February family trip food reviews

[gosalyn_mallard]

Hello! We recently returned from a fabulous trip to Disney and Universal. I've got pictures and reviews to share from our dining adventures. This was my first attempt at doing a dining report on a trip with our kids. I got about a 50% picture rate!

We had an extremely early flight and grabbed breakfast sandwiches at the airport. Nothing special, but hit the spot.


The first three days of our trip were at Universal. We stayed at Royal Pacific for the first time.

Amazingly our room was ready when we arrived around 9 am. Before heading into the parks, we grabbed food at the hotel quick service.



Raspberry Jam and Cookies and Cream pop tart type things... These were fun. The raspberry one was too sweet. Cookies and Cream one was surprisingly not too sweet and very yummy. The outer crust of these were so good. We also loaded up on Starbucks caffeine!

Universal's Mardi Gras festival was going on during our trip. It reminded me a lot of Epcot's Food and Wine festival, except not as good. We experienced huge waits for food that really soured us on it. Everything tasted good though.
We got meatballs and a hot dog and a mead flight from a booth near Men in Black ride. Then we got a taco, corn, and mixed drink from the Mexico booth. We wanted more food but every line was super long.

For dinner we ate at Leaky Cauldron. We did mobile order. I really hated Universals approach to mobile order. They made you wait in a long line that moved really slowly to get seated at a table. It's like it was their way of limiting the capacity so that the kitchen can keep up. When we finally were allowed to sit down and press the "make my food" button, there were plenty of open tables. I much prefer Disney's method of using mobile order window times to control capacity because you can be doing other things while waiting. Anyway...

Bangers and mash:

Scotch eggs:

Fish and chips:

Not pictured: My kids got some fun themed drinks that they really loved. DH got Shepard's pie.

We ate here once before and love the atmosphere. It's so highly themed and immersive. I don't love the food. Generally it's kind of bland, but I'd continue to come back just for the theme.


We ended the evening with beignets from a festival booth. They were fresh and yummy. That's the end of day one!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Great start! Looking forward to the rest. Agree with you on the food in the Wizarding World~nothing exciting but the theming in both the Leaky Caldron and the Three Broomsticks is enough to bring you back.

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

The next day we rope dropped Islands of Adventure and rode Hagrid's for the first time. I literally had tears in my eyes when the ride finished. It blew my mind! Breakfast was breakfast bars while waiting at the gates.

For lunch we ate at Mythos for the first time in Islands of Adventure. Our reservation was shortly after it opened at 11 am. The theming in this restaurant was so cool. I was really impressed. We started with 2 appetizers:
Semolina Crusted Calamari: tender calamari flash fried, served with Spanish chorizo aioli, charred lemon
And
Mezze Platter: a tasting of house made hummus, baba ghanoush, marinated fennel, Kalamata olives served with charred pita
We were starving and I forgot pictures! The calamari was flavorful and tender, but the portion size was disappointing. The platter was really tasty. Nothing I hadn't tasted before, but very good.

Onto entrees:

Souvlaki Couscous Bowl:
za’atar spiced couscous, fresh cucumbers, marinated artichoke, Kalamata olives, spiced chickpeas, feta cheese, tzatziki, tahini dressing with sulvaki chicken kabob.
DD liked this. I ate a bit of what she didn't finish. It was really good! Fresh and bright tasting. Yum.

Catch of the Day:
our chefs daily selection of the freshest sustainable fish served with Ajvar spiced couscous, fennel and red pepper relish, sautéed haricot verts and ponzu butter sauce

DH was really happy with this. It was delicious.

Moroccan Lamb Ossobucco:
slow braised lamb with tricolor carrots, garbanzo beans, sweet peppers and eggplant in a spiced tomato broth with creamy polenta
This was mine and it was really good. Super tender lamb that wasn't "lamby". So rich and satisfying. I'd totally get it again.

Fork, Knife and Spoon Grilled Cheese:
a unique presentation of a classic 3 cheese sandwich set in a Tuscan tomato soup with crispy pork belly and garnished with house made chips

DD enjoyed this. She's drawn to anything pork belly. The bottom slice of bread was a little mushy in not a good way, but still the rest of it was super tasty.

Not pictured: beer and kids drinks.
Mango Lassi: A refreshing blend of plain yogurt, mango nectar and mango syrup, topped with a dried slice of mango.
Dessert:
Chocolate-Hazelnut Crème Brûlée:
topped with a chocolate cookie crumble, fresh raspberry, and whipped cream


Creme brulee is a Family favorite dessert. This was an excellent version of it. Pretty unique. Delicious.

Overall, we really enjoyed Mythos. Service was a little slow, but we enjoyed the time off our feet. Food was really tasty. Theming of the restaurant was so cool. We'd be excited to go back.

Lunch at Mythos kept our bellies full for a long time.

In the afternoon we stopped at Hogshead for butterbeer and beer. The line wasn't too crazy. The theme is so amazing. I wish we could redo our basement bar area into Hogshead and have butterbeer on tap.



Eventually we got hungry again. We stumbled upon some food booths with short waits at Studios near the Jimmy Fallon ride. We got jambalaya and gumbo. Both were delicious. We also got the spiral fried potato on a stick. I've had similar things in the past and love every rendition. Back at Royal Pacific we shared a small pizza and fruit and cheese plate and something else I can't remember.


Day 2 was a super fun day! Day 3 will be our last in Universal and then we go to Disney!!!

 

[Counting Stars]

Really great report, Such great pictures too!- definitely following to see your next dining adventures. Thanks for taking the time to share!

 

[Swissmiss]

Thanks for sharing. This is so helpful, it's the same trip I'm making with my daughter in May. I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

Great start! Looking forward to the rest. Agree with you on the food in the Wizarding World~nothing exciting but the theming in both the Leaky Caldron and the Three Broomsticks is enough to bring you back.

Totally. I'm all about a good theme!

Really great report, Such great pictures too!- definitely following to see your next dining adventures. Thanks for taking the time to share!

Thanks for following along!

Thanks for sharing. This is so helpful, it's the same trip I'm making with my daughter in May. I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

Thanks for reading! Hope you have a fantastic trip in May!

 

[maryblanchard49]

The next day we rope dropped Islands of Adventure and rode Hagrid's for the first time. I literally had tears in my eyes when the ride finished. It blew my mind! Breakfast was breakfast bars while waiting at the gates.

For lunch we ate at Mythos for the first time in Islands of Adventure. Our reservation was shortly after it opened at 11 am. The theming in this restaurant was so cool. I was really impressed. We started with 2 appetizers:
Semolina Crusted Calamari: tender calamari flash fried, served with Spanish chorizo aioli, charred lemon
And
Mezze Platter: a tasting of house made hummus, baba ghanoush, marinated fennel, Kalamata olives served with charred pita
We were starving and I forgot pictures! The calamari was flavorful and tender, but the portion size was disappointing. The platter was really tasty. Nothing I hadn't tasted before, but very good.

Onto entrees:
View attachment 744142
Souvlaki Couscous Bowl:
za’atar spiced couscous, fresh cucumbers, marinated artichoke, Kalamata olives, spiced chickpeas, feta cheese, tzatziki, tahini dressing with sulvaki chicken kabob.
DD liked this. I ate a bit of what she didn't finish. It was really good! Fresh and bright tasting. Yum.
View attachment 744140
Catch of the Day:
our chefs daily selection of the freshest sustainable fish served with Ajvar spiced couscous, fennel and red pepper relish, sautéed haricot verts and ponzu butter sauce

DH was really happy with this. It was delicious.
View attachment 744141
Moroccan Lamb Ossobucco:
slow braised lamb with tricolor carrots, garbanzo beans, sweet peppers and eggplant in a spiced tomato broth with creamy polenta
This was mine and it was really good. Super tender lamb that wasn't "lamby". So rich and satisfying. I'd totally get it again.
View attachment 744143
Fork, Knife and Spoon Grilled Cheese:
a unique presentation of a classic 3 cheese sandwich set in a Tuscan tomato soup with crispy pork belly and garnished with house made chips

DD enjoyed this. She's drawn to anything pork belly. The bottom slice of bread was a little mushy in not a good way, but still the rest of it was super tasty.

Not pictured: beer and kids drinks.
Mango Lassi: A refreshing blend of plain yogurt, mango nectar and mango syrup, topped with a dried slice of mango.
Dessert:
Chocolate-Hazelnut Crème Brûlée:
topped with a chocolate cookie crumble, fresh raspberry, and whipped cream

View attachment 744144
Creme brulee is a Family favorite dessert. This was an excellent version of it. Pretty unique. Delicious.

Overall, we really enjoyed Mythos. Service was a little slow, but we enjoyed the time off our feet. Food was really tasty. Theming of the restaurant was so cool. We'd be excited to go back.

Lunch at Mythos kept our bellies full for a long time.

In the afternoon we stopped at Hogshead for butterbeer and beer. The line wasn't too crazy. The theme is so amazing. I wish we could redo our basement bar area into Hogshead and have butterbeer on tap.
View attachment 744149
View attachment 744150

Eventually we got hungry again. We stumbled upon some food booths with short waits at Studios near the Jimmy Fallon ride. We got jambalaya and gumbo. Both were delicious. We also got the spiral fried potato on a stick. I've had similar things in the past and love every rendition. Back at Royal Pacific we shared a small pizza and fruit and cheese plate and something else I can't remember.
View attachment 744151

Day 2 was a super fun day! Day 3 will be our last in Universal and then we go to Disney!!!

As a Crème Brûlée: fan I have to say the one you tried looks amazing! I hope it's still on the menu when I go to Disney again! lol

 

[erinch]

Following!

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

Day 3
Day 3 started with breakfast bars while waiting for rope drop at Islands of Adventure. After a few rides, we stopped for Butterbeers at one of the stands in Hogsmeade. It was about 8:45 am and there was already a small line! 30 mins later the line tripled in size! We drank butterbeer and cast spells.



Eventually we made our way to Universal Studios via Hogwarts Express. Around lunch time we found ourselves in the Simpsons area. We'd eaten there on our 1st Universal trip and I wanted to try someplace new, but everyone else was hungry and didn't want to go elsewhere so I conceded. We ate at the food court. Sorry, no pictures! I got the chicken and waffles. It tasted as expected, nothing special. It promptly fell apart after a few bites like all chicken and waffles do. DH and kids got burgers. They were happy. DH and I got Duff Beers too. Interestingly they wouldn't let me order 2. We each had to be handed our own beer at the drink window. My kids loved watching the Simpsons clips on the TVs while we ate since I haven't let them watch it yet at home.

Later in the day we said goodbye to Universal and took a Lyft to the Polynesian. We went swimming and enjoyed drinks at the pool bar. The pool was packed, but there was no wait for drinks! DD1 got a pineapple smoothie that I don't see on the online menu. She liked it fine. DD2 got Lava Smoothie:
Raspberry Purée blended with flavors of Coconut and Pineapple. She was crazy about it! The kid has had A LOT of smoothies in her 10 years on this planet. She said this one was the best ever! She ended up getting 2 more on the trip. DH and I got beers - a good IPA I don't see on the menu.

Like other resorts, the Poly has a fire pit and free marshmallows to roast. We enjoyed a few. View from the fire pit:

Dinner was at Capt Cook's...

Thai Coconut Meatballs
House-made All-Beef Chili-Garlic Meatballs cooked in a Coconut Cream served over White Rice

DH and DD1 both got this and were quite pleased.

Pulled Pork Nachos
Topped with Cheese, Spicy Mayonnaise, Pico de Gallo, and Pineapple Salsa

DD2 got these. Picture doesn't do it justice. These are sooooo good. I happily ate what she didn't.

Superfoods Salad​

Kale and Cabbage tossed with Quinoa and Edamame, Walnuts, Grapes, Blueberries, and Mandarin Oranges served with a side of Apple Cider Vinagarette with Chicken

I got this. It was a really good salad. Super fresh, bright, great flavors. And it made me feel good about myself to get a salad! I'd totally get it again.

That's the end of Day 3. The next day, we do Animal Kingdom!

 

[tigerlilly]

Really enjoying your dining report so far. Thank you for taking the time to do it!!

We are planning on the Poly this October. Even though the pool was busy were you able to find a "spot" to sit? Did you mostly stay by the bar area? Or find a lounge? I am not a huge get in the pool person but I am a fan of "sitting" by the pool with a drink in hand lol.

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

Even though the pool was busy were you able to find a "spot" to sit? Did you mostly stay by the bar area? Or find a lounge?

We struggled to find lounge chairs. When we first arrived around 3 pm we couldn't find 2 open lounge chairs next to each other! All 4 of us dropped our stuff on 1 chair and then hit the pool/slide. By 4:30 pm, people were leaving and we were able to each have our own lounge chair and enjoy our beverages!

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

Day 4
Day 4 started with breakfast bars while waiting for AK rope drop.

Not food related but - oh my goodness, some people were nasty getting to Flight of Passage. I guess there was some pushing and elbowing. Two parties were yelling at each other. It was bonkers! Luckily it didn't escalate too far and end up on the news!

After riding multiple rides, DDs convinced us to get them Mickey Bars. Ice cream at breakfast time at least once on vacation is kind of a tradition. There's something about ice cream bars in Mickey shape that make them taste more special!

Next, we stopped by Zuri's Sweet shop in Africa. We used to love the chocolate covered pineapple here and were hoping they'd brought it back. Alas, they did not. So we got other treats.

An oatbar type thing for me. It was fine, but a little too sweet. I wouldn't get it again. DH got a giant Mickey shaped sugar/shortbread cookie decorated as a pineapple. Surprisingly, it did have a decently strong pineapple flavor. We'd get one again. DDs both got chocolate covered marshmallows on a stick. They love getting these.

We ate the treats in the Harambe Market seating area which was empty since it was so early. It was so nice and peaceful. It's such a well themed area. When it's packed with people at lunch time, it's harder to appreciate.

We had time to kill before the bird show, so DH and I decided we needed coffee. We stopped at Tamu Tamu Refreshments. The line was super short. DH and I both got:
African Coffee
with Amarula Cream Liqueur.
They topped it with 3 inches of quality whipped cream. It was delicious!

Somehow at the ordering window before I could pay, DDs came up and started ordering more ice cream! I was like... What? You've just had 2 desserts! And because I'm a good parent or maybe a bad one, I didn't stop them. They got:

Scar's Lair
DOLE Whip® Pineapple and Sour Apple
and
Simba Sunset
DOLE Whip® Pineapple with Strawberry

We walked with our goodies and sat at some tables near the water. DDs like their dole whips but couldn't finish them. (Surprise!) Character boats happened to come by which was fun!


We did the 11:45 am Wild Africa Trek tour. The tour includes behind the scenes time seeing the hippos and alligators up close and a savanna ride. They serve you food and POG juice on the Savanna in a pavilion.

The food is served in these stackable metal containers. They were so cute!
The top container had: pita, hummus, pickled veggie salad, prosciutto, and cheese. All was really yummy!


Second container had fruit, curry chicken wraps, and shrimp. I loved the flavor of these.


It was a lot of food and we were super full! DH and DDs had no idea the tour included a stop for snacks, so it was a fun surprise for them. I didn't do this tour for the food of course, but the quality and quantity of the snacks it includes definitely elevated the experience.

Views from the pavilion:



Next up... Day 4 continues with dinner at the Boardwalk and Harmonious Fireworks Cruise!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Always love your dining reports! I've been wondering about visiting Universal to check out the Mardi Gras food booths. The lines sound frustrating though and I'm not a thrill ride person ... though I am a big Harry Potter fan. You should definitely redo your basement bar, by the way! I've never stayed at the Poly. It's such classic Disney I feel like I need to do it at least once. And I'll be needing those nachos! How awesome to do the Wild Africa Trek! Isn't it so fun?! It's been a few years since I've been and would love to do it again. And I still remember that curried chicken salad -- SO good!!

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

Always love your dining reports!

Aww, thank you!

I've been wondering about visiting Universal to check out the Mardi Gras food booths. The lines sound frustrating though and I'm not a thrill ride person ... though I am a big Harry Potter fan.

Yeah, I felt bad for all of the team members at the food booths. They looked so overwhelmed!

I've never stayed at the Poly. It's such classic Disney I feel like I need to do it at least once. And I'll be needing those nachos!

We loved new Moana themed rooms! Such fun colors, neat designs, and so much storage! The nachos are legendary! We first got them in 2017 and it seems that they haven't changed them - thank goodness!

How awesome to do the Wild Africa Trek! Isn't it so fun?! It's been a few years since I've been and would love to do it again. And I still remember that curried chicken salad -- SO good!!

The tour was such a fun different thing to do in AK. It was especially fun having just watched the magic of AK show on Disney+ and hearing an update on the hippos.

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

Day 4, continued
 We had no dinner reservations planned since we wanted to keep things flexible and didn't know how long we'd want to stay at AK before our Harmonious Fireworks cruise starting at 7:45.

We hopped on a bus about 5:30 pm and formulated the plan to go to AbracadaBar. My kids love the truffle fries there. While walking there we passed by Big River Grille. It looked empty and we made the spontaneous decision to eat there instead. It likely would have been difficult to get a four person table at that time of day anyway at AbracadaBar, so it was for the best.

We'd never eaten at Big River Grille before and I never hear great things about it. But I was happy to try a new-to-us restaurant at Disney.

DH and I each enjoyed 2 rounds microbrews and kids got lemonades. We skipped appetizers since we weren't that hungry. We ordered entrees and they came out in what felt like less than 5 minutes. It was amazingly fast.

Habanero Chicken​

Grilled Chicken with Sweet and Spicy Habanero glaze topped with Pico de Gallo, Avocado, and Cilantro served with seasonal fresh Vegetables and Cilantro-Lime Rice

This was mine. The spice level was pretty high, which I enjoyed. Chicken was perfectly cooked. Veggies were a little boring, but overall I was pleased.

Classic Mac 'n Chicken​

with Grilled Chicken and topped with Asiago Breadcrumbs

DD2 got this. She said it good, but not the best.

Santa Fe Ranch Chicken​

Grilled Chicken over Greens with Corn, Avocado, Black Beans, Cheddar, and Pepper Jack Cheese, and Pico de Gallo tossed in Jalapeño-Ranch Dressing

DH got this. I think it was the first time he's ever ordered a salad at a restaurant. It was good and serving was quite large.

Wagyu Burger​

American-style Wagyu Beef Burger served with Lettuce, Tomato, Pickles, and Kettle Chips

DD1 got this. It was a standard tasting burger.

Overall, Big River Grille was about what I expected. The menu is a little boring and food didn't wow us. But we got seated as a walk up with no wait and the service was good. We like trying new beers and this place had a lot! But we probably won't ever plan to go back. That's ok - I checked it off the Disney restaurant list!

After dinner, we took our time strolling around Crescent Lake to check in at Yatch Club marina for the Harmonious cruise. It was our first time doing it and appealed to us since kids had never seen Harmonious and we didn't have park hopper tickets.

The cruise included snacks and drinks. Soft drinks, water, chips, pretzels, cookies, brownies, and Mickey shaped rice crispy treats. There was a ton of it! I think the cruise is up to 10 or 12 people and we were just 4 so we took a lot home with us which was fun. I was impressed by the quality of the cookies and brownies.

View of Harmonious from the boat


Cruising back to the dock:


Extra desserts:


That's the end of Day 4. It was a super long day but packed with new to us experiences and so much fun. Day 5 is Hollywood Studios!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

You did such fun things this trip! The fireworks cruise sounds awesome!! I agree with you on Big River. It's fine. When the weather is nice, sitting outside on the Boardwalk is really fun. With the location, and especially now that ESPN Zone has closed, it has a lot of unrealized potential that I hope they'll figure out how to tap (pun intended, haha).

 

[tigerlilly]

We struggled to find lounge chairs. When we first arrived around 3 pm we couldn't find 2 open lounge chairs next to each other! All 4 of us dropped our stuff on 1 chair and then hit the pool/slide. By 4:30 pm, people were leaving and we were able to each have our own lounge chair and enjoy our beverages!

Thank you for the info Our plan is to "arrive" around 3 or so also.

Everything you did on your AK day is something we are considering also!! Loving your reports.

 

[Counting Stars]

This is a great trip! The Africa tour and a Fireworks cruise on the same day- really memorable! Great reporting too

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

You did such fun things this trip! The fireworks cruise sounds awesome!! I agree with you on Big River. It's fine. When the weather is nice, sitting outside on the Boardwalk is really fun. With the location, and especially now that ESPN Zone has closed, it has a lot of unrealized potential that I hope they'll figure out how to tap (pun intended, haha).

Yes! Crescent Lake area is one of my favorite places at Disney! It will be interesting to see how Cake Bake does there.

Everything you did on your AK day is something we are considering also!! Loving your reports.

Thanks! We love trying out the behind the scenes tours. Keeps things fresh and new!

This is a great trip! The Africa tour and a Fireworks cruise on the same day- really memorable! Great reporting too

Thanks! I was worried that both on the same day would be too much, but it all worked out great! The cruise was a super relaxed way to watch Harmonious.