M
mrsltg
Guest
Hi All-
We're back from 8 days at WDW. We upgraded free dining to the deluxe plan and we loved it. We ate where we wanted, when we wanted, and not to the point of glutony. Between four of us we had 96 meal credits and 64 snack credits. We didn't leave a single credit behind. In fact, we paid OOP for HDDR in order to get a better table (well worth it!) Here's a quick review:
Breakfasts (Character)
Park Fare - YUM! Definitely my favorite character breakfast. Good food, good character interaction.
CRT - Fun for the kids and nice to eat in the castle. My girls were chosen to be "Princess of the Day" which made them happy. The food was fine but I liked the fact that the princesses came out about 30 minutes into the meal giving the kids a chance to eat and giving us a chance to be at the Fantasy Land rope drop.
Donald's Safari Breakfast - Fine. Not good, but fine. The character interaction was ok and the kids enjoyed it enough. I don't know that we'll rush back anytime soon.
Hollywood Vine Play and Dine - The food was ok, but this meal was WAY too long. We were seated at 8:05 and we barely made rope drop at 9. The characters are slow to go around and the restaurant is not set up well for a buffet (ie, we were in a closed booth table meaning if I wanted to get up I had to ask DH to move out first so I could get around him - coupled with the next table being close it made it crowded.) There was a show kind of thing for the kids to get up and dance which would stop the characters and added to the length of the breakfast.
Our other breakfasts were at the POFQ food court and were tasty. Made to order omelettes were good.
Lunch -
Mostly counter service at various locations and generally fine to good. (Pecos Bill's was a let down this time - I think they were overwhelmed.)
Yak & Yeti - YUM! What a great place! Even the kids liked it. The theming the great and the food was very good. We had a great waiter and it is definitely or our "to do" list from now on.
Tutto Italia - Good. Not great. Our waiter was very attentive and the service was good. The food and the prices don't match, though. I don't think we'll be back but it was good to try once.
Dinner -
Le Cellier - Didn't disappoint. It had been a little spotty on out last visit but this time it was the best meal we had. Our server was wonderful and the food was really, really good.
Yachtsman Steakhouse - Good. I expected great for a signature dining experience. Our waiter was ok, but I expect more. For instance, there was a lot of team serving (one person takes your order but virtually everything else is brought by someone else and checked on by yet another person) and I don't like that at this caliber of restaurant. The meat (I had NY Strip, DH had prime rib) was good but the rest was just disappointing. I am glad we tried it but the meal came no where near its sister signature experiences of Jiko, Citrico's, Artist Pointe, etc. We won't be back.
50's Primetime - Always fun. We go for the atmosphere and not the food though the food is tasty. However, we checked in and had to wait 40 minutes beyond our ADR. It may have been a glitch that evening, though.
Crystal Palace - Fine. It's Crystal Palace and it serves it purpose of being a dinner before a party. We usually do breakfast here but changed it up this time.
Boma - Usually a favorite. This time the food was good but the restaurant was not. Unfortunately they overbooked for one specific time and everyone was in line at once. I mean, EVERYONE. The buffet line was 40-50 people deep (wrapping around a good portion of the restaurant) and it was SLOW moving. I actually waiting about 25 minutes into my family's meal because I was not going to wait in line like I was at a cafeteria. After a while it seemed to clear and I really believe this was just bad planning. In the future I will plan a meal here after 7pm.
HDDR - WOW! Have never been to this show before and I am so glad we finally made it. The food was tasty but the entertainment was great! I recommend for a family who is returning and has a little more time to stop and smell the roses so to speak.
LTT - My dh loves this meal as Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday. This time he decided we would not return. The last couple of times the service has been spotty, this time it was just bad. The food is fine. But otherwise the restaurant has lost its luster.
DH and I are retunring next year to celebrate our 10th without the kids!!!
We'll be doing more signature restaurants and less character meals and we will definitely do the deluxe dining plan again.
We're back from 8 days at WDW. We upgraded free dining to the deluxe plan and we loved it. We ate where we wanted, when we wanted, and not to the point of glutony. Between four of us we had 96 meal credits and 64 snack credits. We didn't leave a single credit behind. In fact, we paid OOP for HDDR in order to get a better table (well worth it!) Here's a quick review:
Breakfasts (Character)
Park Fare - YUM! Definitely my favorite character breakfast. Good food, good character interaction.
CRT - Fun for the kids and nice to eat in the castle. My girls were chosen to be "Princess of the Day" which made them happy. The food was fine but I liked the fact that the princesses came out about 30 minutes into the meal giving the kids a chance to eat and giving us a chance to be at the Fantasy Land rope drop.
Donald's Safari Breakfast - Fine. Not good, but fine. The character interaction was ok and the kids enjoyed it enough. I don't know that we'll rush back anytime soon.
Hollywood Vine Play and Dine - The food was ok, but this meal was WAY too long. We were seated at 8:05 and we barely made rope drop at 9. The characters are slow to go around and the restaurant is not set up well for a buffet (ie, we were in a closed booth table meaning if I wanted to get up I had to ask DH to move out first so I could get around him - coupled with the next table being close it made it crowded.) There was a show kind of thing for the kids to get up and dance which would stop the characters and added to the length of the breakfast.
Our other breakfasts were at the POFQ food court and were tasty. Made to order omelettes were good.
Lunch -
Mostly counter service at various locations and generally fine to good. (Pecos Bill's was a let down this time - I think they were overwhelmed.)
Yak & Yeti - YUM! What a great place! Even the kids liked it. The theming the great and the food was very good. We had a great waiter and it is definitely or our "to do" list from now on.
Tutto Italia - Good. Not great. Our waiter was very attentive and the service was good. The food and the prices don't match, though. I don't think we'll be back but it was good to try once.
Dinner -
Le Cellier - Didn't disappoint. It had been a little spotty on out last visit but this time it was the best meal we had. Our server was wonderful and the food was really, really good.
Yachtsman Steakhouse - Good. I expected great for a signature dining experience. Our waiter was ok, but I expect more. For instance, there was a lot of team serving (one person takes your order but virtually everything else is brought by someone else and checked on by yet another person) and I don't like that at this caliber of restaurant. The meat (I had NY Strip, DH had prime rib) was good but the rest was just disappointing. I am glad we tried it but the meal came no where near its sister signature experiences of Jiko, Citrico's, Artist Pointe, etc. We won't be back.
50's Primetime - Always fun. We go for the atmosphere and not the food though the food is tasty. However, we checked in and had to wait 40 minutes beyond our ADR. It may have been a glitch that evening, though.
Crystal Palace - Fine. It's Crystal Palace and it serves it purpose of being a dinner before a party. We usually do breakfast here but changed it up this time.
Boma - Usually a favorite. This time the food was good but the restaurant was not. Unfortunately they overbooked for one specific time and everyone was in line at once. I mean, EVERYONE. The buffet line was 40-50 people deep (wrapping around a good portion of the restaurant) and it was SLOW moving. I actually waiting about 25 minutes into my family's meal because I was not going to wait in line like I was at a cafeteria. After a while it seemed to clear and I really believe this was just bad planning. In the future I will plan a meal here after 7pm.
HDDR - WOW! Have never been to this show before and I am so glad we finally made it. The food was tasty but the entertainment was great! I recommend for a family who is returning and has a little more time to stop and smell the roses so to speak.
LTT - My dh loves this meal as Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday. This time he decided we would not return. The last couple of times the service has been spotty, this time it was just bad. The food is fine. But otherwise the restaurant has lost its luster.
DH and I are retunring next year to celebrate our 10th without the kids!!!
We'll be doing more signature restaurants and less character meals and we will definitely do the deluxe dining plan again.
