Che Fartsmith's Is the (Starts with B) Trash! No, BEST! 2 weeks of Disney Dining! Update: 10/28

OK, I am going to give you a little bit of a spoiler of my trip report, but I went to Homecomin' too! It was actually partly because of your review in your last trip report. OK, here goes.
Luke opted for the Rumshine Punch - strawberry rumshine, blackberry brandy, banana liqueur, pineapple juice and house-made grenadine, $12
I had that too! I enjoyed the taste, but wow it was strong. Or maybe I'm just a lightweight...?

I wanted fried chicken, so I ordered Art’s Famous Fried Chicken - buttermilk brined for 24 hours then perfectly fried served with creamy mashed potatoes and a cheddar drop biscuit, $28.
Same here, except I subbed Mac n Cheese for the potatoes, which was a hard choice because I love both. I heard so many rave reviews about the Mac n Cheese, which are all right! My wife had the mashed potatoes and they were excellent too.

We decided to share something, so we ordered a slice of Hamilton County Chocolate Pecan Pie - a 100 year-old traditional Smith Family Farm recipe. Served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, $10.
Oh wow, I wish I would have had room for dessert. That looks amazing. My family was all so full, we just couldn't fit it in.
 
What an amazing meal at Homecoming. You have me so sad that we skipped it last night. Aren't those biscuits a thing of beauty? Seriously my favorite thing there. Except of course for the watermelon mash. YUM!!!!

I know you said you don't like eggs but we went out to a local restaurant last weekend that seriously had the best deviled eggs I'd ever had. The deviled portion had a little bit of country gravy in it and it was topped with a piece of chicken fried chicken and it was ah-mazing!!!
 
Well, I'm in the minority of people who didn't love Homecomin' :rolleyes1 but I'm glad you guys did and it was a nice way to relax after GKTW on NYE!

Moonshine Mash - watermelon infused moonshine, fresh watermelon, lime juice and simple syrup,
Rumshine Punch - strawberry rumshine, blackberry brandy, banana liqueur, pineapple juice and house-made grenadine,
Wow, both of these do sound like drinks I'd like. The one time we went I had already had so many "sweet" drinks on our trip, I went with a plain old beer lol.
 


At one point, Luke asked me if I was angry at him for something since I was being so quiet - I was just too busy stuffing my face with fried chicken that I didn’t even realize I wasn’t talking
I feel like I just got a glimpse into a mirror... I would so do this. And then it's like whaaaa? Oh... :blush: sorry, boo!
#priorities

(I’ve heard that the secret ingredient in those is cream cheese, but I have no proof of this)
I HAVE SEEN IT WITH MY OWN EYES FALLON! I mean, who doesn't bite into a biscuit and then evaluate the cross section for tell-tale evidence of its flaky origins?

Oh shoot, my weird just came out. :rotfl:

I did have a side of gravy as well - which is southern sausage gravy and has a really great flavour!
And is 90% of the reason I keep coming back, if I'm honest. SOOO good.

We actually have one of Chef Art Smith's cookbooks, and Luke made this pie one day. It turned out really well, and was so delicious!
Marriage material! Glad you got this Mr. Chef locked down! Also mail me a bite next time okay?
 
Happy to find your trip report as I'm debating purchasing TIW vs. just using my AP discount on 10-day trip in November. Can't wait to hear how you make out!
 
Following along. Homecoming is back on the list of ADR’s. Watermelon mash sounds amazing!
 


Pop Food Court
January 1, 2018


We went to Everything Pop food court, but we realized we didn’t really have time to sit down and have a proper breakfast, so we each grabbed a pre-made sandwich from the refrigerator section. I didn’t take pictures of them or the receipt but I had turkey and Luke had ham – both on white bread with cheddar cheese. If I remember correctly, they didn’t have any type of sauce on them, but they had mayo/mustard/etc packets to put on yourself. This food court typically accepts Tables in Wonderland, but it was still a blackout date so we paid full price – $7.50/sandwich. Not a great deal, but the sandwiches were decent enough and were enough food to hold us over. Not something I'd go out of my way to ever buy again, but we were in a rush to get back to Give Kids the World for another volunteer session.​


1900 Park Fare
January 1, 2018

We had a reservation to eat supper here on our first trip to WDW, back in 2016, but unfortunately I ended up getting sick that day and we had to cancel. We tried finding a spot to squeeze it in on our 2017 trip, but it just didn’t work out, so we were determined to get there on this trip.​

Our Walmart trip earlier that day ran a little longer than we expected it to, so we were a few minutes late checking in for our 6:35pm reservation – but they were backed up so it wouldn’t have mattered. We didn’t have a terrible wait, they called our names around 6:50 and led us to our two-top table. The hostess showing us to our table pointed out the buffet, and let us know that we would have more than enough time to go grab a plate of food before any of the characters made their way to us, as they were all on break at that point. We were hungry, so she didn’t have to tell us twice!​

My first plate, starting at the top and going clockwise: mashed potatoes, turkey and gravy, cheese, green beans, Mongolian beef, rice, baked ziti, cheese ravioli, pork and butter chicken.​

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They clearly don’t know what butter chicken is – this was more of a mild curry chicken – it was very good, but don’t call it what it’s not. The baked ziti pasta was surprisingly really good! Lots of cheese baked in throughout, and the pasta had a texture I liked. The beef and rice was a real standout on the plate, which shocked me a bit – usually beef like that (especially from a buffet) is tough and chewy. It was definitely cooked well done (big thumbs up from me for that!) but it was still tender and the sauce had great flavour! Honestly, I liked every single thing I tried.

I also had a bowl of their famous strawberry soup. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, but I enjoyed it. It’s served cold (which isn’t soup in my opinion). When I was young, we had lots of local strawberries in the summer, and one of my favourite things to eat was mashed berries mixed with some heavy cream (usually unwhipped whipping cream), and then I would dip buttered toast into it. Basically, 1900 Park Fare’s Strawberry soup tastes exactly like that – which leads me to believe it’s just heavy cream and strawberries. Simple, but delicious!​

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We were both feeling fancy and ordered alcoholic drinks. Luke went for the Moscow Mule – Russian standard vodka, fresh lime juice and agave nectar topped with ginger beer, $11.

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The drink that caught my eye was the Antioxidant Lemonade – Van Gogh Açai-Blueberry vodka, Odwalla lemonade and pomegranate juice, topped with Sprite, $9.75. We were both pleased with our selections, and I loved the little stir sticks with the hotel logo on it.

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Luke’s first plate from the buffet contained, from the top and going clockwise, fried catfish, potato salad, sausage, pork and mushroom gravy, “butter chicken”, cornbread, roast beef, mashed potatoes, a single chicken nugget from the kids section (he informed me he had more, but he snacked on them as he made his way around the rest of the buffet…).

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Luke’s favourites from this plate were the catfish and the pork roast, but there was nothing he didn’t like. That roast beef is way too rare for me, and Luke’s only complaint was that the juice from it made the catfish batter a little bit soggy. He also made a similar comment as I did about the “butter chicken” – terrible butter chicken, but excellent curry chicken.

Luke’s second plate: casear salad, butternut squash ravioli, Mongolian beef and rice, turkey and gravy and honey sriracha salmon.

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Luke raved about that salmon, he tends to like most things sriracha-flavoured, but he also said the salmon was very well cooked. I don’t eat seafood, so I can’t tell you my opinion on it. He was also a huge fan of the butternut squash ravioli – but again, there was nothing on his plate he didn’t enjoy.

My second plate: cheese ravioli, green beans, casear salad, macaroni and marinara sauce from the kids section, baked ziti and Mongolian beef and rice.

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I basically went for more of my favourites from my first plate. Of course, my eyes were much larger than my stomach (what else is new? Haha), and I was not able to finish this plate. It was all so good though!

While we ate, the characters made their way around the room. I’m always super awkward with face characters, I never know what to say to them, but these ones made it easy! The step-sisters were hilarious, and so was the Evil Step-Mother. Personally, I’ve never been a huge fan of Cinderella, she’s a little too prim and proper for me – I prefer the spunky princesses like Rapunzel or Tiana. The Cinderella we met here was exactly what I’d expect, a very polished, proper princess.

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This was the first time we’ve met a male face character. The interaction was good, but nothing really memorable.

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Drizella was hilarious. We had one of our “Happily Ever After” buttons sitting on the table, so she asked if we were on our Honeymoon. When we explained that we were actually on our wedding trip, and getting married the following week she got all excited and asked to see my ring, so of course I showed her. She squealed, and asked if it was vintage (which it is, it belonged to my Grandmother). Drizella then went on to tell me all about the jewels she’s going to get that currently belong to her mother.

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She had the best facial expressions hahaha.

As her sister, Anastacia, approached, Drizella excitedly told her we were getting married soon, so she asked me if she could see a picture of my dress. Luke snapped these pictures while I showed her the pictures of me wearing my dress…​

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I know she’s supposed to be an evil step-sister, but she was actually really sweet! I liked her :) The table next to us had an older lady sitting there, the grandmother of the group, and it was apparently her first trip to WDW. Anastasia came back a few times just to give grandma a hug and tell her how adorable she was – the Grandma clearly thought this was just the greatest thing, I loved watching her smile every time Anastasia came over.

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The final character was the evil step-mother, Lady Tremaine. Again, she found out we were getting married soon, so she asked me why I was marrying him – was he rich? I embarassed Luke and told Lady Tremaine I was marrying him because he liked cats and had a pair of them haha. She was pretending she didn’t want to get too close to him in case he had cat hair on him.

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There was a decent dessert selection as part of the buffet, but we had ate so much of the other food that we didn’t want any. Our server did bring us each a cupcake though as a congratulations, so we did each have a bite of that. We left over half of each one though, we were so full!

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I’m so happy we finally made it here for a meal! I think it might be my favourite character meal at Walt Disney World – the characters were great, and the food was fantastic. It’s not a cheap option, and my Tables in Wonderland card was blacked out due to it being January 1st, but I could still use my AP discount (10% on food only). I would not hesitate to return here, and won’t even complain that much about paying full price.

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Tables in Wonderland Original Cost: $150
Break Even Point Before this Meal: $130.60
Savings this Meal: $0 (blackout date)
Total until Breaking Even: $130.60

Predicted food budget: $2631.67
Estimated Cost of this meal: $27.46(Pop Food Court – Breakfast) + $112.89 (1900 Park Fare) = $140.35
Actual Cost: $15.95(Pop) + 112.20 (1900 Park Fare) = $128.15
Over/Under: Under by $12.20
Remaining: $2218.58​
 
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I love 1900 Park Fare. It might be my favourite character meal as well. I have always had great food here even though it doesn’t get rave reviews. I dream about that butternut squash ravioli!
 
California Grill
January 1, 2018


We had it in our heads that we needed to watch the fireworks at least once from the 15th floor observation deck at the Contemporary Grill, and this was the only place to squeeze in a reservation. We knew we wouldn’t be hungry after eating at a buffet but we figured we would go grab a drink and an appetizer or dessert.

We finished up at 1900 Park Fare later than we thought we would, and headed straight for the monorail. As we arrived at the Contemporary, we heard the first fireworks go off, so we hustled over to the check-in counter for the Cali Grill and they quickly put us into the private elevator leading to the restaurant. While in the elevator, a cast member told us that as soon as we arrived at the restaurant, we should head directly outside and our table would be waiting for us once Happily Ever After was finished.

We took her advice and headed out onto the observation deck. We had missed less than 5 minutes of the 18 minute long show, and we knew we’d be seeing it later in the week so we weren’t upset. It was also a pretty cold night, especially up that high with the wind blowing , so the deck wasn’t crowded at all and we had no issues finding a great spot to watch despite being late. Most people were huddled inside, not brave enough to come out into the cold for a better view. It was a great view though, and we enjoyed Happily Ever After for our first (of many viewings on this trip). I honestly only took two or three pictures, I wanted to just enjoy the show.​

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Once the fireworks had ended, we made our way back inside, where our table was ready for us. We knew we weren’t hungry at all, so we decided to share an appetizer, eat quickly and allow them to turn over our table to another couple who would spend more money than us.​

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Like ordered a drink as well, the Blackberry Lemonade- which doesn’t appear to be on the menu any longer, and I didn’t get a picture of the description. It was $13, and Luke didn’t love it. The stir stick was cute though with its little monorail!​

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We wanted to share an appetizer, but there wasn’t much on the menu that appealed to a picky eater like myself. We ultimately ended up ordering the Pepperoni Pizza -House-made Pepperoni, Tomato Conserva, Fontina, Asiago, Parmesan, Mozzarella, Basil-Oregano Pistou, $16.​

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I did not like this at all. I tend to like wood-oven pizza, but this had too much char on the bottom of it, it tasted more burnt than anything else. I also hated the basil-oregano pistou (which is weird, because I tend to like the flavours of both of those herbs) – but I have no idea what a pistou is so maybe that’s the part I didn’t like?

Our server did bring us a basket of bread, and I did eat some of that. I enjoyed the fancy butter haha. I love bread, and I’m not difficult to please with that stuff…

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Our total bill came to $29.19 after saving $1.60 on our pizza with my annual pass.​

I know there are so many huge fans of California Grill out there, but I wasn’t overly impressed. Although, I do recognize that we did not give it a fair shot, neither one of us ordered a steak (or an entree of any kind for that matter). We actually have reservations for the brunch there on our trip next May, where we will be sure to show up nice and hungry and be able to give this restaurant another chance. Also - I feel guilty whenever we don't order a full meal, so we did tip nicely to make up for it.​

Tables in Wonderland Original Cost: $150
Break Even Point Before this Meal: $130.60
Savings this Meal: $0 (blackout date)
Total until Breaking Even: $130.60

Predicted food budget: $2631.67 (does not include tip)
Estimated Cost of this meal: $60.71
Actual Cost: $29.19 (before tip)
Over/Under: Under by $31.52
Remaining: $2189.46
 
I would like to go to California Grill for the fireworks view, it's such a different perspective. But I also prefer simpler food. I'll take good old comfort food over high-brow gourmet any day. I suspect I would feel similarly if I went to CG.
 
Sorry to hear CG was a bust for you, but at least you got an amazing view of the fireworks!
 
I think if you were hungry and had more than a flatbread/ the experience would have been better. Hope you enjoy your brunch!
 
I would like to go to California Grill for the fireworks view, it's such a different perspective. But I also prefer simpler food. I'll take good old comfort food over high-brow gourmet any day. I suspect I would feel similarly if I went to CG.

I'm a very plain eater for the most part, it's the Maritimer in me - I was raised on meat and potatoes haha. I think I would have enjoyed it had I ordered a steak, but there was no way I had room for that in my stomach!

Sorry to hear CG was a bust for you, but at least you got an amazing view of the fireworks!

It's my own fault we didn't enjoy it, I have a feeling I would love it if I ordered an actual steak. But, the fireworks view was great, so no regrets at all!

I think if you were hungry and had more than a flatbread/ the experience would have been better. Hope you enjoy your brunch!

Definitely would have made a difference if we were hungry and had ordered actual entrees! I'm looking forward to showing up starving for the brunch haha - and I imagine there will be a few drinks had at that brunch!
 
Sorry about taking over two months to get my next review up, I really have been terrible at keeping up on here - life has been pretty hectic! But, let's get on with the dining reviews!

Boma - Breakfast - January 2, 2018

One of Luke’s favourite meals from our 2017 trip was breakfast at Boma, so we made a reservation to return there. Our reservation was early, 7:30am, but we were there on time and were seated in a fairly empty restaurant.

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Our waitress took our drink order (juice for both of us – I can’t remember what they call it at Boma, but it’s the same delicious POG juice they serve at many other locations on property, and a coffee for Luke). We went then went up to the buffet.

My first plate, starting at the top and going clockwise: a plantain, strawberries and grapes, bread pudding with pecan caramel sauce, asparagus, carved turkey and tater tots. Not overly exciting, but everything was really good, I especially love that sauce for the bread pudding!

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My second plate: made to order omelet with bacon, ham and mozzarella. I don’t typically eat eggs, but I just can’t pass up the opportunity to have an omelet that’s made to order. I didn’t finish this entire thing, as eggs are a food that bother my stomach (I have GI issues), but I did enjoy what I ate of this!

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Luke’s first plate, starting at the top and going clockwise: goat cheese and chives scrambled eggs, turkey bobotie, asparagus, bacon, ham, tater tots and smoked salmon. The bobotie was one of the main reasons he loved this place so much, and he really enjoyed it again.

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Also – proof of our drinks haha –

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Luke also had a bowl of African fruit salad

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Luke had a second plate of food, but I obviously didn’t take a picture of it, and it was so long ago now that neither one of us remember what he had -opps.

The cost for this meal was $27/each (it’s probably more now, most buffet prices seem to have increased since this trip). I was able to use my Tables in Wonderland card again (after being blacked out the previous two days), so our total bill came to $55.73 with the 18% gratuity added in.

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This is a great option for breakfast, although it is a bit out of the way. We did skip it on our last trip to Disney (December 2018), but we are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge on our upcoming trip (May 2019), so we do have plans to eat both breakfast and supper at Boma :)
Tables in Wonderland original cost: $150
Break Even Point Before this meal: $130.60
Savings this Meal: $10.80
Total Until Breaking Even: $119.80

Predicted food budget: $2631.67 (does not include tip)
Estimated Cost of this meal: $53.25
Actual Cost: $46.01 (before tip)
Over/Under: Under by $7.24
Remaining: $2143.45
 
Ahhh I LOVE Boma breakfast. It has been a long time since we did the dinner and everyone in my family was sick - so we didn’t enjoy it like we should have. Maybe a dinner revisit is in order! AKL will definitely be a great home base in May, and so convenient to yummy food options! I can’t wait. Less than 3 months now!!!
 
Ahhh I LOVE Boma breakfast. It has been a long time since we did the dinner and everyone in my family was sick - so we didn’t enjoy it like we should have. Maybe a dinner revisit is in order! AKL will definitely be a great home base in May, and so convenient to yummy food options! I can’t wait. Less than 3 months now!!!

I’ve actually never had Boma supper, so I’m really looking forward to it!

I don’t even like most breakfast foods, but there’s a great variety on this buffet that it makes me happy (asparagus and turkey for breakfast?!)

5 nights at OKW to enjoy Olivia’s followed by 5 nights at AKL and all the deliciousness it has to offer and then 2 nights at Pop - they might have to roll me onto the plane to go home, I’m going to eat so much on that trip :rotfl:

Can’t wait to meet you! Only...85 days now? Something like that...
 
As I sit here on a Sunday morning starving but trying to hold out until lunch this post is not helping me in the least! Everything looks great, especially that bread pudding, so good!
 

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