abminer
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2005
- Messages
- 462
Hey folks. I’m finally getting around to starting my dining review of our trip - 4 nights/5 days at WL on the DDP (12/13-12/17/07).
This was my second time on the dining plan (I got hooked after the first free dining offer), but a first for my family members. This nostalgia trip was their first to the world in 13 years and a first holiday-time trip for all. They never seemed to grasp the way the DDP works, but more on that later.
Cast of characters:
1. Me- age 30, OCD dis planner and WDW fanatic. I am a bit of a foodie and an amatuer pastry chef. I love everything from fine dining to a great, divey diner. My sweet tooth is unstoppable.
2. DSis- 26, vegetarian, but easy going. Likes Asian food and coffee.
3.DMom- age undisclosed
. The pickiest eater of the bunch. Likes things very plain (always gets sauces, dressing on the side) and does not like spicy food at all. She also has a sweet tooth, but doesn't like chocolate much.
4.DDad- age undisclosed too
. Also a food lover and the only real drinker of the lot. He likes good wine and good steaks (and creme brulee, though he's not a big dessert eater in general).
One issue that complicated things was that DSis and I were one reservation/package so we had our credits pooled while our parents had another. I had plotted out all of our credits before we went, of course. The way I approached the separate plans was to treat snacks and CS credits like we had one big pool. I'd buy one meal for all of us then DDad would do the next one and so on. You cannot do this on the TS credits so that left us having to tell our servers that I'd be using x# of credits and the other pair would use...
Here's what I'll be reviewing (in order):
Wolfgang Puck Express (lunch)
Goofy's Candy Cauldron
Cosmic Ray's (dinner)
Roaring Fork (breakfasts and dinner)
Pizzafari (lunch)
Kona Cafe (dinner)
Sunshine Seasons (lunch)
Biergarten (dinner)
Crystal Palace (breakfast)
Liberty Tree Tavern (lunch)
Main St. Bakery (breakfast)
Whispering Canyon Cafe (lunch)
* I'll add the $ value when I know it. Some places gave a receipt that showed the $ amount others didn't. If I was looking at the register I wrote down what I saw.
Day 1-Wolfgang Puck Express, Goofy's Candy Cauldron and Cosmic Ray's
Wolfgang Puck Express:
It took a little over an hour to Magical Express from MCO to WL. We arrived around 12:30 and our rooms were ready! By the time we arrived at DTD it was close to 2pm and we were all starved.
I'd read that WPE was a good deal on the DDP and we didn't have park
tickets for our first day (just MVMCP tix) so off we went to lunch and shop at DTD.
The place was close to empty. There was one group ahead of us on the line. We had looked over the menu outside and had our first of many quasi-arguments about what to order and what you get on the DDP. I told
them we'd use 3 credits and my parents seemed stunned that we didn't
all get our own. My mom never quite figured out that the division of credits was my engineering-not Disney's. Anyway, I went in to order for all
of us and took DSis while the parents got a table outside. The outside seating is covered and nice.
You order and pay inside and are given a sign with a number for your table so a server can come out and bring you your food. Also, they have the self
service soda machines here which I like.
We ordered the following:
1. Pizza margharita w/a mango iced tea and a chocolate chocolate chip cookie. *the cookies are prewrapped, but fresh and are out in huge baskets
near the registers. They only had choco choco chip as far as I could see so that's what I got*
2. Penne with chicken bolognese sauce, soda and a brownie.
*the brownies were not in the baskets and the CM said it would come out
with the food, but never did, I asked when they brought the stuff and
that guy said he'd run back to get one and never returned. Before we
left I went back to the counter and a manger-type guy was there. He said
they'd just taken a batch from the oven and ran back and got me one for the road.*
3.Warm roasted veggie sandwich with soda and creme brulee.
The plan was that DMom and Dsis would share the veggie sandwich, DDad
and I would split the pasta and we'd all try the pizza. I also figured we'd each try the creme brulee and then pocket the other desserts since I wanted us to all hit goofy's before we left DTD.
Turns out the pizza was great! We all loved it. I should have gotten two as I know Puck is "the" pizza guy. The veggie sandwich was nice, kinda a crisp flatbed rolled up into a sandwich. Sadly, the pasta was totally blah. DMom had advocated for a salad when we decided what to get and pointed out that we should have listened to her as these huge salads came out to other tables. Ddad loves pasta as do I and we barely touched this stuff. My completely forgetting to photograph it is another sign that it didn't go over well. I'd say the pizza was an A, the veggie pita was a B+, and the pasta was a B-/C+.
The mango iced is unsweetened, sadly. I'm a sweet tea lover and soon discovered that almost all iced tea at WDW is unsweetened.
The brulee was pretty good. A really nice treat from a CS place. Turns out the cookie and brownie made it home with me in the end. The cookie was
just ok, but the brownie was good. It's an odd brownie, very thin, with
choco chips. It is very rich and has a dark chocolate flavor.
Overall- I'd say this was an A- CS place. Just stick to the pizzas. It's
a good value on the DDP, better than most CS for sure and having it brought to your table is nice. Value $47.02
This was my second time on the dining plan (I got hooked after the first free dining offer), but a first for my family members. This nostalgia trip was their first to the world in 13 years and a first holiday-time trip for all. They never seemed to grasp the way the DDP works, but more on that later.
Cast of characters:
1. Me- age 30, OCD dis planner and WDW fanatic. I am a bit of a foodie and an amatuer pastry chef. I love everything from fine dining to a great, divey diner. My sweet tooth is unstoppable.
2. DSis- 26, vegetarian, but easy going. Likes Asian food and coffee.
3.DMom- age undisclosed

4.DDad- age undisclosed too

One issue that complicated things was that DSis and I were one reservation/package so we had our credits pooled while our parents had another. I had plotted out all of our credits before we went, of course. The way I approached the separate plans was to treat snacks and CS credits like we had one big pool. I'd buy one meal for all of us then DDad would do the next one and so on. You cannot do this on the TS credits so that left us having to tell our servers that I'd be using x# of credits and the other pair would use...
Here's what I'll be reviewing (in order):
Wolfgang Puck Express (lunch)
Goofy's Candy Cauldron
Cosmic Ray's (dinner)
Roaring Fork (breakfasts and dinner)
Pizzafari (lunch)
Kona Cafe (dinner)
Sunshine Seasons (lunch)
Biergarten (dinner)
Crystal Palace (breakfast)
Liberty Tree Tavern (lunch)
Main St. Bakery (breakfast)
Whispering Canyon Cafe (lunch)
* I'll add the $ value when I know it. Some places gave a receipt that showed the $ amount others didn't. If I was looking at the register I wrote down what I saw.
Day 1-Wolfgang Puck Express, Goofy's Candy Cauldron and Cosmic Ray's
Wolfgang Puck Express:
It took a little over an hour to Magical Express from MCO to WL. We arrived around 12:30 and our rooms were ready! By the time we arrived at DTD it was close to 2pm and we were all starved.
I'd read that WPE was a good deal on the DDP and we didn't have park
tickets for our first day (just MVMCP tix) so off we went to lunch and shop at DTD.
The place was close to empty. There was one group ahead of us on the line. We had looked over the menu outside and had our first of many quasi-arguments about what to order and what you get on the DDP. I told
them we'd use 3 credits and my parents seemed stunned that we didn't
all get our own. My mom never quite figured out that the division of credits was my engineering-not Disney's. Anyway, I went in to order for all
of us and took DSis while the parents got a table outside. The outside seating is covered and nice.
You order and pay inside and are given a sign with a number for your table so a server can come out and bring you your food. Also, they have the self
service soda machines here which I like.
We ordered the following:
1. Pizza margharita w/a mango iced tea and a chocolate chocolate chip cookie. *the cookies are prewrapped, but fresh and are out in huge baskets
near the registers. They only had choco choco chip as far as I could see so that's what I got*


2. Penne with chicken bolognese sauce, soda and a brownie.
*the brownies were not in the baskets and the CM said it would come out
with the food, but never did, I asked when they brought the stuff and
that guy said he'd run back to get one and never returned. Before we
left I went back to the counter and a manger-type guy was there. He said
they'd just taken a batch from the oven and ran back and got me one for the road.*
3.Warm roasted veggie sandwich with soda and creme brulee.


The plan was that DMom and Dsis would share the veggie sandwich, DDad
and I would split the pasta and we'd all try the pizza. I also figured we'd each try the creme brulee and then pocket the other desserts since I wanted us to all hit goofy's before we left DTD.
Turns out the pizza was great! We all loved it. I should have gotten two as I know Puck is "the" pizza guy. The veggie sandwich was nice, kinda a crisp flatbed rolled up into a sandwich. Sadly, the pasta was totally blah. DMom had advocated for a salad when we decided what to get and pointed out that we should have listened to her as these huge salads came out to other tables. Ddad loves pasta as do I and we barely touched this stuff. My completely forgetting to photograph it is another sign that it didn't go over well. I'd say the pizza was an A, the veggie pita was a B+, and the pasta was a B-/C+.
The mango iced is unsweetened, sadly. I'm a sweet tea lover and soon discovered that almost all iced tea at WDW is unsweetened.

The brulee was pretty good. A really nice treat from a CS place. Turns out the cookie and brownie made it home with me in the end. The cookie was
just ok, but the brownie was good. It's an odd brownie, very thin, with
choco chips. It is very rich and has a dark chocolate flavor.
Overall- I'd say this was an A- CS place. Just stick to the pizzas. It's
a good value on the DDP, better than most CS for sure and having it brought to your table is nice. Value $47.02