The Breakfasts Heard 'Round the World

[mindylee847]

Hello!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Wednesday!

After Biergarten, we ended up riding Spaceship Earth behind the most annoying flash photographer EVER... and then went back to the resort for a nap. I couldn't sleep even though I had been up since 1:30 am central time and it was already around 3 in Orlando. I was far too excited, because I knew what my eyes would soon fall upon.



I could just sit and stare at that castle all day and night.

After riding Haunted Mansion, we walked through the new Fantasyland areas. Wow. I couldn't be more impressed! Rapunzel is in my top three favorite princesses... Rapunzel, Ariel, and Merida are all kinda tied for first in my book. Anyways, I couldn't help but fall in love with the... restrooms?!? Seriously, these restrooms are probably my second favorite spot in all of Magic Kingdom now! (Next to the castle of course.)



Alrighty - back to the food! (Odd I suppose to follow up a bathroom with food... )


This is where we ended up!





We had to get our hands on Disney's counter to Butterbeer, LeFou's Brew. Now, I knew this would be a hard sell for us from the get go. We're big into Harry Potter and I love my Butterbeer SO much. To give you an idea: My brother bothered a bee while we were at IOA in front of Hogwarts. The bee flew under my leg and stung me - first ever bee sting. I screamed and cried and then realized that someone had moved my Butterbeer. The first coherent words that came out of my mouth were "Where is my Butterbeer?!" So when I heard that Disney had come up with something, I was pretty biased and thought it could never match up...



Now I want you to know that my husband only looks so upset because I told him to wait til I took a picture! This was even before tasting it.



LeFou's Brew is "frozen apple juice with a hint of toasted marshmallow and topped with all-natural passion fruit-mango foam". It's available in souvenir goblet cups or just plain old plastic cups for half the price.

My husband and I both agreed that it was good and it would be GREAT for any apple lover. I like apples and all, and this was great for the warmer weather... but it didn't match up to Butterbeer for either of us. I don't know if I'd go out of my way to pick one up, but I wouldn't refuse to drink one.

I was very impressed with the tavern though! Antlers were truly used in all of the decorating! We must have went at just the right time too, because the place was empty! We snagged our drink right away and had a table right in front of the fireplace.





There's still more to come from our night at Magic Kingdom! Hold on tight!

 

[TokyoSunrise]

Love your enthusiasm!! Can't wait to read more.

 

[mindylee847]

Love your enthusiasm!! Can't wait to read more.

Hi TokyoSunrise! Welcome to my report! And I can't help but be enthused when I talk about Disney.

 

[FancyNancy]

Enjoying your dining review and subbing in!

 

[mindylee847]

Enjoying your dining review and subbing in!

Hello FancyNancy and welcome to the report!

 

[mindylee847]

Sorry for the short delay in posts! I was a bit under the weather the last few days. So, let's pick up where we left off!

We were in need of food and for some reason I actually wanted a whole meal. It was around 8:30 PM so we decided to head over to Cosmic Ray's. It was unusually empty when we got there. I'm assuming it was due to the parade and fireworks. The fact that it was so late on a Sunday may also be involved.

We were able to grab a front row table right in front of Sonny Eclipse.



Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe consists of three different food bays. The first is Chicken. The second is burgers. The third is salads/sandwiches. We headed straight for Bay 3. We placed our orders rather quickly and here is what we got:



I ordered the Vegetable Sandwich. It had mushrooms, cucumber, tomatoes, spinach, onions... normal vegetable toppings. there was also some sort of light oil/vinaigrette that was on it as well. This made the entire sandwich quite soggy and slippery. I wasn't all that impressed, but I know what to expect from over the counter at Magic Kingdom. I also ordered apple slices and a bottled water. They also had a choice of fries or cucumber salad. (I only didn't order the salad because there was cucumber on the sandwich and I already had salad that afternoon at Biergarten.)

Mike ordered the Turkey Sandwich. There was a large amount of turkey on the sandwich and onion, lettuce, mayo?? He really doesn't remember what else was on the sandwich. I know he didn't enjoy how much turkey they gave him - it really was a lot. That may be an upside for those that just love tons of meat on their sandwich. He also had fries on the side. He enjoyed those.

We realized that we both should have just split a sandwich. We weren't as hungry as we thought - or we weren't impressed enough with the food to fully finish the meal. Cosmic Ray's is usually a must do for us. But now that I've experienced going to some resorts for meals and the flexibility of not having the dining plan, I don't think I'll be heading back. It's not that the food is bad, there are just better options in my opinion.

On a brighter note, Magic Kingdom was open until 1 AM that morning. On our way out of the park, we split one of these:



A super wonderful pineapple dole whip from Aloha Isle. Obviously from that description - you can probably guess that I loved it! I can't go on a trip now without having one. We even had one when we went in January of 2010 when we had to wear our WINTER coats in Disney! That was a colllld trip - but dole whip was a necessity.

Next up - our first true breakfast of the trip!! And it's not just a banana this time!

 

[bostonminnie]

I always forget about Cosmic Ray's, but I guess I'm not missing much! Looking forward to hearing about your breakfast.

 

[mindylee847]

I always forget about Cosmic Ray's, but I guess I'm not missing much! Looking forward to hearing about your breakfast.

I always want to like it more. It's convenient and I love Sonny Eclipse. It reminds me of the classic gold McDonalds that my dad used to take me to when I was a kid... with the singing moon man. Haha.

 

[mindylee847]

It's finally time to start talking about my favorite meal of the day! Breakfast!!

Originally, we weren't planning on any character meals. We felt they kind of have lost their luster over the years. Mike and I were planning on just holding off on ever going again until we had kids. Those plans kind of fell through though the more I thought about our past experiences at Tusker House... and the Jungle Juice!! That juice. I could drink my money's worth in that alone! (And I probably did on this trip; I had three glasses!) Tusker House is also my favorite because I just love the characters in their safari gear. It's probably my favorite outfit for Mickey.

So we headed out at 7:15 AM for our 8 AM reservations. We took a bus straight from POP to Animal Kingdom.





We lined up for our picture with Donald. Now, it's important to know that Donald will not do autographs. They will take a picture through PhotoPass and with your camera as well.



We were sat in a fairly tight corner and our waiter didn't even come over by us until after a different waiter had already given us juice and coffee. It wasn't busy right away, but the place packed up quickly and the two tables next to us were filled with one very large group with five kids. It was only a problem when the characters would come over because there really wasn't much space. But anyways... here is the one picture of the buffet area that I managed to take before it got super crowded.



Here's a picture of Mike's first plate.



As you might be able to tell... I accidentally poured oatmeal all over his biscuits! Now, I hadn't had my coffee yet and the oatmeal was literally RIGHT next to the gravy. They really should have more clear signs!

My husband's favorite thing on the plate were the scrambled eggs.

Here is my plate.



I really liked the biscuits (since mine didn't have oatmeal on them). My favorite thing on the plate was the quiche though. I wasn't expecting it to be, but it kind of blew me away. I don't know WHY I grabbed so many eggs either. I think I saw the scrambled eggs and then I realized that there were even more egg options! So a good tip I have for you - there are multiple egg choices and you may want to take a quick walk around the buffet before filling up your plates. I took two bites of the sausage and really was not a fan. I usually like sausage links, but these patties were just too plain and dry.

Here is my husband's second plate.



It consisted of breakfast tots, the quiche that I loved, and some REAL biscuits and gravy. He liked the tots but didn't like the quiche near as much as I did... if at all.

Here is my second plate.



On the left was a strawberry turnover which was fine. And on the right... super delicious banana bread pudding! Now, I've never had Ohanas banana bread pudding so I'm not sure if this even compares. My husband does not care for the consistency of bread pudding so I've never made Ohana a priority for us... maybe one day!

Here are our character pics!







So overall, I had a good breakfast but I'm not interested in going back until we maybe have kids. The interaction with the characters were alright but a bit rushed for my liking. It was also very crowded. Most of the food was kind of basic and nothing besides the juice, quiche, and bread pudding truly stood out. Perhaps looking back now after all of the other breakfasts we did, I just didn't see that it was worth the money. I would always recommend this character breakfast when asked which is best. I love getting into Animal Kingdom a bit earlier than the crowds and that's a huge plus for me. That... and the Jungle Juice!

 

[rustyanchor]

that is so irritating about your tablemates at biergarten being put off by your beer flight. i would hate to see their faces if they were eating in ACTUAL germany & saw how much people drink there (when i visited one of my friends while she was living there, i had german folks ask me why i wasn't drinking beer w/ my breakfast ). plus the restaurant is called, you know, BIERgarten. if i were you i would've had to resist the urge to order even more beer.

love your reviews.

 

[daisymomof4]

I love that you poured oatmeal over your DH's biscuits before your coffee because that's JUST the kind of thing I'd do, lol!

Your TH b'fast looks yummy! Do you know if they have ham, either carved or already sliced? My DH is happiest with ham on his plate in the morning and if I can keep him happy at an early morning b'fast my life will be easier, lol.

 

[FancyNancy]

I've never done Tusker house but the food looks good!

 

[Kaykool101]

Breakfast looks yummy. I must be hungry.

We did alot of character meals when it was just the two of us on our 1st anniversary trip and they did start to get repetitive. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed some of the experiences, but sometimes I just wanted the characters to go away, lol.

Our last trip we went with the nephews. And kids make a BIG difference. They are alot more fun. Our next trip is our first with our kids. I am much more excited about character meals this time around.

 

[mindylee847]

that is so irritating about your tablemates at biergarten being put off by your beer flight. i would hate to see their faces if they were eating in ACTUAL germany & saw how much people drink there (when i visited one of my friends while she was living there, i had german folks ask me why i wasn't drinking beer w/ my breakfast ). plus the restaurant is called, you know, BIERgarten. if i were you i would've had to resist the urge to order even more beer.

love your reviews.

Hello rustyanchor! Yes, I am still baffled! I've been telling others about our experience there at work and everyone is just as confused.

I'm from Wisconsin so it's pretty normal to have drinks, even AT breakfast depending on your group! I feel like as long as you're responsible, there truly is no issue - especially on vacation. It's so unfortunate though that we didn't have the fun conversation I was hoping on, though. I love talking to random strangers at Disney about what a great and magical time we're all having - oh well! Maybe next time!

And thank you so much for the compliment! There's plenty more coming your way.

I love that you poured oatmeal over your DH's biscuits before your coffee because that's JUST the kind of thing I'd do, lol!

Your TH b'fast looks yummy! Do you know if they have ham, either carved or already sliced? My DH is happiest with ham on his plate in the morning and if I can keep him happy at an early morning b'fast my life will be easier, lol.

We are still laughing so hard over the oatmeal! I'm kind of embarrassed but it makes everyone laugh so hard that I guess it's alright.

There definitely was in fact a meat carving station. It looked amazing. I'm surprised my husband didn't make it over there actually. I think he was too full by the time he got over there! I'm quite sure I saw ham being sliced up and I feel like there was something else over there, too. I just don't remember what.

I've never done Tusker house but the food looks good!

You should definitely give it a try if you're in the mood for a character meal!

Breakfast looks yummy. I must be hungry.

We did alot of character meals when it was just the two of us on our 1st anniversary trip and they did start to get repetitive. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed some of the experiences, but sometimes I just wanted the characters to go away, lol.

Our last trip we went with the nephews. And kids make a BIG difference. They are alot more fun. Our next trip is our first with our kids. I am much more excited about character meals this time around.

I know exactly what you mean! At this point in my life, one character meal is more than enough for my trip. I don't mind waiting in lines for my characters and they do always seem to come right as you're stuffing something in your mouth! I'm quite sure I've had a few pictures taken with a mouthful of food. Kids would definitely make it a more enjoyable experience, I think. I don't know if I'm just at that age and ready or what!

 

[mindylee847]

Animal Kingdom was HOT and rainy on the day we went. I wanted to get something I hadn't had since my very first trip back in 2005.

On the way to grab my tasty, I took this picture. You can tell that there is not a blue beautiful sky... just gray. All day. It didn't bring us down though!



I headed right for Drinkwalah. It's located across from Yak & Yeti.



This is the perfect spot to grab something nice and cool to drink. They have frozen coke, blue berry, and lemonade... according to the menu I found online. I also saw frozen orange Fanta and a cherry one as well. They also have water, soda, and fruit. It's a rather tiny place, but it doesn't seem to get crowded.



A while later, we needed to have something to snack on. Our reservations still weren't for a few hours. There was something I had particularly in mind that I had heard of on the DIS. I wanted... no... NEEDED a jalepeno cheese pretzel.

So this is the part of my vacation that I realized how little cast members knew about where things were located in the park they worked in. Maybe it's just the summer months... and I did see some new CMs earning their ears so I can't really hold anything against people. I knew there were a few pretzel locations and I had been doing the Wilderness Explorer thing all day so my feet couldn't take much more random walking. I found one of the CMs that just stands under an umbrella and asked them about pretzels. She wasn't sure where the specific pretzel was but she had a handy little brochure in her pocket filled with all sorts of information. It didn't have specific pretzel listings either so I went with my gut and headed for the one in Discovery Island... success!!







This pretzel was as big as my face! It was filled with cheesy goodness. There weren't a LOT of jalepenos in the pretzel either, but I'd say there was enough to add a great flavor. And I know. Why have something so "hot" on such a hot and humid day? Well, it's worth it. SO worth it.

Coming up - we head to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for our dinner!

 

[chocovrdmicears]

Great reviews!

We LOVE LOVE LOVE those pretzels.
2 of those beauties and 2 spears of pineapple from the little fruit stand near the safari, is our traditional AK breakfast. A bite of the spicy, salty pretzel followed by a bite of the perfectly ripe, juicy pineapple.

 

[mindylee847]

I was really looking forward to dinner at Sanaa. Our reservations were for 5:45, but we got to the resort by 4:30. It was raining nonstop at that point in Animal Kingdom, so we hopped on the bus straight to the Lodge. I had never seen this resort before and I was excited! All of the pictures look so gorgeous - and let me tell you. It does the resort no justice. Sanaa is located in the Kidani Village and is African cuisine with some Indian flair. Here is a picture of the menu they had posted outside the restaurant.



We checked in around 4:50 and received our beeper.



The area where you can wait is amazing too. They have large windows and a lot of benches so that you can get comfy and look at this little guy!



They play drums and sing when they open the restaurant. It was pretty cool. I have a verrrry blurry picture of this...



The first thing we ordered was the bread service. We had a choice of three out of five: Naan, Garlic Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kulcha, and Papadum. We chose the three naans. We were told that we could order additional pieces of bread for under $2 a piece.



We also chose to get all 9 of the accompaniments. The left row consists of the spicier ones. The middle row were the medium spiced ones. The right row consisted of the very mild. Mike and I both agreed that the roasted red bell hummus was delicious. The spiciest one was definitely the jalepeno-lime. It was actually just chunks of pepper. It was tasty but I couldn't just keep eating it. What I found the most interesting to taste was the garlic pickle. I definitely suggest splurging to get all 9 if you are in the mood to taste a bit of everything. Next time, we will just pick three or whatever they are offering and go with that.



Mike ordered the Tusker Premium Lager and I got the African Starr Mojito which consisted of "Starr African Rum, Van der Hum Tangerine Liqueur from South Africa, fresh mint, and lime".





I thought mine was good - I had gone on the recommendation of the server. I should have went for the Malawi Mango Margarita. Mike thought his was fine. He wasn't really blown away by it like the Hovels from Biergarten the other day.

Mike got the Tandoori Chicken with apple-raisin chutney and basmati rice. He really liked the rice and thought the chicken was good.



I chose the vegetarian sampler. I chose the Paneer Tikka and the Potato Masala with the basmati rice. The paneer, I won't lie... it was weird. It was just very large chunks of cheese. For some reason I thought it would be the cheese... but... mixed with something. Mike eventually ended up taking my left over cheese bits and mixing it with his rice. The potato was very tasty. It was a mixture of potato and beans and other veggies. The rice was also delicious.



This was our view during dinner.



We decided against dessert because we were headed to Hollywood Studios that night and I had something particularly in mind. Overall, we really enjoyed Sanaa. It wasn't hard to get to either considering that we were already at AK that day and we were headed to another park after. The food was delicious and the server we had was very knowledgable and attentive. If you're in the mood for some different tastes - I highly recommend it!

 

[mindylee847]

Great reviews!

We LOVE LOVE LOVE those pretzels.
2 of those beauties and 2 spears of pineapple from the little fruit stand near the safari, is our traditional AK breakfast. A bite of the spicy, salty pretzel followed by a bite of the perfectly ripe, juicy pineapple.

Hi there, chocovrdmicears! Seriously. Those pretzels!! I wish I could hop on a plane right now and go get one for dinner! I don't know why I'm writing food reviews before I've even started dinner. This was a horrible idea!!

Your traditional breakfast sounds amazing!! I absolutely love pineapple.

 

[mindylee847]

I forgot to mention that AKL and AK only had paper straws. It made eating my frozen coke rather difficult! But I appreciate their environmental efforts.

 

[FancyNancy]

That pretzel looks yummy and oh my goodness what a cute little turtle out your window at Sanaa!