QSDP Review - No Pictures

[MulanUSAF]

I just got back after 6 days at WDW with my parents and brother. We are four adults on the QSDP that came with free dining. I originally thought we would be eating nothing but burgers, chicken nuggets and pizza. But as it turns out, we didn't eat a single burger or nugget, and only one meal of pizza. The portions were quite generous and we often ordered three meals for the four of us and shared. QSDP gets two from me and I'll definitely use it again in the future. Sorry there's no food pictures, my camera was dropped on the first day and died. I had to use Photopass for all the park pictures, but couldn't drag any park photographers into restaurants to take food pictures.

Here's my rating guide:
Absolutely love it and it's a must have for future trips
Great, but won't die of disappointment if I can't find it next time
Edible, but I've had better ones elsewhere
Should have ordered something else

Day 1:
Lunch: Columbia Harbour House
-Fried shrimp platter with fries and coleslaw
-Fried fish basket with fries
-Anchors Away sandwich (tuna sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes on multi-grain bread)
-Chocolate cake
-Apple Crisp
-Bottled Dasani water

Overall, the fried shrimp platters were amazing. Plump large shrimp, perfectly fried and not too greasy. Served with fresh fries and tasty coleslaw, I was in heaven. My brother got the fried fish, it was so so. The batter on the outside was good, but the fish on the inside was sort of mushy instead of flaky. The tuna sandwich was good, but nothing super special about it. Though I should note the lettuce and tomatoes were very fresh and the tuna salad wasn't too heavy with mayo. Chocolate cake had too much super sweet frosting for me. After scraping most of it away, I was able to enjoy the moist cake underneath. It was okay, but nothing to rave about. The apple crisp looks beautiful, but the crust was really tough.

Dinner: Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
-1/2 Chicken and BBQ Rib Combo plate with mashed potatoes and green beans
-BBQ Rib plate with mashed potatoes and green beans
-BBQ Pork Sandwich with fresh fried chips
-Substituted desserts for French fries
-Fountain drinks

The chicken and rib platter had a ton of food. I tried the chicken and found it well seasoned and cooked. The chicken breast was slightly dry, but still tasty. The ribs had some fat on it, but the meat was very tender and sliding off the bones. I loved the red skinned mashed potatoes, very creamy with a hint of garlic. The green beans were okay, I thought they were very bland. The BBQ pork sandwich quite awful. It consisted of shredded meat drowned in sickly sweet BBQ sauce and I couldn't eat more than a bite of it. No one in my family liked it either and it went in the trash, mostly uneaten. The chips that came with it were awesome, freshly fried and not greasy. We asked if we could substitute the desserts for fries and the cashier said yes. So we had some yummy fresh fries to go with everything. We used some snack credits afterwards for ice cream treats while waiting for fireworks.

Snacks:
-Mickey ice cream bar
-Haagen-Daz chocolate almond covered ice cream bar
-Pineapple bar

Who doesn't love Mickey bars? The pineapple bar was a pleasant surprise, I usually don't like juice bars but I had a bite of it and loved it. It was very refreshing and had little pineapple chunks in it.

 

[tfoster]

Love your rating guide!

We're planning to eat at Columbia Harbor House soon and ordering the shrimp platter (DH) and tuna sandwich (me), so it's nice to see that you liked both of them. I think we'll end up getting a lot of waters instead of desserts.

Looking forward to seeing your other reviews!

 

[natalielongstaff]

I always have the Tuna at CHH, love your reviews

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Sorry about your camera - what a stressful thing to happen on the first day of vacation!

I really like your rating guide.

Great reviews so far.

 

[MulanUSAF]

Day 2:
Breakfast: Pop Century Food Court
-Bountiful Platter
-Waffle with bacon
-Apple danish
-Cheese danish
-Minute Maid Orange juice
-Nesquik Chocolate Milk

The breakfast platter came with a ton of stuff. I think it had eggs, bacon, sausage, French toast sticks and breakfast potatoes. However, the scrambled eggs were cold, the bacon was greasy and limp, the sausage was barely warm and had some strange chewy thing in it. The potatoes were the only things that tasted good. The French toast sticks were buried under everything and tasted like bacon grease. Not an appetizing platter at all. The waffle was nice and fresh, served with warm but limp bacon. The apple danish was good, I wished I got two apple ones. The cheese on the other danish tasted a bit weird, like yogurt that's been sitting out for awhile. Now it could be due to the fact that we went around 9:30am and most of the food has been out for awhile. But still, we didn't enjoy the food court very much and didn't eat there again.

Lunch: Sunshine Seasons Food Court
-Ginger Mongolian Beef with rice and broccoli
-Turkey and Jack Cheese on Foccacia
-Grilled Salmon with rice pilaf and mashed potatoes
-Grilled Pork Chop with carrots and mashed potatoes
-Strawberry Shortcake
-Fruit Tulip
-Creme Brulee
-Vitamin Water
-Dasani Water

This was one of our best meals at WDW. My mom got the ginger Mongolian beef. She thought the beef was a bit overcooked but the sauce was nice and the green/red peppers, onions, sugar snap peas were crispy and well cooked. The broccoli that came was it was just plain steamed. I got the turkey sandwich and it was one of the best sandwiches I've had in a long time. There were a ton of fresh turkey and jack cheese, served with a chipotle mayonnaise that gave it just a hint of flavor but not enough to call it spicy. It was served on fresh baked herb foccacia bread. My brother got the salmon, it came with an olive tapanade dressing. I had a bite and it was great. The salmon was moist and flaky, the olive dressing gave it good flavor. The rice pilaf was nothing special, but the mashed potatoes were great. My dad's pork chop must've been good because he ate it so quick I didn't get to have a taste. The strawberry shortcakes were amazing! Fresh strawberries and whipped cream tucked in multiple layers between light and moist cake. The fruit tulip looked beautiful, but tasted rather bland. The creme brulee was good too, just a tad bit over scorched on top. But the stuff underneath was lovely. We got a couple bottles of Vitamin Water and Dasani to go as well, can't go wrong with those.

Snack: Sommerfest
-Bratwurst with sauerkraut and spicy mustard
-Soft pretzel
-Dasani water

Walking around the world showcase, we stopped at Germany and used a meal credits to buy bratwursts and pretzels to share as a snack. The bratwurst was wonderful, served with plenty of sauerkraut on a nice fresh roll. We weren't in the mood for desserts since we have just satisfied our sweet tooth during lunch, so we got salted pretzels instead. These pretzels were unbelievably delicious. Fresh, soft, very buttery and not overly crusted with salt, they are in a class of their own when it comes to pretzels. It's different from the pretzels you find in carts around the parks. We walked back to Germany at the end of the day to buy a couple more using snack credits.

Dinner: Tangierine Cafe
-Chicken and Lamb Platter
-Lamb Platter
-Mediterranean Sliders Platter
-Baklava
-Dasani water

We stopped in Morocco to have dinner before Illuminations. The roasted lamb was juicy and tender, we all agreed it was very good. My mom usually can't stand lamb, but had no problems with this stuff. The roasted chicken was a bit more dry, but still pretty good. The sliders consisted one each of chicken, lamb, or falafel stuffed into a mini pita filled with shredded lettuce and taziki sauce. I wished I didn't get the sliders because they were messy to eat as the mini pitas were falling apart and you get a tiny piece of meat in each. I liked the sides that came with each platter, but I guess it's an acquired taste. My parents tried it for the first time and didn't like it. They thought the tabbouleh tasted weird and didn't like the texture of couscous. Tabbouleh, in case you're not familiar with it, is finely chopped parsley mixed with chopped onions, tomatoes, mint, lemon juice, olive oil and some other middle eastern spices. The hummus was great with the Moroccan bread. The lentils that came with the sliders platter was okay, but rather mushy. Everyone liked the baklava, but it's not any different from the baklava I get from Costco.

 

[MulanUSAF]

Love your rating guide!

We're planning to eat at Columbia Harbor House soon and ordering the shrimp platter (DH) and tuna sandwich (me), so it's nice to see that you liked both of them. I think we'll end up getting a lot of waters instead of desserts.

Looking forward to seeing your other reviews!

Thanks for reading my review! The shrimp was so good! You get 10 of them per platter. I forgot to add that you also get a bag of potato chips with your sandwich.

I always have the Tuna at CHH, love your reviews

Thanks for visiting! I like the tuna too, especially the wonderful bread.

Sorry about your camera - what a stressful thing to happen on the first day of vacation!

I really like your rating guide.

Great reviews so far.

Thanks for reading my review! I figured since I don't have pictures, I might as well use smilies. The camera died a tragic death, after traveling all the way across the country, it fell from my dad's chest pocket on the fourth floor walkway as he leaned over to see something down below. The fall didn't kill it, but the sudden stop on concrete did.

 

[MulanUSAF]

Day 3:

Snack: Anandapur Local Cafe
-Pork Egg Rolls
-Chicken Fried Rice

We went to Animal Kingdom on our third day. Instead of eating breakfast, we slept in a bit and got to the park around 11am. We used snack credits to buy some egg rolls and fried rice to tide us over until lunch. The egg rolls were fantastic! Perfectly crispy on the outside and filled with pork and veggies on the inside. The chicken fried rice was pretty good too.

Lunch: Flame Tree Barbecue
-Smoked Ribs with cole slaw and baked beans
-Smoked Chicken with cole slaw and baked beans
-Chocolate Mousse
-Key Lime Pie Mouse

The smoked ribs were coated with a dry rub seasoning. The meat was good, but not falling off the bones tender. It's a bit dry in some spots, like the ends, but you can dip it in barbecue sauce to moisten it up. The chicken was very good, but a bit tough in some parts. I liked the cole slaw but didn't like the baked beans. The slaw was crisp, tangy and fresh. The beans were overcooked in my opinion, with most of the beans mushy and the sauce was too smoky/salty for my taste. The chocolate mousse had a thick layer of ganache that was too sweet for my taste. But the mousse underneath was velvety smooth and delicious. The key lime pie mousse had a jello like green layer on top, key lime mousse underneath and graham cookie crumbs on the bottom. I thought it tasted fine, but nothing too special.

Snack:
-Strawberry Fanta Slushie
-Pretzel with jalapeño cheese filling
-Regular pretzel

We grabbed a couple slushies and pretzels while waiting for the parade to start. The strawberry slushies were refreshing, but they don't give out lids at AK and therefore half of mine was spilled when I got jostled by people trying to get in front of my spot to watch the parade. The pretzels were okay, the cheese filled one was not spicy enough for my dad. I had a plain one and it was just an ordinary pretzel.

Dinner:
We drove out of WDW and went to Orlando in search of good Vietnamese food.

 

[poohmomof3]

This is great!! We are trying to decide if the QSDP is a good purchase for our family of 5 (2 adults, and 3 kids - 16, 14 & 11). I can't wait to read more.

 

[LaWa]

Thanks for reading my review! I figured since I don't have pictures, I might as well use smilies. The camera died a tragic death, after traveling all the way across the country, it fell from my dad's chest pocket on the fourth floor walkway as he leaned over to see something down below. The fall didn't kill it, but the sudden stop on concrete did.

This was the funniest thing I read all day. (I had a long day grading papers. Sorry!)

Dinner:
We drove out of WDW and went to Orlando in search of good Vietnamese food.

Did you find any good Vietnamese food? We have two non-Disney nights. I'd love to find some good pho.

Thanks for sharing. We're eating a lot of CS on our Dec. trip. Love to hear people's opinions. Now I'm looking forward to Seasons at EPCOT.

Hope you're having a great day!

LaWa

 

[KatMark]

Love your reviews. Sorry you didn't enjoy the barbecued pork sandwich at Cosmic Rays. I've had it ht elast two years in a row and it was great both times (and I agree with you--love the potato chips).

 

[3BoysRDisneyFreaks]

It is amazing the great food you can get as QS. My first trip to WDW was full of burger after burger and nuggets. Thankfully it only took 2 trips to figure out there is way more out there than that.

 

[MulanUSAF]

Day 4:

Lunch: Starring Rolls Cafe
-Turkey Sandwich on Foccacia with chips
-Ham Sandwich on Foccacia with chips
-Napoleon
-Strawberry Parfait
-Tiramisu

We didn't eat breakfast again because Hollywood Tower of Terror was first thing on our must ride list. So after coming back from the Twilight Zone, we had an early lunch at Starring Rolls. The sandwiches were very good. The meat was at least 4 inches high on the fresh foccacia bread. The turkey one had some pesto mayo on it that was very delish. I didn't try the ham one, but my brother said it is also really good and has spicy brown mustard on it which he loves. The counter service meal includes a sandwich, a pastry from the display case and a drink. The pastries here were to die for! There were a several kinds of humongous cupcakes, fruit tarts, eclairs, cakes, and other goodies. The napoleon was layers and layers of puff pastry with custard and cream. The strawberry parfait had layers of strawberry gel, vanilla pudding and cake. The tiramisu had very little cake but lots of rich cream and coffee flavor. We enjoyed all the food very much and will most definitely eat here again next time.

Snack:
-Popcorn
-Hot Chocolate

We stopped for some and hot chocolate to warm up after being chilled to the bone sitting in the bleachers for the car stunt show. It was raining non stop all day and we were pretty wet and miserable by mid afternoon. The hot chocolate tasted like heaven.

Dinner: Toy Story Pizza Planet
-Pepperoni pizza
-Veggie pizza
-Side salad
-Rice Krispy Treats
-Chocolate Chunk Cookie

We ate at Toy Story Pizza Planet mainly because my little brother was itching to play in the arcade. The pizza wasn't impressive, it reminded me of the stuff from my old high school cafeteria. The crust was really thick, the sauce was overpowering and the toppings were skimpy. But it was warm food at the end of a cold, drizzly day, so we ate it without much fuss. The side salads that came with the pizza were wonderfully crisp and fresh. The rice krispy treats were Mickey head shaped and came on a stick. It was soft and fresh, so we all liked it. The cookie, on the other hand, was hard as a rock and heavy as a hockey puck. It would've been more edible if we had some milk to dunk it into. Overall, it's an okay meal, but I probably won't eat there again if I had a choice. Oh, it's also very loud in there with all the arcade games and kids, but sitting upstairs is a little bit better.

Snack: Writer's Stop
-Mocha
-Cappucino
-English Toffee Slab
-White Chocolate Macademia Nut Cookie

After checking out Osborne lights, we stopped for some hot drinks and snacks before heading out the park. The coffee drinks were awesome. I wish they have this stuff in the Pop food court instead of the Nescafe. The English toffee was delicious and nutty. The huge cookie was soft and chewy, just the way a freshly baked cookie should be. No hockey puck this time.

 

[MulanUSAF]

This was the funniest thing I read all day. (I had a long day grading papers. Sorry!)



Did you find any good Vietnamese food? We have two non-Disney nights. I'd love to find some good pho.

Thanks for sharing. We're eating a lot of CS on our Dec. trip. Love to hear people's opinions. Now I'm looking forward to Seasons at EPCOT.

Hope you're having a great day!

LaWa

Yes! We went to 1200 block of E. Colonial Drive of Orlando, about 30 minutes outside of WDW. There are a bunch of Vietnamese restaurants on that stretch of the road. You can get pho, bahn mi (Vietnamese sandwiches for $3), and all sorts of rice and noodle dishes for really cheap prices. Google "vietnamese orlando" and you'll get a bunch of restaurant names.

 

[MulanUSAF]

Day 5:
Snack: Aloha Isle
-Dole Whip Swirl
-Dole Float

Skipping breakfast, we headed to MK to try the newly reopened Space Mountain. After riding it twice, we headed over to Main Street Bakery for some late breakfast. However, the line was so long that we decided to skip it and got some Dole Whip instead before eating an early lunch. I like mine swirled with vanilla. For the holidays, they added green food coloring to the pineapple soft serve and red to the vanilla. It still tasted the same, but kinda strange to look at since I kept expecting to taste strawberry.

Lunch: Columbia Harbor House
-Fried Shrimp Platter
-Fried Fish Basket

We went back to CHH for the fried shrimp that we enjoyed so much on the first day. My brother doesn't like shrimp and go the fish basket again. This time, the fish was better and crispier. We got bottled waters in lieu of desserts.

Snack: Boulangerie Pastisserie
-Creme Brulee
-Napoleon
-Pithivier
-Baguette

Later in the afternoon, we park hopped to Epcot and walked around the world showcase. Stopped by France for some of the lovely pastries at Boulangerie Pastisserie. Dad got the napoleon, this one is filled with whipped cream instead of custard like the one at Starring Rolls. Mom got the almond pithivier. I thought it looked boring but after having a bite, I totally changed my mind. It was wonderfully moist and almond-y and not too sweet. I didn't want a heavy pastry, so I got a creme brulee which tasted marvelous. I have yet to meet a creme brulee that I didn't like. My brother wanted a baguette, so he got one. It was crusty and perfectly baked, very enjoyable with butter.

Snack: Nut Cart near the big Christmas tree
-Cinnamon glazed almonds and pecans

We passed by the glazed nut cart and got some yummy almonds and pecans to munch on. They were so good! We went back later to with leftover snack credits to bring some home.

Dinner: Lunching Pad/Cosmic Ray's
-Smoked Turkey Leg with chips
-Frozen cherry slushie
-Rib Platter with mashed potatoes and green beans
-French Fries

Since that day was Thanksgiving, we decided to get some turkey legs. So we went back to MK and got the turkey legs at the Lunching Pad. My brother also wanted a cherry slushie with his turkey leg, so he got one too. I guess it makes up for the lack of cranberry sauce. We took our turkey legs over to Cosmic Ray's, where we bought a couple more platters of ribs to go with the turkey. The cashier allowed us to get fries instead of desserts, so that was great. Turkey legs, ribs, mashed potatoes, green beans and fries, oh yeah, and cherry slushie makes one heck of a thanksgiving meal.

 

[pinkerbell]

this review is GREAT!!! sorry about your camera

 

[DisDreaminMom]

I like your review and love the way you graded everything. Makes it super easy to read fast. Good job.

 

[grumpyyoungguy]

Going soon with the QS for the first time and you have eased my nerves so thank you! I was wondering where the stuffed jalepeno pretzels were at AK?

 

[MulanUSAF]

this review is GREAT!!! sorry about your camera

Thanks! As for the camera, my dad said he'll get me a new camera for Christmas in addition to a new laptop, so I'm

I like your review and love the way you graded everything. Makes it super easy to read fast. Good job.

Thanks for visiting and I'm glad you like my little rating system.

Going soon with the QS for the first time and you have eased my nerves so thank you! I was wondering where the stuffed jalepeno pretzels were at AK?

I think the pretzels were near the Kilimanjaro safari. We got it when we came out of the ride exit. It's a cart that sells fresh fruits and pretzels. Have a great trip!

 

[MulanUSAF]

Day 6:

This was our last day at WDW. After checking out of Pop Century, we did a bit of resort hopping to look at the holiday displays. We also had about 10 snack credits and 6 meals to burn up on our last day.

Breakfast: Capt Cook's
-Tonga Toast
-Mickey Waffle
-Pineapple Cup
-Dole Whip (DIY soft serve machine)
-Caribou Coffee (bottled)

We tried the famous Tonga Toast, which is a thick slice of sourdough stuffed with bananas, then battered and fried, and finally rolled in cinnamon sugar. It was very good, but I'm glad we got one to share between the four of us because it was very sweet and way too much for one person. The Mickey waffle was nice and fresh, always a favorite. We also got a couple bottles of Caribou Coffee with our QS meal. I have never seen it elsewhere, but it tasted like Starbuck's bottled frappucino, with a little stronger coffee taste. We were told we can have a second drink or a dessert with our QS plan, and my brother got the Dole Whip from the DIY machine. I think he must've piled 8 inches into that little cup. Mom had a pineapple cup, it was very fresh as well.

Lunch: Wolfgang Puck Express @ Marketplace
-Rigatoni with chicken alfredo (with caesar salad and garlic bread)
-Rotisserie BBQ Beef Melt Flatbread (with mixed greens salad and chips)
-Beef and Gorgonzola Pocket Sandwich (with potato chips)
-Italian Sausage and Roasted Peppers Pizza
-Fresh baked cookies (one chocolate chip and one oatmeal)
-Creme brulee
-Frozen yogurt

After checking out several resorts, we went over to Downtown Disney and had lunch at WPE. Note there's two WPE at DTD. We were told by a cast member at Pop Century that the one at Marketplace had the better menu selections than the one on West Side. Also, the one at Marketplace serves breakfast items, the West Side does not.

Now let's talk about the food. I wished we had tried this place earlier in our trip and then we probably would eat dinner here every night. Everything was fantastic. We ordered the food at the counter, and then a waiter brought out the entrees and refilled drinks. He later brought out dessert when we were done with entrees. We tipped him, even though not every table around us seems to have done so. The chicken alfredo pasta was a big portion. The sauce was very rich and yummy, the chicken was firm and tender. I also liked the caesar salad that came with it. My dad had the BBQ beef flatbread. It was crispy, sweet and cheesy with a generous amount of beef stuffed in there. My mom had the gorgonzola beef pocket, which was like a salad stuffed in pita bread. It was refreshing and everything tasted very fresh. The beef was cold, but was very tender and flavorful. My brother had the pizza, which he inhaled quickly before I had a chance to steal a slice. He said it was excellent and tasted like California Pizza Kitchen type pizza. The creme brulee was very nice, again, I'm very partial to creme brulees so I can't find fault with them. This one was a little firmer than the ones served at various Disney restaurants. My brother had the frozen yogurt, which came with a topping and he got strawberry. It was good, but just plain vanilla frozen yogurt with a fruit topping. Mom and dad didn't want dessert, but they had cookies to go. Those were delicious when we ate them on the long drive back.

Snack: Goofy's Candy Kitchen
-Cookies
-English Toffee Slab
-Fudge

We used our remaining snack credits on goodies to bring home. We got several cookies from the display case. I think we got raspberry white chocolate, peanut butter chocolate chunk, and oatmeal raisin. We also got a slab of toffee for mom, who's addicted to that stuff. I got two pieces of fudge. One was chocolate/vanilla, the other was candy cane peppermint. They were unbelievably good. I really liked the candy cane one, because it had crunchy crushed candy cane on top that gave it a great contrasting texture with the creamy fudge. Each piece of fudge was huge and easily cut into four generous pieces to share. This was a magical and sweet ending to our vacation.

 

[MomsOf2boys]

I am wanting to try Tangerine because I love Falafal... It doesn't show it on the menus so I was glad to see that it is.