WDW Dining with our Princess and Stitch! Updated with Cape May Cafe Dinner!

[Ginamarie]

DH and I are big WDW fans. We've been to the parks and/or on DCL each year since our honeymoon in 2002. This is due to my love of Disney and facilitated by DH's employment with the company. Sometimes I think he just tolerates my madness, but I digress. One of my absolute favorite things about a WDW vacation is dining. I'm Italian. I LOVE food. I love cooking and eating and then talking about my great meals. Hence, the dining reviews part of this board is one of my favorite lurking spots.

I thought you all might enjoy our reviews for our upcoming 10 day trip to WDW, so here's a start We are traveling from April 26 through May 6.

Our cast:

DH- Our walking discount... I mean hero. We'll call him "Buzz". Big, strong and providing us with the plastic (that which pays our dining bills). He likes food as well, enjoys a good steak or a tasty burger. He also LOVES breakfast foods. His dining request each trip is dinner at Ohana.

Me- I suppose I'd be most like Belle, walking around with my head in a book, or a Disney guide. I'm most looking forward to the Le Celier mushroom filet. I last ate one of these in December 2006 and have dreamed of its deliciousness ever since. Otherwise, I'm open to all sorts of food, be it meat, fish, plant, or otherwise. However, I will not eat stringbeans.. not.at.all.

DD(3)- Our daughter, who will be "Ariel" for purposes of this report. She's in love with The Little Mermaid and princesses in general, so we're trying to fit in as many of those princess interactions as possible. She's a picky eater, so I'm thinking it will be a bit of an adventure feeding her on this trip. She'll probably be eating off of our plates part of the time, and sampling a lot of fruit. She's also obsessed with drinking milk.

DS(3 months)- If you asked me a month ago, I'd have named him "Mickey" as I've lovingly nicknamed him my "mouse." Lately though, he's a nursing machine and a bit of a grumpy gus when we least expect it. His nickname will be "stitch." Stitch is on a strict diet of breastmilk, so I don't think you'll be hearing much from him.

Here are our ADRs:

Sassagoula Food Court
Beaches and Cream (page 2)
Coral Reef lunch (page 2)
Rose and Crown dinner (page 2)
Goofy's Candy Co. (page 2)
Ohana dinner (page 3)
Tusker House breakfast (page 3)
Flame Tree BBQ (page 3)
Yak and Yeti dinner (page 3)
CRT lunch (page 3)
Whispering Canyon dinner (page 3)
Hollywood and Vine breakfast (cancelled)
Pizza Planet (page 3)
50's Primetime dinner (page 3)
Ohana breakfast (page 4)
Mardi Grogs (page 4)
Cape May Cafe Dinner (page 4)
Akershus breakfast
Tutto Italia lunch
Teppan Edo lunch
Le Celier dinner
1900 Park Fare dinner (cancelled)
Grand Floridian Cafe dinner

Up next- some notes on our previous dining experiences

 

[Deffenm]

Can't wait to read the rest of your dinning review.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Sounds like a yummy trip. You need to eat extra since you are nursing.
Have a great time and can't wait to read your reviews.

 

[Ginamarie]

First of all, you should see the cast..

This is Buzz, in his glory, at Boma. I told you that he loves breakfast food! This is the first time in several years that we'll be missing Boma. We swapped in the Tusker House breakfast because it's supposed to be similar and they have the characters there. I'll have to let you all know how that works out for us.



annnnd, here's our Belle, (ahem me) with my beloved cherry coke. Yes, the big one from WCC.




Our previous experiences:

Sassagoula Food Court- I've had some great stuff at the POFQ food court. Still fresh in my memory is the deliciousness that was the giant ice cream sandwich made with fresh chocolate chip cookies and the taco salad I had in 2006. Plus, they have mickey waffles. Yes, it's just a food court, but it's worked just fine for me in the past.

Beaches and Cream-we have only made it into Beaches and Cream once.. back in 2004. We did not attempt the Kitchen Sink, but saw at least two of them made while we sat at the counter and ate our lunch. I had a grilled chicken, Buzz had a burger and then we split a sundae. Good stuff! We attempted to get into the restaurant again in 06, but there was about a 2 hour wait. I really wish they'd set up ADRs at this location. I know it's small, but I think that might still work out better than people never being able to get in!

Coral Reef lunch- I haven't been to coral reef yet. It was on our list last time, but was cut. I love the WS restaurants, so it's tough to bump one out in favor of CR, but I'm giving it a go on this trip. So we won't be eating at Chefs de France. Until next time, beloved lobster bisque!

Rose and Crown dinner- this is one of our old standbys. Before I knew anything about Disboards or podcasts, I took a chance on the Rose and Crown, thinking it would be a less expensive dinner option. We wound up on the terrace for Illuminations. It was such a magical moment, that I've added it to our list ever since. I love the fish and chips. It's a perfectly battered piece of fish with thick cut french fries and buttery peas. I ALWAYS order the fish and chips. I've also had some really nice desserts at the Rose and Crown, and of course, a cocktail or two.

Ohana dinner- We've been to Ohana for dinner a few times. I know people gripe about the menu changes, and I DO miss the fresh pineapple they used to serve at dessert, but the bread pudding we had last time was excellent, so I'll let that slide. I'm curious to try out the often maligned noodles.

Tusker House breakfast- we're trying this one for the first time, in place of our usual Boma breakfast.

Yak and Yeti dinner- another new meal for us.

CRT lunch- I've been to CRT twice. The first time was for dinner, on my honeymoon, 2002. This was before the characters showed up all day long. We had a very nice (romantic) meal, looking out over Fantasyland from our windowside table. The second time was a princess breakfast with a large group. Both times we thought the food was excellent and the service was great. I'm trying the lunch for the first time on this trip, mostly because it's only slightly more expensive than the breakfast, and the characters still make their rounds to meet all the kids. I'm hoping DD loves it enough to justify the cost.

Whispering Canyon dinner- another option that gets a lot of flack on the boards, but we like WCC. I will admit that they disappointed me on my 2006 trip. I hyped the restaurant up to all of our family about how fun it was, and then our waiter was a dud. All the tables around us were having fun, but this guy couldn't bring himself to do any of the antics. I drank NINE cherry cokes hoping I'd get a giant glass. Nine! Nine cokes to no avail!!! I last ate at WCC in October of 07- a quiet lunch with just Ariel and I, and the food was great. I'm looking forward to this.

Hollywood and Vine breakfast- I have been to H&V for all three meals. I prefer the lunch menu the best, but we booked breakfast this time around. I'm tempted to cancel this one, but going to play it by ear for now. With Ariel being three, I hate the cost of buffets on this trip! It'll cost me $13 for her to eat three bites of egg two pieces of bacon and a nibble at a chocolate croissant.

50's Primetime dinner- I like Prime Time. We've done lunch and dinner here and it's never done me wrong. I also once got to watch a waitress force my sister into trying collard greens, which was hysterical. Of all the DS options, this one is my favorite. We tried the Brown Derby, but it was overpriced and nothing special IMHO.

Ohana breakfast- Ariel loves Stitch. She has a Stitch doll that she carries around with her everywhere. She talks about Stitch all the time, specifically recalling that on our last Disney cruise, Stitch joked with her and tickled her and played with her. So we needed to find a way to make sure we saw Stitch on this vacation. What better way than a breakfast!

Cape May Cafe Dinner- DH loves this one. We are sure to go here on every trip. We each have our favorite items, and it's never let us down.

Akershus breakfast- I think this will be our third breakfast in Norway. I always go for the breakfast because the lunch/dinner food is more ethnic and not my style. We've had great interactions with the princesses here, and I recall the cheesy potatoes being fabulous.

Tutto Italia lunch- We haven't been to Tutto yet. I miss Alfredos, let me tell you. I'm 100% Italian, and we had some wonderful, memorable meals at Alfredos. Plus, their sangria was to die for!! I'm hoping Tutto will be just as good. I've already seen the prices on the menu, and for those prices, it had BETTER be just as good. We'll see if it disappoints.

Teppan Edo lunch- love it love it love it. We go here on every trip as well. There's something about teppan veggies that makes them oh so yummy.

Le Celier dinner- ah yes, home of my beloved mushroom fillet. I tried to get a ressie here on our 2007 trip to no avail. Luckily, there were some ADR spots open this year and I snatched one up. I can't wait.

1900 Park Fare dinner- this one is a first time experience for us. I'm not sure... I've read some awful reviews lately, but hopefully Cinderella and the stepsisters will make up for it.


So that's my rundown! I can't wait to start eating!

 

[skellingtonfreak]

I am in for these! Have a magical trip!

 

[msce2]

I'm in! Hope you have a great trip!!!!

 

[frdeb1999]

I'm in! Hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Count me in!

 

[TigerKat]

I'm signing on.....

 

[Uncle Remus]

Me too

 

[binkytell]

watchin this space

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

I'm in!

 

[dancemomnj]

Looking forward to your reviews Belle

 

[Sazzo'sMommy]

I'm ready! Bring it on!

 

[natalielongstaff]

have a great time

 

[kimgof]

 

[momofdbsdc]

I am in!!!!

 

[meloneyb21]

Can't wait!

 

[Ginamarie]

Thanks guys! I'm glad to begin our journey with Beaches and Cream

The food did not disappoint. We basically arrived at the hotel, checked out our room and headed over to the Beach Club. It took a long time to get there, and we had a 30 minute wait for a table, but it was worth the trek!

I had a grilled chicken sandwich, which was nicely marinaded, and fries. Some people complain about the whole wheat buns at WDW these days. I like whole wheat, so it didn't bother me. The marinade was good enough that whatever made its way onto my plate was sopped up with french fries. Buzz went for the cheesesteak sandwich. He liked it, and ate the whole hero-sized thing. He liked that the cheesesteak had both onions and peppers. I was too busy with my chicken to taste his, so I have no comment. Ariel had a kids grilled cheese with french fries. It looked pretty good too. Everything was hot and fresh. Stitch, meanwhile, nursed and fell asleep halfway on top of me and halfway across the bench of the booth. I didn't let that deter me from eating.

For dessert, Ariel had strawberry ice cream, and Buzz and I split the “No Way Jose.” That was REALLY good. The ice cream at Beaches and Cream is very good quality, creamy and refreshing, and the sundae was loaded with hot fudge, melted peanut butter and whipped cream. It was HUGE. We took pictures. We also ate the entire thing. We were hungry. Ariel's strawberry ice cream came out looking like a mouse, with a cherry for a nose and oreo cookie ears.

I thought the pricing at Beaches and Cream was good. It was on par with what we would pay at home for the same food. I wish this restaurant would take reservations though. I'd love to add it to our next trip itinerary, but with a party of 9, I'm not sure we'd be able to get in without a long wait. There are so few seats there. We say three parties order the kitchen sink while we were there and it looked delicious. I never would have attempted it with our small group though (now with our party of nine next time around, we had a shot at it!).

The service was good. We didn't wait long for anything and we got refills on our drinks when they got low. The environment in the restaurant is excellent, cheery and all of the staff seemed in good spirits. So it was a nice way to start our vacation.

I was not great about taking pictures of our meals, but I do have at least one or two shots from each meal. I would have been better about it, but a lot of times Stitch wanted to nurse through a lot of the meal or Ariel required attention, so it was hard to take care of them and remember to take pictures before eating!

Without further ado, the pictures from Beaches and Cream:
Kids grilled cheese

Kids strawberry ice cream

Of course, the "No Way Jose"

Beaches and Cream gets a 5/5 from me for food and ice cream. For service/ambiance, it gets a 4/5, and only because it's so hard to get a table!

 

[hroyale]

I'm so excited by your B&C review!
Was the kids grilled cheese on the menu or did you have to order it special? It isn't listed on the All Ears menu.

I have two very picky eaters. DD favorite is grilled cheese and DS loves hot dogs. It was suprisingly difficult to find any place with both hot dogs AND grilled cheese.

We're staying at BC so I'm excited to have a great option so close.

Thanks!