DAY 10
Saturday 30th September 2017

Whilst Nik was having a lie in in went out in search of some breakfast, we had actually been upgraded to Club Level, but with Nik asleep I didn’t really want to pop to the lounge by myself and have him miss out. I was craving some Zebra Domes, they usually have these for sale in the resort gift shop but not today, so I went in search of The Mara, which is Animal Kingdom Lodge’s quick service.

THE MARA



A pack of four Zebra Domes is one snack credit. Zebra domes have a sponge base topped with an Amarula Cream Liquor (similar to Bailey’s) mousse and white chocolate. I am normally very sensitive to alcohol in foods, and I was worried these would be too strong but I thought they were more coffee than liquor flavoured. I ate the whole box FOR BREAKFAST!

I had wanted to pick Nik up a Danish or something for later but The Mara was crazy busy, huge lines for food! All food courts are nuts in the morning, but this was my first time experiencing one in a Deluxe, and their smaller space made for a more stressful experience than I am used to. I didn’t want to queue forever so I grabbed him a yogurt drink and headed back to the room for ‘breakfast’ overlooking the Savannah.

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GRAND FLORIDIAN CAFE

Back to the Grand Flo for a third visit, and for the third time we were practically parked at the Wedding Pavilion! If I was a resort guest having to pay $25 for the privilege of this I’d not be happy as it’s quite a hike to the main building. On the way in I spotted Richard the famous GF cast member greeting guests, as always, we were running late, so I didn’t have time to say hi. I regretted this as he was gone by the time we had finished eating.



The Grand Floridian Café is the resort’s casual table service dining venue. It’s somewhere that has been on our plan every year, but, we’ve never made it, so I was excited to finally be eating here. They had recently change their menu to a brunch one, meaning guests can order breakfast or lunch until 2pm. You can view the current menu here.



Nik started with the Caramelized Onion Soup Gratinee – Traditional French Onion Soup, I wasn’t a fan but he loved it. He usually orders this without the cheese, but he was brave and tried it this time, and didn’t regret his choice!



I had the House-breaded Fried Mozzarella – with Tomato Jam and Grilled Artichoke Relish. I didn’t expect such a full plate! This was nice, but a little too much greenery for me, I’d have liked some more cheese. The cheese itself had nothing on the fried cheese at 50’s Prime Time.



I agonised over whether or not to order the The Café Sandwich – Open-faced hot Sandwich with Ham, Roasted Turkey Breast, Bacon, Tomato, Boursin Cheese Sauce, and Fried Onion Straws, as I have wanted to try it since 2013. In the end I tried what some had lauded as the best burger on property, the Lobster ‘Thermidor Burger – 7-oz Artisanal Burger Party and Lobster-Parmesan Thermidor Sauce on a Seared Brioche Bun and served with Café’s Signature Seasoned French Fries.

I am pleased to report that something else lived up to the hype! The burger was cooked a nice juicy medium, and the sauce was lovely and creamy. The lobster flavour wasn’t overwhelming. The Parmesan crisp was more about texture than taste, and was welcome.

I thought the burger would miss a nice thick slice of cheese but it really didn’t. I’m not sure if it’s the best burger on property, as Whispering Canyon Café’s bison burger was very good, we have always loved Sci-Fi’s and I had an excellent one in 2016 at T-Rex Café.

The fries were more chip-like, which was a nice change, as you can get bored of the generic Disney fry. The seasoning was Cajun-esque, and a little too spicy for me. Nik liked it though.



Flagler Omelet – Three Egg Omelet with Onions, Bell Peppers, and Ham served with Cheesy-Hash Brown Casserole or Fruit. Sometimes the simple things are the best, Nik ordered this and added cheese. He really enjoyed this and the hash brown casserole was very nice, a nice change from the cubed breakfast potatoes.



We ordered the Dessert Sampler to share this is made up of Fresh Berry Tart, Wild Strawberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Timbale, Mocha Pot de Crème. In the past I have seen the platter served with a chocolate Mickey but he was nowhere to be seen, I asked about him but apparently, he now comes at an extra charge, how sad! These were all tasty, and I could happily eat a full portion of them all, my favourite was the fruit tart which tasted like Narcoossee’s almond cheesecake!

Lunch came to $72.41, it sounds pretty pricey but this is for 3-courses each in Disney World! I think it’s actually quite good value, we really enjoyed our meal, and the only negative was that we were seated very close to the entrance of the restaurant, I would have liked to have seen more of it.

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Then it was back to Animal Kingdom for a second try at Flights of Passage. We had Fast Passes booked for the afternoon, I had read that the ride had had more downtime in the morning so I was crossing my fingers, but we got to ride and had a Night Blossom to celebrate. This has layers of Apple and Desert Pear Limeade topped with Passion Fruit Boba Balls. This is the best slushy you’ll ever taste. I didn’t think I’d like the boba balls but it is fun to pop them in your mouth.

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TIFFINS

Tonight, we had our third Signature dinner in a row at Tiffins. We had booked the Rivers of Light Dining Package to include reserved viewing for that evening’s show. I had only heard good things about the restaurant so I was excited to try out somewhere new.



Our server was Mark, he was probably our favourite server of the trip, whilst Darci at Citricos had been excellent at her job, and her style really fit the tone of the Grand Floridian, Mark was just genuinely friendly, as well as being excellent at his job.



The bread service is Pomegranate Focaccia Bread served with molasses and olive oil. This was a similar to the bread a Jiko, again quite dense. The table next to us really enjoy theirs though and were brought a second plate.



Nik had the Tiffins Signature Bread Service – Tadka, Black-Eyed Pea Hummus, Zhoug Yogurt. Jiko’s was better, although the dips here were very nice. The presentation was fun with the tins stacked on top of each other.



Becoming slightly predictable, I had the Chef’s House-Made Charcuterie Board – Wagyu Bologna, Ethiopian Coffee-Port Terrine, Duck Pastrami Rillettes, Calabrese Sausage. This was my favourite charcuterie board of the trip, everything was delicious.



I have a slightly blurry picture of the Entrée menu!



I ordered Pan-seared Duck Breast – Leg Confit, Forest Mushrooms, Parsnip Puree, Truffle Reduction, Huckleberry Compote. This was gorgeous, and a deceptively large portion, it was a big chunky piece of breast, beautifully cooked with a crispy skin. I loved the sweetness of the parsnip puree and the compote. My only criticism was that it could have been warmer.



Nik was a little overwhelmed with the menu, there was no safe option jumping out to him, eventually he decided he wasn’t too hungry and would gamble. He went for the scallops after tasting mine at Citricos. Seared Hokkaido Scallops – Green Garlic Panisse,
Spring Tea Textures, Applewood smoked Bacon Jam – a Masterchef circa 2010 favourite!

Nik didn’t enjoy this, I think he had already started thinking about getting some supper somewhere else later! I hate peas so I avoided the puree, I thought the scallops were nice, but not as nice as Citricos’.



The dessert choice was very blah, again, a blurry menu picture, I’m sorry!



Nik had the South American Chocolate Ganache – Caramelized Banana, Cocao Nib Tuile. Nik enjoyed this, it was nicely presented but I didn't try it, because bananas yuck!



I had Sorbet Tasting – Kaffir Lime Syrup, Passion Fruit Curb, Crunchy Vanilla Crouton. If I order sorbet that usually means I have hit the food wall, that was absolutely the case here. I didn’t enjoy this, as the flavours weren’t to my taste. There was certainly nothing wrong with it though!

The adult Rivers of Light Dining Package costs $67 per person at Tiffins, for three-courses at a Signature restaurant this is a great deal. I actually felt as though Mark had been slightly cheated out of his gratuity, as out of pocket our meal would have come to far more than the $142.71 it totalled. Using the Dining Plan here, the meal costs 2 credits, so if you do visit perhaps consider paying OOP as I think it’s better value.

I’d like to try Tiffins again in future, but like Jiko, the menu is a little too diverse for Nik’s tastes. We may well be back again as part of the Dining Package.

TOTAL SPEND SO FAR $2,223.41