Dining reviews 12/11-12/19

[LoveMyBoys]

This was our first trip to the world and we were on the dining plan. I read so many reviews before going that really helped me, that I hope these help someone as well.

Cast: ME - 28 years old
DH - 30 years old
DS - 4 years old
DS - 2 years old

We arrived on Sunday, 12/11 and checked into CSR around 3:30pm. At about 5pm we headed out for our 5:40pm ADR at Chef Mickey's. I think we might have been a little late, but no one said anything to us about that and after checking in we were told to go and have our family picture taken. We were seated right after that. Donald was in the front greeting everyone, and Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale were circulating around the dining room. I was a little worried about my kids meeting the characters, but they got into it right away. The character interaction was great, they all got around to us (Mickey and Minnie more than once), took their time, got the pictures taken signed the books. It was great. Now the food was not bad, but it was your typical buffet food, which is what we were expecting, so we were not disappointed. The kids really enjoyed the pizza, so the place was a hit.
Food - B
Atmosphere - A
Service - A

Monday, 12/12 we had a 9:15am ADR at Crystal Palace , we were a little late for this one as well (there is a pattern developing), but here they were so busy that we had to wait outside another 10-15 minutes. Finally we got our table and since the characters were on the other side decided to go get some food. The food was really great here, there was nothing that I tried that I didn't like. My kids really enjoyed breakfast pizza and the waffles. I got my kids some grapes, but when they started eating them, they were really dirty, as if though they weren't washed at all. I think this was the only negative about the food. The character interaction was very slow, it seemed like they would never get to us, but once they got around to us it was pretty good. I just think the restaurant is really big for just the four characters to circulate around (but what do I know it was my first time). The service also wasn't as great, our waitress would just disappear, and forget about our refills.
Food - A
Atmosphere - B
Service - B

We didn't have lunch that day, since we had a 5:15pm ADR at CRT for dinner. Cinderella was in the lobby taking pictures, and DS4 was very excited to meet her. He had his picture taken with her and his autograph book signed, and was very in awe of her. DS2 wouldn't go near her, so I just told him that it was ok and he didn't have to have his picture taken with her (I was a little disappointed). Then we were finally called and went up to the dining room. We started of with appetizers, dh had the caesar salad, he said it was good, but nothing extraordinary. I had the seafood spring roll, which I though was not only beautifully presented but also tasted very good. The kids got the fruit and cheese platter. Ds2 had the cheese and ds4 had the grapes and carrots, so it worked out. For the entree dh had the lamb shank, and said it was good, but wished he would have ordered something else. I got the Filet of Beef and it was very good. I really enjoyed it as well as the vegetables. Both of the boys got baked pasta marinara and it looked really good, and they seemed to enjoy it. Dh also got the Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Brew, and said it was very good. For dessert Dh and I both got the key lime creme brule and we really liked it, and the kids split the royal crown sundae. Overall we really enjoyed this meal and the service was very good. However with the price increase and more of a limited menu, I don't think we will do it again. I'm glad we got to experience eating in the castle.
Food - A-
Atmosphere - A
Service - A

To be continued....

 

[swankybeth]

Great reviews so far, can't wait to read more. BTW, we find breakfast a lot better at Chef Mickey's than dinner. I don't think I'd go back for the dinner again unless they totally revamp the menu.

 

[Stacerita]

Great reviews....Thanks!

 

[LoveMyBoys]

Tuesday, 12/13
This was our Epcot day, and we decided to have lunch at the resort at Pepper Market. The place wasn't crowded when we got there, I'm thinking it was close to 9am, but can't remember for sure. They seated us right away, and explained how the stations worked. They also gave us menus, so we could figure out what we wanted before going up to the stations. I found this very helpful since dh stayed at the table with the kids, and I went around the stations and got our food. The waitress took our drink orders, stamped our card and brought our drinks promptly. DH and I both had the southwestern omelete with potatoes and blueberry muffin. We both really liked the food, dh said the potatoes needed some salt, but I thought they were fine. The kids split the waffle with banana fruit topping. I tried some of the waffle, since DS2 decided that he would rather have my omelete, and I thought the waffle was very good. Everything was freshly made just for us, which I really liked.
Food - A
Atmosphere - A
Service - A

We were in future world and the kids were getting grumpy so we decided to stop for lunch, it was probably close to 1pm, but I'm not sure about that. We were in the Land, so decided that lunch would be Sunshine Seasons, I read so many great reviews on this place that I was really excited. I got the grilled salmon with mashed potatoes. The potatoes were pretty good, however the salmon was very dry, and I didn't enjoy it at all. Dh had the turkey muenster and cheese focaccia and said that it was just ok. DS4 got a kids mini sub that came with sugar free apple sauce. DS2 had the kids macaroni and cheese that came with a corn muffin and the apple sauce. Neither of the kids liked their food. The macaroni and cheese looked like they've been sitting there for a while and the bread for the mini sub was very dry. Surprisingly DS4 enjoyed the sugar free apple sauce. The best part was that we could pick any dessert they had on the dining plan. They had a huge dessert variety. DH got an apple flan and I got some kind of creme brule, both of the desserts were very good. The place was very crowded, and we just wanted to finish our food and get out of there.

Food - B-
Atmosphere - C

We had 5:40pm ADR at Le Cellier, at 4:30pm DS2 was still sleeping. Feeling bad about waking him I said, "well if we don't get to go, we don't get to go", inside however I was very upset. I knew how hard it is to get an ADR there and everyone raves about how this is the best meal of their trip. I decided to call dining and see if there was a way we could go a little later. Dining told me that Le Cellier was completely booked and they weren't taking anymore ADRs. I explained that we already had an ADR, but were just trying to push it up to a later time, she told me there was nothing that she could do, but she would connect me to Le Cellier to see if they could help. I'm sure you can guess what happened, she told me they were completely booked and there was nothing they could do for me. At this point DH looked at me and I looked at him, and he said; "that's the place that is really hard to get a reservation for isn't it?". I nodded. We then started rubbing DS2's back to see if we could wake him up. About 10 minutes late we showed up for our dinner. The line to check in was really long, there were people trying to get a table as walk ups, but were being turned away. We checked in, and were given a beeper. The girl told us we could go to the kidcot to wait. That's what we did, about 15 minutes later dh told to go find out what was taking so long. When I went up, the girl said that they were looking for us, and our beeper probably wasn't working. Finally we got to our table, first of all I have to say that I thought the restaurant inside was just beautiful, it wasn't as dark as I expected from reading all of the reviews.
Dh and I both started with grilled beef tenderloin kabob, and it was very good, the beef was juicy and tender, after an appetizer like that I couldn't wait for the entree. They brought out the bread, the pretzel, sourdough, and multigrain. I know everyone raves about the pretzel bread, and it was very good, but my favorite was the multigrain. For our entrees I got the mushroom filet mignon and dh got the filet mignon with maple barbeque sauce. Both filets were outstanding. I also really enjoyed the mushroom risotto. I couldn't finish the steak, but ate all of the risotto. DS4 got the cheeseburger with fries, and seemed to like it. The cheeseburger was really big, I'm guessing it's an adult size. And DS2 got the Pasta with tomato sauce, he barely touched his, but I don't think there was anything wrong with, he just didn't seem to be in an eating mood. For dessert we split the dessert sampler. It included a small canadian club cake (it was very chocolate, rich and delicious), a small maple creme brule (very, very good) and a raspberry sorbet (I think that's what it was, it was also very good). Our server Ty was very attentive, and the whole meal was great. I guess it was worth waking DS2 up for it.
Food - A+
Atmosphere - A+
Service - A

To be continued....

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoying reading your reviews ~ More please.

 

[LoveMyBoys]

Wednesday, 12/14

We were going to Animal Kingdom that day, so just decided to go to Tusker House for breakfast. DH and I both ordered the scrambled eggs with home fries, biscuit, and bacon. DS2 shared with us, and DS4 got cereal with milk. Our food wasn't bad, but it was nothing special. DH didn't really like the restaurant, I think the whole Africa theme didn't impress him. I on the other hand liked the restaurant, I liked the big tables and chairs and all the carvings in the chairs.
Food - B
Atmosphere - B

Lunch was back at Pepper Market. Dh had the turkey sandwich with a bag of chips and said the sandwich was just ok. I had the Chicken Fajita Platter and though it was very good. The kids shared a personal pizza. They seemed to like it, but I didn't think it was that good. We also got 2 blueberry and 1 banana nut muffins to go. After we were done with lunch, dh took the kids outside, while I went up to pay. I gave the cashier our stamped cards and told her that we were on the dining plan, I asked her if she could ring up 3 meals as counter service meals and the extra drink we got DS2 as a snack. To this the cashier proceeded to tell me that she would do me a favor just this once and ring up the drink as a snack, but if I wanted anything as a snack I would have to go to La Tienda (the little convenience store) next door and get the drink there. I said OK, I didn't know, since the day before we got the drink as a snack at breakfast. Then she asked me how many kids and adults I had on the dining plan. I replied that I had 2 adults and 1 child, and she said I couldn't use 1 of the credits because I got 3 adult meals instead of 2 adult and 1 child. I told her it was fine and I would just pay oop for the pizza since that is what my kids wanted (and I wanted them to share). She proceeded to tell me that she is going to call the manager to clarify this. I told her it wasn't necessary and I would just pay for it, because I was trying to get out of there since I saw the kids giving dh a hard time; but she ignored me and called the manager. Now comes over the manager, and the cashier tells her how I got an adult meal and am trying to pay for it with a child's credit. To my surprise the manager tells her that it's fine, and I could get anything I wanted with the child's credit. She then points to my 4 year old, who is now standing next to me and says: "If he wants to get the prime rib he can, it's allowed." The cashier goes to ring up the transaction and something is wrong with their computer and she has to call the manager over again to void it and ring it up again. The manager comes over, voids the transaction, rings it up again, gives me my receipt and I am on my way out of there. Needless to say, Dh is not happy with this whole thing taking over 20 minutes. I look down at my receipt and realize that instead of charging me 3 CS credits, I was charged 6. I guess she voided the transaction, but never voided the credits that were charged the first time around. I tell dh that he needs to stay with the kids for 5 more minutes (hoping it won't take much longer than that) while I go to guest services to straighten out our credits. At guest services everything went very smoothly. The CM printed out all of our dining activity, and asked me where we were overcharged credits, and took them of without a second thought.
Food - B+
Atmosphere - A-
Service - C (because of the register fiasco)

Dinner was at Ohana, and we had a 6:30pm ADR. We got there about 10 minutes late, and they gave as a beeper to wait. We waited no more than 5 minutes, when we were called. I read about people asking for a window table so that they could see Wishes, and some have said that sometimes you have to wait for a while to get a table by the window. 2 months prior when I made my ADRs I didn’t realize that I lucked out to have a 6:30 ADR on the day that Wishes were at 8pm. Now that we were finally at the restaurant I decided not to push it, and just go to the table we were shown, instead of asking for a table by the window. Imagine my surprise, when we were shown to a table next to a window, directly across the castle. At first I thought it was a mistake, since the table was set up for six, and there were only 4 of us, but our “cousin” told us, that the table was indeed for us. I think dh realized how happy I was, since all I talked about on the way to Ohana was how some people get to sit next to the window and see Wishes. Our server, “cousin” Dave came over and explained that everything was served family style and that all our food would be brought out soon. He asked the kids if they would like anything, since they probably would not eat all the meats and stuff. DS4 asked for chicken fingers and fries, and DS2 asked for macaroni and cheese. We were also told that we could get nonalcoholic frozen drinks, and they would be included on the dining plan. I decided to go with a virgin pina colada, and we got virgin strawberry daiquiri for DS2, because Dave said ds would love it. I really liked the pina colada, ds didn’t really care for the daiquiri, so we got him apple juice instead. I think they brought out the kids food before we got our salad. Then we got our salad, which I thought was amazing, I really liked the dressing. DH said it was Ok, and just looked at me. It seemed that this place wasn’t what he expected. Then they brought the wonton chips with the dipping sauces. My favorite was the peanut sauce, but I could really take it or leave it. Then the meats came out, first the sausage and turkey, followed by pork and beef. Then they brought out shrimp, chicken wings, vegetables, and scalloped potatoes. I thought the sausage, pork and turkey were all excellent, the beef was a little more rare than I like, but it was still very good. DH really enjoyed all the meats and scalloped potatoes. I thought the potatoes were good as were the vegetables. I only tried one chicken wing, because I was so stuffed and thought is was very good, dh didn’t even try any. I couldn’t believe we had a bowl of wings that would go to waste since we couldn’t eat anymore. This was the first time I had to peel my own shrimp, and I have to tell you I really enjoyed it. Now I don’t know how things were before the menu changes, but we had a wonderful meal with this new menu. At the end of the meal Dh declared that this was his favorite meal of the whole trip (and he still thought that at the end of our trip after all the other restaurants we sampled). At 8pm Wishes started, just as they brought out the dessert. I have to say I wasn’t sure that I would like the bread pudding, but it was amazing, I couldn’t believe how great the banana foster sauce was. Ds4 participated in the parade and the limbo game and really had a great time. The only thing that bothered me a little was the service, I have to say that I felt a little rushed throughout the evening. Dave kept coming up and asking us if we were done with things constantly, it just felt like he couldn’t get us out of there fast enough. I just tried to not let it bother me. When we asked for cappuccinos with our dessert, he reminded us that it wasn’t included on the dining plan, totally waiting for us to say that we wouldn’t want them if they weren’t included. He was shocked when we told him we knew they were extra and still wanted them. Other than that everything was perfect. We would definitely return again, and it was one of the best meals out of our 9 day stay.

Food – A
Atmosphere – A
Service – B+

 

[LoveMyBoys]

Thursday, 12/15

This day we were spending at MGM and we had a small breakfast in our room, cereal bars, muffins, etc.
For lunch we decided to go to Pizza Planet, I read some reviews that said the food is not that great, but my kids have been talking about Pizza Planet since before we got to WDW, so there was no way we could miss it. We got 1 cheese pizza with a tossed salad and 1 veggie pizza with a small salad. We split these 2 meals between the 4 of us, and it was plenty of food. I have to say that the pizza was not bad at all, and it was pretty quiet upstairs, so we had a really nice lunch.
Food - B+

For dinner we had a 4:20pm ADR at Mama Melrose for FDP. I picked this primarily because I didn't want another buffet or to spend 2 TS credits, and the reviews though somewhat mixed were pretty positive. This was our worse meal of our entire vacation for food, atmosphere and service. We started with a salad, which neither dh or I liked. Then we had the grilled chicken flatbread, and that was pretty good. For entree dh got the wood fired chicken and didn't like it at all. He took a couple of bites and left the rest of it. I had the Eggplant Napolean, and although it was eatable, it wasn't that good. The kids both had the cheese pizzas and they were pretty good. The service was really slow, our server would disappear, forget our refills, the food took forever to come out. DS4 was really upset that his pizza was taking so long to come out. For dessert the kids both had the chocolate ice cream and that was fine. We both had the Tiramisu, and to their credit it was very good. Overall, for food I would only go there for the flatbread pizza and the tiramisu, however we would not be returning. I was really glad we did the FDP, because with kids we walked right in at 6:30 and got to sit instead of waiting and standing for hours. We will definitely do the FDP again, however we will go with a different restaurant.
Food - C+
Atmosphere - B-
Service - C

 

[slp87]

Keep 'em coming!! I'm enjoying them. We're having to bypass 'Ohana on our next trip since the age for children was lowered to 9. DD is 11, but eats like a mouse, so I'm living vicariously through restaurant reports. Glad you got to catch Wishes as well. We saw fireworks from 'Ohana on our last 2 trips, also without requesting a window seat, and it was magical!!

 

[AllisonG]

Enjoying all the reviews LMB! Thanks for taking the time to fill all of us in!!

 

[LoveMyBoys]

Friday, 12/16

We had breakfast at Ohana that morning, and it turned our to be a really nice experience. They were very busy, and we waited about 15 minutes past our ADR, but we had the pictures taken during that time, so it went by really quick. They did 2 photo packages, one a family one, and one just of the boys and we ended up buying both of them (next time we go I'll have to budget for all the photo packages that the different restaurants do, we walked away with 4 photo packages this trip, because dh just can't say: "no, thank you"). We were seated and the food came our right after that. There was an assortment of small danishes, they were very good; fresh fruit, also pretty good and fresh and the skillet with eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, and waffles. The food was good, dh really liked the potatoes, he also really liked the fact that they let him order a coke with his breakfast. But the best part was the character interaction. The character parade was great, both DS4 and DS2 participated in that (twice) and really had a great time. Mickey got to our table as soon as the parade was over, and dh was the only one at the table, because we were still getting back to the table, so Mickey stood there wating for us, and then went to the table next to us. When we got back dh said, that Mickey's been waiting, but we were taking too long so he moved on. I was a little disappointed, but as soon as he was done with the other table he came right back to us and was great with the kids. Stitch also spent a nice amount of time with the boys and they really enjoyed it. We really liked this breakfast and will do it again.
Food - A
Atmosphere - A+
Service - A

For lunch we went to Cosmic Rays. Originally when I was making my plans, I though about getting chicken with mashed potatoes, but now that we were there all I wanted was a burger and dh wanted the same. So we got 3 cheeseburgers with fries and the kids split one of the burgers. For dessert we got a carrot cake and a chocolate cake and a brownie. The burgers were pretty good, but the place was really crowded, so we just ate and left. We took the dessert back to our room.
Food – B+
Atmosphere – B-

For dinner we had a 6pm ADR at Restaurant Marrakesh, I decided to call dining around 2 o’clock to see if we could get anything later, they had a 6:30 and a 7pm available, we took the 7 o’clock one. When we showed up for our 7pm ADR the place was very crowded. People who were walking up were being turned away and told that the restaurant was booked for the rest of the night. After waiting about 10 minutes, we are finally called up to go to our table, only to be told that they made a mistake and that the table is not ready. So we go back to waiting, after about 7 minutes we are finally seated. Now let me say that I was really excited to try this restaurant, because the reviews overall were positive. We also have a Moroccan restaurant where we live, and we’ve been there a couple of times and really enjoyed ourselves both as far as the food and the atmosphere. However, I was really disappointed in Restaurant Marrakesh. First of all the place is really big and open, which makes it very loud. I do have to say that it’s beautiful inside, however in my opinion it was beautiful to look at, not eat in. Our server would forget our refills, take forever to get our dishes and overall was very slow. Now in his defense I have to say, I think he just had too many tables, but as a result of that the service really suffered. For appetizers I got Chicken Bastilla and found it to be very good. Dh got Beef Brewat Rolls and said they were very good. The kids both got the chicken tenders and were happy with that. For entrees, I had the Night in Casablanca which included Roast Lamb Meshoui, Chicken Kebab and Seafood Bastilla. The lamb was very bland, and didn’t like it that much, Chicken Kebab was just ok, and the Seafood Bastilla was bad, at least I couldn’t eat it. DH got the Chicken Kebab and said it was ok, and he liked it. For dessert we got Crepes Atlas and Crepes Casablanca, and we thought they were pretty good. The belly dancer was a really pretty girl, and her dancing was very nice, but she didn’t have much of a belly to be belly dancing. Overall I guess it wasn’t that bad, and dh enjoyed it more that I did, but we won’t be coming back. I have to say that I enjoyed our local Moroccan restaurant much more for a lot less money.
Food – B-
Atmosphere – B-
Service – B-

 

[LoveMyBoys]

Saturday, 12/17

We had breakfast at Pepper Market again. After the fiasco on Wednesday I decided to stop by the snack shop to get the two extra drinks as snacks, because we were going to split 2 breakfasts. I was told that I couldn’t get apple juice as snacks, even though before I was allowed inside the Pepper Market. I said, thank you and walked out. It was really busy at PM this morning and there was long line waiting to get a table. The manager was asking if there was a party of 4 that needed a table, we said we were party of 4. He told us he had a table for us. We walked past families still waiting in line to our table. I overheard him say to a family of 5 that it will be a while before they could get a table. We split a southwestern omelet and a waffle, and the food was the same, pretty good. I also got an extra coffee and an apple juice and figured I would just pay oop for it. When we got to the register, a manager was ringing people up. I told him we were on the dining plan and if I could have the 2 extra drinks as snacks. He told me it was no problem.

For lunch, DS4 was asking for a hot dog, so we went over to Casey’s Corner. We got 2 hot dogs and fries and split it. DH just had the fries, but I really liked the hot dog, and the kids really liked it too. It was getting really crowded in MK, and there were no place to sit at the tables. We got to sit on one of the benches on the side and really had a nice meal.
Food – A

Dinner was at Concourse Steakhouse. We arrived about 30 minutes before our ADR and checked in. There was a family trying to get a table, and were told that the restaurant was booked. I felt really bad for them, because it looked like this was not the first place they checked, and have been turned away a number of times that night. Made me really glad that I had all my ADRs before leaving home. We got seated about 15 minutes later. The waiter told us that we could get yogurt smoothies on the dining plan for our drinks, and dh and I got a raspberry and a strawberry banana smoothies, they were very good. The kids didn’t seem to be hungry, so we just ordered them one grilled cheese sandwich to split. It was brought out nicely on two separate plates. They liked it. I started out with a Mozzarella and Tomato salad for my appetizer. I really enjoyed it, I loved the dressing on the salad. Dh got the onion soup, which he didn’t finish, so I had some of it, and thought it was really good as well. For an entrée we both got the 7oz. fillet. Dh said it wasn’t as good as Le Cellier, but was still really good. I really liked mine, and have to say that it was probably as good as Le Cellier. For dessert dh had the cheesecake, and he liked it. And I had the crème brulee and also really enjoyed it. I have read about the restaurant being really loud, but we didn’t think it was loud at all. Maybe it was just the location of our table, we were seated right at the half wall that leads into the public area of the hotel. Overall, I thought it was one of the best meals we had all week long.
Food – A
Atmosphere – A
Service – A

 

[afcgirl]

Thanks for the great reviews.

We also had a terrible server at Ohana's last summer. I can't remember his name though. The "cousin" thing was getting annoying, as it almost seemed like he thought the "cutesiness" of saying cousin was going to overcome his lousy service. He also seemed like he couldn't wait to get rid of us.

We are still going back though because we love the food. However, I will ask to be moved if we get him again as a waiter.