The NOT SO SUNNY Flordia DR- COMPLETE

[MrsB1228]

Really enjoying your reviews and looking forward to the next instalment!

 

[kastoney]

Thanks for the teppan Edo rundown. Last time I ate there I think I was all of 12 and it seemed like the coolest restaurant ever. Now of course I like you think its not all that different than I can get at home. I also didn't know they didn't take TiW. Making it even more unlikely we will visit.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Really enjoying your reviews and looking forward to the next instalment!

Thanks so much for reading along!

Thanks for the teppan Edo rundown. Last time I ate there I think I was all of 12 and it seemed like the coolest restaurant ever. Now of course I like you think its not all that different than I can get at home. I also didn't know they didn't take TiW. Making it even more unlikely we will visit.

Teppan Edo not taking the TIW card is probably the reason we hadn't visited before now. The other party at our table was using the DDP and I would guess if you are counting dollars per credit Teppan Edo might seem like a good buy for the DDP. But I will save my belly space for a more unique restaurant in the World Showcase next trip.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

WHISPERING CANYON CAFE LUNCH

We had such a great experience and a special treat at our WCC lunch that it almost made it into my top 3 meals this trip. Unfortunately there was one dish that underwhelmed me so I decided to put it here in the middle.

We had just checked into the Wilderness Lodge after having been up since about 4 in the morning to catch our flight. Our room was ready and we were hungry so we just dropped our bags in the room and headed downstairs for some lunch. Once again we didn't have an ADR, but there were plenty of tables available around 1 pm.

Here's me and Chase. I've definitely got the travel weary look. But Chase looks fresh. I guess that's the difference between being 40 and 17.

IMG_0059 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Love those cowboy silouhettes on the booths.

And here's Brianna with the host who seated us. They decided to switch hats!

IMG_0060 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

We struck up a conversation with the couple and their daughter at the table next to us. Right before we ordered, they whispered in our server, Hickory's ear. Hickory told us that this nice couple would like to treat us to lunch. We protested but they told us that their travel agent had completely messed up their reservation and they were losing over 20 dining credits. Evidently the travel agent had booked 2 reservations and all their dining credits were expiring that night. They had 2 days left before they went home and their travel agent would be covering the remainder of their meals. After hearing this, we said, "Yes, Thank you!"

So since this meal would be covered by the DDP, we decided to get milkshakes for our drinks. I chose the caramel chocolate and it was so yummy!

IMG_0063 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Chase got the bacon cheeseburger. This was huge, but Chase being a teenage boy was able to finish it.

IMG_0065 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Brian chose the skillet. He said this was all delicious especially the chicken and the sausage. One plate was all he could manage.

[IMG_0067 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Brianna chose the kids mac and cheese and a side of fries. Since she was using an adult dining credit Hickory told us they supersized her portion of macaroni and cheese. We all had a bite of this and it was tasty, but a lot of it was left uneaten since it was just too much for her to eat.

IMG_0064 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

I decided on the Western Salad. Unfortunately I was pretty disappointed with this salad. The grilled shrimp were okay, but the vinaigrette and the greens didn't have much taste.

IMG_0066 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Even though dessert was included the boys said they had too many milkshakes to have dessert. Since I had the tasteless salad there was no way I was passing up dessert. I settled on the Apple Caramel Pie a la mode.

IMG_0069 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

This was glorious! The apples were cooked soft just like I would make at home.

Here' a copy of our receipt that Hickory gave to us even though it was covered by the DDP. Glad she gave us this since we knew how much to tip her.

Whispering Canyon Cafe lunch by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

We sat around and talked to our new friends for a while and even met up with them later in the week before they went home. It was so thoughtful of them to think to use their dining credits for someone else instead of let them go to waste. I'm not sure if Disney allows this or not, but glad that our server agreed to it.

As for Whispering Canyon Cafe's lunch, it was a hit except for my salad. Can't wait to go back and eat that pie again. And that's not the only great surprise we had that day-

See next post for a picture of the view from our room!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

I booked this trip through Orbitz chosing a Woods View room at the Wilderness Lodge. Making a room request through Orbitz was a bit tedious but I asked for a North facing room as high as possible.

Here was our wonderful view!

IMG_0050 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

This is a zoomed in picture, but we could easily see the castle, fireworks, and the monorail.

Loved the view and the location of this room, which was about 5 steps from the elevator and then another few steps to Roaring Fork.

 

[GeminiAngel]

Lovely family! Enjoying so far.

 

[jabead]

While I am a fan of Teppan Edo, I'm not really a fan of their desserts. So I think your idea to get dessert from Karamell Kuche was brilliant!!
I haven't yet tried their cookies, but they are definitely on my list.

Regarding your Whispering Canyon lunch, I need to eliminate 4 or 5 restaurants from the overfull lunch schedule for my next trip and just a few days ago I had decided that WCC would be one of those that would get the axe. Then I read your review and discovered that they have caramel chocolate milkshakes!! This combined with my desire to have their chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries again has me thinking that I need to look at my lunch schedule again.

And what a beautiful room view you had!! A few days ago I called to make a change to my Woods view room that I reserved for part of my next trip. The CM tried to convince me to upgrade to a Courtyard view for just a few more dollars. I laughed and reminded her that that would actually be a construction view when I'm there in October. No thanks, I'll keep the Woods view...who knows, maybe I'll get lucky like you and get a Castle view!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

how lovely to get a little pixie dust from a fellow guest and even better that your server joined in with the treat and didn't get feisty about following the rules to the letter :

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

The skillet at WCC looks yummy! How awesome for the DDP pixie dust from your tablemates! Such a sweet gesture. Your view is amazing. Love it!

 

[DaisyNY]

How great of your tablemates to spread some pixie dust! Last time we were at Teppon Edo the fried rice was cooked right in front of you...I believe it was an additional cost...Great reviews so far!

 

[Linda67]

Really enjoying your reviews
You dined in many of my favorite places!
Wow, that is a wonderful view from your room at WL

 

[kastoney]

Wow, how nice of those folks to get you all lunch. Good to know pixie dust is in the air.

Your view looks awesome. Trying the lodge in September and are hoping for a fireworks view. Fingers crossed for something similar to yours.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Lovely family! Enjoying so far.

What a sweet thing to say! Thanks so much.

While I am a fan of Teppan Edo, I'm not really a fan of their desserts. So I think your idea to get dessert from Karamell Kuche was brilliant!!
I haven't yet tried their cookies, but they are definitely on my list.

Regarding your Whispering Canyon lunch, I need to eliminate 4 or 5 restaurants from the overfull lunch schedule for my next trip and just a few days ago I had decided that WCC would be one of those that would get the axe. Then I read your review and discovered that they have caramel chocolate milkshakes!! This combined with my desire to have their chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries again has me thinking that I need to look at my lunch schedule again.

And what a beautiful room view you had!! A few days ago I called to make a change to my Woods view room that I reserved for part of my next trip. The CM tried to convince me to upgrade to a Courtyard view for just a few more dollars. I laughed and reminded her that that would actually be a construction view when I'm there in October. No thanks, I'll keep the Woods view...who knows, maybe I'll get lucky like you and get a Castle view!

I highly recommend the cookie at the caramel shop.

One of things I loved about staying at WL is how easy it is to get to so many great places to eat. Good luck narrowing down your choices.

And I don't blame you for keeping that Woods view room. The construction had begun while we there but we were away from it since it was mainly in the lobby and the springs area leading to the pool. I was sad the bridge was closed in the lobby. Hopefully it will be open for your upcoming trip.

how lovely to get a little pixie dust from a fellow guest and even better that your server joined in with the treat and didn't get feisty about following the rules to the letter :

It was such a nice surprise. Our server didn't seem to balk at all about them using their dining credits for our meal. It didn't occur to me until much later that Disney probably didn't allow that. I did wonder why Disney couldn't have extended their credits for the 2 days they had left of their vacation. It wasn't Disney's error, it was their travel agent's mistake. But I still thought Disney could have done that for them. But Disney had given them several sets of paper fast passes. So that was nice for them.

The skillet at WCC looks yummy! How awesome for the DDP pixie dust from your tablemates! Such a sweet gesture. Your view is amazing. Love it!

I wish I would have ordered the skillet because Brian really seemed to enjoy it. That gives me a reason to head back to WCC in the future. We were very touched by our tablemates generosity. And yes, that view was so fabulous!

How great of your tablemates to spread some pixie dust! Last time we were at Teppon Edo the fried rice was cooked right in front of you...I believe it was an additional cost...Great reviews so far!

I will have to remember that about the rice at Teppan Edo. It would have been much better sautéed. Thanks for reading.

Really enjoying your reviews
You dined in many of my favorite places!
Wow, that is a wonderful view from your room at WL

Thanks so much for reading along. Hopefully there will be more of your favorites that I'm left to review. I wish I could see that view everyday.

Wow, how nice of those folks to get you all lunch. Good to know pixie dust is in the air.

Your view looks awesome. Trying the lodge in September and are hoping for a fireworks view. Fingers crossed for something similar to yours.

It was super nice of them to treat us to lunch. We were so grateful.

I'm sure you will love the WL. This was our first stay there and we would be happy to stay there again. Our request was north side, woods view, a room as high as possible and it really worked out for us. Here's some hoping you get a great view too!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

THE WAVE- BREAKFAST

Our last full day we slept in a bit and I woke up hungry. After some debate I convinced the family that we should boat over to the Contemporary for breakfast at the Wave. There's was one particular item on their menu I had been anxious to try. Once again we didn't have a reservation, but this was no problem as there were only a couple of other parties eating at 10:30 am at the Wave.

I can't say that I liked the look or feel of the Wave. It looks just like what you would expect of a hotel restaurant, no Disney or vacation theme at all. Our server really sales pitched the buffet to us. Maybe since it was late in the morning they were really trying to move that food. Brian bought the sale and here's one of his plates.

IMG_0376 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Looks like he's on a high carb diet of biscuits and gravy, pastries, and hash browns. He wasn't too impressed with his food, but I think that may have more to do with that "I've ate too much on vacation" feeling that you can get near the end. So I won't judge the Wave buffet harshly. If he would have eaten this on day 2 of our vacation he might have said it was great. I just don't think he was all that hungry and should have ordered something off the menu.

Chase ordered the ham and cheese omelet. He requested that mushrooms and onions be added to his omelet and our server let us know there would be an extra charge for that. It ended up being $1 a piece, but he really enjoyed it saying this one was better than the one he had at WCC. And he really liked the breakfast potatoes as well.

IMG_0379 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Brianna chose the kids meal of frosted flakes and a banana. I can't believe I paid $6.99 for this meal. She didn't even get a whole banana.

IMG_0378 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

The good news is she really enjoyed it and ate every bite.

IMG_0377 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

I knew I wanted to try the sweet potato pancakes, requesting a side of eggs instead of the breakfast meat. After our server checked to make sure this substitution was okay, here's what was delivered to me.

IMG_0381 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

IMG_0380 by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

The eggs were kind of boring, but I was able to share with Brianna and get some protein in her.

But the sweet potato pancakes were delicious and huge! I was only able to finish about one of them and shared some with Brianna as well. Our server said I got an extra big portion, that it depended on who was cooking them as to how big they were made. These were served with honey pecan butter that made them even more special. These guys reminded me a lot of a pumpkin pancake that I make at home and just made me wish for autumn in June. Really good and worth the trip over to the Wave.

Brian tried the silver dollar sized version that is on the buffet and he wasn't as impressed as I was. I'm sure pancakes are better when they are made to order.

So here's our receipt from the Wave's breakfast.

The Wave receipt by Smiling Cheshire Cat, on Flickr

Glad to see I saved $11.29 with my TIW card. I've definitely gotten my monies worth out of my TIW card this time.

The Wave was good and I really enjoyed my pancakes. If we stay at monorail resort in the future, we would consider going back there for breakfast.

 

[jabead]

I really want to try those Sweet Potato Pancakes!! Now I just need to decide if I want to get them a la carte or settle for the smaller ones on the buffet. Decisions, decisions.

 

[Couchy]

I really want to try those Sweet Potato Pancakes!! Now I just need to decide if I want to get them a la carte or settle for the smaller ones on the buffet. Decisions, decisions.

Go with the buffer Barb. We did it recently and it was very good

 

[kastoney]

OMG those pancakes look AWESOME! I'd never heard of them before, and will add them to the to try list. Again so glad to see no ADR was needed. Sometimes at disney I feel like I'm the only person who didn't make a reservation let alone 6 months in advance. It's good to see I'm not alone. #eatinginthemoment

 

[Mich123]

Great reviews! I think I might have to take a field trip to WL!

 

[Noreen411]

Hi

Since you were posting your receipt from Caramel Kuche and mentioned having an annual pass, I may have missed it, but I think you get 10% off there on your treats.

Unless it's changed since I was there last (December 2013).

I was surprised at how many places gave you 10% off with the annual pass that I started to mention it whenever I checked out. It's not always a lot but a dollar here and a dollar there. Why not right?

Noreen

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

I really want to try those Sweet Potato Pancakes!! Now I just need to decide if I want to get them a la carte or settle for the smaller ones on the buffet. Decisions, decisions.

Go with the buffer Barb. We did it recently and it was very good

Those are tough choices Barb. Just don't forget the pecan butter if you get the buffet. It was delicious with the pancakes.

OMG those pancakes look AWESOME! I'd never heard of them before, and will add them to the to try list. Again so glad to see no ADR was needed. Sometimes at disney I feel like I'm the only person who didn't make a reservation let alone 6 months in advance. It's good to see I'm not alone. #eatinginthemoment

The pancakes were great. You should definitely add them to your to try list. I used to always make ADRs, but now that Disney has the strict cancellation policy we wing it more. Especially the breakfasts since I never know if I can get my family out of bed. Love your hashtag!

Great reviews! I think I might have to take a field trip to WL!

WL is a beautiful resorts many great places to eat. Another WL restaurant review is coming up next.

Hi

Since you were posting your receipt from Caramel Kuche and mentioned having an annual pass, I may have missed it, but I think you get 10% off there on your treats.

Unless it's changed since I was there last (December 2013).

I was surprised at how many places gave you 10% off with the annual pass that I started to mention it whenever I checked out. It's not always a lot but a dollar here and a dollar there. Why not right?

Noreen

You are right that there is an AP discount for the Caramel Kuche. It's funny because my son asked me as I was paying if I was getting a discount and I was too lazy to find my AP which was in my backpack buried underneath the poncho I had on. I wish Disney would find a way to link the APs to the magicband for discounts too so that we don't have to show them when making purchases. But I don't really see that happening.