Dining Reviews: 9/2-9/9 with pictures! (UPDATED 10/18 - WPE and LTT)

[Cloudless Nights]

So right now I'm suffering from PDD (post-Disney depression), but I thought that writing a food report will help me remember the magic! :thumbsup2

The cast:

Moi: teenager, planner extraordinare. Will try anything once, though I am picky about what I will actually eat.

DM: my mom. She is just about as picky as me, and she's less open to sampling different foods--but I made her eat them anyway. *evil laugh* :rotfl2:

DF: my dad. Will eat absolutely ANYTHING, even if he doesn't know what it is. :eek:


Table Service (all dinners)
Coral Reef (page 1)
Boma (page 2)
Liberty Tree Tavern (page 2)
Cape May Café
Le Cellier
Crystal Palace
Mama Melrose's (Fantasmic! package)

Counter Service
Old Port Royale food court (breakfast and lunch)
Backlot Express
Wolfgang Puck Express (in the Marketplace)
Flame Tree Barbeque
Sunshine Seasons
Pecos Bill's

Snacks will be interpersed in the reviews also.

First up: OPR and Coral Reef!

[milmore104]

CAn't wait to hear them. glad you had a good trip!

[sandybobandy]

I'm signing on! :)

[momtoccc]

I am waiting too! :surfweb:

[Schucraig]

looking foward to your reviews!:)

[Minniespal]

Looking forward to reading you reviews.

[my3disneygirls]

Can't wait.

[Laren]

so curious to read since our trips were at the same time and we ate all different places than you did! LOL I can't wait to read about the places we didn't go to think about them for next trip!

Laren

[TigerKat]

I'm in!!!

[Cloudless Nights]

So sorry for the delay, folks. Life caught up with me for a moment. :headache:

On with the reviews...

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Our plane landed at MCO at 1:14PM, and we arrived at CBR STARVING around 3:00PM. The check-in went quickly and smoothly--though the CM checking us in was a little less than enthusiastic--so we went directly to our room--Martinique 2437. It was beautiful, but we were so hungry we just dropped our bags off and went straight to OPR. This was our first time staying at CBR, so we didn't know what to expect.

But we loved the whole set-up of the food court. IMHO, it is more efficient than the Riverside Mill (we usually stay at POR). We got quickly in line.

BTW, we had free dining! :cool1:

Our orders:

DM: cheese pizza with salad, fruit cup, and water
DD: cheese pizza with salad, chocolate cake, and water
ME: pepperoni pizza, chocolate cake, and water

Sorry I don't have any pictures for this one, but the pizza didn't stay on our plates long. :rotfl2: We all ate the pizza--which was extremely fresh and hot--took the waters to go, and stored the salads and desserts in our handy dandy room fridge. Overall the meal was delicious, but the salads turned very fast,

The food court was a tad crowded, but the lines moved fast and the tables turned over quickly, so no complaints!

OPR lunch: 3 counter service credits
Grade: B+


Now, onto the Coral Reef. I had been trying (unsuccessfully) for weeks to score any kind of ADR at CR since I learned about the diver/personalized menu. About three weeks prior to our trip, I was able to nab a cancellation for 6:10 on Sept. 2! I was so excited. I called up the restaurant as soon as I got an ADR and left a message requesting the diver sign/menus. Yvette called me back and left a message the next day around 1:00PM and gave me her e-mail to send the info and pictures to. I asked her to send me back a confirmation e-mail, but she never did. Still, she did everything perfectly. Got a tankside (!) table, got the personalized menus, and the diver. She even wrote SURPRISE on our seating receipt thing so everything would be extra special. So thank you, Yvette!

Arrived: 5:45PM
Seated: 6:25PM
Actual ADR Time: 6:10PM

We arrived early, and had to sit on the floor for a while before a seat on the bench opened up. They really need a new set-up in that way. But we didn't have to wait that long after our ADR time.

Kevin was our waiter and was exceptional. He took our appetizer, entree, and dessert orders all at once, but everything was brought out in a timely manner. He was there when we needed him, and yet didn't hover.

DD got this drink. I forget what the name was, but I think it was something like "Octopus Cooler." I believe it was a very tropical drink with two different kinds of rum in it, but don't quote me on that. Both DD and DM thought it was delicious--so much so that DD was tired of sharing and ordered one for DM as well! :lmao:

http://i24.tinypic.com/29wk80l.jpg


And now what you have all been waiting for: FOOD PORN!

My appetizer: Sea and Land - Grilled shrimp with cucumber salad and BBQ beef skewer with creamy polenta $9.49

http://i21.tinypic.com/2nu7m1v.jpg

The shrimp was tasty, and although I didn't really like the sauce on the beef, it was still pretty good if you wiped some of it. The polenta was good, but I HATED the cucumber salad. It tasted more like seaweed than cucumbers.


DD's appetizer: Creamy Lobster Soup - chervil, brandy $6.99

http://i24.tinypic.com/24dqadt.jpg

He said there was lots of lobster and devoured it easily. He LOVED it, and he usually doesn't eat all that much lobster.


DM's appetizer: Caesar Salad - with shredded parmesan cheese and croutons $5.99

http://i22.tinypic.com/f9m4br.jpg

The lettuce was big to cut, but she found this Caesar to be superior than the rest served in the World. It was waaaaaaay too big to finish.




My, DD's, and DM's entree: Grilled NY Strip Steak - served with potatoes au gratin, and broccolini $31.99

http://i22.tinypic.com/25ks977.jpg

And no, we didn't order it just because it was the most expensive item on the menu; we are just meat people!

The steak was AMAZING. Seriously. My dad even thought it better than the NY strip he would have later in the week at Le Cellier. It was tender and very flavorful. There was just enough sauce not to overpower it; it brought out the flavors nicely. The broccolini was good, but I just don't like potatoes au gratin. DD and DM said it was tasty, though. The steak was waaaay too big to finish, but I wish I could have--it was THAT good.


My dessert: The Chocolate Wave - with brandied cherries $7.99

http://i22.tinypic.com/123t6ow.jpg

I liked this, though the inside was just too rich for me.

DD's and DM's dessert: Bailey's and Jack Daniel's Mousse - topped with a ganache and chocolate cigar $7.99

http://i20.tinypic.com/2cmq342.jpg

I would have preferred to get this--the flavors blend well together and the chocolate cigar was DELICIOUS.





I haven't got the receipt on hand, but I think it was like $183 for just the three of us! Woah, expensive! :scared1:

If we didn't have FD, we wouldn't have even eaten here, but that is the beauty of the dining plan. It turned out to be the BEST meal of the entire trip! We would eat here again in a heartbeat, if we struck gold. ;)

CR dinner: 3 table service credits
Grade: A+


Next up: Backlot Express and Boma

P.S. Sorry this is sooo long. :laughing:

P.P.S. Let me know if you want to see a picture of the diver.

Thanks for reading!

[gogo65]

I'm in:thumbsup2

More food porn:banana:

[Ciciwoowoo]

:goodvibes I'm enjoying your review, and yes, I'd love to see your pic of the diver!

[MadiMouse]

Keep it coming. Great job so far.

[DLo]

Great job so far. Looking forward to more.

[sherry8253]

Waiting for more! Great job!

[Busymom85]

Great reviews. Thanks. Keep them coming.

[english rose 47]

Count me in!!

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

Great reviews I would love to see the diver. What was the cost for the diver??

[AnninIowa]

Great start!! I love that the Dis has already got you hooked on food reports at a young age!! :thumbsup2

[mzliza3]

WOW! Reading your reviews, I felt like I was reading a restaurant review from a magazine or newspaper!:) Keep up the great work! Hope to see more!:goodvibes

[Booknut]

great start, would love to see photo of diver!!!

[Melisa1]

Great so far, can't wait for more!:)

[ThreeAngels]

Great so far! Can't wait to read more. And now I'm really craving some of that lobster soup. I LOOOOVE that stuff!:love:

[lizzyb]

Great review soo far!

[Cloudless Nights]

Hi again!

Thanks to all of you who have read my ramblings so far. Just so you know, I will probably only be able to post on the weekends because the weekdays are just too hectic for me right now. (I had no school today, so I actually got a LOT of things done--thus, this update!) ;)

The picture of the diver I promised:

http://i24.tinypic.com/sw900z.jpg

It really was amazing, and I can see why they might charge for it next year.

A few more notes that I forgot to include on the CR:

I know people are always pointing out how dark and loud it is in there, but honestly, we found it to be neither. There was just enough light in there to set up the ambience, and although we couldn't hear the music very loudly, we actually found it to be less noisy than other TS we ate at.

Our server, Kevin was EXCELLENT. Best waiter we had all week.

I forgot to take a picture of the bread--probably because it was gone soooo fast. :rotfl: It was so fluffy and warm! And the butter just added to the deliciousness. I may have stuffed a slice or two into my bag for later.:thumbsup2

We were sitting in front of the center tank, also. Just thought I'd mention that.

I believe everyone should give it a try at some time or another, just for the atmosphere, even though the food was to die for too!

Moving on...


Monday, September 3, 2007

AK had morning EMH today, so our original plan was to go there for the whole day. I had originally booked a Boma ADR for 6:20PM. Then I found out about the PPP that day, so I rebooked for the first seating: 4:30PM. And we ended up not even going to AK, because this was the last day Rock 'N' Roller Coaster would be open before the rehab, and we had had no time the night before. So, we went to MGM.

I should note that most days, DD went to food court while I was in the shower and DM was still sleeping. So most of the time, we just got something simple, like a muffin for breakfast. I will include some pictures of those later.

It was EXTREMELY hot this day--probably the hottest day all week, IMHO. We were at MGM for rope drop and were on the first RRC ride of the day. As soon as we got off, we got fastpasses for it, and went on TOT three times in a row--even though this was Labor Day, apparently most people didn't want to get up that early.:confused3 Did some more rides, and were hungry around 11:50. I had already looked up all the menus on allearsnet, and nothing seemed really appealing at most of the MGM CS, so we decided to head to Backlot Express as we were already in that general area.

There is a TON of seating both inside and outside here, but as I said earlier, we needed to sit inside--it was THAT hot. All the tables downstairs where you order were taken, so I headed upstairs to a table near the condiment station while DD and DM ordered.

http://i24.tinypic.com/rcnbqc.jpg

DD: double cheeseburger with french fries, strawberry parfait (no sugar added), Diet Coke
DM: double cheeseburger with carrot sticks, strawberry parfait (no sugar added), Diet Coke
ME: chicken fingers with carrot sticks, marble cheesecake, bottled water

The cheeseburgers and chicken fingers were pretty much the standard kind you can find all over the World. I love chicken fingers anywhere, so this was fine by me. I liked having the option of having two bags of carrot sticks instead of fries--it really breaks up the cycle. The carrots were fresh and crunchy.

Both DM and DD liked their strawberry parfaits and ate the whole thing. They did say the blueberries on top were hard--kind of like frozen but not cold in any way. But they ate them anyway. :rotfl2:

I took the marble cheesecake with me and intended to eat it later, but when I stuck it in the fridge at CBR, I forgot about it. I don't think I ever ate it, so I can't tell you what that was like, sorry. :rotfl:


Backlot Express lunch: 3 counter service credits
Grade: B

After eating, we did a few more rides and headed back to CBR to change--did I mention how hot it was?!--around 1. We had intended to catch a AKL bus directly from MGM, but that didn't work. So DD and DM changed and I stowed my pirate costume in my bag and caught a AK bus. There was no one else on the bus, so when the driver asked if we were going to AK or BB, we answered AKL. ;) He was extremely nice, and called in to wherever the bus drivers call in to, and requested to pick up guests for AKL from AK. So we didn't even have to get off the bus and wait for another one. Thanks bus driver!

We got to AKL around 2:30 and walked around for awhile.

Some pictures of the beautiful resort:

http://i23.tinypic.com/2v9afph.jpg

http://i23.tinypic.com/35au1x2.jpg

Since we got there so early, we had a drink by the pool.

DD's Mai Tai (I think that's what he got.)

http://i20.tinypic.com/2448co3.jpg

There was some arts and crafts going on near the pool so we watched that for awhile, then went in to the Boma lobby to check in around 4:10.

Some people were already milling about, but the hosts at the check-in desk said that no one check in until 4:25, which we all thought was weird. :confused3 So naturally, more people come, and the small lobby was filled with people. And when the clock struck 4:25, a line instantly formed. Of course, DD was one of the last in it.

They gave us a pager at that time, and we waited. The drummers were warming up, and all the servers were getting ready lining up at the entrance to clap when their diners past by. We were eventually seated like fifteen minutes later.

Arrived: 4:11PM
Seated: 4:46PM
Actual ADR time: 4:30PM

With all the talk on these boards about how great Boma is, I really wanted to give it a shot. But honestly, we were all left with a bit of disappointment. DD even says that it was the worst meal of the trip. :eek:

We were seated next to one of the tables near the window, so we had somewhat of a nice view.

Our waiter was inefficient to say the least. I normally give servers the benefit of the doubt, but this guy was just horrible. He didn't show up for almost fifteen minutes after we were seated, and the restaurant had just opened--he didn't even have any other diners yet! We ordered sodas, and somehow he ended up giving me a vodka on the rocks (I am SEVENTEEN!) instead of Sprite. He apologized profusely and offered me a non-alcoholic pina colada free of charge in addition of my soda. I agreed and he even put like ten cherries in it for me--I LOVE cherries. :goodvibes

So after that, we went up to the buffet. Some pictures:

Sorry about the quality in some of these; my camera was on the fritz.

http://i24.tinypic.com/90ordg.jpg
The seafood gumbo. Both DD and DM LOVED this. They said it was piping hot and had just the right amount of seafood. I don't eat any seafood except for shrimp, so I didn't try this.

I tried the potato bacon, and I though it was just okay. Sorry I don't have a picture.

http://i22.tinypic.com/20tmmba.jpg

This is just my first plate, not DD's, DM's, or my second.

The cous cous (on the top right side of this plate) was very good. I've had a lot of cous cous that hasn't been cooked properly, so this was a good change.

The corn on the cob was slightly cold, but still quite good.

I liked the Potatoes with Afritude, although they had too many spices on them for DM.

The chicken tenders were great for me, because once again, I love them. The standard pasta and meatballs were good also.

My favorite thing was the Kool Slaai. I LOVED it. Had just the right amount of mayo--not too much, not too little--and lots of cabbage.

However, I was disappointed in both the chicken and prime rib. I can't tell if you can see in the picture, but the slice of prime rib they cut was dark red. As in, rare dark red. The whole thing he was cutting looked like that. It definitely needed to be cooked more. It was barely warm. The chicken was also undercooked--it was pink. When I went up later, they still had RED meats. So, I went straight to the dessert pod.

http://i24.tinypic.com/205z0us.jpg

I got two sugar cookies, no sugar added chocolate mousse, the famous Zebra Domes. The sugar cookies were just alright--they were kind of hard. The chocolate mousse wasn't bad either. But I was eager to try the Zebra Domes after hearing so much about them. They were good, but I don't see what all the fuss is about. I LOVE chocolate, but these weren't anything spectacular, IMO. I could taste the alcohol in them; it was slightly overpowering, but they still were good nonetheless.

DM didn't even try for dessert, instead going for another round of seafood gumbo. DD liked the little fruit tarts, which I don't have a picture of. :rolleyes1

http://i21.tinypic.com/zxpbmt.jpg

The waiter brought this out for DD and DM. I had it noted on all the ADR's that it was their 25th anniversary (even though it was back in May :upsidedow). They didn't have time to celebrate it back in May, for reasons I won't get into, so I thought they deserved something.

The writing is in chocolate (:cloud9: ), and it was filled with candy and little cookies. I ate all of the gummi bears--little German girl I am--and tried a bit of the cookie, which I didn't like. DD and DM split the rest.

I have to be honest, I wiped the chocolate writing off with my fingers and ate it. :rolleyes:

So after that, it took the waiter another ten minutes or so after giving him the KTTWK to come back and say it didn't work. So I gave him my card, and he disappeared for another five minutes. Needless to say, we left very quickly.

I believe we finally left around 6:10. :eek: Luckily, the first bus to come was the MK, so we still got in before the start of the PPP--which was a blast, BTW!

I don't know, maybe we were just there on an off night, but I don't think we will be returning to Boma any time soon. :confused3

Boma dinner: 3 table service credits
Grade: C

If you have questions, just ask. Once again thanks for reading!

Next up: Wolfgang Puck Express, Goofy's Candy Co., and Liberty Tree Tavern

[momtoccc]

Thanks for sharing these reports :thumbsup2

[Cloudless Nights]

I have extra time today so here is the next update!

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Once again had a muffin from OPR for breakfast--very tasty. We were out and arrived at Epcot for morning EMH at around 8:05AM. Walked onto almost everything.

I had an appointment for myself at the DTD BBB at 4PM. So we went to DTD around 12, and were very hungry so we went to Wolfgang Puck Express--the counter service that I was most anxious to try.

And let me tell you, it didn't disappoint! It was our favorite CS of the whole trip. If you are not familiar with the set-up, you order, and a get a number to put on your table--there are only a few tables inside, so we sat outside under this awning type thing. A waiter brings your drinks and food out on (gasp!) real plates. It was very nice being served on. And they had IBC Root Beer as a drink! :cool1: And you can get free refills, if you go get them yourself. ;)

The food was amazing.

DM: mushroom and pepperoni pizza (this was not on allearsnet--so I don't have the exact description, sorry), brownie, Diet Coke
DD: mushroom and pepperoni pizza, chocolate chip cookie, Diet Coke
ME: some kind of turkey sandwich with chips (like this off of allearsnet - Honey-Smoked Turkey - Succulent sliced white meat turkey, romaine lettuce, tomato, red onions, and mustard-caper sauce $6.95 - but not the same thing [that menu needs to be updated!]), chocolate chip cookie, IBC Root Beer (!)

DD's and DM's entree:

http://i20.tinypic.com/34g3sk6.jpg

They both LOVED this. I don't know if you can tell, but that thing is HUGE. And they each got one--it's not like one for the whole table. DM said it was nice and hot, with just the right amount of pepperoni and mushrooms. All DD had to say was "Mmmmm." :rotfl:

My entree:

http://i22.tinypic.com/154apsk.jpg

This was also very good. The bread was moist and somewhat warm--just how I like it. There was just enough turkey; some places usually overstuff it with turkey. The condiments were also great tasting. The turkey sandwich from the allearsnet menu describes a different sauce than the one I had. I LOVED the sauce that was on it. I forgot to take notes on this one (sorry, I was too busy stuffing my face!), so I don't remember exactly what it was. All I know is that it was delicious.

The two cookies and the brownie:

http://i23.tinypic.com/5fnqiq.jpg

These were also enormous, so we saved them for later. The next day, the cookies were still very soft and fresh. DM said the brownie was "to die for." Even though I liked my cookie a lot, I would have preferred the brownie just because I love chocolate so much.

Everything about this meal was excellent. The quality is unmatched anywhere, IMHO. It was our favorite CS of the trip. The only downside was that we had to eat outside in almost one hundred degree temperatures. They really needed some more inside seats. But, we enjoyed it anyway!

WPE lunch: 3 counter service credits
Grade: A+

We went to Disney Pin Traders, Mickey's Mart, and then WOD. We were already done shopping by about 2:45PM, so I went up to the podium at BBB to see if they could get me in earlier--they could, at 3:15. When I was done, we went to Goofy's Candy Co., and I got this:

http://i23.tinypic.com/rr5caq.jpg

It was the four marshmallows on a fun green Mickey straw dipped in milk chocolate, covered in M&M's, and drizzled with white chocolate. Was it good? YES. It may have been the best snack credit I used all week! :love:

Then we went back to the room to change, and get ready for MK the third night in a row. We arrived at MK around 6:15PM and went straight to the LTT.

This was the first time we had been to LTT in many years--the last time being for Thanksgiving in 1994. :eek: Honestly, I booked it for the characters.

We got inside at around 6:35PM and had to wait. We started chatting with these two little girls and their parents sitting on the bench next to us. Actually, the girls just wanted to know where I got my hair done, and were whining somewhat for their parents to let them have theirs done too--oops! My mom said, "Look at what you caused!" :rolleyes:

In the interim while we were waiting we witnessed a little girl falling down the three or so stairs on the left side from when you walked in because there was water spilt on the floor. The CMs were very nice to her, and cleaned up the mess very quickly.

The people we were talking too were soon called, and so were we about three minutes later. We were sitting in a little room that was off the left from where you go in, and to the left when you start walking. It was nice, and much less noisy than the rooms out in the open. And we ended up sitting next to the people from the waiting area with kids who wanted to go to the BBB!

Arrived: 6:35PM
Seated: 7:00PM
Actual ADR time: 6:55PM

There was a little heart made out on the table out of Mickey confetti when we sat down for my parents' anniversary. Our server came out quickly, and explained the whole process of family-style dining and took our drink orders. He was much more efficient than the guy the night before.

Right after he walked away, we were greeted by Dale. Let me just say up front, the character interaction here was GREAT. Each character--Chip, Dale, Goofy, Minnie, and Pluto--was wearing colonial garb, as you probably know, and stayed for quite a while at each table. Pluto even sat down at the table on the other side of us for a while.

Now onto the food:

http://i21.tinypic.com/2rz496r.jpg

The bread was good, extremely fresh and very warm. The salad was also good. It was a standard salad, but the dressing really made it special. Usually I HATE strawberries with a passion, but I actually liked the dressing. DM and DD liked it as well.

The entrees and sides:

http://i23.tinypic.com/33jobyh.jpg

http://i24.tinypic.com/2q8tsm9.jpg

I don't like many vegetables or mashed potatoes, so I loaded up on salad and can't really give an opinion on them. DM and DD said they were just okay, but ate them anyway.

I liked the ham, though it had a weirdish sauce on it. I liked the turkey as well, but hated the flank steak. It was chewy and had no real flavor. The turkey was somewhat moist, although it left a lot to be desired. I basically just ate the ham.

I LOVED the macaroni and cheese, though. I usually don't like Stouffer's mac and cheese, but this was actually really good. It didn't taste like it just came out of the microwave at all--actually it was like it was prepared fresh. Both DM and DD thought so as well.

They both enjoyed the stuffing as well. I didn't have any because I basically hate all Thanksgiving food (including stuffing), so sorry I can't give an in-depth analysis of it.

None of us tried the gravy. It just looked too thick and had too many lumps in it that it didn't look too appealing.

I didn't take a picture of the dessert--the cherry cobbler--but both DD and DM liked it. Once again, I didn't even try it because I was eating this:

http://i20.tinypic.com/akh0lj.jpg

A CM brought it out for DM and DD's anniversary and made a big deal about with all the "Hear ye, hear ye's." It was actually quite tasty.

Overall, it was a good meal--nothing special, but nothing horrible. The character aspect really made it, for us anyway.

Would we return again? Probably not for dinner as DM didn't think there were enough choices, but we all agreed that we would like to try lunch sometime.

Liberty Tree Tavern dinner: 3 table service credits
Grade: B-

Once again, if there are any questions, feel free to ask. Thanks for reading this!

P.S. Once I find all of my receipts, I will post how much each meal cost. For now, I like to keep you in suspense. :rolleyes1