Our May 1 -7 Dining Reviews -DDP

[sandym718]

Hi everyone!!! Got back Friday night from a wonderful trip!! 7 nights on the Basic DDP, lots of great food. I love all the reviews here, so I'm going to try one again this time. No pics, though, well... just two. DH thinks I take too many photos as it is, and that's of our kids. If I started taking photos of food, he might flip out. Sorry!! Here's our "cast":

Me - the planner, ADR maker, AllEars menu and Dis reviews obsesser! Cannot stand seafood or fish of any kind. Other than that, not tooo picky.

DH- Just tell him where to be. Big eater, meat and potatoes kind of guy.

DS - will be 7 on the 14th - will try almost anything

DD - 5- fairly picky

Where we ate:

Table Service
Kona Cafe - dinner
Chef Mickey's - dinner
Ohana - dinner
Wolfgang Puck Cafe - dinner
CRT - lunch
T-Rex- dinner
Crystal Palace - dinner
LeCellier - dinner

Counter Service
Captain Cook's - lunches, breakfast, snacks
Pecos Bill's
Earl of Sandwich
Sunshine Seasons
Lottawatta Lodge

Snacks from various locations

OK, first up: lunch at Captain Cook's!!

 

[sandym718]

Captain Cook's - Lunch

We arrived at the Polynesian about 11:30 Friday, May 1st. Checked in, took a monorail ride for the kiddos and headed to Captain Cook's for lunch.

Me - Hawaiin flatbread, chocolate crossaint, unsweetened iced tea
DH- Double Cheeseburger with Polynesian chips, Dole Whip, pop
DS - Chicken Nuggets, applesauce, cookie, chocolate milk
DD - Turkey sandwich, applesauce, cookie, chocolate milk

In a word, good. I really liked my flatbread and the CC chocolate crossaint is beloved to me. Sooooo delicious!! I was happy to get unsweetened tea after the long drive down for Ohio with fast food places with only sweet tea from VA on!! DH enjoyed the burger and chips. He loves his Dole Whips, so he was happy. Kids didn't eat too well, too excited I think!!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Count me in!

 

[sandym718]

Kona Cafe - dinner

Planned this for our arrival day - we didn't do any parks this day. Really looking forward to this - we loved it last trip, but unfortunately we weren't thrilled. It was just OK. Slow service, not terrible, but we were looking around for here. 6:20 ADR, checked in about 6:15, seated by 6:25 or so.

Me- Teryaki-style New York Strip with Mashed Potatoes and Broccolini, Kileau Torte, Raspberry Smoothie

DH - Prime Rib with Mashed Potatoes, Banana - chocolate Creme Brulee, Tropical Smoothie

DS - Chicken Noodle Soup, Hamburger, Sundae, chocolate milk

DD - Chicken Noodle Soup, hot dog, Sundae, chocolate milk

Started off good - bread and butter was delicious, smoothies soooo good. Then we waited and waited. Kept telling the kids their soup would be out soon - didn't realize it came WITH the meal, even though it is listed as an appetizer. Maybe if DH and I would have ordered appies? Anyways, they never ate the soup, just their meats.

My steak was just OK. Not bad, but not like the filet I had here last time. Mashed potatoes were still very good. DH said his Prime Rib was also just OK, he really didn't seem to enjoy it much. Both of us shared potatoes with the kids, b/c the soup was their "side"- no fries, veggies or anything. Had I known, I would've gotten them fries instead. They should just eliminate the kids "appetizer" and make it a side.

Dessert - was still really looking forward to this, loved the Kileau Torte last time. Ordered it again - very dry this time, not molten at All. Didn't finish it. DH said creme brulee OK. Kids of course ate their sundaes!

Overall, just an OK experience, glad we weren't paying OOP. Disappointing, since we loved it last time. Probably won't do this one again next time. Luckily, our TS experiences only got better!!!

Back with more tonight or tomorrow!

 

[KatMark]

I can't keep up with all this food porn. I'm here. I'm here!

 

[lynn46356]

Looking forward to the reviews. Sorry that Kona disappointed this time. We've never ate there but have always thought about it. We end up going with Ohana instead each time. Maybe next but after your review maybe not. I definitely know what you mean about unsweetened tea which is my everyday drink. Sweet tea is just way too sweet. Ick. Sorry sweet tea fans. Of course, I'm not from the south either. Thanks for sharing with us.

Lynn

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

That Hawaiian flatbread sounds awesome. Would love to hear what was on it.
Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

[natalielongstaff]

Shame about kona !

 

[skellingtonfreak]

Sorry about Kona...I am in for the rest though!

 

[disneymom06]

I have to agree with you about Kona Cafe. Had always wanted to eat at Kona because of such great reviews. Service was not great or the Teryaki style strip steak. Three of us had the same meal and no one gave it good reviews. The meat was grizzly and very poor. I was surprised. She never came back to ask how the meal was or see if we needed drinks. I am hoping that it was not the usual but no one is looking to go again.

 

[TigerKat]

Have to agree about KONA. We gave up going there after two really bad meals there in two years, too many other great places to go!

 

[sandym718]

It is such a bummer that Kona has gone downhill!!!

Rachel- the Hawaiin flatbread has ham, pineapple and onions on it. Yummy cheese and not too much tomato sauce. It's large, DH finished mine!! I don't like onions, but couldn't figure out how to order w/o so I just picked them off, no biggie.

Next up....

Pecos Bills - lunch

Our first park day, at the MK and we decided to try this for lunch. They have the express ordering computers, really liked that, made it quick.

DH - Double Bacon Cheeseburger with fries, strawberry yogurt for dessert, pop
Me- BBQ Pork Sandwich with fries, carrot cake, iced tea
Both kids - Hamburger, applesauce, cookie and chocolate milk

Dh loved his burger, really loaded up on the toppings bar! No cheese sauce, though My pork sandwich was really good. I was bummed there was no Peanut Butter Brownie Mousse like on the AllEars menu, but the carrot cake was OK. I just love chocolate and PB!! The kids ate fine, the selection is VERY limited there for kids.

This was a decent lunch, we'd return if the kids definitely wanted a hamburger.

Next up... Chef Mickey's for dinner

 

[sandym718]

Chef Mickey's Dinner

Kids were really looking forward to this one!! We did a "brunch" here last trip and really enjoyed it. A bit nervous about dinner due to so many mixed reviews, but...we really liked it!!

ADR was for 6:15, we arrived about 6:10, seated by about 6:20. Goofy was nearby so we saw him before even ordering drinks. Then I think it was Donald soon after that. Then we headed to the buffet. I'm having a hard time remembering everything, but I do know that all 4 of us LOVED the mashed potatoes. I think the kids ate Mickey head mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, broccoli and corn. I really liked a chipotle rubbed chicken, a cream sauce pasta and the chicken and corn chowder. DH ate everything and was happy overall.

Kids and DH dug into sundaes, I like the Micky head mousse on an Oreo (name). Tried a few of the other desserts, all good, nothing that I remember specfically.

We saw Minnie, Pluto and Mickey during the meal. Good character interaction, signed the kids' books and took a photo with them. They just love it!

Overall, a very good meal and nothing to be nervous about. We'd definitely return here for either breakfast or dinner. Is it fine food? No, but it's good and we love seeing the characters during a meal rather than standing in line!

 

[sandym718]

Earl of Sandwich lunch

This was an unplanned lunch. The original plan was Flame Tree in AK, but we finished in AK before lunch and have been wanting to try Earl's, so we headed there. (We had our own car btw). So...GREAT sandwiches, but poor communication about the DDP here. When we placed our order, we told them we were on the plan, the lady said we could each pick out a side OR a dessert, not both. Fine, no problem. But she said nothing about other restrictions. So, we ordered:
DH- Hawaiian BBQ
Me- The Full Montagu
Both kids - Grilled Cheese
2 chocolate milks, 2 fountain drinks.

Then we picked out our desserts/sides. Kids picked out brownie ice cream sandwiches, DH a yogurt parfait, myself a cupcake "coronet". Well, turns out only mine qualified, so they had to go back in between the people in line to get other things - would've been so much simpler had she just told us..... Anyways, DH got a choc-dipped rice krispie treat, the kids each got brownies.

Sandwiches were SO good, made all the hassle worthwhile. Desserts were good. It would be nice if you could get chips, too, thouhg. My sandwich was $5.95, dessert 1.95 and drink 1.95, so this isn't the best deal on the plan.
We would return, though, because the sandwiches are THAT good!!

 

[sandym718]

Sorry, double post!

 

[sandym718]

One last review for now...

Ohana Dinner

Our first time here, we LOOOOOVED it!! We waited maybe 15 minutes for our table, I think this was our longest wait of the trip, not bad at all. We had great "cousins", very friendly. We all really liked the bread, thought the salad was OK, I really couldn't taste the dressing. The sides were SO good, that's what we really enjoyed about the meal: All 4 of us dug into the wings, I think DS might have eaten 3. I really liked the Pork dumplings. We all ate the vegetables and the noodles, DD and I in particular loved the noodles - kind of sweet, really good. I never had the potatoes, but I was disappointed b/c they sounded good, but these noodles were great!

The meats were all decent (I didn't have shrimp), but on the dry side. The sauces really helped, I liked them a lot. The sides were definitely the hit here, though, and dessert. Oh, that bread pudding is soooooooo good!! Delicious!!

DS was too shy, but DD participated in the maracas parade and the limbo, had fun. WE really liked the atmosphere here and we'll definitely return!

 

[Disney owl]

thanks for sharing

 

[Steph9072]

One last review for now...

Ohana Dinner

Our first time here, we LOOOOOVED it!! We waited maybe 15 minutes for our table, I think this was our longest wait of the trip, not bad at all. We had great "cousins", very friendly. We all really liked the bread, thought the salad was OK, I really couldn't taste the dressing. The sides were SO good, that's what we really enjoyed about the meal: All 4 of us dug into the wings, I think DS might have eaten 3. I really liked the Pork dumplings. We all ate the vegetables and the noodles, DD and I in particular loved the noodles - kind of sweet, really good. I never had the potatoes, but I was disappointed b/c they sounded good, but these noodles were great!

The meats were all decent (I didn't have shrimp), but on the dry side. The sauces really helped, I liked them a lot. The sides were definitely the hit here, though, and dessert. Oh, that bread pudding is soooooooo good!! Delicious!!

DS was too shy, but DD participated in the maracas parade and the limbo, had fun. WE really liked the atmosphere here and we'll definitely return!

Loved all your reviews. We ate at Ohana for breakfast in 07' plan to again but we are also thinking of doing dinner here. The noodles sound great.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[gardengirl628]

Nice to hear that you liked Chef Mickey's. Thinking about trying this in November.
Love the sandwiches at Earl's...but I agree with you about the confusion. We had the same problem 2 years ago....think they would have figured it out by now!
Can't wait to read more!

 

[sandym718]

Sorry for the delay! We've been thrown right back into the "fire" of busy life with kids. Sports, sports and more sports right now!! Gonna try to do a couple now...

Sunshine Seasons lunch

Intended to try this place last time, but we ended up at Electric Umbrella, nothing special at all. This time, I was determined...and it was worth it!!

Me- Half Rotisserie Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Rice, Butterfinger Cheesecake and Iced Tea
DH- Ham and Salami Grinder, Chocolate Cake, Pop, Cheetos (Snack Credit)
Both kids - Chicken legs with mashed potatoes, chocolate milk and I think chocolate pudding

Soooo good! This is a real meal for a QS credit, if anyone does the QS plan - this is one place to come for dinner! Chicken was delicious, mashed potatoes to die for! Loved the Butterfinger cheesecake. DH enjoyed his sandwich. Found out no sides with the sandwiches, just dessert, so he used a snack credit to get Cheetos (he was hungry). Kids really loved the chicken and potatoes also.

Will definitely return here!