We just got back from our WDW vacation (9/18-24) and I thought I'd share our dining experiences. Maybe this will help anyone who is thinking about dining at any of these places...
I'll start w/our TS meals:
Liberty Tree Tavern - We had an early dinner reservation (4pm) on the day we arrived at WDW. Maybe it was because of the early dinner that they didn't announce the families??? I heard that they asked where you were from then they announced you into your room where you would be dining. No such thing while we were there.
In case you're not familiar w/LTT, the food is family style so there's not a menu you choose from. We were served a plate with a heap of stuffing in the middle then there were slices of meat stacked around the stuffing. There was turkey, ham and roast beef. The sides were green beans (the haricot vert style, not the southern style canned green beans,) mac & cheese and mashed potatoes. There was a gravy boat and some small rolls w/honey buttter on the table.
Honestly, everything tasted like it was frozen and reheated. I seriously could have done better at home. This meal was just *meh.*
We will not be dining here again.
Next, Chef Mickey's - We ate here during our last trip in 2007 and we loved it. The character interaction was wonderful, the food was decent, we really enjoyed ourselves. This time was quite different.
When we arrived for our 8:45am reservation, there was a line way out the front of the restaurant. My lovely DH offered to wait in line while I sat in the lounge area with the kids. That line was around 20 minutes long. That was just to check in! After that, they wanted us to wait in another line just to have our picture made with Chef Mickey. We said "no way!" so we were informed that the picture time would be the only time we would be able to meet Chef Mickey (he doesn't make rounds around the restaurant anymore like he did when we were there last time.
) We still declined to stand in that line so we were given a pager and told to wait in another waiting area until a table was ready. We probably waited another 15-20 minutes.
We finally got called to our table, hit the buffet and got to meet Minnie, Goofy, Pluto & Donald. The characters were pretty good but the time spent was not what I remember from last time. As far as the food goes, STICK WITH THE BASICS! I tried the quiches and they were all horrible! Stick with things that can't be messed up like bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, fruit, etc. Don't try anything fancy b/c it is NOT good. We will probably skip Chef Mickey's next time. It was nothing like we remembered from our last trip.
Teppan Edo - Typical teppan yaki style food. It was good, the entertainment was standard with a few Disney themed jokes thrown in but we waited way too long for our chef to come out once we got seated. Both DH & I thought there could have been more food, too. We pay the same at our local Japanese steak house and get way more food. The food was fine but a little on the bland side. DH & I both agreed...and things are sometimes too salty for me. We agreed that we had a nice time there and would recommend it but will probably stick to our local Japanese restaurant and try a different restaurant next time we go.
Le Cellier - We adored this restaurant last time we went. This time, it was still good but lackluster. There was nothing I could put my finger on but the food was good just not great. Know what I mean? I bought the cheese soup b/c apps were not included on the regular dining plan and that was the best part of my meal, even though I got the mushroom filet. Don't get me wrong, it was enjoyable but just not as special as it was last time. DH & I both agreed that there was just something missing. The food just wasn't quite as good. Service was great, though.
Crystal Palace - We did a late breakfast here. The omelette bar was awesome! Everything we tried we liked. We even got the benefit of swiping some of the lunch items they were putting out as the breakfast items were being cleared. If you go for lunch or dinner, try the banana walnut bread pudding. OMGsh!
All of the breakfast food was great!
The character interaction was wonderful! Tigger blew every other character out of the water! He was awesome! We will definitely be back!
Via Napoli - This was pretty good but nothing special, IMO. If you like wood fired pizzas, parmesean dishes or basic pastas, this is up your alley. DH & the kids ended up with spaghetti & meatballs. They all liked it allright but said they had eaten better. I had a pizza - the one with artichokes, mushrooms, cheese and ham. It was better than I expected but still not wonderful. My first bite, I got a bunch of artichokes on it and I almost choked b/c they were not the super tender hearts, like I expected. Some of them were slightly woody and tough around the edges. I wasn't expecting that. The service was fine but could have been a little more enthusiastic. The server & I finally hit a rapport toward the end of our meal but it took some doing on my part. IMO, that should be his job, not mine...BUT...he still did a good job. He was always around when we needed him.
The wait staff brought my daughter a cookie w/whipped cream, raspberry sauce and a candle and sang happy birthday to her (it was her 2nd b-day that day.) She really liked that.
The dessert was heavenly! We got the "ugly but good" thing w/the ugly but good cookies, vanilla gelato & cherries. OMGsh! That was good stuff!
All in all, we will not choose Via Napoli again but it was pretty good. And like I said, the dessert was really yummy!
This is not a full review, just my opinions on the restaurants where we ate. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If you have anything to add, feel free but be nice. These are not the opinions of everyone, just mine.
I will do a quick review of the TS meals we had tomorrow but I'm tired now so I'm off to bed. Good night everyone!
I'll start w/our TS meals:
Liberty Tree Tavern - We had an early dinner reservation (4pm) on the day we arrived at WDW. Maybe it was because of the early dinner that they didn't announce the families??? I heard that they asked where you were from then they announced you into your room where you would be dining. No such thing while we were there.
In case you're not familiar w/LTT, the food is family style so there's not a menu you choose from. We were served a plate with a heap of stuffing in the middle then there were slices of meat stacked around the stuffing. There was turkey, ham and roast beef. The sides were green beans (the haricot vert style, not the southern style canned green beans,) mac & cheese and mashed potatoes. There was a gravy boat and some small rolls w/honey buttter on the table.
Honestly, everything tasted like it was frozen and reheated. I seriously could have done better at home. This meal was just *meh.*
We will not be dining here again.Next, Chef Mickey's - We ate here during our last trip in 2007 and we loved it. The character interaction was wonderful, the food was decent, we really enjoyed ourselves. This time was quite different.
When we arrived for our 8:45am reservation, there was a line way out the front of the restaurant. My lovely DH offered to wait in line while I sat in the lounge area with the kids. That line was around 20 minutes long. That was just to check in! After that, they wanted us to wait in another line just to have our picture made with Chef Mickey. We said "no way!" so we were informed that the picture time would be the only time we would be able to meet Chef Mickey (he doesn't make rounds around the restaurant anymore like he did when we were there last time.
) We still declined to stand in that line so we were given a pager and told to wait in another waiting area until a table was ready. We probably waited another 15-20 minutes.We finally got called to our table, hit the buffet and got to meet Minnie, Goofy, Pluto & Donald. The characters were pretty good but the time spent was not what I remember from last time. As far as the food goes, STICK WITH THE BASICS! I tried the quiches and they were all horrible! Stick with things that can't be messed up like bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, fruit, etc. Don't try anything fancy b/c it is NOT good. We will probably skip Chef Mickey's next time. It was nothing like we remembered from our last trip.
Teppan Edo - Typical teppan yaki style food. It was good, the entertainment was standard with a few Disney themed jokes thrown in but we waited way too long for our chef to come out once we got seated. Both DH & I thought there could have been more food, too. We pay the same at our local Japanese steak house and get way more food. The food was fine but a little on the bland side. DH & I both agreed...and things are sometimes too salty for me. We agreed that we had a nice time there and would recommend it but will probably stick to our local Japanese restaurant and try a different restaurant next time we go.
Le Cellier - We adored this restaurant last time we went. This time, it was still good but lackluster. There was nothing I could put my finger on but the food was good just not great. Know what I mean? I bought the cheese soup b/c apps were not included on the regular dining plan and that was the best part of my meal, even though I got the mushroom filet. Don't get me wrong, it was enjoyable but just not as special as it was last time. DH & I both agreed that there was just something missing. The food just wasn't quite as good. Service was great, though.
Crystal Palace - We did a late breakfast here. The omelette bar was awesome! Everything we tried we liked. We even got the benefit of swiping some of the lunch items they were putting out as the breakfast items were being cleared. If you go for lunch or dinner, try the banana walnut bread pudding. OMGsh!
All of the breakfast food was great! The character interaction was wonderful! Tigger blew every other character out of the water! He was awesome! We will definitely be back!
Via Napoli - This was pretty good but nothing special, IMO. If you like wood fired pizzas, parmesean dishes or basic pastas, this is up your alley. DH & the kids ended up with spaghetti & meatballs. They all liked it allright but said they had eaten better. I had a pizza - the one with artichokes, mushrooms, cheese and ham. It was better than I expected but still not wonderful. My first bite, I got a bunch of artichokes on it and I almost choked b/c they were not the super tender hearts, like I expected. Some of them were slightly woody and tough around the edges. I wasn't expecting that. The service was fine but could have been a little more enthusiastic. The server & I finally hit a rapport toward the end of our meal but it took some doing on my part. IMO, that should be his job, not mine...BUT...he still did a good job. He was always around when we needed him.
The wait staff brought my daughter a cookie w/whipped cream, raspberry sauce and a candle and sang happy birthday to her (it was her 2nd b-day that day.) She really liked that.
The dessert was heavenly! We got the "ugly but good" thing w/the ugly but good cookies, vanilla gelato & cherries. OMGsh! That was good stuff!
All in all, we will not choose Via Napoli again but it was pretty good. And like I said, the dessert was really yummy!
This is not a full review, just my opinions on the restaurants where we ate. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If you have anything to add, feel free but be nice. These are not the opinions of everyone, just mine.
I will do a quick review of the TS meals we had tomorrow but I'm tired now so I'm off to bed. Good night everyone!
