the picky kid and his foodie mom (with tiny tummy) ride again... NEW! 3/21 CP PPO, CHH & WCC

[kastoney]

I had no idea you had lived here for a while. We're just around the beltway from Univ of Maryland in VA not too far from George Mason. I used to spend lots of time on Capital Hill when I worked at Pentagon, but thankfully those crazy days are behind me.

Looks like you all had a great time at Crystal Palace. We've never up early enough for a PPO. I think 9:30 may be the best we've ever done Loved teh kiddos plate. That is exactly what Casey's would look like if I ever let her unleash on the buffet!

Glad to see WCC worked out for you all and you got some quiet for your parents. Jason had the same trouble as you when he ate there as the pork was fine, but compared to similar things at a signature here was no comparison. And what was that "salad" that is just odd !

 

[Lisa F]

Just a heads up..if your son wants to go back to WCC and you want to be a little cost effective, he could always order his kid's skillet and you can order a kid's meal and share a little with him to get a taste. Back when we went last year, my friend was really not hungry but had wanted a rib and little piece of chicken. Our server was really cool and recommended just ordering the two kids meals and that she would bring as much as they wanted.

next time we go he will be a Disney adult i wish it was 12, 10 comes too quick!

thanks for the tip, but don't share it on the main dining board. you'll kick off a huge storm!

No one cared about us eating off of his skillet though anywhere they had them because he didn't ask for more and we all ordered our own entrees.

Ok the mobile ordering amazing. I hope you were able to use it because it sounds designed for you and so does then cheeseburger pod. We shared one for research purposes but it wasn’t my favorite but I loved the chicken thighs at Satu’li. I am so glad to see this worked out for you!

yes, we used it a few times! It worked out well. I forgot to mention at one point I decided I really wanted some light lemonade, I was getting sick of water. I ordered it on the app, walked into CHH, picked it up and walked out. It was easier than waiting at a cart!

I’ve had the pork tenderloin at CG a few times and it doesn’t disappoint but gracious the plating is lovely here. You and your little man are simply adorable together and I am so glad your strategy worked out.

So happy someone gets me, lol. Thank you

I don’t mind waste. I did some solo traveling this trip and I can’t finish most snacks either- in fact I found half an elephant ear from DAK tucked in my park bag and forgotten as I put half away when I got it. My son was happy though. He got a Disney surprise.

haha, I luckily found no snacks in any bags when I got home.

I love that hidden Mickey and I seriously love breakfast at GG. It’s quiet and not the hassle of a buffet and you get all the best - Mickey waffles and fluffy Disney eggs. Why are they so much better there? So glad you had fun! It’s funny how a plain tot sounds more like breakfast when you call it a barrel!

everything is better when someone else makes it and cleans up and even better at Disney!

Thank you so, so much for this tip!! I love booking ADRs at resorts that are on my "maybe someday" list - in order to explore and absorb the atmosphere without the rest of my family feeling like we're wasting time. But I generally hate "participation" restaurants, so I haven't done this one yet.

yeah this would have saved me a lot of stress on this ADR! And I've never seen it referenced anywhere! Glad I could help!

Omg
I love anyone who understands and appreciates and finds humor in The Oxford comma!

I don't often use it myself because I'm a lazy typer, lol. But I was kind of ticked the ham wasn't IN the scramble!

I truly saved the best for last to catch up on, and I did catch up! But I'm on my phone which is awful for quotes and replies so I'll be sure to come back for real and participate. In the meantime, holy updates batman! You're pulling a... me with all those rapid fire updates

Couldn't resist saying hi without just a *little* chatter...


You are a wordsmith, Lisa! I snorted, for real.


Again with the jokes killing me. But you know what, that's why we're on the REVIEWS board where most everyone is kind and no one seems too creepy

Weird maybe (I mean, taking photos of our food) but not creepy!

I feel the same way about green beans....especially the frozen ones.

someone gets me, yay. I was like "omg these people are going to think I am so nuts!" Someone else got it too so maybe I'm not crazy!

I am a Tigger fan for life too, but I prefer the 1900 Park Fare breakfast buffet to CP's. We do 1900 PF breakfast every single trip --my family thinks it's for the food too (which is AMAZING, but.......I need my Tigger fix, and Mary Poppins is another of my favorites.....so we will just let them keep thinking it's the food).

We were talking about trying out 1900 PF next time to try something a little different (pooh is my #2. get it? haha) and it would get me my tigger fix AND try something new with new characters!

I had no idea you had lived here for a while. We're just around the beltway from Univ of Maryland in VA not too far from George Mason. I used to spend lots of time on Capital Hill when I worked at Pentagon, but thankfully those crazy days are behind me.

Looks like you all had a great time at Crystal Palace. We've never up early enough for a PPO. I think 9:30 may be the best we've ever done Loved teh kiddos plate. That is exactly what Casey's would look like if I ever let her unleash on the buffet!

Glad to see WCC worked out for you all and you got some quiet for your parents. Jason had the same trouble as you when he ate there as the pork was fine, but compared to similar things at a signature here was no comparison. And what was that "salad" that is just odd !

I worked at a small architecture firm, probably closer to eastern market (we had a line we wouldn't cross for lunch because then you start running into hill people, lol).

Well he wouldn't really eat much else and I don't feel like fighting him on vacation.

Yeah the salad was weird. I was so glad I didn't order it, and my mom didn't much care because she just orders dinner so she can justify dessert. She doesn't eat salad and not sure why she even ordered it. it was this weird unrelated conglomeration of ingredients.

 

[Lisa F]

Day 4: HEA fireworks cruise

So this isn't strictly a food thing, but I figured here is as good a place as any to comment on it. I wanted to do something special with my parents, so we booked a HEA Fireworks cruise. It was really nice, we took a long (I think over an hour) cruise around bay lake and the 7 seas lagoon while the captain guy told us all kinds of disney lore and pointed out all kinds of abandoned stuff all around. My parents and the kid really enjoyed it (so did I) and my niece even skyped in for a while, lol. Then we parked for the fireworks.

This thing comes with snacks (bags of chips, rice krispie treats, and a few other things) and the kid ate two bags of chips and a krispie treat and my mom ate a krispie treat. They told us we could take whatever was less because the guy didn't want to have to put it all away but we were going on the cruise and it would not have gotten eaten. Kid was in heaven being able to indulge in all of the snacks I never let him have at home, lol.

The view of the fireworks is great, and they pipe the music in... but the side where they are allowed to park, the castle is blocked by trees. It's unfortunate that the place where the view is great is the ferry travel lane (I asked). The fireworks of this show are AWESOME all by themselves and it was definitely a better view than at the resorts, much closer. I probably would not do this again but that is due to cost... for the money I prefer illuminations because it brings you IN the park. Of course you can stand right above where they park for free. But it was a great way to end my parents' first night without taxing them too much.

just a few shots for you fireworks fans.

 

[Lisa F]

Day 5: WCC Breakfast

So the day had finally arrived, cruise day! The plan was to have a relaxing breakfast at the resort and get the car at around checkout time to the port (we had a ride from Happy Limo) to arrive a bit after noon after the line to board had cleared. My dad was making noises about wanting room service breakfast on the nice big table, but the kiddo wanted to go to WCC because he had been denied his milkshake the day before and was hoping the machine would be fixed. He can't leg to of stuff like that easily, so we all went downstairs for breakfast. I had booked a 9:30 breakfast but we were all hungry (and ready) much earlier and I was able to change it on the app to 8:45 so we left the room around 8:30.

We sat in the regular dining room this time after assuring poppop that the internet said breakfast was more low key. But just to let you know what kind of a grump he can be, he started getting all huffy when they were singing someone "Happy Birthday." That was fortunately the most rambunctious thing that occurred so there was almost no drama for breakfast. I say almost....

anyway after we were seated, our waiter came and introduced himself and the kid immediately asked if the milkshake machine was fixed... like it was bursting out of him, lol. Our waiter had no idea, he said he had just gotten to work and went off to check, but came back with a caramel milkshake. The kid was so happy, he couldn't help but smile while drinking it!



of course the AYCTE milkshake is something of a racket because he couldn't even finish the first one but we did take the leftovers with us back to the room and sipped it until we left. I had a taste of it and it was very good! I have read they are chemically or artificial tasting and while it didn't taste like pure ice cream with a little milk in a blender, it did not taste like chemicals either. It had a definite nice caramel flavor and was not sickly sweet. I could have had more but I felt weird drinking his AYCTE milk shake. I might have had a few more sips once we got it to go.

My mom got the

Eggs-Any Style
with Western Home Fries, a Cheddar Biscuit, and your choice of Bacon or Sausage

with scrambled eggs. I didn't get a picture of this because she was diagonally across from me, and because my parents stress me out a bit and I was already feeling it... but she got it with bacon and it is basically the same stuff as on the skillet minus the sausage, gravy and waffles and just not AYCTE. As I said, my mom eats just a bit more than I do so she left most of this but she liked it.

My dad and the picky kid both got the:

All-You-Care-To-Enjoy Breakfast Skillet
Scrambled Eggs, Western Home Fries, Bacon, Sausage, Waffles, Buttermilk Biscuits, and Sausage Gravy




So apparently because the kid got an individual skillet for dinner the night before (because he was the only one to order one) my dad assumed they were individual and not family style. Poppop does not carefully read either directions or menus. So when this thing came and it was not what he expected, he had a hard time being a super flexible thinker and nearly made the poor food runner have to change his shorts. The poor guy kept trying to explain it was family style and my dad kept insisting he wanted his own. My mom was scrambling to figure out how to talk him down and the kid says "Poppop, I think if you would psychic it would solve all of your problems because then what you expect will be exactly what happens all the time!"

Thank god for the picky kid because that kind of de-escalated the whole situation. The poor food runner sent the waiter over to deal with the steaming volcano at his table but by the time he got there, my dad had moved on and was eating off the skillet. The guy offered to bring more of whatever he wanted, on his own plate even, but my dad had thankfully let it go.

Both of my parents really enjoyed their breakfast and the kid ate biscuits and gravy, the bacon off the skillet, the bacon off of my mom's meal, a few potatoes and a mickey waffle... he gave the other to Poppop. We did not end up needing any refills. I had one of the sausages because I love Disney sausage. Please don't tell the Disney police.

I had the very much anticipated:

Eggs Benedict
Two-Poached Eggs on a Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuit with Hollandaise Sauce, Canyon-smoked Bacon, and Western Home Fries



Well if you look at this dish, there is nothing resembling bacon on it, so I was kind of disappointed. I don't like canadian bacon either. This was sliced pork loin and it didn't taste all that smokey to me. in fact, it was dry. As I said, I ate the sausage off of the skillet and a strip of my mom's bacon and I did eat one of these eggs. It was ok but not great. Not the best benedict I've ever had. The potatoes were just ok, not crispy enough to be worth the carbs. Some of that might be that I was kind of getting sick of eggs though and if I had the banana bread french toast or the yogurt parfait or steel cut oats, I might have enjoyed breakfast more.. but I am usually pretty full up on willpower in the morning. The yogurt is more carby but I might try that if we end up there again. Or a kid's banana bread french toast, which sounds amazing but like dessert for breakfast. But if I am in maintenance phase I might just go for it. I'm not a huge fan of sweets but I do have a weakness for banana bread, and I do love yogurt parfaits too!

So overall I would say for both meals WCC was decent but not great. I would not make an effort to go here if I wasn't already staying here. They WERE turning people without ADRs away for breakfast though so I recommend making one. I don't have a price, Poppop paid the bill.

Next up: Cruise Food!

 

[Lisa F]

CRUISE Day 1: Embarkation Day!

So thanks to our own private mini van from Happy Limo, and the very nice porters who took good care of us once Poppop pre-tipped him, our arrival at the port was stress free.

Here we are grabbing a quick selfie with the Dream before going through security:



It turns out arriving shortly after noon worked out pretty well... there was a long line to take pictures with cruise director Minnie and the kid was not into that so we just walked on the ship with relatively no people around and it was nice. We were able to grab a picture with Admiral Donald before it got crowded:



Now Poppop doesn't like people. The corollary to that is that he REALLY doesn't like people handling his food... like people mixing it around and touching it with a spoon and putting that spoon back. Also I knew that a lot of people hold their seats in Cabanas until they can get to their room, and it can be crowded with luggage. So we opted for the Embarkation Lunch at Enchanted Garden. This worked out because it was also where we had to go to pick up Meme's wheelchair. Did I mention Meme broke her ankle in Aruba 6 months earlier and it wasn't fully healed and by the time she told me she thought she might need help it was too late to move to a room that could accommodate a scooter? A wheelchair is much better anyway, as the reason my mother is no longer allowed to use the scooters in Costco is epic, and the stuff of sitcoms.

Anyway, we were shown to a table and got the menus. I will warn you, I will no longer show food waste because it was a lot. I rarely get to take a taste of this or that and I enjoyed being able to have the multiple courses. As I started drinking more and getting more comfortable with my server team, I started to order more and more. My mom and I shared a lot of things. I ate a lot of food (for me). It was awesome, truly, and I enjoyed the heck out of it. I was exactly the same weight when I came home as when I left and then within 2 days of being in the bathroom nonstop I was down 3 lbs. This felt awesome, I was so active on vacation and could eat whatever I wanted. For anyone considering the surgery and how it will impact your enjoyment of life... this felt like THIS is the way it's supposed to work. I gained 9 lbs on a 3 night cruise once, eating somewhat normally (not eating ridiculous amounts). It never seemed quite fair how easily it got packed on no matter what so it just felt great to have my body work the way it was supposed to.

I'm sure most of you aren't interested in that, so on to the food.

I tried for my appetizer the Beef Empanada with Red Chimichurri



This was just okay. The filling was savory and beefy but the "chimichurri", which was really onions in some kind of red oil, was not fantastic. This was not worth spending the tummy space on it.

For lunch I had the Grilled Salmon Salad: Grilled Salmon Filet on tossed iceberg, citrus marinated couscous, spinach, artichokes, tomatoes and cucumbers


This was decent and had a cool mediterranean vibe. It wasn't as flavorful as you'd expect though and needed more dressing, some olives and some feta and I'd be happy. Still it was a damn sight better than that plate of relish we got at WCC. The salmon was cooked well, not dry at all but not rare (the way I like it). I ate about half this, trying to be good on the first day (nothing else was super calling to me anyway).

The kid had sliced roasted beef sirloin with a side of kid mac and cheese. The waiter cut up his meat for him. Which I'll admit, I had read happens and was just as weird as I thought it would be. This is really the last pic of the kid's food that I have because it is hard to take pictures of anyone else's food besides yours on a cruise... you're in kind of tight quarters, pushed all the way in and as I said my parents make me anxious so I was too busy drinking to take pictures of anyone else's food.



This was no filet, but the kid enjoyed it.

For dessert he had the Welcome Aboard Sundae: Vanilla bean ice cream with pecan caramel cupcake bites, butterscotch sauce, whipped cream, and upside down chocolate mickey:



besides his complaint that the bottom of the glass was empty, he polished this off and then declared himself glad there wasn't more ice cream because he was stuffed.

I tried the no sugar added offering because I was trying to be good and because it sounded good to me too... Chocolate Marquise Bombe: rich chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce



This was beautiful and delicious. I really enjoyed it. It was not too sweet (being a "not much of a sweets person" I prefer desserts that aren't too sweet), very rich but yet very light in texture mousse with a lovely sour raspberry sauce. I only ate half of this but it was really really good.

I am planning to take the kid on a 7 day cruise in 2 years and honestly, I liked going to enchanted garden for embarkation lunch. The menu isn't super exciting but if I were less concerned with being good I would have gotten the gumbo and the muffaletta sandwich but honestly, I'd be coming back mostly just for this dessert.

Now, I will add my first night rotational dining review here because I didn't take any photos. By now the stress of managing my parents and my child through embarkation, lunch, getting to the stateroom, the lifeboat drill and waiting for dinner to open along with a big crowd and my mother and the wheelchair and my dad giving everyone who got too close the death ray look was getting to me. Our first night was Animator's Palate and that restaurant is VERY VERY VERY loud. there are a lot of hard surfaces. The kid was wiped from our time at Disney, my dad is deaf in one ear anyway so he was sitting there scowling and my mom and I decided to split a bottle of wine. I remember sitting there thinking "Holy cow, I think I made a huge mistake" with this vacation.

Our waiter team presented us with the menus and the kid immediately turned his nose up at the kid's menu, which had nary a steak on it. The waiters were of course totally fine with him ordering off the adult menu and we had reviewed them in advance so we knew what to order.

The kid decided to try a bunch of stuff and didn't like any of it. He got the much internet praised
Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes – Pasta Purses filled with Truffle-scented Cheese and coated with a delicate Champagne Sauce

I told him these were like tortellini, but the earthy (and when I say earthy I mean it, it kind of tasted like dirt to me) flavor was very off putting to him and I was not a fan of the cheese used in these either, I found it very strong. I took a bite but it wasn't worth the tummy space and we sent these back mostly untouched

He also tried the:
Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup – With Bacon Bits and Chives
This was unfortunately a miss as well and sent back pretty much untouched. By now the waiter is kind of like "are you SURE you don't want the kid menu?" but no, the kid did NOT want the kid menu. The kid was starting to get discouraged a bit about "trying new things" and a bit agitated as well, but I promised we'd find something for him to eat.

I had the:
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup – Garnished with Chives and drizzled with Sour Cream
Wolfgang Puck Express was my introduction to butternut squash soup and I have loved it ever since. I make it at home and am pretty picky about it... I don't like it TOO sweet. This was really good, just sweet enough, perfectly creamy. I only ate half saving room for dinner but it was delicious. I will say that in general (except for a few misses) the food on the Disney Dream is far more delicious than mass prepared banquet style food has any right to be!

Then just as I'm sitting there contemplating flagging down the beverage guy for more wine, something magical happened. Crush came on the monitors and Poppop, who was sitting there scowling because he couldn't even hear me across the table started to smile. The kid started to smile and act goofy. Crush got everyone in our section starting a wave. Poppop was laughing at the kid having a good time. And then the entrees came out, and everyone was a bit more relaxed.

I had the:
Ginger-Teriyaki dusted Angus Beef Tenderloin – Served on Wasabi Mashed Potatoes with Bok Choy and a Tamarind Barbecue Reduction
This was DELICIOUS! I asked for it medium rare and it came out a perfect medium rare. The slight bitterness of the bok choy was a perfect counterpoint to the sweet tamarind bbq sauce, the wasabi mashed potatoes just had the barest wasabi flavor but were creamy and light whipped perfection and the true baby carrots were also a bit of sweet crunch on the plate. I ate about half of this, it was awesome and I'd totally order it again.

The kid had the filet cooked medium with sauce and a side of mac and cheese and he LOVED it too. I mean LOVED IT. He knew he liked the tamarind bbq from CA Grill and he gobbled this whole thing up.

I have no idea what my parents had anymore but they liked their food.

For dessert the kid had:
Cookies ‘n Cream Sundae – Cookies & Cream Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce and Chocolate Chip Cookie

Can anyone guess how this went down?

yup, just like you'd imagine.

I didn't order a dessert because I was still trying to exercise restraint but I did try my dad's:
Apple Crumble Rice Pudding – with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

I love rice pudding and so does he, you'll notice this is the second time he ordered it. This was good, it was comfort dessert in a bowl. I had a few bites and it was plenty. I would try something else next time though.

Also I will mention here that after the kid devoured his steak, the serving team started lavishing attention on him. The assistant server gave him a puzzle to solve with the crayons and we sat around the table all trying to figure it out. It started off a little dicey but the meal ended very well and we were all happy and a lot more relaxed.

The kid went to the kid club for a bit and we went to the show and then I got the kid and we went back to the room. The upper bunk was converted for him and although I had some reservations about him sleeping there (a sudden vision of me waking up in the middle of the night to him screaming on the floor after falling out), he did fine. he was SO excited to be up there, he made me take this selfie to post to the internet. So I am doing as he asked and posting this selfie.



our first day was kind of stressful for me, feeling like I had to manage everything and every one... but it ended on a high note and we both got a good night's sleep and had a truly awesome cruise after that.

Next up: Nassau Day

Cabana's breakfast
Flo's Cafe lunch
Enchanted Garden Rotational Dinner

 

[areno79]

The "canadian bacon" on the eggs benedict is just sad. I mean, it's good you got to snatch some off the other plates, but if I ordered that and got it, I'd be disappointed. Your review makes me glad we've decided against WCC.

Also, the fireworks are awesome, but too bad about the tree.

 

[areno79]

G looks so cute and happy on that upper bunk! I'm glad the dinner at AP ended well; thank goodness for Crush!

 

[pepperandchips]

Catching up with my comments as I feel rude enjoying all your reviews and sitting silently by.... prepare for the onslaught!

First came out the water and the bread. I think the bread last time was sourdough rolls and focaccia but this time it was just a boring boule, maybe sourdough but it kind of looked like that bread you buy at the supermarket and bake at home. It was nothing special by itself and the bread was much better last time... but the kid isn't that fussy as long as the crust is chewy and it's some kind of bakery bread and some kind of white bread, and I couldn't eat much so it wasn't a huge deal. BUT they also recently started bringing out a little dish of fire roasted tomato with garlic, basil and olive oil.

No more lavender foccacia?! Say it ain't so that boule does look boring.

OMG, this stuff was AMAZING. I had some on bread with a little butter and the mediocre bread was suddenly the best bread I ever ate.

Okay, I am ever so slightly cheered up, but for real that focaccia was one of my favorite things at WDW. I hope they bring it back.

Here is what it looked like when I had it last in 2014. Yes I'm a weirdo, I still have this picture lying around... and also weird for making such a big deal about the plating. But I just really enjoyed it!

I am weird like this too. I love looking through my old trip photos!

Another thing I noticed post surgery is that I was hungry much more often when I was walking like 8 miles a day... so this meal absolutely did not go to waste, I ended up having two post-park snacks out of it and it was the delicious perfect ending for the tiny tummy.

sounds like the perfect plan! We do stuff like this too.

After the fireworks the kid said to me "mom. I think I'm ready for dessert now." This was code for "I've been watching disney food reviews on youtube and I know you can get 'Ohana bread pudding at the Tambu Lounge!"

I love your kid. I need to go look for food reviews on youtube!!

Am I a talented saucer or what?

It was as good as I remembered. Of course it was. Remember, I'm not really a dessert person and this may have been the only dessert I truly enjoyed on my last trip but here we are 2 for 2 with sweet treats so far. I'm not sure I really need to be finding all of these yummy desserts at WDW!

Is it still $6, because I maintain it is the BEST value at disney at that price! So so so good.

I was laughing so hard I was crying, and the manager thought that I was upset crying and came and put his arm around me and told me it would be ok while a team came in and cleaned up the mess so quickly and without apparently any disturbance to any other tables... like I'm not even sure anyone knew what had happened! So now we use the code "goldfish" for puking.

This made me laugh so hard I nearly cried. I love this story.

 

[pepperandchips]

Well I'm supposed to be unloading and reloading the dishwasher but instead I'm here continuing my dining review. Dishes and Laundry are my life sometimes, and right now I'd rather be at Disney!

Me too! Well, I'm pretending to be working, not pretending to do dishes, but my boss is still here and my brain was fried about an hour ago so here I am pretending I'm at Disney by living vicariously through your DR!

The sticky bun was as eh for me as last time. I guess it's just not my thing.

I am so glad to hear this as I had read so many glowing reviews of this cinnamon bun thing that I was starting to feel like I was missing out on a life changing experience.

The kiddo of course had his 3 basic food groups:

Carbs, chocolate and bacon.

I love this so much! That smile! Those food groups! LOL

The character interaction was EXCELLENT. Both Chip and Dale went completely gaga over his ears, Chip pantomiming all sorts of loving gestures and Dale trying to flick the mini Chip off, lol. Pluto was great too, giving lots of nose bumps and other affectionate gestures. I won't bore you with all of our character photos but I love the look of pure joy on the kid's face in this one.

That is so great. I love when the characters have time to show off their skills. So glad you guys had this experience!

Facebook reminded me 9 years ago TODAY we were eating at the castle with my baby. He fell asleep on me.

oh lord, what would I do without fb???

I'm not crying, YOU'RE crying! That is so sweet.

So one of the nice things about not eating to the point where you're not hungry until 6 hours later is that you can have some snacks. On our last trip we ate 2 huge meals a day and had no snacks. This time we ate usually 2 smaller meals a day and then had snacks and it rocked. We now have a growing snack list for our next trip.

Disney snacks are an attraction in and of themselves. I need to embrace this eating plan too so I can enjoy more snacks!

Anyway we got a mix of cheddar and sour cream and onion and then went inside I guess old innoventions? to sit and catch some A/C and eat our popcorn. Here it is after we ate enough to shake it up and bring some of the sour cream and onion to the top:

HOW DID I NOT KNOW YOU COULD DO THIS?! Admittedly I usually don't "waste" tummy space on popcorn at WDW but this looks so tempting. I love those fake flavored snacks!!

Even though it was several days before F&G was about to start, apparently they do not make the magic happen overnight and there were quite a few topiaries out already. I just LOVE tigger and was able to ask someone to take our picture at the pooh topiaries in the UK:

I love your shirts and your appearance in more photos you are rocking it!

I might have to stop saying I'm not really a dessert person because this thing was... AMAZING! It was small (only about 4" in diameter at most, much much much smaller than the Tamu Tamu ice cream cookie sandwich) and expensive ($4.69, I think only a dollar less than the huge cookie sandwich at Tamu Tamu) but it was nirvana. The cookies were perfect macaron consistency with that crispy top and the chewy inside and the ice cream was SO FUDGY DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM OMG OMG OMG. I love chocolate ice cream but rarely is it as deeply darkly chocolate as this... I love dark chocolate and this was not overly sweet (the cookies were a bit sweeter than the ice cream). This was probably the best snack I have ever had in my life.

OH MY GAWD. I must have one of these. I can't believe I've never experienced this magic!!!

 

[pepperandchips]

I like to book meals at off times because restaurants are less busy, and we had a 4:30 Le Cellier booked. I had timed this perfectly with a 2:45 voices of Liberty, a 3pm showing of the American Adventure and then a leisurely walk back to Canada stopping in the shops to look around (including Japan and all of the pokemon stuff, the kid really enjoyed that I think but luckily didn't ask for anything!) and we got to Le Cellier right at around 4pm.

sounds like an amazing afternoon!

I checked in at the podium and the waitress let me know they were running about 15 minutes behind... from ADR times (!!!) I was thinking holy cow, there is no one here and there is a 45 minute wait?!? But we're on vacation, so I did what any self respecting person on vacation would do... I got myself a cup of ice water settled in on a bench in the lobby and made my kid take a selfie.

Anyway, I pulled out the kid's phone (my old S5, uses wifi only) for him and settled in for a long wait and then our table was called literally 30 seconds later. So I packed everything back up and we went to our table.

I swear, they train these hostesses to act like brats. How can you be behind at dinner opening hour? I mean I know they do lunch but really, it's 4:00...

I have also seen complaints about the wait staff not being "professional" but honestly, our waitress was great. She was attentive without being up my rear and was always there when I needed her and quick to deal with any issues (more on that later), which is a lot more than I can say for our experience at Narcoossees, a "true" signature.

We had great service at Le Cellier too!

We hadn't planned to order appetizers but I noticed there was a $4 kids cheddar soup on the menu, so I asked for that along with our bread. The kid was confused, but I told him "watch and learn."

Yep, gonna figure out Mom is even cooler than those youtube reviewers!

my child was perplexed but I broke off a piece of pretzel bread and dipped it in the soup and ate it and he followed suit. Now we tried this before at biergarten with their pretzel bread and cheese soup... but their cheese soup tasted very strongly of beer and their pretzel bread was not served warm and he was not a fan. But this cheese soup tastes like cheese and bacon ...two things he is VERY VERY ok with... and you couldn't really taste the beer on its own either, and he thought his mom was like, the smartest person on the planet right at this moment.

(Sing-songing to myself "mom is a genius, mom is a genius")

When our steak came back, it was freshly replated with all new sides, though they had clearly cooked our steak more because it was still cut in half. The food runner waited while I cut into it again and confirmed it was right (it was) and our waitress followed up soon after to make sure everything was ok. And it was. Which is so different from the so-called "real" signature at Narcoossees where we couldn't get anyone's attention even though our bill was nearly 3x the size. So I would say that you can't make sweeping characterizations about service and you can get great (or poor) service anywhere and our service here was top notch, and it was ultimately good for the kiddo to know that getting something wrong the first time does not automatically equal disaster.

So glad they recovered this! Your poor little guy seems to have good resilience after several steak near-disasters (or full disasters, in some cases). I am glad this turned out so well!!

 

[momma2ethan]

For lunch I had the Grilled Salmon Salad:

Sorry this was slightly disappointing. I does look like a huge step up from your mom's WCC salmon "salad"

The waiter cut up his meat for him

Well that's just weird. Don't get me wrong, I still cut up E's steaks and most other meats because I'm neurotic about choking hazards, but it just seems so strange to me that it would come out cut up like that. We haven't been on any cruises so I'd never heard they do that. At least now I've been warned LOL

. Chocolate Marquise Bombe:

That looks in-freaking-credible!

It was a big mistake catching up on your report tonight. I'm hungry and could really go for a yummy snack right now. I went scrounging in the kitchen an hour ago and came out empty handed. Everything that sounded good needed to actually be made and I sure wasn't starting a batch of brownies at 9PM

 

[Flossbolna]

Just wanted to say how much I am enjoying your reviews! I love how honest you are about your surgery and how you deal with it! I am normally not someone who likes waste, but I absolutely agree with your attitude of that’s what you can eat and why should you not be allowed to order what you want on vacation. Looking forward to the cruise portion of your report!

 

[quandrea]

Caught up. Somehow I’d missed several updates.

Quick question. You’ve done the dxddp before if I recall? Was your son able to consistently order off the adult menus? Headed down in August with my three and I’d like to do the dxddp for one night, but my strategy only works if my two Disney kids can order off the adult menus. Thanks.

 

[ariane37]

I have some major catching up to do here!

I nearly died when I saw the photopass photo, as the exposure on it made figment look like a demon from hell rising up to eat us and I look like I peed my pants.

Spot on but a great picture!

Right about here is where the oxford comma would come in handy, because this was NOT a "Ham and Vegetable Scramble" but rather "Ham, and Vegetable Scramble." Seriously, they are like two different things!

No it is not! Very strange and disappointing to not get what you think you're getting. I would have much preferred my ham in my scramble.......

where we rode pirates and said goodbye to the classic redhead scene (it was 2 days before they closed it for renovation).

Saw the new scene last month and really not a fan. I admit it wasn't as bad the second time through but it doesn't fit the way it should.

Now no one hate me, but I am not a fan of the dole whip

Right there with you! I guess I can try the swirl and I do like pineapple, but I've never fallen in love with Dole Whip the way others have.

what happens when you keep backup magicbands in your backpack

I have yet to see our names up there on IASW; maybe I need to carry extra MB's!

explained that we could explore the castle if we wanted and that we'd be seated in the west wing.

The West Wing is my favorite room, even though it's dark. I know lots of people don't like it for that reason but I don't mind, I think it's cozy. Glad you liked it in there.

But this was for sure the small end of the tenderloin cut into small slices. It cut easily with a butter knife and the kid was once again in HEAVEN. I didn't take a bite but it was cooked perfectly, a true medium (a bit more done than the other "medium" steaks he'd had but I'm guessing because they were thinner).

Also glad your son liked the kids steak. Chris loves the steak there but only ordered it from the kids menu once - the first time we went, about a week after they opened in 2014. And it was like, 95% grizzle I had the adult steak that time and ended up giving him half of mine, and from our next visit on he's always ordered the adult steak. Hopefully they learned and have been serving a decent kids version for a long, long time now.

Marseilles-style Mussels
Steamed in a Smoked Tomato and Saffron Broth served with a Garlic Crostini

And the mussels had been Ricky's favorite dish there form day 1. In fact on our visit in 2015 he had mussels in 5 restaurants and put the BOG mussels in the #2 spot. However they were in a white wine sauce then and when he tried the current version last year he wasn't a fan.

Anyway I brought it upstairs and we sat down and ate and were probably done before we would have even ordered if we were in that huge line. It can't stay like this forever but I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can!

We did mobile ordering twice on our spring break trip last month - LOVE IT! Total lifesaver, especially during super busy times!

As we were walking out my dad said to me "WOW good call on that other room!!" as people ran by whooping and carrying ketchup. I had explained earlier what they do there with the ketchup and the gallon sized sodas etc. and he was super relieved we sat in the library. But not as relieved as I was!

LOL, great looking room and it's great they have it. We've eaten dinner there once, lunch once, and did breakfast last month. Breakfast was definitely tamer as you said but we had the rowdiest waitress in the place so we still had some antics. We've loved every meal though; the kids got the skillet at lunch and then they got the breakfast skillet last month. Luckily they did fine sharing for once!

he fireworks of this show are AWESOME all by themselves and it was definitely a better view than at the resorts, much closer. I probably would not do this again

Thank you for sharing the pictures! I agree, the HEA fireworks are fantastic by themselves; in fact I'm not a fan of projections. We did the Pirates and Pals cruise last year and that was also a great view of the fireworks but not so much the projections which was fine with me.

Now Poppop doesn't like people.

I know people like this lol

Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup – With Bacon Bits and Chives

I'm enjoying your cruise photo pics even if you didn't get a chance to photograph everything. I have so many cruise clients but I don't see pictures of their food so it's interesting seeing what some of their choices are! This soup sounds like something I would love

 

[babs33]

I would DEFINITELY do this again. except I won't be able to with the upcoming changes unless I pay for a lot of food I can't eat and ditto for the kid who will be a Disney adult. oh well Glad I got to try it once and we are thinking about doing breakfast there and splitting one adult entree... with the pastries it won't be bad and I'd pay the $25 for the both of us... kid can have pastries and bacon and some potatoes and the drink and I can have the eggs and some sausage and I just get the feeling breakfast might be more low key than lunch is, especially when it's PPO.

coming up next: HEA dessert party with plaza viewing.

First of all, I'm loving your dining reviews!

I was curious what you meant here about wanting to do the kids meals again but not being able to with upcoming changes. What's changing? (I've never had any form of the dining plan at WDW so apologies in advance if this is a glaring and obvious piece of news in the dining plan community.) Reason I ask if because although I don't use the dining plan, I do love to order off the kid's menu for portion control purposes. I always thought this was widely accepted and a non-issue. Is that changing?

Excited to continue reading your great recaps!

 

[momma2ethan]

First of all, I'm loving your dining reviews!

I was curious what you meant here about wanting to do the kids meals again but not being able to with upcoming changes. What's changing? (I've never had any form of the dining plan at WDW so apologies in advance if this is a glaring and obvious piece of news in the dining plan community.) Reason I ask if because although I don't use the dining plan, I do love to order off the kid's menu for portion control purposes. I always thought this was widely accepted and a non-issue. Is that changing?

Excited to continue reading your great recaps!

BOG is transitioning to a Signature dinner. New, prix-fixe menu, 2 dining credits on DDP etc. This change will go into effect in late July.

 

[babs33]

BOG is transitioning to a Signature dinner. New, prix-fixe menu, 2 dining credits on DDP etc. This change will go into effect in late July.

OH! I actually heard that. I was thinking she meant a change with adults ordering kid's meals or something more general, not specifically BOG. Thanks for the explanation!

 

[AmyAnne]

Right about here is where the oxford comma would come in handy,

Haha I just had a long discussion with my daughter about the oxford comma a few weeks ago.

I'm studying up to make our ADRs and your reviews are really helpful -- we generally eat low carb too, and it's hard to know the right balance of healthy vs. indulge because on vacation.

 

[Sailormoon2]

been a great decision for me as I've lost 110 lbs

Congratulations!!!

I regularly congratulate my child for stopping when he is full and not eating mindlessly just because it's there. I think it's a good habit to have

This is such a balanced mindset!!

you can get 'Ohana bread pudding at the Tambu Lounge!"

So, I was totally looking forward to doing this on our August trip but I just found out Tambu will be closed for refurbishment

Garden Grill was a huge hit for us, the food was great (if basic) and it was so low key with the restaurant half empty, awesome character interaction. Enthusiastic 2 thumbs up and not sure I could do Epcot any other way now

I keep reading such good reviews, and I personally LOVE anything Cinnamon bun!! But being a very tiny eater by nature-but still loving the variety of a buffet-I still can't bring myself to pull the trigger on this one.

you can't make sweeping characterizations about service and you can get great (or poor) service anywhere

This is so, so true, and why as much as I enjoy Dinning Reports you really have to take them with a grain of salt, as everyone has different expectations and palettes.

Right about here is where the oxford comma would come in handy, because this was NOT a "Ham and Vegetable Scramble" but rather "Ham, and Vegetable Scramble." Seriously, they are like two different things!

OMG!!! I teach English and am pretty obsessed with the Oxford comma-so this would have totally bothered me too. Those are most definitely NOT the same thing!

I loved this one that the guy took JUST as the welcome show fireworks were going off! Great timing!

Beautiful!

dole whip SWIRL,

LOVE!! I once went to all the way to MK-from YC just for a dole whip swirl. LOL!

we are thinking about doing breakfast there and splitting one adult entree... with the pastries it won't be bad

Yep, this is what DH and I do all the time, again because I have a tiny appetite but LOVE ALL THE FOOD! We usually end up bringing a baggie to take the pastries with us too!

Great trip report-thanks for sharing your adventures

 

[BabyPiglet]

Love your reviews!