Dining Reviews-Boma, new CRT, SciFi, 'Ohana, CA Grill and more

[Stitch1404]

Well, unfortunately I just got home late last night from a week at Port Orleans Riverside. We saved lots of money with our DDE card which was great. We ate some good food, so I just thought I would share! I don't have time to write it all right now, so I will just start with the first night and then add the rest! Let me know if you have any questions!

Day 1:
Lunch: Riverside Mill Food Court
After getting up at 5am and flying to Orlando we were starving by lunch time. Rather than going to Downtown Disney for lunch which was the original plan we decided to just try Riverside Mill since we were tired and hungry. We were plesantly surprised! I had a chicken quesadilla and it came with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, salsa, and beans. It was wonderful. I had low expectations and maybe it is just because I was so hungry, but I really, really enjoyed it. I also had a Mickey Mouse rice krispy for dessert! During our stay every time we went to Riverside Mill, even in the mornings when it was really crowded the service was quick and friendly.

Dinner: Boma
On our last trip I begged my family to try Boma, but no one was willing. So this time I made an ADR for just myself and told them they could eat elsewhere since they still didn't want to try it. Well, when the time rolled around for me to go to Boma they decided they wanted to come too! I was a little worried about increasing from a party of one to a party of four, but we were seated after about a 15 minute wait. With the exception of the meats (I am semi-vegetarian), I think I tried everything! Some of my favorites were the sun dried tomato hummus, the Marrakesh rice, and the zebra domes. I guess because I had such high hopes for this restarant it just wasn't as good as I expected. However, I would definitely go back just because it was so neat to visit the lodge, try out the night vision goggles, etc. I thought $25/person was a little much for a buffet.

Coming up tomorrow, lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table...

 

[bcsmom]

I have been wanting to try Boma's, I guess I will think twice. I am a little picky about some things. I can not wait to hear the rest. more more more

 

[K and K's Mommy]

So did the rest of your family like Boma? I love their hummus and soups!

 

[Philly81]

Looking forward to tomorrow and more reviews. Thanks.

 

[Stitch1404]

Yes, the rest of my family liked Boma, but we all agreed that the food was good. Not great, just good. Also, one person in our group only ate peanut butter and jelly and french fries...that was an expensive pb & j! But we really loved being at Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is where we stayed on our last trip, it brought back a lot of good memories. We will probably be back to Boma, maybe next time for breakfast.

Day 2:

Breakfast: Riverside Mill Food Court
I had a Mickey waffle and coffee in my refillable mug. Why is it that anything in the shape of Mickey just tastes better? The waffle was great and I really got my money's worth out of the mug!

Lunch: Cinderella's Royal Table
We had only been to CRT one other time, before the changes took place so we weren't sure what to expect. However, we had a person with us who had never been to Disney so we thought it would be a neat place to take her to. We checked in and went inside to get our picture with Cinderella. The line for photos was really quite long, but we got the pictures and then waited to be seated. We had about a fifteen minute wait and then we were escorted upstairs. We were seated at a booth right by the window! We saw Snow White, Fairy Godmother, and Mary Poppins upstairs. While we were having our entrees our waiter asked us if we had seen everyone, we said everyone but Mary Poppins. He ran to the back and about 10 minutes later came back with a very rude Mary Poppins. I don't know if she had already been taking off her costume and getting ready to leave, but she had clearly forgotten our table and was not happy to come back. She just said "alright, let's quickly get a picture, I must be on my way." Other than being extremely rushed, the princesses were all very friendly and we got some great pictures. Since we had the last seating they all left about midway through the meal.

The appetizer plate was the same as before. I can't remember the specifics, but there was fresh mozzarella, chicken on a bed of lettuce, fried crab things, and maybe something else. It was pretty good, although not enough to go around in my opinion. For lunch I had the pasta pomodoro which was penne with vegetables. It was pretty good. The others had the turkey sandwich and Major Domo's favorite pie, both of which they liked. Dessert was blueberry buckle cobbler. It was basically a blueberry muffin with a cream cheese filling, lemon sorbet, and raspberry drizzle. This was the hilight of the meal, it was wonderful!

About halfway through lunch a recording came on telling all the children to get ready to wish. They said some stuff that I can't remember and the children were told to hold their wands and swords over a light up star that they had been given and close their eyes and make a wish. It was so cute to see the kids all closing their eyes and wishing, it made me sad I didn't bring my daughter on this trip! During this time my 25 year old sister said "man, I wish I could have a wishing star." No more than 2 seconds later, Fairy Godmother walked by, placed a star in front of her and then continued walking. Talk about magic! I guess you're never too old to be a kid in Disney! I thought this little wishing ceremony really added a lot to the meal and made it extra magical.

Our photo package was brought to the table. It was kind of disappointing that we only got one since we were a party of four. It was myself, my husband, my sister, and my best friend, so basically three households that all wanted the package! My friend ended up with it and it was absolutely beautiful, with a picture of the castle and a nice folder. I did get one of the 4x6's though which was good. I was also given a gift card for anywhere in Disney for the amount of the 20% discount since I had the DDE card.

Overall, I thought CRT was great! Yes, the prices are high, but this just means we won't be doing it every trip. But for a special occasion it was perfect, we will definitely be back. Sorry that was so long, feel free to ask any questions!

Dinner: Pecos Bill's in the Magic Kingdom
After having a late lunch, we just needed a light dinner so we headed over to Pecos Bill's. We were at Extra Magic Hours this evening and when we stopped in here for dinner the place looked abandoned! My husband and I split the chicken wrap with an extra order of fries and it was more than enough. It was very good and filling and the cheese for the fries was yummy. We pretty much eat here every trip, we love it for counter service in the Magic Kingdom.

 

[budbeerlady]

Our photo package was brought to the table. It was kind of disappointing that we only got one since we were a party of four. It was myself, my husband, my sister, and my best friend, so basically three households that all wanted the package! My friend ended up with it and it was absolutely beautiful, with a picture of the castle and a nice folder. I did get one of the 4x6's though which was good.

That stinks! I would expect that each person got one like at MVMCP. I wonder if there is a booking way to get around it, technically in my book you all paid for the photos and should get your own package. If each of you had arrived and eaten individually you would have had your own photo package, so why couldnt they do it now?

 

[Stitch1404]

That stinks! I would expect that each person got one like at MVMCP. I wonder if there is a booking way to get around it, technically in my book you all paid for the photos and should get your own package. If each of you had arrived and eaten individually you would have had your own photo package, so why couldnt they do it now?

Yeah, I guess if we all booked seperately and then asked to sit together we would get 4 packages. Plus, they would probably want to seat us at one table for 4 rather than 4 tables for 2 (since there are really no tables for 1) since this is such a popular restaurant. I don't know if we would then have to each have a photo with just ourselves and Cinderella then. I would never do that, but it was a bummer to just get one package. I suppose we could have paid for more...

 

[Stitch1404]

Adding day 3...

Breakfast was granola bars and orange juice in the room. We overslept so we didn't have time for a "real" breakfast.

Lunch: Columbia Harbor House
This was actually my first time at the CHH, it seems like we always end up at Pecos Bill's. We got here right around 1 and the place was packed! We waited in line and then for our food for a good 15 minutes. I had the lighthouse sandwich which was hummus, tomato, and a broccoli/carrot slaw on wheat bread. I got fries instead of the chips that came with it. I loved this sandwich! I am a hummus lover, so that is the main reason, but it was just really fresh and different. It was nice to have the chance to get something other than chicken fingers or pizza. My husband had the fried fish which he raved about. We sat in the upstairs room and there was hardly anyone up there. It was very peaceful and relaxing, a great break from the day.

Dinner: Sci-Fi Dine In
We had reservations for 4:30 since we wanted to make sure to see Fantasmic at 7. However, we didn't even finish lunch until about 2 so at 4:30 I really wasn't hungry. I didn't want to skip the Sci-Fi though since it is so neat so we decided to just get some light dinner. My husband and I first split the spinach artichoke dip which came with tortilla chips. It was really cheesy and absolutely delicious. Then I had a bowl of the BLT soup. This was tomato soup with lettuce, bacon, and a crouton. However, I had it plain so it was basically just tomato soup. However, it was very good tomato soup! Very creamy, I loved it. Later we had Mickey premium bars during Fantasmic which were, of course, wonderful.

I'll add some more tomorrow, in the mean time, feel free to ask any questions...

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the reviews.

 

[Stitch1404]

Adding some more...

Day 4:

Breakfast: 'Ohana character breakfast. Well, Stitch is my favorite character and the Polynesian is one of my favorite hotels, so this was a must-do for us. We decided to take today off from the parks and we booked the last seating, at 11am. We got to sleep in before heading over which was a much-needed break. To start, they gave us a pastry basket and a plate of fruit. Then came the skillet with eggs, potatoes, and waffles. I think there would have been bacon and sausage too, but we don't eat that so we said no meat. We definitely got our money's worth here! It was a wonderful experience, all the food was great, especially the potatoes. We had seconds of everything. We met Mickey, Pluto, Lilo, and Stitch. Since we were one of one three parties in the restaurant, Stitch kept coming back and joking around with us, I was laughing so hard. It was great having the last seating since the characters weren't rushed at all, they really lingered at each table. Out of the many character breakfasts I have done, this was probably my favorite. The food was great as was the character interaction and we were sitting right at the window where we could see the Grand Floridian and Cinderella Castle, can it really get any better than that?

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reviews ~ Thanx for posting.

 

[lillygator]

so did you pay full price for CRT and they gave you the coupon as your discount?

 

[Stitch1404]

so did you pay full price for CRT and they gave you the coupon as your discount?

Yes. The full amount was charged to my credit card at time of booking. Then I called dining back a few days later and told them I had the DDE. They said the discount would be credited back to my card. Well, 7 weeks later we were at lunch and the discount had never been credited. So I showed my waiter my card and he came back with a WDW gift certificate for 20% off the dining portion of the meal (not the photo part).

 

[Stitch1404]

Finishing up day 4...

We didn't finish breakfast until 12:15 so we pretty much skipped lunch. We did have some fries and beignets (don't know if I spelled that right) from the French Quarter food court since we were swimming over there. Not too healthy, but we were on vacation and they were good! We talked about what to do for dinner and discussed Downtown Disney, somewhere at a hotel, etc. and we decided we might want to do California Grill during "Wishes." It was 3:00 and Wishes was at 8 so we wanted to eat around 7:30. I figured that there would be no ADR's left for CA grill but I went into the concierge at French Quarter and they had an ADR at 7:20, perfect! I am thinking we got lucky getting the ADR and I am glad we did because dinner was wonderful.

We had eaten at the CA Grill once about 4-5 years so the 2nd floor check-in was new to us. We were taken up to the restaurant and waited in the lounge. We ordered some drinks and had about a 15 minute wait before we were taken to our table right next to the window! The view was breathtaking. We first had one of the flatbreads, I think it was called four cheese, anyway, it was very good. Next I had the hearts of romaine salad which was wonderful. The dressing on it was particularly good. For my entree I had the pumpkin ravioli which I have to say was just okay. The ravioli itself was great but it had a sauce on it that I didn't care for. If only I had known about the sauce ahead of time I could have gotten it plain.

For dessert, DH and I split some chocolate cake thing that had to be ordered halfway through dinner to be prepared. It was a chocolate cake with warm chocolate sauce in the middle and white chocolate ice cream and I have to say it was beyond amazing. We finished every bite and wished we hadn't split it, it was so, so good, I would highly recommend it.

Right before our entrees came we had gone out on the viewing deck to watch Wishes. Seeing Wishes from above with my husband, sister, and friend was incredible. It was just a perfect moment, one of my favorite memories of the trip. I hope to go back and do this again! I was really happy to have the DDE card at this restaurant, the California Grill isn't cheap, but it was beyond worth it.

 

[Stitch1404]

Day 5:

Breakfast: Cheese danish at Riverside Mill. Good, filling.

Lunch: Pinocchio's
I had never eaten at Pinocchio's either so we thought we'd give it a try. I wanted to get to watch the boats passing by on It's a Small World and we were in Fantasyland so it was convenient. I just got a cheese pizza, but it was very good, hot and fresh. I also noticed that of all the counter service restaurants we tried this one had the quickest service. Everyone really seemed to be making an effort to speed things along. We got a great table right by the window and watched It's a Small World for quite some time.

Dinner: 50's Prime Time Cafe
I think we once agian got lucky with ADR's here. When we got to the Magic Kingdom this morning we went straight to City Hall with the goal of making an ADR somewhere in MGM. We told the CM our first choice was 50's PT and she said not to get our hopes up as it usually books up a few days in advance. It turned out that we had about 4-5 choices of times. We chose 4:30 which even though it was early we wanted to make sure to see Fantasmic. I had the fried chicken for dinner and it was a huge portion! I didn't even come close to finishing it and I was told it was "going straight into my breakfast omlette." It came with mashed potatoes and greenbeans and it was wonderful. Our waitress here, Auntie Claire was absolutely hysterical. The table next to us really didn't seem to think all the antics were funny so she really put all her energy into us. My husband even had to stand in the corner with his nose to the wall for 5 minutes. We loved the atmosphere here and the food was great too!

Snack: Beaches and Cream

We decided we didn't feel like dealing with the huge wait for buses after Fantasmic so we walked over to Beaches and Cream for some ice cream. We got the No Way Jose which was a peanut butter chocolate sundae and it was fabulous! DH and I split it and we barely finished it. This restaurant is so cute and the ice cream is great, we love it. We also got to see two families try to finish a kitchen sink! After ice cream we rode the boat back to MGM and then got a bus back to Riverside. It was a great way to avoid the mass exodus after Fantasmic and we enjoyed visiting the Boardwalk and Beach Club, both places we have stayed before. This might have to become a tradition after Fantasmic!

 

[ufgator]

Thanks for the great reviews.

 

[byoung]

Thanks for reporting.

 

[DisneycrazedX6]

Great reporting....Thank you and hope you had fun!!!!

 

[bethbuchall]

Overall, I thought CRT was great! Yes, the prices are high, but this just means we won't be doing it every trip. But for a special occasion it was perfect, we will definitely be back. Sorry that was so long, feel free to ask any questions!

I am VERY happy to read this! I have dinner scheduled for my dd's 13th birthday. I was second guessing myself after reading some of the other reviews, but I am going to keep it. That is where she wants her birthday dinner!

Beth

 

[granmaz]

Thanks for your reviews. We have just come back too and the Cali Grill was our highlight too. Food, service, views and watching wishes outside just made it so memorable.
I had the beignets at POFQ too - very delish!