Non DDP reviews---just back!

[ptrbryant]

With our picky eater DS10, we decided that the DDP was not for us. I have to say, we ended up eating at more counter service restaurants than we'd planned to simply because we were always so full! We truly wouldn't have utilized the DDP to make it a bargain for us. I won't list every meal, just brief reviews of the different restaurants we went to.

Arrival night, our delayed plane allowed us to get to EPOCT just in time for the Davy Jones concert, so we had ham and cheese baquettes from the counter service place in France. I had a chocolate eclair for dessert, DS10 had a frankfurter from the German cs...he didn't like it. DH and I liked our sandwiches, though they were't anything special...the eclair was yummy, though!

Tuesday night we ate at Chef Mickey's...one of our best experiences there! The character interaction was great and frequent, the food was hot, flavorful and varied...much better than when we went last year. I'm sure we'll go again on our next trip. DS ventured to try the Prime Rib and actually liked it!

Wednesday, our first trip of several to Pinocchio's Village Haus. DS was very happy with his chicken tenders and fries, DH liked the grilled turkey and bacon pannini sandwich and I enjoyed the Italian sub...best of all was the cannoli! It's our new favorite cs in MK. Wednesday night, we got quick bites at Pizza Planet. I'm not sure why this place gets a bad rap...DS10 had the cheese pizza, DH had the pepperoni and I had the veggie and we were all happy with them.

Thursday was lunch at LeCellier...yes!!! I had the cheese soup, which lived up to it's reputation here, then had the grilled chicken salad with blue cheese, mixed greens and a shallot-pecan dressing--delicious! DH didn't like his cheeseburger (why did he order that?!?!) because he thought the cheese was "too strong". DS had the child's steak and fried and loved every bite. We were all too full for dessert, but I'd love to try the creme brulee sometime!

Friday lunch at Sci-Fi Dine In. DH and I split the bacon cheeseburger (I mean, it's 1/2 pound!!!) and DS had chicken nuggets. It was fine for what it was and we were in the thick of the whole Star Wars Weekend deal, so hurried through lunch. We did have dinner here later in the stay and added onion rings (delicious!) and DS's milkshake to the above order...all was good.

Sunday night, we ate at Biergarten for the first time. My background is German and Danish and our family is full of (non-professional) cooks...I felt kind of bad that we'd never eaten at Biergarten before, so finally did so. My opinion: eh. The meats seemed to be well-marinated in wine, but without many of the usual spices, so all you tasted was meat and wine. The spelt salad was a nice touch, the rolls--inc. the pretzel bread--were warm and good. The chicken schnitzel--which DS hated--was okay, but not anything special. I didn't think the sauerbraten tasted "right". The spaetzle was too soft, like overdone pasta...it didn't have the normal "chew" to it. The Black Forest cake was all right, but the Bavarian Cheesecake was fantastic. I guess I'm glad we finally tried it, but I don't have any plans to return.

Cosmic Ray's--our previous MK favorite--was PACKED on Sunday night. The only open tables were dirty and there were toddlers having major meltdowns all around us. Our usual order there--rotesserie chicken, mashed poatoes and veg--were delicious, but the atmosphere was so chaotic that we hurried through our meal to get out of the place! Sometimes, timing is everything.

Garden Grill for lunch...I really don't mean to sound like I'm complaining, but I've never been so rushed in my life! Our waitress was friendly, but spoke quickly and couldn't move us through our meal fast enough. Our limited character interaction was very minor...we hadn't seen Dale once yet and were eating our dessert when our check was brought to the table. After our excellent experience at Chef Mickey's, I think we'd have 2 meals there instead!

The food court at Wilderness Lodge, Roaring Forks, had some great paninni sandwiches. I had the turkey and brie that also had some lettuce and mayonnaise with what seemed like fresh herbs. Several steps above what I expect from a food court when it comes to quality!

So, our top three on this trip were: LeCellier, Chef Mickey's and Pinocchio's Village Haus.

Fee free to ask any questions!

Karla B.

 

[swankybeth]

Thanks for your reviews. I'll have to put the cannoli at Pinocchio's on my list for next trip!

 

[bjscheel]

I have just been crunching the numbers and the places we want to eat add up to $547. That includes 4 character meals. DDP would be $588. We're counter service and character meal people.

DH wants to try Chef Mickey breakfast AND supper so glad to hear that was great for you! I briefly thought about Biergarten but we're plain food folks. Will have to keep looking for something in Epcot.

 

[thelionqueen]

Thanks for the reviews! I was just wondering how many days you were on your trip? It says that you didn't use the DDP because you mostly ate @ CS but you noted 6 TS meals on your review. Just wondering..glad you had a great trip!

 

[ufgator]

Thanks for your reviews.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Cosmic Ray's--our previous MK favorite--was PACKED on Sunday night. The only open tables were dirty and there were toddlers having major meltdowns all around us. Our usual order there--rotesserie chicken, mashed poatoes and veg--were delicious, but the atmosphere was so chaotic that we hurried through our meal to get out of the place! Sometimes, timing is everything.

Here's a bit of a tip. On our MK days, we hit Ray's first if we're in fantasyland, or Tomorrowland. If it's crowded at or near capacity, we simply turn around and go to Columbia Harbor House. Note that when Ray's is packed, Village Haus usually is too. CHH tends to be an easier get. What led to that is one time we ate at Rays when it was packed and got a Hovercraft about 1/2 way through our meal. We use the word Hovercraft to describe those that decide to guard THEIR table while WE'RE still at it eating. That really annoys me. So we simply decided not to go there when it's that full again.

P.S. Ray's is still our fave. PVH is now a strong second though.

 

[ptrbryant]

We were at WDW for a total of nine days...our longest trip yet! Even with the table service restaurants, I think our average daily food total was like $85 vs. $115 per day on the DDP...and we were full! There were people next to us at Sci-Fi who'd been able to eat appetizers PLUS the 1/2 pound cheeseburger and fries PLUS a huge ice cream sundae for dessert. If you're someone who likes to eat that much, the DDP would definately be your best bet. I'm not petite--am working to lose about 15-20 pounds--and I had plenty of food. I think I would have liked to have gone to Le Cellier again...on our next trip, I'll make sure to make 2 ADRs there.

Oh, one big tip: DH doesn't really like fries and when I'd order a cs meal for him without fries, it was about $2 cheaper!

Karla B.