2016 - Jennifer's January Jaunt! Dining Review - updated 7/29

[Trixie15]

Hi everyone! My name is Jennifer and I'm heading to Orlando for a 12 day solo adventure! I'll be at Universal Studios for a couple of days first, and then I'll head to WDW; I'm staying at Pop for the whole time, though.

My trip starts tomorrow and one of the things I love best about DisBoards are the dining reviews. I'm hoping to be able to return the favor by giving you all a great dining review of this trip! I have lots of restaurants in my plans and quite a few of them are new to me. I am not on the dining plan. I was interested in it but I just couldn't get it to work with the restaurants I wanted to eat at, and it started to feel like I was scheduling meals just so that I could use up a credit. So I ditched the dining plan and am doing this out of pocket instead.

I've got a completed pre-trip report, and I've also just started a semi-live trip report, both of which can be found here:

Jennifer's January Jaunt - 2016 Pre-Trip Report
Jennifer's January Jaunt - 2016 Semi-Live Trip Report

I'm so excited for this trip! I had a blast planning everything and now I am just super excited to get going!

 

[Trixie15]

Restaurants On My List - ADR and Otherwise

I thought I'd put a list of the places I want to eat all in one place. As a solo traveler I can only do so much eating which means I won't get to try as much as I would if there were several people going and we could share plates and stuff. But I'll do the best I can while being mindful about the choices I'm making.

Universal Studios
Thunder Falls Terrace 1/24/16
The Leaky Cauldron 1/25/16
The Three Broomsticks 1/25/16
Finnegans
Bumblebee Man’s Taco Truck - maybe

Resorts
Boma (dinner)
'Ohana - 1/25/16 (dinner)
Whispering Canyon Cafe (breakfast)
Cape May Cafe (dinner)
Kona Cafe (breakfast)
1900 Park Fare (dinner)
California Grill (dinner)
Trader Sam's
Everything Pop - 1/24/16 (dinner)

Magic Kingdom
Be Our Guest (breakfast)
Crystal Palace (breakfast)
Cosmic Rays
Aloha Aisle
Casey's Hot Dogs
Gaston's
Sleepy Hollow
Columbia Harbour House
Skipper Canteen or Liberty Tree Tavern

Epcot
San Angel Inn (dinner)
Garden Grill (dinner)
Katsura Grill (lunch)
Baklava snack at Morocco
Sunshine Seasons (breakfast/snack)
Kringla Bakery (snack)
Karamell-Kuche (snack)

Animal Kingdom
Flame Tree BBQ
Tusker House (brunch)
Harambe Market

Hollywood Studios
50's Prime Time Cafe (lunch)
Symphony in the Stars Dessert Party (special event)
Writer's Stop
Brown Derby Lounge


That's a lot of dining! In most places I'll probably stick with appetizers or small portions. Some of them I might downright skip (Casey's Hot Dogs - I'm looking at you!). And as always, it's just a guide. ADR's can be cancelled or changed and all of the counter service places have no obligation at all. It will be interesting to see which places I actually end up at!

 

[MissKIA]

Looking forward to reading all about your adventures! have fun!

 

[knkmom]

I'm looking forward to reading dinning reviews! Several of the restaurants you listed are on our list to try on our next trip so it will be neat to see what you think about them!

 

[auntfrannie]

Have a great trip & take plenty of pictures!

 

[awalker1015]

Joining in!

 

[phabric]

Looking forward to your reviews.

 

[lizzyb]

Looking forward to your reviews!

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Mouth watering already, Jennifer.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

have a great trip - looking forward to your reviews

 

[RedskinFan]

Looking forward to your reviews

 

[dac7265]

Enjoy, looking forward to your post!

 

[Trixie15]

Universal Studios - Islands of Adventure
Thunder Falls Terrace - 1/24/16 Lunch

Disclaimer - I was famished coming in to this meal. I had only eaten 1/2 of a plain bagel and a carton of milk at the airport at 6 o'clock in the morning, and it was now 2 p.m. I don't know if that altered my opinion of the food because at that point I might have eaten about anything set in front of me and called it gourmet. Not that this was gourmet by any means.

I ordered the Ribs and Chicken Platter which came with 2 sides. I picked macaroni and cheese, and herb-roasted potatoes. I was leery about the potatoes because they can be bad at DisneyWorld. But they were pretty good here! The ribs were excellent - fall off the bone and their mango BBQ sauce was tasty. The chicken was also good. I did take the skin off of it so I can't comment on that. But the meat was juicy and hot. The mac-n-cheese was bland and kind of dry, though. Maybe it needed salt or something, but I only ate a few bites and left the rest.

I left a few potatoes as well, and some of the chicken. Basically, like I always tell the kids - eat till you're satisfied and then be done. I only mention this because it bothered me a little to waste food and I was tempted to just eat it all to avoid the waste. But I'm trying to do things differently now, so I left it and didn't think about it again till just now while writing this review.

For a drink, I had the prepaid cup which I felt that I got a decent amount of use out of on this first day, so it was an okay value.

Overall, this meal from Thunder Falls Terrace was pretty tasty and definitely much appreciated at the time!

Cost including tax: $15.76

 

[disneypofq05]

Joining in...I'm looking forward to your reviews!

 

[Tink2Day]

Can't wait for all of your reviews. TFT is actually delicious. I particularly enjoyed the chicken wrap and it's fun watching the unsuspecting victims in the splash zone.

 

[Lisa F]

I am such a ho for dining reports! looking forward to this one.

 

[Trixie15]

Can't wait for all of your reviews. TFT is actually delicious. I particularly enjoyed the chicken wrap and it's fun watching the unsuspecting victims in the splash zone.

Yes! I sat at a table by the window and watched a few people get wet.

 

[tluvstink]

You're off to a great start!

Terri

 

[pumba]

having fun and eating ..what more can you ask for....thanks and looking forward to your reviews

 

[vettegirl]

Here for the reviews