My 1st dining review 2/9 to 2/13 - pictures too! ALL DONE!!

[KatMark]

DHS was free and clear in the morning. Walk on to attractions. We got into all we missed on our first trip. Now I didn't realize this was the opening day of American Idol ... after lunch it was becoming a zoo. Although I love American Idol, we left at 2:30 -- people were already lined up for a "parade" to start at 4 PM!

Famous ToT bell hop and myself:

We got a snack of bananas and searched for Star Tours which I wish I had not found. Remember my little thing about IMAX films ... well this type of ride makes me ill ... and even though I closed my eyes both DH and I walked out of there with sweat running down our faces and my stomach was sick ... so of course we went off to eat lunch ... ... well, we had a few moments to cool off and compose our stomaches.

Mama Melrose ... we were lost as usual and arrived 10 minutes late but no problem ... we got seated within 5 minutes. This is a beautiful restaurant and you actually are not sitting with your neighbor!!! It was quiet and cool.

Iced Tea and Sangria for me! The Sangria was really nice - I avoided getting a 1/2 carafe ... why ... I'm not so sure and sorry now.

Bread is served with the meal.

We both had the Ceasar Salad. It is served with Crostini. It was wonderful and fresh. Best salad we had!!!

DH had the Eggplant Napoleon. It looked good. Note the "pierogies" under the stack. DH said they were stuffed with spinich. I tasted the eggplant. Very good. He just scarfed this up ... (is that a word???).

I had the Chicken Parmesan. It was a large breast, very lightly breaded. I was hungry for more pasta though - but really there was plenty with the meal. The sauce was sharp and not sweet - just the way I like it. I certainly ate every bit!

DH had the cheesecake for dessert. I HAD to sample it for reporting purposes only. It was very light and made a good ending to the meal. I only had one bite though -- I was full. I did get coffee with my meal and it was rich and strong!

There are many bad reviews of MM. We went in 2006 and loved it. DH talked about it many times which is why I picked it to return to. Same wonderful service and meal. I know we are not at WDW during a peak crowd time but I have never had a problem with service! I heard our waitress teasing with the child behind us and giving him a certificate and such ... just a very very nice place to eat in my opinion. I think everyone should try a restaurant at least once and form their own opinion. I'm sure there are off days at MM but we will most likely eat here again - oh another trip to plan !

We left DHS at 2:30. Up next ... our afternoon snack and dinner ....

We really like Mama Melrose. Our last meal wasn't as great as the others (but I was very tired and very hot that night), but we have always had excellent service. And you are right, it really is a beautiful restaurant and nicely arranged as far as seating.

 

[KarBear]

Great review and pics! Can't wait for more!

 

[danalee]

Loving your reviews! I to found the School Bread because of these boards and love it, and we are a family that loves Mama Melrosa as well! good job

 

[SnwflkCts]

I realize that we didn't have any snack in the afternoon after Mama Melrose. That afternoon we napped! Then we went in search of food again! We had exhausted the main entrees of Captain Cooks (except for burgers) and we didn't remember seeing anything at the GF that we especially wanted so we decided to explore the Contemporary. Hopped on the Monorail and there we were. We had not done any resort hopping so this was the first time we weren't just seeing it from within the monorail! Very nice. While we were there, DH said the sound reminded him of a train station. He was right!

We wandered around a little. I know CG is on the roof -- I never did find The Wave so not sure where that is. (It IS in the Contemporary, right?). Anyway ... we were just doing counter/quick service and the Contempo Cafe is right on the main floor. It is a large open area next to Chef Mickey. We got to hear the characters a little. Wow -- people were lined up there!

DH had a steak salad. He said it tasted like filet. It looked good. ($8.19)

I had the pasta marinara and a small soup of the day which turned out to be alphabet vegatable. The pasta was little cheese ravioli under a rather thick cloying cheese topping. Although I ate the cheese, I think children would like this if you peeled that off. The soup was thick and I believe it was homemade - it was not Campbells alpha soup for sure.

We each had milk. Full from our little side trip, we watched Wishes that night from the Polynesian beach and swam a little before hitting the sack for our last full day ... Animal Kingdom.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Love your reviews and great pics! We were at the Poly last month and DH fell in love with the chicken lo mein....he keeps counting down the days until he can eat it again...16 more to go!

 

[SnwflkCts]

I realize I forgot to put the prices on MM. Sangria was $6, Salad was $5.49, Chicken was $16.99, Eggplant was $14.99 and Hazelnut Cheese Cake was $5.99. Coffee and cold beverage was $2.19 each and each was refilled (again - great service on that).

OK .... Animal Kingdom day. We were there very early. We went on over to EE and got fastpasses and then back to DinoLand. Rode Dinosaur twice in a row! No wait at all. One time, they miscounted and the Cast Member said we were going in the LOVE MOBILE -- only us two. How nice!!!!!!!!!!! (The picture looked hideous or I would have gotten it!).

We did stop for a snack when we were in Africa:

The carrot and celery sticks were really crisp and fresh!

After dinos, birds, tigers and Yetis we decided to eat in Asia!

We ate at the counter service Yak&Yeti. Beautiful theming. Places to sit were tough to get even though there was a large section of seating behind where you get your meal!

Here is the Menu:

We shared a Crispy Honey Chicken - there was plenty of chicken and at least a CUP of rice under it. I didn't even realize there was rice with it. Plenty for both of us with the two sides we got. We got the chicken fried rice and two pork egg rolls. Only one beverage as they did not have Light Lemonade which is what I like. I can't find my itemized receipts but the whole amount (tax too) was $19.98. DH thought for sure he would get my egg roll - I don't usually eat pork but I polished it off. EVERYTHING tastes great at WDW ... even pork! There are plenty of condiments to use with your items where the napkins, etc ... are. I was going to tease DH and make him go ask for a straw but I didn't.

I loved the Honey chicken. It was like sweet and sour chicken and the sauce was very sweet - that was mainly on the rice underneath it.

This is just the same Honey chicken, rice and chicken fried rice but I spooned some into the egg roll container to eat from it. Just thought you would like a view of the rice.

After lunch we hit the safari, rode the train and saw A Bug's Life for the 2nd time. A man with a "tall" COWBOY hat sat right in front of me. I really could not see but didn't want to ask him to take it off in case he got nasty ... cause that would be my last memory of the parks ... so I just dealt with it and leaned from side to side. I think it was about 3 PM when we left AK. We always hit the transportation just right and never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus -- I told you it was magical!

Up next, another DIS APPROVED snack and Kona Cafe.

 

[SnwflkCts]

Everyone know what this is????????????

Yes .... it is a DOLE WHIP. They have them at Captain Cooks so I guess I lied about no more Captain Cooks ... since we made it there one last time! There was a pineapple or vanilla dole whip. I went with the pineapple. We enjoyed this refreshing snack very much.

Thanks DISers for suggesting it!

I was glad this was available at our resort. I saw where they sold it in MK but not sure I would have wanted it there - no real reason ... it just was better for us to sit down and eat it. We shared it.

Up next .... Kona Cafe ... and farewell to WDW. Hard to believe I was in 80 degree weather just a few days ago and this morning there were snow flurries!

 

[SnwflkCts]

We swam a little and then got ready to eat at Kona Cafe. This is the 5th time we've eaten there so you know we must like it. I even took my DSis and DBIL there in 2006 and they liked it. Our ADR was at 8 PM. We watched a few minutes of Wishes when the buzzer went off for us to take our table.

One con of Kona is that it is SOOO LOUD - the acoustics are horrible. I considered it the loudest of ANY restaurant we were in. But we were actually off in a little corner booth looking out at the restaurant. It seemed cozier than other tables so we were glad we got that corner! Our server was taking care of a HUGE (14-15 people with children) GROUP that arrived just when we did. He felt bad and sent another server to get our drink order and give us bread. It really was not that long ... but that was nice of him. Kona Cafe was very very full! After we ordered, our [regular] server did all the serving and was very attentive despite having the other group!

My Classic Mai Tai ($8.25)

There was Macadamia Nut Bread and Honey (pineapple?) butter. YUM!

I ordered the homemade chicken noodle soup and DH the salad. ($6.49 & $7.99)

We both got the teriyaki strip steak ($27.99). OK ... I miss the filet ..... a lot ....... strip steak is not my steak choice and I did not enjoy it like a filet. DH said it was delicious ... wonderful ... all that is good so take his word for it about the steak. Now the potatoes were to die for -- and I enjoyed the broccolini. DH subbed kale for his veggie. KALE??????????????

We were too full for dessert. I've had several of their desserts before ... they are great! But no room tonight! I think I would like to order something else next time. The shimp looked good. The chicken sounds good too! We still had a lovely time at the Kona Cafe.

We went back to our room, sat on our little porch for a while and soaked up the warmth of Florida. Another vacation done ... and it was great!

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This is the end of my dining review. I have eaten at other restaurants in the past but before I did reviews. 'Ohana is fun and I think we will eat there possibly the next trip. LeCellier had a great filet. We even had dinner at CRT on a past trip - you gotta try the castle at least once!

Anyway ... hope you enjoy this. Let me know if any questions and thanks for the very nice comments!

 

[skellingtonfreak]

Great reviews! I am thoroughly enjoying them!

 

[dawnbu40]

Great dining report! Thanks for sharing! I'm glad you had a great time!

 

[Joie29]

Fantastic reviews! Thank you for sharing them.

All those great looking meals from Captain Cook's makes me think staying at the Poly has a definite benefit...

 

[3Bells]

I really enjoyed reading about your dining experiences and seeing all the great pictures you posted. Where exactly is Club Cool? I've read about the "Beverly" and think this is a drink my DH and DD would enjoy when we go in June.

 

[SnwflkCts]

3Bells - I thought Club Cool was on the park map but I don't see it listed! Anyway ... behind Spaceship Earth, there is a big circular fountain (the fountain was having maintenence done when we were there) with SE at your back Electric Umbrella on your left, Club Cool is around the fountain on the right. If you were at Electric Umbrella, and walked directly thru the fountain, Club Cool is directly across from it. When you walk out of Club Cool and turn right you are ready to go across the walkway to World Showcase. (Oh -- I am so horrible with directions!)

Hope you find it -- unless you look for it, it can be difficult. When you do, you can make your own Beverly face!

 

[karen l]

Thanks for your great report & pics. I really enjoyed it. We're trying Mama Melrose our next trip so I was really glad to read your review.

 

[MinnieMom]

Wonderful reviews! Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us. I'm glad to hear you had such a great trip. We were at the Poly last September for our anniversary and thought it was just beautiful too.

 

[LollipopPanda]

I enjoyed reading your reviews and looking at your pictures. You and your DH make such a cute couple!!!

(((Hugs)))

 

[TigerKat]

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your reviews with us!

 

[onelilspark]

We had the Egg Rolls and Fried Rice too. It was my first time trying Egg Rolls and I loved it!!

I forgot to take a picture though. If it's okay with you, can I link to your report??

 

[SnwflkCts]

I have no problem with you linking to my report "onelilspark"

I really enjoyed our lunch at Y&Y Counter Service! I wondered why DH was eyeing me after my first bite of the egg roll ... he was hoping for the rest of that crispity goodness .... .... NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[onelilspark]

I have no problem with you linking to my report "onelilspark"

I really enjoyed our lunch at Y&Y Counter Service! I wondered why DH was eyeing me after my first bite of the egg roll ... he was hoping for the rest of that crispity goodness .... .... NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great! Thanks!

We were planning on getting 4 sides of the egg rolls until the CM looked at my Dad funny and said, "each side comes with 2 egg rolls." "Oh. In that case we'll just take two."

They were very very tasty!