It has been one week since we returned from WDW and now it is time to finally write the reviews I have been trying to do all week. We are a family of 4- me 50 ish, DH, 50ish, DD 18 and DD 14. We recently spent a week at the WL. This was our 4th stay at WL and by far one of our best. We were not on the dining plan. I hemmed and hawed over whether or not to add the plan and in retrospect I am glad I did not. Without the dining plan we were able to eat what we wanted and including a delivery from WeGo Shop, alcohol, and tips we eneded up paying less than the plan would have cost us.
We had ADRs at the following:
8/8-Sci Fi dinner
8/9- Kona Cafe dinner
8/10-Chef Miceky breakfast
8/11- Teppan Edo dinner
8/12- T-Rex lunch; Brown Derby dinner
8/13- Tutto Italia dinner
8/14-Ohana dinner.
Sci Fi- We had a 5:55 p.m. ADR and arrived a little late. Unfortunatley our room was not ready until 4:00 so by the time we got in and freshened up from our flight and day at the park we were running late. Additionally, DD 18 was not feeling feel and decided to sleep rather than eat. Our ADR for 4 turned into 3. When we arrived we were told to wait and we would be called. It was less than 5 minutes before we were directed to our car. We were seated way up front-the first row by the screen. We had never sat this close to the screen and frankly it was not the best but was still okay. DH and I both ordered cheeseburgers and fries which although not on the menu were graciously provided. The cheeseburgers were very large and very good. DD had the bruschetta chicken sandwhich which she said was very good. We were all so stuffed and so tired that no one was in the mood for dessert.
8/9- Kona Cafe- We arrived a few minutes before our 6:50 p.m. ADR and were told we would be seated shortly. We went over to the bar but before we could order our table was ready. We have eaten at Kona before but I forgot how close the tables really are. I liken it to diner style eating. We ordered the stickey wings for two as a starter. They were very good and the serving was more than enough for the 4 of us to share. My DD 18 and DH both ordered the panko shrimp and scallops. They both enjoyed their dinner. DD 14 had chicken pasta. I don't think that this is the best dish to order at Kona, however, that is what she wanted. She said it was good. I ordered the Tuna Oscar after reading great reviews about it. I was, however, disappointed. While it was not bad I have had much better tuna. The tuna just seemed to be a little tough. The portion I thought was very large. Again, we were all stuffed and no one had dessert. You can probably see the pattern here...we are not a big dessert family.
8/10- Chef Mickey breakfast- We have been going to Chef Mickey on each trip since the time it was located in the Disney Village ( I must admit I like the old Chef Mickey in the Disney Village better- it was just more relaxing) Anyway, we had 9:15 a.m. reservations. The buffet was good and there was plenty of selection. Unfortunately although my DDs wanted to go to CM it became clear that the characters no longer held much allure for them. Although the food was good unless you have children who enjoy the characters it is a somewhat overpriced breakfast. I think next time we will skip CM and perhaps just have a regular breakast somewhere else with no characters.
8/11- Teppan Edo. We had 6:30 p.m. ADR for Teppan Edo and we were seated very quickly. My DDs enjoy the Japenese habchi type food. I personally can take it or leave it. That being said our dinner at Teppan Edo was very good. Our chef was entertaining. We all had the miso soup which was tasty. DDs had the habachi chicken, DH shrimp and I had the scallops. All were good. The vegetables and noodles were good and the dipping sauces tasty. Again, no dessert.
8/12- T-Rex lunch- We had a 12:00 ADR at T-Rex. We were seated in the blue ice room very shortly after arrivng. I noticed that they fill up one room before moving to the next. Because it was not yet that crowded we were able to walk around and look at everything. The atmosphere is great but loud. We started off with the colosso nachos. The platter was huge. Very very good! DDs each had the paleozoic chicken sandwich. They said it was very good, however, it was so big each could only eat half. I asked our server if anyone ever finishes it and she said a lot of people share. DH had the bronto burger which he said was delicious. Again the portion was huge. I had the blackened fish tacos. The tacos are served with rice and black beans. They were very very good. The platter is very big and I could not finish everything. All in all this was one of our best meals both from a food and entertainment standpoint.
Because we were so stuffed from lunch I canceled the ADR for the Brown Derby. We ended up grabbing some snack from the Roaring Frok when we returned from the park in the late evening.
8/13- Tutto Itallia- This was a last minute ADR. We originally at a 7:00 p.m. ADR for Le Ceiller. After much thought I decided that it was best to change the ADR since my DDs are not really steak eaters. I am glad I did. Tutto Italia was wonderful. The service was great and the food delicious. We started off with the calamari which was very good- not too greasy. The sauce was nice and spicy the way we like it. DDs had the fafalle. They both said it was good. DH had the Paccheri. This is the large tube pasta and calamari. He said it was very tasty. I had the penne caprese. The pasta was al dente the way I like and sauce was tasty. Because it was our anniversary I could not pass up dessert. I ordered tiramisu. It was delicious. Our server also brought a brownie with a candle and sang happy anniversary in Italian. It was very sweet! All in all it was a great meal and wonderful anniversay.
8/14- After eating heavier meals than we are used to, by Friday morning it became clear that no one wanted to eat a heavy meal at Ohana that night. We had an 8:50 p.m. ADR which only compounded our concern. I canceled our ADR and we decided that we would go DTD that night and eat at the Earl of Sandwich. After a day at the parks the Earl of Sandwhich was a great choice. DD 18 had the Earls Club. DD14 had the Italian. DH had The Ealr's Cobb Salad and I had the All American. Everyone's sandwhich was delicious and DH said his salad was very good. It was nice to sit outside and people watch.
As I said in the begginning I am glad that I did not add on the dining plan. The plan just does not jive with the way we like to eat. I am sure that it is great for some and in fact was great for us in the past. I highly recommend WeGo Shop. We had water, cereral bars, granola bars, pretzels, yougurt, vodka and tonic delivered. It was great having breakfast food in the room. The cases of water saved us great deal of money and were a convenience. It was also very nice to be able to come back to the room, make a cool vodka and tonic and relax on the balcony after a long day at the park.
I learned a lot from reading reviews before we left so I hope that this review is helpful to someone.
We had ADRs at the following:
8/8-Sci Fi dinner
8/9- Kona Cafe dinner
8/10-Chef Miceky breakfast
8/11- Teppan Edo dinner
8/12- T-Rex lunch; Brown Derby dinner
8/13- Tutto Italia dinner
8/14-Ohana dinner.
Sci Fi- We had a 5:55 p.m. ADR and arrived a little late. Unfortunatley our room was not ready until 4:00 so by the time we got in and freshened up from our flight and day at the park we were running late. Additionally, DD 18 was not feeling feel and decided to sleep rather than eat. Our ADR for 4 turned into 3. When we arrived we were told to wait and we would be called. It was less than 5 minutes before we were directed to our car. We were seated way up front-the first row by the screen. We had never sat this close to the screen and frankly it was not the best but was still okay. DH and I both ordered cheeseburgers and fries which although not on the menu were graciously provided. The cheeseburgers were very large and very good. DD had the bruschetta chicken sandwhich which she said was very good. We were all so stuffed and so tired that no one was in the mood for dessert.
8/9- Kona Cafe- We arrived a few minutes before our 6:50 p.m. ADR and were told we would be seated shortly. We went over to the bar but before we could order our table was ready. We have eaten at Kona before but I forgot how close the tables really are. I liken it to diner style eating. We ordered the stickey wings for two as a starter. They were very good and the serving was more than enough for the 4 of us to share. My DD 18 and DH both ordered the panko shrimp and scallops. They both enjoyed their dinner. DD 14 had chicken pasta. I don't think that this is the best dish to order at Kona, however, that is what she wanted. She said it was good. I ordered the Tuna Oscar after reading great reviews about it. I was, however, disappointed. While it was not bad I have had much better tuna. The tuna just seemed to be a little tough. The portion I thought was very large. Again, we were all stuffed and no one had dessert. You can probably see the pattern here...we are not a big dessert family.
8/10- Chef Mickey breakfast- We have been going to Chef Mickey on each trip since the time it was located in the Disney Village ( I must admit I like the old Chef Mickey in the Disney Village better- it was just more relaxing) Anyway, we had 9:15 a.m. reservations. The buffet was good and there was plenty of selection. Unfortunately although my DDs wanted to go to CM it became clear that the characters no longer held much allure for them. Although the food was good unless you have children who enjoy the characters it is a somewhat overpriced breakfast. I think next time we will skip CM and perhaps just have a regular breakast somewhere else with no characters.
8/11- Teppan Edo. We had 6:30 p.m. ADR for Teppan Edo and we were seated very quickly. My DDs enjoy the Japenese habchi type food. I personally can take it or leave it. That being said our dinner at Teppan Edo was very good. Our chef was entertaining. We all had the miso soup which was tasty. DDs had the habachi chicken, DH shrimp and I had the scallops. All were good. The vegetables and noodles were good and the dipping sauces tasty. Again, no dessert.
8/12- T-Rex lunch- We had a 12:00 ADR at T-Rex. We were seated in the blue ice room very shortly after arrivng. I noticed that they fill up one room before moving to the next. Because it was not yet that crowded we were able to walk around and look at everything. The atmosphere is great but loud. We started off with the colosso nachos. The platter was huge. Very very good! DDs each had the paleozoic chicken sandwich. They said it was very good, however, it was so big each could only eat half. I asked our server if anyone ever finishes it and she said a lot of people share. DH had the bronto burger which he said was delicious. Again the portion was huge. I had the blackened fish tacos. The tacos are served with rice and black beans. They were very very good. The platter is very big and I could not finish everything. All in all this was one of our best meals both from a food and entertainment standpoint.
Because we were so stuffed from lunch I canceled the ADR for the Brown Derby. We ended up grabbing some snack from the Roaring Frok when we returned from the park in the late evening.
8/13- Tutto Itallia- This was a last minute ADR. We originally at a 7:00 p.m. ADR for Le Ceiller. After much thought I decided that it was best to change the ADR since my DDs are not really steak eaters. I am glad I did. Tutto Italia was wonderful. The service was great and the food delicious. We started off with the calamari which was very good- not too greasy. The sauce was nice and spicy the way we like it. DDs had the fafalle. They both said it was good. DH had the Paccheri. This is the large tube pasta and calamari. He said it was very tasty. I had the penne caprese. The pasta was al dente the way I like and sauce was tasty. Because it was our anniversary I could not pass up dessert. I ordered tiramisu. It was delicious. Our server also brought a brownie with a candle and sang happy anniversary in Italian. It was very sweet! All in all it was a great meal and wonderful anniversay.
8/14- After eating heavier meals than we are used to, by Friday morning it became clear that no one wanted to eat a heavy meal at Ohana that night. We had an 8:50 p.m. ADR which only compounded our concern. I canceled our ADR and we decided that we would go DTD that night and eat at the Earl of Sandwich. After a day at the parks the Earl of Sandwhich was a great choice. DD 18 had the Earls Club. DD14 had the Italian. DH had The Ealr's Cobb Salad and I had the All American. Everyone's sandwhich was delicious and DH said his salad was very good. It was nice to sit outside and people watch.
As I said in the begginning I am glad that I did not add on the dining plan. The plan just does not jive with the way we like to eat. I am sure that it is great for some and in fact was great for us in the past. I highly recommend WeGo Shop. We had water, cereral bars, granola bars, pretzels, yougurt, vodka and tonic delivered. It was great having breakfast food in the room. The cases of water saved us great deal of money and were a convenience. It was also very nice to be able to come back to the room, make a cool vodka and tonic and relax on the balcony after a long day at the park.
I learned a lot from reading reviews before we left so I hope that this review is helpful to someone.
