Sweet 16 celebrated with Mickey & Pals-9 days of TiW dining: Completed 6/14

[GoofySon'sMom]

We will be there at the same time as you! We are currently booked for 8/19-8/30. At the end of my review I will post our current ADRs.. a few may change between now and the end of this thing!

I "promised" my family that I wouldn't make myself crazy changing ADRs after I made them in February. yeah, right! After many changes, I think I am set. Curious to see if we will cross paths!

 

[nutz2notz]

Loving your reviews so much.
I ate at the Plaza on my solo trip back in March 2011 and I just loved the french fries as well.
Looking forward to the rest of your reviews.

 

[dreamscometrue101]

I'm loving your review!

I've looked at some of your others and it seems that we have similar tastes in dining places, so I'm excited to get your reviews on some of the places you went to.

My DS(15) and I are going down August 19th to 27th on deluxe dining and he's already asked me to change a few of the ADR's. After your reviews it's likely I'll be switching some others.

 

[Linda67]

We are trying the Plaza for the first time on our next trip so I was happy to see your review

Those fries do look delicious

 

[TigerKat]

We love the french fries at the Plaza too! Best ones I've had at WDW!

 

[MickeyNicki]

We love the french fries at the Plaza too! Best ones I've had at WDW!

Ditto what Kathy just said!

Breakfast at GFC is so nice, its pretty empty and quiet and if you sit in the rear of the restaurant you have a great view of the monorail going by the park

 

[emmysmommy]

I had the same table as you the last time I ate at the Plaza. I know the feeling towards tables being near kitchens, or bathrooms for that matter, are they're to be avoided, but I've never felt that way in Disney.

Table near bathrooms = Ewwww. Table near the kitchen = slightly annoying. Being near either at a WDW restaurant - I'll take it!

Hey, that's 'our' table. We always seem to end up sat there when we eat at The Plaza. I know what you mean about the fries - I just love those thick, 'meaty' chips (as we call them here in the UK). The chicken sandwich is pretty good there too

I'll know if this is a trend since we booked Plaza Restaurant for our next trip. Yep, those "chips" were yummy! I looked at the description of the chicken sandwich and it has ham on it - how odd! Otherwise, it sounds good.

Really enjoying your reviews! I think we had the same table at HBD last year. I would love to take my dd on a girls' trip for her 16th...9 years to plan

Thanks for reading! Enjoy your time with DD while she's still young!

I "promised" my family that I wouldn't make myself crazy changing ADRs after I made them in February. yeah, right! After many changes, I think I am set. Curious to see if we will cross paths!

That which makes the family crazy fills a need deep down inside us to plan the perfect trip! Glad you have your ADRs worked out! You know you have about 100 days to make any changes still.... just saying!

Loving your reviews so much.
I ate at the Plaza on my solo trip back in March 2011 and I just loved the french fries as well.
Looking forward to the rest of your reviews.

Thanks for reading! I'm a new Plaza Restaurant fan! And yes, I'm having fries when we return!

I'm loving your review!

I've looked at some of your others and it seems that we have similar tastes in dining places, so I'm excited to get your reviews on some of the places you went to.

My DS(15) and I are going down August 19th to 27th on deluxe dining and he's already asked me to change a few of the ADR's. After your reviews it's likely I'll be switching some others.

Glad to know that I have so much influence! Seriously though, this is pay back to all the Dis-ers who shared their wonderful dining reviews that I benefited from in the past. We may see you around WDW in August!

We are trying the Plaza for the first time on our next trip so I was happy to see your review

Those fries do look delicious

Linda, those "chips" will make your tummy happy!

We love the french fries at the Plaza too! Best ones I've had at WDW!

I'm forming a new club.... fellow french fry fans - we can be the 4Fs!! You are now an honorary member! There's something wonderful about those things.

Ditto what Kathy just said!

Breakfast at GFC is so nice, its pretty empty and quiet and if you sit in the rear of the restaurant you have a great view of the monorail going by the park

Most of the time we've been in the middle of the restaurant with a view of - not much. I have to agree that this is one of the hidden gems for breakfast at WDW. It is not expensive and you can most likely get seated just walking up.

 

[emmysmommy]

Tonight we had an ADR at La Hacienda but once we were done touring MK for the day we didn't feel like hopping on the monorail for a mediocre meal. (Sorry to any La Hacienda fans!) So I called to cancel our ADR.

What do do for dinner? We weren't that hungry and we didn't feel like putting much effort into foraging for food. The path of least resistance was to walk across the bridge to the Contempo Cafe.

At the café, I couldn’t decide what to eat… I kept scrolling through the options on the self-serve kiosk but decided to play it safe and order the kid’s pepperoni pizza. I chose the fries and grapes for the side choices. This is a really great deal since it was only $5.49! Em ordered the chicken basil cream pasta and a water.

While we were perusing the refrigerator case to decide on any other add ons I saw what I really wanted to eat for dinner – a Smuckers PB&J Uncrustable! Yep, my inner child emerged! I asked the cashier if I could change my mind and cancel the kid’s pizza order and she said not a problem. These are also a snack credit.

Note: I noticed on our last day that the price they had posted on the menu board for the PB&J was not what they charged – it was actually ringing up .50 more than posted. Not a big deal but it should probably be updated.
We finalized our choices, paid at the register (after removing the kid’s pizza selection), received our pager, and had a short wait before Em’s food was ready.

Price list:

When the pager went off, we asked for Em’s pasta to-go, which simply meant they put a lid on the plate. We decided to eat in the room instead of the dining area.

Chicken basil cream:

And my fine dining choice!

Em thought that the chicken basil cream was just mediocre - it was apparently not as good as it looked. I don't think she's such a fan. I really loved the kid's pepperoni pizza in the past but since I wasn't really up for a meal, the PB&J was the perfect light snack! Yum!

Next Up: Kouzzina

 

[Linda67]

Thanks for the chips reference

By the way you have now scared me about my La Hacienda reservation, is it really that bad

 

[TigerKat]

I'm sorry you didn't get to La Hacienda. We were not fans after our first visit last May but after last year's Food & Wine Fest we definitely changed our minds. They hosted a "Tequila Lunch" that was excellent. So good, in fact, we made an ADR there for later that week and were blown away by the food. I am now a fan!

 

[emmysmommy]

Thanks for the chips reference

By the way you have now scared me about my La Hacienda reservation, is it really that bad

So sorry to scare anyone The chips/salsa were very good, I loved the Botana appy....DD loved the chicken dish (pollo al something??) .... just stay away from the shrimp taco - ick! I actually had La Hacienda in our dining line up this summer so it can't be that bad!

I'm sorry you didn't get to La Hacienda. We were not fans after our first visit last May but after last year's Food & Wine Fest we definitely changed our minds. They hosted a "Tequila Lunch" that was excellent. So good, in fact, we made an ADR there for later that week and were blown away by the food. I am now a fan!

That is what I was missing - the tequila! I would go and get just the appetizers and be happy - oh and a margarita!

 

[Tracerr00]

Laughing at your gourmet meal of Uncrustables! I love it! Sometimes you just spot something that sounds good and you go for it. It actually sounds pretty good to me right now!

 

[wilma-bride]

Boy, am I glad you didn't show a picture of the inside of that Uncrustable. I have serious PB-phobia

Still, DH would have been happy with your choice. Got to say that the pasta doesn't look the most appetising.

We have only eaten at Contempo Cafe once (much preferred the old CS place, not that I can remember for the life of me what it was called) and we weren't that taken with it. I had the lime and something grilled chicken and it was disgusting. Burned beyond recognition, dry and completely inedible.

Looking forward to your review of Kouzzina, a place we keep meaning to try.

 

[goofy78]

Awesome reviews! We are definitely eating at most of these restaurants next trip. Keep it coming!

 

[emmysmommy]

Laughing at your gourmet meal of Uncrustables! I love it! Sometimes you just spot something that sounds good and you go for it. It actually sounds pretty good to me right now!

After our return from WDW I started buying the value pack of Uncrustables. It took me 3 weeks to get over those!

Since you mentioned my gourmet meal...... Here's one for you. My packaged dinner with my beverage in a wine class - such class!

Boy, am I glad you didn't show a picture of the inside of that Uncrustable. I have serious PB-phobia

Still, DH would have been happy with your choice. Got to say that the pasta doesn't look the most appetising.

We have only eaten at Contempo Cafe once (much preferred the old CS place, not that I can remember for the life of me what it was called) and we weren't that taken with it. I had the lime and something grilled chicken and it was disgusting. Burned beyond recognition, dry and completely inedible.

Looking forward to your review of Kouzzina, a place we keep meaning to try.

A peanut butter phobia huh? Kinda like my phobia for seeing people eat escargot! I promise that I will not show any photos of peanut butter!

My Kouzzina review is coming up next.

Awesome reviews! We are definitely eating at most of these restaurants next trip. Keep it coming!

Thanks for reading! Great minds dine alike!

 

[emmysmommy]

We had an 8:30am ADR at Kouzzina so we took a taxi which only took about 10-15 minutes from CR to Boardwalk Inn. We arrived at BWI early enough to take a quick tour of the lobby and resort grounds. I really liked the décor and theming of this hotel. (In fact so much so that I booked a split stay here for our August trip.)

We checked in at Kouzzina and had a short wait before they escorted us to our table. This place was not busy at all this early. There were only a handful of tables that were occupied. I loved the décor with the dark wood accents, decorative olive oil bottles, blown-glass lantern style lights and the granite counter with the open kitchen.

Christopher was our server and was awesome! He explained some of the items on the menu since I had a few questions – namely, could the chef create a smaller version of the breakfast skillet? Our server responded – not really. To which I voiced what I believe he must have been thinking, “hey lady, why not just have some self-control and just stop eating when you are full!” Yeah… like that works for me!

I didn’t want a traditional breakfast since we were in a Greek restaurant so in the end, I decided to try something new. I ordered the Skillet Breakfast that is a layer of diced sweet potatoes with onion topped with an omelet style egg layer that had bacon and pequillo peppers and Greek cheese. This layer was topped with arugula that was dressed with some type of vinaigrette and then finally two slices of toasted sourdough.

Em ordered the semolina pancakes with maple cherry glaze (aka syrup) and bacon. I noticed that my dish sat on the counter for some time before our server brought out our food. I was hoping it was someone else’s food and not mine but…. I was the lucky recipient of lukewarm food.

Breakfast skillet:

Semolina pancakes:

Us with food:

Em liked her pancakes and would order them again – I was offered a bite and I agreed - very good. I thought my breakfast skillet was just ok. The best part honestly was the arugula salad and the sourdough toast. The potato layer was not that great (for my taste) while the egg part wasn’t warm enough – the result of sitting on the counter. I didn’t want to send it back so I just ate it and wasn’t a big fan…. I saw someone at another table order the waffles with mascarpone cheese which looked really good. I would return here again to give it another chance but I would definitely order something different. Honestly, I think this restaurant is a lot better than the dish that I ordered so I definitely want to give it another try.

Our server arrived at the table with two cupcakes topped with Mickey confetti. It was very thoughtful of him to not only bring 1 but 2 cupcakes. We were too stuffed to eat them so he offered a box so that we could take them to-go. Before we left he also brought Em a fruit smoothie. That was definitely a nice touch. We thanked him and chatted for a bit before we settled the bill and moved on with our day.

The bill was $31.75 and included the $6.15 TiW discount. I tipped a little extra beyond the automatic 18% gratuity for his great service and the birthday extras.

 

[TigerKat]

You will LOVE staying at the Boardwalk. It's so much fun at night! We haven't done Kouzzina for breakfast but have had dinner there twice and were very impressed!

 

[wilma-bride]

The Boardwalk resorts are so great, you will love BWI. Where is the other half of your stay?

Kouzzina looked good but shame about your food sitting around for a little while. I always think that the food never seems to be piping hot at Disney anyway - maybe this is why!

 

[vettegirl]

Nice to hear a breakfast review for Kouzinna, we have yet to try it. The Boardwalk stay sounds so nice in August. I am torn with a late summer trip to my Mom, can't decide whether to go to WDW or DL. If we do go to WDW I am leaning toward the Boardwalk/Epcot resorts if I can get one with the military discount. On the other hand DL is my fav Choices, Choices!!

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

I've been wanting to try Kouzzina for breakfast but it hasn't fit into our plans yet. Hopefully next year. You will love BWI!