'Ohana's, Biergarten, Plaza, Sci-fi and more!

[kjs1976]

Just returned from a fabulous WDW trip with the fan-damily from 6/28-7/4. Here is who we are, what we ate, and what we thought!

Me - 29
DH - 29
DB - 25
DB - 25
DF - 57
DM - 57

'Ohana's - 6/29 - Dinner
Let me just say that from the minute we arrived for check in, we had the best dining experience our family could ever ask for. The only complaint is that we arrived at 4:40PM for our 5PM ADR and weren't seated until 5:25PM. But no matter, mom decided we all needed drinks! Drinks were on mom! My bros and DH had the Lapu Lapu. All liked it, but one bro said it burned each time he took a sip, so he doesn't know what strange reaction he had to it. I got the Back Scratcher and it was ok. I like my mixed drinks sweet and this one had a real acidic taste, but it went down none the less. Mom had a Mai Tai which she liked and Dad had a virgin Daquri which went down in about 5 min. A man played the guitar and sang, which thrilled my parents. Then we were seated...with a good view of the castle!!! The won-ton chips are not my favorite but they helped to soak up the alcohol that we were all comsuming on empty stomachs. Our waiter quickly followed with the peel and eat shrimp, honey wings, and salad. So far, my bros and rents were VERY satisfied! My one bro just had a taste of everything because he was excited for the meat. Then came the meats, potatos, and stirfry. I must say that although the meats have been tasty each time we've visited, they tasted particularly fresh and juicy this time...or maybe it was the Back Scratcher talking! I was looking forward to the potatos, which went down so smoothly!! My mouth is watering even now! Everyone filled up on meat and a second dish of potatos. During this course, Lapoua (SP?) the lady who does the kids entertainment, began wishing everyone a happy birthday who was there to celebrate. Then she did the coconut races with the kiddos. Next, she got ready to do the limbo and asked my DH and one bro to be the pole holders because their "hang ten" sign was so authentic!!! We got some great video of them making one loop around the restaraunt shaking the morracas (sp?) to get people to join the limbo line and then actually helping with the limbo. It was priceless! For helping out they each got a delicious vanilla cupcake with the freshest whipped vanilla frosting I've ever tasted...DH let me have ONE bite. After the entertainment, we were served our bread pudding, ice cream, and vanilla sauce. I was glad we had the break for the entertainment because again we needed the waiter to bring two bowls for our table because it was soooooo good! My whole family loved it! Dad was even just eating spoon fulls of the vanilla sauce!! My mom was so impressed with the whole experience that she even paid for all of us....AMAZING! What a true treat and special family moment we'll have forever. They all talked about it the rest of the trip and couldn't figure out how I knew to go and eat there....hmmmm, can you say Disboards???!!! Everyone in my family gave it a A++++++++++

Biergarten in Germany - 6/30 - lunch
I planned this lunch on this day because it was our only full EPCOT day. I maybe should have planned it for another day or later (we ate at noon) because we were all still high and stuffed off of the wonder that was 'Ohana's from the night before. But none the less, we had to eat some time! We were seated with a nice couple from New Jersey who were also teachers like most of my family is. We had a great conversation with them and it was hard to leave because it had been such a pleasant experience to sit with them. Some background...my dad was born in Austria and my Oma cooked very authentic Bavarian food up until her stroke in Dec. 2004. She is doing well, but has to be in a nursing home because of all the meds she is on and the occasional confusion she has due to the stroke. I miss her cooking sooo much and this is the first time since the summer of 2004 when we last spent time with her before her stroke that I got to taste food that was just like hers. I had cold cucumber salad and cold tomato salad that reminded me of spending time in the summer with her when she'd make one of these at each meal. The spatzel, sauerkraut, and roast pork tasted just like hers and also my mom's. We don't eat or make much of that any more so it was such a fun and tasty treat to indulge in it again. I also enjoyed the white fish, which was cooked to perfection. By this time I was pretty full, but had to sample the German cheese cake and strudel with, yup, vanilla sauce. Both were excellent and had I not felt stuffed, would've eaten more. Again, my family was highly impressed and very glad I had booked the place. Our only disappoinment was that the German band wasn't starting until 1:15 and our ADR was at 12:05. Had I known that, I would've booked later. Everyone in my family gave it an A.

Pheeewww....that took longer than I thought!

Stay tuned for reviews on The Plaza Restaraunt, Sci-Fi Drive In, and some counter service restaraunts!

 

[twoprincesses]

Great review! I'm so glad you liked Ohana's. We're trying it for NYE for the first time! woohoo!

 

[Shell0616]

Thanks for the review! I think a lot of people would enjoy thier dining plans more if they relaxed and got into it. Sounds like your entire trip must have been a blast!

 

[tinkerbeth]

THanks for the great reviews. Looking forward to the rest!

Beth

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reviews ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[bluejasmine]

Great reviews! Looking forward to the rest! Ohanas is my fave!

 

[Ashley80]

More more more!! You've made me so excited about our Ohana dinner scheduled Sept 30!!!!

 

[kjs1976]

Let the reviews continue!

The Plaza Restaraunt - 7/1 - Lunch
We spent the morning at MK doing some rides/attractions that we missed on our arrival night. Let me say that this was the hottest and most humid day we encountered thus far on the trip. There had been a breeze on the other days, but no such luck today. We decided to check in at 11:40 for our noon ADR since we were on that side of the park. There were a couple of families waiting and a lot of people being turned away. When I checked in I told the CM that we have an ADR for noon and we originally had 6 people but now have 4 (parents went golfing at Lake Buena Vista course). He barely looked down at the computer and stated it would be a 20-30 min. wait. I didn't think too much of this because we were at least 15-20 min. early. So we waited in the shade of the tables across the way, and let the sweat fountains drip off of us. Family after family was called but us. Finally, DH got mad when he watched a family who came after us as for a walk-up reservation get seated. I didn't see it, but it had been about 20 min. at this point so I walked up and asked for a menu and asked "You checked us in, right??" to which the young CM (ok, not to be biased but he was young and looked nervous and inexperienced and the host and hostess had to come and tell him things about every 5 min.). Then he asked for my name and said it would be about 10 min. OK....in about 10 min. you could put a fork in us because we would have been done!! Cooked as a roast! The hostess was angry at him and was rolling her eyes as she'd leave him to go seat someone. Then they called our name and said it was taking forever to get a table for 6. Six??? I said we were now a party of 4! The hostess whispered to me that we should've been seated sooner and that the CM had messed up...clearly as we were sitting across from the check in, we were a party of 4. Anyway, we were uber-PO'd and hot and hungry so we sat down and just focused on the air conditioning and what we were about to devour. Our waiter was very friendly and got our drinks to us ASAP so our anger melted away by downing our sodas.

Now to the food.....DH and DB1 (I'll call them DB1 and DB2 since they are twins and one is 1 minute older!!) had the club sandwhich which looked awesome and which they both reported to be one of the best clubs they've ever had...DB1 is a club sandwich man, 9 times out of 10 he will always order one if it is on the menu. DB2 had the chicken sandwhich with ham and cheese. It was huge and he said, "yea, it was good." I had the strawberry salad. It was pretty good, but could've been better if it had romane lettuce or spinich instead of ice berg lettuce. The boys had their sights set on ice cream for dessert to make use of the AC, sitting, and refills on Coke. DH and DB2 got the brownie sundae and DB1 got the Plaza Sundae with hot fudge. All three had it eaten faster than I could steal two spoonfuls!!!! They are truly delicious sundaes worth the wait alone. I would recommend an afternoon ADR for this place just to get out of the heat and to enjoy some fantastic ice cream dishes!!! Everyone gave this restaraunt an A- for food and an A+++++ for the sundaes.

Sci-Fi Drive In - 7/2 - Late dinner
Let me start out by saying that I made this reservation because DH ate there in April and had the awe and wonder for this place as though he were a 5 year old kid. The rest of us were on the fence about this place due to the food choices and expense. But we had a busy day that day and didn't make it back to MGM until late so we kept the 7:25 ADR just in case nothing else was appealing. The rents decided to stay in for the evening so it was just the 4 of us kiddos again. Everyone had had fun at the other sit-downs, so we checked in for this one at 7:05 and were seated immediatly. I'll admit, it is a cool place. The atmosphere is fun and unique. I ate there about 10 years ago and it was a good time to get a shake and burger. But the menu is seriously lacking and the prices are ridiculous. DH was happy as a clam, so who am I to complain. We were seated at a car table with chairs so we could face eachother...smart move...we love to chat when we go out to eat. Our waitress had spent some time growing up in Minnesota near where DH grew up and had gone to college there so we had something to talk about with her. She kept the sodas flowing for my DBs, so all was good. DH got the reuben sandwhich, which was small for the $11.99 they charged for it. He liked it, though. DB1 got the ribs, which he said were ok, but didn't have any sauce which would have made them great. He also said the coleslaw was bad. DB2 got the shrimp pasta, which was a small portion for the $17 he paid for it, but he said it was very good, just wished there was more of it. I got the salmon and it was what it was. Had the salmon had a glaze of some sort on it, it would've been great, but it was the same thing I could've ordered at Perkins for 1/2 the price. The boys couldn't walk away without ice cream, so DH ordered a strawberry shake, which was awesome, but again a rip off because you just got the glass full, and not the metal shake container with the rest of it. The bros ordered sundaes which were HUGE and made them happy, but stuffed little piggies afterwards. DB1 felt a little too full for the next hour or so, but he was still glad he ordered it. Everyone gave this restaraunt a C for the food and a B+ for atmosphere.

 

[kjs1976]

Counter Service Meals

Pecos Bills
This is one of our must-dos each time we go to MK. DH loves the toppings bar for his burger and fries and I love to steal some of his cheesy fries and also the chicken salad. Never disappoints. DB2 tried the chicken wrap and said it was pretty good.

Tomorrowland Noodle Station
I was tired of sandwiches by the last full day of our trip, so I wanted to give this a try, despite the bad reviews. I was craving Chinese for 2 days and knew this was the best I was going to do w/o walking all the way to China....in EPCOT. DM, DF, and DB1 decided it was not for them and walked over to the place across from the Indy Speed way for dinner. DH, DB2 and I were all about it. We all ordered the chicken teriyaki rice bowl, an egg roll, and soda. It was A LOT of food...a great value, but DH and I could've shared the entree. The egg roll was one of the best I have ever eaten...worth the trip there alone to satisfy my Chinese fix. The chicken and veggies were cooked well, very tender, but not much flavor...tasted like when I had about 1 tbsp. left of sauce to cook our own stir-fry left when I forgot to buy more. I actually got a carton of the honey dijon sauce and mixed it in. Then it was fabulous...really good with the rice! But I was still happy it wasn't a sandwich of any sort, so I would eat there again for the egg roll and try a different dish. DH and DB liked it.

Earl of Sandwich - DTD
Another favorite place we just had to take my bros and mom to. Dad was back in the room...shopping is not his thing....ESPN golf was more his speed. This was a late supper due to the fact we had eaten at the Biergarten for lunch and some of us were still riding on the 'Ohana's high from the night before. The line is always long here, but always moves fast....enough time to decide what you want to eat, then decided on something else, then change your mind again to for sure order what you first wanted to get. DM and DBs got the club and were in hog heaven again....loved them. DH got the meatball sub and potato salad which are his favs. I tried the tuna sub for the first time and loved it....it is always too much bread for me, although it is tasty, I'm just not a bread girl with my sammies....so I scraped off most of the tuna mix and cheese and ate it with a fork and that made me happy. I ordered the cole slaw because it sounded delicious, but was anything but. Huge pieces of cabbage in a nasty sauce...didn't have more than 3 bites to confirm this was inedible for me. DB2 had a macadamian nut and white chocoate cookie which disappeared in about two bites...mmmmmm, says he. This is a must counter service stop if you are at DTD!

Sassagoula Food Works - POFQ Counter Service
Couldn't make up our minds what we were doing on this eve...DF and DB1 went to Superman at DTD and all we knew is we were hungry and tired and didn't want to spend much on dinner...so off to the counter service we went! I was hankering for their taco salad and so was DB2. It was HUGE! DB2 loved it because you could choose what you wanted on it...he hates olives and onions so he was happy to be able to decline those. I got mine with chicken. To me, it neede more salsa, but I was too tired to get up and ask more more. But I did like it and it cured my taco salad fix. Mom had the chicken parmesean (sp?) wth spaghetti and it was a huge portion...she reports it was tasty. DH had the philly cheesesteak sandwhich which he says was really good. Free drink refills, meals that hit the spot, it was all good.

ABC Commissary - MGM
5 years ago when we tried this place, we didn't like it. But when we passed by and everyone's stomach's were growling, DBs said it was worth a try. DB2 (shakes head) didn't want another burger so he was excited with the different options here...but what did he and DB1 order??? A BURGER...go figure. The report it was good. I had the 1/2 cuban sandwich with black bean salad....FANTASTIC!!!! What a change from the norm! It really hit the spot! DH had the full cuban sandwich with banana chips...he loved the sandwich, but hated the banana chips. I agree they were different, but a bit too much different. We'd go back here again.

That's all I can remember for now! If I remember another place, I'll let you know...

PS- DB2 begs me to mention that he, King of Cheese Danishes, is pleased to report that WDW has some of the finest cheese danishes he has ever had the pleasure of wolfing down for breakfast. If this is your bag, you'll be happy!

 

[bluejasmine]

Great! Im hungry again! lol I am dying to try those Cuban sandwhiches!

 

[magicmouse2]

Great reviews thankyou.

 

[richard_andmel]

Great! Im hungry again! lol I am dying to try those Cuban sandwhiches!

Really enjoying your reviews! What is in the cuban sandwich?

 

[jezebella]

A cuban is ham, roasted pork, swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard on cuban bread and pressed. YUM-O...and I despise pickles on anything (although I eat them by themselves) but I love cubans!

 

[Armandocme]

We were at Ohana's the same night! My wife and 2 daughters (3 and 5) loved it there. The shrimp and chicken wing appetizers were delicious! And the bread pudding dessert was sooo good!

Thanks for the great review!

 

[KTSMOM]

Thanks so much for the positive Ohana review. We are trying it for the first time during our next trip in August and I was getting a little nervous about all the bad reports.

 

[Swimnoid]

Glad you liked Ohana and Biergarten! Those are my two favorites. Your reviews were great and make me nostalgic for WDW.. 161 more days!

 

[PureTcrazy]

We are going to Ohana our first night in September for my SIL's birthday. We have never been there before and I am really looking forward to it after reading your review!

 

[Komplex]

I hear alot of good things about Ohana. I wonder though with all the meat being served, would there be anything for my Vegetarian wife to eat?

 

[AussieAngel]

Thanks for the fun dining reports!

A silly question... Are the sundaes at The Plaza made from soft-serve ice-cream, or ice-cream scoops?

 

[kjs1976]

Komplex - When you call to make your ADR, you can mention it to the CM to put a note in your reservation. Also, when you are seated, ask your waitperson and they will set you up with a tasty vegetarian alternative! They are very accomodating!

AussieAngel- It is make with scoops of hard ice cream. There is a place right around the corner from Stitch's Great Escape that has soft serve ice cream sundaes if you like those better.

Forgot an important counter service - Blizzard Beach - Lotta Watta Lodge
Talk about walking down memory lane...I spent one fateful summer working as a food and beverage hostess at BB with the WDWCP. It still amazes me how I know where all the restrooms are and can navigate this place with my eyes closed after 10 years. When I worked there, I thought the food was excellent for a water park. Over the past 10 years the food service went though some less than great changes that disappointed me. I was happy to find some better updates on our trip last week. They now offer a cobb salad which was just what I was looking for....a good cobb salad!!! Loved it! Perfect and refreshing after climbing the mountain a bajillion times that morning and being striped nearly naked on Summit Plummit...can you say OUCH, MY TUSHY!!!! (Beware of that one, kiddos, it HURT this time!) DH and DB2 had the chicken fingers which they report were awesome...I agree, they are one of my favs anywhere on Disney property. They also offered a chicken wrap which looked delicious. So even though they don't offer the culinary selection of 10 years ago, I'm pleased with the new changes!