You win some you booze some, a HOT August 2017 dining report! complete 1/25*

[thumper*]

Merry Christmas and Happy NY. Hope Ricky is mending well.

When Steve and I had our Gaston's cinnamon rolls in Nov. he did comment that these would have been fine "instead of BOG breakfast in August" (thanks for acknowledging my ADR efforts, dude!) but I do agree, I think from now on we'll stick with that or the Nutella waffles for breakfast.

Oh yum that sounds good.

The food from Caseys is making my mouth water. It's been years since I've had a hot dog.

 

[ariane37]

I think I could live without BOG breakfast again. The price is just highway robbery unless you share. Really with the pastries I think you *could* share but I don't have that kind of self-restraint! I want my own breakfast dang it! Haha.

I agree, a drink and some pastries SHOULD be enough, if nobody else touched MY pastry plate lol! But no I can't share an entree. I get very defensive sharing dessert. When I meet up with my friends from college we'll often go to Cheesecake Factory and they used to want to get a few different types of cheesecake to share. They quickly learned that I get my own piece and they can do all the sharing between them that they want!

I love your top in the dismeet photo. Are those Park icons?

No it's actually a HM tank top I bought in Momento Mori's It has HM scenes all over it; the gravedigger and his dog, Madame Leota, Hitchhiking ghosts, etc.

Pretty much the same here, but I had the week off which was nice.

Awesome, hope you enjoyed your time off The boys go back to school tomorrow and they're THRILLED.

I always find it ridiculous that they don't change the number of pastries depending on how many people you have.

Yes! I've seen reports from parties if 6 and 7 who get the same measly pastry plate. I don't think giving a table two of those plates is going to bankrupt them.......

Speaking of branching out you gotta come to the arugula dark side.

Ok, next time we eat together I'll order something with arugula and you order something with mushrooms

I even just ordered some this morning so we can have them on meatball slides for NYE

Now meatball slides sound delicious, but Casey can have my arugula!

Love you top. Is that a Haunted Mansion print?

Yes! Got it in Momento Mori

We haven't eaten this in years (and oddly have never taken Casey to Casey's) but I remember how good they are!

You need to take her there! Get a picture outside with the statue of..... Whatever his name is

That's what she said

And that's what Ricky says ALL the time. You can imagine how much I love hearing it from him as his mom

Hi Arianne! I am finally checking in after months of being a bad Dis'er!

Well hello and Happy New Year! Please don't worry about it, not only is it taking me half a year to finish this and my August TR but I'm behind on everyone else's like never before and I feel horrible. Just happy to see you

Hope Ricky is continuing to heal well after his surgery.

He is, thank you for asking! No pain other than canines after P/T which is to be expected and emotionally he's still handling it really well. Moving along at a great pace with P/T too, and next follow up with surgeon is the 8th

Putting these on the list for next August!

I'm trying to get them on my list again for March!

Ok, now I REALLY need to go to Tiffins next summer. I wonder what my 14 year old niece will think of it?

Oh please do go to Tiffins, it's fabulous. I was so bummed there's nothing on the menu for Ricky in March that my TA friend and I are going in Feb. sine we're doing Disney before our Universal training and I'm so happy to be going back!

We were at Disney all last week until Christmas Eve and because of all that we weren't really all that prepared for Christmas itself.

Ooh I hope you had a wonderful trip! I saw you started a TR and I want to get over there

I've become a fan of morning EMH's as well after years of thinking I should avoid them, but you can get a lot done and stay ahead of the crowds if you get there on time.

I think we may do another morning EMH at MK in March because it's so worth it and since its during a busy time (spring break) it'll definitely help. I'll just plan to let the boys go back to the resort later in the day if they want to rest which in turn will give Steve and I "free" time lol!

 

[FSU Girl]

I'm glad you reviewed this. I thought it sounded good when reading the description, but I definitely wouldn't like a soggy bread. I agree with you that the breakfast here is crazy over priced for what you get.

This is huge! It looks really good though. I've been once here and really enjoyed the food. The fries looked great too.

 

[DaisyNY]

Casey's...one of the places I have never tried, though those corn dog nuggets look yummy!

 

[Smilelea]

We got to the park about 2:50 and our FOP FP started at 3, so we went right to Pandora. Steve and I had been on FOP during the AP previews in May but it was the first time for the boys and the both loved it, especially Ricky who wanted to go back on until he saw the 2+ hour line. I did attempt to score more FP's for the remainder of our stay but it didn't work, so that's my main goal for our March trip!

We also tried multiple times to get either fast pass for Pandora rides and had no luck. Not surprised though.

When Steve and I had our Gaston's cinnamon rolls in Nov. he did comment that these would have been fine "instead of BOG breakfast in August" (thanks for acknowledging my ADR efforts, dude!) but I do agree, I think from now on we'll stick with that or the Nutella waffles for breakfast.

We've not done BOG for breakfast but I'd have to agree that Gaston's looks much better. Oooh do we love us some Gaston's cinnamon rolls! Dallas went bug-eyed when we got them last trip AND he got his own.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Aww love this picture! You look so happy!

My plate: strawberry cake with white chocolate, pecan chocolate tart, and mini turtle brownie. I LOVED the strawberry cake and therefore, had another. But I'm partial to Betty Crocker strawberry cake mix anyway so that wasn't surprising. Actually all 3 desserts were delicious and it was hard to decide between a 2nd strawberry cake or a 2nd pecan tart, but I was too full for both believe it or not. So dessert was a hit! Again, I wouldn't tell anyone not to go here because the food was fine, just not as out of this world as we thought it was a few years ago. But overall a nice dinner with 2 kids who indulged mom by meeting characters and having fun doing it.

Haha that's the strawberry cake I thought was too sweet!
Love Tusker but you're right it's the whole package and not just the food that makes it fun!

Unfortunately it was full so we settled for my second favorite room, the music box room. I know many love the ballroom and I agree the snow falling is beautiful and at Christmas the decorations are magical, but I feel like it's very cafeteria-like which I know you've all heard before.

I love the Music Box/Library room! My favorite!

Ugh, this is by far the worst picture! I don't know why he ordered this since he's not a big egg lover and well done scrambled is pretty much all he does besides well done omelettes, but he ordered it and thought it was really good. He said the croissant was fresh and he felt the arugula was very important to the sandwich As someone who can't stand arugula I don't understand that, but I consider it a success when everyone likes their food even if I don't!

I always get this when I'm there for breakfast and Steve gets...what else...Feast a la Gaston which is just a fancy Bounty Breakfast platter lol. I did try the breakfast with the gluten-free bread instead of croissant the last time and I thought it was pretty good - less soggy than the croissant gets. Sorry you didn't like your meal as much but I think that's the issue they have there when they do quick service but they bring it too you...things get a chance to sit and get soggy.

I couldn't even fit the whole wiener in the picture

I guess size does matter.

 

[ariane37]

Merry Christmas and Happy NY. Hope Ricky is mending well.

same to you! Ricky is doing really well, thank you for asking. He's going to P/T 3x a week instead of 2 because he's moving along so quickly with his progress

The food from Caseys is making my mouth water. It's been years since I've had a hot dog.

I don't eat hot dogs that often, I eat corn dogs more often and even then aside from Casey's maybe once in a blue moon from Nathan's.

I agree with you that the breakfast here is crazy over priced for what you get.

I guess for those that split a meal it's a good price, but for those of us that need our own food, it's too much!

Casey's...one of the places I have never tried, though those corn dog nuggets look yummy!

They're delicious

 

[ariane37]

We also tried multiple times to get either fast pass for Pandora rides and had no luck. Not surprised though.

Yeah it's still such a pain to get FOP even at 60 days. I do know some people manage to get same day, but hasn't worked for me yet!

Oooh do we love us some Gaston's cinnamon rolls! Dallas went bug-eyed when we got them last trip AND he got his own.

We ALWAYS get our own, whether it's just Steve and I or we have the boys! No sharing Gaston's rolls for us

Aww love this picture! You look so happy!

I was happy because everyone else was in such a good mood!

Haha that's the strawberry cake I thought was too sweet!

I remember

Love Tusker but you're right it's the whole package and not just the food that makes it fun!

Yes, I think it's some of the best character interaction. The food is good; not Sanaa or Tiffins or Boma good but good; but put it with fun characters and it's a winner.

Sorry you didn't like your meal as much but I think that's the issue they have there when they do quick service but they bring it too you...things get a chance to sit and get soggy.

I agree, we noticed quite a few tables' meals sitting just waiting for a CM to deliver them, or CM's taking meals to the wrong table 2 or 3x so the food does sit a bit in many cases.

I guess size does matter.

 

[ariane37]

BE OUR GUEST 2X

After a brief intermission at our resort where we did a little bit of packing and a little bit of shopping-



we returned to MK for dinner. Where were we going? This may look familiar as it was the same place we ate breakfast:



But hey, (at this point) it was one of our favorite overall TS restaurants in all of WDW! So we were returning for dinner for our 7th time.
Again I have to apologize as my note taking is crap, so I only remember what I can see in pictures. We started with their rolls:



These are good but not the best and not the reason we've loved BOG in the past; they're always a bit hard on the outside and otherwise your plain dinner rolls. But since #ilovemycarbs, I ate one anyway I also do know I got a Hoegarden beer but I don't see it in any pictures and then followed it up with an iced tea since once again I was feeling kind of "eh".

We always get apps here and today wasn't any different, kind of. Ricky's usual are the
Marseilles-Style Mussels - Steamed in a Smoked Tomato and Saffron Broth served with a Garlic Crostini:



Steve got an order of these also because normally Ricky eats the whole order himself. However, this time, the mussels weren't so great. Quite a few in Ricky's dish were bad and the ones that opened were extremely chewy. Steve's were somewhat better but not as good as they had been previously.
I've always gotten soup, either the French Onion or my personal favorite, the potato leek. But when I get the soup and an entree I'm so full for dessert and I absolutely needed my dessert here! So instead I went for the
Garden Salad - Roasted Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese, Dried Cranberries, and Pumpkin Seeds with Lemon Vinaigrette



As you can see, this is clearly not a picture of what I just quoted: no squash, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, etc. It may have had something to do with this being in the middle:



Thing is, I don't have any allergies and I didn't tell them I did. We quickly called our server over thinking someone with an allergy got my salad and might eat it without thinking but she said that didn't happen??? I kept the one they gave me because it looked good and it was, very fresh AND refreshing.

For our entrees, Steve, Chris and I all got steak but for some reason Chris decided to get the kids steak which he hasn't gotten since our first visit here:
Kids' Mickey Check Meal - Grilled Steak with seasonal vegetables (and fries subbed in for something)



The first time he got this steak it was terribly tough with lots of grizzle. It wasn't as bad this time but Chris said Narcoossee's is still better lol. He left all the string beans but finished most of the meat and fries.

Here's mine and Steve's:
Grilled Strip Steak with Garlic-Herb Butter and Pommes Frites



The french fries here are always fantastic and the garlic herb butter is mm-mm good. Normally the steak is the best non-signature steak we get on property but unfortunately it just wasn't what it usually is on this visit. Kind of flavorless; a bit chewy. Not really enjoyable so both of us left a good bit of it. So far between the mussels and meat we weren't having the best meal......

Ricky doesn't like steak so he got the
Pan-seared Chicken Breast-served with Farro Risotto, Rainbow Carrots, Wild Mushrooms, Black Garlic Puree, and Supreme Sauce
except it isn't the same as the one described on the menu now:



I honestly can't even tell what the heck is in this picture except I know Ricky got chicken because I wrote it in my notes. I also wrote that he thought it was just ok and ate some of my fries.

We finished up what we wanted of our entrees and went right to dessert where we knew we wouldn't be disappointed! I'm just about at my picture limit so will continue in next post.

 

[ariane37]

BOG DINNER CON'T

I'm sure you've all seen pictures of the desserts at BOG but since it was the best part of our meal you're going to see them again

Ricky got the Grey Stuff. This wasn't new to any of us per se, but the presentation was as the last time we had dinner it was that hard brownie bar type thing:



This was a graham cracker type crust with an oreo cookie tasting mousse inside and was MUCH improved over the often very hard brownie grey stuff bar. I still think the Master's Cupcake is better but this was really, really good (he let me try a bite).

Chris got the chocolate cupcake:



And loved it, but was a little sad he didn't get what I got because what I got is pretty much the best cupcake in the World:



which is why when I was done the inside of the paper it's wrapped in was clean, like this:



I wanted to put it up to my face and suck the crumbs out, but I resisted. This thing is so freakin' good and creamy and at the risk of making some of you cringe I'm going to use the word moist I prefer this even to the Master's Cupcake and if you're ever not sure what dessert to go with at dinner or lunch - go with this.

So as you've guessed we weren't as satisfied with our dinner this time around which was disappointing. I've read a few reviews lately where people who have dined here often and loved it are saying the same thing; not sure what's changed but we're skipping BOG dinner in March and nobody is complaining. Still, eating in the castle at least once should be a must-do and since you can only meet the Beast at dinner I still suggest it over breakfast or lunch



FYI family is missing because they all suck and wouldn't take a picture with me.

After dinner we did some more rides in the park including Mickey's Philharmagic which I completely forgot about when writing about this night in my TR, despite having a fairly dark and blurry picture of Ricky and I in our cool 3D shades:



When we got back to WL it was almost time for HEA so we figured we'd try watching from the lounge balcony. That ended up being a no-go due to the overwhelming presence of small flying things trying to stick to us, but we still enjoyed a small snack and drink while there. I got my macaron, strawberry shortcake in a mason jar and Steve had the CL CM make a special trip to fine me some Moscato:



And that's a wrap on our second to last day! I may finish this thing within 6 months time after all!!!!

 

[dnllmz]

Your dinner was so disappointing! I hope it was just an off night because my family is finally going to BOG for dinner on our next trip.

 

[ncc1701]

Sorry about the BOG dinner. We haven't made it there yet. I was thinking about dinner on our trip last November but picked Homecomin' instead as I thought it would appeal more to DH. Plus our last few dinners in a park TS have been ok at best.

 

[kastoney]

Ok, next time we eat together I'll order something with arugula and you order something with mushrooms

Uncle, Uncle!!!!!

And that's what Ricky says ALL the time. You can imagine how much I love hearing it from him as his mom

So apparently I share a sense of humor with a 16 year old boy. Why am I not surprised

Steve got an order of these also because normally Ricky eats the whole order himself. However, this time, the mussels weren't so great. Quite a few in Ricky's dish were bad and the ones that opened were extremely chewy. Steve's were somewhat better but not as good as they had been previously.

Sorry to hear these were a disappointment. I know how much Ricky loves his musels so sad these disappointed.

As you can see, this is clearly not a picture of what I just quoted: no squash, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, etc. It may have had something to do with this being in the middle:

I'm glad it was refreshing, but I'm shocked they didn't bring you a new one. A squash, pumpkin, and cranberry salad without any of those items seems a bit pointless

The first time he got this steak it was terribly tough with lots of grizzle. It wasn't as bad this time but Chris said Narcoossee's is still better lol. He left all the string beans but finished most of the meat and fries.

For a kids steak, this does look like a pretty large serving size. Kinda looks like two tiny filets

This was a graham cracker type crust with an oreo cookie tasting mousse inside and was MUCH improved over the often very hard brownie grey stuff bar. I still think the Master's Cupcake is better but this was really, really good (he let me try a bite).

Yum!!!! This sounds immensely better than the old version.

I wanted to put it up to my face and suck the crumbs out, but I resisted. This thing is so freakin' good and creamy and at the risk of making some of you cringe I'm going to use the word moist I prefer this even to the Master's Cupcake and if you're ever not sure what dessert to go with at dinner or lunch - go with this.

Can you please do this and can you please take a photo of it

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Too bad this picture is all blurry. It would have been great!

This still look like a perfect way to end a day in Disney!

Sorry to hear about BOG dinner. I have been trying to get a dinner reservation but kind of sounds like it might not be worth it. They only thing I have to say, is that breakfast is kind of crazy and you loose some of that atmosphere. And you don't get the beast. Oh well.

 

[buzzrelly]

After a brief intermission at our resort where we did a little bit of packing and a little bit of shopping-

Adorable

Garden Salad - Roasted Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese, Dried Cranberries, and Pumpkin Seeds with Lemon Vinaigrette

As you can see, this is clearly not a picture of what I just quoted: no squash, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, etc. It may have had something to do with this being in the middle:

Thing is, I don't have any allergies and I didn't tell them I did. We quickly called our server over thinking someone with an allergy got my salad and might eat it without thinking but she said that didn't happen??? I kept the one they gave me because it looked good and it was, very fresh AND refreshing.

So weird, though this salad does look good. I hope she at least took it off the bill??

So as you've guessed we weren't as satisfied with our dinner this time around which was disappointing. I've read a few reviews lately where people who have dined here often and loved it are saying the same thing; not sure what's changed but we're skipping BOG dinner in March and nobody is complaining. Still, eating in the castle at least once should be a must-do and since you can only meet the Beast at dinner I still suggest it over breakfast or lunch

We've eaten there a few times and aren't crazy about the food. It is cool to be in there and there aren't that many other choices for TS at the MK…we usually choose Tony's over this now

FYI family is missing because they all suck and wouldn't take a picture with me.

Aw Still a great picture!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I love your picture with the Beast, you look so cute and happy! Sorry the food was disappointing this time. The desserts look yummy! Andi had the chicken in August and it was a little dry, not the best. It is to bad this place is such hit or miss at dinner because it really is an awesome experience and they should be more consistent!

 

[suse66]

After a brief intermission at our resort where we did a little bit of packing and a little bit of shopping-

Love your new baby! I haven't seen that print yet and it is so pretty! My latest is the Snow White kendra bag which is very sweet as well.

As you can see, this is clearly not a picture of what I just quoted: no squash, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, etc. It may have had something to do with this being in the middle:

How weird is that??? Did she not even offer to bring you the correct salad? The salad you got does look nice and fresh though.

he french fries here are always fantastic and the garlic herb butter is mm-mm good. Normally the steak is the best non-signature steak we get on property but unfortunately it just wasn't what it usually is on this visit. Kind of flavorless; a bit chewy. Not really enjoyable so both of us left a good bit of it. So far between the mussels and meat we weren't having the best meal......

Ricky doesn't like steak so he got the
Pan-seared Chicken Breast-served with Farro Risotto, Rainbow Carrots, Wild Mushrooms, Black Garlic Puree, and Supreme Sauce
except it isn't the same as the one described on the menu now:

Yes, that does not look like a good cut of meat at all. Too bad that the meal was so disappointing.

FYI family is missing because they all suck and wouldn't take a picture with me.

This is the EXACT reaction I would get from my crew.... the joys of being mamas of all boys!

When we got back to WL it was almost time for HEA so we figured we'd try watching from the lounge balcony. That ended up being a no-go due to the overwhelming presence of small flying things trying to stick to us, but we still enjoyed a small snack and drink while there. I got my macaron, strawberry shortcake in a mason jar and Steve had the CL CM make a special trip to fine me some Moscato:

Love the look of the lounge snacks!

I am off to a Canadian Disney Addicts meet and greet this afternoon to get a little Disney fix before next summer. Should be fun!

 

[Neverland_Girl]

Sorry your BOG meal was a bust! I've heard the quality has really gone done in the last few years. Our meal there 2 years ago wasn't super impressive except for that strawberry cupcake which is worth the trip itself.

 

[wdwnut61]

We had dinner in November at BOG with both my girls, son in law and 2 grandkids. I think because I was with them I enjoyed my meal more. My 5 year old granddaughter was so excited to be there, carrying Lumiere to our table and meeting the Beast. The 2 glasses of champagne didn’t hurt either
I love that picture of you and Ricky

 

[Raeven]

These are good but not the best and not the reason we've loved BOG in the past; they're always a bit hard on the outside and otherwise your plain dinner rolls. But since #ilovemycarbs, I ate one anyway

I like those rolls, but I also love my carbs

Normally the steak is the best non-signature steak we get on property but unfortunately it just wasn't what it usually is on this visit. Kind of flavorless; a bit chewy.

I didn't like it the last time we got it It was salty and chewy.

This was a graham cracker type crust with an oreo cookie tasting mousse inside and was MUCH improved over the often very hard brownie grey stuff bar.

That looks better.

which is why when I was done the inside of the paper it's wrapped in was clean, like this:

Yes the best cupcake!

FYI family is missing because they all suck and wouldn't take a picture with me.