Just back - some thoughts on dining

[Kwdsue]

We stayed at OKW from 9/9 - 9/18. There were 6 of us - DH, me, DS, DD and DD and DSIL. all adults. We ate all breakfasts and half our lunches in our condo, so we didn't eat out a huge amount. So I wanted to choose places I felt pretty confident we would enjoy.

We ate dinner at 50's PT, Kona Cafe, D-Luxe Burger and Liberty Tree Tavern. We loved 50's PT, as we always do. We had a 7:30 ressie and wanted to make Illuminations at 8:30. There were 3 other tables in our section, and all of us got our meals within 20 minutes of ordering. Normally, I wouldn't have wanted to rush, but I think they knew everyone wanted to either go to Illum. or the Star Wars fireworks. I appreciated that they made sure we were out quickly. The food, as always, was fantastic. We had the fried chicken, meatloaf and pot roast.

Kona Cafe was also great. We ordered several sushi rolls and shared them. We all enjoyed them. My DH and I were celebrating our 30th anniversary this trip, and our server brought out 2 chocolate covered strawberries, which where also yummy!

D-Luxe Burger was delicious - both the burgers and fries. We loved the dipping sauces!

We definitely got our money's worth at Liberty Tree! The ham and turkey were dry, but gravy and stuffing helped. The pot roast and mashed potatoes were incredible, as was the Johnny Appleseed Tart!

Counter service places we ate at were Columbia Harbor House and Yak and Yeti's. At Epcot, we grazed around the world one night and had fish and chips in Great Britain, Lamb and Chicken Shwarma in Morocco and Gelato in Italy. We also visited several booths at Food and Wine for lunch on 2 different days.

Overall, I thought the food quality was very good, and has improved over the last few years.

I'm happy to answer any questions!

 

[Kwdsue]

I forgot to mention the one thing I learned - make reservations as close to 180 days as possible! This was our first trip in Sep., and I kept reading about how the crowds would be lower, so I didn't feel the urgency to make our ADRs right away. Bad decision on my part! I starting trying to get BOG 4 months out, as well as Beaches and Cream, and never did have any success, even though I checked daily to see if there were any openings. We managed to get into BAC one night at 10:40 pm after waiting for 40 minutes. Normally, I would have said we should just go somewhere else, but DD and DSIL had their hearts set on a Kitchen Sink. We managed to finish the whole thing!

 

[DISNEY1975]

Thanks for the info. Im staying at the Yacht Club next year. My 180 is in a few days. We want to eat a few meals at Beaches and Cream for the convenience. I guess Ill book right away to be safe.

 

[Harambe]

Did you have any meals at Olivia's? We plan on a dinner and a breakfast while we are at OKW for our next trip.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Sounds like you had a great trip and enjoyed your meals out. Welcome home.

 

[DrunkJam]

Thank you for sharing this.

Well done on the kitchen sink!
We thought we might try it, but I think we are going to get the mickey pants one as a take out (DD wants the bucket!)

 

[Kwdsue]

DISNEY1975 - Beaches and Cream is tiny, so I would definitely book them at your 180 mark. While we were waiting, many others without ADRs came up to the podium outside the dining area and also wanted to be seated. I wish they could somehow expand, but not sure where they would go.

Harambe - No, we never ate at Olivia's this time. The last time we were there was probably 10 years ago. At that time, we thought the food was ok, not great. However, that was a long time ago, and I really thought the food in general was better at WDW this time. If you go, I hope you enjoy it!

DrunkJam - My DSIL probably ate half of it! I would have preferred the Mini. By the time we got to the end, all the flavors of ice cream and toppings had mixed together. I thought it was kind of gross! The mini sink is really cute - your DD will enjoy it!

 

[goofyintoronto]

BOG is so hard to get....its too bad you didnt get an ADR. But im not surprised to be honest. Sounds like you had a good trip overall though. I love LTT @ dinner. So yummy! The mickey pants sink is adorable. Your DD will love it.

 

[Dr Gevil]

Thanks for the info. Im staying at the Yacht Club next year. My 180 is in a few days. We want to eat a few meals at Beaches and Cream for the convenience. I guess Ill book right away to be safe.

If you can't get BAC for some reason, try the Fountain at the Swan. Bonus is that ADR's not needed/taken at the Fountain.

 

[nursejackie]

Did you have any meals at Olivia's? We plan on a dinner and a breakfast while we are at OKW for our next trip.

We stay at OKW at Christmas time and have eaten at Olivia's a few times. The burger is the best on Disney property IMHO (and I have eaten alot of burgers in WDW) but my sister ordered another dish which came a little cold and had to be sent back. I also love the club sandwich and we tend to get a table outside and enjoy watching all the comings and goings around the resort.

 

[Kwdsue]

Dr. Gevil - thanks for the tip about the Fountain. We'll have to put it on our list to try!