Reviews and Pictures from our recent trip Apr 29-May 4

Food, dinner show, and resorts...Enjoy!

California Grill, Contemporary Resort

We had 9:20pm dinner reservations for California Grill, but arrived at 8:50pm to get there in time to watch the fireworks from the restaurant. The restaurant used to let all tourists to go up to the elevator to watch the fireworks, but now only dinner patrons are allowed to go up. Our entire experience at California Grill was very good. We enjoyed seeing the fireworks, and were seated right at 9:20pm. We had Duck Confit with Spiced Cherry-Pear Puree, Sun dried Cherry Creme Fraiche and Marjoram flatbread for an appetizer, along with Watercress Salad with Poached Pears, Heirloom Apples, Blue Cheese, and Orange-Shallot Vinaigrette and Pumpkin Ravioli with Brown Butter Pumpkin Seed Vinaigrette, Pistachios, Spinach, and Sunlight Goat Cheese. For entrees, we had grilling Pork Tenderloin with creamy Goat Cheese Polenta, Cremini Mushrooms, Zinfandel Glaze, and Sage and Oak-fired Filet with Three Cheese Potato Gratin, Sugar Snap Peas, and Tamarind Barbeque Sauce. For dessert we ordered the Heirloom Apple Tart, with Braeburn Apple and Brown Butter Tart with Apple Brandy Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce, and the Chocolate, Chocolate, Caramel, a warm Valrhona Chocolate Ckae with Molten center, White Chocolate Ice Cream and Scotch Wiskey Caramel. EVERYTHING was amazing! And yes, I did bring the menu home with me, because I would have never remembered all of that!

Polynesian Resort

We were able to stay in one of the newly renovated rooms at the Polynesian. Here are the pictures of it. The Polynesian was wonderful, as always.

Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa

This trip we had to stay at Saratoga Springs for one night, because the Polynesian did not have any availability. We were pleased with the one bedroom villa we had at Saratoga. It was very spacious and well stocked.

Spirit of Aloha Polynesian Luau

The Spirit of Aloha Polynesian Luau at the Polynesian resort is a nighttime dinner show. We wanted to try it out, so we checked with Guest Services our first couple mornings to try and grab someone else's cancellation. Lo and behold, we lucked up, the right number of people and everything.

I don't know if they assign your table as you make your reservation, or what, but we did have an assigned table, and when we got there, we were shown to the very back, far left of the stage. I was majorly disappointed. Our view was very obstructed. I would have liked to have complained, but I was with some friends and didn't want to make a huge deal, but I could tell we were all surprised.

The food was pretty good, you can see a full menu here. I will say that the food gets cold quickly because you are dining outside, usually with a breeze. The pineapple bread is addictive :-)

The show is mostly traditional hula dancing and song from the different Polynesian islands. If you are expecting a lot of fire twirling, you will not see it. There are two fire twirling routines, back to back, at the very end of the show, maybe a total of 10 minutes.

If you really want to see this, make sure you are clear with the reservations person on where you want to sit.

Other places we ate this time...

We ate at a few other places, some repeats and a few new, that I didn't take pictures of this time.

Marrakesh, Morocco, Epcot - I'm glad we tried this, because it was new, but we won't be going back. The music was incredibly loud, you had to shout to be heard, and the food was only so-so.

Rose and Crown, England, Epcot - See the pictures in a previous post. This was yummy as always. Service was a little slow.

Le Cellier, Canada, Epcot - See the pictures in a previous post. This was yummy as always. We tried the cheese soup this time, too, and it was delicious! Service was a very slow.

Boulangerie Patisserie, France, Epcot - This is the little pastry shop tucked in the back of France. We tried the neopolitan (cream filled pastry) and the ham and cheese quiche, both were delicious!

Yakitori House, Japan, Epcot - We tried the beef, chicken, and rice appetizer here, and it was very good food, and not that expensive.

Cantina de San Angel, Mexico, Epcot - We had nachos and margaritas here, the nachos were yummy, I wasn't very impressed with the margarita.

The Brown Derby, Disney - MGM Studios - See the pictures in a previous post. This was yummy as always. FYI - You can no longer order the Cobb salad for one person on the Fantasmic! package, its now the "Cobb Salad for Two".

The Plaza Restaurant, Main Street, Magic Kingdom - We had two great sandwiches here, the reuben and the turkey. We split the brownie sundae for dessert. Seating in the restaurant was a little cramped (we were seated in the "atrium", or the bay window area in the back). Service was really slow.

Tusker House, Africa, Animal Kingdom - We had breakfast here, and didn't realize that it didn't start until 9:30am, even though the park opens at 9am, so we had to wait for 15 minutes. Breakfast was good, the normal WDW fare (eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns) and we also split a cinnamon roll. If you don't want to wait til 9:30, or if you just want pastries, the little pastry shop inside was open at 9am.

Flame Tree Barbeque, Discovery Island, Animal Kingdom - We split a smoked pork sandwich and baked beans for lunch. It was good and filling, and the eatery has lots of shaded seating outside (no indoor seating).

Pinocchio Village Haus, Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom - Seating was crowded in here for lunch! People were hawking for tables! However, the sandwich we split (the turkey panini) was very good and filling! We also got a milkshake to split for dessert, very thick.