pictureless review of dining on our recent trip.
Cast:
Me - will eat anywhere from the lowest dive to the best restaurants if the food is promising.
Wife - less likely to go into a dive unless she has a recommendation but willing to try new things.
Kids - almost 8 and 12 and not adventurous at all.
Plot - seven night stay at POFQ without a dining plan. More CS meals than TS but with a few of the latter sprinkled in.
Day 1 - we had a bit of a travel delay on the way down and arrived a couple of hours later than planned. We just caught the boat to DTD. After looking at the menus for Earl of Sandwich and Wolfgang Puck Express, we settled on WPE.
My kids had the pizza which they liked. My wife had the butter lettuces salad and ate some of the kids' pizza and I had the meatloaf sandwich. Overall the food was very good for a CS location. I was disappointed in the amount of meat included in my sandwich. In other versions I have had the meat portion has been thicker. The design of the sandwich was spot on, however, -great flavor. This was our most expensive CS meal of the trip.
Day 2 - let me start off by saying that we do not usually have a big breakfast with the exception of our farewell meal at Chef Mickey's which is really more of a brunch. We brought granola and nutrigrain bars for morning snacking and I would go to the food court for beignets or fresh fruit.
We opened our park touring with the Toy Story Mania stampede at DHS. Lunch was at Toy Story Pizza Plane. What can I say? Disney's pizzas are not that good as I will be reminded of one more time. The kids seem to like them though. The Caesar Salads are okay.
We hopped to the Magic Kingdom for our evening touring. Dinner was at Columbia Harbor House. We created our own family platter with everyone trying the fish, shrimp and chicken (with little chicken for me). I still haven't tried the Lighthouse Sandwich but will one day. This is one of my favorite TS spots.
Day 3 - we started with an AM EMH day at Animal Kingdom. This was our only day in DAK which had an unplanned repercussion on our dining plans for lunch. We had planned on a number of rides and attractions that we wanted to get to. Since this was our only visit we had to cover them all this one day. Unfortunately we were approaching noon by the time we finished Kali River Rapids. The CS places were packed already so we headed back to our resort for lunch. That's after smelling the smoky scent from Flame Tree early in the morning. After living in Memphis for eighteen years now, I am a huge fan of barbecue. I have yet to eat at Flame Tree. Instead I had a disappointing pizza (the last time thankfully) at the resort.
That night we headed to Epcot having now hit the four major parks in the first two days. We had a 6:30 ADR at Teppan Edo. This was my wife's choice. I plan to turn this into a Biergarten visit next trip.
We were seated promptly and the meal was very good. My wife and daughter split a shrimp meal, my son also had shrimp and I had the shrimp and chicken combo. Both my shrimp and chicken were cooked well - not over done retaining the necessary moisture. We didn't have steak but the party at the other end of the table ordered it medium rare, medium and medium well. From what I could see, they were cooked to the right temps.
I liked the inclusion of the noodles in the meal. It's a nice change from what you usually see. My only issue with TE is that the same experience, maybe with a little more entertainment, is available at five or six locations near our house - and a bit cheaper. If you don't have something similar near your home, it's worth a trip. I don't think we will go back - not because the food or experience is bad - but because we can do this anytime.
Day 4 - we took our first visit to Typhoon Lagoon. We didn't eat there but headed back to our resort about 1:00 for lunch. Thankfully I didn't have to have pizza this time. I was disappointed in the lack of lighter fare in the Sassagoula Food Factory. After a morning in the sun and swimming, I wanted something lighter but couldn't find much beside the make your own salad. I settled on the shrimp po boy, The wife had a small side salad and the kids - wait for it - pizza. Gads. It was fine.
That afternoon we headed to DTD to do some of the shopping we missed the first night. We had a 7:00 PM reservation at RFC. We know the food here is mediocre but we have gone as a diversion for the kids. The kids, even the almost eight year old, have apparently outgrown the place so we will be looking for new options next trip. Raglan Road? House of Blues? Paradiso 37? Who knows?
We went out in an inauspicious manner. The menu had changed and some of the items I have eaten before were dropped. That's expected. The big issue is that our order got lost somewhere in the system. Service has usually been slow here but this time it was really slow. After a while the young lady serving us stopped by to say our order would be coming out in a few minutes. Fifteen minutes later she stopped by again to tell us the same thing. Meanwhile, a table near us that was seated a few minutes after us had paid and left. That's something I pointed out to the manager when he eventually stopped by our table.
We were offered free dessert but we had plans for Ghiaradelli's ice cream already. He did knock 20% off the bill. Whether it was sufficient or not I don't know. I wasn't in the mood to argue at the time.
To top it off, the the boats on the Sassagoula were shut down that night due to lightening and he buses were running infrequently to the resort. It was a long night.
Day 5 - THis was a mad dash day. We started at Epcot for AM EMH. We rode Test Track, got fast passes for Soarin' and made it to MK for rope drop - not the opening show though. Lunch was at Cosmic Rays'. The kids had chicken and my wife had the rotisserie chicken. I had the cheese steak sandwich. The rotisserie chicken is not as good as the one at Sunshine Seasons but it it is still good. I was disappointed that there were no hot peppers on the condimanets bar. They used to be there and I like jalapenos on my cheese steak. I muddled through and it was okay.
That night was Epcot. We ate at Sunshine Seasons. Since we had rotisserie chicken that afternoon that was not an option. My daughter had the pizza paninni and my son the PB&J. They seem to have reduced the choices for kids. My wife had a Caesar salad and I had the grilled vegetable flat bread sandwich which appears to have replaced the vegetable cuban sandwich. My only complaint about the sandwich was that it appeared to have been put together some time before. The moisture from the grilled zuchinni made everything else a little soggy.
Day 6 - CRT lunch day. This was our fourth CRT lunch and our last for some time. Our daughter is outgrowing this and we need to expand to more restaurants. This was the first time with the new menu. The appetizer plate had some crostini with white bean dip, mozzerella (the usual bad Disney stuff) and a salad. The Major Domo was still being offered so my wife and I had that. My daughter had chicken nuggets and my son, an adult in Disney Dining's eyes, had a very expensive plate of chicken nuggets. This was the first time without some type of buckle for dessert. I had the almond cheesecake and my wife had the chocolate mousse. We were both happy with our choices. (Added) My big disappointment is that there were only three princesses at the meal. I don't know if this is new or if there was some issue at that meal but we had always had four princesses and/or leading ladies before.
That night we ate at Pecos Bill's. The wife and I had taco salads (at least they have hot peppers on the fixin's bar), my son a big burger and my daughter had chicken nuggets. This is nothing fancy but was filling.
Day 7 - we started the day in Epcot. I had a brat and sauerkraut from Sommerfest. The rest of my family had a burger, salad and hot dog from Liberty Inn. I don't know why Liberty Inn since there are so many other and better options. I know my wife looked at China and Japan but didn't see anything that interested her.
We had Fantasmic dinner package ADRs for Mama Melrose that night. The three courses are more than we would usually eat at one sitting but we were paying for it.
Appetizers
My son and I had the calamari for two. The server was going to allow him to order off the kids' menu and save me money but he didn't want to. So I made him share the calamari with me. I like calamari and ordered this with some reservations, but it was really good. It's not as good as the Capitol Grille which is my favorite so far but I wouldn't hesitate to order it again. My son, a piccky eater, really liked it too. My wife had the mixed green salad and really liked it. She shared a piece of the gorgonzola which was very tasty. My daughter had the kids' salad.
Entree
My son had the carne d'italia flat bread (think meat lovers pizza). We found out he's not fond of pancetta or italian sauasage though the sausage did have a pronounced fennel flavor. My wife had the strip steak. Our daughter had the spaghetti with meat sauce and I had the grilled pork chop. Our daughter ate half her spaghetti. It was a really large serving which tells me she really liked it. My wife's steak was good as were the potatoes. I'm the type that will take my pork medium but many places won't prepare it that way. I would have liked it a little less done but the flavor was good and I could pick up a little of the oak smoke flavor. The mac and cheese was really good. I never got to my brocolli rabe.
Dessert
My son and I had the cheesecake. It had an amaretto influence. No one else in my family likes amaretto so I had plenty for me. My wife had the chocolate cake with the canolli filling. She thought it was okay. My daughter had the spaghetti and meatball cupcake. It's a choclate cupcake with a strawberry sauce. My wife, having tries them all, preferred the cupcake. I was too full from the cheesecakes to try anything else.
Day 8 - we have a tradition of closing out with a late breakfast at Chef Mickey's. I often read complaints about the quality of food but I always leave there stuffed. I would prefer an omelet station and better gravy and fresh strawberries not the ones served in syrup, but I can get by on the other fresh fruit, the cheesy potatoes and the french toast. We will be returning here again next trip.
Food is a secondary item for our Disney trips. The most important thing is spending time with our kids while we enjoy the rides and attractions. We used to eat at higher level restaurants at WDW and we may again now that the kids are getting older. Overall I enjoyed the food and found sufficient variety to keep me interested. The only thing I regret is not eating at Flame Tree. Next trip I will even if it means eating two lunches.
Cast:
Me - will eat anywhere from the lowest dive to the best restaurants if the food is promising.
Wife - less likely to go into a dive unless she has a recommendation but willing to try new things.
Kids - almost 8 and 12 and not adventurous at all.
Plot - seven night stay at POFQ without a dining plan. More CS meals than TS but with a few of the latter sprinkled in.
Day 1 - we had a bit of a travel delay on the way down and arrived a couple of hours later than planned. We just caught the boat to DTD. After looking at the menus for Earl of Sandwich and Wolfgang Puck Express, we settled on WPE.
My kids had the pizza which they liked. My wife had the butter lettuces salad and ate some of the kids' pizza and I had the meatloaf sandwich. Overall the food was very good for a CS location. I was disappointed in the amount of meat included in my sandwich. In other versions I have had the meat portion has been thicker. The design of the sandwich was spot on, however, -great flavor. This was our most expensive CS meal of the trip.
Day 2 - let me start off by saying that we do not usually have a big breakfast with the exception of our farewell meal at Chef Mickey's which is really more of a brunch. We brought granola and nutrigrain bars for morning snacking and I would go to the food court for beignets or fresh fruit.
We opened our park touring with the Toy Story Mania stampede at DHS. Lunch was at Toy Story Pizza Plane. What can I say? Disney's pizzas are not that good as I will be reminded of one more time. The kids seem to like them though. The Caesar Salads are okay.
We hopped to the Magic Kingdom for our evening touring. Dinner was at Columbia Harbor House. We created our own family platter with everyone trying the fish, shrimp and chicken (with little chicken for me). I still haven't tried the Lighthouse Sandwich but will one day. This is one of my favorite TS spots.
Day 3 - we started with an AM EMH day at Animal Kingdom. This was our only day in DAK which had an unplanned repercussion on our dining plans for lunch. We had planned on a number of rides and attractions that we wanted to get to. Since this was our only visit we had to cover them all this one day. Unfortunately we were approaching noon by the time we finished Kali River Rapids. The CS places were packed already so we headed back to our resort for lunch. That's after smelling the smoky scent from Flame Tree early in the morning. After living in Memphis for eighteen years now, I am a huge fan of barbecue. I have yet to eat at Flame Tree. Instead I had a disappointing pizza (the last time thankfully) at the resort.
That night we headed to Epcot having now hit the four major parks in the first two days. We had a 6:30 ADR at Teppan Edo. This was my wife's choice. I plan to turn this into a Biergarten visit next trip.
We were seated promptly and the meal was very good. My wife and daughter split a shrimp meal, my son also had shrimp and I had the shrimp and chicken combo. Both my shrimp and chicken were cooked well - not over done retaining the necessary moisture. We didn't have steak but the party at the other end of the table ordered it medium rare, medium and medium well. From what I could see, they were cooked to the right temps.
I liked the inclusion of the noodles in the meal. It's a nice change from what you usually see. My only issue with TE is that the same experience, maybe with a little more entertainment, is available at five or six locations near our house - and a bit cheaper. If you don't have something similar near your home, it's worth a trip. I don't think we will go back - not because the food or experience is bad - but because we can do this anytime.
Day 4 - we took our first visit to Typhoon Lagoon. We didn't eat there but headed back to our resort about 1:00 for lunch. Thankfully I didn't have to have pizza this time. I was disappointed in the lack of lighter fare in the Sassagoula Food Factory. After a morning in the sun and swimming, I wanted something lighter but couldn't find much beside the make your own salad. I settled on the shrimp po boy, The wife had a small side salad and the kids - wait for it - pizza. Gads. It was fine.
That afternoon we headed to DTD to do some of the shopping we missed the first night. We had a 7:00 PM reservation at RFC. We know the food here is mediocre but we have gone as a diversion for the kids. The kids, even the almost eight year old, have apparently outgrown the place so we will be looking for new options next trip. Raglan Road? House of Blues? Paradiso 37? Who knows?
We went out in an inauspicious manner. The menu had changed and some of the items I have eaten before were dropped. That's expected. The big issue is that our order got lost somewhere in the system. Service has usually been slow here but this time it was really slow. After a while the young lady serving us stopped by to say our order would be coming out in a few minutes. Fifteen minutes later she stopped by again to tell us the same thing. Meanwhile, a table near us that was seated a few minutes after us had paid and left. That's something I pointed out to the manager when he eventually stopped by our table.
We were offered free dessert but we had plans for Ghiaradelli's ice cream already. He did knock 20% off the bill. Whether it was sufficient or not I don't know. I wasn't in the mood to argue at the time.
To top it off, the the boats on the Sassagoula were shut down that night due to lightening and he buses were running infrequently to the resort. It was a long night.
Day 5 - THis was a mad dash day. We started at Epcot for AM EMH. We rode Test Track, got fast passes for Soarin' and made it to MK for rope drop - not the opening show though. Lunch was at Cosmic Rays'. The kids had chicken and my wife had the rotisserie chicken. I had the cheese steak sandwich. The rotisserie chicken is not as good as the one at Sunshine Seasons but it it is still good. I was disappointed that there were no hot peppers on the condimanets bar. They used to be there and I like jalapenos on my cheese steak. I muddled through and it was okay.
That night was Epcot. We ate at Sunshine Seasons. Since we had rotisserie chicken that afternoon that was not an option. My daughter had the pizza paninni and my son the PB&J. They seem to have reduced the choices for kids. My wife had a Caesar salad and I had the grilled vegetable flat bread sandwich which appears to have replaced the vegetable cuban sandwich. My only complaint about the sandwich was that it appeared to have been put together some time before. The moisture from the grilled zuchinni made everything else a little soggy.
Day 6 - CRT lunch day. This was our fourth CRT lunch and our last for some time. Our daughter is outgrowing this and we need to expand to more restaurants. This was the first time with the new menu. The appetizer plate had some crostini with white bean dip, mozzerella (the usual bad Disney stuff) and a salad. The Major Domo was still being offered so my wife and I had that. My daughter had chicken nuggets and my son, an adult in Disney Dining's eyes, had a very expensive plate of chicken nuggets. This was the first time without some type of buckle for dessert. I had the almond cheesecake and my wife had the chocolate mousse. We were both happy with our choices. (Added) My big disappointment is that there were only three princesses at the meal. I don't know if this is new or if there was some issue at that meal but we had always had four princesses and/or leading ladies before.
That night we ate at Pecos Bill's. The wife and I had taco salads (at least they have hot peppers on the fixin's bar), my son a big burger and my daughter had chicken nuggets. This is nothing fancy but was filling.
Day 7 - we started the day in Epcot. I had a brat and sauerkraut from Sommerfest. The rest of my family had a burger, salad and hot dog from Liberty Inn. I don't know why Liberty Inn since there are so many other and better options. I know my wife looked at China and Japan but didn't see anything that interested her.
We had Fantasmic dinner package ADRs for Mama Melrose that night. The three courses are more than we would usually eat at one sitting but we were paying for it.
Appetizers
My son and I had the calamari for two. The server was going to allow him to order off the kids' menu and save me money but he didn't want to. So I made him share the calamari with me. I like calamari and ordered this with some reservations, but it was really good. It's not as good as the Capitol Grille which is my favorite so far but I wouldn't hesitate to order it again. My son, a piccky eater, really liked it too. My wife had the mixed green salad and really liked it. She shared a piece of the gorgonzola which was very tasty. My daughter had the kids' salad.
Entree
My son had the carne d'italia flat bread (think meat lovers pizza). We found out he's not fond of pancetta or italian sauasage though the sausage did have a pronounced fennel flavor. My wife had the strip steak. Our daughter had the spaghetti with meat sauce and I had the grilled pork chop. Our daughter ate half her spaghetti. It was a really large serving which tells me she really liked it. My wife's steak was good as were the potatoes. I'm the type that will take my pork medium but many places won't prepare it that way. I would have liked it a little less done but the flavor was good and I could pick up a little of the oak smoke flavor. The mac and cheese was really good. I never got to my brocolli rabe.
Dessert
My son and I had the cheesecake. It had an amaretto influence. No one else in my family likes amaretto so I had plenty for me. My wife had the chocolate cake with the canolli filling. She thought it was okay. My daughter had the spaghetti and meatball cupcake. It's a choclate cupcake with a strawberry sauce. My wife, having tries them all, preferred the cupcake. I was too full from the cheesecakes to try anything else.
Day 8 - we have a tradition of closing out with a late breakfast at Chef Mickey's. I often read complaints about the quality of food but I always leave there stuffed. I would prefer an omelet station and better gravy and fresh strawberries not the ones served in syrup, but I can get by on the other fresh fruit, the cheesy potatoes and the french toast. We will be returning here again next trip.
Food is a secondary item for our Disney trips. The most important thing is spending time with our kids while we enjoy the rides and attractions. We used to eat at higher level restaurants at WDW and we may again now that the kids are getting older. Overall I enjoyed the food and found sufficient variety to keep me interested. The only thing I regret is not eating at Flame Tree. Next trip I will even if it means eating two lunches.
I would post a picture of it but I will keep this pictureless. 
