Dining Review | Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures | Page 5

Tag: Dining Review
- Disney Springs – Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’
  
  Posted at 10:01 am by taryngirl, on December 13, 2018
  
  After our crazy, early morning at Hollywood Studios, we needed a definite afternoon break. We rested until about 6 p.m., at which time we headed to the bus stop to head to Disney Springs. We had a dining reservation at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’! This was not a new restaurant for us. I had eaten here twice before and it is now a must-do favorite for me!
  
  If you haven’t been to Disney Springs since it’s been redone, it’s definitely something to see. There are tons of shops and eateries ranging from 2 credit table service to counter service and snacks. It’s huge. I rarely make it over to Goofy’s Candy Company anymore because it’s so far from the bus stop!
  
  I love the decor and theming in this southern style place. It goes well with the comfort foods they serve!
  
  I already had an idea what I wanted. The past two times I ordered the same chicken sandwich, and knew I wanted to try something different. There are SO MANY GOOD OPTIONS! Appetizers themselves are delicious!
  
  Of course we had to have the deviled eggs, and my all-time favorite the hush puppies!
  
  SO SO GOOD! I could have just eaten this and been full and content.
  
  For my main meal, I ordered the Chopped Pork Barbecue Plate. Served with Mac and cheese and a biscuit.
  
  This was very good! I would order it again. It was a nice change from the chicken, and a huge portion that could easily be shared.
  
  Alex ordered the meatloaf. I think this was a special not listed on the regular menu! It was also super tasty!
  
  Of the kids ordered the Fried Chicken & Donuts. Again, so good, and so much food!
  
  Another of the kids ordered the Kitchen Plate, which allows you to choose three different sides. All of these were great! And a good option if you aren’t in the mood for meat, or want to share someone else’s.
  
  This was a meal off of the kid’s menu. Good portion sizes for little ones!
  
  Sadly we were too full for dessert! The list here is amazing! I have in the past had the Hummingbird Cake and it was huge and delicious! There was no way I could eat anything else tonight.
  
  If you are looking for something at Disney Springs, I highly encourage you to give Homecomin’ a try! If you are a fan of Moonshine, they have an entire menu dedicated to those drinks. They have both porch and indoor seating, and seating at the bar.
  
  Up next…Typhoon Lagoon!
  
  Posted in Dining Review, Disney, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Chef Art Smith's Homecomin', Dining Review, Disney Springs, Table Service
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios – 50’s Prime Time Cafe
  
  Posted at 2:27 pm by taryngirl, on December 5, 2018
  
  Welcome back! We continued on with our touring in Hollywood Studios. We had to check out the new store that replaced Sweet Spells, and Kinsey found this cute headband!
  
  One thing on her bucket list this trip, was to meet BB8. Mission accomplished! We pretty much walked right in with no wait.
  
  We knew we would be hungry for lunch early because we were up so early, so we had a reservation for 50’s Prime Time Cafe at 11:05 a.m. This table service restaurant serves classic American comfort food in a setting reminiscent of the family’s house in “Leave it to Beaver.” The theming is really neat! The staff here might joke around a little bit…”no elbows on the table,” “eat your dinner before you eat dessert,” etc. Or they might throw straws at you. Just be prepared if you eat here!
  
  Here’s Kinsey in the waiting area:
  
  This is just one of several different rooms offering seating:
  
  Here are some menu pics. They have a great variety and amazing milkshakes!
  
  It was hot outside and I didn’t want to eat anything too heavy. I opted for the appetizer Fried Herb and Garlic Cheese, which is served with a raspberry sauce, grapes and apples. It also came with a breadstick.
  
  This cheese was really good with the fruit and raspberry sauce. The breadstick however, was gross.
  
  We also had some Beer-Battered Onion Rings to share.
  
  These were really good! And there were tons of them. Between all of us we didn’t even finish them.
  
  Kinsey ordered the kid’s chicken fingers. (They let her order off of the kid’s menu even though she was 10.)
  
  Alex had the Caesar Salad with Salmon.
  
  One of her daughter’s had a bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup.
  
  Her other daughter had the Caesar Salad with Chicken.
  
  I think the food here was just fine. But if I had the choice I would probably pick Mama Melrose or Sci Fi.
  
  After lunch we had a FP+ to use in Toy Story Land and then we headed back to the resort. Of course we had to stop for some PhotoPass pics!
  
  I took some pics of the new Skyliner that is coming to connect Hollywood Studios with a few different resorts.
  
  This first picture is taken where the old bus stops used to be. They have been moved….far, far away! I talked to a security guard who said this just closed 2 days before we got there. And that they were redoing and pushing back where the bus stops would be located.
  
  Let me tell you my story about the current bus stop situation here. Warning…it is not a pleasant one! First of all, the walk to the actual bus stops from the gate is a good 10 minutes (as of August 2018). It was afternoon, hot, humid, and we were tired from getting up so early. So we trudged to the bus stops. There were maybe 4 people in our line in front of us, who had already been waiting 20 minutes. There was NO SHADE! I seriously thought Kinsey was going to pass out. We waited 45 minutes for a bus. It finally comes and we all get on. And the driver doesn’t leave. She’s waiting for her replacement for a shift change. And he’s late. Very late. We sat another 30 minutes on the bus without moving, and the driver just told us to call and complain to Disney. Meanwhile another bus came and pulled up further down from us. So the people who didn’t fit on our bus and were still out in the queue were able to board that bus and leave! Our bus was jam packed full, standing room only. Finally the new driver comes and takes his time inspecting the bus for damage, etc. Then he gets on. And sits there. Without driving. People started chanting “MOVE THIS BUS! MOVE THIS BUS!” It was bad. It was a bad experience all around and one that I’ve never had prior or since! A few days later, I stopped in at the front desk of the Polynesian to let them know what happened. I was way too tired and hot to do it the day we came back. The cast member I spoke with knew exactly what I was talking about because several other guests also complained. I wasn’t looking for any form of compensation, but rather alerting them to the issue. Did the driver realize how far away the bus stops now were? Was there a miscommunication? I have no idea, but I wanted them to be aware. She offered us 3 FastPasses for the following day which was very nice.
  
  And this ends our Hollywood Studios day!
  
  Up next…Disney Springs and Homecomin’
  
  Posted in Dining Review, Disney, Hollywood Studios, Uncategorized, Vacation | 0 Comments | Tagged 50's Prime Time Cafe, Dining Review, Disney, Food Picture, Foodie, Hollywood Studios
- Epcot Dinner at Via Napoli
  
  Posted at 2:45 pm by taryngirl, on November 17, 2018
  
  We headed back to Epcot for the evening after a small afternoon break. Having hit most of what we wanted in the morning, we didn’t have to rush around to get anywhere specific. We made our way leisurely through the countries to our reservation in Italy at Via Napoli. This is Kinsey’s FAVORITE restaurant in Epcot! Pizza is probably her favorite food.
  I never have seen this lobby/restaurant in a calm state. It’s always buzzing with activity and there’s usually a line at the hostess stand waiting to check in.
  We come here specifically for the pizza!
  Normally our service here is very good, but tonight our waiter did not impress me. First of all, he was more worried about his tip from the surrounding tables as people were leaving than he was about taking our order and getting it correct. He messed up the order and did not bring us the correct thing. Ultimately we ended up with Margherita and Carciofi pizzas. I cannot even explain how good the Carciofi is! I think it’s the truffle oil they drizzle on the top. I silently wish they had a pizza window where they sold this. I would get it for my lunch every time!
  One thing to note…we were seated in this newer area. They expanded the seating area inside. This was much quieter than being in the main dining room area.
  After dinner, we made our way to the front of the park to do some shopping at Mouse Gears. (One of my favorite places to shop! I find they have a bigger selection than most other locations.) We hit Spaceship Earth as our final attraction.
  Up next…Disney’s Hollywood Studios–Toy Story Land!
  
  Posted in Dining Review, Disney, Epcot, Uncategorized, Via Napoli | 0 Comments | Tagged Dining Review, Epcot, Via Napoli
- March Disney World AEP Trip {Day 4}–Part 3! My birthday! (Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Review and Magic Kingdom)
  
  Posted at 12:16 am by taryngirl, on June 26, 2018
  This day was so jam packed, that I have to dedicate a third blog post to it. I think I forgot to mention that today was my birthday! Right before we disembarked the ship, we were treated to lunch at Cabana’s, which is the ship’s buffet. The variety of food that is available here is amazing! There’s something for everyone. After lunch, we sadly had to get off the ship, and head back to our resort. My roommates and I had plans for tonight, so we all took a little rest before grabbing an Uber to Fort Wilderness.
  
  I think I’ve mentioned this before, but Ubering is SO EASY in Disney! Our destination was Pioneer Hall at Fort Wilderness, which is where the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue is located. Using Disney transportation, we would have had to board a bus to Magic Kingdom, then taken a boat to Fort Wilderness. This would have easily taken 45 minutes to an hour. Instead…we Ubered and were at Fort Wilderness in about 7 minutes. Now, Fort Wilderness is tricky because it’s a campground. There’s a front gate and the bus depot. In order to get back to Pioneer Hall, you have to change buses and take the internal bus. Uber drivers cannot drive beyond the original bus depot. So we got out and hopped on the internal bus. Now I have heard the Minnie Vans CAN drive all the way back. (Minnie Vans are $25 flat fee no matter where you go on Disney property. Uber is standard Uber pricing.) This was not a big deal for us, and the internal buses are frequent, at least in my experience.
  
  We made it!!
  
  If you are not familiar with the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, let me give you a little summary.
  - It’s a dinner show with three available seating times available.
  - Prepayment is required. Tickets may be picked up at any Walt Disney World Resort Concierge or Pioneer Hall.
  - You can make reservations online or by calling.
  - Here is the current (June 2018) seating chart with corresponding pricing. (snipped directly from official WDW site) The balcony goes all along the perimeter of the seating area below.
  - If you have an Annual Pass, you can get 10% off (as of June 2018). They also accept Tables in Wonderland.
  - It’s a 2 hour singing, dancing, comedy show that is somewhat corny, but we love it! This is the 4th time I’ve been here.
  - Did I mention that unlimited beer, wine and sangria are included?
  Before going into the restaurant, we had some time to browse around the grounds. There really is so much to see here! There’s a really awesome playground right next to the building. And plenty of horses to see.
  
  There are also Photopass photographers here to take pictures for you!
  
  It was time to enter! To enter, you will check in at a “hostess stand” located in the middle of the walkway. They will tell you where to line up. There are two different doors you can enter. The tables are numbered and assigned, and your number will be on your ticket. You will know by what category you purchased, the general area you will need to head towards.
  
  As soon as you sit down, your waiter/waitress will come over to greet you and take your drink order. Then the food starts coming!
  
  I love this meal! The salad is very good, with dressing that is super light. The cornbread is AMAZING. So amazing that I could eat both of these loaves by myself…but I didn’t.
  
  Food is served in buckets. Yes buckets people! You are at a hoe down of sorts.
  
  Reallllllly good fried chicken and mashed potatoes!
  
  Your food will be served in between show parts.
  
  There are some surprises for a grand finale, and some audience participation. After the show, when we were stuffed to the gills, we headed outside and found our way to the boat dock to Magic Kingdom.
  
  I love, love, love being in the Magic Kingdom at night! We still worked on some of our scavenger hunt pictures, and just hopped on some quick rides that had no wait.
  
  Up Next…Day 5!
  Posted in AEP, Dining Review | 2 Comments | Tagged AEP, Dining Review, Disney, Fort Wilderness, Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, Magic Kingdom, Pioneer Hall, Walt Disney World
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