Dining Reviews

[jnorth1007]

Here Ya go! Dining thread for reviews, recommendations, photos, whatever you guys have to say about dining with Disney that may be of use for others! :minnie: :mickey:

[LuvMyBoys]

Dining with a Kick! DDP 4/30-5/2 Day 1 Kona Cafe


Just got back from a short trip with my Mom and 2 sisters. We were DDP first timers We had a wonderful time and had some great food, and some okay food. We learned so much about the DDP on this trip! I learned so much beforehand, thanks to my friends on the Dis so now I will share our experience and the lessons learned.

Our flight got in around 5, got on magical express and headed to OKW. Check in around 6, only 2 studios remaining!! Both were handicapped, so no long baths on this trip The room was nice though, enough room for the four of us and the grounds were beautiful. We saw more little geckos then you could shake a stick at! My DS7 would have been in heaven

Attention: these reviews are going to be detailed, I like details! There will not be pictures, we took very few pics in the restaurants, I love looking at other people's pics and appreciate their boldness, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Sorry in advance.

Ok, on with it: Day 1, Arrival and Kona

We hopped on the DTD bus by 6:35, transferred to the Poly bus at DTD, and still arrived 5 minutes late for our 7:40 ressie. No worries though, we got our table at 7:50.

Drinks: DM: lapu lapu (yummy, had a nice rum kick!), virgin strawberry daquiri (sp?), Me: virgin strawberry daquiri, DS27: backscratcher, virgin sand in the pants (mix of strawberry daq and pina colada, this was the best!!), and DS21: lapu lapu and diet coke. The waitress very kindly explained that we could get one non-alcoholic drink with the DDP, no refills on the specialty frozen drinks though. I asked if I could switch to coffee for dessert and she said no, not unless I paid OOP. The drinks were good, sweet and cute. She also brought ice water with the drinks.

She brought out our sweet hawaiian bread (think king's rolls and bread) with a honey macadamia nut butter, YUM! We were so hungry from the flight and long trek, and it was fresh, warm, and delicious.

Next came out the apps, here's the rundown:
DM: chowder, this was excellent. Full of seafood, creamy, very good.
Me: duck potstickers, these were good. Not very "duck" tasting, good potstickers though.
DS 27: sticky wings, we all like these too. They had a soy, garlic, ginger taste and were not too sweet. The little salad on the plate was excellent.
DS 21: crab cakes, YUM! These were very different and very good. They had sort of a fried texture and were delicious.

Entrees came out shortly after, not too soon though. We did not feel rushed during the meal, the restaurant was not too crowdy or noisy, and our waitress was friendly. Just in case you were wondering. Ok, back to the food
DM: prime rib, this was good. She liked the sauce with it and the mashed potatoes were amazing!
Me: filet, good. Ok, I am an idiot. All my hours on the dis and I go and order it medium-rare, BIG MISTAKE! It was way too rare, and I like a good rare steak. I should have ordered it medium, lesson learned. The mushroom sauce was good, again the mashed potatoes were outstanding.
DS27: teriyaki sirloin, hands down the winner! This was a shock to me. You say meat and pineapple, I say heresy!! I hate fruit with meat, but this was amazing! It just tasted delicious. I will get this next time.
DS21: shrimp and scallops, good also. The sauces were nice compliments to the seafood, and she was very happy when the waitress asked her if she would like the shrimp grilled instead of fried. The shrimp and scallops were cooked perfectly and well seasoned.

Desserts
DM: apple brown betty. Average, just normal apple crisp with ice cream.
Me: white chocolate cheesecake. Very nice, good light ending to the meal and I enjoyed the brady snap it came with. I still ended up taking most of it home.
DS27: Macadamia chocolate torte. This was good too, kind of like a hawaiian take on pecan pie. Very rich, she ate only a small bit of it and took the rest home.
DS 21: kilauea torte, very good. Very intense chocolate, very pretty presentation. She took most of it with her.

That was it for us, we were full beyond belief and had 2 bags of take out containers We quickly learned later in the trip not to bother taking too many leftovers back. It was tons of food!

We absolutely loved the atmosphere of the Poly, I am so jealous of all the lucky people who stay there, it is just beautiful, especially at night!

So overall, we loved Kona and will be going back!

Next up, Day 2.....Le Cellier, Wolfgang Puck Cafe, and CS at Epcot

[LuvMyBoys]

Day 2, Part 1...Norway, Tea Stand, and Le Cellier

Day 2 was our Epcot day so we ate a quick breakfast (granola bars, etc) in the room and headed off to the park.

We made it for the opening and quickly headed off to Mission Space (green), fast passed Test Track, hit Soarin, Living with the Land, etc. So by 11, we had done pretty much everything we wanted in Future Land. We headed over to World Showcase, rode the Gran Fiesta in Mexico, and then headed to Norway to try the famous school bread. This was my first time in the World Showcase so I was very pleasantly surprised by the cast members from the different countries. They were all very friendly and helpful, especially the nice young man in Norway (that’s all I’m saying about that, my husband may read this and he’s the jealous type ). Alas my time chatting it up with the handsome Norwegian was cut short as other visitors entered the store (how rude!) and so we went to an outside table to enjoy the school bread.

This was better then I thought it would be! I am not a big custard fan; it’s usually heavy and eggy tasting to me. The school bread though was very fresh, light, and not too sweet. It was awesome. Even if you are not a huge fan of custard or coconut, I would still give it a try. Two of us split the one piece and it was enough to share.

Okay, so next we waited for 15 minutes on a bench by the new tea stand in China. We had read about the new alcoholic tea slushes and were very eager to try them. My two sisters ordered the Peach Oolong Tea Schnapps Slush, very good just too sweet for me. I ordered the Green Tea Plum Wine Slush. BIG MISTAKE.

WARNING do not order this without having the knowledge of what plum wine actually tastes like. It was salty! It was absolutely disgusting, I literally felt like I was going to throw up for the rest of the day.

I only was able to drink about 5 sips of it, and then finally I gave up and walked it back to the tea stand and told the nice girls there that it was salty and I guess I didn’t know that it would taste like that. They said not to worry about it, that this had happened before. They offered to give me the peach drink instead but I just took a mango tea. That too was very sweet. So finally I just gave up on the tea drinks all together and had some water.

Our lunch ADR at Le Cellier was for 1:30. By 1 we were famished. We arrived at Le Cellier at 1:10 and checked in. The hostess said that she doubted that they would be able to seat us before our ADR time, we said no problem. We sat down to wait. We saw at least 10-15 people turned away; they were told that they were not accepting any walk-ins as they were booked solid for lunch and dinner until 5/26. Some people were not to happy about this. One lady claimed to have an ADR, but her name was not in the system and she did not have the ADR number. The hostess told her sorry but they couldn’t seat her. She then whipped out a business card and said “My husband is a big shot in Vegas, here’s his card”. The hostess was like, “Sorry, I can’t seat you”. The lady replied “Take the card, I’m calling him, I’m sure he has our number”. She then sat down and ignored the hostess. We saw her later in the meal at a table for 2 (originally she had been claiming she had a party of 7!). So maybe try the big shot in Vegas card if you can’t get a table at Le Cellier. Just kidding.

So we got our table at 1:20, only ten minutes of waiting! We sat down and looked over the menu, noted the changes and ordered our drinks. We noticed that there were two new appetizers, a seared tuna app and a app called duck two ways. The crab and salmon timbale and beef tenderloin kebabs were gone. The entrees now had bouillbaisse and the shrimp pasta was gone. The desserts included a new cherry shortcake instead of the double berry buckle.

My DS27 ordered OOP for this meal and DS21 and I used the DDP, just told the waitress up front and it was no problem at all. My mom did not go to Epcot with us, so the 3 of us ordered as follows:
Me: Cappuccino Freeze, it wasn’t listed on the menu but I asked the waitress if they had it and she said yes. This was yummy, creamy and not too sweet. Helped me start the long road to recovery after the plum wine slushy incident.
DS27 and DS21: just plain old soft drinks. Our waitress was good with refills on these even though she was very busy.

Appetizers were as follows:
Me and DS21: PEI mussels. Okay, now I love mussels. But I have never had mussels this large. To tell you the truth, it was kind on unnerving. They were 3x the size of the mussels we have in the Midwest. And it didn’t help that I mangled one with my little seafood fork about half way through, trust me, you don’t want to see the insides of a giant mussel. Not to mention I was still feeling a little queasy from the Tea Stand incident. But my DS21 absolutely loved them and thought they were very tasty, and I really loved the chowder sauce they were in. It’s a very rich and delicious dish for mussel lovers.

DS27: cheese soup. I tried some and it was good, the beer tasted pretty strong to me. I liked it with the pretzel bread. I wasn’t too crazy about the other two breadsticks though as they were pretty tough.

Entrees:
Me: the new bouillabaisse that was just added to the menu. Okay, I don’t have the official description but it had mussels, two grilled shrimp, and two large scallops in a spicy type broth with couscous. It was good; I wasn’t overly fond of the broth though. It would have tasted better to me if it had some tomato in it. It was served in a slanted bowl with 1 piece of pita bread (felt stale). Overall, I would not order this again unless I really wanted some seafood.

DS21: petite filet, she really loved this. Taking a cue from my earlier mistake at Kona, she ordered it medium which was perfect. The cream cheese mashed potatoes were really good too. They rivaled Kona’s mashed potatoes. She did not find the portion too small after eating all of the mussels for an appetizer, she was getting pretty full.

DS27: steak burger, cheddar, and add on grilled mushrooms, side of potato salad. This was SO good! The burger was juicy and tasted like steak. The cheddar was not too strong and the potato salad was a little spicy and different. I was jealous of this burger; it was definitely how a steak burger should taste.

Ok, now for a little aside on the title of this trip report. Those hard core food fans can skip ahead to dessert. When we sat down we got a decent table, not too close to anyone else, or so we thought. Then the table next to us settled in. The Grandma at that table was literally the Grandma from Hell (hereinafter, GFH). She was “a lady”, she was “a business woman” and above all she was an expert on the South Beach diet. How do I know all this? This woman talked loud, talked forcefully, and NEVER shut up. I was so happy when their meals finally arrived, I thought finally she would quit for a few minutes. Unfortunately, that was not the case the motor mouth kept on running. Until….that blessed potato salad came onto the scene. My sister had let me try a little of hers and I said “That’s good; it has a little kick to it”. It is very mild, something I would let my little ones eat.

Well imagine our surprise when we notice a strange silence. Yes, she had quit talking for more then 30 seconds, what was going on? We look over and she is clasping her mouth and her eyes are bugging out. The waitress had just stopped over to ask how the food was and her husband exclaimed “She’s choking, how do you think it is?” The waitress replied “Oh no, that’s not good! Are you okay?”

I was relishing the silence. Sorry but I was, I’m not going to lie to you.

GFH then uncovered her mouth and said “That potato salad is burning hot, why didn’t you warn me?” She glared at the waitress. The waitress answered “It does have a little kick. I’m sorry”. "A little kick!" GFH bellowed, she was outraged!. The waitress then offered GFH a complimentary glass of wine to help with the heat and brought her some French fries. GFH pointedly ignored the waitress for the rest of the meal, even when she asked her direct questions.

Well, I thought, at least that should quiet her down. But no, then she started in on her grandson who was a little overweight. The poor kid had made the mistake of eating a pretzel bread with his cheese soup. Then she started a lecture that literally lasted the rest of our meal on the phases of the South Beach diet, how he was a failure, how she had mastered it, all while she continued to munch on French fries. It was priceless.

Ok, aside over. Here were our desserts:
Me: the new cherry shortcake. It was like a small biscuit/scone type shortcake with almonds in it, a cherry sauce covering it and some lavender ice cream. It was nice and light, and good. It wasn’t exceptional though. Probably a B+

DS21: the duo of sorbet. Both good and light. She was too full for anything else.
DS27: nothing, too full.

So overall, Le Cellier was an interesting experience. Both of my sisters love the place and will be back. Next time I won’t be stupid and order a bunch of seafood at a steak place. If I was paying OOP I would definitely get the steak burger, it was excellent quality and a good value. Just be prepared with the knowledge that the potato salad has a little kick.

Hope you are enjoying my lengthy reviews that maybe are too much like a trip report?? But the rest will be shorter, I promise. More focused on food and less on all of the interesting characters at WDW.

[LuvMyBoys]

Day 2, Part 2

After our large lunch at Le Cellier we returned to OKW to rest for a bit. After a few hours of regaining our strength, we split up and headed out into the evening.

DS21 and I headed back to Epcot to enjoy a few more attractions and watch Illuminations. DS27 and DM headed off to DTD for some shopping and dinner reservations at Wolfgang Puck Café.

At Epcot DS21 and I hit some of the attractions we had previously missed, Spaceship Earth (cute, reminded me of COP), Honey I Shrunk the Audience (not as good as It's Tough to be a Bug, imo ), and a few others.

We then decided to get a CS meal in Japan and split it, we had been looking forward to trying the Tonosama Combination at Yakitori. So she grabbed an inside table and I got in line. And I stood in line, and stood in line, and then for a change of pace, I stood in line some more. This place is SO SLOW! I finally get to the cashier and tell her I’m on the DDP, she replies “You can only get 1, 3, or 5”. Of course none of those are the Tonosama Combination, and none of them are ones we would eat. GRRR! Why couldn’t they have noted this on the signs or menus? Instead I left line and kissed 15 minutes of my Epcot time good-bye.

At this point we were moderately hungry, tired, hot, and just wanted to get an early seat for Illuminations. Finally we decided to grab a CS from China and split it. I headed off while my sister sat on a bench and held our seats.

The CS staff in China is SO friendly! They were all very enthusiastic and helpful. I ordered the sesame chicken salad, ginger caramel ice cream for dessert. The salad had about 5 pieces of cold chicken breast covered with sesame seeds, lots of iceberg lettuce, carrot shreds, etc. The dressing was really good, soy tasting and not sweet as I had feared. We split it and it was enough for us. I liked the ice cream, though it had many chunks of ginger in it, my sister was not too fond of it. It was definitely different though, and light.

Meanwhile, my DM and DS27 were enjoying dinner at WGPC. Well, enjoying most of their dinner anyway. Beverages were just soda.
Apps: DS27: crab cakes, she enjoyed these said they were very different from Kona’s crab cakes, more like the traditional version, but not too bready. DM: the squash soup. She liked it, didn't rave about it though.
Entrees: DS27: Wolf’s Steak. She loved this, very tender and good flavor.
DM: Wolf-fredo Fettuccine with chicken, pancetta in a parmesan cream sauce. She did not like this at all. There were chunks of very fatty pancetta in the pasta which really ruined the dish for her. She was not impressed with the dish and didn’t eat most of it; she said the pancetta ruined it for her. We were all very understanding, asking her for the rest of the trip is she wanted a side of pancetta with that
Desserts: Key Lime pie, they reported it was good. No rave reviews about the desserts. They didn’t bring any home so that means something.

Up next, Day 3, CS at POFQ, Earl, WGPE, and dinner at Spoodles

[LuvMyBoys]

Day 3, Part 1 CS Adventures

We all slept in on Day 3, didn’t roll out of bed until 8:30. This was our day to just enjoy the resort. We spent time down at the pool, read books, and did something we don’t do at home (at least not those of us with small children or husbands) RELAXED!

After a few hours of not doing much, we decided to head out for lunch. Mom and I hit the bus to DTD, with plans of lunch at POFQ. My two sisters headed off to DTD for shopping and lunch at EofS and WGPE.

After a nice long bus ride, we arrived at POFQ. The theme of this resort is so cute. We grabbed lunch at the CS restaurant and enjoyed it outside in "the Quarter".
Me: ice tea, cheese steak with fries, beignets
DM: soda, muffaletta with homemade chips, brownie
My meal was decent, the fries were good and hot and the cheese steak was average. It was a bit on the greasy side and I only ended up eating half of it.

My DM’s meal, on the other hand, was awesome! The muffaletta and the homemade chips, WOW! YUM! I am a sucker for homemade chips and these were good chips, crispy and not too salty. The Muffaletta had soft, toasty bread, warm salami and ham, melty cheese, and a delicious olive spread that was not too salty but still had an excellent olive kick. It just all came together so nicely to create a really delicious sandwich. The sandwich was good size and it came with a nice helping of chips, but we managed to eat it all.

The beignets were good, we ate those first since they deflate rather fast and become too chewy. I received 3 beignets for my DDP dessert. They would have been better with coffee, but who wants hot coffee when its 88 degrees? The brownie was really good too. It was fresh, soft, and more like chocolate cake with a really fudgy frosting.

I will be back in September and I will order the muffaletta, and I’m not sharing! It was really that good.

Meanwhile, my sisters were getting their favorites at DTD. DS21 is a major EofS freak. She likes to eat there at least 3 times every trip. Her first stop of the trip, she ordered the old stand-by, the Original. She reported it was as good as ever. She got a chocolate chip cookie for dessert; I ate it later that night. It wasn’t very good in my opinion, too hard and tasted too much like brown sugar.

DS27 headed over to her favorite stop in all of DTD, Goofy’s Candy Shop. Can I just say that this place is pretty much a snack credit dream?

You can get make your own rice krispie treats (so good, soft and chewy and fresh), sandwich cookies (oreo like cookie with chocolate, vanilla, or pb filling), pretzel rods, gingerbread cookies. You choose the dip (milk chocolate, white, or dark), the toppings (oreo crumbs, pecans, m&m pieces, mini chocolate and white chips, butterfinger, reese’s pb cup), and then the drizzle (milk chocolate, white, or dark, or caramel). These things are freshly made and delicious!

My sister always gets the pretzel rods because you can get 3 for 1 snack credit, and you can customize each pretzel rod. I’m sure the cast members really appreciate that!

This time she got the pretzels dipped in milk chocolate, topped with pecans, and drizzled with caramel. Yeah, turtle pretzels and they were SO GOOD! Later in the trip we all got rice krispie treats (I even brought one home on the plane for my DH), they were excellent.

I highly recommend this place for snack credits, this is also the home of the make your own slushy cup for $8 (not a SC) and make your own pixie sticks, and several other awesome candy things. If you go there in September and see a family with four boys loading up on make your own treats, make sure you say Hi!

DS27 stopped off at WGPE after her rendezvous with the Goofy’s pretzel sticks and grabbed an unsweetened mango ice tea, a pepperoni pizza, and a brownie. WGPE has such great food for CS! The pepperoni pizza was definitely enough for two, and it had a major garlic kick! Beware if you aren’t a fan of garlic! Luckily, we love it. The brownie was the unfrosted kind, but it did have chocolate chips in it. Overall, a nice quality CS with really good choices.

Up next……..dinner at Spoodles.

[mseg16222]

For now off the top of my head the one place that I will never go to again is SCI FI...the service was terrible and so was the food.

We all loved Mama Melrose and Coral Reef. Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch at the Polyensian Resort was pretty good the kids loved it along with dinner at Chef Mickey's.

Kids and husband did not like dinner at the Polynesian said they wouldn't do that again.

WCC at Wilderness Lodge was also good...

That's all I can think of for now...... can't wait to hear what others liked to addto my list for next year

[LuvMyBoys]

Spoodles, Day 4, and final thoughts

After retiring to OKW for a few hours of sun and rest, it was time to get ready for our dinner ADR at Spoodles. We hopped on the bus and headed off to DTD to catch a bus to the Boardwalk. As usual, the hour we allotted to reach Boardwalk did not prove to be enough time. We arrived at Spoodles five minutes late for our ADR, but that was not a problem. The restaurant was not crowded, probably 2/3 full. We waited for a table for about 10 minutes and were then seated.

Spoodles has a nice atmosphere. It feels light and open, as opposed to dark and crowded (which both Kona and Le Cellier felt like to me) and has a definite Mediterranean vibe. Our waiter was fine, a little slow and forgetful, but otherwise fine. He did tell us there were no specials because the menu was so new. Yet all through dinner we kept hearing the chefs yelling out “Special up” and during dessert we heard them yell “86 the special” (restaurant talk for stop selling it/we’re out of it) so we weren’t too happy about that.

Drinks were just standard sodas, we asked what was available for a beverage on the DDP, but were not told any cool non-alcoholic specialty drinks or anything. We were served bread with dipping oil. The bread was similar in texture to foccacia and the olive oil had herbs and spices in it, but not real strong. It was good, not amazing or anything.

Appetizers were as follows:

Me: Lamb kebabs. I like lamb and this was about 4 decent size chunks of lamb meat on a skewer with harissa sauce and a little salad of chick peas tossed with herbs and spices. The lamb was cooked medium, tender and didn’t have any fat/gristle. This was very good, except I wished I had asked for the harissa sauce on the side, it was a bit overpowering. The harissa was not spicy hot, just very strong on the flavors of cumin, sweet red pepper (could have been sweet paprika), and coriander. The chick pea salad that the lamb rested on was very refreshing. It had a light olive oil/lemon juice and fresh herb flavor. Overall, the lamb was a nice change of pace and fit well with the theme of Spoodles.

DM: Margherita Flatbread with vine-ripened tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella cheese. This was very good, tasted like a gourmet pizza or like bruschetta. She liked it; it is definitely big enough for sharing if you want a light appetizer.

DS21: Four Cheese Flatbread with roasted garlic puree. She liked it, but only ate 2 pieces. It is very rich and filling. When I tasted it I was not prepared for the garlic kick! Wow, this is garlicky! I figured it would be cheesier, but it tasted more like a flatbread version of cheesy garlic bread.

DS27: Mediterranean Dips with toasted pita, marinated olives and almonds. This was the winner of the appetizers. It has beautiful presentation and a nice variety of dips with fresh pita bread. The best dips were the tzatziki, the feta dip, and the hummus. The feta dip is a feta cheese lovers dream! We all agreed that we would order this again, and really it would have been enough for the four of us to share as an appetizer.

Entrees were not really exciting. By this point we were actually getting a little burnt out on eating. I never thought that would happen!

Me: Red Snapper. This was very good. This fish was firm and well cooked and seasoned. The couscous that went with it was very good too and I was happy it was served in a tomato based broth. The “greens” was just a sprinkling of spring greens, not really wilted and not a substantial amount. I managed to finish the whole piece of fish, though I was getting stuffed.

DM: Pork chop. She was a little thrown off when our server asked how she would like it cooked. She got it medium-well and it was excellent, very tender and flavorful. She didn’t really comment much on the accompaniments.

DS21 and DS27: shrimp linguini with preserved lemons. They both liked this and really enjoyed the shrimp. There were probably about 6 large shrimp in a large bowl of pasta. The lemons are pretty strong and both of them ended up picking them out. Honestly, they only at the shrimp and just a bit of the pasta. By this point in the meal, they were too full to make any kind of dent in the pasta.

Desserts were hit or miss.

Me: White chocolate orange cake. I didn’t like this; the orange glaze on top was completely overwhelming. The texture of the cake was good, but even after I scraped off the glaze it was just too “orangey” tasting for me. Luckily, my DM really likes orange so she traded desserts with me.

DM: gelato. This was vanilla gelato with some chopped almonds in it served with a sweet cherry sauce and a piece of almond brittle. The menu says bark, but when I see bark I think chocolate, and this was more like a very thin piece of brittle (almonds, butter, sugar baked until crisp). It was very good gelato.

DS21: Chocolate Apricot Pistachio Cake. This was very delicious; it had a rich chocolate flavor from the cake and the ganache like frosting. It is dense and filling. The apricot/pistachio filling is not overwhelming in taste, just adds a nice hint of citrus and nut flavors to the dessert.

DS27: Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee with biscotti. This was the best dessert in my opinion. The crème brulee was light and sweet and just delicious, the baked sugar on top melted in your mouth. I was very jealous that I didn’t order this.

Overall, I would give Spoodles a solid A-, I wasn’t blown away by it, but it was a nice change of pace from the other TS restaurants. It has a very nice atmosphere (though it can be a little loud) and the setting of the Boardwalk is cool. I really appreciate the different menu choices that Spoodles offers.

Alas, when return in the fall we will not be dining at Spoodles or Le Cellier. We are anxious to try different TS restaurants and really the only one that I could see returning to with my family for a repeat visit so soon is Kona. Kona has a lot to offer for both adventurous and non-adventurous eaters and the setting is good for families.

Our last day went by in a blur, even though our flight wasn’t until 5pm that night. We woke up later then we wanted to, and check out was at 11. So again, breakfast in the room and then lunch at DTD before catching the ME.

We used up the rest of our snack credits at Goofy’s, grabbing make your own rice krispie treats, bunches of Mickey head suckers, etc. It was really nice to be able to use SC to get souvenirs. Saved us even more money!!

Lunch was EofS for some of us and WGPE for others. I had the ham sandwich from WGPE served with homemade chips , unsweetened mango ice tea, and a triple chocolate cookie for dessert. The sandwich and chips were great! Unfortunately, they were out of crème brulee, so I had to settle for the cookie which I ate later at the airport. It was good, just ordinary though.

Overall, DTD is a great place to go to get food on the last day. EofS wraps the sandwiches and WGPE will make your food “to go”, so these are both good stops to grab lunch for the car ride or plane ride home.

Concluding thoughts:

I was concerned that the DDP might not be enough food since you don’t get 3 meals a day. It’s definitely enough food. We really didn’t feel hungry much at all. Sometimes it was hard to get motivated to eat more, go to dinner, and order everything at the TS restaurants. It was a great experience though, I’m so glad we tried it. We were able to order new things, order what we wanted without worrying about price, and not have to worry about tip, carrying cash, etc.

We did not having charging privileges on our cards to avoid any mistakes. We also kept close track of our credits and did not have any problems.

Sharing CS meals is a good plan. Many of the CS meals are big enough to share and it makes it easier to try a lot of things and not waste a lot of food.

After the first day we didn’t bother with bringing home leftovers. Even though we had a fridge, it was pretty full of leftovers after the first few meals and no one was really hungry enough to eat them. We ended up throwing out quite a few things on our last day.

OKW has coffee pots in the room and they provide you with some coffee and little creamers. Knowing this we brought a small can of coffee so we didn’t have to request more. Be prepared that cans of tea/coffee/cocoa must be sealed to go on the plane in a carry-on bag and they will be checked by security. The gift shop at OKW has cartons of half and half for $1.65 or so. This made the trip so much better for me and DM as we like to drink coffee a couple of times through the day and don’t care for powdered creamers or non-dairy creamer.

If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them. I will be back at the end of September with reviews of: Yacht Club Galley, ‘Ohana Character Breakfast, ‘Ohana’s dinner, and Whispering Canyon Café.

Thanks for reading!!

[VanniGirl]

OK, I am officially starving...

Thanks for the reviews!

:)

[LuvMyBoys]

For now off the top of my head the one place that I will never go to again is SCI FI...the service was terrible and so was the food.

We all loved Mama Melrose and Coral Reef. Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch at the Polyensian Resort was pretty good the kids loved it along with dinner at Chef Mickey's.

Kids and husband did not like dinner at the Polynesian said they wouldn't do that again.

WCC at Wilderness Lodge was also good...

That's all I can think of for now...... can't wait to hear what others liked to addto my list for next year


Did you at Kona or 'Ohana at the Polynesian for dinner?

I'm starting to second guess 'Ohana after some of the reviews I have heard. :(

[LuvMyBoys]

OK, I am officially starving...

Thanks for the reviews!

:)

Yeah, reading about all of that food again makes me hungry too! :)

[mseg16222]

We ate at Ohana for DInner. My kids were hungry when we left my husband said he wasn't impressed with the food and didn't eat a lot. I didn't think it was bad at all, but I am the least picky out of all of us.

[speechteachri]

I was trying to do a nice chart with ratings from DD, DH and myself, but I can't get it to come out the way I want, so I'll just post my general reviews with a few comments from the rest of the family where appropriate. Here goes:

7/12-7/14 DDP

7/12/07 Liberty Tree Tavern

Food-Just barely average
Atmosphere-Average
Service-Above average
Character Interaction-I voted average only, DD and DH thought it was a little better than that.

Summary: Other character dinners are better. Save your money on this one. We will not go back.

7/13/07 Coral Reef

Food-Excellent
Atmosphere- Excellent
Service-Excellent

Summary: We all LOVED the Coral Reef!! We all ordered the Steak, and it was superb!! We would definately go back if on the dining plan, but not without it. Our bill was around $186 for the three of us. Wouldn't pay that much out of pocket.

7/14/07 Mama Melrose (Fantasmic package)

Food-Average-Below Average
Atmosphere-Average
Service-Above average

Summary: I was disappointed with MM. It gets a lot of hype and mixed reviews, and we chose it hoping it would prove all the negative reviews wrong. Well, we were really split on this one. We live in RI and have loads of really awesome Italian Rest. around, so MM really couldn't compare. Anyway, DD really liked her chicken parm, but it was the only thing on the menu that she even would consider. It was nothing I couldn't make at home though. DH liked his pork marsala, but his calamari app. was tough. I got the sirloin, and it was so tough I could barely cut it. I struggled to eat a few bites of it. The only real bright spot for us at MM was that our waiter was really excellent. I probably should have complained about my steak and sent it back, but we really wanted to get back to other things, so I didn't bother. We were glad we had done the Fantismic package though, because only 1 show that night and it was packed! Lat time we did Hollywood and Vine and enjoyed it much better. We would do H&V again, but NOT MM. Too bad.

More reviews to come...

[Hedy]

My reviews from my trip in March of last year

First day-
Columbia Harbor House: Vegetarian Chili-I had great veggie chili at DCA in August, so I was hopeful, but this was blah.
Snack-Dole Whip-My first! Very good.
Dinner: Earl of Sandwich-I had a caprese sandwich, which I loved, and the lemonade.

Second day:
Riverside food court: Kids pancakes, no meat. Good, although I seem to remember them being Mickey-shaped four years ago.
Alfredo's: the eponymous fettuccine-holy __. Quite possibly one of the best meals I've had in my life. High recommended.
Lefse in Norway: Not good. Blah. Basically a tortilla with cinnamon sugar.
Dinner: Tossed salad at Pecos Bill's. Good, not great.

Third day:
Riverside Food court: Croissant. Very good.
Lunch: Kids' quesadilla at Pizzafari. Not good.
Dinner: Fantasmic dinner package at Mama Melrose's. Mixed Greens Salad (ok, I'm not a mixed greens fan), Four Cheese Flatbread (great!), Eggplant Napoleon (great), Tiramisu (good). I also had good sangria. I was glad I did the dinner, as I got a lot of food, and Fantasmic was packed (this was on March 20, the previous few Fantasmics had been cancelled). It is a hike to the seats, though.

Fourth day:
Riverside food court: Croissant. Good.
Planet Hollywood: Pasta Pomodoro. It was great. I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I love PH.
Riverside food court: Cheese pizza. It was good, but could have been sliced better.

Fifth day:
Chef Mickey's: Very good food, I loved the biscuits, but my waitress did a poor job. Characters were good though. This has been the highlight of my nephews trips though, so I'm hesitant to write it off.
Boma (Dinner): Fabulous. Great carrot ginger soup, falafel. Highly recommended.

Sixth day:
Popcorn: I had MK popcorn for breakfast. I will never be a role model.
Lunch: Veggie Panini at Tony's. I liked it, and Tony's has great atmosphere.

[LuvMyBoys]

My reviews from my trip in March of last year

First day-
Columbia Harbor House: Vegetarian Chili-I had great veggie chili at DCA in August, so I was hopeful, but this was blah.
Snack-Dole Whip-My first! Very good.
Dinner: Earl of Sandwich-I had a caprese sandwich, which I loved, and the lemonade.

Second day:
Riverside food court: Kids pancakes, no meat. Good, although I seem to remember them being Mickey-shaped four years ago.
Alfredo's: the eponymous fettuccine-holy __. Quite possibly one of the best meals I've had in my life. High recommended.
Lefse in Norway: Not good. Blah. Basically a tortilla with cinnamon sugar.
Dinner: Tossed salad at Pecos Bill's. Good, not great.

Third day:
Riverside Food court: Croissant. Very good.
Lunch: Kids' quesadilla at Pizzafari. Not good.
Dinner: Fantasmic dinner package at Mama Melrose's. Mixed Greens Salad (ok, I'm not a mixed greens fan), Four Cheese Flatbread (great!), Eggplant Napoleon (great), Tiramisu (good). I also had good sangria. I was glad I did the dinner, as I got a lot of food, and Fantasmic was packed (this was on March 20, the previous few Fantasmics had been cancelled). It is a hike to the seats, though.

Fourth day:
Riverside food court: Croissant. Good.
Planet Hollywood: Pasta Pomodoro. It was great. I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I love PH.
Riverside food court: Cheese pizza. It was good, but could have been sliced better.

Fifth day:
Chef Mickey's: Very good food, I loved the biscuits, but my waitress did a poor job. Characters were good though. This has been the highlight of my nephews trips though, so I'm hesitant to write it off.
Boma (Dinner): Fabulous. Great carrot ginger soup, falafel. Highly recommended.

Sixth day:
Popcorn: I had MK popcorn for breakfast. I will never be a role model.
Lunch: Veggie Panini at Tony's. I liked it, and Tony's has great atmosphere.


:rotfl: Too funny!! I'm lovin' all of the reviews! Keep 'em coming!

[speechteachri]

Here are the rest of our Table Service Reviews. We were NOT on the Dining plan for this part of our trip. The bulk of these meals was paid for through Giftcards earned through SR!!!!:cooldance:

7/15/07 Rainforest Cafe-DTD-lunch

Food-above Average
Atmosphere-excellent
service-excellent

We had never eaten here before. I had made ressies at AK for RC, but we changed our plans and went to the DTD location instead. I took advice of lots of folks and went to a relatively local location ahead of time and signed up for the Safari Club about a month before our trip. I was EXTREMELY glad I did!! The "stand by" wait was around 2 hours long, but we used our Safari Club "fastpass" and were seated within about 15 minutes!! Definately worth the $ to join!!!!!
We were seated right next to a beautiful aquarium. Couldn't have had a better location, and our waitress was awesome. DD had a HUGE Icee in a collector cup...that went over big! Also she was able to order from the kids menu at RC, which was nice, because while on the dining plan she was considered an adult at 10 years old, and had WAY too much food for her! She got a kids meal, I had a sandwich, and dh had a burger, I think. Everything was great, and we really enjoyed ourselves! Definately don't bring really little kids who might be afraid of the thunder, and don't go if you want a quiet meal. We paid using 2 giftcards, and had a great time!

7/18/07 Whispering Canyon Cafe lunch

food-above average
atmosphere-average/above average
service-average/above average

We decided to go to WCC partly to check out Wilderness Lodge. Took the boat over from MK, which was enjoyable. WCC was not really what I expected. I didn't expect it to be open to the lobbly like it was. Anyway, that wasn't a problem or anything...just didn't expect that.

We did have one big issue at Wcc...We got seated and got our drinks delivered without a problem, and we were right next to a very large party who had several tables put together. When the waitress came over to their table they were all really squished in, so she offered to move the tables aroud a bit to fit them better. Well this was fine for them, but we got very jostled in the process, and ended up squeezed in right next to them with absolutely no room to spare. DD couldn't push her chair out or move AT ALL!We had to ask to move to another table, which we did with no problem. We just felt that they should have asked us if we minded moving ahead of time, with all this jostling going on, and saved us having to ask, and being made to feel like we were a problem.

Once we were moved, things went smoothly. DH got the skillet lunch, which he liked (we all ate his cornbread), I had the pulled pork sandwich, which was huge, and very good, and DD was able to order from the kids menu with no questions asked, which was a big plus! No shenannigans by our waiter. He was very polite and attentive, but not fun like many of the other servers were with the other tables. We did do the pony thing, and played along with the rest of the place as things took place, but nothing fun at our table at all.

Summary: Good food and relatively fun place. We enjoyed looking around WL, but will probably not eat there again.

7/19/07 Sci-Fi Dine in Theater (MGM)-lunch

Food-excellent
atmosphere-excellent
service-excellent

We loved Sci-FI!! I noticed someone earlier in the thread didn't have a good review, but we really enjoyed it! I had a burger, which was awesome!! DH really enjoyed his reuben, and DD was able to order from the kids menu and got a hot dog. We all ordered a shake (dd's oreo one was to die for, but ours were good too!) Our waiter was very cool and joked around with us a lot. DD sat in the front seat and got her driver's license from the waiter after some bantering back and forth.

Summary: We love Sci-fi and will definately go back!!!!

7/20/07 Chef Mickey's breakfast
(check-out day, boo-hoo, our only scheduled breakfast)

food-excellent
atmosphere-above average/excellent
service-excellent
character interaction-above average/excellent

Great food choices and all done well, we left very full!! We were seated in the main room, which was great for our first visit here. Characters were good with the exception of Mickey...he was a dud! DH joked around with Donald quite a bit and that was fun. 5 characters, so we thought that was cool. One of the cast members gave DD 2 cast Tink pins on our way out...that was definately a hit!

We will definately do this one again!! It was a great way to send us on our way and to end our Disney trip for this time around!!


Hope the review are helpful to someone...I will post counter service reviews later.

[LuvMyBoys]

Great reviews! I'm glad to hear that the food at WCC is good, I was worried that it would be based more on atmosphere than food.

I'm not telling the kids anything about the antics there, hopefully that way no one will get their hopes up if they don't happen.

The boys are excited to go there b/c they think it looks like a "real" cowboy restaurant :rotfl:

[fourfoxesinpa]

I know this is a Disney restaurant board but I must say that we just spent some time at Universal IOA and had lunch at Mythos. Undescribably delish! The shrimp tempura sushi appetizer was to die for and then I had a pork tenderloin with pistachio and (I think) raspberry crumbly, crunchy topping. Came with a risotto that was SO GOOD! I wanted to try this restaurant since it's been rated the best theme park restaurant for 3 or 4 years straight and it didn't disappoint. It surpassed any meal I've ever had at Disney.

The atmosphere was great - themed like a cave in Atlantis or some other mythical place. Park was pretty empty so we were seated immediately and served promptly. Will definitely eat there again if we go to IOA.

[mjjmbnmm]

7/12/07 Liberty Tree Tavern

Food-Just barely average
Atmosphere-Average
Service-Above average
Character Interaction-I voted average only, DD and DH thought it was a little better than that.

Summary: Other character dinners are better. Save your money on this one. We will not go back.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm surprised you didn't have better character interaction, we have eaten 5 times and it has always been great, the character always spend a good amount of time and 3 of the times have come around twice. Once we had Meiko take one of our rolls and stick it in his ear, my dd's were cracking up.

[andrea2289]

Our all-time favorites are:

Columbia Harbor House - Great CS - We love the tuna sandwich and clam chowder - Make s a nice light lunch

Peco's Bill Cafe - Yummy Burgers - I love a good burger and I really like the fixins bar

Maya Grill - We really loved this place. My husband and son loved the duck. Our appetizers were awesome. I got the seafood skillet (gulf shrimp, baby clams & mussels in a zesty tomato and garlic sauce served in a mini cast iron skillet with bread for dipping) OMG awesome! This was my favorite appetizer of the trip. My husband and son LOVED the duck (duck confit in mole sauce) and the deep fried cheesecake was a family favorite. They also serve flatbread with an awesome chimichurri sauce that I could have ate with a spoon it was so good.

Wolfgang Puck Cafe - I got the crab cakes, which were great! The calamari here was also very good, nice and lightly fried and not greasy at all. I order the pumpkin ravioli and can see what everyone raves about...it was amazing. My husband got the sushi, which was very good, very fresh and nicely prepared. None of us were blown away by the desserts here, but everything else was so good that we didn't mind at all.

Wolfgang Puck Express - This is a family favorite. We have never ordered anything we didn't like. Pizzas are awesome, the sandwiches are awesome, the pasta is awesome...we love this place!

Narcoossee's - We had high expectations for this one and they were all surpassed. Awesome in everyway. Service was great; cocktails (fun fancy 'Florida' drinks) were yummy. We ordered mussels, crab cakes, calamari and chowder for our appetizers and they were all wonderful. The mussels were impressive, served in a cool bowl with lots of garlic wine butter to sop up... We all ordered the surf and turf, and it was wonderful other than the lobster being slightly overcooked. Our favorite dessert of the whole trip was here...the Almond-crusted Cheesecake with Lambert Cherry Sauce...OMG is all I can say! We went back again (not on the dining plan) and went here just for dessert to have this again.

I am making myself hungry...I want to go back!!

[mseg16222]

I love hearing the dining reviews but some of mine may change with all of the changes and cost increases to the dining plan

[Alice28]

We were there for 13 nights in June. I will do my best to report what I ate- I can't remember what everyone else ate!

Benihana- DtD Hilton- we love Benihana. It's a family favorite. I had the chicken and shrimp combo with the fried rice. Love it!

Columbia Harbour House- we went here twice for lunch. I had the tuna sandwich both times, and it's soooo yummy. My kids had chicken strips, and they like the honey mustard dip and the grapes for sides.

Blue Zoo- this was a highlight of our meals. We loved it. I had Corvina, which is a white fish, and I had the lobster sauce. It was to die for fresh and tasty. DH had grouper, and the kids shared spaghetti and a flatbread pizza- they thought the spaghetti was SO GOOD. The pizza was 'eh. But the service was a highlight- extremely attentive and friendly- we were afraid it might be too snooty for a family of 5 (our kids are 10, 7 and 3). Not at all- we even sought out the management to compliment the server and the food.

Lotus Blossom (China CS)- yucky- move on. Esp if you have to sit outside when it's SUPER hot. We split several meals of orange/sweet sour chicken, and some noodles. It just wasn't that good. I wanted it to be, but it wasn't.

Garden Grill- I will say the character interaction is super! You will get to meet each character (Mickey, Pluto, Chip, Dale) several times over. The service was sub-par. As was most of the food items. I thought the steak was too salty, the fish was pretty bland but OK. I didn't eat the chicken. The potatoes were very salty. The salad was great, as were the biscuits. The dessert- a strawberry puff pastry was fine. The kids got chicken nuggets and a few other sides- not enough was brought, and we had to wait a good 15-20 minutes for more to come- that's a long time for a restaurant like this! And the restaurant was broken! It wasn't revolving and no apologies were made for this- we got, 'yeah, it's brokie', from the seater. :confused:

Yak n Yeti- this was OK. Decent service. Tasty food. Nothing spectacular. I had the honeyed chicken, the portion could have been a bit bigger IMO. It was very good. I shared a few pieces with my kids, who split some noodle dish. DH had soup and pot stickers. My parents had chinese chicken salad which they said was just OK.

Narcoossee's- this was good. Service was very good and efficient. We love the crab cakes here. I had the filet which was quite good- I liked the potatoes! DH had the surf and turf- his steak was way overcooked, which he showed the waitress- it was immediately ammended by the chef, who personally apologized (he ordered it medium rare and it came out well). Which was nice. We love the desserts here- the key lime creme brulee is TDF.

Wolfgang Puck Restaurant- this was OK. We backed out of Boma at the last minute cause we couldn't make our ressie on time. So this was a backup plan. I had pizza which was fine. kids had spaghetti and meatballs, which they liked. DH had some sort of steak which was OK. the bread here is great! They also had some white choc cheesecake which was AMAZING. I could only eat a couple bites, but WOW. I might go here again, might not.

California Grill- man, I had HIGH hopes for this place. They screwed up my reservation and could 'see me' on the list, but yet, I wasn't. I had to wait for upstairs to 'grant permission' for the seater to seat us. It was really awkward. First off- food was GREAT. We had an onion flatbread to share- totally good. I had the filet which was sooo tender. Very good. It was the service that was just 'eh. Not very attentive, nor friendly. Just felt snooty-tooty to me. It really threw off the experience. :( I think we had some sort of molten chocolate thing for dessert- which was very good. Don't know if I will go back.

le Cellier- yep, steak again. I had a NY this time. And this time, the service was impressive. Which says a lot because we were a party of 15. I had some chocolate moose for dessert which was cute and yummy.

Backlot Express (DHS)- this is good for a counter service at this park. Good choices. I had a salad and it was tasty. They also have burgers, hot dogs, chicken and a wrap.

Akershus- we went for dinner. Princess interaction- A+. Food- not good at all. I had a kjottkaker, which is sort of a meatball- I did not care for it AT ALL. And the desserts were 'eh as well. But you're there for princess action, and that, we got! DH took my boys to Biergarten and they had fun there and the food was fine.

Cosmic Rays- we love the fixins bar here- I have to get a burger! DH got the ribs and chicken combo- he said the ribs were inedible, but the chicken was really good.

Cape May Cafe- I love this place! Great food (for dinner), big variety, casual atmosphere. They need to work on how to better get people thru the food lines, but other than that, zero complaints. I will be back! Oreo bon bons rock!

Pizza Planet- atrociously slow service. OK pizza, I like that you can get a side salad. We had cookies or rice krispy bars to set aside for a later snack as our desserts.

Earl of Sandwich- one word- YUMMY. cAnnot go wrong here- it's scrumptious.

More in a bit-

[cglaura]

...Benihana- DtD Hilton- we love Benihana. It's a family favorite. I had the chicken and shrimp combo with the fried rice. Love it! ...

Temporarily hijacking thread ... sorry! Ok, all my years going to WDW and didn't even know about this! I've always wanted to eat there. I'm guessing I can take the bus to DTD, then walk across to the Hilton? Is there any dress code, or just nice/casual? Do you need to make a ressie? I'm a Benihana virgin :o TIA!

[Alice28]

Temporarily hijacking thread ... sorry! Ok, all my years going to WDW and didn't even know about this! I've always wanted to eat there. I'm guessing I can take the bus to DTD, then walk across to the Hilton? Is there any dress code, or just nice/casual? Do you need to make a ressie? I'm a Benihana virgin :o TIA!

I would make a ressie- not 6 months in advance like Disney, but at least a couple of weeks to get the time you want. It's really a popular place! Yes, take the bus to DtD and walk across the street to the Hilton. It's right off the lobby. No dress code- you could go in shorts and a tshirt if you want to, or nicer garb too (but I wouldn't dress up). Enjoy! We looooovvveee Beni'haha (as my kids call it). I personally like it better than Epcot's Teppan. And you must get the fried rice!

[Alice28]

The Mara- we went here one night cause we wanted to check out AKL. WOW- we love this place and want to stay here someday. So beautiful. And the Mara is a fantastic counter service- tons of choices!!!! I had fried shrimp, which were tasty! The kids had a big giant flatbread pizza, and we had bananas, chips for sides. And we got ice cream bars for our dessert (just ask if you can get these after you're done eating, so they won't melt).

Tusker House character breakfast- OK- if you're gonna do this, get your ADR EARLY. It was FANTASTIC to not have to wait in line with the HOARDES to get into AK and walking back to Africa ALONE was amazing. I'll remember that for a long time. Tons of food choices, although very crowded. By the time I got my kids' plates together and I could sit down to eat, my food was cold. :( It took a long time to shuffle through some of the hot food areas. Tons of variety though, and it was a fun place. Great characters- my kids LOVED this the most. Goofy, DONALD, Daisy, and Mickey. Best of all- if you want, when AK opens- just send someone out in your party to go swipe FPs for the Safari and beat the crowds if you're not done eating.

Kona Cafe- we love Kona! I've eaten dinner here 4 times and it's never disappointed. I think I had the prime rib and it was tasty. I asked for rice instead of potatoes, cause I was SICK of potatoes. I shared the chocolate fondue with my mom (I let my son have my dessert credit - we were short a TS credit, so I paid OOP for his burger)....this was SO GOOD. My mom was practically licking the bowl. I loved the fruit with it, and some macaroons hit the spot.

Tangerine Cafe- this is fantastic! I had a chicken wrap/gyro and it was soooo light and tasty- I loved it. And interesting sides- sure beats fries or carrot sticks. I highly recommend this!

Flame Tree BBQ- oh man, they were having an OFF day here. Service was so slow, I actually complained, and I rarely do that. I don't know what the problem was, but they just could not get orders together. We had ribs, fruit and chicken. All of it tasted good, but it took probably close to 25 minutes to get our food, and I only had ONE person in front of me! :mad: And they still forgot some of our stuff, so I had to go back and get it (dessert and a water bottle).

USA counter service- this was 'eh. We went here cause dad wanted a turkey leg, and the rest of us wanted A/C! So he got a turkey leg at the outside vending cart, and we went inside and had a variety of items- salads, burgers, chicken. It's OK. Nothing bad, nothing great, but it IS inside with air conditioning!

Crystal Palace dinner- man, I love the food here. I just do. The ancho rubbed salmon is one of my FAVORITE dishes in ALL of WDW. It's delicious. I also loved their 'puri puri' broccoli and their garlic mashed potatoes. I seriously had an entire plate of just these 3 items. I also like their salads and dressings, as well as their rolls. Their desserts are just 'blah', but I had a funnel cake later. :p The character interaction is fun- Pooh and Pals. And they brought out a cupcake for my son, and decorated our table with confetti, as it was his bday the next day (I told him it was this day, as the next day we were leaving).

Pecos Bills- this used to be my favorite CS at MK. No more. It doesn't have good choices for kids, IMO. I think it was either a sloppy joe or a grilled chicken salad. :rolleyes: I got the younger two corn dogs and apples from a cart across the way. I had the grilled chicken salad- this used to have a fantastic lime dressing- no longer. Icky. And no more Peanut Butter mousse cake! So, I am afraid we won't be back for awhile.

Boardwalk bakery- we got a few pastries here, all good. We got some sandwiches for the airplane- I didn't think they were that good. I did get a fruit plate here a couple times (we had extra CS credits as my DH had to leave 4 days earlier than us) for breakfast- this is great! Plenty of fresh, tasty fruit for all of us to share.

Favorite snacks- funnel cake. Yum- big plate o' doughy fried goodness. Get at Sleepy Hollow for a snack credit. (in MK). Dole Whip swirl. This big giant caramel/marshmellow dipped in chocolate- wow this was good. Got at one of the candy shops. Lemon tart in France bakery.

Favorite drinks- the Grand Marnier slush from France kiosk. Huckleberry martini at WL bar.

[3dog2kidmom]

The Mara- we went here one night cause we wanted to check out AKL. WOW- we love this place and want to stay here someday. So beautiful. And the Mara is a fantastic counter service- tons of choices!!!! I had fried shrimp, which were tasty! The kids had a big giant flatbread pizza, and we had bananas, chips for sides. And we got ice cream bars for our dessert (just ask if you can get these after you're done eating, so they won't melt).


Thanks for your reviews, Robin. I have to agree with you about Garden Grill (except the thing was not "brokie" when we went, lol!).

Question about The Mara since we are staying at AKL in January... did you use CS credits? Did you get a side & dessert with the flatbread? I am trying to figure out if 4 can share 2 CS credits for lunch here one day since we have an early dinner.

I also concur about Crystal Palace dinner and also the Grand Marnier slush! I'll have to check out the Huckleberry Martini next trip ;)

[LuvMyBoys]

Yay a new review, thanks for sharing Robin!! :clap:

Okay, where are the corn dogs and how much are they? I would love this info as DS5 is a corn dog fanatic and I didn't see them on any of the CS menus!:eek:

My sis and I loved Narcoosee's when we went. She had the crab cakes - so good! She got the surf and turf which is a bit over-rated in my opinion. I got the scallops with rissoto and they were amazing! Our server was absolutely wonderful too - I'm glad to hear that you had a good server and didn't feel out of place with kids there. I am SO hoping to go there next year with DH and all the kids. I really wanted to go this trip but with the new baby I think it is too risky! :blush:

Oh, and to end our dinner I ordered a press pot of coffee (my drink on the DDP since I had water during dinner) and they brought out homemade macaroons to go with it - SO GOOD!! :love:

I also appreciate your review of Cape May, we are heading there for dinner in just over 3 weeks and I was a little concerned about whether or not it would be good. We have our ADR right when they open so I hope the food is fresh and the lines not too bad at that time.

My brother's favorite TS ended up being Tusker House, which totally shocked me. But after your review and the review on Allears, we are definitely going to have to give it a try soon!

Thanks so much for sharing, I really enjoyed reading the reviews! :sunshine:

[Alice28]

Thanks for your reviews, Robin. I have to agree with you about Garden Grill (except the thing was not "brokie" when we went, lol!).

Question about The Mara since we are staying at AKL in January... did you use CS credits? Did you get a side & dessert with the flatbread? I am trying to figure out if 4 can share 2 CS credits for lunch here one day since we have an early dinner.

I also concur about Crystal Palace dinner and also the Grand Marnier slush! I'll have to check out the Huckleberry Martini next trip ;)


I should have elaborated on our Mara experience- this was a couple nights before we left, and we started with 55 snack credits, of which we had used maybe 15-20 by this night. :cool: So I think I used 4 of them to get 2 bags of chips and 2 bananas. There were sides offered with the shrimp- I was frazzled as I was by myself with the 3 kids (DH had gone home and Mom and Dad were eating somewhere else)- I took the fries, but I'm sure there were other choices. No sides offered with the pizza. You DO get the dessert with the flatbread though as a CS offering. So basically my kids got 2 drinks, 2 flatbreads (to share between the 3 of them), 2 ice cream bars and I got 1 drink, shrimp platter and ice cream bar, for 3 counter service credits. Clear as mud? :D

[Alice28]

Yay a new review, thanks for sharing Robin!! :clap:

Okay, where are the corn dogs and how much are they? I would love this info as DS5 is a corn dog fanatic and I didn't see them on any of the CS menus!:eek:

My sis and I loved Narcoosee's when we went. She had the crab cakes - so good! She got the surf and turf which is a bit over-rated in my opinion. I got the scallops with rissoto and they were amazing! Our server was absolutely wonderful too - I'm glad to hear that you had a good server and didn't feel out of place with kids there. I am SO hoping to go there next year with DH and all the kids. I really wanted to go this trip but with the new baby I think it is too risky! :blush:

Oh, and to end our dinner I ordered a press pot of coffee (my drink on the DDP since I had water during dinner) and they brought out homemade macaroons to go with it - SO GOOD!! :love:

I also appreciate your review of Cape May, we are heading there for dinner in just over 3 weeks and I was a little concerned about whether or not it would be good. We have our ADR right when they open so I hope the food is fresh and the lines not too bad at that time.

My brother's favorite TS ended up being Tusker House, which totally shocked me. But after your review and the review on Allears, we are definitely going to have to give it a try soon!

Thanks so much for sharing, I really enjoyed reading the reviews! :sunshine:

If you go out the 'front door' of Pecos Bills, there are several Frontierland kiosks across the way. One of them has corn dogs for sale. You can also get a corn dog on the Boardwalk.

We were there at Cape May at opening and I think that's what the problem was (first of all, we were a party of 25, so that's part of it too). EVERYONE was trying to get their food all at the same time .Versus if you come at say, 6:30, some people are still eating at their table, some already ate and are almost done, some are getting dessert, etc. Getting there at 5:30 means everyone wants their food at the same time. However, all the food was super fresh, and I did notice a CM trying to organize the lines about 20 minutes into our dinner.

Don't worry about a baby at Narcoossee's! I would say at least 1/3 of the tables had children of varying ages. My kids were very well behaved (thank goodness) because they had the coloring, there is Bay Lake to look at, and the MK/Contemporary, boats and they keep the meal paced at a good clip.

:sunshine:

[LuvMyBoys]

If you go out the 'front door' of Pecos Bills, there are several Frontierland kiosks across the way. One of them has corn dogs for sale. You can also get a corn dog on the Boardwalk.

We were there at Cape May at opening and I think that's what the problem was (first of all, we were a party of 25, so that's part of it too). EVERYONE was trying to get their food all at the same time .Versus if you come at say, 6:30, some people are still eating at their table, some already ate and are almost done, some are getting dessert, etc. Getting there at 5:30 means everyone wants their food at the same time. However, all the food was super fresh, and I did notice a CM trying to organize the lines about 20 minutes into our dinner.

Don't worry about a baby at Narcoossee's! I would say at least 1/3 of the tables had children of varying ages. My kids were very well behaved (thank goodness) because they had the coloring, there is Bay Lake to look at, and the MK/Contemporary, boats and they keep the meal paced at a good clip.

:sunshine:


Thanks Robin, my son will appreciate the info in his quest for a corndog!:)

[shmily1]

First and probably most important concerning food, I had heard that Handy Manny was to be at H & V starting on May 9th so I booked that for breakfast so that DGS9months could see him. He loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny!! On May 11, we went to H & V for breakfast at 8:10, which is a great time to go since there is hardly anyone there and you can walk right down the middle of DHS without many people being there (like us and two others!) and it's an awesome feeling! We got to DHS about 7:50, got through security, and was at H & V about 8:00. We were seated less than 5 minutes later. The service at H & V was great! Our server was Charlie and he was very attentive. The food was the normal breakfast food with chorizo and eggs added in and everyone in our group thought the food was great. We all left stuffed and ready for a big day of watching Playhouse Disney over and over and over!! (You'll do anything for a grandchild!) :cooldance:

Back to the characters. First we saw JoJo. DGS wasn't sure about him but he interacted with him anyway. Then Leo came over. He was warming up by this time and was ok with him. Then June came over... he was terrified of her. He didn't look like it to her face but would turn and look at us like he was about to mess up his britches!! This was all before we ever got a plate! We got our food and sat back down and Handy Manny came over. He loved him!!! By this time, it was time for the singing and dancing so we took DGS over to that area and wouldn't you know it, they sang the Hot Dog song!! DGS was just beside himself! The characters came back around again--he was still terrified of June!-- and we stayed for one more round of the singing and dancing. We were out of H & V by 9:05 and were off to TSM. I would definitely do this again and again! Well, maybe I would hide him in the bathroom when June came by next time!:D

The other thing I wanted to tell you was that when we ate at Pinnochio Village House, there was an added menu item that wasn't on the menu but on a piece of paper on the cash register. It was chicken parmegian with orzo. I'm a fool for some rice so of course I had to try it! :blush: It was awesome!! I would highly recommend it! I forgot to take pictures of it or I'd post them but it was a plate full and was great tasting.

Here's a pic of Manny with DD and DGS.

[LuvMyBoys]

First and probably most important concerning food, I had heard that Handy Manny was to be at H & V starting on May 9th so I booked that for breakfast so that DGS9months could see him. He loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny!! On May 11, we went to H & V for breakfast at 8:10, which is a great time to go since there is hardly anyone there and you can walk right down the middle of DHS without many people being there (like us and two others!) and it's an awesome feeling! We got to DHS about 7:50, got through security, and was at H & V about 8:00. We were seated less than 5 minutes later. The service at H & V was great! Our server was Charlie and he was very attentive. The food was the normal breakfast food with chorizo and eggs added in and everyone in our group thought the food was great. We all left stuffed and ready for a big day of watching Playhouse Disney over and over and over!! (You'll do anything for a grandchild!) :cooldance:

Back to the characters. First we saw JoJo. DGS wasn't sure about him but he interacted with him anyway. Then Leo came over. He was warming up by this time and was ok with him. Then June came over... he was terrified of her. He didn't look like it to her face but would turn and look at us like he was about to mess up his britches!! This was all before we ever got a plate! We got our food and sat back down and Handy Manny came over. He loved him!!! By this time, it was time for the singing and dancing so we took DGS over to that area and wouldn't you know it, they sang the Hot Dog song!! DGS was just beside himself! The characters came back around again--he was still terrified of June!-- and we stayed for one more round of the singing and dancing. We were out of H & V by 9:05 and were off to TSM. I would definitely do this again and again! Well, maybe I would hide him in the bathroom when June came by next time!:D

The other thing I wanted to tell you was that when we ate at Pinnochio Village House, there was an added menu item that wasn't on the menu but on a piece of paper on the cash register. It was chicken parmegian with orzo. I'm a fool for some rice so of course I had to try it! :blush: It was awesome!! I would highly recommend it! I forgot to take pictures of it or I'd post them but it was a plate full and was great tasting.

Here's a pic of Manny with DD and DGS.



Thanks for the review!! I love the little tips about specials at CS restaurants and info on the character meals! :sunshine:

My little girl is about to turn 2 next month and she is addicted to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! It is the only tv show she watches and she loves it! So do the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters show up at the H&V breakfast?

I wonder when they are going to retire Jojo and Leo, are they even on Playhouse Disney anymore? :confused: I bet most kids don't even know who they are!

That is so cool about the Hot Dog song -- my daughter would love that too :sunshine:

Thanks for sharing with us!

[momof3lovebugs]

Seriously not the best thread to be hanging out in when you just join weight watchers! :rotfl:

[shmily1]

Thanks for the review!! I love the little tips about specials at CS restaurants and info on the character meals! :sunshine:

My little girl is about to turn 2 next month and she is addicted to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! It is the only tv show she watches and she loves it! So do the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters show up at the H&V breakfast?

I wonder when they are going to retire Jojo and Leo, are they even on Playhouse Disney anymore? :confused: I bet most kids don't even know who they are!

That is so cool about the Hot Dog song -- my daughter would love that too :sunshine:

Thanks for sharing with us!

I don't think JoJo is on Playhouse Disney anymore. DGS sure didn't know who they are by the look on his face. I sure wish I could have captured some of those looks we got when June was with him! :rotfl:

The MMC characters are not at H & V but they do sing the song from the beginning of the show as well as the Hot Dog Song. Usually, when we are at home watching that and those songs come on, we dance around while I hold him. When we were there, his mama was holding him and he looked at me like "why isn't she dancing?"

I hope your DD gets to see it soon! It is sooo much fun--especially if you do the PHD shows during the day!! Oh, and something about that, there's one girl that is great and one that's just so so... she bored me.:rolleyes:

[shmily1]

Seriously not the best thread to be hanging out in when you just join weight watchers! :rotfl:

:rotfl: I'm already a WW flunky!! I only made it for my first three months and I only lost 2 lbs!! I figured they were just laughing when I went to weigh!! I did go to all the meetings though and was only signed up for the first three months anyway.

[momof3lovebugs]

:rotfl: I'm already a WW flunky!! I only made it for my first three months and I only lost 2 lbs!! I figured they were just laughing when I went to weigh!! I did go to all the meetings though and was only signed up for the first three months anyway.

the first time I did it I lost 17lbs so i know it works IF you stick with the program which I intend to this time.I have NO intention of going to wdw and being confused for Jabba while I'm on Star Tours. ;)

[shmily1]

the first time I did it I lost 17lbs so i know it works IF you stick with the program which I intend to this time.I have NO intention of going to wdw and being confused for Jabba while I'm on Star Tours. ;)

I found out what my problem was--I could never find fried chicken fingers on the zero points list!! I love chicken fingers but more than that, I love Coke Classic!! I think I would have cut back on those, but at the first meeting, we were talking among a group of my friends and I was looking at the books when I discovered that my drinks were 3 points each... I only had 20 points per day and drink more than that in a day!! We were discussing this and laughing that I couldn't eat anything for the next three months and this woman sitting there listening to us said in a smart voice "Oh no!! You HAVE to give those up!! You can't be drinking those!!" That pretty much set the tone for the rest of my membership....:rolleyes: