Hi,
Hopefully, this is my last installment of comments.
Chakranadi Chicken Shop at AK-- my DH and DS had the stir fried chicken and thought it was good for a "fast food" place, I had the chai tea and the Thai Beef salad (I think that's the name-- my DH did the ordering while I secured a table)-- both were good for a quick refueling bite in the sweltering heat.
Cinderella's Gala Feast at the GF-- For some reason, I don't know exactly why, I was a bit less impressed with the buffet food here than at the other buffets that we ate at-- the strawberry soup was good, as was the sweet potato mash. The cheese lasagna was adequate, and the spring roll was ok. My husband liked the prime rib and key lime pie, and my son was ecstatic to find a Disney restaurant that served Buffalo wings. And I don't have a good recollection of what I had for dessert (which is typically unheard of). As for the character interaction, the Fairy Godmother was just perfect-- exactly what you expect of a Fairy Godmother. Suzy and Perla made it back to our table a few times-- they were very sweet and attentive to all of the tables. Prince Charming was a bit stilted but attentive. As for Cinderella, I found her to be rushed and not as sweet as I expect from a princess-- nothing major, just not nearly as good as some of the other princesses. She planned on being at our table for no more than 15 seconds-- no joking-- we did manage a few more seconds than that.
Cinderella's Royal Table-- yes, I did manage to snag cancellations on Thursday for a Saturday morning breakfast (I had been trying for cancellations since we decided to take the trip). Here are some hints that City Hall shared with me: typically cancellations go in at midnight so call first thing in the morning, or if it is an e-ride night, stop by city hall at midnight and they can book you for any cancellations. On to the review--- when I checked in and they asked my son's age, I said 5, no he just turned six. So they asked if we wanted to celebrate his birthday (I was hesitant because his birthday had been a few days earlier-- but they said no problem, they would love to celebrate it)-- when we got to the table, it was decorated and they gave him a birthday certificate for the princesses to sign as they went around the room-- he was ecstatic and later they brought him a miniature chocolate cake with a candle. Our waiter was good, and the initial fruit and pastry platter arrived promptly-- fruit was good and fresh, and I still am just not overly fond of the Disney breakfast pastries at the majority of the breakfasts, a bit dry for my taste, but the croissant was ok. You have a choice of healthy or hearty breakfast and both are ok, nothing spectacular, but adequately done. And since my son has an egg allergy, they brought him extras of the other foods rather than eggs. It was about 40 minutes before the princesses came around, and then they all descended on the area en mass. So sometimes you might have two at your table at the same time-- and then the character interaction could be a bit rushed. However, we found them engaging and were able to forestall the "rushing" (since we only do this for the character interaction, I want them to at least minimally interact and connect for a few seconds)-- they all kissed my son and hugged him, signed his birthday certificate, etc. Cinderella forgot us and came back and was quite apologetic and extra attentive. We had a window seat, so my son could see Captain Hook and Peter Pan running around the back during Cinderella's surprise celebration.
Jiko-- Ok, this is a repeat from last year-- my husband fell in love with it then. We had the earliest PS available and waited about 15 min. to be seated. We ordered the Taste of Africa- bread and dips -- to share-- my son loved the pappadam and one of the dips-- I liked all of the dips. I ordered the maize tamale for an appetizer-- I loved it-- smooth with a distinct caraway flavor- I am not sure it is for everyone but it hit the spot with me. My DH ordered the chicken, which was perfect-- wonderfully flavored. I ordered the pork tenderloin over sweet potato dumplings-- I liked it and it was perfectly cooked, but I think I would have liked something else better-- this was not as flavorly seasoned as I expect from an ethnic type restaurant. My son had the steak and mashed potatoes-- he devoured them and some of my DH's chicken. My DH had the chocolate purses for dessert-- yummy, yummy. I had the new banana- chocolate bread pudding with homemade banana ice cream and carmelized bananas-- I typically love bread pudding, but the pudding was a bit dry and overcooked for me-- browned and burnt in places, the ice cream was wonderful-- having had the pistachio creme brulee last year, I was quite disappointed with my dessert choice this year. The waitress came back some, but not often-- my water was empty for quite a while before I got a refill. And she handed us the dessert menus and said that she was too busy to explain the desserts, just read them-- to say I was surprised is an understatement-- on a bill of $100, which ours is minimally, her tip is $20 for a total of about 15 minutes spent on our order throughout the evening (and that is a generous consideration of her time)-- (I think of that as paying $80/hr for something, and I expect at least some level of professionalism for that.)
Restaurant Marrakesh-- We did a late lunch here, and my DH and DS want to do it again-- my DS got to belly dance, and my husband loved the lemon chicken-- it was delicious. We got the combination appetizer for two-- liked the beef and chicken-- nicely flavored, but were disappointed with the salad-- it was not an assortment of salads as advertised but one salad-- although the eggplant on it was good. I got the vegetable couscous-- it was ok not really flavored much at all (when I make couscous I tend to season it-- so I think that I just had the wrong frame of reference for it), but the serving was huge-- the iced mint tea was delicious-- we didn't try dessert-- I think our waitress was new-- she was really sweet just a bit slow, and it took her a long time to even take our order (the other waiters around us seemed a lot more efficient).
Liberty Tree Tavern-- Another repeat for us. Good, solid "American" food with lots of meat-- the men tend to be very happy about that. Yes, the mac and cheese are Stouffer's and the dressing is probably out of a box. But we like the rolls, the gravy is tasty, the meat is always good, the potatoes piping hot and tasty, and the atmosphere is so relaxing and mellow-- and the character interaction is always top rate. Minnie will spend time at your table, even sit and "chat" at some of the tables. Goofy, Pluto, Chip, and Dale-- all wonderfully attentive to all the tables in our section. They signed my son's menu and his autograph book-- the chipmunks came back a few times as did Pluto, and Minnie was quite the conversationalist (she had changed her dress from last year so we had to check it out). We ordered the Birthday cake for my son and were very pleased we did-- it was delicious-- and everyone sang happy birthday to him.
Mara-- We just picked up the breakfast burrito and the fruit yogurt parfait-- I found the parfait to be cloyingly sweet, the burrito was huge and ok. We also had chicken tenders at lunch by the pool one day-- my son devoured those.
at MK-- the Dole pineapple whips and then the orange whips-- yummy, great on a hot afternoon
generally- my son loves the Mickey head sandwiches and we search those down everywhere
Finally, I think I have commented on everywhere we ate. I would be glad to answer any questions.
Diane
Hopefully, this is my last installment of comments.
Chakranadi Chicken Shop at AK-- my DH and DS had the stir fried chicken and thought it was good for a "fast food" place, I had the chai tea and the Thai Beef salad (I think that's the name-- my DH did the ordering while I secured a table)-- both were good for a quick refueling bite in the sweltering heat.
Cinderella's Gala Feast at the GF-- For some reason, I don't know exactly why, I was a bit less impressed with the buffet food here than at the other buffets that we ate at-- the strawberry soup was good, as was the sweet potato mash. The cheese lasagna was adequate, and the spring roll was ok. My husband liked the prime rib and key lime pie, and my son was ecstatic to find a Disney restaurant that served Buffalo wings. And I don't have a good recollection of what I had for dessert (which is typically unheard of). As for the character interaction, the Fairy Godmother was just perfect-- exactly what you expect of a Fairy Godmother. Suzy and Perla made it back to our table a few times-- they were very sweet and attentive to all of the tables. Prince Charming was a bit stilted but attentive. As for Cinderella, I found her to be rushed and not as sweet as I expect from a princess-- nothing major, just not nearly as good as some of the other princesses. She planned on being at our table for no more than 15 seconds-- no joking-- we did manage a few more seconds than that.
Cinderella's Royal Table-- yes, I did manage to snag cancellations on Thursday for a Saturday morning breakfast (I had been trying for cancellations since we decided to take the trip). Here are some hints that City Hall shared with me: typically cancellations go in at midnight so call first thing in the morning, or if it is an e-ride night, stop by city hall at midnight and they can book you for any cancellations. On to the review--- when I checked in and they asked my son's age, I said 5, no he just turned six. So they asked if we wanted to celebrate his birthday (I was hesitant because his birthday had been a few days earlier-- but they said no problem, they would love to celebrate it)-- when we got to the table, it was decorated and they gave him a birthday certificate for the princesses to sign as they went around the room-- he was ecstatic and later they brought him a miniature chocolate cake with a candle. Our waiter was good, and the initial fruit and pastry platter arrived promptly-- fruit was good and fresh, and I still am just not overly fond of the Disney breakfast pastries at the majority of the breakfasts, a bit dry for my taste, but the croissant was ok. You have a choice of healthy or hearty breakfast and both are ok, nothing spectacular, but adequately done. And since my son has an egg allergy, they brought him extras of the other foods rather than eggs. It was about 40 minutes before the princesses came around, and then they all descended on the area en mass. So sometimes you might have two at your table at the same time-- and then the character interaction could be a bit rushed. However, we found them engaging and were able to forestall the "rushing" (since we only do this for the character interaction, I want them to at least minimally interact and connect for a few seconds)-- they all kissed my son and hugged him, signed his birthday certificate, etc. Cinderella forgot us and came back and was quite apologetic and extra attentive. We had a window seat, so my son could see Captain Hook and Peter Pan running around the back during Cinderella's surprise celebration.
Jiko-- Ok, this is a repeat from last year-- my husband fell in love with it then. We had the earliest PS available and waited about 15 min. to be seated. We ordered the Taste of Africa- bread and dips -- to share-- my son loved the pappadam and one of the dips-- I liked all of the dips. I ordered the maize tamale for an appetizer-- I loved it-- smooth with a distinct caraway flavor- I am not sure it is for everyone but it hit the spot with me. My DH ordered the chicken, which was perfect-- wonderfully flavored. I ordered the pork tenderloin over sweet potato dumplings-- I liked it and it was perfectly cooked, but I think I would have liked something else better-- this was not as flavorly seasoned as I expect from an ethnic type restaurant. My son had the steak and mashed potatoes-- he devoured them and some of my DH's chicken. My DH had the chocolate purses for dessert-- yummy, yummy. I had the new banana- chocolate bread pudding with homemade banana ice cream and carmelized bananas-- I typically love bread pudding, but the pudding was a bit dry and overcooked for me-- browned and burnt in places, the ice cream was wonderful-- having had the pistachio creme brulee last year, I was quite disappointed with my dessert choice this year. The waitress came back some, but not often-- my water was empty for quite a while before I got a refill. And she handed us the dessert menus and said that she was too busy to explain the desserts, just read them-- to say I was surprised is an understatement-- on a bill of $100, which ours is minimally, her tip is $20 for a total of about 15 minutes spent on our order throughout the evening (and that is a generous consideration of her time)-- (I think of that as paying $80/hr for something, and I expect at least some level of professionalism for that.)
Restaurant Marrakesh-- We did a late lunch here, and my DH and DS want to do it again-- my DS got to belly dance, and my husband loved the lemon chicken-- it was delicious. We got the combination appetizer for two-- liked the beef and chicken-- nicely flavored, but were disappointed with the salad-- it was not an assortment of salads as advertised but one salad-- although the eggplant on it was good. I got the vegetable couscous-- it was ok not really flavored much at all (when I make couscous I tend to season it-- so I think that I just had the wrong frame of reference for it), but the serving was huge-- the iced mint tea was delicious-- we didn't try dessert-- I think our waitress was new-- she was really sweet just a bit slow, and it took her a long time to even take our order (the other waiters around us seemed a lot more efficient).
Liberty Tree Tavern-- Another repeat for us. Good, solid "American" food with lots of meat-- the men tend to be very happy about that. Yes, the mac and cheese are Stouffer's and the dressing is probably out of a box. But we like the rolls, the gravy is tasty, the meat is always good, the potatoes piping hot and tasty, and the atmosphere is so relaxing and mellow-- and the character interaction is always top rate. Minnie will spend time at your table, even sit and "chat" at some of the tables. Goofy, Pluto, Chip, and Dale-- all wonderfully attentive to all the tables in our section. They signed my son's menu and his autograph book-- the chipmunks came back a few times as did Pluto, and Minnie was quite the conversationalist (she had changed her dress from last year so we had to check it out). We ordered the Birthday cake for my son and were very pleased we did-- it was delicious-- and everyone sang happy birthday to him.
Mara-- We just picked up the breakfast burrito and the fruit yogurt parfait-- I found the parfait to be cloyingly sweet, the burrito was huge and ok. We also had chicken tenders at lunch by the pool one day-- my son devoured those.
at MK-- the Dole pineapple whips and then the orange whips-- yummy, great on a hot afternoon
generally- my son loves the Mickey head sandwiches and we search those down everywhere
Finally, I think I have commented on everywhere we ate. I would be glad to answer any questions.
Diane
.
