Claudette & Nev Go West! - January 2022 - COMPLETE

[Claudette]

Originally Posted by Disney Planning

😲 Definitely feeling the Disney prices!

See more...

Yep!

Originally Posted by dismamx2

Some great updates, thanks so much! We are fond of most of your choices, love Cheesecake Factory, the one in Anaheim is really nice if you do manage to get there. My girls loved Goofy's Kitchen, I think it's one of our favorite Character meals we've ever had anywhere. Obviously pre-covid but we saw so many characters, weren't rushed and the food was actually really nice for a buffet.

Hope you are both having a great trip

See more...

Yes thank you. Goofy’s was obviously the first character meal we have done in the new world, so hard to directly compare to others. As two adults, we didn’t miss the slightly forced interaction we go through because we like the photos.

Originally Posted by ClaireNJ

That pizza is AMAZING 😋😋😋
Enjoy Disney

See more...

Originally Posted by theCMG

Just looking at that breakfast pizza makes my teeth ache but I know if I was there I'd have at least 3 slices

See more...

I couldn’t bring myself to even attempt the pizza, but it was interesting to look at. CMG, not a breakfast pizza, this was a dinner sitting, it was a dessert pizza.

Originally Posted by KarenG

That looks pretty good for a buffet!

But OMG the bill!

Can’t believe they didn’t chuck in the pupsicle for free!

See more...

It was a decent buffet. Our food spends have skyrocketed these last two days.

[Claudette]

I had not planned two consecutive character meals, but this one was booked a long time ago whereas Goofy’s Kitchen the previous night was a last minute change of plan. Today was a public holiday and accordingly we had decided no parks, instead a leisurely breakfast, spa treatments, Disney Downtown and a nice dinner.

When we arrived at Storytellers Cafe we inwardly groaned at the number of people hovering around waiting to be called to a table. But we checked in and were called almost straight away, I think some people must turn up without booking. And despite the people waiting outside, there were plenty of available tables inside so obviously some managing of numbers was going on.

This is a character breakfast and the format similar to Goofy’s Kitchen, the characters appear every 15-20 minutes and do about three laps of the dining area each time. This time we had Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and either Chip or Dale (I don’t know which one it was).

I didn’t take any photos of the buffet stations, just our plates, the first two are Nev’s and the rest are mine.

A good range of breakfast options and we both enjoyed almost everything. The two exceptions were the salmon bagel which wasn’t nice as the bagel wasn’t toasted and Nev is not pleased with the crispy bacon he keeps finding and is longing for some proper (non crispy) bacon, as he calls it. The characters were out three possibly four times during our meal.

The cost was $49 per adult and if that wasn’t eye watering enough, there had been no mention of an extra charge for the lattes which I asked if they did when the CM asked if I wanted coffee! I should have know I suppose.

[Goldia]

Two character buffets, dinner and breakfast, you're spoiling us. It seems like the seating was well managed actually despite the crowd at the entrance. Also it sounds like you enjoyed the meals. Whether they're worthy of their price tag is a different matter.

[Dutchdisneyfan]

Looks lovely, nice to see some buffet food again.
But boy are we going to miss the free dining plan

Also $22 for the lattes :o did you say something about him/her not mention this?

[Disney Planning]

$150 for breakfast certainly makes you think about how much you now need to save for a 2 or 3 week trip if eating out.
That aside, the food did look really nice and sounds like you both enjoyed it 😊

[ClaireNJ]

Originally Posted by Claudette

I had not planned two consecutive character meals, but this one was booked a long time ago whereas Goofy’s Kitchen the previous night was a last minute change of plan. Today was a public holiday and accordingly we had decided no parks, instead a leisurely breakfast, spa treatments, Disney Downtown and a nice dinner.

When we arrived at Storytellers Cafe we inwardly groaned at the number of people hovering around waiting to be called to a table. But we checked in and were called almost straight away, I think some people must turn up without booking. And despite the people waiting outside, there were plenty of available tables inside so obviously some managing of numbers was going on.

This is a character breakfast and the format similar to Goofy’s Kitchen, the characters appear every 15-20 minutes and do about three laps of the dining area each time. This time we had Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and either Chip or Dale (I don’t know which one it was).

I didn’t take any photos of the buffet stations, just our plates, the first two are Nev’s and the rest are mine.

A good range of breakfast options and we both enjoyed almost everything. The two exceptions were the salmon bagel which wasn’t nice as the bagel wasn’t toasted and Nev is not pleased with the crispy bacon he keeps finding and is longing for some proper (non crispy) bacon, as he calls it. The characters were out three possibly four times during our meal.

The cost was $49 per adult and if that wasn’t eye watering enough, there had been no mention of an extra charge for the lattes which I asked if they did when the CM asked if I wanted coffee! I should have know I suppose.

See more...

Looks good & I love crispy bacon 🙊🙊😋😋

[KarenG]

The food looks great (thankfully I couldn’t see the untoasted bagel 😂 ) but wow I can’t get over the price.

I think it’s sharp practice to have not mentioned the lattes were chargeable.

We used to love walking past here in the mornings when we stayed at VGC but never went. I’m glad you liked it

[caitlinsmummy]

$22 for lattes! Ouch! You'd expect them to be included with the price. That breakfast looks lovely though x

[Claudette]

Originally Posted by Goldia

Two character buffets, dinner and breakfast, you're spoiling us. It seems like the seating was well managed actually despite the crowd at the entrance. Also it sounds like you enjoyed the meals. Whether they're worthy of their price tag is a different matter.

See more...

We really enjoyed both buffets, both the food and the overall experience.

Originally Posted by Dutchdisneyfan

Looks lovely, nice to see some buffet food again.
But boy are we going to miss the free dining plan

Also $22 for the lattes :o did you say something about him/her not mention this?

See more...

I didn’t say anything about the $22 for lattes, Nev sort of shrugged and said he thought they would obviously be an extra cost, so I left it.

Originally Posted by Disney Planning

$150 for breakfast certainly makes you think about how much you now need to save for a 2 or 3 week trip if eating out.
That aside, the food did look really nice and sounds like you both enjoyed it 😊

See more...

Originally Posted by ClaireNJ

Looks good & I love crispy bacon 🙊🙊😋😋

See more...

Yes it was good, I have found the crispy bacon really nice too, to me it is preferable to anything with uncooked fat left on.

Originally Posted by caitlinsmummy

$22 for lattes! Ouch! You'd expect them to be included with the price. That breakfast looks lovely though x

See more...

Yes I had thought that, it was more annoying to see the cost when it had not been mentioned. Oh well.

[Claudette]

The grand finale to our non park pamper day was dinner at the signature restaurant Napa Rose. This is a hard to get reservation and 60 days earlier had involved alarm setting for a few days until I had worked out the plans.

We checked out the menu earlier in the day and were surprised by the lack of choice, only three mains, two of them being beef and nothing vegetarian. I decided to phone the dining number and ask about this and I was assured this was some kind of a mistake and there was definitely more on offer. We had also noticed that the menu outside the restaurant only had these three dishes, we came very close to cancelling but we noticed it said “sample of” and with that and the phone call I had made, we decided to go ahead.

We arrived, were promptly checked in and a CM started to lead us to one of a small number of tables just opposite the check in desk. We declined the table and said we wished to sit in the main restaurant, which was sorted for us.

We received a drinks menu first, I asked about mocktails as there was nothing non alcoholic on the menu and the waiter looked at me like I had two heads. He quickly recovered and aid he would get the bar staff to concoct something.

We then got the food menus and yep, there were only three mains, two of which were beef and the other a nondescript “catch of the day”. I asked the waiter is there was anything vegetarian (telling him I am not vegetarian but didn’t fancy beef and liked another option). Well this sent him into a greater tizz than somebody requesting a non alcoholic drink, he actually had to go away to do research. He returned to say there is no vegetarian main but a vegetarian starter could be have as a main. The vegetarian starters were a green salad and a butternut squash ravioli.

Anyway, Nev ordered a carpaccio to start and the beef brisket for main and I ordered the scallop starter with the butternut squash ravioli for main.

First to arrive at the table was the newly invented mocktail, it was pineapple based with a bit of mint, a bit bland but was inoffensive. Surprisingly no bread service so straight onto starters and these were both quite tasty. I wasn’t too impressed with a single scallop but Nev’s seemed a reasonable portion for a starter. Nev happily polished off his main, I finished mine too but the pasta really was as white and flabby in real life as it it appears in the photo. The vegetables under the pasta saved the dish, the cranberry sauce on top had no place here. We decided not to bother with dessert.

The total cost was $165 which we have paid for fine dining before. However this was a fine dining price without the fine dining experience. And frankly the $65 for one scallop and three flabby raviolis that I received is a joke.

I don’t think Napa Rose should even describe itself as a fine dining / signature restaurant because it just isn’t. Three people at the next table rocked up in pyjamas, on the other side two men ate their meal wearing baseball caps and behind me a toddler watched cartoons with the volume up throughout. We have been to a number of fine dining restaurants in Orlando and even the ones which we personally liked less were in a different league to this and have some air of occasion about them, even in Disney it is possible.

I honestly cannot believe that I put so much mental energy into ensuring that we got a reservation here. Nev is not as upset about this as I am because he didn’t plan it and hadn’t looked forward to it as I had. For me it was a complete and utter dining fail.