2nd guessing reservations...What did you think you'd hate but ended up loving??? - Page 2 - The DIS Discussion Forums

Ripey · 01-21-2013, 12:04 PM

We were very pleasantly surprised by the lunch buffet at Hollywood and Vine. One of our favorite meals. We also ate at our resort restaurant, Shutters, and LOVED it. That was at CBR. Didn't even cross my mind to go eat there, DH suggested it.

JennaDeeDooDah · 01-21-2013, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by showers2flowers

Same here. One of my favorite meals of the trip. Surprised me, because I was basically expecting to endure it in order to not have to wait in line for princess autographs at another time. I really liked the food (in fact, I am trying to re-create the rice cream dessert today!)

Please let me know how that works out for you! My husband absolutely loves that dessert and it is the only rice pudding I have ever found that I liked. I would love to be able to make it for our family one night when we do our "Ode to Disney" meals.

dmiller64152 · 01-21-2013, 01:25 PM

Can't answer to the "ended up loving" part but ... trip in June this year and I think I've already cancelled or changed most of my ADRs!

tarheelmjfan · 01-21-2013, 01:41 PM

Our biggest pleasant surprise was Sci-Fi. It constantly gets negative reviews & they used to be even worse. We decided to try it for lunch to see the restaurant. We thoroughly enjoyed. The burger & onion rings were the best we've had on WDW property. It was also the quietest restaurant including signatures. It was so nice to have a relaxing, quiet lunch at Disney.

The other would be Tony's. Again, we had never tried it & wanted to see the restaurant once. After reading reviews, I warned DH that we may have to eat somewhere else after leaving there. I really wasn't expecting it to be palatable. It wasn't the best meal we've had at WDW, but it definitely wasn't even close to as bad as some of the negative reviews we've read. I would dine there again for lunch, & I can't say that for all the restaurants on property.

mousiemom · 01-21-2013, 03:10 PM

ours was the biergarten in germany. i'm not a huge fan of german food, well, we fell in love with the restaurant, the entertainment and the food! you would never know that restaurant is back there!! all 30 of us loved it!

wdwpirates · 01-21-2013, 03:44 PM

We went to Sanaa on our trip last May. I wasn't in love with the menu when I made the ressie and wasn't sure that I would like the food. Man, am I glad I made that ressie. It was wonderful! The food, the service and the ambiance were all great! DH and I loved the meal

The only downside is that if you aren't staying at AKL it's really out of the way and not the easiest place to get to. Other than that...YUM!

showers2flowers · 01-21-2013, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JennaDeeDooDah

Please let me know how that works out for you! My husband absolutely loves that dessert and it is the only rice pudding I have ever found that I liked. I would love to be able to make it for our family one night when we do our "Ode to Disney" meals.

Well, I would say it's close, but not quite right. (I used the recipe on allears and scaled it down) I am wondering if they use whole milk, because I used 2 percent and it was not as creamy as the real deal. Other than that, it's actually pretty good. I did end up putting the strawberry preserve mixture on the stove to reduce a little because it was very watery when blended, but I am guessing that could vary as well, depending on the type or brand of preserves used. Definitely needs to be chilled before serving.

I hate rice pudding with a passion, but something made me try that stuff--and I LOVE it!

Too bad Boma's bread pudding couldn't put an end to my irrational hatred of bread pudding.

JimmyV · 01-21-2013, 04:54 PM

Maybe this one doesn't count because it gets pretty high scores now, but back when AK first opened, (and before this board even existed to sing praises), I walked up to Flame Tree with great skepticism. Amusement park BBQ....ugh! But I was pleasantly surprised.

And despite positive reviews of both the food and wine, I expected to be let down at Jiko, figuring that it would be "South Africa Lite" in the Disney sense. But I was impressed by both the quality of the food and the depth of the wine list. When I first dined there, I was working part time for a wine distributor and we had a very deep portfolio of South African wines before most people could even spell Pinotage, and I expected to see the "Mondavi Woodbridge" and Kendall-Jackson level of wines on their list. I was delighted to see that I was wrong, and that many of the wines that I sold were well represented on the list.

loganpaulsmom · 01-21-2013, 05:03 PM

The problem is as a DIS 'er you want to have all the info you can about your trip including restaurants. This poses so many problems!! Lol I now base my restaurants on the park that I choose that day. We have already had to cancel multiple ressies for our April trip because we keep changing our itinerary. I try to do at least 1 signature and at least 1 sit down per day..

LuvGoofy6 · 01-21-2013, 05:31 PM

I thought the Sci-Fi Dine-In would be cheesy but we went because my husband loves those old sci-fi movie clips. I was genuinely pleased with the food and the service was wonderful each and every time.

We heard bad reviews about 1900 Park Fare but decided to try it on our first trip (for breakfast) because we heard the character interaction was the best. Well, the character interaction was wonderful and so was the breakfast. We have eaten there on all of our trips. The Mad Hatter is hilarious and likes to have fun with the adults!

Merbean09 · 01-21-2013, 06:22 PM

Before I was on the Dis-boards, when we went two June's or so ago, we were at Epcot. We were just going to eat at Seasons or Electric Umbrella (

), but instead we stumbled upon Via Napoli. It was hands down the best food we've had at WDW and the best pizza we've ever had.
The servers there were so adorable and authentic, and they were so nice. I also love the atmosphere

roushcivic · 01-21-2013, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MinnieLovesMickey12

I wasn't expecting to like Cape May Cafe seafood buffet because I don't like or eat Crab legs. But they had plenty of other stuff I did like and I ended up enjoying it. DH didn't care for it much but the kids loved it because THEY DO eat Crab legs.

seafood buffet....tell me more

Three cats · 01-21-2013, 09:02 PM

I was skeptical about San Angel Inn for lunch but ended up loving it. It is on our must do list for our next trip.

Posted from DISboards.com App for Android

kris4360 · 01-21-2013, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Three cats

I was skeptical about San Angel Inn for lunch but ended up loving it. It is on our must do list for our next trip.

Posted from DISboards.com App for Android

Same here! We had dinner there and loved it!

PosadaGirl519 · 01-21-2013, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ripey

We also ate at our resort restaurant, Shutters, and LOVED it. That was at CBR. Didn't even cross my mind to go eat there, DH suggested it.

Yes! The resort restaurants are such hidden gems. I was so surprised by Olivias (OKW) The Maya Grill (CS) and Boma (AKL).

01-21-2013, 01:25 PM	#18
dmiller64152 Mouseketeer Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Shawnee, Kansas Posts: 188	Can't answer to the "ended up loving" part but ... trip in June this year and I think I've already cancelled or changed most of my ADRs! __________________ First visit since 1981!!!

01-21-2013, 01:41 PM	#19
tarheelmjfan Proud Redhead Does anyone have any more secrets to add? Join Date: May 2001 Location: Florida Posts: 7,650	Our biggest pleasant surprise was Sci-Fi. It constantly gets negative reviews & they used to be even worse. We decided to try it for lunch to see the restaurant. We thoroughly enjoyed. The burger & onion rings were the best we've had on WDW property. It was also the quietest restaurant including signatures. It was so nice to have a relaxing, quiet lunch at Disney. The other would be Tony's. Again, we had never tried it & wanted to see the restaurant once. After reading reviews, I warned DH that we may have to eat somewhere else after leaving there. I really wasn't expecting it to be palatable. It wasn't the best meal we've had at WDW, but it definitely wasn't even close to as bad as some of the negative reviews we've read. I would dine there again for lunch, & I can't say that for all the restaurants on property. __________________ (\__/) (='.'=) (USO) (")_(")

01-21-2013, 03:10 PM	#20
mousiemom adam lambert lover! Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Mobile, Alabama Posts: 2,015	ours was the biergarten in germany. i'm not a huge fan of german food, well, we fell in love with the restaurant, the entertainment and the food! you would never know that restaurant is back there!! all 30 of us loved it! __________________ [ : Pam(43) married to Bo (42)daughter Kinsey(12):her 28th disneytripfreckles :lulabelle ]75-DL/80-WDW/97-WDW/99-DISNEYMOON-ASM/02-DD 1ST TRIP-ASM/04-ASM/05-POP/06-POP/1/07-POP/5/07-POR/8/07-SSR/12/07-POP/1/08-POP/6/08-DL-HOJO/9/08-POP/12/08-ASM/2/09-POP/5/09-POP/9/09-POP/12/09-POP/5/10-POP/12/10-POP/11/11-POPBC12/11-POP-11/12POP 4/13/AOA-11/13

01-21-2013, 03:44 PM	#21
wdwpirates Don't lose ya soul cuz it's all ya got. - DH Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 971	We went to Sanaa on our trip last May. I wasn't in love with the menu when I made the ressie and wasn't sure that I would like the food. Man, am I glad I made that ressie. It was wonderful! The food, the service and the ambiance were all great! DH and I loved the meal The only downside is that if you aren't staying at AKL it's really out of the way and not the easiest place to get to. Other than that...YUM! __________________ Me (Kerri-33) DH (Jim-37)

01-21-2013, 05:03 PM	#24
loganpaulsmom DIS Veteran Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 1,056	The problem is as a DIS 'er you want to have all the info you can about your trip including restaurants. This poses so many problems!! Lol I now base my restaurants on the park that I choose that day. We have already had to cancel multiple ressies for our April trip because we keep changing our itinerary. I try to do at least 1 signature and at least 1 sit down per day.. __________________ http://distickers.com/ticker/tickers...8e7c4o60nl.png

01-21-2013, 12:04 PM	#16
Ripey Earning My Ears Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 15	We were very pleasantly surprised by the lunch buffet at Hollywood and Vine. One of our favorite meals. We also ate at our resort restaurant, Shutters, and LOVED it. That was at CBR. Didn't even cross my mind to go eat there, DH suggested it.

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01-21-2013, 04:54 PM	#23
JimmyV Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas. Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 2,239	Maybe this one doesn't count because it gets pretty high scores now, but back when AK first opened, (and before this board even existed to sing praises), I walked up to Flame Tree with great skepticism. Amusement park BBQ....ugh! But I was pleasantly surprised. And despite positive reviews of both the food and wine, I expected to be let down at Jiko, figuring that it would be "South Africa Lite" in the Disney sense. But I was impressed by both the quality of the food and the depth of the wine list. When I first dined there, I was working part time for a wine distributor and we had a very deep portfolio of South African wines before most people could even spell Pinotage, and I expected to see the "Mondavi Woodbridge" and Kendall-Jackson level of wines on their list. I was delighted to see that I was wrong, and that many of the wines that I sold were well represented on the list.

01-21-2013, 05:31 PM	#25
LuvGoofy6 Earning My Ears Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 45	I thought the Sci-Fi Dine-In would be cheesy but we went because my husband loves those old sci-fi movie clips. I was genuinely pleased with the food and the service was wonderful each and every time. We heard bad reviews about 1900 Park Fare but decided to try it on our first trip (for breakfast) because we heard the character interaction was the best. Well, the character interaction was wonderful and so was the breakfast. We have eaten there on all of our trips. The Mad Hatter is hilarious and likes to have fun with the adults! __________________ __________________ 1999 Shades of Green, 2001 Shades of Green, 2005 All Star Movies, 2010 Swan, 2011 Yacht Club 2013 Disneyland for the first time!

01-21-2013, 06:22 PM	#26
Merbean09 Mouseketeer Join Date: May 2012 Location: FL Posts: 82	Before I was on the Dis-boards, when we went two June's or so ago, we were at Epcot. We were just going to eat at Seasons or Electric Umbrella (), but instead we stumbled upon Via Napoli. It was hands down the best food we've had at WDW and the best pizza we've ever had. The servers there were so adorable and authentic, and they were so nice. I also love the atmosphere __________________ Jordan - Mommy/Disney Fanatic/ Dis-user Jordan - Daddy/Puts up with Disney fanatic of the same name London- Son/Disney Fantic- in training

01-21-2013, 09:02 PM	#28
Three cats DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Connecticut Posts: 570	I was skeptical about San Angel Inn for lunch but ended up loving it. It is on our must do list for our next trip. Posted from DISboards.com App for Android __________________ 12/12 Saratoga Springs 11/13 Wilderness Lodge

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