rangerxenos
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2008
- Messages
- 4,251
Since I've gotten so much great information and opinions from other DISers, I figured I would write up a review of the restaurants that I and my two friends ate at during our trip last week. We were lucky enough to have a free dining offer during our stay at Port Orleans Riverside. Here goes!
Arrival day on Wednesday, November 12th, got in early and spent the afternoon and evening at Hollywood Studios. Had a delicious Olaf carrot cupcake from Starring Rolls Cafe with a snack credit, there were too many goodies to choose from there! For dinner, and what was probably our favorite meal of the trip, we went to the often maligned Sci Fi Dine In Theater. Granted, we were two geeks, but we thought the food was delicious, and the atmosphere was fabulous! My friend and I both had the Shrimp Garlic Pasta, and I had the most scrumptious alcholic milkshake, the Orbiting Oreo -- yes, it was ridiculously priced at 11.25, but worth every penny, it was that good! (and I got a light up ice cube to take with me, a win/win!) The dessert was great too, even though I couldn't finish half of the Warm Glazed Donut. My friend gave the Out of This World Turtle Cheesecake a big thumbs up as well! We loved watching the old movie clips, and it was actually one of the quieter meals of our trip.
Thursday we went to Universal Studios, though it was not a Disney restaurant, we give The Leaky Cauldron in the new Diagon Alley area a big recommendation, we ate there at lunch. Frozen Butterbeer can't be beat! (that entire new section at Universal ROCKS big time, Disney needs to take note and start spending some money to add on at their parks!)
We did eat dinner at the food court at Port Orleans for dinner on Thursday. Overall, we were disappointed with the food quality of the food court at POR, the food was often luke warm, whether it be breakfast or dinner. One night you could have used the breadstick that came with the pasta as a projectile, it was quite stale. One morning for breakfast, my breakfast potatoes were cold. We had to continually request tea bags at the mug refill station, and often times the ice tea machines were not working. The choices for dessert were underwhelming at dinner. Several bright spots -- The Magic Cookie bars were to die for, so were the cinnamon buns at breakfast!
Friday was Magic Kingdom day! We were excited to have a reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast, which meant we got to get into the park before everyone else. Wow, photos in front of the castle with no one else around! It was a delight! Breakfast was actually pretty good, though ridiculous in price -- I would not pay out of pocket, it would have been $150 for three of us for breakfast had we not been on the dining plan, Ouch! Two of us had the Lobster and Crab Crepes, which were to die for! The other had the Caramel Apple Stuffed French Toast, which was also deemed delicious. Honestly, you are paying for the ambience, not for the food. We didn't know what to expect since we were three adult women, but the princesses were actually pretty cool, they interacted with us when they stopped at our table, and happily posed for photos as well. We all got magic wands, and wishing stars without asking for them, so the big kids were happy too. Cupcake number two of the trip was got at the Starbucks on Main Street, a Peppermint chocolate concoction that was yummy!
Since it was a Christmas party night, we had to leave before dinner as we were not going, so we ended up eating at Portobello's in Downtown Disney. This is actually a favorite restaurant of mine from last year, the food is excellent. Service this time around was awful, but the food was great. I had the Grilled Pork Tenderloin, perfectly cooked, with the Chocolate Paradis cake for dessert (exquisite!) Sorry, I don't remember what my friends ordered.
Saturday was a non park day, so we decided to try 1900 Park Fare for breakfast; we were not impressed. We had to wait 40 minutes despite having a reservation, service was awful, and the characters really rushed through all the tables. The food was luke warm, some items had obviously been sitting there for a while. The bright spots -- the bintzes, and the strawberry soup was delicious! They gave us the recipe, I want to try and make it at home. Saturday night we drove over to Ohana for dinner. I had heard really good things, and was really excited to get a reservation. While the food was good, our server was not, she seemed to be in a mood Our table was off to the side, so if there was anything going on, we were unaware of it -- I was under the impression that there was some sort of show that went along with dinner? The pork dumplings were delicious. The pork loin was way overcooked, and very dry. I could have just eaten the bread pudding with banana caramel sauce dessert all night, LOL!
Sunday we were off to EPCOT! Our sit down meal there was at Teppan Edo, and we loved it! It was my first time eating at a restaurant like this, and I thought it was fabulous! I got the Asakusa (Steak and Shrimp), my friend got the Filet Minon. It was so cool to watch our meals being cooked right in front of us. For dessert, we both got the Green Tea Cheesecake, which was drizzled with a delicious rasberry sauce.
Monday was a non park day, so I spent a good part of the day at Downtown Disney. My favorite quick service restaurant is Earl of Sandwich, so I went there for lunch. This time of year, they offer a Holiday Turkey hot sandwich that is To Die For. I wanted to try a pumpkin spice cupcake for dessert, but they didn't have any, so I had to settle for a triple chocolate one instead. I tried the Earl Grey lemonade this time around, it was excellent. A couple of hours later I decided to stop at Ghirardelli's for a sundae -- I highly recommend the Sea Salt Caramel Sundae! (If you haven't figured it out yet, I have a wicked sweet tooth!) Not on the dining plan, but SO good! For dinner, we decided to stay at the resort and try the sit down restaurant at Port Orleans Riverside, Boatwright's. Unlike the food court, our experience here was very good. Service and food was excellent. I had the Prime Rib, and they were willing to substitute the horseradish potatoes out for me. It came with fresh asparagus spears as well, a nice surprise. Dessert was the No Sugar Added Creme Brule with fresh rasberries, delicious!
Tuesday was our last park day, Animal Kingdom. We ate lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue for quick service. I had a pulled pork sandwich that was very good. The chocolate mousse was just okay. For dinner, we drove over to Animal Kingdom Lodge to Boma. Very loud and crowded, but the buffet was very good. Standouts for me were the Butternut squash soup, the fufu, and most everything that was in the dessert section!
As always, I am surprised at the overall quality of the food at the sit down restaurants at the parks and resorts. I'm hoping they continue the free dining promotion in the future, it's been nice not to have to worry about paying for meals! The only downside is trying to schedule and get reservations before we go.
Arrival day on Wednesday, November 12th, got in early and spent the afternoon and evening at Hollywood Studios. Had a delicious Olaf carrot cupcake from Starring Rolls Cafe with a snack credit, there were too many goodies to choose from there! For dinner, and what was probably our favorite meal of the trip, we went to the often maligned Sci Fi Dine In Theater. Granted, we were two geeks, but we thought the food was delicious, and the atmosphere was fabulous! My friend and I both had the Shrimp Garlic Pasta, and I had the most scrumptious alcholic milkshake, the Orbiting Oreo -- yes, it was ridiculously priced at 11.25, but worth every penny, it was that good! (and I got a light up ice cube to take with me, a win/win!) The dessert was great too, even though I couldn't finish half of the Warm Glazed Donut. My friend gave the Out of This World Turtle Cheesecake a big thumbs up as well! We loved watching the old movie clips, and it was actually one of the quieter meals of our trip.
Thursday we went to Universal Studios, though it was not a Disney restaurant, we give The Leaky Cauldron in the new Diagon Alley area a big recommendation, we ate there at lunch. Frozen Butterbeer can't be beat! (that entire new section at Universal ROCKS big time, Disney needs to take note and start spending some money to add on at their parks!)
We did eat dinner at the food court at Port Orleans for dinner on Thursday. Overall, we were disappointed with the food quality of the food court at POR, the food was often luke warm, whether it be breakfast or dinner. One night you could have used the breadstick that came with the pasta as a projectile, it was quite stale. One morning for breakfast, my breakfast potatoes were cold. We had to continually request tea bags at the mug refill station, and often times the ice tea machines were not working. The choices for dessert were underwhelming at dinner. Several bright spots -- The Magic Cookie bars were to die for, so were the cinnamon buns at breakfast!
Friday was Magic Kingdom day! We were excited to have a reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast, which meant we got to get into the park before everyone else. Wow, photos in front of the castle with no one else around! It was a delight! Breakfast was actually pretty good, though ridiculous in price -- I would not pay out of pocket, it would have been $150 for three of us for breakfast had we not been on the dining plan, Ouch! Two of us had the Lobster and Crab Crepes, which were to die for! The other had the Caramel Apple Stuffed French Toast, which was also deemed delicious. Honestly, you are paying for the ambience, not for the food. We didn't know what to expect since we were three adult women, but the princesses were actually pretty cool, they interacted with us when they stopped at our table, and happily posed for photos as well. We all got magic wands, and wishing stars without asking for them, so the big kids were happy too. Cupcake number two of the trip was got at the Starbucks on Main Street, a Peppermint chocolate concoction that was yummy!
Since it was a Christmas party night, we had to leave before dinner as we were not going, so we ended up eating at Portobello's in Downtown Disney. This is actually a favorite restaurant of mine from last year, the food is excellent. Service this time around was awful, but the food was great. I had the Grilled Pork Tenderloin, perfectly cooked, with the Chocolate Paradis cake for dessert (exquisite!) Sorry, I don't remember what my friends ordered.
Saturday was a non park day, so we decided to try 1900 Park Fare for breakfast; we were not impressed. We had to wait 40 minutes despite having a reservation, service was awful, and the characters really rushed through all the tables. The food was luke warm, some items had obviously been sitting there for a while. The bright spots -- the bintzes, and the strawberry soup was delicious! They gave us the recipe, I want to try and make it at home. Saturday night we drove over to Ohana for dinner. I had heard really good things, and was really excited to get a reservation. While the food was good, our server was not, she seemed to be in a mood Our table was off to the side, so if there was anything going on, we were unaware of it -- I was under the impression that there was some sort of show that went along with dinner? The pork dumplings were delicious. The pork loin was way overcooked, and very dry. I could have just eaten the bread pudding with banana caramel sauce dessert all night, LOL!
Sunday we were off to EPCOT! Our sit down meal there was at Teppan Edo, and we loved it! It was my first time eating at a restaurant like this, and I thought it was fabulous! I got the Asakusa (Steak and Shrimp), my friend got the Filet Minon. It was so cool to watch our meals being cooked right in front of us. For dessert, we both got the Green Tea Cheesecake, which was drizzled with a delicious rasberry sauce.
Monday was a non park day, so I spent a good part of the day at Downtown Disney. My favorite quick service restaurant is Earl of Sandwich, so I went there for lunch. This time of year, they offer a Holiday Turkey hot sandwich that is To Die For. I wanted to try a pumpkin spice cupcake for dessert, but they didn't have any, so I had to settle for a triple chocolate one instead. I tried the Earl Grey lemonade this time around, it was excellent. A couple of hours later I decided to stop at Ghirardelli's for a sundae -- I highly recommend the Sea Salt Caramel Sundae! (If you haven't figured it out yet, I have a wicked sweet tooth!) Not on the dining plan, but SO good! For dinner, we decided to stay at the resort and try the sit down restaurant at Port Orleans Riverside, Boatwright's. Unlike the food court, our experience here was very good. Service and food was excellent. I had the Prime Rib, and they were willing to substitute the horseradish potatoes out for me. It came with fresh asparagus spears as well, a nice surprise. Dessert was the No Sugar Added Creme Brule with fresh rasberries, delicious!
Tuesday was our last park day, Animal Kingdom. We ate lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue for quick service. I had a pulled pork sandwich that was very good. The chocolate mousse was just okay. For dinner, we drove over to Animal Kingdom Lodge to Boma. Very loud and crowded, but the buffet was very good. Standouts for me were the Butternut squash soup, the fufu, and most everything that was in the dessert section!
As always, I am surprised at the overall quality of the food at the sit down restaurants at the parks and resorts. I'm hoping they continue the free dining promotion in the future, it's been nice not to have to worry about paying for meals! The only downside is trying to schedule and get reservations before we go.
