My Reviews w/QSDP, F&WF, Dessert Party w/ LOTS OF PICS Updated 11/4 Cosmic Rays

[mcrabeck]

Enjoying youre reviews- we are going to the Desert Party on NY Day. How early did you line up to get checked in? Do you think it is important to be early in line or did the check in process go pretty fast? TIA

[tndisneyfan]

Originally Posted by mcrabeck

Enjoying youre reviews- we are going to the Desert Party on NY Day. How early did you line up to get checked in? Do you think it is important to be early in line or did the check in process go pretty fast? TIA

Our reservation was for 8:10, I think we got over there about 7:40 and got in line. There was already a good sized line when we got there. They checked us in while we were still in line. A couple of CM's came thru checking names and putting on wrist bands. They seated you not by your ressie time but by where you were in line, first come first serve. They started seating at 8:00. So if your ADR was at 8:00, but you were at the end of the line, then you were seated last.

[tndisneyfan]

So on with the food and wine pictures.

Green Papaya Salad with Shrimp

DS loves shrimp so we had to try this. The shrimp was very good but I didn't care much for the papaya salad. I thought it was bland. It would've probably been better if actually eaten with the shrimp, but DS ate the shrimp and left me with the papaya salad to eat.

Grilled Lamb Chop with Red Wine Sauce

This was from Australia. I like lamb but I don't get many opportunities to eat it. It's just not common to eat lamb in East Tennessee. So I when I saw this I knew I had to try it. They were cooking it fresh as I waited. I liked it, I thought it was very tender and flavorful. I liked the red wine sauce on it. DH thought the lamb itself was good but didn't like the red wine sauce.

Nuernberger Sausage on Pretzel Roll

We all liked this. The sausage was very flavorful and we liked that it was on the pretzel bun instead of just a plain white or wheat bun.

Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce

DH and DS liked this more than I did. I do not like cooked apple that well so I am not the best judge. I did try the pastry part and thought it was good. I also thought the vanilla sauce just tasted like melted vanilla bean ice cream. But DH and DS both loved it.

Praline Bread Pudding with Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Absolutely my favorite dessert, not just at the F&WF but for the whole trip. It was a very good praline bread pudding but the bourbon caramel sauce just took it over the top. They kept the sauce hot and poured it on when you ordered. The only way it could've been better was if they put just a dab of ice cream on top.

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Sorry the last two pictures were so bad. The last one was way off center and this one was dark. I had a lighter one but it just showed the rice on top, you couldn't see the gumbo and I wanted ya'll to be able to see what it looked like. The gumbo was very good too. Spicy and flavorful but not too hot. Overall I think the New Orleans kiosk was our favorite stop.

Strawberry Kaki Gori

I know, not F&WF but still part of the reviews. I was expecting just shaved ice, but it was way better than any shaved ice I've ever had. The ice was an interesting texture, it's hard to explain. It was very smooth. It kind of reminded me of the texture of snow ice cream we used to make when I was a kid (back when we used to get snow). The syrup was good too, very sweet but not too sweet with a strong fruity taste. I liked it and will get another next trip.

Spicy Tuna Roll

I had been looking forward to this but wish I hadn't wasted a snack credit on it. Don't get me wrong, it was good but I was so full from everything else I just didn't feel like eating it . DH will not eat fish, much less raw fish, so he didn't try it.

California Sushi Roll

This was DS's and DS's alone. This is the one thing he really wanted so he ate the whole thing by himself and swore that he loved it. He loves California Rolls, but only at WDW. I have offered many time to take him to a local sushi place and get one, but he says he only likes sushi at WDW. He didn't want to try my tuna roll, BTW.

We were all full and right there at the boat stop so we decided to head back to the Future World area.

Overall Thoughts
The whole family loves the F&WF, even DS. I like trying all the different foods that I normally don't get to try. I thought overall the food was very, very good and reasonably priced for the amount you got. We were on the QSDP and I loved using up snack credits this way.

New Orleans Kiosk was the family favorite overall. My favorites of the day was the Cheese Selection at the Mouse Catch and the Bread Pudding at New Orleans. For DH it was either the Sausage on pretzel bread or the Gumbo. DS loved the sushi. I think everyone's favorite dessert was the Bread Pudding..

[tndisneyfan]

After grazing at the F&WF we headed back to Future World for a few rides. Tonight was our MNSSHP night so we headed over to Magic Kingdom. I know after MK closes for the Halloween party the Cosmic Rays goes over to just burgers and nuggets. I didn't want a burger so we went ahead and got something to eat before the party started. Plus I didn't want to waste valuable party time eating.


Bacon Double Cheeseburger and Fries

DH and DS both got the bacon double cheeseburger. The both said it was good, it tasted fresh and not dried out. The fixings bar was good also, they had all the same stuff as Pecos Bills. The fries were fresh also.

1/2 Rotisserie Chicken

I debated on getting the ribs and chicken, since we were on the dining plan the "cost" would be the same. I think the ribs are just OK plus I wasn't super hugry so I just got the chicken. The chicken is very, very good. It was moist and had a lot of seasoning on it. I thought the mashed potatoes were pretty good too. I am not a big fan of peel in my mashed potatoes but I am starting to get used to it. The green beans had a good flavor but the texture was very off putting. They weren't crisp like I was expecting, but had an odd rubbery and waxy texture. Very odd but they tasted just fine.

Chocolate Cake

I was a little disappointed here. Our last trip they had strawberry yogurt on the dessert menu but now it's on the Sides menu. I was looking forward to a less sweet dessert because I was starting to get dessert burnout. They may have let me got it if I had asked, but I did not. So we all got the chocolate cake instead. It was nothing special or anything but better than I expected. To me most of these packaged desserts aren't good but this one wasn't too bad. It was most and not too rich. A little bit better than most desserts like this. Also notice the Halloween sprinkles on top. I thought that was a nice touch.

Overall Thoughts
We all enjoyed our food here. In my opinion Cosmic Rays is one of the best CS options if you are on the DDP. My only complaint about this place is having to get in different lines for different food. I believe there are three different station, so your family could really be splitting up to get your food.