Restaurant Reviews and Show Dates

[DisneyKevin]

I am listing the reviews and that show dates. I hope this helps....

Narcoossee's 3/27/2007

'Ohana 4/24/2007

Orlando ale House 5/29/2007

Restaurant Akershus (Norway) 6/5/2007

Il Mulino 6/12/2007

Chef Mickey's 7/10/2007

Whispering Canyon 7/17/2007

California Grill 7/31/2007

Kevin

 

[Donold_Fan]

Just to expand on Kevin's kindness. In response to a previous thread, I started to go through all of the podcasts (high level scan) and here's what I found.

I included the times that each of the reviews started. I'm planning to go back and listen to the podcasts completely, but I wanted to get this out there. I also have added a couple of sections I found where the entire Pod Squad gave their favorites and least favorites in response to emails.

8/8/06 - Coral Reef - 15:00. (Kevin's Review)

8/15/06 - Bubba Gump (I know, US, but it's a review) - 43:10 (Kevin's Review)

8/22/06 - Temporary Buffet @ Tomorrowland Terrace (I'm not sure if this one is still open or not) - 7:00 - : (Kevin's Review)

10/24/06 - Planet Hollywood - 14:20 - (Kevin's Review)

11/21/06 - Hollywood Brown Derby - 23:13 - : "Food Good" (Kevin's Review)

12/06/06 - Liberty Tree Tavern - 34:05 - This wasn't Kevin but seemed to be Pete, Bob and some of the others. They didn't seem to care for it.

12/06/06 - Grand Floridian Cafe - 36:40 - (Not an actual review)

02/13/07 - Artist Pointe - 20:30 - : (Kevin's review)

03/06/07 - Spirit of Aloha - 46:04 - this was an email and was commented on by the whole team

03/13/07 - Plaza Restaraunt - 47:40 - : (Kevin's review)
- Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station - 51:27 - (Kevin's review)

03/20/07 - Email asking entire team to pick their favorites - 47:25
(This is not in the order they spoke)

Julie (Ladies first)
Favorite - Kimono's
Fave Counter - Wolfgang Puck Express
Least Fave - San Angel Inn
John
Fave - Jiko
Fave Counter - Earl of Sandwich
Least Fave - Noodle Station
Corey
Fave - LeCellier
Fave Counter - Any "fixin's" place (Cosmic Ray's, Pecos Bill, Elec. Umbrella)
Least Favorite - Wolfgang Puck (Specifically mentioned the sushi)
Kevin
Fave - LeCellier, Jiko, Benihana (Disney Hilton)
Fave Counter - Earl of Sandwich
Least Favorite - Noodle Station, Coral Reef
Bob
Fave - Brown Derby, Shula's steakhouse, Beaches and Cream
Fave Counter - I don't think he listed one, unless B&C is counter
Least Favorite - Biergarten, Pecos Bill
Pete
Fave - Brown Derby, Spoodles, LeCellier
Fave Counter - Earl of Sandwich, Wolfgang Puck Express,
Flame Tree BBQ
Least Favorite - China @ Epcot (Nine Dragons?)

Pete also said he really enjoyed the Food and Wine festival.

03/27/07 Narcoosees - 32:08 - : (Kevin's Review)
Comment about Wolfgang Puck express (I don't remember
who brought it up)

04/10/07 Place to eat at Port Canaveral - 29:45 (I didn't write the names of the places)

04/17/07 - Brief mention of Le Chef's De France and some other Epcot eateries by Pete. This wasn't a review.

04/24/07 - Ohanas - 30:49 (Kevin's review)

05/15/07 - Universal - Lombard's Landing - 25:00 - (Kevin's review) (Pete and Bob said they have both had a good experience there)

05/29/07 - Orlando Ale House - 24:30 - : (Kevin's review)

06/05/07 - Restaurant Akershus - 45:10 - : (Kevin's review)

06/12/07 - Il Mulino New York Trattoria (Swan) - 23:12 - (Kevin's review)

07/10/07 - Chef Mickey's - 41:54 - (Recommended, but not for the food (Mediocre Buffet Food)) (Kevin's Review)

07/17/07 - Whispering Canyon - 41:30 - (Kevin's Review)

07/31/07 - California Grill -36:43 - : (Kevin's Review) (He did mention that he'd previously had a very bad experience here.)


--As I mentioned, my : and are my interpretations of Kevin's review points. Kevin does a very good job of pointing out the positives and negatives of every place.

 

[Cruz Family]

I am listing the reviews and that show dates. I hope this helps....

Narcoossee's 3/27/2007

'Ohana 4/24/2007

Orlando ale House 5/29/2007

Restaurant Akershus (Norway) 6/5/2007

Il Mulino 6/12/2007

Chef Mickey's 7/10/2007

Whispering Canyon 7/17/2007

California Grill 7/31/2007

Kevin

Kevin, you are the man Thanks!!!!!!

03/20/07 - Email asking entire team to pick their favorites - 47:25
(This is not in the order they spoke)

Julie (Ladies first)
Favorite - Kimono's
Fave Counter - Wolfgang Puck Express
Least Fave - San Angel Inn
John
Fave - Jiko
Fave Counter - Earl of Sandwich
Least Fave - Noodle Station
Corey
Fave - LeCellier
Fave Counter - Any "fixin's" place (Cosmic Ray's, Pecos Bill, Elec. Umbrella)
Least Favorite - Wolfgang Puck (Specifically mentioned the sushi)
Kevin
Fave - LeCellier, Kilo, Benihana (Disney Hilton)
Fave Counter - Earl of Sandwich
Least Favorite - Noodle Station, Coral Reef
Bob
Fave - Brown Derby, Shula's steakhouse, Beaches and Cream
Fave Counter - I don't think he listed one, unless B&C is counter
Least Favorite - Biergarten, Pecos Bill
Pete
Fave - Brown Derby, Spoodles, LeCellier
Fave Counter - Earl of Sandwich, Wolfgang Puck Express

What a great question, I wonder what brilliant listener came up with it??
Thanks for posting it DonoldFan!

 

[DisneyKevin]

Hmmm....now who could have asked that question.

 

[Cruz Family]

Hey Kevin, I am glad your experience at CG was a little better this time!
This is kind of strange, as I am typing this I am listening once again to your Narcoosee (sp?) review. Have you heard about the new Deluxe DDP? I know it is very pricey but we may go ahead and do it next year. I have already come up with a list of places we could go and it would make for a whole lot of fantastic dining. If you get a chance let me know what you think of the plan and my preliminary choices.

Dinners
Brown Derby
HDDR
Narcoosee(sp?)
CRT
Jiko
Cali. Grill
LeCellier
New Italy restaurant

Early Lunches
50's PTC
Sci-fi
Yak & Yeti

Breakfasts
Crystal Palace
Breakfastasaurus

 

[disneyholic family]

well i can see that Kevin and i have different taste - I hated CG (probably the only restaurant in WDW that i truly HATED) and enjoyed the GFcafe...


how about Citricos? has there been a review? Although given the above, i think i can guess that Kevin won't like it (since i thought it was excellent - best salmon i've had)...

although i should take the above back a little - both Kevin and I like the Earl of Sandwich for counter service food....

 

[UrsulasShadow]

I can't wait until Kevin does a review of the Yak 'n Yeti...just because, who on earth would name a restaurant that, anyway? A restaurant so bad it makes a Yeti yak????

 

[DisneyKevin]

I actually didnt review GF Cafe. I said we had a HORRIBLE experience.

We did a "walk up" on a very crowded night. We waited over an hour for a table (our own fault...we didnt have an ADR) but once seated we waited over an hour for soup. The busboy was snotty and threw things and complained about the fact that we didnt want to sit at seperate tables when there was a large table available. It just needed to be cleaned.

When I finally got a manager to come to our table to ask why nothing had come out of the kitchen for our table, I was told...and I swear this is true..."well you ordered clam chowder and the kitchen had trouble with that".

Other tables around us came in, sat down, ate and left and we still sat there like idiots.

We finally got up and left after 1 hour and 45 minutes and still....only one bowl of soup had been delivered for 8 people.

As for the California Grill...I stated prior to my review that it had been the scene of my very worst dining disaster...but that years had passed since we had been there.

Maybe our tastes arent all that different.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I dont know enough about the new dining plan as it has not been officially announced by Disney.

I have to reserve judgement until we have the full details.

Kevin

 

[Cyrano]

Great to have a list of the reviews in one thread

 

[kabbie]

Thanks Donold Fan for the excellent index of Kevin's reviews. I had emailed the podcast crew because I would like to see his clips on the wdwinfo.com dining page as part of the restaurants menu. This is just as good!

 

[mommyceratops]

I love Kevin's reviews!

Kevin clearly says this is his opinion only - take it or leave it...and he always represents that this was one experience, of that time. He tells you to go and form your own opinion.

I find he is very fair and respectful to everyone.

Where is the next one Kevin?!

Prime Time? Sci-fi are some I hope to hear

How about a roundtable segment LIVE at 9 Dragons with Pete?

 

[dec2901]

Donald Fan & Kevin, Thank you so much for your guide to Kevin's reviews. Selecting restaurants is probably the hardest thing I have to do to prepare for our vacation. This will help. Before I select a place, I read and read in books and on the boards, so another resource will help.

Thanks again to both of you for all of your hard work.

 

[Donold_Fan]

I actually didnt review GF Cafe. I said we had a HORRIBLE experience.

My apologies, as I stated, I put what I thought was the overall impression of the place. I must have written down the GF Cafe incorrectly since I commented that it was a review. I tried to be pretty clear when I listed each of the places, making sure not to confuse reviews with random comments.

well i can see that Kevin and i have different taste - I hated CG (probably the only restaurant in WDW that i truly HATED) and enjoyed the GFcafe...

how about Citricos? has there been a review? Although given the above, i think i can guess that Kevin won't like it (since i thought it was excellent - best salmon i've had)...

I for one have only eaten at 3 places that Kevin has reviewed. Ohana was actually the one "non-buffet" place that we ate at last year that we didn't walk away commenting that we'd be ticked off if we had paid cash for the meal. (We were on the dining plan). We enjoyed it so much that it is the only "non-buffet" place that we are repeating this year.

I think Kevin is dead on with Coral Reef. It was the one I was looking forward to the most before we went. After the 3 of us ate and saw that the bill should have been $161, we commented that the manager would have had a few talks had we not been on the DDP. The service was good and the food was edible, but the price was outrageous, and I have had better seafood at Captain D's or Long John Silver's. Red Lobster is 5 star compared to Coral Reef in my opinion.

I mention that I exclude non-buffet, because the buffet places like Chef Mickey's (the 3rd place we've eaten that he's reviewed) and Chrystal Palace are about the characters, and the food is what I would expect at a buffet. It's ok, but you wouldn't ever comment to someone that CM had the best _______ that you've ever eaten. We've made both CM and CP a breakfast destination during each of our last 5 visits (both on and off the dining plan). Chrystal Palace, with an 8:xx seating is great because of the photo opportunities in an empty park. Kevin and I share pretty much the same opinion of CM.


Back to my original point. Kevin does a great job with his reviews, in my opinion. He comments on the food, service and atmosphere. He always points out the good and the bad. Most of the reviews you see on these boards are either 100% positive or 100% negative. I appreciate the thorough approach that Kevin takes. He, or some of the other pod squad, frequently mention that he may have caught the restaurant on a bad night. Additionally, I've heard him repeatedly comment that these are his opinions (which we all have) and that people should try places for themselves.

Thanks for the great job Kevin!!!

 

[DisneyKevin]

Thanks Donald Fan. I appreciate the work you have put into this and the kind words.

 

[disneyholic family]

I actually didnt review GF Cafe. I said we had a HORRIBLE experience.

We did a "walk up" on a very crowded night. We waited over an hour for a table (our own fault...we didnt have an ADR) but once seated we waited over an hour for soup. The busboy was snotty and threw things and complained about the fact that we didnt want to sit at seperate tables when there was a large table available. It just needed to be cleaned.

When I finally got a manager to come to our table to ask why nothing had come out of the kitchen for our table, I was told...and I swear this is true..."well you ordered clam chowder and the kitchen had trouble with that".

Other tables around us came in, sat down, ate and left and we still sat there like idiots.

We finally got up and left after 1 hour and 45 minutes and still....only one bowl of soup had been delivered for 8 people.

As for the California Grill...I stated prior to my review that it had been the scene of my very worst dining disaster...but that years had passed since we had been there.

Maybe our tastes arent all that different.

oh my god, that is TERRIBLE -- you had a lot more patience than i would have had.....i would have either given them a piece of my mind, or stormed out....there is NO excuse for service like that anywhere and certainly not at the GF.....

we ate at the GF cafe several times during one of our stays at the GF, but it was in september, when all of WDW was a ghosttown...
during that stay, all of our meals were walk-in...i didn't make a single reservation at any restaurant and we walked in with NO WAIT anywhere.....no matter what time of day...amazing..

at the GF cafe during that visit, we had good CMs each time we ate there....but as i said, the place was empty....the girls who sat us (all of them on the high school or college program i think) and the waitresses all spent a long time just chatting with us....and the food wasn't bad....at the time, they had two different types of fish on the menu - salmon and something else...maybe whitefish? trout?...i can't remember....i tried both....both were fine....not on the level of citricos, to be sure, but not bad for a cafe....my sister had the hamburger (that they're apparently known for) and she said it was excellent......and the desert...yum.....

and by the way, the gasparillo or whatever that place is called....the 24 hour food court at the GF is also good...the best food court experience we've had at WDW in terms of the staff who work there (the food is all basically the same, fast food whatever)...but the CMs always go out of their way to help us out with whatever we'd like...and i like the fact that it's open 24 hours a day....i think all of the other food courts are closed during the night...

and one more thing about food at the GF, though it's not a restaurant.....room service at the GF is also good - my daughter must have had their pasta 7 or 8 times, and she said it's one of the best pasta dishes she's ever had (and she LIVES on pasta, so that's saying a lot)...and there's a room service waiter who's outstanding, but now i can't remember his name...maybe it will come to me.......