We had split into two reservations for this meal, one under my name and one under Luke’s name. We arrived a bit late, but luckily my Dad was there on time so he was able to get them to hold our reservation.
I don’t know what everyone at Luke’s table ordered, and I don’t have pictures of anything, but I do know the chefs made Larissa a vegan dish that she loved.
At my table of eight, seven of us ordered the Le Cellier Signature Poutine – fresh-cut fries, Canadian Cheddar, truffles and red wine reduction, $10 (the current cost as of November 2021 is $14). I’ve had this before, and really enjoy it – but a few people complained that it was too salty. This is not like a traditional poutine we get as Canadians, it is definitely elevated with the truffles and red wine reduction (a bit of a step from the classic brown gravy typically used haha).
I also ordered a bowl of the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup – made with Moosehead Pale Ale and Neuske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon, $11 (current cost as of November 2021 is $13). Again, I’ve had this before and Luke has even made it at home – we’re fans.
I wasn’t in an alcohol drinking mood, and just had a Root Beer, $3.49
Other dishes ordered at my table included the Mac and Cheese – provolone, fontina, asiago, parmesan, Laura Chanel goat cheese, $10 (I took this description from the current menu but I feel like it might have been slightly different at the time, I don’t know if the person who had this would order something with goat cheese…), a Seasonal Poutine, $13 (no idea what it was, I didn’t take a picture of the menu that day, but I think it’s the one you can see in the background of my picture above), the Wedge Salad – marinated toy box tomatoes, edamame, applewood-smoked bacon, Artesian blue cheese, buttermilk ranch, crispy onions, $14, a Meat Appetizer – I only have a picture of my receipt with no description, but I think this was a pork belly, $15 and the Maple Glazed Brussel Sprouts, $9.
I love the bread service here – the pretzel bread is fantastic! I could probably make a meal just out of that!
I ended up not being able to finish my meal – my eyes were bigger than my stomach! I missed eating at the same table as Luke, as we typically would have shared the two dishes I had ordered. If I was thinking, I probably should have shared with my Mom instead of both of us ordering a poutine. Oh well!
We had the bill for our table of eight put onto one bill, and then used my Tables in Wonderland card for a discount. The total for our table (including the 18% gratuity) was $179.04. We all pitched in and left more cash on the table for a tip, since we had all just ordered appetizers and the server could have had tables ordering steaks.
I have no idea what Luke had, but I did write down in my notes that the total for his meal was $31.95. I’m guessing he also ordered the soup and poutine, and probably an alcoholic drink of some kind? He didn’t take any pictures, and he was sitting on the other side of the restaurant so I have no idea.
Tables in Wonderland original cost: $150 Break Even Point Before this meal: $0 Savings this Meal: $34.70 Total Saved: Full cost of card + $125.99
Predicted food budget: $2631.67 (does not include tip) Estimated Cost of this meal: $83.08 Actual Cost: $20.86 (Fallon) + $31.95 (Luke) = $52.81 Over/Under: Under by $30.27 Remaining: $1093.09
Our first big group meal was at ‘Ohana. We had made the reservation pretty late, at 9:45pm so everyone could enjoy their day. Luke and his family, along with my Dad took a Minnie Van from Old Key West to the Polynesian. This was back when the prices were actually fairly similar, and with five of them it just made sense to order a van. Luke actually doesn’t remember any of this, he was exhausted – but we looked at his Lyft ride history and found that they had called their ride at 8:14pm.
Since they were there so early, they headed outside to the Tiki Terrace for a drink, and they watched the Electrical Water Pageant. Luke had… this to drink? I’m assuming it’s the Spikey Pineapple – Barbancourt Pango Rhum blended with Pineapple Soft-serve. He seems to recall my Dad buying it for him? Look – I’m writing this almost 4 years after it happened so the little details are a bit blurry haha.
Enjoy a single blurry photo of the Electrical Water Pageant haha –
Devin and Larissa arrived separately, after spending a few hours at Hollywood Studios that afternoon they had gone back to their room at All Star Music to freshen up before catching an Uber to the Polynesian. I arrived with Lauren, Steph and Ryan, the four of us took the monorail over from Magic Kingdom. And my best friend Ashley and her husband Mike took an Uber from Old Key West. This was actually the first time I got to see Ashley in Florida (I was at her house the day before we had flown down, she was the one who watched our dogs for the first 3-4 days of our trip). Ashley and Mike had spent the day at Universal Studios and Universal Islands of Adventure so they could see the Harry Potter land – I can claim responsibility for getting Ashley hooked on the Harry Potter books years prior haha.
I believe we had originally made this reservation for 20 – at the 180 day mark when we made our ADR’s, we didn’t have a 100% accurate guest count, or know the exact dates/times of everyone’s flights. When we checked in, we just let them know we were actually a group of 13 – this happened numerous times over the next few days, and it was never an issue that we showed up with fewer than expected.
Since it was so late, the restaurant was not 100% full, but it was still fairly busy. They weren’t able to sit all 13 of us at one table, but they were able to get us tables side by side – Luke’s table had 6 (Luke, Laura, Cathy, Jill, Devin and Larissa), while my table had 7 (Lauren, Steph, Ryan, Dad, Ashley, Mike and I).
This was an easy meal with a large group, since it’s a set menu that is served family style. We did have it noted on our reservation that Larissa was vegan, and one of the chefs came over to talk to her. She gave them complete control and told them to make whatever they’d like for her – I didn’t see it or take pictures of it, but they apparently brought her a giant stir-fry filled with lots of veggies and tofu, and she said it was delicious. So never be afraid of any Disney restaurants if you have a special diet – the chefs will always take great care of you!
Almost everyone at Luke’s table just went with the soft drinks included in the cost of the meal, but my table went fancy haha. I can’t remember exactly who had what, but someone (I think Lauren) ordered a Lapu Lapu – Plantation Original Dark Rum and Tropical Fruit Juices served in a fresh Pineapple topped with Bacardi 151 Rum, $14.25 (I just checked, and this same drink now costs $18 as of October 2021). There was also a Whiskey Breeze – Jim Beam Black Extra-aged Bourbon, Cointreau, and Lime Juice with flavors of Guava and Mango, $11.25 ($14 as of October 2021), and a bottle of Stella, $8.25 (I believe that was Ryan’s), and a bottle of Coors Light, $5.25 (sounds like my Dad’s order). Two people decided they wanted Frozen Pina Colada’s, $9.25 – but they wanted it served in a pineapple. Turns out this is something they can do, it’s just a $5/pineapple upcharge! I was really exciting and ordered a Coke. As for pictures of the drinks – I have this single blurry odd-angled one which you can kind of see a pineapple…
On to the food! This was difficult, I hadn’t conditioned everyone to let me take pictures first, so as soon as the platters were placed on our table everyone started digging right in haha. This meal starts with the Pineapple Coconut Bread – which I always find to be really dry, and not even butter can help it. Don’t waste valuable stomach space on this! The appetizer salad is nice – nothing special but I appreciate some vegetables while in Disney since I never eat enough healthy things on vacation.
I took a photo of my sad looking plate for some reason? A single chicken wing, a single potsticker, some dry bread, one piece of broccoli and a small pile of noodles – I guess I was on a diet to make sure my wedding dress fit? I must have ate more than this…
They did bring us out a second main platter, and I managed to get a decent picture of it before everyone started digging in – Honey Coriander Chicken Wings, Pork Dumplings, Teriyaki Noodles and mixed vegetables –
The stand-out item for me are the noodles.
The servers also came around skewers of chicken thighs, steak and shrimp – I probably passed on all of them. I don’t eat seafood, the steak is typically cooked around medium and I’m not a fan of dark meat chicken. Basically – this meal really isn’t worth it for me (but I’ve ate there 3 times now for supper…)
Of course, the meal finishes with the amazing ‘Ohana bread pudding – this is my favourite part of the entire meal haha. The caramel sauce is so good – I believe Jill was loving it over at Luke’s table too.
I think everyone really liked this meal – at least we didn’t hear any complaints, and my table finished off two of the main platters haha. Lauren actually returned to WDW the following year with her Mom and sister, and they ate supper at ‘Ohana twice that week haha.
I had let the server know at the beginning of the meal that I had a Tables in Wonderland card, which was supposed to give a 20% food and beverage discount for up to 10 people. When they brought me the bill, they had actually applied the TIW discount to all 13 of us! This was awesome! I paid for the meal, and everyone just gave Luke or I some cash over the next few days.
This was by far the largest restaurant bill I’ve ever paid for haha –
Tables in Wonderland original cost: $150 Break Even Point Before this meal: $34.11 Savings this Meal: $125.40 Total Saved: Full cost of card + $91.29
Predicted food budget: $2631.67 (does not include tip) Estimated Cost of this meal: $91.60 Actual Cost: $73.27 (just Luke and I counted here) Over/Under: Under by $18.33 Remaining: $1145.90
After Splash Mountain, we decided to grab a snack and went to Aloha Isle. The line was quite long, so I used mobile ordering, and bought myself a regular Dole Whip, which I shared with my Dad. I think Jill and Lisa also each got one – but I have no photos to prove this, only a picture of mine –
This was as delicious as always! It’s not a Disney trip unless you’ve had a Dole Whip (or three or four haha).
Predicted food budget: $2631.67 (does not include tip) Estimated Cost of this meal: $0 – not planned Actual Cost: $4.78 (Used mobile ordering) Over/Under: Over by $4.78 Remaining: $1219.17
After Lisa, Trevor and my Dad spotted the foot long hotdogs and decided they wanted one, we placed Mobile Orders for Casey’s Corner. I had actually never ate here (I’m not a huge hotdog fan), but I was interested in trying their fries! I’ve rarely met a french fry I didn’t love – and I knew Casey’s had shoestring fries – my favourite! Plus it had been like 3.5 hours since I’d last ate haha.
My Dad and I decided to share an All Beef Foot-Long Hot Dog and an order of French Fries – $11.70 total. I don’t have a record of the exact cost of each item – but I’d like to point out that today, in October 2021, the exact same order would cost $16+tax, so about $17. That’s over a 45% increase in less than 4 years – that is absolutely insane. Shame on you Disney. We’re just talking about a plain hotdog and fries here – even at $11 they would have been making a huge profit. Anyways, rant over. Here’s a picture of said hotdog and fries –
I only had a bite or two of the hotdog, and about a third of the fries. The hotdog tasted like a hotdog, and the fries were good! The bottle of water in the picture was one my Dad had brought from the hotel room, it was one from the welcome bags we gave everyone.
Would I go back to Casey’s? I did on our 2019 trip with Luke. At today’s prices though – probably not. I can find something much better than a hotdog for that price.
Predicted food budget: $2631.67 (does not include tip) Estimated Cost of this meal: $0 – not planned Actual Cost: $11.70 (Used mobile ordering) Over/Under: Over by $11.70 Remaining: $1223.95
I had ate at Sunshine Seasons back in 2016, and enjoyed my meal so I decided to get the exact same thing haha.
Pork Chop with BBQ Sauce and two sides (mashed potatoes and green beans) – $13.99
This doesn’t look all that appetizing, but it really was quite good! And yes, I like pepper and coated everything in a generous serving of it haha – I do that with a lot of food (I just typically take my photos before dumping pepper all over it). The potatoes were creamy, the pork was juicy and the green beans…. were standard Disney green beans. I ate the majority of this plate.
I also grabbed a Coconut Macaroon – $3.49
I’m definitely in the minority with this hot take, but a macaroon is far superior to a macaron.
This was tasty – not dried out at all, and just the right amount of chocolate.
I enjoyed this meal in the company of Jill, Devin and Larissa. Jill had the same thing I did, and the other two ordered two of the vegan selections offered that day – I didn’t take pictures of other people’s food.
No Table in Wonderland savings offered here.
Predicted food budget: $2631.67 (does not include tip) Estimated Cost of this meal: $22.12 Actual Cost: $18.62 Over/Under: Under by $3.50 Remaining: $1235.65
Luke and his family ended up back at Disney Springs while my Dad and I were at the hockey game. The four of them split these two delicious desserts from Amorette’s – the Key Lime Cheesecake and the Mickey Mousse. They didn’t get counted in our food budget, as Luke didn’t pay for them. I’ve had the Mickey Mousse before, and it’s very good. According to Luke, that key lime cheesecake is amazing.
They decided on something quick, easy and inexpensive for supper, and ended up at Earl of Sandwich. I have no photos, and no idea what kinds of sandwiches Luke purchased, but I do know he bought two of them – one to eat now and one to bring back to the room to eat tomorrow afternoon after the marathon.
Predicted food budget: $2631.67 (does not include tip) Estimated Cost of this meal: $31.95 (We had no idea where Luke would end up eating, so we just estimated $30) Actual Cost: $17.02 (2 sandwiches) Over/Under: Under by $14.93 Remaining: $1285.95
While at the NBA game, my Dad and I grabbed food from some place called Gringos Locos inside Anway Centre – I took a picture of the name, but no pictures of our food. Dad actually paid for my food, so I didn’t include this in the food budget for Luke and I.
After being dropped off at Disney Springs, we decided we wanted a drink and a small snack, and since no one had any suggestions I led us to Homecomin’. By this point, it was fairly late so we had no trouble walking up and getting a table immediately for the four of us.
Our server, Anthony, was a little intense at first, trying to explain the entire menu, offering recommendations for food and drink despite us saying we were just there for something small. He finally got around to asking if we had ate at Homecomin’ before, and everyone looked at me. I explained that I had just been there less than a week earlier, and we would be back on the upcoming Wednesday for my wedding reception. He was so excited about this, and was full of questions for me the rest of the night. I was a little put-off by this guy at the beginning but by the end of this meal I ended up loving him – he genuinely cared about his job and the food he was serving. He made a comment at one point about going to check his schedule to see if he was working Wednesday so he could try and serve my Wedding – he must have asked because, spoiler alert – he was one of the designated servers assigned to our private reception.
For this meal, I went with my favourite, the Moonshine Mash – watermelon infused moonshine, fresh watermelon, lime juice and simple syrup, $12, and Dad had a can of Michelob Ultra (his beer of choice at the time). We decided to share the Thigh-High Chicken Biscuits – three biscuits topped with Chef Art Smith’s famous fried chicken thighs and bread and butter pickles. Drizzled with honey, $15. I also had to get another piece of Chocolate Pecan Pie – a 100 year-old traditional Smith Family Farm recipe. Served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, $10. It’s just sooo good! I don’t remember what Lisa and Trevor had, and I didn’t take a single picture of our food – I only have a picture of our receipt haha. Also – Anthony gave us a discount on our meal, despite the fact that I didn’t have my Tables in Wonderland card with me – which was so nice of him, and not something he had to do!
Predicted food budget: $2631.67 (does not include tip) Estimated Cost of this meal: $0 – not planned Actual Cost: $31.68 Over/Under: Over by $31.68 Remaining: $1254.27
Luke and I were both very excited about this meal – we were meeting up with a large group at California Grill for Brunch. We took a Lyft from OKW over to the Contemporary, and found the group. We hung out on the second floor, waiting for everyone to get there before checking in and being led to the top floor in the California Grill elevator.
We reached the restaurant, and were each handed a glass of sparkling wine with boba balls.
I’m always fascinated by the wine selection here – even though I have zero taste when it comes to wine. I like my wine cheap and sweet – this amazing wall of wine is completely lost on me…
Our group was assigned two long tables, side by side, closest to the door out to the observation deck. If you’ve never been to California Grill – this is the best view in the restaurant – seriously, look at this view from our table! <3 <3 <3
We chose our seats – Luke and I were at a table with Billie, Jenny, Joe, Ariane, Steve, Kari, Kelly, Renee and Chad. We were each given a menu listing the entrees to choose from, and our server let us know to help ourselves from the buffet options.
This is a unique meal. It is a prix-fixe price on the high end ($90/person at this point in 2019), but it has a very impressive self-serve buffet mixed with entree selections. It’s not advertised, but there actually isn’t a limit on the number of entrees you can order so Luke and I each ordered two since we couldn’t decide. It’s a good thing we were hungry!
It’s not my thing at all, but they offered a Bloody Mary bar for an additional $10/drink. From what I know about Bloody Mary’s – this was an impressive spread.
I ended up taking a million photos of the buffet – enjoy!
Bourbon Baba with bourbon orange ice cream and cornflake crunch, chocolate croissant and cheddar biscuit
My plate wasn’t too full after our trip through the buffet, since I don’t eat eggs or seafood of any kind. I did sample a few items from the charcuterie board as well as the strawberry salad (and then a plate full of bread/carbs from that section haha).
Luke ordered a coffee, and we thought the raw sugar on the table was so cool –
On to our entree selections! For my main meal, I knew I needed to try the Steak and Eggs – two eggs any style, charred tomato barbecue, sage fingerling potatoes, lime aioli (I told my server to hold the eggs, since they would just go to waste)
OMG. This was so good!The lime aioli on top of the steak and the charred barbecue sauce under the steak were both fantastic, lots of flavour and complimented each other extremely well. The steak was cooked perfectly to my liking (well done) without being dry at all. Even the potatoes were incredible – I was very happy that our server had brought an extra bowl of potatoes for our table because I could have had an entire meal of just those.
I couldn’t help myself, and also ordered the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes – hazelnut granola, yuzu curd, strawberry syrup
These were good, and the plate was very pretty – but I would have been upset had I just ordered these as my only entree. I would not consider these to be $90 pancakes.
Luke’s main choice was the Bison Burger – house made brioche bun, Neuske’s bacon, fried egg, truffle onion jam, dill pickle seasoned waffle fries
Luke LOVED this! To this day, he declares this as the best burger he’s ever had on Disney property. He thought the bison was great, the egg was great, the onion jam was great – he really liked this. I’m a lover of all things potato, so I did steal a waffle fry to try it, but I didn’t notice any dill pickle seasoning…
Luke’s go-to option anytime we ever go out for breakfast is whatever benedict they offer, so he decided he had to try the one from Cali Grill. Eggs Benedict – two soft-poached eggs, toasted english muffin, orange honey jam, classic hollandaise
There was absolutely nothing special about these. They were fine, but completely forgettable and he didn’t even finish them. Luke told me he’s so glad he didn’t just order these – he would have felt terrible spending so much money on something that was just ok.
At some point, our server brought over another glass of sparkling wine for everyone. This one was pink, so clearly a rose of some kind? Did I wine properly there?
There’s also a dessert tray brought over at the end. I don’t even think I tried anything off of it (I’m weird and don’t like macarons). Since our table was fairly large, they brought over a few plates for us.
At some point, we took a bunch of group photos. I’m not sure exactly who’s phone they were taken with, but I only have these two saved in my Google Photos account –
Front row – Billie, Ariane, Jenny Back row – Fallon, Su-Lynn, Renee, Kelly, Kari
This meal was awesome, and I’m so glad we had a chance to try it. The view while we ate was stunning, the food was fantastic and the company was top-notch. Hopefully we get the opportunity to enjoy Brunch at the Top again one day!
This was a lounge that had been on our radar for a few years, but we had never managed to make the time to get there. We were actually excited to finally get a chance to eat here.
The group of us took over most of the tables in the entire lounge, and pulled them together into the centre of the room. We started with some drinks –
Luke decided to just have water, but I went for Our Neighbourhood – Don Q Rum and blackberry cordial with strawberry puree and orange juice fusion topped with blackberries, $12
We knew we wanted some food too –
Luke and I decided to share a few things, and ordered Oregon Chardonnay Fondue – pretzel bread and grapes on the vine, $14 and Nachos – corn chips, burnt ends, queso, pico de gallo, sour cream, $13.
What a wonderful picture hahahaha
The lighting was terrible for pictures in here – but these were both sooo good! We were both hungry but there was enough food for us to fill up without feeling too stuffed (and we didn’t want full meals at that time of night anyways). The pretzel bread was perfect in the cheese fondue, and I loved how salty the bread was.
We had another great evening hanging out with a wonderful group of people. There were a lot of laughs, and we met our new friend Terry hahaha (Jenny’s face says everything) –
We entered Epcot through the International Gateway, and I had one thing on my mind, so we headed straight to France for a visit to the Fleur de Lys booth –
La Vie en Rose – Grey Goose Vodka Orange, St. Germain Liqueur, White and Red Cranberry Juice – $10.75
This was delicious! I definitely had a few more during this trip haha. We also found St. Germain (which is an Elderflower liquor) at a local liquor store and made these ourselves recently. Obviously the Disney ones were better since they have a proper slushy machine and I just used my Ninja blender – but since we can’t currently travel to Disney it was a nice little taste to remind ourselves of this trip <3. I love all the slushes from the France Pavilion, since my preferred alcohol of choice is vodka.
Since the rain was coming down hard, everyone was making the most of our time stuck in the Odyessy Building, and a bunch of people grabbed the Beer Flight – $9.50. I don’t think Luke bought this, and he doesn’t remember it either (and said that he probably wouldn’t buy it because none of these sound appealing to him – and I’d only had one drink thus far in the day so I can’t even blame my forgetfulness on that..). I didn’t even take a picture of the beer itself, oops! I’m not going to count this in our food total haha…
The drinks we grabbed from the Norway Pavilion were not Flower and Garden specific, but we didn’t care. Luke had the Einstock White Ale, $9.75 which is a Norwegian beer. I grabbed the cutest little thing of Copa Moscato wine, $9. My wine wasn’t even from Norway, but it was cute and sweet and cheap – I’m not fancy and I love cheap moscato wine haha. Luke really likes this beer, and described it as smooth with a slight bitterness. Plus it was served nice and cold, and he’s enjoyed it every time he’s had it.
We eventually found ourselves at Refreshment Port, so we stopped to grab some poutine like the good Canadians that we are haha. Beef Brisket Poutine – french fries with beef brisket, beer cheese sauce and poutine gravy topped with crispy onions, $8.99 and Coffee-Rubbed Pork Poutine – BBQ demi-glace, fire roasted corn relish and cheese curds, $8.49. These are definitely not a traditional poutine, but we were both hungry by this point and these hit the spot! Despite me hating coffee anything, it was a very subtle flavour that I barely noticed, and the pork poutine was our favourite of the two. The BBQ sauce offered a nice sweetness, while the brisket one was just a lot of savoury. We had to wait a few minutes for this which meant our fries were nice and fresh and hot – very tasty! I think the poutine options here change every so often, but I would order either one of these again.
We stopped at the A Taste of Marrakesh booth, where Luke purchased the Fried Cauliflower – with capers, garlic parsley and chili ranch sauce, $6, and a Casa Beer, $4.5. I tried one of these because I do like fried cauliflower, but they were so spicy! One and done for me! Luke handles spicy much better than I do, and he loved these. He described it as “sinus-clearing spicy” haha. He also said the beer was “beer-flavoured beer”, and was better than he expected it to be. He also liked the smaller size, so he finished his beer while it was still cold.
Also – it makes me laugh that cauliflower is spelt incorrectly on the receipt – what is cauliflowler?
We made a stop at the Kabuki Cafe in the Japan Pavilion. Every trip I have to get a Kakigori – shaved ice topped with fruit syrup, $4.50. I’ve tried most of the flavours, so I know tangerine is my favourite one. This is one of the better shaved ice I’ve had, I think it’s the syrup they use. Lots of flavour, doesn’t melt too quickly and so refreshing on a hot Florida day!
Luke went for the Sake Mist – alcoholic shaved ice, $9 (he chose the blackberry flavour). He’s had this a few times, and loves it. Because of the alcohol in this, it does melt really quickly – so you’re constantly toeing the line between eating it quickly and getting brain freeze.
Luke also went to Joy of Tea in the China Pavilion so he could grab a Tipsy Ducks in Love – Bourbon Whisky, coffee, black tea, cream and chocolate syrup, $12.50. I don’t have any pictures of it, but he loves this drink and has had it multiple times – just about every time we’re at Epcot.
Highway in the Sky was announced shortly before our January 2017 trip, but it sold out so quickly we didn’t even have a chance to try and fit it into our schedule. It was one of the top things we wanted to experience on our wedding trip though, so we kept stalking the website waiting for booking to open. We actually had a few nights during our vacation where we could have fit it in, we weren’t 100% sure which nights of the week it would be offered on.
Finally, Luke texted me one day that booking had opened for the dates of our trip, and he had already paid for and reserved two spots for us on the first Thursday night we were there.
This is an expensive event, I believe it was $159/person plus tax when we booked (but that included gratuity), but it was our wedding trip and we felt like treating ourselves. #treatyoself (Also – the price has increased since this point, and I believe at last look it was up to $170/person)
The evening began by meeting up at the Contemporary, and heading to the Wave to sign in. Once they verified our names against their list, we were handed a lanyard and invited to take a seat in the waiting area of the restaurant.
After a short wait, someone from the Wave came over and talked a bit about the restaurant, before servers appeared with our first drink and food item of the night. Typically they serve a fairly standard cocktail, but it was really cold outside so they switched it up to a hot drink. We each received a warm rum butter apple cider with whiskey and a maple foam. I apologize for the terrible picture of this, it was dark where we were sitting.
I wish this drink was on a regular menu somewhere on property, I would go out of my way just to get it. I absolutely loved it – the Maple wasn’t too overpowering (I’m Canadian, I know my Maple products haha), it wasn’t hot enough to burn my tongue which was nice and it wasn’t too strong – I never want to taste the alcohol in my first drink of the evening. We were off to a delicious start to the night!
They also brought around little cups with butternut squash soup. I’d honestly never tried this before because I just assumed I wouldn’t like it (I don’t like squash at all – but apparently blend it with cream and I’m a fan?). This was a very small serving, but it was really good! (Pictures are before and after I stirred it up)
After a few minutes of chatting with some of the other couples there that night, the cast members came around and rounded us up, leading us to security and up onto the monorail. The three cast members assigned to Highway in the Sky are in constant communication with the monorail drivers, so you never actually have to stand around waiting – the monorail is actually waiting for the group! They also keep the entire front car empty just for your group, which is a nice touch that really makes you feel like a VIP!
After boarding at the Contemporary, we rode the monorail over to the Polynesian. They escorted us inside to the open space on the second floor, where they had set up four-top standing tables decorated with cute little Polynesian touches.
Seating was not assigned, so we just found a table with two empty spots and introduced ourselves to the other couple. A Polynesian Resort cast member came out to tell us all about dining at the resort, while cast members came around putting a Mai Tai in front of each of us.
I loved these slanted glasses, and this drink was strong! The Polynesian Resort cast member described the food we were about to eat before the three small plates were placed in front of us. The ukelele player who I’ve seen at ‘Ohana before then came out and played for us while we ate.
The first small plate was ???? The second one was some kind of sushi and the third one was pork belly. The first two didn’t interest me at all, but the pork belly was delicious!
Once we had finished eating, we were rounded up once again and escorted back to the monorail (this time skipping security). Our destination this time was the Grand Floridian for the entree portion of the evening. We were led to Citricos, and we were called by couple and led to assigned tables in the restaurant. There was a bread basket on each table, and servers came around offering a choice of red or white wine (I went white, Luke went for the red). I’m not a huge wine person, this was dryer than I tend to go for but I still drank it. I can’t tell you anything about it haha – I’m not one of those people who can describe the flavours in a wine.
The main course was a surf and turf – on this night it was a boneless beef short rib and halibut, served with mashed potatoes and green beans. I don’t eat seafood of any kind, so I quickly shoved my fish onto Luke’s plate and just enjoyed the beef (he gave me quite a bit of his beef in return). It was perfect – fall apart tender, the sauce was really tasty and the mashed potatoes were smooth and creamy.
Once we had finished up, we were told to head downstairs to the Tea Room, where we each received a glass of champagne and a charcuterie plate.
The champagne was definitely the Fairy Tale Cuvee that was served at our wedding a few days later – it’s ok (but I don’t love champagne to begin with). The charcuterie doesn’t look like much, but it was tasty! I didn’t try the blue cheese or the pickles or the mustard (I’ve come a long way, but I can still be a bit picky at times haha). I enjoyed everything else on the plate though! Not pictured was a little plate of baguette.
When we headed back upstairs, we had a few minutes before the monorail arrived, so we took a group picture, and tried to see how many characters we could spot on the floor.
There’s a lot more than that, but it’s another one of those little details that I just love about Disney!
Our monorail arrived, and we piled back in to head to our final stop of the night – back to the Contemporary. The final part of Highway in the Sky is a private viewing of the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the fourth floor balcony, along with some desserts. Typically the desserts and drinks (canned soft drinks, coffee, tea, Bailey’s, Kahula, Frangelico, etc) are set up outside, but due to how cold it was on this evening, they set up it up inside. We each grabbed a plate with some desserts, I had a can of Coke and Luke had a coffee with Bailey’s. We were able to sit on the couches just inside the fourth floor balcony enjoying our final snacks of the evening until shortly before the fireworks started.
As we headed outside to watch the fireworks, the cast members handed us a blanket to wrap up in so we would stay warm. Obviously you are too far away to see the castle projections, but the view of the fireworks from here is great!
As we exited and handed the blankets back in, we were each handed a small box with the Contemporary Resort logo and chocolate truffles inside. It was a nice little parting gift after a wonderful evening!
Overall, we really enjoyed this experience, and did it again on our May 2019 trip. I didn’t love all the food on this night (but that’s just because I’m a bit picky and don’t like seafood) – but I still felt the value was there! Since they keep the groups small, you really feel like a VIP, and the food that I actually did eat was all great!
