Hi,
We just got back from a five day stay at WDW and thought we would share our restaurant experiences. The trip was a B-day present for the boys-- they wanted to attend SWW.
Cast of characters- Me (44, likes well prepared, flavorful food), my Dear Cousin (35, very healthy eater), DS (7, picky), DC'sS (6, easy), DC'sD (3, easy)
LTT- We ate here on our first evening to celebrate the little girl's upcoming 4th birthday. We arrived about 20 minutes late-- absolutely no problem-- and waited about 5 minutes to be seated. The restaurant was busy but not overly crowded. As always (my DS and I eat here almost every trip), the service was great as was the character interaction. Every character came by the table at least 4 times and spent time with the children. Minnie was particularly attentive to the little girl-- once we let her know she was her favorite character and that she was celebrating her b-day. The food was piping hot and fresh. The bread was even better than I remember. The salad outstanding-- we requested the salad dressing on the side-- and were able to get a ranch dressing as well as the strawberry vinagerette. The ranch dressing was the best ever-- a bit garlicky, seemed to be homemade. I love the green beans here-- gralicky and crunchy. Mac and cheese was standard, but very fresh and hot. Mashed potatoes were great as were the meats-- beef, pork/ham, and turkey. We ordered a b-day cake, so had that instead of the dessert. Service- A, Meal- A, Character interaction - A+++++
CM-- We chose this restaurant to celebrate the 6 year olds B-day. We had a 5:20 PS and checked in early-- absolutely no problem. We were seated promptly- and again, this restaurant was busy, but not overly crowded. In the past, the character interaction here has been hit and miss- sometimes, we have had to get a manager to help us "track" down a character or two who has not made it to our table after 1 1/2 hours. Not so on this visit, every character came around promptly-- and then came again. We saw some characters as much as 3 times, and they actually spent quality time with the children, who were in seventh heaven. The food was also much better than I remember-- the salads were great-- especially the seafood salad. The mashed potatoes were to die for. And the desserts-- I finally tried the cheesecake with blueberries and the sponge cake crust-- heavenly!!! My DS loved the kid's cheese pizza: he had 6 pieces. The manager came over and asked for our kids' names-- he said they were the best behaved he had seen. He brought them cards with a picture of the characters and signed by the characters. Too cool. Service- A, Food- A, Character interaction-- A++++
Boma's-- This restaurant is my cousin's and my all-time favorite restaurant at Disney, so we had been anticipating our evening here. We arrived at the front desk about 17 minutes late, then waited in line for another 15-20 minutes before anyone took our names. The front desk person (Deli) said, you're late-- I said yes, we had transportation difficulties (we sat for 1/2 hour on a broken monorail). She said there was a problem-- they couldn't take our name-- we were too late for the PS. I said I understood that they couldn't seat us before anyone else with PS's who had checked in, but that I had never had a problem at any WDW restaurant about being allowed to check in when I was late-- particularly when it was because of the WDW transportation system-- and waiting in their line to check in. After a few moments of getting absolutely nowhere, I asked for the manager. He (Don, I think) was so rude I was floored (by this time my cousin had come up to stand behind me-- now she believes in positive energy and never puts a negative take on anything-- well, she said she had never seen a manager anywhere treat anyone as rudely as I was treated by this manager.) He went on and on about how they served thousands of people every day and that they couldn't accommodate individual guests. Now I kept saying throughout this entire exchange-- that I understood that I was late (due to their transportation) and that I didn't have a problem with waiting, my issue was how rudely the front desk personnel interacted with me-- he never acknowledged my concern at all-- just kept telling me that they couldn't accommodate individual guests (I wasn't asking for accommodations, just for someone to take my name)-- finally, he agreed to take my name. I "read" his name to him from his name badge and said that I would be contacting the AKL management about the manner in which I was treated by him and his staff. Now, amazingly, I was seated within 2 minutes-- (I had been told it would be at least 45 minutes before we could be seated) and he made a snide remark about how they got the table for us. Now, I should state that the front desk personnel of this restaurant tend to be hit and miss with politeness, although I had thought they were getting better in the last few months. On to the food, it was good as usual-- the soups and salads are my favorites (I never make it to the main dishes) as well as the pineapple cheesecake and the chocolate mousse. Service at the table was excellent. Food- A, Table service- A+, Front desk personnel and management- F
Crystal Palace-- We were celebrating the 7 year old's birthday here. We had a late lunch PS and checked in 20 minutes early-- absolutely no problem. We were seated within 15 minutes. The buffet was still plentiful and replenished even though we were at the end of the lunch crowd. Character interaction was great-- they came around several times-- these are our kids' favorite characters so they were mobbed with hugs when they came to our table. Food was good-- I like the beef salad here a lot and the beet salad as well as the spoon bread and green beans. We come here every trip because the food and the character interaction are consistently good-- and we were not disappointed. We had a birthday cake for the 7 year old. Service- A, Food- A, Character interaction-- A++++
I would be glad to answer any questions. Thanks for taking the time to read. Diane
We just got back from a five day stay at WDW and thought we would share our restaurant experiences. The trip was a B-day present for the boys-- they wanted to attend SWW.
Cast of characters- Me (44, likes well prepared, flavorful food), my Dear Cousin (35, very healthy eater), DS (7, picky), DC'sS (6, easy), DC'sD (3, easy)
LTT- We ate here on our first evening to celebrate the little girl's upcoming 4th birthday. We arrived about 20 minutes late-- absolutely no problem-- and waited about 5 minutes to be seated. The restaurant was busy but not overly crowded. As always (my DS and I eat here almost every trip), the service was great as was the character interaction. Every character came by the table at least 4 times and spent time with the children. Minnie was particularly attentive to the little girl-- once we let her know she was her favorite character and that she was celebrating her b-day. The food was piping hot and fresh. The bread was even better than I remember. The salad outstanding-- we requested the salad dressing on the side-- and were able to get a ranch dressing as well as the strawberry vinagerette. The ranch dressing was the best ever-- a bit garlicky, seemed to be homemade. I love the green beans here-- gralicky and crunchy. Mac and cheese was standard, but very fresh and hot. Mashed potatoes were great as were the meats-- beef, pork/ham, and turkey. We ordered a b-day cake, so had that instead of the dessert. Service- A, Meal- A, Character interaction - A+++++
CM-- We chose this restaurant to celebrate the 6 year olds B-day. We had a 5:20 PS and checked in early-- absolutely no problem. We were seated promptly- and again, this restaurant was busy, but not overly crowded. In the past, the character interaction here has been hit and miss- sometimes, we have had to get a manager to help us "track" down a character or two who has not made it to our table after 1 1/2 hours. Not so on this visit, every character came around promptly-- and then came again. We saw some characters as much as 3 times, and they actually spent quality time with the children, who were in seventh heaven. The food was also much better than I remember-- the salads were great-- especially the seafood salad. The mashed potatoes were to die for. And the desserts-- I finally tried the cheesecake with blueberries and the sponge cake crust-- heavenly!!! My DS loved the kid's cheese pizza: he had 6 pieces. The manager came over and asked for our kids' names-- he said they were the best behaved he had seen. He brought them cards with a picture of the characters and signed by the characters. Too cool. Service- A, Food- A, Character interaction-- A++++
Boma's-- This restaurant is my cousin's and my all-time favorite restaurant at Disney, so we had been anticipating our evening here. We arrived at the front desk about 17 minutes late, then waited in line for another 15-20 minutes before anyone took our names. The front desk person (Deli) said, you're late-- I said yes, we had transportation difficulties (we sat for 1/2 hour on a broken monorail). She said there was a problem-- they couldn't take our name-- we were too late for the PS. I said I understood that they couldn't seat us before anyone else with PS's who had checked in, but that I had never had a problem at any WDW restaurant about being allowed to check in when I was late-- particularly when it was because of the WDW transportation system-- and waiting in their line to check in. After a few moments of getting absolutely nowhere, I asked for the manager. He (Don, I think) was so rude I was floored (by this time my cousin had come up to stand behind me-- now she believes in positive energy and never puts a negative take on anything-- well, she said she had never seen a manager anywhere treat anyone as rudely as I was treated by this manager.) He went on and on about how they served thousands of people every day and that they couldn't accommodate individual guests. Now I kept saying throughout this entire exchange-- that I understood that I was late (due to their transportation) and that I didn't have a problem with waiting, my issue was how rudely the front desk personnel interacted with me-- he never acknowledged my concern at all-- just kept telling me that they couldn't accommodate individual guests (I wasn't asking for accommodations, just for someone to take my name)-- finally, he agreed to take my name. I "read" his name to him from his name badge and said that I would be contacting the AKL management about the manner in which I was treated by him and his staff. Now, amazingly, I was seated within 2 minutes-- (I had been told it would be at least 45 minutes before we could be seated) and he made a snide remark about how they got the table for us. Now, I should state that the front desk personnel of this restaurant tend to be hit and miss with politeness, although I had thought they were getting better in the last few months. On to the food, it was good as usual-- the soups and salads are my favorites (I never make it to the main dishes) as well as the pineapple cheesecake and the chocolate mousse. Service at the table was excellent. Food- A, Table service- A+, Front desk personnel and management- F
Crystal Palace-- We were celebrating the 7 year old's birthday here. We had a late lunch PS and checked in 20 minutes early-- absolutely no problem. We were seated within 15 minutes. The buffet was still plentiful and replenished even though we were at the end of the lunch crowd. Character interaction was great-- they came around several times-- these are our kids' favorite characters so they were mobbed with hugs when they came to our table. Food was good-- I like the beef salad here a lot and the beet salad as well as the spoon bread and green beans. We come here every trip because the food and the character interaction are consistently good-- and we were not disappointed. We had a birthday cake for the 7 year old. Service- A, Food- A, Character interaction-- A++++
I would be glad to answer any questions. Thanks for taking the time to read. Diane
