The NOT SO SUNNY Flordia DR- COMPLETE

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

I love the LTT for lunch but I nearly choked at the $4.29 for an ice cream scoop of mashed potatoes for your daughters meal. Wow!

I know, that was pricey wasn't it? I got a little smarter the last 3 days of our trip and just ordered her meals instead of sides since it ended up being almost the same price and it forced her to eat a little more variety.

Another for the colony salad at LTT. It's my favorite also along with LTT being a must on every trip. Looking forward to a meal there the week of Thanksgiving and more of your reviews!!!!!

So glad you love the colony salad too! We might see you there at Thanksgiving. We are hoping to go back then.

Great start!

Thanks so much! Glad you are reading along.

loving your reviews so far, let me ask you how was the crowds? We are planning a trip the first of june next year we usually dont go during summer but with a daughter in college that is the only time she could go..

I thought the crowds were great considering it is summer. We went last year towards the end of July and the crowds were much lower this trip. I will say that they picked up towards the end of the trip, with our departure day being June 15th. I would definitely go again the first week of June.

Loving your reviews! We are going to LTT for lunch on our trip next week. Haven't been there since the character dinner in 2008! Looking forward to it...I have my eye on the homemade veggie burger, even though I'm not a vegetarian. I love a good veggie burger though. And sweet potato fries are a side option with it!

Those are 2 things I haven't tried at LTT yet. Hope you have an awesome trip!

Subbing in and considering you are going from bad to good, I can't wait to see what all you have in store. Btw if you go again I have read that you can order multiple entrees at the Star Wars breakfast. Think I saw it on the disney food blog

Thanks for subbing. I didn't know that about the entrees, but I had read it about the pastries. But, we are probably "one and done" on the Star Wars breakfast.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

ROARING FORK

Since we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge we had a few meals at the Roaring Fork. I really like the way the Roaring Fork is set up with paying on one side of the restaurant and receiving your food on the other. It eliminated some of the chaos that is sometimes found in the counter service places.

From looking back at my receipts most of our meals from Roaring Fork were eaten by Brianna and Chase. And most of these were taken back to the room and there aren't any photos of them. Brianna always ate the kids chicken nuggets and Chase had flatbreads or also chicken nuggets. The day that Chase and I went to the Star Wars breakfast Brian had the chicken sandwich and he said that was good, but he didn't think to get a picture.

However, there was one very rainy evening that we all went down and ate at Roaring Fork. I decided on the Pork sandwich with fries. (Sorry these were taken with my iPhone and aren't the best pictures.)

BBQ sandwich from Roaring Fork by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

This was good, just like the BBQ sandwich at Pecos Bill's or Cosmic Ray's.

Brian chose the cheese flatbread.

cheese flatbread from Roaring Fork by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

He chose this since it was recommended by Chase and he really liked it.

Brianna had the kids chicken nugget meal, which I guess I decided not to photograph.

Chase decided to have the pasta of the day, which happened to be this chicken alfredo.

Chicken Alfredo from Roaring Fork by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Unfortunately this wasn't so good. It just didn't have much sauce and therefore was rather bland tasting.

After Chase and I were discussing his pasta amongst ourselves, one of the girls that worked at Roaring Fork must have overheard us. So she brought over a chocolate chip cookie for Chase and told him she was sorry his pasta didn't have enough sauce on it. We were so pleased by this unexpected gesture. And even though I didn't get a picture of the cookie, Chase gave me a bite and it was delicious! So thanks again Jordan at Roaring Fork for the cookie. It was totally unnecessary, but very appreciated!

Here's our receipt for this particular dinner at Roaring Fork.

Roarking Fork receipt by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

And I would also like to include a couple of pictures of some snacks we picked up one afternoon.

I chose this magic bar for Chase. It was good, but I believe I can make these better at home.

IMG_2071 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

And I had my eye on this strawberry cupcake.

IMG_2072 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Strawberry cake is probably my favorite cake and I was excited to try this. Imagine my surprise when I encountered this in the middle of it.

IMG_2073 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Lemon filling, yuck! I guess if I would have read the sign that said "Strawberry Lemonade Cupcake" I might not have been taken aback by lemon in my cupcake. Sorry, but I just don't like lemon desserts much and this ruined my otherwise good cupcake.

So as far as deluxe resort counter services, I liked Roaring Fork definitely better than the Beach Club Marketplace or the Boardwalk Bakery for a meal.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Your Star Wars breakfast looked great! I want to do it so badly on our May trip but like you, I just couldn't deal with that price. I love the way you decided who would get to go. That sounds just like something my hubby and I would do too. Can't wait to read more!

 

[kastoney]

We will be staying at WL in September so thanks for the roaring forks rundown. Though I did a double take I the pasta. If must have been dry, I thought I was looking at a picture of a tuna sandwich ; ). How great of disney to compensate without even asking,

 

[jabead]

I always enjoy reading lunch reviews from LTT, especially when they include my favorites, the Colony salad and Ooey Gooey dessert. Happy to hear that you enjoyed your latest lunch there, well except for the fly problem. If my DH had been there he probably would have asked for a fly swatter and declared war on those flies.

Though I have stayed at the Wilderness Lodge during part of my last three trips, I have yet to eat anything other than the Bananas Foster Mickey waffles from Roaring Fork. Your review has me thinking that I should expand my horizons and give something else a try there next time...except maybe not the pasta.

 

[USMelinUK]

Enjoying the report, thanks.

 

[hockeymom519]

Love your reviews. Looking forward to more.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Your Star Wars breakfast looked great! I want to do it so badly on our May trip but like you, I just couldn't deal with that price. I love the way you decided who would get to go. That sounds just like something my hubby and I would do too. Can't wait to read more!

Thanks so much for reading. That was a chunk of change for a breakfast for sure. We actually ate breakfast at a new place for us that I was inspired to try from reading your reviews. It's coming up later as it was one of our better breakfasts.

We will be staying at WL in September so thanks for the roaring forks rundown. Though I did a double take I the pasta. If must have been dry, I thought I was looking at a picture of a tuna sandwich ; ). How great of disney to compensate without even asking,

You will love the WL. It is such a beautiful resort. That pasta did look like a sandwich with those 2 pieces of garlic bread on the side. Maybe one of the other pasta dishes would have been better. They seemed to have a different selection every day.

I always enjoy reading lunch reviews from LTT, especially when they include my favorites, the Colony salad and Ooey Gooey dessert. Happy to hear that you enjoyed your latest lunch there, well except for the fly problem. If my DH had been there he probably would have asked for a fly swatter and declared war on those flies.

Though I have stayed at the Wilderness Lodge during part of my last three trips, I have yet to eat anything other than the Bananas Foster Mickey waffles from Roaring Fork. Your review has me thinking that I should expand my horizons and give something else a try there next time...except maybe not the pasta.

I feel like I'm so boring, Barb, always ordering the same thing at LTT but they are both so delicious. We didn't make to for breakfast at Roaring Fork this trip, but we passed by there every morning and those waffles looked wonderful.

Enjoying the report, thanks.

Glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for reading.

Love your reviews. Looking forward to more.

Thanks so much! More is coming...

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

WHISPERING CANYON CAFE- BREAKFAST

Because this was our first trip since the traditional Fastpass machines had been removed, we decided to skip rope drop most days. This allowed us to indulge in several Table Service breakfasts. Not counting the Star Wars breakfast, we had 4 more TS breakfasts and they were all good.

Here's a picture of Brianna at the Lincoln log table at the waiting area at WCC. We had a short wait this morning since we didn't have a reservation.

Brianna at Whispering Canyon Cafe by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Our waitress was Sunshine and she was spot on in WCC character. When I ordered water she asked if I wanted pond or lake water and included this friend in my glass.

water at Whispering Canyon Cafe by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Brianna added this little plastic fish to her fish tank at home.

There were more WCC antics, like the throwing of the straws and napkins and the ketchup call. Sunshine also went around the restaurant trying to find Chase a girlfriend, but didn't find any takers.

As for the food, Brianna chose the kids meal of bacon, eggs, potatoes, and a biscuit. She ate all this except for the potatoes.

Kids breakfast from Whispering Canyon Cafe by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Chase got the western omelet. He said this was delicious, but he also didn't eat his potatoes.

ham and cheese omelette at Whispering Canyon Cafe by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

And I chose the pulled pork egg sandwich. Wish I would have taken a picture with the top off so you could see how attractive this sandwich really was. I'm not sure what the proper way to eat this sandwich is, but I deconstructed it and ate the egg and pork separately. I really enjoyed it. Who knew barbecue for breakfast could be so good? But there was a bad trend with the potatoes. These almost had a freezer burned taste so we all passed on them.

Pulled pork and egg sandwich from Whispering Canyon Cafe by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Brian went with the Bananas Foster French toast with a side of sausage as recommended by Sunshine. Brian loves bananas foster and he said this was great. I was a little surprised there was no sign of a banana, but I guess they were baked in the French toast.

bananas foster french toast from Whispering Canyon Cafe by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Here's a copy of my crumpled up receipt, but I'm happy to see I saved $8.95 with my TIW card.

receipt from Whispering Canyon Cafe breakfast by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

So other than the potatoes, we very much enjoyed WCC for breakfast and would definitely go back next time we stay at the Wilderness Lodge.

 

[jabead]

Your great WCC review reminded me that I should try to fit in breakfast there during my October trip. I had breakfast at WCC for the first time in Dec. 2013 and enjoyed the banana bread french toast that Brian had. Not sure if I will get it again or try something else though. Brenda had the Belgian waffle then and it looked very good. Also Chase's Western omelet sounds great. I guess this could be one of those rare occasions when I won't know in advance what I will order. I might actually have to wait and see what I'm in the mood for.

 

[kastoney]

Whispering canyon breakfast looked great and all the better to be able to walk up and get a table. Your pork sandwich looked great. Definitely a combo I wouldn't think of but could see how it works. Agree the French toast should actually have some visible bananas. How delish would come caramelized ones on top be.

 

[Disney_Mama]

Thanks so much for sharing. Loving your pictures and reviews.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Your great WCC review reminded me that I should try to fit in breakfast there during my October trip. I had breakfast at WCC for the first time in Dec. 2013 and enjoyed the banana bread french toast that Brian had. Not sure if I will get it again or try something else though. Brenda had the Belgian waffle then and it looked very good. Also Chase's Western omelet sounds great. I guess this could be one of those rare occasions when I won't know in advance what I will order. I might actually have to wait and see what I'm in the mood for.

Isn't it great when you have lots of good choices? If you're staying at the WL you should definitely have breakfast at WCC again.

Whispering canyon breakfast looked great and all the better to be able to walk up and get a table. Your pork sandwich looked great. Definitely a combo I wouldn't think of but could see how it works. Agree the French toast should actually have some visible bananas. How delish would come caramelized ones on top be.

We didn't make any ADRs for the breakfasts we had other than the Star Wars and a character meal we did later in the week. Now that Disney has the cancellation fee I figured we would take our chances. The sandwich was great. I'm going to suggest it to our local BBQ place that also serves breakfast. You are so right about the caramelized bananas! That would have made that plate look perfect.

Thanks so much for sharing. Loving your pictures and reviews.

Thanks so much! Glad you are reading along.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

COLUMBIA HARBOR HOUSE

CHH has probably become my favorite CS place in the Magic Kingdom. It seems less chaotic and cleaner than Cosmic Ray's or Pecos Bill's. We found respite from the rain one evening here and decided to have some dinner. Unfortunately the pictures of Chase and Brian's meals, chicken nuggets and fish and chicken, respectively, turned out too blurry. But here's mine still looking yummy, the shrimp with a side of broccoli.

IMG_0358 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

I'm far from a health nut, but I'm so glad to get broccoli as a side here. Sometimes I get a little French fried out at Disney. The shrimp were good sized and tasty. My only complaint is I wish that the cole slaw could be substituted since I don't eat it. I asked and the answer was no.

Brianna got the kids chicken nuggets and I noticed these looked a different.

IMG_0359 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

They actually look like real chicken! Not sure if this was just true at CHH or if Disney is changing the kids chicken nuggets at CS places across the board.

Columbia Harbor House receipt by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

And here's a copy of receipt. This was a good meal, but it still pains me to see that it cost nearly $50 for a family of 4 to have a counter service meal.

Oh well, glad to have had another good meal at CHH. We will definitely be back since I like the variety there.

 

[DaisyNY]

We enjoyed our last visit to Columbia Harbor House too! Most of us had the salmon...very yummy! We also love BOG lunch as a option for really good food choices and not the usual burger and chicken nuggets fare. Great postings...looking forward to keep reading!

 

[jabead]

Mmmm...your fried shrimp looks yummy! I haven't had it since my DH and I did the Keys to the Kingdom tour back in 2010, which included a delicious lunch at CHH. I definitely need to get back there soon!

 

[kastoney]

CHH is one of our favorites and our MK CS standby. Like you I think the shrimp is great and real quality. While I've never done the chicken nuggets the fish is equally good. Good, fresh, and counter service novel concept huh?

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

We enjoyed our last visit to Columbia Harbor House too! Most of us had the salmon...very yummy! We also love BOG lunch as a option for really good food choices and not the usual burger and chicken nuggets fare. Great postings...looking forward to keep reading!

Glad you like CHH too. We have yet to try the salmon, but saw some platters being ordered and it looked yummy. Haven't tried BOG for lunch yet but would like to someday.

Mmmm...your fried shrimp looks yummy! I haven't had it since my DH and I did the Keys to the Kingdom tour back in 2010, which included a delicious lunch at CHH. I definitely need to get back there soon!

I really like CHH's shrimp. Would love to do the Keys to Kingdom tour sometime myself. Lunch at CHH included is even more of a motivator.

CHH is one of our favorites and our MK CS standby. Like you I think the shrimp is great and real quality. While I've never done the chicken nuggets the fish is equally good. Good, fresh, and counter service novel concept huh?

I love that CHH is a little different than the burger and fries fare that is some common at most CS places. The chicken at CHH is exactly like what is sold at all the other CS restaurants but that's what my DS always gets. Wish there were more counter service places like you describe.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

TEPPAN EDO

I'm one of those people that has it on her bucket list to try every TS place at WDW. I've been working on it pretty hard the last few years my DH says. Teppan Edo was 1 of 2 Epcot restaurants that I had left to try so I booked a lunch reservation for this trip.

It was raining so hard this particular day that if the no show charge fee weren't applicable we would have called and cancelled at the last minute. Even with rain ponchos, we got quite soaked making our way from the front of Epcot all the way back to Japan.

Here's a picture of Brian and Chase. I can really tell from looking at Brian's hair how wet he was.

IMG_0347 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

As you guys know at Teppan Edo you share your table with others. The hostess asked us if this was ok when we checked in. Not sure what she might have done if we would have said no, but of course we were fine with table sharing.

Here's Brianna playing around with her chopsticks. She dropped these and insisted on getting another pair before her meal arrived so that she could try eating with them.

IMG_0345 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

It seemed a process to have the menu explained, order, and get hot towels and chopsticks. I guess when you are a table of 8 this would take more time.

Chase decided to get the hot green tea since he was a little cold and wet. And Brian had chosen the iced green tea that you can see in the first picture. Neither one of them really liked these teas, saying they couldn't get them sweet enough. I tried to warn them that there would not be sweet tea in Japan.

IMG_0348 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Once our chef arrived the fun began. He was a great jokester and entertainer. My favorite part of the meal was watching him prepare it.

He gave us these 3 sauces. The one closest to you was best for seafood. The middle one was predominately ginger flavored and worked best with vegetables. And the farthest one was mustardy and should be used with chicken. I tasted them all and the only one I sort of liked was the seafood.

IMG_0352 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Also this bowl of rice was delivered to us but was surprisingly not cooked on the grill. I think I like the fried rice better with Japanese than this steamed rice.

IMG_0351 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

I chose the vegetables. These were fresh and crispy. But my favorite part of the plate was the udon noodles. They had lots of flavor.

IMG_0350 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Brianna chose this kids chicken meal. She ate this fairly well, with the chicken and noodles seeming to be her favorite.

IMG_0353 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Chase got the adult sized chicken meal which I didn't photograph and Brian got this beef and chicken which looks to be half eaten by the time this picture was taken.

IMG_0354 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Both of the boys were happy with their meals. I tasted Brianna's chicken and thought it was cooked well but lacking in seasoning.

No TIW discount here , but I did save $9.18 with my annual pass since we ate during the lunch hour.

Teppan Edo receipt by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

I can't help but compare Teppan Edo to our local Japanese steakhouse. Even though it isn't as nice I actually like the food better at the one close to home and it costs us over half as less to eat there. So I'm glad I can scratch Teppan Edo off my list and greatly enjoyed the cooking show, but I will probably skip it most trips.

SEE NEXT POST FOR DESSERTS-

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Nothing appealed to us for dessert at Teppan Edo and since it had quit raining we stopped at the German candy shop.

I chose this wonderful cookie. It was soft, warm, and delicious!

IMG_2113 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Chase loves pretzel rods so he got the milk chocolate caramel one. It was another winner.

IMG_2114 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

And Brian and Brianna decided to share this milk chocolate caramel. I remember it was a little messy to split but they both enjoyed it.

IMG_2115 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

And here's the receipt for these treats. Worth every penny!

receipt from German candy shop by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr