Liberer le souper separe deux (with pics) *Update 11/17 Complete!

[SmallWorld71]

I'm hoping that my fancy french title will bring in a few readers since I didn't think "Free dining, part 2" sounded very exciting.

Anyway we returned from our second free dining trip to Disney several weeks ago and after a few busy weeks of back to school settling in for the kids and I (I teach), we are ready to do our reviews. Figured I definitely needed to get them done before all the great F&W reviews start coming in.

So, without any further chit chat, here are the cast of characters for this report:
Me: Disney fanatic, have been going since the 70's and can't get enough. However, it wasn't until I found these boards that I realized Disney had so many culinary adventures waiting for me. I am not a picky eater and love to try new things, especially if I'm not the one cooking them. In charge of all dining reservations.

DS9 (Buzz): Fellow Disney fanatic and co-author of this food report in all future installments to give those traveling with kids, a child's point of view. This was his 4th trip to Disney and he chose many of our TS restaurants for this trip. A lover of meat, fruit and all things seafood, he is thrilled that this will be his last year as a "child" in the DDP's eyes so he can try more fancy seafood dishes and desserts on his next trip.

DD5 (Alice): Her 3rd Disney trip. Alice is a pretty good eater at home. But, when on vacation she likes to stick with the comfort of her favs (mac & cheese, vanilla ice cream) whenever possible.

My mom: Brought my siblings and me to Disney as a kid and got us hooked. But, this is her first trip in 11 years. Like me, she is not picky and is always up for trying new things.

Here are some pictures of us to make you feel better aquainted. I call these the "we are happy because it is our 1st day at Disney so we are smiling even though it is **** hot standing in this bus line" pictures.

Buzz and I:

Alice:

Grammie and Buzz:

Our culinary adventures included:
TS-
Coral Reef (lunch) page 1, posts 11,12
Whispering Canyon Cafe (dinner)page 2, posts 22,23,24
Cinderella's Royal Table (lunch)page 2, posts 29,30 page 3, post 31
Crystal Palace (dinner)page 4, posts 46,47,48
Kona Cafe (breakfast)page 4, posts 56,57
Tusker House (breakfast)page 5, post 63
Teppan Edo (dinner)

CS- World Premier Food Court (ASMovies) - multiple trips page 2, post 18 page 3, post 42 page 4, post 58
Pizza Planet page 3, post 42
Wolfgang Puck Express page 6, post 78
Sommerfest in Germany page 6, post 80

As well as various snacks.
I have pics of all the TS as well as some of the CS and snacks. Buzz and I will return soon with our first installment, hopefully tomorrow!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Cant wait!

 

[TigerKat]

I'm in......

 

[John's Mom]

Count me in!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Cant wait!

I'm in......

Count me in!

Welcome!

All right, I hate when people say they are going to start and then make excuses. But we were having internet connection troubles earlier. DH fixed it, but now it is 10:30 and Buzz is in bed. I promised him I wouldn't start without him. 1st day will be up, ASAP. Please don't run away.

 

[TigerKat]

I'm not going anywhere.....

 

[oybolshoi]

It's a Freedom Title!

Sorry ... I couldn't help myself ... it's OK to be French again.

Looking forward to reading your reviews!

 

[DLo]

adorable family. looking forward to the reviews. I have a ds10 who will enjoy buzz's reviews. going to cp for the first time this trip so i want to read that one for sure.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I'm not going anywhere.....

Thank-you!

It's a Freedom Title!

Sorry ... I couldn't help myself ... it's OK to be French again.

Looking forward to reading your reviews!

Welcome! I am so honored that you are on board since one of your reviews was the 1st one I ever read here on the DIS.

adorable family. looking forward to the reviews. I have a ds10 who will enjoy buzz's reviews. going to cp for the first time this trip so i want to read that one for sure.

Welcome!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Although this stuff doesn't technically fall under Disney food, it is all part of getting in the proper mindset, so we are going to include it. Plus, I actually took these pictures and where else am I going to include them?

Our flight was an evening flight. We took the "park and ride" bus into the airport. Here are the kids eating donuts from the Dunkin' Donuts inside the bus station.

Buzz - It tasted like a regular Dunkin' Donut.

On to the airport:
Upon arrival we learned that our flight was delayed thanks to a lightning storm in Orlando. So, we had to find some snacks. Here are some overpriced, BK burgers.

Buzz - Tasted like a cheeseburger.

Why you ask, do I bother to include **** like this in my report? Because, I think the airports are doing Disney a great service. By paying outrageous prices for junk, we are so much more appreciative of the good food when it finally comes.

Up next:
World Premiere Food Court and Coral Reef (Finally something good to eat!)

 

[SmallWorld71]

All right. Here we go! On to the good stuff. After getting in late on Saturday night (Aug. 23rd) we spent a quick night at All Star Music before getting up the next day and hoofing it over to Movies to check in for our free dining package. Much to my shock and pleasure there was no line at check in AND our room was ready.

Bottom line, after going to our new room and unpacking there, we were starving. Even though our lunch reservation was less than a couple hours away, we didn't think we would make it without something to tide us over. So we used 3 snack credits at the food court and grabbed a blueberry muffin, chocolate chip muffin and yogurt parfait. These were actually all quite good. Alice was in a bit of a mood (from exhaustion no doubt) and wouldn't eat much so Buzz polished off the chocolate chip muffin, Grammie the blueberry one and I ate the yogurt. We felt these were good uses of snack credits. It was late enough that there really weren't any lines.

Coral Reef
The crazy octupus/squid thingy by the check-in desk:

We had a 12:05 ADR, checked in about 10 min. early and were seated within 10 minutes. At check-in I requested to be seated near the tank and they said they would do their best. We were given a seat on the 1st level but not the seats right next to the tank. This was a great table because we had a great view, but all those little beasts weren't squishing by our table trying to see the fish. *Honestly parents, learn some manners and teach them to your kids!*
View from our table:

Our server was Tania and she was very good. Not overly friendly, but friendly enough and very efficient and competent.

Continued in next post......

 

[SmallWorld71]

On to the food:
Bread and dipping oil:

Either this was really good, or we were really hungry, because we inhaled it.

The kids' meals come with appetizers, both kids choose the soup which was the lobster soup.

Buzz- I thought it was yummy. A good appetizer for the kids' menu.
This soup was quite good. Very creamy. Pretty rich though and I don't think I would want a whole big bowl of it. Alice ate about 3/4 of hers (much to our surprise) and Buzz at about 2/3 and then I polished them off and that was just the right amount. The bread was good dipped in the soup

Entrees:
Me: Grilled Mahi Mahi with cashew-jasmine rice and spicy pineapple chutney

This was delicious! I really liked the chutney when paired with the fish. This was, hands down, one of the best entrees I had all week. I practically licked the plate clean.

Grammie: The blackened catfish over pepper jack cheese grits

This one had a bit of a kick to it. That was O.K. with Grammie who really enjoyed this dish. Just a warning for those of you who can't do spicy.
Buzz: Kids' Mahi Mahi with mashed potatoes and broccoli

This was very plain next to the grown-up mahi mahi, but it was still good.

Alice: Macaroni and Cheese

Mac and cheese, her favorite. She ate it.

Desserts:
Me: Chocolate Wave

Holy guacamole! Warm gooey chocolate! I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I was stuffed from the mahi mahi but did my duty and stuffed it in anyway. This is up there with the bread pudding from 'Ohana as one of my favorite desserts.

Grammie: Kids' fruit cup

Grammie is an insulin dependent diabetic and told Buzz she would have the fruit cup and he could get a dessert from the adult menu. Turns out, with all the exercise she did each day, her body was fine with the extra sugar, so you will see that she is able to have dessert some of our other meals. The fruit was fresh.

Buzz: Tropical Mango Sorbet

*We were celebrating Grammie's birthday that week and she was wearing her button. This dessert was technically hers so that is why there is a the chocolate piece in it.*
I love mango. I thought it was delish.

Alice: Kids' Sundae

Before ( The dish that looks empty had sprinkles.)

After

Honestly, this is a very boring dessert and the only one available (besides fruit) on the kids' menu. However, vanilla ice cream is one of Alice's four food groups so she was happy.

Comments:
I thought it was a really nice place. Especially beacause the had the fish that you could look at. They gave us kids' fish guides so we could know which fish the fish were. It is a good place for kids.

Me: I had misgivings about this place going in but Buzz really wanted to try it. I ended up loving it. The food was superb and the service very good. I will say, though, that even at noon time the place was packed and it was also quite loud in there. Great if you are traveling with kids, not great if you are looking for a quiet meal.

Our rating:
Food - :5/5
Service - :4/5
Atmosphere - :4/5

 

[disneygirl89]

All of these pictures are adorable, and the food looks great!

 

[SmallWorld71]

All of these pictures are adorable, and the food looks great!

Thanks, and welcome!

 

[disneydreamin247]

Loving it so far! I am always happy to see reviews for places I have ADRs for and we are doing lunch at Coral Reef in 2 weeks. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. The chocolate wave is definitely on my list.

 

[jeminni]

Loving your and Buzz's reviews.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Loving it so far! I am always happy to see reviews for places I have ADRs for and we are doing lunch at Coral Reef in 2 weeks. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. The chocolate wave is definitely on my list.

Have a great trip! I hope you enjoy Coral Reef as much as we did.

Loving your and Buzz's reviews.

Thanks! We love compliments.

 

[SmallWorld71]

We spent the afternoon tourning a pleasantly uncrowded Epcot.
Required touring pic:

After traveling under the sea, flying over California, indulging our imaginations, traveling to China to meet up with a Warrior Princess and her dragon friend and watching some amazing young acrobats, the kids' felt it was necesary to have a snack before helping GM with their latest automotive research....
Alice and her Mickey Bar - a Disney classic

Buzz- frozen banana, covered with chocolate and nuts

"Yummo on a sticko"

We returned to ASMovies a little after 8 and were all hungry so we headed to the food court. Sorry, no pics on this one. I always seemed to be exhausted when we were at the food court. Anyway, we had:
Me: Chicken Penne Alfredo, fruit cup for dessert (which I brought back to the room) and either a milk or juice?
Buzz: Adult double cheeseburger with fries and a brownie and some soy milk
Grammie: Kids' grilled cheese with fries and grapes and a milk
Alice: Kids' pita pizza with grapes, applesauce and a milk

The penne was very good although the chicken was a little dry. The cheeseburger was your typical fast food burger. All in all, it was a good meal. Grammie and I actually used our mugs for soda and brought our drinks back to the room for breakfast the next day.

***Couple notes for anyone heading down to the resort food courts. First, much to my delight service her was superb. Even when the place was crowded, the lines moved very quickly. I've stayed value numerous times, but this time everyone at the food court was polite and knowledgeable. I asked the cashier what I could get as a dessert and she said just about anything from the cases. So, for those of you who are looking for a healthier alternative to the pastries, there is fruit, yogurt and salad. Grammie and I always got fruit and saved it for later. Also, 2 sides come with the kids' meals and they always ask you which 2 you want. (Carrots, grapes, applesauce) However, if you only take one, there are cookies, pudding and jello in the kids section of the coolers and you can substitute a dessert for a side at no extra cost.
Food: 3/5
Service 4/5
Atmoshere: 3/5

Up next: Day 2
Snacks at Blizzard Beach and Whispering Canyon Cafe

 

[oybolshoi]

Your kids are too too cute!

And while I would never eat that banana on a stick thingee, I love the caption: yummo on a sticko!

Can I borrow that in my next review if it's a fitting picture? I'll give due credit ...

 

[HonnyDipp]

Cute kids! The pics are amazing too! Thanks for sharing!