How Did We Eat So Much?! Lots of Pics + DxDDP + DCL! *UPDATES 7/12*

[RGirl]

Great update! We've never eaten at CRT (when she was little, DD was all about the villains, not the princesses, LOL), but I always enjoy reading reviews of other people's experiences. I agree this restaurant is more about the experience than the actual food, and it's nice to know they took your gluten sensitivity a lot more seriously here than at YS.

Thanks for sharing!

Oh, that is so cute that your DD liked the villains! As you can see, mine is a MAJOR princess fan. It certainly makes experiences like CRT so very special for us.

Great CRT review! Whenever we have a little on that will be on the top of my list for an ADR.

You know, the food is not knock-your-socks-off great, but we just love CRT. A LOT. It is a really special experience. And for us, it has become a really wonderful tradition.

I'm glad you had great character interaction! Your chicken looks VERY sad though! You would have thought there was something else they could add to pizzazz it up at least a little!

Yeah, I think the picture of the chicken looks worse than it was. I mean, it was very plain, but it was cooked perfectly, and it was actually more flavorful than one might think. That said, so far, I was not blown away by my gluten-free dining experience with Disney - especially after all of the amazing allergy-related reviews I had read! But I wasn't sick, and my food was tasty, so I wasn't complaining.

Such beautiful photos of your DD with the Princesses

Oh, thank you so much! She really has such a great time with the princesses (and, really, all characters ).

 

[librarygeek]

Fun! Of course you had to take Princess Willow to the Princess lunch! Since I just read your TR, I have to ask... did Willow change out of her Ariel dress into Cinderella for the meal? Totally understandable that you need to wear your Cindy dress for Cinderella's royal table!

How interesting that the chef himself has celiac's. I would imagine it's probably not easy to be a chef with a major food allergy.

And yay for great character interaction! Of course that's the most important part of this meal! I also like how going swimming is right up there in excitement level with meeting the princesses

 

[RGirl]

Fun! Of course you had to take Princess Willow to the Princess lunch! Since I just read your TR, I have to ask... did Willow change out of her Ariel dress into Cinderella for the meal? Totally understandable that you need to wear your Cindy dress for Cinderella's royal table!

Oh yes! I had to shove her Cinderella gown in my backpack so that she could be dressed appropriately for CRT.

How interesting that the chef himself has celiac's. I would imagine it's probably not easy to be a chef with a major food allergy.

Right? I think that would be super-hard - I mean there would be a ton of dishes he wouldn't be able to taste when cooking. I'm not even sure how one would do that as a chef!

And yay for great character interaction! Of course that's the most important part of this meal! I also like how going swimming is right up there in excitement level with meeting the princesses

We were really lucky this year with great interactions at CRT. And, yes, about the only thing that could rank right up there with princesses for Miss Willow is swimming!

 

[RGirl]

Artist Point​

It was our second evening at WDW and our second signature restaurant! And I will do away with any suspense on one topic - our experience here was MUCH better than at Yachtsman, largely due to having an absolutely lovely server this evening.

We checked in a bit early for our ADR because I had gotten a little concerned on the way over to the WL that DD was a bit dehydrated from our busy MK day. The folks at AP were totally accommodating, and the hostess even rushed off to get some water for DD as soon as we were seated. DD perked up very quickly with some water from a Mickey straw.

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Soon we were feeling pretty relaxed, enjoying the ambiance of AP and perusing the menu. I even took some pictures for all of you!

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And this time, I remembered to get pictures of the kids’ menu as well.

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For my DxDDP non-alcoholic beverage, I was again able to order a HUGE bottle of Pellegrino. I don’t drink sparkling anything - including soda - at home (well, aside from wine, of course), so I really enjoyed being able to order this, and the size was great for some August re-hydrating.

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I also ordered a wine flight - being from the Pacific Northwest, it was kind of funny to order a sampler of wines that I can get anytime, but I do love the flights.

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Our very attentive server, Mark, actually brought some bread for DD without being asked.

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And the gluten-free rolls that he brought for me were toasty warm, which makes them fairly edible.

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Mark also brought us butter with sea salt and olive oil with fennel, which were both really tasty accompaniments - I really enjoyed the olive oil with fennel, not exactly something you find everywhere! I do really like fennel though, so for someone who does not care for that flavor, it may not be as tasty (but it was pretty subtle).

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A view of part of the restaurant from our table.

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Knowing of my food intolerance notation, Mark had the chef pay our table a visit. (I never did get comfortable with this - always felt like I was taking them away from something they needed to be doing, but they certainly never MADE me feel like that.) The chef was absolutely delightful and went over the menu with me. And I scored big time - both the appetizer and the entree that I wanted were totally fine for me with one minor deletion of an element.

For my appetizer, I couldn’t resist trying the much touted (on the DIS anyway) Smokey Portobello Soup with Roasted Shiitakes, Chive Oil, and Sourdough Croutons, which was totally safe for me with the removal of the croutons.

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This soup totally lived up to the hype. It was so flavorful and creamy. Just delicious. Even in August, which I don’t really think of as Soup Time. As of this date, it was the best soup I had ever had (it did later fall to number two, but that is a long time from now in this DR).

For her appetizer, DD selected the Bowl of Watermelon. She thought it was great - I mean, she loves watermelon, so……

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For her entree, DD ordered the Grilled Chicken Breast with Roasted Seasonal Potatoes and fresh Vegetables. She moaned and groaned about her options here, because she wanted vacation food that she doesn’t get to have at home (like chicken nuggets ), but she actually did eat quite a bit of this chicken. I let her sub fries for the potatoes, because the Weirdo Child does not like potatoes at all other than french fries. What in the world????

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For my entree, I had the Seared Diver Scallops with Corn Risotto, Fennel Jus, Blistered Tomato, Serrano Ham Crisp, and Citrus Pistou. This entree was totally gluten-free, so no substitutions or deductions were necessary. And let me say that it was fantastic! The scallops were perfectly cooked and sweet like scallops should be. The risotto was absolutely decadent. All of the accompaniments worked beautifully together.

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For the second night in a row, DD chose the Mickey puzzle for her dessert. I like that, even though a number of signatures offer this dessert, they have their own presentation.

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I am embarrassed to say that I’m not sure what my dessert was. I’m not really a big dessert person, so I was really only ordering them because of the DP. I think this was very tasty, but it was not memorable for me - that really isn’t a con for the restaurant though, there are very, very few desserts that I find memorable. I think it must have been the Dark Valrhona and White Chocolate “Sculpture” with drunken cherry crunch and blackberry port sauce.

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Over all, Artist Point was not just good - it was probably our best signature dining experience of the trip. Would we return? Oh, heck yes!!!!

 

[shan23877]

So happy to read this review! Sounds perfect!

Did the decor feel signature there? Would I want to wear a dress?

Can you tell this just moved up a bit on the list for next time?

 

[RGirl]

So happy to read this review! Sounds perfect!

Did the decor feel signature there? Would I want to wear a dress?

Can you tell this just moved up a bit on the list for next time?

You know, I hesitated about posting the pic of the dining room, because I think it feels sooooo much nicer in person. I don't know what it is - the interior of this place just doesn't photograph well. If it helps - I did wear a dress and HEELS and did not feel out of place.

I hope it did move up - this really was probably our favorite signature experience of the trip, and I can't tell you how much we loved looking around the resort (pics coming up VERY soon in the TR), which surprised me given that I am actually from the Pacific Northwest, so big deal, right? And no, Shannon, you do not have to be "outdoorsy" to like the atmosphere - I may be from here but am FAR from "outdoorsy."

 

[shan23877]

You know, I hesitated about posting the pic of the dining room, because I think it feels sooooo much nicer in person. I don't know what it is - the interior of this place just doesn't photograph well. If it helps - I did wear a dress and HEELS and did not feel out of place.

I hope it did move up - this really was probably our favorite signature experience of the trip, and I can't tell you how much we loved looking around the resort (pics coming up VERY soon in the TR), which surprised me given that I am actually from the Pacific Northwest, so big deal, right? And no, Shannon, you do not have to be "outdoorsy" to like the atmosphere - I may be from here but am FAR from "outdoorsy."

'cause you know I'm REALLY not outdoorsy right?

Ok, ok it's topping the list so far. I need to hear what you have to say about Flying Fish and Le Cellier too though.

 

[RGirl]

'cause you know I'm REALLY not outdoorsy right?

Ok, ok it's topping the list so far. I need to hear what you have to say about Flying Fish and Le Cellier too though.

RIGHT?!?! I think you think I somehow AM outdoorsy though because I come from this area. Take me at my word, I am NOT!

Okay, not to give too much away, but book an AP ADR!!!

 

[susieq76]

Fabulous! Looking forward to the rest!

 

[BiancaBernard&Penny]

Thanks so much for taking this on! I'm also GF for the first time and adding if to my ADRs. We're going at the end if Decrmber and I'm making some ADRs now. I may have to branch out to some new-to-us restaurants as our old favorites may be booked!
I'm actually "no meat, no wheat" so that takes away some of my flexibility to order off the menus but I've been eating meat free at WDW for 5 trips in the last 13 years- I got this

 

[librarygeek]

Artist Point looks great! For some reason it is not really on my radar or a restaurant I hear a lot about. But there are a number of things on the menu that sound really appealing to me. Plus, I think DH would love the ambiance of the Wilderness Lodge, so hopefully we get a chance to try it soon!

 

[RGirl]

Fabulous! Looking forward to the rest!

Thanks! I am going to try to move things along faster, but it is hard keeping up with the TR too.

Thanks so much for taking this on! I'm also GF for the first time and adding if to my ADRs. We're going at the end if Decrmber and I'm making some ADRs now. I may have to branch out to some new-to-us restaurants as our old favorites may be booked!
I'm actually "no meat, no wheat" so that takes away some of my flexibility to order off the menus but I've been eating meat free at WDW for 5 trips in the last 13 years- I got this

Well, if there is anywhere that you will find restaurants that will cater to your needs, it is WDW! I hope you have a great trip. And I really hope my little dining reviews will be of some help to you.

Artist Point looks great! For some reason it is not really on my radar or a restaurant I hear a lot about. But there are a number of things on the menu that sound really appealing to me. Plus, I think DH would love the ambiance of the Wilderness Lodge, so hopefully we get a chance to try it soon!

You know, I felt the same way about it - I never thought of going there and has zero interest in the WL (I mean, I'm from the Pacific Northwest - if I want a big lodge, I can stay a lot closer to home). But with DxDDP, I decided I could afford to try places I otherwise wouldn't. And I am so glad I did. I just loved this restaurant! And I was surprisingly blown away by the WL and would actually seriously consider staying there anytime.

 

[smile4stamps]

Happy to hear such a wonderful review of Artist Point. I love the location. The resort itself is beautiful but I have yet had a meal there that I was happy with. The mushroom soup I LOVE but the entrees have either been blah, or overly salty so we are passing on this restaurant for awhile.

We are the opposite of you. My husband has a seafood allergy and we love it when the Chefs come to the table! My DH is also a Pastry Chef so we love to talk to them.

 

[partyof2]

You know I have had my meal at Artist Point planned forever... The soup, the salmon and then the cobbler. BUT your scallops have completely thrown me a loop. The dish looks incredible and I love the sound of the corn risotto.

 

[RGirl]

Happy to hear such a wonderful review of Artist Point. I love the location. The resort itself is beautiful but I have yet had a meal there that I was happy with. The mushroom soup I LOVE but the entrees have either been blah, or overly salty so we are passing on this restaurant for awhile.

We are the opposite of you. My husband has a seafood allergy and we love it when the Chefs come to the table! My DH is also a Pastry Chef so we love to talk to them.

Oh, that's too bad that you have had such negative experiences at AP. I'm thankful ours was so good.

Oh, I very much appreciate that the chefs come out, and I always love to chat with a chef - I just feel awkward because I feel like they must have better things to do.

You know I have had my meal at Artist Point planned forever... The soup, the salmon and then the cobbler. BUT your scallops have completely thrown me a loop. The dish looks incredible and I love the sound of the corn risotto.

Uh oh! Didn't mean to derail your plans. The scallops WERE really good though...

 

[RGirl]

The Boardwalk Bakery​

This post will not really be a full-blown review since I didn’t eat anything from here. But I did get some pics to share. We stopped in here on our second full day at WDW to use a snack credit for some breakfast for DD and to fill our mugs.

Anyway, here are some photos of the BB goodies for you to enjoy!

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Here is DD with her muffin:

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DD’s thoughts on said muffin: “It was YUMM-O!”

 

[Linda67]

Oh my - the treats at BB look delicious

 

[WickedDreamer]

Just found this Dining Review, thank you so much for sharing your photos and reviews. We're leaving in just under three weeks, and can't wait to be trying all these places too!! Our dining reservations are similar to yours, this is our first time trying Signatures, looking forward to all of them!!

Looking forward to reading more about your dining adventures!!

Shannon

 

[wilma-bride]

Got to agree that the Boardwalk Bakery treats look fantastic. I am sure we will be trying a few of them in November.

I can't figure out the reason for your DD's face in that last picture - is she thinking 'Mum, just take the picture already so I can tuck in to this delicious-looking muffin'? Or is she contemplating World peace? Or just not a morning person?

 

[RGirl]

Oh my - the treats at BB look delicious

Right??? I wish I could eat them!

Just found this Dining Review, thank you so much for sharing your photos and reviews. We're leaving in just under three weeks, and can't wait to be trying all these places too!! Our dining reservations are similar to yours, this is our first time trying Signatures, looking forward to all of them!!

Looking forward to reading more about your dining adventures!!

Shannon

Hi Shannon! Thanks for following along here as well. Which signatures are you trying? It is so fun to branch out and try some new places, isn't it?

Got to agree that the Boardwalk Bakery treats look fantastic. I am sure we will be trying a few of them in November.

I can't figure out the reason for your DD's face in that last picture - is she thinking 'Mum, just take the picture already so I can tuck in to this delicious-looking muffin'? Or is she contemplating World peace? Or just not a morning person?

That face is almost certainly related to being tired, excessive heat, and long lines. Running themes for our trip this year, unfortunately.