Are we finally done with disney dining? (with pics!)

[angelmav]

No, I am not complaining about the dining, merely tying this report to the award winning and gripping are we finally done with disney trip report. Nothing to do with dissapointments, merely a vacation enterned into as possibly our last family foray into the land of mouse. As this trip changed from one of onsite to off as will be noted in said compelling, fascinating TR I wont go into it here, but several planned meals were dumped as a result. Here then is the lineup of Disney establishments that I will be reviewing:

Typhoon Lagoon CS
Blizzard Beach CS
Sunshine Seasons
Sommerfest
The Plaza
Disney Quest CS
Earl of Sandwhich
Pizzafari
Captain Cooks
Raglan Road
50's Prime Time
Various snacks

 

[KatMark]

I'm here! Bring on the food.

 

[stephd219]

Can't wait to hear your opinions!

 

[angelmav]

Sorry for the delay, but as they say..

On with the show!

Our first park day was at Typhoon Lagoon. No one ever raves about the food at the waterparks and that is pretty much for good reason! It wsnt that it was incredibly expensive (It was) or that it wasnt all that good (It wasnt) it was pretty much what we expected.

We had gotten in late the night before and hadnt yet had time to grocery shop, since we were staying offsite (read the gripping TR for a further explanation), the plan was to save a few $ by having breakfast there. However I knew that there was a mini doughnut facility somewhere on the premesis so we decided to wing it. Now, perhaps I spend too much time on these boards when I know of a doughnut shop at a water park that I have never been to, but that would be admitting that I have a problem and I refuse to give my family the satisfaction!

The doughnuts were a disapointment. They couldnt have put any more sugar on them if they tried. There was a sickly sweet sauce that you could dip them in, I think we opted for strawberry, however combining the two would immediately put you on the verge of serious health risk and after one time I opted for a pretzel. Hubby somehow managed and even got a really good cup of coffee from a stand near the wave pool. Having had a sip, this was at least real coffee and not the dreaded nescafe.

As the day wore on we headed to Leaning Palms for lunch. I opted for a bacon cheeseburger, my daughter got a hot dog, another daughter opted for the kids sub sandwhich which came in a cute pail and my hubby outsmarted us all and ordered the special which was a bbq brisket and fries. This was also hands down the only edible thing we ordered (besides the fries, wow does disney make good fries and they gave us a ton). We also bought the refillable mug, granted its only good day of, but makes a great souvenier and serves as a handy travel mug.

My cheeseburger was beyond well done and I am not sure even qualified as meat any longer. Hubby took pity on me and traded me half his sandwhich for half of mine. Sucker. Wow his bbq was good! The sauce was sweeet with a little zing, the bread was soft and the meat (which was plentiful), was tender and oh so good. I think hubby choked down the rest of my cheeseburger after going back up for a beer, a yuingling? He had never had it before and raved about it, also he ordered it pretty much any time he saw it after that so it must have been pretty good as he rarely drinks. Was it the burger, the sun, or the his idea of being on vacation? I have no idea but it was good to see him relax and enjoy himself a little bit!

Later in the day we also had nachos, a hot dog and more soft pretzels from the snack cart as the rest of our hungry horde found us. In all the food was as expected but we werent overly impressed. I wouldnt want to make a habit out of eating at a disney water park but it served it's purpose on this day.

Coming Up, Sunshine Seasons and sommerfest with pictures!

 

[angelmav]

We had breakfast by the pool at our vacation home this day, just as I imagined, super fresh Florida Grapefruit, bagels, the kids had cereal and real coffee! We herded the cats, I mean rounded up the kids and headed for Epcot. This is our favorite park but we always seem to mess up our dining here. On this day we had planned on dinner at the San Angel Inn, but Im getting ahead of myself!

For starters we snacked while criss-crossing the empty Epcot. The kids had ice cream, I had a super pretzel (Yes I have a Super Pretzel Problem!) They are just so good! Hubby had some really good candied pecans. Most of the time when you get these at a park there break your teeth hard, but these were great and we got them again and again on the trip!

As lunchtime neared so did our FP's for Soarin, so we decided post ride to have luch at Sunshine Seasons. I was looking forward to this as everyone seems to have such a great experience here. Most of us opted for the chinese kiosk, with my daughter getting a kids sub and we hit the bakery kiosk for desserts as well.

Now, maybe it was just the day, but there were no real choices at the kiosk. The mains were the same so it was a matter of rice or noodles and which veggie on the side. This is what the adults ordered.

Ginger mongolian Beef with garlic udon noodles and a vegetable stir fry. It was ok. I thought there was a spicy beef option so was dissapointed to have to settle for this, and then it was on par with a panda express. It wasnt terrible, and I guess at $10 a plate fairly reasonable but I wouldnt hurry back for it either. There just wasnt any flavor.

The older kids opted for the same choice but instead with broccoli in place of the stir fry veg. Of course the pic makes it look like the chicken, so there you go, believe your eyes or my notebook!

Now the kids chinese was very respectable, and it was all part of the hit or miss on the kids meals. This was sweet and sour chicken with rice and a drink for about $6.50, and it was a very respectable portion. While I didnt try it, I was told it was good and there was nothing left, so it must have sufficed.

Unfortunately the kids sub was rediculously small, and my daughter was still hungry after. You just dont know what your going to actually get wit the kids meals portion wise and this wouldnt feed a hungry child above 6 or 7.

The real highlight though was the deserts! We ordered two strawberry shortcakes, a key lime pie and a chocolate mousse cake. They were about $4 each.

The strawberry shortcake was excellent. Not only were the desserts all good sized, the strawberries were super fresh! We ordered 4 desserts for 7 of us to share and we couldnt finish! These were well worth it and hands down the best part of the meal. The chocolate mousse cake was extremely rich and moist, it was wonderful as well. The Key Lime Pie was a big dissapointment though. It had an extremely odd consistency, it was like a key lime pudding with meringue. I am a huge lover of key lime pie and this one I would never get again. In all Sunshine Seasons was a decent meal, it ran us close to $100 though, so if paying out of pocket I have mixed feelings on it. I wouldnt rush back for anything but the desserts.

As the day wore on we made our way over to San Angel, and after looking at the menu, just werent feeling it, so we cancelled that ADR and opted to snack around the world instead. We stopped at Sommerfest and had brats, pretzels (yum), hubby had a German beer and I had a glass of Italian wine. These were much better CS choices price and quality wise. Sorry, the pic's didnt come out on this! We also stopped by the American Pavilion for Funnel Cake and it was gone before I could get a sample, so I guess it passed the kid test as well! There were some hits and some misses, which seemed par for the course and aside from the snacks nothing that would cause me to seek out anything we had again.

Up next, the Plaza, Food quest and Earl of Sandwhich!

 

[MickeyNicki]

The strawberry shortcake at SS is awesome, I have had it for breakfast too

We were supposed to go to dinner at SAI in June but one look at the menu and even I wasnt feeling it!

 

[angelmav]

MickeyNicki I love your DR's so much I feel honored you commented on mine! Yes, I would make it a point to go back for that strawberry shortcake! Yum!!

I ate at SAI years ago and still love the atmosphere, but we just couldnt do it. We have so many great mexican places in Colorado, that it really wasnt a big deal to skip it.

 

[angelmav]

Today was my twin daughters 11th b-day. Originally we had planned on 1900 P.F., but with the price increases we couldnt justify the cost for 7 people, so that was out. Instead we opted for an offsite breakfast buffet. Originally we tried to go to Golden Corral, but went to the wrong one, which didnt offer breakfast, so instead we went across the street to a sizzler that was offering a rediculously cheap breakfast buffet. On further inspection, it wasnt such a great deal, drinks were as much or more than the meal, the food wasn't very good, the place was a bit of a dive and there werent that many options to choose from. hindsite we should have opted for the shades of green bfast buffet, but its over and done. Let that be a lesson! The $2.99 sizzler breakfast buffet in Kissimmee is not the deal that it appears to be!

Safely on disney property we actually got hungry pretty quickly! Imagine that! We had lunch reservations for The Plaza, originally I thought of this as throw away reservation but the girls wanted there birthday meal there so thats what we did. I think they had 'ice cream social' in mind. We checked in and waited and waited...Finally we were seated. Our server, Surly, I mean Shirly (Honestly I dont know her name, but she made it a point to scowl at us???) Was adequate but no more. Refills were difficult to get and met with more scowls??? I'm not sure who we reminded her of, but it wasnt a positive impression they made! Fortunately I think I am the only one that noticed the dirty looks, although hubby commented on the lack of attentiveness on her part while trying to suck the moisture out of an ice cube.

The food though was Fabulous!

I had the Ruben on a really good marble rye bread and a really good cole slaw on the side. This was a great sandwhich and excellent cole slaw, of which I am a fan, and you would not believe how often I get it after it has started to sour.

Hubby had the Angus Chuck Cheeseburger with Bacon, Grilled Onions and Mushrooms and homemade potato chips on the side. His impression. Mmmph sooo good, quit talking, must eat fabulous burger. He said it was one of the best restaurant burgers he had ever had. The noisy mmmm mmmm mmmm's and the eyes rolling into the back of his head kind of gave it away though.

Two of the girls split a philly cheesesteak and more of the home made chips! They made similar joyous eating sounds and it looked great! I tried to get a bite but was snarled at and one of them bared fangs at me!

The youngest two split a plaza club which they really enjoyed and they loaded them up with a ton of the fabulous Disney fries which we couldnt finish.

Another daughter also ordered a burger like her dads, but I didnt take a picture of both, or of them high fiving and chest bumping during the meal.

Up next dessert!

 

[KatMark]

Sorry you had a "surly" server at Plaza, but so good you found the food great. It is one of our favorite restaurants at Disney. We always have our final meal here on our last day just before heading to the airport or the beach. DH loves the reuben and the marble bread and I love the Plaza Club and the burger. Last month I made DH order the chips while I ordered the fries so I could have some of both.

 

[angelmav]

I should mention I took no end of abuse for taking photo's of our food, but they let me have my way most of the time on this! I also got more than I few strange looks, so I know what your going through when doing this fellow dining reporters!

The manager made an announcement to the restaurant and came out with cupcakes for the girls as happy birthday was sung.

Embarrassed or soaking up the attention? Divas!

They loved the cupcakes and had a hard time finishing them. We really got big portions here and they opted to defer ice cream for later in the day.
Another daughter decided on the biggest banana split I have ever seen! She said it was great, I had all that I could handle so I didnt sample.

For my part I had the brownie ice cream sundae with mint chocolate chip ice cream. Oh wow was this a great combo! The brownie was soft and moist and that combo was excellent! The super creamy ice cream was just incredible too!

Hubby had the Plaza Ice Cream sundae which was strawberry with hot fudge and toppings. His impression? mmmm, mmmmmm, soooo goood, leave me alone...then the eye thing again! He said the ice cream was some of the best he had ever had too, and considering the weird smile on his face the rest of the day I think he really did enjoy the meal!

Two girls split a brownie sundae with vanilla ice cream and they were equally satisfied with the choice.

In all the meal was excellent, the service was meh, but the food was great and it was only a little more than we paid the day before at Sunshine Seasons, and that was with the tip, so I highly recommed the Plaza whether on the dining plan or better yet, oop.

We had planned on dinner at tony's, but they called me a week before and told me we couldnt eat there unless we bough party ticket. Oh well, no soup for us. Since it was an early day with the MK closing for a halloween party in september..,We went to DTD and snacked at Foodquest. We got a souvenier cup, super pretzel, hot dog, and nachos. Maybe I am wrong, but didnt there used to be a cheesecake factory here?? It was ok, but I wouldnt want to have to use up anything but a snack credit here. Following this we walked around and shopped, danced in front of the closed Adventurers Club and my girls even got interviewed on Disney Radio! Eventualy we made it over to Earl Of sandwhich. O.M.G. These were good sandwhiches! We ordered these to go since the kids wanted to take a dip in the pool.

We got the Original-Roast beef, cheddar and a horseradish sauce! This was my favorite (I took a bite of each in an effort to provide a comprehensive review!) Sorry, no pics, we were starved and these were pounced upon before anyone would allow me to get the camera out.

The full Montague-roast beef and turkey with cheddar, Swiss, lettuce, tomato and mustard. This was also good, I liked the original better but I love horseradish. Hubby had no problems enjoying this though and was near passing out from food nirvana.

Canonballs-Meatball sandwhich, the kids loved this and the small bite I got was very good. the zesty tomato sauce really adds to this sandwhich

The Hawaiian- bbq'ed ham and chicken with swiss and pineapple. I know it sounds a little odd, but this was another excellent sandhich.

Caribbean Jerk Chicken- chicken, red peppers, banana peppers and some kind of jerk sauce. This one didnt really agree with me (maybe it was the other 4 sandwhiches I had eaten already) but one of the kids devoured it so it wasnt the sandwhich.

EOS is a great place to go especially if your paying OOP. My only regret was that it was the only time we were able to enjoy them this trip, but I highly recommend sampling their wares!

Today was a real highlight and kind of pointed out some of the disparity in disney dining. Some things are really high quality and priced right, others not so much. Today we really enjoyed everything and it was much, much better than I had thought it might be going in. I know I get skeptical when I read how something at Disney was 'the best ever' I mean, really, that 20 oz sprite was the best ever? But the food today was really, really good and I can't put enough emphasis on that. The prices were right, the quality was high and we really did enjoy just about every aspect of it, Surly aside.

Up next, Blizzard Beach and Raglan Road!

 

[MickeyNicki]

MickeyNicki I love your DR's so much I feel honored you commented on mine! Yes, I would make it a point to go back for that strawberry shortcake! Yum!!

I ate at SAI years ago and still love the atmosphere, but we just couldnt do it. We have so many great mexican places in Colorado, that it really wasnt a big deal to skip it.

Thank you for reading my reviews! You are doing an awesome job on your reviews!

The kids are just too darn cute! I love the reuben from the Plaza..YUMMY!

 

[angelmav]

Today we went back to the waterparks but this time we brought a fruit salad and sub with us. Now the one difference between todays park and TL was when returning the locker key. You leave a $5 deposit for the key when checking out the locker, well at TL they just gave back the money, here they offered a handsome blizzard beach faux leather coffee mug instead of the deposit back. Being the discerning shopper I am I snagged that puppy up in a heartbeat. DH decided that he didnt want the sub afterall and that the kids could have the picnik food so the we headed off to Lottawotta Lodge. DH ordered another Yuingling? (I need to look up how to spell that beer), and had a chili dog with fries, I had a cheeseburger and fries that was at least edible this time and my oldest daughter tagged along and ordered a chicken nuggets with fries. It was ok. On par with TL certainly and the waterpark food continued to pale in comparison to many of the other CS offerings.

After leaving the parks We had a date night planned at Raglan Road for the two of us. Downtown disney was packed with folks looking for some night time entertainment and RR was no exception (scuttling PI continues to baffle me), we waited about 30 minutes past our ADR and then had S-L-O-W service the entire night. We were seated next to the dancers stage and by the time we left she must have done her routine 5 or 6 times.

It was really loud in here too with the band and hard to hold a conversation plus it was packed. After about 15 minutes we finally got drinks, DH a guiness, me a fruity mixed drink and soda bread with a dipping sauce that we both enjoyed.

For appetizers DH ordered the Chickin Lickin, which was supposed to be a whicky marinated chicken with a spicy mustard, but just tasted like chicken strips. Nothing special. Sorry no pic, I have two blank pics where these should be, must have left the lens cap on!

For mine I ordered the salt and pepper calamari that had a veggie tempura with it. This was really good and they gave you alot. We both shared and it made up somewhat for his lackluster app.

For dinner I ordered the Pie in the Skie, a chicken and wild mushroom pot pie with a small salad that had a light honey lime dressing.

this was good but they dont give you very much and would not be enough if you didnt have the bread and starter.

Hubby ordered the ribs to the power of two, a shortrib with horseradish mashed potatoes and a carrot/parsnip side dish.

The rib was just odd, it tasted like stew meat and had an odd consistency. It's not that it was bad, just not what we expected. The Horseradish mash was excellent, but the carrot/parsnip upset his stomach. By the time we were done with our mains we had been there for an hour and a half at the table, but I wanted to try the bread and butter pudding, so we decided to share and ordered one, then we waited and waited and waited. We saw other tables get theres and when the server must have noticed because she came over, told us they ran out but ours was being made fresh and blamed the dining plan??? It was a weird exchange. Normally I would have complained but didnt want to put a damper on our evening out together and hubby was enjoying the band and ahem, dancer, so I dont think he noticed that it took almost an hour to get our dessert. Of course the entire time I was wishing we had saved the trouble and just gone to bennigans, but eventually it arrived, a bread pudding so good it came floating on on the wings of angels....It was FANTASTIC! The caramel and vanilla sauces, it all went together so well it was almost worth the trouble to get it. In all we enjoyed Raglan Road OK, but I understand the bad reviews. The service was terrible and some of the menu choices dont mesh well. That said theres not alot of night time entertainment at DTD anymore, so it was worth a try but hardly recommended. It certainly wasnt worth the 3 hours it took to have dinner here.

Up next, Pizzafari and 50's prime time

 

[angelmav]

Sorry for the delay to my last installment, my computer crashed and I didnt have time with the holidays to re-download the pics till now. With 21/2 days remaining on our trip our next day was at animal kingdom, we snacked on the usual (well usual for us) Beer, Super Pretzels, roasted nuts, ice-creams, and as the day wore on it got to the point that it was internimably hot! I mean, we were roasting. With no ADR's and a real need to find some A/C we decided to skip Flame Tree and instead opt for the Air Conditioned Pizzafari. This was a good choice not only value wise but was fairly tasty too. We had the place to ourselves (the parade was going on while we ate) and the pizza's and Italian Sandwhiches were good portion and quality. In all we enjoyed it, it's not gourmet, but for an indoor sit down option at AK it's a pretty good choice!

Our next day saw us at Hollywood Studios. We had the frozen cokes/lemonades and Super Pretzels as snacks, SH found the Yuengling and we had a much anticipated ADR at 50's Prime Time

We were really looking forward to the interaction and some of the servers were really into their roles. We were seated with Aunt Carroll who was ok. She was really overloaded with tables and didnt interact as much as we had hoped. We wanted to try an App so we ordered a Crab Cake.

Umm, at $10 bucks this was kind of a rip off. Highly breaded and small, the chili sauce was nice but the french fried onions did nothing but add a little bulk to a skimpy app.

One daughter ordered the Meatloaf kids meal and loved it, but it was a very small portion, the kids chicken dinners were much better portiones. Everyone else had the chicken dinners,

The chicken was good, not great. It was moist but the skin had a burnt flavor to it, as if they had burned something in the oil and it transferred to the chicken, since none of the chicken was overcooked. At this point we did have a memorable moment when my daughter tried to tattle on her mom, and Aunt Carroll had everyone in our section wagging their fingers and saying shame, shame on you, no tattle taling! It was hilarious and a little more of that kind of interaction would have made the lackluster meal more worthwhile but that was it. We also had problems getting refills (another hot, hot day) and while we liked our server, she was incredibly overburdened with tables, and without the interaction here the food is not worthy of the prices. Also, while the mains (the chicken) were plentiful, we all really enjoyed the sides and a dollop of potatoes or collard greens wasnt enough. We all ordered desert.

I had Dad's Brownie Sundae, it was ok, not as good as the Plaza's. Part of the problem is that the Brownie itself was frozen, unlike the moist brownie on the similar Plaza sundae.

DH got the Rootbeer float and was underwhelmed, I thought it was an odd choice but he is such a fan of all things 50's and floats were king back then.

One DD got the cheesecake and this was hands down the best dessert brought to the table. This was a great piece of cheesecake, I even let her have a couple of bites!

Another DD got the smores and didnt really care for this version. Chocolate sauce instead of a chocolate bar makes for a sub-par smore in her book.

We also had a couple of make your own sundae's and they were good, but the kids all agreed the ice cream at the Plaza was better.

Aunt Carroll was nice enough to take a picture with us. We really like the idea of 50's and the set-up, but the food was not as good as we had hoped (a problem at MGM/HS). While we wouldnt rush back, we wouldnt take it off the list either.


Up next our final Disney meal and my final thoughts.

 

[angelmav]

Our last day was at the Water Parks and I wont re-hash their offerings. We had started the day by shopping at Shades of Green, and we were going to eat lunch their, but just couldn't talk ourselves into any of the offerings, so realizing that we could either A. Hop across the pond to MK and Caseys or CHH or go to the Poly and have lunch at Captain Cooks. Much to my suprise (and later culinary delight) they chose Captain Cooks. After strolling across the street we made it to the restaurant and the order for yourself kiosks. They werent that hard to work and I really like these!

Serve yourself Dole whip, who knew that a little plastic cup could hold so much pineapple goodness??

BBQ Pork sandwhich with homemade potatoe chips, this was a great, Great, GREAT sandwhich and oh so filling! The chips were ok, I like Pub chips and these were just alright, but plentiful and I appreciated the assortment with sweet potatoe mixed in.

Lo Mein noodle dish, this was much better than the chinese at Sunshine Seasons and another portion that was plentiful and difficult to finish!

Bacon Cheeseburger and Cole Slaw, The bacon was cooked to beyond recognition but the burger itself was ok. The real winner was the Cole Slaw that was YUMMY!

Kids meal cheeseburger, no complaints and decent portion.

Kids Turkey Sandwhich. One piece of skimpy overprocessed turkey, another offering only fitting of small kids.

After the meal we hung out and tried to get a Kona Coffee to no avail. While searching for that the kids were invited to take part in a hula lesson. It was a great stop on a casual last day that we really enjoyed.

I left the trip with really mixed emotions on our Disney Dining. Some things were really unique and/or high quality. The prices have gotten out of hand for anyone not on a plan and the service and quality were far too spotty at times for what their charging. Are we done with Disney Dining? I hope not, but we will return with a very discerning eye and hope that they get back on their game to a component of the vacation that means a great deal to returning visitors.