I want what I want so the heck with the Dining Plan!

[CJ]

Thanks for the info and for the mouthwatering review of Tutto. I've been really debating this ADR. I wanted to eat at epcot proper that night (our first) and had been debating whether to switch it to Kouzzina (which was our fave last time) or Biergarten for the kids (unfortunately, nothing on the Biergarten menu was appealing to me). But based on your review, I'm going to stick with Tutto. BTW, nice teaser about Chefs! I'll be tuning in for that one too!

Your very welcome, and I hope you love Tutto as much as we did!
I'll try to get to Les Chefs tomorrow!

 

[CJ]

After a somewhat frustrating morning at MGM (it will always be MGM to me folks! ) we decided to check in at 11:40am, very early for our scheduled 12:30pm adr at the:

SCI-FI DINE IN THEATER

Not surprisingly we had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated as we were very early. I was in a bad mood because the morning had not gone as I had planned, but I tried to not let the wait add to that. It was us that had changed the time, so obviously it made no sense to get upset here! ……..

Eventually we were seated in the back seat of a car on the right side of the restaurant with a nice young couple in front of us. DH made us all laugh with comments of “ don’t make me come up there” and “ keep in clean kids”. We have not been to the Sci-Fi since our children were little, and I had forgotten how much I love this place! It has the coolest vibe, and it is definitely a must if you have younger children with you.

From the time we sat down to the time we left, we were able to watch the entire loop of cartoons, movie clips, etc. It had just started repeating itself when we were paying our bill, so perfect timing on WDW’s part! We loved everything about the atmosphere at this place! DH ordered:

Angus Chuck Burger
Flame-broiled Beef Patty topped with Cheddar or Swiss Cheese, Sautéed Onions, Mushrooms, and Crispy Bacon served with a choice of Vegetable-Black Bean Relish or French Fries 12.99

He had it with swiss cheese and everything else, and surprisingly with the black bean relish (which I knew he would hate and he did! ). But he didn’t feel like French fries and he loved the burger! I ordered the:

Double Dip For Two
Spinach and Artichoke Dip and our Seven-Bean Chili with Corn Tortilla Chips for dipping 10.99

This was very good in spite of the fact that the chili was really more like salsa and the top of the spinach dip had kind of congealed (the rest of it was very good) . It was served with three different colors of tortilla chips that were excellent and the two dips tasted really good with them! So go figure? I think because we had been eating so much and so well all week, the saltiness and the flavor of everything was fine with me!

We also had a Diet Coke for me and a Chocolate Milkshake for DH. They both were just we wanted at the time, so a great choice!

Our waiter, who was great but for some reason I cannot remember his name , asked if we were good and DH went to reply that we were….. but I interrupted him quickly to order for the two of us to share:

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Cake
Warm Chocolate Cake with a creamy Peanut Butter center served à la mode 7.99

This was really good! The cake tasted a little “over done”, but I still really liked it! It was rich and filling and a great ending for the meal! I was in such a much better mood after we left this restaurant.....and ultimately, isn't that always the goal?

 

[CJ]

I loved the way you ordered course by course at Tutto Italia!

My ideal appetizer would be an antipasto, but I never order it, thinking it would be too much food, and I wouldn't be hugry for my dinner. If I ordered course by course, I could do what you did, and after enjoying a lovely antipasto, have a nice light soup or another appetizer afterwards.

Thanks again for sharing your reviews!

You're very welcome and it really was the best way to order a meal!

 

[wdwfanatic316]

Awesome reviews CJ Thanks so much for sharing :

 

[CJ]

After our great lunch at the Sci-Fi, we did a few things at the Studios and then headed back to the All Star Sports for a midday break. We were doing extra magic hours at the Magic Kingdom until 1:00am, so we wanted to rest up beforehand.

Well, thank goodness we did, because while we were sleeping the rain came. The skies just opened up and it poured and poured! We were ready to go by 5:00 because we had an adr at Kona Café at 6:15pm to get to. Alas, it was not to be. By 5:45 we were still waiting for the rain to let up. Any other trip we would have put on our ponchos and braved the weather, but with DH using an electric scooter we knew enough to wait.

So we decided to do quick service this night (our ONLY time this trip!) and headed straight to the Magic Kingdom and ate dinner at just after 7:00pm at:

COSMIC RAY’S

This worked out great because it wasn’t busy at all, even though it was an emh night (probably because of the huge rainstorm). We ordered to share:

1/2 Chicken and BBQ Rib Combination - served with Mashed Potatoes and a seasonal vegetable $13.99

I took the chicken breast and the potatoes; DH had the ribs and the dark meat of the chicken. We shared the green beans. All of it was very good for a “fast food” place. After touring the rest of Tomorrowland we headed for dessert in Adventureland at the:

ALOHA ISLE - I cannot let a trip go by without getting a:

Pineapple Float - pineapple or orange Dole Whip with pineapple juice $3.99

I love these and this time DH had one as well and agrees with me on how good they are!

Extra Magic Hours were great fun and we stayed to the very end after having such a long break in our room! Right before the park closed we headed to:

CASEY’S CORNER - We split a:

Hot Dog Meal - served with apple slaw or french fries $6.59

We got it with fries and I ate those while DH had the hot dog. They tasted great. In hindsight we didn’t eat that much this whole evening, but we were too busy having fun to notice. When we got back to the room we shared the Chocolate Mousse we had been given at Le Cellier (it was very rich but good) and then went to bed tired but happy!

 

[CJ]

Monday August 23rd was our last day at Disney (we headed to the Doubletree at Universal for three nights on Tuesday). We had a good sleep in after our late night at MK and headed to Epcot for our last full afternoon and evening. Our focus was the World Showcase as we had “conquered” Future World on Friday!

I was so disappointed that the World Showcase Players were not performing in the UK at all that day. And to make matters worse, the skies turned dark and ominous AGAIN so we hustled into the:

ROSE & CROWN pub to each have a pint of Stella Artois and watched the rain come down. Fortunately it started to subside… as we had a 1:10pm adr in France to get to at

LES CHEFS DE FRANCE

The hostess told us we could park DH’s scooter under cover near the entrance, but a manager quickly came out and explained to us (and her) that it would be a fire hazard and gave us a large plastic bag to cover it outside. This worked out fine and the rain ended shortly after we entered.

Our server was Naien and he was very nice. We used as much of our “Quebecois” French as we could and he seemed to appreciate the effort. We each decided to order an aperitif as this was our “adult” day in the WS. I had the first and DH the second:

VIN CASSIS – white wine with black currant liqueur
VERMOUTH CASSIS – red vermouth with black currant liqueur

These were both good, but I much preferred mine with the wine. Naien brought us a wonderful baguette of bread with butter to share. We each wanted a different kind of wine with our meals, so DH ordered a glass of Chablis and I had a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. They were both excellent.

We got creative with ordering (as usual – again the benefit of not being on the Dining Plan ). They have a three course prix-fixe menu ($23.95 I believe), so we decided to share the entrée and dessert while I had the appetizer. DH ordered his own appetizer separate from this. He ordered the:

Cassolette d'escargots de Bourgogne au beurre persille - casserole of Burgundian escargots baked in parsley and garlic butter (not sure of the price, but I think it was around $11.00)

He said they were very good and cleaned his plate! From the appetizer choices on the set menu I had the:

Bisque de Homard - lobster bisque

This was divine! After my terrible bisque at the Coral Reef, this was what I had been waiting for!! Creamy and with small pieces of lobster; it was simply perfect.

For our entrée we shared the:

Croque monsieur et sa salade verte - classic French toasted ham and cheese sandwich with a green salad

This was presented beautifully, as the kitchen had separated it for us on two plates so we each had ½ the sandwich and some salad. It was the best ham and cheese sandwich either of us has EVER had, and it was the perfect amount for each of us as well.

The pace of this meal was just right and while we were relaxing and waiting for dessert we had a visitor at our table:

REMY from Ratatouille appeared! (I’ll admit that we did know he would be coming around, and he was sooooooo cute). His handler sang us a Happy Anniversary song and Remy “helped” her. We loved it!

Naien waited for Remy to leave and then brought us out two side plates and placed our dessert in between us to share as we saw fit. We had the:

Profiteroles au chocolat - Puff choux with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce

These were good, but not great. DH & I prefer more of a “deep” chocolate taste and the sauce was not quite as rich as we like. The profiteroles themselves also tasted a little dry. It was our least favorite part of the meal, because everything else had been perfection!

After Tutto Italia, this was our second favorite meal of the whole trip.

 

[vinotinto]

From the appetizer choices on the set menu I had the:

Bisque de Homard - lobster bisque

This was divine! After my terrible bisque at the Coral Reef, this was what I had been waiting for!! Creamy and with small pieces of lobster; it was simply perfect.

NICE! Noted for our upcoming ADR.