Solo Dining 4/17-4/24

[HolRae]

I stayed at Art of Animation the first night. My flight was late due to a fire at the airport and I was afraid I would miss my ADR for dinner. The line for DME was super long but it moved very quickly and I was on a bus in no time. AoA was our first and only stop. I got my room ready text while on the bus. I was upgraded to a Nemo suite from Little Mermaid. The location was perfect. I dropped my bags in the room on my way to the Skyliner. Dinner was at La Hacienda in Epcot and I made it just in time.




I had window table with a view of Norway.
I started with a margarita and the waiter brought chips and salsa.


The chips were fresh and warm. The salsa was also fresh with a bit of spice. The margarita was very good but sweet.

I ordered the Oslo Buco for my entree. It was served with rice and beans and tortillas.

The meat was so tender and flavorful. The potatoes were nice and creamy and the veggies were done perfectly.
After dinner I wandered around the countries to check out some of the gardens. When I got back to the hotel I Mobil ordered a dessert from Landscape of Flavors.


Mermaid Tail Cupcake - vanilla cupcake filled with pineapple and topped with coconut buttercream, white chocolate mermaid tail, graham cracker crumb,crispy pearls, and glitter. I loved the pineapple filling. It tasted like upside down cake.

 

[HolRae]

On day 2 my plan was to get a cookie from Gideon’s. I dropped my bags off early at bell services so they could be transferred to my next resort. I grabbed a taxi to Old Key West for breakfast at Olivias.



I was seated in a booth in the corner with a nice view of the restaurant. I ordered a mimosa and looked over the menu. They have a special brunch menu on Sunday. I had a hard time deciding between the crab cakes eggs Benedict and the shrimp and grits. I ended up ordering the Benedict with grits instead of potatoes.



The English muffin was not toasted but the eggs were done perfectly. The crab cakes had lots of crab and the key lime hollandaise sauce pulled it all together. The grits were creamy and yummy and everything grits should be.
After breakfast I walked over to Disney Springs to line up for Gideon’s

 

[Erica Ladd]

Following- looks yummy!

 

[tbelle3]

Love the menu pics along with the food ones...great idea! Looking forward to following the rest

 

[HolRae]

I arrived at Gideon’s right around 9:20. The line was almost to the corner of Morimoto. They were handing out menus to everyone waiting in line.



Once they opened the line moved fairly quickly. I was inside by 10:05.



The cakes looked amazing but I chose 2 cookies.
Pistachio Toffee


Limited Edition Orange Pecan Chocolate Chip

I took these back to my room and nibbled on them for the next 4 days. The pistachio toffee was my favorite but the orange pecan was delicious too.
I did some shopping and then popped in to Amorettes to pick up something for breakfast the following morning.



I picked the Pistachio Eclair. This made a perfect breakfast before heading to Epcot the next day.

 

[HolRae]

Following- looks yummy!
Thanks for following!

Love the menu pics along with the food ones...great idea! Looking forward to following the rest

Thanks. I hope to post more this weekend.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Following, love hearing about solo dining experiences! Everything looks so good, I really do need to get to Olivia's at some point.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Great start! Looking forward to more. La Hacienda has always been one of my favorites. So good! My Gideon's cookie took me about 4 days to get through too ... those suckers are BIG!

 

[HolRae]

Following, love hearing about solo dining experiences! Everything looks so good, I really do need to get to Olivia's at some point.

Olivias is great but it is a bit out of the way.

Great start! Looking forward to more. La Hacienda has always been one of my favorites. So good! My Gideon's cookie took me about 4 days to get through too ... those suckers are BIG!

Epcot has so many great places but La Hacienda is pretty high on my list of favorites.

 

[HolRae]

After collecting my sweet treats I did a bit of shopping. Then it was time for lunch. I decided on Polite Pig. There was a line outside but it moved fairly quickly. I ordered at the counter and was given a number to put on the table. There was a worker at the fountain machine filling drink orders. I ordered an iced tea and the meatballs with bbq sauce on the side.







When the server brought out my food he said if I needed refills or wanted to order additional food he would take care of it for me. I thought this was really nice. The meatballs were tender and flavorful. The grits were creamy and the crunchy onions added a nice texture.
This made a perfect lunch.
As I was leaving my room ready text came through so I headed to Coronado Springs. I was on the 14th floor of Grand Destino Tower. This was the view from my room.

After putting my snacks in the fridge I headed to Magic Kingdom. .

 

[HolRae]

I spent the afternoon at Magic Kingdom before walking to the Contemporary for my ADR at The Wave.


I have had breakfast here in the past but this was my first time for dinner. I was seated right away at a table in the center of the restaurant. I started with the Azul Clasico Margarita.



This was the best margarita I had all trip. Not sure why. Maybe just because it was blue. But it was sooo good.
I originally made this ADR because I have always wanted to try the bacon and egg appetizer. So when the waiter came over and went through the specials and asked what I would like to start with I ordered the seasonal salad. I’m not sure why I changed my mind at the last minute but I did.


I was given bread and salted butter. This was yummy and I had to stop myself from eating all of it.
Next came the salad.



The salad had strawberries, goat cheese, and marcona almonds. It was very fresh and light and really hit the spot.

I chose the gnocchi for my entree.



This was amazing. This meal was one of the best of my entire trip. I look forward to dining here again. Maybe next time I will actually order the bacon and eggs.

i passed on dessert because I had a cookie waiting for me back at the room.

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more. I am going solo in two weeks .

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I've been hearing really good things about The Wave lately. Need to get over there and try it next trip. The gnocchi looks delicious!

 

[HolRae]

Day 3 was an Epcot day which means it is possible to both sleep in and make rope drop. I had a relaxed morning in the room and enjoyed my eclair from Amorettes for breakfast.

I caught a bus to the park and was inside by 10:13. I headed for Soarin and got in line. They said it would be 11:00 before the ride would open but at 10:55 I was already done and on Living with the Land.
my lunch plan for the day was to hit a few of the food booths. As I headed toward World Showcase from the Land I came across Flavor Full Kitchen. I ordered the Seared Salmon





This was good. The Salmon was hot and fresh. It was cooked perfectly. The farro risotto was fine but nothing special.Overall this was a good start to my browsing. It was starting to sprinkle as I walked through Canada so I headed intoWorld Showplace. There were 2 booths in here that were on my list. Festival Favorites had fried green tomatoes.




Sorry for the terrible pic. The lighting was bad and I started eating before remembering I needed a pic. This was somewhat disappointing. The tomato was not very crisp or fresh. There was a lot of the crab salad which was nice. It wasn’t bad but definitely my least favorite of the dishes I tried.
Next up was the Farmers Feast booth also in World Showplace. The menu at this booth changes through out the festival. I tried the watermelon mint beer and the asparagus and the rhubarb cake.

The beer (pictured above with the fried green tomatoes) was light and refreshing. I tend to like fruity beers so this was right up my alley.

This dish was amazing! Asparagus, Parmesan, and fresh truffles - what more could you ask for. The picture doesn’t show it but there were 4-5 large pieces of asparagus under all that yummy goodness. For $5.25 I felt this dish was as close to a bargain as you can get at Disney.

The strawberry rhubarb upside down cake was equally amazing. The sweetness of the strawberries and the tartness of the rhubarb caramelized with the cake was perfection. I plan to figure out how to make this at home as soon as my rhubarb is ready to pick. This booth was definitely a hit for me.
At this point I was getting full so I headed out to check out the festival gardens and entertainment. The flowers are so vibrant and beautiful (especially considering we had snow at home).

 

[HolRae]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more. I am going solo in two weeks .

Thanks for following. I really enjoy solo trips. Of course I enjoy family trips too.

I've been hearing really good things about The Wave lately. Need to get over there and try it next trip. The gnocchi looks delicious!

The gnocchi was great. I plan to return to The Wave on my next trip.

 

[HolRae]

I had a dinner ADR at Le Cellier. I just went with water to drink and skipped the appetizer. My server brought the bread basket out with maple topped butter.

I enjoyed the pretzel roll while waiting for my main dish.


I know many people feel LeCellier is over priced and over hyped. The fillet is the only steak I have ever tried here (it is also the only Canadian beef on the menu). It is the best steak I have ever had. Each time I am afraid it won’t live up to my memory but it has never failed. This time was no exception. It was cooked a perfect medium rare. The steak melted in my mouth and the risotto is so rich and creamy. It is the perfect compliment to the beef. Throw in a bit of asparagus and truffle butter - amazing.

 

[HolRae]

Day 4 was Hollywood Studios. I took a taxi to the Boardwalk for breakfast at Trattoria al Forno. I arrived early enough to try for a boarding group before my ADR. I got group 88.

I checked in as soon as they opened and was seated right away. I had a great view of the kitchen. I started with a mimosa.




I ordered the omelet. The menu had recently changed I think. The menu on display outside the restaurant still had the omelet listed as open face Italian omelet.


I ordered a side of Sunday gravy which was included with the Italian omelet but not the caprese omelet. This was fine. Nothing special except the Sunday gravy which was great. I asked for the bill when she brought out my ,meal so I could get to HS before opening. My original plan was to walk over but it was looking like rain and the boat was pulling up as I headed out so I hopped on. I rode MMRR 2 times before visiting Batuu, watching Frozen sing along and shopping.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Thanks for the great reviews!

 

[4DisneyWVUfans]

Great reviews and pictures. I agree with you about LeCellier! The steak with risotto is very good.

 

[Simba's Mom]

In my 20-some solo trips to WDW, I've never dined solo at the Wave. How was the experience, especially being in the center of the room!?