Long Island Iced Epcot area stay. Food, but mostly drink.

[Dunc]

Well, where did THAT 2 weeks go?

For both of you who read last year's review of Long Island Iced Teas, I have returned to the Epcot Resorts area purely in the interests of further research.

We stayed at the Dolphin. Still the best bang for your buck in the area, if you don't mind huge conventions where the guests are like a plague of locusts.

I've previously stayed at the Dolphin a number of times, as well as the Swan, Beach Club, and Yacht Club.

We arrived on April 3rd, to meet the final crowds of Spring Break. Luckily, these diminished by about day three, so no complaints. Although slightly astonished by a 45 minute standby for LWTL at 9.15 on Day one.

The following restaurants were visited:

1. Cally Grill. ADR booked 6 months out. We've been there many times, and never had a bad experience. However.

We booked for 7.30, and arrived at 6.30. I told them we wanted to hang around in the bar until booking time. My buzzer went off as we got out of the lift, and we were shown to a table. I politely explained that I wanted to eat at 7.30, not 6.30. If I'd wanted to eat at 6.30, I'd have booked a table for 6.30. This seemed to throw them a little, but we were accommodated, and found a bar table by the window. After trying to attract the attention of a server for some time, I eventually got a Long Island Iced Tea. It was OK. I followed this with an Old Fashioned. It was OK. Then we got shown to a table, and some bloke spent what seemed like several hours telling us he was a sommelier, and could tell us anything about any wine on the menu. I ordered a Long Island Iced Tea. This was OK as well.

I decided to have a fillet steak. Teresa ordered the chicken. My steak was burned on the outside and raw in the middle. Teresa's chicken looked like a side of chicken wings. We didn't stay for the fireworks.

We got a Uber back to the Dolphin. The driver was an ex Marine. Presumably service in the Marines doesn't involve any knowledge of navigation. After visiting Wilderness Lodge, Four Seasons, and Caribbean Beach, we got to the Boardwalk, and I just gave up, and said we'd walk from there. The phrase 'I know it's around here someplace' became one of the catchphrases of the holiday.

2. O'hana. Another favourite. After a nice hour or so at the outside area of Trader Sam's with a bottle of Merlot, we checked in about 20 minutes early (I wanted a Lapu Lapu at Tambu), and tried to get a seat at the bar. We found a space, and began clearing the many, many plates, dishes and napkins in front of us whilst the bar staff totally ignored us. Once they approached, I opened my mouth to order a Long Island Iced Tea, and my buzzer went off.

We were shown to a table by a very nice young lady. She was attentive, had visited the UK, and was polite. We never saw her again.

Some bloke came over. He gave us the banana bread, and went away without asking if we wanted a drink. Then some other bloke came over, and spent an eternity telling us what we already knew about the restaurant without asking us what we wanted to drink. He had a very thick accent, and the only thing I could really understand was the word 'cousins', which he said 564 times throughout the fairly short evening. I counted.

Eventually, I interrupted (politely), and asked for a Long Island Iced Tea and a pineapple juice.

The various pre-skewer courses were lovely. As were the drinks, when they arrived.

Then the much anticipated skewers came. Chicken, shrimp and beef. They weren't great. They seemed to be covered in a sauce which harked back to the days of monosodium glutamate. I was full after 2 bits of chicken, 1 shrimp, and 1 piece of beef. I'm not sure if I can count the beef, as after chewing it for 30 minutes, I had to dispose of it in a napkin. I managed to put this in the server's pocket before leaving. (I didn't really).

Oh, we had a lovely window seat, by the way. It had a view of the Magic Kingdom. Our reservation was 7.50, with the fireworks starting at 8.55.

The next table to us was occupied by 2 parties during our tenure, The first appeared to be finishing their meal. I knew this because I couldn't help overhearing the comments of the man there. 'LEAVE ME ALONE. I'M STUFFED. WHY DO THEY KEEP BRINGING ME FOOD WHEN I'M STUFFED?'

The next party was a family with 3 generations. The grandmother slapped one of the children twice in my hearing, and shouted at everyone present.

Somehow, we managed to eat the bread and butter pudding. It was delicious.

We watched the fireworks from the marina. I really needed not to be in there anymore.

I'll continue later, That's all the negative stuff out of the way. Bad experiences at my two favourite Disney restaurants. Bum.

[Goldia]

Come on now, there must have been at least 5 of us who read last time!

I wish you had put your beef in your cousins pocket (obviously, still wrapped in the napkin). A shame the Cali and Ohana weren't up to scratch. You can usually rely on ohana running late to get a drink in the tambu lounge, last time we had 2 rounds I believe, I struggle to remember the night clearly.

I'm looking forward to the LIIT updates.

[nicolacasino]

Keep em comin'

[Mexy02]

Brilliant lol.

[theCMG]

Waiting for some more Long Islands

[Leia77]

Haha, so funny. Shame about OH & CG though...

[Jakey Neverland]

Loving your reviews so far

[Waltdisnae]

Excellent start, I'd love to read the rest.

[Dunc]

Wow, 7 readers!

I'd better write some more. Now, where was I?
Oh, yeah - O'Hana. As an aside, the trip back from there was via Uber. The driver was a US Marines vet who got lost about nine times. At one point, we asked for directions at Wilderness Lodge. The phrase 'Well, I know it's around here somewhere...' became a holiday catchphrase.

The next day's bar-hopping was local. Kimonos at the Swan. We sat at the bar. Fairly empty, and a lovely ambience. I had 3 LIIT's. They were awesome. The barman was awesome (by this, I mean that he didn't try to engage us in conversation, except to ask if we wanted refills). I was very happy. Even when I got the enormous bill. Drinks at the Swan and Dolphin are about $2-3 more than Disney hotels. Worth it, though.

I forgot to mention that pre Cally Grill, we'd stopped off for a quick LIIT in Phins, which is the new and very impressive looking lobby bar at the Dolphin. Sat at bar. Very efficient service. Very good LIIT. Decided to visit again ASAP.

Next day (after Kimonos), went back to Phins. Didn't sit at bar, as it was full of conventionites. I ordered a beer (sorry, I don't know what came over me) from a roving server. A Bud. After 30 minutes she returned and told me they were out of Bud...
We decided to move on after she disappeared for another 30 minutes. We went to Crewcut Lounge in the Yacht Club. (Yes, I know it's Crew's Cup, really). We sat at a table, and a very nice server brought me several LIIT's. The second one was a bit of an odd colour, but seemed ok. I remarked to our server that the next one looked much better. She said that was because she'd made it. I think I had 4. Possibly 5. My notes from the evening descended into gibberish, although I drew a picture of a LIIT. Which was pretty good. It had a halo and little angels flying round it. After leaving, I decided I hadn't given the server a large enough tip, so I went back and gave her some more money. She was very happy.

Coming soon - Trader Sam's!

[DisneyKim416]

Hahaha, loving this looking forward to the rest of the report!