Solo w/ No ADRs? A last minute trip’s Dining Report - Day 2 - Part 2 - Narcoossee's

[Dis_Yoda]

Day 1:

I decided to take this trip on the Monday before I left. I had been having lots of stuff going on at work and had gotten to the point of needing a mental break from reality. I realized that I was only a reasonable drive away from Disney, checked to see what was available and planned on leaving that Thursday after work until Sunday. I’ve never done Disney this way before as I’m always a planner.

Originally I hadn’t planned on eating TS on arrival. However, when I pulled into my hotel at 8:30pm, I thought to myself…”hmm, I could see if Jiko or Yachtsman has availability or head over to Raglan Road” I’m not a fan of CS restaurants in general so I was more than happy to find out Jiko had availability at 9:40pm.

I checked into the hotel, ran to my room. As I had worked that morning, I didn’t have to worry about changing clothes as I was already in business dress so I washed my face, brushed my hair and went back to the car to drive AKL.

I checked in around 9:15pm & was seated in about 5 minutes. The restaurant was half empty (a common theme for the rest of this report) and I was seated towards the far end of the restaurant.

I looked over the menu and ordered a glass of pinotage as I debated what I was going to get. I was really torn between the Crispy Savanna Rolls or the Duck Confit Salad and ended up asking my waiter which of the two he enjoyed more. His response was if I was ordering an entrée, go with the savanna rolls as the salad is a lot to have with the addition of an entrée and that’s exactly what I did.

Crispy Savanna Rolls with Zellwood corn, bitter greens, goat cheese and curry vinaigrette $8.00
It was a small portion but just enough. The sweetness of the corn with the bitterness of those greens worked great. My only complaint was that there wasn’t enough of the curry vinaigrette for all the rolls.

For my entrée, I had debated between the Filet or the Beef Short Ribs but I figured I wasn’t going to have filet again (opps) this trip so I went towards the Filet.

Oak-Grilled Filet Mignon - with Macaroni & Cheese and Red Wine Sauce $39.00
Ordered Medium Rare – It came out perfectly. The macaroni & cheese did not have as much flavor as it usually did. However, with the red wine sauce it was alright.

I thought about dessert, but nothing on the menu jumped out to me as something I wanted to eat so I simply got the check and headed back to the resort.

I stopped by the food court to get my refillable mug along with seeing if there was something that could handle my sweet tooth. I ended up buying a box of the rice crispy treats but never ate them when I got back to my room.


(pictures for day 2 get better)

 

[MickeyNicki]

Great start...cannot wait to hear more!

We do alot of last minute trips too and while I am a heavy duty planner I cannot believe how many last minute yummy TS places are available for us

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

can't wait to read more. My husband enjoyed his meal at Jiko

 

[Steph9072]

Thanks for sharing

 

[natalielongstaff]

ooh im in for this one

 

[butiflfeet]

I've always wanted to try doing a last minute disney trip instead of the months of planning I put myself through

I can't wait for more about your trip!

 

[onejellyshelly]

Wow, a trip with no ADRs can't wait to hear more.

 

[MickeyCrazed]

I'm planning a solo trip for October, don't have any ADRs (and don't plan on making any) so I am looking forward to reading about your experience!

 

[PixieDustandEeyore]

a spur of the moment trip sounds fun
Where did you stay.. and did it help to escape from reality? Hope you had a great trip

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Great start...cannot wait to hear more!

We do alot of last minute trips too and while I am a heavy duty planner I cannot believe how many last minute yummy TS places are available for us

Thanks
I know. On my phone I played with the online system some on my 2nd day and was shocked that I could have gotten Le Cellier if I had wanted it.

Thanks for joining in

can't wait to read more. My husband enjoyed his meal at Jiko

Yeah, Jiko is one of my favorite restaurants. I think I'll end up there at my next 2 trips.

Thanks for sharing

Thanks!

ooh im in for this one

Glad for you to join in

I've always wanted to try doing a last minute disney trip instead of the months of planning I put myself through

I can't wait for more about your trip!

You should do it once! It was a blast.

Wow, a trip with no ADRs can't wait to hear more.

THanks!

I'm planning a solo trip for October, don't have any ADRs (and don't plan on making any) so I am looking forward to reading about your experience!

Good to know others travel like that sometimes.

a spur of the moment trip sounds fun
Where did you stay.. and did it help to escape from reality? Hope you had a great trip

It was! I stayed at Pop since it was the cheapest available at the time. It was a great break from the stresses at work.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Great review of Jiko. I'd love to do a "last minute trip" but I think I'm too far away to do the spur of the moment thing.

 

[luckytobeme88]

Jiko is our new found favorite from our trip in July. Everything was great. I had the filet w/Mac and Cheese too. It was wonderful. The best of our meal was ending it with a perfect pot of french press Kenyan Coffee with our desserts. BTW, looking forward to seeing your day 2 pictures....

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Great review of Jiko. I'd love to do a "last minute trip" but I think I'm too far away to do the spur of the moment thing.

Thanks! I dunno - maybe one day you'll find great airfare prices and can do it

Jiko is our new found favorite from our trip in July. Everything was great. I had the filet w/Mac and Cheese too. It was wonderful. The best of our meal was ending it with a perfect pot of french press Kenyan Coffee with our desserts. BTW, looking forward to seeing your day 2 pictures....

Oh I forgot about their coffee. I should have had that but then again at 10:30pm at night, coffee might have made me stay up until 1/2 am Although we are returning there in Sept, maybe so I'll try it then
But plans for that trip may change based on the F&W Special Events...I need to discuss those with my husband tonight.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Day 2: Ready to be worn out?

I woke up around 5:30am. Annoyed, but wide awake. I guess even on days away from home my body did not want to let me sleep in even until 7:00am. I got ready that morning and headed over to the food court to get some tea and a banana and a side order of bacon. The banana was alright but not completely ripe yet. The bacon – It was fake and thus disappointing. Btw, why do they serve fake bacon at the moderates and values but I can usually get real bacon at the deluxe cs places? At least I could at WL and the Poly on previous trips...

I had a crazy plan in my head for today. It was my birthday plus I had one of those AP discount cards. I got to Hollywood Studios around 7am since I knew my transactions might take a while. After being tossed around to a couple different ticket booths/guest services until I got the right one, I was able to use my free birthday ticket along with the AP 10% referral to buy my annual pass. Only cost me $350 out of pocket in the end and I was happy. After I got my AP, I went back to guest services to get my Table in Wonderland card that I knew would eventually be an asset as I have a few more trips planned over the course of the year.

Gates opened for EMH @ 8am and I ran to complete my plan. I rode TSM, Star Tours, ToT then RnRC in the matter of 65 minutes and then left to head to the Magic Kingdom. I arrived at the park around 9:45 and decided it would be a great time to get most of fantasyland complete as it was still early. First up Peter Pan, then Pooh, then Snow White, It’s a Small World and then I left the park.

What? I know crazy…

I wanted lunch at Grand Floridian Café so I headed over by boat. Upon arrival at the GF I ended up having to deal with some phone calls but at 11:30 I was able to get in with no wait. The restaurant was not crowded and sat overlooking the walkway. My waiter was pleasant.

I knew exactly what I wanted.

The Grand Sandwich - Open-faced hot Turkey, Ham, Bacon and Tomato, with a rich Boursin Cheese Sauce and Fried Onion Straws $11.99

Along with one of the GF’s specialty frozen adult beverages.

I got the sandwitch without Ham or Tomato. It was awesome. I ate it with a fork and knife & it was rather heavy for a lunch but not much more food than some CS meals.

The waiter brought me a check thinking I didn’t want dessert. But um, it was my birthday and I want something sweet. So I told him to get me a Tiramisu and a new check

It was just enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. However, I do like the Tiramisu at Citricos much better.

After my meal at GFC, I headed back to the Magic Kingdom for an afternoon of rides and fun. Only snack was an ice cream cone from Mrs. Pott’s Cupboard You can't go wrong with soft serve on a hot day!

 

[Flossbolna]

This sounds like a wonderful birthday!! I am looking forward to more reviews!

But what is fake bacon? How can you tell it's fake?

 

[Dis_Yoda]

This sounds like a wonderful birthday!! I am looking forward to more reviews!

But what is fake bacon? How can you tell it's fake?

Thanks!

To me the fake bacon is stuff similar to the microwavable bacon you can get at the grocery store that doesn't have to be refrigerated before cooking. It has that weird edge around it while being rather flimsy after heated Bacon should be pan fried or at least oven baked as then it is crispy and wonderful.

 

[disneygirlinnj]

Thanks!

To me the fake bacon is stuff similar to the microwavable bacon you can get at the grocery store that doesn't have to be refrigerated before cooking. It has that weird edge around it while being rather flimsy after heated Bacon should be pan fried or at least oven baked as then it is crispy and wonderful.

I thought that too but I honestly now think it's just the bacon has been sitting under those warmer lamps for so long so it gets flimsy. Not gonna lie though..I kinda like it. I hate when my bacon is too fatty. I usually make my real bacon at home in a microwave and cook it on a few paper towels to soak up all the fat.... and then it turns kinda crispy yet flimsy all at the same time

 

[Dis_Yoda]

As it grew towards evening, I was text messaging some friends in the Orlando area. While we were trying to see if we were going to hang out tonight or tomorrow night, I went to the Outer Rim to have some drinks.

I ended up talking to the bartenders about how the menus used to not be standard. I ended up getting a Tropical Lifesaver and a Jamaican Me Crazzzee before my friend and I realized tomorrow would be a better day to hang out.

At this point I was rather hungry. I went downstairs to see what the menu for the California Grill was and nothing stood out to me as something I wanted. I headed on the monorail to the Grand Floridian to see if I could get into Narcoossee’s and was able to walk in.

Looking over the menu, I again debated between two different appetizers. I also thought about just getting 2 to 3 appetizers for my meal and not getting an entrée but for some reason I didn’t do that. I kinda wish I did looking back as eating filet every night was probably not the best decision.

To drink, I got a Glow-tini holding the glow. I have about 20 of those glow cubes around my house and I don’t need to add more to my collection.

Drink + Bread

I started with:

Crispy Duck Roll - spiced apple chutney and soy-chili glaze $12

Mmmm It was amazing. The soy-chili glaze was just enough bite to work with the duck. The size was right for an appetizer although I could have eaten more.

For my entrée I got:

Grilled Filet Mignon - potato gratin, broccolini and choron sauce $41

Again, you can’t go wrong with Disney filet. I do miss the green peppercorn sauce though as I believe it was better than the choron sauce.

For dessert,

Key Lime Creme Brulee $7

It was light and just right. I also got a glass of the dessert wine that complimented it.

 

[H20DogsNDisney]

What a great report can't wait for more!