I'm Just Here For Brunch: A 16 Day DR *Update 8/3

[inkedupmomma]

loved the updates and now really cant wait for HC this fall!

 

[Haygar2]

I am not a drinker. However...I really want to try the drink from Homecomin'. I will have to figure out how to make it at home. We tried Homecomin' 2 years ago and, unfortunately, it was our least favorite meal of the trip. It wasn't bad. But it didn't live up to our expectations. I am willing to try it again. The hubs...not so much. He says there are too many other places to eat. So I guess I will have to get the ingredients and try a little trial and error. Brunch does look amazing there. It's been awhile, but did you like Bohemian Rhapsody?

 

[SomeImaginationHuh]

Wonderful reviews and pics. Thanks for sharing!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Totally agree with you on Disney Springs. I could definitely live there and while I haven't found the time to do it yet, I really want to take a long weekend staycation at Saratoga and just do DS and the pool/spa. Soooo many great places to eat. Also agree with you on brunch... love me a brunch.

 

[happy2012]

Reviews are great as always! We have a Blaze Pizza here in PA, you should check near you! They are popping up all over.

 

[TeresaNJ]

All caught up! Love your food pics! I swear I'm getting a Blaze pizza on our next trip! They look so good, especially Rob's loaded creation! Your brunch at Raglan Road looks delicious, as usual. I wish I could fit everything in that I want to try out. Our trips just aren't long enough, between eating our must do's, and trying out new things. Does hard cider taste somewhat like the Schofferhofer grapefruit beer? I really dislike all beers, except for the grapefruit one, and all these different fruity ales sound so good. What do you think?

 

[kastoney]

Loving all the brunch options and agree Disney definitely needs more. Yours is the second Homecoming brunch review I've read today and I'm taking that as a sign that we must have it on our trip next month.

 

[Adgie128]

Hey Jeri! Loving your reviews as usual. I've been quietly following along and had to finally say hi.

It's nice to see a more relaxed approach to Disney. I have to say that as I get older, that's definitely my preferred type of touring. Eating, drinking, swimming, and taking in the Disney atmosphere - perfection!

 

[poppinsmomof2]

I just love your reviews! I have been reading/lurking for a long time and finally decided to join in on the discussions. I love how y'all always go see movies at Disney. My husband and I did that on our first kid free trip last October and it was so much fun!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Hi, Jeri! Good to have you back! I've really missed your TR's. We had Blaze Pizza for the first time in May and absolutely LOVED it! I am planning on going back in August.

Homecomin' is always so good, but I've found a new DS fav in Morimoto. The ribs are phenomenal!!!

Awesome! Blaze is so good. I'm jealous you will be back there soon! I want to give Morimoto another try. It's been awhile since we have been there.

I also love Nine Dragons, the service, food quality and value make it one of my favorites right now. The garlic shrimp with noodles is what I’ll have next time for sure.

Glad you got your Orange Bird back.

Glad to hear you love it there too! I highly recommend the shrimp! I crave it all the time.

Oh my Gish, I was so shocked they had it. Yay for Disney magic!

I think you have convinced me to try Raglan Road for brunch next trip!! Looks so unique!

Yesssss! It's so good! I hope you get to try it.

Awesome update! I love and hate how Disney Springs has so many awesome food choices now. I usually don’t go there more than once a trip, but it’s impossible to fit all my favorites in now!

Trying homecomin’ brunch on my next trip and your review has me so excited

It's possible to make a trip just out of visits to Disney Springs. It's true, I also love and hate that there are so many good options there. It makes it hard to get in the parks and eat lol.

I hope you love the brunch at Homecomin'! I dream of those cheesy potatoes.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

loved the updates and now really cant wait for HC this fall!

Awesome! Super jealous of your fall trip!

I am not a drinker. However...I really want to try the drink from Homecomin'. I will have to figure out how to make it at home. We tried Homecomin' 2 years ago and, unfortunately, it was our least favorite meal of the trip. It wasn't bad. But it didn't live up to our expectations. I am willing to try it again. The hubs...not so much. He says there are too many other places to eat. So I guess I will have to get the ingredients and try a little trial and error. Brunch does look amazing there. It's been awhile, but did you like Bohemian Rhapsody?

Most of the drinks aren't too bad to recreate at home. If you want to make The Local it's Rumhaven coconut water rum. I usually do about 2 1/2 or 3 shots since its pretty weak and then about the same amount of pineapple juice, a splash of simple syrup, and then I squeeze about a quarter of a fresh lime in it. Fresh lime juice is key. I've tried it with the bottled stuff and it's not as good. If I have coconut flakes around I throw those in too just to be all fancy. You can play around with some of the portions to get it how you like it.

I both loved and hated Bohemian Rhapsody. I really love it because of the music and his performance but some of the technical aspects of it drove me nuts. I have found myself watching it a lot now that it's on HBO. It is pretty darn enjoyable.

Wonderful reviews and pics. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you so much!

Totally agree with you on Disney Springs. I could definitely live there and while I haven't found the time to do it yet, I really want to take a long weekend staycation at Saratoga and just do DS and the pool/spa. Soooo many great places to eat. Also agree with you on brunch... love me a brunch.

I could totally do a trip like that too. It sounds like the epitome of relaxation. Brunch is the best! I could never go back to working during the day on weekends because I need my brunch time.

Reviews are great as always! We have a Blaze Pizza here in PA, you should check near you! They are popping up all over.

Thank you! The closest one to me is in Philly, which isn't a far drive, just an annoying one. They really are growing so I am keeping my fingers crossed for an even closer one.

All caught up! Love your food pics! I swear I'm getting a Blaze pizza on our next trip! They look so good, especially Rob's loaded creation! Your brunch at Raglan Road looks delicious, as usual. I wish I could fit everything in that I want to try out. Our trips just aren't long enough, between eating our must do's, and trying out new things. Does hard cider taste somewhat like the Schofferhofer grapefruit beer? I really dislike all beers, except for the grapefruit one, and all these different fruity ales sound so good. What do you think?

Thank you! Blaze is a must. It's so good! I swear I would need to go for two months just to fit in all the food I want to do, so I totally feel you there. I would say some hard ciders would be closer to the flavor of the grapefruit beer than most other beers. Some ciders are a bit dry, which I don't like. I like the ACE pear cider and the original Angry Orchard cider. I would try those and see if you like them. I think you would!

Loving all the brunch options and agree Disney definitely needs more. Yours is the second Homecoming brunch review I've read today and I'm taking that as a sign that we must have it on our trip next month.

Oh my gosh, you must try their brunch. It is the best! When is the next trip?

Hey Jeri! Loving your reviews as usual. I've been quietly following along and had to finally say hi.

It's nice to see a more relaxed approach to Disney. I have to say that as I get older, that's definitely my preferred type of touring. Eating, drinking, swimming, and taking in the Disney atmosphere - perfection!

Hey! Thanks for stopping in to say hi! I can't do the crazy touring style anymore. I'm too old for all that mess lol. It's so nice to be less worried about fitting it all in.

I just love your reviews! I have been reading/lurking for a long time and finally decided to join in on the discussions. I love how y'all always go see movies at Disney. My husband and I did that on our first kid free trip last October and it was so much fun!

Aww thank you so much! I am so glad you decided to join in! I'm glad you got to enjoy some grownup time on your last trip. The movies are so relaxing there. It's a nice break from the crowds.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

The next morning we got a pretty early start and arrived at my favorite resort around 8am. The Polynesian!



I just enjoy being at this resort. The atmosphere can't be beat.

We were seated right away for our reservation at one of our favorites, Kona Cafe.

Rob got one of his favorites, the Loco Moco. Traditional island brunch staple which features a tower of rice, a grilled hamburger patty, house-made chorizo gravy, two eggs-any style, and topped with a tomato salsa.



Not the best pic of this, but he loves it. He has a hard time ordering anything else now.

I am always torn between the Tonga Toast and the Samoan. Today I went with the Seven Seas Samoan. Poached eggs with citrus hollandaise sauce on pulled pork and turkey hash with mustard greens and tomatoes tossed in a citrus vinaigrette.



Sometimes they go a little too heavy on the onions in the hash, but today that was not an issue. They did change it from more of a cubed potato to a potato wedge in the hash though which I did not care for. I hope it doesn't stay that way. However, flavor wise this was excellent as always. I asked for my without the greens since I just pick around them anyway. This take on a benedict is so good. The citrus vinaigrette gives it a nice acid that was previously missed on this. Bring back the cubed potatoes and this would be perfect.

After breakfast it was time to head to MK just in time for rope drop!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Magic Kingdom time! It was pretty chilly out today, which was great because I love wearing a hoodie here.



We did a ton of rides between 9am and 2pm and since we already had a decent breakfast we just grazed on some snacks throughout the morning/afternoon.

First up was a classic. Churro!



You can't go wrong with a churro folks. I wish they would charge less if you don't want the chocolate dipping sauce it comes with. I don't like it. It ruins the churro for me.

Later I did my first Mobile Ordering and let me tell you that it was a success. I walked over to get my pineapple/vanilla Dole Whip and the line was HUGE. So I jumped on the app and it was pretty easy to order. It only took a minute and then I checked in to let them know I was already there and within a couple more minutes I was able to just walk up and grab this beauty.



I'm not a fan of the all pineapple, but I LOVE the pineapple vanilla swirl option. And I watched where I would have been in line and by the time I had my ice cream and took that picture there were still 7 people ahead of me where I would have been if I just got in line. I can't wait to use this option again!

While I was doing that, Rob went over and got a snack from the egg roll cart by Jungle Cruise.

He got one of each of the current spring rolls offerings, cheeseburger and buffalo chicken.



I don't love buffalo chicken and apparently there were pickles in the cheeseburger one so unfortunately these were a hard pass for me. He really enjoyed them though! I wanted to try the cheeseburger one so badly, but I am not down with pickles sadly.

It was a super successful MK day! Lots of rides and some classic treats. I'll count that as a win!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

We left MK and headed to DS in search of food options for a late lunch/early dinner. We decided to try Polite Pig for the first time. Yay!

The line wasn't bad at all and we looked over the menu while we waited behind a few groups.



When I ordered I asked about the Gideon's cookies and the CM said that they only come at 11am and 4pm and it was about 3pm. She said to get back in line about 3:50pm because they go quickly. Noted!

They have a big display of different sauces to choose from inside, so after I ordered I grabbed some napkins, my drink and some sauce.





They give you a tracker to place on the table and they come to you with your food, which I like.



We grabbed a table outside since it was really nice out.

Rob had gone over to the bar to grab a drink, not realizing he could also get a drink from the main ordering station. All the drinks are on tap which is kinda cool. He got the Polite Punch. Light rum, whiskey, passion fruit, lime, bitters.



He really loved this drink. I had a sip too and it was quite good. It's $11 for one drink or $27 for a whole pitcher. Next time the plan is to split a pitcher of this.

Our food was out pretty quickly and man oh man did it look amazing! Rob got the Low & Slow Brisket Sandwich. Pimento cheese, lil john's bbq, pickled jalapenos, crispy onions served with a pickle spear.



He raved about this sandwich! He would definitely get it again.

I was really torn but ended up going with the half chicken with citrus marinade. This came with jalapeno cornbread, signature polite slaw, and choice of one market side. I went with the BBQ waffle fries.





OMG this chicken was amazing! Chicken can often be boring, but this had so much flavor. You could really taste the citrus throughout the chicken and not just the sin. Heaven! The corn bread and Cole slaw weren't really my thing, but the waffle fries were super crispy and delicious.

I also got a side of mac and cheese.



I thought this wouldn't be totally my style of mac and cheese but it was amazing! Not as good as Homecomin' but close. I wanted to try all the sides, but two was more than enough lol. Hopefully next time I'll get to try the cauliflower and brussel sprouts.

So we finish up and get back in line right at 3:50 and we can see they are putting the cookies out. There are about 4 people ahead of us so we are thinking we will have no problem getting two cookies. Well one greedy guy buys 10 of them. Ugh! Seriously! It gets to be our turn and by some miracle there are two cookies left when a guy way back in the line snaps at the CM behind the register and tells her to put those two aside for him. Ummmmmmmm I don't think so friend. So Rob and I are both like, "No!!!! We want those and we are next." The guy then proceeds to yell at us saying he just drove 500 miles to be here and he wants the cookies. I said, "Well we drove 1000 miles, so if that's what we're basing this off of, we win. Try again tomorrow." He was furious and kept yelling at us the entire time we are buying them. Dude, we were in line first, calm down. He was seriously like 8 people back in line. I'm sure other people ahead of him were trying to get them too. So rude. We legit RAN out of there clutching our cookies. I didn't fully realize that these cookies were so limited and coveted. Lesson learned. But let me tell you, these cookies were so worth it. It would have wrestled that man to the ground for the these cookies now knowing how good they are.

Success!








The pictures still do them no justice to show how huge they are. And there were big granules of salt on them. Yummmmmmm! These things are like a pound. The inside is really soft and basically cookie dough. They are HEAVEN! Rob is not a big sweets eater and just wanted to see what the hype was about but he ended up loving it more than me I think. We are addicted. We might have to make a pitstop at their actual location to get a bounty of these next trip. These cookies are so worthy of all the hype. Try one if you can! And try not to fight with anyone.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

The pictures still do them no justice to show how huge they are. And there were big granules of salt on them. Yummmmmmm! These things are like a pound. The inside is really soft and basically cookie dough. They are HEAVEN! Rob is not a big sweets eater and just wanted to see what the hype was about but he ended up loving it more than me I think. We are addicted. We might have to make a pitstop at their actual location to get a bounty of these next trip. These cookies are so worthy of all the hype. Try one if you can! And try not to fight with anyone.

Holy crap. I've heard about these cookies but had NO idea they were sooooooo coveted. That guy behind you was a jerk and I'm glad you and Rob got the cookies.

 

[Mich123]

The guy then proceeds to yell at us saying he just drove 500 miles to be here and he wants the cookies. I said, "Well we drove 1000 miles, so if that's what we're basing this off of, we win. Try again tomorrow."

That's crazy! I'm glad it was worth it! They look delicious.

 

[KristinAnne]

I've been silently following along, but I had to jump in about the cookies. We went to Gideon's Bakehouse during our trip in July. Oh my goodness!!! They have so many flavors and are so good! They open at 10:00 and I suggest getting there a little early. Even at about 9:50, we were about 4th in line. It's in this adorable market with multiple businesses, most of which have amazing food and drink. The rest of the food from Polite Pig looks so good, and that guy was a jerk. Glad you didn't back down!

 

[Quarky]

Wow, Polite Pig looks absolutely amazing!!! You definitely just bumped it to the top of my dining list for my Disney Springs day.

Also yikes, what a jerk you encountered... can't believe there are actually people like that; the entire story seems almost unreal. Good on you for standing your ground and getting those cookies though.

 

[SweetSpot]

We left MK and headed to DS in search of food options for a late lunch/early dinner. We decided to try Polite Pig for the first time. Yay!

The line wasn't bad at all and we looked over the menu while we waited behind a few groups.



When I ordered I asked about the Gideon's cookies and the CM said that they only come at 11am and 4pm and it was about 3pm. She said to get back in line about 3:50pm because they go quickly. Noted!

They have a big display of different sauces to choose from inside, so after I ordered I grabbed some napkins, my drink and some sauce.





They give you a tracker to place on the table and they come to you with your food, which I like.



We grabbed a table outside since it was really nice out.

Rob had gone over to the bar to grab a drink, not realizing he could also get a drink from the main ordering station. All the drinks are on tap which is kinda cool. He got the Polite Punch. Light rum, whiskey, passion fruit, lime, bitters.



He really loved this drink. I had a sip too and it was quite good. It's $11 for one drink or $27 for a whole pitcher. Next time the plan is to split a pitcher of this.

Our food was out pretty quickly and man oh man did it look amazing! Rob got the Low & Slow Brisket Sandwich. Pimento cheese, lil john's bbq, pickled jalapenos, crispy onions served with a pickle spear.



He raved about this sandwich! He would definitely get it again.

I was really torn but ended up going with the half chicken with citrus marinade. This came with jalapeno cornbread, signature polite slaw, and choice of one market side. I went with the BBQ waffle fries.





OMG this chicken was amazing! Chicken can often be boring, but this had so much flavor. You could really taste the citrus throughout the chicken and not just the sin. Heaven! The corn bread and Cole slaw weren't really my thing, but the waffle fries were super crispy and delicious.

I also got a side of mac and cheese.



I thought this wouldn't be totally my style of mac and cheese but it was amazing! Not as good as Homecomin' but close. I wanted to try all the sides, but two was more than enough lol. Hopefully next time I'll get to try the cauliflower and brussel sprouts.

So we finish up and get back in line right at 3:50 and we can see they are putting the cookies out. There are about 4 people ahead of us so we are thinking we will have no problem getting two cookies. Well one greedy guy buys 10 of them. Ugh! Seriously! It gets to be our turn and by some miracle there are two cookies left when a guy way back in the line snaps at the CM behind the register and tells her to put those two aside for him. Ummmmmmmm I don't think so friend. So Rob and I are both like, "No!!!! We want those and we are next." The guy then proceeds to yell at us saying he just drove 500 miles to be here and he wants the cookies. I said, "Well we drove 1000 miles, so if that's what we're basing this off of, we win. Try again tomorrow." He was furious and kept yelling at us the entire time we are buying them. Dude, we were in line first, calm down. He was seriously like 8 people back in line. I'm sure other people ahead of him were trying to get them too. So rude. We legit RAN out of there clutching our cookies. I didn't fully realize that these cookies were so limited and coveted. Lesson learned. But let me tell you, these cookies were so worth it. It would have wrestled that man to the ground for the these cookies now knowing how good they are.

Success!








The pictures still do them no justice to show how huge they are. And there were big granules of salt on them. Yummmmmmm! These things are like a pound. The inside is really soft and basically cookie dough. They are HEAVEN! Rob is not a big sweets eater and just wanted to see what the hype was about but he ended up loving it more than me I think. We are addicted. We might have to make a pitstop at their actual location to get a bounty of these next trip. These cookies are so worthy of all the hype. Try one if you can! And try not to fight with anyone.

East End Market where Gideons is located isn't too far from Disney and worth the drive. They are $5 each there and they have different versions. If you are craving the chocolate chip cookie we found a copycat recipe that was very close. The cinnamon roll Gideons cookie was amazing!!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Yes, those cookies are a BIG deal here in Central FL! Really good and as some other posters said above, if you had a day where you weren't hitting the parks, going to East End Market and checking out the other vendors as well would make a fun foodie field trip. I think the limit is 6 cookies if you're walking up (they sell out daily) but you can pre-order (min 72 hours in advance and a minimum order applies). I haven't tried Polite Pig yet but would like to (seriously, SO many options at Disney Springs). I also haven't been to Kona in ages so I may need to make a return visit. I love a big satisfying breakfast that just powers you through a park day without needing to stop for lunch.