So after all the excitement of getting the tickets and telling Steven that we were most definitely going no matter what, I couldn't wait to get back to the room to shower and straighten my hair. Every day my hair bugged me, it was way too short and I cursed the hairdresser that didn't understand what "keeping the length" meant.
I put my hair up after it was straightened and curled the sides. I felt so much better afterwards and celebrated with a can of diet coke and a mini dessert! The view from the balcony never got old and we both could have sat out there all night. But that wasn't to be, as we had Artist Point booked and this was another restaurant I was really looking forward to.
I decided that we should take the monorail to MK and then hop on the water launch to get to Artist Point and as we hadn't yet visited Wilderness Lodge, I thought it might be nice to leave earlier so we could have a look around.
The hall from our room:
As we were leaving we noticed the band at The Grand Floridian had started to play:
They were pretty good and I noticed that loads of people were sitting down and listening to them. It was very relaxing.
The monorail came quickly and we got some pictures of The Grand Floridian as we turned the corner. It looked so peaceful :
It was deceiving, although it was quite overcast when we got that picture, by the time we reached the boat launch it was bright again:
Ummm, I probably need to explain those pictures as yes, they are indeed blurry, BUT Steven actually made me shake my head...fast. He thought it would make for some interesting pictures, which it did, but to the untrained eye LOL, it probably just looks out of focus. I wonder what people thought I was doing while we waited, maybe they thought it was bees or something. That might explain why we were sitting alone on the boat...
When we arrived we got some pictures of the outside of the resort as it really was an exceptional looking resort. I LOVED the dark wood which made it all seem very cosy. I could imagine a cool winters day here, I would definitely like to stay at this resort one day:
I loved the winding paths leading up to the main entrance:
The interior was beautiful, it reminded me of AKL but the lighting made it easier on the eye. I was taken aback by how different all the resorts were. They were all stunning in their own way and I am hard pressed to say which resort I like the best. One day I hope to stay in them all, but until then I will just have to enjoy the view:
We wandered about the lobby for a while until we found Artist Point. We checked in and were lucky enough to be seated with a view of the waterfall! Our server was very friendly and immediately presented us with menus, wished us a hearty Happy Honeymoon and offered us drinks. We took our usual, 2 diet cokes!
The interior of Artist Point was really nice, bright with high ceilings and warm cherry wood tables. Our server returned with our drinks and wondered if we would be interested in hearing his recommendations. We were. For appetiser he suggested the Portobello soup but neither of us is overly fond of mushroom soup, and the Venison Spring Rolls. For our entrée he suggested the Cedar Plank Salmon, but neither of us like Salmon.
We both opted for the Venison Spring Rolls and for my entree I took the Grilled Buffalo Sirloin Steak and Steven took the Pork with Macaroni and Blue Cheese.
I had gone back and forth on whether or not to keep my reservation at this restaurant more than any others. Most of the time I had read great reviews, but just before we were due to leave I read a very disappointing review and as I was trying my best to make our trip perfect, I cancelled our reservation. A few days before we left I searched and searched for another restaurant to tempt me, but couldnt find anything at such short notice, so I decided to try my luck with Artist Point and hope for the best. The menu did appeal, but that negative review really stuck with me and I was worried I might have set myself for a huge disappointment.
Our appetisers came quickly and we were presented with two large, golden spring rolls with a side salad and dipping sauce. These were by far the best looking spring rolls I had seen. They were perfectly crispy on the outside and not greasy in the slightest. I was met with a satisfying crunch as I bit into the roll. The venison within was awesome! Steven has never shown any interest in venison before but that all changed there and then. He commented, through mouthfuls of spring roll, that they were the best he had ever tasted. The dipping sauce was a hot sweet and sour which worked very well with the venison. Although we were only given two rolls each, I could have quite happily eaten another four to myself!
Our entrees arrived and I was excited to try buffalo. It was served with sweet potato and hazelnut gratin and sweet onion marmalade. I received a very large portion of buffalo, perfectly cooked. The buffalo was so tender to cut and literally melted in my mouth. The sweet potatoes and onion jam complimented the meat perfectly and I could only bring myself to offer Steven a small morsel, as I greedily wanted to save most of it for myself. Having never tried buffalo I didnt know what to expect, it was a very meaty dish if that makes sense, not as strong as venison, but stronger than steak. The texture was great, my jaw wasnt sore from chewing and I could taste the juices with each bite. It was like a really, really good piece of steak, tender and flavoursome, that I would definitely order when I visit again.
I neednt have worried that Steven would go hungry as he was tucking in to his dish, tucking is the best phrase to describe it
as that is exactly what he was doing. I was lucky he even stopped to taste the buffalo! He was practically crying his meal was
that good. He said that the pork, which did look very good I admit, was slightly salty and that the mildness of the plain cheese
and sharpness of the blue cheese was the best thing he had tasted. He kept pointing to chunks of blue cheese on his plate going Look, look at the size of that chunk I screwed my nose up, as I hate blue cheese but I agreed to try the mix and was pleasantly surprised. I couldnt eat a whole dish, as I am just not that into cheese, but as it wasnt my dish, I didnt have to. Steven happily ate the rest alone and paused only briefly for air.
Our server was very pleased that we clearly loved our dishes and offered us dessert. Steven quickly decided on the Berry Cobbler and I chose the Coffee Two Ways which was a bread pudding and crème brulee.
Stevens berry cobbler was HUGE and I am not exaggerating, he had a MOUNTAIN of berries and underneath all that was cobbler with more berries! He claimed to be full before it arrived, but his face lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw this dessert. There were blackberries, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries with black raspberry ice cream. I didnt even get an offer of this dessert as once he tasted it, he practically picked up the bowl and poured it down his throat! I will agree it looked amazing, but as I dont like berries at all, it wouldnt have appealed to me.
My dessert was more understated, the mocchachino bread pudding was actually really nice. This surprised me as I didnt think much of Raglan Roads Bread and Butter Pudding which I know is most peoples to die for dessert. It was so nice I finished it all. The crème brulee was also pretty good but I was really full and couldnt manage to finish everything. Crème brulee is still something that I dont really get. I know many people rave about crème brulee, but it is not something I would normally order and I definitely dont by from the store. However I was impressed with this dessert as I hadnt expected to like either the bread pudding or brulee, but I had in fact liked both.
We paid for this using our dining plan which was 2 Table Service credits each. Steven said that this was the best meal he had ever had, here or anywhere. I will agree that overall our experience at Artist Point had been wonderful. The food had surpassed my expectations and to see Steven so taken with a meal pleased me. I was very glad I decided to keep my reservation for Artist Point. It was so well received, it is on our list to visit twice in September.
We left Artist Point fully satisfied and caught the boat back to the MK to get the monorail to our resort. We arrived to our room and couldn't help but go out on the balcony for a nightcap. It was such a beautiful evening and again that view was perfection. Another magical day over, we wondered what tomorrow would bring...
Coming up...
Downtown Disney and Disney Quest