Our Party - 1st week, just DD (10) & Myself (Mom 43)
2nd week, Best Friend (DF - 41), 2 DD's (DD #1 - 10 & DD #2 - 14) joined us
Stayed off property at a timeshare with full kitchen, so had many meals at home as well as off-property restaurants. I also have a DDE Card.
7/22 - MK - It was an early day for us, so had an early lunch. Cosmic Ray's is always DD's first choice for lunch at MK which is OK with me since I love thier burgers with those sauteed mushrooms and onions. That's what I had and DD had her usual chix tenders w/fries which we always split. Nothing spectacular, but food was good, fresh & hot.
7/22 - Chef Mickey's 8PM ADR - we were seated immediately. Again, this is always DD's choice. Not that I don't like it, it's just getting a little old for me. The food was OK. Thier prime rib was tough and not very tasty (not the first time I have had mediocre prime rib here). Mashed potatoes were good along with a specialty side dish they served (sorry, don't remember exactly what it was). The server recomended the Beef Barley Soup, which I think the chef ruined by adding green peppers to it, JMHO. I think Chef Mickey's has a really good salad bar, and those sour dough rolls....YUM!!!
7/23 - rest day - ate at home
7/24 - Epcot - Another early day with an early lunch at the Electric Umbrella. Burger for me, chicken fingers for DD. Burger was good, but not as good as it is with those sauteed toppings on them.
7/24 - Flying Fish 5:30 ADR - We were seated right away. This one was my choice and I came here for one reason.....STEAK!!! Last time I was at WDW, it was the most delicious steak I had ever had and this time did not dissapoint. I had a ceasar salad with it and it was very good with those "parmesean crisps" on top. DD had a kid's pasta. Service was very good and we got a seat by the window which was nice.
7/25 - Met up with some friends from England (we met on our last DCL Cruise)that were also at WDW and went to Benihana's in the Hilton near DTD. Waited over an hour for a table and were seated with another party of three. I love, love this restaurant. Always a good show from the chef and really good food. I don't like that they don't take reservations, and sometimes you can wait a VERY, VERY long time to be matched to a party to make up a full table. I had the steak which was a little overcooked for my taste but still very tasty. The fried rice is sooooo good. I think being able to watch them prepare it makes it taste even better.
7/26 - Went to Universal - ate at home.
7/27 - MGM - Went early, left early, because 1. DD started not feeling well, 2. we were coming back for the Fantasmic Dinner Pkg at 6:30. We choose Mama Melrose. I got a steak (only because really, nothing else on the menu for the pkg appealed to me at all) which was ok. DD had kid's pasta (even though I had to paid for an adult meal) and most of the flat bread, which I didn't care for. I tried the Hazlenut Cheesecake because it sounded so good, but I think frozen Sara Lee puts out a better cheesescake. The service was wonderful here, but I think if I do the pkg in the future I will stick to the Brown Derby. After all that, DD got sick again within the first 5 minutes of the Fantasmic show starting and we had to leave.
7/28 - We were supposed to go to AK, but DD was still not feeling well, so I went to the market and got ingredients to make her chicken soup. Today my friend and DD #1 is joining us. DD #2 will be staying at her Gramma's in Ocala for a few more days before joining us.
7/29 - MK - My friend (DF) wanted a wrap for lunch, and guess what? I just happen to remember they serve chicken wraps at Cosmic Ray's
. Sauteed mushrooms, here I come. DF ended up getting a chicken ceasar salad, which she said was very good.
7/29 - 'Ohana 8PM ADR - made ADR for 8 thinking 2 hours would be enough time to eat and hop on the monorail to catch the fireworks and late Spectro show. We were not seated until 10 after 8, and had we not rushed through dessert and told our server we needed to pay so we could be on our way, we would have never made it. If this is your plan, I would suggest at least a 7:30 ADR. I chose this restaurant because I thought the kids would have fun and I was right. They got involved with all the games and really had fun. Neither of the kids liked the food served so we asked for Mac 'n Cheese for them and they were happy with that. The food was very good and my DF (who had never been there before) absolutely loved it
. Since I was in charge of picking the TS Restaurants for our vacation together, I was happy our first meal was a success.
7/30 - Cooked at home. My friends from England, another friend from Mass that now lives in Kissimee came over with her family for dinner, swimming and hanging out. I made salad, Stouffer's Veggie Lasagna, fruit salad, brie & crackers and other assorted snacks. Oh, and I had a batch of frozen drinks
in the freezer ready to consume 
. Not as good as WDW dining , but cooking for and seeing good friends again makes up for it. My DF picked up DD #2 at her BIL/SIL's house in Orlando and joined the party later in the day.
7/31 - Epcot - Went to the Electric Umbrella again since DF's DD #2 wanted a wrap. Well, I guess she didn't want anything with luncheon meat in it
(all EU serves is a turkey wrap), so there was a slight melt down. We had already ordered food for DD and myself when I realized there was a problem. Off they went in search for I don't know what (and neither did they). About ten minutes later, my very frustrated DF returned with DDs and a turkey wrap for DD #2. I'm thinking from now on I will make sure they look at a map for food choices before we decide on lunch. We are good enough friends that we both can just ignore our DD's drama moments, (and there are many with 2 -10 yr old & 14 yr old females) and in no time at all, all was well in our little world.
7/31 - LeCellier 5:30 ADR - we were seated promptly after a quick game of Hidden Mickey in the reception area. What can I say, great meal here. I have never been dissapointed with service or food. Always perfect. Both DF and I got the Sirloin Strip. Cooked to perfection and very tasty. My DD got a kids steak, DF's DD #1 got pasta & DD #2 got the shrimp/pasta dinner which she said was also very good. While we were eating a pretty good storm went through Epcot. It was still raining lightly, but we figured Test Track would still be closed so instead of using our earlier fast passes we headed out of the park and over to Beach Club for our Illuminations Cruise.
8/1 - Rested and went to DTD. DF's DD #2 had been bugging her to go to Bennihana's so on a whim we deceided to head over there. Again, we waited about 45 minutes and had a great meal. Unfortunately, we were seated next to the most unfriendly couple. They couldn't have made it more clear that they did not want to socialize. Oh, well. Had a great meal and this time I had Bennihana Punch which was quite good. I had the scallops and they were sooooooooo good. The couple we were seated with left practically thier entire meal...they were very strange.
8/2 - MK- we were all supposed to go to MK early, but DD ended up sick in the middle of the night...again . At this point, my guess is she is getting dehydrated and we decide no more soda or junk food and make more effort to constently drink water. My DF & her DD's head out early and I tell her we will play it by ear and hopefully meet up with her later. DD feels better when she gets up so she has some dry toast, lots of water & Tylenol for breakfast and off we go. We ride Splash Mountain and POC and it is time for lunch. DF's DD #2 wants a wrap again. Oh, no, I'm not falling for that one again. You guys decide where to eat. We go to Peco's Bill and it is CRAZY PACKED!! Well, there's no chicken tenders here & DD must have tenders. DD & I decide to eat elsewhere and we will meet up after lunch. Besides, it's time for another fast pass. We FP Thunder Railroad and head over to Columbia Harbour House. Chicken Tenders for DD and Tuna Sandwich for me. Go upstairs and find our favorite seat by the window looking down onto the path between Frontier and Fantasyland. It is deserted and we enjoy a nice quiet lunch. My DF calles me from Peco Bill and can't even hear me it is so loud where she is. When we left them they were ordering thier lunch. We walked to FP Thunder Mountain, went to the restroom, walked to Columbia House, ordered, received and were sitting with our food and when they called they were also just sitting with thier food. That's how busy Pecos Bill was. BTW, if you like a decent tuna sandwich, you MUST try CH's. It was one of the best I have ever had, outside of my own (I am very picky about my tuna).
8/2 5PM HDDR - We had a very long, HOT day at MK. Usually we do not stay past 2-3PM but since we had a 5PM HDDR show it made no sense to go all the way home (we were staying at Summer Bay Resort, which is pretty far down 192W) only to come back an hour later. We took the monorail to CR and then a boat over to FW. We arrived about 4:35 and had a Margarita that really hit the spot after being so hot for so long. In fact, we had TWO . Oh, Yea, I'm ready for some slap stick, corny comedy now . Didn't eat too much here. Actually, I was still a little full from the tuna sandwich. I had a very small portion of everything, though. The ribs were not very good tonite, and the corn on the cob was downright awful. Salad, fried chicken, beans, and of course, that Strawberry Shortcake were very good. They served cornbread. Does somebody, with a better memory than mine, remember if they used to serve bread instead of cornbread??????? The show was good and the kids had fun.
8/3 - We were supposed to go to AK with a 2PM ADR for RFC, but the kids were too tired so we decided to do AK Friday instead. Cancelled my RFC ADR and got a Fulton's Crab House ADR for just DF and me, which was our plan for Friday. I had raved about the Alaskan King Crab Claws for quite some time to my DF. Since her DH is allergic to shell fish, she rarley gets to eat it at home. We were seated immediately. I have been here many times, but have never been seated in the upstairs, way back room and I will never be seated there again. This room is just too loud. I mean you can't hear people at your own table speak without have to raise your voice, which just adds to the noise level. It's just one of those rooms that all the voices and noise carries terrible. Just an FYI for others that may find this annoying. I'm sure they will seat you elsewhere if you request it. I got my crab claws and DF got the Austrailan Lobster/Crab Claw combo. We both enjoyed our meals very much. We split a Milk Chocolate Creme Brulee for dessert. Service was very good (as always) and the manager was visiting all the tables which was a nice touch.
8/4 - our last full day - AK - We ended up at the Tusker House for lunch, except for DF who had not had her Smoked Turkey Leg yet. She had wanted one since the first day at MK. I had the salmon, my DD had chicken leg with applesauce, DF's DD#2 had chicken sandwich, DD#1 was not hungry and just picked off everyone else's plate. Everything was pretty good. After lunch I had a message from my England friends wanting to meet up for dinner so we can say a proper good-bye. They suggested Bennihana's (again). Well, all right....If you're going to twist my arm. DF passed, she was going on over MIL's for a few more days before heading back to Mass, and she had to pack and do laundry (something I had done the day before), so it was just DD & me. Again, waited over an hour, but had a another great meal and we were seated with another couple from Windermere who were great fun. I got the scallops again which I let my friends from England try, since they had never tryed them before. They thought they were quite good. We said our good-byes (until we cruise together with them again in December) and headed home.
8/5 - DD & I were supposed to go to Universal before heading to the airport at Noon, but at the last minute she deceided she was too tired to get out of bed early. So now I thought how can I kill some time in the AM.
I know , let's eat!!!! I called at 9am and got a 10:20am ADR for 1900 Park Fare. I have never been to this restaurant before. It was regular breakfast buffet fare. I really liked their corned beef hash and carved ham. The characters were fun, although DD was disappointed Alice did not make an appearence. Mad Hatter was there...Sorry, he kind of creeps me out.
Well, I'm home now. I gained 7 pounds in two weeks so it's grilled chicken, raw veggies and lots of water for the forseeable future.
I'd be happy to answer any specific questoins anyone might have
2nd week, Best Friend (DF - 41), 2 DD's (DD #1 - 10 & DD #2 - 14) joined us
Stayed off property at a timeshare with full kitchen, so had many meals at home as well as off-property restaurants. I also have a DDE Card.
7/22 - MK - It was an early day for us, so had an early lunch. Cosmic Ray's is always DD's first choice for lunch at MK which is OK with me since I love thier burgers with those sauteed mushrooms and onions. That's what I had and DD had her usual chix tenders w/fries which we always split. Nothing spectacular, but food was good, fresh & hot.
7/22 - Chef Mickey's 8PM ADR - we were seated immediately. Again, this is always DD's choice. Not that I don't like it, it's just getting a little old for me. The food was OK. Thier prime rib was tough and not very tasty (not the first time I have had mediocre prime rib here). Mashed potatoes were good along with a specialty side dish they served (sorry, don't remember exactly what it was). The server recomended the Beef Barley Soup, which I think the chef ruined by adding green peppers to it, JMHO. I think Chef Mickey's has a really good salad bar, and those sour dough rolls....YUM!!!
7/23 - rest day - ate at home
7/24 - Epcot - Another early day with an early lunch at the Electric Umbrella. Burger for me, chicken fingers for DD. Burger was good, but not as good as it is with those sauteed toppings on them.
7/24 - Flying Fish 5:30 ADR - We were seated right away. This one was my choice and I came here for one reason.....STEAK!!! Last time I was at WDW, it was the most delicious steak I had ever had and this time did not dissapoint. I had a ceasar salad with it and it was very good with those "parmesean crisps" on top. DD had a kid's pasta. Service was very good and we got a seat by the window which was nice.
7/25 - Met up with some friends from England (we met on our last DCL Cruise)that were also at WDW and went to Benihana's in the Hilton near DTD. Waited over an hour for a table and were seated with another party of three. I love, love this restaurant. Always a good show from the chef and really good food. I don't like that they don't take reservations, and sometimes you can wait a VERY, VERY long time to be matched to a party to make up a full table. I had the steak which was a little overcooked for my taste but still very tasty. The fried rice is sooooo good. I think being able to watch them prepare it makes it taste even better.
7/26 - Went to Universal - ate at home.
7/27 - MGM - Went early, left early, because 1. DD started not feeling well, 2. we were coming back for the Fantasmic Dinner Pkg at 6:30. We choose Mama Melrose. I got a steak (only because really, nothing else on the menu for the pkg appealed to me at all) which was ok. DD had kid's pasta (even though I had to paid for an adult meal) and most of the flat bread, which I didn't care for. I tried the Hazlenut Cheesecake because it sounded so good, but I think frozen Sara Lee puts out a better cheesescake. The service was wonderful here, but I think if I do the pkg in the future I will stick to the Brown Derby. After all that, DD got sick again within the first 5 minutes of the Fantasmic show starting and we had to leave.
7/28 - We were supposed to go to AK, but DD was still not feeling well, so I went to the market and got ingredients to make her chicken soup. Today my friend and DD #1 is joining us. DD #2 will be staying at her Gramma's in Ocala for a few more days before joining us.
7/29 - MK - My friend (DF) wanted a wrap for lunch, and guess what? I just happen to remember they serve chicken wraps at Cosmic Ray's
. Sauteed mushrooms, here I come. DF ended up getting a chicken ceasar salad, which she said was very good.7/29 - 'Ohana 8PM ADR - made ADR for 8 thinking 2 hours would be enough time to eat and hop on the monorail to catch the fireworks and late Spectro show. We were not seated until 10 after 8, and had we not rushed through dessert and told our server we needed to pay so we could be on our way, we would have never made it. If this is your plan, I would suggest at least a 7:30 ADR. I chose this restaurant because I thought the kids would have fun and I was right. They got involved with all the games and really had fun. Neither of the kids liked the food served so we asked for Mac 'n Cheese for them and they were happy with that. The food was very good and my DF (who had never been there before) absolutely loved it
. Since I was in charge of picking the TS Restaurants for our vacation together, I was happy our first meal was a success. 7/30 - Cooked at home. My friends from England, another friend from Mass that now lives in Kissimee came over with her family for dinner, swimming and hanging out. I made salad, Stouffer's Veggie Lasagna, fruit salad, brie & crackers and other assorted snacks. Oh, and I had a batch of frozen drinks
in the freezer ready to consume . Not as good as WDW dining , but cooking for and seeing good friends again makes up for it. My DF picked up DD #2 at her BIL/SIL's house in Orlando and joined the party later in the day.7/31 - Epcot - Went to the Electric Umbrella again since DF's DD #2 wanted a wrap. Well, I guess she didn't want anything with luncheon meat in it
(all EU serves is a turkey wrap), so there was a slight melt down. We had already ordered food for DD and myself when I realized there was a problem. Off they went in search for I don't know what (and neither did they). About ten minutes later, my very frustrated DF returned with DDs and a turkey wrap for DD #2. I'm thinking from now on I will make sure they look at a map for food choices before we decide on lunch. We are good enough friends that we both can just ignore our DD's drama moments, (and there are many with 2 -10 yr old & 14 yr old females) and in no time at all, all was well in our little world.7/31 - LeCellier 5:30 ADR - we were seated promptly after a quick game of Hidden Mickey in the reception area. What can I say, great meal here. I have never been dissapointed with service or food. Always perfect. Both DF and I got the Sirloin Strip. Cooked to perfection and very tasty. My DD got a kids steak, DF's DD #1 got pasta & DD #2 got the shrimp/pasta dinner which she said was also very good. While we were eating a pretty good storm went through Epcot. It was still raining lightly, but we figured Test Track would still be closed so instead of using our earlier fast passes we headed out of the park and over to Beach Club for our Illuminations Cruise.
8/1 - Rested and went to DTD. DF's DD #2 had been bugging her to go to Bennihana's so on a whim we deceided to head over there. Again, we waited about 45 minutes and had a great meal. Unfortunately, we were seated next to the most unfriendly couple. They couldn't have made it more clear that they did not want to socialize. Oh, well. Had a great meal and this time I had Bennihana Punch which was quite good. I had the scallops and they were sooooooooo good. The couple we were seated with left practically thier entire meal...they were very strange.
8/2 - MK- we were all supposed to go to MK early, but DD ended up sick in the middle of the night...again
. At this point, my guess is she is getting dehydrated and we decide no more soda or junk food and make more effort to constently drink water. My DF & her DD's head out early and I tell her we will play it by ear and hopefully meet up with her later. DD feels better when she gets up so she has some dry toast, lots of water & Tylenol for breakfast and off we go. We ride Splash Mountain and POC and it is time for lunch. DF's DD #2 wants a wrap again. Oh, no, I'm not falling for that one again. You guys decide where to eat. We go to Peco's Bill and it is CRAZY PACKED!! Well, there's no chicken tenders here & DD must have tenders. DD & I decide to eat elsewhere and we will meet up after lunch. Besides, it's time for another fast pass. We FP Thunder Railroad and head over to Columbia Harbour House. Chicken Tenders for DD and Tuna Sandwich for me. Go upstairs and find our favorite seat by the window looking down onto the path between Frontier and Fantasyland. It is deserted and we enjoy a nice quiet lunch. My DF calles me from Peco Bill and can't even hear me it is so loud where she is. When we left them they were ordering thier lunch. We walked to FP Thunder Mountain, went to the restroom, walked to Columbia House, ordered, received and were sitting with our food and when they called they were also just sitting with thier food. That's how busy Pecos Bill was. BTW, if you like a decent tuna sandwich, you MUST try CH's. It was one of the best I have ever had, outside of my own (I am very picky about my tuna). 8/2 5PM HDDR - We had a very long, HOT day at MK. Usually we do not stay past 2-3PM but since we had a 5PM HDDR show it made no sense to go all the way home (we were staying at Summer Bay Resort, which is pretty far down 192W) only to come back an hour later. We took the monorail to CR and then a boat over to FW. We arrived about 4:35 and had a Margarita that really hit the spot after being so hot for so long. In fact, we had TWO
. Oh, Yea, I'm ready for some slap stick, corny comedy now . Didn't eat too much here. Actually, I was still a little full from the tuna sandwich. I had a very small portion of everything, though. The ribs were not very good tonite, and the corn on the cob was downright awful. Salad, fried chicken, beans, and of course, that Strawberry Shortcake were very good. They served cornbread. Does somebody, with a better memory than mine, remember if they used to serve bread instead of cornbread??????? The show was good and the kids had fun.8/3 - We were supposed to go to AK with a 2PM ADR for RFC, but the kids were too tired so we decided to do AK Friday instead. Cancelled my RFC ADR and got a Fulton's Crab House ADR for just DF and me, which was our plan for Friday. I had raved about the Alaskan King Crab Claws for quite some time to my DF. Since her DH is allergic to shell fish, she rarley gets to eat it at home. We were seated immediately. I have been here many times, but have never been seated in the upstairs, way back room and I will never be seated there again. This room is just too loud. I mean you can't hear people at your own table speak without have to raise your voice, which just adds to the noise level. It's just one of those rooms that all the voices and noise carries terrible. Just an FYI for others that may find this annoying. I'm sure they will seat you elsewhere if you request it. I got my crab claws and DF got the Austrailan Lobster/Crab Claw combo. We both enjoyed our meals very much. We split a Milk Chocolate Creme Brulee for dessert. Service was very good (as always) and the manager was visiting all the tables which was a nice touch.
8/4 - our last full day - AK - We ended up at the Tusker House for lunch, except for DF who had not had her Smoked Turkey Leg yet. She had wanted one since the first day at MK. I had the salmon, my DD had chicken leg with applesauce, DF's DD#2 had chicken sandwich, DD#1 was not hungry and just picked off everyone else's plate. Everything was pretty good. After lunch I had a message from my England friends wanting to meet up for dinner so we can say a proper good-bye. They suggested Bennihana's (again). Well, all right....If you're going to twist my arm. DF passed, she was going on over MIL's for a few more days before heading back to Mass, and she had to pack and do laundry (something I had done the day before), so it was just DD & me. Again, waited over an hour, but had a another great meal and we were seated with another couple from Windermere who were great fun. I got the scallops again which I let my friends from England try, since they had never tryed them before. They thought they were quite good. We said our good-byes (until we cruise together with them again in December) and headed home.
8/5 - DD & I were supposed to go to Universal before heading to the airport at Noon, but at the last minute she deceided she was too tired to get out of bed early. So now I thought how can I kill some time in the AM.
I know , let's eat!!!! I called at 9am and got a 10:20am ADR for 1900 Park Fare. I have never been to this restaurant before. It was regular breakfast buffet fare. I really liked their corned beef hash and carved ham. The characters were fun, although DD was disappointed Alice did not make an appearence. Mad Hatter was there...Sorry, he kind of creeps me out.Well, I'm home now. I gained 7 pounds in two weeks so it's grilled chicken, raw veggies and lots of water for the forseeable future.
I'd be happy to answer any specific questoins anyone might have
Glad you had a good trip overall!
