You win some you booze some, a HOT August 2017 dining report! complete 1/25*

[Raeven]

We aren't sure where we're eating at Universal other than Amatista at Sapphire Falls for breakfast 2 mornings.

Are you required to eat there during training or is it just because it's convenient? Because if it's a choice I'd advise maybe doing Islands for breakfast one day instead. The food was better and the buffet is bigger. We had a pretty bad experience at Amatista the only time we went for breakfast, but we're going to give it another try in May. They also stop serving the a la carte menu at like 10 am ish I think, and I didn't think the buffet was really worth it (though it may have changed we stayed shortly after they opened).

Also I agree about CL it sounds nice, but I'd want to plan time to eat in the lounge etc or it would feel like a waste, but we like doing adrs in the parks too.

 

[buzzrelly]

Another awesome dining report in the books!

I've never stayed CL and most likely never will since I stay DVC, so it's nice to live vicariously through you fancy people

Have a great trip! I'm looking forward to reading all about it!

 

[kastoney]

Yes, we've had this discussion in TR so I know many of you haven't tried school bread yet. My advice? Try it! Even if you don't end up liking it, as a very popular WDW snack that gets discussed constantly at least you'd be able to say you tried it.

How has anyone not tried this???? They shouldn't even be allowed back in Disney World unless they do! Seriously though one of all time favorite snacks, though sadly I didn't get one on our last trip. Too much food and wine snacks, but definitely next time!

Kakigori! This was a rainbow flavor, basically every flavor they have all together. I have a feeling they'll both be getting this again in March while Steve and I partake in F&G snacks!

I said it before and I'll say it again, Casey would LOVE this!

Something I never ever would try but yay for the small mason jars again and it does sound like a nice offering! Sidenote, if and when we stay CL again I think more than a few of those mini mason jars will be finding their way into my suitcase

Seafood and veggies so I know why you'd hate this, but I on the other hand would be all over it!

I feel like if we do club, we have to schedule time to be at the resort to take advantage of the lounge. And I don't like that; it's not us. We enjoy being in the parks and eating at the TS restaurants too much to give that up for the lounge.

This was our exact impression. It was a nice perk to have, but we ended up "giving up" other dinner and time in the park just so we could say it was worth it.

leave next Friday for my short Disney/Uni TA training trip and will be eating at Tiffins as well as some of the Festival of the Arts Booth with my friend and fellow TA Cathy.

WOOHOOO!!!! Can't believe its so close already. Have a great time!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Ricky thinks school bread is just ok so he went with a snack he and Chris had tried for the first time ever earlier in the trip:

I need to get this for the girls on this trip. I know they will like it..

Yes, we've had this discussion in TR so I know many of you haven't tried school bread yet. My advice? Try it! Even if you don't end up liking it, as a very popular WDW snack that gets discussed constantly at least you'd be able to say you tried it. It's not a donut; not that soft. But softer than a roll. And yes that's lots of both toasted and untoasted coconut on top so if you're @ArielSRL (or my mom) and think coconut is the devil, then you'll have to stay away. The cream inside has cardemom in it which I know some don't like either and honestly, I didn't think I was a cardemom fan until I found out what the cream was! To me it was a slightly different tasting bavarian cream. Anyway I got one and Chris got one, and as with our Gaston's cinnamon rolls there was absolutely 0 sharing

I am with @ArielSRL - Not a coconut fan. And I def feel like you NEED to like coconut to like this. I like the idea of the cardemon cream...

Doesn't that kids pasta look good Actually on a previous night Ricky had 3 or 4 bowls of the kids pasta and loved it, so there's that.

Those are the best looking pots ever! Ha. Don't you hate that. you think in the moment you are taking the pictures of what you want and then you look at home later and ... womp womp...

Something I never ever would try but yay for the small mason jars again and it does sound like a nice offering! Sidenote, if and when we stay CL again I think more than a few of those mini mason jars will be finding their way into my suitcase

Ha. I was just thinking the same thing.. That pan... I bought that for my sister last Christmas! It's from Crate and Barrel. I loved it then. And I must have good taste, if Disney is using them! Ha!

Have a great trip! I am still hopefully that we will run into each other while we are down there! #fingerscrossed

 

[amalone1013]

Whoo!!! You probably won't even read this until after you're back! I hope you have (had) a magical time

Not weird really, for whatever reason Sci Fi does tend to be a somewhat difficult one to get once you're close. And I see no problem with Sangria and a milkshake! Maybe a sangria flavored milkshake as their seasonal

I agree; always the hardest place to suggest dining for people. We've left before to eat when it doesn't mess with our schedule and I've even purposely gone early in the a.m. so we're done by lunch and can eat somewhere else, just sucks to not have anywhere in the park that jumps out at you to eat.

OMG please go to Il Mulino!! BEST Italian on property, it's amazing! We liked our MM lunch last.......May I think? So we took the kids back in August. They liked it ok but it wasn't as good the second time around; not bad, but so many other places we rather eat.

I usually read a little (as I laid in bed at the Dolphin before my alarm went off this morning... ) but don't always comment...

Does Il Mulino have a dress code? That would be the one thing that would throw us...

I'm trying to imagine a sangria flavored milk shake.... like a frozen margarita-ish, but creamy?

 

[Wood Nymph]

*sidenote, we're at CCV in March but Steve has me checking constantly to see if anything CL anywhere is available with my discount as well as wanting CL for our August trip because apparently I've created a monster*

We are staying at the WL at the end of February and availability for that resort is so tight that we ended up paying rack rate for a standard view room. This is unprecedented for us and shows how much we want to stay there. I would have been willing to try CCV because it is new and pretty, but we are better off with a WL SV room so that we get two queen beds.

Crispy Onion Rings

We ate here in November and the onion rings were really good. The lighting is bad, though, and it is really hard to see your food.

Kakigori! This was a rainbow flavor, basically every flavor they have all together. I have a feeling they'll both be getting this again in March while Steve and I partake in F&G snacks!

This has been a family favorite for years. I introduced two of our grandchildren to KakiGori and they loved it, too.

Well obviously my husband is a fan and wants to stay CL again and again and again! Do I?

yes, and no.​

I agree with you about the negatives. We tried CL once and that was it. We felt obligated to use the club lounge for our alcoholic beverages rather than go to the pool bars or lounges. Territory Lounge used to be one of our favorite places to hang out but the time we stay WL CL we never made it down there. It was fine to have the light breakfast a few times, but we missed having a real breakfast. Club level would have been worth it when our three kids were young. But not worth it for just the two of us.

 

[MeghanEmily]

And another great dining report comes to a close!

I'm determined to get Nathan to try school bread this time around. He's interested in it, too. But he's not a huge fan of coconut, and I have a feeling that like Ricky, he'll be more into the shaved ice in Japan. We'll have to make sure to try that, too.

I think I'd feel the same way about CL! Maybe we'd do it if we were in your shoes and could get a good deal, and I'm sure it would be a cool experience if we were pixie-dust-upgraded to CL or something. But I don't think I could ever justify booking it otherwise. Even if I didn't have food allergies, I think it would make us feel like we had to take time away from other things and other meals, like you said.

 

[momma2ethan]

Kakigori

Ethan got this our last trip too and he absolutely loved it. We usually skip right past it because I try to keep him as dye free as possible but it was just so hot! We'd been really good about pushing water all week but one day it just wasn't cutting it. We were even making a point to walk through every single shop in the WS and I looked back at him as we got closer to Japan because he was slowing down and his face was flaming red and his hair soaked with sweat. That kakigori was exactly what he needed right then, artificial dyes be damned

 

[FSU Girl]

I've never tried this, but I don't think I'd be a fan. I don't like coconut at all.

Kakigori! This was a rainbow flavor, basically every flavor they have all together. I have a feeling they'll both be getting this again in March while Steve and I partake in F&G snacks!

This snack I think I'd definitely like. It looks like a snow cone?

Something I never ever would try but yay for the small mason jars again and it does sound like a nice offering! Sidenote, if and when we stay CL again I think more than a few of those mini mason jars will be finding their way into my suitcase

Do they let you take the food out of the lounge? They are definitely cute looking

I really enjoyed your trip report. I look forward to reading your future ones!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Aw, I'm sorry it's (finally) over! Looking forward to your next report

 

[momma2ethan]

This snack I think I'd definitely like. It looks like a snow cone?

It's shaved ice, so very similar to a snow cone but according to my DS (who has never actually had a snow cone lol) it's way better. They are HUGE and very effective at quickly lowering one's body temp when its hotter than the surface of the sun.

 

[FSU Girl]

It's shaved ice, so very similar to a snow cone but according to my DS (who has never actually had a snow cone lol) it's way better. They are HUGE and very effective at quickly lowering one's body temp when its hotter than the surface of the sun.

Awesome, sounds perfect for a hot summer day.

 

[Smilelea]

I really appreciate your honest review about CL. A lot of what you mentioned goes with what Clint and I have discussed. We are more be at the park people and eat either QS or TS. We would probably only use it for Breakfast which as you said isn't worth it. However, we may have to try it once just to say we did.

And, I definitely need to add trying the school bread to my list

 

[Tracy161]

"You're a FAKE and a PHONY and I wish I'd never laid eyes on you!"
"I bet that's not the only thing she laid on you, huh Zuk?"

Grease is one of my favorite movies EVER! With lines like this, how could it not be?!

and as with our Gaston's cinnamon rolls there was absolutely 0 sharing.

I'm TOTALLY in the 0 sharing club, too. If you want to try it, get your own! Hmmm, maybe this is why my trips are often solo... It's all making sense to me now

Doesn't that kids pasta look good

And now that I've said my piece, feel free to remind me of all this when I tell you we're staying CL again lol!

I leave next Friday for my short Disney/Uni TA training trip and will be eating at Tiffins as well as some of the Festival of the Arts Booth with my friend and fellow TA Cathy.

Yay!!! I've been itching to try Tiffins. Excited you'll get a quick trip in even before your upcoming March one! I hope you have a fabulous time!!!

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Sounds like you had a really great Trip. I hope you decide to do a report for universal. I love to go to the dark side, and have found some really good restaurants there too.

 

[suse66]

Great update and your views on CL pretty much mirrored ours. We enjoyed it but it certainly didn’t wow us. I was also not a fan of always feeling tied to lounge hours to make the most of it.

In other news, I was super excited to read that you are going down in August! I will be there for sure with my niece from the 19th until the 26th! Hopefully we will be able to meet up for a bevvie.

 

[MeghanEmily]

In other news, I was super excited to read that you are going down in August! I will be there for sure with my niece from the 19th until the 26th! Hopefully we will be able to meet up for a bevvie.

Hmmm...if Ariane's August dates match up with your August dates, then you should both end up there the same time as Nathan and me. We're aiming to fly in on the 15th and out on the 27th, with a couple Universal days and a beach day somewhere in between. It would be great to see you both again if that's the case!

 

[TeresaNJ]

I just read your entire report over the last several days! I had started it when you first started it, but then we left for our September WDW trip, then I got so busy with birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and then we had another WDW trip in December, that I got so backed up on DRs, mine included! I forgot where I left off with yours, so started from the beginning again. I can't wait until you start your next one, as I'm always bummed when they end. Hope Ricky is doing well, and back to full speed ASAP! It made me a little teary when you talked about how Ricky & Chris tried Kaki Gori's this trip. That was my nephew, Dom's, (the one who had the terrible car accident and drowning) favorite WDW snack. Every time I walk by that stand it reminds me of him, and it's bittersweet. That bites that your BOG meal was sub par. We've done breakfast, lunch & dinner there, but it's been a while since we've done a dinner, and I have one booked for our upcoming April F&G trip. I'm seriously thinking about cancelling it after reading not so great reports recently. My husband is running the Star Wars Dark Side half marathon the next day after our reservation, so I'm thinking maybe I should book a dinner that would be more race appropriate meal wise for him. Maybe an early Liberty Tree. I have to think about it. We're staying at AKV Jambo our first three nights, then Boulder Ridge the next four, so will be at BR the night before the race. Thanks for taking the time to give us such good reviews! Oh, and I'm totally trying that La Vie en Rose this upcoming trip!!!

 

[ArielSRL]

Im way behind here but going to try to knock it out this weekend!

sidenote, we're at CCV in March but Steve has me checking constantly to see if anything CL anywhere is available with my discount as well as wanting CL for our August trip because apparently I've created a monster*

This is hilarious!

I started with some sangria: Beso Del Sol Red Sangria made from a 100% natural marriage of Spanish Tempranillo Grapes, Orange, Blood Orange, and Lemon Juices with a touch of natural Cinnamon

Sounds wonderful!

I got the
Caprese Sandwich: Toasted Tomato-Herb Focaccia Bread with Heirloom Tomato, fresh Buffalo Mozzarella, Arugula, and Basil Pesto

Totally up my alley.

But here we were in luck! So he got this in his ice tea:

Omg my child would love this!

 

[ArielSRL]

And yes that's lots of both toasted and untoasted coconut on top so if you're @ArielSRL (or my mom) and think coconut is the devil, then you'll have to stay away.

Kakigori! This was a rainbow flavor, basically every flavor they have all together.

This sounds good and I think you can get it with alcohol. Or so I’ve heard.

Thank you all for following along with me on another report

I guess I was done quicker than I thought I would be....

I've never tried this, but I don't think I'd be a fan. I don't like coconut at all.

A girl after my own heart!