Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A Graduation Trip for Me! *Completed!

[PrincessBetsy]

I'm enjoying your review very much! Congratulations on graduating!

I also just graduated from college a few weeks ago and my gift to myself is my fall trip to Disney with my college friend as well! It is so much fun to go to Disney with people that have never been or don't remember going. Just watching their reactions to everything is priceless!

Thank you and congrats to you as well! That's so exciting I'm sure you and your friend will have a magnificent time!

 

[PrincessBetsy]

Day 3 – Dinner Back at POR​

My parents headed back to the resort after lunch, while we took a flight with Star Tours, watched the afternoon parade, took a tour of the Backlot, and watched The Muppets. We then caught a bus and met our parents back at The Mill.

This was definitely the hardest part of my day: deciding what to order . The Riverside Mill Food Court has so many different options – burgers, chicken sandwiches, roast beef, turkey, salads, baked ziti, pizza and pasta.

My Dad ordered the Kid’s Roast Beef, while Andrew ordered the Kid’s Turkey:

My Mom also ordered the Kid’s Roast Beef meal:

All three of these came with Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Corn, and Corn Bread. As you can see, this is definitely a large portion for a child. You can order an adult size meal, but it only comes with an extra piece of meat. The kid’s portion is a much better deal, since you essentially get the same amount of food, plus a drink, for a much lower price. They all thoroughly enjoyed this down home meal, but my Mom did find the rub on the roast beef to be a little spicy for her taste.

Laura ordered a Create Your Own Salad:

She chose a variety of vegetables along with Mandarin Orange Sesame dressing. Laura enjoyed this, especially the dressing choice. Here are all of the options:

Customize your salad by choosing from a variety of ingredients, including beef or chicken
Greens: Romaine or European Mix
Toppings: bacon, blue cheese, broccoli, carrots, corn, chow mein noodles, cucumbers, dried cranberries, feta cheese, peas, garbanzo beans, grape tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, roasted red peppers.
Dressings: Caesar, Lite Italian, Ranch, Mandarin Orange Sesame.

I decided on the Create Your Own Pasta and Garlic Bread:

I had fettuccine with marinara sauce, chicken, prosciutto, onions, and parmesan cheese. This was delicious! Some of the best pasta I’ve ever had in fact. I love watching them make this right in front of you – those flames can get pretty big! Andrew and I have shared this in the past – the potion size is huge and definitely large enough for two. I ended up sharing some with both Andrew and my Dad once they had finished their meals, haha.

Here are the other options available:
Choose from a variety of your favorite sauces (Aldredo, Marinara, Pesto), pasta (fettuccine, spaghetti, penne) and fresh ingredients including Chicken or Shrimp. Toppings include: artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, Kalamata Olives, green peas, prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, yellow onions, broccoli, parmesan cheese.

All in all, everyone really enjoyed their meal, which definitely deserves a…

Coming up: Celebration time!

 

[vettegirl]

Great tip for the kids meal, I do that at DL sometimes and the portions are huge!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

All of that food looks fantastic! I like the sound of all those different options at Riverside's food court. I will definitely keep that in mind when planning my next trip. Great update!

 

[gardengirl628]

Wow, the food looks great at Riverside Food Court. We may have to check it out. The salad and cornbread especially. Really enjoying your reviews!

 

[emmysmommy]

The kid's turkey meal looks absolutely perfect! It looks like more than enought food. Glad to see it worthy of a Captain Jack rating! I have to remember that PO is only a short boat ride from DTD so pehaps a great option when we are spending a day there.

 

[PrincessBetsy]

Great tip for the kids meal, I do that at DL sometimes and the portions are huge!

Yes, indeed! It's a great way to save a little bit of money along the way.

All of that food looks fantastic! I like the sound of all those different options at Riverside's food court. I will definitely keep that in mind when planning my next trip. Great update!

Thanks! POR has some excellent choices - it's a great place with something for everyone.

Wow, the food looks great at Riverside Food Court. We may have to check it out. The salad and cornbread especially. Really enjoying your reviews!

Thanks for reading! I would highly recommend checking it out. It's an especially great option if you've spent an entire day at a park - POR is only a quick bus ride away! Just hop off at the South Depot.

The kid's turkey meal looks absolutely perfect! It looks like more than enought food. Glad to see it worthy of a Captain Jack rating! I have to remember that PO is only a short boat ride from DTD so pehaps a great option when we are spending a day there.

Ha, definitely! Yes, POR would be a great place to eat after spending some time in DTD. The boat ride is fantastic - so relaxing with some great views along the way.

 

[PrincessBetsy]

Day 3 – What Are You Celebrating?​

My graduation, of course! After dinner, we headed back to our rooms. Upon entering I found this waiting for me:

Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Filling and Dark Chocolate Icing

A fabulous gift from the best parents in the world! My Mom ordered this from Chef Paul at Boatwright’s. I really love the flowers he piped on – much nicer than the traditional roses you find of most cakes. This cake was scrumptious – very moist and incredibly chocolaty. What a great way to celebrate my graduation!

This most definitely receives a…

Coming up: Breakfast on the Islands of Polynesia

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

So sweet of your parents to get you that beautiful cake! It looks delicious!

 

[kelleigh1]

Really pretty cake and it looks choco-licious!

 

[happy2012]

O....my...CAKE!!! I mean YOUR cake! That looks amazing!!!

 

[PrincessBetsy]

So sweet of your parents to get you that beautiful cake! It looks delicious!

Yes, they are the best

Really pretty cake and it looks choco-licious!

Yum... It was so good! I could totally go for a slice right down.

O....my...CAKE!!! I mean YOUR cake! That looks amazing!!!

Haha! That cake was fantastic! I would try to find something to celebrate, so you can have an "excuse" to order one.

 

[PrincessBetsy]

Day 4 – Kona Café​

This was our first time dining at Kona Café. I have wanted to eat here for an incredibly long time, so I was super excited for this breakfast.

We started out with drinks. Andrew stuck with water, while I ordered this:

Lilikoi Juice - passion fruit, orange and guava blend
Yum! I love a mixture of juices, so I really enjoyed this. One problem – the glass was too small! Andrew had a sip, but didn’t care for it. He likes plain old orange juice better.

Everyone else had coffee:

I ordered the Macadamia Pineapple Pancakes - with macadamia nut butter, pineapple sauce and sausage:

Woah! These were amazing… Apparently they are made with heavy cream. Shhh.. don’t tell anyone. The pancakes were incredibly light and the butter was delicious. I could probably just drink that straight. Don’t tell anyone about that either. The sausage was also great; much better than the quick service sausage links.

My Mom had the Blueberry Pancakes. She opted for a side of fruit instead of breakfast meat:

She agreed with me and thought these were some of the best pancakes she has ever had. I guess I should start making pancakes with cream now.

Here are the strawberries. I apologize for the blur mates:

Laura ordered the Fruit Plate - fresh seasonal fruit served in a pineapple with banana nut bread:

What a beautiful platter of fruit! Our server said it was one of the most stunning presentations on property. Laura absolutely adored this healthy, but delicious breakfast.

Andrew ordered the French Toast – with ham:

He loved these! Quite a generous portion too. The only thing he didn’t like was the pineapple, which he bartered with Laura for some grapes. Andrew thought the ham was the best part and declared it “out of this world!” It comes in second on his list of favorites (mac and cheese is first, of course).

My father went with the manly Steak and Eggs - A char-grilled New York Strip steak served with two eggs, home-fries potatoes, and biscuit:

He thought this was very good. The steak was cooked perfectly, as were the eggs. He would definitely order this again.

Our server, Dave, was awesome! He was incredibly attentive and made sure we had a great first experience at Kona. Overall, we thought this was one of the best Table Service breakfasts we have had at Walt Disney World. With that being said, we will definitely be coming again.

And so, Kona Café receives a…

Up Next: We eat an elephant!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

First of all, congrats on your graduation and the College Program! Second of all, I'm loving your reviews. The Earl of Sandwich brownie looks great, as does the LTT burger (and I thought nothing could compare to the colony salad) and the ooey gooey toffee cake. Your homemade version looked as beautiful as the real thing (actually it looked nicer, thanks to the whipped cream and garnish).

Kona Cafe looks awesome, as usual. I've never seen a picture of that fruit plate before - although not as well-known as the more popular Kona breakfast options (Tonga Toast, pineapple-macadamia pancakes, the Samoan, the Big Kahuna, etc) that definitely looks like a hidden gem.

 

[PrincessBetsy]

First of all, congrats on your graduation and the College Program! Second of all, I'm loving your reviews. The Earl of Sandwich brownie looks great, as does the LTT burger (and I thought nothing could compare to the colony salad) and the ooey gooey toffee cake. Your homemade version looked as beautiful as the real thing (actually it looked nicer, thanks to the whipped cream and garnish).

Kona Cafe looks awesome, as usual. I've never seen a picture of that fruit plate before - although not as well-known as the more popular Kona breakfast options (Tonga Toast, pineapple-macadamia pancakes, the Samoan, the Big Kahuna, etc) that definitely looks like a hidden gem.

Thank you so much! I'm glad you decided to join in and are enjoying the reviews

I'm a huge fan of the LTT cheeseburger and would definitely recommend it. Aww, thanks for the ooey gooey toffee cake compliment It was really good and not too tricky to make. I had never seen a picture of the fruit plate before either - I guess everyone would rather have delcious pancakes or french toast. If you ever need a review of a healthy option, just ask Laura

 

[PrincessBetsy]

Day 4 – Animal Kingdom Snack​

After breakfast, Andrew and my Dad went to DTD to go to the LEGO store, while the rest of us headed over to Animal Kingdom. We made it there shortly after opening and went to Festival of the Lion King. Before the show, we talked to Guitar Dan and he sang me an amazing graduation song (uploaded to my youtube channel, if you want to listen). Afterward, we went on Kilimanjaro Safari and headed over to Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery, so we could try one of these little beauties:

White Chocolate Elephant Cupcake - rich chocolate cake filled with chocolate cream, topped with a light buttercream and toasted coconut

What a yummy, delicious cupcake. This was incredibly sweet though – I couldn’t imagine eating a whole one. The elephant was made of white chocolate and completely edible. This isn’t my favorite cupcake at WDW, but still a good one to try. (I think my favorite may be the chocolate peanut butter cupcake from Starring Rolls – I’m a huge chocolate fan if you couldn’t tell )

I would rate this a…

Coming up: Stick to your ribs good

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Love, love, love the juice at Kona! You're right though, they definitely do not give you enough. I saw someone else order the fruit platter when I was at Kona this trip and I was in awe. It really is a stunning presentation and it all looks delicious. I might have to try that next time. It's great that you all got something different at breakfast! Everything looks delish! Great pics!

 

[BlovesC]

Mmmmmmm, I LOVE the white chocolate elephant cupcake! It's one of my very favorites. A few days ago I tried the Cotton Top Tamarin cupcake instead of my beloved...big mistake! It was good, but there's no comparison, the elephant is superior!

Great pictures! And love the review system, as always. Except in my mind, Barbossa means the BEST EVER!

 

[ilovepete]

Just wanted to let you know... If you remember I said next time I was at Downtown Disney I was going to try that Original at Earl of Sandwich because of your review. Well we did a last minute day trip on Saturday, and I had it. Oh man, it was SO good, definitely my new favorite. So THANK YOU so much for the review!

 

[danalee]

Loving your reviews!! I am signing on