Free Dining Review

[angelkisses]

MY PROMISE TO MYSELF: I will NEVER go back to Disney without a DINING PLAY..... AWESOME!!!!!

Our average daily expenses from CS / TS and Snack was $200-$250 a day for our family of four. The dining plan allowed us to try new things that we would never have done if we had been traveling without the plan.


CONCOURSE STEAK HOUSE .... Elegant Atmosphere and BEST STEAK & Desert of the week. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!! Onion Soup ...YUM!

SAN ANGEL .... This used to be my favorite restaurant however, like many other board members have stated I was very disappointed. Service and atmosphere was good but the quality of the food and drinks rated very poor.

LE CELLIER .... First & Only waiter to get overexcited that we were on the dining plan. He wanted to make sure it was fully maximized. (TIPS) DH had steak and lobster which would have been 37.99 just for the entree. The steaks were great however Concourse still has my vote for best steak. My husband did not want an appetizer so the wait brought an extra appetizer for the rest of the party to share (Once Again .... TIPS) Loved the bread sticks and the desserts were very good.

50's PRIME TIME ....Everyone enjoyed their food but it was one of those cases where you go in and expect a certain atmosphere. Our waiter simply did not play the role and our service was somewhat poor. However, I did watch a couple waitressers who certainly hounded it up and were having a great time with the patrons. Try the Mom's Fried Boursin Cheese appetizer. It was delicious as was the fried chicken and pot roast.

WHISPERING CANYON CAFE ... Oh My Gosh! What a hoot! Food was great and the wait staff was everything and more. It's loud, it's noisey and it's fun. This was our favorite place of all and will be a family tradition when we visit Disney again. Would you believe it was the first place that we were not rushed to eat and leave. They actually refilled our beverages without us asking and refilled them when they brought desert. I know that should be a common practice, but it just didn't happen at any of the other restaurants. We enjoyed our experience here more than the HDDR. I have never laughed so hard at a restaurant.

CINDERELLA'S ROYAL TABLE.... This meal was just so-so in our book. I would probably not dine here again for diner. The waiter was nice but not very tentative. I asked for tea ... never got it. I asked for Au Jus... never got it. The food was alright just a little overboard for our own personal liking. Our prime rib tasted more like stew beef. Loved the white chocolate cinderella slipper. DD and DS both left hungry as they just did not like the food.

CRYSTAL PALACE .... Great food and atmosphere. This was our only character breakfast/meal and it was very enjoyable. The characters interacted with everyone and there was a wide variety of foods.

COUNTER SERVICE .... We ate at Peco Bill's twice (very good and loved the fix'n bar), Pizza place at MGM and the Tusker House at AK for breakfast (highly recommended). Also, if you are staying at POP Century be sure to try the flat bread sandwiches! We always shared counter service breakfast at POP Century. You could get a breakfast platter and a huge danish of choice on the side. The meals at POP were great.

 

[natalielongstaff]

thanks for your tips....we are staying at pop next month and have adrs for concourse and le cellier

 

[angelkisses]

Natalie

You will love the POP. I just wrote a review on it as well. The kids liked it as much as the theme parks. I see by your picture you have small children be sure to order them the Moose Desert at Le Cellier, they will love it. Also, if you have time try to get in Whispering Canyon, it's a kid friendly place.

 

[DisNorsworthys]

Thanks for the post. We're leaving for Pop in 31 days and will be doing the HDDR, Cinderella's Royal Table, 50's Prime Time, Le Cellier, and Whispering Canyon as well. Cann't wait.

9/03 - CSR
9/05 - POP

 

[kaytieeldr]

Which steak or steaks did you have at Concourse? Just trying to plan my own meals in advance - and thanks!

 

[Aimeedyan]

I'm glad you had some great experiences!

 

[angelkisses]

I had the 7 oz. Filet Mignon topped with gorgonzola butter and a side of garlic parmesan mashed potatoes. It was delicious. I like my steaks cooked Medium Well and so often its hard to get that cut of steak cooked to my liking and still be tender. This steak would melt in your mouth and a butter knife was all you needed for cutting. It was very lean and tender. Hummm....wish I had one now! For desert I had the Kahlua Cappuccino Cheesecake which was totally sinful. The Onion Soup appetizer was also delicious. The CONCOURSE is now on my "Must Do" list for future trips.

 

[highlander447]

thanks for the review

 

[leanne11]

what did they do that was so entertaining, can't get kids to get too excited because they have no characters...but i told them it would be fun.. any examples?

 

[pennyplanner]

Your enthusiasm is contagious! I was reading and getting excited about our upcoming trip in November. While our dining is not free, it will be a cost saver. We do one TS a day when vacationing at WDW, so yes, it will be a considerable savings over what we would normally spend.

Good to hear the good, the bad and the mediocre!

Thanks,
penny

 

[disneyjunkie]

How many credits are need to Concourse Steak House, one or two?

My son used the plan last April and loved it.

We were going to use it again this October but I had to cancel our trip.

Now I'm rebooking everything for Easter. We'll to wait longer to get there, but we get to stay for 11 days instead of 6.

Since we enjoyed the dining plan so much during our last trip, I can't imagine going back without it.

I really want to try several new places this time around. Concourse Steak House, San Angel Inn and Le Cellier are high on my must do list.

 

[njdizneygal]

Thanks for the reviews!!!! We leave in three days and have some of the same restaurants booked. I was debating about CRT for dinner and now I may go ahead and cancel our reservation for that and try Spoodles or Wolfgang Puck Cafe.

At the Concourse, were you able to order a side of mushrooms or onion rings as part of the dining plan?????

Dizneygal

 

[scanmom]

Tell us more about the concourse steakhouse! Me an my mom are considering it, but we only have 4 TS's, and we are already doing Le Cellier. Is is better than LeCellier?

 

[angelkisses]

what did they do that was so entertaining, can't get kids to get too excited because they have no characters...but i told them it would be fun.. any examples?

For the children there was the stick horse races. I think this is done every hour. Each of the children go to the front and are given a stick horse to race around the dining room while everyone else twirls their cloth napkins above their heads and cheers the kids on.

One child was missing a red crayon. The waiter shouted out for everyone in the dining room who had a red crayon to please bring it to that table.

Same with catsup, when my daughter asked for catsup we ended up with about 30 bottles on our table! When the next person in the dining room wanted catsup the waiter shouted out very loudly catsup please. The table who currently has the catsup takes the catsup to the new table with help from the wait staff.

The wait staff plays lots of jokes for example if you request refills on your drink they will bring out a giant size glass. We asked for straws and about 20 were thrown out all over our table. We saw this with another table that asked for napkins. My son asked where the restrooms were and the waitress informed him that we were in the wilderness! Ask for directions and advice on Universal and you will be slandered! A good sense of humor is required for this fun restaurant. Don't expect a quite sit down dinner.

 

[angelkisses]

How many credits are need to Concourse Steak House, one or two?

One table service is all thats required for the Concourse Steak House.

 

[angelkisses]

At the Concourse, were you able to order a side of mushrooms or onion rings as part of the dining plan?????

Unfortunatly, I can not answer this question. We did not request any side item. The staff did seem to be very accomodating.

 

[angelkisses]

Tell us more about the concourse steakhouse! Me an my mom are considering it, but we only have 4 TS's, and we are already doing Le Cellier. Is is better than LeCellier?

This is a real tuffy! I think it is certainly a personal preference. I liked the atmosphere at Le Cellier better than the Concourse. The food was excellent at both locations. The Cellier was a better value if you are trying to get the most bang $ for $ out of your dining plan. I personally enjoyed my steak and desert better at the Concourse, but the bread wins hands down at Le Cellier. I ordered the Filet Mignon at both places. At the Concourse it was cooked to perfection and more tender and lean than what I received at Le Cellier. I did not care much for the sauce that was poured over the steak at Le Cellier and would probably request it on the side next time. Either one is a great choice.

 

[kitty2kidz]

Thank You for the reviews!!! We leave in 34 days (but who's counting??) for free dining, and we have booked alot of the places that you reviewed---WCC-Le cellier-- Crystal Palace breakfast--and CRT for dinner!! I have been teetering on changing from CRT to Concourse --is there anything specific you didn't like at CRT--we have this booked for our 1st day at WDW, I thought the girls would enjoy the castle and I really didn't want to leave the park (although I know CR is easy to get to) Also how long did Crystal Palace breakfast take?? We have an 805 PS before MK opens on our last day --I would prefer to be done by park opening @ 9am--Do you think this is possible??

 

[StephMK]

Thanks for the reviews!! We will be at WCC, CP & Concourse in a few weeks. I cancelled our seats at San Angel so thanks for another confirmation that the food just doesn't sound worth it.

 

[angelkisses]

Thank You for the reviews!!! We leave in 34 days (but who's counting??) for free dining, and we have booked alot of the places that you reviewed---WCC-Le cellier-- Crystal Palace breakfast--and CRT for dinner!! I have been teetering on changing from CRT to Concourse --is there anything specific you didn't like at CRT--we have this booked for our 1st day at WDW, I thought the girls would enjoy the castle and I really didn't want to leave the park (although I know CR is easy to get to) Also how long did Crystal Palace breakfast take?? We have an 805 PS before MK opens on our last day --I would prefer to be done by park opening @ 9am--Do you think this is possible??

Our reservations were at 805 also and we finished around 900am. We were one of the first tables seated and the characters started appearing just as soon as we were seated so there was no waiting around.

Perhaps I was too harsh on CRT. I'm sure your girls will enjoy it. Even though we were dining in the evening Cinderella was there to greet everyone in the lobby. There is something magical about the castle. My daughter loved the mashed potatoes. They were spiced up a bit too much for me. They also had carrots, onions, etc.. mixed in with the potatoes. The prime rib I found to be a bit on the dry side and it tasted more like stew beef. At home we normally have prime rib served with au jus for dipping and although I asked for some it was never served. My dh and ds also ordered the prime rib so I really can't comment much on the other items. My daughter who is 12 did not care for anything on the adult menu and so we ordered chicken nuggets off the children's menu for her and they were just your average chicken nuggets. I have heard many compliments on CRT and it could be we were just there on an off night. Your girls will enjoy the atmosphere more at CRT than at the concourse.