kniquy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2014
- Messages
- 3,586
We just returned from a 7 day trip -- We had a number of TS reservations which included:
Ohana (D), LTT, Kona (B), Brown Derby, Biergarten, Boma (B), Sanna, Tusker, Crystal Palace
Ohana - I have to say the one i was most excited about was Ohana, but this was the one i was the least impressed with. The food was good, but i think for as difficult as it is to get a reservation there and for how expensive it is, I felt the food was fine, but i wouldn't rush back there. We all loved the noodles and pot stickers, as for meats, the chicken was the best of the meats, steak was a little chewy and those of my party who had the shrimp thought it was ok. We are all foodies so we are all pretty critical of the meals we have. The bread pudding for dessert was good, but again it didn't live up to the hype that I have heard about.
During our ohana meal we were seated right near the entrance, behind the grilling area, so with our meal taking longer than it should have (6:50 reservation with about a 20 minute wait -not getting in until 7:15ish) we were there as HEA began. We tried to hurry up and pay so we could get out and view HEA outside. I guess if you have a good window seat then you can see it without any problems.
LTT -- was by far our families favorite from beginning to end the meal was great and the dessert - Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake - was hands down the best dessert of our trip. Even over the famed ohana bread pudding. It is very sweet, but the warm dessert was amazing. We wish we could just go in to get that alone.
Kona - breakfast - it was good I can't say that there was anything outstanding with the breakfast from what we all ordered. . One of my boys already tried the tonga toast at Captain cooks, so no need to get it at Kona.
Brown Derby - probably was our favorite meal -- the filet was amazing and 5 out of 7 of our party ordered it and all loved it. The desserts were ok, the grapefruit cake is good if you like the tartness of grapefruit. It has little bits of grapefruit throughout. We did the fantasmic package. The seating was great but looking at the stadium it was hardly full so we could have gotten a seat even arriving late, just not prime in the middle. If going at a busy time of year it might be helpful but it was not necessary during this visit.
Biergarten - I enjoy German food, but i have had better. Although the rest of my party really enjoyed it. I think the environment really helps to add to the dining experience. It is more than just a restaurant - it tries to make you feel as though you are there for Octoberfest. It is rather loud so if you are looking for a quaint restaurant then this is not the place. It is fun when the band comes out, which happened twice with our 6:50 reservation. My DD4 headed out to the dance floor which was primarily kids dancing around. Although during our last trip there were some adults out dancing. It is combined seating, which with our party of 7 we did not have others join us, but during our last visit we were a party of 4 so we did have others -- it can be good and bad depending on how friendly your table mates are.
Boma - breakfast - was really good -- Great selection. The ham they were serving with the chipotle mustard sauce was the best ham any of us have ever had. So very tender. They had a good selection of fruit and other basic breakfast items. I didn't try it but the create your own omelet station looked very good. I caved and had some warm bread pudding with the nut caramel sauce -- Wow!!!
Sanna - was good but we have a great Indian restaurant near by at home so it didn't really top what we are used to in that department. My FIL did get NY strip which was really good and my son ordered the fish the selection varies (I don't recall what kind but was a firm white fish). The bread service with all the sauces was a fun way to start off the meal and i think if we were to go back it would be bread service for certain and i would probably steer away from the basic Indian dishes.
Tusker and Crystal Palace - we did these both for DD4 - I would say for character meals Tusker did have a great assortment of dishes to choose from. I felt that the character interactions were a bit rushed here. Crystal palace - the food was good and the character interactions were wonderful. We are not typically fans of character meals. It is a great way to see a bunch of characters, but without a photopass person available you have to make sure you are ready at all times with the camera, so it does really take away from enjoying the restaurant and the meal itself. At crystal palace specifically we were told you better sit tight and wait for Pooh because if you miss them it could be another 90 minutes before he makes it back over to your area. You feel pressured to sit and wait it out to get your food or wait to go to the bathroom fearing you might miss someone. It is pretty organized so you can tell when the characters are getting close. It did seem that at Tusker --the characters came into the room we were in a couple times to meet the newly seated guests. All in all I personally do not like character meals, but I know i am doing it for my little one. The time and attention is definitely more during an actual meet and greet so if you or your child have a particular character you must meet I would do a meet and greet far over a character meal.
Ohana (D), LTT, Kona (B), Brown Derby, Biergarten, Boma (B), Sanna, Tusker, Crystal Palace
Ohana - I have to say the one i was most excited about was Ohana, but this was the one i was the least impressed with. The food was good, but i think for as difficult as it is to get a reservation there and for how expensive it is, I felt the food was fine, but i wouldn't rush back there. We all loved the noodles and pot stickers, as for meats, the chicken was the best of the meats, steak was a little chewy and those of my party who had the shrimp thought it was ok. We are all foodies so we are all pretty critical of the meals we have. The bread pudding for dessert was good, but again it didn't live up to the hype that I have heard about.
During our ohana meal we were seated right near the entrance, behind the grilling area, so with our meal taking longer than it should have (6:50 reservation with about a 20 minute wait -not getting in until 7:15ish) we were there as HEA began. We tried to hurry up and pay so we could get out and view HEA outside. I guess if you have a good window seat then you can see it without any problems.
LTT -- was by far our families favorite from beginning to end the meal was great and the dessert - Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake - was hands down the best dessert of our trip. Even over the famed ohana bread pudding. It is very sweet, but the warm dessert was amazing. We wish we could just go in to get that alone.
Kona - breakfast - it was good I can't say that there was anything outstanding with the breakfast from what we all ordered. . One of my boys already tried the tonga toast at Captain cooks, so no need to get it at Kona.
Brown Derby - probably was our favorite meal -- the filet was amazing and 5 out of 7 of our party ordered it and all loved it. The desserts were ok, the grapefruit cake is good if you like the tartness of grapefruit. It has little bits of grapefruit throughout. We did the fantasmic package. The seating was great but looking at the stadium it was hardly full so we could have gotten a seat even arriving late, just not prime in the middle. If going at a busy time of year it might be helpful but it was not necessary during this visit.
Biergarten - I enjoy German food, but i have had better. Although the rest of my party really enjoyed it. I think the environment really helps to add to the dining experience. It is more than just a restaurant - it tries to make you feel as though you are there for Octoberfest. It is rather loud so if you are looking for a quaint restaurant then this is not the place. It is fun when the band comes out, which happened twice with our 6:50 reservation. My DD4 headed out to the dance floor which was primarily kids dancing around. Although during our last trip there were some adults out dancing. It is combined seating, which with our party of 7 we did not have others join us, but during our last visit we were a party of 4 so we did have others -- it can be good and bad depending on how friendly your table mates are.
Boma - breakfast - was really good -- Great selection. The ham they were serving with the chipotle mustard sauce was the best ham any of us have ever had. So very tender. They had a good selection of fruit and other basic breakfast items. I didn't try it but the create your own omelet station looked very good. I caved and had some warm bread pudding with the nut caramel sauce -- Wow!!!
Sanna - was good but we have a great Indian restaurant near by at home so it didn't really top what we are used to in that department. My FIL did get NY strip which was really good and my son ordered the fish the selection varies (I don't recall what kind but was a firm white fish). The bread service with all the sauces was a fun way to start off the meal and i think if we were to go back it would be bread service for certain and i would probably steer away from the basic Indian dishes.
Tusker and Crystal Palace - we did these both for DD4 - I would say for character meals Tusker did have a great assortment of dishes to choose from. I felt that the character interactions were a bit rushed here. Crystal palace - the food was good and the character interactions were wonderful. We are not typically fans of character meals. It is a great way to see a bunch of characters, but without a photopass person available you have to make sure you are ready at all times with the camera, so it does really take away from enjoying the restaurant and the meal itself. At crystal palace specifically we were told you better sit tight and wait for Pooh because if you miss them it could be another 90 minutes before he makes it back over to your area. You feel pressured to sit and wait it out to get your food or wait to go to the bathroom fearing you might miss someone. It is pretty organized so you can tell when the characters are getting close. It did seem that at Tusker --the characters came into the room we were in a couple times to meet the newly seated guests. All in all I personally do not like character meals, but I know i am doing it for my little one. The time and attention is definitely more during an actual meet and greet so if you or your child have a particular character you must meet I would do a meet and greet far over a character meal.
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