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Old 19 Sep 18, 03:25 PM  
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#81
Mrs Pumpkin
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Club Villain

Club Villain


The food was stationed towards the back of the room – I don’t have photos of all the individual things, but do have a couple of plates of food that we had dished up for ourselves.

There were three different food stations, plus four themed dessert stations for each of the Villains. The food and the desserts were both really good!

Sautéed Station
  • Creamy Polenta with Fire Kissed Corn
  • Shrimp Sautéed with Spicy Andouille Sausage, Tomato, Okra and onions
  • Rosemary Crisp

Carving Station
  • Chilled Haricot Verts with Muffuletta Vinaigrette
  • Bourbon Bread Pudding “Beignet”
  • Herbes de Provence Rubbed Striploin of Beef carved on Aromatic Black Iron
  • Herbs and Garlic
  • Wild Mushroom Demi

Cast Iron Station
  • Vegetable Kale and Collard Slaw with Watermelon Vinaigrette
  • Vegetarian Dirty Rice
  • Vegetarian Black Eyed Peas
  • Cajun Chicken Thigh Gumbo
  • Voodoo Sticky Pig Wings with Citrus Gremolata






The desserts were of the mini variety, and just so well themed! We’ve never been to a dessert party before, but seeing this bunch of desserts makes me want to try one, at least once!

Maleficent’s Desserts
  • Purple Angel Food Cupcake with Chocolate Evil Horns
  • Red Wine Cheesecake Pushups with Dark Cherry Gel


The Evil Queen’s Desserts
  • Green and Red Truffles with Apple Stem on Spoons
  • Green Apple Mousse with Green Glitter Glaze, Leaf and Chocolate Stem


Cruella de Vil’s Desserts
  • Chocolate Tart with Paw Print Coin
  • White Panna Cotta with Black Chocolate Sauce and Mini White Dog Bones


The Queen of Hearts’ Desserts
  • Macarons with Red Heart
  • Red Velvet Cupcakes with Heart Sprinkles






Speciality cocktails were also available, but as usual I was driving, so didn’t have any. I really need to remember to use Disney Transport more so that I can have a few drinks – especially when they’re included! We stuck to soft drinks during the night because you could grab cans of those. The line for the bar was one of the longest during the night!

Here are the cocktail descriptions though – they sound delicious!

The Cursed Violet is Maleficent’s cocktail and contains Citrus Vodka, Creme de Cassis, Monin Blackcurrant Syrup, and Lemonade.

Cruella De Vil’s cocktail of choice is the Devious Dalmatian which combines Godiva® White Chocolate Liqueur, Milk, and Coconut Milk, Garnished with Boba Pearls.
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Old 27 Sep 18, 03:19 PM  
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#82
Mrs Pumpkin
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Tony's Town Square Restaurant

Tony's Town Square Restaurant


Once Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire was finished, we headed up Main Street USA to Tony’s Town Square Restaurant where we had a lunch reservation.

People seem to either love or hate this restaurant which serves Italian food. We have always enjoyed it when we are there, and the food isn’t awful – no worse than what we’ve had in somewhere like Olive Garden.

When it comes to Disney Dining we have always been believers in trying out a place for ourselves and make our own decisions on it. There are places that get rave reviews, yet we’re not so keen, and vice versa. Who knew food at Disney was so serious?!

Starters...

Me: Calamari – served with a side of Lemon-Caper Aïoli ($15)


Him: Assorted Meats and Cheese – served with Peppers, Roasted Onions, Olives, and Grilled Flatbread ($16)


Main Course...

Me: Cannelloni – filled with a mixture of Ground Beef and Sausage, Mozzarella, and Ricotta served with Marinara Sauce and Créme Sauce ($22)


Him: Chicken Parmigiana – Lightly-Breaded Chicken Breast topped with Melted Mozzarella and Tony’s Marinara Sauce over Spaghetti ($26)



***********************************************

RESTAURANT, LOCATION

Bill: $85.98 + Tax: $4.48 + Tip: $15.48 = $105.94
TiW Discount: $17.20
_______________________________________________

Total paid: $88.74

***********************************************
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Old 27 Sep 18, 03:23 PM  
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#83
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We decided to go and get some 45th Anniversary treats before they all sold out (which special stuff always does), so went in search of those which I think we found in Gaston’s Tavern.

We bought a cupcake and a candy apple. Unfortunately I couldn’t seem to find the receipt for these purchases… There was another cupcake available with blue frosting and Oreos for Mouse Ears, but the line for that one, for some reason, was insane. So we passed on that one!

Check out my rubbish, out of focus picture of the candy apple – I’m so annoyed with myself!



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Old 8 Oct 18, 08:19 PM  
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Sunday Brunch at California Grill

Sunday Brunch at California Grill


We drove to Disney’s Contemporary Resort for brunch. I think the brunch at California Grill was still fairly new at this point, so we were lucky to grab an ADR for it. We enjoyed it so much, we booked to do it again on our 2017 trip too.

I am pretty sure we received complimentary Valet Parking, so we left our car with the Valet and went inside the hotel. We took an elevator up to the second floor to check-in, and were then taken up in the private elevator to 15th floor where California Grill is located – it feels like the top of the World up here!

We have dined here a few times now, but have never been all this way up during the day. The view was just AMAZING!

Sadly my photos came out blurry and rubbish, but I’m going to have to share them anyway. Someone also lost a balloon – I always feel so sad when I see a Disney balloon drifting up into the sky – mainly because I know how expensive those bad boys are!










Of course you can still see the view at night, all lit up and magical, but during the day it’s pretty breathtaking. I did a timelapse video of the view – pretty cool to see all the Disney Transport in action from up high!


Since the Sunday Brunch is all we did today (other than go to the airport and fly home, but you know…) you’re going to get ALL the food pics I took! By this point I was over it with my DSLR, it was starting to annoy me that I couldn’t focus the lens properly, so I just used my iPhone to take all the food photos.

With that out of the way, onto the brunch at California Grill!

We were greeted with a complimentary Mimosa – which is essentially champagne and orange juice. Why is it not a Buck’s Fizz? I’ll tell you! A Buck’s Fizz has 2 parts bubbly to 1 part OJ, while a Mimosa is equal measure. The more you know!

The restaurant wasn’t overly busy which was nice, and with the live musicians playing piano and double bass, it made for a relaxing time – which is perfect for brunch!






We were shown to our table – not quite in the window, but close enough to have a view – and then our server came over and introduced themselves to us.

He explained that Sunday Brunch is part buffet (all-you-care-to-enjoy) and part table service. Essentially your starters are from the buffet, you are then brought out an entree, and finally a platter of pastries and sweets.

The Mimosas are included (you can get Faux-Mosa – without the alcohol – too) in the price which is $80 per adult. You can order cocktails and wine by the glass, and there is also a Bloody Mary Bar (priced extra). Oops, nearly forgot about the coffee which is also served.

The Bloody Mary Bar, was impressive. More like a glassful of brunch in itself judging by this sneaky snap I managed to get of another guest’s cocktail!

Along with your choice of vodka and hot sauce you can also choose from a selection (5) of condiments which included huge shrimp, pickled vegetables, cheese, olives, bacon, and chorizo, all skewered and stuck into a celery stick.

Prices at the time depended on the vodka choice:
  • Absolut Peppar – $15
  • Belvedere – $16
  • Belvedere Bloody Mary – $17
















I think I took photos of most of the buffet, so here we go with what was on it!

House-Made Charcuterie – Napoli Salame, Serrano, Bresaola, Venison Terrine, Hungraian Sausage, Pork Belly Rillettes, Spicy Beer Mustard, Zellwood Pickles, Pickled Pero Farms Peppers, Sweet Onion Jam, Variety of Cheese – Blue Shropshire, Cheddar, Tillamook

Deviled Lake Meadow Farms Eggs – Crispy Lardons, Spiced Aïoli














There was a selection of salads…

Kale and Apple Salad – Dried Cranberries, Pink Pearl Apples, Marcona Almonds, Apple Vinaigrette

Baby Iceberg Wedge Salad – Marinated Tomatoes, Cherrywood Bacon, Avocado-Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Fregola Salad – Crispy Sautéed Vegetables, Lemon Vinaigrette, Florida Hearts of Palm






…and a sushi selection of course!

California Rolls – Jumbo Lump Crabmeat

Salmon, Tuna, Hamachi Nigiri

Spicy Tuna Tekka Maki Rolls

Shrimp Tempura – Orange Drizzle and Mango








As I’m writing this up, my mouth is watering – the food was so good, and such a wonderful variety of food as well. The sushi is always top notch at California Grill – there are little plates of soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger to go with your choices.

I really enjoyed the kale and apple salad, so I had some more of that! And I love devilled eggs too. To be honest, we could have done away with the entree and just filled up from the buffet!




I’m not yet done with the food offerings though…

Hardwood-Smoked Salmon – Capers, Egg, Red Onion, and Assorted Bagels

Greek Yogurt – Vanilla-Scented Granola, Mixed Berries, and Honeycomb

Fresh Fruit – Chopped Seasonal Fruit

Pastry Board – Pecan Sticky Bun, Country Cheddar Biscuit, Huckleberry Muffin (which was brought to our table)











Onto our entrees which we chose at the start of our brunch. We both opted for the same dish:

Grilled Hanger Steak – Two Eggs Any-style, Chimichurri, Marble Potato Hash, Charred Red Onion

The steak was really good, and the portion was big. After all the buffet food, to then have this (and then a dessert plate!) – you need to visit this Sunday Brunch super hungry and not worry about eating for the rest of the day!


Dessert Plate – Macarons, Madeleines, Strawberry Jam Linzer Cookies, Chocolate Toffee Brittle, Chocolate Truffles








If by now you are stuffed to the brim, you can always get this boxed up to-go! We managed some, but not all. Had this not been our travel home day we would have taken the desserts for later.

After paying our bill, we sat in the lounge and listened to the musical duo play Disney songs – they take requests too – I chose You’ll Be In My Heart from the Disney Movie Tarzan. It’s one of my favourites.

***********************************************

California Grill, Disney's Contemporary Resort

Bill: $160 + Tax: $8.32 + Tip: $28.80 = $197.12
TiW Discount: $32
_______________________________________________

Total paid: $165.12

***********************************************

The servers do not rush you per se, but they do move things along by bringing out the entree and dessert plate. That said you could easily be in there for a couple of hours.

The Sunday Brunch was really good, and we both enjoyed it very much. We have been back since – with our son – in 2017, and I have just tried to book again for our 2019, but it’s full up already (and I’m not surprised to be honest!)

Should I luck out and manage to get an ADR for 2019, I’m going to make sure we don’t drive, so that I can have more than one Mimosa, and maybe even one of those Bloody Marys! I have read that they are included with the price now…
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My Trip Reports: **NEW: Hibiscus & Holly At The Poly 2017
Poly '16 + Food Only 3 | Christmas DLP '15 | WL '15 | DxDDP '15 + Food Only 2
OKW '14 | DxDDP '14 + Food Only 1 | Villa '13 | Villa '11 | DLP '10
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