For those of you that pay OOP...

[TxRabbit]

Thank you everyone for so many great suggestions. It's really helping me to muddle through the choices.

Every family has their quirks. Mine doesn't want to repeat a restaurant. DS LOVES steak and salmon, is a conneisseur of mac and cheese and HATES WDW's, and prefers teriyaki chicken to breaded. We aren't jazzed about seeing characters during our meals for this time around. And we just want to sit and eat, not deal with a buffet. *sigh* And we generally eat dinner around 4:00 P.M., when the TS are closed. I tell you honestly, I am having a hard time getting excited about the TS restaurants, which is why I thought about not doing ANY. I think that I would regret that decision though. So I am struggling. Hence the cry for help!

In the back of my mind, there is also the possibility of going back in 2010 with DH's family, which will be a large crew with cousins. Some places mentioned seem better suited to that trip. Like Ohana, Louder, more active, more fun with cousin participation, etc.

So, the latest restaurants that are appealing include Coral Reef and Chefs de France.

For Chefs, can anyone tell me about the mac and cheese? Is it saucy? Or is it stiff like lasagna?

For both, can anyone tell me about any late lunch or early dinner experiences?

TIA!

 

[TxRabbit]

k&a&c'smom - EXACTLY! We split and share all the time, everywhere we go. Generally I'm not willing to pay the price of an adult meal for DS and he isn't thrilled with the kid's choices. Sometimes he eats an appetizer for a meal (especially fried cheese sticks) with some supplemental food. When the DDP included appetizers, it was a no brainer, there was so much food to work with, I knew that eventually DS would be satisfied.

Now snacks are a different story with my family. We SNACK. We'll grab popcorn, funnel cakes, ice cream, baked goods. DH and I drink lattes. Snack credits were awesome at BC (last trip) because they had the mini grocery to accomodate the villas. We got quite a few Lunchables (one snack credit) for DS. Made a good small lunch for him, when he was hungry and DH and I weren't, and an excellent bedtime snack. Small tummies eat more often and he was 6 then.

The fact is that I look at the TS menus and think that I would really enjoy the salad! and the soup! Something that is way hard to find in CS. I'll shock them all, eating lightly at the TS and chowing on Rib Eye steaks at Pepper Market!

I feel like I am struggling, but at least I'm thinking about Disney! And vacation! I'm a planner, researcher, scheduler, so it's all good.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

You know, I never thought about lattes being a snack - my DD and her friend will probably have a few of those. But I still don't think it would be enough to make the DDP worth it for us.

Now I'll have to go back and ponder it all again. I'm usually only this indecisive about my resort!

 

[Donnainnj]

This factored into our choosing CSR as a resort and selecting the QS DDP, which will pair very nicely with choosing to eat at Pepper Market so much. I'm happy with the food choices there. It's working for me....

Has there been some confirmation that Pepper Market will be available on the dining plan 2009? It is not yet on the WDW DDP list. I haven't seen any information on the contract being settled yet. There is also rumor that Pepper Market may turn into a buffet on the lines of Boma, but don't know if or when. Hopefully Pepper Market will be put on the list soon, but if not, I wanted to make sure you know the possibility exists that it will not make it. I hope they decide soon, we have a trip planned for April there.
Donna

 

[TxRabbit]

Has there been some confirmation that Pepper Market will be available on the dining plan 2009? It is not yet on the WDW DDP list. I haven't seen any information on the contract being settled yet. There is also rumor that Pepper Market may turn into a buffet on the lines of Boma, but don't know if or when. Hopefully Pepper Market will be put on the list soon, but if not, I wanted to make sure you know the possibility exists that it will not make it. I hope they decide soon, we have a trip planned for April there.
Donna

It would definitely throw a wrench in my system if Pepper Market didn't join the plans. I did know that they weren't yet on the list, but that didn't worry me until now.

Now I'm worried...

 

[design_mom]

When we went in September (free dining) we really enjoyed Teppan Edo in Epcot's Japanese pavilion. I didn't think their OOP prices seemed too bad compared to other Japanese steakhouses I've been to (especially for the entree I prefer -- chicken). We had a wonderful meal and excellent service.