14 Days of Gluttony AKA Doing Free Dining Again! COMPLETE!

[MrsB1228]

Day 10 was another relaxing no-park day. We started the morning with one of these little beauties from the POFQ food court.

This cinnamon bun was lovely! It's a flakier version than you'll find at the Main St. Bakery, I find it's more croissant-like and has a stronger cinnamon flavour, which I love. However, if you adore the MK version, you may not like this one. DH and I used two snack credits to get one each.

For lunch, we decided to head over to the Poly and try some of the offerings at their counter service restaurant, Capt. Cook's.

After looking over the menu, we placed our order at one of the electronic kiosks. I chose:

(There really is a whole sandwich under all those chips, LOL)

"The Grown-up Grilled Cheese", which consists of cheddar, swiss and Boursin cheese served grilled on multi-grain sunflower bread and served with house-made chips. I personally love a good grilled cheese sandwich and this one was AH-MA-ZING!! The medley of different flavours from the cheese, from the sharp cheddar to the creamy Boursin made this the ultimate in comfort food, I loved it! The chips were ok, but the ones around the sandwich got soggy very quickly. No matter, as they weren't needed anyway. 4.5/5

Here's a close-up:

DH had:

(Sorry for the blurry photo.)

"Hawaiian Flatbread", which had mozzarella, tomato sauce, ham, pineapple, onions and parmesan cheese. Frank enjoyed it, but wasn't blown away. He said the crust was a bit soggy which lessened his enjoyment. 3.5/5

We each had a soft drink for our beverage.

I love those Halloween cups, so cute!

For dessert, DH had a fruit cup and I had a pineapple dole whip. I didn't take any pictures because I figure everyone knows what these items look like.

We enjoyed our meal at Capt. Cook's and we'd definitely return!

Our lunch used 2 quick service credits and would have cost $30.52 OOP.

Up next: Dinner at The Wave.

 

[MrsB1228]

We had a 7 o'clock ADR at The Wave in the beautiful Contemporary Resort. It was raining lightly on this night (what else is new? LOL) and we left earlier in case we needed to dry off when we got there. Luckily we weren't caught in any torrential downpours as had happened other nights so we killed some time by exploring the gift shops. We checked in about 10 minutes before our ADR time and were seated at 7:05.

I know some people don't really like the ambiance at the Wave, it has no windows so can be quite dark and it doesn't strike you as being very "Disney" but I really like it. It's modern and contemporary, in keeping with the theme of the resort, but also manages to be comfortable and welcoming at the same time. The servers that we've encountered have been friendly and very knowledgeable of the menu. I like that they focus on locally sourced, sustainable ingredients and the menu changes seasonally.

This is one of the few restaurants that allow you to have a specialty smoothie as your beverage credit, rather than the usual sodas or lemonades. DH chose the Mega-Berry smoothie and I had the Mango smoothie. They were wonderful!

The bread service arrived with our drinks. The Wave's signature bread is a delicious chewy multigrain served with butter that's been sprinkled with pink sea salt.

After looking over the menu, we both decided on the same thing:

"Grilled Beef Tenderloin" - with Goji berry-red wine reduction, three potato hash, locally sourced butternut squash risotto.

This tasted as good as it looks. The beef was fork-tender and cooked as ordered. The squash was absolutely delicious! DH isn't a big fan of squash but he ate every bite. The potato hash was ok, I found it to be a bit bland but a little sprinkle of salt and pepper fixed that problem. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meal and give it 4/5.

We made different choices for dessert. DH chose:

"Fall Ice Cream Trio" - Double chocolate chip, salted caramel swirl and pumpkin pie with maple glazed pecans.

Frank enjoyed all three very much. His favourites were the pumpkin and the chocolate. He gave his dessert 4/5.

Here's close-ups of the pumpkin pie and double chocolate chip:

(The candle was in recognition of our anniversary).

I went with:

"American Flavours" - Mississippi mud pie, Boston cream pie, and apple-almond crumb cake with spiced cream.

I enjoyed my dessert as well, my favourite was the apple-almond crumb cake. The Boston cream pie was also very nice but the Mississippi mud pie was a bit dry. I give my dessert 3.5/5

Here's a close-up of the apple-almond crumb cake with spiced cream:

I would have been very happy with three of these!

This truly was a great meal and we'll definitely return to the Wave!

This meal used two table service credits and would have been $101.11 before tip OOP.

Up next: Lunch at Beaches & Cream and dinner at Kona Cafe.

 

[momtoprincesses]

I just read your whole report thus far in one sitting, and I enjoyed every second of it! I am looking forward to your grand total at the end!

 

[hobbs6799]

Everything looks so yummy!!! Avidly following.

 

[MrsB1228]

I just read your whole report thus far in one sitting, and I enjoyed every second of it! I am looking forward to your grand total at the end!

Thank you so much and welcome, glad you're reading along!

Everything looks so yummy!!! Avidly following.

I can honestly say we didn't really have any bad experiences this time around (with the exception of the dry, tasteless croissant berry pudding at Sunshine Seasons ). Of course we enjoyed some meals more than others but for the most part, everything was great! Thanks for reading!

 

[MrsB1228]

We decided we were going to skips the parks again and spend some time exploring other resorts. We grabbed a quick snack at POFQ before we left:

I chose a cheese danish this morning, and it was very good. It was very cold however, and would have benefitted from being warmed up. No matter, we just wanted something to tide us over and this filled the bill. DH had another cinnamon bun.

We visited Art of Animation in the morning and were wowed by the wonderful details and larger than life icons at the resort. If I still had small children or grandchildren, this would be a great choice! As it is, we'll stick with POFQ.

We took tons of pictures:

We briefly considered having lunch at the AoA food court, as there are so many interesting selections available, but we decided to head to the Beach Club instead and see if we could get seated at Beaches & Cream. Hard to believe, but even after all our visits to WDW, we've never managed a meal here.

I love the grounds, it's such a pretty resort.

We arrived at the podium around 1:30 and were told they would be able to seat us in 20 to 30 minutes. We killed some time wandering around the area and taking some more photos.

One of the things I love about Disney is all the whimsical details, I just love these ice cream cone tables!

After only waiting 10 minutes, they called our name! We were led to the counter where we had a perfect view of all the yummy treats being made. This family had just received their sundaes as we were seated:

Here's a look around the interior:

DH ordered the toasted Club House sandwich and thoroughly enjoyed it!

I opted for the Grilled Cheese and Tomato Bisque, which was awesome!

We each give our meals 4/5.

For dessert, we decided to share:

The famous Kitchen Sink! 8 scoops of ice cream served with all the toppings in the house and a full can of whipped cream!

OK, just kidding ... we actually ordered a small No Way Jose to share. One scoop of vanilla and one scoop of chocolate ice cream, hot fudge, peanut butter, chocolate morsels, whipped cream and a cherry.

Here it is being presented to us by our wonderful server Dominica, who was an absolute sweetheart!

And here we are preparing to dig in ...

Mmmm ... the No Way Jose is very deserving of its fans, it was fabulous!

Do I even need to tell you the score? 5/5 for sure!

Stuffed and content, we waddled out of Beaches and Cream to continue our resort tour.

We paid OOP for our lunch, as we wanted to save our TS credits for dinner at Kona Cafe. Total cost for our 2 entrees, soft drink for DH, pink lemonade for me and the small sundae was $34.03 before tip. We loved our experience here! Not only was the food delicious, but the whole atmosphere was fun and the servers all seemed very happy to be there. It was a great afternoon and we'll be back!

Up next: Dinner at Kona Cafe.

 

[WDWaddictt]

Beaches and Cream looks so good. I love the decor! That sundae....wow it looks absolutely awesome! We may have to check it out!

I am excited to hear about Kona Cafe. I am still on the fence whether to keep my ADR here or not.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[MrsB1228]

Beaches and Cream looks so good. I love the decor! That sundae....wow it looks absolutely awesome! We may have to check it out!

I am excited to hear about Kona Cafe. I am still on the fence whether to keep my ADR here or not.

Thanks for sharing!

We loved our experience at Beaches and Cream! Our sandwiches were delicious and my tomato bisque was wonderful! The sundae was soooo good and the service was top notch, I can totally understand why people sing the praises of this little restaurant!

Kona Cafe review coming up! Thanks for reading!

 

[MrsB1228]

That evening, we made our way back to the beautiful Polynesian Resort for our 7:30 ADR at Kona Cafe.

Kona Cafe has long been a favourite of ours. We're in the minority when it comes to 'Ohana, as our one experience there was so terrible we swore we'd never return, but Kona has never let us down, at least not yet. We know any restaurant can have a bad night, so perhaps one day in the future we'll give 'Ohana another chance ... but not yet.

Kona is another restaurant that will allow you to order smoothies as your beverage credit on the DDP, so we each decided to have a virgin Pina Colada.

DH enjoyed this more than I did. I had a difficult time discerning any pineapple or coconut flavour as it was just overwhelmingly sweet. DH agrees that it was very sweet but he didn't mind it. I give it 2/5 and DH gives it 3.5/5.

They brought out the bread service along with our drinks:

Kona Cafe Pineapple Bread, sooooo good!!

And to spread on top, macadamia nut butter.

We love the bread and butter here, the bread is served warm so the macadamia nut butter melts right in. Nirvana! It's very hard not to overdo it with the bread, you have to keep reminding yourself to save tummy space for the entree (and dessert ).

For his entree, Frank selected the Coconut Almond Chicken:

Coconut Almond Chicken - breaded and baked chicken breast served with a salad of Asian greens, fresh fruit and almonds.

DH wasn't really wowed by this. It was a large piece of chicken, but he said it was dry and the breading didn't add any additional flavour, and wasn't crisp. The salad was just a salad, not particularly memorable. He was disappointed with his choice. 2.5/5

I chose a pork chop special they were offering that night:

This was fantastic!! I can't find my notes regarding this, but I believe this is their coffee-rubbed bone-in pork chop, which at the time was served with Kona scalloped potatoes and seasonal vegetables. The chop was extremely tender and had incredible flavour, the potatoes included cheddar cheese, mushrooms and onions in a creamy base and the veggies were tender-crisp. Wow!! This was the dish our server recommended and he didn't steer me wrong, I loved every bite of this! 5/5

For dessert, we both chose the same thing:

Chocolate Fondue - warm pot of rich, semi-sweet chocolate served with fruit, macaroons and an almond crisp cookie. Delish! We both give it 4/5.

While we were enjoying our dessert, our server also brought this out for our anniversary:

DH ate the chocolate one and said it was very good. We took the other one back to the room but sadly never ate it.

Here's a close-up of the chocolate stencil:

So cute!!

Overall, our experience at Kona was pretty good. Frank didn't really enjoy his entree, but loved everything else. My entree was incredible and DH says he would choose it next time, or go back to the Teriyaki New York Strip, which he's always enjoyed in the past. Regardless, we will definitely return to Kona!

This meal used 2 table service credits and would have cost $67.03 OOP before tip.

Up next: Lunch in Norway and dinner in the UK.

 

[LisaKeys]

We did the 7 day DxDP The Deluxe plan had us wondering when the food would stop - but we really enjoyed it. Just like I am truly enjoying your DR! Love the photo's, love your descriptions and especially like hearing your opinions. We spent a lot of time at signature restaurants (Yachtsman is our top favorite) and table service spots. We missed quite a few still and you are hitting them. We have already made note of a few of them to try next time around.

Looking forward to more reviews

 

[WDWaddictt]

That bread looks delish! Did you have to ask for it or do they always bring it out?

Your meal looks really yummy! I was thinking about ordering the chicken, but not so sure now. Maybe yours instead, if they still have it.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[disnut1149]

Hi Carol
I love your reviews!! I really enjoy reading them. I never get cupcakes at DW, but after seeing the pictures, I'm going to have to try the peanut butter cupcake in August. It looks delicious. Thanks for sharing and can't wait to read more.
Joan

 

[MrsB1228]

We did the 7 day DxDP The Deluxe plan had us wondering when the food would stop - but we really enjoyed it. Just like I am truly enjoying your DR! Love the photo's, love your descriptions and especially like hearing your opinions. We spent a lot of time at signature restaurants (Yachtsman is our top favorite) and table service spots. We missed quite a few still and you are hitting them. We have already made note of a few of them to try next time around.

Looking forward to more reviews

Thank you so much and I'm glad you're enjoying the reviews! I'm going back this fall with my sister and we're planning to try the Deluxe plan this time around, mainly because we'd really like to try some of the Signatures. I'm sure we'll be thinking the same thing regarding the seemingly endless food, LOL.

Thanks for reading!

That bread looks delish! Did you have to ask for it or do they always bring it out?

Your meal looks really yummy! I was thinking about ordering the chicken, but not so sure now. Maybe yours instead, if they still have it.

Thanks for sharing!

I don't know about lunch, but they always bring the bread out at dinner time. It's wonderful!

That pork chop was amazing! I believe they still offer it, just with different sides now. As far as the chicken goes, my sister ordered it when we dined there in 2011 and really enjoyed it, so it could be just a matter of different tastes. I didn't try it so I can't offer another opinion.

Thanks for joining in!

Hi Carol
I love your reviews!! I really enjoy reading them. I never get cupcakes at DW, but after seeing the pictures, I'm going to have to try the peanut butter cupcake in August. It looks delicious. Thanks for sharing and can't wait to read more.
Joan

Hi Joan! Thanks so much, I'm really glad you're enjoying the reviews and thanks for joining in. The peanut butter cupcake from Contempo looked amazing and my DH literally inhaled it so I never got a chance to try it. It must have been especially delicious, LOL!

More coming up soon!

 

[MrsB1228]

Today was spent at Epcot, and we decided to have lunch at a new-to-us location, Kringla Bakeri og Cafe in the Norway pavilion.

The CM's we encountered here were lovely, very friendly and helpful. After looking over the menu boards, we each chose the "Daily Chef's Selection" which consists of a sandwich and your choice of side salad or fruit cup. We each selected the toasted Norwegian Club Sandwich with the fruit cup. Frank had a Coke to drink and I chose Voss Artesian water. For dessert, I opted for the Cloudberry Horn, which I believe they're calling a "Troll Horn" now and DH had the no sugar added chocolate mousse.

Here's DH's tray:

A close-up of the sandwich after I cut it in half:

Norwegian Club Sandwich - turkey, ham and bacon with Jarlsberg and Muenster cheese, fresh tomatoes, sliced red onion and lingonberry mayonnaise.

The sandwich was amazing!! I absolutely love the multigrain bread it's served on. The combination of flavours was delicious and having it toasted really took it over the top. We both loved it. 5/5

My water and fruit cup:

The Cloudberry (Troll) Horn:

Mmmm, that was so good! The pastry was lovely, light and flaky and the cream inside was perfect, not too sweet or too rich. Since it had been sitting out while I enjoyed my sandwich, it was close to room temperature when I ate it which I believe it so important to the flavour. I'd get it again in a heartbeat. 5/5

Frank enjoyed the mousse but said it wasn't any better than any other chocolate mousse he's tried. He thought it was very good for a sugar-free dessert though. 3.5/5

We really, really enjoyed our lunch at this CS location and it's definitely on our must-do list from now on!

This meal used 2 quick service credits and would have cost $34.40 OOP.

Up next: Dinner at Rose & Crown.

 

[MrsB1228]

At 7:30 that evening, we checked in for our 7:50 ADR at Rose & Crown in the UK pavilion.

We went inside thinking we'd order a drink while we were waiting, but the bar area was absolutely jammed! We just snapped a quick picture of the bar and went back outside to browse the various shops while we waited.

Epcot was very busy once again and we had to wait until 8:00 before our name was called. However, we were escorted to a seat on the lower tier of the outdoor patio with a perfect view of the lagoon. Score!!

Now I apologize in advance for some of the blurry photos. It was very difficult to get a decent shot in the dark so I'm posting the best of what we took.

Our server was quick to introduce herself and take our beverage orders. DH elected to just have a soda and I ordered a Cider and Black.

Cider & Black: Strongbow Cider with a shot of black currant juice.

I love hard cider so I really enjoyed this! 4/5

The bread service arrived with our drinks:

These were fine. They're just your standard crusty dinner roll but were fresh and warm. We enjoyed them.

For his entree, DH ordered:

Fish and Chips - "Rose & Crown's Signature Dish" - Beer battered and served with house-made tartar sauce.

Frank really enjoyed his meal. One of his favourite CS places in World Showcase is The Yorkshire County Fish Shop so he knew he'd love this. The fish (I believe it's cod) is coated in a light, crispy batter and the fries are crispy on the outside and tender and fluffy on the inside. He ate every bite. 4/5

I selected:

Roasted Rack Pork - with Colcannon potatoes, roasted apples, and whole-grain mustard jus. This was a limited time item and I don't believe it's on the menu anymore.

I just realized I ate a lot of pork on this trip, LOL! This meal was wonderful! The pork was cooked perfectly and was very tender and flavourful. The Colcannon potatoes were amazing, I think they're the best I've ever had.

Here's a close-up:

Colcannon potatoes are usually mashed, but this was more like scalloped potatoes. It included cabbage, bacon, onion and cream and was soooo good. I give this meal 4/5 since I wasn't that thrilled with the veggies, they were overcooked for my taste.

For dessert, DH ordered:

Jaffa Tarts - Orange cream-filled cakes covered in chocolate ganache, served with raspberry sauce and fresh oranges.

He loved it! 5/5

I chose:

Sticky Toffee Pudding - which I'm happy to say is a much smaller portion than they used to serve. I still couldn't quite finish it, but at least I didn't feel like I was wasting quite so much food. It was delicious as always. 5/5

As we were enjoying our dessert, Illuminations started and we had a wonderful front-row seat. It was a fabulous way to end our evening!

We always enjoy Rose & Crown, it hasn't let us down yet and we'll be back!

Our meal used 2 table service credits and would have cost $58.52 OOP. My pint of Cider and Black was $9.05.

Up next: Our last full day includes lunch at Starring Rolls and dinner at Nine Dragons.

 

[dawnmichele]

Norwegian Club Sandwich - turkey, ham and bacon with Jarlsberg and Muenster cheese, fresh tomatoes, sliced red onion and lingonberry mayonnaise.

That sandwich looks Incredible! I can almost taste it from all the way over here in Kansas.

 

[MrsB1228]

That sandwich looks Incredible! I can almost taste it from all the way over here in Kansas.

It was awesome! I can't believe we waited this long to try the Norway CS but it's definitely on our radar now, LOL!

Thanks for reading along!

 

[dizzyblonde]

I'm really enjoying your dining report! Getting some good ideas for my trip in 29 days

 

[MrsB1228]

This day started bright and early with breakfast at Sassagoula Floatworks at POFQ. DH and I both opted for the French Toast with sausage and orange juice.

Fortified by copious carbs, fat and sugar, we made our way to Hollywood Studios. Lunchtime found us at Starring Rolls.

DH left it up to me to choose for him, so I got him a turkey sandwich with chips.

And for dessert, a Chocolate Peanut Butter cupcake:

He really enjoyed both and gave each a 4/5. He said the sandwich was really delicious, the bread was very fresh and they really pile on the turkey. He saved the chips for later. He enjoyed the cupcake. He's not a big fan of a lot of peanut butter in a dessert, but he said this cupcake had the perfect balance. It must have been good, he ate the whole thing.

For my lunch, I chose the Spicy Sushi Roll:

Which, trust me, was not particularly spicy at all and was pretty meh. It was very, very cold, which made the rice hard and dry. I realize they need to refrigerate it well, and you really can't expect anything else of pre-packaged sushi. I should have selected a sandwich, but I was really craving some sushi. 2/5

The good news is I actually had room for dessert! I chose the Red Velvet Cheesecake cupcake:

Here's a closer look:

This cupcake was delicious! The addition of the cheesecake lessened the sweetness and the cream cheese icing was fabulous. I tried the Butterfinger cupcake during a past visit and just found it waaay too sweet for my taste. I think I only managed to eat about 1/4 of it but I came very close to finishing this one. 5/5

This lunch used 2 counter service credits and would have cost $35.08 OOP. In the gastronomic wasteland that is Hollywood Studios, Starring Rolls is an oasis. We'll be back!

 

[MrsB1228]

I'm really enjoying your dining report! Getting some good ideas for my trip in 29 days

Only 29 days away, you must be getting so excited! I hope you have a wonderful trip and thanks for reading!