In Celebration of (Disney) Food! 4/29 Monorail Dinner Pt. 2 (Kona)

[autumnpalm]

What a shame the burger wasn't very nice as it looked good!

The bruschetta however looks very delicious

It does look delicious! I didn't try the burger so I was actually surprised she was so disappointed, it really did look perfect!

I am so along for your reviews! I love your pictures, my mouth is watering for those onion rings!!! The GF is such a beautiful resort. We have only stayed at values or mods so this is one of my "dream" resorts. (some day)

Can't wait to see more!

Hey there!

We absolutely loved our time at the Grand Floridian. We saved up for this trip for years and it totally was a dream trip and dream resort for us. It was also worth every penny and just as wonderful as we imagined! I'm not sure if we'll ever be able to return but I will treasure the memories forever.

Oh, your time at the GF looks and sounds just heavenly.

Gosh - your mom's burger looks fantastic, too bad it didn't live up to its good looks.

I'm so impressed with the food options at the pool bar! WOW!

Isn't the menu awesome! We never did end up getting back to the pool bar to eat and I really did want to try some more options- especially the crab cake sandwich! I love crab cakes and it looked so delicious.

 

[autumnpalm]

The Grand Floridian Cafe

After our wonderful and relaxing afternoon, we decided to have an early dinner at the Grand Floridian Cafe before hopping on the monorail for an extra magic hours night at Magic Kingdom. This was a spur-of-the-moment choice for us and even though I had read some questionable recent reviews, we really wanted to keep enjoying the resort without worrying about any travel or logistics!

We were seated immediately and at 5:30 the restaurant was nearly empty. As we looked over the menu, we were brought a basket of rolls and butter.



There were some sourdough rolls and some raisin whole wheat rolls with salted butter. These were SO good. We all stuck to the sourdough rolls and they were hot and crispy on the outside and so soft and doughy in the middle. We finished our basket so quickly they brought us another! They were just perfect.

Because we had gorged ourselves on rolls, we skipped appetizers and went straight to entrees.

I had the Orechiette Pasta with Grilled Chicken, Prosciutto, Peas and Asiago Cream Sauce.



This was very good. It was super cheesy and rich and therefore very filling so I only ended eating about half of it (DF benefitted from that!). It could easily be split between two people and all of the ingredients were fresh and went together very well. It was a pretty simple dish, but for comfort food it was delicious! DF said he wished he had ordered this for himself.

DF ended up selecting the Shrimp and Grits:



He was, unfortunately, not thrilled with this and said it was very salty. He did comment that the shrimp were great, large and cooked perfectly and the sausage was very good as well. However, the salt overpowered everything and the overall result was a bit disappointing for him.

My mom ended up choosing two appetizers instead of an entree. She got the Chickpea Fritters and Seasonal Soup which was carrot.





She loved the soup and said it was very carrot-y with a strong parsnip taste. It was especially good with those sourdough rolls dipped in! This was a big hit with her. On the other hand, she was not a fan of the chickpea fritters. I think these might have been prepared a bit earlier and were sitting around because they were lukewarm and kind of mushy/chewy. They were similar to falafel but... just not as good. She did say that the salad underneath was delicious and ate that up!

The service was perfect, it was attentive but not overpowering. We felt very relaxed and never rushed and the atmosphere was lovely. Although there were some hits and misses, we enjoyed spending a quiet and relaxed meal together. This was the view outside our table:



Does it get any better than that?

I wouldn't go out of my way to dine at the GFC but if you happen to be at the GF or need a break from the parks, it is a lovely and relaxing option. With a few small changes I think we all would have loved our food and the service was awesome and friendly.

Up next: drinks and desserts at Be Our Guest

 

[RGirl]

Well, it looks like the GFC was a bit hit-and-miss, but I have to say - your pasta dish looks so YUMMY!!!

 

[autumnpalm]

Oh dear... it's been a while! I have been so busy since the last update with graduate school and work that it's been ages since I've even logged on to the review boards. I'm finally finished with coursework and an internship so hopefully I have time to finish this off!

I'll include a few updates right now to kick things off.

After our lovely dinner at the Grand Floridian, we spent the evening in MK and had a reservation at Be Our Guest for coffee and desserts. I wasn't so sure about doing this, but I couldn't get a reservation until 9:30 and we usually eat dinner much earlier. Also, nothing on the dinner menu really appealed to us and at this point there were still some very long waits to get in for lunch.

I was a little afraid that our server might be unhappy that we were ordering just drinks and dessert, but when we were seated and explained it, she was totally fine with it and said that it happens fairly frequently. We made sure to tip her well and were very grateful.

DF and DM both got lattes. They said they were better than your average Disney coffee, but not great.



I had an iced tea, which I guess we didn't get a picture of. It was a typical unsweetened iced tea but nice and refreshing in the heat!

Our server brought around the dessert cart and I already knew I was going to choose the strawberry cream cheese cupcake. This was okay. It didn't have very much filling in it and seemed a little dry, but the presentation was beautiful and I was happy just to be sitting in the ballroom and enjoying the atmosphere.



My DM went with the lemon meringue cupcake. She didn't rave about this, but did enjoy it. I tried a bite and think I preferred this over the strawberry cream cheese cupcake. It was also a little dry.



DF was the winner here. I was surprised he chose a dessert as he normally doesn't love sweets. I actually thought he might choose an appetizer! I guess the presentation of the dessert cart got to him and this chocolate cream puff was delicious. He said it was really good and I tried a bite as well and it was definitely my favourite of the three. If I were to return, I'd like to try another of the cream puffs!



After we finished up, we got to meet Beast in the library and took a peek in the West Wing and Rose Garden. The restaurant was beautiful and although the desserts weren't spectacular, the experience itself was wonderful. We had wonderful service and the details of the castle are incredible.

Coming up next...

Dinner at Via Napoli

 

[autumnpalm]

The next day, skipped breakfast we had the Dine with an Imagineer lunch booked at the Hollywood Brown Derby and knew we would be having a massive lunch.

The only problem is... I can't seem to find our photos of the experience anywhere! We had an absolutely amazing time, the food was delicious and the conversation was wonderful. I'm going to hold off on writing the review for it and wait to see if I can find the memory card and upload the photos again. I might end up having to do a photo-less review of our lunch, but I have my fingers crossed. It was certainly a HIGHLIGHT of the trip for all of us.

For now, I'll fast forward ahead to dinner. We had dinner booked at Via Napoli and I was a little nervous about booking this because we have some amazing restaurants at home that serve authentic Neapolitan pizzas. Both DF and DM love Neapolitan pizza and eat it frequently, so I was hoping this would measure up and still be a special experience. I actually booked this at the beginning of the trip because DF started begging for pizza. Thankfully a reservation was open and I was able to grab one easily.

Unfortunately it had started pouring in the afternoon, so DF left his DSLR camera in the room and all I had was my point and shoot which didn't take great pictures. The good news is, we all LOVED the food and both DF and DM say this was their favourite restaurant of the trip (it was up there for me too!).

We arrived about 30 minutes early because it was pouring rain and we had little else to do. The restaurant was packed!



Thankfully, we were seated within about 15 minutes and ordered some waters while we looked at the menu.





Because we had all had a huge lunch, we settled on splitting the Arancini appetizer and a large margherita pizza.

The arancini were out of this world. DF says these were his single favourite food item of the entire trip and still (8 months later!) talks about them.



We all loved them, they were perfectly crispy and hot with the perfect rice/meat/cheese ratio inside. The sauce was delicious and tasted so fresh- everything about these was really done perfectly. I think we could have eaten an order each! Definitely a 10/10 from everyone.



The pizza was also great. One of the better margherita pizzas all of us had eaten and delivered to our table so hot, with perfectly baked crust. The sauce and cheese ratio was just right and every bite was just so good. We weren't quite sure of what size to order, but this was more than enough for the three of us and we actually had a few slices left over to take back to our room for a midnight snack.

As we were leaving, Illuminations was just beginning and we watched it unfold as we walked around the World Showcase to the front gate to catch a monorail.



Overall, this was one of (if not the) best meal of our trip. Everyone loved it, the food was reasonably priced and just so good. It was a perfect experience and we would all make it a priority for the next trip. If we were to rebook one TS from the entire trip, this would be it.

 

[autumnpalm]

Grand Floridian Snacks

After our delicious dinner at Via Napoli, we were already snack-ish by the time we got back to the room!

DF finished up the leftover pizza and DM and I checked out the snack options at the Gasparilla Island Grill.

We ended up deciding to split the Very Cherry cupcake and some apples with caramel dip.





The cupcake was beautiful, but neither ended up being very exciting. The cupcake was a little dried out (it seemed like it had been in the refrigerator case for a while) but the fresh raspberries were a nice touch and had it been fresh, I think it would have been much better. The apples were... apples, but they were fresh and nicely chilled and the caramel sauce was good.

Coming up next: Tea at the Garden View Tea Room!

 

[darthtatty]

more great reviews, Im looking forward to Via Napoli and B&C.

hopefully you find your missing pictures

 

[autumnpalm]

more great reviews, Im looking forward to Via Napoli and B&C.

hopefully you find your missing pictures

Thank you so much!

You will love both Via Napoli and Beaches and Cream. Two of the highlights of our trip, for sure.

 

[autumnpalm]

Garden View Tea Room

The next day, we spent the morning at Typhoon Lagoon. We had an absolute blast there. It was our first time in a Disney water park and the weather was so gorgeous and sunny. We had debated driving to Cocoa Beach for some beach time but decided to have a relaxing water park morning instead since we had one water park pass included with the package we booked (convention ticket). It was one of the best things we did all trip and we will definitely include a water park visit on each future trip. It was the perfect combination of fun and relaxation. We didn't bring the camera with us since we didn't want to worry about getting a locker once we were there, but we got the standard burgers and chicken nuggets at Leaning Palms. They were standard Disney CS food but filled us up for more snorkelling!

After we returned from Typhoon Lagoon, we spent a little time relaxing in our room. My DM and I had done tea at the Garden View Tea Room on previous trips and enjoyed it, but I hadn't thought to make a reservation. DF wanted to take a nap, so we decided to walk over to the lobby and see if we could get a walk-up.

We were extremely fortunate that they were able to squeeze us in with about a half hour wait. So, for that half hour we relaxed in the lobby and listened to the band. Before we knew it, we were being called to be seated!




After looking over the menu...













We decided to split the Buckingham Tea and order one extra pot of tea.

My DM chose the Gardenview Blend, which she had tried before and loved. IT was a hot, sunny day so I was looking for something that would be good served iced. Our server recommended the Tangerine Rooibos, which was perfect!





So fresh and fruity! I could drink about ten of these glasses right now.

The tea sandwiches are very good, they include a pear and gorgonzola, egg salad, shrimp salad, curried chicken salad and a watercress and cucumber. We had tried these before and knew our favourites, so I DM had the watercress and cucumber and the curried chicken salad while I had the pear and gorgonzola, egg and shrimp salad. These were all delicious, on fresh bread and had good flavour.

DM had the onion tart as well, which she said was delicious as always. It's a great combination of a little sweet with a little savoury. And so cute!



Next, they brought out the scones served with lemon preserves, strawberry preserves and Devonshire cream. We both loaded our scones with lemon preserves and were in heaven. If you go to tea, make sure you try the lemon! It is out of this world, so perfectly tart, lemony and fresh but still creamy.



Finally, we chose the same pastry to finish. We've tried other pastries here but always come back to the swans with the fruit filling. Today the filling was orange and they were, as usual, delicious. I think we just cannot resist how beautiful they are!



At this point, we had both emptied our tea pots and were waiting for the bill. And waiting... and waiting some more. We were enjoying our time and relaxing, so we didn't mind but it was a little odd because service here is usually so attentive. After about half an hour, our server finally returned to our table with this:









I think we both about fainted!

When we were first seated, we were just chatting with our server and when she asked if we were celebrating, my mom mentioned that we were celebrating both my graduation from university and my birthday. At that point, I made a point of telling our server that we were also celebrating my mom and the sacrifices she has made (MANY sacrifices) to help me with school, encourage me along the way and make my graduation possible. We had a really sweet conversation about mother/daughter relationships and the importance of family. It was a beautiful moment, but we had no idea it had moved her so much that she brought this to us to celebrate.

Photos really don't do it justice, it was pure white chocolate and everything was edible, including the flower garnishes. The chocolates around the base were caramels that were so good and the whole thing was so beautiful, including her presentation, that all three of us were tearing up at the end. It meant so much to us that she took so much time and trouble to celebrate with us and she truly made it a time that we will never, ever forget.

Finally, we paid our bill and after thank you hugs, walked out of the tea room on cloud nine with our beautiful Tink all boxed up. We were treated so well and will be grateful to the staff at the tea room forever for this wonderful memory. And of course, we will be returning the next time we are at WDW!! It truly was a magical moment and something we still treasure.

I cannot recommend this experience more highly, it really is something special. We were so blessed by the tea room staff and so thankful that a spontaneous decision to drop by for a walk-up turned into something unforgettable.

 

[jenjersnap]

What a truly lovely and thoughtful surprise! I love tea at Gardenview and have a tradition of taking each of my DSs, but, now that they won't allow the sharing of entrees and charge extra for actual tea for kids, I was thinking we wouldn't go next trip. Your gorgeous pics make me want to return!

 

[faylynn24]

Which onion rings did you like better?

 

[autumnpalm]

What a truly lovely and thoughtful surprise! I love tea at Gardenview and have a tradition of taking each of my DSs, but, now that they won't allow the sharing of entrees and charge extra for actual tea for kids, I was thinking we wouldn't go next trip. Your gorgeous pics make me want to return!

I've also heard that they no longer allow sharing! I think that next time, we will skip lunch and substitute the tea instead and budget for ordering a Buckingham tea each. It's definitely a little expensive for lunch but so special and not something we do at home (the only place to get high tea here is $60-80 per person!). For now it will stay in our itinerary-- if you do end up going, I hope you have a wonderful time with your DSs!

Which onion rings did you like better?

Between Flame Tree BBQ and Beaches and Cream? Honestly, I think they are very close-- I just asked DF and he says "I liked them the same!" I might give a slight edge to Flame Tree BBQ but I don't think you can go wrong with either!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

wow! First DD & I admire your afternoon tea (sadly DH won't go for doing afternoon tea in the USA when it is so common here ) and then we re-read the menus and then we see tinkerbell can't believe how beautiful that plate was - looking to see the cost and then see it was pixie dusted. So beautiful and although I'm sure well-deserved what an awesome server you must have had. :

 

[NuttyDisneyMom]

Definitely IN for this one!

 

[DisneyJo]

Oh wow how amazing that you got such special treatment at the GF, definitely a memory you'll treasure forever

 

[MrsB1228]

What a beautiful, thoughtful and generous thing for your server to do! This is such a great example of the magic of Disney. Thoughtful surprises like this make memories that will last a lifetime. I was tearing up reading about it.

Love the updates!

 

[autumnpalm]

wow! First DD & I admire your afternoon tea (sadly DH won't go for doing afternoon tea in the USA when it is so common here ) and then we re-read the menus and then we see tinkerbell can't believe how beautiful that plate was - looking to see the cost and then see it was pixie dusted. So beautiful and although I'm sure well-deserved what an awesome server you must have had. :

Thanks for stopping by! Yes, it was absolutely gorgeous and we were so thankful to our server. It was such a beautiful thing to do and CMs like her are what make the magic at Disney what it is.

Definitely IN for this one!

Welcome!! Thank you so much for commenting and joining in!

Oh wow how amazing that you got such special treatment at the GF, definitely a memory you'll treasure forever

Absolutely. My DM says that the entire afternoon is one of the best memories of her life- it was just perfect. There are so many examples of magic and pixie dust all over the DIS but it was still such a wonderful surprise when it happened to us! A real blessing.

Thank you so much for your kind comment, welcome!

What a beautiful, thoughtful and generous thing for your server to do! This is such a great example of the magic of Disney. Thoughtful surprises like this make memories that will last a lifetime. I was tearing up reading about it.

Love the updates!

You are so right- it was so thoughtful and it really will last a lifetime. Her kindness and generosity made such a difference and I hope we were able to let her know how much we truly appreciated it. Thank you so much and welcome!

 

[autumnpalm]

Eating Around the Monorail, Part One

After our truly magical tea, we went back to the room where DF was up and catching up on emails. The only plans we had for the rest of the evening were to be in the Magic Kingdom for Wishes at 11:00 so we decided to take it easy and relax by the pool for a while before dinner.

There were quite a few restaurants around the MK resort area that I wanted to try, so when we were planning we decided to take an evening just to travel around and try some appetizers at the bars/lounges of resorts.

This ended up being SO fun.

We started off at Citricos.



We didn't have any reservations this evening and we didn't want to take up tables, so we just asked to be seated in the lounge area. It was lovely and comfortable and made even nicer by the music floating in from the lobby.

We began by perusing the menu.



Initially, what we were going to do was order two or three appetizers at each location and split them. However, after our love affair with the arancini at Via Napoli, we all wanted to try the arancini. At Citricos, instead of three smaller rice balls, the portion is one large ball. Of course, this meant that rather than variety, we went with three orders of arancini.



The arancini was good, but I think we were spoiled by Via Napoli the night before. This arancini had more rice and less filling, which, for us, scored it a little lower. However, it was beautifully crispy and the sauce tasted like perfectly fresh, ripe tomatoes. All three were devoured promptly and by the time our server came back to check on us, they were gone.

We considered lingering longer at Citricos and trying at least one more appetizer, but decided that in the name of variety we would move on to our next location.

It was a beautiful evening. I took these photos from the monorail, but don't quite capture the beauty. As the sun was setting, a storm was beginning to move it and the colours of the sun through the clouds was gorgeous.











Our next stop would have been the Contemporary, but the California Grill was closed for renovations and instead of the Wave, we decided to take the boat launch over the the Territory Lounge at the Wilderness Lodge.

Again, such a beautiful night!



After a nice, cool boat ride we arrived at...

The Territory Lounge!



Here, you can order from the lounge menu or from the full menu at Artist Point. We did a bit of each and selected two Smoky Portobello Mushroom Soups from Artist Point and one order of Cheddar-Beer Fondue from the Territory Lounge Menu.

DM and I split one of the soups and DF had the other.



We all loooooved it. DF and DM were expecting to like it because they love mushrooms, but even I (who generally does not like mushrooms) thought it was amazing. I have heard before that it tastes like bacon and I kind of agree with that. It is smoky, savoury and so rich. Both bowls were licked absolutely clean!

The fondue generally comes with sourdough, apples and dried fruit (dates, I believe?) but we requested to substitute the dried fruit for more sourdough and they were happy to do so.







The way this is served is very cute, with the little tea light under the fondue pot. We did have to send this back because when it was first brought out, the fondue was barely lukewarm. We did wait a little to see if the tea light would heat it up, but eventually gave up and asked to have it rewarmed in the kitchen. When it came back out, it was perfect-- piping hot and nicely melted.

DF and DM loved this. I'm not sure I can give a fair review because I don't love cheese and this was fairly strong and sharp. If you are a cheese fan, they said this was great. It was strongly flavoured, thick and went really nicely with the sourdough and apples. I was nearly booted from the table for sticking with just the apples, no fondue.

The Territory Lounge was such a cozy, relaxing place to spend some time and it felt even cozier because it was thunderstorming outside as we ate. It is definitely a hidden gem, especially because the Artist Point menu is available. We almost ordered a berry cobbler just to try, but were getting pretty full by this point so we paid our bill and moved on to our next stop at...

The Kona Cafe!

(to be continued)

 

[faylynn24]

Going to have to go during out trip! I thought they stopped serving the fondue. It doesn't show on the menu online.

 

[DisneyJo]

Beautiful photos, I especially like the Spaceship Earth one

What a cute idea of snacking round the monorail, you'll probably start a trend