This Ain't No Volcanic Disappointment! ~ A Free Dining Review 10/2 - 10/8 * NEW 11/3

[WhateverLolaWants]

Hello all! Welcome to "This Ain't No Volcanic Disappointment: A Free Dining Review." We filled our bellies and persevered through the brutal heat.

A little bit about the cast:

Me: 24, raised a Disney fanatic. I have been going since I was 2, and I love Disney for the great memories I have made there. In Spring 2007, I did the College Program and had a blast. I'm hoping to return to Florida someday permanently. I am the reason behind this trip. My favorite band (Better Than Ezra) played the Food and Wine Festival and I had to go because, well, two of my favorite things in the world were going to be combined. Bonus for us was that we were able to do free dining.

Mom: Age - She'd kill me if I told. The reason why I am a Disney fanatic. When my sister and I both did the College Program, she visited us at least 4 or 5 times each (and the program is only 4.5 months long, by the way).

What is great about Disney, in our opinion, is that we always find new things to do to keep Disney exciting. This time was the dining plan. Interesting experience, but I'll elaborate on that in my last post.


The places I will be covering are:

Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show
Planet Hollywood
Ghirardelli
Goofy's Candy Company
California Grill
Starring Rolls
Pecos Bill
All Star Music Food Court
Earl of Sandwich
Pepper Market
Cinderella's Royal Table
Pizzafari
Coral Reef
Food and Wine Festival Booths
Tutto Italia
Roaring Forks
Raglan Road

Hope you all enjoy!

 

[KatMark]

Hello all! Welcome to "This Ain't No Volcanic Disappointment: A Free Dining Review." We filled our bellies and persevered through the brutal heat.

A little bit about the cast:

Me: 24, raised a Disney fanatic. I have been going since I was 2, and I love Disney for the great memories I have made there. In Spring 2007, I did the College Program and had a blast. I'm hoping to return to Florida someday permanently. I am the reason behind this trip. My favorite band (Better Than Ezra) played the Food and Wine Festival and I had to go because, well, two of my favorite things in the world were going to be combined. Bonus for us was that we were able to do free dining.

Mom: Age - She'd kill me if I told. The reason why I am a Disney fanatic. When my sister and I both did the College Program, she visited us at least 4 or 5 times each (and the program is only 4.5 months long, by the way).

What is great about Disney, in our opinion, is that we always find new things to do to keep Disney exciting. This time was the dining plan. Interesting experience, but I'll elaborate on that in my last post.


The places I will be covering are:

Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show
Planet Hollywood
Ghirardelli
Goofy's Candy Company
California Grill
Starring Rolls
Pecos Bill
All Star Music Food Court
Earl of Sandwich
Pepper Market
Cinderella's Royal Table
Pizzafari
Coral Reef
Food and Wine Festival Booths
Tutto Italia
Roaring Forks
Raglan Road

Hope you all enjoy!

I'm first in (I think)!

 

[OsFan09]

I cant wait for the reviews to begin!

 

[adsrtw]

Oh, I can't wait to read about it!

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

Let me preface this post with this tidbit of information: We flew out of Cleveland at 8am, and arrived in Chicago for a 2 hour layover. We ate breakfast (and our waiter forgot to put in our order so we waited forever) at about 9am (10am Ohio/Florida time). That was the last time we ate until our 8pm Spirit of Aloha show. We were the first people seated and the first ones to start digging into the food. We were also the last people to put down our forks. I have never eaten that much food in my life. True story.

So one of my duties when it came to making our ADRs in July was to try and get Spirit of Aloha for my mother's sake. Category 2 and 3 were booked for the days we were trying to get, so we decided to choose Category 1 and pay OOP. Seats were decent, until the lush in front of my mother backed his seat out so far that she could barely see. (Seriously, I have never seen so many $10 drinks be ordered by two people in my life...even their kid had a pile of juice boxes going).

When you arrive, they already have the first course on your table. This includes fresh pineapple, pineapple-coconut bread, and a salad with mango poppyseed dressing.

The bread was yummy, and the pineapple was good too. I'm not big on fancy dressing (I'm a ranch kind of gal), but my mom really enjoyed it.

So the way the show goes, is they pretty much perform in between the courses being served. Next they brought out the main course which included rice, mixed vegetables, BBQ ribs, and chicken.

Okay, so I apologize for this picture. We were in such close proximity to people and I was still getting used to taking pictures of food and feeling a tad foolish. So I pretended to take a picture of my mother. This is the same technique I used to take a picture of my 7th grade crush, Brad, on the last day of school. Don't worry, I get more bold as the week goes on.

The ribs were borderline fatty, but the chicken was moist. The vegetables were vegetables so can't really review those. The rice was probably the best part unfortunately. The food was very bland.

And finally, desert. The servers come out with this fancy little show with a steaming volcano on their tray. The crowd gets excited. They get rid of the decoration and serve.. well... I call it "Volcanic Disappointment." When I was in high school, my mother and I went to Europe with my French teacher and other students and parents. One night, we had dinner and they brought out a desert that someone coined the "Floating Disappointment." To this day, I'm still not sure what it was, but it resembled meringue floating in a soup.

I took a small nibble, and it was not good. A rubbery mousse is the best phrase to describe it. I did enjoy all of the raspberry sauce, though.

The show was decent. Definitely corny in the beginning, but the ending is definitely the best part. To the ladies and gents who enjoy this sort of thing, the eye candy was good The guys are built, and the fire dancer guy was a cutie. The girls are gorgeous too. The dancing was amazing as well. Kind of wish I could move my hips like that.

Overall, I'd give Spirit of Aloha 3 out of 5, mostly for the show.
OOP, we paid about $123.07 (I think the change .07 is accurate..).

 

[TigerKat]

Signing on a bit late!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Count me in, late but still ready to chow down

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

Welcome to all that have joined!

Saturday 10/3 was our day for bumming and eating. We headed to DTD at probably about 10:15am and browsed around the shops for a little bit. We had ADRs at noon for Planet Hollywood, but by 11am we were starving so we headed over there early and were seated right away.

After finally adjusting to how dark it is in there compared to the sunny outdoors, we were ready to order.

I ordered the L.A. Lasagna which sounded intriguing. It's a fried lasagna roll with ricotta and meat and sauce (marinara and a creamy alfredo type).

It was.. ok. Just not what I was expecting, I guess. I'm more of a cheese person when it comes to Italian-inspired food and there was a lot more meat than cheese. And I'm not big on identifying spices, but whatever it is spiced with (basil perhaps?) was just over kill. On a good note, it is very filling. I probably only finished 2/3 of it.

My mother got the Spinach Salad, which included chicken, strawberries, walnuts, and oranges. It comes with a tomato vinaigrette. She wasn't sure what to make of it, so she ordered the dressing on the side.

The verdict on the dressing? Takes away from the salad and was too tangy. The waitress was very nice and offered to bring another dressing. On her recommendation, she next tried their creamy Italian. Unfortunately she struck out there. The dressings are made at the restaurant, thus everything is not always the same based on who makes it. So this batch had too much vinegar in it. Finally, she tried the lime cilantro dressing. Perfect match!

Overall, I'd give PH a 2.5 out of 5, mostly for the fact that it's very easy to be a walk in there and that we had the voucher.
We paid OOP for this meal and used our $15 voucher. I can't remember the exact total, but we paid about $24.

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

After lunch, we browsed around the shops for a bit and also went to Goofy's to check out the Hidden Mickey's in there and buy one of my favorite cookies, the Chocolate Chip Supreme Cookie.

I didn't eat it right away, but saved it for "breakfast" the next morning. Great breakfast, indeed. Used a snack credit, otherwise OOP it would have been $3.25+tax.

We also decided to have some dessert at Ghirardelli since we never got there on our December 2008 trip.

I'm a simple girl so I opted to get two scoops of vanilla with strawberry topping.

It was good, but melted quickly.

My mother is not a simple girl when it comes to ice cream so she got something a little bit more fancy. She got the Streetcar/Cable Car (could have sworn it was the first, but allears calls it a Cable Car) which had a scoop each of Rocky Road, Chocolate Chip, and Chocolate ice cream, hot fudge, marshmallow topping, whipped cream, nuts and a cherry.

She said it was good, very chocolate-y. She really liked how the hot fudge wasn't overly hot so that the ice cream didn't melt as fast.

I'd give it at 4 out of 5 due to the lack of cleaning the tables. Ours had a huge spill of hot fudge (about 3-4 inches wide at least) and even though the guy saw it while he cleared the used dishes for us, we had to go up and ask for a wet rag.
OOP we paid $15.71.

 

[natalielongstaff]

yummy

 

[2 pirates for me]

The cookie looks great! We will have to add this as a stop as my DS's will love the cookies.

 

[engle]

Bring it!!! More, more!!! Very nice so far!!

 

[tink6137130]

love your review...thanks for sharing

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Joining in for your yummy reviews. Enjoying so far and can't wait to read more.

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

Glad to hear people are enjoying

After spending some time at DTD, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for California Grill. When we arrived, we were seated at a table right next to the window with a great view of MK.

I was interested in trying one of their flatbreads. It was between the BLT and Reuben so we asked our waiter for his opinion. His verdict was the BLT and when we heard what fennel really was and how it tasted, we decided to listen to him.

It was good and the size was great for sharing. Definitely didn't wow us, but still enjoyable.

The first thing I did when we arrived at CG was check the menu to see if the Ostrich Filet was still on the menu and sure enough it was! I am a fan of trying new things and really wanted to try this. It came topped with mushrooms and was accompanied by a buttery potato puree, figs and globe carrots.

So yummy! I'm not big on cooked carrots, but the globe carrots were fabulous and so were the mashed potato puree and mushrooms. I cleared my plate (except for the figs!).

My mother opted for the Filet. It came with sour cream mashed potatoes and baby zucchini.

She thought the filet was very good and very tender. She preferred my potatoes, but thought the sour cream potatoes were good too. And I'd have to agree with that. She did not like the baby zucchini and thought that asparagus would have been a better choice.

Now on to desert! We decided to share both of the deserts.

The first was a banana concoction. I cannot remember the name, nor do I know exactly what it was. The best I can do to describe it is room temperature banana pudding.

We barely touched it and decided to fight over the other desert - the Valrhona Chocolate Cake. Our version came with pineapple and I believe it was a caramel ice cream.

I tasted it and then uttered the words - "This ain't no Volcanic Disappointment!" (No worries, Eye no proper English.) I am not a cake person, but oh my goodness this was perfect with the ice cream and the pineapple. Absolutely yummy.

So hands down, best dining experience of the entire trip. Fancy food that's edible and easily identifiable (well, except for whatever that banana stuff was). I'd definitely give California Grill a 5 out of 5, even though the waiter never gave us a bread basket.

We used 4 dining credits and paid OOP for the flatbread. Total cost of the meal was $130.34 + tax.

 

[Disneyof3]

Great start and count me in


I have always wanted to go to the Aloha, but people say the seats for DDP are not that good. I have kids and want to make sure they can see the show and not be put in left field. Besides the gentlemen who was rude with his seat, did you get good seats? Did you notice any bad seats in the place??

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

Great start and count me in


I have always wanted to go to the Aloha, but people say the seats for DDP are not that good. I have kids and want to make sure they can see the show and not be put in left field. Besides the gentlemen who was rude with his seat, did you get good seats? Did you notice any bad seats in the place??

We liked our seats. We were pretty much dead center and the second table (out of 3) in the row (going back from the stage). For the dining plan, I wouldn't go past category 2 because you either get front to the side, or center in the upper seating level. Also, the show is pretty interactive for kids, the beginning part at least. There is a time where they allow kids to come up to the stage and dance with the actors.

 

[ShannonMB]

Great so far! I love your avatar pic, and I was cracking up at the drinking family in front of you, including the kid with all the juiceboxes!

 

[cbg1027]

And finally, desert. The servers come out with this fancy little show with a steaming volcano on their tray. The crowd gets excited. They get rid of the decoration and serve.. well... I call it "Volcanic Disappointment." When I was in high school, my mother and I went to Europe with my French teacher and other students and parents. One night, we had dinner and they brought out a desert that someone coined the "Floating Disappointment." To this day, I'm still not sure what it was, but it resembled meringue floating in a soup.

I think what you called a Floating Disappointment was an Ile Flottante.

The first thing I did when we arrived at CG was check the menu to see if the Ostrich Filet was still on the menu and sure enough it was! I am a fan of trying new things and really wanted to try this. It came topped with mushrooms and was accompanied by a buttery potato puree, figs and globe carrots.


The first was a banana concoction. I cannot remember the name, nor do I know exactly what it was. The best I can do to describe it is room temperature banana pudding.


We barely touched it and decided to fight over the other desert - the Valrhona Chocolate Cake. Our version came with pineapple and I believe it was a caramel ice cream.

I had the Ostrich Filet with different accompaniments last April and loved it. I hope they still have this preparation when I go in December!

Was the banana dessert called a Semi Freddo? I'd not wild over semi-freddo's.

I'm not big on cake either, but I love CG's chocolate cake! I've had it with raspberry and strawberry....but the pineapple sounds amazing too!

Like the reviews, keep 'em coming!

 

[cbg1027]

Also meant to add...I love the photo in your avatar! Is that your dog? Where did you get that costume? It's adorable!