July 4th week eating and drinking our way through the world with 4 kids

[java]

So with that looooooong intro I bet you are expecting one heck of a dining report.......I will try my best to be detailed and I will be doing one day at a time so I don't forget anything good.
Day one arrival day......
We drove so we arrived earlier than planned so stopped at DTD for some shopping and lunch. I really just wanted shopping and a HUGE sundae from Ghiradellli but I was over ruled by Mr. Bass Ale. He needed his brew and he needed it bad so off to Rainforest Cafe for some lunch(our Kharma had gained some points on the trip down... I'll post about that in my trip report for those that care to see it) so we were seated right away(he he he....my DH says I have some magic dining voodoo that I am able to score tables right away.) whatever... We sat ordered standard drinks- chocolate milks for the kiddies, Diet Coke for me and a beer of some gigantic proportion for my DH. We ordered what we knew- Rasta Pasta for DH(loved it) and the Chicken Wrap for me with chips. yum yum(although it would have been better if it was ice cream and covered in chocolate but I digress....) kids had grilled cheese, cheeseburgers and mac and cheese... I give it out of a possible 4 only because I think you pay $$ for lunch(I think we were up around $80? plus tip that gets us to $100) and I didn't even get to use my DDE yet and it was burning a whole in my pocket.
So on to dinner..... we were staying at the Poly for the first time ever so decided to go for the whole poly experience and try Ohana for dinner. Now I had read a lot about Ohana here on the Dis and had expectations. Unfortunately my 3 year old had a major meltdown and climbed under the table because the waiter didn't bring his Bass Ale... oh wait that would be DH, ds was upset on his chocolate milk wait. Then the food started coming and everyone was happy. Well first the salad came and I was happy- that dressing is yummy. Then the sticky wings came and DS(12) and DH devoured them. They loved them. Then the meat started coming.. and kept on coming...All of us chose the steak as our favorite. (oh except dd(8)- she liked the turkey) And those potatoes....oh those potatoes... I could have eaten just the potatoes and been a very happy diner. They are the perfect cheesy, buttery, crisp blend. Just perfect. Now at this point baby is acting up- he is ready for bed. I was expecting some of the fanfare to entertain him but we must have sat between the entertainment times(we were there for 90 minutes- no music no coconut races- no hula) but the food rocked so I was happy. Dessert was on the way but baby was unhappy. We rock paper scissored it and I won. So I got to eat the Banana Bread Pudding all by myself. And I didn't want it to go to waste so I ate some more.... and some more... It was really delicious. It looked good when it came with just the ice cream on it. But then my cousin poured some delicious banana sauce over it all and I wanted to be kissing cousins at that point. This one gets and a half pirates. It lost a half for the lack of show.... but then gained a half for the DDE card!!! So this meal ended up being cheaper than lunch and was way way better- even though the half pirate may not reflect that.
up next.....Day 2
Main street bakery/Columbia house/Coral Reef

 

[pperfectmom]

I hope you bought your DH another beer later to make up for missing dessert!

 

[Liliyana]

Cute review, and you've got me happy about my upcoming Ohana dinner /highfive to you for "winning" the Bread Pudding!

 

[traviesojmt]

Thanks for the report. We will be at Ohana's in just over a month and counting. My husband and I use the rock/paper/scissors method to solve many of our disputes. Who has to give DD tonight's bath? Who had to change the next diaper? I love that method when I win.........

 

[3princesses4us]

Great reviews! We haven't been to 'Ohana yet but liked the Rainforest as well.

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your review ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[java]

Day 2 MK day!! woohoo We were all excited to finally after years of passing by the long line- try the main street bakery for breakfast. So while DH grabbed a table over at Caseys I went in to grab our breakfast. It was about 10 AM and the line was out the door- it took about 10 minutes to make it to the front and we had cinnamon buns, french toast loaf, rice crispie treats, blueberry muffin and a banana. The French toast loaf was delicious- it is layers of bread spread with cinnamon(sorry if I am a terrible speller) dipped in a yummy eggy mixture then baked and sliced into pieces. They serve it with syrup but we found it to be sweet enough with just the powdered sugar. My DD LOVED The buns- she wanted one everyday. The muffin was probably the least favored item this day. But we give this for selection and we just loved finally trying it! We went back there twice more on the trip so that tells you how much we loved it and the items that were reordered were the french toast loaf and the cinnamon buns(a new favorite to the list was the very chocolatey chocolate chip muffin) So this is now a must do stop for us for breakfast(in the past we have only had the breakfast of champions- funnel cake and diet cokes- so we were happy to have a real breakfasty alternative)
Lunch was another one I was looking forward to- I had seen pictures of the tuna sandwich at Colombia Harbor house and really wanted to try it. I also know the portions are HUGE here so I opted to get a fried chicken strips platter for the kids to share- and it was more than enough for the 8 and 12 year old. A kids mac and cheese for the 2 littlest ones- came with those cute mickey cheese crackers and some grapes.(and a chocolate milk.....thankfully) Then I got a tuna sandwich on that multigrain bread with chips to share with DH then standing in line decided that I had to also try the Clam chowder so I got a cup of that. Tons of food. But apparantly not enough for Mr. Bass Ale. He loved the sandwich- but wanted more. For me the half was more than enough- it was delicious no celery just mayo and tuna the way I like it(when we went back later in the trip I was shocked to find Celery in the tuna!!! so I don't know if the first day it was just chopped more tiny- or if only some people put it in- but I definatly prefered it without celery. The Clam Chowder was just clammy enough- not too much and small pieces that I like. I think Mr. Bass Ale would have been satisfied if he had a nice tall dark beer with his sandwich but alas- it was diet coke for him for now....
On to dinner. We were planning on a quick trip over to Epcot for the Coral reef. And that is exactly the way it went. Baby fell asleep so we were in for a quiet meal! and again with my table mojo we scored a table right down front- a booth which I love as we can contain the children. I thought it was also nice to be not at the table right at the tank. I was shocked to see so many people walking around snapping pictures right over people eating their dinner. It became a running joke with the people right in front of us. The turtle was right in front of us the whole meal (turtle boy- my 3 year old was in heaven he sleeps with 3 different sized Squirts from Nemo) Now to the food.. we always find this one hit or miss- and when we saw our waiter we were please to see it was one we have had good luck with in the past. And he didn't disappoint this time either. Dh had his beer so he was happy. I had my Pinto Grigio and was happy. Kids had the blue glowing $7 drink and they were happy. Kids all had basic kid food- nothing crazy- just basic pizza and chicken fingers. DH lucked out big time. On the menu they had a flounder with wasabi mashed potatoes(but imho very pricey for flounder.....I think they took all the good stuff off the menu thanks to the dining plan..) Well when DH tried to order it the waiter said" I am sorry we are out of the flounder but you can have it with Ahi Tuna instead......" JACKPOT!!!! BING BING BING you bet he'll have the Ahi tuna for the same price as the flounder- it was delicious, and definatly the way that dish should be in the first place. He was very happy happy. I had the Crab Cakes. I would have gone Mahi Mahi but knew we had Kona coming up and I would get it there. So I went Crab Cakes and was pleasantly surprised. Just enough mustart sauce to go along with the cakes and the chorizzo in the potatoes was not overpowering as I feared. So all in all a great meal. Also used the DDE so this whole meal came to only $80!!!! So this gets a big for the Tuna and the great waiter, the turtle and the cheap price!!!
up next.on the schedule...H&V, Sci Fi and Brown Derby.... but we ended up not doing one of them can you guess which one????

 

[TigerKat]

Java - LLOOVVEE your reviews!!!!!!! Very good info and VERY entertaining!! Can't wait for more!

 

[disneysailor]

Thanks for the detailed reviews! Are the crab cakes at Coral Reef oniony? Is there a strong mustard taste? I hate onions, love mustard, but am not sure if I'd like mustardy crab cakes. Thanks for any info, can't wait to read the rest of your reviews!

 

[frannn]

I LOVE crab, but have always eaten crab cakes as an appetizer, so I am having a hard time imaging some that would be worthy enough to be considered an entree! I also enjoy flounder and steak, so which would you recommend as the best choice at CR?

 

[ufgator]

Thanks for your reviews so far.

 

[Disney owl]

great reviews thanks

 

[java]

Thanks for the kind words everybody- the crab cakes are not oniony at all- the meat is very fine though not chunks of crab...but still yummy more like a salmon patty if that makes sense. The mustard sauce was just perfect- not too mustardy just smooth and yummy. The Ahi is more of a "meal" but I wouldn't do that dinner as flounder but if they do the Ahi substitute go for it!

On to more reviews.... here is the post I made on the H&V breakfast just because I know some people wanted to see that I did that one as soon as we got back
OK so I have 4 children- including a 3 year old that hates characters but really wanted to meet Jojo and Goliath. SOOOO we book the breakfast at H&V and hope for the best.... well first off the place was EMPTY! (we had an 9 AM time on an early entry day for MGM) We sat right down and Leo and June were already dancing. The way they work it is the Little Einsteins and Jojo and Goliath walk around spending plenty of time for pictures and hugs at the tables- and there are 2 full of Disney pep "singers" They were really upbeat and sang songs and danced around with the characters- sang all songs from the Disney channel not just those two shows. My kids were loving it.... well all except the 3 year old... Yep he was under the table the entire meal.(not loving the characters even if it was jojo)
Now on to the food- It was typical character meal fare- actually not too much of it.. mickey waffles, bacon, sausage, oatmeal, a fritata that was pretty good and some potatoes that were average. So food not so great but character interaction great. So this meal gets out of a possible 4 only for the character interaction and show.. the food was plain at best...more reviews coming after I get the laundry done...
__________________
Next up was the Sci- Fi, I orginally thought I wouldn't be hungry enough to really eat at this meal because of the breakfast- but seeing as that meal was so light I had no problem. The kids ordered milkshakes- the yummiest around in our opinion and the standard again of chicken fingers fries and grilled cheese- oh and I think there was a mac and cheese too all fine but this place is really about the burgers and milk shakes. So DH ordered a Bacon Cheeseburger and I went for a Reuben which was tasty and much easier to eat than last year-when it was all slopped together now it is more of a sandwich. TONS of food but we love the Sci Fi it is a must do every trip- just so much fun "It creeps, it crawls....Beware of the Blob......" So this one gets pirates I would say just 2 for the regular food but adds one for atmoshere and milk shakes!!!

Now on to what we skipped- We were generally done with MGM around 3 PM and were ready to head back to the hotel so we skipped the Brown Derby- Actually we canceled our meal so somebody else could go and we ordered room service (18% service charge and $3 fee ....whatever that is?) At the Poly room service rocks because they have selections from Kona!! So I was able to have the teriyaki steak yum yum yum a perfect steak so juicy. We can't remember what DH had... but I think it was a burger again. and a Beer. I won't rate this since this is not available to everybody but it was a pleasant surprise on the room service offerings and it came to the room in 45 minutes.
Up next a weak offering on the review front it was July 4th we were supposed to go to the Garden Grill but...... we were all too tired to go to Epcot so we.... well you'll have to wait to see where we ended up because we are off to see POTC!!!! Got to get me some Jack Sparrow!

 

[missmun52]

great review. Now i know not to sit next to a tank when going to the Coral reef in August.

Thanks

 

[Nasus]

Java,
Great reviews! We ate at Coral Reef in June and loved it. I was very apprehensive because of bad reviews, but it was good. We also had the best waiter of our whole trip, excellent service and great with our 3 kids.
Susan

 

[PolyAddict]

Java!!!

WHat do you mean no rating for room service? Room service is always my favorite part of the dining reviews!!! I'll admit I have a room service food fetish. Maybe because I never do it and I live through others partaking in the forbidden food.

All kidding aside, I do want to have room service at least once this trip.

Thanks for the reviews.

 

[java]

Ok I think we are up to July 4th now!! And that was a CRAZY in park day as expected. We headed to the EMH at MK so we had breakfast at our new favorite Main Street Bakery- everyone getting the usual and it was yummy as before! The earlier you go here the shorter the line. As you approach 11 the line is HUGE. Then for lunch I demanded Casey's. And surprisingly we were able to score an indoor table- table mojo kicking in.... and we all dined on yummy hotdogs- fries and sodas. I have to say I am really enjoying the Casey Dogs and I have had many nyc dogs in my day- even several Coney Island dogs... and I have to say these were pretty darn close to that. So for the surpising short line and the indoor table and the yummy HOT hot dogs it gets
Then it was getting so crowded we couldn't stand it. We were supposed to head over to EPCOT to go to the Garden Grill. But then the rain started...and we all were thinking do we really want to go all the way over to the Garden Grill when we can enjoy the fireworks from our room again..... So we just grabbed some food from the temporary location of Captain Cooks- which really looked like a permanent location- they had it all (except the refillable mug....) Kids chicken fingered it again...chocolate milks(big surprise) DH had the grown up grilled cheese-Blue cheese, jack and some other kind on that yummy yummy multigrain bread. with fries. He loved it. I think I had a turkey club? I can't really remember...But it was good and a perfect night to watch the fireworks from our room- the kids all fell asleep before we could even start watching them- so DH and I got to enjoy the fireworks all alone- romantic...well as romantic as you can be with 4 kids snoring away right beside you......
Next up..AK...Tusker House for breakfast... oh yeah and lunch!! then a dinner at KONA

 

[fizz13]

Great reviews, glad that Captain Cooks is running as should in its temporary location, was a bit nervous about this for our trip, keep em comin,

 

[java]

Now it was hot on this trip as expected for July in FL, but we were headed to AK. The hottest place this side of Death Valley. So I was anticipating much eating but ... there was Tusker House calling to me...
For breakfast we were late(too much back to back EE) so we were at Tusker house at about 10:45(too late for breakfast too early for lunch) But the coffee bar was open- and they had bagels, muffins, croissants ect... and that was perfect for us. quick and painless- not as good as the main street bakery but we had air conditioning so it gets
Now I have wanted to try Flame Tree but as it was about 105 we opted for A/C and dined once again at Tusker House for lunch- and oh what a lunch it is. DH tried the Salmon(thanks to the DIS) and he LOVED it.(came with his favorite green beans and all was good as there was an outdoor cantina of sorts and he got a big 'ol beer) I had the delicious roast chicken that was cooked just perfectly - juicy and crispy skin yummy yummy! The taters tasted nice and fresh- covered in a good gravy that wasn't too salty(my gravy peeve) just delicious. I shared mine with my 2 youngest. The oldest child had a chicken sandwich which he declared- too big- now he is a big boy so this one shocked me- but alas he wasn't feeling so great after 4 trips on EE) and my dd had the drumstick with french fries- note that you can substitue for fries on the children's menu here(she won't do mashed... ) So for this meal I would say could have easily been a dinner. and was reasonably priced and they took my DDE!!! so it gets A perfect score! We ended up outside watching the dancers to end our meal it was just perfect! I could have hung out there all day(and we practically did just that- tusker house and EE )
Well I had been careful to save room for my all time favorite KONA!! Everyone was excited. As the little ones were acting up we opted to skip an appetizer( much to my dismay but I really wanted dessert and didn't think they would last through both.) So I ordered my favorite Macadamia Mahi Mahi and it didn't disappoint- it was perfectly cooked- big piece of fish and for some reason I just love the addition of the bok choy in this dish- the crunch along with the nuts makes it perfect um the crispy onions on top yummy yummy and don't get me started on the risotto!! Pure perfection on a plate. DH went off the board and went for the Shrimp and Scallops. He sees wasabi and is all over it- he would eat shoe leather if it came with a wasabi sauce. So he said it was great- more partial to the scallops wanted more of those.(I tried them and they were yummy) so this was a good out there choice for him. He liked it- not loved it. Kids had blah blah blah same old stuff and it all tasted the same here- they were happy and wanted dessert. So I expected they would want a kiddie cone? right they had one a few nights before when Kona let me do take out dessert(forgot about that one- we got the molten chocolate cake and a kiddie kone and we were all happy happy) So I was surprised when they went for plain old ice cream but I think they were tired. DH and I opted to get our own chocolate volcanoes or whatever they call them - the yummy chocolate dessert with the melty center served with ice cream if you ask!!!! Heaven on a plate. loved it all (now an aside on the waitress- she was fine just nothing special we had a better one last year but she was efficient and that is a good thing sometimes!) Even with the average waitress this gets a strong For the food!!oops forgot the drinks (the best part of the DDE is that you get 20% off on your drinks too!! Hello bartender!!!) We both had a sand in your pants- which is just a pina colada with a strawberry daquiri on top with a splash of rum (so not too liquory at all you would probably have to drink about 10 to get any kind of a buzz for those that care about that stuff * and that would be me......)We tried it because it sounded gross but we couldn't resist it. And I have to say it was Yummy! Something about the layers- pina on the bottom strawberry on top that just work. I will try to make these at home. (except I will be slightly more generous with the rum.....how do you think I ended up with 4 children ) So I would even give this a 4+ on the pirates for the yummy drinks!
Up next... Marakesh... or maybe not..... a big rain storm pushed through and changed our plans- we were able to book a table for 6 at Kona again(but the review changes...as a conference was in town and also cranky cranky luau people that were soaking wet........more on that tomorrow.

 

[missmun52]

great review! I can't wait for the next one.
I will also be going to kona this August and i am excited about it as most people have only good things to say.