MelissathePooh
Disney Regular
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2000
- Messages
- 2,414
OK, we just got back from a quick 3 nights stay. VWL studio on our points, paid for the regular dining plan. DDP must be added 48 hours prior - as always, payment must be made at the time you request it now. When you add it, you pay for it - not sure if people were backing out at check in or what, but just a side not.
Sunday - 7:25 dinner at Crystal Palace
The park was packed. Line was about 20 people deep to check in. Were seated around 7:45 ish. Had a window table right along side the check in line. We could see the fireworks though - which was nice.
It was also nice apparently for the little boy who crammed himself in between our table and our neighbors. Now I don't mind letting children watch parades or fireworks or whatnot in front of me, but this kid was on top of my seat. No one asked us if we cared that he stood there- intead we heard the dad ask him how the fireworks were when he went back to his table just across in the middle. Had the parents asked I probably woudn't have cared, but it really was annoying. I would never let my kids invade someone elses space.
Interestingly enough this was the same boy that I had seen head first under the sneeze guard picking through the cookies. His mom was right beside him, and just asked him to hurry up.
The buffet line itself didn't seem to have any flow to it Sunday night. People were just jumping in and reaching across randomly. As to the food - the prime rib was excellent and the rest was mostly okay in terms of quality. I went for the deserts on the other side of the island - pretty standard quality. Nothing was really good except the beef.
Hey - its a buffet, its Disney, its going to be chaotic to some extent. This was crazy. The table in the corner had 2 kids who decided to have a on the floor wrestling bubble gun match in between the times they were coming and going from the emergency exit doors right beside dh.
I have 2 young children - and they aren't exactly angels, but we stay at a constant state of threat to keep them in order and to keep them from bothering other people. Keep the chaos at our own table kind of thing.
The topper, though was dh's experience at the cold bar. The lady in front of him dropped her camera into the ranch dressing. Horrified she picked it out and desparately cleaned it off - her friends reassuring her that trhe dressing is "thick -it probably won't hurt it" and all move along. Never once telling any CM about the dressing. Look folks, my camera has been in pockets, the diaper bag - all kinds of places that don't need to trickle down to a buffet dressing. DH informed a CM and the dressing was changed.
Coupled with the drive-by - pat on the shoulder, audible smooch and picture pose with a wave good bye - have to say we're not loving the CP these days. Frankly our last few b'fast seatings were pretty lack luster.
Monday - lunch at CHH
We used to love it here, but portion size and quality have steadily declined. The tea has had a distincively sewerish smell essence for a while. We knew what to expect though. What we did not expect was the CM who was being so nice and friendly she decided to stay and talk to us during our entire meal. She was sweet, but bless her heart. My dd3 didn't want the attention, and it was awkward as we wanted to eat, but didn't want to be rude eating in front of someone. DS6 had to go to the bathroom mid meal - took him to the PP bathrooms, came back thinking surely we could finish up and leave - the CM was STILL there chatting away. We weren't being rude, but not encouraging the conversation by any means. Seriously took an hour to get out of there.
Monday - dinner at Roaring Forks
I had the flatbreak- mostly harmless, ds had a pizza - he liked it, dh had the roast beef sandwhich that he likes, but said its also shrunk in portion size since the last time he had it.
Tuesday - lunch at La Cantina
Extremely busy - lines at all registers on both sides. No tables open at the restaurant, but dh found one on the patio of the pavillion itself. Prices were outrageous, IMHO, but quality was decent. Portion size was acceptable, but not given the price. Of course we were using the dining plan or else I wouldn't have gone there. The food was good though - I preferred the chicken to the beef. The beef is shredded - the chicked seemed to have a better flavor. DH preferred the beef. Kids like the emanada. You get a TON of tortilla chips as a side.
Tuesday - 5:10 dinner at WCC
Now personally I really dislike WCC. I don't like the antics or the noise, the food has consistently been mediocre, but ds and dh wanted to go so I went. "Where's the ketchup" like 10 times while we were there. The giant fork, smart-alec server - the whole shabang. While I sat quietly in my own little personal hell, ds devoured his salmon. Would have thought kids would get trout like the adult menu, but it was salmon. He also helped to finish my strip that was undercooked and charred too heavily on the oustide. Had a burned taste. No I didn't send it back as I could not bare the thought of the server's response. DH had the skillet and did not ask for seconds of anything. DD picked at everyone elses - nothing struck her fancy besides the milkshake. My own little personal hell.
Wednesday - 11:00 late breakfast at Chef Mickey's
Ahh -Chef Mickey's....where the menu never changes and never gets any better. A dozen little birds buzzing around, chaos at navigating the buffet line, stale tater tots, atomic yellow cheese potatoes, see-thru thin bacon..if nothing else they are consistent. Our server was flat, but fairly attentive. We have had some really BAD service there on our last few trips. The waffles and little pancakes were good - Pluto's Cheese Blintz was good as always. The character interaction was better than at CP, but not particularly involved. They at least motioned for the kids to get out of their chairs for a hug.
I know I'm not a fan of the DDP and I am a firm believer that it is destroying the quality of WDW dining one restaurant at a time, but at some point there has to be a low enough point things start to improve. When we calculated the cost of 1 character meal that was ds's only request - added with the increases in price for cs meals it was basically $10 more to get the DDP with an additional 2 sit downs. I remember when Disney food was just expected to be crappy theme park fare - Pinocchio's burger special sauce...but for a brief and shiny period in the late 90's early '00's you could really count on some stellar dining experiences. Some still exist and there are many wonderful servers, but I really miss pre-DDP dining. Especially since there is no "free-dining" for DVC. I guess if I wasn't paying for it (although I'd never pay rack room rate) it wouldn't bother me so much. Alas, I will be so happy for our summer stay when we have a 1 bedroom and will have a kitchen. I plan on giving Disney as little of my dining dollars as possible!
Sunday - 7:25 dinner at Crystal Palace
The park was packed. Line was about 20 people deep to check in. Were seated around 7:45 ish. Had a window table right along side the check in line. We could see the fireworks though - which was nice.
It was also nice apparently for the little boy who crammed himself in between our table and our neighbors. Now I don't mind letting children watch parades or fireworks or whatnot in front of me, but this kid was on top of my seat. No one asked us if we cared that he stood there- intead we heard the dad ask him how the fireworks were when he went back to his table just across in the middle. Had the parents asked I probably woudn't have cared, but it really was annoying. I would never let my kids invade someone elses space.
Interestingly enough this was the same boy that I had seen head first under the sneeze guard picking through the cookies. His mom was right beside him, and just asked him to hurry up.
The buffet line itself didn't seem to have any flow to it Sunday night. People were just jumping in and reaching across randomly. As to the food - the prime rib was excellent and the rest was mostly okay in terms of quality. I went for the deserts on the other side of the island - pretty standard quality. Nothing was really good except the beef.
Hey - its a buffet, its Disney, its going to be chaotic to some extent. This was crazy. The table in the corner had 2 kids who decided to have a on the floor wrestling bubble gun match in between the times they were coming and going from the emergency exit doors right beside dh.
I have 2 young children - and they aren't exactly angels, but we stay at a constant state of threat to keep them in order and to keep them from bothering other people. Keep the chaos at our own table kind of thing.
The topper, though was dh's experience at the cold bar. The lady in front of him dropped her camera into the ranch dressing. Horrified she picked it out and desparately cleaned it off - her friends reassuring her that trhe dressing is "thick -it probably won't hurt it" and all move along. Never once telling any CM about the dressing. Look folks, my camera has been in pockets, the diaper bag - all kinds of places that don't need to trickle down to a buffet dressing. DH informed a CM and the dressing was changed.
Coupled with the drive-by - pat on the shoulder, audible smooch and picture pose with a wave good bye - have to say we're not loving the CP these days. Frankly our last few b'fast seatings were pretty lack luster.
Monday - lunch at CHH
We used to love it here, but portion size and quality have steadily declined. The tea has had a distincively sewerish smell essence for a while. We knew what to expect though. What we did not expect was the CM who was being so nice and friendly she decided to stay and talk to us during our entire meal. She was sweet, but bless her heart. My dd3 didn't want the attention, and it was awkward as we wanted to eat, but didn't want to be rude eating in front of someone. DS6 had to go to the bathroom mid meal - took him to the PP bathrooms, came back thinking surely we could finish up and leave - the CM was STILL there chatting away. We weren't being rude, but not encouraging the conversation by any means. Seriously took an hour to get out of there.
Monday - dinner at Roaring Forks
I had the flatbreak- mostly harmless, ds had a pizza - he liked it, dh had the roast beef sandwhich that he likes, but said its also shrunk in portion size since the last time he had it.
Tuesday - lunch at La Cantina
Extremely busy - lines at all registers on both sides. No tables open at the restaurant, but dh found one on the patio of the pavillion itself. Prices were outrageous, IMHO, but quality was decent. Portion size was acceptable, but not given the price. Of course we were using the dining plan or else I wouldn't have gone there. The food was good though - I preferred the chicken to the beef. The beef is shredded - the chicked seemed to have a better flavor. DH preferred the beef. Kids like the emanada. You get a TON of tortilla chips as a side.
Tuesday - 5:10 dinner at WCC
Now personally I really dislike WCC. I don't like the antics or the noise, the food has consistently been mediocre, but ds and dh wanted to go so I went. "Where's the ketchup" like 10 times while we were there. The giant fork, smart-alec server - the whole shabang. While I sat quietly in my own little personal hell, ds devoured his salmon. Would have thought kids would get trout like the adult menu, but it was salmon. He also helped to finish my strip that was undercooked and charred too heavily on the oustide. Had a burned taste. No I didn't send it back as I could not bare the thought of the server's response. DH had the skillet and did not ask for seconds of anything. DD picked at everyone elses - nothing struck her fancy besides the milkshake. My own little personal hell.
Wednesday - 11:00 late breakfast at Chef Mickey's
Ahh -Chef Mickey's....where the menu never changes and never gets any better. A dozen little birds buzzing around, chaos at navigating the buffet line, stale tater tots, atomic yellow cheese potatoes, see-thru thin bacon..if nothing else they are consistent. Our server was flat, but fairly attentive. We have had some really BAD service there on our last few trips. The waffles and little pancakes were good - Pluto's Cheese Blintz was good as always. The character interaction was better than at CP, but not particularly involved. They at least motioned for the kids to get out of their chairs for a hug.
I know I'm not a fan of the DDP and I am a firm believer that it is destroying the quality of WDW dining one restaurant at a time, but at some point there has to be a low enough point things start to improve. When we calculated the cost of 1 character meal that was ds's only request - added with the increases in price for cs meals it was basically $10 more to get the DDP with an additional 2 sit downs. I remember when Disney food was just expected to be crappy theme park fare - Pinocchio's burger special sauce...but for a brief and shiny period in the late 90's early '00's you could really count on some stellar dining experiences. Some still exist and there are many wonderful servers, but I really miss pre-DDP dining. Especially since there is no "free-dining" for DVC. I guess if I wasn't paying for it (although I'd never pay rack room rate) it wouldn't bother me so much. Alas, I will be so happy for our summer stay when we have a 1 bedroom and will have a kitchen. I plan on giving Disney as little of my dining dollars as possible!
I think my one of my resolutions this year will be to stay away from all buffets! Very disappointed in a lot of the buffets at Disney but do like WCC. It is fun and I thought the food was good.
