We originally planned this trip as a December trip and then switched it to an August trip about 40 days out, which is a feat when you're DVC! I booked a triple stay originally, and then managed to piece together a trip that just had an arrival day at the Poly and then the rest of the trip at Copper Creek. Of course, then they announced the dates to AP previews for Galaxy's Edge and we added on even more to our trip! Today was the day we switched to the Poly, and we celebrated by going to my husband's favorite restaurant, Kona Cafe, twice. For breakfast I had the
Tonga Toast (Banana-stuffed French Toast rolled in Cinnamon Sugar and served with a Strawberry Compote and your choice of Ham, Spiced Ham, Bacon, or Sausage) as I always do. I love Tonga Toast (pro tip: they'll serve it at lunch if you ask nicely!) and this didn't disappoint. I never finish it though, which my husband enjoys because he loves it too.
My husband ordered the
Macadamia Nut Pancakes (with Macadamia Nut Butter, Pineapple Sauce, and your choice of Ham, Spiced Ham, Bacon, or Sausage). These pancakes are stuffed with more macadamia nuts than you would even expect, especially for the price. He thinks these are amazing, but the portion is huge, which paired with having to eat half of my Tonga Toast means we end up leaving a bunch of food behind here.
After that, we headed over the Magic Kingdom, rode some rides, and saw the Country Bears. I remember this being an especially hot day, so we headed out not long after using our three Fastpasses and it was back to the Kona Cafe for dinner. My husband loves the sushi here, so we almost always come here on our trips. I ordered the
Crispy Cheddar Cheeseburger (Smothered in Crispy Cheddar, Brown Sugar-Black Pepper Bacon, Roasted Tomato, Braised Onions). I had already destroyed it by the time I thought to take a picture, so here's one from Disney Food Blog. This was not good. The burger portion and the bacon were fine, but the crispy cheddar was gross and ruined the whole burger. The fries were also just bad, and seemed like they came out of Cosmic Ray's. Cosmic Ray's is probably better! These were just awful, worse than quick service fries. I was appalled, like how do you mess up french fries? The burger was okay once I removed the crispy cheddar, but I should have gone with my instincts and ordered the steak. I just wasn't that hungry and didn't want to eat a huge steak at the time. I would still go back to Kona Cafe, but I would definitely order something different.
Of course, here is the reason why I will definitely return to Kona Cafe! My husband ordered the
Kona Sampler Large (Tuna Poke, Three (3) pieces of Nigiri, Three (3) pieces of Sashimi, and Five (5) pieces of our California Roll). As usual, he loved it and thinks it's better than California Grill sushi. Questioned on this point while I write this, he says it is definitely better than the sushi on the brunch buffet, but "different" from the sushi at the restaurant since he thinks this is more traditional and CG is more Americanized. Both are good in his book!
We spent the evening swimming and watching the fireworks on the beach. The next day, we got dropped on bags off at the Wilderness Lodge and checked in before heading over to my second most anticipated reservation of the entire trip: California Grill brunch! I snagged this reservation originally for our December trip and was VERY ANNOYED to have to give it up when my husband wanted to switch the trip to August. Luckily, reservation finders came through and I managed to snag a reservation! Unfortunately this was also the day my husband started to feel a cold hit, so it was more subdued excitement. The buffet was full of delicious food, and here is a picture of my plate. The standout here was the guava turnover. I could have eaten seven of them! Of course, I had to save room for the entrees, so I only ate one. My husband, an avowed sushi fan, enjoyed the all you can eat sushi.
Not pictured is the Blueberry-Lemon Drop Martini my husband ordered, which he loved. It tasted like fresh squeezed lemonade and even through his illness he could have easily drank three of them. This was the first day of the dining plan starting, which my husband loves because he feels like he's drinking for free. The math worked out with our dining choices this trip, even with using two credits here! For our entrees, I ordered the
Steak and Eggs (Two Eggs-Any Style, Charred Tomato Barbecue, House-made Hash Brown, Lime Aïoli). These were great! The steak was juicy and tender, and the lime aioli was a nice complement to the steak. I barely touched the eggs, but they were fine. The little hashbrown was also delicious and tasted like a gourmet McDonald's hash brown (HIGH PRAISE).
To share we got the
Pineapple-Coconut Stuffed French Toast (Cream Cheese Filling, Pineapple Compote). This was not bad. It seemed a little bland for what it was, but was pretty good. It just didn't hold a candle to the next entree, the STAR of the meal.
My husband ordered the
Peach Pancakes (Whiskey Marinated, Oat Crumble, Chantilly Cream). These were amazing. They were the best pancakes I've ever eaten in my life. Perfectly fluffy, with the delicious peaches to really take them over the top. I was stuffed, but to this day I regret not ordering a second order of these.
Also of note: the couple next to us seemed to be running some harebrained scheme on the California Grill. They kept ordering more entrees, taking a single bite, asking for it to be boxed up, and then ordering more entrees. This was definitely weird, but the weirdest part was the guy's justification for this while ordering another entree was he "wasn't doing pepper right now," said in a STRONG New York accent. My husband and I contained our laughter at the time, but NOT DOING PEPPA became an in-joke during the whole trip!
We were going to go to Disney Springs for the afternoon, but as we were driving back from California Grill, a small miracle occurred: I got our room ready text! It was only around 12:30, so very early, but it was such a blessing with how sick my husband felt, so we went to the room and he napped while I unpacked. We rested for the rest of the day before finally heading over to Disney Springs for some shopping and a dinner at Blaze Pizza. We have Blaze Pizza at home, but we love it, so it seemed like a great use of quick service credits.
I ordered a pizza with roasted red peppers and pesto, which is delicious and my favorite. I usually add roasted garlic too but my husband forgot. Oh well! Still delicious. I do eventually get better at taking pictures of food before eating, btw.
My husband got a pizza with spicy red sauce, goat cheese, mushrooms, kalamata olives, roasted garlic, artichoke, and spinach. He loved it just as much as he does at home.
For an evening snack, I got something I had heard a lot about here on the Dis, especially from
@ariane37 - a magic bar! Needless to say, it was delicious and lived up to the hype, but very sweet! I couldn't eat two of these back to back for sure.
