gardengirl628
Help, help, a Herrible Hoffalump!
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2009
I think Frontera Cocina has just officially made the list for our April trip. It looks amazing!
I think Frontera Cocina has just officially made the list for our April trip. It looks amazing!
Day 16 – October 1st – Tusker House Breakfast
After a late night at California Grill (Mostly due to the late fireworks) we kind of regretted our choice of an early breakfast at Animal Kingdom.
We were late due to an accident and practically ran through to Tusker House. There was a massive line by the time we rocked up, but all larger tables so we were sat nice and quickly.
Our server got the chef out straight away to walk Peta through the buffet. The characters were in the other half of the restaurant so Trent and I also got up and grabbed plates of food.
We were very excited by the choices here, all the basics if that’s what you like plus a variety of unique dishes. And photo fail….apparently I was so busy enjoying the food that I didn’t get any photos!
The characters here were excellent, and we had quite lengthy interactions:
Our server was also lovely, and kept the POG juice coming, much to Peta’s delight! Here, it is clear that they have a high staff to table ratio. Our server appeared to be managing us and only 3 other (albeit large) tables. She was always right next to us, filling up juice and coffee and we had a lovely conversation with her about her home country of china. She told us she was new and was super excited to be at Disney, it had been a long dream of hers.
And so, the score card:
Food: 4/5 – One of the best buffets, such a great choice and everything fresh and hot
Service: 5/5 – Such a lovely server and so attentive!
Experience: 4/5 – Great characters, but this is held back slightly by how loud and overwhelming the whole space can become.
Day 18 – October 3rd – Be Our Guest Breakfast
I’m not going to lie, we only did this meal for 2 reasons, given all the bad press:
1. Pre-park opening breakfast
2. Trent had never been and was interested in going in the beast’s castle.
I should have skipped it for a further 2 reasons:
1. Park opening times changed, and despite having an 8.30am reservation on a 9am opening, they wouldn’t let us in early!!!!! They made everyone wait in a line that was longer than the rope drop line, and let us in only 2 minutes or so before everyone else. By the time we got in, the park was way busy.
2. There were terrible reviews circulating about the quality of the food
None-the-less……we stuck with it. At least we were seated very quickly as we had pre-chosen our food. It was absolute chaos with the mass of people all let in at once and heading straight for BOG. I was relieved that not many others seemed to have pre-ordered so thankfully our line was super quick. We chose to sit in the west wing and it was super dark, but pretty cool.
It filled up quickly and the line for the drink machine was ridiculous.
We were served quickly:
Pastry Tray - Comes with meal, one per table
I don’t know why, but everything here was cold and rock hard – it must have been in the fridge right up to serving. I get that it is mass poroduced food, but at least take them out and bring them to room service before the land on the table. Chilled, hard pastries are not tasty at all….
For his meal, Trent ordered:
Feast a la Gaston - Scrambled Eggs, Roasted Potatoes, Bacon, and Chicken Sausage served with Fresh Fruit
Trent felt the flavours here were just OK. Sadly, it was cold and that impacted on his enjoyment. It would have been a fairly solid meal if it wasn’t cold and dry.
Peta chose:
Allergy Waffle with fruit
This was a standard allergy waffle and it actually came warm! Phew! It really was the only thing without complaint.
I went with:
Vegetable Quiche - Mushroom, zucchini, bell pepper, onion and Chive Quiche served with Fresh Fruit
This was almost stone cold, and I was so disappointed. All I could really taste was egg, there wasn’t any other flavour and the pastry was a weird chewy texture. At least I ate the fruit……
After breakfast we did show Trent around, and a lovely CM took a few snaps of us in the ballroom:
And so, the score card:
Food: 1/5 - Cold and just not enjoyable at all.
Service: 2/5 – Technically it’s not supposed to be full service though (despite the price!!)
Experience: 2/5 – Loud and Dark…..just doesn’t appeal to us at all. Once you’ve seen it, there isn’t really anything special. We won’t be back.
Day 20 – October 5th – Cinderella’s Royal Table Breakfast
On our last morning, Peta and I have a tradition – CRT breakfast before 3 fastpass rides then heading to the airport. This trip was no exception except that we had an afternoon flight, and enough time to also get lunch after breakfast back at the hotel (lucky given the number of QS credits left at this point). We took some snaps at MK before heading to the castle:
The usual fanfare occurs at breakfast, and we had a photo first:
We were then escorted straight upstairs, and our table was set the minute we sat down with the standard starter”
Pastry Plate - Assorted Breakfast Pastries
Allergy Friendly Pastries
These were tasty, and noticeably fresher than those eaten previously at BOG.
Characters came next and we had several snaps with each:
Then, mains arrived soon after. Trent and I ordered the same thing:
Caramel Apple Stuffed French Toast - Decadent French Toast stuffed with sweet Cream Cheese, baked with Caramel Apples, and drizzled with a Calvados Caramel Sauce
This was very tasty but also VERY sweet. I didn’t enjoy the amount of cinnamon, but the caramel sauce was wonderfully tasty and balanced it nicely. It was a huge serve, and neither of us made it through!
Peta only had one choice:
Healthy Choice - Hard-poached Egg on a bed of Arugula, tossed with Quinoa, Avocado, Roasted Vegetables, and spritzed with Myer Lemon Oil and White Balsamic Vinegar
Sadly Peta was SUPER disappointed in her only option. Let’s be honest – a salad with egg doesn’t scream delicious breakfast. Previously the healthy choice was a great platter with yogurt, oatmeal, fruit and other things on a really cool tray and it was her favourite breakfast on property. It seemed like such a good choice and it is curious that they switched it out for a less conventional option.
She did eat most of it out of hunger, but it wasn’t really breakfast like, it may have been a nice option as a lunch appetiser or something but was overall rather plain.
And so, the score card:
Food: 3/5 – Fine, but just OK, nothing special
Service: 3/5 – It always is a bit rushed here and this morning was no exception
Experience: 4/5 – Still the princesses in the castle, but definitely not the same vibe as lunch or dinner
Fantastic Review!!! Thanks for sharing all the cost comparisons, and I have definitely learned a lot about GF/Vegetarian eating at the World.
I loved your report. We're vegan/vegetarians so I was interested in what Peta was able to order. I know in all our years of going, most restaurants have been very accommodating.
I really enjoyed this whole report. It did make me yearn a bit for the deluxe plan, though. My DH & I did it when it was just the 2 of us, but we went with the standard plan this year with our little guy. We ended up paying OOP for some table service meals and trading in some quick service meals, so maybe the deluxe is for us after all!
I really enjoyed reading this dining report! I am gluten free (although not vegetarian), so it's been neat to see what Peta ordered everywhere. Definitely giving me some great ideas for the next time we plan a "real" trip
Loved the review! Thank you so much for sharing! Just once I think it would be fun to do the Deluxe plan, only so that I can try the Signature restaurants. I know my husband would never go for it.
Great report! I loved your spreadsheets, it has affirmed my belief that DxDDP is the way to go for us--we love sit down meals, lots of variety, and the budgeted expense. Thanks for putting all of this information together!