riggins
You can't always get what you want, but if you try
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2002
- Messages
- 880
Hi everyone- We just returned from our girls trip- me, my mom, and my 2-year-old DD. Thought Id give you some reviews on where we ate.
Breakfast:
Fresh- We ate Breakfast here twice. Basically, Fresh is like any other buffet except they prepare a lot of the food on the spot. They had breads and cereals sitting out, along with bacon, potatoes, grits, and oatmeal. Eggs, omelets, waffles, pancakes, and french toast are all prepared fresh when you ask for them at the food cooking section of the buffet. Toast is also toasted fresh and is brought to you by your server. The 1st time, the food and service were both very good. DM had a ham and cheese omelet and I ate french toast. Both were prepared fresh and were very good. The 2nd visit was still good, but not nearly as nice as the first. When I went to get some french toast, it was already made and sitting on a platter behind the counter. So, it was certainly not any fresher than the french toast youd find on any other buffet, and I had to wait in the line where they prepare food to get it. Overall, if you are staying at one of the Epcot resorts and are looking for a good breakfast buffet, this certainly fits the bill, but I wouldnt travel from outside the area to eat here. Also, they give a 20% discount if youre a DVC Member. Food: B Service: B
Cinderellas Royal Table- This was our 2nd visit to the castle for breakfast. Just like last time, we thought the food was very good. Everything was pretty hot and tasted good. The princesses were great and I felt like we got a decent amount of interaction with them. The Fairy Godmother in the lobby was EXCELLENT. She spent a lot of time with each kid and had a very personal interaction. Service on the other hand, was not so great. When we sat down, our server began pouring coffee and OJ without asking us what we wanted. My DD (who is 2) nicely said to the waitress I want water please. The waitress laughed and commented that it was so cute coming from this little girl. However, no water came. Someone else brought out our food and again, DD piped up, Id like water please (shes not a bit shy). The woman said, sure, Ill tell your waitress. No water came. She then brought the check and I asked her if she could bring DD a glass of water . . . but no water ever came. So, my DD drank OJ from a large, fairly heavy glass (no plastic with a straw like every other small child in the restaurant). When we left the restaurant, I bought her a bottle of water. Food: B+_ Service: C-
Crystal Palace- We had dinner at CP on our last trip and decided to check out breakfast. We had a 10:25 PS which turned out to be great. We got to the park at opening, covered all of fantasy land and then headed over to CP. The restaurant was pretty full when we arrived, but quickly cleared out. We had a ton of time with the characters and when we were leaving, we were able to get a group photo with Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger. They were getting ready for lunch, so only one side of the buffet was open with breakfast items, but they kept it full with hot food. The food was better at CRT, but we thought CP breakfast was good. Service was excellent. Food: B Service: A
Dinnner
Chef Mickeys- This was our 2nd trip to Chef Mickeys for dinner. Unfortunately, we were seated in a small room in the far back corner with a very large group. The group was probably 35 people with both adults and kids. The kids were sitting alone at a large kids table, but were generally unsupervised. One kid threw some bread at another and missed and it landed on the adult table. This was the only time any of the adults seemed to pay attention to what they were doing. Unfortunately, the mom just got up and smacked the offender on the hand and everyone went back to doing what they were doing before. When a character came in, the kids jumped out of their seats and mobbed the character. They had to sign no less than 15 autograph books and take a dozen pictures. So, we felt they were rushed when they came over to our little table. On our last visit, we sat in the large room at the back of the restaurant, and while there were large groups and wound-up kids there too, it didnt feel nearly as loud or crazy. Despite the environment, we enjoyed our food and the service was good. We will return, but will ask to be reseated if we are placed in one of the small back rooms with a large group. Food: B+, Service B+
Ohana- This was our 3rd trip to Ohana . . . we love this place and were not disappointed. The food was great and the service was excellent. We will be back!! Food: A Service: A+
Restaurant Akershus- This was our 1st trip to Akershus and we loved it. I was a little hesitant because Im not a terribly adventuresome diner, but this was great.
After being seated, we placed our order for the hot foods. I ordered the chicken and DM ordered the salmon. We shared the Hearty Favorites plate. We then hit the cold buffet. Im not a fish eater, but I found tons of things to eat that were really good. I especially enjoyed the potato salad and shrimp salad. Even my 2 year old found plenty to eat. Then our hot entrees came and they were delicious. They were hot, fresh, and yummy. We loved the mashed rutabaga so much that our server brought us another bowl. We will be back. Food: A Service: A
California Grill- This was our 1st trip to CG and were hesitant to take a 2-year-old, but it was great. We had an early (5:30) PS because we wanted to catch Spectro at 7:00. The 1st seating is at 5:30 and everyone with a 5:30 PS got a window seat. The view was great, but the food was better. We started with a flat-bread that was to die for. I then had the Filet and DM had the Pork. Both were excellent. DD hardly eats anything, so we didnt order anything for her and just shared. The waitress brought her a basket full of goldfish crackers and crayons. What more could a 2-year-old ask for!!?? DD had a great time, we enjoyed a great meal. We laughed at how different our dinner was when we looked at the table next to us. There were two older couples who were seated at the same time we were. They lingered over wine and were just enjoying their salads when we were leaving. We had told our waitress that we wanted to catch Spectro at 7 and she made sure that happened. However, if you are looking for something more leisurely, plenty of people seemed to be enjoying that too. We will definitely return. Food A+ Service A+
Hope this helps anyone planning their trip.
Leslie
Breakfast:
Fresh- We ate Breakfast here twice. Basically, Fresh is like any other buffet except they prepare a lot of the food on the spot. They had breads and cereals sitting out, along with bacon, potatoes, grits, and oatmeal. Eggs, omelets, waffles, pancakes, and french toast are all prepared fresh when you ask for them at the food cooking section of the buffet. Toast is also toasted fresh and is brought to you by your server. The 1st time, the food and service were both very good. DM had a ham and cheese omelet and I ate french toast. Both were prepared fresh and were very good. The 2nd visit was still good, but not nearly as nice as the first. When I went to get some french toast, it was already made and sitting on a platter behind the counter. So, it was certainly not any fresher than the french toast youd find on any other buffet, and I had to wait in the line where they prepare food to get it. Overall, if you are staying at one of the Epcot resorts and are looking for a good breakfast buffet, this certainly fits the bill, but I wouldnt travel from outside the area to eat here. Also, they give a 20% discount if youre a DVC Member. Food: B Service: B
Cinderellas Royal Table- This was our 2nd visit to the castle for breakfast. Just like last time, we thought the food was very good. Everything was pretty hot and tasted good. The princesses were great and I felt like we got a decent amount of interaction with them. The Fairy Godmother in the lobby was EXCELLENT. She spent a lot of time with each kid and had a very personal interaction. Service on the other hand, was not so great. When we sat down, our server began pouring coffee and OJ without asking us what we wanted. My DD (who is 2) nicely said to the waitress I want water please. The waitress laughed and commented that it was so cute coming from this little girl. However, no water came. Someone else brought out our food and again, DD piped up, Id like water please (shes not a bit shy). The woman said, sure, Ill tell your waitress. No water came. She then brought the check and I asked her if she could bring DD a glass of water . . . but no water ever came. So, my DD drank OJ from a large, fairly heavy glass (no plastic with a straw like every other small child in the restaurant). When we left the restaurant, I bought her a bottle of water. Food: B+_ Service: C-
Crystal Palace- We had dinner at CP on our last trip and decided to check out breakfast. We had a 10:25 PS which turned out to be great. We got to the park at opening, covered all of fantasy land and then headed over to CP. The restaurant was pretty full when we arrived, but quickly cleared out. We had a ton of time with the characters and when we were leaving, we were able to get a group photo with Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger. They were getting ready for lunch, so only one side of the buffet was open with breakfast items, but they kept it full with hot food. The food was better at CRT, but we thought CP breakfast was good. Service was excellent. Food: B Service: A
Dinnner
Chef Mickeys- This was our 2nd trip to Chef Mickeys for dinner. Unfortunately, we were seated in a small room in the far back corner with a very large group. The group was probably 35 people with both adults and kids. The kids were sitting alone at a large kids table, but were generally unsupervised. One kid threw some bread at another and missed and it landed on the adult table. This was the only time any of the adults seemed to pay attention to what they were doing. Unfortunately, the mom just got up and smacked the offender on the hand and everyone went back to doing what they were doing before. When a character came in, the kids jumped out of their seats and mobbed the character. They had to sign no less than 15 autograph books and take a dozen pictures. So, we felt they were rushed when they came over to our little table. On our last visit, we sat in the large room at the back of the restaurant, and while there were large groups and wound-up kids there too, it didnt feel nearly as loud or crazy. Despite the environment, we enjoyed our food and the service was good. We will return, but will ask to be reseated if we are placed in one of the small back rooms with a large group. Food: B+, Service B+
Ohana- This was our 3rd trip to Ohana . . . we love this place and were not disappointed. The food was great and the service was excellent. We will be back!! Food: A Service: A+
Restaurant Akershus- This was our 1st trip to Akershus and we loved it. I was a little hesitant because Im not a terribly adventuresome diner, but this was great.
After being seated, we placed our order for the hot foods. I ordered the chicken and DM ordered the salmon. We shared the Hearty Favorites plate. We then hit the cold buffet. Im not a fish eater, but I found tons of things to eat that were really good. I especially enjoyed the potato salad and shrimp salad. Even my 2 year old found plenty to eat. Then our hot entrees came and they were delicious. They were hot, fresh, and yummy. We loved the mashed rutabaga so much that our server brought us another bowl. We will be back. Food: A Service: A
California Grill- This was our 1st trip to CG and were hesitant to take a 2-year-old, but it was great. We had an early (5:30) PS because we wanted to catch Spectro at 7:00. The 1st seating is at 5:30 and everyone with a 5:30 PS got a window seat. The view was great, but the food was better. We started with a flat-bread that was to die for. I then had the Filet and DM had the Pork. Both were excellent. DD hardly eats anything, so we didnt order anything for her and just shared. The waitress brought her a basket full of goldfish crackers and crayons. What more could a 2-year-old ask for!!?? DD had a great time, we enjoyed a great meal. We laughed at how different our dinner was when we looked at the table next to us. There were two older couples who were seated at the same time we were. They lingered over wine and were just enjoying their salads when we were leaving. We had told our waitress that we wanted to catch Spectro at 7 and she made sure that happened. However, if you are looking for something more leisurely, plenty of people seemed to be enjoying that too. We will definitely return. Food A+ Service A+
Hope this helps anyone planning their trip.
Leslie
