Posted at 9:07 pm by taryngirl, on December 10, 2019
June 2019
This was our night to dine at Animator’s Palate. This dining room is fun! And dedicated to all things animation. On a 7 night itinerary, you eat here twice. The first night you get to hear from Crush from Finding Nemo. He interacts directly with people at their tables kind of like Turtle Talk with Crush in Epcot!
Here’s the dinner menu:
The adorable butter knife!
My favorite item on the menu…Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes. I personally ordered three of these and told them to bring them as my main meal!
Sliced Serrano Ham:
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup. I got this also and it was really good! Nice and creamy and really good flavor.
Pennete Bolognese. My daughter ordered this. It was just basic penne pasta. I would choose something different!
Ginger-Teriyaki Dusted Angus Beef Tenderloin. I did have a bite of this and it was super tender! Good flavor!
Lemon-Thyme Marinated All Natural Chicken Breast:
Herb Crusted Pork Chop:
(I only commented on the ones I tasted! I didn’t hear any bad reviews from anyone though.)
Cookies ‘n Cream Sundae. I had this and it was a nice treat!
Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake:
Our assistant waiter was really good at origami! He made this cute dress for Kinsey.
Overall, I love this dining room. It’s a little bit more laid back of an atmosphere and the theming is true Disney!
Posted at 2:32 pm by taryngirl, on October 18, 2019
6/16/19
For dinner on our second night, we were scheduled in Royal Court. This was also our formal night. I requested a specific dining rotation so we would be all dressed up in this dining room! This was in the most formal in my opinion. It’s all about the princesses in here.
I loved the special touch with the way the napkins were folded into shirts! And the bread basket is my favorite.
Thinking back now, I did not get any pictures of the kid’s menu!
Kid’s spaghetti:
Kid’s pizza:
Gaston’s Escargot Gratinee:
Farmhouse Salad:
This was mine and I loved every bite of it. The dressing is super light, and I like the addition of the sliced fingerling potatoes and goat cheese crouton.
Wild Mushroom Stuffed Pasta in a Vegetable Broth:
Chateaubriand-Roasted Filet Steak:
This was mine and it was super tender and delicious. It was really good dipped in the sauce. It was the perfect portion size!
I don’t have a picture of the dessert menu, but this was some flavor of Creme Brûlée and some kind of soufflé.
This was an apple dessert and very good!
The chandelier in the Atrium, just outside of the restaurant:
Grandparents with grandchildren:
Overall the meal was fantastic and the dining room was perfect!
Posted at 12:38 pm by taryngirl, on October 9, 2019
Combining from my June and September 2019 cruises!
Palo is a specialty restaurant serving brunch on sea days, and nightly dinners for guests ages 18 and older only. You must have reservations to dine here, and those can be made online during your check-in process for the cruise itself. I’m not going to lie…these reservations sell out quickly and are hard to get! But are TOTALLY worth it! (If you cannot make a reservation online, upon embarking, you can head directly to Palo and try to make reservations then. I’ve done this twice successfully.). There is a dress code, as this is more upscale than the main dining rooms. Be sure to check that when you are packing for the cruise!
The view!
Included are mimosas or a glass of champagne.
After being led to our table, the waiter explained the dining process. There is a menu to order from, as well as a “buffet” style set up. The meal is slowwwwww. You are not rushed and can spend as much time as you need.
Here’s my first plate from the buffet section:
The cinnamon roll was SO GOOD! Warm and gooey. And the parmesan cheese…I couldn’t get enough of it!
The first table…filled with delicious fruit, breads and pastries. The almond croissant was one of my favorites!
The next table was full of seafood offerings, caviar, vegetables, and more!
The third table had a variety of cheeses, olives, meats, etc.
You may make as many trips up to these tables as you wish!
Here is the menu we ordered from for made to order items:
Heirloom Tomato and Basil Soup:
Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast: This is my favorite food on any of the Disney Cruise ships! It’s SO GOOD! And the Risotto is perfect with this. This is 80% why I schedule this brunch on every cruise.
Celery Soup:
Roasted Red Snapper Filet:
Lasagna Bolognaise: I also was able to taste this. It was good but I feel like since we were one of the last tables for the day, it was sitting for awhile maybe?? It’s a good shareable option though!
The dessert table:
I love that the portions are small so we can try a bunch of different things!
June cruise:
Our waiter also brought us several of these lava cakes to share. They were good but we were SO FULL!
September cruise:
(Apparently I have my favorites!)
It was my niece’s graduation celebration on this cruise and they brought here this:
If I didn’t comment on the food, that means it was someone else’s but I just took a picture to share!
This is hands down one of my favorite parts of the cruise! It’s $40 per person, and that is charged to your stateroom account. I highly suggest trying it at least once!
Posted at 2:15 pm by taryngirl, on August 29, 2019
6/15/19
Our first night’s dinner was in Enchanted Garden. I enjoy the theming in this dining room!
Here’s a look at the menu:
Chickpea Garlic Puree for bread dipping
This was yummy!
Cucumber Garden Roll
I ordered this. It was very light and refreshing!
Ahi Tuna and Avocado Tower
Romaine Wedge
I also had this. It was good, but could have used a little bit more dressing.
Kid’s Chicken Fingers and Fries
My daughter had this every other night. She alternated with pizza! I love Disney chicken fingers…
Seared Pork Tenderloin Medallions
I’ve had this before with different potatoes. The pork was really good! I will probably asked for mashed potatoes next time. The potatoes underneath were a little crunch.
Pan-Seared Sea Bass
Caramelized Sea Scallops
Chocolate Garden Torte
This was soooo good. I surprisingly liked the coffee cream on the side!
Southern Style Pecan Tart
The inside of the restaurant
Our group minus 1 who wasn’t feeling great.
Overall I loved my food here! And I love the ambiance and atmosphere of this dining room. Our cabin was on the same deck as this so it was super easy to get to. On a 7 night cruise, I put in a request for Enchanted Garden for the first night, because that will put us in Royal Court for formal night. To me, that’s the “fanciest” of the dining rooms. Just a personal preference!
After breakfast at All Star Movies, we headed to Epcot. We got there around 11:30 a.m. We were in no rush. We had some FP+ scheduled and were really having a leisurely day.
We noticed that Spaceship Earth had been down all morning, but when we walked through the gates they must have just opened up. So we hopped right on it with no wait! It was my most unusual ride this time. Our car was very jerky and squeaky, and our little interactive screen on the way down wasn’t working correctly.
From there we needed to head to our Frozen Ever After FP+. We cut through the walkway to the left and got some good views of the scenery being set up for the Flower & Garden Festival.
It really was a perfect day weather wise!
We didn’t eat here, but I snapped a quick picture of the current Quick Service Menu at La Cantina de San Angel. This is located right on the water outside of the Mexico pavilion.
This is the menu for the Mexico table service restaurant that is open for dinner, La Hacienda de San Angel. This is located outside of the Mexico pavilion on the water, and is only open for dinner.
Much to our delight, some of the topiaries were up! In Norway:
After riding Frozen Ever After, we were deciding what we wanted to eat for lunch. We planned to snack around at some quick service places, but we weren’t TOO hungry yet. We had eaten in China last time and I LOVED IT! So that was on my mind…
We took a quick jaunt through the shops here. It’s one of my favorite…maybe because I am part Chinese? Maybe because I love what they offer? I’m not sure!
When exiting out the back, we came across this neat find:
I was trying to ask the man questions, but he was taking pictures and trying to get people to purchase. I didn’t know if it was a temporary thing, part of Flower & Garden that would be starting, etc. Later on, he actually was carrying one through the Lotus Blossom and showing people who were eating there.
Of course I decided I wanted to eat at the Lotus Blossom Cafe. This was the current menu at the time. It had different things on it since we had eaten there in January!
I went with the Beef Noodle Mongolian Style. This has a little kick, so be aware! But it was so good!
After that, we continued through the countries until it was time to head to our Nemo FP+. We took the boat back to the other side.
We had time before our FP+ and wanted to shop, so we went to MouseGear first. This is one of my favorite shops anywhere! (I made a purchase but had absolutely NO room left to take anything back since I only had a backpack. I had it shipped directly to my house for somewhere around $7!)
After our Nemo FP+ we went over to the Land pavilion for a snack. On the way down to Sunshine Seasons, we stopped at this little counter area at the exit of the Living With the Land ride. They had these super cute plants!
If I had space in my luggage, I would have purchased one of these! It’s the perfect gift for my youngest daughter, and so neat to think we have a piece of “the Land” in our home!
We were in the dessert mood, and couldn’t decide between these two things:
A fabulous piece of Carrot Cake.
A Whoopie Pie.
The Carrot Cake was the for sure winner! It was SO GOOD. Moist and amazing frosting. The Whoopie Pie was just ehhhh. I doubt I would get it again.
We had one more FP+ to use here at Journey Into Imagination With Figment. As soon as we used it, Chrissy was on the app securing another FP+. We decided to head over to Hollywood Studios because she was able to get SLINKY DOG DASH!!!
In case you wondered…here are three different flavors of popcorn located near the entrance to Figment! To my knowledge, you can get the refills in your bucket with these flavors.
We stopped at Guest Services on the way to the bus to Hollywood Studios to see if they still had any Figment magnets for Annual Passholders…SCORE! They did. We did have to show our AP and he did look us up online.
I really try to eat Mickey waffles every time I go to Disney. This trip was no different! I checked the online menus before staying here and was super happy to see them listed!
We were heading to Epcot today and weren’t in a super hurry. We had some FP+, but they were for later and we weren’t planning on rope dropping anything.
We stopped at the food court on the way to the bus stop.
Here are the various menus for the different “windows.”
There really is something for everyone. They also have the grab and go cases available, cereal, bagels, pastries, etc.
Chrissy opted for one of the Breakfast Flatbread Pizzas and a side of Potato Barrels. I tried a bite and it was yummy!
This is my go-to meal. Mickey Waffles with Sausage (no bacon, so extra sausage) and Breakfast Potatoes. SO GOOD! I don’t know what it is about Disney sausage, but it’s my absolute favorite. Especially with the waffles.
I would also have this the next day for breakfast…
Posted at 10:32 am by taryngirl, on February 23, 2019
8/17/18
Our plan was to be up and out of the room early today, but we got a late start! We got to the bus stop at 9:20 a.m. and ended up not getting to Animal Kingdom until 10:20. There were 4 scooters waiting to get on! So we missed our Safari FastPass+.
We did make it to our second FastPass+, Dinosaur! This is my favorite ride in AK.
I think Kaylee is screaming in Alex’s ear here…hahahahaha.
Donald’s Dino-Bash was happening while we were there. The whole land is transformed into a celebration. There are special character spots with Launchpad McQuack and others!
Kinsey had her very first meet and greet ever with Pocahontas! She spent several minutes with her. It was very special! These are all PhotoPass pictures.
We stopped to enjoy It’s Tough to be a Bug on the way over to Pandora. This can be scary for little kids believe it or not. At one point it gets pitch black while spiders descend from the ceiling and smoke blows into the room!
From there we headed over to Pandora for our Flights of Passage FastPass+. Sadly I don’t ride this because of my motion sick issues.
I spent some time watching this man in the utility suit while I waited.
This is one of my favorite backdrops for pictures! It’s become a tradition now so I take pictures of my daughters here each time.
Lunch was of course at my favorite Satul’i Canteen.
Cheeseburger Steamed Pod (Kid’s Meal)–Steamed Cheeseburger Pod stuffed with Ground Beef, Ketchup, Mustard, Pickle and Cheddar Cheese served with Vegetable Chips and Grapes. It also comes with a drink (not pictured).
We cut this and shared it amongst everyone. It’s very good! It’s a nice little appetizer.
Chopped Wood Grilled Chicken Bowl–Choice of base (I did rice!), wood grilled chicken, vegetable slaw, with your choice of sauce.
This is my go to and one of my favorite quick service meals in all of Disney! I say this in every trip report, but it’s a nice change from the regular offerings.
I always get all 3 sauces and mix them together in my bowl!
Chili Garlic Shrimp Bowl–Shrimp tossed in chili garlic sauce with noodles and vegetable slaw
This is a little bit spicy! Spicier than anyone was anticipating. But still good!
Slow Roasted Sliced Grilled Beef Bowl–Slow roasted marinated beef with choice of base and vegetable slaw with bobos.
The inside of the restaurant:
This was my first time watching UP! A Great Bird Adventure Show since it changed from Flights of Wonder. I reallllly loved the Flights of Wonder show. I think it was an often forgot about experience in Animal Kingdom.
The new show was okay. It wasn’t my favorite though! Some of the elements were the same as the old show. And some were new. I encourage you to check it out at least once!
Posted at 12:45 pm by taryngirl, on February 18, 2019
8/16/18
In all of my times traveling to Disney World, I have NEVER done a dessert party! For one, my husband does not really like dessert, and two, it’s pricey! When I saw that a new AFTER Fireworks Dessert Party was introduced, it intrigued me. I DREAD when fireworks are over and there’s a stampede to exit…crowds, pushing, etc. What better way to avoid all of that than eating some dessert!
I booked us online and the cost was $69 for an adult and $41 for a child.
Upon arrival, we headed to Tomorrowland Terrace area. There were two different check-in stands as there are multiple dessert parties that you can do. They issued us wristbands and then we had an escort to our reserved seating area in the Plaza Garden. (You can check in up to an hour prior to the fireworks!). Once inside the Plaza Garden area, it’s free seating/standing anywhere you can find space. It was not crowded at all when we got there. We ended up here:
View straight ahead.
To our left.
To our right.
Most people at this point were just sitting on the lawn waiting. We didn’t feel crowded or squished at all!
Behind us:
It’s starting!!
Our view was spectacular! On very crowded, hot days, this experience may be worth it just for the lack of stress with the fireworks viewing!
Once the Happily Ever After fireworks were over, we headed directly back to Tomorrowland Terrace for the dessert party (while everyone else was bum-rushing the exit!). We checked in again at the podium and showed our wristbands.
There were so many amazing options!
Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake!
POG Juice!
The seating area. You can see it wasn’t full at all!
Overall, WE LOVED IT! I would absolutely do it again (and skip dinner prior). With the egg rolls and spinach dip, that was a meal itself! I loved that everything was a small serving allowing us to sample multiple things. I especially loved the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake with ice cream, the macaroons, and the chocolate covered strawberries.
I would love to hear if you have ever done a dessert party? Let me know in the comments!
Posted at 8:08 pm by taryngirl, on February 4, 2019
We continued on to Hogsmeade and headed straight for Three Broomsticks!We got there at a really good time. There actually is a queue outside so the cash register areas do not get too jammed, and so the doors are not blocked for those who are exiting. We luckily avoided this and walked right inside.Here’s a picture of the breakfast menu that they serve.And the lunch menu:We already knew we were all going to get The Great Feast! When getting the feast, you cannot use a quick service credit per person.
Once you are in the line inside, the first person you get to will tell you what register number to go to. You place your order at the register and they normally hand you your food right there. We were such a big group with 3 orders of the feast, so they just gave us our drinks and brought our food to the table. We were given a number to put on our table.
There is another person who seats you. I think this is to avoid people saving seats.
The chicken was moist, and the ribs were good! I loved the potatoes and the vegetables. I could do without the corn on the cob.
I really enjoyed this meal! I thought it was really good. When looking at the price, it almost seems cheaper to order just a single serving per person. But it was fun to get it in a feast!
Posted at 11:26 am by taryngirl, on January 5, 2019
It was on this day that we were checking out of the Poly and into Bay Lake Tower. Disney makes it very easy to switch resorts. You can give any luggage you wish to Bell Services to transfer for you. The only stipulation is it may not arrive until after 1 p.m. So if you need anything from your luggage, it may not be available until after that time. Also, it will not be delivered automatically to you. Once you check in to new resort, you can retrieve from Bell Services, or call down to them and they will bring it up.
I handed off our luggage and we met my cousin in the lobby. This lobby is in my top 3 favorites! I love the theming! I am slightly sad they took the waterfall away, but it’s still great. There’s tons of comfortable seating here if you need a rest. Our plan was to catch Lyft/Uber around 9:30 a.m. But alas…we decided to splurge on the Minnie Van for the experience!
I particularly like this option because there is no direct bus to Typhoon Lagoon at the moment. You have to take a bus to Disney Springs and then transfer to a different shuttle.
I had done a little bit of research regarding lockers, seating, food, etc. I did know that I wanted to rent a locker to put our valuables in, because I didn’t want to put things at our chairs and then go off on a slide or in the wave pool where it was out of my view. This area was extremely busy! Everyone had the same idea. I also want to say that right at opening it was a madhouse.
The bathrooms and changing area/showers were right near the lockers.
There were plenty of these available at this location.
After getting our locker and finding the bathroom, we headed for seats. There are lots of chairs all over. Not all of them are in the shade though. So if you require that, you definitely want to get there at opening or a little bit before! Look at the map of Typhoon Lagoon and have a plan for which direction you want to go.
Our seats were right next to the wave pool, which is where I figured I’d spend most of my time. Alex took the girls to water slides immediately before lines got too long. I stayed with our stuff and hit the wave pool.
Here’s a picture from later in the day. You can see how many people were just in this area! (Within an hour, every seat in our area was taken…)
Here’s a view of the lazy river. This was my second favorite thing!
They DO have life jackets for kids, so no need to bring your own.
We were getting hungry and decided to find something for lunch. We decided on Leaning Palms. It was close and had something that my picky child would eat!
There were a bunch of seats, most were filled. But we were lucky to snag one as people were leaving! Kinsey opted for the cheese pizza and I opted for the chicken fingers and fries. Both were good, standard quick service options.
One thing I want to mention is the bees. There were SO.MANY.BEES. Flying around us, landing on our food/drink. The table next to us actually had an “incident” with a freaked out kid that sent a drink flying across the way. (I also got stung by a bee while in the wave pool!). So yes, we were on edge as we tried to hurry and eat and get out of there!
Some other sights along the way:
THIS! Was my favorite though. I only got a half dozen, but next time will get more!!
This little donuts were OUTSTANDING! Warm, soft, sugary, and perfect when dipped in the chocolate!
It was late afternoon and it was hot! We were getting tired of being in the sun, so packed up and headed out. As we were leaving, we saw Stitch! There were only a few people in line, so Kinsey got a few pics. She loves Stitch!
Alex and I left separately since we were now at a different resort. We each ordered a Lyft ride!
Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures 