Roma
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2012
- Messages
- 168
50's Prime Time Cafe & Starring Rolls
I have had a fascination with 50's Prime Time Cafe since my first visit to WDW over four years ago, and I'm still not exactly sure why my family didn't eat there during that particular visit. Needless to say - there was no way I was letting it slip by this time. I also knew that Mr. Roma would like the theming and at least appreciate the meatloaf.
Before our ADR we stopped by Starring Rolls to pick up a cupcake to share for dessert. I was scared they would run out/close if we went after lunch so this seemed like the best option. Doing this also meant that the cupcake could warm up a little bit, since I've noticed that one of the biggest complaints about these cupcakes are their chill factor straight out of the case. We got a small box to keep it in until we were ready to eat it.
When we arrived at 50's it was absolutely slammed with people, which threatened to put a wrench in my plans to request a TV table. Nevertheless, I went ahead and asked if we could be seated at one despite the potentially long wait. We ended up waiting roughly twenty-five minutes to be seated, but neither of us minded because we enjoyed looking around the wonderfully themed lobby. I had pretty high hopes at this point that we would get a fun server, but I knew there were no guarantees.
We were seated at the first TV table when you enter the dining area, which meant we couldn't really the antics going on anywhere else. Oh well! Our server arrived and I wasn't entirely sure what to make of her behavior. She literally just threw the silverware and menus on our table without saying a word. In fact, she said maybe a grand total of ten words our entire meal. We still haven't decided whether or not she was just not feeling her job that day or that was part of her routine.
I had read good things about the onion rings (which also happen to be a favorite of Mr. Roma's), so we went ahead and ordered them as our appetizer.
Beer Battered Onion Rings for Two - served with Horseradish sauce $8.49
These came out hot and fresh, and we easily polished off the entire basket (a rare feat for us on this trip). I really like crispy onion rings and these were spot on. I also happen to love horseradish sauce, so this entire appetizer was a win-win for me
. In fact I'm pretty sure Mr. Roma had to remind me that they didn't bring out the horseradish bowl for my use only 
. If every order of onion rings were guaranteed to come out like these, I would spring for them more often.When I had shown menus to Mr. Roma prior to our trip, we had both agreed we would split the sampling of chicken, meatloaf, and pot roast at 50's. When the time came to actually order our meals, however, Mr. Roma was having none of that. He wanted his own meatloaf, which meant I had to order on my own. I had really wanted to try the chicken, so I went with:
Aunt Liz's Golden Fried Chicken - served with mashed potatoes, chicken gravy and southern greens $16.99
This came out with three more pieces of chicken then I can usually stomach in one sitting. I managed to pawn one piece on Mr. Roma, but a majority of it still went to waste. I made a point to tell Mr. Roma this wouldn't have happened if he would have stuck to the original plan
. The green beans (I subbed these for the greens) were a little too cold for my tastes, but tasted fine. The potatoes were really good and I especially liked the white gravy.One hilarious thing that happened at lunch occurred in the one area of the restaurant we actually had a view of from our table. There was an older gentleman with a white beard and a red shirt sitting directly across from me in the next room, and he looked so much like a Santa Claus that I pointed him out to Mr. Roma. Later in the meal, we saw a line of kids sneaking around the corner to where the man was sitting. One of them whipped out an autograph book and gingerly asked if he could please get "Santa's" signature. "Santa" happily obliged, and his entire table starting chuckling (probably because this is a regular occurrence). Next thing I knew every child in the restaurant had congregated in our area in the hopes of chatting it up with Santa at 50's.
We both enjoyed 50's PT despite our lack of an exciting server and will be back in the future.
After lunch we made our way over to the Beauty and the Beast stage to wait for the next show and eat our cupcake. Mr. Roma claims to have forgotten this, so I will have to recall his reaction for you.
Starring Rolls Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcake $3.99
We chose this particular cupcake because it was the least offensive to Mr. Roma's sensibilities. By the time we sat down and cut it in half it had become quite soft, which made the upright picture taking somewhat of a challenge. I really enjoyed my half. The cheesecake frosting was creamy and tangy and the addition of the heath bar crumbles was excellent. The cake itself was the perfect consistency (I abhor dry cupcakes) and had a noticeable flavor. Mr. Roma liked his half as well, even though he claims he can't remember it
. We would definitely get this cupcake again (although I'm shooting for the Butterfinger next time!), and would recommend to anyone who hasn't been a fan in the past to let their cupcake warm up before digging in. I think that made all the difference. Mr. Roma says:
50's Prime Time Cafe was definitely an exciting throwback. I could definitely see my dad and grandparents living the dream of modern America in that kind of setting.
We ordered onion rings to start, which were a little crispy. I at mine with a knife and fork.
Our waitress played some sort of "I'm not paying attention to you" game. She just kind of blew past us, dropping off our food, getting our refills without saying much. It was fun, but not nearly as exciting as some of the horror stories I've heard about!
I ordered the meat loaf because well, I love meat loaf. Almost as much as I love hamburgers. Maybe there's a coincidence there?
Dad's Traditional Meatloaf - a blend of beef and pork topped with tomato glaze, mashed potatoes, and green beans $14.99
This meatloaf was a little dry and a little too ketchup-y for my tastes. It was also cooked with carrots, instead of peppers an onions - which I prefer. Not to be dismayed, I wasn't disappointed I just have very high standards for meat loaf. The potatoes were good and green beans were as well.
P.S. No matter what my wife says, my gun was broken on that second Toy Story run. (Roma: I beat Mr. Roma twice on TSMM and he is still bitter!).
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Up Next: Our final Disney meal at Beaches & Cream!
) by watching Fantamsic! My mojo was thrown off a little bit when we arrived an hour and a half early and saw that they had already opened the gates!! They didn't do this the last time I was there. No matter though - we scampered inside and managed to squeeze into a middle row next to a nice German couple. I had yet to eat any Disney popcorn (and this was my last chance to do so) so I waited in line for thirty minutes to get some. I got it in a bucket not realizing that somehow we would have to get the bucket home (we only brought one checked bag - no carry ons). I ended up cramming all our underwear and socks in it to make it fit. 
. Mr. Roma actually ended up eating more than I thought he would because he really liked the peanut butter. I would get this again in a heartbeat, because it is literally heaven in a cup. 
