My husband and I are big eaters, and it still took us a few days to figure out how to order and share so we didnt have HUGE leftovers. I am a VERY adventurous eater and my husband isnt quite as much. 4 year old son will eat a lot of different things depending on his mood. The Disney dining options were great for all of us and overall our choices were excellent.
Rainforest Café outside the entrance of Animal Kingdom
We did this the First Night we arrived at Disney after our LONG drive from Michigan. We got there at about 6:15. Last seating for the night is 6:30. We ended up with SO MUCH FOOD left over. Son wasnt hungry and ate some of my potatoes and some of our desert. This was one of the few nights we had no fridge, so much of the leftovers went to waste
..)
4.00 (aprox) Frozen Oreo Mudslideor something like that?
39.99 Tree Top Filet Mignon/ ½ stuffed Lobster w/Potatoes and Veggies
8.99 Buffalo Wings
7.49
Amazon Apple Cobbler
3.75 Frozen Raspberry Lemonade
8.99 Rainforest Pita Quesadillas
39.99 Primal NY Steak/ ½ stuffed Lobster w/Potatoes and Veggies
6.99 Bananas Foster
Total=120.25+18 (tip) + 7.80 (tax) = Grand Total $146
Total Paid: $31 (VKL Adult) + $17.50 (VKL Childs) = $48.50
Kona Café in the Polynesian Resort. Perfect amount of food for the 3 of us. Was especially good because everything was so interesting.. Sticky wings were FABULOUS according to DH. Son picked out the dessert (Kiddie Kone) which was in itself a work of art and enough for the 3 of us). Also note that they included a coffee beverage AND a soft drink on the voucher.
6.99 Sticky Wings (included in voucher)
4.50 Frozen Mocha Coffee (included in voucher)
2.19 Coke (included in voucher)
11.99 Pan Asian Pasta (included in voucher)
5.99 Kiddie Kone (included in voucher)
5.99 Duck Pot Stickers (paid for separately)
2.19 Lemonade (paid for separately)
Total=39.84 + 2.60 (tax) + $6 (tip) Grand Total =$48.44
Total Paid: $31 (1 VKL Adult Voucher) + additional tip of $2.00
Beaches & Cream Located at the Beach and Yacht Club. A small soda shop kind of place. Limited menu, but excellent food. We were disappointed that we could order an al a carte grilled cheese sandwich for our son, but cost would be the same as the grilled cheese childs meal. It wasnt the price we were really worried about
.we just didnt want to have a lot of extra food. Our waiter did bring him his fruit (instead of fries) HEAVY on the grapes like he asked. You cant order frozen drinks here as your beverage on the Voucher (although Ive seen that others on this board have ordered them). We should have used just ONE Q&C voucher here and split our meal, plus got my sons kids meal. We could not come close to finishing our food.
2.59 Lime Ricky (a VERY sweet drink with all that syrup)
Burger w/ Onion Rings $9.39 + $1.50 or so for the ORings
No Way Jose Sundae 7.99
2.28 Sprite w/Cherry syrup
11.00 French Dip Sandwich w/Fruit
Banana Split 7.99 (they KNOW how to make a banana split right!)
5.85 (incl tax) Grilled Cheese Kids Meal w/cookie and fruit (paid separately for this)
Total = $48.59 + 8.00 (tip) + 2.75 (tax)= Grand Total 59.34
Total we paid = $23 + 7.85 (used 2 Q&C Vouchers) =$31
Chef Mickeys Located in the Contemporary Resort. This was 100% worth the money. We used our breakfast feature vouchers and saved few bucks because of the savings of the tax and tip (which is taken care of on the voucher). Most importantly our 4 yr old LOVED it. Several characters were in attendance and were expertly making the rounds to see every kid at every table for a decent amount of time. You cant expect them to stay at your table for 10 minutes, but we never felt that they were rushed. Dale even rushed over right after the celebration when he saw that our son had stuck himself good in the eye with his napkin. After a few Dale antics, hugs, kisses and high fives DS was good as new. I even gave Dale a high five for his loving attention and a big Thank You for saving our morning...Ironically, this was the meal my son ate the best at. There were a LOT of choices including a great vegetable casserole. Of course son loved the Mickey waffles. If the only vouchers that youre planning on getting are breakfast vouchers, then it may not be worth the little bit of hassle to save a couple of bucks. But, it was worth it for us since we ordered other vouchers as well.
Rainforest Café (Learned our lesson and not only used just 1 VKL, we used our KIDS VKL
the amount of food was perfect).
2.00 Kids Lemonade (paid Separately)
8.99 Buffalo Wings (DH entrée) (paid separately)
2.50 Coke (paid separately)
8.69 Chimi Cha Chas
39.99 Primal NY Steak/ ½ Stuffed Lobster w/potatoes and veggies
3.75 Frozen Raspberry Lemonaid
6.99 Bananas Foster
Total =72.93 + 11 (tip) + 4.75 Tax = Grand Total 88.68
Total we paid 17.50 +12.75 (1 Kids VKL) =$30.25
Wolfgang Puck Express at the Boardwalk. Note this place had a limited menu and although the Clam Chowder was wonderful, we werent impressed overall. LONG line and not enough chefs to accommodate. The Wolfgang Puck at Downtown Disney had a better childs menu but we ended up not eating there. . NOT A VOUCHER RESTAURANT
2.99 Kids Peanut Butter and Jelly (Jif Peanut butter, Smuckers Jelly on 3 pieces of plain white bread. Bread was a bit dry. But to be fair, what can you expect from a PB&J!!?
4.99 Clam Chowder. Excellent taste. EXTREEMLYYYYYYY hot. Awkward trying to eat on the park bench at the water without burning myself or my son.
Pepper Market at Coronado Springs (this is kind of a cafeteria type restaurant in that you go to different stations to order your food, but a server brings your drinks and silverware etc. a 10% tip is automatically added to your bill). The value here was great, but the logistics problem of having to stand in many lines especially with a 4 year old was quite time consuming. Desserts were limited when we went. We would still go back to this great restaurant. Our steak was cooked perfectly..
4.25 Childs Penne Pasta w/Marinara and orange wedge
1.99 Childs lemonade
18.95 HUGE ribeye steak w/mashed potatoes and grilled veggies
3.95 blue raspberry smoothie (really a slushie)
4.50 ??? Fresh Fruit Tart
Total = 33.64 + 3.36 (tip) + 2.20 (tax) = Grand total 39.20
Total we paid = 18.35 (used 1 Q&C voucher)
Ghirardelli at Downtown Disney Marketplace. (NOT A VOUCHER RESTAURANT, BUT WE USED A BOGOF EMAIL COUPON WE GOT FOR SIGNING UP FOR THEIR EMAIL LIST.) We had both signed up for the glist, so we had 2 coupons. We went at the start of our trip, but believe it or not we were so fooded out at the end of our stay that we gave our 2nd coupon to a very happy (honeymooning?) couple standing in line. We couldnt believe it ourselves especially since Im addicted to ice cream and DH is addicted to chocolate! More than enough to share with DS.
6.50 Very Berry Sundae
6.50 Brownie Sundae (This was Free)
1.75 Coke
Everything Pop Food Court located in the very colorful Pop Century resort
DH got a double cheeseburger basket and DS got a Penne w/meatball kids plate for total of 11.49. Also got
8.99 Moms Night Out Turkey Meal w/veggies, stuffing, potatoes, roll. (only wish they had cranberry sauce)
2.35 Powerade
Chocolate Croissant 3.59
Grand total was 27.40
We paid 22.99 and used 1 Q& C
BOMA Located in the absolutely gorgeous Animal Kingdom Lodge
This was NOT a voucher restaurant for the dinner hour, but it was well worth their regular price. We paid 73.94 after tax and tip for 2 adults and 1 child. Thankfully DS decided to eat that night so we got at least $5 worth of mac & cheese and chic fingers.
Among the huge selections of items was Prime Rib (easily worth the $23/Adult cost) an excellent selection of soups (although the mulligatawny was different than what we are used to). Deserts were elegant and included the famous zebra dome (which I like personally because I love chocolate and coffee). DH preferred the chocolate mouse crunch. DS of course liked the watermelon. They offered a fantastic selection of fresh fruit and salads. If you are not an adventurous eater, then perhaps you should pass on this place unless your in the mood for prime rib. My DH however, not being as quick to try new things as I am, found plenty to fill his belly. I was in food HEAVEN taking even a tablespoon full of nearly everything so I could say I tried it. This was an expensive meal, but definitely worth every penny in my value book.
Mara Located in the absolutely gorgeous Animal Kingdom Lodge
This is a cafeteria type restaurant located on the bottom floor of the hotel where the pool is. You could easily miss this place if you werent specifically looking for it.
4.29 Chicken Strips (paid separately)
3.39 Pinapple Smoothie
7.49 African Stew in Bread bowl
2.49 Pepperpot Soup (counted as side item)
3.59 Zebra Domes and Chocolate Mousse crunches
Grand Total 22.64
Total Paid 4.29 + 11.50 (Used 1 Q&C voucher).
Another great place we ate w/out a voucher but didnt need one was EARL OF SANDWICH at Downtown Disney. $5.00 for a FABULOUS hot sandwhich. Add a side salad for just a buck more. They also had fresh fruit which was reasonably priced and jello w/fruit also a good deal. Overall I would say that if you like a good grilled sandwich, dont miss Earl of Sandwich.
We also ate at Caseys Corner in the Magic Kingdom because DH heard their hotdogs were good. Son and I got the mini corn dogs which were great. Had quick snacks of granola bars and bananas which I had brought and had in the stroller. Treated ourselves to soft drinks and juices when we were thirsty and had some popcorn and ice creams a couple of times. Fresh fruit everywhere is Disney was a decent deal
especially cut up fruit bowls. Be prepared to pay $2.50 for a coke at the machines at the bus stops (I just couldnt do it no matter how thirsty I was). We went to a Golden Coral a couple of miles away from downtown Disney. Got there with 15 minutes left of the lower breakfast prices-not on purposeso DH got his omelet DS got his bacon and French toast and I got my veggies. Comparing it to the other non-disney buffets weve been to it was an excellent find with better quality fresh hot food. Nothing was soggy or overdone. The service was great. I think there are a couple of Golden Corals in the area. We went to the one closest to Hotel Plaza road (hmmm thinking the names not right) If youve got a car Id suggest this place. It was I think $6.50/adult and a little lower (maybe $5) for a child.
SO, HERES MY HONEST OPINION ABOUT THE VOUCHERS:
We ate great with them. Better than we would have had we not purchased them. We may have paid a little more for food than we would have if we didnt purchase the vouchers (we dont normally buy drinks and desserts) but we considered this all food to share and fill us up. In most cases we could make healthier choices than we would have made with fast food. We used adult and Childs VKLs at Rainforest Café because they allow the child to order as if it was an adult VKL.
We did NOT feel weird about using vouchers. Servers were very happy and almost PROUD to help us order with the best value for our voucher.
Next time we will plan on using just 1 voucher for the 3 of us and then ordering sides or extra drinks and sharing. The portions at most places are HUGE. It broke my husbands heart to see me leave behind ½ of a filet mignon because I just couldnt finish it and couldnt get it in our fridge back at the hotel because we had other plans. A common comment from the CM servers was that many many many people buy WAY too many vouchers (they call them wishes) and end up trying to eat themselves to death the last couple of days.
The adventure of eating at the different places was a LOT of fun for us. We did not plan out our meals, but planned out what places we would like to eat at and marked off the places that we knew were not good deals to use the vouchers. Because we did this planning in advance, it wasnt a pain to use them. Food at Disney is expensive in general so unless youre planning on eating sandwiches you have to plan on spending some money.
) in ClearWater for 5 nights and then indulging me with our first ever stay in a WDW hotel - Coronado Springs - for our final 6 nights, before returning home on the 15th Feb 
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DONT WORRY ABOUT THE SERVERS THINKING YOU"RE CHEAP OR A PAIN 
