Diary of a Picky Kid (& his Foodie Mom) DxDDP in December! Update 4/9 'Ohana Dinner!

Lisa F

is a very wise woman
Joined
Feb 22, 2000
Hi all,
Well I am back from my first week of December trip and it was a blast. Seriously, it was like someone was sprinkling pixie dust on our trip from beginning to end, our luck was constantly good and things just seemed to go our way.

We did a split stay, one night at AKL Kidani where we paid OOP, 4 nights at BWV where we were on the DxDDP and then 3 nights at the Polynesian villas where we were again OOP. But it felt like the bulk of our trip was DxDDP since we were able to use it over 5 full days.

Here we are on our first day at the MK before the foot pain kicked in feeling positively jubilant about being at WDW:

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and a bit about us:

I am a single divorced mom who has owned DVC since 1999 (which I now share with my kiddo's dad, so we get to stay at really nice resorts that I wouldn't be able to afford otherwise). I love Disney (who here doesn't?) and have been going as an adult since 1998 but went a few times before that both with my parents and when I was a junior in high school at 17 (back in 1991). That will figure in later. I used to be a bit of a foodie back in my former life... I LOVE ethnic food as I'm from NYC originally, and I love to try new things... but since I now live on Martha's Vineyard, the ethnic food is not so much here and I love to cook and make a lot of my favorites at home (indian, greek, chinese etc). I did the chef's table at V&A on my honeymoon and then the regular dining room a couple of times after that... and I love a good gourmet meal... which can be challenging now that I am a single mom of a picky child. But if there is any place that can happen, it's at Disney. On our last trip in 2014, CA Grill was a highlight as I was able to have my fancy meal and my child could have his pizza without sauce. I also am not a huge fan of desserts and am very very very difficult to please/wow when it comes to them... so keep that in mind when you read my dessert reviews.

My kiddo is 8 and LOVES Disney too. He can't understand why anyone would ever vacation anywhere else. He is on the spectrum and has some sensory issues and is a pretty picky eater because of it, but has recently gotten really into food network and the kids shows like chopped and baking challenge, which has encouraged him to try new things. On our last trip together in 2014 he ate mac and cheese, pasta with butter and the occasional chicken or corn dog nugget. For breakfast it was mickey waffles and bacon or bust. As you will see, he expanded his palate a bit on this trip from the above list, sometimes not for the better (I'll never forget the day he came home from school SO EXCITED that he tried something new and LIKED IT and it turned out to be maple syrup. um, you love pure sugar? yay? lol.) I am very laid back about trying new things so he is more open to it with no pressure. He did try new things this time and ate (and enjoyed) some things that surprised me. He is sometimes opinionated, sometimes not and sometimes the cleaned plate and shift in mood says more than he will verbalize.

So now that the intros are all done, we can move on to the food. We did no QS, all TS, even during the OOP part of our trip. I kept all of my receipts so I will include prices vs. value on the DxDDP (for that portion of our trip). Also the kiddo has an AP so that put a bit of a dent in our DDP value, I will include what the discounted portion would have been as well as the full price for reference.

Here is the list of our meals. I will make this linkable as I go!

Day 1: arrival day, AKL Kidani, MK
Skipper Canteen Lunch
Sanaa Dinner

Day 2: DxDDP starts, Kidani check out, AK morning EMH and all day, HS at night, BWV check in
Tusker House Breakfast
Yak & Yeti Dunch/Linner
Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! Dessertish Par-TAY :banana:

Day 3: DxDDP, HS morning EMH and all day, Epcot at night
Sci-Fi Dine-In Lunch
California Grill dinner

Day 4: DxDDP, Epcot from rope drop to close!
Coral Reef Lunch with CP package
Biergarten Dinner

Day 5: DxDDP, Down Day - Disney springs all day and HS evening
'Ohana Breakfast
Hollywood & Vine: Minnie's Holiday Dine with F! package

Day 6: DxDDP, BWV check out day & Epcot til 3:30, check into Poly & MK
Garden Grill Breakfast
Narcoossee's Dinner

Day 7: OOP, day off til MVMCP
Boma Breakfast
'Ohana Dinner
MVMCP w/Holiday Wishes Dessert Party

Day 8: OOP, MK
Crystal Palace breakfast
Hoop Dee Doo Revue

Day 9: OOP, departure day
Room Service @ Poly breakfast

I talk a lot so be prepared for a lot of chatter and extra photos. If you like that kind of thing, sit back and enjoy. If you don't, feel free to scroll by and enjoy the food porn. Here we go!
 
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Awesome title. Can't wait to hear all about your adventures!
 
So excited to read your reviews! And so funny about the food network - our 9-year-old on the spectrum was obsessed with food network last summer! He's moderately picky - buttered noodles and pepperoni pizza are favorites and breakfast at WDW is always . . . kids' mickey waffles and bacon. (We worked through it at Pop when they served Pop waffles instead of Mickey . . . but that was initially a little rough for him.) My husband and older boys are joining us for part of our trip next month, but I'll have a few days on my own with our youngest at the start. And we have a Narcoosee's ADR - I've been there before but not with him. Any chance you can share a quick preview of your dinner there?
 
So excited to read your reviews! And so funny about the food network - our 9-year-old on the spectrum was obsessed with food network last summer! He's moderately picky - buttered noodles and pepperoni pizza are favorites and breakfast at WDW is always . . . kids' mickey waffles and bacon. (We worked through it at Pop when they served Pop waffles instead of Mickey . . . but that was initially a little rough for him.) My husband and older boys are joining us for part of our trip next month, but I'll have a few days on my own with our youngest at the start. And we have a Narcoosee's ADR - I've been there before but not with him. Any chance you can share a quick preview of your dinner there?
in a word, it was terrible (I'm sorry to say). It was so bad, I need to write disney about it. I think they were having an off night as a DIS friend of mine was there the same night and her food was not good either (but not as bad as mine). Kiddo ordered the filet off the adult menu and I ordered it medium and plain, it came purple and sauced. I had to send it back and it came back half medium rare/half rare and charred because of the sauce put directly on the grill and he ate the medium rare but left the rare (he will eat medium rare but I usually order him medium in restaurants... I found consistently that except for CA Grill the disney steaks were cooked under all across the board). I had the lobster tails and they were also underdone - not to the point of sick-making but to the point of not tasting very good. But by the time I figured that out I was so done with dealing with my son's food that I just ate some but they were not as other reviews have described. The lobster soup came out with a skin on it... I thought it was because I ended up letting it sit for a few minutes but upon reviewing my photos (which I took as soon as it came out) it came that way, but in a screaming hot ("please don't touch this!") bowl. And you should also know that the ladies' room is under renovation so if you have to go to the bathroom you'd better hope there are no men in the mens' room or little boys who need to go ahead of you because you will wait forever. They also kept dropping dishes all night long, two were dropped while I was there and a third was dropped after I left according to my friend. My last experience there a decade ago was also mediocre so I think this one is permanently off my list. Sorry for the bad news, maybe you'll have better luck :(
 
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I'm here Lisa! Glad you guys had a great trip & I agree with Kari @kastoney -love the title. Look forward to reading all about your eats :)
 
in a word, it was terrible (I'm sorry to say). It was so bad, I need to write disney about it. I think they were having an off night as a DIS friend of mine was there the same night and her food was not good either (but not as bad as mine). Kiddo ordered the filet off the adult menu and I ordered it medium and plain, it came purple and sauced. I had to send it back and it came back half medium rare/half rare and charred because of the sauce put directly on the grill and he ate the medium rare but left the rare (he will eat medium rare but I usually order him medium in restaurants... I found consistently that except for CA Grill the disney steaks were cooked under all across the board). I had the lobster tails and they were also underdone - not to the point of sick-making but to the point of not tasting very good. But by the time I figured that out I was so done with dealing with my son's food that I just ate some but they were not as other reviews have described. The lobster soup came out with a skin on it... I thought it was because I ended up letting it sit for a few minutes but upon reviewing my photos (which I took as soon as it came out) it came that way, but in a screaming hot ("please don't touch this!") bowl. And you should also know that the ladies' room is under renovation so if you have to go to the bathroom you'd better hope there are no men in the mens' room or little boys who need to go ahead of you because you will wait forever. They also kept dropping dishes all night long, two were dropped while I was there and a third was dropped after I left according to my friend. My last experience there a decade ago was also mediocre so I think this one is permanently off my list. Sorry for the bad news, maybe you'll have better luck :(

Thank you! This is great information - really helpful. I was on the fence on this one for him. He hasn't been there before and he's big on going to familiar restaurants at Disney, so that was the first hurdle with this ADR. Then he was starting to get comfortable with it because I showed him photos of the restaurant and the menu with the filet. So we would have ordered him the filet from the adult menu - medium and plain! I'm going to check out other available ADRs for that night and see what comes up.

P.S. He's reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid book 7 right this moment. :) I think our guys would have a lot in common!
 
in a word, it was terrible (I'm sorry to say). It was so bad, I need to write disney about it. I think they were having an off night as a DIS friend of mine was there the same night and her food was not good either (but not as bad as mine). Kiddo ordered the filet off the adult menu and I ordered it medium and plain, it came purple and sauced. I had to send it back and it came back half medium rare/half rare and charred because of the sauce put directly on the grill and he ate the medium rare but left the rare (he will eat medium rare but I usually order him medium in restaurants... I found consistently that except for CA Grill the disney steaks were cooked under all across the board). I had the lobster tails and they were also underdone - not to the point of sick-making but to the point of not tasting very good. But by the time I figured that out I was so done with dealing with my son's food that I just ate some but they were not as other reviews have described. The lobster soup came out with a skin on it... I thought it was because I ended up letting it sit for a few minutes but upon reviewing my photos (which I took as soon as it came out) it came that way, but in a screaming hot ("please don't touch this!") bowl. And you should also know that the ladies' room is under renovation so if you have to go to the bathroom you'd better hope there are no men in the mens' room or little boys who need to go ahead of you because you will wait forever. They also kept dropping dishes all night long, two were dropped while I was there and a third was dropped after I left according to my friend. My last experience there a decade ago was also mediocre so I think this one is permanently off my list. Sorry for the bad news, maybe you'll have better luck :(
Oh, gosh. I am so sorry.

We ate there and had a wonderful meal. And a wonderful server. It was on Sunday, November 27th.
 


Thank you! This is great information - really helpful. I was on the fence on this one for him. He hasn't been there before and he's big on going to familiar restaurants at Disney, so that was the first hurdle with this ADR. Then he was starting to get comfortable with it because I showed him photos of the restaurant and the menu with the filet. So we would have ordered him the filet from the adult menu - medium and plain! I'm going to check out other available ADRs for that night and see what comes up.

P.S. He's reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid book 7 right this moment. :) I think our guys would have a lot in common!
another little preview but you can't possibly go wrong with the server Jenny O at CA Grill and plain filet. I mean the kitchen can always screw up but she is an amazing server and never made me feel like it was on me to get it right if that makes any sense.

also honestly I am a big believer in taking reviews with a grain of salt. Every restaurant can have a bad night, you know? But it was pretty awful and it kind of ticked me off the more I thought about it given what the bill was.
 
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Oh, gosh. I am so sorry.

We ate there and had a wonderful meal. And a wonderful server. It was on Sunday, November 27th.
I was REALLY looking forward to it too after the great reviews. Maybe it was an off night for them, I don't know. The guy next to me ordered a lobster tail (just a single side) and it looked perfectly done (mine looked a bit underdone in addition to being underdone) so I don't know.... his came out about 20 mins after mine. It kind of makes me mad whenever I think about it! But I will get to the full review later! I am trying to figure out how to deal with my photos right now before I get started on the real review lol.
 
Day 1: Magic Kingdom, Skipper Canteen

So I decided to add a day to my trip when I realized I had an extra day on my PH that wasn't being used (can't have that happen!) and I moved my 2pm flight to 6:50am. It cost me a bit to change the tickets but it was SO WORTH IT because it was awesome to start our day at the MK. Originally I was jazzed to snag an ADR at LTT when the menu changed and tons of people dropped them since I was planning on a couple of apps anyway and it is an old favorite of mine, but then I discovered that Skipper Canteen had plain mac and cheese on the kid menu and I have wanted to try that since it opened so I switched over to that one when a 12:45 opened.

So the day we flew in, everything really went as smoothly as possible and we landed a bit before 10am, got our luggage, got our rental car, drove to MK, parked, got on the tram and were through security and in the MK by about 11:20. We went and checked out sorcerers of the MK and got some SDFPs and before I knew it, it was time for our 12:45 Skipper Canteen ADR.

We didn't wait long for a table but we were both pretty hungry so the 10 minutes or so seemed like forEVER, lol, but it really was not. Our waitress was nice but was not into the jungle cruise schtick at all which was fine at the time but in retrospect disappointing given how much my son truly enjoyed the puns on the Jingle Cruise later on, but oh well. She was nice and prompt which is really most important especially when you've got a hangry 8 year old boy on your hands.

But I was kind of devastated when we were handed the menus and I saw that it had changed and what I wanted to order was no longer on the menu :sad:but then I put on my big girl panties and got over it. I really really wanted the arepas and for a while was confused as hell what to order. I would have liked to have tried the lionfish but something like that would have been a sensory nightmare for my child (he almost puked down my cleavage one time at $1 raw oyster night when my bf's kids did something gross with a raw oyster, no joke, I wanted to kill them all) and I didn't want to listen to it so I planned on something safe. This is the only place I took a pic of the menu at because it was different than what I expected, so here is the menu (although it looks like Disney has updated it on their website but this has the little pictures):

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and the kids menu for good measure:

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We of course were served the bread with honey. The one thing I noticed is that food looks SO MUCH BIGGER in pictures in reviews. Not that I never had enough to eat but the portions look massive in the pictures and sometimes looked tiny when I got the plate... but I never went hungry either. So this bread always looked massive to me in the photos and I was surprised it was only about the size of a saucer... which was fine. My picky kid does not touch "bread with seeds" and I ate about 1/3 of it so obviously it's not too small ;)

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I know this gets really mixed reviews but I thought it was delicious, if a little dry. I am not sure if it is supposed to be dry but I did not mind that texture with the honey. I really enjoyed the flavors in it and the honey was delicious... but I am half jewish so bread dipped in honey is kind of a thing for us anyway and it was not unfamiliar.

We also got a couple of beverages... I got the Punch Line Punch and forgot to ask for the spiced rim - I wish the server had asked but she didn't and this is what I got. It was absolutely delicious but I LOVE mango and it definitely had a distinctive mango flavor. Kiddo tried it and thought it tasted too much like POG juice, which he is not a fan of... I thought it was definitely much more strongly mango. I would definitely order this again.

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Kiddo got an apple juice and I wasn't sure what to expect but she gave it to him in a large glass with a lid and straw. Lids and straws are really necessary as he is really fidgety and will often knock it over... it really reduces my stress to know there is a lid on his drink. He sucked down half of it before I got a photo so we had to have "the talk" about not eating anything until mommy takes a picture :rotfl:

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So while I was getting over the menu change, since I was really in the mood for the arepas I decided to get the replacement:

Orinoco Ida's Cachapas
And you thought our jokes were corny! House-made Corn Pancakes, Mojo-braised Pork, Black Bean Salad, Avocado Cream

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so this is definitely a lot smaller than what I thought the arepas would be... it might have the same amount of meat and the corn cakes may be the same amount as the arepas but without the tostones and nice pile of beans this was definitely more appetizer sized... which I suppose is appropriate since it is actually an appetizer. I wasn't sure if I should order another appetizer too so I just ordered this one and although it was a bit on the small side, with 1/3 of the bread and the mango punch stuff it was not an un-filling meal.

I often will taste components individual before tasting it all together and I have found at disney more than anywhere else that leads to things that don't taste so great, lol. What I mean is that this was really delicious as a composed plate but I have seen reviews on the beef in the arepas saying it was too salty and when I tasted the pork by itself it was also quite salty, but when taken together as a whole the dish was really nicely balanced. I half wonder if that is party of why Disney made the switch... people just didn't know how to put the Arepas together to have a balance bite.

The corn cakes were delicious with just the right sweetness and real corn kernels in it (which were nice and sweet and not watery, which is kind of a pet peeve for me with corn... um yes my kid is the picky one!) and they were nice and crispy on the outside and perfectly chewy on the inside (yes I tasted those alone too!) The bean salsa on the top was black beans, tomatoes, cucumber and onion and was light and crunchy and maybe even undressed but it didn't need to be. The avocado cream did not taste like avocado to me at all and I would have loved some diced avocado on top with a lime wedge on the side for citrus, but the cream did have a very strong citrus flavor that really helped balance the richness of the meat. So I was glad I got this and it hit the spot totally but it is probably no longer big enough to be an entree by itself... but for a light lunch it was fine with bread. I would definitely order this again with another appetizer for lunch or just as an appetizer if I was feeling ravenous.

Kiddo predictably got the mac and cheese

Junior Skip's Mac & Cheese
Classic Macaroni and Cheese served with Broccoli.

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so it should not surprise anyone that the broccoli was NOT happening. I didn't realize there was anything we could sub for so I just asked for her to not give him any (see aforementioned gagging) but she offered up fries as a replacement and he eagerly accepted. He liked this mac and cheese but said it was served cool (not to the point of cold and congealed, he is very specific with language!) and he wished it was hotter but he was too hungry to send it back. The fries were devoured too... and note a year ago he would not have touched these fries citing "too much potato," lol... anything bigger than a mcdonald's fry was "too much potato" but he has come around to be quite the equal opportunity french fry fan. He ate this whole thing.

Then it was time for dessert. Now before you think I am a lunatic whiner.... I just have to defend myself a bit. I love chocolate but am very particular about it... I love dark chocolate and it has to be good quality and it has to be dark but not too dark. I do like some chocolate baked goods but overall I am not much of a fan of baked goods. I don't care much for cookies or pies and cakes only of a certain texture and the only brownies I like are the super fudgy gluten free brownies at the Scottish Bakehouse here on Martha's Vineyard. I am basically not much of a dessert person and the sweetness and texture has to be just right for me. I do really enjoy a few bites of something sweet at the end of a meal though, which is probably my favorite thing about buffets because one or maybe two mini desserts are satisfying to me.

So I ordered the Kungaloosh.

Kungaloosh!
An African-inspired Chocolate Cake with Caramelized Bananas served with Cashew-Caramel Ice Cream topped with Coffee Dust

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it's so beautiful right? Well apparently "african inspired" means "dense cakey brownie" which is not my thing. It was fine for what it was but I'm just not a fan in general, so I ate about 1/3 of the cake and then finished the ice cream with the banana. I LOVE ice cream and the cashew ice cream was yummy as was the brulee banana. I would probably not order this again and should have gone for the rice pudding.

Kiddo had the volcano

Volcano!
Gooey Chocolate Cake with Caramel Lava and exploding Chocolate Rocks will make you shout "UH OA!"

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it was quite beautiful as well and a little more light in texture but a bit sweet for me... but he LOVED it. His only disappointment is that the chocolate rocks didn't "pop" but I figured that might be a blessing in disguise with his sensory issues. He gobbled the whole thing down including the sugar fire. He did comment "mom this looks SO MUCH BIGGER in the pictures!" but I think it was a nice sized rich dessert for kids. Kid would order this again.

Overall I really liked Skipper Canteen and would definitely go back again. I'd love to try some other things on the menu. It is a beautiful restaurant and feels like a bit of an oasis in the MK.

Total with 20% AP discount (kid has an AP) and 20% tip: $34.19

I think this is a great value for a TS lunch, with the bread, drink and dessert the app really was plenty for lunch and I would pick that or the falafel 9 times out of 10 out over any other MK QS options... but sometimes a girl's just gotta have some chicken nuggets.

Next up: Sanaa dinner
 
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Awesome title. Can't wait to hear all about your adventures!
Thanks! You have set the bar quite high with your reviews but I will do my best!

I'm here Lisa! Glad you guys had a great trip & I agree with Kari @kastoney -love the title. Look forward to reading all about your eats :)
lol, it just popped into my head for some reason! Most of the eats were awesome, my slam of Narcoossees notwithstanding!
 
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Thank you! This is great information - really helpful. I was on the fence on this one for him. He hasn't been there before and he's big on going to familiar restaurants at Disney, so that was the first hurdle with this ADR. Then he was starting to get comfortable with it because I showed him photos of the restaurant and the menu with the filet. So we would have ordered him the filet from the adult menu - medium and plain! I'm going to check out other available ADRs for that night and see what comes up.

P.S. He's reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid book 7 right this moment. :) I think our guys would have a lot in common!
Also he hasn't read those books yet but I think we might get started on them next. Right now he is into the Wrinkle in Time series and has Harry Potter on the horizon but these might be a quick fun read for him too. I bet they would have a lot in common, a highlight of our trip was meeting up with another mom traveling with her 10 year old son who has a lot in common with him. It was wonderful touring with them a bit and kiddo was on cloud nine :cloud9: to make a new friend. I'm sure you know how that is too :) The trip overall was just so magical... I want to write a trip report as well but wanted to do the dining reviews before I forget significant details... I don't think I will ever forget the significant details of our overall trip. It could not have been more amazing!
 
Ok first of all, not sure we can be friends since you aren't a big dessert person :snooty: LOL just kidding, I'm actually glad to know what the kungaloosh! is like because I really wanted to order it when we went in Aug. but I was SO full since I ordered 2 appetizers! Speaking of -
THEY TOOK THE AREPAS OFF THE MENU??? I had no idea!! I loved them! Sorry about that, the replacement looks ok but I think the arepas were probably better. I did try each component separate and also together. I want to go back but now I have to check the menu again! If you do go back and get the Punch Line Punch make sure you ask for the spiced rim, because that was awesome :thumbsup2
 
I'm here!!
Also, I'm probably not going to do a dining review; I'll just copy yours since we ate at most of the same restaurants at the same time! :rotfl2:
 
Evening 1: Sanaa

So after a lovely 6 hours or so in the MK during which we rode ALL THE RIDES (well not all of them but let's just say SDFP rocks) we took off for our car and drove to the resort. It had been a long day with the travel and we were both feeling pretty tired by this time. Also I had never stayed at Kidani before and was surprised by the underground garage and really the whole layout of the resort. I am not a huge fan to be honest and if I were to stay at AKL again I'd probably be targeting Jambo over Kidani but this is not my favorite resort period. I found Kidani in general to be VERY confusing and not as beautiful or impressive as Jambo house. But that said it was only for one night and we were going to AK morning EMH the next day so it was a logical pick when I needed to add on to my reservations to add the extra day but I didn't want to extend BWV and add more TS credits than I could reasonably use since the BWV had the DxDDP attached to it. Also it was our second hotel in two nights since we stayed at an airport hotel the night before so we were feeling rather unsettled I think.

Anyway we went up to the room and dropped our stuff and went down to dinner. It was a pretty short wait for a table, but by then the kiddo was HANGRY. He sat down at the table with a big nasty frown on his face and the waitress came up and started asking him about his day. He answered and was not rude (luckily for him because mom was a little hangry herself) but he was definitely in a mood... so she decided to cheer him up and came back with this:

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I don't know if it was the sugar in the apple juice or the buzz lightyear lightup guy but it changed his mood instantly. Thank goodness for CMs sprinkling pixie dust. I was feeling a little frazzled myself so I decided (since we were now in the resort) to order a grownup drink myself. I ordered this:


African Starr Mojito
Starr African Rum, Van der Hum Tangerine Liqueur from South Africa, fresh Mint, and Lime

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this was light and yummy and refreshing and tasted like tangerine but it was not a mojito. I love mojitos but you have to muddle the mint to get the mint flavor in there and the mint leaves were more floating as a garnish. It was still a good drink, just not a mojito... but just what the doctor ordered for a hot and tired mom who had a few edges she needed to take off.

So I sold this place for the kiddo on the bread service so that is what we ordered:

Indian-style Bread Service
Choice of Five Breads - Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kucha, or Paneer Paratha. Choice of Three Accompaniments - Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney, Tomato-Date Jam, Tamarind Chutney, Coriander Chuntey, Garlic Pickle, Red Chile Sambal, or Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle

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So let me just preface my review by saying... I love Indian food. I have moved around quite a bit and the first thing I looked for in any new town was the best Indian restaurant. At certain points in my life I have lived very near Indian friends and have always gone with their recommendations. I. Love. Indian. Food. So for that reason I was very very hesitant to try the Indian version. I have had some crappy naan too... in fact there was this great Indian takeout place where I once lived that had great food but crappy naan and we would go to the swanky expensive sit down restaurant and get a to-go order of just naan to go with our cheap take-out. So all that is to say, I have a lot of experience with Indian food and I am pretty fussy about it as well.

This. Was. Delicious. The internet is totally right about this. I subbed another plain naan for the spiced one so we had two plain, one garlic and ginger and the onion kucha and paneer paratha. My freaking kid ate both pieces of plain naan and I had to wrestle half of the garlic ginger out of his grubby little hands. He even ate some of the hummus with it (he does like hummus) but would not touch the other condiments. Also note that the condiments are different than in the list, I believe that the spicy lime jalapeno pickle was gone and instead the raita (yogurt) shown all the way on the left was there... and they were from left to right mild to spicy. I could have sat there all night if I had some peace and just tried different condiment and bread combos. The standout combo to me was the paneer paratha (which was a bit spicy itself) with tamarind and raita... i tried it first with tamarind (I LOVE tamarind) and it was a bit spicy so I added some raita to cool it down and OMG it was perfection. I had to drag myself out of my foodgasm every so often to remind my child to breathe between pieces of naan so I'd say that this appetizer is a huge four thumbs up (two from each). I did end up saving half of the garlic ginger naan to eat with my meal though (kid snarfed down the other half).

For my main meal I had:

Potjie Inspired
Choose one from the Journey, one from the Harvest served with scented Basmati Rice - Butter Chicken, Spicy Durban Shrimp, Chickpea Wat, Tomato-spiced Eggs, Paneer Tikka, Cilantro-Coconut Milk Seasonal Vegetables, Goan Seafood Curry, Braised Beef, Lentil Dhal, or Roasted Okra-Cashew-Tomato Stew served with Basmati Rice or Give-Grain Pilaf

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So first off, there are a few differences lately on the menu from reviews I've read. As you can see, the presentation is a bit different. Also now instead of picking any two, you get one meat and one veggie. Also only basmati rice was on the menu, which is fine because it was what I wanted. Needing to pick one veggie did help narrow my choices though and when I asked the waitress if the Paneer counted it did, so it was a done deal for me... I got the Paneer Tikka (I love paneer) and the butter chicken.

I don't generally order butter chicken at Indian restaurants because I find it too rich and cloying... but I decided to give it a try because it has SUCH a following on the DIS. Sanaa's version was delicious! It was mild and creamy without being TOO rich or tomatoey and nicely spiced, and the chicken was tender with no yucky bits (always a risk with thigh meat, lol). I dumped the rice in the middle of my plate and spooned the butter chicken and the paneer tikka over it and it was delicious that way. The Paneer Tikka was also delicious. I love paneer and this version was perfect, with a lovely sear on one side. The sauce was delicious too and different enough from the butter chicken that it didn't feel redundant. I was glad I had saved some of the naan to use to sop up the last of the sauce from the bowls, YUM. Also I'm not sure what that little mayo like thing in the middle was but it added a nice bit of richness eaten with a little dollop on a piece of chicken and some rice. Also the crispy onions on top of the rice added a lovely flavor and textural component to the meal.

Kiddo got
Kids' Mickey Check Meal - Grilled Chicken Breast
with Basmati Rice, Seasonal Vegetables, and Sliced Apples served with choice of Small Lowfat Milk or Small Dasani® Water. Meets Disney Nutrition Guidelines for Complete Meals without substitutions

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basmati rice and seasonal veggies were not happening... I was prepared to pay the $3 for the mac and cheese side but the waitress did it as a straight substitution. The chicken was pretty laughable though, it is the tiniest chicken breast I have ever seen. It looked like it came from a cornish hen! For scale that is a pretty normal sized dinner plate - not oversized at all. I guess that is how they keep it within caloric guidelines (it was probably 3oz precooked at most) but it turned out after eating all of that bread the kid was too full to finish this anyway. Also he didn't like that the chicken was "plain" (go figure, lol) as I usually do some kind of marinade on mine (like teriyaki or something). I think he would have eaten more if he just hadn't consumed half his weight in bread and apple juice to be honest. He liked the mac and cheese and said it was warmer than SC's mac and "about the same" how much he liked it but he didn't finish that either. But if you have a big eater or an older kid, the grilled chicken is not going to cut it without stuffing them with bread first (though maybe the rice and veggie and apples are bigger portions).

So of course we had to get dessert because... Disney!

I got the dessert sampler:
Dessert Trio
Afrika Povu, Lemon Lychee Tart, and Seasonal Kulfi

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From left to right:
The Afrika Povu is Tanzanian Chocolate Mousse, Madagascar Vanilla Rum Caramel, Kenyan Coffee, and Kalahari Desert Salt
The Lemon Lychee tart has no description but was kind of like a small lemon meringue tart with some kind of sparkly berry sauce.
The Seasonal Kulfi is like a little square of ice cream and the flavor was strawberry.

None of these stood out to me. I liked the mousse enough to finish it but it was a couple of bites. I did not like the lemon lychee tart - I do like lemon but in things like lemon curd and limoncello and frozen lemonade... I did not care for this at all. The Kulfi was good too but I've never met an ice cream I don't like (my exception to the not crazy about dessert rule). It could just be that I was so stuffed, I don't know. Maybe next time I'll skip the dessert and just have a chocolate martini instead :rotfl:

The kid had

Savanna S'mores
Layers of Chocolate Pudding, Marshmallow Fluff, and Toasted Graham Crackers
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he loved it but was too stuffed to finish it so he asked for a to-go box, lol. We ended up leaving it behind since we moved resorts the next day but he declared "deconstructed s'mores" (his term, lol) "good for what they are but not really resembling real s'mores."

Finally I was SOOOOOOOO full but for some reason wanted to try one of the dessert cocktails, so I asked my waitress if I could get it "to go." They were of course accommodating, so I had the:

Godiva Chocolate Martini
Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, Stoli Vanil Vodka, White Crème de Cacao, and Frangelico

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this was quite yummy and rich and enjoyed in the quiet dark of the room after my child went to sleep. I would not have enjoyed it on a full stomach after a meal + dessert (but maybe instead of dessert) but I popped it into my fridge when I got back and had it after digesting an hour and it was the perfect in-room nightcap.

I would DEFINITELY go back to Sanaa, in fact it is on my short list now. It was fun sharing the bread service with the kid but I feel like I did not do the condiments and various combos justice so I want another crack at that.... and I probably enjoyed the non naan breads more than the naan, they were so delicious and flavorful. This Indian food snob gives it an enthusiastic 2 thumbs up and the kiddo does too for the bread service and dessert... he was not so keen on the chicken.

My total with 20% AP discount (food only) and 20%+ tip was $90.50, but I'd say about $25 of that was the two cocktails I had ($10.75 each + tax and tip) so quite a reasonable 3-course meal if you subtract out the booze (hic!).
 
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Ok first of all, not sure we can be friends since you aren't a big dessert person :snooty: LOL just kidding, I'm actually glad to know what the kungaloosh! is like because I really wanted to order it when we went in Aug. but I was SO full since I ordered 2 appetizers! Speaking of -
THEY TOOK THE AREPAS OFF THE MENU??? I had no idea!! I loved them! Sorry about that, the replacement looks ok but I think the arepas were probably better. I did try each component separate and also together. I want to go back but now I have to check the menu again! If you do go back and get the Punch Line Punch make sure you ask for the spiced rim, because that was awesome :thumbsup2
lol, I'm the one you WANT to go out with because I'd let you finish mine! I do like the dessert but it just has to be eye rolling perfection if that makes sense. I love ice cream, I love chocolate souffle (both V&A and Palo on DCL I ate every last bite!) and I love a good creme brulee but it has to be the perfect eggy creamy consistency and flavor with a sharply cracking sugar crust on top. But if a dessert is not say top 5% I'm just not really interested in it.

yes they are gone :( The replacement was quite tasty but I can't compare obviously never having had the arepas. And I was super bummed about the punch line punch but I guess everyone needs something to aspire to and I will have that next time!


I'm here!!
Also, I'm probably not going to do a dining review; I'll just copy yours since we ate at most of the same restaurants at the same time! :rotfl2:
lol I am going to add in the pics of the back of your head where I took them :rotfl2:
 
Oh man, we did the Sanaa bread service too, and I will say it is definitely one of those Disney things that lives up to the hype and more! Roomie and I had a ball tasting all the accompaniments and picking our favorites! :)
 
I am following along! I love that you did all TS, as I have been planning our five days at WDW with all TS and have been discouraged by DISers who have commented about how much time that takes away from the parks. To me, it seems like nice down time, and my whole family loves to eat. Excited to read about your experiences and a great review so far :)
 
Oh yay, have been looking forward to your report as I'm currently planning my September trip with my (soon to be) 8 year old son! Can't wait to hear more of your adventures. Sanaa's presentation looks so different from when we were just there in October--good to know, since we will definitely be going back in the fall! :-)
 
Oh man, we did the Sanaa bread service too, and I will say it is definitely one of those Disney things that lives up to the hype and more! Roomie and I had a ball tasting all the accompaniments and picking our favorites! :)
yeah I would agree. what were your favorites?

I am following along! I love that you did all TS, as I have been planning our five days at WDW with all TS and have been discouraged by DISers who have commented about how much time that takes away from the parks. To me, it seems like nice down time, and my whole family loves to eat. Excited to read about your experiences and a great review so far :)

I didn't find that it took time away from the parks at all. We hit the parks REALLY hard (people who followed me on FB kept saying we were exhausting them) and it was definitely a much needed break. We successfully used SDFP combined with prebooked FP+ and in our trip did everything we wanted to do and some things multiple times. I don't feel like I missed out at all by doing 2 TS a day. Also I should probably comment on this as I go but none of our meals took overly long and we didn't have an overly long wait for any of our meals either (kiddo would whine about both lol). The longest wait was for 'Ohana breakfast and it was about 20-25 minutes and it was expected/planned for and on a down day so we had nowhere in particular to be. I allotted 90 minutes per 1TS meal and with wait to be seated they almost all took less than that. For most things I like to go to a relatively early seating whenever I can before the restaurant gets backed up and that usually cuts out any wait to be seated but of course it is not ALWAYS possible.

Oh yay, have been looking forward to your report as I'm currently planning my September trip with my (soon to be) 8 year old son! Can't wait to hear more of your adventures. Sanaa's presentation looks so different from when we were just there in October--good to know, since we will definitely be going back in the fall! :-)
I think we went at a time when they changed up a whole bunch of the menus so I was caught by surprise a couple of times by menu changes... but I am a pretty go with the flow kind of a person. When your child has issues with flexibility it is important that one of you can be flexible, lol. But kiddo did great too and has gotten much better on that front.
 

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