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| Christmas at Hollywood Studios. |
The Reservations have been made. The invoices have been paid and most of the plans have been made. As I begin this post our count down sits at 54 days before we get on the plane and fly down to one of the happiest places on earth. Of course many of the restaurants and events are tried and true favorites that have visited several times. Ohana's restaurant is just a lot of fun and seeing Illuminations and Fantasmic are both events that are difficult to miss. Some things we have only done once or twiceThe Candlelight Processional and La Nouba both fall into this category and I can't wait to see them again. Still others are new places and restaurants that we have yet to visit or events that we haven't done it the past. This post will be about the stuff we haven't done before. I hope to write a few lines about the new restaurants we have reserved and the new event that we have on tap. Of course, since we have never been to these places or attended these events I can only write about what I've read or what my expectations are. It's always good to try new things, and at Disney, the adventurous in spirit are nearly always rewarded with a exciting, informative and/or entertaining event.
The easiest events to comment on may be the number of new restaurants to which we have reservations. Of course, we are going back to some of our favorites. We really enjoyed Ohana's and the Flying Fish. We try to make a stop by Le Cellier each visit as well. As much as we like Jiko the Cooking Place and the California grill, some sacrifices had to be made to make room for some of the restaurants to which as of yet we haven't gone. This time, our plans do not include Via Napoli, home of some of the best pizza I have ever had, or Raglan Road where, i think, some of the best bar entertainment can be found at Disney World. This year we are going to several new eateries, including Cinderella's royal table and Mamma Melrose's Italian restaurant. We also have reservations for Tutto Italia. While we know its Italian I'm not quite sure what to expect from both these eateries. Mid week we have reservations for Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. On our last night we have reservations at Todd English's Bluezoo at the Swan and Dolphin near where we are staying. It seems that we are heavily leaning toward Seafood and Italian food this time around, but we do have a nice balance of steak and seafood planned for the week as well, not to mention the Carnivore festival we have planned at Ohana's on Monday night.
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| Mama Melrose's |
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| Tutto Italia |
Looking at Mamma Melrose's menu and at Tutto Italia I get the impression that Mama Melrose's restaurant is not intended to be fancy. The restaurant looks like an Italian bistro like what you might find in an Italian neighborhood in New York or any city that has an Italian population for that matter. Mama Melrose's looks like a place where you might get somebody's moms recipes. Tutto Italia on the other hand looks more like a High class Hotel restaurant. Nicer printing on the menu and maybe more complex dishes. Of course, It looks to me like some of the dishes are the same. Both restaurants have fried Calimari and both have an array of pasta dishes. Mama Melrose offers Flat breads (pizza) while Tutto Italia offers food that might be a bit more sophisticated. Let me take a moment to state that because a restaurant might not be as sophisticated as another that it makes the less sophisticated restaurant any worse. Sometimes you are in the mood for Filet of Beef on other days a good cheese burger is what you crave. Some of the best food I've had comes from a bar or a hamburger stand. On the other hand, most of my more memorable meals were at higher class establishments Both have their place in this world. I don't know what I will have when i get these restaurants but at this moment, the Risotto dish with seafood sounds good at Tutto Italia and the Pork Osso Bucco at Mama Melrose's sounds wonderful.
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| Our last time at the Flying Fish Cafe, We ate at this table. |
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| Todd English's Bluezoo. (Pretty Swank if you ask me) |
Unbeknownst to us there was a great debate around Disney World. Two restaurants have been competing over time as to who has the best seafood In the Crescent lake area of Disney World. Many diners suggest that the best seafood comes from the Flying Fish Cafe on the board walk, While others say that Todd English's Bluezoo serves the freshest best tasting seafood around. I am lucky enough to get a chance to find out who is right. We might be a little presumptuous to think we can determine who has the best seafood in a single visit, but our little group has reservations at both restaurants and we should at least get a good idea bout the quality of the service and the food. At the Flying fish, we have already discovered their food to be wonderful and their service to be amazing. I've said it many times but it bares repeating that all the Cast members that I have had any interaction with at Disney, be it on the phone making reservations or just somebody that is cleaning stuff in the theme parks, always provide friendly personable service. So, the great service we received at the Flying Fish Cafe was not totally unexpected. Bluezoo will no doubt have the same wonderful Disney touch even though the restaurant is not owned or operated by Disney, since the Disney name is on the hotel where the restaurant resides, I imagine that it will have the same wonderful service found all over Walt Disney world. Reviewers have given the restaurant rave reviews calling it among the best on Disney property and "The" place for seafood. I look forward the maybe sampling the raw bar or eating some of the wonderful fish that Bluezoo offers. I am excited about the chance to compare these two wonderful restaurants.
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| Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. |
We have plans to visit two more new restaurants at Disney World. Boma - A taste of Africa is a buffet in Jambo House in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Cinderella's Royal Table is in Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom. Boma's offers ether America Food with African flairs or African food with and American flair. Maybe it will serve even a pleasant mixture of both. The menu changes at Boma depending on whats fresh. Boma serves Prime Rib and roast chicken. I suspect they will incorporate African flavors into these very american dishes. Also, I am excited to read that they are serving an assortment of African breads with soups and stews that are inspired by African cuisine. I've always read good reviews for this restaurant and now I have a chance to eat there. Cinderella's Royal Table has to be considered more than just a meal. The meal looks like a wonderful experience in of itself, but what should make this meal special will be the chance to go into Cinderella's castle. Even as a boy, I had wondered what was in the castles. When I saw Sleeping Beauties castle at Disneyland I don't think visitors could go inside. I thought it was cool to see a "real" castle. Today, in Walt Disney World, visitors can actually go inside and enjoy a meal. It wasn't so long ago that some lucky people were allowed to spend the night in the apartment in the castle. Spending the night in the Magic Kingdom let a lone staying in the Cinderella's castle must have been an amazing experience. The restaurant strives to provide royal treatment to the guest that dine there and it is my hope that my wife will get the princess treatment and that she will be made to feel like royalty. She deserves that.
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| I don't know what to expect, but Cinderella's Royal Table should be fun. |
We have a wonderful new adventure planned. Something that we have never experienced before. For the first time since we have been going to Walt Disney World, We have scheduled one of Disney's behind the scenes tours. Because we were going to be down in Disney right at the beginning of the Christmas season, we chose the Yuletide Fantasy tour. This four hour tour will visit all the parks and discuss some of the history behind the decorations. I'm pretty sure its not a nuts an bolts, "how we hung the decorations" tour but a discussion of the meaning behind the decorations. I hope that to be the case anyway. It would be fascinating to see how the lights on the castle are controlled, but i think there is more mileage in the reasoning why the designers at Disney chose a particular decoration for a particular location. It seems obvious why all the purple and gold at French Quarter. Purple and gold are symbolic of the New Orleans experience and if you look at the Christmas trees at Hollywood Studios and the Animal Kingdom, you can see the theme of the parks reflected in the tree decorations. I recall seeing reels of film on the Hollywood Studios tree and representations of animals in the Animal Kingdom tree. But I have no idea why there were so many red bows on the trees at Epcot or why they chose that particular design for the garland on Main Street USA. All I'm really sure of is the beauty of all the decorations at Disney World. Christmas trees great visitors at the entrance of every park. Walkways are festooned with amazing garlands and beautiful decorations. I'm certain, like all the other attractions, buildings, shows and parades, A story and theme exists behind the choices of each of the Decorations through out the park. I am really looking forward to this tour.
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| Just a few of the Decorations to be found near Germany In Epcot. |
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