Oh Sweet Mother of Bread Pudding...What have I got myself into? 9/26 Update!

[vettegirl]

Great review of WPE! I thinks it's one of the best in all of WDW!

 

[deenbrad]

If we (and by this I mean me included) don't start supporting the local businesses, our grandkids will assume all food comes from a total of 20 chains. The problem with chains of mass quantity, there is nothing personal about it.

This reminds me of the movie Demolition Man - where all the restaurants were named Taco Bell! I certainly don't want to see that day! We often go to local restaurants. Need to keep the town going!

 

[maiziezoe]

I will stand behind you with a picket sign and burn my bra.

I write restaurant reviews for a newspaper... I love to go to small mom and pop places... unfortunately, they are hard to find. My readership is usually up on the days I review a chain restaurant versus a day I write about "Grandpa's Pancake Palace."

However, I have the best job in the world... I write about food and I get paid for it.

Great reviews so far!

 

[tinklynn]

just a quiet reminder that, while ragging on food chains (and i'm with you on that), you may have forgotten that WPE is also a chain....just sayin'. it appears that quality can be obtainable from mass-market boxes. just takes a little "tinker-ing".

 

[cay92374]

Love the posts, thanks for sharing the tips!

 

[tinklynn]

This reminds me of the movie Demolition Man - where all the restaurants were named Taco Bell! I certainly don't want to see that day! We often go to local restaurants. Need to keep the town going!

the first thing that people need to do to stop this decline of the small business is to quit shopping at walmart. it's an evil company that treats employees terrible and is ultimately responsible for this decline.

their strategy: go into a small town without much competition, lower the prices to where they are literally giving product away. the competition is taken out when all their customers mutiny and start shopping at walmart. then, after they've shuttered the small competitors, they simply raise their prices...after all, they're the only game in town now, right?

 

[Dizneydawn]

Is that a pina colava?? I cannot WAIT to get my hands on one of those babies! I'm glad to see that Dan, Brent and I can bond over our love of frozen, fruity drinks!

No...a version of a strawberry stripper. strawberry schnapps, oj, grenadine and a bit of 7 up usually...and I am glad I will have a camera ready for your bonding!!!

I know that this was many months ago but I just came across your review tonight and have been reading it for well over an hour. I'm so sorry for the loss of your dear friend. Obviously I do not know you but I was still in tears reading this.
Thnak you so much for your comment. She is front and center each time I log onto photobucket and is the push behind my passion for travel.
I'm thoroughly enjoying your reviews and definitely think you should write a book! You are a wonderful writer. I had Raglan Road on my "maybe" list for our upcoming trip and now it's a must do! Thanks! I look forward to reading the rest of this thread tonight

You must do Raglan! If I wirte it will probably be a online book forum...now the question is how many here will pay $1 to read my writing!!!

Let me understand this right. Are you saying you liked this?
Yes...yes I was!
Well, luckily I work only 15 minutes away, so I will be sure to test this out ASAP!!!!

I want to hear when you have it enjoyed!!!

Roll on October
WPE French Toast here I come

I am rolling with ya!!!

Holy moly!! I think I may have to fit this breakfast in on our trip in November!!! Thanks for enlightening me once again

I cannot wait to hear all of your reviews of it!

I am so going there for breakfast now! YUM!

We may just have to compare notes!!

Oh man! There must be some way I can work WPE in for December!
Yes you need to!
I am so sorry for what your daughter went through. Being a mom I'm totally with you. The guy would be unrecognizable to his mama when I was done with him!

I am glad I held my rage in...the way things are transpiring...I am much better off and so is Carsyn.

OMG that looks and sounds AMAZING!!!! I will definitely be trying this. Thanks so much. The only problem is that I want it NOW!!

I have been making the French toast for Baylor the past 2 weeks and he loves them!

Now about the food reviews. Let me just say that I'm not a breakfast food lover (really don't like eggs at all) but reading your description of the breakfast pizza almost made me want to try it out. I read DH your description and we'll be adding it to our next itinerary. Heck, I'll bet it becomes a best seller from your description alone.

Awaiting your next entry...

I also am not a person who likes to mix my foods. Pizza is pizza and breakfast is not pizza but this...changed my attitude on mixing food groups and meal times!

Hi Dawn,

I just HAD TO come over here and read your WPE review! I am SOOOOOOOOO glad you liked it!
You are the food goddess that inspires me!!

AND that not only SOUNDS fabulous but looks wonderful! Hmmm...anyone have the recipe?????

I do not have the recipie but now will look for it for you!

Wolfgang Puck Express is in Downtown Disney- both the West Side and Marketplace have locations. I checked on allears to be sure and the pizza is currently listed on both menus.

Thanks for helping!!!

Ummm and YES I want to see your ADRs so I know where you are going to be and we can make the plans for hanging out

On it's way tom!!

YES I want to hear about your ADRs!!!! It will be at least a year before I'm back in WDW and need to live vicariously through you!!

If I must help those out who count on me..I am willing to sacrifice!!

I'll take all the Disney info you're willing to share... We won't be going to Disney again until next year in October and I need my daily Disney fixes!!!

I will do my best to satisfy your needs!!!

I hope you're other "thing" is resolving itself properly. If not, when we're down there next month we can go all Des Moines on their tushies.

I think it will be ok. Got an e-mail back from her on Sat! BTW - yes chinks of meat are in that sauce...hence the fact I said their were chunks of meat in the sauce so you are way past Spaghettio meals!

what else is there to say about the Creme Brulee? Like you, I think it IS the best on property! Yummy!!!!
You are a true scholar!!!

Great review of WPE! I thinks it's one of the best in all of WDW!

Agreed!!!

This reminds me of the movie Demolition Man - where all the restaurants were named Taco Bell! I certainly don't want to see that day! We often go to local restaurants. Need to keep the town going!

Like I said - taking a bit more time to eat is good for the metabolism and good for your taste buds!

I will stand behind you with a picket sign and burn my bra.
Really...what size bra so I can get a burn permit from the fire marshall!
I write restaurant reviews for a newspaper... I love to go to small mom and pop places... unfortunately, they are hard to find. My readership is usually up on the days I review a chain restaurant versus a day I write about "Grandpa's Pancake Palace."
HOW DID YOU GET THAT JOB!!!
Great reviews so far!

i AM NOT WORTHY FOR THAT COMPLIMENT COMING FROM YOU!!!

just a quiet reminder that, while ragging on food chains (and i'm with you on that), you may have forgotten that WPE is also a chain....just sayin'. it appears that quality can be obtainable from mass-market boxes. just takes a little "tinker-ing".

I agree it is a chain but over 27 locations of theirs is at airports and they have under 40 total I could find so it still is not the size of some that number in the thousands that have 2 locations in a town of 2,000. I guess that's what I mean by the mass quantity locations. I also totally agree with you that there can be some good quality at chains. If I continue to frequent them as often as I do vs using them in a pinch and spreading the locations and variety we eat at, I am only contributing to the demise I want to save and we do not eat out often!!!

***Another thing I noticed lately...

Was at Papa Johns for their $1 subs last week and actually saw them preparing the bread for sandwiches. WhyTH do they take out the top half of the bread? Literally scoop it out and then just chuck it! What a waste! Use it to bag up bread for sale for those of us who make bread bakes, bread puding or croutons! I was totally shocked! Feed the birds at least!!! How much money is wasted by loosing 1/4 a loaf of bread with each sub they sell.




Ok...on with the show!!!

Love the posts, thanks for sharing the tips!

Glad you like them!

 

[SoccerDogWithEars]

These pictures have made my mouth water. But then again, I'm a total sucker for Italian food of any sort. We ate at WPE once, but I don't remember much of it since it was years ago. (Ha, don't I sound old?)

Of course, I will go on my own mini-tirade here, and say that I am now semi-boycotting Disney. They ticked me off. Here I have my whole heart set on doing the college program, but nooooo. My web interview didn't match their personality. I'm sorry, but since when is a computer a judge of character? It doesn't understand how much this meant to me, how much of a Disney freak I am. I am the epitome of a Disney employee, but because I was honest in my answers, the program said no. I cried. Twice.

Aaaaaaaanyway, so glad things worked out for y'all. Anxiously awaiting the next update.

 

[Dizneydawn]

My web interview didn't match their personality. I'm sorry, but since when is a computer a judge of character? It doesn't understand how much this meant to me, how much of a Disney freak I am. I am the epitome of a Disney employee, but because I was honest in my answers, the program said no. I cried. Twice.

Here is my two cents.

Be glad that it did not work out because if you would have given pat answers and that was not truly who you are, you would have had a miserable time and Disney would be forever ruined for you.

Dan worked only at the Disney Store but he hated it. Hated the way that they did not look at life events and only directed answers from a book that half the time the management did not know where to look for the answers. Was told wrong information repeatedly about many things and then when someone higher on the food chain came along, the person who told him what to do would not take responsibility that it was their mistake not his. They had him train (AKA read the manual) during his breaks or lunch hours and that is not exactly legal to ask a person to train during their hours not on the clock. It almost ruined his view of Disney and he hated knowing he was going into work.

That is not Dan. He is a senior corporate trainer for a major telecom company and has lengthy experience managing and training others in various other fields and for him to be frustrated at an entry level position which he trains daily with his eyes closed, was laughable.

Many times it did not matter if it was an obvious mistake/error/non functioning use of time...if it was not in their mannual, nothing was negotiable.

Now that is not the same as working at WDW. Yet if you were honest and it was not a good fit, maybe you should consider yourself lucky and savor what you love and not live a life after a year hating a place that used to make you happy. Dan said he may try the actual WDW locale if we move to Florida someday but I also don;t want it to ruin the fun of the place. Like if you work at Cinnabon, eventually you may never want to see another Cinnabon again!!!

I know you are sad and I am sad for you but I really believe something better will open it's doors to you in the time you would have been there to make your life even better!!!


***Sorry if there is a bunch of words not spelled right. All of a sudden my auto correct is not working and I do not have time to copy and paste into a word doc to check it!!

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

Is pepperoni from Des Moines kinda like getting salsa from New York City???

We've never eaten at WPE but reading your last two reviews, it's now on my radar as a must do!!! Thanks!!!

 

[want2bamommy]

Which brings me to a tangent I would like to share. I am going to try, really try, to boycott all chain restaurants/FF places. We have lost a piece of America IMO, with the countless locations found in each city, that resemble the next. What makes a Subway unique in Seattle vs. one in Dallas?

My new company has me interacting with clients in the restaurant industry on a daily basis and when the amount of chains, outnumber Mom and Pop cafe's in any given town across this great country, it is something that alarms and appalls me. If we (and by this I mean me included) don't start supporting the local businesses, our grandkids will assume all food comes from a total of 20 chains. The problem with chains of mass quantity, there is nothing personal about it.

I can get a burger at over 6 different chains in my hometown. I also can get burgers here at a handful of independent locations and every single time I eat at one of those, I enjoy the experience. I enjoy the interaction with the wait staff, I enjoy the variety of cheeses and depth of cooking I can order my burger done at. It is unique to me and every single time I pull through a drive through at a FF chain, it may taste ok, but 5 minutes later I feel grease overloaded and would never sit and tell a friend the experience I had. Yet here, we relive our dining because of the experience.

In the good and the bad, it was not exactly like any other and those of us who love dining at WDW, appreciate all the nuances that make it each location unique and dining not like what we get at home.

Yet we can get it at home. Maybe not the beer cheese soup at Le Cellier, or the banana bread pudding at Ohana, but we absolutely can have the excitement and delight of service and unique offerings if we take the time to look.

So why is it as a whole, most of us don't spend 5 minutes at home looking for new places to try, new meals to encounter and yet for the week we spend at WDW, we pour over menu's, peruse other's experiences and reviews?

It just hit me yesterday how idiotic I felt when I do choose the mundane because it is easy or convenient when the meals, food and people who have made meals memorable are always at locations not duplicated 1000 times across the U.S. I am not talking about a place that may have 5-10 locations, I am speaking of those that multiply like the Duggers.

So my challenge for myself and any of you who wish, is to find those gems in your community, yor neighborhood and patronage them when the mood strikes to eat out. We have used restraunt.com lately and 99% of the time, we are really impressed with the offerings and eat at places we would never have tried without being prompted and the fact we have a discount is even better.

Sorry for the blabbering about this but looking at lists of businesses all day and the sheer number of chains is daunting. Coupled with the numbers of independent locations that are no longer operational, made me really look at my choices, what I value in a meal and why if what I want is flavor, unique memories and a meal that is memorable in WDW, why do I settle out of sheer laziness, what I know, what is routine and what is easy.

Ok...now back to WPE....

You're very right about this! I used to eat fast food ALL of the time (like quite a few times per week) and in the last year I've probably had it 5 times or less. Now, my hubby is in Afghanistan right now but if he was home he'd eat McDonald's 3 times a day EVERYDAY if he could. I'm hoping that I can get him to like homemade and healthier food (he grew up eating junk food). I also like to eat at 1-2 family owned restaurants near our home. I hope that your post sparks even a few people to make small changes.

I also had to when I read the bold section above about pouring over the WDW menu's online but we don't spend 5 minutes looking for a new restaurant to try back home. It's very true!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I must remember not to look at this thread until AFTER lunch!!! WPE looks so yummy!!! That creme brulee will be MINE someday!!!

 

[ShesAPirate]

Just joining in! Great reviews, looking forward to more!

 

[tlenzendorf]

Which brings me to a tangent I would like to share. I am going to try, really try, to boycott all chain restaurants/FF places. We have lost a piece of America IMO, with the countless locations found in each city, that resemble the next. What makes a Subway unique in Seattle vs. one in Dallas?

Ok, that means that the next time you come to Madison to go to GiGis(other than stopping at my house ), you MUST go to Tex Tubb's Taco Palace. It is just down University Avenue from GiGis, so it isn't anymore out of your way than GiGis is to begin with!

 

[hjones78]

Finally made it through the first 39 pages! Love all your reviews! I am changing some resies as we speak!! Can't wait to read more

 

[Bellefan22]

Wow, what amazing posts...just read the whole thing and loved every minute of it!

 

[rndmr2]

Found this again, loving the great reviews. We went to WPE when we were there in 2004 and I really liked it, glad to know it is still as good. Only recently found out that the did breakfast, we'll have to try that next time we go.

 

[mentul77]

Ok - if you are good with small semi-local chains then next time you come through Knoxville or are in North Carolina (since that is where they started and have most of them) you need to try Cook-Out. They are mostly drive-thru only (1 of the 2 locations in Knoxville actually has dine-in and a coworker from NC said she'd never seen that at one of them before.) They have good burgers and onion rings and such for cheap BUT they have amazing fresh milkshakes. I'm talking the peanut butter fudge milkshake actually has JIF in it, the banana pudding milkshake has bananas and nilla wafers and they are $2.49 each, hello, cheap AND good!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Ok - if you are good with small semi-local chains then next time you come through Knoxville or are in North Carolina (since that is where they started and have most of them) you need to try Cook-Out. They are mostly drive-thru only (1 of the 2 locations in Knoxville actually has dine-in and a coworker from NC said she'd never seen that at one of them before.) They have good burgers and onion rings and such for cheap BUT they have amazing fresh milkshakes. I'm talking the peanut butter fudge milkshake actually has JIF in it, the banana pudding milkshake has bananas and nilla wafers and they are $2.49 each, hello, cheap AND good!

My daughter moved to Knoxville after getting married in August. We are going to see her over the Thanksgiving holiday. Where is the dine-in Cook-Out? We may have to try it.

 

[mentul77]

My daughter moved to Knoxville after getting married in August. We are going to see her over the Thanksgiving holiday. Where is the dine-in Cook-Out? We may have to try it.

At the western most end of the strip at UT (Kingston Pike/Cumberland Ave) if she is familiar with UT, it is where Guthrie's chicken used to be, close to Mellow Mushroom. They have a combo meal that is a burger or chicken sandwich or whatever, 2 sides (umm yeah they even consider a corn dog or chicken nuggets to be a side) - I personally like their onion rings, and a drink for right around $4.50 or for an extra dollar you can get a shake instead of a drink. menu pic