We ate HOW much?? 10 days of total gluttony at WDW, with pics! UPDATE 9/2/12!

[TigerKat]

Signing on! Can't wait for the rest.

 

[emmysmommy]

Oh what a great start to your reviews with Goofy's Candy Co. I haven't seen Bongos review much so this was good to see. The salad looked great even without avocado!

 

[Leshaface]

Checking in!

You got some great food porn! I remember a while back you had said it was harder for you (probably because you were trying to take care of two young boys) to take food pictures. I'm so glad you were able to get a lot of food pics on this trip!

Bring it on!

 

[PrincePluto]

Came over from your TR! Hmm - I always heard fried Mars bars were Scottish, not Irish - Ah well, close enough, I guess.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Great start to your reviews! I never hear a lot about Bongos, but I've been tempted to try it since I enjoy Cuban food. The food looks good, but I'm not in a rush to try it (sincr it doesn't look amazing).

 

[franandaj]

Coming along over here too as well, you'll have to tell us which one to read first so we don't get any unexpected surprises!

 

[Linda67]

Great start to your reviews
You don't see too many reviews for Bongos so that's good to see
I like that your DS seems to be hiding whilst you take a picture of his pizza
We are probably going to get the TiW card for our next trip so great to hear that it worked out so well for you

 

[Tracerr00]

I'm lactose intolerant too. I can't take the Lactaid pills...they don't work for me. Last year, I discovered these Lactase Drops from Seeking Health. I have only been able to find them online, and they are a bit pricy, but soooooo totally worth it! I buy 6 bottles at a time to get a discount. You can treat milk with them instead of buying the Lactaid milk, or you can just place a few drops in your mouth when you start eating dairy (which is what I do). They were a miracle product for me on a cruise last summer, and everywhere I go! At home I drink almond milk and limit my dairy but when I am out it makes my life a whole lot easier! I used them at Ghirardelli and had no problems at all!

Lactaid doesn't really work for me either - especially for milk, ice cream or yogurt. And I do drink the Lactaid brand milk which I like. My gastroenterologist said that I could take as much lactaid as I needed for it to work but I haven't found any amount that works yet! I'm going to go online right now to check out the lactase drops. If I could eat even a little ice cream again I would I would kiss you!

 

[bangzoom6877]

We debated Bongo's this trip but ultimately decided against it. One of these days. Really looking foward to your Kouzzina review!

I wouldn't rush to Bongos, with all the other options at WDW. It was good, but not WOW good. You will be pleased with my Kouzzina review, no doubt!

Oh what a great start to your reviews with Goofy's Candy Co. I haven't seen Bongos review much so this was good to see. The salad looked great even without avocado!

The salad was tasty. And interesting that it was made so that everything was not right on top of each other. I enjoyed the chimichurri on the side, the steak and the onions.

Checking in!

You got some great food porn! I remember a while back you had said it was harder for you (probably because you were trying to take care of two young boys) to take food pictures. I'm so glad you were able to get a lot of food pics on this trip!

Bring it on!

Hi there! Yes, it was still a bit difficult to get food pics. You will see later on that I took a bite or 2 before remembering to snap a pic! But still lots of great pics nonetheless.

Great start to your reviews! I never hear a lot about Bongos, but I've been tempted to try it since I enjoy Cuban food. The food looks good, but I'm not in a rush to try it (sincr it doesn't look amazing).

Yes, Bongos is good but not over the top amazing. We're not going back on our next trip, but maybe some day we will return. Perhaps for dinner to try one of the larger entrees instead. We just couldn't eat so much for lunch knowing we were going to Kouzzina for dinner that night!

Coming along over here too as well, you'll have to tell us which one to read first so we don't get any unexpected surprises!

Good idea! I will try and keep up with the 2 and balance them as much as possible!

Great start to your reviews
You don't see too many reviews for Bongos so that's good to see
I like that your DS seems to be hiding whilst you take a picture of his pizza
We are probably going to get the TiW card for our next trip so great to hear that it worked out so well for you

Oh yes, Jonathan was indeed hiding from the camera when I snapped the pic of his pizza. He's too funny. Sometimes he loves being in the pic, sometimes he refuses. We loved the TiW card. I especially recommend it for people going on a long trip to WDW or for people who go back more than once in the same year (ours is actually good until 8/31/13!).

Lactaid doesn't really work for me either - especially for milk, ice cream or yogurt. And I do drink the Lactaid brand milk which I like. My gastroenterologist said that I could take as much lactaid as I needed for it to work but I haven't found any amount that works yet! I'm going to go online right now to check out the lactase drops. If I could eat even a little ice cream again I would I would kiss you!

I know exactly how you feel. It was very hard to avoid dairy. However, yogurt never bothered me, and there are certain shredded cheeses that Kraft makes that state they contain 0 grams of lactose per serving, so I used to cook with those as well. Now, I can have anything as long as I take my drops. And, it's not just a little ice cream...I can eat a whole bowl and I am fine!

 

[RHMH]

I am checking in....... The first part made me hungry..

 

[bangzoom6877]

I am checking in....... The first part made me hungry..

Hi, great to see you here! Here comes more!

 

[ChrissyBeth29]

Super excited for these! You have GREAT restaurants! You're my kind of gal! lol I am also envious of your DVC status and home base. We stayed there last April and LOVED it! Couldn't be closer to my fave...Epcot! Now only if I could talk my hubs into booking it for food and wine....hmmm!

 

[bangzoom6877]

After settling into the villa, unpacking, and relaxing for a little bit, we headed down to Kouzzina for dinner at 6. Our ADR was for 6:25. It was still raining from earlier, so we made our way to the restaurant from outside, trying to stay covered up from the overhang as best as possible. Another rain adventure! We must have looked funny walking the perimeter of the building, of Flying Fish (I imagine the diners in there seeing us outside the windows and how funny we must have looked ), and Seashore Sweets. As soon as we entered the lobby of Kouzzina, Eric remembered that we could have gone into Seashore Sweets and entered from there. Something to definitely remember for the next time!

I checked us in at the podium, and we waited less than 5 minutes to sit down. Our server was Gret, and she was lovely. A very sweet woman, goofed around with the kids, and gave us wonderful, attentive service. Of course no sooner do we sit down and the boys tell Eric they need the rest room. While they were gone, I was looking at the wine list. It was very hard to decide, but I narrowed it down to a couple of different Greek white wines, since they were unique to this restaurant and I had to try them. I LOVE white wine! But I don't like wine that is too dry. I'm a Riesling girl, to give you an idea. Gret brought me a sample of each of the wines I was considering, and by the time she came back with them, Eric and the boys were back. Eric and I each sampled each one, and decided we would get half a carafe to share. He didn't care which one we got and told me to choose, so I chose the Elios. It was a light, crisp, refreshing wine. Not too sweet but definitely not dry. It was delicious!

Within a couple of minutes, the chef came over to speak to us about Philip's shellfish allergy. He said the children's choices were safe for him and that he would take Philip's order and make sure it did not come into contact with any surface where there was shellfish. I love this about WDW restaurants! We feel so safe there eating with Philip, and they take very good care of special dietary needs. Then, Gret took our order. We decided against appetizers, and each ordered an entree. After she took our order, she brought us some delicious fresh bread, a couple of different olive oils for dipping, and some olives. I LOVE olives but Eric and the boys don't eat them, so I had them all to myself! We love dipping bread into olive oil, and this was delicious. Very flavorful and perfect for bread. I ate so much of this bread, I couldn't stop because it was so good along with the olive oil!

It didn't take long for our entrees to arrive. I couldn't decide what to get, so I had the Sampler, with 3 of Kouzzina's popular items...cinnamon stewed chicken, pastitsio (Greek lasagna) and a small lamb burger. Everything was so delicious! Just as good as I remember it 2 years ago (when I ordered the same thing!). I can't decide which was my favorite, so I guess I made a good choice. The lamb burger is pretty spicy, but tasty and has a yogurt sauce on it to cool it down a bit. I like mild to medium spicy food, but not overly hot and this was not too hot for me to eat. I highly recommend this trio!

Eric went with just the Pastitsio. He really loved it!

The boys decided on traditional kids' favorites. Philip got a hot dog. This normally comes with sweet potato fries, but when the chef took his order he asked if he could have regular fries. The chef was very nice and said he would get some from his friend over at ESPN Club! This made Philip VERY happy! This time, he insisted on posing for the pic!

And my little guy Jonathan ordered macaroni and cheese. It came with a side of peas, which he hardly touched. But he enjoyed the mac and cheese. He didn't want to pose for his pic though!

I decided that instead of getting dessert at Kouzzina, I wanted to grab something from the Boardwalk Bakery and have it up in the villa while we watch the fireworks. Eric couldn't resist the baklava though, and I tried a bite too! It was delicious!

The boys got dessert with their meals. For those who do not know, the kids' meals at Disney restaurants are broken down in price if you don't get certain components (for those not on the dining plan, which comes with app, entree and dessert for kids). The appetizer costs $1.75, and the dessert costs the same. The remaining amount is the entree. So if your child cannot find an app they like and you are paying OOP, don't force them to order something because you will pay a little less if they just get the entree. I found this our on our last trip, at Kouzzina actually, because the boys didn't find any apps that were appealing to them, and he told us the price would be lower anyway if they didn't get them (after he asked us if we were on the dining plan). Just a tip for you guys!

Philip ordered the create your own cupcake, which came like this:

...and ended up like this:

He devoured it! I call Jonathan my cupcake so we were joking around about that while Philip had his dessert!

Jonathan ordered the create your own ice cream sundae, which came like this:

...and ended up like this:

Jonathan loved it and ate it up! And yes, his shirt says "Blame My Brother"!! He got compliments on it all day!

We paid $99.88 for this entire meal, including gratuity. We saved $15.16 in food cost and $4.20 in beverage cost by using the TiW card!

It was so nice to see that Kouzzina is just as wonderful as we remember it from 2 years ago, and we are so happy it is at out home resort!

Afterwards, Eric brought the kids back to the room, and I stopped into the Boardwalk Bakery to get my dessert. Who could resist all this?

It was hard to decide, but I ended up with the coffee mocha cupcake. It was huge and I only ate half, put the rest in the fridge and enjoyed it either the next day or the following (can't remember right now). It had chocolate cake, a delicious coffee mousse filling, and was frosted with whipped cream frosting, swirled with coffee flavored whipped cream. DIVINE!!!

This cupcake was the perfect ending to a great day of eating!

I highly recommend Kouzzina to everyone! I know it sometimes gets negative reviews, but it is Mediterranean/Greek cuisine, and if you like different types of food you will love it. I truly think that the people who give it negative reviews are more simple eaters, or are very picky. Keep in mind also that many people out there are used to more fast food and chain restaurant food, and prefer that. And of course that's OK too. But reviews are very subjective, and I have learned that as I experience more Disney restaurants. They are trying to accommodate massive amounts of people and I think they do a terrific job!

My next review will be Boma breakfast...stay tuned!

 

[RHMH]

WOW !!! great review of Cat Cora's Rest.. We have been wanting to go but we just have never made it. It made DD and I hungry, when we reached the Bakery case we had to get up a bake some cookies. OK - now we are ready for more.... Bring it on..

 

[bangzoom6877]

Super excited for these! You have GREAT restaurants! You're my kind of gal! lol I am also envious of your DVC status and home base. We stayed there last April and LOVED it! Couldn't be closer to my fave...Epcot! Now only if I could talk my hubs into booking it for food and wine....hmmm!

We really love Boardwalk. Sometimes we talk about staying at Bay Lake so we can be close to MK, or at Grand Floridian once they complete the DVC villas there, but then we feel like we would miss the Boardwalk too much. I love being able to walk to 2 theme parks and not have to rely on Disney transportation to get me there...plus Epcot is my favorite, especially the countries, which are so close! We will probably end up staying at BWV all the time...and we don't do split stays. We like to stay in the same place, unpack and not have to worry about anything for 10 nights!

I hope you get to stay at Boardwalk for F&W. I wish we could go at that time, but the kids are in school and we are also both teachers. We say that if it is still going on in 20 years when we retire, we will go then for sure...oh and also the first week of December to see WDW all decorated without the crowds of Xmas week! But that is a long way off yet.

 

[bangzoom6877]

WOW !!! great review of Cat Cora's Rest.. We have been wanting to go but we just have never made it. It made DD and I hungry, when we reached the Bakery case we had to get up a bake some cookies. OK - now we are ready for more.... Bring it on..

I highly recommend that you try Kouzzina next year on your trip. Also, the entertainers come out on the Boardwalk at 7pm and it's nice to watch them too...jugglers, magicians...they are funny too!

 

[butiflfeet]

Mmmmm... Kouzzina looks good! It seems to get mixed reviews here but we've only had good meals there. I can't wait to go back!

 

[ChrissyBeth29]

We really love Boardwalk. Sometimes we talk about staying at Bay Lake so we can be close to MK, or at Grand Floridian once they complete the DVC villas there, but then we feel like we would miss the Boardwalk too much. I love being able to walk to 2 theme parks and not have to rely on Disney transportation to get me there...plus Epcot is my favorite, especially the countries, which are so close! We will probably end up staying at BWV all the time...and we don't do split stays. We like to stay in the same place, unpack and not have to worry about anything for 10 nights!

I hope you get to stay at Boardwalk for F&W. I wish we could go at that time, but the kids are in school and we are also both teachers. We say that if it is still going on in 20 years when we retire, we will go then for sure...oh and also the first week of December to see WDW all decorated without the crowds of Xmas week! But that is a long way off yet.

10 days??!! *sigh*. So jealous! Teachers?! Me too! I do have 4 personal days and a four day weekend is not out of the question! .

What do you teach? I am a dean of students at a high school and was an English teacher for 15 years. We don't have any kids yet, so I guess we have more flexibility!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Mmmmm... Kouzzina looks good! It seems to get mixed reviews here but we've only had good meals there. I can't wait to go back!

We love it at Kouzzina! We're definitely returning on our next trip too, probably the first night once again. I also want to try it for breakfast.

10 days??!! *sigh*. So jealous! Teachers?! Me too! I do have 4 personal days and a four day weekend is not out of the question! .

What do you teach? I am a dean of students at a high school and was an English teacher for 15 years. We don't have any kids yet, so I guess we have more flexibility!

I teach high school Italian and Spanish. In a few weeks I begin my 14th year. I'm also in charge of a show at my school called "SING!". It's a competition (Juniors work with Sophomores on the same team and Seniors work with Freshmen on the same team) where 2 teams of students each get to produce, write, direct, and perform their own musical. They make everything...they write the scripts & lyrics (with existing music, just their own words), make their own costumes, design and build their own sets, and perform for 2 nights in early February. I started coordinating it last year at my school and I love it! I participated in it in high school (a different school, actually the one where it was invented) and loved it then too. It's wonderful to see it all come together from the very beginning! I have also been hosting and singing in a Benefit Concert that our Coordinator of Student Activities runs each year. All of the money raised goes to a specific charity (this year it was Breast Cancer Research). And, in the Spring I started helping out with hair and makeup for the theatre productions (they performed "Hairspray" and it was spectacular!). I do a lot but I love it all!

Eric teachers high school Health Education, and he is also a Dean. He is also the Athletic Director at his school, in charge of the sports teams. The school just started their sports program last year, and he was its first Athletic Director since the school opened in 1969. He played lacrosse in high school so he also sort of went back to his roots!

We can't take days off to go away...the NYC public school system is pretty strict about that, and I wouldn't do it even if they weren't. Plus, I wouldn't take my kids out of school to go away unless it was an emergency or if it was for one day because of a relative's wedding or something like that. Otherwise they go to school unless they are sick. I can't help it...it's just the way I was brought up! So, no F&W for us until retirement. By then the boys will be 25 and 27 so we won't have to worry about the school thing!

 

[fairy8i8]

Subscribing! Thanks for the reviews so far! The food looks great, and I have been curious as to whether the deluxe dining plan or the TIW would be more worth it for us, so thanks for giving a breakdown of meals with TIW!