Just got back last week and am finally starting to recover from my Post-Disney depression (if any of you have suggestions for re-acclimating to real life, I'd love to hear them), anyway here are some impressions/reviews from where we ate!
8/26 - Dinner - House of Blues, DTD.
We split an order of their boneless buffalo wings and the brick oven pizza for dinner. Both were quite delicious. The boneless wings were especially tasty. We finished this up with their tasty Key Lime Pie. We also enjoyed many exotic cocktails with this meal and the band they had playing in the lounge was entertaining as well. This was most likely my favorite meal of the trip - great food, great service. About $100+tip (we drank a LOT that night). 9/10
8/27 - Lunch - Smokey Creek Grill, Sea World.
This was probably our worst meal of the trip. We split a lunch order of the beef BBQ. It was the poorest excuse for BBQ that I've ever had. The meat was unbelievably tough and there was no BBQ sauce to be had. I had three or four bites of meat then we split the fries with the nearby birds. About $12. 1/10
Dinner - Pepper Market, Coronado Springs Resort
We didn't do too badly here. I had the highly recommended wet burrito (chicken), which was quite tasty considering it was 11:00 at night. DW had a Cheeseburger well-done - it was so well done that the bun was charred. We ate in the room so didn't notice it until it was time to dig in. We ended up sharing, anyway, so no big deal. My one gripe about this meal is the $9 plate of cheese and nacho chips. When I think of a $9 plate of 'Market Nachos,' I'm expecting something besides chips and warmed cheese wiz. Added a couple rice crispies treats and a couple of cold beers to take back to the room. About $50. 6/10 on the strength of the wet burrito.
8/28 - Lunch - Some burger counter at Universal IoA
I think this stand was a Popeye themed restaurant - it was over by the Bilge Rat Barges. We split a burger and an order of chili cheese fries. Tasty, quick, painless. About $15. 7/10.
Dinner - Hard Rock Cafe, Universal Citywalk
This was another pleasant surprise. I have eaten at other HRC's and have never really had a good experience, but this was DW's first trip to a HRC so we HAD to do it! We split an order of boneless buffalo wings (we love these things) for an appetizer. They were pretty standard fare, not spicy as we ordered the 'classic rock' coating which is tamer than their 'heavy metal' option. We both had burgers, both were done to medium-well perfection. We also enjoyed a variety of tasty tropical drinks at the HRC. Excellent service. About $75+tip. 8/10.
8/29 - Lunch - Turkey leg, 'Frontier' fries, Dole Whip, and Churros at MK. This doesn't really warrant a review, but this was my first WDW turkey leg and although I'm not a dark meat eater, it was pretty tasty! DW was less impressed but she was opposed to the idea as being too 'carnivorous' for theme park food! Fries were standard McDonald's fare except for the fact that they were piping hot right out of the fryer (I never get that lucky at home). Churros and Dole Whip were both tasty. About $20? 6/10.
Dinner - We split a couple of appetizers at the lounge in Contemporary (sorry don't remember the name). This was on our 'cocktail train' Monorail trip (definitely a fun adults only trip around the resorts) and we enjoyed an order of buffalo wings and fried mozzerella sticks. Both were hot and tasty, and the waitress was very friendly. About $50 inc drinks and tip. 7/10.
Room Service - By the time we got back that night we didn't feel like waiting in line at the Pepper Market - that place really picks up about 10:00 PM! We found out that the room service food was about the same price so we went ahead and ordered a pizza, two salads, and some beers. The pizza was good, salads a little wilty , but extra points for the extra dressing.
About $40 including automatic tip plus another $5 for the guy bringing them to the door. 6/10.
8/30 Breakfast - Boma - Animal Kingdom Lodge - This was our only 'big' breakfast of the trip, and it was remarkable. Our server was friendly and helpful (rare at a buffet), the frunch and the food were awesome (especially the omelettes and the corned beef hash mixture), and the press-pot of Kenyan coffee will haunt my Disney dreams until I get to go back. There was just enough 'standard fare' for my DW and just enough adventure for myself. An excellent meal that I can't say enough good things about. $40+tip. 9/10.
Dinner - Rose & Crown - Epcot UK - We had 7:45 PS for the Rose & Crown and (like everyone else) we requested a patio table. We were seated after about a 15 minute wait at a spot in the back corner of the upper patio. It was definitely a great seat for the 'ground' portion of IllumiNations, but it wasn't so great for the grand finale. We ended up perching on the rail and watching them kinda leaned over. Now for the food - we split a mushroom medley appetizer - delicious. We dipped those amazing pretzel-textured rolls in the mushroom gravy. Mmmmmm those rolls were good (anybody got a recipe?!). I had the world famous Fish n Chips and DW had the Sage and Onion roasted chicken. Both were excellent, as was my half a yard of Boddington's ale. Had a funny exchange with the UK natives at the next table (his daughter Paige was so cute!) and visited with our server and their server for a fair amount of time considering it was so busy. Food and service were both excellent. About $75+tip. 8/10.
8/31 - Lunch - Sci-Fi Dine In - MGM - This place has a remarkable atmosphere - it was my DW's favorite 'theming' of a restaurant. She was absolutely enthralled by the crappy old sci-fi movie trailers! We sat in a car with a family, but nobody said a word (that's what I was hoping for - I'm such a jerk!). We split an order of their tasty chili as an appetizer. DW had a BBQ chicken sandwich, I had the All American burger. Hers was good, mine wasn't. I'm not a picky eater, but my burger tasted like crap. Add that to the fact that I requested onions and swiss and it came with american and mushrooms and I was not too pleased. The chocolate shake we split for desert was OK, but obviously of the McDonald's variety as opposed to the Steak N Shake variety. Service was pretty 'OK.' About $40+tip. 4/10.
Dinner - Late drinks and appetizers at Planet Hollywood - DTD - Nice place. We had a great server and split an order of Cap'n Crunch chicken strips and an order of boneless wings. The food was hot and delicious. Lots of tasty cocktails here as well. About $60+tip (we did at least get souvenier glasses out of this one!) 8/10.
9/1 - Breakfast - Pepper Market - Coronado Springs Resort - I went solo today as DW wanted to sleep in a bit after our late night at DTD/PI. I had some skillet/omelette concoction from the Mexican stand. It was pretty tasty, but cold. I have a feeling it had been sitting on the griddle for a while. About $15 including a couple more rice crispies. 6/10 on the breakfast, 10/10 for the crispies (super fresh that day!).
Dinner - 50's Primetime - MGM - We meant to do this the night before, but I was still feeling kind of funny from that crappy Sci-Fi burger at lunch so we postponed our PS until 9/1. This restaurant had my favorite theming overall, and our waitress (Cousin Liz) was excellent. She didn't hassle us too much, but did make us set the table and did get after my wife for elbows on the table. First we split an order of their onion rings - sliced very, very thin and piled high. We love onion rings cut like this and they are truly a rarity, but I have since found out that Bennigan's has something similar but made from red onions. TASTY. Anyway, I was in the good eater club after I licked my plate o' Pot Roast clean. It was superb, and I'm a connoisseur of home cookin! DW had the fried chicken, she also loved it. We split a peanut butter shake to go that was magnificent. DW also had one of the glowing ice cube drinks, I had a couple of beers. About $80+tip. 10/10.
Well that concludes the trip - sorry it was so long but hopefully it well help somebody avoid some of the nastier fare around WDW. The only place that I would FOR SURE avoid in the future in the Smokey Creek BBQ joint in Sea World, that place was NASTY!
Thanks again for all the help that you guys provided in planning our trip - can't wait to go back!!!!
Matt
8/26 - Dinner - House of Blues, DTD.
We split an order of their boneless buffalo wings and the brick oven pizza for dinner. Both were quite delicious. The boneless wings were especially tasty. We finished this up with their tasty Key Lime Pie. We also enjoyed many exotic cocktails with this meal and the band they had playing in the lounge was entertaining as well. This was most likely my favorite meal of the trip - great food, great service. About $100+tip (we drank a LOT that night). 9/10
8/27 - Lunch - Smokey Creek Grill, Sea World.
This was probably our worst meal of the trip. We split a lunch order of the beef BBQ. It was the poorest excuse for BBQ that I've ever had. The meat was unbelievably tough and there was no BBQ sauce to be had. I had three or four bites of meat then we split the fries with the nearby birds. About $12. 1/10
Dinner - Pepper Market, Coronado Springs Resort
We didn't do too badly here. I had the highly recommended wet burrito (chicken), which was quite tasty considering it was 11:00 at night. DW had a Cheeseburger well-done - it was so well done that the bun was charred. We ate in the room so didn't notice it until it was time to dig in. We ended up sharing, anyway, so no big deal. My one gripe about this meal is the $9 plate of cheese and nacho chips. When I think of a $9 plate of 'Market Nachos,' I'm expecting something besides chips and warmed cheese wiz. Added a couple rice crispies treats and a couple of cold beers to take back to the room. About $50. 6/10 on the strength of the wet burrito.
8/28 - Lunch - Some burger counter at Universal IoA
I think this stand was a Popeye themed restaurant - it was over by the Bilge Rat Barges. We split a burger and an order of chili cheese fries. Tasty, quick, painless. About $15. 7/10.
Dinner - Hard Rock Cafe, Universal Citywalk
This was another pleasant surprise. I have eaten at other HRC's and have never really had a good experience, but this was DW's first trip to a HRC so we HAD to do it! We split an order of boneless buffalo wings (we love these things) for an appetizer. They were pretty standard fare, not spicy as we ordered the 'classic rock' coating which is tamer than their 'heavy metal' option. We both had burgers, both were done to medium-well perfection. We also enjoyed a variety of tasty tropical drinks at the HRC. Excellent service. About $75+tip. 8/10.
8/29 - Lunch - Turkey leg, 'Frontier' fries, Dole Whip, and Churros at MK. This doesn't really warrant a review, but this was my first WDW turkey leg and although I'm not a dark meat eater, it was pretty tasty! DW was less impressed but she was opposed to the idea as being too 'carnivorous' for theme park food! Fries were standard McDonald's fare except for the fact that they were piping hot right out of the fryer (I never get that lucky at home). Churros and Dole Whip were both tasty. About $20? 6/10.
Dinner - We split a couple of appetizers at the lounge in Contemporary (sorry don't remember the name). This was on our 'cocktail train' Monorail trip (definitely a fun adults only trip around the resorts) and we enjoyed an order of buffalo wings and fried mozzerella sticks. Both were hot and tasty, and the waitress was very friendly. About $50 inc drinks and tip. 7/10.
Room Service - By the time we got back that night we didn't feel like waiting in line at the Pepper Market - that place really picks up about 10:00 PM! We found out that the room service food was about the same price so we went ahead and ordered a pizza, two salads, and some beers. The pizza was good, salads a little wilty , but extra points for the extra dressing.
About $40 including automatic tip plus another $5 for the guy bringing them to the door. 6/10. 8/30 Breakfast - Boma - Animal Kingdom Lodge - This was our only 'big' breakfast of the trip, and it was remarkable. Our server was friendly and helpful (rare at a buffet), the frunch and the food were awesome (especially the omelettes and the corned beef hash mixture), and the press-pot of Kenyan coffee will haunt my Disney dreams until I get to go back. There was just enough 'standard fare' for my DW and just enough adventure for myself. An excellent meal that I can't say enough good things about. $40+tip. 9/10.
Dinner - Rose & Crown - Epcot UK - We had 7:45 PS for the Rose & Crown and (like everyone else) we requested a patio table. We were seated after about a 15 minute wait at a spot in the back corner of the upper patio. It was definitely a great seat for the 'ground' portion of IllumiNations, but it wasn't so great for the grand finale. We ended up perching on the rail and watching them kinda leaned over. Now for the food - we split a mushroom medley appetizer - delicious. We dipped those amazing pretzel-textured rolls in the mushroom gravy. Mmmmmm those rolls were good (anybody got a recipe?!). I had the world famous Fish n Chips and DW had the Sage and Onion roasted chicken. Both were excellent, as was my half a yard of Boddington's ale. Had a funny exchange with the UK natives at the next table (his daughter Paige was so cute!) and visited with our server and their server for a fair amount of time considering it was so busy. Food and service were both excellent. About $75+tip. 8/10.
8/31 - Lunch - Sci-Fi Dine In - MGM - This place has a remarkable atmosphere - it was my DW's favorite 'theming' of a restaurant. She was absolutely enthralled by the crappy old sci-fi movie trailers! We sat in a car with a family, but nobody said a word (that's what I was hoping for - I'm such a jerk!). We split an order of their tasty chili as an appetizer. DW had a BBQ chicken sandwich, I had the All American burger. Hers was good, mine wasn't. I'm not a picky eater, but my burger tasted like crap. Add that to the fact that I requested onions and swiss and it came with american and mushrooms and I was not too pleased. The chocolate shake we split for desert was OK, but obviously of the McDonald's variety as opposed to the Steak N Shake variety. Service was pretty 'OK.' About $40+tip. 4/10.
Dinner - Late drinks and appetizers at Planet Hollywood - DTD - Nice place. We had a great server and split an order of Cap'n Crunch chicken strips and an order of boneless wings. The food was hot and delicious. Lots of tasty cocktails here as well. About $60+tip (we did at least get souvenier glasses out of this one!) 8/10.
9/1 - Breakfast - Pepper Market - Coronado Springs Resort - I went solo today as DW wanted to sleep in a bit after our late night at DTD/PI. I had some skillet/omelette concoction from the Mexican stand. It was pretty tasty, but cold. I have a feeling it had been sitting on the griddle for a while. About $15 including a couple more rice crispies. 6/10 on the breakfast, 10/10 for the crispies (super fresh that day!).
Dinner - 50's Primetime - MGM - We meant to do this the night before, but I was still feeling kind of funny from that crappy Sci-Fi burger at lunch so we postponed our PS until 9/1. This restaurant had my favorite theming overall, and our waitress (Cousin Liz) was excellent. She didn't hassle us too much, but did make us set the table and did get after my wife for elbows on the table. First we split an order of their onion rings - sliced very, very thin and piled high. We love onion rings cut like this and they are truly a rarity, but I have since found out that Bennigan's has something similar but made from red onions. TASTY. Anyway, I was in the good eater club after I licked my plate o' Pot Roast clean. It was superb, and I'm a connoisseur of home cookin! DW had the fried chicken, she also loved it. We split a peanut butter shake to go that was magnificent. DW also had one of the glowing ice cube drinks, I had a couple of beers. About $80+tip. 10/10.
Well that concludes the trip - sorry it was so long but hopefully it well help somebody avoid some of the nastier fare around WDW. The only place that I would FOR SURE avoid in the future in the Smokey Creek BBQ joint in Sea World, that place was NASTY!
Thanks again for all the help that you guys provided in planning our trip - can't wait to go back!!!!
Matt
