3 weeks in Orlando

[Excitedx4]

Great start looking forward to the rest of the report

[halloweenbaby2]

Looking good. Thanks for sharing

[Tor32]

Enjoying catching up on this.

[TigerGirl]

Day 3 - Animal Kingdom

We had a morning reservation at Tusker House which included the River of Lights tickets (we did not go in the end and left the tickets in a toilet in case anyone wanted to go). I am sure you will all know that Tusker House is an 'All you care to enjoy' dining experience or in my daughter's case, 'how many times can you go back for doughnut holes?' dining experience.

One of the reasons that we booked mid-morning breakfast is that we hoped to catch some of the lunch time menu. This, and the fact that you could meet the big characters, made this meal a must do on our list.

The array of food was immense - including doughnut holes (did I mention them! ), waffles, ham & cheese frittata, bobotie pie, spicy potatoes, tater tots (why don't they sell these here?!?), lemon rice and all of the usual hot breakfast and continental fayre. Also, at lunch time there was a salmon, chicken, ham, a corn bread thing. Drinks included coffee and jungle juice

Minor failing in the photo department here but this was my plate.

This was the first of many plates!

We used 4 TS credits. It was complete value for money as we got our photos, enough food to last us nearly all day and RoL tickets (even though we didn't use them). We will definitely go back and was voted as one of the kid's favourite meals of the trip.

I imagine you are asking - why didn't we use the RoL tickets? Well, the temperature was too hot for us to handle and we all had a minor hissy fit and ended up leaving AK late afternoon.

This leads me on to another photo fail. We were back to POR and used 2 QS credits for a large cheese pizza, 2 cookies and 2 bottles of water (for the parks). Both kids had an 8 chicken nuggets meals with 2 bottles of water and 2 cookies. We used our resort mugs for drinks. The pizza was massive and really tasty, lots of lovely oregano flavour. The nuggets were very tasty with real chicken and again, the portions were massive.

I think jet lag hit us that day, hence lack of photos. Thankfully, I got better as the holiday progressed

[TigerGirl]

Day 4 - Hollywood Studios

A good night's sleep was followed by cookies (from the previous night) for breakfast - only at Disney right?!?

For lunch we had a reservation at Mama Melrose for the Fantasmic package. I had kept most of the dining info away from DH so he was quite surprised when I told him that he would be having a 3 course lunch. To start, we were served with a bread basket with a herby oil side. The bread was warm and the oil was gorgeous.

We had a fab server, Kirsty, who said it was her last shift of the week and that we could order an extra appetizer for free but I couldn't get the kids to order anything else. It was a lovely thought though.

DH had a Caesar salad to start and he was practically giddy about the fact that he could order something marginally healthy.

I had the calamari, which was really great. It came with an oil, basil pesto and tomato marinara type side which really complimented the dish. There was a lot of it too!

DS had the meatballs and spaghetti. He was a bit disappointed as he only had a few meatballs and soon polished off the dish.

I suppose it is a bit 'hunt the meatball' in this picture.

DD had a pizza, which she enjoyed. It was the perfect size for her as she doesn't like big portions.

DH had the New York strip steak with mac and cheese side. The steak was beautifully cooked to medium/rare and had a really tasty, caramelised crust. He definitely won on the main course front.

I had the chicken parmigiana which came with marinara spaghetti. Whilst it was utter carb heaven, there was quite a lot of it and I did struggle to finish it.

For pudding, the kids had vanilla ice cream and sprinkles. They both said it was alright, but they were pretty unimpressed.

It is a set pudding trio on the lunch menu including Tiramisu, blood orange cake and lemon cheesecake with passion fruit pearls. The order from best to worst was the cake, cheesecake and tiramisu. For me, the highlight was the passion fruit pearls which were yummy (but kind of reminded me of 1980s bath pearls in look!)

I had a cracking glass of Pinot Grigio to wash it down with. It was 4 TS credits and well worth it in terms of taste and value (remembering that we also got Fantasmic fast passes). Would definitely book this package again and would have the steak this time. Lesson learnt!

Unbelievably (I can only guess that we walked it off!) we were hungry by 7ish. We headed to ABC Commissary for 2 chicken nugget meals and 2 Olaf cupcakes to share. It cost us 2 QS credits but filled a hole.

[TigerGirl]

Day 5 - Typhoon Lagoon and Hoop Dee Doo

The theory was that we were supposed to head to Be Our Guest for breakfast this morning but we decided that life was too short to get transportation to Magic Kingdom and back to the hotel before meeting friends at Typhoon Lagoon. I really hoped to get quiet Main Street pictures but I had marginally lost the will and wanted a more relaxing day. Instead, we headed to the cafe at POR and had a couple of croissants and pain au chocs on snack credits as we headed to Typhoon Lagoon.

*NOTE HERE - NOT DINING RELATED*
I am sure you guys are all far more switched on than I was, however, just remember that when you visit the Disney water parks - you still need your magic band on. Fortunately, we had only got to French Quarter before I realised my error and sent DH back to the room to get the band. Stupido! Unfortunately, this wasn't the only timing issue of the day

For lunch, we popped to the Leaning Palms for lunch. I was trying to keep the QS credits under tight control, so we all shared meals. DH and I had an Island burger which was a burger, with cheese, bbq pork and pineapple with chips. It was gorgeous and I really wished that we had one each.

We also shared a Key Lime Pie which was also lovely. The kids shared another chicken nugget meal and a cookie.
BE WARNED - THERE ARE PLENTY OF BIRDS THAT WILL STEAL YOUR FOOD!

DH really enjoyed Typhoon Lagoon and was very reluctant to leave. I got increasingly irate with him as I knew that it would be a nightmare to get back to POR and then to Wilderness Lodge for the show in the evening. I FINALLY got DH to leave and I spent ALL of the journey home trying to go through the various ways to get to Hoop Dee Doo. We got back to POR, quick shower and change and ended up running to grab a taxi to Wilderness Lodge. Finally got there and then ended up on the resort bus from hell. We had a female driver who spent FOREVER going around the houses, who knew how big Wilderness Lodge area is! Finally we reached Hoop Dee Doo. We were the last to arrive and managed to confirm our seating. I was in dire need of a beer. Which was fortunate...

We had managed to score seats right near the band - not quite sure how but they were amazing. Had a super chat with the pianist (who was from Winchester) and were introduced to our server Joe. Joe has been working at Hoop Dee Doo for over 20 years. He had lots of corny jokes but kept bringing the beers to our table. He said that management didn't want the place to look like a bar but he kept the beers coming throughout the evening.

The cornbread came to the table first. It was very light and airy and had a cake-like consistency. The kids loved the bread!

We also had a lovely green salad with a ranchy type dressing. DH was beside himself again with green, leafy stuff.

Next was the main course - crispy fried chicken, smoked bbq ribs, mashed potatoes, sweet corn and cowboy beans. The chicken and mash went down very well with the kids. DH and I made a real effort to eat what we had on the table. Joe kept wanting to bring us extra food but we really didn't need it. He seemed disappointed!

(Not food related - but she was fab!)

Pudding was - as we all know - Strawberry Shortcake

A great night was had by all. It was 8 TS credits. Would I pay it for the food? No, I would not. But the entertainment and food combined made for a great night and well worth the credits. Hoop dee, Hoop dee, Hoop dee doo!

[DisneyDreamer81]

Ooh that Island Burger sounds right up my husband's street! I will have to remember to get him one when we go to TL. Loving your report so far!

[Guest]

Loving your report so far and reminiscing as we ate at most of the places you have so far. We loved Hoop-Dee-Doo also but unfortunately my family enjoyed the strawberry shortcake without me as I was nominated by them to be part of the show! Never felt as nervous in all my life but provided them with a good laugh at my expense

[TigerGirl]

Originally Posted by Excitedx4

Great start looking forward to the rest of the report

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Thank you. Now it is school holidays, I should be able to crack on with it. Only a year late...

[TigerGirl]

Originally Posted by halloweenbaby2

Looking good. Thanks for sharing

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Thank you, I love reading food reports!