Day 2: A Rowdy Lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe
After a lovely stay at the Gaylord Palms, it was finally time to leave and begin the trip we'd spent months anticipating (and hours upon hours of planning). We checked into the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa around 11 am. As we anticipated, our room wasn't ready yet. We went over to concierge to get a print-out of all of our ADR's (all three pages of them...made the host helping us go
) and to update our four-day tickets to six-day tickets (we didn't realize that it was an extra $6 per person and we figured if we only did a few rides, it would be worth it for so cheap). Since bell services had our luggage, we made our way to the monorail station and headed over to MK for a few go-rounds on IASW (the preferred ride of DGM because we can wheel her wheelchair right on), Mickey's Philharmagic, and Buzz Lightyear. Before we knew it, it was time for lunch!
We hopped on the resort launch to the Wilderness Lodge for our 2:20 ADR. I'd never been to the WL and it was gorgeous and the theming was lovely. I'd love to stay there sometime. We made our way to the WCC and it wasn't what I expected. It's a very open area (it opens up to the WL lobby) and it wasn't all that crowded (walk-ins would have had no problems).
We were quickly seated and greeted by our "cousin" Al. Cousin Al was fun and hilarious but he wasn't as over the top as some of the other servers, which we appreciated...we didn't want DGM to get freaked out...but then again, she doesn't phase easily.
I started with a vanilla shake, mostly because I saw pictures and there were sprinkles on top and I'm a sucker for rainbow sprinkles. DGM started with a strawberry-orange shake, and DM and DSis had diet Cokes (they can't function without four diet Cokes a day...I still don't get them LOL).
We put in our orders for our appetizers and our meal was very leisurely (the way we like it because we weren't really rushing to get anywhere). DM started with the Western Chips and Dips (Homemade Corn Torilla Chips with a bowl of freshly made salsa and queso dip). She liked it and it was my favorite of all of our appetizers. The cheese dip was a little spicy and the salsa was very tangy.
DSis and DGm both started with the salad. They both enjoyed it. My sister really enjoyed the dressing because she thought it was flavorful but very light.
I started with the Cheese and Sausage Plate (cheddar cheese with sliced pork sausage, crackers, and barbecue dipping sauce). It was very heavy and I really didn't eat most of it. The sausage was good (but really heavy) and the cheese was warm. The BBQ sauce was really good, though. It was sweet, tangy, and just a little spicy. DM ate a lot of my appetizer and I ate a bit of hers.
For our main courses, DM ordered the Chicken Salad (mixed greens with grilled chicken breast, cheddar cheese, candied walnuts, and honey-roasted walnut vinaigrette). She honestly didn't care for it. She thought it tasted alright, but I think it was because she found a bit of chicken still on the bone in her salad and it grossed her out a little.
DGM had the Roast Chicken (served with coleslaw and mashed potatoes). She really enjoyed this. The chicken was really soft and she loved the sauce and the potatoes.
DSis and I both had the AYCE Skillet (Smoked pork ribs, oven-roasted chicken and pork sausage, served with beans, seasonal vegetable, creamy coleslaw, mashed potatoes and fresh baked corn bread). It was...a lot. A lot of food I usually don't care to eat, but that's why I ordered it. I really wasn't that hungry. I tried the ribs, beans, mashed potatoes, corn, and corn bread and thought it was average fare. But I come from Chicago and ribs to me mean Carsons ribs and these weren't anywhere near the same level. My sister, the more "adventurous" eater (or, the normal one) tried everything else and enjoyed it. I just really wasn't *that* hungry (this became the mantra for many parts of our trip). Cousin Al was great with making sure we got refilled anything we needed (the mashed potatoes, corn, and beans went pretty quickly between DSis and I...they were really good).
None of us were really hungry for dessert, but since the plan (and the meals) were already paid for, we figured we'd get them and try them.
DGM had the Apple Carmel Pie (crumb-topped deep dish apple pie with vanilla ice cream) and it was one of her favorite desserts this trip. It was warm and tasty and pretty big. She liked it so much that she ate most of it even though she wasn't that hungry! I guess a good dessert can do that to you
DSis and DM both had the Kahlua-flavored Chocolate Cake (chocolate mousse filling and fudge icing) and both thought it was very rich but very good.
I had the S'More Cheesecake (NY Style Cheesecake on a Graham cracker crust topped with chocolate ganache and marshmallows). It was a little warmer than I like my cheesecake to be served but it was very tasty. I didn't end up eating too much of it because it was so heavy but I'd definitely order it again.
Overall, I felt when you go to WCC, it's more for the experience than it is for the food. I think we'd go back, but I think we'd probably order different things and we'd probably forego the appetizers (or split them...they're very big). I think the WCC excels at their desserts, but their regular menu is good but ordinary-tasting. None of us had the kind of zOMG experience here with any of our food.
Up Next: Alohaaaaaaaaa from Ohana!
Great reviews so far!
