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

[disneydreaminA115]

subscribing!! I love you reports!

 

[emmysmommy]

Cali Grill pork looks lovely, but The Wave looked a bit boring. We've just had a morroccon pulled pork sandwich for dinner, so now that just leaves me needing something with caramel, chocolate and peanut butter. Roll on August when I can visit Caramel Kuche (sp?)

Hi there! Yes, the pork at CG was ahhhmazing!

There are many fans of Karamell Kuche (I'm not sure if this is how you spell it either!) out here.

subscribing!! I love you reports!

Why thank you! Thanks for reading along. More coming up.....

 

[emmysmommy]

One moment please before I jump back into my review.....
I spent the morning re-booking our upcoming August trip now that some room only offers were released. I was a crazy woman...
This was me speaking to myself this morning:
"I want the 30% room only discount for that hotel"
"Oh wait, a free dining package would be cool"
"No, that's not better than TiW"
"How about a split stay again?"
Seriously, I made 5 new bookings but will have to cancel all but 1 since I couldn't decide at the time. Now that I have come off of the adrenaline rush of seeing a new offer released for our travel dates I'm back to my normal sane self. Yeah... I'll keep believing that!

So back to the dining review.

This was our Hollywood Brown Derby dinner - I was really looking forward to this since it had been 6 years since we had dined here. This was actually the first TS restaurant that we had eaten at for WDW so it holds a special memory for us.

So... we had a 7:30pm ADR and we arrived at for check-in about 15 minutes before our ADR. We waited perhaps 10 minutes before we were seated for dinner. We had a table for two along the railing on the upper section of the dining room. James was our server and did an amazing job taking care of us.

Our server James:

Photos of restaurant:

And a photo of your friendly food guide:

Looking at the menu, I had a hard time deciding what to eat since I wasn’t extremely hungry and I didn’t really feel like paying a small fortune for another entrée that I wouldn’t finish. However, in the end, I decided not to cheap out and to go ahead and order what I really wanted especially after James mentioned that they were known for their Filet with the red wine reduction cooked medium-rare. Em ordered the lamb and asked if it could be served medium-rare. James wasn’t certain since it is mostly pre-cooked.

We were started with a basket or rolls served with whipped butter garnished with thyme. That was an interesting combo. Once again, I wasn’t going to let the bread distract me from the real meal.

Our meal arrived and Em’s lamb was served perfectly medium-rare – James did a great job translating her order with the kitchen. She really liked her lamb that was served with a red Zinfandel sauce, Lyonnaise potatoes (looked like au gratin potatoes) and green beans – excuse me, haricot verts. It all looked good.

My filet was served with white truffle forest mushroom potatoes (mashed potatoes) and a large waffle potato crisp thingie. This was 6 ounce filet so was a petite portion and perfect for my appetite. I think I blinked and it was gone! In fact, James came around to check on us shortly after he served our entrees and I declared that something had happened to my filet – it was all gone! How embarrassing! I had 3 filets that week and this was the absolute best. What I really liked was the cabernet reduction – it was perfect for this tender delicious cut of meat. I made the mistake of taking a big bite of what I thought was mashed potatoes when in reality it was a glob of truffle butter – not exactly what I was expecting! But I didn’t spit it out or otherwise lose my manners entirely.

We were really not interested in dessert until we saw the wait staff serving some pretty yummy looking stuff! James suggested a banana foster dessert. He hadn’t steered me wrong with the main course so I decided to follow his advice for dessert. Em ordered the double vanilla crème brulee, which arrived aflame with a birthday candle. She was very pleased with her dessert.

The banana dessert is described as follows; “Banana – white chocolate toffee tower on cocoa almond cookie bananas foster” – all that to say – it was creamy, banana-y delicious! It wasn't too heavy, in fact, it was rather light. James was right on with his recommendation for this dessert! (I was thinking a hug was in order for James but heck, I didn't want to make anything too awkward! )

Birthday creme brulee:

Thoroughly satisfied and fully stuffed we were ready to walk off this dinner.
With Table in Wonderland discount of $18.60, the bill without extra gratuity was $95.97. This is a must repeat place – in fact, we have a dinner booked here again in August.

I just noticed that this receipt does not reflect the TiW discount.

Up Next: Grand Floridian Cafe

 

[Linda67]

It's funny but HBD was never on our radar until last October when we decided to give it a go for lunch

We went along not expecting much and ended up loving it

Note: the HBD Margarita Flight may have influenced my opinion

 

[TigerKat]

HBD hasn't been on our radar either until last year's Food & Wine festival. WE met some folks there for drinks and really liked the vibe there. Then HBD hosted a special dinner during Food & Wine that got rave reviews. HBD is now on our to-do list!!!

 

[vettegirl]

Great review! I have always wanted to try this place, but I don't think my DH would go for some the appetizers and desserts. He is so picky with that stuff. I guess I will have to go alone or take my Mom with me to try this place out as it looks and sounds amazing. Can't wait to hear about the GF Cafe, I love that place!

 

[Tracerr00]

First of all I have been exactly the same with my reservations- first we did the free dining, then my DD13 wanted to take a class through the YES program and we got very inexpensive park hoppers with that so I had to cancel the DDP as we didn't need the tickets. Then I booked room only. Then the discount came out yesterday so we upgraded!

Now you've got me completely re-thinking my ADRs to add HBD. It looks amazing! Thanks a lot! No really, thanks for the amazing reviews because this is exactly why I come here!

 

[wilma-bride]

That lamb dish your DD had looks divine. I love lamb, it is my absolute favourite meat.

When are you going in August? We will be there 25th-30th

 

[Dreamsdocometrue9112]

We have a reservation at Brown Derby for our honeymoon in September. I've been a little unsure about it, but your pictures reinforced my decision! Those dishes look fantastic!!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Your review of HBD helped sway us to eat there this year. Just made my ADR! We were going to go back to Sci Fi "just because" but DS loves lamb and I think your filet looked awesome!

So I think I am now done changing things around! We'll see ...

We will be there August 23rd thr Sept 3rd ... when is your August trip?

 

[emmysmommy]

It's funny but HBD was never on our radar until last October when we decided to give it a go for lunch

We went along not expecting much and ended up loving it

Note: the HBD Margarita Flight may have influenced my opinion

Hi Linda! Mmmmmm margaritas
We hadn't been to HBD in years so I gave it little thought. I'm glad we came back and tried it - I'm a huge HBD fan now!

HBD hasn't been on our radar either until last year's Food & Wine festival. WE met some folks there for drinks and really liked the vibe there. Then HBD hosted a special dinner during Food & Wine that got rave reviews. HBD is now on our to-do list!!!

We have something in common now - HBD is on our must do list! Thanks for continuing to read along.

Great review! I have always wanted to try this place, but I don't think my DH would go for some the appetizers and desserts. He is so picky with that stuff. I guess I will have to go alone or take my Mom with me to try this place out as it looks and sounds amazing. Can't wait to hear about the GF Cafe, I love that place!

I just don't tell my DH ahead of time where we are going to eat!!
Can't guarantee that will work for anyone else though so you may need to hold out for a mother/daughter dining experience.

GF Cafe coming up...

First of all I have been exactly the same with my reservations- first we did the free dining, then my DD13 wanted to take a class through the YES program and we got very inexpensive park hoppers with that so I had to cancel the DDP as we didn't need the tickets. Then I booked room only. Then the discount came out yesterday so we upgraded!

Now you've got me completely re-thinking my ADRs to add HBD. It looks amazing! Thanks a lot! No really, thanks for the amazing reviews because this is exactly why I come here!

Well hi there fellow seeker of a better offer Dis fan! Thanks for reading.

From my first dining review and with every other one I feel compelled to give back since almost every ADR that I book is due to a favorable dining review. (And more than a few have been cancelled due to multiple poor reviews.)

Try HBD ... it is AMAZING!

That lamb dish your DD had looks divine. I love lamb, it is my absolute favourite meat.

When are you going in August? We will be there 25th-30th

Hi there! I realize after looking back at these food photos that they really do not do the dishes justice. The photos look a bit icky and they did not really present well. However, they sure were awesome!

I have changed our August dates a few times but currently, we are going to be there from Sun. 8/19 - Thurs. 8/30. We will be there when you are there!!

We have a reservation at Brown Derby for our honeymoon in September. I've been a little unsure about it, but your pictures reinforced my decision! Those dishes look fantastic!!

Hi there! As noted above... these photos really don't illustrate how wonderful the food was - especially my filet. It looks a mess with the truffle butter puddled all over. And the crazy thing was that I wasn't even really hungry when we went there but I inhaled my steak. Yikes...it was gone in 60 seconds filet style!

Your review of HBD helped sway us to eat there this year. Just made my ADR! We were going to go back to Sci Fi "just because" but DS loves lamb and I think your filet looked awesome!

So I think I am now done changing things around! We'll see ...

We will be there August 23rd thr Sept 3rd ... when is your August trip?

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 have been distracted this week with work - but it is a necessary evil to afford all the fun that WDW affords. I will get my butt in gear and post GFC tonight.

 

[emmysmommy]

We had been to rope drop at MK so by the time we left to hop on the monorail we were running a little late.

We arrived at 8:45 for our 8:30am ADR – oops! Thankfully, they were not very busy and were very polite and didn't mention my tardiness! I requested a waiter that we had last time – Robert. I was willing to wait awhile longer to be accommodated in his section. It wasn’t a problem and in fact, we were the second group to request Robert that morning.

While we were being escorted to our table, we passed Robert and I flashed him a big smile but he didn’t recognize us. I suppose we are not as memorable as I had thought! We were seated and when Robert came around and did the preliminaries to get our beverage orders, etc. I decided not to say anything since it was obvious I would just sound lame. However, Robert gave us a searching look and asked if he had served us before? Why yes, as a matter of fact, last year for my “50th” birthday celebration he was our server. I mentioned that we were now here celebrating Em’s 16th birthday this trip.

Beverage orders:

Em and I both ordered the French toast, mine with a scrambled egg, Em's with sausage. It was not a problem at any restaurant we visited to order an egg in lieu of breakfast meat.

In between placing our order and bringing the food out, Robert stopped to chat some more. (he did this a few times - we certainly enjoyed the attention!) I mentioned that he had served me a complimentary mimosa for my b-day last time and how nice it was that he did that.

Not long after that conversation, here comes Robert bearing a mimosa. Well, I knew that wasn’t for Em so it was awkward to accept a complimentary cocktail when we were celebrating her birthday. However, after thanking him, I told Em that I looked forward to seeing what he was going to do to make her feel special for her day!

As for the food…. This really simple, basic breakfast fare was delicious. It is challah bread dipped in vanilla flavored batter and served sprinkled with powdered sugar. I had French toast 2 or 3 times this trip and GFC is still my favorite. The side scrambled egg was perfectly cooked as well.

Em's french toast with sausage:

My french toast with scrambled eggs - no meat:

We were waiting for a Shirley Temple, flaming cupcake, cheese Danish, or something to be delivered to commemorate Em’s birthday!! Yeah, we are still waiting! So odd….

Robert posed for some photos with us. We smiled but we were thinking “dude, did you understand whose birthday it was??” (I sound like I'm bitter! )

The check arrived and with TiW discount of $5.67 for a total bill of $29.27.

Next up: Plaza Restaurant lunch

 

[wilma-bride]

What a shame they didn't do anything special for Em's Birthday but 'score' for the free Mimosa

That french toast looks absolutely delicious. I've just had a bacon butty for brunch but my mouth is still watering at the picture of your breakfast.

I hope we bump into you in August

 

[megan511]

I am really enjoying your reviews! Your pictures are really great. I love that you and your daughter do mother/daughter trips. I will look forward to reading more.

 

[emmysmommy]

What a shame they didn't do anything special for Em's Birthday but 'score' for the free Mimosa

That french toast looks absolutely delicious. I've just had a bacon butty for brunch but my mouth is still watering at the picture of your breakfast.

I hope we bump into you in August

Maybe Robert thought that mama really needed a drink??
As for the food - as simple as it was, it was my favorite french toast dish of the trip. I'm a fan of GFC for breakfast!

 

[emmysmommy]

I am really enjoying your reviews! Your pictures are really great. I love that you and your daughter do mother/daughter trips. I will look forward to reading more.

Awwww thanks! I am blessed that she still wants to spend time with me - we really travel well together. More reviews coming your way - thanks for reading along.

 

[emmysmommy]

Plaza Restaurant was the first new place we were trying during our trip so I was excited that we were expanding our horizons in a dining sense. I had read many dining reviews so I had a great idea what to expect here.

We had a 12:20 ADR. This restaurant appeared to be booked because they were turning away walk-up guests. We checked in at the podium outside and were given a pager.

See... a pager!

There were some bistro patio tables/chairs outside the restaurant that we parked ourselves and awaited our table. It was a beautiful day and it was nice to just sit and relax a bit. You can see in the photo below that behind Em is a long line at the podium to check-in.

We had a brief wait before we were seated at a lovely table next to the kitchen. Someone had to sit there! Actually, it wasn’t bad although we were waiting to see a failure to yield situation coming through the swinging doors to the kitchen. Lisa was our server and she did a fine job.

Restaurant photo:

This is a burger and sandwich type of place and seeing as how breakfast wasn’t but a few hours earlier we decided to split something. I let Em pick off the menu and she went with the grilled Angus burger with Cheddar cheese and grilled onion. I think the onion was for me. I picked the fries for the side – other choices were broccoli slaw or home-made chips.

The burger was served already split and each plate had tomato, lettuce, and onion served on the side. It also had a small scoop of fries. I really liked the burger and the flour dusted Kaiser roll was perfect. However, I LOVED the fries. Our server delivered little cups of ketchup and mayo – we didn’t touch the mayo. The only complaint regarding the meal was the tomato was mushy from being over-ripe. I just left it on my plate after the first disappointing bite.

I passed on dessert but Em wanted a banana split – no crushed pineapple or nuts. This isn’t my kid, those are some of the best parts of a banana split! When it arrived and looked so yummy I decided that the name of the dessert had now become a verb and it literally meant it was to be split!! Em graciously allowed me to have some of the banana and whip cream. I don’t eat ice-cream so there was still plenty of dessert for her.

While we were eating dessert, the Mayor came in to declare a family the 100,000th guest or something like that. I believe that is a daily shtick that is part of his routine. It is meant to be a humorous antic that may net the “special family” dessert or something. (Some of you that have eaten here can confirm.)

The bill totaled $25.77 and included the $4.99 TiW discount. Em and I agreed that it would stay on our rotation of restaurants to book for future visits. It is a good selection for a MK day when you want to avoid the heat and the crowds.

Up Next: A slight deviation from our dining plans...

 

[disneyfav4ever]

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.

 

[wilma-bride]

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

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

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