Day 1: Arrival, Blizzard Beach, Pop Century, Sebastian’s Bistro
DD17, DS14, and I went to WDW for a jam packed 3 night trip right before the Labor Day Weekend. As predicted, the crowds were generally manageable as most school districts had already gone back into session and we were leaving just when the holiday weekend crowds would arrive. The weather, while often less than ideal with drizzle-moderate rain for about half of each day, was as good as can be hoped for in summer. The humidity wasn’t that bad so we weren’t sweating to death while just standing around.
After a quick Lyft ride from MCO, we arrived at Pop Century around 10:30am and luckily, our Preferred Room in the 60s area was ready. Therefore, we were able to drop off our bags in the room before lunch at the Everything POP food court.
We arrived in the golden spot right before their food court was changing over to lunch. Therefore, we had a choice of breakfast vs lunch options. My kids chose to go with breakfast- the Waffle Bounty Platter and Ham & Cheese Omelet.
I opted to wait a few minutes for the turnover to lunch to try the new to me Gochujang-glazed chicken strips and Street Corn Fries (fries topped with roasted corn relish, cotija cheese, and cilantro lime crema).
I also bought the Cookie Butter Croissant with Marshmallow Cream.
Unfortunately, this croissant was stale, the amount of cookie butter was minimal, and the marshmallow cream tasted very generic. Not a recommend.
After changing into our swimwear, we took the bus to Blizzard Beach to redeem our free check-in day water park ticket. DS14 was very worried by the moderate exodus of people when we arrived amidst the rain, as he assumed that meant the rides were closed. Hopefully not. After we put our stuff away in a locker and they knew where I was planting myself as home base, they headed off. They sailed over me in the Chairlift as I went to get my BB treat at I.C.Expeditions.
The Mickey Ice Cream Bar with chopped candy canes was delicious and one of my favorite desserts of this trip.
Shortly after, my kids returned from one run on Runoff Rapids. Unfortunately, Slush Gusher (what DS14 had been looking forward to) was closed for refurbishment. They proceeded to relax a bit in Meltaway Bay before asking for snacks. Since I didn’t want them to spoil their appetites before our All-You-Can-Eat ADR that evening, we got only the following quintessential water park snacks instead of a full entree.
The Frozen Lemon from Joffrey’s was nicely refreshing. Right when we got the food though, all the attractions closed due to nearby lightning. We decided to stick around for a bit and hope that everything would reopen. We headed over to one of the little huts we had used during our trip last summer to wait out the rain. Unfortunately, Disney had converted the huts to be only paid cabanas and thus they were now all roped off. #sigh
It rained, rained, and continued to rain. We finally gave up after about an hour and headed back to the hotel. In all, we were only at BB for under 3 hours. I’m glad it was a free water park ticket. When we arrived back at Pop, the pool was open! Excited, we went to our room to change back into our swimsuits and…the pool was closed for nearby lightning when we returned. #double sigh
Since we had brought their beach ball, I suggested they play a bit of volleyball while we waited nearby for the hopeful pool reopening. And it did after about half an hour. After relaxing in the pool with them for a bit, I took the opportunity to do some window shopping at the gift shop. I also found the Pop Century penny machine (yay!) but it required me to buy the whole 8 pc set instead of just one like I wanted (boo!) So I skipped it. Unfortunately, the resort had been out of stock of their signature pin for several weeks. It didn’t look like I was going to get a commemorative resort pin/penny this trip. I was briefly tempted by the resort Ears though.
The only thing that stopped me from buying it was fear that it would lead me to return to all my previous resorts to buy their resort ears, too. Quite a pricey endeavor that would be.
After about an hour in the pool, we got ready to head to our ADR at Caribbean Beach. The Skyliner ride was super convenient and quick. It was then about a 10min walk from the station to Sebastian’s Bistro. We arrived about an hour early and they couldn’t take us early. So my kids rested in the lobby of Old Port Royale while I window shopped at the surprisingly small gift shop. My kids both napped in some comfy chairs due to both the early flight that morning and their water exertions throughout the day. They were woken up by a pleasant surprise- a pajama-clad Minnie showed up behind them! I got a hug and DD17 got a high five.
We then made the short walk back to Sebastian’s Bistro to check in. We weren’t seated till almost 30min after our ADR but at least we had a seat and beautiful view while waiting.
We were so hungry that when we were finally seated and provided the first of the AYCE food, I forgot to take a picture of the Pull-Apart Rolls with Guava Butter and Caramelized Onion Jam. But I came to my senses with the Spice Necklace Salad (mixed greens, spiced candied pumpkin seeds, tropical fruit, and radish with key lime dressing).
DS14 also ordered a Sebastian Island Paradise (frozen POG)
Then came the main event- the Island Feast!
Oven roasted chicken with Caribbean Barbecue sauce, slow/cooked mojo pork with mango sambal, chili-rubbed beef with chimichurri, and baked fish with tomato salsa and citrus butter.
The platter also came with the sides of cilantro rice and beans, seasonal vegetables, and sweet plaintains.
The meal ended with Coconut Pineapple Bread Pudding with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream
Our favorites of the above meal were the beef and pork. In fact, I think they were both quite good even without the sauces. The fish was unfortunately a little bland. The chicken was fine but I prefer white meat and we were only provided with dark meat. The cilantro rice was surprisingly flavorful but the salad sort of lackluster despite the copious amount of listed ingredients. The bread pudding was tasty and a smidgeon better than Ohana’s due to the addition of coconut and pineapple. But I miss my beloved dumplings and noodles. However, considering that Sebastian’s Bistro charges almost half what Ohana charges, it’s a very good value for a decently tasty AYCE. I’m very glad we tried it but if ranking just by flavors, I’d go with Ohana.
After the delicious dinner, we walked back to the Skyliner for a quick ride home to rest up for a very early morning rope drop. I wished that my kids had gotten more out of BB but am glad they had pool time back at the resort.
I tried but I still had lots of entree left. I was overly full! My waiter pushed me to get dessert and just have a bite. I felt bad enough about throwing out half of my food already! I was not going to order dessert and take a bite! It is a good price for AYCE, but I just found the food OK.