Concierge + DDP + Crowds = Not enough time to eat it all!! Update 12/2

[klinlin]

Just returned last night from a week at BC. My husband, boys ages 4 and 6, and I were joined for some meals by my parents who live in Florida. My Mom is a Disney fanatic. My Dad is a hater of all things Disney, and always says he is never coming back.

Here is where we ate:

Complimentary upgrade to Concierge Lounge!!

Table services
Cape May Buffet breakfast
Kona dinner
Coral Reef dinner
Raglan Road dinner
Sci Fi Drive In lunch
Spoodles dinner
1900 Park Faire breakfast

Counter Services
Hurricane Hannah's
Sunshine Season's
Pizza Planet
Columbia Harbor House
Main Street Bakery
Beach Club Market Place

I am still adjusting to coming back to reality, so I will post as I can.

 

[klinlin]

We arrived late Friday, so we really began our trip with this breakfast. My boys were really excited, but I can't say we ate all that much because we had discovered the Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the concierge lounge! My boys both had a Mickey waffle and bacon. My oldest also had eggs, sausage, and a mini bagel. My little guy also had cold cereal, and lots of fruit. I had the cheese blintzes with chocolate chips, a biscuit with sausage gravy, potatoes, and fruit. My husband had all of the above plus asparagus and whatever the omelet of the day was. I am not a huge breakfast eater, but the food was all fine. The service was pleasant, although she tried to convince us to save our dining credits for dinner. Makes me wonder what the servers really get from the "included" gratuity. I have no pics of the food, but here are the boys.

 

[Minniespal]

Great start ~ Looking forward to reading more.

 

[klinlin]

We checked in right on time, and were given a pager for about a 15 minute wait. My mom and I went to the lounge and I had a Lapu Lapu, and she had a glass of wine to the tune of $25 +tip.

Me- Crab Cakes: these were very good, but definitely had an asian flavor unlike traditional crab cakes
Filet: I ordered it Medium Rare and with broccoli instead of asparagus. I am not normally a big meat eater, but I thought I'd give it a whirl. I loved the mashed potatoes and broccolli, and ate about half the filet and gave the rest to my husband.
Macadamia Nut Tart: I debated between this and the kilauea tart. At first I was disappointed, but then it grew on me. It is very rich, and really needs the ice cream. The crust was great.

DH- Pork Belly salad: I didn't even like the sound of this, but my husband ate it enthusiastically.
Filet: Ordered Medium. Loved it. Ate the rest of mine
Banana Creme Brulee: Loved it. What can I say? He is easy to please as long as he his eating!

Boys- Both had a little of the chicken noodle soup, 1 had a hot dog and 1 had mac and cheese. Both had the make your own sundaes and loved it. They were really getting antsy and suddenly the table was calm and quiet when those make your own sundaes hit the table.

Dad- Chicken noodle soup and prime rib. Ate every bit and it looked good, but as he is a hater of all things disney, he had no comment.

Mom- Coconut Almond Chicken. She raved about this dish, and savored every bite. Said even the salad that came with it was incredible. She and my dad shared the chocolate fondue. It came with fruit and macaroons which my mom loves.

Our server was very nice, and efficient. She did not add the gratuity to my parent's check or to our bar bill. I tipped extra above the dining plan, because she kept the meal moving along without rushing us. This is extra important with tired boys!

 

[jakenjess]

Congrats on the upgrade! Nice!

I love Kona Cafe. Sounds like you had a nice meal there.

 

[Disney owl]

great reviews thanks

 

[klinlin]

Monday night was Coral Reef. We checked in a few minutes early and were told they were running 15-20 minutes behind, but we could wait outside. It was a beautiful night, so that's exactly what we did. While we were sitting there a family came up and checked out the menu, trying to decide if they wanted to eat there, and IF they would wait if they could not be seated right away. Needless to say, they were turned away, shocked that they were not accepting people without reservations. We saw this often, and it only got more crowded as the week went on. Clearly these people are not reading these boards!!

Anyway, the seater came and got us shortly, and we had a great view of the tank, which my boys loved. Even the wet blanket father of mine enjoyed the fish, and the divers, until he started speculating on how much Disney was probably charging them to scuba in the tank

Our waiter was pompous Thomas, and he was rather impressed with his own knowledge, but he made some good suggestions and provided excellent service. He did check for our DDP on our cards though before we were allowed to order. (Here is where I loved whipping out the special gold concierge keys to the world )

Me - New England Cod Cake. It was tasty, but a little on the dry sideand you could definitely taste the potatoes in it. I would have liked a little more remoulade.
Shrimp Pasta. This was awesome, although it was very spicy, and from the description on the menu, I would not have thought that at all. Sundried tomatoes often make dishes sweet. There were about a dozen perfectly cooked shrimp though. I could not finish the pasta.
Key Lime Tart. One of my favorite desserts,and even though I was stuffed, I finished it all.

DH - Land and Sea loved it.
Mahi Mahi . Loved it
Butterscotch Creme Brulee. Kind of Blah, Missing the carmelized sugar, ate the whole thing anyway.

Mom - Land and Sea. She described as 2 measely shrimp, bad tasting beef, good polenta (Guess who was happy to take the beef off of her hands?!)
Steared Sterling Salmon. Very good, but nothing very special.
Bailey's and Jack Daniel's Mousse. Very good, shared with Dad.

Dad - Grilled Chicken with Jasmine Rice. Ate every bit, and all of the portions here were generous.

The Boys - Older one had veggies and dip, pizza, and make your own sundae
Little Guy had lobster bisque, mahi mahi and make your own sundae. Neither ate much until the sundaes came out.

We were not made to oder dessert with the rest of our meal as has been previously reported. However, here gratuity was added to our bar bill, and to my parents separate check. Overall, a very good meal, great atmosphere, and we enjoyed ourselves.

 

[klinlin]

I made this ADR because I thought my Dad enjoy the beer and be a better mood, and I wanted to try the bread and butter pudding. Turns out those were not good reasons. My parents decided to head back home before dinner. My husband doesn't drink beer, and the kids were not impressed by the place. Add in the travel time to get to DTD, the fact that we were all starting to get tired, and too many Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and we were not set up for a successful dining experience. Plus, this is the only place where we felt as though the DDP made us second class citzens!

The restaurant was never more than half full the entire time we were there, but those with ADR's had to wait a few minutes, and although they accepted walkups, they were told to expect a 35-45 minute wait! Our server was surly. Her first statement was, "I assume you are on the dining plan. Kids do not get appetizers, and you two can not get any of these appetizers unless you share them." It didn't make us feel welcome at all. None of us were all that hungry, so DH and I ordered the calamari to share. It was good, but not such a large portion that it should really be considered "for two." We did not receive bread although we saw other tables get it. I didn't ask because we weren't really hungry, and our server was sort of intimidating.

I had a tough time choosing, and nothing really appealed to me so I got the Raglan Romaine Salad with shrimp. Not very Irish I know, but it was very good. The shrimp was lightly bread and fried though.

DH had the It's Not Bleedin' Chowder, and this was the only thing we did that seemed to meet with our server's approval,as she managed a small smile and a "good choice." He loved it.

Both boys wanted to try the Dalkey sausages. I'm not sure why, but hey we were on vacation. I asked if my little guy could have peas or corn instead of the vegetalbe medley, but she said no even though they were listed as sides on the regular menu. This dish was very odd. It tasted like brown and serve breakfast sausages battered and fried. The boys ate nothing but mashed potatoes and fries.

For dessert I couldn't wait to try the bread pudding, and DH had the Bailey's coffee creme pot I think? The boys just had ice cream. The weird thing was we were asked to pay when we ordered dessert. I had a Harp, so I had a check for about $8. I gave her my DDP card for the food and $11 for the beer. She came back holding the $11 in her hands and said "I'll be right back with your change." I said I was all set, and she sort of smiled and said,"Oh. Well thank you then." What was that supposed to mean? I felt like asking for my tip back. After that we never saw her again. We waited more than 10 minutes for our dessert to brought out by the runners, and it took so long I expected the bread pudding to be warm. It was not. It was good, but not worth the trip back to Raglan Road, and we will not be eating here again.

 

[msteddom]

I gave her my DDP card for the food and $11 for the beer. She came back holding the $11 in her hands and said "I'll be right back with your change." I said I was all set, and she sort of smiled and said,"Oh. Well thank you then." What was that supposed to mean? I felt like asking for my tip back.

It sounds like she was just thanking you for the generous tip on the beer? I wasn't there though, and from the rest of your description she sounded like a less than perfect server. I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience. I actually cancelled my upcoming ADR there because of all the negative reviews.

Melissa

 

[Belle5]

I am really enjoying your reviews!

The macadamia nut tart--it looks a bit like pecan pie. Is that what it tastes like?

I am so glad we canceled Raglan Road. They really need to get their act together!

Butterscotch creme brulee? Was it not supposed to have carmelized sugar? Why did you not send it back? The carmelized sugar is almost the whole point!

I do understand why your server at Cape May tried to talk you into paying out of pocket. It really isn't a good use of your DDP credits. I think she was genuinely trying to help you get the most out of the plan.