Family of 4 Dining Reviews from last month's (May 2008) 10th Anniversary Trip!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hello! :wave:

Introduction~

We are a family of four from PA and this was our third WDW trip and our second experience with the dining plan. There is myself, my DH, and our 2 boys, 9 & 6 1/2 (very picky eaters).

I don't have a lot of "food" pictures, I have some. I do have a lot of restaurant pictures though!

I will be giving our opinions and reviews of~

Table Service:

Mama Melrose Dinner (DHS)
LeCellier Dinner (EPCOT)
Ohana Breakfast (POLY)
Chef Mickey's Dinner (CONT)
Cape May Breakfast (BC)
Crystal Palace Dinner (MK)
Sci-Fi Dine-In Lunch (DHS)

Counter Service:

Pepper Market (CSR)
Rix Cafe (CSR)
Wolfgang Puck Express (DTD)
Electric Umbrella (EPCOT)
Casey's Corner (MK)
Restaurantosauros (AK)
Siesta's Pool Bar & Grill (CSR)
Earl of Sandwich (DTD)

ENJOY! :mickeybar

[wink13]

popcorn::

[suzimar57]

looking forward to your reviews!

[danalee]

cant wait, we will be at alot of the same :goodvibes places in august!

[~Fisharefriends~]

looking forward to readin your reviews.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Okay, well I hate to start off with a negative review, but I guess I will just go in order of where we ate during the week.

We arrived on Saturday May 10th. We had an afternoon flight out of Pittsburgh - 2:00pm. We took ME from the airport and arrived at our resort - Coronado Springs, around 5:30. We weren't going to any parks that day so we had already planned on just getting unpacked, swimming, and eating at Pepper Market. Pepper Market is the food court at CSR. I had read reviews on it prior to the trip and had heard that the set up and process was confusing. But we had also heard that it was the best deal for a CS meal on the DDP in all of WDW because the prices were comparable to most TS meals.

We got there and got seated and our waitress came to the table. It was a good thing that we already knew the whole process because her accent was so thick that we could hardly understand her. Basically they give you a "food ticket" and you take it with you to be stamped at each food station with what you got and then you take it to the register when you are done eating and pay. We were excited to try out Pepper Market and figured we would probably eat here many times during the week. After this visit we knew we were not impressed. When we got up to the stations the CM's were very rude. What a nightmare! My DH went to the grill station to get us the "Ribeye Steak, Potato, & Vegetables - $20.95". I took the kids and went to the kids station to get their meals. I was the only one at the kids station, yet I waited and waited for a CM. Finally one came and got the kids meals for me. DH had even worse luck. He ordered after quite a wait, then got one of the steak dinners but got fries instead of a baked potato like he asked for. When he questioned it he was told - you get what you get. He brought me the dinner, as I was already at the table with the kids and they were nearly done eating because this had gone on so long. He was told 10 more minutes for the other steak dinner. He finally got it and it had the steak and fries again, but no veggies this time. Again - you get what you get. . . By now the kids were done eating and I was about half way through my dinner by the time he finally got his meal.


On the plus side the food was pretty good. Our steak was very tender and tasty. The kids both had the kids "Chicken Strips, chips and a cookie $4.75". The chicken strips were average WDW chicken strips. They had pizza later in the week and it was very good. Too bad the service was so poor. The few bakery items that you could choose from for dessert on the dining plan were not very good though.


The whole system at Pepper Market is just not very efficient, especially with the CM's they have.

We did give the place another try. . . Will tell about that later!

Pepper Market rating: Overall 3 out of 5
Food 4.5 out of 5
Service 2 out of 5

[MickeyNicki]

Very interested in your Ohana breakfast and Sci Fi lunch, cannot wait!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Pictures of Pepper Market:

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[wink13]

Great start, can't wait to hear more. ::yes::

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks for reading everyone! :goodvibes

Next up will be Sunday May 11th ~ Mother's Day: Wolfgang Puck Express lunch and Mama Melrose dinner!

BTW MickeyNicki - Ohana and Sci-Fi were both awesome experiences. . . . . more to come!

[danielle.st]

We're going to be eating at a lot of the same TS places/meals as you did, so I am very itnerested in your report!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Sunday May 11th ~ Mother's Day ~ Wolfgang Puck Express lunch

Today we planned to sleep in and spend the day at DTD and the evening at DHS. This was also the day I was meeting up with some friends I met on the DIS and had been chatting with for over a year. Very exciting! We met up for lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express in DTD. This restaurant had just been remodeled so it was very nice and clean and bright. You order at the counter and then get your own fountain drinks and find a seat and then a waitress brings you your food. I got the "BBQ Chicken Quesadilla - Flour tortillas filled with mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, red onions, fresh cilantro, Ranch dressing, BBQ sauce and pico de gallo $9.95". It was very good, I wish it would have been a little warmer, the cheese was barely warm in the middle, but it was still very good. Very big, I only ate about half of it. DH got the "Meatball and Parmesan Pizza - Niman Ranch meatballs, fresh basil pesto, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, tomato-basil garlic sauce and fresh basil $10.95". He really enjoyed it. The kids again got the Chicken Fingers meals $6.95. They thought it was the best chicken in all of WDW! DH and I got the "Fresh-baked Brownie $2.95" for dessert to go since they were already prepackaged and we were stuffed. The kids got the "Frozen Yogurt with one Topping $3.95". They got chocolate chips for their topping! Very good. We all had a nice lunch and a great time meeting our DIS friends!

Wolfgang Puck Express rating: Overall 4 out of 5
Food 4 out of 5
Service 4.5 out of 5

[cmf06]

I am looking forward to the reviews!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Sunday May 11 ~ Mother's Day ~ Mama Melrose dinner

We were going to DHS (MGM) tonight to ride a few rides and have dinner and see Fantasmic and then coming back to DHS on Friday to spend the day. There are 3 choices for dinner if you get the Fantasmic Package - Hollywood & Vine (which we did last year and thought it was just okay food), Brown Derby, and Mama Melrose. We chose Mama Melrose and had a 5:20pm ADR. We waited about 20 minutes past our ADR time to be seated. After being seated and waiting for what seemed like forever we finally got our waitress. She was very nice, but very slow. She informed us that because we had the Fantasmic plan that we each got an appetizer even though we were just on the regular DDP. I hadn't heard that before, so we were pleasantly surprised.

We immediately loved the atmosphere! It is a very nicely decorated restaurant. It felt like we were eating outside under the stars. Very neat!


Our food took forever to get there, but once it did it was all very good. DH said it was probably the best meal of his trip. He got the "Spicy Italian Sausage with rigatoni pasta, peppers, onions, and a tomato basil sauce topped with caprino cheese". I got the "Wood-grilled Chicken tossed with Pipette pasta with artichokes, peas, roasted red peppers in a basil and four cheese cream sauce". The kids had spaghetti with butter sauce, so that was a nice alternative to all the chicken they had been eating!


We all got the tiramisu for dessert. It was okay. We were all pretty full already though and didn't eat much of it.


Like I said, the food was very good, but we were in there forever! It was over 2 hours total. Every time our waitress left we knew it would be at least 15-20 minutes before we saw her again. Even when she took our card to check us out she took forever. To me over 2 hours is way too much of my park time wasted in a restaurant, and a long time for kids to sit! We would probably return since the food was very good, but we would probably have to make it on a night that we had nothing else planned because it does take up a huge chunk of your time.

Mama Melrose rating: Overall 4 out of 5
Food 4.5 out of 5
Service 3 out of 5

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Pictures of Mama Melrose:

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[KatMark]

Enjoying your reviews. We have or will be dining at several of the places you have listed.

I am sorry you had such trouble at Pepper Market. I hope you complained to the manager about the fries/potato situation. I must say we've been very fortunate and have never had an issue with Pepper Market besides not very friendly servers bringing us drinks.

Looking forward to reading more. popcorn::

[TigerKat]

Great so far, I'm signing on for the rest!!

[mari360]

YAY shelly.... great report.....

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Monday May 12 ~ Electric Umbrella lunch


Today was our Epcot day. We wanted to stay until closing to see IllumiNations, so we slept in and went to Epcot around noon. We wanted a CS lunch since we had a 6:00 dinner ADR at LeCellier, so we went to Electric Umbrella. It is a very colorful and neat looking place. The line was long when we got there but it moved fairly fast. DH and I both got the "Grilled Chicken Sandwich - with lettuce and tomato served with a wheat bun with apple slices $7.19" and the "Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce $3.49" for dessert. I was all very good. The kids didn't like any of the choices on the children's menu so I got them the "Chicken Breast Nuggets served with apple slice $6.89" to share with the "No Sugar Added Brownie $2.89" for dessert. We grabbed a seat upstairs where it was less crowded and sat by the window and watched everything that was going on outside while we ate. A very nice place for a good and quick CS meal!

Electric Umbrella rating: Overall 4 out of 5
Food 4 out of 5
Service 4 out of 5


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[Mickeefan]

Okay, well I hate to start off with a negative review, but I guess I will just go in order of where we ate during the week.

We arrived on Saturday May 10th. We had an afternoon flight out of Pittsburgh - 2:00pm. We took ME from the airport and arrived at our resort - Coronado Springs, around 5:30. We weren't going to any parks that day so we had already planned on just getting unpacked, swimming, and eating at Pepper Market. Pepper Market is the food court at CSR. I had read reviews on it prior to the trip and had heard that the set up and process was confusing. But we had also heard that it was the best deal for a CS meal on the DDP in all of WDW because the prices were comparable to most TS meals.

We got there and got seated and our waitress came to the table. It was a good thing that we already knew the whole process because her accent was so thick that we could hardly understand her. Basically they give you a "food ticket" and you take it with you to be stamped at each food station with what you got and then you take it to the register when you are done eating and pay. We were excited to try out Pepper Market and figured we would probably eat here many times during the week. After this visit we knew we were not impressed. When we got up to the stations the CM's were very rude. What a nightmare! My DH went to the grill station to get us the "Ribeye Steak, Potato, & Vegetables - $20.95". I took the kids and went to the kids station to get their meals. I was the only one at the kids station, yet I waited and waited for a CM. Finally one came and got the kids meals for me. DH had even worse luck. He ordered after quite a wait, then got one of the steak dinners but got fries instead of a baked potato like he asked for. When he questioned it he was told - you get what you get. He brought me the dinner, as I was already at the table with the kids and they were nearly done eating because this had gone on so long. He was told 10 more minutes for the other steak dinner. He finally got it and it had the steak and fries again, but no veggies this time. Again - you get what you get. . . By now the kids were done eating and I was about half way through my dinner by the time he finally got his meal.


On the plus side the food was pretty good. Our steak was very tender and tasty. The kids both had the kids "Chicken Strips, chips and a cookie $4.75". The chicken strips were average WDW chicken strips. They had pizza later in the week and it was very good. Too bad the service was so poor. The few bakery items that you could choose from for dessert on the dining plan were not very good though.


The whole system at Pepper Market is just not very efficient, especially with the CM's they have.

We did give the place another try. . . Will tell about that later!

Pepper Market rating: Overall 3 out of 5
Food 4.5 out of 5
Service 2 out of 5

I would have to agree about the Pepper Market. I had never eaten there until this last trip and, frankly, I was not impressed. I would not make a special trip to eat there again. Our waiter was inattentive. We had to ask for refills (we were drinking water). The nachos I had were good, but I also got the carrot cake and it was not good. It didn't even have cream cheese icing. What's the point of carrot cake without the cream cheese icing? I found it to be overpriced, too. Unless I'm staying at Coronado Springs, I will not be going back to the Pepper Market.

[iluvpluto27]

Enjoying your reviews. I think I would have complained about the pepper market, the 'you get what you get' attitude would have sent me over the edge.

I also really like the decor at Mama melroses and it's nice to hear a positive review of it. Looking forward to more.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I would have to agree about the Pepper Market. I had never eaten there until this last trip and, frankly, I was not impressed. I would not make a special trip to eat there again. Our waiter was inattentive. We had to ask for refills (we were drinking water). The nachos I had were good, but I also got the carrot cake and it was not good. It didn't even have cream cheese icing. What's the point of carrot cake without the cream cheese icing? I found it to be overpriced, too. Unless I'm staying at Coronado Springs, I will not be going back to the Pepper Market.


Yes, it was pretty bad. Our next experience there wasn't any better either. We definitely wouldn't go back ever again now. We only gave it another try because we were staying there. It's too bad, I was really hoping to like the place!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Enjoying your reviews. I think I would have complained about the pepper market, the 'you get what you get' attitude would have sent me over the edge.

I also really like the decor at Mama melroses and it's nice to hear a positive review of it. Looking forward to more.


Thank you. Yes, the attitude of the whole CSR staff sent me over the edge by the last night of my trip when all I wanted to do was get my boarding passes printed off and I got yet another rude CM!! That's when I sent him to get a manager!

Mama Melrose is very good, just plan to spend some time there! :goodvibes

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Okay here's a freebie for you! :rotfl: I know it's not a restaurant, but my kids did eat here!

My DH and I said that we'd never do this when we first heard of it, BUT being that we NEVER vacation or hardly go anywhere without our kids we decided to give one of the WDW kids clubs a try. We had planned on all 4 of us going to dinner at LeCellier that night. But a few months before our trip I called and made the kids reservations at the Sandcastle Kids Club at the Beach Club Resort. I figured it was the closest to Epcot and we would go and if we felt comfortable we would leave them while we went for dinner. Well, we walked over from Epcot and found the Beach Club, got to the kids club and my boys were in their glory!! Video game heaven! :cloud9: It was all they could do to stand there and tell me which dinner to pick for them on the form. :yay: :yay: They took off and never turned back. One of them got the pizza meal and one got the chicken strips meal. They later told me that the food was good, but I would be surprised if they took the time to eat a lot of it! Needless to say this is at the top of their list for the next trip! And surprisingly I was not nervous and was very relaxed leaving them there. They gave us a beeper and we were headed back to Epcot for dinner at LeCellier.

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We got to LeCellier about 10 minutes before our 6:00 ADR. We were told that it would be a little bit but we were seated in about 5 minutes. A very nice place, just as everyone says. I don't know if I have ever read a bad review about LeCellier. They bring you a tower of about 3 different kinds of breadsticks with your drinks, they are all very tasty. DH and I both had the "New York Strip Steak - with bercy butter, balsamic red onions, watercress, and roasted Yukon potatoes, $34.99 ". It was all very good!! I purposely didn't finish my steak because I had heard the desserts here were so good I wanted to leave room! DH got the "Chocolate Moose $4.99" and I got the "Campfire S'mores $4.99". Both very good. I am still thinking about the S'mores dessert today!! All in all a very good experience. Good service, great food, a really nice time. And the kids didn't have to sit through another boring dinner with us, instead they were off playing video games!

LeCellier rating: Overall 5 out of 5
Food 5 out of 5
Service 5 out of 5

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I didn't get any pictures inside of LeCellier unfortunately. It was one of those things where no one else was taking pictures and I didn't want to interrupt anyone's meal by a bunch of flashes! I did get a few right outside though.

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Up next: Ohana breakfast and Casey's Corner lunch!

[SAGE]

Really enjoying your reviews!!

popcorn::

[pooch]

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http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3618.jpg


I have almost this exact picture as my screen saver. I think I took mine about 5 steps to the left!! So beautiful there. Enjoying your reviews.

[HappyCamper87]

Great Report, thanks for sharing.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

[QUOTE=Momof2Disneyboys;25768641][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3618.jpg[/IMG]


I have almost this exact picture as my screen saver. I think I took mine about 5 steps to the left!! So beautiful there. Enjoying your reviews.


[SIZE="2"][COLOR="Red"]That's funny! :goodvibes It is a beautiful spot there! :thumbsup2

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great Report, thanks for sharing.

Thank you! :)

[kimgof]

Great reviews. Really enjoying them.:thumbsup2

[bakerhouse]

Thanks for the reviews. I never thought about leaving the kids for a adults night. They would probably enjoy that, especially the video games. Do you have to make reservations or can it be a last minute decision? I'll have to read up on it!

[pixie08]

Subscribing. Great report so far. I agree aboutPepper market. We thought it was so disorganized and way to much money (we paid oop). We also were iffy on mama melrose. We always love LeCellier. I am curious to hear the rest because it seems we have similiar taste!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks for the reviews. I never thought about leaving the kids for a adults night. They would probably enjoy that, especially the video games. Do you have to make reservations or can it be a last minute decision? I'll have to read up on it!

I think they prefer if you make a reservation. Probably for staffing. Although it wasn't very busy the night we took the kids there. There were 6 kids total and 3 staff members. I guess there could have been more kids coming later, my kids didn't stay very late. They open at 4:00 and run until midnight I think. We took the kids around 5:15 and picked them up around 7:45, so we were charged for 2 1/2 hours. It's pretty pricey at $11 an hour per child. But the kids loved it so much that they said they'd pay for it themselves if they had to!! :rotfl: (They always have plenty of spending $ by the time we get to WDW from birthdays, holidays, chores, grandparents, etc!)

Here's some more info: http://www.wdwinfo.com/Just_for_kids/childcare.htm

[disnut1149]

Hi
Thanks for your reviews!! Can't wait to read more. I have to agree about the CM's at the Pepper Market. My DH had to wait so long for a steak to be cooked, and they served so many people before him, that had ordered after him. I can't believe he didn't start yelling at anyone!! He remained calm. Also, I noticed you stayed at POFQ last year. We're staying there this August for the first time. Did you like it?

[SmallWorld71]

Subscribing.:thumbsup2

[mom2fivecs]

Great reviews so far...looking forward to more.

[Princess Jenny]

Hi
Thanks for your reviews!! Can't wait to read more. I have to agree about the CM's at the Pepper Market. My DH had to wait so long for a steak to be cooked, and they served so many people before him, that had ordered after him. I can't believe he didn't start yelling at anyone!! He remained calm. Also, I noticed you stayed at POFQ last year. We're staying there this August for the first time. Did you like it?

We have stayed at POFQ and POR and we just love these resorts. The grounds are beautiful and the theme pools are great. Also by staying there, you get the choice of going to both theme pools. The boat ride to DTD is just awesome at night!

[Minniespal]

Excellent:thumbsup2

[Avojeo]

Loving your reviews!!! I hate what I am hearing about Pepper's Market. We had plan to go eat there this Dec because one of the DVC reps highly recommended it for the DDP but if it isn't good or you are going to be treated rudely then to me that isn't worth it. May have to rethink that decision.....

[KatMark]

Loving your reviews!!! I hate what I am hearing about Pepper's Market. We had plan to go eat there this Dec because one of the DVC reps highly recommended it for the DDP but if it isn't good or you are going to be treated rudely then to me that isn't worth it. May have to rethink that decision.....

I think it is hit or miss with the guests being treated rudely. We have stayed there six times and have NEVER had an incident with rude servers when getting our food. I will admit the servers that bring the drinks are not the friendliest, but we have never had a rude one.

[dawgfan]

Great reviews thanks.

[trixiequilts]

Thank you, thank you for these reviews. I am starting to plan our trip for January and debating about doing DDP or pay OOP. It's nice to hear about the counter service places and also the amount of time the table services take. Looking forward to more!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hi
Thanks for your reviews!! Can't wait to read more. I have to agree about the CM's at the Pepper Market. My DH had to wait so long for a steak to be cooked, and they served so many people before him, that had ordered after him. I can't believe he didn't start yelling at anyone!! He remained calm. Also, I noticed you stayed at POFQ last year. We're staying there this August for the first time. Did you like it?




Yes, the service at Pepper Market is very frustrating to say the least. :furious: It was all my DH could do to remain calm too! And I forgot to mention the CM at the bakery (that had to be nearing at least 90 years old) who tried to give me a raisin cookie instead of the choc. chip cookie I asked for. She insisted that it was choc. chip and it was raisin and she just kept arguing with me! Oh my! :faint:

As far as POFQ, we did like it, although it wasn't our favorite. If you are looking for small and quiet you will love it. The pool is a lot of fun too. We weren't really "wowed" by the resort though. We like a place a little bigger with more things to do and see! But you really can't be put in a bad building at POFQ, everything is close to everything! I think it would be a great place if traveling with young children or older people.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Tuesday May 13 - Ohana breakfast ~

Today was our EARLY day! :goodvibes We had a 7:30 am ADR at Ohana at the Polynesian (BTW-which is where I am going to stay someday when I get rich!!:) ) On our previous 2 trips we had breakfast at the Crystal Palace on our early MK day so that we would be inside the park before opening. Crystal Palace is so good, but the boys really like Stitch right now so we decided to give Ohana a try and then go to CP later in the week for dinner.

When I made my Ohana ADR the CM on the phone told me that there was NO WAY that I would make it to this ADR by WDW transportation. She insisted that the buses wouldn't start running until 8:00am. I knew she was wrong because we had always taken an earlier bus to get to CP before. She kept insisting that I make the ADR for 9 or 9:30. I told her that I wanted to be done eating and to MK before opening. She was very persistent though, and I finally told her to leave it and I would call a cab if I had to! Well, needless to say, we walked out to our CSR bus stop at 6:55am and a bus pulled up at 7:00! He even dropped us right at the Poly! We were there by 7:15!! :cool1:

We checked in and there were a few other families there too. Pretty soon all the Ohana staff came out and greeted everyone and did a little opening ceremony and they started calling names to be seated. Our waitress took us to our table and told us that we were lucky to get this table because it was the second table the characters went to! This meal is served family style, it's kind of like a little buffet at your own table. You don't order, but you don't have to go get anything either. Here is what you get:

"Hua Paka (Scrambled Eggs) - made fresh, hot & delicious
Uala Kahiki (Fried Potatoes) - island-style potatoes, caramelized onions & scallions
Pua'a (Pork) - pork breakfast sausage links & smoked bacon
Assorted Warm Breakfast Breads
Seasonal Fruit Bowl for na Keiki (Kids)

Unlimited Orange Juice, Milk and Coffee included"
"Adults $18.99 Children 3-9 $10.99 "

Everything was very good. I wouldn't say the food was as good as the CP breakfast, but still very good. There was also someone carrying around a basket of mickey waffles and you just told her how many you wanted when she came to your table. So those are always a hit with the kids!

The characters started out almost right away! Stitch, then Lilo, Mickey, and Pluto. They all spent plenty of time with the kids and it was a great time! About 30 minutes into breakfast they called all the kids up front and they got maracas and got to parade around the restaurant with all the characters. A Very fun time!! :stitch2:
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Ohana rating: Overall 4.5 out of 5
Food 4 out of 5
Service 5 out of 5

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks again for all the nice comments everyone! :goodvibes

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thank you, thank you for these reviews. I am starting to plan our trip for January and debating about doing DDP or pay OOP. It's nice to hear about the counter service places and also the amount of time the table services take. Looking forward to more!

You're welcome! :thumbsup2 Hope I can help!

We are thinking about going in January next year too! And we are debating about whether or not to get the DDP again. . . . Yes, we saved money, but if had paid OOP we would not have gone to all these places and wouldn't have spent what we paid for the DDP. . . . Does that make sense??? :rotfl: We may get it one more time since this will be the last year that DS9 will still be considered at child! There's no way that I would pay the adult price for him at age 10.

[trixiequilts]

You're welcome! :thumbsup2 Hope I can help!

We are thinking about going in January next year too! And we are debating about whether or not to get the DDP again. . . . Yes, we saved money, but if had paid OOP we would not have gone to all these places and wouldn't have spent what we paid for the DDP. . . . Does that make sense??? :rotfl: We may get it one more time since this will be the last year that DS9 will still be considered at child! There's no way that I would pay the adult price for him at age 10.

Yes, that totally makes sense and is exactly why I don't know if we should do the DDP. I've been looking through the menus trying to figure it all out...the other thing is that my DD8 isn't really a "kid food" kind of girl...she has always had tastes beyond her years. DD6 is much more typical, but I don't see her being too interested in chix nuggets every day, either. Haven't been super impressed with the children's menus in general. Can't wait to get more great info, especially with our kids being the same ages! How fun!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Yes, that totally makes sense and is exactly why I don't know if we should do the DDP. I've been looking through the menus trying to figure it all out...the other thing is that my DD8 isn't really a "kid food" kind of girl...she has always had tastes beyond her years. DD6 is much more typical, but I don't see her being too interested in chix nuggets every day, either. Haven't been super impressed with the children's menus in general. Can't wait to get more great info, especially with our kids being the same ages! How fun!


I know, it is a hard decision. It is usually too much food on the DDP. I don't need dessert with lunch. On our last day we had like 20 snack credits left that we never used, so we got a bunch of prepackaged stuff to bring home. But the DDP is nice for character meals. You can see a lot of characters that way and it sure beats standing in those HUGE character lines in the parks! And yes, the Disney kids meals leave a lot to be desired! With the CS meals you don't have to order their meals from the kids menu, but with the TS meals you do. A lot of times we will get one adult CS meal for the kids to share because the meals are so big and because the kids don't like anything on the kids menu. We've found that buffets work best for our kids. Then they are free to pick and choose whatever they want! So that's where the DDP pays off too. Those buffets will cost around $90+ OOP.

Boy I'm not helping much am I? :laughing: It really is a hard decision and a personal preference. We did not get the DDP on our first trip (5 nights, 6 days) and we had only 1 TS breakfast and 1 TS dinner and ate CS the rest of the week. The boys were 6 & 4 then so they shared nearly every meal, and we still spent about $350+ on food.

:confused3

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Tuesday May 13 ~ Casey's Corner lunch ~

We spent that morning at MK and weren't really hungry until about 1:00 after that Ohana breakfast. We headed to Casey's Corner for lunch. We had gone here last year so we pretty much knew what to expect. There is not much indoor seating at CC. There are a lot of umbrella tables right outside, and then more tables outside of the ice cream shop across the street.

I'm not really one for hot dogs, but CC's hot dogs aren't bad. Of course they have this great cheese sauce and I just cover mine in that! They were busy, but had a lot of lines open so we didn't really wait long. DH and I got the "Grand Slam All Beef 1/4 lb. Hot Dog - served with apple slaw or french fries $5.79". We chose the fries, you can put the cheese sauce on them too! The kids love going here so they can get the "Corn Dog Nuggets $3.59". They love those! They each got fries with their meals too. And we each got to choose either "Brownie - $2.39" or "Cracker Jack - $.99" for dessert. That was a lot of food for lunch! All very good though. DH likes the fixing's bar, they have all the toppings you can think of for a hot dog there. And as I said, the cheese sauce at the fixing's bar is great!

There were no available seats inside or outside of CC or outside of the ice cream shop, so we spotted a place with a bunch more tables just down the hill by the water between the ice cream shop and the castle. So we headed down there and then realized that it was a designated smoking area. No wonder it was nearly empty! There wasn't anyone smoking so we grabbed a table and ate there.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3797.jpg

A very nice place to grab a quick lunch or dinner. We would probably eat there if we were paying OOP too because it is so inexpensive.

Casey's Corner rating: Overall 4.5 out of 5
Food 4.5 out of 5
Service 4.5 out of 5

[Verity Chambers]

Really enjoying your reports! :goodvibes

[TigerKat]

Casey's is a must do for us on every trip. I'm not a big hot dog fan but there's just something about a Casey dog on Mainstreet!!!:banana:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Casey's is a must do for us on every trip. I'm not a big hot dog fan but there's just something about a Casey dog on Mainstreet!!!:banana:


::yes::

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Okay, where was I ??? Oh yeah, Tuesday May 13th ~ Pepper Market dinner ~

After a long day at MK we went back to CSR around 5:00 for the rest of the evening. After swimming and resting we decided to give PM another try. We figured it had been 3 days, maybe we'd get different CM's. This time we decided to forget about the whole crazy waitress at a food court thing and just get our food to go and eat at one of the tables outside. So once again I took the kids and went to the kids station. DH and I wanted to try the pizza this time so he headed for the pizza station. The kids got the "Pizza, Fresh Fruit, and a cookie $4.25" (the fresh fruit consisted of 1/4 of an orange slice) this time. We got it packaged up to go and I looked over and DH STILL hadn't been waited on. . . . .And he was the first one in line! One CM came over to him and asked if he was wanting pizza and when DH said yes (obviously, he was in the pizza line) the CM told him that he couldn't get that and that the other CM had to do that. :confused: Well the other CM kept her back to DH and all the others that were in line behind him the whole time. We finally gave up and left. We remembered that Rix Cafe had some food items so we went in there. The staff in there was much friendlier and way more helpful. We grabbed some turkey and ham sandwiches and went outside to eat.
The kids pizza was excellent. Our sandwiches were average.

So the first experience at PM wasn't just a fluke, apparently it's like that a lot. It's too bad too because their food isn't bad, just the service.

Rix Cafe has muffins and pastries, candy bars, bags of chips, sandwiches, and a few hot items. They also have all kinds of "Gelato: Single Scoop $2.99, double scoop $5.99". The pineapple gelato is the best! :goodvibes I even liked it better than the pineapple dole whip you get at MK! And the small gelato is allowed as a snack credit on the DDP!


Up next: Wednesday May 14th ~ Restaurantosauras lunch and Chef Mickey's dinner!

[Avojeo]

Great reviews!!! I love the pics at Ohanas. We must try this one day!! I hate that you had another bad experience at Pepper Market

[trixiequilts]

That experience at the PM wasn't really much better, was it? I told DH my concerns about CSR and his biggest issue was the poor service. So we will be looking at other options.

BTW-that pic of your boys with Stitch is too cute! :stitch2:

[disneybound31]

Very nice.

[ratty 987]

really enjoy reading your reviews-we are travelling from uk in august staying at csr and eating at a lot of the places you ate at-thanks

[lisaj]

Great reviews, you have made me reconsider our plans to include a breakfast at Ohanas. We had a lovely dinner there last time but we can't fit it in next as we only go for 7 days.

Have to agree with you about Pepper Market, we love the CSR (preferred it to GF last trip!) and think the Maya Grill breakfast is actually better than any other (including CP, 1900 PF and CRT) but the Pepper Market is useless. The fact that a service charge is automatically added if you pay OOP when it is in effect a self service restaurant is taking the Mickey if you will pardon the pun.

We visited PM a few times on our first trip as DD was teething and by 6pm she was all done in for the day. Last trip we opted for PM for our first evening as we didn't arrive until 5pm. It was ok but only ok and our meal (OOP) cost the same as a dinner at Ohanas/LTT and CP did later in the week - madness!

Enjoying your reviews and can't wait for more.

[annie1995]

Great reviews!!! Thats really too bad about Pepper Market:( , we were planning on going there on one of our off days to eat. I really don't think its worth the trip now.. DTD it is I guess LOL. Can't wait for more!!!

[mom2my3kids]

Great reviews!!

[KatMark]

Great reviews!!! Thats really too bad about Pepper Market:( , we were planning on going there on one of our off days to eat. I really don't think its worth the trip now.. DTD it is I guess LOL. Can't wait for more!!!

It depends on if you want to wait for your food to be prepared or not or go to one of the other counter service where the burgers, etc., have been sitting around or there is only two stations open (our experience at the Caribbean). If you are traveling with children and all want different things, it can be a slow process becasue you are all at different stations ordering your food. We have never had any problems, even when we had the kids with us as they usually were having the same thing so I would take them to their station and my DH would go get his and my food. As for the 10% surcharge, it is covered by the dining plan and if you are not on the plan, you can avoid it by getting a to go ticket.

[DisneyGirl0102]

I am really enjoying your reports Shelly and I have to say that you ate at a lot of places that we have ADR's for in November/December. We are also going to Ohana's for Breakfast, CP for dinner, Sci-Fi (dinner), Cape May Cafe (dinner). We are also going to do 1900 Park Fare @ GF for dinner, Rainforest Cafe (AK--although not on the DDP we just love this restaurant--it is a must every Disney Trip), Garden Grill (dinner) @ Epcot and Chef Mickey's (dinner).

We always eat at Casey's and absolutely love it--the kids love the corn dogs also!! :)

Let me tell you that the Cheese sauce is my favorite part of Casey's also!!!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

That experience at the PM wasn't really much better, was it? I told DH my concerns about CSR and his biggest issue was the poor service. So we will be looking at other options.

BTW-that pic of your boys with Stitch is too cute! :stitch2:

Nope, not any better the second time around! We did go back for a third time on our last day, only because we had an hour to kill before our ME bus came and we still had CS meals left on the DDP! We did have a little better experience the last time, but we still would not return.

Aw thanks. :hug: The boys had a blast with Stitch!! :stitch:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I am really enjoying your reports Shelly and I have to say that you ate at a lot of places that we have ADR's for in November/December. We are also going to Ohana's for Breakfast, CP for dinner, Sci-Fi (dinner), Cape May Cafe (dinner). We are also going to do 1900 Park Fare @ GF for dinner, Rainforest Cafe (AK--although not on the DDP we just love this restaurant--it is a must every Disney Trip), Garden Grill (dinner) @ Epcot and Chef Mickey's (dinner).

We always eat at Casey's and absolutely love it--the kids love the corn dogs also!! :)

Let me tell you that the Cheese sauce is my favorite part of Casey's also!!!

WOW, great minds think alike!! :rotfl: Looks like you have a good line up for your Nov/Dec trip! I wanted to do 1900 Park Fare for dinner one night but by the time I called it was booked, so we took the CP dinner. I'm glad we did because we had a very special anniversary experience there! But I'm hoping to try 1900 PF next time. Although, none of the rest of the family is interested in seeing Cinderella! We went to the GG on our 2007 trip. The food was just okay, but the characters were awesome so it was a good time. Kind of slow service, I can remember being in there for 1 1/2 hours for lunch!

Yes, Casey's cheese sauce is the best!! :yay:

Thanks for reading! :goodvibes

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Wednesday May 14 ~ Restaurantosaurus ~

On Tuesday DH got a phone call from a co-worker. He had just got into WDW and wanted to meet up for lunch on Wednesday. I had never met this man before, but DH had talked about how this guy goes to WDW at least 2 times a year. So naturally I wanted to meet him! We had previously planned to go to ASMo for lunch. We are considering staying at a Value resort on our next trip and getting 2 connecting rooms instead of 1 room at a Moderate. So we wanted to check out their food court so we wouldn't be surprised like we were by PM! But, DH's co-worker was going to be at AK that day so we agreed to meet him there for lunch.

We decided to keep it simple and we went to Restaurantosaurus in Dinoland at AK. We all thought they served McDonald's food, but I guess they don't anymore. Basically it is the same choices, just not McDonald's burgers, nuggets, fries, etc. We got there shortly after noon and it was packed! The lines were huge. And they moved pretty slowly. The doors to the place were propped open and there seemed to be a lot of flies everywhere. We finally got to the front and ordered. Then we waited and waited for our food. Finally we got our tray of food and went to find a table! Luckily we got one, there weren't too many empty. DH got the "Dino-Size Double Cheeseburger - burger and fries $7.09" and I got the "Cheeseburger with fries $6.09" and the kids shared a chicken nugget meal. And I think we had brownies for dessert. The food was your average burgers. They were big and pretty good. We had to dodge the flies most of the time, so that was unpleasant! But we still had a nice meal and a great time chatting with DH's co-worker and his wife.

Afterwards we took the bus to ASMo to check it out. The food court looked great! Lots of choices and very bright & clean. I think we will be giving ASMo and World Premier Food Court a try next year!

Sorry, I just checked and I guess I don't have any pictures of Restaurantosaurus or World Premiere food court. :confused3

Restaurantosaurus rating: Overall 4 out of 5
Food 4 out of 5
Service 3.5 out of 5

Up next: Chef Mickey's dinner with LOTS of pictures!! :banana:

[quixoticvalue]

Thank you for the review of Restaurantosaurus. Do you mind if I ask you-- do they still have a vegetarian burger? I've never went there because they have mcdonalds fries (which have beef flavoring in them) but since now they have gone mcdonald's free, I've been wanting to try it. :listen:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thank you for the review of Restaurantosaurus. Do you mind if I ask you-- do they still have a vegetarian burger? I've never went there because they have mcdonalds fries (which have beef flavoring in them) but since now they have gone mcdonald's free, I've been wanting to try it. :listen:


Your welcome! I didn't notice if they had the veggie burger or not when we were there. But, it is listed on their menu online - "Vegetarian Burger with Fries - $6.29".

Hope it is there for you! :wizard:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Wednesday May 14 ~ Chef Mickey's dinner ~

Tonight we had a 6:15 ADR at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort! We had dinner here in 2007 and loved it, so we were hoping for another great experience. :goodvibes There was a long line to check in, but it moved pretty fast. We were given a pager and told we would be seated shortly. It was probably 10 minutes or so and we were seated. We got a great table pretty close to the buffet! We headed up to the buffet and when we looked back at the table we noticed that we missed Minnie. DS6 was upset, he LOVES :lovestruc her and wants to "marry her"! :lmao: I assured him that we would stay as long as it takes until Minnie made her way around the whole restaurant and back to our table! Chef Mickey''s has a great selection on their buffet and it is always kept very nice and clean. The service here is wonderful. We were hoping to get the same waitress we had last year, but we got a very nice man this time. He was very pleasant and efficient. Here are some of the choices on the buffet:

"SAMPLE MENU
PREMIUM SALAD BAR AND SOUR DU JOUR
Today's Soup: Chicken and Corn Chowder

ON THE CARVING BOARD
Spice Rubbed Prime Rib & Oven-Roasted Bone-in Ham

CHEF'S BUFFET SPECIALS OF THE DAY
Madeira Wild Mushroom Beef Tips
Orange Teriyaki Chicken
Tamarind Glazed Salmon with Pesto and Wasabi Mango Coulis
Penne Pasta with Chicken and Italian Sausage Florentine

WONDERFUL ACCOMPANIMENTS
Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
Mickey Cheese Ravioli and Marinara Sauce
Rice with Peas
Garlic Steamed Broccoli Polonaise
Mandarin Orange Glazed Baby Carrots

CHILDREN'S FAVORITES
Chef Mickey's Macaroni and Cheese
Goofy's Cheese Pizza
Minnie's Vegetables
Chip & Dale's Tender Chicken

SAVE ROOM FOR THE FABULOUS SUNDAE AND DESSERT BAR

BUFFET PRICE : $29.99 FOR ADULTS
$14.99 FOR CHILDREN 3-9"

The dessert bar is amazing! Any topping you could imagine for your ice cream is there, plus many many dessert choices. The kids were in heaven, so was I! :cloud9: I love dessert!

The characters made their way around and spent plenty of time with the kids! Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Goofy, and last but certainly not least - Minnie! DS6 gave Minnie a little card he had made her and she was very nice and spent a few extra minutes with him and made his day! :love:

The kids really enjoy when the characters and staff do the famous napkin twirl parade-thing. Not sure of the official name for it, but it is really fun!

Chef Mickey's rating: Overall 5 out or 5
Food 4.5 out of 5
Service 5 out of 5

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Chef Mickey's pictures:

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3896.jpg

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3873.jpg

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http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3881.jpg

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3875.jpg

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3883.jpg

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3887.jpg

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http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3894.jpg

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Up next: Thursday May 15 (my 10th anniversary!) ~ Cape May breakfast and Crystal Palace dinner!

[trixiequilts]

Your DS6 is going to be so embarrassed when he's older about wanting to marry Minnie! That's the kind of stuff to tell his future wife! But it is so sweet...the card, the hug, he must have been on :cloud9: ! It sure looks like it from the pics. Still looking forward to more!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thursday May 15 ~ Cape May breakfast ~

Today was our 10th anniversary! We didn't really have anything too special planned, we already had our "alone" dinner at LeCellier on Monday night when the kids went to the kids club. We slept in and then had a 9:15am ADR at Cape May at the Beach Club Resort. We took the DHS (MGM) bus from our resort to DHS, then took a ferry boat to the Beach Club. We checked in and waited maybe 5 minutes and were seated. We thought we were off to a good start. Then things went downhill.

Our waitress came and took our drink orders. DS9 told her that it was our 10th anniversary today and she said - oh that's nice. No happy anniversary or anything. We weren't expecting anything great, but a simple gesture would have been nice. She bought us our drinks and then disappeared for nearly the whole meal. I had nothing to drink for over 30 minutes! Boy was I mad! :( There we sat all dressed up and had our anniversary buttons on and she couldn't even get us drinks! :confused3 When she finally showed back up at the table she was just plain rude. She really ruined the place for us.

The characters came out and were very rushed. Not near as friendly as the characters at Chef Mickey's! They stopped by the table briefly, just long enough to get a picture taken. We went there because Chip & Dale were there. And Minnie of course! :lovestruc When we went to the Garden Grill last year Chip and Dale were very funny and really interacted with the kids, not so much here. They were okay, just nothing spectacular.

The food is a buffet. It was all average to good. Not as good as the CP buffet, and not near as many choices. Here is the menu:

"Fresh cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, and fresh berries, mixed fruit

Yogurt selections

Breakfast Specials Daily

Scrambled eggs, omelets, and eggs to order

Biscuits and gravy

French toast, pancakes, and Mickey waffles

Bacon and sausage

Seasonal potatoes

Assorted hot & cold cereals

Bread pudding with vanilla sauce
Muffins, danish, and donuts
Bagels & breads toasted to order

Coffee and tea, juice selections"

"Adults $18.99
Children Ages 3-9 $10.99"


Cape May ratings: Overall 3 out of 5
Food 4 out of 5
Service 2 out of 5

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Cape May pictures:

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3940.jpg

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3941.jpg

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http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3946.jpg


The kids did have a good time and we got some great pictures of the characters in their beachwear, despite the bad service!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Up next: A quick lunch at Siesta's Pool bar & grill at CSR and A special anniversary at Crystal Palace!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thursday May 15 ~ Siesta's Pool Bar & Grill ~

After breakfast we strolled the Boardwalk area a bit and then went back to CSR for a relaxing day at the pool. We were all a bit hungry by the middle of the afternoon, but didn't want to eat much since we had a 6:20 ADR at CP that evening. So we noticed that to the right of the pool bar at CSR there was a food section. So we went over and took a look. They had a quite a menu for a small pool bar & grill. DH and I decided to split the "Siesta's Nachos - cheese, beef, lettuce and tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, and jalapenos on the side $7.75" with that we got a drink and a bag of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies on the DDP. The kids split the "Hot Dog Combo $7.50" and got fries, a drink, and the cookies with their meal. Everything was very good and the CM there was actually very nice and friendly and helpful! I was really impressed considering all the problems we had with the other CSR CM's all week!

I can't find any pictures of Siesta's, but if you look real hard you can see the counter in the background back behind where DS is relaxing here by the pool!

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3988.jpg

Siesta's Pool Bar & Grill rating: Overall 4.5 out of 5
Food 4 out of 5
Service 5 out of 5

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Your DS6 is going to be so embarrassed when he's older about wanting to marry Minnie! That's the kind of stuff to tell his future wife! But it is so sweet...the card, the hug, he must have been on :cloud9: ! It sure looks like it from the pics. Still looking forward to more!


Yes, I keep thinking he is going to grow out of it and be embarrassed! He has had his crush on her since our first trip when he was 3 (turned 4 on the trip), and it hasn't gone away yet and he is nearing 7! :rotfl:

[quixoticvalue]

Yes, I keep thinking he is going to grow out of it and be embarrassed! He has had his crush on her since our first trip when he was 3 (turned 4 on the trip), and it hasn't gone away yet and he is nearing 7! :rotfl:

That is absolutely adorable! PS- I really enjoy your style of reviews, short, sweet, yet descriptive.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

That is absolutely adorable! PS- I really enjoy your style of reviews, short, sweet, yet descriptive.

Thanks! I am trying to keep it simple, yet let you know my experience. I know that I have read some dining reviews that give every single little detail on every single little thing and I get bored! Hope I'm giving enough info, I'm not sure too many are still reading!

[lisaj]

Here's someone still waiting for more.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thursday May 15 ~ Crystal Palace dinner ~

We had been to CP on both of our previous trips, but for breakfast. Like I said before, we decided to give up the CP breakfast this trip and try Ohana. I made all of our ADR's 180 day out. For this day we had scheduled Whispering Canyon Cafe for dinner. About a month prior to our trip we started to think that maybe WCC wasn't for us. So I called to cancel. I tried to get 1900 Park Fare (I wasn't going to tell the boys until we got there! :laughing: ) but the only opening they had for the 15th was at 8:30pm. Well that's too late for my kids. So I asked about CP, not really expecting them to have anything. But they did, and a 6:20pm! :goodvibes

When we got there the check in line was huge! And it was outside and it was HOT! DH took the kids off to the side and I made my way through the line and got us checked in. We were now in our t-shirts and shorts, not dressed up at all, but I did have my anniversary button on. I didn't mention the anniversary to the CM at check in or anything and never really gave it a thought. We waited awhile and they finally called our name. We went up to the front and then they said - oh it's going to be another few minutes for your table. I am thinking - oh great here we go again, bad service just like this morning's breakfast. But I should have known that we have always had superior service at CP and tonight wouldn't be any different! :yay:

We got to our table and there was a heart on the table made out of mickey-head confetti! :love:

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_4000.jpg

Our waitress then came over and congratulated us and asked how many years and how to spell our names. She got our drinks for us and kept them filled the whole time! Very nice and friendly. We went up to the buffet and then came back to character after character! A great experience as always! The kids enjoyed the parade with the characters too! Even though the boys have outgrown Winnie the Pooh and friends we always have a nice time here. The dinner buffet was just as nice as the breakfast buffet has always been. Here is the menu:

"Peel & Eat Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce and Lemon Wedges
Sliced Tomatoes and Egg Toasted Cumin Dressing
Sweet Plantain, Cucumber and Corn Salad
Shrimp, Black Bean and Mango Salad
Edamame Salad - Young Soy Bean
Couscous Tofu and roasted Vegetable Salad
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Beet Salad with Sag Dhal Dressing
Romaine and Bleu Cheese Salad
Papaya Frisee and Arugula Salad
Mixed Field Greens
Ranch and Zinfandel Dressings
Mandarin Orange Sesame Vinaigrette
Tropical Slaw


Smoked Corn Chowder
Turkey Vegetable Soup

Garlic Redskin Smashed Potatoes
Broccoli tossed in Puri Puri and topped with Key Lime Ponzu
Medley of Vegetables with Balsamic Glaze
Mac and Cheese
Cinnamon and Lemon Infused Balsamic Rice
Thai Curry Mussels
Fruit and Vegetable Tofu Curry
Fire Roasted Corn Spoon bread
Braised Kale


Fire Roasted Prime Rib
Herb Roasted Turkey
Cheese Pizza
Slow Roasted Adobo Pork
Wild Mushroom and Chicken Pasta with Bail Asiago Cream Sauce
Chicken Fingers
Vegetable Pasta
Ancho Chile Rubbed Atlantic Salmon (This was the best salmon I have ever had, mild fish and not too spicy)
Flame Roasted Rotisserie Chicken

Sun-Dried Cherry Chutney
Violet Mustard Sauce
Beef Demi Glaze

Pooh's Corner
Mac and Cheese
Chicken Fingers


Key Lime Pie
Red Velvet Cheesecake
Tiramisu
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Boston Cream pie
Double Chocolate Brownies
Ice Cream Sundae Bar

Chefs are happy to cater to your special dietary needs. Let the hostess know at the Podium and you can also talk to the Chef's at the Buffet.

Non-alcoholic Beverage and Dessert included"

"COST: $27.99/Adults, $12.99 Children ages 3-9"

Everything was very good and obviously there is A LOT to choose from! Pooh, Tigger, and Piglet had made there was around and all spent plenty of time with our kids. We were done eating and about ready to go. We could see that Eeyore was a few tables away. We paid and our waitress came back and told us not to leave because Eeyore was coming. When Eeyore got to the table our waitress came right over with a cupcake with candles in it and an anniversary card for us signed by all the characters!! She took my camera and took pictures of us with Eeyore. The kids thought this was hilarious!!

There really isn't anything bad to say about CP. You can always count on a good experience there! And to think we almost didn't go there this trip!

Crystal Palace ratings: All 5 out of 5 of course!

CP pictures to come!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Crystal Palace pictures!

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[Princess Jenny]

Loved the pictures. Im glad they made your anniversary special for you :goodvibes

[rdsx28]

Wonderful report Shelly! I love CSR and we are staying there for our 4th year this November. I totally understand what you mean about the PM. It does seem as if you wait forever to get your meal and depending on the CM you can have a great or lousy experience. I had to chuckle when I read the pastry CM you were talking about because I know exactly who you mean. Short, gray hair woman? She is very rude and as slow as anything. Towards the end of our trip my husband and I kept hoping she wasn't working.I also agree that they could offer a few more desserts to choose from, most are actually breakfast items Danish etc. I guess the waiters who got us our drinks etc I basically just ignored them and if i wanted a refill got it myself as we always filled up our mugs prior to leaving and felt comfortable getting our own. And honestly seeing that they charged the 10% service I never give any extra unless I had received superior service there which hasn't been often. I love CSR but agree they could do some work on the food part of it. Next time give Boma a try for breakfast it is WONDERFUL and always a must do for us! Thanks again!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Here's someone still waiting for more.

Glad you are still onboard! :goodvibes

Loved the pictures. Im glad they made your anniversary special for you :goodvibes

Thanks! Yes, they really did make it a special evening!

Wonderful report Shelly! I love CSR and we are staying there for our 4th year this November. I totally understand what you mean about the PM. It does seem as if you wait forever to get your meal and depending on the CM you can have a great or lousy experience. I had to chuckle when I read the pastry CM you were talking about because I know exactly who you mean. Short, gray hair woman? She is very rude and as slow as anything. Towards the end of our trip my husband and I kept hoping she wasn't working.I also agree that they could offer a few more desserts to choose from, most are actually breakfast items Danish etc. I guess the waiters who got us our drinks etc I basically just ignored them and if i wanted a refill got it myself as we always filled up our mugs prior to leaving and felt comfortable getting our own. And honestly seeing that they charged the 10% service I never give any extra unless I had received superior service there which hasn't been often. I love CSR but agree they could do some work on the food part of it. Next time give Boma a try for breakfast it is WONDERFUL and always a must do for us! Thanks again!

:lmao: OMG I'm glad I'm not the only one who has had a run in with that little old lady!! All I wanted was a chocolate chip cookie! :faint: Yes, they have all these nice desserts sitting there and all you are allowed to pick from is cookies and breafkast danish type items. . . :confused:

I hope you have a great trip in November! And here's hoping for better luck at PM!! :wizard: pixiedust:

[honeybee213]

Great reviews. Did you like CSR even with PM not being the best?

[JoBird]

:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:

Isn't it just like me to show up late to the party?:lmao:


I somehow missed your link--- duh me.

Love love love the report. Wish we could have seen each other.

;) ( the snooty for real is gone -poof- from my computer. It's a conspiracy, I swear!)


:rotfl:

Jo

[HonnyDipp]

I just read the review for the O'hana breakfast. I'm actually considering changing our morning ADR at Chef Mickey's to O'hana! Thanks for the info!:thumbsup2

[MikeAidanEoinMom]

I think they prefer if you make a reservation. Probably for staffing. Although it wasn't very busy the night we took the kids there. There were 6 kids total and 3 staff members. I guess there could have been more kids coming later, my kids didn't stay very late. They open at 4:00 and run until midnight I think. We took the kids around 5:15 and picked them up around 7:45, so we were charged for 2 1/2 hours. It's pretty pricey at $11 an hour per child. But the kids loved it so much that they said they'd pay for it themselves if they had to!! :rotfl: (They always have plenty of spending $ by the time we get to WDW from birthdays, holidays, chores, grandparents, etc!)

Here's some more info: http://www.wdwinfo.com/Just_for_kids/childcare.htm

When you figure in Dinner is included it is not so bad I guess. We are going to do this one day my youngest is not yet 4 :)

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great reviews. Did you like CSR even with PM not being the best?

We thought CSR was okay. Would we go back? Probably not. We are a family that spends a lot of time at the resort, and we had too many bad experiences with rude CM's there to want to go back.

The room was nice and bright, just wasn't kept clean. Our housekeeper couldn't even leave a shower cap like I asked for 3 days in a row. You've read about the service at PM. Another CM at the front desk argued and argued with me about printing my boarding passes. :faint: Too many inconveniences.

We did think it was a very beautiful place. The pool is great! There was lots to do and see. Bus service was good.

So I guess it's all in what you want. I know that not every CM is always going to be pleasant and helpful, but for what we pay to go to WDW I sure don't expect so many unpleasant people in one place!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:

Isn't it just like me to show up late to the party?:lmao:


I somehow missed your link--- duh me.

Love love love the report. Wish we could have seen each other.

;) ( the snooty for real is gone -poof- from my computer. It's a conspiracy, I swear!)


:rotfl:

Jo

Glad you could join us!! Better late than never, right?!? :rotfl:

Found him --> :snooty:

:lmao:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I just read the review for the O'hana breakfast. I'm actually considering changing our morning ADR at Chef Mickey's to O'hana! Thanks for the info!:thumbsup2


Yes, Ohana was a great time! :stitch2: I'm not sure I'd give up Chef Mickey's for it though. Chef Mickey's is always great too, although I've never been to their breakfast. . . Hmm. . . That's a tough one. Maybe you can do both!! Good luck, really you can't go wrong with either! :wizard:

[HonnyDipp]

Yes, Ohana was a great time! :stitch2: I'm not sure I'd give up Chef Mickey's for it though. Chef Mickey's is always great too, although I've never been to their breakfast. . . Hmm. . . That's a tough one. Maybe you can do both!! Good luck, really you can't go wrong with either! :wizard:

I'm on the fence here. I have to decide which one would you choose for breakfast? CM's or O'hana?:confused3

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I'm on the fence here. I have to decide which one would you choose for breakfast? CM's or O'hana?:confused3

That's a tough one! I've never been to breakfast at CM's, only dinner. The dinner buffet is great and the characters are wonderful and the service is really great too. I think we will try CM's breakfast on the next trip, only because we have done dinner there twice now. I expect the experience will be as great as dinner!

We had a great experience at Ohana's too. There's just not as much to choose from there since it is served family style.

So, we really enjoy both places. Maybe it depends on which characters you want to see most. We went to Ohana because it is the only place to see Stitch.

Can you go to Ohana for breakfast (since the characters are only at this restaurant for breakfast) and go to CM's for dinner some evening??? That's what I would do if you were wanting to try them both. Both are a great place to see a lot of characters!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Friday May 16 ~ Sci-Fi Dine-In lunch ~

When I called 180 days out for this ADR I wanted an 11:00am ADR (when they open), since we were just going to eat a very light breakfast in the room. They told me the earliest they had available was 11:25am. So I took it!

We were ready to eat around 11:00 as I thought we would be so we went to the podium at about 11:05 and were told we would be seated shortly. Not even a minute later they came and seated us. The place was pretty bare. Still not sure why I wasn't given the 11:00 ADR. . . Oh well! We really liked the atmosphere right away. They put the kids in the front seat of the car so they could "drive". DH and I were in the middle seat, and we picked up a few "hitch hickers" about half way through our meal in the back seat.


Our waitress was great and fast. Took our orders right away and the food came quick. We were on the dining plan, so milkshakes were included. The kids (9 & 6 1/2) loved the oreo shakes! My chocolate shake was very good and creamy. DH had the vanilla and loved it too. DH and I got the "Italian Grilled Chicken Sandwich - with bruschetta topping served on a kaiser roll. Served with choice of cucumber-melon salad or fries $13.99". DS9 got the kids hamburger with fries, DS6 got the kids hot dog and fries. DS6 was the only one who really didn't like his food. But he is VERY picky, so I wasn't surprised!


The waitress told us that dessert was still included on the DDP even though we had shakes, but we were way too stuffed. She offered to pack up some desserts to go for us, but we were going to be at DHS all day and it was 94 degrees, so we passed. Even though there were a lot of great dessert choices and I'm sure they were all very yummy!


The only negatives about the place would be that it is very dark, so it is hard to see the menu and your food. But I understand that that it really needs to be dark to set the atmosphere. And the drive-in speaker was right beside me and it was VERY loud!

Overall a great place to eat and fun for the whole family! :goodvibes

Sci-Fi Dine-In rating: Overall 4.5 out of 5
Food 4.5 out of 5
Service 5 out of 5

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I will post pictures of Sci-Fi tomorrow. Got to go for now!

[HonnyDipp]

That's a tough one! I've never been to breakfast at CM's, only dinner. The dinner buffet is great and the characters are wonderful and the service is really great too. I think we will try CM's breakfast on the next trip, only because we have done dinner there twice now. I expect the experience will be as great as dinner!

We had a great experience at Ohana's too. There's just not as much to choose from there since it is served family style.

So, we really enjoy both places. Maybe it depends on which characters you want to see most. We went to Ohana because it is the only place to see Stitch.

Can you go to Ohana for breakfast (since the characters are only at this restaurant for breakfast) and go to CM's for dinner some evening??? That's what I would do if you were wanting to try them both. Both are a great place to see a lot of characters!

Ok, I figured it out! I have an ADR for breakfast at CM and an ADR at O'hana for dinner that evening. Thanks for your advice, can't wait to see more! Subscribbing! :hug:

[trixiequilts]

It's nice to see something good about the Sci-Fi, there's a lot of bad reviews out there. The food must have been good if you were too full to have "free" :rotfl: dessert! (Pre-paid, really, nothing is ever free!)

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Ok, I figured it out! I have an ADR for breakfast at CM and an ADR at O'hana for dinner that evening. Thanks for your advice, can't wait to see more! Subscribbing! :hug:


You know that the characters are not at the Ohana dinner, right? They are only there at breakfast. Just didn't want you to be surprised!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

It's nice to see something good about the Sci-Fi, there's a lot of bad reviews out there. The food must have been good if you were too full to have "free" :rotfl: dessert! (Pre-paid, really, nothing is ever free!)

Yes, we really enjoyed Sci-Fi! :goodvibes The food was very good, especially the shakes! And it's not like us to pass up a "free" dessert!! :rotfl:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Sci-Fi Dine-In pictures:

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[Momof2Disneyboys]

Friday May 16 ~ Earl of Sandwich dinner ~

We decided to spend our last night in WDW at DTD. I had heard great things about Earl of Sandwich, so I thought we'd grab a quick sandwich there before we finished up our shopping. We walked in and the line was HUGE! We figured it wasn't going to be any better anywhere else because it was around 6:30pm. So we waited. . . and waited. . . and waited some more! We finally got up to the counter to order. After we ordered we went through another line to pay. They gave us a number and we had to wait for them to call it, then we would get our food. In the meantime we went to fill our cups from the drink station. Well there were so many people waiting that they were all crowded in front of the drinks! :eek: We eventually got our drinks, we had our bags of chips that came with our sandwiches and we could see that there was nowhere to sit inside, so I told DH to take the kids and go find a table outside and I would find them whenever I got our sandwiches. After awhile they finally called my number and I got our sandwiches and went outside to find DH and the kids still looking for a table. No seating left anywhere. So we started walking around and ended up sitting on a bench under a tree nearby. DH got the "The All American - roast turkey, buttermilk ranch, cranberries, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato." I got the "The Caprese - sliced fresh mozzarella, roma tomatos, fresh basil and drizzled virgin olive oil." "Hot Sandwiches Fresh Made to Order on our Artesian Baked Loaf - All Hot Sandwiches $5.75 each." The kids got a pb&j sandwich meal. DH was not impressed with his sandwich at all, and he is not a picky eater at all! My "hot sandwich" was pretty much cold. The bun was warm, but the cheese was cold. :confused3 The kid's pb&j was warm! :confused: Gross! The pb was running out of it because it was so warm. The only good thing about the sandwiches were the Artesian Baked Loaf they came on. That was very good. Other than that, not good! Too bad, because it would be a fairly cheap place to eat if you were paying oop.

Earl of Sandwich rating: Overall 2.5 out of 5
Food 2 out of 5
Service 3 out of 5

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[mari360]

hmmmm... after reading about food i'm getting hungry...... Great Report.... Sorry that ur experience at EOS wasn't the greatest...

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks Mari! :goodvibes

Only a few reviews to go!

[HonnyDipp]

You know that the characters are not at the Ohana dinner, right? They are only there at breakfast. Just didn't want you to be surprised!

No I did'nt know that, thanks for the heads up!:thumbsup2

[vassar36]

just found your report!!! Excellent reviews thanks!!!!!!!!:goodvibes

[SuzieN]

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who is less than impressed with EOS! The place is a zoo which instantly takes points off in my book. We had people hovering over us for our table the entire time we were eating! None of us [there were 6 in our party] thought the sandwiches were anything special. In fact, my DS12 and I had the Cannonballs [meatball sandwich] and we both thought it was gross - waaaay too salty!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

just found your report!!! Excellent reviews thanks!!!!!!!!:goodvibes


Thank you! :goodvibes

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who is less than impressed with EOS! The place is a zoo which instantly takes points off in my book. We had people hovering over us for our table the entire time we were eating! None of us [there were 6 in our party] thought the sandwiches were anything special. In fact, my DS12 and I had the Cannonballs [meatball sandwich] and we both thought it was gross - waaaay too salty!

Yes, comparing it to a zoo is pretty accurate!! :rotfl: When I was waiting in the crowd of people for my number to be called the woman beside me said - "it was even worse than this in here last night!" I was thinking, then why are you here again??? :confused3 She must have liked the food I guess. But we didn't! And DH eats just about anything!

Thanks for reading!

[rusafee1183]

hey shelly! keep up the good work! awesome reviews - very detailed without being boring!!!

:snooty: :snooty: :snooty:

[mari360]

i did the same about goofy candy co.... i had about 16 snacks left so we racked up on candy. we still have some left....

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Just a few little snack reviews! :)

The best Frozen Lemonade at WDW is at Min & Bill's Dockside Diner at DHS!! :thumbsup2 Got one there on our first trip and it was great. Got one at AK on the second trip and it was so sour I couldn't hardly drink it. :eek: So back to Min & Bill's this year!

I might have mentioned this one before, but if you find yourself at CSR and want a great snack go into Rix Cafe and get a gelato! They will let you sample the flavors first. The pineapple was the best!! ::yes:: I liked it better than the Dole Whips!

We always stop at Goofy's Candy Co. at least twice on every trip! For one snack credit on the DDP you can get 3 pretzel rods dipped in chocolate and then rolled in a candy topping of your choice! Plus we always visit here close to our last day because we always have a ton of snack credits left on the DDP! This time it was Friday night and we were leaving Saturday and we had 21 snack credits left. It's just hard to use them when you already get dessert with every meal. So we go into Goofy's and almost anything that is under $4 is considered a snack on the DDP. So we get bags of treats to bring home. The kids love to get the little bags of chocolate coins wrapped in foil with the characters on them, then they share them with their class when they get back. We also get the big lollipops, Chip & Dale's peanuts, gummy bears, Minnie's bakeshop cookies, etc.

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[iluvpluto27]

Great reviews, Goofys is my favourite place to use up snack credits too.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

hey shelly! keep up the good work! awesome reviews - very detailed without being boring!!!

:snooty: :snooty: :snooty:

Thanks Heather! :hug:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great reviews, Goofys is my favourite place to use up snack credits too.

Thanks for reading! :)

[bytheblood]

Enjoying this thread. :)

[Verity Chambers]

Loving your reports! :thumbsup2

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Enjoying this thread. :)

Loving your reports! :thumbsup2


Thank you both! :goodvibes

[iluvdizknee]

Great, we are going to try EOS for the first time in 9 days, the first night we get there. I was excited, but now I am thinking twice about going. Maybe, I will go, see how the lines are and table availability, and decide from there.
Thanks for the info :thumbsup2

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Saturday May 17 ~ Pepper Market ~

I know, we must be crazy for going back here, right??? :rotfl: Well it was lunchtime, we had CS credits left on the DDP, and our ME bus was picking us up at CSR at 1:15. So we decided to give it one last try! PM wasn't very busy today. The kids got the kids pizza meals again. DH got the "Cheeseburger with French Fries - $9.50" meal from the grill station and I got the "Taco Salad - $11.95" from the Mexican station. We actually got waited on in a timely manner today and the food was pretty good. The CM's weren't overly friendly or anything, but just getting waited on was a real treat for us after the last experience here! :lmao:

Not too much left to say about PM. Although there are a lot of choices it was probably the worst food court we have ever experienced at WDW, mainly due to the service.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Okay, so question of the day ~ the question I get asked quite often ~ IS THE DDP PLAN WORTH IT?????

Unfortunately I don't have the answer to that! :confused3 I guess it just depends. . . .

All of our food totaled $985. We paid about $675 for the DDP. So, it looks like it was a great deal, right?!? :yay: Well, that depends on how you look at it. Yes, we saved $310 !! But, if we had not had the DDP would we have ate at all those places? Would we have bought all the "stuff" at Goofy's Candy Co that we didn't need? Would we have done 3 character meals? Would we have gotten dessert with every meal? Um. . . No. . No. . . No. . . and No!

So, it's all in how you look at it. It is nice to be able to experience all those restaurants, go to all the character meals, take the kids to a candy store and tell them to pick out whatever they want and so on! But, I don't like the feeling of being tied to all those reservations. It seems like you have to plan your day around where you need to be at a certain time for your ADR and it makes things a little hectic. Also, it can make you uncomfortably full because you eat so much trying to get your money's worth!

We could go and eat mostly CS and just do a few TS and spend less than the $675 we spent on the DDP. So that's another way to look at it. But then you don't get to do all the character meals. And those are so nice because those lines in the parks are so long to see the characters.

So again, I don't know!! :confused: We were set on not doing the DDP on the next trip. But then we reconsidered. It will be the last trip before DS9 is considered an adult by Disney. We will definitely NOT be getting the DDP when DS turns 10. There's no way I would pay nearly $40 a day for a 10 year old picky eater! So now we are thinking that we will do the DDP in 2009 (depending on the 2009 price) and then we will probably be done with it. At least until the boys are teenagers and they eat so much that it becomes a good deal again!!

[Anna_Claire]

Thanks for taking the time to do these reviews. We are taking our first trip to WDW in December (For NYE) with my DH ::cop: (who hasn't been since he was 7 and is now 31!) DD4 :earsgirl: , and DS3 :earsboy:. I haven't been since I was 12, and am now 30! So, it's like the first time for us! I will be making my reservations on Tuesday, which will mark our 180 days until. We are doing the DDP and I feel like it will be well worth it because we are doing at least one character meal every day. (I don't want the kids missing out on any character meet & greets!) The reviews have been very helpful in trying to figure out what's worth it and was isn't. I'm a little OCD :hyper: when it comes to this planning thing and I'm super organized. I even have Excel spreadsheets for this junk!

[trixiequilts]

Thanks so much for the great reviews, I appreciate all the time, effort and honesty you put into them! We're still leaning toward the DDP. Last night I added up what we would choose at the TS restaurants (7) and we're already at at least $551! And that's just TS! DDP will be around $686. Like you said, if we didn't do the plan we definitely would not eat at all those places. But DD8 will still be a child (even though she doesn't eat like one...they'll lose money on her!) so now's the time!

Are you going to do more reviews after your next trip? ;)

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks for taking the time to do these reviews. We are taking our first trip to WDW in December (For NYE) with my DH ::cop: (who hasn't been since he was 7 and is now 31!) DD4 :earsgirl: , and DS3 :earsboy:. I haven't been since I was 12, and am now 30! So, it's like the first time for us! I will be making my reservations on Tuesday, which will mark our 180 days until. We are doing the DDP and I feel like it will be well worth it because we are doing at least one character meal every day. (I don't want the kids missing out on any character meet & greets!) The reviews have been very helpful in trying to figure out what's worth it and was isn't. I'm a little OCD :hyper: when it comes to this planning thing and I'm super organized. I even have Excel spreadsheets for this junk!

You're welcome! :goodvibes

I hope you have a wonderful first trip with your kids!! They are at a great age to go! And if you are wanting to do a lot of character meals, then the DDP is definitely worth it. Character dinners run around $100 for a family of 4!

Good luck getting all the ADR's you want! :wizard:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks so much for the great reviews, I appreciate all the time, effort and honesty you put into them! We're still leaning toward the DDP. Last night I added up what we would choose at the TS restaurants (7) and we're already at at least $551! And that's just TS! DDP will be around $686. Like you said, if we didn't do the plan we definitely would not eat at all those places. But DD8 will still be a child (even though she doesn't eat like one...they'll lose money on her!) so now's the time!

Are you going to do more reviews after your next trip? ;)

No problem! :goodvibes

I think you will be happy with the DDP, especially if you are wanting to do a lot of character meals and if your DD is a good eater!

I probably will do more dining reviews after the next trip! :goodvibes It was fun! We are thinking about these for the next trip: LeCellier (again), Mama Melrose (again), Chef Mickey's breakfast (since we've only done dinner there), 1900 Park Fare, The Plaza Restaurant, and that leaves one more to choose if we go for 6 nights. . . . .

We will have to see what the 2009 DDP is like first though!

[mari360]

loved all the reports...... also the review on the DDp... for us it was great... i would do it again... i just like the that i don't have to worry about food or anything.....we'll see how much they change it throughout the years...

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks Mari! :goodvibes

[rusafee1183]

Okay, so question of the day ~ the question I get asked quite often ~ IS THE DDP PLAN WORTH IT?????

Unfortunately I don't have the answer to that! :confused3 I guess it just depends. . . .

All of our food totaled $985. We paid about $675 for the DDP. So, it looks like it was a great deal, right?!? :yay: Well, that depends on how you look at it. Yes, we saved $310 !! But, if we had not had the DDP would we have ate at all those places? Would we have bought all the "stuff" at Goofy's Candy Co that we didn't need? Would we have done 3 character meals? Would we have gotten dessert with every meal? Um. . . No. . No. . . No. . . and No!

So, it's all in how you look at it. It is nice to be able to experience all those restaurants, go to all the character meals, take the kids to a candy store and tell them to pick out whatever they want and so on! But, I don't like the feeling of being tied to all those reservations. It seems like you have to plan your day around where you need to be at a certain time for your ADR and it makes things a little hectic. Also, it can make you uncomfortably full because you eat so much trying to get your money's worth!

We could go and eat mostly CS and just do a few TS and spend less than the $675 we spent on the DDP. So that's another way to look at it. But then you don't get to do all the character meals. And those are so nice because those lines in the parks are so long to see the characters.

So again, I don't know!! :confused: We were set on not doing the DDP on the next trip. But then we reconsidered. It will be the last trip before DS9 is considered an adult by Disney. We will definitely NOT be getting the DDP when DS turns 10. There's no way I would pay nearly $40 a day for a 10 year old picky eater! So now we are thinking that we will do the DDP in 2009 (depending on the 2009 price) and then we will probably be done with it. At least until the boys are teenagers and they eat so much that it becomes a good deal again!!

good point shelly! i am still wondering if i will do it next time or not- :confused3 you'll have to teach me how to be so organized next time!!! :worship:

great job!!!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

good point shelly! i am still wondering if i will do it next time or not- :confused3 you'll have to teach me how to be so organized next time!!! :worship:

great job!!!

:goodvibes Ah, thanks!

[ktkerber]

Hi Shelly...

I was wondering where in the Pittsburgh area you are from. We are out in the Eastern suburbs between Monroeville and Greensburg. We also stayed at CSR on our last trip in Dec 07. We also had the same experiences with the Pepper Market staff, especially the drinks people. I also had a problem with one the people in the lobby at the concierge desk. We had booked Mickey's Backyard BBQ and had to hold the reservation with our cc. I went to the desk because we had to pick up the tickets. We wanted to pay for the tickets instead of putting it on our credit card since we had Disney Visa dollars, gift cards, and cash. I went up to the desk and explained this to her. Should have been no problem, right? Well instead of taking my Visa dollars and gift cards she went ahead and charged it to the DDP. We didn't want to do this either because we had already planned 2 TS meals that were way more expensive for the 2 of them than the BBQ would have cost out of pocket. So I told her this and she said it was already done and she could not reverse. She was just like "Oh, Well! Sorry! I told her she had better find a way because that is not what I asked for. She was very rude and acted like I was crazy because I didn't want it on the DDP. We had Le Cellier and Coral Reef left. I was confident that those meals were a better use of our 2 remaining TS credits than the BBQ. She made me explain this to her in great detail and then complained that it was time for the desk to close so we was going to have to close up. I was so mad if she would have just taken the Visa dollars and gift cards and done what I asked, there would have been n problem. I insisted that she fix the problem and informed her I had all night to wait. Magically(since it was time for her to go home,) she was able to reverse the charge and take the gift cards.

I will also say that our mousekeeper was not very good either. I am pretty sure there were days that she just put the paper caps back on the dirty cups. Also she didn't move any of the chairs when she vacuumed since we had Mickey head confetti under our table for a few days.

We did enjoy our stay there and would probably go again, but I would be more insistent of a better job cleaning our room. The bell services were very good about bringing our luggage and picking it up again. The buses ran pretty regularly and we never had to wait very long. We always got a spot on the bus when it came. When we stayed at Pop, we waited and waited for buses. When they finally came, they were always already full. We never had this at CSR.

Thanks again for a nicely written trip report.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hi ktkerber! I am about 50 minutes north of the city in a little town that has a pretty popular college and outlet mall! ;)

Yes, the CM's at CSR leave a lot to be desired (to put it nicely)! They just don't listen to what the guest is saying or are just plain lazy I think. It's a shame because it really is a beautiful place and the pool is awesome.

Glad you enjoyed the dining reports! :goodvibes

[KatMark]

Hi Shelly...

I was wondering where in the Pittsburgh area you are from. We are out in the Eastern suburbs between Monroeville and Greensburg. We also stayed at CSR on our last trip in Dec 07. We also had the same experiences with the Pepper Market staff, especially the drinks people. I also had a problem with one the people in the lobby at the concierge desk. We had booked Mickey's Backyard BBQ and had to hold the reservation with our cc. I went to the desk because we had to pick up the tickets. We wanted to pay for the tickets instead of putting it on our credit card since we had Disney Visa dollars, gift cards, and cash. I went up to the desk and explained this to her. Should have been no problem, right? Well instead of taking my Visa dollars and gift cards she went ahead and charged it to the DDP. We didn't want to do this either because we had already planned 2 TS meals that were way more expensive for the 2 of them than the BBQ would have cost out of pocket. So I told her this and she said it was already done and she could not reverse. She was just like "Oh, Well! Sorry! I told her she had better find a way because that is not what I asked for. She was very rude and acted like I was crazy because I didn't want it on the DDP. We had Le Cellier and Coral Reef left. I was confident that those meals were a better use of our 2 remaining TS credits than the BBQ. She made me explain this to her in great detail and then complained that it was time for the desk to close so we was going to have to close up. I was so mad if she would have just taken the Visa dollars and gift cards and done what I asked, there would have been n problem. I insisted that she fix the problem and informed her I had all night to wait. Magically(since it was time for her to go home,) she was able to reverse the charge and take the gift cards.

I will also say that our mousekeeper was not very good either. I am pretty sure there were days that she just put the paper caps back on the dirty cups. Also she didn't move any of the chairs when she vacuumed since we had Mickey head confetti under our table for a few days.

We did enjoy our stay there and would probably go again, but I would be more insistent of a better job cleaning our room. The bell services were very good about bringing our luggage and picking it up again. The buses ran pretty regularly and we never had to wait very long. We always got a spot on the bus when it came. When we stayed at Pop, we waited and waited for buses. When they finally came, they were always already full. We never had this at CSR.

Thanks again for a nicely written trip report.

Sorry you had a bad experience with a CM in the lobby. We have nothing but superb service from all of the CM's at the CSR--they have gone above and beyond on more than one occasion for us.

[ktkerber]

Hi ktkerber! I am about 50 minutes north of the city in a little town that has a pretty popular college and outlet mall! ;)

Yes, the CM's at CSR leave a lot to be desired (to put it nicely)! They just don't listen to what the guest is saying or are just plain lazy I think. It's a shame because it really is a beautiful place and the pool is awesome.

Glad you enjoyed the dining reports! :goodvibes


I know exactly where you are! I have been to those outlets many times. You are lucky to be so close!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I know exactly where you are! I have been to those outlets many times. You are lucky to be so close!


Yes, it's one of those things where it's so close that you hardly go there! :rotfl: Usually go for back to school shopping and maybe a few other times a year! We go over quite often to eat at the food court though!!

Sorry you had such a bad experience at CSR. That stinks! I had some pretty rotten CM's there too. I am pretty sure we had the same thing happen to us with the dirty cups too. It got to the point where I told the kids not to use them at all! Guess we can't all be as lucky as KatMark.

Thanks again for reading!

[KatMark]

Yes, it's one of those things where it's so close that you hardly go there! :rotfl: Usually go for back to school shopping and maybe a few other times a year! We go over quite often to eat at the food court though!!

Sorry you had such a bad experience at CSR. That stinks! I had some pretty rotten CM's there too. I am pretty sure we had the same thing happen to us with the dirty cups too. It got to the point where I told the kids not to use them at all! Guess we can't all be as lucky as KatMark.

Thanks again for reading!

I'm not the only lucky one. There are several recent returnees from CSR that had a good trip and no problems with CM's or other things at the resort. But, like I have stated before, it can happen at any resort. We had terrible CM's at the Contemporary and one of the many reasons we will not stay there ever again.