dameodie
A blue flower from a chink in a wall of ice
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2006
We just got back from our trip! Overall we were very happy with our food choices, even the less than stellar ones. So take everything I say with a grain of salt.
CRT - LOVED the shepherds pie. I had heard this was all you can eat, but they certainly don't make this obvious and I was too afraid to ask for clarification. The character interaction was good, and the girls loved the little bit they do with the wishing stars.
Garden Grill - I think this was the best overall food we had all trip, save Fulton's because we love lobster and crab so very much.
Everything was wonderful, espically the flank steak! Most of the characters made it around twice to our table. I was hoping for a little better scenery... I guess for some reason I thought part of it had windows, and didn't just look over the boat ride. But I can't complain.
UK Fish and Chips - Good, but honestly nothing I'd write home about. And WAY too expensive with far too many fries. They need an "extra order of fish" option so you can get a couple meals and a couple extra orders, in order to feed multiple people.
We ate at Tusker House TWICE for two reasons - one, because it was still CS, and two because Flame Tree (my other choice) was all outside seating! Half of the point of eating food in the parks is for an air conditioned break... and on a hot mid-August day, this is a deal breaker. Plus, Flame Tree will still be there (I presume!) the next time we go, and Tusker House will be all sit down and expensive and stuff... Anyway, the salmon was excellent. I liked the chicken too, maybe moreso because it was a larger portion and came with potatoes. But taste wise the salmon won hands down. The chocolate cake isn't that great either, unless you're a dark chocolate fan. Not nearly sweet enough for me!
Sci-Fi Drive In - Very underwhelming. We both ordered the reuben, and we've made better reubens at home! And that's even with skimping on the corned beef 'cause it's expensive
Overall the corned beef was just bland... edible, but bland. The milkshakes were nothing to write home about, and neither were the onion rings, two things I'd heard raved about often on here. The movie was amusing, espically seeing a couple movies that I know have been MiSTied. But it needs to be longer, so that you don't get to the "front" of the loop during a normal meal.
We had turkey legs during Fantasmic for dinner... they were huge! My husband and I could have easily split one, and finished off whatever the girls left behind of theirs. We got three and ended up throwing more away than we ate. They were very good though!
Columbia Harbor House wasn't nearly as good as I remembered it. Then again, I didn't get the clam chowder. Again, mid-August, HOT, humid, me no wants soup!!! It's also not a great choice if you want to feed a Chicken Nugget Kid, because you have to order an adult meal to get chicken strips.
Tomorrowland Noodle Station - I was SO excited to realize this was open for dinner, but the chicken noodle bowl was bland. Not bad, just not exciting.
Pecos Bills - Loved it! They have sauteed mushrooms and onions on the toppings bar. It's burger-and-fries, but it's a GOOD burger-and-fries. We had a snack here earlier in the day as well, chili cheese fries. YUM!
Norway Princess Breakfast - the stuff on the buffet was alright, but nothing stellar. The potato casserole was GREAT! The rest of the offerings are pretty much standard American breakfast fare. It was nice to have smoked salmon for breakfast though it could have been better smoked salmon. It was the only time during our trip we saw Mulan (we got to the China pavillion very late in the day) which was very important to DSD5, but overall I was much happier with CRT. Yes, CRT is more expensive, but we had free accomidations off property so it wasn't a choice between 1 or 2 DDP credits, it was more like a difference of $35 (which, if we'd bought the photo package, the Norway breakfast would have been anyway! and that's included with CRT). Plus killing the entire morning eating breakfast isn't the best way to get a lot accomplished on a busy summer day.
Morocco counter service - Good, but if you have a decent shwarma place in your area you can easily skip it. We spent $50 on a CS meal between the two combo platters, kids meals more expensive than other places in the park, and a couple drinks!!!!! And it was a good shelter during the downpour that hit 5 minutes after we got in there. But $50 for CS? I think we'll head elsewhere next time.
LTT dinner buffet - The food here was good, but Garden Grill was better. Would have been happier paying lunch prices than dinner prices, but it worked out for a pre-PaPP dinner. We ordered a "OMG FROZEN CAKE!" that people on the cake thread seem to balk at the thought about ordering, and it was FINE! We each got a small piece, DSD7 (8 now!) loved the attention and the signed card, and it was only $12.50. I just can't see spending $25-$50 on a cake where most of it will be thrown away! Basically, if you're not a cake person and are only serving 4 people, just order the cake at the podium. Anyway, the ham here was really good, the turkey decent, and the flank steak a real let-down after Garden Grill.
Fulton's - Fulton's was GREAT! The service was fine, we loved our waiter... he was a little over the top with the showmanship, but it was okay - it's DISNEY, everything is over the top! We were kind of annoyed that the "Ultimate" crab and lobster dinner for two only included one lobster!!! but they give you enough crab legs to make up for it. My husband really liked the lobster bisque, I thought it was okay. Shoulda gotten the clam chowder, I think. A great place to take kids for a "fancy" meal if you like seafood - they have lots of kids choices, including filet mignon! as well as your typical burgers and chicken strips. The adults get good food, the kids get crappy kid-friendly food, and everyone is happy.
Wolfgang Puck Cafe - We just kinda wandered in here for lunch while at Downtown Disney, so we really didn't know what to expect. But they had affordible pizzas on the menu, and that sounded good. Now, I'm not one to normally send back food, and I honestly didn't do so because of the taste (I didn't touch it for fear they wouldn't take it back). The pizza they replaced my pizza with was excellent! But DO NOT order the Margherita pizza if you know what a REAL Margherita pizza should be!!! It's just a cheese pizza with a few slices of tomoato and a couple basil leaves thrown on top. I ordered it, expecting slices of real mozzerella, and I got a cheese pizza with some garnish. I wasn't mad at the server, and she still got her full tip. It's not her fault that the menu is deceiving. Maybe people just don't know? And the fennel and sausage (no pepperoni, please!) pizza she replaced it with was super yummy. Now for something extra yummy! If you like tuna sushi/sashimi, ask about the Asian Nachos. They're on the sushi menu, not the regular menu. You get a decent portion of tuna sashimi, cut into cubes not slices, tossed with a wasabi vinegrette. You then eat said tuna with "chips" made of fried wonton wrappers. SO GOOD! We were going to order a roll of sushi for an appetiser and decided on this instead. We're really happy we did!
The lesson of today's story - Always ASK how a place makes Margherita pizza before ordering it. And take everything you read about how horrible restaurants are on here with a grain of salt. Even a mediocre Disney dining experience is generally good!
CRT - LOVED the shepherds pie. I had heard this was all you can eat, but they certainly don't make this obvious and I was too afraid to ask for clarification. The character interaction was good, and the girls loved the little bit they do with the wishing stars.
Garden Grill - I think this was the best overall food we had all trip, save Fulton's because we love lobster and crab so very much.
Everything was wonderful, espically the flank steak! Most of the characters made it around twice to our table. I was hoping for a little better scenery... I guess for some reason I thought part of it had windows, and didn't just look over the boat ride. But I can't complain.UK Fish and Chips - Good, but honestly nothing I'd write home about. And WAY too expensive with far too many fries. They need an "extra order of fish" option so you can get a couple meals and a couple extra orders, in order to feed multiple people.
We ate at Tusker House TWICE for two reasons - one, because it was still CS, and two because Flame Tree (my other choice) was all outside seating! Half of the point of eating food in the parks is for an air conditioned break... and on a hot mid-August day, this is a deal breaker. Plus, Flame Tree will still be there (I presume!) the next time we go, and Tusker House will be all sit down and expensive and stuff... Anyway, the salmon was excellent. I liked the chicken too, maybe moreso because it was a larger portion and came with potatoes. But taste wise the salmon won hands down. The chocolate cake isn't that great either, unless you're a dark chocolate fan. Not nearly sweet enough for me!
Sci-Fi Drive In - Very underwhelming. We both ordered the reuben, and we've made better reubens at home! And that's even with skimping on the corned beef 'cause it's expensive
Overall the corned beef was just bland... edible, but bland. The milkshakes were nothing to write home about, and neither were the onion rings, two things I'd heard raved about often on here. The movie was amusing, espically seeing a couple movies that I know have been MiSTied. But it needs to be longer, so that you don't get to the "front" of the loop during a normal meal.We had turkey legs during Fantasmic for dinner... they were huge! My husband and I could have easily split one, and finished off whatever the girls left behind of theirs. We got three and ended up throwing more away than we ate. They were very good though!
Columbia Harbor House wasn't nearly as good as I remembered it. Then again, I didn't get the clam chowder. Again, mid-August, HOT, humid, me no wants soup!!! It's also not a great choice if you want to feed a Chicken Nugget Kid, because you have to order an adult meal to get chicken strips.
Tomorrowland Noodle Station - I was SO excited to realize this was open for dinner, but the chicken noodle bowl was bland. Not bad, just not exciting.
Pecos Bills - Loved it! They have sauteed mushrooms and onions on the toppings bar. It's burger-and-fries, but it's a GOOD burger-and-fries. We had a snack here earlier in the day as well, chili cheese fries. YUM!
Norway Princess Breakfast - the stuff on the buffet was alright, but nothing stellar. The potato casserole was GREAT! The rest of the offerings are pretty much standard American breakfast fare. It was nice to have smoked salmon for breakfast though it could have been better smoked salmon. It was the only time during our trip we saw Mulan (we got to the China pavillion very late in the day) which was very important to DSD5, but overall I was much happier with CRT. Yes, CRT is more expensive, but we had free accomidations off property so it wasn't a choice between 1 or 2 DDP credits, it was more like a difference of $35 (which, if we'd bought the photo package, the Norway breakfast would have been anyway! and that's included with CRT). Plus killing the entire morning eating breakfast isn't the best way to get a lot accomplished on a busy summer day.
Morocco counter service - Good, but if you have a decent shwarma place in your area you can easily skip it. We spent $50 on a CS meal between the two combo platters, kids meals more expensive than other places in the park, and a couple drinks!!!!! And it was a good shelter during the downpour that hit 5 minutes after we got in there. But $50 for CS? I think we'll head elsewhere next time.
LTT dinner buffet - The food here was good, but Garden Grill was better. Would have been happier paying lunch prices than dinner prices, but it worked out for a pre-PaPP dinner.
We ordered a "OMG FROZEN CAKE!" that people on the cake thread seem to balk at the thought about ordering, and it was FINE! We each got a small piece, DSD7 (8 now!) loved the attention and the signed card, and it was only $12.50. I just can't see spending $25-$50 on a cake where most of it will be thrown away! Basically, if you're not a cake person and are only serving 4 people, just order the cake at the podium. Anyway, the ham here was really good, the turkey decent, and the flank steak a real let-down after Garden Grill.Fulton's - Fulton's was GREAT! The service was fine, we loved our waiter... he was a little over the top with the showmanship, but it was okay - it's DISNEY, everything is over the top! We were kind of annoyed that the "Ultimate" crab and lobster dinner for two only included one lobster!!! but they give you enough crab legs to make up for it. My husband really liked the lobster bisque, I thought it was okay. Shoulda gotten the clam chowder, I think. A great place to take kids for a "fancy" meal if you like seafood - they have lots of kids choices, including filet mignon! as well as your typical burgers and chicken strips. The adults get good food, the kids get crappy kid-friendly food, and everyone is happy.
Wolfgang Puck Cafe - We just kinda wandered in here for lunch while at Downtown Disney, so we really didn't know what to expect. But they had affordible pizzas on the menu, and that sounded good. Now, I'm not one to normally send back food, and I honestly didn't do so because of the taste (I didn't touch it for fear they wouldn't take it back). The pizza they replaced my pizza with was excellent! But DO NOT order the Margherita pizza if you know what a REAL Margherita pizza should be!!! It's just a cheese pizza with a few slices of tomoato and a couple basil leaves thrown on top. I ordered it, expecting slices of real mozzerella, and I got a cheese pizza with some garnish. I wasn't mad at the server, and she still got her full tip. It's not her fault that the menu is deceiving. Maybe people just don't know? And the fennel and sausage (no pepperoni, please!) pizza she replaced it with was super yummy. Now for something extra yummy! If you like tuna sushi/sashimi, ask about the Asian Nachos. They're on the sushi menu, not the regular menu. You get a decent portion of tuna sashimi, cut into cubes not slices, tossed with a wasabi vinegrette. You then eat said tuna with "chips" made of fried wonton wrappers. SO GOOD! We were going to order a roll of sushi for an appetiser and decided on this instead. We're really happy we did!
The lesson of today's story - Always ASK how a place makes Margherita pizza before ordering it. And take everything you read about how horrible restaurants are on here with a grain of salt. Even a mediocre Disney dining experience is generally good!
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