Follow me to the Boardwalk! 10/23 - 11/7 UPDATED 4/13 BEACHES & CREAM

[jabead]

Wow, the Wave looks like they have some really great food and even better prices. My in-laws will be joining us for a few days on our next trip, so we're going to skip the signatures while they are there so the Wave looks like it may be a good option.

Love all your Halloween pics. Can't beat the kingdom all lit up for any holiday.

I was pleasantly surprised by how good the Wave was, both for dinner and breakfast. I recommend that you give it a try sometime!

I love the Halloween decorations at MK, that is awesome you got FP+ for both the parade and Wishes

Yes, I was happy that I made it to MK that night. By the time I was able to return there (later in my trip) they had changed over to Christmas decorations. While I like those too, I think the Halloween ones are my favorite.

Great pictures of the MEP!

Thanks Lori! And welcome back from your Disneyland trip!

 

[jabead]

My original plan for breakfast on this morning, Tuesday, Oct. 27th, was to go to the Grand Floridian Cafe for one of my favorite WDW breakfasts, their delicious French toast.



But then when I formed my plan to try new places on this trip (or return to those that I haven't been to in a long time), I started perusing the menus of restaurants which qualified. One of these was 1900 Park Fare, which I hadn't been to since 2002. On their breakfast buffet menu I was surprised to see "Maple French Toast." Since 1900 Park Fare is located right next to the Grand Floridian Cafe, I assumed that they shared a kitchen and therefore the French toast would be the same. So when I was able to get an ADR at 1900 just a few days before leaving on this trip, I was quite pleased with myself. After all, I would be able to keep my promise to review some "different than usual" restaurants and still have my much-loved French toast. Sounds like a win/win, right? Well, let's see how that worked out for me, shall we?

Thanks to more good luck with Disney transportation, I again arrived early for my ADR at the Grand Floridian's...




And my luck continued, as I didn't have to wait long to be seated at a two-top table right underneath this carousel horse...





A server soon came to my table to get my drink order. I asked for both coffee and orange juice. He mentioned that they served a special juice there (can't remember if they had a name for it) which I believe was a combination of orange, guava, and passion fruit juices. I opted to try it rather than having just plain orange juice and it was good. It tasted like the jungle juice that is served at Tusker House.


Then it was time for me to head to the buffet, where I took many photos. Let's begin with some of their pastries and breads, starting with bagels, both plain and onion...




They had both chocolate cake donut holes and Krispy Kreme-like (yeast) donut holes...








Plain and multi-grain croissants...






Notice the gummy bears in the background, which I don't recall seeing at other Disney World breakfast buffets.


There were also chocolate croissants...





Plus these pecan cinnamon rolls that looked pretty good...




Then at the cold station there were all the usual fruits, like grapes, strawberries, pineapple, and melon. There was also smoked salmon, along with capers, slices of tomato and red onion, and chopped hard boiled eggs.




Cheese cubes could be found here too, including this large bowl of cheddar and colby-monterey jack cheese cubes...





Moving on to the hot food now, starting with three different potato choices. There were tater tots...




Hash browns...




And Potatoes O'Brien...




There were also three breakfast meats, including sausage links...




Bacon...




And at the carving station, they were serving hickory-smoked ham...





There several different egg options, starting with scrambled eggs...




Along with crushed avocado, sour cream, pico de gallo, and shredded cheddar cheese...





There were Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise sauce...





And I was very happy to see a Made-to-order Omelet Station...







There were a few miscellaneous items, such as stewed tomatoes...

​

And biscuits along with sausage gravy (which I don't seem to have a photo of)...



There was also bread pudding...





And cheese blintzes, along with blueberry sauce...








There was Corned Beef Hash made with roast beef, potato, onion, red bell pepper, and green pepper...






And these warm pastries, some filled with spinach and feta cheese and others with a scrambled egg mixture...








Last but not least, there were pancakes (no photo), Mickey waffles...





And the MAPLE FRENCH TOAST!!




- continued in next post - ​

 

[jabead]

Ok, now for my choices. I began with a bowl of fruit...




With the exception of the cantaloupe, this looked better than it tasted.


I had to try their signature cold, strawberry soup....







I didn't really care for it though and turned down my server's offer to give me the recipe.


I of course had to have an omelet. I think I had it with all of the ingredients that were offered. And I also tried their Eggs Benedict.




The omelet was very good, but I wasn't really a fan of the Eggs Benedict. I seem to recall that it was served on a large biscuit rather than an English muffin.


Then I returned to the buffet for this plateful of food to try...




The egg pastry and bacon were okay. The Mickey waffle and donut holes were good. The bread pudding was nothing special. And then there was the French toast, which sadly did not taste anything like the delicious Grand Floridian Cafe French toast. It was just regular, plain old French toast. I was disappointed.


So foodwise, the only thing that really stood out for me here was the made to order omelet. But on a more positive note, the character interaction was very good. Tigger and Winnie the Pooh, Mary Poppins, and Alice and the Mad Hatter (from Alice in Wonderland) were all present on this morning.













The best of all was the Mad Hatter, who decided to sit down at my table and chill for a bit...






But when I left the restaurant and walked past the entrance to the Grand Floridian Cafe, I couldn't help but feel some pangs of regret. Though I thought I might be able to fit in a visit to the GFC to have my much-loved French toast sometime later in my trip, it never happened. So I guess the moral of my story is never assume, as you know what they say about the word "assume". ​

Next up: Lunch at San Angel Inn

 

[vettegirl]

Well that is a shame the french toast wasn't the same! The pictures look nice and the variety isn't too bad. I laughed at the gummy bears! Who in the world eats gummy bears with their breakfast Disneyland was fantastic as always and I ran the entire run without stopping and beat my personal record. Will be going back next year for the Star Wars run again.

 

[DisneyJo]

Oh no what a shame the French Toast wasn't the same. The variety of food looked good though as did the characters

 

[rteetz]

I just ate breakfast there 8 days ago! I really enjoyed it except for the fact that the Mad Hatter was out that day .

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Loved the Mad Hatter when we had breakfast at Park Fare many years ago! The buffet pics look really good. I am sorry to hear that the food wasn't as good a it looks. After having it this past trip, I have to say that the French toast at GFC may be the best I have ever had. Shame that it wasn't the same at Park Fare!

 

[kastoney]

Sorry the french toast wasn't what you were expecting, but good for you for branching out. I can't seem to tear myself away from Kona for breakfast ; )
And love the mad hatter pic. And no idea he was even there

 

[disneyAndi14]

Thank you for the pictures and review of this breakfast, we will be having breakfast there in April. We did the character dinner last April and the food was just o.k but the characters were so fun. The breakfast choices look good overall, I also love the omelet station. We will be staying at the GF in August so we are going to go to GFC for breakfast and I will be trying the famous French toast then. We have such a great price for the week in August that it is costing less then our April trip at a moderate! I tried the cold strawberry soup at the dinner buffet and I thought it was basically a yogurt based food.

 

[Vernie822]

Yay for trying somewhere new! When you find something you like and you're only in the World once or twice a year, it's so hard not to go back every trip - for me, anyways! Looks like a decent breakfast buffet, though no real stand outs. At least the character interaction and the omelet was good!

 

[momof3princes]

Sorry you did not make the best food choice in going to Park Fair Glad that the characters were good though! Now you know for next time...

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Joining in. love the report so far!

 

[jabead]

Disneyland was fantastic as always and I ran the entire run without stopping and beat my personal record. Will be going back next year for the Star Wars run again.

Congrats on finishing 1430 out of nearly 9000 runners. That's outstanding!

Oh no what a shame the French Toast wasn't the same. The variety of food looked good though as did the characters

Yes, I was disappointed about the French toast. But it was good to try something new, I guess.

I just ate breakfast there 8 days ago! I really enjoyed it except for the fact that the Mad Hatter was out that day .

Oh no! No Mad Hatter?!?!

Loved the Mad Hatter when we had breakfast at Park Fare many years ago! The buffet pics look really good. I am sorry to hear that the food wasn't as good a it looks. After having it this past trip, I have to say that the French toast at GFC may be the best I have ever had. Shame that it wasn't the same at Park Fare!

Yay! Another fan of the GFC French toast. Welcome to the Fan Club!

Sorry the french toast wasn't what you were expecting, but good for you for branching out. I can't seem to tear myself away from Kona for breakfast ; )
And love the mad hatter pic. And no idea he was even there

Ahh yes. I didn't make to Kona on my last trip in May (except for dinner), so this time I was determined to get there for the pancakes.

Thank you for the pictures and review of this breakfast, we will be having breakfast there in April. We did the character dinner last April and the food was just o.k but the characters were so fun. The breakfast choices look good overall, I also love the omelet station. We will be staying at the GF in August so we are going to go to GFC for breakfast and I will be trying the famous French toast then. We have such a great price for the week in August that it is costing less then our April trip at a moderate! I tried the cold strawberry soup at the dinner buffet and I thought it was basically a yogurt based food.

Oh, I had forgotten that they serve the soup at dinner too. After tasting it, I'm surprised it is that popular. I guess it's a case of "different strokes for different folks."

Yay for trying somewhere new! When you find something you like and you're only in the World once or twice a year, it's so hard not to go back every trip - for me, anyways! Looks like a decent breakfast buffet, though no real stand outs. At least the character interaction and the omelet was good!

That is very true. Since this was likely my longest trip ever, I was determined to use the extra time to try some new places.

Sorry you did not make the best food choice in going to Park Fair Glad that the characters were good though! Now you know for next time...

Exactly! Next time I will definitely be going to the Grand Floridian Cafe for my French toast.

Joining in. love the report so far!

Welcome to a former live thread reporter! Glad to have you here!

 

[jabead]

Following my breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, I headed to Epcot via the Resort monorail and then the Epcot monorail from the Transportation & Ticket Center. I really enjoy taking the longer monorail ride between the TTC and Epcot at least once every trip.





After spending the rest of the morning hanging around Future World...



...I was then off to World Showcase with the intention of picking up where I had left off the day before during my first visit to the F & W Festival booths. However I only got to Mexico before it started raining, not pouring like it would do the following day but sprinkling. I debated about whether I should take a chance and forge ahead or come up with a Plan B for my lunch. I chose Plan B...




Now I was definitely breaking the rules with this one, since I had just dined here on my last trip in May, but I just couldn't ignore the margarita which was crying out my name...



Avocado Margarita - Tequila Casa Noble Blanco, Melon Liqueur, fresh Avocado, Agave Nectar, and fresh Lime Juice, served frozen with a hibiscus Himalayan salt rim

This was delicious as usual! On a side note, I tried an avocado margarita during my recent trip to Austin, TX at Curra's Grill, a restaurant which claimed to be the

"Home of the Original Avocado Margarita in Austin"



While this was good, IMO it wasn't nearly as good as the one at San Angel Inn and La Cava de Tequila.

But anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself so let's rewind a bit.


I was easily able to get in here without a reservation, as the restaurant was mostly empty at around 2:00 or 2:30 in the afternoon.








Here is the lunch menu I was presented with on October 27th...











I was also brought some complimentary chips and salsas to munch on with my margarita...






The green salsa is fine but I've never cared for their red one. It tastes more like a smokey barbecue sauce than a red salsa.


I was still too full from breakfast to order an entree, so I just had my usual appetizer choice here...
​

Tostadas de Tinga - Pulled Chicken seasoned with roasted tomato and chipotle pepper, served on tostadas with black refried beans, green tomatillo sauce, queso fresco, and sour cream


I really love these! In fact, this could very well be my favorite WDW appetizer, as of now anyway. The chicken is always so moist and flavorful. Combined with the other ingredients, this makes for a delicious shared appetizer or in my case, can serve as an entree.


In all honesty I could have stopped here. However, since I had broken most of my rules so far by dining at a restaurant that I had just been to on my last trip and ordering the same things I had ordered here many times before, I felt like I should at least try a dessert.





I don't think that I've ever had dessert at San Angel Inn, so all 4 of their choices were new to me. Here's what I chose...


Pastel de Queso con Cajeta - Cheesecake topped with Caramel Sauce (Cajeta) and slivered almonds


This was really good. It doesn't quite beat out the almond cheesecake at Narcoossee's, but definitely something I would get again here.


So my Plan B ended up being an A+ lunch. The avocado margarita, chicken tostadas, and cheesecake dessert were all delicious and well worth breaking some rules. ​

Next up: Dinner at Narcoossee's
.

 

[Vernie822]

Yum!!! I have contemplated going here for some time - we just never get there, especially since our most recent visit was during Food and Wine.

We do have Narcoossee's planned for our next trip so I cannot wait to hear about that one.

 

[vettegirl]

I agree with you on that avocado margarita. I have tried local ones here in San Antonio and they don't compare to the one there. Your appetizer looked really good. I too had a nice solo lunch there last month, I didn't like it the first time I went with a friend. Now I can't wait to go back!

 

[PghPiratesGirl]

I think am going to have to include San Angel in my dining plans, even if it's just for the dessert and ambiance! LOL That cheesecake looks super yum!

 

[happy2012]

The pics of you with the characters are adorable! SAI is making me hungry! Looks so fresh & we just love the atmosphere there too.

 

[momof3princes]

I love San Angel, I agree I am not sure what is up with the red salsa but it is not good
The new dessert menu looks great and yay for an uncrowded restaurant!

 

[1stTimeDisneyer]

Great reviews! I am not an avocado person, but all these reviews make me want to try that drink! Also, DH and I are headed to Disney at the end of Sept. beginning of Oct. for our 15th Anniversary trip. We are hoping to catch our first Food and Wine festival, do you or anyone else have tips for us F&W newbies?