Dining plan report 7/30-8/06

[nybound]

Here's a quick report of our dining plan experience from 7/30 - 8/06. We consisted of me, DW, DD6, DD3, and DM (my mom).

One little quirk I want to mention up front, because we were in two rooms, the credits were split to each room and not pooled together. In talking with the front desk, this appears to be the result of how the rooms were booked (we went through a TA). Not a big deal, but something additional that we needed to keep track of when making sure we were using the credits.

Overall, we saved over $300 using the meal plan (and we didn't use up all of the credits). It was definitely worth it, and I would do it again if offered.

One thing I almost forgot, the service across the board was excellent. No one treated us differently because we were on the meal plan. I felt like we were getting the best the server had to offer. We tipped more than the included 15%, but none of the servers knew that ahead of time.

Where we ate:

Table service meals: Les Chefs de France, Cinderella's Royal Table, California Grill, Boma, 'Ohana, Le Cellier, and Hollywood and Vine (this one was out of pocket for the Fantasmic Dinner Package).

Counter service: Pizza Planet, ABC Commissary, Captain Cook's Snack Company, Pinocchio's Village Haus, The Launching Pad, Main Street Bakery, Flame Tree BBQ, Columbia Harbor House, Yakitori House, Kringla Bakeri og Kafe, Gasparilla Grill and Games, Yorkshire County Fish & Chips, and Lotus Blossom Cafe

Snacks: Water, soda, and plenty of ice cream.

Best appetizer: Spicy Sensation Roll (California Grill). This sushi roll was fantastic. Honorable mention: Escargot (Les Chefs de France) and Cheddar Cheese Soup (Le Cellier).

Best entree: The meats at 'Ohana. There was something about the skewered meat that was really good (along with the spicy dipping sauce). Honarable mention: Veal with ricotta gnocchi (California Grill), Filet Mignon (Le Cellier).

Best dessert: Dessert sampler (Le Cellier). Oh my was this good! The maple creme brulee stood out over everything else. Honorable mention: Peaches and Cream (California Grill) and the Apple cobbler (Hollywood and Vine) - I got the cobbler just as they were bringing out a fresh batch.

Best overall experience: Les Chefs de France. This probably wins because is was our first meal at WDW. Honorable mention: Cinderella's Royal Table. This isn't so much for the food (which was very good) but for the experience with my daughters.

Places I would eat again even if they were not on the dining plan: 'Ohana, Les Chefs de France, Cinderella's Royal Table.

Best value for meal plan: Le Cellier. We gorged ourselves on this one. Our waitress included milk shakes and appetizers for the kids (not just from the kid's menu). That way, we were able to try a lot more food.

Best Server: Armelle (Les Chefs de France). DD6 bit her tongue on her food, and Armelle showed genuine concern that everything was okay. That impressed me. Honorable mention: Marie-Clare (Le Cellier), Becky (Calfornia Grill).

Places I would skip the next time 'round: Boma, Hollywood and Vine. I wasn't too big on the buffets. The food at Boma seemed a bit sweet for my taste. It wasn't bad (and I didn't go hungry) - Boma had the problem of following California Grill which was excellent. Hollywood and Vine was good, but that's about it.

Best counter service meal: Kringla Bakeri og Kafe. I really liked the salmon and scrambled egg sandwhich. My mom loved the school bread (she's a big coconut fan). Honorable mention: Yakitori House, Gasparilla Grill and Games, and Flame Tree BBQ.

I can answer more questions if you like. I will comb through the nearly 800 pictures I took and provide some nice images of the food as time permits.

If you'd like, I can do more in depth reviews.

 

[natalielongstaff]

thanks for a great review, what were the credits you didn't use ??
thanks again

 

[tweetylori]

Sounds like you had some wonderful meals...thanks!

 

[grimgrningghost]

I would love to hear what you ate at Chefs de France!

 

[ellenbenny]

Would you be able to tell me what was allowed on the dining plan at main street bakery? What types of things will count for entree and dessert? Thanks for the reviews.

 

[nybound]

The credits we didn't use were 1 table service (my mom bailed on going to Le Cellier on our last full day), 4-5 counter service (doing the dining plan and concierge was a lot of food), and 1-2 snack credits. If we had used them all up our savings probably would have been closer to $400.

At the Main Street Bakery, we were able to get one sandwhich, two sides items, and a drink on the dining plan. Not to sound too down on the food, but it wasn't as good as I remember. I might have been looking forward to eating there too much because I've had some really good things there in the past.

 

[nybound]

Here's a quick review of Les Chefs de France.

We got there at 5:45 pm for our 6:00 pm ADR. We were seated immediately. While the tables are a bit close to one another, I felt we had plenty of room for our party of 5.

Our waitress Armelle was very good, very nice, and attractive (I can say that only because my DW found the waiter at the next table quite handsome).

For appetizers we got Escargot, Salmon tartare, and the cheese plate. All of them were excellent. If you have never tried escargot, I would highly recommend it. They are served already shucked (or is it shelled?), and the sauce is exquisite (and is very good with the bread).

For entrees, I got the "Thon poelle avec salade d'orzo aux fruits de mer" which is seared tuna over orzo with a few calamari thrown in. The DW got the "Canard a l'orange, haricots vert" which is duck in orange sauce served with green beans and a sweet potato mash (made with heavy cream). My mom got the "Demi poulet fermier a la broche, pommes puree au basilic et tomate braisee" which is chicken and mashed potatoes and brasied tomato.

The trick was eating the food "properly". What I mean is that by itself, my tuna was a bit bland. But, eating it with the orzo and peppercorns all together and the flavors come alive. The same with the DW's duck. The flavor at first didn't seem right, but once you figure out how you're "supposed" to eat it (making sure you get all the flavors), it was wonderful. My mom really like her chicken (I did not taste this myself).

For the kids, they got the basic chicken fingers with penne pasta. For them, that was good enough (they would be more adventuresome later in the trip).

For dessert, it was an apple tart for me, creme brulee for DW, ice cream for the kids, and Royal Chocholat (chocholate mousse and chocolate ice cream) for my mom. All were very good though the apple and chocolate deserts were a bit bitter for my taste (not a lot, but just enough to be noticeable). Again, this is a case where my apple tart should be eaten with the included ice cream to sweeten the flavor and cut down on the bitterness. Given my American bias, I would have preferred some cinnamon flavor (just a personal preference from my own baking).

The whole meal cost $166 (that includes tax and 15% gratuity) and took about 75 minutes from start to finish. I say it was well worth it and would definitely go back again (even paying out of pocket).

I'll see if I can find my pictures and post them.

 

[D&R love Disney]

Great reviews. Looks like you took full advantage of the dining credits.

 

[rifamtrav]

NYbound, thanks for the review, we're going in Sep, 5 of us, staying at Polynesian, (not concierge, though), on the dining plan, and have several of the sams places planned (Boma, Le Cellier, California Grill). I've been struggling between Le Cellier and Chef's de France, but so far Le Cellier is winning out, mostly because that was the first I chose and so I've stuck with it. Could you tell me your opinion on Captain Cooks and Gasparilla Grill - I'm figuring we'll need a few CS choices close by the resort.
Thanks.

 

[freakylick]

Best dessert: Dessert sampler (Le Cellier). Oh my was this good! The maple creme brulee stood out over everything else.

I know that this dessert is a little more expensive than the others. I believe that I had read that some people weren't allowed to order this on the dining plan. Did they ask that this would be two "dessert credits"? IE-you had to split and someone else didn't get to order dessert.

 

[nybound]

rifamtrav, I thought that Captain Cook's Snack Company was medicore. It serves the typical hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza. The food is serviceable , but nothing we had "stood out" and it seemed like the food had been sitting out a while (even though I believe it's freshly prepared). After that, we used it mainly for ice cream and drinks and saved our meal credits for other places.

To me Gasparilla Grill is much better. I had a toboule wrap and the DW had an Italian meat sandwhich (i.e. an Italian cold cut served on foccacia), and both were very good - to me, much better quality than Captain Cook's. Plus, if you're adventuresome, the walk from the Polynesian to the Grand Floridian is really nice.

As to Les Chefs or Le Cellier, I don't think you'd go wrong with either place. If you are beef lover, Le Cellier is a better choice. Their Filet Mignon over risotto is superb. And, the cheddar cheese soup and pretzel bread are as good as people rave about. Talking about this is making my mouth water all over again.

 

[lucas]

Please tell me more about about your experience at the California Grill.