Just back, more restriction for Oct

[princessnuts]

Just back from a 10 days trip. We dine at the Luau, CRT, Spoodles, Kona Cafe, Tepanyaki, California Grill, Crystal Palace, Chef de France and the princess lunch at the castle. Here is some thoughts about each restaurant:

Luau - Very entertaining. If you are for food, go some place else because it is just basic buffet food even they served it to your table. The show was really good, even my DD3 enjoyed it very much. One suggestion for people with young kids, do the 5.20pm show instead of the 8pm. The later show will not end until way pass 10PM. I saw many parent with young kids left before the show end. And the best is the last performance - the fire dance.

CRT - Our server Jeff was the best in the entire trip. He is very attentive. The slipper desert no longer on the menu. Jeff told me that because it is too labor intensive and the pastry chef can not keep up the demand. DH and I both had the lamd shank and it was one of the best main cause.

Spoodles - The is the only place that I got to order drink and coffee without paying OOP (but only fountain drink is included). The appertizers (lamb and shrimp) are both good but very small portion. I had the steak and it was the worst steak (I ordered medium and the outside was totally burned) at WDW, if you want steak, do it at some place else.

Kona Cafe - Good food but so so service. The waitress was so busy that my DD3's desert (the kiddie cone) was already half melted when it got to our table (it was prepared at the open bar that we saw it sitting there for about ten minutes). However, this is the only place that we were allowed to order smoothie and vergin cocktail with dining plan. We loved the appertizer (sticky wings and crab cake), didn't care much about the main dish (both had mahi mahi) but the white chocolate cheese cake was delicious.

Tepanyaki - the worst TS out of all. They changed the menu starting Oct that many thing is out of the dining plan. The only appertizer that we allow to order are soup or salad (yes, the sushi is not included on the dining plan no more, even it price at around $7) which you can add with your main course order for $1. Juice is not included and I had to pay OOP for my DD3's juice. The lobster is now an add-on for $18 if you still want it and a filet up-grade is $8). Please note that the meat portion is very small with a lot of cheap vegetables added to the meal (onions, zuchinis, bean sprouts). DH ordered the shrimps with steak (up grade to filet for $8), he got about 3 shrimps and a half palm size filet only. If you are a meat eater, skip this place.

California Grill - Second worst place on our list. This place is loud and way too busy. Many people were over dress at the restaurants thinking that it is the "signature" restaurant. The place is more like a busy food court with nice furniture. We like the sushi but it is a huge plate to consider a starter, if you are paying OOP, you can easily go by having this as a meal. The filet was very dissapointing, it was so chewy and the heavy source covered all the best taste of the best cut of the meat. We really think it's a waste. The desert was good, I love the banana buzz. My opinion, if you are paying for 2 credits, go some place else. Don't waste it here.

Crystal Palace - this place has the best selections even it was a buffet. The character interaction was good and the food is one of the best on our list consider we are not a big fan of buffet. Must try if you have young kids or not.

Chef de France - best desert in town (DH and I both had the puff pastry that filled with the best ice-cream and top with the best chocolate that we ever had). My friend dined earlier than us and they waited for a long time for food to come (over 30 min wait after the appertizer). I guess that's how France eat So do let your servant know if you want your meal faster than usual. We did that and it still take a while to eat at this place but the desert is well worth the wait....only if the illumination didn't started.

The princess lunch - We were there for the princess, so the food is just okay. But we did it for our DD3. To see the light in her eyes when she saw all the princesses is well worth the prince.

By the way, do make some PS for back up. We ran into a lady who didn't made any PS and she told us that she practically can't get any restaurants at the park since she didn't do her PS. You will have a little bit more choices if you drive since not every restaurant is easy to get to. Even then the seating time is usually either too early or too late.

Hope this will help someone plan for the coming trip.

 

[jjohnson]

This is the menu of entrees from Deb's web site. Can you tell me if its really this limited now? Sorry to hear about the steak. That's probably what my DH would order.

http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm#res

Thanks for the reviews. Very helpful. I'm considering France for our next trip.

 

[Terri C]

Thanks for posting. I had an ADR for Teppanyaki in Nov. I called yesterday and changed it to Chefs De France. I was afraid I was making a mistake but after reading your review I feel alot better.

Thanks...Terri

 

[Cookie Princess]

I am bummed about the $8 upgrade in price for the filet at Teppanyaki.

 

[byoung]

Thanks for the report.

 

[princessnuts]

This is the menu of entrees from Deb's web site. Can you tell me if its really this limited now? Sorry to hear about the steak. That's probably what my DH would order.

http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm#res

Thanks for the reviews. Very helpful. I'm considering France for our next trip.

This is the menu I printed out and brought with me. I think they did some adjustment, now the lobster is at the add-on section. Hope that help answer your question.

 

[princessnuts]

Another note, you can no longer order sushi roll as an appetizers (unless you pay OOP), drinks over $2 is not included at Tepanyaki.

 

[lacy1101]

I'll have to say that Teppanyaki was probably our least favorite TS restaurant as well. We have a Shogun of Japan restaurant here in Bowling Green and our family absolutely loves it! Teppanyaki was not nearly as good (although it may be more authentic). It was very difficult to understand our server (although it made the experience more authentic) and the food was simply not seasoned as much as we like it. My children were disappointed that there was no fried rice (I think we could have ordered it for an extra charge) and they did not care for the ginger dressing on the salad (neither did I). Also, there were only 2 dipping sauces offered and neither was the favored "white sauce" from Shogun. It was an okay experience, but I would not choose to eat here again. I had a feeling after looking at the menu that evening that they had made some changes due to the dining plan.

 

[hazeyc]

Too bad about your CG experience.

I've had nothing but excellent food and service here. Definitely not a busy food court in my book. I would gladly pay 2 credits to eat there. I would not scare people off from going to this restaurant.

Maybe something else was going on beside a chewy filet with sauce you did not like that caused you to not like CG?

Maybe you'll have better luck next time.

 

[bicker]

CG has never been my favorite. I always thought the rampant use of paper instead of cloth took it down quite a few notches, but it wasn't only the paper cuts, but also the demeanor of the servers that didn't measure up to what I expected based on the great experiences I've had at Artist Point, Citricos, etc.

Having said that, the food was still quite unique, and good. I wouldn't eliminate it from consideration, but I would recommend the alternatives more highly.

 

[DutchsMommy]

Chalk another one up to a so-so CG experience. I agree with the busy, bright environment - not to our taste. The mains we had were also not up to par (pork loin and chicken). For a signature dining experience, it fell flat for us.

 

[lyncruiser]

California Grill is a signature restaurant with a dress code of business casual. So, it is doubtful that the other patrons were overdressed! The place is always a zoo since everyone goes there to see Wishes, regardless of whether they have any interest in the food and wine.

 

[calgarygary]

I would never change reservations based upon another person's experience. Pick the restaurant that best reflects your tastes and offers the best opportunities to broaden your horizons. I have enjoyed Japanese Teppanyaki style dining throughout North America and found that Disney's take on it to be typical. We had an entertaining chef which is the key but if you are after more than traditional teppanyaki fare (sticky rice, bean sprouts, etc.) try elsewhere. I am surprised by a few complaints regarding CG. The quality and freshness of the ingredients was evident to all at our table. We all arrived expecting a large noisey restaurant that we in no way found pretentious. Yes the prices are expensive but we truely felt the finished product reflected the price. One observation is that every CM treats the dining plan differently. If you go with expectations that this drink or this app must be included then you are likely to experience disappointments. We went with the attitude that if you wanted an item order it, and if we had to pay oop then no big deal - after all we saved over $400 on our CG meal alone (there were 6 of us).

 

[Sammie]

California Grill is a signature restaurant with a dress code of business casual. So, it is doubtful that the other patrons were overdressed! The place is always a zoo since everyone goes there to see Wishes, regardless of whether they have any interest in the food and wine.

Completely agree and would gather more were "under dressed" than over.