Quick & Simple dining reviews. No pics (Legoland, all parks, and DTD included)

[blana]

The whole family & I went to WDW for about a week, leaving NC March 7 & returning March 14. We stayed at All Star Music, in a family suite.

The cast of eaters mentioned are me (37 almost 38 at the time of the trip), DH (38), DS (8), DD1 (5), and DD2 (~18 months at the time of the trip). Most of the reviews will be from my perspective, but where I can remember what the others had, I'll include that info. (I'm a horrible reporter, I know.) We spent 1 day in each of the Disney parks, 2 in Magic Kingdom itself, and one at Legoland. Also, we had the standard dining plan (1 CS, 1TS, 1 snack) during our stay.

 

[blana]

We left NC about 3pm on Friday, and arrived at ASMu about 1 am. I don't figure anyone cares too much about our stop at McDonalds on the drive down, so I'll skip it.
Our first full day in the parks, we were heading out to Animal Kingdom. DH isn't a big breakfast person, so the kids & I abandoned him & went to the Intermission Food Court first thing. We got two adult bounty platters to split among the 4 of us. This was just about the perfect amount of food. Both of the big kids got to split the French Toast sticks, we all ate on the eggs & bacon, DD2 got a biscuit, and I got the breakfast potatoes. Yum! We also split a strawberry milk & a chocolate milk. Good, simple & filling food.

We had Tusker House scheduled for lunch, right at the change over from breakfast to lunch. Honestly, I think that was our mistake this day. There didn't seem to be nearly all of the interesting things I've heard about on here out on the buffet. Half of the food was still breakfast offerings. It was good enough, just didn't seem to be a lot of variety. If we try this one again, I'll schedule it for a bit later.

DD1, DD2, and I shared a hot fudge sundae bought from Dino-bite Snacks during the parade. Once again, simple, yet filling. DH & DS shared a pack of gummy worms. Really? Everything you can get as a snack & you pick gummies? *sigh* Actually, they did this a lot. We also got a large Sprite for everyone to share just after the parade.

After our late night the night before, we were worn out. And with the time change coming the next morning, we decided it was time to head back before we ate supper. Supper was at Intermission Food Court. I think DH got a burger & DD1 got a hot dog, but I won't swear to that. I know I got the hot Italian Sandwich (with chips & apple juice) because DS wanted a kids pepperoni pizza (with grapes, a cookie, and a chocolate milk). This was when I realized DH didn't understand how the meal plan worked. He showed up at the register with JUST their mains, no sides, no drinks, no desserts. I had to send him back to get those, which made the cashier mad at me because she had already started to ring me up. Sorry! I didn't know HE didn't know! (He told me later he couldn't understand why I was getting drinks since we had the mugs. *sigh*) Anyway back to the food. Once again, simple food, and everyone else seemed to enjoy theirs, but my sandwich was ANYTHING but hot. I was really looking forward to a toasted type sub, which I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be. Nope. Mine was still cool. Very Meh.

 

[blana]

Before I get into day 2, I'll just say that every day our breakfasts were at Intermission Food Court. We had a bounty platter each day so DD2 could eat the eggs, but varied what we got with it. Some days it was 2 platters, some we got pancakes & bacon, some waffles & bacon, and a couple we just got a pastry to go along. It was good simple food every day & we were ready to go to the parks afterwards.

On day 2, we headed to DHS. We had lunch reservations at Playhouse Dine at Hollywood & Vine. We've eaten here twice in the past, once for breakfast, once for lunch. While the food has never been thrilling, it's never been bad & the kids have really enjoyed the character interaction. It's always been some of the best we've seen. This time, the food had taken a nice step up in our estimation. Last time we were there it was mainly cold sandwich type items. This time it was more varied & tasted pretty good, especially for a buffet. HOWEVER, the character interaction has taken a turn for the worse. We've always had the characters make it around at least once while we were still eating, and usually twice. This time, DH & DS left the restaurant after eating with only Handy Manny having made it to our table. The restaurant wasn't full at this time (it was an early lunch), and yet, the characters just didn't seem to be working their way around the room. It seemed that every five minutes, there was a parade, or a dance party or something to stop them from making their rounds. Approximately 15 minutes after we were done eating, Jake, Doc, and Sophia all came around one after the other, for very perfunctory visits. Sophia especially didn't seem to have any personality, just walk up take a picture, sign the book & leave, with no interaction with the girls. Anyway, I've always stood up to the critics on this one & said it was a nice place to go, but I don't know if we'll be back here again, unless they keep the Jedi Mickey characters at supper.

At suppertime, DH spotted Pizza Planet & asked if we could go there. Having heard the horror stories about Disney pizza, I wasn't too sure, but agreed to go in. Between all of us, we got pepperoni pizza meal (DH), meat lovers pizza meal (me to share with DD2), 2 kids cheese pizza meals with applesauce & a cookie, a choclate chip cookie for DH & a blueberry-lemon cupcake for me. This pizza was about what I expected, pretty blah, but it hit the spot. I ate both Caesar salads, since DH won't eat "green things" and shared my pizza with DD2. Even sharing, we only ate half of the pizza, just because it wasn't all that. DH ate his entire pizza, as did DS. DD1 only ate about half of hers, but DS "helped" her out. I was the only one to try my dessert while we were there, the others being stashed in the diaper bag to be snacked on later. The cupcake was almost more like a blueberry muffin they had iced with lemon icing. It was fine, but I'd rather it had just been a muffin. All in all, I wouldn't go rushing back here, but if the rest of my family wants it next time, I won't argue. It was okay.

 

[blana]

Day 3 was our trip out to Legoland. Breakfast was as described in the last one.

After completing the Lego Driving Academy, the kids were hungry & so were we! The closest restaurant is right outside the entrance to LDA, the Fried Chicken Restaurant. (Seriously. That's the name. To the point, I guess! http://florida.legoland.com/en/EXPLORE-THE-PARK/Dining/Fried-Chicken-Restaurant/ ) Anyway, we got chicken sandwich meals for DH & me & kids chicken strip meals for the two oldest. Pretty good fried chicken, and PLENTY of fries. Also, free refills on your drinks. All in all, a good place to stop if you're in that area when you get hungry. (However, after having been there, I'll say that my advice now is to START with the driving academy if you want to do it. It's the only place in the park we had any sort of wait.)

Because of the abbreviated hours at the park (10-5 if I remember right), we didn't want to waste time eating supper there, so we stopped on the way back to the resort. And WHERE did DH decide to eat after we ate chicken for lunch? That's right, we HAD to stop at Chic-Fil-A. Where we ate basically the same meal we had eaten just a few hours before. Oh, well. It was fine & the kids got to play in the play area for a bit.

 

[SillyFamily]

enjoying your reviews

 

[blana]

Day 4: This was the day we split up "boys vs. girls". DH & DS went to IoA while DD1, DD2 and I spent the day at MK, almost entirely in Fantasyland.

Breakfast was our normal. Forgot to mention earlier that we were able to get the small Mickey waffles for the adult plate just by asking. Four little waffles. I know others have mentioned being disappointed that the adult plate had the big waffle instead of the little ones.

For lunch, the girls & I had late breakfast reservations for Crystal Palace. Yummy puffed French Toast and breakfast lasagna. Our only hiccup here was the server told me to go ahead & go to the buffet because Tigger had already passed our area & no one else was coming soon. Well, Tigger had NOT passed our spot yet, and we missed him on his first round. However, since we had a VERY late breakfast, the restaurant was fairly empty and Tigger made his way back around in less than an hour. DD2 (18 months) doesn't know a lot about Disney characters, but she loves Tigger especially (I'll sing the Tigger song to her when we're playing with her Tigger toy), so this was important.

My plan had been to get an ice cream or ice cream sandwich before finding seats for the Flights of Fantasy parade (which had just opened a couple of days earlier), but by the time we were done with our Fairytale Hall fastpasses, we were running late for getting a spot, even in Frontierland, so we ran over there. So, instead of ice cream during the parade, we shared a milk & a Sprite to rehydrate after the parade.

Supper was at the all-important Be Our Guest. DD1 has been obsessed with B&tB since she was tiny, WELL before she ever saw the movie. I truly have NO idea why she got so obsessed with it, but hey, I was going to make sure she got in. We checked in about 15 minutes before our ADR, and were directed onto the bridge. After a fairly short wait (10 minutes or so), we were on our way into the restaurant. We were seated at one of the tables under the windows in the ballroom. I know others have mentioned how dark it was. Even so, I was not prepared for it to be THAT dark. Wow. Just, wow. Our server was nice & very helpful. I had in my mind that I was going to order the Chicken breast Provencal. After reading the online menus & reviews, it sounded fun. When I mentioned it, our server immediately stated that he wanted to tell me a little more about the dish before I ordered it. He proceeds to tell me what all goes into the sauce, including... anchovies. I don't eat fish, at all. Can't stand them. (Shrimp & clams are the only exceptions.) So, I thanked him profusely for stopping me and changed my order to the braised pork. DD1 & DD2 got the grilled cheese to share. (sigh) My pork was great. (Yes, it's a bit of a waste to get that for supper since you can get the same thing for lunch for less, but you get what you get. ) DDs were worn out & just picked at their food. When the server came around to ask about dessert, I asked if we could get it to go. He got two boxes & we got The Grey Stuff and the Triple Chocolate cupcake. I wanted to love the Grey Stuff, and it was pretty good, but the frosting (?) was a bit greasier than I was hoping. The cupcake was the better of the two desserts. As we were leaving, we went in to meet the Beast. DD2 was a bit scared, but DD1 was happy as a clam. She was dressed as Belle for the day, and he bowed to her & led her in a "waltz" complete with spinning her around. DD2 warmed up enough to wave bye-bye and off we went. Full, happy, and worn out. ETA: The girls had also filled up on the bread we got to start the service, so that's part of why they picked at their food.

As for the boys at IoA, all I know is they ate at the Jurassic Park restaurant and thought "it was okay". By suppertime they were back at the hotel & ate at the food court. Once again "it was okay." I have no idea what they ate either place.

 

[airhead991]

Thank you. This was very helpful!!

 

[blana]

Day 5: the whole family went to MK! It was a misty type of rain day, but that didn't slow us down!

We decided to stop for lunch when it started to drizzle a little heavier. Since we had spent the morning in the Tomorrowland/Circus portion of Fantasyland area of the park, we were close to Cosmic Rays, so that's where we decided to go. I sent DH in with instructions on how to order (and a "you know what I like" for my order) while I got the rain cover situated on the stroller so DD2 wouldn't have a wet ride when we got out. Got done & DH was completing the order, so I took the kids to find seating, knowing he'd be following close behind. We got seats on the upper deck overlooking Sonny's show. (Right after DH got to us with the food, the CM's started blocking off the area.) DH got a hamburger (plain) with fries, the kids got a chicken nuggets one with apples & one with fries and cookies, and I got ... a turkey sandwich with apples. An important thing to note, I HATE turkey sandwiches. Everyone gets so excited at Thanksgiving because they get the big turkey, and I get as small of a piece as I can so that people won't ask me why I'm not eating it. I looked at DH very confused as he started to devour the burger, only for him to say that he "though you'd want something a little lighter!" Sigh. After almost 15 years of marriage, you'd think he'd know I don't do turkey, but, hey. I ate a little bit, and it was okay, for a turkey sandwich. The kids were in awe of the cheese sauce here, and proceeded to dip everything they had into it. Fries, nuggets, apples, everything. DH got me chocolate cake (YAY) as my dessert, which was yummy and he got the chocolate gelato, which he declared was almost too chocolaty and proceeded to eat the whole thing as quick as he could. (I got in one bite, and it was pretty good, but I liked the cake better. )

For supper, we had the one "girly" thing of the day, CRT. We ate here on the last day of our last trip & DH loved it, so I made sure to include it again. Other than Cindy at the door, we had Jasmine, Ariel, Aurora, and Snow. Ariel was the best of the characters, really into her part. Jasmine got a bit of an attitude when DH asked if he could get a picture with her, but heck, I don't blame her one bit for that. For apps, I got the Castle Rock Salad & DH got the cheese tasting plate. The two older kids got the cheese & grapes & shared with DD2. For mains, I got the chicken breast, which I think has been taken off the menu (?), and I'm not 100% sure what DH got. I thought it was the beef, but the sides don't sound right, so I may be confused. The two older kids got chicken nuggets (sigh) and they brought DD2 her own plate of the nuggets. (We really didn't need another plate, as the two older had PLENTY left over they could have shared with her, but it was a nice gesture.) For dessert, I had the Clock Strikes Twelve (YAY!), DH had the lemon sorbet, and the kids got the cones. I really enjoyed all of my meal, although it is overpriced for what you get, but you're paying for eating in the castle, so.... DH wasn't as big of a fan of his choices, mainly the dessert. The sorbet was SOOO sour it was difficult to eat. (I offered to swap with him, but he didn't want the white chocolate in the Clock.) The kids didn't eat too much as they were again tired from a long day at the parks, but were happy enough with their choices.

I don't know that we'll go back to CRT next time, but that will mainly be because DS will count as a Disney adult the next time we make it. But, we DO enjoy eating in the castle. It's a nice end to the day for us. So, we'll see. (I personally like Akershus as good as I do CRT, but DH didn't the one time we went, so it's off the list right now.)

 

[blana]

Day 6: Last full day in the parks, and we head to EPCOT. (After our normal breakfast, of course!)

After spending the morning in Future World, we decided to grab lunch prior to visiting the countries. So, we stop at the most logical spot, Sunshine Seasons. DH had the slow roasted pork chop here our last visit & wanted to try it again. I decided to get the Mongolian Beef. For our desserts, he got the key lime tart & I got the Whoopie pie. The big kids each got the Pizza Panini with applesauce, cookies, and milk. All I can say is Yea! Lots of food, all good. And everyone was happy.

For supper, we went back to the Land for Garden Grill. At check-in, two families in front of us were fussing mightily with the CMs making tons of requests for seating (booths even though their families were too big for most of the booths, etc.), so I decided not to press my luck in making requests. (I REALLY didn't want to come across as one of them.) I was a bit sad when we were led to one of the upper tables, but really didn't mind too much. We're there for the food & the characters & the view is WAY down on the list. This is the one restaurant DH requested before our last trip, so I made sure it was back on the list for this trip. DH ate most of the beef, leaving me with mainly fish & turkey. I don't eat fish at all, and as stated earlier, turkey isn't my favorite , but that was fine. The sides are yummy, and so are the salad and bread. The kids were okay with their chicken, although I don't think they ate any of the sweet potato fries or the broccoli. Dessert was yummy as well. Berry cobbler for us & cupcakes for the kids. And the characters were great. We saw each one twice. Even DS (who had declared himself too old for characters earlier in the week) had fun with them & agreed to get his picture with them. We really enjoy this meal and I hope it stays on our itinerary for at least a few more trips.

ETA: Oh, I forgot, I DO know where some of our snack credits ended up on this day. While DD1, DD2, and I were in line waiting to see Snow White, I told DH that he and DS (who was complaining about having to wait for more characters) might enjoy going to Karamell Kuche. Hint hint, I'd like something from there! So, off they go, only to reappear just before we get to SW, holding... a bag of Haribo Happy Cola gummies. Yep. DH said DS didn't like the looks of anything in the caramel shop so they didn't get anything there. *sigh* And when we were done with the princess, DH wasn't in the mood to go back to the store for me to look around. *sigh* Next time! We then wandered down to African Outpost & got a Sprite & a bottled water to share. You'd think with Flower & Garden going on that we would have stopped at one of the kiosks, but it just wasn't in the cards that day.

 

[blana]

To finish things up, our last day we headed out to DTD for lunch at T-Rex. I thought this might make up for CRT to DS. We were seated in the room with the aquarium (on Friday before it broke that Monday. I swear we weren't involved!) I got the stegosaurus steak & cheese sandwich with cinnamon apples. I believe DH got a plain burger with rice. *sigh* The kids both had pizza, one with apple sauce & one with corn. The food was all pretty good and very filling, making it a good stop before we headed back to NC. Since we were full, we weren't too excited about dessert and considered skipping it. The waiter was a bit pushy & convinced DH that we should get it to go. So, two tar pits (dirt cake) for the kids & the doughnuts for two for us ended up being shlepped around. The doughnuts are probably much better hot, but they tasted okay later. DH ate one of the dirt cakes, but the other just went to waste. I don't know that I'd get dessert here again, just because we didn't need the food.

We spent some additional time shopping & using up those snack credits we never got around to. In fact, DH & the kids are still eating Goofy gummies & I think I found a pack of Minnie's cookies the other day in the kitchen. I never did convince DH to use them on good yummies, but that's okay.

After all of that, we came out slightly ahead by getting the dining plan, but I still don't know that we'll get it the next time we go to WDW. I would have rather gotten snacks at times other than meals rather than necessarily getting dessert, etc. But, with little ones, and lots of buffets, it made sense this time. We'll see what the plan costs next time & whether it makes sense for us.