My short dining reviews with minimal pictures.

[MamaJessie]

Well, the goal was to report for the live dining thread. Between my phone dying every day, emails not going through and the general poor quality of the pics that was not happening I figured I would still pass along some thoughts and the few pics I do have though. I know how much I appreciate reviews when trying to make plans.

Here's the agenda...

QS - Pop Century lunch
TS - TRex

QS - Pop Breakfast
TS - Cape May Dinner

TS - Akershus lunch
TS - SciFi Dinner

TS - Ohana Dinner

QS - BoG
QS - Pop Dinner (kids)
QS - AoA Dinner (DH, myself and oldest DD)

TS - Tusker

QS - Wolfgang Puck lunch
QS - Earl of Sandwhich

Snacks of note -
Pineapple float (or dole whip float?)
Starbucks mega frappe coffee chippy thing (basically a coffee milkshake )
Jalapeno Pretzel
Rice Krispy treat from Goofy's

 

[MamaJessie]

Our first day we were wiped and just wanted to hang so we grabbed a few meals from the Pop food court and split them. Normally this is nothing we would consider but we felt kind of 'ick' from eating food on the road, mostly the snacky type foods, combined with lack of sleep.. just needed some food but weren't looking to get stuffed. I got the four tacos, beef. I shared them with the kids - very good and filling. DH had the same and was psyched we decided to eat there. He is not the 'full' type so this was kind of a big deal . My other kids shared the fish and chips. I thought it looked skimpy but they liked it. And thanks to DIS I knew we could get our receipt stamped for sundaes DH got a super loaded monstrosity he shared with my youngest, my older two kids shared some concoction and I got stuck with my daughter that just wanted gummy worms on vanilla ice cream so I let her have it all to herself and grabbed myself a king cupcake. I let DH and the kids that wanted to try a piece too. Excellent idea, wish it had a little more banana but definitely tasty. We also used our mugs for our drinks and got a monster energy drink and two chocolate milks to go. I figured DH might need it for our week of early morning starts and full park days

 

[tluvstink]

You're off to a great start. I'm looking forward to the rest.

Terri

 

[MamaJessie]

We had a great server (honestly that was a recurring theme this trip ) and she explained to us that we could have any non alcoholic drink with the DDP. DH and I had the strawberry lemonade (comes with one refill) and three of the kids had the frozen yogurt/slush swirl drink - I think it was called a screamer?





For dinners the kids had mac and cheese and didn't really care for it, not saucy at all.



My oldest had the Guacasaurus. It was GIANT and very tasty. She subbed cheddar for the pepper jack.



DS had the fish and chips (he was apparently on a kick) He really liked it.



I had the .. I think it was pterodactyl salad. It is basically a cobb with rotisserie chicken. So very good and just what I wanted.



DH had the boneyard buffet (I think that was the name) He liked it fine, not like a WOW moment but still good.



Our server came out and explained that the desserts for one person were one credit, the desserts for two were two and the dessert for four was four. Made perfect sense to me. I couldn't talk anyone into the donut holes for two so we each got our own dessert.

The kids had worms and dirt for dessert. I think here it was called 'tar pit'


DH had the key lime pie, no pics but he really liked it. He loves key lime pie and says where we are from it consistently stinks so he was happy to get a piece he likes.

The older kids and I had the layered ice cream sandwhich dessert. I do not know if you can tell from my pictures but this thing was GIGANTIC. I gave DH some and let the little girls try some too. It was good but a bit too cool whip tasting for my liking. I should have realized it specified whipped topping and not cream. My bad.



DH and the kids all liked it.

 

[MamaJessie]

We were heading to Universal so we grabbed a couple breakfasts to split. We got there about quarter of 7 and only the Pop waffle section was open so we had (you guessed it) Pop waffles, with strawberries and blueberries, bacon and chicken sausage. By the time DH got to the food court other sections were open and I went to order some corned beef and eggs, it was going to take six minutes so I said I would be back. I asked her if I could just come to the window to pick it up or if I had to wait and she said going to the end would be fine. Came back later and she said she thought I didn't actually want to order it. So DH and I each grabbed a bounty breakfast, with chocolate chip pancakes instead of regular (dinner was going to be late and only some snacks were packed for the day - to go with our butterbeer ). Kids had some of mine - I am not a fan of weird limp bacon, or biscuits but I knew the kids would like it.

The fruit was good and fresh not frozen/thawed which I kind of expected. I liked the chicken sausage quite a bit. Standard breakfast fare - nothing exciting but no failures either.

 

[GovieMom]

Please continue your wonderful reports. Looking forward to reading about your Akershus lunch!

 

[MamaJessie]

Next meal up - Cape May dinner. I had heard rave reviews and poor reviews but DH is a huge seafood fan so we wanted to give it a try and see for ourselves.

For the price, it was more standard buffet than I was expecting. The seafood was crab legs like they have at Chinese buffets, I scooped up some clams and when I got to the table realized they were all empty and the clams were strips. The paella was ok, the beef was good. The desserts were much better than I was expecting though.

DH declared it was definitely 'skippable'.

I am still really glad I went. It was a decent dinner and the gingerbread carousel in the lobby had just been completed and it was beautiful. The CMs were great and our server there was beyond great. DH was wearing his anniversary pin and he brought us out chocolate mousse and toasted to us. It was really sweet. (the mousse and the toast )




The pictures reminded me about that marinated seafood salad. I thought it was pretty good, it tasted almost ceviche-esque and was fresh and cold and a good start to the meal.

The chowder was good and creamy and loaded with seafood.

 

[wiigirl]

That all looks SO good!

 

[GovieMom]

The beef on your plate looks delish to me! We stayed at the BC last trip but skipped Cape May, as we have plenty of those crab leg buffets at the beach. Glad to know we weren't missing anything spectacular. Thanks for the great pics!

 

[pumba]

we did cape may too and because we are from Maine...the seafood was not jump up delicious...we get crablegs and real Maine clams at the chinese buffet...but the seafood chowder was good and the rare rare beef was delicious...
Thanks for your reviews and your photos.

 

[GovieMom]

MamaJessie pleeeeeease come back and continue posting your wonderful pictures and reviews!!

 

[MamaJessie]

MamaJessie pleeeeeease come back and continue posting your wonderful pictures and reviews!!

Awe thanks!

I am uploading the last of my useful pics now so I will be writing some more tonight.

 

[GovieMom]

I am uploading the last of my useful pics now so I will be writing some more tonight.

Looking forward to it; thanks!

 

[MamaJessie]

Akershus lunch. The food was ok, definitely more about the experience than the food. We all liked the cold salads, meats, cheeses and fruit. DH decided we could skip it next time since the food was just ok, but yeah right - our youngest DD was in love with it . She talks about lunch with the princesses more than anything else from this trip.


The cold salad was good and I could have eaten that asparagus all.day.long (not like the cape may which was unseasoned - this stuff was perfect)


This was oldest DDs plate. Boring.


Oldest DDs entrée, open faced chicken sandwich. It was very good, wish I had ordered it - the soup was a loser.


DHs beef sandwhich. The meat was very tender and very bleu cheesy which he likes.


My meatballs. Fork and knife are there because I started eating first and ya know, now it looks perfect


Youngest DDs alfredo, chicken and broc. She did not like it, actually no one did. Boring. Good if you have a super picky kid I guess.


Clara eating the second half of her sister's pizza. So at least she wasn't hungry when we left.


And no dessert pics Chocolate mousse was good, DH loves rice cream and the cake was kinda lame.

I would go there again (I am sure I will whether it is my first choice or not ) but I do wish the food was a little better for the $$$$$. Because I would never ever go there OOP. That is bananas. And not the happy banana kind of banana

 

[GovieMom]

Those photos are great! I loved that you included pictures of probably the same sandwiches we'll be ordering when we have lunch there in February, so I enjoyed reading your take on how that was. I can honestly say we're not going there for the food (duh), but only to "cross off" one more Disney restaurant on our list. At least now we'll know what to expect. Thanks again for such an excellent account of your dining experiences!

 

[MamaJessie]

SciFi

This place was even more fun in person than I was expecting.

For our drinks the four Disney adults had milkshakes, three oreo and one chocolate. The chocolate was not good, had a weird artificial taste. Blech. It was fine though since I ordered the oreo I drank about half anf then let the little girls split the rest, it was super thick.




For our entrees we had...
DH - Build a burger - it was good.
Me - Reuben with cucumber salad - exactly what you would expect - good.
DD - Turkey sandwhich with fries she liked it
DS - Picnic burger, no kraut. He liked it.
The girls had something? I cannot remember which tells me two things - they enjoyed it and I did not want to sample it.

Dessert...
DH and DS had the turtle cheesecake.
DH "The bottom was a rice cake. It was weird because I really look forward to the graham crust - I was kind of disappointed. Other than that it was great, awesome.

DD and I had the candy bar. Chocolatey goodness, wish I had one now! Those crunchy bits were awesome.

One of my little girls had the sundae, the other had the fruit cup to go - she was stuffed. I mostly blame the milkshake

Our server was great that night. I wish I could remember his name to tell Disney, he was exceptional. I was nervous about getting the kid's orders since we were sat in rows of two and DH ended up together in the back row. Our server checked to make sure soda was an option for the younger kids and then went over the drink choices with each child and took orders. He did the same for their entrees and dessert. He talked hidden mickeys with the kids, asked to see my phone and took a pic of DH and I in the car... He was exceptional.

I would return, and even pay OOP.

 

[GovieMom]

Sci-Fi is definitely unique! Thanks once again.

 

[MamaJessie]

I am all out of pics now so I am sure I will be doing the reviews faster at least.

Ohana. I really don't feel bad about not having pics, it is probably the most photographed meal I have ever seen. And in all honesty the pictures do not do it justice (ok maybe some of those bread pudding shots are pretty right on...yummmm)

welcome bread - meh. Not like a chewy bread at all, kind of soft. Not my thing. We did not finish it, could have had just one loaf for the family of six.

salad - good stuff! I normally don't think to put fruit in salad, but it was really good. I think I was also just psyched to have some fresh leafy greens too.

Dumplings - good, nothing out of the ordinary. I could imagine buying something like them from Costco. My youngest loved them.

Wings - oooh these are good. Sweet and salty and just plain good. I had way too many of those.

Noodles - better than they look. I have seen a ton of pics and they always look kind of bland, but they were very flavorful. I expected to skip the noodles but I had plenty!

Veggies - good, standard.

Meat - Pork and Shrimp were both a little overdone for me - but DH could not get enough of the shrimp. Ok that's not true, he had PLENTY. Our server kept coming to us with more and more food, it was insane. I had read a few reviews about slow or inattentive service but that was not the case for us. I really liked the peanut sauce with the chicken but the winner for me was steak. She gave me a ton and I am shamed to say - I ate most of it!!

Dessert - The bread pudding was DELICOUS with the sauce and ice cream. Oh my goodness. We were so in love with it she offered to bring us another plate but there was absolutely no way on earth we could have eaten it.

This was hands down my husband's favorite meal this trip. He has become a wee bit obsessed.

After Thanksgiving the kids said "We were stuffed, but not Ohana stuffed just regular stuffed" lol

 

[Dislover1991]

Your experience at SciFi sounds much like ours- we had a wonderful server. We have an ADR in exactly 2 weeks and are hoping to have another great experience there.

We've never tried dinner at Ohana (i'm allergic to peanuts and can't be around them) so your review made me feel a little better about not being able to eat there since we've been wanting to try it for so long But I would like to try that bread pudding!

 

[MamaJessie]

BoG Lunch

I had signed up for a FP+ through that link that went around and I was pretty nervous. I saw that line across the bridge and my heart sunk. I went over to the little ..kiosk? for lack of a better word and signed right in. We took the short walk to the next CM and told her we had a preorder. She reviewed the order with me and after some confusion I ended up going to the ordering screen with a different CM. All told it was about ten minutes from walking up to the kiosk to walking into the castle.

That place is absolutely gorgeous in person. Our food came almost immediately. I asked our CM if she tracked us with the magic band and she said, "Just magic"

The kids had the meatloaf with zucchini and broccoli. They were a little bummed that not only did they not get fries but no dessert either. Of course we all just shared the cupcakes but still, a little bummer for them right off the bat. The meatloaf was fine - the kids said it had a lot of veggies in it. The orange stuff for dipping, not good. As my DH said it tasted like carrot puree with Italian dressing. We all traded some fries for veggies so they were happy.

my two older kids had the croque. They really liked it, it's a regular grilled ham and cheese.

DH had the pork, he liked it. Nothing special.

I had the roast beef sandwhich. It was a little bread heavy but I liked it quite a bit. DH tried some of my fries and did not care for them. Actually he said since they were 'pomme frites' he expected them to be thinner and tastier and if he received those when he ordered 'pomme frites' he would be upset. I told him that pomme frites is French fries so he was just being ridiculous. That conversation went round and round and round....

Cupcakes -
Gray stuff - the frosting was really shortening-y. Not a very strong cookie and cream flavor either. Kind of a bummer since I was really excited it was a menu item.
Strawberry Cream cheese - good enough but super minimal cream cheese flavor.
Triple Chocolate - best of the three, I would order it again

Overall, I liked it and would go back. DH did not agree. He said "I feel like I should go outside and warn everyone they are about to wait an hour for subpar food" I said "It's not just about the food it's about the atmosphere" He said "Eating should be about food" I said "Not necessarily" This conversation went round and round and round......