onelilspark
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2008
- Messages
- 7,166
After doing a morning Yuletide tour (which was a lot of fun!) my family booked a late lunch at the Grand Floridian Cafe. There's a little bit of a back story...a little over a year ago, my Mom and I came up and did a brunch at GFC and thought it was absolutely fabulous
So we brought my Dad back the next time I was down to visit (they live about an hour away) and it was absolutely terrible. Not the fault of our waitress, the poor girl was doing her best with an obviously inept kitchen and management. My Dad was supposed to get bacon with his breakfast, but didn't get it (they were "out" but apparently not really 
because he got it later) and he also got biscuits that were cold. And I'm not talking they were just room temperature and he was being picky and wanted them heated...I mean they were still frozen. My Mom and I both had problems with our meals too, but we were picking our battles that day. Then when we asked to see a manager, they were so blaze about the whole thing. We were very unimpressed. 
So.... bringing us back to today, we had a bit of a restriction because my younger brother is studying abroad next semester and not renewing his AP, so he didn't have a park ticket. We needed a place that served lunch in the resorts that was a little on the nicer side (aka not ESPN Zone.) We had our choices of Fresh (at the Dolphin,) The Wave, Kona, or GFC. Fresh has no reviews and we weren't up for taking a chance. We're not adventurous enough for the Wave. Kona is too open for what we wanted...this was pretty much our only meal of the day...I had cheese and crackers for dinner
So that left GFC. After reading a few reviews on here, we decided to give GFC another chance, because it seemed that the management improved. 
Now, without further delay, on with the review!
Even though it's only lunch, it was after noon, so my Mom and I decided to have some adult beverages. I'm sure my brother would have joined us, but he's 20, so he's not allowed
I didn't get a picture of her's, but she had a Pomegrante Splash somethingorother and it was delicious! I was kind of jealous. But I got this:
The Glow-Tini. I'm a sucker for Blue drinks. It was good, but really sweet. I've managed to go all this time without getting a glow-cube, so I was excited to finally get one! My Dad was driving us home, so he was boring and had Diet Coke
My brother really wanted to try the crab cakes, so I split them with him:
(All descriptions are taken from All Ears, btw) This had a mango relish/salsa. I'm not one for relish or salsa. I like some sauces, but I liked that they had some of that mixed in with the crab cake, it made it a little different. This one didn't have a lot of breading on the outside, so that was good
I had the Rustic Chicken Sandwich: (Herb-marinated Chicken Breast with Cold Smoked Vine Ripe Tomatoes, Cheddar, Pesto Mayonnaise, and Arugula Salad served on warm Ciabatta Bread with Marinated Cucumber Salad or Homemade Potato Chips)
I had a hard time deciding what to get because a lot of things looked good. I was very pleased with my decision.
My brother got the Grand Sandwich: (Open-faced hot Turkey, Ham, Bacon and Tomato, with a rich Boursin Cheese Sauce and Fried Onion Straws)
This was one of the things I was looking at getting. If it were me, I would have probably cut up the sandwich. It was ridiculously thick. My brother decided to put the top peice on and just dig in. He was done the sandwich before the rest of us started on our second halves! Then he started on my chips
I assume he enjoyed it...
My Dad got the Grand Floridian Burger: (Angus Chuck Burger, Lobster, Asparagus and Horseradish-Chive Hollandaise served with Tomato Salad)
There was the salad (just a normal salad with tomatoes, not a tomato salad...) off to the side of the plate, but to get that, it would have required moving glasses. My family wasn't amused by the picture taking, so I needed to be quick. I did my best
He really enjoyed this. I was also looking at this option, but I wasn't sure about the horseradish-chive part! He said it was very mild. Also that the burger was cooked perfectly. It was like surf and turf...he mentioned that the lobster was sweet, so it must be Maine Lobster and not warm water lobster!
My Mom got the Reuben: (Corned Beef, Swiss Cheese, Thousand Island Dressing and Sauerkraut on Rye Bread. Served with Marinated Cucumber Salad or Home Made Chips )
She enjoyed it, but when asked how it was she said, "well, it tastes like a reuben, so that's good I guess."
She did mention that she thought it was weird that only one side of her sandwich was grilled. Don't know if that was intentional or not
Finally, I have dessert!!
We loved the sizes of the desserts here. Usually maybe one or two desserts are ordered (usually one, by me...I've got a bit of a sweet tooth) but it was great because we got three this time. My brother also got coffee.
This is the key lime pie, which was my dessert:
My brother had the tiramisu:
And my parents had the Lemon Cheesecake:
We all enjoyed them
Usually I would get tiramisu, but my brother had never tried it before, so I got something different incase he didn't like it, we could swap. Aren't I a good sister? 
All in all, we were really glad we gave GFC another go. My Mom and I loved coming up for brunch that first time and are glad they have their act together again so we can do it more often!! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this lunch!
So we brought my Dad back the next time I was down to visit (they live about an hour away) and it was absolutely terrible. Not the fault of our waitress, the poor girl was doing her best with an obviously inept kitchen and management. My Dad was supposed to get bacon with his breakfast, but didn't get it (they were "out" but apparently not really because he got it later) and he also got biscuits that were cold. And I'm not talking they were just room temperature and he was being picky and wanted them heated...I mean they were still frozen. My Mom and I both had problems with our meals too, but we were picking our battles that day. Then when we asked to see a manager, they were so blaze about the whole thing. We were very unimpressed. So.... bringing us back to today, we had a bit of a restriction because my younger brother is studying abroad next semester and not renewing his AP, so he didn't have a park ticket. We needed a place that served lunch in the resorts that was a little on the nicer side (aka not ESPN Zone.) We had our choices of Fresh (at the Dolphin,) The Wave, Kona, or GFC. Fresh has no reviews and we weren't up for taking a chance. We're not adventurous enough for the Wave. Kona is too open for what we wanted...this was pretty much our only meal of the day...I had cheese and crackers for dinner
So that left GFC. After reading a few reviews on here, we decided to give GFC another chance, because it seemed that the management improved. Now, without further delay, on with the review!
Even though it's only lunch, it was after noon, so my Mom and I decided to have some adult beverages. I'm sure my brother would have joined us, but he's 20, so he's not allowed
I didn't get a picture of her's, but she had a Pomegrante Splash somethingorother and it was delicious! I was kind of jealous. But I got this:The Glow-Tini. I'm a sucker for Blue drinks. It was good, but really sweet. I've managed to go all this time without getting a glow-cube, so I was excited to finally get one! My Dad was driving us home, so he was boring and had Diet Coke
My brother really wanted to try the crab cakes, so I split them with him:
(All descriptions are taken from All Ears, btw) This had a mango relish/salsa. I'm not one for relish or salsa. I like some sauces, but I liked that they had some of that mixed in with the crab cake, it made it a little different. This one didn't have a lot of breading on the outside, so that was good
I had the Rustic Chicken Sandwich: (Herb-marinated Chicken Breast with Cold Smoked Vine Ripe Tomatoes, Cheddar, Pesto Mayonnaise, and Arugula Salad served on warm Ciabatta Bread with Marinated Cucumber Salad or Homemade Potato Chips)
I had a hard time deciding what to get because a lot of things looked good. I was very pleased with my decision.
My brother got the Grand Sandwich: (Open-faced hot Turkey, Ham, Bacon and Tomato, with a rich Boursin Cheese Sauce and Fried Onion Straws)
This was one of the things I was looking at getting. If it were me, I would have probably cut up the sandwich. It was ridiculously thick. My brother decided to put the top peice on and just dig in. He was done the sandwich before the rest of us started on our second halves! Then he started on my chips
I assume he enjoyed it...My Dad got the Grand Floridian Burger: (Angus Chuck Burger, Lobster, Asparagus and Horseradish-Chive Hollandaise served with Tomato Salad)
There was the salad (just a normal salad with tomatoes, not a tomato salad...) off to the side of the plate, but to get that, it would have required moving glasses. My family wasn't amused by the picture taking, so I needed to be quick. I did my best
He really enjoyed this. I was also looking at this option, but I wasn't sure about the horseradish-chive part! He said it was very mild. Also that the burger was cooked perfectly. It was like surf and turf...he mentioned that the lobster was sweet, so it must be Maine Lobster and not warm water lobster!My Mom got the Reuben: (Corned Beef, Swiss Cheese, Thousand Island Dressing and Sauerkraut on Rye Bread. Served with Marinated Cucumber Salad or Home Made Chips )
She enjoyed it, but when asked how it was she said, "well, it tastes like a reuben, so that's good I guess."
She did mention that she thought it was weird that only one side of her sandwich was grilled. Don't know if that was intentional or not Finally, I have dessert!!
We loved the sizes of the desserts here. Usually maybe one or two desserts are ordered (usually one, by me...I've got a bit of a sweet tooth) but it was great because we got three this time. My brother also got coffee.
This is the key lime pie, which was my dessert:
My brother had the tiramisu:
And my parents had the Lemon Cheesecake:
We all enjoyed them
Usually I would get tiramisu, but my brother had never tried it before, so I got something different incase he didn't like it, we could swap. Aren't I a good sister? All in all, we were really glad we gave GFC another go. My Mom and I loved coming up for brunch that first time and are glad they have their act together again so we can do it more often!! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this lunch!
