May 20-25: No lines and way too much food.

[LilyWDW]

This will be my first review of any sort, so please be gentle! I just know how much help these reviews were for my plans and as such I want to give back to the community. Hopefully someday I will also get a trip report up

The cast:

Myself: 25, still in college, and a "food snob" (quote from my boyfriend, not from me). I enjoy all kinds of food, from a good hamburger to traditional ethnic fare. My two favorite restaurants here at home are Indian and Asian Fusion to give you an idea. One day I could be feasting on Sushi and the next enjoying some good ol Coney Dogs.

Mom: 56 but has even more energy then I do. Also loves all knds of food, though isn't as much into the ethnic foods as I am. Still, she is always willing to try new things.

Places to be reviewed:
Sunshine Seasons- Epcot
Backlot Express- MGM
Pecos Bill- MK
Tusker House- AK
Cantina de San Angel- Epcot
Kringla Bakeri og Cafe- Epcot
Lotus Blossom Cafe- Epcot
Aloha Isle- MK
Goofy's Candy Company- DTD
Raglan Road- DTD
Bongos Cuban Cafe- DTD
Le Cellier- Epcot
Hollywood Brown Derby- MGM
Crystal Palace- MK
Ohana- Poly Resort
Biergarten- Epcot

Yea, we ate a lot... hmm this may be a bit longer then I thought.

I will give the menu description of what we each had, my reviews of it (I always tasted what my mom had if it was different), anything my mom had to add to said reviews, and then a rating for food/service/overall.

It will also be day by day and not just by the list up top.

Hope you all enjoy!

 

[TigerKat]

Looking forward to it!!

 

[LilyWDW]

We arrived at Port Orleans French Quarter about 10:30am and had a bit of time to kill before we could catch a boat down to Downtown Disney. The room was not ready, but they did tell us which building we were in, so we explored the resort, found the building, bought our refillable mugs, and the walked down to Riverside. By the time we got to Riverside, the boats were up and running so we grabbed one from there and were off on our first day at Disney World!

I had planned for us to eat at Wolfgang Pucks Express at the West Side, but neither the Express nor the actual restaurnat were going to be open for lunch! We were STARVED at this point so we headed next door to Bongos Cuban Cafe which had no waiting.

Bongos Cuban Cafe:

I had:
Spring Salad - Mixed greens, tomato, onion, cucumbers, turkey, bacon and crumbled blue cheese. Served with raspberry vinaigreet or any house dressing and a virgin pina colada.

Mom had:
Club Cubano - ham, turkey, bacon, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles served on our delicious Cuban bread and a Bloody Mary.

The salad was excellent and very refreshing. I had a plain basalmic vinaigreet instead of the raspberry and it was very tasty without overpowering the flavor of the vegetables. The turkey was moist and the bacon crispy. There was also black olives on it which I thought fought too much with the other flavors. The pina colada was very flavorfull and very refreshing (I was still adjusting to the heat).

The Club Cubano beat my salad as the best tasting of the two due to the bread! It would have been an ordinary club sandwich (though with crispy bacon which to me is VERY important lol) but the bread that was used really put it on the next tier. The fries with it were boring old fries and I wish they would have done something with them to make them fit the theme better.

Food: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Overall it was good and I would recommend it for a nice sit down lunch, but there are better restaurants and I would not make a big deal of going there.

For dinner we had 6:30 ADRs for Raglan Road. We arrived about 6:00 and checked in and were seated immediatly. They WERE taking walkups at this point, but got quite crowded by the time we left.

Raglan Road:

I had:
Keen Eye for the Sheperds Pie - We give the traditional Shepherd's Pie (prime beef and lamb) a much-needed makeover with our contemporary twist to this favorite dish and a coke

Mom had:
Paddy's Pork - Tasty pork loin stuffed with our homemade sausage meat drizzled with honey soy glaze. Served with buttered leeks, cabbage and mashed potatoes and a beer of some sort that I don't remember (SORRY!)

We shared:
Drunk Chicken - a whiskey glazed chicken kebab served with lime cilantro dipping sauce and the bread and dipping sauce they bring out for ya.

The drunk chicken was SO good and the dipping sauce really put it over the top. It was nicely grilled one 3 skewers, which we split, and were sort of bland to begin with, but once you use the sauce.... it became addictive. I could have eaten this as my meal!

The shepards pie was okay, not as good as I would have expected. It was a bit dry and a bit bland to my tastes, but my mom really enjoyed what she had of it. Some people just have different tastes and this wasn't to MY tastes.

The pork though was amazing! Slightly sweet, it mixed so well with the cabbage and mashed potatoes. I loved this dish and I HATE most pork dishes so for me to say I enjoyed it is a huge compliment. I really should have gotten this as my meal.

Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

Overall I would definatly come here again, but just get something different as my entree. The food, theme, and service were wonderful... I just picked something I didn't enjoy. Nothing against the restaurant for that.

We stopped at Goofy's Candy Company to make our own Rice Krispy Treats. I got mine dipped in milk choclate, covered in oreos, and drizzled with white chocolate. I enjoyed it, but it was nearly too much for me sweet wise. Oh well, next time I will get pretzel sticks or something else instead.

 

[kelleigh1]

Wow...lots of places! Can't wait to read more.

I am suprised the Wolfgang's wasn't open for lunch. I've eaten there for lunch on 3 separate occasions. That's strange.

Thanks for the info on Goofy's. Sounds like I'll probably think the Mickey krispie treats are too sweet too. I don't like overly sweet, but I know I'll love the pretzels, so I'll go that route.

 

[wilma-bride]

Great start to your reviews

 

[disneymom2twins]

More please !!

 

[lajones81]

Thanks for the reviews! I can't wait to read more!

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Hey, Lily! We were there the same time as you, and I was with college Jr. DD and one of her sorority sisters. Wasn't the weather terrific! - and I don't think we waited more than 20 minutes for anything, and only used one Fastpass.

We ate at some of the same places y'all did, so I'm interested on your take on them.

We lived in Murfreesboro for a few years, btw.

 

[srdipert]

We were also there at the same time! Look forward to your reviews. We ate dinner at Bongos one night a couple of years ago and hated it. What you had sounded pretty good though.

 

[ufgator]

Good reviews so far.

 

[candykisses]

Good start for your reviews! I'll be waiting for more.

 

[LilyWDW]

I swear I will be getting the next one up int he next day or so. Been playing Everquest a bunch trying to play catch up on there (yes, I am a geek! ).

Thanks for the words of encouragement!

 

[rentayenta]

Good reviews, keep them coming! I am glad Ragland Road was good. DH loves Irish fare and I was debating trying to fit it in so now I might have some adjusting to do so we can dine there.

 

[DisneyJo]

Great reviews can't wait for more

 

[goiu]

Can't wait to hear more!!

 

[always on vacation]

We loved Raglan Road too. Can't wait to read more

 

[Disneyfan18951]

Can't wait to hear more. I have two trips coming up. Looking for some good new places to try

 

[purpliequeen]

More please! I can't wait to hear your review for the Brown Derby. We will be there in a little over a week.

 

[LilyWDW]

We got to Epcot at opening and used this day to hit all the attractions in Future World and making an early night of it. After hitting Soarin, Test Track, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Living with the Land, and much more we were starving! So we headed to Sunshine Seasons for lunch about 11am.

Sunshine Seasons

I had:
Turkey and Muenster Cheese on Foccacia with Chipotle Mayonnaise and a coke.

Mom had:
Caesar Salad with Oak-fired Chicken and coffee.

There was no wait at this time and plenty of table to be had. The sandwich was premade and cut into these HUGE triangles. It was good, but I felt it had little flavor besides the mayonnaise which really overpowered it. I did like the slight hint of heat it added though. I only ate about half of the sandwich.

The salad was made with my mom watching and they asked if you wanted the cheese and what not on it. It was very fresh, crisp and with tender chicken. My mom was very pleased with it.

Food: 3/5
Service: 2.5/5
Overall: 3/5

I would come here again due to the large selection and healthy options that they carry. However, it is counter service so don't expect anything too amazing from it.

For dinner we had 6:30 reservations for Le Cellier. We checked in pretty early as we were tired and they have a nice waiting area (though small) inside. It was about 6:00 when we checked in. There were turning away walk ups left and right, telling them they were booked for dinner through August and into September. We were warned we would most likely have to wait until our actual ADR time, but we waited with a nice family with the cutest little girl and 2 very nice hosts (one male, one female). The guy recognized my LGMH and mentioned his aunt posts here and we got to talking. We were called in about 6:15 and escorted to a tiny table in the middle of a crowded and loud dining room.

I had:
Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup - smoked bacon and Moosehead beer, 7 oz. Filet Mignon - glazed with maple barbecue sauce and accompanied by cream cheese mashed potatoes, and a coke.

Mom had:
Herb Crusted Prime Rib - roasted Yukon potatoes, finished with a veal demi glace, a Grilled Asparagus, and a Bloody Mary.

The soup was very good, especially when I dipped the pretzel bread in it. However, it was a bit too rich for me to finish though I am sure this was due to the heat. The filet was great, cooked a perfect medium rare. The barbecue sauce overpowered the mashed potatoes so I didn't really care for those.

Mom really enjoyed her prime rib, though it was a little overcooked. The asparagus was crisp tender and simply wonderful! I would have to say it was the best part of this meal!

Food: 3.5/5
Service:3/5
Overall: 2/5

The reason I give this a low overall rating is due to the size of the restaurant and the number of tables they pack in. The food is NOT good enough to deal with this mess. The servers do not have enough room to move about and you don't have to try to hear your neighbors conversations. I doubt I will come back here due to this problem.

 

[wilma-bride]

Thanks for the latest. I am hearing consistently good reviews of Sunshine Seasons. We have often considered eating there but nothing on the menu ever really appealed - guess I am just fussy.

I am really looking forward to trying Le Cellier and was planning to have the filet - I may ask for the sauce on the side as you're not the first to say that it's a bit overpowering.