If It Sinks, We Drinks: Spring 2018 Dining Report *Complete 7/29 Les Halles & Via Napoli

Wow, what a great looking meal at Nine Dragons. I like you have seen some good reviews, but its always good to get some independent verification. i'm a sucker for a good dumpling and bao bun, so those have my name all over them. I'm sure we'll get there to try it at some point.

Sorry for all the troubles at MGM. I don't understand why Baseline doesn't have more food options. We'd really like to try it, but they are gonna need to offer more than 2 food choices before we do. Glad you were able to enjoy Frozen and Fantasmic despite the food woes.

Quick question for ya, what is the Florida racing thing you mentioned? I've never heard of it
 
This is the second really good review of Nine Dragons I've seen lately. One of these days I'll finally try it again.

I'm with you on baseline! When we went there in February, we ended up rather disappointed in it. I think if we weren't starving when we ate it, we would have not liked it at all. You probably would have enjoyed the Brown Derby Lounge more but it would have been less quick. Glad Asher loved the Sing-a-long & Fantasmic!
 
We could have taken serious advantage of that offer, but it might be suspicious if he “picked out” a bottle of pinot grigio.
So I just pulled out my phone and found quite possibly the most disgusting QS menu in the place, Min & Bill’s Dockside Diner. Alright, let’s go eat chili dogs.:mad:

My expectations were low and they were met.

Both of these had me rolling with laughter! I'm so sorry about the chili dog experience, but it has provided a timeless quote... "my expectations were low and they were met." :rotfl2: If we have to do QS in HS, we go to Backlot and get the caprese sandwich, which has always been surprisingly tasty and doesn't make us feel too bloated or greasy.

Your meal at Nine Dragons looked really great! The typhoon shelter shrimp look and sound awesome. There's been a sudden chorus of positive reviews there lately; I think we'll have to check it out on a future trip.

Love your reviews! Good to know Cape May's breakfast is more relaxed and peaceful than dinner.
 
Just finding your report -- considering a lot of your choices so thanks for posting this. One question so far -- can you more about why you requested a booth on the lower level at Garden Grill? It's been many years since we've been to GG and I honestly don't even remember that it's multiple levels, or booths vs tables . . . so much to catch up on!
 


How cute is he in that pirate hat!!! OMG!!
It was cute for a couple of weeks, now a month and a half later, eating every meal with a pirate is starting to get a bit old. pirate:

Wow, what a great looking meal at Nine Dragons. I like you have seen some good reviews, but its always good to get some independent verification. i'm a sucker for a good dumpling and bao bun, so those have my name all over them. I'm sure we'll get there to try it at some point.

Sorry for all the troubles at MGM. I don't understand why Baseline doesn't have more food options. We'd really like to try it, but they are gonna need to offer more than 2 food choices before we do. Glad you were able to enjoy Frozen and Fantasmic despite the food woes.

Quick question for ya, what is the Florida racing thing you mentioned? I've never heard of it

The racing thing is a play garden set up for Flower & Garden Festival. It's Cars themed and had some activities for kids and spots for adults to sit.

This is the second really good review of Nine Dragons I've seen lately. One of these days I'll finally try it again.

I'm with you on baseline! When we went there in February, we ended up rather disappointed in it. I think if we weren't starving when we ate it, we would have not liked it at all. You probably would have enjoyed the Brown Derby Lounge more but it would have been less quick. Glad Asher loved the Sing-a-long & Fantasmic!

I agree that we would have enjoyed Brown Derby Lounge more, that was my tentative plan until we missed the frozen show and messed up the schedule. Maybe next time though!

Both of these had me rolling with laughter! I'm so sorry about the chili dog experience, but it has provided a timeless quote... "my expectations were low and they were met." :rotfl2: If we have to do QS in HS, we go to Backlot and get the caprese sandwich, which has always been surprisingly tasty and doesn't make us feel too bloated or greasy.

Your meal at Nine Dragons looked really great! The typhoon shelter shrimp look and sound awesome. There's been a sudden chorus of positive reviews there lately; I think we'll have to check it out on a future trip.

Love your reviews! Good to know Cape May's breakfast is more relaxed and peaceful than dinner.

I'll have to remember the caprese sandwich, that sounds like a much better choice.

Just finding your report -- considering a lot of your choices so thanks for posting this. One question so far -- can you more about why you requested a booth on the lower level at Garden Grill? It's been many years since we've been to GG and I honestly don't even remember that it's multiple levels, or booths vs tables . . . so much to catch up on!

The lower level is all booth seating, whereas the upper level has tables on the front wall and booths behind. So on the bottom level, you have a more unobstructed view of the Living with the Land scenery and you're guaranteed a booth, rather than a table.
 
Wow!! Asher makes a great pirate. You are the best parents. Cool toy choices, my friend.

Love that you reviewed Tokyo Dining. We have a lunch reservation there, and hope to try both your sushi rolls.
 
Day 6 – April 29
Ain’t It a Glorious Day

We were up early again and hoping to get to MK for rope drop. Since we had Brunch at the Top booked, our plan was to valet park at the Contemporary and walk over to MK to do a few things before our brunch reservation. The valet parking worked seamlessly and it was so nice to avoid MK transportation, except Asher totally freaked out when he saw a man getting in our vehicle and driving away. He started wailing and crying out “My Subaroom!” and it took us several minutes to get him calmed down enough to start walking. He just didn’t understand that we WANTED the man to drive off in our car- LOL! Then there was a long, slow line at the security checkpoint on the walkway, not sure what that was about. We finally made it through and had missed rope drop, but no big deal. We decided to do slow, relaxing attractions and headed toward the people mover as our first stop.

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Chad and I needed more caffeine and he was snacky as usual (I was saving my appetite for brunch) so we picked up some coffee drinks and a blueberry muffin at Joffrey’s. We strolled over the back way to Storybook Circus and enjoyed a leisurely train ride around to Frontierland.

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I had picked up one of those pirate adventure maps on our previous MK visit because I thought Asher would dig that, but the first stop scared him and he just wasn’t that into it. Those quests also make you go back and forth all over Adventureland and we didn’t have time for that. Instead we let Asher look around in the POTC shop for “just 10 minutes” per his request then used one of our anytime FP+ that we had been assigned to go on POTC again.


After that I decided it was time to leave because I absolutely did not want to be late or otherwise jeopardize our brunch. I was so excited as I had been dreaming about this brunch ever since they started having it and the day we had it booked in September was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma. I meant to take note of how long the trek from Adventureland to the Contemporary took, but I forgot. It seems like it was only 15 minutes or so.

We made our way to the check-in desk for California Grill and Asher started having a meltdown because we forgot to let him press the elevator button. :sad: Fortunately, the very kind CM who was escorting people up to CG asked us what was going on and when we explained, he told Asher he could press the buttons to take us up to the top floor and that appeased him and saved the moment.


We checked in and we were taken up immediately even though we were a bit early. Asher enjoyed pressing the buttons and he was given an adorable welcome drink in a child’s cup with a skewer of grapes on top. I assumed it was water and he didn’t act all sugared up, so I don’t think it was Sprite, but I should have checked. He started eating the grapes before I got a photo.

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But how thrilled do you think we were with this view???? :yay:

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I booked this for the food (and mimosas, ahem) and didn’t even think about the view because there’s never a guarantee, but I was absolutely thrilled. And we were already being treated like royalty, I love that about California Grill and signature restaurants in general. This experience felt extra special right away though.

These were brought over right away:

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I personally prefer the boba balls to OJ because they add just a bit of flavor without so much extra sugar from the juice. I did see that some tables had traditional mimosas with OJ, so just ask if you don’t care for balls. :rolleyes1

I knew exactly which entrees we should get and Chad perused the menu while I went up and got us a plate to share.


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Sorry there won’t be any buffet photos in my report, but I’ve seen great ones in other reports and in Josh’s reviews on Easywdw.com.

First we ate some of this:

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I could swear we had deviled eggs also, we must have gobbled those up first. They weren’t as good as the ones at Crew’s Cup though, I do remember that. Otherwise we have some charcuterie, the stars of the show being the bison sausage and the pork rillettes. On cheese biscuits. Ermergerd…my country soul couldn’t get enough of that. We never had rillettes in southern Kentucky, but we had enough similar fatty, porky dishes that this one spoke to me.

You can also see Chad’s San Francisco Mai Tai that he ordered since he doesn’t love champagne like me. He requested they go light or omit the Captain Morgan’s rum and he enjoyed it immensely.

At photo limit, continued in next post...
 
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I got Asher some charcuterie, cheese, fruit, and Greek yogurt, which he devoured.

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I loved that the yogurt was not sweetened because Asher will eat it plain and that’s great when we’re consuming so much extra sugar otherwise.

Chad went up and got us a pile of sushi to share:

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It was all delicious and on par with typical CG sushi quality, very fresh and well prepared.

Then I went up and got us some salads, a couple of pieces of sushi that Chad missed and another giant pile of the rillettes.

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Asher had a second plate as well:

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Everything on the buffet looked so delicious, it was impossible to try everything so we skipped the smoked salmon, but I just saw the smoked fish dip listed on the menu and wish that I would have tried some.

Our entrees were delivered at the perfect time:

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This is the Korean fried chicken “thigh”, but it was not a thigh, it was a breast. I would have preferred a thigh, but the flavor was great with a hefty amount of spice and an authentic kimchee. It was such a large piece of chicken that we barely made a dent in it. It was good, but I preferred our other entrée:

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We added the lobster to the eggs benedict, can’t resist lobster, and it was delicious. All the components were expertly prepared.

We also ordered a plate of the bacon, sausage, and potatoes that you can request to accompany your entrees, all were delicious.

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And as though that wasn't enough, we also shared a small portion of carrot cake pancakes:

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These were pretty amazing, just sweet enough with a good amount of spices. The small portion was plenty for us and it ended up being our dessert since we took the assorted desserts in a to-go box.

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Oh, except the macaron, we wanted to enjoy those while they were fresh and they certainly were. It was obvious that they had never been frozen or even refrigerated and they were delicious. My other favorite was the fig thumbprint cookies, they had a nice cardamom flavor.

Continued in next post...
 
We had a nice press pot of coffee to go with the sweet items.

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Of course, our server had kept the bubbly coming throughout the meal.

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When we were finished, we asked our server to snap a photo.

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Not the best quality, but oh well. I’ve seen a bit of discussion about attire for this brunch and as you can see, we wore our theme park clothes and didn’t feel the least bit out of place. If certain ladies are reading, I bet they recognize the skirt I’m wearing…

While I made a trip to the restroom, Chad and Asher listened to the musicians and requested “anything from Mary Poppins.” They played Jolly Holiday, which was awesome because Asher did his dance routine that he has created for that song.

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We were stuffed and exhausted after all that eating and it was time to head back to our resort for a nap. We were there two hours!!! The view and the constant trickle of food kept Asher busy and we only had to hand him a phone the last few minutes we were there. The brunch was, without a doubt, my absolute top Disney dining experience of all time. It was totally worth the price for us, especially since Asher ate free this time. The price for kids will hurt a bit if we go again soon, but there was plenty for him to eat and he enjoyed the food. It was a great experience overall and I can’t wait to go back.

Day 6 to be continued…



 
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So glad to see you all had an amazing CG brunch experience. Love the idea of valeting and heading to MK first. Brilliant!

We didn't love the eggs benedict as much as you, but you have me still regretting not ordering the chicken. And the pancakes. And just about anything because how do you choose between so many perfect entrees!
 
Glad you had an amazing brunch! Smart to use the valet before going to MK.

You made me hungry this morning with all those wonderful pictures. That chicken looks good as do all the items you picked up from the buffet.
 
Could I ask what time your reservation was for? I've read that it's better to go earlier because it's less crowded, but we have a 12:10 and were going to hit MK first...Thanks!
 
Day 6 continued...

After nap, the plan was to head over to AK. We had FP+ for FOP, but by the time Asher woke up it was looking doubtful that we would make it. I thought one of us could at least ride if we could just manage to slip in before the end of the grace period, but by the time we got through security and turnstiles there was no way we could have made it in time. Instead we headed back to Africa to do an early evening safari ride, which wasn’t as enjoyable as it could have been because some clueless people smooshed themselves into our row on the safari truck when they were supposed to have been waiting for the next truck. The woman next to Chad rudely told him to scoot over and we were forced to hold Asher and were still squooshed together very tightly. I kinda feel like I should have made a stink about it because it wasn’t very safe, but the CMs weren’t looking and I wasn’t in the mood to make a scene.

Asher picked out another souvenir on our way out of the safari:

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After that uncomfortable safari, we needed a drink and the new drink at the Dawa Bar was on our to-do list:

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Ngumu Jungle Punch
Meyers's Dark Rum with Tusker's famous Jungle Juice -- $10.75

This has beat out the Lost on Safari as my favorite Dawa Bar drink. We’d always suspected that rum and POG juice would be an awesome combo and we were correct. The drinks were mixed fresh, the juice was in a machine but the bartender added the rum in a healthy pour that kept it from being too sweet.

We had snacks for Asher and I was still feeling pretty full from brunch, but Chad wanted to get a snack. We were walking by Mr. Kamal’s and Chad asked what food was there, of course I was able to recite the menu from memory because I am a crazy person. He decided to try a couple of items:

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Mr. Kamal’s Seasoned Fries
Topped with Tzatziki Salad and Sriracha Ketchup -- $5.49

Falafel

with Tzatziki -- $5.29

The falafel was decent, but nothing special and not as crispy on the outside as I would have liked. Good belly filler if you want a snack with some protein and fiber though.

The fries though! Those were delicious. They have a seasoning mix sprinkled on which elevates them beyond the typical QS fry and they were fresh. I would never have thought to combine tzatziki and sriracha as a topping for fries, but it really worked. Asher wanted some fries too and there weren’t enough without sriracha on them, so I picked up another order of just fries without the toppings. They still had the seasoning on them, which Asher didn’t mind, but keep that in mind if you’re looking for just plain old fries, which isn’t an option here. We used some of Asher’s fries to dip in the remaining toppings and were all pleased with our snack.

After that, I was on a mission to ride Everest after dark and the boys wandered around toward the Boneyard, stopping on the way for a Mickey ice cream bar. Everest was wonderful at night, I had a blast riding then I picked up a glass of chardonnay from Thirsty River Bar to enjoy on my leisurely stroll around to find the boys.

They hadn’t even made it to the Boneyard, instead getting distracted by the carnival games which Chad had deemed too expensive. Asher really wanted to play one though, so we chose the ball toss game that he might have a chance of success with. It was futile, but the CM gave Asher a small turtle plush anyway. First it was an orange turtle, which he promptly threw at the ball toss openings, then he was given a green one instead. He apparently didn’t like the orange one and was smart to act confused and land a different one.

We had some fun in the photo booth with the turtle.

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It was getting pretty late for us even though we didn’t have a rope drop planned for the next morning. We decided it was time to go when the grumpy/whiny behavior started and headed back to our resort to crash.


 
I'm crossing my fingers we will be able to snag brunch on our honeymoon. Everything looks so good!

And those fries are #1 on my list of things I need when we hit AK!
 
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Cali Grill is DEFINITELY one of our fav Signatures with Citricos and Artist Point close behind. We have had dinner there many times with brunch last in July of 2017. We have brunch booked again this October and I'm already salivating for it...:love:
 
So glad to see you all had an amazing CG brunch experience. Love the idea of valeting and heading to MK first. Brilliant!

We didn't love the eggs benedict as much as you, but you have me still regretting not ordering the chicken. And the pancakes. And just about anything because how do you choose between so many perfect entrees!

The benedict seemed more flavorful than what I've seen described in other reviews. The lobster was nice and buttery too. I thought it was as good as the lobster benedict at Grand Floridian Cafe at least. I saw chicken & waffles in a recent report on the brunch, I wonder if the Korean chicken is gone? I would enjoy the chicken and waffles though.

Glad you had an amazing brunch! Smart to use the valet before going to MK.

You made me hungry this morning with all those wonderful pictures. That chicken looks good as do all the items you picked up from the buffet.

Using the valet parking made it extra enjoyable for us because we didn't have to rush to naptime and worry about Disney transportation delays. I think it's awesome that it's included with the brunch.

That brunch looks so amazing. You guys really did it right! :)

It was pretty great, I would return in a heartbeat!

Could I ask what time your reservation was for? I've read that it's better to go earlier because it's less crowded, but we have a 12:10 and were going to hit MK first...Thanks!

We had an 11:40 am reservation, we checked in early and were seated right away, around 11:30 I think. Then we were there for two full hours. It never felt crowded during that time. There were fewer tables seated when we arrived, so it does seem like earlier might be a little less busy. I don't think it would matter much though, there were never lines or clusters of people at the buffet area and the tables are nicely spaced there. I am quite sensitive to crowds and noise and it was a very peaceful and relaxing meal for me.

I'm crossing my fingers we will be able to snag brunch on our honeymoon. Everything looks so good!

And those fries are #1 on my list of things I need when we hit AK!

The brunch is perfect for a honeymoon celebration! I'm sure you'll be able to get it, when I booked at 180 days there were plenty of times available.

Following!

Welcome!

Cali Grill is DEFINITELY one of our fav Signatures with Citricos and Artist Point close behind. We have had dinner there many times with brunch last in July of 2017. We have brunch booked again this October and I'm already salivating for it...:love:

We haven't been to Cali Grill for dinner in a very long time, we need to fit that in soon. I love the atmosphere there at brunch though, so relaxing. We also loved Citricos last fall and Artist Point was great when we went in 2013, we need to get back there as well.
 
But how thrilled do you think we were with this view???? :yay:
Stunning!

I personally prefer the boba balls to OJ because they add just a bit of flavor without so much extra sugar from the juice. I did see that some tables had traditional mimosas with OJ, so just ask if you don’t care for balls. :rolleyes1
Haha!

I got Asher some charcuterie, cheese, fruit, and Greek yogurt, which he devoured.
Perfect, healthy choices.

Chad went up and got us a pile of sushi to share:
This looks fantastic!

We added the lobster to the eggs benedict, can’t resist lobster, and it was delicious. All the components were expertly prepared.

We also ordered a plate of the bacon, sausage, and potatoes that you can request to accompany your entrees, all were delicious.
Wow! So much deliciousness!

Oh, except the macaron, we wanted to enjoy those while they were fresh and they certainly were. It was obvious that they had never been frozen or even refrigerated and they were delicious. My other favorite was the fig thumbprint cookies, they had a nice cardamom flavor.
I can't believe how many goodies you get for your dessert!

We were stuffed and exhausted after all that eating and it was time to head back to our resort for a nap. We were there two hours!!! The view and the constant trickle of food kept Asher busy and we only had to hand him a phone the last few minutes we were there. The brunch was, without a doubt, my absolute top Disney dining experience of all time. It was totally worth the price for us, especially since Asher ate free this time. The price for kids will hurt a bit if we go again soon, but there was plenty for him to eat and he enjoyed the food. It was a great experience overall and I can’t wait to go back.
Really, it looks like a phenomenal experience.

because some clueless people smooshed themselves into our row on the safari truck when they were supposed to have been waiting for the next truck. The woman next to Chad rudely told him to scoot over and we were forced to hold Asher and were still squooshed together very tightly. I kinda feel like I should have made a stink about it because it wasn’t very safe, but the CMs weren’t looking and I wasn’t in the mood to make a scene.
Oh, you are much more polite than I would have been. I would not have been able to keep my mouth shut over that. Yes, a drink would definitely be in order after that ordeal!

After that, I was on a mission to ride Everest after dark and the boys wandered around toward the Boneyard, stopping on the way for a Mickey ice cream bar. Everest was wonderful at night, I had a blast riding then I picked up a glass of chardonnay from Thirsty River Bar to enjoy on my leisurely stroll around to find the boys.
Sounds like a perfect evening!
 
I know that skirt, I know it :wave:
We have never considered Nine Dragons simply because we get Chinese/Japanese so often at home, but your meal looks very good! Something to keep in mind.
Your brunch looks awesome and as someone who loves desserts I am always in awe of the desserts at this brunch! I would box up every macaroon in site not to mention trying one of each flavor there. I don't know that we'd do it as a family of 4, but I've considered it for Steve and I. It's just so hard to fit in everything we want on our kid free trips :hyper:
 

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