Free Dining review August 2009...better late than never?

[stefwynn30]

I should start out by saying I had good intentions to write this review last August but never got around to it. I didn't take very many pictures of our food. We had 8 people in our party and it just got too hectic during mealtimes to focus on taking pictures. I'm going to do a mini review of what my family ate. It was me, my DM, DS 13 and DS 8. I'm trying to do this from memory . but reading all of your reviews have been so helpful over the years that I'm going to give this a shot.

 

[stefwynn30]

August 16- Arrival night

We had an ADR for 6:30pm at Rainforest Cafe, Downtown Disney. This is a place that we've enjoyed very much in the past so I was looking forward to our meal. Sadly that wasn't the case this time. Our server was great but we didn't care for the food.

DM had Bamba's Barbecue Wrap, which would have been good but the Cilantro was very overpowering. I love Cilantro but this was too much. She didn't care for it.

DS 14 had Raging Thunder Buffalo Wings.. he's 14, loves appetizers and said they were fine but holy cow were they spicy.!

DS8 and I shared Rainforest Pita Quesadillas. We didn't care too much for them. They were soggy and the cheese didn't taste that great.

We all had soft drinks except for DS 8 who had some kind of smoothie in this really cute cup with a frog on the lid.

Overall we thought the meal was overpriced for the quality of the food. I don't think we'll be back. The highlight of the "meal" was finding ds 14 a pair of bathing trunks that he really liked in the gift shop.

 

[stefwynn30]

8/17

Breakfast, one of the first of many trips to Roaring Forks. The last time we stayed at the WL was prior to the renovation of RF and I was impressed at how much this place has improved. It was a good, quick place to stop for breakfast. Most of the the time of of the kids and I went down to get the food and bring it back to the room. We really enjoyed eating on the balcony. I can't remember exactly what we got each time but we usually shared something. I'm pretty sure none of us had any complaints about the food. Over the week we had the Bounty Platter a few times, the Pancakes or the Croissant Sandwich.. All were good.

Lunch: Coral reef

This was our first time here and while I was apprehensive due to some bad reviews I was pleasantly surprised. We were seated in a booth on the first tier so we had a great view of the tank.
IMG]http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af76/stefscheib/0302-1.jpg[/IMG]

DM, DS 14 and I had soft drinks and the New York Strip. We all enjoyed it. DS8 had Chicken Noodle Soup, Pizza which he liked as well. DS 14 and I had the Chocolate Wave for desert. YUM.. we both loved it. DM had the Cheesecake Napoleon which she liked and DS 8 had an ice cream sundae.
Overall, we really liked Coral Reef and will be back this summer.

Dinner: WPE

We would have never tried this place if not for the rave reviews on the Disboards and they were spot on. Both kids had pizza, pepperoni I think. They both loved it. I think they cleaned their plates. I had the BBQ chicken pizza, loved it. DM had Spaghetti and Meatballs which she really enjoyed. Her dish came with a salad, I can't remember the dressing but she liked it alot.

 

[stefwynn30]

Breakfast: WCC

We love this place and breakfast did not dissapoint. DS8 had chocolate chips pancakes. He loved them and I stole a bit, they were very good. DS 14 had french toast which he liked. Mom and I had the skillet. Loved the waffles, eggs, potatoes and biscuits. The bacon was not great, rubbery and didn't taste very good. Our server was fantastic and very very funny. My son didn't finish his french toast so she asked him if he wanted to put it in his pocket to nibble on later

Lunch: 50's Prime Time Cafe.

This was our first time here and we had a great meal. Our server was very funny and joked around with the two youngest kids who ate it up. He and another server in our area played off of each other. DS ordered the Fried Chicken...no greens please and and ice cream sundae for desert. Wow, it alot of food. He could hardly put a dent in it. DM had the Pot Roast and she said it was great. I had a bite and the meat was very tender and the vegtables cooked perfectly. For desert she had sponge cake with berries, can't remember the name of it but she said it was great. I had Dads Meatloaf. LOVED IT. I even finished all of the my green beans . The sauce was really good. For desert I had S'mores which I also loved. If you like S'more you'll like them.

I can't remember what DS 8 had for an entree but I know that he had a root beer float and ice cream sundae for desert. Ice cream twice in one meal?. Yikes, at least we don't do that often. Overall a great meal and we will be back this summer

Dinner was a snack from Roaring Forks. Can't remember what we had but I think it was just burgers and chicken fingers.

 

[stefwynn30]

8/19

DM woke up ill. There is nothing worse than being sick while on vacation. I felt so bad for her, she was miserable. The kids and I had breakfast at Roaring Forks but decided to forgo our ADR at Kona Cafe to stay with my mom. She was feeling a little better by midday but not well enough to go anywhere. The kids and I went to MK and nibbled at various places but I can't remember where. . I do know we shared a Mickey Bar and some Minnie's cupboard (? think thats what they're called) The cookies were fab. I think we used MANY snack credits for them. They don't look that big in the package but looks are decieving!.

Once we got back to the lodge mom was hungry so we ventured down to Roaring Forks..again. . DM and I split a BBQ pork flatbreat which was very yummy. The kids both had chicken nuggets. We weren't hungry for desert but took them to go. The kids wanted to swim so they went to get their suits on while DM and I waited by the pool..with the paper bag of deserts (can you see where this is headed???) Stupid me put the bag next to the lounge chair and we had a great time watching the kids swim while I drank a overpriced and weak Margarita. We got ready to leave, I picked up the bag of deserts and they fell out of the bottom of the wet bag. OOPS. Cleaned up the mess but unfortunatly it was a total loss.

 

[stefwynn30]

:8/20

Mom was feeling much better today and felt good enough to go to Epcot as planned, but not good enough to eat very much

Breakfast: Something quick from Roaring Forks.

Lunch: Cantina de San Angel. While the food was good the queue for ordering was a mess. No one knew what line was open or where to stand and wait for food pick up. This meal was only DS8 and I. I ordered Cantina Nachos. I liked it, can't really mess up nachos. DS8 had a kids Quesadilla which he liked. We both had Churros for desert which neither of cared for and gave to DS 14. DM and DS 14 shared a Funnel Cake for lunch.


Dinner: Whispering Canyon Cafe. This was hands down the worst meal of our entire trip. Our server was disorganized and rude. The food was mixed. DS 14, DM and I had the Skillet.

We've had this on past trips and enjoyed it but not this time. The ribs were tough and the chicken was overcooked. We liked the salad, beans and cornbread. Both kids ordered milkshakes, Cotton Candy for DS8 which he (and I) loved. Chocolate for DS 14 which I think he filled 3 times. . DS 8 had a hamburger and he had no complaints. It was when we got to the deserts that we started having major problems with our server. She took our order and then we didn't see her again for 20 minutes. Another server brought out the deserts but only 1/2 of them were right. We told her and she said it would be taken care of but when they were brought out they were wrong again. The server said we could have them all if we wanted . It was crazy, our table was covered with cake. We got the check, our frieds check was correct but the tip on mine was listed as $60.00. 1/2 the cost of the meal. It took awhile to get it fixed. After the desert dabacle we didn't see our server again but the manager was taking care of us. I know that people have off nights so we will be back but not on our next trip.

 

[stefwynn30]

8/21

Breakfast: Roaring Forks

Lunch: Crystal Palace. This place was packed.!. CP is beautifully themed. I loved the topiaries of Pooh and the gang. Midway through greeting the charactors I started to not feel very well which explains why nothing appealed to me when I went through the buffet. I didn't eat very much but everyone else in our party liked the food. The charactor interaction was good. My older son loves Pooh so he was excited to be there.

We are planning to visit CP again this summer but for breakfast.

We left the park shortly after lunch becuase I wasnt' feeling well. I think it was because of the oppressive heat. I does get wear on you after a few days.

Dinner: WPE. DM and I shared two pizzas. Roasted Veggie and 4 Cheese. Yum, we love this place!. The kids had pepperoni pizza again and polished it off very quickly.

 

[stefwynn30]

8/22
Our last day.


Breakfast: Chef Mickeys. We totally loved Chef Mickeys. The kids thought it was fun and liked the food. I loved Goofy's breakfast lasagna. Can't wait to have it again. The coffee was Nescrape but I guess everything tastes better when Mickey is in the room. . We will be back this summer

 

[stefwynn30]

We'll be back in the world this summer. We're not doing free dining this year becuase I got a great deal on a room at the Poly. This will be our first time there we're all excited. We've only stayed the Wl which we have always loved but my older son is too old to share a bed with DM or I and DS8 is a restless sleeper and neither one of them would get much sleep. I made our ADR's last week and promise that I'll do better taking pictures this year!

SUN 8/8

Kona Cafe 7pm

Mon 8/9/10 Epcot
8:00 AM Captain Cook's Snack company
11:35 AM Coral Reef Restaurant
6:30 PM Wolfgang Puck Express


Tue 8/10/10 8:00 AM Animal Kingdom
Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery 8:30 am
11:30 pm Flame Tree BBQ
6:30 pm Kona Cafe

Wed 8/11/10
8:30 AM Ohana
6:30 PM 50's Prime Time Cafe

Thu 8/12/10 Epcot
8:30 AM Kona Cafe
Eating around Epcot
6:20 PM Le Cellier Steakhouse

Fri 8/13/10 Magic Kingdom
8:10 AM Crystal Palace
1:00 Caseys Coner
7:00 PM Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant


Sat 8/14/10 Animal Kingdom
8:30 am Captain Cooks $30.00
Eating around Animal Kingdom
6:30 PM Ohana

Sun 8/15/10
8:00 AM Captain Cook's Snack Company
12:30 PM Mama Melrose's
6:30 PMWolfgang Puck Express

Mon 8/16/10 7:30 AM
Chef Mickey's

 

[PalmettoPrincess]

We were there at the same time last year! It's okay, I never finished my dining review either ......................... I love the pot roast at 50's PT! Wow, so tender! RFC was blah for us too. Hope you have another great trip!!!

 

[2Tiggers]

Thanks for the reviews!

What was the weather like in August? Any tips on that?