We Ate, We Drank, We Conquered - An Aug/Sep '16 Dining Report - Complete 3/11

[disneyAndi14]

I think Andi and I sat at that same table at Trails End, lol. We have done the dinner buffet and it was good, however we went after being at US all day and we were dead tired so I don't remember a whole lot about it. Casey looks like she is having a great time at the meal and after at MK. The Yachtsman dinner looks so delicious, the bone marrow sounds very Devine!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Oooh, glad you reviewed Trail's End. Planning to take Sean there for breakfast in September since we'll be staying at Wilderness Lodge. That bread pudding looks like a must! Right now I have it planned for our departure day, but maybe I'll change that so I, too, can partake in the bloody Mary goodness

 

[Wood Nymph]

We ate breakfast at Trails End this morning. We are staying at the GF and they have a private water taxi service to any destination on either of the two lakes for only $20. Since there is no easy way to get to FW from the GF we took advantage of the service. We requested a little side trip to view the construction at the Wilderness Lodge and they were glad to do it.

The food at TE was delicious as usual and we loved the 20% discount.

 

[samsteele]

Great Trails End Brunch review! I've been for dinner a few times & loved the food. But where is your cornbread? We don't get cornbread at all in the Great White North so its a huge treat for me. That it's served with honey? butter at Trails End makes it heavenly. That bread pudding looks & sounds incredible & I'll definitely have to check it out. Looks like you timed your visit well for the best of both foodie worlds. Sorry about the rough service & seating. Here's hoping it gets better as your vacation unfolds.

 

[Xclusive2WDW]

I have been gone for awhile, life got really busy, but I am sooooooooooo excited to be back and be all caught up! Everything looks delish! I am going to have to do a Sig on the fly trip, really I am, you all make it look like so much fun! Hunny and I are going to watch the kids do the Jedi academy when we go in May. You bring up a good point that some shade should be there. All-in-all I'm excited to be back

 

[momof3princes]

Trails's End is one we have never ventured out to but it gets consistent good reviews, that French Toast bake sounds amazing!
Love Casey's face with the characters, so cute!

 

[MellyLouWho]

Just joining in! You soo remind me of myself! This is great!

 

[ariane37]

I remember you telling me about your server that morning I do believe it was punishment for being late, and also for missing us by this much lol. But like you said we met up later and that's all that matters
Were you a french toast bread pudding virgin until that point? I had no idea!
We also enjoy TH breakfast and ever since your last Wave breakfast review I've seen numerous other positive reviews of it, so I think we need to definitely get over there on an upcoming trip.

 

[kastoney]

Love the review. We will be hitting up that brunch in June! Being from the South, I'm a huge biscuits and gravy kind of gal...so yum on that! I am not a French toast fan (cinnamon is not something on my like list) but with the addition of some cream cheese and praline sauce, I may have to try it! Looking forward to all the options, both breakfast and lunch! It will be our departure day, so I am not sure I'll be able to indulge in the Bloody Mary....so sad.

Glad you got some MK time in before the sky's opened up!

Yeah I'm a huge biscuits and gravy fan too, just rarely eat out for breakfast around here so we never have it. Funny aside though just this morning we were talking about a Christmas Eve brunch we're planning on hosting and Jason said he wanted to make biscuits and gravy. So more may be around the corner too I of course am in charge of the bloody marys Speaking of which, you should totally indulge when you go, especially on your last day. And as long as you aren't the one driving home, have 2 of 3 while you're at it.

That bread pudding is what dreams are made of!!! I have tried a few times to get to Trails End, but we just haven't done it yet. Everything looks great!

Yeah, I somehow had never even heard of their bread pudding before so it was a pleasant treat to say the least! I was in the same trying to get to Trails End boat as you. But glad we finally made it over there.

I think Andi and I sat at that same table at Trails End, lol. We have done the dinner buffet and it was good, however we went after being at US all day and we were dead tired so I don't remember a whole lot about it. Casey looks like she is having a great time at the meal and after at MK. The Yachtsman dinner looks so delicious, the bone marrow sounds very Devine!

Glad to know we aren't the only ones in the bad seat club And yep Casey was having a great time, but thankfully for my sanity that kid is pretty much always having a good time.

Oooh, glad you reviewed Trail's End. Planning to take Sean there for breakfast in September since we'll be staying at Wilderness Lodge. That bread pudding looks like a must! Right now I have it planned for our departure day, but maybe I'll change that so I, too, can partake in the bloody Mary goodness

If you're staying at the lodge Trails End is a definite must. I'm not sure what took us so long to get there, but so glad we finally did.

And as I just told Renee the last day of vacation is the perfect time for bloody mary's

We ate breakfast at Trails End this morning. We are staying at the GF and they have a private water taxi service to any destination on either of the two lakes for only $20. Since there is no easy way to get to FW from the GF we took advantage of the service. We requested a little side trip to view the construction at the Wilderness Lodge and they were glad to do it.

The food at TE was delicious as usual and we loved the 20% discount.

Small little world that I'm writing about it as you are eating it. Though I wish I was in the eating category too And wow on private taxi service. So posh! I had no idea they had such a thing.

Great Trails End Brunch review! I've been for dinner a few times & loved the food. But where is your cornbread? We don't get cornbread at all in the Great White North so its a huge treat for me. That it's served with honey? butter at Trails End makes it heavenly. That bread pudding looks & sounds incredible & I'll definitely have to check it out. Looks like you timed your visit well for the best of both foodie worlds. Sorry about the rough service & seating. Here's hoping it gets better as your vacation unfolds.

I honestly don't even remember seeing cornbread. Though maybe it was there and I didn't notice. We did have it at Hoop Dee Doo and it was definitely good. And speaking of cornbread, Jason made some yummy turkey chili from our Thanksgiving leftovers last week and made some cornbread with it. I'm sure you would have loved it. He's a West Virginia boy at heart so it was from scratch and so good.

I have been gone for awhile, life got really busy, but I am sooooooooooo excited to be back and be all caught up! Everything looks delish! I am going to have to do a Sig on the fly trip, really I am, you all make it look like so much fun! Hunny and I are going to watch the kids do the Jedi academy when we go in May. You bring up a good point that some shade should be there. All-in-all I'm excited to be back

Glad your back. Hope all is well. I'm with ya on busy. Work is so crazy lately that we try and do little to nothing on weekends just so I can keep my sanity.

I'm guessing Jedi's in May is going to be slightly cooler than Jedi in August. It was brutal and those kids in the poor robes.

Trails's End is one we have never ventured out to but it gets consistent good reviews, that French Toast bake sounds amazing!
Love Casey's face with the characters, so cute!

Yeah the French Toast was pretty darn amazing. You should definitely think about heading that way sometime.

Just joining in! You soo remind me of myself! This is great!

And if you're like me too!

I remember you telling me about your server that morning I do believe it was punishment for being late, and also for missing us by this much lol. But like you said we met up later and that's all that matters
Were you a french toast bread pudding virgin until that point? I had no idea!
We also enjoy TH breakfast and ever since your last Wave breakfast review I've seen numerous other positive reviews of it, so I think we need to definitely get over there on an upcoming trip.

Yes, I'm a bad, bad, bad disfriend. We probably did deserve the bad table and bad server and hmm, maybe I just figured out why all our tables seem to be bad. Oh well time is fluid and Disney just better figure out how to roll with me. And like you said we got to meet later with to boot!

Yes, I was indeed a french toast bread pudding virgin. So rare when I can use that term and apply it to myself these days

You should definitely give the wave a whirl for breakfast. I liked it better than Trails End, but of course that was largely an alcohol induced decision. We tried dinner there on this trip too and it wasn't my favorite, but decent.

When are you all planning on going again?

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

And as I just told Renee the last day of vacation is the perfect time for bloody mary's

Ha ha, not when you have to drive to Tennessee that day!

 

[ArielSRL]

Ha ha, not when you have to drive to Tennessee that day!

Or Georgia!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Too funny on the table assignment! What the heck?? I've never tried Trail's End but hear consistently good things. I really need to learn to like Bloody Mary's. Do they also have Mimosas? Asking for a friend....

 

[kastoney]

Too funny on the table assignment! What the heck?? I've never tried Trail's End but hear consistently good things. I really need to learn to like Bloody Mary's. Do they also have Mimosas? Asking for a friend....

I'm pretty sure they did. They had a small drink menu of 5 or 6 alcoholic options for the brunch, so mimosa had to be on there. I'm not a big champagne or orange juice fan, so I wasn't paying attention

 

[kastoney]

Sky Rockets in Flight, African Delight

After waiting out the rain at the hotel we were headed to Animal Kingdom for the evening to check out their new nighttime activities. Speaking of new, we of course had to check out the newest restaurant in the park....


To say this was the most beautiful restaurant in Disney is an understatement. The art and attention to detail really immerse you in the restaurant and the park. I loved the Flying Fish renovation, but this really took it to the next level. My pictures don't do it justice, but will gives those who haven't been an idea of the gorgeousness that awaits.




Speaking of beautiful, check out the menu. #Love


Our server was a very nice gentleman from Morocco who walked us through the menu and shared with us some stories of what he ate growing up there. He also walked us through the drinks and I couldn't resist this little beauty.

Meet the Anapurna Zing. This is Bombay Sapphire East Gin, Passion Fruit Purée, Mint, Lime Juice, and Ginger Beer. And yes I know I've been overly glowy already but I'm gonna keep it going. This is hands down the best mixed drink I've had in the world. First it had my favorite gin in it, but the passion fruit added a nice but not overly sweet flavor and the ginger beer added some effervescence. It was kind of like if a gin and tonic married a mojito and then had an affair with a moscow mule. In case you couldn't tell I liked it (and so did Jason as he had one with is meal) Plus it was only $8.50. Total steal.

Jason kept it a little less adventurous with the Kungaloosh Spiced Excursion Ale Draft.

The website describes this as Aan frican-inspired deep amber ale brewed exclusively for Walt Disney World with sorghum and a special blend of spices including cinnamon and cardamom. Jason seemed to like this. I thought it tasted like coffee.

Onward toward the food. We started with their complementary bread service which is Pomegranate Focaccia bread with a mix of Pomegranate, Molasses, and Olive Oil on the side.

The bread was quite good with just a hint of pomegranate flavor, but the dipping sauce was way too sour. Like you really couldn't eat it sour. And if you don't believe me I present visual evidence....


We also decided to start with their House Made Head Cheese and Chicken Liver Pate with Gogi Berry Chutney and Whole Grain Mustard.

I'm sure many of you are letting out some collective groans right about now, but I'm a sucker for weird animal parts and these two did not disappoint. The chicken liver pate was creamy and decadent and the head cheese mostly tasted like any other charcuterie but every view bites you'd get just a hint of organ meat. Yes I know I'm weird and I love it. Big thumbs up.

For our entree's Casey and I shared the Grilled Head on Prawns with Tomatoes, Roasted Fennel, Olives, Sea Urchin Butter Sauce.

You can't tell from the picture but these are served head on so all the juicy prawn goodness stays packed in. The grill flavor on the shrimp was superb and really had a nice charred flavor that elevated the dish. But the real star was the sea urchin butter. This was rich and full of umami flavor and basically I just wanted to bathe in it. The sauce really elevated the shrimp, potatoes, and well just about everything else on the plate. Big thumbs up.

To pair with my dinner I got a glass of a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc that was crisp and acidic and totally made the dish pop.


For this entree Jason went with the Whole Fried Sustainable Fish (which I believe was Snapper).

How's that for presentation? This is clearly a whole freakin' fish served with Fermented Black Bean Sauce and Som Tam (a thai papaya salad, thanks Chef Jason for the assist). The fish was moist and flaky, but like my dish the star was the sauce and slaw. They combination of the two added some sweetness with just a bit of funky fish sauce flavor that really made the fish pop. Jason's only complaint was that this was a really boney fish so it was a bit difficult to eat. He liked it, but didn't like to have to work so hard for his food. Casey on the other hand was in heaven with both the fish as a whole and the tail she ended up eating scales and all.


Our little apple clearly doesn't fall too far from the tree.

Overall, Tiffins was the best meal of our trip and unquestionably the best restaurant inside one of the parks. Amazing food, perfect service, gorgeous atmosphere. Other than their weird pomegranate sauce I have absolutely no complaints. Even better with our tables in Wonderland card we saved $27.40, putting us in the black by $20.

After dinner we checked out the nighttime safari.

This should really be billed as a nighttime jeep ride as it could really be characterized as a safari minus the animals. Largely a waste of time, but we did actually get to see this dude awake.


From there we hit a major family milestone and Casey finally decided to brave the Broken Track Roller Coaster (aka Expedition Everest for those not down with the Casey lingo). She's watched this on Youtube for years and finally got the gumption to give it a go. Now this may or may not have been fueled by some slight bribery on our part, but she did it nonetheless and in the dark to boot.

Sorry for the blurry picture, but while she is giving away nothing on her face she loved it. Or she loved the bribe, but either way she rode it again later in the week. Speaking of bribe, here she is with her prized Yeti.


After EE we grabbed some sort of fruity alcohol concoctions from the Thirsty River bar to take with us to see the Jungle Book show. While there some random lady came up behind us and accused me of being unable to get through Disney show without some form of alcohol in me. I mean the nerve, right? Oh wait that wasn't a random lady, it was @ariane37!!!!

Totally stole this pic from Ariane's trip report (thanks for the assist). We had a great time "watching" the show with Ariane and her hubby Steve. I say watching in quotes because to say this show was underwhelming is an understatement so we had plenty of time to chat. I think Casey summed it up best when it was over and she wanted to know where the Jungle Book characters were. For those who may have missed this atrocity imagine them trying to pull off the Star Wars nighttime show with no actual Star Wars characters or pyrotechnics of any kind. Now take that and add in some Star Wars movie clips shown against water projectors, which sounds cool, but then imagine you can't actually make out any of the clips. There you have the Jungle Book show.

But on the complete opposite end of the spectrum Ariane and her husband could not have been nicer, we talked about our trips so far, the kids, and of course food. And when Ariane let a few four letter words fly I knew our disney friendship was cemented forever.

After the show we made our way out of the park and stopped to watch the lights on the tree of light for a while. Now this blew the Jungle Book show out of the water. At least they got something right.

Next up....More day drinkin'









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[pepperandchips]

Oh man! Your Tiffins write up has me starving. We also ate there (to do the Jungle Book dining package) and I am so glad I have an ADR lined up here for our trip later this month. This month!!! Ack can't wait to go back. I think that might be the drink I had there... I remember loving it too! But I love anything with ginger beer so I guess that was as expected.

I can't remember, have y'all been to Tiffins before? If you haven't tried the wagyu beef two ways it needs to make the short list for next time. Sooooo dreamy! I can't believe this place isn't more popular based on how good the food is, but I guess it is kinda pricey considering it's inside a theme park and the clientele is largely interested in quick service. I love Flame Tree too, I'm just appreciative to have this delightful fine dining option as well.

I actually really miss the Jungle Book show. I liked it for what it was - talented and enthusiastic dancers presenting a Disney show with music that's entirely different from anything else you get in the parks. I know it wasn't "night time spectacular" quality but it was better than nothing, which is what we have for the indeterminate future. I wish there was a way for them to work this into the daytime entertainment line up, say having it as a short dancing cavalcade presentation since there's no parade in AK anymore either

Love the picture of you and @ariane37! Y'all look great!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I cannot wait to try Tiffins/Nomads! It looks incredible! I'm not too enthused about Pandora:World of Avatar but am looking forward to enhancing Animal Kingdom overall and extending into evening hours. I've heard the same lackluster response to the nighttime safari- that's too bad - seems like it has such potential.

 

[samsteele]

Big thumbs up for your AK Day! Wonderful you had such a great experience at Tiffins. I parked myself on their back porch for a half hour in September & had the Kungaloosh. I thought it was very good but just too heavy & rich for me in the heat & humidity. Your cocktail would have been a much better choice & I will file that one away in the old bean to remember for another trip!

I agree with you about the Night Safari. But I had some unexpected excitement because one of the female lions batted a seagull or an ibis down on its rock just as we came around the corner & was chowing down in a cloud of white feathers! The other lions were calling or keening away as she ate so it was quite the adventure. While I'd definitely do another Night Safari just to see if the lions were being crazy (I went at dusk), I wouldn't give up my early morning Safari.

Wonderful that you met Ariane37. Bummer that Jungle Book was nasty. At least there is the new Tree of Life Awakenings & it is incredible.

 

[ArielSRL]

While I appreciate a good meal, I just don't know if I'm adventurous enough for Tiffins. I'm glad it exists for those that are, though! I have heard the drinks are good though. I planned out my AK drinks already (yes, yes I did...lol) but I may need to check out the Nomad menu and see if I can fit something in.

Glad I didn't waste my precious AK time on Jungle Book, though I'm glad you got chat time with @ariane37 ! So envious of your meet!

I liked the night safari but we went just a few minutes too late. Next June I will go right around 8. We did 8:20ish this past trip and it just got a bit too dark. But there were several animals out for our ride.

Glad Casey tried EE. My dad rode with me this past trip at night and it was incredible! This trip, I have no ride partner. Neither DH nor DS5 is adventurous enough, and DS2 is too short!

I'm glad you caught the Tree of Life Awakenings. I completely spaced on it in June. Can't let that happen again next trip.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

It was kind of like if a gin and tonic married a mojito and then had an affair with a moscow mule.

Dear Disney, please replace whatever description you are currently using for the Anapurna Zing and change it to this immediately.

Tiffins looks and sounds amazing. Can't wait to try it at some point. And that is awesome that Casey rode (and liked) EE! I am really hoping I can get Sean to go on it with me when he and I go in September!

 

[TeeterTots]

Wow what a day at AK! Your Tiffins meal looked fabulous as did your beverage of choice! I'm looking forward to my DD wanting to try the broken track Rollercoaster some day! How fun you got to meet up with another DISer!