Can you believe we are already in March? And you know what March means, St. Patrick’s Day. So let the festivities begin!
Mighty St. Patrick’s Festival Returns to Raglan Road
Tag Archives: Raglan Road
Raglan Road Review
On our arrival day we had made reservations to go to Raglan Road, because I have heard such great things. So I figured this was a “can’t miss” dining experience.
We arrived for our dinner reservation at 6:45. I overheard the cast member at the podium tell a guest that they seat within 15 minutes of your reservation. So that meant we would probably be waiting until 7 for our reservations that we made 180 days ago, but it was busy so we figured that was fair.
Unfortunately, we waited until 7:15 to be seated. We did have 8 people on the reservation, but, again, they had 6 months of knowledge that a large party would be coming in at that time. So by the time we were seated we were starving. The kids were still doing okay at this point, but we knew we didn’t have long before they began to fade.
Once we were seated our waitress, Charlotte, came to take our drink orders. Charlotte was wonderful. She was great with the kids, very friendly, and attentive. We all ordered our drinks and she brought them pretty fast. I ordered the Strawberry and Cucumber Mojito and it was delicious! Definitely recommend that one.
The appetizers came out pretty quick. I ordered the “Scallop Forest” which is basically fried scallops on forks. It came with two dipping sauces. One was creamy and the other was a chili jam. Our friend ordered the “Heaven on Earth” and those are baby back ribs with a Guinness glaze. Both the scallops and the ribs were very good.
Unfortunately, the entrees did not come out as fast as the appetizers. Charlotte brought out the mac and cheese plates for the kids, but it was quite a while before the other entrees made it to our table. We had been seated for at least an hour before our entrees finally came out.
Now for the food. The kids all got the mac and cheese and fries. It was standard mac and cheese and went over pretty well. The fries are thicker cut and were very good as well.
My husband got “The Pale” which has shrimp, clams, and roasted corn in a broth and it comes with two soda bread scone. The presentation is nice; it comes in a pan. My husband said it was good, but not really worth the price we paid for it. The portion was small and some of the clams were empty.
Two of us got the “Keen Eye for the Shepard’s Pie.” This one is a little different from the Shepard’s Pie I am used to. There was no crust, but it was still a perfect circle. The meat layer was pretty thick and it was topped with a layer of mashed potatoes. It was so good! The portion was generous and I was able to take half of it home to eat for lunch the next day.
One of my friends ordered the “Cluck Curry.” This was chicken breast that was in curry broth with onions, peppers, leeks, and served with steamed almond rice. She was very happy with her choice and also had leftovers for the next day.
Throughout the meal Irish dancers performed in the different rooms. We were in a room off to the side of the main room, but the dancers came to our section and performed. It’s fun to watch and the dancers are amazingly good! The main room is really nice. There is an actual stage in there and the decor is really nice. They also have lights that are programmed along with the show.
Overall, we didn’t think it was worth the $100+ that we paid. The atmosphere was fun, the food was good, and the waitress was very nice, but the wait was too long (especially since we had a reservation) and the food took a really long time to make it to the table. I would, however, try the restaurant again. I’ve heard many good things and maybe they were having an off night, but I would go during the day next time.
Thanks for reading!
*Liz*
The Great Irish Hooley is Back at Raglan Road for Labor Day Weekend
Labor Day weekend at Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant is about to get a little more festive.
According to Disney Parks Blog, the “Great Irish Hooley” is returning to the popular Irish restaurant for the holiday weekend. The celebration signifies that we are half-way to St. Patrick’s Day.
Raglan Road Irish Pub is hosting the “Great Irish Hooley” Sept. 4-7 at Walt Disney World: http://t.co/xbohSXUHjI pic.twitter.com/xwvX7S2iim
— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) August 18, 2015
This celebration has been going on for the last three years and has lots of fun activities to go along with it. Here is what you can expect:
- Top Irish Bands
- Step-dancing
- Craft Beers
- Stellar Irish Cuisine
- Celtic Face-painting
Expect a lot of great music that weekend, as the restaurant has lined up some talented bands:
- Screaming Orphans – A quartet of Irish sisters playing original pop/rock
- The Raglan Roots Coalition – The new Raglan Road house band
- JigJam
- The West Coast Trio
- The Blaggards
- Cooney & Ryan
- The Blarney Stones- With Hannah Carr, a former Raglan Road Irish Dancer
There will be four limited-edition craft beers brewed especially for this occasion:
- A Raglan Road Saison
- Raglan Road Fruit Salad Weiss Beer
- McGargles Jims CO2 Stout
- McGargles Francis Tropical American IPA
This celebratory weekend will also be commemorating the restaurant’s 10-year anniversary that weekend.
The event will take place from September 4 – September 7, 2015.
Thanks for reading!
*Liz*
Weekly Tip #9
It is very easy to be so busy on a Disney World trip that you don’t have time to relax. There is so much to do in Disney World and it is not possible to do it all in one trip, which is why it is good to have relaxing days where you are not running all over the place. Here is one way to spend a relaxing day at Disney.
Downtown Disney: A Good Place to Relax
Downtown Disney has something for everyone. There are lots of shopping and dining options available. Shopping is always a good way for me to relax! There are so many different restaurants, serving different types of food, and decorated with different themes, you won’t get bored with the choices. For the little ones there are even a couple of rides! Plus, there are lots of entertainment options available all over Downtown Disney. I love going there!
Shopping
This is my favorite part of Downtown Disney. There are so many different shops to choose from and they all have their own theme. Of course, there is the World of Disney, which is gigantic. This is the Disney store to top all Disney stores.It pretty much has every Disney item you could possibly want. Even the entrances to the store are impressive. Look for the entrance that has Stitch above it, he “spits” water into the crowd. The kids love this! You will also find the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique inside World of Disney.
Stitch spraying guests with water.
At Once Upon a Toy they have a build-your-own Mr. Potato Head section. For $20 (that was the price at the time of our visit) you get to stuff as many Mr. Potato Head pieces as you can into a box and for an additional cost you can put them into a, pretty big, clear Mr. Potato Head. Also available is a build-your-own lightsaber station and a build-your-own droid station. All three of these are very popular. My daughter was still pretty little the last time we went, but I have a feeling on the next trip she will be very excited to do the build-your-owns at Once Upon a Toy.
A fun store for kids (and adults) is The Lego Store. There are areas for kids (and adults) to play with legos and build whatever their imagination comes up with. Plus, in the store and surrounding the store there are a lot of fun lego statues. It’s pretty amazing that they built these with legos!
If you like art then you should check out The Art of Disney. Here you can see lots of different impressive art works that are based on Disney. Plus, if you are into pin trading they have pins here.
For those that love Christmas, check out Disney’s Days of Christmas. They have ornaments, stockings, tree toppers, and more. It is a good sized store and there are a lot of fun things to look at. I love this store! Christmas is one of my favorite times of year and I feel like I can never have enough Christmas decorations. Even if you are not buying anything, this is one of those stores where it is fun to walk around and look at the decor.
Some decorations in Disney’s Days of Christmas.
My Daisy and Donald ornament from Disney’s Days of Christmas
If you are craving something sweet while you are shopping you can go to Goofy’s Candy Company. This is a fun candy shop where you can create your own sweet treat! They have a lot of options to choose from when creating your special treat, so take your time and come up with the perfect creation.
One of the new places in Downtown Disney that I am excited to check out is Marketplace Co-Op. This actually houses quite a few different shops under one roof and it looks like a lot of shopping fun!
With more than 40 shops in Downtown Disney I’m sure you will be able to find a few that appeal to you.
Dining
The restaurant options in Downtown Disney are not lacking either. There are plenty of dining options available to you. One restaurant I have been to is Fulton’s Crab House. They serve seafood and steak on a replica of a riverboat. Each time I have been here I have been very pleased with the food. Plus, it’s fun to eat on a boat, even if it’s not moving!
One of the really popular restaurants there is called Raglan Road. This is an Irish pub and restaurant that has Irish dancers that perform every night starting at 5 and they perform hourly. They have a Facebook page for the Irish dancers and there are videos on the page if you would like to see some Irish dancing. I have not been here yet, hopefully the next trip, but I hear only good things about the food, atmosphere, and entertainment that Raglan Road offers.
If you are looking for somewhere fun to take the kids you can check out T-Rex. This restaurant is owned by the same people who own Rainforest Cafe and it is pretty much the same thing, just with dinosaurs. There are animatronic dinosaurs that entertain you during your meal and every 20 minutes there is a meteor shower. Some people will say the ice cave is the best place to eat and others will tell you to steer clear, I think it looks cool (no pun intended, I swear), but I have not had the opportunity to eat in the ice cave yet. Tripadvisor has a good amount of pictures people have posted from T-Rex, so you can always look at those to see the different rooms at T-Rex. Plus, you can Build-A-Dino (just like Build-A-Bear) in the Dino Store next to the restaurant. This is a big hit for the kids (and some adults)!
These are just a few of the many restaurants that Downtown Disney has to offer. Plus, in 2015 two new restaurants will be opening. The Boathouse and Morimoto Asia will both be signature dining restaurants. They are not accepting reservations at this time, but we will keep you posted on their projected opening and when reservations open up for both restaurants.
Entertainment
As if there wasn’t enough to do in Downtown Disney already, there is a nice variety of entertainment available as well. If you are in the mood for bowling, Disney has a bowling alley for you! Splitsville Luxury Lanes is a bowling alley with a menu you won’t find at any other bowling alley…they even serve sushi! There are 30 bowling lanes and they have live music, outdoor dining, and billiard tables. This is definitely not your typical bowling alley.
For the gamers in the family there is DisneyQuest, a two-story arcade building with lots of different games which include some virtual reality games. It is actually called an indoor interactive theme park, so that gives you an idea of how much is offered at this “arcade.” The virtual rides are pretty interesting. They have CyberSpace Mountain where you design your own roller coaster and then they will put you in a simulator and you get to “ride” the roller coaster you just created! Pretty cool! They also have virtual rides for Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise. You can probably spend a whole day in DisneyQuest. So, if you have a rainy day while you are in Disney World that would be the perfect time to try out DisneyQuest.
Looking to take in a show? Disney has their own Cirque du Solei and it is called La Nouba. This is a popular show and it runs five days a week, they do not have performances on Sundays or Mondays. Trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns, singers, and acrobats will all keep you entertained for the hour and a half performance. If you are interested in seeing La Nouba just call or go to the website for tickets. All the info is in the link above.
For the kids there are actually some rides to keep them entertained, plus there are other little fun things throughout Downtown Disney. The Marketplace Train goes around a small track and is perfect for little kids. It is located by Disney’s Pin Traders and Once Upon a Toy. When we were in Downtown Disney with our friends, all of our kids (minus the baby) went on the train and they all loved it! It’s very cute. They can even sit in the engine or in the caboose. It only costs $2.00 for the train ride, not bad at all. While the kids are going in circles on the train, the adults can sit down and relax while watching them. It’s a win/win!
Another ride in Downtown Disney is the Marketplace Carousel. Kids will have lots of fun riding the horses on this ride. It is in the same area as Rainforst Cafe, across from Mickey’s Pantry, and there is a $2.00 fee to ride the carousel. Again, not a bad price, especially for Disney. In addition to these rides, there are also two areas in the Marketplace where water shoots up out of the ground. Kids love these little splash areas, especially on a hot day!
At night, make sure to check out the Waterside Stage for DJ Kids Dance Party. It starts at 7 and it is fun for everyone! What better way to end a day at Downtown Disney than by dancing the night away!
As you can see there is a lot to do in Downtown Disney and you won’t be able to see it all in one day. I didn’t even list everything! This is only a sample of what is available. So take a day to relax, walk around, shop, dine, and enjoy the entertainment that Downtown Disney has to offer!
Thanks for reading!
Liz ⁰o⁰
[whohit]Weekly Tip 9[/whohit]