In-A-Gadda-Da-Eata - Dining Report 7/27/08 - 8/2/08 w/ Pics - Updated 9/2

[kelleigh1]

More!! More!! I want more!!

 

[DisneyDynamo]

I'm in! Can't wait to hear and see more!!

 

[FinallyDisney]

Love your title! It's creative genius I tell ya!! You are a super nice, big sis to take your baby bros to Disney. I hope they appreciate you & your DH.
Oh and by the way - I'm in and waiting

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

I'm in! Can't wait for more!

 

[John's Mom]

Great start! I'm in!

 

[sandybobandy]

Hot diggity dog! Can't wait for more!

 

[coconutsunshine]

I'm IN!!! Your report is fabulous so far!!! Can't wait for more, so excited for more, need more!!

 

[bakerhouse]

I'm in! Great review so far.

 

[TINKB72]

I'm in....can't wait to hear more!

 

[BriarRosie]

I have to tell you that you have the

Best.Food.Report.Title.Ever.



You're giving Brenda a run for her money. Maybe you're her Sister from Another Mister.

 

[cmf06]

Am waiting patiently for more!!!

 

[marciemouse]

Can't wait for the rest!

 

[Tatania]

Your imaginative title got my interest and the hilarious nicknames and descriptions of your brothers got me hooked.
Can't wait for more - esp. as you're like me when it comes to sticking to "the plan", LOL.

 

[susieq76]

Love the title!!!!! Can't wait for more!

 

[lowie]

i'm in! i must be daft, cause i can't figure out the title??? it makes me think of the Soprano's.

 

[honeybee213]

Do I sense a kitchen sink coming? Bring it on! Great report so far.

 

[DC_Tink]

Hollywood & Whine OR How to Waste a TS on Ice Cream

I had read enough dining reviews about H&V to know that I wasn't in for anything spectacular. I assumed that I would at least receive something edible. Plus I figured that it would be worth it for Fantasmic. I was sure that a great show would certainly start the week off wonderfully.

After getting in at 3 AM, not getting much sleep due to Tweedle Dum's distress calls to the elephants at AK, and dealing with the heat all day...we were all the walking dead. As we got to H&V we checked in and took a seat on one of the metal benches outside. We sat on those benches for awhile, all of us in a state somewhere between asleep and delirium. As a note, I would like to point out that those metal benches are not comfortable. After 15 minutes in one spot, I have developed bench lines across the back of my legs that certainly made for an attractive site as we headed inside for dinner.

Our server was Mary Ann and she was nice. She was very good about coming back for drinks, etc. So Mary Ann took our drink order and gave us our Fantasmic entry pass (the whole point of the meal!!). I ordered a coke b/c I needed caffeine as did Tweedle Dee. David ordered a diet coke (btw, this always seems to throw off servers. Maybe they just assume since I am a girl, I must be watching my soda calories. This will be illustrated again later in the trip.) Tweedle Dum then does the inexplicable. He orders water. Really. With a side of lemons. That's right, a bowl of lemons. A 15 year old boy orders water with lemon. I told him that he could get a soda, but he said he just wanted the water.

We then all got up to get dinner. I figured shrimp, turkey, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, and bread must be fairly safe. So that is what I got.

I was wrong about those things. The mac & cheese wasn't so good. The potatoes weren't either. And the shrimp, well it is my own fault...I like seasoned shrimp and these babies were naked. David got similar things, but wasn't comfortable with me taking pictures of his food because it was "embarrassing." (He quickly got over this and even began taking his own pictures later in the week.)

However, the sweet corn was wonderful. It was like the sweet corn cake you can get a Mexican restaurants. Certainly the highlight of the meal for me!

Tweedle Dum.....well this plate speaks for itself. That's right, it is all he got...along with his water. As a side note, this did lead to an running joke that he was on a diet. He didn't really like the food either.

Finally, Tweedle Dee. He didn't get a thing. Didn't even get up to look at the buffet. I tried to point out that this meal had already been paid for and that it was a waste of money to not eat it. That line of reasoning didn't sit well with him. He got cranky and mean (you think teenage girls are bad.....try Tweedle Dee on for size. He brought 4 pairs of tennis shoes with him, which is 2 more pairs than I brought!) His refusal to eat, and my complete inexperience with kids, let alone teenagers, paired with our exhaustion led to a major argument at the restaurant. Of course it was one of those hushed arguments, you know the kind where you know all parties involved are miserable but they are trying desperately to not embarrass themselves in public. It was one of those. Finally he gave in to me begging him to have something. Tweedle Dum was kind enough to get him this:

Yep, 1/2 bowl of ice cream. With no syrup. No sprinkles either. The only thing that could have made that ice cream worse would have been if he had gotten plain vanilla. He ate 2 bites. Good times.

In an effort to make up for his lack of eating, I O.D.'d on the dessert bar. Below, in what might be the yuckiest looking pic ever posted on Dis, is the ice cream (gross, the machine needed to be refilled, so I get the dregs), the chocolate mousse (looks as good as it tasted, and which melted as soon as it hit the warm plate...hence the icky appearance of the picture), the snickers cheesecake (not too bad), and the key lime tart (yeah those are orange slices on top). It was not too great.

David, has requested that I put in here that the food was average. Said it was like going to an Old Country Buffet. He said my memory of the food is being tainted by how bad the rest of the evening went. Which, btw, even mentioning that night to him makes him roll his eyes, say "Oh God!," and "You guys were B****Y!"

By the end of the meal, I was choking back tears because everything had been going wrong. But I refused to cry because there's no crying in Disney! And Fantasmic, well it was good. Of course Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum was horrendously irritated by my insistence of getting there 40 minutes early to secure good seats in our sectioned off area. But, on the bright side, the camera took good pictures (I know, it isn't food...but hey it's a good pic!):

On our way back to AKL, I began to worry that our WDW trip would turn into a nightmare hijacked by 2 picky eaters who weren't acting very nice. I gleefully envisioned abandoning them on Its a Small World. Tying them to one of the little houses and just leaving them there until they were so brainwashed that they would have no choice but to have fun.

Stayed tuned for tomorrow when I throw away the plan and even cancel an ADR!!

 

[DC_Tink]

You're giving Brenda a run for her money. Maybe you're her Sister from Another Mister.

I wish! Brenda is a food posting goddess!

You are a super nice, big sis to take your baby bros to Disney. I hope they appreciate you & your DH.

Me too. Maybe one day when I am old and gray they will tell me they had a great time and thank you. I think they had fun. They certainly rode the tea cups enough times (which, is how they earned their nicknames).

Do I sense a kitchen sink coming? Bring it on! Great report so far.

A kitchen sink....now that would have been WORTH a TS!!


Thanks everyone for tuning in! I have to admit I am kind of surprised by the amount of people who are tuning in. Hopefully I can keep up the good work!

 

[LegoMom3]

i'm in! i must be daft, cause i can't figure out the title??? it makes me think of the Soprano's.

There was actually an old song called "In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida" (or however you spell it!!), supposed to be the "tipsy" way of saying In the Garden of Eden. I don't know who wrote it but the old Home Improvement show with Tim Allen had a whole show with this as the running joke between him and Jill!

Loving the report! I always felt weird taking pics of my food, too, but I'm over it and plan to on this next trip!!


.

 

[bouldertcr]

I am so glad you are doing this dining review! We leave for AKL on Sunday Aug 10 and I am hoping you get to the Boma breakfast and Mara reviews!


Favorite line: "There's no crying in Disney" That made me laugh!! I'll keep that in mind for next week.