We did one ADR on this trip. I had a WOC reservation at Carthay Circle. I have mixed feelings about this meal.
Since I knew I had had several small exposures already I tried to keep this meal as allergy free as possible.
I made the reservation and I noted my allergies (dairy, egg, wheat, buckwheat, oatmeal, rye, strawberries and pineapple).
I arrived and they had no alternative menu, I saw no chef, and honestly I felt completely unsure even about my waiter’s ability to communicate my needs or understand them. We didn’t see a lot of him and had to ask for basics like s&p or the GF bread that had not shown up. I saw a runner more than him.
He basically asked what I was thinking about. Since my mom (no allergies) was getting a steak I asked about the salad, chicken and pretty much just asked what they had available for dessert as there was not one thing on the menu that I could eat as listed. (the WOC menu is a more limited menu than the regular menu).
I was given GF bread. (I can tolerate small amounts of egg in baked goods so GF is usually safe as long as it’s not buckwheat, rye or oatmeal based). This sad to say was pretty much the best part of the meal for me. It was really good white bread, that had a good texture and taste, they brushed it with a high quality oil (it was very light and tasted nice) and it was slightly grilled. My mom tried it and preferred it to the regular loaf served to her. It appeared to be a small loaf or oversized sub roll shape.
The salad was a basic mixed green salad, with goat cheese (which I tolerate better than cow’s dairy so I was happy for that), but even though I assured him that I was not allergic to any nuts he brought both my mom’s and my salad without any sunflower seeds. Small annoyance. The only dressings I was offered were plain oil and vinegar or their Cherry Vinaigrette. I went with the cherry since I don’t like plain oil/vinegar on salads, and it was subpar, heavy, not seasoned well and honestly didn’t even taste like cherries.
The chicken sounded great on the menu but I was informed that there was not one sauce in the entire kitchen that was safe. I could only have a plain piece of chicken, I don’t eat any fish and wanted something other than the steak. Don’t get me wrong it was well cooked and seasoned with s&p appropriately, but it was a plain piece of chicken. The side was not allergy safe, so I asked for potatoes, plain rice or broccoli and was told that none of those were available (though I knew all those things were offered on the regular menu) and that they MIGHT be able to do green beans instead. I was done at that point and just said that was fine. He then came out and said oh yeah they had potatoes and broccoli. Again they were executed well but were pretty mediocre and boring.
Free-Range Chicken Breast Glazed
with Adobo Sauce and Ancient Grains
Weird picture and I'd given my mom a few potatoes and half the broccoli but this was my plate not even a random leafy garnish.
Dessert was a fail as far as an experience. I’m not a big dessert eater but as it came with the meal I was interested in trying. I was told flat out that it would be a bowl of blackberries and raspberries. There were no accommodations available. I like blackberries, but again just boring, it was some washed berries in a white bowl.
Mom had iced tea and I think I had a coke
For $60+ and advance notification I wasn’t expecting miracles but I was expecting at least some effort. There was none. It was a mediocre meal that I could have bought at any chain style restaurant or fixed myself. There wasn’t even an attempt to make it look interesting. That is not what I have come to expect from Disney, and maybe I’m spoiled because WDW has been so good about having accommodations (even when I was offered a basic fruit for dessert or a piece of grilled chicken, the chef at least presented it prettily on a plate with some kind of flair or some kind of flavor profile).
My mom was satisfied with her meal, but like me she was underwhelmed by the experience.
Her salad came with ranch and besides the missing seeds it was fine.
She was not overly fond of the bread but I told her about the fried biscuits and we ordered them as a side and she really liked them.
Her steak was okay, not a great cut of meat but considering she likes WELL DONE, it was not shoe leather and that is again an ability of the chef to execute well.
It came with black bean chili, and a mango salsa which she did not like. I’m not sure about those combinations because they don’t seem to go together at all, but anyway, I shared my sides with her. We ended up taking about half her steak and half the fried biscuits back to the room, which we had for lunch on Tuesday along with some items we had brought from home like WF bread, chips, and GF cookies.
Her dessert was a chocolate crème brule tart. It’s not a classic presentation but she said it did taste good but was very rich. She ate about half of the very small piece and that was more than enough.
So for $142 + tax this was a meal that was way overpriced and a disappointment…..however the package ended up being well worth it.
There was one WoC show. We had a FP. By the time that came about it was cold she was tired and she was about at the end of her endurance. She was not sure she’d be able to last another 1 ½ hours to stay and see the show. I decided to go off to try the swinging gondolas on the wheel and she stayed in the general area to go to the FP Area, a wonderful CM let her sit on the benches after they cleared them and then allowed her to go on down to the FP area for our package (above the big Handicapped area) and they had sectioned off two benches for those with needs. They gave her a paintbrush card and allowed her to sit there on the bench instead of standing around in line. When I came back (after stopping off to buy hot chocolate since I knew she was cold) they let me go down and sit with her (I did stand up when they opened up the lines) and the CM was really good about shooing people off the benches and saving them for those with a medical need. Eventually I did end up sitting next to her as there was room and it was a great viewing location.
So despite a bad meal experience the WoC FP (and a couple of great CM’s) made it possible for my mom to see the show, so in the end I don’t regret the WoC package, but I will probably not eat at Carthay Circle again.