Here are my brief dining reviews for our trip 2/14-2/18. We ate all of our breakfasts but one on the concierge level of The Dolphin hotel. Our party for the entire visit consisted of 4 adults and 2 children (both age 5).
2/14- Dinner - 1900 Park Fare. Character Dinner Buffet. We had PS for 8:10pm. We arrived at 7:50pm and waited in line to check in until 8:10pm. Once checked in we were given a beeper and then waited until 8:45 before we were seated. It was packed! I think it was due to the holiday weekend. Another factor is that this Character Dinner has Cinderella and Prince Charming. The other characters present were The Fairy Godmother (very nice and gives a very cute autograph) and two of the mice from Cinderella. The food was pretty good for a buffet. There are so many choices I think everyone could find something they enjoy. The service was good - they really tried very hard since it was so crowded. The negative part to this experience was the amount of time it took. The Princess and the Prince were VERY SLOW in circulating around the room. We finished eating and couldn't leave until we got their pictures. Overall, I think I would go again if the PS time was earlier. We didn't finish with the meal until 9:30pm. Late for two 5 year olds!
2/15 - Dinner - Teppanyaki Room at the Japanese Pavillion. Had PS reservations at 5:45pm. Had about a five minute wait to be seated. Again, the restaurant was very crowded even at this time. The food was very good. We ate here our last visit in 2001. Still just as good. The only drawback was that the chef wasn't very animated. He was technically good but didn't really put on a show. I thought they had some very good choices for the children's menu. They only cater to the children with speciality drinks and kid's chopsticks. We will go back again on our next visit.
2/16- Breakfast - Character Buffet at Coral Cafe in The Dolphin hotel. This is only served on Sunday and no reservations are taken. We were very pleasantly surprised by this meal. We arrived at 9am and were seated immediately. The characters were Pluto, Goofy, and Chip and Dale. They interaction was great. The food was also very good. A nice assortment of pastry, fruit, cereal and hot items such as eggs benedict, waffles, french toast, bacon, sausage, etc. You could also get made to order omelets. I would do this again!
2/16 - Lunch - Al's Pizza Barn at MGM Studios. AWFUL service. I know the park was crowded but this was unbelievable. We had fine lunches at counter service restaurants in Magic Kingdom but not here. The food itself was okay but the staff was awful. We will never eat here again!
2/16- Dinner - 50's Prime Time Cafe - MGM Studios. We had priority seating at 6:30pm. It started to rain and we almost didn't leave our hotel but we are all glad we didn't miss this dinner! It was so much fun. Our waiter was "Dad Harry". He really played his role to perfection. The food was also quite good. I had the fried chicken and it was tender and moist. The only bad thing was I couldn't eat all my veggies (tried to hide them under the potatoes) and got in trouble with "dad". Two members of our party had the pot roast and loved it. The children's menu was good also. Desserts were sinful. We will also return here!
2/17- Dinner - Flying Fish - Disney Boardwalk. We had PS at 5:30pm which is the first seating of the night. We arrived at 5:20 and were seated right at 5:30pm. This was our favorite restaurant when we were here in 2001 and it was our favorite this year. It is a bit upscale but not stuffy. The food is very good. It is mainly seafood with one or two other options. One member in our party couldn't find anything she liked on the adult menu and asked if she could have the chicken breast off the kid's menu. They said yes and she loved it! The children's menu has 4-5 items. My DD had the fish and chips and finished it all. Her comment - "this is real fish!". They also cater to the children by giving them a play/color sheet, have special children's beverages, and give them a hand held toy they can take home. The adult menu and desert menu are both superb. It is a bit pricey but we think it was worth it - especially for the last night. We finished the evening off by taking a nice walk around the boardwalk.
Hope this helped. Let me know if you have any more in-depth questions.
2/14- Dinner - 1900 Park Fare. Character Dinner Buffet. We had PS for 8:10pm. We arrived at 7:50pm and waited in line to check in until 8:10pm. Once checked in we were given a beeper and then waited until 8:45 before we were seated. It was packed! I think it was due to the holiday weekend. Another factor is that this Character Dinner has Cinderella and Prince Charming. The other characters present were The Fairy Godmother (very nice and gives a very cute autograph) and two of the mice from Cinderella. The food was pretty good for a buffet. There are so many choices I think everyone could find something they enjoy. The service was good - they really tried very hard since it was so crowded. The negative part to this experience was the amount of time it took. The Princess and the Prince were VERY SLOW in circulating around the room. We finished eating and couldn't leave until we got their pictures. Overall, I think I would go again if the PS time was earlier. We didn't finish with the meal until 9:30pm. Late for two 5 year olds!
2/15 - Dinner - Teppanyaki Room at the Japanese Pavillion. Had PS reservations at 5:45pm. Had about a five minute wait to be seated. Again, the restaurant was very crowded even at this time. The food was very good. We ate here our last visit in 2001. Still just as good. The only drawback was that the chef wasn't very animated. He was technically good but didn't really put on a show. I thought they had some very good choices for the children's menu. They only cater to the children with speciality drinks and kid's chopsticks. We will go back again on our next visit.
2/16- Breakfast - Character Buffet at Coral Cafe in The Dolphin hotel. This is only served on Sunday and no reservations are taken. We were very pleasantly surprised by this meal. We arrived at 9am and were seated immediately. The characters were Pluto, Goofy, and Chip and Dale. They interaction was great. The food was also very good. A nice assortment of pastry, fruit, cereal and hot items such as eggs benedict, waffles, french toast, bacon, sausage, etc. You could also get made to order omelets. I would do this again!
2/16 - Lunch - Al's Pizza Barn at MGM Studios. AWFUL service. I know the park was crowded but this was unbelievable. We had fine lunches at counter service restaurants in Magic Kingdom but not here. The food itself was okay but the staff was awful. We will never eat here again!
2/16- Dinner - 50's Prime Time Cafe - MGM Studios. We had priority seating at 6:30pm. It started to rain and we almost didn't leave our hotel but we are all glad we didn't miss this dinner! It was so much fun. Our waiter was "Dad Harry". He really played his role to perfection. The food was also quite good. I had the fried chicken and it was tender and moist. The only bad thing was I couldn't eat all my veggies (tried to hide them under the potatoes) and got in trouble with "dad". Two members of our party had the pot roast and loved it. The children's menu was good also. Desserts were sinful. We will also return here!
2/17- Dinner - Flying Fish - Disney Boardwalk. We had PS at 5:30pm which is the first seating of the night. We arrived at 5:20 and were seated right at 5:30pm. This was our favorite restaurant when we were here in 2001 and it was our favorite this year. It is a bit upscale but not stuffy. The food is very good. It is mainly seafood with one or two other options. One member in our party couldn't find anything she liked on the adult menu and asked if she could have the chicken breast off the kid's menu. They said yes and she loved it! The children's menu has 4-5 items. My DD had the fish and chips and finished it all. Her comment - "this is real fish!". They also cater to the children by giving them a play/color sheet, have special children's beverages, and give them a hand held toy they can take home. The adult menu and desert menu are both superb. It is a bit pricey but we think it was worth it - especially for the last night. We finished the evening off by taking a nice walk around the boardwalk.
Hope this helped. Let me know if you have any more in-depth questions.
