We used the free dining plan for our recent trip to WDW and found it to be great. It was a lot of food! I was even debating about whether or not I would use the plan again since it seemed like so much, but I think that I probably would. It was very convenient on top of being a great value. For the most part our service was great and we definitely did not go hungry!
Counter services were at different places throughout WDW and all seemed to be pretty much the same. Our favorite was probably Cosmic Ray's where my husband and sons really liked the Chicken and Ribs platter. I liked the turkey wrap there.
Table Service Reviews:
Chef Mickey's: We ate here our first night and found that the food here was good. Nothing over the top but certainly perfectly good enough to satisfy--particularly on our arrival evening. The prime rib and mashed potatoes were a big hit. The character interaction was a lot of fun. My DD (4) wore her Minnie dress and was quite thrilled when Minnie herself arrived at the table. After dinner we watched the fireworks from the deck of the Contemporary and experienced my best moment of the trip--DD exclaiming over and over: "This is the best day of my whole life!" She told everyone around her. I watched the fireworks with teary eyes--it was so cool watching Disney magic unfold around her[/U]
CRT : We ate lunch at the castle. DD was dressed in her beautiful Cinderella dress (Cinderella left it for her the night before along with an invitation to lunch, a crown, choker and wand.) and was very excited. Not excited enough though I guess, since she fell asleep just before the Princesses began arriving! We tried to wake her but she would not budge so we took pictures anyway--with her sound asleep! When Cinderella arrived we tried rousing her again. I told DD that Cinderella was at the table and she managed to stir a little. When her eyes fluttered and she saw Cinderella right in front of her she sat bolt upright with a look of complete adoration on her face. It was adorable!
Now for the food: I had the Major Domo's pie, which our server insisted was the best thing on the menu. I did not care much for it, but this was about meeting the Princesses so I didn't mind much. I also think that the server was pushing it because it was clearly pre-plated and probably the fastest thing to get out of the kitchen. DH had the pork tenderloin and that was quite good. The kids also had Major Domo's pie and thought it was just alright. The blueberry dessert however was delicious and by far the best thing we ate here.
Our server was completely annoying and ranted and raved about the dining plan---particularly about how servers in other WDW restaurants offer free upgrades and add-ons to pad the bills for a higher tip, which she said she would get fired for. She went on and on and was so over the top that she really threw a damper on the experience of dining in the castle, but we still had a fun time.
Sci-Fi : We ate a late lunch here and found the food to be fine, despite having read many negative reviews. We ordered onion rings, spinach dip and chili as appetizers--all of which were quite tasty. The onion rings were thick and could have been a meal all by themselves! DS(10) and I both had the shrimp pasta and thought it was very good. DH had the ribs and was very happy with them. DS(7) had a cheesburger and DD had mac and cheese. Both seemed fine. For dessert I had the cheesecake, which was very good but surrounded by way too much candy. DH had the apple cobbler, which I also tasted, and it was delicious. The kids split a hot fudge sundae because that was enough for the three of them. The atmosphere here was fun and it was probably the most quiet of the dining experiences--which I did not expect. I guess everyone was busy watching the cheesy sci-fi movies! Our server here was exceptional and very attentive.
Spoodles--Dinner: After a few snags in the beginning we found that this place was great! We arrived a few minutes early, only to find that our ADR had been lost, but we were seated immediately anyway. They put us at a table in the very back of the restaurant which we were perfectly happy with since we had the three children. When the host seated us though he snatched up the wine glasses in front of the kids and said, "The kids won't need these. The last thing we need are a bunch of broken wine glasses."
Yikes! How dare we enter with chidren!!!!
Thankfully our server was very good. Once he found that we were on the dining plan he very successfully encouraged us to order the NY strip with add-on shrimp and scallops. I was cracking up when we ordered this as I could only imagine what our CRT server would have to say about this! DH, DS and I all ordered the food suggested and I even had salmon added as well. DS(7) ordered grilled chicken and I shared with DD. The steaks were all cooked perfectly to order and were excellent. The grilled scallops were a great hit. They were a bit gritty but delicious. The shrimp and salmon were also grilled and very good. It was way too much food and we took some back to the hotel.
Almost forgot the appetizers. DS(10) and I ordered the lemon shrimp, DH ordered the lamb and DS(7) got cheese flatbread. I didn't care much for the lamb but thought the other items were delicious.
For dessert I ordered white chocolate orange cake and the boys got the sundaes that they could top themselves. DH passed (silly him!). My cake was very good and I ate nearly the entire thing. The kids thought the sundaes were very cool. Our server was very attentive, although the service definitely slowed down as the meal progressed. We ordered coffee with dessert (as with meals at other restaurants) and found that at WDW coffee pretty much comes to you once, as we never once had our cups refreshed.
Although the menu was fairly limited we were very happy with our meals and found this to be one of our better meals at WDW.
WCC-Breakfast: This was definitely the most fun we had while eating at Disney! Cousin Al was our server and he was an absolute blast! He began by immediately picking on me--which persisted throughout the meal and cracked my chidren up! I made the serious error of placing my elbows on the table and he ran up behind me and yelled, "Hey lady! This is a nice restaraunt, get your elbows off the table!" My kids just about fell off of their chairs they were laughing so hard at Mom getting yelled at! DD kept reminding me throughout the meal to mind my manners or that guy might yell! Having had enough yucky coffee I actually ordered a coke to drink and proceeded to bring me a little shot glass mug full. It was hilarious! Then later he brought a huge mug and yelled out, "Hey lady! Didn't know you had a drinking problem!"
DS(7) asked for ketchup and Al made him yell out his request at the top of his lungs. He is young and loud and loved that part!
The food was great--scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, waffles, potatoes and biscuits and sausage gravy. We received a second skillet without asking. The kids even had smoothies and shakes which we were not charged extra for.
WCC breakfast will defintely be a Disney tradition for us. Food was great and we started the day off by having a lot of fun.
Counter services were at different places throughout WDW and all seemed to be pretty much the same. Our favorite was probably Cosmic Ray's where my husband and sons really liked the Chicken and Ribs platter. I liked the turkey wrap there.
Table Service Reviews:
Chef Mickey's: We ate here our first night and found that the food here was good. Nothing over the top but certainly perfectly good enough to satisfy--particularly on our arrival evening. The prime rib and mashed potatoes were a big hit. The character interaction was a lot of fun. My DD (4) wore her Minnie dress and was quite thrilled when Minnie herself arrived at the table. After dinner we watched the fireworks from the deck of the Contemporary and experienced my best moment of the trip--DD exclaiming over and over: "This is the best day of my whole life!" She told everyone around her. I watched the fireworks with teary eyes--it was so cool watching Disney magic unfold around her[/U]
CRT : We ate lunch at the castle. DD was dressed in her beautiful Cinderella dress (Cinderella left it for her the night before along with an invitation to lunch, a crown, choker and wand.) and was very excited. Not excited enough though I guess, since she fell asleep just before the Princesses began arriving! We tried to wake her but she would not budge so we took pictures anyway--with her sound asleep! When Cinderella arrived we tried rousing her again. I told DD that Cinderella was at the table and she managed to stir a little. When her eyes fluttered and she saw Cinderella right in front of her she sat bolt upright with a look of complete adoration on her face. It was adorable!
Now for the food: I had the Major Domo's pie, which our server insisted was the best thing on the menu. I did not care much for it, but this was about meeting the Princesses so I didn't mind much. I also think that the server was pushing it because it was clearly pre-plated and probably the fastest thing to get out of the kitchen. DH had the pork tenderloin and that was quite good. The kids also had Major Domo's pie and thought it was just alright. The blueberry dessert however was delicious and by far the best thing we ate here.
Our server was completely annoying and ranted and raved about the dining plan---particularly about how servers in other WDW restaurants offer free upgrades and add-ons to pad the bills for a higher tip, which she said she would get fired for. She went on and on and was so over the top that she really threw a damper on the experience of dining in the castle, but we still had a fun time.
Sci-Fi : We ate a late lunch here and found the food to be fine, despite having read many negative reviews. We ordered onion rings, spinach dip and chili as appetizers--all of which were quite tasty. The onion rings were thick and could have been a meal all by themselves! DS(10) and I both had the shrimp pasta and thought it was very good. DH had the ribs and was very happy with them. DS(7) had a cheesburger and DD had mac and cheese. Both seemed fine. For dessert I had the cheesecake, which was very good but surrounded by way too much candy. DH had the apple cobbler, which I also tasted, and it was delicious. The kids split a hot fudge sundae because that was enough for the three of them. The atmosphere here was fun and it was probably the most quiet of the dining experiences--which I did not expect. I guess everyone was busy watching the cheesy sci-fi movies! Our server here was exceptional and very attentive.
Spoodles--Dinner: After a few snags in the beginning we found that this place was great! We arrived a few minutes early, only to find that our ADR had been lost, but we were seated immediately anyway. They put us at a table in the very back of the restaurant which we were perfectly happy with since we had the three children. When the host seated us though he snatched up the wine glasses in front of the kids and said, "The kids won't need these. The last thing we need are a bunch of broken wine glasses."
Yikes! How dare we enter with chidren!!!!Thankfully our server was very good. Once he found that we were on the dining plan he very successfully encouraged us to order the NY strip with add-on shrimp and scallops. I was cracking up when we ordered this as I could only imagine what our CRT server would have to say about this! DH, DS and I all ordered the food suggested and I even had salmon added as well. DS(7) ordered grilled chicken and I shared with DD. The steaks were all cooked perfectly to order and were excellent. The grilled scallops were a great hit. They were a bit gritty but delicious. The shrimp and salmon were also grilled and very good. It was way too much food and we took some back to the hotel.
Almost forgot the appetizers. DS(10) and I ordered the lemon shrimp, DH ordered the lamb and DS(7) got cheese flatbread. I didn't care much for the lamb but thought the other items were delicious.
For dessert I ordered white chocolate orange cake and the boys got the sundaes that they could top themselves. DH passed (silly him!). My cake was very good and I ate nearly the entire thing. The kids thought the sundaes were very cool. Our server was very attentive, although the service definitely slowed down as the meal progressed. We ordered coffee with dessert (as with meals at other restaurants) and found that at WDW coffee pretty much comes to you once, as we never once had our cups refreshed.
Although the menu was fairly limited we were very happy with our meals and found this to be one of our better meals at WDW.
WCC-Breakfast: This was definitely the most fun we had while eating at Disney! Cousin Al was our server and he was an absolute blast! He began by immediately picking on me--which persisted throughout the meal and cracked my chidren up! I made the serious error of placing my elbows on the table and he ran up behind me and yelled, "Hey lady! This is a nice restaraunt, get your elbows off the table!" My kids just about fell off of their chairs they were laughing so hard at Mom getting yelled at! DD kept reminding me throughout the meal to mind my manners or that guy might yell! Having had enough yucky coffee I actually ordered a coke to drink and proceeded to bring me a little shot glass mug full. It was hilarious! Then later he brought a huge mug and yelled out, "Hey lady! Didn't know you had a drinking problem!"
DS(7) asked for ketchup and Al made him yell out his request at the top of his lungs. He is young and loud and loved that part! The food was great--scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, waffles, potatoes and biscuits and sausage gravy. We received a second skillet without asking. The kids even had smoothies and shakes which we were not charged extra for.
WCC breakfast will defintely be a Disney tradition for us. Food was great and we started the day off by having a lot of fun.
