Just back- dining review with lots and lots of pics!

[mrsannb]

1900 Park Fare looks good, and I'm putting Cosmic Rays on my list!

 

[Steelersfan]

Well now on to day 6. It was Wednesday and the Animal kingdom was open early so that was the choice. Since we already did the Safari's and Kali River Rapids, my wife and daughter chose to sleep in and I got up early and rode Everest by myself, took some videos and pics and met them in Harambe at 9:00 for our Tusker House breakfast at 9:35.

We were early and were finally seated by around 9:45. Again, they did the picture pose. This pic was particularly undesireable because it was just in front of some plain African masks and we were very sweaty in the pic since there is no indoor waiting area to cool off. You just kind of sit there and sweat until they call you.

The breakfast here was good, just like Play-N-Dine. They had the basics...eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, pancakes as well as cereals and danishes, etc. The food was fresh and very good. Oh yes... they did have sausage gravy and biscuits!

Here are samples of the plates:

And another:

and yet another...

Finally another...

The food here is very good, at least at breakfast. It wasn't exotic at all. It is something everyone would like.

The characters here were Mickey, Donald, Daisy and Goofy. I want to say Minnie was there too, but I'd have to check my daughter's autograph book to be sure. No Pluto. I know that.

The service was just fine, but the server outdid everyone in the tip fishing department. He was friendly and jovial, but was a little over the top, especially talking about the tip. Click, click, click..we just bumped him down a few dollars. Simple enough.

The bill here for the three of us would have been only around $65 if memory serves, so this might be a more economical way to meet Mickey if you are not on the dining plan.

After eating we hit a few animal trails and made sure we were 45 minutes early for the Lion King show since that was one thing we missed the last trip and our daughter really wanted to see it.

After we went to Epcot for awhile to look in some of the countries. We just ate some ice cream and decided to use two meal credits to get a large Pizza at All-Star Sports since they were really good in previous trips. Our daughter...surprise... got a hotdog!

The pizza was good, but not as good as I remembered. Maybe it is because we couldn't find packets of cheese and hot pepper flakes. It was still a nice option. You could have added a few salads with snack credits too if you wanted.

My biggest regret here was I forgot to get a pic. I was on a roll and this was the last thing I forgot to take.

It was a nice night because we were able to get to bed early and get caught up somewhat on the sleep!

I still have a few days to go and will get to them as soon as I can!

 

[Steelersfan]

Now on to day 7:

We always try and go to the Magic Kingdom twice/trip in the early morning. Today was nice because we already did almost everything, so we were just doing the things we really liked again.

Dumbo was a the top of the list for a second ride but we were delayed by a Chip and Dale impromptu autograph line. This made the Dumbo line a little longer, but it was OK by me. We got Mickey's Philharmagic in again as well as the teacups. Tomorrowland opened at 9:00 and we quickly got a Buzz fastpass then just got in the regular line for a ride. My wife and daughter rode the Tomorrowland Speedway (the cars sit just a little too low for my bum knees) and they got another ride on Goofy's Barnstormer and another Small World ride. we used our fastpass for Buzz and headed over to lunch at The Crystal Palace.

This is a place we have eaten EVERY trip but up to now it has only been for breakfast. Because we had so many other breakfasts we decided to give lunch a try. This one is a keeper because not only is the food fantastic (just like the breakfast), but it gives you a little more time to enjoy your early morning hours.

Our ADR was for 11:35 which was great. Just as the park was getting crowded, we were able to eat and leave.

Here's some of the food:

This was my daughter's first plate I think

This was my salad plate. The tomato salad was really good!

And my first regular plate:

Just a bonus plate we ate:

And this was a plate our daughter ate:

One of my wife's salad plates:

And another random plate:

I can't remember if I posted this sample from the kid's section but it was great too!

We tried to put smaller amounts of food on the plates so it would photograph better!

The food here was the best we had at a buffet. As you can see, there were breaded chicken tenders and mashed potatoes as basics plus tons of salads and other items. The meatballs and Mac N Cheese from the kids section were good options too. Anyone could have them.

They also had some more exotic/fancy choices if you wanted that. Basically the sky was the limit here. Like I said, it was the best we had and the other food was good!

The Pooh characters were here: Pooh, Tigger Eeyore and Piglet. They spent more time at the table than any other character meal. Again, this might have been because we were one of the first ones seated for lunch and tables were empty for most of the time. I'm suee if you had a 12:30 or 1:00 lunch it might be more rushed.

The service here was excellent. Our waiter was very friendly and kept joking with our daughter by trying to get her to laugh. He was taking plates away and filling drinks as fast as he could. I had a few extra dollars in the tip envelope and am happy to say, he didn't fish at all and got the rest of the money! I was glad because he deserved it!

I can't stress enough what a great experience this place was. I was a little worried about the lunch since we liked the breakfast so much, but we will be doing the earliest lunch possible from now on.. without a doubt.

OH yes... there was no picture here which might have added to the enjoyment also!

I always get a video of the whole train ride for some reason so we did that and left for what we thought would be the last time. Our daughter had tears in her eyes because she couldn't ride "Small World" for at least another couple of years! (I did adjust so we could go again the next day before we flew back to the Burgh).

We went back to the hotel for a few minutes then went to Typhoon Lagoon for a few hours. We wanted to go earlier in the trip for a whole afternoon, but they were closing it down early due to capacity issues (mainly due to the extreme heat). It was a little cooler this day so we were able to go for a few hours. At least we saw the park!

The plan from here was to go back to the hotel, eat and head to Hollywood Studios for Fantasmic. We just ate at the food court and here's what we got:

My wife had the buffalo wings:

She had no complaints. She had an OJ and a kid's pudding as her dessert.

I also wanted the wings but I went with the Habenero hot (the hottest they had):

Now let me tell you that I consider myself a chicken wing connoisseur. I usually judge them by the sauce and whether they were done enough. I had a really big wing that tastes raw. I'd rather have them a little shriveled. These were cooked just fine. The sauce at first didn't seem hot at all... almost sweet! After eating the wings I took a celery stick and kind of scooped up the remaining sauce just to get a better taste and WOW! It got me! It wasn't the hottest I ever had, but it would due until the hottest got there!

These were pretty good wings. I'd get them again,especially because it is something different than a cheeseburger.

Our daughter went with her favorite...The hotdog. This time I got a pic"

Like I said before... she was really bragging this hotdog up the whole time. She had a little she didn't want, so I got to taste a bite and it really was good. It had a little "grilled taste" to it. As far as fast food hotdogs go, she was right... this was "the bestest I ever ate!"

The food courts at the All-Stars and POP Century are very underrated in my opinion. They are right there, quick and pretty good. If you are rushed, don''t hesitate to grab a counter service there. You won't be giving up any quality from the parks except for possibly atmosphere.

Well, I have one day left... I'll get to it as soon as I can.

 

[floridascgirl]

Thanks for your great reviews and photos!

 

[torsie24]

Great reviews!! Thank you so much for sharing!!

 

[Disneyof3]

Great reviews... When did they change the chips at CR?? Last time they were french fries? Are they the in thing now... Also I must try 1900 Faire Park next time. Your review is the 3rd I have seen lately and the food and the reviews are all good. Thanks again for the review and the great pictures

 

[LaurieN]

Thanks for the great reviews! I have to say, I never felt the wait staff was fishing for tips on our last trip (May '08). Do you think since the economy is SO bad they are getting more and more people that aren't tipping these days? Are they getting less tips from people that are on the dinning plan? I was a server for 8 years at a "theme" restaurant and there were many times I didn't get a tip and would overhear people saying that is was so expensive they just didn't have it to give. It would get me mad, but what could I do? Anyway; having been a server I am very generous when tipping, that being said I do find it very annoying when someone is fishing for their tip!
Oh, and the picture thing.......I was one of those people too I had to walk around try to sell the photos (I hated it as I was VERY SHY at the time). We got a commision, and you would be surprised how many of them I would sell. This goes back to the people not having any money left for the food server at the end:gift shop and photo would hit them up and their wallets would be empty by the end of the show
OK, I'm done
Thnaks again for the reviews and pics!
Laurie

 

[Steelersfan]

Great reviews... When did they change the chips at CR?? Last time they were french fries? Are they the in thing now...

My wife said chips were on the menu and she wasn't sure if you could sub in fries. I'd rather have fries personally although these were much better than bagged chips.

 

[Steelersfan]

Thanks for the great reviews! I have to say, I never felt the wait staff was fishing for tips on our last trip (May '08). Do you think since the economy is SO bad they are getting more and more people that aren't tipping these days?
Oh, and the picture thing.......I was one of those people too I had to walk around try to sell the photos (I hated it as I was VERY SHY at the time). We got a commision, and you would be surprised how many of them I would sell. This goes back to the people not having any money left for the food server at the end:gift shop and photo would hit them up and their wallets would be empty by the end of the show
OK, I'm done
Thnaks again for the reviews and pics!
Laurie

I don't know if the economy had something to do with it or not. Maybe people who were on a really tight budget went anyway due to the 4/3 deal and are a little strapped when it comes to tips. I don't know about that one.

i never thought about it but I bet the pics do hurt the tips. You figure if you just forked out $100 for a meal and $30 for a pic, you might not be so willing or able to spend on the tip.

Personally i was kind of sweaty in all the pics so I didn't really want them, plus $30 is alot extra.

Seeing as how Disney already took the tips from these servers the last contract, I hate to think they are rippingthem off even more by selling the pics with money that would have went to the tip.

Considering what they make per meal, I think it would be great for everyone if they just put the tips back in the meal plan and just gave the pics. Even if you charged an extra few bucks/day on the meal plan it would help defray the costs and just have happier people who would be more likely to come back!

Everyone should send them an e-mail to address this! It might work.

 

[jrsmom]

Love your reviews! What type of camera did you use? Your pictures are awesome! I really want to try 1900 park fare, but it could take some convincing my 14 year old son to go. Maybe if I promise him that mom and dad will be in the pictures and we won't force him to take pictures with the princesses. He has no problem taking pictures with Mickey, Minnie , pooh and so on.


Vickey

 

[Steelersfan]

Most of the pics were with a kodak easyshare Z612. It is nothing fancy. In fact it is kind of old and we were thinking about getting a new camera for the trip but we just decided to wait. I'll save up and get a new camera and maybe a HD camcorder for our next trip in a few years.

The costs always come down and there is new technology everyday, so we just made due. The pics came out just fine I thought.

You actually don't have to get in the pics at the dinners if you don't want. Just take a pic of the characters. He might get caught up in it a little. He might not like posing with Prince Charming, but the rest he might.

Make it a group pic kind of thing.

It was a neat place. I'm kind of mad we never found it before.

Like I said, we'll be back for sure!

 

[Steelersfan]

Well on to our last day...

A wierd thing happened here today. I didn't get to ride Tower of Terror or Rock-N-Roller. Neither my wife/daughter wanted to ride, so I just got up early and went myself. They were going to sleep in a little then finish packing. I figured I'd be out of the park shortly after 9:00am, come back to All-Stars, put the bags in storage and have a few hours at the MK until we had to be back for the magical express. The schedule was tight.

Whet I got up to the turnstile, they rejected my ticket. I was mad because I was 5th in line! The guy just told me to go to guest services. I got out of the line, went to guest services and they told me Ionly had 7 days on my ticket and I used all 7! This was just plain wrong because we were supposed to have 7 nights/8 days. She offered to allow me to pay the extra $3 for an extra day, which I would have done except by this time the music was playing and the rope inside the park was dropping.

The line back to the turnstiles was back near the bag check. It was easily a 20+ minute wait... maybe more. By the time I would have gotten through the lines on both would have been 30-45 min. I could have done one, but not both, plus I was mad at their screw up.

I got criticized on some other boards for leaving the park. They said I should have asked for fastpasses or got in a single rider line, etc, but for one, you don't remember which rides offer the single rider and to be honest those lines are not always open first thing in the morn. Plus, they were not willing to help because they thought it was my fault, so they were not exactly offering fastpasses.

When I got back to All-stars, I went to the ddesk and complained and they totally admitted the error was theirs. They said it was keyed in wrong because the person doing it probably saw the 7 days on the dining plan and just marked it like that on the park tickets too. He said it happens all the time. Moral of this story... always double check the days on your key to the world card to make sure they are right. I will from now on.

To try and make it right he gave us three comps to the MK, which wasn't really a gift as we already paid for it plus it was only worth a few dollars anyway. He gave us a fastpass for any ride in the MK too, which made it a little better because we all got to ride Big Thunder again, but I still feel ripped off some... check those tix!

We did make it to the MK by 11:00 or so and got to do some things again... big thunder (with bonus fastpass), buzz light year, Its a Small World, Magic Carpets, etc. The day got much better after the disappointing start.

We were getting hungry and had one counter service left for each of us so we noticed that El Pirata et el Perico was opened. My daughter got Captain Hook's autograph, then we went in. Our first two trips in 97 and 99 we ate here and really liked it. It wasn't open in 2001 and we just couldn't work it in during the 07 trip.

Our daughter had the kid's quesidilla meal. She only ate a little as she stole the rice from my wife's meal. My wife ended up eating this.

Here is my wife's taco meal. Again, my daughter ate the rice.

I had the taco salad:

I remember loving this taco salad the last times we ate here. It was kind of cool because it came with the shell and meat then you went to a fixins bar and built it from there.

The food here wasn't as good as we remembered although the taco salad bowl was much better than you get with a similar salad at Taco Bell if you have ever had one of those.

It might have been a bad idea too because this kind of food doesn't alwayd digest very well which is a bad thing when you haveto run around, catch your flight, etc! (If you know what I mean!)

We are on the fence about going back here but are probably leaning towards trying someplace else. It was just a little too greasy maybe!

After, we left and got our bags since we were flying southwest. All was very smooth and we were at the airport with time to spare.

At the airport I had my first McDonald's in over two months and it was a little iffy! We were glad to get on the plane and get home though.

I'll put in my final thoughts a little later.

 

[onelilspark]

Does the Taco Salad still come with just the shell and meat and you fix the rest yourself? I'd really like that! I'm the worlds most picky eater and being able to control the amount of salsa, lettuce, etc, I'd really enjoy. If they put it on...ehhhh maybe not!!

 

[Steelersfan]

Does the Taco Salad still come with just the shell and meat and you fix the rest yourself? I'd really like that! I'm the worlds most picky eater and being able to control the amount of salsa, lettuce, etc, I'd really enjoy. If they put it on...ehhhh maybe not!!

Yes. It was basically a shell and meat. You could put in lettuce, tomatoes, onions, salsa, cheese and maybe sour cream on your own. The shell was very good.

 

[xanphylus]

Thanks for the reviews! We will be hitting some of those restaurants in Sept and your reviews actually made me feel better about some of my ADRs! I have been reading so many negative reviews about all the restaurants due to the free dining plan that I got scared! Now I feel better! Thanks!

 

[pixleyyy]

I love all the pics and reviews. Thanks for posting them!!!

 

[CSS1996]

Thank you for all your great reviews and pics! We will be eating at some of the same places in October so it was helpful to see your reviews.

 

[mlittig]

Fantastic reviews and awesome pictures We too love the Park Fair both for the delicious food and the marvelous character interactions Thanks so much

 

[SKTiger]

Great reviews!

Good thing its lunch time, those pictures made me hungry!

 

[wilma-bride]

Great reviews, thanks for taking the time to post. One thing that has stuck in my head is that the kids grilled cheese at Earl of Sandwich looks much smaller - IIRC, the kids sandwiches were always the same size as the adult ones. Is this another result of free dining, I wonder?