These are reviews of our first weeks dinners. I wanted to take pictures for you but my husband threatened to put me on a plane home if I started to do that, so I just kept quiet.....
We ate both on and off property the first week because we had a car. We were NOT on the dining plan and feel we saved ++++ $$$ because we didn't. How you ask, well, first off, we had an AP savings rate at the hotel that you could not get if you were on the dining plan. This rate saved us $350 the first week (POR), and $700 the second week (POLY), less the $180 extra cost for the card. the dining plan would then have cost us $156/day (our children are 11 and 13 and therefore pay adult rates, however as you will see, DS does not eat even near what an adult would.) We ended up spending $100 or less on food a day, we never felt like we didn't get enough to eat and we ate at at least 1 TS retaurant per day. We ate breakfast in our room every day except for 3 times when we went out for breakfast.
We used the DDE card; $60 cost and we saved well over that (haven't added it up yet)
Okay here are the first week reviews for our TS meals;
Without exception we had ADRs for all. People were generally being turned away without ADRs or waiting a really long time.
Wolfgang Puck Cafe; - dinner
Wait time; 20 minutes.
Service; excellent
Atmosphere; noisy, busy, but we had a lovely view of the lake.
Pumpkin Ravioli (me); excellent, but unique flavor that not all would enjoy.
Fettucine "Wolfredo" (DD); very unusual flavor; did not taste like traditional fettucine alfredo to me at all, I could not have eaten it. DD and DH "shared" (we don't tell her that though), and they liked it.
Children's Grilled cheese (DS); no problem ordering off children's menu here for DS age 11. Run of the mill grilled cheese.
Ceasar Salad; expensive and not that large, but very tasty.
Spinach Salad (DH); thought it was excellent;
Total with discount $50
Discount: $13
Riverside Mill Food court;
We tried to eat at Boatrights without and ADR, but were told the wait would exceed 1 hour (this was at 8:30) so we gave up and went to the food court.
Wait time; line ups were quite long; seemed to take forever.
Atmosphere; noisy, noisy.
BBQ chicken/ribs (DH); thought it was very good for food court food.
Spaghetti and Meatballs (DD); very generous portion and tasty.
Taco Salad (me); excellent
Chicken soup (DS); he's no judge of food that's for sure.
Total; $28
Discount; None
Prime Time Cafe;dinner - menu is the same as lunch and same prices.
Wait time; asked specifically for a table with a TV; waited less than 15 minutes.
Service; very disapointed in the server, only because he didn't really "ham it up" like the other servers were. He was quite dull in that regard. Otherwise he did a good job as a regular server, but we were hoping for the "hamming up here" and look forward to that. Other areas looked to be having a real "hoot". Food came out incredibly quickly; for sure they must have it on an assembly line.
Atmosphere; excellent. We love the theming here and having the TV at our table was alot of fun.
Fried chicken (me, DD and DH); excellent. Great value. Everything tasted hot and fresh. Chicken was moist and tender - even the white meat. DH and I could have shared this one for sure. DD could not finish hers - left one piece of chicken, but ate all her mashed potatoes AND beans....she's a good eater that one.
Kids hot dog??? or something like that (DS) - they're all basically the same.
1 milkshake - excellent.
We truly had no room for dessert and couldn't imaging being on the DDP and having to eat all that food! We also prefer to drink water rather than pop with our meals anyway, so wouldn't have like to be ordering the pop all the time.
Total with discount $42
Discount $10
Bahama Breeze; Off site; Vineland Ave
Wait time: Almost 90 minutes!!!! yes I said 90 minutes!!!!! the hostess told us one hour when we arrived...needless to say we were a bit antsy - by now it is after 9pm!!!! Well she realized we were a bit disappointed (to put it mildly), so she told the manager and he came to our table and couldn't have been nicer about it - we got free drinks and appetizers!!!! Unfortunately by now we were exhausted and just wanted to go home....
Service; Excellent after we actually go seated!!!!
Atmoshphere; Caribbean, tropical, casual.
Caribbean Nachos; out of this world delicious.
Coconut shrimp (signature item); ditto.
DH had a Jamaican beer and I had the special Bahama Breeze margarita; possible the best Margarita I have ever tasted (and I've had quite a few).
Kids each got a special tropical smoothie thing that was excellent.
DH and I split the fish entree (can't remember what kind now); would not have been enough if we hadn't had appetizers, but was absolutely delicious.
DS had their flatbread pizza and declared it was the best pizza he'd ever had (again I might mention that he is no food critic by any means). He only ate 2 pieces and we took the rest back to the room for his lunch the next day.
DD had some kind of caribean sandwich - like a sub really - she liked it - looked like an ordinary sandwhich.
Total; $35 (does not include free bees)
Beaches and Cream (lunch)
Wait time; none because we ate at the counter, otherwise would have been 20 minutes.
Service; a bit slow.
Atmosphere; wonderful; like an old time ice cream parlor, complete with older gentleman behind the counter serving up the ice cream - very sweet.
Cheeseburgers (DH, DD and DS/me shared one) - 2 with fries, one with onion rings (they charge extra for this, but didn't tell us this). DH and DD declared best burger they've ever tasted. I thought mine tasted like a frozen patty....just goes to show everyone has their own opinion.
No way Jose; large and delicious; all 4 of us shared. However, for large appetites it would only serve 2, but DS doesn't eat much at all, basically 3 of us shared.
while we were there one table ordered the kitchen sink....a table with 3 moms and several very small children....all who had just finished hot dogs and fries....this thing was HUGE.......I mean HUGE.......I can't imagine that they could even have made a dent in it. We took a picture of them because it looked so comical.
Total with discount: $28
Discount: $7
Planet Hollywood; - dinner
Wait time; less than 5 minutes.
Service; just ok; didn't refill our waters, or come and ask how our food was - she was just in training.....
Atmosphere; noisy, but fun. Very cold in there.
California Lasagne(me) absolutely excellent, but very filling - DH and I could have shared this one.
Turkey Club (DH - thought is was very good, tasted just like any old club sandwich to me at a high price.
Pasta Pomodor (DD) - she loves pasta - she ate it all up.
1 kids s/mballs - without the tomato sauce - just butter/cheese - DS likes things plain. Very generous portion and he ate it all.
2 caesar salads to share - generous portions and tasty. Waitress tried to convince us we each needed one, but 2 of us shared just fine.
Total with discount; $50
Discount; $12
Sweet Tomatoes Salad Buffet - International Drive near Belz outlet - lunch.
Wait time; none
Service; buffet
Atmosphere; do not go here for the atmosphere, go here for the food/value.
This was by far the best value and tasty food we had this week. We felt so "healthy" after we ate here.
$7 per person for all you can eat; huge variety of salads, soups, pasta, ice cream and dessert.
The salads were all fresh and tasty. Large assortment.
The soups are all made from scratch and were delicious. Again a large variety of soups (probably 8-10).
3 pasta choices that were not great.
The big draw is the soup and salad.
ice cream sundaes for dessert with toppings.
My kids loved it here. We all loved it here and would definately return again if we have a car. We would have gone back, but we didn't have a car the second week. DS kept asking to go back there.
Total; $25
Chevy's off site; Vineland Ave in the mall with Goodings etc. near DD - lunch
Tex Mex; the food here was again excellent, some original and unusual mexican selection, but also standard fare. Very tasty and portions were quite generous. Reasonable prices (especially compared to Disney)
Taco Salad DD; possible the largest Taco Salad I have ever seen.
Combo platter (DH and me shared); more than enough for the both of us.
DS did not order anything, but survived on the chips they put on the table and some stuff of our plate.
Well that's it for week # 1. Stay tuned for week # 2 - we were at the POLy and ate at Crystal Palace, California Grille, Kona, Whispering Canyon, Chef Mickey, Spoodles, the Biergarten.
these reveiws are alot of work, but I remember how helpful it was for me to read all the reveiws before I went, so its the least I can do!!!!
We ate both on and off property the first week because we had a car. We were NOT on the dining plan and feel we saved ++++ $$$ because we didn't. How you ask, well, first off, we had an AP savings rate at the hotel that you could not get if you were on the dining plan. This rate saved us $350 the first week (POR), and $700 the second week (POLY), less the $180 extra cost for the card. the dining plan would then have cost us $156/day (our children are 11 and 13 and therefore pay adult rates, however as you will see, DS does not eat even near what an adult would.) We ended up spending $100 or less on food a day, we never felt like we didn't get enough to eat and we ate at at least 1 TS retaurant per day. We ate breakfast in our room every day except for 3 times when we went out for breakfast.
We used the DDE card; $60 cost and we saved well over that (haven't added it up yet)
Okay here are the first week reviews for our TS meals;
Without exception we had ADRs for all. People were generally being turned away without ADRs or waiting a really long time.
Wolfgang Puck Cafe; - dinner
Wait time; 20 minutes.
Service; excellent
Atmosphere; noisy, busy, but we had a lovely view of the lake.
Pumpkin Ravioli (me); excellent, but unique flavor that not all would enjoy.
Fettucine "Wolfredo" (DD); very unusual flavor; did not taste like traditional fettucine alfredo to me at all, I could not have eaten it. DD and DH "shared" (we don't tell her that though), and they liked it.
Children's Grilled cheese (DS); no problem ordering off children's menu here for DS age 11. Run of the mill grilled cheese.
Ceasar Salad; expensive and not that large, but very tasty.
Spinach Salad (DH); thought it was excellent;
Total with discount $50
Discount: $13
Riverside Mill Food court;
We tried to eat at Boatrights without and ADR, but were told the wait would exceed 1 hour (this was at 8:30) so we gave up and went to the food court.
Wait time; line ups were quite long; seemed to take forever.
Atmosphere; noisy, noisy.
BBQ chicken/ribs (DH); thought it was very good for food court food.
Spaghetti and Meatballs (DD); very generous portion and tasty.
Taco Salad (me); excellent
Chicken soup (DS); he's no judge of food that's for sure.
Total; $28
Discount; None
Prime Time Cafe;dinner - menu is the same as lunch and same prices.
Wait time; asked specifically for a table with a TV; waited less than 15 minutes.
Service; very disapointed in the server, only because he didn't really "ham it up" like the other servers were. He was quite dull in that regard. Otherwise he did a good job as a regular server, but we were hoping for the "hamming up here" and look forward to that. Other areas looked to be having a real "hoot". Food came out incredibly quickly; for sure they must have it on an assembly line.
Atmosphere; excellent. We love the theming here and having the TV at our table was alot of fun.
Fried chicken (me, DD and DH); excellent. Great value. Everything tasted hot and fresh. Chicken was moist and tender - even the white meat. DH and I could have shared this one for sure. DD could not finish hers - left one piece of chicken, but ate all her mashed potatoes AND beans....she's a good eater that one.
Kids hot dog??? or something like that (DS) - they're all basically the same.
1 milkshake - excellent.
We truly had no room for dessert and couldn't imaging being on the DDP and having to eat all that food! We also prefer to drink water rather than pop with our meals anyway, so wouldn't have like to be ordering the pop all the time.
Total with discount $42
Discount $10
Bahama Breeze; Off site; Vineland Ave
Wait time: Almost 90 minutes!!!! yes I said 90 minutes!!!!! the hostess told us one hour when we arrived...needless to say we were a bit antsy - by now it is after 9pm!!!! Well she realized we were a bit disappointed (to put it mildly), so she told the manager and he came to our table and couldn't have been nicer about it - we got free drinks and appetizers!!!! Unfortunately by now we were exhausted and just wanted to go home....
Service; Excellent after we actually go seated!!!!
Atmoshphere; Caribbean, tropical, casual.
Caribbean Nachos; out of this world delicious.
Coconut shrimp (signature item); ditto.
DH had a Jamaican beer and I had the special Bahama Breeze margarita; possible the best Margarita I have ever tasted (and I've had quite a few).
Kids each got a special tropical smoothie thing that was excellent.
DH and I split the fish entree (can't remember what kind now); would not have been enough if we hadn't had appetizers, but was absolutely delicious.
DS had their flatbread pizza and declared it was the best pizza he'd ever had (again I might mention that he is no food critic by any means). He only ate 2 pieces and we took the rest back to the room for his lunch the next day.
DD had some kind of caribean sandwich - like a sub really - she liked it - looked like an ordinary sandwhich.
Total; $35 (does not include free bees)
Beaches and Cream (lunch)
Wait time; none because we ate at the counter, otherwise would have been 20 minutes.
Service; a bit slow.
Atmosphere; wonderful; like an old time ice cream parlor, complete with older gentleman behind the counter serving up the ice cream - very sweet.
Cheeseburgers (DH, DD and DS/me shared one) - 2 with fries, one with onion rings (they charge extra for this, but didn't tell us this). DH and DD declared best burger they've ever tasted. I thought mine tasted like a frozen patty....just goes to show everyone has their own opinion.
No way Jose; large and delicious; all 4 of us shared. However, for large appetites it would only serve 2, but DS doesn't eat much at all, basically 3 of us shared.
while we were there one table ordered the kitchen sink....a table with 3 moms and several very small children....all who had just finished hot dogs and fries....this thing was HUGE.......I mean HUGE.......I can't imagine that they could even have made a dent in it. We took a picture of them because it looked so comical.
Total with discount: $28
Discount: $7
Planet Hollywood; - dinner
Wait time; less than 5 minutes.
Service; just ok; didn't refill our waters, or come and ask how our food was - she was just in training.....
Atmosphere; noisy, but fun. Very cold in there.
California Lasagne(me) absolutely excellent, but very filling - DH and I could have shared this one.
Turkey Club (DH - thought is was very good, tasted just like any old club sandwich to me at a high price.
Pasta Pomodor (DD) - she loves pasta - she ate it all up.
1 kids s/mballs - without the tomato sauce - just butter/cheese - DS likes things plain. Very generous portion and he ate it all.
2 caesar salads to share - generous portions and tasty. Waitress tried to convince us we each needed one, but 2 of us shared just fine.
Total with discount; $50
Discount; $12
Sweet Tomatoes Salad Buffet - International Drive near Belz outlet - lunch.
Wait time; none
Service; buffet
Atmosphere; do not go here for the atmosphere, go here for the food/value.
This was by far the best value and tasty food we had this week. We felt so "healthy" after we ate here.
$7 per person for all you can eat; huge variety of salads, soups, pasta, ice cream and dessert.
The salads were all fresh and tasty. Large assortment.
The soups are all made from scratch and were delicious. Again a large variety of soups (probably 8-10).
3 pasta choices that were not great.
The big draw is the soup and salad.
ice cream sundaes for dessert with toppings.
My kids loved it here. We all loved it here and would definately return again if we have a car. We would have gone back, but we didn't have a car the second week. DS kept asking to go back there.
Total; $25
Chevy's off site; Vineland Ave in the mall with Goodings etc. near DD - lunch
Tex Mex; the food here was again excellent, some original and unusual mexican selection, but also standard fare. Very tasty and portions were quite generous. Reasonable prices (especially compared to Disney)
Taco Salad DD; possible the largest Taco Salad I have ever seen.
Combo platter (DH and me shared); more than enough for the both of us.
DS did not order anything, but survived on the chips they put on the table and some stuff of our plate.
Well that's it for week # 1. Stay tuned for week # 2 - we were at the POLy and ate at Crystal Palace, California Grille, Kona, Whispering Canyon, Chef Mickey, Spoodles, the Biergarten.
these reveiws are alot of work, but I remember how helpful it was for me to read all the reveiws before I went, so its the least I can do!!!!
,
Dh wouldnt let me photo the Earthquake ice cream at Ghiraldellis. I did manage to photo Ohanas though when e was busy eating. 
