Having Annual Passes means infinite Disney trips, right? *COMPLETED* 6/5 California Grill Brunch

[FSU Girl]

Jiko has been through a few different side items offered with the filet. The most famous was the original filet with red wine reduction and a sort of standard mac and cheese. I had it back in 2014 and it was good. Then when we went with my mom (last summer if I recall) they had changed to offering bobotie mac and chese. If the original was good, the bobotie version was AMAZING! but it looks like what you had was closer to the original. I think if you asked your wedding planner to confirm that it's the same one you were served they'd be able to figure out which one was on the menu when you visited.

Well now I wish I'd tried this amazing mac and cheese. When I go back I wonder what will be on the menu.

We have always had fantastic experiences there- some of them were really over the top special like it sounds like yours was, but we've never had bad service or a bad experience! It's a gem.

So the little amuse bouche and cookies at the end aren't the norm there?

The one I like had ground meat and spices in it. The original one was plain but delicious.

That sounds completely different from what I had, but it sounds good too. Disney does like changing up their menus a lot. The plain one was really good though

 

[hjeick]

Great dining report! I have never tried Jiko but now I definitely want to!

 

[kastoney]

What a great meal at Jiko to top off a wonderful day! Jiko has long been one of our favorites. I love how they offer familiar proteins but the different sides and flavors. It has never disappointed us. Your dessert in particular looks awesome! Definitely not something that would have jumped off the page from the description so glad the waiter sold you on it.

 

[FSU Girl]

Great dining report! I have never tried Jiko but now I definitely want to!

Jiko was definitely one of those restaurants I never thought of going to, but now that I have I definitely need to go back for more.

What a great meal at Jiko to top off a wonderful day! Jiko has long been one of our favorites. I love how they offer familiar proteins but the different sides and flavors. It has never disappointed us. Your dessert in particular looks awesome! Definitely not something that would have jumped off the page from the description so glad the waiter sold you on it.

I really liked how they take a unique approach to a lot of the foods and everything came out tasting amazing, which is always an added bonus. That dessert was so good, I am really happy the waiter was good talking it up, the menu description doesn't do it justice. They should have pictures next to the items so you can get a better idea of what you're ordering when it's something so unique.

 

[babs33]

The second dish they brought out was great and one of my favorite parts of the meal. There were potstickers that were delicious and I dipped those into the peanut sauce. In the middle are noodles that were in a sauce, not sure what it was exactly, but I really liked these. It also came with chicken wings, neither of us ate these. I don't like food that's on a bone and my boyfriend thought they tasted bad. I had a couple vegetables to make the dish more healthy

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Loving these reports! Still catching up. I've never been to Ohana and have a question. I don't care for chicken wings/food on the bone either. If you know ahead of time that is what they serve, could you ask them to hold the chicken wings and double up on the potstickers, for example?

Excited to keep reading your great review(s)!

 

[FSU Girl]

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Loving these reports! Still catching up. I've never been to Ohana and have a question. I don't care for chicken wings/food on the bone either. If you know ahead of time that is what they serve, could you ask them to hold the chicken wings and double up on the potstickers, for example?

Excited to keep reading your great review(s)!

I'm glad you're enjoying my reports

And you definitely can ask that. When you get seated tell your server that you don't want any of the chicken wings and what you want them to substitute in it's place. If you like a certain item after trying everything you can ask for them to bring out more. The potstickers are really good, the noodles are my favorite I always ask for a separate place of just that.

 

[pepperandchips]

So the little amuse bouche and cookies at the end aren't the norm there?

I have never had an amuse bouche but I think we had those cookies once. Not going to lie we usually indulge in some of that South African wine while there so I don't remember having the cookies more than once

 

[FSU Girl]

I have never had an amuse bouche but I think we had those cookies once. Not going to lie we usually indulge in some of that South African wine while there so I don't remember having the cookies more than once

That can always make a meal better! Maybe the waiter figured we were celebrating something since my makeup and hair were all done up.

 

[FSU Girl]

Trip 8 - 3/16-3/18
Keys to the Kingdom Tour Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe

For this trip I thought we'd try something new that I've never had a chance to do before...the Keys to the Kingdom tour! I have wanted to do this tour for a long time, but it's always sold out or we just don't have time to fit it into our trip. I figured this weekend would be perfect since our main objective was doing the hair and makeup trial and pictures. I was okay with losing 5 hours of park time to do this.

We picked the 10am tour time, which is the latest time slot they have. I was amazed when I called to book only a couple months before and they had availability in all the times. I figured this would give us time to sleep in a bit.

We drove to the TTC and decided to take the resort monorail because the express one had a line all the way back to the bag check area. The monorail there was also having issues and while we waited for the resort one to show and leave the express was still sitting there.



There was a lot of fog this morning so the ferry boat wasn't running. This was our view as we went by the Grand Floridian overlooking the lake.

Since I'm always punctual we got into the park with some time to spare and headed towards Starbucks for some much needed coffee. The park had barely been open by the time we arrived and for the first time ever there was barely a wait.



I got my usual caramel macchiato and bacon, egg and gouda cheese breakfast sandwich. It was all delicious. We ate over in this little nook off of main street that I've never walked down before. It was really quiet, cute area with some seats and lots of cute little birds.



We would be back here on the tour later, which was kind of funny since I'd never been here ever before and then went twice in one day.



We headed off to our tour and were still a little early. They didn't give much guidance and we almost ended up wandering off with the earlier time group at one point. Ours started a couple minutes late because a couple showed up late that they were waiting on.





It's next door to the Tony's restaurant, so we got to watch a little of Lady and Tramp while we waited.

We weren't allowed to take pictures on the tour so the next time I did was when we stopped for lunch. I highly recommend this tour for anyone who is a Disney fanatic. It takes you behind the scenes and into the utilidoors underneath the Magic Kingdom, which was my favorite part. We got to go to where they hold the 3pm parade floats and saw Beast walk by with only a head on and a football looking outfit underneath. Children aren't allowed on this tour so it doesn't ruin the magic for them.

I think of myself as a Disney fanatic that knows a lot of information, but I actually learned a lot on this tour and I'm so happy we got to experience it.

So onto lunch. I didn't like it. The lunch is included with the tour and I've read that there are a few different places they take people to. They took us to Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe. They asked for our order at the beginning of the tour and then had room roped off with our names and food we had ordered laid out. We did get cute little golden keys, which was nice.



I was a bit hungry and almost forgot to take a picture, so I apologize for the partially eaten fajita.

I ordered the Fajita Platter served with Spicy Barbacoa Beef and Seasoned Chicken with Yellow Rice, Beans, Fajita Vegetables and Flour Tortillas. It was incredibly dry and not very flavorful. I asked the person who was checking on our meals if I could have some queso, he said it wasn't included with this and probably couldn't, but would check for me. He did end up coming back with a little cup which helped a bit with the dryness.



My Fiance ordered the 1/3 lb Angus Bacon Cheeseburger Flame-broiled 1/3 lb Angus Burger topped with Bacon, melted American Cheese served with Tortilla Chips.

He enjoyed this and finished everything pretty quickly. This was my first time eating here and I don't think I'll be back.

We got to go on the Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion with the tour, the Jungle cruise especially was really unique since it wasn't the usually comedy stuff and was our guide giving us a lot of interesting facts. When we were there the park was pretty crowded and walking into the utilidoors where it was quiet and peaceful was really a cool experience. I can't recommend this tour enough, it is definitely worth it. Food was meh.

Up next dinner at Be Our Guest... ​

 

[pepperandchips]

Interesting that y'all had Pecos Bill! We had food from the Tomorrowland Terrace that's usually closed. It was similar options to Casey's Corner. I could see how the food sitting out at Pecos Bill waiting on the tour to show up could get dry and yucky. Good thing they got your queso!

We loved the KttK tour but didn't get to see anything salacious in the utilidors like a half dressed beast! Just a lot of CMs going to and from work. I kinda already want to take that tour again. It was that good! I also want to do Marceline to Magic Kingdom for the different behind the scenes look at Haunted Mansion.

 

[DLo]

I have done KTTK twice - three years or so apart - there were enough differences that I didn’t feel like it was the same tour. My high light on one was getting to see some rehearsal for the Christmas parade ( Oct tour - other was May ) . First time , we ate upstairs at CHH - delish . Second time , Tomorrowland terrace like pepper and chips had. I have done Marceline also. That one was good but Much more about imagineers . Backstage at the Haunted Mansion is priceless on that tour .Last trip , I did undiscovered Future world. It was like KTTK but obviously EPCOT. There was backstage on that one too. I would recommend any of these if you have the time. I keep wanting to try the tour of the countries but it is one of the longer ones and just can’t seem to book it.

 

[Texans_loyal]

Your hair was beautiful, I bet your pictures turned out awesome! Pecos is such a hit or miss, I wish they were more consistent. Now i'm curious about the tour. I am taking some newbies next week, wonder if I can sneak away for a couple of hours

 

[kastoney]

The tour sounds great. I've always wanted to do it, but gotta wait until the kiddo gets old enough. We don't want her seeing any half dressed characters

Sorry your lunch was a bust though. I think everyone else I've ever seen do the tour ate at Columbia Harbor House. Wonder why they took you to pesos?

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I'm glad you got to enjoy the Keys To The Kingdom Tour! We did that about 9/10 years ago and loved it then. I think we may do the Steam Train one in an upcoming trip!

SOrry lunch was a bust. It's interesting they put you at Pecos. We had Columbia Harbor House upstairs.

 

[chs27]

We had lunch at Tomorrow Terrace on our tour. The food tasted as though they had ordered from the local gas station. Yuck! Pecos had to be better.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Catching up. Your hair looks amazing. So pretty. Beautiful enough to be a princess.

I love Jiko. One of my favorites. I need to get dessert. We always seem to skip it there. The pudding looks really good.

Glad you enjoyed the tour. Too bad the food was dry from sitting out. I have never been, so I don't know if it is always that bad. Such a bimmer.

Can't wait to hear more.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Great Jiko dinner, the food looks lovely!

We did the KTTKT and we had lunch at CHH, the food was fine, the tour was fantastic! Glad you enjoyed it.
We really like Pecos Bills nachos and toppings bar except now no more guacamole unless you pay extra, bummer!

 

[Raeven]

I got my usual caramel macchiato and bacon, egg and gouda cheese breakfast sandwich.

That's my favorite breakfast sandwich at Starbucks too, yum.

He enjoyed this and finished everything pretty quickly. This was my first time eating here and I don't think I'll be back.

Aw, yeah we didn't have a great experience at Peco Bill's either that stinks that they took you there for the tour.

 

[FSU Girl]

Interesting that y'all had Pecos Bill! We had food from the Tomorrowland Terrace that's usually closed. It was similar options to Casey's Corner. I could see how the food sitting out at Pecos Bill waiting on the tour to show up could get dry and yucky. Good thing they got your queso!

I had read a review before going where they had eaten there so I wasn't completely surprised, but I wish it had been a different location. I definitely think the food had been sitting out a while since everything was all nicely set up and no one was around. I didn't think about that at the time.

We loved the KttK tour but didn't get to see anything salacious in the utilidors like a half dressed beast! Just a lot of CMs going to and from work. I kinda already want to take that tour again. It was that good! I also want to do Marceline to Magic Kingdom for the different behind the scenes look at Haunted Mansion.

I really like the tour, I'll definitely be looking into taking others Disney offers, it's really a different perspective than a normal day at the parks. You never know what you'll see behind the scenes.

I have done KTTK twice - three years or so apart - there were enough differences that I didn’t feel like it was the same tour. My high light on one was getting to see some rehearsal for the Christmas parade ( Oct tour - other was May ) .

I could definitely see myself taking this tour again in the future. It really amazed me how much I learned that I hadn't already known. That is really cool that you got to the a rehearsal for the Christmas parade.

First time , we ate upstairs at CHH - delish . Second time , Tomorrowland terrace like pepper and chips had.

The food was definitely not the highlight of the tour, hopefully if I do it again they take us somewhere different.

I have done Marceline also. That one was good but Much more about imagineers . Backstage at the Haunted Mansion is priceless on that tour

I should look into this tour, my Fiance is an engineer so I feel like he'd find that all fascinating.

Last trip , I did undiscovered Future world. It was like KTTK but obviously EPCOT. There was backstage on that one too. I would recommend any of these if you have the time. I keep wanting to try the tour of the countries but it is one of the longer ones and just can’t seem to book it.

That sounds like a lot of fun, I love Epcot. I think booking another tour will depend if we decide to buy annual passes again (still on the fence on what we are going to do). It's easier to justify going into the park for the day not actually doing rides if you're not paying for that specific day to get in.

Your hair was beautiful, I bet your pictures turned out awesome!

Thank you They did turn out really great.

Pecos is such a hit or miss, I wish they were more consistent. Now i'm curious about the tour. I am taking some newbies next week, wonder if I can sneak away for a couple of hours

Since I've only been there the one time it's been only miss for me. You should definitely look into the tour, but I'm not sure if it's the best one to go on when you're with Disney newbies, I don't think they'd appreciate it as much.

 

[FSU Girl]

The tour sounds great. I've always wanted to do it, but gotta wait until the kiddo gets old enough. We don't want her seeing any half dressed characters

The tour is really fun definitely look into it when she's older. There is an age limit to prevent little kids from having the magic spoiled. The guide made a point of saying if we asked any questions that would spoil the magic around kids while in the park he wouldn't give us a real answer until we were backstage and away from the little ears.

Sorry your lunch was a bust though. I think everyone else I've ever seen do the tour ate at Columbia Harbor House. Wonder why they took you to pesos?

It seems like the restaurant location changes, not sure if it's every couple months or day to day. I think they have 3 or 4 tours happening in a day so it might be they bring the other groups to different locations so everyone isn't on top of each other.

I'm glad you got to enjoy the Keys To The Kingdom Tour! We did that about 9/10 years ago and loved it then. I think we may do the Steam Train one in an upcoming trip!

That tour sounds fun! When I was looking at tours to do there were so many that caught my eye, but I felt like Keys to the Kingdom was the best one to start off with.

SOrry lunch was a bust. It's interesting they put you at Pecos. We had Columbia Harbor House upstairs.

It definitely seems like the restaurant location isn't consistent. From what I've heard it would have been a much better meal at Columbia Harbor House.

We had lunch at Tomorrow Terrace on our tour. The food tasted as though they had ordered from the local gas station. Yuck! Pecos had to be better.

That sounds awful! I feel like the food we had was about on the same level, it made me never want to go back there.