Just back...where we ate...

[blondemom]

Hi, all. We are back from 8 days at WDW. Here's where we ate. We had the dining plan from 8/23 to 8/30. This is LONG!!!

8/22, Breakfast: we woke up from one night at the Dolphin and had breakfast at the Pikabu Buffeteria. Good, but very pricy. My husband had omelette, and we had two orders of waffles. Lunch: We ate at Typhoon Lagoon. Forgot the name, but my husband had a pork sandwich, I had chicken strips, my 11-year old son had a burger, and my 6-year old son had a hot dog. It came to around $45! Yikes! Dinner: We ate at the Pop Century food court (we spent one night there). My boys both got the vegetable lo mein. I got the fried chicken special. My husband got the chicken penne alfredo. Everything was great. Not too expensive - maybe $45 or $50? We are from New Jersey, so anything $50 or less is reasonable!
8/23 - Started the dining plan. Breakfast at Kona Cafe. We didn't use credits, as I had some gift cards. Breakfast came to $50. I had tonga toast, my husband had big kahuna, Nicholas (11-year old) had omelette, and Chris (6-year old) had the kids fruit plate. Wonderful place! Lunch was at the Sci Fi Dine In (used another gift card). Burgers, shakes, and onion rings. Good, but pricey. Dinner was at Prime Time Cafe, used our first table service credit. We had Pot Roast, Salmon, Steak, and kids chicken tenders. For dessert, smores, 2 apple cobblers, and ice cream. We didn't use a snack credit today!
8/24 - 'Ohana for breakfast. Another gift card (I bought a lot throughout the year for just this reason). Good all around. Close to $100 bucks though with tip. Ouch! 11-year old counts as adult. Lunch was Cosmic Rays (dining plan). We had two chicken rib combos, a bacon double cheeseburger, and more chicken tenders! Desserts were two chocolate cakes and two key lime pies. Dinner was Crystal Palace (dining plan). Nice buffet. Great character interaction. Somewhere around $130 (thank goodness for dining plan).
8/25 - Food court (used dining credit that we never used on Sunday). Captain Cooks. Tonga Toast, Waffles, Adult Breakfast plate, and egg croissant. We got TWO drinks each on the dining plan - we ended up with four waters, two chocolate milks, two orange juices (and we had refillable mugs for coffee). We saved the waters for later. Lunch was a turkey leg for Nicholas, Flame Tree Barbecue (dining plan) for the rest of us. Two rib platters and a kids chicken leg dish. Forgot the desserts. We could barely eat lunch - forget about dessert. I know Christopher got a cookie. Nicholas got a frozen lemonade. Dinner Whispering Canyon (dining plan). Great meal. Lots of fun! We all got the skillet and shakes. We got 2 apple crumb cakes, a chocolate cake, and ice cream for dessert. The cakes went back to the room's refrigerator!
8/26 - Whispering Canyon for breakfast (another gift card...lol!). All got the skillet. Again, LOVE it here! Lunch was American Pavillion in Epcot (dining plan). Bacon double cheeseburger, chicken caesar wrap, chicken strips, and pork sandwich. Two Mickey rice crispy treats, and two apple dumplings. Good food - more than $50 because I had to sign for it. Dinner Marrakesh in Moracco (dining plan). Lamb, Chicken Cous Cous, Lemon Chicken, and hamburger. Very, very good meal. Belly dancer. Fun! Desserts were Marrakesh Delight (fruit with ice cream, bastilla, baklava, and icecream.
8/27 - Breakfast at Crystal Palace (Yet another gift card). Buffet. Decent meal. Fresh omelettes and specialty pancakes to order. Took forever though. Lunch American Pavillion again (dining plan), pretty much same meal, except I got a roast beef sandwich which I don't recommend. I couldn't chew it. Dinner was Teppan Edo (dining plan). We got the hibatchi (steak and shrimp, chicken and shrimp, steak and chicken, and just chicken). Very good, a lot of fun. I think the guys got ice cream. I'm lucky I could eat at all at this point.
8/28 - Kona Cafe again for breakfast (paid out of pocket). Pretty much the same as at first, except I got an omelette and my 11-year old got pancakes. FYI, my husband LOVED the macadamia pancakes. Lunch (dining plan) was Caesy's at MK. Hot dogs and fries for all. Bought a side of chili. Dessert was two brownies (saved for later) and two bags of Cracker Jacks (made it to the ride home). Good food! Dinner was 1900 Park Fare buffet (dining). My boys were mortified that I would bring them to a Cinderella character breakfast. But, they were loving me after as they LOVED the food. We had been here a while back and didn't enjoy it, but decided to give it another shot. Great food! Pastas, chicken marsala, beef and broccoli, prime rib and pork carving stations. Wondeful desserts. Delicious food, and wonderful character interaction. Cinderella spent a lot of time with us!
8/29 - Captain Cook's breakfast at Polynesian. Same as before. Good meal. Lots of room to sit. Lunch was at Captain Cooks again (dining)! I had the chicken and noodles (yum). My husband and 11-year old had burger. Little buy had chicken nuggets. They let us get our dessert after our lunch which was nice. Two Dole Whips, an apple pastry, and an Itzakadoozie icepop. Dinner was 'Ohana (dining plan). Everyone ate like royalty. Fun games, great food. For dessert was the banana pineapple bread pudding with ice cream. So yummy!

As for all our snack credits, kids used a lot on ice pops. We got funnel cakes, pretzels, dole whip float, rootbeer float, frozen lemonades, egg rolls at Animal Kingdom, side of fries somewhere, big yummy muffins and a cinnamin bun on Sunday to eat in the car as breakfast for the ride home. There was A LOT to choose from! The dining plan, to me, was worth it. A LOT of food. A LOT of choices. But, too much dessert. I ended up throwing out a lot before we checked out as it was just hanging out in the fridge!

Any questions?

[leeann32]

Great info! Well be trying Crystal Palace for the first time in a couple weeks
Thanks for your reviews, I love to read about other peoples dining experience's

[bangzoom6877]

Great reviews!! I'm glad you enjoyed the dining plan. We enjoy it too, it fits our family's eating patterns while on vacation. I did not always get an actual dessert at a CS location. One time I got a light strawberry yogurt (Cosmic Ray's) and another time I got apple slices (Pizza Planet at DHS). I am not always in the mood for cake or a cookie after lunch, but I always have a fruit after lunch at home, so I like something slightly sweet.

About all those gift cards you purchased before your trip...was there any advantage to doing this? This is probably a dumb questions, but, did it save you any money or did you just do it so you could sort of "pre-pay" for some more of your meals?

[Crystal824]

I was at WDW the same time as you. I actually ate at Teppen Edo the same night as well with a family from N.J that had two sons. You didn't happen to sit with a couple from Pittsburgh at WDW with the wife's parents who are from N.C. did you?

[EmmasGrammy]

Thank you for the detailed reviews. We are eating at many of the same place as you did. Did you leave tips for your meals eaten on the dining plan, and did you tip 20%? I am trying to budget $$ for our trip and wanted to get some idea of how much we will need for dining tips. Thanks again.

[Krissy04]

Can you tell me more about how you liked Teppan Edo? I would like to try it on my next trip. It will be me, my SIL, niece (12) and DD (3). I love a good steak...do you think this would be a good choice for us?

thanks much

[Mermaid2sea]

Originally Posted by Krissy04

Can you tell me more about how you liked Teppan Edo? I would like to try it on my next trip. It will be me, my SIL, niece (12) and DD (3). I love a good steak...do you think this would be a good choice for us?

thanks much

Teppan Edo was one our favourites....eventhough DH was hungry quite quick afterwards...the chef we had was really funny too..

[sherabby]

Did you do the deluxe dining plan or just the regular plan? You had a lot of sit down meals. I could never do the deluxe plan as it seems like way too much food for us. We also loved WCC and could not finish our desserts either! I took back the apple pie and never even had the chance to eat it.