A month later and we're still full !! ** COMPLETED **

[marivaid]

I'll be reviewing the following restaurants :

Counter Service
Captain Cook's
Cantina de San Angel
Boardwalk Pizza window
Everything POP

Table Service
Crystal Palace (breakfast)
Whispering Canyon (dinner)
'Ohana (breakfast)
Liberty Tree Tavern (dinner)
Kona Cafe (lunch)
'Ohana (dinner)
Garden Grill (lunch)
Nine Dragons (lunch)
Sci-Fi (lunch)
Chef Mickey's (breakfast)

We had the DDE card so we tried to do mostly TS


---------------------------------------------------


Captain Cook's

This is the first place we ate at, although we went several times we always got the same thing : sushi and cheese/fruit plate. We also got a couple muffins there for breakfast one day that were fine.

Captain Cook's is very convenient if you're staying at the Poly. We'd go there to fill our mugs & grab a snack. There were always tables available and it was clean. The sushi was good for a CS, the fruit/Cheese plate is cheap and great for a quick bite.

Nothing really spectacular (we forgot to try the Dole Whips) but practical and affordable. We liked the fact that it was open 24hours so we could fill our mugs at any time.

Cantina de San Angel

We both really liked this CS on our last trip, but the food was rather bad this time. DM got the nachos and I got the plato combinacion.
The nachos were tasteless but DM covered them with the salsa from my plato and that helped a bit. The fajitas were soggy (they'd been put over the salad that still had water in it). The chicken had no taste - and was dark meat - yuck! - the beef was very spicy.

The main reason why we came here was to see Illuminations and that didn't disapoint. We did get there very early though, around 7pm, and grabbed one of the last available patio tables (only tables for 2 were left).
We had an amazing view of Illuminations so we'll probably come back even though the food wasn't good.




... more coming soon

 

[Booknut]

looking forward to more reviews!

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the first reviews, looking forward to reading more.

 

[marivaid]

Crystal Palace
It's becoming a tradition for us that CP is the first character meal of our trip (can it really be a tradition when you've only been to WDW twice though ). We loved this place for lunch last time and were looking forward to trying breakfast.

Our ADR was for 10.25am and we were a little early and a lot soaked since we'd just come off Splash Mountain and had been in the front row. Our server was Katy and she was soooo nice and cute! When she saw us,all dripping, she asked if it was really that hot out there already.

The food was sooooooo good. Of course the first thing we tried was the puffed french toast which is on the kid's buffet. OMG it was soooo good !!! I also finally got to try a Pooh waffle which was really good as well. They have a ton of choices including fruits, eggs, vegetable frittata, potatoes, bacon, biscuits, pastries.... Everything we tried was good.

Character interaction was great as well ! Tigger especially was a hoot. All the characters did a little parade with the kids and the servers played along.

DM finally got to have her pic taken with Pooh (she missed him last time). For some reason my CP pics turned very dark, I have no idea why as the place isn't dark at all.

The next day we were back at MK and as I was coming out of Monsters Inc a young lady came to talk to me. It was Katy from CP !! She looked sooooo different without the CP costume. She's the sweetest and asked us how our trip was going, were we having fun etc... I was so surprised that she could remember us with all the people that come to CP. Thumbs waaaaaay up for Katy at CP who made us feel so special !!!

 

[MickeyNicki]

I totally agree about the Cantina in Mexico. We used to like this place but the last few times we had to throw the food away. I asked the CM if I can have the taco salad without the chicken and sub the beef instead and he said no special orders. I said I would pay for it and he said no. I said you have the ingredients already just plop the beef on it instead of the chicken and he said no. I pointed behind him and said what is that row marked SPECIAL ORDERS meant for..he said order something or leave. I was shocked and DH really wanted the taco salad so we just took it as is. It was the nastiest thing ever. They do not give the taco shell bowl like they used to and the chicken was all fatty and dark meat...GROSS!

 

[Pirate Me]

Great reviews. Thanks for posting.

 

[TigerKat]

Enjoying your reviews!

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent reviews ~ Looking forward to reading more

 

[marivaid]

Whispering Canyon

We almost didn't go to this one but we're both really glad we did ! The WL is so beautiful. We really liked the boat ride from MK although it took longer than I expected. But let's leave that for the TR & get back to dining !

So I'd read often that WCC is loud and crazy. I actually found it very QUIET. Our ADR was at 8.10pm so maybe the antics were earlier. Either way, we really enjoyed ourselves. We were greeted by a big HOWDYY PARTNER! from the hostess and seated within a few minutes.

Suzan (Lazy Suzan) was our server and we talked a lot, joked, basically spent an hour torturing DM

We were seated a little off the main room,near a fireplace - it had to be a fake fire, because we couldn't feel any heat at all. Thank Goodness because it was still around 90° outside and the LAST thing we needed was a fire.

First Suzan took our drink order (beer & lemonade) and brought us corn bread with butter. I've never had corn bread before and yummmmmmmm it was good !! I tried to go easy on it since I was gonna have pasta but still had 2 pieces. I even considered packing up the rest in my backpack

I knew my mom wanted ribs,which she eats ONLY in the US, but she ordered prime rib so I asked her if she knew what it was - and she said yes thank you, she's an English teacher and she knows what rib means, unlike me who eats meat 3 times a year. Suzan had to tell her that I was right and that prime rib and ribs are completly different.
Of course the only reason why I knew that was because I spent hours on the DIS looking at the food porn thread.
Score : 1 for the nearly-vegetarian-for-10-years Moi, 0 for the responsible-for-death-of-5-cows-a-year Grumpy.

Here's DM enjoying her ribs :

They came with mashed potatoes & something else I forgot about, but DM asked for corn instead of potatoes.

I had the chicken penne pasta, the only thing on the menu I could see myself eating (well, excluding desserts). It was sooooooooo good ! At first glance you couldn't tell there was sauce on it, which is great for me because I don't like my food covered in sauce. Most of it was underneath. It had a kick to it, and as I was cooling my tongue with an ice cube Suzan said she could bring me another plate without the sauce. But I said no thanks, I actually like having my tongue on fire!!
The pasta had brocoli and pieces of chicken mixed in. Usually when I order that type of food, I end up picking out all the chicken and either giving it to DM or leave it uneaten, because the pieces are either too big or too fatty or are dark meat. Not this time. It was small pieces of grilled chicken, all white meat. Loved it!

We were both way too full for dessert as usual. I'm so glad that we decided to get off our butts and go to WCC ! WL is very high on our list for our next resort stay.

Here's our Lazy Suzan and Grumpy (DM) :

Next up is 'Ohana breakfast with my favorite blue Alien, Stitch.

 

[my3disneygirls]

Subscribing...

 

[jekclk]

Waiting for more!
Cristy

 

[Schucraig]

Great reviews so far! I can't wait for more!

 

[marivaid]

'Ohana "Best Friends" Breakfast

This character breakfast is at the Poly, where we were staying, but we still managed to be late for our 7.30AM ADR so we had to wait a little bit to get seated.

Our server quickly brought a dish with several kinds of fruit, then the breakfast skillet of eggs,bacon,potatoes,sausages and biscuits. Then a different server came with a big basket of warm Mickey waffles and was going to all the tables giving them to whoever wanted some. There was also pineapple/coconut bread. I hate coconut, which is a good thing because DM ate the whole thing anyway.

Like last time the food was great but the character interaction was just AMAZING. I'll write more about that in my TR but let's give you a little preview....

Why is DM sticking out her tongue in disgust, you wonder ??? You'll have to read the TR to see the video & find out !!!

 

[mousiemom]

great reviews!! we are going to the WCC for lunch and i'm glad you mention the boatride takes awhile cause we want to look around at WL a bit. can't wait to hear about your other reviews!! keep um coming. I can't believe you never had cornbread!! we have it all the time here in the deep south!!
mousiemom

 

[marivaid]

(oops it's been a while !!! kinda forgot I was doing dining reviews LOL)

Liberty Tree Tavern

This was our favorite character meal in December and it was once again this trip (with 'Ohana being a close 2nd).

LTT is in Liberty Square and has a "pioneer" style that we love. When you check in, you're asked where your family comes from and when the host calls you he says something like :

"OH OH OH ! Calling the Wacko family from France!"

Very cute The characters here are Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale.

It's a set menu that includes salad with strawberry vinaigrette (OMG,want a bath of that stuff), flank steak, turkey and pork with mashed potatoes and mac'n'cheese and green beans. Dessert is usually apple crumbler. They also give you warm rolls with honey butter (yum!).

Now, it's not fancy food. It's not supposed to be. It's family style Thanksgiving-ish comfort food.
What really makes this restaurant great are the characters. First, they're all dressed up pioneer style.

Chip & Dale were going nuts , running around,stealing food from the tables and hiding it. Minnie loved to pose with her fancy dress.

At one point I was about to take a pic of DM & Chip (or Dale) and my stupid memory card was full. I pretended to cry and Chip rushed to me and started wiping my "tears" with his apron. It was sooooo cute. We're 2 adullts so we don't usually get a lot of quality time with the characters, they're busy with the big tables with kids. Not at LTT though.

The best part was, later,when DM had gone to the restrooms, Goofy came around again and sat with me at the table, picked up a glass and shook it with me ! Everyone in the room was looking and laughing.

OK this is a dining review so for the food itsef, well this is my type of food so I loved it. So did DM although the meat was overcooked for her.
But if you prefer places like Flyin Fish, it may not be for you.
Character Interaction : IMO, the best on property. This place is not as busy as Chef Mickey's or even CP, we saw each character 4 times and they actually spend time with you - not just rush and stop long enough for a pic.

My favorite photo of the trip :

 

[Nursejilly]

We have ADRs at Ohana and a Liberty Tree!! My girls are going to love the characters! Thanks for the great pics and reviews!

 

[marivaid]

Kona Cafe

That was the ADR we thought we wouldn't go to, but I'm glad we did.

Once again we managed to be late even though we were staying at the Poly, but we didn't have to wait to be seated.

DM had the teriyaki steak salad which she says was her favorite dish of the week. It's served in a wonton bowl (kind of like a taco salad) and has little bits of teriyaki steak, crispy lettuce, carrots, tomatoes ... It looked really good!

I had the Kona Club sandwich which was like a regular club, with a twist. First they put turkey bacon instead of pork bacon, and they also add avocado in the sandwich. This was really good, fresh and very light. After the big dinner at LTT the night before it was exactly what I needed.

We had planned to be good girls and not get dessert, but...

We were sitting at a table for 4 and after we'd been served, a big party arrived. There must have been 12 of them and they were trying to make them fit around 2 tables for 4 - it just wasn't going to happen and some of them were not too happy about it. Since we were taking a big table and only had one plate each, I told their hostess that we could move to the next table if they wanted. At first she said it was not needed but then later she thanked us and said yes, that would help her out.

Well, a few minutes later we're all moved to another table and the restaurant manager comes to see us and says that to thank us for offering to move, dessert is on the house ! Wow, that was nice ! We really didn't expect it.

DM went with what our waitress suggested and got the chocolate Macadamia tart. She said it was divine - she let me have a bite and I found it too sweet for my taste, but it was pretty good. It also came with coconut ice cream which she loved as well.

I had the Caramel-banana Creme Brulee. The bananas are on top of the creme brulee, warm and caramelized. Oh gosh it was sooooooo good. The creme itself was good as well, but I didn't expect it to be cold. Creme brulee is served hot here. It was still something I would like to take a bath in

We'll do Kona for lunch again, it was less noisy than dinner and good value as well - only about $30 (without the tip), including DM's alcoholic drink. We didn't use our DDE card for this meal, we thought it'd be tacky since they had already treated us for dessert.
The service was Disney at its best, we certainely didn't expect a freebie just for moving tables and we were very impressed that the manager herself came to our table to thank us.

Coming next : 'Ohana aka The Fastest Ride of the Week

 

[PoohGal05]

I loved your review of 'Ohana's for breakfast! We're trying next trip and can hardly wait! It's new for us!

 

[Tink3Belle]

Great Reviews, Thanks for sharing.

 

[MandM-Mom]

Great reviews!