Our 11 Day Deluxe Dining Report With Pics! *Update 5/1 Complete*

I've long been a fan of AP, but the past couple of years, they've added some weird accompaniments, such as the fried rice with buffalo. Thus, we've taken to asking for a side we like better with the meal we've chosen. The servers and kitchen have always been happy to oblige. Yes, the smoky portabello soup is nearly a meal by itself. The cake was a nice touch and quite a lovely thing for you to do. I suspect it was better than the cobbler which we found lacking from how it was prepared a couple of years ago. Still, AP is very much a sentimental favorite. Thanks for the review.

You're Welcome! If we make it back to Artist Point I will definitely keep your suggestions in mind. We really really looooooooooved that cake, and you're right, it definitely was no contest with the cobbler.

Just read through up to here. Loving your reviews.

If you are still looking for guava juice, look in the mexican food section at the grocery store. They always seem to have it there, usually in cans. :thumbsup2

They do have it! Amazing suggestion! We had some "frunch" this morning in fact.

I have really enjoyed your review so far; thanks for posting! :thumbsup2 The cake sounds like it was delicious.

It was incredible, and really free to us, so even better!


great reviews!!!

Thank you!

Totally dying to know if you took a pic of the inside of that lovely cake!?

I'm quite disappointed in myself, because I did not. I think the plan was probably to take one when we got back to the room with better light, but then the food coma set in. It was also a reallllllly long wait for a bus back to the hotel, so I was probably a bit crabby over that. :confused3
 
So, our trip was winding down, but this morning we were off to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a trip to Boma. Our VERY nice bus driver, drove us straight to the Lodge since we were the only brave souls headed to Animal Kingdom that early in the morning. This left us quite a bit of time to explore the resort. It is BEAUTIFUL, and if we ever have the money, you can bet that we will be staying here.

Anyway, on to the food. Sorry, no pics of the buffet again. But it was really yummy, and I like that it had different selections (all be it not as plentiful) from the Tusker House buffet. That mustard sauce they put on the ham? AMAZING!

Also, Boma gets props for being the only restaurant to acknowledge our anniversary, despite it being printed on every ticket at every restaurant. Perhaps they only acknowledge married person's anniversaries? :confused3 Anyhow, our waitress, Brenda, was very warm and friendly and very attentive. At the end of our meal she brought us this:

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It was more pretty than tasty, but was still a very nice touch. I wish I remembered what everything was, but did not take notes. The one all the way to the left was like a spiced jelly, almost like gum drop consistency. Next was some kind of cake that Adam was not nice enough to share, so it must have been good, Then a macaroon sort of thing, and lastly a truffle. The truffle was spiced, and creamy. Very good!

Total Cost of Meal: $40.45
Dining Credits Used: 2
 

So, Jiko marked our last "Signature" restaurant of the trip (I don't count Cinderella's as Signature, even if it is 2 credits).

We left Animal Kingdom early in the afternoon to take a nap and spend some time in the pool before our 8 PM reservation.

We really really liked Jiko, loved in fact. When we were first sat they put us right next to a large party of about 15, it wasn't that they were doing anything wrong per say, but were SUPER loud, because there were 15 of them. Not quite the romantic meal I had envisioned. I found it strange they would put us RIGHT there, when the restaurant was about half empty. We asked our waiter if we could be moved, and he granted our request.

Before we get on with things, a picture of the happy couple:

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So, now we could enjoy our food:

http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab117/JessicaKnits/Dining/DisneyworldAugust2010-2596.jpg

Taste of Africa - Trio of Dips with Assorted Breads and House-made Naan $9.00

YUMMY! Really, I didn't need the bread, a spoon and the sauces would have been fine. The most AMAZING hummus, and trust me, I've sampled my fair share of hummus in my life.

Adam again, could not help himself and ordered this:

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Another Tomato/Balsamic salad. I don't see this on the online menu any longer, but the receipt tells me it was $14. As per usual, anything with tomatoes, got a big thumbs up from the old ball and chain.

For entrees, I of course had to sample the DIS famous

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Oak-Grilled Filet Mignon - with Macaroni & Cheese and Red Wine Sauce $41

Oh yum. Yum, yum, yum. My beef was cooked perfectly. A gorgeous medium rare. The macaroni though, stole the show. Tender, creamy, with just enough zip to kee you enertained. I could have made a meal out of the mac. And the red wine sauce? Delish!

Adam is weird, and doesn't like to order the same thing as me, like ever. So, even though he really wanted the filet, he got this:

http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab117/JessicaKnits/Dining/DisneyworldAugust2010-2599.jpg

Maize-crusted Halibut - with Vegetables of the Moment and Tomato-Butter Sauce $38.00

Now, in Wisconsin, one doesn't come by much fish that isn't beer battered in restaurants. Its definitely possible to find it if you look. The corn crust on this was INCREDIBLE. So much so I let him have some of my steak in order to have more of his fish. In our house, no one ever trades steak away in order to get fish, but it was really that good.

Now, on to dessert. I have to say, I was really ticked they pulled the pistachio creme brulee off the menu while we were there. More ticked that we had already left when it happened, so I was completely unprepared for the shock when I read the menu. There were almost tears. Really nothing appealed to me, but eventually I settled on this:

http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab117/JessicaKnits/Dining/DisneyworldAugust2010-2619.jpg

It was Tanzanian Chocolate something, and quite un remarkable. Maybe I was still salty over the fact there was no pistachio creme brulee. But I had two bites and was quite bored with this. Not even the layering of textures in this dessert was enough to cheer me up.

Adam had this:

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A lemon cheesecake with blueberry sauce. (See Jessica, this is what happens when you wait so long to write your reviews, the menus change).
Anyhow, this was quite tasty and well paired with the blueberry sauce. I wish I would have gotten this, as I would have been in a better mood.

Total Cost of Meal: $133.85
Dining Credits Used: 4

Side Note: Before heading back to the bus, we stopped by the Mara for some Zebra domes. Now THOSE little babies put me in a great mood.
 
So, I won't talk too long about Akershus. It was just not our cup of tea. The food was quite un remarkable, we didn't really care all that much about the Princesses. We checked out after only 2 of the princesses came around. Definitely not on our repeat list. I will make note though, that if you have little princesses of your own, I found the princess interaction and variety of princesses to be much better here than at Cinderella's, and only one credit to boot!
 
So, here it was. Our very last dinner of the trip. San Angel was the only place I did not bring my confirmation number with, and cosmically so, was the only place I needed it, since they could not find our reservation. After a few minutes, we got it sorted all out, something was apparently lost in translation over the spelling of my very Dutch last name. It was also POURING outside at this point and so everyone was taking shelter in the Mexico pavillion (hey, they do have tequila!) which was causing quite a chaotic scene. Anyhow, we got it all sorted out and made our way to our table.

We are both huge Mexican food lovers.:love: I was committed to ignoring the negative reviews on this joint and just enjoying myself.

First, chips and salsa, Yum, but about the same as we would get at a restaurant at home.

So, for apps, I got
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Tostados de Jaiba - Fried corn tortillas topped with shredded crab meat, mixed with chipolte mayo, red onions, cilantro, and lime juice $11

Oh my word. These were a meal in and of themselves, and absolutely delicious. Great combo of texture, color, and flavors. And just the right amount of spice. I like spicy, but I also like to be able to taste after eating something spicy. These had a nice mellow smolder to them.

Adam had
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Tostados de Tinga - Fried corn tortillas topped with black beans, lettuce, onions, advocado, tomato marinated chicken, sour cream, and fresh cheese $9

He was less than impressed with this, but did eat it all, so couldn't have been all that bad.

For entrees, I couldn't resist these babies.
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Tacos de Ribeye - Grilled ribeye served over flour tortillas topped with a red bell pepper sauce granished with scallions and avocado $24


Mmmm...again tasty, but another large portion. I was worried about the ribeye being too chewy or tough. Nothing classier (or not so much) than being stuck in the middle of your taco with a bit of steak you can't get through. Definitely was not a problem here though. The meat was very tender and well prepared. This were very good, but not quite as much as my appetizer.

Adam had:
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Mole Poblano - Grilled chicken breast served over a bed of chicken morsels, carrots, chayote chiles, with the classic sauce of spices and a hint of chocolate $24

The boy cleared off that entire plate! He is much more a 5 alarm spice guy, and this delivered on that. It was a bit too spicy for my taste, but he was very pleased with it.

On to dessert. I wanted something light (more like needed something light), so went with this:

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It was a white chocolate mousse with fresh berries. I see on the menu now that it has been changed to a chocolate mousse.

The mousse part was not all that great. The berries were fresh and exactly what I needed after that meal. The caramel though. HEAVENLY!! My only complaint on the caramel is that there was not enough of it.

Adam, also being super stuffed, went with this:

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Ice cream and caramel. Groundbreaking. And yummy.

We were really pleased with our meal here. Definitely not romantic, but the setting itself is lovely, and food is really tasty here. Our service was also great.
 
/
So at long (long, long, long, long...) last. Our final review. We had a 3:00 PM flight out of Orlando, so had enough time to get some breakfast, and burn those remaining snack credits at the Candy Shop on our way out. Off we went to Cinderella's Royal Table.

So, a few things we weren't aware of when we went. Photo package included, which was a nice touch. Second, it was all you could eat? I am still confused by it, but we were most definitely asked a few times if we wanted refills on anything, including the main part of the meal. Tip was also included.

So, on to the food:

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Breakfast breads. Crossaints (plain and chocolate, I already picked off the chocolate one by the time i took a picture) and cinnamon rolls. I ate the chocolate crossaint, as mentioned, and had our waiter bring me one more. It could have been ages (or never) before I got to have another Disney chocolate crossaint.

There was a lovely fruit bowl as well which I did not manage to get a picture of. It had strawberries, mangos, kiwis, and blackberries. I was quite excited about the kiwi and mango, as I hadn't scene them on any of the other breakfast buffets we were at. We did get seconds on the fruit.

For breakfast, we both went with the same thing.

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Deep fried stuffed french toast with fresh blueberry sauce. This was incredible. Piping hot, so not too greasy. I would have had seconds had it been anything else but deep fried stuffed french toast. I'm not normally a person that counts calories, but in the way of breakfast food, this has got to be about as bad as it gets. So it was fitting that I found this to be one of the most delicious items I indulged in while here.

So. Final thoughts on the Royal Table. Would we go again? No, unless we had children. I know this place gets ripped on quite a lot because of price or the fact that it is two credits. I have to say though, I actually found quite a lot of value. When you consider the fact that tip was included, that you get a photo package, and you get refills on whatever you want (and a princess wand and sword, even when you're grown up :rotfl:) it's not that bad. I found our food to be really fresh and tasty. Another thing, our service was fabulous. Our waiter went above and beyond and actually made a point of running over to us when one of the princesses came around so that we could both be in the picture. My jaw literally dropped when I went to fill out our slip and there was no spot to write in a gratuity. I thought he was working us over for a good tip (which he certainly earned). I was so tickled with our service that I slipped some cash in there anyway.

Up Next: The Best and The Worst
 
So, I guess there is one benefit to writing my reviews all these months later. I think it is telling what sticks with you over time, and what you eventually get over. So, drum roll please. I now present our Best and Worst.

Best Breakfast: Crystal Palce for their variety of options and our server, Jay.
Best Lunch: Yak and Yeti
Best Dinner (One Credit): Raglan Road, a great start to an amazing trip.
Best Dinner (Signature): California Grill for the amazing sushi and wonderful views
Best Service: Millie at Chefs de France (and no, it wasn't just because I adored her accent)
Best Experience: Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table

Worst Breakfast: Grand Floridian Cafe, food was fine but unremarkable.
Worst Lunch: 50's Prime Time, due to service, or lack there of
Worst Dinner (One Credit): Mama Melrose
Worst Dinner (Signature): Yachtsman Steakhouse, for the whole vomit incident
Worst Service: Erica at Cali Grill, for her stern lecture about my fear of octopus
Worst Experience: Yachtsman and the whole vomit incident

Honorable Mention Breakfast: Kona Cafe, based only on food, if we would have had great service, this probably would have beat out Crystal Palace for the top spot
Honorable Mention Lunch: Liberty Tree Tavern for that yummy yummy roast beef sandwich.
Honorable Mention Dinner (One Credit): Le Cellier
Honorable Mention Dinner (Signature): Jiko...should have had pistachio torte
Honorable Mention Good Service: Jill from Le Cellier
Honorable Mention Bad Service: Cousin Dave from Kona Cafe, who really just stressed me out and irritated me
 
I thought your reviews were excellent!...and your wrap up was very helpful!

I always wonder why Kona has great food and the sevice lacks so....It is definately one I choose sort of every other year.

Thanks for taking the time to post it all!

:flower3:
 
Thanks for all the reviews. It's so interesting to see how experiences differ. We've been to Yachtsman's 3 times now and each time it's been the best meal of our trip. We did have a goof on our March visit where they tossed my half NY Strip that was supposed to be boxed up to go :( I seem to have bad luck and always get the gristle steak whereever I go but I haven't gotten one yet at YS. I love their homemade onion rolls so much too. Their desserts do nothing for me though.... But anyway on the vomit that seems to be WDW policy. We've seen it twice before at Akershus and Rose and Crown and each time they just put napkins over it whether it's tile or carpets. At Akershus the whole large table was covered and they did clean that up but apparently pulling out the floor steamer upsets more people than the napkin treatment? I hope when they are throwing those out there they have some of that powder treament too. I was actually very angry at Akershus because the child repeatedly said they were going to be sick and no one would take them to the rest room. Then they were sick everywhere and guess what brought right back to the table so the others could somehow continue eating????? I'm not sure how as they had to take the plates away covered in sickness and bring new food. I was 2 tables away and couldn't think of eating after witnessing it.
 

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