Live from the Montezuma's Revenge room - Stick a fork in this turkey (update 10/5)

[ThePrincess&TheJohn]

Loving Loving Loving your reviews and pictures! Ohana is my favorite meal (I might be the only person who wants all the food to come quicker!!!) and your servers sounded awesome! Keep up the great stuff and enjoy yourselves!

 

[jedijill]

Sounds like a great trip. Can't wait to read more.

Jill in CO

 

[Buckimion]

Put your 3D glasses on folks!

Since It looks like I'll be returning to AK on Wednesday, I needed to move my 1900PF breakfast to Tuesday and I may try to turn Kona into a walk up another time. Today's planned dinner at 50s PTC was also cancelled.

Went down to Pepper Market intended to get DW a "to-go" order of eggs and bacon for breakfast only to be told in no uncertain terms they do not do to-go at Pepper Market. I ended up getting her a bacon and egg sandwich at Rix which she said was very good while I had a cherry-cheese danish on a snack credit. DW also asked me to get her an apple on a snack credit.

At Hollywood Studios, we had lunch at the Sci-fi dine-in. The hostess insisted I park my scooter across the walkway as it threatened to rain and I struggled to cover it as much as possible and hobble back. As one of the first to arrive I asked for a front seat but were nearly given a back seat until another host corrected ours. For our appetizers I had the spinach dip while DW had the BLT soup. My dip was pretty bland but DW raved over her soup. For entrees we both had the ribeye although I skipped the veggies for extra mashed potato. I had cherry diet cokes and a strawberry milkshake for dessert. DW got a glow lemonade and a second regular one for the refills. She also had the red velvet cake for dessert which she liked.

I didn't get DW's opinion on her steak but again, I thought it was tasteless. I didn't pick up the exact subject, but our waiter told the people seated behind us that a removed item would be making a return to the menu VERY soon.

DW picked up a chocolate-covered marshmallow treat.

DW wasn't feeling good and returned to the room to rest. Since she left and after getting my fill of rides I decided to join her for dinner. After being delayed for another scooter issue we decided to try for Maya Grill early.

We were seated promptly (Even the waiter confessed he's never seen them turn away anyone at anytime.) and got our order in. My queso fundido was one of the worst I'd ever had with cheese sauce that tasted like cheese-whiz and even though I could see the chorizo sausage it tasted like breakfast sausage.

DW had guacamole which passed her tastebuds although it was bland to me with a heavy onion taste.

Three Amigos:

DW's Salmon:

For the entree I had the "Three Amigos" platter (chicken, beef and pork enchiladas) while DW had the salmon. These were both VERY good.

After previously having warned us not to pick dessert from the menu, the waiter brought out a tray with the nights desserts. DW and I both went for the fried ice creme which had obviously been prepared largely in advance and finished on order as the cornflake crust had gone soggy and stale.

 

[Glittercat]

Maya Grill does not sound like a treat. Good to know though.
O'hana looks like fun! Our family is considering it for dinner, so I have to look into it more. We've never tried a character dining experience but they sound pretty neat! Reading along, and may your food adventure get even better.

 

[vettegirl]

The Maya Grill is one place that has never inspired me to try and your review just confirmed it. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Buckimion]

For breakfast Monday morning we had ADR's for CM's at 7:55am. After getting our pictures taken with a statue (stuffed doll?) of Mickey we had about a 15 minute wait for seating. (I didn't really compare this to our scheduled time. As long as I haven't started checking my watch I'm happy with the seating.)

Breakfast could be best described as "routine". Nothing really good or bad although I was annoyed that the cheese potatoes had onion. The fab five made their appearances in good order.

DW has no idea what distracted her.

(To the tune of "That's Amore")
Come...where...
Disney folks go to eat Spaghetti-Os
Tony's Main Street
Where the breadsticks are free
And the Chef
Boyardee
Tony's Main Street!

For lunch we decided to temp fate and eat at Tony's. After a short hunt locating the ramp to get onto the porch we got in and were seated shortly. DW had a butternut squash soup for her appetizer while I had the calamari sans olive relish which we both found pretty good. DW found her soup so good she didn't really have room for her eggplant or much dessert and only picked a few bites. I had the shrimp scampi without the asparagus and was amazed at the flavor and size of the shrimp. The pasta was done past al dente but certainly not an inedible paste as some have claimed.

After eating, DW needed a rest break on the porch where she admitted she didn't think she'd be up for our planned dinner at LTT. I called dining and cancelled while we decided to just see what we would do later.

"Later" turned out to find her hungry about 6pm near Columbia Harbor House. She originally considered the salmon but tried the lobster roll with a side of couscous on my advice that it was a hot item while I had the shrimp basket. She liked her roll but thought it was a bit on the mushy side with more shredded bits of lobster than the chunks she is used to and expected. I again found it had more onion than I would care for when I sampled some of hers. My shrimp were completely unexpectedly crispy and good. I should have known better by the number of rave reviews for this but there is nothing like tasting it for yourself. Fr dessert, we both had the apple cobbler which was tasty but uninspiring.

Breakfast this morning was at 1900PF with Mary Poppins, Alice, the Mad Hatter, Pooh and Tigger. DW had lobster Benedict which she liked. I had a routine breakfast but found the scrambled eggs runny and the biscuit gravy onion flavored. (Have I mentioned that I don't like onion? ) After Pooh and Tigger passed I had tried to get an omelet but DW has about to get hit with a face character stampede and rushed back. In the traffic jam, Mary accidentally missed our side of the aisle and the character manager had to send her back. Since it was so late when we got out we're skipping lunch and saving room for CRT tonight during MNSSHP provided the current storms don't wash everything away.

A couple of notes:

We haven't really been bothered too much but will admit that several places have been slow on settling the bills. For those impatient to get to the parks this could be very frustrating.

We have yet to encounter problems with getting refills beyond a short wait after the first glass. It almost seems that once they see I'm going to be tanking up they keep on top of it until I'm done. The orange-guava juice at 1900PF never stopped flowing this morning.

 

[vettegirl]

Gotta love the never ending orange/guava juice.

 

[Buckimion]

The rains Tuesday continued to come and go. After getting laundry done at the resort, we decided to bus over to the MK about 3:10pm with an ADR at CRT at 4:25. Precisely two each of all of the other park buses and a downtown Disney bus ran before a MK bus got to CSR station #2. By the time it got out of the park, we arrived at the MK at 4:30 and still had to get through unloading my pirate-ship scooter, bag check and getting wristbands before dashing up Main Street in a light but steady rain.

We arrived at CRT about 4:50 but they were still able to accommodate us. We got pictures with Cindy downstairs where she commented on the castle not having yet hosted a pirate. (I'm guessing just not on her watch at the park was wall-to-wall pirates as expected.)

The flagon with the dragon yadda yadda...DW's salmon.

After riding up in the elevator we were seated at the rail directly in front of the elevator in the upper tier. DW and I both had the cheese plate appetizers which consisted of a blue, smoked gouda and a cream goat cheese. I loved the selection but DW scrunched her face after tasting each, admitting they were good but strong for her.

I had the beef tenderloin. The beef was tasty but DW got my asparagus and what amounted to mashed potato was dry and nasty.

DW had the dessert trio while I had the cheesecake. DW was also given a cupcake in honor of her birthday next week and our reason for "celebrating."

Breakfast this morning was at the Pepper Market and was surprisingly tasty. Even though the sausage links reminded me strongly of "Brown and Serve" they just had a better flavor than what we've had up to now. DW and I also had the corned beef hash and split our opinions with me liking it and DW pronouncing it "gritty."

After a road trip to the coast so DW could meet an old friend, we stopped at Olivia's at Old Key West for dinner. (Lunch was Popeye's while on the road. Love that chicken!)

When a TS looks like this at 6pm during free dining even Jimminy Cricket starts to snore.

Mission accomplished. I got my conch fritter fix while DW had conch chowder. Let's face it, I would have loved it even if it was nasty but I did feel there was a lack of conch here. I'm used to good sized chunks of meat from my previous experiences.

DW had the scallops over risotto while I had the prime rib, Olivia's potatoes and substituted mac and cheese for the veggies. Without further ado we declare this the best meal of the trip even with 2 1/2 days to go.

 

[vettegirl]

MMMM love Prime Rib! Great review

 

[Quin]

Wait - is that conch chowder tomato-based? We're looking at Olivia's for our next trip but to me a chowder is cream-based; if theirs is tomato I'll go for the fritters instead.

 

[policycobb]

Thanks for the CRT review and photos. I will be there is October and thought about getting the Salmon, cheese and cheesecake. Now I know what I will be ordering. We are staying at CSR for the first time.

 

[Buckimion]

Wait - is that conch chowder tomato-based? We're looking at Olivia's for our next trip but to me a chowder is cream-based; if theirs is tomato I'll go for the fritters instead.

Yup. "Manhattan style" as it were.

Sorry for the delay folks. The trip took a major bad turn before we left Disney that has made the past two weeks barely sustainable.

Epcot in the early morning of Thursday, Sept. 20th and not a soul in sight. We're on our way to Akershus for another princess breakfast. Even though DW started out happy, a bad encounter with a security guard (DW's fault but still left a bad taste and put her in a very foul mood.) soon had her asking if this breakfast was really necessary. I had thought there would be at least a character or two different than CRT but it was the exact same 5 with only Belle in her ballgown instead of the peasant dress. (Belle, Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White and Aurora)

Selections from the buffet. I wish I had gone back for more of the salami-type meat and the cheese but DW insisted we move on.

The "family-style" plate of sausage, bacon, eggs and potatoes. Not bad but we really had no appetite for this by now.

For lunch we had managed to score an 11:20a ADR for Le Cellier. (After shifting times from 1:30 and 1p) I had wished we could have gotten this one about an hour later but it was the best I could do. I got to sing along with the staff the Canadian National Anthem. Everyone was invited but I got singled out for actually knowing the song rather than the opening "O, Canada...." Sometimes it pays to have a local NHL franchise...or not. cough*lockout*cough. We were seated second and had the entire Quebec section to ourselves for about 5 minutes. Too bad the room was too dark to get a really good picture.

DW had the duck confit and right up until time to order I had really wanted the rock shrimp but at the very last minute decided to get the cheese soup. DW liked hers but loved mine and wished she had gotten it instead. I thought it was ok but not spectacular, although I'm not a big soup fan and admit this was one of the better ones I've had. I knocked off 1 1/2 of the pretzel rolls while DW tried the other half and everything else.

For the entree we both had the filet with risotto. We both love mushrooms so DW wouldn't hear of swapping out for mashed potato. We both thought this was good but not great.

For dessert we both had the maple creme brulee, which surprised me because I fully expected DW to go for the chocolate mousse moose. Although this was the first experience of creme brulee for both of us, I thought it was "ok" while DW fell in love with it.

For dinner we ate at the Rose and Crown with a 6:40 ADR. This was DW's first dining choice and the one ADR she wouldn't let me let go of even though we have a large number of "pubs" locally. We were seated inside with a good view of the lake, but service was efficient and I didn't have an excuse to linger for the fireworks.

For appetizers I had the cheese plate...I forget most of them but I liked this although I didn't care much for the accompaniments. DW had the scotch egg. Based on the sample menus we had thought to get the sampler with the egg, shrimp cocktail and an apple salad but it wasn't listed and we didn't care enough to ask.

For the main course we both opted for the tenderloin and fish. (With Yorkshire pudding at the top of the plate.) Our taste buds had to be way off because DW and I could not agree on the cup of white sauce on the side, She believed it was a dill tartar sauce and I thought it was some sort of sauce for the steak. (I fully expect my English fish to come with vinegar but this wasn't to be had.) The menu lists a "Cashel blue cheese butter and red wine sauce" for the steak but the white sauce tasted nothing like blue cheese. This meal was completely tasteless.

For dessert we both had the sticky toffee pudding. Simply too sweet for me and DW.

 

[Buckimion]

I haven't mentioned snacks much but we mostly just picked up whatever we felt like it and it usually meant eating it asap. Besides the previously mentioned snacks we had Dole whips and pineapple floats, lots more chocolate-covered marshmallows and even spent credits on sodas when we simply felt that was what we needed.

Back now to Friday, Sept. 21st - On our last full day, after another Pepper Market breakfast we went to Downtown Disney where DW planned on putting a dent in the 18 credits we still had remaining at Goofy's Candy Company. We came across the Candy Cauldron first and enjoyed (VERY MUCH!) chocolate-covered pineapple wedges. We would find Goofy's after lunch but DW was very disappointed that they didn't have anything she believed was new from the in-park stores.

For lunch we stopped at Planet Hollywood where DW had the Caprese salad and I had the spinach dip. DW liked hers but was surprised there was a whole, LARGE tomato. I didn't really care for my dip but I didn't have much appetite either. For entrees DW had a steak while I had the ribs which she teased me about their huge size after I had already complained about not being hungry. I still knocked off about half the rack and thought they were ok. We passed on dessert.

Arriving at the MK for MNSSHP, we quickly rode the Jungle Cruise and sat in the Tiki room after getting pineapple floats. When we emerged we saw darkening clouds and decided to try for a walk-up at Liberty Tree Tavern having canceled our ADR for CP previously. After about an hour wait we did get seated.

Salad

Thanksgiving dinner is served. We did not care for the cranberry relish they served but devoured seconds of the beef, mac and cheese and mashed potato and thirds of the stuffing with gravy.

Dessert was the Johnny Appleseed cake (with cranberries, natch) and a pumpkin sugar cookie.


Having trouble the previous day, the scooter I rented from Walker dies for good shortly after leaving LTT, facing the Hall of Presidents along LTT's side wall. I call Walker about 8:15pm and am told a tech will be with me in 30-40 minutes. At 9:20 I get a call from the guy who claims he's 10 minutes away and tries to understand where I am. Obviously, English was not his primary language and he didn't even understand landmarks like the "Hall of Presidents" and "Liberty Bell". I tried to warn him that the fireworks were about to start but he hung up on me. After no arrival by 10:45 I called his number only to get a message that he had gone off duty leaving me there!

During this time my wife managed to get a really bad cold that ruined the rest of our trip and small wonder that I didn't get one too, given that it drizzled rain the entire time. Disney was kind enough to have loaned me a manual wheelchair which I used to get back to the car, having to leave the Walker scooter behind. I tried to speak with someone Saturday (9-22) but was told to call back on Monday. Monday I talked to a person who identified herself as a manager who claimed their guy was still looking for us as late as 11:30 although she hinted she was aware of the language barrier. She said they still hadn't located their scooter but if they did they would refund me a whopping half day's rental when they found it. Earlier this week I spoke again with the manager who confirmed they had found it and left me in the spotlight for compensation. What I WANTED was either the entire rental refunded or at least the MNSSHP tickets but I couldn't bring myself to ask that, settling for the one full day rental.

Waking up the last morning, DW and I headed to 'Ohana for breakfast after checking out of CSR. Things went smoothly and we both enjoyed our breakfast and the characters with Stitch, Lilo, Mickey and Pluto making appearances. Stitch proceeded to blow his nose on my Hawaiian shirt, causing me to crack up and accidentally shut off my camera as DW snapped our picture with hers. He moved around to DW and then proceeded to fall asleep on her shoulder, snoring loudly as I tried to restart my camera and reset it.

After breakfast we stopped to blow our remaining ten snack credits and tried unsuccessfully to get credits for our 5 remaining meals. (I only had danish on a snack credit back on day 2.) I picked out some gummies and two boxes of chocolates as DW tried to warn me they wouldn't hold up well in the car. She was right and they and the trick-or-treat chocolate candy got a little misshapen. DW went for three sugar cookies and we picked out 4 bottles of soda for the road.

From there we went on to another week in New Orleans where DW feasted on the Cajun and Creole cooking (Gumbo: Creole for "Clean out the fridge.") and threatened to pound me for constantly suggesting "McDonalds."

 

[butiflfeet]

So sorry to hear about the scooter debacle during MNSSHP! That would be very frustrating to have to deal with

Overall though I really enjoyed your reviews! I appreciate you sharing your trip with us