Dining with two toddlers! Reviews from July 14-20- Updated- Kona Cafe

[lissawynn]

Hello, all! I'm going to take a crack at my first dining reviews here on the DIS. I have been reading reviews for years, and the insight provided by fellow Disney lovers has helped me enjoy some delicious food at WDW. This trip was from July 14-20 at one of our favorite resorts, Disney's Wilderness Lodge. I will be sharing my thoughts about my meals and some general observations about the things my kids consumed along the way.

Me - Alisa - 34, mom of two and sometimes picky eater. I do not care for sweet sauces on "dinner" foods. I'm also not into hot or spicy stuff. Also, I don't eat mayo. Ever. I love meat, seafood, and rich desserts. As a side note, I think I may have developed a lactose intolerance issue over the last few years. It started when I was pregnant with Jimmy and has continued to worsen over the last five years. I love dairy, but it does NOT love me, especially when I consume it late in the day. This does NOT stop me, however. I am a grown up and will continue to eat ice cream and cheese as I please. I do suffer the consequences for my stupidy and can live with that for now.

Jimmy - 4 - my boy baby, even though he's getting bigger and bigger everyday. He is all about chicken nuggets, mac-n-cheese, pasta with butter and "Jimmy" cheese, and ice cream. Fortunately, Disney is all about these things, too.

Annabel - 2 - my girl baby and our last baby. She is a great eater and will try pretty much anything.

Also on this trip were my sister and her son. I didn't really ask them too many questions about their meals, so I'm sticking to what the kids and I ate.

I wish I had the chance to take pics of the food, but I barely took pics of our trip. This is life traveling with two small children. Also, I do not have a cost breakdown of our meals. Someday when my children are a bit more self-sufficient, I will be able to provide you all with photos of our food and what it cost us to eat it. At that time they might decide their mom is a wacko for taking pictures and detailed notes about what we ate, and I may be posting from the asylum.
What I can give you is my take on what I ate and whether or not I'd return to those places on a later trip.

We left Philly at 7:00 A.M. I had grabbed some boxes of Fruit Loops from the Comfort Inn before our 5:00 A.M. shuttle arrived. I also had Goldfish and fruit snacks packed in my travel bag for the kids. Once we arrived at the airport and made it to our gate, I grabbed them some chocolate milk for the kids and got myself a diet Coke and bacon, egg, and cheese crossanwich from Burger King. Not a breakfast of champions, but it filled the void. The kids enjoyed their cereal and milk while watching Herbie - Fully Loaded.

We each had a little bag of airplane shaped cinnamon crackers and our cup of juice (for the kids) and diet Coke for me complements of SWA. Needless to say, we were all hungry when we arrived at WL. Sadly, our room was not ready at 11:00 A.M., so we hopped on the boat to MK, grabbed a bus to the Beach Club, and made our way to Beaches and Cream.

Beaches and Cream - Lunch
For those of you who have been to B&C before, you know it's a good idea to get there before the lunch rush hits. We made it right in time. While we would have preferred a booth, we squeezed our five bodies around the small, round table. Keep in mind my sister and I had been awake since about 3:00 A.M., and the kids had been up since about 4:00 A.M. We were hot, tired, and hungry. The chances that we would make it though the meal without incident were rapidly decreasing.

My sister and I decided to share the double cheeseburger with bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes. We opted for the onion rings instead of the fries. I also ordered a vanilla Coke. Jimmy and Annabel shared the grilled cheese with fries and grapes. I don't think this is on their menu, but the waitress named this as one of their options. Each had an apple juice. Our server has been there since I started going there back in 2005. She's a very nice blonde woman whose name escapes me at the moment. She brought us our burger, which was already split, as were the onion rings. She was great about refilling our drinks. The burger and onion rings was delicious and just enough to eat so I could have room for a banana split. However, the toddler meltdown was about to take place. Annabel had had enough and wanted out of the restaurant, out of the resort, maybe even out of the trip alltogether. It was tough to tell while she cried and thrashed in my arms. I, luckily, had finished the majority of my food, so we took a walk to the ladies room so I could cool her off and attempt to calm her down. Sorry if any of you were eating when she pitched her fit. She's hit the terrible twos with a vengenance. I'm just glad we got her calmed down enough so we could finish our meals and settle up with the kind waitress.
When we returned to B&C, Annabel decided that my sister was a much more suitable guardian, so she and her auntie left and took a walk. There went my banana split. Oh, well, I settled for sharing Jimmy's Mickey sundae. He had the scoop of vanilla ice cream, with Oreo ears, and cherry nose and tail. He had a good time slopping his way though his ice cream, which I think sat on the counter for a bit because it melted really quickly. I did eat the Oreos. He doesn't really like them too much, at least that's what I told myself as I removed them from his sundae and ate them.
Like I said, I don't have a total for our bill. We did pay OOP, and our server did not charge me for Annabel's additional apple juice. We left her a nice tip to make up for the screaming and head spinning on Annabel's part.

We love B&C and will go back as often as we can. Our service was great, and the food was very good. Like most others who love this restaurant, I wish it was bigger and had better seating options.

We got the text that our room was ready, so we headed back to WL to get settled and clean ourselves up for dinner at 1900 Park Fare.

Up next, dinner with Cindy, her man, and three lovely ladies...

ETA - We were on the regular dining plan for this trip. However, we did pay OOP for some meals, like Beaches & Cream. We kind of got off track with our credits, which I blame on traveling with three children and much changing of our plans. However, we just rolled with it, which for a planning/control freak like me, was a bit of an adjustment.

[MadilynnsMomma]

Count me in! I am headed to Disney in Dec with my 2 y/o daughter!

[PixieDustandEeyore]

can't wait to hear more.. I think I know which waitress you are talking about.. she is so nice!

[MrsKreamer]

I am in, we will be traveling with a 4(almost 5)y/o and a just turned 3.

[MickeyNicki]

Originally Posted by lissawynn

Someday when my children are a bit more self-sufficient, I will be able to provide you all with photos of our food and what it cost us to eat it. At that time they might decide their mom is a wacko for taking pictures and detailed notes about what we ate, and I may be posting from the asylum.

This has me laughing because when I took our nieces in January they were 6 and 12.5 and at first they thought I was a nut taking food pics but then they got really into it and they wanted to take pictures of their food...it got so bad that the little one would say, Look Nicki take a picture of me next to the popcorn/ice cream/pretzel stand instead of Look Nicki take a picture of me with Mickey Mouse

[lissawynn]

Ok, my kids are engrossed in Imagination Movers and have been given some cereal and chocolate milk, so I should be good to recount dinner at 1900 Park Fare.

1900 Park Fare - Dinner
I was interested in trying 1900 Park Fare because the menu on Allears.net looked like something my sister and I would enjoy. Then I started reading the reviews here. Many, many people did not care for the food. Well, you can't really say you don't like something until you try it for yourself, right? So after our showers and a change of clothes, we hit the boat from WL to MK and took the monorail to GF. When we arrived at GF, we headed downstairs to check in for our 5:50 ARD. I was confused as to where we were supposed to check in and headed back toward the cafe. We were pointed in the right direction by some helpful CMs and were give our pager. We were told our wait would be about 15 minutes. The kids settled in to watch some Disney cartoons on the tv by the elevator. We had a short wait, and then our pager lit up and buzzed.
After we parked the strollers, we lined up for our family photo, which my sister did end up purchasing. It was a nice pic.
We were led to our table, which was in the "main room" I would say. We were seated at a table with a "booth" back and two chairs. This worked out well. Annabel sat on the booth side with my sister and nephew, while Jimmy and I took the chairs. So far so good. We weren't scrunched up against other patrons or shoved in some dark recess of the room. Then we waited for our "server". And waited. And waited. And waited. Finally she arrived and told us she'd be right back because she just got slammed with tables. This is what I don't really understand. It's a buffet. You take drink orders, and tell your guests to help themselves. She did explain that Cindy would be coming to our table shortly, so we should stay seated. We did. And we sat. And we sat. And we sat. About 10 minutes later Cindy did make her way to our table. She made a big fuss over the boys and Annabel's Cindy dress, so it was worth the wait for that. Our server did come back with our drinks, and the boys and I hit the buffet while my sister and Annabel stayed back at the table.
Here's where my disappointment set in. The offerings here were not what had been posted on Allearsnet. In fact, much of what was on their menu was nowhere to be found at the buffet. The kids helped themselves to pizza, mac-n-cheese, and some grapes. They did love the mac-n-cheese and each had seconds. I think they both ate their weight in grapes, too. This would become something of a daily thing for them, as they really do enjoy grapes. I was just happy they were eating something with nutritional value. Jimmy also had some vanilla soft serve. I think he may have added some MnMs to his, too.
I tried some of the cold seafood salad, strawberry soup, prime rib, mashed potatoes, and maybe some of the veggie they had (don't remember what it was). The strawberry soup was very good, and I would encourage everyone to try it. The mashed potatoes were also good. The prime rib was just ok. It seemed as if it had been under the heat lamp a bit too long. I wasn't thrilled with the seafood salad because it had some kind of acidic bite to it. Again, I'm more of a plain Jane and would have preferred some peel-n-eat shrimp. I was hoping for mussels in tomato broth like I'd seen on Allears, but there weren't any.
I think I had a chocolate chip cookie for dessert. I also got some gummy bears from the ice cream section. I was trying to avoid dairy so I wouldn't be up all night.
The best part of the meal was the character interaction. Cindy and Prince Charming were great, however, the real stars of the show were Lady Tremaine and the step-sisters. They were *perfect*. They carried on throughout the restaurant and played their roles to a "t".
Like I said, I was disappointed in the food selections. Nothing I ate was awful; it just wasn't what I was looking forward to eating. Also, our server was very slow in clearing our dirty plates. I hate having a table cluttered with dirty dishes.
Would I return to Park Fare? Nope. I'd rather use a ts credit somewhere else. We did have fun with the characters and got some good pics of the kids.

Up next...The Crystal Palace for breakfast with 100 South Americans!

[butiflfeet]

I can't wait to read more about your 1900 Park Faire experience

[natalielongstaff]

im in

[lissawynn]

Crystal Palace - Breakfast with 100+ South Americans
In my opinion nothing says "Welcome to your Disney vacation" like an early breakfast at the Crystal Palace. This has become a tradition for my family and me on our first day in MK. We had an 8:20 ADR for breakfast. We took the bus to MK, as the boats don't begin running until 1/2 hour before park opening. We got through security and entered the park in the area for those with a character breakfast ADR. No one checked our name or ADR number, btw.
Main Street first thing in the morning is magic. There were few folks there, and we got a nice group photo in front of the castle. As we walked toward Crystal Palace, we could see quite a few people waiting to be seated. My sister checked us in, and I had a nice chat with Val1977 and her family. They had an ADR for breakfast, too.
We didn't really wait too long until we were seated. As you enter the restaurant, we were taken to the left, kind of in the back by the windows. We had a nice view of the baby care center. We had a nice table with plenty of room for the five of us. Again, I don't remember our server's name. He was ok; we had the same issue with dirty plates not being cleared in a timely fashion, but he was good about refilling our drinks. The characters were quickly approaching our table when we arrived, so we stuck around for a bit to meet everyone. Then I took the boys to get some food. I think Jimmy had some strawberries, a Mickey waffle, and maybe some other fruit. I got the same for Annabel, too. I returned the boys to the table and went back to get my breakfast. This is when I saw the sea of day glow yellow shirts.
I guess while we were being seated a tour group from Brazil (I'm guessing) was seated on the other side of the dining room. I kid you not, there had to be about 100 in the group. By the time the boys had sat down with their food, and I went to get in line, there had to be at least 50 of the group in both lines for the buffet. To say I was ticked off is an understatement. I cannot imagine how they secured an ADR for all those people at the same time. They literally swarmed the buffet. I waited almost 10 minutes to get to the food.
When I finally managed to get something to eat, I had some of Pooh's puffed French toast, strawberries, a scoop of the fritatta, and many pieces of bacon. My food was hot and delicious, as always.
I sat down with the kids so my sister could get her breakfast. It took her forever to get through the line. She complained that many of the selections had been emptied and not replaced. This was true because I took my nephew back through the line and found many empty dishes, mostly for fruit, whipped cream, etc. The hot food seemed to be replenished as it was needed. On the way back to our table, I also grabbed a piece of the raspberry crumb cake. It was moist and delicious, just as it was on my last trip.
Ok, here's my rant. I am not a fan of the huge tour groups from South America, and they were literally EVERYWHERE on this trip. For the most part, I find them to care less about the people around them. On many days we were pushed, shoved, the strollers were bumped into, or we had to move because these folks had stopped dead in front of us. I don't care for the clapping, singing, and carrying on when they are traveling in a large group. We had three young ladies cut in front of us and about 50 other in the FP line at BTMRR. Fortunately, a CM was alerted, and the girls were made to go to the end of the line. One CM on Dinosaur told me flat out he hated these groups. He said they were disruptive to everyone around them and told us he would put our group in a different car so we could enjoy our ride.
I love the CP and will continue to eat breakfast there on every trip. I was very disappointed that it took us forever to have breakfast (and lose some valuable early morning MK time) because there were SO many people in line for the buffet all at once, and the food was not being refilled as it was needed.
Jimmy and Annabel enjoyed their Mickey waffles and fruit. Annabel also enjoyed some of her auntie's bacon, which was a first for her.

[wilma-bride]

Great reviews so far - I hope you saved some of Pooh's puffed french toast for me

[mlittig]

I'm subbing in and looking forward to more

[lissawynn]

Cinderella's Royal Table - Dinner
After a fun-filled day in the Magic Kingdom, we took a rest at WL and recharged our batteries for dinner at the castle. We hadn't told the kids we were dining here, but my nephew pretty much saw through our attempts to ask the kids if they were interested in eating at the castle. I had been there many moons ago when it was King Stephan's Banquet Hall. Remember how they served the drinks in pewter mugs, and they were so cold you could barely drink you drink? Anyway, I digress. DH and I were there for lunch on our Disneymoon in '02 before it was a character meal and two TS credits. I also had dinner there in '04 when I was expecting and was so sick I had to have the waitress remove my food as soon as she put it in front of me. My sister and nephew had eaten there on their trip last May.
We arrived at the podium before our ADR time of 5:55 only to learn that our ADR had been scheduled for Friday, not Tuesday. This was an error on the part of the agent who booked our meal, BUT the CM was very kind and said it wouldn't be a problem to have us seated in a few minutes. Yay for pixie dust!
We were led into the room with Cindy, and just as she did at PF, she was wonderful with all the kids. Jimmy took a real liking to her and blushed his way through the picture and a nice chat with her afterwards.
We waited for about another five minutes before we, and about three other groups, were called upstairs to dinner.
We were seated at another booth/table, which again, worked out very well for us. It did take several minutes for our server to get our drink orders, but the kids were enjoying the music and Susie and Perla making their way through the dining room.
When our server did return he took everyone's drink orders. My dinner consisted of the crab and corn chowder, prime rib, and chocolate buckle. Annabel was given, at no cost, chicken nuggets, fruit, and the crown sundae. Jimmy chose the chicken soup, buttered penne pasta with cheese, and the crown sundae. If he got fruit, his sister probably ate it. While we were waiting for our food, the kids received their swords and wand. I promptly took them and "hid" them in my bag. Sorry, but three kids don't need to sit down to dinner with weapons.
My crab and corn chowder was delicious, and I could have easily eaten another bowl. It had a bit of a kick to it - maybe red pepper? It was not too spicy, though. There was also a good amount of crab meat in the soup. Annabel loved the chicken soup and ate everything but the celery and onion.
Both kids enjoyed their dinners, but you really can't do too much to make chicken nuggets or pasta something little kids won't eat. My prime rib was pretty good. I agree that they completely skimp on the sides. I had three 1/2 pieces of red potatoes and a few stalks of asparagus.
The kids loved their sundaes, but I'm pretty sure I removed the chocolate crowns. I had seen several kids being hurried to the restrooms, covered in chocolate. I wasn't taking any chances. My chocolate buckle was also very good. I think the center was warm, but one of the kids began to hit meltdown mode, and I don't think I finished it.
I think everyone who can eat in the castle should do it. I think that two TS credits is a bit much for this meal. Save the swords and make the picture and optional purchase. Our pic was really nice, and I will definitely be putting one of my desk when school starts up in a month.
All in all, it was a nice dinner. It was not the best meal of the trip, but you're there for the atmosphere, not the food.

Next up, lunch at Captain Cook's and dinner at Kona Cafe.

[Alice28]

I'm in!!!!!!

We should have done a write up for our March trip - mine would have looked like this, "Steak, steak, steak, fish, steak."

[vald1977]

Enjoying your reviews, Alisa.

I didn't notice the buttered pasta on the menu at CRT. I'm sure DD would have liked that better. Oh well. Live and learn I guess .

And I still need to get over to Beaches and Cream someday. It's going on "the list" for next trip.

[CrabbyPatty]

Alisa - great reviews - thanks so much. After reading your take on 1900 Park, I'm glad we didn't make ADRs for our trip.

RE: Lactose intolerance - have you tried the pills that are supposed to let you eat dairy products? Some brands have you chew two pills the first day, then one pill every day and that's supposed to help you digest. Others have you chew the pill right when you eat dairy-based foods and it's supposed to work during the meal (you're supposed to take another pill if you are eating more dairy after the 30-45 minute mark).