Reviews w/lots of pics. Jan 27-Feb 4. UPDATED DAY 5 BLUEZOO
- Thread starter swankybeth
- Start date
swimgalsmom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2007
- Messages
- 573
Great reviews! Thanks for sharing!
50 years Too!
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2005
- Messages
- 1,184
What a great idea to substitute the bread!I wish I thought of that. I didn't care for the bread that came with the platter at all.
You've made my day! I didn't realize you could substitute flatbread. Now the platter will be perfect!
thank, Deb
swankybeth
<font color=teal>Loves bubble tea!<br><font color=
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2000
- Messages
- 3,098
Thanks to everyone who has responded so far! 
They were a little salty. There was much more rosemary than salt, though.
It's a great place to live, we're within walking distance of so many places. But it's also dangerous to my waistline, especially when Croxley's has 10 cent wing nights!
They were a little salty. There was much more rosemary than salt, though.
Great report. You are a neighbor of mine. I live in the Island too. Rockville Centre has great restaurants too.
It's a great place to live, we're within walking distance of so many places. But it's also dangerous to my waistline, especially when Croxley's has 10 cent wing nights!
swankybeth
<font color=teal>Loves bubble tea!<br><font color=
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2000
- Messages
- 3,098
Day 3
Breakfast was at Roaring Fork again. DH got just a side of scrambled eggs. They were nothing special but they did the job. I had oatmeal. They did have a lot of toppings available for the oatmeal-granola, fruit, etc but I was boring and just put brown sugar on it. Just a side note for anyone who has dairy allergies, I've asked before and WDW makes their oatmeal with water, not milk.
Lunch was offsite at Chick-fil-A.
Dinner was at Liberty Tree Tavern. This was the night of the Pirate and Princess Party so we had a 4:00 ADR. We checked in a few minutes early and relaxed while we waited for our table to be called. We were seated in the Betsy Ross room. We had the whole room to ourselves at first and it was really peaceful and quiet. Obviously, that didn't last too long! Unfortunately I don't have our server's name but she was wonderful. She kept making sure we had enough to eat and was always ready with drink refills and to replenish our food. First they brought out salad and rolls. They could have stopped there because this was my favorite part of the meal! The salad had a strawberry viniagrette on it and it was delicious. The rolls were soft and yummy and served with honey butter. I don't even want to know how many rolls with butter I ate. Once we were done with our salad (we skipped a second serving of salad because we knew there was lots more food coming). They brought out our meal. There were mashed potatoes, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, green beans, gravy, turkey, pork and beef. We also had cranberry sauce, which I requested. The potatoes were good, they were nice and creamy. The stuffing was just okay, it's not that it was bad but it was just stuffing. Not much you can say about it. I was really excited for the mac and cheese, growing up I lived on the stuff and I hadn't had it in years. It didn't disappoint! For weeks before the trip I was trying to explain to DH that Stouffers mac n cheese tastes different, it's more sharp and has a more complex flavor than the Kraft stuff. After he tried one bite, he was converted! The green beans were really good, they were not overcooked and they had a slight garlicky taste. We had two servings of the beans. All of the meats were just okay to me. None of them were awful, they were just plain. DH, however, loved the steak and had four servings of it. Once DH's steak binge was finally over they brought out our dessert. Warm apple cobbler with heaps of vanilla ice cream on top. It was delicious! The cobbler was so hot the ice cream was melting. It was a very satisfying dessert and it went well with the other items served. The character interaction was good, we saw all of them at least once. Most came around twice.
Last year we tried Garden Grill and we compared the two, item for item since they are so similar. Here's what we thought:
Bread & salad: better at Liberty Tree Tavern
Sides: better at Liberty Tree Tavern
Meats: better at Garden Grill
Dessert: tie
Characters: tie
Atmosphere: better at Garden Grill, can't beat a rotating restaurant!
If I had to pick out of the two, the slight edge would be to Garden Grill mainly due to the meats being better. The steak and catfish at Garden Grill were really good!
Breakfast was at Roaring Fork again. DH got just a side of scrambled eggs. They were nothing special but they did the job. I had oatmeal. They did have a lot of toppings available for the oatmeal-granola, fruit, etc but I was boring and just put brown sugar on it. Just a side note for anyone who has dairy allergies, I've asked before and WDW makes their oatmeal with water, not milk.
Lunch was offsite at Chick-fil-A.
Dinner was at Liberty Tree Tavern. This was the night of the Pirate and Princess Party so we had a 4:00 ADR. We checked in a few minutes early and relaxed while we waited for our table to be called. We were seated in the Betsy Ross room. We had the whole room to ourselves at first and it was really peaceful and quiet. Obviously, that didn't last too long! Unfortunately I don't have our server's name but she was wonderful. She kept making sure we had enough to eat and was always ready with drink refills and to replenish our food. First they brought out salad and rolls. They could have stopped there because this was my favorite part of the meal! The salad had a strawberry viniagrette on it and it was delicious. The rolls were soft and yummy and served with honey butter. I don't even want to know how many rolls with butter I ate. Once we were done with our salad (we skipped a second serving of salad because we knew there was lots more food coming). They brought out our meal. There were mashed potatoes, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, green beans, gravy, turkey, pork and beef. We also had cranberry sauce, which I requested. The potatoes were good, they were nice and creamy. The stuffing was just okay, it's not that it was bad but it was just stuffing. Not much you can say about it. I was really excited for the mac and cheese, growing up I lived on the stuff and I hadn't had it in years. It didn't disappoint! For weeks before the trip I was trying to explain to DH that Stouffers mac n cheese tastes different, it's more sharp and has a more complex flavor than the Kraft stuff. After he tried one bite, he was converted! The green beans were really good, they were not overcooked and they had a slight garlicky taste. We had two servings of the beans. All of the meats were just okay to me. None of them were awful, they were just plain. DH, however, loved the steak and had four servings of it. Once DH's steak binge was finally over they brought out our dessert. Warm apple cobbler with heaps of vanilla ice cream on top. It was delicious! The cobbler was so hot the ice cream was melting. It was a very satisfying dessert and it went well with the other items served. The character interaction was good, we saw all of them at least once. Most came around twice.
Last year we tried Garden Grill and we compared the two, item for item since they are so similar. Here's what we thought:
Bread & salad: better at Liberty Tree Tavern
Sides: better at Liberty Tree Tavern
Meats: better at Garden Grill
Dessert: tie
Characters: tie
Atmosphere: better at Garden Grill, can't beat a rotating restaurant!
If I had to pick out of the two, the slight edge would be to Garden Grill mainly due to the meats being better. The steak and catfish at Garden Grill were really good!
Disneyof3
<font color=deeppink>Mother of my 3 angels, heaven
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2004
- Messages
- 2,099
Thanks everyone for the comments and kind words, it's really encouraging!
I wouldn't say everything has a cumin or ginger taste. There are definitely a few cumin spiced dishes and a couple of ginger ones. I would ask the chefs what dishes to avoid when you go, they are very friendly and knowledgable.
Thanks alot. I will definitely ask the chef. the Morrocco food looks amazing. We are definitely going to try it in March for lunch.. Thanks again
BabyPiglet
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2003
- Messages
- 28,730
Yummmm. I'm definitely hungry now!
Great reviews.
Great reviews.
momofdbsdc
momofdbsdca
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2002
- Messages
- 943
Awesome reviews! I am looking forward to the rest!
mickeystoontown
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
- Messages
- 29,326
That salad with strawberry viniagrette sounds sooooooooo good to me!
It is VERY good!
MissMagnolia
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2003
- Messages
- 1,050
Excellent reviews - you're making me excited for our next trip!
swankybeth
<font color=teal>Loves bubble tea!<br><font color=
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2000
- Messages
- 3,098
Day 4
Since we were out late at the Pirate & Princess Party the night before, we decided to sleep in a little. We didn't feel like eating at Roaring Fork so we decided to drive over to the Polynesian before hitting the parks. We ate at Captain Cook's with one thing in mind-Tonga Toast! We split an order of Tonga Toast and a side of scrambled eggs. The Tonga Toast is just as good at Captain Cook's and it's a fraction of the cost and time spent eating at Kona Cafe. For those who aren't familiar with this wonderful breakfast item, Tonga Toast is sourdough bread stuffed with bananas, then deep fried and coated in cinnamon sugar. Yummy! The eggs were good too, just not as exciting as the Tonga Toast.
For lunch we decided to stop over at Flatbread Grill and grab a bite to eat before Lights! Motors! Action! started. We decided to share the Greek salad. It was a really nice salad with an olive and feta vinaigrette. There was a nice balance of the lettuce and the other items such as tomatoes, peppers, feta, onions and olives. The dressing was evenly coated all over the salad but wasn't too heavy.
After the show we were still hungry so we decided to go to Min and Bill's Dockside Diner for a pretzel. We were torn between the apple cinnamon and the spicy cheese flavors. We went for the spicy cheese. It was a really good pretzel! It was served warm and the filling wasn't too spicy although there were tiny jalapeno bits in it.
On the way out of the park we wanted another little something so we decided to share a Minnie strawberry bar. Just your basic frozen strawberry bar but it definitely hit the spot on a warm afternoon.
Dinner was at Victoria and Albert's. A lot of the pictures are really dark because we didn't want to disturb anyone with the flash, so I apologize for the quality. We chose the earlier seating and had a 6:15 reservation. We were seated under the dome and could definitely hear other people's conversations because of it, but it didn't bother us. This was our third visit to Victoria and Albert's. The last time we went, DH proposed, and the first time he gave me diamond earrings after dinner while we walked on the beach back to the Polynesian, so I kept teasing him about getting me another surprise during or after dinner (for the record, there was no surprise, lol). The first picture is really dark, but it's the wonderful bread that they bring you. It's warm, light and slightly chewy. It goes well with the delicious butter they put out for you. The amuse bouche from left to right, is a scallop in a buttery sauce, seafood and lobster sausage and lobster bisque. There was no spoon for the soup, you had to drink it like an espresso. I felt a little silly doing it, but apparently that's what you were supposed to do. The next plate is DH's cold appetizer. It was smoked Alaskan sablefish with blood orange and hearts of palm salad with aged balsamic. He really enjoyed this dish. My cold appetizer was duck with pickled and roasted beet salad with beet "air". The duck was served two ways and with a couple of different kinds of beets. The "air" was a beet foam. This was a nice dish, not my favorite of the evening, but definitely tasty. Next is DH's hot appetizer. He had the Minnesota elk tenderloin with braised red cabbage and mustard spaetzle. The meat was served rare. DH loved this dish. For my hot appetizer I splurged and got the pan roasted foie gras with fuji apple bread pudding. This was definitely the best thing I had all night. I don't even know how to describe how delicious this was. The apple flavor went so well with the foie gras and the foie gras was cooked perfectly. If I could have licked my plate, I definitely would have. For DH's fish course he chose the sumac crusted Apalachicola shrimp with bok choy and coconut emulsion. He liked this, didn't love it. I chose the ivory king salmon with petite French lentils, winter corn and saffron foam. This was a really nice dish, very light and all of the flavors were perfect together. At this point I was getting full, so I didn't finish this course. For his meat, DH chose the Colorado lamb en croute with rainbow swiss chard, salsify and tomato-lamb jus. He was in meat heaven! He loved it. I chose the Kurobata pork tenderloin and belly with banana squash ragout. I also had the wine paired to this course, a Carol Shelton Rocky Reserve Zinfandel. This was a great dish, the pork was cooked very nicely and I liked the accompaniments. The belly was the best part because it tasted like bacon. The wine was a red wine which had a smooth taste. After our plates were cleared, they started brewing our coffee. DH was fascinated by the coffee maker and asked a lot of questions about how it worked, which our server graciously answered. For the next course DH chose the cheeses. There was a Colston Bassit Stilton, Constant Bliss and Fourme D'Ambert Fondue. He enjoyed the Stilton and the Bliss but the real standout was the fondue. It was served on an endive leaf and had a very intense flavor. It was definitely not your typical cheese plate offering. I opted for the white chocolate gelato with red currants and tableside shavings. Normally I don't care for white chocolate, I'm a dark chocolate kinda gal. The darker, the better! For some reason the gelato sounded really appealing. I'm glad I ordered it because it was delicious. The white chocolate flavor was very delicate. The tableside shavings turned out to be white chocolate curls. Next our server poured our cups of coffee. I had joked with DH earlier that this would be our only good cup of coffee on the whole vacation. The coffee was rich and delicious and they served it with warm cream so it doesn't curdle. For dessert DH chose the Tanzanian chocolate pyramid, Hawaiian Kona chocolate souffle and Peruvian chocolate ice cream with puff pastry. This was a great trio of chocolate desserts. The ice cream was the most decadent, delicious I've ever tasted. It was bittersweet and just transcended all other chocolate ice creams. The souffle was cooked perfectly and the pyramid was almost like a chocolate mousse formed into a pyramid and dusted with cocoa powder. I went for the Hawaiian Kona chocolate souffle. It was just a larger version than DH's. It was another amazing meal at Victoria and Albert's. I want to try the Chef's table next time but DH isn't too thrilled with the idea. He loves the atmosphere in the regular dining room. Anyway, if we eat at Victoria and Albert's again, I won't be complaining too loudly if it's in the regular dining room vs the Chef's table.
Since we were out late at the Pirate & Princess Party the night before, we decided to sleep in a little. We didn't feel like eating at Roaring Fork so we decided to drive over to the Polynesian before hitting the parks. We ate at Captain Cook's with one thing in mind-Tonga Toast! We split an order of Tonga Toast and a side of scrambled eggs. The Tonga Toast is just as good at Captain Cook's and it's a fraction of the cost and time spent eating at Kona Cafe. For those who aren't familiar with this wonderful breakfast item, Tonga Toast is sourdough bread stuffed with bananas, then deep fried and coated in cinnamon sugar. Yummy! The eggs were good too, just not as exciting as the Tonga Toast.
For lunch we decided to stop over at Flatbread Grill and grab a bite to eat before Lights! Motors! Action! started. We decided to share the Greek salad. It was a really nice salad with an olive and feta vinaigrette. There was a nice balance of the lettuce and the other items such as tomatoes, peppers, feta, onions and olives. The dressing was evenly coated all over the salad but wasn't too heavy.
After the show we were still hungry so we decided to go to Min and Bill's Dockside Diner for a pretzel. We were torn between the apple cinnamon and the spicy cheese flavors. We went for the spicy cheese. It was a really good pretzel! It was served warm and the filling wasn't too spicy although there were tiny jalapeno bits in it.
On the way out of the park we wanted another little something so we decided to share a Minnie strawberry bar. Just your basic frozen strawberry bar but it definitely hit the spot on a warm afternoon.
Dinner was at Victoria and Albert's. A lot of the pictures are really dark because we didn't want to disturb anyone with the flash, so I apologize for the quality. We chose the earlier seating and had a 6:15 reservation. We were seated under the dome and could definitely hear other people's conversations because of it, but it didn't bother us. This was our third visit to Victoria and Albert's. The last time we went, DH proposed, and the first time he gave me diamond earrings after dinner while we walked on the beach back to the Polynesian, so I kept teasing him about getting me another surprise during or after dinner (for the record, there was no surprise, lol). The first picture is really dark, but it's the wonderful bread that they bring you. It's warm, light and slightly chewy. It goes well with the delicious butter they put out for you. The amuse bouche from left to right, is a scallop in a buttery sauce, seafood and lobster sausage and lobster bisque. There was no spoon for the soup, you had to drink it like an espresso. I felt a little silly doing it, but apparently that's what you were supposed to do. The next plate is DH's cold appetizer. It was smoked Alaskan sablefish with blood orange and hearts of palm salad with aged balsamic. He really enjoyed this dish. My cold appetizer was duck with pickled and roasted beet salad with beet "air". The duck was served two ways and with a couple of different kinds of beets. The "air" was a beet foam. This was a nice dish, not my favorite of the evening, but definitely tasty. Next is DH's hot appetizer. He had the Minnesota elk tenderloin with braised red cabbage and mustard spaetzle. The meat was served rare. DH loved this dish. For my hot appetizer I splurged and got the pan roasted foie gras with fuji apple bread pudding. This was definitely the best thing I had all night. I don't even know how to describe how delicious this was. The apple flavor went so well with the foie gras and the foie gras was cooked perfectly. If I could have licked my plate, I definitely would have. For DH's fish course he chose the sumac crusted Apalachicola shrimp with bok choy and coconut emulsion. He liked this, didn't love it. I chose the ivory king salmon with petite French lentils, winter corn and saffron foam. This was a really nice dish, very light and all of the flavors were perfect together. At this point I was getting full, so I didn't finish this course. For his meat, DH chose the Colorado lamb en croute with rainbow swiss chard, salsify and tomato-lamb jus. He was in meat heaven! He loved it. I chose the Kurobata pork tenderloin and belly with banana squash ragout. I also had the wine paired to this course, a Carol Shelton Rocky Reserve Zinfandel. This was a great dish, the pork was cooked very nicely and I liked the accompaniments. The belly was the best part because it tasted like bacon. The wine was a red wine which had a smooth taste. After our plates were cleared, they started brewing our coffee. DH was fascinated by the coffee maker and asked a lot of questions about how it worked, which our server graciously answered. For the next course DH chose the cheeses. There was a Colston Bassit Stilton, Constant Bliss and Fourme D'Ambert Fondue. He enjoyed the Stilton and the Bliss but the real standout was the fondue. It was served on an endive leaf and had a very intense flavor. It was definitely not your typical cheese plate offering. I opted for the white chocolate gelato with red currants and tableside shavings. Normally I don't care for white chocolate, I'm a dark chocolate kinda gal. The darker, the better! For some reason the gelato sounded really appealing. I'm glad I ordered it because it was delicious. The white chocolate flavor was very delicate. The tableside shavings turned out to be white chocolate curls. Next our server poured our cups of coffee. I had joked with DH earlier that this would be our only good cup of coffee on the whole vacation. The coffee was rich and delicious and they served it with warm cream so it doesn't curdle. For dessert DH chose the Tanzanian chocolate pyramid, Hawaiian Kona chocolate souffle and Peruvian chocolate ice cream with puff pastry. This was a great trio of chocolate desserts. The ice cream was the most decadent, delicious I've ever tasted. It was bittersweet and just transcended all other chocolate ice creams. The souffle was cooked perfectly and the pyramid was almost like a chocolate mousse formed into a pyramid and dusted with cocoa powder. I went for the Hawaiian Kona chocolate souffle. It was just a larger version than DH's. It was another amazing meal at Victoria and Albert's. I want to try the Chef's table next time but DH isn't too thrilled with the idea. He loves the atmosphere in the regular dining room. Anyway, if we eat at Victoria and Albert's again, I won't be complaining too loudly if it's in the regular dining room vs the Chef's table.
Lucky girl....
SmallWorld71
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2007
- Messages
- 6,019
Just discovered your reviews - they are great! Looking forward to more.
honeybee30
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2006
- Messages
- 998
V&A's sounds amazing. I can't wait to try it. Next trip, maybe.
-
A Closer Look at New Merchandise Coming to the Disney Adventure
-
The New Drink of the Month at Coca-Cola Disney Springs
-
Let's Walk Through Wicked: The Experience at Universal Orlando
-
Taste the Flavors of Florida with New Dine Around Event at Disney Springs
-
Vintage Disney Shopping: Chloe's Treasure Thursday
-
New Hong Kong Disneyland's 20th Anniversary Event Guide
-
What's the Best Way to Plan Your First Disney World Trip?
Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!
Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE
