Dinner at the Grand Floridian Cafe

 


Our first dining reservation during this trip to WDW was at the Grand Floridian Cafe.  Because of our luggage snafu ( you can read about that HERE), I wasn't sure we were going to make it, but we did!  We were even a few minutes early for our 5:30pm reservation.




My sister and I originally wanted to do the Monorail Dine around which is called The Highway in the Sky Progressive Dinner. You would visit all the Magic Kingdom resorts via monorail and stop at each one having one course of your meal.   Of course that wasn't running ( along with many other "Magical Extras"), so we decided to design our own progressive dinner along the monorail line. 



We had this progressive dinner somewhat planned out. We knew we wanted to eat at each of the monorail resorts, The Grand Floridian, The Polynesian, and The Contemporary.  The Contemporary always has the best desserts ( at the Contempo Cafe), so we were saving that one for last.



The Grand Floridian was the only resort we made a reservation at since it was the first one we would be visiting. The Grand Floridian Cafe is the only restaurant at the Grand Floridian neither of us has ever eaten at.  Nothing on the menu ever really stood out for us, so perhaps that is why we've always by passed it.  However, we thought we would give it a try at least for the experience.  We thought we would just order appetizers here since we would be making our way to another restaurant after this one anyway.


There is just something special about the smell of the Grand Floridian. It has this beautiful soapy smell that I wish I could just bottle up!  Combine that with it's classic Victorian look and it is just a place to fall in love with!  The Grand Floridian Cafe is on the first floor ( on the lake side). If you are coming by Monorail you will have to go down the steps and pass the lobby and it is on the left hand side. 

Our table was ready when we got there and our server was very attentive.  Our reservation was for 5:30 pm and at that time it was not crowded at all. 



We started out with a plate of rolls and honey butter.  This honey butter was amazing! I think we may have even asked for extra for our rolls. We hadn't even got our meals yet and already we were impressed with this place.  




For our "first course"  we got the Heirloom Apple Salad with pecan brittle, crispy prosciutto, and honey-apple vinaigrette. 

     
                        We also got the Chilled Jumbo Shrimp cocktail with citrus avocado salad. 




                            Of course we had to invite "Flay Sybie" to eat with us.



To say we were impressed with this meal was an understatement.  To be fair, I didn't really have high hopes for this restaurant based on the limited menu but I was blown away with how flavor the food was and the portion size.  

If we hadn't already made plans to do our "progressive dinner", we would have eaten dessert here as well. There was a Florida Key Lime pie that sounded wonderful. I guess I'll get that next time!   

We really enjoyed the ambiance of the Grand Floridian Cafe and it turned out to be such a nice experience. I'm really glad that we took a chance on this "new to us' restaurant.


Check out this sculpture at the Grand Floridian Cafe, it's made of chocolate!


Next, we had planned to walk over to the Polynesian and get some Chicken Skewers ( and maybe a Dole Whip) for our "second course".  We already knew the the monorail station at the Polynesian was under construction but we did not realize the walk way was closed too. It turned out that the entire Polynesian  resort was closed during this time and we didn't realize it.  

In any case, we enjoyed our "first course" so much that it really did satisfy us as a whole meal. 


Instead of going to the Polynesian, we took the walkway from the Grand Floridian to the Contemporary. We ended the evening at the Contempo Cafe at The Contemporary for dessert.




We got the Cinderella cupcake ( that was filled with a yummy pumpkin custard), and a peanut butter pie. 



 Both were yummy ( but a little sweet). 

And that was the end of our made up "progressive diner".  The real Progressive dinners are over a hundred dollars per person,  so I'm thinking it wasn't such a bad thing that they were not available during this time.  Even though we didn't exactly get to eat at all three monorail resorts, we had a lot of fun doing this on our own. 

Have you ever done a progressive dinner somewhere? 

Have you tried the Grand Floridian Cafe or any other restaurant at the Grand Floridian? 

-M

6 comments:

  1. Okay, I am totally sold on this idea and must remember to check it out once we return back to Disney in the future. I've never done a progressive dinner but really really want to . You actually have inspired me because It's my year to plan our anniversary and I have a couple of daytime activities that I am tossing around but I think I'll plan a progressive dinner as well. That's a fantastic idea!

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    1. Would you be doing a progressive dinner at restaurants near your home? I've never thought of that!

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  2. Those are fancy places - LOL - we never ate at any of them when we were there. But it looks so lovely.
    & that cupcake!!!! Disney magic!!!
    Our family, with the twins, they're going to be an hour out from Disney so we're going to be planning some Disney trips soon I think :)

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  3. We ate at the Grand Floridian café once for dinner and I was really impressed with the food too. I try to pick at least a few new restaurants on each trip.

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  4. We stayed at the Polynesian when I ran the WDW half. We were a little underwhelmed by the food, so hopefully they are upping their game with the remodel. The Grand Floridian is gorgeous! I've never been and judging by the elegant setting, I would have high expectations for the food. Glad it didn't disappoint.

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  5. I've never done a progressive dinner, but your idea sounds amazing!! So sorry the Poly was closed. :( I've also never eaten at the Grand Floridian Cafe but it's on our "must try" list!

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