Tina
Tagless and bitter about it
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 3,867
I just returned home from a great 5 night stay in the World. I was traveling with my good friend and my 4 year old "niece" (aka my good friend's daughter). DH skipped this trip and really missed out!! We did not use the dining plan on this trip as I have a Dining and Entertainment card that gets us a 20% discount at most restaurants. Unfortunately, it didn't do me any good sitting at home in my purse after I forgot to pack it. 
All breakfast meals (except our last day) were eaten in the room since we had a 2 bedroom villa. We bought items in the Mercantile and Roaring Forks such as cereal, milk, juice, and fruits.
We arrived in the early evening last Saturday for our 5 night stay at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge. I did not make an ADR for this night, which was good and bad. Our flight was delayed more than an hour so we would have likely missed any reservation made. But it was also Saturday night and everything was booked up.
We put our names in at Artist point around 8pm and finally got a table around 9:10. Service was very good and I have always enjoyed this restaurant. I ordered the Salmon, which was excellent as always. My friend ordered the filet mignon and she thought it was very good. My niece ordered mac N cheese, which she declared to be "good and cheesy!" Afterwards, my friend and I shared the berry cobler (mmmmmm!!!!) and my niece had her first of many bowls of ice cream on this trip. After dinner, the hostess asked my niece to hang her picture of Mickey that she had colored at the front entrance with the others and then gave her an "Artist's Certificate" for her good work.
Day 1 in the parks- Sunday.
We started the morning at Animal Kingdom and had lunch at Pizzafari. This was your typical fast food fare. Pepperoni for me and cheese for my friend and her daughter. Nothing special, but not bad. After lunch, we headed to Epcot for the rest of the day. We had an ADR for 6pm at Le Cellier (one of my favorite restaurants!!). We only waited about 15 minutes for our table, but had a mishap while waiting. My niece was playing near the railing along the walkway and an ant managed to climb on her leg and bite her. She screamed and cried uncontrollably and we nearly had to strip her on the walkway to get the ant off of her as it had climbed up her shirt. It was a big one too and for the remainder of the trip, she freaked out at the sight of any bug, crawling or flying. Luckily, Aunt Tina saved the day with her magic bandaids (one of those funny looking blister bandaids). LOL. Anyway, dinner was excellent. I started with the cheese soup (which I could have eaten by the truckload!). I ordered the filet mignon (without the maple BBQ sauce) and my friend ordered the Salmon. Both were excellent. My niece had the chicken strips and fries. I tasted the chicken and thought it was quite good. We followed our meal with a shared slice of the Chocolate whiskey cake and ice cream for the little one (again).
Day 2 - Monday:
We started the morning late in Epcot and missed our 12 noon ADR at Rose & Crown since none of us were hungry at that time. We found ourselves finally hungry around 2pm and got a walk-in table after about 15 minutes. Service was good and my friend and I both ordered the Fish N Chips. My niece had the grilled chicken and mashed potatoes. They would not let her substitute french fries, so we shared ours with her and the potates went uneaten. The fish N chips here are another favorite of mine and were not disapppointed. I did find the iced tea here to be odd. I order iced tea at all of the restaurants after confirming that is is brewed and not instant. They claimed the tea was brewed here, but it had an odd lemony-instant taste to it. I did not find that at any other restaurant.
After lunch, we headed over to MGM via the International Gateway. We had a 6pm ADR for the Brown Derby, but after our late lunch, we weren't all that hungry. We decided to go for appetizers and maybe dessert. We waited approximately 10 minutes for our table. Our server started off on the wrong foot immediately. She never smiled and was short and unfriendly in all of her responses to our questions (this was prior to her knowing we were only ordering appetizers). My friend ordered the crab crab appetizer and a glass of wine. I ordered the Cobb salad. My niece had the hot dog and fries. She brought our drinks fairly quickly but did not bring the bread that we saw on the other tables. Our food was brought out by a runner and he told me that the server would be by to "toss" and serve the cobb salad. She never showed, so I "tossed" it myself and began eating. As the server passed our table I got her attention and asked for bread. She responded with "I'll see if we have any in the back...." and rushed off. We didn't see her again until we had already finished our meal. By this time we were steamed and no longer in the mood to order dessert. She came to our table with a basket of bread and I asked for the check. She asked if we still wanted the bread and I sternly said "No, just the check." She rolled her eyes and stomped off with the bread. The bill came to $41.64. We gave her $42 cash and left. I have eaten at this restaurant in the past and had both a wonderful meal and service. I will now think twice before booking an ADR here again.
Day 3 - Tuesday:
We got an early start at the Magic Kingdom, regardless of the fact it was raining cats and dogs and the forecast called for an 80% chance of rain all day. We donned our ponchos and boarded the bus. By the time we entered the gates, the rain had stopped. We packed our ponchos in our bag and never had to use them again. The MK was nearly empty until 1pm and we had the greatest time!!
Lunch was a 11:50 am ADR at Crystal Palace. The buffet was better than I had remembered. My niece loved the mac N cheese and chicken strips. Of course, she also loved the ice cream with sprinkles. My friend and I sampled nearly everything on the hot and cold bars. We didn't find anything we didn't like. The character interaction was excellent, as was the service. 
Dinner was at O'Hana in the Polynesian Resort. We had a 5:30 ADR, but headed over early when my neice began to run out of gas. We put our names in at 5 and had a table by 5:15. This was my first visit back after the menu change. While I miss the rice and beans, the potatoes were out of this world!!
My friend and her daughter do not eat pork and the restaurant had no problem with this at all. I notified our server that we wanted no pork brought to the table. They never forgot and offered us those skewers. They arrived with the turkey and beef skewers only each time they came by. Service was excellent. My niece loved the limbo and the coconut races.
Day 4 - Wednesday.
Our last day in the parks was spent again at the Magic Kingdom. It was much more crowded and hotter, so we took it slow and only visited our favorite attractions. Lunch was a 12 noon ADR at the Plaza Restaurant. I ordered the cheeseburger and fries. My friend ordered the Tuna Salad on croissant and fries. Both were very good. My niece had the mini burgers and fries, but even those were too big for her. This meal could have fed 2 kids. Regardless, she gave them 2 thumbs up. Service was very good.
Dinner was a 6pm ADR at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian. Snow White greeted us in the lobby of the restaurant and posed for pictures. We were seated very quickly. My friend and her daughter were still in line for Snow White when our names were called. I went ahead and sat down, while they met with Snow White. Service was very good and the drinks were always filled. Character interaction was very good with Cinderella, Prince Charming, Suzy and Perla. Suzy and Perla each visited us twice as they seemed to get their routes mixed up and came to us from different directions. We thought the food was good and a notch above Crystal Palace. There is a carving station with prime rib and turkey, a pasta station with 2 pastas and a made-to-order option. The remainder was the standard buffet fare. 3 kinds of breads, caesar salad, spring mix salad and dressings, cold pasta salads, a couple of different kinds of veggies, mashed potatoes, gravy, salmon and chicken. The kids buffet had 2 kinds of pasta, pizza, and a few other items. I don't remember if there were chicken strips. The dessert area was good with chocolate or vanilla soft service ice cream. They had M&Ms, chocolate chips, & gummi candies for toppings. There were also fresh strawberries and whip cream, Mini cheesecakes, bread pudding, bananas foster, cookies, and brownies. We were very pleased with everything at this meal.
Thursday - Departure Day:
Our Magical Express pickup time was at 12:05, so we decided to eat a late breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe. We walked up at 10:30 and were seated immediately as only a few tables were busy at this time. We ordered the ALL-U-Can-Eat breakfast skillet. I asked that the pork products be brought out separately and they happily complied by bringing 2 separate skillets. One contained the sausage, bacon, and sausage gravy. The other had waffles, scrambled eggs, potatoes, and biscuits. We enjoyed everything and had a nice leisurely breakfast. Although the restaurant was nearly empty, we had wonderful service and did not feel rushed at all. It was a great way to end a magical trip.
All breakfast meals (except our last day) were eaten in the room since we had a 2 bedroom villa. We bought items in the Mercantile and Roaring Forks such as cereal, milk, juice, and fruits.
We arrived in the early evening last Saturday for our 5 night stay at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge. I did not make an ADR for this night, which was good and bad. Our flight was delayed more than an hour so we would have likely missed any reservation made. But it was also Saturday night and everything was booked up.
We put our names in at Artist point around 8pm and finally got a table around 9:10. Service was very good and I have always enjoyed this restaurant. I ordered the Salmon, which was excellent as always. My friend ordered the filet mignon and she thought it was very good. My niece ordered mac N cheese, which she declared to be "good and cheesy!" Afterwards, my friend and I shared the berry cobler (mmmmmm!!!!) and my niece had her first of many bowls of ice cream on this trip. After dinner, the hostess asked my niece to hang her picture of Mickey that she had colored at the front entrance with the others and then gave her an "Artist's Certificate" for her good work.
Day 1 in the parks- Sunday.
We started the morning at Animal Kingdom and had lunch at Pizzafari. This was your typical fast food fare. Pepperoni for me and cheese for my friend and her daughter. Nothing special, but not bad. After lunch, we headed to Epcot for the rest of the day. We had an ADR for 6pm at Le Cellier (one of my favorite restaurants!!). We only waited about 15 minutes for our table, but had a mishap while waiting. My niece was playing near the railing along the walkway and an ant managed to climb on her leg and bite her. She screamed and cried uncontrollably and we nearly had to strip her on the walkway to get the ant off of her as it had climbed up her shirt. It was a big one too and for the remainder of the trip, she freaked out at the sight of any bug, crawling or flying. Luckily, Aunt Tina saved the day with her magic bandaids (one of those funny looking blister bandaids). LOL. Anyway, dinner was excellent. I started with the cheese soup (which I could have eaten by the truckload!). I ordered the filet mignon (without the maple BBQ sauce) and my friend ordered the Salmon. Both were excellent. My niece had the chicken strips and fries. I tasted the chicken and thought it was quite good. We followed our meal with a shared slice of the Chocolate whiskey cake and ice cream for the little one (again).
Day 2 - Monday:
We started the morning late in Epcot and missed our 12 noon ADR at Rose & Crown since none of us were hungry at that time. We found ourselves finally hungry around 2pm and got a walk-in table after about 15 minutes. Service was good and my friend and I both ordered the Fish N Chips. My niece had the grilled chicken and mashed potatoes. They would not let her substitute french fries, so we shared ours with her and the potates went uneaten. The fish N chips here are another favorite of mine and were not disapppointed. I did find the iced tea here to be odd. I order iced tea at all of the restaurants after confirming that is is brewed and not instant. They claimed the tea was brewed here, but it had an odd lemony-instant taste to it. I did not find that at any other restaurant.
After lunch, we headed over to MGM via the International Gateway. We had a 6pm ADR for the Brown Derby, but after our late lunch, we weren't all that hungry. We decided to go for appetizers and maybe dessert. We waited approximately 10 minutes for our table. Our server started off on the wrong foot immediately. She never smiled and was short and unfriendly in all of her responses to our questions (this was prior to her knowing we were only ordering appetizers). My friend ordered the crab crab appetizer and a glass of wine. I ordered the Cobb salad. My niece had the hot dog and fries. She brought our drinks fairly quickly but did not bring the bread that we saw on the other tables. Our food was brought out by a runner and he told me that the server would be by to "toss" and serve the cobb salad. She never showed, so I "tossed" it myself and began eating. As the server passed our table I got her attention and asked for bread. She responded with "I'll see if we have any in the back...." and rushed off. We didn't see her again until we had already finished our meal. By this time we were steamed and no longer in the mood to order dessert. She came to our table with a basket of bread and I asked for the check. She asked if we still wanted the bread and I sternly said "No, just the check." She rolled her eyes and stomped off with the bread. The bill came to $41.64. We gave her $42 cash and left. I have eaten at this restaurant in the past and had both a wonderful meal and service. I will now think twice before booking an ADR here again.
Day 3 - Tuesday:
We got an early start at the Magic Kingdom, regardless of the fact it was raining cats and dogs and the forecast called for an 80% chance of rain all day. We donned our ponchos and boarded the bus. By the time we entered the gates, the rain had stopped. We packed our ponchos in our bag and never had to use them again. The MK was nearly empty until 1pm and we had the greatest time!!
Lunch was a 11:50 am ADR at Crystal Palace. The buffet was better than I had remembered. My niece loved the mac N cheese and chicken strips. Of course, she also loved the ice cream with sprinkles. My friend and I sampled nearly everything on the hot and cold bars. We didn't find anything we didn't like. The character interaction was excellent, as was the service. Dinner was at O'Hana in the Polynesian Resort. We had a 5:30 ADR, but headed over early when my neice began to run out of gas. We put our names in at 5 and had a table by 5:15. This was my first visit back after the menu change. While I miss the rice and beans, the potatoes were out of this world!!
My friend and her daughter do not eat pork and the restaurant had no problem with this at all. I notified our server that we wanted no pork brought to the table. They never forgot and offered us those skewers. They arrived with the turkey and beef skewers only each time they came by. Service was excellent. My niece loved the limbo and the coconut races. Day 4 - Wednesday.
Our last day in the parks was spent again at the Magic Kingdom. It was much more crowded and hotter, so we took it slow and only visited our favorite attractions. Lunch was a 12 noon ADR at the Plaza Restaurant. I ordered the cheeseburger and fries. My friend ordered the Tuna Salad on croissant and fries. Both were very good. My niece had the mini burgers and fries, but even those were too big for her. This meal could have fed 2 kids. Regardless, she gave them 2 thumbs up. Service was very good.
Dinner was a 6pm ADR at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian. Snow White greeted us in the lobby of the restaurant and posed for pictures. We were seated very quickly. My friend and her daughter were still in line for Snow White when our names were called. I went ahead and sat down, while they met with Snow White. Service was very good and the drinks were always filled. Character interaction was very good with Cinderella, Prince Charming, Suzy and Perla. Suzy and Perla each visited us twice as they seemed to get their routes mixed up and came to us from different directions. We thought the food was good and a notch above Crystal Palace. There is a carving station with prime rib and turkey, a pasta station with 2 pastas and a made-to-order option. The remainder was the standard buffet fare. 3 kinds of breads, caesar salad, spring mix salad and dressings, cold pasta salads, a couple of different kinds of veggies, mashed potatoes, gravy, salmon and chicken. The kids buffet had 2 kinds of pasta, pizza, and a few other items. I don't remember if there were chicken strips. The dessert area was good with chocolate or vanilla soft service ice cream. They had M&Ms, chocolate chips, & gummi candies for toppings. There were also fresh strawberries and whip cream, Mini cheesecakes, bread pudding, bananas foster, cookies, and brownies. We were very pleased with everything at this meal.
Thursday - Departure Day:
Our Magical Express pickup time was at 12:05, so we decided to eat a late breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe. We walked up at 10:30 and were seated immediately as only a few tables were busy at this time. We ordered the ALL-U-Can-Eat breakfast skillet. I asked that the pork products be brought out separately and they happily complied by bringing 2 separate skillets. One contained the sausage, bacon, and sausage gravy. The other had waffles, scrambled eggs, potatoes, and biscuits. We enjoyed everything and had a nice leisurely breakfast. Although the restaurant was nearly empty, we had wonderful service and did not feel rushed at all. It was a great way to end a magical trip.
. We've always had good servers there and last time, our server (sorry I don't know his name) was great. 
. It was lunchtime and we weren't all that hungry yet. My DD and 3 of us adults had the kid's meal chicken. My adult niece had the coconut shrimp appetizer, and my mom had, her fav, Cobb salad. Even though he probably figured he wasn't going to get a large tip (I mean really, all those women 
