5 Days of Dining Fun with Two Toddlers

[lightningmcqueen]

Whew! We just arrived home from five days at WDW. Four would have probable been enough since the kids fell apart on the last day. It was more fun than not though and well worth the adventure!

Let me start by saying that I am very excited to be writing this report. I’ve been to Disney seven times in the past but this was the first trip I’ve personally planned with my own children. I have been reading the message boards for months and planning our ADRs. I can’t begin to describe how excited I was to try many of the foods on our trip. And best of all, with the dining plan, it was all free!

Cast
Me 28 three words- I LOVE FOOD! I tried to make good food choices as I’m on Weight Watchers but used the rule “If I walk 10 miles a day I’ll eat dessert!”
DH 29- classic meat, potatoes, and beer guy. If it lived in the water, he won’t touch it
DS 3 ½- recently (as in two days prior to departure day) told to cut all gluten, dairy, and sugar from diet.
DS 2- Just like DH minus the beer

Restaurants I’ll be reviewing:

Table Service
Coral Reef (dinner)
LeCellier (lunch)
Whispering Canyon (dinner)
Kona Café (dinner)
Spoodles (dinner)
Hollywood and Vine Play and Dine (breakfast)
Boma (dinner)

Counter Service
Liberty Tavern
Boulingerie Patisserie
Restaurantasaurus
Pizzafari
Columbia Harbor House
Hurricane Hannah’s
Beach Club Marketplace (breakfast and lunch)
Sunshine Seasons (breakfast)

Snacks
Most snacks were bottles of water but we did try out a couple popular spots
Beach Club Marketplace (gelato)
Aloha Island
Goody’s Candy Company

Let me apologize in advance for not taking pictures. I had every intent to document the eating extravaganza through the world but traveling with two toddlers put a damper on that. Hopefully my descriptions will be enough!

[lightningmcqueen]

We arrived at MCO on 9/22 at 1:30. After taking the Not-So-Magical Express, we arrived at the Beach Club around 4:00. We checked in and went right to Epcot. Initially I had an ADR for Spoodles for that evening. I’m glad I cancelled it. The boys were so cranky and tired from traveling that I think a sit-down meal would have put them over the edge. Since DS1 has some new-found food sensitivity issues we decided to take him to the Liberty Tavern in the American Pavilion. We had received information from Disney about the better places to find food that’s gluten-free. I spoke with the manager and he let me look through a binder of their “special” food with labels so I could check the ingredients. They prepared gluten-free french fries in a special fryer to prevent cross contamination and a gluten-free hot dog. DS1 also had an apple juice and a gluten-free, lactose-free chocolate chip cookie. DS2 had a cheeseburger, fries, cookie, and water. I totally forgot that the 2-year-old was suppose to share with the rest of us but I bought his meal anyway. It really didn’t affect the dining plan though. There was plenty of food to eat! I tried the gluten-free food and it was great. The boys ate a ton! Hats off to the Liberty Tavern for making it easy to give my son a filling meal.

Total cost for hot dog, cheeseburger, two fries, water, apple juice, and two cookies- $25.10 (2 counter service credits)

DH and I decided to share a meal from Boulingerie Patisserie since we weren’t really that hungry. We got a ham and cheese croissant and a peach tart with water. They warmed the croissant and it was delicious. The tart was quite tasty too! Total cost $12.10 (1 counter service)

[lalagrace]

I'm going in Jan with my son, who will turn 3 on our trip. I love reading reports with young ones involved. I am a little worried that he will be too wild for us to enjoy all the nice places at WDW ( we don't eat out with him often). so thanks for posting!

[deezeealum]

subscribing

[atisikitabasket]

Our DS4 is on the Autism Spectrum and we just found out he is allergic to everything we go back the first of Nov. and the Dr. said once all the test results come back we might have to do the GF/CF diet also. We are going to Disney in Dec. I am worried because he limits what he will eat so bad now I don't know what will be left with the diet so please tell us everything you experienced with it. Also I would love a list of the more accomidating places for us to eat!


Thanks can't wait for more.

[Minniespal]

Thanks, looking forward to reading more.

[TigerKat]

Looking forward to more......popcorn::

[Honeymooner04]

Great reviews so far! Can't wait to read more!

[NewRocDad]

Thank you so much for starting this thread! We're going in Feb. DW and I enjoy food very much and we are VERY curious/scared to see how DS & DD handle eating out 9 days in a row! Tell us everything!popcorn::

[lightningmcqueen]

Day 1- Animal Kingdom
We ate breakfast in the room and headed to the park. I had heard that it was going to be hard to find gluten-free food. That’s an understatement! There was hardly anything my son could eat. Since we’re still unsure if DS1 really has these food sensitivity issues, we had to be a little relaxed here since he was starving and there was not many food choices. We ended up going to Restaurantasaurus and getting a 10 piece chicken nugget meat with fries and a strawberry shortcake for the boys to share. There’s not much to say about this. It was typical McDonalds food. They boys loved it. What toddler doesn’t like McDonalds? Total cost: $13.10 (1 counter service credit)

DH ate the strawberry shortcake so we got the boys orange popsicles from some cart during a rain shower. Then we headed over to Pizzafarri where DH and I split a meal. We got the hot Italian-style sandwich. It had turkey, ham, American, and provolone topped with ceaser salad and pesto marinated tomatoes. Let me tell you, this was a monster-sized sandwich and so good! While in line I saw people getting the pizza and it didn’t look too appealing. The sandwich was delish! It came with chips and we got the apple pie and a water. I had some of the sandwich and DH ate the rest of the meal. Total cost: $13.04 (1 counter service credit)

Coral Reef

We had a 6:40 ADR for The Coral Reef. I was very much looking forward to our first sit-down meal but also a little nervous. There have been some less than stellar things reported about this restaurant. We headed over there around 5:30 because we wanted to see if we could ask for a table next to the tank. They said there were running 15 minutes behind and to come back at 6:20. When we returned and checked in, they were now running 20 minutes behind. We ended up being seated at 6:45. We didn’t get a table right next to the tank but we were on the first tear in a booth. It was probably a better table. The seats face the tank and the kids loved it!

Because of my son’s food sensitivities, the waitress immediately got the chef to come talk to us. He said that they only had limited foods to meet his needs. He said that he could prepare some rice pasta with a tomato based sauce and chicken. That sounded great. So he got right to work on that. The waitress took our drink order first. DH got a 22 oz.Reef Amber beer (obviously not included on the dining plan) and she offered to bring him a bottle of water as well. I ordered the strawberry freeze and the boys got one as well. When she brought our drinks back, she took our complete meal order. I liked ordering all three courses at the same time. It helped so I didn’t have to think about it later on.

For appetizers, I ordered the land and sea combo. It came with two shrimp on a skewer on a bed of a tangy cucumber salad as well as three beef tenderloins on a skewer over polenta. DH ordered a ceasar salad and the DS’s shared a fruit cup. The fruit is suppose to be a dessert option but since the kids wouldn’t eat the veggies, they were allowed the fruit. My appi was great. It was just enough food to get a taste. I hate it when your appetizer fills you up before dinner. DH liked his salad and the boys ate all the fruit.

The special gluten-free pasta dish appeared not long after. For my very picky DS1, he loved it! He’s not a big chicken fan unless it’s breaded and in the shape of a dinosaur so DS2 ate all the chicken, but DS1 loved his rice pasta. For an entrée, I ordered the blackened catfish over cheese grits with a spicy tomato compote. DH ordered the 12 oz. NY sirloin steak with a gratin potatoes and broccolini. Let me tell you, the food was fantastic. The catfish was slightly spicy but I really enjoyed it. I didn’t finish it because I wanted to save room for dessert. DH ate all of his steak (well he shared with DS2) and said it was great.

I was most looking forward to dessert. Pictures of the chocolate wave looked so yummy and it didn’t disappoint! The warm chocolate center was so good. And unlike many people, I liked the brandied cherries. Eaten by themselves, they can be strong, but mixed in with the cake, they were quite tasty. DH got the butterscotch crème brulee and loved it. He ate every last bite. The boys got the make-your-own ice cream sundae. DS1 only had a couple bites since he may have a milk sensitivity. DS2 ate most of it!

Our experience was fantastic. We loved the entire experience of eating at the Coral Reef. The atmosphere was amazing and the food to die for. Total cost- $132.68 (3 table service credits, 2 adults, 1 child)

Up next: LeCellier lunch and Whispering Canyon dinner

[lightningmcqueen]

Our DS4 is on the Autism Spectrum and we just found out he is allergic to everything we go back the first of Nov. and the Dr. said once all the test results come back we might have to do the GF/CF diet also. We are going to Disney in Dec. I am worried because he limits what he will eat so bad now I don't know what will be left with the diet so please tell us everything you experienced with it. Also I would love a list of the more accomidating places for us to eat!


Thanks can't wait for more.

Send me an email at jaciejwelch@yahoo.com
I can forward you a listing from a Disney cast member who gave me a bunch of attachments of the more gluten-free friendly restaurants. Also make sure you let Disney dining know about the allergy. They'll make a note on all of your sit down meals and the chef will come and speak to you directly about what he can make for your son.

[lightningmcqueen]

Le Cellier

We arrived at 11:20 for our 11:40 lunch ADR. We were seated within 15 minutes. The place was pretty empty but filled up quickly. We didn’t have the best table (right outside the kitchen) but we aren’t too picky. Our waiter was Matthew. He was very helpful and immediately got the chef to explain the gluten-free options. The chef came right out and asked us what foods our DS1 likes. DS1 really wanted chicken nuggets but they couldn’t do that so I suggested a hot dog. He prefers hot dogs without the bun so I asked if they could bring the bread out with our bread.

For drinks, we all chose the specialty, non-alcoholic ones. I had the chocolate-raspberry shake. It was SO good! The boys all had the mango smoothie with a splash of cranberry. Again, not a drop left! We ordered our appetizers next. The boys shared carrot sticks (they gave us double carrots since the boys aren’t a fan of celery). DH and I both had the cheddar cheese soup. The bread came out while we were waiting for the appetizers. Let me tell you, the pretzel bread was everything I’d hoped it would be and more. Oh my gosh, it was so yummy! Warm, chewy, with just a hint of salt. The sourdough and multi-grain were also good but they didn’t compare with the pretzel bread. Needless to say, the bread didn’t last long until we were on refills of the pretzel sticks. The appi’s appeared and I took the opportunity to dip the pretzel bread in my soup. It was pretty good. The soup wasn’t what I expected. Not to say it wasn’t good, it was just different. It was thicker and lumpier than I thought it would be. I didn’t eat the whole thing because I know there was more food to come. DH loved his soup. I think it was the hint of beer that did it for him.
For entrees, DH ordered the steak burger. “It was real good. Fries were good, liked the pickle.” That’s about all I got for a review from him. I ordered the 5 oz. filet mingon accompanied with sweet potato mash. It wasn’t the best steak I’d ever had but it was good. I wasn’t expecting the sauce that they put on it. It had a hint of heat but it was tasty.

For dessert, we decided to take them to go since the boys were getting a little fussy. We got a fruit cup for the kids, DH ordered the chocolate whiskey cake, and I had the campfire s’mores. I was a little disappointed that the maple crème brulee was gone so this seemed to be the next best thing to me. Plus I needed something for transporting. The s’mores were delish. Very chocolaty and rich. I needed help finishing them!

All in all, Lecellier was a good meal. I’m glad I got to experience it. I think our meal at the Coral Reef was a bit better but this was good in it’s own right. Total cost- $92.76 (3 table service credits, 2 adults, 1 child)

Whispering Canyon
We arrived at 6:30 for our 6:50 ADR. The line of people checking in was about 10 people deep. We were seated at 7:00. Not let me start by saying I’ve eaten at Whispering Canyon about five times in the past. I was looking forward to eating here with my boys because of all the antics they’re known for. I thought they would love the pony rides especially.

When we were seated, our waiter came over (not that memorable so I can’t recall his name) and looked at the little slip of paper noting DS1’s food allergy. He promptly got the chef who came and looked over the menu with us. They did not have a huge selection of gluten-free products that DS1 would eat. We ended up getting him a fruit cup with a gluten-free roll, hot dog and carrots, and ice cream for dessert. This was the first place in the park that carried tofutti soy ice cream. We also asked if they could make him a milk shake. The stars must have aligned that night because they were able to make him a vanilla milk shake with rice dream rice milk and tofutti ice cream. He was so excited!

I ended up ordering the blue glowtini for a drink and a side of water. DH got the yard of beer. For those of you who are not familiar with Disney water, let me warn you. Tap water is not good. It has this sort of chemical taste to it. I recommend strictly sticking to Dasani in the parks. I had this vision of saving money by bringing my water bottle from home and just filling it up in the sink. Bad idea. The stuff is nasty. Anyway, that’s the kind of water they were serving at Whispering Canyon. If our waiter had made a more routine presence, I would have ordered a diet coke. But he was only at our table about 3 times during the meal. Anyway, when he brought us our drinks, he threw about 10 straws on our table. I know, how exciting. That was about as adventurous as this guy got.
I ended up ordering the all-you-can-eat skillet, basically so I could share some food with DS2. Coleslaw and salad with apple vinaigrette were the included appetizers. DH ordered the southwestern soup as an appi and some chicken and pasta dish. Again, not that memorable so the name escapes me. As I’ve said, I’ve eaten here in the past and liked it. Well after this meal, I doubt I’ll be back. The skillet was icky. All of the meat was very fatty. Some of it was cold. The corn on the cob didn’t taste right, almost like it was over cooked. The best part about it was the peel and eat shrimp. They were alright. DH said his pasta was alright but nothing spectacular. DS1 ate some of his hot dog but he really wanted chicken nuggets and they couldn’t do those gluten-free.

The food left such a bad taste in our mouth that we skipped dessert. Nothing looked overly appealing. We decided to get a gelato when we got back to the Beach Club. So back to the main reason I chose Whispering Canyon- for their antics. Yea, nothing happened. They sang happy birthday once and that was it. No pony rides, no public ridiculing. I was very tame and boring. Accompany that with lousy food and it doesn’t make for a good experience. The only real positive was DS1’s milk shake. Total Cost-$103.43 (3 table service, 2 adults, 1 child)

Beach Club Marketplace
After seeing many pictures of the gelato at the marketplace, I was dying to try one. And man, am I glad I did. They even let you sample them before buying and each one is better than the last. Ohh I was in heaven. I decided to get a small and the cast member said I could get two flavors. I chose sugar-free chocolate and strawberry. It was to die for! You couldn’t even tell the sugar-free was sugar-free and the strawberry had such a real flavor. You know how sometimes you can automatically tell something is artificially flavored? Well this tasted like pureed strawberry. So good. And mix it was the chocolate and it was a great flavor! Total cost- $3.29ish (1 snack credit)

Up next: Beach Club Marketplace, Columbia Harbor House, Aloha Island, Kona Café

[my3disneygirls]

:thumbsup2

[MeLaNie9]

Thanks for the reviews. We are heading to the World in Nov and our youngest son has a severe allergy to dairy and is also allergic to eggs so I am interested to hear about your experiences (we are also eating at Kona, Boma, Le Cellier, and haven't figured out which CS places will be best for us yet). We are wondering how its going to go as he will only be 1 and we really weren't planning on paying OOP for food for him (we will be on the DDP) - he would have just eaten off our plates. We are debating ordering one adult meal that is dairy and egg free each time to share with him or to just order our older son's (3) meals as dairy and egg free for them to share together.

[lisaj]

Great reviews so far, got me worrying about WCC though.

[Mallow]

great reviews!:thumbsup2

[lightningmcqueen]

Beach Club Marketplace

We decided to try out the marketplace for breakfast. I had spoken with a cast member a couple nights prior about what they have for gluten-free diets and she said that they could make waffles. When I showed up that morning asking for gluten-free waffles, they kind of looked at me like I had two heads. I explained the conversation I’d had and they called up to the Cape May Café. Apparently the chef told them that it was take about 10 minutes. No problem. I ended up getting this fabulous yogurt parfait that they make their. The choices are low-fat vanilla yogurt mixed with granola, fresh blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries. I went for the yogurt mixed with all of the berries, no granola. The yogurt was a little too bitter for my taste so I mixed a packet of splenda into it. Mmm, it was good and healthy. DH got a grapefruit and plain croissant and it came with two drinks. I chose a bottle of oj and a bottle of cran apple juice. It took about 20 minutes but someone brought DS his waffles. We were pleasantly surprised when we opened the container and there were 4 Mickey waffles smiling up at us. The boys LOVED that! They were a bit over-cooked but the surprise of them being Mickey shaped was worth it for them. Total cost $8.21 (We used two counter service because we had a ton of them left and a snack for this)

Columbia Harbor House

I think I’ve said how I tried really hard to eat healthy on this trip. Eating at Columbia Harbor House helped this. Their menu had a great selection of healthier varieties so it was a welcome change from the traditional burger joints. The kids were pretty fussy so we had an early lunch. We arrived a little after 11:00 and the place was empty. I asked to speak with someone about DS1’s gluten-free diet. The manager said the only thing he could eat was a salad. Yea, what 3-year-old wants to eat a salad? Not mine! She said the only place that would have something for him was Cosmic Ray’s and I was not about to schlep all the way across the Magic Kingdom, especially if we’ve yet to truly understand if DS1 really needs this gluten-free diet. So we decided to take our chances on the chicken strips and French fries for him. The kids meal came with a choice of apples or something else…sorry drawing a blank. He got apples.

I ordered the tuna fish sandwich with apple slices and chocolate cake and I ordered DH the veggie chili with ½ ham sandwich, chips, and an apple pie. My tuna sandwich was great. It came on toasted multi-grain bread and lettuce and tomato. The portion was huge. You could easily share this meal. I’m not a huge pre-packaged dessert kind of girl so I don’t think I ever ate my chocolate cake. DH liked his chili and sandwich. Again, nothing too specific about his review. They were very kind there. When a cast member watched my two DS’s fight over their little container of fries, she brought an extra one out for DS2. That was very thoughtful and we appreciated her trying to keep the peace.
Total cost: $33.32 (3 counter service, 2 adults, 1 child)

Aloha Island

Since I didn’t want the pre-packaged chocolate cake, I decided to stop off for a pineapple float on our way back to the hotel for naps. This place is so intriguing. It’s a little hole in the wall on Adventureland. The float is fairly large. The fill a cup with pineapple soft-serve and then fill fresh pineapple juice around it. Let me tell you, on a hot day, it is quite refreshing! I gave DH a bite and de didn’t understand the appeal but I loved it. Total cost $4.00 and change (1 snack credit).

Kona Café

I was very much looking forward to eating at Kona since I’d read so many great things about it. We arrived at 4:50 for our 5:10 ADR. We were seated within 10 minutes. I know it has been mentioned that Kona isn’t really a private restaurant. There is a 3-foot high metal gate around it but other than that it overlooks the second floor lobby. We didn’t have a very good seat. We were right next to the gate and the two DS’s were fascinated by all the people walking by. It was hard to keep them occupied so they’d stay in their seats.

As with all of our other table service meals, the waitress got the chef to come talk with us about DS1’s dietary needs. We decided to get him fruit for an appetizer along with a gluten-free roll, a hot dog without a bun for an entrée (served with carrot sticks) and the chef said he had tofutti ice cream for dessert. All that sounded alright.

For appetizers, I started out with the lump crab cakes. They came as a group of three served in a pool of pineapple relish and a bit of salad in the middle. I thought they were delicious. DS2 ate more than I did. He kept calling them chicken nuggets even though they really had no chicken taste. I liked how much crab was in them. There wasn’t much breading, mostly crab. DH got the sesame sticky wings. Those were terrific. They were a meal in and of themselves. There had to have been at least six wings covered in a sweet, slightly crunchy coating with sesame seeds on top. Along with the appetizers came a loaf of Hawaiian sweet bread served with macadamia nut butter. That bread was out of this world. It was warm and chewy and the macadamia nut butter complimented it nicely. Between the bread and appetizers, that was enough food for a meal. For drinks, DH got some sort of beer native to some Polynesian country and I got the mango passion fruit smoothie. That was so yummy! It tasted like the freshly squeezed the juices right into my cup!
For entrees, DH ordered the pan-seared noodles which came with chicken and fresh veggies. I had intended to taste it but honestly was just too full. I ordered the teriyaki beef which was served with mashed potatoes and broccoli. The steak was alright. DS2 helped me eat it and he really enjoyed it. To me, it wasn’t the best meat I’d had. I did enjoy the pineapple teriyaki glaze that was on it. It was especially good on the broccoli. I didn’t eat a whole lot of the entrée. Between the appi’s and wanting to taste dessert, that kinda got pushed down to a last priority. DS2 had a few bites of hot dog but I think he was getting sick of eating those things. He liked his fruit and carrots though.

For dessert I ordered the Kailua torte served a la mode. I guess I was expecting something different because it was very similar to the chocolate lava cake at Coral Reef. This one wasn’t as moist and gooey though. It had a harder shell to it. It was served on a plate with drops of some sort of fruit puree (strawberry and mango maybe?). It was nice to dip the cake in the fruit though. I only had a few bites. I gave the bowl of ice cream to DS2. DH ordered the apple brown betty served with vanilla ice cream. DH eats anything with apples in it and he loved this dessert. Since the troops were getting restless, I decided to take them to the stroller while DH finished his dessert and paid.

All in all Kona was very good. Their bread was amongst the best on the trip. It’s definitely a nice restaurant to check out if you like different food. Total cost- $132.32 (3 table service credits, 2 adults, 1 child)

Up Next: Sunshine Seasons, Hurricane Hannah’s, Goofy’s Candy Company, Spoodles

[Mallow]

Lightning, I'm really enjoying your reviews. Did you count points while you were there? I've done WW in the past & had great success. It sounds like you made really great choices. I, however, on my last trip did not fair as well & paid for it. Hope your still doing well @ WW.

[deezeealum]

I am now also, reconsidering my WCC dinner. I thought since we were staying at WL it might be fun to go when we arrive at the resort. I'll be looking for something else.

[lightningmcqueen]

Lightning, I'm really enjoying your reviews. Did you count points while you were there? I've done WW in the past & had great success. It sounds like you made really great choices. I, however, on my last trip did not fair as well & paid for it. Hope your still doing well @ WW.


Yeah right! I did well the first couple days and then it went right in the garbage. I gained 4 pounds when I was there. I've been home 2 days and have already lost 2 of it! I should be ok for weigh in next Sat.

[lightningmcqueen]

I am now also, reconsidering my WCC dinner. I thought since we were staying at WL it might be fun to go when we arrive at the resort. I'll be looking for something else.

Like I had said, I'd been there three times in the past but now I'll never eat there again. I think I neglected to mention it made me ill as well. There are so many other good dining options that I don't think you'll miss much by not going there. Also, it's not impossible to get a last minute ADR at a nice restaurant as you'll find out later in my reviews.

[gregrmike1]

Thank you for the wonderful reviews!:) We are planning on eating at Kona Cafe on our next trip in April of 2008.:yay:

[Busymom85]

Thanks for the reviews.

[lightningmcqueen]

Sunshine Seasons
At this point, we are on day three of the trip and I think all of the rich food that I normally don’t eat is catching up with me. We hung around in the room to see if I’d feel better but then walked over to Epcot so DS1 could ride test track for the hundredth time. I took DS2 over the The Seas since he’s obsessed with the birds in front. When he said he was hungry we headed over for a snack at Sunshine Seasons. I ordered a plain bagel and a sprite in hopes it would make my stomach feel better (it worked!) and DS2 helped me eat it. I also got him an orange juice When DH and DS1 met me, I went to talk to the chef about the foods DS1 could eat. He made him some scrambled eggs without milk, bacon, and potatoes. He was in heaven! DS2 helped him finish it off. I love Sunshine Seasons though because of their variety. They had many different options and I know it is that was for lunch and dinner as well. Total cost- $8.00 (We used two counter service meals since we still had a bunch to use)

Hurricane Hannah’s

We headed back to the resort so the kids could swim and I could rest. Around lunch time I was feeling up to eating so I headed over to Hurricane Hannah’s for lunch. This place is a hidden gem. It’s located right near the Beach Club pool and right off the walking path the heads around the lake. I was pleasantly surprised at the different food served here. I ordered the mixed veggie wrap. It was served on a multi-grain wrap with a balsamic dressing. Very tasty. It came with grapes or chips and I chose the fruit this time. DH for the warm chicken flat bread. This was delish! It is served almost like a pizza- flat- and it had chicken, cheese, and a cucumber-yogurt sauce. It was very good. Since we had so many counter service meals left, I ordered the boys their own meals. The main reason for doing this was so they could each get a pail and shovel that comes with every kids meal here. Such a neat idea! DS1 got chicken, grapes, and carrot sticks and a bottle of water. DS2 got a cheeseburger, grapes, jello, and water. Everyone really liked their meals here. They even forgot DH and my dessert (iksadoodle pop and Mickey bar) but they give you so much food anyway that we really didn’t care. Total cost- $24.65 (4 counter service credits, 2 adults, 2 child)

Goofy’s Candy Company

We decided to spend some time at Downtown Disney in the afternoon. I had especially wanted to see the candy that they specially make for you there. Thankfully the place was empty and I didn’t have to wait at all. I chose the rice crispy treat. It was dipped in dark chocolate, rolled in reese’s peanut butter cups on the outside and sprinkles on the face, and drizzled with white chocolate. I almost felt guilty only being charged a snack credit for this monstrosity. It was about the size of my hand. I don’t recommend eating something of this magnitude in one sitting. It’s better to nibble on it over the course of a few days. DH got a peanut butter filled fudge cookie. Again, it was a little smaller than my hand but the outsides looked like Oreo cookies with a peanut butter fudge in the middle. DH had it dipped in milk chocolate, rolled in reese’s around the edge with peanuts on the face. Then it was drizzled in white chocolate. Mmm, was it good! Not let me give you a little piece of advice. It pays to be nice to these people. I was chatting with the nice lady making our treats and she was kind enough to give me samples of their dipped pretzels. She said that they can’t use the broken pieces so she gave me four of them while I was waiting for my two to harden. She dipped them all in milk chocolate and then they were rolled in sprinkles, chocolate chips, Oreo, and Butterfinger. Delish! If you’re in the Downtown Disney area, you much check out Goofy’s. Total cost- $7.10 (2 snack credits)

Spoodles

We had originally had a lunch ADR for Garden Grill but when I wasn’t feeling well in the morning, I called and got a dinner changed to the Yacht Club Gallery. I was a little disappointed that that was the only place that we could get a reservation for. So around 3:00 I called again so see if I could get anything else. They had a 5:00 or 5:10 at Spoodles which I gladly took. I had wanted to eat here the first night and thought I’d have to wait until a future trip.

We arrived at 4:50 for our 5:10 ADR. We were seated within 10 minutes. We had a great ½ round booth in a corner (very helpful when your two-year-old son acts up and you don’t want to make a scene in the middle of the restaurant). The chef came over to talk to us. I was hoping they would have something other than hot dogs for DS1 to eat. The check had quinoa pasta which sounded great. It mixed it with ground beef and a marinara sauce. For an appi, DS2 had his usual fruit and tofutti ice cream for dessert.

I started out with a glass of sangria which was so refreshing. It was one of the best I’d ever had. DH had a Stella something or other beer. I apologize for my undescript beer reviews. They all run together for me. The waiter brought out some foccasia bread that was out of this world. It came with an olive tappas with balsamic dip. It was SOOOO good. I thought the bread at Kona was my favorite but this wins hands down. For appetizers, we chose the hummus since it’s DS2’s favorite food as well as the margharita pizza. It was served topped with fresh mozzarella, basil, tomato with a balsamic reduction. It was huge! The appetizers could have been a meal in and of themselves.

For an entrée, I decided on the lemon, shrimp linguini. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. The sauce was more like an alfredo sauce. I thought it was going to be lighter and tangier since it said it was made with lemon preserves. Honestly, the only taste of lemon I had was a piece of rind in one bite. The shrimp were great though. I ate all of the shrimp and only a few bites of pasta. DS2 loved the pasta though. He ate more than I did. DH ordered the rigatoni that came with sausage and tomato. The following is his description, “You know that sausage soup at Bertucci’s? Well this tastes just like that, minus the soup.” He loved it. He’s a pasta kind of guy and a sausage kind of guy. There wasn’t a bite left in his bowl. The biggest surprise was DS1’s quinoa pasta. He ate almost the whole thing. It was great to have him finally eat a nice, hearty meal that didn’t consist of a hot dog. He loved it!

For dessert I ordered the vanilla bean crème Brule. It was so good and refreshing. The hard layer of caramelized sugar was so delicious. DH tried it and said it was better than the butterscotch variety he had at Coral Reef. DH got the house-made gelato. It was vanilla flavored and very tasty. It was served with a berry glaze and a piece of almond brittle on top. I had a bite and it was very good. DS1 loved his tofutti ice cream.

We were so pleased with this dinner. I’m happy we got to eat here instead of Garden Grill or Yacht Club Gallery. Total cost: $116.98 (3 table service credits, 2 adults 1 child)

Up Next: Hollywood and Vine Play and Dine, Beach Club Marketplace, Boma

[lightningmcqueen]

Hollywood and Vine Play and Dine

We had an 8:30 ADR for breakfast with the playhouse Disney characters. Now let me tell you one area that Disney needs to correct. From Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach Club, and Swan and Dolphin, the only mode of transportation to get to MGM is walking (and please, don’t we do enough of that while we’re here?) or boat. Now the boats don’t start running until 8:00. Anyway, there was this line of people that had breakfast reservations with no transportation to MGM. One would think they could muster a little energy and run at least one boat earlier in the morning.

We arrived at 8:40 for our 8:30 ADR and were seated 10 minutes later. By this time the kids were very hungry and crabby since we’d been up early to get over to MGM in time for our reservation. We had a crumby table here. It was off in the corner where the kids couldn’t see the dancing and the characters pretty much forgot to come over to them because they weren’t on their direct route around the restaurant.

The chef came over and pointed out the foods DS1 could eat. He also said he could warm him a gluten-free waffle. So on the buffet, DS1 had bacon, eggs, tater tots, pineapple, and a gluten-free waffle. He ate it.

I ate a croissant, oatmeal, pineapple, Mickey waffle, and corn beef hash. The best I can say is, it’s buffet food. There’s a good selection but nothing was overly tasty or memorable. I’m not sure if we’d eat here again. The character interaction wasn’t that great for us but the kids did get up and dance once. Total cost- $51.43 (3 table service credits, 2 adults, 1 child)

Beach Club Marketplace

You could tell this was our last day of the trip. The kids were so cranky. We were at MGM to watch Playhouse Disney live in concert so the boys could see Choo Choo Soul which is their favorite. After that, they really weren’t interested in anything else so we headed back to the Beach Club so they could go in the pool. While DH played with them, I headed to the marketplace for lunch. I had plans of walking over to Epcot once the kids were napping to grab lunch in France, but the sandwiches at the marketplace looked so good that I decided to get them there.

I got a black forest ham and black diamond cheddar on a roll with honey mustard. I got DH a roast beef with brie on a baguette. Both came with dessert. I got a rice crispy bar and DH got a chocolate chip cookie. We both got waters. The chef from Cape May Café came down to talk to me. He ended up making DS1 three small pb&j on gluten-free rolls. They were just the right size for him. He ended up eating one (along with his grapes and jello) and I’m saving the other for our trip to MCO tomorrow. Since we had so many counter service left, I got DS2 the ham and cheese roll ups with grapes and jello. He thought the little pinwheel sandwiches were great. I don’t think there was a bite left! Total cost- $22.43 (4 counter service credits)

Boma

This was my second dining experience at Boma. When I was last at Disney a year and a half ago, I recall stuffing myself to the point I think I could barely walk out of there. It was the highlight of our previous trip and a great place to end our vacation.

We arrived at 4:45 for our 5:10 ADR. I like how they have check-in right inside the doors in the lobby. This has changed since the last time I was there when everyone and their cousin was standing in this little tiny space outside of the restaurant. We were seated almost immediately and the place was nearly empty.

I was also looking forward to meeting Chef TJ as I’ve read and seen so many things about his preparation of gluten-free dishes. The fried oreos were also very tempting! But unfortunately he wasn’t working that night. The chef was very kind but I was still a little disappointed. She took me through the buffet line and showed me the foods my son could eat. She also offered to prepare him some gluten-free French fries and corn on the cob minus the butter. She told me to notify the server when we were ready for dessert and she would bring him a dish of tofutti ice cream.

Since I was just about sick of seeing Disney food (I know, it seems impossible but there is a lot of food on the dining plan!), I tried to only sample a little of the more appealing things. I really liked the bok choy, seasoned potatoes, carrot-ginger soup, all three hummus selections with flat bread, couscous salad, prime rib, and a slew of other things I really cannot remember off the top of my head. I must say though, the desserts at Boma can rival any other restaurant in Disney. It was all I could do to control myself! The zebra domes are amazing! They are a chocolate mousse with a rich, smooth white chocolate-ish coating. Mmmm, so yummy. They also had fillo dough dishes filled with fresh fruit, warm banana bread pudding with vanilla sauce (that was super good too!), cookies, baklava, etc.

DH had his turn of not feeling well that evening so he limited what he ate to corn bread and soup. He didn’t even try a bite of dessert. I know he was disappointed because Boma is one of his favorite restaurants. DS2 ate all of us under the table. The kid must have had 4 mini-ears of corn on the cob, prime rib, chicken, couscous, hummus (yeah he ate a whole bowl by himself!), ice cream, the works! I think it was a definite happy end of our trip for him.

DS1 really enjoyed the selection of fruit. He ate grapes, watermelon, melon, and strawberries. He enjoyed his corn and French fries as well as the ice cream. With the exception of DH, the rest of us had a very satisfying meal. We look forward to our next dinner there!

Going Home Day L

Since we had to catch the not-so-magical express at 8:40, we decided to walk over to the Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast. The boys had a lot of energy that morning and we decided to let them walk (really run) around the Boardwalk. I had a chocolate croissant (one last hurrah before starting back on weight watchers when I got home) and a water. It was fresh and flakey. Definitely worth the calories. DH had a giant blueberry muffin and coffee. He shared his muffin with DS2. DS1 had a bowl of fruit since they didn’t have any gluten-free bread products. Everything was good. It was a welcome change from eating in the Marketplace. It is a tiny establishment and the line was out the door when we left but it moves quickly. I recommend it for a quick snack!

This concluded our dining extravaganza. I got to eat at basically every place I’ve wanted to since planning this trip back in February. I was impressed with the genuine caring attitude of the chefs as they prepared special food for my son. We had great waiters and waitresses and the food was amazing. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

[TigerKat]

So glad to read another positive review of one of our fave places - Spoodles!

[lightningmcqueen]

So glad to read another positive review of one of our fave places - Spoodles!

If we were to rank our table service meals from best to least, this is what it would look like:

1) Coral Reef (amazingly beautiful and food was great)
2) Spoodles (best creme brule I've ever had)
3) Kona
4) Le Cellier (not sure if dinner would have been a better experience)
5) Boma
6) Hollywood and Vine breakfast
7) Whispering Canyon

[deide71]

Lightning:

I had to laugh at your "not so magical express" comment:lmao: .

We also arrived the afternoon of 9/22, we decided to try ME for me and the 3 kiddos, with DH picking up the rental and stopping at Walmart. We thought it would be great not to have to pick up the luggage, or endure grocery shopping with the kids.

What a mistake! I was in awe of the line for ME check in at the airport! It stretched back clear to Terre Haute (obscure Christmas Story reference)! Once we were through the first line to check in, there were equally bad lines for the buses. Luckily we were in the OKW line, which wasn't too bad, but some of the people in the All Stars line looked like they were gonna cry.

After all of the rigamorole, DH beat us to OKW by 30 minutes, including picking up the rental and stopping at Wal-mart.

I think we are done with ME. I can carry my own luggage thanks!

[momtoccc]

Thanks for the great reviews - we are doing many of the same restaurants on our trip with almost 4yo dd. I'm sure we will be stuffed with all the food we will be eating. I'm hoping to spread out the CS credits by using one for breakfast and two for lunch and sharing...we'll see how that works.

We definitely have to make a trip to Goofy's candy store!!

[debaone]

Thanks for the in-depth reviews. Can't wait to hear more!

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

WOW gret job with all the reviews. We are traveling with a diabetic and special needs child with restrictions also. I am happy to hear the chefs were so helpful!!!