Just the two of us...no dining plan, no discounts, no allergies...lots of pics! COMPLETE

[tweetylori]

Finally!

 

[tweetylori]

He loved this vanilla goodness! I did manage to sneak a taste and it was very good. It took awhile, but our food finally came out. The Club for Husband and the Brisket Mac n Cheese for me. Husband said his $17 sandwich was "okay". Fries "okay". As for my $22 Mac n Cheese, I would have liked it a lot better at half the price. It also would have been better if it was served hot instead of lukewarm. The Mac part was creamy but really needed the tangy brisket to give it some flavor. The jalapeno slices added a bit of needed texture and heat. Overall it was okay but wayyyyy overpriced.

 

[karen4546]

following along. Happy Belated Birthday. I love your Bow Ring.

That Mac & Cheese doesn't look great for $22. I agree that the $11 price tag would be beter. I love the pulled pork fries at Flame Tree and they are priced right (especially with TIW discount). I think I had a Brisket Mac & Cheese in MK somewhere that was around $8.

We are foodies also and my husband loves bourbon but he will get a Maelstrom in Mexico every single visit. I love the Jenn's tattoo at the Nomad Lounge. If you haven't gone there, you should try it. The fresh churros are sooo good.

 

[tweetylori]

following along. Happy Belated Birthday. I love your Bow Ring.

That Mac & Cheese doesn't look great for $22. I agree that the $11 price tag would be beter. I love the pulled pork fries at Flame Tree and they are priced right (especially with TIW discount). I think I had a Brisket Mac & Cheese in MK somewhere that was around $8.

We are foodies also and my husband loves bourbon but he will get a Maelstrom in Mexico every single visit. I love the Jenn's tattoo at the Nomad Lounge. If you haven't gone there, you should try it. The fresh churros are sooo good.

Thank you! I bet it was the same mac & cheese as the $8 one! Yes, we spent quite some time later in the week at Nomad, and it did include a Jenn's. Haven't tried the Maelstrom or the Churros. Hate that I missed those, because what we DID eat at Nomad's was not good at all.

 

[tweetylori]

So we were finishing up our meals at The Plaza, and our Server completely disappeared. Husband was never offered another milkshake. Meanwhile we can see that we're missing the show. We managed to find a way to pay the check and get out the door just as the finale was happening. And we were right. It would have been a great spot to watch the fireworks from if we could have gotten out in time to see them. Do know that if you think you can experience the show inside the restaurant, I would say definitely not. You really have to be outside. If it hadn't been so cold out, we probably would have been more pushy about getting out, so some of that was our lack of urgency to get start shivering again. (although it wasn't as bad as the day before at Epcot, and I had bought a skull cap and mittens earlier in the day, which helped a lot).

Up next a break from the parks...monorail crawl instead, starting with the BEST meal of the trip!

 

[elaine amj]

I was sure grateful for the bugless glass of water I had for this entree. I'm talking REALLY spicy! The chicken was definitely not white meat. I usually prefer dark meat anyway, but it didn't help that the first bite I took was pure cartilage. And it was right when the Waiter showed up, so I couldn't spit it out. It was just that one piece though, the rest was okay, although some pieces were just a bit rubbery. Personal preference would have been for this to have had veggies in it, but hey, it's probably authentic this way. I was glad we shared it, and surprisingly Husband didn't think it was "that spicy". So maybe it was just me.

Would we eat here again? With all the other options in Epcot? Doubtful. The quality just wasn't there, even for the price level.

Up next, a sweet surprise!

Oh no - I have heard good things about Ninre Dragons lately and have had it on my maybe list.

Thank you! I bet it was the same mac & cheese as the $8 one! Yes, we spent quite some time later in the week at Nomad, and it did include a Jenn's. Haven't tried the Maelstrom or the Churros. Hate that I missed those, because what we DID eat at Nomad's was not good at all.

I have looked at the Plaza's menu but it just wasn't appealing enough for the price.

Can't wait for your Nomad review. Almost had lunch there today but ended up at Satuli Canteen.

 

[loves to dive]

Such a great report. We were there the same week but arrived Monday instead of Sunday. Stayed Monday night at All Star Music then moved over to Dolphin on Tues. We did HS rope drop Boarding Pass silliness on Wens, which I think ended up being the coldest day of the week. We were at Epcot Monday afternoon/evening, MK & Epcot Tues, HS Wed, Epcot again on Thurs, AK and Epcot on Friday (we love Epcot and were trying to get something from every booth) and left Saturday.

 

[tweetylori]

Oh no - I have heard good things about Ninre Dragons lately and have had it on my maybe list.



I have looked at the Plaza's menu but it just wasn't appealing enough for the price.

Can't wait for your Nomad review. Almost had lunch there today but ended up at Satuli Canteen.

Maybe it's wise to keep it on the maybe list? And yes, I agree about the Plaza, especially now that they've taken away the Hot Brown.
Satuli looks really good...sorry we missed that!

 

[tweetylori]

Such a great report. We were there the same week but arrived Monday instead of Sunday. Stayed Monday night at All Star Music then moved over to Dolphin on Tues. We did HS rope drop Boarding Pass silliness on Wens, which I think ended up being the coldest day of the week. We were at Epcot Monday afternoon/evening, MK & Epcot Tues, HS Wed, Epcot again on Thurs, AK and Epcot on Friday (we love Epcot and were trying to get something from every booth) and left Saturday.

Lucky you switching to the Dolphin...what a gorgeous hotel...very Vegas like! We thought Tuesday (my birthday) was the coldest day, but they were all so darn cold,, they ran together. Did you drive or fly Saturday? Just wondering if you had any problems at the airport that day?

 

[tweetylori]

So Thursday arrives already...where DOES time go anyway? We have already been to Disney Springs, had a day at Hollywood Studios, a day at Epcot, and a day at the Magic Kingdom. I have turned 60. And tried very hard to not shiver to death. We had been averaging around 20,000 steps a day and were ready for our non-park day, which was also supposed to be less cold.

We gloriously slept in because our ADR wasn't until 11:30. Anyone who has been following me at this point will not be surprised that I had carefully selected this ADR. (just like all the others). After perusing tons of menus, this bargain loving gal had picked The Grand Floridian Cafe to be the start of our monorail-resort-hopping day.

After taking the bus to Magic Kingdom, and hopping the monorail, we arrived just a few minutes early for our ADR, and were greeted warmly. Told it would be just a moment. And it was, JUST a moment, before we were led to our table. Whoa...what is this? They will let the two of us actually sit at a table for four? First time on this trip! I'm sure it's because they weren't real busy. sigh, this felt like it was going to be good.

Of course, once again, I knew what I was going to order when we made the ADR. I'm happy to report it was very much STILL ON THE MENU.

Let me just say, from beginning to end we LOVED our delightful Server Melissa. What a GEM! I'm telling you, this is the Disney Dining MAGIC we had been waiting for! It started with Coffee for Husband and hot tea for me. She brought me a box and told me to take the tea bags I wanted because "they had plenty". I chose two different ones, putting one in the cup that was brought and the other in the teapot. Perfect!

Next, Melissa brought us warm, perfect biscuits with an orange rind butter. Sigh...off to an amazing start indeed!

 

[tweetylori]

Before long, the skies parted, there was a majestic HUM and the world's most perfect Brunch arrived...I proudly present to you...Benedict HEAVEN!!

 

[tweetylori]

Yes, you are seeing correctly...this is a glorious Eggs Benedict Trio...one with Chorizo and peppers, a traditional one with ham, and the BEST one...LOBSTER. And asparagus. Served with the most perfect accompaniment tomato salad. Melissa had asked if I wanted a different side, but I was so glad I chose to stick with the tomato salad as it had a nice tang and freshness that married so well with the rich benedicts. I wish I could tell you I took a pic of the amazingly perfect egg yolks that were cooked to a velvety rich yellow, but I didn't stop to do so. All I can say is if you are an Eggs Benedict person, this is a MUST. Care to guess what this beauty cost? Had to be more than the brisket mac n cheese from the night before, right? NOPE. Mac n Cheese $22. TRIO of Eggs Benedict that included LOBSTER...$19. STEAL. Glorious STEAL.

sigh...so amazingly good that I almost forgot to tell you what Husband ordered...Steak & Scrambled Eggs for my guy, with some especially yummy Cheesy Hashbrowns:

 

[tweetylori]

He was very happy with his meal as well, and also getting a kick out of how incredibly happy I was to have an experience not just live up to expectations, but exceed it!

As if all that wasn't good enough, Melissa had spotted the birthday button (the first one to do so at a restaurant since Via Napoli two days before). Having polished off our meals, she knew how full we were. She told us she had a cupcake for us and offered to wrap it up to take it with us, but we thought, why not bring it on?

 

[tweetylori]

This was as good as it looks! Husband had to eat most of it, because I was beyond full already. As if things weren't perfect enough, about this time a
Manager came over to check on us. And it really felt like he cared. It didn't feel like a "we're here to encourage you to leave" kind of caring. (they had plenty of room). We expressed our appreciation and complimented the Service, the food and the prices. (Husband's steak breakfast was just $20...still less than the brisket mac n cheese at the plaza the night before).

While we had some other great experiences after this one...this one will forever be one of my all-time favorite Disney dining memories. Up next...the party is just starting!

 

[VicarJT]

We *love* the GF Cafe - eat there at least once every trip. However, we've yet to do brunch there, but looking at your pictures, I will now make sure to do so. This is such a fun trip to follow!

 

[elaine amj]

Wait - are those biscuits a free bread servuce at Gf Cafe? I adore benedicts so I may have to add this to my list this week!

 

[tweetylori]

We *love* the GF Cafe - eat there at least once every trip. However, we've yet to do brunch there, but looking at your pictures, I will now make sure to do so. This is such a fun trip to follow!

Thank you and I can't recommend it enough!

 

[tweetylori]

Wait - are those biscuits a free bread servuce at Gf Cafe? I adore benedicts so I may have to add this to my list this week!

Yes! Free bread service. Highly recommend adding this!

 

[ljcrochet]

That breakfast looks good. I might convince DH we need to try brunch there when we go without the girls over the summer.

 

[tweetylori]

That breakfast looks good. I might convince DH we need to try brunch there when we go without the girls over the summer.

You really should!!