As a newbie I used these boards extensively to research the choices for my family trip in April, so I knew I should return the favor in a very small way by posting my humble opinions when I returned. So, for what they're worth...
Characters:
Me: 43 year old mom and step mom, married for 20 years to
DH: 48 year old father of four kids ages 7-29
DSS (Dear Stepson): 29 year old
DSDIL (Dear Step-daughter-in-law): 29
DSD (Dear Step Daughter): 26
DSSIL (Dear Step-son-in-law): 26 too
DS: 10 year old
DD: 7 year old
Restaurant Report:
Day 1:
CS lunch at POFQ. Trying to work through Dining Plan confusion. Don't go to your first dining plan CS meal at a place with many choices on and off the plan hungry. It was good though. Should have shared. Should have gotten the hot dog.
TS Dinner: Coral Reef. I liked it okay, everyone else liked it more. The three ladies split crab cakes and salmon. Salmon underdone, cakes good. Very nice waitress. Certainly a beautiful tank! As for the chocolate wave dessert. Id spend thousands and go back to Disney just for that.
Day 2:
CS Lunch Columbia Harbour House: Good. Nice and quiet eating early and upstairs. I love finding things like grapes so you feel the kids are getting something other than continuous junk. Food was good.
TS Dinner: Hoop-DE-Doo. Oh we loved this, as you all said we would. We had main level seats one table back from the stage and we all laughed, especially when my DH was picked by the large girl for her love interest. This part worried the kids a bit, but the rest of us laughed a lot. All of us loved the food very much!! The whole dinner show just made us feel good all over, with comfort food and a good old fashioned show and laughing and beer pitcher refills. What could be better? Why cant they have something that around here?
Day 3:
CS Lunch: Tusker House; Excellent! Really a shock to get such good green beans and carrots at a counter service restaurant at a park. Really should have shared! Fantastic performance outside by the African musicians. They got my DSSIL out there and it was truly a moment to enjoy.
TS Dinner: Ohanas. The kids went to Neverland and really liked it. The grown-ups went to Ohanas and thoroughly enjoyed everything the view, the atmosphere, the drinks (oh dear, I forgot what deceptive drinks like Sunsets can do to you ) Love those potatoes. But we found the kids activities lady broadcast EXTREMELY annoying!! Everything else was just so nice, but why why why did that woman have to shout almost constantly the whole time??? And also use a microphone??? We could never talk while the activities were going on, which seemed constant. Drove us all crazy!!!!! Thank goodness everything else was great. Might be better to go later or something next time.
Strolling on the beach and lounging for MK fireworks after dinner was truly a moment to savor. I called the electric light parade the Parade of Guilt though. Every time a new thing would light up Id feel more guilty that we didnt get the kids from Neverland first. We adults agreed never to tell the young ones what we had done.
Day 4:
Group split for CS lunch. DH and young kids and I went to Pizza Planet and I thought it was great! Heard so many negatives about the pizza on the DIS I was surprised. I guess you have to like lots of tomato sauce, which I do. Kids loved it. Good salad too. Should have shared. The step kids went on to Mexico in Epcot WS (can't remember the name of the restaurant) and said it was okay.
TS Dinner: LeCellier: Oh man that LeCellier fillet was incredible! We all liked the food, and we all wished we had more than three TS credits left to pay for more of it.
This was our last dinner together, but also the family dynamic crash and burn night. Tough times, and the jolly Canadian waiter - we were really not in the mood for. He tapped me on the other shoulder, you know what I mean, as a joke, when he got to the table, and I didnt even look, either way. This joke happens all the time in this family and I gave up looking long ago. Plus, at that moment the DSS had just spilled the beans about a change in plans I had not had the chance to discuss with the young ones yet and they were crying and whining and DH was steaming about the spoiled kids and I was steaming at DSS (who I love) for the big mouth and at DS for being a very big mouthed whiner, and at DH for not helping at all. Mr. Jolly Canadian must have thought we were very strange. We were well into our family melt down by then, jerk. Leave us alone will ya? But no, he seemed to yack forever about Canada and its geography and all the fun they have. Jerk. Cant you see we have the young ones melting down and the older ones knowing it all and the older older ones having had enough of all of them and each other?
After these long interruptions in the beginning, he pretty much became very scarce for actually waiting on us for the rest of the meal. Too busy with the friendly intro at other tables I guess. Maybe also busy telling his coworkers about how cranky Americans are by comparison. Took so long we missed most of the fireworks.
But I digress. None of this has anything to do with the food does it? The food was good. Pile on another Le Cellier pretzel bread and steak lover.
Footnote: One last beer at FQ before bed, just me and the 20-somethings. Mickeys and Minnies were given and all was well.
Day 5:
CS at Caseys in MK. Very large hot dogs at 11:00 in the morning, whod have thought this would be good. But it was great and we all loved them and the fries and the Cracker Jack.
Afternoon Last Snack: DD and I snuck away together and shared milk and a chocolate croissant from the Main Street bakery. We were in complete agreement that this was a wonderful Disney moment for just us two, and a perfect ending to the food story at Disney.
As for the dining plan, we all felt it saved us money, but would be much better with if you could choose one more TS instead of snacks and CS dessert.
Thanks so much to all restaurant review posters!! We loved the food! : )
E.
Characters:
Me: 43 year old mom and step mom, married for 20 years to
DH: 48 year old father of four kids ages 7-29
DSS (Dear Stepson): 29 year old
DSDIL (Dear Step-daughter-in-law): 29
DSD (Dear Step Daughter): 26
DSSIL (Dear Step-son-in-law): 26 too
DS: 10 year old
DD: 7 year old
Restaurant Report:
Day 1:
CS lunch at POFQ. Trying to work through Dining Plan confusion. Don't go to your first dining plan CS meal at a place with many choices on and off the plan hungry. It was good though. Should have shared. Should have gotten the hot dog.
TS Dinner: Coral Reef. I liked it okay, everyone else liked it more. The three ladies split crab cakes and salmon. Salmon underdone, cakes good. Very nice waitress. Certainly a beautiful tank! As for the chocolate wave dessert. Id spend thousands and go back to Disney just for that.
Day 2:
CS Lunch Columbia Harbour House: Good. Nice and quiet eating early and upstairs. I love finding things like grapes so you feel the kids are getting something other than continuous junk. Food was good.
TS Dinner: Hoop-DE-Doo. Oh we loved this, as you all said we would. We had main level seats one table back from the stage and we all laughed, especially when my DH was picked by the large girl for her love interest. This part worried the kids a bit, but the rest of us laughed a lot. All of us loved the food very much!! The whole dinner show just made us feel good all over, with comfort food and a good old fashioned show and laughing and beer pitcher refills. What could be better? Why cant they have something that around here?
Day 3:
CS Lunch: Tusker House; Excellent! Really a shock to get such good green beans and carrots at a counter service restaurant at a park. Really should have shared! Fantastic performance outside by the African musicians. They got my DSSIL out there and it was truly a moment to enjoy.
TS Dinner: Ohanas. The kids went to Neverland and really liked it. The grown-ups went to Ohanas and thoroughly enjoyed everything the view, the atmosphere, the drinks (oh dear, I forgot what deceptive drinks like Sunsets can do to you ) Love those potatoes. But we found the kids activities lady broadcast EXTREMELY annoying!! Everything else was just so nice, but why why why did that woman have to shout almost constantly the whole time??? And also use a microphone??? We could never talk while the activities were going on, which seemed constant. Drove us all crazy!!!!! Thank goodness everything else was great. Might be better to go later or something next time.
Strolling on the beach and lounging for MK fireworks after dinner was truly a moment to savor. I called the electric light parade the Parade of Guilt though. Every time a new thing would light up Id feel more guilty that we didnt get the kids from Neverland first. We adults agreed never to tell the young ones what we had done.
Day 4:
Group split for CS lunch. DH and young kids and I went to Pizza Planet and I thought it was great! Heard so many negatives about the pizza on the DIS I was surprised. I guess you have to like lots of tomato sauce, which I do. Kids loved it. Good salad too. Should have shared. The step kids went on to Mexico in Epcot WS (can't remember the name of the restaurant) and said it was okay.
TS Dinner: LeCellier: Oh man that LeCellier fillet was incredible! We all liked the food, and we all wished we had more than three TS credits left to pay for more of it.
This was our last dinner together, but also the family dynamic crash and burn night. Tough times, and the jolly Canadian waiter - we were really not in the mood for. He tapped me on the other shoulder, you know what I mean, as a joke, when he got to the table, and I didnt even look, either way. This joke happens all the time in this family and I gave up looking long ago. Plus, at that moment the DSS had just spilled the beans about a change in plans I had not had the chance to discuss with the young ones yet and they were crying and whining and DH was steaming about the spoiled kids and I was steaming at DSS (who I love) for the big mouth and at DS for being a very big mouthed whiner, and at DH for not helping at all. Mr. Jolly Canadian must have thought we were very strange. We were well into our family melt down by then, jerk. Leave us alone will ya? But no, he seemed to yack forever about Canada and its geography and all the fun they have. Jerk. Cant you see we have the young ones melting down and the older ones knowing it all and the older older ones having had enough of all of them and each other?
After these long interruptions in the beginning, he pretty much became very scarce for actually waiting on us for the rest of the meal. Too busy with the friendly intro at other tables I guess. Maybe also busy telling his coworkers about how cranky Americans are by comparison. Took so long we missed most of the fireworks.
But I digress. None of this has anything to do with the food does it? The food was good. Pile on another Le Cellier pretzel bread and steak lover.
Footnote: One last beer at FQ before bed, just me and the 20-somethings. Mickeys and Minnies were given and all was well.
Day 5:
CS at Caseys in MK. Very large hot dogs at 11:00 in the morning, whod have thought this would be good. But it was great and we all loved them and the fries and the Cracker Jack.
Afternoon Last Snack: DD and I snuck away together and shared milk and a chocolate croissant from the Main Street bakery. We were in complete agreement that this was a wonderful Disney moment for just us two, and a perfect ending to the food story at Disney.
As for the dining plan, we all felt it saved us money, but would be much better with if you could choose one more TS instead of snacks and CS dessert.
Thanks so much to all restaurant review posters!! We loved the food! : )
E.
