Our Free Dining Trip August 16 to 23

[ChasPowl]

We had our first experience with the Disney Dining Plan during our trip from August 16 to 23 and we really enjoyed it. Initially we were going during the 4+3 promotion but moved our trip to take advantage of the free dining. We had 2 connecting rooms at Pop Century so the Free Dining was the better discount for us. We are a family of five with three children who were all adults on the dining plan so we had no experience with the children's menu. My accounting said that we would have saved money even if we would have paid for the dining plan.

Unfortunately, I didn't start taking photos of the food until later in the week, so you'll have to use your imagination.

Day 1
Kringla Bakeri in EPCOT
We had driven in the night before, stayed off site and checked into Pop Century at about 10 AM. Our rooms weren't ready but we got our KTTW cards and went to EPCOT, mainly because we had an ADR later that evening at Rose and Crown.

We had lunch at Kringla Bakeri in Norway. Later in the week the parks were crowded but today there was no one here, which was good because it took us a minute to figure out what we could get for our first QS meal. We tried the salmon and egg sandwich, the Norwegian club sandwich, the ham and apple sandwich and the goat cheese tart. All came with fruit salad and we sampled several of the desserts: chocolate pound cake, fruit tart, rice cream, and strawberry creme cake. There is a nice covered outdoor area to eat in, that was empty. Everything was very good and the club sandwiches were big. We were satisfied until our dinner.

Rose and Crown.
We had a 5:50 ADR at the Rose and Crown. We signed in and were given a buzzer which buzzed a couple of minutes later. We were given a table outside on the water. The waitress asked if we were going to stay for Illuminations but we didn't think we could stretch out the meal that long. We ordered the lamb two ways, vegetarian shepherds pie and fish & chips. Lamb 2 ways came with shepherds pie and 2 tiny lamb chops. It was good, probably better than the vegetarian shepherds pie. The desserts were good, we chose a selection of fruit crumble, trifle and toffee pudding (which is cake for us Americans.) It was nice sitting outside but a little warm and humid.

Day 2 we have an ADR for 1900 Park Fare, which I was a little nervous about having read a couple of horrible reviews. But we had been there in 2005 and loved it.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

What was the goat cheese tart exactly?

 

[MickeyNicki]

Great start!

 

[ChasPowl]

What was the goat cheese tart exactly?

My DS12 had this and he thought it was the best counter service he had all week. It was a little like a personal pan pizza. It was round, maybe six inches across and an inch tall. It had a crust with potatoes, onions, and cheese on top. DS didn't think it had ham or any meat in it.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

My DS12 had this and he thought it was the best counter service he had all week. It was a little like a personal pan pizza. It was round, maybe six inches across and an inch tall. It had a crust with potatoes, onions, and cheese on top. DS didn't think it had ham or any meat in it.

Sounds good. I may have to get it next trip.

 

[ChasPowl]

Day 2 Pizza Planet and 1900 Park Fare

On day 2 we were at DHS to do Toy Story Midway Mania. Keeping to the theme we did lunch at Pizza Planet. Disney pizza is mass produced but I think that it is pretty good. On the dining plan, you can get a personal pizza, green salad, drink and dessert. The pizza choices are cheese, pepperoni, or vegetable. There are also salads on the menu. Desserts were the standard counter service desserts I believe, probably brownie, chocolate cake or carrot cake. Somewhere there is a factory churning out single serving Disney cakes 24/7. We lucked out and found a table on the second level. Overall it was a good lunch.

Dinner was at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian Resort. We had really enjoyed 1900PF in 2005 but I had read some terrible reviews before our trip (one review said that all of the food was terrible.) We got off to a shaky start getting to the Grand Floridian. We took the monorail from MK and sat and sat while they redid the monorail system for the dinner rush. As we sat we watched a couple of boats go to the Grand Floridian from MK. We checked in a couple of minutes late, but they were running behind so we had to wait about 20 minutes.

We were seated in the back room, a little removed from the noise of the main room. The stepmother came over as soon as we were seated. She objected to being characterized as "wicked," describing herself as a concerned mother. The stepsisters were also funny.

I thought the food was fantastic. There was food from five regions, Spain and Italy stick in my mind. They had the strawberry soup but also others soup including an excellent cream of asparagus. The carving station was described as roast beef instead of prime rib but it was good none the less. The salmon in dill sauce was particularly good. Of the four buffets we visited during the week I thought that 1900PF had the most variety. The desserts were an assortment of pastries which were also good.

The Prince and Cinderella didn't pay us too much attention, but that was ok. All our children are teens or near-teens and weren't too interested in the characters this trip.

1900 did not disappoint again and I'm glad that I was talked out of changing the ADR.

 

[ChasPowl]

Day 3 Cosmic Rays and Boma

During our earlier visits to WDW in 2002 and 2005 we had somehow missed eating at Cosmic Rays but decided that we must do it this trip. This was the third day of free dining and MK was pretty busy when we were ready for lunch. We had been having a quick breakfast using snack credits for pastry at Everything Pop and figuring on an early lunch, but we weren't getting to an early lunch. When we got to Cosmic Rays it was pretty busy and it had started to rain so we couldn't find a seat inside. I had been looking forward to the ribs and chicken but with the counter setup they had and the need to find each other and sit together we decided to all get burgers. With the dining plan or course you get burger and fries, drink and dessert. The desserts are the cakes or a brownie, which on the menu is no sugar added, but it has sugar on the ingredients. We found a table outside with an umbrella and it kept out the drizzle while we were eating. Cosmic Ray's was ok. Cosmic Ray's was the only CS place that we received the larger size drink.

Dinner that night was at Boma in the Animal Kingdom resort. We arrived about 20 minutes early for our 6 PM ADR and were seated just about immediately. We were five at a table for 8. My DS12 said that he didn't really like Boma because there weren't enough foods he recognized. We had dined at Boma in 2005 and I thought that there was less variety this year. The potatoes with Africatude were good, but I missed the prime rib they used to have. I think they call it strip loin now and it's not as good. There is a good variety of soups, I particularly enjoyed the corn porridge soup and the hairy crab soup. The desserts were usually pastries including zebra domes which were very good. I do feel that the desserts are pretty standard at all of the buffets.

We did go out to the viewing area afterward and saw an amazing number of animals.

 

[2trips06Mom]

I am enjoying your reviews a lot. I think I have to try the Goat Cheese Tart at Kringla Bakery. It sounds yummy! Thanks for taking the time to share your meals and your thoughts on your dining experience.

 

[ChasPowl]

Day 4 Flame Tree BBQ and Cape May Cafe

I don't think that I've mentioned that during our free dining we were mostly using our snack credits on pastries for breakfast at Everything Pop. After some testing we found that the cheese Danish and the turnovers were especially delicious.

We had always planned to be at Animal Kingdom on this day and planned to do the picnic in the park. But after our excitement on doing Expedition Everest, we simply forgot. We also spent all of our time on the Asia side of the park and didn't see any signs for it. Anyway we had lunch at Flame Tree BBQ and it was fantastic. Our group of 5 split with some getting the ribs and the pork sandwich. On the dining plan you get ribs, baked beans, cole slaw, drink and dessert, they change things up and offer key lime pie here. The lines weren't long but were slow moving. Flame Tree has a number of outdoor seating areas but you have to walk a ways carrying your trays. The ribs were just fantastic! Meaty and tender and nicely spiced with a dry rub, and the cole slaw was tasty. The pork sandwiches are good also, but only come with the beans. Other items on the menu I remember was a smoked turkey breast sandwich.

Originally our trip would include DS12's birthday and he wanted to go to Cape May Cafe for seafood. Even after we changed the dates we still kept our plan to go to Cape May Cafe. We arrived shortly after it opened at 5:30 for our 6 PM ADR and we seated within a couple of minutes. I was a little disappointed in the seafood aspect. The clambake items on the buffet consisted of steamed clams, mussels and salmon, with shrimp on the salad bar. The clams were just tiny. The potatoes and corn on the cob were kind of tasteless. I thought that the best items on the buffet were the ribs. The dessert selections were more limited than the other the other buffets. They do have the delicious Mickey Domes. An item of note. Our DS12 ordered a smoothie even though the waitress said it wasn't included. However, when she rang it up, the computer cleared out the cost of the smoothie. Maybe we all should have ordered them.

 

[ChasPowl]

Day 5 --Everything Pop Food Court and Chef Mickey

We came back to Pop Century after Typhoon Lagoon and ate in the food court. The kids had burgers or wraps and I had a chicken caesar salad all that was good. You have to hunt around a little to get your drink and dessert for the dining plan. My daughter had the tie dyed cheesecake which wasn't marked as a dessert option on the shelf but it was a dessert option. We also had breakfast at the food court that morning also. The breakfast pizza was a little out of the ordinary and delicious.

We had dinner at Chef Mickey's. We were a tad late for our 5:40 reservation because of delays on the monorail from MK (again) but it wasn't a problem. We were buzzed while they were taking our photo. This is our third visit to Chef Mickey's and it is always good, except we're not that interested in the characters anymore. The buffet is a little limited but everything is good. The buffet line starts at two ends and meets in the middle, two people explained this to us, but we still started in the middle. It had been a hot afternoon and the waiter kept our glasses filled. All the characters came around to say hi, and Donald came twice. We were stuffed and walked over by Bay Lake Tower after dinner.

Chef Mickey Desserts

 

[ChasPowl]

Day Seven --Sommerfest and 50's Primetime

On day seven we were in Epcot touring World Showcase. In past visits we had never really visited Germany, so I wanted to see it. We stopped for lunch in at Sommerfest. The menu there is pretty limited, you can have bratwurst and sauerkraut or frankfurter and sauerkraut. There was no one there when we arrived. The German CM behind the counter did not seem to understand my English or my bad German asking about what we could get for our CS credit. The sausages were so good, they had just the right spice and just the right amount of bite and the buns were soft and yeasty. The sauerkraut was tender and not overpowering. DD16 who NEVER eats sauerkraut tried and ate part of the sauerkraut as a topping on her frankfurter. The desserts are excellent, I had the strudel and it was very tasty, loved the vanilla sauce.

When we planned our trip to WDW we said that we had to find 50's PT. One of our children is a little sensitive and we didn't know how he would react to any ribbing. But we wanted to try it and made sure that he knew it was all in fun. We were seated after a short wait in the living room, we weren't at one of the counters but in a side room at a formica table. Uncle Dale took care of all the tables in the room, and he was very funny and just the right level of ribbing. We started with milkshakes. The shakes here huge, almost to big to finish. We tried the steak ( a little chewy but tasty,) salmon, tuna casserole and the fried chicken. The chicken comes with four pieces and is a big portion, bigger than DS12 could finish.

Tuna Casserole

Fried Chicken with potatoes and spicy greens, note the shake

Steak with Potatoes Au Gratin

Salmon

We were pretty full and took our dessert to go, even the s'mores which we heated up in the food court. We loved 50's Prime Time it was fun and the food was very good. As we left the park was closing at 7 PM.

 

[ChasPowl]

Day Seven --Everything Pop and LeCellier

We had lunch on our last day at Everything Pop. I had a very good reuben flat bread, DW and DS12 had shrimp lo mein which I understand was spicy. The food at Everything Pop is very tasty, you do have to wander around a little to find everything that you want. I regret that we never tried the milkshakes at Everything Pop.

For our final dinner we went to LeCellier. After hearing all the comments on LeCellier I felt we had to try it and were able to get dinner there on our final night with an 8 PM ADR. We checked in early but they were running behind and I think that it was almost 8:30 when we were seated. We discovered that milkshakes and smoothies are covered on the dining plan at LeCellier and the raspberry milkshakes are as good as the ones at 50PT, the size is a more manageable. We tried the sauteed gnocchi, the salmon, the scallops and well it is a steak house so I had the filet.

DS13 had the Sauteed gnocchi

DS 12 and DW had the scallops. The vegetables with the scallops are golden beets. My mother use fix canned beets which are actually pretty good. These golden beets, for those who had the courage to try them, had the same sweet flavor and the nice yielding texture.

DD16 had the Salmon two ways

I had the filet, I know I took a photo but it's not on the camera

We were hungry and the portions were the right size to leave room for dessert
Whiskey cake which doesn't taste like whiskey it tastes like chocolate

The Moose

and the Mousse which has sorbet also.

I thought LeCellier was fantastic, the filet was very tender and the risotto was excellent, I like to make risotto and theirs tastes like mine if I put in a lot more cheese and truffles. I'm really glad that we got the chance to eat at LeCellier.

I keep trying to justify the dining plan which was, of course, free, so the justification is easy. We would have spent $200/day to buy the dining plan and would have spent close to that on food any way, since we planned to eat in the parks. We used mostly snack credits for breakfast so didn't need to buy things at Publix for breakfast in the room and the snacks, CS and TS items we bought totaled up to about $240/ day. If we hadn't been on the dining plan I don't think that we would have gone to LeCellier. I enjoyed the dining plan although some days I wished that we weren't tied to the dinner ADR.

 

[hotcarib]

great report...sounds as if you had a wonderful time

 

[soaringirl]

Great report! It's good that you enjoyed all your meals!! I can't wait to try the mushroom filet at Le Cellier, too!

 

[mjhd]

So glad to hear Uncle Dale is still at PTC. We are hoping to get him when we go in a few weeks!!! Sounds like you had some great food!