Hi Everyone. We just got back from a 5-day trip to WDW and thought you might like to hear our review of the sit-downs that we did:
Mama Melrose (Saturday, 9/1): We arrived into Orlando and MGM late afternoon and had a 6:40 ADR at MM. Took about 20 minutes to get seated which really wasn't a problem as the girls went across the street to look in the gift shop while I waited at the bar. For appetizers we had the bread basket with different dips (just okay), caesar salad (just okay), and bruschetti (excellent). I had the pork marsala served with asparagus and is it coucous? -- this was the best dish I had at WDW this trip. The girls both had spaghetti with butter so we won't rate that
We all had chocolate gelato for dessert which was great. Our server was very good (broken toe and all), although we did feel a bit rushed at the end and it appeared that we were one of the last tables to leave. We had already missed getting a seat for Fantasmic which was the original plan so we decided to take our time. Also, although she knew were were on DDP I also gave her my Rewards Card. She placed the entire bill on the Rewards Card which was meant only to pay for cocktails but it was easily remedied with a smile. Overall: B+
LeCellier (Sunday, 9/2): ADRs were for 7:00. We were seated almost immediately and had a cute waitress from Canada of all places, lol. For appetizers, we had the cheese soup (okay), caesar salad (good) and shrimp cocktail (okay) which was very different from what we are used to. The shrimp was served on a spicy coleslaw type salad, maybe wasabi dressing, I'm not sure -- I really liked this but the shrimp were very small (72-90ct) and flavorless. Bread basket of course, kids did not like the pretzel bread though. For dinner I had the mushroom filet (excellent), one of the girls had a hotdog
which she said was horrible and she is the hotdog queen
and the other one had the salmon (excellent and huge piece). For dessert, we of course had the chocolate mousse and smores, which were a bit hit. I ordered an Irish Coffee but they do not stock Jamieson or any other Irish Whiskey -- she offered a Canadian whiskey but I declined. Overall: B+.
Ohana (Monday, 9/3): ADRs for 7:20 but we didn't get seated until about 8. I think that is far too long to wait, especially when a lot of tables appeared unused, but my LapuLapu helped
. In the end, it worked out because we were able to view the P&P fireworks from our table which we loved (though they did not shut down the lights like I had heard they might). Another thing I did not like was they brought all the food at one time. I had expected they would bring the chips/dip, shrimp, and wings prior to bringing out the salad, vegetables, potatoes, and meat but no, here I sat at a table for three loaded up with food that only I would eat. Needless to say, the potatoes and veggies were cold by the time I tried them. The girls picked a bit but really did not care for the food so I had the waitress bring them grilled cheeses which she did without question. As for the quality of food, I can't say we loved anything, the chicken wings were very good, I liked the dressing on the salad, and the potatoes were okay and would have been much better hot. The bananas foster cake was just okay, but I really enjoyed the sauce over the ice cream. That being said, we go to places like this for the entertainment more than the food and the girls had a lot of fun and no one went hungry
Overall: B-
Chef Mickeys (Tuesday, 9/4, Lunch): I must say that I am hooked on the character lunch vs. dinner. Again, we go to Chef Mickeys for the entertainment, not the food but everything was pretty good. I had the penne pasta with sauteed veggies, ribs (these were excellent), and a nice salad; both girls ate the nuggets, pizza, ravioli. Dessert was assorted cookies, cheesecake, carrot cake, brownies, and the ice cream bar. We had 1:10 ressies and were not seated until 1:45 which was disappointing because we wanted to get back to MK earlier. Although the food here is mediocre and nothing to write home about, we will always have CM on our to-do-list. Overall: B
Boma (Tuesday, 9/4, Dinner): We were seated within ten minutes of our 7:30 ADR. I ordered a bottled water and the girls each had sodas. The waitress brought a liter bottle and I reiterated that it was just for me and she stated that was the only size water they carried. Okay then. I have always recommended Boma to everyone who goes but I'm sorry to say that it was again, just okay
I tried two of the soups, both which were extremely salty, so much so that I could not eat more than a spoonful or two of each. I believe it was the seafood chowder and the crab bisque. I had the Afritude Potatoes?, sauteed vegetables, prime rib, salmon, and tried a few other items that were unfamiliar. Everything was okay. The girls again ate from the kids selections. When I got the check, I was billed $6.95 for the water. When I mentioned this to our waitress, she just shrugged that that was the price of the water -- I wasn't going to get into it with her over $7 but the DDP clearly states that bottled water is available at each restaurant. Like I said, yeah, I could have had it taken off the bill if I insisted, but we were ready to go and hey, we did have the DDP free so... Overall: B-
So in summary, we will go back to Mama Melrose. For those of you who remember the "no bread thread", I did speak to a manager and let her know that I and many others were having quite a conversation about their new bread policy and that I knew for a fact that some were actually cancelling their ADRS just because of this. Of course, it was out of her hands, she doesn't make the decisions, but I nicely asked her to please make sure someone higher up was informed that I was unhappy along with many others. She said sure but we all know (and I was a restaurant manager for many years, lol) that they only ones she mentioned it to were her co-workers at the end of the night. But I feel better and that's what really matters
We'd go back to LeCellier of course but I haven't tried too many other places in Epcot (only Germany, Mexico, and Japanese) so I might try someplace new next time. Ohana we'll revisit as well and CM is a must-do if kids are with me, and a OMG, no way, if they are not
I think the time and trouble getting to Boma, coupled with the just-okay fare, will keep me away from there unless I am ever lucky enough to stay at AKL.
Other places I'd like to try include 50s Prime Time, Coral Reef, Spoodles, and the Cape May Buffet to name a few.
As for CS, we had breakfast each morning except one at POP, no complaints there, and the one at MK bakery which was very good! On arrival day, we had CS at POP, I had the shrimp lo mein which I loved, one of the girls had a steak and cheese bomb, also excellent, and the other had a hot dog. We ate at Sunshine Seasons, both girls had chicken legs and mashed potatoes (which was big enough and hearty enough for dinner next time coupled with a character lunch I think) and I had the turkey and cheese sandwich, very good. At AK we ate at the Flametree BBQ, excellent as usual and the frozen lemonades for dessert were a big hit.
We had a great time and probably gained many pounds
. The only thing I did not like is that the girls are both DDP adults and if I had to pay for them, there is no way they could get their $$ worth eating hot dogs and nuggets. So for the next few years, unless we hit it free, we will forego the DDP and eat out-of-pocket. I would agree with other posters that Disney should consider a Junior Plan for kids ages 10-15 or something that is either half portions of the adults or larger portions of the kids meals.
If you have any questions, let me know. Thanks for reading
Mama Melrose (Saturday, 9/1): We arrived into Orlando and MGM late afternoon and had a 6:40 ADR at MM. Took about 20 minutes to get seated which really wasn't a problem as the girls went across the street to look in the gift shop while I waited at the bar. For appetizers we had the bread basket with different dips (just okay), caesar salad (just okay), and bruschetti (excellent). I had the pork marsala served with asparagus and is it coucous? -- this was the best dish I had at WDW this trip. The girls both had spaghetti with butter so we won't rate that
We all had chocolate gelato for dessert which was great. Our server was very good (broken toe and all), although we did feel a bit rushed at the end and it appeared that we were one of the last tables to leave. We had already missed getting a seat for Fantasmic which was the original plan so we decided to take our time. Also, although she knew were were on DDP I also gave her my Rewards Card. She placed the entire bill on the Rewards Card which was meant only to pay for cocktails but it was easily remedied with a smile. Overall: B+LeCellier (Sunday, 9/2): ADRs were for 7:00. We were seated almost immediately and had a cute waitress from Canada of all places, lol. For appetizers, we had the cheese soup (okay), caesar salad (good) and shrimp cocktail (okay) which was very different from what we are used to. The shrimp was served on a spicy coleslaw type salad, maybe wasabi dressing, I'm not sure -- I really liked this but the shrimp were very small (72-90ct) and flavorless. Bread basket of course, kids did not like the pretzel bread though. For dinner I had the mushroom filet (excellent), one of the girls had a hotdog
which she said was horrible and she is the hotdog queen and the other one had the salmon (excellent and huge piece). For dessert, we of course had the chocolate mousse and smores, which were a bit hit. I ordered an Irish Coffee but they do not stock Jamieson or any other Irish Whiskey -- she offered a Canadian whiskey but I declined. Overall: B+.Ohana (Monday, 9/3): ADRs for 7:20 but we didn't get seated until about 8. I think that is far too long to wait, especially when a lot of tables appeared unused, but my LapuLapu helped
. In the end, it worked out because we were able to view the P&P fireworks from our table which we loved (though they did not shut down the lights like I had heard they might). Another thing I did not like was they brought all the food at one time. I had expected they would bring the chips/dip, shrimp, and wings prior to bringing out the salad, vegetables, potatoes, and meat but no, here I sat at a table for three loaded up with food that only I would eat. Needless to say, the potatoes and veggies were cold by the time I tried them. The girls picked a bit but really did not care for the food so I had the waitress bring them grilled cheeses which she did without question. As for the quality of food, I can't say we loved anything, the chicken wings were very good, I liked the dressing on the salad, and the potatoes were okay and would have been much better hot. The bananas foster cake was just okay, but I really enjoyed the sauce over the ice cream. That being said, we go to places like this for the entertainment more than the food and the girls had a lot of fun and no one went hungry Overall: B-Chef Mickeys (Tuesday, 9/4, Lunch): I must say that I am hooked on the character lunch vs. dinner. Again, we go to Chef Mickeys for the entertainment, not the food but everything was pretty good. I had the penne pasta with sauteed veggies, ribs (these were excellent), and a nice salad; both girls ate the nuggets, pizza, ravioli. Dessert was assorted cookies, cheesecake, carrot cake, brownies, and the ice cream bar. We had 1:10 ressies and were not seated until 1:45 which was disappointing because we wanted to get back to MK earlier. Although the food here is mediocre and nothing to write home about, we will always have CM on our to-do-list. Overall: B
Boma (Tuesday, 9/4, Dinner): We were seated within ten minutes of our 7:30 ADR. I ordered a bottled water and the girls each had sodas. The waitress brought a liter bottle and I reiterated that it was just for me and she stated that was the only size water they carried. Okay then. I have always recommended Boma to everyone who goes but I'm sorry to say that it was again, just okay
I tried two of the soups, both which were extremely salty, so much so that I could not eat more than a spoonful or two of each. I believe it was the seafood chowder and the crab bisque. I had the Afritude Potatoes?, sauteed vegetables, prime rib, salmon, and tried a few other items that were unfamiliar. Everything was okay. The girls again ate from the kids selections. When I got the check, I was billed $6.95 for the water. When I mentioned this to our waitress, she just shrugged that that was the price of the water -- I wasn't going to get into it with her over $7 but the DDP clearly states that bottled water is available at each restaurant. Like I said, yeah, I could have had it taken off the bill if I insisted, but we were ready to go and hey, we did have the DDP free so... Overall: B-So in summary, we will go back to Mama Melrose. For those of you who remember the "no bread thread", I did speak to a manager and let her know that I and many others were having quite a conversation about their new bread policy and that I knew for a fact that some were actually cancelling their ADRS just because of this. Of course, it was out of her hands, she doesn't make the decisions, but I nicely asked her to please make sure someone higher up was informed that I was unhappy along with many others. She said sure but we all know (and I was a restaurant manager for many years, lol) that they only ones she mentioned it to were her co-workers at the end of the night. But I feel better and that's what really matters
We'd go back to LeCellier of course but I haven't tried too many other places in Epcot (only Germany, Mexico, and Japanese) so I might try someplace new next time. Ohana we'll revisit as well and CM is a must-do if kids are with me, and a OMG, no way, if they are not
I think the time and trouble getting to Boma, coupled with the just-okay fare, will keep me away from there unless I am ever lucky enough to stay at AKL.Other places I'd like to try include 50s Prime Time, Coral Reef, Spoodles, and the Cape May Buffet to name a few.
As for CS, we had breakfast each morning except one at POP, no complaints there, and the one at MK bakery which was very good! On arrival day, we had CS at POP, I had the shrimp lo mein which I loved, one of the girls had a steak and cheese bomb, also excellent, and the other had a hot dog. We ate at Sunshine Seasons, both girls had chicken legs and mashed potatoes (which was big enough and hearty enough for dinner next time coupled with a character lunch I think) and I had the turkey and cheese sandwich, very good. At AK we ate at the Flametree BBQ, excellent as usual and the frozen lemonades for dessert were a big hit.
We had a great time and probably gained many pounds
. The only thing I did not like is that the girls are both DDP adults and if I had to pay for them, there is no way they could get their $$ worth eating hot dogs and nuggets. So for the next few years, unless we hit it free, we will forego the DDP and eat out-of-pocket. I would agree with other posters that Disney should consider a Junior Plan for kids ages 10-15 or something that is either half portions of the adults or larger portions of the kids meals.If you have any questions, let me know. Thanks for reading
but flavorless? Bleagh! Well, thanks for the warning 
