harlowandthemermaid
02-23-2010, 01:45 PM
This is predominantly a dining report, but I did add some final thoughts at the end about what Vivien enjoyed and didn't enjoy.
We were there for a few days in January with DH, Vivien(age 2 1/2 and I) and for a week in February with my mom and I and Vivien.
This is our first trip since Vivien developed her tree nut allergy and I was a bit worried, but for the most part, the meals went really well. She is highly allergic to cashews and pistachios and mildy allergic to walnuts. I also have a gluten sensitivity, so on the meals that we planned ahead, I also noted that on our allergy dining worksheets. These reviews are from dining experiences from a 2 day trip in January and a week trip in February.
January
Cape May Café-This was an unplanned dinner for us. The chef came out to the table and pretty much told us to avoid the salad bar portion, due to nuts on the bar and also the dessert cart that had the cookies, brownies etc. There were actually 2 dessert stations and the chef told me with confidence that everything on the other station was made in house and did not have nuts. This included some cheesecakes, chocolate mousse and others. They had all of the typical child-friendly items and plenty of seafood. There was a lot for non seafood eaters as well and I felt like there was plenty we all could eat.
Pop food court- The chef here was very friendly and helpful. I just wanted to get Vivien some eggs and sausage and he chatted with us quite a bit and prepared our food and brought it out personally. It was food court food, so just okay taste wise, but I felt comfortable and confident giving it to Vivien.
Ohana-One of our favorites. Other than the sweet bread, everything is nut safe. Because of my gluten issues, they made us the special gluten free Mickey waffles, which I think are better than the regular ones. We had the GF mickey waffles at several locations, and I think they were the best at Ohana. This has become a must-do for us. Vivien loves to shake her maracas in the parade and the character interaction is usually pretty good.
Kona Café-this was an unplanned breakfast, Chef came to our table, since I just wanted eggs and sausage for Vivien it was pretty easy as these things are pretty safe anyway. DH really enjoying the poaches egg dish and I think I had eggs, sausage and potatoes.
Columbia harbour house- this actually turned out pretty well. Chef came out and basically said that chicken tenders and fries totally fine for nut allergy guests, which was the theme throughout the resort. I had a really good harvest salad with vegetables and grilled chicken, it was pretty good for counter service.
Cosmic Ray’s-Again, the chef came out to talk to us in line, I think Vivien had some grilled chicken , and we enjoyed listening to the Planetary boogie!
February
Ohana-Dined here twice on this trip, sort of by accident but we love it so much! Started and ended the trip with breakfast at Ohana. The second time, the timing of the characters was sort of off, we waited about an hour and 3 of the 4 came at once when we were finished eating. I was glad we were checking out and not heading off to a park that day. Other than that, it was again a great meal.
Akershus- This was the one big disappointment of our trip. It took a while to get seated and once we did we waited for at least 15 minutes and no chef. In the meantime, my daughter had a complete hysterical breakdown and I had to take her to the lobby and try to calm her down. This took a while and in the meantime the chef finally came. We got back to the table and I gave in and let Vivien have some fruit off the bar, since I didn’t see any of the nuts that she is allergic to on the bar. I didn’t want to do this without talking to the chef, but figured fruit would be okay. Poor thing, she was wolfing down the fruit like she hadn’t eaten for days and I realized that her meltdown was due to hunger. Another 15 minutes or so went by and the chef finally came back and told us what was safe on the bar and that we would also have the hot food coming. In the meantime, he did offer to send out an egg white omelette. It came out a bit later and I’ll be honest, it was not ver y good. The interaction from the princesses was very disappointing. Ariel practically breezed through and hardly stopped , which was a huge disappointment since she is my daughter’s favorite. I’ve never seen a face character act so much like they didn’t want to b there. I was surprised. Other than that, they were all okay, but brief. Unfortunately, because of all the waiting, Vivien was wolfing down fruit the whole time they were there while we were waiting for our hot food, which never came. Yes, that’s right. Never came. Server puts the check on the table after we’ve been waiting well over an hour and we still have no food and poor Vivien has only had fruit. I had to put my foot down about talking to the manager. The server comes back with a few fast passes, but honestly, Vivien doesn’t ride anything at Epcot besides Nemo and Figment, and after all of the waiting, I didn’t think that was good enough. Eventually, they did take one meal off our bill, but I will not be going back, it is too expensive. The “B” team was definitely on that day.
Play and Dine Breakfast- this was a lot of fun! Vivien loved the little dances and it wasn’t very crowded. I think they need to update and have different characters at the breakfast since most young kids don’t really know JoJo and Goliath anymore. Seems like they’d be better off with Tigger, Pooh and Darby. Chef came out and I decided not to have any special gluten free anything. I did try the bread pudding, which was very good, but I should know better. There was a good selection of items that were nut-safe and everything we had was pretty tasty. I have heard varying opinions on the lunch but I thought the breakfast had a great variety and the character interaction was good and they all came back for another round, which was a treat for Vivien.
50’s Prime Time Café- this was an unplanned dinner, but one of the best of the trip. Pot Roast was very good, my mom loved her chicken and Vivien had numerous things to choose from. She even got a dessert with her meal and they made her a special ice cream with some hot fudge and little mickey’s, which they assured me were safe.
Donald’s Safari Breakfast-This was also fun, but if I did it again, I’d pick an earlier time because they had one little parade at the beginning and that was it, and Vivien likes to run around and make music. The chef was very nice and walked the whole bar with me, and was very knowledgeable. Was excited when he informed me that Krispy Kreme donuts are totally nut free and safe for a nut allergy. Vivien seemed to really like it. I enjoyed the breakfast selection very much here as they had quite a few things that I hadn’t seen on the other breakfast bars. Chef also made me a gluten free Mickey waffle but they were not as good as Ohana’s.
1900 Park Fare-this was another new breakfast or us. Vivien wore her Alice dress, which was fun. Mary Poppins visit to the table was very brief, but other than that it was pretty good. Food was okay, but nothing too special. We did enjoy this, but would probably opt for Chef Mickey’s on the next trip as we like that one better. Chef did come to the table and we took a quick walk and again there was plenty to choose from.
Beaches and Cream- WE decided to give this a try and see what they could do to accommodate the allergy. We just had some fries and soup and then as far as ice cream goes, Vivien could only have plain ice cream and it was prepared in a different location, I guess in the back kitchen or the restaurant, not in the front. I think in the future I may bring special condiments that are nut safe so that way when we try this sort of thing I have something to jazz up her ice cream and make it special J
I know we did some other quick serve meals, but I’m spacing.
As far as the trip itself goes, Vivien’s favorite thing was to meet the characters, though it was funny because she would be talking about whoever she was planning to meet next while she was meeting with one character. We took so many great videos and pictures! She did not want to ride most of the indoor rides, which was a bit disappointing, but at that age, you just have to go with what they want to do and not push it. This trip was more about the shows, characters, and outdoor attractions. She did really enjoy Pooh and Nemo, as far as indoor rides go. I decided not to attempt any longer indoor rides because I simply didn’t want to be stuck on a ride with her if she got upset about it being dark, so we played it safe. We had many rides on the teacups, and of course she loved Dumbo and the Magic Carpets. ON the day that we went to MK with her father she rode the cars with him, which she did enjoy. She also really loved the Safari. Loved the parade at MK and the Jammin Jungle Parade at AK. We did not see the block party bash because parade time is usually prime nap time for Vivien, we just couldn’t make it work. WE also did not do firworks this time around. Orlando was having a cold snap, and I just wasn’t motivated enough to watch in the cold! All in all it was an okay trip, but not our best. That is the problem with a winter trip, you just never know what the weather will be like. We had friends who were there 2 weeks earlier and had temps in the 70’s all week. WE had 3 days of rain and the sunny days were in the mid-50’s. I’d say that we would stick with warmer weather trips in the future, but since we are moving to Florida in the fall, most of my future trips will be day excursions, unless we squeak in one for the Flower and Garden Fest this spring.
We were there for a few days in January with DH, Vivien(age 2 1/2 and I) and for a week in February with my mom and I and Vivien.
This is our first trip since Vivien developed her tree nut allergy and I was a bit worried, but for the most part, the meals went really well. She is highly allergic to cashews and pistachios and mildy allergic to walnuts. I also have a gluten sensitivity, so on the meals that we planned ahead, I also noted that on our allergy dining worksheets. These reviews are from dining experiences from a 2 day trip in January and a week trip in February.
January
Cape May Café-This was an unplanned dinner for us. The chef came out to the table and pretty much told us to avoid the salad bar portion, due to nuts on the bar and also the dessert cart that had the cookies, brownies etc. There were actually 2 dessert stations and the chef told me with confidence that everything on the other station was made in house and did not have nuts. This included some cheesecakes, chocolate mousse and others. They had all of the typical child-friendly items and plenty of seafood. There was a lot for non seafood eaters as well and I felt like there was plenty we all could eat.
Pop food court- The chef here was very friendly and helpful. I just wanted to get Vivien some eggs and sausage and he chatted with us quite a bit and prepared our food and brought it out personally. It was food court food, so just okay taste wise, but I felt comfortable and confident giving it to Vivien.
Ohana-One of our favorites. Other than the sweet bread, everything is nut safe. Because of my gluten issues, they made us the special gluten free Mickey waffles, which I think are better than the regular ones. We had the GF mickey waffles at several locations, and I think they were the best at Ohana. This has become a must-do for us. Vivien loves to shake her maracas in the parade and the character interaction is usually pretty good.
Kona Café-this was an unplanned breakfast, Chef came to our table, since I just wanted eggs and sausage for Vivien it was pretty easy as these things are pretty safe anyway. DH really enjoying the poaches egg dish and I think I had eggs, sausage and potatoes.
Columbia harbour house- this actually turned out pretty well. Chef came out and basically said that chicken tenders and fries totally fine for nut allergy guests, which was the theme throughout the resort. I had a really good harvest salad with vegetables and grilled chicken, it was pretty good for counter service.
Cosmic Ray’s-Again, the chef came out to talk to us in line, I think Vivien had some grilled chicken , and we enjoyed listening to the Planetary boogie!
February
Ohana-Dined here twice on this trip, sort of by accident but we love it so much! Started and ended the trip with breakfast at Ohana. The second time, the timing of the characters was sort of off, we waited about an hour and 3 of the 4 came at once when we were finished eating. I was glad we were checking out and not heading off to a park that day. Other than that, it was again a great meal.
Akershus- This was the one big disappointment of our trip. It took a while to get seated and once we did we waited for at least 15 minutes and no chef. In the meantime, my daughter had a complete hysterical breakdown and I had to take her to the lobby and try to calm her down. This took a while and in the meantime the chef finally came. We got back to the table and I gave in and let Vivien have some fruit off the bar, since I didn’t see any of the nuts that she is allergic to on the bar. I didn’t want to do this without talking to the chef, but figured fruit would be okay. Poor thing, she was wolfing down the fruit like she hadn’t eaten for days and I realized that her meltdown was due to hunger. Another 15 minutes or so went by and the chef finally came back and told us what was safe on the bar and that we would also have the hot food coming. In the meantime, he did offer to send out an egg white omelette. It came out a bit later and I’ll be honest, it was not ver y good. The interaction from the princesses was very disappointing. Ariel practically breezed through and hardly stopped , which was a huge disappointment since she is my daughter’s favorite. I’ve never seen a face character act so much like they didn’t want to b there. I was surprised. Other than that, they were all okay, but brief. Unfortunately, because of all the waiting, Vivien was wolfing down fruit the whole time they were there while we were waiting for our hot food, which never came. Yes, that’s right. Never came. Server puts the check on the table after we’ve been waiting well over an hour and we still have no food and poor Vivien has only had fruit. I had to put my foot down about talking to the manager. The server comes back with a few fast passes, but honestly, Vivien doesn’t ride anything at Epcot besides Nemo and Figment, and after all of the waiting, I didn’t think that was good enough. Eventually, they did take one meal off our bill, but I will not be going back, it is too expensive. The “B” team was definitely on that day.
Play and Dine Breakfast- this was a lot of fun! Vivien loved the little dances and it wasn’t very crowded. I think they need to update and have different characters at the breakfast since most young kids don’t really know JoJo and Goliath anymore. Seems like they’d be better off with Tigger, Pooh and Darby. Chef came out and I decided not to have any special gluten free anything. I did try the bread pudding, which was very good, but I should know better. There was a good selection of items that were nut-safe and everything we had was pretty tasty. I have heard varying opinions on the lunch but I thought the breakfast had a great variety and the character interaction was good and they all came back for another round, which was a treat for Vivien.
50’s Prime Time Café- this was an unplanned dinner, but one of the best of the trip. Pot Roast was very good, my mom loved her chicken and Vivien had numerous things to choose from. She even got a dessert with her meal and they made her a special ice cream with some hot fudge and little mickey’s, which they assured me were safe.
Donald’s Safari Breakfast-This was also fun, but if I did it again, I’d pick an earlier time because they had one little parade at the beginning and that was it, and Vivien likes to run around and make music. The chef was very nice and walked the whole bar with me, and was very knowledgeable. Was excited when he informed me that Krispy Kreme donuts are totally nut free and safe for a nut allergy. Vivien seemed to really like it. I enjoyed the breakfast selection very much here as they had quite a few things that I hadn’t seen on the other breakfast bars. Chef also made me a gluten free Mickey waffle but they were not as good as Ohana’s.
1900 Park Fare-this was another new breakfast or us. Vivien wore her Alice dress, which was fun. Mary Poppins visit to the table was very brief, but other than that it was pretty good. Food was okay, but nothing too special. We did enjoy this, but would probably opt for Chef Mickey’s on the next trip as we like that one better. Chef did come to the table and we took a quick walk and again there was plenty to choose from.
Beaches and Cream- WE decided to give this a try and see what they could do to accommodate the allergy. We just had some fries and soup and then as far as ice cream goes, Vivien could only have plain ice cream and it was prepared in a different location, I guess in the back kitchen or the restaurant, not in the front. I think in the future I may bring special condiments that are nut safe so that way when we try this sort of thing I have something to jazz up her ice cream and make it special J
I know we did some other quick serve meals, but I’m spacing.
As far as the trip itself goes, Vivien’s favorite thing was to meet the characters, though it was funny because she would be talking about whoever she was planning to meet next while she was meeting with one character. We took so many great videos and pictures! She did not want to ride most of the indoor rides, which was a bit disappointing, but at that age, you just have to go with what they want to do and not push it. This trip was more about the shows, characters, and outdoor attractions. She did really enjoy Pooh and Nemo, as far as indoor rides go. I decided not to attempt any longer indoor rides because I simply didn’t want to be stuck on a ride with her if she got upset about it being dark, so we played it safe. We had many rides on the teacups, and of course she loved Dumbo and the Magic Carpets. ON the day that we went to MK with her father she rode the cars with him, which she did enjoy. She also really loved the Safari. Loved the parade at MK and the Jammin Jungle Parade at AK. We did not see the block party bash because parade time is usually prime nap time for Vivien, we just couldn’t make it work. WE also did not do firworks this time around. Orlando was having a cold snap, and I just wasn’t motivated enough to watch in the cold! All in all it was an okay trip, but not our best. That is the problem with a winter trip, you just never know what the weather will be like. We had friends who were there 2 weeks earlier and had temps in the 70’s all week. WE had 3 days of rain and the sunny days were in the mid-50’s. I’d say that we would stick with warmer weather trips in the future, but since we are moving to Florida in the fall, most of my future trips will be day excursions, unless we squeak in one for the Flower and Garden Fest this spring.