Boma~'Ohana~Brown Derby~Chef Mickey's~Mastu No Ma~1900PF~Kona~Coral Reef + QS

[Wendi2000]

I've got lots of reviews for you. My plan was to photograph everything, but I didn't even think about it once we were in WDW, sorry folks!!!

Cast: Wendi (36) ~ Sally (57) ~ Max (turned 5 on October 8th)
September 30 - October 9
We ate all over the world, you will find reviews for Table Service, Quick Service and even a few snacks here - a few are from Epcot's Food & Wine Festival too.

Day One – Saturday, September 30th

We arrived at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge around 7pm and checked in, went to our room and dropped what we had with us. We decided not to go to the parks tonight, we just needed to relax and decompress before starting our marathon Disney adventure.

We had dinner at Boma. This is the one place that my mom insisted we go back to after our first trip last year. I agreed! We had an 8:30 ADR and arrived early. We were seated within 5 minutes. Our server was Deborah. She was a little hard to find and my son all of a sudden didn’t feel good so we really wanted to get out of there even though my mom and I hadn’t eaten much yet. When Deborah came around, she noticed that Max was lying down and his plate was pretty full. She mentioned that he didn’t really eat much and I told her that he wasn’t feeling well. She said that she wouldn’t charge us for his meal, just the two adults. This was really nice of her, and we appreciated her concern for Max and her decision to not charge him. He ended up feeling a bit better after a little while, but I still never was able to get the foods I really wanted to try because I thought we wouldn’t be able to stay there long. I was really disappointed because I didn’t have the Boma experience that I had been longing for!!! I honestly don’t even remember what I ate other than the nut-crusted salmon, fufu, some macaroni and cheese, and a few desserts like zebra domes, and a cassava custard square type thing that I loved.

$64.72 (two adults only)

 

[Wendi2000]

Day Two – Sunday, October 1st

We got up early and headed to the Animal Kingdom this morning. We ended up being too early! I didn’t realize how quickly we had gotten ready that morning and I think my mom wanted to kill me when we realized that we were at the park about 45 minutes before opening. Oh well, we had a nice time relaxing on a bench and playing with Wes Palm before the Animal Kingdom opened.

We went on the Kilimanjaro Safari and then hopped over to breakfast at Tusker House. Oh, I have to mention that I made a scatterbrained error last night and went to the wrong room after we got back from dinner… I ended up at the registration desk telling the CM that our keys weren’t working on our door, so she cut new keys for us and walked us back to the room to make sure that we got in – yep, turns out I was trying the wrong room!!! Thank goodness no one was in there scared out of their minds that someone was trying to get into their room! So, anyhow, when I gave the Tusker House CM my card to scan for the dining plan, our dining plan wasn’t set up on the new cards… ugghhh. She called a manager over and he overrode the transaction and gave us our two meals on Disney. My mom and I each had the Breakfast Platter – Scrambled eggs, biscuit, breakfast potatoes, and bacon. We both ordered Coffees for our beverages. Max was asleep in his stroller at this time; he fell asleep on the walk over to the restaurant after our safari ride. We are from California, so we would’ve gotten up around 3:30am our time. He finally woke up at the end of breakfast and ate a piece of bacon and a little bit of biscuit with butter and honey, he refused to eat anything else.

$15.39 (not taken off our QS credits)

I don’t remember having lunch this day; I know I had a delicious Raspberry Iced Tea from the Anandapur Tea Company. Max must have had a snack, but I don’t remember…

(Somewhere around $3 – they don’t accept the meal plan here)

Dinner was at 'Ohana tonight. We had a 7:30 ADR and were about 10 minutes late. We were seated within 5-10 minutes. We had dined at ‘Ohana on our last trip, and while we weren’t entirely thrilled with our meal last year, I still chose to go again because I knew that my son would have fun with the kid’s activities that they have. As soon as we were seated, the host asked for all of the kids to come up for a musical parade through the restaurant. Max ran straight up there and enjoyed the fun. At the end of the parade it took him a while to get back to the table, I thought he must’ve joined some other family, but finally he came walking back around and found us. He ate the entire bowl of chicken wings!!! I was afraid he’d have a stomach ache after his experience at Boma the night before. He just kept going though. The salad was fantastic, but could’ve used more dressing – that was the highlight last year and this year there was almost no dressing to taste – maybe I should’ve gone farther to the bottom of the bowl! The shrimp were the best! I just wish we didn’t have to peel them! Max ate a couple of them, my mom ate a couple and I ate the rest! The wonton crisps were OK, but nothing special – I think we enjoyed them more last year. I loved the veggies, and liked the potatoes. I am not a meat eater, but I decided to try them this year. The pork was very, very good – it was my favorite. The turkey was pretty good, but a bit dry – normal for turkey though. The sausage was actually not bad – cooked perfectly, moist and flavorful. I didn’t try the beef. Ahhh… the moment we’d been waiting for… dessert! We just can’t get enough of this dessert. It’s a good thing we were so stuffed by the end of the meal that we didn’t have much room for it because we probably would’ve ordered more if we could’ve figured out a way to stuff it into ourselves! Oh, our server was Cousin Bernie – she was great. She let us switch from sodas to coffees when it was time for dessert too.

$79.64 (2 adults, 1 child)

 

[Wendi2000]

Day Three – Monday, October 2nd

Today we hit Disney-MGM Studios. I’m not sure if we had breakfast first or not. I don’t think we did, but we may have had a donut in the room before leaving – I do know I got two 8-packs of donuts in the Zawadi Marketplace on snack credits during the trip. We had lunch at the Studio Catering Co. Flatbread Grill. Max once again said he wasn’t hungry, but I knew better! I knew he’d eat the BBQ pork sandwich. My mom had the Greek Salad, Chocolate Cake, and Bottled Water – she loved it. Max and I shared a kids meal and an adult meal – BBQ Pork Sandwich (came with chips which we ate later), Cheesecake, Coke and Kid’s Chicken Wrap – with double grapes for the sides, Jell-O (also saved for later but I don’t know whatever happened to it!), and Bottled Water. The pork sandwich was huge and overloaded with BBQ Pork – we ate most of the meat with a fork and then I was able to get a reasonable sized half of the sandwich for Max to eat. The cheesecake was really good. The kid’s chicken wrap was very dry, but had a nice flavor, it was grilled chicken, lettuce, and a cream cheese spread. I had to pick up a packet of mayonnaise at the condiment bar to add to it to make it edible though.

$30.69 (2 Adults, 1 Child)

We had an early dinner at The Hollywood Brown Derby. I was really looking forward to this meal, and I was absolutely thrilled with the food and the service. Our server was Zuleica – she was absolutely wonderful, really top-notch service! Both the hostess and the waitress made sure that we understood the dining plan and that we would be using two credits dining here. We planned on sharing our meals with Max – he is a major salmon-hound, so we knew it would be best to share our salmon with him rather than waste 2 credits for a kid’s meal here. I had the Sake Laced Crab Cake with Nori Crust, Miso Aioli, and Cucumber Watermelon Slaw for my appetizer. Words cannot express how good this was. All of the flavors worked perfectly with one another, very complimentary with none of the flavors overpowering the others – it was heavenly! Mom had the Seared Sea Scallop with Barbecued Pork Rib Belly and Corn Relish – she loved it – Max ate the meat and she ate the scallop. For our entrees, mom and I both ordered the Grilled Atlantic Salmon on Creamy Polenta, Gorgonzola, Oven Dried Tomatoes, Baby Arugula and Balsamic Butter Sauce. OMG, this was amazing!!! Again, a wonderful blending of flavors. My first couple of bites of the polenta were a bit too rich with the gorgonzola, but I think I just had an area that was heavy on the gorgonzola because the rest of it was not over-the-top rich. It was just perfect. My mom and I agreed that it was really divine. My mom has trouble swallowing because she had massive amounts of radiation due to cancer in her nasopharynx, so her salivary glands don’t work anymore. She needs a lot of liquid and soft foods to get other foods down. Zuleica brought her another plate of polenta to enable her to finish her salmon with it. For dessert I had the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Praline Cheesecake – it was just OK, it just didn’t taste very fresh to me, almost like it had been frozen and thawed. It was a little on the dry side as well. Mom had the Grapefruit Cake and thought it was just OK as well, it really did taste like grapefruit, the frosting was delicious too, Max ate a bunch of that! This meal was just outstanding – definitely the most attentive service of our trip – our server checked on us often and was beyond helpful, really delightful.

$106.08 (2 Adults – 2 TS credits each)

 

[Wendi2000]

Day Four – Tuesday, October 3rd

We had a late breakfast at Chef Mickey’s today. I wasn’t sure about this reservation at first because Max has never been a fan of the fuzzy characters; he enjoys face characters, but has always been really shy and nervous around the fuzzies. Anyway, I decided to go ahead and try Chef Mickey’s again anyway. What a treat! This visit was so much different from last year. First of all, Max had decided two days before to buy an autograph book – I was actually thinking of returning it because I didn’t think he’d actually use it or really wanted it. Well, I had it in my bag this morning and as soon as Max saw Goofy in the lobby, he asked if I had the book! He was really excited about visiting with Goofy and getting his autograph. We were visited at our table by Pluto, Chip, Dale, Minnie and Mickey this morning. Max was beaming, and at one point looked at me with a huge smile and said, “Mommy, I am so happy that I like the characters now!!!” He was really proud of himself. Made me proud too. What a magical morning for us. The food was better than expected too, I remember thinking it was pretty mediocre last year, but this year it was very good, everything was fresh and we all ate a lot.

$60.97 (2 Adults, 1 Child)

We went back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge fairly early for a break tonight and had dinner at The Mara. I had the Fried Shrimp, Cheesecake, and a PowerAde (to take to the parks tomorrow – I bought the refillable mug, so used it while eating at Mara and always got bottled drinks for later with my meals). The Shrimp was really good (their Cocktail Sauce is delicious and spicy, and even better was the Honey Dijon dressing for dipping) and there were tons of them on my plate, the fries were not very hot, and the Cole Slaw was very good. Max had a Cheese Pizza, Carrot Cake, and Lemonade. He devoured his pizza – must’ve been pretty good! Ate probably half of his cake (and took the rest to the fridge for later, he worked on it a few more times until it was gone), and he saved his lemonade for later too. Mom had the Soup and Tossed Salad Combo. Her soup was Chicken Corn Chowder, which was fabulous. They ask you what ingredients you want in your salad and toss it in a big bowl and then serve it for you – she loved it. I’m not sure what she got for her drink, for dessert she had the Yogurt with Granola and she didn’t like it – the yogurt was a little strange tasting. We had separate checkouts, so I only have the total for Max and me on our receipt (I ordered him an adult meal if you didn’t already notice that).

$28.61 (2 Adults)

 

[Wendi2000]

Day 5 – Wednesday, October 4th

Breakfast was at Boma today, we LOVE this breakfast!!! Mom and I ordered a Press Pot of Kenyan Coffee to share (included on the dining plan now). We all had the Frunch, of course! I ordered Eggs Over-Medium from the egg counter and they were perfect, however, last year you also ordered toast at the egg counter, this year when I asked for my eggs and rye toast, they told me that the toast was do-it-yourself at the end of the buffet. No problem… but then I found only white or wheat toast and toasters that you couldn’t override to pop up the toast when you wanted it, so it was a bit difficult to get the toast the way you really wanted it – which was evident by a few stray pieces of toast that were left behind by other guests. Not a major issue, but I like the old way much better and would’ve liked more bread choices. All of the foods here were excellent and we enjoyed our breakfast very much.

Max was hungry for lunch, but mom and I weren’t. We were in the Land Building at Epcot, so we took him to Sunshine Seasons for some grub – we figured we could all share one meal since we weren’t too hungry yet. Max of course wanted the Grilled Salmon with Mashed Potatoes and Kalamata Olive Pesto, he chose a Cinnamon Roll for his dessert and a Large Chocolate Milk for his drink. We all really loved this food, the salmon was very good, the Kalamata sauce was tasty and the mashed potatoes truly hit the spot! Great choice, Max!

$14.28 (1 Adult QS Credit)

Dinner tonight was at Tempura Kiku. I was really looking forward to this meal so much. When we arrived, we were informed that it was the Matsu No Ma Lounge that was now on the dining plan instead of Tempura Kiku – the menu is the same as the Tempura Kiku menu on AllEars. This restaurant is very small and wasn’t very special. Our service was pretty bad here. We were surprised at how bad it was. First of all, we were asked soooo many times if we were on the dining plan and we were told what items we could order from the menu on the dining plan – there are limitations here, but nothing major. Our waitress insisted on seeing our dining plan cards before we ordered, so I gave her mine – she took it with her and I was hoping to get it back at the end of the meal!!! We never did get a receipt with amounts listed on it at the end of the meal, just the card back and the credits deducted. I ordered the Sashimi and Tempura Dinner – I asked for the Miso Soup as my appetizer, but our server pointed out that this meal came with a soup as the appetizer – she offered to give me the Miso soup as a substitute for the other soup offering though – I don’t remember what kind of soup came with the meal automatically, I had a Coke to drink – I have to have Coca-Cola with Japanese food! My food was pretty good, definitely not the best tempura I’ve ever had, the sashimi was good, nothing special, and the soup was the same as always. My mom ordered the Matsu Tempura Entrée (Scallops, Shrimp, Lobster, Fish, and Veggies), and the Kaiso Seaweed Salad for her appetizer and Milk to drink. She found the tempura batter to not be very good (she took most of it off and ate the insides only), her seaweed salad was too spicy for her (but was exactly the same as any other seaweed salad I’ve ever had) and her milk didn’t taste right so she sent it back and had tea instead. Max had the kid’s Shichi-Go-San (Tempura Shrimp and Veggies), he also ordered an Iced Green Tea for his beverage – yeah, I know, he’s not a normal 4 year old!!! He ate most of his food but left a couple of veggies behind. We all got steamed rice and that was of course perfect! After we’d been sitting for a LONG TIME after finishing our meals (we got there before 7pm and had already sat through Illuminations!) our waitress finally came over and rudely asked if we wanted dessert. Um, yes… we do! I ordered the Green Tea Ice Cream, my mom had Chocolate Ice Cream, and Max had a Cookie that came in a cellophane package – oh and it was full of transfats… really nice offering to the kids! He really did enjoy that cookie though – it didn’t look very appealing to me. Oh, I forgot to mention that it took a very long time to get our meals here too. Service was slow and the servers were not nice at all. This was our most unpleasant dining experience of the trip.

$ No Idea!!! (2 Adult, 1 Child TS Credits)

 

[Wendi2000]

Day Six – Thursday, October 5th

We started out the day with breakfast at The Mara. My mom and Max split the Breakfast Platter (Scrambled Eggs, Biscuit, Breakfast Potatoes, and Bacon), and I had the Breakfast Wrap with Bacon. We both got Bottled Waters for later and I had Coffee in my refillable mug. Breakfast isn’t that great here, but it was comparable to the rest of the counter service breakfasts.

$16.34 (2 Adult QS Credits)

We took an afternoon break today and while my mom and Max napped, I went down to the Zawadi Marketplace – got donuts, and The Mara. They have a very nice Cheese Plate, so I turned that into a meal and added a Bowl of Mixed Fruit and a PowerAde. I brought the cheese and fruit back to the room in time for an afternoon snack and we ate while observing animals from our balcony.

Tonight we had an early dinner at Cinderella’s Gala Feast at 1900 Park Fare. This meal was really delightful. The food was far above par for a typical buffet restaurant, we were all very impressed with the wonderful offerings here. We were seated in a booth against the wall, but the tables were so close together that it was quite difficult maneuvering to get in and out of my seat – this is my only complaint about this restaurant. Our server, Melissa was very good, she brought us Ginger Ales and Milk and told us to hit the buffet as much as we liked. I started with Salads and Shrimp, and got Max a plate of food and some Strawberry Soup. I went back for Strawberry Soup for myself, plus my next plate of delicacies. I don’t remember everything, but I know I had Mashed Potatoes, Salmon with Dill Cream Sauce (so good!), a Veggie Egg Roll, Macaroni and Cheese, lots of yummy Veggies, and very, very good Pasta with Asparagus and Shrimp in a cream sauce. Max had some plain noodles with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, Macaroni and Cheese, and Cheese Pizza. I tried the Apple Cobbler and Bread Pudding with a lovely Vanilla Cream Sauce on top – really good. I never did make it back to see what other desserts were there. Melissa brought us coffee to go with our desserts too.

$89.60 (2 Adults, 1 Child TS Credit)

 

[Wendi2000]

Day Seven – Friday, October 6th

We skipped breakfast today and headed to the Magic Kingdom. By 11:00 we were pretty hungry, so we decided to have lunch at Columbia Harbour House. My mom ordered the Garden Galley Salad, Apple Crisp, and Bottled Water – she loved the salad but wished she had just told them to hold the chicken. I had the ½ Sandwich and Soup Combo with the Clam Chowder, and the Anchors Away (Tuna) Sandwich – I ordered it with untoasted bread – I can’t stand eating toasted sandwiches, they tear up my mouth, the Apple Crisp, and a Large Coke. The clam chowder was sooooo good, much better than I’d expected, and the sandwich was perfect. My first bite of the Apple Crisp was strange, but it grew on me and I really liked it by the end! Max had the kid’s Macaroni and Cheese, French Fries and Grapes for his sides, Jell-O, and Apple Juice. He liked everything, and I stole a couple of his fries.

$23.18 (2 Adults, 1 Child QS Credit)

Dinner tonight was at The Mara again. I couldn’t pass up another plate of Fried Shrimp, but asked if I could substitute a salad or soup for the fries this time. I was told it was no problem to pick something else for my side; I had the Flourless Brownie for dessert and an Apple Cranberry Juice to drink. The Shrimp was just as good and plentiful as before, the flourless brownie was also tasteless and dry, the juice was great. Max had a Cheeseburger, a HUGE Chocolate Chip Cookie that he didn’t share even one little bite with us from, and an Apple Juice. He ate almost all of his burger, none of his fries, his whole cookie, and he saved his juice for later. My mom had a separate receipt, so I’m not sure what she got other than the Fried Shrimp, Chicken Corn Chowder (instead of fries), and probably a Cheesecake and a Bottled Water. Max’s meal was an adult meal again.

$26.25 (2 Adults – don’t have my mom’s receipt)

 

[Wendi2000]

Day Eight – Saturday, October 7th

Today was a mad dash to get Max to his Pirate Adventure Cruise at the Grand Floridian in the morning by 9:15. We got up and left my mom asleep in the room. Took the bus to the Magic Kingdom and the Monorail to the Grand Floridian – we ended up being very early – the first ones there. I asked Max if he wanted anything to eat since we had time to grab some breakfast, but he didn’t want anything. We made sure to hit the bathroom, and walked around a bit before going back out to the Marina to wait. Soon another family came, and then a few more, finally there were tons of little pirates waiting to swab the deck of that pirate ship and they set sail for the open sea. Max had lunch on his cruise – a PB&J, Chips, who knows what else – it was included with the excursion, which was $30.01 total – well worth it! As soon as their ship pulled away from the deck I made a mad dash for the Monorail to get back to the Magic Kingdom for two solo rides – first up was Peter Pan’s Flight, then Splash Mountain. I got SOAKED… time to go back to pick up my little pirate, so I was off to the GF again – this time by boat. Again, I was stressed that I’d be late to arrive, but was quite early. I went into the counter service restaurant at the Grand Floridian but nothing appealed to me at all, so I went out to the marina to wait. We took the Monorail back to the Magic Kingdom and I decided to grab some lunch at Pecos Bill’s. I was looking forward to the toppings bar and some nice warm cheese sauce to dip my fries into. I ordered the BBQ Pork Sandwich w/Fries and Beans, Peanut Butter Brownie, and a Large Coke. On to the toppings bar!!! Sautéed Mushrooms – yes, Grilled Onions – yes, Pickles, Lettuce, Tomato – yes, yes, yes. Cheese Sauce – NOOOO, it’s not here!!! How disappointing… I based a lot of my choice of eating here on that sauce. Oh well, I found a table with one stool, and then tracked down another stool so Max could sit too. The sandwich was OK – about the same as the one at Flatbread Grill, but the toppings made it better (after pulling out about ¾ of the meat first), the fries were the usual tepid Disney fries, the beans were awful – very sweet and just not good, the PB Brownie was good, and the Coke hit the spot.

Another dinner I was really looking forward to: Kona Café tonight!!! We arrived just after the host turned a couple of groups away; he seemed so relieved when I told him we had ADRs!!! Our server was Debbie and she was great. She told us that we could order smoothies for our drinks on the dining plan, so my mom and Max each ordered Strawberry Banana Smoothies; I needed some caffeine so I had a Coke. For appetizers I had the Pan-Seared Lump Crab Cakes with Asian Tartar and Pineapple Relish this is served with a pile of field greens in a light Asian dressing with slivers of fresh ginger – I liked all but the ginger – I really don’t like ginger at all, it makes me feel like I’m eating pine sol. The crab cakes were so delicious, almost as good as at the Hollywood Brown Derby – it was the accompaniments that made the real difference though. Mom had the Kona Chowder and she loved it. Max had the Chicken Noodle Soup and really enjoyed it, it was very good, definitely a homemade soup with big bouncy noodles, huge chunks of chicken, celery and carrots. For my entrée I wasn’t sure if I wanted the Macadamia Mahi Mahi served with Mushroom Risotto, sautéed Bok Choy, Lime Beurre Blanc and Crispy Fried Onions or the Shrimp and Scallops. Debbie highly recommended the Mahi Mahi right off the bat, so I heeded her advice. It was absolutely delicious, I never expected it to be THAT good, wow! Mom had the Char Crusted Medallions of Filet Mignon with Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes, Asparagus and 5-Spice Demi Glace. She said it was truly out of this world, she could cut the meat with her fork and the mashed potatoes were fantastic. Max ordered the kid’s Pasta with Meatball and Marinara Sauce, he loves meatballs! This was a nice bowl of fusilli pasta, some marinara on top and one medium sized meatball. He really enjoyed it; he ate some of my mom’s steak and my fish too. For dessert there were just too many choices, I wanted several of them but finally settled for the Kilauea Torte, I am not a huge chocolate fan, but I’d heard so much about this dessert that I just had to try it. It was very good; I didn’t eat much of it though. Mom ordered the Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart, which wasn’t as good as expected, and my mom couldn’t really eat it because of her salivary gland issues – Debbie noticed this and took mom’s plate, put it in front of me and told my mom she would bring her something else, which was the White Chocolate Cheesecake – this was so good! Max opted for the kid’s Jell-O for his dessert, not very exciting, but what can you say about Jell-O? The presentation was nice! Oh, I almost forgot, I ordered a drink… I think it was an Island Sunset and it was delicious! We also ordered a Pressed Pot of Kona Coffee with dessert – we were charged extra for this.

$124.10 (2 Adults, 1 Child TS Credit)

 

[Wendi2000]

Day Nine – Sunday, October 8th (Max’s 5th Birthday!!!)

We started out the day at Epcot and had breakfast at Sunshine Seasons Food Fair. I had the Egg Bacon Cheese Croissant Sandwich with a Bottled Water; Max had the kid’s French Toast with Bacon and Sausage and Bottled Water. I’m not sure what my mom had, I think Oatmeal. I don’t have her receipt as we ordered separately again.

$12.10 (1 Adult, 1 Child QS Credit)

We snacked around the world at the F&W Festival for lunch today, had lots of yummy stuff on two separate days that we did this. I will share the specifics later.

Max’s Birthday dinner was at Coral Reef tonight and I was hoping it would be a pretty special experience for him. I had made some special arrangements in advance. First of all, we were seated at the first table right against the tank; we had a lot of activity there, so our view was great. Our server was Dave and he was great. Max was presented with a very special Birthday card with his name and the date printed in it and the menu printed inside as well. Max and I ordered Ginger Ales to drink, and my mom got Iced Tea. For my appetizer I ordered the Creamy Lobster Soup, it was incredibly rich and delicious… I could tell there was a lot of butter involved. It reminded me of my favorite Cajun shrimp sauce from Cha Cha Cha in San Francisco. My mom ordered the Seafood Soufflé which didn’t look very good to me, but she ate about a third of it with some of Max’s soup to add moisture to it. Max had the Creamy Lobster Soup too, I think it was a little too rich for him, he liked it, but didn’t eat much of it – he was also too interested in the aquarium at this point to focus on his food. We had seen a few divers in the tank, but it was right around this time that a solo diver with a motor made a beeline straight for our table. Max was really excited about seeing this guy right in front of him. The diver started opening a container and soon pulled out a laminated sign that said, “Happy Birthday, Max!!!” Max couldn’t believe that this diver was giving him a special Birthday message from inside the tank – he was overly excited. My mom was really surprised too, I hadn’t told her about the special arrangements. For dinner I had the Seared Sterling Salmon with Mixed Greens, Roasted Potatoes, and Pancetta Garlic Vinaigrette. I honestly don’t remember the potatoes and veggies, but the salmon was not the best I’ve had. It was much too salty, a saltiness that one would expect more from a counter service restaurant or a lower quality restaurant – it really interfered with the flavor of the salmon itself. It was also really spicy – I love spicy foods, but this was just a very salty, spicy flavor that was burning my lips. It just wasn’t great. I didn’t even eat half of it. Dave asked if I didn’t like it and I told him that it was just really salty and spicy and I didn’t think it was very good, he seemed to nod knowingly… oh well. Mom had high hopes for the Grilled Mahi Mahi with Israeli Couscous and Tat Soi with Honey-Soy Glaze since she fell in love with my Mahi Mahi at Kona the night before. It wasn’t bad, but she was disappointed that it came nowhere near comparing with the entrée at Kona. Max ordered the kid’s Cheese Pizza and devoured it – he will always eat pizza! For dessert we were allowed to once again switch to coffee for our drinks, I ordered the famous Chocolate Wave and man was it decadent – again, I am not a big chocolate fan, but this was to die for good. Much better than the Kilauea Torte at Kona, it was quite possibly the best chocolate dessert I’ve ever had in my life. I can almost taste it now… mmmm. Mom had the butterscotch Brulee with Fresh Wild Berries. She said it was pretty good. Max had the kid’s Build Your Own Sundae – he had a lot of fun dumping all of the ingredients together, but he’s not a big sweets eater so he didn’t eat much of the finished product. All in all, the setting and service at this restaurant were nice, and the Birthday surprise was pretty amazing, but the food was just so-so.

$131.50 (2 Adults, 1 Child TS Credits)

 

[Wendi2000]

Day Ten – Monday, October 9th – Going Home Today… Boo-Hoo!!!

We grabbed breakfast in The Mara this morning as we still had a few counter service credits to use up. Max had the Mickey Waffle with Strawberries (but I should’ve just gotten him the waffle with bacon instead of fruit since he didn’t care for the sauce and just wanted syrup). I had a bowl of Oatmeal (snack credit) and I think my mom may have gotten the Breakfast Wrap. I can’t find the receipt from this meal, so I am not sure about any of it. The waffle was very good, and I really liked the strawberry sauce – it was really fresh and just the perfect consistency. The oatmeal was perfect and the serving was large, it filled me up just fine. They offer brown sugar and plump golden raisins to top the oatmeal – I opted for brown sugar on mine.

We had one last lunch at Columbia Harbour House today. I had the Captain’s Special (Fried Fish and Chicken Strips with barely warm fries), Chocolate Cake, and Bottled Water. Mom had the ½ Sandwich and Soup with Clam Chowder and the Anchors Aweigh Sandwich (I ordered hers with untoasted bread just as I’d done mine last time, but she ended up getting a whole sandwich on white bread instead of the whole grain one – the bread was smaller, so I assume that’s why it was a whole sandwich – I didn’t ask about it.), Apple Crisp, and Bottled Water. Max shared with us.

Our Absolute Must Visit Restaurants are:
The Hollywood Brown Derby
Kona Café
Boma
1900 Park Fare
Columbia Harbour House
Tusker House
Sunshine Seasons

Maybe We’ll Go Back:
‘Ohana
Coral Reef
Pecos Bill’s
Flatbread Grill
Chef Mickey’s
The Mara

No Way:
Matsu No Ma Lounge

We also had fun sampling the food/wine/beer at Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival. Here are the things we tried:

New Zealand: Bay Scallop Salad and Seafood Medley (good), Fernleaf Sauvignon Blanc (good).

Canada: Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup (good), Maple Glazed Salmon with Arugula and Roasted Corn (very good), Mission Hill Chardonnay (good).

Poland: Nalewka Babuni Raspberry Wine (really sweet, tasted more like liquor than wine).

India: Coconut Rice Pudding (not good).

USA: Maine Lobster Roll (ok but the onion was much to “hot” and there was too much of it).

 

[honeybee30]

Thanks for the dining reviews. Isn't the salmon dish at Brown Derby heaven? I'd really like to try Kona on our next visit. I was also wondering about Chef Mickey's. Do you think this would be a fun place to eat for 4 adults who act like really big kids at WDW? How was the food?

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reviews ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[loralie]

Thanks for the reviews. Did you have to pay extra for the diver to hold up the birthday sign at Coral Reef? If so...how much?


TIA,

Loralie

 

[Wendi2000]

Thanks for the dining reviews. Isn't the salmon dish at Brown Derby heaven? I'd really like to try Kona on our next visit. I was also wondering about Chef Mickey's. Do you think this would be a fun place to eat for 4 adults who act like really big kids at WDW? How was the food?

If you want to see the classic characters without waiting in lines, etc and get some food while you're at it, Chef Mickey's is definitely the place to be. I think the characters are just as good with adults who are enthusiastic as they are with children. I was more impressed with the food on this visit than the last for some reason... not sure if it really was better or if it was all in my head. I think if you are looking for the best food Boma is the place to go, but if you want the character interaction definitely go to Chef Mickey's.

 

[Wendi2000]

Thanks for the reviews. Did you have to pay extra for the diver to hold up the birthday sign at Coral Reef? If so...how much?


TIA,

Loralie

No cost involved with the special diver. You can call the restaurant directly, I don't have the phone number in front of me, but I found it on this board somewhere. I took the number with me, but I ended up just going into the restaurant a few days early and checking in at the podium about it. They had me write out what I wanted the message to be and took care of the rest. I didn't know anything about the Birthday card, that was a nice touch - and a good souvenier to take home.

 

[shovan]

Thanks for posting your reviews! Going in Jan. with 4 yr old niece & trying to figure out where to eat. (Haven't had a little one along in a while)! So this helps.

 

[disnut1149]

Thanks for sharing. Your reviews were great. We're trying Boma for the first time in Dec. Also, that was such a nice surprise for Max at the Coral Reef. I'd like to do that for my niece next year when we go. (My DD's name is Wendi and I also spell it that way).

 

[Disney owl]

great reviews thanks

 

[S.Poppins]

Great reviews! We are eating at many of these places in Jan. You mentioned apple crisp at Columbia harbor house - does that mean no more apple pie? That was one of the things I really liked there!

 

[swankybeth]

Thanks for taking the time to post your reviews. They were very detailed and I enjoyed them.