Post by broganmc on Mar 9, 2024 6:20:15 GMT -5
Hey everyone,
I'm back for another update. Sorry they've been sporadic. As you can see, once I start having fun with my family, I don't have time for much else. That's one of the joys of my life. And complications of this trip.
Now 60 days ago when the ADR window opened I pulled up Brohawk's bucket list of suggestions and started booking. The idea is that we eventually sample every Disney restaurant the is a few each trip.
If breakfast at Garden Grill was Monday then today is dinner at Mama Melrose's. There's no particular reason why we've never been there. I guess because the food is so good at 50s Primetime that we can't imagine getting food anywhere else decent in Hollywood. Now we can add another favorite to our list.
Our reservation was 5:55pm, just around dusk. I told everyone to meet by 5:45. And it turned out we were all coming from different directions. My siblings and I had separately gone to the last Indiana Jones Show of the night. The trio (My uncle and two cousins) had been in Hollywood all day going to shows. My uncle's still limited to the scooter because of an injury just before a trip. No rides for him.
Now the restaurant is in a tiny little corner across from the exit to the Muppet Show. It's easily lost in the shuffle. And I always assumed it was a tiny place. It's not. But there was confusion getting there because cast members were sitting up for some special event at Pizzarizzo's. I got a bit of a third degree before they let me down the pathway to check in. It was just the confusion of trying to set up for an event while having guests wonder about. And they did have a door to the backstage open. I wanted to make sure none of us were peeking inside and taking pictures. We must preserve the show!
They said it might take a little while but we were seated within 10 minutes of checking in. Our table was through the restaurant towards the back, which allowed us to experience all the decor of placement side. There are faery lights dangling from the ceiling giving this a secret garden ambiance. And there are plenty of rooms inside with tons of tables. I don't know why I ever thought this was a small place. It's not. And it's very popular.
Now the menu is typical for an Italian restaurant. Meatballs and pasta, chicken parmesan, and even a nice strip steak with macaroni and cheese done with rigatoni of course. We ordered the mozzarella and meatballs as appetizers. I mostly wanted the meatball because I had my eye on that steak. I'm a steak girl.
Our waitress served us a big basket of freshly baked bread hot out of the oven as soon as our drinks were on the table. The vinaigrette dip wasn't really our favorite but I happily dipped my bread in The marinara sauce for my meatball. And we had plenty of good old fashioned butter to share.
My cousin ordered the fried mozzarella with herbs. That plate was a little small and not really conducive to sharing but we still had plenty on the table.
Our entrees came out pretty quick and very hot. My uncle had the pasta with meatballs. And he ordered extra sauce inside. Brohawk and cousins got the chicken Parm. And of course I got the steak. Serving portions were very generous. So much so I can only eat about a half. And we were way too stuffed to even consider dessert.
Maybe the only thing I wish was better was the attention of our waitress. She was Asian so there was a little bit of a language barrier. I don't think she understood everything we were telling her and I know the opposite was true. Plus she was very busy and did not take her time with us. We had to flag her down a few times to remind her of things we wanted, but it wasn't terrible. She did make sure everything came out quickly and satisfactory. So she did earn her tip. And I guess I will chalk it up to it being a busy dinner time.
Definitely the food was worth a repeat visit. Maybe at a less busy time.
My only regret is that my sister couldn't join us. Her husband's family came for a visit to Orlando this week so she's been trying to split her time. And she cut out early to have dinner with them instead off site. Brohawk came for dinner but also left early to go attend a comedy concert in downtown Orlando. So it was just me and the trio for the rest of the night.
Anyone who knows me knows I have favorite rides in every park. And one of them in Hollywood is Slinky Dog dash. My nephew turned me into a roller coaster fan several years ago. I won't go on anything that goes upside down or dangles my feet, but I will go on the others. With getting help on and off of course. (FYI If you're ever in Disney when I am and you think you could lift a 90 lb woman in and out of a roller coaster, look me up. I'll happily use my connections to cut our wait times down in exchange for help getting on and off these rides. Just saying...
)
Anyway I booked a time on Slinky Dog dash in hopes that my cuz would want to go with me. He's got his hands full looking after his dad right now but he's been able to sneak away for half an hour or so. And it worked out just fine this time. My uncle and his other son, who does not like thrill rides, spent their time in the Walt Disney Museum while we snuck off for thr ride. Everybody is happy except maybe Mother nature. That was a problem to beginning of this week. Storms!
They kept forming off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and sweeping northeast to us. Sunday it rained. Monday it threatened. Tuesday was downright ugly according to the radar. So after we got off Slinky Dog dash, the radar said we needed to make another mad dash to the buses. We were about to get drenched.
So we grabbed my uncle and cousin and made a beeline out of the park. No fantasmic for us tonight. The crowd was busy watching the projection show on the Chinese Graumin theater. I kept my eye on the weather radar counting down the minutes until we got hit. Since all four of us had wheels, that meant we had to go through two buses before we were safely in our rooms.
The first bus came pretty quick. My uncle and cuz got on it. My other cousin and I waited about 15 minutes for a next bus. And we were certain we were going to get rain all the way back. But by the time we were in our room the radar had changed. Sure the storm hit but not on us. It was breaking apart. Sort of just fizzled out.
Now we can get rain that night. In the middle of the night. A big bad storm with lots of lightning and thunder. Fortunately we were all safe and sound and asleep inside our condo at Saratoga. And thanks to Mama Melrose since we were very well fed.
I'm back for another update. Sorry they've been sporadic. As you can see, once I start having fun with my family, I don't have time for much else. That's one of the joys of my life. And complications of this trip.
Now 60 days ago when the ADR window opened I pulled up Brohawk's bucket list of suggestions and started booking. The idea is that we eventually sample every Disney restaurant the is a few each trip.
If breakfast at Garden Grill was Monday then today is dinner at Mama Melrose's. There's no particular reason why we've never been there. I guess because the food is so good at 50s Primetime that we can't imagine getting food anywhere else decent in Hollywood. Now we can add another favorite to our list.
Our reservation was 5:55pm, just around dusk. I told everyone to meet by 5:45. And it turned out we were all coming from different directions. My siblings and I had separately gone to the last Indiana Jones Show of the night. The trio (My uncle and two cousins) had been in Hollywood all day going to shows. My uncle's still limited to the scooter because of an injury just before a trip. No rides for him.
Now the restaurant is in a tiny little corner across from the exit to the Muppet Show. It's easily lost in the shuffle. And I always assumed it was a tiny place. It's not. But there was confusion getting there because cast members were sitting up for some special event at Pizzarizzo's. I got a bit of a third degree before they let me down the pathway to check in. It was just the confusion of trying to set up for an event while having guests wonder about. And they did have a door to the backstage open. I wanted to make sure none of us were peeking inside and taking pictures. We must preserve the show!
They said it might take a little while but we were seated within 10 minutes of checking in. Our table was through the restaurant towards the back, which allowed us to experience all the decor of placement side. There are faery lights dangling from the ceiling giving this a secret garden ambiance. And there are plenty of rooms inside with tons of tables. I don't know why I ever thought this was a small place. It's not. And it's very popular.
Now the menu is typical for an Italian restaurant. Meatballs and pasta, chicken parmesan, and even a nice strip steak with macaroni and cheese done with rigatoni of course. We ordered the mozzarella and meatballs as appetizers. I mostly wanted the meatball because I had my eye on that steak. I'm a steak girl.
Our waitress served us a big basket of freshly baked bread hot out of the oven as soon as our drinks were on the table. The vinaigrette dip wasn't really our favorite but I happily dipped my bread in The marinara sauce for my meatball. And we had plenty of good old fashioned butter to share.
My cousin ordered the fried mozzarella with herbs. That plate was a little small and not really conducive to sharing but we still had plenty on the table.
Our entrees came out pretty quick and very hot. My uncle had the pasta with meatballs. And he ordered extra sauce inside. Brohawk and cousins got the chicken Parm. And of course I got the steak. Serving portions were very generous. So much so I can only eat about a half. And we were way too stuffed to even consider dessert.
Maybe the only thing I wish was better was the attention of our waitress. She was Asian so there was a little bit of a language barrier. I don't think she understood everything we were telling her and I know the opposite was true. Plus she was very busy and did not take her time with us. We had to flag her down a few times to remind her of things we wanted, but it wasn't terrible. She did make sure everything came out quickly and satisfactory. So she did earn her tip. And I guess I will chalk it up to it being a busy dinner time.
Definitely the food was worth a repeat visit. Maybe at a less busy time.
My only regret is that my sister couldn't join us. Her husband's family came for a visit to Orlando this week so she's been trying to split her time. And she cut out early to have dinner with them instead off site. Brohawk came for dinner but also left early to go attend a comedy concert in downtown Orlando. So it was just me and the trio for the rest of the night.
Anyone who knows me knows I have favorite rides in every park. And one of them in Hollywood is Slinky Dog dash. My nephew turned me into a roller coaster fan several years ago. I won't go on anything that goes upside down or dangles my feet, but I will go on the others. With getting help on and off of course. (FYI If you're ever in Disney when I am and you think you could lift a 90 lb woman in and out of a roller coaster, look me up. I'll happily use my connections to cut our wait times down in exchange for help getting on and off these rides. Just saying...
)Anyway I booked a time on Slinky Dog dash in hopes that my cuz would want to go with me. He's got his hands full looking after his dad right now but he's been able to sneak away for half an hour or so. And it worked out just fine this time. My uncle and his other son, who does not like thrill rides, spent their time in the Walt Disney Museum while we snuck off for thr ride. Everybody is happy except maybe Mother nature. That was a problem to beginning of this week. Storms!
They kept forming off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and sweeping northeast to us. Sunday it rained. Monday it threatened. Tuesday was downright ugly according to the radar. So after we got off Slinky Dog dash, the radar said we needed to make another mad dash to the buses. We were about to get drenched.
So we grabbed my uncle and cousin and made a beeline out of the park. No fantasmic for us tonight. The crowd was busy watching the projection show on the Chinese Graumin theater. I kept my eye on the weather radar counting down the minutes until we got hit. Since all four of us had wheels, that meant we had to go through two buses before we were safely in our rooms.
The first bus came pretty quick. My uncle and cuz got on it. My other cousin and I waited about 15 minutes for a next bus. And we were certain we were going to get rain all the way back. But by the time we were in our room the radar had changed. Sure the storm hit but not on us. It was breaking apart. Sort of just fizzled out.
Now we can get rain that night. In the middle of the night. A big bad storm with lots of lightning and thunder. Fortunately we were all safe and sound and asleep inside our condo at Saratoga. And thanks to Mama Melrose since we were very well fed.
