Mainebound
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2002
- Messages
- 1,699
Hi all,
We are just back from our 2/26-3/8 WDW/Universal vacation. Me, DH, DS3, DS5, and Grandma stayed offsite in a pool home for the first week, then Wilderness Lodge for the last three nights. Since we ate several meals in the pool home, I don't have as many restaurant reports as I normally would, but here are some:
WeGoShop -- not a restaurant, but a shopping service we used. We arrived late Saturday night and Becca arrived at 8:00am Sunday morning with our groceries. She was prompt and courteous and even put everything away for us. I am not sure I would use the service again, though, because she made choices I would not have made with respect to produce and a few other things. This is not a criticism of the service, except for one rotten cucumber, but I just think I need to do my own shopping from now on.
Universal:
Islands of Adventure -- Mythos (lunch). Was great as usual. I still can't believe it is in a theme park!
Universal Stuios -- Mel's diner -- great burgers and fries, loud music, vintage cars out front. Fun!
City Walk -- Hard Rock Cafe (dinner). Great atmo and service, very mediocre food.
WDW:
Magic Kingdom:
Liberty Tree Tavern (lunch) -- we love eating here, although the food reviews are mixed. Great atmo and service, though. DH loves his turkey and mashed potato meal. I had an o.k. sandwich.
Crystal Palace (lunch) -- great character interaction, although we missed Tigger somehow. We love the food here. It's not gourmet, but it's fresh and delicious. Service was great. My mother dined with us. She has gluten intolerance and they took great care of her, making her a special dessert.
We also ate (yesterday -- seems like a million years ago already) at the hot dog place on Main Street, which was great fun! The dogs are all beef and yummy. Lots of fixins.
Epcot:
Mexico (lunch) -- as everyone knows, the food here is fine, but overpriced. You pay for the atmosphere, which is heavenly after a hard day of hot crowded park touring. Great margaritas, chips and salsa. I had the "Plato Mexicano" because I couldn't make up my mind. It was great!
Germany (Biergarten) (Dinner) -- This was the only disaster of the trip. It was a madhouse. We finally were seated, 40 minutes after our PS, and our server looked incredibly frazzled. A woman at the table next to us was shouting for the manager and everybody looked irate. Very bad vibes. My mother had almost no help from the staff on choosing gluten-free menu items, which is really unusual at WDW. It took her forever to get basic questions answered, and when she asked if there was anything she could eat at the dessert bar someone said, "applesauce". Service was slow, and to top it off, some woman sat down inside the reaturant in the waiting area and started smoking a cigarette!! We were sitting in the table closest to the waiting area, and I waited about 5 minutes for the host to put a stop to it (he was closer to her than I was, so he must have smelled it). I finally went up to him and asked him to deal with it, and he did. The band was fun for the kids but I doubt we will return. The food was just ok. Our boys did not like the food, even though they are game for anything, even sushi. We have had much better meals at Marakesh in Morocco.
Japan -- Yakitori House (dinner take out) -- This was fun. We had a Teppanyaki PS that we missed so this was our second choice. The boys got to try something new, and we got the udon (noodle) soup with shrimp tempura on top with a generous glass of sake. Yummy!
Animal Kingdom:
Tusker House Restaurant -- we had a really good lunch here. My mother had the salmon, DH had the 1/2 rotisseru chicken, I had the veggie sandwich -- all excellent. The desserts are excellent too. the boys had HUGE rice krispie treats with chocolate icing. A strumming guitarist in traditional garbs walks around and just outside we saw drummers and the acrobats. The past 2 years we had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, which was underwhelming and slow. this was wonderful.
Animal Kingdom Lodge:
Boma -- Excellent, as always. The chef "TJ" takes such good care of my mother. He brought her a specially prepared dish which was so amazing that three people came up to her as she was eating and sked where she got it. It got to be kind of annoying actually. One woman said, "Well, why do you get that?". It's none of her business that my mother has celiac disease. Honestly! Pepper pot soup was amazing, amazing salads, desserts. Great service.
Contemporary: California Grill
I had not eaten here since I was a teenager. It was louder and busier than I remembered. The bartender was terrible. I got a drink with a fly in it, which I returned, thank you. My DH asked her to make him something unique with rum and she gave him a rum and coke! The service at table was great. The food was very very good but did not knock me out. We had a flatbread which tasted a lot like a Philly cheese steak, then sushi which was very good but not special. I had the Italian seafood dish (cioppino?) and DH had the beef filet, which was just too spiced and peppery for him. It was cool to see the fireworks, but in general we did not like the loud, busy atmo. Maybe I was expecting too much, but, while very good, this was not the best meal of the trip.
Grand Floridian: Citricos
This is a lovely restaurant, very plush and quiet without being formal. Very comfortable lighting and seats. Probably my favorite interior of any restaurant on property actually. Service could have been better -- for example, DH was brought the wrong wine with one of his courses and by the time he got the right glass he had finished eating, although the server comped us both glasses, which we did NOT request and which was very nice. The food was great. I had the lobster bisque and beef filet, which was better than the filet at the Cali Grill. DH had fabulous cheesecake.
Wilderness Lodge:
Whispering Canyon Cafe (lunch, twice): We called this "the screaming place".
We hated it. We hated the Wilderness Lodge actually, but you can read all about that on the resorts board! The service was not good, the food was definitely not good, and the antics were totally annoying. Also, the portion of kids' chicken fingers was very skimpy. It is one thing if you want to visit a crazy restaurant, but we were kind of captive as we were guests in the hotel, and Roaring Forks was just reheated frozen food, and Artist Point was not the place to dine every day with our preschoolers! Service was slower at WCC than at any restaurant our entire trip. At one point I could not find our server and I asked a server close by for help. He said "Do I look like your server?" Maybe he was joking, but I had a crying 3 year old and was not amused.
Artist Point (dinner): First the bad -- my mother and I dined here on our last night. We had an 8:00pm PS. We would be about 10 minutes late and we called down from our room to explain (we were waiting for DH to finish HIS meal at Artist Point. We were eating in shifts because of the kids.). They said "no problem". DH comes back to the room and said he had the best meal of the trip. Duck confit, pan seared scallops, yummy! We were so excited! At 8:10 we show up and are handed a beeper from an unfriendly "hostess" who did not look at us or speak to us. At 8:40 I approached her and asked how much longer the wait would be. She shouted to a young male hostess and he said "25-30 minutes". At that point we became irritated as they were telling people who walked in off the street that it would only be 20 minutes! The young male host, without looking at us, said to the older female hostess "when did they show up?". The older female hostess then started complaining loudly about people who confuse PSs with reservations. I get it --we were not guaranteed a table the minute we walked in -- but this was now an HOUR after our PS! At that point, I asked for the manager. We were finally seated at 9:05 pm.
Ok, now the good. The dining room was very casual and inviting. The meal was hands down the best of the trip. Our server, Donald, was, I think either manic or high, as he repeated himself numerous times, sometimes in the same sentence, but he was great. The chef came out to meet my mother, and while he was professional, he was not overly friendly as others had been. He did not offer to make her anything special, for example. I am not complaining about it -- people with allergies should not expect that kind of special treatment at all -- just noting the difference. Our theory is that the buffet chefs really look forward to the opportunity to create a special dish for one person. I had the portobello mushroom soup and the scallops, and my mother had the beets and the tenderloin. We both had cofee two ways for dessert (she had two creme brulees instead of the coffee bread pudding). Wonderful Pacific Northwest wine selection. Bartender makes a great cosmo and plain ol' martini. This is spectacular food. Worth a special trip, definitely.
We used the Disney Dining Experience card. It cost $50. We saved three times that. You can use it at any sit down restaurnat and you may also use it at counter service at the Animal Kingdom. So worth it!
Hope this helps someone make food decisions!
We are just back from our 2/26-3/8 WDW/Universal vacation. Me, DH, DS3, DS5, and Grandma stayed offsite in a pool home for the first week, then Wilderness Lodge for the last three nights. Since we ate several meals in the pool home, I don't have as many restaurant reports as I normally would, but here are some:
WeGoShop -- not a restaurant, but a shopping service we used. We arrived late Saturday night and Becca arrived at 8:00am Sunday morning with our groceries. She was prompt and courteous and even put everything away for us. I am not sure I would use the service again, though, because she made choices I would not have made with respect to produce and a few other things. This is not a criticism of the service, except for one rotten cucumber, but I just think I need to do my own shopping from now on.
Universal:
Islands of Adventure -- Mythos (lunch). Was great as usual. I still can't believe it is in a theme park!
Universal Stuios -- Mel's diner -- great burgers and fries, loud music, vintage cars out front. Fun!
City Walk -- Hard Rock Cafe (dinner). Great atmo and service, very mediocre food.
WDW:
Magic Kingdom:
Liberty Tree Tavern (lunch) -- we love eating here, although the food reviews are mixed. Great atmo and service, though. DH loves his turkey and mashed potato meal. I had an o.k. sandwich.
Crystal Palace (lunch) -- great character interaction, although we missed Tigger somehow. We love the food here. It's not gourmet, but it's fresh and delicious. Service was great. My mother dined with us. She has gluten intolerance and they took great care of her, making her a special dessert.
We also ate (yesterday -- seems like a million years ago already) at the hot dog place on Main Street, which was great fun! The dogs are all beef and yummy. Lots of fixins.
Epcot:
Mexico (lunch) -- as everyone knows, the food here is fine, but overpriced. You pay for the atmosphere, which is heavenly after a hard day of hot crowded park touring. Great margaritas, chips and salsa. I had the "Plato Mexicano" because I couldn't make up my mind. It was great!
Germany (Biergarten) (Dinner) -- This was the only disaster of the trip. It was a madhouse. We finally were seated, 40 minutes after our PS, and our server looked incredibly frazzled. A woman at the table next to us was shouting for the manager and everybody looked irate. Very bad vibes. My mother had almost no help from the staff on choosing gluten-free menu items, which is really unusual at WDW. It took her forever to get basic questions answered, and when she asked if there was anything she could eat at the dessert bar someone said, "applesauce". Service was slow, and to top it off, some woman sat down inside the reaturant in the waiting area and started smoking a cigarette!! We were sitting in the table closest to the waiting area, and I waited about 5 minutes for the host to put a stop to it (he was closer to her than I was, so he must have smelled it). I finally went up to him and asked him to deal with it, and he did. The band was fun for the kids but I doubt we will return. The food was just ok. Our boys did not like the food, even though they are game for anything, even sushi. We have had much better meals at Marakesh in Morocco.
Japan -- Yakitori House (dinner take out) -- This was fun. We had a Teppanyaki PS that we missed so this was our second choice. The boys got to try something new, and we got the udon (noodle) soup with shrimp tempura on top with a generous glass of sake. Yummy!
Animal Kingdom:
Tusker House Restaurant -- we had a really good lunch here. My mother had the salmon, DH had the 1/2 rotisseru chicken, I had the veggie sandwich -- all excellent. The desserts are excellent too. the boys had HUGE rice krispie treats with chocolate icing. A strumming guitarist in traditional garbs walks around and just outside we saw drummers and the acrobats. The past 2 years we had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, which was underwhelming and slow. this was wonderful.
Animal Kingdom Lodge:
Boma -- Excellent, as always. The chef "TJ" takes such good care of my mother. He brought her a specially prepared dish which was so amazing that three people came up to her as she was eating and sked where she got it. It got to be kind of annoying actually. One woman said, "Well, why do you get that?". It's none of her business that my mother has celiac disease. Honestly! Pepper pot soup was amazing, amazing salads, desserts. Great service.
Contemporary: California Grill
I had not eaten here since I was a teenager. It was louder and busier than I remembered. The bartender was terrible. I got a drink with a fly in it, which I returned, thank you. My DH asked her to make him something unique with rum and she gave him a rum and coke! The service at table was great. The food was very very good but did not knock me out. We had a flatbread which tasted a lot like a Philly cheese steak, then sushi which was very good but not special. I had the Italian seafood dish (cioppino?) and DH had the beef filet, which was just too spiced and peppery for him. It was cool to see the fireworks, but in general we did not like the loud, busy atmo. Maybe I was expecting too much, but, while very good, this was not the best meal of the trip.
Grand Floridian: Citricos
This is a lovely restaurant, very plush and quiet without being formal. Very comfortable lighting and seats. Probably my favorite interior of any restaurant on property actually. Service could have been better -- for example, DH was brought the wrong wine with one of his courses and by the time he got the right glass he had finished eating, although the server comped us both glasses, which we did NOT request and which was very nice. The food was great. I had the lobster bisque and beef filet, which was better than the filet at the Cali Grill. DH had fabulous cheesecake.
Wilderness Lodge:
Whispering Canyon Cafe (lunch, twice): We called this "the screaming place".
We hated it. We hated the Wilderness Lodge actually, but you can read all about that on the resorts board! The service was not good, the food was definitely not good, and the antics were totally annoying. Also, the portion of kids' chicken fingers was very skimpy. It is one thing if you want to visit a crazy restaurant, but we were kind of captive as we were guests in the hotel, and Roaring Forks was just reheated frozen food, and Artist Point was not the place to dine every day with our preschoolers! Service was slower at WCC than at any restaurant our entire trip. At one point I could not find our server and I asked a server close by for help. He said "Do I look like your server?" Maybe he was joking, but I had a crying 3 year old and was not amused.
Artist Point (dinner): First the bad -- my mother and I dined here on our last night. We had an 8:00pm PS. We would be about 10 minutes late and we called down from our room to explain (we were waiting for DH to finish HIS meal at Artist Point. We were eating in shifts because of the kids.). They said "no problem". DH comes back to the room and said he had the best meal of the trip. Duck confit, pan seared scallops, yummy! We were so excited! At 8:10 we show up and are handed a beeper from an unfriendly "hostess" who did not look at us or speak to us. At 8:40 I approached her and asked how much longer the wait would be. She shouted to a young male hostess and he said "25-30 minutes". At that point we became irritated as they were telling people who walked in off the street that it would only be 20 minutes! The young male host, without looking at us, said to the older female hostess "when did they show up?". The older female hostess then started complaining loudly about people who confuse PSs with reservations. I get it --we were not guaranteed a table the minute we walked in -- but this was now an HOUR after our PS! At that point, I asked for the manager. We were finally seated at 9:05 pm.
Ok, now the good. The dining room was very casual and inviting. The meal was hands down the best of the trip. Our server, Donald, was, I think either manic or high, as he repeated himself numerous times, sometimes in the same sentence, but he was great. The chef came out to meet my mother, and while he was professional, he was not overly friendly as others had been. He did not offer to make her anything special, for example. I am not complaining about it -- people with allergies should not expect that kind of special treatment at all -- just noting the difference. Our theory is that the buffet chefs really look forward to the opportunity to create a special dish for one person. I had the portobello mushroom soup and the scallops, and my mother had the beets and the tenderloin. We both had cofee two ways for dessert (she had two creme brulees instead of the coffee bread pudding). Wonderful Pacific Northwest wine selection. Bartender makes a great cosmo and plain ol' martini. This is spectacular food. Worth a special trip, definitely.
We used the Disney Dining Experience card. It cost $50. We saved three times that. You can use it at any sit down restaurnat and you may also use it at counter service at the Animal Kingdom. So worth it!
Hope this helps someone make food decisions!
