It's hot and no sweet tea in sight, 14 days of dining

[Sammie]

While Disney does not do sweet tea the right way, if you get desperate order hot tea and a glass of ice and with the sugar on the table make your own.

Believe me I have done this before. Sometimes us Southerners have to have a sweet tea.

 

[Linda67]

Just caught up with your reviews - thanks so much for posting, your reviews are great

 

[crazyfordisney2000]

Loving your reviews!

Have been thinking about trying Captain's Grille next trip, but now, not so sure. hmmmmmmmmm

 

[Donna]

Just wanted to report that Disney DOES indeed have a great sweet tea! Over at Trails End at Fort Wilderness, it is made fresh daily and is TO DIE FOR sweet tea. i think it's even better than McD's sweet tea. It is worth a trip over, nothing more relaxing than sitting on a rocker on the porch at Trails End with an ice cold glass of sweet tea!

 

[Dani&TJsMom]

Love your reviews. The tacos at San Angels look delish! So glad to read a review on Captains Grille. We're trying it for the first time in August. DH will most likely have the pork chop, I'm sure he won't be disappointed!

 

[flyingcat2003]

Wow I didn't know that Trails End at Fort Wilderness had sweet tea. We are headed back to WDW in October and have ressies for the Hoop Dee Doo one night, we will definitely stop in for some sweet tea

 

[Dizneydaz]

Great reviews and pictures! The tacos do look good but I would definitely order the sauce on the side!

Glad to hear someone found some sweet tea. Now being from Southern California I don't care for it-too sweet for me. But I will buy the $1 Sweet tea from McD's and fill the cup with Diet Coke instead.

That Hot Italian Sandwich looks huge! I think my DM and I could share it. Too bad about the frozen lemonades being gone from Pizzafari. That's what we always got for dessert while on DDP. Guess we'll have to branch out to something else. I think I would like either the Choc. Mousse or the Strawberry Parfait.

 

[danalee]

Loving the reviews

 

[flyingcat2003]

Day 4 June 22

We decided to make this an Epcot day. We entered Epcot through the International Gateway (since we were staying at the Beach Club Villas). The down side to this was that we had to walk from the back of the park to the front of the park because The World Showcase doesn't open until 11am. We headed to Soarin' first to get a fast pass and then to Test Track to beat the crowds. Let me say that it was exceptionally hot and humid this day. I think the heat index was around 114. We did Spaceship Earth, The Universe of Energy and spent some time in Innovations. I want to note that The Sum of All Thrills in Innovations is pretty cool. You get to design your on roller coaster and then ride it (in a virtual capsule). If you haven't tried it, I'd recommend it. The line can get long so get there soon after you get your soarin' fast pass and ride Test Track.

After The World Showcase opened, we headed to Mexico for lunch. Now the Cantina de San Angel (counter service) is closed for refurbishment and not due to reopen until this fall. There is a walk up stand that sells loaded nachos, nachos and guacamole, quesadillas. DH and I ordered the loaded nachos and churros. The only issue is that there is NO seating. We took our plates inside the Mexico pavilion and sat on a bench near the fountain.

DS decided he didn't want Mexican food and decided to hold out for a Bratwurst from the Germany pavilion. Sorry we didn't take any pictures of our lunch. We honestly was just trying to survive in the heat.

The nachos from Mexico get 2 out of 5 sweet teas because of the seating dilemma.

The bratwurst from Germany gets 3 out of 5 sweet teas also.

After lunch, it was time to swim.

Dinner was at Chef's de France. We LOVE this restaurant. Dinner was at 7:40. We arrived around 7:30 and was seated shortly. Our waiter Ramaon was very good.

We all ordered from the Prix Fixe 3 Course Menu ($37.00) Which includes and appetizer, entree and dessert from the ones listed under this section.

We all three had the Soupe a l'oignon gratinee - the classic onion soup topped with Gruyere cheese as an appetizer. Now let me say this is undoubtedly one of the best soups I have ever eaten. It is french onion soup with bread croutons topped with Gruyere cheese.

DH and I ordered the Plat de Cote de Boeuf au Cabarnet avec pates - Beef short ribs braised in Cabernet with pasta, pearl onions and mushrooms. This is my favorite dish. The beef has no bones. You do not need an knife, it simply falls apart. It is served over pasta with mushrooms and onions. It is soooo yummy.

DS of course ordered the chicken. Demi poulet fermier roti, pommes rissolees et tomate grillee - Half of an all-natural roasted chicken, rissole potatoes and grilled tomato to be exact. Let me say that he ate it all (except the tomato). I had a taste of the roasted potato's and they were very good.

I ordered the Creme brulee - Vanilla creme brulee and a madeleine for dessert. Creamy and yummy. What more can I say?

DH had Profiteroles au chocolat - Puff choux with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. He really likes this dish.

DS had the chocolate cake. Again, he ate it all.

This restaurant is one of our favorites. The food is always good but the service can sometimes be lacking. The interior is intimate and and truly has a European feel.

Please make sure you make reservations. While we were waiting to be seated, we heard several families be turned away for a wake up reservation because Chefs de France is a reservation only restaurant.

We give this restaurant 5 sweet teas out of five.

Illuminations

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Thanks for another wonderful updates and pictures. I'm so glad to read a great review for Chefs De France...its my husband favorited Epcot restaurant. We always go for lunch but we are going for dinner for upcoming trip and have been reading some good and some bad but we always had a great meal there and glad to read your review.
Can't wait for more

 

[Greta]

I didn't know that some restaurants at Disney were reservation only, is Chef's the only one or are there others?

 

[pooch]

I didn't know that some restaurants at Disney were reservation only, is Chef's the only one or are there others?

there are no "reservation only" restaurants in WDW. HOWEVER, it is often difficult to impossible to get seated as a walk-up. ADRs are really the only way to go if you want to be sure you can eat at a certain restaurant. But all restaurants can and may accomodate walk-ups as room allows.

 

[flyingcat2003]

Correction......maybe I should have said that IF you would like to eat at Chefs de France it is HIGHLY recommended that you have reservations. I heard the hostess turn away family after family with the statement " I am sorry, we are reservation only". So it seems it is VERY hard to get a walk up table here. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Greta]

Thank you for the info!!! We just made our last ADR for TS this morning... we were leaving one open but I don't want to be in a situation with all of us being hungry and not being able to find a place to eat while we are in one of the parks!
I was thinking because we were going the 1st week of September it would be slow but I still don't want to take a chance!

 

[MizzouTiggers]

Thanks for the review on Chefs de France. We just made our ADR's for December and we're going to have dinner there one night. It's the only one I'm not too sure about, but this review has made me excited about it!

We ate O'Hana on a previous trip, and I agree, it's worth trying at least once. We're not too sure if we would want to make a return visit.

Keep 'em coming!

 

[TruBlu]

Great reviews, THANKS! Your pictures make me want to give 'Ohana another chance. We've only been once, and it was terrible.

 

[flyingcat2003]

Day 5 June 23

Today was a Hollywood Studios day. We got there at rope drop after a very slow ride on the boat. Of course, Toy Story Mania is the number one attraction. We got fast passes and then stood in line (wait time was around 30 minutes). This is such a cool ride in my opinion. We planned to stay at HS as long as the heat would allow. We stood the heat long enough to see The Indiana Jones stunt show, ride The Great Movie ride, ride Star Tours and saw the American Idol Experience. Let me say that I am not a big American Idol fan but this show was worth seeing. Regular park goers audition for a chance to perform on stage. The audience votes for their favorite and the winner goes on to the 7 o'clock saw which is the grand finale. The winner of the grand finale show gets the ultimate fast pass to perform for the judges of the real American Idol. Kinda cool. Oh and the best thing is ...the theater has extreme air conditioning!

Lunch was at Starring Rolls. We have been wanting to try this place for awhile but the outdoor seating option kinda turned us off.
DH and DS both ordered the Black Forest Ham Sandwich with chips. Both LOVED it.

I had the Turkey Focaccia with chips this was s very good sandwich too.

For dessert we all had chocolate peanut butter cupcake. This is a devil foods cake cupcake with a peanut butter icing center, peanut butter icing on top with chocolate shavings. YUMMY!

We were on the DDP and this is a good counter service value. Here is what you get for 1 counter service credit. Sandwich, chips, drink and cupcake.

Back to the resort for some Stormalong Bay time.

The plan for the evening was dinner at Cape May Cafe (clambake) and them back to HS for Fantasmic. We had read good reviews about Cape May here on the boards and since it was in our resort we thought we'd give it a try. We had an early dinner and was seated promptly. Okay, I've mentioned before that we are not huge buffet fans but with all of the great reviews we read we decided the buffet would be worth the food. We were wrong. There were several types of salads, crab legs, mussels, steamed clams, potatoes, ribs and more. Nothing here impressed us. The server at the carving station (serving prime rib and pork loin) was VERY stingy with her portions and not very friendly. The dessert selections were poor also. All of the desserts were bite size. We didn't take many pictures. Sorry. The clam chowder was good. The crab legs didn't have a taste and the mussels were gritty. I did like the marinated olives on the salad bar.

We give Cape May Cafe a 1 out of 5 sweet teas. Again, please take in consideration that we are NOT big buffet fans. In our opinion this was the worst meal we had on this trip.

 

[MizzouTiggers]

Thank you so much for the review of Starring Roles! We've had some bad lunch experiences at DHS because of the limited counter service choices, but that meal looked fantastic. I was also curious about what exactly comes with one counter service credit there. We will definitely being eating there on our next trip.

Sorry to hear about Cape May. Buffets can be hit or miss sometimes.

Sounds like you had a great day at DHS!

 

[pooch]

Thank you for the info!!! We just made our last ADR for TS this morning... we were leaving one open but I don't want to be in a situation with all of us being hungry and not being able to find a place to eat while we are in one of the parks!
I was thinking because we were going the 1st week of September it would be slow but I still don't want to take a chance!

but it's smack in the middle of Free Dining so ADRs are a must!! The parks won't be crowded but the restaurants will.

 

[bijoli666]

We weren't big fans of the Cape May Buffet for dinner either, although our waitress was very nice and gave DD a birthday cupcake. The food just wasn't great. That being said, we are going to try it for breakfast in December w/ the characters Here's hoping for a good breakfast!

Love your TR so far!!!!