swankybeth
<font color=teal>Loves bubble tea!<br><font color=
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2000
- Messages
- 3,098
Here are my resort dining reviews. Please feel free to post any questions or comments!
Animal Kingdom Lodge:
Boma-Of course, always a favorite of ours. We were very late to our PS, but were still seated immediately despite seeing lots of people waiting for tables. Jules was our server and she was great-she even had us sign her autograph book, LOL. We used our tried and true Boma method-resist the urge to go right for the carving station and begin with salads and soups. This way we dont fill up as quickly and get to sample more! Are we gluttonous? Maybe just on vacation We started with their hummus (white bean, sun-dried tomato, and olive) and some crispy flatbreads. All very good, cant really choose a favorite. We also enjoyed some soups. I particularly loved the Coconut Curry Chicken soup, a creamy, sweet and spicy soup. The usual favorites were present-the kofta (lentil balls), fufu (mashed sweet potatoes), the prime rib, and the couscous Marrakesh. We also enjoyed nut crusted salmon and roasted veggies. Dessert was delectable-zebra domes, pineapple cheesecake, mango tarts, passion fruit meringues, and an interesting dessert made with fried plantains. Another yummy Boma dinner!
Jiko-We went here on our first night, for my birthday. They tried to seat us in the wine room, but we politely declined and asked for a different table. We lucked out and ended up sitting next to a window with a view of the water. Very pretty! My boyfriend started with the lentil pastilla, phyllo wrapped lentils with a tangy sauce. They describe it as sweet and sour, but that doesnt really depict the flavor well. Id say its a lot more savory than sweet. I had the soup, which was made with squash and had roasted pumpkin seeds at the bottom. It was delicious, although I have to say that Ive never had a bad soup at Jiko! We had the bread and yummy, yummy butter which is spiced with kind of a curry flavor. I love their butter! My boyfriend had the wood grilled pork tenderloin, which comes with a mushroom sauce and tiny sweet potato dumplings. The pork was very tasty and when they say tiny dumplings, they are not kidding! The dumplings were practically microscopic!
I had the bass, which came with a spicy sauce and was crusted with harissa, which is a fiery blend of different spices. It was served atop a sweet potato and plantain cake. It was delicious! We were too full to eat dessert, but we did split a press pot of Kenya AA coffee.
Boardwalk:
Spoodles-It had been a couple of years since we last tried Spoodles, so we wanted to eat there again. We timed our PS so that we could walk there from MGM after Fantasmic ended. We split a pitcher of their sangria, which was delicious. It had a nice blend of fruit and wine; neither flavor overpowered the other. To start, we shared their arugula and spinach salad, which they nicely split in the kitchen for us. It was wonderful, containing Gorgonzola cheese, apples, and walnuts with a bacon vinaigrette, which had real chunks of bacon. I had the stuffed Spanish peppers for my entrée. I enjoyed it, but felt that the amount of stuffed peppers was pretty small. You got two small pieces of green pepper stuffed with hummus and a tasty tomato and onion sauce. The rest of the dish was mostly brown rice with vegetables. My boyfriend had the rigatoni pasta, which comes with sausage, tomatoes, and Portobello mushrooms in a lightly creamy red sauce. He really enjoyed it, as did I. Again, too full to enjoy dessert.
Contemporary:
California Grill-One of our must-dos on each trip. We actually had a PS timed to coincide with the fireworks, but werent hungry that early, so we went a couple of hours later. We did get a window table, with a lovely view of Cinderellas castle changing colors. Unfortunately, we did not find the service as lovely as the view. We were basically ignored the entire time we were there, in favor of a large party that came into the restaurant during our meal. Anyway, at least the food was great! We split the Portobello mushroom flatbread for an appetizer, which was topped with Gorgonzola cheese and sweet onion jam. It was delicious, very flavorful. For his entrée, my boyfriend got a traditional favorite-the pork tenderloin with creamy polenta and mushrooms. As usual, the dish was perfect. Actually, I would be happy with just a dish of the polenta and mushrooms, LOL. I decided to try the squash ravioli, which was topped with sage butter and pumpkin pesto. It was heavenly. If youve had the pumpkin ravioli at Wolfgang Pucks, this is similar. We decided to skip dessert because we feared how long it might take to actually get it.
Chef Mickeys-We had breakfast here on our last day. We arrived about 20 minutes early and were seated almost immediately. On that day we saw Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, and Dale. The character interaction was great; the characters were really into their roles, so it was a blast. The food was tasty as well. We enjoyed an omelet with broccoli, turkey and cheese, sausage roulade, French toast triangles, bacon, fruit, oatmeal, potatoes, and of course, that breakfast favorite, rice krispy treats. I have to say, this is my favorite character breakfast. The characters are always great and I enjoy the food.
Dolphin:
Fresh- This was an enormous disappointment. We were expecting the interesting array of foods and freshly squeezed juices that we read about on the DIS, but got a boring buffet instead. When we were arrived we were seated and then told by our waitress to go right up to the buffet. We did, and didnt see anything interesting. There was an omelet station, a guy making plain pancakes, and some glasses of orange and grapefruit juice lined up. We had never been there, so we thought there was another section, and ordered omelets. Realizing this was it, my boyfriend talked to one of the chefs and found out they had temporarily changed the buffet due to a huge conference that came to the hotel that week. Still annoyed, he spoke to the manager, who just basically confirmed what the chef said. It was a bad experience for us because had they just mentioned it to us when we checked in for our PS, we would have rescheduled for a different day, when the group was gone and the buffet back to normal. But they didnt say anything, nor did the manager do anything for us. After this, we didnt feel like coming back to try the real buffet.
Grand Floridian:
Garden View Lounge Afternoon Tea- We had done the tea previously and were looking forward to returning. We got a great table next to the window. Both my boyfriend and I selected the grand tea, which comes with tea sandwiches, scones, jam tarts, pastries, and of course, tea. I chose the Garden View Bouquet, their signature tea, while my boyfriend opted for the Jasmine tea. Both teas were excellent. As far as the sandwiches were concerned, they were excellent as well. Neither of us cared for the chicken sandwich last time, so we substituted that one. I had another watercress and my boyfriend had another Gorgonzola and pear. There were also salmon sandwiches. Next came warm, freshly baked scones with Devonshire cream and individual jam jars. The scones were very tasty, almost like a sweet Bisquick biscuit. The jam tarts followed. These were only okay. I found the pastry to be very dense. And then the hard part of the meal arrived-selecting dessert from the tiered platter. You also had a choice of strawberries and cream, but we definitely wanted the pastries. We both had a strawberry cream filled swan, I had a pumpkin cheesecake, and my boyfriend had an enormous chocolate covered strawberry. To die for!
Victoria and Alberts- This was actually a surprise for me that my boyfriend had planned. He even conspired with my mom to get my dress and shoes and pack them in the bottom of his suitcase! Needless to say, I was thrilled. For our pre-appetizer we had a mini crab cake. It was very, very tasty and I generally dont care for crab cakes. For the cold appetizer I selected the vanilla cured quail with hearts of palm and tangerine vinaigrette. This was my first time trying quail and I liked it. My boyfriend had the tamari glazed cape Canaveral shrimp with Napa cabbage slaw. His appetizer was fantastic, probably better than mine. For the next course I chose the elk tenderloin with Westphalian ham and Gewurztraminer Vinaigrette. OH MY GOD! I had also never tried elk before, and I was very impressed. This was so delicious! My boyfriend opted for the diver scallop with roasted beets, salsify and saffron emulsion. His was terrific as well. Next came soup, which neither of us were very impressed with. We both chose the poulet consommé with Poussin sausage. Basically, chicken broth with infant chicken sausage in it. Not my style. For my entrée I chose the crispy Virginia black bass with lobster risotto and Newburg sauce. This was a great dish; I especially liked that there were actual chunks of lobster in my risotto. My boyfriend had the grilled prime filet and braised short rib with celeriac root-potato puree. It was terrific as well, very tender. Next was the cheese course. We both opted for cheeses rather than sorbet. We had Humboldt fog, Stilton, and Cambozola cheese with dates and quince chutney. I wasnt crazy about any of the cheeses except for the Stilton, but I did love the dates and quince chutney that it came with. Next was supposed to be dessert, but instead I got the best surprise of my life. Victoria came out with a covered silver domed platter and said I have something special for you. I thought this was my dessert. She lifted the cover and there, surrounded by rose petals, was a glass slipper with an engagement ring inside. My boyfriend got down on his knee and proposed. Of course, I said yes! Then we actually did get our desserts, but I could barely taste mine. I had the green apple baba with sour cream glaze. This was basically cake shaped and colored like an apple, with a creamy inside. It was good, but like I said, I couldnt really taste anything after I got engaged, LOL. My boyfriend had the Hawaiian Kona chocolate soufflé, which Im sure was excellent. It was a truly magical evening.
Polynesian:
Kona Café, breakfast- Neither of us could decide if we wanted eggs or Tonga toast, so we decided to split both. We had the Tonga toast dipped in egg beaters rather than milk and it was delicious. It came with ham and a slice of pineapple on the side. We also shared an omelet made with ham, onions, mushrooms and potatoes. This wasnt actually on the menu, but they gladly accommodated us. The omelet was good, but I couldnt eat much of it because I was full from the Tonga toast. I had the Kona blend coffee to drink and it was very good. Not quite as good as the press pot, but it definitely beats Nescafe anytime! Kona Café is always a great spot for breakfast and it did not disappoint us.
Kona Café, lunch- Since we were staying at the Polynesian for half of our trip, we ended up here for lunch one day. I had the pan Asian pasta, which came with lots of veggies and grilled chicken as well as a stir-fry type of soy sauce. It was a nice dish, a large portion that I could not finish. My boyfriend opted for the barbecued pork sandwich, which had a sweet sauce and was served with Asian slaw. The sandwich was terrific; the pork was very tasty. The Asian slaw tasted weird, however, and neither of us cared for it. We were too stuffed to try one of their yummy desserts.
Captain Cooks- We stayed in the concierge building, so we didnt really need breakfast or snacks, but we did go here one night for dinner. We were originally supposed to have dinner at Artist Point, but werent hungry enough to justify going there. We went up to Kona Café, but nothing interested us, so we ended up at Captain Cooks. We both ordered the same thing, the grilled chicken sandwich, which came with fries and a special sauce. The fries were good, but the chicken was extremely salty and the special sauce wasnt all that special. It was a thick salty soy sauce that didnt improve the chicken. I couldnt eat mine and ended up throwing most of it out. My boyfriend didnt like it either, but he was able to eat his.
Pop Century:
Everything Pop Food Court, various meals- We spent the first half of our trip at Pop Century, so we were able to sample several of the food courts offerings. Breakfast was pretty standard. Some of the things we tried were oatmeal, waffle with fruit topping, the kids breakfast platter, which comes with eggs, potatoes, bacon, and a biscuit, and the Western omelet. Lunch and dinner were a bit more interesting. My boyfriend tried the panini sandwich, which was turkey, cheese, and what seemed like artichoke dip on hot bread. He enjoyed it. I had vegetable lo mein, which came in a Chinese food takeout container. It was really tasty and quite different for a food court. On one occasion my boyfriend had the fish of the day special, which was salmon, green beans, and orzo with spinach. I especially liked the orzo, which tasted like they probably cooked it with a lot of butter, LOL. He also tried a TV dinner, which on that night was sliced turkey with gravy, stuffing, and veggies. He liked it a lot. I tried the Fluffernutter sandwich, which was served on tie-dyed rainbow bread with big marshmallows for garnish. I really liked it, and loved the presentation. We also tried the big bowl chicken soup, which was okay, kind of plain and pasta with sauce. The pasta was okay, but the sauce was kind of raw tasting. I preferred the pasta over at the All Stars. And last but not least, the Twinkie tiramisu. Essentially, its traditional tiramisu with Twinkies instead of ladyfingers. It was delicious, really to die for. I was actually surprised that I liked it so much, but they did a great job on it.
That pretty much wraps up our dining experiences. Hope you enjoyed reading about them!
Animal Kingdom Lodge:
Boma-Of course, always a favorite of ours. We were very late to our PS, but were still seated immediately despite seeing lots of people waiting for tables. Jules was our server and she was great-she even had us sign her autograph book, LOL. We used our tried and true Boma method-resist the urge to go right for the carving station and begin with salads and soups. This way we dont fill up as quickly and get to sample more! Are we gluttonous? Maybe just on vacation We started with their hummus (white bean, sun-dried tomato, and olive) and some crispy flatbreads. All very good, cant really choose a favorite. We also enjoyed some soups. I particularly loved the Coconut Curry Chicken soup, a creamy, sweet and spicy soup. The usual favorites were present-the kofta (lentil balls), fufu (mashed sweet potatoes), the prime rib, and the couscous Marrakesh. We also enjoyed nut crusted salmon and roasted veggies. Dessert was delectable-zebra domes, pineapple cheesecake, mango tarts, passion fruit meringues, and an interesting dessert made with fried plantains. Another yummy Boma dinner!
Jiko-We went here on our first night, for my birthday. They tried to seat us in the wine room, but we politely declined and asked for a different table. We lucked out and ended up sitting next to a window with a view of the water. Very pretty! My boyfriend started with the lentil pastilla, phyllo wrapped lentils with a tangy sauce. They describe it as sweet and sour, but that doesnt really depict the flavor well. Id say its a lot more savory than sweet. I had the soup, which was made with squash and had roasted pumpkin seeds at the bottom. It was delicious, although I have to say that Ive never had a bad soup at Jiko! We had the bread and yummy, yummy butter which is spiced with kind of a curry flavor. I love their butter! My boyfriend had the wood grilled pork tenderloin, which comes with a mushroom sauce and tiny sweet potato dumplings. The pork was very tasty and when they say tiny dumplings, they are not kidding! The dumplings were practically microscopic!
I had the bass, which came with a spicy sauce and was crusted with harissa, which is a fiery blend of different spices. It was served atop a sweet potato and plantain cake. It was delicious! We were too full to eat dessert, but we did split a press pot of Kenya AA coffee.Boardwalk:
Spoodles-It had been a couple of years since we last tried Spoodles, so we wanted to eat there again. We timed our PS so that we could walk there from MGM after Fantasmic ended. We split a pitcher of their sangria, which was delicious. It had a nice blend of fruit and wine; neither flavor overpowered the other. To start, we shared their arugula and spinach salad, which they nicely split in the kitchen for us. It was wonderful, containing Gorgonzola cheese, apples, and walnuts with a bacon vinaigrette, which had real chunks of bacon. I had the stuffed Spanish peppers for my entrée. I enjoyed it, but felt that the amount of stuffed peppers was pretty small. You got two small pieces of green pepper stuffed with hummus and a tasty tomato and onion sauce. The rest of the dish was mostly brown rice with vegetables. My boyfriend had the rigatoni pasta, which comes with sausage, tomatoes, and Portobello mushrooms in a lightly creamy red sauce. He really enjoyed it, as did I. Again, too full to enjoy dessert.
Contemporary:
California Grill-One of our must-dos on each trip. We actually had a PS timed to coincide with the fireworks, but werent hungry that early, so we went a couple of hours later. We did get a window table, with a lovely view of Cinderellas castle changing colors. Unfortunately, we did not find the service as lovely as the view. We were basically ignored the entire time we were there, in favor of a large party that came into the restaurant during our meal. Anyway, at least the food was great! We split the Portobello mushroom flatbread for an appetizer, which was topped with Gorgonzola cheese and sweet onion jam. It was delicious, very flavorful. For his entrée, my boyfriend got a traditional favorite-the pork tenderloin with creamy polenta and mushrooms. As usual, the dish was perfect. Actually, I would be happy with just a dish of the polenta and mushrooms, LOL. I decided to try the squash ravioli, which was topped with sage butter and pumpkin pesto. It was heavenly. If youve had the pumpkin ravioli at Wolfgang Pucks, this is similar. We decided to skip dessert because we feared how long it might take to actually get it.
Chef Mickeys-We had breakfast here on our last day. We arrived about 20 minutes early and were seated almost immediately. On that day we saw Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, and Dale. The character interaction was great; the characters were really into their roles, so it was a blast. The food was tasty as well. We enjoyed an omelet with broccoli, turkey and cheese, sausage roulade, French toast triangles, bacon, fruit, oatmeal, potatoes, and of course, that breakfast favorite, rice krispy treats.
I have to say, this is my favorite character breakfast. The characters are always great and I enjoy the food. Dolphin:
Fresh- This was an enormous disappointment. We were expecting the interesting array of foods and freshly squeezed juices that we read about on the DIS, but got a boring buffet instead. When we were arrived we were seated and then told by our waitress to go right up to the buffet. We did, and didnt see anything interesting. There was an omelet station, a guy making plain pancakes, and some glasses of orange and grapefruit juice lined up. We had never been there, so we thought there was another section, and ordered omelets. Realizing this was it, my boyfriend talked to one of the chefs and found out they had temporarily changed the buffet due to a huge conference that came to the hotel that week. Still annoyed, he spoke to the manager, who just basically confirmed what the chef said. It was a bad experience for us because had they just mentioned it to us when we checked in for our PS, we would have rescheduled for a different day, when the group was gone and the buffet back to normal. But they didnt say anything, nor did the manager do anything for us. After this, we didnt feel like coming back to try the real buffet.
Grand Floridian:
Garden View Lounge Afternoon Tea- We had done the tea previously and were looking forward to returning. We got a great table next to the window. Both my boyfriend and I selected the grand tea, which comes with tea sandwiches, scones, jam tarts, pastries, and of course, tea. I chose the Garden View Bouquet, their signature tea, while my boyfriend opted for the Jasmine tea. Both teas were excellent. As far as the sandwiches were concerned, they were excellent as well. Neither of us cared for the chicken sandwich last time, so we substituted that one. I had another watercress and my boyfriend had another Gorgonzola and pear. There were also salmon sandwiches. Next came warm, freshly baked scones with Devonshire cream and individual jam jars. The scones were very tasty, almost like a sweet Bisquick biscuit. The jam tarts followed. These were only okay. I found the pastry to be very dense. And then the hard part of the meal arrived-selecting dessert from the tiered platter. You also had a choice of strawberries and cream, but we definitely wanted the pastries. We both had a strawberry cream filled swan, I had a pumpkin cheesecake, and my boyfriend had an enormous chocolate covered strawberry. To die for!
Victoria and Alberts- This was actually a surprise for me that my boyfriend had planned. He even conspired with my mom to get my dress and shoes and pack them in the bottom of his suitcase! Needless to say, I was thrilled.
For our pre-appetizer we had a mini crab cake. It was very, very tasty and I generally dont care for crab cakes. For the cold appetizer I selected the vanilla cured quail with hearts of palm and tangerine vinaigrette. This was my first time trying quail and I liked it. My boyfriend had the tamari glazed cape Canaveral shrimp with Napa cabbage slaw. His appetizer was fantastic, probably better than mine. For the next course I chose the elk tenderloin with Westphalian ham and Gewurztraminer Vinaigrette. OH MY GOD! I had also never tried elk before, and I was very impressed. This was so delicious! My boyfriend opted for the diver scallop with roasted beets, salsify and saffron emulsion. His was terrific as well. Next came soup, which neither of us were very impressed with. We both chose the poulet consommé with Poussin sausage. Basically, chicken broth with infant chicken sausage in it. Not my style. For my entrée I chose the crispy Virginia black bass with lobster risotto and Newburg sauce. This was a great dish; I especially liked that there were actual chunks of lobster in my risotto. My boyfriend had the grilled prime filet and braised short rib with celeriac root-potato puree. It was terrific as well, very tender. Next was the cheese course. We both opted for cheeses rather than sorbet. We had Humboldt fog, Stilton, and Cambozola cheese with dates and quince chutney. I wasnt crazy about any of the cheeses except for the Stilton, but I did love the dates and quince chutney that it came with. Next was supposed to be dessert, but instead I got the best surprise of my life. Victoria came out with a covered silver domed platter and said I have something special for you. I thought this was my dessert. She lifted the cover and there, surrounded by rose petals, was a glass slipper with an engagement ring inside. My boyfriend got down on his knee and proposed. Of course, I said yes! Then we actually did get our desserts, but I could barely taste mine. I had the green apple baba with sour cream glaze. This was basically cake shaped and colored like an apple, with a creamy inside. It was good, but like I said, I couldnt really taste anything after I got engaged, LOL. My boyfriend had the Hawaiian Kona chocolate soufflé, which Im sure was excellent. It was a truly magical evening. Polynesian:
Kona Café, breakfast- Neither of us could decide if we wanted eggs or Tonga toast, so we decided to split both. We had the Tonga toast dipped in egg beaters rather than milk and it was delicious. It came with ham and a slice of pineapple on the side. We also shared an omelet made with ham, onions, mushrooms and potatoes. This wasnt actually on the menu, but they gladly accommodated us. The omelet was good, but I couldnt eat much of it because I was full from the Tonga toast. I had the Kona blend coffee to drink and it was very good. Not quite as good as the press pot, but it definitely beats Nescafe anytime! Kona Café is always a great spot for breakfast and it did not disappoint us.
Kona Café, lunch- Since we were staying at the Polynesian for half of our trip, we ended up here for lunch one day. I had the pan Asian pasta, which came with lots of veggies and grilled chicken as well as a stir-fry type of soy sauce. It was a nice dish, a large portion that I could not finish. My boyfriend opted for the barbecued pork sandwich, which had a sweet sauce and was served with Asian slaw. The sandwich was terrific; the pork was very tasty. The Asian slaw tasted weird, however, and neither of us cared for it. We were too stuffed to try one of their yummy desserts.
Captain Cooks- We stayed in the concierge building, so we didnt really need breakfast or snacks, but we did go here one night for dinner. We were originally supposed to have dinner at Artist Point, but werent hungry enough to justify going there. We went up to Kona Café, but nothing interested us, so we ended up at Captain Cooks. We both ordered the same thing, the grilled chicken sandwich, which came with fries and a special sauce. The fries were good, but the chicken was extremely salty and the special sauce wasnt all that special. It was a thick salty soy sauce that didnt improve the chicken. I couldnt eat mine and ended up throwing most of it out. My boyfriend didnt like it either, but he was able to eat his.
Pop Century:
Everything Pop Food Court, various meals- We spent the first half of our trip at Pop Century, so we were able to sample several of the food courts offerings. Breakfast was pretty standard. Some of the things we tried were oatmeal, waffle with fruit topping, the kids breakfast platter, which comes with eggs, potatoes, bacon, and a biscuit, and the Western omelet. Lunch and dinner were a bit more interesting. My boyfriend tried the panini sandwich, which was turkey, cheese, and what seemed like artichoke dip on hot bread. He enjoyed it. I had vegetable lo mein, which came in a Chinese food takeout container. It was really tasty and quite different for a food court. On one occasion my boyfriend had the fish of the day special, which was salmon, green beans, and orzo with spinach. I especially liked the orzo, which tasted like they probably cooked it with a lot of butter, LOL. He also tried a TV dinner, which on that night was sliced turkey with gravy, stuffing, and veggies. He liked it a lot. I tried the Fluffernutter sandwich, which was served on tie-dyed rainbow bread with big marshmallows for garnish. I really liked it, and loved the presentation. We also tried the big bowl chicken soup, which was okay, kind of plain and pasta with sauce. The pasta was okay, but the sauce was kind of raw tasting. I preferred the pasta over at the All Stars. And last but not least, the Twinkie tiramisu. Essentially, its traditional tiramisu with Twinkies instead of ladyfingers. It was delicious, really to die for. I was actually surprised that I liked it so much, but they did a great job on it.
That pretty much wraps up our dining experiences. Hope you enjoyed reading about them!
LOL 
