My Annual Pass expires on May 14th…so I knew I had to take one last, quick trip to Disney! My good friend and fellow travel agent, Chrissy, joined me. I was able to find one night with my DVC points, and a travel agent rate for the next two nights at a different Disney Resort. Our flight left Philadelphia at 5:30 a.m., and once we landed, another fellow travel agent texted and asked if we wanted her to pick us up from the airport and stop for breakfast.
We checked My Disney Experience for dining availability and landed on Cape May Cafe, which is located at the Beach Club, where we were staying for the night. This used to be a character dining experience, but that has not yet returned.
Disney’s Beach Club Resort
The restaurant is located right off the main lobby of the resort.
Right inside the entrance to the restaurant is an omelette station.
They have returned to a regular buffet style meal. There are four different sides with food. This side had the fresh sliced ham and rolls.
It also had fresh fruit, yogurt, and oatmeal with toppings.
The first dish on the left was a steak and egg scramble, then regular scambled eggs, bacon, and sausage.
Also on this side was a poached egg on top of hash, asparagus, breakfast potatoes, and something with tofu/vegetables.
The third side featured the kid section…Mickey waffles, chocolate chip pancakes, and tater tots.
And CREPES! There were also a few toppings for the crepes that are not pictured here.
The fourth side has eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits with sausage gravy.
My FAVORITE item at this buffet were the Salted Caramel Beach Buns that were brought to our table. This was also served with a vanilla sauce not pictured. This was like cinnamon roll texture. Super soft and squishy on the inside!
Overall, we all loved the meal and would definitely return. It was $25 per person for an adult. Our waitress was great!
This night we wanted to make reservations for a restaurant so we could check out City Walk. My traveling partner chose The Cowfish! I have walked past this restaurant every single time I’ve entered City Walk or either of the theme parks, and have never eaten here. Probably because I don’t eat any type of seafood, so the “sushi” part was throwing me off!
We arrived right on time for our reservation, and there was a long line waiting to check in. If you didn’t have reservations, the wait was two hours. I strongly encourage you to make reservations for any of the table service restaurants at City Walk. If they aren’t available on the Universal website, you can look for them on Open Table or try calling the restaurant directly.
The inside of the restaurant was open and airy, and consisted of 3?? floors I think?!
The weather was really nice, and we were happily led to this table overlooking City Walk. (It was open…no window!)
We started off with some drinks. I had the Ruby Panther–Deep Eddy Ruby Vodka, simple syrup, lemon juice, pink lemonade, and raspberries–$14.00. It was delicious! I love fruity and this was perfect.
Megan had the Hokkaido Nights–44 North Nectarine Vodka, lemongrass syrup, fresh basil and mint, cucumber–$14.00.
We wanted an appetizer, so we chose the Crispy Brussels–Flash fried Brussels sprouts, wasabi yuzu vinaigrette, rice noodles, bonito flakes, sesame seeds, with a jalapeno citrus aioli dipping sauce–$8.00. These were SO GOOD! They were bigger than any brussels sprouts I’ve ever seen, and the flavor was amazing. I loved the dipping sauce!
We also got a side order of Sweet Potato Fries, and these were good as well.
I originally went in with the idea that I would be getting a burger…but I didn’t know they had CHEESEBURGER SUSHI! So I decided to go with The All-American Bacon Double Cheeseburgooshi–Seasoned premium black angus beef, yellow cheddar cheese, white cheddar cheese, and applewood bacon wrapped in soy paper and potato strings then flash fried. Topped with dill pickle, red onion, roma tomato, served over housemade Cowfish sauce, topped with ketchup and mustard–$19.00. THIS.WAS.AMAZING! And my favorite food from the entire trip! The flash fried potatoes on the outside made this meal. It was like eating fries and a burger in one bite. The flavors were all so good together. I would 100% go back to just order this!
Megan ordered the Dion’s OMG! Roll–Tempura coconut shrimp, kani, and English cucumber inside, coated in tempura flakes. Topped with fresh mango, avocado, spicy honey marmalade and coconut flakes–$18.00. She really liked this!
I was actually reluctant to eat here, but am so happy we did! It was my favorite meal as I said. I would definitely return!
As my luck would have it for this trip…I was also able to score a reservation for 4 to Topolino’s Terrace, which has been on my bucket list for the last several trips! There was so much going on this day with food, so people had to pick and choose what was important to them. This was first on my list!
Topolino’s is located at Disney’s Riviera Resort. The easiest way for us to get there for breakfast was to take a Lyft from our resort.
This resort is absolutely gorgeous! It kind of reminds me of a mini Grand Floridian in its style and decor.
The lobby is kind of on the smaller side.
This is one view out the back from the lobby area.
We took the elevator up to Topolino’s Terrace.
We were seated promptly right in the middle of the restaurant, which was busy, but not too busy.
We were brought this delicious basket of pastries, and condiments. Crossaints, muffins, and fabulous maple?? turnovers. All of it was SO GOOD!
I had read many different reviews while deciding if I truly wanted to eat here. A majority of them said that they would do this meal again hands down. It also varied on what you could order. Because you are paying a set price per person, it was assumed that you could get one entree, however that is not true. You can order one entree and then ask for sides or small orders of other things if you wish.
I knew for sure I wanted the Fruit Plate–Seasonal Fruits, Honey Yogurt, Seed Granola, Toasted Sunflower Butter. It arrived and it was fantastic!
My daughter chose the Sour Cream Waffle–Roasted Apple, Chantilly, Orange-Maple Syrup, and served with Sausage. I was also torn between this and what I ordered. Luckily I was able to try this, and it was SO GOOD! I would order this again for sure!
My niece ordered the Quiche Gruyere–House-Made Pancetta, Roasted Potatoes, Gruyere, Lemon Vinaigrette, Sausage. She really liked this, especially the potatoes.
I went with the Two Eggs Any Style–Roasted Potatoes served with Sausage. This was your standard (real) scrambled eggs. The potatoes were really good! I knew I was going to be tasting my daughter’s waffles, so I wanted something somewhat “healthy.”
While we were eating, the characters took turns coming around. They did make an announcement with music so you knew someone was coming. They did not get close to the tables, but did stop next to us so we could get pictures or videos. I loved Minnie’s outfit!
A look inside the restaurant:
When we were finished eating, we were able to go outside on the terrace to have a look around. The views were amazing! It was pretty windy, but the weather besides that was perfect.
I would 100% do this breakfast again, even for the cost. It’s a character meal, with delicious food, a gorgeous resort, and spectacular views. I would try to align it with a Hollywood Studios or Epcot day so you can take the Skyliner after eating.
Our server here was meh. She wasn’t very personable and didn’t ask if we wanted anything extra. She was also nonexistent for a majority of the time.
Posted at 10:53 am by taryngirl, on February 18, 2022
1/3/22
By some miracle, I was able to score a reservation to the brand new restaurant in Epcot…Space 220! It was only for 4 people, so our group of 14 had to draw straws. Kidding, kidding!
I had read reviews, looked at food pictures, checked the menu, and reallllllllly wanted to have this experience! So I was very excited that I was one of the “chosen ones.”
The restaurant is located right near Mission Space. The entrance is kind of tucked away on the right hand side of the building. Once you check in at that desk, they send you through the doors to another check in desk.
This is where we received our boarding pass for our visit to the Centauri Space Station.
We lined up with another party against the wall, waiting for someone to escort us to the elevator.
Everyone stood around the center and looked down. We were blasting off and heading to space!
Once we made it to the Space Station, we walked down a very neat hallway.
The restaurant itself is amazing! When you walk in, to the right is the “lounge” where you can also order food. It’s a separate menu, and the seating area is small. You CAN make reservations for this area now, or you can wait in line for a walk up. Note, the full dinner menu is not available in this area.
All throughout dinner, things would go flying across…astronauts, shuttles, satellites, etc. It was neat!
Lunch and dinner here are a little bit different. For dinner you get to choose one appetizer, one entree and one dessert for $79 per person.
Here’s a look at the dinner menu:
One thing I forgot to get a photo of was the incredible drink menu! The drink menu was great and we all had a hard time deciding what we wanted.
You can’t tell by this photo, but my drink was bubbling like crazy!
Someone else ordered this one…that is cotton candy!
First appetizer:
Centauri Caesar Salad–Miniature Romaine, Classic Caesar Dressing, Parmigiano Reggiano
Next appetizer:
Blue Moon Cauliflower–Tempura Fried Cauliflower, Housemade Hot Sauce, Blue Cheese Dust
This was my appetizer and it was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I want to try to recreate it at home in my air fryer! It was perfectly cooked and the sauce was not TOO spicy for me. I would 100% order this again.
I didn’t taste this either since I don’t eat seafood, but was told it was good. Just your normal calamari. The tuna was better than this according to my group.
Next up were our entrees.
Entree #1:
8 oz. Filet Mignon–Cabernet Butter, Potato Leek Croquette (I substituted with mashed potatoes!), Haricots Verts
This was amazing! And I’ve very glad I subbed for the mashed potatoes, because they were excellent!
This also had a great presentation. I didn’t taste this one, but it was reported to be good.
Dessert #3:
Lemon Mousse–Lemon Mousse Sphere adorned with White Chocolate Rings, Lemon Custard, Marinated Blueberries, Lemon Curd
This is what I ordered. I LOVE lemon! So I was excited to try this. It was very good! (I did prefer the chocolate cheesecake to this though.)
Dessert #4:
Chocolate Gelato
This was a giant serving! And very good.
Overall, we really loved our experience here. Yes, it’s pricey at $79 per person. But that includes an appetizer, entree, and dessert. It’s really not THAT much more than a two credit Disney table service restaurant. The atmosphere was really cool, and the service was great. I definitely would come again for lunch or to sit in the lounge area!
Posted at 11:22 am by taryngirl, on November 11, 2021
10/1/21
Somehow I was able to score a lunch reservation at the BRAND NEW restaurant, Steakhouse 71, located at the Contemporary Resort where The Wave used to be. This was the grand opening day and we were very excited!
We left Magic Kingdom and took the monorail to The Contemporary Resort. We checked in at 11:40 a.m. and they told us they were running a little bit behind from breakfast. At 12:15 p.m. we were paged.
Compared to The Wave (the restaurant this used to be), I thought the decor was much brighter, which made the dining area look much bigger.
Like I said before, this was opening day, so I knew there may be some hiccups. We sat, and waited and waited for our server to come. She did not, but a manager did. He took our drink order and then our food order as well. Our drinks came and we had ordered appetizers, and those eventually came as well. (We still didn’t see our server!)
I ordered the Fork & Knife Caesar Salad $10. This was delicious and possibly one of the best salads I’ve had!
My friend ordered the Baby Iceberg Wedge Salad (house-made bleu cheese dressing, toy box tomatoes, pickled red onions, bacon, hard cooked egg) $11.
At some point during appetizers, our waitress appeared. She explained her last table (during breakfast service) was super complicated and had a bunch of different payments. We also noticed that they had random people bringing out food and managers were busing tables. Nothing seemed organized and it seemed like they were struggling!
At one point, someone else brought us two more salads, and we told them we were already served.
For entrees, my friend ordered the Crab Cake Sliders (lump crab cakes, old bay remoulade, tomato, pickled slaw on a brioche bun, served with parmesan fries). You could also choose a petite wedge salad or pasta salad as your side. $19. She really liked these. She smashed them down so she could fit them in her mouth.
I ordered the Steakhouse 71 Stack Burger (signature blend of beef, American cheese, lemon aioli, red onion, house-made pickles, on a brioche bun served with parmesan fries) $20. This was amazing! I asked for the lemon aioli on the side because I wasn’t sure I would like it, but it was really good.
Overall, the service was not that great. We didn’t get out of here until 2:00 p.m. But the food more than made up for it. The staff was very apologetic and friendly, they were just overwhelmed. I will 100% be back here again. I think this is a great alternative to a table service in Magic Kingdom, especially at lunch time.
Posted at 12:37 pm by taryngirl, on October 21, 2021
9/30/21
It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten at Mama Melrose in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so I wanted to check it out! The last time we ate there, I really wanted to try the famous steak and JUST THAT WEEK they removed it from the menu. After lots of customer complaints, they brought it back, so I was anxious to try it, and honestly, by the time we made reservations, our choices were limited with both location and times.
We got to Hollywood Studios at around 3:30 p.m. Our reservation was at 4:45 p.m.
We walk through some of the shops on the way in, then checked wait times on the rides. Toy Story Midway Mania only had a 20 minute wait, so we went on that. Once we came out of there, we made our way over to Mama Melrose right on time.
The decor and atmosphere are super cozy and cute inside this restaurant. To access the menu at the table, you scan a barcode and it pops up on your phone.
To start, they brought us some amazing bread. It was warm and had a great olive oil dip. I also asked for straight up butter.
Jamie ordered the Mama’s Caesar Salad–Fresh Romaine Lettuce, Housemade Caesar Dressing, Herb Croutons, and Parmesan. $11.00.
For her main dish, she ordered the Oven-Baked Chicken alla Parmigiana–Breaded Chicken Breast with Marinara Sauce topped with Melted Mozzarella over Spaghetti $25.00.
I ordered the Charred Strip Steak–Four Cheese Macaroni with Pancetta, Aged Balsamic Shallot Butter, and Chianti Wine Reduction $33.00. At Italian restaurants I always order some type of pasta, just because I feel like I should! But I’ve heard so many amazing things about this steak, that I had to give it a try. I LOVED IT! Both the steak and mac and cheese were so good! If I come back here, I 100% will be ordering this again.
We were so full there was no way we could do dessert here. Plus, I still had Gideon’s cookies back in the room!
After we left here, we went and stood in the standby line for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, which had a posted time of 30 minutes I think. We were pretty beat at this point from traveling, so we took some photos and then headed back to the resort.
Up next…Magic Kingdom for the 50th Anniversary Celebration!
Posted at 4:21 pm by taryngirl, on January 26, 2021
11/15/2021
Liberty Tree Tavern is my favorite table service restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. The setting is a colonial style inn, featuring traditional New England inspired cuisine. Lunch used to be ala carte ordering off of a menu, (pre-Covid times), but currently they are offering the same style dining as they do for dinner. It’s brought out family style for everyone to share. You can see the current menu HERE.
Our reservation was for 12:05 p.m. We checked in through the My Disney Experience app at 11:45 a.m., and were called 5 minutes later. Inside there used to be places to sit and even places for kids to color while you waited. Now there are spaces on the floor for you to stand socially distanced.
We started with some salad and warm rolls.
Declaration Salad, tossed mixed greens with homemade dressing
This salad is always very refreshing! The dressing is super light, but full of flavor. It’s one of my faves!
These rolls are always served warm, and are so soft! Also one of my faves!
The Patriot’s Platter includes Roasted Turkey Breast, Pot Roast (my favorite of the meats!), Oven Roasted Pork, Mashed Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables, Herb Stuffing, and House-Made Macaroni and Cheese.
The meats and the stuffingThe vegetables, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese
One thing I want to note is the change in the macaroni and cheese since the last time I ate here! I think it used to be a Stouffer’s type, but now it’s listed as homemade. It definitely looked and tasted different. I much preferred this version!
Our lunch was amazing! It’s so much food! My personal favorites are the pot roast, mashed potatoes, and salad. You can order individual refills on any of the dishes you would like. We got a little bit more pot roast and mashed potatoes since we didn’t eat much of the pork.
Our waitress was very attentive. She brought refills for our drinks before we were even finished with the first one. It was kind of ridiculous the amount of glasses we had on our table at one time!
This restaurant has my favorite dessert out of any restaurant in all of Disney. OOEY GOOEY TOFFEE CAKE!
We were finished eating and out the door by 12:45 p.m. I for sure would eat here again and definitely recommend it if you haven’t tried it yet!
Posted at 12:36 pm by taryngirl, on December 8, 2020
Continuing on with our day at Epcot, we finished up our Germany snacks and headed toward Mouse Gears to do some shopping. The entire center where the fountain used to be, is all blocked off and under construction at the moment. They are redoing things in there. That means that Mouse Gears is now moved to a different location. It’s still in Future World East, just a different building. The selection is still really good!
From there we headed to Spaceship Earth. Wait time posted was 20 minutes. We waited 25 minutes. Once exiting there are no games anymore. It’s completely silent! I’m assuming this is because of Covid, and the fact that they don’t want people touching the games and crowding. We went over to Journey Into Imagination with Figment, which had a 20 minute wait time posted. We waited 5 minutes. Also, at the end of this attraction there are no games or anything interactive!
Here you can see they are only seating every other row on this attraction for now.It’s empty and quiet!
Of course at the end of this, we went and enjoyed the DVC Lounge which is upstairs in this building. We sat for about an hour and enjoyed some drinks and snacks while recharging our phones and resting our feet.
While there are no character meet and greets available at the moment, there are characters out and about. We were able to see Joy and Pooh right outside of the Figment attraction.
We headed into The Land and went directly to Living With the Land. Wait time posted was 10 minutes, but we walked right on.
Plexiglass barriers up in between the queue rows.Only sitting every other row on this attraction. But you can also see the dividers up between seats.
After this, Alex went to ride Soarin’. The wait time posted was 35 minutes. She was on and off in 35 minutes.
Barriers up between the rows.
Here’s a picture of Garden Grill. The characters are there, but walking in the row of tables behind the patrons.
From there, we went to The Seas with Nemo and Friends, where there was no wait. We also stayed to explore the SeaBase since we had some time to kill before our dinner reservation at Coral Reef.
It was finally time for our dining reservation at Coral Reef! I hadn’t eaten here since my husband and I went for our anniversary many, many years ago…pre kids I think.
The entrance may be hard to find. If you are standing facing the entrance to the Nemo ride, go right around to the side of the building.
You can see the one way enter/exit, as well as markers on the ground.
There are (for the most part) no paper menus anymore. You have to scan the QR code at the table or outside of the restaurant to see the menu. The menus have all been paired down for sure! Offering less selections than normal.
Note…I don’t eat any seafood! At all!
Warm rolls with butter. SO GOOD!Side Caesar SaladSeared Mahi Mahi (Alex’s meal). She has a shellfish allergy, that’s why there’s an allergy pick.My meal! I ordered the Caesar Salad with Chicken as my meal. It was delicious!Of course we had to get the Chocolate Wave for dessert to share!View of the restaurantView from our table! We were right next to the gigantic tank.
Our reservation was for 7:15 p.m. We were in and out and at the bus stop to the resort by 8:25 p.m.
I would definitely eat here again, and would recommend anyone who needs a break from the countries to give it a whirl! When I travel with our big family, we always eat in the countries. This was a nice break from that since we had all of the food booths in the afternoon. The staff here was very friendly and accommodating.
After our jaunt on the Skyliner, we rode it back to the Epcot Station and entered through the International Gateway. We had dinner reservations in Mexico at La Hacienda de San Angel, but before that, we made our way through the countries a little bit.
It’s always a joy to listen to Mariachi Cobre located just outside the Mexico Pavilion! They sound really good and are super talented!
There are two table service restaurants in Mexico. San Angel Inn is located INSIDE the pavilion.
(By the way, I love my iPhone 11 Pro! This pic was taken with it. No flash!)
We took a quick ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour before our dinner.
From there, we headed outside of the pavilion and across the walk to the second table service restaurant…La Hacienda de San Angel.
The view from our table (Yes we are inside! We just had a window seat.):
The menu:
(A side note…I have only eaten at this restaurant one other time in my life, and it was several years ago. I absolutely did not find the menu appealing at all, but my cousin wanted to try it. It ended up being my favorite meal of the trip! So I couldn’t wait to get back here.)
Chips and Salsa come complimentary. The salsa was really good!
I ordered the Pollo al Pastor, which was adobe marinated chicken breast with vegetables. It was spicy but delicious!
My cousin ordered the Enchiladas de Vegetales.
All entrees come with family style rice and beans.
Overall thoughts…our server was a little crazy, but efficient. One example, when filling my water, he basically dumped the pitcher onto me and my plate of rice. The meal was so good, and I love the setting right on the lake. If you have dined inside at San Angel Inn, give this a try! I prefer the food here! They only serve during dinner.
After the craziness of riding Rise of the Resistance, we headed out the gates and to the boat. We took the boat to the Beach Club for our reservation at Beaches and Cream.
Beaches and Cream had a makeover! The seating area was expanded and the menu received a small makeover. We couldn’t wait to check it out!
The check in podium is located outside the restaurant. Generally to dine here, you must have a reservation. There is some counter seating that may be open for walk ins, but it’s tough to get in here!
The menu:
I can never decide what I want here, because I love this kind of food. It’s usually a toss up between the burger or the chili cheese dog (which by the way is not on the regular menu anymore), and then a dessert decision is also a struggle!
Here you can see he expanded seating area inside the restaurant:
I ordered the chili cheese dog, even though it wasn’t listed on the menu!
Alex ordered the Reuben.
Both were delicious!
And for dessert, we went with the no fail No Way Jose to share.
This is probably my favorite ice cream sundae in Disney! I love peanut butter and chocolate together.
If you are staying in the area of Beach Club, Yacht Club or Boardwalk, this is a great lunch spot. Or even if you are going between Hollywood Studios and Epcot as we were. It’s reasonably priced for a table service, and the desserts available are fabulous!
Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures 