mchelle77
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2009
- Messages
- 1,109
Family of 3 - me (36) will try almost anything, within reason, food-wise; husband (40) and is built like a linebacker, eats like one too; DD (8) is picky, but loves desserts. We spent a few days in Orlando prior to check-in at CBR. When we did check in, we stayed Saturday - Saturday and had a pin for free dining.
11/27 - We arrived in Orlando in the afternoon and had dinner at Rocco's Tacos and Tequila Bar, which I found on Yelp. It was fantastic ... not just because they were passing around free tequila shots, either
The fish tacos were great, the atmosphere was awesome. My husband didn't really care that much for his meal - he orginally wanted something else and the waiter suggested the burrito he got. A bit dark and sort of loud, but they had festive music. The highlight was when we heard the "Tequila" song and turned to see an employee zipping through the place on a motorized plastic cooler. Hysterical. We would absolutely go back! They get a B+ from us!
On 11/28 we had Thanksgiving dinner at the Rosen Centre hotel's holiday buffet (where we were staying for those first few days). It was held at Cafe Gaughuin and it was SPECTACULAR!! All kinds of rows of food, desserts and unlimited champagne included with the (slightly higher than I expected) price. For 2 adults and 1 child, it was maybe $120 (before tax, but tip was included), but worth every penny, and if we ever miss another holiday due to traveling to Orlando, we will absolutely go back. (It didn't hurt that we got half off food at the hotel due to being bumped there from one of their sister hotels) A! Would have been a perfect A+ if they had some sort of entertainment .... which, maybe they DID have music and I just don't remember because my other senses were overloaded? Not sure, if they did it was forgettable. Solid A though.)
11/29 - Dinner at Margaritaville at Citywalk. Haven't been in 10 years and everything was good. We shared the coconut shrimp and the asiago crab dip (LOVED that). I got a drink that was just OK ... I can't remember what it was, but it wasn't a margarita. I give it a B- ... good food and drinks, nice entertainment.
11/30 .. check in at CBR at noon, unpacked and headed to Downtown Disney. Raglan Road for dinner and we will most definitely go back! The food was great (dalkey duo app, Smithwick (my favorite), I got the "serious steak" and it was terrific.) The entertainment was top-notch. We were lucky enough to be seated in the main area next to the smaller "feature" stage (great view of both stages but not right at the speakers, which was nice) The bread and butter pudding was amazing. My husband got the Black Forest Kiss and didn't care for it. He helped me finish my dessert. I don't know why I had such an easy time getting a rez here, I'm surprised that they aren't always crazy busy. It was a phenomenal experience and a great way to start off our Disney vacation. A from me for Raglan.
12/1 - Be Our Guest - I managed to get a FP+ for this and I'm so glad I did. The line was out across the bridge. We went up to the outdoor desk, gave our name, and were ushered right in. We didn't use the kiosk to order (although saw some doing that), we had a CM taking our order. We didn't know how they'd find us, but I'm guessing it had something to do with tracking us via GPS and our MBs? They knew right where we were and arrived minutes after we sat with our food. My husband was amazed about that part of our meal. I had the Croque Monsier and loved it. My daughter got the meatloaf and despised the orangey stuff on top, as well as the (peach?) applesauce. My husband, who eats almost anything, actually spit it out. It was a beautiful setting, but there is NO way I would have found it worth waiting in that line, espcially seeing how TPs said MK should have been a 3 that day, but later admit that it was closer to a 7. Precious time wasted for regular old food. I won't bother to get a rez here next time we go. It was OK, but that's it. BoG gets a B- from me.
Ohana that night was one of my 2 last minute grabs. Not a long wait at all ... we got a drink at Tambu while waiting and I didn't even have time to pay the tab before we were being called to our table. (I got a Lapu Lapu because that seemed to be THE drink everyone raves about here, but I feel it's overrated.) Ohana's open cooking area is really cool to see, and the entertainment is a big plus too. My daughter loved going up to learn the hula. The food was all delish as well, but saying it is "all you can eat" is a LITTLE deceptive, at least as far as our experience goes ... we weren't once asked if we'd like more of something. In hindsight, that may not have been a bad thing We just kept getting new plates of things brought out (all really good!) and didn't ask for something more of a previous item because we felt compelled to try what just was left for us. We DID ask for anohter dessert (which was a mistake, because by then we were STUFFED) Another place we'd absolutely go back to. B+
On Monday, 12/2, I had a lunch reservation at CRT .. this was something that our daughter had no idea existed and she was so excited when we told her that day. Our rez was for 11:55am and I tried checking in a bit early, but they were holding everyone off a bit. Waited and finally got our paper to enter. Handed it over, got our photo with Cinderella, and then sat and waited. And waited. And sat some more while watching people come in after us and be brought up to the restaurant. Asked what was going on and was told to wait. Another 10 minutes and I went to someone else, who didn't knoe WHY we had just waited until 12:20pm before being sent upstairs. I was in a MOOD by then. Mood was lifted when we got a seat right at the window, overlooking the carousel. My husband and I got the short rib, and it was good (except for the gelatinous stuff on one side of mine ... scraped off, good as new) Another experience that was fun, but not sure if I would have enjoyed it as much had I paid OOP. And probably won't repeat. I give it a C+ ... the food was average, the characters were great, check-in was chaos for us.
Later that night we went to Casey's for dinner. I got a hot dog and my husband got a sausage, our daughter for corndog nuggets and we all shared fries. Everything was good. We ate outside with a mass of other people. Very simple, bare menu, but all was good. B
On Tuesday 12/3 we were at Epcot and I knew that if I wanted to go to the Candlelight Processional for the fir sttime (and I did), I would have to get the dinner package. Since we had used 2 TS credits for CRT the day before, I knew we'd be paying OOP. I originally booked Les Chefs for lunch around Remy time, but then they went and canceled Remy's appearances, so I chose the least expensive option - Biergarten. Our goal on this trip was to do as many restaurants as possible that were new to us, and we succeeded. The entertainment was really interesting, for the price of it, it was nice having it included. The food, for me, was not something I enjoyed. I got one plate of different items and tasted a few things, but passed on most of it. The mac and cheese was good, as was the potato salad, but that's all I managed to enjoy. We had the slowest waitress ever - really quick to bring drinks, but then made us wait 25 minutes for our check after we were done with our food. Overall they get a D+ from me. The + is for the entertainment. If it were all food and waitress, they have have had an F from me.
After walking around the rest of the "world", we got to our Illuminations viewing spot and later ran back over to Yorkshire to get fish & chips. DELICIOUS!! My mouth just watered again remembering this meal Not much more I can say about it. Fast, good food ... they get an A from me.
Wednesday 12/4 we decided would be a "rest" day, so we spent most of the day at the pool. I got a burger at Old Port Royale for lunch. It was fine. OPR in general was fine, no complaints. A decent variety of foods (I also tried the cuban panini, the breakfast platter, the chicken fingers ... all fine.) They get a B from me overall through the week.
We kept debating over whether to go to Cape May. Last trip we had them booked for breakfast our last day, but canceled to get a Sci-Fi rez earlier in the week. This time I made a dinner rez for the clam bake. The hotel is beautiful, the restaurant is fine. But I was not impressed with the food whatsoever. Granted, I come from Boston where my expectations for seafood are fairly high. The chowder was pretty good, as was the paella. But the crablegs were awful. The steamers were eh. The desserts were forgettable (except for the flourless chocolate torte, which was good). Our waitress was great. They get a C- from me. We won't go back for dinner, but would try breakfast.
On Thursday 12/5 we went to Animal Kingdom. We weren't sure what we were doing for a meal that day, I had a few QS places in mind, but mostly due to our location at lunch time we went to Restaurantosarus for lunch. Although it was pretty much just burgers, they were good burgers, and it was nice to have that toppings bar (although they were completely out of ketchup everywhere). We got served fast, it was nice to have an air-conditioned place to sit (85 degrees in December is not something New Englanders get to experience too much LOL) They get a B+ from us.
12/6 - Before we made a switch to our park days, we had Mama Melrose, Fantasmic package, then I switched days. THEN we scored a 50's Prime Time for DHS day, but last minute switched days again and couldn't find anything, so I had planned on just doing QS. The night before I happened to check MDE and grabbed a rez to [b[Mama Melrose's[/b] again for lunch, but no packages left. What a great place ... reviews had me fearing that it was going to be gross (I'm used to good Italian food with my husband's family) but we were surprised in a great way. Our waiter (I won't name names in case he'd get in trouble) asked if we had the Fantasmic dinner package and I said no, we DID have it, then did too much swapping and lost it. He said he had a couple who passed on the show tickets and asked if we wanted them. SCORE! He also let us get the appetizer as well. I got the tomato and mozzarella and, while I usually don't like tomatos, those were the best tasting I've had. My husband got the caeser salad (which was also good ... slightly heavy on the dressing, which I happen to prefer). We both got the steak - I ordered medium, my husband got medium well - they looked that way when they came out, but after cutting we swapped steaks The mac & cheese under it was sooooo good. The dessert that you're sort of stuck with was average (like a 3-dessert sampler?) One was awesome, one was terrible. One was good. They get an A- from me.
Our departure day 12/7 breakfast reservation at 1900 Park Fare was another last minute score. The breakfast was like any other, although I tried the breakfast pizza in the kids' area and that was pretty interesting. The hash brown casserole and the scrambled eggs were my favorites. And that bread pudding with vanilla sauce! Yum. Characters were great (Mary Poppins, who my daughter loves, Alice and Mad Hatter, who was hysterical, and Winne and Tigger) I'm not normally a fan of breakfast buffets because I feel so gross the rest of the day, but I was picky with what I ate and didn't go overboard, so it was good. We've been there for dinner and it was CRAZY. B+ We'd go back again.
Snacks throughout the trip included jalapeno pretzels (A+!!), school bread (B), beignets from POFQ (C), Starring Rolls gingerbread cupcake (C), Mickey ice cream bars (always an A!), lots of drinks and beers
Any questions I'd be happy to answer!
11/27 - We arrived in Orlando in the afternoon and had dinner at Rocco's Tacos and Tequila Bar, which I found on Yelp. It was fantastic ... not just because they were passing around free tequila shots, either
The fish tacos were great, the atmosphere was awesome. My husband didn't really care that much for his meal - he orginally wanted something else and the waiter suggested the burrito he got. A bit dark and sort of loud, but they had festive music. The highlight was when we heard the "Tequila" song and turned to see an employee zipping through the place on a motorized plastic cooler. Hysterical. We would absolutely go back! They get a B+ from us!On 11/28 we had Thanksgiving dinner at the Rosen Centre hotel's holiday buffet (where we were staying for those first few days). It was held at Cafe Gaughuin and it was SPECTACULAR!! All kinds of rows of food, desserts and unlimited champagne included with the (slightly higher than I expected) price. For 2 adults and 1 child, it was maybe $120 (before tax, but tip was included), but worth every penny, and if we ever miss another holiday due to traveling to Orlando, we will absolutely go back. (It didn't hurt that we got half off food at the hotel due to being bumped there from one of their sister hotels) A! Would have been a perfect A+ if they had some sort of entertainment .... which, maybe they DID have music and I just don't remember because my other senses were overloaded? Not sure, if they did it was forgettable. Solid A though.)
11/29 - Dinner at Margaritaville at Citywalk. Haven't been in 10 years and everything was good. We shared the coconut shrimp and the asiago crab dip (LOVED that). I got a drink that was just OK ... I can't remember what it was, but it wasn't a margarita. I give it a B- ... good food and drinks, nice entertainment.
11/30 .. check in at CBR at noon, unpacked and headed to Downtown Disney. Raglan Road for dinner and we will most definitely go back! The food was great (dalkey duo app, Smithwick (my favorite), I got the "serious steak" and it was terrific.) The entertainment was top-notch. We were lucky enough to be seated in the main area next to the smaller "feature" stage (great view of both stages but not right at the speakers, which was nice) The bread and butter pudding was amazing. My husband got the Black Forest Kiss and didn't care for it. He helped me finish my dessert. I don't know why I had such an easy time getting a rez here, I'm surprised that they aren't always crazy busy. It was a phenomenal experience and a great way to start off our Disney vacation. A from me for Raglan.
12/1 - Be Our Guest - I managed to get a FP+ for this and I'm so glad I did. The line was out across the bridge. We went up to the outdoor desk, gave our name, and were ushered right in. We didn't use the kiosk to order (although saw some doing that), we had a CM taking our order. We didn't know how they'd find us, but I'm guessing it had something to do with tracking us via GPS and our MBs? They knew right where we were and arrived minutes after we sat with our food. My husband was amazed about that part of our meal. I had the Croque Monsier and loved it. My daughter got the meatloaf and despised the orangey stuff on top, as well as the (peach?) applesauce. My husband, who eats almost anything, actually spit it out. It was a beautiful setting, but there is NO way I would have found it worth waiting in that line, espcially seeing how TPs said MK should have been a 3 that day, but later admit that it was closer to a 7. Precious time wasted for regular old food. I won't bother to get a rez here next time we go. It was OK, but that's it. BoG gets a B- from me.
Ohana that night was one of my 2 last minute grabs. Not a long wait at all ... we got a drink at Tambu while waiting and I didn't even have time to pay the tab before we were being called to our table. (I got a Lapu Lapu because that seemed to be THE drink everyone raves about here, but I feel it's overrated.) Ohana's open cooking area is really cool to see, and the entertainment is a big plus too. My daughter loved going up to learn the hula. The food was all delish as well, but saying it is "all you can eat" is a LITTLE deceptive, at least as far as our experience goes ... we weren't once asked if we'd like more of something. In hindsight, that may not have been a bad thing
We just kept getting new plates of things brought out (all really good!) and didn't ask for something more of a previous item because we felt compelled to try what just was left for us. We DID ask for anohter dessert (which was a mistake, because by then we were STUFFED) Another place we'd absolutely go back to. B+On Monday, 12/2, I had a lunch reservation at CRT .. this was something that our daughter had no idea existed and she was so excited when we told her that day. Our rez was for 11:55am and I tried checking in a bit early, but they were holding everyone off a bit. Waited and finally got our paper to enter. Handed it over, got our photo with Cinderella, and then sat and waited. And waited. And sat some more while watching people come in after us and be brought up to the restaurant. Asked what was going on and was told to wait. Another 10 minutes and I went to someone else, who didn't knoe WHY we had just waited until 12:20pm before being sent upstairs. I was in a MOOD by then. Mood was lifted when we got a seat right at the window, overlooking the carousel. My husband and I got the short rib, and it was good (except for the gelatinous stuff on one side of mine ... scraped off, good as new) Another experience that was fun, but not sure if I would have enjoyed it as much had I paid OOP. And probably won't repeat. I give it a C+ ... the food was average, the characters were great, check-in was chaos for us.
Later that night we went to Casey's for dinner. I got a hot dog and my husband got a sausage, our daughter for corndog nuggets and we all shared fries. Everything was good. We ate outside with a mass of other people. Very simple, bare menu, but all was good. B
On Tuesday 12/3 we were at Epcot and I knew that if I wanted to go to the Candlelight Processional for the fir sttime (and I did), I would have to get the dinner package. Since we had used 2 TS credits for CRT the day before, I knew we'd be paying OOP. I originally booked Les Chefs for lunch around Remy time, but then they went and canceled Remy's appearances, so I chose the least expensive option - Biergarten. Our goal on this trip was to do as many restaurants as possible that were new to us, and we succeeded. The entertainment was really interesting, for the price of it, it was nice having it included. The food, for me, was not something I enjoyed. I got one plate of different items and tasted a few things, but passed on most of it. The mac and cheese was good, as was the potato salad, but that's all I managed to enjoy. We had the slowest waitress ever - really quick to bring drinks, but then made us wait 25 minutes for our check after we were done with our food. Overall they get a D+ from me. The + is for the entertainment. If it were all food and waitress, they have have had an F from me.
After walking around the rest of the "world", we got to our Illuminations viewing spot and later ran back over to Yorkshire to get fish & chips. DELICIOUS!! My mouth just watered again remembering this meal
Not much more I can say about it. Fast, good food ... they get an A from me.Wednesday 12/4 we decided would be a "rest" day, so we spent most of the day at the pool. I got a burger at Old Port Royale for lunch. It was fine. OPR in general was fine, no complaints. A decent variety of foods (I also tried the cuban panini, the breakfast platter, the chicken fingers ... all fine.) They get a B from me overall through the week.
We kept debating over whether to go to Cape May. Last trip we had them booked for breakfast our last day, but canceled to get a Sci-Fi rez earlier in the week. This time I made a dinner rez for the clam bake. The hotel is beautiful, the restaurant is fine. But I was not impressed with the food whatsoever. Granted, I come from Boston where my expectations for seafood are fairly high. The chowder was pretty good, as was the paella. But the crablegs were awful. The steamers were eh. The desserts were forgettable (except for the flourless chocolate torte, which was good). Our waitress was great. They get a C- from me. We won't go back for dinner, but would try breakfast.
On Thursday 12/5 we went to Animal Kingdom. We weren't sure what we were doing for a meal that day, I had a few QS places in mind, but mostly due to our location at lunch time we went to Restaurantosarus for lunch. Although it was pretty much just burgers, they were good burgers, and it was nice to have that toppings bar (although they were completely out of ketchup everywhere). We got served fast, it was nice to have an air-conditioned place to sit (85 degrees in December is not something New Englanders get to experience too much LOL) They get a B+ from us.
12/6 - Before we made a switch to our park days, we had Mama Melrose, Fantasmic package, then I switched days. THEN we scored a 50's Prime Time for DHS day, but last minute switched days again and couldn't find anything, so I had planned on just doing QS. The night before I happened to check MDE and grabbed a rez to [b[Mama Melrose's[/b] again for lunch, but no packages left. What a great place ... reviews had me fearing that it was going to be gross (I'm used to good Italian food with my husband's family) but we were surprised in a great way. Our waiter (I won't name names in case he'd get in trouble) asked if we had the Fantasmic dinner package and I said no, we DID have it, then did too much swapping and lost it. He said he had a couple who passed on the show tickets and asked if we wanted them. SCORE!
He also let us get the appetizer as well. I got the tomato and mozzarella and, while I usually don't like tomatos, those were the best tasting I've had. My husband got the caeser salad (which was also good ... slightly heavy on the dressing, which I happen to prefer). We both got the steak - I ordered medium, my husband got medium well - they looked that way when they came out, but after cutting we swapped steaks The mac & cheese under it was sooooo good. The dessert that you're sort of stuck with was average (like a 3-dessert sampler?) One was awesome, one was terrible. One was good. They get an A- from me. Our departure day 12/7 breakfast reservation at 1900 Park Fare was another last minute score. The breakfast was like any other, although I tried the breakfast pizza in the kids' area and that was pretty interesting. The hash brown casserole and the scrambled eggs were my favorites. And that bread pudding with vanilla sauce! Yum. Characters were great (Mary Poppins, who my daughter loves, Alice and Mad Hatter, who was hysterical, and Winne and Tigger) I'm not normally a fan of breakfast buffets because I feel so gross the rest of the day, but I was picky with what I ate and didn't go overboard, so it was good. We've been there for dinner and it was CRAZY. B+ We'd go back again.
Snacks throughout the trip included jalapeno pretzels (A+!!), school bread (B), beignets from POFQ (C), Starring Rolls gingerbread cupcake (C), Mickey ice cream bars (always an A!), lots of drinks and beers
Any questions I'd be happy to answer!
