I will review all the places we ate on the dining plan the six days we were there. If you are interested in my full trip report, here is a link;
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=891338&page=1&pp=15
This trip was just DH and I on the dining plan (not free
) Overall, I am sure you come out ahead on this plan, however, it is a tremendous amount of food to consume, we couldn't eat everything that was included. We are used to eating six small meals a day, so to sit down to a dinner that was an appetizer, drink, entree and dessert was hard for us without making us sick.
We decided we would probably do the plan again in December with the kids because it is a savings, even if you don't order and eat everything included. We used all of our snack credits and our counter service drinks to get water. We got large bottles of water everywhere except Pizza Planet. One snack credit we did use to get a frozen lemonade to split, and it was really good. I don't ever mention breakfast because we had it in the concierge lounge of the Boardwalk Inn every day.
8/13 Saturday
Sunshine Season Food Fair
This was a last minute decision to grab a bite here. We were both hungry from the flight and decided to try out the meal plan. We both had the rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes. We both thought it was excellant for counter service food and there were lots of different choices available. We both wanted fruit for dessert, but that was not an option for dessert.
So I had the Soarin Creme Brulee, which tasted kind of like an orange creamsicle, and Matt had some sort of little tart with glazed fruit in it. They were both good.
Le Cellier 5:00 pm
This is a nice cool, albeit not very quiet restaurant. It kind of bugged me that we were practically sitting on the laps of the people at the tables on either side of us, it made conversation awkward, because there was no way to help overhearing each other. It has the potential to be a romantic restaurant, with the darker ambience and the candles, but they definitely need to get rid of a few tables first. We waited about 10 minutes for a table, mostly because they were trying to get a party of 12 seated that came in ahead of us who didn't have their entire party with them. Which brings me to a point, don't sign in for your meal until your entire party is there, they won't seat you and it will hold up everyone else. They were full for the evening and turning away walk-ins.
For an appetizer I had the cheese soup and Matt had the shrimp cocktail. He liked his, mine was just ok. It was really hot out and soup was probably not the best choice, but I wanted to try it. We both enjoyed the breadsticks. I had a Riesling and Matt had a beer to drink, we did not get any other drinks but water, although we could have.
For our entree we both had the steak and lobster tail. The lobster was good and the steak was ok, but half of it had kind of a seafoody taste for some reason, both of them did. It was weird. For dessert we both had the sorbet because we were both full and the sorbet was very refreshing. Overall, we enjoyed the food but wished we had a little more privacy. We thought the service was excellant, our water never sat even half full and the server did know that we were on the dining plan
Sunday 8/14
Casey's
We always have lunch here in the Magic Kingdom, it is a family tradition. The hot dogs and fries were good, as usual. I got carmel corn for dessert and brought it home for the kids, and Matt got the brownie, which we split.
'Ohana 6:30
Last time we had dinner here we were all full and weren't that crazy about it, but decided to give it another chance. We liked it much better this time. There was a huge crowd of people waiting for a table who did not have an ADR, but we were seated before I could even pay our bar bill. I had a Pina Colada and Matt had some sort of an Island something. Both drinks were very good.
Once again, the service here was wonderful. Our appetizers came right out and were better than I remember. The new potato dish is really good and the wings are awesome. We probably ate too much during the appetizer course.
The skewered meat was also very good, particularly the pork. The shrimp was probably my least favorite, not because it didn't taste good, but because I hate to work for my food.
None of the meat was over done or burnt at all.
The pineapple and caramel was good and we ate all of it, one plate was more than enough. Our "cousin" brought us out a cupcake with two candles in it for our anniversary, which was sweet, and the cupcake was pretty good too.
This was a fun meal and the food was good. We loved coming back to the Polynesian even though we weren't staying here this trip.
Monday 8/15
Pizza Planet
Yuck, yuck, yuck and double yuck. The pizza tasted like microwave pizza and the salad was limp and brown. For dessert, I got a chocolate chip cookie, which was pretty good, and Matt got a Rice Krispee Mickey.
Mama Melsrose Fantasmic Dining Package 6:20 pm
I was prepared to pay out of pocket for this meal since I had heard you couldn't use the dining plan, but we were able to use the dining plan. This was one of our favorite meals. The decor is cute and we just really enjoyed our meal.
For drinks we ordered the wine flight, which I enjoyed, but Matt didn't (he isn't a wine drinker, why he ordered this I don't know) For an appetizer we shared a four cheese flatbread, which was good. The salad was crisp and tasty as was the bread that was brought out with olive oil, roasted garlic and pesto.
For my entree I had the Penne a la Vodka, which I loved. It was a lot of pasta, but I made short work of it. Matt had a seafood pasta dish which I can't remember what it was called, but I know he ordered it without calamari in it.
For dessert I had a warm chocolate cake with a molten chocolate center and Matt had the Ricotta Cheesecake, both were excellant. They were turning people away at the door who did not have an ADR.
Tuesday 8/16 (our anniversary!)
Columbia Harbour House
We ate here as part of the Keys to the Kingdom Tour and I was looking forward to it since I had heard so many wonderful things here about it, but it was just ok. Chicken and fries, fish and fries. Not awful, but probably not someplace I would pick to go again. We sat upstairs and it was very quiet and uncrowded.
The Yachtsman 6:30 pm
I was expecting a lot from this meal, because I had read a lot of glowing reviews, and it was good, but not great. The atmosphere is really lacking here, it is the only restaurant we ate in all week that seemed like just another hotel restaurant.
We had water and wine to drink, Matt had the lobster bisque and I had the mozzerlla, basil and tomato appetizer. They were ok, nothing spectacular. We both had the filet and lobster for our entree, and they were good. The steak was cooked perfectly and was very tender. It had a blue cheese sauce on it that I am not sure did the steak any justice. The lobster tail had a bread crumb topping that was kind of wierd, but didn't bother me. Matt didn't like it.
I don't remember what we ordered for dessert, we had it boxed and brought it back to the staff at he BWI concierge. I had ordered a small wedding cake from the Boardwalk Bakery for after our meal as a surprise and the staff had forgotten about it. When it looked like our server was ready to bring the check and we still hadn't gotten the cake, I went up front to remind them. They brought the cake out and it was cute and tasted ok, despite the fact that it was frozen still since they had forgotten to take it out. In retrospect, I should have made sure they remembered when we arrived.
Overall the meal was good, not great, and if I was paying out of pocket, it was a little pricey for the quality. I doubt we would go back with the kids, but maybe if we were on our own. This was the only restaurant we ate in all week that was virtually empty, you could easily get a table without a reservation. Our server, Candace, was excellant and very attentive.
Wednesday 8/17
Tusker House
Matt had the grilled salmon here and I had the rotisserie chicken with mashed potato. Both were really good. I had a chocolate cake for dessert and I don't remember what Matt had, but I remember that we really enjoyed this meal a lot.
Beaches and Cream
I had some Q&C vouchers so we used them here. We both had a burger and fries and they were good. Matt had a chocolate fudge sundae and I had the Beaches and Cream chocolate cake with ice cream which was incredible as always.
Thursday 8/18
Casey's
We grabbed a hot dog here on our way out of the Magic Kingdom on our last day, it was good once again. For some reason the hot dogs taste better here than anywhere else in the world.
During the week we also had an ice cream sandwich from the Main Street ice cream shop and it was terrific. We ordered two, not realizing how huge they were. We could have easily shared one. They are so big, I couldn't get my mouth around it, I broke off pieces of cookie and ate the ice cream with it. I will definitely be back here next trip.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=891338&page=1&pp=15
This trip was just DH and I on the dining plan (not free
) Overall, I am sure you come out ahead on this plan, however, it is a tremendous amount of food to consume, we couldn't eat everything that was included. We are used to eating six small meals a day, so to sit down to a dinner that was an appetizer, drink, entree and dessert was hard for us without making us sick. We decided we would probably do the plan again in December with the kids because it is a savings, even if you don't order and eat everything included. We used all of our snack credits and our counter service drinks to get water. We got large bottles of water everywhere except Pizza Planet. One snack credit we did use to get a frozen lemonade to split, and it was really good. I don't ever mention breakfast because we had it in the concierge lounge of the Boardwalk Inn every day.
8/13 Saturday
Sunshine Season Food Fair
This was a last minute decision to grab a bite here. We were both hungry from the flight and decided to try out the meal plan. We both had the rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes. We both thought it was excellant for counter service food and there were lots of different choices available. We both wanted fruit for dessert, but that was not an option for dessert.
So I had the Soarin Creme Brulee, which tasted kind of like an orange creamsicle, and Matt had some sort of little tart with glazed fruit in it. They were both good.
Le Cellier 5:00 pm
This is a nice cool, albeit not very quiet restaurant. It kind of bugged me that we were practically sitting on the laps of the people at the tables on either side of us, it made conversation awkward, because there was no way to help overhearing each other. It has the potential to be a romantic restaurant, with the darker ambience and the candles, but they definitely need to get rid of a few tables first. We waited about 10 minutes for a table, mostly because they were trying to get a party of 12 seated that came in ahead of us who didn't have their entire party with them. Which brings me to a point, don't sign in for your meal until your entire party is there, they won't seat you and it will hold up everyone else. They were full for the evening and turning away walk-ins.
For an appetizer I had the cheese soup and Matt had the shrimp cocktail. He liked his, mine was just ok. It was really hot out and soup was probably not the best choice, but I wanted to try it. We both enjoyed the breadsticks. I had a Riesling and Matt had a beer to drink, we did not get any other drinks but water, although we could have.
For our entree we both had the steak and lobster tail. The lobster was good and the steak was ok, but half of it had kind of a seafoody taste for some reason, both of them did. It was weird. For dessert we both had the sorbet because we were both full and the sorbet was very refreshing. Overall, we enjoyed the food but wished we had a little more privacy. We thought the service was excellant, our water never sat even half full and the server did know that we were on the dining plan
Sunday 8/14
Casey's
We always have lunch here in the Magic Kingdom, it is a family tradition. The hot dogs and fries were good, as usual. I got carmel corn for dessert and brought it home for the kids, and Matt got the brownie, which we split.
'Ohana 6:30
Last time we had dinner here we were all full and weren't that crazy about it, but decided to give it another chance. We liked it much better this time. There was a huge crowd of people waiting for a table who did not have an ADR, but we were seated before I could even pay our bar bill. I had a Pina Colada and Matt had some sort of an Island something. Both drinks were very good.
Once again, the service here was wonderful. Our appetizers came right out and were better than I remember. The new potato dish is really good and the wings are awesome. We probably ate too much during the appetizer course.
The skewered meat was also very good, particularly the pork. The shrimp was probably my least favorite, not because it didn't taste good, but because I hate to work for my food.
None of the meat was over done or burnt at all. The pineapple and caramel was good and we ate all of it, one plate was more than enough. Our "cousin" brought us out a cupcake with two candles in it for our anniversary, which was sweet, and the cupcake was pretty good too.
This was a fun meal and the food was good. We loved coming back to the Polynesian even though we weren't staying here this trip.
Monday 8/15
Pizza Planet
Yuck, yuck, yuck and double yuck. The pizza tasted like microwave pizza and the salad was limp and brown. For dessert, I got a chocolate chip cookie, which was pretty good, and Matt got a Rice Krispee Mickey.
Mama Melsrose Fantasmic Dining Package 6:20 pm
I was prepared to pay out of pocket for this meal since I had heard you couldn't use the dining plan, but we were able to use the dining plan. This was one of our favorite meals. The decor is cute and we just really enjoyed our meal.
For drinks we ordered the wine flight, which I enjoyed, but Matt didn't (he isn't a wine drinker, why he ordered this I don't know) For an appetizer we shared a four cheese flatbread, which was good. The salad was crisp and tasty as was the bread that was brought out with olive oil, roasted garlic and pesto.
For my entree I had the Penne a la Vodka, which I loved. It was a lot of pasta, but I made short work of it. Matt had a seafood pasta dish which I can't remember what it was called, but I know he ordered it without calamari in it.
For dessert I had a warm chocolate cake with a molten chocolate center and Matt had the Ricotta Cheesecake, both were excellant. They were turning people away at the door who did not have an ADR.
Tuesday 8/16 (our anniversary!)
Columbia Harbour House
We ate here as part of the Keys to the Kingdom Tour and I was looking forward to it since I had heard so many wonderful things here about it, but it was just ok. Chicken and fries, fish and fries. Not awful, but probably not someplace I would pick to go again. We sat upstairs and it was very quiet and uncrowded.
The Yachtsman 6:30 pm
I was expecting a lot from this meal, because I had read a lot of glowing reviews, and it was good, but not great. The atmosphere is really lacking here, it is the only restaurant we ate in all week that seemed like just another hotel restaurant.
We had water and wine to drink, Matt had the lobster bisque and I had the mozzerlla, basil and tomato appetizer. They were ok, nothing spectacular. We both had the filet and lobster for our entree, and they were good. The steak was cooked perfectly and was very tender. It had a blue cheese sauce on it that I am not sure did the steak any justice. The lobster tail had a bread crumb topping that was kind of wierd, but didn't bother me. Matt didn't like it.
I don't remember what we ordered for dessert, we had it boxed and brought it back to the staff at he BWI concierge. I had ordered a small wedding cake from the Boardwalk Bakery for after our meal as a surprise and the staff had forgotten about it. When it looked like our server was ready to bring the check and we still hadn't gotten the cake, I went up front to remind them. They brought the cake out and it was cute and tasted ok, despite the fact that it was frozen still since they had forgotten to take it out. In retrospect, I should have made sure they remembered when we arrived.
Overall the meal was good, not great, and if I was paying out of pocket, it was a little pricey for the quality. I doubt we would go back with the kids, but maybe if we were on our own. This was the only restaurant we ate in all week that was virtually empty, you could easily get a table without a reservation. Our server, Candace, was excellant and very attentive.
Wednesday 8/17
Tusker House
Matt had the grilled salmon here and I had the rotisserie chicken with mashed potato. Both were really good. I had a chocolate cake for dessert and I don't remember what Matt had, but I remember that we really enjoyed this meal a lot.
Beaches and Cream
I had some Q&C vouchers so we used them here. We both had a burger and fries and they were good. Matt had a chocolate fudge sundae and I had the Beaches and Cream chocolate cake with ice cream which was incredible as always.
Thursday 8/18
Casey's
We grabbed a hot dog here on our way out of the Magic Kingdom on our last day, it was good once again. For some reason the hot dogs taste better here than anywhere else in the world.
During the week we also had an ice cream sandwich from the Main Street ice cream shop and it was terrific. We ordered two, not realizing how huge they were. We could have easily shared one. They are so big, I couldn't get my mouth around it, I broke off pieces of cookie and ate the ice cream with it. I will definitely be back here next trip.
I am not a hot dog person at all, but you're right about Casey's 
)
