Dining Reviews 11/21-12/4

[MelanieC]

Our trip was 11/21/04-12/04/04. We ate breakfast in the rooms. Pop tarts and things like that.

Sunday November 21-
Lunch –Evergreens Bar & Grill at Shades of Green – DD12 & DS7 had the Kids chicken fingers & FF’s. DH had Buffalo chicken salad and I had Nacho’s. We stopped in after purchasing our annual passes and Universal tickets to watch the Dallas Cowboy game. The kids liked chicken fingers and DH liked his salad but the Nacho’s were terrible. I didn’t get the salsa or sour cream with it and it was just chips with the wet nacho sauce and a tiny bit of shredded cheese along with about 3 tiny pieces of tomato and 4 slivers of olives. I did ask for the salsa and sour cream but it just wasn’t tasty. I didn’t feel so bad since it was about 2pm and we were going for Dinner at Nine Dragons. Grade C
Dinner- Nine Dragons- Epcot – DH and had the Nine Dragons sampler for 2 and DD12 had the kids sweet and sour chicken and DS7 had the kids spring roll and fried rice. We had dinner here because DH promised DD12 that we would go to China for dinner on our first night because we were having new countertops and sink put in our house and could only use paper plates prior to our vacation. DH didn’t want to have Chinese food on paper plates, so this was his compromise. DH wasn’t that hungry ( I was, since I didn’t eat much of my lunch) and we agreed that the sampler was a great deal for everything that came with dinner. We shared everything with the kids and we tried some of theirs. Afterwards we decided that it wasn’t worth the money we spent since the food was just ok. Grade C

Monday November 22-
Animal Kingdom
Lunch- Pizzafari
We had lunch at our AK usual – Pizzafari. DD12 had the pepperoni pizza, DS had the kids PB&J and DH and I had the Hot Italian Deli Sandwich & Chips. DD & DS loved food. DH & I loved our sandwich as usual. We have loved this sandwich ever since the first time we ate here when AK first opened. We did miss the kettle chips they used to serve. Now it’s only Lay’s. We love the themed rooms and try to sit in a different room each time. Grade BAfter AK we headed to the MK area to watch Spectromagic.
Dinner – Wilderness Lodge- Whispering Canyon Café –
We haven’t had dinner here in quite a few years. DH didn’t remember liking it but I finally got him to try it again. It was a hit with everyone. We all had the Famous Canyon Skillet Dinner. The kids loved the Ketchup skit and my son calls this the ketchup restaurant. DD dropped her fork and the server brought her a big wooden forks. We loved how they threw straws, napkins all over the place. It’s a great place for kids to let loose and act like kids. No worry about messes etc. DS did the pony races and I have DH on tape singing Buttercup. It was a lot of fun. Grade A

Tuesday November 23
Islands of Adventure
Lunch – Confiscos
I ordered the daily pizza special it was a Mexican pizza, DD12 ordered chicken fingers, DS7 ordered kids pizza and DH ordered the veggie pizza. Everyone agreed the food was great. DD tried a piece of DH’s veggie pizza and she gave me the mushroom from it. It was so tasty. The pizza had a sauce that the veggies were cooked in that was so good. My Mexican pizza was great and the steak (flank steak from fajitas) on it was fabulous. Grade B+
Dinner – Tchoup Chop
DD12 had the kids fettuccini with shrimp, DS7 had the kids chicken fingers. DH had the steak and I had the duck. The kids loved the appetizer with the peanut sauce. DH and I had a garlic shrimp soup that was fabulous. Our meals were fabulous and the service was fabulous. 3 people waited on us. When my son’s face lit up when he saw the fountain in the middle of the room the girl at the door said she would seat us there. My son loved sitting next to the fountains. We laughed at the difference between this restaurant and the straw and napkin throwing at Whispering Canyon Café. Grade A+

Wednesday November 24
Universal Studios
Lunch- Finnegans Bar & Grille- We ate here when DD was 3 years old. We split the potato & onion appetizer (Very yummy). We were served soda bread (so so). Kids had the kids chicken fingers and DH and I had the Shepard’s Pie. The Shepards pie was good but not fabulous. The service was lackluster. I had no drink pretty much the entire meal. The restaurant was empty and they wouldn’t sit us at a booth, but instead stuck us in a corner by the bathroom. Grade C
Dinner – Went back to the room and had pizza at the All Star movies. Pizza was doughy and we decided that we probably would not ordered pizza there again. I should have taken note of the places that were listed on a thread prior to us going. I’ll note them for our trip next year. Grade C

Thursday – Thanksgiving November 25
Magic Kingdom
Lunch – Plaza Restaurant –This was our first time eating here. DD12 & DS7 had the kid’s double hamburgers, DH had the Reuben sandwich and I had the hamburger. We split a chocolate chip shake. The shake was delicious. Everyone agreed this was a winner. Grade A
Snack – Aloha Island – I had a dole whip in Hawaii and I thought that is what everyone was talking about on the boards. The kids and I ordered a Dole Whip and I thought it was the thing with the juice in it. When I got a cup of ice cream I mentioned to the guy oh- I thought that was one of those. He took my money and turned around and gave me the one with the juice in addition to the cup of pineapple ice cream and said Happy Thanksgiving! They were very tasty!!! Grade A
Dinner- Chef Mickey’s- We met DH here after he watched the Dallas Game in the room. The kids and I rode rides at MK and met him at 8pm. Food was ok but not fabulous. Last year I seem to remember not liking it as much as the years past. We decided to skip next year since there are so many fabulous restaurants we love. Grade C

Friday – November 26
Animal Kingdom
Lunch- I planned on trying Tusker House but everyone else wanted Pizzafari again. Still great. We all had exactly the same thing. Grade B
Dinner- Boma – We left the park a little earlier than planned. Park closed at 8pm and we left at 6;30pm. I had PS at 8:10pm and the first girl I talked to wouldn’t change it for me and said to come back. A little later as DH fell asleep upstairs waiting I went back down and saw they were taking new people. I went over to another girl and she seated us within 5 minutes. Seems a little unfair that you can’t get in early with a PS when they are taking walkups. Dinner was great, although for some reason not as good as last time. DH seemed to think it was just ok. It’s still one of my favorites because everything is so tasty. Zebra Domes were as good as ever.
Grade B+

Saturday November 27
MGM
Lunch – Prime Time Café Our waiter was funny – calling us all different names like sparky, princess, scooter (I was just MOM though). DH had chicken and I had the potpie. DD had kids chicken fingers and DS had PB& J. DH liked chicken, but did not like the mashed potatoes. My potpie was just ok. It was not a crust, but rather a flaky croissant type bread that was not flaky but rather tough. This has always been a favorite spot for lunch at MGM, and I am sure we will come back. Grade C+
Dinner- ABC Commissary – DH & I had hamburgers and DS had kids cheeseburger & DD had chicken fingers. Food was ok. Grade C

Sunday November 28
MK
Lunch- Liberty Tree Tavern- One of our favorites and we always eat here twice per trip. DD had kids chicken fingers & DS had mac & Cheese. DH had the pilgrims feast and I had the salmon. DH said the turkey dinner was good, but he didn’t like the stuffing. He devoured it though. I LOVED the salmon. I really missed the pork chop they used to have. It was the best pork chop ever. Also, you must now ask for the bread with the honey butter. They will only bring to you if you ask for it. Please everyone, keep asking for it so they don’t take it off completely. Grade B+
Dinner- Ohana’s – This is one of my favorites. The appetizer tray was wonderful as usual. DH especially loved the green beans and the kids loved the won ton’s! DH and I didn’t get the turkey because we remembered it being dried. Cutting DS’s I am glad we didn’t. We also only got one small piece of the pork and agreed the steak and shrimp was the best. We LOVE the peanut sauce. The pineapple and caramel was wonderful as usual. Anyone remember when they used to serve Salmon too. I miss the salmon! Grade B+

Monday November 29
Islands of Adventure & Universal Studios
Lunch – Mythos – Our best meal of the trip. WOW is not giving it enough credit. We got lucky enough to get offered a meal that the chef was trying for New Years Eve. He only had 3 of them to offer so DH and I ordered 2 of them. WOW! It was a veal chop with a crab cake, asparagus, plum tomatoes, mashed potatoes, a gravy sauce over the meat and potatoes and a hollandaise sauce over the crab. It was one of the best meals I ever had. The presentation was wonderful and it was almost too beautiful to eat. I took pictures so I’ll try to post later. The chef came over and asked us how we liked it, would we order it again. The bread here was great too. DD had kids pizza and DS had kids pasta. And to think I almost ordered the wrap of the day. The entrée was $18 and the chef told us it easily would have been $35-50 but he couldn’t charge that much for lunch on a regular day or no one would order it. Fabulous! Grade A+
Dinner – McDonalds near the All Star Resorts – Eaten back at the room.

Tuesday November 30
MGM Studios
Lunch – Sci Fi – DH and I had the flat Iron Steak sandwich with onion rings. DS had a kids corndog and DD had a kids hamburger. DH loved his. Mine was great once I got more dressing since it was a little dry. Not as good as last year when I ordered it, but very tasty. We love eating here for atmosphere alone! Its always a plus when the food is good. Grade B+
Dinner-Mama Melrose – Our first time eating here. Our waitress wasn’t the friendliest and we saw her bussing tables and cleaning the floor too after taking our order so maybe that’s why. The bread with dipping sauces was good. I had the Wood fired Shrimp Pipette. I wasn’t sure if it was just veggies & shrimp or if it was pasta. Luckily it was pasta because I was hungry for pasta. DH had the Fra Diavolo. DS had the kids pasta with 4 cream sauce and DD had the kids pizza. Mine was fabulous and DH loved his. DS devoured his pasta. Definitely would go back here again. Glad we tried it. Grade A-

Wednesday Dec 1
EPCOT
Lunch –Teppenyaki Japan – A family favorite – We ordered a sushi combo roll (spicy tuna and California roll) as an appetizer to split . You can get soup for $1 more now so we got Miso Soup. DH and I got the Seto (shrimp & scallops) hibatchi and the kids got the kids shrimp. It was fabulous as usual!! Grade A
Snack-Boulangerie Patisserie – We split an apple tart. It was tasty but ok. Grade C+ There were so many good looking things here I would love to try a bit of everything.
Dinner- Biergarten Germany – Another family favorite. We had a great meal here. Last night DH told me that he almost mentioned eating here again on Friday night but since we were going to Downtown Disney he decided against it. Meats were great tonight. The meats were excellent! Grade A

Thursday Dec 2
Magic Kingdom
Lunch – Liberty Tree Tavern- DH had a sandwich and I had the Salmon again. Kids had the same. Great as usual! Grade B+
Dinner- Cinderella’s Royal Table – DH and I had the Ceasar Salad. I had the Queen cut and DH had the King cut Prime Rib. DS had the kids Jaq’s cheese dog rolls (hot dogs in a egg roll rapper). DD had chicken fingers. We love the atmosphere here and we usually love the food. The food was very mediocre this time. It occurred to me while eating my salad that was just lettuce, dressing and a cooked cheese blob that $5 was a lot for a plate of lettuce. DH and I agreed that we probably wouldn’t eat here again. Grade C

Friday Dec 3
Epcot
Lunch – San Angel Inn- Mexico – We got a table by the water (easy to do if you make a PS seating for when it opens and show up a few minutes early. It’s always so dark to see the menu. The chips were much better than last year. We asked for more but never got them. Our waiter seemed young and seemed to have a hard time keeping up with just getting drinks and chips along with the meals to the table to do extra. DS ordered the kids quesadilla. DD ordered a side taco with refried beans. It came with rice too and he didn’t charge us for the rice or beans. The taco was only $4 so it was a good deal. DH ordered the Plato Mexicano and I ordred the Plato National. Both were good, I really wanted a burrito but it was more like a chimichanga. It was fried and not a soft taco. Very tasty! The only thing I didn’t care for was the tamale because it was a little on the cold side. I didn’t see the waiter again till dinner was done. Other wise it was tasty. Grade B
Snack-Kringla og Bakeri – Norway- We tried the School bread everyone has been raving about and the Kringle pretzel with almonds. The kringle was really good, but the School bread stole the show. What a deal for $2.29 each. They are huge! We split two School breads and a Kringle. DH commented that he can’t wait to have them next year and we are each getting one. He is not a big snack eater especially since we eat a lot of lunch and dinner sit down meals. Grade A
Dinner – McDonald’s near the All Star Resorts –eaten back at the room.

We came home on Saturday December 4th so we didn’t have anything but fast food outside the park.

We ate so many good and ok meals. None were really bad, just some really stood out and some were just ok. Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Hippychickali]

I have a question about the San Angel Inn. My fiance is a very picky eater. Can adults just get plain mexican food like tacos there?

Ali

 

[MelanieC]

They are soft taco's not hard tacos. DD ordered a side taco for $4 and it came with rice. I asked for a side of refried beans with it too. The food was very tasty. I enjoyed it much better than last year.

Edited to add:
The side taco was just plain beef or chicken. Ask for cheese or whatever you want in it. DD did get sour cream, but by the time she realized there was no cheese we never saw the waiter again till the end.

 

[BCV23]

Enjoyed your reviews. Those reubens at the Plaza are great aren't they?

 

[drumflower]

Wow! I loved your reviews! I have to go back and read again to remember everything! lol I was happy to see Tchoup Chop rated so well. I haven't heard a bad thing about this place only people raving! My family will be celebrating my B-day there and I can't wait! What did you have for dessert and what did your kids eat? Or did I just forget? lol

 

[Ilovestitch]

I like the Mythos restaurant at IOA, too! Sounds like a great lunch you got! I had a grilled chicken/bacon sandwich there and it was very tasty. The restaurant has a cool theme, too- its inside a rock/cave and underneath a waterfall.

 

[Minniespal]

Great reviews ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[sha_lyn]

Great reviews. You ate at many of my favorites in WDW and USO.
Mythos is always the highlight of our trip. I hope the dish you tired is on the menu when we are there in 3 weeks. Sorry you didn't have a great meal at Finnegans. It is a favorite of ours and we plan on lunch there during our trip.