Cash Only Dining Review - February 2008

[Maleficent13]

This trip was planned at the relative last minute, only 6 weeks out. We were on no dining plan.

The Players are me, DH and DD (who is still free!)

Arrival Day:

Lunch:

We'd been traveling since 6am, so by the time we checked into SSR at 1pm we were starving. We got our room and headed immediately to Artist's Palette, the counter service there.

The selection was limited but the flatbreads looked okay so we ordered two: Pepperoni and BBQ Pork. We got a beeper and waited about 10 minutes for it to go off.

The pepperoni flatbread was good, but the BBQ Pork one was AMAZING. I mean, really, really good. I highly recommend it. It was so good we went back for another one later in the week.

We also had two sodas and a beer and some miscellaneous snacks (chips, cookies), our total came to approx. $30.00.

Dinner:

Here’s where the first ADR goes awry. All I can say is, what was I thinking?? We’d been up since 5am…what made me think we’d be good for dinner at the Crystal Palace at 7:30pm??? By 5:30, we were pooped out, so we got some hotdogs ate Caseys. Two dogs with fries, one corn dog nuggets, a side of chili and a soda to share. Total was approx. $20.00. I didn’t mind the new wheat buns at all…they were soft and unassuming…as all good sandwich buns should be. DD didn’t want to eat (too much going on!) so we finished her corn dog nuggets and they were good.

Got ice cream for dessert…one single scoop and one child’s cone (approx $5.50). I maintain that this ice cream is the best value on property…the size of these cones are huge!! You definitely get a lot of bang for your buck here. The down side: the staff seemed to be moving in slo-mo. I have never seen it take anyone so long to pump hot fudge on a bowl of ice cream. By the time several people got their sundaes, they were well on their way to soup. I actually saw the “scoopers” take my cone off the counter and replace it with a new cone, because by the time the servers got to it, it was pooling on the counter.

I was at Disney, though, so I didn’t really care…slightly melted ice cream here is better than frozen ice cream pretty much anywhere else.

 

[TigerKat]

BBQ Pork flatbread sounds really good to me right now.

 

[phabric]

Enjoyed your review.

 

[Maleficent13]

Day 2:

Breakfast in the room; cereal and bananas.

Lunch:

Lunch was at MGM (sorry, Hollywood Studios). At 11:30 we walked into Sci-Fi and asked if they could seat us without an ADR. They could, but not in a car. We got a “Flying Saucer” in the back. Which was just fine with us.

DH had the Angus Chuck Burger with everything, medium. He said it was slightly underdone, however. Not so much he wouldn’t eat it, but more rare than medium. He had it with fries and a Coke. He said it was very good.

I had the smoked turkey sandwich which was also good. And messy. Nothing really special but filling and not disappointing. Had it with fries and a Coke. The fries were seasoned and were typical fries.

DD had the beef and pasta off the kids meal with veggies (beans and carrots) and apples. She liked it enough to eat most of it. She also liked the “movies” and this was a pretty relaxed lunch for us. I really like the Sci-Fi for the atmosphere, but I miss the original menus with the monster themed entrees. Total was approx. $40.00 with tip. (Aside, we always tip at least 20% unless there is some really extraordinarily bad service, which we’ve yet to run into.)

Dinner:

We had ADRs for Whispering Canyon Café at 6:40, but with the early lunch we were hungry earlier. We also wanted to get over to MK before Wishes, so we presented ourselves at WCC at 5pm and asked if they could seat us earlier. We were seated within 5 minutes in what I would say was the “patio” of the restaurant…far away from any of the action. It overlooks the lobby and the walkup to Artist Point. We were okay with that. There were just 4 tables and they were filled.

DH and I had the skillet, and it was okay. The ribs were good and I really enjoyed the beans and potatoes. The chicken was okay and the shrimp was just too much of a PITA. I don’t care for peel and eat…just too much work. So the skillet was adequate, but I have to say that it just didn’t seem like it was worth the $50 for the both of us.

DD had the kid’s cheeseburger with watermelon and CC cookies. She was apparently sufficiently impressed with it.

Total with drinks and tip was $80.00. I wouldn’t do this again though; we’re just not big enough eaters to make it worth it.

 

[DizzDoll]

Good...good...waiting for next installment...your oop's are pretty much right on target with what I was planning...

 

[Maleficent13]

Day 3:

Started the day with one ADR we managed to keep: Tusker House character breakfast. We decided to drive to AK because I wasn’t sure about buses since our ADR was before the park opened. It is a looooooooooong walk from the parking lot to the main gate.

At the gate, we gave our names at the designated turnstile and were let right in. Tip: orient yourself as to where TH is in relation to the main gate before you get there and have 5 minutes until your ADR. We made it though. :

Once there we let them know at the desk and they tell us we’ll be called for our picture and then on to breakfast. Within 2 minutes, we’re having our picture taken and are being led inside. We were seated in the room to the right of the buffet, in yet another tiny room to the right of that room. (Got that?) It was actually very nice because there were only 5 tables in that room and we all got lots of attention from the characters. It was also timed nicely because our room was due for the characters soon in the rotation, so we didn’t have a long wait.

Characters were Mickey, Donald, Daisy and Goofy.

We made multiple trips to the buffet for an assortment for the table to share. We got scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, croissants, blueberry muffins, Mickey waffles, sausage, potatoes and cinnamon rolls. The bacon and fruit were great! The eggs were also good and the baked good were about average. The potatoes were good. DH liked the sausage. The characters were great and very attentive. We all had a great time, especially DD.

We’re not big breakfast people, so we normally do breakfast in the room, but I like the character breakfasts better than the other meals. It just always seems less rushed and more laid back to me. In any case, we’d definitely do this again. Total with tip was $45.00. (But remember, DD was free!)

Up next: Dinner at Olivia’s.

 

[KatMark]

Enjoying your reviews and looking forward to more.

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent

 

[jensen]

Thanks for the reviews... I can't wait to read more.

 

[my3disneygirls]

Great so far!

 

[Robert P]

Keep the reviews coming.

 

[Maleficent13]

Day 3 Con't:

By now DD was in desperate need of a restoring nap, so after riding the safari and watching the Nemo musical we headed back to the room. She fell asleep and DH and I got more of the yummy flatbreads for lunch. DD also ate some after nap.

After DD woke up, we headed to Epcot. Our idea was to snack our way around the world, but we got as far as France when we encountered the storm. After finishing our wonderful chocolate mousse (yes, we ate dessert first...we're on VACATION!) we headed back out the IG and took the boat to the Beach Club. We headed to Beaches and Cream and there was no one there. I mean, there were a few people in the restaurant itself, but no one waiting.

Cool! I thought. I asked the hostess what the wait was and she said:

"1 and 1/2 hours."

I blinked. I looked around. I blinked again. Then I said, "I'm sorry? You said it would be...?"

"An hour and a half, ma'am."

Ooooooo-kay. Apparently all the invisible people wanted burgers and ice cream tonight. So we left, not knowing where to go.

Ah-HA! I said. We'll go to Olivia's! I'm sure we won't have that much of a wait there. And we didn't.

Arrived at 7:30pm and were seated right away. Perused the menu and decided to make a dinner of appetizers. DH ordered the wings and the onion rings. I got the crab cakes and the tomato and mozzarella salad. DD had Mickey pasta with meat sauce.

I didn't try the wings, but DH liked them. He said the sauce was kind of sweet, which was weird to him, but good. The onion rings were good.

My crab cakes were GREAT! This was maybe our best meal, actually. Olivia's is such a quiet unassuming place but I've never had a bad meal here. And the staff is exceptional. The tomato and mozzarella salad was also good.

And in the final word of yummy, DD cleaned her plate.

We didn't get dessert here (remember, ate it first!) but we did get the ice cream for DD. It came with sides of chocolate sauce, M&Ms and sprinkles. She also gave it the thumbsup. :

Unfortunately, I can't locate this receipt, so I'm trying to do the math in my head. I am guesstimating that our total with drinks and tip was about $60.00.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

My crab cakes were GREAT!

I want to get the crab cakes as my appetizer when I eat there. I'm glad to hear they're good.

 

[Hull-onian]

That was a good review on the Tusker House. I was sort of sad when they went to buffet. But from reading about your experience, I might make an ADR for lunch or dinner. Good reviews!!!

 

[Hedy]

Glad to hear the review of tusker House breakfast.

 

[NMAmy]

After DD woke up, we headed to Epcot. Our idea was to snack our way around the world, but we got as far as France when we encountered the storm. After finishing our wonderful chocolate mousse (yes, we ate dessert first...we're on VACATION!) we headed back out the IG and took the boat to the Beach Club. We headed to Beaches and Cream and there was no one there. I mean, there were a few people in the restaurant itself, but no one waiting.

Cool! I thought. I asked the hostess what the wait was and she said:

"1 and 1/2 hours."

I blinked. I looked around. I blinked again. Then I said, "I'm sorry? You said it would be...?"

"An hour and a half, ma'am."

Ooooooo-kay. Apparently all the invisible people wanted burgers and ice cream tonight. So we left, not knowing where to go.

That's crazy! I wonder why the wait was so long.

Oh, and I am a huge fan of eating dessert first. Why wait until you've finished an entree and you might not have enough room?

Your report is making me hungry. I'm sad that I have to cook and do the dishes for myself now.

 

[Maleficent13]

Day 4:

Breakfast in room.

Lunch: Fulton’s.

This was the other ADR we managed to keep. ADR was 12:05, and we were seated immediately, upstairs and next to the windows overlooking the lake. Very nice!

We skipped appetizers, but did enjoy the crab dip they brought with crackers. DH especially liked it and took the card with the recipe on it to make at home.

DH ordered the fried shrimp, and I had the seafood platter with shrimp, scallops and fish. DD had a hamburger, NO CHEESE. Very important, the lack of cheese.

DH loved his shrimp and cleaned his plate. I liked my platter as well, but was not a fan of the fish. It was a mild white fish, but basically flavorless. DD ate her hamburger sans cheese.

I had told DH that no matter what, I was getting dessert here. Milk chocolate crème brulee. It was excellent, as always. Both DH and DD turned their nose up at it, so all the more for me!

With tax and tip we spent about $60.00. It was a great atmosphere, wonderful view, great service. Definitely a favorite for us. And that’s not even counting the crème brulee.

Dinner:

After spending the afternoon at MGM (SORRY, Hollywood Studios), we headed to MK to play in Toontown. DD was way to busy to think about food. So after we left, we picked up some food court chicken strips and sandwiches. I had a turkey cesaer sandwich which was excellent, and DH had ham and cheese (he liked it). Total was about $20.00.

Still left: our last full day and breakfast departure day. Thanks for reading!

 

[NMAmy]

DD had a hamburger, NO CHEESE. Very important, the lack of cheese.

DD still will have the cheese on her burger but absolutely nothing else. Totally plain. Blech. Just trying to give you hope for the future, my friend!

I'd love to eat at Fulton's sometime but DH can't eat seafood. The crab dip sounds fabulous--you'll need to steal the recipe to post for us.

Oh, and your family turned their nose up at creme brulee? Crazy people.

 

[Momof2princess]

Great reviews Can't wait to read about your last day.

 

[Maleficent13]

Day 5:

Breakfast in room.

Lunch:

We never plan our last full day and were at MK and hungry, so we decided on Columbia Harbor House. CHH is one of my faves; I like to sit upstairs overlooking the queue to the Haunted Mansion. We decided to just order 2 meals and let DD eat from our plates. I ordered the Captain's Special (fish and chicken) and DH just got chicken. Both with fries. Split a coke.

Here's a surprise: they no longer have chicken strips. They're now chicken nuggets. Still good, but it seemed like the total amount of food was just not as much as you got when they were strips. Also, the fish was not as tasty...I'm not sure if they changed the seasoning in the breading or what, but it was very bland.

It was still a nice relaxing meal. It was $19.46 with tax.

Dinner: Well, DD did not want to stop to eat. Ever. We plied her with snacks, fruit, chips, begged her to eat ice cream...nope. No go. She was BUSY! About 7pm, with Wishes due to start at 8pm, we needed to head out of the park before the madness started. So after some coaxing, we walked toward Main Street and she said she was hungry. We had promised her a ride on the monorail, so I told DH we'd stop at one of the resorts for a quick bite.

I picked the Poly because I like it. Also, because I knew they'd redone Cap'n Cooks and I'd not seen it yet. We went in and it was very bright, clean and I liked the touchscreens. I ordered a grilled cheese for her (came with grapes and some cookies) and as we were paying she asked for a banana. I bought her one and she had it devoured before we even found a table to sit down! (DH and I decided to wait to eat and then ended up NOT eating at all. )

We sat off in a little alcove with windows all around. It was hard to tell because it was dark but it seemed to be off a pathway and was very nice. It took about 5 minutes for the beeper to go off and I picked up the food. The sandwich looked really good, but all I have is the visual since I was afraid I might lose a finger if I tried to grab a bite. Since it disappeared in approx. 35 seconds, I'm going to go with, "It was good." Total here was about $5.50, and money well spent.

I'll have our last breakfast up today sometime; it was at Olivia's and IMHO, 10:30am is a bit early to be closing for breakfast. And that's as close as you'll get to a complaint from me about Olivia's!