March Madness - "Feed"back on restaurants visited

[jillt2ph]

So this will be my first attempt at any kind of trip report. Since this was the shortest trip I have ever taken, I figure it is a good place to start.

Basic info... My BFF and I stayed at Saratoga Springs March 12th - 15th in room 1201. This is the very last room at SSR at the Disney Springs end. We arrived at the resort around 5 PM Friday evening.

Day 1:
Dinner - We went to Rainforest Cafe at Disney Springs for dinner. At the podium, the party in front of me was told it was a 2 1/2 wait. When it was my turn, I just showed the Landry's Select Club card I had purchased 2 days earlier and was directed to the line for club members. We were seated 5 minutes later BFF had the China Island Chicken Salad and said it was fantastic. It must have been, because there was nothing left in the dish! She said it was the perfect mix, and had just the right amount of dressing. I had the turkey wrap and fries. It was good, but the wrap was a little hard to eat because the ingredients were so segregated. A few bites were nothing but tomato. The manager came over to welcome us since I was using my Club card for the first time.

Snack - After dinner, BFF's sister and BIL met us at the resort and we went to BLT to go to the Top of The World Lounge to watch the fireworks. The appetizer menu changes frequently at the lounge. I had taken a pic when we were there in December, and the current menu is a little different from that one. We split the Margherita flatbread. It was tasty and I would order it again. I had my usual - the non-alcoholic Top of the World Sunset. I love that beverage - so refreshing! BFF tried the Magical Star drink, but said she prefers the Blue Glow-tini.

I will revisit both of these places.

 

[jillt2ph]

Day 2:
Breakfast - Saturday was just a relaxing day until Club Villain time. Breakfast was Mickey mini waffles and bacon from Artist's Palette at SSR. Yum! I like that you are given a number for your table and then a runner brings out your food. That means the food is usually hotter than when you wait in line for it and then stand in line to pay. The waffles were nice and crispy on the outside, and the bacon was crispy.

Lunch - We had lunch off-site at the pool bar/grill at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Seaworld.

Dinner - Dinnertime was all about Club Villain, and started with champagne. I tried 3 of the specialty drinks, and my favorite was the Devious Dalmation. I felt bad that I only took a few sips of the other 2, but they serve all the drinks in full size glasses. They were just too potent for me. The only thing I ate that I really enjoyed was the striploin of beef, sad to say. And that was because the cast member cut a few slices and let them cook a little longer for me. I appreciated that! I wasn't wowed by the desserts, either. But let's face it - I wasn't there for the food

 

[pumba]

sounds interesting...this Club Villian...would you go back...if not for the food??

 

[jillt2ph]

sounds interesting...this Club Villian...would you go back...if not for the food??

I have actually been wrestling with this. I think I would, for the $99 price. For $129? Probably not until they would switch up the characters since that would mean different desserts/specialty drinks. At $99 it is easier to compare it to one of the dessert parties.

 

[pumba]

thank you for telling us...

 

[jillt2ph]

Day 3 - Epcot:
Breakfast - The day started once again with breakfast at Artist's Palette. This time I had the ham and cheese omelet with breakfast potatoes, which was quite filling - and tasty. And how great is it that TIW is accepted here?

Lunch - Let me preface this by saying it was after 10 when we arrived at Epcot, and our dinner ADR was for 4:20 PM. Our plan was to just grab something while walking around World Showcase. By the time we reached Italy around 11:45, BFF's sister was ready to eat. She suggested pizza at Via Napoli so we figured just go to the window since we had no ADR. She wanted to go inside though, and when we asked if they were taking walk ups we were told yes. We were seated in about 10 minutes! This was my fist visit to Via Napoli, so I was pretty psyched. Because we had that early dinner ADR, we decided just to get the cheese mezzo metro pizza to share. Not a hit! I liked that it was thin crust, but there was not a whole lot of pizza. There was way too much crust, like it bubbled up during baking and pushed the topping toward the center of the pizza. And that center did not seem like it was baked the whole way. As thin as the crust was, it was still doughy. I won't be rushing back there.

Dinner - Our dinner ADR was for Coral Reef, another place I had never been to. I was a little iffy on this as reviews are all over the place for this restaurant. Wow!!! Our food was fantastic! Two of the 4 of us had the Grilled NY Strip Steak with cheddar mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables (green beans, in this case). The server had no problem letting us switch up the sides to include broccoli. The steaks were done exactly as requested, with my well done steak being cooked perfectly without being burned. And the flavor of the steak was excellent! BFF had the pork tenderloin dish, and the presentation was beautiful. Any plate that includes drizzled caramel is A1 in my book! The 4th entree in our group was the marinated grilled vegetables from the vegetarian dish, only topped with a real chicken breast. The black rice was an interesting visual, but tasked great according to those that tried it. We all cleaned our plates - that is how good the food was! The meats were all thoroughly cooked, but not dry, and the sides were flavorful. Portion sizes were also good here. But I was not leaving until I tried the turtle cheesecake! Well, I like the cheesecake part, but found the hazelnut flavor of the bottom to be a bit overwhelming. On the other hand, every bite of both the Chocolate Wave and the Vanilla Panna Cotta tart with key lime were consumed. I will definitely visit here again! I don't know why I always imagined this restaurant as being round, but I was surprise when we walked in to see that the one wall was the tank and the tables were on different levels facing the tank. We were lucky to be seated on the bottom level in a booth. I think that is ideal as it allows you to get a better view of a larger area of the tank, as opposed to being at a table right up against it.

Snack - After spending the day at Epcot and taking the boat over to the studios to watch the Fireworks show again, we picked up a snack at the Artist's Palette when we got back to the resort. Muffins and a 2 liter bottle of Coke!! I just love the chocolate chip muffins at Disney; I have yet to be disappointed by one.

 

[Jgeauxmo]

Day 3 - Epcot:
Breakfast - The day started once again with breakfast at Artist's Palette. This time I had the ham and cheese omelet with breakfast potatoes, which was quite filling - and tasty. And how great is it that TIW is accepted here?

Lunch - Let me preface this by saying it was after 10 when we arrived at Epcot, and our dinner ADR was for 4:20 PM. Our plan was to just grab something while walking around World Showcase. By the time we reached Italy around 11:45, BFF's sister was ready to eat. She suggested pizza at Via Napoli so we figured just go to the window since we had no ADR. She wanted to go inside though, and when we asked if they were taking walk ups we were told yes. We were seated in about 10 minutes! This was my fist visit to Via Napoli, so I was pretty psyched. Because we had that early dinner ADR, we decided just to get the cheese mezzo metro pizza to share. Not a hit! I liked that it was thin crust, but there was not a whole lot of pizza. There was way too much crust, like it bubbled up during baking and pushed the topping toward the center of the pizza. And that center did not seem like it was baked the whole way. As thin as the crust was, it was still doughy. I won't be rushing back there.

Dinner - Our dinner ADR was for Coral Reef, another place I had never been to. I was a little iffy on this as reviews are all over the place for this restaurant. Wow!!! Our food was fantastic! Two of the 4 of us had the Grilled NY Strip Steak with cheddar mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables (green beans, in this case). The server had no problem letting us switch up the sides to include broccoli. The steaks were done exactly as requested, with my well done steak being cooked perfectly without being burned. And the flavor of the steak was excellent! BFF had the pork tenderloin dish, and the presentation was beautiful. Any plate that includes drizzled caramel is A1 in my book! The 4th entree in our group was the marinated grilled vegetables from the vegetarian dish, only topped with a real chicken breast. The black rice was an interesting visual, but tasked great according to those that tried it. We all cleaned our plates - that is how good the food was! The meats were all thoroughly cooked, but not dry, and the sides were flavorful. Portion sizes were also good here. But I was not leaving until I tried the turtle cheesecake! Well, I like the cheesecake part, but found the hazelnut flavor of the bottom to be a bit overwhelming. On the other hand, every bite of both the Chocolate Wave and the Vanilla Panna Cotta tart with key lime were consumed. I will definitely visit here again! I don't know why I always imagined this restaurant as being round, but I was surprise when we walked in to see that the one wall was the tank and the tables were on different levels facing the tank. We were lucky to be seated on the bottom level in a booth. I think that is ideal as it allows you to get a better view of a larger area of the tank, as opposed to being at a table right up against it.

Snack - After spending the day at Epcot and taking the boat over to the studios to watch the Fireworks show again, we picked up a snack at the Artist's Palette when we got back to the resort. Muffins and a 2 liter bottle of Coke!! I just love the chocolate chip muffins at Disney; I have yet to be disappointed by one.

Love your review of coral Reef. It's on my maybe list, but I've been seeing a lot better reviews recently!

 

[jillt2ph]

I would say give it a try! I really liked the set up of the room, and we were fortunate to be on the lowest level. Our server was fantastic - wish I could remember her name. There is also a fish spotting guide on each table and that is fun to do while waiting for your food. The dessert is the only thing I would pass on next time, especially if paying OOP. The presentation was cute, because it does look like a turtle, but I just was not wild about the taste.

 

[phabric]

Enjoyed reading your reviews.

 

[ariane37]

Dinner - Dinnertime was all about Club Villain, and started with champagne. I tried 3 of the specialty drinks, and my favorite was the Devious Dalmation. I felt bad that I only took a few sips of the other 2, but they serve all the drinks in full size glasses. They were just too potent for me. The only thing I ate that I really enjoyed was the striploin of beef, sad to say. And that was because the cast member cut a few slices and let them cook a little longer for me. I appreciated that! I wasn't wowed by the desserts, either. But let's face it - I wasn't there for the food

So sorry you didn't like the food and desserts at Club Villain! DH and I went to the first one in January. We LOVED the dinner and especially the desserts I definitely ate more than my share of them lol! Going into it I actually didn't think I'd like the dinner items that much but I was pleasantly surprised. And the drinks I thought were awesome
Did you pay $99?
You have to admit though, Queen of Hearts as a face character was cool, right?

 

[jillt2ph]

Yes, we ended up paying $99. It was $129 when we booked, and the first set of discounted dates did not include ours. But my BFF got a Passholders email on Saturday morning and our date and showtime was listed. So I went right to Guest Services and got a credit. I thought all the characters were great. Cruella kept going on about everything being Fabulous, and when she saw me at her dessert table she said why waste time deciding, just take both. Cruella and QOH really seemed to enjoy the dancing, while both Maleficent and the Evil Queen commented on my shirt (Sleeping Beauty!).

 

[jillt2ph]

Day 4 - lazy day!
Breakfast - Back to the Artist's Palette again, of course. And I had the mini Mickey waffles and bacon once more. Just as good the second time!

Dinner - We had an early dinner ADR at Beaches and Cream, which I snagged just the day before (same thing happened in December!). Between the 4 of us we ordered 3 burgers and one patty melt, with 3 of us opting for the fresh fruit (watermelon!) for our side and the other getting fries. We also ordered a basket of onion rings to share. The onions rings are a must for me every time. They are just so good. We were all quite happy with our meals. And our empty plates were testimony to that! No trip to B&C is complete without ice cream. I got the Milky Way, which is my usual. It was as good as ever. I do miss the old days when there were also cake chunks included, but I would not have been able to eat another bite. We talked about getting a Kitchen Sink, but in the end got individual desserts. Sundaes and one banana split. This remains a must for me on every visit.

 

[Disneycampfan]

She suggested pizza at Via Napoli so we figured just go to the window since we had no ADR.

What? You can get pizza at a window without having a sit down meal????

 

[jillt2ph]

Yes, there is a window. But I a not sure exactly how the pizza is served. I saw prices in the $9 range, which seems quite pricey for just a slice. But not enough for an individual. I will be back there again in 3 weeks so I will have to get a pic of the offerings at the window.

 

[Disneycampfan]

Yes, there is a window. But I a not sure exactly how the pizza is served. I saw prices in the $9 range, which seems quite pricey for just a slice. But not enough for an individual. I will be back there again in 3 weeks so I will have to get a pic of the offerings at the window.

I will be there next weekend so I will definitely check it out!

 

[jillt2ph]

You win, lol! I will look forward to seeing what you find out