The Ever So Late Report - October 2014

[clarithy]

So yes we are around a year on from our last trip and I think I have only written about 4 days of my trip report It took me a while to get back on the dibb after coming home as we don't have a trip planned for a few years yet

But I am back and annoying my fiancé no end with lots of Florida info, food ideas and basically general disneyness. I keep getting the reply of "You've got three years yet, calm down on the dibbing" I just can't help myself.

So got a bit fed up of doing my trippy so going to move on to my food report, just to mix it up a bit and hopefully this won't take as long (here's hoping)

So just a bit of background on our trip. We flew united, Edinburgh - Newark - MCO on October 11th last year (2014) We being me, Clare and Jamie. We stayed at SSR for 2 weeks on free DDP and had two nights overlapping at HRH.

Here's us enjoying some beer

This trip was amazing, we ate some amazing food, did everything we wanted and most exciting of all we got engaged on our first full night. This was the first time that Jamie came as an adult and he just loved it, more so than he thought before we went. Anyhoo lets get on with the food.

The Sir Walter Scott (Witherspoons) - Edinburgh Airport

This meal was fine, nothing more and nothing less. Its Wetherspoons. First things first its 10AM and we're finally on our holidays time for some alcohol. I had a strawberry and lime Kopperberg and Jamie had a pint of Tennents.

For food I went for the traditional breakfast and a coffee and Jamie had a bacon and egg roll.

As I said nothing exciting but filled a hole, used a bit of time and got us through till food on the plane. Total bill £21.58.

United Plane Food

*not very exciting but I have photos so as well including them*

The plane food was fine, I've never really had an issue with plane food as generally it's okay. We both had drinks first, I had a vodka and Jamie had Bacardi, both with Diet Coke, these were $7.99 each and we had to pay with card as they don't accept cash. This was fine as we used our caxton card for the first time.

I choose the ravioli and Jamie chose the chicken dish. They didn't describe the chicken as anything more than chicken so I decided not to try it where as Jamie cleverly asked what kind of chicken. He was told thai green curry which turned out to be the better choice. Mine was fine but think Jamie won this round.

The ravioli

Thai green curry

These meals all came with a roll (and a solid butter), lettuce and cucumber with a balsamic vinegar dressing and a cinnamon cake thing. All nice except Jamie didn't eat his cake and I kept it for later only for it to be stood on, oops We then ordered another round of the same drinks and again $16 in total for the two.

Afternoon tea arrived about an hour before we landed which included a cheese, turkey and pesto crostini (basically a sub microwaved), some crisps like kettle chips and some Lily O'Brian chocolates.

The only pic I have of this.

We got to security at Newark and there was not a single person in front us! Couldn't believe this as I was worried about the queue and making our connecting flight. I shouldn't have worried and we had plenty of time for more food before our next flight.

Famigila - Newark Airport

When we got to the food court we went to different counters. I went here which was a deli sort of place with loads of sandwich, wraps etc. I had a chicken caesar wrap and a Pepsi. It wasn't the best as it was pretty dry. Meal total $11.53

Asian Chao Oriental Eatery - Newark Airport

For the second time so far today Jamie made the better choice. He went for the combo meal where he picked the orange chicken and terryaki chicken with rice and noodles, also I think a drink was included but I didn't write that down. This was very tasty and pretty big. His meal came to $10.68. So much more food than me for less dollars.

I see a cup so a drink was included in this combo.

Le Grand Comptoir - Newark Airport

We still had a bit of time before boarding was announced so we found a bar and ordered a couple of beers. We both had a bottle of Miller Lite which came to $16.90 and we left a $20.

The Artist Palette - SSR

This must have been around 10pm as I have wrote in my notes that the magical express left the airport at 9pm so by the time we got there and checked in I assume it must be around that time. Again more food, reading my notes can't believe we were hungry but we must have been. I wasn't sure if The Artist Palette closed at 10pm or 11pm but it must have been 11pm. I had the cheeseburger flatbread and Jamie had the ham and cheese sandwich.

I didn't realise that this had gherkins on it which i don't love and would have asked for it without but i still enjoyed this. I also got a bottle of Diet Coke for my drink.

There was lots of ham on this and it had a lovely amount of mustard on it. Jamie enjoyed this too but couldn't finish it. He had an orange juice for his drink .

We stupidly got Mickey ice-cream sandwiches which we barely put a dent into, we should have got something that would have kept but then we would probably forget about them anyway so it worked out fine.

Our first quick-service credits used

We went back to Artist Palette in the morning for breakfast. We were up early 4.50am but just chilled for a while before we got ready. We arrived outside the artist palette at 6.55am, five minutes before it opened so we waited with a few other guests until then.

I had the croissant sandwich with an apple juice and Jamie had a cheese and ham omelette and an apple juice.

My croissant was amazing! It was full of oozy gooey cheese, yum. I also didn't think I liked american bacon but found out I loved it, it went well with the soft croissant and gooey cheese.

Jamie enjoyed his which came with potatoes which were covered in herbs which made it taste sort of southern.

Another 2 credits used and we were fuelled up ready for our first day at a theme park - Hollywood Studios.

Pizza Planet - DHS

We were getting peckish at lunch time and headed somewhere we both hadn't been before. We pretty much both ordered the same thing - meat lovers pizza which comes with a side salad. We both loved the pizza and enjoyed the nice caesar salad that comes with it.

For dessert Jamie got a chocolate chip cookie, which he took back to the hotel and I had the Halloween carrot cake cupcake. It was lovely and moist only thing was I am not keen on a lot of icing but I just took that off. We both just had cokes with this.

The Paddock Grill - SSR

We got back to SSR at 3pm and headed to the pool. We ordered a drink each - a pina colada and a moijito - which came to $17.04 including tax. The pina was made with frozen mix with rum added and the moijito came straight out a big bottle. These were quite nice and it was great when sitting out in the sun.

Grand Floridian Cafe - The Grand Floridan

We got the bus to The Magic Kingdom and then decided to get the boat over getting the monorail across to the Grand Floridian. Our ADR was for 6.55pm and we checked in early at about 6.40pm. We were told there would be a wait of about 15 mins which was fine, we were given a buzzer and we went for a wander.

The buzzer went off at 7.10pm and we were seated quite near the front of the restaurant.

Excited about the first buzzer of the trip!

We sat down and first things first we ordered some drinks. I had waited two years for another magical star so I had known for a long time that I would be ordering this here. Jamie ordered a speciality drink which was called Floridian something ... I have no notes on this so It could be anything but i'd assume it would have had some kind of rum in it.

The rolls arrived and they were beautifully warm, LOVE a warm roll and soft butter. I liked the ones with raisins in them and Jamie preferred the sourdough ones.

Again I knew what I wanted for months in advance and Jamie also had it, the Grand Floridan burger. Unfortunately I was slightly disappointed with this as I found the lobster to be chewy. I reckon we subbed the crisps for some chips.

For dessert we had the dessert sampler which included key lime pie, lemon cheesecake and boston cream pie. I wasn't keen on the key lime but liked the rest. Jamie wasn't overly fussed so I assume he was too full for dessert. I see there is also another dessert on the plate but haven't written down in my notes so don't know what it was and it seems the dessert sampler has changed slightly on their current menu. Overall I wouldn't order it again but since it's changed I might.

A surprise for me next when a cast member arrived at our table with a vase full of flowers for me which Jamie had ordered, It was very cute.

Not the only surprise for me that night. After the meal we got the monorail round to the Poly and went to watch the wishes on the beach. I spotted that I could get a dole whip on the way to the beach so used a snack credit for this.

When the fireworks began Jamie got down on one knee and proposed! I was completely in shock and could barley mumble a yes! We watched the rest of wishes then we walked to the Grand Floridan and had a glass of champagne each at Mizner's Lounge $16 each ( sorry no photos as completely forgot in the excitement)

Cinderella's Royal Table - Magic Kingdom

We had secured a 8.05am ADR for today which means early entry to the Magic Kingdom. We queued for 15mins before we were allowed into the park and we were let in at 7.45am to explore an empty Main Street. First of all we got some "just engaged" badges and then we got some memory maker pictures before checking in for our ADR.

* - slight side note here - We witnessed something I haven't seen in Disney but suppose must happen. A family in front of us were having a full blown argument (all women and children) the two adult sisters were obviously very annoyed at each other then one full blown slapped the other one making her sunglasses fall of her face! I was pretty shocked to witness this especially as they both were holding their children at the time, we were glad not to be sat anywhere near them! *

So after the drama we got to our seats and we were sat right at a window which was lovely. I ordered a coffee and we both had orange juice too.

Our window seat

I really enjoyed these pastries, there was a good mix here

Jamie ordered the traditional breakfast which he said was okay, He didn't like the texture of the sausages but said the rest was fine.

I was disappointed with mine unfortunately, I had dined here in 2012 and my friends ordered this and It was delicious so I said to myself i'll have that next time I am here. After looking back I see the dish had changed and not for the better. The steak was nice but the broccoli was raw and the eggs dry, overall just not what I was expecting. It was also much smaller.

Here is the 2012 version

The total would have been $102.23 if we were to pay for this but we used 4 credits between us. I don't think we would return here in a hurry especially not for breakfast and only if on the dining plan but Jamie did say it was worth it for the experience of dining in the castle.

Tomorrowland Food Stall

Sorry can't remember the name of this one but it was just a little stall near Space Mountain. We grabbed some tap water and a pretzel to share at 11.30am before our FP+ at 7DMT. We loved it, very salty and tasty.

Starbucks Main Street - Magic Kingdom

Around 1pm we were thirsty and decided to visit Starbucks as we hadn't been since it became a starbucks. Jamie had a lemonade and i had an iced mocha and we shared a chocolate chip cookie. We paid OOP for this as we were saving our credits for the Food and Wine Festival. Total $11.58 including tax. After this we left the park and headed back to SSR and to the pool.

Jamies lemonade ($3.49)

My Iced Mocha ($4.79)

Chocolate chip cookie ($2.59)

The Paddock Grill - SSR

We went back to the same pool as the day before and It wasn't as busy as yesterday which was nice. This was around 4pm so we decided to share one counter service meal between us. We had a fish sandwich (mhai mhai which was spice crusted) this came with fries and we choose a Mickey sprinkled cookie for dessert. We both really liked this especially the coleslaw which was on the sandwich. Apple juice was the choice of drink.

When we were leaving the pool we grabbed some beers to take up to the room with us. A bud Lite for me and a Coors Lite for Jamie. $13.32 including tax.

Earl of Sandwich - DTD

We walked from the resort to DTD (as it was called then) This was a nice walk and only took about 10 mins. We looked around some shops and then headed up to EoS. Jamie opted for a limited edition sandwich which was pulled pork and I went for the BBQ chicken one. They were both lovely but I think I preferred the Hawaiian one which I had last time.

Pulled pork

BBQ chicken

We ordered a side of mac and cheese and it was heavenly, I was vey impressed with it.

For dessert Jamie chose the brownie which we took back to the hotel and I had the bread pudding. I had half of this then had the other half in the microwave back at SSR, it was much nicer hot since it was sort of like bread and butter pudding.

House of Blues - DTD

We stopped here on the way back to SSR for a drink. We decided to have some beer as it was happy hour and was pretty cheap. Again Jamie had a Coors Lite and I had a Bud Light. These came to $6 and I left a $1 tip.

Boma - Animal Kingdom Lodge

We had an ADR booked for 8am this morning. We decided that we would be better getting a taxi as we'd need to get a bus to Animal Kingdom then to Animal Kingdom Lodge and I was unsure how early the bus run before opening of the park. The fare was $23 and we left a £2 tip. We checked in at 8am on the dot. I was very impressed with the resort it was so much nicer than I had pictured it to be.

Anyway onto the food. I know buffet food on a plate isn't the most appealing but I kind of try to take smallish plates but go up to the buffet a lot so they don't look too bad.

The scrambled eggs were delicious as they had goats cheese mixed in them, they have plain scrambled eggs to which Jamie had.

The tater tots were so crispy, I loved them and the craved ham was nice and thick.

Pretty standard breakfast plate here, we had some Simba waffles that were cool but I don't have any pictures of them.

This plate looks half like a starter and half like pudding. The sticky buns were incredible the sauce was kinda like a butterscotch, yum! Think there was also banana bread and bread pudding on the plate as well but the sticky buns were the best!

When I was at the buffet our server (Dilly) asked Jamie for ID, which confused Jamie and I as Jamie told me when I got back to the table. Dilly then arrived at the table with two mimosas made with jungle juice which he brought because we had "just engaged" badges on. This was super nice of them and really made the meal special (also they tasted amazing! )

20% tip on the receipt was $8.80 and we left $10. This was by far our favourite breakfast of the holiday and next time we will have to come back and we might try dinner as well as breakfast!

Quality Beverages - Animal Kingdom

We had fifteen minutes before our FP+ opened up at Kali River Rapids so we stopped of here for a beer. We both had a Bud Lite totalling $13.85.

Mid drink

Somewhere in Animal Kingdom

Around 12.45 after our additional FP+ at Dinosaur we stopped and had a Mickey ice-cream bar between us. We used a snack credit for this. After, we did a Bugs Life before we left the park to head to the Boardwalk.

ESPN Bar - Boardwalk

We were heading to the ESPN bar in hope of catching the Scotland vs Poland Euro 2016 qualifier game and thought this was the most likely place on Disney property to see it as we didn't have our car yet. But unfortunately they were unable to show it. I was quite happy about this and Jamie was fine as at least we tried. We decided to eat here anyway as we were there and we were hungry as it was about 2pm by now.

We ordered a pitcher of Bud Lite which came to $17.95. Which was a lot of beer for the money.

For mains I ordered the sirloin steak which came with mac and cheese and vegetables and Jamie went for the old chuck burger. My steak was cooked well as I asked for it rare and the mac and cheese was good. Jamie's burger was nice with fresh crispy chips.

The first rain of the trip was when we were in here and I think that was about all the rain we saw the whole holiday. They had a huge screen that came up with thunder and lighting saying the weather was bad, stay for another drink or something like that.

For dessert I ordered the pineapple upside down cake and Jamie had the chocolate fudge cake. Mine was a nice size, not too big after a big steak but Jamie's was massive. Both were very nice.

We charged the beer to the room and left a $13 tip.

Goofy's Candy Co - DTD

We both made our own rice crispy treat after we looked in the shop last night when we were at DTD.

This is Jamie's with Mickey sprinkles and white chocolate

This was mine dipped in milk chocolate with peanut butter pieces and white chocolate on top. The peanut butter pieces were soooo good!

Shop at SSR

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at the pool then went to the room and we ate some of the crispy treats and cookies etc that we had collected so far and bought crisps and popcorn at the shop.

We paid OOP for these at $9.85

We also bought some beer and a pack of cards and sat on the balcony. (6 coors light $15)

The artist palette - SSR

Breakfast was the croissant sandwich x2 (the same one I had on the first morning) We both got orange juices too.

Same picture from before.

Mini Doughnuts - Blizzard Beach

We saw a stall and we grabbed some mini doughnuts ($6.59) which came with a chocolate sauce, the doughnuts were nice but the chocolate sauce just tasted like fake chocolate. We paid for this using the magic band which was great as we had them on anyway so didn't need to get money from the locker.

Lot≈≈≈≈≈a Lodge - Blizzard Beach

We were finished at BB by about 12.45 so we got changed and shared a counter service meal. We ordered chicken nuggets with chips, a cheesecake and a coke. The meal was nice and filled a hole.

Club Cool - Epcot

After showers at the hotel we chilled for a bit, snacked on some goodies
and played a game on cards on the balcony with a beer before we headed to Epcot for dinner and EMH at about 4pm. We headed for Club Cool to experience the drinks and for Jamie to try Beverley. I liked the pineapple and melon Fanta and we both didn't like Beverley. (Sorry no pictures, but we've all seen the cups)

Rose and Crown (outside bar) - Epcot

We went to the World Showcase for a walk around before our first FP+. We stopped off in the U.K and I had a Strongbow and Jamie had a Stella.

Coral Reef - Epcot

We had an ADR booked for 7.05pm and checked in right on time. We asked if we could get a table next to the tank and they said it would be about 15 mins which was fine. In 10 mins our table was ready.

For drinks I had a glass of Pinot ($9) and Jamie had a rum runner ($8.75) Both were nice.

Again we got nice warm rolls but didn't eat them all as we got four, I would have but would have gotten to full before our mains. For mains I went for the pork belly and Jamie had the steak medium rare.

The steak was cooked well, nice and pink.

Jamie was too full for dessert but i found a space for the chocolate wave. I couldn't remember if it was meant to be melt in the middle or not but it wasn't. Nice all the same.

Overall the meal was good but not terribly exciting and I don't think I would rush back. We settled our drinks and left 18% tip of $17 as the service was ok. (iv written down the total would have been $97.73 before tip if not on DDP)

Food stall near Soarin - Epcot

We ate some cookies in the room this morning before we left to Epcot again this morning. We arrived at 9.30am and went on test track in the single rider queue then used our FP+ at Soarin. After this we were peckish and shared a pretzel using a snack credit.

A definite leave me alone I'm eating face

Food and Wine Festival - Epcot

By now it was 12.05pm and time to eat around the world. We went to the shop and picked up some passports and began at Hawaii. We both got the pork sliders here.

Hawaii

We both enjoyed these, I especially did as I love pineapple

Canada

I went to this stall as I knew this was a must and great value of a snack credit as it's $7.25. It was very tasty and I also got a moose head beer at $3.50

Greece

Jamie came here and had a chicken gyro, he said it was nice but to much bread and not enough chicken.

Mexico

We shared here and had a rib eye taco and I had a mango and strawberry margarita. Both very nice and the margarita was very refreshing in the sunshine.

China

*sorry no notes*

Reckon this is a chinese beer of some variety

Japan

*sorry no notes*

At this point in the day Jamie became really tired as i think the early starts, the heat and walking about all caught up with him. At this point i suggested we have a wee seat and I went to get him a Mickey ice-cream.

I stopped in at a wee wine stop in Italy and got a glass of Rose royale which was a sparkling rose wine ($8) (This was the only time when I was ID'd and was asked for my passport as well as my driving licence, I had a photocopy of my passport with me which they accepted) I did stop to phone Jamie as I couldn't find him and I put my wine down onto of a bin and the wind picked it up, I managed to catch it but spilled half of it.

I eventually caught up with Jamie and we decided to go home which I wasn't overly pleased with but as it turned out we wouldn't have had time to go back to SSR as we had an ADR at the yachtsman later and by the time we would have got back we would have had to come back to epcot.

We went into innovations and Jamie found a bench to have a wee lie down on and I went and got us a Starbucks. I had a iced pumpkin spiced latte ($4.99) and got Jamie a lemonade ($3)

Wee lamb

Yachtsman SteakHouse - Yacht Club Resort

Our ADR Was at 6.30PM and after his little rest Jamie was feeling much better. We arrived half an hour early and just checked in. We sat and waited outside the restaurant but we were taken at about 6.10pm so 20 mins earlier than our ADR.

The bread rolls came and they were delicious. The whole bulb of garlic was a great touch!

For drinks I had a sangria ($9) and Jamie had a captains mai tai ($8.75)

We both went for the prime rib and it was perfect. Jamie subbed the sweet potato casserole for mashed potatoes. The sweet potatoes were with melted marshmallows which sounds kinda strange but actually very nice, they make the marshmallows there as well. I had mine cooked rare and Jamie's was medium. I also ordered a glass of red($11) with my main.

For dessert I had the chocolate peanut cake and Jamie went for the creme brûlée. I really enjoy mine but thought the ice cream was to salty. Jamies creme brûlée was absolutely massive, I had a small bit to help him out.

I had a coffee with the dessert apparently (its on the receipt) I would imagine as we didn't have soft drinks the waiter must have said I could have a coffee, but I can't remember it at all. The total bill was $187.14 which after the dining plan was $60.62. We paid half cash and half on our gift card (again not sure why we did this but we did) 20% tip was $29.51 and we left $30 as our server was great.

I've read some not so great reviews recently on here and I must admit we loved everything about our meal and it was one of the best meals all holiday. Jamie even put it above California Grill.

I-hop - international drive

Today we picked up the car. We booked our pick up to be at Disney Car Care Centre which was great as they picked us up at the hotel and dropped us off to get the car which was just outside the Magic Kingdom.

We ended up with a red Mustang which Jamie just fell in love with.

First place we drove to was I-Hop. To drink we both had orange juice and i also had a coffee. We both ordered the combo, I had mine with sausage, eggs sunny side up and cheesecake pancakes. Jamie had his with bacon, eggs sunny side up and buttermilk pancakes.

The cheesecake pancakes were so good but the rest ok. Total bill $26.47

The Cheesecake Factory - Mall at Millennia

Today was our shopping day so after being at the outlets we headed to Mall at Millennia, we did our shopping here then headed for some lunch.

I knew the portions were big here so we decided to order three appetisers and just share them. We went for nachos with chicken, potstickers and roadside sliders. They also brought us bread to start with.

We chose to take some cheesecake away with us as we were far too full to eat anymore. I chose chocolate chip cookie dough and Jamie had plain. I think I found it a little to sweet and didn't finish it.

We ate the cheesecake back at the hotel and finished off the crisps and the popcorn.The total for this meal was $68 including tip.

Discovery cove

We got picked up on the first run by Mears at 6.45am as we wanted to get the first swim of the day. This worked perfectly as we secured the first time slot. We loved the whole of experience of Discovery Cove especially the dolphin swim.

Once we were actually in we headed off for some breakfast. The french toast sticks and ham were nice but the scrambled eggs were pretty rotten.

The pastries were okay, not the best but fine.

The fruit, yoghurt and juices were also nice.

We finished our swim at 9.30am and grabbed a pretzel to share then went into the amazingly warm tropical river, which is massive until the bar opened and we grabbed some more pretzels and some beers. I had a cinnamon pretzel and Jamie had a salty one. I tried a bud lime too.

We were needing lunch by 11.30am today so headed across to the food court. We choice quite a lot of food as there was so much choice and you just help yourself but unfortunately most of it wasn't very nice. I had a burger but the roll was really really dry, the coleslaw was bleugh (the word that i actually wrote down) and the salad was nice but cmd with a strawberry dressing which was not nice. Jamie had a pulled pork burger which was nice apart from the roll but the chinese chicken was nice with friend rice. Dessert was nice, I had strawberries and Jamie had a cookie.

We had more beers throughout the day and I tried a mango rita bud drink was I enjoyed. We left to catch our Mears back to SSR at 3.30pm.

Peco Bills - Magic Kingdom

We both ordered burgers here, Jamie had chocolate cake for dessert and I had a strawberry yoghurt for a change. The lady serving us gave us an extra chocolate cake because we had our "just engaged" badges on.

We both really enjoyed these burgers especially with the additions from the toppings bar. Did I read that they don't do burgers here anymore? Shame if they don't as they were really good!

X2 Chocolate cakes

Just in case you've never seen a yoghurt before (it was really nice and creamy)

I think the total would have been around $38 but we used credits.

Popcorn stand near Splash Mountain - Magic Kingdom

We used a snack credit for this.

Three Broomsticks - Islands of adventure

Today we left SSR at 6.40am to check into Hard Rock Hotel for two nights. We left early so we could take advantage of early opening at Universal for Diagon Alley but I got mixed up and the early opening time was at 7am not 8am. I worked out fine as we pretty walked on the new Gringrotts ride by using the single rider queue. We got the train across to Hogsmede rode Forbidden Journey by this time we were starving and we ordered breakfast.

We both had the pancake breakfast which was really nice with an apple juice each.

The total was $34.98.

We bought a refill cup after breakfast at $9.58 including tax, just the 99c refill one.

Emack and Bolios - Hard Rock Hotel

We went back to the hotel about 1.30pm and we got a text on the way to say our room was ready. We dumped our bags and got in our swimming stuff and went for a swim. On the way back to the room we grabbed some ice-cream, it was so good.

I had cooked banana in a tub and Jamie had caramel pretzel oreo in a sprinkle cone. Mine tasted actually taste liked cooked bananas rather than just normal banana. I wished I got it in a waffle cone as I tried Jamie's and the cone tasted lovely and chewy.

Club Level - Hard Rock Hotel

We hadn't booked club but asked how much it would be to upgrade for our two nights stay, it turned out to be $85 a night which we didn't think was so bad (I also had a $15 reward from hard rock, so used that too) So we went for it when we checked in.

We went along after our some for the evening hors d'oeuvres and some beer of course. They had a good mixture tonight including cheese, mini shepherd pies and bbq wings!

They had little tubs for you to fill up with bbq sauce and blue cheese dip, which i used for my healthy plate of cucumber and celery. We had some beer when we were eating and I took a glass of white wine back to the room for getting ready for Halloween Horror Nights.

Nascar Sports Grille - CityWalk

We left to head to HHN but the queue was massive so we stop here for some beer. We ended up with a pitcher of Coors Lite which was a bargain at $10.

Halloween Horror Nights - Universal Studios

We did some rides and went through some scare zones and got a Coors Lite each ($13 something for the two) Later on we bought souvenir cups with the dead walker cocktail in it. I cant really remember what it was like, dead standard like vodka or something like that. They were $21 something but you got cheaper refills in them.

Luigi's Pizza - Universal Studios

We got a bit peckish later and we both fancied something savoury. We ended up in the Simpsons food court. We were queuing for a Krusty burger but it seem to take ages so we went over to Luigi's as there was no queue. We got a meat lovers pizza to share and it was really tasty and hit the spot ($8.51)

We left just after 1am after doing all the house, HHN is amazing!

The Kitchen - Hard Rock Hotel

We booked this for 9am via open table, there was plenty of tables so didn't really need to book. I ate here in 2012 for breakfast and it was a brilliant breakfast and it didn't disappoint this time.

Some pastries on offer

I started with a plate of fruit, a mix of pineapple, melon and a strawberry, all very fresh and very sweet. My second plate was a mix of bacon, sausages, corn beef hash and eggs florentine all very tasty especially the sausages as my notes say the best sausages so far. Also loved the corn beef hash as i went back for a plate of them.

Jamie had a mix of scrambled eggs, waffles and french toast (I assume he went up for more but don't have any more pictures of his food)

Now it was time for my pudding. I started off with a syrup bun. OMG! this was soooo good, they were hot and very sticky (It looks so lonely on a plate on it's own ) I also got choclate chip pancakes which the make fresh for you and I added strawberries and cream. They also make the waffles, freanch toast and blueberry pancakes fresh and in front of you.

Heres my sneaky plate of corn beef hash (or stovies as thats pretty much what it was)

Cletus's Chicken Shack - Universal Studios

After breakfast we went back to the room and had a lazy morning after our late one at HHN. We got to Universal Studios about 12.30 and revisited some more rides and do the ones we hadn't been on yet. After being on the Simpsons we went back to the food court and we got us some chicken.

Jamie went for chicken thumbs (tenders to you and me) and I had the chicken and waffle sandwich. Jamie's was nice and the tatter tots were fab. I wasn't as keen on mine and would have preferred just a normal burger, thought waffles were to crispy.

Hard Rock Club Level - HRH

When we got back to the hotel the hors d'oeuvres were out in the club lounge, we nipped by and got a small plate between us, 2 Bud Lite and a glass of red wine to take to the room.

We had a ricotta ball, some marsala bites and some cucumber with ranch dip.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co - CityWalk


We went for a swim until the pool closed for the evening, we had two rounds of cocktails but never took any pictures of them. We then headed across to Citywalk for a game of mini golf. We realised we were pretty hungry. It was after 11pm and CityWalk was dead. We popped into Bubba Gump's which we thought was closed but they were able to serve us.

I had a Georgia Ice Tea and it came in a keeper cup then for food I had the ribs while Jamie had fish and chips. The food was great but it was pretty strange being pretty much the only people there.

The bill including tip was $68.11. We got the boat back to the hotel as it was sitting there, by the time we got to bed it was after 1am

Hard Rock Club Level - HRH

We checked out this morning so we grabbed breakfast from the lounge. I was excited to see that they had mimosas which you could help your self too, shame Jamie was driving today

I had a bagel, some fruit, a cinnamon bun(this wasn't very good) and obviously a mimosa. Jamie had a croissant and a muffin. All very good and nice not to have a massive breakfast for a wee change.

Went back to the room to get ready, couldn't resist nipping back for a coffee and a doughnut to help us pack.

Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen - some mall?

I get all confused with the different malls as we went to a few once we left Hard Rock Hotel. It was around lunch time and we choice an italian eatery in the food court. We chose mac and cheese and spaghetti meatballs which we shared. The mac and cheese was so good but the meatballs were just okay.

Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory - Port Orleans French Quarter

I stayed here in 2012 with friends and this is where Jamie stayed when he was younger and came with his parents so we thought this would be a nice place to come for tea, also I love their pizza too.

We had a pepperoni pizza with a cookie and crumb cake for dessert. Some of the pizza and both desserts came back to the hotel with us - I don't seem to have a picture of the crumb cake -

Very hot fresh and definitely tasty

Chef Mickeys - Contemporary Resort

We had an ADR booked here for 9am arrived right on time, we drove this morning. I really enjoyed this meal and the characters were great fun, Donald even proposed to me and tried to steal me away from Jamie.

We even got celebration cupcakes (not what you need after a full Disney buffet, but our server put them in cups for us to take with us)

The total would have been $74.53 but we used our credits and left a $13 tip.

Coffee, Espresso and Pasties - Stand outside Tower of Terror

After out TOT FP+ I grabbed a pumpkin pie frozen cappuccino which was $6 dollars something. I think I've stopped writing what I think about things now and I can't remember from a year ago, sounds good though.

Dinosaur Gertie's Ice Cream of Extinction - Hollywood Studios

Jamie used a snack for a Mickey ice cream bar.

Sanna - Animal Kingdom Lodge

After DHS we went back to the shops to look for the last bits and pieces we were after. On the way back we got stuck in traffic on the I4 which made us 30 mins late for our ADR. It seemed fine when we arrived at 6.15pm and only had to wait 5 mins for a table.

The server brought over two glassed of champagne to celebrate our engagement, gotta love Disney (we were asked for ID and he wanted to see my passport as well, he accepted my photocopy however with my driving licence)

We had to order the Indian-style Bread Service and so glad we did as it was super. The nan's were all nice and I loved all the dips and glad we went for all nine of them. To start with we only ordered the 3 dips but we changed our minds and the server did it no problem.

I had a wine flight for my drink ($15) and Jamie just had a coke as he had the car.

We both ordered the meal where you can choose two different curries. Jamie had the butter chicken, the short rib and basmati rice. The short rib was so good, just melted in your mouth. The butter chicken was tangier than usual but still nice

I chose the spicy Durban shrimp, Goan seafood curry and the pilaff rice. The shrimp was lovely and spicy and big shrimps but I felt a bit disappointed with the seafood curry, wish I ordered the short rib like Jamie.

I had to try the dessert sampler, love these things cause I can never make my mind up when it comes to dessert. It had banana cheesecake, Tanzanian mousse and something strawberry all very nice but I think the banana was slightly artificial tasting.

Jamie Had the chocolate mousse and said it was the best dessert so far.

Jamie even said it was the nicest meal so far, better than the Yachtsman. A hit with us and one place we will revisit.

Total including tip $111.13, we paid 44.62 for the extras with the tip.

Main Street Bakery (Starbucks) - Magic Kingdom

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 9.30am this morning and went straight for breakfast here. I went for a sausage and cheese breakfast sandwich and Jamie had a ham and egg croissant (picture missing)

Jamie decided he wanted something sweet so I asked him if he wanted to share his chocolate brownie in which he replied NO! A decision which he soon wished he never made as it was massive, it looked like four portions! Because he said no i got my own sweet treat, a cheese danish which was much better proportioned.

A nice meal all in all.

Tony Town Square - Magic Kingdom

This is not where we had an ADR for today and there was a bit of a mix up. Firstly yesterday when I was looking at my Disney experience i noticed that our ADR at Kona Cafe had disappeared, I thought it was pretty strange but I had it printed on my itinerary so thought no more off it.

Our ADR was for 1.35pm so we left in plenty of time and jumped on the monorail over to the Poly. When we got there we found the restaurant and it was empty, there was definitely something not right. There was a cast member in the restaurant and he came across when we were standing there looking very confused. He asked us did you not get an email or phone call telling you the restaurant was closed due to a refurb. My face certainly didn't look like anyone who would know! Ach well that was that, we then had to find somewhere else to go. We ended up going back to Magic Kingdom and went to see how long the wait was at Tony's, to be told 45 mins - 1 hour. We couldn't think of anywhere near by and because it was after 2 most places closed at 3 for lunch and we didn't want to waste a credit as we were nearing the end of the holiday.

So we said we would wait, which was a good decision as we only waited about 15 mins and the meal was wonderful.

I ordered the chicken parmigiana and Jamie ordered the meatballs. This was unbelievable and right up there with one of my favourite meals of the holiday, a huge bit of chicken smothered in cheese with pasta and tomato sauce. Jamie's came with 2 massive meatballs and he enjoyed his too but wish he had what I had.

For dessert I had the Pistachio Crème Brûlée as I read a great review somewhere on the dibb and Jamie had a chocolate cake. I excepted more from this but it was just a Crème Brûlée where as Jamie said (again) the best dessert all holiday.

Cape May Cafe - Beach Club Resort

Our ADR was at 8pm this evening and we drove. We found a parking space easily and headed in to see quite a lot of people waiting. We checked in and got a buzzer which went of quickly and we were seated.

We ordered drinks - a Pina Colva for me and a Coke for Jamie - then we headed up to the buffet for some plates of starter type food.

The salads were very nice especially the house salad which was filled with walnuts and cranberries, the caesar salad was lovely too. The seafood chowder was nice but nothing exciting.

For mains we got a mixture of things such as bbq ribs, mashed potatoes, crab legs, roast beef and mac and cheese. Most of these were nice, the ribs were really meaty, the mashed potatoes were to die for, really creamy and some bits of skin were left on them but the mac and cheese was not very cheesy but strangely buttery and the crab legs were good but a lot of work for little crab meat.

The desserts were a little disappointing. They had a mixture of different cake such as red velvet cake, Boston creme pie, creme brûlée, pistachio cheesecake and cookies. The red velvet was so good with nice cream cheese frosting and the creme brûlée was good even though it had fruit instead of the burnt sugar on top. The rest of the desserts were just okay.

This meal was okay for us. I think we're just not overly fussed for a dinner buffet, there was nothing wrong with the food, it just didn't do it for us.

The Paddock Grill - SSR

This morning we had a lie in and didn't wake until 8am and we just lay in bed watching TV. I got up and ventured to the paddock grill as it was closest and got us a take away breakfast using some QS credits.

I had my usual breakfast croissant and so did Jamie with the addition of a pain au chocolat (snack credit)

Hollywood Studios

A later start and we were at DHS by 11.30am, we did a few rides and grabbed us a popcorn and a juice to share using snack credits.

Boardwalk Bakery - Boardwalk Resort

We left DHS and drove to the boardwalk to get lunch before we dropped the car off. I was really looking forward to this one but I couldn't make my mind up when we got there and I had a "should have chose something else" moment.

Jamie had a turkey sandwich with crisps then a chocolate eclair where as I had a roast beef sandwich with a cucumber salad and a neapolitan cake.

Not a very good pic here, sorry

The bread seemed quite hard on my roast beef roll, like it had been to long in the fridge which was disappointing but the cucumber salad was really nice and fresh. Jamie loved his sandwich.

Desserts were good but still wished I went for what I planned to have which was the lobster roll and the chocolate and bacon cake thing but hey means we will need to come back!

California Grill - Contemporary Resort

Our ADR was at 8pm so we could watch Hallowishes when we were there. We checked in about 15 minutes early and was given the buzzer. We were taken up in the lift and the buzzer went off and we were shown to our table.

I had phoned a couple of days before to add our engagement to our table, which I was glad that I did as the table was decorated with Mickey confetti and had a note congratulating us on our engagement. This definitely made our last meal in Florida extra special.

The server brought over two glasses of fizz, which was a nice touch but we also ordered drinks too. Jamie had a twisted mai tai and I had a Santa Monica cider which was a mix of Rekordelig strawberry and lime cider and Hendrick's gin. These were both very nice.

We had some warm rolls which were sourdough and focaccia (the focaccia tasted like cinnamon and were my favourite of the two)

We ordered starters here as it was our last night and at signatures you generally don't get as big portions so we can usually just about manage most of the meal. Jamie had the pork belly nigri and I had the Handcrafted Charcuterie.

The sushi was great Jamie enjoyed it and I liked the bit I pinched from him. My Handcrafted Charcuterie was good but the crisp bread was to salty and took some of the flavours away. I always say I am going to try the sushi here so next time I defiantly will.

We both ordered the oak fired fillet and they were so good. Mine was rare and Jamie's was medium rare. Jamie didn't really like the risotto which came with it which was a shame but the meat made up for it. I would say the accompaniments that came with this dish in 2012 were better but i still enjoyed the whole dish.

I had two glasses of wine during the meal a glass of white ($9) and a glass of rioja ($16). For desserts Jamie had the chocolate cake and i had the Warm Homemade Fritters. Both were very nice , seems like a strange choice for me reading back my notes but I've got photographic evidence so must have had them. The server also brought us a creme brûlée with congratulations on it too.

At some point in the meal either before or after dessert we went out to watch hallowishes, Just a fantastic end to a fantastic trip.

The Artist Palette - SSR

Going home day I have no notes from today either because i finished my note pad last night and today would be too depressing.

I had the waffles and bacons which was really good and I assume Jamie had it too as I only have one picture.

We used up the last of the snack credits buying some sweet snacks for the plane.

I have photos of the plane food but after all the lovely Disney food I am not even going to post it.

Roll on 2018 for my next report.

[Robin Sparkles]

Great report. I love Tony's it's always a must do for us. Must try the Cali grill as your food looked amazing!

[clarithy]

Originally Posted by Robin Sparkles

Great report. I love Tony's it's always a must do for us.

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Well I would have never thought to go there ever but due to the circumstance we ended up there and I am so glad. I think its a must do too.

I see your from Dunfermline, we're in Kirkcaldy.

[DisneyDreamer81]

Loved reading this! California Grill is definitely on my list for next time

[Rescuer]

Congratulations on your engagement!

A Disney honeymoon in the future then?

Fantastic food report. Shame your GF burger didn't live up to the hype, it's one of my favourite meals.

[Grapesoda]

What a great report, I loved seeing things from The Paddock as I think we might request this area next July!

[Sweets]

Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to try some off site eateries on our next trip.

[clarithy]

Originally Posted by DisneyDreamer81

Loved reading this! California Grill is definitely on my list for next time

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California Grill is my favourite restaurant by far and is a must, you should definitely go!

Originally Posted by Rescuer

Congratulations on your engagement!

A Disney honeymoon in the future then?

Fantastic food report. Shame your GF burger didn't live up to the hype, it's one of my favourite meals.

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Thank you, haha no Disney for our honeymoon as were going to St Lucia. We felt our honeymoon should be a once in a lifetime trip where as There will be plenty of Disney trips for us in the future. I know, I was disappointed but was maybe just a bad night? Thanks for reading

Originally Posted by Grapesoda

What a great report, I loved seeing things from The Paddock as I think we might request this area next July!

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We loved where our room was, was a great spot and we liked the Paddock area pool, the slide is great and plenty of food choices. Loved the whole resort to.

Originally Posted by Sweets

Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to try some off site eateries on our next trip.

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No problem. Florida food mmmmmmmm, can't wait to get back at some point.

[Rescuer]

Originally Posted by clarithy

Thank you, haha no Disney for our honeymoon as were going to St Lucia. We felt our honeymoon should be a once in a lifetime trip where as There will be plenty of Disney trips for us in the future. I know, I was disappointed but was maybe just a bad night? Thanks for reading

.

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Ha, we went to Disney for our honeymoon, it was our first onsite stay and was supposed to be one off, POR. Next year will be our 3rd deluxe onsite stay since for our 15th wedding anniversary.

Will let you know if the GF burger has improved

[Ycryan]

Amazing food, loved reading your food report.

Congratulations on the engagement. x