Here's what a little PIXIE DUST can do ....... a dining review+pics COMPLETED!!!!!

[dizneeat]

.......... and still day 7, Aug 21

Before we headed back to the resort we made a short stop at Publix to buy a few drinks we wanted to take on the cruise.

Finally we went back to the resort and checked out our rooms. We had asked for connecting rooms and we got them. Tom and I even had a corner room - two windows, yeah!!!!

Here are a few pix of the room! I love those new Pirate rooms!













After we had settled in and I had found them, Mary Ellen was given her birthday presents and we had fun just hanging out in the room. We then decided that we needed to walk around the resort, so we did.

By 8pm we drove over to the Polynesian for our 8.40 dinner ADR. When we arrived the rest of the party, Mary Ellen's brother Vinny, his girlfriend Susan and her daughter Olivia, had already checked us in and we were just waiting to be called. And that's what we did, we waited ........ and waited ......... and waited. After an hour's wait and several families with our "head count" who had arrived long after us, had been seated, Joe and Susan went over to sort things out. They claimed not to have had a table our size, but at least two families of 7 or 8 had been seated by then, and they had ALL arrived later than we had. After an hour and 10 minutes we were finally seated - 7 people at a 6 top!! We were all NOT very happy by then, but we were hungry!

From here on it went quite well. We had a fun and fast server, who promptly took our drinks orders and brought out the welcome bread and macademia nut butter. They were all so hungry and everyone dug into the bread before I could take a photo.

5 of us ordered the Teriyaki-style New York Strip - sirloin strip grilled with pineapple teriyaki glaze served with mashed Yukon gold potatoes and stir-fried broccolini, cooked to different stages, from medium rare to well done. Unfortunately the only photo I have of it came out VERY blurry, so I won't post it.

Here is what Tom and I decided on.



Tom had the Miso Glazed Mahi-mahi - served with soba noodles and baby bok choy. He definitely is the adventurous eater in the family!
I tried it and it was very nice. The Mahi-mahi was moist and tender and the noodles and bok choy were tasty. He cleaned his plate.



I had an old favourite of mine, the Shrimp and Scallops - panko breaded shrimp and pan-seared scallops with sticky rice and ponzu, spicy guava-passion fruit and wasabi cream sauces. I love this dish. The shrimp are really big and the breading is crisp on the juice shrimp. The scallops were cooked to perfection. Seared on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside - yum. Needless to say - I cleaned my plate too!

Since we were on the DDP, we were in for dessert.

Vinny, Susan and Olivia had the Kilauea Torte - sorry no photo.

But here are two others we had for you!



Mary Ellen had A Sweet Ending to Your Celebration... White Chocolate Cheesecake - Cheesecake with a hint of white chocolate, strawberry coulis, and whipped cream. I did not try it and I know she LOVES cheesecake and she said it was very good.



Tom and I had the Chocolate Fondue. Warm chocolate ganache and fruit and maccaroons and crispy cookies to dip into it! What else can a chocolate lover want, ! Well, it was SO good. The fruit were flavourful and full of juice and the cookies were just perfect to go with the chocolate. We loved it!

Since dinner had taken so long, we all decided to skip EMH at the MK and just go back to the resort.

Was the DDP worth it?
Paid for DDP (2 people, 2 nights) $ 160,-
Left over amount paid $ 118,30
Kona Cafe: $ 66,20
$ 118,30 - $ 66,20 = $ 52,10

Next up - lunch at the Cantina de San Angel.

[wbarkhur]

I am really enjoying your reviews. Great job!!

[Christine9125]

Originally Posted by dizneeat

Still day 7, Aug 21

After our lunch we went to check out DTD and waited for our phone calls from Disney that our rooms would be ready.
Mary Ellen and Joe were waiting for their CM friend who was giving them tickets for the parks for the next day and Tom and I needed to renew our APs.
When we came back from Guest relations Kryss (the CM) had joined Mary Ellen and Joe and we decided to have an ice-cream sundae at Ghirardelli's.

Kryss and Joe dug into their ice-cream before I could even reach for my camera but Mary Ellen let me take a photo of her sundae.




She had the Haight AshBerry - Very Berry Sundae - strawberry cheesecake ice cream smothered with sliced strawberries under a layer of blueberry cheesecake ice cream, blueberry topping, whipped cream, our chocolate-covered blueberries and a chocolate dipped waffle roll. Well, what can I say - it must have been good - she finished it!!

Tom and I were still stuffed from lunch, so we decided to share a sundae.



We had The Gold Rush - Peanut Butter Hot Fudge Sundae - Vanilla ice cream with hot fudge and melted peanut better throughout. Topped with whipped cream, roasted peanut halves, cherry and Ghirardelli Squares milk chocolate. I have lately developed my love for all things peanut butter, so this was just up my alley. But beware this thing is huge! The two of us had trouble finishing it, even though we both loved it!

We paid OOP for that, so no DDP calculation.

Next up - dinner at Kona Cafe.

I have to haved The Gold Rush, that looks awesome after a sandwich at Earls'

[KatMark]

Awesome updated...great pics!

[Ciciwoowoo]

Goodness, Key West was so lovely I would have been almost sad to leave for WDW. Almost!

[dizneeat]

Originally Posted by wbarkhur

I am really enjoying your reviews. Great job!!

Thank you! Glad to have you here!

Originally Posted by Christine9125

I have to haved The Gold Rush, that looks awesome after a sandwich at Earls'

Originally Posted by KatMark

Awesome updated...great pics!

Thank you! But wait until our food at Palo! We had two dinners there and one brunch and it was heaven on earth, well ..... on a cruise ship,

Originally Posted by Ciciwoowoo

Goodness, Key West was so lovely I would have been almost sad to leave for WDW. Almost!

I actually WAS sad leaving Key West ! But the thought of WDW didn't let that feeling linger very long!

[dizneeat]

Day 8, Aug 22

Lunch at Cantina de San Angel

Tom and I had an early start after munching a few Oreo cookies and sipping some Coke. We had signed up for the meet of the "Tagrel" group to go "Soarin'" together. The Tags were the group we went on the cruise with, so you are going to hear more of them.

Here are some impressions of the meet.









After the meet we had some time to kill before the WS opened and so we just enjoyed a picture perfect morning.





Once WS opened we started our quest to try food from different countries. Mexico was first ....



We tried a burrito (I think ), that came with rice and refried black beans. I don't get to eat much mexican food, so I do not have anything to compare it with, but I thought it was nice, but nothing to write home about. Good theme park food.



Here's the whole tray. We got two diet cokes - I paid OOP for the second one and a churro for dessert. That churro was dry and hard and seemed to be a leftover from the day before. I have had MUCH better ones before.

Was the DDP worth it?
Paid for DDP (2 people, 2 nights) $ 160,-
Left over amount paid $ 52,10
Cantina de San Angel: $ 14,80
$ 52,10 - $ 14,80 = $ 37,30

Next up - more food at Sunshine Seasons

[ennisb]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post the reviews and photo's. I just can't wait to head down again and enjoy it all.

[2xcited2sleep]

30 days?!?!

I have so enjoyed your previous reviews so can't wait for this round! Marking my place and looking forward to coming back and reading it all!

[schatterjee]

Always love your reviews - thank you for taking the time!

[dizneeat]

Originally Posted by ennisb

Thanks so much for taking the time to post the reviews and photo's. I just can't wait to head down again and enjoy it all.

It's nice to have you here! I hope that when you get to WDW you'll have as good a time as we had!

Originally Posted by 2xcited2sleep

30 days?!?!

I have so enjoyed your previous reviews so can't wait for this round! Marking my place and looking forward to coming back and reading it all!

It's wonderful that you joined our foodquest! Hope you won't be disappointed!

Originally Posted by schatterjee

Always love your reviews - thank you for taking the time!

I am so glad you like my reviews - I love doing them!

[dizneeat]

Still day 8, Aug 22

and another snack at Sunshine Seasons

Right after we had finished our taste of Mexican Food, Mary Ellen and Joe called to tell us that they had arrived at Epcot. We met up with them and Vinny, Susan and Olivia at Sunshine Seasons.

We all went in different directions and Tom and I were not sure what to get, since we were still full from our Mexican food. So we decided that we would just snack on something.



Tom got the Sushi - the Full Moon Combo - it was nice and fresh, but it was like any pre-packaged sushi.

I love the Strawberry shortcake they serve, but wanted to be adventurous for a change. So this is what I got.



I think it is called the Asian chocolate cake. Well, it was just your regular chocolate cake, nothing to write home about, it actually stuck to the fork.

We paid OOP for the sushi and drinks and used a snack credit for the cake!

Was the DDP worth it?
Paid for DDP (2 people, 2 nights) $ 160,-
Left over amount paid $ 37,30
Sunshine Seasons: $ 4,30
$ 37,30 - $ 4,30 = $ 33,-

Next up - the Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream

[dizneeat]

......... and still day 8, Aug 22

The Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream

We spent the morning in Epcot, riding a few rides and having a fun day. We finally left Epcot via the International Gateway and walked over to the Beach Club and Beaches and Cream. Since there were 7 in our group we did not hold much hope to be seated together, but Joe asked and we were told it would be about an hour's wait and they would try their best so we could sit at tables that were close together. So Joe held on to the beeper and we went to explore the resorts. Vinny and family had never been and they enjoyed the tour. After about 40 minutes the beeper went off and we went back to Beaches and Cream.
We were seated at two round tables that had been pushed together. Mary Ellen, Joe, Tom and I always have a Kitchen Sink at the beginning of our vacation together, so there was NO question what we would get. Since we have never been able to finish one, we were glad when Vinny, Susan and Olivia decided to join us for one.



Here it is - in all it's glory, the famous Kitchen Sink - Eight Scoops of Ice Cream served with all the Toppings in the house and a whole can of Whipped Cream! What else can I say? It is just fun to have one with the server announcing it and the quest of what you might end up with this time!



Susan "digging in".



And finally - no, we were not able to finish it - it is just too much!

Next up - dinner at the Wave

[dizneeat]

......... and yet again day 8, Aug 22

Dinner at The Wave

We spent the rest of the afternoon in Epcot. In the evening Tom and I drove over to the Contemporary, while the rest of our "gang" used the Monorail. We could not believe that we actually made it there faster than they did.

We signed in and were told to wait in one of the lounges. Within 15 minutes we were seated in one of the booths.

Tom and I ordered Diet Cokes again and decided to share a starter.



We got the Lump Crab Cake Pan-seared with Napa Cabbage Slaw and Ginger Tartar Sauce. This was quite a big Crab Cake and it was full of crab meat, very well seasoned and moist. The slaw was a nice change from the usual coleslaw and the Tartar Sauce went so well with the crabcake. There was nothing left on our plate.



We ALL decided on the same main course, the Grilled Beef Tenderloin Cabernet Jus, White Bean Mash, and Locally Grown Teardrop Tomatoes. Oh, boy, can you say heaven on earth? Melt in your mouth, cooked to perfection beef, which was very well accompanied by the white bean mash and the Cabernet Jus. The tomatoes were sweet and ripe and yummy.



Needless to say that we needed some hot drinks to go with desserts. Tom decided on an Espresso.



I needed to have the best tea at WDW, the Lavender Earl Grey! Oh my, I just love that tea!

And here come desserts!



Here's my plate of bliss! A Sweet Ending to Your Celebration . . . Creamy Indulgence, Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis, Coconut Panna Cotta with Passion Fruit Drizzle, Chocolate-Passion Fruit Mousse with Pecan-Olive Brittle



Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis Even though this is quite heavy cheesecake, it goes so well with the slightly tart raspberry coulis. And since it is a small portion you can easily enjoy it.



Coconut Panna Cotta with Passion Fruit Drizzle Very light and creamy panna cotta, which goes so well with the fruit drizzle! Yum!



Chocolate-Passion Fruit Mousse with Pecan-Olive Brittle Being a chocolate lover this really is for me. The mousse is not too sweet and there is just a tiny bit of brittle to go with it - very enjoyable.



Tom opted for the Decadent Flavors, Blueberry Compote with Yogurt Gelato, Lemon Cornbread with Vanilla Panna Cotta, Chocolate Mousse with Salted Caramel Sauce



Blueberry Compote with Yogurt Gelato I am not a big fan of either blueberries or yoghurt gelato, so I did not taste it, but Tom said that this was very light and yummy.



Lemon Cornbread with Vanilla Panna Cotta I did try it, but this is just a bit much for me. The taste is nice but I find the cornbread a bit heavy. Tom loved it though!



Chocolate Mousse with Salted Caramel Sauce This is much more up my street. Very light mousse and the sauce goes surprisingly well with it. Even though it's rich, it really helps the chocolate taste! Tom was stuffed, so I had to sacrifice myself for most of it!

After our dinner we drove back to CBR to show off our Pirate Rooms to Vinny and family, who stayed at Pop! I guess I can say they were impressed!

Was the DDP worth it?
Paid for DDP (2 people, 2 nights) $ 160,-
Left over amount paid $ 33,-
The Wave: $ 83,40 (plus starter and hot drinks OOP)
$ 33 - $ 83,40 = $ 50,40 saved!

Next up - Breakfast at Wolfgang Puck's Express

[GoofySon'sMom]

ooooh, I just love The Wave. Your meal looks fantastic!