Brown Derby Fantasmic Package - 3/24

quest4dl

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 30, 2008
Knowing it would be peak crowds, the package was a must for us. We also love the Brown Derby so it was an easy choice. The only issue was the odd meal times available. I could have booked a reasonable late lunch at 1:35 but I really wanted to at least snack at the Sci Fi Diner (love the atmosphere) so I opted for the odder time of 3:35 and decided to call it 'lupper'. Hey- if people can brunch why not lupper?

We had an over-priced snack at Sci-Fi Diner ($6.99 for a bowl of soup?!) to tide us over. But just love sitting in the cars and watching the old sci-fi/horror flicks.

We arrived at Brown Derby ready for a leisurely meal after a day touring in a very crowded park. We had a great server. The food was just fantastic - really made up for the disappointing meal at Artist Point.

For appetizers, my brother and I had the dayboat scallops -lots of flavour! My mother and ds10 had crab cakes - marvelous and all crab meat! My father and DS14 had tuna tartare - taste and presentation were outstanding.

For entrees three of us had the grouper - it was fresh, perfectly cooked and in tasty lobster sauce. DS 14 had the duck two ways - unique and alot of different tastes. DS 10 had the filet - excellent piece of meat. My brother had the short ribs and loved them.

We all selected different desserts. I would say the banana toffee tower and the fresh fruit cobbler were my favourites.


Highly recommended excellent meal - great break from the park.
 
Yay! Glad to hear your food was all good. I love that grouper dish with the lobster beurre blanc, golden turnip, and leeks. And I think Derby's fruit cobbler is better than Artist Point's current "signature" cobbler.

A lot of people here seem to not like HBD, but I think it's definitely some of the best food in the parks. And it's always easy to get a reservation!
 
I have read through your reviews and have found them very helpful, though surprising!
 
I have read through your reviews and have found them very helpful, though surprising!

I'm curious about which ones of what in particular you found surprising. I have to say that I was worried about some of my ADRs based on DIS reports but relieved that most fears were unfounded. I would consider myself a 'foodie' and have pretty high standards for food.
 


I'm curious about which ones of what in particular you found surprising. I have to say that I was worried about some of my ADRs based on DIS reports but relieved that most fears were unfounded. I would consider myself a 'foodie' and have pretty high standards for food.

Well, AP is a place we enjoy dining. I couldn't honestly say I'm COMPLETELY surprised by your review, though, as AP is generally considered one of the weakest signature restaurants often having mixed reviews. Garden Grill was a true surprise as it generally receives a lot of negative reviews. Also, your review of 'Ohana was pretty glowing and while not exactly surprising (many people like it) many, especially lately, are not reviewing it so well.

I do think restaurant experiences can be luck of the draw. We dined at the Wave in May and had a stellar experience. We went back in February and it was a bust. In that same light, 'Ohana is one we used to love and have not been as thrilled lately. Again, AP is a personal favorite. Instead of saying your reviews were surprising it might have been more accurate to say that your reviews were quite different than my most recent experiences...surprising in that it will be interesting to watch and see if the trends are turning in certain restaurant (which they seem to do a lot)!
 
I think that when it comes to WDW restaurants, the truth of the matter is that they are inconsistent. I think my positive reviews partially reflect my relief that we happened to hit most of them on a good day!
 
I think that when it comes to WDW restaurants, the truth of the matter is that they are inconsistent. I think my positive reviews partially reflect my relief that we happened to hit most of them on a good day!

Couldn't agree more!:thumbsup2
 


OP, I am enjoying your dining reviews. And. PP, I completely agree with the sentiment of your post. "Inconsistency" seems the word of the year when is comes to DIS restaurants. That said, I am glad to see some old faves trending upward again in reviews. I plan on trying HBD this year. It has been intriguing to me for a while as it seems to get lower marks in reviews rather consistently. So I am glad to see your experience here is favorable. :thumbsup2

:worship: Also a big fan of Garden Grill. One of my top-5 meals ever at Disney even though I'm not big on character dinners, and I don't even like catfish! Go figure!
 
:worship: Also a big fan of Garden Grill. One of my top-5 meals ever at Disney even though I'm not big on character dinners, and I don't even like catfish! Go figure!

Just a note that the catfish has been replaced with the crumb-topped mahi mahi over that wonderf swiss chard.

I find that sometimes places get negative reviews not because the food is poorly prepared but because it isn't to their taste. We tend to like lots of different flavours and this is often an issue with Disney diners. Fortunately my kids have adventurous palates too!
 
Just a note that the catfish has been replaced with the crumb-topped mahi mahi over that wonderf swiss chard.

Thanks for the update on the mahi! :thumbsup2 The catfish worked, but now the mahi will be better for me! It has been awhile since our last Garden Grill visit. I haven't wanted to spoil the magic of our Christmas 2007 Candlelight Processional dinner package including the perfect dining experience we had at Garden Grille. ::yes::

I find that sometimes places get negative reviews not because the food is poorly prepared but because it isn't to their taste. We tend to like lots of different flavours and this is often an issue with Disney diners. Fortunately my kids have adventurous palates too!

Yes, I agree. We have mostly positive experiences, we have very few personal food dislikes, and we always try each place for ourselves. TRs and reviews are a great second, third, fourth...opinion, and an FYI to myself see what other folks enjoy that I may not necessarily pick as a first choice from a menu. And IMO, the occasional spotty service I read about in reports at Dis dining establishments does equal duty to tarnish a restaurant's reputation despite offering fine food.
 

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