Free Dining Sept 18-25th! COMPLETE, take a Peek!! Pics/Editorials free also!

[HonnyDipp]

Everything looks good! I can't wait to see more!

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

What awful table luck! I'm cracking up over here about the fact that your DS is smiling, yet trying not to smile and trying to act cool and not look like he's pretty delighted to have pretty girls on his arm.

I would LOVE a character free room at some character breakfasts as sometimes I just want breakfast. KWIM?

Yep, that's him, "I'm so cool". The hat was a a constant and after a while I let him keep it on, at least he would smile.

Everything looks good! I can't wait to see more!

Working on Tutto Italia right now!

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

We all waddled away from our breakfast in Norway and headed back to do the rides in Epcot. I will be doing a TR later.

**Just a drink side note here** I took the kids to the "Cool Club" at Epcot. After getting over the fact that they gave pop for free, (yep tightwad teenagers felt this was the best deal so far), we set up a testing line for the family. MY only regret was that DD had the camera and I couldn't give away the "hidden reason" by asking for it. My family enjoyed the variety but I wouldn't let them try Beverly. I poured 4 glasses and said we should try this one all at the same time. DH, DD, and I all needed something, anything, to drink after it. DS LOVED it, can you believe it? No funny face, nothing. He poured himself another glass and off we went. Who would have guessed? ** Side note over.

Tutto Italia​

We had ADR's for 6pm for 5. My best friend was suppose to meet us for dinner but she was under the weather. We arrived about 20 minutes early so I could notify them of the change and we were immediately seated. The table was not horrible but it wasn't great. We were seated in the first room and our table was immediately across from the entrance into the other room. This was a high, and I mean high traffic area. Not the greatest "romantic" seats, but just perfect for DD who followed the waiters from room, to room, to room, to room. Thus, I must insist that chastity belts be sold prior to our next visit here. This is where the "failure" began. DD needed to use the ladies room and was gone for quite some time. Enough time that I was a bit worried and the waiter was a bit impatient. Well I guess it came down to a "blonde" moment on my daughters part. The rooms were labeled, des dames and des damas (don't quote me on the spelliing, I wasn't there) and she couldn't figure out which room to use. I would assume the little man/woman pics were on them, but she waited til someone left one of the rooms, and I guess it wasn't a popular time to have to use the facitlites! Needless to say, we started off on the wrong foot. Onto the review.

Let's set the ambience:

Outside the restaurant.

Inside the restaurant.

Our waiter was a semi-pleasant young man who immediately asked us if we were on the dining plan, told us what was included, and definetely mentioned that the tip was not. He took our drink orders which included ice tea and soda's and water. I think he was a bit put off that we did not order any alcoholic drinks, as he mentioned them more than once. While he was gone another busboy brought over our bread, poured olive oil, and placed pickled veggies by DH (okay this was funny to me but not anyone else).

The breads were wonderful but scarce. After explaining to DD, DS, and yes DH, how to dip them into the olive oil, they really enjoyed them. Not two minutes later the waiter was back asking for our entree orders. He didn't even ask if we wanted an appetizer. I asked him for water and a few minutes since we hadn't even picked up the menu's yet. He was back in a flash. DH and DD ordered the Lasagna al Forno and DS and I ordered the Sacchetti. Now not 2 minutes and I AM NOT EXAGGERATING, our food was delivered by another busboy. The food was not hot, nor was it cold. It was a bit over warm. Here's the pictures.

DH enjoyed the lasagna but stated mine was better (he really loves me) and DS and I really enjoyed the pasta pillows. DS so much that I gave DS 1/2 of mine because the size was very small. The pasta pillows were so light and the cheese was just perfect. The sauce that they laid in was very good. The only downsize was there was around 8-9 SMALL pasta pillows on the plate.
DH and DD also enjoyed the bite we shared.

The lasagna was a very good size. Neither DS or I like the bite of lasagna we tried. I thought the meat was fake tasting. It was about this time that we noticed that there is a waiter who offers extra cheese grated onto plates of all the other diners. We were not offered this.

Okay onto the chastity belt. I truly believe that DD15 could have been eating shoe leather and would have given the meal a 20 out of 10. Why do you ask this, because of this.....

Daniela.... outside the window accross from her.

Now DD is a slow eater, but this meal was extra slow. Our waiter hovered and took our plates immediately after we set our forks down, and he must have walked by DD at least 20 times. Each time, she would take a bird size bite and slowly move it to her mouth and say hmm... Now I am not sure if that hmmm was for Daniela or for the lasagna . She finally allowed the 50th. busboy who walked by to take her plate, and we ordered dessert. Honestly we were all still very hungry and we definetely were looking forward to dessert.

DH and DS ordered these

(can't find the name on the menu, sorry) and both really enjoyed them. The menu stated that the hot fudge sauce was hot chocolate and DS thought we was getting a cup of hot chocolate, so he was a bit bummed. DH ordered a cup of coffee which he was told he would have to pay for... Okay, no problem, but the coffee cup looked like it came from DD's tea set from when she was 5. Live and learn.

DD ordered the Sorbetti (lemon) and she really loved it - sorry no pic here but you can see it behind my dessert. I tried it. It was very tart and refreshing. I ordered the Copetta Sotto Bosco

and I thought it was wonderful. I enjoyed the amaretto bisquit that came with it. Noone wanted to try it, so for the first time on the trip it was all MINE!

Lastly, I did not tell anyone that we were celebrating DD and DS's bday's but the waiters brought them a cake and sang. It was very delicous and went very well with the lemon sorbetti...

Happy Birthday in Italian!

The extra "hot chocolate" in the background!

Will we return, definetely but with conditions! Lastly, I left a very generous tip even though I felt a bit like they treated us like second class citizens at times.

 

[CanadianPaco]

Your report is a fun read! thanks!

 

[wdw1972]

Loving your report! You seem like a fun family

 

[TigerKat]

I can just picture your DD gazing at Daniela.......too funny!

 

[pigletto]

I am really enjoying your report!
I could have written most of the same things about our September free dining experience (note I said "could" have.. but I have been too lazy to do a report yet ).

I think we failed free dining too. We learned very quickly that if we ordered an appetizer out of pocket we wouldn't even put a dent in our dinner. And even when we didn't I can't think of one time that we finished a TS meal. And dd and I can eat. I think the portion sizes plus the heat were just too much for us.

And I could not agree more about the Copetta Sotto Bosco! That was absolutely heavenly and I ate every single bite even if I didn't eat half my dinner.

Really looking forward to reading more of your report!

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Your report is a fun read! thanks!

Thanks for the encouragement

Loving your report! You seem like a fun family

Thanks, I love my family and since stress seems to be my middle name, it's great to be silly at Disney

I can just picture your DD gazing at Daniela.......too funny!

His pic is her favorite souvenier even though she didn't even say one word to the boy!

I am really enjoying your report!
I could have written most of the same things about our September free dining experience (note I said "could" have.. but I have been too lazy to do a report yet ).

I think we failed free dining too. We learned very quickly that if we ordered an appetizer out of pocket we wouldn't even put a dent in our dinner. And even when we didn't I can't think of one time that we finished a TS meal. And dd and I can eat. I think the portion sizes plus the heat were just too much for us.

And I could not agree more about the Copetta Sotto Bosco! That was absolutely heavenly and I ate every single bite even if I didn't eat half my dinner.

Really looking forward to reading more of your report!

Thanks for letting us know we aren't the only ones. On the last day I had over 18 CS's and 11 snacks to use. It was a shame that we couldn't use them properly.

I will be back a bit later to update.... Thanks for being patient!

 

[MVA]

enjoying your reports - post more!

 

[jeminni]

My DD is a bit older than yours,21, but she might be looking at those waiters the same way when we go there in December.

 

[TPCShauna]

I've always been partial to the CMs in Morocco. I was 14 on my first trip and I must have spent half of my Epcot day there. Yum!

DH knows it's my favorite pavilion but he doesn't know why!

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

enjoying your reports - post more!

Thanks, got DH off to work and the kids to school. I am updating now.

My DD is a bit older than yours,21, but she might be looking at those waiters the same way when we go there in December.

Good Luck!!

I've always been partial to the CMs in Morocco. I was 14 on my first trip and I must have spent half of my Epcot day there. Yum!

DH knows it's my favorite pavilion but he doesn't know why!

So Morrocco it is next time, but I may keep DD at home... Probably not though!!

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

When I left off DD was gazing into the eyes of Italian waiters and later dreamt of them throughout the night.

Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House​

We had a 10:30 ADR for Tusker House. Enough time to get a quick snack when we woke, ride each of our favorite rides, stop for this ADR, finish Animal Kingdom, then Hoop-De-Doo the evening!!

We arrive at Tusker House around 10:20am and I got in line to check in. I was amazed at the amount of people waiting for tables and I thought we were in for the long haul. Now I was being patient waiting in line. I think I must have missed the "correct way to sign in for your ADR" class because at least 4 families just cut right in front of me and signed in. I know I am short but come on people, use your Disney manners. I actually signed in after 10:30am but was given a buzzer. I am hopeful that the woman behind the counter noticed this. I am actually quite sure, since she was super nice and actually bantered back and forth with DH... We sat down and waited. Here is an ambience pic for you:

A friend amongst strangers....

Our wait was minimal. DISCLAIMER: the following paragraph is not up for debate, is not intended to offend anyone, should not be a source of flames, and will not include any sly or witty humor.

Our name was called and we were directed to an older gentleman who clearly had many disabilities. One of those disablilities was an inability to pronounciate his words or speak slowly. No one in our party was able to understand him. We tried. We really did. We pretty much just followed him from point A to a photographer who took our pic, to point B, and then too....

Okay end paragraph. Start new one with wit and humor and the God Honest Truth, to point B, and then too... The biggest FAILURE of a table that any restaurant could even think of offering to paying guests. We were in a little room off the main dining area, with no windows. We were in the farthest corner possible with no room to move. It was absolutely HORRIBLE. My children put me up against the wall since I would be taking pictures. Oh, by the way, Hi, my name is Diane and I am claustrophopic ! The kids found it hilarious to specifically point out my failure once again, and within a few minutes the waitress came. Good thing because we had no clue what we were suppose to do. She brought us the necture of the Gods (yes we all loved the juice) and coffee.

The waitress told us to go get a plate and the characters would make their way through. But even before she could get to the next table I needed more juice and more coffee. What, What did you say?? You see my ears had closed up and I couldn't hear a thing and my arms and legs were shaking because of the suffocation of my precious air! It was not a pretty start to what was DH's only choice of meals. He loves Donald Duck. Before getting to our meals, Mickey and Daisy came to see us, here is my rendition of "Pictures from the Wall!"

Oh and here is the only picture that may even have a glimpse of food as I was unable to concentrate enough to get any pictures.

I thought about stealing other poster's pics but couldn't do it. So as a foodie photographer, this day I failed.

Food Reviews:

DS: 6 Mickey waffles, ham, bacon, eggs, and a cinnamon roll. No special stuff but he gives it a 9 out of 10. Now I need to tell you also that after the meal while in the park DS said he had a stomach ache but it is my conclusion as the mother of him that it was a YETI ache, and definetely not associated with the food in any shape, form, or matter.

DD: Give me an F, R, I, T, T, A, T, A, with ham and cheese, some sweet treats, and sausage. Loved it, 10 out of a 10, food was really an 8, but Mom against the wall brought it up to 10.

DH: The Meal of Manhood, Frittata's all shapes and forms, ham, sausage, bacon, bisquits, and potatoes. Go back for sides of sweets, fruit and more Mickey waffles hidden in. Definetely a 9 out of 10 but will be the knight in shining armour next time and get DW a better table.

ME: Loved the frittata, ham; sausage; and bacon - good, sausage bisquits - can't compare to grandma's, Mealie Pap and Sweet potatoes - absent, gone, not there??, fruits/sweets/yogurts/etc.. all very good. Chocolate croissant - dry. The dissapointment of all dissappointments - Warm Banana-Cinnamon Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce... Goo with the same topping as pillsbury rolls.

So the meals over, and we see a man with a hat. Definetely a CM but not the same as the servers (management if you ask me). SO he comes over and asks if we have seen all the characters.. And I politely said NOOOO (okay you pick the degree of politeness ). No problem, sorry about that, your server will bring you to them. Okay over comes server, we pay the bill, tip more than we should have, and ask if we can go see the other characters. And with 3 heads she looks at me and says, "what are you talking about, we don't do that?". So off to look for the man in the hat (oh yeah, Hi Curious George) and he takes us over to the main room. Words of wisdom, when making ADR's for this restaurant insist on the main dining room, you will not regret it...

DH with his favorite Donald Duck:

See windows, room, and ambience all in the same place.. PS see all the people at the tables?

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Hoop De Doo Review​

**sidebar - when someone on the disboards says it takes at over an hour, trust them, not the concierge**

Running up the hill with tickets in my hand, I paused only shortly to see all the wonderful sights around me... Yeah right, I was running while screaming at DH and DS who conveniently lost track of time in the game room, so we were oh so close to being late!! Just in time we checked in with the pretty lady with the red and white checked dress, took the worse pictures possible, and the dinner bells was ringing....

Enter the "failure" family, table for 4, category 3... heres a little diagram...

Picture 4 sets of tables for 6, no swivel needed, straight view of the stage!​

x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

STAGE​

x

Okay we are sitting in the red area, upstairs, and food is distributed first by the stage where the lime green X is....

So now you have the floor plan, our chairs swivel so we can turn around and see the show. Our waiter comes over and takes our drink order. DH orders a beer, first and only one of the trip... Now the show starts and we struggle a bit to see, but it is great. I quoted Larry Gelbart in my title and he is also known for saying "One doesn't have a sense of humor, it has you". Slapstick humor belongs in the hearts of everyone. To just sit in laugh is far worth the price, and food was not too bad to boot...

First drinks and cornbread, salad, and drinks in Mason Jars...

Then came the ribs and chicken...

With sides of beans and mashed potatoes...

Okay I know, Where are the mashed pototoes ? In the container in front of DD with a deathgrip. Beware, you failures, they are all mine... WE ordered seconds on those, the beans, and the ribs. Since I am the Mom, I deboned the ribs for DS which didn't leave me much time to each my own dinner. But it was all very good. We even did a bit of slap-stick humor on DS about the beans ! We all enjoyed the show very much. Enough to forget the stress of the day. It was a very cherished memory for DH and I to watch both kids laughing so much. I hate all the stress they have in their lives. So sad, they are so young. Kids need to be kids...

Now my only real complaint. Since we were the last table served, we did not have time to eat even a bite of the dessert. It was placed on the table and the show ended at the same time. I wish I had the wisdom to ask for it to go. I would have gotten a cup of coffee and enjoyed it outside while waiting for the boat. I tipped above and beyond the amount included and we will go back as many times as we can. I love to see my family laugh, and not be in seperate rooms in the house.

 

[Disneylove1228]

Hi!

I just got done checking out your TR and all your meals!!

i must say, if I were you, I'd be rather ticked about the treatment you received and I would have spoken up about it!! About being in a table in the corner, and all the rude server comments... and the food that was "warm" in Italy! Blah ! I'm glad you and your Dfamily had fun, though I just wish you had gotten better treatment... not good for Disney.

 

[jeminni]

If you and your family enjoyed being with each other and had fun there's no way you failed free dining.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Hi!

I just got done checking out your TR and all your meals!!

i must say, if I were you, I'd be rather ticked about the treatment you received and I would have spoken up about it!! About being in a table in the corner, and all the rude server comments... and the food that was "warm" in Italy! Blah ! I'm glad you and your Dfamily had fun, though I just wish you had gotten better treatment... not good for Disney.

If I had paid for the dining plan, I definetely would have said something. Somewhere along the way it just became funny to us. I am grateful that we were able to be in Disney. It was something that really shouldn't have happened. It was a serious of weird occurances that allowed us to be there. If I didn't laugh, I would have ruined the vacation for all of us. This was my last trip with my babies.. Okay 13 and almost 16 aren't babies, but I needed to think of it that way. I guess someone always has to get that bad table each day, we just happened to be that family over and over again. I didn't want to be the complainer, plus I had bigger fish to fry with this vacation...

If you and your family enjoyed being with each other and had fun there's no way you failed free dining.

Fail was just the kids way of keeping me in check. I tend to over-react quickly. While this works for me, and I truly believe that you should be treated with respect and dignity at all times, and that everyone should get the same treatment... The real world does not always cooperate. DD is embarrassed when I confront others... Boy do I have a lot to teach her!!

Thanks for reading, and just to make sure I don't sound too cruel, the failure was a coping mechanism we used as our family to have the best vacation we could. I LOVE Disney dining. Good service or bad. I love the food. We hardly ever eat out, so this was SOOO much a treat. Not all I stated was "horrible", it just wasn't all roses like most of the people who write their reports. This is my honesty and dry wit. Hope you all continue to read, I have a few more TS's to review and I also have some great comments to end with. Thanks for hanging in there, and don't feel sorry for us, WE GOT TO GO TO DISNEY!!

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Or otherwise translated as: "Patience!" "Rome was not built in a day." "Cool your jets." This saying may be heard around an impatient person....

This was ME!! Until I sat down, then I mellowed. The restaurant was wonderful. We had booked a photopass session at the Poly at 4:30pm and our dinner reservations were for 5:20pm. No problem, except it was pouring out since mid-afternoon and the busses were running real late and that made me real late.... So we get to Kona at 5:15pm, and they put our reservation on hold, Photopass took us an hour late, and we had a great time... Okay off to Kona Cafe:

Lets set the ambience: Well I forgot to take pictures of the restaurant, but it is cute, small, and very comfy. Upscale meets the dinner table. We were seated near the dessert offerings (cruel yes, but if you ask me, definetely not a failure) and right near the entrance to the kitchen. But if I didn't pay real close attention I would not have guessed we were that close...

Our waiter was very nice. He brought us the menu's and told us to take our time. This was a first and greatly needed. The restaurant was semi-loud, but I have two teenagers, so it was only a very dull roar to me. We were able to talk and it was nice. The waiter explained that the kids could get whatever they wanted for a drink even though we were on the dining plan so.....

DD had a virgin Strawberry Daiquiri:

DS had a smoothie: papaya, strawberry, banana:

I had unsweetened tea and DH had coke. DD made food art with the lemons provided for my tea...

Before dropping off the drinks our waiter brought us the wonderful bread and macadamia nut butter that everyone talks about. No pictures here, because we devoured it, and the second, and third loaf....

For our dinner we all ordered the same thing, Teriyaki-style New York Strip - sirloin strip grilled with pineapple teriyaki glaze served with mashed Yukon gold potatoes and stir-fried broccolini, but we had one done well, one medium-well, and 2 medium and they were all cooked correctly...

2DIE4... DS begged us for our broccolini Yep a teenage boy begging for veggies. DH, ate all of his steak and the rest of all of ours. The potatoes were wonderful, but after a while were a bit peppery so no one actually finished them. It may have something to do with the 3 loafs of bread before dinner and the extra one that DD and I asked for during dinner .

Well dessert time came and DS was full and so was I. DD ordered for her and DS and DH shared his dessert with me...

DD - Kona Kone

DH - No Sugar Added Apple Stack

Both desserts were wonderful. I must admit even though I thought I wasn't hungry, the apple stack was one of my favorite desserts of the whole trip. It went well with the coffee the waiter brought us. DS ordered the Kilauea Torte to go, and I ordered the White Chocolate Cheesecake to go. No problems at all and they were packaged very nicely. Both were gone by the next morning. All in all, our favorite meal. I would recommend going refreshed and not hurried. While the restaurant/waiter did his best to slow our lives down a bit, we should have done it ourselves. The waiter received a tip around 30% after tax, and deserved every penny of it. A 10 our of 10 by everyone, and that's knowing it was still pouring outside when we left....

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

This was our last table service of this trip. We were going to MNSSHP this evening and I wanted a nice meal before the long evening. We all decided an ADR at 4pm would be great in case we decided to do another park in the AM... As it worked out, we spent the whole day at the Magic Kingdom. We went and got our wristbands for the evening and went right over to The Plaza to check in. We were seated at a wonderful table in the middle of the restaurant with a view that I found wonderful. Everyone else was just really hungry so I am not sure if they even looked out the window..

So I will set the ambience for you:

Even though my picture is a bit dark, the restaurant was not. It was nice, very cheery, and sunshine was beaming in all the windows.

Our waitress was Dot, friendly - well Not, her service - Definetely On Spot!! I know that a lot of people say the service is slow and unfriendly. I get the unfriendly vibe everyone talks about, but our drink to food ratio was perfect and the food that was suppose to be hot was hot, and cold was cold. Drinks magically appeared and so did refills.

DD - Grilled Chicken Sandwich with fries and american cheese instead of swiss. Very good. She ate almost all of it, and what she didn't eat was shared with her brother. Fries were hot and fresh and they had ranch dressing which was a definate plus in her book.

DS - Plaza Club - minus the multi-grain bread adding sourdough toasted, and he added american cheese also. I was a bit surprised that I was charged for the addition of cheese, but he really enjoyed the sandwich. He also threw me for a loop ordering the german potato salad, but did not eat it when it was totally different than what I explained it to be. I didn't know people ate german potato salad cold , ours is always warm/hot?? DH and I gave DS our fries and had the potato salad for ourselves...

DH/Me - Cheese Steak Sandwich w/fries. Very good, we shared. We were a bit jealous though as another diner ordered this at the table next to us and her filling was at least (probably more) twice the amount that we got. And we were sharing. Needless to say, we both left hungry but it was our own fault.

We opted out of desserts while there, but did have many treats throughout the evening.. Dolewhip Floats, funnel cakes, and candy to boot!!

9 out of 10 for everyone in our group. I would definetely come back, and yes it is definetely an OOP experience....

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Okay my final thoughts:

I was able to keep down and stomach all my food while in Disney. The amount of food on the free dining plan was excessive though. If I had eaten everything I was given, I would have been a goner for sure...

DS had problems twice with his gallbladder... I really don't think it was the restaurant, just the choice. After many fried foods, he does need a good dinner to balance out his diet.

DD who is very picky at home, left her comfort zone. I can't say that she was totally with the changes, she did enjoy some. Best thing that happened was she now enjoys chinese food, so no extra run to Wendy's for me on take-out night!

DH enjoyed his food. I know deep in my heart he could have eaten more, but he still shared with me.

Even though we planned the trip, I don't think I used the credits to my best abilities My problem was even though I knew about the great things to try, I forgot about them when we got down to Disney. I think having my laptop with me next time will be a must, Disboards #1 in favorites. It's just too much to remember, and I really don't do well with lists.

We never had a bad meal but did experience food/table/service envy. I know that's the one place it's not good to be green. I need a correct way to express my feelings to better our service. How can anyone know whats going on if you don't say anything. Lesson well learned.

Never try to use 11 CS credits in 10 minutes before heading on ME to go to the airport....

If you don't have a Disney Visa, really don't want one, but still apply because you need the carry on for the 25#'s of candy your kids got at MNSSHP, I will never judge you !

Maybe, just maybe, one trip of mostly CS only with no planned meals should be on my to do list.....

Yes, you can keep a 13yo boy happy on the dining plan, just be prepared to give up a few of your credits (snack and CS).

Free dining, really isn't free dining.... But it does give you one heck of an excuse to go to Disney! Those are my thoughts!