Tigger2252
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2005
- Messages
- 806
Our family (me, my DH, and my two DDs) are pretty cautious eaters. My DH and kids more so than me. We have never done the dining plan because, after looking at the menus, they thought the food "too risky".
They were okay with the idea of the quick service plan though so that's what we were going to do. However, Free Dining changed those plans when our plan was upgraded to the basic Dining Plan. Now we had to make....dum dum dum....TABLE SERVICE reservations. OH NO!! I really wanted them to try new things this trip and realize that different doesn't mean bad.
So, to try to ease them into the idea I kept most of our reservations simple, and added a few that were definitely "out of the box" for us. Here is a brief review of what we did:
Day 1:
Mara for lunch. I ordered the chicken flatbread, as did my DH and older DD. It looked really delicious but it was really too spicy for our taste. The flatbread appeared to be heavily peppered and we did not enjoy it. My youngest had chicken nuggets so there's nothing to really say about that. Standard nuggets and fries. We tried the Zebra Domes and they were excellent.
Crystal Palace for dinner. We had reservations for 6:00 and arrived about 10 minutes early. It was really packed though and we weren't seated for about 45 minutes. Food was good, safe buffet food. We have eaten there before so the family was comfortable with it and really like the food.
Day 2:
We did the Sunrise Safari so we had breakfast at Pizzafari as part of the safari. They had it set up like a buffet, and the food was outstanding. The french toast with bananas was delicious and was my personal favorite. Everyone tried fried plantains which was something new. They were finally sticking a toe outside of the box! My oldest DD also tried biscuits and gravy which isn't something us Yankees see very often. The other food was standard breakfast fare they were used to.
Day 3:
Lunch at Cinderella's Castle. The server started us out with Chef's Tasting Plate for appetizers. I honestly can't tell you what everything was because the server rushed through the description so quickly. I do know that the salad contained artichokes, asparagus, and beans. There was some cheese cubes and grapes on the tray as well as bruchetta sprinkled with cheese, and it was all delicious. We all ordered Major Domo's Favorite Pie. This entree was delicious. Honestly if I could have gotten away with licking the plate I would have. For dessert we all ordered the chocolate buckle. This too was delicious. I will say that the service was so rushed that I thought it detracted from the overall experience. It was so hurried that when we placed our order for our entree the server also took our dessert order. Four princesses visited during the meal. Again it seemed very rushed. Overall it was a great experience though and we were very happy we did it.
Dinner at Pecos Bills: Standard counter service food. My oldest DD ordered the Taco Salad but when she went to get the lettuce for it both fixin' bars were out of lettuce. She and several others stood there a good 15 minutes waiting for lettuce. We were almost done eating when she finally made it back to the table. My youngest got the Chicken Wrap and enjoyed it. I usually get that and should have again instead of the Chicken Caesar salad which was gross.
Day 4:
Lunch at Chefs de France. Being the Bland Family we all ordered the same identical meal. French Onion Soup, Baked Macaroni with Gruyere Cheese, and Chocolate Mousse Cake. This entire meal was just outstanding. The French Onion Soup was so good that I could have made it my entire meal. The baked macaroni and cheese was very good as well, and the dessert was delicious. It wasn't overly sweet or rich. This was one of our favorite meals. Service was attentive but slow between courses. I think our server may have been new as she seemed a little unsure of herself. She was a sweetheart though and we didn't mind a bit. Lunch took nearly 2 hours, but it was so enjoyable that we were surprised when we left and looked at the time.
Dinner at the Coral Reef: We had reservations for 6:00 again. The place was absolutely packed. We weren't seated until almost 7:00. I wanted to eat here because of the aquarium. I can now say that I saw it, and wouldn't go back again. The service was very rushed and sporadic. She brought us 2 drinks after taking our drink order. I'm sure it was to make sure that we had drinks, but most people don't care to have ice melting into their second drink while they are sipping their first one. My oldest DD and I ordered the NY Strip with roasted potatoes, my DH ordered the Mahi Mahi, and my youngest DD ordered the Seared Chicken Breast served over Spaetzle. We enjoyed the steaks but they were a bit gristly in places. The chicken was good, but the spaetzle was pretty tasteless. My DH thought the Mahi Mahi was okay but he wouldn't eat it again. He's basically a haddock kind of guy so the Mahi Mahi was a reach for him.
For dessert we all ordered the Chocolate Wave for dessert. It was way too sweet and rich for my taste and I wasn't able to finish it. Overall not the most memorable meal and it is down at the bottom of the places we ate in ranking.
Day 5:
Lunch at Mara again: Everyone else stuck with safe chicken nuggets or cheese burgers. I tried the Chicken Pita. Again I was disappointed. One of the most tasteless things I ever tried. I should have gotten a burger.
Dinner at Jiko: This was truly an out-of-the-box experience for us. We did the Wanyama Safari which includes dinner at Jiko. We had the opportunity to try many new things we would have never normally tried. Additionally we enjoyed the meal family style with the other families that were on the safari in the traditional African way. As each course is brought out it is described in detail and is accompanied by a different wine selection.
The first course was a ginger soup followed by a selection of flatbreads. This was followed by a trio of dips and assorted breads. The dips ranged from mild to very spicy. Thankfully our dinner partners were avid foodies, and a chef, and were able to give us an idea of what to expect. Although we wanted to be adventurous we don't like very spicy foods and wanted to avoid them. There were selections of appetizers that included savannah rolls, that were delicious.
Entrees included Chermoula Tanglewood Chicken with goat cheese potatoes, Oak Grilled Prime Rib with macaroni and cheese, and Sea Bass with vegetables. The food was all spectacular. The goat cheese potatoes were my absolute favorite thing, along with the Savannah Rolls. The beef was cooked to perfection and was really excellent.
Desserts included Pistachio Creme Brulee, Lemon Curd, and Tanzanian Chocolate Cheesecake. All were outstanding.
Service was impeccable at this restaurant and the experience was something we will never forget.
Day 6: Lunch at 50's Prime Time. Comfort food!! We love this restaurant. We ate here for my DD's birthday because it is her favorite. She and her dad ordered the chicken pot pie, I ordered the fried chicken with collard greens, and my oldest DD ordered the pot roast. Everyones plates were clean at the end of the meal. I could make a meal out of just the collard greens. These aren't served in any restaurant where we live and I love them! For dessert we had the Hula Hoop Cupcake. Yum! Our server was Tracey Sue and she made the entire meal an experience. She reminded everyone to keep their elbows off the table, and to eat your vegetables before you could order dessert. We were seated pretty close to another family and it actually seemed family style. Tracey Sue was really into her role and we laughed through the entire meal. She played airplane with the table next to us when one of the women didn't finish her vegetables, and eventually put her in time out with her nose against the wall. It was hysterical, and fortunately the lady was a really good sport and played along for her son. He was in stitches over seeing his mom in time out.
Day 7:
Breakfast at Mara: Typical quick service breakfast food. For us they had a better breakfast menu at this food court than lunch & dinner.
Day 8:
Breakfast at Boma: Buffet with both traditional American fare as well as traditional African fare. Everything was really delicious. I loved the scrambled eggs with goat cheese and chives and the Bobotie. We loved this restaurant and would eat there again.
I was glad we had the opportunity to use the dining plan this trip. It got us away from the counter service food we are accustomed to and let us try some new food.
So, that pretty much wraps up the Bland Family's tentative exploration into the world of new and different food.
They were okay with the idea of the quick service plan though so that's what we were going to do. However, Free Dining changed those plans when our plan was upgraded to the basic Dining Plan. Now we had to make....dum dum dum....TABLE SERVICE reservations. OH NO!! I really wanted them to try new things this trip and realize that different doesn't mean bad.So, to try to ease them into the idea I kept most of our reservations simple, and added a few that were definitely "out of the box" for us. Here is a brief review of what we did:
Day 1:
Mara for lunch. I ordered the chicken flatbread, as did my DH and older DD. It looked really delicious but it was really too spicy for our taste. The flatbread appeared to be heavily peppered and we did not enjoy it. My youngest had chicken nuggets so there's nothing to really say about that. Standard nuggets and fries. We tried the Zebra Domes and they were excellent.
Crystal Palace for dinner. We had reservations for 6:00 and arrived about 10 minutes early. It was really packed though and we weren't seated for about 45 minutes. Food was good, safe buffet food. We have eaten there before so the family was comfortable with it and really like the food.
Day 2:
We did the Sunrise Safari so we had breakfast at Pizzafari as part of the safari. They had it set up like a buffet, and the food was outstanding. The french toast with bananas was delicious and was my personal favorite. Everyone tried fried plantains which was something new. They were finally sticking a toe outside of the box! My oldest DD also tried biscuits and gravy which isn't something us Yankees see very often. The other food was standard breakfast fare they were used to.
Day 3:
Lunch at Cinderella's Castle. The server started us out with Chef's Tasting Plate for appetizers. I honestly can't tell you what everything was because the server rushed through the description so quickly. I do know that the salad contained artichokes, asparagus, and beans. There was some cheese cubes and grapes on the tray as well as bruchetta sprinkled with cheese, and it was all delicious. We all ordered Major Domo's Favorite Pie. This entree was delicious. Honestly if I could have gotten away with licking the plate I would have. For dessert we all ordered the chocolate buckle. This too was delicious. I will say that the service was so rushed that I thought it detracted from the overall experience. It was so hurried that when we placed our order for our entree the server also took our dessert order. Four princesses visited during the meal. Again it seemed very rushed. Overall it was a great experience though and we were very happy we did it.
Dinner at Pecos Bills: Standard counter service food. My oldest DD ordered the Taco Salad but when she went to get the lettuce for it both fixin' bars were out of lettuce. She and several others stood there a good 15 minutes waiting for lettuce. We were almost done eating when she finally made it back to the table. My youngest got the Chicken Wrap and enjoyed it. I usually get that and should have again instead of the Chicken Caesar salad which was gross.
Day 4:
Lunch at Chefs de France. Being the Bland Family we all ordered the same identical meal. French Onion Soup, Baked Macaroni with Gruyere Cheese, and Chocolate Mousse Cake. This entire meal was just outstanding. The French Onion Soup was so good that I could have made it my entire meal. The baked macaroni and cheese was very good as well, and the dessert was delicious. It wasn't overly sweet or rich. This was one of our favorite meals. Service was attentive but slow between courses. I think our server may have been new as she seemed a little unsure of herself. She was a sweetheart though and we didn't mind a bit. Lunch took nearly 2 hours, but it was so enjoyable that we were surprised when we left and looked at the time.
Dinner at the Coral Reef: We had reservations for 6:00 again. The place was absolutely packed. We weren't seated until almost 7:00. I wanted to eat here because of the aquarium. I can now say that I saw it, and wouldn't go back again. The service was very rushed and sporadic. She brought us 2 drinks after taking our drink order. I'm sure it was to make sure that we had drinks, but most people don't care to have ice melting into their second drink while they are sipping their first one. My oldest DD and I ordered the NY Strip with roasted potatoes, my DH ordered the Mahi Mahi, and my youngest DD ordered the Seared Chicken Breast served over Spaetzle. We enjoyed the steaks but they were a bit gristly in places. The chicken was good, but the spaetzle was pretty tasteless. My DH thought the Mahi Mahi was okay but he wouldn't eat it again. He's basically a haddock kind of guy so the Mahi Mahi was a reach for him.
For dessert we all ordered the Chocolate Wave for dessert. It was way too sweet and rich for my taste and I wasn't able to finish it. Overall not the most memorable meal and it is down at the bottom of the places we ate in ranking.
Day 5:
Lunch at Mara again: Everyone else stuck with safe chicken nuggets or cheese burgers. I tried the Chicken Pita. Again I was disappointed. One of the most tasteless things I ever tried. I should have gotten a burger.
Dinner at Jiko: This was truly an out-of-the-box experience for us. We did the Wanyama Safari which includes dinner at Jiko. We had the opportunity to try many new things we would have never normally tried. Additionally we enjoyed the meal family style with the other families that were on the safari in the traditional African way. As each course is brought out it is described in detail and is accompanied by a different wine selection.
The first course was a ginger soup followed by a selection of flatbreads. This was followed by a trio of dips and assorted breads. The dips ranged from mild to very spicy. Thankfully our dinner partners were avid foodies, and a chef, and were able to give us an idea of what to expect. Although we wanted to be adventurous we don't like very spicy foods and wanted to avoid them. There were selections of appetizers that included savannah rolls, that were delicious.
Entrees included Chermoula Tanglewood Chicken with goat cheese potatoes, Oak Grilled Prime Rib with macaroni and cheese, and Sea Bass with vegetables. The food was all spectacular. The goat cheese potatoes were my absolute favorite thing, along with the Savannah Rolls. The beef was cooked to perfection and was really excellent.
Desserts included Pistachio Creme Brulee, Lemon Curd, and Tanzanian Chocolate Cheesecake. All were outstanding.
Service was impeccable at this restaurant and the experience was something we will never forget.
Day 6: Lunch at 50's Prime Time. Comfort food!! We love this restaurant. We ate here for my DD's birthday because it is her favorite. She and her dad ordered the chicken pot pie, I ordered the fried chicken with collard greens, and my oldest DD ordered the pot roast. Everyones plates were clean at the end of the meal. I could make a meal out of just the collard greens. These aren't served in any restaurant where we live and I love them! For dessert we had the Hula Hoop Cupcake. Yum! Our server was Tracey Sue and she made the entire meal an experience. She reminded everyone to keep their elbows off the table, and to eat your vegetables before you could order dessert. We were seated pretty close to another family and it actually seemed family style. Tracey Sue was really into her role and we laughed through the entire meal. She played airplane with the table next to us when one of the women didn't finish her vegetables, and eventually put her in time out with her nose against the wall. It was hysterical, and fortunately the lady was a really good sport and played along for her son. He was in stitches over seeing his mom in time out.
Day 7:
Breakfast at Mara: Typical quick service breakfast food. For us they had a better breakfast menu at this food court than lunch & dinner.
Day 8:
Breakfast at Boma: Buffet with both traditional American fare as well as traditional African fare. Everything was really delicious. I loved the scrambled eggs with goat cheese and chives and the Bobotie. We loved this restaurant and would eat there again.
I was glad we had the opportunity to use the dining plan this trip. It got us away from the counter service food we are accustomed to and let us try some new food.
So, that pretty much wraps up the Bland Family's tentative exploration into the world of new and different food.
My sister's in laws are also from New York and have never had biscuits and gravy. 
