Just Returned 7/31

[Furnacefighter]

Furnacefighter and family just returned from WDW and would like to share our dining findings with you. Trip takers consisted of DH-me, DW, and DD-17. We reside in the Philadelphia area.

Disney Dining Report

We were in a real dilemma when we prepared for our trip to WDW. Should we buy the Disney Dining Plan or should we go alacart. After reading and understanding the plan, then reading the posts on the DIS, we went pay as you go. The Disney plan seemed like a lot of food and with the hot weather here to stay we didn’t want to walk around stuffed in the heat all the time. We were hoping to spend about $35 each to eat daily at the world but we were pleasantly surprised when our meal expense came out to only $27 each day. We packed coffee and cereal to have for breakfast each morning in our room. This aided the pocketbook and got us to the parks plenty early.

During our six day stay we enjoyed four great sit down dinners.

Le Cellier Steakhouse, Epcot

You Disney posters were right on about this place, great atmosphere, great service, great food. I had the Prince Edward Island Mussels and Pasta, DW had Vegetable Lasagna, DD enjoyed chicken strips. All entrees were very good, the pasta was seasoned perfectly. Enjoyed a couple of Moosehead draft beers that went down very well.

Big River Grill and Brewery, Boardwalk

Another great evening meal. Good brews, great food, very friendly service. I enjoyed the meat loaf, DW and DD enjoyed the big burger. We enjoyed the brewery sampler that contained seven brews in four ounce glasses. We don’t usually have dessert but the Canadian Club Cake seduced us. DD ordered the cake but Mom and Dad helped her consume it. Had a great time walking the boards after dinner. We’re Pennsylvania Shoebees who take monthly trips to the Jersey Shore. We appreciated the turn of the century Atlantic City theme.

Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater, MGM Studios

Fun place to have a meal. We had plans to eat an early dinner at the Back Lot Express but even after 2 PM it was a zoo in there (crowded). Suddenly a loud and long term thunderstorm broke. We ran to the Writer’s Stop right next to the Sci-Fi. We enjoyed a quick drink at Writer’s then asked Sci-Fi if they had any openings. They did so we went in. I enjoyed the Rueben, DW ordered the Vegetable Potato Bake, DD had the chicken strips. The presentation of the Vegetable Potato Bake really floored us. Kind of out of this world. Very interesting and also delicious.

Cape May Cafe, Beach Club

Best meal we had at Disney (or anywhere else). We had a PS at 5:30 when it opened. Since it was a seafood buffet we wanted to enjoy the food knowing it would be fresh. Man, the food was great, entree taste at a buffet. I ate a ton here and did not eat anything that I did not thoroughly enjoy (roast beef was very tender and the horseradish brought tears to my eyes). Without question this was the best buffet I ever had. Fifteen, twenty years ago the casinos in Atlantic City offered seafood buffets. They were good but would never hold a candle to the Cape May Cafe. We enjoyed this meal on our last night at WDW. Nice way to end the trip.

Other Disney Eateries

On two days we enjoyed a large pizza in our room from the CBR hub. We ate at several counter service restaurants and snack stops while at the world. Croissants at Fountainview in Epcot, chicken salads at Flame Tree Barbecue at AK, breaded fish and chicken at Columbia Harbour House in MK, fruit and fries at Fairfax fries and Anaheim Produce, chicken plates at Cosmic Rays in MK, more croissants (chocolate filled) at Boulanguerei Pastry in Epcot, and of course the before mentioned caffeine kick at Writer’s Stop in MGM.

Transportation report posted:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=876876&goto=newpost

 

[ANTSS2001]

great report !!!

 

[Kaycee]

Thanks for the reviews - I enjoyed reading them!

 

[tortoni]

Thanks, sounds like you had a great time.

 

[pbharris4]

Thanks for the report! Cape May Cafe is one our "must do" restaurants. The breakfast is pretty good, too!

 

[natalielongstaff]

thanks for the great report

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your review ~ Thanx for posting.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Nice reviews. That is our take on Big River Grille also. Can't get enough of that meatloaf!! Combine it with great beer selection and---

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the reviews. We also liked Sci- Fi when we ate there for the first time last December.

 

[Belle5]

Thanks for the reviews! Wish you had a photo of that potato at Sci-Fi--sounds interesting! Haven't heard of anyone ordering it before...
That Writer's Stop was an unexpected find for us. Nice place for a coffee.

 

[meatballsmom]

Great reviews!! But I have one question.... Did you really only spend $27 pp per day?? You must eat nothing all day. Or I must eat like a pig!! Between breakfast lunch and dinner??? And snack or water/drink?? I was figuring even if I just ate 2 meals and didn't order an appetizer, between the meals and drinks and tips it would come to at least $35. Did you include everything in when you figure it out?

 

[Furnacefighter]

No, no, no, we ate very well. That $27 a day also included a 15% tip. We did eat lightly in the afternoon if we were going to a resturant for dinner in the afternoon or evening, but we didn't feel starved at any time. Things that we did remove from our totals were alcoholic beverages and the half dozen bottles of water that we drank due to the heat. We did add $2 to each person total for water paid by the Disney plan to make the comparison fair. Also we didn't order any starters and seldom had dessert. One big advantage that we did enjoy was our daughter does not enjoy rich food. At all the resturants that we ate in at the world she allowed to order off the children's menu.

 

[Leota]

Thanx for the reviews. I always appreciate when folks take time to post them. I know it takes some effort to do so.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Thanks for the reviews and insights.

 

[LAWalz23]

We really like Cape May, too! Both breakfast and dinner.

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

Thanks for the detailed reviews! Never thought about Cape May, but am now!

N.E.D.

 

[LiteBrite]

Great reviews!! But I have one question.... Did you really only spend $27 pp per day?? You must eat nothing all day. Or I must eat like a pig!! Between breakfast lunch and dinner??? And snack or water/drink?? I was figuring even if I just ate 2 meals and didn't order an appetizer, between the meals and drinks and tips it would come to at least $35. Did you include everything in when you figure it out?

It's definitely possible to do this. We're using the free dining plan on our upcoming trip, but typically we budget $25/person/day for myself, hubby, our teenager, and sometimes her boyfriend if he comes with us. We're able to keep to this fairly easily by doing the following:
- we take cereal and poptarts to eat breakfast in the room every morning
- we don't eat more than one table service meal per day, and some days we only eat counter service
- we bring our own snacks (crackers, nuts, etc.)
- we never order alcoholic beverages (we're not drinkers anyway) or sodas, only ice water
- we usually don't order appetizers, and if we do occasionally get dessert, we get one for the table to share
- sometimes we'll share entrees
- we don't order the most expensive things on the menu.
- we use the DDE card (we're Florida residents, so we've always been able to get this. It typically pays for itself in one trip.)

That's our formula, and it works well for us. We always have plenty to eat and don't feel deprived at all.