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

[emmysmommy]

When we got to Italy there was a rather long line that we joined thinking it was the ADR check-in line. There was a couple behind us that declared it couldn’t be since we would be late for our ADRs if we had to wait in this line. Well… for those with ADRs you go inside the restaurant to check in. Makes sense.

Check-in line - errr... the wrong one that I was in:

We checked in and had about a 10 minute wait before we were seated.
This was a new restaurant for us. The interior of the restaurant was one big noisy room. It had the 3 big ovens (Vesuvious, Etna, and Stromboli.
We were seated at a table for two and Daniela was our server. The table was a bit small but we made do.

Random restaurant photos:

Look at how they torture the lemons here!

Once again, we were not hungry so decided to share an appetizer and an individual pizza. We split the caprese salad (tomato/mozzarella with basil.) I asked for balsamic vinegar since it needed a little something to be added. The salad consisted of only 2 tomato slices and 2 pieces of cheese – rather small for $9.

Caprese salad:

For our main course, we split the Margherita pizza (individual) which was perfect to split. The pizza was wonderful! It was the perfect proportion of tomato, mozzarella, and basil. The crust was thin and not greasy/oily at all. We really liked this place!

Margherita pizza:

Em opted for dessert and got the vanilla gelato with an almond brittle garnish. In my book gelato = ice-cream. Someone needs to convince me differently.. of course, I don’t really eat ice-cream so perhaps I’m not the best judge to compare the two. Em really enjoyed the dessert. She offered me the almond brittle and it was delicious – I could have had a large chunk of that.

The bill with the $7.40 TiW discount (and 18% gratuity) was $38.19 for 1 appetizer, 1 individual pizza, 1 beverage, and 1 dessert. Really, when I compare this to other TS restaurants, it is rather expensive for the amount of food we actually received.

I am looking forward to coming back here in August!

Next Up: Citricos

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Great Via Napoli review! I agree that it's a rather overpriced restaurant, but the pizza is definitely great. I highly recommend the prosciutto and melon pizza.

According to a wikipedia search, one of the main differences between gelato and ice cream is that gelato consists of a lower proportion of butterfat and a higher proportion of sugar. Also, gelato (when made properly) has less air mixed into it than ice cream, which means gelato is denser (and thus more expensive to produce). I've never really noticed a huge difference in sweetness and density compared to ice cream, but at least now I know there's a reason why gelato costs more.

 

[doitforlove]

I've really been enjoying your reviews! You and you daughter are so cute! I can't wait for my Via Napoli reservation now, your pics are good enough to eat

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

It's funny, I just added Via Napoli for our August trip on Sunday. We ate there last year & enjoyed the pizza very much but I agree it is pricey. We have the dining plan so that doesn't really matter. We were going to skip it this trip and DH asked me on Sunday if there was something we could change to fit it in. Glad you enjoyed the pizza!

 

[emmysmommy]

Great Via Napoli review! I agree that it's a rather overpriced restaurant, but the pizza is definitely great. I highly recommend the prosciutto and melon pizza.

According to a wikipedia search, one of the main differences between gelato and ice cream is that gelato consists of a lower proportion of butterfat and a higher proportion of sugar. Also, gelato (when made properly) has less air mixed into it than ice cream, which means gelato is denser (and thus more expensive to produce). I've never really noticed a huge difference in sweetness and density compared to ice cream, but at least now I know there's a reason why gelato costs more.

Thanks for the research! Now I can feel better about paying $10 for a dish of ice cream. There's a prosciutto and melon pizza?? I like that combo for an appeteaser... hmmm... sounds like that could be very good.

I've really been enjoying your reviews! You and you daughter are so cute! I can't wait for my Via Napoli reservation now, your pics are good enough to eat

Why thanks for reading along and for the compliment. I hope you enjoy Via Napoli as much as we did.

It's funny, I just added Via Napoli for our August trip on Sunday. We ate there last year & enjoyed the pizza very much but I agree it is pricey. We have the dining plan so that doesn't really matter. We were going to skip it this trip and DH asked me on Sunday if there was something we could change to fit it in. Glad you enjoyed the pizza!

This will be really weird if we end up at some of the same restaurants at the same time! We'll be writing similar dining reviews and even pop into each other's photos! I do have to say that at least for the price that we paid it was good pizza. It could be worse to pay $18 for an individual pizza that is like Pizza Port. (sorry to any Pizza Port fans!)

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

This will be really weird if we end up at some of the same restaurants at the same time! We'll be writing similar dining reviews and even pop into each other's photos! I do have to say that at least for the price that we paid it was good pizza. It could be worse to pay $18 for an individual pizza that is like Pizza Port. (sorry to any Pizza Port fans!)

We can compare when we get closer ... assuming that I stop changing things around! Would love to meet up!

 

[minijeanie]

If its the 22nd, I'll be the one in the wedding dress

I will be there 8-19 thru 24th..

where you getting married?

 

[minijeanie]

Love Love Love your reviews. Thank you for all the time you have spent writing them and uploading pictures. You are so lucky to go with your daughter.

I will be returning to wdw in August as well with my 21 and 22 yr old kids. We had gone every year since they were 4 and 5 yrs old but stopped once kids in high school. I am so looking forward to going back and revisiting all our favorite spots.
I enjoy your reviews so much as maybe what was a fantastic restaurant when I was there has now changed.

Once again, Thanks so much!

 

[Tracerr00]

Yum!! That Via Napoli pizza looks fantastic. This is a restaurant that I've been going back and forth on. My DD really wants to eat here...but she doesn't like red sauces Go figure! LOL! I'm a pizza lover so I'm tempted to give in but I don't think she'll find much on the menu that she likes. But it looks great and I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Seeing your photos makes me very excited for our mother/daughter trip!

 

[wendym]

The prosciutto and melon pizza is a "white" pizza - so no red sauce. We love it!
Wendy

 

[PrincessBetsy]

Yum, your pizza from Via Napoli looks delicious! I'm a pizza lover, so I think I would enjoy eating here. Looking forward to more!

 

[vettegirl]

Great review! I am going there for the first time in September. My friend wants Italian food, and since I can't get into Tutto we are going for this. Tony's is available in MK, but I am sure this will be a better more authentic choice.

 

[gardengirl628]

Your reviews continue to be amazing. The pizza from Via looks awesome, as does your princess breakfast. My grandmother was from Sweden, and there was some kind of salami that she always had. So maybe there is some kind of scandanavian salami!

 

[Deesknee]

Thanks for all the great reviews. This one in particular since you mentioned, "The interior of the restaurant was one big noisy room.". I wear headsets a lot in Disney (due to vertigo issues), but I hate to wear them during meals, so this will be one we pass on. However, my older kids may stop by for the gelato, oh and pizza.

 

[emmysmommy]

To all of you currently posting your dining reviews... you are making me look bad! I'm too distracted by all of the wonderful photos of your food and deciding which ADR to move around that I am neglecting this humble review here. I promise I will write my Citricos review within the next day (or two)... In the meantime... let's check in with some of you who are still paying attention to what I ate 3+ months ago!

Seriously though... thanks for hanging in there.

Love Love Love your reviews. Thank you for all the time you have spent writing them and uploading pictures. You are so lucky to go with your daughter.

I will be returning to wdw in August as well with my 21 and 22 yr old kids. We had gone every year since they were 4 and 5 yrs old but stopped once kids in high school. I am so looking forward to going back and revisiting all our favorite spots.
I enjoy your reviews so much as maybe what was a fantastic restaurant when I was there has now changed.

Once again, Thanks so much!

Wow! Look at how many memories you have built with your kids! I know that I won't regret a single dollar that I spent to make this time special. I will be in WDW in August as well so perhaps we'll end up at the same place somewhere!

Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment.

Yum!! That Via Napoli pizza looks fantastic. This is a restaurant that I've been going back and forth on. My DD really wants to eat here...but she doesn't like red sauces Go figure! LOL! I'm a pizza lover so I'm tempted to give in but I don't think she'll find much on the menu that she likes. But it looks great and I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Seeing your photos makes me very excited for our mother/daughter trip!

There are really so many good looking options here and Wendy already noted a non-red sauce version. It really was very good.

The prosciutto and melon pizza is a "white" pizza - so no red sauce. We love it!
Wendy

Thanks for the information. It reminds me (well, not exactly) of the "white" pizza from California Pizza Kitchen.... I LOVE that pizza!

Yum, your pizza from Via Napoli looks delicious! I'm a pizza lover, so I think I would enjoy eating here. Looking forward to more!

It was yummy!

Great review! I am going there for the first time in September. My friend wants Italian food, and since I can't get into Tutto we are going for this. Tony's is available in MK, but I am sure this will be a better more authentic choice.

Ohhhh yeah.... I think this is a much better choice than Tony's. Tuttu would have been a lovely choice but I think they are more pricey as well. How exciting to have a girlfriend trip - I hope you enjoy this place when you go.

Your reviews continue to be amazing. The pizza from Via looks awesome, as does your princess breakfast. My grandmother was from Sweden, and there was some kind of salami that she always had. So maybe there is some kind of scandanavian salami!

And I was just going for my reviews being read! Thanks though for the compliment. I'm sure you are correct that there has to be some norwegian connection to the salami. I like your term, I'll call it Scandanavian Salami in the future.

Thanks for all the great reviews. This one in particular since you mentioned, "The interior of the restaurant was one big noisy room.". I wear headsets a lot in Disney (due to vertigo issues), but I hate to wear them during meals, so this will be one we pass on. However, my older kids may stop by for the gelato, oh and pizza.

Oh, sorry about the vertigo... best to avoid this place then. I believe there is a Via Napoli pizza window type of place that you may be able to grab a slice and not worry about sitting down in this place. Thanks for reading.

 

[Deesknee]

T
Oh, sorry about the vertigo... best to avoid this place then. I believe there is a Via Napoli pizza window type of place that you may be able to grab a slice and not worry about sitting down in this place. Thanks for reading.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[megan511]

I am all caught up with your reviews now!

I have to say after just returning from WDW and fighting with my camera and getting tons of blurry pics, your pictures are Ah-mazing! Looks like I'm right there eating with you

 

[emmysmommy]

I am all caught up with your reviews now!

I have to say after just returning from WDW and fighting with my camera and getting tons of blurry pics, your pictures are Ah-mazing! Looks like I'm right there eating with you

Welcome back from your trip! I hope you had a great time. As for my photos, you just don't see the one's that are not dining review worthy!

 

[emmysmommy]

This was our final dinner at WDW and we decided to end the trip with one of our favorite signature restaurants - Citricos. We left BLT to head to the CR to catch the monorail the short distance to GF. Unfortunately, there was a lot of people at the monorail station since they were picking up 1/2 marathon packets for the next morning.

Note: I was a bit envious of all the adorable tutu wearing ladies who had their tiaras and cute T shirts - it made me want to run in princess style too. I actually do run about 20-25 miles per week so this is something that I would love to come back for in the next year or two.

Back to the dining review....
We finally reached the Grand Floridian and made our way to Citricos for our 7:10pm ADR. When we went to check in they said that their computers were down so they “manually” checked us in and wrote our information down including that we were on TiW. However… they “lost” us. We sat for a long time and all other parties had been checked in and seated long before us. I finally asked why we were still waiting since we had been checked in long ago and they asked our information again and couldn’t find us. Errr… one of the hostesses said she remembered checking us in but couldn’t find our reservation. Finally, they said they would seat us soon and it would be a nice table. Ok.

Waiting for a table:

I think they are looking for our reservation :

Restaurant view:

Table:

When we were finally seated, it was essentially at the same table we had last time, a 4-top table by the window. Alan was our server and I don’t think he really took too kindly to us. For some reason, he didn’t recognize our charm. He wasn’t rude or horrible... just indifferent and not very friendly. I know he had it in him since he was nice and friendly with the table next to us. Sheesh! Actually, I should describe him as very formal and professional. Again, not sure why since we used our “please” and “thank yous.”

Onto why we are here.. the food. We were started with the olive and multigrain bread. I ate a slice of both but clearly, the olive bread was the winner. It was amazing! We skipped appetizers since I wanted to focus on a main course without distraction.

Awaiting food:

I ordered the oak grilled filet with Spanish onion, peppadew and banana peppers. The filet was topped with “glace de viande” which was a wine reduction (aka awesome gravy.) It was served with quarto formaggi potato puree while Em ordered the pan roasted chicken breast served atop a polenta cake. My filet was amazing, Em’s chicken was not. I don’t know why she ordered the chicken …. Maybe she had had too much beef during the week?? My filet was tender and perfectly cooked. Honestly, I would still go back there and order this even if I didn’t have great service because the food was that good.

Filet:

Chicken:

We decided to skip dessert since we were not necessarily feeling the love so we paid our bill - $79.46 that included the 18% gratuity and $15.40 in TiW savings.

Reciept before TiW discount:

We were done with dinner by 9pm – it was fairly quick. However, considering it was only one course and no chit chat with the server, I suppose that was about right.

Up Next: The Hallowed Halls of the Castle at Cinderella's Royal Table

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Interesting review of Citricos - I'm glad to hear the filet and olive bread were delicious, but sorry to hear that the check-in experience, chicken, and service weren't great. Hopefully things will be better next time, as Citricos is usually quite consistent when it comes to food and service.