Wilderness Lodge - WAFFLES, menu changes, reviews, and toll booths About This Page:

[mechurchlady]

WARNING: I will never drive to Wilderness Lodge again. Taxi or buses are for me. The signs are so bad that I ended up on dark back roads through back stage and the I4 sign sent me that way. I now have to pay $1 or be charge a lot of cash for failure to have cash on me for toll booths. I am from California where you need cash for maids, the valets take checks, and you need cash for penny press machines and buying DLR balloons. WE DO NOT NEED CASH. Apparently Florida is so desperate for money that they set up toll booths that demand cash only then you give them $100 for not having cash. NEVER DRIVING THERE AGAIN but can say the valets were nice.

Trout Pass Bar is by the pool. Disabled guests have to go through the patio and around the building to find the ramp and get down to the pool bar. Bartender was helpful and friendly. Pull up a stool or take your drink to the patio area or poolside. They sell bags of potato chips and have peanuts.

------------
Territory Lounge
A bar next to Artist Point that has comfortable armed overstuffed chairs and armed wood chairs. Sorry, Poohs but they do have armless barstools. I was full from Artist Point dinner so I just popped in for the menu. Very nice place to crash and snack. One could fill up on the bar food here and try the Asian inspired snacks. The kitchen is Artist Point and can handle most special diet and vegan requests. They have 2 televisions and one side is overstuffed chairs for lounging.

Hours: Bar is open 4 pm - midnight with last call at 11:45 pm.
Food is served from 4 pm to 11 pm.

Online menus are wrong or nonexistant. The new menu is where Hop Sing left the Ponderosa and started his own bar with his own twist on bar food. Gone are flatbreads, nachos, and honey wings.

MENU
Northwest Charcuterie and Artisan Cheese Platter with Mustard and Sweet Pickles for $15.00
Note: Charcuterie is a delicatessen-style shop that sells primarily pork products such as pates, rillettes, galantines, and crepinettes. I do not know what is served with the cheese, sorry, looking for volunteers.

Sharp Cheddar-Beer Fondue with Pretzel Sticks, House-Made Sourdough, Washington State Apples, and Figs for $11.00

Togarashi Spiced Tuna Tataki with Wakame Salad and Soy Sauce for $14.00
Notes: Togarashi is Japanese for red chili peppers. Shichimi Togarashi is a Japanese condiment that usually includes red chili pepper, black pepper, sesame seeds, dried mandarin orange peel, green nori seaweed flakes, prickly ash pods, hemp seeds and poppy seeds. Nanami Togarashi is a similar blend but uses citrus peel. Tataki is a type of sashimi. Wakame is a long thing string like seaweed used in salads and becoming popular with vegans and adherants of the macrobiotic diet.

Asian-Style Steamed Buns with Crispy Pork and Chili Drizzle for $10.00

Steamed Edamame in Pod with Shaved Sea Salt $9.00
Note: this is vegan and edamame is Japanese soybeans, supposed to be tasty.

House-made Northwest Potato Chips with Trio of Dips for $8.00
Dips are Smokey Blue, Truffle Aioli, and huckleberry butter

Cognac-glazed Chicken Lolipops (drumettes, lol) with Lemon Spritz and Cilantro for $9.00

==========
Whispering Canyon Cafe
I have not eaten here, YET, so you are getting just the basics.
As with all Wilderness Lodge eateries they can access most special diet items including vegan and allergen free. They have banquets along a few walls with tables that can be pushed out as well as armless wooden chairs. The lighting here is good. The entrance is via stairs but to the left is a hallway (tunnel) that leads to a ramp.

Online menus can be wrong and anything noted below for this restaurant is based on popular online menu sites. Online menus are there to show what is usually served and approximate prices.

Kids Breakfast
Fresh Fruit Cup topped with yogurt and granola

Adult Breakfast
They offer Roasted Red Potatoes not red potatoes or red bliss potatoes.

Barbecue Eggs Benedict as changed from beef brisket to tasso pork. Tasso Pork comes from the shoulder butt and is a Cajun spiced meat, flavorful part of the pig.

Egg White Omelet has changed feta to Goat Cheese, pico and chipotle barbecue to Chipotle Pico, and potatoes to Fresh Fruit.

Two Eggs should read "Bacon or Sausage".

Pancakes - add chocolate chips for $1.00

Kid Lunch/Dinner
There is one menu for lunch and dinner.
Add Yogurt Parfait to desserts
Fruit cup is now called Fruit Salad and Baby Carrots are a new appetizer.
Gone are Grilled Chicken Strips.
Add the Meaty Macaroni with veggies and ground turkey with marinara sauce.

Kids' Complete meals are easy for parents to quickly order a healthy meal.
choice of:
Meaty Macaroni, veggies, beverage, and fruit salad
or
Grilled fish of the day, whole grain pilaf, veggies, beverage, and yogurt parfait.

Adult Lunch
Citrus Brined Oak-smoked Trout has changed to House-smoked Rainbow Trout. The sweet pickled cucumbers are now a Sweet Cucumber Salad. Tomato Salsa is now Tomato-Horseradish Sauce.

Price of the Canyon Skillet is $19.99.
Creamy Slaw is now called Western Slaw. Mashed potatoes are now called Herb-crushed Potatoes.

allears.net is says $6.49 but the Grilled Barbecue Chicken Salad is $16.49

Whiskey Maple-glazed trout swam away, it is gone, bye bye, sigh, I will tell him you said hello.

Before:Turkey Sandwich - Dried Cranberry-Arugula-Mayonnaise on Blue Cheese Griddled Multigrain, Lettuce and Tomato with Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad or Potato Chips $13.49
After: House-smoked Turkey Sandwich - on Toasted Multigrain, Cranberry Mayonaise, and Tomato with Vegetable Pasta Salad or fresh Potato Chips $12.49

Before: Slow-smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich - Cowboy Beans, Barbecue Sauce, and choice of Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad or French Fries $12.49
After: Slow-smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich - Cowboy Beans, Sweet Ancho Barbecue Sauce, and Western Slaw $12.49

Before: Chicken Sandwich - Fried Chicken Breast topped with Pineapple Slaw, with Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad or French Fries $12.99
After: Grilled Herb-marinated Chicken Sandwich - on Corn-dusted Roll, Roasted Peppers, and Chipotle Spread with Vegetable Pasta Salad or fresh Potato Chips $13.99

Grand Canyon Margarita is now $10.25

Adult Dinner
Citrus Brined Oak-smoked Trout has changed to House-smoked Rainbow Trout. The sweet pickled cucumbers are now a Sweet Cucumber Salad. Tomato Salsa is now Tomato-Horseradish Sauce.

New
Flash Fried Navajo Breadwith Sweet-and-Sour Tomato Jam $5.49

Warm spinach and artichoke dip is gone, history.

Canyon Skillet
Mashed potatoes are now called Herb-crushed Potatoes. Coleslaw is not listed on the menu. Current price is $28.49

NEW
Country Pot Roast withh Herb-crushed Potatoes, Root Vegetables, and Horseradish Gravy for $19.99

The meatloaf lost its Texas Toast on the menu and the potatoes are now Herb-crushed.
Note: Again I see a large bag of herbs crushing potatoes, egads!!!

Vegetables are not Garden Fresh Vegetables.

Before: Chicken and Penne Pasta - seasonal Vegetables tossed in Olive Oil, Garlic, and Parmesan $18.99
After: Chicken and Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Garden Fresh Vegetables tossed in Olive Oil, Toasted Garlic, and Parmigiano-Reggiano $18.99
Note: this is part of the making of menus more understandable and appealing, sigh. Seems like the same dish.

Before: Grilled Espresso-Chipotle Marinated Grilled Pork Loin - with Chorizo-Tillamook Grits and seasonal Vegetables $22.99
After: Pork Loin Rib Chop with Chorizo-Tillamook Grits, Buttered Chard, Tart Cherry Salsa, and Natural Juices $24.99

Canyon Margarita is up to $10.50
==================================
Wilderness Lodge Mercantile
They are the convenience store for DVC members.
WARNING: Bag of Ruffles chips was $4.69 plus tax and Oscar Meyer Ham was $4.69 for half a pound of ham that sells for about $3 in stores. Cheaper to shop off site. They have swim diapers, pancake mix, and ice cream, for example.

======================
Roaring Fork
I have not eaten here, yet, but can give you general information.

Location: This is on the lower level and down a steep, to me, series of ramps.

Seating/Lighting: They have armless wooden chairs and good lighting. It is a bit cramp in there for strollers, wheelchairs, and other wheeled vehicles. There are tables outside or you can haul your food up to the lobby.

Special Diets and Wheels: The dining area is a bit cramp. The restaurant is compact and can get very crowded. I got stuck going out because about 20 people came in at the same time. It was empty and 9 pm or later when I came inside. Ask for help in ordering food, carrying trays, getting things off the shelves, etc. as it is very hard to drive a scooter here.

The manager at Artist Point assures me that they keep in storage many items to meet the needs of guests even the pool bar and lounges. The hotel tries to be ready to serve most dietary requests even if a guest just pops into a place unannounced as to special dietary requests.

Online Menus: There are few out there that are correct let alone up to date. Online menus should give an idea of what is available. Restaurants may switch from blueberry to chocolate chip pancakes but at least you know they have pancakes. An online menu should let you know about the pancakes. This restaurant sadly is not well covered and too many online menus are out of date. Beer now sells for over $5 but one site had such low beer prices that I knew that the menu was 4 to 6 years old at least.

Hours: 6 am to midnight
They have popcorn bags, chips, assorted adult and kid cereals (individual serving containers), an ice cream and frozen yogurt machine, bottled drinks, drink machines, and fresh fruit available while they are open.

Adult Breakfast
I received a paper menu thus I do not have details and prices for breakfast for kids or adults.
Pastries are available from 6 am to 11 am
Regular breakfast items and items from the grill are from 7 am to 11 am.

I do not see on their paper menu anything about bread/toast, English Muffins, or donuts. Pastries may vary from day to day.
Sides: bacon, eggs, potatoes, oatmeal, grits
I need to go back and check on whether they offer toppings and fixings for oatmeal, yogurt and cold cereal.

NEW or omitted
Fresh Fruit Cup

Wilderness Waffle - Mickey Waffles with Maple Butter and candied Pecans

Strawberry and Orange Waffles - Mickey Waffles with fresh Strawberries and Orange-flavored Whipped Cream

Bananas Foster Waffles - NMickey Waffles with warm Bananas in a Buttered Rum-flavored Sauce

Chocolate Lover's Waffles - Mickey Waffles with Chocolate Chips, Whipped Cream, and Chocolate Sauce

Adult Lunch and Dinner
Served from 11 am to 10 pm with the grill staying open until 11 pm and flatbreads served until midnight.

NEW
Ham and Tillamook Cheese Panini, with cucumber salad or house-made chips is $8.99
Vegetarian quinoa wrap with cucumber salad or house-made chips is $8.99
Gone is the vegetable sandwich.
Vegetable salad is now the cucumber salad as a side option.

These are the correct prices as some online menus have the old prices.
tuna salad sandwich is $9.99
Turkey and dill havarti cheese sandwich is $8.99
roast beef sandwich is $9.99
grilled chicken breast sandwich is $8.99
individual pepperoni flatbread is $8.79
chef's flatbread is $8.79
pasta of the day is $8.49

Kids Lunch and Dinner
Kids meals are $5.49
Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich really is Uncrustables not a real sandwich.

Waves to WDW Jamba, 1 adult menus, a kid menus, a dessert menu to read and compare, a lot of food here. I will have to post in a new post the Artist Point menu and updates, we are getting a wee bit long winded here.

[WDWJAMBA]

Sorry for the toll experience, but thanks for the review.

[Straitlover]

Driving - all you have to do is go through the MK toll plaza. The WL entrance is right up the street on the right. If memory serves, you would turn left to go to the poly and to the right to go to WL.

[mechurchlady]

I am back to finish the report. I need to eat at these places and still have to check the italic items. As you see there is the new Kids' Complete Meals which is now on the 50's Prime Time Diner menu also.

Artist Point
Location: go to the back wall with all the glass then turn left. There is the Territory Lounge for a nosh or drink and the greeter for Artist Point. They have a red carpet at the top of the ramp for parking your wheels and there is plenty of room for wheels in the restaurant.

Seating/Lighting/Theme: There are a few banguet bench seats along the walls that have tables that slide out and tables across from them. The lighting is not super bright but still well lit.

The resaurant is L shaped with lowered ceilings and carpets in the wings while the corner has soaring ceilings. The wings tend to be more private and there are some booth areas to get away from people. The pillars in the wings mimic the tall wood poles that look like debarked trees. There are murals in the corner of Yellowstone and Green River Valley as best I can tell. The wings have chandeliers that match the wall sconces. There are floor to nearly ceiling window that are like mission style and the wood is red. You really are in a lodge from the past century. At least there are no deer heads on the walls. I had a view of rocks, trees, and a wing of the hotel.

Dress Code: It is supposed to be fine dining and dress accordingly but it is common to see cut off shorts, t-shirts, and flip flops here. Some people dress up but many are just casual

Special Diets: The manager assured me that the whole hotel from bar to Artist Point have access to a stock of special diet foods. They are prepared to meet most guest needs even if the guest arrives unannounced. I received the best meal possible even the aspargus.

Dining Plan and TiW: 2 table credits, Tables in Wonderland Discount

Food: The best thing about this place is that the chef can adapt things to make a guest happy such as was my case. They offered me a gluten free roll but I passed on that as I am skipping bread at meals because it fills me up and I need less carbs.

I asked for and got a quail egg and slowly ate this little hard boiled delight. My pulse barely moved and was back to normal so I think my problem is with chickens and their eggs. HALLELUJAH, pass me mayo made with duck eggs, lol.

I have the recipe for the next item on the menu which I will try to post as it is 2 sides, egads. It is a bowl of Smokey Portobello Soup in a white square bowl. Staring, staring, staring, OMG, this looks disgusting, gray with white sour cream piping and green chive oil riverlets. Slowly and loudly I slurped the soup. A crescendo of notes of olive oil roasted shitake mushrooms, bits of sour cream piping, chives, potatoes, cream, onions, chardonnay, and smoked portobello mushrooms hit you. This is strained so you get tiny bits of mushroom. I had to stop typig and SLURP the soup. The lady across from me was very loud and kept giving her year old child things which were slung with glee across the room. 10 times and you realize he is a thrower. SLURPING is not lady like but still however you ingest this soup your palate will be kept busy trying to figure what is next.

Next comes a rectangular plate with a diagonal swath of Okinawan purple sweet potato puree with 3 grilled asparagus spears laying diagonally across the bright purple swath. In the middle is a beautiful thick swordfish steak. I gently scooped up this purple puree with anticipation and intrepedation. OMG, pureed smooth so that the potato goodness fills every nook of your mouth. I would love to have a bowl of this goodness alone instead of scraping it off the plate, it was that good.
I do not do aparagus but these were grilled to tenderness while retaining their crunchy flavorful goodness. I ate half of the asparagus before I stopped. If I was not getting so full from the soup I would have eaten all of them.

The Seared Pacific swordfish was jut getting overcooked in the middle. Overall this was an excellent fish and it is very hard to get any thick steaks cooked properly without raw sections or a burnt exterior. If I were to slice the meat in half I might find a few overcooked spots but who is that picky? I love fish with lemon and that made this a perfect fish for me. I wanted them sweet taters, miss them so much, and the fish. The chef chose the veggie and thankfully it was not something I cannot eat at all.

I WAS RIGHT! I love making sweet taters and deep frying them in thin slices. The best is the Okinawan Purple Sweet Potato. They are superior to either common yams and sweet taters. The menu calls them potatoes but they are far distantly removed from being a potato and are sweet taters.
the PRODUCE HUNTER

They serve gluten free cake and creme brulee so I went for the cake which is right off of the menu.
Warm chocolate Cake ... Warm Valrhona chocolate with Grand Marnier Chantilly (I skipped this) and Berry Seltzer.

I was picturing a choclate layer cake with berry seltzer in it, HOW!, egads!
You get a rectagular plate with a flat-topped cupcake like cake and a square clear glass of berry seltzer that is like berry flavored alka-selzer. It was very berry and helped cut the sweetness of the dessert but I am not a seltzer water fan. I prefer Beverley over Alka-Seltzer if you get what I mean.

The cake has hidden choclate lava oozing with flavor. This is gluten free and delicious but still I prefer babycakes or Sugar Beets. I ate most of it and savors the complex flavors. It is rich and fun to eat as break into the firm top then what as ooey gooey center oozes onto the plate.

Booze: On the menu are pairings of wines starting at $8 for appetizers to $15.00 for entrees. There is a pairing for $15.50 for Mission Hill Riesling Icewine and a 2 ounce pour of 150 year old cognac for $37.00 with certai desserts.

i believe they have a full bar for guests and Territory Lounge is next door. Need to check. There are dessert wines starting at $11 per 3 ounce pour and $43 and $48 a bottle. There is the Graham's Port Flight of one ounce pours of four ages for $22 and the Grand Marnier Flight of 3 half-ounce pours for $28.

Adult Coffee: They offer for $8.25 -$9.50 adult coffees. They have Sambucca and Cappuccino cald Bucaccino and they have Baileys Irish Cream and Frangelico for the Nutty Mountain.

Whole Leaf Teas: Health & Well-being Green; Mano Oolong; English Breakfast; Imperial Earl Gray; Mad Hatter's Tea Party (passion fruit, vanilla, and pomegranate); Vanilla Bean; Organic Peppermint Leaves (just peppermint tea), Lemon Verbena (caffiene-free); Keemun (gong fu tea, wine notes); Mountai Berry; Peace through Water (caffiene-free blend of chamomile, lavender, andd lemon balm).

============
I am comparing a February, 2011 WDW Magic menu to an allears.net menu from last October. These are the most common two sites that folks would refer to. I would skip the WDW magic menu as it is way out of date.

NEW
Grilled Delta Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese, Apples, Brown Butter Vinaigrette $13.00
I had as part of my meal these delicious asparagi, aspargus spears.
Note: These tender spears are harvested by hand in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta during Spring so get them now.

Crispy Buttermilk Di8pped Airline Chicken with Herb Spaetzle, Fava Beans Bacon Jam, and Natural Chciken Jus for $29.00
Note: This is a boneless chicken breast, usually skin on, and has part of the wing with the first joint of the wing including bone still attached to the breast. This is $1 more than the old chicken dinner.

Seared Pacific Swordfish with Black Trumpet Mushroom Hash, Salsify, and Meyer Lemon Emulsion $34.00

Porcini Strudel with Spring Vegetables with Wheat Berry Risotto, Ricotta fondue and Kalamata Olive Oil $8.00
Note: This is vegetarian but the chef can make this dish Vegan. his staff are excellent with veggies, even I loved the asparagus.

Warm Chocolate Cake ... Warm Valrhona Chocolate with Grand Marnier Chantilly and Berry Seltzer $11.00

Baked Apple Upside-Down Cake with Sweet and Sour Caramel Sauce and Brown Sugar Ice Cream $10

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee with Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotto $10.00

Local Orange Blossom Lace Cannoli with Mountain Berry Mousse, White Choclate Anglaise, Strawberry Rhubarb Jam and Micro Basil $10.00

GONE
Dungeness Crab Salad
Artist Point BLT salad which was lacquered pork belly, tomatoes, and greens.
Hoisin Glazed Airline Chicken Noodle Bowl
Pan-seared Alaskan Halibut
Roasted Pork Tenderloin
House-made Yukon Gold Potato Gnocchi
Chocolate Indulgence
Baked Peach Upside-Down Cake
Strawberries and Cream
Berry Mousse

CHANGES
Smokey Portobello Soup now is $10 and worth it.

Mussels: Sourdough panzanella salad has been replaced with Copper Ale with Meyer Lemon, Fennerl and Sourdough Toast.

Beets are now $15.00

Mixed Green Salad replaced stone fruit with Asian Pear and replaced Rogue creamery blue cheese with Smokey Blue Cheese

Artisanal Cheese: Humboldt Fog replaces the Drunken Goat cheese and it is seasonal garnish not garnishes.

The salmon now comes with Contemporary Nicoise, Eggplant Caviar, Heirloom Tomatoes, hard boiled Quail Egg, and Meyer Lemon Aioli. Now at $39.00
The prawn and crap hot pot is down to $32.00

Diver Scallops: replaced tomato risotto and herb pistou with Herb Spring Pea Risotto and Chardonnay Saffron Beurre Blanc plus the price now is $33.00

Before: Char-grilled Buffalo Striploin Steak - with marble potatoes, garden vegetables, and Shiraz Gastrique $43.00
After: Roasted Buffalo Tenderloin with Okinawa Purple Potato Puree, Hazelnut Cauliflower Polonaise, Onion Marmalade, and Blackberry Pinot Noir Reductions $44.00

Cobbler is now $11 and currently features black raspberry ice cream

WARNING: This is a market menu. I and others can tell you what is currently on the menus but at any time the chef may substitute or replace items.

[WDWJAMBA]

Thanks for the review!