Just returned-8 days of free dining! (9/20 Update Starring Rolls, Toy Story Pizza...)

For dessert 3 of us got the Chocolate Brownies with Chocolate chips in it and Paul got the Chocolate chip cookie. We were all stuffed so we took them to go. I ate mine for breakfast the next day (are you seeing a pattern here? I would never do this in the real world, but dessert for breakfast is a vacation guilty pleasure.) The brownie was to die for. In fact, a secret confession, the boys completely forgot about these brownies and I ate theirs from the fridge over the next few days! What a terrible mom.

I so agree about those brownies! I didn't eat mine and ended up taking it home. A few days later it still tasted fresh and delicious.

Great reviews so far.
 
I think I am on the boards a lot then I find out I know nada!

Heck - I am trying to finish my TR from last year after a hiatus before the next one in December! :lmao: Thank goodness people think I am funny enough to read because otherwise I would have a hard time when this trip is coming!

I love how much I learn from all of you and I might just have to try a piece of food porn review for myself. :goodvibes

I am not going crazy :rolleyes1

The thread was on the DDP forum!! :rotfl:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1950505 (its pages long - skip to the last page and work your way back )
 
on the bottom of the post you read - there are 3 symbols - one says "quote" one has a + sign in it,, the 3rd is a 'quick reply' -

so hit the plus sign box - it will turn red, go to the next post you want to quote click on the plus sign box - then when you are ready hit the "post reply" button as usual only when the reply to thread box shows up - - all those posts you wanted to quote will show up!!

Hope that makes sense!!

Also I've read posts from people that go to Boma and say they are disappointed the Ginger soup isnt out, and :wizard: a bowl has appeared before them!! :wizard: It never hurts to ask!

Thanks! We'll soon see if I can follow your directions! I think you had such good advice to ask for things you want. If you ask politely all they can do is say no! I had a couple of times that I was surprised when a CM gave me something I had wanted! I wish I had asked more often for substitutions for beverages. Our last day asked for a piece of fruit instead of the drink at Mara and they were happy to do it.

Hi! Great info and I have a couple questions!

#1 Did you lose that weight on your own or with the help of a support group like WW or Jenny Craig?


#2 I did not know that snack credits were no longer okay at the make your own station at Goofy's. How long has that happened and why? Anyone know? That was our standby for last minute uses of snack credits to bring back home. :confused:

#3 Love all the fresh choices you made - is the Veggie Flat Bread at Maras big enough to split? Does anyone have pics of it? What kind of olives were on it?

You are doing great being new here to posting! Keep up the good work!:hug:

Thank you!!! I am surprised at how much fun writing the dining report it! I lost the weight on my own, just sensible stuff...eating healthy and exercising more. It sounds so simple doesn't it? I don't have a pic of the veggie flat bread but I know I saw it on another review somewhere. It had green olives so it was kind of salty. I think you could split it (Ben and I did one night) depending on how hungry you are and what you ate before or after that day. We ate such big TS meals that I was never super hungry for the CS.

I think its great that you let us know how you share your credits - we do the same as well! We share a Breakfast platter - the pastries are too sweet for us, we need some protein!

Did you ever make it to Columbia Harbor House? I remember our first trip reading the boards and putting it on our list of must dos - I couldnt find it either!! (and right there so obvious now - across from the Haunted Mansion!)

We've also had to get some food at Pinnochio's Haus, they have good salads - but I agree, some of those portions!

Sadly, we never got to the CHH.
 
:yay::woohoo::dance3:

Congrats on the MULTI Quote!!!

:cool1::banana: WTG on losing the weight too!! :cool1::banana:

:sad: you never made it to CHH - Guess you will just have to plan another WDW trip!!

:rotfl:
 

This is DH for my review of Chef Mickey's. My DW and I had booked the
reservation at Chef Mickey's because our sons wanted to eat here. Disboard
reviews and a previous visit had convinced us to try something new; we had
been there and done that but DS Sam was insistent. So we returned. Chef
Mickey's is a great way to meet characters. My DS Sam (at 11) still believes
and he was thrilled to see Mickey and the others. He loved it when I asked
Donald why duck wasn't on the menu and he cackled with glee when Pluto threw napkins at our server then blamed it on him. So, regardless of the food, choose this place if your kids need a healthy dose of characters. It was not disgusting.

The food was not of the same quality as I remembered from 2006 but better
than I was expecting. My favorite was the Roasted Turkey Pot Pie. Normally,
I do not care for turkey but I found this dish terrific. The prime rib was
replaced with Roast Beef which was prepared perfectly, tasted great, and
quite similar to the beef served at Boma. Here however, they have au jus and horseradish sauce, which I like. The pork loin I tasted lacked flavor and
was too dry. The mashed potatoes were fine and pasta selections were fair at best. The salad bar was better than expected. Both DS enjoyed the dessert bar and treats were tasty with lots to choose from. The ice cream was no better than what you find at places like Old Country Buffet or Q'cumbers but there were extras and DS Ben loved putting gummie bears on his sundae.

So, the food was acceptable and the experience made up for it. The food did not compare to what we ate at Boma but as DW and I ate we kept saying to each other that it was better than we expected. I have not been to other character meals so they may rank higher or offer better fare. The CM/server was prompt and did a fine job so we had a pleasant evening. Our DS both enjoyed riding into the resort on the monorail. The characters are the star of this show and go to Chef Mickey's for them. I appreciated eating
dinner while Mickey Mouse came to me rather than standing in line for 20 to
30 minutes waiting for him at the Toon Town Judges Tent. With that in mind,
I highly recommend booking your meal here early in your visit, perhaps even on the day of arrival; that way your dining meals will keep improving and you can walk by the Judges' Tent in Toon Town with that wry smile knowing you prepared ahead of time.

Me again: I ate completely different foods than DH. I enjoyed the basil chicken pasta, the salmon with fresh spinach leaves and a dill sauce, the roasted zucchini vegetables, and my favorite...a cold shrimp, scallop salad. An aside, my DSs heard us talking about how I had read the "Chef Mickey's disgusted me" thread the week before we were left and I had been so worried about the food. DS Sam said, "Those people must not know anything about good food!" So the food was a big hit with both my kids! I also felt the place was clean. My hint if the food starts looking like it has been picked over...go to the other side of the buffet and they may have just put out a fresh serving.
 
So glad to here a decent review of CM. We are going and know it not 5 star dining but this is the place 5 yr old ds wanted. I also agree about how could it be that disgusting.:cool1:
 
Thanks so much for your reviews! I have booked Boma and Kona for the first time on our upcoming trip! I love the details that you provided!:)
 
On Thursday we were up early to make another rope drop, this time at Animal Kingdom. While the kids were still sleeping I decided to go to Mara and try a Bounty Platter CS for the family to share. I asked if they would give me 2 Mickey waffles in substitution for something else on the platter. They exchanged the biscuit, which I thought was a great trade! We also got 2 drinks with the platter. The boys bounced out of bed when I announced that I had brought Mickey waffles with me. They each ate one and split the bacon. Paul ate the sausage and we split the eggs. We still had leftovers so it was enough for us in the morning.

We arrived at AK in time for rope drop. I rushed to get a FP for EE and then hurried to meet my family at KS. After all that we were ready for a snack! Right outside KS is a fruit stand. We got a bowl of the fresh pineapple and a pretzel to share. It was a perfect snack for the 4 of us. We also got ice and cold water from the CS stand a little farther up. BTW, the spicy cheese pretzel I was hoping to try this trip wasn’t a SC here or anywhere else I saw it.

We had ADRs at Yak and Yeti for 1:00. We got there early and it was packed. We were so tired from our busy morning. We like to arrive for rope drop and then tour hard for 3-4 hours and then we need a break! There was a woman and her family standing right in front of the checking desk, leaning on it in fact. Since the check-in CM was looking down at her papers, I assumed this family was waiting for her. After 5 minutes I finally asked if they were waiting to check in. No, they were waiting for their table! I don’t know why you would stand blocking the check-in desk? So I said “excuse me” and the check-in person did not even look up, after giving my name she never responded or looked at me, just wrote my name down. We had such friendly service everywhere else I was kind of surprised. But it was packed in this tiny waiting area and I think a lot of people were crabby. We waited and waited and waited. I finally sent Paul to check thinking that maybe she hadn’t heard me when I checked in. Finally, about 50 minutes after our ADR, we were shown to our table. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed. It was right in front check in area where all these people were standing waiting for there table and right in front of the bar. I never did see the rest of the restaurant. But I was trying on this trip to be patient and not let little things bug me. We had a super friendly waitress. She took our drink orders. This was the place where we had told our son Sam that he could order an adult meal and we would pay OOP. We knew he wouldn’t like any of the kid meals here and he had drooled over the steak and shrimp combo pic on the food porn. But, after seeing how much food we were wasting I asked Sam if Ben and I could share our meal with him. He could order the egg roll, which Ben and I would split, and he would eat the French fries on the kid meal. I was relieved when he agreed to this! Paul was the only one without a plan. He wanted the honey chicken but I warned him that I had not read any positive comments on this dish. He thought about the ribs but finally settled on the salmon. I think he wanted a lighter dish. We ordered and then we waited and waited and waited some more. My sons started noticing that everyone that had been seated after us was served their food before us. We were all starting to get crabby, I think Sam’s exact words were, “This place has dropped to ½ star.” Our waitress continued to be perky and friendly, showing us pictures of her children. I finally said, “We are really anxious to eat, when will our food come?” She finally brought Sam’s meal. He ate his fries and we split the egg roll. And then we waited some more…15 minutes after Sam was done with his meal our meals finally arrived. Thank goodness our kids were not toddlers or preschoolers-we never would have made it. I was also glad that we had already planned on sharing our meal with Sam; otherwise he would just have sat there while we ate. From the time we sat down it was at least an hour before the adults got served. In retrospect, we should have been more assertive in asking for our food (we were trying to be Minnesota nice). I think the waitress forgot to put our order in. To be fair, everyone else looked like they had prompt service.
 
The good news is… the food was awesome! I loved the shrimp dipped in the plum sauce. The batter is more like a tempura batter than typical friend shrimp batter but so yummy. Ben and I each gave a shrimp to Sam along with some steak. The steak was amazing. It is a thin steak but marinated in something flavorful. Even though it was a thin steak it was perfectly pink inside (I don’t like overcooked steak!) and it was so tender. I loved the rice and the vegetables. I poured the plum sauce over the rice and veggies, yum! My plate was clean, although I did share with Sam! Paul also got his fork in my meal and I think he was regretting his choice. The salmon was very good but the steak and shrimp combo is something special. Once again the DIS boards steered me right!

For dessert we ordered the Brownie Sundae for 2 and the Fried Wonton dessert. Ben wanted the sorbet but this time I said we were going with our original plan. I am glad we did because he inhaled the wonton dessert! I tried one and thought it was okay but he loved it and it was gone in minutes. Paul and I split the Brownie sundae-so good. We tried but just couldn’t finish it…I was almost bursting when we left. Sam had the kid sundae. He was upset because it only had about ½ teaspoon of chocolate sauce. When the waitress saw that Sam was disappointed she brought him a creamer container of sauce and he was a happy kid to pour it all over (then it was too much sauce in my opinion!). He didn’t want to share our delicious sundae because the brownies had nuts!

I loved this meal and would not hesitate to recommend it. It is just unfortunate that it took so long that we all had a bad taste by the time our food came. One more note. When we finished eating Paul took the kids and left-we couldn’t wait to get out of there! I stayed behind to wait for the check and pay. I charged the tip to the room card and started to leave when I realized the check couldn’t have been right. It was $75 for the whole meal (I knew the 3 adult entrees alone would have cost that). I flagged down a manager and she said that the amount they put on the check is the amount you would have paid for the Dining Plan for that day! I said, “But how do you know what to tip?” She said tip what you like. We did have bad service but I would have woefully under tipped our meal with out intending to. I was in a hurry and hardly looked at the check. I was crabby again because I had to mentally add up what the meal would have cost (making guesses on the desserts and drinks) and rewrite the tip amount. I feel bad for the wait staff because I am guessing this happens a lot.

More great meals to be reviewed soon!
 
Thanks so much for your reviews! I have booked Boma and Kona for the first time on our upcoming trip! I love the details that you provided!:)

Thanks! I never thought I would write a review but I know how much I loved reading reviews before our trip! I sometimes think, "Who would care what I ate for breakfast?", but then I remember how much I poured over those details when I was planning.
 
I'm back. I can't believe what a long break I took but I am a teacher and the first few weeks of school take every spare moment I've got!

Friday we were up early again and off for early entry to HS. We had our strategy for Toy Story Mania and it was worth it! We rode it first and then Paul stood in line for a FP for later while we took a bathroom break and walked to Star Tours. He got there the same time we did so it didn't take him as long as we thought it would to get the FP. After Star Tours we were ready for a snack (we had split a Mara Bounty platter 4 ways again for breakfast and we were getting hungry!). After reading about it on the DIS boards we stopped at the Writer's Stop and Paul and I got the carrot cake cookie to share. It is 2 large cookies with thick cream cheese frosting in the middle. It was so yummy!! Sam got a chocolate chip cookie and Ben and I got a Mocha Smoothie to split. Ben loved the Mocha smoothie at Main Street Bakery and when he tasted this one he proclaimed it good but not as good as the MSB one. I completely agree. In fact I wished I had gotten the Iced Mocha (over rocks, not blended.) That was made with real coffee and the blended one tasted a little artificial. Sam liked his cookie.

We already knew that Paul and I wanted to get lunch from the Starring Rolls. We had eaten at Toy Story pizza 3 years ago and it was only okay. I knew the boys would want to eat there though. We were planning on going to the 11:30 showing of Indiana Jones. I had read that Starring Rolls did not start serving the sandwiches until 11:30. But since we were right there (around 11:00) we decided to check it out. Many people were already seated and eating the sandwiches so I hopped in line. I got a Turkey focaccia sandwich and Paul got the Black Forest Ham Focaccia. Mine came with thick fresh mozzarella. Each came with a side of chips or fruit (apple or orange), we both got the BBQ chips. Paul picked the Praline cheese cake for dessert and I got the M & M brownie. Okay, now we were running out of time to make Indy Jones. We quickly packed the sandwiches in our ziplock bags (bring the large-these were huge). We should have asked for to go containers for the desserts (I am not sure if they even had them) but we carried the cheesecake on the plate and ran to make the show. I am sure I put a fork in the backpack. We got to the show in the nick of time but we weren't all able to sit together. We could not find the fork so we shared the cheesecake between two rows eating it with our fingers! It was outstanding. The desserts alone make this a great CS location. The rest of the lunch we took with us after the show when we went to Toy Story Pizza Planet. Sam got a pepperoni pizza and Ben got the veggie. This was a crazy long and slow line! It took forever. Paul and the boys found a table upstairs. They liked the pizza, I ate Sam's side salad, and the cookies went into a ziplock along with my brownie to enjoy later (it was delicious BTW-even though Paul shared his cheesecake with me, I did not share my brownie!). Paul and I ate our sandwiches-they were yummy, fresh, and filling. There was a ton of turkey in my sandwich. I read so many bad comments about CS at HS. Try Starring Rolls! We loved it and the boys were perfectly happy with Toy Story. Later in the day we were so hot and went to Min and Bill's Dockside DIner for more snacks. We were starting to realize how many snack credits we had left! Paul got a chocolate shake and Ben got a frozen lemonade. I had read about the spicy cheese pretzels there but I didn't see any pretzels when we were there. Sam got a Mickey bar at a kiosk.

That night we went to Boma for the 2nd time. It was just as good this time. We had a beautiful table right by the window. The menu was almost exactly the same this night. I forgot to mention in my first report of Boma about the yummy corn, plantain salad. It was really unique but I loved it!
 















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