10 nights of almost all excellent dining

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

Hello everyone,
We have just returned to the very cold and snowy North from 11 lovely days at Disney World. We were there from Jan 21-31. We are: Elizabeth (mom, planner), Doug(dad, best husband EVER), Aiden (10 year old daughter who can really eat!), and Avery (9 year old daughter who likes to share with mommy). I'm just going to give a very brief review of where and what we ate. I don;t have too much to say because we enjoyed all of our meals and most of them we would repeat again.

Table service:
Teppan Edo (dinner). Doug and I both had the steak/chicken, Aiden had filet, Avery had shrimp. This is one of our favourite meals, everything is nice and fresh and the cook was really funny. Doug had the ginger chocolate cake for dessert and the kids had ice cream. I was too full! We will repeat.

Le Cellier (lunch). Doug and I both had the soup and mushroom filet. When we go to steak restaurants Doug always orders prime rib, but I convinced him to try the filet (and prime rib isn't available at lunch). He was impressed. Aiden had soup and NY strip and Ave had the kids steak. It was as delicious as always. I love the soup so much! I do enjoy having this meal for dinner rather than lunch because it is such a big meal! Avery skipped dessert and the rest of us had the creme brulee, YUM!

Crystal Palace(breakfast). We have done this before and will likely do it again. Nice variety for everyone. I really enjoyed the fruit (berries esp.)

Kona Cafe(dinner). This was a new restaurant for us and I was really looking forward to it. I had planned to have the shrimp and scallops, but had a somewhat blah shrimp sandwich for lunch, so didn't feel like it once dinner time came. I was torn as to what to order, and ended up with the chicken pan asian noodles. It was just okay. Doug and Aiden both ordered this as well, and they thought it was good, but not outstanding. I had a bite of my friend's chicken and if I didn't get the shrimp and scallops next time I would get the chicken. Ave had the Mickey Ravioli which she enjoyed. Doug had the torte for dessert and I had the cheesecake. Both were good, but we were so full!!

 

[mickeygirl14]

Thanks for sharing! I keep going back and forth on Teppan Edo - but after your good experience, I think I'll have to put it bacon my list.

Glad you guys had some good dining experiences - nice to read some positive reviews! Hope you had a wonderful vacation!

 

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

Cape May Cafe(dinner). This was a new experience for us and we were really looking forward to it. We all enjoy seafood, especially crab legs. This was an excellent meal. Not a huge variety of things, but a good variety. The crab was very good, nice temperature, and the meat came out in nice chunks. I liked everything I tried, including the clam chowder. The ribs were very good too. Desserts were yummy, my favourite was the key lime tart. We will certainly come again.

Tony's Grand Gathering Breakfast. We travelled with friends, so were able to do this one. The atmosphere was terrific, lots of interaction with the characters. The food is brought family style, with as many refills as you'd like. The food included pastries, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes. I thought the eggs were delicious, but I love eggs, and feel the need for protein rather than too many carbs sometimes. The kids had a lot of fun here and I would recommend it.

Yak&Yeti. This was out third time here and not our last. I have the same thing every time, the steak and shrimp. Doug had the same and Aiden had the Crispy Mahi Mahi with the sauce on the side. Ave had egg rolls and rice. Everyone enjoyed their food. We all had the wontons for dessert and left feeling very satisfied!

 

[mickeygirl14]

"back on", not bacon. Apparently, I did not get enough sleep.

 

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

Tutto Italia(dinner) We have eaten here before and after going back and forth about doing it again or trying Via Napoli instead we decided to stick with Tutto. I had the Farfalle, Aiden had spaghetti and meatballs, Doug had the pasta with sausage. Avery wasn't feeling well so she didn't eat. The meal was good, not outstanding. For dessert I had the Coppeto something or other which I really enjoyed, Aiden had Tiramisu, which she loved (she loves coffee flavours) and Doug had the cake/torte? All the desserts were very good. I think we'll probably try a different Italian next time.

Whispering Canyon Cafe(dinner). We decided to try this one more for the atmosphere and to check out the Wilderness Lodge more than the food, so I can't really say I'm surprised or really disappointed because I wasn't really expecting fine cuisine here. We all ordered the skillet. The cornbread and salad were good, and I liked the ribs, but that's about it. The kids had fun and our server was very friendly, but we won't be back.

 

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

'Ohana (dinner). This was our second time eating here, and Aiden's #1 choice. The food was delicious as always, the service was good and the kids had fun getting up and doing the parade/dancing etc. My only complaint is that the food came out one thing right after the other with no time between courses. However, now that I think about it I probably would have filled up on chicken wings and pot stickers and had no room for steak and shrimp if the food came slower. The banana bread pudding is one of my favourite desserts.

Tusker House (breakfast). We have eaten breakfast here before and decided to pay out of pocket to go again. We really like buffet breakfasts, and like to do this one early and then ride the safari afterwards. This buffet has an great variety of foods, lots of healthy choices (fruit and yogurt) as well as a nice carved ham and rice. The basmati rice was so good! Aiden must have eaten 4 full plated of food here, a good variety each plate. I enjoyed everythin I tried, and managed to squeeze in a Krispy Creme too. The juice here is so good! The characters were lots of fun too. I think this is our #1 breakfast buffet, but still have to try Cape May for breakfast. One thing I love about buffets is that the kids don't have to wait for their food, and mine are at the age where they get up and go themselves.

 

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

It's been said before and will be said again that the counter service selections in a lot of places are less than desirable. Nothing was particularily good or bad, just okay. I will also say that my husband and I had just finished a clease/diet before our trip, so fast food wasn't too appealing to us anyway, and Avery really doesn't like fast food. She shared with me most of the time. Our counter service meals included breakfast at POP food court (actually quite a good selection here), Doug would share the Bounty Platter with the kids. They also had waffles and pancakes which they liked. I mostly had coffee, juice and All Bran bars (brought from home). Lunch places we tried were Wolfgang Puck Express (best choice), Cosmic Ray's (we like this one, turkey wrap especially), Main St. Bakery (just ok this time), Restaurantosaurus (blah), casey's Corner (pretty good), Catalina Eddie's (just ok).

 

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

I would probably rather eat a snack than lunch. My favourite snack on this trip was the popcorn! I think I ate some about 8/10 nights. It was addictive! Other snacks we tried were Mickey ice cream bars, sundaes, rice crispies, pixie sticks, cinnamon bun, soft serve, funnel cake, Dole whip, pretzels. I love the napolean from the bakery in France, but didn't have the time or room in my stomach to get one this time. I was also really looking forward to trying multiple items from the new caramel store in Germany but that didn't happen either.

I had a few different alcoholic beverages this time. They were all very good. I tried: White Sangria, Pina Colava, Bahama Mama, Shanghai Express, Peach Bellini and Very Berry Punch.

 

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

This was our third time on the regular dining plan and we feel we have always gotten our money's worth. Next time we go will be our first trip as DVC owners and we will be staying in a 1 br with full kitchen. I do not cook on vacation, but it will be very handy for easy breakfasts (cereal) and also being able to heat up leftovers. None of us ever finished a meal, and it will be nice to have the ability to take leftovers back to the room to put in the fridge and heat up later. Next time we go Avery will be considered an adult too, and she really doesn't eat much, so I'll have to do the math and put some thought into whether we do the dining plan again. Also, we had free dining this time, so we tended to order more expensive items, and not really care as much if everything wasn't eaten.

Thanks for reading.

Elizabeth

 

[Belle5]

Thank you ! Your reviews were helpful to me concerning our trip later this week!

 

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

Thank you ! Your reviews were helpful to me concerning our trip later this week!

Glad I could help!

 

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

"back on", not bacon. Apparently, I did not get enough sleep.

Speaking of bacon, they need to improve it at WDW.

You will enjoy Teppan Edo.

 

[Hootiss]

Thanks for the reviews, we look forward to trying Cape May, Yak and Yeti. and Tusker House for the first time. Oh and Welcome Home you will love the 1 bedrooms,

 

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

Thanks for the reviews, we look forward to trying Cape May, Yak and Yeti. and Tusker House for the first time. Oh and Welcome Home you will love the 1 bedrooms,

Thanks! I don't think I'll get tired of hearing that.