UPDATED 2/26 Garden View Tea Room- From The Mara to Victoria & Alberts and Everything in Between

[MagicKingdomMommy80]

Hello All!

This is my first attempt at my very own Disney dining review! I love reading the reviews here on the DIS, especially when I’m planning my next Disney trip (which is always, even if the trip is still a year away). Because I’m a compulsive Disney vacation planner, I tend to change my dining reservations a few times before, and even during the trip. Oh well, it drives DH nuts but he knows to just go with the flow when I’m in planning mode (again, always).

Before we get started on the food, a little bit about us. We are a family of 3 from MA: DH (36), DD (6), and me (34). We started going to Disney when DD was 2 and have been going once or twice a year since then. We bought a resale DVC contract early last year and a small add-on at VGF so this was our first ever DVC trip! It was amazing and we are definitely looking forward to 50 more years at Disney ☺. We have been avid DxDP users since our first trip but decided to try the TIW card with the DVC discount for this trip. I was surprised at how freeing it was to not be on a dining plan, just getting what you want, where you want it, snack credit or not! We went to WDW from the 8th to the 19th of January and stayed at Kidani (AKV, 2 bdrm villa-4 nts), GFV (studio-4 nts), and BLT (studio-3 nts). For the first four days we had my brother and family in the 2-bedroom villa. Both my SIL and DH ran the half marathon on Saturday.

Enough about us, let’s get to the food. Here’s a sampling of places we visited this trip:

The Mara
Bongos
Min and Bill’s
House of Blues
Victoria and Albert’s (QV room)
BoG Lunch
Garden View Tea Room
Hoop dee doo
Kona Café
Sanaa
Spice Road Table
Le Cellier
1900 Park Fare
Narcoossee’s
Yachtsman
California Grill
Olivia’s

Lots of pics (now that I figured out how to post pics) and reviews to come, hope you enjoy!

 

[MagicKingdomMommy80]

Day 1 – The Mara
This was our travel day and we were up early to catch a plane. The trip was uneventful (which is always appreciated) and we arrived at MCO ahead of schedule. I had a big day planned: get car, go to AKV, check-in, head to The Mara for lunch, activate our annual passes at AK, head to Publix for some breakfast staples, all before meeting my family at the room when they arrived at 3:00PM. Phew!
After checking-in and signing up for the text room alert we were off to The Mara for lunch!

I was pleasantly surprised at the selection and quality of food at the Mara. When you think “quick-serve”, usually heavy, fried, unhealthy images come to mind. This is not the case in most resort quick-serve venues and The Mara was no exception. We decided to get the mugs for the length-of-stay since we always had them on the dining plan and wanted to really compare the cost and “feel” of the dining plan...we won’t do that again.


DH and I just aren’t big soda drinkers and DD’s preferred drink choices of milk and juice don’t come in the mugs so it was a bit of a waste. We found ourselves making our first cup of coffee in the room in the morning rather than making the trek to whatever quick-serve, and since you can’t use them in the parks, we got very little use out of them. No sweat, we know for next time.

To eat, DD got the chicken nugget kid’s meal with grapes and carrots.

I love the chicken nuggets at Disney. The extra crispy outside and real white meat chicken inside is yummy! DD wasn’t a fan of the dipping sauces. She said the honey mustard was a little to mustard-y for her taste and not enough honey-y. She is a sweet addict, so this wasn’t a surprise. She is also not much of a veggie eater so the carrots came back to the room for DH and I later.

DH tried the Falafel Pita Couscous and I tried the Chicken Pita Couscous.


These we very similar (same sauce, same pita, same toppings) but DH and I both agree that the chicken was better. DH found the texture of the Falafel a bit too soft for what he was expecting. The chicken was delicious, perfectly seasoned and juicy. The greens, tomatoes and sauce were a perfect match to this yummy chicken. DH and I both really enjoyed the couscous as well. We both were expecting it to be served warm for some reason but it turned out to be a cold salad. No matter, it was very flavorful. The portions were huge and we could have easily shared.

For dessert (Must. Always. Have. Dessert.), we shared the much anticipated, never duplicated, zebra domes!


Verdict: meh, not my thing. They were super sweet (and I love sweet) and very alcoholic tasting. I can see how others love them but they weren’t for me. DH felt similar but you call something dessert and DD is all over it no matter how it tastes, so she’s not a good critic.

Overall, The Mara was great and I would highly recommend it. One note: since we were previously on the DxDP, we didn’t do too many QS dining locations so we were a little surprised by the time it took to actually get your meal (10-15 min). This seemed to be the norm for all entrees at QS locations so it wasn’t just the Mara. Not a big deal, just not what I expected. In general the food quality was better than I expected too so they may be related ☺.

 

[MagicKingdomMommy80]

After meeting up with the fam and hitting the Expo to get bibs and shirts, we were in search of dinner. I didn’t book a dining reservation for the first night because I wasn’t sure we’d all be in and hungry at the same time. It turns out, we were, and reservations were hard to come by. After 15 min on the phone with Disney dining and nothing jumping out at me, we decided to hit DTD to try our luck. Worst case, we could do WPE, which I LOVE so it wouldn’t bother me a bit.
It turns out as we were walking we decided to give Bongos a try. This was a first for us and we were able to walk right in without a reservation.



To start I had this baby: Raspberry Lemon Martini! I love raspberries, lemons and alcohol so how could this be wrong…but it was. Not flavored like either of those things, it was just artificial and strong tasting. I finished it anyway (you don’t waste a $12 drink!). We weren’t super hungry after our lunch at The Mara so I got the skirt steak bruschetta and DH got the avocado salad and the pork tamales, all off the appetizer section of the menu.





The skirt steak (which is also what DD had as a kids meal) was quite tough and hard to chew. The rest of the dish was good and tasted fresh. I loved the thick, syrupy balsamic and the avocado but the steak really wasn’t that good. DD felt the same, leaving DH to help her out (this is DH’s unofficial role in the family: food finisher). DH enjoyed the avocado salad but felt that they used the world’s smallest avocado (hence, the room for helping out DD). He also enjoyed the pork tamale. We’ve never had them before so we don’t have a good comparison but they were finished in short order.

For dessert (sorry no pictures), we had the churros with chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce and condensed milk “cream”. This was by far the highlight of the meal. The three kids easily shared the healthy portion of cinnamon-sugary, crispy churros with one left over for me ☺. Overall a good first day of Disney Eats!

 

[auntfrannie]

Looking forward to your reviews. I always love reading V&A reviews. You have a great list!

 

[MagicKingdomMommy80]

Looking forward to your reviews. I always love reading V&A reviews. You have a great list!

Thanks for following along!

 

[MagicKingdomMommy80]

Our first full day at Disney and we were off to HS bright and early after a breakfast of cereal and coffee in the room. After spending the weeks leading up to the trip sending my SIL food pictures of all the amazing food, we were both excited to try the mac & cheese at Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner. As soon as I saw the picture of the pulled pork mac & cheese, I was sold! DH decided on the buffalo chicken mac & cheese and DD had the pretzel hot dog.








I really wanted to love this but it was BY FAR the worst thing I ate this whole trip. Just thinking about it now gives me shivers of yuck! The pulled pork topping with crispy fried onions and BBQ sauce was actually quite good, but the mac & cheese was terrible and spoiled my whole memory of this dish. Fake, processed cheese flavor with way too much salt in a failed attempt to cover it up. DH felt similarly about the buffalo chicken mac & cheese. The chicken was fine but the mac & cheese was left in a sad, congealed clump on the bottom of both containers. DD enjoyed her pretzel dog but wasn’t wild about the salt on the pretzel. Salt on a pretzel is expected so I chalked it up to being a personal taste issue and tried a bite. Yep, salty! And not just the salt on the pretzel, but the dog itself was super salty. It was over-the-top salty, even for a pretzel dog. But then…



Thanks goodness for this baby, the savior of the meal, the candy cane milkshake! This was amazing, thick and creamy, not too minty or sweet, but just perfect. Yummy!!

 

[TeresaNJ]

Great start! Looking forward to the rest of your reviews!

 

[Scoobymoons]

Really enjoying your reviews so far! Particularly interested in the Mara as we're staying at Jambo for the first time in August. Looking forward to more

 

[hockeygirl14]

Great review so far - following along.
The salty pretzel dog makes me sad, it was on my list of things to try on my next trip

 

[DisneyfromDeland]

Subscribing! I love food reviews!

 

[MagicKingdomMommy80]

Great start! Looking forward to the rest of your reviews!

Thanks for following along!

Really enjoying your reviews so far! Particularly interested in the Mara as we're staying at Jambo for the first time in August. Looking forward to more

I really enjoyed the Mara. Out of the three places we stayed (AKV, VGF, BLT), The Mara was my favorite quick serve.

Great review so far - following along.
The salty pretzel dog makes me sad, it was on my list of things to try on my next trip

Made me sad too. I'm hoping it was an off day. You'll have to try it and report back

Subscribing! I love food reviews!

Welcome!

 

[MagicKingdomMommy80]

After a pretty full day at HS we were off to our not-so-advanced dining reservation at House of Blues. My family really enjoyed DTD despite the traffic, and we were eager to go back so I managed to snag a reservation the day before for HoB. This place was surprisingly large inside and wasn’t that crowded. It seemed quite loud in the bar area but our table was located in a separate section in the back that was quite pleasant and relaxed.

For dinner DD had the Mini Hamburgers with fries instead of veggies.


This was a good size portion and she enjoyed both the burger and the fries. DD usually enjoys the idea of burgers more than the burger itself so she ate the meat and the bun separately but still enjoyed them. Oh well, to each their own.

DH had the Southwestern Chicken Sandwich – “Grilled citrus marinated chicken breast topped with Pepper Jack cheese, roasted tomatoes, diced green chiles, avocado slices and chipotle mayo on a brioche bun” with sweet potato fries


Despite this sandwich looking pretty tasty, DH commented that it was dry and unmemorable. Oh well.

I went with the Smoked BBQ Bacon Burger
“Topped with Cheddar cheese, smoked tomato BBQ sauce, applewood bacon, crispy pickled jalapeños, sautéed bourbon onions on a brioche bun”


This was a tasty burger! I loved the combination of the onions, bacon and BBQ sauce. The bacon was nice and crispy, just the way I like it, which was a nice contrast to the soft and creamy onions. I’m also a huge fan of brioche buns for burgers and this one was toasted perfectly to bring out the buttery flavor. The only thing I wasn’t wild about was the crispy pickled jalapeños. I’m a super-lightweight when it comes to heat, so even this was too much for me.

All in all this was a good meal. Unfortunately, what tends to stand out in DH’s and my head most was the incredibly SLOOOOW service. The meal lasted over 2 hrs without any dessert! With three kids…this is just a recipe for disaster! I would try it again but I think I’ll have to convince DH…

Coming up next…Victoria and Alberts Queen Victoria Room (preview: BEST. MEAL. EVER.)

 

[Ismo]

So excited for your V&A review, I'm hoping to go next time! Great reviews so far.

 

[Scoobymoons]

Shame about the service at HoB. Perhaps one to be tried again after a time away?

Bring on the V&A review I am ready

 

[kastoney]

Subbing in, can't wait to read more

 

[jedijill]

I'm in. YOu have a nice mix of ADR's.

Jill in CO

 

[MagicKingdomMommy80]

Victoria and Albert’s Queen Victoria Room Part I

The day was finally here! One hundred and eighty long days since making the Victoria and Albert’s Queen Victoria room reservation, it was THE day. Okay, so DH had to run a tiny half marathon before then, but a minor detail I say.

This reservation had been on my bucket list since we first went to Disney and ate next door at Citrico’s. DH is not a fan of “stuffy” restaurants and with the price tag of V&A’s, you’d expect it to be just that. DH and I couldn’t have been more wrong. The staff was warm and inviting and explained every dish, without a hint of pomp or circumstance. It was a fantastic experience all around and one that I would HIGHLY recommend trying at least once. I’ve already started saving up my Disney Visa rewards to do it again in a few years J.

Now for the food! The Queen Victoria Room is a 10-13 course (ours was 11 courses plus bread service) prix-fixe menu. When I was looking at the menu online I was a little concerned about the seafood. I don’t eat anything that comes from the sea. I’m not allergic; I just find everything that comes from the sea tastes the same…like salt water, blek. DH however loves seafood in all it’s forms and was excited by the online menu. I called V&A’s and explained my overwhelming distaste for seafood and was thrilled that they could modify the seafood courses to either meat or veggies for me and leave the seafood for DH.

Here’s what we were in for:

My seafood-free menu (I also had the wine pairing)


DH’s menu


To start, DH’s Amuse-Bouche was the Alaskan King Crab “Jar” with Siberian Osetra Caviar.


DH described this as the “best caviar he’s ever had on top of the best crab he’s ever had, multiplied by 1000”. Served with a mother-of-pearl spoon instead of metal so as not to tarnish the taste of the caviar, this was truly and experience in luxury. Apparently, you could really taste the flavor of both the caviar and the crab, which wasn’t overpowered by the creamy sauce that came on the crab. Since the taste of crab and the caviar was exactly what I was trying to avoid with my alternative menu, I didn’t even ask for a taste of this, especially since I was seriously trying not to lick the bowl that contained my amuse-bouche, the Roasted Kabocha and Butternut Squash Soup.


This was phenomenal! Silky smooth and sweet, it had a perfectly balanced combination of squash flavor and seasonings. I like squash soups but I often have a hard time eating a whole bowl because the natural sweetness and flavor of the squash can get overpowering for me. This was a perfect little portion that left you definitely wanting more. Seriously, I could have used some bread here to sop-up the trickle that I couldn’t get with the spoon. Oh well, on to the second course!


After the wonderful amuse-bouche course, DH was a little skeptical about being hungry because the portions were “so small”. A little foreshadowing here…this was certainly not an issue at the end of the meal! I’m sure you’ve heard it before; eleven courses (plus three breads and butters) definitely add up. No need to worry after the amuse-bouche that you’ll go home hungry J!


Course 2 was the same for both of us: Colorado Bison with Black Radish Slaw and Kumquats


After having Bison at California Grill on our first Disney trip in 2012, DH has been a huge fan. It’s not that easy to find Bison on restaurant menus in New England so DH was really looking forward to this one. Bison is a lean meat that can become tough if overcooked. This was done to perfection and the Bison was melt-in-you-mouth tender. I remember only having a butter knife to cut it and there was no effort required at all. There was a super-thin “cracker” on top that didn’t have much flavor but gave a nice crunchy texture to the rest of the softer items. The kumquats were cooked to the point where the already intense orange flavor deepened but some texture remained. DH said he could have done without the kumquats because it made the flavors “weird”, but I completely disagree. The citrus flavor was perfect to cut the rich, meaty bison flavor. The black radish slaw was a little lost in all the other flavors, but it was a nice textural and visual element.


Course 3 was also the same for both of us: Hot “Smoked” Niman Ranch Lamb with Fiji Apple and Curry dressing.




It’s hard to pinpoint exactly which course was the best for me (they were all sooo good), but for DH, this was the hands-down winner. It was high-up on my list too, but not quite my favorite. This dish hits on many sensual notes, not the least of which was taste. Visually enthralling, this dish comes out with a flourish under a dome filled with smoke. I mistakenly thought this “smoke” was simply a type of dry-ice visual effect so I was surprised when that dome was lifted and the beautiful smoke scent filled the room. An amazing visual and aromatic experience that was only topped by the flavor of the lamb. The waiter informed us that the best way to eat each of the three bites of lamb was to pair it with the apple. Like the Bison, the lamb was tender and juicy. The dressing was creamy and had a subtle curry and smoke flavor that went perfectly with the sweetness of the apple. Hmmm, describing this dish is making me rethink my first place selection…

More to come soon!

 

[disneypofq05]

I am enjoying your review. I can't wait to read more!

 

[Scoobymoons]

Several years ago, I began reading a trilogy of books which I was totally addicted to, engrossed by. I finished the second and dashed to the bookshop to buy the final one only to find that it hadn't been written yet - totally bereft! I tell you this because I feel the same because V&As has not been finished!!!!! Here I am, sat in front of my, admittedly drool covered, laptop - totally on board with the lamb course, to scroll down to nothing - aaaarghhhh!!!
Please take this as a compliment

I must admit that I'm secretly hoping that by the time I've posted this, there may be another update....ok here goes.....

 

[MagicKingdomMommy80]

I am enjoying your review. I can't wait to read more!

Thanks, glad you're following along!

Several years ago, I began reading a trilogy of books which I was totally addicted to, engrossed by. I finished the second and dashed to the bookshop to buy the final one only to find that it hadn't been written yet - totally bereft! I tell you this because I feel the same because V&As has not been finished!!!!! Here I am, sat in front of my, admittedly drool covered, laptop - totally on board with the lamb course, to scroll down to nothing - aaaarghhhh!!!
Please take this as a compliment

I must admit that I'm secretly hoping that by the time I've posted this, there may be another update....ok here goes.....

Hahahaha, so sorry about that. I'm glad you're enjoying the reviews so far. Hoping to get another part in before the end of the week. Stay tuned!