This is the Cheesiest Report Ever- Nov 2018 Deluxe Dining Report-updated 12/30 Mama Melrose

[2xcited2sleep]

Bummer about the Tonga Toast. I don't really have a sweet tooth and am not much of a breakfast person anyway but I know this dish has very loyal fans. It's too bad his wasn't prepared well. I'm like him and almost never ever send anything back but I agree with you, there are times when you absolutely should. Hopefully the dining gets better for him from here!

 

[SweetSerenity]

Enjoying your food report and looking forward to more. Can’t have too much cheese! Loved your description of the restaurant that closed. You’re a good writer - very evocative.

Thank you, that means so much to me. Creative writing has always been a passion of mine so getting to write out reports tickles that fancy a bit.

I’m in! Can’t wait to read more!

Wonderful! Welcome!

Following along! Very excited to hear about everything cheesy

Yum I love this poutine

You are the reason we knew about this! i remembered it from one of your report.

You make a very strong case for this pretzel now I'm thinking of how I can fit getting one of these into our plans.

It was so worth it!

Joining in! I love a good DxDP breakdown! I always look into it for us and it never seems to work out so I'm interested in how it went for you!

You know, it works for some people and it doesn't for us. I didn't think we were going to do it this time, but since we had so many ADRs already, it definitely made a strong case for itself.

Great report so far, can't wait for the rest! That Tonga toast was pretty pitiful looking

It was, wasn't it? Don't worry, it gets better from here! Thank you for joining.

I would have definitely sent the Tonga Toast back. It looked awful.

I know. If it had been just dry, that would have been one thing, but it was clearly burnt.

Joining in! I love all things cheese

Happy to have you! We will resume shortly.

Popping over from your TR. looking forward to finding out the answers to. the questions.

Thank you for taking the time to read both!

Great start, Im looking forward to reading more!

Wonderful to have you with us.

Bummer about the Tonga Toast. I don't really have a sweet tooth and am not much of a breakfast person anyway but I know this dish has very loyal fans. It's too bad his wasn't prepared well. I'm like him and almost never ever send anything back but I agree with you, there are times when you absolutely should. Hopefully the dining gets better for him from here!

It does! He has some very good meals coming up that he is still talking about. Kona didn't spoil anything!

 

[SweetSerenity]

I Think My Chicken Just Clucked- November 1st, 2018- Tony's Town Square


I just realized that in my haste to start this report and likely because I'm writing a TR too and thought I had already done it, I did not make any introductions. You folks aren't really missing much, but I've mentioned names so I'll just give a brief intro. You've likely put two and two together, but humor me for a moment. I'm Shannon, and my dining duo partner is my husband, Jason. We went to WDW for our wedding anniversary. I already told you that we were on the Deluxe Plan. One thing we do enjoy about it is the freedom to try new things. We're both adventurous in trying new foods in different ways. We love steak. And cheese.

Okay, enough of that.

Like the child at heart that I am, I skipped off with giddiness to The Magic Kingdom. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder again, It's a Small World, Peter Pan, braked for lunch, and finished with Ariel and Seven Dwarves Mine Train.

Wait, what's that? Oh, you want to know about lunch? Well, this is a food report, after all.

We had an ADR for Tony's Town Square at 3:00. We've eaten there in the past and while it's not the best quality of food, it was convenient and edible. Lady and the Tramp is such a beautiful, timeless classic. As a child, my mom got me the VHS for this and I vividly remember my dad telling me he watched it multiple times with and without me. Every time I hear "Silent as a snowflake in the night, holy is the spirit of this night. . . " I'm taken back to my living room floor watching with wide eyes as Lady pokes her little head out of that box for the first time. Tony's is a beautiful restaurant. I love the little touches from the movie and the centerpiece that is the fountain. Jason likes to pose with the paw prints in the concrete, but there was a parked stroller over it.




Okay, on to the food.


I love a good crusty, soft Italian bread dipped in oil with the perfect amount of spices. This was not it. The bread itself was good, but there was too much oil and not enough of the wonderful spices for that perfect blend. Strike one.

There weren't any appetizers that sounded interesting so, even though it was scorching degrees outside, I ordered the pasta fagioli soup.

While there is a little sprinkling of cheese, this had no flavor at all. It was like eating water with plain mush in the shape of vegetables. It needed salt and a little splash of. . . something.


Jason had the vegetable fritto misto. Broccoli, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and I'm not really sure what else dipped in a batter and fried to a. . . well, not golden brown. The sauce is an aioli, but my husband didn't say anything about this other than a shrug. I didn't try it so I'm not sure if it was okay or not.


We each ordered the Italian Trio for our entrees. This is where things really took a nose dive into "mayday mayday" speed. Spaghetti and meatballs with fettucini alfredo, and chicken parmesan. Hard to mess that up, right? Wrong-o. Have you ever had Knorr's sides? So, that's little pieces of pasta and powder that comes in a bag for around .99 cents. Admittedly, I've eaten my fair share of these and enjoy it. But not for $32.00. The alfredo tasted identical to the Knorr's. The meatball was actually pretty good. Now on to that crispy piece of chicken covered in cheese because, well, it's all about the cheese. We cut into the soggy chicken and it was. . . not done. The bite I had was very rubbery and pinkish-gray and just about to tell me a joke about why the chicken crossed the road. To escape Tony, I think.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Why in tarnation did you not send that back? Especially after Kona's. Well, we were pretty full and had lost out appetite for chicken so we just let it slide. Besides, maybe that's how they prefer it there? I don't know. Jason is terrified of undercooked chicken so he wasn't going to touch it even if they brought a fresh plate.


I happened to look over and see his pouty lip with the spaghetti dangling from his mouth. I'm about to tell him it's not that bad when I realize he's missing the girls and thinking about nuzzling that meatball across his plate. I am not doing this. So, here, you can all share in the pity for a moment. He would not be happy if he knew I was posting this. *Giggle giggle*

So, we moved on to Tiramisu for dessert.

We got a candle for our anniversary. Some restaurants told us happy anniversary or did something a little extra but most did not, which is perfectly fine. We were celebrating happily just by being there. Anyway, as far as Tiramisu goes, this was okay. I've had better, but I don't have anything bad to say, really.

I think we have officially put this on our not going back list. We have given this a chance in the past, but the food just wasn't good. It's unfortunate that the ambiance of the restaurant doesn't translate to the food.

Total: 117.77 + gratuity

Don't worry! I promise, the food does get better!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Sorry your Tony's meal was not better and for them to give you undercooked chicken is not acceptable! Interesting at how much the food can vary day to day since we were there one day later! We did have to use the salt and pepper to fix the flavoring of somethings though but that's not unusually at the non-signatures it seems.

 

[Araminta18]

aw bummer. Such cute atmosphere and a great theme, and then....the food. Funny to read your commentary though!

 

[SweetSerenity]

Some Enchanted Evening- November 1st, Yachtsman's Steakhouse


We rested at The Boardwalk before getting ready for our anniversary dinner at Yachtsman's. We had a wonderful dinner there during our honeymoon so, after canceling Shula's when we picked up the dining plan, we booked a reservation to return to YS for our anniversary. We made the short drive over so I didn't have to walk in dress shoes from The Boardwalk. After checking in, we browsed around the gift shop before receiving the text that our table was ready. There is a cozy little two-top table nestled in the window of the front alcove where we sat last time. We were one table over from it, and our menus were personalized for our anniversary.


At the end of the meal, Raymond rolled these for us and tied them with ribbon. I have them here to go in our 2018 keepsake box.

Cocktails were included and neither of us drink wine so Jason ordered a Bahama Mama. I just went with tea because my head was hurting, and I was probably getting a little dry from the heat.


We love the bread service here. The sourdough rolls are good, but it's the onion pull-a-parts that are delightful. Warm and soft, with soft sprinkles of caramelized onions. I'm not sure which one of those above is better: the whipped butter with the Macedonian sea salt or the incredible roasted garlic that spreads on the bread like, well, said butter. Amazing!

It was about this time that I turned around to see an old friend being seated. She and her husband had just gotten married a few days ago and were dining at the exact same place at the same time. I've known her since she was around 5-years-old and to see her all grown up and married was just wonderful.

We both ordered the French Onion Soup for appetizers.
Disney has a variety of French onion soup on property, and I've probably tried them all. This wins as my favorite. The beef broth is so rich and robust. The onions have the deepest flavor of caramelization (spell check says this is not a word--I'm making it one) and were just disintegrating on my spoon. Do you see that bubbly deliciousness on top? That was good cheese covering the thick crouton. In fact, so much cheese was layered on top that I'm counting it.

For our entrees, I had the filet mignon with mashed potatoes and a Cabernet sauce.

I mostly order steaks Medium or Medium Rare if the occasion calls for it. This was cooked perfectly to a medium with a nice crust. The sauce just enriched the flavor of the steak. The mashed potatoes were stiff and buttery, just like homemade potatoes should be.


Jason went with the 12 oz. strip served with potato gratin. His steak was cooked to his liking, and he enjoyed the gratin. He really is a man of few words when it comes to food unless it was standout above the crowd.

We saw Thomas, the spectacular gentleman who took care of us on our honeymoon. Jason called him over, shook his hand, and thanked him for his hospitality to us at our last visit. He is beyond top of the line for us, and should we go back we would like to request to sit in his section.


This is Jason's dessert, the Lexington Sundae. This was certainly an interesting concoction. This was gelato with flavors of salted caramel and buttered popcorn. There are crumbles of butter cookies and drizzle of caramel and whipped cream. See the big S? That's a honey toasted marshmallow that tasted like it was freshly roasted over the fire. I'm not really sure how this worked together as the flavors were just so vast. It was strange.


Doesn't this look fabulous? This is the Admiral's Cake. It was huge. This decadent beauty was layers of Valrhona Chocolate Brownie, Caramel Crunch, Dark Chocolate Ganache, Chocolate Sponge Cake, Bananas Foster Jam and Caramel Ganache. I love dark chocolate and ganache. How could this not be amazing? That banana crap stuck in the middle, that's how. I love banana foster caramel sauce, but this was just thick goo that tasted like Lara bars. If you don't know what a Lara bar is, it's basically a combination of fruit and nuts compressed into a bar. I saw someone send this back, and now I know why. Don't do it, folks, just don't do it.


Lastly, we were served a mousse cake for our anniversary. This was a light chocolate mousse with chocolate crunchies and peanut butter. How would the steak place ruin this? By putting raspberry sauce on it. I hate raspberries with a passion. I know people love the sweetness of the berry, but I just don't. Sorry.

With the exception of the desserts, we really enjoyed our meal here. I'm perfectly fine that they don't do desserts well because they are a restaurant that specializes in good steak, and we feel they excel at that.

We ended our enchanted evening with a short stroll hand in hand to my carriage (a GMC terrain-- potato Po-tah-to) and went home for the night. It was a lovely anniversary.

Cheese count: 5
Total: $171.20 + gratuity

Coming up: we bounce along to our character breakfast at another new restaurant.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Man, I am sorry that your first two meals were just ok.

You can't go wrong with steak!

 

[Mich123]

I’m so relieved you finally got a good meal today! Tony’s sounds like a nightmare, thankfully Yachtsman’s made up for it.

 

[kastoney]

Yikes to Tony's! We've never done it largely for fear of everything you just wrote. I've never had the powdered pasta but I can just fathom how not good that would be. Have you all tried Skippers? MK table service isn't great, but it tends to be our favorite.

Glad to see Yachtsman redeemed Disney food for you all though. Totally agree those rolls are a thing of beauty. They may even be better than the steak

 

[KimmyD]

I am always interested in the DDP reports! I am also getting ideas for dining next year!!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Yikes on Tony’s. I’ve seen some other reports of improvement but sure doesn’t sound like it was evident the day you visited. It really is too bad and a waste of a prime location and cute theme. They should outsource to one of the restaurant groups that have other Italian spots on property.

Relieved to hear Yachtsman was a success. I love those rolls too! You can now order them in the Crews Cup Lounge so you can get a fix without an ADR. I don’t think I’ve tried the soup... will need to fix that! Sorry the desserts were a let down.

 

[FSU Girl]

While there is a little sprinkling of cheese, this had no flavor at all. It was like eating water with plain mush in the shape of vegetables. It needed salt and a little splash of. . . something.

I haven't heard too many good reviews of this restaurant. That's a shame there isn't any flavor for this soup. It's my absolute favorite Italian soup and always a go to for me when I go out.

We got a candle for our anniversary. Some restaurants told us happy anniversary or did something a little extra but most did not, which is perfectly fine. We were celebrating happily just by being there. Anyway, as far as Tiramisu goes, this was okay. I've had better, but I don't have anything bad to say, really.

That was nice that they put a candle in the cake for you celebrating, although I usually think of blowing out candles just for a birthday. Glad this dish wasn't a total bust.

our menus were personalized for our anniversary.

I love how they do that here.

We love the bread service here. The sourdough rolls are good, but it's the onion pull-a-parts that are delightful. Warm and soft, with soft sprinkles of caramelized onions. I'm not sure which one of those above is better: the whipped butter with the Macedonian sea salt or the incredible roasted garlic that spreads on the bread like, well, said butter. Amazing!

I love the onion rolls there. I could literally just go there for those rolls and be a happy girl.

Disney has a variety of French onion soup on property, and I've probably tried them all. This wins as my favorite. The beef broth is so

My husband loves the french onion soup, any time we go to a steak restaurant he has to order one for his starter.

I mostly order steaks Medium or Medium Rare if the occasion calls for it. This was cooked perfectly to a medium with a nice crust. The sauce just enriched the flavor of the steak. The mashed potatoes were stiff and buttery, just like homemade potatoes should be.

This is exactly what I order there, although I like my steak a little more cooked. This looks perfect!

Jason went with the 12 oz. strip served with potato gratin. His steak was cooked to his liking, and he enjoyed the gratin. He really is a man of few words when it comes to food unless it was standout above the crowd.

This looks really good too.

Looks like a great meal at Yachtsman Steakhouse!

 

[SweetSerenity]

Bouncing Over to the Fare- November 2nd, 1900 Park Fare


*Disclaimer* I did not take any pictures of buffets because they were always crowded. I know this is a fail, but I hate wedging between hungry people trying to get a photo. Let them not mistake my arms for hams.

Also, Jason understands why I take pictures of food, but he tolerates it at best. I was thankful my phone camera was so fast. With that being said, he did not let me take any pictures of his plates from the buffets. He just wanted to sit down and eat and figured my plate photos would be good enough. Clearly, he is not a Diser.

6:30 came early for our 8:20 ADR to 1900 Park Fare. We had never been there nor had we ever stepped foot into The Grand Floridian so I was excited about this breakfast. I had heard wonderful things about the strawberry soup so it was definitely on my list to try.

We took a bus to MK, walked through security again, climbed the mountain to the monorail, and rode peacefully to GF. My goodness, this resort is even more beautiful than I had seen in pictures. We asked for directions and were 5 minutes late (I cannot stand being late), but we made it. We had also passed the Afternoon Tea area, and I made a big production about how grand it would be to try it. Hold that thought.

We were seated quickly and told we could go be the first ones to meet Tigger in the area to the side of the restaurant. Tigger and I bounced for a second or two until he noticed our buttons and told us happy anniversary.


We each had a chocolate milk and orange juice. This would be the first of many on the chocolate milk count.


For my first plate, I had a cheese blintz with strawberry sauce, roast beef hash, cheesy hashbrowns, biscuit with gravy, and roasted potatoes. The cheese blintz was so wonderful. It was warm cream cheese wrapped in a crispy shell and the strawberry sauce just added to the flavor. I could have eaten so many more of these, but by the time I finished this plate I was full and did not go back. The roast beef hash was also a winner with tender pieces of roast beef mixed in with hashbrowns. Jason liked this too, surprisingly. The roasted potatoes were cooked to a nice crisp but so were the cheesy potatoes when they should have been a little more done. The biscuit was fine, but I'm Southern and that's just not what I'm used to for sausage gravy.


See that bowl of delicious pink gold back there? This was just as amazing as everyone says it is. Strawberries and cream pureed to a perfect consistency. There were toppings to add such as granola, but I thought this was perfect the way it was. My omelette was bacon, ham, and cheese and was fantastic as well. The ham was also good.

I was stuffed to the gills at this point, though I wanted to eat more of the hash, soup, and blintz. I just couldn't do it.

We also met Pooh, Alice, Mary Poppins, and the Mad Hatter. Jason always hams it up for the ladies.

While he was getting a refill, I had a wonderful conversation with Pooh.

During our meal, I told Jason I had booked the tea party for us. He seemed excited. Well, about as excited as he gets. If I get a "wow" out of him, I've done something right.

I really liked this character buffet and would likely return, though I think the price is mainly for the characters.

Cheese count: 8
Chocolate milk count: 1
Total: $85.20 + gratuity

Stay tuned for our step back in time to my favorite colonial era for lunch beneath the liberty tree!

 

[SweetSerenity]

I’m so relieved you finally got a good meal today! Tony’s sounds like a nightmare, thankfully Yachtsman’s made up for it.

It was a good meal. In fact, I just dreamed about it, haha! There is a thread going around right now where people are sharing good experiences with Tony's. Maybe we just ordered wrong. . . I don't know. I mean, we each had our own parmesean chicken and they were both undercooked.

Yikes to Tony's! We've never done it largely for fear of everything you just wrote. I've never had the powdered pasta but I can just fathom how not good that would be. Have you all tried Skippers? MK table service isn't great, but it tends to be our favorite.

Glad to see Yachtsman redeemed Disney food for you all though. Totally agree those rolls are a thing of beauty. They may even be better than the steak

We have not tried Skipper's. Jason is not interested in it, though we did have an ADR there once. He tells me no more often than not when it comes to food then he ends up loving it.
Yes! I think the rolls are totally their staple.

I am always interested in the DDP reports! I am also getting ideas for dining next year!!

Welcome! Good luck with your planning.

Yikes on Tony’s. I’ve seen some other reports of improvement but sure doesn’t sound like it was evident the day you visited. It really is too bad and a waste of a prime location and cute theme. They should outsource to one of the restaurant groups that have other Italian spots on property.

Relieved to hear Yachtsman was a success. I love those rolls too! You can now order them in the Crews Cup Lounge so you can get a fix without an ADR. I don’t think I’ve tried the soup... will need to fix that! Sorry the desserts were a let down.

I agree. The theming is top notch there for nostalgic fans like me, but the food is so generic. I have seen reports of improvement as well, but it skipped us.
Good to know about the rolls being served at the lounge. The soup really is fantastic!

I haven't heard too many good reviews of this restaurant. That's a shame there isn't any flavor for this soup. It's my absolute favorite Italian soup and always a go to for me when I go out.

It was sorely lacking, sadly.

That was nice that they put a candle in the cake for you celebrating, although I usually think of blowing out candles just for a birthday. Glad this dish wasn't a total bust.

We have another candle appearance later on.

I love the onion rolls there. I could literally just go there for those rolls and be a happy girl.

I appreciate others who appreciate the rolls.

Looks like a great meal at Yachtsman Steakhouse!

Yes!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I am glad to hear that the food is starting to turn around for you! My girls loved that Strawberry Soup, when we went. It wasn't for me. But not everything can be for everyone. Glad you guys enjoyed your breakfast!

 

[Araminta18]

We asked for directions and were 5 minutes late (I cannot stand being late), but we made it.

Gosh I'm right with you. We were 10 min late to our breakfast buffet at Crystal Palace and it was making me crazy anxious. Glad you made it and being late wasn't an issue.

See that bowl of delicious pink gold back there? This was just as amazing as everyone says it is. Strawberries and cream pureed to a perfect consistency. There were toppings to add such as granola, but I thought this was perfect the way it was. My omelette was bacon, ham, and cheese and was fantastic as well. The ham was also good.

I *really* want to try this strawberry soup...is this buffet the only place to get it? It sounds so yummy...

While he was getting a refill, I had a wonderful conversation with Pooh.

Cute!! That's adorable.

 

[kastoney]

Glad to see that things are turning around the on food front. We've never done 1900 but it looks great!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Your anniversary dinner at YS looked amazing! This did make me laugh out loud though:

I love dark chocolate and ganache. How could this not be amazing? That banana crap stuck in the middle, that's how.

I hate when someplace goes and ruins a perfectly good chocolate dessert by putting fruit crap on it!

 

[Raeven]

You are the reason we knew about this! i remembered it from one of your report.

Ooo awesome! I try to get the poutine every time since I first had it. We have a serious lack of poutine around here. Also I didn't know about that pretzel till I read your DTR, and now I want it!

We love the bread service here. The sourdough rolls are good, but it's the onion pull-a-parts that are delightful. Warm and soft, with soft sprinkles of caramelized onions.

Yum, I love the bread here.

Do you see that bubbly deliciousness on top? That was good cheese covering the thick crouton. In fact, so much cheese was layered on top that I'm counting it.

OMG I love it

I did not take any pictures of buffets because they were always crowded. I know this is a fail, but I hate wedging between hungry people trying to get a photo. Let them not mistake my arms for hams.

Same here! I find buffet photos are usually so hard to get, and I don't want to get in anyone's way while they're getting food so unless it's empty I don't take any usually.

We asked for directions and were 5 minutes late (I cannot stand being late), but we made it.

I'm late to everything ever, but when it comes to dining on vacations I get annoyed if we're late (Although that doesn't really stop us from still usually being late).

We each had a chocolate milk and orange juice. This would be the first of many on the chocolate milk count.

Why have I never thought of this? I love chocolate milk and I never think to get it at restaurants. Maybe I'll remember on our next trip.

The cheese blintz was so wonderful. It was warm cream cheese wrapped in a crispy shell and the strawberry sauce just added to the flavor.

I really want one of those now

During our meal, I told Jason I had booked the tea party for us. He seemed excited. Well, about as excited as he gets. If I get a "wow" out of him, I've done something right.

I can't wait to hear about the tea, it's something we almost did, but ended up cutting from our plans.

 

[buzzrelly]

We cut into the soggy chicken and it was. . . not done. The bite I had was very rubbery and pinkish-gray and just about to tell me a joke about why the chicken crossed the road. To escape Tony, I think.

Oh, no! That is so gross! And so disappointing because we have always loved Tony's and I was happy that it had been getting better reviews lately.

It was about this time that I turned around to see an old friend being seated. She and her husband had just gotten married a few days ago and were dining at the exact same place at the same time. I've known her since she was around 5-years-old and to see her all grown up and married was just wonderful.

Cue the, "It's a Small World After All.." music.

With the exception of the desserts, we really enjoyed our meal here. I'm perfectly fine that they don't do desserts well because they are a restaurant that specializes in good steak, and we feel they excel at that.

DH and I ate at YS in 2013 and loved it. We have had plans to return for the last two trips and never have for one reason or another. Now I wish we had!

While he was getting a refill, I had a wonderful conversation with Pooh.

So cute!