Dining Reviews Sep 2008 & Feb 2009 Update 8/13 - Complete!

[NWOhioAngela]

Is it bad that I have no idea who Slenkey is? No offense to Slenkey.

LOL, no no, I just know her IRL and was surprised to see we had subbed to the same TR. Everybody say hi to Slenkey She's faaaabulous!

 

[WDisneyWforMe]

I really had wanted to try and get the Crystal Palace lunch review up today, but I had work stuff to deal with. Guess that's to be expected after a two week vacation, but don't they know I have very important reviews to write. Isn't that more important? LOL.

Yes it is!!! Don't they understand anything

Perhaps us here on the DISboard need to have a chat with them!

Diane

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Excellent reviews!!!! Thanks so much for sharing!

You are very welcome.

I would FREAK! I think my boss knows way better than to ask such silly questions. She can't wait for me to go so she doesn't have to hear about it anymore. Little does she know there's another adventure in the works for May!

I would've started to freak if they had pushed it. But they all know how much I love Disney, so I don't think they would've.

Great reviews! Thanks for sharing them!

You're welcome.

LOL, no no, I just know her IRL and was surprised to see we had subbed to the same TR. Everybody say hi to Slenkey She's faaaabulous!

Hi Slenkey!

Yes it is!!! Don't they understand anything

Perhaps us here on the DISboard need to have a chat with them!

Diane

They apparently don't. I tried to tell one of them about the DIS once, and I think I just confused her.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Just an update, I should be getting the Crystal Palace lunch review up today, and am going to start it right now.

 

[wall*e2008]

I have a Cannon PowerShot, and this is actually the first trip I used it on, since my old camera broke last year. I am very pleased with the way the pictures came out. There is however a Japanese-made camera that has a food setting that I would be interested in just for that. I am very happy with my Cannon though.

What model. I just got a new camera by the same manufacturer.

 

[LoveDisney!!!]

I have a Cannon PowerShot, and this is actually the first trip I used it on, since my old camera broke last year. I am very pleased with the way the pictures came out. There is however a Japanese-made camera that has a food setting that I would be interested in just for that. I am very happy with my Cannon though.

What camera did you use for the CG pictures? I looked at the EXIF data, but couldn't find it (I did find the info for the other pictures though). Those pictures were AWESOME; you should be a food stylist!

Lovin' the report; can't wait to read more!

 

[disneydreamin247]

Just an update, I should be getting the Crystal Palace lunch review up today, and am going to start it right now.

YAY! Excited to see the reviews. We have a breakfast and lunch ADR there next week.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

What model. I just got a new camera by the same manufacturer.

The PowerShot.

What camera did you use for the CG pictures? I looked at the EXIF data, but couldn't find it (I did find the info for the other pictures though). Those pictures were AWESOME; you should be a food stylist!

Lovin' the report; can't wait to read more!

Same camera. For the record, all of the pictures were taken on my Cannon PowerShot. That's the only camera I use right now. What's EXIF data?

YAY! Excited to see the reviews. We have a breakfast and lunch ADR there next week.

Both breakfast and lunch are really good. I've actually eaten breakfast there each of my five trips to the World.

 

[Laura]

The PowerShot.

Same camera. For the record, all of the pictures were taken on my Cannon PowerShot. That's the only camera I use right now. What's EXIF data?

Both breakfast and lunch are really good. I've actually eaten breakfast there each of my five trips to the World.

Which Canon PowerShot? I have the A620.

EXIF data is encoded into your pictures telling us info about the shot and what camera it come from. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchangeable_image_file_format

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Which Canon PowerShot? I have the A620.

EXIF data is encoded into your pictures telling us info about the shot and what camera it come from. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchangeable_image_file_format

I have the A460. I never knew you could look up info like that for pictures, that is very interesting.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

After a long, fun-filled morning in the Magic Kingdom, which if you haven't been reading my trip report, I won a dream Fast Pass, and I had run around literally the whole Magic Kingdom that morning, riding everything without waits. It was a great first day of vacation.

I had a 1:00 ADR at Crystal Palace for lunch.

I arrived early and stood in a long line for check-in, which is actually probably the longest line I stood in all day, but it moved quickly. Even with the line being that long I was still checked in before my ADR time, but I wasn't seated until 1:10 anyway.

I was greeted by my server, Edward, (who was a little practical joker, but I'll get to that later,) and ordered a diet Coke, before heading up to the buffet.

On my first trip up to the buffet I got one plate of food, and here it is;

I had some tropical slaw, southwestern chicken and corn salad, mashed potatoes, broccoli with puri puri and key lime ponzu, and corn spoon bread.

The tropical slaw was good, a nice coleslaw, with some pineapple added in, and perhaps some other stuff as well, but the only difference I noticed between this tropical slaw, and the usual basic coleslaw that I usually have, was pineapple. The southwest chicken and corn salad was good as well, it had a delicate spice flavoring to it, which I think was cumin, and nice pieces of white meat chicken, that were very moist. The mashed potatoes were very good. I remember them being very creamy, and I believe they might have had garlic in them, but I can't quite recall. The broccoli was good, it was a little more on the mushy side then al dente, which is how I like my vegetables to be cooked, and had a slightly sweet taste. I still had no idea what puri puri or ponzu were though, so I looked them up on Wikipedia. All I got for puri puri was a Japanese anime show. Ponzu on the other hand is a light citrus-based Japanese sauce, that explains the sweet flavor. The corn bread was very nice, and reminded me of a cross between a corn casserole I have at home, and stuffing, which is one of my favorite foods, though I rarely eat it, too many carbs.

Between my first and second plate of food Tigger came to my table, and the nice character handler with him took my picture for me. I then went up to the buffet again. This time I got my whole plate from the hot line of the buffet.

This time I got a piece of carved to order bbq pork, as well as a freshly carved piece of citrus-marinated flank steak. I also had some braised cabbage, cinnamon and lemon-infused rice, and at my server's suggestion, a small piece of ancho chile-rubbed salmon.

The pork had a nice flavor, but was a little on the dry side, while I thought the flank steak was cooked nicely, a little more well done then I prefer, but it was a buffet after all, so I was fine eating it the way it was. I didn't think it had a lot of flavor though. The cabbage was good, a little on the spicy side.

The rice was the only thing I didn't care for, as I thought it was very dried out, and it tasted sweet, which was weird. I mean, I knew it was cinnamon lemon rice, so the sweet flavor didn't suprise me that much, but have you ever ate something that you're used to being savory, and instead it tastes sweet, so it plays like a mind game on you. It was just an odd dish, with my brain and taste buds telling me two different things. And also, as far as it being dried out goes, the dish was almost empty, but the next time I went up to the buffet it had been replenished, so I'm sure that rice was probably better.

The salmon I had only taken a very small piece of. It sounded like something that would be spicy, and I wouldn't like it too much, plus I was planning on having the salmon at Artist Point for my dinner that night, but my server had recommended it, and as that was his only recommendation, I decided to try a small peice of it. Oh my goodness, it was so wonderful. It had a very delicate spicy-sweet flavor to it, and was so good. I really can't say enough good things about this salmon, except that it was perhaps the best thing I ate from a buffet the whole trip, (except for maybe the soups at Boma.) But if I'm rating it up there with the soups from Boma, you know it has to be good.

While I was eating this plate of food the characters came around, and had their little parade through the restaurant, which made me glad I was sitting on the inside of the table. I like kids, I do, but not so much when they are parading around the room, and I'm trying to eat my lunch. I know it's Disney, and I didn't mind it, but like I said, I was glad I was sitting on the inside of the table.

I then went up to the buffet again. Even though I was getting full, and I wanted to try some desserts I needed another peice of that salmon. I also had another small spoonfull of the corn spoonbread.

While I was eating my wonderful salmon, which was just as good as the first piece, Edward came over, and being the joker that he is, offered me some ketchup, which started squirting out all over. Turns out he has a fake ketchup bottle, and that's a favorite gag of his. It was cute. I also saw Pooh and Piglet as I was eating, and had my picture taken with each of them.

I then went back up to the buffet one last time, to try some desserts, even though at this point, I really didn't need to eat any more.

I had a piece of lemon tart, a piece of flan, a piece of chocolate marbled cheesecake, some chocolate whiskey trifle, and a chocolate pecan sqaure.

The lemon tart was all right, but a little too tart, and had it been a little bit sweeter, it would've been better. But to be fair I have been completely spoiled by a friend who makes the absolute best lemon bars. The flan was nice, very light and creamy. The cheesecake was good, but nothing spectacular. The chocolate whiskey trifle was good as well, very rich, with a strong alcohol taste. It didn't bother me, but I can't imagine kids liking something that strongly flavored. My favorite dessert however was the chocolate pecan square, which was just like a bite of pecan pie, which I love.

By the time I had finished eating I was ready to get back out to the parks, and start burning off some of the calories I had eaten up during my lunch, but I hadn't seen Eeyore yet, so I had to wait for him. Any other character I could've passed up, but not Eeyore. He was only a couple of tables away, so I didn't have long to wait.

Overall I really enjoyed my lunch at Crystal Palace, and I would return for that salmon alone. So now I may have to eat at Crystal Palace twice each trip, once for lunch, and once for breakfast.

 

[LoveDisney!!!]

The PowerShot.

Same camera. For the record, all of the pictures were taken on my Cannon PowerShot. That's the only camera I use right now. What's EXIF data?

I'm impressed, because I didn't know a p&s is capable of bokeh.
I'll have to look into that camera. It would be easier than lugging around my dSLR.

The EXIF is data imbedded info in a picture. It shows what camera is used, when the photo is taken, what settings were used, etc.

It's strange that some of you pictures would have the camera listed, but not others; I have never heard of that happening.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I'm impressed, because I didn't know a p&s is capable of bokeh.
I'll have to look into that camera. It would be easier than lugging around my dSLR.

The EXIF is data imbedded info in a picture. It shows what camera is used, when the photo is taken, what settings were used, etc.

It's strange that some of you pictures would have the camera listed, but not others; I have never heard of that happening.

Another dumb question, what is bokeh?

It is strange that some of my pictures have that info and some don't. No idea why that is, as I uploaded them all the same way at the same time.

 

[LoveDisney!!!]

Bokeh, basically, is when the background id blurred, but the subject is in focus.

You may want to come to the photography board. You can learn alot and the people there have wonderful photos. You can share yours too.

I do love CP. I have only had lunch there.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Bokeh, basically, is when the background id blurred, but the subject is in focus.

You may want to come to the photography board. You can learn alot and the people there have wonderful photos. You can share yours too.

I do love CP. I have only had lunch there.

That was not done on the point and shoot, I did that in editing.

 

[crashbb]

I'm impressed, because I didn't know a p&s is capable of bokeh.
I'll have to look into that camera. It would be easier than lugging around my dSLR.

The EXIF is data imbedded info in a picture. It shows what camera is used, when the photo is taken, what settings were used, etc.

It's strange that some of you pictures would have the camera listed, but not others; I have never heard of that happening.

How do you look up the EXIF?

I'd love a P&S that could do bokeh - it made those CR pictures beautiful.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

How do you look up the EXIF?

I'd love a P&S that could do bokeh - it made those CR pictures beautiful.

I'm glad you like those pictures so much, but like I said, that was done in editing, and not on the camera.

 

[PixieDustandEeyore]

excellent review so far. Those potatoes at CRT are heavenly I had 3 servings ! Solo trip sounds fun but i love shring the magic though it must be better when you can do what you want and when!

 

[tlens]

I'm glad you like those pictures so much, but like I said, that was done in editing, and not on the camera.

How exactly do you do this in editing? WHich program do you use? What are the steps. This is all very very interesting to me as I have so many pictures I'd love to do that for but my point and shoot doesn't have the capability. I was thinking of a new camera but if it can be done in editing my problem is solved.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

excellent review so far. Those potatoes at CRT are heavenly I had 3 servings ! Solo trip sounds fun but i love shring the magic though it must be better when you can do what you want and when!

If you like the potatoes at CRT you must try the ones at Akershus, they are even better! Solo is fun. I wouldn't mind going with someone, but they'd have to like TS meals, and I couldn't go with a picky eater. There are very few people I know who I would even think about taking with me for that exact reason. I like not being responsible for anyone else, and being able to do what I want.

How exactly do you do this in editing? WHich program do you use? What are the steps. This is all very very interesting to me as I have so many pictures I'd love to do that for but my point and shoot doesn't have the capability. I was thinking of a new camera but if it can be done in editing my problem is solved.

I use Photobucket. All you have to do is hit the edit button, then in effects there's one that's for blurring edges. It's not hard to do at all.