Pre-Christmas Week Disney Dining

[MVC1225]

My girlfriend, Sashafarce, and I just got back from our December 14-22 trip to WDW. We have TiW so no DDP and we ate at a mix of QS and TS places - some new and some repeats. Sorry but we forgot to take pictures this time around (except for lunch at BoG which I'll post when we get to it).

Our dining was as follows:

12/14:
Dinner - End Zone Food Court (Sashafarce only)

12/15:
Lunch - Lotus Blossom (me) and La Cantina de San Angel (Sashfarce)
Dinner - Garden Grill

12/16:
Lunch - Be Our Guest
Dinner - Trails End

12/17:
Lunch - Big River Grille
Dinner - End Zone Food Court

12/18:
Breakfast - End Zone Food Court
Dinner - 'Ohana

12/19:
Lunch - Rainforest Cafe
Dinner - Grand Floridian Cafe

12/20:
Lunch - Boulangerie Patisserie (me) and Tangierine Cafe (Sashafarce)
Dinner - Yachtsman Steakhouse

12/21:
Lunch - Cosmic Ray's
Dinner - Be Our Guest

12/22:
Breakfast - End Zone Food Court (was supposed to be Kouzzina)

 

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Sashafarce had the Beef and Bleu Sandwich and a muffin. She reported everything was ok. I was driving up from Miami at the time so I had cereal and milk (from Garden Grocer) in the room when I arrived at 10:30.

 

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For lunch, I had the Orange Chicken at Lotus Blossom Cafe in China Pavilion. It was fine - think Panda Express. Not the worst Chinese I've had and comparable to most fast food Chinese. I also tried the pot stickers and those were so-so. The filing was good but the dumpling was doughy and I didn't like the dipping sauce.

For lunch, Sashafarce had the chicken tacos at La Cantina de San Angel. She's not a fan of corn tortillas and the tacos had nothing but chicken so very plain but generally they were fine as well. The taco came with a side of corn tortilla chips.

Both of these were new to us and while both acceptable there are much better quick service options in Epcot.

For dinner, Sashafarce wanted to repeat Garden Grill (we had eaten here in May with her niece). We were able to get a reservation the week before arriving. We both like Garden Grill and think both the beef and turkey are really good (we skip the fish). We are polar opposites on meat doneness (I like rare and she likes well done). We asked for both doneness levels when first ordering and the waiter brought us both cooked to our liking. We also repeated turkey and the beef and again the beef was brought out to both our likings. While we aren't character people, we did interact with the characters a bit. After trying most character meals, I still find that Garden Grill has the best character interaction. Dinner took about an hour so we left Epcot close to 9:30 -- I LOVE Epcot at night more than any other park. We would repeat Garden Grill again.

 

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We lined up for BoG at about 11 and ordered at about 11:25. We split an Onion Soup, a Steak Sandwich, a Turkey Sandwich, and Lemon Cupcake.

The Onion Soup was very good. I was concerned that the broth would be a little flavorless but it had a nice onion flavor and lots of cheese which is the best part of onion soup.

The Steak Sandwich was very good. The herb butter spread gave the sandwich a good flavor and the meat was not dry as sometimes happens. Sashafarce preferred this sandwich.

I, on the other hand, preferred the turkey sandwich. The turkey was so moist that I really loved it. Also the bread, on both sandwiches, was excellent.

Last, but certainly not least, was the Lemon Cupcake. This was soooo good. The lemon custard filing was wonderful. We loved this cupcake. It was hard for me not to order this again when we had dinner at BoG. Only negative was the wrapper was hard to remove. We ended up leaving it on and just using spoons to eat the cupcake with the wrapper almost acting like a cupcake bowl.

We really enjoyed BoG for lunch. The restaurant is beautiful. We sat in the Rose Gallery which was our favorite of the three rooms. We will definitely be repeating BoG for lunch.


For dinner, we went to Trail's End after enjoying the sleigh ride through Ft. Wilderness. Trail's End was new for us and it was ok. The fried chicken was good. The brisket was very fatty though. The desserts were fine. Overall, this was standard homey food and we would eat there again if visiting Ft. Wilderness but wouldn't take a trip there just for dinner so I doubt we will ever repeat.

 

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Sorry for the delay but work has been crazy and I also have a bad cold/sinus infection. So back to where we left off.

Monday was our DHS day so we took a break for lunch and headed to the Boardwalk and Big River Grille. We ordered cheese dip appetizer and each had a different burger. The cheese dip was good and the burgers were excellent (big and juicy). Since we are not fans of the dining options in DHS, this was a really nice alternative.

We headed back to the hotel early instead of staying for Fantasmic and had dinner at the End Zone Food Court. Sashafarce had chicken tenders and these are your normal Disney chicken tenders which we both like. I ordered the chicken penne Alfredo but I was not feeling well by the time we got our food so I ended up taking it back to the room. By the time I ate it, the food was cold so it was so-so. However, I have had this before at ASMu and ASSp and from past experience it is good and filling.

 

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We were heading to AK in the afternoon today so we slept in and had breakfast at End Zone Food Court. Sashafarce had Mickey waffle with fruit and bacon. She really likes Mickey waffles and these were to be repeated later in the week. I had the croissant sandwich with egg, cheese, and bacon with a side of portables. I really enjoyed this sandwich and this would also be repeated later in the week.

We just had some snacks at AK to save our appetite for our 7:45 reservation at 'Ohana. We checked in at 7:30 and we waited to be called ... And waited ... And waited. We were finally sat at 8:45 and by then we were ready to eat the chairs we were sitting on. We were really looking forward to 'Ohana. So did it live up to its hype? The bread was just ok for me but Sashafarce really enjoyed it as she likes pineapple and I don't. The salad was really good as the dressing was excellent. The wings were good and messy although neither of us are chicken wing fans. I love pot stickers and these did not disappoint (Sashafarce does not like pot stickers so she only had one and the rest were all mine ). We then received the noodles (soooooo good that we had to get extra) and broccoli (Sashafarce said this was good). At last, they brought the meats (by this time MVMCP Wishes was going on). Neither of us had the pork and we both had the chicken, steak, and shrimp. We LOVED the chicken, really liked the steak (which they brought both medium rare and medium well upon request), and thought the shrimp was ok. Finally, the bread pudding. I love bread pudding and this was great - second best in Disney (Raglan Road is the best IMHO). Overall, we loved this dinner. It was probably my favorite of the trip. Only complaint was the wait and the dinner took a loooooong time. We arrived at 7:30 and left after 10:15. We will definitely repeat 'Ohana.

 

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This was our day off so we played mini golf, Walked around DTD, and at night monorail resort hopped to see the decorations.

Lunch at Rainforest was to go. We shared the quesadilla appetizer (really good). I had a burger and Sashafarce had the chicken sandwich. Both were good even after making it back to the hotel.

Dinner was at Grand Floridian Cafe and this was our worst meal of the trip (with BOG a close second) and just horrible service (drinks took forever both to get at first and to get refills). We started with the shrimp cocktail (standard but good) and cheese plate (again standard but any and all cheese is good in my book ). We each had the NY Strip. Mine was cooked well but Sashafarce's was very underdone. Once the waitress finally checked on us, they fixed it, but by the time she got it back I was already half done. The steaks were fine but nothing special. We shared the desert platter which had Boston cream (just ok), fruit tart (again ok), key lime tart (best of the four) and lemon cheesecake (this was good as well). We had breakfast here in September and enjoyed it but we will not be repeating dinner.

 

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This was our second Epcot day. For lunch, i had ham and cheese baguette at Boulangerie Patisserie. I love this sandwich. The bread is sooooo good and it reminds me of sandwiches we had in Paris. It is my favorite quick service meal in Epcot. Sashafarce had her favorite Epcot quick service meal which is the Chicken Wrap at Tangierine Cafe. We also shared a side of hummus. These are our go to meals at Epcot and will for certain be repeated.

Dinner was at Yachtsman Steakhouse which was new to us. We started by sharing the cheese plate. This was a really good cheese plate. For dinner, I had the filet which was very good and perfectly cooked with potato gratin which was underdone and had little to no flavor. Sashafarce had the NY strip which was also good and perfectly cooked and the potato gratin which was the same as mine of course. We shared a side of truffle Mac n cheese which was good but not outstanding. For dessert, we shared a creme brûlée and it was your standard good creme brûlée. We liked this dinner but we were specifically comparing it to Le Cellier since they are both an Epcot area steakhouse. We both preferred Le Cellier. While the beef and the cheese plate may have been better here, the sides were MUCH better at Le Cellier. When you add in the cheese soup and maple creme brûlée to that, Le Cellier overall comes out ahead for us. Because of this, I doubt we will repeat Yachtsman.

As an aside, I know people mention Shula's as the best of the steakhouses and, while I have never been to the Disney Shula's, I'm from Miami where the chain was born so I have been to Shula's. Yes, in my opinion, it is in general better than both LeCellier and Yachtsman but while at Disney I'd rather go to a place that is not available at home.

 

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Our last park day was back at MK.

We arrived late (11:30) and headed straight for Cosmic Ray's after getting FP for Under the Sea. Sashafarce had chicken nuggets and I had a cheeseburger. These were your standard Disney fare.

Dinner was at Be Our Guest and we were so disappointed. I, like hundreds of others, woke up early the first reservation day and waited almost 3 hours to get our reservation. After eating there, I should have slept in. We started with the onion soup and potato and leek soup. These are both very good and we will definitely have them again at lunch. We both had the NY Strip. The steaks were fine but no better than Outback's steaks. Mine was cooked well but Sashafarce's was a little under done - not so much as she had to return it but still under done. I had the fries as a side and they were standard fries. Sashafarce had the mashed potatoes and these were HORRIBLE. They tasted like really badly done boxed mashed potatoes. For dessert, I had the chocolate cream puff and the filing was good but the puff itself was mediocre. I make cream puffs and that is not how pate de choux should look or taste. Sashafarce had the strawberry cupcake and she loved it. So we really enjoyed the soups and the cupcake which are all available for lunch which we really loved. As a result of this meal, we cancelled our dinner reservations for our February trip and will just go to lunch instead.

 

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As noted on the first post, this was supposed to be Kouzzina. However, after leaving MK the previous night, we headed off site to have a massage at Massage Envy. On our way back, the car died. Thankfully, this was on site and Disney towed it to the car center and got us a ride back to the hotel so we made it back. We then arranged for DME to pick up Sashafarce the next day since I would not be able to get her to the airport. Since we were now car less, there was no way we would be back at the hotel in time to make DME if using Disney transportation to get to the Boardwalk and back. Add to that that while packing that night Sashafarce noticed that she did not have her license and therefore had no picture ID to check in at the airport the next day. So after a not very restful night, we got up early and ate at the hotel (waffles and croissant sandwich again so see review above), called lost and found (they had the license) and took a cab to T&TC to pick it up and then back to the hotel. Sashafarce was on her way at around noon and the car was ready for my drive home at 3pm so all ended well after a crazy final 12 hours.

As for Kouzzina, this is the third time we have cancelled a reservation. We had dinner scheduled in July and then decided to go back to hotel to watch Olympics opening ceremonies. We had breakfast scheduled in September and one of us (can't recall which one) was not feeling well that morning so cancelled again. And now in December again so clearly third time was not a charm. We will get there one day.....

Although no one commented , thank you to those that read the reviews. Our trips are usually Thursday night to Sunday afternoon so it was nice to have a whole week at Disney. Back in February for our normal Thursday to Sunday but this time staying at AoA. We won't be dining anywhere new that trip except Landscapes of Flavor so probably no reviews next time around.

 

[tallen429]

Thanks SO much for taking the time to write your reviews! I enjoyed reading them!
Sounds like you had plenty of yummy food.
It was nice to read clear, brief thoughts.

 

[smiths02]

Thanks for the reviews. We tried Chinese and Mexican at Epcot and were not impressed either.

Sorry BOG dinner disappointed.

 

[IncredibleboysMom]

I enjoyed your reviews! Thank you so much for taking the time to write them!

 

[MVC1225]

Thanks SO much for taking the time to write your reviews! I enjoyed reading them!
Sounds like you had plenty of yummy food.
It was nice to read clear, brief thoughts.

Thanks for the reviews. We tried Chinese and Mexican at Epcot and were not impressed either.

Sorry BOG dinner disappointed.

I enjoyed your reviews! Thank you so much for taking the time to write them!

Thank you all for reading along