3Aumillers
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2005
- Messages
- 185
Having just returned yesterday from our vacation I thought I would try to share some of our restaurant impressions. We were on the "free" dining plan and definitely had more than enough food for our trip. Our group consisted of me (31), DH (27), DD (almost 4) and MIL (50).
Donald's Breakfastosaurus: This was our first character meal so our daughter was very hesitant at first. The characters picked up on that right away and didn't stay long the first time they went through our dining room. They made a second pass through later so that we were able to get photos when DD was not scared. We thought the food was excellent and the options were plentiful. Our server was wonderful!! Our ADR was for 8:10 and we were seated by 8:05.
Sci-Fi: This was another highlight of our trip. We should have split 2 TS between the 3 Adults and we would have had MORE than enough food but we all stuffed ourselves silly. Our server was VERY attentive and always had refills before we could request them. Our ADR was for 12:00 but we stopped in at 11:30 and were seated immediately.
Liberty Tree Tavern: I can see that this is becoming redundant. Either we are easy to please or everything was a highlight for us. We really enjoyed our experience at LTT. Our server was a little slow but we weren't too hungry after our big meal at Sci-Fi so we didn't mind waiting for our food. The characters made a stop at our table numerous times. We were seated close to a set of stairs going into another dining room so the characters seemed to stop by both coming and going. Most of the time they snuck up behind DD so she didn't even know they were in the area. One of my pet peeves from the week were the children that followed the characters from table to table. Chip and Dale were highlights for us from this meal. They stopped to interact a LOT!! Our ADR was for 5:30 and we were seated close to 5:50.
Princess Storybook Breakfast: This is one meal that we will definitely NOT be repeating. We checked in at 10:25 for our 10:35 ADR and were not seated until 11:20. I checked with the hostess a couple of times only to be reassured that we were still in the "system." Finally the manager came out to be sure everyone was taken care of only to find us still waiting. Then when he tried to seat us the server tried to tell us that we couldn't sit at that particular table. Should have been our cue to just forget about this meal. She brought out drinks and the rolls but didn't return for a good 20 minutes and when she did she had our checks prepared only to realize we hadn't even gotten our main course yet. Because we were seated in the corner and were seated as an after thought we had to have the character handlers have the Princesses backtrack to our tables. They were obviously not thrilled and ready to end their shift.
Cinderella's Royal Table: I was a bit hesitant about this meal as I had read so many reviews about the food being so-so and the interaction being rushed. When making the ADR I mentioned we were celebrating DD's birthday. I wasn't going to make a big deal out of it if they didn't do anything as her birthday technically isn't until 10/18. This was the only meal that we even mentioned her birthday. The confetti / streamers / certificate were waiting on the table so she has the nice signed certificate as a memento from our morning. Our server was wonderful. The food was very good. We thought the interaction was good but thought Cinderella could have been better. Wendy and the Fairy Godmother were the best ones we interacted with at this meal. Our ADR was for 8:10 and we were seated by 8:05.
Le Cellier: After getting caught in the rain headed to Canada we were ready to get inside and enjoy a nice meal. Our server, Emily was the best server we had all week. She was VERY attentive. Extra breadsticks were provided before we finished the first batch. The food was wonderful. I wish I would have ordered the apple cobbler instead of the S'mores for dessert. I ordered the S'mores thinking DD would enjoy them but she could have cared less. Our ADR was for 6:00 but we checked in at 5:30 and we were seated by 6:10.
Crystal Palace Lunch: Another restaurant we were not thrilled with. Our server was horrible. He didn't bring our first refills until he brought our check and refills were only given after having asked for them at least 3 times. We thought the buffet was lacking in choices (or at least in choices that appealed to us). The dessert bar was good. It's amazing how much a horrible server can affect your view of the meal. Something else we noticed that seemed odd was that on 2 different occasions we spotted handlers walking through the dining room with a character (out of costume) .. the handler was pointing out the path they were to take. One "character" we watched was going along with her hands making sweeping gestures of where she was to go so that she could get it in her head before she was in costume. I thought there would have been a more appropriate time to "train" but what do I know. Our ADR was for 12:00 and we were seated about 12:20.
ESPN Club at the Boardwalk: We took a leisurely walk from Epcot over to the Boardwalk. We really enjoyed the theming of the restaurant and were glad that we strolled over. We could have easily split 2 meals instead of ordering 3 but once again we stuffed ourselves. The nachos were GREAT; chicken club wraps were so-so and the Key Lime Pie was not good at all. Server was good at the beginning but by the end of the meal we were having to chase her down for refills and our check.
Chef Mickeys: We ended our week with a visit to Chef Mickey's for dinner. We had eaten so much during our stay that by this meal we were tired of eating and were here more for the character interaction. I did enjoy what little I did take from the buffet. The sundae bar was wonderful. I was surprised that they took forever to bring our check. I would have thought they would have wanted to turn our table but we were there for well over an hour. People watching was something we especially enjoyed this evening. There were obviously a lot of first time character diners present as many would YELL at their server when they would return from the buffet only to find that a character had missed their table. They didn't understand or wouldn't accept the fact that yes .. the characters will return. Our ADR was for 5:00 and we were seated by 4:55.
If you have any specific questions please don't hesitate to ask. I have all of our receipts but haven't even begun to total up the amount of "free" food we consumed.
Donald's Breakfastosaurus: This was our first character meal so our daughter was very hesitant at first. The characters picked up on that right away and didn't stay long the first time they went through our dining room. They made a second pass through later so that we were able to get photos when DD was not scared. We thought the food was excellent and the options were plentiful. Our server was wonderful!! Our ADR was for 8:10 and we were seated by 8:05.
Sci-Fi: This was another highlight of our trip. We should have split 2 TS between the 3 Adults and we would have had MORE than enough food but we all stuffed ourselves silly. Our server was VERY attentive and always had refills before we could request them. Our ADR was for 12:00 but we stopped in at 11:30 and were seated immediately.
Liberty Tree Tavern: I can see that this is becoming redundant. Either we are easy to please or everything was a highlight for us. We really enjoyed our experience at LTT. Our server was a little slow but we weren't too hungry after our big meal at Sci-Fi so we didn't mind waiting for our food. The characters made a stop at our table numerous times. We were seated close to a set of stairs going into another dining room so the characters seemed to stop by both coming and going. Most of the time they snuck up behind DD so she didn't even know they were in the area. One of my pet peeves from the week were the children that followed the characters from table to table. Chip and Dale were highlights for us from this meal. They stopped to interact a LOT!! Our ADR was for 5:30 and we were seated close to 5:50.
Princess Storybook Breakfast: This is one meal that we will definitely NOT be repeating. We checked in at 10:25 for our 10:35 ADR and were not seated until 11:20. I checked with the hostess a couple of times only to be reassured that we were still in the "system." Finally the manager came out to be sure everyone was taken care of only to find us still waiting. Then when he tried to seat us the server tried to tell us that we couldn't sit at that particular table. Should have been our cue to just forget about this meal. She brought out drinks and the rolls but didn't return for a good 20 minutes and when she did she had our checks prepared only to realize we hadn't even gotten our main course yet. Because we were seated in the corner and were seated as an after thought we had to have the character handlers have the Princesses backtrack to our tables. They were obviously not thrilled and ready to end their shift.
Cinderella's Royal Table: I was a bit hesitant about this meal as I had read so many reviews about the food being so-so and the interaction being rushed. When making the ADR I mentioned we were celebrating DD's birthday. I wasn't going to make a big deal out of it if they didn't do anything as her birthday technically isn't until 10/18. This was the only meal that we even mentioned her birthday. The confetti / streamers / certificate were waiting on the table so she has the nice signed certificate as a memento from our morning. Our server was wonderful. The food was very good. We thought the interaction was good but thought Cinderella could have been better. Wendy and the Fairy Godmother were the best ones we interacted with at this meal. Our ADR was for 8:10 and we were seated by 8:05.
Le Cellier: After getting caught in the rain headed to Canada we were ready to get inside and enjoy a nice meal. Our server, Emily was the best server we had all week. She was VERY attentive. Extra breadsticks were provided before we finished the first batch. The food was wonderful. I wish I would have ordered the apple cobbler instead of the S'mores for dessert. I ordered the S'mores thinking DD would enjoy them but she could have cared less. Our ADR was for 6:00 but we checked in at 5:30 and we were seated by 6:10.
Crystal Palace Lunch: Another restaurant we were not thrilled with. Our server was horrible. He didn't bring our first refills until he brought our check and refills were only given after having asked for them at least 3 times. We thought the buffet was lacking in choices (or at least in choices that appealed to us). The dessert bar was good. It's amazing how much a horrible server can affect your view of the meal. Something else we noticed that seemed odd was that on 2 different occasions we spotted handlers walking through the dining room with a character (out of costume) .. the handler was pointing out the path they were to take. One "character" we watched was going along with her hands making sweeping gestures of where she was to go so that she could get it in her head before she was in costume. I thought there would have been a more appropriate time to "train" but what do I know. Our ADR was for 12:00 and we were seated about 12:20.
ESPN Club at the Boardwalk: We took a leisurely walk from Epcot over to the Boardwalk. We really enjoyed the theming of the restaurant and were glad that we strolled over. We could have easily split 2 meals instead of ordering 3 but once again we stuffed ourselves. The nachos were GREAT; chicken club wraps were so-so and the Key Lime Pie was not good at all. Server was good at the beginning but by the end of the meal we were having to chase her down for refills and our check.
Chef Mickeys: We ended our week with a visit to Chef Mickey's for dinner. We had eaten so much during our stay that by this meal we were tired of eating and were here more for the character interaction. I did enjoy what little I did take from the buffet. The sundae bar was wonderful. I was surprised that they took forever to bring our check. I would have thought they would have wanted to turn our table but we were there for well over an hour. People watching was something we especially enjoyed this evening. There were obviously a lot of first time character diners present as many would YELL at their server when they would return from the buffet only to find that a character had missed their table. They didn't understand or wouldn't accept the fact that yes .. the characters will return. Our ADR was for 5:00 and we were seated by 4:55.
If you have any specific questions please don't hesitate to ask. I have all of our receipts but haven't even begun to total up the amount of "free" food we consumed.
