Reservations? We don't need no stinking reservations, we do it TODD'S way! COMPLETE

[DrMomof3]

I love that everything worked out so nicely without all the pre-planning. I'm taking inspiration from this and making our next trip less scheduled and more flexible! Thank you!!!

Amanda

PS I should say that I made dinner ADRs for every night of our trip at the 180 mark so less scheduled is a relative thing...

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I was reading your older reviews and couldn't help but notice the difference between those two Fulton's plates.

In 2009

In 2011

That is truly sad. It's like half of what you got before!

Great review of Prime Time though! I love the onion rings there too!

 

[tinacaplan]

More great reviews...it as if you and Todd ate at places just so you could answer questions for me! I had been curious about Nine Dragons...answered that! Wondered if I should go for it with Cali Grill...fixed that. And now 50's PTC! We had a less than stellar dinner there back in Feb '10; our waitress was boring and Mark got what must of been an end piece of meatloaf because it was hard and tiny. I think Max would really have a good time at PT and I was able to score us an ADR for 7:10, which I think is perfect. I couldn't get us into Mama Melrose until 8:20, which is rather late for Max, I'd say. Your meal at PTC looked great. And I do LOVE friend chicken. That salad looks right up my alley, too!

 

[jedijill]

All caught up! Great reviews.

Jill in CO

 

[Colleen27]

Where does the passion fruit drink come from? I adore all things passion fruit but I've never noticed that drink anywhere!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Just got caught up, what a great trip you guys had! Those past/present pictures of Fultons really say it all. What a shame!

Can you believe my crazy son can eat a whole magic cookie bar thing all by himself?

Really wanting to go to Boatwrights next week when we are at POR and also want to get one of those sample plates at Prime Time.4

I am very impressed you let Todd be in control, don't think I could ever do it!

Cannot belive they don't have the taco salad at the POFQ food court, I was all set to walk over there and get one. Why do they always have to mess with the menus???

 

[mamaboogie]

Fantastic review!

I can't believe you got into 50's Prime Time Cafe with only a 20 minute wait and no ADR! Last August we waited 40 minutes past our ADR time to get seated!

We did love it though, and your review makes me want to go back. That sampler looks right up my street - I love to try lots of different things - makes it less stressful than having to choose one in case you don't like it!

Can't wait to hear about your cinema food experience!

 

[floridascgirl]

Do you think that Todd's going to start a new movement among DIS'ers of no ADR's?

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

Do you think that Todd's going to start a new movement among DIS'ers of no ADR's?

NOT me! LOLOL!!! If we weren't character diners, then DEFINATELY. I like the idea of going where the urge hits!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Do you think that Todd's going to start a new movement among DIS'ers of no ADR's?

I think you'd be surprised to find how many "old timers" do not like ADR's, make very few and then only if absolutely necessary!!

(Not that Todd is an old timer!!)

 

[MickeyNicki]

When did this lactose thing start? I knew nothing about it.

He got all of his games in Saturday; rained out yesterday and has four games today and it is 90 degrees here (it's going to be 96 by Friday!).

About a month or so ago...remember how sick I was? I finally pinpointed the cause. 96 on Friday! That is as hot as it is here!

We've never eaten at 50's PT. Johnny loves fried chicken so we'll need to try it soon!

Can't wait for the F&W schedule to come out so we can start planning our ADR's around the events we want to attend. I'm really leaning towards a "no ADR" trip because most of our favorite places can be booked on short notice.

You have never eaten there? Oh you should def try it, maybe for lunch? Doesnt the F&W schedule come out in July? We have to compare our plans! I really want to do more seminars and such since the last 2 F&W trips were just quickies and mostly we just sampled the booths.

GREAT update, Nicki!!! I really like HS - even though there's not much I do there other than walk around, eat, Muppets (getting tired of that one) and of course my fave, Beauty & The Beast show.

While I'd love to go back to Prime Time, my fear is with Rosie so into the antics, I'd be bright red, under the table most of the meal. I am SO SHY and do not enjoy the PT antics at all....but LOVE the fried chicken and would like to try the sampler you had. That's looks sooo good!

You are right!! We need more ngts for our birthday trip - going to work on Rosie to see if we can add just one more and stay at one resort.

Thank you! I love the Muppet Show, that is one of my favorites...as a kid I watched them religiously

If you do go to 50's let me know, I want to see what Rosie does to embarrass you

I would love to try 50's one day. I've never had fried chicken or meatloaf, and the fried chicken looks mighty good. But I'm a bit worried because my sister is coming along on our next trip and she just had gastric surgery, so obviously "cleaning her plate" there is going to be an issue and I'm worried they'll tease her for it. Watcha think ?
Can you do the Fantasmic package at 50's ?

You have never had fried chicken? Oh man it is soooo good, especially when it is done right. Meatloaf is like a kicked up hamburger minus the bun. They didnt ask to clean our plate this time but they were picking on the table next to us, a large party of 6, and they all had to clean their plates or no dessert!

Another yum yum update, dear friend!

We have never been to 50s yet, but it might just make it on a to do list!

I love the look of your sampler platter, the pot roast and meatloaf look delish. And that dessert does too!

Can't believe the next day will be your last full one at WDW. Please tell me I am reading this wrong.

BTW, did you see them sell the dessert samplers at Fantasmic? I would love to try one in August!

Thanks Karin! All the food was just so tasty, we really enjoyed it! Again another one of my good Disney addicts never been to 50's, you just have to go!

The trip went so fast! I would have loved to stay longer but the few days we had at home were very nice too.

Yes we saw the samplers, they had these large signs advertising them all the way up to the Fantasmic arena and they were selling them at the little food stations up there but that is the only place you can buy them. We both wanted to try them but no room to put them, maybe in Oct.

Okay, now you have gone and done it. I had my heart set on Mama Melrose since we've not been there since 2008. But we've not been to 50's Prime Time since Andy and Mark were about 11 and 9, and if I show those pictures to Romeo he is going tow ant to hae the pot roast or the meatloaf. Now, what am I supposed to do?

I'm glad the seats worked out for you.

And, of course, it is Todd's bag! It was his birthday. And I'm glad he liked it.

Uh oh, I'm in trouble now huh? I really like Mama Melrose but we have had more consistant food at 50's, and more fun. I think we will keep the MM reservation...at least for now

He brought his bag to work with him today...he looked like a little kid going to school with a new lunch box

Wow! Todd is totally on a roll! don't worry, I won't say that to his face.

I had a visit to the bar at Primetime in the back of my head for Oct and I think you have solidified the plan.

On the edge of my seat to see if his luck holds. Thank you for opening our eyes to the possibility of a no ADR trip!

He did seem to have luck on his side this trip...the next dinner was a bit of a struggle for him though...more on that soon! I hope you love 50's as much as we did!

50's in another one that has been on our off my list for August. Mostly because DH didn't think he wanted to eat there ... that is until I just showed him that fried chicken! Now he is all in! Just a bit of tweaking and I got us a lunch ADR.

I can't really make any more changes so I have to hope your last reviews don't 'do anything for me'!

Ok thats great! Nothing better for lunch than fried chicken! I hope you dont like my last ressies either

LOVING this thread! Wife and i are florida Residents, but its the opposite dynamic. I'm the planner and she would rather wing it!

For those interested, a little tip about California Grille. It's probably the easiest restaurant to get a next day reservation to if you're persistent, mainly because people ACTUALLY CANCEL their reservations, because they get charged if they dont. try the concierge the night before after 5 PM. works like a charm.

Also, other than the character meals, and very popular park restaurants, its usually pretty easy to make reservations a week or a few days before. Signature places are easy to book.

Same with the MK resorts.

Great thread!!

That is a very good point about Cali Grill...have to keep that in mind. I was shocked at how easy it was to get in alot of places but seeing how slow the parks were I guess that is why

 

[MickeyNicki]

okay, that mom's sampler has me!! we ate at 50sPT once a few years ago and were under-impressed... the hardest part was deciding what to order... but now i already know what we will be having if we get as lucky as Todd... as we, too, will not have reservations (or will we?! LOL!)

The Moms Sampler was great, lots of food and not that expensive, I think it was $19?

I leave my computer for a family filled weekend and miss like 8 pages! omg!
The POFQ food court and pool bar drinks look awesome.
I truly am just so psyched y'all are getting in such great places! CG and 50's PT.
I'm glad 50's was great - we honestly had an ok experience in Jan. Food was good, service good just no schtick...
Oh and your epcot pics are awesome! Thank you!
I am really enjoying your review...

No problem, you can catch up quick We were both very happy with the food court at POFQ, even though they removed the taco salad

So glad you like the reviews!

Ahhh so far behind! I'm lactose intolerant as well, I totally know how it is! I'm good with most aged cheeses (cheddar for one), but mozzarella and ricotta are best enjoyed with a Lactaid. The Lactaids don't help at all with ice cream for me, that's pretty much off limits for me now!

Todd's meandering walk-up tactic is pretty impressive! I'm glad he was able to get his fried chicken...at least that won't be dictating future meals!

I'm also happy to see that the bus service from POFQ was pretty good - that's the top contender for the next resort we're going to stay at!

I am testing the waters on all my lactose things and so far the medicines work on most of it except for pizza, ARG!

This was a one time shot for him, maybe. He knows our Oct trip is my baby and he cant mess around with that...but it doesnt mean he wont try!

The buses at POFQ were awesome, that was another shocking thing, but it worked out perfectly for us.

Another set of really great reviews!

I actually have to thank you and Todd - when I spent a couple nights at POFQ in March, the one morning I had a cinnamon roll from the food court (based on something I read in one of your reviews). It was wonderful - after I bought it, I was unsure because I usually prefer my cinnamon rolls to be more donut like (yeast raised donut) versus the danish style pastry that the POFQ is. It was outstanding!

Thanks Trisha! My DH is a cinnamon bun fanatic but only at WDW, he never eats them at home. The danish was the winner this trip and again, he never eats them in real life..just the occasional donut.

I love that everything worked out so nicely without all the pre-planning. I'm taking inspiration from this and making our next trip less scheduled and more flexible! Thank you!!!

Amanda

PS I should say that I made dinner ADRs for every night of our trip at the 180 mark so less scheduled is a relative thing...

I loved it to, I was shocked it went as smooth as it did. I made dinner ressies for every night in Oct too and I dont think I will give them up without a fight

That is truly sad. It's like half of what you got before!

Great review of Prime Time though! I love the onion rings there too!

Ist that terrible! Seeing the pictures side by side is so sad. I love the onion rings too but the thought of something heavy wasnt cutting it..so I had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, fried chicken

More great reviews...it as if you and Todd ate at places just so you could answer questions for me! I had been curious about Nine Dragons...answered that! Wondered if I should go for it with Cali Grill...fixed that. And now 50's PTC! We had a less than stellar dinner there back in Feb '10; our waitress was boring and Mark got what must of been an end piece of meatloaf because it was hard and tiny. I think Max would really have a good time at PT and I was able to score us an ADR for 7:10, which I think is perfect. I couldn't get us into Mama Melrose until 8:20, which is rather late for Max, I'd say. Your meal at PTC looked great. And I do LOVE friend chicken. That salad looks right up my alley, too!

Thanks Tina! We are happy to help you on your dining questions I bet Max would love it there, you should def eat there! The salad was awesome and the fried chicken was perfect and not greasy at all.

All caught up! Great reviews.

Jill in CO

Thanks Jill!

Where does the passion fruit drink come from? I adore all things passion fruit but I've never noticed that drink anywhere!

You can get it at Writers Stop next to Sci Fi or at the candy store next to Starring Rolls. It is very good, not overly sweet, just refreshing

Just got caught up, what a great trip you guys had! Those past/present pictures of Fultons really say it all. What a shame!

Isnt that terrible, I feel like we were cheated!

Can you believe my crazy son can eat a whole magic cookie bar thing all by himself?

No way, doesnt he go into sugar shock?

Really wanting to go to Boatwrights next week when we are at POR and also want to get one of those sample plates at Prime Time.4

I bet you will get in at Boatwrights without a reservation!

I am very impressed you let Todd be in control, don't think I could ever do it!

I didnt think I could do it either, it wasnt so bad...the winging it thing was fine with me it was the were are we gonna have dinner thing that bothered me

Cannot belive they don't have the taco salad at the POFQ food court, I was all set to walk over there and get one. Why do they always have to mess with the menus???

That was the biggest bummer for him...he would eat that every day if I let him. At least he was able to get it in MK

Fantastic review!

I can't believe you got into 50's Prime Time Cafe with only a 20 minute wait and no ADR! Last August we waited 40 minutes past our ADR time to get seated!

We did love it though, and your review makes me want to go back. That sampler looks right up my street - I love to try lots of different things - makes it less stressful than having to choose one in case you don't like it!

Can't wait to hear about your cinema food experience!

Thanks! I was shocked too, I thought we would just eat at the bar but it wasnt that full in there. We walked by 3 empty tables and the entire time we were sitting there the tables stayed empty.

The movie day is coming right up!

Do you think that Todd's going to start a new movement among DIS'ers of no ADR's?

OMG could you imagine it!

NOT me! LOLOL!!! If we weren't character diners, then DEFINATELY. I like the idea of going where the urge hits!

Apparently so doesnt my husband!

I think you'd be surprised to find how many "old timers" do not like ADR's, make very few and then only if absolutely necessary!!

(Not that Todd is an old timer!!)

Oh yes, he is totally an old timer, I reminded him of that every single day

 

[englishrose47]

Great review of 50's Prime Time !! I was under impressed with the food there I had the steak and it was just OK !We also waited longer than you guys and HAD a ressie , our server wasn't tooo much into it and inspite of all m efforts I did NOT get put in the corner !!!!

 

[onelilspark]

Just catching up! I can't get over that plate of crab from Fulton's. Geoff's not a huge seafood fan (he likes sushi, so just not cooked seafood I guess) so I've never brought up Fulton's to him...not going to now!

 

[stitchlet]

Loving your TR!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Wow I am in awe of the luck DH was having with these walk ups - how did he do it?

Lol at your waitress thinking he was directing 'Do I look like I am finished eating yet?' at her. It sounds like a funny moment!

Mmm will def be ordering that Boston Cream Pie Parfait on our visit.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Great review of 50's Prime Time !! I was under impressed with the food there I had the steak and it was just OK !We also waited longer than you guys and HAD a ressie , our server wasn't tooo much into it and inspite of all m efforts I did NOT get put in the corner !!!!

It was a wonderful meal!

Just catching up! I can't get over that plate of crab from Fulton's. Geoff's not a huge seafood fan (he likes sushi, so just not cooked seafood I guess) so I've never brought up Fulton's to him...not going to now!

I am trying to think of a place to put in for our Fultons Night...we are going to DTD and see a movie and then dinner but I am at a loss as to where to eat.

Loving your TR!

Thank you!

Wow I am in awe of the luck DH was having with these walk ups - how did he do it?

Lol at your waitress thinking he was directing 'Do I look like I am finished eating yet?' at her. It sounds like a funny moment!

Mmm will def be ordering that Boston Cream Pie Parfait on our visit.

I was in awe too! All he did was go up and ask if they had an opening for 2 with no dining plan and that was all there was too it! I loved that Boston Cream Pie thing.

 

[KatMark]

I am trying to think of a place to put in for our Fultons Night...we are going to DTD and see a movie and then dinner but I am at a loss as to where to eat.

Wait and see how Mark and I like Raglan.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Tuesday morning came too soon for us...we would be going to Sarasota on Wed and I was so bummed...it was a fast trip!

I was not hungry but Todd was so he had the same breakfast as the day before, oatmeal and a cheese danish. I had a bite of the danish and ice tea so that was fine with me.

We decided to take the bus to DTD and when we were done with the movie take a bus to the MK resorts and then over to MK. It was getting pretty hot outside so the idea of sitting in a cool theater was very appealing to both of us.

We got there around 10:30 and the theater is split into 2, regular movies are down by House of Blues and the Fork and Screen are by Planet Hollywood. Very important to remember as you cannot access both sides from one entrance.

The doors were locked yet people were inside and other customers had to let us in. This was happening to other people and the one customer that was continuously opening the door for people yelled at the ticket counter kid to unlock the doors or put him on the payroll!

Our movie didnt start until noon and the kid told us to be back at 11:45 so we had time to walk around, we saw Fast Five...the Fast and Furious movies are our favorite because Todd races his car at the local tracks and we have seen all of them in the theater. Before we knew it the time came to head into the theater. We chose our seats when we bought our tickets and the theater is set up with 2 seaters on the left wall and right wall and 4 seaters in the middle. You will not get a bad seat from anywhere in the place.

The tables are very large and the seats are big plush leather recliners. There is a little light on the table and real silverware, no plastic stuff. You push a button on your table and a server will come right over. You can get unlimited popcorn refills here as well as drinks.

Todd had a cherry Coke and I had a diet Coke, they are served in huge plastic glasses. You can look at the menu on AMC's website. Neither of us wanted booze yet but we were getting hungry.

I had the plain chicken tenders and onion rings and Todd had the buffalo chicken tenders with parmesan fries. They are the same thing but Todd's had buffalo sauce to dip them in, they are not coated in it. The chicken was huge, I think we each had 6 large pieces. The fries were excellent but the beer battered onion rings stole the show...these ROCKED! Not greasy, tons of them and the onions were very tender.

Around an hour in the movie Todd had popcorn delivered...they are very stealth about the whole thing and you would never know they have waiters running up and down the theater. And there was just 3 other couples in there so it was very quiet.

When the movie was over it was time to grab a bus and it was so freaking hot out I wish I just drove our car...standing in the shade was still miserable. We grabbed whatever bus came first and it was a CR/Poly bus. We climbed aboard and waited 5 minutes or so and just as we were leaving a very loud family of 10 or so jumped on and they all had takeout bags from Planet Hollywood. The 2 ladies were yelling loudly at each other and turns out they were sisters and they were getting ready to beat each other senseless (that is what they kept saying anyways) and the bus driver did nothing. They were at the rear of the bus and it was something about one of their children was hungry and the sister didnt care and the other sister was cursing and then screaming and I wanted out of there....the worst thing is the bus driver did nothing.

THey stopped after a bit and when we got to Typhoon Lagoon a few other passengers boarded and the family started up again and this time the kids were crying and the grandparents were yelling and the woman went nuts. Again the bus driver did nothing. Some people that got on the bus immediately got off the bus.

They were quiet all the way to CR/Poly and I told Todd that we would get off first if they didnt...luckily they got off at CR so we were ablet to ride over to the Poly in peace and quiet! I swear, we always witness the worst things at WDW!

Coming up...drinks and dinner??? WHERE????

 

[dizneeat]

I am trying to think of a place to put in for our Fultons Night...we are going to DTD and see a movie and then dinner but I am at a loss as to where to eat.

Wait and see how Mark and I like Raglan.

If you go later in the evening and the entertainment is on it gets L-O-U-D! Real loud.
Suggestions for the area -
Wolfgang Puck's Cafe (gets pretty crowded)
Olivia's (just a boatride away at OKW)
Turf Club (SSR, another boatride, or you can even walk, but that's a LONG walk from the cinemas!)
Boatwright's (another boat ride away )
I am thinking of upgrading my ressie at WPC to WPDining room ..... we'll see!