December dining with young kids

[LORI522]

Is it too late to do a dining report from Dec? I think I'll give it a try!


Me – I am a 38 mother of two and an Army wife. I can’t remember a time I didn’t love Mickey and all things Disney, but I didn’t get to take my first trip to WDW until four years ago. I am addicted!! I am a foodie, and I will try almost anything. My favorite foods are sushi and Tex-Mex.

DH – Turned the big 40 this year. He loves WDW just as much as I do. He works very hard as an attorney in the Army, so he truly enjoys the escape from reality that WDW provides. He is also an adventurous eater.

DS – Our active little guy was three years old during our trip. He had just reached 40 inches, so we found out this trip that he is a thrill-ride junkie! He is an incredibly picky eater, which proved to be the biggest struggle of our trip.

DD – Our little princess was nine months old during the trip. She is a little trooper. She loves all food, but her choices were limited since she only had 7 teeth.

Except for the first day, we were on the regular dining plan. A lot of my favorite meals came from the CS list. We have eaten at about half of the TS places on previous trips but made a point to try out new places this time.

Table Service
*T-rex (out of pocket)
*Le Cellier dinner
*Akershus breakfast
*Crystal Palace lunch
*'Ohana Dinner
*Coral Reef lunch
*Hollywood and Vine lunch
*Sci-Fi dinner
*Tusker House breakfast (out of pocket)
*Garden Grill dinner

Counter Service
*Columbia Harbour House
*Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory (breakfast & dinner)
*Earl of Sandwich
*Wolf Gang Puck Express
*Sommerfest
*Tangierine Café
*Cosmic Rays (twice)


Even though I made most of our ADR’s at the 180 mark, we made some changes during the trip due to the very cold weather. Sorry no pictures. I had a hard enough time juggling the little two kids, plus DH kept rolling his eyes and muttering under his breath when I tried. Food pictures are my goal for the next trip….we’ll consider this my practice dining report.

 

[LORI522]

Thursday, December 9 – Travel day. This day was long and everything seemed hard, so we decided to skip the parks and just took the boat to DTD and ate at T-Rex.

Dinner at T-Rex Café (5:00 pm)
We were about 5 minutes late for our reservation (which I had made directly with the restaurant rather than through the Disney system) and were seated immediately in the Fern Forest. It was a fun room, with a meteoroid shower every 10 minutes. We could also easily see the Ice Cave from our seats. We ordered the Dexter's Dual Dip which came with a shrimp & artichoke dip and a queso dip. The shrimp dip was very good, but the queso was bland and cold. DH had the Fire-Roasted Rotisserie Chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. He really liked the sides and thought the chicken was okay. I had the Mammoth Mushroom Ravioli which was served with a cream sauce, tomatoes, spinach and fresh basil. It was tasty. I really liked the strong taste of mushrooms and basil. I think it came with a piece of bread/toast, but I didn’t try it. DS had the mac-n-cheese which he didn’t like, but DD ate it for him. DH and I both had a beer and water, and we didn’t get dessert. The portions were (excuse the pun) mammoth, but we really didn’t need our leftovers on this trip since we had the DDP. Before tip, the meal totaled out to be $78. We paid out-of-pocket because our DDP didn’t start until the next day. Our server was okay, but she seemed very confused that I was paying with a Disney reward card and kept insisting she needed my room key. I’m glad we went, but it’s not the top of my list for the next trip.

 

[irishsharon]

Sounds great can't wait to read your reviews.I also have a picky eater,if it looks different than what he is use to he won't eat it.I think I'm just going to have to bring a pb&j sandwich every where we eat(by the way he is 8)!!!!!

 

[kymmyk13]

I am in. Looking forward to your reviews. Love when there is a reviewer with small children, it is a different perspective.

 

[LORI522]

I have readers! Yay!!!!

Sounds great can't wait to read your reviews.I also have a picky eater,if it looks different than what he is use to he won't eat it.I think I'm just going to have to bring a pb&j sandwich every where we eat(by the way he is 8)!!!!!

Welcome!! Before we left, I looked up all the CS menus on allears to see which places had pb&j and kept the list on me while in the parks. He ate his weight in pb&j, bread, grapes and apple sauce on this trip! Fortunately, he also likes bacon and eggs, so we got him a breakfast platter from the food court almost every morning.

I am in. Looking forward to your reviews. Love when there is a reviewer with small children, it is a different perspective.

Welcome!! Thanks for the encouragement on the dining report! I'll put another review out tonight.

 

[phabric]

Looking forward to more of your reviews.

 

[LORI522]

Friday, December 10 – Spent a wonderful day at MK with a nice long nap before heading to dinner in Epcot

Breakfast
Bananas and granola bars in the room.

Lunch at Columbia Harbour House (11:00am)
DH and I decided to order two meals and then share, so we got the Chicken and Fish basket with fries and the Lighthouse sandwich (hummus with broccoli slaw) with chips. The fish was hot and delicious. The chicken was good…standard chicken nuggets. We were both disappointed with the sandwich….the bread was hard and the slaw had an odd flavor. For dessert, we had the apple crisp was one of my favorite CS desserts of the trip. DS had a PB&J with grapes and milk…which is what he ate for almost every meal so it must have been good! As usual, DD ate a sampling of all our food. We also bought her a yogurt but realized too late that it was sweetened with aspartame. I don’t like to give the kids artificial sweeteners, so the yogurt sadly went to waste. We will definitely eat here again (skipping the sandwich of course).

Dinner at Le Cellier (6:05 pm)
This was our first time to try Le Cellier. They were running about 30 minutes behind on ADR’s, so they told us we could entertain the kids at the Canadian Kidcot station while we waited. When our table was ready, the hostess came and found us. She was so sweet and spent quite a bit of timing chatting with us. Our server (Chelsea) was very informative and efficient. She warned us the mac-n-cheese wasn’t popular with the kids (she was right), but we stubbornly ordered it for DS anyway. Even though DS didn’t like it, DH and I thought it was very yummy and decadent. DS ate a lot of bread and fruit for dinner. Sadly, this is what he ate for almost every TS meal…along with more ice cream than he has ever eaten in his life.

We split a bowl of the cheddar-beer soup. I only had a couple of spoonfuls which I thought were good but nothing special. DH practically licked the bowl clean….anything with cheese, bacon and beer is tops with him! The bread was great. DH and I both liked the multi-grain the best. DS loved and the sourdough, and of course, everyone loved the pretzel bread. DH and I each ordered a Moosehead Pale Ale because it is the only place outside Canada you can get it in draft….so we had to try it, right?!?

My filet was soooo good, except that I ordered it med-rare but got it very rare. Despite that, it was tender and delicious. The mushrooms were YUMMY, but my risotto was very undercooked. DH had a KC strip with a coffee rub. The rub was good, but the steak was fatty and tough. He enjoyed the sides. We should have sent both steaks back (mine just to cook a little longer) but we were seated late and the kids were starting to lose it. My maple crème brulee was okay, and DH’s bumbleberry cobbler was good. DH enjoyed the start and finish but overall did not enjoy his meal. I enjoyed mine VERY much (except the crunchy risotto). I am very glad we finally got to eat at Le Cellier. We probably won’t try it again for a long time now that it has changed to 2 TS credits for dinner because there are a lot of other signature restaurants I would love to try first. I think they should create a stand in the Canadian pavilion that just serves LC’s soup and pretzel bread…they would make a killing!

 

[LORI522]

Looking forward to more of your reviews.

Thank you!! I love food and Disney, so I am having a fun time writing them!

 

[irishsharon]

Loving your reviews crazy question was the pb&j uncrustables or a regular sandwich(my picky eater won't eat the smuckers uncrustables) Thanks

 

[LORI522]

Loving your reviews crazy question was the pb&j uncrustables or a regular sandwich(my picky eater won't eat the smuckers uncrustables) Thanks

Thanks!

Not a crazy question at all! My son just recently starting eating uncrustables. Unfortunately, all the pb&j's were uncrustables. When we went to WDW in 2009, my son was two and not on the dining plan. So, I made him a sandwich every morning and brought it into the parks. I also brought a sandwich keeper from home, so the pb&j wouldn't get crushed in my park bag. We didn't rent a car that trip, so I ordered all my sandwich fixings from wegoshop.

 

[serenita05]

Whispering Canyon is a great place for the family.

 

[emo6565]

Thanks for all the reviews. Great stuff. I'll be heading there with my picky eater soon.

 

[LORI522]

Whispering Canyon is a great place for the family.

Thanks for the suggestion! We've never eaten at Whispering Canyon. I hope to stay Wilderness Lodge on our next WDW vacation.

Thanks for all the reviews. Great stuff. I'll be heading there with my picky eater soon.

Thank you so much! Have a great time on your trip!

 

[LORI522]

Saturday, December 11 – Spent the entire day at Epcot.

Breakfast
Another quick bite in the room.

Late Breakfast at Akershus (11:00 am)
We counted this one as lunch because it was so late. DS is a very picky eater but loves breakfast food. He isn’t a big princess fan but he isn’t old enough to be embarrassed, yet. I also thought it would be fun (for mommy) to let my little princess eat there. So when an ADR opened up right before we left for WDW, I took it.

The kids took a photopass picture with Belle at the entrance. Later in the meal, we received our photo package (it comes with the price of the meal). The picture is really pretty awful….DD is crying and DS looks very worried and self-conscious. It’s actually a hilarious picture and we’ve enjoyed showing it to friends and family. Aurora, Cinderella, Ariel, and Snow White also came to our table for pictures and autographs. We were the very first table as they walked out the door, so there was no warning. We were typically caught with a mouthful of food. Due to the location, we didn’t get a chance to prep DS, and I think the interactions were a bit awkward. No big deal, but I’d prefer a different table in the future. When DS was almost two, we took a trip to WDW and had lunch at Akershus. Three of the princesses gave my little DS a kiss, so he had lipstick marks on both cheeks and his forehead. He looked so precious. We have pictures of him all over Epcot with those kiss marks. That was such a fun lunch! Later in the trip, we saw Cinderella’s step sisters at MK. One of them also gave DS a kiss and left horrible pink lipstick on his face. He loved it! DS is quite the ladies man.

Back to the meal….

DH and I enjoyed sampling the herring and salmon on the cold bar…not something I would want often but it was fun to try. The pastries were also good and the fruit was fresh. The hot food was brought to our table on a skillet. The scrambled eggs were tasty…probably undercooked for a lot of people but I prefer them that way. My DS ate a huge portion (yeah for protein!!). The potato casserole was sinfully delicious. I liked the sausage but didn’t care for the bacon (typically I like bacon and not sausage). DS ate lots of fruit, eggs, and bacon. This was his favorite meal. Our server offered to bring out another skillet, but one was more than enough for our family.

I was a little disappointed to cancel our Chefs de France lunch for this breakfast, but ultimately the kids had more to choose from at Akershus, so it was the right choice for our family. The room and the princesses were beautiful, and the service was solid. We will eat here again when DD is older and can appreciate the princesses.


Dinner at Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory
We spent most of the day at EPCOT, with no real nap for the kids, so we decided to grab a quick dinner at our resort food court (Port Orleans French Quarter). I got the Muffaletta Sandwich that came with a pasta salad. DH had a Cajun hamburger that came with fried shrimp on top and fries. DS had the grilled cheese and fruit. We were able to get a regular yogurt for DD. All our food was pretty good for food court fare. The only issue is that it did take a very long time to get the burger and grilled cheese (even though the food court was almost empty), but my sandwich only took a couple of minutes. We all had beignets for dessert…yummy and messy!!

 

[LORI522]

Sunday, December 12 – Another MK day. Cold and rain was predicted to blow in that day, so we got an early start and made the 8:00 am rope drop.

Breakfast at Sassagoula Floatworks
The kid’s had bananas and Cheerios in the room, but we also stopped and got two danishes from the food court on our way to the bus stop. The danishes were very large and tasty. We split them between the three of us (no sweets for baby).

Lunch at the Crystal Palace (11:45 am)
This was a huge disappointment. We’ve eaten there three or four other times and have always had a wonderful experience. In fact, a trip to WDW doesn’t seem complete without a visit to Crystal Palace. We were seated on time. We had the autograph book open and the camera ready to go (we are no amateurs at the character meal experience). There was time to grab a plate for everybody before the first character arrived. It was Piglet. DS hugged him, he signed the book and then turned and walked to the next table. What? No pictures with the kids? Okay…maybe Piglet woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Next was the star of the show….Pooh. Exactly the same thing happened. Next was Eyeore. He spent a little more time at the table….just enough time to get a crappy shot of him with both kids. Tigger was no better.

The food was just so-so. Everything tasted the same to me. I remember the food being a lot better, but maybe my disappointment was affecting my taste buds. Our server was borderline rude, and left us with empty glasses throughout the meal. DH was livid. He asked a CM to speak to the manager. She didn’t get the manager, but she did do her best to make it right. She pulled Piglet and Pooh over for another picture with the whole family. She was very apologetic and told us that she would communicate our concerns to the characters and to the manager. I know that there are a lot of tables that the characters have to loop through in a reasonable amount of time, but we’ve never had that type of treatment at CP or any other character meal. I hope they were just having an off day. Will we go back? If the kids want to, then I’ll give them another chance.

Dinner at ‘Ohana (6:25 pm)
This was the place I looked most forward to trying. I had read mixed reviews, but I went in with an open mind. I guess I missed the posts about the check-in process being so chaotic. We overestimated how long it would take us to get to the Poly, so arrived about 40 minutes early. It’s a good thing because it took about 20 minutes to check-in. They were out of pagers, so they told me to check back in 20 minutes, so I got right back in line and waited another 15 minutes to reach the podium again. We were seated over half an hour late. We all felt a bit overwhelmed by the crowd and noise while waiting, but once we were seated, things felt much calmer. We were seated in a side room. I had hoped we would be in the main room so the kids would be entertained, but it wasn’t a big deal.

I had warned DH about the negative posts, so we were both pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed this meal. The salad was very tasty and refreshing. I’m not typically a big fan of wings, but I tried the sticky wings and thought they had a very yummy flavor. The dumplings were just okay. DH and I were both surprised how much we liked the noodles and broccoli because they looked so plain. The shrimp were too big of a hassle to clean when also trying to juggle two small children, but I liked the flavor. The meats were a little on the dry side, but they were hot and flavorful. DH was in heaven with all the protein choices! All the sauces were delicious, but we liked the chimichurri the best. And the Bread Pudding was HEAVENLY. Overall, we agreed that this was our favorite TS meal of the trip.

At the start of the meal, we asked if we could order off a children’s menu for the kid’s. The server didn’t seem very excited about this but took our order for a mac-n-cheese. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it until after we had finished our dinner (but before desserts) so it was left to go to waste. DD ate the broccoli, noodles and a little chicken. DS mainly ate bread.

Loved the meal, hated the check-in process. We would eat there again but would be better prepared to entertain the kids during the long check-in process/wait for a table. It’s worth the wait, though!

 

[LORI522]

What will be the schedule on same day but month will be May 2011? Please let me know about it.

I noticed this is your first post!

I checked the Disney calendar and there are extra magic hours starting at 8am at MK on May 12. I would recommend being at the buses by 7am. The food court bakery at French Quarter opens at 6am, so that gives you time to grab a quick bite. The bus stop is located very close to the food court.

I'm not sure I answered your question....

 

[irishsharon]

Looking forward to the rest of your reviews

 

[chocolateMinnie]

great reviews so far