As I drove to Disney Springs, bearing in mind time was a little short to make our reservation at the Boathouse, I was dismayed to find the queue to get into the lime and orange parking garages to be all the way back past Typhoon Lagoon! I suppose I hadn't quite realised that on Saturday evening at 7.30, it would be so busy (not really a surprise though is it?) so cue some very non-british driving and a swift manouvre across 4 lanes of busy traffic and a left turn to the surface parking behind House of Blues.
If anyone has been to Disney Springs before, you will by now have realised (as we did) that we had parked literally miles away from the restaurant, so we had to do a fast power-walk to the Boathouse amid thousands of people to make our reservation... we arrived late, but only a few minutes. I checked us in at the podium whilst Niki and Simon popped to the loo and changed into some dry clothes we had brought them.
I have to say, my expectations of this place were super-high, due to the amount of praise and recommendation that many people, including Lou had given it... #Lousentme #stay hungry
When we were all there, we were shown to our table... and we were incredibly lucky to have been given the most amazing spot.. IN A BOAT! yes - we got the table which sits inside the middle of a speedboat - it was so very very cool!
The entire menu was amazing and it was so difficult to choose. Our server Alejandro was outstanding - the right mix of attentive, funny and informative.
To start out Niki and I shared a few oysters - I actually quite like them. We chose the ones you can only get at the Boathouse, and considering I live in a town that is known internationally for its oysters... these were incredible.
As appetisers we shared some of the Pimento Cheese Dip which was served with tortilla chips and pickled veg - one element on its own was nice, but all 3 together was .. wow!
We also shared some firecracker shrimp which are not for the fainthearted- I love spice, but Dan couldn't eat them. Morgan made short work of a plate of Carpaccio and it was apparently amazing (nobody else got a look in!).
As a main course, I wanted something I could only get in Florida and Alejandro was great at making recommendations.
Eventually I chose the Florida Grouper from the additional seasonal menu, served with asparagus, fennel cream and apple pico de gallo.
It was just unbelievable. I don't really have words to describe it, but genuinely, one of the best things I have ever eaten.
Dan had the shrimp and grits which was a bit of a wild card- didn't expect that at all, and Morgan had a huge steak which he says was perfect. Niki had the Tuna and Simon the Salmon.
Dessert was shared again - Key Lime pie in a mason jar and Morg had chocolate cake. I'm a huge fan of Key Lime anything and I like it to be not too sweet, but wow - this was tart to the point of being sour... tasted amazing, but nobody could manage more than a couple of mouthfuls!
We had the most wonderful meal, and price wise- the bill came to $440 including tip, so not cheap, but probably the easiest place for us to say we would be back next trip! If you are on DDP, don't even hesitate - get it booked. You can also book on OpenTable if you can't get an
ADR though MDE, which we found much more successful.
It was now about 10.30pm and Millie was understandable flagging, so we decided to head back and Niki & Simon decided to stay in the Springs for a while then grab an Uber back later.
Now for the only thing that wasn't so good...
I am not someone who is overly anxious or cautious, but that evening in Disney Springs, it was heaving. To get back to the car took over 30 mins and that was due to the number of people who were lining the streets and milling around. There was lots of live music, dancing and fun, but due to how busy it was I just wasn't comfortable.
I actually felt for the first time ever how vulnerable Disney Springs may be to something horrible happening. There appeared to be very low security (although I understand there is un-uniformed security around), no clear evacuation plans and thousands of people in a very small, isolated and enclosed area.
I genuinely couldn't get back to the car quickly enough with the kids and Dan.
I have been to Disney Springs before and after at other times and all has been fine, happy and not worried at all, but that evening at that particular time I almost felt unsafe.
I think for me, a Saturday night in August and Disney Springs just don't go. I will get a booking for a different night next time.
I also appreciate that not everyone experiences things in the same way, so I may be the only person who felt that way that night, so it's just my opinion.