New Year's Dining...

[tyandskyesmom]

Emack & Bolio's Marketplace

We were all a bit in a snacky mood so we headed into Emack and Bolio's Marketplace at the hotel for snacks.

We decided to do a Emack Attack 4...whc=ich was four scoops of ice cream of your choice, toppings of your choice, whipped cream and cherries...and a bowl.

I cannot remember what flavors we got but it was all good and we made a huge dent but did not finish it all. We do still have the bowl at home though!

Skyler also got a 16oz Peach White Tea drink.

She liked it. It was 8:43pm and we were exhausted! Our total here was $22.37 and well worth it!!!

UNIVERSAL TOTAL = $468.96
DISNEY TOTAL = $925.53
OVERALL TOTAL = $1394.46

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Circus McGurkis

We headed into Circus McGurkus for lunch. This is another place we have eaten before and it has been pretty good.

We all ordered and then Cary stayed to get the food. There was a bit of a line. When he was close, Tyler went to help him carry the trays.

So Cary and Skye both ordered the Super Spaghetti & Meatballs Combo - served with a side Caesar salad and a breadstick.

They both liked this a lot. The salad was pretty big for a side salad and the spaghetti was steaming hot. Cary got Skye's Meatballs because she does not eat them...and that was fine with him!

I had the Fried Chicken - Served with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob... that we asked for french fries with because Tyler wanted fries and I was not that hungry...but as you can see...

But in the end, I was happy to have the potatoes and gravy because they were good and i don't get gravy at home because i am the only one who eats it! It was a good meal...pretty much the same as in Springfield though.

Tyler had the Pepperoni Pizza Jumbo Slice.

The salad was not his...he doesn't eat the stuff! Was the pizza worth $10.99? NO! But he liked it and it was large. But it came with nothing else for that price! It did what he needed it to do though and when in a park, you're kind of at the mercy of what they have.

We also ordered two cokes because we knew we would not be here all day so we were not lugging the cup around or paying for a refill for the day. All in all, we probably should have because two cokes was almost the same price as the refill would have been...but one less thing to lug around.

We enjoy it here. The food is good and there is so much going on that it's a fun place to be! There is a lot of seating and it is all indoors. We will be back when in the area and needing to eat!

We were here at 2:20pm and our total was $60.86.

UNIVERSAL TOTAL = $529.82
DISNEY TOTAL = $925.53
OVERALL TOTAL = $1455.32

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Toothsome Chocolate Emporium

We have been dying to actually eat at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium since the first time we were here and have yet to do it.

We did however, both time, get milk shakes!

We decided on a Confetti - Vanilla ice cream, confetti cake, vanilla buttercream frosting, rainbow sprinkles, fresh whipped cream.

Isn't she beautiful??? And oh so good!

And a Cookie Jar - Vanilla ice cream, Oreo®, oatmeal, and chocolate chip cookies, fresh whipped cream

And this one was so pretty too! We liked the shake of the cookie one better but the toppings on the confetti one better...so all in all, good choices!

These are huge! And the jars are a keepsake. We now own four...LOL! We still want to eat here but we just never have enough time. Some day...

There was a bit of a line for milk shakes and it was about 4:03pm so not even a huge meal time. Our total was $27.69...but oh so worth it!

UNIVERSAL TOTAL = $557.51
DISNEY TOTAL = $925.53
OVERALL TOTAL = $1483.01

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Storybook Dining at Artist Point

So we all went into this with trepidation. I mean, Artist Point was one of our favorite signature meals in the past. We are not a fan of these kind of meals where you pay one price and everyone shares appetizers and desserts and you pick your entree from a small list of them. And usually (although starting out, this one was not) they are more expensive than they are worth. And I am not of the camp that you pay for the experience...no person dressed up like a character is worth some of the costs...the food and service has to be worth it too! But getting in on the ground floor, we had to do it...i figured per Disney's usual norm, they would scale back the types of food and the sizes of the food served and raise the price as soon as they could.

SO we head up to where you used to check in for Artist Point and were kind of rudely pointed back to an unmarked kiosk away from the bottom of the ramp...like, no one saw it because there was a line of people following us that ended up at the same place we did.

So we get checked in and we're about 10 minutes early and they make a point of telling us, kin of rudely, that we wont be seated until closer to our ADR time...really??? It's 10 minutes, do people complain about showing up early for an ADR and not being seated right away, or within 10 minutes??? Anyway, we were called in about 7 minutes. Yes, after the way she told us that and the fact that when we were initially checking in in the incorrect spot we could see a lot of empty, clean tables, we were watching the clock...curiosity sake.

We were led to a table in the center of the first room you enter into where we could watch The Queen meet and "not" greet. It is an odd set up. The place is pretty. Lots of trees with twinkle lights that change colors and dance with the music being played. But The Queen meets right in the middle of the venue. So when there's a line, and there was usually a line, it was weaving between tables where people were trying to enjoy their dinner and meet other characters.

The table set up was cute.

The inside of the menu provides a back story.

And at various intervals the characters parade through the restaurant with the music.

Our server was Ryan and he was not very nice or helpful and seemed rushed. I did not really notice him serving a ton of tables but maybe I just did not pay much attention. Since we were at about two weeks into opening, I am sure they were still working out the kinks of going from an upscale signature dining venue to a mobbed, busy one!

Our appetizers came out first...before our drinks did.

There was winter squash bisque with toasted marshmallows on a stick for stirring. The presentation was awesome! I was the only one who would even try this. It was good but very rich, very creamy (which i enjoy) and very sweet. The marshmallow was a great addition but it seemed more like a dessert soup to me.

There was also the Hunter's Pies.

Everyone tried these. They are minced chicken and black truffle inside and a stone fruit preserve to spread on them. No one used the preserve except Cary. He enjoyed these the most...and i got to finish the kid's attempts.

We also got the Wicked Shrimp Cocktail - Soy, Miso, Avocado, Thai Chili, Greens ...which was the only "normal"ish thing that the kids were interested.

Unfortunately, like the other items, even though it is served in one container there are exactly the number of shrimp in that jar as there are people at the table. They were a bit on the spicy side but the kids enjoy that so as long as they did not have too much extra stuff on them they were good. Cary ate his too but I took a bite of mine and let Tyler have the rest.

Around this time Snow White came to say hi!

And the trees turned a sinister red when The Queen came back from her break!

Dopey was next to visit.

And then Grumpy.

Who MADE Cary and me get up for a picture!

For entrees I got the Venison dish that does not seem to be on the menu anymore.

It does seem to be an awfully lot like the pork shank dish that is on the current online menu though as it was served with Celery Root Mashed, Wilted Winter Greens, Jus. It was ok. I think maybe I did not read the menu completely enough. It was between this and the fish dish and I think I chose wrong. It was ok, it just was not fabulous...that might be my fault though.

Tyler also did not read the menu well enough because if he had he would have either ordered differently or ordered the same item but with things left off or on the side. He got the fish dish that does not look like what is on the menu now (see there have already been big changes in menu)...

He took one look at it and knew he was not going to eat it. It was covered in a white sauce. He did not want to switch with me, I offered. I should have ordered this because I probably would have enjoyed it. Cary caught (and I do mean he had to catch him because he never stopped by to see if we were happy with out meal and he was not the one who brought it out) Ryan and he exchanged it for him. Tyler did not even taste it!

He ended up with the Brother’s Grimm Roasted Chicken - Herb-crusted Potatoes, Fire-roasted Petite Squash, Golden Raisins...which appears basically like the same dish as now. ANd he had them leave off the sauce.

This is the dish he should have ordered in the first place. He likes fish but he does not like the unknown so the fish dish was a surprise to me! He really enjoyed this. Cary ordered the same thing but as it is served and he was in agreement with Tyler that it was very good.

Tyler only ate the chicken though so Skyler ate his potatoes. She and Cary said the potatoes were great!

Skyler ordered the Royal Prime Rib Roast - Horseradish-Mashed Potato, Carrots, Popover, Jus.

She was not happy. It was pretty fatty. I wish i had taken a picture of what was left after she got done eating the meat so you could actually see all the fat! And she is a medium rare kinda gal. She loves prime rib normally. The parts that were eatable, were good but so much was not. She did not remember that the potatoes are horseradish based and took a bite and that was the last bite so she was happy to have Tyler's potatoes. At this point she did not trust the popover but I did and thought it was really good. She also liked her carrots.

We had a very slow paced meal here. Like sitting between courses with no food to eat, waiting for the next course. Our drinks were not filled very often and when they were it was by a different waiter that we had to flag down. I'm not sure what was up with Ryan but he had no real interest in our table.

Finally desserts arrived.

FIrst the Miner’s Treasures - Sponge Cake, Chocolate Gems, Berry Panna Cotta.

Now, I am a snacker of cake and cookies (as opposed to salty like the rest of my family...where did they come from???) and I like sweet! But this was way super sweet! The chocolate rocks did nothing for it. It was like totally separate things...although they did carry out the mining theme quite well. But I am one who likes more cookie than chip in my chocolate chip cookies so maybe it's just me. But it was so sweet.

Next was the Fairy Tale Gooseberry Pie - Meringue, Gooseberry

The kids are not big on fruity pie in general so they did not taste this as a whole. Skye ate some of the meringue but otherwise no. Cary and I tried them but I found it on the sour side in an odd way. I cannot pin point what it was that I didn't like about it but I didn't. Cary thought it was ok.

And last was the 'Poison' Apple - Dark Chocolate-Apple Mousse, Sour Center

This was all of our favorite...they are little and you get one per person. They had a really good flavor and the novelty of it was great!

As soon as our dessert came, Ryan showed up with the The Hunter’s Gift to the Queen - Crackled Maple Popcorn, Ganache Heart

There was almost no smoke to the smoking box and there was absolutely no fan fare when he delivered this. Basically he walked over, opened the box, started scooping it out onto the plate and left. I do have to say, while the idea of the way it was supposed to be presented sounds cool, I don't understand the caramel corn??? The chocolates were good chocolates though so that's a win!

Once we were done and ready to leave we jumped in line to meet The Queen. And there was a line. And we were wound around people's tables while they were eating. It was pretty awkward. One lady complained because someone in line was coughing so they moved the line to curl around someone else's table. I don't know that the meeting spot fir The Queen was the best thought out plan.

We were leaving there at around 7:25pm. So an hour and forty five minutes that felt much longer.

Needless to say, we are not rushing back to Storybook Dining and we will miss Artist Point in it's old form. In theory this sounds like a great character meal but it was too slow. It was too ... um, what do I want to call it ... fancy in a way. The food was very NOT regular old people food. I don't know how accommodating they would have been if we had asked for changes to things...like if Skye had asked for the potatoes to not be horseradish or to get the fingerling potatoes instead. Part of the ability of these kinds of places to push out as much as they do is ordering as it is offered. But I would assume they would have altered things if we had asked. I think the main problem was that the appetizers were weird, for us. The desserts were too sweet or odd, for us. And the mains were all saucy and fatty, for us. Other people, including friends who were there the day after we were, love it. It has an odd set up for meet and greeting The Queen and service was slow. I.m chalking the slowness up to being a new venue, although it would seem with all the same appetizers and desserts and only a handful of entrees, serving should be easier, but what do I know?

Anyway, we will not be rushing back so all of you wishing for an ADR here will not have us to get through.

Our total here was $234.30 which we thought was a lot for what we got out of it. We're glad we tried it though rather than sitting here wondering about it and hearing all the rave reviews. Now we know we have no need to go back....lots of other places to eat at!

UNIVERSAL TOTAL = $557.51
DISNEY TOTAL = $1159.83
OVERALL TOTAL = $1717.31

 

[tyandskyesmom]

4 Rivers Cantina Barbacoa Food Truck

Ty was hungry so he went to 4 Rivers Cantina Barbacoa Food Truck for Tacos (3) - choice of filling with Guasacaca, Crème Fraiche, Pico de Gallo, Salsa Verde, Queso Fresco and Cilantro in a Tortilla with a Lime and Jalapeño.

He got the brisket barbacoa, lettuce, and cheese. He said they were ok and ate them all...I think they looked and smelled wonderful...so this is probably Tyler just being picky. He ate them so they had to be pretty good though. He did not share. This is someplace I want to come back to to try in the future!

His total was $11.71.

UNIVERSAL TOTAL = $557.51
DISNEY TOTAL = $1171.54
OVERALL TOTAL = $1729.02

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Joffrey's

We found a seat along the water where we could relax and listen/watch the band that was playing on the stage. Cary ran to Joffrey's and got him a coffee and me a hot chocolate. ($7.97).

UNIVERSAL TOTAL = $557.51
DISNEY TOTAL = $1179.51
OVERALL TOTAL = $1736.99

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Intermission Food Court

It was about 11am so breakfast was over so we all got lunch.

Cary and I decided to split a Foot-long All-Beef Chili-Cheese Hot Dog - Chili-Cheese All-Beef Foot-long Hot Dog served with French Fries.

As you can see in the picture, I got a chocolate milk, Ty and Cary got Monsters, and Skye and I got a fruit cup to share.

Tyler got the Monster Slice of Pepperoni Pizza - Served with a Side Salad ...but got a breadstick instead of the salad.

Skyler got a Monster Slice of Cheese Pizza - Served with a Side Salad but also got a breadstick, a parfait, and a strawberry milk...

Everyone enjoyed their food and it did what we needed it to do. We contemplated heading someplace else for lunch but decided to just eat and get on the way. We checked out here at 11:16am but took our time enjoying the almost empty food court until we were ready to head out. Our bill was $56.88.

UNIVERSAL TOTAL = $557.51
DISNEY TOTAL = $1236.39
OVERALL TOTAL = $1793.87

 

[tyandskyesmom]

UNIVERSAL TOTAL = $557.51
DISNEY TOTAL = $1236.39
OVERALL TOTAL = $1793.87

So all in all, these are our totals. We had some table service meals and a lot of counter service and snacks. We did not miss the dining plan on this trip. It would have been a totally different trip with the plan than we had and being that we did not have a lot of days (split between Disney and Universal) the dining plan would have taken up too much time.

We had a lot of good meals, some ok meals, and one BAD meal....I'd say that's a pretty great outcome!

 

[WDWNan]

Thanks for the great report. I enjoy your reviews!

 

[queenofthehill]

This was awesome. i love reports with $$$$ and I especially appreciated your review on Universal. All my trips to WDW include at least 2 days at Uni and I usually just eat at 3brooms or Leaky. I may venture out to try Krusty land next time. I appreciate your efforts.