The Graduates Gorge on Glorious Goodies! Jan. 4-11 [UPDATED 1/31 Post #28]

Sorry for the delay! College is really crazyyyy right now. Anyway...on to day two!

DDad picked up breakfast from Boardwalk Bakery for us this morning--chocolate chip muffins for himself, DSis, and me, and a bran muffin for DMom. No pictures, sorry. The muffins were very tasty, except for DMom's--she thought it would be a raisin bran muffin instead, so she didn't eat the whole thing because it was blah tasting (in her own words). Also, the muffins here were the exact same kind at the Beach Club Marketplace, so no need to trek over there everyday. Still, a pretty good breakfast overall.

AK had morning EMH today, so we got there bright and early. Someone's a morning person:

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And we even saw the King himself!

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After a festival...

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...we went to eat at Pizzafari! It was our first time ever eating there--as we usually eat at Flame Tree Barbeque--so we were excited to try something new. We got there at around 11AM, so there were only a few people there at the time, but it was PACKED by the time we left.

We all ordered the Hot Italian Style Sandwich with Carrot Sticks or Chips - Turkey, ham, Swiss and Provolone Cheese topped with Caesar salad and pesto marinated tomatoes - $7.49. We all got the chips.

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And here's our drinks and desserts. DDad and I got the Chocolate Cake $3.59, while DMom and DSis got the Apple Pie $3.59.

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We were VERY pleasantly surprised. The sandwich was very, very good, with lots of flavor from the tomatoes and the Caesar dressing. We all raved about it. The sandwich itself is massive--almost as big as a human skull--but even so, we all finished it. It was soooo good. The chips, just ordinary Lay's, were extremely fresh as well.

DMom and DSis both loved their apple pies as well and devoured them quickly. DDad ate his chocolate cake, without so much as a word, so I think he liked it. As for me, I liked the cake part, but the frosting was just too chocolate-y for me. So I peeled it off in one fell swoop and just ate the cake. It wasn't extraordinary, but it wasn't bad either.

So we all thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Pizzafari!

Deliciousness: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
Service: N/A
Would we return? YES. And we did later in the trip! :rotfl2:

We spent a few more hours at AK, riding the rides and enjoying the ambience before leaving at around 3PM and catching the bus to the Contemporary. We had plenty of time to spare before our 5PM ADR at Chef Mickey's, so we looked around in the shops, and eventually went outside to the pool bar.

I got a virgin Pina Colada, DSis got a Pina Colava, DDad got a Mai Tai, and I believe DMom got a Mango Margarita. There was very few people around, and even less in the pool, so the bartender was just standing there until we arrived. The drinks were okay, but I don't think she blended DMom's and mine enough--there was lots of chunky ice still in them. But they hit the spot anyway.

We went back inside at about 4:45PM and were one of first groups to check in. We bypassed the plate picture--as DSis thought it was demeaning--and sat down in the lobby area. I thought the Chefs' opening was rather cute. They started to seat people at exactly 5PM, and our table was to the right of the desserts all the way against the back wall--a good choice with not too many people around. Our server was Claudette, a woman with Southern ettiquette. DMom and DDad thought she was overdoing it, but I think that's just her natural style.

Now first of all, DMom did NOT want to eat here. She doesn't like lunch/dinner buffets in general, as she believes they try to make many mediocre dishes into a good meal overall. But DDad and I reeeeeeally wanted to try it because who doesn't like massive mice surrounding your table at dinnertime?

We had also eaten at Chef Mickey's way back when it was in Downtown Disney on the Empress Lilly (I think), and DMom didn't think it would compare. She was wronggg.

Some plates:

Salad. Can you tell I like pepperoni?

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Pasta salad and cole slaw. The pasta salad was goooood, with just enough dressing on it.

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Dinner plate: clockwise from top--shrimp lo mein (a special of the day), roasted chicken (another special, though I forget what kind of roast it was), beef bourguignon (a special), Mickey ravoli, and chicken nuggets. Everything was delicious, even the ravoli which seemed like more a novelty than an actual meal. I especially liked the lo mein and the chicken--both were very flavorful and delicious. The only thing I didn't like here was the beef, and that was because I really didn't like the sauce, and I felt they used too much.. I wiped some of the sauce off, and the beef itself was good. And I love chicken nuggets--blame the kid in me!

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And some peel and eat shrimp from the salad bar, which I also devoured!

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The rest of DFamily got other things that I didn't take pictures of--i.e. the carving station items and vegetables such as rice and broccoli that DSis and DMom loved--partly because the character interaction was so good! You would think that the characters would snap a picture with us--two adult daughters and their parents--and then continue on their way, but they interacted with us like we were as young as the children at the table next to us.

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So we enjoyed the meal and the characters thoroughly, and still found room for the extensive dessert bar!

A chocolate mousse Mickey dome, which was okay, a chocolate chip cookie, which was good, and a sugar cookie that was AMAZINGLY good (so good in fact that I took some to go for later!).

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And some ice cream.

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This meal certainly changed DMom's mind! By the time we left (around 6PM), there were a lot of people waiting to be seated. I think 5PM would be the best seating time because the food is fresh, the characters are around more often (because there are less people there), and you don't have to wait long to be seated.

Our service was also quite good, with Claudette, who always made sure our drinks were filled before they needed to be and our plates were cleared as soon as we were done. A very enjoyable meal!

Deliciousness: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
Service: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
Would we return? Yes, but maybe not right away.

Thanks for reading! Next up, an Epcot and DTD day with meals at Wolfgang Puck Express and Coral Reef.
 

Back in 2007 we ate at CM's. Our reservation was for right after they opened, too. I agree with you that it is a great time, a couple characters even stopped by twice before it filled up. :thumbsup2
 
Thanks for reading! :goodvibes I see you're staying at the GF--it's my DREAM to stay there! Let me know how it is. :flower3:


I still can't believe I will be staying at the GF, thanks to the buy 4 get 3 deal we were able to swing it. I will be doing a trip report and a dining report so I am going to make sure I take plenty of pics. :cheer2:


Loralie
 
Hey guys! Thanks for reading! :goodvibes Onto the food.

Today was morning EMH at Epcot, so we grabbed another quick breakfast of muffins at the Beach Club Marketplace and walked over (that's the great part about staying there).

How much juice does this make? :rotfl2:

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After getting through many rides, we walked back to the BC and caught a bus to DTD, arriving there around 11AM. Before we did any shopping, however, we ate lunch at one of our favorite counter service places, Wolfgang Puck Express!

There was only about two other parties there at the time, so it was a great time to go. I snagged a table outside while the rest of the fam ordered.

Here are our drinks. DSis and DMom got juice, while I got Sprite and DDad got Diet coke. And DMom got the fruit cup as her dessert! She said the fruit was very fresh and tasty.

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DSis and I got this: Chicken Tortilla Melt - spicy all natural chicken, onions, sautéed red and yellow peppers and oven-roasted tomatoes, tossed with tortilla sauce, topped with mozzarella, wrapped in warm, all natural garlic focaccia bread. Served with a side of sour cream slaw and tortilla chips $10.95. It came with the chips and a salad, though. :confused3

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OMG, it was sooo good. It was the perfect temperature, and the flavors worked really well together. The bread was also VERY good. I could eat this everyday! DSis thoroughly enjoyed it too.

DMom and DDad got this: Mediterranean Vegetable - a savory blend of fresh goat cheese, mozzarella, and Grana Pordana Parmesan, sautéed zucchini, mushrooms, eggplant and peppers blended with sun-dried tomatoes and rolled in warm, all natural garlic focaccia bread. Served with a side of fresh greens. $10.95.

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DMom loves warm Veggie pockets from places like D'angelo's at home, so she naturally chose this, and she loved it as well. I didn't get DDad's opinion on it--as he was too busy stuffing his face--but from the way he cleared his plate, I would guess that he thought it was good. :rotfl2:

Onto desserts! DMom got the fruit cup, as mentioned above. The rest of us had the frozen yogurt with the choice of toppings. (Frozen Yogurt with one Topping $3.95.)

DSis got vanilla with strawberry topping:

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DDad got chocolate/vanilla twist with chocolate chips:

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And I got the vanilla with cookie crumbles:

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The frozen yogurt was very refreshing, and surprisingly, some of the cookie pieces were still soft.

Our server was also very good! One thing we like about WPE is the table service atmosphere--once you order, someone brings you your food and refills your drinks. He made sure we always had we needed!

Another great meal at WPE!

Deliciousness: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
Service: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
Would we return? Most DEFINITELY. ;)

I'll finish the rest of the day later today. Will our trip to Coral Reef be as good as our last trip's? Stay tuned! :goodvibes
 
We ate at WPE for the first time last Nov and agree it's probably the best CS in all of WDW!:thumbsup2
 














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