All the help I received from all you smart people while planning my trip was soooo wonderful that I wanted to hopefully help someone else out while they're trying to make their dining choices...
When: January 26-29 (no, we're not AP holders, just happened that the EE preview was the same weekend)
Who:
Caitlin (me) - LOVES all things WDW...is a bit of an obsessive planner...somewhat of a picky eater, usually sticks to chicken and pasta, not much of a red meat fan...just turned 21 so very eager to try all sorts of fun alcoholic beverages that I could never try in WDW before
Chris - my wonderful boyfriend who surprised me with this trip for my birthday...23 years old...very laid back...goes along with my slightly obsessive planning like a true trooper...not a picky eater but does have some odd quirks about food (he doesn't eat cold food unless it's sweet...yeah, i have no idea either...)
We were on the dining plan...I'll talk more about that in the review...
Thursday, January 26th:
Lunch - Pop Food Court
First of all, the way this place looked was more than I expected. This was my first time staying here and I was happily surprised by how nice the food court was. I liked how they had the different stations depending on what you felt like eating and so on. We had just gotten to the hotel from the airport and wanted something fast and quick as we were headed to the MK that afternoon.
Both of us - chicken strips and french fries (2 CS credits)
These were great...I love WDW chicken strips. There's something about them that's so delicious. DBF thought they were good too. He had the barbecue sauce on his and I had the sweet and sour. They were both okay. The french fries were just that...french fries. He had a powerade and I had a water. He had a mickey bar for dessert which he devoured. I had a mickey rice krispie treat which I had the ear off of and saved for later.
Food: B+ (though I love the chicken strips, they're just that...it's not too hard to mess them up)
Atmosphere: A (like I said before, much more than I expected)
Service: A (quick and efficient...just what I want for counter service)
Dinner - 'Ohana (2 TS credits)
This was a last minute decision that I made. We originally had an ADR for Concourse Steakhouse that night but the day we left I decided to switch it to 'Ohana. I couldn't be happier that I did!
We waited about 15 minutes past our ADR time. When I went to check in it looked like they were having a problem at the front desk and the manager was coming over to take care of seating. That was fine though, we just sat in the lounge and ordered a couple of drinks. I think I had the Island Sunset. It was delicious and fruity and came with an umbrella.
DBF had the Hurricane which he liked...I tried a sip and didn't like it too much.
Once we were called our server walked us through the restaurant and explained how everything worked. He was great throughout the entire meal! DBF ordered a coke and I ordered a water with lemon. Now, I always order a water with lemon when I go out to eat...I don't like how soda fills me up and I just prefer water. I've had lots of experience with water at restaurants. This was by far the worst water I've ever had in my entire life. It just tasted dirty. I put about five lemons in it to try to mask the flavor but eventually gave up and ordered a sprite instead. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Is it just me or is the water in Orlando that awful?
The food was unbelievable. I loved the wontons and tried all the dipping sauces. My favorite was the peanut one, but the green one was great as well. It took some convincing on my part to get DBF to try the sauces and the only one he liked was the peanut one. He thought that wontons were just okay. The salad was some of the best salad I've ever had...the dressing was soooo good. DBF didn't try this as it is cold and not sweet...he's a little odd when it comes to that. Then came the shrimp and the wings. I don't eat shrimp, but that wasn't a problem as DBF ate about 15 of them. Obviously, he liked them...a lot. He also had about 6 of the wings. DBF eats a lot. It's actually quite remarkable...I have no idea where he puts it. We both enjoyed the wings. And then...the meat skewers came. DBF LOVED the "meat on a stick." In fact, he kept referring to how great the "meat on a stick" was at all of our other meals. He loved the steak...especially in the peanut sauce. We both thought the sausage was just okay. The pork was great, I loved it. And we both loved the turkey, it was excellent. I dipped that in the peanut sauce as well. The vegetables were okay. I'm not much of an assorted veggies kinda girl...I would have much preferred just some green beans instead of everything mixed with the onion...I don't do onion. DBF wouldn't even try them. He was too concerned with eating the enormous amount of meat that was piling up in front of him. I have to say, he did a great job. If we were paying out of pocket then we certainly would've gotten our money's worth here on the amount of meat he consumed alone. Oh, I almost forget the potatoes. We both adored the potatoes...they were excellent. Next came the dessert. I wasn't really looking forward to the dessert. I like chocolate. Obviously the bread pudding did not have any chocolate. After one bite I changed my mind. The dessert was wonderful as well. We didn't put the bananas foster sauce on it but I put a little on my plate and dipped it in a bit to see how it tasted...it was okay. Nothing spectacular in my opinion.
All in all, except for the filth water, this meal was fantastic!
Food: A (like I said, I'd like to see a change up on the vegetables...everything else was of A+ caliber though)
Atmosphere: A (made me wish I had kids for about 5 seconds so that I could see them go learn the hula...but only for about 5 seconds)
Service: A+ (got everything we wanted and more...he was really a wonderful server)
Day 1 Snack:
Dole Whip - one of my all time favorites...I had the pineapple and vanilla swirl...no float. It was wonderful, as always. I enjoyed it while watching the cutest little girl dance around with Rafiki from Lion King...made it even better.
More later...in the same thread...hope you're enjoying so far! Feel free to ask any questions, I'm happy to answer them and hope I can!
When: January 26-29 (no, we're not AP holders, just happened that the EE preview was the same weekend)
Who:
Caitlin (me) - LOVES all things WDW...is a bit of an obsessive planner...somewhat of a picky eater, usually sticks to chicken and pasta, not much of a red meat fan...just turned 21 so very eager to try all sorts of fun alcoholic beverages that I could never try in WDW before
Chris - my wonderful boyfriend who surprised me with this trip for my birthday...23 years old...very laid back...goes along with my slightly obsessive planning like a true trooper...not a picky eater but does have some odd quirks about food (he doesn't eat cold food unless it's sweet...yeah, i have no idea either...)
We were on the dining plan...I'll talk more about that in the review...
Thursday, January 26th:
Lunch - Pop Food Court
First of all, the way this place looked was more than I expected. This was my first time staying here and I was happily surprised by how nice the food court was. I liked how they had the different stations depending on what you felt like eating and so on. We had just gotten to the hotel from the airport and wanted something fast and quick as we were headed to the MK that afternoon.
Both of us - chicken strips and french fries (2 CS credits)
These were great...I love WDW chicken strips. There's something about them that's so delicious. DBF thought they were good too. He had the barbecue sauce on his and I had the sweet and sour. They were both okay. The french fries were just that...french fries. He had a powerade and I had a water. He had a mickey bar for dessert which he devoured. I had a mickey rice krispie treat which I had the ear off of and saved for later.
Food: B+ (though I love the chicken strips, they're just that...it's not too hard to mess them up)
Atmosphere: A (like I said before, much more than I expected)
Service: A (quick and efficient...just what I want for counter service)
Dinner - 'Ohana (2 TS credits)
This was a last minute decision that I made. We originally had an ADR for Concourse Steakhouse that night but the day we left I decided to switch it to 'Ohana. I couldn't be happier that I did!
We waited about 15 minutes past our ADR time. When I went to check in it looked like they were having a problem at the front desk and the manager was coming over to take care of seating. That was fine though, we just sat in the lounge and ordered a couple of drinks. I think I had the Island Sunset. It was delicious and fruity and came with an umbrella.
DBF had the Hurricane which he liked...I tried a sip and didn't like it too much.Once we were called our server walked us through the restaurant and explained how everything worked. He was great throughout the entire meal! DBF ordered a coke and I ordered a water with lemon. Now, I always order a water with lemon when I go out to eat...I don't like how soda fills me up and I just prefer water. I've had lots of experience with water at restaurants. This was by far the worst water I've ever had in my entire life. It just tasted dirty. I put about five lemons in it to try to mask the flavor but eventually gave up and ordered a sprite instead. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Is it just me or is the water in Orlando that awful?
The food was unbelievable. I loved the wontons and tried all the dipping sauces. My favorite was the peanut one, but the green one was great as well. It took some convincing on my part to get DBF to try the sauces and the only one he liked was the peanut one. He thought that wontons were just okay. The salad was some of the best salad I've ever had...the dressing was soooo good. DBF didn't try this as it is cold and not sweet...he's a little odd when it comes to that. Then came the shrimp and the wings. I don't eat shrimp, but that wasn't a problem as DBF ate about 15 of them. Obviously, he liked them...a lot. He also had about 6 of the wings. DBF eats a lot. It's actually quite remarkable...I have no idea where he puts it. We both enjoyed the wings. And then...the meat skewers came. DBF LOVED the "meat on a stick." In fact, he kept referring to how great the "meat on a stick" was at all of our other meals. He loved the steak...especially in the peanut sauce. We both thought the sausage was just okay. The pork was great, I loved it. And we both loved the turkey, it was excellent. I dipped that in the peanut sauce as well. The vegetables were okay. I'm not much of an assorted veggies kinda girl...I would have much preferred just some green beans instead of everything mixed with the onion...I don't do onion. DBF wouldn't even try them. He was too concerned with eating the enormous amount of meat that was piling up in front of him. I have to say, he did a great job. If we were paying out of pocket then we certainly would've gotten our money's worth here on the amount of meat he consumed alone. Oh, I almost forget the potatoes. We both adored the potatoes...they were excellent. Next came the dessert. I wasn't really looking forward to the dessert. I like chocolate. Obviously the bread pudding did not have any chocolate. After one bite I changed my mind. The dessert was wonderful as well. We didn't put the bananas foster sauce on it but I put a little on my plate and dipped it in a bit to see how it tasted...it was okay. Nothing spectacular in my opinion.
All in all, except for the filth water, this meal was fantastic!
Food: A (like I said, I'd like to see a change up on the vegetables...everything else was of A+ caliber though)
Atmosphere: A (made me wish I had kids for about 5 seconds so that I could see them go learn the hula...but only for about 5 seconds)
Service: A+ (got everything we wanted and more...he was really a wonderful server)
Day 1 Snack:
Dole Whip - one of my all time favorites...I had the pineapple and vanilla swirl...no float. It was wonderful, as always. I enjoyed it while watching the cutest little girl dance around with Rafiki from Lion King...made it even better.
More later...in the same thread...hope you're enjoying so far! Feel free to ask any questions, I'm happy to answer them and hope I can!
what should I do???
