I don’t *like* food; I Love it – A Solo August 2015 Dining Report - 10/20 COMPLETE

[vettegirl]

What lovely review of breakie at BOG. I agree the selections are nothing to get overly excited about, but the experience is still quite nice. We are having lunch there next week and I cannot wait. How nice to sit in the West Wing, I hope we find a table in there, if not the main room is quite lovely as well.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

really like the idea of a breakfast at BOG thanks for posting

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

I love CRT too.....sadly we aren't eating there this trip which in less than ONE WEEK! Oh gosh, just typing that gave me butterflies in my tummy! Anyway, I digress.....I never would have thought about a late ADR at CRT to see Wishes. Never in a million years....how absolutely magical! I knew that many of the window tables were two-tops as I'm thinking your table was the same one we sat at on our last visit there.

BOG breakfast......we also planned our trip inside of the 180 day mark but fortunately they hadn't released BOG for October breakfast ADRs until late in the game so I snagged an 8am ADR too. They just updated the Oct calendar and I was sitting on pins and needles also, but alas, we are still pre-rope drop! I had read stories of CMs forcing the pre-park opening breakfast goers back to the front of the park and not allowing them to hop in lines at 7dmt.....so I'm happy to read that it's okay now. We plan to do the same although I'm pretty sure I have a 9am FP+ for it on another day. Maybe I'll give that one up to someone who would appreciate it more than we!

Wow only a week to go? - you must be so excited! In fact I'm excited for you

I had a FP for SDMT for a later day in my trip as well but gave it up so someone else could experience the ride.

What lovely review of breakie at BOG. I agree the selections are nothing to get overly excited about, but the experience is still quite nice. We are having lunch there next week and I cannot wait. How nice to sit in the West Wing, I hope we find a table in there, if not the main room is quite lovely as well.

I've heard lunch is the best out of all three meals. I had a lunch booked in as well for my trip but after experiencing both breakfast and dinner I really didn't feel like going for a third time (the meal I had instead of BOG lunch was pretty awesome in the end - so stayed tuned for that one!)

Just a heads up - the west wing can be super noisy (with people and the thunder effects) so if you have Alexander with you it might be a little much for him.

really like the idea of a breakfast at BOG thanks for posting

You're welcome

 

[vettegirl]

Thanks for the heads up on the west wing!

 

[Redwitch]

We have a pre-park opening BoG breakfast coming up. I hope it doesn't disappoint. We have not pre-ordered yet, I can't make up my mind. (Mental note to self, bring a baggie for the danish!) I hope we are able to do the Mine Train before the crowd arrives!

 

[sullymom]

All caught up and following along.
We debated doing a pre-park BoG breakfast and didn't know if it would be worth it. Now I might have to obsessively search for one.

 

[tink1957]

Just found your reports and am enjoying both.

Love your rating system.

We're going to Universal next week for 7 nights then to Pop for our last night...doing the sparkling dessert party too so I appreciate the heads up on all the goodies.

I know I'll be having the king cupcake for breakfast...yum.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Really enjoying your reviews!

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

We have a pre-park opening BoG breakfast coming up. I hope it doesn't disappoint. We have not pre-ordered yet, I can't make up my mind. (Mental note to self, bring a baggie for the danish!) I hope we are able to do the Mine Train before the crowd arrives!

As long as you go in with realistic expectations about the quality of food it won't disappoint. And definitely bring a baggie with you - there's enough pastry to feed an small army!

All caught up and following along.
We debated doing a pre-park BoG breakfast and didn't know if it would be worth it. Now I might have to obsessively search for one.

I got my ADR a few months out but I noticed that there was a lot more the closer I got to my trip - depending on your party size you might get lucky!

Just found your reports and am enjoying both.

Love your rating system.

We're going to Universal next week for 7 nights then to Pop for our last night...doing the sparkling dessert party too so I appreciate the heads up on all the goodies.

I know I'll be having the king cupcake for breakfast...yum.

Thank you! And the king cupcake for breakfasts is an amazing idea!

Really enjoying your reviews!

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

Columbia Harbour House
Order: Chicken Breast Nuggets (Kids Meal)

After a morning exploring the Magic Kingdom I had built up quite an appetite. And I had just the place in mind after hearing so many recommendations here on the Dis – Columbia Harbour House.



I made my way to Liberty Square and into CHH. It was packed to the rafters – literally. Which is the only reason I can think of why I would have taken this photo



I joined one of the many lines at the registers and set in for quite a wait. Thankfully it actually moved pretty quickly so, before I knew it, it was my turn to order. Seeing as I’d had a big breakfast and had a TS meal planned for dinner I decided to go for a smaller portion and order a kid’s meal. I went with the Chicken Breast Nuggets with fries and grapes and a big cup of ice water.

It didn’t take too long for my meal to appear and I headed over to the self-service tables to grab napkins and dipping sauces. And then began the task of trying to find a table to sit it. I went upstairs first as everyone had said how quite it usually is up there. Well nope, not today. Everything single table and chair was taken. After doing two laps up there I headed back downstairs to test my luck.

Eventually I managed to score a table as people were leaving – it was a far bigger table than I needed by myself but there were no other options and I would have happily let others join me if they had asked.

So then it was time to eat. The chicken breast nuggets were pretty good and had a nice crisp coating. The barbeque sauce was delicious and a much better option than the ketchup they were serving! The fries were fine but nothing to write home about. And the grapes, well, they were grapes.





Overall it was a decent meal for a quick lunch. Filling enough for me as I don’t tend to eat big lunches but it definitely wouldn’t be enough for most people. But for the price ($6.49+tax) I couldn’t complain.

Scorecard:


Rating:
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[keahgirl8]

I love Columbia Harbor House! I always get the salmon. It is fantastic.

 

[vettegirl]

That's a big kids meal! Great value.

 

[DnA2010]

SO enjoying this report! Thanks again for all your hard work!

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

I love Columbia Harbor House! I always get the salmon. It is fantastic.

If I hadn't had a big dinner plan I was going to get the hummus sandwich that everyone raves about. And after my dinner, spoiler alert, it probably would have been wise to do that!

That's a big kids meal! Great value.

The kids meals are definitely good value in that you get two sides and a drink included. And they tend to be healthier options too (although not in this case )

SO enjoying this report! Thanks again for all your hard work!

Thank you! Writing it is helping me keep the Disney magic alive for a little bit longer while I'm stuck back at work.

 

[ksromack]

Im still enjoying my 2012 december WDW trip since I'm working on finishing that trip report I'm almost done, lol!

 

[kastoney]

Love your empty MK and BoG pictures. So magical to be that far back in the park before anyone else arrived. And double bonus for the mine train.

Your cronut looks so good. I love the one over in Epcot, but fresh from the fryer and the addition of fruit sounds divine.

 

[anne m]

i was reading that for the kids' meals, you can substitute items. Can you substitute the drink for a yogurt or cookie? and then as the 2 sides get the carrots and grapes?

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

Im still enjoying my 2012 december WDW trip since I'm working on finishing that trip report I'm almost done, lol!

Apparently I have less patience than you because the report writing was losing its ability to keep the magic alive so this week I bit the bullet and booked a trip for next year as I didn't think I'd last any longer than that!

Love your empty MK and BoG pictures. So magical to be that far back in the park before anyone else arrived. And double bonus for the mine train.

Your cronut looks so good. I love the one over in Epcot, but fresh from the fryer and the addition of fruit sounds divine.

I think the one in Epcot actually looks more like a proper cronut (if there is such a thing) but I didn't get a chance to try it this trip. And it was pretty awesome being in an almost empty park - admittedly it was only like that for a minute or two but still it was neat!

i was reading that for the kids' meals, you can substitute items. Can you substitute the drink for a yogurt or cookie? and then as the 2 sides get the carrots and grapes?

You can substitute the two included sides for any of the side options. I don't believe that you can substitute the drink for another side though. But I'm happy to be corrected if anyone else has heard otherwise.

 

[keahgirl8]

You can substitute the two included sides for any of the side options. I don't believe that you can substitute the drink for another side though. But I'm happy to be corrected if anyone else has heard otherwise.

I've never tried to substitute a drink for anything, but you can get any kind of drink you want, as long as it's small.

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

Be Our Guest
Order: Entree – Pan-seared Chicken Breast, Dessert - The “Grey Stuff”

I managed to score a reservation at one of the hardest places to get one a few weeks out from my trip – dinner at Be Our Guest. Yes it happened to be on the same day that I had a breakfast ADR but seeing as it was a totally different meal that didn’t faze me. ​

The ADR I had gotten was for 2 so earlier in the day I went to inform them I only needed it for one – just in case it was going to be an issue. Well the CM at the check in booth seriously could not have cared less so I left it as. ​

When it was time for dinner I checked in (and of course they asked where the second person was – so the whole lining up to tell them earlier in the day was a great use of time!). I didn’t have to wait long and was escorted by a hostess pretty much straightaway. Now unlike breakfast you have no choice in what room you’re in so I was a little disappointed when she told me I was in the West Wing seeing as that was where I’d had breakfast. And to make it even better as she led me to the table I realised it was the exact same table from breakfast as well!



It took 15 minutes for my server to come to the table. Now I don’t like to criticise service if I don’t have to but this was hands down the worst service of the trip. So bad that it totally ruined the experience even before I’d had a chance to eat. The CM was just very snide in all her comments and was totally unhelpful when I ordered .





But onto the order! None of the appetizers sounded appealing so I went with an entree and dessert. I decided on the pan-seared chicken breast and the “grey stuff” for dessert.T

My plan was to order a nice glass of wine with my meal. And that’s where the fun started. The server refused to accept my Australian ID and would not serve me any alcohol without a passport. Now I don’t think there is any reason you should have to carry a passport around a theme park but I would have done it if the reservation had said that it was the only form of ID accepted. The CM didn’t seem to care at all and I knew that it wasn’t consistently applied elsewhere as I was able to get drinks in both Animal Kingdom and Epcot without any ID. So it left a bitter taste in my mouth. However she did bring a basket of bread to the table so there was that.



Thankfully it was only another 15 minutes before my entree arrived. The pan-seared chicken breast as per the menu was finished with fresh Herb-Truffle Butter and Spinach Cream Sauce, Seasonal Vegetables, and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes. The price for this was $23.99+tax. How can I be polite here? This was not good. The chicken was super salty and tough. There was no taste at all of the herb-truffle butter and the seasonal vegetables were like a warm salad.



After that disaster I waited for my dessert. I only ordered the grey stuff to be able to say that I’d had it but I wish I could have warned myself not to as it was awful. The grey stuff is supposedly a cookie crème but tasted just like sugary frosting. And it is served in chocolate shell which was super dry. I ate one bite and left the rest on my plate. The only upside was that it wasn’t super expensive at $4.19+tax.





The poor service continued after that. I spent 10 minutes waiting for my server to come back but she seemed to have disappeared. I then spent another 5 minutes trying to flag down anyone just so I could pay the bill and get out of there.

After that I lined up for my photo with the beast. Thankfully it moved pretty quickly so I had my shot before too long and could then leave.



So overall it was not a great meal. In fact it was probably the worst proper meal of the trip (excluding the terrible gravy fries from Pop). For the price they are charging the food is mediocre at best and in my case the service was terrible. It was so bad that I actually cancelled a lunch ADR there later in the week as I did not want to go back at all. Would I recommend it for dinner? Nope. Unless you have a really big Beast fan in your group, but other than that, no way. ​

Scorecard:
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Rating:
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