Lost front teeth! Still gonna eat-UPDATED 7/22- FINISHED!

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Tomorrow we leave for a week long trip to Disney World. We have been AP holders for the last couple of years and try to visit as often as possible. There are 4 in our family, but it has been several years since we have all traveled to Disney together. This trip it will be me, my husband Brian, and my six-year old daughter, Brianna. Unfortunately my son is too old to skip school for a week so he will be left at home with his grandparents for the week. Don't feel too sorry for him. I'm laying the plans for a trip for the two of us later this year.

The title of the dining report is an homage to Brianna's recent loss...



Brianna's lost her teeth by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

She's so cute without those 2 front teeth. She won't put them under her pillow for the tooth fairy because she is worried she might need them if none grow back.

Back to the dining... Brian and I are usually up for eating most anything. He likes everything except things that are cold and green or yellow, like potato salad or devilled eggs. I'm not very picky but am squeamish about trying animals that I have never eaten, like the escargot at Chefs De France or even the buffalo at Artist Point. Brianna, on the other hand, used to be my baby who would eat most anything but she has become much more reserved. I expect a diet of chicken nuggets and fres mainly from her while on the trip. I'm hopeful she will try some new things along the way.

Here's where we plan to eat:

Friday, 4/20- Liberty Tree Tavern Dinner. We've eaten lunch here many times, but never dinner. Brianna loves Thanksgiving dinner so I think she will enjoy this meal. UPDATED 5/7 p. 1

Saturday, 4/21- Restaurantosaurus Lunch- Updated 5/9 p.2

Saturday, 4/21- California Grill Dinner. We had a very nice meal here our last trip in December and I'm anxious to try all of the flatbreads eventually. Updated 5/12 p. 2

Sunday, 4/22- Electice Umbrella Lunch-Updated 5/18 p. 3

Sunday, 4/22- Flying Fish Dinner. Updated 5/21 p.3

Monday, 4/23- Restaurant Marrakesh Lunch. I'm on a quest to eat at all of the World Showcase restaurants and I haven't tried this one yet. I saw that chicken nuggets were on the kids menu so Brianna will be okay. She and her father will love the belly dancers.Updated 5/26 p.3

Monday, 4/23- Earl of Sandwich-Updated 6/1 p.4

Monday, 4/23- Goofy's Candy Co.-Updated 6/11 p. 4

Tuesday, 4/24- Pecos Bill's-Updated 6/21 p. 4

Wednesday, 4/25- Hollywood Brown Derby Lunch. This is Brian's favorite restaurant. Everytime we go I say I am going to try the pork, but always change my mind. This time I'm definitely having the pork. Updated 6/22

Thursday, 4/26- Shutters Dinner. Since we are staying at Caribbean Beach we will try Shutters. Here's hoping it is good.Updated 7/03

Brian and I would probably eat 2 TS a day, but Brianna grows weary of sitting down to eat when there is so much fun to be had so I've scaled back. I'm sure we will also have some CS meals, but Earl of Sandwich is the only place I'm committing to right now.

Need to begin seriously packing. Our flight lands tomorrow at 4:00 pm and I'm hoping we will make it to LTT by 7:00 pm.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

sounds like a great plan-have a wonderful trip and looking forward to your dining reviews when you return

 

[MickeyNicki]

Have a great trip!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Yay! Have a great trip and looking forward to your reviews. I hope Marrakesh is good - it used to be one of our favorites, but we haven't been there in years.

 

[vettegirl]

Wishing you a wonderful trip full of delicious meals and great service!

 

[deenbrad]

Looking forward to your review!

 

[jedijill]

Brianna is so cute with her missing teeth! Hope you had a great trip and can't wait to hear your reviews.

Jill in CO

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

sounds like a great plan-have a wonderful trip and looking forward to your dining reviews when you return

Thanks for the wishes. Hoping to get started on the reviews this weekend.

Have a great trip!

We did have a good trip. Thanks so much!

Yay! Have a great trip and looking forward to your reviews. I hope Marrakesh is good - it used to be one of our favorites, but we haven't been there in years.

Marrakesh had suprisingly good food. We would eat there again.

Wishing you a wonderful trip full of delicious meals and great service!

Looking forward to your review!

Thanks so much. Plan to get started soon.

Brianna is so cute with her missing teeth! Hope you had a great trip and can't wait to hear your reviews.

I think she's cute too. You can barely see signs of a new tooth coming in now.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

We are back from our stay at Caribbean Beach. People are not exaggerating when they talk about the vastness of this resort. It was a beautiful place with a great pool, but never before have we stayed anymore that required a shuttle from the check-in/out area to our room. But anyway, this is about the food...

My best laid dining plans did not work out too well this trip. We had several cancellations on our list thanks to sickness. I was battling an inner ear infection before we left and just wasn't up to my usual perky self. Brianna started throwing up 2 days before we left and she ate virtually nothing while we were there. I feel guilty for fussing at her about her lack of appetite because I got sick throwing up 2 nights before we were to go home and have just recovered my appetite. Even Brian felt nauseous one day and he never misses an opportunity to eat.

So there will be several deviations from my original posting of the restaurants we were to dine at. We did more counter service and ended up not eating all that much. But we were still at Disney so I can't complain.

Up first will be Liberty Tree Tavern Dinner...

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Finally, able to get started

Due to some storms in Orlando our flight had to circle the airport about an hour before it could land. I already knew that I would be pushed to make our Liberty Tree Tavern reservation, but with the delay I knew there was no way we could make it. We were checking into Caribbean Beach about the same time we were supposed to be checking into LTT. The Concierge was kind enough to find us a later ADR so we dumped our stuff in the room and headed out the door. By this time the storms had passed but there was a misty little rain. We arrived at LTT right around 8 pm and found the place to be moderately busy. Here's Brianna at the game/coloring table. She enjoyed playing here and found a friend to play Tic Tac To with.


Coloring at LTT by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

We were led to a table in an area that we had never been seated. I like that this restaurant has so many different littles rooms or areas to sit in. Other than us, there was only one other family eating in our section. Our waiter was Sebat and he was just fine. He explained to us how the family style meal would work and took our drink order. I love these mugs and plan to get a set some time when we are not traveling home by air


Mug at LTT by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Here's a picture of the bread, followed by the salad. I remember thinking the bread was pretty good, but I didn't want to fill up on it. The salad was the same that is sold for lunch that I often order. I really like the strawberry vinagrette dressing. I just wish they would wait to dress it at the table because sometimes it gets a little wilted.


Bread at LTT by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr


Salad at LTT by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Moving on to the entree and the sides, this first picture is of the Patriot's Platter. It had turkey, beef, stuffing, and some kind of relish or maybe chutney.


turkey and steak from LTT by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

I really loved this turkey. It was so moist and seasoned well. The last time I tried turkey for lunch at LTT I thought it tasted a little gamey. But this turkey was Thanksgiving perfect. The steak was tender and just fine, but I only had a bite since I don't eat a lot of steak. The dressing was a winner too. Moist and delicious. The only thing I didn't like was the relish. I really don't know what this was so I'm hoping someone can tell me more about it. It makes sense to me that it might have been some kind of cranberry sauce since that is frequently served with turkey, but I'm not sure.

Here's pictures of the sides except for the mashed potatoes because my picture didn't turn out very well.


mac and cheese at LTT by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr


Vegetables from LTT by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Brianna really enjoyed the mac and cheese. It did remind me of the frozen kind. The whole green beans were delicious and I also liked the squash and zucchini strips.

We were pretty full after eating all this plus seconds on the mac and cheese and mashed potatoes for Brianna. I think she ate so much that her stomach began to hurt and cramp. She had been sick just the day before and was throwing up. This was really the only meal she ate the whole time we were on vacation. I fussed at her several times, but after catching the virus myself I understand why she didn't want to eat.

Here's a picture of the Johnny Appleseed Cake...


dessert from LTT by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

I was not feeling this cake. I don't like dried cranberries and they were totally unavoidable. Brian loved it and ate mine and Brianna's share as well as his.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

welcome back - great first report - we haven't been to LTT since they lost the characters.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

I will grade based on atmosphere and service for Table Service restaurants, and for value and food quality for all places we ate. So here's my thoughts about LTT dinner...

Atmosphere- A

I really like the look of this restaurant, plus I like that the tables are not as on top of each other as most Disney restaurant.

Service- B

Our waiter, Sedat, did an adequate job, but wasn't exceptional.

Value- B

Our bill for 2 adults and 1 child was $82.53. This meal was purchased with the TIW card so we saved $15.99 and our gratuity was $14.39. This is our second trip with this TIW card so we have already paid for it with our savings. Sedat told us he thought this meal was an excellent buy since it is all you can eat. I agree somewhat since the food was good, far better than buffet food but $31.99 is pretty steep even though it includes your drink and dessert. If the characters were still there I would have given it an A for value.

Quality- A

The food overexceeded my expectations. I escpecially thought the meat was excellent.

So my overall grade for LTT would have to be a...

A-

Up next will be Restaurantasaurus lunch and California Grill Dinner.

 

[iloveeeyore]

Hi, Rachel! I have been reading your report since you started it, and I can't believe I'm just posting now?! Maybe you started it when the DIS servers were down all the time and trying to post was so frustrating!

Brianna is adorable with that toothless grin! I'm so sorry your family was feeling sick during the trip! What a bummer. Good thing you're going back soon.

Great review of LTT. We are excited to try it for the first time in August, but for lunch. Your review makes the dinner look great! Look forward to more!

 

[Krissalee]

Thanks for sharing your reviews. I'm so sorry you and your daughter were sick - vacation is NOT the time for illness. I ended up with a severe head cold at the end of our last Disney trip, but a stomach virus would be even worse!

Looking forward to more. I am also a big proponent of the TiW card - it really does pay for itself if you eat at TS alot.

 

[TigerKat]

Signing on a bit late!!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

welcome back - great first report - we haven't been to LTT since they lost the characters.

Thanks so much. We really enjoyed LTT. We heard the table beside of us asking where the characters were. I guess it had been a while since they had been there too. I think I heard the waiter say they haven't had characters since 2010.

Hi, Rachel! I have been reading your report since you started it, and I can't believe I'm just posting now?! Maybe you started it when the DIS servers were down all the time and trying to post was so frustrating!

Brianna is adorable with that toothless grin! I'm so sorry your family was feeling sick during the trip! What a bummer. Good thing you're going back soon.

Great review of LTT. We are excited to try it for the first time in August, but for lunch. Your review makes the dinner look great! Look forward to more!

Thanks for reading. It was kind of a bummer being sick, but I keep thinking it could have been worse. At least Brianna wasn't throwing up anymore. We love LTT for lunch. Since you are doing the deluxe DDP try the fried cheese and the ooey gooey toffee cake.

Thanks for sharing your reviews. I'm so sorry you and your daughter were sick - vacation is NOT the time for illness. I ended up with a severe head cold at the end of our last Disney trip, but a stomach virus would be even worse!

Looking forward to more. I am also a big proponent of the TiW card - it really does pay for itself if you eat at TS alot.

You're right it isn't fun to be sick on vacation. You have all these great plans and sickness can really put a kink in it. We've had the TIW card for a couple of years now and absolutely love it. One trip will usually pay for itself for us.

Signing on a bit late!!

So glad you decided to sign on!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

RESTAURANTOSAURUS LUNCH

We got up the next morning with plans to go to Epcot but we grew impatient of waiting for a bus and decided to head to Animal Kingdom instead. Even though we have eaten at Yak and Yeti and Rainforest Cafe, they don't take the TIW card so we usually eat at a CS place to get a nifty 20% off our meal. So we ended up at Restaurantosaurus as we usually do when we visit Animal Kingdom. I used to be bored by the menu here, but they made a few changes over the past couple of years and it is much better. I'm so sorry to admit I don't have any pictures of this meal I must have been overcome by my hunger.

Restaurantosaurus is one of those CS places that has a roped off line you enter in and then the CMs call you up to their register. This does keep down some of the line chaos that you frequently encounter in CS places. I also like that it rarely seems overly crowded and I haven't seen the CMs policing the seating like they have to do at some of the MK CS places. Being a big soda drinker, I love the refillable soda station and the toppings bar.

I chose the Dip Site Salad. When I ordered it I remembered that there was something on the top of it I didn't like. The description was ground beef, romaine lettuce, cheese, tortillas with a corn relish on top. I knew I liked all that but when I got it to the table it also had jalepenos and black olives. The olives were what I didn't like but they were easy to get off. I eat this salad pretty much every time we eat at Restaurantosaurus and I ate the whole thing. Brian debated between the shrimp po boy sandwich and the chicken nuggets and finally decided on the chicken in the hopes that Brianna would help him eat them. He ate them all so I'm gonna guess they were just fine. Chicken nuggets at WDW CS places all seem the same to me.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Atmosphere- B

I actually like the eating at Restaurantosaurus. It isn't too crowded and the ordering process is a little easier than at some other CS places.

Value- A+

I always feel like we get more for our money when we go to a place that has a refillable drink station. The toppings bar is also an added bonus that we took advantage of. The sauteed onions were a great addition to my salad and Brian had some sauteed mushrooms.

Our total bill was $19.14 for the salad, chicken, and 2 drinks. We saved $4.49 with our TIW card so I think that makes Restaurantosaurus a good value for us.

Quality- A

The dip site salad is one of my favorite CS meals and is consistently good.

My overall grade for Restaurantosaurus is...

A

Up next is California Grill with pictures, I promise!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

We were looking forward to our dinner at California Grill since we had enjoyed it so much during our last trip in December. Ironically we were seated at the exact same table, which had a great view of the kitchen but not so much of a view of the rest of the world. I was anxious to try the pork flatbread, which was what I wanted our last trip but Brian had insisted on the triple cheese flatbread instead. I was so disappointed that the menu had changed and all the flatbreads were different except for the triple cheese was still on there. Here's my attempt to photograph the spring menu...


Cali Grill menu by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr


Cali Grill Menu by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr


Cali Grill Menu 2 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

After some internal debate, I finally decided on the Beef with Spring Vegetables Flatbread.


Beef with Spring Vegetables Flatbread from Cali Grill by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

The description was sliced bresaola, strawberry onions, grilled asparagus, and sudachi mayonaisse. Sadly, I didn't like this flatbread much. I didn't know what bresaola was but it reminded me of that dried beef that is sold in a glass container in the canned meat section of the grocery store. I had to look up what sudachi mayo was. Sudachi is a Japanese fruit similar to a lime with a lot more kick. For me a little of this mayo went a long way. I ate a couple of pieces and then picked the onions and asparagus off which were really good. I didn't go hungry though because I encouraged Brianna to order this, which she didn't eat but a bite of because her stomach was unsettled.


Kids mac and cheese from Cali Grill by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

This really is very good macaroni and cheese. It reminds me of what Brian makes for us at home. Very creamy with just the right amount of cheese. Brian and I ended up arguing over who got to eat it and I felt justified since here is his meal...


Filet from Cali Grill by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

This steak was excellent. I got only one bite. The teriyaki sauce was my favorite part. Brian declared this is favorite meal of our trip.

He and I also shared this salad which was also a change from December's menu...


Florida Peach Salad from Cali Grill by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

I loved this salad. It had peaches, hazelnuts, blue cheese crumbles, and a peach dressing. Very, very yummy and fresh.

And one last picture, the bread.


Bread from Cali Grill by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

I loved that the butter was soft.