You will have to stick around to day four of our eating adventure if interested in knowing why someone asked if we "finish each other's sandwiches ..."
This review will include Food & Wine Festival, Jiko, Be Our Guest, Skipper Canteen, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Teppan Edo, Boathouse, Tiffins, Ragland Road, 50's Prime Time Cafe,Hoop Dee Doo Revue and 1900 Park Fare.
We are husband and wife and used the Deluxe Dining plan that
allows breakfast lunch and dinner each day. However, we mostly skipped
breakfast and saved our credits to dine at the (two-credit) Signature restaurants. Lunch and dinner include an appetizer, entrée and dessert. In addition,
we were allotted twelve snack credits each. I knew we would have trouble
using all those snack credits, so I plotted a two-part plan.
First part of the plan – Use a few on arrival day to sample some of the dishes
at Food and Wine. Not too many though because we had a 6:20 PM reservation at Jiko.
We arrived at EPCOT around 11:30 feeling pretty hungry. We had been up since 3:30 and neither of us had a thing to eat - not even complimentary peanuts on the plane. After making it through security we hustled back to World Showcase. We had studied the menus prior and had several things in mind we wanted to try. However, my choices changed upon arrival as it was extremely hot and loaded mac n cheese and piggy wings no longer seemed appetizing.
I had created an Origami game called the Fortune Teller as a fun way to choose food booths at random, but the hubs was cranky and didn’t want to play along.
Our first stop was China. His choice. I wanted something a little more exotic, but it was too hot and I was too hungry to argue. He chose the Beijing Roasted Duck Bao Bun ($6.50) and I got the Black Pepper Shrimp (5.75).
The Bao Bun did not appear appetizing, but turned out to be the star of the dish.
I did not like the duck at all. It had some crunchy pieces that did not belong and I didn’t like the taste of the sauce. He thought it was ok.
The shrimp dish was terrible! The noodles were super dry and the shrimp were overcooked. Overall, I was more disappointed than him, but we were both happy to have food in our bellies.
His favorite dessert is carrot cake and I had read and watched on YouTube how the Fresh Baked Carrot Cake at the Hops & Barley stand was all the rage. The booth is set up near the American Adventure, so we headed there – passing up Africa along the way. The African food smelled really good and even though hubs had said Africa was one of the stands he wanted to try, he had changed his mind. I decided not to get anything because at that point I had used the Fortune Teller and selected to get the Grilled Beef Skewer at Patagonia. My mind was set on that, so I just went along with whatever he chose.
The carrot cake tasted fresh and the cream cheese frosting they layered
it with was nice and warm. Hubs was not impressed, however. He could
barely taste the carrot and he was disappointed it didn’t have nuts. I am not a dessert connoisseur, so it didn’t matter to me either way. I thought it tasted
okay, but had just the one bite.
We continued along, me still searching for Patagonia and choosing nothing along the way. He wanted to stop at Japan, which I thought was completely boring but whatever. It started to rain, so I got the umbrella out and sat on a ledge as he debated over the Wasabi Steamed Dumpling and the Teriyaki Ginger Pork. Ultimately, he decided to get the pork because of the size of the portion. It was also the most expensive item on the menu at $8.25, so a good use of a snack credit. It was a good piece of pork – nice and tender. I didn’t care for the sauce, but then again I am not a lover of the teriyaki flavor. He thought it was pretty good.
At this point, I was getting the distinct impression that he didn’t like the
whole idea of sharing his selections. In fact, back at the carrot cake stand he complained because I asked for another bite after originally saying I just wanted
to “taste” it. I could see the heat, hunger and fatigue were starting to wear
on him. He was slowly turning into a small child. So I only had a small bite of the pork because I didn’t want to argue. Besides, I was headed to Patagonia.
The rain stopped after about 15 minutes so we moved along. He didn’t see anything else he wanted to try at that point, so we stopped at the United Kingdom for a bit and watched a singing performance.
Here we had made it from China to the United Kingdom and I had passed up a bunch of pavilions in search of Patagonia. I was beginning to think I had missed it along the way. Finally, just past the UK there it was. I promptly ordered the Beef Skewer with Chimichurri sauce and Boniato Puree and I was promptly disappointed.
First of all, the presentation was really lame. I was also put off by the portion size. It’s not that I was worried about going hungry, it’s just I had built up anticipation having walked nearly the entire length of World Showcase for some tiny pieces of beef. The chimichurri was good, but the puree was garbage. It tasted like lumpy instant potatoes. At this point I was sorely disappointed with Food and Wine and decided not to try anything else. The hubs was satisfied, having devoured most of the selections by himself.
Jiko
This restaurant was not on my list when I made ADR’s at 180 days out.
I originally had Flying Fish booked for this day, but a few weeks before
our trip I got caught up in a dining thread titled Jiko dot dot dot.
Actually, it was Jiko …, but I have to explain it the way I have it in my head.
Folks on the thread were so complimentary of the place I was intrigued.
I even took the time to read some of the reviews on Trip Advisor and once again,
people love this place.
Having stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge in 2002, Jiko was not on my radar
because of an experience at Boma. Not that Boma was bad, but the African
inspired dishes were really spicy and my stomach did not love it. I ended up
eating mashed potatoes and mac and cheese that night. In addition, at that time
the Lodge did not provide straws for the drinks. I ordered an ice tea with extra ice
and it was difficult to drink without one. The server explained straws were
hazardous to the animals and therefore, they did not provide.
Since that time and due to overwhelming demand, they now provide straws
that are self- disintegrating. They begin to break down after about thirty
minutes of exposure to liquid. In fact, during our meal at Jiko, the server
provided my husband with an additional one when he noticed it was starting
to break down a bit. Even though I had told hubs the story about
the straws and what to expect about their texture, he didn’t remember.
The look on his face when he stuck it in his mouth for the first time was hilarious.
Olry happened to witness the incident, so I believe that is the reason he paid particular attention to hub's straw after that.
I really wanted him to explore AKL so we left Epcot around 4:30 and
hopped on a bus headed that way. This was his first true visit to WDW,
by the way. He went once in 5th grade shortly after Magic Kingdom
opened. He was amazed at the looks of the lodge. I knew he would be.
The animals were very active, so we sat out on the savanna for a while.
There was a nice young man from South Africa working out there and he took the time to educate us about many of them.
When he found out we were going to Jiko, he suggested a few wines we should try.
He looked to be all of about 18 years old, so that was amusing. We went to the lobby and looked around for a while. We were fixated with the looks of this piece.
This is not my photo, by the way.
Another worker approached and asked if we wanted to learn more about it.
She was from South Africa as well. We said yes because she was very pleasant
and highly enthusiastic. Not to mention her accent was so beautiful we could have listened to her talk for hours. This particular piece of art is used in the rite of
passage for young boys starting at the age of eight. The boy has to wear this on his shoulder while using the beat of a drum to find his way around. If he drops it –
it causes a great deal of shame to his family. I am oversimplifying it a bit, but bottom line I was fascinated. Talking with her had us super excited for dinner.
We walked into Jiko twenty minutes early, but they were able to seat us right away.
We had one of the best views ...
Things were getting off to a wonderful start. Our server was Olry and has
worked at Jiko since it opened 17 years ago. I decided to try the wine flight. Hubs ordered a beer, which he didn’t care for very much..
After his mediocre beer, one thing led to another and he ordered a $69 bottle
of wine. The wine we buy at home is $12-$15, so $69 was a real stretch for us.
Olry was so good at his job of suggesting things and hubs is the type who will give in easily to consistent nudging. More on that later …
Olry served up some bread with two types of butter. The bread was nothing special in my opinion, but the butter was delicious. It had the consistency and texture of sour cream. We liked it a lot.
I knew going into dinner that I was going to order the Wild Boar appetizer. That was decided shortly after reading Jiko …
Hubs ordered the Brick Oven Red Shrimp.
The boar was hands down one of the best pieces of meat I ever had.
Second only to a chateaubriand I had once at Eddie Merlot’s. It was so very good. That’s all I can say.
The shrimp were delicious as well. It had a really nice spice to it. Hubs was
in a better mood and up for sharing, but I still only ate one shrimp.
Mainly because I didn’t want to share too much of that boar...
I ate a piece of the maize crusted okra, too. It was good - if you like okra.
For the entrée I chose the Filet (prepared medium) with Babotie mac and cheese.
It was good, nothing special, but always a decent cut of meat.
The babotie mac and cheese on the other hand – wow! Just give me a bowl
of that and I’m good. I was glad I didn’t get the mac and cheese at
Food & Wine after all.
He chose the Seafood Curry at Olry’s suggestion.
I was surprised because spicy food aggravates his acid reflux, but happy to see him being adventurous with his choices. He enjoyed the curry very much. It was loaded with shrimp, lobster, calamari and mussels.
Our bellies were full and it was time for dessert. Here’s where part two of my snack credit strategy was to come into play. Before leaving home I suggested to hubs that we not order dessert just because it comes with the dining plan. I explained how we would have trouble using all the snack credits and if we wanted dessert we would just use those. In my mind it didn’t make sense to drive up the cost of
the bill an extra $20-$25 just to turn around and have to pay out more in tips.
This is where I have a real hang up with the Disney Dining plan, by the way. Tips should be included. They use to be back in the day when they offered the
Magic Your Way packages – and that’s the way it should be.
After spending thousands of dollars on these vacations, I think I speak for many
when I say it feels like Disney is nickel and dimeing me when it comes to paying for tips. I understand having to pay OOP for additional items like add on food items, specialty drinks and alcohol, but for the overall meal plan – no.
So we agreed before leaving home that was what we would do. Dessert was not completely out of the question, but if our bellies were satisfied and the desserts they offered were nothing special, we would forgo them. As we started to finish up the entrees I reminded him of the plan. I even went as far to warn him that Olry would try and nudge us to ordering a dessert. Sure enough, Olry asks if we wanted
dessert and explained we should get it because it comes with the plan.
I said no, but hubs succumbed under pressure.
What’s worse, we ended up with two desserts because hubs agreed to allow Olry to box them up for us since I complained that I wasn’t hungry. We ended up with a $12 piece of mediocre cheesecake and an $11 piece of carrot cake that sat in the refrigerator all week only to be thrown in the trash. In his defense, hubs said he didn’t really understand the strategy at first and vowed not to order anymore “just because” desserts.
Overall, dinner at Jiko was wonderful. We ended up with a tab of $262
and every piece of meat for the rest of the week would have to live up to the Wild Boar Tenderloin ...
Be Our Guest (Pre-Park Opening)
I don’t remember how I got the idea it was so important for us to have breakfast
at Be Our Guest. I don’t know if it was because I was curious to see Beast’s castle, or if it was because so many people said it was what we had to do if we wanted to have a chance at riding Seven Dwarves Mine Train without a significant wait. That is simply one thing I cannot remember about the planning of this trip.
We did get to ride Mine Train and some other fabulous moments happened, but I will save that for the trip report.In case you don’t get around to reading it when I finally get it done, let me tell you this: There are distinct advantages to having a pre-park opening reservation at this restaurant. Take a look at this picture in front of the castle. There is literally only one other person in this photo, and
you have to zoom in to see him. It took a little bit of strategy to make this happen,
but that is pure magic right there, people. Magic!!
Somewhere between the time I made ADR’s and weeks before our trip, I decided that
I really wanted us to eat at Skipper Canteen. The dining credits didn’t line up for it though, so I came up with the strategy for hubs and I to split the meal at Be Our Guest. However,we decided not make the final decision about this until the night before the reservation, or the day of. Since we had the big dinner at Jiko the night before, we weren’t especially hungry for breakfast. It worked out great and allowed us to split the meal.
Before I get to that I want to add how disappointed I was (at first) that the MDE app wasn’t working and we were unable to pre-order this meal. I was under the impression that folks who were able to order before the app went down would somehow have a jump on us. The app went down the day before, by the way, and stayed down until later in the afternoon the next day. Imagine my surprise when we arrived
to Epcot the first day and the MDE showed I hadn’t made any plans. No ADR’s, no fast passes – nothing.I panicked!! I will save the rest of that story for the trip report.
The check in procedure and the part where you order was a bit chaotic. The workers weren’t giving much instruction, so it was a bit confusing. We stood in line and were then directed to a computer to place our order. They pointed at a machine and told us to go and order at #2. I never did see a number two on the machine, so hoped the one we chose was where the lady pointed. The computer asked how many people were in our party so I selected two. Toward the end of the transaction I realized they were going to charge us two dining credits and we planned to share one meal.
We made it to the first dining room and hubs was pressuring me to hurry up and find a seat. He didn’t know there were three rooms and I was looking to see which one we should choose. I’m certain I told him, but like most men, he suffers from selective listening ...
I walked through the Ballroom to the West Wing first. I was preparing to head to the Castle Gallery but he was all over me about hurry and find a seat. He saw the rest of the guests trickling in,so I guess he thought we weren’t going to be able to get a table. I chose a seat in the Ballroom and never did get to see the Gallery. It was all good, though. The Ballroom was beautiful and I was satisfied.
We ordered the Open-Faced Bacon and Egg Sandwich to share. He grabbed us a coffee while I took pictures and prepared the Go Pro camera for our ride on Mine Train. It was literally just days before that I decided I actually like poached eggs, so the breakfast selection was right up my alley. I hate the way under cooked
eggs look – like yuck. Plus I’m afraid of getting sick from them. For that reason, I had never tried a poached egg. I was delighted when I finally tasted one and it was smooth and creamy, like butter.
The open-faced bacon and egg was a really good sandwich. Paired with the pastries, it was the perfect amount of food to share without being overly stuffed. I didn’t partake much in the pastries, but hubs ate every one of them and said they were tasty. He especially liked the second one from the left. It was filled with chips of chocolate.
Can I just say it grates my nerves when people refer to this place as Skipper’s Canteen?
It’s Skipper Canteen – no apostrophe on skipper. It's petty, I know ...
It didn’t seem that busy when we arrived around 1:30 and they seated us right away.
Our “skipper” was Kristina and she was fun. She asked if we had dined with them before.
When we said no she said “Oh, good. I’ve never dined with you either.” She continued to crack corny
jokes throughout the meal, just like they do on Jungle Cruise.
We were sharing this meal so for appetizer we agreed on the Shu Mai Dumplings. They were outstanding!
For the entrée we chose the Whole Fried Fish, which was a snapper. I don’t usually order anything with
the eyes looking at me, but we were attempting to be adventurous. It didn’t matter in the end because
this poor fish was so overly cooked it was barely recognizable.
It was so dry we were only able to get a few bites each of meat from it. Good thing the dumplings
were tasty and filling. We skipped dessert. It was a fun experience though thanks to Kristina.
I regret not taking time to look around the place, but we were distracted as we had a FP for
Big Thunder Mountain. We would eat there again. Hopefully they were just having a bad day with the fish ...
Your review of Jiko has me really wanting to try it. We have stayed at AKL often but my husband is such a picky eater that we've never tried Jiko. I think he will eat the filet with plain mac n cheese. Love your reviews so far! Looking forward to the rest!
Yachtsman Steakhouse
I was pretty stoked for this meal as YSH is one of my favorite restaurants on property.
It’s easy to feel under dressed there. I think because the area is used as a convention center the steakhouse attracts a lot of dressed up business people. It’s always encouraging when other folks show up in their “park clothes."
We started with a glass of wine, not the whole bottle this time.
I asked for us to have a glass of their house Cabernet, then crossed my fingers it wouldn’t cost a fortune.
Our server, Paul said the wine was a brand founded by the group The Doobie Brothers.
I started with the charcuterie board while hubs ordered a Caesar salad.
The charcuterie board was wonderful really. I enjoyed the second one from the top the most, even though from reading the description I was sure I would hate it. The Chasseur Pate is made from suckling pig and accented with raisins and apricots. Doesn’t that sound awful? Well, it wasn’t.
My other favorite was the pickled pickles. That’s what I called them. I am sure they are there to help cleanse the palate, but I ate a few of them one after the other because they were so yummy. Given the amount of meat I had consumed already this trip I should have ordered a salad like hubs, but I love my meat.
For the entrée I ordered the 14 oz Prime Rib while he opted for the 16 ounce Prime Rib Eye.This is where things went sour. It took a while to finish the appetizers. Hubs noticed a server (not ours) walking toward us with food, but at the last second he turned and went back to the kitchen. About fifteen minutes passed and Paul said our steaks would be out soon. Another 15 minutes passed and he asked if someone had already tried to serve our food. We said no and told him about the incident
in which the server came by with plates but turned back toward the kitchen. He apologized and said the kitchen thought we were still enjoying our apps. Then he said “We will have fresh steaks out here for you soon.”
Problem was when the steaks arrived, they weren’t fresh. We could tell they had either nuked them warm or had them sitting in the oven. My prime rib that was supposed to be medium now had a brown tint and didn’t taste grilled at all. We were deeply disappointed as these were $55 steaks. It wasn’t Paul’s fault though, so we didn’t take it out on him.
Hubs' steak was served with bone marrow we were excited to try for the first time.
It didn’t taste at all like I thought it would. Very greasy and fatty tasting. Not awful,
just not what we were expecting. The sweet potato that came with my steak was bad.
I could tell it had been sitting on a warmer as it was super crunchy on top and soft in the middle. Epic fail, Yachtsman! Epic fail!
No dessert for us this night and we asked to have the remainder of those sorry steaks to be boxed up to go. We knew we wouldn’t eat them. Heck, we didn’t even have a way to heat them up if we wanted to. It was just the principal of being served bad steaks that had us all box the rest of this up to go. If we hadn’t have been on the
dining plan, I would have called foul. We each had two glasses of wine at $11 a pour.
We should have just ordered a bottle.
The total for this meal was $185. Despite the issue with the steaks, we would give Yachtsman another try. Paul's service saved it for them.
Teppan Edo
Our next food fest took us to the Japan pavilion at EPCOT for lunch. It was a toss- up between this one, Via Napoli and Marrakesh. Ultimately, I chose hibachi because it was familiar. Our reservation was for 11:45 and we arrived a few minutes early. They weren’t quite open for business yet, so I made my way to the back of the restaurant toward the bathroom. The Manager was heading up a staff meeting with the chefs and wait staff. He was going in hard on them about how they had to be
excellent and nothing less. He was really giving them the business about how it only takes one negative social media post to give them a bad reputation. He explained how to handle guests who say they didn't understand the dining plan after they get their bill. It was pretty intense. He wasn’t being mean about it, he was just very matter of fact. I have an inquisitive personality, so I listened to as much as I could until
I was afraid of being caught.
When I made it back to the lobby a young couple with three small children had arrived. They had a baby around 18 months and he was very unhappy. Poor little guy was screaming and hollering so loudly mom had to take him outside. I crossed my fingers they wouldn’t be seated with us. Sorry, not sorry.
The staff came out to the waiting area and lined up like a group of soldiers. Once again, a little intense. They gave a welcome speech and bowed when they finished. It was neat to witness. Just then our pager went off informing us our table was ready. The server bowed again and led us just outside the room where we were having lunch. She told us to wait there. In the meantime, she went back to the lobby and greeted
the young couple in the same manner. She led them to stand next to us. Great! We get to sit next to an unruly baby.
I realize this is an unpopular issue to raise, but I was slightly annoyed. I know it’s
Disney World and kids rule, but I’m just being honest. A short time after we were seated the last party arrived. It was a husband and wife. We were relieved to have someone to talk to and distract us from the crying. I don’t hold it against the baby, it wasn’t his fault. He was unhappy for most of the meal.I had a hard time hearing the chef and what she was saying while performing her little tricks.
She was still “Earning her Ears.” We could tell she was a bit nervous, but it was okay because she smiled almost the entire time.
I ordered the Assorted Tempura. It was yum.
Hubs got the Wafu Ribs. They didn’t look like much, but were surprisingly good.
For my entrée I ordered the chicken and shrimp. They serve everything with Udon noodles that were fantastic. My chicken and shrimp was decent. I thought the chicken was a little dry, but it was still a decent meal. Hubs ordered the salmon. She cooked it perfectly. It was out of sight! They serve it with a house made sauce that was delicious. They served another house made sauce for chicken and fish that
she referred to as “yum yum” sauce and it was true.
I was good and full and didn’t order dessert. Hubs ordered another one of those “just because” desserts even though we still had 20 snack credits left. I was good though and didn’t lecture him about it. This is the Green Tea Mousse cake. I don't think he finished it.
The manager came to the table and asked if we enjoyed everything. We noticed he had been watching from the corner and writing something on a piece of paper.
Our comments were favorable enough that he said the chef would be released from training that day or the next. Yay!
The Boathouse
We had an 8:00 dinner reservation at Boathouse at Disney Springs. We checked in early and I had the nerve to ask for a table outside. They accommodated our request after a short wait. This place was a zoo! So many people and it was really loud in there. I was glad we were sitting outside. Hubs went to the bar to get a beer. They gave me a seat outside while he was gone, so I called him to let him know where I was. He came back without the beer and said the bar was way too mobbed.
It was a little warm outside, but the view was so incredible we didn’t care.
I ordered a glass of wine while hubs decided to order a double shot of Bullet Rye bourbon that was $27. Now mind you, we can by a .750 liter bottle of this stuff for $35 in the real world. He had three ...
For apps I ordered the 1 ¼ pound lobster cocktail. It was as good as it looks.
A little messy and the server neglected to bring towels. The service here was really spotty, but it’s amazing what good food and an amazing view can do. Hubs ordered the Jumbo Lump Crab and Avocado. It was wonderful.
We enjoyed our seafood while watching the sun go down and one of the Amphicars get stranded in the water. The other guests were having a lot of fun with that one – shouting out what they thought the problem was and how the rescue car should handle it. That was fun.
I ordered another steak. The 8 ounce Filet Oscar Style. It was pretty good, but not as good as Jiko’s Wild Boar Tenderloin. I am telling you I will never forget that piece of meat ...
Hubs went with the Stuffed Lobster. I don’t think he understood what he was getting by the look on his face when it was placed in front of him. He enjoyed it, though.
The server finally brought out some hot towels and lemon wedges. It’s amazing how lemon juice works to get rid of the fishy smell on the hands.
There was a live band inside the restaurant, and from what I could hear they sounded good. Problem was there was also a live band playing on the foot traffic side of the restaurant. It was battle of the bands, for sure.
No dessert for us since we were full and had downed $99 worth of drinks. The bar had cleared out, so before leaving we stopped and had another one.
The bill was $236 not including the drinks at the bar.
We wanted to listen to the band, but for some reason they kept taking breaks. After our drink we walked outside and enjoyed the outside band instead. They were playing “Let it Go” on violin for the kids. Just over the river we could see fireworks. It was a lovely evening.
The next day we had a lunch reservation at Tiffins. Before I get to that I have to share the story of how the title of this report came to be. On our way to the restaurant as we were leaving Kali River Rapids we spotted a Photopass photographer. She was a young girl and had us pose in odd positions. I thought maybe they would be Magic shots, but no – just odd poses. I suppose this one was appropriate for an Asian theme.
She had us do another one where we faced each other and touched nose to nose.
Afterwards, she asked how we knew one another. When I told her we were married she was relieved because she said she asked a few people do that same pose only to find out they were brother and sister.
I think she might have been hearing impaired based on the tone of her voice and she was a difficult to understand. She said since we were married we must be love experts.
She then asked if we “finish each other’s sentences.”
Hubs thought she said “Do you finish each other’s sandwiches?”
What was worse, he responded by saying “Sometimes if she can’t finish her sandwich I will finish it for her.”
She gave him a strange look and let out a nervous chuckle. I was rolling laughing on the inside because he had no idea what he was talking about. Even better, I got the whole exchange on video without knowing. I didn’t realize the GoPro was still on from the river ride. Too funny!
We arrived early and had to wait because they weren’t open. I needed to use the restroom and was going to walk elsewhere to find one. The hostess, who was stationed outside assured me the restaurant would open in just a few minutes and advised me to wait. She must have relayed my dilemma to someone inside because when we went in the hostess stationed inside pointed me to the restroom straight away. I really appreciate how Disney will go out of their way to be accommodating.
We had the entire dining room to ourselves for a while. The restaurant is absolutely stunning!
Mike D was our server. I had the impression he was going to drive me crazy, but
I came to appreciate him very quickly and understood why he was so talkative.
I ordered an ice tea with extra ice and hubs got a Coke. When he brought the tea I asked for sweetener. He said he would bring some of their passion fruit simple syrup. That stuff was the bomb! Move over sweetener.
I decided months in advance I would order the Grilled Octopus. Although the thought of eating an octopus frightened me I wanted to be adventurous. Hubs couldn’t decide but I was hoping he would choose the Charcuterie Board. He decided to go with the Black-Eyed Pea Fritters.
I warned him how folks have complained the portions at Tiffins are really small. I told him he would probably only get one or two fritters. I went on to ask if he ever even had black eyed peas. I was doing my best to change his mind and it worked. When Mike came to take our order, he chose the Charcuterie Board after all. Yes!!
The grilled octopus.
Oh … mer … gerd! Finally something that rivaled Jiko’s wild boar.
It was served warm and had a soft, smooth texture. Not at all what I imagined. It didn’t smell fishy like seafood. Even better, when Mike put it in front of me he thoroughly explained every item on the plate and its purpose. The saffron aioli under the octopus was excellent – just like he said it would be.
All I can say is wow!
Hubs devoured most of the charcuterie board by himself.
Again, Mike took the time to explain everything thoroughly. Hubs’ favorites were the bottom right which was a Duck Confit pate. However, he kept referring to it as “duck feet” because he was being cheeky. He also enjoyed the top left which was a pork blend with an amazing honeycomb sauce on top. The presentation of every dish was just beautiful.
I chose the Pan Seared Duck Breast for my entrée and again – Oh … mer … gerd!
It was so good!
This was another dish I decided on months earlier. I Googled pics of it beforehand and was concerned as I noticed they serve it rare to medium. I am not down for eating an under-cooked bird. After some research I discovered duck is considered red meat and was relieved. I ordered mine medium. Everything on the plate married together to form wonderful flavors. It had mushrooms, berry compote and a puree made of parsnips. Ahhhhmazing!
Hubs was debating between the Grilled Swordfish and the Strip loin and Smoked Brisket. Mike convinced him that while the striploin/brisket were very good, the swordfish was excellent. He explained how the bologna on the charcuterie board was made from scraps from the strip loin and insisted there was no need to eat the strip loin twice.
The swordfish was presented beautifully. It was served with “forbidden” rice and two large trumpet royale mushrooms that were just as good as the fish. Mike took time to explain the origin of forbidden rice. I just couldn’t get enough of that guy and his knowledge and appreciation for the food he served. Sorry for hating on you at the beginning, bro.
For the record, we didn’t think the portion sizes were too small. But then again, we had apps and entrée so perhaps that makes a difference. Our bellies were plenty satisfied but we decided to order one dessert just to see what it would look like.
Yes - the forbidden "just because" dessert.
We chose the Passion Fruit Tapioca Crème. It didn’t sound good to me at all.
Once again, I was wrong.
Presentation was gorgeous, of course. The bottom layer was lemon flavored passion fruit and on first bite seemed overwhelming. However, there was something about it that left a delicious aftertaste. I can’t explain it other than it was fabulous tasting.
Tiffins, you have our hearts!!
On a side note, something really cool happened after we left the restaurant. We had a FP for Flight of Passage so we headed to Pandora. When we got in line guess who was right in front of us?
Peter from DIS Unplugged.
I couldn’t believe it. Right in front of us! I was so excited I didn’t even introduce myself or say hello. I just blurted out “Hi. We just had lunch at Tiffins.”
His YouTube review of Tiffins is one of my favorites.
I had to explain to hubs who he was, but he didn’t get it. Peter introduced himself and we chatted for a bit. He asked what we thought of the restaurant and I told him we were thoroughly impressed. He said he hadn’t eaten there in a few months and was hearing mixed reviews. The entire experience from lunch, to meeting Peter, to Flight of Passage was sheer Disney magic.
We had dinner at Raglan Road. A few weeks before we left I considered changing to Rose and Crown.I wish I had. Ragland Road was by far our worst meal and experience. Hubs likes Irish pubs, so this one was for him. He was stoked when I told him about the Irish dancers/entertainment. When we arrived I asked to be seated in the room with the stage. This request delayed our ADR approximately thirty minutes. No big deal. We sat out front on a ledge and drank a beer.
We were seated in the main room right behind a pillar. The view wasn’t that great, but whatevs. We could see enough. Our server was really slow. It took about ten minutes to be acknowledged and get drinks. It’s also really dark in there. We wanted to try the Dalkey Duo and were told since it was an appetizer meant to share, we could only order one app for the table.
It took a while for it to come out and the presentation seemed sloppy. The Dalkey Duo is deep fried sausage. It had good flavor but was greasy. They served up nine of them. Six on the fork platter thingy and three in a bowl off to the side. If the dish was made to serve nine pieces, why not make a platter with nine placements.
It was no trouble- just odd.
Hubs ordered the Fish and Chips. One piece of fish and a mound of steak fries for $21. Ridiculous!
The fries were good, but the fish was greasy.
I ordered the Bison Burger. It was bad. Super dry as if they had worked the meat too much. I understand bison is very lean and has the potential to be dry, but every time I have eaten it at a restaurant it wasn’t. The steak fries were good – nice and hot.
Here’s what my plate looked like afterward. Looks like it was hit by a tornado because that burger was garbage.
When it was time to pay we were presented with a receipt with no place to sign or leave a tip. All other receipts we were provided that week were in three parts. One shows the breakdown of the cost. One shows the charges zeroed out to indicate the dining plan. One is to sign and write in the tip amount.
Now that I think about it, I think we had to sign two of three.
I questioned the server about it and she was snippy. She said that’s not how they do it there because they participate in the dining plan, but don’t participate in the dining plan. Whatever that means ...
The only way to tip was to leave cash or charge it to the room. She said she could charge our credit card a penny and add the tip in later.
Uhmmmmmm … no!
There is no way I’m leaving you a blank check to write in whatever number you want later – especially when you won’t provide a receipt. It was at that point
I considered not tipping at all. I was holding on to my cash for taxis, mousekeeping and such. Don’t get me wrong, I am a 20% tipper in the majority of circumstances. I don’t believe in stiffing a server. It’s just that I felt they were forcing us to do that. She even went as far as to say if we weren’t willing to do it their way then we couldn’t tip at all. It was a very rude exchange I didn’t appreciate because
we were looking out for our best interest and to some degree, hers.
Hubs had $11 in his pocket, so that is what we left on a $67 bill. I wrote a note on their copy explaining why we should have been provided a receipt with an accounting of how much the meal cost, and the amount we tipped. We have no desire to return to this place.
I have several of the same restaurants lined up to try on our next trip in April. Top of my list.... Jiko! Thanks for a great review with pics included.
After that delightful experience at Raglan Road, our reservation the next day was for lunch at 50’s Prime Time Café at the Studios. Again, we were a little early. I think it became a habit with us because it was so hot that when it was time to be someplace for a reservation we just wanted to get there and nest nearby instead of trapezeing all over the park to kill time. We had a bit of a wait – about 30 minutes. I recorded most of the experience on the GoPro, but haven’t watched yet.
The hostess who seated us realized I was recording and she played right along. She looked into the camera and smiled and waved. She asked where we were from and as it turned out she lived here 20 years ago. It was a great exchange. I asked if our server was any good at playing along and she said he was great. One of the parties in his section heard me ask and gleefully agreed. That party told us to make sure and ask for ketchup and said it was okay to put elbows on the table.
Not so fast! I know a trap when I see it.
James the server is from England and his accent combined with his scoldings were hilarious. He gave strict instruction about elbows on the table, eating our vegetables, whining and cell phone use. He said since cell phones did not exist in the 50’s we were not allowed to use them at the table. I noticed the restaurant doesn’t come up as one of the places to “check in” on Facebook and I’m sure that is why.
I ordered an unsweetened ice tea, extra ice. I asked if that was considered whining. He said “No.You’re just a princess who knows what she wants.” Somehow he talked hubs into getting a Root beer Float for his drink. What? You’re starting with a float? What about lunch? What-evs. It’s your stomach.
James brought the tea and I asked for sweetener. He said in a loud voice “You asked for unsweetened ice tea and now you’re asking for sweetener. You’re being ridiculous and not making any sense right now.”
Hubs gobbled up his float. I had a bite and it was pretty good. The root beer tasted like the real thing – like when we were kids.
For apps I ordered the crab cakes and he got the onion rings. They don’t have much on the menu appetizer wise. The crab cake was okay – a little too wet in my opinion. I was surprised that for $12 I only got one, but it was okay since it was mediocre. Hubs devoured his onion rings. I had a small bite, but I don’t care for onion rings in general. He said he wished he had ordered something different. I think the sugar from the float and the grease from the onion rings were starting to get to him.
For my entrée I ordered the salmon and he got the pot pie. James said the salmon would take a while because they make everything fresh. About that time a young couple with two little boys were seated next to us. The youngest appeared to be 2-3 years old. We were seated at one of those tables where one side is just a long bench, so it feels like you’re sitting at the same table.
The mom looked at me and said “I’m so sorry they seated us next to you guys.”
Oh my gosh! I felt so guilty. Was I giving off a “Get those kids away from me vibe?”
I felt guilty for thinking so negatively about the crying baby at Teppan Edo. It occurred to me that it’s probably embarrassing for parents when that happens. I don’t have children of my own. Sometimes I lack compassion for parents with unruly little ones because I’m ignorant. I told the mom that it was okay and that we didn’t mind at all. Her boys were very well behaved the entire time.
As I was taking pictures of our food and emailing them to myself, James caught me and accused me of texting. He called me out on it. A lady at the table on the other side got caught with her phone so many times he yelled
“Really, lady? Seriously with the phone again!”
Entrees came out and presentation wise they looked good. I was excited until I cut into the salmon.
Raw. Ugh!!
I contracted salmonella poisoning about 20 years ago from under cooked fish.It is frightening what that poison does to the body. Needless to say, I don’t eat raw fish.
I understand there are people who like it this way, but not this girl. They should have warned me. I was perplexed as to why James said it would take so long if they weren’t even cooking it all the way. He apologized and said that is the way they make it there. Nope! Not for me. I was done.
Interestingly enough he never offered to have the kitchen fix it or make me something else. They seemed to be more concerned about herding people in and out of there. I was surprised they didn’t offer to refund the dining credit either. I didn’t make a big deal out of it though because we didn’t have time to use an additional credit as we were leaving the next day. I heard the young couple with the little
boys tell James they were running low on credits, so if they would have offered to refund it, I would have asked if they could give it to them.
Hubs’ pot pie looked delicious. The sauce was creamy and flavorful and the crust was light and flakey. But alas, the chicken was really, really dry.
He had a few bites and called it quits. I think he was full from the float and the onion rings. Seeing as how all I’d had at that point was a single crab cake, I nibbled on it for a bit . There were a few pieces of dark meat that weren’t dry, but the breast meat was no.
I decided not to get dessert or anything else. You know how when a restaurant messes up your food and from then on you just don’t trust them to make you anything else? That was me.I wasn’t upset with James. In fact, I wasn’t upset at all. However, if not for the dining plan I would have called foul.
Just as we were preparing to leave the Manager came to the table and apologized.
She gave us an anytime FP that could be used on anything except Pandora, Rivers of Light and Frozen Ever After.
We didn’t have a FP for Toy Story Mania and the wait times were really high. We had planned on skipping it. Thanks to that FP we were able to ride right after lunch. At the end of the day, I will remember our ride on Toy Story Mania far more than that raw salmon. I think 50’s can be a good experience overall, as long as you get the right server.
No reason to take the time to give details about the food for this show. It’s an all you can eat dinner show served family style. You get unlimited fried chicken, BBQ ribs, mashed potatoes, corn, baked beans, corn bread and a huge strawberry shortcake for dessert. Drinks are included with unlimited beer and sangria. There is nothing fancy about it, that is why there are chicken bones on the plates in this picture.
The following information will likely be more helpful than a review of the food:
If you’re staying on site, book this one at 180 days out.
If using the dining plan, you do not have to pay up front, but must have a credit card on file.
You can absolutely get category one seating using the dining plan, but only for the 8:30 show. We had a great seat at table 11 which was literally up against the stage.
If using the dining plan they will deduct the dining credits from your account a few days prior. Imagine the panic when on the way to Wilderness Lodge MDE showed we only had two credits left each when we were supposed to have four. A cast member at WL printed out our dining details and helped figure things out for us. He was able to do that even though we were not staying there.
The best way to get there using Disney transportation is get yourself to the Wilderness Lodge and take the Fort Wilderness Campground bus from there – not the boat. When the cast member mentioned above heard me mention going out to wait for the boat he said no – go out front and wait for the bus. It’s faster. Sure enough within 30 minutes of him telling us that we were at the campground.
If you take the bus from Wilderness Lodge you will not have to transfer to another bus after you get there. You are already there.
They don’t start seating until right at the time of the show, but make sure you check in when you get there. Shortly before the show the workers will come out and stand at the podiums. Check in and they will give you a ticket with your seat number. Your seat number determines which door you will use to enter the building.
Go early if you have time, especially if you’re doing the 8:30 show. The campground is really cool at night and you can sit in a rocking chair and watch the fireworks.
They take your photo outside the hall - even when it's dark.
If you attend the 8:30 show and are staying on site, bus transportation is provided following the show. You will not have to figure out for yourself how to get back to your hotel. Cast members will direct you as to which bus to board.
So, the receipt from RR didn't have the cost listed? That's so weird! I wish I could remember how we handled the tipping there...I would DEFINITELY remember if they tried to get me to leave a signed receipt where the server wrote in the tip lol. Ludicrous.
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The wine we buy at home is $12-$15, so $69 was a real stretch for us.
They accommodated our request after a short wait. This place was a zoo! So many people and it was really loud in there. I was glad we were sitting outside. Hubs went to the bar to get a beer. They gave me a seat outside while he was gone, so I called him to let him know where I was. He came back without the beer and said the bar was way too mobbed.
