After the movie we had a little time to kill until dinner, so we decided to just go early and hope they could seat us before our reservation. Our destination? Storybook Dining at Artist Point in the Wilderness Lodge!
We took the bus from DS to Wilderness Lodge. Their little window display outside was still giving me Christmas vibes.
It was exciting to be back here after the three of had a wonderful stay here in 2017. I never ever get sick of seeing this beautiful lobby.
And I have to have my photo here every time we come. It's tradition.
We walked up to the check-in area at 6:20pm and our reservation was not until 7:05pm. The hostess said she doubted they could seat us early but she would check us in. I wasn't surprised by this since it was really tough to get this reservation. I had one for the following week originally and then when Lindsay decided to join us during the beginning of the trip I tried like crazy to change it so that she could go. Rob is not big on character dining and Lindsay really wanted to do it, so I knew it would be more fun if she could make it. Thankfully I scored a reservation right before we left for the trip. If you can't get a reservation, just keep trying!
We decided to wait it out at Territory Lounge, which is unchanged even with the new changes to Artist Point. Here is a look at their specialty drinks.
Rob had a First Timer and an Old Fashioned, which I did not get photos of. I had the Our Neighborhood.
This drink was amazing. And geez was it strong. One more of these and I would have been crawling to dinner.
Our bartender Brucie was awesome! She told us all kinds of stories about working at Pleasure Island back in the day. She was a hoot. She also told us, after we asked if you could get the new drinks from Artist Point in the lounge, that the specialty cocktails at Artist Point are all batched and so they're pretty weak. I was glad she said that because thankfully I went in with lower expectations about the cool looking drinks.
It was now 7:20pm and still no buzz for our reservation. Rob was super annoyed that we were now going to be seated 15 minutes late, so he went back down to the hostess stand and magically as soon as he walked back into the lounge the buzzer went off.
We settled up our tab and thankfully we were able to use our TiW card in there since Artist Point is not taking TiW yet for this new dining experience.
We were seated not too far from the entrance to the restaurant. I do love the new decor with the lanterns and twinkling tree effects.
I also loved the menus that looked like an old fashioned book right out of a fairy tale.
The forest themed lazy Susans for the food presentation was a nice touch as well.
Our napkins had these little paper apples with all the characters signatures on them which is a nice little memento of the meal.
We started with drinks Lindsay and I both got the Enchanted Apple. Skyy citrus vodka, DeKupyer pucker sour apple and white cranberry juice.
Even though I'm not a big vodka drinker anymore, this drink looked too good to pass up from the photos I had seen. It was very mediocre. The glass wasn't even full! If you're going to batch my drink and not even make it to order at least give me a full glass for goodness sake. This wasn't very strong. Do it for the Gram and not for the taste if you must.
Rob tried the Smoking Mirror. Johnnie Walker Black, wildberry, lime, rosemary smoke.
This came with a cool presentation. Our server brought it out in this special case and you could really see the smoke. Great presentation, but he didn't think the drink was that great. Style over substance on the drinks.
They soon came out with the trio of appetizers for the table.
First was the Wicked Shrimp Cocktail. Soy, miso, avocado, Thai chili, greens.
Meh. It was cold shrimp. The flavor on this was nice but nothing spectacular. No one was loving or hating this.
Next was the Winter Squash Bisque.
This was a hit at the table! The caramel lollipop was a nice little touch to stir into the soup and it melted right into it. We all scraped our bowls clean.
Then it was the Hunter's Pie. Chicken, black truffle, stone fruit preserve.
Inside the pie.
Another huge hit at the table. The preserves made it special. I found out recently that you can ask for more of the appetizers. Had we known that I think we all would have asked for seconds on the soup and the pie.
For entrees Rob went with the
Magic Mirror Slow-braised Veal Shank with celery root mashed, wilted winter greens, jus.
He really enjoyed this dish and was glad that he chose it. He ate every bit of it.
Lindsay and I both got the Royal Prime Rib Roast with horseradish mashed potato, hay smoked carrots, popover, jus.
Yummmmm!!!!! My prime rib was cooked beautifully and those horseradish mashed potatoes were phenomenal. I didn't like the popover as much as I hoped I would, but that was hardly a big deal.
During the meal Snow White, Dopey and Grumpy came around to the tables as well and we had some cute interactions and took photos with them.
We also went up for a photo with the Wicked Queen. She is the only character that doesn't come around to the table. She stays in one spot and you can go up at your leisure for photos. There is also a Photopass photographer there to take your photo as well, which is great since I get free downloads with my AP.
This was me explaining to her that she is represented on my leggings this evening.
Then it was time for the trio of desserts.
First was the 'Poison' Apple. white chocolate-apple mousse with a sour center.
This is not a dessert I would ever normally pick, but it was very good. Just the right amount of tart/sour.
Then the Fairy Tale Gooseberry Pie.
This was my favorite. It was very much like apple pie.
Then the Miner's Treasures. Sponge cake, chocolate gems, and buttercream icing.
Very cut presentation and tasty. Not super flavorful, but good.
To end the meal our server came out with the huntsman's box which held Snow White's heart. Complete with a nice smoking effect and left this treat of maple popcorn and ganache hearts.
The verdict? We all enjoyed it! For $55 it was worth the cost. We did get 10% off the food as APs which took a little of the sting off the bill, but not a lot.
For prime rib and all the different dessert and appetizers and character interaction it was worth it. But would I do it again? Probably not. While it was good and fun it won't be one I have to do every time I come to WDW. It is absolutely worth doing once, especially if you have a Snow White fan in your group. Our server was not the best as we had to flag him down a few times for drink refills and the check and then again after the check came out without the 10% off. He was nice enough, but I got the impression that he used to work at Artist Point before the change and was hating all the fairy tale stuff.
He just seemed to be phoning it in a bit.
I was glad I got to do this while Lindsay was still here because I think if it had just been Rob and I he would have been a little complainy. But he was a good sport tonight for my sake. Now begins the long journey back to the resort since I stupidly didn't drive to dinner.