I'm not all that excited to go on the Frozen ride. I'm sure I will eventually, but I think I may feel the same. I've seen a couple of the on ride photos now and they look so cheap. They really couldn't have done some kind of backdrop? Even just some blue paint!? Anything is better than plain concrete stairs and a handrail.I think this "amazing" photo just about sums the ride up. #Underwhelming. Now I will say the animatronics are pretty darn amazing, but the rest of the ride is just plain unimaginative.
They look OK and probably something my DD9 would like. I've never really considered dining in Mexico due to my picky eaters, but that actually looks like something she'd eat.Casey really loved these and insisted we try them. I didn't think they were anything special, but I was thrilled to see my girl clean her plate.
I love naan bread, paratha is OK. I don't think I ever had kucha. I'm not sure I would enjoy all of the dips, but it does look good.Because I don't think they would let you out of the restaurant without ordering it, we started with the amazing Sanaa Indian Style Bread Service.
Sounds like Casey and Chris could compare stuffed animal notes. I totally don't get the stuffed animal thing and hate the clutter they make so I'm generally a horrible mother who doesn't let Casey get them. So when orange bird magically landed in our room she was in heaven.So cute with Mr. Orange Bird! Even at 11 Chris still likes his stuffed animals and while he doesn't carry them around or sleep with them (except on occasion) he won't let me get rid of the 100 or so in his room lol. And I've been enjoying having my 6yo nephew who is visiting for the holidays walking around the house with Chris's animals, sitting them at the table and calling them his "babies"![]()
We LOVE Sanaa. Both the boys always find things there they like, even Ricky beginning a few years ago when he was still fairly picky. The last time we ate there was Jan. and I feel the need to go back-the bread service is calling me! I agree with you; best non-signature on property. Only thing that would make it better was if they brought back JB-Alive With Magic and did a Sanaa dining package with the show![]()
Yum, that soup sounds amazing. I had the best soup I've ever had at Jiko a few years back, so it sounds like all the AKL restaurants excel in all things soup. Fingers crossed the have some pea soup on the menu we can try next month. And maybe a mojito tooI Love Sanaa!I went for the first time this past Sept. for lunch & of course had the bread service but was starting to get so full my friend & I opted to split the split pea soup (haha) that was one of the seasonal soups on the menu that day. It was so amazing, I wish I'd had room for a whole bowl to myself! To drink, we both had a mojito which was amazing & I wouldn't hesistate to order it again. I'm thinking about stopping in for my next trip but since it will be a solo trip, not so sure it'll be worth it just for me w/all that bread (how can I Not order the bread service??). I might just stick w/plan A & go to Tiffins for lunch instead. I haven't been there yet so I'm excited to try it!
Casey is so cute with her orange bird & food modeling skills!
Hope you all love Sanaa as much as we did. We'll be doing it again next month. Since we are staying at AKL think its only best that we do all the restaurantsSo nice to see a Sanaa review before our trip in February. I can't wait to try the bread service, it looks so good. It will be our first time there. I love the orange bird so cute!
If you haven't tried Sanna, you really should. We've never been disappointed.Finally all caught up! Love the Avocado Margarita! I really need to find a way to add Sanaa to our trip in May. It always looks so yummy!
I think Sanaa is a good gateway drugI loved reading your Sanaa review because I'm a little afraid of it with the different mix of favors and I totally admire those of you that love weird food!
I'm not a big fan of savory mixed with fruits like apricots, but the bread service looks intriguing!
Definitely give the chick peas a go. I like them more than the meat optionsMmmmm...Sanaa bread service is heavenly. Sean and I are planning to take one of those bad boys down just the two of us in September. Can't wait! I also think I'll try the chickpeas next time. Sanaa is always a favorite for us too, glad it didn't disappoint!![]()
So happy to hear you are going to try Sanaa (provided it survives the overbooking). I think its a good place to start to try different flavors but do it with familiar proteins like chicken or fish. And of course the bread service is a great way to try so many different things in short order. You could totally just do that and a side or some soup and be more than full for lunch .I think I've mentioned I'm not that adventurous and I'm the most adventurous of my family, but we are booked for Sanaa (actually overbooked but that's a story for another trip report...lol)! I plan to get the bread service bc of the rave reviews and try all the sauces even though I have no idea what they are! It might just be that, a side, and a dessert for me. Oh, with a glass of wine or an adult beverage! I'm sure my DH will go with the steak bc that's the only way I can get him there...with promise of steak! I'm really excited to try something new!
Cute Casey with Orange Bird!
Totally with ya sister! Since we are staying at AKL this trip I wouldn't be surprised if two bread services were in our futureSanaa is consistently great. That Bread Service alone is worth the stop. Glad you had another good experience!
Thanks for the note. They oddly didn't list it on the online menu so I called a greek rather than Indian audible.While they are similar, the cucumber sauce served with the bread service is an Indian "raita", not the Greek tzatziki.
Our holiday was good thanks, hope you all up in the great white north had a good one tooOh, hello, I'm just diving back into the DIS after all the holiday merriment. I hope you all had a good one.
Yeah, despite being locked into the Maelstrom space they had so many options for frozening up the ride. They definitely dialed this one in just to get it done "quickly." I wanted to skip it on our next trip but my brother is coming along and he's never done it.I'm not all that excited to go on the Frozen ride. I'm sure I will eventually, but I think I may feel the same. I've seen a couple of the on ride photos now and they look so cheap. They really couldn't have done some kind of backdrop? Even just some blue paint!? Anything is better than plain concrete stairs and a handrail.
Yeah, they were pretty standard fair steak tacos so your crew could enjoy it. Their flavors are definitely on the mild side.They look OK and probably something my DD9 would like. I've never really considered dining in Mexico due to my picky eaters, but that actually looks like something she'd eat.
Funny while they give us so many breads its all just naan to me. I couldn't even tell you which one was paratha or kucha. But i can tell you they were all amazing with yummy dips.I love naan bread, paratha is OK. I don't think I ever had kucha. I'm not sure I would enjoy all of the dips, but it does look good.
I'm not trying to be an indian food pedant but I think the one you like most is the taramind chutney not the coriander chutney. 99.9% sure that the coriander chutney is the green one and the taramind is the "bbq sauce" like one. I only know because it is one of my favorites. it was also, btw, awesome together with the yogurt. I would not want you to want red someday and end up with the green (the taramind, coriander and pickled onions is the standard trio with papadum, or indian crackers often served like chips and salsa at an indian restaurant). I love the taramind so much and often ask for extra to use with my meal.Dining on the Savanna
After we got our soaked selves back to the Poly it was time for a very important moment....contemplating where we could eat!!! To the disney app we go....After our delicious meal at Tiffins, we were in the mood for some more African food and animals and were happy to score a last minute ressie at Sanaa.
We got a bus to AK and then hopped one to AKL, but on the way I realized our reservation was only for the disney default of 2 and not 3. Oh well, guess we'd just leave Casey out on the Savanna with these guys.
Seriously though I didn't know how they would handle this so I just elected to go with the play dumb route (a speciality of mine) and see where it went. When I checked in the hostess said you're a party of 2 and I said no 3 and she said oh ok. And that was it. We were taken to a table for all of us. #LuckyBreak
After our harrowing check in ordeal, some booze was in order. I elected to go for a South African Rose
And Jason went for his tried and true Sanaa favorite, the Tusker Beer.
Because I don't think they would let you out of the restaurant without ordering it, we started with the amazing Sanaa Indian Style Bread Service.
Here it is in all its glory.....
....And here it is with the official Disney food model
For those who haven't had this disney beauty, is 5 types of bread (Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kucha, or Paneer Paratha) with 9 different accompaniments (Tzatziki, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney, Tomato-Date Jam, Tamarind Chutney, Coriander Chuntey, Garlic Pickle, Red Chile Sambal, or Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle). This is unquestionably one of the best apps in the world and thankfully on what had to have been our 4th or 5th experience with it, it did not disappoint. The bread was all perfectly cooked and a great vessel for all the sauces. It's hard to pick favorites but the coriander chutney (which is like a bbq sauce) and the spicy red chile sambal were the standouts for me. Can't wait to devour another one of these on our next trip!!!!
For our entree's Casey and I shared the Goan Seafood Curry and Chickpea Wat.
While next time I'll remember these aren't exactly sharing size, they were quite good. The chickpeas were the standout. They were perfectly cooked and loaded with tomatoes and tons of ginger and cardamum flavor with just a hint of spice. These are my Sanaa go to and for a carnivore that is saying a lot. Our seafood curry was also very good and a lot creamier than I had envisioned. I was a bit disappointed that "seafood" really just meant fish and 2 shrimp but the curry flavor was on point.
Jason went with a new to him dish, the Traditional Sosatie which is Braai Lamb with Apricots, Butternut Squash, Bacon, Cashews, and Goat Cheese.
I have no idea what Braii is, but I'm gonna hedge my bet on little because while this was quite good,it was a bit deceptive as it only had 4 small pieces of lamb. Aside from the small quantity the side items were amazing with the combo of apricots, spinach, squash, and got cheese blending perfectly. I may have had a little bit of ordering envy just for the sides alone.
All in all this was another great trip to Sanna. It remains, in my opinion, the best non-signature on property. Consistency amazing food, not dumbed down to the touristy masses, is exactly what disney needs more of. With our tables in wonderland card we saved $19.60 bringing our total savings to $55 so far.
Small side note, I forgot to mention our dining companion for the evening: Orange Bird.
"Somehow" earlier in the week he had magically flown into our bedroom and landed on Casey's bed and now she was insisting on bringing him everywhere. I love how in all of the disney hoopla and characters, its a little magical orange bird that can capture a girls heart.
Up next, dining on the backside of water
The arepas replacement was very good. I highly recommend. Just not as big so you might have to order 2. I wish I had!Party on Our Spoons
Before I get started I hope everyone had a Happy New Year!!!!! I rang it in with lots of tequila, gin, and in no surprise the first headache of the yearWe were more than happy to bid adieu to 2016 and with a disney trip just a month away 2017 is already shaping up to be better.
Ok, now back to your regularly scheduled programming......
We were up early-ish the next morning and monorailed it over to Casey's favorite: Magic Kingdom. We cruised through the backside of water, hung with a couple of pirates, and even kissed a monkey.
This was one of the best character interactions Casey had as the character attendant was fascinated with the autograph book I'd made her. I'd taken photos of her with each of the characters and made a book on Shutterfly so they could sign by their picture. Rafiki was so excited that he was in there, they must have taken about 5 minutes to scroll through the book.
After hanging with Fiki (as Casey used to call him) we flew through London (but there were oddly mermaids and pirates there #Confused), before heading over to Liberty Square, I mean France, to meet a book worm.
From there we canoed through the deep south where somehow Randy "Macho Man" Savage ended up with us.
Yes ladies and gentlemen I really have two children
And after all of that it was finally time for my favorite ride....LUNCH!!!!!!!!! We were headed to the Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen (man thats a long name) for our second time and after a successful first visit had high hopes.
This time we were seated in the S.E.A. (Society of Explorers and Adventurers) Room, which is very cooly "hidden" behind a bookcase.
This was a nice change from the mess hall and added to the fun of the meal.
Our server, Kirsten was very good and very punny and regaled us with all sorts of Jungle Cruise humor. She even pointed out the 8th wonder of the world, the backside of the menu, which I'd somehow missed before.
To start with, Casey wanted her "smoosh berry" drink again, otherwise known as the Schweitzer Slush.
This is Frozen Apple Juice and Passion Fruit topped with Bursting Green Apple Boba Balls. It was apparently first concocted by the noted explorer and humanitarian, Dr. Albert Slush, who in addition to being an explorer must have had a sweet tooth cause this thing is seriously sweet. But the boba balls are fun so coupled with extreme sweetness this was of course right up my 5 year old's alley.
Side note as I was looking up the description on the menu I got a glimpse of the beer and wine offerings they now have!!!! To know ones surprise I am totally psyched to be able to imbibe a little in MK - especially in Skippers - which is just prime for it. Still a little miffed its just beer and wine and not the fun mixed drinks its perfect for, but baby steps Disney, baby steps!
We also got some of the Skippers Canteen bread.
This is their Ambasha Bread served with a honey-infused dipping sauce.. The "ambasha" bread just tastes like am-wheat-a to me, but its delicious dipped in the yummy honey sauce.
As the appetizers were our favorite part of the meal last trip, we decided just to order a bunch of them to share. First up we have the two items we'd tried before, the Falls Family Falafel and the House Made Arepas.
The Falafel, which are a secret recipe of Chickpeas, Garlic, Onions, Lemon Juice, and Herbs served with White Bean Dip and Tomato-Cucumber Salad, once again did not disappoint. They are light and airy and probably some of the best we've ever had.
The areaps - slow cooked beef, black beans, tostones and queso fresco - were awesome again too.
The beef has a slight bbq like flavor and was exceedingly moist and flavorful. The meat pairs perfectly with the delicious and light areaps and the sweet yuca. The beans were also quite good with just a hint of space.
Last time they were quite salty, but I'm happy to report that wasn't the case this time. I'm sad to see these are no longer on the menu, but I'm looking forward to trying their new version which is pork and corn pancakes.
In the new to us area, we also tried the Shiriki Noodle Salad.
This is Rice Noodles, Edamame Beans, Mushrooms, Green Mango, and Cucumber tossed with a Sweet Chili Sauce. And yes you read mushrooms. Despite my aversion to anything that starts with mush and ends with rooms, Jason wanted to try this. Thankfully the dreaded mushrooms was fairly large so I could pick them out. Once I got past that, the noodles were quite good. They were packed with tons of vegetables and thai like sweet, salty, and sour flavor. Would definitely order these again, sans mushrooms of course
Our last appetizer seemed like destiny since we were in the "S.E.A" room, so we had to get the S.E.A. Shu Mai.
These are per the menu a Legendary blend of Pork, Shrimp, Edamame Beans, and Spices wrapped in Gyoza Skin then steamed. I assumed legendary would be an overstatement, but these were pretty darn good. The pork had great flavor and they had a nice crunch to them from the edamame. I'm a lover of dumplings so I'm not too hard to please, but these were a definite step above the typical Chinese restaurant varietal.
Since we'd shared the appetizers we had thankfully left room for dessert. Our server had recommended the Kungaloosh, which is An African-inspired Chocolate Cake with Caramelized Bananas served with Cashew-Caramel Ice Cream topped with Coffee Dust.
Casey described this as a party on her spoon and I must say I have to agree. The chocolate cake was very dense, almost like a brownie, then had an unexpected caramel center. The caramelized bananas were amazing and while I'm not a huge ice cream fan, the cashew ice cream may have been the best I've ever had. I could have just eaten that alone and been happy. Jason even liked this more than the Ooey Gooey Cake at Liberty Tree. While I wouldn't go that far, the cashew ice cream on the ooey gooey cake would something to behold.
In the rare case it wasn't exceedingly evident, Skippers was another hit. Service was not only friendly and punny, but our server even fashioned Casey a napkin shawl when she was cold.
The apps were all delicious, dessert parties on our spoons, and the promise of alcohol on my next trip has tipped Skippers to be my favorite MK restaurant. With our Tables in Wonderland card we saved $11.20 bringing our grand total up to $66.
Up next, we ride a new wave....
I kept checking day-of availability and was surprised by how good it was. If I had a traveling companion who was super flexible we could have done alright just at day of ADRs. Some stuff NEVER showed up, like crystal palace (I did pick that one up same day in 2014) but there were tons of good choices like sanaa, boma, SC, tons of epcot restaurants (I even saw via napoli same day once, both japanese, both mexican, le cellier for lunch a few times, tons at garden grill, biergarten, even coral reef for lunch I think), signatures like citricos and flying fish (nothing for CA Grill), chef mickeys and 1900 park fare a few times, cape may for both breakfast and dinner, and of course tons at disney springs. Given that we had some free dining overlap I was surprised at how much was available.I remember when Belle was meeting in Liberty Square, I thought it was weird but, whatevs, Disney. The background looks neat, was it a nice setup? I remember seeing a close-up of the autograph book you made Casey in another picture but I may not have commented: you lie because you ARE crafty! I always bought the boys' books so they each have 3 generic, boring Disney autograph books lol. Nothing out of the ordinary or special for my kids
Some day I'll get back to Skippers. In May Steve only has one request, Citricos, and we want to do a lot of F&G snacking so I think I'm leaving the rest of the time open. Going Stone-styleBut maybe if he's hungry enough when we walk by Skippers I can force him in.
Definitely give the chick peas a go. I like them more than the meat optionsPlus I'd read online that they switched the menu up and you can't get two meat entrees anymore without an upcharge, so bring the chickpeas on.