July 31- Aug 12...big fat trip with tons of TS dining

[lovin'fl]

Diners- Me-42, DH-42, DS-18, twin DDs-16...with inlaws (SIL, BIL and niece-17) and friends (him, her, DD-17 and DD-14). Not all 12 at every meal.

July 31- My family checked into AKV while inlaws were at BWV already for a couple days before. Our friends would arrive on Aug 1 and stay offsite for a week. Dinner at Sanaa my family of 5...A+ from DH, DS and I while my DDs said it was ok. One of my faves. Love the bread service and the animals. Drinks are good. We've been 1 other time for lunch and I prefer lunch while DH prefers dinner. We will put it on our must-do list for a while.

Aug 1- My family checked out of AKV (the 1 night was a last minute add on) and into BWV for a week. Boma for breakfast with my family and inlaws. Solid A from all 8 of us. So much to eat here. The bread pudding stuff was AMAZING!

Teppan Edo for dinner with my family and inlaws...mixed reviews here. Teen girls LOVED it while DH and I were 'meh'. It was my family's first time but we love our local Japanese steakhouse and find it to be better. This was a one and done for us (sorry DDs). Maybe give it a B- or C+.

Stopped at Beaches and Cream to get out of a storm and had ice cream...Me, DH, SIL and BIL (kids: sorry, not sorry). Was yummy as always! Felt disgusting afterwards, but soooo worth it. A+

Aug 2- T-Rex dinner with my family and our friends, walked up at 6:30 and got a resie for 8:30. I will say 'AWFUL'. Food was just okay and waitress was excellent but it took FOREVER starting with waiting to be seated (well past 8:30). It was crowded beyond reasonable. It was loud, chaotic and not worth the expensive cost. WILL.NEVER.DO.AGAIN!!!!!!! It gets a D, mostly because my nerves were shot by the end.

Aug 3- Kona for lunch with me, SIL and BIL only. We walked in, got there at 11:30 and couldn't get breakfast so did lunch at 12:00. Was my first time and was not as good as I expected. What's the deal with all the shoestring veggies as of late. We noticed the noodles and potstickers were different too (than they had been at Ohana in the past) and wondered if that meant that they were different at Ohana now (we will see later in the trip). Waitress was excellent here too and it was decent food, glad I tried it. It's tough to go to Kona when we do Ohana every trip and don't need to venture over to Poly more than once per trip (though we would 3 times this trip). I'd give it a B-.

Sci-Fi for dinner with my family and our friends...adults rated it higher than kids did, go figure. 4 adults had one car (with a couple strangers) and 5 kids were in a car at the other end of our row (we were front row). It was slow getting seated here too, went past ADR time. Kids got seated about 10 minutes after us, so I was worried about that and using TIW card for both bills. But the 2 strangers in our car were doing a lot of complaining and slowed down our service so the kids actually finished and left before us (so I could pay for them and then us). The last time we went was several years ago and I will say the food has improved since then. I'd give it a solid B.

Aug 4- Cape May for dinner with my family and inlaws as a last minute booking (via app). We have been about 5 times now and the very first time was really good and the other 3 after were not so good so I put it on the 'never again' list. But this day we drove 90 minutes away to tour a college with the girls and then came back and did some FP+ at AK and we were so hot and tired that we just wanted something close to our resort (BWV). I went with it and, WOW, was it good. Maybe being hot and tired makes things seem better than they are, I don't know. But I'll give it a solid A this time.

 

[lovin'fl]

Aug 5- Giordanos Pizza for dinner with my family and inlaws. We had 1 night stay at Universal hotel to get early entry and express pass so we went to Giordanos on the way over to check in. We have been once before but it was the first time for my inlaws. We were kind of in a hurry but knew the deep dish pizza takes a while to make so we hoped to get our order in ASAP. The waiter seemed to be a bit of a dud and he was slow. He took drink order and went off. When he brought our drinks, he spilled one all over table and niece. We had 2 tables pushed together and it went right to the crack so we had to pull everything apart to clean up and then he had to haul off all the soiled napkins and cup full of dirty ice and then get a new drink. Then, DD spills a drink and we do it all over again. Anyway, we were there a LONG time. The pizza was pretty good though. I'd go back. I give it a B-.

Our friends were also doing US with us and they had checked in and were at the pool. We didn't make it in time to hang with them at the pool (my 3 teens did NOT want to do any pool time this trip) but they headed to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner so we met them there. The intent was for my family to just get a drink. We were pretty tired and had an early morning the next day (early entry at the US parks). But my kids ordered food...not sure why since we just ate. They got nachos and wings and we left most of the nachos there. It was loud and chaotic there too. And expensive. I'd give it a C.

Aug 6- Shutters for dinner for just DH and I. We did US from 8am until 5pm, when we could no longer move. It was a long HOT day. We made our way back to WDW and the kids literally flopped on their beds and didn't move. DH had an idea to pop over to Shutters where he had heard they had good steak. We cleaned up and I called the dining # to make a quick resie and had no trouble. We left the kids to rest and drove from BWV over to Caribbean Beach resort (really close to each other) and had a great dinner at Shutters. The steak was really good and I got a banana drink that made all my aches go away. Our waitress was fantastic too. We would definitely go back. I'd give it a solid A.

Aug 7- Spice Road Table for lunch with my family and our inlaws. We went into Epcot for lunch with intentions of all getting whatever CS we wanted. As we were all trying to decide (many ideas were thrown out) it started to rain again and we just happened to be walking up to Spice Road Table. So we popped in to see if they could take us (8 of us) for lunch. They could and we had a great meal while waiting out the rain. To make it easy we ordered one of all 9 small plates (then had to order a 2nd chicken roll plate). SIL and I shared a pitcher of sangria while the men tried different beers. We got 2 desserts too. We lingered long enough that the rain passed. 6 of us really liked the meal while my 2 picky DDs were not super impressed. DH and I will go again, we really liked it. I'd give it an A+.

Biergarten for dinner with my family, my inlaws and our friends (party of 12). It was very good and a great show as always. We go here a lot. Our friends had never been and they really enjoyed it. The only negative was that the buffet lines were crazy long and slow moving. Barely could get one plate. Didn't go back for more food because it was such a hassle. Been there about 6 times now and this was the very first time I had experienced this (we even did 2 Xmas trips where we ate there and didn't have this issue). Still, I'd give this visit a B.

 

[mimi'sgirl]

Looking forward to the rest of your review. Thank you!

 

[lovin'fl]

Aug 8- My family and inlaws switched from BWV to SSR this day. Boatwrights for dinner with my family and inlaws. This was the very first WDW dining venue my family ate at back in 2005. We stayed at POR and got the DP (it was such a deal then). We were wowed by it and always wondered if that's because it was our first TS (and on the DP where we could get an app, entre and dessert and didn't have to pay tips). So we went back and my inlaws and DH really enjoyed it but it just didn't do it for me. The waitress was good and my meal was pretty good but I only ate half. I was just so worn down by this point in the trip. I'd give it a C+ or maybe a B-.

Aug 9- Yak and Yetti for lunch with my family and inlaws. I always do a walk up lunch here. We usually get to the park early, around 9 something, and ride EE a few times then do our 3 FP+ (scheduled for around 9:45, 10:45 and 11:45) and are done around noon to walk in at Y&Y. We never have had a problem getting seated and it's usually pretty empty in there at noon. This time we went to the park a bit later and did 1 FP+ and then tried to walk in around 1:30 and it was packed. They did get us in but we waited a bit and it was busy in there. The food was good as always. Usually we order chili wings, potstickers and honey chicken or noodles to share but this time we had the inlaws so we all got our own meals. I decided to go a different route and got the kobe burger. It was the best burger EVER. OMG...it melted in my mouth. I give this an A.

Ohana for dinner with my family and inlaws. This is a must-do place for all 8 of us (just about every trip, and definitely every trip with the inlaws). Some visits have been better than others. The last couple visits had less than stellar service. I had an ADR for earlier in the trip and SIL requested we move it to later so that my 2 nephews could be at that dinner. They were supposed to fly in for the last 5 nights of my inlaws' trip but they ended up staying home. When I switched the ADR, though, I could only get a 9:35. But what was good about that late time was that Wishes was at 10pm. We worried that we wouldn't get seated by 10pm (our last 2 visits had us seated about 30-45 minutes past ADR time). However, we did get seated right on time...BUT...at one of the very few tables that had ZERO view of the windows/outside. Wishes began and the speaker was right above us and was VERY loud but we couldn't see a thing. Then the servers hurriedly put all the food on our table and plates and then disappeared. I asked the 2 servers for more peanut sauce (at 2 different times) and most of my fam was done eating except the few of us who needed peanut sauce (1 little dish of it doesn't cut it for 8 grown people). I had to ask a third time and still waited quite a bit for it to come. They plopped down the dessert about then and disappeared again. We waited forever to pay and then never got the warm hand towels. And...some of the food was blech. They did change the noodles and potstickers (like at Kona) and the noodles had little flavor. They changed the salad and I did NOT like this new one. The chicken is thigh meat and all pressed together and fatty...ick. Dessert was delish as always. The steak was over cooked but good and the shrimp was good. DH and I agree that we can skip this place for a while. The kids, however, still love it. I'll give this visit a C.

Aug 10- Raglan Road for dinner with me, my 2 DDs and my inlaws (no DH or DS). My DDs and I went here for the first time last August and I loved it. We had no ADR for this night because we went to Tampa for a college tour and thought we might make a day of it in Tampa but then DH was needing to work and actually cut his vacation short and went home. So we did the college tour and rushed back to our resort so that he could pack up and get on the road. I went on my app and looked at what was open at DtD (we moved to SSR on Aug 8 and DtD was so easy to hop over to). I got us an 8:30 ADR. We went over early to shop a little before dinner. It was busy at DtD but not as bad as the Sunday night we went to T-Rex. We did wait, a little past our ADR time, to be seated. Then it took an hour for our food to come. It was very loud in there and our table was in a back corner where we had very little view of the singing and dancing. Our server was never around and it took forever to pay. My meal, the braised beef, was not very good. It was dry. I had the same thing last August and it was really good then. Another disappointment and I give it a C-. But will likely give it another try since it was really good the first time I went.

Aug 11- California Grill for dinner. This was booked for us 2 adult couples (SIL, BIL, DH and I) but DH wasn't there for it. The kids had an ADR at Coral Reef for the same time. They enjoyed their dinner and didn't spend all that much (yay, them). I have never been to Cali Grill but my inlaws have a few times. DH was griping about having to go (he doesn't like the fancy places) and he ended up not having to. But, boy, was it his loss. It was an excellent meal and we were seated right at the window with a fabulous view. Too bad it was a 7:20 ADR and not 9:20. My inlaws each got the filet and I got scallops. It was very good. Service was top notch. BIL ordered a BLT flatbread for an app that was also very tasty. I give this an A+. I will drag DH there someday, even if he's kicking and screaming.

Aug 12- Ohana for breakfast with my family (minus DH) and inlaws. This was check out/go home day for my family and BIL's birthday. It was a very good breakfast and great way to fuel up before the 9 hour drive I had ahead of me. There were even characters there, but the teens are well past the character stage. Still we took the obligatory pics, to embarrass the kids. We enjoyed a nice big breakfast. The raisin bread is really good. I'd give it a B+.

Anything that I rated a B- or lower I don't need to repeat anytime soon. And that's all folks. Thanks for following along.

 

[twinkybel81]

Following along!

 

[GinefirW]

Following!

 

[Idreamofdisney15]

Also following!

 

[lovin'fl]

Finished!

Should add that we got a TIW card but not until after the first dinner at Sanaa. Sanaa did take a 10% discount for AP, DVC or Visa (which we have all of). Then, we discovered that Teppan Edo didn't take it or any discount at all (bummer). T-Rex and Yak and Yeti didn't take it either but did offer the 10% discounts. We definitely spent the $500 to break even on the TIW card fee ($100). We also bought the stupid soda mugs and barely used them. It was too much of a bother to walk down to the BW bakery (and the bar near the lobby wasn't always open) and then at SSR it was a bigger bother since we were in congress park section. We did get a few bar drinks and that is the advantage of TIW but I think we will go with the DP on our next trip. I figured we spent the same per person each day that the DP cost (about $3600 total, maybe even more) and we had to be careful with ordering (didn't always go for the expensive meal...kids at Coral Reef were really careful about it). Plus I found I was wanting to do TS meals twice per day and that really eats up a good part of the day and makes you feel icky full. So, a DP would help regulate us to 1 CS and 1 TS...get the mugs included and the kids can do their own CS meals without without having to worry about paying.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

thanks for the reviews :

 

[Lizzards]

Love your reviews....a couple of places I was debating over and your reviews helped to make it a must or a mis for us. I only have a few days at the world, so I have to be picky! Thanks for being honest and concise!!!

 

[Vernie822]

Great reviews!

I definitely agree with your review of Raglan Road. Just didn't live up to the hype for us and it definitely took forever to get our food.

I wonder how much the potstickers and noodles have changed! We were there in June and it seemed similar to the last time we'd been, but I wonder if they changed them since then!? Sorry your service wasn't the greatest! Last time we were there our server was a dud but at least the food was good.

Spice Road Table sounds like such a hidden gem. I love small plate kind of stuff - we'll have to try it.

 

[Greenturtles]

Great review!! I'll add Sanaa to my list!

 

[vettegirl]

Thanks for the reviews! You guys ate at some of our favorites and some places I want to try in the future.