Of course it's all about the food! 12 Days of DDP, loads of pics UPDATED 10/21!

[dixonsontour]

I really enjoyed your reviews last year..looking forward to these

 

[vettegirl]

What a great start! I love Tutto, looking at your pictures is making me second guess my ressies for this week

 

[Quin]

After looking at your pictures, can't wait to try the new Tutto menu.

But am I the only one who is wildly jealous of the food on your AIRPLANE? O.M.G. I can't even remember the last time I got anything more than a tiny bag of pretzels or a granola bar. And if you want a chocolate chip cookie the flight attendant will happily SELL you one. Whereas you got a full 3 course hot meal, and tea, and a cheese trolley.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Great start to your reviews! And I'm happy to see pics of a rarely-reviewed item - the s'mores brownie at Liberty Inn. That place hasn't especially interested me before, but your dessert looks like it could be worth the stop.

Thank you. The brownie was good, they are kept refrigerated though and could have probably done with another fifteen minutes out of the fridge to soften up the bottom.

I am excited to read more! That pistachio panna cotta looks good!

Thanks, my mum liked the panna cotta.

wow what a great start!

Thank you very much.

Loving your reviews so far!

Thank you

I really enjoyed your reviews last year..looking forward to these

Thanks very much. I've got a few less places to review compared to last year so hopefully I should get them finished quicker.

What a great start! I love Tutto, looking at your pictures is making me second guess my ressies for this week

Thank you, tutto was pretty good. Very jealous of your ticker, only 3 days till your trip and you're going to the f&w festival! We missed it this year, gutted.

 

[sandym718]

I'm in! Great reviews so far. We hope to try Tutto for the first time in 2014. That gnochhieti looks right up my alley

 

[ksromack]

Subbing for your reviews. We're not going until December but have ressies at many of the same restaurants......curious about breakfast Tusker House. I've never been and we'll have to pay oop for that one......just wondering if it's worth paying oop for?

 

[iluvpluto27]

I'm in! Great reviews so far. We hope to try Tutto for the first time in 2014. That gnochhieti looks right up my alley

Thank you. Tutto was very good, hope you get to give it a try on your 2014 trip.

Subbing for your reviews. We're not going until December but have ressies at many of the same restaurants......curious about breakfast Tusker House. I've never been and we'll have to pay oop for that one......just wondering if it's worth paying oop for?

Honestly I'm not sure. It wasn't my favourite character breakfast, I think I prefer the ones where all the characters come to your table rather than having to queue beforehand. Not sure if it was because we had the first reservation, but all parties as long as their ADR time was before 9 were being allowed to check in and enter the park at the same time. I understand why they do this but it meant around a 15 minute queue for a Donald picture. The reason I go to character meals is to avoid queuing for characters, and we had to skip the picture in order to make rope drop.

The food was good, probably the best character breakfast food we've had but I preferred the atmosphere at Chef Mickeys, Cape May and Ohana. I don't think we'd pay oop for it, but if we had children it may be worth it for the interaction.

 

[iluvpluto27]

We had a Tusker House 8:00 reservation this morning, which was supposed to be my parents first character breakfast. My mum called me around 6:30 to say she had an upset stomach and wasn’t going to come to breakfast.

Now I have a reasonably sensitive stomach and often get sick when I travel to places like Mexico or the Caribbean. My mum is ten times worse than me, but I was hoping that because I’ve never gotten sick in America, neither would she. This wasn’t to be and she thought it was the tap water affecting her (I doubt this as I drink tons of tap water and have never been ill) so she avoided all ice/tap water for the rest of the trip.

As this breakfast required a credit card reservation, DH and I decided to attend to avoid the $40 fee, we would incur for canceling.
We got to the bus stop around 7 but had to wait around 30 minutes for a bus. There was quite a large queue to be admitted into to park when we arrived, and once they opened the turnstiles we made our way to check in.

We’d only ever eaten at Tusker for lunch before when it was a non-character meal and this check in experience was a little different. There were around 30 parties waiting, and at initial check in the computer was broken so they couldn’t print out slips.
We were directed to a queue for a picture with Donald, then called out of the queue to get our slip, then told we had to get back in the queue! The phrase organised chaos came to mind. The queue was moving very slowly and parties started asking if they could skip the picture and just go inside. We decided to do this too, as I really wanted to be out by 9 and could see we wouldn’t make that if we waited for the picture.

Our server was ok, she tried her best but was very busy. She greeted us quickly, but took a while to bring drinks and didn’t clear empty plates. As we only had a small two top we had to stack plates to create some room on the table.

For my first plate I had carved ham which was very good, it was still warm, well cooked and the mustard sauce wasn’t too spicy; a Cheese blintz which was warm and delicious topped with canned cherry filling; some Tater tots which were fine and bobotie which was nice but not as good as Boma’s version. I also had a piece of cornbread, as I love it and always make a point to sample some when I come to the US.

DH had a cheese blintz, potato wedges, quiche, scrambled egg and cornbread, and enjoyed it all. There was a good selection of non meat options here.

For my second plate I got another slice of ham and a couple of tater tots. This serving of ham wasn’t as good as the first, it was cooler and a lot more chewy. I wanted something sweet to finish so had some fruit cobbler (again this seemed liked canned filling, but the cobbler part was very nice) and bread pudding served with vanilla sauce. I remembered enjoying the bread pudding at lunch and liked it again here, very dense but good cinamon flavours, the vanilla sauce provided a bit more sweetness and moisture.

To finish DH also had fruit cobbler and a massive helping of bread pudding! This was a case when his eyes were definitely bigger than his belly, as he really struggled to finish this.

Character interaction was fine, we had to wait a while as we were sat right in the corner but we saw Daisy, Mickey and Goofy just as we were leaving.
We finished around 8:50 and were on the first safari truck of the day, this was a good perk as they had just let the Giraffes out onto the savannah so got some great shots of them running out.
Overall I enjoyed the food served here, but thought the atmosphere was a bit loud and manic, especially the check in process. I think our Chef Mickeys meal last year seemed more laid back, and unless we had children I’m not sure we’d be doing breakfast here again.

 

[iluvpluto27]

My mum was feeling better so around 12:30 we headed back to meet them at Epcot for lunch. As they still didn’t know their way around very well I just told them I’d see them in France.

As we were there and my mum wanted something reasonably light for lunch I suggested grabbing lunch at the Bakery.
We’d had a large breakfast so DH and I just shared a meal. We got the vegetable quiche which was excellent, creamy, cheesy filling which included plenty of vegetables. We had it warmed up which made the cheese slightly melty, yum!

We got the Napoleon for dessert, which was very good as always. Thick, crunchy, flaky pastry contrasting with sweet cream filling.

I think my mum may have gotten the Quiche Lorraine but I believe she started eating it before I could take a picture. I know she got the chocolate mousse for dessert which she didn’t want so DH and I split. This was an excellent mousse, rich, and creamy yet still light, with a good chocolate flavour, not quite as good as the Napoleon but still and excellent CS dessert.

My dad got the ham and cheese baguette which he enjoyed. As I’ve said before he loves bread so was perfectly happy with this lunch.

He got the chocolate eclair but only managed half. Chocolate eclairs in England are usually filled with fresh cream, but this was filled with chocolate cream/mousse which made it too sweet for him.

Overall this was a very nice counter service lunch. It could definitely do with the expansion they are working on, and I hope that brings with it more shaded/indoor seating. We were only able to grab a shaded table part way through our meal, before that we were baking in the sun!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Your lunch at the boulangerie looks delicious - I can't wait to see what the bakery looks like after the expansion.

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi there! So sorry that I am joining late... but I see you have some wonderful places to review coming up! I have always cancelled Tusker House so I am interested when I see reviews since I love a good breakfast buffet.

That French bakery quiche and napolean - oh wow!

I'm looking forward to reading so much more!!

 

[ThePrincess&TheJohn]

I chose the smores Brownie which was good. It had a hard cookie bottom, chocolate brownie then runny marshmallow in the middle.

OMG, I have never seen this before, but now I am obsessed with it. This looks like something from a dream! Thanks for introducing me to this and keep up the great reviews!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Your lunch at the boulangerie looks delicious - I can't wait to see what the bakery looks like after the expansion.

It was really good. I'm also looking forward to seeing it post expansion, I wonder what new goodies they'll be offering?

Hi there! So sorry that I am joining late... but I see you have some wonderful places to review coming up! I have always cancelled Tusker House so I am interested when I see reviews since I love a good breakfast buffet.

That French bakery quiche and napolean - oh wow!

I'm looking forward to reading so much more!!

Thanks for joining in. The napolean is so good!

I chose the smores Brownie which was good. It had a hard cookie bottom, chocolate brownie then runny marshmallow in the middle.

OMG, I have never seen this before, but now I am obsessed with it. This looks like something from a dream! Thanks for introducing me to this and keep up the great reviews!

LOL, It was pretty good but I'm not sure it tasted as good as it looks. Part of that may have been tiredness on my part though, as by the time I ate it, it was around 3am English time.
It would have benefitted from longer out of the fridge as the bottom was just a little bit hard but I did love the runny marshmallow centre.

 

[martinolichfamily]

I'm in! Great reviews so far! Can't wait for more!

 

[Tracerr00]

I'm a little late too but can't wait to see more! I also have to agree with a previous poster that I'm jealous of your airplane meal! Which airline did you fly? Because it looks fabulous!

 

[Lisa29]

Great few reviews. I've never looked at the menu for liberty inn but will be checking it out now.

Can't wait for more updates.

 

[nutz2notz]

Wonderful reviews so far

I had the eclair that your Dad had and was expecting cream not chocolate, it was too much chocolate for me. The napoleon is one of my favorites.

Looking forward to more.

 

[iluvpluto27]

I'm in! Great reviews so far! Can't wait for more!

Thanks very much.

I'm a little late too but can't wait to see more! I also have to agree with a previous poster that I'm jealous of your airplane meal! Which airline did you fly? Because it looks fabulous!

Thank you. We flew with Virgin Atlantic, in their business class product, Upper Class. We really like Virgin, we've always had good service from them.

Great few reviews. I've never looked at the menu for liberty inn but will be checking it out now.

Can't wait for more updates.

Thank you.

Wonderful reviews so far

I had the eclair that your Dad had and was expecting cream not chocolate, it was too much chocolate for me. The napoleon is one of my favorites.

Looking forward to more.

Thanks very much. I think chocolate eclairs are much better filled with fresh cream, as you say otherwise it can be chocolate overload.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Dinner tonight was planned to be counter service. We had VIP viewing for illuminations booked which is at the Morocco boat dock, so wanted to eat in World Showcase.
We decided to try Lotus Blossom Cafe. There was no real crowds and plenty of available seating, however as we were to find out part way through our meal there was no air con on, resulting in a sweltering dinner!

My dad and I both chose the Orange Chicken. This was pretty good, the rice was fluffy and cooked nicely, there was tons of chicken in a sweet, sticky sauce. The chicken was reasonably moist in the crisp batter.

DH chose the Shrimp fried rice with an egg roll. The rice again was well cooked and pretty tasty, it was kind of dry on it’s own but a bit of soy sauce livened it up. Unfortunately the egg roll was pork so DH couldn’t eat it, my dad was kind enough to help him out!

Mum still wasn’t feeling well so just had my dads dessert, Caramel ginger ice cream which she said was pretty tasty.
DH and I both chose the caramel apple egg roll for dessert. This was ok, as the filling is completely encased, it was still hot after we’d finished our mains, it tasted like McDonalds apple pie (not sure if they still make them, haven’t been to McDonalds for years), crispy outside, canned apple filling. I could taste cinnamon but not really any caramel flavour.

Breakfast

We’d grabbed breakfast from Boardwalk bakery yesterday, but went to BC Marketplace to sort my parents breakfast out.
I chose the strawberry cupcake, as an aside I love the containers they put the cupcakes to go in here, it keeps them perfectly intact.

This was a nice, light cupcake, vanilla sponge with a light, whipped strawberry frosting, topped with a fresh strawberry. I was hoping for some kind of filling inside, but mine was all sponge, I’m sure I’ve seen a review of this cupcake on here and it had strawberry filling in it so may be mine was missed out. It was good but I preferred Starring Rolls cupcakes.

DH chose a Coffee Cupcake. He enjoyed this, light chocolate sponge with a good hint of coffee flavour.

At this point I realised my parents were never going to use all their CS credits, so told my dad he may as well start using them up on breakfasts. This worked out well as my dad loves a hot breakfast, and I was right, they ended up wasting around 6 credits at the end of the trip.

The beach club were offering a new scrambled egg platter, scrambled egg, bacon, potato casserole served with a biscuit. My dad really liked this, and said it was much better than the coffee cake he’d had for breakfast the previous day.

At home my mum eats porridge every day for breakfast, so decided to use a snack credit for oatmeal. It was served with brown sugar and she really liked this.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Today it was my dads birthday so I’d planned a relaxing TS lunch for him, paid for OOP.
We arrived at Liberty Tree tavern at 11:45 and it was much quieter than we’ve seen it before. There was absolutely no one waiting to be sat, and we were called immediately.

Our section of the restaurant was less than one third full, which made for a nice quiet lunch. Our server was good, greeted us quickly and offered drinks. I had the Pomegranate lemonade which I really like.

We had dinner at California Grill so didn’t want a massive lunch so I passed on the Pilgrims feast and my dad and I ordered the cheese burger cooked medium.

This was a much bigger portion than I was anticipating, the burger was cooked well, ensuring it was nice and juicy, it was topped with mushrooms and provolone cheese. The bun was soft, tomato, lettuce and pickle were on the side so you could customise your burger.
The fries were more like English chips and they were pretty good, soft inside with a thick crispy coating.

DH chose the fish of the day which was salmon. It was a large salad, withe a nicely cooked fillet of salmon, avocado, pita crisp croutons and a vinaigrette style dressing. He enjoyed it, there were quite a few pita crisps and he said it was surprisingly filling.

My mum ordered the clam chowder. She really liked it, said it was rich and creamy with plenty of seafood flavour. It was served with little crackers, but she felt it was good enough on it’s own.

For dessert my mum and I shared the Ooey gooey toffee cake. This dessert never disappoints, it tastes like warm cookie dough, topped with ice cream, chocolate sauce and toffee/chocolate pieces. Delicious!

DH was pretty full but was swayed by the Blueberry crisp. He must have liked this as when I finally looked up from my toffee cake this was all gone!

My dad didn’t want dessert, but our server gave him a complimentary chocolate cup cake and sang happy birthday for him! The cake was a sweet gesture, it was a little dry but he ate a few bites. He was very embarassed by the singing which we all loved!!:grin: