DaniDownUnder
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 3, 2006
HI Hi!!!!
Got back from the US on Saturday
after a lovely wedding on a mountaintop in North Carolina, followed by 6 days at WDW for part of our honeymoon. We are heartbroken to be back, but have what has become known in our family as the '12-month plan', at the end of which we hope to be moving back to the US for good!
Anyway... I'm posting our dining review here, and will post our full trip report over on the trip report board.
Cast:
Me
(female, 33, WDW fan of many years and visits), Hachiman 
(male, 39, new hubby, 2nd ever visit to any Disney park/area)
The Particulars:
On the DDP for the first time
Day 1:
Lunch: Rainforest Cafe (Downtown Disney)
Hachiman- Mojo Beef Wrap (BBQ Beef) with fries
Me- Crab Cake Sandwhich with fries
Appetizer (shared) coconut curry chicken strips
My crab cake was FULL of lump crab meat...beautiful and sweet. Hachi's BBQ wrap was FABULOUS. We loved the curry chicken strips, but the serving was rather stingy. Good food...we left stuffed and didn't have fancy drinks OR dessert! Also got great service...and love the atmosphere, although it can be VERY loud in the elephant section where we were seated.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Dinner: Hoop De Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness (5pm show)
I was a bit disappointed when we were seated, upstairs, on a side, with a big beam blocking my view of the stage....but they were able to get us into the 5pm show, after Dining messed up my original ADR (which was for the 5pm show, but they put us in the 7pm one).
However, it was my first time at HDDR (or any Disney dinner show for that matter) and it ended up being a hit for Hachi and I. The food was filling and plentiful. We devoured the chicken and ribs, but didn't get into the sides (the baked beans were sweet again, and the corn was overcooked). The cornbread was good (although not as sweet as I prefer it). That said, I ADORED the ribs....dripping in sauce, meat falling from the bones and BOY...were they MEATY!!!! Ken preferred the ribs to the chicken, but I have to say I thought the seasoning on the chicken was great (although the breading could have been a bit crisper... I do understand why it wasn't...due to keeping the food covered/steaming until time to serve). We didn't leave a scrap of ribs or chicken and we polished off the strawberry shortcake dessert.
The show itself was, as people have said...kinda corny...but we got lots of giggles out of it and were mentioned twice (1 time for being Aussies "Going to the Hoop de Doo, riding on a kangaroo" and another time for being newlyweds.)
Overall Rating: 4/5....definitely a venue for carnivores! And we'll be doing it again next trip!
Day 2:
Lunch - Pecos Bill's at the MK
1 Pork BBQ Sandwhich basket
1 Double Bacon Cheese burger basket
2 Peanut Butter Mousse Brownie desserts
Thoughts: Hachi liked the BBQ sandwhich, and it was STUFFED with BBQ meat which was great and tender. However he found the baked beans that came with it revolting as they were VERY sweet (rather odd we thought). My cheeseburger was pretty average in taste and a bit dry, but it was quite large and the dryness was helped along with a healthy dose of the yummy sauteed mushrooms and onions from the toppings bar. I thought the dessert was really yummy, although Hachi has a hard time with the idea of peanut butter and chocolate (Aussies just don't get it...of course they also don't understand peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches either!).
Overall Rating: 2/5....but I will say I LOOOOOVED all of the new indoor, air-conditioned eating area near Peco's Bills...that in and of itself would make me return there again! We would eat there again, but it isn't exactly stellar grub.
Dinner: The teppanyaki restaurant at Epcot (I can never remember the name)
Hachi had the Shrimp and Scallops with the miso soup appetizer and orange sherbert dessert and I had the Steak and Shrimp combo with the edame appetizer and orange sherbert.
Hachi says the scallops were heavenly and done just right (not like little rubber balls as they so often are when overcooked). The soup was very tasty as well. My steak was terrific, not salty as I had feared. I can't talk highly enough of the edame (marinated soy bean pods) appetizer I had! We eat japanese alot and I'd never tried them, but they are going on my regular menu from now on!! Basically, you don't eat the pods, you kinda bite them to pop the soy beans inside them, into your mouth! VERY tasty (and fun to eat!!!).
Our chef didn't do as much 'show' as the chef at the table next to us, but he was very chatty and did created a mouse shaped 'volcano' out of onion....(hmmm..would that count as a sorta-hidden mickey???).
Overall Rating: 4/5...would definitely do it again... didn't give it 5/5 due to the difficulty in getting more to drink....we were PARCHED after hiking all though Epcot to find the restaurant and it took FOREVER to get another glass of tea after polishing the first one off in like 30 seconds!
Day 3:
Brunch: Whispering Canyon Cafe (we were staying at the Wilderness Lodge)
Order: 2 Canyon Breakfast Skillets
Basically, we stuffed ourselves stupid! *lol* It was the BEST sausage gravy I had the entire trip to the US...by far better than anything I got while in NC or Georgia! The sausages were a bit salty for my liking but Hachi and I loved the bacon (hmmmm....crispy!). Although the menu said both waffles AND pancakes were included, we only got waffles. I thought for the longest time that it was odd for the waffles to be shaped like 'eggs'...THEN I turned it over! HOW CUTE!!!! Waffles shaped like pinecones!!!!!!
Our only complaint is that they only brought out the waffles 2 at a time, and Hachi and I could easily devoured 4 at a time...EACH (they were that good).
As to the atmosphere, we saw lots of shennanigans going on. I think the complaints others give of the wait staff being on the quiet side these days probably has more to do with how willing the customers are to get in on the fun and be silly. On the morning in question, lots of tables were getting in on things...between pony races for the kids (we saw 2), to LOTS of ketchup runs between tables, to crayon runs, etc.... Hachi and I were even serenaded by the waitstaff who sang "Going to the Chapel" (and sounded rather good actually) while we danced. It was rather funny since we didn't get a 'real' dance at our actual wedding.
Overall rating: 3/5....will definitely do this again if we're staying at the WL.
Dinner: 50's Prime Time Cafe' at MGM
Order: 2 Pot Roase dinners, 1 order of onion rings, 1 order of fried cheese, a Super Sundae and 1 order of S'mores.
I usually go to Sci-Fi Drive in at MGM, but thought we'd give this a try...I'm SOOO glad we did! The atmosphere ROCKS!! We had a great time oogling all of the 'kitchens'. Hachi had never had Pot Roast before and I love it, so we ordered that...it was FABULOUS!!! The meat was soooo tender, juicy fell apart just using a fork. The veggies and gravy the perfect compliment...not too much gravy, just the right amount. The onion rings were good...but pretty average and neither of us liked the fried cheese. However, we LOOOVED our desserts. Hachi's sundae dissappeared almost as soon as it was placed before him. The s'mores I had were great, but VERY rich. As much as I wanted to devour the whole plate, I could only eat half.... I also highly recommend Grandma's Picnic Punch with a glowing ice cube...YUMMMY!!!!
Overall Rating: 5/5...great food, great service....LOVED IT!!! Will definitely put this on the regular rotation when we're at MGM!
Day 4:
Lunch: 2 BBQ Pork Sandwhich baskets a Typhoon Lagoon
Very tasty BBQ sandwhich...average fries.
Overall Rating: 2/5...it's food....we didn't go to TL for the food but for the lazy river
Dinner: Whispering Canyon Cafe
2 Dinner Skillets
Originally we had reservations at the House of Blues, but after a day of sun, we didn't want to have to go far for dinner as we weren't feeling overly energetic.
We didn't touch the roast chicken, but LOVED the ribs and BBQ pork (are you noticing a theme in our dining options....let me explain that in Australia, BBQ just means 'cooked on a grill', not slow cooked with BBQ sauce like it does in the US....therefore when in the US we eat REAL BBQ every chance we get!!!) The garlic mashed potatoes were terrific...as was the corn and baked beans (finally, beans that weren't SWEET!!!). We each had a bottomless milkshake (chocolate for him, orange for me). We were soooo stuffed we couldn't even fit in dessert!!
Overall Rating: 3/5...we preferred the breakfast skillet...although again, there were LOTS of shennanigans going on when we were there for dinner...including a group of college students who had to run a pony race around the LOBBY of the hotel yelling "Stealing nasty red stuff (ketchup for those who've never been to WCC) is wrong and were are very bad for doing it!!"
Day 5:
Brekkie: Roaring Forks (WL's food court)
2 Big Adult platters (eggs, pancakes, bacon, hash browns & a biscuit) & 2 danish
The fast food style brekkie was okay...on par pretty much with McDonald's tho more expensive. We really liked the danishs though, very yummy. The eggs were cooked fully as were the pancakes and bacon, but the hashbrowns were soggy and mushy...and the biscuit was dry. Since each of these platters was $7.49 and the danish was $2... I'd rather spend the $10.95 and go to WCC for the brekkie skillet than waste time and tastebuds on another fast food brekkie here.
Overall rating: 1/5...very mediocre and not worth the tastebuds if you have the time to go to WCC instead.
Snack: cinnamon bun from the Main Street Bakery (MK)
OHHHHHH...yummmy...they are as yummy, delish and gooey as I'd remembered!! Hachi is now hooked on them as a definitely MK 'ritual'.
Snack: Dole whip (MK)
Hachi had never had it before and reckons he now knows why may family makes the Dole Whip stand an every-trip stop on our MK day!
Snack: Smoked Turkey Leg
My fav. MK snack!! My father used to like them, so I sat there munching this turkey leg and remembering past trips to WDW when my father was still with us...a very pleasant way to spend time
Dinner: Liberty Tree Tavern (MK)
2 'Liberate Your Appetite' Dinners complete with roast beef, baked ham, roast turkey, gravy, stuffing, green beans and macaroni & cheese.
Our server put a 'love heart' made of mickey shaped confetti on our table...which was really neat. My family pretty much always goes to LTT when we are at MK and the last time Hachi and I were at WDW (his first time, Dec. 2003) we had dinner here the night of our trip to the VMCP. The food was just as good (menu pretty much the same in fact). We didn't eat much of the mac and cheese (I had a small spoonful). I normally love stouffer's m&c, but I was enjoying the stuffing and green beans too much to waste stomach space on m&c. The turkey gravy was TO DIE FOR!!! Oh my goodness was it heavenly, particularly slathered over the roast turkey and the stuffing!!! The turkey was moist and tender, as was the ham. The ham was delicious...not too salty and just a hint of sweetness. The only dissappointments we had with our dinner were the roast beef (VERY salty) and the salad.
Overall rating: 4/5...we'll continue to make this a ritual stop on our MK tour. Might try lunch next time for a change of pace.
And there you have it...our gastronomic tour of WDW.
Places we want to try next time:
Le Cellier
Cape May Seafood Buffet
Kona Cafe`
Garden Grill
Cheers....
DaniDownUnder
Got back from the US on Saturday
after a lovely wedding on a mountaintop in North Carolina, followed by 6 days at WDW for part of our honeymoon. We are heartbroken to be back, but have what has become known in our family as the '12-month plan', at the end of which we hope to be moving back to the US for good!Anyway... I'm posting our dining review here, and will post our full trip report over on the trip report board.
Cast:
Me
(female, 33, WDW fan of many years and visits), Hachiman (male, 39, new hubby, 2nd ever visit to any Disney park/area)The Particulars:
On the DDP for the first time
Day 1:
Lunch: Rainforest Cafe (Downtown Disney)
Hachiman- Mojo Beef Wrap (BBQ Beef) with fries
Me- Crab Cake Sandwhich with fries
Appetizer (shared) coconut curry chicken strips
My crab cake was FULL of lump crab meat...beautiful and sweet. Hachi's BBQ wrap was FABULOUS. We loved the curry chicken strips, but the serving was rather stingy. Good food...we left stuffed and didn't have fancy drinks OR dessert! Also got great service...and love the atmosphere, although it can be VERY loud in the elephant section where we were seated.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Dinner: Hoop De Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness (5pm show)
I was a bit disappointed when we were seated, upstairs, on a side, with a big beam blocking my view of the stage....but they were able to get us into the 5pm show, after Dining messed up my original ADR (which was for the 5pm show, but they put us in the 7pm one).
However, it was my first time at HDDR (or any Disney dinner show for that matter) and it ended up being a hit for Hachi and I. The food was filling and plentiful. We devoured the chicken and ribs, but didn't get into the sides (the baked beans were sweet again, and the corn was overcooked). The cornbread was good (although not as sweet as I prefer it). That said, I ADORED the ribs....dripping in sauce, meat falling from the bones and BOY...were they MEATY!!!! Ken preferred the ribs to the chicken, but I have to say I thought the seasoning on the chicken was great (although the breading could have been a bit crisper... I do understand why it wasn't...due to keeping the food covered/steaming until time to serve). We didn't leave a scrap of ribs or chicken and we polished off the strawberry shortcake dessert.
The show itself was, as people have said...kinda corny...but we got lots of giggles out of it and were mentioned twice (1 time for being Aussies "Going to the Hoop de Doo, riding on a kangaroo" and another time for being newlyweds.)
Overall Rating: 4/5....definitely a venue for carnivores! And we'll be doing it again next trip!
Day 2:
Lunch - Pecos Bill's at the MK
1 Pork BBQ Sandwhich basket
1 Double Bacon Cheese burger basket
2 Peanut Butter Mousse Brownie desserts
Thoughts: Hachi liked the BBQ sandwhich, and it was STUFFED with BBQ meat which was great and tender. However he found the baked beans that came with it revolting as they were VERY sweet (rather odd we thought). My cheeseburger was pretty average in taste and a bit dry, but it was quite large and the dryness was helped along with a healthy dose of the yummy sauteed mushrooms and onions from the toppings bar. I thought the dessert was really yummy, although Hachi has a hard time with the idea of peanut butter and chocolate (Aussies just don't get it...of course they also don't understand peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches either!).
Overall Rating: 2/5....but I will say I LOOOOOVED all of the new indoor, air-conditioned eating area near Peco's Bills...that in and of itself would make me return there again! We would eat there again, but it isn't exactly stellar grub.
Dinner: The teppanyaki restaurant at Epcot (I can never remember the name)
Hachi had the Shrimp and Scallops with the miso soup appetizer and orange sherbert dessert and I had the Steak and Shrimp combo with the edame appetizer and orange sherbert.
Hachi says the scallops were heavenly and done just right (not like little rubber balls as they so often are when overcooked). The soup was very tasty as well. My steak was terrific, not salty as I had feared. I can't talk highly enough of the edame (marinated soy bean pods) appetizer I had! We eat japanese alot and I'd never tried them, but they are going on my regular menu from now on!! Basically, you don't eat the pods, you kinda bite them to pop the soy beans inside them, into your mouth! VERY tasty (and fun to eat!!!).
Our chef didn't do as much 'show' as the chef at the table next to us, but he was very chatty and did created a mouse shaped 'volcano' out of onion....(hmmm..would that count as a sorta-hidden mickey???).
Overall Rating: 4/5...would definitely do it again... didn't give it 5/5 due to the difficulty in getting more to drink....we were PARCHED after hiking all though Epcot to find the restaurant and it took FOREVER to get another glass of tea after polishing the first one off in like 30 seconds!
Day 3:
Brunch: Whispering Canyon Cafe (we were staying at the Wilderness Lodge)
Order: 2 Canyon Breakfast Skillets
Basically, we stuffed ourselves stupid! *lol* It was the BEST sausage gravy I had the entire trip to the US...by far better than anything I got while in NC or Georgia! The sausages were a bit salty for my liking but Hachi and I loved the bacon (hmmmm....crispy!). Although the menu said both waffles AND pancakes were included, we only got waffles. I thought for the longest time that it was odd for the waffles to be shaped like 'eggs'...THEN I turned it over! HOW CUTE!!!! Waffles shaped like pinecones!!!!!!
Our only complaint is that they only brought out the waffles 2 at a time, and Hachi and I could easily devoured 4 at a time...EACH (they were that good).
As to the atmosphere, we saw lots of shennanigans going on. I think the complaints others give of the wait staff being on the quiet side these days probably has more to do with how willing the customers are to get in on the fun and be silly. On the morning in question, lots of tables were getting in on things...between pony races for the kids (we saw 2), to LOTS of ketchup runs between tables, to crayon runs, etc.... Hachi and I were even serenaded by the waitstaff who sang "Going to the Chapel" (and sounded rather good actually) while we danced. It was rather funny since we didn't get a 'real' dance at our actual wedding.
Overall rating: 3/5....will definitely do this again if we're staying at the WL.
Dinner: 50's Prime Time Cafe' at MGM
Order: 2 Pot Roase dinners, 1 order of onion rings, 1 order of fried cheese, a Super Sundae and 1 order of S'mores.
I usually go to Sci-Fi Drive in at MGM, but thought we'd give this a try...I'm SOOO glad we did! The atmosphere ROCKS!! We had a great time oogling all of the 'kitchens'. Hachi had never had Pot Roast before and I love it, so we ordered that...it was FABULOUS!!! The meat was soooo tender, juicy fell apart just using a fork. The veggies and gravy the perfect compliment...not too much gravy, just the right amount. The onion rings were good...but pretty average and neither of us liked the fried cheese. However, we LOOOVED our desserts. Hachi's sundae dissappeared almost as soon as it was placed before him. The s'mores I had were great, but VERY rich. As much as I wanted to devour the whole plate, I could only eat half.... I also highly recommend Grandma's Picnic Punch with a glowing ice cube...YUMMMY!!!!
Overall Rating: 5/5...great food, great service....LOVED IT!!! Will definitely put this on the regular rotation when we're at MGM!
Day 4:
Lunch: 2 BBQ Pork Sandwhich baskets a Typhoon Lagoon
Very tasty BBQ sandwhich...average fries.
Overall Rating: 2/5...it's food....we didn't go to TL for the food but for the lazy river
Dinner: Whispering Canyon Cafe
2 Dinner Skillets
Originally we had reservations at the House of Blues, but after a day of sun, we didn't want to have to go far for dinner as we weren't feeling overly energetic.
We didn't touch the roast chicken, but LOVED the ribs and BBQ pork (are you noticing a theme in our dining options....let me explain that in Australia, BBQ just means 'cooked on a grill', not slow cooked with BBQ sauce like it does in the US....therefore when in the US we eat REAL BBQ every chance we get!!!) The garlic mashed potatoes were terrific...as was the corn and baked beans (finally, beans that weren't SWEET!!!). We each had a bottomless milkshake (chocolate for him, orange for me). We were soooo stuffed we couldn't even fit in dessert!!
Overall Rating: 3/5...we preferred the breakfast skillet...although again, there were LOTS of shennanigans going on when we were there for dinner...including a group of college students who had to run a pony race around the LOBBY of the hotel yelling "Stealing nasty red stuff (ketchup for those who've never been to WCC) is wrong and were are very bad for doing it!!"
Day 5:
Brekkie: Roaring Forks (WL's food court)
2 Big Adult platters (eggs, pancakes, bacon, hash browns & a biscuit) & 2 danish
The fast food style brekkie was okay...on par pretty much with McDonald's tho more expensive. We really liked the danishs though, very yummy. The eggs were cooked fully as were the pancakes and bacon, but the hashbrowns were soggy and mushy...and the biscuit was dry. Since each of these platters was $7.49 and the danish was $2... I'd rather spend the $10.95 and go to WCC for the brekkie skillet than waste time and tastebuds on another fast food brekkie here.
Overall rating: 1/5...very mediocre and not worth the tastebuds if you have the time to go to WCC instead.
Snack: cinnamon bun from the Main Street Bakery (MK)
OHHHHHH...yummmy...they are as yummy, delish and gooey as I'd remembered!! Hachi is now hooked on them as a definitely MK 'ritual'.
Snack: Dole whip (MK)
Hachi had never had it before and reckons he now knows why may family makes the Dole Whip stand an every-trip stop on our MK day!
Snack: Smoked Turkey Leg
My fav. MK snack!! My father used to like them, so I sat there munching this turkey leg and remembering past trips to WDW when my father was still with us...a very pleasant way to spend time
Dinner: Liberty Tree Tavern (MK)
2 'Liberate Your Appetite' Dinners complete with roast beef, baked ham, roast turkey, gravy, stuffing, green beans and macaroni & cheese.
Our server put a 'love heart' made of mickey shaped confetti on our table...which was really neat. My family pretty much always goes to LTT when we are at MK and the last time Hachi and I were at WDW (his first time, Dec. 2003) we had dinner here the night of our trip to the VMCP. The food was just as good (menu pretty much the same in fact). We didn't eat much of the mac and cheese (I had a small spoonful). I normally love stouffer's m&c, but I was enjoying the stuffing and green beans too much to waste stomach space on m&c. The turkey gravy was TO DIE FOR!!! Oh my goodness was it heavenly, particularly slathered over the roast turkey and the stuffing!!! The turkey was moist and tender, as was the ham. The ham was delicious...not too salty and just a hint of sweetness. The only dissappointments we had with our dinner were the roast beef (VERY salty) and the salad.
Overall rating: 4/5...we'll continue to make this a ritual stop on our MK tour. Might try lunch next time for a change of pace.
And there you have it...our gastronomic tour of WDW.
Places we want to try next time:
Le Cellier
Cape May Seafood Buffet
Kona Cafe`
Garden Grill
Cheers....
DaniDownUnder
Anyway, congratulations on your marriage and thanks for taking the time to post such detailed reviews, I enjoyed reading them. 
