Mini foodie, theme park junkie in the making! Updated: 8/11 Skippers Canteen

[Candycane83]

Day 4- Tiffins Dinner (Rivers of Light package)

We walked around Disney Springs then it was time to head to AK. I think I underestimated how long it takes to get out of DS. It took so long for a bus to come. We took a bus back to the resort and then to AK. We went on Dinosaur first then it was time for dinner already. (My five year old did not exactly like it and did ride it again another day... it is a very rough and loud ride though) We went to Tiffins and checked in and waited inside. We told the server the same thing as the other Signature or ala carte restaurants we’ve been to, we wanted to pay for DS5 out of pocket. Our server was fine with that. I also told him that I was in a hurry because I had a FP for FOP in an hour. He said he would do his best to get us out. He was really nice and was funny too. My son was playing and not sure what he did but he just fell off his chair sideways! He was very concerned and asked if he needed first aid. I looked over at my son and knew he was fine so answered for him. He joked with my son after and all was well. We ordered our drinks, apps and mains.


Annapurna Zing- one of the reasons I had Tiffins on my list of places to eat! @kastoney’s reviews have prompted me to order this and of course it did not disappoint! This was my favorite drink the whole trip! I’d put Tiffins or Nomad Lounge on my go to for next trip for this! Oh and the glowing lotus was a hit with my son! Hubby and DS5 ordered non alcolholic drinks- Lillie Gorillie and Kiama Mamma. It’s basically sprite and strawberry and sprite and watermelon. The watermelon version was a little better. (Less sweet)



My son surprisingly ate this whole plate. Did not touch the dip though. And it’s surprising because he usually does not eat cucumber.



I had the curry mussels. (Which I don’t see on the menu anymore) it was good, the curry flavour was light.



DH had the charred octopus which he liked. I had a bite of the octopus and it was tender. The sausage had a nice kick to it.



This was the kids meal. This was fresh sustainable fish which was sea bass. Fish was cooked nicely but you’ll see a trend of these plates looking very plain. It was ok, he ate all the fish, not so Much of the broccolini.



I had the tamarind braised short ribs. Fall off the rib goodness! Totally cleaned this plate! Everything worked nicely together! It was a decent portion too. From previous reviews, I expected the portions here to be smaller but I found them to be nice portions.



DH had the surf and turf. He liked it, thought the sides were different but good, he actually had a hard time finishing this. It was cooked nicely but I think the steak was a little more raw than he likes. I asked him which steak he liked better and he thinks the FF one was a little better



Dessert! Our server gave us the menu and took our order just as we were finishing Up our mains. He said he usually does not do this but did because we were in a hurry. I put the order in and actually asked for the bill too.

DS5 got the cookies and cream brownie. This was actually a side that came with his meal. He loved this! Cookies and cream is right up his alley.



DH got the Halo Halo. It was ok, basically ice cream. Funny thing is Halo Halo is a dessert from The Philippines which is where I’m from. This was definitely not a version of halo halo I’ve ever seen. DH liked the ice cream though and so did DS5 who cannot resist ice cream.



I had the dessert trio, which was good. I ate all 3 in a span of 5mins! I left DH and DS5 there since I was riding FOP alone. Loved the ride! I wish DS5 was tall enough to ride it, he would definitely enjoy it but alas he is a couple of inches too short! Definitely a goal for next trip!



I really liked Tiffins. The service was great and the food was good too. Loved my drink of course so it’s on my list when we come back!

 

[Candycane83]

Day 5- Hollywood and Vine (Fantasmic package)

This will be a short review as again I did not get photos of the buffet. I’ll start by saying I was not really looking forward to this meal. Our last meal in 2016 wasn’t the best. We had an early lunch scheduled- 11am so it’s just right after it transitions to lunch. I picked it so we could meet the big 5 without having to line up for them. When we went, I realize we have seen all of them already and some in the same outfit as in cape May Cafe. We had pictures with Donald at the front and went to sit. When we were seated there was not a lot of people yet. The buffet was fresh and everything was relatively clean! I was happy with the choice, especially I went in with very low expectations. A standout dish for me was the paella. It was good for a buffet. DH got the carved meats and DS5 attacked the corn dog nuggets! It was fairly a quick lunch too, we saw the characters 3-4 times in the hour we were there! I’d recommend this for the dining plan at this specific time!

 

[Candycane83]

Day 5 Jaleo (where I completely went off ordering stuff! ) part 1

After spending the afternoon at TSL, we went to Disney springs. There were taxis right in front of DHS! I made the executive decision to take one instead of waiting for the bus. Lol! The driver was really nice too, he made sure the AC was cool enough for us.

We arrived at Jaleo and checked in. I used OpenTable for this reservation like all my reservations for DS restaurants. We were seated close to the open kitchen in a booth seat. It started raining when we were in there.

Our server came and explained the dining plan to us. Unfortunately I wasn’t paying attention so DH had to explain to me again! So the Jaleo experience ($70 tasting menu) was included. Also you can order 3 small
Plates or 1 large plate and a taps. So thinking I would have the most variety of food, this would be a good option for one person and 1 large plate plus one tapa for another. I also wanted to try the paella so I said we would get that out of pocket!

We ordered drinks too. I ordered the salt air margarita. DH was going to order his usual non alcoholic drink but our server told DH just to order an alcoholic drink since it was included. He ordered the cava sangria gave this for me to drink too! Salt Air Margarita was very good and strong! I liked the salty foam on top. Sangria was a little too watery for me? Maybe it’s because the ice melted by the time I tried it.



So for the tapa and large plate, this is what we had for the tapa.

Jamon Iberico carved table side

We all really enjoyed this dish! DS5 ate quite a bit and called this piggy meat! We’ll probably order this again but don’t really need it to be carved table side. It is $30 for the plate and an additional $6 for it to be carved table side.




Pan do cristal- another yummy dish. So simple but yummy! I read reviews on this dish earlier and was wondering if it would taste like tomato sauce. It tasted more like raw tomatoes with some salt.


I think this was Jamon Serrano with cheese (not sure what kind) This was part of the tasting menu so just keep in mind this was a portion for one person! It was good, the meat was sliced very thinly and was flavourful.


Endivias con queso de cabra y naranjas

This was again part of the tasting menu and was good. DH and I don’t really like goat cheese so that wasn’t too good for us. All the elements went well together though.

 

[Candycane83]

Day 5 Jaleo part 2

Next 7 pictures are all part of the tasting menu

Manzanas con hinojo y queso Manchego- Apple Fennel and cheese salad- yummy and fresh after all the meat we’ve had


Gazpacho estilo Algeciras - cold soup that was very yummy! DH forgot to let me taste it until he had a few drops left! Lol! Very refreshing! If we do go to WDW again soon, we would get this from their take out counter!



Croquetas de pollo- yummy!!! These were crispy on the outside and so creamy in the inside! I loved this! I had half because my son had the other half! Lol!



Espinacas ala catalana - sautéed spinach with raisin and pine nuts. This was ok. I don’t like raisin so that might have ruined it for me.



This was Octopus ceviche with tomato. I couldn’t find it on the menu but it was delicious! Very flavourful!



Gambas ajillo- loves this but I’m usually a fan of gambas so it’s no surprise. Had lots of garlic which I like!



Patatas bravas- by this dish I was really feeling full. I had a bite and it was ok. The sauce made it good but i didn’t think it was special, especially compared to their other dishes.



Paella Valencia- this was with chicken and rabbit. I did mention I was feeling really full by this point but we cleaned this dish! It was that good!!! Love the bell they use when it’s finished too! Lots of fun!



Secreto iberico ballota con pan con tomato y salsa verde- skirt steak from iberico pork served with a huge plate of pan di cristal! Boy was this good but with all the food we’ve eaten, we could only eat half! This was probably enough to feed 2 people just with this only!



Dessert and final thoughts will be in part 3!

 

[Candycane83]

Day 5- Jaleo part 3 (time to be rolled out the door!)

So there was still dessert and we were so full already! The desserts were part of tasting menu. We got

Flan al Estilo Tradicional de Mama Marisa con Espuma de Crema Catalana - this is described as a traditional Spanish custard. It was light for a flan and had some orange flavour to it. DH and DS did not like this. It was ok for me, I’m used to flans being richer than this.





Last dessert was a chocolate one. I didn’t get what this was called but it was not bad. There was a chocolate mouse cake with dark chocolate crumb covering it. There was a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which DS5 devoured. Also there was a very thin wafer on top that the server told us to break with the back of our spoon and eat all the elements together.



My thoughts for this meal was I loved it! Next time I would just order some tapas and a paella and we would be set! We’re headed back to Orlando this Christmas but will be at Universal. We would be going to WDW for the last 2 Christmas parties. Debating if we should spend a day around Disney springs (and eating at either Jaleo or WBG) before hitting the party. Both restaurants were great but my son enjoyed Jaleo more I think. If we do go to WBG, I would really like to try their brunch though which we missed this trip... Decisions decisions...

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Wow!! Jaleo looks amazing. I really need to check that out soon!!!

 

[NYCgrrl]

So glad you were able to order the tasting menu on the dining plan!
OK, the man just looked at the pork steak and he wants to share it with DGD if she travels with us for Christmas; her mother still hasn't made a decision. Otherwise he's stuck having to share it with me.

 

[Candycane83]

So glad you were able to order the tasting menu on the dining plan!
OK, the man just looked at the pork steak and he wants to share it with DGD if she travels with us for Christmas; her mother still hasn't made a decision. Otherwise he's stuck having to share it with me.

That can probably be shared with more than just 2 people especially if you were ordering other things! Lol! Either way, you will enjoy! When are you going during Christmas?

 

[Candycane83]

Wow!! Jaleo looks amazing. I really need to check that out soon!!!

It is amazing!! I wish there was one close to us, haha! They’re going to have sangria hour soon apparently, will be even more worth checking out!

 

[Candycane83]

Just a note on the deluxe dining plan this time. It was worth it, saving us $700-800. The mugs still working for our second half was great. We ‘wasted’ our snacks buying some bottles of water and juice. We didn’t really look for the best bang for our buck but we didn’t really need to. The only snack I went out of my way to buy was snacks at Karamel Kuche! I used 6 snack credits and took most of it home with me. I will say that DS5 is at a age where he wants to concentrate more on rides, I would only do this if it were on a shorter stay- 2-3 nights max or maybe not at all. Really, I liked using it for character meals and CG brunch. DS5 doesn’t seem too interested in character meals now so maybe one or two meals is fine.


Day 6- Yak and Yeti

We had Yak and Yeti the last time we went and I remember DH liking it so we went back again this trip. I had the Landry’s card from the last time we went, I think it’s really useful if you go to any Landry’s restaurant.

We went to the restaurant after a refreshing ride at Kali River Rapids. DS5 amazingly really loved it. (He hated getting wet- even sprinkled with water, the last trip we went to DL, plus he also did not like a family tube ride at Great Wolf Lodge... so I totally thought he would hate this!) Funny enough, this was the only ride he got measured on and three times too! This trip, he was great though, he rode everything he could and enjoyed the coasters too. Such a big change in 7 months! Fingers crossed he doesn’t change his mind by December!

So we checked in the restaurant, I made sure to tell them I had the Landry’s card too and we waited less than 5 minutes before being seated. I’m not sure if it’s luck but the only time we had to wait a long time before being seated was CRT.

We are now off the dining plan but we ordered a little more than usual because we didn’t have breakfast, lol!

DH ordered Frozen Mango Daiquiri (non-alcoholic) He really liked it...



DS5 had the Shanghai Lemonade lychee flavour. He didn’t really like this and attached the mango slushy instead, lol!



I had green tea, my usual drink of choice. Haha yes, I’m very boring that way. They served this in a cast iron pot but had a tea bag in it.




We got the dimsum basket as our appetizer. This took a long time to get to our table. The manager came twice to apologize about it and comped our dessert after because of this. I will say that if you had authentic or even semi-authentic dimsum, this would be a hoot. It was completely a joke but we ate it anyway because we were hungry, lol!



I got the famous Ahi Tuna Nachos as my main! Yum!! I really liked this but it was huge! I could eat about a little more than half but then I just started fishing for the tuna.



DS got the stir fried noodle. It’s sad just like all the kids meal I have seen this trip. He ate what he could.



DH had the Chicken Tika Masala. He loved this dish and cleaned the plate.



We got the famous wontons for dessert. We sacrificed FOP for this haha! We all thought it was pretty good.



DS and I were ok with this meal but DH loved his food. I’d like to go back to Tiffins and try Satuli Canteen next time though so this will probably be at the bottom of our list for AK.

 

[NYCgrrl]

That can probably be shared with more than just 2 people especially if you were ordering other things! Lol! Either way, you will enjoy! When are you going during Christmas?

That's what I thought about the steak as well so let's hope DGD makes it this trip. I know I want another round of gin and tonic oysters and a few veggie tapas next time. DGD doesn't like much of any cheeses so at home I make the endive tapa and sub large curd cottage cheese and she's happy.

Currently, these are the days we have booked:

Disney's BoardWalk Inn

Epcot® Resort Area

Fri, Dec 20, 2019 – Thu, Jan 2, 2020

 

[Candycane83]

That's what I thought about the steak as well so let's hope DGD makes it this trip. I know I want another round of gin and tonic oysters and a few veggie tapas next time. DGD doesn't like much of any cheeses so at home I make the endive tapa and sub large curd cottage cheese and she's happy.

Currently, these are the days we have booked:

Disney's BoardWalk Inn

Epcot® Resort Area

Fri, Dec 20, 2019 – Thu, Jan 2, 2020

Awesome, I’d probably like it more with the cottage cheese too, lol! If we do go back, I need to order those oysters! Sounds amazing!

Ooohh, nice! We overlap! Although we stay at USO and not at Disney unfortunately... haha! We are going to the Christmas party on 20th and 22nd. I’m still thinking of how we can fit in Jaleo there hahaha!

 

[NYCgrrl]

Awesome, I’d probably like it more with the cottage cheese too, lol! If we do go back, I need to order those oysters! Sounds amazing!

Ooohh, nice! We overlap! Although we stay at USO and not at Disney unfortunately... haha! We are going to the Christmas party on 20th and 22nd. I’m still thinking of how we can fit in Jaleo there hahaha!

Should DGD come we'll probably spend a few days at US because she's a thrillist to her core. I ride all the coasters at WDW but Universal is a different story and she'll prolly be on her own for most of them there; I know my limits, LOL.

 

[ariane37]

Somehow I missed your Tiffins update! We've been a few times and love it and I'm looking forward to lunch there next week.

DH had the charred octopus which he liked. I had a bite of the octopus and it was tender. The sausage had a nice kick to it.

I don't do any seafood but DH loves this as well.

This took a long time to get to our table. The manager came twice to apologize about it and comped our dessert after because of this.

Huh, same-ish thing happened to us in February. We're also Landry's members, don't know if that matters. Our entrees took forever so the mgr. comped our apps.

DH had the Chicken Tika Masala. He loved this dish and cleaned the plate.

My favorite there! We do like the food; Tiffins better for sure but this is usually a solid choice.

 

[Quarky]

Man, that picture of the dim sum basket at Y&Y hurts me, lol... I love my dim sum, and like you said, that isn't quite it.

Everything else looks quite good though! I've always overlooked Yak & Yeti's, but may have to give it some more consideration on a future trip.

 

[Candycane83]

Day 6- Skippers Canteen

We took an afternoon break so we can fully enjoy Villains after hours. DS5 was not so keen to rest though. He dozed off half an hour before we had to leave the hotel. Hence, he was Mr. Grumpy 2. DH is always Mr Grumpy 1! Lol!

We headed from Poly to MK via monorail. MK was pretty crowded when we got there. We checked in a Skippers Canteen and waited about 10 minutes before we were called in. I can’t remember the room we were in but it was one in corner behind the room with the washroom

Our skipper was amazing- she had all the jokes down and was really in character. Last time we were here, we were in the main dining room and the skipper didn’t really make much of an impression.

Here comes the food!

For appetizers, we had their Shu Mai. We were a little hesitant because of the dimsum basket from Y&Y... these came out nice though (even though they are not real shumai again, lol). We liked the flavour esp the dipping sauce. The wrapper was more like a wonton wrapper .



Kids meal- steak and rice. DS5 liked it, steak was a little tough though, and little huge for him too.



DH got the a lot of steak salad. He wanted something lighter. It was nice, had a kick to it which he liked.



I got the Seafood Stew. I really liked this dish... it was very flavourful and had a lot of elements I liked. The broth had a nice coconut flavour. The seafood was nicely cooked. The rice reminded me a little of porridge.



This is DS5’s dessert. Chocolate volcano. It was pretty good, nice dense chocolate. Presentation was really nice too.



We really like Skippers Canteen. Flavours was there and everyone liked something. Right now, I booked it again for Dec 20 at 4:05pm, just to make the most out of the party. I might switch and do a late lunch at Jaleo, snack in between and the dessert party instead.

 

[Candycane83]

Man, that picture of the dim sum basket at Y&Y hurts me, lol... I love my dim sum, and like you said, that isn't quite it.

Everything else looks quite good though! I've always overlooked Yak & Yeti's, but may have to give it some more consideration on a future trip.

Yes, i agree it was painful to see! The funny thing is that this dish took a long time to make too.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I am dying to try the tuna nachos at Y&Y! Agree the Landry's card can be a huge benefit - well worth the sign-up. I haven't tried Skipper's Canteen yet. I have a mindset that MK food isn't good and I need to at least open my horizons and give the Canteen a try.

 

[Candycane83]

I am dying to try the tuna nachos at Y&Y! Agree the Landry's card can be a huge benefit - well worth the sign-up. I haven't tried Skipper's Canteen yet. I have a mindset that MK food isn't good and I need to at least open my horizons and give the Canteen a try.

I agree with you, most food options at MK aren’t that good, probably why we’re headed back to Skippers Canteen again next trip. DS just seems so inconvenient even if food is much better.

 

[scionchigirl]

Day 6- Skippers Canteen

We took an afternoon break so we can fully enjoy Villains after hours. DS5 was not so keen to rest though. He dozed off half an hour before we had to leave the hotel. Hence, he was Mr. Grumpy 2. DH is always Mr Grumpy 1! Lol!

We headed from Poly to MK via monorail. MK was pretty crowded when we got there. We checked in a Skippers Canteen and waited about 10 minutes before we were called in. I can’t remember the room we were in but it was one in corner behind the room with the washroom

Our skipper was amazing- she had all the jokes down and was really in character. Last time we were here, we were in the main dining room and the skipper didn’t really make much of an impression.

Here comes the food!

For appetizers, we had their Shu Mai. We were a little hesitant because of the dimsum basket from Y&Y... these came out nice though (even though they are not real shumai again, lol). We liked the flavour esp the dipping sauce. The wrapper was more like a wonton wrapper .

View attachment 424762

Kids meal- steak and rice. DS5 liked it, steak was a little tough though, and little huge for him too.

View attachment 424766

DH got the a lot of steak salad. He wanted something lighter. It was nice, had a kick to it which he liked.

View attachment 424764

I got the Seafood Stew. I really liked this dish... it was very flavourful and had a lot of elements I liked. The broth had a nice coconut flavour. The seafood was nicely cooked. The rice reminded me a little of porridge.

View attachment 424763

This is DS5’s dessert. Chocolate volcano. It was pretty good, nice dense chocolate. Presentation was really nice too.

View attachment 424765

We really like Skippers Canteen. Flavours was there and everyone liked something. Right now, I booked it again for Dec 20 at 4:05pm, just to make the most out of the party. I might switch and do a late lunch at Jaleo, snack in between and the dessert party instead.

We are trying SC in our November trip, on my birthday. Our DD is an animator/Walt fan and my DH really begged for this one...Im intrigued by the menu, but the atmosphere seems so cool. Id like to be at the butterfly booth...do you get a say as to where youre seated?