An AP holder's 42 days of Disney dining review

[Disney owl]

great reviews thanks.

Not sure what english Coffee was.?

yorkshire pudding is traditionallly eaten with roast beef & is made out of a batter of flour, eggs & milk.

 

[DisneyDancin7]

I will continue on. Doing this review helps get my mind off the kids. I have one that started high school this week and one that started kindergarten.

Anyway, up next is...

Le Cellier dinner- I was looking so forward to finally trying out the illusive Le Cellier. As everyone here knows it can be so hard to get a reservation here so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. We were supposed to have eaten here on a previous trip and DH got sick. Not to appear unsympathetic, but I was really annoyed that he had to be sick on that day because I had searched high and low for that Le Cellier reservation only to not get to use it. So I knew exactly what I was going to order, the 2 foods that get most of the hype at Le Cellier- the mushroom risotto filet and the cheddar cheese soup. I was so disappointed that I really didn't like either of these dishes. I love mushrooms but the flavor overpowered the steak. I found the soup to have a sour taste. DH got the strip steak and his was very good. My favorite thing I tried was DD's french fries. They were really good. Since our service was so good we decided on a future trip to try...

Le Cellier lunch- I booked here for lunch thinking we would try the sandwiches and burgers. DS who wasn't with us on our previous trip really wanted to go here. I was skeptical since I didn't enjoy my meal last time so I decided to split the burger with DS with the promise of ordering his favorite dessert, creme brulee. This was one of the best burgers I have ever eaten. The meat so juicy and cooked just right. DH got the sausage appetizer and the roast beef and peppers sandwich. He said both of these were just okay and he probably wouldn't get them again. DS wasn't such a fan of the maple creme brulee. I tried it and thought it was a little cold. I'm very glad we tried Le Cellier for lunch and will come back for the burger and the warm Canadian hospitality.

Next we'll keep traveling around the WS.

Omg, I couldn't agree with you more about the burger! That is why I have been trying so hard to get a reservation for my trip in only a few days (I know my chances are slim but I love that burger!). It is seriously the best burger I have ever had in my life. The last time I ate at Le Cellier (about a year and a half ago) I tried the burger and I was so upset that I couldn't finish it. I had just eaten a sweet pretzel from Norway about an hour before it But I so wanted to finish that burger, it was absolutely delicious! Ok, now I really want it...

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

I like SOME spice but not tons. I have read that the chicken dish is super spicy more than once, so I think I'll try something else.

It really is that hot. We thought we would enjoy it based on the ingredients, but it was way to much heat for us.

great reviews thanks.

Not sure what english Coffee was.?

yorkshire pudding is traditionallly eaten with roast beef & is made out of a batter of flour, eggs & milk.

Thanks for the explanation of the Yorkshire pudding. I'm suprised I didn't like it based on what it is made out of. I'm not sure if DH's "English" coffee was special or not but he definitely enjoyed it since it was a switch from the usual Disney coffee which is undrinkable.

Omg, I couldn't agree with you more about the burger! That is why I have been trying so hard to get a reservation for my trip in only a few days (I know my chances are slim but I love that burger!). It is seriously the best burger I have ever had in my life. The last time I ate at Le Cellier (about a year and a half ago) I tried the burger and I was so upset that I couldn't finish it. I had just eaten a sweet pretzel from Norway about an hour before it But I so wanted to finish that burger, it was absolutely delicious! Ok, now I really want it...

I really hope you get that ressie for Le Cellier and save room in your stomach because that is a good sized burger.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

La Hacienda De San Angel- We hadn't planned on eating here, but DH seemed to want to get out of the heat one hot day at the end of May so we were seated without an ADR. DS and I looked over the menu and nothing really appealled to us. We were both wanting some of the nachos at the counter service place (which I highly recommend) and there was nothing that resembled that on the menu. So we decided not to eat. I actually think this seemed to annoy our waiter. DH decided on 2 appetizers, one was the sampler. I think it had a tostada and an empanada. The other was three small different kinds of tacos. He enjoyed them both and they did look good even though I didn't try them. Even though DH liked the food he ate I can't say I'm anxious to go back here. We were seated in a small room to the side of the bigger room overlooking the lake. I felt a bit claustrophobic. Also our waiter didn't feel compelled to really wait on us. He brought us drinks once, DH's food, and the check and that was it.

That completes our meals at Epcot. Next I'll head on over to Hollywood Studies...

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

50's Prime Time Cafe

We've eaten at 50's many times and always enjoy the atmosphere and the food. This August my son and I had lunch there with my sister, her husband, and my niece. I knew that my teenage niece and son would enjoy the antics. Our waiter was Dick and he was spot on when my sister tried to order for my 13-year old niece and he said "Can't she talk?" We were all laughing except for my brother-in-law who didn't like the antics. He said Dick was true to his namesake. As for the food, we shared orders of onion rings. These were a generous portion and tasted pretty good. My BIL got the wedge salad with blue cheese. This was huge and looked very fresh. My son and niece got the stacked sandwich and chips. My niece asked for fries instead of the chips. The kids enjoyed these sandwiches. My son loves the whole grain bread. The kids and I also had chocolate shakes. These are so yummy, very rich and milk chocolately. My brother-in-law had the pot roast. He said it was alright. I think he had decided by this time he wasn't going to enjoy his meal because I've had the pot roast before and it is excellent. My sister was trying to eat healthy so she had the seafood salad. She said it was good, and it looked large for an appetizer portion. Since I had ordered the shake I decided to have the chicken noodle soup. I joked I was probably the only person in Florida eating soup on a hot August day. The soup was fine but probably not something I would get again. Dick was a good waiter, but my sister wished he had told her there was going to be an extra charge (I think it was $2.99) to get fries instead of chips with that sandwich. The kids and I enjoyed are meal here, but I not so sure about the rest of my family.

 

[basketlacey]

Great reviews!

We have been to 50s Prime Time twice and I had the pot roast both times. The first time is was amazing and I wanted to lick my plate. The second time it was just ok and I didn't finish the veggies (which of course led to the choo choo train before we could order dessert). My kids want to go back next trip and I nixed it for the Fantasmic package at Mama Melrose. I want to try something new.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Great reviews!

We have been to 50s Prime Time twice and I had the pot roast both times. The first time is was amazing and I wanted to lick my plate. The second time it was just ok and I didn't finish the veggies (which of course led to the choo choo train before we could order dessert). My kids want to go back next trip and I nixed it for the Fantasmic package at Mama Melrose. I want to try something new.

Thanks so much. Hope you enjoy your meal at Mama Melrose's.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Hollywood Brown Derby

The Brown Derby is definitely our favorite restaurant at Hollywood Studios and probably our favorite in all of the parks. We typically take a break here for lunch when we are at the Studios. It is such a paradox to go from the crowds of the park to the elegant yet laid back feel of the Brown Derby. We have eaten here twice in the last year, but have ordered virtually the same thing. We are stuck on the Cobb Salad. DH and I don't agree on how to order it, but it is no problem to get some of the items to the side. I also love the bacon corn chowder and DH is a fan of the crab cake. When eating here I must have the grapefruit cake. I absolutely love it! It is always so mosit and tart, but yet I'm always perplexed about what to do with that piece of dehydrated grapefruit. DH has tried all of the desserts over a period of time, but his favorite is the banana toffee one. The service here is always great as well. Next time I am going to try an entree.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Sci-Fi Dine-In

My son had pestered me for years to eat here, so we tried it for a late lunch last May. After reading many harsh reviews here and looking at the menu on Allears, I wasn't feeling optimistic. It was so hot this particular day and so crowded at DHS since it was Star Wars Weekend that eating any place with cool air seemed a welcome treat. Unfortunately the cool air was my favorite part of our meal. I did like the inside of the restaurant. You really do feel like you are eating outside in your car watching a drive-in movie. The three of us had a car to ourselves. DS and I decided to split a burger and order onion rings as an appetizer. DH lacked originality and also ordered the burger. These burgers were just fine, but when I compare them to some of the other places we've had burgers- like Le Cellier or the Plaza, they just weren't as good. The meat tasted a bit dry. The onion rings were enjoyable, but DS and I both ordered cherry cokes and these tasted horrible. So much so that we finally switched to regular cokes after a couple of tries. They tasted just like cough syrup. Lastly our service was possibly the worst of any of our dining experiences I will report on. Our waitress was not around much and we literally had to wave her down on more than one occassion to get her attention. So I am glad that we tried Sci-Fi. I can check it off my list, but I have no plans to go back there anytime soon.

 

[pumba]

thanks for your great reviews ..especially going around Epcot...
Epcot restaurants that are our favorites : Le Cellier and we love the soup...very rich but takes a few bites to enjoy the flavor ..especially with the breads..
At Tutto, hubby and I got the steak dish..it was melt in your mouth delish..

thanks for your reviews..

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

thanks for your great reviews ..especially going around Epcot...
Epcot restaurants that are our favorites : Le Cellier and we love the soup...very rich but takes a few bites to enjoy the flavor ..especially with the breads..
At Tutto, hubby and I got the steak dish..it was melt in your mouth delish..

thanks for your reviews..

Thanks so much! I love eating at the World Showcase and am not far from meeting a personal goal of trying all of the WS restaurants. My husband and I are eating again at Tutto's in December. I will have to remember to try the steak.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

It's time for Animal Kingdom.

Tusker House lunch- I booked here in consideration of my 5-year old daughter who eats very well at buffets and seems to grow tired of the usual kids meal selection at Disney. We chose the late lunch time so that we could get priority seating at the Nemo show. We really enjoyed our primo seats for the show. But we did have to arrive rather early as they didn't rope off a section for priority seating but just let us in earlier than the rest of the crowd. Not sure if this will continue now that they are going to have characters at lunch at Tusker House, but I would definitley do it again. Back to the food, we actually really enjoyed our lunch here. The seats are so close to together, but since the restaurant wasn't crowded this wasn't a bother to us like it is at breakfast time. We enjoyed the variety of meats, and my daughter tried almost every different kind of rice. She also really liked the sandwich meat section of the buffet and I was happy to see there were Krispy Kreme doughnuts left over from breakfast and a wonderful variety of fresh fruit. I typically find the service lackluster at buffets, but that was not the case this day. Our waiter was very attentive and even made us drinks to go.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Yak and Yeti

I like getting an early lunch ADR here. We have always had success getting seated quickly and have always been seated upstairs in one of the smaller rooms. We've eaten here several times and have always enjoyed our meals and food. This time DH ordered the wonton soup (good), we split some egg rolls (very good), and shared a side a jasmine rice (excellent). We also decided to share the shrimp lo mein. This was pretty good but I like some of the other entrees we've had here better, like the mahi mahi or the honey chicken. I do have to complain about our server this trip. He was very hurried and we felt like a bother. DH even bothered to fill out the comment card that was on the table he felt the service was so bad. I haven't seen these in any other Disney restaurants but since this one is owned by a third party I guess they use these cards to determine customer satisfaction. We will go back to Yak and Yeti on a future trip, but I really wish they would participate with the Tables in Wonderland card.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Rainforest Cafe at AK

We headed over to the RC one day as AK was closing. I had tried to secure an ADR there earlier in the day and was told there was none available so I was hesitant in believing we would actually eat there. Oddly, there was almost no one in the restaurant. We were told by our server that this is the largest Rainforest Cafe in the United States. I can believe it because it is a huge restaurant. This was my first time dining at a RC and I was amazed at all the detail and intricacies that made the dining area look like the rainforest, from the fish tanks to the vines on the ceiling. One thing I did not like were the robotic animals. We were fortunate enough to be sitting in the middle of the dining area, but I felt sorry for families that were sitting right in front of these animals particulary the apes or elephants. They would come on at random moments and beat their chest and make ape noises or trumpet their trunks. It didn't make for a peaceful meal, but I'm sure if you had little ones with you they would enjoy them.

Our server informed us she had been working for Disney for 20 years. I was hopeful that she would be very efficient, and she was but she was also very opinionated. I was wanting something light like a garden salad, but there wasn't any large sized ones on the menu. I asked if I could order 2, but could they be put on a large plate. (I'm reminding myself of Elaine on Seinfeld about this time. Does anyone else remember that episode where she wanted the big salad?) Our waitress told me I would not want that much to eat. She also told my son that he drank too much soda when she brought him several refills.

I did take her advice and just got one salad. It filled me up, but I attribute this to my sister generously sharing her nachos with me. The nachos were very good. My son got the burger and he enjoyed it. My niece got ribs and my brother-in-law got the steak. They both said their's were very good. So we didn't have any complaints with the food, just not sure the environment was for us.

I used my AP to get the 10% discount and noticed I was given around a $6.00 discount on a bill well over $100. Not sure how this was computed and didn't notice it until after we were back at the hotel but it added to my dissatisfaction with this whole meal.

Next I'll review the resort meals that we enjoyed.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Kona breakfast

One of the reasons I enjoy staying at the Polynesian is how easy it is to have breakfast at Kona. It is one of my favorite can't miss meals. My husband is a fan of the tonga toast. I'm not crazy about bananas so I always order the pineapple macadamia nut pancakes, either by themselves or as part of the Big Kahuna platter. I have eaten these pancakes several times and they are always wonderful. We also enjoy the lilikoi juice. But I learned the hard way that it is not refillable one time when my son had three glasses. Our experience with the service at Kona is that it is just fine, not great but certainly not bad either. For the price I also think it is a good value as far as Disney food goes, just stick to one glass or the special juice.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Kona- Dinner

DH and I had dinner one night while staying at the Polynesian. We had been frequent breakfast eaters, but never tried dinner. I wasn't especially hungry because it was miserable hot outside. I opted for the Kona salad. This was super delicious. Very fresh with a wonderful vinagrette. I could have eaten 2plates of this salad. DH had a mahi mahi dish that I don't see on the menu anymore. We were disappointed in this dish. It really didn't have that much taste. For dessert we settled on the Kileaua Torte based on our server's suggestion. This was somewhat of a disappointment too. I was expecting something fabulous based on its appearance but it was really just chocolate cake with a gooey center.

Service here is sporadically good and bad. Like any other restaurant anywhere we've even had the same waitress that was excellent one time and not so much another time. This waitress was not the friendliest, but she was efficient.

I would like to try lunch here sometime. The menu looks appealing.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Ohana Breakfast

DS and I had breakfast here in May. DH had a conference at the Gaylord Palms and we hired a car to take us from the Palms to the Polynesian. I wouldn't ever do this again. Our driver had no idea where the Polynesian was and missed the turn off. Then he seemed to have no idea what to charge us since there was no meter in his car.

Anyway, back to the breakfast- I love the Polynesian and we usually eat there even when we are not staying there. We headed upstairs to Ohana's check in and waited a minimal amount of time before we were buzzed to come have our picture made. I don't like this part of Disney dining but we go along with it to conform but have never bought one of these pictures. I hope no more restaurants begin doing this but I'm concerned it will become the norm for the future.

We had a great seat for 2 by the window and could catch a glimpse of the castle. The sweet bread was brought to start us out and we enjoyed this, particularly the hawaiian one. Shortly after our bread our plate of food arrived. I enjoyed the sausage, eggs, and fruit. I was a little disappointed in the potatoes. Many people here on the DIS love them so I guess my expectations were high. The fruit was the most enjoyable part of our meal. I don't know where Disney gets their fruit but it tastes better than what we have here at home. Our waitress was kind of enough to make us to go cups of the juice so my son was very happy.

Lilo and Stitch is one of my favorite movies and we enjoyed seeing them along with Mickey and Pluto in their island outfits.

So my final analysis of Ohana's breakfast is that it was pretty good. Our service was great and the food was okay. The standard Disney breakfast without the variety of one of the buffets but for about the same cost.

Next I will tell you about our dinner at Ohana's...

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Ohana dinner

Having never eaten dinner at Ohana, I was excited to finally try it. I guessed it must be great since it is so hard to get a reservation. DH and I wandered over from our room at the Poly to check in. This is a busy place with the check-in area for Ohana and Kona so close together. After waiting just a little bit we were given a table for 2 near the walkway. I think I would have been happier with a window seat. We were close to the entertainment that Ohana offers, this night it was a lady singing and encouraging all the children to join in. It didn't make for a relaxing meal but luckily it didn't go on the whole time we were there.

Soon our server was bringing us the food. I absolutely loved the salad. The dressing was just wonderful. I also enjoyed the noodles and the dumplings. DH's favorite was the wings. The broccoli was pretty good, but I like mine cooked a little longer. As for the meat, we didn't really like any of them that much. The chicken and pork were way overcooked. DH liked the beef the best and I thought the shrimp had the best taste, but hardly worth working for after having to pry the peeling off. The bread pudding was a yummy ending to the meal.

I wish I could come back here and just have the salad, starters, noodles and dessert since I enjoyed them so much. But at $30 to $40 a person I can't say Ohana is the best buy if you don't like the meat. We may try it again hoping that whoever was cooking that night was a little heavy handed with those skewers.

 

[Busymom85]

I have 7:50pm adr at Rose and Crown after your review I'm excited to try it. Thanks for your reviews.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

I have 7:50pm adr at Rose and Crown after your review I'm excited to try it. Thanks for your reviews.

I hope you will enjoy Rose and Crown. I would love to be there right now. Some hot Shepherd's Pie sounds good since it is so cold here.