A honeymoon, a 3rd wheel & 3 very full tummies: We get how much food?!?!? 19 Nights DxDP!!!!

[toomuchtv]

Though, as it turned out, this was not my favourite part of the buffet! I was also delighted by the addition of a made to order crepe bar and both Trent and I went back for a couple of these! They have a lot of topping options!

Beware the bananas!!!! (Banana caramel seems to be the most popular choice, but we actually had berries and cream)

That sounds amazing, but yeah, I had the same thought about the bananas (though mine isn't an allergy, it's just I don't like them).

 

[robinsa88]

Bonus: Day 9 – September 24th – Busch Gardens

This is a slight aside, mostly because I haven’t written a full trip report, but our trip covered pretty much every other park in the central Florida area, and this may interest some.

We head to Busch Gardens this morning, for something different. The rides here had good reviews, but sadly several were down when we arrived (more than the posted closures).

We enjoyed the animals at the park though, and had a fun experience feeding the birds:

We didn’t actually eat at Busch Gardens. After we had done a couple of rides (and waited over an hour for a really terrible coaster) we decided that the park wasn’t for us. Thankfully, it only cost us $25 to add it for each of us with our discovery cove tickets from later in the week – I would have been mad if we had paid full price.

We instead headed straight over to the closest outlet shops and grabbed a quick bite at the food court there. Nothing fancy and I didn’t take pics – Trent and I shared nacho salad and Peta had fried rice. Then we did a few hours shopping (at quite a good outlet as it turned out!) before returning to Disney to change before dinner.

 

[robinsa88]

Day 9 – September 24th – Boathouse Dinner

By the time we got back to Disney we were worn out and grabbed a shower before changing for Dinner.

We all felt a bit frustrated by having to head to Disney Springs again for dinner, but this time we chose to drive and it was a much quicker, easier process.

We arrived just on time and head straight over to somewhere new!

We added this as soon as they released reservations but I was a little nervous that the menu may not have appealed to the others.

The atmosphere here is great!!! We got an outside table overlooking where the amphicars leave and it was a nice evening – not too hot!

Service here was admittedly a bit slack, but it was super busy. We only saw our server to take our orders and bring our food. I seem to recall Trent needing a refill but not bothering as it was too hard to find our server who seemed to be waiting both indoor and outdoor tables (which seemed quite illogical). Here was one of the only places that the chef did not come out to check with Peta, and it was a little strange as their approach was for Peta to pick/suggest something of the menu and they would see if it was suitable for her. Thankfully, there were appropriate choices available, but this made Peta feel unsure of what she could and couldn’t have.

Thankfully, the food at least came very quickly after ordering.

Trent and I chose similar appetisers. For me:

Firecracker Shrimp - Sriracha mayo, serrano chilli and sweet peppers $16

This was spicy and crunchy and simply delicious! It was FAR too much for one person!

And for Trent:

Hoisin Chili Calamari - bell peppers, jalapeno, Serrano chili $18

This was milder, and not something Trent would usually pick, but none of the appetisers really stood out for him. It was a bit chewy (overcooked) but the flavours were good and the sauce was a nice change from the usual tartare.

Peta was disappointed by the lack of a chef consulting and in the end just asked for a salad to be made up with suitable ingredients ($13):

Luckily Main was a little easier, as they had GF pasta on hand:

Vegetables Pappardelle Pasta - mushrooms, tomatoes, asparagus, spinach, basil, white wine-garlic butter $19 (made with GF pasta)

She said this was tasty, but a little plain. Since she wasn’t too keen on her salad, she dove right in and ate a decent amount.

I surprised myself by not choosing seafood:

Steak Sandwich - arugula, grilled beefsteak tomato, BOATHOUSE steak sauce, toasted ciabatta, served with fresh cut fries $25.5

I really felt like some red meat, and probably should have just ordered a steak but I was more in the mood for finger food. The bread was a bit tough and unmanageable with the amount of meat, but the meat was well cooked and well seasoned. In the end I just took a bunch out and ate it as I was too full for the bread! I should have subbed fries for other veggies but I wasn’t thinking clearly when I ordered.

Meat was medium rare, just like I’d asked for:

And Trent surprised me by going for the small option:

NY Steak & Fries - 8 oz, Maitre d' butter, pearl onions, roasted garlic $29.5

Dessert came pretty quickly after mains. For Trent:

NY Style Blueberry Cheesecake - graham cracker crust, cinnamon crumb topping $10

He said this was delicious, and I recall he wanted to lick his plate! Not too sweet, but super creamy.

For me:

Key Lime Pie in a Mason Jar - vanilla bean chantilly cream $10

This was amazing, and I was somewhat disappointed that I couldn’t eat it all! Super fresh with a strong lime flavour. Not a huge fan of the crust though – a bit too sweet.

And they made Peta her own special GF chocolate creation (also $10):

She was feeling pretty full by now, and didn’t eat much of this. It was a little tough/chewy and just not a great overall texture.


Food: 3/5 – We didn’t really go for their signature food as we weren’t in the mood. Mains were a bit sub-par and Peta had poor choice.

Service: 2/5 – It was super busy, and service here, as a result was quite poor.

Experience: 4/5 Sitting on the water was fantastic! As we walked through though I think we would have found inside to be too noisy.


It is worth noting that none of us really ordered what we had came here for. I had originally booked under the assumption that I would eat seafood and Trent would have a big steak and this definitely would have changed the costings in our tally, and our overall experience.

 

[memma05]

Just joining in and catching up! LOVE this! I am planning a trip for August/September with the Deluxe dining plan and one for December with our regular plan and this has been so helpful in looking at the signatures we haven't been to before!

 

[toomuchtv]

We enjoyed the animals at the park though, and had a fun experience feeding the birds:

Too bad that Busch Gardens was a bust. I was there once as a kid, but have not been since. This, however, is my worst nightmares. I typically avoid all things birds, as they terrify me.

NY Style Blueberry Cheesecake - graham cracker crust, cinnamon crumb topping $10

He said this was delicious, and I recall he wanted to lick his plate! Not too sweet, but super creamy.

YUM!!! I love cheesecake and all things berry. This looks great! I would love to eat there sometime, but it is not working out for us this coming trip.

 

[pepperandchips]

More great updates! So glad you were able to enjoy time with your friends (even if that meant lots of buffets) but I can't wait to read more about your fine dining choices!

 

[robinsa88]

Day 9 Dining Tally

 

[robinsa88]

Trattoria Il Forno Breakfast

Originally this morning we were booked for a Hollywood & Vine Breakfast as it was a HS day. A couple of weeks out I decided that we wanted to focus on rope drop instead and thus we changed our reservation for a nice, more relaxing pace on the Boardwalk. This meant we could just wander down at 7.30am, have a relaxed breakfast then walk over to HS ready to hit the big rides!

This was important for us as we were hitting universal in the evening for their Halloween Haunt and meant we could do a late lunch and have a rest before heading over there, since we were able to hit everything we wanted before midday!

This is somewhere we wouldn’t have considered if not staying at the resort, as it might be annoying to get to from resorts not in the Boardwalk area.

Our server was absolutely lovely, and we were the first table of the day! We got lots of attention from all the staff as a result.

Trent and I started with a nice wake up call:

Trattoria al Forno Press Pot Coffee - This Italian blend coffee features an aroma of sweet berry and milk chocolate, which transcends itself into a citrus, dark berry flavour in the cup with Tangerine and Cantaloupe notes, the rich and tart aftertaste lead to a long finish. (Serves Two) $7.5

This was strong and bold, and a perfect start to the morning.

Peta got a hot chocolate - $4.39 (sorry, no photo!) – She said it was strong and creamy, and better than the hot chocolates she had ordered elsewhere on property.

For our meals, I ordered:

Berries and Cream Pancakes - fluffy pancakes with seasonal berry compote and flavoured whipped cream and choice of chicken sausage or bacon $13

This was VERY tasty and arrived piping hot (nothing worse than getting handed cold pancakes!). The berry compote was pleasingly tart and not too sweet – just how I like it and a clear indication that it was mostly just berries with little added sugar.

Trent was excited by his choice:

Waffle - with Espresso-Mascarpone Cream and choice of Bacon or Chicken Sausage $14

Boy does Trent love his waffles. Like my pancakes, these came nice and hot and Trent enjoyed the unique flavours – better in his view than the usual options. The coffee flavour was perfect and not too over powering.

Peta pretty much had her usual:

Allergy Mickey Waffles and Fruit (instead of meat) $13

These were pretty much the same as everywhere else, but Peta wasn’t too fazed – just having GF waffles was good enough for her!

By the time were left there had still only been a couple of tables and it’s not hard to see why Disney has since changed this to a character breakfast to draw bigger crowds. Sadly, there were unique choices here that were delicious and we were looking forward to returning. From what I’ve seen of the reviews we won’t be back for the food which now seems to be the same mass produced breakfast food you can get everywhere else.

And so, the score card:

Food: 5/5 – Best breakfast so far! Such a shame it is no more ☹

Service: 5/5 – Amazing! Our server also spent the whole meal talking to us about Australia and New Zealand (Trent is a ‘Kiwi’ as we call them)

Experience: 4/5 – Such a homely feeling, this place has a really nice vibe.

 

[pepperandchips]

Aw man, I hate to see such a nice breakfast option go by the wayside for mass-produced breakfast like everywhere else. As you said though, it's a bit of a pain to get to the Boardwalk if you're not staying there, so the breakfast has to be a big draw to bring people over or else it has to be a small affair just for the hotel guests. Still wish we could have tried it! I also heard great things about Trattoria al Forno's predecessor's breakfast, Kouzzina. We never ate there before it closed.

 

[robinsa88]

Aw man, I hate to see such a nice breakfast option go by the wayside for mass-produced breakfast like everywhere else. As you said though, it's a bit of a pain to get to the Boardwalk if you're not staying there, so the breakfast has to be a big draw to bring people over or else it has to be a small affair just for the hotel guests. Still wish we could have tried it! I also heard great things about Trattoria al Forno's predecessor's breakfast, Kouzzina. We never ate there before it closed.

We had never gotten to Kouzzina either, but had also heard good things! Unfortunately, there is much more money to be made and I would assume Disney felt it was underperforming.

 

[robinsa88]

Day 10 – September 25th - Hollywood Brown Derby – Late Lunch

We opted for a late lunch at HS since we were planning on heading to Universal in the late afternoon for their Halloween Haunt event!

We hadn’t been thrilled with the food choices at HS, and I wasn’t convinced we would like the food at 50s prime time or Sci-fi dinner. Instead, we went with the more ‘grown up’ option, Hollywood Brown Derby.

I was a busy time here, much to my surprise (but perhaps people having a late lunch to save on costs). We had to wait about 15 minutes after checking in, but were then escorted to a really comfy booth. The atmosphere here was great! Really classic, old work Hollywood style, which really appealed to me!

Before we even got here, I already knew what I would order for my appetiser:

Togarashi-Pumpkin Seed-crusted Ahi Tuna - house-made kimchi, sesame jasmine rice, sake-ginger-soy glaze $15

It did not disappoint. I will usually choose the Tuna anywhere, but the kimchi is what really sold me! It is one of my absolute favourite side dishes, and I simply adore the other Korean flavours that went in to this. I savoured every mouth full!

Trent caught me off guard by ordering a salad here……I literally put my hand to his head to make sure he wasn’t running a fever

Our Famous Cobb Salad - with finely chopped greens, turkey breast, egg, bacon, tomatoes, crumbled bleu cheese, avocado, chives and Cobb dressing $11

He quite enjoyed this, and said he was in the mood for some extra greens (what?!?!?!? Who was this, and where had my husband gone????). I tried a mouth full and wasn’t really wowed, although it was fresh I didn’t think there was any flavour to the dressing.

And, without meat for Peta:

Peta was a bit ‘meh’ about this as well – she agreed that there was no real flavour to the dressing, but said it hit the spot anyway.

Then straight on to mains:

Vegetarian Pho - ginger-lemon grass broth, mushroom and tofu spring rolls, ginger-soy dipping sauce $29

Thankfully this was more of a hit for peta! It was a HUGE serving and she only made it through half but she said the flavours were excellent and pretty spot on flavour wise (we eat a lot of Pho at home in Australia). She was pleased that the spring rolls were separate as they can fall apart quickly. This was a real win in terms of meals so far and she highly recommends it for other vegetarians.

Trent made a choice that I was tossing up on:

Faroe Island Salmon - yellow cauliflower puree, roasted marble potatoes, cherry tomatoes, fennel, English peas, crispy leeks $37

Again surprising me, as he is not usually in to salmon and generally favours white fish. This was a little over cooked for our liking, but only ever so slightly and it didn’t affect the taste. Trent loved it, and the mouthful I had was delicious.

I picked the only meat likely to trump seafood for me:

Lamb Two Ways - roasted rack of lamb, crispy lamb belly, fergola pasta with mushrooms, goat cheese, roasted pepper coulis $43

I LOVE lamb, and we eat a lot in Australia (read: I pretty much don’t cook beef, lamb in abundant and relatively cheap in Australia and we eat it at least twice a week). Clearly I had high expectations. And believe me, I was NOT disappointed! This was amazing and I am salivating just thinking about it. The two flavours balanced each other well and I ate every mouthful. The lamb was cooked perfectly medium rare and was tender and juicy.

The dessert here is a nice unique offering:

Choose 3 Mini Desserts -
Amaretto Flan - opalys white chocolate whip with an almond cookie
Double Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee
Warm Berry Cobbler - with creme fraiche and orange blossom honey
Brown Derby Original! Mini Grapefruit Cake
Chocolate Marscapone Sphere infused with apricot-orange jam
Banana Toffee Cake on cocoa crunch and strawberry banana pearls $10

We all enjoyed getting to try 3 mini desserts. Between Trent and I we shared all 5 that did not have Banana, and Peta was restricted to the GF options: chocolate sphere, crème brulee and the flan.

As you can see by Peta’s after pic, we didn’t enjoy these at all

The crème brulee was the definite highlight and I loved how the apricot jam just worked so wonderfully to balance the chocolate sphere!

The only one Trent and I weren’t a real fan of was surprisingly the one I thought I would love…..The signature grapefruit cake!!! Sorry first the Ohana’s bread pudding and now this…..it may be time to accept that if you are here waiting for me to rave about the signature desserts you are going to be disappointed, but you’ve stuck with me half way already, so you might as well stick around from here on out anyway!

And so, the score card:

Food: 4/5 – This meal really was phenomenal, and was almost a 5, but the cobb salad let it down

Service: 3/5 – nothing to complain about, but certainly not the same level we have gotten from the other signatures.

Experience: 4/5 – The theming of this restaurant is so well done!

 

[robinsa88]

Bonus: Day 10 – September 25th - Universal Studios

Just a quick note to say (and excuse the momentary lapse to the darkside….) if you can go to Universal Halloween night (sans kids), do it!!!! We arrived an hour before opening for the night and sat waiting with no idea what we were in for!

The scare zones were intense and the houses were amazingly well themed. The cost was well worth it, and we combined without universal tickets to save money, but could choose to go on a different day. This worked perfectly for us to do the half day at HS beforehand!

Added perk – the park still had several rides open, and we took the opportunity to make sure we had been to the new Harry Potter Gringotts ride before our only full day at Universal. This was a great time saver as there was no line and there was still plenty of time to do all the haunted houses we wanted after!

While we were there Peta begged for something she had been craving for years!

Butterbeer! We prefer the frozen type and it was as sweet and creamy and delicious as we remembered. Peta got her own, and Trent and I shared.

We had missed out on this on our last trip as we were busy driving like crazy from Dallas to Orlando to make our cruise after flight cancellations and had therefore missed our night at Universal. Now that is a story I should really tell one time but I never have the stamina for completing a trip report!

 

[Vernie822]

Still loving your report! Your reviews are so thorough and it's a breath of fresh air seeing all of the options available for GF/Vegetarians as well (not that I am one.. I <3 meat and gluten!) Peta's Hollywood Brown Derby meal sounds absolutely great! I have been wanting to dine there for a while now.

Sad to see they changed the Trattoria al Forno breakfast to a character one, but I have seen a few reviews on Facebook, and it looks like the food still is somewhat unique!

 

[robinsa88]

Still loving your report! Your reviews are so thorough and it's a breath of fresh air seeing all of the options available for GF/Vegetarians as well (not that I am one.. I <3 meat and gluten!) Peta's Hollywood Brown Derby meal sounds absolutely great! I have been wanting to dine there for a while now.

Sad to see they changed the Trattoria al Forno breakfast to a character one, but I have seen a few reviews on Facebook, and it looks like the food still is somewhat unique!

Thanks! I was surprised by just how well Peta was handled at all the restaurants. Fingers crossed about the the breakfast, but it's more now that they are mass produced. Reviews I have seen so far reference cold food lacking in flavour - so that has me a little scared. At least they didn't convert it completely to be like all the other character breakfasts! I'm sure we will give it a go at some stage. At least for the characters!

 

[robinsa88]

Day 10 – Dining Plan Tally

 

[robinsa88]

Day 11 – September 26th – Garden Grill Breakfast (with Eat to the Beat package)

Having loved Garden Grill for dinner earlier in the trip, we were excited to give it a go for breakfast as well, especially since this was a new edition since we were last here. When the Eat to the Beat packages were announced, I jumped on and changed days to coincide with the Sugar Ray concert! I was really pumped for this and tried to get it for our late lunch/early dinner reservation, but to no avail so we did it for breakfast instead.

Having been at universal till very late the night before, we booked a 9am reservation so that we could get up a bit later and then walk straight over. Which is a great plan – except that the walk is much longer when you enter from the World Showcase!

We had forgotten to account for this and I was very embarrassed to show up 5 minutes past our reservation time. I apologised to the lady at the podium and she said it was fine. We didn’t get handed a pager – our table was ready and they walked us straight through.

This was the first time we had even been seated on the top level and it made a nice change – I felt the tables up here had a little bit more room for character photos as on the lower floor it can sometimes feel as though you are all cramped up against the railing.

The food came very quickly and we started with:

Chip's Sticky Bun Bake - large skillet cinnamon bun with warm vanilla icing

And……


Seasonal Fresh Fruits

They brought Peta out an allergy bun too:



The sticky bun was super sweet and not really our style. Trent ate a bit but not too much as he was worried about feeling sick. I had a small piece but the cinnamon was very overpowering and I couldn’t get over how sweet it was. Peta thought hers was a pretty good start to the meal but it was a little dense.

The mains came out a short while later:



Fluffy Scrambled Eggs, Hash brown-style Potato Barrels, Thick Sliced Bacon and Sausage Links , Mickey-shaped Waffles with Warm Chocolate-Hazelnut Drizzle

Everything was hot and delicious and I could have just kept eating the potato gems (as we call them here), especially after our server finally remembered to bring some hot sauce.

They served Peta her own dish, without meat and with allergy waffles!




…..no she didn’t eat it all

And much to Peta’s delight, they serve POG juice here! We all had several glasses

Whilst chowing down, the characters came and joined us, in fairly rapid succession. They seemed a little busy and rushed this morning.







Turns out that the upper level has more space, but that the lighting is a nightmare for photos! We will ask to be on the lower level next time!

We did at least get to show Mickey our Mickey Mouse wedding/engagement rings. He thought they were pretty awesome:



And, as if we weren’t full enough, they brought us celebration cake (which did seem a little odd at breakfast time):



Our server here was nice but seemed to be a little forgetful. She forgot the syrup. She forgot our straws. She forgot the hot sauce. Again, and again, and again. She was obviously flustered and I assumed she was having a bad day. At the end of the meal she forgot the Eat to the Beat tickets, and I had to ask a couple of times. In her haste, I didn’t notice but she only charged 1 credit each, when an eat to the beat package should have been 2 credits. It wasn’t till the end of the stay I noticed we had an extra credit each and went through our receipts. By then it was too late, so they got converted into more snacks for home.

And so, the score card:

Food: 4/5 – Tasty and delicious, great family style meal

Service: 2/5 – I don’t think it would be unfair to label our server the most friendly but forgetful server we have had so far

Experience: 3/5 – Loss of points for the poor lighting for photos – which is kind of important during a character meal!

 

[Redwitch]

The only one Trent and I weren’t a real fan of was surprisingly the one I thought I would love…..The signature grapefruit cake!!!

I don't like it either. I'm really enjoying your foodie adventure!

 

[toomuchtv]

Trent caught me off guard by ordering a salad here……I literally put my hand to his head to make sure he wasn’t running a fever

Our Famous Cobb Salad - with finely chopped greens, turkey breast, egg, bacon, tomatoes, crumbled bleu cheese, avocado, chives and Cobb dressing $11

He quite enjoyed this, and said he was in the mood for some extra greens (what?!?!?!? Who was this, and where had my husband gone????). I tried a mouth full and wasn’t really wowed, although it was fresh I didn’t think there was any flavour to the dressing.

This salad is quite possibly my favorite thing in all of the World, but I always get ranch dressing (and no tomatoes). I just LOVE it, as does DH.

The only one Trent and I weren’t a real fan of was surprisingly the one I thought I would love…..The signature grapefruit cake!!! Sorry first the Ohana’s bread pudding and now this…..it may be time to accept that if you are here waiting for me to rave about the signature desserts you are going to be disappointed, but you’ve stuck with me half way already, so you might as well stick around from here on out anyway!

You won't see me arguing with you on either one! I don't like cake or grapefruit, though, so you won't see me even trying the grapefruit cake!

While we were there Peta begged for something she had been craving for years!

Butterbeer! We prefer the frozen type and it was as sweet and creamy and delicious as we remembered. Peta got her own, and Trent and I shared.

SO. GOOD. I really need to go back to Universal. There's a bottled non-alcoholic "beer" around now that is supposed to taste similar, but I've yet to try it.

Chip's Sticky Bun Bake - large skillet cinnamon bun with warm vanilla icing

See...now that looks amazing to me! I'd eat more than my share of that and leave the eggs and sausage to everyone else.

 

[robinsa88]

This salad is quite possibly my favorite thing in all of the World, but I always get ranch dressing (and no tomatoes). I just LOVE it, as does DH.

SO. GOOD. I really need to go back to Universal. There's a bottled non-alcoholic "beer" around now that is supposed to taste similar, but I've yet to try it.

Oh ranch dressing would have totally made it! Sad we didn't think of that, but I think we will be back anyway!

I need to find out about the 'beer' that is similar, we have serious cravings for the stuff!

 

[robinsa88]

Day 11 – September 26th – Food and Wine & Snacks

By mid afternoon, I was a little peckish and very keen to try something I had seen at the Farm Fresh Food and Wine Stall a few days earlier:

Loaded Mac ‘n’ Cheese with Nueske’s® Pepper Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Peppers and Green Onions – $4.50

This was tasty with a nice crunchy topping and a fairly strong onion flavour. It was a great use of a snack credit, and Trent and I shared it.

After grabbing the snack we decided to heap back to the hotel for a break before returning to the park for dinner and the Eat to the Beat concert. On the way to our room Trent suggested ice cream, so we stopped at the new Ample Hills Ice Creamery on the boardwalk.

Peta was delighted to check the ingredients and find out that only the ones with marshmallows had gelatine, so all the other flavours were safe for her!

We each got our own, and sorry! I can’t remember which flavours as I didn’t write it down. They were all creamy and delicious and cooled us off in the heat.

Small Cup of Ice Cream $5.99