How Did We Eat So Much?! Lots of Pics + DxDDP + DCL! *UPDATES 7/12*

[RGirl]

Tusker House is definitely one of the best breakfasts I've had at Disney. Unfortunately though, when I'm paying OOP I just never feel like I get my money's worth, since I'm not a big breakfast eater! But I would probably rate Tusker House as my #1 breakfast location, with Cape May coming in close behind.

Yeah, I was VERY impressed with Tusker House. We will definitely be back. I am not much of a breakfast-eater either, especially coming from the West Coast and making early breakfast ADRs. I think next time, we will do what we ended up doing this day - enjoying the park at opening and heading to breakfast at about 10:00. That really worked a LOT better for us. :yes:

We will be doing Chef Mickey's for the first time in February! For breakfast though, not dinner. I'm excited to experience it though! I must admit, the crab claws look great - bet they won't have those at breakfast!

It gets a bad rap on the DIS (funny because it seems like it used to be the most sought-after ADR on here). We had a great time, and the food was fine (it's a Disney buffet). We did breakfast there on our first trip - it was my mom's favorite meal of the trip (I think the fun atmosphere and the variety did it for her). I wasn't impressed with the food, but that's because I don't really like many breakfast foods. I think if you go in expecting it to be what it is, you will have a fun time.

Speaking of me not liking breakfasts too much, I must say that the one at Ohana's looks pretty good! We may have to try that!

I really regret that I was so sick of eating by that morning - the food really was VERY good. And it was nice to have a character meal without having to run the buffet gamut. It's a neat place.

Does Crystal Palace have a lot of variety in food? That's what I seem to remember from my last time there. I think it would be a good option with my family, because we have some people that are a bit more picky when it comes to eating

Yes, the variety of food was really impressive. As you know, I only eat foods without gluten, and I had a HUGE variety from which to choose. I really enjoyed CP a lot this trip.

 

[RGirl]

I'm counting down the days to our next trip and your reviews are helping me pass the time! I have to say, I love your daughter's comments about her food!

Oh, thank you so much! I hope you have a great trip!

My mom and dad had a dinner at Flying Fish in October and also were disappointed. It had been one of our family's favorite restaurants for a long time but their experience put a bad taste in our mouths. My mom is vegan and all they were willing to make for her was a salad for an appetizer and a plate of slightly cooked vegetables for her main meal. The chef and server made it sound like it would be an imposition to make any alterations to any of the dishes on the menu to accommodate her So with your review now I'm re-thinking having meals there during future trips

Oh, I am really sorry to hear that your folks did not have a great experience at FF either. I truly hoped that it was just an off night. I will still give it another chance at some point, but if we have the same kind of experience, I will likely leave it off our list for a long time to come.

All caught up! I look forward to reading more about your gf experience because it seems I will have to go GF too soon.

Oh, I am sorry that you will have to go gluten-free, but the good news is that it's really not that hard to do at all anymore! I hope you continue to read along - you will see some of the great options there are at Disney (and the Disney cruise ships too!). Anyway, glad to have you reading along!!!!

 

[RGirl]

Be Our Guest Dinner​

Well, I haven’t really wanted to write this review. We were so excited to dine here, and it was just so very disappointing.

The atmosphere, of course, is incredible. For anyone who doesn’t know, this restaurant is inside of the Beast’s castle, and when you walk in, you really feel as though you have just stepped into the movie setting. (It is a counter-service establishment at lunch but table-service for dinner.) It is glorious! I don’t want to overload with pictures, but here are a few. We were seated in the ballroom.

The ceiling:

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Snow falling outside:

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The place setting:

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The Beast wanders through from time (and greets diners after they finish their meals):

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Anyway, we were suitably impressed with the atmosphere and grandeur of the place.

This was the only place all week where we waited beyond our ADR time, but it was not terribly surprising given the popularity of the place (at least at that time - not sure if it’s still so crazy to get in here).

Our server greeted us, and then the chef paid a visit. He was very nice and came out very quickly. After he left, however, the server did not come back. And did not come back. And did not come back. Eventually, the chef came back out and delivered some gluten-free bread, but the server still had not come back - hadn’t taken our drink orders, meal orders, hadn’t brought regular bread for DD.

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While we continued to wait for the server, I noticed that she came to the table next to us, took their drink orders and even brought their drinks out, and still didn’t stop at our table! When our server finally did come by, she tried to imply that the long wait was because there were so many guests with allergies dining that evening. However, that didn’t seem a likely excuse since the chef had already been by twice while we were waiting for her. I asked if I could get sparkling water on the DxDDP. She looked at me like I was insane and kind of laughed and said no because it was a big bottle. I remarked that I had just asked because every other restaurant had served it - it wasn’t a big deal.

I was very glad to finally receive this!

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Hmm, I guess I was so aggravated that I didn’t take any menu pictures. Anyway, I ordered the French onion soup. It was fine - I like French onion soup. The promised gluten-free bread crouton was nowhere to be found.

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DD got the fruit cup (sorry for the terrible picture), which was mostly melon - but DD really likes melon, so that was fine.

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For her entree, DD ordered the kids’ pasta and hated it.

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The server was nice enough to bring her the Mickey-shaped meatloaf, but by this point, the endless waiting had taken its toll, and she was just in no mood to enjoy this meal.

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I ordered the steak with pommes frites. This was pretty average - nothing terrible, but definitely nothing memorable.

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At this point, we were just done. DD was crabby; we had been here a LONG time; the food had not been great. We just wanted to leave. So we didn’t even order desserts. But the server got all weird again - when we had checked in, the CM had asked if we were celebrating anything, and I did mention that we were celebrating our Family Day on this trip. I didn’t really think anything of it at the time, but I later realized that that was how they determined which tables get The Grey Stuff. So I told our server that we didn’t want dessert, just the bill to sign. And she looked at me like I was totally insane again and said, “You SAID you were celebrating, but MA’AM, there is GLUTEN in that!!!” I mean she was so weird - it was like she was accusing me of demanding The Grey Stuff. I hadn’t even mentioned anything about a celebration or wanting The Grey Stuff - I had just indicated that we did NOT want dessert but wanted to leave. It was just so weird!

We did have a great time meeting the Beast - one of DD’s absolute favorite characters - after dinner.

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Would we return to Be Our Guest for dinner? I’m not really sure. We loved the atmosphere, and part of our experience was probably due to our own tired and grumpy moods, although I think those moods were largely the result of the service we received. The food was not BAD at all; and it probably would have seemed better if the service had been better, you know? So I guess I would go back at some point - if I see reviews of this place start improving, we will certainly give it another try! And our love of the Beast would likely bring us back at some point anyway. I think we will try the CS lunch at some point though.

 

[Linda67]

Shame that your BOG Dinner wasn't so great
We ate there for the first time last week and although the service was good the food was truly awful
I don't think we will be returning any time soon either!

 

[seasidespences]

Loving your reviews so far! Looks like we have very similar tastes...I had the same meal combo at FFish and my absolute favorite was the andouille-crusted prawn at HBD!! I could have made a full meal of it if there were two or three more there! Can't wait to read more!

 

[DisneyJo]

What a shame about your BOG experience, I do hope reviews get better as I want to dine there in July!

 

[RGirl]

Shame that your BOG Dinner wasn't so great
We ate there for the first time last week and although the service was good the food was truly awful
I don't think we will be returning any time soon either!

I'm really sorry to hear about your BoG experience, Linda. It is so disappointing, because the place could be amazing! I mean, it is gorgeous and a unique experience to dine there. But the food and service need to be at least good!

Loving your reviews so far! Looks like we have very similar tastes...I had the same meal combo at FFish and my absolute favorite was the andouille-crusted prawn at HBD!! I could have made a full meal of it if there were two or three more there! Can't wait to read more!

Hey there! Thanks for reading and commenting.

Oh, that prawn app was amazing, wasn't it? And you're right, throw a couple more prawns on there and call it an entree! YUMMY!

What a shame about your BOG experience, I do hope reviews get better as I want to dine there in July!

I hope so too. It's so disappointing, isn't it? I really want them to improve the food (and, in our case, the service) - I WANT to like it because it is such an amazing place to be!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience at BOG. Terrible service can really kill your whole dining experience. We were also very disappointed in BOG on our last trip. I think it's too chaotic in there to really enjoy it. It feels more like a money grab at lunch time than a magical experience. Hopefully the crowds and the expectations change over time and it can be enjoyed on a future trip.

On the bright side, your DD's picture with the Beast is so cute!

 

[englishrose47]

We ate there this month !!! Our server Will was great and we enjoyed the food , the portions are smaller than many Disney restaurants but still big enough !!I had the Lemon cupcake which was wonderful !! I would go back just for that !!

 

[RGirl]

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience at BOG. Terrible service can really kill your whole dining experience. We were also very disappointed in BOG on our last trip. I think it's too chaotic in there to really enjoy it. It feels more like a money grab at lunch time than a magical experience. Hopefully the crowds and the expectations change over time and it can be enjoyed on a future trip.

Yeah, I hope so too. I really WANTED to love it, you know?

On the bright side, your DD's picture with the Beast is so cute!

Thanks! She is a huge fan of the Beast.

We ate there this month !!! Our server Will was great and we enjoyed the food , the portions are smaller than many Disney restaurants but still big enough !!I had the Lemon cupcake which was wonderful !! I would go back just for that !!

Oh, that's great! I'm so glad you enjoyed your meal. I really, really wanted to love the place. I didn't really notice the portions being smaller, but I wasn't exactly starving on the DxDDP, so that may have been why.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Following Along

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[RGirl]

Following Along

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Thanks for following along!

 

[RGirl]

Mama Melrose Lunch​

We were back in DHS on our second to last WDW day. And we were going to try Mama Melrose for the first time!

We both really liked the cute atmosphere in here:

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Our server here was very nice and attentive. As with every other restaurant where we dined (with the notable exception of BoG), I was allowed to order a (large) bottle of sparkling water on the DP.

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After the heat of DHS, we were both thrilled to have a cold beverage in an air-conditioned setting.

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The chef here was very nice as well - willing to make just about anything gluten-free. DD started off with the carrots and celery. Im guessing she didnt really eat this as she is more of a cucumber and bell pepper kid.

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I started with the caesar salad, which I am sure DD DID eat - as she loves a caesar salad.

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This was tasty - your typical restaurant caesar salad. We like em!

I got your typical GF rolls. Fine - cant really do a lot with these.

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DD enjoyed the regular sourdough rolls that were brought out for her (without any begging, I will note ).

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DD had the kids cheese pizza, which I think she enjoyed.

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Its not everywhere that I can order pasta, so no way was I having anything else here. I ordered the Penne alla Vodka - with pancetta and sweet onions finished with tomato-basil sauce, cream, vodka and pecorino romano. You can add chicken or shrimp to this, and I chose to add the shrimp.

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This was absolutely yummy - but that might be partially because I almost never have pasta, so it was a huge treat for me. The dish was bottomless - there was no way to finish this thing. And there were tons of shrimp buried in there as well.

For dessert, DD ordered the spaghetti and meatballs cupcake. This thing was adorable, but I dont think it tasted great because DD only had one bite of it.

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For my dessert, the chef offered a gluten-free chocolate cake. This was a tasty flourless chocolate cake - very rich, so there was no way I could finish it, but it was tasty.

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Would we return to MM? Yes - I think we would. The food was good, the service was very nice, and it was a nice break from the heat. Our first choice at DHS will always be HBD, but we would definitely come here again.

 

[darthtatty]

Great reviews.
I really enjoyed MM last time we went, there was a long wait to be seated but it was worth it.
Its great you were able to have the pasta dish, I too had pasta and loved it.
It had so much flavour and although the portion looked tiny, it felt never ending. I did have to let my husband finish it

 

[DisneyJo]

What a difference in the service at MM!

How wonderful that you could have the pasta and what a cute cupcake idea

 

[Rachellee413]

Following along! I ate at BoG last January for lunch and the pot roast was delicious! It makes me sad that you all didn't have a positive experience there. The dessert I had at lunch wasn't amazing, but I loved how they brought all of the food out to guests.

I've been trying to make a reservation for this January with no luck(we booked late, I'm not surprised at all that I'm having problems), so maybe I won't be that disappointed. That pasta you had looks delicious! Looking forward to reading more

 

[RGirl]

Great reviews.
I really enjoyed MM last time we went, there was a long wait to be seated but it was worth it.
Its great you were able to have the pasta dish, I too had pasta and loved it.
It had so much flavour and although the portion looked tiny, it felt never ending. I did have to let my husband finish it

Thanks so much!

MM was a wonderful surprise for me. I wasn't expecting a lot, but we had a great time, and the food was very tasty. That pasta dish was SO much bigger than it looks in the picture, right???

What a difference in the service at MM!

How wonderful that you could have the pasta and what a cute cupcake idea

It was great to be somewhere with pleasant and prompt service and yummy food! When I made the ADR, I really questioned myself and did not have high expectations. But we really enjoyed it!

Following along! I ate at BoG last January for lunch and the pot roast was delicious! It makes me sad that you all didn't have a positive experience there. The dessert I had at lunch wasn't amazing, but I loved how they brought all of the food out to guests.

I've been trying to make a reservation for this January with no luck(we booked late, I'm not surprised at all that I'm having problems), so maybe I won't be that disappointed. That pasta you had looks delicious! Looking forward to reading more

I'm so glad to hear that your BoG lunch was great. I think we will definitely try lunch next time - I have seen a lot of positive reviews of lunch. The problem for us, of course, is that the Beast is a HUGE draw for us, and he's only there for dinner.

I hope you get your ADR. Keep trying - it's amazing sometimes how things open up just a day or two before your trip. :good vibes

That pasta WAS delicious! I am so glad that we gave MM a try because I went back and forth on that ADR a lot.

I hope to get another update done here in the next couple of days. I'm trying to juggle a TR and DR at the same time, so I do get a little bogged down.

 

[RGirl]

Jiko - but first Victoria Falls​

Our last signature dining experience during the WDW half of our trip was at Jiko in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I was really looking forward to this one as AKL is one of my favorite places to visit, and we have had great experiences at Boma here before.

We got to AKL a bit early, looked at the animals, and then had to escape a sudden rain storm. We decided to check out Victoria Falls! What a neat little spot this is.

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It overlooks Boma.

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I took a few menu pictures to share.

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This is the drink I decided to try.

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DD chose the Pomegranate Splash.

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You can get snacks here too!

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This is the Pomegranate Splash.

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And the Strawberry Julep.

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This is a great little place. It has a nice atmosphere. At this time of the day, at least, it was not overly loud, and we really enjoyed sitting here and chatting about our trip for a while before our next ADR.

 

[RGirl]

Jiko Dinner​

Jiko is located downstairs at AKL - just across from Boma. It is a really pretty space.

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We had great service here! Our server was a real sweetheart and went out of her way to make sure that we had everything we needed or wanted at dinner. Jiko is the only place we dined where they actually featured a separate gluten-free menu. The chef came out as well and was very gracious, insisting that I ask for him if I had any questions. I took some pictures of the gluten-free menu.

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For her appetizer, DD wanted the fruit salad but really just wanted the melon. We asked our server if that would be possible, and she wasn’t sure that it would be because the salad was already mixed. We told her that was no problem at all. But soon she appeared with these lovely slices of canteloupe for DD, who was thrilled and ate all of them!

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DD also had the Jiko bread and butter.

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And our server was so sweet to bring me out some pappadam - much nicer than those standard gluten-free rolls!

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I can’t remember what the butter is flavored with here. Tandoori spices maybe? It was good anyway!

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For my appetizer, I chose the Jiko Salad - heirloom spiced melon, rocket, mizuna, peppered chevre, and blackberry vinaigrette. After all the food and heat, I really wanted a salad. And this was very tasty - with the peppery rocket and sweeter vinaigrette. Very nice!

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DD chose Jiko’s mac and cheese for dinner.

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For my entree, I chose the West African “Jerked” Scallops - basmati rice, red quinoa, baby rainbow carrots, and coconut curry sauce. This was very tasty, and I was glad it was not a huge portion - it was just right.

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For her dessert, DD had the Safari S’mores. And this was ADORABLE! She really enjoyed it.

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I had the Cinnamon-Chocolate Flourless Cake - sesame crisp, chocolate sauce, and seasonal berries (no sugar added). This was good, but I’m not a huge fan of artificial sweeteners, so I probably should have gotten something else. (Unfortunately, the only other gluten-free dessert option was a panna cotta, and I’m really not a panna cotta person. )

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Over all, Jiko was a wonderful experience. Definitely one of the best signature experiences that we had this trip. We would definitely go back!

 

[Dislover1991]

I've been following your report and remember you posting about the "thug" Pluto at Ohana. Just thought I would let you know that I believe that he is still at Ohana

We had breakfast there last week and all of the characters were great - except Pluto. He was basically going to wave us off until I stood up and motioned that I wanted a photo. It was very busy, but 1 photo only takes a second! He took the photo quickly and left. He made rounds fairly quickly at each table- except one table that had a dog there. NO idea how the dog was there considering it wasn't a service dog. It was dressed in a little costume with no indication of it being a service animal. Pluto stayed at that table and played with the dog for at least 5 minutes and took numerous photos with the family. I could hear the father at the table behind us discussing it with his wife and he was very angry that Pluto didn't seem to have the time of day for his kids but took up so much time with the dog. Needless to say, Pluto and the food poisoning ruined Ohana for us- which is sad since it was one of our traditions.