Why can't I button my shorts??? Twelve days of Disney dining and Food and Wine

[OasterP]

I'm here, I'm here! Glad to see you didn't sucumb to any wandering snakes! Following!

I thought of you so many times!! I made myself run every morning and each time I managed to avoid snakes I thought of you. And I saw NO snakes!

 

[OasterP]

Ok next up was Hollywood and Vine! This was one I contemplated cancelling and then my son asked me not to. This ended up being a mistake as he was having a major meltdown at this point and it wasn't the most pleasant meal. That said - I am sure that without the drama (which you can't even tell in pictures, but it was there) it would have been fine. And I will note that I've heard SO many times that this restaurant is dirty/noisy/etc. It is noisy for sure, but no more so than the other buffets, and it was in no way dirty. And I am picky about that stuff.

Somehow Todd missed the create your own pasta station and I think he would have loved that!

Todd's plate - at first I posted this as Owen's. But nope - Owen hasn't had a tater tot before so it must have been Todd's.



Owen's plate. More of the same. I tried to sneak broccoli on there - it didn't even stay long enough for the picture. And he WILL eat broccoli at home. Not sure what the difference was.



My plate. Fruit (of course), broccoli, salmon and the lobster macaroni and cheese. They are not kidding about that stuff - it's really good! The fruit was fruit, I love all broccoli, and the salmon was mustard encrusted and pretty good!



Our dessert plate. Chocolate covered fruit - really good. I know Todd didn't try this, but I don't honestly think he had dessert that meal.

 

[OasterP]

I think if Owen had been in a better mood the character interaction would have been even better. Lesson learned - taking him out of line to meet Buzz and Woody to use the bathroom (he DID have to go) will not end well on a day that is hot and he is tired. After lunch we went back to meet them and the whole day turned around!

I can't seem to find my characters from this lunch at the moment but I'll add them when I do. They were fun (Owen just wasn't)! It was Doc McStuffins, Handy Manny, Jake, and maybe someone else, though we only have pictures of him wit Doc and Handy Manny.

Ok photobucket is giving me fits, so I'll take a break. Next up is Pizza Planet!

 

[Elevationist]

I thought of you so many times!! I made myself run every morning and each time I managed to avoid snakes I thought of you. And I saw NO snakes!

I didn't see any either. My record stands. 9 trips, no snake-sightings.

Loving all the food porn! Keep 'em coming!

 

[DaisyNY]

Great reviews...I'm following along!

 

[OasterP]

Ok so I got some of my pictures to upload to Photobucket, so here are the characters from H&V.





I know it doesn't show that he was having a major brat moment at the time - you'll have to take my word for it That's why we have NO picture with Jake. I remembered the other was Sophia, and I thought we had a picture of that but I can't find it.

 

[OasterP]

Now for Pizza Planet. We had originally planned on leaving after Hollywood and Vine, and especially with the attitude issues we were having. But since he completely turned around after meeting Buzz and Woody, and the weather (for the first time on our trip) was AMAZING, we decided to stay. I couldn't pass up the opportunity. We ended up staying all the way through Fantasmic and despite a not so great start to the day - it really was amazing.

Ok, so because of that we decided to grab dinner at HS. I had planned on the boys eating at Pizza Planet and I would grab something from somewhere else. The pickings are slim (in my opinion) though for counter service. I ended up getting a salmon quinoa salad from ABC Commissary that I forgot to get a picture of - it wasn't anything amazing.

Here is what the boys had. Cheese Pizza for Todd and Meatball sub for Owen. Owen got his with an Olaf cupcake and Todd got his with the giant cookie. They both seemed to like it! I wanted to taste the Olaf cupcake since it's carrot cake with cream cheese icing (yum) but by the time I got back with my food Owen had demolished it, so that was not happening. He does the same thing with all cupcakes - eats the icing and leaves the cake. But really - icing IS the essence of the cake!

Pizza. Todd said it was basic pizza and he liked it.



Meatball sub. The boys were totally done eating by the time I got back from getting my food, but I think he liked the meatballs - I know he didn't finish it. He usually doesn't eat the bread in these subs, but the kid loves meatballs!



Olaf cupcake I didn't get to try!!



Chocolate chip cookie. Todd got this several times throughout the trip so I think he must have liked it.



Because I thought I was going to get some cupcake for my dessert I had gotten one of those chocolate pudding type looking desserts in a cup for Todd. I didn't get a photo but he ate it, so despite not looking amazing he said it was good!

 

[OasterP]

I just realized I think this was actually on the 27th, but oh well - the food is still the same!!

At some point in the day (this was before dinner) the boys got "hangry" and hot and decided a cool dessert was in order. Thankfully out of the corner of my eye I spied the answer to the whining prayers. Oasis canteen! Todd ordered a root beer float and Owen got a vanilla waffle cone. These two treats made these boys so much easier to deal with, and life was good again.

Thank you Root Beer float goodness - you made a cranky 40 year old very happy!



And a vanilla ice cream waffle cone. The CM at the booth was so sweet and gave us a dish as well so that the ice cream didn't totally melt all over Owen right away. Well he insisted on the cone anyway, so we just scraped some off and Todd added it to his float. Happy boys all around.



I wasn't hungry at all, but when we passed a spot that I had been reading about for at least a year, I knew I HAD to stop to get a treat to go.





Oh that's right - a delicious carrot cake cookie was in order! This thing is huge. Pictures do not come close to showing how big it is. I didn't eat this at all this day, but I gave my friend half, and still ate it over three days (SO very good cold from the refrigerator). This dessert really IS as good as it seems.

 

[OasterP]

The next day was supposed to be our day "off". We were going to go to downtown Disney and then hang out at the resort. But we knew that the Commodores were playing at Epcot and Todd really wanted to hear them. So we went to Downtown Disney and then headed over to Epcot in the evening. That's where we upgraded to our Annual Passes! YAY!



First lunch at downtown Disney. We went to Wolfgang Puck Express. This place is amazing. Such a great use of a QS credit if you are on the dining plan. And really tasty regardless.

I ordered the Roasted Mushroom Pizza and Cheesecake. I was sharing this with Owen. I didn't realize when I ordered it that it was a white pizza. I typically stay away from all things cream sauce, but it was actually really good. And to my surprise Owen loved it! He absolutely loves cheesecake, but for some crazy reason hates strawberries, so I ate the parts that had touched strawberry. Strange kid

Mushroom Pizza - I do recommend this. Especially if you like white pizza.





Cheesecake. I'm no cheesecake expert, but this was really good!



Todd ordered the spaghetti and meatballs and crème brule. I didn't taste the spaghetti but he really liked it. I did taste a bit of the dessert and didn't like it, but I just think it's not my thing. Todd loved it!!





I love this place and we ended up going again. I guarantee when we go back I'll go again. Very good.

 

[OasterP]

After lunch we were completely full but I wanted to stop at the Goofy candy store and design my own treat! I thought this would be so much fun for Owen but as it turned out he wasn't totally interested. I still had fun though! We made these treats and then took them back to the room. They stayed there until almost the end of our trip but were still really great when we did eat them! Everyone liked them.



Some of the goodies in the case.







Make your own treat. I chose the rice crispie Mickey. Owen wanted white chocolate with M&M's, milk chocolate drizzle. I got almost the same thing but dark chocolate with white chocolate drizzle. The CM loaded these up!! They turned out huge (and delicious).

 

[OasterP]

After downtown Disney we went back to the resort for a bit to store our treats and then later went to Epcot. Todd really wanted to hear the concert and I wanted to see some of the food and wine festival.

We upgraded our passes to AP (woohoo) and then rode some of the rides and did some of the fun stuff right inside. We also visited Club Cool. This place is so much fun! I don't drink soda at home, but really wanted to try the different kinds. Todd and I tasted them all. I have to say - I expected Beverly to taste a lot worse. It wasn't great, but not as awful as I thought. Todd loved the ginger ale one best and I thought the Mango soda from Thailand was the winner. I had that several times throughout the trip.



Todd tasting Beverly



My favorite



Other flavors

 

[OasterP]

This is probably a good time to interject with the fact that I hate germs. All germs. My friends at home laugh at me, and I brought a ridiculous amount of Lysol products on our trip. A little incident that was not included in here (because it wasn't food related) is that my gross little four year old went to the bathroom with his father, and came out carrying a small Buzz Lightyear figurine. I swear the second he stepped out of the bathroom my germ radar went up, b/c I know my kids toys....and that wasn't one of them. So yes of COURSE he found a Buzz Lightyear toy on top of the kids urinal and picked it up. My husband insisted it was ok b/c he "rinsed it off". I briefly thought about having him return the doll to its home on the urinal, but since this was RIGHT after he had calmed down over the Hollywood and Vine incident - I didn't start that fight. Instead I brought out my portable germ killer and bathed the toy. He has since been named "Pee Buzz" and that little toy made my kid so happy throughout the trip. So if any of you are the parents of another little boy who lost his Buzz Lightyear on a kids urinal - I am sorry for your loss, but thank you!

So that said - you will find several situations through this trip report where my son shows just how disgusting a four year old can be, and how I learned to embrace not only the rain, but the germs as well.

Owen was getting hungry so we decided to get him some dinner. We were close to Sunshine Seasons and I knew they had a lot of options, so we went there. I got him a turkey sandwich. It came with a side of potato salad that he didn't touch and he picked chocolate cake as his dessert. This cake ended up being quite a story - as soon as we got to our table Owen promptly dropped his entire cake on the floor. What's a germaphobe mother who really didn't want tears to do??? I cut off the piece that touched the ground and let him have the rest. Yeah - I still kind of gag thinking about it, but as you will see through this report - I had to let go of my fear of germs at Disney World or I just wouldn't have made it!

Turkey sandwich and potato salad. I scraped of the mayonnaise and he ate the turkey out of the sandwich. Nobody tasted the potato salad.




Floor Cake before it was floor cake!!



Cake after the floor incident. Owen absolutely loved this.



This is a great little place with lots of options! We ended up going back again later in the trip.

 

[OasterP]

After that we headed to the World Showcase. I was so excited to see all they had to offer. I'm a little sad we will miss food and wine on our next trip but if we go in April we'll get to do the flower and garden festival!

Todd decided to try the fish and chips from the Yorkshire fish shop. It was definitely a night with quite a few visitors, but there wasn't much of a wait for his dinner. He really liked his meal here!



Fish and chips



Cookie for dessert. I think this might have been a sugar cookie. Todd liked it - the man likes his cookies!



I still wasn't that hungry but I decided to try one stand at food and wine. I really wanted the shrimp and noodles from China, so once Todd got settled at the concert, Owen and I took off for the China booth!

Black peppered shrimp. Sorry the picture isn't great. It was on my phone in the dark, and I was pushing a stroller. This wasn't amazing but it definitely was good! Not something I'd feel the need to order again but I'm very glad I tried it!



I also hit up the store I'd been waiting for!

Karamell Kuche!!! I got the caramel popcorn. Oh my. I have a problem - seriously. This stuff is beyond amazing. I normally have some self control with treats, but with this stuff - nope. I'd like to say I forgot to take a picture, but the truth is I only forgot to take a picture until I ate nearly the entire bag. It was the "small" bag. I shared with my friend and Todd, but most of this damage was done by me...



I also bought a caramel peanut butter crunch cookie. It sounded and looked amazing. I had one bite, and sadly it didn't excite me. The cookie was very crumbly. My friends got the rest of that later that night, but he loved it!!



I love this store. I went back on our last full day and got more of the popcorn (like I said - a problem...) and some other treats that I'll post later.

 

[TravelMommy]

Your pictures are awesome! I can't believe I have never tried the caramel corn in Germany, I definitely will our next WDW trip!

 

[OasterP]

Next up is Crystal Palace! This was one we thought of cancelling just because Owen isn't a huge fan of pooh and the gang, but we decided to keep it for the pre park breakfast. SO glad we did. I know this isn't a trip report, but oh my gosh it was a beautiful morning and it was so nice to be able to walk down an almost empty Main Street. Amazing experience. And breakfast was good too! Here is a picture of the wonderful (nearly empty) street in Magic Kingdom!

 

[ncdj2013]

Cant wait to hear about Crystal Palace. Never have been there and thinking of it for my grandson's birthday dinner.

 

[OasterP]

Your pictures are awesome! I can't believe I have never tried the caramel corn in Germany, I definitely will our next WDW trip!

Oh my gosh it's amazing. I had one bag to "take home" and another to give to my in laws. It didn't make it...

 

[OasterP]

Cant wait to hear about Crystal Palace. Never have been there and thinking of it for my grandson's birthday dinner.

Oh you definitely should!! It was a great experience, and the characters were really a lot of fun. I personally would probably only do it to get into the park early, but I bet it would be good anytime!

 

[OasterP]

Ok on to Crystal Palace breakfast. It was an absolutely beautiful day. And the restaurant is beautiful.





Inside the restaurant



Now the food! I thought this buffet was pretty typical breakfast, with the additions of the puffed French toast and breakfast lasagna everyone talks about. I thought it was pretty good! And the restaurant is so nice.

First Owen's plates. Wheat bread, watermelon, and puffed French toast. I'm pretty sure he didn't eat a bite of the watermelon or French toast. I think he ate some bread. There was a Mickey Waffle too but that proved to be Owen's favorite breakfast food in Disney so it didn't make it into the picture.



Oh there it is!!



And of course....



It's obvious I don't buy a lot of sugar cereal at home. He asked for this at every breakfast we ate! It also came in the cereal muti box we had purchased, so he got to eat that a lot.

My plates. Plate 1 is breakfast quinoa (really delicious) and fruit. Plate 2 is a veggie omelet and cinnamon roll (love cinnamon rolls). I didn't really like the omelet so that didn't get eaten but the cinnamon roll sure did! I'm pretty sure the omelet was just flavorless b/c I didn't add cheese or salsa - that would have livened it up. Oh and THERE is Pee Buzz....right by my plate...





Todd plate 1 is more of his favorites. Mickey waffles and pancakes. Plate 2 is bread and puffed French toast. Plate 3 was more puffed French toast and the breakfast lasagna. He said the lasagna was "ok" but he only had a bite or two.



Look at that cute butter!

 

[OasterP]

Ok Todd asked for his computer back, so characters will have to be later! They were a lot of fun though. I wasn't sure how Owen would react because he's not a huge Pooh fan, but he liked them. They were great and friendly and so cute and cuddly!