Grand Gatherings & more! 1 year of Disney Dining! Illuminations Grand Gathering 5/26

[ariel2007]

Let me say this...Sci Fi we only like for lunch. I do not like the dinner menu at all. I had a bad experience at 50's last time but we are giving it a second chance in August. I loved the theme of the place....it's tight in there but it's worth one more shot.

Yes it looks great and makes it easy to see what reports and things you have without having to search around. And yes I plan to do a dining report, although I will probably put all the details in my normal TR too.

Last time we went to Sci Fi I think it was for dinner. I had the BBQ chicken sandwich which only seems to be on the dinner menu which is a shame as I really enjoyed it and part of the reason we wanted to go back. The burger looks good though so I might try that. We probably will try 50's one day, but TBH the menu doesn't really appeal to either of us much. And I think it would be one that would be better to do with Mum, Dad and Sophie as they would like the atmosphere and setting.

 

[nu2wdisneyw]

I am here!! I loved your food report. I am trying to decide whether to stay onsite or off. The only way I will stay onsite is for the free DDP. You report is really tempting me to do the DDP. I think that the DxDP would be WAAYY too much for us, and it will tame too much time away from the parks for the kids. Being that it is our first visit I am not sure we want to spend half the day eating!! I also see that they have the Quick service dining as an option this year as well. Thanks for the inspiration and the great reviews.

 

[nu2wdisneyw]

We had Breakfast here the same morning as the tea party...at Breakfast you get to meet Alice, the Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins, Pooh Bear, and Tigger. If you want to see Pooh and Tigger AVOID CRYSTAL PALACE and go here! The food is so much better and the place is cleaner!!!

Mary Poppins sat down with baby DS and talked him into eating his food. Tigger was so playful...maybe too hyper. He was all over the place. Pooh was so sweet and kept coming back over and over. Alice took time to play with DD and she really enjoyed this. The Mad Hatter was cool too but we had to wait on him. He went MIA all of a sudden and it took him forever to come back.

They have the made to order Omelet Bar here. DH loves this! There's plenty of food to choose from...our server was very good too. Never did a drink go more than half empty! Unfortunately we did not take a single pic of the food bar. I do have a few with the characters though...

Oh here is one pic of the food...sort of. It's the baby's plate.

Lot's more pics in my big trip report!!!

Next up....dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern on MNSSHP night! (The characters are dressed up!!!)

This looks too fun!

 

[Poohbear5]

Thanks for the reviews.
You have a beautiful family!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Yes it looks great and makes it easy to see what reports and things you have without having to search around. And yes I plan to do a dining report, although I will probably put all the details in my normal TR too. I did that too. Some peple just want to see the food. I know...been there felt like that.

Last time we went to Sci Fi I think it was for dinner. I had the BBQ chicken sandwich which only seems to be on the dinner menu which is a shame as I really enjoyed it and part of the reason we wanted to go back. The burger looks good though so I might try that. BBQ sounds good! We probably will try 50's one day, but TBH the menu doesn't really appeal to either of us much. And I think it would be one that would be better to do with Mum, Dad and Sophie as they would like the atmosphere and setting.

When is everyone going back together?

I am here!! I loved your food report. I am trying to decide whether to stay onsite or off. The only way I will stay onsite is for the free DDP. You report is really tempting me to do the DDP. I think that the DxDP would be WAAYY too much for us, and it will tame too much time away from the parks for the kids. Being that it is our first visit I am not sure we want to spend half the day eating!! I also see that they have the Quick service dining as an option this year as well. Thanks for the inspiration and the great reviews.

Well, you get 3 credits per day but some things take 2. Dinner shows for one. I see that you have kids. The backyard BBQ is great for kids. The Luau was nice too but my kids fell asleep. We're trying the HDDMR in August. Your signature dining and Cinderella's Royal Table take 2 credits each as well. Also, if you stay at a value you can use two credits to get pizza! (Deluxe includes one pizza, breadsticks, 2 desserts, and a 2 liter!) If you go during free dining and upgrade it's less than basic dining would cost! That's what we do!

1900 Park Fare is a lot of fun!

Thanks for the reviews.
You have a beautiful family!

Thank you!

 

[ariel2007]

When is everyone going back together?

I'm really not sure. We have some plans to go to a few other places like Canada skiing for Christmas in 2010, and Kenya for Sophie's 16th in 4 years so for now we are planning to save for those.

 

[lisalonglash]

What a wonderful report - I'm really looking forward to reading more!

 

[skellingtonfreak]

I am in! Sorry so late! Looking forward to the next set!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

The December dining will be out of order. Since I just did a write up in my trip report for Teppan Edo I just copied it over to here. Makes things easier. Can't do this every single time but it worked out with Teppan Edo. Enjoy...

This past Summer we tried a new place (to us) called Teppan Edo...

It was very good! I had a filet and it was so tender and delicious! You could cut it apart with your fork! We have a lot of the Hibachi places here and they're great too but we all know a coca cola in the 20oz bottle just tastes better in Disney! (So does Hibachi...) We fell in love with the place and the people. If you guys follow Punkins report you might remember reading about the "tank yous"....they do this constantly...they're so poilite and gracious to everyone. That's what I like about it. It's very authentic. Here your chef could be a pretty long haired blonde surfer boy...food tastes great and he looks hot but you know what I'm sayin'...

Well, we had to go back and take my parents this time. We did basic free dining so we didn't get the tempura. I ordered the filet again. I don't remember what everyone else ordered but you can see it in the minute when I show you the food cooking...

This is the waiting area...you look into Tokyo Dining (they are right next door to one another). Our longest wait has been about 15 minutes. It does feel longer because you can hear and smell this food being cooked!

The kids ordered the Tempura combo so their food came out pretty fast in these "bullet trains". Ha. Forget that. MONORAIL dagnabbit! I don't care what the perfectionists say. Here are the kids eating out of their monorail dishes...

The baby did not care for the loud noise...he put his hands over his ears. LOL

Meanwhile we had a fun entertaining younger fella...he did a superb job!

We all got our yummy food and everyone loved it. At Teppan Edo you don't just have one server. There's a main server then he has helpers that refill drinks, get extra plates, etc. Well our server was Japanese...of course, and he could barely speak English. It was time to order dessert and he and Ashley had a major language barrier. I understood what was being said but I wanted her to try and figure it out. She looks over at me and says, "Can you just order me some damn ice cream!!!!!???" I about lost it. I finally ordered for her and my parents...then when he left we were all ! I had tears rolling down my face. Not at the server...he was wonderful...but at my sister and dad.

The dessert selection is not very good here. You can choose from green tea pudding, chocolate cake, or ice cream.

I've only had the chocolate cake. I give it a 5 out of 10 but the other food...10+ every single time! We used to go to Le Cellier for steak...TE is so much better! When I started planning our meals for August I let the kids write down their top three places to eat. It wasn't Chef Mickey's like it used to be, it was Teppan Edo. Both of them. I see a lot of people on the boards ask if kids would like TE...evidently they do! Just to round out their top three (which was the same amongst both of the older kids...)

1. Teppan Edo
2. Garden Grill
3. Chef Mickey's

This is a really fun place to eat! I've been twice so far and loved it both times. Server/Chef was great both times! Food was superb!Atmosphere...wonderful!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

I'm really not sure. We have some plans to go to a few other places like Canada skiing for Christmas in 2010, and Kenya for Sophie's 16th in 4 years so for now we are planning to save for those.

Sounds like a plan!

What a wonderful report - I'm really looking forward to reading more!

Thanks. You have a cool ticker! Never seen that one before.

I am in! Sorry so late! Looking forward to the next set!

It really just begun... Welcome!

 

[DisneycrazedX6]

Great Reviews and your kids are adorable!!!!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Great Reviews and your kids are adorable!!!!

Thanks!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

In December we went during the free dining promo. It was so late in the game we decided to do the basic dining instead of upgrading to deluxe so the next few posts will include some counter service options as well. After doing the deluxe in September I ended up hungry on this plan.

Caribbean Beach Food Court Pizza

Flame Tree BBQ counter service...

The ribs were pretty good so I was told but the corn muffin was GROSS. The baby threw it at the birds. They didn't complain but none of us ate it. It was so dry and tasteless. My daddy said it was like eating sawdust! LOL

This is what my mom and dad got....

This is what me and Sidney ate...the Pork Sandwich and Half a Chicken

The pork sandwich was great! My daddy makes a killer pulled pork sandwich and this one was pretty close to it. The meat was tender and very lean. It was cooked to perfection. Now the FTB BBQ sauce doesn't hold a candle to the one my daddy makes but it was okay. I'd totally eat here again!

Sidney said the chicken was pretty good too but again....he was disgusted by the corn muffin.

Sidney got the chocolate cake for dessert. Normally he likes the chocolate cake at WDW but said this one was dry and did not taste very good. He ended up throwing it away. It was pretty though.

Noting here interested the kids or my sister so they went over to Pizzafari and ordered Pizza and breadsticks. Must have been good. Everyone cleaned their plates!

 

[angelmav]

Just re-read the whole thread to get ramped up for the new updates! Funny, My 10 yr old twins got to pick the restaurant they wanted to eat at on their b-day, and they both picked Teppan Edo!

 

[eandesmom]

OMG $68!? For a plate!? I bought one off of ebay for $5 plus shipping! I guess I got myself a really good deal. I love Teppan Edo. They have the best food!


Let me say this...Sci Fi we only like for lunch. I do not like the dinner menu at all. I had a bad experience at 50's last time but we are giving it a second chance in August. I loved the theme of the place....it's tight in there but it's worth one more shot.

I'm just starting my own dining review http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2095766 and haven't gotten to 50's PTC and Teppan Edo yet but I wanted to say how sorry I was to read about your experience at PTC. We had amazing service when we were there earlier this week and the food was just incredible. The whole thing was just a blast. Our kids all got the teppan offering at Teppan (instead of the Tempura) so I didn't see those plates until reading your review They are adorable! but $68!!!!!! omg. Teppan was the kids favorite, hands down.

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Just re-read the whole thread to get ramped up for the new updates! Funny, My 10 yr old twins got to pick the restaurant they wanted to eat at on their b-day, and they both picked Teppan Edo!

I think this place is increasing in popularity daily. Two years ago I never heard anything about it. Now it's one of the most talked about places at Disney!

I'm just starting my own dining review http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2095766 and haven't gotten to 50's PTC and Teppan Edo yet but I wanted to say how sorry I was to read about your experience at PTC. We had amazing service when we were there earlier this week and the food was just incredible. The whole thing was just a blast. Our kids all got the teppan offering at Teppan (instead of the Tempura) so I didn't see those plates until reading your review They are adorable! but $68!!!!!! omg. Teppan was the kids favorite, hands down.

I'm giving PT another go in August. I just got a bad server. Things happen like that sometimes. I loved the atmosphere and the food was okay. I don't care for the menu but my hubby loved his food! The kids menus are about the same everywhere...so they didn't have too much to say.

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

O'Hana! We love this place! This was our third time eating here. I'd just been in September but my parents had never been and I really wanted them to try it. (And they loved it too!) I don't know that I'd send my vegan friends to this place but if you love meat....you will really enjoy yourself here! The atmosphere is fabulous and the nightly entertainment can be a lot of fun. It is loud though so if you're not into that kind of thing.....stay away. Two times we have been seated by the window during wishes. It was really nice too! If you time it just right you can do this too. We just got lucky both times by making late ADR's but I read a lot that people plan it this way on purpose. It's a great show. Now for the food....

Your veggies...

Your noodles...

The YUMMY sticky wings!

My favorites....

Okay ya'll....sorry but none of the skewer pics turned out. I had camera issues this time and well...they sucked. But I do have pics of the meat earlier in the thread if ya wanna look back and take a look. I managed to get some of dessert though...

Bread Pudding w/ Ice Cream

The kids ice cream

My daddy is a diabetic and they made him a special dessert...

(My dessert...lol) I could not resist this baby....the Lapu Lapu

The food has been yummy every time we've eaten here. The service varies. I've had the best of the best and some of the worst. This past time we had a great guy though! I'll skip this one in August but I will go back again, eventually.

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Rice crispy Mickey ears covered in chocolate! Took one snack credit!

Butterfinger cheesecake in Norway ~ one snack credit

Strawberry Shortcake from Sunshine Seasons. We got this as our dessert but you can get it with a snack credit too.

 

[Goofy22]

Rice crispy Mickey ears covered in chocolate! Took one snack credit!

Butterfinger cheesecake in Norway ~ one snack credit

Strawberry Shortcake from Sunshine Seasons. We got this as our dessert but you can get it with a snack credit too.

Tammy! These look yummy! I'm going to have to try some of these in August! I'm going to make a section in my notebook just for snacks and where they are located!

 

[joleen76]

Love your DR, thanks for sharing!