You win some you booze some, a HOT August 2017 dining report! complete 1/25*

Finally getting caught up on your review after being in WDW from September 16-24! Awesome write ups, as always. I'm so sorry to hear about Ricky's injury--wishing him the best for a full and speedy recovery :)
 
That chicken sandwich looks good! I'm starving though. The description of the grilled cheese sounds great, too bad it ended up being a disappointment. Glad to her Ricky is in good spirits and the 2nd surgeon is a good fit. Keep us posted about the surgery.
 
I took the picture because they looked soooo good, little donuts with mini marshmallows and pieces of thick homemade looking graham crackers also inside. I had every intention of purchasing one of these cups o' cuteness at some point during our stay but sadly, that never happened.
I didn't see these when we were there! My girls would have loved those!

The hash browns weren't cooked enough for me
I thought the same thing... I feel like this is a problem across property... Maybe I just like well cooked hash browns...

We sat out there for TWENTY MINUTES waiting for our food and neither of us were thrilled, but eventually it came.
I still can't believe it took that long for breakfast!!! They must of been having a bad week or something?!!?

And for whatever reason potato barrels are much tastier than tater tots!
It's all about the marketing!!! (like our chicken lollipops) Ha!

Chris on the other hand got the chicken fingers and potato barrels and proclaimed the chicken fingers the absolute worst he's ever had. He ate his barrels and *****ed while doing so, so I won't scare you with a picture of the offending fingers.
Too Funny!

so I'm glad we have Geyser Point as another option even though we didn't get to eat there this trip.
We didn't eat a ton at Geyser Point and I will save my full opinions on my soon to be started trip report (hopefully) but I think the food is WAAAAY better there!

We have every intention of trying Geyser Point in November. I have high hopes for that one, because the items on the menu look delicious!!!
We were just there, and we had a couple of the items from Geyser Point. I feel the food was much better at Geyser Point. But they did take few things off the menu already!!! The Salmon Sandwich is gone and so is the crab cake eggs benedict. :( I was very sad about both of these being gone.
 
Hope the surgery goes well
:thanks:

Maybe this will be your new thing. We love hanging out at the pools in Disney 8-)
It'll definitely be our new summer thing for sure!

Aw, so sorry he has to go through all this. He's young and healthy though and should heal quickly and be back on the court before you know it. Praying still for his recovery :goodvibes
Thank you again, it's getting more real each day :( But you're right, the fact that he's healthy and in good shape should help the recovery go a bit smoother and also, hopefully a little quicker.

Wow, Roaring Fork sounds like it needs some work.
::yes:: unfortunately.

what a bummer your fancy grilled cheese was a letdown. The potato barrels do look great!
I thought of everything on the new menu this might be good but sadly the flavor just wasn't there. Except that stupid onion jam, I could taste that and it was :crazy2:

Your stories about the boys absolutely kill me.
I'm glad they entertain! Chris would really kill you if had to spend any amount of time with him :rolleyes:

Roaring Fork's lunch/dinner menu has always seemed a little dull to me so we've never eaten those meals there. I was hoping after the refurb they would offer some more exciting choices. Sounds like that's a nope.
I agree it never jumped out at me as someplace I HAD to try, but on our first visit we had some sandwiches there that were really good. I can only remember mine was a turkey something but Steve's was the Roast Beef and Blue and he thought it was delicious. Sad that didn't return.

Do you remember if they still had the magic cookie bars?
Oh yeah baby, and I had one :D

I'm so happy things are moving along with Ricky's surgery...He will get it done, go through recovery and rehab and be good as new!!!!!!!!
Thank you :hug: I tell myself that whenever I start to think negatively. And BTW it was so great talking to you today!! I'm really, really excited to meet you in November :cheer2:
,

The club food looks really good. I haven't done club yet, but I just booked a weekend trip in May at the Beach Club club level so I'm excited to try the free food :)
That's awesome! I've read great things about the BC CL. LOL, I kept calling the CL food and drink "free" too, it's a good way to look at it.

That's disappointing, the picture of the food looks really good. I'm trying to figure out what to do for breakfast the morning I leave for my Disney cruise from Wilderness Lodge. I was thinking of trying the quick service, but might do a character breakfast instead. Does Geyser Point serve breakfast too?
GP does serve breakfast and while we've never eaten breakfast there I've heard good things! If you do decide to make an ADR somewhere, what about Trail's End? It's not characters but it's an easy boat ride from WL over to FW.

Finally getting caught up on your review after being in WDW from September 16-24!
Welcome back!! I hope you had a great trip, can't wait to hear about it!
Awesome write ups, as always.
:thanks:

I'm so sorry to hear about Ricky's injury--wishing him the best for a full and speedy recovery :)
And thank you again :hug: It's a tough thing to deal with, but we'll get through it. I'm very thankful for his coach being awesome!

The description of the grilled cheese sounds great, too bad it ended up being a disappointment.
I had high hopes! It was just nothing special and that onion jam was way too sweet.

I didn't see these when we were there! My girls would have loved those!
Oh no, I hope they haven't gotten rid of them already!

It's all about the marketing!!! (like our chicken lollipops) Ha!
:rotfl2:Very True!

We didn't eat a ton at Geyser Point and I will save my full opinions on my soon to be started trip report (hopefully) but I think the food is WAAAAY better there!
I'm not surprised you found GP better, next time we're at WL I have to make it a point to eat there more. Looking forward to your report :surfweb:

But they did take few things off the menu already!!! The Salmon Sandwich is gone and so is the crab cake eggs benedict. :( I was very sad about both of these being gone.
I heard this before we went in August, at least about the Salmon sandwich. I don't eat seafood but it got such great reviews it's a shame they did away with it, and I don't even think they replaced it with anything? At least not when we were there, I honestly haven't looked at the menu since we've been back. Too sad lol
 


My favorite area, the baked goodness:
Ooooh, it'd be mine, too ::yes::

Normally he doesn't eat until late afternoon but today was different.
What?! I don't understand - I want to eat about the moment I get up :laughing:

Steve got the Bananas Foster French Toast, served with bacon:
This looks amazing to me!!!

He ate his barrels and *****ed while doing so, so I won't scare you with a picture of the offending fingers.
:rotfl2: Thank you for sparing us of this offense!

Glad to hear that Ricky's appointment went well and that you'll get a date set soon for the surgery. I think knowing that progress will soon be made will be good, even if he has a tough road ahead of him. Thinking of him!
 
We sat out there for TWENTY MINUTES waiting for our food and neither of us were thrilled, but eventually it came. Steve got the Bananas Foster French Toast, served with bacon:

20 mins is ridiculous! Although I do love bananas foster :lovestruc

Oh wait, I'm sorry, potato barrels.

:rotfl: It's a cute name. And I agree they just taste better at Disney!

But what I really did not like at all was the onion jam, which prior to eating the sandwich sounded good to me since I like onion. It had a weird consistency and was too sweet.

Ew. I've never had onion jam but have opted not to get it on burgers now I'm glad.

Before I go, here's a brief update on Ricky. We saw the second surgeon today and we really liked him. He practices at Westchester Medical Center which is halfway between us and NYC, but comes up here once a month. He'll be doing Ricky's surgery down in Westchester and his secretary will call me tomorrow or Wed. to set up a date. He didn't sugar coat anything and was clear about how difficult and long the recovery period will be, but also was cognizant of how important it is to Ricky to be able to get back to basketball as soon as he's able. The surgery will be as soon as possible but due to our quick Nov. F&W trip, not sure if it'll be in Oct. or after the trip. Ricky will be on crutches for a few weeks and during that time can't ride the bus so we'll need to be here to drive him back and forth to school, so if he can have the surgery next week we'll do it; otherwise after Nov. 8th. He's still in good spirits and is still working out with his team and sitting in with the Varsity team, but I know it's going to be much harder on him once try-outs start Nov. 6th and......he's not trying out.

I'm glad you liked the doctor and have some more things figured out. Hope everything goes well and you know when the surgery can be scheduled soon!
 


Since Steve doesn't sleep in ever he was up early and took a look in the lounge since - SURPRISE! - our keys were working!!!
We were club level guests and we were able to get into our rooms AND the lounge by ourselves, it was a Tuesday morning miracle :worship:

Oh my goodness, yay! I thought the day would never come!

S'mores Donut Holes:
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This is suuuuch a delicious idea...

I think the August heat makes a huge difference and caused us all to want to take it slow.

Absolutely! It really makes you slow down, and that pool looks a lot more tempting!

Steve enjoyed this as did Ricky, except that's an understatement where he's concerned. He proclaimed this the BEST chicken sandwich he's EVER had in his LIFE, and he's eaten A LOT of chicken sandwiches. He thought this was totally the shiznit. He licked his fingers on this one. The boy doesn't meet many sandwiches he doesn't like but this, this one is at the top of the list for sure!

At least there was one hit from your meal here. Sounds good!

Before I go, here's a brief update on Ricky. We saw the second surgeon today and we really liked him. He practices at Westchester Medical Center which is halfway between us and NYC, but comes up here once a month. He'll be doing Ricky's surgery down in Westchester and his secretary will call me tomorrow or Wed. to set up a date. He didn't sugar coat anything and was clear about how difficult and long the recovery period will be, but also was cognizant of how important it is to Ricky to be able to get back to basketball as soon as he's able. The surgery will be as soon as possible but due to our quick Nov. F&W trip, not sure if it'll be in Oct. or after the trip. Ricky will be on crutches for a few weeks and during that time can't ride the bus so we'll need to be here to drive him back and forth to school, so if he can have the surgery next week we'll do it; otherwise after Nov. 8th. He's still in good spirits and is still working out with his team and sitting in with the Varsity team, but I know it's going to be much harder on him once try-outs start Nov. 6th and......he's not trying out.

That's great news! You want a doctor who's honest with you and doesn't create false expectations, so that's good, but excellent that he's on the same page about Ricky's needs and interests and that you all feel good about him. Hopeful for Ricky's surgery taking place soon and for his full recovery.
 
Oh well, at least we weren't hungry. We returned to the room and saw the boys were awake; they were fine with breakfast in the lounge and went down themselves (just like I'd planned, thanks again for the working MB's, Disney!). After that we all went down and enjoyed some pool time which was a huge switch for us:
I bet that you were very relieved that the boys were happy to have breakfast in the lounge instead of Roaring Forks. Twenty minutes is a long time to wait for breakfast.

I think the August heat makes a huge difference and caused us all to want to take it slow.
We spent more time at the pool during our July trip than we ever have before. And we were surprised to discover how much we enjoy it, too. I think it will be a permanent change to our Disney routine.

I hope Ricky's surgery went well and the doctor gives you a good prognosis. :)
 
Yay for getting into the lounge on your own!
The pool area is so pretty and in August I'm sure that water felt good.
Thanks for updating us on Ricky. I've been thinking about you both :hug:
 
Why do I always read about food when I'm hungry lol

little donuts with mini marshmallows and pieces of thick homemade looking graham crackers also inside.

OMG how did you not buy these and eat them for breakfast lol? Might have been better than the eggs lol

Sorry RF was a disappointment on this trip...ugh. At least the chicken was good.

I hope you get a surgery date soon. Poor guy.
 
Wow, Roaring Forks looks like a real bust, except for Steve's french toast which does sound yummy! Though you are going to have to school that boy on how to really take advantage of club level. Glad the chicken sandwich was good too, though what is up with your grilled cheese. There is clearly no semblance of grilled going on there.

Happy to hear you all got to enjoy some pool time. As you know we are frequent pool drinkers, I mean visitors, largely for Casey but for me vacation = water so I'm always happy to get a little time in. Bring on the pirate pool.

Glad to hear you all found a surgeon you liked. Fingers crossed you can get it scheduled soon. I'll be thinking of you
 
I just filled out a survey about Wilderness Lodge. I added some not great reviews for Roaring Fork for you. And I complained that they already took off some good food from Geyser Point. Maybe they will work on making it better!
 
What?! I don't understand - I want to eat about the moment I get up :laughing:
This is how Chris and I are! Doesn't matter if it's 6am or 9am, bring on the breakfast :bitelip:

Ew. I've never had onion jam but have opted not to get it on burgers now I'm glad.
You've been making the right decision. And every time I say or hear "onion jam" I think "toe jam" lol

I'm glad you liked the doctor and have some more things figured out. Hope everything goes well and you know when the surgery can be scheduled soon!
Thanks! Just about a month to go which I'm glad about but I know I'll be a wreck when the day comes...............

Hopeful for Ricky's surgery taking place soon and for his full recovery.
11/10 is the day. We're glad it's soon even though it's making Ricky and I nervous. But better that it's over soon and he can begin recovery :)

OMG how did you not buy these and eat them for breakfast lol? Might have been better than the eggs lol
Probably! I hope they still have it when we stay again!

I hope you get a surgery date soon. Poor guy.
Thank you, it's scheduled for 11/10 so just about a month to wait..............

though what is up with your grilled cheese. There is clearly no semblance of grilled going on there.
None at all which is one thing that sucked about the sandwich. We weren't hitting any jackpots at RF that's for sure.

As you know we are frequent pool drinkers, I mean visitors, largely for Casey but for me vacation = water so I'm always happy to get a little time in. Bring on the pirate pool.
lol, I am so very interested to see what you think of the Pirate pool! And the Pirate room, and the whole Piratey resort pirate:

I just filled out a survey about Wilderness Lodge. I added some not great reviews for Roaring Fork for you. And I complained that they already took off some good food from Geyser Point. Maybe they will work on making it better!
Oh man, I want to fill out a WL survey! Steve always gets the surveys since our MDE is in his name and he fills them out before giving them to me.
 

Mama Mia Melrose
We left our resort around 2:00 meaning we'd have some time before our first FP at 3. We bribed Chris to ride RnRc for the first time:

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He loved it :rotfl2:Then we got some of those fabulous sugary sweet nuts which I don't have a picture of and I got a Shofferhofer to go with them:

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And we stood in the melt-your-skin-off sun to watch the March of the First Order. We had a little skin left when it was over so we used our TSMM FP and then it was time for our early dinner at Mama Melrose!

Steve and I ate lunch here back in May after not being there for a few years and we enjoyed it. I knew the menu was good for the boys and wanted something in the park.
You can watch the chefs make pizza from the lobby:

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We were seated very quickly, about 5 minutes after our reservation time and that was partly because we arrived about 3 minutes past said reservation time. Bread came right away and we all pigged out on it

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The rolls were fairly basic but soft and warm; the star was the herbed dipping oil that went with it. Soon came our drinks - the only one I was concerned with was mine since that's the only one I have a picture of:

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Prosecco: I don't see it on the menu so I don't know what brand it was, but I do know it was the good kind! I'm sure Ricky had water and Chris had some kind of soda. I actually think Steve had water also.

Chris and Steve got an appetizer to share, the Crispy Calamari: topped with Grilled Peppers and Onions, served with Dipping Sauces:

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The green was a heavy, heavy pesto and the red was marinara; the yellow was a honey-butter. Chris liked the calamari and peppers but not the sauces while Steve liked them except the pesto. It looked weird and he said tasted too "off". They both said the calamari was indeed crispy as advertised :D

Ricky was beginning to not feel well and got an app for his dinner, the Mama's Caesar Salad: crisp Romaine Lettuce, creamy Parmesan Dressing, and Herb Croutons:

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Looks good and despite his stomach not feeling perfect Ricky finished it all. He isn't big on describing things but said the dressing wasn't "too sour" so take that for what it's worth. The lettuce was fresh and the salad was a good size.

Chris got the kids Cheese Pizza:

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See Steve's modeling hands? Chris was ok with the pizza except it had some of the dreaded cornmeal on the bottom. Oh, the horror! I should have taken a picture but it was really so slight. He had one at a restaurant at Universal a few years ago that was covered with it and we understood him not liking it. Then the pizza at Il Mulino had some which he still didn't really like, but this was such a small amount we told him to get over it. So he ate like 3 pieces and that was enough for us.

Steve got the Oven-Baked Chicken alla Parmigiana: Breaded Chicken Breast with Marinara Sauce topped with Melted Mozzarella over Spaghetti:

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He got this in May and loved it. Even though there's hardly any sauce, the sauce that is there is very good and the chicken is tender and the breading isn't heavy and is very well seasoned.
Finally, I got the Penne alla Vodka: with Pancetta and Sweet Onions finished with Tomato-Basil sauce, Cream, Vodka, and Pecorino Romano:


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It looks good and Penne alla Vodka is usually what I order in Italian restaurants. And we go to Italian restaurants often. Unfortunately I didn't like this very much. The sauce was very tomato-tasting and I don't like that. I couldn't taste very much pancetta or onions and I was looking forward to both. Steve tried it and liked it so I guess it was just me!

While Ricky and Steve were happy with their food and Chris was ok with it, I was a bit disappointed and liked my meal in May better. I'd go again if we're there as a family and someone requests it and I don't think it's as bad as some of the reviews lead you to believe, but it is most definitely not on a level with Via Napoli or even Tutto Italia and NOWHERE NEAR Il Mulino. PSA, you all need to go to Il Mulino, no excuses. Still not a bad dinner and we had a great HS night afterwards. Before all the night entertainment we were hungry for some snacks so I got fried dough from Oasis Canteen which I again failed to take a picture of. The boys separated from me and got something else which for the life of me I can't remember because as usual, I was most concerned with myself and my own stomach. And after watching "Disney Movie Magic" :cheer2: and "SWAGS" :sad2:, the lounge was closed when we got back to WL so I missed out on cobbler. We still had 4 full days left though, plenty of time to enjoy lounge goodies!

UP NEXT: GREY GOOSE EXISTS IN THE FUTURE!
 
I am way behind and just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear about your son's injury!

Hey all, I apologize for the lack of updates. Over the weekend Ricky got hurt real bad in his football game. Wednesday we found out he tore his ACL, will need surgery and will miss this whole basketball season. It's been devastating for Ricky and heartbreaking for me; I actually think I'm taking it harder! Anyway I just haven't been in a very "Disney" mood, but I promise to update asap :) As always thank you for sticking around!

I had knee surgery when I was 15 and then a second surgery at 20 that involved a total knee cap re-alignment. I was in a walking cast for two months and it was brutal. I did daily physio and remember thinking I would never be able to bend my knee again. And then, one day I just could. 18 years later and I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was a physio at 6 am before my summer job and was doing range of motion exercises on the stationary bike. I made it a full rotation and my knee bent more than 90 degrees. It hurt, but it was an almost good hurt and from there my recovery was incredible. Sorry if this was an over-share, but wanted to offer you some comfort that when things seem like they won't get better, they do. Ricky will be playing basketball again before you know it!
 
I am way behind and just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear about your son's injury!
Thank you, I appreciate this!

I had knee surgery when I was 15 and then a second surgery at 20 that involved a total knee cap re-alignment. I was in a walking cast for two months and it was brutal. I did daily physio and remember thinking I would never be able to bend my knee again. And then, one day I just could. 18 years later and I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was a physio at 6 am before my summer job and was doing range of motion exercises on the stationary bike. I made it a full rotation and my knee bent more than 90 degrees. It hurt, but it was an almost good hurt and from there my recovery was incredible. Sorry if this was an over-share, but wanted to offer you some comfort that when things seem like they won't get better, they do. Ricky will be playing basketball again before you know it!
Again, thank you very much for this :hug: I'm glad you shared, over or not lol because it made me feel very good and more confident that he'll make it through this and be back to his old self :)
 
We bribed Chris to ride RnRc for the first time:

chrisrcr-jpg.275358

Oh my goodness, that face!! :rotfl2: That would so be me.

And we stood in the melt-your-skin-off sun

Bahaha :rotfl:Accurate.

See Steve's modeling hands? Chris was ok with the pizza except it had some of the dreaded cornmeal on the bottom. Oh, the horror!

Oh my gosh, the horror! The madness! Cornmeal on pizza crust!! Haha poor Chris. Life is hard sometimes.
 
I love Chris' face on RnRC :rotfl2: I'm pretty sure that's how I look, except my eyes would be closed!

We've eaten at MM on probably every trip. I think we've only had one bad experience there and that was because out waitress was awful. Otherwise, we have always liked our meals. I'm bummed that you didn't like your Penne Alla Vodka, since that's what I usually get and always have enjoyed it. Maybe they were having an off day.

Someday I'll get to that Il Mulino…and I'll think of you the whole time I'm there!
 
Oh man, I want to fill out a WL survey! Steve always gets the surveys since our MDE is in his name and he fills them out before giving them to me.
You need to change that! I think they actually sent it to me again. It was a long survey! I might take it again today.

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See Steve's modeling hands? Chris was ok with the pizza except it had some of the dreaded cornmeal on the bottom.
This pizza looks not too bad. I would be interested in a comparison to Mama Melrose to say Pizza Rizzo's pizza. Since those are both right there.

Crispy Calamari: topped with Grilled Peppers and Onions, served with Dipping Sauces:
Grilled peppers seems a little weird. And that maranaria sauce looks thick! I could drink the sauce at Via Napoli!

That looks pretty good but I would have def needed more sauce!

I love penne ala vodka and that doesn't look quiet right. Not bad but not as creamy yummy goodness as it should be...
 

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