, snow, Ariel, and jasmine....sorry, but I'm still shaking my head over the cornbread. I wish I would've been able to see clearly enough to take a pic! We grabbed a dole whip a few hours later. We are big dole whip fans and I couldn't leave without getting it at least once.
We finished at MK early and decided to go back to Landscape for lunch. I did the make your own pasta and it was just okay. Definitely not worth the ridiculous wait. DH got the caprese sandwich and it was very dry. It was an all around disappointing meal. The only redeeming bit was the carrot cake whoopie pie, which we all fought over! Delish!
We ventured back to Epcot for dinner at Tangeriene Cafe. I got the shawarma chicken and lamb platter and DH got the falafel. Mine was excellent!! DS devoured my hummus and ate a good bit of the meat as well. I warned DH that the falafel might be dry, but he wanted to try it. It was very dry, but he went and got some extra hummus with a snack credit and that helped. He also tried a Moroccan beer. Nothing that impressive, but fun to try nevertheless.
We stopped in Japan so he could try the beer with the frozen foam. He loved the concept, but felt that the beer was mediocre. He was impressed that the beer stayed cold all the way around World Showcase as DD got her Duffy bear stamped.
Day 6. Another MK day. We had a lunch reservation a BOG. I preordered and the process was very smooth. We were able to snag a table by the windows and DD marveled over the snow falling. I had the coq au vin and it was so freaking good. The only complaint was that there was a big chunk of fatty meat at the bottom that I accidentally put in my mouth while trying to get some potatoes. Yuck! That being said, this was my second favorite meal of the trip. The kids split the turkey sandwich. I took a bite of the turkey and it was moist and flavorful. DH had the tuna Niçoise salad. He didn't say much about it. He insisted on ordering it (trying to be healthy) and I tried to convince him otherwise. I think perhaps he didn't like it but didn't want to fess up to me being right, lol! He also had the potato leek soup which was amazing! I ordered the French onion and didn't care for the vegetable broth, although I appreciate the vegetarian option. Cupcakes (strawberry, chocolate, grey stuff) were all good.
We went to Disney Springs for dinner and had a really hard time deciding what to eat and the kids both got hangry. For some reason navigating Disney Springs was really hard for us. We ended up going to D-Luxe Burger. There wasn't a long wait and the food came out quickly. DH got the el Diablo burger and as soon as he opened it he saw a huge hair sticking out! Yuck! He took it back and they promptly made him a new one. The kids split the kids cheeseburger and when I went to cut it in half I realized that the bun was completely frozen! It was slightly warm on top but the middle was ice. We took it back to the counter and once again they made us a new one. I got the southern burger. We got the garlic ranch and chipotle dipping sauces for our fries and they were both good. I will say that the burgers were huge! Almost too big. I had a hard time keeping mine together and the fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese kept falling out the other side. It was hard to get a complete bite with all the toppings. Overall, it was fine and a good use of a quick service credit but we probably will not go back.
Day 7. Back to Epcot and Garden Grill for lunch. What an excellent experience. Service was great, food was SO good and plentiful, and the character experience was the best of the trip. Dale braided my daughter's hair and she got the biggest kick out of him! My only complaint is that they brought out the main course immediately after bringing the salad. I wish we could've had a bit more time to finish our salads because the table got really crowded. At one time it seems like I remember reading that the salad was served with a chipotle ranch. I don't know if I dreamed that or what, but ours definitely had regular ranch. It was still good. I really, really enjoyed the dessert. It was a sugar coated pound cake with a berry sauce and fresh whipped cream.
Dinner was Biergarten, my husband's pick. We really enjoyed it. We both got a large stein of beer and man were we miserable afterwards! My favorites from the buffet were the warm potato salad, cabbage salad, and the cucumber salad. None of the sausages were that spectacular but the environment and huge beers made up for it. Also don't skip the potato leek soup! We were sitting next to possibly the most disfunctional family I've ever seen!! So much yelling and fighting and this is coming from a couple who doesn't hold much back when upset with each other. It was like having a holiday meal with a family who hates one another, lol. We cringed at first, but decided to just ignore them and enjoy our meal. By the end we were barely containing our laughter at their antics! The kids loved the show. My DH is a band director and musician and I'm a former musician. We've already decided DS is going to be our little band nerd. His eyes were glued to the stage the entire time. We were hoping to use some snack credits that evening after dinner but I was almost too miserable to walk. I thought they were going to have to roll me out of world showcase!
Day 8, resort and Hollywood Studios day. I originally had an 8am ppo at BOG, but I leaned on this trip that we aren't really a rope drop family. The kids and I could manage it, but DH is not a morning person and so pokey in the AM! I ended up cancelling it and we took the morning off. Lunch was back at Landscape for a surf n'surf burger repeat. This time, the portion was completely different and much smaller! Even the bun was smaller and mine only had one shrimp. The sides were much smaller as well. It was still plenty of food, but surprising to us considering what we had earlier. I was planning to take the shrimp off my burger to give to DS, so we had to go back and get him something else. As a side note, for some unexplained reason all three times we ate at Landscape we were charged a table service credit. No one could give us an explanation as to why it was happening. The concierge fixed it for us, but it just proves that you need to carefully check receipts (although ours were correct each time) and regularly check your room charges throughout your stay.
After nap, we went to Epcot and walked over to Beach Club for some ice cream at Beaches and Cream. It rained the entire walk and we arrived a bit frazzled after getting lost in the process. We walked too far and ended up going in the Yacht Club. This was a special trip for DH's 32nd bday. We got the smaller version of the kitchen sink in the keepsake Mickey pants sink. It was perfect for the four of us. I really wanted the huge kitchen sink but I knew it would be wasteful with two littles. We finished all of the smaller one and our waitress cleaned up our bowl for us and put it in a to-go bag. After ice cream, we walked to HS because DD wanted to ride the "crazy elevator" again. I was able to get last minute fast passes for ToT, TSMM, and ST. I was impressed! We weren't terribly hungry but we did order two charcuterie boards from Writer's Stop to hold us over. How I miss the old Writer's Stop. It was one of my favorite places. There was nothing special about the charcuterie board. The sausages were a little dry and the bread was a bit burned on one end. The raspberries were incredible though! I went back to Backlot Express and got another glass of the cider and fireball drink. I swear, y'all, it was so good! No judging!
Day 9: grabbed some muffins using our remaining snack credits and hopped on magical express!
And that's the end of our food journey! Thanks for sticking it through to the end. I always enjoy reading dining reviews and they helped so much when I was planning. Sorry for the lack of pics, like I said I got way too excited.
Cheers!!
We have much more TS planned than you but I have my fingers crossed DS would be fine. 
