Last Day Lunch

[Colleen27]

I've got my ADR list almost finalized, but our last day is still up in the air. I had planned for Ohana but my kids don't really want to go back there. DS requested Kona but changed his mind when I showed him a current menu. We're not doing a park and we'll have a car, so pretty much any non-park restaurant could work.

So now I'm having trouble deciding... Paddlefish? We always wanted to try Fultons but never had time. Or Boathouse? Their menu looks better than Paddlefish to me. But Homecomin' gets some really great reviews too.

Which would you pick?

 

[LovesTimone]

We love Boathouse, it's really nice and the food and service are spot on... It's a relaxed environment but really nice, linen table cloth's, and more structure meal. My family for the last day when we lived out of state, they always wanted a character meal, sorta to say goodbye till next time. Once we moved back here(Orlando) they really don't care that much as long as its fun. So normally Rainforest, T-REX or Planet Hollywood, are a good spot for some fun and relaxed, and not fancy dinning. Some friends just went to Homecoming, and said it was good, she said she thought it sorta had that chain restaurant vibe, and wished they would have kept the Rainforest ADR that they had originally her kids said that Homecoming wasn't fun. She said that the servers seem very scripted and kinda stiff, whatever that means..

 

[sleepydog25]

Boathouse. Better menu. Better service. Better food.

Homecoming: Some love it. We thought it just decent. I prefer my fried chicken to not have a sweet batter nor be sprinkled with powdered sugar. Mashed potatoes were tasty enough on their own but had unnecessary bacon added to them and a thick, gooey gravy (prefer mine a bit thinner). Salad was good-sized but was bordering on being wilted. Bourbon basil mash drink was very good, though.

Paddlefish: Just don't. Not worth the Signature tag.

 

[Colleen27]

My bunch is older - the kids are two young adults, a teen, and a 9yo - so character meals aren't the must-do they once were. And in my quest to raise non-picky kids I inadvertently created a herd of little foodies with unusual tastes. We did like T-Rex when we were there, but it is basically a rethemed version of RFC and we have one of those relatively nearby that we get to once or twice a year, so it isn't a big vacation draw. And none of us really liked Planet Hollywood. It has been years since we were there last, but the food was basically TGI Fridays quality and the place was so loud it was hard to have a conversation during the very long wait for our meals.

Boathouse is starting to sound like the best of the bunch. I love me some southern food, which is why the Homecomin' reviews keep catching my eye, but "sweet" isn't a word that should apply to fried chicken or collard greens and I've seen it used for both.

 

[VAfamily1998]

What day of the week will it be? Raglan road has their live music/dancing starting at noon on Saturdays and Sundays. We were at Disney last week and our last day was a Saturday, with a 6pm flight home, so we went to Raglan road for a noon brunch. The food was great and the entertainment was wonderful.
My kids that came with me are 15 and 17 year old boys.

 

[sleepydog25]

My bunch is older - the kids are two young adults, a teen, and a 9yo - so character meals aren't the must-do they once were. And in my quest to raise non-picky kids I inadvertently created a herd of little foodies with unusual tastes. We did like T-Rex when we were there, but it is basically a rethemed version of RFC and we have one of those relatively nearby that we get to once or twice a year, so it isn't a big vacation draw. And none of us really liked Planet Hollywood. It has been years since we were there last, but the food was basically TGI Fridays quality and the place was so loud it was hard to have a conversation during the very long wait for our meals.

Boathouse is starting to sound like the best of the bunch. I love me some southern food, which is why the Homecomin' reviews keep catching my eye, but "sweet" isn't a word that should apply to fried chicken or collard greens and I've seen it used for both.

Having a "herd of little foodies" is a good thing! I know many others adore Homecomin' and it was okay to be fair. Still, I've heard from and read quite a few reviews similar to mine--decent food but just not the sort of southern cooking to which I'm used (spanning LA, MS, TX, VA, and points between). I want my chicken salted and peppered, my potatoes fluffy, my gravy running over the potatoes not glomming onto them, and my greens with a touch of malt vinegar and hot sauce. That's just me, though. . .

 

[Haygar2]

I am going to be in the minority. I vote no on Homecoming. That was the one I was most excited for. I didn't change it once I booked it. I am known for tweaking everything. I wish I would have changed that to Boma. Is it good. Yes. It's okay. The mac and cheese was really good. The hush puppies were really good. The jalapeno jelly was awesome. The mashed potatoes were good. The chicken was just okay for us. The batter is very thick and you can taste the thyme in the batter. It was too much for me. And everything was so HEAVY. The dinner needed something to cut the heaviness. And the portion size was enormous. We couldn't even come close to finishing. I wanted to love it. I wanted it to be one of the restaurants that was on our MUST DO list. Unfortunately, it was our least favorite meal of our trip. Again, it was good but there are so many better places. In my opinion.

 

[AppleSister1]

We used to love Fulton's, but haven't tried Paddlefish yet. I CAN say that the Boathouse is very good, and I'd eat there again anytime.

 

[kwdw]

I'll also give a no vote to Homecomin'. It just wasn't that good. The fried chicken was weird - in not a good way. And dry.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I can't really say out of the choices, as I haven't been to any of them, but what we've done when we've had a car was pick a restaurant at a resort we're considering staying at on a future trip. It gives us a chance to look around and get a feel for whether it should move up the list.

 

[Colleen27]

Having a "herd of little foodies" is a good thing! I know many others adore Homecomin' and it was okay to be fair. Still, I've heard from and read quite a few reviews similar to mine--decent food but just not the sort of southern cooking to which I'm used (spanning LA, MS, TX, VA, and points between). I want my chicken salted and peppered, my potatoes fluffy, my gravy running over the potatoes not glomming onto them, and my greens with a touch of malt vinegar and hot sauce. That's just me, though. . .

I love southern cooking of the GA variety - you'd be surprised how many Detroiters have roots in that area, and that's the southern cooking I grew up with - and what I've been reading about Homecomin' makes me think that's not quite what they're doing there.

I can't really say out of the choices, as I haven't been to any of them, but what we've done when we've had a car was pick a restaurant at a resort we're considering staying at on a future trip. It gives us a chance to look around and get a feel for whether it should move up the list.

I like that idea. Not sure there's anywhere we're considering staying in the future that we haven't already been, though! OKW, maybe. I haven't looked at the menu for Olivia's in while, that might be worth a look.

 

[sleepydog25]

I love southern cooking of the GA variety - you'd be surprised how many Detroiters have roots in that area, and that's the southern cooking I grew up with - and what I've been reading about Homecomin' makes me think that's not quite what they're doing there.

I won't say that "real" southern cooking doesn't have lightly sweet battered chicken and topped with a touch of powdered sugar because just as with Italian cooking, much depends on the region, even sub-regions. And I've not been and eaten at all of them (though a lot of them in my lifetime). However, I'm comfortable in saying that what Art Smith has done at Homecomin' isn't typical to me. I love differences. . .I just can't wrap my mind around sweetish chicken, gluey gravy, etc. Now, I will say the chicken was very moist, cooked perfectly. . .just not my kind of chicken.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I like that idea. Not sure there's anywhere we're considering staying in the future that we haven't already been, though! OKW, maybe. I haven't looked at the menu for Olivia's in while, that might be worth a look.

We went for breakfast on our last trip - loved the resort, liked the food, but found the service slow. (We come from the land of keep-the-coffee-comin'.)

Take my opinion for what it's worth (again, I haven't actually been to any of the ones on the list) but I had a chance to look at the entries on Disney's website since my last post, and if I was trying one, it would definitely be Paddlefish! I think the setting sounds really cool, and frankly, they had me a "lobster guacamole".

 

[sleepydog25]

Well, we've been to Paddlefish and it's simply not worth the title of a Signature restaurant, though its prices say differently. The host/hostessing has problems, and we're not the only ones who had an issue--just take a quick gander at any major travel rating site. Though one of the first diners and a specific request to sit at or near a window one evening, we were dumped at a two-top nowhere near a window but close to a work station. . .and this after we had asked to be moved once already because we were even closer to a work station and farther from a window to start. Service wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good, either. We sat without wine the last half of our dinner and would gladly have bought another glass if asked. Food was uneven. While my lobster corn dogs were excellent, the grilled octopus had both great bites and rubbery, nasty bites. The crab ceviche was simply pitiful--tasted tinny, canned, and lacked zest. Overall, it was a lackluster experience.

So, we go back two months later to visit their rooftop bar. We walk upstairs and wait. And wait. Two servers look right at us and say nothing. We walk over to a table to see if the view is nice (and it was), and stood around for a moment. Do we seat ourselves? Do we need a hostess? Don't know and never found out. After another couple of minutes with no interaction by anyone on their staff, we left. We even walked right by the bar, slowly, on the way out and a server who had been standing there chatting with another simply glanced and said nothing to us.

In short, we've seen the last of Paddlefish. There are simply too many other nice places to eat without bothering with them.