7 Days of Eating...5 days of food photos!

[slavike]

Hello Everyone.

Just back from WDW, where we ate ourselves silly. Yeah Dining Plan!
The Cast:

DH - Age 34. More concerned about the Browns Draft pick than where we were eating. He made friends with any man with questions about the draft. Friendly. Generally thinks all food is "Good".
DS - Age 3. Likes Chicken Nuggets, grapes, and itzakadoozie popsicles. Hates Characters. Would fight going on rides, but would love them once he was on them. A great eater, who lost all manners when ever we would sit down to eat dinner.
Me - 30, 6 months pregnant tends to eat with my eyes. Disney Veteran who has gone every year since she was 3.

Please Note: My DH HATED me taking photos at dinner or lunch. I was able to most times at dinners, but he really was embarrased by the photo snaps. I was able to take as many photos as I liked as I had to wrangle the 3 year old. I didn't take photos of the counter service as I again was trying to wrangle a 3 year old.

Counter Service:
Captain Cook's at the Poly, Pizza Planet MGM, Columbia Harbor House MK, Sunshine Season's @ The Land in Epcot, Restaurantsaourus at AK, Electric Umbrella MK, Pinocchio's Village Haus MK, Hot Dog Cart outside of Hall of Presidents by Liberty Boat in MK.

Table Service:
Liberty Tree Tavern (Photos), Ohana's (Coconut Race Photo, no food), Spoodles (Photos), Wolfgang Pucks's Cafe (No Photos), Le Cellier (Photos), Poly Luau (No Photos), Coral Reef (Photos).

Day 1 Posting Next...

 

[slavike]

After checking in to the poly and checking out the hotel my Husband called for some grub. We debated between Kona Cafe and Captain Cook's. I decided on Captain Cook's, since I wanted to get to the pool.

Captain Cook's has been through a complete remodel in the last year. The ordering system is done via Computer Touch screens, which are extremely easy to use. However, they don't tell you that you need to check out in order to get a buzzer for your food. That was a little confusing, but we figured it out. The people who check us out on the first day were just plain mean. The checkout lady had obviously just reached her limit. She was the only unpleasant CM our entire trip. The poly resort uses WELL WATER. They also use this in their taps and soda fountains. It gave a funny taste to all of the fountain drinks including the apple juice, which made me regret getting the 12 dollar mug. I advise that you try a sample and you decide for yourself.

I ordered the Adult Grilled Cheese, 3 cheeses, blue, cheddar and mozzerella on with tomatoe on multi-grain bread. Served with Poly Chips (fresh tortilla chips and sweet potatoe chips. It was very tasty. Cooked to perfection and very big for a sandwich. However, the cheese's were described on the menu and being pregnant I didn't want to eat too much of the blue cheese. The chips that came with it were great.

My husband ordered the Turkey Club sandwich which also came on the multi-grain bread and with the Poly Chips. He loved this sandwich, which he would order again later in the week.

My son had the traditional Disney chicken strips. These are also great. I look forward to these all year. My son loves the Ken's Honey Dijon that they have for dipping sauces, which he also uses on his french fries.

Again, the food here is great, but Cafe is very badly organized. People are darting in and out. There is no flow and not a great deal of direction given on how everything works. More than once here, we heard people complain of how frustrated they were. Keep that in mind should you visit.

For dinner that night we went to the Liberty Tavern Character Dinning at MK. My son was not a big fan of characters in the Fall and that again proved to be true.

The food here is served via pre-set menu in a family style service. There are additional items available for children under nine, but we declined. The meal started with the Patriot Salad. This a field green salad with onions, olives, and tomatoes. The dressing is Strawberry Vinegrette, already on the salad. However, it's the perfect amount. The salad was very tasty and we ate it all. Even the little guy.
Next came the fresh bread, which we reminded me of the Pillsbury Frozen rolls, but they had salty brine to them. They were delicious.
Next came the entree's of Rosted Turkey, Ham and Roast Beef. The side dishes that accompany them were Macaroni and Cheese, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes and roasted green beans and carrots.
The Ham was okay, nothing great just ham. The Roast Turkey was delicious, a little dry, but very good. They serve a gravy, but I am not a fan of gravy so I didn't try it. The roast beef was the best offering and my husband ordered 2nds.
The Macaroni & Cheese is in fact stouffer's I work for Nestle (who owns stouffer's) and all it was missing the burnt crust from the sides. The Stuffing was good, but something from a box of some sort...yet it was good. The best was the veggies, the had a light garlic butter on them. We are semi-raw no butter veggie eaters so this was change for us. We liked them very much. My son ate only the veggies for dinner, as he's not a big meat eater yet.
All in all the DH and I gave it 3 out 5 stars.
It wasn't the greatest meal of our lives, but it was good comfort food.
For those interested in the Characters, they were extremely interactive but at the same time understood when my son would freak out at the sight of them.
They came around 4 times during our meal. My husband enjoyed them alot!

Next Day 2....

 

[Scornelius]

Great start! I can't wait to read more!

 

[slavike]

We woke up the morning of day 2 got a quick bite from Captian Cook's (Banana's & Kellogg's Cereals) and caught the bus to MGM. This is always a half day park for us, as we don't like alot of the stuff there. We hit Playhouse Disney Live and The Backlot Tour.
My son then had his favorite "Rainbow" popsicle or "Itzakadoozie". These are very large popsicles and we had learned from past experiences that our son can't eat it all. If you have a little one who can't eat one all by them selves we recommend Breaking 1/2 of it off in the wrapper and giving them the other half. This worked out well for us.
After the Stunt show we wandered over to Pizza Planet. My son has been talking about this since last September's visit.
There is no Kids menu here, so they order from the adult menu and it counts as a Kids DDP Counter Service.
All 3 of us had the cheese pizza meal, I believe it is the "Woody". This meal includes, Beverage, Pizza and a Side Salad. The pizza is "personal" size or the size of a 8" Paper plate, like you would get at a ballgame, it was okay...but not great by any means. They are pretty big for the preschooler, so you may even be able to split it. We would have had we known before hand. The side salad is nothing to write home about, an Iceberg lettuce salad with carrots and tomatoes. The dressings are Ken's prepackaged and included Blue Cheese, Light Ranch, Italian, and French.
The deserts we got with our meal as part of DDP were 2 Mickey mouse Rice Krispy Treats on a stick and a chocolate chip cookie. The cookie was very good.
This was not the best food, but it was filling and a change from the chicken strips/burgers.
The atmosphere of Pizza planet is like Chuck E. Cheese, which my son really enjoyed but was happy to leave. However, it's like Chuck E. Cheese and we saw quite a few families struggling to get their little ones out the door.

For Dinner that night we had 6pm ADR's for Ohana's. Due to the numerous postings here, I was very excited to eat there. It was my husband's first time there and the hostess was very good at giving him the tour.

I don't have any food photos as my husband was embarrased by the food photos and the food came like wildfire.

First,let me start of by saying my Husband needs to have his food paced. His biggest pet peeve is getting entree's before he is done with his appetizers or salad. Ohana's was not for him.

First the bring out there salad, which is roman lettuce blend with maui onions and peppercini's. The dressing is a sweet onion vingrette. It was very tasty and all was going well. Then things started to get hairy.

Out came the appetizers, the Coriander Wings, Peel & Eat Shrimp & Wonton Chips with 3 different dips, a oil and herb, a roasted red pepper and a thai peanut dip. They were generous portions considering we had ordered a seperate kids meal for our 3 year old. A standard hot dog and french fries. Although he enjoyed the Wonton chips a great deal. No sooner had my Husband began on his shrimp, then they brought around skewers of different meats. We politely declined saying we weren't ready yet, but they were followed by our server with the side dishes. These included Stir-Fry Veggies and Maui Scalloped potatoes.
So now our table is at capacity and my husband is feeling rushed. To top it off the girls are coming around with the meat skewers endlessly and the entertainment for the children has begun.

So let's start with the Apps. They were all very good, the wings were my favorite and I had quite a few of those. I am not a fan of peelin my shrimp so I passed on those but my husband said they had a good flavor. The Wonton Chips were light and fresh, we all enjoyed them, the dips were okay, the peanut dip was the winner of the group. However, due to the pacing, we weren't the able to enjoy any app very much.

Next were the sides and entree meats. The Stir Fry veggies were overwhelmed with peppers, and it was all you tasted. They weren't very good. The Maui potatoes were delicious and I had 2 helpings of those. My husband didn't really like them, but I think he was just upset for being rushed. The meats were a roaste beef, turkey, pork and pork sasuage. All were very good and were season and cooked to perfection. They were delicious, however my husband could barely move due to the amount of food on the table. He and the family next to us started a conversation on how rushed we were, and the family next to them joined in. No one was happy with the pacing and we all had different servers so we determined that this just must be the pace of things.

At this point our family took a short break to enjoy the coconut races. We left our food in place and got up from our table.

My son loved the coconut races.

However, when we got back all the food on our table, and the peoples next to us was gone. My husband was furious, but very polite. Our server came around with new plates for everyone and the skewer girls followed. Yet, just as my husband dug in, our hostess was at our table with our desert.
I politely declined so that My husband could finish. No more than 2 minutes later our server was back with our deserts and my husband gave up.

All in all the food quality was very good and everything tasted great. But for us part of dinning out is the experience itself. It was just a bad experience for us.

This was my husband worst meal of the week. He gave it a 1 out of 5 stars because he couldn't enjoy anything.
I gave it a 3 out of 5 because everything was very yummy but we just had a bad night there.

 

[BrerMama]

Great reviews! Can't wait to read more!

 

[luvtogo12]

Great reviews. Looking forward to more.
DH is not thrilled that I made ADR's for O'Hana's. I was going to "force" him into going just because I want to go there.
After reading your review, I think DH would be miserable so I will cancel. Dont need a miserable DH on vacation just because I want to try a place.

 

[MicheinMA]

We had the exact same experience at Ohana's. For the most part we really enjoyed the taste of the food but couldn't enjoy it because it all kept coming at once. I would give it another shot but Al said no for the next trip. Oh well!

 

[katebeth]

I have to totally agree with you about O'hana's. We felt very rushed also. All of our food came out at the same time. Even though it tasted really good, we could not appreciate it because we felt like we needed to eat as fast as we could to get out of there. Not one of my DH's favorite places either...for this very reason

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

I was worried about the pace of Ohana as well. However, I have eaten there twice and never once felt rushed. This could be due in part to the fact that both my ADRs have been for 5:30 (early in dinner service) and maybe they aren't as pressed to turn tables at that point? We love Ohana, but to each their own

 

[donaldtutter]

great reviews so far. looking forward to the rest.

 

[TigerKat]

We stopped going to Ohana years ago for the same reason. Looking forward to the rest of your reviews!

 

[slavike]

Day 3 and we were back to MK. With a preschooler, it's the place to be. My husband's favorite counter service is Columbia Harbour House and I have to agree, the food there is just great for Counter Service and the fact the upstairs was virutally empty was a bonus. The only down side is the line to place the orders, it always seems slower there.
My husband got the Anchor's Aweigh Tuna Sandwich. He's not a tuna eater in general, but he says that this place has the best tuna sandwich anywhere. It didn't disappoint him at all and he said it was great as usual. I got the Galley Salad, which is mixed green salad grilled chicken, pecans, pineapple and feta cheese. It was very tasty. Not to many pecans, which I appreciated.
My son did not like the selections for for kids which were grilled chicken or macaroni and cheese. The CM said they could replace the grilled chicken with the chicken strips and we were in the money. Now I know there is a lot of debate regarding the desert offered with the Kids Meal...but my son doesn't normally eat desert at lunch so this was never a problem. It was the Sugar Free Jello nearly everywhere, but we just opted out. For him the Grapes are like a desert, and he eats them with great joy.
After an afternoon swim and a brief rest at the Hotel we headed towards Epcot for our Dinner Reservations at Spoodles at the Boardwalk.
After taking World Showcase, we were ready.
I had heard a lot of mixed reviews of Spoodles and from past experiences, the food has been hit or miss.
It was definately a hit for us this time.
First, on the walk over to boardwalk our son fell asleep in the stroller, so we were able to enjoy our meal kid free. YEAHHHHH!!!!!

We were seated very promptly for our 6:40 ADR. Our server was very cute, perky, and knowledgable. Now one of the reason we choose this place is that my husband loves the Fetticini Alfredo at this restuarant. Much to his dismay they no longer have this on the menu. So he was forced to looked for an alternative, but was very happy in the end.
For our Starters we went with the Greek Salad and Four Cheese Flat bread assumming we would share. However, the Greek Salad should have been called mixed pepper salad, and was a majority of peppers and onions with little to no green. So I passed. My husband loved this salad. He said it was so tasty he could have gotten another. So I settled on the Four Cheese Flat Bread...when to my great delight out came the house bread and olive tepanade dipping sauce. I was in heaven. I love olives.

The Tepanade was a light olive oil, olive and pepper blend, but the pepper taste wasn't over whelming and it was delight!

The bread was fresh and crusty....delicious!
For my entree I ordered the Rigatoni, the new pasta offering based on the servers opinion between that and the Angle Hair Shrimp pasta.

The server was dead on. It was a puttanesca sauce with a gentle blend of small pieces of mild italian sausage. The sauce was light, creamy and to die for. I had to stop my self from eating it all.
My Husband ordered the Steak Kabobs, still distraught over the loss of the Alfredo.

However, he was very pleased once he dug in. He thought being a kabob that the meat would be tough, but that was completely the opposite. It cooked to perfection a mediterrian marinade. Instead of chewy, it was tender and delicious. It came with a rice pilaf and he also thought that this was very tasty. He finished every bite.
Now for desert....I don't have pictures of these, because just as they arrived my son awoke. So I had to settle him down.
I ordered the vanilla creme brulee..not the best I have ever had but good none the less. My DH got the Vanilla Sunday, which he loved once he saw the presentation. It was like an artist palette of toppings, which my son enjoyed a great deal.
All in all this was an easy 4 out of 5 stars for the both of us. The food was good, the service was good, and we found unexpected delights. Now I just need to convince my mom to try it again.

 

[2manypets]

We had the opposite experience at Ohanas. The waitress must have been on her way to another table with the skewers and instead plopped a bunch of dried up meat on our plates and left. Someone else brough our drinks. and then we didn't see her again until we were so frustrated, we just told her to get our ticket. No sides, no apps, nothing but inedible meat. Never again.

Looking foward to reading more reviews, all the other places looks good so far.

 

[DisneyJo]

Loving your reviews can't wait for more

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

I love your review and look forward to reading more!

We've never eaten dinner at Spoodles, but hope to rectify this on our visit in December! It looks so yummy!

 

[Booknut]

Loving the reviews so far! Your son is adorable, especially in the coconut race!

 

[TheDisneyClan]

When going to Ohana we simply let our severs know that we will inform them when we are ready for the next course. We've never had a problem with being rushed since doing this.

 

[DiszyDean]

We have eaten at Ohana the last 2 years and have an ADR scheduled for this year..To be honest, I am considering changing it.

In 2005, Ohana was the best place we ate at. (Pre-menu change). Service was great, food was great, atmosphere was great.

Last year, Ohana was probably the worst place we ate. Service was horrible, food was cold and I didn't like the change in their shrimp from grilled to served as a side. Atmosphere was still ok but seemed a lot more over the top than in 2005, not sure why. I think we did not get one refill although we requested several times and at times it did not even seem like we had a waitress assigned to our table. We hardly saw her.

I will probably see if we can get a reservation for Whispering Canyon Cafe instead, which we did for the first time last year and enjoyed.

 

[slavike]

Day four, we headed over to Epcot to tackle future world. After spending most of the moning in the The Seas with Nemo, we headed over to the land. My son was in great spirits so we were able to do everything, even get him on Soarin'...he's 42" tall. He loved it. After soarin we tackled the food court at Seasons. The set up was a little confusing to my husband who hadn't been there since the remodel but it was well worth the confusion.
I opted for the Chicken Ceaser Salad which was at the same station as my son's Mac and Cheese. My husband headed over to the deli, he got the turkey sandwich with rosted red pepper dressing and muenster cheese.
Let me just say the salad was THE BEST I have ever had. Period. It was wonderful. The perfect amount of dressing and cheese and chicken and croutons. It was so fresh and light..it was wonderful.
My huband also like his sandwich he said it was good but didn't rave about it. What he like best was the Oh Henry Candy Bar he got as DDP desert. My son didn't eat a drop of his Macaroni & Cheese, but all the grapes that came with it. He started to head south, and the first fight between father and son occured. My husband is a big proponent of you everything in front of you and my son is a big fan of looking around, playing with his utensils and generally annoying his father. My salad was the highlight of the meal.
We then back to the hotel, swam and I took a little nap.
Afterwards, my husband was geared up for his favorite restaurant of all time Wolfgang Pucks Cafe in DTD.
I didn't take my camera with me that night because I just wanted to be free, free of all bags...it was wonderful.
We had ADR's for 6:30, when we got there, there was a line out the door and it took until 6:45 to even get to the hostess podium. Once we did we were seated right away.
I started out with the Butternut Squash soup, which is favorite of mine and it didn't disappoint. My DH got the Blue Crab Cakes and seemed to like them, although I got the usual, "They are good".
We got the Four Cheese Pizza for our son, and between us stealing bites and him devouring it since he missed lunch, it went very quickly and was very good.
I usually get the Filet here but I decided to be different ad go for the Pumpkin Ravioli. My husband went for Veal Wienerschnitzel. They arrived quickly but well paced with the appetizers. My husbands Veal Wienerschnitzel was in his own words, interesting, different and worth the try. He's not sure if he would order it gain, but he did think it was good. Mine on the other hand, was not that great and I was very disappointed. It was in a very oily pine nut sauce, and the ravioli was odd tasting. Not horrible but the pumpkin I expected to be mellow, but instead was very sweet and the nutmeg was a bit too much. I was able to get one ravioli down, but that was it. I was hoping for so much more. I should have gone with what I know and love.
All in all we gave it a 3 out of 5 stars.
It's one of our favorite restaurants still, and we will go back next time. It's fun to experience different foods, but some time you go bust like me. My husband really enjoyed his entire meal. We didn't order desert because we were both pretty full and my husband had his eye on the dole whip machine inside captian cooks. When we got back he made a beeline and enjoyed his dole whip as we watched the MK fireworks from our balcony at the Poly.
Next Day 5...

 

[DeeCeeSW]

First,let me start of by saying my Husband needs to have his food paced. His biggest pet peeve is getting entree's before he is done with his appetizers or salad. Ohana's was not for him.

First the bring out there salad, which is roman lettuce blend with maui onions and peppercini's. The dressing is a sweet onion vingrette. It was very tasty and all was going well. Then things started to get hairy.

The salad dressing on the 'Ohana salad is normally a honey lime. If that has changed I will be very upset!!!!