Eight Amazing TS Dining Reviews April/May 2009

[jenbear123]

Just returned from WDW a week ago after our April 25th-May 2nd, 2009 stay. We were on the basic Dining plan and were able to take advantage of many of the amazing TS restaurants throughout WDW. Calling at 7am 90 days in advance truly pays off!

Here are the restaurants I will be covering:

1900 Park Fare dinner (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31791876&postcount=23)
Crystal Palace lunch (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31762036&postcount=13)
Chef Mickeys EARLY breakfast (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31849824&postcount=32)
The Plaza Restaurant dinner (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31881591&postcount=45)
Cinderella's Royal Table lunch (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31965331&postcount=47) princess:
Donald's Safari Breakfast at the Tusker House (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32257637&postcount=58)
Coral Reef
Le Cellier Dinner

We also dined "around the world" showcase at Epcot on our last night to use up our remaining counter service credits (there were a lot). I will be covering those after my table service reviews. They will be as follows:

Yorkshire County Fish Shop
Boulangerie Patisserie
Yakitori House
Kringla Bakeri og Cafe (Norway)

Yes, it's not the full World Showcase but we unfortunately ran out of CS credits.

Dining around WDW is something I love to do. I'm looking forward to sharing my passed experience with other "world" travellers!

Updates coming soon...

[TigerKat]

Count me in.......popcorn::

[kimgof]

popcorn::sounds great.

[MickeyNicki]

I'm in too!

[KatMark]

I'm here for the food. :cool1:

[2xcited2sleep]

I'm ready (& hungry!) popcorn::

[lovemickeyshouse]

Can't wait too

[hillview]

Subing!
/hillary

[LiteBrite]

I'm in!

[Terk-1]

Am planning on making adr's at Chef Mickeys, Plaza Restaurant, & Le Cellier, so I'd love to hear your reviews.

popcorn::popcorn::

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Can't wait to hear all about it.:thumbsup2

[gardengirl628]

Count me in please!!!:banana:

[jenbear123]

Thanks for all those who have joined so far!

Let me start by explaining my rating system. It's simple. For each review I write, at the end I will give the restaurant an overall smiley rating. It will look like this:

:mad: = Horrible food, horrible experience, horrible service, never going back
:snooty: = so-so food (could be better), little selection, slow service, okay experience, might go back if someone else is footing the bill
:) = good food, good variety, average service, overall experience enjoyable, would go back
:thumbsup2 = amazing food, great & personable service, amazing experience, definitely worth fighting for another ADR
:cloud9:= above and beyond service, exceptional food, complete "Disney" experience

I hope this isn't too complicated and makes sense to everyone. If need be, I can always change it. Just let me know!

I also, unfortunately, did not get pictures of every meal we ate. For the reviews that don't have pictures, I will do my very best to describe the food ;)

Now let's get started...

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My reviews begin with lunch at Crystal Palace since it was our first ADR of our trip. We ate here Sunday April 26th, 2009. It began with the usual check-in window located to the left of the main doors that lead into the restaurant. Our reservation was for two people: My mom and me. We checked in 20 minutes early so we were given a buzzer and took a seat on one of the benches. We were told that we probably wouldn't be seated until closer to our ADR time so my mom ran off to the little girl's room while I waited with the buzzer. Not 5 seconds after my mom left does the buzzer start going off! Of course the policy is that you cannot be seated until you're entire party is present so I told them that my mom would be back shortly. Once my mom returned, the whole party was present so off we went inside.

Once we walked through the doorway, it opened up into a beautiful, open dining room. There were lots of windows that allowed natural light into the room. There was also a shrubbery (at least I think that's what you call it) shaped into Winne the Pooh and Friends:

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I want that in my garden!

We were seated and waited about 5 minutes for our server to come around to take our drink orders. I can't recall if it was a man or a woman server.... probably because we really didn't see much of him/her for the duration of our dining experience. The only time the server seemed to be around is to take our drink orders and to give us the bill. He/she never checked on how our meal was but, alas, I can be understanding of this. It was a mad house in there with Winnie the Pooh and friends roaming table to table, people getting up for pictures, people coming and going from the buffet, etc. For future reference, if you ever have a problem or need something from your server, don't expect it to happen right away. For us, the sluggish service wasn't an issue (we were too hyped up on anticipation for all the characters!) but for some it might be.

The food was, overall, delicious. (Sorry no pictures) There was a decent assortment of cold vs. hot items offered that seemed to suit our (sometimes) picky tastes. We were so hungry at this point that anything tasted good! Mainly I chose salads, cold pasta salad, cous cous, chicken nuggets, salmon, broccoli, mushroom and chicken pasta, and ratattouille. Out of all those, the cous cous was the only iffy thing. It tasted a bit funny but perhaps it was from some sort of herb they had in it? :confused3 My mom tried the chicken wings but did not finish them as she thought they looked undercooked. Due to a previous bad experience with undercooked chicken, my mom never takes a chance anymore. To me, it looked a little pink but not undercooked. I suppose you'd have to make your own judgment. Dessert was the best part with selections of fresh strawberries, lemon squares (my fav), ice cream, cookies, brownies, and apple cobbler. My mom and I finished every last bit of dessert we chose. Honestly, you can't go wrong with any of the desserts you choose here.

We saw Piglet, Pooh and Eeyore twice before Tigger even came to our table. I was beginning to think we wouldn't get a chance to see him since we were nearly finished our meal. To prolong our time at the table, I kept going to get more food. :rolleyes1 I was determined to see Tigger! Finally, after much anticipation, he came over and I gave him a big hug.

The interaction with the characters was short but sweet. Since we were only a party of two with no small children, they didn't linger long. For some reason I do not have any picture with Pooh himself. I can only assume they were taken with my Mom's camera.

Overall, our experience at Crystal Palace was really good. If you don't mind the noisy environment with the slight chaos of children screaming with delight of seeing Winne the Pooh and friends, then you will probably have a decent experience here. Also, don't go in expecting top service or attention from your server. With the good food and being able to give Tigger a hug makes the Crystal Palace a constant repeat for every Disney trip we take from now on.

Overall rating :)

[TruBlu]

Great so far. :goodvibes

[natalielongstaff]

Great review so far :cool1:

[Cind]

I'm in!

[bussellmomof3]

Love the pictures

[chocolateMinnie]

Great review of CP, looking forward to more.

[medicgirl911]

Anxious to hear more!! Was it just you and your mom for the trip? (I could have just missed that part in your intro)

[jenbear123]

Anxious to hear more!! Was it just you and your mom for the trip? (I could have just missed that part in your intro)

Actually, I didn't even give background about this trip! I was debating if I should since this is mainly a DINING report but if you are interested in learning about the trip, you can read my pre-trip report here: Back to the Magic! April/May 2009 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31356710#post31356710) or by clicking the link in my signature.

Thank you for those who are following along! It gives me the initiative to keep writing!

Another review coming soon...

[skellingtonfreak]

I am in. You can continue now.

[dizneeat]

I'm in too! Yummy selection you have got there!!

[jenbear123]

Welcome to another edition of "Eight Amazing TS Dining Reviews"! Thank you for those following along. I always appreciate feedback and comments so keep 'em coming!

Now onto 1900 Park Fare!

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Our ADR was on April 26th only a couple hours after our Crystal Palace reservation. This caused a slight problem... neither of us were all that hungry. But, alas, our lack of appetite wasn't going to stop us! We took the boat from MK over to GF and snapped a couple photos of the grounds before heading to the restaurant.

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My mom enjoying the live piano music

After the piano player stopped, we headed over to 1900 Park Fare to check in and have our picture taken before going into the dining room. For some reason they didn't take our picture with a character, like I expected. At least it could've been with the Prince (I know, wishful thinking) :rolleyes: The backdrop for the picture was that of Cinderella's castle, which is the exact location it would be if you were to cut a hole in the wall and look outside. Thought that was pretty cool. The process was very planned and organized.

Once we were brought into the dining room, I noticed right away how busy and (once again) chaotic it was. Lots of children excited to see Cinderella. My mom and I were sat at a small table at the corner end of a long dividing wall. It's hard to explain. It was very close quarters as if they were trying to squeeze in as many tables as possible. For example, where I was sitting, every time I went to pull my chair back, I would hit into the other person's chair who was sitting at the table perpendicular to ours. I tried to let it not bother me and just enjoy the fact that I was about to see Cinderella.

Our server was very friendly and courteous. She did her best to keep our drinks filled and commented on her favourites that we should try from the buffet. It was nice to actually have a short but sweet conversation with our server instead of feeling rushed through everything. In this case, we felt very relaxed and able to pace ourselves accordingly through our meal.

The food was delicious, especially the prime rib. Just like butter. Despite our lack of appetite, we tried our best to try everything. The food at the buffet was separated into "countries" i.e. curry was under Indian, pasta under Italy, and so on. You'd at least know where the food was coming from! One gem that I only discovered after I had eaten two plates of food was the Strawberry Soup.

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Oh my goodness. This was heavenly. :cloud9: My favourite, bar none. This was served cold and it just burst with strawberry goodness. I wish I had gotten the recipe. Honestly, this could be eaten not just on its own, but drizzled on ice cream or topped on strawberry shortcake or... the possibilities seemed endless! Definitely give this a try when you're at 1900 Park Fare. You won't be disappointed (if you're a strawberry lover, that is)

Throughout our meal, the characters roamed the dining room. Cinderella was the first to arrive. I loved her dress (and I would with a price tag of $15,000 :scared1: ) and I told her likewise. She simply replied "Thank you. It's my favourite."

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See the Prince in the background? Boy, was he cute! I couldn't wait to have my picture with him! But....to my disappointment, however, he simply bypassed our table. :sad1: I don't recall how or why... I can only assume it was because Cinderella was at our table. Darn. I'd have to say that was the only let down of the entire meal. The rest of the characters were great! Interacting with them was tons of fun.

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Sorry for the picture quality. My camera doesn't do well in low light situations

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Lady Tremaine was hilarious. I'm surprised some kids even got pictures with her! She was nasty! :laughing:

Overall, this was a great experience. Service was good and attentive, the food was delicious (but typical of a buffet, except the Strawberry Soup) and the characters were the cherry on top. Yes, our table location kind of sucked but I couldn't let that affect the overall rating. Not all the tables were cramped like that and it was just the luck of the draw.

Anyone of any age will have a good time here. Cinderella and her gang are not there just for the kids! 1900 Park Fare is also a good alternative to CRT. You may miss out on dining in the castle BUT, at least here, Cinderella actually comes to your table!

Overall rating :thumbsup2

[2xcited2sleep]

Prince Charming bypassed you? :scared1: His loss! Men. :sad2: ;)

This looks like a fun meal. I love strawberries but for some reason the soup just doesn't appeal to me. :confused3 But I may have to try it anyway because the character interaction sounds great.

Too cute you and mom were wearing matching t-shirts! :)

[Faith09]

Loving your review keep them coming!!

[disneyfan61]

popcorn::

[kimgof]

Great reviews!! We are trying 1900PF for dinner this trip, sounds great. My DD wants to do this and CRT so we are actually doing both! Oh well my two DS will just have to deal with it :rotfl: I figure my DD is only this little for a short time and she adores her princesses. Thanks for the review :thumbsup2

[msce2]

I"m loving the reviews! :thumbsup2:thumbsup2

We will be visiting CP and 1900 PF next week, but for breakfast instead. I hope they have the strawberry soup! I've heard so many good things about it I really want to try it!

[jenbear123]

We will be visiting CP and 1900 PF next week, but for breakfast instead. I hope they have the strawberry soup! I've heard so many good things about it I really want to try it!

I'm not sure if they serve it at breakfast. You'll have to let me know what breakfast is like at both 1900 Park Fare and CP. I've never been for breakfast at either of them! Do you have an early ADR for CP? One of these days I'll try and get an ADR before MK opens at CP so we can get a pic in front of the castle without the mob of people behind us!

Prince Charming bypassed you? :scared1: His loss! Men. :sad2:;)

This looks like a fun meal. I love strawberries but for some reason the soup just doesn't appeal to me. :confused3 But I may have to try it anyway because the character interaction sounds great.

Too cute you and mom were wearing matching t-shirts! :)

I was SO disappointed that he bypassed us. We tried waiting for him to come back around but it was obvious they wanted to turn our table over. Oh well. Maybe next time. I just hope the next Prince Charming will be as cute as this one was! :rotfl:

Have you tried the strawberry soup? If you haven't, you must! Just think of it as a strawberry smoothie in a bowl :goodvibes

And yes, my mom and I decided to go all out this trip and pre-purchase mickey mouse t-shirts. We're Disney nuts, what can I say?


Keep the comments coming! I will update later tonight....

[mi*vida*loca]

We did a lot of these same restaurants on our last trip. CAn't wait to hear more! :wizard:

[MelanieC]

I'm in:)

[jenbear123]

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Can I tell you right off the bat how much I LOVED this place!? :lovestruc

Okay, let me explain....

Our ADR was for 7:30am on April 27th. Originally it was for closer to 9am but I wanted to get an early start so we could get to MK for rope drop (something we had never experienced before). We arrived, checked-in, and were led over to where they take your picture. Here's how ours turned out:

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From the left - my sister, my mom, me

After the picture, we were led to our table waaaaaaaayyy into the restaurant. I never knew this place was so BIG! Our table was located closest to where the characters came out to start visiting the tables. I was pumped to have breakfast (finally) with Mickey and the gang. As soon as our bum hit the chairs, Mickey came out! All of us were starving but didn't want to run straight to the buffet in case we'd miss Mickey! Our server promptly brought us our drinks. She was a very nice lady. After about 3 minutes, my sister couldn't take it anymore. She had to get something in her tummy. She bee-lined it for the buffet and grabbed some muffins (?) I can't remember exactly what it was that she brought back. I was hungry so I didn't care. I scarfed it down and just in time too as Mickey arrived!

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After we took our montage of pictures it was on to the buffet! They had a wide variety of breakfast items including (but not limited to) Mickey waffles, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, (I think) strawberry yogurt, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, omelets (I didn't have one so I do not recall if they were making them fresh to order), cereal, wide variety of pastries, and cheese blintzes.

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My first plate starting from the top and going clockwise: Watermelon, remnants of honeydew, Mickey waffle, and those raisins were from some sort of yummy granola mixture that I picked up. It was cinnamon flavoured and quite nice but I didn't care for the raisins. The fruit was amazingly fresh and ever so delicious.

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My sister's plate starting from the top and going clockwise: scrambled eggs, Mickey waffles, French toast, bacon, and maple syrup. We grabbed a little bowl for the table for all of us to use. IMO, it might have worked better to keep maple syrup at all the tables...

In between stuffing ourselves silly, the characters kept coming to visit:

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Donald was amazing. We were excited to get a picture with him and he picked up on this. So, to get us going, he simply bypassed our table. We all pouted but Donald came back! He was only joking! It was all in good fun ;)

At certain times throughout the meal, a voice came over a speaker system about something to do with twirling our napkins. I didn't really see the point of it but we played along and twirled our napkins up in the air. The restaurant itself was rather noisy with all the excitement in the air but we were still able to maintain decent conversation in between mouthfuls.

The service was excellent with constant refills of drinks and making sure everything was alright with our food. It wasn't spectacular or anything but even though our server, I'm sure, was very busy, she still made it seem like she had time for us (unlike CP).

The food was absolutely delicious and very fresh. Probably one of the best breakfasts we've had at Disney World before (that includes the Tusker House breakfast that I'll be reviewing later). We stuffed ourselves silly and ate every last bite. Everything that we tried was divine. Some of the items offered we did not try i.e. Breakfast pizza and Vegetable Lasagna. I'm not sure who would want these at 7 o'clock in the morning? It just didn't seem very "breakfast" oriented...

Overall, I LOVED this place (did I mention that already?) :rotfl: The characters were so much fun, the service was excellent, and the food was simply to die for! What more could you want? I highly recommend Chef Mickey's to anyone and everyone. Even if you aren't interested in the character experience, still give it go and try the food! I'd like to perhaps try Chef Mickey's for dinner as well. Since the food comes out of the same kitchen, it has to be good! Worth the fight for an early ADR!

Overall rating: :cloud9: (for the food and experience) :thumbsup2 (for the service)

[Isthatyoutiger]

I'm in :thumbsup2

Looking forward to reading more. :happytv:

[disneyfan61]

Great review!! Glad you enjoyed your breakfast at CM.

[OurDogCisco]

Great reviews so far... I don't know how you guys ate 3 buffets in row though.

For the person that asked they do serve the Strawberry soup at breakfast. However, I really don't like it even with the hype. It is just too sweet for me. Or maybe breakfast is a weird time to eat it.

[let'sgo]

I LOVE the pictures and your report. Great job! Here's the recipe for the Strawberry Soup:

Strawberry Soup
1900 Park Fare
Grand Floridian

2 lb., 8 oz. strawberries (frozen variety, thawed with juice)
16 oz. heavy cream
2 oz. sour cream
3 oz. plain yogurt
8 oz. fresh strawberries
1. Mix first four ingredients.
2. Beat slowly until well mixed and a smooth consistency.
3. Chill; shake well before serving.
4. Add fresh strawberries as garnish.

[jenbear123]

I LOVE the pictures and your report. Great job! Here's the recipe for the Strawberry Soup:

Strawberry Soup
1900 Park Fare
Grand Floridian

2 lb., 8 oz. strawberries (frozen variety, thawed with juice)
16 oz. heavy cream
2 oz. sour cream
3 oz. plain yogurt
8 oz. fresh strawberries
1. Mix first four ingredients.
2. Beat slowly until well mixed and a smooth consistency.
3. Chill; shake well before serving.
4. Add fresh strawberries as garnish.

Wow! Thank you SO much! Now that I see the ingredients though... it's no wonder it tastes so good. Makes me feel a little guilty after eating so much of it :laughing:

On another note, my mom and I are theoretically thinking of taking advantage of the free dining this year. Maybe mid-September for 10 days. My only concern is that if we wait much longer to book, all the high demand restaurants will be booked solid :scared: Of course it's all theoretical right now and we have to sort out finances but.... man, wouldn't it be nice?

[nutz2notz]

Great reviews so far. :thumbsup2

Here's a little pixie dust hoping you get to go for free dining as well. :wizard:

Looking forward to your next review.

[JerseyJanice]

Loving your reviews and photographs, Jen. You and your family are adorable!

I've eaten breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, and yes, they do have the strawberry soup then. It's so good! Like a chunky smoothie. You can really taste the fresh cream in it. :cloud9:

Chef Mickey's dinner has always been very good to us. If you get to go for free dining, make sure you go and have the soup du jour. The last few times we ate there, the soup was awesome. :)

[2xcited2sleep]

I can't wait to do Chef Mickey's for breakfast on my next trip! :yay: Thanks for sharing! :)

[chocolateMinnie]

Glad you enjoyed the dinner at 1900PF. We thought the characters were fantastic but hated the food. Maybe it's improved since 2007.

Can I ask what other characters you met at Chef Mickeys. We keep dithering over breakfast there. The birds reported to be flying over the buffet put us off booking this trip but your review makes it sound wonderful.

[jenbear123]

Can I ask what other characters you met at Chef Mickeys. We keep dithering over breakfast there. The birds reported to be flying over the buffet put us off booking this trip but your review makes it sound wonderful.

The whole regular gang was there: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto.

There were birds inside CR itself but I never saw any flying around the buffet. Even if they did, the food is covered by sneeze guards so I doubt if a call of nature would land upon the fresh fruit! Also, there are so many people around and noise that it would deter the birds from even coming close to the food. The restaurant is more contained than the rest of CR as well. Instead of the high high ceiling, the buffet and interior restaurant has much lower ceilings, more typical of a regular restaurant. If you look at my picture with Mickey, you can see the ceiling. Hope this helps!

[MelanieC]

Ahh - great picture at CM!!

[ctalley]

Great report - Thank you for taking the time to share your reviews and pictures with us. I am looking forward to reading your review of CRT lunch.

[jenbear123]

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[Disclaimer: I apologize in advance if I offend or disappoint anyone... remember this is just my opinion!]

Before I begin this review, please be advised that I did not take any pictures during our dining experience at the Plaza Restaurant. The pictures that are included in this review are from a previous dining experience at the Plaza restaurant in Sept 2008. Why didn't I take any pictures, you ask? Read on to find out....

We snagged our ADR on April 27th for 6:10pm, which fit in perfectly after our Keys to the Kingdom tour we did earlier that day (which was VERY cool, by the way). We had enough time after the tour to run back to our resort to freshen up and get back to MK in time for our reservation. We still had at least half an hour to kill when we did get back to MK so we took our time in the shops along Main Street U.S.A. It was also time for the "Celebrate A Dream Come True" Parade. For some reason, the main theme song (played at the end of the parade) makes me feel inspired and reflective. Not sure why....

Anyway, we watched a little tidbit of the parade before we decided to get ahead of the mob of people that would be coming behind the parade. The Plaza restaurant was pretty busy as usual. We checked in approximately 15 minutes before our ADR time but had to wait right up to the minute of 6:10pm. We were seated at a table tucked in the corner to the immediate right of the entrance doors. I liked this spot as it was right by a window (no great view since the check-in podium was right outside) and you didn't feel like you were sitting in the middle of the restaurant.

Now, this was our (at least) 4th time eating here so I pretty much knew what to expect. It seems that the more I come to eat here, the less and less I like it. We were paying OOP for this meal and since the portion sizes are so big, we shared an entree: The Plaza Club. We told our server that we would like to share and when he brought our food, the kitchen had separated it onto two plates. This wasn't what I was used to... usually restaurants give you an extra plate and then you divide it up amongst yourselves. I truly appreciated them doing this for us. After splitting the entree between the two of us, we were satisfactorily full. The sandwich wasn't anything spectacular and seemed overpriced for what it was but it hit the spot. Our server periodically checked on us but wasn't very chatty or enthusiastic. On several occasions, I have found the servers to be a little lippy here. For example, during our Sept 2008 ADR, our server was complaining about how busy she was (something to that extent). Is that truly appropriate to complain about your work environment to Disney guests? I don't think so. She seemed pretty grumpy for the duration of our meal. We were glad to get out of there by the end of it! Negativity is not something I want to experience when I'm in Disney World!

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On more than one occasion, I have ordered the Chicken Strawberry Salad. For our March 2009 meal, I was unpleasantly surprised to find a different kind of cheese mixed with the salad. I don't believe it had been served with gorgonzola cheese the other times I had ordered it but I detested the taste. Was it not served with feta cheese before? Maybe I was dreaming but I was not pleased with this new type of cheese, which turned me off of the salad from then on. The portion size of the salad is enough to share with a table of 4 people. It is HUGE! For the size of the salad, though, it could really use more strawberries mixed in. Often I find only a couple slices and the rest is simple lettuce with that horrible cheese. It's a bit of a let down IMO. :sad2:

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Back to our ADR for this trip, we debated ordering dessert here but for half the price, you can go next door and get two scoops of the same ice cream! Sure, it's not the sundae they have in their menu but it's still just as yummy! There was no way we could split one of their giant sundaes between the two of us anyway.

During our Sept 2008 experience, we ordered the Brownie Sundae and the NY Style Cheesecake.

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Brownie Sundae

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NY Style Cheesecake with Strawberry topping

The desserts are something the Plaza restaurant does well. If you have a decent sweet tooth, you will not be disappointed. The entrees, on the other hand, are bland at best. The portion sizes are just too big. I'd be more than willing to spend half the price on half the food. But, alas, we are eating in MK at Walt Disney World after all.

Also, do not come here if you have a time constraint. Service is never very efficient and we commonly find ourselves dining here for well over 1.5-2 hours in length. Even when the dining room isn't that busy. Seating within the dining room itself is also fairly close quarters without much privacy between tables. You could easily overhear a conversation from the group sitting next to you.

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This picture doesn't quite do much justice in regards to the seating but you can see how close the tables are to each other.

More often than not, the deciding factor to come here is for dessert. Now that we have discovered that the same ice cream served in the restaurant is almost half the price next door in the parlour, it's just not worth it to spend the extra money when you are not on the DP. If you are, go for it! If you're on a budget though, go next door to the parlour. That being said, we most likely won't be returning here for quite some time. There is nothing spectacular or very "attention grabbing" about this place. It is a cute little restaurant but there's simply nothing here that would make me keep coming back wanting more. I'd probably only eat here if there were no other choices and I was desperate for a TS meal. Other than that, just not worth it.



Overall rating: :snooty:


Up next, Lunch at CRT!!!! :hyper:

[frdeb1999]

Loving your reviews and pics!! Looking forward to more! :)

[jenbear123]

Thank you for your patience everyone. It's been a busy, tiresome week. My sister and I have been planning a surprise trip to Disney World for my mom's birthday. We're flying her down with my stepdad (her husband) to see my sister and spend 4 days, 3 nights at the Polynesian. It's been hard communicating back and forth with my sister, who is currently a CM, as our schedules don't always coincide. So we've finally booked the Polynesian from August 4th-7th and now I'm working on ADRs. I also still need to book the flights... but I'll do that when I'm back at work on Wednesday ;)

Now, it's time for a juicy review of Cinderella's Royal Table!

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Our ADR was at 1:50pm and we were STARVING by this point. We had arrived early to MK and happened to time it right when the Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it parade was starting. Despite the hot sun, I got right into the action, dancing in the conga lines, etc. My mom didn't join in as much as her legs were hurting (she doesn't exercise enough...shhhh don't tell her I said so! :laughing: ) After the parade, we headed up to the castle to check in. To be honest, this was the first time I had ever seen where CRT was. Every time I have walked by the castle, I have never noticed it! :scared1: Shocking... I know. The place was pretty busy and the check-in podium was very strict as to when you could go in. We arrived 10 minutes prior to our ADR time and they wouldn't let us in early. While we waited, I snapped a few photos:

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The mosaic work on the walls were astounding. It really gives you a true castle feel.

Eventually our names were called and were led inside the castle to a room already filled with people. We entered the queue line that was set up to take a picture with Cinderella. This process felt a bit odd to me... I guess they do it to avoid Cinderella being mobbed when she comes off the elevator? It felt more like Cinderella was the freak show and everyone had paid admission to see her. The waiting game was fun, however, as the duke (I guess that's what you'd call him?) had us playing guessing games. All Disney related of course. It made me recall some Disney movies that I haven't watched in a decade.

Finally, Cinderella made her appearance. By this point, my mom and I were getting cranky and hungry. We just wanted to get the picture over with and eat! While we were still in line, our names were called since our table was ready but we hadn't even gotten our photo taken! I was getting rather flustered at the way everything was organized...

We took our photo. Had our blue invitation to head upstairs. Done.

The spiral staircase was awesome. I am a huge fan of spiral staircases. Always wanted one in my house or even room! I snapped this photo on our way up the stairs:

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I apologize for the image quality (my camera sucks in low light). You can see how many people they stuff into this photo op room. Poor Cinderella... The decor is really well done though. Did I mention I want my house to look like this? (minus the mob of people of course) :goodvibes

We reached the top of the stairs where it opened up into a grand dining room. There were huge stain glass windows that allowed natural light in. It was stunning. To our surprise, we were sat right beside one of these grand windows. It was beautful:

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View from our table. It was breathtaking. It was just amazing to finally be eating in the castle after so many years of just imagining what it was like in there....

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The open concept of the dining room made for a noisy environment but the place felt nice and airy. The tables and chairs were of great quality and we never felt cramped. Really really liked it in here. Our server was awesome too. I made myself remember our server name but now, of course, I have forgotten :sad2: That'll teach me for waiting too long to write these reviews! She was really great though and wonderful to strike up a conversation with. We found out that she loved to cook and always wanted to be a pastry chef. Anyway, she took our orders and made a couple suggestions. My mom ordered Major Domo's Favourite Pie and I ordered the Pasta al Pomodoro. While we waited for our entrees, we scarfed down the appetizer that consisted of cheese, grapes, and some sort of salad with artichokes in it. Sorry no pictures of that... but here are the entrees!

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The pie was delicious but my pasta was a bit disappointing. The taste was bland and it seemed like it had been sitting under a heat lamp for a little while before it was brought to our table. The middle of the dish was nice and hot but the outer edges were already cold. I didn't care much since I was so hungry. I ate nearly the whole thing.

In the middle of our meal, the picture we took earlier with Cinderella arrived:

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The photos came in a very nice folder (felt expensive) like this. I am not including the picture of us with Cinderella... it didn't turn out that great unfortunately (or let's just say neither of us were very photogenic that day)

Also, while we ate, there would be a fanfare welcoming each princess as she entered the dining room. There was Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, and Sleeping Beauty.

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I loved Ariel's dress!

After our entrees came dessert!

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We both got the no-sugar-added sorbet with berries. Our server added a chocolate crown because she thought we deserved it. :rolleyes: It added a nice touch to the dessert. I ate nearly the whole thing but sadly my mom's mostly went to waste. She was too full!

Cinderella's Royal Table was a really enjoyable experience. I am happy to have finally found out what the hype was all about and, yes, the food isn't great. IMO, you are paying for the experience and the atmosphere. It's unfortunate that the kitchen can't keep the quality of food at the same level. It would be a phenomenal experience otherwise. My suggestion is to come here hungry. Everything tastes better when you're starving, right? It certainly did in this case (even with my pasta fiasco). Your little princesses will LOVE this place. princess: We had fun too getting pictures with all the characters. And the service was efficient and friendly. What more could you ask for? The fact that this experience costs 2 table service credits makes me think twice before making a reservation. It's good value that the pictures are included with the total meal price but it's not much different from 1900 Park Fare, at least in a characters sense. But, alas, you eat in the castle and you can't have that experience anywhere else in WDW! This is something that you must try at least once. After that, it's up to you if it's worth returning or not.


Overall rating: :) (for the food) :thumbsup2 (for the service and experience)

[izzie-wizzie]

Awesome Reviews - cant wait to read the rest!! popcorn::

[Busymom85]

Thanks for the reviews. Look forward to more.

[AR81]

Great pics!! I have really enjoyed them. Just now discovered your report so I just now got finished reading it. Quick question-- in the beginning when you went to chef mickeys at 7:30 were you able to make rope drop at MK? Did it seem like enough time? Thanks

[jenbear123]

Great pics!! I have really enjoyed them. Just now discovered your report so I just now got finished reading it. Quick question-- in the beginning when you went to chef mickeys at 7:30 were you able to make rope drop at MK? Did it seem like enough time? Thanks

We finished well in advance. I think it took us all of an hour to check-in, be seated, eat as much as we could, get the bill and head over to MK. The Contemporary is within a 5 minute walk to the front gates of MK so distance is not an issue. When we arrived, the crowds were already built up so be prepared to not be the first in line. Other than that though, we made it in time for rope drop.

Thanks for reading!

[2xcited2sleep]

More fantastic reviews - really enjoying your report!

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the Plaza. I've never eaten there but am thinking about trying it on my next trip.

Thanks for the honest review on CRT. :rotfl: on the advice to go when you're starving b/c everything tastes better when you're hungry! :lmao: The view from your table is amazing... that is worth it right there!!

Oh and :cheer2: to you and sis for planning a surprise b-day trip for your mom. She's going to love it! :cloud9: What nice kids you are! :)

[jenbear123]

More fantastic reviews - really enjoying your report!

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the Plaza. I've never eaten there but am thinking about trying it on my next trip.

Thanks for the honest review on CRT. :rotfl: on the advice to go when you're starving b/c everything tastes better when you're hungry! :lmao: The view from your table is amazing... that is worth it right there!!

Oh and :cheer2: to you and sis for planning a surprise b-day trip for your mom. She's going to love it! :cloud9: What nice kids you are! :)

You should try the Plaza at least once.

And we figure that our Mom has treated us to several Disney trips. It's only fair to return the favour ;)

Another review coming soon... sorry for the delay

[dd50]

Great trip report. We are going to CRT and have heard the food isn't that good but we will go for the experience because my dd has wanted to go there forever.

[oybolshoi]

Great reviews and very fun to read. :thumbsup2

For what it's worth I totally agree with you about the Plaza - we've eaten there one time and that was really one time too many. It's overpriced and overcrowded ... we'd rather grab a dog at Casey's! :laughing:

Looking forward to reading more when you have time! :goodvibes

[danalee]

Nice reviews! We had the same kinda of time at the Plaza on our last trip :confused3 but I agree try it at least once!

cant wait for more!

[ShellyL]

We like the Plaza because it is an easy place to eat right before the parade at night. Now we have only eaten there on the DDP so I can understand the reason for not wanting to pay out of pocket for that kind of meal at that kind of price.
When we have eaten there before a parade they have made our icecream to go, whatever we wanted, and we go out and eat it while we wait for the parade to start. Last time our server told us to go get a seat and had DH wait and the server followed Dh with our sundaes to where we were sitting! Only at Disney can you get that kind of service!
Michele

[jenbear123]

APOLOGY: This poor dining report has been neglected. It's been hard finding inspiration to keep going. Working two jobs has been taking up much of my time. Plus my dog was sick and had to take a trip to the vet, which ended up costing me $300 :scared1: There goes the Disney fund.... :sad2: Anyway, I'm a bit bummed about that. This economy is not helping matters. Sigh... at least I know I'm not the only one struggling. I'm going to try and finish up this dining report over the next few days. Thank you for those who have subscribed and to those who continue to read!


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Our ADR was for 9:10am. We knew this meant no early entry into the park but we thought we'd try our luck. When we arrived at Animal Kingdom, we saw a cast member with a clipboard letting people into the park who had early reservations at the Tusker House. She was careful to check names and the time of the reservation so we knew we'd be out of luck to get in early. About 15 minutes later, we noticed that she had disappeared and two different, younger cast members now replaced her. We thought there was no harm in trying to get in again with these new cast members. Luck was on our side as these cast members did not even have a list to check if we actually had reservations. We were let in at approximately 8:45am. Yay early entry! I've never enjoyed that walk towards the Tree of Life more than I did that morning.

Be warned that there's no food porn in this review. Sadly I did not take any pictures of the food. :sad2: There's a reason for it though.... read on my faithful subscribers...

We waited pretty much until 9:10am to be seated since our party had went from a table for 2 to a table for 3. I was just content that they allowed for the change! Once our buzzer went off, we were led into our dining area, to the left of the central buffet area, seated at a table in the corner. By this point we were starving but before we could even get up from our seats, the characters started coming out. Of course we didn't want to miss our photo op but our stomachs were begging us otherwise. My sister couldn't take it anymore and bee-lined to grab some muffins for us. She came back just in time to see Donald. Sadly, most of our pictures came out blurry due to low lighting conditions and my stupid camera. Once we were happy with pictures, off to the buffet we went! It was your typical breakfast line up -- fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, assorted pastries, mickey waffles, etc. It was all very good and I can't say I have any complaints about the food.

The overall experience and service was a different matter. The whole restaurant felt chaotic and noisy. The characters spent little over 30 seconds at our table (but I digress... we WERE all adults...) Our server seemed really stressed out (I think he was sweating he was running around so much) and it made us feel rushed. I think we were in and out of there in 40 minutes (hence the lack of food porn). It wasn't what I expected compared to our lunch we had here on a previous trip. I guess the characters make this place more popular during breakfast hours and they want you in and out for a larger turnover. I would've liked to at least chewed my food :laughing: We understood the place was busy though and still graciously tipped our server....so much in fact that he questioned if we had made a mistake. I'm glad that we were able to experience the Tusker House for breakfast. I highly recommend it to those who have considered it in the past. However, don't have expectations of a quiet, relaxing morning meal!

Overall rating: :) (for the food) :snooty: (for the experience)


Coming up next: The Coral Reef (more pictures of food this time!)

[SSRJen]

The pasta looks great, too bad it didn't taste as wonderful!

[2xcited2sleep]

Still here! Hope life calms down for you a bit. Sorry breakfast was so chaotic! :eek:

[julezdisney]

:wave2: I'm still here too! Total disappointment about Tusker house! Booo! Oh well- can't wait for the next review!

[englishrose47]

Enjoyed your reviews so far ! I agree about CP the service was not so good in May for me either !!I go there every time (solo) I love the characters!!. I love the food too !! But the service needs to improve !! Also they used to have a CM accompany each character and they would take your pix !! This year they didn't !! I was dissappointed about that!!
Loved the 1900 pix !! We are going there inSept , and I planned on trying the Strawberry soup!!