tinkersmell
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
- Messages
- 10
Hi All! We had a great trip from 2/29-3/5 and I thought I'd post some restaurant reviews, since I spent a lot of time planning our ADR's and we got much enjoyment out of all our experiences. We were on the dining plan. The info here helped me so much with our planning, I hope these reviews will help someone else, too!
2/29
Day 1 POR Food Court/Wishes Dessert Party
We arrived at Port Orleans Riverside in the afternoon and used our QS credits to have dinner in the food court. It was excellent. Our last stay was at The Caribbean Beach Resort and I thought the POR food court was vastly superior! We loved the make your own pasta station, and the carving station. It's very clean and it actually has very pleasant ambience. We were there during a bit of an off time, so it was never crowded or overly noisy.
We had reservations for the Wishes Dessert Party, so after dinner and a quick change, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom. It turned out that our reservations had been screwed up and made for 3/29 instead of 2/29. It is funny--these are actually the only ADR's I didn't do online, myself--so we did not experience the party. I will say, the cast member who took care of it was very nice. We ended up watching the fireworks from a cordoned off area where they keep the strollers, while we waited for him to cancel the charges to my card, etc. I only post about because I ended up feeling relieved that we weren't going to pay for the dessert party--I can see how if you get up and go to the very edge of the terrace you would have a nice view. But, from my vantage point, it did seem that 90% of the terrace has the overhang, obstructed view. I don't think it would have been worth it in the long run, for our family.
Day 2 Boatwright's
The next day we did Magic Kingdom and had some terrible nachos in Adventureland for lunch, and then went back to POR to relax and swim and have dinner at Boatwright's. Boatwright's was fine. I had the prime rib, and DH had the blackened fish filet. I had pecan pie for dessert and it was fine. Fine is really about the best I can muster up for Boatwright's. It was not bad and it was certainly convenient. I think it actually has less atmosphere than the Old Mill Food Court at POR. I would go back as it was not bad or unpleasant.
DD is six, and she had a tough time with the Disney Kids menus. She is an adventurous eater and ended up eating a lot of our grownup food throughout the vacation. I think she also had a hard time because the servers were asking so many questions right when she sat down--you would like the kids meal with pizza or burger? Grapes or Carrots? A sundae or fruit cup for dessert? And what kind of drink? And then her choices were limited. We did a lot sharing of food and drinks, and in the end it all worked out fine, but it took her a few days to get comfortable with the whole thing.
Day 3
Epcot!
Princess Breakfast at Akershus Castle. All in all, I'm glad we did it, but we weren't crazy about the food. I try to eat gluten free, so most of the buffet was not good for me--lots of pastries and bagels. I grabbed some fruit and cheese. The family style eggs, bacon, and potatoes were ok. The eggs squicked me out a bit--but most cafeteria eggs do. The bacon was crispy and the potatoes were really good, I think they had sour cream in them. We had lots of fun interaction with the princesses, and it was fun to be at the park before it opened!
We had a great lunch at Sunshine Seasons. I had a beet salad with goat cheese and candied nuts. DH had a grilled vegetable sandwich. DD had
the kids mac and cheese meal. We had a ton of desserts, and someone on these boards mentioned how good the desserts are here, and they were right! No prepackaged cakes in a cup! We had a delicious cheesecake with fresh berries, and a chocolate cake too.
For dinner, we went to Restaurant Marrakesh, and this was our favorite meal of the trip. For one, the belly dancing show is awesome! The young lady dancing was fantastic, and she was so sweet to all the kids who were also on the dance floor. Our daughter was fascinated by her, and ran to get her autograph after the show. The food was great! We shared a dip trio appetizer, with pita. I had the chicken kebabs, which came with a fruity couscous. They looked kind of brown and boring when they came out, but the flavor was excellent. Lemony and smoky and the meat was very tender. My husband had a fish special, which he loved. DD had the spaghetti and meatballs (not very Moroccan) but she loved it. We had great desserts, too--baklava and DD had mint ice cream. We had also ordered a bottle of the house red wine...it was a little rough. I would recommend paying a few dollars more for a bottle of something reliable. That said, DH and I drank the whole thing and then had a really fun time walking around Epcot afterward!
Day 4 Animal Kingdom
We had a late lunch scheduled at Tusker House. Great buffet. My mom and sister joined us that day (Mom has a house in FL) and we relaxed at the last lunch seating (2pm) and had fun and enjoyed the AC! And a margarita each! The buffet is a nice mixture of ethnic and continental. Also nice because it has a lot of vegetables, and we really hadn't seen many veggies at other restaurants, other than DD's packaged carrots! Lots of delicious curries, plus a carving station, plus a wonderful dessert buffet. The room was incredibly loud when we walked in, and I was worried it was going to be horrible, but most people left and we were actually in the big room with maybe 5 other families from 2-3. Minnie, Mickey, Daisy Duck, and Goofy were all there, and we had a really fun time. My sister is kind of a "babe" and Goofy kept hugging her. And then he'd leave and come back for another hug. And kiss her hand, and make a big deal over her. It was really cute and funny.
That night, we took the pontoon boat from POR to POFQ to explore the French Quarter. We ended up just having a light dinner in their food court. Again, we felt the Riverside Food Court was vastly superior. I had some scary, crusty looking jambalaya. I ordered a side of greens and they were good. I think DD had chicken fingers, and DH had a salad. And all of the desserts and drinks that came with.
Day 5 Disney Hollywood Studios
We were supposed to have dinner at Boma on the last night, but now having the lay of the land I couldn't see us leaving DHS, and taking two buses to get to the AK resort. So, I canceled my reservation and since having a big lunch and taking a break at the park had been so nice the day before, we made a lunch reservation at Mama Melrose's. Mama Melrose's was better than fine, but I wouldn't call it excellent. We had a very good calamari appetizer, and DH and I each had sangria. DD had a light up tinkerbell drink. I ordered a steak, and it was fine--a little salty but I still ate it all! DH had gnocchi, which was very good but a weirdly small portion. DD had the chicken parmigiana, and that was weird. Maybe because we are from NJ and have great Italian food all over the place but it was very dry and scary. So she ate my steak and the noodles. We had desserts! (Because they came with!) DD had the spaghetti and meatball cupcake, but did not like it. DH had cheesecake, that was ok. But I had this really great dessert that was a cross between tiramisu and a tart, with a crust made of crumbled amaretti cookies. It was the best dessert of the week. I'd go back to Mama Melrose's. The atmosphere was good, our server was great, and we definitely had some good dishes there.
That night, we took the pontoon boat from POR to DTD, and just had QS at Wolfgang Puck's. DH had a margarita pizza, DD had mac and cheese that was REALLY good (I had a glutinous bite) and I had a salad with grilled chicken. All fine and fortified us for walking even more.
All in all, it was a great trip. I'm excited to try new places the next time we go, but I was pleased with all our ADR's and didn't feel like any of them were a mistake. Also, I felt much more free on the dining plan once I realized that having a long, relaxing lunch wasn't going to screw up our day. Being able to mix up the ADR's like that gives us a lot more flexibility than always rushing out to dinner.
2/29
Day 1 POR Food Court/Wishes Dessert Party
We arrived at Port Orleans Riverside in the afternoon and used our QS credits to have dinner in the food court. It was excellent. Our last stay was at The Caribbean Beach Resort and I thought the POR food court was vastly superior! We loved the make your own pasta station, and the carving station. It's very clean and it actually has very pleasant ambience. We were there during a bit of an off time, so it was never crowded or overly noisy.
We had reservations for the Wishes Dessert Party, so after dinner and a quick change, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom. It turned out that our reservations had been screwed up and made for 3/29 instead of 2/29. It is funny--these are actually the only ADR's I didn't do online, myself--so we did not experience the party. I will say, the cast member who took care of it was very nice. We ended up watching the fireworks from a cordoned off area where they keep the strollers, while we waited for him to cancel the charges to my card, etc. I only post about because I ended up feeling relieved that we weren't going to pay for the dessert party--I can see how if you get up and go to the very edge of the terrace you would have a nice view. But, from my vantage point, it did seem that 90% of the terrace has the overhang, obstructed view. I don't think it would have been worth it in the long run, for our family.
Day 2 Boatwright's
The next day we did Magic Kingdom and had some terrible nachos in Adventureland for lunch, and then went back to POR to relax and swim and have dinner at Boatwright's. Boatwright's was fine. I had the prime rib, and DH had the blackened fish filet. I had pecan pie for dessert and it was fine. Fine is really about the best I can muster up for Boatwright's. It was not bad and it was certainly convenient. I think it actually has less atmosphere than the Old Mill Food Court at POR. I would go back as it was not bad or unpleasant.
DD is six, and she had a tough time with the Disney Kids menus. She is an adventurous eater and ended up eating a lot of our grownup food throughout the vacation. I think she also had a hard time because the servers were asking so many questions right when she sat down--you would like the kids meal with pizza or burger? Grapes or Carrots? A sundae or fruit cup for dessert? And what kind of drink? And then her choices were limited. We did a lot sharing of food and drinks, and in the end it all worked out fine, but it took her a few days to get comfortable with the whole thing.
Day 3
Epcot!
Princess Breakfast at Akershus Castle. All in all, I'm glad we did it, but we weren't crazy about the food. I try to eat gluten free, so most of the buffet was not good for me--lots of pastries and bagels. I grabbed some fruit and cheese. The family style eggs, bacon, and potatoes were ok. The eggs squicked me out a bit--but most cafeteria eggs do. The bacon was crispy and the potatoes were really good, I think they had sour cream in them. We had lots of fun interaction with the princesses, and it was fun to be at the park before it opened!
We had a great lunch at Sunshine Seasons. I had a beet salad with goat cheese and candied nuts. DH had a grilled vegetable sandwich. DD had
the kids mac and cheese meal. We had a ton of desserts, and someone on these boards mentioned how good the desserts are here, and they were right! No prepackaged cakes in a cup! We had a delicious cheesecake with fresh berries, and a chocolate cake too.
For dinner, we went to Restaurant Marrakesh, and this was our favorite meal of the trip. For one, the belly dancing show is awesome! The young lady dancing was fantastic, and she was so sweet to all the kids who were also on the dance floor. Our daughter was fascinated by her, and ran to get her autograph after the show. The food was great! We shared a dip trio appetizer, with pita. I had the chicken kebabs, which came with a fruity couscous. They looked kind of brown and boring when they came out, but the flavor was excellent. Lemony and smoky and the meat was very tender. My husband had a fish special, which he loved. DD had the spaghetti and meatballs (not very Moroccan) but she loved it. We had great desserts, too--baklava and DD had mint ice cream. We had also ordered a bottle of the house red wine...it was a little rough. I would recommend paying a few dollars more for a bottle of something reliable. That said, DH and I drank the whole thing and then had a really fun time walking around Epcot afterward!
Day 4 Animal Kingdom
We had a late lunch scheduled at Tusker House. Great buffet. My mom and sister joined us that day (Mom has a house in FL) and we relaxed at the last lunch seating (2pm) and had fun and enjoyed the AC! And a margarita each! The buffet is a nice mixture of ethnic and continental. Also nice because it has a lot of vegetables, and we really hadn't seen many veggies at other restaurants, other than DD's packaged carrots! Lots of delicious curries, plus a carving station, plus a wonderful dessert buffet. The room was incredibly loud when we walked in, and I was worried it was going to be horrible, but most people left and we were actually in the big room with maybe 5 other families from 2-3. Minnie, Mickey, Daisy Duck, and Goofy were all there, and we had a really fun time. My sister is kind of a "babe" and Goofy kept hugging her. And then he'd leave and come back for another hug. And kiss her hand, and make a big deal over her. It was really cute and funny.
That night, we took the pontoon boat from POR to POFQ to explore the French Quarter. We ended up just having a light dinner in their food court. Again, we felt the Riverside Food Court was vastly superior. I had some scary, crusty looking jambalaya. I ordered a side of greens and they were good. I think DD had chicken fingers, and DH had a salad. And all of the desserts and drinks that came with.
Day 5 Disney Hollywood Studios
We were supposed to have dinner at Boma on the last night, but now having the lay of the land I couldn't see us leaving DHS, and taking two buses to get to the AK resort. So, I canceled my reservation and since having a big lunch and taking a break at the park had been so nice the day before, we made a lunch reservation at Mama Melrose's. Mama Melrose's was better than fine, but I wouldn't call it excellent. We had a very good calamari appetizer, and DH and I each had sangria. DD had a light up tinkerbell drink. I ordered a steak, and it was fine--a little salty but I still ate it all! DH had gnocchi, which was very good but a weirdly small portion. DD had the chicken parmigiana, and that was weird. Maybe because we are from NJ and have great Italian food all over the place but it was very dry and scary. So she ate my steak and the noodles. We had desserts! (Because they came with!) DD had the spaghetti and meatball cupcake, but did not like it. DH had cheesecake, that was ok. But I had this really great dessert that was a cross between tiramisu and a tart, with a crust made of crumbled amaretti cookies. It was the best dessert of the week. I'd go back to Mama Melrose's. The atmosphere was good, our server was great, and we definitely had some good dishes there.
That night, we took the pontoon boat from POR to DTD, and just had QS at Wolfgang Puck's. DH had a margarita pizza, DD had mac and cheese that was REALLY good (I had a glutinous bite) and I had a salad with grilled chicken. All fine and fortified us for walking even more.
All in all, it was a great trip. I'm excited to try new places the next time we go, but I was pleased with all our ADR's and didn't feel like any of them were a mistake. Also, I felt much more free on the dining plan once I realized that having a long, relaxing lunch wasn't going to screw up our day. Being able to mix up the ADR's like that gives us a lot more flexibility than always rushing out to dinner.