The Flip-Flop Trip: A first attempt to report our dining

[caylene44]

is. Being a cruel mom, I severely limited fluids so that we didn't have to stop for a bathroom every hour.

We escaped a light shower on the Safari and it was finally time for my breakfast! I used Disney rewards to purchase The African Bloody Mary

Following along! This is the kind of mom I hope I'll be someday I'm excited to try Satu'li Canteen on my trip, I've read nothing but good things! Your trip (and the food) sounds like it went really well so far.

 

[alex9179]

Epcot evening
Les Halles, Via Napoli

After lunch, we bussed back to AKL for a quick shower, change of clothes, and hydration. By now, my older body was rebelling against the heat, humidity, and being on my feet for hours. The third reference to the title saved my feet this week! I wear Fitflops regularly at home, and have had great success with them at WDW. They really saved my poor feet when they grew 2-3 sizes.
We'd just walked into the park when grumpy noises could be heard from my entourage. We caught a short stand-by wait for Nemo but they weren't going to tolerate anymore delays. I had a Soarin' FP for 620 and suggested Sunshine Seasons. Nope, they wanted to walk to France! My poor legs.
LT had another sulky episode when I said no to frangipane and asked him to pick something savory or share, since dinner was in an hour and a half. He refused to choose anything at that point. No pics, again, because they started eating before we found a table to set down the selections and cups of water. Alexis chose the roule lard & fromage, bacon and cheese roll. I thought it was a bit dry but she and LT (he couldn't resist the lure of bacon) just loved it. Bryson chose the winner, in my opinion, croissant jambon fromage. The one bite of ham, cheese, and bechamel on a croissant was fantastic. Both snacks were enough for the 3 to feel like they'd make it to dinner before needing to eat, again.
I'd made a 7:15 ADR at Via Napoli, planning on watching IllumiNations one last time. Of course, we waited a while to be seated. Why don't they use buzzers or text to let you know when your table is ready, like other venues in WDW? That lobby area is much too small to hold everyone who is waiting and there's no way to hear them call your name if you go outside.
We were led to a room in the back and seated on the end opposite the restrooms. It was much quieter in there, than the main room, and a nice break. Maria introduced herself as our busser and was such a lovely person! We chatted with her a lot throughout our evening. We sipped more water while waiting for our server. By my second glass she took our drink and food order, because we'd all made that decision weeks ago! The kids had Aqua Frescas, fruit puree in ice water. Blood orange for Alexis and LT, strawberry for Bryson. They were a little disappointed in the lack of sweetening, but thought they were refreshing. I had a glass of sauvignon blanc, but I can't remember the label. We ordered our pizzas and sat there, sipping our drinks, for quite a long time. To be fair, our server warned us that pizzas were taking longer than usual due to how busy they were. We waited about 20 minutes and Maria brought bread and olive oil. 5 seconds later we were back to sipping drinks. The pizzas finally arrived at around 830pm! We set upon them like wild dogs and ate half before I remembered pics. Then Alexis and I traded a slice with each other.
Bryson ordered Pepperoni Signature Pie
tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni



Alexis the Carciofi, I forgot to tell her that she could add arugula...sshhh
white pizza - artichoke, fontina, mozzarella, truffle oil


LT the Margherita
tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil


And my favorite, Prosciutto e Melone
white pizza - fontina, mozzarella, prosciutto, cantaloupe, arugula



Our server came back 10-15 minutes later and I told her no dessert because we wanted to see the fireworks. She insisted, because it's included, and promised to get them out quickly. Alexis and LT shared Coppa di Brutti Ma Buoni, cherry and vanilla sundae. LT had insisted that he didn't want dessert but ate over half of the sundae. They loved it. Bryson ordered Gelato Frizzante, orange San Pellegrino over vanilla gelato. He thought the soda water bitter until I told him that he was supposed to mix it all together. "Much better!" I had a cappucino and settled up with Aina.
We missed the beginning of the show but found a great spot to watch on the bridge by Italy. Our food was delicious. There's only ONE pizza place that can make a memorable pie, in our area. No one serves the prosciutto and melon, or makes the same kind of dough, so VN will always be on my dining list. The servers did the best they could and were very nice. The wait would have been more tolerable if I hadn't somewhere to be. In the future, I'll try to schedule a meal here during off times. LT finished his pizza but the rest of us took slices back to the room for another day.
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[DLo]

Following along. Enjoying your writing style. VN is one of my favorites .

 

[alex9179]

I'm so excited people are reading this!

 

[olliesmom]

Following along too! We also love Via Napoli. Thanks for taking the time to share with us!

 

[NYCgrrl]

VN one of the few places in the World with good pies.

 

[alex9179]

Following along too! We also love Via Napoli. Thanks for taking the time to share with us!

VN one of the few places in the World with good pies.

It's the only TS that I always make sure to visit on my trips. Last time I went with my cousin for my birthday trip, and we ordered half prosciutto/melon and half artichoke. She thought both sounded...unusual, but loved the flavors.
This particular VN experience would rate at the bottom of my "happy meter", of all my visits, because of the wait. Our food wasn't disappointing, at all, and that's where my measure always starts. Maria and Aina were trying their best to make our visit enjoyable. Sometimes timing really does a number on you!

 

[alex9179]

8/4 Mara and Homecomin'

After arriving back at the room, I set my alarm for DHS EMH. LT is a huge fan of ToT and I wasn't able to get a FP for it, this trip. At least I thought I set it for that morning! Alexis shook me awake at 730. I had a mild "we need to hurry!" moment that jump-started my heart. After waking up a bit more, I realized that all it would be a bust for the rides we'd hoped to get done. Instead we had a leisurely morning before going to The Mara for breakfast. We got two orders of waffles with fruit and whipped cream, a surprise hit! Often the fruit at WDW is unripe and flavorless but they had been tossed in a bit of sugar and had flavor. LT got the croissant egg sandwich and bacon. He was disappointed. The eggs weren't seasoned and he is NOT a fan of American cheese. He ate about half and his bacon. They used their mugs and I grabbed a bottle of orange juice, a can of Fugu Spicy Bloody Mary and a Tusker beer, to store in the room for later. I can't recommend the Fugu. I finally opened it after arriving home and it tastes like Worchestershire. Pretty awful and not spicy. I had the Tusker when we stopped at the midway point on our way home. It hit the spot after 8 hrs of driving.
Homecomin' was our late brunch/lunch ADR that day so we decided to head to DS early and let the kids shop. LT used 4 snack credits for sour gummies at Goofy's. We stopped at WoD to look around but the older two couldn't commit. After roaming, we checked in and waited about 15 min for our table. Someone was really hungry and not in the mood for pictures.


Mariah, our server, recommended a punch/Sprite drink to the kids and ended up making it herself when she found out the bar doesn't do it anymore! Her recipe received 3 thumbs up and were refilled once or twice. They love a pink drink!


I asked her for a recommendation that wasn't very sweet or nicely tart. I like purse-your-lips tart, so can handle a lot of lemon or lime. Her favorite drink is the
Memphis Belle
Ole Smoky Mango Habanero Whiskey, muddled strawberries, simple syrup, and lime juice


The drink is on the sweet side but the mild burn in your throat from the habanero takes it to the next level. Such a great summer cocktail!
I ordered Fried Greens, Eggs, and Ham with a side of sweet-corn spoon bread
A cheddar biscuit topped with gridded ham, fried green tomatoes, over-easy eggs, shaved ham, arugula and remoulade sauce. Griddled ham gets a bit tough, so I'd prefer just the shaved ham. The biscuit okay but dry, coming from someone who isn't a huge fan of them. Everything else on top was fantastic!! The spoon bread is pretty sweet and the kids though it was very good. We didn't eat very much of it just because of the amount of food we ended up with on the table.


Alexis ordered Hallelujah Biscuit with a side of braised kale and collards. A biscuit topped with fried chicken, two over-easy eggs, pimento cheese, bacon, and white (sawmill) gravy. She loved everything except the biscuit, commenting that it's the kind that MUST have butter or sauce to tasted really good. She chomped down on this and only left a biscuit half. The greens are a sweeter version than we're used to but is balanced by the vinegar. She still talks about them.


Bryson decided on The Kitchen Plate, a sampling of 3 sides. Momma's mac & cheesse, southern slaw, and fries topped with bacon. The mac & cheese is very creamy and we loved the crispy cheese bits broiled on top. The cole slaw is sweet, not my favorite but he liked it just fine. The fries were hot and crispy, but he was disappointed that the bacon just fell off. He had said no to Mariah's suggestion of cheese sauce, and I reminded him that the sauce would have helped the bacon stay on the fry. "oh, I didn't think of that."


LT knew what he wanted months in advance. Fried chicken and doughnuts, with a side of fruit. He absolutely loved the doughnuts, and we all agreed that they were delicious. He thought that the syrup for dipping and powdered sugar on the chicken was unneeded, though he got over that and devoured one piece of the chicken, then the fruit.


Most of the breast was left behind, even though it surprised us by not being at all dry. None of us, or the room fridge, had room to spare. I really hate food waste and this is a big reason I've never gone for the DDP, in the past.
We all took bites of each others' entrees, while trying to do our own justice. Then came time to choose desserts, UGH. Sooooo fuuuuuullllll. We took 4 different ones back to the room for later, to be cont'd in the next post.

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[DLo]

I had Homecomin’ brunch in May. Agree huge servings . No way I could clean my plate. I had the Grandaddy plate so I could try a little of a few things - eggs, bacon , ham , biscuit and I had grits and fruit for my sides . So gooooood

 

[kaybird]

Lovin' your dining reports! I was also blessed with adventurous eaters and now the grands are following suit! Makes Disney dining so much more fun!!!

 

[Tootles75]

I'd heard about the spoon bread and am seriously thinking of seeing if I can substitute it as a side when I go for a very early Brunch in November. Or maybe the mac n'cheese. Or.. OK, they just have too many delicious things on the menu!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Following along!

 

[kastoney]

Amazing report so far. You are a brave soul traveling across the country with 3 kiddos. I'm not even sure I'd do it by myself Can't wait for more!!!!

 

[flowergirl45]

I am late to the party but loving your report! Your children are so adventurous with their food choices, I love it! More please!

 

[Mich123]

Love your report! I agree, your kids' food choices are adventurous and make the report great.

 

[Hettie]

Enjoying your report! We’ve never tried a dining plan before for the same reasons that you hadn’t, so it’s interesting to hear your take. Those snack credits though! I think those frighten me the most, but using 4 for gummies certainly helps burn through them. The dining plan also became infinitely more interesting to me when an alcoholic drinks were included. I like the strategy to take the breakfast drink back to the room fridge, my kinda plan.

 

[margareton27]

Following along. Great report so far!

 

[alex9179]

Amazing report so far. You are a brave soul traveling across the country with 3 kiddos. I'm not even sure I'd do it by myself Can't wait for more!!!!

I am late to the party but loving your report! Your children are so adventurous with their food choices, I love it! More please!

Love your report! I agree, your kids' food choices are adventurous and make the report great.

Enjoying your report! We’ve never tried a dining plan before for the same reasons that you hadn’t, so it’s interesting to hear your take. Those snack credits though! I think those frighten me the most, but using 4 for gummies certainly helps burn through them. The dining plan also became infinitely more interesting to me when an alcoholic drinks were included. I like the strategy to take the breakfast drink back to the room fridge, my kinda plan.

Following along. Great report so far!

Thanks so much for reading! I hope to get through several more meals in the coming days.

 

[alex9179]

Homecomin' desserts

There were four dessert options and we got one of each. We brought them back to the room and nibbled on them that night and the next day. They were sampled at the DS bus stop, during our interminable wait to get back to AKL.
Hummingbird Cake, a pineapple-banana cake with cream cheese frosting. This is a huge slice that can easily be split, and is incredibly sweet. Alexis loved it and was able to eat most of it over the two days.


Auntie's Chocolate Cake, a chocolate cake garnished with candied pecans. This was my favorite, being the least sweet but with a deep chocolate flavor. Just delicious and also a large serving. The candied pecans were fought over!


Hamilton County chocolate pecan pie. Incredibly rich and a strong cup of coffee would be perfect to have along with it. It also had those fantastic candied pecans. Not quite as sharable in size, but so rich that a few bites would be enough for most. Alexis finished this one off, too!


Last, LT ordered more of the freshly made mini sugar doughnuts with maple syrup. The syrup went unused and the kids shared these. Not the best to take for later, but were still enjoyed.


We still talk about this meal! I advise to go hungry or with the intent to share. ​

 

[Tink2Day]

Enjoying the food report!! Your kids are just the cutest, Alexis is a beautiful girl, she seems to have quite the sweet tooth but who wouldn't with those yummy desserts.
It's awesome what adventuresome palates they all have. Keep up the great dining report....you have me starving right now.