smartestnumber5
<font color=blue>Then it's just a fun time<br><fon
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2006
Day 4Pop, Sommerfest, Kringla Bakery, Whispering Canyon Café
Today was supposed to be an early day at Epcot. I woke up at 8, GF at 8:30, and after quickly getting ready we went over to the Pop main building. GF went to the concierge to have our problem with TS credits fixed (though we only got one full meal at Artist Point they took off 4 TS Credits) and change our dinner reservation, while I went to get some breakfast. GF gets this done way faster than I get my breakfast, so she sits for awhile waiting for me. I choose chocolate chip pancakes and chocolate soy milk, and I ask for a cup for tea as well.
The line I was in to check out was the slowest of all of them, and there appeared to be an issue with one of the familys ahead of me. They looked unhappy and the person checking them out had to call another cashier over to help her. I was getting pretty ancy waiting in line. When it was my turn I asked for the cup for tea and she said I couldnt have soymilk and a hot beverage for a CS credit. I thought that you were supposed to get one drink and one juice with breakfast and soymilk seemed to be the same price as juice (which I never drink because most types are very acidic and hurt my stomach) so I figured I could still get a fountain beverage or coffee type product. I wasnt about to wait in line any longer due to asking questions, though, so I just got the soymilk and nothing else.
I didnt realize that the pancakes automatically came with sausage and bacon which were placed on top of the pancakes. GF was happy to eat those. The top pancake they had been resting on vaguely tasted of meat so I mostly avoided that one. Luckily there was plenty even without that particular pancake.
Receipt:
1 CS Credit
Choc chip pancakes (w/ meat)5.59
Soy milk2.40*
Tax.48
Total8.47
* Im just guessing on the price here. I found that most of the time the receipts at CS places didnt include the prices of anything. Sometimes this was also true of the TS places, but at least there I could easily write in the prices.
Food: 3 out of 5. I was pretty happy with the chocolate chip pancakes (but, you know, anything chocolate tastes good to me!) and GF enjoyed the bacon and sausage.
Atmosphere: 1.5 out of 5. Walking through the Pop food court and waiting to check out just took so long that I felt frustrated when I actually got to eat. We always tried to sit near the Classic Concoctions area, though, which was usually less crowded or even empty.
We went to Epcot and stopped for espresso for GF at Fountainview Café. She was dismayed to find that that only Nestle espresso is served here as well. She opted for a mocha which she said tasted more like a hot chocolate than an espresso drink. I also made her buy me a hot chocolate and a bottle of water since wed forgotten to bring one from the hotel. The hot chocolate was pretty yummy, though I was mostly interested in it for its soothing effect on my sore throat (I had started getting a cold the day before).
Fountainview Café
Mocha3.7
Water2.00
Hot Choc1.89
Tax.37
Total7.95
Food (well drinks): 1.5 out of 5the same horrible coffee as before, though the hot chocolate was fine.
Atmosphere: 2 out of 5the line was somewhat long for a bakery/drink spot and there werent very many seating options (and those that were available were stools at a counter). Not a place youd want to eat a relaxing meal, but fine for a quick breakfast or drink.
Around 1:30 pm we got to Germany in WS by taking the boat. We got off and I wanted to check in Italy to see if I could get any good desserts with a snack credit (nope). While I was checking, GF started feeling a little woozy and decided she needed food right then. We walked over to Sommerfest in Germany and she sat down while I ordered. She had a bratwurst with sauerkraut, an apple strudel, and an iced tea. I chose just a soft pretzel because I was hoping to eat later in Norway.
GF thought the bratwurst was fairly good as the sauerkraut was not totally Americanized. The actual meat was run of the mill and the bun was dry, but a pile of sauerkraut and mustard fixed that. GF says the apples in the strudel were too hard, but the pastry was flaky and good and the vanilla sauce was delicious with a strong real vanilla flavor. The soft pretzel was not quite as good as the one from AK, but a pretzel can never be that bad, especially not with all of the mustard I pile on. GF said it had a strange taste, but didnt elaborate; I didnt notice this. I ended up only eating half of it and taking the rest with usI wanted to leave some room for the food in Norway.
1 CS Credit
Bratwurst w/ sauerkraut6.39
Apple Streudel3.69
Drink2.09
Tax.80
Total12.97
Pretzel3.39
Tax.23
Total3.62
Food: 2.75 out of 5.
Atmosphere: 2.5 stars out of 5. It was outdoors, but shaded and it seemed to pick up some of the air conditioning from the surrounding buildings. Was right next to the Biergarten so had some comings and goings nearby, but it was mid-afternoon so it wasnt busy at all.
We moved on through WS toward Mexico, stopping to look around and buy a small piece of candy as a souvenir from each country. In Norway, I announced that I wanted food from the Kringla Bakery. I already knew that for a CS credit you could get soup, sandwich, and any pastry from reading the disboards, but I asked just in case anything had changed. Nothing had changed. The sandwiches were ham and cheese, maybe turkey, and salmon. I thought maybe GF would be interested in the salmon, as its one of her favorite foods, but these particular sandwiches werent appealing to her. I said I was going to use a CS credit and would just not get the sandwich if she didnt want any of it, and she asked why I would do that when I could eat the sandwich. I think she was not quite as aware as I was of how many credits we still had at this point! We had a few awkward moments as I ordered, but it ended up fine. We got cheese and leek soup, a ham and cheese sandwich, a cloudberry horn, and a large iced tea with the credit, and then I paid OOP for a school bread and a lefse (potato bread).
I was pretty happy with this CS experience, but GF complained almost the entire time. I enjoyed the soup. It wasnt exceptional or anything, but there are very few soups without meat in them so I appreciated it. (Actually there are even fewer w/out animal stock in them. I didnt bother asking about this one.) GF said that while the soup tasted okay at the time, for several hours after eating some she had some burbing that tasted like rancid Campbells cream of broccoli soup. I replied that I really dont think its fair for her to blame the restaurant for her burping problems. GF ate most of the sandwich, though I tasted some of the bread and cheese. She said it was made of an unpleasant piece of very thick, dry, tasteless bread topped with butter and then tasteless white cheese with heaps of shaved ham, finished off with a tiny, limp, slightly warm, revolting pickle. She reported being a little afraid to eat it because it was slightly warm and was sitting uncovered in the deli case and she only ate it because it came along with my meal. (I informed her that she could just throw it out! Also, the part of the sandwich I tastedwith a little mustard on topseemed just fine.) The cloudberry horn was GFs choice of dessert. It appeared to be a puffed pastry (kind of like a croissant) filled with cream. GF, however, described it as the kind of thing you buy prepackaged in the grocery store. She said the pastry seemed to be made of hydrogenated vegetable oil instead of butter, and the filling was so heavy it was like eating spoonfuls of butter. (Boy, she really is complaining here!). Though I chose the lefse and school bread, GF decided to have some of that too (I dont know why since she disliked everything so far!). The lefse was a type of tortilla rolled up with a filling of butter and sugar. On GFs first bite she didnt get any filling and said she taste a nasty undertone in the bread. She sarcastically told me this is delicious and I bit in thinking that it was, in fact, somewhat tasty and saying so. GF tried it again and this time got some filling, which she said made it slightly less disgusting. I thought it was okay, but not greatnot sweet enough and texture-wise it felt like butter and sugar in a rolled up tortillanot all that pleasant. Finally there was the school bread. I ate this first and liked itsweet coconut topping, creamy custard inside, not very sweet pastry on the outsidewhats not to like? GF found lots not to likeshe said this also tasted like a grocery store purchase, that the pastry seemed to be made of hydrogenated oil again, and that the coconut topping was unnecessary and disgusting. I respond, What??!!
Kringla Bakery
1 CS Credit
Ham Sandwich5.89
Soup2.99
Iced tea2.39
Cloudberry horn3.09
Tax.86
Total15.22
OOP
Lefse1.99
School bread2.49 Tax.30
Total4.78
GF and I will have to give separate ratings here since we completely disagree.
Food (Me): 3 stars out of 5. I enjoyed it all and thought that getting soup, an open faced sandwich, a choice of all of those pastries, and a large drink was a great deal.
Food (GF): .5 star out of 5. She hated it all and thought it all was disgusting. She couldnt understand why anyone on the disboard liked it.
Atmosphere: 2.5 stars out of 5. The eating area was outside, thus not air conditioned = loss of at least one star. It was peaceful, shaded, and uncrowded however, so I didnt let the lack of air conditioning stop me.
Today was supposed to be an early day at Epcot. I woke up at 8, GF at 8:30, and after quickly getting ready we went over to the Pop main building. GF went to the concierge to have our problem with TS credits fixed (though we only got one full meal at Artist Point they took off 4 TS Credits) and change our dinner reservation, while I went to get some breakfast. GF gets this done way faster than I get my breakfast, so she sits for awhile waiting for me. I choose chocolate chip pancakes and chocolate soy milk, and I ask for a cup for tea as well.
The line I was in to check out was the slowest of all of them, and there appeared to be an issue with one of the familys ahead of me. They looked unhappy and the person checking them out had to call another cashier over to help her. I was getting pretty ancy waiting in line. When it was my turn I asked for the cup for tea and she said I couldnt have soymilk and a hot beverage for a CS credit. I thought that you were supposed to get one drink and one juice with breakfast and soymilk seemed to be the same price as juice (which I never drink because most types are very acidic and hurt my stomach) so I figured I could still get a fountain beverage or coffee type product. I wasnt about to wait in line any longer due to asking questions, though, so I just got the soymilk and nothing else.
I didnt realize that the pancakes automatically came with sausage and bacon which were placed on top of the pancakes. GF was happy to eat those. The top pancake they had been resting on vaguely tasted of meat so I mostly avoided that one. Luckily there was plenty even without that particular pancake.
Receipt:
1 CS Credit
Choc chip pancakes (w/ meat)5.59
Soy milk2.40*
Tax.48
Total8.47
* Im just guessing on the price here. I found that most of the time the receipts at CS places didnt include the prices of anything. Sometimes this was also true of the TS places, but at least there I could easily write in the prices.
Food: 3 out of 5. I was pretty happy with the chocolate chip pancakes (but, you know, anything chocolate tastes good to me!) and GF enjoyed the bacon and sausage.
Atmosphere: 1.5 out of 5. Walking through the Pop food court and waiting to check out just took so long that I felt frustrated when I actually got to eat. We always tried to sit near the Classic Concoctions area, though, which was usually less crowded or even empty.
We went to Epcot and stopped for espresso for GF at Fountainview Café. She was dismayed to find that that only Nestle espresso is served here as well. She opted for a mocha which she said tasted more like a hot chocolate than an espresso drink. I also made her buy me a hot chocolate and a bottle of water since wed forgotten to bring one from the hotel. The hot chocolate was pretty yummy, though I was mostly interested in it for its soothing effect on my sore throat (I had started getting a cold the day before).
Fountainview Café
Mocha3.7
Water2.00
Hot Choc1.89
Tax.37
Total7.95
Food (well drinks): 1.5 out of 5the same horrible coffee as before, though the hot chocolate was fine.
Atmosphere: 2 out of 5the line was somewhat long for a bakery/drink spot and there werent very many seating options (and those that were available were stools at a counter). Not a place youd want to eat a relaxing meal, but fine for a quick breakfast or drink.
Around 1:30 pm we got to Germany in WS by taking the boat. We got off and I wanted to check in Italy to see if I could get any good desserts with a snack credit (nope). While I was checking, GF started feeling a little woozy and decided she needed food right then. We walked over to Sommerfest in Germany and she sat down while I ordered. She had a bratwurst with sauerkraut, an apple strudel, and an iced tea. I chose just a soft pretzel because I was hoping to eat later in Norway.
GF thought the bratwurst was fairly good as the sauerkraut was not totally Americanized. The actual meat was run of the mill and the bun was dry, but a pile of sauerkraut and mustard fixed that. GF says the apples in the strudel were too hard, but the pastry was flaky and good and the vanilla sauce was delicious with a strong real vanilla flavor. The soft pretzel was not quite as good as the one from AK, but a pretzel can never be that bad, especially not with all of the mustard I pile on. GF said it had a strange taste, but didnt elaborate; I didnt notice this. I ended up only eating half of it and taking the rest with usI wanted to leave some room for the food in Norway.
1 CS Credit
Bratwurst w/ sauerkraut6.39
Apple Streudel3.69
Drink2.09
Tax.80
Total12.97
Pretzel3.39
Tax.23
Total3.62
Food: 2.75 out of 5.
Atmosphere: 2.5 stars out of 5. It was outdoors, but shaded and it seemed to pick up some of the air conditioning from the surrounding buildings. Was right next to the Biergarten so had some comings and goings nearby, but it was mid-afternoon so it wasnt busy at all.
We moved on through WS toward Mexico, stopping to look around and buy a small piece of candy as a souvenir from each country. In Norway, I announced that I wanted food from the Kringla Bakery. I already knew that for a CS credit you could get soup, sandwich, and any pastry from reading the disboards, but I asked just in case anything had changed. Nothing had changed. The sandwiches were ham and cheese, maybe turkey, and salmon. I thought maybe GF would be interested in the salmon, as its one of her favorite foods, but these particular sandwiches werent appealing to her. I said I was going to use a CS credit and would just not get the sandwich if she didnt want any of it, and she asked why I would do that when I could eat the sandwich. I think she was not quite as aware as I was of how many credits we still had at this point! We had a few awkward moments as I ordered, but it ended up fine. We got cheese and leek soup, a ham and cheese sandwich, a cloudberry horn, and a large iced tea with the credit, and then I paid OOP for a school bread and a lefse (potato bread).
I was pretty happy with this CS experience, but GF complained almost the entire time. I enjoyed the soup. It wasnt exceptional or anything, but there are very few soups without meat in them so I appreciated it. (Actually there are even fewer w/out animal stock in them. I didnt bother asking about this one.) GF said that while the soup tasted okay at the time, for several hours after eating some she had some burbing that tasted like rancid Campbells cream of broccoli soup. I replied that I really dont think its fair for her to blame the restaurant for her burping problems. GF ate most of the sandwich, though I tasted some of the bread and cheese. She said it was made of an unpleasant piece of very thick, dry, tasteless bread topped with butter and then tasteless white cheese with heaps of shaved ham, finished off with a tiny, limp, slightly warm, revolting pickle. She reported being a little afraid to eat it because it was slightly warm and was sitting uncovered in the deli case and she only ate it because it came along with my meal. (I informed her that she could just throw it out! Also, the part of the sandwich I tastedwith a little mustard on topseemed just fine.) The cloudberry horn was GFs choice of dessert. It appeared to be a puffed pastry (kind of like a croissant) filled with cream. GF, however, described it as the kind of thing you buy prepackaged in the grocery store. She said the pastry seemed to be made of hydrogenated vegetable oil instead of butter, and the filling was so heavy it was like eating spoonfuls of butter. (Boy, she really is complaining here!). Though I chose the lefse and school bread, GF decided to have some of that too (I dont know why since she disliked everything so far!). The lefse was a type of tortilla rolled up with a filling of butter and sugar. On GFs first bite she didnt get any filling and said she taste a nasty undertone in the bread. She sarcastically told me this is delicious and I bit in thinking that it was, in fact, somewhat tasty and saying so. GF tried it again and this time got some filling, which she said made it slightly less disgusting. I thought it was okay, but not greatnot sweet enough and texture-wise it felt like butter and sugar in a rolled up tortillanot all that pleasant. Finally there was the school bread. I ate this first and liked itsweet coconut topping, creamy custard inside, not very sweet pastry on the outsidewhats not to like? GF found lots not to likeshe said this also tasted like a grocery store purchase, that the pastry seemed to be made of hydrogenated oil again, and that the coconut topping was unnecessary and disgusting. I respond, What??!!
Kringla Bakery
1 CS Credit
Ham Sandwich5.89
Soup2.99
Iced tea2.39
Cloudberry horn3.09
Tax.86
Total15.22
OOP
Lefse1.99
School bread2.49 Tax.30
Total4.78
GF and I will have to give separate ratings here since we completely disagree.
Food (Me): 3 stars out of 5. I enjoyed it all and thought that getting soup, an open faced sandwich, a choice of all of those pastries, and a large drink was a great deal.
Food (GF): .5 star out of 5. She hated it all and thought it all was disgusting. She couldnt understand why anyone on the disboard liked it.
Atmosphere: 2.5 stars out of 5. The eating area was outside, thus not air conditioned = loss of at least one star. It was peaceful, shaded, and uncrowded however, so I didnt let the lack of air conditioning stop me.