Linkura
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 13, 2017
My trip would have been through the 7th but thanks to the Nor'easter, my 7PM flight was canceled and all that they had left within the next several days was a 6AM flight. So yeah, my short trip was cut even shorter. 
I'd done everything I wanted to do, but I sure would've liked another AK day and more Sa'tuli Canteen! 
As an fyi that comes into play, later, I was alone.
MK 3/4:
Mickey Bar: Yeah, it's a Mickey bar. I love the dark chocolate so this is always a treat. They are ridiculously overpriced at $5, but hey, it's vacation. I'm only getting one or two a year!
Columbia Harbor House: Had the kids' chicken nuggets with fries and apple slices. Well, that was what I ordered, but the CM was kind enough to throw in the other two kids' sides as well at no charge- the smoothie and the applesauce. I tweeted a Cast Compliment for him and he received it.
Anyway, it was the standard chicken nuggets and fries, which I love. I think the chicken may have have been slightly spicier than before, but I may be misremembering. Either way, it was great. It was my first time using mobile ordering and it worked like a charm. The apple slices, smoothie, and applesauce were the standard as well. You know what you're getting. I had the nuggets and fries at the restaurant, and the apple slices, smoothie, and applesauce for snacks the next day. They kept pretty well, refrigerating them while I was in the hotel room.
Aloha Isle: Dole Whip. It's a dole whip. I'm personally a fan. Enough said. I used mobile ordering here as well and it worked great- though it was at night so there weren't much people there anyway.
AK 3/5:
Kusafiri: Colossal Cinnamon Roll (serves two). As someone who loves cinnamon rolls, this was way overhyped. First of all, I wouldn't consider it colossal. It's about the size of a regular Cinnabon with two tiny ear buns. I'm small and don't have a large stomach and I still finished probably 85-90% of it. I only stopped because I didn't want to eat more, not because I was full. The cream cheese icing is delicious, and I appreciate that they warm it up and put caramel sauce on it. It wasn't stale, but it didn't taste super fresh either. It definitely could have used more cinnamon. FWIW, I haven't tried Gaston's cinnamon roll, so I can't provide a comparison.
Sa'tuli Canteen: Chicken bowl with potato hash and creamy herb dressing, plus both desserts. The chicken and potato hash were outstanding. The chicken was perfectly cooked with great spices, and there was a lot of it. They absolutely knocked it out of the park. The potato hash was also delicious and complemented the chicken perfectly. I was not a fan of the dressing, but thankfully they mostly had it off to the side and only covered a small portion of the chicken/potatoes, so I could avoid it for the most part. I barely had room to try the desserts, and only had a small portion of both. They were ok, not great and not really worth getting when the bowls have so much food in them. I liked the blueberry cream cheese more, but it still wasn't that great. It's not the density of a cheesecake, but I'm pretty sure that's well-publicized by now. I am a fan of dark chocolate, but the chocolate cake was a "bad" bitter more than the "good" bitter. Did mobile ordering here too- again, it was awesome.
Dinner at my resort, POP: Chicken Parmesan with marinara, penne pasta, garlic breadstick, green beans, and Caesar salad. I discovered this meal last time I was at Pop and it's a great value. Nothing is really "amazing," especially for an Italian-American who has amazing Italian restaurants at home, but the price is right ($11.99, used to be $10.99 last year) for the amount of food you get, and everything is at least somewhat tasty. This is my go-to at Pop along with the chicken nuggets.
MK 3/6:
EMM Fantasyland: This was my third time doing this. My first time in September 2016, the food was pretty terrible. It was vastly improved in March 2017 (and I told the manager CM there such), and thankfully it has retained that quality. I had the French toast, charcuterie ham and dried cranberries, sausage, bacon, and potatoes (I love fruit, but the acid doesn't like me!). All were good. There's plenty of other options of course, such as vegetable frittata, eggs, fruit, Danimals smoothies, juice, coffee, tea, water, pastries, other charcuterie items like cheese and meat, and probably more I can't think of yet. I do know they will do special order items for people with allergies/sensitivities, just ask.
Plaza Ice Cream Parlor: Ice cream cookie sandwich (chocolate chip cookies) with cookies and cream ice cream. I had this at the Pop food court last trip and enjoyed it; however, they no longer serve it there. So I went to the Plaza. I don't know why, but I didn't enjoy it as much this time. The cookies are decent, but not spectacular; same for the ice cream. I also probably didn't like it as much because there's no indoor seating and so I had to eat it outdoors while it quickly melted. :/
Cinderella's Royal Table: This was my first time ever at CRT, definitely a bucket list item as I never got to go even as a little kid. But I really liked it. I had the best seat in the house, in the middle of the windows facing Fantasyland. And my ADR time was perfect: a 5:30 ADR made it so I was having dinner while watching the sun set, and I was out just around 7PM. All of the princesses were friendly and took selfies with me (except Cinderella, I just did the official portraits there because that room is DARK- probably by design to sell you photos!). The staff was mostly pretty good with a couple small mishaps. The guys at check-in kept ignoring me, probably because they thought I was with another party. I had to speak up and tell them that they had let two parties cut in front of me. I don't think it was intentional on their part. Also, when I was allowed to go upstairs to be seated, the hostess, who was an IP CM, seemed kind of confused that I was alone, but again, I don't think it was malicious or intentional. The CM who called the parties and the waiters/waitresses were all fantastic, though.
The food was very good. I had the salad appetizer, which had some interesting flavors with thick bacon pieces and fried beets mixed with normal salad items. I had the chicken entree with mashed potatoes and vegetables. There weren't a whole lot of veggies, but the chicken and potatoes portions were good. The chicken was was very moist with a nice wine sauce and mushrooms. I had "The Clock Strikes Twelve" dessert, which unfortunately does not have a clock on it anymore. But anyway, it was a dark chocolate mousse surrounded by ganache with some raspberry coulis on the side and a little chocolate piece on top. The ganache was glittery and looked so pretty as the sun set over my table. It was very good and definitely a whole lot better than the chocolate cake at Sa'tuli. Overall, I had a great time and it was totally worth it to me. I would even consider doing it again. Also, for those with food allergies, it's a pretty good place. I'm allergic to tree nuts and literally EVERYTHING on the current lunch/dinner menu is free of tree nuts. However, you might have trouble as a vegetarian depending on the menu. All of the regular apps, even the salad, had meat in them. I'm sure they'd substitute, but still, thought it was weird.
Happy to answer any questions. I was overall very pleased with the food this trip, and especially so with Sa'tuli and CRT.
I'd done everything I wanted to do, but I sure would've liked another AK day and more Sa'tuli Canteen! As an fyi that comes into play, later, I was alone.MK 3/4:
Mickey Bar: Yeah, it's a Mickey bar. I love the dark chocolate so this is always a treat. They are ridiculously overpriced at $5, but hey, it's vacation. I'm only getting one or two a year!
Columbia Harbor House: Had the kids' chicken nuggets with fries and apple slices. Well, that was what I ordered, but the CM was kind enough to throw in the other two kids' sides as well at no charge- the smoothie and the applesauce. I tweeted a Cast Compliment for him and he received it.
Anyway, it was the standard chicken nuggets and fries, which I love. I think the chicken may have have been slightly spicier than before, but I may be misremembering. Either way, it was great. It was my first time using mobile ordering and it worked like a charm. The apple slices, smoothie, and applesauce were the standard as well. You know what you're getting. I had the nuggets and fries at the restaurant, and the apple slices, smoothie, and applesauce for snacks the next day. They kept pretty well, refrigerating them while I was in the hotel room.Aloha Isle: Dole Whip. It's a dole whip. I'm personally a fan. Enough said. I used mobile ordering here as well and it worked great- though it was at night so there weren't much people there anyway.
AK 3/5:
Kusafiri: Colossal Cinnamon Roll (serves two). As someone who loves cinnamon rolls, this was way overhyped. First of all, I wouldn't consider it colossal. It's about the size of a regular Cinnabon with two tiny ear buns. I'm small and don't have a large stomach and I still finished probably 85-90% of it. I only stopped because I didn't want to eat more, not because I was full. The cream cheese icing is delicious, and I appreciate that they warm it up and put caramel sauce on it. It wasn't stale, but it didn't taste super fresh either. It definitely could have used more cinnamon. FWIW, I haven't tried Gaston's cinnamon roll, so I can't provide a comparison.
Sa'tuli Canteen: Chicken bowl with potato hash and creamy herb dressing, plus both desserts. The chicken and potato hash were outstanding. The chicken was perfectly cooked with great spices, and there was a lot of it. They absolutely knocked it out of the park. The potato hash was also delicious and complemented the chicken perfectly. I was not a fan of the dressing, but thankfully they mostly had it off to the side and only covered a small portion of the chicken/potatoes, so I could avoid it for the most part. I barely had room to try the desserts, and only had a small portion of both. They were ok, not great and not really worth getting when the bowls have so much food in them. I liked the blueberry cream cheese more, but it still wasn't that great. It's not the density of a cheesecake, but I'm pretty sure that's well-publicized by now. I am a fan of dark chocolate, but the chocolate cake was a "bad" bitter more than the "good" bitter. Did mobile ordering here too- again, it was awesome.
Dinner at my resort, POP: Chicken Parmesan with marinara, penne pasta, garlic breadstick, green beans, and Caesar salad. I discovered this meal last time I was at Pop and it's a great value. Nothing is really "amazing," especially for an Italian-American who has amazing Italian restaurants at home, but the price is right ($11.99, used to be $10.99 last year) for the amount of food you get, and everything is at least somewhat tasty. This is my go-to at Pop along with the chicken nuggets.
MK 3/6:
EMM Fantasyland: This was my third time doing this. My first time in September 2016, the food was pretty terrible. It was vastly improved in March 2017 (and I told the manager CM there such), and thankfully it has retained that quality. I had the French toast, charcuterie ham and dried cranberries, sausage, bacon, and potatoes (I love fruit, but the acid doesn't like me!). All were good. There's plenty of other options of course, such as vegetable frittata, eggs, fruit, Danimals smoothies, juice, coffee, tea, water, pastries, other charcuterie items like cheese and meat, and probably more I can't think of yet. I do know they will do special order items for people with allergies/sensitivities, just ask.
Plaza Ice Cream Parlor: Ice cream cookie sandwich (chocolate chip cookies) with cookies and cream ice cream. I had this at the Pop food court last trip and enjoyed it; however, they no longer serve it there. So I went to the Plaza. I don't know why, but I didn't enjoy it as much this time. The cookies are decent, but not spectacular; same for the ice cream. I also probably didn't like it as much because there's no indoor seating and so I had to eat it outdoors while it quickly melted. :/
Cinderella's Royal Table: This was my first time ever at CRT, definitely a bucket list item as I never got to go even as a little kid. But I really liked it. I had the best seat in the house, in the middle of the windows facing Fantasyland. And my ADR time was perfect: a 5:30 ADR made it so I was having dinner while watching the sun set, and I was out just around 7PM. All of the princesses were friendly and took selfies with me (except Cinderella, I just did the official portraits there because that room is DARK- probably by design to sell you photos!). The staff was mostly pretty good with a couple small mishaps. The guys at check-in kept ignoring me, probably because they thought I was with another party. I had to speak up and tell them that they had let two parties cut in front of me. I don't think it was intentional on their part. Also, when I was allowed to go upstairs to be seated, the hostess, who was an IP CM, seemed kind of confused that I was alone, but again, I don't think it was malicious or intentional. The CM who called the parties and the waiters/waitresses were all fantastic, though.
The food was very good. I had the salad appetizer, which had some interesting flavors with thick bacon pieces and fried beets mixed with normal salad items. I had the chicken entree with mashed potatoes and vegetables. There weren't a whole lot of veggies, but the chicken and potatoes portions were good. The chicken was was very moist with a nice wine sauce and mushrooms. I had "The Clock Strikes Twelve" dessert, which unfortunately does not have a clock on it anymore. But anyway, it was a dark chocolate mousse surrounded by ganache with some raspberry coulis on the side and a little chocolate piece on top. The ganache was glittery and looked so pretty as the sun set over my table. It was very good and definitely a whole lot better than the chocolate cake at Sa'tuli. Overall, I had a great time and it was totally worth it to me. I would even consider doing it again. Also, for those with food allergies, it's a pretty good place. I'm allergic to tree nuts and literally EVERYTHING on the current lunch/dinner menu is free of tree nuts. However, you might have trouble as a vegetarian depending on the menu. All of the regular apps, even the salad, had meat in them. I'm sure they'd substitute, but still, thought it was weird.
Happy to answer any questions. I was overall very pleased with the food this trip, and especially so with Sa'tuli and CRT.
