NoOrdinaryPrincess's Inaugural Dining Report: And we're back! (Updated 10/18)

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Originally Posted by vettegirl

Mmm tonga toast and dole whips, Disney Heaven

It really was excellent. I felt like I was experiencing quintessential Disney.

Originally Posted by emmysmommy

What a great preface to your upcoming trip! I am thoroughly captivated and love that there are some great adventures and surprises to come. For your May trip, what a great start with EoS (and my favorite the Caprese) while your Le Cellier sounds like it didn't disappoint!

You have a delightful style to your writing and I am so looking forward to hearing more!!

[insert my own disclaimer: I don't know how I missed this and didn't join earlier! ]

Wow! It's the venerable emmysmommy. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. I hope my next report can be as engaging.

Originally Posted by Roma

I'm loving your reviews and looking forward to hearing what happens on your next trip! Your husband sounds a lot like mine... aren't they keepers .

J is the best. If your husband is similar, we are the luckiest of ladies, aren't we?

Originally Posted by DonaldDoleWhip

Tonga Toast and dole whips...at the same time? That's such a perfect Disney breakfast! I might have to borrow that idea eventually.

And it's awesome that your trip is so soon! Have a great time, and I'm looking forward to hearing about it.

As I mentioned in another reply, the tonga toast and dole whip breakfast tasted like quintessential Disney. Being at Disney is such an immersive experience, and the food is such a huge part of that.

Originally Posted by MLinDisney

That looks like a great table for Illuminations. Was it right by the railing? The dinner from Morocco looks delish too!
We had the Dole whip for snack and Tonga toast for breakfast. Loved that Tonga toast! I don't know why but I didn't like the Dole whip. Next trip I try the Dole whip float. I read that its better than the Dole whip.
Again I love your writing style! I enjoyed following your blue envelopes and liked the book recommendations!

I'm looking forward to reading all about your upcoming trip!

We sample the lamb platter from Morocco on every trip at some point, it's a favorite. Yes, we were able to snag a table right on the water in the French Pavilion with a delightful mother and daughter who were in Epcot for the first time in years.

Originally Posted by nfggirl5454

I love the Lizzie Bennet Diaries too! I'm a few behind though - the last I saw we were about to meet Wickham. I can't wait to see who they choose for Darcy. All the other characters have been perfect so far, and Ben Li is so cute. I don't watch all the Vlogbrothers videos, though I enjoy Hank's songs (especially the ones about Harry Potter). And I saw that you mentioned the Temeraire books. I've read the first one and really liked it. The only problem is that my to-read book has at least 200 books!

Back to food now: I just went to Le Cellier for the first time a few weeks ago, and your picture of the filet makes me want to go back soon. That's what I ordered, of course (sub mashed potatoes for the risotto though). I'm looking forward to hearing about your next trip!

Thank you so very much for talking about books with me. I think mashed potatos are a frequent substitution for the risotto, but I appreciate it as well.

Originally Posted by jecskc

Loved your Dining Review. Can't wait to read about your current trip when you get back !!! Have a great time !! Drink a Grey Goose Slushie for me !!

Grey Goose Slushie? I think I can handle that. Thank you for the kind words.

Originally Posted by Wills Mom

Delighted to have found your PDR. You have a way with words and I've really enjoyed the blue envelopes idea your darling DH did for you! Looking forward to reading all about your upcoming trip And don't worry that you'll disappoint, you won't

Thank you for the kind words and encouragement. The envelopes added such a convenient cohesive narrative to the DR; but alas, real life just isn't like that.

Originally Posted by jerseytinkerbell

Tonga Toast and Dole Whip sounds like the best breakfast ever! I may have to re-create this on a future trip.

Your hubby sounds incredibly sweet! The scavenger hunt he created for you is incredibly thoughtful. The book he based it on sounds terrific too. Thanks for the recommendation!

Looking forward to reading all about your latest trip!

Thanks so much for the kind words. The scavenger hunt was excellent. I highly recommend Tonga Toast and Dole Whip (if you can handle the sugar)

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

I intended to start my PDR yesterday but woke with an unrelenting sinus infection. My primary care physician is closed until Monday, departure day.

I feel much better than I did yesterday, and am going to try and hold out. I've considered going to the emergency clinic at the pharmacy. We will see.

Alas, now you get the lackluster beginning to my PTR. I'd planned a much more thoughtful introduction to my upcoming trip, but we'll make due.

Surprisingly, we haven't made really any changes to our ADRs since we made them at the 180 day mark. With the exception of Ohana, all of these are new experiences for all of us.

Monday, October 8 (Arrival)
Lunch: Resort QS [1st choice Roaring Forks; 2nd Choice Contempo Cafe; 3rd Choice Captain Cooks]
Dinner: California Grill [any meal suggestions?]

Tuesday, October 9
Lunch: Columbia Harbor House
Dinner: Ohana

Wednesday, October 10
Lunch: HS QS [though, I'm unimpressed with my options. I may walk over to F&WF instead]
Dinner: Sunshine Seasons

Thursday, October 11
Lunch: F&WF
Dinner: F&WF or Epcot QS (MNSSHP day)

Friday, October 12
Lunch: F&WF
Dinner: Coral Reef

Saturday, October 13
Lunch: Boy's Mystery Surprise
Dinner: Boy's Mystery Surprise (1 DDP credit available)

Sunday, October 14
Lunch: Flame Tree BBQ
Dinner: Jiko [any meal suggestions?]

Monday October 15 (Departure Day)
Lunch: Resort or DTD QS
Dinner: Home


Food and Wine must dos:
As with my May adventure, I like having goals, but leaving room in the schedule for flexibility, so I only have a few "must dos"

Hops and Barley: Linda Bean's Perfect Maine Lobster Roll
Hawaii: Tuna Poke with Seaweed Salad and Lotus Root Chips
Belgium: Steamed Mussels in Hoegaarden Beer Broth and Baguette
France: Escargots Persillade en Brioche
Florida local: Florida Shrimp Ceviche with Fire Roasted Vegetables, Fried Plantains and Cilantro – $4.25

I didn't intend for my selections to consist entirely of seafood, but if you read my May DR you will recall I have a healthy appetite for seafood.

[jabead]

Originally Posted by NoOrdinaryPrincess

I intended to start my PDR yesterday but woke with an unrelenting sinus infection. My primary care physician is closed until Monday, departure day.

I feel much better than I did yesterday, and am going to try and hold out. I've considered going to the emergency clinic at the pharmacy. We will see.

Alas, now you get the lackluster beginning to my PTR. I'd planned a much more thoughtful introduction to my upcoming trip, but we'll make due.

Surprisingly, we haven't made really any changes to our ADRs since we made them at the 180 day mark. With the exception of Ohana, all of these are new experiences for all of us.

Monday, October 8 (Arrival)
Lunch: Resort QS [1st choice Roaring Forks; 2nd Choice Contempo Cafe; 3rd Choice Captain Cooks]
Dinner: California Grill [any meal suggestions?]

Tuesday, October 9
Lunch: Columbia Harbor House
Dinner: Ohana

Wednesday, October 10
Lunch: HS QS [though, I'm unimpressed with my options. I may walk over to F&WF instead]
Dinner: Sunshine Seasons

Thursday, October 11
Lunch: F&WF
Dinner: F&WF or Epcot QS (MNSSHP day)

Friday, October 12
Lunch: F&WF
Dinner: Coral Reef

Saturday, October 13
Lunch: Boy's Mystery Surprise
Dinner: Boy's Mystery Surprise (1 DDP credit available)

Sunday, October 14
Lunch: Flame Tree BBQ
Dinner: Jiko [any meal suggestions?]

Monday October 15 (Departure Day)
Lunch: Resort or DTD QS
Dinner: Home


Food and Wine must dos:
As with my May adventure, I like having goals, but leaving room in the schedule for flexibility, so I only have a few "must dos"

Hops and Barley: Linda Bean's Perfect Maine Lobster Roll
Hawaii: Tuna Poke with Seaweed Salad and Lotus Root Chips
Belgium: Steamed Mussels in Hoegaarden Beer Broth and Baguette
France: Escargots Persillade en Brioche
Florida local: Florida Shrimp Ceviche with Fire Roasted Vegetables, Fried Plantains and Cilantro  $4.25

I didn't intend for my selections to consist entirely of seafood, but if you read my May DR you will recall I have a healthy appetite for seafood.

First, sorry to hear you are feeling under the weather. Hopefully you will recover quickly and be all better by Monday.

Next I have a few recommendations for you regarding CA Grill and Jiko. California Grill is currently my favorite Disney restaurant and so far I have enjoyed everything I've tried there. All of the flatbreads have been delicious, but I especially liked the BLT, which I believe is still currently on the menu. My oldest DD has enjoyed all the sushi rolls she has tried there, but especially the Spicy Kazan and the Medusa (which I'm not sure is still offered). For an entree, I actually have gotten the Rock Shrimp salad the last few times I've been there and really liked it. And two out of my three kids say that CA Grill serves the best steak on Disney property. At Jiko, I highly recommend their cheese plate, if you like cheese. On my last trip, we had 6 or 7 different cheese plates, and we all three agreed that Jiko's was the best. We also really enjoyed the Inguday Tibs as an appetizer. I haven't yet had success with the entrees at Jiko, but one of my daughters loves the Short Rib and the other really enjoyed the chicken flatbread (which she had instead of an entree). Oh, and while CA Grill is my favorite, for my daughters it takes second place to Jiko.

Last, I just want to say that your plans look great and I can't wait to begin receiving your live updates! I'm glad to see that you will be spending some time sampling the F & W fest offerings, since so far we have not received as many live updates regarding the F & W fest as I thought we would.

[jecskc]

No Parisian Cosmo slushie ???? I hope you get to feeling better soon. I would just go and get some antibiotics. It sucks to have to go to the doctor on the weekend, but it sucks worse to be sick on vacation especially at Disney.

[MLinDisney]

I'm looking forward to your new Dining Reviews!! Can't wait to see what you order! I'm especially looking forward to "Boy's mystery surprises!!)

Feel Better!

[Wills Mom]

Hope you feel better soon! Being Irish we always say to have a hot whiskey (hot water mixed with whiskey, cloves and honey) for something like that, it'll clear ya right up hopefully! It sucks being sick going to WDW, but a bad start leads to a good finish I really like your ADR choices and especially like that you'll be sampling F&WF offerings Looking forward to reading about that and can't wait to see what the boys surprise day consists of Safe travels.

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Originally Posted by jabead

First, sorry to hear you are feeling under the weather. Hopefully you will recover quickly and be all better by Monday.

Next I have a few recommendations for you regarding CA Grill and Jiko. California Grill is currently my favorite Disney restaurant and so far I have enjoyed everything I've tried there. All of the flatbreads have been delicious, but I especially liked the BLT, which I believe is still currently on the menu. My oldest DD has enjoyed all the sushi rolls she has tried there, but especially the Spicy Kazan and the Medusa (which I'm not sure is still offered). For an entree, I actually have gotten the Rock Shrimp salad the last few times I've been there and really liked it. And two out of my three kids say that CA Grill serves the best steak on Disney property. At Jiko, I highly recommend their cheese plate, if you like cheese. On my last trip, we had 6 or 7 different cheese plates, and we all three agreed that Jiko's was the best. We also really enjoyed the Inguday Tibs as an appetizer. I haven't yet had success with the entrees at Jiko, but one of my daughters loves the Short Rib and the other really enjoyed the chicken flatbread (which she had instead of an entree). Oh, and while CA Grill is my favorite, for my daughters it takes second place to Jiko.

Last, I just want to say that your plans look great and I can't wait to begin receiving your live updates! I'm glad to see that you will be spending some time sampling the F & W fest offerings, since so far we have not received as many live updates regarding the F & W fest as I thought we would.

Thanks, for your kind words, Barb. I love your Jiko and CG suggestions. I've been looking at the steaks at both resturants, they look so good! But I feel that is what J will order, and I'm leaning toward needing a little variety.

I will definitely be going to the F&WF! That was one of the major motivators for gong on this trip! I can't wait to send you updates!

Originally Posted by jecskc

No Parisian Cosmo slushie ???? I hope you get to feeling better soon. I would just go and get some antibiotics. It sucks to have to go to the doctor on the weekend, but it sucks worse to be sick on vacation especially at Disney.

I may have to sample the Parisian Cosmo slushie. I only drink 2-3 times a month at home, but on vacation, well, that's a different matter.

Originally Posted by MLinDisney

I'm looking forward to your new Dining Reviews!! Can't wait to see what you order! I'm especially looking forward to "Boy's mystery surprises!!)

Feel Better!

Thanks so much! I hope that the mystery surprises are worth the build-up they have received. I'm worried I'm going to be disappointing some people.

Originally Posted by Wills Mom

Hope you feel better soon! Being Irish we always say to have a hot whiskey (hot water mixed with whiskey, cloves and honey) for something like that, it'll clear ya right up hopefully! It sucks being sick going to WDW, but a bad start leads to a good finish I really like your ADR choices and especially like that you'll be sampling F&WF offerings Looking forward to reading about that and can't wait to see what the boys surprise day consists of Safe travels.

I can't wait for boy's surprise day consists of either. Thanks for the illness advice, I'll take cures from any culture at this point. I don't want to be sick on my vacation!

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

As a method to procrastinate from packing, I will speculate on what I believe the Mystery ADR in our schedule is.

Last year, J and I traveled with the same companions A and P to the World for SWW. This year, when we planned to go again for F&W, A and I once again took the reigns on the planning until the boys protested. They wanted to plan at least one day of the vacation, including the meals.

My suggestion of IOA for some butterbeer has been outright rejected for budgetary reasons, and we've warned them away from Epcot on the Saturday of F&W. That said, I have NO IDEA what the boys have up their sleeves. I know that ADRs have been booked, but when I asked J what I should pack for Saturday ("Park clothes?, Nice Date clothes?, Park clothes AND Nice Date clothes?) he said he had to check with P and get back to me. That was two days ago.

I also don't know if we will spend the entire day with our friends or split off for a date night. On our trip last year, we had a "date night" on our third night where A and P headed over to the Poly for their first Ohana experience, and J and I gorged ourselves on lobster at Fultons then strolling around DTD.

I really have no speculation on what will happen on this day, but I do have some idea of where we might eat. I'm not certain that we will split off into a "date night" on this vacation, but I think it's likely.

If we do, I'm almost certain A and P will be visiting Sanaa. J and I visited here in January and loved it. A mentioned really, really wanting to go, but we didn't make an ADR in our regular schedule because we were trying to find places that were new to all of us. I encouraged J to send P in this direction, and I think he did.

Whether we stay together or split off, I think there are a couple of likely destinations.

Big River Grille: Both of the guys, especially P appreciate a good beer and love visiting local microbrews. I think it's more likely that they'll keep the girls in mind with their ADR, but if they were choosing for themselves, I'm pretty sure this is what they would choose.

Via Napoli: J is of Italian heritage and is really, really hesitant to sample italian cuisine that doesn't come from his mother's kitchen. As a result, we haven't patronized any of Epcot's Italian offerings, but as this place gets such good reviews, his resistance is waining.

Artist Point: J asked me which Disney restaurants I most wanted to try and this was at the top of the list. Slow roasted buffalo strip steak. Need I say more? Buffalo is my absolute favorite meat, and I'm dying to check out WL as it's the only Deluxe I haven't explored, but we only have one available dining credit apiece and this is a two credit restaurant.

The Wave: This was the first 1TS restaurant on my "most want to try" list (it even has buffalo offerings). I'm intrigued by the menu. This seems to be the closest to a 2TS experience for 1TS credit.

We will see…

What mystery ADR would you all like to see/be taken to? I think the speculation and anticipation are almost more fun than the event itself.

[MLinDisney]

As a method to procrastinate from packing <-------- This is funny and I love to procrastinate too especially this way!
If you're not on the dining plan and J wants Italian, I have read great things about Il Mulino at the Swan. I have never eaten there but one day I would like to. We did eat at Via Napoli and it was great, so I think that would be a great choice.
As far as the mystery ADR, I want it to be Artist Point. I was never there, but you would like to try that buffalo and the reviews are great.
I wanted to try the bison entree when we went to California Grill, but it wasn't on the menu when we went.
Can't wait to see what happens here..........

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Hope you're feeling better.

[emmysmommy]

Sorry you are not feeling well. I hope you rebound quickly.

I am curious to see what the mystery ADR will be! And may I congratulate you on only a minor change to your dining line up since booking! That's incredible - at least for me!

I'm with Jabead - Cali Grill is one of my favorite dinner restaurants in WDW. They have some wonderful options and if you are as sushi lover - some of the biggest portions and best value for the money.

I wish you all the best with your trip and look forward to hearing about your adventures.

[smile4stamps]

Originally Posted by NoOrdinaryPrincess

I didn't intend for my selections to consist entirely of seafood, but if you read my May DR you will recall I have a healthy appetite for seafood.

It's funny you said this because that is exactly what I was thinking when I read it!!

I hope you have a fabulous trip!! Hopefully I will see a few updates before I travel to the world myself!!

[Jersette]

I hope you're feeling more up to par, bah on sinus issues!

I soooo enjoyed this sweet, fun DR....can't wait to read your upcoming one! F&W is one of my goals in the next couple years...maybe because of my recent obsession lately to have a lobster roll and finding them scarce in Illinois!

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Originally Posted by MLinDisney

As a method to procrastinate from packing <-------- This is funny and I love to procrastinate too especially this way!
If you're not on the dining plan and J wants Italian, I have read great things about Il Mulino at the Swan. I have never eaten there but one day I would like to. We did eat at Via Napoli and it was great, so I think that would be a great choice.
As far as the mystery ADR, I want it to be Artist Point. I was never there, but you would like to try that buffalo and the reviews are great.
I wanted to try the bison entree when we went to California Grill, but it wasn't on the menu when we went.
Can't wait to see what happens here..........

Thanks for the advice. I hope the ADR is Artist Point too, but then we'd have more ADRs than we have DDP credits.

Originally Posted by Smiling Cheshire Cat

Hope you're feeling better.

Thanks so much for the kind words.

Originally Posted by emmysmommy

Sorry you are not feeling well. I hope you rebound quickly.

I am curious to see what the mystery ADR will be! And may I congratulate you on only a minor change to your dining line up since booking! That's incredible - at least for me!

I'm with Jabead - Cali Grill is one of my favorite dinner restaurants in WDW. They have some wonderful options and if you are as sushi lover - some of the biggest portions and best value for the money.

I wish you all the best with your trip and look forward to hearing about your adventures.

Thanks for the well wishes. And I will definitely be ordering sushi at CG!

Originally Posted by smile4stamps

It's funny you said this because that is exactly what I was thinking when I read it!!

I hope you have a fabulous trip!! Hopefully I will see a few updates before I travel to the world myself!!

Thanks, I've decided it's good that my readers pay enough attention that they find these kinds of things.

Originally Posted by Jersette

I hope you're feeling more up to par, bah on sinus issues!

I soooo enjoyed this sweet, fun DR....can't wait to read your upcoming one! F&W is one of my goals in the next couple years...maybe because of my recent obsession lately to have a lobster roll and finding them scarce in Illinois!

Thanks for the well wishes. I, too have trouble finding a good lobser roll. I have a hard time ordering a lobster away from the coast.

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

And we're off!

Bags are packed, work email autoreply is set to "see ya real soon" and we will be leaving for the airport shortly. Please check Barb's update thread to see how we're doing.

Next stop, the World!