Growin'upDisney
<font color=blue>I've been to Disney since I was k
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2003
- Messages
- 964
Day 5 Wednesday January 28th
BREAKFAST/LUNCH
Grand Floridian Café
After the boys drove cars at Richard Petty we headed to the Grand Floridian for DM and my scheduled facials. We were starving so we wanted some lunch. But alas we arrived 20 minutes too early and they wouldnt serve us lunch. We were starving and didnt want to wait. I honestly am a little sketchy on what everyone else ate!! I didnt write it down. I know I had the Mickey Waffle with bananas. It was OK but nothing special. DH and DM had the ham and cheese omelet I believe. Both said their food was OK but again pretty much standard breakfast fare. Dude had the Southern Style breakfast, which probably looked the best of the 4 plates. He said the biscuits and gravy were good. Not much to write home (or to the DIS) about here.
Food: B- Service B- Value C-
TEA
Garden View Lounge
This was a surprise treat for my mom. I highly recommend this to all. We had such a great time here. We had 2pm PS, which is right when the Tea room opens. We sat right next to the window and it was a gloriously sunny say outside. I cannot say enough about the service and the selection. I was surprised and the different choices on the menu. It really has something for everyone.
Mom and I both ordered the Buckingham Palace Tea Offering. This includes tea sandwiches such as watercress and cucumber, egg salad, chicken salad, and a salmon mousse-like, the worlds best white raisin scones with Devon shire cream and jam tarts complimented by fresh strawberries and cream, along with your choice of tea. I had blackcurrant tea and mom had Irish breakfast. Both were very good. We each liked the variety of tea sandwiches. The best part was the scones and Devon shire cream. Neither of us have ever had Devon shire cream and we both loved the sweetness and lightness to it. We will be looking for it when we come home. The scones were very warm and perfectly light and fluffy. We were so full we hardly made a dent in the strawberries and cream. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the tea. It was a highlight for the two of us and great way to tell her thank You for everything she had done for the trip.
Food: A Service A+ Value B+ Cost: $43.28 with tax and tip
DINNER
Alfredos
Due to the unseasonably cold weather (upper 40s) it appeared a lot of people had decided to come to Epcot for a nice dinner. Of course, this was the one night I didnt have any PS set. So we ventured toward Le Cellier only to find it was filled for the night. So we checked out the restaurants along the way until we decided on Alfredos. the lobby was a mad house. Kids were running around (literally) bumping into people trying to wait to be seated. The wait was 40 minutes and we decided to wait it out. We only waited about 25 minutes or so.
Once in the dining room it was very loud and very crowded. I found the tables to be a little close together. There was good variety on the menu. DH and I started out with Peach Bellinis from the bar. They were very good. Our CM was from Rome and with the noise and his accent it was very difficult to understand him. I had the sliced tomato and buffalo mozzarella appetizer. It was fair. I have had better. I guess its hard to expect truly good tomatoes in January. DH had the Minestrone soup, which he pronounced to be very good. Dude had the Caesar salad. He gave it a thumbs up.
For dinner mom, DH and I each had the Trittico di Pasta. It was a sampler of lasagna, fettuccine alfredo, and gnocchi. The alfredo is the signature dish of the restaurant and did not disappoint. I am not a huge alfredo fan but I would have enjoyed an entire plate of this. Dude in fact had just that and declared it to be some of the best he had ever eaten. The lasagna was good as well. The gnocchi was a little underdone and heavy for my taste. The service was less than stellar. We had to ask a couple of time for refills and the CM was gone at least 10 minutes after I gave my card to pay for the bill.
Food: B (Alfredo raised it from a C+) Service C- Value C+ Cost: $101.04 for DH and I with tax and tip
Day 6 Thursday, January 27th
LUNCH
Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville
DH and I spent the day at Universal while Dude and mom went to Kennedy Space Center. We did both parks in one day and on our way from on to the other we ate lunch with other Parrotheads. The décor of this place is very cool. Ill bet on weekend nights this would be a rat place to be. There is a stage where they have live performances. While we ate we were serenaded by the sounds of Jimmy Buffet and there were huge video screens to keep you entertained.
I had steak and chicken fajitas while DH had Cheeseburger in Paradise (in November we ate in Honolulu at the restaurant named Cheeseburger in Paradise). Both meal were good. The server was very attentive since the restaurant was hardly busy. Overall this was a great brek from eating inside a theme park.
Food B Service A- Value B
DINNER
Boston Lobster Feast
The lat time mom and I were in Orlando we stumbled upon this place. OK its not the best quality of seafood, but it is all-you-can-eat. So we wanted to take the guys there. We found that they had opened a new location right on international drive by the convention center and Orlando Pointe Mall. So we headed there and arrive din time for the early bird price.
This location is much bigger, cleaner, and nicer than the first one I went to. The selection was greater as well. I enjoyed the crab legs, marinated mushrooms, and of course the lobster. DH stuck mainly to the lobster but both he and Dude raved about the New England Clam Chowder. The waiter was awesome. He even brought Dude some Lobster bisque from the kitchen even though it wasnt on the buffet line. He was very attentive and had a great personality. We found out he moved from the New Jersey area with his wife because of her health concerns. We also learned that she lost her battle and had passed away. But he was so kind and energetic that you would never know how much he was hurting inside. You could only tell once he talked about her. We left him with a big tip and said we would keep him in our thoughts.
Again, this is not the best quality food but when you come from CA where seafood buffets are few and far between this definitely is worth a try. We will definitely be back.
Food B Service A+ Value A Cost: $120.62 for 4 adults without tip. Its $5 more per person after 6pm.
BREAKFAST/LUNCH
Grand Floridian Café
After the boys drove cars at Richard Petty we headed to the Grand Floridian for DM and my scheduled facials. We were starving so we wanted some lunch. But alas we arrived 20 minutes too early and they wouldnt serve us lunch. We were starving and didnt want to wait. I honestly am a little sketchy on what everyone else ate!! I didnt write it down. I know I had the Mickey Waffle with bananas. It was OK but nothing special. DH and DM had the ham and cheese omelet I believe. Both said their food was OK but again pretty much standard breakfast fare. Dude had the Southern Style breakfast, which probably looked the best of the 4 plates. He said the biscuits and gravy were good. Not much to write home (or to the DIS) about here.
Food: B- Service B- Value C-
TEA
Garden View Lounge
This was a surprise treat for my mom. I highly recommend this to all. We had such a great time here. We had 2pm PS, which is right when the Tea room opens. We sat right next to the window and it was a gloriously sunny say outside. I cannot say enough about the service and the selection. I was surprised and the different choices on the menu. It really has something for everyone.
Mom and I both ordered the Buckingham Palace Tea Offering. This includes tea sandwiches such as watercress and cucumber, egg salad, chicken salad, and a salmon mousse-like, the worlds best white raisin scones with Devon shire cream and jam tarts complimented by fresh strawberries and cream, along with your choice of tea. I had blackcurrant tea and mom had Irish breakfast. Both were very good. We each liked the variety of tea sandwiches. The best part was the scones and Devon shire cream. Neither of us have ever had Devon shire cream and we both loved the sweetness and lightness to it. We will be looking for it when we come home. The scones were very warm and perfectly light and fluffy. We were so full we hardly made a dent in the strawberries and cream. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the tea. It was a highlight for the two of us and great way to tell her thank You for everything she had done for the trip.
Food: A Service A+ Value B+ Cost: $43.28 with tax and tip
DINNER
Alfredos
Due to the unseasonably cold weather (upper 40s) it appeared a lot of people had decided to come to Epcot for a nice dinner. Of course, this was the one night I didnt have any PS set. So we ventured toward Le Cellier only to find it was filled for the night. So we checked out the restaurants along the way until we decided on Alfredos. the lobby was a mad house. Kids were running around (literally) bumping into people trying to wait to be seated. The wait was 40 minutes and we decided to wait it out. We only waited about 25 minutes or so.
Once in the dining room it was very loud and very crowded. I found the tables to be a little close together. There was good variety on the menu. DH and I started out with Peach Bellinis from the bar. They were very good. Our CM was from Rome and with the noise and his accent it was very difficult to understand him. I had the sliced tomato and buffalo mozzarella appetizer. It was fair. I have had better. I guess its hard to expect truly good tomatoes in January. DH had the Minestrone soup, which he pronounced to be very good. Dude had the Caesar salad. He gave it a thumbs up.
For dinner mom, DH and I each had the Trittico di Pasta. It was a sampler of lasagna, fettuccine alfredo, and gnocchi. The alfredo is the signature dish of the restaurant and did not disappoint. I am not a huge alfredo fan but I would have enjoyed an entire plate of this. Dude in fact had just that and declared it to be some of the best he had ever eaten. The lasagna was good as well. The gnocchi was a little underdone and heavy for my taste. The service was less than stellar. We had to ask a couple of time for refills and the CM was gone at least 10 minutes after I gave my card to pay for the bill.
Food: B (Alfredo raised it from a C+) Service C- Value C+ Cost: $101.04 for DH and I with tax and tip
Day 6 Thursday, January 27th
LUNCH
Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville
DH and I spent the day at Universal while Dude and mom went to Kennedy Space Center. We did both parks in one day and on our way from on to the other we ate lunch with other Parrotheads. The décor of this place is very cool. Ill bet on weekend nights this would be a rat place to be. There is a stage where they have live performances. While we ate we were serenaded by the sounds of Jimmy Buffet and there were huge video screens to keep you entertained.
I had steak and chicken fajitas while DH had Cheeseburger in Paradise (in November we ate in Honolulu at the restaurant named Cheeseburger in Paradise). Both meal were good. The server was very attentive since the restaurant was hardly busy. Overall this was a great brek from eating inside a theme park.
Food B Service A- Value B
DINNER
Boston Lobster Feast
The lat time mom and I were in Orlando we stumbled upon this place. OK its not the best quality of seafood, but it is all-you-can-eat. So we wanted to take the guys there. We found that they had opened a new location right on international drive by the convention center and Orlando Pointe Mall. So we headed there and arrive din time for the early bird price.
This location is much bigger, cleaner, and nicer than the first one I went to. The selection was greater as well. I enjoyed the crab legs, marinated mushrooms, and of course the lobster. DH stuck mainly to the lobster but both he and Dude raved about the New England Clam Chowder. The waiter was awesome. He even brought Dude some Lobster bisque from the kitchen even though it wasnt on the buffet line. He was very attentive and had a great personality. We found out he moved from the New Jersey area with his wife because of her health concerns. We also learned that she lost her battle and had passed away. But he was so kind and energetic that you would never know how much he was hurting inside. You could only tell once he talked about her. We left him with a big tip and said we would keep him in our thoughts.
Again, this is not the best quality food but when you come from CA where seafood buffets are few and far between this definitely is worth a try. We will definitely be back.
Food B Service A+ Value A Cost: $120.62 for 4 adults without tip. Its $5 more per person after 6pm.
