Pleasantly surprised; dining reviews 8/21-8/27 TS only

[Super_Grover]

Just thought i'd drop a line on how well the dining plan works. Waaaaay too much food. Normally we do have a sit down meal and split 2 counter service (1 meal 2 people sometimes twice a day). Having the extra appetizers and snacks and desserts for each of us was too much. First day was at Kona Cafe, and what a pleasant surprise. DH had the beef teriyaki and shrimp added, pot stickers and kilahuea torte. DD had macadamia mahi mahi, pot stickers and macadamia pie. DD had kids spaghetti, crab cakes, white choc cheesecake. I had the prime rib with shrimp added , which was perfectly cook and seasoned. I also got the macadamia pie, but got it to go.This was our first usage of the dining plan and our server explained everything and was excellent! My husband raved about this meal the entire trip. The bar had been set high for the rest of the trip.Total for 4 was $180.22 We also left additional tip here for the exceptional service. We plan on adding this restaurant to our list of must visit.Day 2 we dined at Teppanyaki , which was just as good if not better. I'm batting 1000 at this point. Not only was the food exceptional but the show that the chef put on was as well. DH had steak and lobster, combo roll (california roll and tuna roll) and chestnut cake. DD had chicken and shrimp , sushi combo and chestnut cake. DD had kid shrimp, garden salad. I had the garden salad with ginger dressing (too much put on salad) steak and shrimp and fruit dish which was extremely fresh and hit the spot. We thoroughly enjoyed this meal but not sure if it's worth the cost. (still looking fo receipt I think it was around $190) Day 3 we ventured to the concourse steakhouse. DH and I both had NY steak with added shrimp, DH and DD had shellfish bisque and I had a garden salad.DD had the salmon and green beans. Took back to room choc cake and 2 cheesecakes. Food portions were large and had the food been seasoned more to our liking the meals would have been much better. Too bland, DD did'nt order nibbled off of mine. Total $168.14. Day 4 CRT I didnt order this meal due to being stuffed from all this food , needed a resting period. Dh had shrimp and mussel, prime rib and slipper for dessert. DD had a seafood stew which she really enjoyed and shrimp and mussel appetizer and took back to rom choc cake. DD had kids chicken tender vegg/cheese plate and slipper which she also took back to room. At this time the service we had from each restaurant was outstanding. Total 127.94. Day 5 we ate at Lecellier which was our only disappointment, food ok, service came with an attitude. We have eaten there numerous times and have had good experiences and bad. My only suggestion is to choose restaurants according to your family's likes and dislikes and not by what everyone else says. You may want to use current experience to aide in your choosing, but that is also subjective.DH surf and turf, shrimp cocktail canadian club cake, DD salmon filet, house salad maple creme brulee, DD kids spaghetti , house salad choc moose. I ordered the mussels, which we sent back didnt taste right, filet and smore for dessert. We have had more bad experiences than good so probably will not go back for a good while. Total 187.13. Day 6 was another great day Spoodles DH bruschetta flatbread, Ny strip, choc pistachio orange? cake with raspberry gelato. DD shrimp app seafood paella gelato. DD had cheese flatbread kids mac and cheese and cookies. I had lamb skewer, ny strip and vanilla bean brulee. Of course at each of these meals we each try all the different dishes so when we visit again we'll know what to order. Total 197.57 plus aditional tip for exceptional service. Day 7 o'hanas What can I say alway extremely good. was disappointed in the change of green beans and rice to scalloped potatoes and mixed veggies. Will stay a faithful follower as long as the salad remains the same. total 107.02 with add tip for great service. Hope this helps. It would be nice if Disney took a look at their pricing. If it was more reasonable they may have more people eat at table service restaurants . Just by looking at the totals of each day (one meal) may actually scare people away rather than attract new consumers.(unless its free)

 

[StephMK]

Thanks for posting w/such great detail. We will be trying Kona & Concourse so I love hearing about what others ordered & how you liked it!

 

[undertheseas]

Thanks for posting, we'll be eating at some of the same places next week! I appreciate it!

 

[natalielongstaff]

thanks for posting, shame about the server at le cellier

 

[DJBounce]

Thanks for the reviews. We are trying Kona Cafe and Ohanas for the first time this trip.

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your review ~ Thanx for posting.

 

[eeyore45]

Thanks for the report, esp your comments on reading and rating reviews, it is entirely subjective, and definately depends on your service - now my first thought to LeCellier, maybe they do need a few bad reviews to scare people off, so to make room for me!! J/K, but all the points are definately worth taking in, deciding what is important in our dining experience, and is it worth it, totally subjective!! Thanks for pointing that out!!

Also, when you mentioned the expense may scare away people, my thoughts were, nope, Disney was smart, give it away (at rack rate to room) then people will feel it is worth $35 a day, and continue to book pkgs, and pay for the dining pkg... maybe??? Just a thought.

Thanks for sharing

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

Great reviews, thanks!

But another factor to consider~when a family eats at a table service restaurant (Disney or otherwise), how often does each person order an individual appy AND dessert with their meal? I know we don't generally! (Well, desserts are a different matter, but I can't help it that my DH doesn't like to share his sweets!!) So some of the higher cost comes from the apps and desserts that are ordered on the plan, but might not be otherwise.

A friend and I are doing the (free) dining plan next weekend, and already we're wondering how on earth we will eat all the food! Ha, yet another thing for someone to get on the bandwagon about: Look at Disney, forcing people to eat all this food! No wonder we're an obese nation, it is all Disney's fault!! Mark my words, it'll happen!!

For my immediate family (me, dh, ds-almost 4 next trip time), the plan isn't too appetizing. Next time we go (as a family), we'll be AP holders with a DDE card, so the packages wouldn't be available to us, anyway. And I think in the long run, we'll come out much better with DDE.

On the other hand, a family for whom maybe this is a once in a lifetime trip... they'll get to try lots of nice restaurants and experience a lot of different type foods for much less money than it would cost them to purchase it all individually~especially if it's free!!

I do have one complaint with it (even if it is free for me!)~ADD BOARDWALK BAKERY to the list! Oh, who am I kidding? Disney knows everyone will gladly pay for that!!