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

[ArielSRL]

This was the standard Disney bloody mary, but it started the day off in only the best of ways

Looks lovely and appropriate!

Sadly for Casey these were pancakes and not an actual cake before noon, but she was happy.

My boys would love this!

even met a boy who refused to grow up.

My boys mentioned wanting to meet PP so I showed them your photo. Well, Will decided he wants to meet the little girl....forget Peter Pan!

We went back to the hotel after that and got someone a much needed nap while Casey and I chilled at the pool for a while.

This is totally the plan for June. AJ and I will hit the pool (and I'll hit the bar) while the other two nap!

I tried a Watermelon and Vodka drink

Looks yummy. Yes, I'm a sucker for fruit juicy drinks.

Calamari

Surprisingly enough, my DH picked a calamari app from one of the Disney menus I gave him!

Casey and I shared the Wild Caught Shrimp and Garganelli Pasta

This looks so good!

This is Torchio Pasta, Butter-poached Lobster, Fennel, Sweet Onion, and Manchego Cheese. Creamy, lobsstery, cheesey, 'nuf said

Oh my...this sounds wonderful.

And I finally learned where a ride camera was

Hilarious!

I say tried because we only got a few feet before we were met with the streets of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland filled with what was at least 6-8 inches of water

Ugh....not fun.

We eventually waded over to Tomorrowland Terrance and tried to cut through there, but we were met by a cast member who insisted we couldn't go through because of a "private" event (aka the dessert party

Seriously, CM dude! That's just way over the top.

Very productive day after your incapacitating evening!

 

[Disneyhayes]

All caught up again! I'm not getting notifications when you update and it's making me sad! My DD 7 has been reading along and thinks Casey is adorable

 

[cinderkelly]

Hope you have a fantastic trip Kari!

 

[samsteele]

For entrees Jason got what I had ordered last time (and is one of the 2 aforementioned favorites) the Pan Seared Georges Bank Day Boat Scallops.

All of your food looks incredible but those Scallops look amazing . . .

Sadly we were too full for the amazing almond cheese cake so we pulled out the white flag.

No almond cheesecake? Wow! That's a testament right there to some incredible entrees.

We eventually waded over to Tomorrowland Terrance and tried to cut through there, but we were met by a cast member who insisted we couldn't go through because of a "private" event (aka the dessert party). I was mortified and let him know how much. To put a dessert party over the safety of guests was insane to me.

That's just wrong. CMs know better. Chalk up another nearly disaster and guest injuries to the decline of Legacy training.

Another train was having issues, but being stuck in the middle of the monrail with the wind and rain pelting and shaking the train was not the most pleasant of experiences.

What a night cap for your Hurricane party. Bet a Bloody Mary would've been welcome about then? Glad you all made it back safe & sound.

Another wonderful report. Have a great vacation & safe travels!

 

[KnK]

Oh how I enjoy your trip reports. Been gone for too long and enjoyed binge reading.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Oh my gosh, where have I been? The last time I commented was October 18th, and you were just starting out your report! Since then I've been to WDW with DH, Oct 29-November 9, did the last MNSSHP & the first MVMCP on that trip, celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's, spent time visiting with my nephew whenever I have the chance, babysat three adorable little grandsons, ages 4, 4 & 2 1/2, and started planning my next WDW trip, girls only, with my sister, daughter, & bff coming up in May! That time flew! Of course, coming back to visit the DIS Dining Reports board, had to make sure I searched for your report! Lucky for me, it was right on the first page. Yay!!! Just finished and caught up reading the whole thing! The heck with watching the SuperBowl!

 

[wilma-bride]

OK, so I am about 6 months late, but I made it. We are planning a 12 day trip this August, so I am reading along and making notes of some new places we haven't tried before. We will definitely be buying Tables in Wonderland since we have another two trips within the following year, so intrigued to see how much you are saving. Awesome.

 

[Sailormoon2]

Also wanted to echo @wilma-bride that I love how you keep a running tallie of costs, so we can see the value you are getting out of the card. I'm so on the fence about getting one next year. I tend to drink more than I eat (which sounds horrible, but I just don't have a big appetite) so getting the discount on alcohol sounds like a great bonus to me!

 

[NJlauren]

HEY HEY!

I was way behind, as i seem to have been missing from the DIS for sometime. So i am all caught but, but have zero energy to quote all the updates since HALLOWEEN which is where i started! I will say as always your food choices make me so happy and hungry!

Casey as always is adorable (you guys aren't to bad yourselves), and a great adventurous eater LOVE IT! Sad you got SOAKED int he hurricane, but hopefully that's the last of the rain for this trip!

I am assuming i will get a new trip report to follow soon for a trip that you just took (or are just getting back from).

I am so jel, i am totally dying for a Disney trip! Soon i keep telling myself soon!

 

[kastoney]

Good Morning Everyone!

Sorry for the delay in responding, but ya know I was a little bit busy in DISNEY WORLD!!!!! We of course had yet another wonderful food and drink laden trip. We got back a week ago today and I'm already ready for another trip. Sadly we're not planning to go again for another year or so, so we had to ensure we really got our fill. I'm going to catch up on everyone else's threads then hopefully take advantage of the long weekend to get this one finished so we can move on to the next.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the long weekend as much as I intend to!
Kari

And that was just an outer band of the storm! I bet the monorail was a scary experience - I'm shocked they were running it if there was a tornado in the area to be honest.

Florida in Thunderstorms are no joke!

Glad you made it home safely!

I know right, I can't fathom what people that actually had to go through the eye of the hurricane had to deal with. NO idea why the monorail was working or why wishes even went off. Maybe this is normal for Florida, but the cast members literally had no concern at all.

I remember hearing about this, we had left a couple days before this one and we came back two days after Matthew, so we had good timing for once. The pub crawl at Swolphin looks fun, it is nice to see a review from some of the areas there, don't see many. Narcossess looks delicious. I love love scallops, shrimp, and calamari so very jealous. The thunderstorms can flood Fantasyland very quickly, no dry shoes after that. Bob, Bob, what the ****, very funny!

You most definitely got out in time. Thankfully we only had about 15 hours of really bad weather. I can't fathom what the Matthew people had to endure. But at least unlike them we had plenty of food and drink to drown our sorrows in.

"Bob, Bob, Bob" Where the heck is Bob?!!! Lol, this is so funny!! Loving your TR!!

Thanks. Bob, Bob, Bob

All caught up!! Fantastic, as always, and now I have even more dinning ideas for January!

Thanks so much. Looks like you're gonna beat us there!

I cannot believe they went ahead with Wishes in the pouring rain!

i know right? When it first started we thought it was thunder or some kind of explosion. I was shocked they'd keep people in the park.

LOL! That is so random, I would have been dying laughing. That is, when I wasn't panicking about being trapped in the Monorail in the middle of a crazy storm!

Good old Bob definitely gave us some much needed comic relief. We kept our panicking to a minimum, but there was another family in the monorail car with us and the Mom was having no part of it. Felt bad for her but thankfully Bob settled her a bit

I feel like your DR is a safe place to ask this purely hypothetical question: if a person happened to order a giant cocktail at the Poly with lunch and didn't finish it, could that person pour the rest into his refillable dining plan mug and stroll around MK with it that afternoon?

Hypothetically that sounds like an amazing idea. And Hypothetically I can't believe this isn't something I've tried. And hypothetically if you ever put that out there outside of the safety of my drunkin' report be prepared for the trolls to attack.

Gee, what makes you think Kari would know the answer to this

Gee why doesn't it surprise me that you'd know the answer too

Mmm, it sounds delish! But would you pick this over the Wave breakfast buffet?

I probably wouldn't, but Jason might. He loves those dang pancakes.

this picture is I'm not sure if I like this or your Space Mountain stinky face picture better

I still can't believe she fell asleep!!!! This is the kid who never even sleeps in the car so we were shocked.

 

[kastoney]

My boys mentioned wanting to meet PP so I showed them your photo. Well, Will decided he wants to meet the little girl....forget Peter Pan!

Casey had her huge ego will be thrilled to hear she as an admirer

This is totally the plan for June. AJ and I will hit the pool (and I'll hit the bar) while the other two nap!

Awesome plan indeed. We did this a few times on our last trip too! Jason naps and Casey and I hit the pool (and of course the bar)

Surprisingly enough, my DH picked a calamari app from one of the Disney menus I gave him!

Surprising is an understatement. I'm downright shocked! Go him!

All caught up again! I'm not getting notifications when you update and it's making me sad! My DD 7 has been reading along and thinks Casey is adorable

Welcome back! So happy your daughter is enjoying it too. Casey loves that people get to read about her and hopefully it won't be too long before she can read along too!

Hope you have a fantastic trip Kari!

Thanks Kelly. We most definitely did!

All of your food looks incredible but those Scallops look amazing . . .

Amazing is an understatement. And in no surprise we had them yet again this trip!

No almond cheesecake? Wow! That's a testament right there to some incredible entrees.

Nope, but we made up for it on our last trip!

That's just wrong. CMs know better. Chalk up another nearly disaster and guest injuries to the decline of Legacy training.

Yeah, they were very lucky nothing disastrous happened. Putting the privilege of people in a dessert over guest safety was just absurd. I even assured him I wanted know part of their crappy frozen desserts, but somehow that did not help in endearing myself to him.

What a night cap for your Hurricane party. Bet a Bloody Mary would've been welcome about then? Glad you all made it back safe & sound.

Yep, well brave the weather yet again just to get me some booze!!!!!!

Oh how I enjoy your trip reports. Been gone for too long and enjoyed binge reading.

Thank you so much!

Oh my gosh, where have I been? The last time I commented was October 18th, and you were just starting out your report! Since then I've been to WDW with DH, Oct 29-November 9, did the last MNSSHP & the first MVMCP on that trip, celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's, spent time visiting with my nephew whenever I have the chance, babysat three adorable little grandsons, ages 4, 4 & 2 1/2, and started planning my next WDW trip, girls only, with my sister, daughter, & bff coming up in May! That time flew! Of course, coming back to visit the DIS Dining Reports board, had to make sure I searched for your report! Lucky for me, it was right on the first page. Yay!!! Just finished and caught up reading the whole thing! The heck with watching the SuperBowl!

Yes Teresa, where have you been????? Clearly you have absolutely nothing else going on. Glad you're all caught up.

OK, so I am about 6 months late, but I made it. We are planning a 12 day trip this August, so I am reading along and making notes of some new places we haven't tried before. We will definitely be buying Tables in Wonderland since we have another two trips within the following year, so intrigued to see how much you are saving. Awesome.

Awesome you've got a 12 day trip coming up. I love the long ones. Its so nice to just do what you want when you feel like it and not feel like you have to rush to squeeze it all in. Hope you love the tables card as much as us and milk it for all its worth!!!! We saved massive amounts on our last trip too!

Also wanted to echo @wilma-bride that I love how you keep a running tallie of costs, so we can see the value you are getting out of the card. I'm so on the fence about getting one next year. I tend to drink more than I eat (which sounds horrible, but I just don't have a big appetite) so getting the discount on alcohol sounds like a great bonus to me!

Thanks so much, I'll keep the tally going on the next report too. If you're a drinker like us, the card comes in hugely handy. 20% off of booze and bottles of wine adds up quickly. Wish I could say I drank more than I ate but sadly for my waistline I do both equally well

I was way behind, as i seem to have been missing from the DIS for sometime. So i am all caught but, but have zero energy to quote all the updates since HALLOWEEN which is where i started! I will say as always your food choices make me so happy and hungry!

Hey stranger. Good to see you back. Hope you all are well. I can't fathom how big your daughter must be now. Heck, maybe there is even another one by now

Casey as always is adorable (you guys aren't to bad yourselves), and a great adventurous eater LOVE IT! Sad you got SOAKED int he hurricane, but hopefully that's the last of the rain for this trip!

Why thank you, I'll take not being bad myself

I am assuming i will get a new trip report to follow soon for a trip that you just took (or are just getting back from).

Yep, I'll eventually get a report started. Work is insane right now, so it maybe later rather than sooner but its coming eventually

 

[Neverland_Girl]

I don't know why I didn't comment on your last update when I first read it, but I'll do it now.

Casey and I shared the Wild Caught Shrimp and Garganelli Pasta.

Every time I see this I want it in my belly.

I can't believe they still had Wishes AND let people on the monorail. I've seen them cancel the nighttime parade because there is "lightning in the area". I think Hurricane>lightning. At least you had some comic relief on the monorail. Although I have an irrational fear of getting stuck on things like elevators, so I'd probably be full on hyperventilating.

 

[NJlauren]

Hey stranger. Good to see you back. Hope you all are well. I can't fathom how big your daughter must be now. Heck, maybe there is even another one by now

All is well here! She is getting big ms. personality! I am sad we don't have a trip planned for the near future since i think she would love it... well and i would too obviously.... no other kids around here just yet... you?

Yep, I'll eventually get a report started. Work is insane right now, so it maybe later rather than sooner but its coming eventually

Same here, work has been crazy as has life so i just haven't had much time around here! I never even did a Disneyland report!

 

[kastoney]

I don't know why I didn't comment on your last update when I first read it, but I'll do it now.


Every time I see this I want it in my belly.

I can't believe they still had Wishes AND let people on the monorail. I've seen them cancel the nighttime parade because there is "lightning in the area". I think Hurricane>lightning. At least you had some comic relief on the monorail. Although I have an irrational fear of getting stuck on things like elevators, so I'd probably be full on hyperventilating.

Strangely i don't recall there being lightening so maybe that is why they went through with it. Apparently the 50 mph winds didn't matter i have a huge fear or heights but normally the monorail doesn't bother me. Now being stuck on it and thinking through what getting off of it would look like, now that had me hyperventilating

All is well here! She is getting big ms. personality! I am sad we don't have a trip planned for the near future since i think she would love it... well and i would too obviously.... no other kids around here just yet... you?

One and done here Plus the age ship for me has long since sailed

Same here, work has been crazy as has life so i just haven't had much time around here! I never even did a Disneyland report!

Yeah, I'm already wondering if I even have time to do one for our last trip. But love how it can keep the trip alive.

 

[kastoney]

The Calm After the Storm

I would love to say the Hurricane was behind us, but no such luck. We spent most of the night awake to the beautiful sound of bambo and 60+ mile an hour winds crashing against the side of our building. Unfortunately as we were in the last room, the what was normally beautiful huge stalks of bambo turned into drum sticks and it did nothing but beat against our outside wall all night. Somehow Casey managed to sleep through it all, us not so much.

The winds had calmed down the next morning, but it was still downpouring. We moved our breakfast reservation at Tusker House we'd made the day before to the latest one possible, 10:50, and braved the storm in the name of Bloody Marys.

Speaking of which this is the African Bloody Mary and Jason and I may (or may not) have shared 3 of these beauties to calm our nerves from the previous nights exploits. This is Snow Leopard Vodka, Bloody Mary Mix, and Spicy African Berbere Sauce and it hit the spicy pre-noon drinking spot. In the past it was garnished with beef jerky, but had my favorite prosciutto on it instead. These aren't on the menu, so you have to ask for it specifically, but so worth it.

And no, I didn't just drink my way through breakfast i had the sense to wash all the booze down with some food. Here is my first plate.

Starting at 3pm and going clockwise, we have Beef Bobtie, Plantains, Spiced Corn Beef Hash, Maile Pap, and Sweet Potatoes. In case its not evident I have a clear love of all the African items on the buffet and this bunch did not disappoint. The bobtie is like a quiche meets some nutmeg and allspice beef and is delicious. The pap is like a grit, which with the addition of some cheese hit the spot. The plantains are butter and sugar laden fried goodness, but they are still a fruit after all so no need to feel guilty about it. The hash is certainly not like my mama made it, as it was spicy beef with a sweet corn bread topping. The only thing I didn't love was the sweet potatoes, as they weren't cooked enough though they did have a nice coconut flavor.

For round 2 I apparently decided I needed some "real" fruit (sorry plantains) and with that tried a few new items for me banana bread pudding with a vanilla sauce, spiced potatoes, salmon, and a potato and leak frittata.

My choices here and decision to branch out may have been bloody mary induced, because with the exception of the bread pudding the other items were not very good. The salmon was fishy, potatoes undercooked, and the fritatta just blah. Oh well, at least I had the moist and delicious bread pudding to drown my sorrows in.

I didn't capture what Jason ate (but I'm guessing it was likely just like my first plate), but Casey had a grand time acting like a grown up and helping herself to the buffet.


Bonus points to her for throwing some grapes and oatmeal in there, but to no ones surprise my bacon fiend largely focused all her attention there.

And her second plate, which I just call sugar, sugar, and and more sugar.


Oh and how could I forget THE CHARACTERS!!!!




Not sure if you can notice, but Casey was still pretty wet from the rain in most of these pics.

I think most of you know by now that buffets and character meals aren't our thing, but Tusker House is our one exception. We love all the different African items they have, including my beloved bloody mary , and Casey of course loves the characters. With our tables in wonderland card we saved $21.65 brining our total to $202.

Thankfully after breakfast the rains finally parted and we enjoyed hanging out with some bugs and a safari where we actually saw a lion upright (though maybe not the best angle)

Before we decided it was time to show some love to a bear and an ape.

King Louie and Baloo loved that they were in Casey's autograph book I made her (apparently no one usually does), so they even threw me into the love.


From here we ventured to Everest where Casey rode sans bribery this time (though foreshadowing the bribery was back in full force on our latest trip)

Love how much fun my single rider is having!

We hung out in the county fair or whatever the name is for the god awful dinosaur carnival, where we confirmed poor Casey still isn't big enough for primeval whirl (my stomach was grateful)

and then drowned her sorrows in a Mickey Ice Cream Bar

(Fill in your own comment on the creepy guy behind her ) before ending the day in her favorite rascal park

Where the kid who did nothing but complain about being in the rain earlier in the day, electively did this Oh the mind of a 5 (soon to be 6 tomorrow) year old.

After a wet day in the Animal Kingdom we went back to the hotel for a bit before our last dinner for the trip

Up next, we go out on top....​

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Oh my gosh, I had to click on your report like 12 times to get it to actually open and I was starting to have some rage issues, LOL! Really wanted to see your Tusker House review since Sean and I are having breakfast there in September. Thank you for the pro tip on ordering the African Bloody Marys!

And Happy (day early) Birthday to Casey!

 

[Vernie822]

Casey was still reeling from her big night out at Lilos and Jason, well you all can guess what he was reeling from.

Poor Jason! I'd probably be in bed all day.

For our entrees, Jason needed mass quantities of carbs to soak up all the whiskey in his belly so he made the very wise choice of their Buttermilk Pancakes.

These are topped with Roasted Pecans, Sun-dried Cranberries, and House-made Orange Butter and were delicious. I had major order envy.

Wow, these look amazing!

This is Brioche French Toast with Madagascar Vanilla Bean-Butter. I'm not always a big vanilla fan, but these were delicious. The french toast itself wasn't anything special, but the butter almost tasted like frosting or ice cream on top. My only complaint was the portion size was small. It only came with 3 half pieces and for a girl coming off of a night of drinking I most definitely needed more.

I was going to say that I thought the portion size looked small too hahaha.. like maybe it needs to be double that

Nothing over the top, but solid.

I do the same when they bring me the butter with the fancy salt.

This is Wild Gulf Shrimp, Savoy Spinach, Oven-roasted Tomatoes, Basil Pistou, Comté Cheese, and Chardonnay-Garlic Cream. As this was I think my third time having this dish, I guess you can say I like it. The chardonnay garlic sauce is rich and decadent and it pairs nicely with the acidity from the tomatoes and earthy spinach. The shrimp were the epitome of freshness. I also ordered an Argentinian Sauvignon Black to go with it that was a bit too sugary, but better than some of my other wine adventures there. We'll certainly be at Narcoossee's next week and chances are pretty good this will be in my belly yet again.

This makes me want to go back to Narcoossee's SO badly. I just love this entree. Did you get it this time too!?

Sadly we were too full for the amazing almond cheese cake so we pulled out the white flag.

OMG, you skipped the almond cheesecake!?

And I finally learned where a ride camera was.

Omg, HAHAHAHA. This is hilarious!

We hung out in the county fair or whatever the name is for the god awful dinosaur carnival, where we confirmed poor Casey still isn't big enough for primeval whirl (my stomach was grateful)

County fair I literally hate that section of AK. It's so bizarre.

And a big to Miss Casey!!!!

 

[samsteele]

Love how much fun my single rider is having!

I knew it! You must be THAT incredible, awesome & cool family of 3 that all single riders would love to be with! That's one lucky girl right there!
I tend to be placed with umm "interesting" families that have issues. And the most unique family member is the one without a partner that I have the luck of sitting next to. Oh well. Free entertainment on a WDW coaster. Kinda like Snakes On A Plane.

 

[ariane37]

Ugh I hate Primevil Whirl, I'd be bribing the CM's working there to move the measuring stick up higher every trip so it looks like she's never tall enough
How awesome is a Bloody Mary with MEAT garnishing it??? Now I want to change our ROL Tiffins dining package to TH just for that!
If you bribed her for the ride this month that I think you did, I hope she got something good out of it and you paid up. I still owe Chris a PlayStation GC from his Nov. bribe that I keep "forgetting" to buy since its $50 lol!
I feel so bad about her bday, I kept thinking it was the day BEFORE mine so when you texted today I failed to say happy bday I hope her day was great!!

 

[Neverland_Girl]

We eat at Tusker House on Monday! I was a little worried I wouldn't like the food but yours looks so good. Happy Birthday to Casey!