Disney Gastronomy and Free Dining

[Eeyore's Wife]

Greetings fellow food lovers, I want to share with you the wonders and disasters of our recent week in The World. We are self avowed foodies and consisted on this trip of Mom, Dad, Teen, and Baby.

We were there during the free dining offer, and used every last credit available to us. We LOVE food, and would have eaten almost all of the same choices had we been paying out of pocket for the meals.

The highlights of this trip include:

The Worst Food: Chefs de France, hands down

The Best Food: Liberty Tree Tavern (Lunch)

The Best Buffet: Boma

The Worst Counter Service (and biggest surprise): Flame Tree BBQ

Amazing Counter Service: Tangerine Cafe, Yakatori House, and Wolfgang Puck Express.



We started our food journey by purchasing three refillable mugs. These were used multiple times every day and really helped us stretch our snack credits. The availabilty of limitless Caffine fueled some of our longer days. We don't like this year's cup design as much as the Year of a Million Dreams mugs since they have a black interior and it is harder to make sure the cups are fully cleaned.

Our first sit down meal happened at Raglan Road. This place featured live music and a beautiful interior, but was rather loud, even though we were placed in a side room. The main room was VERY loud.

The Salmon of Knowledge came with lovely potatos and a sauce which was divine, but far too sparse. The Fish and Chips featured a nice piece of fish, but seemed a bit small given the price tag. The Not Bleedin' Chowder was by far the best dish of the evening and was filled to the brim with great sea food.

The Bread Pudding has often been lauded as a paragon of excellence, but my serving was simply a paragon of portion size. It was huge, but the bread was not fully cooked, it was not bread pudding, but rather dough in a cup with a side of sauce. I adore bread pudding, but this gloppy mess didn't deserve the title.

The Berry Crumble was filled with fresh berries a crumbly cruncy topping and ice cream. It was a fresh and delightful dessert.

The Dunbrody's Kiss was another disappointment. It was a small half sphere of chocolate mousse. It was smooth and rich and creamy but sparse and far from spectacular. For almost 9 dollars it should have been something great, not just o.k.

Our server was....serviceable, but often glasses sat empty and she was not visible for long periods of time.

Our lunch the next day at Flame Tree BBQ was a foregone conclusion. We have eaten here every trip since the park opened and have always had a great meal in a great environment.

We got there at 11:00 when the restaurant opened. The scent of meat and smoke wrapped around the place and we were all salivating. We had a rib meal, 1/2 chicken meal and a pulled pork sandwich meal. They DID NOT HAVE cornbread the day we were there. We tried to determine if it was off the menu permanently or if they just didn't have it that day. They looked at me like I had antlers and just repeated they didn't have corn bread.

The cole slaw which had replaced the yummy corn bread was a gloppy concoction based upon Mayonaise. It was disgusting and every bit, minus three sample nibbles, went in the trash. The sandwich was very bready and rather short on meat. The chicken was very fatty, but the meat had a nice flavor.

The Ribs, oh, what a disappointment. They were fatty, tough, and flavorless. Gone were my succulent, lick your fingers, fall off the bones ribs. These things were gross. I threw most of it away.

The key lime pie was very nice, almost custard like with a sharp lime flavor. They were the only part of the meal worth eating. We ate our lunch beside Discovery River in a lovely carved pergola watching Expedition Everest. The environment was still lovely, but the food has lost its luster.

After our "lunch" we headed to Dino Bites to grab something to eat, because we were all still hungry. Upon getting to the stand we saw that the DDP icon was missing from next to the ice cream sandwich. I got in line, prepared to just get a cone, but when I asked the cast member, she told me that the only item which would not ring up as a snack was the waffle cone. She suspects that the ice cream sandwich will go away for next year, but for now, it is still available on plan, though the icon was now gone from the menu.

This is a theme which continued at several locations, the DDP icon was missing, but the CMs informed us the item would still ring up as a snack credit. So, for those heading to the world, remember to ask (politely) if an item can be a snack credit. The lovely girl explained that she was not doing anything special for us, nor was she "playing the system" she simply rang up the item as she normally would for redeeming a snack credit. The sweet almond pretzel at Kringla and the funnel cake at Sleepy Hollow were the same situation. Though, they did tell me that the waffle at Sleepy Hollow is not on the dining plan.

Dinner was a trip to Boma's. Wonderful Wonderful Wonderful. This is the BEST buffet on property. Everyone ate with gusto and there were many happy slurps, oohs, and ahhs to be heard. Our waiter was a delight and our glasses were kept full. On a buffet of great food, the salmon was a stand out success. The delicate and flavorful fish was in a mustard sauce and our waiter told us it was cooked in banana leaves. It was the best salmon of the trip.

The bread pudding was also wonderful. It was warm comfort food with a touch of class and sophistication. Subtle and rich, I could have eaten an entire plate of this stuff.

While we were waiting for this meal we sat out on an overview of the savannah and enjoyed the ambiance of the place while rocking in beautiful carved rocking chairs...and met a Disboards lurker and her hubby. They were a delightful couple and it was so pleasant to sit there and talk Disney. So, if "J" and "M" are reading this, get a user name and start posting.

The following day we headed to the Studios and to a lunch at Starring Rolls. The sandwiches were HUGE and very flavorful. My hubby (who loves to eat) could not finish his meal. The dessert options were dizzying, and we ended up with a Napoleon and a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. This is what every Napoleon strives to become but few achieve. It was Amazing. The cupcake, eaten by my son with sounds of almost obscene delight, was described as, "yummy, chocolatey, wow, yeah can I have another?"

When we were in Downtown Disney later in the day, we used a counter service meal credit to pick up a Margherita pizza from Wolfgang Puck Express. We had hoped to have a creme brulee, but alas, they were out of them. I was offered a cookie packaged in plastic or a small bowl of fresh fruit. I took the fruit. In addition, I needed something for the baby to eat, so we got a side of squash soup. This item, which came to $5.27 with tax ended up being a huge bowl of velvety butternut squash soup dressed with a roasted red pepper reduction and served with a side of artisan bread. It could have easily been a meal for an adult. So, if anyone will be paying out of pocket and was looking for a great meal for around five dollars, this fits the bill.

For dinner we headed to Cape May Buffet. This ended up being a long wait. We arrived about 15 minutes prior to our ADR, but were seated about 30 minutes after our ADR. A 45 minute wait for adults is one thing, but when you have a baby, 45 minutes can seem like a lifetime. The little one was hungry and I had a raging head ache. The sweet hostess got me a glass of ice water to accompany my Tylenol. When we finally got seated, I just didn't have much of an appetite. We asked if everyone else could eat the buffet and just let me sip water and they were very agreeable. If they had said that all the adults needed to use a table service credit, I would not have minded, but it was nice to be accomodated.

The boys ate hearty portions of clams and chowder and declared everything they ate good if not great. My hubby picked up a couple of ribs and was pleasantly surprised by their quality which far exceeded the leathery/fatty mess at Flame Tree the day before. So, Disney can still make a decent rib, even if they didn't offer them at Flame Tree during our visit.

During dessert, my son returned with a chocolate concoction that had an oreo cookie base and then resembled a Zebra Dome on top. He loved those and ate 6 of them. (I must at this point explain that my son is very thin and grew over an inch last month. He is starving almost all of the time. I would not encourage anyone with a less astonishing metabolism to attempt his caloric intake.)

Well, that covers our first three days of dining at Disney. I will continue this Saga tomorrow.

 

[BriarRosie]

Nice reviews so far!

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

I am going to devote this review to the wonderful snacks we ate, primarily at Food and Wine Festival.

We saved most of our snack credits for use at the Food and Wine Festival. We had 21 credits in all, and here is how we spent them. I will include the prices had we would have payed out of pocket. The grand total for the 21 items came to 86.85 before tax, at an average cost per item of $4.13.

2 Credits were used for a pair of Beef Empanadas from Argentina. Wow, these were hot, succulent, flavorful and we would have happily paid $4.25 for each of these.

1 Credit for a Grilled Lamb Chop from Australia. This was a feast for a Lamb lover. Ours was perfectly prepared and a nice change of pace from standard red meat in the U.S. $5.50

1 Credit for Escargot in France. This was amazing and far better than anything we ate at Chefs de France for dinner. Quite sad that the kisok out front was serving up better food than the restaurant. Garlic and butter were balanced with a nice sized snail in perfect brioche buttons. In France we also purchased a Cosmo Slush for $8.50 out of pocket. It was a decadent treat, but a bit too sweet for my taste.

1 credit in Germany for a pretzel roll and sausage. For a German girl, it was deeply emotionally satisfying, for my hubby, it just tasted great. $4.25

2 credits in Canada. We got a bowl of their yummy cheddar cheese soup and spent another credit for the spicy sausage and polenta. We were so sad we could not get reservations for Le Cellier this trip, but the food and wine festival kiosk let us get a taste of our two favorite dishes, and they did not disappoint. The soup was as wonderful as I remembered, profoundly cheesy with a nice beer bite, it really needed a pretzel breadstick to be perfect, but was a wonderful snack even in the middle of a very hot day. The polenta inspired obsession, and could not have been better. Velvet smooth and a bit sweet, it balanced the very spicy sausage perfectly. Both items were $3.75

New Orleans was AMAZING. The bread pudding, a praline wonder, was the best dessert of the trip. I licked the plate to enjoy the last vestiges of the sauce. Oh Disney, please open up a restaurant that serves the Gumbo, Jambalaya and Bread Pudding this kiosk produces. I had run out of credits with the bread pudding and had to pay out of pocket for the other items, and it was worth every penny. $3.00

South Africa got another credit for a Seered Beef Tenderloin. My son, the red meat eater of the family enjoyed the sweet potatoes that accompanied the dish, as well as the mango BBQ sauce. The tenderloin was cooked well but not as tender as he would have preferred.

In Cork Ireland we surrendered two credits for a Lobster and Scallop Pie as well as a cheese plate. The pie was amazing, and I would have loved an entree sized portion. The seafood was in large chunks swimming in a delightful sauce. The cheese plate was the best value of all the items we had at the festival. The three pieces of cheese were huge and the accompanying soda bread, butter, and chutney were delightful. The cheese was very flavorful and had a great mouth feel. It was cheese at its best. The pie was $5.50 and the cheese was $3.75

The rest of our snack credits were used at standard Disney locations available any time of year.

Sleepy Hollow is one of our favorite places, and this year was no exception We used four credits here. We each had a float and then split a funnel cake. My hubby had a root beer float while my son and I each had a cappuccino float, these aren't too sweet, but quite decadent. Each drink was $3.79 and the cake was $4.29 Everything was great and this ended up being a meal for the adults. We enjoy this food experience for its "fair food" quality served in a much more hygenic environment than any fair we have attended.

Kringla got another three credits for three of their pretzels covered in almonds. Wow, those things are great. At the end of the night, watching Illuminations, it is the perfect end to a perfect day.

At Sunshine Season's we got a Strawberry Shortcake for a credit. This thing is HUGE and delicious. For $3.99 it would have been a good value even if paying out of pocket. My son and husband enjoyed it fully.

Finally, the China Tea Cart got two of our credits for Iced Peach Oolong tea. Sweeter than we normally drink, it was a liquid dessert more than a drink. For 3.79 it was a bit pricy for the amount received, but something we love and cannot get at home. In addition, we purchased a peach snap, an alcoholic slush, for $7.50. They did not spare the alcohol in this drink, and it was yummolicious!

We used every snack credit at Epcot, except for the four credits we spent at Sleepy Hollow in the Magic Kingdom. Guess which park our family likes best.

The only snack we didn't eat, which we normally have, is a chocolate covered banana

We had used all of our credits, and frankly didn't want or need anything else sweet. Disney's removal of the appetizer from the dining plan and the offering of dessert with every meal, frankly overwhelmed my desire for anything else sweet.

I love all the savory treats I get to have during Food and Wine festival. Even with as much as we ate, there were still so many things I wanted to try. I would have happily payed out of pocket for more items, but we had credits for counter service and table service meals, and I did not want to be too full to enjoy those meals. I could happily hit the food and wine festival and eat a marvelous meal for far less than I normally pay for Disney "sit down" dining. A seven course meal around the world, with wine pairings, would be cheaper than almost all of my sit down meals at the world.

Tomorrow I will get back to the rest of our meals.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We were there last week too....and I agree..Chefs de France was horrible..the worst meal we had of our trip

 

[BriarRosie]

I'm leaving in a week for my food and wine festival trip, and I make full meals out of the kiosks. Sounds like you had a fabulous time noshing around World Showcase.

 

[natalielongstaff]

Great reviews so far

 

[Dizny Dad]

Heads Up!

Just read on the DVC Discussion Board that Disney is shorting the rooms on toilet paper.

Be careful on how many buffets you hit during free dining.

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

This review will take us through two days of dining at Epcot and a day at the Magical Magic Kingdom.

We hit lunch at Epcot's Land and dined in the Sunshine Seasons. This counter service spot offers a bit of something for everyone and we find the food to be consistently good, but the dining area is loud when the place is full. We saw several people who were very confused about how to manage a dining experience there, so I will offer our tips to help any "newbie" who might be trying to figure things out.

The restaurant is a bit like a mall food court, with several "store fronts" offering different styles of food, we usually split up and one parent gets in line for the desserts (since there are many places to pick up entrees and only one place to get dessert, guess where the line can get crazy long?) and then the drinks. The other parent gets in line for the food. If we have a need for cold and hot entrees we order the cold first, then the hot. When one parent is done they get in line and if the other parent doesn't get to them before check out time, we just let one person in front of us at a time until the other parent finds us and then we check out together.

Since you cannot bring a stroller into the Sunshine Seasons I would NOT recommend this restaurant for a parent traveling with one or more children by themselves. Even with two parents, this arrangement can be difficult to maneuver with small children. We are lucky that we have small kids and teens, so we have an extra set of "adult sized" hands.

So, on this trip we used two lunch credits and picked up a cashew chicken and a sweet and sour chicken meal. Each of these came with two sides. With one we got rice and broccoli and the other came with noodles and broccoli. For dessert we got a Soarin' Brulee and a Key Lime Pie. Since we knew we were going to be using a lot of snack credits we shared these two meals between the three adult sized people.

The cashew chicken had a nice bit of kick thanks to a couple of hot peppers in the mix. The rice was well cooked and the broccoli was cooked, but not limp or gooey. The Sweet and Sour Chicken was for the teen contingent of the group and he said it was good. It looked like a standard deep fried chicken swimming in sweety sticky sauce.

The noodles were excellent as well. The Strawberry Shortcake was delightful and everyone enjoyed 1/3 of this treat. The Key Lime Pie was very light and fluffy, almost a key lime mousse topped with a sweet whipped topping. The drink island offered diet coke as well as coke zero, but no caffine free diet coke when we were there.

Dinner was in Germany at the Biergarten. We arrived a bit early and were seated with another family just before the show started. I had a German Oma (Grandma) and the place smelled like her house. The moon was shining and it is always Octoberfest in the restaurant. I enjoyed the schnitzel, spatzle, gravy, german potato salad, and sauerkraut. The pretzel rolls were great and for dessert I had a wonderful bread pudding. This food tasted a lot like the food that rolled out of my Oma's kitchen. For a buffet, I thought this was a great meal. My hubby was never raised around German food, and he ate with gusto and made a couple of return trips.

The show was much louder than I remember it from my younger days. It was a bit too loud for the baby and she was a bit fussy during this dinner. We could not talk at all while the band was going, and the band went for a long time. I think we will hit this restaurant again when the baby is old enough to join in on the dance stage for the chicken dance.

The next day found us in the Magic Kingdom and scheduled for my husband's must have meal every trip, a lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern. We had an ADR for the first seating of the day and were able to be seated in the George Washington side room, our favorite place to eat in the restaurant. The wavy glass, fireplace, and decorations are all favorites with my hubby who is a Revolutionary War buff. Our waitress this day was a blast and we really enjoyed her sunny disposition.

The menu had changed again, and gone was my hubby's favorite William Penn Pasta. Also gone was the horrible salmon sandwich of two years ago, and in its place a meal featuring salmon cakes. Why they want to fool around with salmon instead of just featuring a nice piece of this fish is a mystery to me. So, the grown ups both had the pot roast and the teenager had the Thanksgiving Feast. The pot roast was a HUGE portion of perfect meat. It was falling apart tender and in a lucious gravy. My only complaint was that I didn't get nearly enough vegetables and had more than enough meat. It was delicious.

The Thanksgiving Feast was enjoyed by my son, but a bite off his plate reinforced my belief that their Thanksgiving meal is just too darn salty.

For dessert there were three Ooey Gooey Toffe cakes to go around. They were nice, but not nearly as good as the griddled pound cake we used to order which is now off the menu. We adore the Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch, but wish they would stop taking off the meals we love. I still mourn the "From the Harbor" which featured an amazing piece of salmon over griddled pumpkin bread and squash. Our server told us people still ask for the salmon dish daily, and the pasta dish had a loyal following as well.

Still, it was a great meal in a wonderful environment and we will be eating there again next trip. The Pot Roast was perfect. My hubby purchased one more Liberty Tree Tavern mug to add to our family's collection. These mugs are great for ice cream floats.

For dinner we had reservations at Kona Cafe, but none of us wanted to leave the park since they were having the light parade. That had not been on the calendar when we were booking meals, and so we cancelled our Kona ADR and ate at Poncho Bill's.

We really enjoyed using the ordering kiosks. Everyone got cheeseburgers and fries and loaded up on the toppings of their choice. I really love the sauted onions and my son thinks their cheese sauce is the perfect pairing for fries. (We are still mourning the loss of Figaro Fries).

We all got carrot cake for dessert, but we decided to keep those for breakfast the following morning and toted them home in our backpack. When the lady who normally makes the kids eat hot oatmeal dressed with flax seeds is allowing, nope encouraging, cake for breakfast then you don't even need to look around, you know you are in Disney

The next two days we stayed in Epcot, our favorite place in the world, not just the favorite place in Walt Disney World, but in the gosh darn whole world. On Thursday my hubby and I set the teen free and we took the baby to Tangerine Cafe for a sliders plate which featured three small sandwiches and their great sides. The tabbouleh salad was so fresh and lively. The hummus was even better than what I make, and the iced mint tea was divine. We shared this meal and its accompanying baklavah. Oh, I just love this place. We got a small table in the back next to the dessert cabinet. The air conditioning was running and it was such a lovely treat.

We followed up that meal by heading to the Yakitori House in Japan and eating in their beautiful garden next to the babbling brook lanterns swaying overhead. This is such a peaceful place to eat. We split another meal, this time having the Tonosama Combo, Ginger Cake, and the iced green tea. We have eaten here in the past and had somewhat snippy service that was surprisingly un-Disney. This visit we were waited on by Kiyono, who was a delightful young woman. The meal was served piping hot and with a smile. The beef in the Tonosama is a bit fatty, but oh so flavorful, and while the fat is quite visible, it is not a greasy dish. The ginger on the rice is so full bodied and but the tempura shrimp was lacking flavor, it was as if the shrimp had died of boredom and had no flavor left in its little body.

The ginger cake is so subtle and soft. We always enjoy the meal here, but today was an especially great day.

We had dinner reservations at Chefs de France and while I had read mixed reviews I had eaten lunch here a few years ago and been quite happy. We had already had some amazing escargot at their food and wine kiosk.

We arrived a few minutes early for our ADR but waited about 20 minutes past our reserved time to be seated. The meal started well with each of us getting the fixed price meal with three courses. The rolls that started the meal were perfect. They had a hard chewy crust and soft interior. They were served with real butter and were followed swiftly with bowls of soup which were superb. We had the French Onion and Lobster Bisque soups. Each was flavorful, hot, and beautiful to behold.

Then dinner took a nosedive. I had the salmon and it arrived overcooked and accompanied by a ratatouille which was a luke warm mess. It tasted like it was cooked with an old gym sock and then left out at room temperature for a few hours. The tomato bernaise which sauced the salmon was a watery slop with a bitter taste I could not place.

My son had beef short ribs with pasta and said the meat was fatty and bland. The pasta was served without any sauce, just room temperature noodles.

For dessert we all had the creme brulee. It arrived without the accompanying madeline cookie described in the menu and each had a topping that was literally one crystal of sugar deep, but it had been burned. The custard portion of the dessert had no flavor, there was not a bit of discernable vanilla in the thing. It was a large portion, but a portion of something nobody wanted to eat. It had the stench of completely carbonized sugar and in flavor was a dead ringer for burnt marshmallow.

That evening when we got back to the room my stomach began to ache and I ended up vomiting and having diarrhea within a few hours of my meal. I think the ratatouille was to blame and might have been cross contaminated with something in the kitchen. Ick Ick Ick. Everyone agreed it was just a horrible meal. Whoever they have in charge of the soups needs to take contol of that kitchen because the difference in quality between our soups and our meals seemed almost schizophrenic.

Once I had all the food out of my system I immediately felt better and had a good night's sleep. This was not a case of a stomach virus, as it was over as soon as that food was out of my system. We will not be eating there again.

Tomorrow I will cover our last days at the park and review our dining experience at the California Grill during Hallowishes.

 

[eventamy]

Great reviews! Thanks! I'm rethinking going to Chefs de France in February though! Between you and Nikki it's not looking too good lately!

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

I only have a few free minutes today, so I won't be going over our last days at Disney World, but I will devote a few moments to describing eating with a baby in tow.

Our little Disney Miracle was 8 1/2 months old on this trip. At each restaurant I was able to hand over my sippy cup and get her a drink. Some days it was half water half apple juice and others it was just plain ice water. I had brought along flakes of whole grain baby cereal, and was always given hot water to mix with the flakes to make her favorite baby food.

She enjoyed mashed veggies off of the buffets as well as some mashed salmon at Bomas. We also got fufu in Boma, and our littlest one loved it. She also enjoyed sucking on some cucumbers. The resort had fresh bananas which mashed up nicely with breakfast.

Each restaurant was very responsive to our requests for the baby and I appreciated the help. In Boma our little one spilled my drink everywhere and our server was so sweet about the mess and had it cleaned up in no time at all.

Our little one is still primarily breast fed and we used the child care centers as well as quiet dark rides such as Spaceship Earth, Energy Adventure with Ellen, carousel of progress, and Pirates. The River ride in Mexico let us loop when we were feeding her since the boats weren't all filling up, so we just went round and round while the baby had her long afternoon meal.

So, all in all, keeping her fed and happy went quite well. Had I run out of food, the baby centers seemed stocked in all the baby basics.

--Eeyore's Wife

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

Our last day at the World we had planned to be at the Magic Kingdom, but everyone was having such a great time in Epcot, that we decided to spend a third day in our favorite park.

We once again had lunch at Sunshine Seasons. I had the smoked ham and salami on asiago ciabatta bread. The accompanying potato salad was wonderful and my butterfinger cheesecake divine. My son got the half chicken which was one of the yummiest items on this trip. It was moist and very flavorful. The mashed potatos and carrots were also delightful side dishes. For dessert he had an upside down pineapple cake which he said was moist and had a hint of coconut. My hubby had the Ginger Mongolian Beef and another key lime pie.

This time we didn't hit it at the very beginning of lunch service, and the restaurant was markedly louder than it had been earlier in the week, but it was a lively and fun loud and not totally overwhelming.

We like this counter service for its air conditioning, plentiful choices, amazing desserts, and ample clean high chairs. The motif of hot air balloons and abundance of natural light all combine to a wonderful effect.

My son had wanted to eat a Dole Whip, but we had run out of time on our first day at the Magic Kingdom and assumed we would dole whip during our second day at the park, but since there was not a second day at the park we were left with the option of upgrading to park hoppers, at a whopping $52 each , just to eat a dole whip. Then I remembered.....THEY HAVE DOLE WHIPS AT THE POLY and so as we headed to the Poly and Dole Whipped ourselves. It was fantastic!

For our last night we had 9:00 reservations at California Grill atop the Contemporary. The fireworks for the evening, Hallowishes due to a Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, were scheduled for 9:30. I assumed that getting a 9:00 ADR would ensure we would be seated in time for the show. We arrived at the podium to check in early because Disney Transportation was running astonishingly well. We checked in at 8:30 and the woman informed us that things had gotten very backed up and that we would not get a seat until 20-30 minutes after our adr.

Right about then I was very happy I had made the ADR for a half hour before I really wanted to be in the restaurant. No problems. My son and husband ran around the resort getting pressed pennies, shopping in the stores, and watching some sporting event. I sat in the very comfortable lounge and nursed the baby. A few minutes before 9:30 we approached the podium and asked how much longer we would have to wait.

She told us that tables were not turning over and she wasn't sure when we would be seated. She encouraged us to take the elevator up and watch the fireworks from the viewing deck. We went to the viewing deck and it was very full, the restaurant was totally full and the bar was overflowing. We did notice, on our way out, that most people had tables where all the food had been eaten. They were just sitting there and holding their table.

I think a lot of people planned on being there assumsing that the fireworks were going to be at 9:00 and when they realized that it wouldn't be until 9:30 that the fireworks started, they just sat in their tables and held them. So, I stood outside on a surprisingly chilly and windy evening holding a 20 pound baby for the entire fireworks display. As soon as it ended, the observation deck cleared out and at least 1/2 of the tables departed.

We ended up setting down about 50 minutes after our ADR. We live in the mountain time zone and had kept the baby on her home schedule. By planning a dinner at 9:00, which seemed like 7 to her, we were stretching things a bit, but it would have been possible. Indeed, she was in a great mood until about 9:45 and even in a good mood until about 10:10, but then she was tired and ready for bed. So, during our "nice" dinner I spent the entire time walking her around the restaurant while my food got cold. When my hubby was done with his meal, we switched off and I ate while he walked.

My food was so-so. The triple cheese flatbread was nice, but not very cheesy. It had a pesto sauce which was nice, but very scant. My ravioli was no better than the Olive Garden and the dessert was a mundane apple crisp served in a small cast iron skillet. The local Cracker Barrel does the same dessert, but it has a distinct butter flavor in the crust, more flavorful apples, and better ice cream as a topping for less than 1/3 the price.

The atmosphere in the place was generally nice, but it was very loud and we were seated overlooking the kitchen, which was a bit chaotic. In all, our bill was $173 after tax and tip. While the view for Hallowishes was nice, we could have been on the fourth floor overlook for free and to be quite frank, our lunch at Sunshine Seasons had better dessert, nearly comparable entrees, and was just as loud.

I don't think I will be eating here again, not when I could have stayed at the Poly beach, eaten my dole whip and watched the fireworks from a hammock.

We didn't get out of there until ten minutes before midnight. Each couse took forever, getting our bill took forever, paying our bill took forever, and by the end of it we just wanted out. When we came downstairs we asked the bellman to hail us a cab, and we drove back to our resort because frankly we were too tired to deal with Disney transportation at the end of MNSSHP.

The California Grill was not a fine dining experience but it was a fine dining price. I would have much rather eaten at any of the other restaurants we had visited during the week (except Chefs de France).

The next morning was our last at the World and we had our first counter service breakfast at Pop Century. I ate mine at 6, right as they opened. I had a lovely Pop waffle with strawberry topping, two pieces of bacon, an orange juice, and a blueberry muffin. The waffle was great, the bacon was strangely thin and had an odd texture. I would not eat that bacon again. The blueberry muffin was hidden away to be eaten on my flight home.

I also grabbed a lunch here at 11:00 and it was amazingly yummy. I had the Chicken Penne Alfredo. The chicken was HOT and while breaded and deep fried, not the least big greasy. The pasta was al dente and the sauce was rich, hot, and cheesy. The accompanying breadstick was also very hot and seemed straight from the oven. My cheesecake dessert was very colorful but surprisingly flavorful with a great texture. This counter service meal tasted better, was straight from the oven fresh, and overall far superior to my meal the night before at California Grill.

Everything Pop can get VERY crowded during their peak hours, but at 11:00 it was humming along and a great way to end our meals at Walt Disney World.

I happily use Disney Dining when it is offered for free, but if I was paying cash for the meal plan, I would get Disney's Counter Service Meal Plan. There were so many great Counter Service Places and with that plan two snacks are included per day as well as the all you can drink mug.

The few "sit down" meals we enjoy, we would simply pay for out of pocket. We do not have ANY German restaurants where we live, so we would pay for Biergarten. Boma, Liberty Tree (LUNCH), Le Cellier, and the Plaza all seem like good deals to us, so we would be willing to pay for them. California Grill, Cape May, Coral Reef, Raglan Road, Liberty Tree (Dinner) and Beaches and Cream were just got a good enough "bang for our buck."

As to Chefs de France, that was just horrible, made me ill, and we won't be eating there again. I have seen several people say that their lunches were good. Perhaps they have someone in the kitchen during lunch who knows what they are doing. Our soups and bread were great, but those entrees were unforgiveable. Given all the other yummy options in Epcot, I don't see us eating dinner there again.

My hubby just added that he would also pay for Hoop Dee Doo with our hard earned Cash.

I feel like the quality of the table service meals has fallen over the years, but we feel like the Counter Service Meals have increased in quality, value, and selection.

We adored our meals at Starring Rolls, Sunshine Seasons, Everything Pop, Tangerine Cafe, Yakatori House, Pecos Bills, Wolfgang Puck Express, and EVERY Food and Wine Festival Kiosk. Those Food and Wine Festival offerings were amazing. We would love to go back to Food and Wine Festival and get the Counter Service Dining Plan, TWICE THE SNACK CREDITS.

The cost of the table service meals has risen dramatically while losing its distinctive appeal. We love Liberty Tree, but there are at least five places in our small town that offer a good pot roast. When they offered their Harbor meal of Salmon over griddled pumpkin bread and squash, it was a unique meal I could only get at Disney. I looked forward to that meal each trip.

Now, there are very few meal options that stand out as anything other than mundane. If it isn't going to be something "special" then I don't want to pay "special" pricing.

The special things at Disney are now found in the snacks, counter service, and Food and Wine Kiosks, so that is where I will spend my money. So, as long as they have cappuccino floats, dole whips, and spicy chicken sausage with sweet polenta, I will still be doing Disney.

I have not done Universal Studios since 1992, but when they add Harry Potter Land, we will be venturing out of "The World" and if we like what we see, then we may make another theme park our HOME on vacation, and just visit Disney for a few days.



--Eeyore's Wife