Is That A Crab Leg In Your Pocket? 10 Days of Dining with Pics!

[DLFan123]

Welcome all! DP and I recently returned from a wonderful 10 day vacation at WDW resort. Our first 3 nights, we stayed in the concierge level at Animal Kingdom Lodge. For the remaining nights, we stayed at the Beach Club. We enjoyed lots of yummy food, took lots of food pics, and can't wait to share our opinions and pictures with everyone on the DIS!

To start off, here is a little of our back story. We are two 30-somethings, huge fans of both WDW and Disneyland in southern California. This will be our third dining review. You can follow the links in my signature to our other reviews. We are both ovo-lacto-pescatarians, so this review will contain lots of vegetarian and seafood meals. We are not picky besides that, and we will eat just about any vegetables and most seafood.

We had a great trip and can't wait to get started discussing the best and the worst food from our trip. We were in WDW the last week of May and first part of June, so we just missed the addition of the food booths at the Flower and Garden Festival. No matter...that did not stop us from overindulging, splurging and gorging ourselves on a few buffets, many sweet treats, and several table service restaurants. Of course, you'll find an array of quick service meals reviewed here also.

We are so glad to be back and hope you enjoy reading along!

Below is a line-up of restaurants/meals we ate. I'll add helpful links at some point.

Departure Night
Einstein Bagel in DIA

Day 1
Club Level Breakfast
Columbia Harbour House Lunch
Concierge Lounge Snacks
Sanaa Dinner
Club Level Dessert

Day 2
Sunrise Safari Breakfast
Yak & Yeti Lunch
Dinner/snacks in the Lounge
Photos of animals and dessert

Day 3
CL Breakfast
Cantina de San Angel Lunch
Beaches and Cream Dinner (and dessert!)

Day 4
50's Primetime Café Lunch
Starring Rolls Snack
Kona Dinner

Day 5
Beach Club Marketplace Breakfast
Karamel Kuche & Snack in America for Lunch
Columbia Harbour House Dinner
Quick Snack

Day 6
Tony's Town Square Lunch
La Hacienda Dinner
Snack from China

Day 7
Sunshine Seasons Breakfast
Tangeriene Café Lunch
Via Napoli Dinner
Snack from Karamel Kuche

Day 8
Beach Club Marketplace Breakfast
Snack from Japan
Cape May Clambake Part 1
Cape May Clambake Part 2
Day 9
Tokyo Dining Lunch
Final Snack Beaches and Cream

Okay so after making this list, I realize I need to revise my review title! It wasn't 10 days of dining, it was only 9! No wonder it flew by so fast.

 

[DLFan123]

We left Denver on a Friday night after a painfully long day at work. We opted for a quick dinner in the terminal. The egg white, asparagus and swiss bagel thin is one of my favorite airport meals, so I was pleased that there was an Einstein Bagel near our gate.



This is a more exciting picture of the inside of the sandwich.


This is an excellent, light meal. There is a good spice to the sauce that comes on this sandwich, and it includes a healthy helping of vegetables. I wasn't ready to ruin my pre-vacation diet just yet!

DP opted for a veggie sandwich on the jalapeno-cheese bagel.


She did not love hers as much. She said it was pretty bland and didn't have much taste.

At this point, it wasn't so much about the food as it was about getting to our destination. Our flight was mostly on time, and we headed out of Denver, extremely excited to start our adventure at the Animal Kingdom Lodge!

Coming up, plenty of club level pics and lunch at MK Columbia Harbour House!

 

[tluvstink]

You're off to a great start and I'm looking forward to reading the rest! Staying CL is a dream of mine and I hope to see reviews of the CL offerings as well

Terri

 

[DLFan123]

Soon we arrived in Orlando and were on our way.



We arrived to our room to find this little treat waiting for us.

Such a nice personal touch! Already I was thinking I could get used to staying in the concierge level!


Why is it that something as simple as chocolate can taste so good when it is Disney chocolate? We split one of our flamingoes as a bedtime snack. It was delicious, some of the best plain chocolate I've ever eaten.

We slept soundly in our room which was quiet and comfortable. In the morning, we looked out over the savannah to see this:


This view alone made it feel like it was worth it to pay extra to stay in this particular room. I wasn't worried about the lack of animals; I knew we'd have plenty of time to see animals later. For now, we were in a rush to get down to breakfast and then on board the bus to MK!

Here is the spread for breakfast:

Bagels, croissants, jams, peanut butter, chocolate chip muffins


Selection of juices: jungle juice, pineapple juice, orange juice


Cooler with yogurt, pop, and milk. At a certain time each day, they'd also fill this with cans of beer.


Hot station with oats and quinoa, along with toppings like brown sugar


Selection of fresh fruits


Muffins and pastries

Next up, our selections and lunch at MK!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

great start and definitely subscribing

 

[wiigirl]

Yummy pics!

 

[DLFan123]

You're off to a great start and I'm looking forward to reading the rest! Staying CL is a dream of mine and I hope to see reviews of the CL offerings as well

Terri

Welcome! I'm so glad to have you reading along!

 

[DLFan123]

great start and definitely subscribing

Welcome! Happy to have you!

Yummy pics!

Thanks! More to come soon. I'll pick up where I left off this afternoon when I get home from work.

 

[DLFan123]

My plate looked like this:

I had some fresh fruit, which was fresh and delicious. In addition to that, I had one mini chocolate chip muffin and one mini blueberry muffin. These were good, too. Moist and buttery like muffins should be.

Here is a shot of the inside of my chocolate chip muffin:

I could go for one of these right now.


DP's plate looked like this:

She enjoyed the oatmeal. I had a taste and for my personal preference found this oatmeal to be a little soft and overdone. The croissant was good, nice and soft.

We were both trying to take it easy with breakfast today, so this was all we had. DP did have some juice (typical juice) and some espresso from the little self-serve espresso maker that is in the lounge. Overall we found the lounge breakfast to have an ample selection and also enough to skip a separate breakfast and start our day here. If we stay CL again, we'll probably try to eat breakfast in the lounge each day, just to save valuable morning time for the parks and also get a better value out of our stay.

Next up, lunch at Columbia Harbour House

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

I am a bit late but I am in! Enjoyed your previous reviews. Even though we are meat eaters, we are learning to like fish & seafood so I am really looking forward to your reviews.

 

[jacksmom]

Great start! Can't wait for more!

 

[darnheather]

I'm drooling. Looks delicious and I can't wait for more!

 

[bluejasmine]

Great start!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[DLFan123]

I am a bit late but I am in! Enjoyed your previous reviews. Even though we are meat eaters, we are learning to like fish & seafood so I am really looking forward to your reviews.

Better late than never, as they say. Actually, you're right on time. I'm late. I always go through some post vacation blues that prevent me from going on the dis boards at all, so my reviews get started up late. But then once I get going, I can't stop myself. Speaking of vacations, yours is coming up so soon! I know you and DS will have a great time on your mom and son trip. My goal will be to get to some good seafood pics and reviews that might be useful to you before you go.

Great start! Can't wait for more!

Thanks so much!

I'm drooling. Looks delicious and I can't wait for more!

Great start!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Thanks, glad you're enjoying it!

 

[DLFan123]

After a little bit of a wait at the bus depot, we were on our way, and before long we saw this:

Aah...like coming home.

We missed RD on account of being stuck in the guest services line, but that didn't stop us from taking advantage of the least crowded time in the park. We managed to ride BTMRR twice in a row, as well as take in a few other attractions before working up our appetites.

We decided to start our vacation with a meal from Columbia Harbour House. Secretly, I've been thinking about this meal since our last WDW vacation. There is just something about the fried shrimp...last year I made a mistake ordering the combo plate, which was good, but all I really wanted was the fried shrimp.

Here is a copy of their current menu:

They hand you one of these as you walk in, so you can decide what you want before you get up to the front of the line. We certainly didn't need the menu, but it's a good idea.

Even though the ordering area looked congested, the process went very smoothly and we placed our order quickly. This is something I've noticed about this place; in general, things run very efficiently.

While I waited for the food, DP secured a nice spot upstairs for us to enjoy our meals.

I love sitting upstairs at this restaurant. It's so much more quiet and peaceful. You couldn't pay me money to eat downstairs.

DP selected something she's been raving about since our trip last year, the lighthouse sandwich:

I have to say, last year I didn't really "get it" about this sandwich. I also thought I remembered DP complaining about the taste being too sweet. She let me have a few bites this time, and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed the sandwich. Some bites are a little on the sweet side, but for the most part, this is a very delicious vegetarian option. The bread is nice and hearty, the hummus is nice and creamy and rich, and the little shredded veggies are light and crispy. (I'm pretty sure they are the coleslaw mix veggies, actually.) Overall, she enjoyed her sandwich, and so did I!

For her side, she chose fries:

I managed to snag a few, and these were fine. Just fries.

For my meal, I chose the fried shrimp plate:

Yum yum yum! You can see I was, at this point, in denial about where I was, which was on vacation. I was so proud of myself for making the choice to have broccoli as my side instead of fries. Actually, the broccoli was really good, especially for plain steamed broccoli (how does Disney do this?). All the pieces were perfect little florets, and it was cooked just the right amount, not too much, not too little. I was pleased that I'd ordered the broccoli, and I would do it again. Just not on this trip! I thoroughly enjoyed my meal here, and I managed to keep up my nutritious eating for about 6 more hours, before that idea got tossed overboard and fed to an alligator. The shrimp, btw, were just what I'd been waiting a year for. How are these fried shrimp so perfect? I don't know, but they are. I also really enjoy the cocktail sauce.

Here is a shot of my second side, coleslaw:

This was good, nothing too special, but just what I wanted.

Finally, I took a pic of our receipt.

This was something I cleverly decided to do, rather than writing down the prices of things. For some meals, I didn't do it, but for those of you who are financially minded, this gives you an idea of what we spent/what meals cost.

I can't recall exactly why they punched in the lighthouse sandwich and fries separately versus ordering it the way it is normally served; I think it comes with something else and they don't allow substitutions.

All in all, we had a great meal at CHH and couldn't wait to eat here again, so much so that we actually did just a few days later! You'll have to keep reading to see if I choose broccoli as my side again next time. Here is a hint: I probably don't. It IS vacation after all.

Coming up, snacks in the lounge and dinner at Sanaa!

 

[iwasdaisy]

 

[klacey1]

Definitely subscribing! CHH is one of my absolute fav CS in Disney!

 

[DLFan123]

Glad you're here! Welcome!

Definitely subscribing! CHH is one of my absolute fav CS in Disney!

I've been thinking about it, and I think it is hands down the best counter service in Magic Kingdom. I just enjoy it so much. What is your favorite thing there? I have never tried the salmon, but it definitely looks very tasty. Someday maybe I'll try it. It's just hard for me to want anything besides those fried shrimp!

 

[DLFan123]

For the afternoon, we went back to the hotel to refresh and relax before our dinner reservation at Sanaa. I was curious to see what would be offered in the lounge for the afternoon snack, as we'd missed the midday snack already.

We found these yummy treats:

A white chocolate macadamia nut cookie, something they called a granola bar, and some candied nuts

OMG I just have to say this is one of the best white chocolate macadamia nut cookies I've ever had! I'm not terribly picky about them, but for some reason I have a hard time finding a decent one on Disney property (see last year's WDW dining review for the most disappointing white choc mac nut cookie ever). I should have taken 5 of these cookies and eaten them all right then, but I was trying to pace myself. Looking back, I deeply regret this; we never made it back to the lounge during the time these are offered. For some reason, they don't appear in the dessert spread in the evening. (Probably because they all get eaten in the afternoon. )

The granola bar was a little different, but not bad. It was sweet and felt hearty and rich. The nuts were a little too crunchy and too much spice for my preference.

We had also heard you could get bottles of water to take back to your room, so we asked about this. This is what the lounge CMs gave us:

At first, I was a little annoyed, thinking all they had done was put some tap water in this glass bottle (which I was told I'd need to return for reuse of course). After I tasted the water, though, I could definitely tell this was filtered, and it was icy cold. We ended up using this bottle several times during our stay. We'd refill it from the iced water they served in the lounge (which was also filtered) and then pour into cups in our room, or into a small plastic bottle we'd picked up at the parks. Not quite as good as some of the reports I've heard of the lounge offering all you can drink Dasani water for the taking, but this worked for us.

I also grabbed this for later:

I ate this for a snack the next day, and what can I say? Just like with the chocolate and the broccoli, Disney must do something with their oranges. This one was delicious. I always love a good Disney orange.

After our snack, we went to recharge by the pool.

I know this is a dining review, but just as an aside, I really like the AKL pool area. It felt so remote, and I love the foliage they have. Since we have mostly stayed at Beach Club, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed swimming in a plain old-fashioned pool. We had a great time and were rejuvenated when we headed up to our room to get ready for dinner.

Next, Sanaa...I promise, I'll get to something more exciting than pictures of single pieces of fruit and cans of diet coke soon!

 

[TheDWord]

Subscribing