We spent the morning at Epcot...love the boat trip from Boardwalk to Epcot in the morning. How relaxing on a bright beautiful morning. I know we could walk but the boat was approaching the dock just as we were finishing up breakfast, so we caught the boat. We figured we'd be hoofing it all day anyway so might as well try it out.
We did get held at the ticket turnstyle until about 8:50, but by the time we walked around to the rope-drop entrance to Innoventions, they were just opening the "Park" with characters so hubby was at the head of the pack being escorted to Soarin'. When I caught up, he was just coming from the Fast Pass kiosk, so we did a walk-on to Soarin'...took about 10 minutes, and half of that was walking-through time. After that, we headed for Captain EO...wow. That was fun --campy fun, and very nostalgic...I originally saw Capt. EO on my first trip ever to Disney World, with my oldest son when he was 10 (he won a trip there!) Anyway, we did a very leisurely 2 hours of touring Future World, then headed for Italy and our lunch reservation at Via Napoli.
We were the 4th party checking-in around 11:20 for our 11:30 reservation. We did specifically request a 2-top table (did not want the long communal table in the center). They started seating right at 11:30 and we were in our chairs by 11:31. Our waiter, Favio, showed up right away, very nicely explained the menu options with the Deluxe dining, and took our beverage orders. Well, it was only 11:30 AM., and I don't usually drink alcohol this early in the day...but as the Flamingo and Parrothead Flags say, "it's 5 o'clock somewhere"...and we were in Italy, right? And at 11:30 EST, it's actually already 5:30 PM. in Italy. So time for booze, lol. The drinks showed up in about 2 minutes...never had bar drinks delivered so fast.
Hubby had an Italian beer he's had before at Disney:
Moretti, at $9.00 a glass. A bit steep for a beer, but he likes that beer. Course, I had a glass of wine at the same cost:
Rose Regale. I think I had a glass of this from one of the kiosks on the World Showcase ? Anyway, I know I've had it before & loved it. Didn't see a description on the Allears menu, so I went straight to the source: The Rosa Regale website: "
Rosa Regale has a delicate bouquet of rose petals and offers sensuous flavors of fresh raspberries and strawberries. Its effervescence is softer than that of champagne, yet it yields a persistent and delicate pink froth. Its lively garnet color makes other sparklers pale in comparison." Mmmmmm, yeah what they said! If this stuff didn't cost $9 a glass, I would have had several glasses. Which is probably just as well I didn't since it would have been a very long walk back to Boardwalk on wobbly legs, lol. Anyway...LOVE this wine. Nothing like a bit o'bubbly to cap a nice morning at Epcot.
Favio our wonderful waiter had explained we could have the "sharing appetizer if we wanted to use both our appetizers for one." So we chose the "
Fritto Misto - An assortment of just-fried seasonal vegetables, fish and cheese to be shared at the table. Arancini (rice balls-yummy), Mozzarella (cheese slabs), calamari (squid), melanzane (eggplant), asparagi (asparagus), zucchini (same), carciofi (artichokes)- $24.00" Wonderful app...we thought it might be too heavy...after all, everything was breaded...but the breading was very light & crispy. Nice dip, too. Tons of veggies, very fresh (still crispy within the breading so not over-cooked), and though we thought the "fried rice balls" sounded kind of gross, we took Favio's word for it & tried them. Actually quite good! (they are the round balls to the right of the sauce) Reminded us of well-made fritters...not doughy/sticky at all. The calamari was the ring-only kind, and plenty of it. Loved it. (on the right hand side of the picture) All the veggies were on the left...the long pieces are asparagus, the other smaller pieces were the artichokes and eggplant. The fried mozzarella was rectangular pieces...can just barely see them up by the lemon, near the spout of the sauce boat. Must say, that app is extremely generous for 2 people to share...would easily serve 3-4. Would have made a large meal for one person.
Both of us wanted pizza, and different pizza. We both chose "white" pizzas (no tomato sauce.) Hubby went for the "
Quattro Formaggi: Mozzarella, Parmesan, Fontina, Provolone. Individual 17.00, Large 28.00, 1/2 Meter 36.00 - $28.00" Translated: 4-cheese wood-fired pizza, no tomato sauce. Since we were one the dining plan, hubby gets the Individual for $17.00. He RAVED about this pizza...love, love, loved it. But very large! He was only able to eat 1/2 (this pizza could easily have served both of us...and we still wouldn't have finished it.)
Since seeing the Via Napoli menu posted a few months ago, and hearing early reviews, I have been intrigued by the prospect of ham & fruit on a pizza: love ham, love cheese, love melon, love pizza. How could you go wrong on that? So I chose the "
Prosciutto E Melone (ham & canteloupe). Fontina (Alpine Italian cow's milk cheese), Mozzarella ("pizza" cheese, lol), Pecorino (sheep's milk cheese). Individual 17.00, Large 28.00, 1/2 Meter 36.00 - $28.00" Short version: ham , melon, and 3 cheese pizza. So, anyway, they did not go wrong with that pizza! OUTSTANDING. LOVED IT! But again, I would like to meet the "individual" who could eat this whole pizza...at least after an adult beverage and 1/2 of an over-large appetizer . I suppose there are people out there who can finish one of these off, but not me! I couldn't even eat 2 full pieces (it's cut into 4 huge slices.) I ate just over 1.5 slices, and decided to save the rest...we were heading back to Boardwalk for a nap after lunch, so I knew it would go right into the fridge and be fine for the next day. Besides, I definitely wanted to save a little room for dessert.
Hubby chose the "
Gelato Frizzante - Ice cream soda Italian style, made with San Pellegrino Aranciata (orange sparkling water, made with orange juice) and Vanilla Ice Cream - $10.00" A lovely looking, and delicious tasting, ice cream soda. As the waiter walked this dessert to our table, heard several "ooh, what's that...I want one of those" from surrounding tables. The people at the next table had to ask him how it was because it looked so pretty and yummy...they ended up ordering one for dessert too.
I've read about the "
Coppa Di Brutti Ma Buoni - 'Ugly, but good.' Amarena cherry and vanilla gelato sundae with ugly, but good cookies of carnevale - $10.00" and that sounded like something I'd like. I did...it was fabulous. Don't know what kind of cookie that is in there, you'd expect it to get mushy with all the ice cream & gooey goodness but it stays crunchy/chewy somehow -even the chunks that were buried in ice cream. Very good...but have to suggest this would be a great dessert to split with someone because it's huge.
To sum up Via Napoli....I've seen several reports of terrible service at Via Napoli...that was not our experience at all. We had awesome service...our waiter was always there when we needed him,but no hovering or annoying constant interruptions...perfect, professional service but warm & friendly at the same time. Ambiance is kind of fun in Via Napoli..yes, of course the tables are way too close together like all Disney restaurants, but it was fun watching the pizza going into the giant "mouth" ovens (we weren't even seated in the main room but could still see the ovens.) The decor in Via Napoli is light/bright/airy, and we liked it. The prices are high, even for a Disney restaurant. Which makes it an excellent choice on the dining plan - you get maximum Disney value for your meal credits here. Our lunch (2 adults) which was covered by the deluxe dining plan came to $79.88 with tax (but no tip in that figure) With adult beverages and taxes, the total came to $99.05 (no tip in that figure either.)
If you can take leftovers with you & safely store them, the value is better for sure - we enjoyed our 4 extra large leftover pieces as dinner the following evening...took it straight from restaurant to fridge in our Boardwalk room, then kept it on ice in our cooler while at Magic Kingdom & driving home the next day. Was great to just zap it in the micro the next day. Sure, the texture of the crust was chewier on the leftover, but still very tasty. One thing I noticed about the desserts at Via Napoli...they're pretty much all ice-cream or whipped-cream based so don't think any of them could be taken "to go". Wonder if they do that on purpose,knowing a fair number of people on the dining plan will just skip ordering dessert entirely since they won't be able to take leftover dessert with them?
Would I pay that kind of cash for that meal...well, probably not. I would maybe split an appetizer (something smaller than the Fritto Misto) and then split an individual pizza and dessert. But have to say they seriously discourage people from trying to split the small pizza, even when they're paying cash, so you might have to get pretty insistent to split an individual pizza.
Would I go back...on the dining plan, YES! In a flash. Loved the food. Would I recommend...yes! I'd give Via Napoli a 9 out of 10...taking away one point for the excessive price. If they dropped the prices, or called the "individual" size a "small" and encouraged two people to split that then I'd give it a 10. Bottom line...great food and great service.
Hey, I'm all for teaching kids how to shop...but not in a tiny bakery with a long line of people behind you, near a major theme park in the last hour before the parks open!
So after that long wait, same ole-same ole. Hubby chose a cinnamon roll...I picked an old favorite:a chocolate croissant. Both were very standard Disney resort bakery items. They were good, and definitely did the trick for quick breakfast... but nothing special - or any different - from the same items at Port Orleans or Pop Century counter service. 
OK, in the interest of full disclosure, we are going to Cali Grill, but I purposely made the ADR early. But the Yatchsman wouldn't be on my list of meals for a kid! I couldn't get over the number of kids who were our at signature restaurants well after eight p.m.. 
