We're bringing DoleWhip back...again! COMPLETE: Sanaa and Yachtsman!

[disneyfav4ever]

Artist Point looks wonderful! It's been a few years since I've eaten there, I'll have to make a point of going there next year.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Yay another DR! I like your DR's because you go to a lot of the place I like and want to try (all the signatures!).

I wish I was at AP right now so I could try the Prawn and Crab Hot Pot....that sounds amazing. I saw it and was thinking, 'Oh I hope one of them ordered that so I can see it!'.

What you did order looks good nonetheless. I wasn't overly impressed on my first visit to AP, but I'm so ready to go back again!

Oh I wanted that entree too! There were actually 4 entrees I just "had to try" - the buffalo, scallops, hot pot, and chicken (I think chicken with grapes sounds delicious). Since we only had 2 meals there, I got the scallops during the second meal since I thought they were most likely to be removed from the menu in a few weeks (yes that's how I choose my dishes at this point ), but I'm hoping to try the hot pot next time!

If it helps, I found a pic of the hot pot with a google search and then some stalking. This isn't my pic, but I don't think I can link to the site, so here it is:

Artist Point looks wonderful! It's been a few years since I've eaten there, I'll have to make a point of going there next year.

I highly recommend trying AP again. It seems like the menu has changed quite a lot over the years (with the exception of some key items remaining on the menu, such as mussels, mushroom soup, buffalo, salmon, and berry cobbler). It's had some ups and downs (like any Disney restaurant), but for us it's definitely having a nice "up" period right now.

 

[goofy4prez]

Excellent beginning on the trip report, and way to go on the CL upgrade! I'm glad you enjoyed your evening at Artist Point. This is one of my favorite restaurants in WDW and I agree with your review on the buffalo steak; I loved it the last time I was there.

 

[SunnieRN]

What a lovely meal! I am looking forward to more of your reviews! Happy Birthday to your Mother and I hope the rest of your vacation is as wonderful as your meal at AP!

 

[Tracerr00]

Congrats on the upgrade - how fabulous! And now I'm dying here at my desk (yes, I read at work!) while looking at your Artist Point review. It looks and sounds amazing. We hadn't planned on eating here during our stay at WL but now I'm seriously considering it. Just when I thought I was done changing my ADRs! Great review.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

congratulations on the upgrade - how incredible!!! I'm in awe and envy of your signature strip and all those wdw stays

 

[Buntington]

Love the AP review! That's our first meal after our arrival at WL next Tuesday, and I'm even more excited after looking at your beautiful pictures of the dining room and the food. Yum!

 

[iloveeeyore]

I just love reading your dining reports! We had such a wonderful meal at AP a few years ago, with the buffalo being the definite winner of the night. I am always surprised to see negative reviews on it, I'm glad you got to experience a good batch of it!

 

[VrBchJ]

Great you got an upgrade in honor of your Mother's birthday. That makes it even more special. I really enjoyed your AP review. You're decriptions are so on point that I feel as if I'm there with you. I like your positive attitude about the menu changes. I still miss the coffee three ways dessert that was taken off the menu several years ago. For me, the smoky portabello mushroom soup is reason enough to dine at AP. And I really enjoy their wide selection of Northwest wines. I'm looking forward to the rest of your reviews.

 

[scanne]

Loving the report so far. We will be at the WL in under 2 weeks and coincidentally, my aunt and uncle who are travelling at the same time will be at the BW. Hmmmm, I'm interested to hear what your thoughts are on BW as it is one resort I'd really like to try one day.

Thanks for sharing your reviews. Cannot wait to read more!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Excellent beginning on the trip report, and way to go on the CL upgrade! I'm glad you enjoyed your evening at Artist Point. This is one of my favorite restaurants in WDW and I agree with your review on the buffalo steak; I loved it the last time I was there.

AP is just so fabulous for us. I'm still surprised that it hasn't become one of the more popular signatures, but at least it's easy to secure a reservation there.

What a lovely meal! I am looking forward to more of your reviews! Happy Birthday to your Mother and I hope the rest of your vacation is as wonderful as your meal at AP!

Thanks so much! I can say there have been some highs and lows (although none of the lows were too bad), but at least the contrast makes the brighter moments shine that much more.

Congrats on the upgrade - how fabulous! And now I'm dying here at my desk (yes, I read at work!) while looking at your Artist Point review. It looks and sounds amazing. We hadn't planned on eating here during our stay at WL but now I'm seriously considering it. Just when I thought I was done changing my ADRs! Great review.

I hope you are able to try Artist Point sometime! If you're happy with your plans, I wouldn't worry too much about fitting it in, but AP can definitely deliver an outstanding meal. It's been in my top 2 signatures ever since we first tried it in 2008 (except for a brief period in '09).

congratulations on the upgrade - how incredible!!! I'm in awe and envy of your signature strip and all those wdw stays

We feel so fortunate that we've made it down to WDW so often now. That'll come to an abrupt end in September once I'm back at university!

Love the AP review! That's our first meal after our arrival at WL next Tuesday, and I'm even more excited after looking at your beautiful pictures of the dining room and the food. Yum!

I hope you enjoy! Besides the dishes shown in the above review, I'd also highly recommend the cheese plate, heirloom tomato salad, salmon, and berry mousse (these are items we had at our second meal).

I just love reading your dining reports! We had such a wonderful meal at AP a few years ago, with the buffalo being the definite winner of the night. I am always surprised to see negative reviews on it, I'm glad you got to experience a good batch of it!

The buffalo was an amazing dish this time. The dishes changes quite often - when I last had it, it was served with cheesy potato gratin and was a fattier piece of meat. This was a huge improvement for me!

Great you got an upgrade in honor of your Mother's birthday. That makes it even more special. I really enjoyed your AP review. You're decriptions are so on point that I feel as if I'm there with you. I like your positive attitude about the menu changes. I still miss the coffee three ways dessert that was taken off the menu several years ago. For me, the smoky portabello mushroom soup is reason enough to dine at AP. And I really enjoy their wide selection of Northwest wines. I'm looking forward to the rest of your reviews.

We were so grateful for the upgrade. It made our time at WL even more special, and we've just grown to like it more and more each time (this was our third stay there). I wish I could've tried AP's coffee 3 ways, it sounds amazing. Honestly, I'm not always positive about menu changes (especially when the change involves something that I viewed as an iconic, signature dish). But I guess I've come to trust Artist Point, which seems to be one of the signatures that changes its menu quite often due to seasonality of ingredients.

Loving the report so far. We will be at the WL in under 2 weeks and coincidentally, my aunt and uncle who are travelling at the same time will be at the BW. Hmmmm, I'm interested to hear what your thoughts are on BW as it is one resort I'd really like to try one day.

Thanks for sharing your reviews. Cannot wait to read more!

I hope you have a great time at WL! I have to say, we aren't loving BW as much as WL. On paper, BW is just perfect: location, proximity to World Showcase and DHS, entertainment, lakeside setting, bright rooms with daybeds, etc. But the cast members don't seem as friendly as at WL. It's just odd. It could just be us, and maybe we've been speaking to the wrong people (over and over and over ).

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

The following morning, I woke up extremely early and couldn't fall back asleep. Oh well. So I went to sit in the lounge and enjoy the sights.

Sunrise over Bay Lake was beautiful.

The lounge has a really nice location above WL's gorgeous lobby.

Here are some of the items that WL offered for breakfast:

I had some fruit, which tasted nice and fresh. Then I went down to catch a boat to Contemporary.

WL is a really beautiful hotel.

From Contemporary, I took the monorail to MK, but I made a quick stop at GF. Here are the menus of Narcoossee's and Citricos:

Then I made my way to MK, where I arrived about 45 minutes before rope drop. There was plenty of time for rides, but eventually I was both hungry and thirsty. This seemed like the perfect time to use a snack credit.

Ah, Auntie Gravity. Up there with Aloha Isle, this has to be one of my favorite places to get a snack. I chose a strawberry banana smoothie:

The smoothie includes fruit and yogurt, and I loved it. It's just so light, refreshing, cold, fruity, and (at least seemingly) nutritious. Plus, it was quite filling.

After MK, I explored and took some pics of other menus. Here's Jiko's menu:

I would have loved to try the tomato and watermelon salad, but we just couldn't fit it in. Maybe next time.

And here's Yachtsman. Not too different from last time, although they did change around the chicken and vegetarian dishes.

Eventually, I found myself at Boardwalk, where I went to the bakery and decided to use another snack credit. I wasn't hungry enough for a cupcake, and I'm not a big fan of most pastries, so here's what I chose:

Yes, I passed on the cupcakes in favor of a refreshing, cold bottle of water. You're welcome, Evian.

Pretty soon I was on my way again. I had lunch booked at Le Cellier, and I wanted to save room for a good meal.

 

[Maddiesmommi]

I'm loving your reviews! We just got back from our stay at the Grand Floridian on the 29th.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Thanks for posting the menus! I enjoy reading through them. I'm glad I cancelled my Narcoossees ADR, I was in an OMG I have to eat there mood the last time I saw an updated menu, but while things sound good, nothing on the one you posted stands out as something I must try. Next year I'm going to try and take a long trip with deluxe dining and eat at all the signature restaurants - that will make planning a lot easier, since I won't have to choose between a lot of favorites. I can just eat at all of them!

 

[scanne]

OK I will be following your report until I head to the airport. Your pictures of WL and the sunrise are breathtaking. I cannot wait to be there! And my DS saw the smoothie and he is planning to use a snack credit for that!

Thank you for sharing!

 

[Wendydagny]

What a wonderful lineup! And your meal at AP looks awesome...so sad we didn't get to try that one on our trip.

We were actually at Yachtsman on the same night as you, according to your schedule.

 

[Buntington]

Uh oh, the Yachtsman menu is not good...they got rid of their chicken dish! None of the other dishes look appetizing at all (I really only eat chicken and fish)...what is a french red hen? I tried googling it and I got fairy tales...not food. I was mainly going so DH and the rest of my family could enjoy their steak. Wondering if I should try to switch ADRs...

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

DonaldDoleWhip,
Will you please post the Boardwalk room service menu?
Thank you.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Great pictures! I never realized how similare AKL CL is to the WL CL, location and view wise.

 

[FloridaDreaming]

Joining in here!
All your pics are amazing! If I wasn't drooling over the food, I was "awe"-ing at the great pics you took of one of my favorite hotels. It's so beautiful there.