I think I took photos of most of the buffet, so here we go with what was on it!
House-Made Charcuterie – Napoli Salame, Serrano, Bresaola, Venison Terrine, Hungraian Sausage, Pork Belly Rillettes, Spicy Beer Mustard, Zellwood Pickles, Pickled Pero Farms Peppers, Sweet Onion Jam, Variety of Cheese – Blue Shropshire, Cheddar, Tillamook
Deviled Lake Meadow Farms Eggs – Crispy Lardons, Spiced Aïoli
There was a selection of salads…
Kale and Apple Salad – Dried Cranberries, Pink Pearl Apples, Marcona Almonds, Apple Vinaigrette
Baby Iceberg Wedge Salad – Marinated Tomatoes, Cherrywood Bacon, Avocado-Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Fregola Salad – Crispy Sautéed Vegetables, Lemon Vinaigrette, Florida Hearts of Palm
…and a sushi selection of course!
California Rolls – Jumbo Lump Crabmeat
Salmon, Tuna, Hamachi Nigiri
Spicy Tuna Tekka Maki Rolls
Shrimp Tempura – Orange Drizzle and Mango
As I’m writing this up, my mouth is watering – the food was so good, and such a wonderful variety of food as well. The sushi is always top notch at California Grill – there are little plates of soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger to go with your choices.
I really enjoyed the kale and apple salad, so I had some more of that! And I love devilled eggs too. To be honest, we could have done away with the entree and just filled up from the buffet!
I’m not yet done with the food offerings though…
Hardwood-Smoked Salmon – Capers, Egg, Red Onion, and Assorted Bagels
Greek Yogurt – Vanilla-Scented Granola, Mixed Berries, and Honeycomb
Fresh Fruit – Chopped Seasonal Fruit
Pastry Board – Pecan Sticky Bun, Country Cheddar Biscuit, Huckleberry Muffin (which was brought to our table)
Onto our entrees which we chose at the start of our brunch. We both opted for the same dish:
Grilled Hanger Steak – Two Eggs Any-style, Chimichurri, Marble Potato Hash, Charred Red Onion
The steak was really good, and the portion was big. After all the buffet food, to then have this (and then a dessert plate!) – you need to visit this Sunday Brunch super hungry and not worry about eating for the rest of the day!
Dessert Plate – Macarons, Madeleines, Strawberry Jam Linzer Cookies, Chocolate Toffee Brittle, Chocolate Truffles
If by now you are stuffed to the brim, you can always get this boxed up to-go! We managed some, but not all. Had this not been our travel home day we would have taken the desserts for later.
After paying our bill, we sat in the lounge and listened to the musical duo play Disney songs – they take requests too – I chose You’ll Be In My Heart from the Disney Movie Tarzan. It’s one of my favourites.
California Grill, Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Bill: $160 + Tax: $8.32 + Tip: $28.80 = $197.12
TiW Discount: $32
Total Paid: $165.12
The servers do not rush you per se, but they do move things along by bringing out the entree and dessert plate. That said you could easily be in there for a couple of hours.
The Sunday Brunch was really good, and we both enjoyed it very much. We have been back since – with our son – in 2017, and I have just tried to book again for our 2019, but it’s full up already (and I’m not surprised to be honest!)
Should I luck out and manage to get an ADR for 2019, I’m going to make sure we don’t drive, so that I can have more than one Mimosa, and maybe even one of those Bloody Marys! I have read that they are included with the price now…
It was then back to Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa where we hung out for a bit and stocked up on Disney snacks, before loading up the car with our luggage and driving to the airport.
I don’t know if they have been building new roads since our previous trip in 2015, but we seemed to approach the airport from a completely different direction, going over a huge flyover. I don’t know if this was because we had to drop off the mini-van at the valet at the Hyatt, or not, but it was all very different!
Before checking-in for our flight, Steve wanted to go and check at the Hyatt Reception to see if his hoody jacket had been found. We lost it somewhere between us staying there on our first night, till, well, now. Unfortunately it never turned up. Luckily it wasn’t an expensive one, but it was annoying for him nonetheless as he had brought it to wear on the plane – and for the potential cold weather when we got home to England!
After that, we checked-in for our flight, and then went through the hell that is TSA – I know it’s for safety, and they have to be thorough, but it seems to be getting a slower and slower process every year. As always I’m flagged on the body scanner, so had to go through a pat down, and swabbing of stuff, before we could move on and catch the monorail to the terminal.
We went directly to the gate to sit and wait to board. As I had assistance on this trip we were able to board first – although we sat at the back of the plane so would have been called up first after the more expensive seat classes etc. We got comfy, and settled in for the flight home…
And that’s pretty much it for WDW-40, 2016 – the (nearly) month long trip where I celebrated my 40th birthday in my happy place – Walt Disney World! It was an awesome holiday from start to finish and I couldn’t have asked for anything more (although, it would have been amazing if all my family had been able to come!!)
I have got one final, final part – day 30 – which is once we land back in the UK. I wouldn’t normally bother with that day, but wanted a nice round number to finish off, on – so I’ll tell you about the flight in that part!
Read about the day after:
Day 30: Back To Reality
The Flight Home
Read about the day before:
Day 28: I Was There
Walt Disney World’s 45th Anniversary / Magic Kingdom / Lunch at Tony’s Town Square / Check In – Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa