President's Weekend dining reviews, 2/16 - 2/21

[Pryncess'mom]

Our group was our family of five:

me
DH
DS1 (18 yo)
DS2 (15 yo)
DD (8 yo)

We stayed at the Poly, and were on the dining plan. While I know this is not the dining plan forum, we spent $754.75, and our out of pocket would have been $1301.80. We made out very well due to the fact that DD would not eat, and toward the end of the trip we had dining credits left over that had to be used. I did not intentionally set out to "work" the system, it just worked out that way.

My reviews will consist of restaurants and the food we ate, including total prices. Remeber that table service meals include gratuity in the total cost.

Day 1
Counter service: Sunshine Seasons Food Fair
DS1: Grilled chicken caesar salad, cheese danish, soda
DS2: Sweet n sour chicken with lo mein and steamed rice, soda, choc. chip cookie
DH: black forest ham/ turkey sandwich on a crusty bread with arugula, red onions and a light vinagrette, soda, cheese danish
Me: same sandwich, iced tea, ch. chip cookie

We were very impressed. The sandwiches were huge and very filling. The danish and cookies fresh. DS said salad was good, and very large. DS liked sweet n sour. Somehow, the girl only charged us for 3 counter service meals. Total cost : $50.46.

Snacks:
1 bottle of water, one frozen coca slush and one frozen lemonade at the African Outpost. Slushes very tasty. Total cost: $9.44. 3 snack credits.

Table service:
DS 1 & 2 Rose & Crown
DS1 Fish 7 chips, soda, guinness cake
DS2 Shrimp cocktail, Steak, guiness cake

Both boys enjoyed their meals. They brought home dessert, and 1/2 the steak, green beans and mashed potatoes. Ate it later. Total cost: $72.15.
2 table service credits.

DH, DD & I Le Cellier
me: cheese soup, maple bbq glazed filet with cream cheese mashed potatoes, soda, apple cobbler
DH: Shrimp cocktail, Prime rib with yukon gold potatoes and broccoli, soda, apple cobbler
DD: Caesar salad, chicken nuggets with fries, root beer, chocolate moose dessert

This was by far our best meal of the trip. The room was crowded, but the service was good. Our meals were served promptly and hot, drinkl refilled quickly, empty dishes cleared. The food was very good, and we will definately go there again. We brought nuggets and choc. moose back to room. Total cost: $123.86. 3 table service credits.

We were very hungry by dinnertime on the first day. We had only had a very light breakfast, so we ate a lot the first dinner. We would have spent $255.91 had we not had the dining plan. Le Cellier I would recommend to everyone. It was fantastic. Our server was Chelsey and she was sweet. A great start to our vacation.


Day 2.....Peco;s Bills /ohana...........tbc

 

[Peter Pirate]

Isn't the 'chocolate moose' a hoot? ... And yummy to boot!

 

[lynninpa]

Isn't the 'chocolate moose' a hoot? ... And yummy to boot!

Just what is a "chocolate moose" at LeCellier?! Just made our ADR for nine!

 

[Peter Pirate]

It's a mousse desert in the shape of a moose...At least that's what it used to be!

 

[carriep1657]

Pryncess'Mom, I noticed that your DD had a caesar salad at LeCellier. Is that off the adult menu? Do they let kids order starters from the adult menu, if there are none offered on the children's?

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reviews ~ Thanx for posting.

 

[disneyw/kids]

Loved reading your reviews, this ? is not about dining but how were the crowds during Presidents weekend? We would love to go that same time next year and just wondering how the crowds were?

 

[Pryncess'mom]

First of all lynninpa, Peter Pirate is right, it's chocolate moose rolled in crushed cookie crumbs, with maple leaf cookie ears decorated to look like a moose. It's on the children's menu. My Dd ordered it. I have a picture of it. When I can get them off the laptop and on to the desktop I will load it. It's really cute. When the server brought it out, he asked DD if she knew how to call a moose. He then got down next to her and whispered "Here moosie, moosie. Here moosie, moosie" It was so funny, she just looked at him like he was nuts!!

carriep1657 - yes, they let her order the apps. off the adult menu. Most places did that unless there were kids starters listed.

disneyw/kids - it was crowded. We usually go in August, but have been Jersey Week in Nov. and July, Jan and Dec. It was lots of people but with planning, you can make out well. Check out my trip report http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1038420
to see how things went. Not as crowded as July, and we really made out well Thursday. I did read other reports that by Wednesday the place had emptied quite a bit.

Day 2
I don't think we ate anything for breakfast. We were in Mk for the day.

Counter service - Peco's Bill's
this is a family favorite because of the fixin's bar. We were not disappointed this trip either.
We had 4 Bacon double Cheeseburger baskets that came with fries, 4 peanut butter mousse brownies, and 4 sodas. 4 counter service credits. Total cost; $51.00. I don't know if it was because we were so hungry, or that we really didn't eat alot of burgers, but these were really good. We all loaded them up with fixins and were really full when done. We actually had one leftover brownie that we carried around and took back to the room. (I ended up bringing it home and ate it for lunch at work one day!!)

Snack credits : we used 2 snack credits to get 2 bottles of water during the afternoon. Total cost: $4.00

Table service: Ohana's
We used 5 table service credits for this all you can eat meal. The total cost with tip was $144.36.

This was another hit. My DH, and DS's had not been here on the old menu, only DD & I, so they were not disappointed. I really love the salad with the honey lime dressing. It is just the right mix of sweet and tart. The honey coriander chicken wings were very tasty too. I don't eat shrimp, but my DH ate all but one of them and DS1 got that one! He would have taken more, but wanted to save room for other food. He really liked them. The vegetables were OK, as were the potatoes. I was the only one who ate them. DH doesn't eat onions, and the kids were full. The meats were good too. DH and I really liked the sausage. We had 2 helpings of them. DS's really liked the turkey. They had 2 servings of that. The steak, while tasty, was too red for me. DH and DS2 really liked it though. I though the pork was a tad bit dry. I prefer the pineapple and caramel sauce over the bread pudding. But thats just my opinion. I don't like bread pudding. The ice cream was good though, along with the bananas foster sauce. Service was good, plenty of food, cold drinks refilled promptly. We would definately do this place again, although one can hope for the menu to change back !!!

Total cost for the day: $199.36.

Day 3 - Flame Tree BBQ and Concourse Steakhouse......

 

[Belle23]

So far I am going to all the TS restaurants you have listed!! I am so glad that you are giving good reviews for them. Enjoying reading your report and can't wait for more!!

 

[Uncleromulus]

Awaiiting day #3--

 

[Pryncess'mom]

Day 3..........later start to parks to let kids sleep in, and for me to do laundry

Counter Service: Breakfast: Captain Cook's @ Poly
DH & split a big Kahuna breakfast platter and an iced tea. Plastter consisted of scrambled eggs, 2 sausages, one mickey waffle, and about 4 hash brown patties. this was so-so. I don't eat eggs so DH ate them, but everytime we got this they always looked somewhat watery. The sausage are really good though, and the waffle, well, it's a waffle only shaped like mickey's head. 1 counter service credit, cost: $8.50.

Counter service: Lunch: Flame Tree BBQ @ AK
DH and I both got the Pulled Pork sandwich meal, with fries, his with chocolate cake, mine with key lime pie, and 2 sodas
DS1and DS2 both got the rib platter with fries, one chocolate cake and one frozen lemondade, 2 sodas. Total cost for 4 counter service meals: $54.84.
We really enjoyed this meal. Again, maybe we were so hungry that anything would have tasted good, but we like BBQ. Here in NJ we go to a chain called Famous Dave's. If you have one around you, GO! We love the different sauces they offer. Now back to Flame Tree! They too offer choices of sauce, one regular, one spicy. I got the regular and really liked it. Not too sweet or smoky, with a really good taste. The key lime pie was cold, and tart. Just the way I like it. DH choc cake was good too. The boys ate the ribs until all they had was a pile of dry bones! DS1 is a rib afficianado. He said MMMMMMM. I think he meant, yea Mom they are good!! When he was finished, he was wearing sauce on his face, shirt and somehow, the seat of his pants. A good testimony!! Again, we were really full when done eating. the dining plan almost offers too much food. If we were doing things the regular way, we would have not gotten dessert, and maybe had something later on.


Snacks : Captain Cook's @ Poly: 1 snack credit for a bottle of water; $2.00

Table Service: Concourse Steakhouse @ Contemporary. We had ADR for 5:10. Checked in about 4:55. Seated in about 10 minutes. The place was not very full yet, and neither was Chef Mickey's which was a good thing, since we sat at the very last table in the concourse, next to plants that separated us from Chef Mickey's. I say good thing Chef Mickey's was not full because of the noise level I usually find there. We have never eaten there because the incredibly loud noise. It is way too noisy for me.

i had onion rings for app, 10 oz prime rib, medium well, came with mashed potatoes, sprite, and key lime tart, (all desserts to go)
DH had pan fried scallops for app. 14 oz prime rib, a mango-strawberry-banana smoothie and a chocolate cake/mousse dessert that was impressive in it's presentation
DS1 had shellfish bisque, 14 oz prime rib, coke and carrot cake
DS2 had caesar salad app. sirloin steak entree, sprite and cheesecake.

4 table service credits for total cost of $172.62. This was by far the most expensive meal, but we enjoyed it. We like steak. We really like steak. We really really really like steak. But at home we don't cook it often. We eat more pork and chicken. We ate a lot of steak this trip. DH really liked the scallops. They were pan fried, although there were only 4 of them. Really nice presentation. My onion rings were good. Crisy and hot, sweet onion taste. DS said caesar salad good. DS loved bisque. Nice size bowl, and hot. Also had a basket of rolls brought out to table. Really crusty, but good. All steaks were good. DS1 and DH ate ALL of theirs! Cooked just the way they wanted. Mine was good, but I couldn't finish it. Also cooked the right way for me. DS2 liked his sirloin. Mashed potatoes thick but had a good taste. Desserts, when we finally ate them were good. DH chocolate thing very interesting. Came with a variety of berries and drizzled choc. small choc. decorations. Very professional and FoodNetwork looking! I would definately recommend this place to anyone wanting a relaxing good meal. The service was slow, but not too slow. You had time to enjoy each course and did not feel rushed, but on the other had, did not feel like you were waiting long for each new course. I can't wait to go again!!


Total for Day 3 $237.96

Day 4 MGM: Turkey legs and Sci-Fi drive in..........

 

[Pryncess'mom]

OK, I'm going to try to post the link for the picture of the Chocolate Moose.
Here goes.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e373/debi3k/Day23006.jpg
OK, it worked for me! It was not only cute, but yummy!

 

[firecracker]

did your dd just share all of the meals that you're detailing? I hope so, because we're hoping to do some sharing to stretch our credits in a couple of weeks. Our dd8 can sometimes eat like a bird or a horse...you just never know!

tia

 

[Pryncess'mom]

yes, she did end up sharing. We had dining plan for all of us, but after 2 days we realized she wasn't eating anything! We would order our meals and she would nibble off them. We were able to order more meals to share, although we did not plan on working the system. I know there have been many questions about the dining plan and ethics. And I'm wearing my flame retardent underroos, so here goes.........yes i know they were paid for as children's meals, BUT.....when they are left over near the end of the trip, I'm using them up anyway I have to. Sorry. I would not intentionally order many adult meals and have my child share, but when she was not eating anything at all, I'm not going to waste food. It has been drilled into me from a young age.

good luck, hope this helps.

 

[buzzmom3]

I love your reviews, fellow South Jersey Girl! We go to Famous Dave's too! I'm was on the fence about Concourse Steakhouse but your review made up my mind. I;m getting really hungry.

 

[Pryncess'mom]

OK< I'm going to try to finish this thing!!

2/19/06 sunday------

Counter service: Captain cook's @ Poly
We decided to eat a decent breakfast, so we went over and got
2 Big Kahuna breakfast platters with sausage and one with bacon, and a breakfast sandwich (scrambled eggs bacon and cheese on a croissant) with 4 sodas. We all split these. food OK. Total cost $33.79, 4 CS credits

The boys had turkey legs and hot dogs at Toluca Turkey Legs in MGM. Total cost:$20.29, 2 CS credits.

Table service: Sci-fi Drive In. We had read mixed reviews but decided to try it for the ambiance. We checked in at the podium 20 minutes early, and waited 1/2 hour to be seated. They took us in and tried to seat us at a patio table in the back with an extra chair pulled up. My DH told her that if we had to sit there, we would leave. She said that's wre you sit with no ADR. After I told her I had had an ADR for several months, we went back to the podium and they checked around. Let me say, that on the way back to the podium we noticed about 8 empty cars in the theater!! We finally made out way back to a car in the middle, third row back. Now that's what I'm waiting for!! What a waste of time! We were so disappointed. With all the wonderful food in Disney World, I think it's a shame this place serves such lousy food. This was our list:
DS1 -- onion rings, rib platter, hot fudge sundae, orange soda. He was satisfied. The onion rings were good, but nothing to write home about. the ribs were good, but I liked the bbq better at Flame Tree.

DS2 -- BLT soup, Rib platter, chocolate tart, orange soda. He too was OK with things.

DD -- (one of the few places she actually ate!!) kids carrots and dip app. kids nuggets. These were the worst nuggets I have ever seen. They were so flat and tastless. The fries were not very good either.

Me - BLT soup, bbq chicken sandwich, cheesecake, iced tea. The soup was enjoyable. I liked the bacon and it was a good choice. The sandwich was horrible. The chicken needed to be cooked a little more for me, and it was so hard to eat. I ended up using a fork and knife. There was very little bbq sauce and soft and mushy onion strings. Caramel popcorn and m & m's decorated the cheesecake, which was OK.

DH - caesar salad, steak dinner, hot fudge sundae, coke. Salad OK, steak tough (after Le Cellier, I think he was spoiled!!) and thin, mashed potatoes OK, hot fudge sundae was the highlight of his meal.

Total cost: $155.16, 5 table service credits.

I'm truly sorry to anyone who likes this place, but we thought it was horrible. We will never go there again. As I said, I think the quality of food at other restaurants is sooo much better. This was worse than bad diner food.

Snacks:
3 credits used for 2 bottles of water and a soda.

2/21 was our last full day, with plans for San Angel and Alfredos. Check back later for these......

 

[ibouncetoo]

Enjoying your reviews.

We just had a picnic at the office catered by Famous Dave's! Had GREAT ribs and brisket and chicken and a great bread pudding (which I don't normally eat). We all got a free bottle of BBQ sauce too. I didn't even know they existed here in Arizona, but I'll be hunting down the one nearest to me.

LeCellier is one of my all time favorite WDW restaurants, and I haven't been able to get in the last to trips two WDW (one because my companion didn't want to go, the second because it was all booked up by the time I was planing my trip). I have a one night visit to WDW in November, and Boma won the toss for that night...plus I'm staying at ALK so it made the most sense to dine there. I guess I'm just going to have to plan another WDW trip, eh?

 

[DeterminedOne]

Nice reviews. Thanks for sharing!