Our Adventures in Free Dining - 2 Adults x 5 Nights DDP (Complete w/a Few Pics)

Tuesday, September 18 - Dinner at Boatwright's Dining Hall at Riverside

This dinner was a last-minute substitution. We originally had plans to go to MNSSHP tonight, and had an ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern before the party. It rained heavily today, so we decided to skip MNSSHP, cancelled the LTT ADR and made one for Boatwright's instead.


First Impressions: The waiting area to be seated for the restaurant is quite small, and there is precious little parking for strollers or ECVs inside. The podium staff are all friendly. It's a much larger restaurant than I first thought, and there are a lot of empty tables. The decor is charming, and we are seated in front of a small, cozy fireplace upstairs.


Once seated, our waiter greeted us immediately with menus and a basket of cornbread. He explained the dining plan to us, then seemed quite impatient for our orders. I let him know I would need to speak with the chef to see what modifications could be made, and he walked off wordlessly to get him.

Chef James came out a few minutes later. He was nice and offered several suggestions, including providing steamed broccoli for my vegetable (which is not on the menu), and making a substitution of potatoes for the mac & cheese. He was easy to work with.

Once Chef James walked away, our waiter came back and took our entire order all at once ... entree and dessert. Nowhere I've eaten has this ever been done. Maybe this is the norm for Boatwright's, but it's very off-putting. We barely had time to look at the entree menu and consider the choices, much less figure out what we wanted for dessert. :confused3 The pressure was ON and applied heavily to order quickly.


For my entree, I chose a modified version of the Grilled Tenderloin Medallions, medium-well. As suggested, I substituted yukon gold potatoes for the mac & cheese, steamed broccoli for the asparagus, and had the red wine demi glace on the side. Chef James also suggested I not get the crawfish beignet, so I did not order it. I ordered tea as my drink.

The tenderloin medallions was a very small portion, but cooked just right. They were tender and juicy. The yukon gold potatoes tasted quite salty to me, and I only ate a few small bites. I wondered at the time why this suggestion for substitution had been made when the seasoning on them is obviously full of salt. :confused: The broccoli was quite good - steamed crisp-tender and not at all mushy. I did not care for the red wine demi glace and was glad I had requested it to be on the side.

Rating for Special Order Grilled Tenderloin Medallions: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


My husband also ordered the Grilled Tenderloin Medallions medium-well. He substituted yukon gold potatoes in place of the asparagus, but somehow was served asparagus anyway and did not receive the mac & cheese. We're not sure where the confusion was - with the way he ordered it or the way the waiter wrote it down, but the waiter did bring out a crock full of mac & cheese when my husband mentioned it. He ordered the red wine demi glace on the side. He ordered Coke to drink.

He thought the serving size for the tenderloin medallions was awfully small. His were cooked properly, and were tender and juicy as well. He, too, thought the yukon gold potatoes were way too salty, so he did not eat them. On the other hand, he loved the red wine demi glace, and thought it really enhanced the taste of the tenderloin medallions. He did not eat the asparagus. He attempted to eat the crawfish beignet, but it was rock hard and dry. He thought the mac & cheese had a unique taste - this was not your average mac & cheese. Whatever cheese they're using definitely makes it the stand-out side dish for the meal.

Rating for Grilled Tenderloin Medallions: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


Remember, the waiter had taken our dessert order at the same time as our entree order, so it came out immediately after we were finished with the main meal.


I ordered the No Sugar Added Lemon Pound Cake with Seasonal Berries. I have to say, this is easily the worst dessert I've ever eaten anywhere, not just in Disney. It honestly tasted like the pound cake had been frozen and thawed. There were two layers of the cake with thin slices of strawberries and smears of whipped cream in between. The cake was dry and tasteless. The smears of whipped cream had no flavor at all - no sweetener or vanilla in it, just plain heavy cream, whipped and smeared on the bottom layer of cake. I think there may have been a total of two strawberries, sliced very thin, in the whole dessert. In a word, it was yucky. :crazy2: I wished I had ordered a full-sugar dessert and just eaten a couple of bites of it instead.

Rating for No Sugar Added Lemon Pound Cake with Seasonal Berries: :thumbsup2


My husband ordered the Chocolate Cake with Fresh Cream and Raspberry Sauce. It came out in a HUGE slab! He said it tasted freshly-baked. It was soft and very chocolatey. He loved the raspberry sauce, but thought there could be more of it instead of just a smear on the plate. I was so jealous - this cake looked so good and he devoured it in record time. :teeth:

Rating for Chocolate Cake with Fresh Cream and Raspberry Sauce: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


Along with our bill, our waiter brought out one plastic hurricane-style glass with Mardi Gras beads inside and said, "Happy Anniversary." One glass as a souvenier for two people? :confused3 He also brought a to-go box for our leftover cornbread as requested by my husband.



Total Cost of Meal: $80.02 (2TS Credits Used)


Rating of Quality of Service: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


Final Thoughts: Boatwright's Dining Hall has a neat, cozy atmosphere. It was very easy to get a last-minute ADR. This is a convenient TS restaurant if you are staying at either of the Port Orleans resorts; that being said, I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to eat here if I wasn't.

This was the most rushed meal we had - we definitely felt rushed to order, to be sure. Our waiter had a large table he was catering to - once we got our food, he mostly left us alone until it was time to deliver the bill. I have his name, but I won't list it because I think it's unfair to call someone out on the carpet who cannot defend themselves.

The portions of the Grilled Tenderloins was small, but we saw plates of the Slow-Roasted Prime Rib going by that were positively huge, so if you want to try this restaurant and have a large appetite, that may be the better choice. My husband said he wished he had ordered that instead. He said perhaps if he hadn't felt so rushed to order and given more time to consider it, he would have.

Chef James was easy to work with, so if you have special requests don't hesitate to ask to speak with him ... no matter how much pressure there is to order quickly.
 
I hate when the wait staff rush us like that. I've been known to embarrass DH because of it. I told one waitress that I'm paying for this meal. I won't be rushed and if you don't like it that's fine. You can rush me all you want. It will be reflected in your tip. :lmao: DH turned about 20 shades of red and it looked like he wanted to crawl under the table. LOL!! But she stopped rushing me after I said it. Yeah, I'm not at all shy when it comes to stuff like that.

I'm a steak snob. I don't like anything on my steak. Other than salt and a little bit of pepper. No glazes or weird sauces. I guess it's because my dad never used sauce and my taste buds are used to it. LOL!!

The mac and cheese sounds wonderful. Although DS is convinced that all Disney make and cheese tastes terrible. He remembers it from a trip a few years ago and I even tried it and it was pretty bad. Worse than the powered stuff. No flavor and even adding salt didn't help it. LOL!! :lmao:

Oh asparagus. I love, love, love that stuff. I could live on it. LOL! It's my favorite veggie next to broccoli. :lovestruc

Too bad about the cake. I swear that I can tell a fresh baked cake from one that's been frozen. Especially if it's been refrozen again and again.
 
You are helping me out so much! We plan on eating at Boatwrights and I was worried about the veggies...now I know I can get broccoli!
 
Too bad about the cake. I swear that I can tell a fresh baked cake from one that's been frozen. Especially if it's been refrozen again and again.

I was thinking along those lines earlier.

We don't eat steak...I don't grill outside and have zero desire to learn. Therefore, I can't tell one kind of steak from another.

Cake, however, is a different story. A good Polish bakery is something I've missed since I left the Chicago area over 10 years ago and I grew up on really good baked products.
 


He said his brownie was very yummy - not too sweet, and very chocolatey. He also said it was soft but not mushy

:thumbsup2

(these are important brownie qualities ).

They totally are! ::yes::

He's a big eater, and he thought the portion was somewhat small (though it would probably be more than enough to satisfy the average appetite).

First time we went to WDW, we'd heard again and again that Disney meals are "huge", but we also thought the portions were often small to moderate. :confused3 Except when it comes to desserts -- we split those, often as not! Wasn't an issue for me, but I think Ballet Girl would have to supplement a QSDP (and have a lot of buffets on a TS one).

Whoops, I see I missed a whole page of posts between writing this up and getting around to actually posting it. :p Gotta go bake cookies, though, but happily I'm subscribed so I'll get a reminder if I forget to go back and reread. I'd miss a lot without that subscribe option! :upsidedow
 
I hate when the wait staff rush us like that. I've been known to embarrass DH because of it. I told one waitress that I'm paying for this meal. I won't be rushed and if you don't like it that's fine. You can rush me all you want. It will be reflected in your tip. :lmao: DH turned about 20 shades of red and it looked like he wanted to crawl under the table. LOL!! But she stopped rushing me after I said it. Yeah, I'm not at all shy when it comes to stuff like that.

I'm a steak snob. I don't like anything on my steak. Other than salt and a little bit of pepper. No glazes or weird sauces. I guess it's because my dad never used sauce and my taste buds are used to it. LOL!!

The mac and cheese sounds wonderful. Although DS is convinced that all Disney make and cheese tastes terrible. He remembers it from a trip a few years ago and I even tried it and it was pretty bad. Worse than the powered stuff. No flavor and even adding salt didn't help it. LOL!! :lmao:

Oh asparagus. I love, love, love that stuff. I could live on it. LOL! It's my favorite veggie next to broccoli. :lovestruc

Too bad about the cake. I swear that I can tell a fresh baked cake from one that's been frozen. Especially if it's been refrozen again and again.

I could definitely tell the pound cake had been frozen and thawed. It had that dried-out quality that only comes from bakery goods that have been frozen. :crazy2:

The mac & cheese had a unique taste - I did taste it - and it was definitely above average and very good. It was not made with "yellow" cheese - it was made with "white" cheese (white cheddar, maybe?). Whatever it was, it was good!

You are helping me out so much! We plan on eating at Boatwrights and I was worried about the veggies...now I know I can get broccoli!

So glad I can help! If you want further info or advice other than what I've provided here, feel free to PM me. ;)

I was thinking along those lines earlier.

We don't eat steak...I don't grill outside and have zero desire to learn. Therefore, I can't tell one kind of steak from another.

Cake, however, is a different story. A good Polish bakery is something I've missed since I left the Chicago area over 10 years ago and I grew up on really good baked products.

I'm used to really good bakery products, also. We have a great bakery here in Cincinnati we use for many of our baked goods. I can always tell when something has been frozen when purchased elsewhere.

I liked your Boatwrights review. I've been interested in going there, but it seems so out of the way.

Thank you! It really does have a neat atmosphere, very cozy. Not sure I would go out of my way specifically to eat there, but if you happen to be in the DTD area and want to try something different, it's likely you could get an ADR.

First time we went to WDW, we'd heard again and again that Disney meals are "huge", but we also thought the portions were often small to moderate. :confused3 Except when it comes to desserts -- we split those, often as not! Wasn't an issue for me, but I think Ballet Girl would have to supplement a QSDP (and have a lot of buffets on a TS one).

Whoops, I see I missed a whole page of posts between writing this up and getting around to actually posting it. :p Gotta go bake cookies, though, but happily I'm subscribed so I'll get a reminder if I forget to go back and reread. I'd miss a lot without that subscribe option! :upsidedow

I agree about the portions. This was our first time eating at TS restaurants. We found some of the portion sizes totally huge (T-Rex immediately comes to mind), and others ridiculously small. :confused3 The TS desserts were *always* large, however.

Hope you had fun baking cookies! :teeth:
 


Wednesday, September 19 - Breakfast at Kona Cafe at The Poly

First Impressions: What a cute little cafe! All the employees, including the podium staff, were smiling and friendly. This restaurant is very clean and offers an "open air" view out into a lobby on the second level of the Polynesian Resort. There is a gift shop across the lobby as well.


This was one restaurant where I had decided what I was going to order long before we ever came to Disney. The Macadamia Nut Pancakes had been calling my name for quite some time! :teeth: My husband had also decided long ago he would be ordering the Big Kahuna. We placed our orders (I drank water, he drank chocolate milk), and they arrived promptly.


My order of Macadamia Nut Pancakes was huge! I had ordered it without pineapple sauce and with the macadamia nut butter on the side. I had also substituted scrambled eggs in place of the salty breakfast meat.

This was one meal where I was going to try and "go it on my own" without speaking to a chef. As a diabetic, you always have to try and balance carbs and protein. I figured I could eat a little of the pancakes and fill up with the scrambled eggs. This was a huge mistake.

One bite of the pancakes, and I knew there was sugar in the batter. They were so overpoweringly sweet to me - there was no way I could eat them. :sad: The macadamia nut butter was also overly sweet. Two bites in, and I had to ask to speak to the chef.

The chef came out quickly (regrettably, I forgot to write down his name). He explained softly to me that yes indeed, the pancake batter does have sugar in it, as does the butter. :worried: I was so bummed! He said if pancakes were really what I wanted, he could make special gluten-free pancakes for me and add macadamia nuts to them. That would eliminate the sugar-sweetened batter, I could use sugar-free syrup, and he would bring me regular butter. SWEET! He also re-made my eggs without salt.

To say I loved the pancakes would be an understatement. :lovestruc They were so, so good! It was hard to eat only a small portion of them, but I did my best to restrain myself! Even my husband liked the allergy pancakes I had better than his own. :teeth: I did not enjoy the scrambled eggs, however. They had a chunky quality to them and though they were cooked through, they were very mushy. :crazy2:

Rating for Special Order Allergy Macadamia Nut Pancakes: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


As mentioned, my husband ordered the Big Kahuna. He ordered his eggs over easy, and no ham. He said the stand out for this meal was easily the French toast. He enjoyed the sausage and the bacon and thought both were cooked just right. While he said there was nothing wrong with his pancakes, he liked mine better. :teeth: He mentioned to me later in the trip this was the only breakfast that he left satisfied and not still hungry.

Rating for the Big Kahuna: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


Total Cost of Meal: $26.59 (OOP)


Rating of Quality of Service: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


Final Thoughts: I was out of sorts this morning, so I failed to get the names of the chef or our waitress. We had very good service, and the chef was nice and more than willing to work with my dietary needs. Definitely worth making the trip to the Poly.

We thought this meal was a good value for the money, especially since we planned ahead to pay OOP. Considering our QS breakfast at Sassagoula's was only $3.50 less, I'd say this meal was very good value, taking into account the portion sizes versus the cost. ::yes:: I'm not sure I would use TS credits here, however, especially if you were trying to "max out" the value of the dining plan.
 
Aw, you had such an opposite experience at Boatwrights from what we had last year. I also ordered the tenderloins and thought they were pretty big, and the service was very nice - not rushed at all. Our waitress described the pasta with the tenderloins as 'adult mac&cheese' because it's made with white cheddar, not the neon orange powdered stuff most Americans are used to.

We were also on the DDP that trip and the only restaurant I recall that insisted we order dessert at the same time as our entree was Coral Reef. I remember that our dinner at Boatwrights was particularly relaxed - the cornbread came as soon as we were seated but we had nice spacing between ordering the entree, eating, and ordering dessert (which led me to eat far too much cornbread, of course). My only complaint with Boatwrights was the bread pudding dessert was dry, but that was my own fault for ordering it the night after I'd had bread pudding at Ohana. NOTHING compares to Ohana's bread pudding.
 
That is so great that the chef accomodated your requests (and that it was soooo good) at Kona - my all time favorite breakfast restaurant!! Sorry the scrambled eggs weren't that great but it sounds like overall it was a good experience.

As for Boatwrights... I like reading reviews like yours because it is on my someday list. Sounds like the prime rib would be a better choice. :thumbsup2

I've never been to T-Rex but your positive review has me wondering if I can fit another DTD dinner in future dining plans.

I've enjoyed hearing all about the snacks and all the other CS meals as well.
 
Excellent Kona review! I've been debating stopping by there on our upcoming trip, as we will be staying at the Poly. May be worth it!
 
We are eating breakfast at Kona. It will be our first time eating there and I'm still not sure what I want!! LOL!!

That was nice of the chef to come out and talk to you. That's one thing that I love about Disney. Most of their staff seem very, very friendly and helpful. Sure, you get the occasional bad apple, but most of them are great.
 
I ordered the No Sugar Added Lemon Pound Cake with Seasonal Berries. I have to say, this is easily the worst dessert I've ever eaten anywhere, not just in Disney.

Rats. There goes my theory that Boatwrights might be worth it if you stick to the appetizers and desserts. :p Although maybe they're just poor at the anti-decadent ones.

I've long thought restaurant food is too often too salty, and whenever I watch the Food Channel with my mom, I'm shocked at how much salt some professional chefs use. Anne Burrell seems to think that, if it's sea salt, you can't oversalt. :sad2: Since your husband also thought his potatoes were oversalted, maybe yours actually had less salt than the chef considered normal, therefore the chef considered them only lightly salted? :confused3

Sorry to hear about your waiter. :sad1: So much of a good TS experience depends on who you draw as waitstaff!

One bite of the pancakes, and I knew there was sugar in the batter. They were so overpoweringly sweet to me - there was no way I could eat them..

I've made these pancakes, and the recipe is like no other pancake recipe I've ever tried. It was like mixing up cake batter, seriously. :p I've made "dessert pancakes" with less sugar! They're so delicate they're a bear to flip, too. The chefs there must have pancake turners the size of plates! :upsidedow

Glad the chef could offer something that worked. :thumbsup2

Maybe I should consider a Kona Cafe breakfast again. :scratchin I'm not sure I could hack Tonga Toast, but I've long thought hubby would love it, and I could steal a bite just to see what it's like. ;) Plus if the Big Kahuna pancakes aren't as sweet as the Macadamia Nut ones I'd probably like those pretty well. Guess I should figure out how late they serve breakfast first -- I love a big breakfast or brunch, but not before ten or so.
 
:cool1: We love t-rex. Next time I am getting a steak and waffle fries!!! Nov. 3rd can't get here soon enough!
 
Thanks for the Boatwrights review. I will tell DH to order the prime rib not the tenderloin. The same problem at the Wave. We call it elf food. Lol. I probably would have ordered the lemon cake dessert too. Not anymore!
 
Aw, you had such an opposite experience at Boatwrights from what we had last year. I also ordered the tenderloins and thought they were pretty big, and the service was very nice - not rushed at all. Our waitress described the pasta with the tenderloins as 'adult mac&cheese' because it's made with white cheddar, not the neon orange powdered stuff most Americans are used to.

We were also on the DDP that trip and the only restaurant I recall that insisted we order dessert at the same time as our entree was Coral Reef. I remember that our dinner at Boatwrights was particularly relaxed - the cornbread came as soon as we were seated but we had nice spacing between ordering the entree, eating, and ordering dessert (which led me to eat far too much cornbread, of course). My only complaint with Boatwrights was the bread pudding dessert was dry, but that was my own fault for ordering it the night after I'd had bread pudding at Ohana. NOTHING compares to Ohana's bread pudding.

ITA about the mac & cheese. I wondered if it was white cheddar - so stringy and it tasted fabulous!

Perhaps our waiter at Boatwright's was just having an off night. :confused3 That's why I didn't list his name - who knows what the situation was, and everyone has a bad day now and then.

I've heard a lot about this bread pudding at Ohana - maybe I should look into getting an ADR there next time. :idea:

That is so great that the chef accomodated your requests (and that it was soooo good) at Kona - my all time favorite breakfast restaurant!! Sorry the scrambled eggs weren't that great but it sounds like overall it was a good experience.

As for Boatwrights... I like reading reviews like yours because it is on my someday list. Sounds like the prime rib would be a better choice. :thumbsup2

I've never been to T-Rex but your positive review has me wondering if I can fit another DTD dinner in future dining plans.

I've enjoyed hearing all about the snacks and all the other CS meals as well.

The steaks at T-Rex are truly fantastic, some of the best my husband and I have ever had. I'm not picky about much, but I am picky about steak and how it's cooked, and T-Rex does steak right.

The prime rib at Boatwright's was huge - I saw a teeny tiny woman being served and her eyes were as big as the plate! :lmao:

Glad you're enjoying the reviews! :goodvibes

Excellent Kona review! I've been debating stopping by there on our upcoming trip, as we will be staying at the Poly. May be worth it!

Thank you! If you're considering it, it's definitely worth a visit. I don't hink you will be disappointed. ;)

We are eating breakfast at Kona. It will be our first time eating there and I'm still not sure what I want!! LOL!!

That was nice of the chef to come out and talk to you. That's one thing that I love about Disney. Most of their staff seem very, very friendly and helpful. Sure, you get the occasional bad apple, but most of them are great.

I would imagine you could order anything there and it would be good. Everything sounded good, that's for sure. I debated getting the press pot of coffee, but I just can't handle full-caffeine coffee. :scared:

If you need to speak to the chef, the one at Kona was one of the nicer ones! They were all nice, but he was especially accommodating.

Rats. There goes my theory that Boatwrights might be worth it if you stick to the appetizers and desserts. :p Although maybe they're just poor at the anti-decadent ones.

I've long thought restaurant food is too often too salty, and whenever I watch the Food Channel with my mom, I'm shocked at how much salt some professional chefs use. Anne Burrell seems to think that, if it's sea salt, you can't oversalt. :sad2: Since your husband also thought his potatoes were oversalted, maybe yours actually had less salt than the chef considered normal, therefore the chef considered them only lightly salted? :confused3

You could be right about the salt. I've also watched cooking shows where they throw the sea salt on - I always wonder how much the sodium content is in those recipes.

Sorry to hear about your waiter. :sad1: So much of a good TS experience depends on who you draw as waitstaff!

ITA - the waiter/waitress can make or break the whole meal to a large degree.

I've made these pancakes, and the recipe is like no other pancake recipe I've ever tried. It was like mixing up cake batter, seriously. :p I've made "dessert pancakes" with less sugar! They're so delicate they're a bear to flip, too. The chefs there must have pancake turners the size of plates! :upsidedow

Glad the chef could offer something that worked. :thumbsup2

Maybe I should consider a Kona Cafe breakfast again. :scratchin I'm not sure I could hack Tonga Toast, but I've long thought hubby would love it, and I could steal a bite just to see what it's like. ;) Plus if the Big Kahuna pancakes aren't as sweet as the Macadamia Nut ones I'd probably like those pretty well. Guess I should figure out how late they serve breakfast first -- I love a big breakfast or brunch, but not before ten or so.

Kona serves breakfast until 11 a.m. I saw many people ordering the Tonga Toast - it was huge and looked delicious! I know it would be too sweet for me, and my husband doesn't particularly care for bananas, so it was out for us.

:cool1: We love t-rex. Next time I am getting a steak and waffle fries!!! Nov. 3rd can't get here soon enough!

Thanks for the Boatwrights review. I will tell DH to order the prime rib not the tenderloin. The same problem at the Wave. We call it elf food. Lol. I probably would have ordered the lemon cake dessert too. Not anymore!

Oh I hope you have as positive an experience as we did! The waffle fries truly are fantastic and don't need a single thing.

"Elf food"? :lmao: :rotfl: Yep, that explains it to a T! :laughing: Glad my review helped - you do not want the lemon poundcake. :scared: We saw mostly slabs of chocolate cake coming out of the kitchen (we were right next to the kitchen doors), so you may want to stick with that! My husband sure enjoyed his. ;)
 
Wednesday, September 19 - Lunch at Artist's Palatte at Saratoga Springs Resort

First Impressions: This is kind of a strange set-up. :confused3 It is a gift shop, food court, dining room, and mini-mart all in one area. :confused: You walk in through the dining room, then through the gift shop to get in line to order. It is an open kitchen concept. Once you go through the line and order your food, to the left is a small mini-mart with coolers of refrigerated and frozen grocery items. There are eggs, bacon, milk in the coolers, and an assortment of cereals and other common grocery items available for purchase. You take your ticket to the counter to pay, then you're given a table number. Once you're seated, your food is brought out to you when it's ready.


I ordered the Bistro Buffalo Chicken Panini without blue cheese. I had spoken to one of the chefs about this choice - he said it could be served on whole grain bread with extra veggies (carrots and celery), and that the Saratoga Chips that came as the side weren't very salty. He said he would limit the portion, however, since the buffalo sauce did contain some sugar. I got bottled water as my drink.

WOW! What a huge sandwich! No need to tell me to limit the portion - half of this sandwich easily filled me along with only a few chips. The chef was right - the chips weren't overly salty. I could tell they were freshly-made - they were delicious, as was the sandwich. It came in a convenient to-go container, so I took the remaining half with the chips back to our room for a later meal.

Rating for Bistro Buffalo Chicken Panini with Saratoga Chips: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


My husband ordered the lunch special of the day, which happened to be a Meatball Sub. It also came with Saratoga Chips as the side. He got Coke as his drink.

He said the sub was delicious and filling. The meatballs were large, the sauce was good and the bread was fresh and soft. He also liked the chips and didn't find them overly salty. Unlike me, he finished his entire meal. :teeth:

Rating for Meatball Sub with Saratoga Chips: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


We were pleasantly surprised at the number of choices for desserts here. We found many of the refrigerated snack credit items were available as dessert choices to go with our lunch.


I chose fresh strawberries with whipped cream for my dessert. It was a good size amount of strawberries, and the small container of whipped cream was just enough to compliment them.

Rating for Fresh Strawberries with Whipped Cream: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


My husband chose Worms in Dirt as his dessert. For those not familiar, it is chocolate pudding with cookie crumbs on top ... with gummy worms buried inside. :teeth: He liked this okay - he said some of the gummy worms had started to disintegrate inside the pudding, which gave it a rather strange texture and taste. He would have preferred being able to take the gummy worms out and eaten them separately or that they were simply left on top so he could take them off prior to eating.

Rating for Worms in Dirt: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


Total Cost of Meal: $32.08 (2QS Credits Used)


Final Thoughts: Artist's Palatte is an above-average quick-serve restaurant. The choices here were varied and much different than other QS we've visited in the past. We found the food to be fresher and the choices to be better and more healthy.

Other items on their menu included 6 different types of flatbread (BBQ pork, caprese, chicken/spinach/artichoke, cheese, pepperoni, and cheeseburger), and 5 other sandwiches (smoked turkey & brie, Italian hoagie, beef on a kaiser roll, turkey club wrap, and lobster club sandwich), along with 3 different salads (Saratoga salad w/chicken, caesar salad w/chicken, and cobb salad) and chicken nuggets (which we ordered on another day). They also have a lunch and dinner special of the day.

Ordering and having our meal brought to us made this feel much more like a TS restaurant than a QS, though the layout was quite strange entering through the gift shop. The seating area is rather small considering the immense size of this resort. Everyone we encountered was friendly and more than helpful, from the kitchen staff to the chef.

If you're in DTD and looking for something different than your average QS, this is the place for you. In short, recommended.
 
Wednesday, September 19 - T-Rex Dinner at Downtown Disney


I spoke with Chef Chuck prior to ordering and believe it or not, he remembered us on-sight. I already knew what I wanted - it was more a case of letting him know. :teeth:


I ordered the Neanderthal New York Strip, medium-well. This time, I ordered red-skinned potatoes and steamed carrots as my sides and iced team for my drink.

Once again, this meal did not disappoint. The steak was cooked to perfection, as were the veggies. Not much more to say that I didn't already say in the last review!

Rating for Special Order Neanderthal New York Strip: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


My husband also ordered the Neanderthal New York Strip again. This time he didn't even bother with the mashed potatoes and went straight for the Waffle Fries as his side. He ordered Coke again to drink.

Again, everything was cooked to perfection!

Rating for Neanderthal New York Strip: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


We ordered the same desserts as last time, too. Yeah, we're pretty boring that way! When we find something that works, we tend not to change things up very much. :p

Rating for Ice Age Indulgence and Strawberries w/Whipped Cream: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


Total Cost of Meal: $93.14 (2TS Credits Used)


Quality of Service: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


Final Thoughts: Chef Chuck gets :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2, but our waiter this time was terrible! If Boatwright's was our most rushed meal, this was our slowest. He was in no hurry whatsoever (which is good and bad). He catered to larger tables in a big way, and this meal took forever due to slow service. We had to ask for our desserts, ask for refills, and ask for the bill. We must have flagged him down 8 or 9 different times because he just never checked on us. Again, I won't list his name - it's unfair to call someone out on the carpet who can't defend themselves.

Chef Chuck, on the other hand, is absolutely amazing! He actually took the time to talk with us on a personal level, got to know us a little bit. He's truly a nice guy and so, so easy to work with. He is a great example of how Disney chefs go out of their way for their guests.

Even with the mediocre service on this visit, I'd still recommend T-Rex without hesitation and it's on our must-do list for future trips.
 
Thursday, September 20 - Breakfast at Artist's Palatte at SSR


There appear to be limited choices for breakfast here, but all of them sounded tasty. My husband went down to the restaurant and brought breakfast back to the villa for us to eat.


I chose the Breakfast Croissant Sandwich and milk. This sandwich consists of eggs, bacon, and American cheese on a croissant.

The sandwich was very good. The croissant was flaky and buttery and the bacon crisp.

Rating for Breakfast Croissant Sandwich: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


My husband chose the Country Breakfast Burrito with Coke. This is a whole wheat tortilla with scrambled eggs, diced onions, peppers, potatoes, sausage, and cheddar cheese.

The burrito was packed FULL and was very large. My husband said it was very reminiscent of the breakfast burritos you get at McDonald's, only larger and better tasting. :teeth:

Rating for Country Breakfast Burrito: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


Approximate Total Cost: $24 (2QS Credits Used)


Notes: While both of these breakfast items were very good tasting, they lacked a side which would have justified the price point. We wish they would have included breakfast potatoes, a fruit cup, or other side item and made it a meal or platter considering the cost.
 
Thursday, September 20 - Sassagoula's Pizza Express (In-Room Delivery)


First Impressions: When my husband called about pizza delivery, he was pleasantly surprised with the amount of choices that were available. We were under the impression it was only pepperoni and cheese; turns out, there were 6 or 7 different varieties, along with a make-your-own option. The order-taker on the phone was pleasant and friendly, and reminded us that gratuity was included and there was no need to tip the driver. There were three choices for our 2-liter - Coke, Diet Coke, or Sprite.


We decided to order a Meat Lover's Pizza without Ham, a 2-liter of Coke, a brownie for my husband's dessert option, and cheesecake for mine.

The driver arrived within the stated delivery time. Again, we were reminded that a tip was not necessary, and were given the standard print-out showing what we had ordered. Included in the bag with our 2-liter were plenty of plates, napkins, and plasticware.

This pizza was quite large and surprisingly good. The crust was perfectly crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. We loved the sauce, and the toppings were plentiful. We polished off half, then put the other half away to snack on later. :teeth:

Rating for Meat Lover's Pizza: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


As for the desserts, both the brownie and cheesecake were delicious. The brownie was large, chewy, and chocolatey. The cheesecake was very reminiscent of the one I make from scratch at home.

Rating for Both Desserts: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2


Approximate Total Cost: $30 (2TS Credits Used)


Final Thoughts: We aren't "pizza snobs", but won't eat just any old thing, and this pizza definitely satisfied.

Looking back, we probably should have paid OOP for this meal - considering the size of the pizza, it would have been money well spent. While this wasn't the best use of TS credits as far as price point, it was convenient and great to have the option, and we wouldn't hesitate to do it again.
 

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