Ate nights at Disney (June 16-24) -complete

[phabric]

Enjoyed reading your reviews. Will be looking for more.

 

[TruBlu]

After a late night at Epcot and MK the night before, we slept in and barely made it to our 11:05 am lunch at

SCI-FI DINER

We fell in love with Sci-Fi last year, so it is now on our must-do list. We tried both lunch and dinner last year and liked lunch much more. It is so refreshing to walk out of the smoking hot June sun into a cool summer night at a drive-in movie. The effect here is stunning, and we love it.

Since we were having lunch, we decided to pay for this meal and save our dining credits for dinner.

When we got there at 11:00 the restaurant wasn't open, but they let us check in - along with almost evey other family in the park. We were lucky enough to be standing near a family with a kid that cried non-stop until we were seated. Thank goodness they were not near us in the restaurant!

We were seated in the front two seats of a car with three seats. A man and his young son were seated behind us. I felt really bad for them, because I'm sure the little boy couldn't see that well over us.

Our service here was very good and fast.

The kids both ordered a cheeseburger kids meal, one with carrots and one with apple slices (with no brown sugar). Both came with fries, and we got a side of pickles - which turned out to be a bowl full of pickle slices. They both had milk to drink.

Since we skipped breakfast, DH and I were starving. He ordered an appetizer of chili and I had onion rings. The chili was a whole bowl full that would probably be enough for a lite lunch. DH practically licked the bowl clean, so I'm guessing it was good. I don't really care for chili, but it smelled great. My onion rings were pretty good. They were thick sliced and very greasy. I saved most of them to eat with my lunch, but I was so full I couldn't finish them.

We both ordered burgers. Mine was with swiss, mushrooms, and grilled onions with a side of cucumber-melon salad. DH's was with cheddar and bacon and a side of french fries. The burgers were thick and juicy. This was the best burger I had all week! The cucumber-melon salad was light and refreshing. I was surprised at how much I liked it. I could have eaten another bowl full and skipped the onion rings. It was very good.

For drinks I had a regular Coke and DH had a Vanilla Coke.

The boys got a sundae with their kids meals. They didn't eat much of anything, but said that it was all very good. They really enjoyed watching the film clips and didn't want to leave.

The people behind us finished up before we did. As they were leaving, I noticed that our Indiana Jones fast passes were about to expire, and there was no way we could make it. I offered them to them and it really seemed to make the little boy very happy. Hopefully it made up for having to sit behind grown-ups at Sci-Fi.

This is a fun place with really good burgers!!! We still love it!!!

I'd give it a 9 out of 10, but only because I didn't expect gourmet food.

Our bill before tip was $61.79

 

[TruBlu]

Our dinner that night was at

MARRAKESH

When I made our ADRs, I thought that we would be really full after lunch at Sci-Fi, so I made our dinner reservation at 7:00 pm. Well, at 6:00 we were starving! So, we decided to see if they could seat us early. The CM was very friendly and said that they could. We didn't even sit down before our buzzer was buzzing. We were seated against the rail on the second level (just about 4 steps up), with a great view of the band and dance floor - and later in the meal the belly dancer.

Our water glasses were instantly filled with ice cold water and we were given a basket of bread and butter. The bread was soft and warm and only lasted a minute or two.

DS6 ordered a kids meal with Chicken tenders, carrots, and fries. DS9 had the Moroccan pasta with meatballs. Again, both had milk to drink. They really enjoyed this meal. DS6 ate all of his chicken tenders (dipped in ketchup), and DS9 ate all but one of his meatballs and quite a bit of the pasta. They had vanilla and chocolate ice cream for dessert.

DH and I decided to get entrees that included an appetizer, so we were charged an extra $5.95 for each meal. (We asked before ordering.)

DH had the Mediterranean Seafood Platter (shrimp ragout, broiled salmon, seafood bastilla and rice). I had the Night in Casablanca (Roast Lamb Meshoui, Chicken Kebab, Seafood Bastilla and rice).

The seafood bastilla was served as our appetizer with a small salad. The outside was flaky and crisp and the inside was moist and delicious. DH didn't like it quite as much as I did, but he did say that it was very good.

DH had a huge piece of salmon and quite a few shrimp. His food looked amazing to me, but he said that it was something he could get anywhere and there was nothing special about it. But - he did finish the entire plate.

I had never tried a lamb shank before and couldn't wait to taste it. Unfortunately, I didn't like it very much. It was very lean and seemed to be prepared well. I just didn't like the flavor of the meat. The chicken on the other hand was fantastic! It was moist and tender and perfectly flavored. It was served on a wooden skewer. The rice was very good also. It came with a large sprig of cilantro as a garnish. I LOVE cilantro, so I chopped mine and DH's up into my rice and ate that with the chicken. It was wonderful! Even though I didn't eat the lamb, I was so full I couldn't finish all the chicken.

For dessert DH and I both chose the Bastilla. It was a plate full of crispy sheets of pastry topped with vanilla cream and sprinkled with toasted almonds. It was rich and yummy! I really wanted to eat it all, but I didn't have much room left. I stuffed in as much as I could and waddled out of there.

The service was great and the food was good, but we decided this would be a one time only for us. The food just wasn't anything special. I have to agree with DH - we could get it anywhere.

I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

Sorry, but I don't have the receipt for this one.

 

[TruBlu]

This was our day at Blizzard Beach, so we decided to have lunch at

LOTTAWATTA LODGE

The boys both had hot dog baskets with fries, bottled water, and one Itzakadoosie and one Mickey ice cream sandwich. They both ate almost everything, so it must have been good. (DFs)DD9 had a kid's meal with a hot dog, fries and grapes.

DH and both DFs had a Cheeseburger Basket with fries and a Mickey bar. They all said it was good.

I decided to be brave and take a chance on the chicken wrap. I was really glad I did! It was surprisingly good. The chicken was lean - no fatty pieces at all. The wrap had a lot of cheese and lettuce. It came with a bag of chips and a Mickey bar for dessert. It was really very good and not as heavy as most of the other choices.

There was lots of seating and we had no trouble at all finding a large table in the shade. We really enjoyed this meal. It was better than we expected to get at a water park.

I'd give it a 6 out of 10.

 

[TruBlu]

After a fun day at Blizzard Beach, we headed over to Epcot for dinner at

TUTTO ITALIA

Thanks to super slow busses from POFQ we were about 15 minutes late for our reservation. The CM at check-in was very nice. He promised to seat us right away, and it didn't take long at all.

We were served a nice basket of breads with a herbed butter and a dish of veggies (olives, carrot, pickle, pepper, etc.) along with olive oil for dipping the breads. This was a very nice way to start the meal. The breads were very fresh and delicious.

Our server here was wonderful. He made some very good suggestions for entrees and desserts. He was attentive and friendly.

The kids meals here were fantastic! They had a choice of fresh fruit cocktail, salad, or mozzarella sticks for their appetizer. They ended up with 2 fruit cocktails and one mozzarella sticks. The fruit was served in a martini glass. It was a chopped mixture of apples, mellon, strawberries, and blueberries. DS gave me a taste and it was really good! DS6 had the mozzarella sticks. He has never liked them before, so I wasn't sure why he ordered them. BUT he ate them ALL! (He did share a few bites with his brother.) They said they were fantastic.

For their entrees they had a spaghetti with meatballs and two grilled chicken breasts. The chicken looked OK - just grilled chicken, but DS really liked it. It was served with green beans which both kids didn't touch. DS6 had the spaghetti and meatballs. He ate until I thought he would POP. When we was finished DH and I took a bite and wished we had ordered what he had!!!! It was sooooo good!!!! We ate all that he left behind.

At the suggestion of the CM, the adults ordered 3 lasagnas and 1 manicotti. I had the manicotti. If I'm remembering correctly it was spinach and ricotta. I do remember that it was excellent, but the little bite of lasagna that DH let me have was better. The lasagna was probably the best I've ever had!!! We had four clean plates in a matter of minutes. The food and service here were FANTASTIC.

Since we had a kid with nut allergies, the chef made her a special dessert of berries and cream. It came in a huge glass and was full of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and possibly some other fruit. I didn't get a good look at it before it was gobbled up. DS9 had chocolate gelati. It was a rich, creamy, dark chocolate, and he loved it. DS6 had lemon sorbetti, and it was his favorite dessert of the week. He wanted to order it at every TS place after that, but I think you can only get it here.

Again at the suggestion of the CM, the adults ordered 3 copetta sottoboscos (berries, zabaglione cream gelato and chocolate sauce) and 1 profiterolles (puffed pasteries filled with zabaglione cream gelato and drizzled with dark chocolate). These were excellent. Our DF's had one of each and said that the profiterolles were the best, but DH and I both really enjoyed the berries.

We were uncomfortably full when we rolled out of there, but it was worth it! The food and service were excellent. This was our best dinner of the trip! I think we will make 2 ADRs on our next trip.

This one gets a 10 out of 10.

Our total before tip was $128.87.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Thanks so much for the Sci Fi review. DH wanted to add it for a lunch option on our Oct trip..we have never been before so we are excited to go. He is a chili lover and me onion rings and we both love good burgers and vanilla cokes! Thanks again!

 

[TruBlu]

Thanks so much for the Sci Fi review. DH wanted to add it for a lunch option on our Oct trip..we have never been before so we are excited to go. He is a chili lover and me onion rings and we both love good burgers and vanilla cokes! Thanks again!

I think you'll love it. The milkshakes looked really good, too. We just didn't have room for anything else.

 

[TruBlu]

This was another waterpark day for us - this time Typhoon Lagoon. We had lunch at

LEANING PALMS
There are not any other good choices at Typhoon Lagoon to have lunch when using the dining plan. I'm not sure if that was the reason, but this place was really crowded. DH and DFs got in line for food while the kids and I looked, and looked, and looked for a table. Just when I thought we were going to have to stand for lunch... DS6 scoped out a group that looked like they would be finisied soon. I tried to get him to keep walking, but he found an empty chair beside a trash can and watched for them to leave. Thank goodness he did, because it was the only table I saw open up the entire time we were there.

On to the food....
The kids all got hot dogs here - 2 plain and 1 with chili, all with fries, and for dessert 2 Itzakadoozies and 1 Mickey ice cream sandwich. The chili dog was smothered in way too much chili. We had to chop up the hotdog and DS ate it with a fork. The chili was good - there was just too much.

The adults ended up with a hot dog basket, a cheeseburger basket, and 2 chicken wraps. Because I had talked about how good my wrap was a BB, DF decided to get one too. MISTAKE - this time there was so little cheese that I thought they had forgotten it and the chicken was full of fat. YUCK. The hot dog and cheeseburger were good. At least we got to finish with Mickey bars.

Because of the lack of seating and nasty chicken, I'd give this place a 4 out of 10. The sad thing is that it is really the only choice at TL, so I guess we'll have to eat there again.

 

[Illuminations_Rocks]

Thanks for your reviews! I am enjoying them!

 

[catne]

great reviews...can't wait for the rest!

 

[TruBlu]

We stayed at MK until they closed (2 am) the night before, so we decided to sleep until 9 today. Since we got such a late start, we decided to have lunch at the food court before heading over to Animal Kingdom.

SASSAGOULA FOOD COURT
We ended up eating here 3 times - sort of. The first was lunch:
The kids all had chicken nugget kids meals. These were the same as all the other nuggets.... I really wish kids meals could be more varied. But, they loved them. We used 3 snack credits to get them all ice cream cones for dessert. The ice cream here is very creamy, and the scoops are huge. They let them have 2 scoops for 1 credit.

DH had the Muffaletta with cheesecake w/strawberries for dessert. He loved the sandwich, and I have to admit it looked really good. If we had eaten another lunch here I would have tried it myself. The cheesecake was very good. It was nice and dense and not too sweet. The strawberries were strange. We couldn't figure out exactly what was wrong with them, but they we not very good. Even DS6 didn't like them and he is a strawberry fiend. But, the cheesecake was good without them.

DFs and I all had the taco salad with beef. Mistake! The ground beef was very high in fat - so much that the bottom of the shell turned soggy and bright orange from the grease. After a few bites a thick orange grease coating formed on my fork!!!!! I ended up scraping as much meat as possible over to the side and trying to just eat what was left. I think it would have been better if we had chosen the chicken instead of beef (they give you a choice). Surely, the chicken wouldn't have been as greasy. Without the meat, the salad was very good. They make them to order and you get to choose your toppings. I didn't write it down, so I can't remember the toppings - sorry. But they were fresh and a good variety. I would definitely try it again only with chicken. DFs ate more of the meat than I did, and they both felt slightly sick for the rest of the afternoon. We all had cheesecake for dessert - yummy!

Our second "meal" here was a late night pizza. For 2 CS credits we got a large cheese pizza, 2 double scoops of ice cream, and 2 drinks. I also used another snack credit for 6 beignets. We took it all back to the room one night after swimming for a late night meal. The pizza was typical Disney pizza. Thick crust, lots of cheese, lots of sauce. It was what we expected.

The disappointment came with the Beignets. The were kind of tough, chewy, hollow, fried dough covered in powered sugar. Not very good. We tried them both hot and cold. They were a little better hot - they were puffy then. When they cooled, they flattened out and became even more leathery. We threw away 4 out of 6. Our friends threw away 5 out of 6.

Our 3rd "meal" here was as we were waiting for Magic Express to pick us up for the airport. We had 2 CS meals left, but were not very hungry. We used them for 2 double scoops of ice cream, 2 milks, and 2 bottles of water.

The food here was pretty good for CS. I'd give it a 6 out of 10.

This one isn't worth a special trip, but is a pretty good choice if you are staying in the FQ. There is lots of seating, it is very clean, and the food is fresh and hot.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Thanks for the great reviews!

 

[TigerKat]

Thanks for taking the time to share your reviews with us!

 

[TruBlu]

Somehow I skipped this one....
There were only 4 of us for this meal. DFs DD is allergic to rice, so they decided to try Coral Reef instead.

TEPPAN EDO

This was one of three FANTASTIC meals we had at Disney. (The other two were Tutto Italia and Le Cellier.)

After a waterpark day and a slow bus ride, we were about 30 minutes late for our ADR. The CM was very nice and said it wouldn't be a problem at all. We waited about 15 minutes before we were paged for our table.

There were 4 of us and we were seated with an older couple on one end of the table and two young guys at the other end. DS6 and 9 were not getting along that well, so we decided we didn't want them sitting beside each other. DH sat beside the older couple, then DS6, me, DS9, and the younger guys. We were all pretty close together. I think the two guys on the end were either business associates or on a first date. They didn't seem to know each other very well. I felt really bad for them because DS was right up against them there on the corner. I kept telling him to give them some space, but there just wasn't much to give. They were very nice to him and talked to him some (DS LOVES to talk!), but they seemed to be trying to get to know each other. I hope DS didn't ruin their evening, but we enjoyed talking to them. Being crowded was the only (slight)negative about this place.

The CMs were wonderful! They brought out hot towels for our hands. , and our drinks quickly followed.

Our only appetizer was clear soup for DS9 (not included in the basic dining plan). He loved it! It had a few cubes of tofu and some seaweed and scallions. He gave me a little taste and made me wish I'd gotten one for myself.

The guys at the end of the table ordered sushi and it looked amazing! (They didn't share with us - but I was expecting DS to ask for a bite at any minute. )

Both boys had the kids Ebi (shrimp) meal. I wish they had a kids steak. The only choices were shrimp or chicken. DH had the filet, and I had the steak and shrimp.

The cook was very entertaining. She made the tallest onion volcano I've ever seen! That thing was at least 8 inches tall! She made a joke about not being able to make the big poof of fire that you get at other places. She said Mickey doesn't like fire.

She cooked the noodles and veggies first (onion and zuchini), followed by the seafood, then the steak and chicken. We were given 3 dipping sauces - ginger, a white sauce, and a mustard sauce. They were all very good, and she refilled them as needed. We were also served a small bowl of steamed rice on the side.

My steak (which DS ate half of!) was cooked to perfection and had no fat at all. The shrimp was very large and also perfectly cooked. DH's filet was tender, juicy, and didn't last very long.

Dessert wasn't that great, but we were so full we didn't care. The kids both had ice cream, DH had ginger cake, and I had a fruit tart. The tart of the night was apple. It was a flat pastry filled with sweet sticky filling and topped with apple slices. It was just OK.

This is now a must-do for us. The food, service, atmosphere - everything was wonderful.

10 out of 10

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Yum!!

Thanks for the great reviews. You make me want to try Tutto Italia now.

 

[TruBlu]

You make me want to try Tutto Italia now.

It was so good. I wish I could go back tonight!

 

[TruBlu]

Our next dinner was at

LE CELLIER

Believe it or not, we almost canceled this one. We spent the day at Animal Kingdom, and the kids didn't want to leave. They only got to ride Everest 2 times. So, I spent about 30 minutes on the phone with Disney Dining trying to find a later ADR. Our only option was Raglan Road (which I've been wanting to try). We came very close to switching, but at the last minute decided to just keep what we had. I'm so glad we did!!!!!

We had a 6:20 dinner reservation, so we hopped a bus from AK to Epcot at around 5:30 and made it with time to spare. I wish they ran buses between all the parks. It sure made it easier.

After some lively pin trading with the CM checking us in, we were seated with hardly a wait at all.

Our tables were a little crowded. We had two tables with one bench seat along the back and four chairs on the other side. Since there were only 7 of us, I guess they planned for us to leave the most crowded chair empty, but for some reason the kids wanted to sit on that side. We just moved the tables a little closer together and it worked out fine.

We got two huge servings of bread sticks (extra pretzel bread in both ). The bread is the best here! We smeared pretzel bread with butter and were in heaven.

DH and DF were both drinking pale ale and were planning to pass on drinks. I suggested that they order the mango smoothie and chocolate raspberry shake for the kids to share. They did, and the kids loved both drinks - but I think the chocolate shake won out for the favorite. The kids could have ordered either of these drinks with the dining plan, but our kids really like to have milk with their meal, so this worked out great. I had a mango smoothie, too. It was slightly tart, sweet, icy and yummy. I really enjoyed it.

Our boys had a steak with apples (no brown sugar) and fries, and a hot dog with carrots (no celery) and fries. DS really loved his steak. This was his favorite meal of the entire trip. DFs DD had a hard time finding something to eat here because of her nut allergy. They recommended that she avoid all bread. She ended up with a hot dog - no bun, apple slices and fries. She was happy and seemed to enjoy her food. They all had ice cream sundaes for dessert.

DH and both DFs had the mushroom filet with cream cheese mashed potatoes instead of the risotto. There was a small pile of mushrooms on top of the steak which was nestled in a large serving of mashed potatoes. DH also had a side of mac and cheese (not included with the DDP). I had the NY strip with balsamic red onions, watercress, and roasted Yukon potatoes finished with Bercy butter. I couldn't find any red onions, the watercress was bitter and there seemed to be some red bell pepper mixed in, and there were only a couple of potatoes. I am not a picky eater at all, but I had to scrape away everything but the potatoes. But, my steak was so good the side didn't matter at all. It was cooked to a perfect med-rare. There was very little fat along the side. The meat was fork tender and perfectly seasoned. The portion was HUGE. I just knew that I wouldn't be able to finish even half of it.....WRONG. I ate the whole thing! DH and DFs didn't have any trouble finishing every bite of their's either. They all ordered them cook differently, and they were all prepared exactly as ordered. The only thing that we didn't like was the mac and cheese. It had a strange smoky taste. We love almost all smoked foods, but this just tasted off. We all had a little taste then pushed it aside.

Dessert here was fantastic, too. DH had the Chocolate Moose. Sadly, I didn't even see it before he devoured it. He is sitting behind me right now talking about how good it was. He ate the ears first.

I had the maple creme brulee. I think I missed DHs dessert because I was consumed with mine. It was fabulous!!!!! The top was crunchy and the bottom was creamy and cool. I had planned to only taste it, but I couldn't control myself.... I didn't stop until it was completely gone - and to spite my aching tummy, I would have eaten more! DFs had the whiskey cake and the sorbet. They both said they were very good.

This meal was wonderful. Definitely a 10 out of 10!!! It is another must-do.

 

[TruBlu]

We were back at AK again to ride Everest some more....
So we had lunch at...

RESTAURANTOSAURUS

This is DS6s favorite CS in the parks - or is used to be anyway. He was very sad to see that he couldn't get McDonalds nuggets anymore. We ended up with 2 double cheeseburger baskets (DH and Me), an 8 nugget meal, and a kids meal with chicken nuggets, carrots and fries. These are now the same nuggets that you get everywhere at Disney. The boys enjoyed the nuggets. DH and I really like the burgers here. The topping bar is great. The boys had a cup of pickles, and I added lettuce, tomato, grilled onion and mushrooms to my burger. It was fantastic. We had 3 chocolate cakes for dessert, and DS had jello with the kids meal. Chocolate cake isn't really my thing, so DS gobbled mine up. They all said that the cake was pretty good for a CS dessert.

We like having lunch here. There is a lot of indoor, cool seating. We also like having the topping bar.

Since it is just a CS, I'd give it a 6 out of 10. But, we really like it and will definitely return.

 

[TruBlu]

After a fun, rainy day at AK we grabbed a bus to the Poly for dinner at....

'OHANA

Check-in here took a very long time. There was only one CM working the desk, and the lady in front of me had a problem. Her ADRs had been booked for July instead of June. The CM said that they could get her in then spent a VERY long time trying to fix all of her other ADRs while I waited.... Eventually another CM came over and checked me in. Our wait was about 20 minutes, but it seemed longer because the Poly was so crowded. I don't think I would like staying there because of all the people waiting for meals. It was chaotic.

We were seated at a table along the entry path, near the bathroom, back behind the cooking fires. We did not have a good view of the activities. There was also a speaker right over our table that was VERY loud and annoying. We heard all the singing and activities very well, but couldn't hear anyone at our table.

We probably had our worst CM of the trip here. She mixed up our drink orders at first, but eventually got them right. (We didn't complain, because she seemed to be trying her best.)

The bread here was AMAZING! It had a slightly sweet flavor. We finished one within minutes and asked for more. It took awhile, but it was worth the wait. The fresh loaf was hot and delicious.

Next we were served our salad. This was fresh and crisp. The dressing was very good, but slightly sweet. DH is the only one who didn't enjoy it. He has a strong dislike for sweet dressing.

It didn't take long to get the dumplings and wings, but the servings were very small for a table of 7. The kids didn't really like them, so the adults shared the few that we got. Both were just OK. The wings tasted almost scorched. They were also very messy. We were happy when we got the smoking hot towels to wipe our hands.

Next we were served the noodles and broccoli with pea pods. I gave each kid some broccoli, but quickly realized that even I didn't like it. It was very crunchy (almost raw) with a very strong flavor. I didn't make the kids finish it. None of us even tried the pea pods. The noodles were very plain - almost no flavor at all. We were concerned that they contained peanuts, so we had to wait for our waitress to return before letting DFs DD eat any. They were ice cold before we saw her again.

Before our meats were served, everything else (but the broccoli) was gone. We were never asked if we'd like a refill of anything. We probably would have taken more noodles, but we were never given the option.

Meats started to arrive when we were not at the table. We were up doing the hula on the other side of the restaurant. We couldn't even see our table. We returned to find that we each had a serving of now cold meat and 2 shrimp each.

The pork and turkey was extremely dry - so much so, that our DF got choked. He spent a very long time in the bathroom trying to recover. It was frightening. The shrimp was very messy. It was cooked in the shell, but covered in a spice. We liked it well enough and would have really liked to have more, but we never saw anyone with the skewers. The only meat that was actually good was the steak, but it was a little fatty. We only saw our waitress once during the meat portion of our meal. She was bringing the steak around.

We tried the dipping sauces, but didn't like them at all. The green one was especially bad. Even DS6 didn't like the sweet one.

So we gave up on the meats.

After a VERY, VERY, VERY LONG wait, our waitress finally came back to our table and asked if we'd like dessert. Since we had 2 kids with nut allergies, we asked for just ice cream for the kids. She brought out 3 bowls with the bread pudding. I'm not a bread pudding fan, but this was pretty good - not nearly as good as I expected. It still had sweet, lumpy bread chunks, but at least they were covered with ice cream and drizzled with bananas foster sauce. The dessert was the best part of the meal, but definitely not amazing.

So, based on terrible service, mediocre food, and my friend almost choking.... I'd give this one a 6 out of 10. We were not impressed and will not return.

Our ADR was for 6:45. By the time we finished we had 10 minutes before Wishes started, so we walked out to the beach and enjoyed the show. If you are at the Poly around 10:00, I'd highly recommend doing this. It was cool and relaxing on the beach.

 

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