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

Your night at Epcot sounds perfect :love: Your meal at CG sounds very good too, although the one time DH and I went we weren't impressed :duck:sorry! I had the oak-fired filet with the tomato risotto and I loved it and the view of Wishes from there, I think, is the best outside of the park, but otherwise we didn't feel it was worth it. I also got the donuts for dessert but I'm pretty sure the dipping sauces were different? I know there was a caramel and a chocolate and the other one might have been some type of raspberry sauce.....I agree the donuts were light and not bad but Steve got some type of chocolate cake that I thought was MUCH better. But different strokes for different folks!
I laughed about you turning DS on to the $49 filet, because Chris gets the filet anywhere in Disney that it's on the menu as well as at any restaurant we go to at home. At first it hurt lol, but as long as he eats it I suppose it's worth it!
Oh, and Citricos has 2 types of bread. I'd have to refer back to old notes or pictures to check on the 2nd type but I definitely remember the 1st type because I want to EAT IT ALL when we go, it has kalamatta olives in it an it's delicious :goodvibes
 
Your Cali Grill review made my heart smile and my tummy growl!!

That sushi looked so good - I think my DD and I would fight over it.

We have a brunch booked for our trip and I keep going back and forth on keeping it - but if it is half as great as your dinner - I am all in!!
 
The CG review is great. Your epcot night made me go awww. Loved the moment you had with your son while watching the fireworks.
 


The only thing I can think of is that perhaps one is much easier for the bartender to make than the other?


On the brunch "serve yourself appetizers" (buffet) they have deviled eggs drizzled with spicy Kazan sauce. I'm just saying you could maybe get your money's worth...


What kind of parent are you to deprive your son of such knowledge?! Hahaha. I sneak butter onto our steaks at home sometimes. Unless R asks. In which case I have never done that.


Well I have to agree!

you and me both!

So glad you two had such a great night. What a lovely experience!!!

I don't know what his problem was. Maybe he was worried whatever I got I wouldn't like and didn't want to be responsible. Who knows. It was just weird, but I got my cucumber fizz!

I would love to do the brunch someday. I could not convince kiddo this time but at the time when I was finalizing my plans he was more picky... I think if I could have incorporated it after dinner he would have been happy to go even if he ate the world's most expensive bagel and cream cheese, lol. He would have liked steak or the chicken cutlet and desserts too. But I would not be eating deviled eggs there, too much other good stuff!

I know, right? He will have to add it to the list of things for his therapist along with "gives me too many kisses when she picks me up from the Y"

We did have a great night. I wish I could have one like that tonight!
Your night at Epcot sounds perfect :love: Your meal at CG sounds very good too, although the one time DH and I went we weren't impressed :duck:sorry! I had the oak-fired filet with the tomato risotto and I loved it and the view of Wishes from there, I think, is the best outside of the park, but otherwise we didn't feel it was worth it. I also got the donuts for dessert but I'm pretty sure the dipping sauces were different? I know there was a caramel and a chocolate and the other one might have been some type of raspberry sauce.....I agree the donuts were light and not bad but Steve got some type of chocolate cake that I thought was MUCH better. But different strokes for different folks!
I laughed about you turning DS on to the $49 filet, because Chris gets the filet anywhere in Disney that it's on the menu as well as at any restaurant we go to at home. At first it hurt lol, but as long as he eats it I suppose it's worth it!
Oh, and Citricos has 2 types of bread. I'd have to refer back to old notes or pictures to check on the 2nd type but I definitely remember the 1st type because I want to EAT IT ALL when we go, it has kalamatta olives in it an it's delicious :goodvibes

The first time I went to Narcoossees (years ago) I was not impressed. I went back like a decade or more later and still not impressed. Maybe some people just mix with some restaurants like oil and water. It is lobster night at one of the local places, lol, but I've had their lobster before and it was pretty soso. I think I will wait for the church lobster roll season because I know it will be good and it is literally zero work besides taking a bite and chewing. I LOVE risotto and was a bit devastated when they changed out the red onion risotto for duck fat potatoes but they were goood potatoes. Risotto is one of those things that I can make at home but don't often, but it is pretty stupidly simple (I made butternut squash risotto for a change up for thanksgiving dinner, dropping the traditional sweet and mashed potatoes for it) and it was sooooooo good. Another one that gets mixed reviews is the filet with risotto at Le Cellier but it is an old favorite and I'd love to have it again. I think the fritters are seasonal because just before they were berry and they have been banana as well. The nutella thing did look good but I was not in the mood for it (not in the mood for chocolate? what?!). I also am a huge coffee lover and I drink dark rich coffees... I didn't sleep for the month I was in italy due to espresso consumption (and had a week long caffeine hangover when I got home) and I love turkish coffee... but after all of the rich food I could not stomach the thought of chocolate OR coffee, my two favorite food groups. I had maybe 2 of the fritters but the ones I had were so good. Might just be what I was in the mood for.

Yeah it is gonna hurt when we go next, no doubt, and I might end up having to get the DxDDP just to accommodate his signature filet desires, lol. The plan right now is fly in friday early (like last time) and friday - sunday in the parks, monday morning to the port for a cruise, get off the ship early friday and spend friday in a park and then fly home saturday for february 2018 (he will still be a disney kid). I know DVC lets you add the DDP for just one night so it might make sense on our last day to have a 2 credit dinner and then breakfast before we fly out or something. It is going to be VERY VERY hard to pick where to eat for so little park time. Believe it or not the kid went right to biergarten as a request! If I am paying OOP that will be a lunch thing though unless they do (or have already) equalize the pricing across lunch and dinner. I would like to do citricos again, I have not done that in more like 15 years I think. I have only been there once. And the new flying fish. But the sushi at CA Grill always draws me in.

What a totally perfect evening! Disney magic at its finest! :-)

It was! it is nice when everything works out that way! The big key for perfection in Epcot: don't try to do too much. monorail, two rides and illuminations. Recipe for relaxation even in the parks.

Your Cali Grill review made my heart smile and my tummy growl!!

That sushi looked so good - I think my DD and I would fight over it.

We have a brunch booked for our trip and I keep going back and forth on keeping it - but if it is half as great as your dinner - I am all in!!
You'd have to get two rolls! it is really good sushi. Last time I went (in 2014) I made the mistake of going to Kona Cafe after CA Grill and ordering the sushi there... their similar roll is the Lava Roll and it was a HUGE disappointment. It came out with undercooked (red and cold at the bone) chicken wings and I ended up sending it all back and not eating (or paying for) any of it because biting into raw chicken made me lose my appetite and feel like I was a ticking time bomb of salmonella but I had eaten one piece of the roll before that and it was cold and dry like supermarket sushi. Others have reported different things so who knows, it was over 2 years ago... maybe that night they premade a lot of sushi earlier in the day. but all I'm saying is if you are a sushi person don't have any cheaper sushi after because it will be a disappointment!

the brunch looks excellent and it is maybe my biggest food regret - not doing it. It reminds me so much of the palo brunch on the disney cruise - I have not been on a cruise since 2005 but the brunch was a highlight. similar format, buffet for appetizers and desserts and plated entrees. I could not convince the kiddo to go for it but I think now I could! the irony! I am looking forward to hearing how your brunch goes.

The CG review is great. Your epcot night made me go awww. Loved the moment you had with your son while watching the fireworks.

he is a sweetie and a cuddler, especially when he has been well fed!

Love the CA review! Butter goes good on anything!

So true. I wish I had taken a pic of the look of amazement on his face when he realized it was on his steak. :rotfl: seriously whenever I see him eyeing the butter dish that i keep on the counter I have to remind him "keep your fingers out of the butter!"

Love your reviews, I'm sooooo hungry :-(

Keep them coming!

Me too! it is almost time to get the kid and we are probably going out to dinner since I stupidly left the chicken cutlets left over from dinner last night sitting on the counter overnight. That right there is a trip to the hospital waiting to happen. :crazy2: There are so many good specials on island in winter so it's not so bad. I made it all the way to thursday cooking at home so that counts for something right? (way from last thursday lol).

tonight I will continue my report... it's on to Coral Reef and Biergarten if I get to it!
 


Me too! it is almost time to get the kid and we are probably going out to dinner since I stupidly left the chicken cutlets left over from dinner last night sitting on the counter overnight. That right there is a trip to the hospital waiting to happen. :crazy2: There are so many good specials on island in winter so it's not so bad. I made it all the way to thursday cooking at home so that counts for something right? (way from last thursday lol).

tonight I will continue my report... it's on to Coral Reef and Biergarten if I get to it!


Please do! It's 10.15 here in the UK so well past dinner.
Tell me all about Biergarten, it's on our to-do list!
 
I think Disney should hire you to promote Cali Grill because I have this overwhelming feeling that if I don't book it I will die.

Ok, that's dramatic, maybe not die...how about, live life unfulfilled?

It's on the list for October when I take my mom for her first Disney trip.

Everything you ordered looks great (except your meal, you're right, not as pretty as everything else, but still sounds SO GOOD) and sounds delicious.

Oh, and that bar waiter was a moron.
 
Please do! It's 10.15 here in the UK so well past dinner.
Tell me all about Biergarten, it's on our to-do list!
Sorry last night got nuts and no dining report. Maybe tonight! Hoping for a quiet evening at home and pizza!

I think Disney should hire you to promote Cali Grill because I have this overwhelming feeling that if I don't book it I will die.

Ok, that's dramatic, maybe not die...how about, live life unfulfilled?

It's on the list for October when I take my mom for her first Disney trip.

Everything you ordered looks great (except your meal, you're right, not as pretty as everything else, but still sounds SO GOOD) and sounds delicious.

Oh, and that bar waiter was a moron.

the weird thing is that some of my favorites are the ones that get mixed reviews. So I can't guarantee you'll have a great meal there, lol. But one thing that I do tend to do that ups my odds of having a good meal is booking the earliest seating possible: sigs at 5pm, Ohana at 3:30pm, coral reef at 11:30 for lunch when they first open.... In my experience there is never a wait, you get your table of choice, the kitchen isn't backed up, the service isn't harried... so a lot of the things that people complain about at these places are far less likely to happen. CA Grill is not "loud" when they first open up as they don't seat the entire restaurant at once, just a few tables at a time. By the time we left there were still a couple of empty untouched tables but by fireworks time every table will be filled in various states of service. No matter how good the server is, you will get better service if you are one of 2-3 tables than one of 10. Anyway I know an early meal is not for everyone but I do this in "real life" too... I must be getting old. I like to go a bit earlier and on the way out see the 45 minute backed up crowd of people in the lobby waiting for a table.

So that is my big advice. Take it for what it is worth! It was very good but very rich. both sauces were very rich, the duck fat potatoes were very rich. But it was sooooo yummy. The thing is, I had no idea wth I was eating, I had decided to order the filet before I even got there based on old menus with risotto. A dis friend there at the same time posted pics of her meal and that's what it looked like so I knew what to expect but I changed gears and decided to order the filet anyway because we were on DxDDP... but I really had no idea what half of that stuff was, lol. I typically order the pork (it has changed over the years but I have been ordering it or the filet for the last 15 years lol) but figured the more expensive option was in order while on DxDDP (ordered the pork last time). It did not disappoint at all but someone on the restaurants board posted the pork and I was sad I didn't get to have it this time. Next time we may have to book 2 meals at CA Grill, lol. But it's such a short trip I'm not even sure we will make one (we are doing the cruise for most of the week and doing a couple of days in the parks). I will have 2 full and 2 partial days in the parks and 4 dinners, it will be very hard to choose!

yeah the waiter was a dork. But the cucumber fizz was mine!
 
I loved Cali Grill too! I'm actually torn on if I liked the filet better there or at Le Cellier. We never even made it to dessert at Cali!
 
Found this report and loving it! I love your writing style and seeing all the disney food I haven't tried, and it's so cool that your son expanded his horizons!

I tried Sanaa during my last trip a year ago with my mom and it definitely became a must-do for us. So good! I made the mistake of reading your review while hungry, though, so I was particularly jealous.

Also I almost teared up while reading about your perfect night at Epcot :goodvibes Thanks for sharing, looking forward to more reviews!
 
I am jumping on to say that reading your trip report has been delightful. It is making me even more excited for our trip! Thank you!
 
Hello!:wave2: Love your dining report! Your son sounds a lot like mine-it's always a great thing when they decide they can try something new! Can't wait to read more!:banana::banana::banana:
 
I started reading your reviews right before I left for a December trip. I have returned to catch up. Thank you for sharing! I wish I had read your JBJB review before we left. We skipped it, but I have 2nd thoughts based on your comments. Oh well, we saw the Star Wars fireworks for the first time, and they were awesome. I also seem to recall we were suffering through a delicious, but spoiled by kid behavior, meal at Mama Melrose while JBJB was on, so we might have had to bail anyway. I get the sense you would understand the frustration of kid attitudes interfering with dining pleasures. What a magical Cali Grill experience you had! I have only gone once, on a last minute dinner solo with two of my kids when illness changed our plans. Like you, it hovers as a lifetime memory. Maybe the Kazan roll has a secret memory enhancing ingredient, because we also ordered that. (My 9 year old actually got it as his entree. Another "mistake" as he now sees $20 sushi rolls as fair game.) I ate at Sanna on 12/29, and just wanted to comment that our plating looked a bit different. We did have the whole 1 meat plus 1 veg ordering requirement (and like you the paneer was no sacrifice for me), but our food was plated like I have seen photographed in all other reviews. We ordered only plain and gf naan there. Now I see I will have to return to try the other flavors of naan. Good thing you can order pieces individually! (I think we went through 8 pieces as a family of 5.) I am glad to hear Sci-fi was a win for you. I love the theming, the onion rings, and really want to love the shakes, but I have had 2 warm, frothy shakes. Bad batch? or I am wondering if my version of a shake (cold and think) is not the Florida version. As a New Englander, you must be familiar with the regional difference. (In Maine a "milkshake" has no ice cream, a "frappe" is what I grew up calling a shake.) I thought a shake in Florida is with ice cream. I look forward to reading the rest of the trip!
 
I'm loving every bit of this report so far. Doing Disney with my Pokémon Go-loving, foodie 10yo is going to be so fun this summer, if your report is any indication!!
 
I loved Cali Grill too! I'm actually torn on if I liked the filet better there or at Le Cellier. We never even made it to dessert at Cali!
We did not make it to Le Cellier this time but it has long been one of my favorites. I think it is what began my love affair with risotto! It is where I had dinner NYE 2000 I believe... it was an incredible meal with friends and an incredible waiter who told us when we were too full for dessert to come back after fireworks for dessert, they were open til 1 or something. We did and requested him and had dessert and and a bottle of sparkling ice wine. It was an incredible meal on an incredible night. I'm starting to think it might have to be on the short list for the next trip, kiddo wants Biergarten again too, can you believe it? but more on that later..

Found this report and loving it! I love your writing style and seeing all the disney food I haven't tried, and it's so cool that your son expanded his horizons!

I tried Sanaa during my last trip a year ago with my mom and it definitely became a must-do for us. So good! I made the mistake of reading your review while hungry, though, so I was particularly jealous.

Also I almost teared up while reading about your perfect night at Epcot :goodvibes Thanks for sharing, looking forward to more reviews!
aw thanks for joining in. Yeah he really has made leaps and bounds lately, making me feel like I did the right thing by backing way off about food and just making it a fun thing rather than a stressy thing. Though it's more his love of food network and chopped jr. I think! Epcot and MK are a tie for us for favorite parks and Illuminations is BOTH of our favorite nighttime show. Sanaa was definitely great but I don't think we'll make it next time due to very little time at the parks.

I am jumping on to say that reading your trip report has been delightful. It is making me even more excited for our trip! Thank you!
Glad you found me and glad you are excited! I loved reading other people's stuff to pass the time while I waited for my trip and yes, it does really get you pumped. In fact I am getting pumped for my next trip writing it!

Hello!:wave2: Love your dining report! Your son sounds a lot like mine-it's always a great thing when they decide they can try something new! Can't wait to read more!:banana::banana::banana:
Yes it is! I have hope some day he will eat veggies even! Ooh 3 dancing bananas, high praise!!!

I started reading your reviews right before I left for a December trip. I have returned to catch up. Thank you for sharing! I wish I had read your JBJB review before we left. We skipped it, but I have 2nd thoughts based on your comments. Oh well, we saw the Star Wars fireworks for the first time, and they were awesome. I also seem to recall we were suffering through a delicious, but spoiled by kid behavior, meal at Mama Melrose while JBJB was on, so we might have had to bail anyway. I get the sense you would understand the frustration of kid attitudes interfering with dining pleasures. What a magical Cali Grill experience you had! I have only gone once, on a last minute dinner solo with two of my kids when illness changed our plans. Like you, it hovers as a lifetime memory. Maybe the Kazan roll has a secret memory enhancing ingredient, because we also ordered that. (My 9 year old actually got it as his entree. Another "mistake" as he now sees $20 sushi rolls as fair game.) I ate at Sanna on 12/29, and just wanted to comment that our plating looked a bit different. We did have the whole 1 meat plus 1 veg ordering requirement (and like you the paneer was no sacrifice for me), but our food was plated like I have seen photographed in all other reviews. We ordered only plain and gf naan there. Now I see I will have to return to try the other flavors of naan. Good thing you can order pieces individually! (I think we went through 8 pieces as a family of 5.) I am glad to hear Sci-fi was a win for you. I love the theming, the onion rings, and really want to love the shakes, but I have had 2 warm, frothy shakes. Bad batch? or I am wondering if my version of a shake (cold and think) is not the Florida version. As a New Englander, you must be familiar with the regional difference. (In Maine a "milkshake" has no ice cream, a "frappe" is what I grew up calling a shake.) I thought a shake in Florida is with ice cream. I look forward to reading the rest of the trip!

My child has thankfully always been good in restaurants but a couple of times he wasn't, he was outta there so quickly. Maybe that is why he is good? haha. I think actually it's that he likes to eat (things he likes that is, not things he doesn't!) so he likes going to restaurants and sees it as a treat and not something to endure. He is very friendly with other people and will order for himself... though I will say I sure did turn red the day we went to the local mexican place and the waitress asked what we wanted for drinks and I gestured to him to order and he said "I would like a chocolate milk and my mom will have a margarita." She nearly died laughing. I actually did NOT want a margarita (I never have them when I am the one driving because they knock me on my butt and take a good hour to 90 minutes to get out of my system... So I only have them at home or when the bf is driving or if I am out with girlfriends and know we can sit around and talk for a while. Kid is not gonna sit at the table while mommy sobers up to drive, that is for sure!). IT was SOOOO embarrassing.

Maybe it IS the Kazan roll! Like I said, I don't think I'd ever go without ordering that again! A lot of people say CA Grill isn't as good as it used to be but every time I go it lives up. So I don't know. There are so many things that can affect your experience but we always get lucky with table, server, and food prep. So I don't know, on my list it stays and the kid adores it now too.

I saw some later reviews showing another switch in plating at Sanaa. Whatever, it's just yummy. I'd like to go someday during daylight hours to enjoy the animals too. I had no idea you can order the pieces individually either. Embarrassed to say we went through 5 just the two of us but the kid held his own and had 2.5!

Weird about the sci fi thing. We did not have warm, frothy shakes. they were cold (it was very very hot out) and good! That is so weird. Actually I am FROM NY but they do have the frappe thing (is it pronounced "Frap" or "Frap-pay"? I have no idea lol. But one of the local fish markets with a seafood takeout makes them majorly delicious, kid and I will share one occasionally in the summer. It goes down real smooth with a lobstah roll i'll tell you that much (they have potato cheddar cheese bites there that the kid goes gaga for, I usually will get an order of those and a chocolate frappe and come home and serve it with a rotisserie chicken or something and call it dinner, lol... I figure if we share both and pair it with leanish protein it's not the WORST thing in the world!) The sci fi shakes were definitely cold and thick, too thick to drink with a straw until they had sat a good 15 minutes. Maybe you did get a bad batch. Not even sure how you'd make a shake warm!
I'm loving every bit of this report so far. Doing Disney with my Pokémon Go-loving, foodie 10yo is going to be so fun this summer, if your report is any indication!!

Pokemon Go was great for when we were sitting around waiting for stuff. He was pretty good about not playing except when we were waiting although we did have a couple of pokemon go induced meltdowns when something ran away and he was hungry or something. He has a hard time with that frustration and with being on vacation and his routine being messed up and all the stimulation he is quick to melt about frustrations... there are not a whole lot of them because I plan really well and keep things flowing for him but pokemon go was both good and bad! He needed one more slowpoke to evolve it and got frustrated a few times when he couldn't catch one.

So I uploaded another batch of photos to photobucket so I think it might be time to get going on my next day of reviews!
 

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