We dined it up right at Disney

[Belleoftheboard]

You'd think with all the advance planning I did on the DDP and the places I chose to eat, I'd remember more about my actual dining experiences while at Disney. Well, I plead sleep-deprivation memory loss thanks to my stll-won't-sleep-at-night 10 month old son.

Anyway, here's some blurbs from our quickie 3 day trip:

Counter Service

We ate at Wolfgang Puck's Cafe in DTD our first evening. I can't remember what any of us ate exactly (DH had pasta, I had quesadillas and mom had a salad) but I will say this: the presentation was very appealing, and all the food (3 adults) was very good. If you have to use CS credits for dinner like we did (to have enough TS credits to eat at Jilko's and The California Grill) this is a good place to do it. You feel like you had more of a real meal than the usual CS fare. The waiter was helpful in bringing extra things we needed which was nice. Dinner was only slightly dampened by the woman at the next table over (very close) who allowed her toddler to sit in nothing but a diaper! I'm sorry--I'm a mom, and that grosses even me out, especially when I'm eating. Oh, dessert options were a little lame--large cookies and brownies--but tasted great nonetheless.

Our day at the MK we ate at Cosmic Ray's. I am very glad we ate early (11am ish). We were able to get a table outside (the side closest to the castle) under an umbrella in the shade. It was great--more calm and quiet, and my son was able to take a nap in the stroller while we just enjoyed watching the crowds go by. Our burgers were very good (and I'm a burger snob) and the fixins bar was great--they had everything which I really like. I thought the desserts were going to be a dissapointment (were prepackaged instead of more home made looking) but the chocolate cake and carrot cake were both great.

Our day at AK we ate at the Flame Tree BBQ. My mom and I had the ribs and my husband had a salad with grilled chicken. The ribs were good, especially for park food, but nothing to rave about. The chicken on top of the salad was excellent--very moist. The desserts were great--I had chocolate cake but can't remember what DH had.

Table Service

Since grandma was with us to watch the baby, my DH and I decided to save our TS credits to hit two nice restaurants. After much research I decided on Jilko's and California Grill.

Jilko's

We had an ADR of course, but we still had to wait about 20 minutes for our table. We didn't mind at all--we strolled around outside, taking in how the other half lives and checked out the animals. It really enhanced the experience. It was our anniversary, so they wished us a happy one when we were shown to our table (I told them when I made the Res.) and later we were given a card signed by staff which was nice. The atmosphere in the restaurant was very nice, but if you are expecting a quiet, intimate atmosphere for a romantic dinner, eat elsewhere. The vibe was busy, bustling, buzz of sound with people enjoying themselves. It wasn't so noisy as to ruin the experience, but I was kinda hoping for the more intimate, quiet and romantic vibe since my DH and I never get out any more. Oh well, not a huge deal.

Here again, my memory is fuzzy with what we had, but I'll tell you upfront: it was an excellent meal. I got some sort of flatbread with goat cheese appetizer which was awesome, and my DH's appetizer (whatever it was) was great too. I ordered some kind of chicken dish for dinner and my DH had the filet over their version of mac and cheese. We both agreed that it was hands down, the best steak we had ever tasted. Seriously, you have to try it. As good as my chicken was, I almost stole my DH's steak off his plate, it was that good. Dessert was only ok--some banana w/ ice cream thing.

Now here is my one criticism: I didn't think we had great service, and I think it had more to do with luck of the draw than anything. Can't remember the guy's name, but he was from South Africa. He wasn't horrible, but he barely gave us the time of day and I had a feeling once I told him we were on the meal plan he wrote us off and only gave us the minimum service-wise. I found that dissapointing, but I didn't let it ruin my evening.

California Grill

We had an ADR for 9:40 which would put us there to see Wishes. At first I was dissapointed because we didn't get a window seat, but our waiter explained to us it is much better to view the fireworks from one of the 2 huge balconies they have (where they also pipe in the music) and that the restaurant practically comes to a halt for the 15 minutes or so during Wishes. Everyone just troops out onto the balcony, watches the show, and then troops back in. He even waited to put our dinner order in so it wouldn't get cold while we were watching the show. Awesome! So, my advice is: don't even bother asking for a window table.

I have no idea what I got as an appetizer but my husband got the large sushi platter that had a bunch of different kinds on it. I think on some threads I had read that some people weren't allowed to order it or if they did it had to count as 2 appetizers...anyway, we didn't have a problem. When we asked our waiter about what a few of the pieces were and he didn't know, he had the sushi chef (forget her name, but she's famous or whatever and been on t.v.) come to our table and explain it. She was so nice, and we had a great time chatting with her for about 5 minutes. So cool!

This time I ordered the steak, but wouldn't you know, it wasn't as good as at Jilko's. Still very good, but it just didn't compare to the night before. I have no idea what DH had, but I remember eating some of it and it was excellent. The dessert was ok, but it's not fair to rate it because I didn't get what I *really* wanted which was some death by chocolate thing that takes 20 minutes to cook. As it was already close to 11pm by that point, I chose something else I normally wouldn't get so it would be quicker.

One of the things that made our experience so wonderful at the Grill (other than the excellent food) was our waiter. Now HE gave some great service, and it really made a huge difference in our experience. He was so friendly and helpful and we just had a great time. He was so good, that I left him an extra 20% tip, because he earned it and was worth it.

All in all, I was glad I did all the advance research, because we ate very well during our 3 days--there was no place we ate I wouldn't go back to. If you can swing a 'signature' meal while on your trip you should--both meals were very memorable for us and made for a nice evening out.

[Princess4Eeyore]

Thank you for your reviews ... looking forward to Cali Grill & Jikos too - yum!

[SLM]

Thanks for reviewing-we have dinner reservations at the CG for this Tuesday. It's nice to know we won't have to have a window seat to enjoy the fireworks-I'm taking your advice and not even asking! One less thing to stress over! I'm glad you and your husband got a chance to go out without the baby and I'm sure Grandma loved having the baby to herself!

[ufgator]

Thanks for your reviews. We ate at Jiko last year and had very poor service.

[lisaross]

i thought the cafe was TS - or did you eat at the express???

[tinkerbeth]

Thanks for the reviews! My son is 4 and he still wakes up almost every night... ANd I'm having another baby in 2 weeks! (Give or take )

It's so much FUN to be the MOM!!!

Beth

[Dustmouse]

I think you faked your way through that pretty well! I still don't know what you ate, but I want to eat there now.

[swankybeth]

Thanks for the reviews!

[Uncleromulus]

Enjoyed the reviews. Unfortunate that the mention of the DP would result in less than adequate service at Jiko---

[Belleoftheboard]

Oops--you're right lisaross We ate at the express (the cheaper one!). I forgot and thought the cafe was the CS one.....sorry for the confusion.

[flamestarrdust]

Great reviews! Thanks!

[WAHMto5]

We were able to get the Creme Brule for dessert at Wolf Gang Express and thought it was great! We also thought the brownies and cookies were HUGE!!!

[heather360]

Thanks for the reviews.

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the wonderful review. Glad you liked our two favorite WDW restaurants Jiko & CG.

[scoutsmom99]

Thanks for the great reviews. I must have had the same server you did at Jikos last fall. Although I wasn't on the dining plan I thought the service I recieved was not up to par. I'm going to dine there again (the food was fabulous) and chalk my frist experience up to someone having a bad night.