New Year's Dining...

[tyandskyesmom]

Electric Umbrella

We took a walk across the breezeway and went to The Electric Umbrella at 11:04. It had recently started serving lunch but it was getting crowded. We were able to give our order to the boys and then Skye and i were able to hunt down a seat by the windows.

We decided to get a Three-Cheese Flatbread...Individual Flatbread topped topped with fresh Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan and Arugula...without the arugula of course.

And a Kid's Three-Cheese Flatbread...served with Dannon® Danimals® Smoothie, Apple Slices and choice of small Lowfat Milk or small Dasani® Bottled Water.

That she got with fries, a chocolate chip cookie, and a sprite. Basically the kid's meal was half an adult flatbread. Both of these were nice and freshly cooked and the fresh mozzarella on them was a nice touch. The fries were fries and the cookie came with us for later.

We also got 3 small cups of ice. This place has self serve fountain drinks...so i was surprised they handed out ice in the same small kid's meal cups and they direct you to the fountain machines.

Our total here was $18.09 and we all shared a bit here and there and enjoyed our snack. I don't know that we'd make a point of eating here...there's just too many other awesome places to eat here...but if we were here and needed food, we would gladly stop here for lunch again.

TOTAL = $492.09

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe

We were on our quest to Snack Around the World again so we stopped at Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe. Usually, the kids argue here because I make them share something. This time i let them each get what they wanted.

We ended up with a School Bread ... Sweet Roll filled with Custard and dipped in Coconut for me, a Rice Cream ... Rice Pudding topped with Strawberry Sauce for Cary, a Viking Chocolate Mousse ... Chocolate Mousse Viking Helmet with Twill Horns and Toasted Coconut for Tyler, and a Troll Horn ... Cloudberry Jam with Whipped Cream in a Crispy Pastry Sugar-coated Shell for Skyler. We also grabbed the last can of Rekorderlig Pear Cider for Cary and me to share.

So, the School Bread was great as always...it always seems like a slightly stale very soft bread with a sweet, but not overly so, cream filling and dollop on the top. The icing the coconut is stuck on with is sweet but not too much. I love these but no one else does so I don't always get one when I want it.

Cary liked the rice cream...a little more watery that typical rice pudding and a bit less sweet but the sauce on the top brought in the sweet. Skyler loved the strawberry but wont try the rest.

Tyler loved his Mousse and shared his horns with Skye. They weren't much n their own but with the mousse on them, they were tasty. It was very rich though and he would have liked some milk to drink with it.

Skye really liked her horn and was surprised by the citrus flavor of the cream. I was surprised that she liked the citrus flavor. She ate most of the cream and then the horn with whatever cream was stuck to it.

We are not normally bit drinkers...partially just becasue we're not, but partially because drinking in The World is expensive!!! But we really enjoyed the Pear Cider...it was light and really had a pear flavor. We could have done with another but at $9.75 for that little can, no thanks!

We were lucky enough to be able to find a table right outside the door but there is not a lot of seating over there even though there is a lot of customers. I sometimes wonder what they were thinking designing these places. We were sure to pass on our table to a waiting family and not to linger any longer than we needed to.

The line to get our choices was not long but Tyler never minds waiting here...Norwegian girls are pretty. We were here at 1:25pm and our cost was $28.24.

TOTAL = $520.33

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Lotus Blossom Cafe

We decided to share a few small things. The kids just started being a little more adventurous with CHinese food recently. We gave Cary our order and he gave it to a gentleman walking the line...

...and he handed him this back to hand to the cashier when he got there. This place, like all the others, never seems to have enough seating. We had to stalk again. We had one table stolen, because we wait for someone to leave the table before moving in...not everyone is that polite. It took a couple of tries but we finally found a spot just as Cary was coming with our food.

We decided to get a Kid's Sweet-and-Sour Chicken...served with Steamed Rice and choice of small Lowfat Milk, small Dasani® Bottled Water or Orange Juice...with a coke, and apple sauce and two carrots. This was really good. White rice is always a hit with the kids. Orange chicken without the orange is too! We weren't too sure what the purpose of two carrots was but whatever...LOL. It was all hot and good and got finished.

We also grabbed an order of Pork & Vegetable Egg Rolls. I love a good egg roll and these were that. Tyler just started eating them so he and Cary split one too.

And lastly we got Pot Stickers...which are my favorite and Skye loves them too...but there are only three!

While we were eating (at 2pm) it was crazy in there! People all over the place. At one point i had to use the restroom. The quick service place shares with the table service place here, in a long thin hallway...and there are like three stalls...the line to get into the ladies room was back to the exit door! I think I waited about 15 minutes to get to the bathroom!!! That's just crazy!!! But we love this quick service. We have never been to the table service in China...we've been tempted but until recently the kids would not have eaten anything there but now, it might be a contender. You don't hear much about it and there are so many great places to eat at Epcot, it just never makes the cut.

Our total here was $18.58.

TOTAL = $538.91

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Sommerfest

After checking out the Teddy Bear Store and the Pickle Tree and the crowns and the...I could go on and on...Germany has so many beautiful things...we sent Cary in to Sommerfest for food. While he waited in the huge line, Skye colored on her pictures she received along the way at the kidcot stations. Tyler was out looking around but we sat inside watching two little girls interact with the German lady there while coloring. They were really funny...kind mischievous funny but they were maybe 4 and 6ish and one fed off the other and were a kick to watch. One of them was coloring while being silly with her sister and kept sneaking a peek at what Skye was doing and as soon as Skye would grab a color to color something, so would she. Skye was giggling watching her. We sat there a while becasue the line for food was LONG!

We actually were done before Cary was...but he was near the end. So we tried to find a spot to sit and eat but nope, it wasn't happening. Tyler met back up with us and we ended up sitting on by the rail out by the water on the ground to eat. It was all we could find...a picnic it was!

So what did we order? Well, we decided on a Frankfurter...served on a freshly baked Roll with Sauerkraut and House-made Paprika Chip...with no sauerkraut. Skye loved the chips and we all enjoyed the frankfurter. The kids did not believe me that it was basically just a good hot dog. The roll was a tougher roll than you'd get with a hot dog but it was a good match for the firmer frankfurter...and probably holds up to the sauerkraut better. We completely forgot about pictures prior to eating. The pic shows about the size of the frankfurter we each got...it is huge.

We also grabbed a Jumbo Pretzel...which was huge. I always saw the price of these and wondered why someone would pay that much for just a plain pretzel. Well, besides being huge, they were a lighter texture than a regular hot pretzel...they were really good...and now I understand.

Sorry, we dug into this before remembering to take pictures too...

And we also got a Schöfferhofer Pink Grapefruit Hefeweizen. I had heard a lot about this and while we are not big drinkers, i wanted to try it. Cary wasn't so convinced...I mean, grapefruit??? But we loved it. It was tart and sweet but refreshing too.

While we were eating some people were feeding the birds...who because a gang of birds...who chased each other around and dive bombed each other...and fought...you name it, they did it. It was very fun to watch but there were too many people around for that kind of entertainment...and I know, it's not good for them. SOmeone else eating went and got a CM to stop people from feeding them and to chase them away while ssweeping up the food they were after.

We also got to watch these guys...

So we ate and watched birds and turtles while looking at the awesome German pavilion. I don't know that we'd stop here if we weren't eating the world but it is a sound stop. We wouldn't be opposed to stopping in the future.

Our total was $30.50.

TOTAL = $559.41

 

[TeresaNJ]

I'm really enjoying your dining report! One of these days I'm going to try the school bread in Norway! I always get the rice cream, and I love it. I've never been a beer drinker, but I had to try the grapefruit beer after reading so many great reviews of it here, and I loved it! My husband couldn't believe it, finally, a beer that I can drink! Two weeks from tomorrow, and I can have another!

 

[olliesmom]

I love your reviews! Thank you so much for sharing, looking forward to reading more.

Those two carrots at Lotus Blossom are too much though, I can't remember the last time I was served steamed carrots at a Chinese restaurant.

 

[cruisin5]

Great reviews and pictures. Thank you for taking the time to share!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Via Napoli Pizza Window

We ended up at Via Napoli Pizza Window. There is not a menu on line but I do have my receipt so...

We ordered a Pepperoni Pizza...

And it was really good. Very different than the pizza you get inside. It had a thick crust and a ton of pepperoni. The pepperoni was not too spicy and was good to just pick off and eat. Tyler wanted another piece but did not want to wait in the long ling again!

We also got a Cannoli.

It was a bit soft and chewy. I like them a bit firmer in the shell but the flavor was good and it was huge!

There was a really long line here and not much seating available. We were d=sitting on the ground again, which was fine but not ideal. THis is the first time we have been in the World that the Pizza Window has been open and we enjoyed it. We would eat here again if it were open when we were there.

Our total was $13.58...it was 4:18pm.

TOTAL = $572.99

 

[tyandskyesmom]

EC Patina QS Kiosk

Cary also went to what is on his receipt as the EC Patina QS Kiosk for a Cappuccino. I don't have a picture of it but it looked like cappuccino. And he said it was really good too! The total here was $5.33.

We ate and relaxed in Italy a bit and then continued our tour.

TOTAL = $578.32

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Funnel Cakes Snacks

Cary had decided we were having a Funnel Cake with vanilla ice cream.

Tyler still wasn't back but we shared this among the three of us. It was a bit odd how the ice cream was just a slab on top of the funnel cake but it actually was kind of better because it was spread over the whole thing rather than on sloppy mess in the middle. We had never gotten a funnel cake in The World before but it was really good. We would definitely be interested in getting more of these in the future!

Our total here was $11.72.

TOTAL = $590.04

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Katsura Grill

It was still warm and crowded but Illuminations was going to start soon so a lot of people were scouting out spots for that which thinned out some of the pavilions a bit. We decided we'd snack at Katsura Grill. The tables inside were all full but we were able to get a spot on the ledge along the side of the building.

Cary waited in line to order. The line was inside the building when he got in line and moved quiclky but soon after it was out down the sidewalk in front of us so while we were waiting and eating we got to watch all the drunk people tripping over a step in the dark.

We decided to get Shrimp and Chicken Teriyaki...served with Steamed Rice and Mix Garden Salad.

The three of them picked off of this...it was fresh and hot and a good amount of food. They would definitely order this again. The chicken is under the shrimp and it was very tender and had good flavor.

I had the Tonkotsu Ramen...served with Pork and Vegetables all to myself.

Well, Cary tasted it and Skye had a noodle but they were happy with the other dish so I got this one all to myself. It is a very large bowl of soup. It had good flavor. I actually could have done without the pork but it was ok. I did really like the ramen though. Tyler is a ramen nut (even has a sweat shirt and sweat pants to prove it) but he is a pre-packaged, just add hot water kind of ramen lover so he wanted no part of real ramen. I would order this again in a heartbeat!

It is really pretty up here and we had fun people watching while we are. The venue is really small but the service is quick and the food is good. We will most likely be back here when exploring the World Showcase and needing counter service. We were here at 6:43pm and our total was $27.69.

TOTAL $617.73

 

[tyandskyesmom]

L Artisan Des Glaces

Next up was France. Which is where we found out the cool drinks in a glowing bowl were. BUT...the line had a 180 minute wait!!! Ya, no...I'm good! So we found a seat along the ledge by the center fountain and the kids ran to the bakery to see what to get. Apparently the line there was crazy long too....needless to say, they hit up LArtisan Des Glaces instead. It has a line to but nothing like the line at the bakery!

They ended up getting a Double Scoop...choice of Ice Cream or Sorbet in a Waffle Cone or Cup.

It was Mint chocolate chip but it was white??? And it did not taste good. We all tasted it and tried to like it but nope. Most of it went in the garbage. I question if it was even mint chocolate chip at all...it did not really taste like it.

They also grabbed a Macaron...Chocolate or seasonal Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich.

Which was much better! The red and green parts were chewy. I don't think we've ever had a macaron before so I don't know if they are supposed to be but it was good!

We have been here before and loved what we got so I am sure the mint chocolate chip was just a fluke and we will continue to return when we want to.

Our total here was $13.05.

TOTAL = $630.78

 

[tyandskyesmom]

La Mode Francaise

Cary also went to La Mode Francaise and grabbed what is listed on the receipt as a "Krnenbrg, blnc, beer". I don't remember it and have no picture so I assume it was fine and he drank it. It cost $9.59.

TOTAL = $640.37

 

[tyandskyesmom]

La Cantina de San Angel

Finally the boys found us. They said the guy who helped them was rude and either not able to hear or speak well...they were not sure which is was because it was a mad house over there!

We ended up with...

We ended up with two Empanadas con Queso ... served with Tortilla Chips, Nacho Cheese and choice of Lowfat Milk, Nestlé Nesquik® Chocolate Milk, Soda or small Dasani® Bottled Water. This is where the not hearing or understanding came in because they wanted one kids empanada and one adult one. Then got two kids. It was fine in the end...they're basically the same anyway. You get two cheese empanadas, chips, cheese, and apples and someone handed them the slaw that comes with the adult meal when they tried to tell them they wanted one adult meal. In the end we ended up with mostly what they wanted though so whatever! The kids love these empanadas. They can never seem to find just cheese ones around here.

We also got Tacos de Barbacoa ... Seasoned Beef, Homemade Corn Tortillas, Mexican Rice, Refried Black Beans and Red Salsa ... and it was as good as we remembered...if not a bit spicier that before! Cary even liked the beans and usually those are all mine!

We got a coke and a sprite with the kid's meals and Cary grabbed a "La Cantina" Clásica on the Rocks... which, of course, i have no picture of! The woman sitting next to us had one of the spicy margaritas that her husband got her and she did not want so she offered it to us...we took a sip each and were like, "No, nope...thank you though!"... I'm not a margarita drinker in the first place but it taster really strong to me. Cary drank it but it was not his favorite.

All in all, we love La Cantina de San Angel. Oddly enough, there is a lot of seating but in the evening people flock there to hold seats for Illuminations so we usually try to eat there early so we can actually sit to eat. Seating seems to be a constant running complaint of mine this time around...maybe that is part of why we love the deluxe dining plan so much...don't have to deal with that at a table service meal.

They checked out at 9:37pm and our cost was $56.71 and i am very sure we will be back!

TOTAL = $697.08

 

[mdsouth]

Thanks for your great reviews! I am planning a NYE trip myself (Dec 30-Jan 3) and will be paying out of pocket since it is just my son and I. Like you, we will be eating mostly quick service meals/snacks. So, your review has really helped me out a bit with what to expect crowd wise and cost wise. The nice thing is that there is such a great variety of snacks and quick service places that I think we will be fine. We will be at MK on the 30th so I am thinking about making a reservation for one of our meals on that day at a table service place. I am thinking about Plaza if I can get it. We will not be in the parks on the 31st so that should help us avoid some crowds at least and give us more options.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Thanks for your great reviews! I am planning a NYE trip myself (Dec 30-Jan 3) and will be paying out of pocket since it is just my son and I. Like you, we will be eating mostly quick service meals/snacks. So, your review has really helped me out a bit with what to expect crowd wise and cost wise. The nice thing is that there is such a great variety of snacks and quick service places that I think we will be fine. We will be at MK on the 30th so I am thinking about making a reservation for one of our meals on that day at a table service place. I am thinking about Plaza if I can get it. We will not be in the parks on the 31st so that should help us avoid some crowds at least and give us more options.

We are planning to be back for Christmas and New Years again too! As long as you go in knowing what to expect, it's great fun!

We LOVE the dining plan but there is definitely plenty to eat (and then some) without it.

I do suggest a table service on busy days though...if not only to make sure you have a nice cool place to sit and not have to stalk a table holding your tray of food...sometimes people are brutal about tables! LOL

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Mr. Kamal's

We decided to stop for a snack on our way through Asia. We ended up at Mr. Kamal's for Chicken Dumplings with Ponzo...

And THERE WERE ONLY THREE! Ok so these were REALLY good! Skye and I fought over them. Tyler even tried a bit of one (we were not nice enough to give him a whole one!) and liked it. I am the only one who would use the ponzu but it was a nice accent to the fried dumplings.

I think the food trucks in Asia and on Discovery Island have some really great options and if you're on the dining plan a lot of the items count as snacks!

These THREE dumplings were $6.38!!!! But we'd gladly pay that again, these were so good!​

TOTAL = $703.46​

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We also stopped at Caravan Road for a Teriyaki Slider...

It is no longer on the menu so I cannot tell you what the description is. We have had this before and used to love it. This time it was different...and not good different. The meat was fatty and there was not Asian slaw on it than anything else. When we've had it in the past, even Tyler liked it...not this time. We were glad we only got one of these.

It was $6.69 and it was eaten but not happily. I see their menu has changed again though so maybe we will try something new next time.

TOTAL = $710.15​

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Satuli Canteen

We headed back to Pandora for lunch. We knew we wanted to eat at Satuli Canteen since we had snacked here before but not had a full meal.

So we headed in at 2:10pm. We all ordered and then Skye and I went to find a seat. We gathered our utensils and napkins. Soon the boys were there with our food.

We ordered a Slow-Roasted Sliced Grilled Beef Bowl* Slow-Roasted Sliced Grilled Beef marinated in a blend of Garlic, Herbs, Red Pepper Spice, and Red Wine Vinegar topped with Crunchy Vegetable Slaw and Boba Balls served with your choice of Base and Sauce.

We opted for the Sweet Potato Hash and the Herb Dressing. This was soooo good. The kids picked on some of the beef that did not have dressing on it and Cary and I split the rest. It all went together very well. This one was Cary's favorite of the two we have tried.

We also had the Chili-Garlic Shrimp Bowl Shrimp tossed in a Chili-Garlic Sauce served with your choice of Base and Sauce.

Here, we opted for noodles and green onion sauce. This was my favorite of the two. I did, however, wonder if the herb dressing wouldn't have been better with the shrimp and the green onion sauce better with the beef...I tried them both and I don't know about better, but they were definitely good with the opposite plate's sauce.

We also ended up with two Kid's Cheese Quesadilla Cheddar and Mozzarella Cheese in a Tortilla served with Vegetable Chips and Grapes and small Dasani® Bottled Water or Lowfat Milk

Tyler has a soft drink and Skyler had a apple juice box. They both love quesadillas and Skye loves the veggie chips. These were hot and cheesy so they all got eaten!

We also got 4 cups of ice for the pop in our bag. Again, here I am surprised that they use the same cups as they give with the kid's meals since there are self serve soft drink machines but there are a lot of CMs walking around wiping tables and stuff so maybe they also watch out for violators.

For dessert, we ordered Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse with Passion Fruit Curd...

We have had this before and even Tyler loves it! It had good flavor but not over the top flavor. It is little though so if you are all dessert eaters you might want to get multiple!

There is a lot of seating and it is very fun to look around in there. Sometimes they have guides on the tables for various things in Pandora...like the language. There always seems to be enough CMs around to clean off table when someone leaves so there is always a lot of available seats...no stalking here (at least we've never had to).

We will be back to eat here. We were intrigued by breakfast but they no longer serve it.

Our total here was $50.33.

TOTAL = $760.48

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We got 2 orders of Baked Macaroni & Cheese ...

Now these used to be in cute little ramekins. They used to be baked into the cute little ramekins. So you got that crusty cheesy top. And it seemed like you actually got more mac & cheese. These were a disappointment. Not that my mac & cheese loving kids didn't eat it and enjoy it...it was just not as good as it used to be. Not that they wouldn't want it again...it was just not as good as it used to be.

We were here at 4:31pm and our total was $9.57.

TOTAL = $770.05