The Incredible Expanding Women - 14 days on the DxDP ~ COMPLETE!

[MrsB1228]

The next day we were up early for our 8:05 ADR at Crystal Palace. It was another beautiful day.

I never get tired of that view!

We were really starting to feel the food overload by this time and consequently didn't do much justice to the breakfast buffet. We enjoyed seeing the characters and watching them interact with the children who were sooo excited to see them.

Both Nancy and I had similar selections so I'll just post my plates.

We started with the cold/sweet items.

Cantaloupe, grapes, honeydew, strawberries, puffed French toast and yogurt. Both Nancy and I ordered orange juice with our coffee and they're very generous with refills. The fruit was fresh and ripe and both Nancy and I enjoyed the puffed French toast. It reminded me a lot of a sugar doughnut. We didn't bother with syrup as it was definitely sweet enough on its own.

We only made one more trip to the buffet as we were filling up fast. Here's my plate:

Breakfast pizza, cheesy potatoes, sausage, an egg-based casserole and scrambled eggs. Everything was very good, we just weren't hungry enough to really appreciate it. I actually cancelled a lot of breakfast ADR's because we usually found we just weren't hungry in the morning.

We enjoyed what we sampled at CP, everything was fresh and tasty and the characters were fun. We give it 4/5 and would definitely return, hopefully with more of an appetite next time.

Up Next: Lunch at Kona Cafe.
​

 

[MrsB1228]

After another fun morning in the Magic Kingdom, we left the park and boarded the resort monorail. Our destination was the Polynesian, where we had a lunch reservation at 1:30 at Kona Cafe.

The restaurant was quite busy when we arrived, but we were seated only 5 minutes after our ADR time.

We were both hot and thirsty, so the first order of business was getting something to drink. We both selected:

All Natural Strawberry Lemonade topped with wildberry foam. This was OK, just your basic lemonade really, and we both thought the wildberry foam had a very odd aftertaste. 3/5

Happy to have a cold drink in a/c after a hot morning in the Magic Kingdom.

We placed our orders and before long our appetizers arrived.

Maui Onion and White Bean Soup: with mushroom duxelle and creme fraiche. This was Nancy's choice and she really enjoyed it. 4/5

Caterpillar Roll: inside out tuna roll, shrimp salad, tempura crunch, topped with a layer of avocado. I enjoyed this, but it doesn't compare to the Spicy Kazan Roll at California Grill, which unfortunately was the only outstanding selection from our meal there. 3.5/5

For her entree, Nancy ordered:

Grilled Angus Cheeseburger with Bacon. Kona has two burgers available at lunch, one is the "Surf and Turf" burger, which is topped with spicy fried shrimp, black garlic aioli, and served with sweet potato fries or you can order it as an Angus Cheeseburger instead, which was DS's preference. She was expecting it to be served with sweet potato fries, but as you can see, it arrived with regular fries. She was a bit disappointed and mentioned it to the server, who said the cheeseburger always comes with regular fries. DS pointed out that the menu doesn't state that or she would have asked for SP fries instead but said it was OK, she would know for next time. About 5 minutes later, a runner came out with a heaping plate of SP fries. We were at a small 2 top and it was overrun with fries. DS wanted to send back the regular fries, but they insisted she keep both. She felt bad because she could barely make a dent in one order, never mind two! It seemed like an awful waste of food. She said the burger was only OK, and gave it 3/5.

I ordered:

Barbeque Pork Tacos in A House-Made Shell: pulled pork slow-cooked in House-made Barbecue Sauce with tomato salsa and Jalapeno-lime sour cream. Served with pasta salad and smoky bacon slaw. This was delicious! There were actually two of them, but I could only manage one. The pasta salad was pretty good, as was the slaw. 4/5

Time for dessert!

Nancy decided to have:

Chocolate Fondue: served with fresh fruit and cookies. This is always delicious. 4/5

I had:

Warm Apple Tart: served with house-made cinnamon gelato. The tart was very good, but I wasn't a fan of the gelato. I found it very strong with cinammon, to the point that it completely overwhelmed the taste of the tart. I scraped it off and enjoyed the tart on its own. 3.5/5 for the tart and 1/5 for the gelato.

Lunch here was rather inconsistent. The appetizers were both very good and I enjoyed my entree but Nancy was less impressed with hers. There was definitely a breakdown in communication regarding the fries and our server was a little snippy about it when Nancy first mentioned it. When they brought out another order and refused to remove the first, Nancy felt very self-conscious about the fact that she was literally surrounded by french fries. It made her very uncomfortable. Service is often an issue at this restaurant, we've experienced both ends of the spectrum and you never really know what you're going to get when you dine here. Regardless, we give Kona Cafe 3.5/5 overall.

Up Next: Another dinner at Citrico's, will it be as good as the first?
​

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Well I have just read your delicious dining report and appreciate the honesty and scores of the food what I really want is a picture of the before and after of those expanding waists after eating the DDP for all this time

It seems like a lot if the restaurants helped celebrate your sister's birthday which must have been nice I am looking forward to your next instalment.

 

[nfggirl5454]

Your Crystal Palace breakfast looks so good! I had a pre-opening breakfast scheduled there a few weeks ago, but we decided to cancel it as we were out too late the night before and wanted to sleep in a bit. Hoping to go there soon though.

Your Kona lunch looks mostly good I've only been there for breakfast and dinner, as it's personally hard to get out of the park for lunch. If we leave the park, we tend to either go back to our room to rest, in which case we do a CS at the resort, or we're parkhopping. Oh, and I so want to try out Yachtsman! Never been there but the reviews make it sound so good.

 

[RGirl]

Okay - I have NO idea how I fell so far behind. I felt like I was monitoring this board pretty well and keeping on top of DRs that I’m following. But somehow I totally missed tons of updates. I am so sorry! So prepare yourself for my extensive comments below…..

Okay, I was so excited to see you were reviewing HDDR. I am really close to sold on staying at WL next time we go to WDW, and I want to try all the dining in the vicinity. And I am thrilled to read that you (like so many others) had a great time - we are TOTALLY doing this next time!!!!

I am always impressed with the look of the make-your-own pasta at Riverside. I think it is a perfect CS option. So glad to hear that it was good. Mmmmmm

I have to admit - I felt a little nervous that you were trying CG given all the recent negative service reviews post-refurb. Sounds like your experience wasn’t much better than those reviews - seriously, the temp of your food (plus the fact that the steak was overcooked) would suggest that your server thought it was fine to keep your food under a heatlamp instead of accommodating your timing request. Double strike that the food (even dessert) wasn’t great. CG is definitely not at the top of my must-do signature dining list. Really a shame since it used to get such great reviews. What did they do, hire all new servers and not train anyone????

Kona looks good, but I could totally see how both of those breakfast dishes would be WAY too filling.

Loved the MK pics!!!

LTT is one of those places I have never really understood - seems like nothing special. But after reading so many positive reviews, I am really wanting to try it for myself.

Oh, Chefs de France - I haven’t seen a review of this place in a while. How cool to see Remy! am I crazy or is he no longer there? I hope I’m crazy (well, not really, but you know) - I hate to think there isn’t a place to meet Remy anymore! Ugh - too bad about the server and the DxDDP; really, that is something they should be trained and re-trained on! Hmm, sounds like a pretty middle-of-the-road experience. Too bad it wasn’t better.

I am loving the Shakin’ Jamaican Coffee though! (I would have FREAKED the heck out about the camera situation - so glad it was okay).

As for the YSH, when you said your server was quick to arrive, I knew you were going to have a better experience than we did! I actually really look forward to returning there and having a much better experience.

I think CP is always such a lot of fun! But I certainly know what it is not to be hungry enough to really enjoy the food….

Seems like Kona was a mixed bag over all. I can never quite bring myself to make an ADR there - the menu just doesn’t wow me.

 

[kel585]

Loving this report! You're going to all our favorite spots!

 

[MrsB1228]

Well I have just read your delicious dining report and appreciate the honesty and scores of the food what I really want is a picture of the before and after of those expanding waists after eating the DDP for all this time

LOL! No such photo exists because believe me, we definitely didn't want photographic evidence of our gluttony.

It seems like a lot if the restaurants helped celebrate your sister's birthday which must have been nice I am looking forward to your next instalment.

Yes, a great many of them made sure to acknowledge her birthday in some way, which was lovely. Thanks for reading!

Your Crystal Palace breakfast looks so good! I had a pre-opening breakfast scheduled there a few weeks ago, but we decided to cancel it as we were out too late the night before and wanted to sleep in a bit. Hoping to go there soon though.

Crystal Palace was a lovely experience and one I would definitely like to try again when I have more of an appetite. I hope you get to enjoy it soon!

Your Kona lunch looks mostly good I've only been there for breakfast and dinner, as it's personally hard to get out of the park for lunch. If we leave the park, we tend to either go back to our room to rest, in which case we do a CS at the resort, or we're parkhopping. Oh, and I so want to try out Yachtsman! Never been there but the reviews make it sound so good.

Kona was pretty good, but some parts of it were hit and miss and service can be an issue unfortunately. We usually go every trip, but I'm on the fence about whether hubby and I will go on our next trip or not.

Yachtsman was wonderful and I would highly recommend it!

Okay - I have NO idea how I fell so far behind. I felt like I was monitoring this board pretty well and keeping on top of DRs that I’m following. But somehow I totally missed tons of updates. I am so sorry! So prepare yourself for my extensive comments below…..

Please don't apologize Roni! I've been really ill the last few weeks with a very nasty (and tenacious!) virus and have fallen sooo far behind on all the amazing DR's and TR's I was following (like yours) and I'm very sad about it.

Okay, I was so excited to see you were reviewing HDDR. I am really close to sold on staying at WL next time we go to WDW, and I want to try all the dining in the vicinity. And I am thrilled to read that you (like so many others) had a great time - we are TOTALLY doing this next time!!!!

HDDR was wonderful!! Both Nancy and I had a thoroughly enjoyable time and would go back in a heartbeat. I've already told hubby that it's a must do for us this year. He's never experienced it and I'm looking forward to sharing it with him.

I am always impressed with the look of the make-your-own pasta at Riverside. I think it is a perfect CS option. So glad to hear that it was good. Mmmmmm

This was the third time I've enjoyed it and it never fails to please. It's also more than big enough to share which can save money or credits depending on whether you're on the DP or paying OOP. I really love the whole food court at Riverside, they always seem to have great selection.

I have to admit - I felt a little nervous that you were trying CG given all the recent negative service reviews post-refurb. Sounds like your experience wasn’t much better than those reviews - seriously, the temp of your food (plus the fact that the steak was overcooked) would suggest that your server thought it was fine to keep your food under a heatlamp instead of accommodating your timing request. Double strike that the food (even dessert) wasn’t great. CG is definitely not at the top of my must-do signature dining list. Really a shame since it used to get such great reviews. What did they do, hire all new servers and not train anyone????

I was rather nervous about it too Roni, but arrived hoping the reviews I'd read were more due to opening jitters than any long term problems but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Kona looks good, but I could totally see how both of those breakfast dishes would be WAY too filling.

Yes, it was definitely a case of carb overload, LOL. If we return for breakfast in future, I think I'll try the Samoan as that was the other entree I found very enticing.

Loved the MK pics!!!

Thank you!

LTT is one of those places I have never really understood - seems like nothing special. But after reading so many positive reviews, I am really wanting to try it for myself.

We've always enjoyed our meals here. It truly isn't anything out of the ordinary, but if you enjoy down-home type comfort food, I don't think you'd be disappointed. And dessert certainly makes the whole thing worthwhile.

Oh, Chefs de France - I haven’t seen a review of this place in a while. How cool to see Remy! am I crazy or is he no longer there? I hope I’m crazy (well, not really, but you know) - I hate to think there isn’t a place to meet Remy anymore! Ugh - too bad about the server and the DxDDP; really, that is something they should be trained and re-trained on! Hmm, sounds like a pretty middle-of-the-road experience. Too bad it wasn’t better.

I was so happy to see Remy, he was sooo cute! No, you're not crazy, he is no longer making appearances at the restaurant. So sad. As for the food, it was pretty underwhelming overall.

I am loving the Shakin’ Jamaican Coffee though! (I would have FREAKED the heck out about the camera situation - so glad it was okay).

The Shakin' Jamaican Coffee was epic! YUM! I really hope they have it this year as I am so having another one (or five).

If I were anyplace but Disney, I would have freaked over the camera too, but I felt pretty confident that it would be ok. I knew I must have left it on the table, and the CM's are always great about putting found items in a safe place until they're claimed. I got it back good as new.

As for the YSH, when you said your server was quick to arrive, I knew you were going to have a better experience than we did! I actually really look forward to returning there and having a much better experience.

I've read other reviews that have cited service as being an issue there. It seems it can be either very, very good or very, very bad. We were very lucky. I hope you have a better experience next time!

I think CP is always such a lot of fun! But I certainly know what it is not to be hungry enough to really enjoy the food….

We really enjoyed the character interaction and everything we had was fresh, well prepared and very tasty. We just weren't hungry enough to really do the buffet justice. I'd love to go back and try it again.

Seems like Kona was a mixed bag over all. I can never quite bring myself to make an ADR there - the menu just doesn’t wow me.

That's exactly right Roni, it was a mixed bag for sure. While we both enjoyed the majority of what we had, the lack of communication and service issues lessened the experience quite a bit. It's unfortunate but Kona is one of those restaurants that seem to have more than their share of service problems. The food used to more than make up for it, but I was less impressed this visit. I'm not ready to write it off completely yet, we'll see what the future holds.

Thanks so much for sticking with me!

Loving this report! You're going to all our favorite spots!

Thanks so much for reading and commenting!

 

[MrsB1228]

First of all, I want to apologize for my long absence. I've been very sick for the past few weeks with a very nasty virus that just refuses to go away. The rest of my family has also suffered bouts with different illnesses too so it's been a not-so-great couple of months. It's been a very long winter and I'm SO ready for spring!

Anyway, I'm determined to carry on and finish this DR! Moving on ...

On Friday night, we originally had another ADR at California Grill. Because of our abysmal first experience at CG, neither one of us was wanting to return. I cancelled it and we decided to return to a Signature we had both enjoyed immensely, Citricos!

Instead of sitting in front of the open kitchen, this time we were seated next to a window with a lovely view of the grounds. It was a nice quiet table and a nice change from the bustle and busy-ness of our last experience (which was still a great location, but a much different experience).

For our appetizers, we both selected:

Crispy Fried Yellow Tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella: with Heirloom Red Romaine, Green Goddess Dressing, and White Anchovy Filet.

This was a delicious salad, everything was very fresh and well prepared. Nancy and I both left the anchovy filet untouched as neither one of us is a fan. It was very good, but didn't come close to the excellent salads we had enjoyed at Jiko and Yachtsman. 4/5

For her entree, Nancy chose:

Pan-roasted Ashely Farms Chicken Breast: Lemon-Mustard Marble Roasted Potato, Peach Glaze, and Ice Root Spinach.

Nancy thoroughly enjoyed every bite of this succulent, juicy chicken. The side dishes were also well prepared and complemented each other well. She was very happy with her choice. 5/5

I decided on (apologies for the blurry photo):

Madeira-braised Short Ribs: Trofie Pasta, Wild Mushroom Ragoût, and Truffle Crème Fraîche.

I didn't think anything would compare to the wonderful veal we had enjoyed on our first visit, but this proved me wrong. Every component of this dish was excellent. The beef was cut-with-your-fork tender, the sides were delicious and the sauce was rich without being overpowering. Perfect! 5/5

Time for dessert ...

Macerated Berries With Champagne Sauce was Nancy's choice and she couldn't stop raving about it. A crispy, lightly sweetened pastry shell cradled a generous serving of perfectly ripe, sweet berries which were in turn bathed in the light and incredibly delicious sauce. Nancy shared a bit with me and I have to agree that it was amazing! Definitely 5/5.

Warm Chocolate-Banana Torte: with Vanilla Ice Cream and Handcrafted Belgium Couverture Chocolate Crown. This was my choice. I love banana and since I enjoyed this so much on our first visit, I decided I had to have it again. It was just as decadent and delicious the second time. 5/5

We were so glad we decided to revisit Citricos as we had another 5 star experience. Our server was a gentleman this time and while he was very attentive and efficient, we didn't find him to be as personable as Nancy was. No complaints though, as he did a fine job. We would definitely return.

Up next: Lunch at Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory (POFQ food court) and dinner at Flying Fish Cafe.​

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Your Citricos meal looks delicious! I have never eaten here and I am seriously debating trying it on my next trip. I'm torn between Citricos and a return trip to Narcoossee.

 

[vettegirl]

Hope you are feeling better. Citricos is so amazing, thank you for sharing your review

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[KBrown88]

I am really enjoying all your reviews! I am going to have to try HBD. I keep saying I will and never do. Looks great! Can't wait for the rest of your eating adventures!

 

[smile4stamps]

I think I've eaten at Citrico's too many times! I have tried every single item in your review (except I pleaded to have my short ribs on the troffie pasta!)

The short ribs is my absolute favorite entree from there!!

I'll be there in 5 weeks!! and 5.5weeks!

 

[MrsB1228]

Your Citricos meal looks delicious! I have never eaten here and I am seriously debating trying it on my next trip. I'm torn between Citricos and a return trip to Narcoossee.

We really loved our experiences at Citrico's, everything was wonderful. Narcoossee's was the only Signature we didn't try last time and I'm rather regretting it. Oh well, you have to leave something for next time, right?

Thanks for reading along Jeri!

Hope you are feeling better. Citricos is so amazing, thank you for sharing your review

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Thank you, I'm slowly starting to feel better. Thanks for reading!

I am really enjoying all your reviews! I am going to have to try HBD. I keep saying I will and never do. Looks great! Can't wait for the rest of your eating adventures!

Thank you! HBD was a bit of a surprise to us. I wasn't really expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. I hope you have a great experience when you go!

I think I've eaten at Citrico's too many times! I have tried every single item in your review (except I pleaded to have my short ribs on the troffie pasta!)

The short ribs is my absolute favorite entree from there!!

I'll be there in 5 weeks!! and 5.5weeks!

LOL! You and Hunter are obviously fellow Citrico's fans! We should start a club.

Wow, two Citrico's visits coming up very, very soon! I hope you have a wonderful trip and I look forward to reading all about it. (hint, hint)

 

[MrsB1228]

Saturday was a no-park day so our morning was pretty laid back. We grabbed a make-your-own yogurt parfait and a cinnamon roll for breakfast from the food court. I didn't take either my camera or my phone with me so no pictures of this. We enjoyed both selections.

We decided to have lunch at the food court as well. We both chose the same entree and drink, but different desserts.

Muffaletta Sandwich: served with bean salad or house made chips.

This was my tray. As you can see, I chose the house-made chips to accompany my sandwich as the bean salad didn't look at all appetizing. I enjoyed a chocolate milk to drink and a cupcake for dessert. Nancy made the same choices but had a brownie for dessert.

Here's a close-up of the inside of the sandwich after I cut it.

Mmm, that is one seriously delicious sandwich! It has layers of ham, salami, mortadella, and provolone with an amazing olive mix underneath and on top. It's served lightly grilled and is flat-out incredible. Nancy and I both loved it but couldn't come close to finishing as it's HUGE. We each give it 4/5.

My cupcake was just a cupcake, nothing special but it was fresh and not overloaded with icing. 3.5/5

Nancy enjoyed her brownie and said it was fresh, chewy and rich, just the way a brownie should be. 3.5/5

Up next: dinner at Flying Fish Cafe.​

 

[MrsB1228]

When you're on the deluxe dining plan, you get two snacks per person per day. This meant that Nancy and I had 56 snack credits to use between us over the course of our two week stay. We used the majority of our snack credits on selections from the Food & Wine Festival booths, but still had quite a few left over. We were always too full to even think about snacks between meals, but we did use a few for breakfast occasionally.

This is a turnover from Sunshine Seasons in Epcot. It had a guava filling and was quite good. Not too sweet. 3/5

Close-up showing the filling.

Yogurt Parfait, also from Sunshine Seasons. 3/5

And of course, you can't stay at Port Orleans French Quarter without indulging in these little beauties at least once. There are 6 beignets in the container and it "cost" us two snack credits. They're delicious, but very messy to eat! Don't breathe when you're taking a bite, whatever you do! 4/5

The rest of the snack credits were used to purchase goodies to take home to friends and family. ​

 

[emmysmommy]

I hope you are feeling better! Sorry about that virus that got you down.

Ha ha! powdered sugar inhalation - it's very dangerous. Those beignets look awesome!

I'm catching up so I have a few other comments...

Chefs de France: Wow! Too bad about your "new" server. You were nice to give her the benefit of the doubt. I love that bacon & onion flatbread. Someone else that I dined with in December said the cheese sandwich wasn't so good. I'll take your advice and stay away from that one for sure. I'm completely scared to eat escargot. I should get over that.

Whew! At least your camera was safe!

YSH: That was a looong wait. However, those onion rolls are worth any wait!
I love the candle in Nancy's birthday treat! Nice touch.

Kona Café: Awww man, a conspicuous pile of fries on the table. Too bad they didn't better communicate to avoid the fries throw down.

Citricos: Always a favorite of ours. I'm a fan of the olive bread!

Ok, caught up and now very hungry!

 

[englishrose47]

That sandwich looks delish !! Gotta try that some time !!

 

[lin7]

Your food pictures looks great, thanks for sharing, I'm hungry looking at the pics.

 

[weswife]

I am enjoying your review! The pics are wonderful. I have wanted to go to Kona and also plan to go to BOG!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

And of course, you can't stay at Port Orleans French Quarter without indulging in these little beauties at least once. There are 6 beignets in the container and it "cost" us two snack credits. They're delicious, but very messy to eat! Don't breathe when you're taking a bite, whatever you do! 4/5
​

You are right about not breathing while eating the beignets! When I took some back to our room for a late night snack one trip I breathed in and inhaled some powdered sugar which then caused me to cough, which caused powdered sugar to cover the entire room. Those things are messy!