Reviews of our experiences with Free Dining, 8/20-8/27/10

And I'm thrilled to read your good review of Cape May Cafe, since I'm eating there for the first time next trip. I keep on getting more and more excited about that one, and I originally only included it in my plans because it was somewhere I hadn't eaten before.

We eat at the Cape May Cafe almost every trip; it's always at least very good, if not excellent. :) Be sure to save some appetite for dessert! The little lava cakes and key lime tarts are awesome.

The location of it is really great too, especially if you're using Disney transportation since it's so close to both Epcot and the Studios. I love the scenery on the boat there to/from the Studios.
 
We eat at the Cape May Cafe almost every trip; it's always at least very good, if not excellent. :) Be sure to save some appetite for dessert! The little lava cakes and key lime tarts are awesome.

The location of it is really great too, especially if you're using Disney transportation since it's so close to both Epcot and the Studios. I love the scenery on the boat there to/from the Studios.
I do rely on Disney transportation while I'm there, I hate driving, so I love being able to not have to drive anywhere while I'm on vacation. I'll make sure to save plenty of room for dessert. :goodvibes
 
I do rely on Disney transportation while I'm there, I hate driving, so I love being able to not have to drive anywhere while I'm on vacation. I'll make sure to save plenty of room for dessert. :goodvibes

I think you'll enjoy dining at Cape May. The Beach Club itself is so beautiful. Even the bathrooms there are lovely. LOL!
 
Well, those are most of our food and drink experiences, except maybe for a few snacks and drinks. I know I had a Dole Whip float one day, and we each had a drink at the outdoor Yak and Yeti place while the kids went on Kali. We got soaked at the AK earlier and were just beginning to feel like we'd dried off so we weren't getting voluntarily wet again!

A few points overall, especially as it pertains to the Free Dining offer:

1. I've said it before and I'll say it again--FD is a great bargain for my family. My son and my nephew are both on the small side and eat that way. It would have killed me to take them to say, Chef Mickey, all these past 3 FD trips and pay the adult price for them. Neither of these boys eat enough to justify paying that kind of money, even with the entertainment of the characters.

2. The waitstaff has gotten much better at settling your check. Didn't have any huge wait or confusion settling our bill the way we did the past couple of trips. In 2008 and 2009, ordering appetizers or drinks, or splitting checks, seemed to completely baffle some of our servers. This year, we split our checks at least two ways every meal and had no problems. Based on our experiences of the previous 3 years, I charged all OOP meal expenses, including the standard 18% tip, back to the room. It's easier that way! When we wanted to give our server a little more--which happened at most of our meals--we just added some cash on top. This worked out very well--little time was wasted this year settling checks.

3. On the whole, CMs seem better informed about what you can or can't have with the dining plan. It is more restrictive--chili cheese fries are no longer a snack credit--but it is more clear cut and better marked, so it's good.

4. All of our table service meals were excellent in most respects with the exception of Chefs de France, but even that was a just so-so meal, not a total fail. :) I really do enjoy Disney Dining even though the food is mass-produced. At a minimum, the theming is almost always great, and so different from what we experience at home.

5. If you don't think you'll eat the counter service dessert, they'll give you a bottle of water for later. I took one or two many times! With the heat and the crowds, our appetites were not at top form. Don't take the chocolate or carrot cake unless you're sure you're going to eat it soon! The icing melts down in the heat. If you don't want a water, take the packaged chocolate chip cookie instead. It will perk back up in the coolness of your room. Likewise, avoid the no-sugar-added desserts unless you need to have them for health reasons. The no-sugar brownie at Cosmic Ray's is one of the nastiest things I've ever tasted. :crazy2:

Ranking of meals this trip:

1. Ohana (Food and service were great, and entertainment threw it over the top.)
2. LeCellier (Cheese soup, pretzel bread and mushroom filet mignon. 'Nuff said.)
3. Cape May Cafe (Great food and atmosphere.)
4. Chef Mickey's (Smoked Tomato Bisque scored it several extra credit points.)
5. Whispering Canyon Cafe (Great food and atmosphere--it would have beaten Chef M's if it weren't for the soup.)
6. Chefs de France (High marks for desserts.)

Favorite drink was the mango mojito same as last year, though on our last day, Petals introduced a new drink menu and they are now called Tropical Mojitos.

Favorite item from Everything Pop was the Apple Blossom Sundae.

Favorite counter services was Columbia Harbor House. Edge went there because it was new to us, but Sunshine Seasons was great too.
 

I think you'll enjoy dining at Cape May. The Beach Club itself is so beautiful. Even the bathrooms there are lovely. LOL!

We went into the bathrooms there by Beaches and Cream and Yachtmans and when we saw cloth towels we thought we may not be worthy enough for the bathrooms.

Great reviews ! Your nephew sounds interesting as far as his palate
 
We went into the bathrooms there by Beaches and Cream and Yachtmans and when we saw cloth towels we thought we may not be worthy enough for the bathrooms.

Great reviews ! Your nephew sounds interesting as far as his palate

Yes, there are washclothes for drying your hands at the Beach Club. I thought that was a hoot the first time I saw it.

We went into the trip knowing my nephew is a very picky and poor eater. He practically lived with us this past spring, and I took him to WDW in 2008, so we were very well aware of his eating habits. I swore to myself that I was going to mind my own business this trip and let him eat whatever he wanted, and I almost made it through the trip that way. But I lost it on him in Sunshine Seasons. It's not easy to let behavior slide in a kid who you're responsible for, that you'd never accept from your own child.
 
Thanks for your reviews. Glad to hear ohana is one of your favorites. we are trying it for the 1st time next month. We have only had cape may for b'fast but really liked it - same for cm. We prefer cp over cm for dinner.
 
Great reviews!! You went to alot of our faves. We haven't been to Cape May for a couple of years but it is on our to do list for May. We discovered CHH & Sunshine Seasons on our last trip & loved it. It was nice to get something besides fried food & burgers for CS.
 
Thanks for your reviews. Glad to hear ohana is one of your favorites. we are trying it for the 1st time next month. We have only had cape may for b'fast but really liked it - same for cm. We prefer cp over cm for dinner.

Thank you. Ohana is great! It reminds me of the "Polynesian" restaurants that were around here when I was growing up in the 60s/70s. The food flavors and atmosphere are similar to the "Dragon Inns" that used to be all over North Jersey.

Great reviews!! You went to alot of our faves. We haven't been to Cape May for a couple of years but it is on our to do list for May. We discovered CHH & Sunshine Seasons on our last trip & loved it. It was nice to get something besides fried food & burgers for CS.

Thanks for the compliment. :) The food is so unique at CHH, I think we'll go there every trip. The guys went crazy over their shrimp.
 
Great reviews - thanks! :)

We were there about the same time and while we are used to August trips being hot & humid, we did think that this year it was more crowded and rainy! :( We missed out on a few things since we didn't care to go out in the pouring rain constantly. We even stayed in our last night due to the nasty thunder storm! Oh well, there's always next time! :)

Jill
 
Great reviews - thanks! :)

We were there about the same time and while we are used to August trips being hot & humid, we did think that this year it was more crowded and rainy! :( We missed out on a few things since we didn't care to go out in the pouring rain constantly. We even stayed in our last night due to the nasty thunder storm! Oh well, there's always next time! :)

Jill

Hi, Jill! It was very crowded and rainy. We wound up buying ponchos, but carrying them around is such a drag. They're so heavy.
 













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