sweetnjmom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 14, 2013
- Messages
- 815
Here are my reviews from my trip last week. We were on the DDP and paid for a few meals OOP (1 QS and 1 TS) because I wanted to go to Le Cellier.
11/11
Rainforest Cafe - Chosen because DS4 loves animals and said he was afraid of dinosaurs. DH and I had cheeseburgers. Really good. Fries were tasty too. Oddly, DS chose the dinosaur shaped chicken fingers. Basic meal. Hit the spot after traveling. Paid OOP.
11/12
Breakfast: Crystal Palace (ADR 8:15) - One of the reasons we chose this was to arrive before park opening and have photos taken in front of the castle with minimal crowds. That part was great. The food was typical buffet fare--I tried the Puffed French Toast and really enjoyed it. The chef at the pancake station made my DS Mickey shaped pancakes and he LOVED them. Character interaction was good.
Lunch: Roaring Fork (Wilderness Lodge) -- DH had the grilled chicken breast sandwich. Liked the sandwich, disliked the mayo. DS had a Smuckers Uncrustable. Picky eater wanted a "real" PB&J sandwich, but ate some of it. Loved the grapes. I had the tuna salad platter. It was OK.
Dinner: ABC Commissary -- Originally we were going to hit Pizza Planet and see Fantasmic, but my 4-year-old had a MAJOR meltdown and was starving. We were closest to this place. I am not a fan. But it got the job done. DS had a hamburger and DH and I both had chicken sandwiches (no cheese). It was edible. We were starved. 'Nuff said.
Paid OOP... got free ice water, no desserts.
11/13
Breakfast: DS had corn muffins in the room (we'd brought them from home) and fruit. DH and I had blueberry muffins at AK (a snack kiosk, used snack credits).
Lunch: Flame Tree Barbeque -- It was good, but with all the rave reviews here, I expected better. I had the pulled pork sandwich. It was really good. DH had the smoked turkey. DS had the chicken sandwich, which I had to deconstruct (it was a bit too seasoned for my picky boy) but once I did that, he loved it. One of the better QS meals we had.
Dinner: Coral Reef -- Enjoyable meal. DS loved the fish tank. DH and I both had the Coral Reef Lobster Orecchiette Pasta and Vanilla Panna Cotta Tart - with Florida key Lime for dessert. It was good. The bread was good too. I had a "virgin" Pina Colada for my drink. DS wanted the steak with french fries (subbed for mashed potatoes). Steak came out over seasoned with the mashed. DS was upset. Excellent waiter fixed it. Steak was too done, but DS managed to eat. He got fruit for dessert and then a pretzel after (at a stand).
11/14
Breakfast: DS had the same in-room meal and DH and I stopped at the Main Steet Starbucks. Got a hot egg and gouda sandwich (DH got another kind) and the Blonde coffee. I'm not a Starbucks gal, but it was a good breakfast. Paid OOP for this.
Lunch: Columbia Harbor House -- Excellent! My new favorite in MK now. DH and I both got the Lobster roll with the seasonal cobbler (was peach). Really good. DS got the Mac n Cheese and didn't care for it. Seemed homemade. Kid likes Annie's Organic (or Kraft). Again he liked the grapes. lol
Dinner: Le Cellier -- Now DH and I both have been there (before we met each other) but it had been years. So we really wanted to go, despite mixed reviews and people saying to go to Yachtsman instead. That being said... it was the best meal of our trip. The cheddar soup was delicious, albeit a bit more peppery than I prefer. We both had the Filet with Risotti. I had it medium rare and it was cooked to perfection. My DS had the child's sirloin and pommes frites. He loved it. And dessert was delicious. I had the maple creme brulee, DH had cheesecake, and DS had the ice cream sundae. Even though it was 2 TS, we'd go back. We did have to pay OOP for the soup and tip, of course. Waiter was excellent there.
11/15
Breakfast: Tusker House -- Hands down the best breakfast buffet I've been to at WDW. I had a mix of foods. Yam casserole. The frittata was fabulous. All the pastries were good. I even had Mickey waffles. DS didn't want waffles, but he had donuts, croissants and Fruit Loops! Characters were great. Pic with Donald in front was fun. Got the print from PhotoPass+. Would definitely go back. Our ADR was 8 AM, so we took a cab from our hotel (buses were slow last week, IMO).
Lunch: Yak and Yeti Counter Service (Anandapur Local Food Cafes) -- Fabulous QS meal. DH and I both had the Honey Chicken and Banana Pudding. We finished everything. SO good. DS had chicken tenders. Little seasoning. Perfectly fried. He ate a good amount (again, he is quite picky so we were thrilled). They gave us 2 sides of grapes--we saved 1 for later.
Dinner: Contempo Cafe in the Contemporary -- We took the boat from WL to the Contemporary because we weren't thrilled with the Roaring Fork choices for QS and were saving our last TS for dinner on Sat. We liked it much better. I forget what DH got. I had the BBQ ribs and fries. DS had a hamburger. Their cookies for dessert were not good, though. I didn't want a cupcake (too rich) and thought it would be good. Nope. The kids' cookie was better.
11/16
Breakfast: Again, DS ate in the resort. DH and I (and DS too) had pastries from Starring Rolls in HS for our breakfast--late; around 10 AM. Pastries were excellent. Lines and rain were not.
Lunch: Roaring Fork again, because DS was exhausted and wanted to nap (it was pouring). We all had turkey sandwiches. Pretty decent.
Dinner: Be Our Guest -- This is my longest review. But overall I enjoyed it.
Decor: beautiful. Though the ballroom is quite loud, which I wish I had known beforehand, and my DS wore his noise-reducing headphones during dinner. While they say no requests for what room, I explained that my DS has sensory issues and was afraid of thunder, so they didn't put us in the West Wing. But I would have tried for the Rose room (and the site says no room requests, but they accommodated my sensory kid).
Food: quite good, actually. They accommodated my son's requests of a plain grilled chicken (no spice) and french fries. They will sub fries as the side for any of the kid entrees on the menu. My DH ordered the steak. He said it was tender and tasty. Not as good as Le Cellier (where we at on Thursday) but decent. I ended up with the Rack of Lamb. A bit fatty but seasoned well and enjoyable. The sides were broccolini and buttered celery root (which was interesting... texture like mashed potato). Was it the best rack of lamb I'd ever had? No. But it was good. For dessert, I tried "the grey stuff" (which is now on the menu). It was a chocolate pastry (sort of like a cookie/brownie combo) with the "grey stuff" mousse on top. I'm glad I tried it, but I don't think it was as good as my husband's Strawberry Cream Cheese cupcake. My son didn't care for the chocolate cupcake, but I think it was too rich for him--also dark chocolate.
All in all, I think the dinner ADR was worth it. And it was nice getting the photo with The Beast after dinner. You cannot do it while you're dining--if you go into the Beast's study, you have to exit the restaurant after. So it is best done after you finish dining.
Lastly, we had breakfast at Whispering Canyon on our departure day (11/17). Really good. Great waitress. If we weren't rushed, we'd have lingered more and had more fun with her. DS was EXHAUSTED and barely ate the giant Mickey pancake he got.
11/11
Rainforest Cafe - Chosen because DS4 loves animals and said he was afraid of dinosaurs. DH and I had cheeseburgers. Really good. Fries were tasty too. Oddly, DS chose the dinosaur shaped chicken fingers. Basic meal. Hit the spot after traveling. Paid OOP.
11/12
Breakfast: Crystal Palace (ADR 8:15) - One of the reasons we chose this was to arrive before park opening and have photos taken in front of the castle with minimal crowds. That part was great. The food was typical buffet fare--I tried the Puffed French Toast and really enjoyed it. The chef at the pancake station made my DS Mickey shaped pancakes and he LOVED them. Character interaction was good.
Lunch: Roaring Fork (Wilderness Lodge) -- DH had the grilled chicken breast sandwich. Liked the sandwich, disliked the mayo. DS had a Smuckers Uncrustable. Picky eater wanted a "real" PB&J sandwich, but ate some of it. Loved the grapes. I had the tuna salad platter. It was OK.
Dinner: ABC Commissary -- Originally we were going to hit Pizza Planet and see Fantasmic, but my 4-year-old had a MAJOR meltdown and was starving. We were closest to this place. I am not a fan. But it got the job done. DS had a hamburger and DH and I both had chicken sandwiches (no cheese). It was edible. We were starved. 'Nuff said.
Paid OOP... got free ice water, no desserts.11/13
Breakfast: DS had corn muffins in the room (we'd brought them from home) and fruit. DH and I had blueberry muffins at AK (a snack kiosk, used snack credits).
Lunch: Flame Tree Barbeque -- It was good, but with all the rave reviews here, I expected better. I had the pulled pork sandwich. It was really good. DH had the smoked turkey. DS had the chicken sandwich, which I had to deconstruct (it was a bit too seasoned for my picky boy) but once I did that, he loved it. One of the better QS meals we had.
Dinner: Coral Reef -- Enjoyable meal. DS loved the fish tank. DH and I both had the Coral Reef Lobster Orecchiette Pasta and Vanilla Panna Cotta Tart - with Florida key Lime for dessert. It was good. The bread was good too. I had a "virgin" Pina Colada for my drink. DS wanted the steak with french fries (subbed for mashed potatoes). Steak came out over seasoned with the mashed. DS was upset. Excellent waiter fixed it. Steak was too done, but DS managed to eat. He got fruit for dessert and then a pretzel after (at a stand).
11/14
Breakfast: DS had the same in-room meal and DH and I stopped at the Main Steet Starbucks. Got a hot egg and gouda sandwich (DH got another kind) and the Blonde coffee. I'm not a Starbucks gal, but it was a good breakfast. Paid OOP for this.
Lunch: Columbia Harbor House -- Excellent! My new favorite in MK now. DH and I both got the Lobster roll with the seasonal cobbler (was peach). Really good. DS got the Mac n Cheese and didn't care for it. Seemed homemade. Kid likes Annie's Organic (or Kraft). Again he liked the grapes. lol
Dinner: Le Cellier -- Now DH and I both have been there (before we met each other) but it had been years. So we really wanted to go, despite mixed reviews and people saying to go to Yachtsman instead. That being said... it was the best meal of our trip. The cheddar soup was delicious, albeit a bit more peppery than I prefer. We both had the Filet with Risotti. I had it medium rare and it was cooked to perfection. My DS had the child's sirloin and pommes frites. He loved it. And dessert was delicious. I had the maple creme brulee, DH had cheesecake, and DS had the ice cream sundae. Even though it was 2 TS, we'd go back. We did have to pay OOP for the soup and tip, of course. Waiter was excellent there.
11/15
Breakfast: Tusker House -- Hands down the best breakfast buffet I've been to at WDW. I had a mix of foods. Yam casserole. The frittata was fabulous. All the pastries were good. I even had Mickey waffles. DS didn't want waffles, but he had donuts, croissants and Fruit Loops! Characters were great. Pic with Donald in front was fun. Got the print from PhotoPass+. Would definitely go back. Our ADR was 8 AM, so we took a cab from our hotel (buses were slow last week, IMO).
Lunch: Yak and Yeti Counter Service (Anandapur Local Food Cafes) -- Fabulous QS meal. DH and I both had the Honey Chicken and Banana Pudding. We finished everything. SO good. DS had chicken tenders. Little seasoning. Perfectly fried. He ate a good amount (again, he is quite picky so we were thrilled). They gave us 2 sides of grapes--we saved 1 for later.
Dinner: Contempo Cafe in the Contemporary -- We took the boat from WL to the Contemporary because we weren't thrilled with the Roaring Fork choices for QS and were saving our last TS for dinner on Sat. We liked it much better. I forget what DH got. I had the BBQ ribs and fries. DS had a hamburger. Their cookies for dessert were not good, though. I didn't want a cupcake (too rich) and thought it would be good. Nope. The kids' cookie was better.
11/16
Breakfast: Again, DS ate in the resort. DH and I (and DS too) had pastries from Starring Rolls in HS for our breakfast--late; around 10 AM. Pastries were excellent. Lines and rain were not.
Lunch: Roaring Fork again, because DS was exhausted and wanted to nap (it was pouring). We all had turkey sandwiches. Pretty decent.
Dinner: Be Our Guest -- This is my longest review. But overall I enjoyed it.
Decor: beautiful. Though the ballroom is quite loud, which I wish I had known beforehand, and my DS wore his noise-reducing headphones during dinner. While they say no requests for what room, I explained that my DS has sensory issues and was afraid of thunder, so they didn't put us in the West Wing. But I would have tried for the Rose room (and the site says no room requests, but they accommodated my sensory kid).
Food: quite good, actually. They accommodated my son's requests of a plain grilled chicken (no spice) and french fries. They will sub fries as the side for any of the kid entrees on the menu. My DH ordered the steak. He said it was tender and tasty. Not as good as Le Cellier (where we at on Thursday) but decent. I ended up with the Rack of Lamb. A bit fatty but seasoned well and enjoyable. The sides were broccolini and buttered celery root (which was interesting... texture like mashed potato). Was it the best rack of lamb I'd ever had? No. But it was good. For dessert, I tried "the grey stuff" (which is now on the menu). It was a chocolate pastry (sort of like a cookie/brownie combo) with the "grey stuff" mousse on top. I'm glad I tried it, but I don't think it was as good as my husband's Strawberry Cream Cheese cupcake. My son didn't care for the chocolate cupcake, but I think it was too rich for him--also dark chocolate.
All in all, I think the dinner ADR was worth it. And it was nice getting the photo with The Beast after dinner. You cannot do it while you're dining--if you go into the Beast's study, you have to exit the restaurant after. So it is best done after you finish dining.
Lastly, we had breakfast at Whispering Canyon on our departure day (11/17). Really good. Great waitress. If we weren't rushed, we'd have lingered more and had more fun with her. DS was EXHAUSTED and barely ate the giant Mickey pancake he got.
