No Longer coming to you Live from Disney World! Take 3 DDW'S TAMBU LOUNGE 8/6

[Linda67]

Just adding a few comments to the great reviews of our Territory Lounge meet from Barb and Brenda

Myself and Philip headed straight back from AK to meet with everyone. We had stayed right until park close as we wanted to ride EE in the dark, something we had never had chance to do before with early park closing/late sunsets when we have visited in the past

I felt a bit of a hot mess when I arrived to find Brenda and Em already seated. Barb and Emily arrived soon after and I certainly needed a drink

I've been trying to cast my mind back to what I ordered as sadly I took no photographs and I am pretty sure it was the Wildberry Margarita,
Patron Silver tequila, Monin Wildberry, freshly squeezed lime juice and sweet-and-sour

I remember really enjoying it and of course the company was fab

We love the Territory Lounge, and DH and I often visit when staying at the Lodge. I'd never tried the cheese fondue at TL before, so have nothing to compare it to but I thought it was delicious and a great shared snack to enjoy with drinks

Another great evening with these lovely ladies

 

[jabead]

Barb's Review from Dinner on Wednesday, Dec. 11th at...




Not wanting to commit to having dinner at a certain time due to our Territory Lounge get together being our first priority, I did not try to make an ADR for dinner at California Grill. We decided that with it just being the two of us, we would take our chances with doing a walk-up. If they had no available tables in either the restaurant or lounge then we thought we would go to The Wave or jump on the monorail and try our luck at one of the restaurants at the Grand Floridian.

Once we reached the restaurant's check-in desk on the 2nd floor of the Contemporary, we were very happy to find out that they could seat us in just a few minutes at the Sushi Bar. We were directed to the special elevator to take us up to the restaurant on the 15th floor and then found a couple of empty seats to wait for our buzzer to go off.




It did go off momentarily and we were seated at the Sushi Bar, just as we had been previously told.




One of the sushi chefs was working directly in front of us, preparing the next course for the couple that was seated one seat over from Emily. I believe that they were doing the Omakase Menu. From what I have read about this since that time, it sounds like it is much like the Chef's Table at other restaurants. At California Grill, this consists of 10 - 14 courses, most of which are sushi. Since there was no one seated in between this couple and Emily, we got to witness several of these sushi courses being prepared and delivered to them. Neither Emily nor I are sushi eaters but if we were, I'm sure we would have been quite envious.

Here is my poor attempt at photographing the sushi chef at work...



I soon figured out that the glass display case which was between me and my subject made it too difficult to get good photos, so I gave up trying and just sat back and watched the sushi master in action.

Oh, and speaking of the display case, here is a photo of some of its contents...



These are some of the many fresh ingredients being used in the sushi dishes that the chefs were preparing.


Ok, now on to the food that Emily and I actually ate, starting with the bread basket and butter...



That was a lot of bread for just two people.


From what I could tell, the menu was exactly the same as it was a few nights before.




Now I must have been distracted by something while I was in the process of taking photos of the menu because that was the only one that I took. Sorry folks.



I decided to have a flatbread as my entree and chose the one that Paula & Hunter had kindly allowed me to taste during our meal together on Sunday evening.



Pork Pate Flatbread with Roasted Garlic, Mascarpone Cheese, and Royal Trumpet Mushroom Chips

This was again delicious! Of course, I haven't yet found a California Grill flatbread that I didn't like.



During her last visit to Cali Grill in May 2012, Emily determined that they served her favorite filet on Disney property, so that is what she ordered.



Oak-Fired Filet of Beef served with Local Tomato Risotto, Baby Vine Tomatoes, Petite Basil, and Tomato Butter

This did not disappoint. She stopped just short of eating the entire steak, when I reminded her about the chocolate dessert that had been included on one of the two platters we were presented with here on Sunday evening.



Again I apologize for not taking a photo of the dessert menu, but here are the two desserts which we chose.

Emily enjoyed the...



Chocolate Pudding Cake - Luscious Chocolate Cake with Nutella Filling, Meringue Kisses, and Mint Chantilly

Her comment was, "They had me at chocolate...but the nutella and mint were a nice bonus."



For my dessert, I chose my favorite from Sunday night's dessert platters...



Warm Homemade Fritters - Banana-stuffed, Cinnamon-dusted Fritters with Toasted Caramel Marshmallows complemented with a Trio of Dipping Sauces

There are those who would say these are merely doughnut holes...




But for me, what makes these especially delicious is the...



Trio of Dipping Sauces - Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Salted Caramel

I loved all three of these, so was glad I didn't have to choose just one.

While our service this time was not quite as amazing as when we dined with Paula and Hunter, it was good and I have no complaints. So another successful meal was had at my favorite Disney restaurant, California Grill. Can't wait to return here with Paula and Hunter for my birthday dinner! ​

 

[jabead]

I'm ba-ack

Welcome back, Joh! PM me with your email address and I'll get an email group started for those who will be at WDW in late October. Who else is interested in joining in?

 

[jabead]

Our reviews for Wednesday are now complete so it's time to get started on those for Thursday, Dec. 12th. Sadly two of our reporters went home on Wednesday, so we were then down to just four of us...Brenda, Linda, DeeDee, and me. But then Beth returned (this time with her DH) on Thursday for Round II of her holiday trips to Disney World.

So between the 5 of us we managed to have (and will be reviewing) 2 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 5 dinners on Thursday. Yes, we take our work as Disney dining reporters quite seriously don't we? So don't touch that dial folks, 'cause we still have lots more Disney dining reviews coming your way.

 

[wilma-bride]

Your dinner at Cali Grill looks wonderful Barb. Particularly Emily's dessert - you had me at chocolate and mint, although I did wonder how the Nutella would work with the mint

 

[smile4stamps]

I'm glad your second visit was wonderful as well Barb. I think Chef Eddie was probably off that night (and probably recuperating from his night out with Hunter lol)

I Loved that Filet when we had it. (And I just got done saying Filet's aren't my thing in your TR! )

 

[Linda67]

Great to see you could get a walk up at CG Barb
I would happily sit at the sushi bar so may well try that on our next trip

 

[emmysmommy]

Barb that flatbread looks amazing! Glad that the lite meal at CG worked out well.

Sadly, I will not be returning in late October. After our April/May trip we have September booked. I may do a shorter trip in late July with Emmy.

 

[emmysmommy]

Grand Floridian Café Breakfast on Thursday December 12, 2013​

This morning breakfast was booked for Grand Floridian Café. GFC is one of my top 3 favorite breakfast restaurants in WDW! It is a nice touch that they have a lovely restaurant with fresh cut roses on the tables and a wonderful view of the pool area and outer buildings… however, I come here for one thing and that is the breakfast entrée that I have ordered over, and over, and over for the last 7 WDW trips. Hang on, I am getting ahead of myself here.

Let me back up and introduce our dining party. This morning Em and I were dining with Barb and her Emily. Sadly, this was the last meal that we shared with Barb.

The restaurant had the Christmas decorations making the place look very festive.

Menu photos:

OJ and a fresh rose

Em chose the Mickey waffle with a scrambled egg. A great way to start any day with a smiling Mickey looking up at you!

For me, the vanilla laced French toast owns my taste buds. Truly. I don’t mess with perfection so until they remove this from the menu or they change it so that it is no longer amazing I’ll just keep order these little triangles. And yes, for anyone that knows me, I subbed a scrambled egg for the breakfast meat.

Mickey Waffle: Malted or Multi-grain, served with bacon or sausage $10.99​

Vanilla-Laced French Toast: Brioche bread dipped in vanilla flavored batter. Served with bacon or sausage $11.99

Both were excellent as always. I love that they soft cook the scrambled eggs so that they are still moist and not crusty and overcooked.

Another fabulous meal with Barb and her lovely daughter.

Following breakfast we decided to take some time to enjoy the Christmas decoration and the gingerbread house in the lobby. We availed ourselves of the photopass photographer that was taking photos by the tree.

We were all headed to MK for some park time so we took the monorail over there. Unfortunately, that is where we said our good-byes. It was wonderful to not only meet Barb but to share no less than 18 meals and/or cocktails with her. I’m looking forward to a seeing her again next month!

​

 

[wilma-bride]

I cannot believe that I guessed wrong what you were going to order Brenda. I, for sure, thought you would get the Mickey waffle.

The French toast looked pretty good too - I love a good 'eggy bread' - but I like my eggs well scrambled - the rubberier, the better

 

[jabead]

Barb's Review of our Breakfast at Grand Floridian Cafe

Other than the appearance of breakfast meat in my review, I could easily say, "Ditto what Brenda just said." But since this was my last meal with Brenda and Em, I think I should/can do better than that.

Like Brenda, I too love the bright and cheery atmosphere of the Grand Floridian Cafe and the placement of a single fresh cut rose on each table is such a nice touch...it always brings a smile to my face.




I've only been to GFC twice before, both of these were also for breakfast. Due to my family's aversion to getting up early enough in the morning to have a TS breakfast, I don't have a great deal of experience with Disney World breakfasts. From the few that I have tried though, I would have to say that the Grand Floridian Cafe ranks at least in my Top 3, if not my Top 2 behind Kona Cafe. In addition to the atmosphere, like Brenda I also am a big fan of their french toast and had ordered it on each of my previous visits to the GFC.


On this day, Emily and I had two different lunches planned so we decided to split one order of the...



Vanilla-Laced French Toast - Brioche Bread dipped in our Vanilla-flavored batter served with Bacon or Sausage

Pictured above is 1/2 portion, which included two half slices of french toast and two slices of bacon. In addition, we also requested a side order of scrambled eggs to share. This was all delicious!


And as Brenda said, following our breakfast we took some photos by the Grand Floridian's beautiful Christmas tree and also by the gingerbread house.




Then it was on to Magic Kingdom where we had to say our goodbyes for the last time. Since I was traveling solo for nearly this entire trip, Brenda & Em had graciously allowed me to tag along with them every day. When Brenda mentioned that we had had 18 meals together, my initial thought was that she must have miscounted. But after counting them on my fingers (and then toes, when I quickly ran out of fingers ), I can now confirm that she is correct. Wow, I don't think I've had 18 meals with my own family in one week's time.

Anyway, I guess I'm much like that stray cat that shows up hungry at your door. Give that cat some food and you will never be able to get rid of it. So Brenda, it shouldn't come as a surprise to you that this stray cat will soon be showing up at your Disney World doorstep again.

See ya real soon, my friend! ​

 

[Linda67]

Great reviews of GFC
The breakfast menu does look good and it's somewhere we have yet to try
Brenda, did you spot the teeny tiny hidden gingerbread man on the bottom right side of the shutter on your photo of the gingerbread house window?
They hide him every year

 

[buzz1121]

Barb, the fritters are my favorite dessert at Cali Grill as well. The dipping sauces are so good!

Brenda and Barb, like Linda I have yet to try GFC for breakfast. I'm really hoping to remedy that soon. I don't know what I would choose, the vanilla french toast or the citrus cranberry nut pancakes. Decisions, decisions!

 

[buzz1121]

After our great day touring the resorts, we were ready to hit the parks again. Today, it would be one of the kid's favorites, and coincidentally mine as well, Hollywood Studios.




On the fifth day of our Christmas trip, our family chose to eat...Breakfast at Starring Rolls.


And by family I mean DH and I as the kids opted to eat a pop tart in our room before we drove to HS. But I had a certain cupcake that I wanted to try so DH and I decided to split the seasonal special gingerbread cream cheese offering.




It's so cute with the santa hat mickey ear chocolate topper. Despite eating pop tarts the kids quickly claimed the topper and both of them said it was really good. The cream cheese frosting was very good. The gingerbread cupcake was fairly light on the spice component. I thought the cake and frosting complemented each other well.


We did have lunch at 50's Prime Time Cafe, though sadly I left my photo brain at Starring Rolls and I completely neglected to take any pictures. I know, what in the world was I thinking?

For the sake of a review though, I will briefly mention what we had to eat.

The kids absolutely love coming here. They get such a kick out of setting the tables and witnessing DH and I occasionally get schooled by our server. This meal is always filled with laughs and fun.

DS and DD1 and the baby had chicken nuggets and fries. After the pop tart breakfast, they were pretty hungry and their food was almost inhaled.

DH chose the pot roast. While he did enjoy this, I think his personal favorite here is the fried chicken.

I went with my standby, steadfastly adhering to the old adage "If it ain't broke don't fix it" , the caesar salad with grilled salmon. The grilled salmon is so good here. I find this to be a good choice for me when I don't want to be too stuffed, though Patty's review regarding the possibility of ordering a kid's portion of fried chicken may just be the trick for me on the next trip.

Our lunch complete, we headed back to the room to get a rest for the kids and I believe DH and I also took a short nap.

Once refreshed, we would head to our dinner destination, a place where DS would have the opportunity to show off his up and coming foreign language skills.

 

[rachel09985]

Great reviews of GFC
The breakfast menu does look good and it's somewhere we have yet to try
Brenda, did you spot the teeny tiny hidden gingerbread man on the bottom right side of the shutter on your photo of the gingerbread house window?
They hide him every year

After you posted this I had to look, and double and triple look because I couldn't find him! I think I found him though!

 

[emmysmommy]

I cannot believe that I guessed wrong what you were going to order Brenda. I, for sure, thought you would get the Mickey waffle.

The French toast looked pretty good too - I love a good 'eggy bread' - but I like my eggs well scrambled - the rubberier, the better

Shocker huh? I love the French toast too much to abandon it for the lovely Mickey waffle! Ok, so we'll agree that you like your eggs overcooked!

Great reviews of GFC
The breakfast menu does look good and it's somewhere we have yet to try
Brenda, did you spot the teeny tiny hidden gingerbread man on the bottom right side of the shutter on your photo of the gingerbread house window?
They hide him every year

Sure did!

 

[jabead]

After saying our good-byes to Brenda and Em, Emily and I were off to the new Fantasyland, but first Emily took an obligatory photo of the castle...





Emily was not with us during our family trip in March 2013 so for her this was the first time seeing the new area during the light of day (we had spent a little time here during the MVMCP). We used our FP+ to go see the Enchanted Tales with Belle and then rode Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid.



Since we had already done this one the night of the party, Emily took photos this time and had fun adding special effects to them. Here is one of her photos...





Then we had some time to kill before our FP+ lunch ADR at Be our Guest, so we did a little more exploring of the area. Unfortunately we didn't see the real Gaston but Emily liked the bronze statue in front of his tavern.





We also checked out the sweet treats at...












Emily especially liked the snowflake Mickey apple...





But I bought each of my three kids something a little more basic and easier to transport home...





Then it was time to head to our first lunch of the day at...









I did not receive an advance invite so used the link I found here on the DISboards to make a FP+ reservation and pre-order our food. I was a little nervous about doing so because it seems like sometimes this method works and other times it does not. I did have with me a screen print of my reservation and order, but I didn't have to show it because all went smoothly at check-in and then payment of our pre-ordered food.


I let Emily choose which room in which to have our lunch so we walked around for a bit so that she could see the options. She really liked the forbidden West Wing...







But loved the Grand Ballroom, especially the beautiful ceiling...







The Ballroom also had some pretty seasonal decorations, like this Christmas tree...




Within a few minutes of sitting down, our order was delivered to our table. We each had a bowl of soup...



Potato Leek Soup - $4.79




French Onion Soup - $5.29

Mine was the French Onion Soup. I had had this before when we were here for dinner last March so I knew what to expect. The gruyere cheese on top was very good but the soup itself is made with vegetable broth and I really prefer beef broth. IMHO, the French Onion soup at Chefs de France (which I think is made from chicken broth) is better than this one. However, my favorite by far is the one served at Shula's, which I assume is made with beef broth.


That concludes my lesson on French Onion Soup , so moving on now to the best part of my lunch at Be our Guest...



Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake - Vanilla Sponge Cake, Strawberry Mouse Filling and Cream Cheese Icing - $3.19

I really love this cupcake!




Emily, being a lover of all things chocolate, of course chose the...



Triple Chocolate Cupcake - Chocolate Sponge Cake, Chocolate Mousse Filling and Chocolate Ganache - $3.19

She loved her cupcake too!

While we paid $3.19 for our cupcakes in December, I just noticed on the official Disney World website menu for Be our Guest that the cupcake price has been increased to $4.19.



Though I firmly believe that everyone should have the experience of dining in the Beast's beautiful castle once, I don't think that the food warrants a return visit...not even their delicious strawberry cream cheese cupcake.
​

 

[Couchy]

Barb and Brenda- the french toast looks awesome... it is my favorite breakfast treat.

Barb-I know what you mean about being a stray... I was a last minute stray but luckily found a happy home

 

[wilma-bride]

Barb, I didn't even manage to find the forbidden west wing when we ate at BOG a couple of weeks ago

I don't know if you have eaten dinner there before (I'm pretty sure you must have) but the steak we had on our visit was pretty much one of the best (strip) steaks I've had on property. It was delicious and so tender. In fact, when they brought our meals out, I commented to Sian that they hadn't brought us steak knives. I just picked up my butter knife and used that instead. Our server did bring steak knives moments later but we did not need them at all. The butter knife sliced right through with the greatest of ease Our meal there was wonderful although I wasn't that enamoured with my cupcake (lemon meringue) - but that may be because we had already eaten 4 more cupcakes that day

 

[jabead]

Barb and Brenda- the french toast looks awesome... it is my favorite breakfast treat.

Barb-I know what you mean about being a stray... I was a last minute stray but luckily found a happy home

It's too bad that I don't arrive a bit earlier so that we could have the french toast at GFC together. Since I was a late addition to this next trip, GFC breakfast couldn't be fit into Brenda & Paula's already full dining schedule during the week that I am there. So I will have to do this one solo, but I'm sure it will be totally worth it.

I was so happy that everyone got along so well during our December trip together...no cat fights!

Barb, I didn't even manage to find the forbidden west wing when we ate at BOG a couple of weeks ago

I don't know if you have eaten dinner there before (I'm pretty sure you must have) but the steak we had on our visit was pretty much one of the best (strip) steaks I've had on property. It was delicious and so tender. In fact, when they brought our meals out, I commented to Sian that they hadn't brought us steak knives. I just picked up my butter knife and used that instead. Our server did bring steak knives moments later but we did not need them at all. The butter knife sliced right through with the greatest of ease Our meal there was wonderful although I wasn't that enamoured with my cupcake (lemon meringue) - but that may be because we had already eaten 4 more cupcakes that day

You will definitely have to go back then and see it, Joh. My family was seated in the West Wing during our dinner at BOG in March 2013. Though it is very dark in there (making it difficult to take dining review photos ), the cool special effects are worth the sacrifice.

None of us tried the steak, as I had warned them that the steak reviews had been very mixed. So we had the pork, salmon, and the seafood puff pastry dish. All of these were fine, but again nothing worth a return visit. And I've only tried the chocolate and strawberry cupcakes so can't comment on the lemon one. But I have to add...5 cupcakes in one day?!?! YOU ROCK JOH!!!