Just Back from pre-Christmas Trip--Our Thoughts

[Alva218]

Hello, all,


We're a family of four (2 adults, 1 child, 1 infant), and we did DDP for a week (12/18-12/24). My sister also ate with us part of the week. I find the reviews on DIS extremely helpful, so I want to contribute.

Day 1: Mexico Pavilion at Epcot, UK Pavilion, Princess Storybook Dinner
We had counter service service here. My husband and I had the combination platters, and my daughter had the quesadilla. The CMs here had very limited English, so ordering was difficult. They took one too many credits, which was a mess to clear up. Once I sat down for the meal, I found that the location was beautiful and relaxing (overlooking the water). We were not big fans of the food. Usually, we love Mexican food, and we even spent a week in Mexico over the summer, but the food here was greasy and the tortilla chips were stale. The freshly made salsa was the highlight, but the taste lingered all day. We were also pleased to be able to order churros for dessert, but of course, after eating a greasy meal, the churros became less appealing. We would not order a full meal here again. This would be a great spot for a drink and a snack.

Because, my husband was not full. We stopped for fish and chips in England. They really hit the spot. The batter was tasty and crisp, and the fish was moist. The kids snacked on the fries, and we were all happy. This CS also has a lovely location. We sat on a bench by the water and enjoyed the view.

Dinner was in Norway at Princess Storybook. We ate here last year and thought it was the best meal of the trip. This year there were some changes. Checking-in seemed less hectic, and we had the photo-op with Belle. It was really nice that this photo is now included with the meal. Before the meal, you are able to visit a salad bar. This year's choices were much more limited, and some seafood items were removed. Our meals themselves this year were much, much, MUCH smaller. The princesses were not as energetic (maybe because it was such a busy week?) and did not give as much attention to the kids. My DD still loved it, of course. The desserts were changed and the chocolate flourless cake was inedible. The school bread made up for it though. Overall, it was a nice experience, but I would have been very disappointed if we weren't on the plan and paid ($40 per adult) and had to pay for my one-year old. It was without a doubt, the worst meal of the trip, but I guess, this is not a place that you go to for the food.

Next up: Crystal Palace Breakfast, Casey's, Wolfgang Puck Cafe

 

[loralie]

Hope you had a better time with the rest of your meals. Can't wait to read the rest.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We have tried the CS in Mexico a few times and every time it is just plain BLECH!

Cannot wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

 

[SunnieRN]

Looking forward to the rest of your reviews and hope your meals are more enjoyable!

 

[Alva218]

Day 2: Crystal Palace Breakfast, Casey's, Wolfgang Puck Cafe

We started our second day with breakfast at the Crystal Palace. One of the best things about this breakfast is getting into the park early. We took family photos in front of the castle with no one else in the picture! Check-in was really easy. We waited maybe a minute tops. There are two buffet lines with the same selections. Both start with "kids' items" like breakfast pizza. The stuffed french toast here is excellent--very similar to the one served at CRT. There is also alot of fresh fruit, hot items, and an omelet station. My favorites were the Mickey waffles, chocolate crossiants, and vegetable frittata. The characters (Pooh and friends) have a set pattern for visiting tables. My one-year old was a bit startled to see stuffed animals come to life, but they all lavished him hugs and kisses. There was also a congo-type of line to recognize birthdays and such. The breakfast took about fifty minutes, which was perfect for getting over to Fantasyland for park opening.

We were all stuffed from breakfast, so we decided to split a corn dog meal from Casey's, which is located very near the Baby Care Center, our next stop. The meal was tasty. For dessert, we split four ways an ice cream sandwich from the Main Street Bakery. The ice cream had a great vanilla flavor, and the price (one snack credit) can't be beat.

For dinner, we went to the Wolfgang Puck Cafe. The food here was excellent. They serve two types of bread, a white one and a thin one with herbs and cheese. My husband had the steak, I had the Macadamia Nut Chicken, and my sister who joined us had the Pumpkin Ravioli with chicken. The staff here clearly took a lot of pride in their meal preparation. The kitchen is open with various meals and desserts on display, and my husband was impressed that the chefs delivered meals to the tables. Everyone was very happy with their dinners and desserts. There is a nice view of the water. The drawbacks of this restaurant were the atmosphere (very loud, tables are a little too close) and the service (not the same as true Disney restaurants--not as friendly, not as much attention to detail). Because the food was fantastic, we would definitely visit here again.

Next up: CBR food court, Flame Tree BBQ, Boma

 

[Alva218]

Day 3: CBR Food Court, Flame Tree BBQ, Boma

We started our day with breakfast at the resort. Love the Mickey waffles! The bacon was not crisp—a recurrent trend for the week. However, overall the food was good and satisfying. We decided to get a refillable mug, and I think that it was worth it.

Lunch was at Flame Tree Barbeque. Ordering really took a long time here. I think I was just in the wrong lines (I tried to switch) because the others were moving much more quickly. My DD and I love ribs, so we were excited to return here for lunch (She had an adult meal, and my husband ate the kid’s meal). Her portion was much tastier than mine; however, neither one was noteworthy. I had much better ribs later in the evening at Boma’s. The desserts here have changed some and seem fresher. This CS also has some relaxing spots, but as others have noted, lots of birds, which my baby wanted to feed.

Boma is the dinner that I was probably looking forward to the most. When we had gone before, there was an excellent curry seafood soup. Unfortunately, it was not on the menu the night we visited (a Saturday). When I mentioned my disappointment to the waiter, he said that he would see if there was any in the kitchen; however, he never said another word about it. I did try the other soups that night and did not like them. The nut crusted salmon and coconut tiramisu were outstanding. My DD loved the fresh strawberries. The next time we go, I’ll have to make sure that it’s a night with the curry seafood soup, but the meal was still enjoyable.

Next up: Pinocchio House, Ohana Dinner

 

[Krissalee]

Thanks for taking the time to share your reviews - looking forward to reading the rest!

 

[Alva218]

Double post--sorry!

 

[Alva218]

Thanks for all of the feedback so far!

Day 4

Pinocchio House
We’ve tried all of the other CS locations in MK, so we wanted to try this one. It was super crowded and loud. Think lots of crying babies. The staff was organized, so we were able to order fairly quickly. We had pizza combos. I liked my salad and that I was able to get Blue Cheese dressing for it; I wasn’t fond of the pizza. (It was actually the first time I’ve ever tried Disney pizza.) We didn’t eat the dessert here.

Dinner at Ohana
I was very concerned about this one. My sister, who decided to come at the last minute, was joining us for this meal, but I hadn’t been able to get her on the reservation despite calling numerous times a day for several days, including that day. Our seating time was for 7; we ended going over to the Polynesian at 6 hoping to get her in or to make other plans from there. When we checked in, the hostess asked if we had 2 adults, I responded no 3, and she never made an issue of it! I don’t know if this is normal or not, but we were happy! We were seated in about 10 minutes.
We started with bread (not as good as Kona’s) and salad (delish). The wings were tasty but undercooked (still pink). We then had the noodles and barbecued meats. The shrimp was juicy, and the sweet sour sauce (red one) went great with it. The servers try to treat you like Ohana, family, so they address you by “Cousin.”
I expected more in terms of entertainment. We could not see any of the activities from our table. My husband took pictures of the limbo contest; I’m trying to include one. Let me know if it doesn’t come out!

Next up: Starring Rolls, Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package

 

[Alva218]

Day 5: Starring Rolls, ABC Commissary, Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package

Starring Rolls
We stopped here for a light breakfast. My DD and I shared a roll and banana while my husband and DS shared a muffin. The roll was very good—more on the bread side than cake. They have a patio area near the sorcerer’s hat, so this is a great place to people watch.

ABC Commissary
I nearly forgot that we also had a light lunch here. The kids split a burger, and my husband and I split a curry bowl. Last year when we ate here the place was almost empty. This year it was full and the staff didn’t seem prepared to deal with the crowds. The curry bowl was spicy (which I like) and a nice hot alterative to burgers. (Yes, I went the entire trip without eating a burger!)

Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package
A nice benefit of the package besides the Fantasmic seating is that you can order appetizers on the DDP without an additional charge. We had the calamari, which was enjoyed by the entire family, and a Caesar salad. Bread was included this time, so I was glad that we didn’t order the breads and spreads. I looked around and noticed that some tables like ours were served butter with their bread and others were served olive oil. My husband had the steak, which he said was OK. I had the seafood pasta with red sauce (sorry, I can’t remember the name); it was filling. The seafood was a bit mushy. For dessert we had tiramisu (just OK) and the molten cake (just OK too).

That night, unfortunately, was the coldest one of our stay. Since we had the package and also had never seen Fantasmic before, we felt like we had to stay for the show, so we bought a blanket and hats for the kids and stuck it out. I read that the package holders used to have a special line, and we entered with the general crowd--veering right. Even on this very busy night, the package probably wasn’t necessary, but it did make getting our seats a little less stressful. The show itself was great. We were glad that we did the package and that we stayed.

Next up: Eating Around the World, Tokyo Dining

Moderator, there seems to be two treads, can you please merge them, if possible? Thanks!