Dining reviews - we must be easy to please

[WisMom]

Well, since I used these forums a lot to prepare for our trip, I thought I would post our experiences with dining. It's me, 51, DH, 52 and DS, 17. DH avoids potatoes (high in potassium and he has kidney disease). We were not on the dining plan but in retrospect I wish we had since we enjoyed almost everything. I must also say that we are not really into gourmet dining so that should tell you something about our taste.

We must be weird or very easy to please because we enjoyed almost every single meal - even restaurants that occasionally get mixed reviews here. We had great servers and no mishaps with ADRS. So here goes:

6/14 Sci Fi. 2pm ADR, we arrived a few minutes late and were seated in 5 minutes. I warned DH and DS to order burgers only. So, of course, DS orders the BBQ Chicken Sandwich and DH orders the Chicken Caesar Salad. I ordered a burger. Everything was good, no complaints - except DH said his portion could have been larger or could have come with some bread. Our server was great, very attentive with drink refills, food came promptly.

6/15 Crystal Palace 6pm ADR. We arrived early, we were seated on time. While we were waiting, they announced they were booked for the evening. We were glad we made reservations. We thought everything was excellent. DH especially enjoyed the wide variety of salads and the apple cobbler for dessert. I loved the salmon. Again, our server was friendly and drink refills came frequently. The bread and chipotle butter are very good.

6/16 Rose and Crown 5pm ADR. We arrived at 4:30 and were seated within 5 minutes. Which was good because shortly thereafter it poured rain. They originally wanted to seat us on the patio, we asked for inside and that was no problem. DS liked the prawn cocktail, it's different. We ordered fish and chips, DH ordered beef stew without the potatoes. They were happy to substitute peas for the potatoes. The fish was excellent. We are from Wisconsin, where Friday night Fish Fry is the norm so we feel we know a good fish fry. Our server was friendly, prompt and drink refills were plentiful. The iced tea here was different, that was fun. We had sticky toffee pudding for dessert. The rain poured for 2 hours and since they weren't full, our server told us to relax and take our time so we would not have to go back out into the rain.

6/17 Ohana, 6:20 ADR. We arrived a few minutes late and were seated promptly. This was our only less than wonderful experience. The staff were very friendly but service seemed chaotic. I think that's because they have some different bringing out each item. We liked the salad and appetizers, I especially liked the chicken wings and DH liked the shrimp. Even the wontons and dipping sauces were good (but a little oily, could not eat a lot). The potatoes and veggies came before the meat. Both were very good. It was the meat that was a problem. It didn't seem over or under cooked, just dry and I thought the pork had a terrible flavor. Not sure what the spices are but I didn't like it. The steak was variable. DH had a nice tender piece, mine was inedible. The turkey and sausage are both lackluster. We were never brought towels. Dessert was very good. The atmosphere was very fun and we enjoyed watching the kids hula and have coconut races. We liked the atmosphere and staff. Maybe we would go back for breakfast but not dinner.

6/18 Hollywood and Vine 6pm ADR. We were seated by 6:20 - she had told us we would be seated in 15 to 20 minutes and she was right. They too announced they were booked for the night. We booked the Fantasmic package. I was nervous because of bad reviews here recently but we enjoyed it. Everything was fresh and plenty warm, the salmon was very good. The grilled flank steak was far superior to the meat at Ohanas. DH liked the polenta, I liked the spoonbread and bean cassoulet. The bread had a very nice chew to it. The dishes are not as adventurous as Crystal Palace but not everyone likes adventurous. Desserts were very good. DH loved the moon pies and the marscapone snickers cheesecake. Our server was very prompt with refills and we were delighted when he offered us coffee when he saw we had plates with dessert items.

6/19 50s Prime Time 5pm ADR, arrived at 4:50 and were seated 5 minutes later. Our server here was wonderful, we think we won her over immediately when my husband said "Menu? We get a choice Mom?" As children who were raised in the early 50s and 60s, we ate what mom served. DH ordered the chicken and asked to substitute green beans for the potatoes. Well, when it came, they had substituted green beans for the southern greens. When we told our server, she was wonderful about taking care of it (we had explained why he can't eat potatoes). She brought him a fresh dinner with green beans and southern beans. I had meat loaf, which was very good. DS had shrimp cocktail and a grilled chicken breast meal which he didn't really care for. He really liked the fried chicken and wished he had ordered that. Oh, DS and DH ordered malts and were very happy because they were heavy on the malt and they bring you the steel container with the extra malt.

Truthfully, we more impressed than we thought we would be. The parks were crowded and it was clear that Disney has a lot of people to feed so we were impressed and surprised with the quality of food and the service.

WisMom

[SLM]

Thanks for posting your reviews. It sounds like you had a great trip!

[tinkerbeth]

Thanks for the great reviews!! We're going to a lot of those same places and several of them will be new to us. I think we must not be very picky either because we almost always love wherever we eat at Disney. The only place I don't like is Tony's in MK. We've been there twice and I've been unimpressed both times. I can't wait to try 50s Prime Time and Crystal Palace.

Beth

[ufgator]

Thanks for your reviews!

[Swimnoid]

Great reviews! We are like you...never met a Disney restaurant we didnt like! We have been to most of the restaurants on your list and enjoyed them all. Cant wait to go back!

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reviews ~ Thanx for sharing.

[fizz13]

great reviews, so nice to read a positive experience
Claire xx

[Kaycee]

Thanks for the reviews. Sounds like you had some very nice meals.

[eliza61]

Thanks for the great reviews. I'm an eternal optimist, so I enjoy reading the kudos instead of the complaints

[sleepydog25]

Originally Posted by WisMom

We must be weird or very easy to please because we enjoyed almost every single meal - even restaurants that occasionally get mixed reviews here. We had great servers and no mishaps with ADRS. . . . .

Truthfully, we more impressed than we thought we would be. The parks were crowded and it was clear that Disney has a lot of people to feed so we were impressed and surprised with the quality of food and the service.

WisMom

I'm also glad to hear upbeat reviews. Like you, we tend to find that our dining experiences are almost always positive. That's not to say we haven't hit a snag or two, we have. My theory is that as a general public at large we wind up with inflated ideals of what the "magical" experience at Disney ought to be, whether it be dining or rides or shows. We go into our dining experience realizing that tens of thousands of folks eat at all these restaurants daily, so our expectations, while not low, are certainly mindful of the limitations and issues we might find. And we are infrequently disappointed. Now, I don't excuse things such as completely being ignored by your server, or food that is totally unpalatable, or an hour's wait beyond your ADR. I'm by no means a Disney dining expert (nor will I ever be), but in our dozens of meals over the past few years, we've had exactly two mediocre-to-poor experiences. And, yes, I did review them when they happened. Thanks again for the reviews.

[LYNSUE]

Hi, neighbor. I'm from WI also. And yes, we do know a good fish fry. I love fish and have it most meals when I am at WDW. (or anywhere out to eat for that matter). It has been a few years since I dined at the R&C, however I do remember not being real impressed with the Fish & Chips. (again, we are spoiled with the fish we get in WI) I will definately give it another try someday.

My family has always had good luck with the dining at WDW. Maybe we are easy to please also.

Thanks for the reviews.

[bluejasmine]

Thanks for the great reviews! Happy to see good review on Sci Fi my family liked it as well. Of Course we normally like almost anything..lol

[Lizzybee]

So nice to see good reviews! We are going to be there in August and even though I don't think we are going to any of the same restaurants but it still makes me excited to see a positive review. We are pretty easy to please so our first free dining trip was fantastic. I'm so glad you had a good experience. (I'm almost in Wisconsin-just south of Kenosha- and went to summer camp in Door County when I was a kid...so I know what you mean about fish fry fridays. I don't eat fish but they were definitely serious about it!)

[tweetylori]

You're a delight. And so is your review. Thanks!

[jpolak]

Thanks for the reviews! We are trying CP for dinner the first time and can not wait. I am so glad to hear you liked H&V. We hace an ADR there and I was starting to panic after all of the bad reviews.