9 Day DDP Reviews

[mulderxcoltrane]

Hello everyone,
We've never written dining reviews before, but it will most likely be 4-5 years before we can afford to visit again, so we wanted a way to extend our WDW experience. These are only our opinions and we understand many of you may have opposite (for better or worse) experiences.

On the 5-hour car ride home from the airport, my wife and I talked about what info helped us from all of your dining reviews and synthesized them into our own. We have reviewed our meals on 3 different levels all on a scale of 1-10:
1) Food Quality (FQ)
2) Food Value (FV)
3) Atmosphere (AT)

Food Quality
This is a simple category of how good we thought the food was. In most cases, we agreed, but in the few cases we did not - we will tell you so.

Food Value
This was a tough category to lock down how to evaluate. We decided on this: We were on the DDP on a trial run (since it was just us and a free 2-year old). When we return in the future there will be at least two kids to pay for - so DDP is out of the question b/c (and this becomes important in our reviews) we are not big eaters. Therefore - our ratings in this category reflect whether or not the food would have been worth it had we paid out of pocket.

Atmosphere
Was the place suitable to talk with our family (total of 7 people in all)? Where the characters interactive?
Other factors in this category will be detailed on a case-by-case basis.
Note: We did not include service in this category b/c we understand that 2 parties could have extremely different experiences based on the different servers whether on the same or different nights, seasons, times of day, etc. As a result we did not factor quality of service into our decisions. Any thoughts on service will be listed separately.

Hope this all makes sense. I'm a researcher for a living - so I have to make sure my criteria are established clearly beforehand. Please excuse my nerdiness.

Feel free to subscribe as it may take awhile to find time to put our reviews up
The restaurants we will review are:

Table Service
Boma (Breakfast) = Post #2
Chef Mickey's (Dinner) = Post #9
Crystal Palace (Breakfast) = Post #12
Garden Grill (Dinner) = Post #14
Kona (Dinner) = Post #19
Le Cellier (Dinner) = Post #26
Liberty Tree Tavern (Lunch) = Post #28
Mama Melrose (Dinner) = Post #32
O'Hana (Dinner)
Planet Hollywood (Dinner)

Counter Service
Backlot Express (MGM)
Columbia Harbor House (MK)
Flame Tree BBQ (AK)
Sunshine Seasons (EP)

 

[mulderxcoltrane]

This was a last-minute decision and was (with the exception of Le Cellier) our favorite meal of the trip.

FQ: 10/10
The buffet had the normal breakfast fare of eggs, bacon, etc. but also had a LARGE variety of amazing pastries and fruits. The carved meats were also a nice touch. We didn't have time to try the omelettes. The other food was always hot and the fruit juice mixture of the day was out of this world...we had to pry it from my 2-year old's hands.

FV: 10/10
As far as Disney meals go - this was a bargain (compared to other buffets). I believe it was $19 which was well worth it - we will book this meal early when we return without the DDP.

AT: 10/10
The resort (we normally stay at Values) was gorgeous and we could actually hear each other talk at our table.

 

[phabric]

Looking forward to reading more of your reviews.

 

[TigerKat]

Subscribing...

 

[KatMark]

Subscribing

 

[John's Mom]

Thanks for posting your reviews. Boma is our favorite buffet breakfast and buffet dinner.

 

[ampc3]

I'm on...

 

[sandybobandy]

I'm looking forward to more!

 

[mulderxcoltrane]

We ate here for the purpose of celebrating our son's 2nd birthday.

FQ: 6/10
What food there was (I'll get to that next) was good - but not fantastic. We like our steak cooked medium well to well done and the prime rib wasn't much more than medium. However - that is a personal choice. The prime rib that was advertised as more well done was not much different than the other cut.

The mashed potatoes were excellent and our 2-year old loved the mac & cheese. The dessert selection/bar was the highlight of the meal.

FV: 2.5/10
Had we not been on the DDP and paid $30 (plus tip) out of pocket, we would have been extremely disappointed. I do have to once again declare that neither of us are huge eaters, but the selection of dishes really influenced our rating in this category. As we tried to peg down specific things we thought were missing, it seemed to us as if there could have been a few more "main dishes." Even if there was, spending over $30 out of pocket for so-so food will not be in the cards next trip.

AT: 9/10
Obviously, this is where Chef Mickey's gets its reputation. Our birthday boy got top-notch attention from the Fab-Five. They were each at our table at least twice and he got quite a few kisses from Minnie (which resulted in our buying a Minnie doll form the nearest store...our only impulse purchase of the trip). It is a plus that the resort/restaurant is very close to the MK using Disney Transportation. The only reason this rating is a 9 instead of a 10 was b/c it was quite loud inside. Our son also LOVES trains and was wide-eyed every time the Monorail passed throught the resort.

 

[BCV23]

We love Boma's breakfast too. The omelettes are wonderful and the fruit is always so good and perfectly ripe.

 

[my3disneygirls]

Great reviews so far. I am looking forward to more.

 

[mulderxcoltrane]

FQ: 8/10
The food was nothing fancy, but was good for buffet food. Everything was hot and there was plenty to eat. Unlike Boma, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary...which can be a plus or a minus depending on your food tastes.

FV: 9/10
Very similar in price to Boma, so b/c of the atmosphere (discussed next) the $19 a person would have been worth it had we paid OOP.

AT: 10/10
This is where Crystal Palace really shined in our eyes.
We had an 8:05 ADR so were in the park before the crowds and we already in the park when we were done eating instead of having to hop on a bus. The Winnie the Pooh characters were great with our son which a great plus for us. He was brought a cupcake and birthday card for his birthday. The place was a bit loud - but that is to be expected for a character breakfast.

 

[Crazy4disknee]

I appreciate the rating system. Easy to follow. I am looking forward to your next post.

 

[mulderxcoltrane]

Our family style offerings included turkey with cranberry dressing, steak with mushroom sauce, bread, Cheesy potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and apple crisp for dessert.

FQ: 7/10
The turkey was extremely dry without the cranberry sauce. The food also did not stay hot very very long (after one serving each - if we went to the plates for 2nds, it was already cold). We did enjoy three different choices of bread (including delicious cornbread).

FV: 4/10
As previously stated we are not big eaters. Even if we were, we didn't feel the food was worth $28+ had we paid OOP. Bottom line: Good choice to save $ on DDP; bad choice if paying OOP.

AT: 2/10 or 6/10
There are 2 different ratings for this meal.

We rated the meal 2/10 in the atmosphere category for a few reasons. First, we had a large party with us and were seated on the lower level. As a result, we were at a long table where none of us were seated across form each other. The seating arrangement along with the busyness of the restaurant made it nearly impossible to talk to the person next to you let alone someone 3-4 people down.

The only reason for the 2nd rating of 6/10 was b/c of the amazing character interaction. Our 2-year old was having a bad night and was exhibiting quite a temper and, as a result, wouldn't eat. When Chip arrived, he took the time to put my son's bib back on his neck, cut up my son's food (with his kid-sized fork) and even tried to feed him). We got it all on tape and it was one of those magical moments you imagine as your trip gets closer.

With the character interaction = atmosphere is a 6. Without...a 2.

 

[dcrouch]

Subscribed!

Thanks for the reviews. Very helpful...

Funny, I didn't know what people were subscribing to at first.
Then I realized what that option was and how to do it.. I've been reading reviews all day, and I love your "method to the madness".. Looking forward to more.

 

[mulderxcoltrane]

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone. If anyone has any specific questions related to our reviews ("why" questions) feel free to ask.

 

[mindyd]

thanks for the reviews! We are going to Chef Mickeys for the first time so thanks for the warning about the food I am not expecting much but just hoping that the kids love mickey being there.

 

[mulderxcoltrane]

thanks for the reviews! We are going to Chef Mickeys for the first time so thanks for the warning about the food I am not expecting much but just hoping that the kids love mickey being there.

We think Chef Mickey's is much better for breakfast. Either way - if you're willing to pay for the opportunity to have pics and time with the Fab Five without leaving your table (and therefore avoiding lines in the parks) you'll be glad you booked.

 

[mulderxcoltrane]

My wife and I split the chicken noodle soup, steak with pineapple glaze, and a chocolate torte.

FQ: 8.5/10

We're not seafood eaters, so we chose the chicken noodle soup - which was nothing to write home about. It wasn't bad - just not fantastic. The steak was fantastic - perfectly cooked and tender throughout. The chocolate torte was good - but a little dry. We later had the chocolate torte at Mama Melrose's- it blew Kona's torte out of the water!

FV: 6.5/10
For non-seafood eaters, there didn't seem to be a large selection. However - others in our party found plenty to eat.

AT: 4.5/10
Very similar to Garden Grill. The waterfall and usual noise in the lobby plus the fact that we were seated on the edge of the restaurant next to the lobby with people watching us eat made it VERY LOUD during dinner. Perhaps other seats would have eliminated this problem. As with previous restaurants, conversation was very difficult.

 

[cn123]

k.. I don't what subscribing means. Where is this option? These are great reviews thus far. Our family is going in April and have yet to make our ADR's so I'm really finding these helpful