disney4us2002
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- Jun 16, 2001
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We went to Disney December 19-27. Family included mom, dad, and 3 sons 15, 11, 8.
12/19 - Lunch at Sci-Fi. First Disney meal & requested repeat by boys. Everyone had burgers & shakes. The food was pretty good and the shakes were fantastic. Many don't like this one but we always do. B+
Dinner was snacking around Epcot. Kids had hotdogs at Liberty Inn. Nothing spectacular but they were freezing so really didn't care what they ate. Dad & mom had fish & chips from England and beer. French pastries were the best bet this evening.
12/20 - Most bkfts were just quickies from Capt Cook's at the Poly. The kids liked the donuts & cinnamon rolls the best.
Lunch at LeCellier. We LOVE this place. We started with the pretzel bread (with refills!) and the Cheese soup. Dad and two older boys had steaks. Mom had french dip sandwich (huge) and youngest had cheeseburger (weekly staple). Everything was delish! A
Dinner at ESPN Club. This was Monday night football night and was a lot of fun. We took the ferry from MGM and it was frigid this night so noone was in a hurry to leave ESPN. We sure weren't expecting 34 degree weather in Florida!! We started with macho nachos which were awesome! The guys all had cheeseburgers and mom had the chili. The chili was tasty but a bit on the spicy side. Two beers helped it go right down, lol. Fun atmosphere & good burgers. B+
12/21 - We tried Universal for the first time. Lunch was at Hard Rock. Started with nachos which were so-so. Kids had burgers. Mom & dad had pig sandwiches (pulled pork). Food was fine but nothing special really. B-
Dinner was the late Luau show. This show had gotten crummy reviews so I forewarned the guys not to expect much. We were pleasantly surprised. The kids really liked all the food. We got more of the chix and ribs and finished those as well. The show was corny but cute. (Incidentally, we did the Hoop dee doo in 1997 and dad wanted no part of returning between the fried chix noone liked and the country music he hated, lol.). I made this PS nearly one year in advance so we were seated front center and had a great view of the dancing. The boys liked watching the hula dancers and were embarassed by how little the men wore in their dancing numbers. All in all we enjoyed the show but probably won't repeat it. B-
12/22 - lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. Started with the bread (must request and it's delicious!) and fried cheese which is mozzarella and cheddar cheese. They were tasty but different. Kids had burgers as usual. Dad had chicken/pasta dish while mom had turkey feast. Everything was good. This was our first time here. B+
Dinner was at 'Ohana. At this point all five of us were feeling like we'd been doing little but eating huge meals. This meal was fine but we were getting tired of meat which of course is the biggest draw at 'Ohana. Unfortunately we weren't in the area where the kids' games were held and missed the fun and didn't feel like we ate the value of the cost of this meal. There isn't anything I can point out as a problem but we just didn't particularly enjoy this restaurant. More us than the restaurant. C+
12/23 - Tried Islands of Adventure this day. Since the previous night's meal we knew not to overeat today as we had reservations tonight at Emeril's. We each got a slice of pizza and nibbled on a bit of popcorn.
Emeril's - WOW! The restaurant is beautiful. The waitstaff was incredible. The food looked beautiful and everything was delicious. Everyone except the youngest had steaks (he had pizza of all things, lol) which just melted in the mouth. Incredibly tender and perfectly prepared. The five of us shared 3 desserts - hot fudge sundae (kids menu), oreo cookie & white choc mousse pie and banana cream pie. These were fantastic. We were all stuffed. This meal was very, very good and also VERY expensive! With wine, meal and tip this was almost $300. A+
12/24 - Spent the day at Disneyquest. Late bkft at Capt. Cooks beforehand. Dinner was at Rainforest Cafe in DD. We had an assortment here of chicken pizza, burgers, and ribs. The ribs were very good and meaty. Ended with a volcano which the five of us finished completely! Those are soooo good.
12/25 - Brunch at Chef Mickey's at 11am. The food and character interaction was terrific here, B+. Unfortunately our middle son woke up ill with a fever so he didn't eat much and dad left early to take him to the walk-in clinic near DD. He ended up having strep throat and the weather this day was as crummy as he felt! It poured and poured and poured. Mom took the other two boys to DD to see a movie. I think everyone had the same idea because of the monsoon hitting FL, lol. Many movies were sold out for the first showing.
After antibiotics and ibuprofen was begun, we headed into Epcot for our Candlelight Processional dinner at Les Chefs de France. I was happy that ds was still child's price because he ate next to nothing. When we first arrived it was still pouring buckets. Youngest son ordered chicken strips over pasta. He didn't eat the pasta at all but he liked the chix. Mom, dad and oldest son had lobster bisque and filets. The menu wasn't the same as the one found online. It was a paper menu dated December 2004 so it was probably a CPP limited menu. The waiter was attentive and spoke french to the older two boys who are taking french in school. He assisted them in ordering in french and corrected their 'American' accents, lol. We didn't really like the dessert menu but since it was included we all had mousse. I was hoping for the cake of the day but it wasn't included on the menu this night. The waiter made this meal fun so we left an additional tip. A
12/26 - Lunch was individual pizzas from Plaza pavilian in MK. Nothing special, B.
Dinner was at Crystal Palace. Restaurant was pretty crowded. Food was decent for buffet but we didn't pick this for the food per se. Character interaction here is the s-l-o-w-e-s-t of any of the char meals. We were finished and had waited nearly 20 minutes and still no Pooh. Finally I went directly to Pooh's handler who informed me that the restaurant was too crowded for Pooh to go down the middle aisle. The waitress said Pooh always goes down the middle. Whatever. I was unhappy. The handler said to come to Pooh. Dad took a picture of Pooh signing the autograph book and with one son but the other two were in the restroom when the handler said to see Pooh. We had a similar experience at bkft two years earlier. I think this restaurant is pretty but the interaction is not great and the food is just mediocre so I think this will sadly be skipped on future trips. One other comment is that Eeyore misspelled his name in our autograph book, lol. C-
12/27 - Bkft for our last meal at Disney was at Kona Cafe so mom could end the trip with Tonga Toast!! It didn't disappoint. The kids all had pancakes & sausage links and dad had the Big Kahuna bkft. We lingered over the Pressed Pot of coffee but finally had to say goodbye to Disney. A
Final thoughts: We had PS's for nearly all of the above restaurants. We overheard many hostesses turn people away without PS's or mention waits of 2+ hrs. In nearly all of the restaurants we were seated at tables for four with an extra chair. This made the meals quite cramped. We learned near the end of the week to ask for a 6-seat table. We were able to move in all except Crystal Palace.
12/19 - Lunch at Sci-Fi. First Disney meal & requested repeat by boys. Everyone had burgers & shakes. The food was pretty good and the shakes were fantastic. Many don't like this one but we always do. B+
Dinner was snacking around Epcot. Kids had hotdogs at Liberty Inn. Nothing spectacular but they were freezing so really didn't care what they ate. Dad & mom had fish & chips from England and beer. French pastries were the best bet this evening.
12/20 - Most bkfts were just quickies from Capt Cook's at the Poly. The kids liked the donuts & cinnamon rolls the best.
Lunch at LeCellier. We LOVE this place. We started with the pretzel bread (with refills!) and the Cheese soup. Dad and two older boys had steaks. Mom had french dip sandwich (huge) and youngest had cheeseburger (weekly staple). Everything was delish! A
Dinner at ESPN Club. This was Monday night football night and was a lot of fun. We took the ferry from MGM and it was frigid this night so noone was in a hurry to leave ESPN. We sure weren't expecting 34 degree weather in Florida!! We started with macho nachos which were awesome! The guys all had cheeseburgers and mom had the chili. The chili was tasty but a bit on the spicy side. Two beers helped it go right down, lol. Fun atmosphere & good burgers. B+
12/21 - We tried Universal for the first time. Lunch was at Hard Rock. Started with nachos which were so-so. Kids had burgers. Mom & dad had pig sandwiches (pulled pork). Food was fine but nothing special really. B-
Dinner was the late Luau show. This show had gotten crummy reviews so I forewarned the guys not to expect much. We were pleasantly surprised. The kids really liked all the food. We got more of the chix and ribs and finished those as well. The show was corny but cute. (Incidentally, we did the Hoop dee doo in 1997 and dad wanted no part of returning between the fried chix noone liked and the country music he hated, lol.). I made this PS nearly one year in advance so we were seated front center and had a great view of the dancing. The boys liked watching the hula dancers and were embarassed by how little the men wore in their dancing numbers. All in all we enjoyed the show but probably won't repeat it. B-
12/22 - lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. Started with the bread (must request and it's delicious!) and fried cheese which is mozzarella and cheddar cheese. They were tasty but different. Kids had burgers as usual. Dad had chicken/pasta dish while mom had turkey feast. Everything was good. This was our first time here. B+
Dinner was at 'Ohana. At this point all five of us were feeling like we'd been doing little but eating huge meals. This meal was fine but we were getting tired of meat which of course is the biggest draw at 'Ohana. Unfortunately we weren't in the area where the kids' games were held and missed the fun and didn't feel like we ate the value of the cost of this meal. There isn't anything I can point out as a problem but we just didn't particularly enjoy this restaurant. More us than the restaurant. C+
12/23 - Tried Islands of Adventure this day. Since the previous night's meal we knew not to overeat today as we had reservations tonight at Emeril's. We each got a slice of pizza and nibbled on a bit of popcorn.
Emeril's - WOW! The restaurant is beautiful. The waitstaff was incredible. The food looked beautiful and everything was delicious. Everyone except the youngest had steaks (he had pizza of all things, lol) which just melted in the mouth. Incredibly tender and perfectly prepared. The five of us shared 3 desserts - hot fudge sundae (kids menu), oreo cookie & white choc mousse pie and banana cream pie. These were fantastic. We were all stuffed. This meal was very, very good and also VERY expensive! With wine, meal and tip this was almost $300. A+
12/24 - Spent the day at Disneyquest. Late bkft at Capt. Cooks beforehand. Dinner was at Rainforest Cafe in DD. We had an assortment here of chicken pizza, burgers, and ribs. The ribs were very good and meaty. Ended with a volcano which the five of us finished completely! Those are soooo good.
12/25 - Brunch at Chef Mickey's at 11am. The food and character interaction was terrific here, B+. Unfortunately our middle son woke up ill with a fever so he didn't eat much and dad left early to take him to the walk-in clinic near DD. He ended up having strep throat and the weather this day was as crummy as he felt! It poured and poured and poured. Mom took the other two boys to DD to see a movie. I think everyone had the same idea because of the monsoon hitting FL, lol. Many movies were sold out for the first showing.
After antibiotics and ibuprofen was begun, we headed into Epcot for our Candlelight Processional dinner at Les Chefs de France. I was happy that ds was still child's price because he ate next to nothing. When we first arrived it was still pouring buckets. Youngest son ordered chicken strips over pasta. He didn't eat the pasta at all but he liked the chix. Mom, dad and oldest son had lobster bisque and filets. The menu wasn't the same as the one found online. It was a paper menu dated December 2004 so it was probably a CPP limited menu. The waiter was attentive and spoke french to the older two boys who are taking french in school. He assisted them in ordering in french and corrected their 'American' accents, lol. We didn't really like the dessert menu but since it was included we all had mousse. I was hoping for the cake of the day but it wasn't included on the menu this night. The waiter made this meal fun so we left an additional tip. A
12/26 - Lunch was individual pizzas from Plaza pavilian in MK. Nothing special, B.
Dinner was at Crystal Palace. Restaurant was pretty crowded. Food was decent for buffet but we didn't pick this for the food per se. Character interaction here is the s-l-o-w-e-s-t of any of the char meals. We were finished and had waited nearly 20 minutes and still no Pooh. Finally I went directly to Pooh's handler who informed me that the restaurant was too crowded for Pooh to go down the middle aisle. The waitress said Pooh always goes down the middle. Whatever. I was unhappy. The handler said to come to Pooh. Dad took a picture of Pooh signing the autograph book and with one son but the other two were in the restroom when the handler said to see Pooh. We had a similar experience at bkft two years earlier. I think this restaurant is pretty but the interaction is not great and the food is just mediocre so I think this will sadly be skipped on future trips. One other comment is that Eeyore misspelled his name in our autograph book, lol. C-
12/27 - Bkft for our last meal at Disney was at Kona Cafe so mom could end the trip with Tonga Toast!! It didn't disappoint. The kids all had pancakes & sausage links and dad had the Big Kahuna bkft. We lingered over the Pressed Pot of coffee but finally had to say goodbye to Disney. A
Final thoughts: We had PS's for nearly all of the above restaurants. We overheard many hostesses turn people away without PS's or mention waits of 2+ hrs. In nearly all of the restaurants we were seated at tables for four with an extra chair. This made the meals quite cramped. We learned near the end of the week to ask for a 6-seat table. We were able to move in all except Crystal Palace.
We felt the same way about 'Ohana.
Sorry couldn't resist. Maggie
