So much food, so few pictures...

[smiths02]

The title says it all...

I really feel like giving back to the boards to post my reviews, but I didn't want to take pictures of everything I ate on vacation, so this review will be without many pictures (sorry)...BUT I will include a lot of (peak season) prices as I kept track. We got "free" QSDP and paid to upgrade to DDP, but I am interested to see if the price analysis shows the DDP to be a big savings.

The cast: Me (30), DH (32), DS (5)
We stayed at a CBR Pirate room from July 1-July 6, 2011

Overall, we had basically a perfect vacation, but I would do it differently next time when it comes to dining...it was just too much food. Really it was too much quick service food-especially drinks and desserts, but DxDP didn't really make sense for us either as DH was only with us July 1-4.

Where we ate:
CBR Food Court dinner
Crystal Palace breakfast
Aloha Isle
Ohana Dinner
Sci Fi Diner
Wolfgang Puck Express
Goofy Candy
Tusker House
Snacks at CBR Food Court
Cape May Clambake
Boardwalk Drinks
CBR Pool Bar drinks
CBR Food Court breakfast
Chefs de France
Snacks around the World
Counter Service Mexico
Counter Service China
1900 Park Fare breakfast
Snacks in Magic Kingdom
Main Street Bakery

 

[chocolateMinnie]

I'M IN looking forward to the reviews

 

[smiths02]

My son and I drove down from Georgia on Friday, July 1st. We left before 6 am and had a smoothie in the car for breakfast. We stopped at Olive Garden and shared an entree for lunch. It was an enjoyable meal.

My DH is in training now, so he couldn't join us until later that night, so we made no TS ADRs for this night.

My son and I were hungry and decided to hit up the CBR food court for dinner. I knew exactly what we both wanted.

My son ordered the kids chicken nugget meal which came in a sand pail. He got nuggets, fries, a Mickey mouse milk, and a yogurt (which spilled the next day and never got eaten). The nuggets were kind of like McDs old nuggets. My DS was happy with the sand pail. I would order this again just b/c DS was so impressed with the sand pail and Mickey milk.

I ordered the Caribbean Deluxe burger...it had a pineapple relish and fried plantains on it...yum! I would definitely order this again. The meat was McDs quality, but the topping made up for it. I opted for the pasta salad instead of fries. The pasta salad was weird...it tasted like potato salad (mustard and mayo), but with pasta-not inedible, but I wouldn't order it again (I prefer pasta salad to have an Italian style dressing). They had a small fixin's bar with lettuce, tomato, and onion which I used to make a little side salad to go with my burger. I got a light pomegranate lemonade to drink. And one of these for dessert (which I shared with my son, of course)…

With tax this came to right over $21 or 2 CS and this is all food I would have ordered on DDP or not. (Sorry I didn’t get exact prices of each item, I didn’t know to keep track yet). The burger was approx $8, the kids meal approx $6.50, the drink approx. $2, and the Mickey ears approx. $3 plus tax

(10 TS, 5, child TS, 13 CS, 15 Snacks remaining)

 

[smiths02]

We made an ADR for 8:05 Saturday morning. This was an amazing experience. Here is the obligatory picture on an empty Main Street.

We waited only a few minutes to be seated (once we got into the park). I have to say that this is a recurring theme…we waited no longer than 15 minutes for anything this trip (ADRs or rides).
The character interaction was great. Of course, it meant that my son did not eat much. My DH and I outdid ourselves though. The omelette station (where they also make chocolate chip Mickey pancakes) and the puffed French toast were standouts. My DH is in training and was trying to eat heathfullly, but even he fell prey to the puffed French toast. I also particularly enjoyed the pastrami smoked salmon on a bagel. They also had a nice selection of fresh fruit (not just “cheap” fruit, but also raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, grapes). The only negative things I would say is that the bacon was the dreaded “Disney bacon” and the chocolate croissant was more like some bread with chocolate in it (I opted for another piece of puffed French toast instead).
We took a tip from the DIS and got our bill early. We were full and ready to start the day just a few minutes after 9. [Can I tell you that this was especially important in July, before it got crazy hot, we had done most rides we wanted and acquired fast passes by 11 am…we did not wait more than 10 minutes for any attraction that day]

Here is a picture of the price board for people who may be considering any of the meals, especially during peak pricing.

[Maybe I should add that as a family, we love breakfast food, but we usually have a bar or smoothie, so going out to breakfast is great for us! Also, if you aren’t on the DDP, breakfast is a better value. This breakfast was especially great b/c we didn’t need to stop and waste valuable park time to eat lunch.]
We would definitely do this again, and I would have made this ADR even if paying OOP. This is probably a must do for us now.
Total cost-$73.46
(8 adult TS, 4 child TS, 13 CS, 15 snacks remaining)

 

[smiths02]

Even though we had breakfast at 8 am…we knew we had an ADR for Ohana at 6:40…so we skipped lunch
Instead, we opted to share 2 Dole Pineapple Whip Floats between the 3 of us.

I just love these things. I DEFINITELY would have bought these without the meal plan, but they were covered.
Cost $4.19 each plus tax Total $8.92
(8 adult TS, 4 child TS, 13 CS, 13 snacks remaining)

 

[DaisyMaisie]

Loving your reviews!

What is "pastrami smoked salmon"?

 

[smiths02]

Our ADR was 6:40, we arrived at 6:30, we were seated by 6:38. Our server was Rosa. She was great! She automatically offered my 5 year old chicken fingers and fries. She was also quick with the Lapu Lapu

We did not feel rushed. The experience was about 1 and 1/2 hours. All the food was yummy. Bread was good with the coconut butter (but tasted as if it was baked the day before). Steak was pink in the middle (not overcooked!), shrimp was peelable, chicken was moist...pork was a little dry. We got 2 servings of steak and noodles and those came quickly after being requested.

I was even more pleased this year than 2009 (and that's not just the Lapu Lapu talking!). This is a meal I would do again...even for $100 for my family of 3
Total $97.95

(6 adult TS, 3 child TS, 13 CS, 13 snacks)

Extras: To drink I ordered a Lapu Lapu ($12.75 before tax)…it was fun to drink but a little strong. However, once I ate, I didn’t really feel it. So I ordered a Pina Colada ($7.50 before tax)…I wouldn’t order this again as it was just a plain Pina Colada.
DH also ordered a Raspberry Rain ($9.50 before tax)…this was yummy. I think he would order it again.
So the final review on the drinks is that the Raspberry Rain was the winner. I would probably not order drinks at Ohana again though b/c we just ate too much.

 

[smiths02]

Loving your reviews!

What is "pastrami smoked salmon"?

It is like the lox that is traditionally served with bagels, but they put some pastrami seasoning on top of it (like a rub), so it added a little something

 

[smiths02]

Sunday...
Well, we were supposed to use 2 CS for breakfast this morning (yes, I had it planned down to the last CS), but we were all too full!! We drove down, so we fed DS part of a Cliff bar and DH and I didn't eat.

By our 11:10 ADR, we were pretty hungry. Since we had been on Star Tours twice and had our Fast pass for TSM, we checked in around 11 for our ADR and were seated by 11:10

Our server was Amy, and she was great b/c I immediately told her that I wanted to use one adult credit and pay for the rest OOP, and it was NO PROBLEM whatsoever to do this. (Telling her upfront probably helped though)

DS and I shared a cookies and cream shake and DH had his own It is hard to go wrong with a milkshake. Just a warning though, these don't taste like Chick-Fil-A oreo milkshakes. They actually tasted more like a chocolate milkshake with oreo crumbs on top. Still good though!

We got an order of onion rings (OOP) for $7.99. I love onion rings. These were good. Another warning though is that they are the breaded kind, not the battered kind.

DS and I split a burger. The burgers are pretty good. They are not the best I have ever had, but definitely better than fast food. Also, at least they come with cheese, bacon, mushrooms, onions. For Disney, this seems like a relative bargain to get a burger for $13.99 Since we had onion rings, I opted for the cucumber salad-light and refreshing.

DH had his own burger (hold the mushrooms) and fries. I got to taste the fries, they were good as well.

The best part of this meal was the atmosphere. My son was just blown away (even though we had eaten here 2 years before, guess he forgot).

I would definitely eat here again and order the same items.

Total covered by DDP (1 adult credit-2 milkshakes, 1 burger)-$24.89

(5 adult TS, 3 child TS, 13 CS, 13 snacks remaining)

 

[smiths02]

Yes, I made a special trip here to try one of these babies:
Butterfinger Cupcake

This was sooooo good…we all shared this as our snack once we got back to the room. It had some serious heft to it...must have weighed a pound!
I would have wanted one of these whether on DDP or not and would buy it again!

$4.25
(5 adult TS, 3 child TS, 13 CS, 12 snacks remaining)

 

[smiths02]

We decided to drive to DTD to visit WPE, Goofy’s, and Lego Store. We should have taken the bus…parking was a nightmare!
Anyhow, we finally parked. Of course, we parked closer to the Lego store, so DS wanted to go in there before eating (even though we were all pretty hungry at this point).
We then proceeded to WPE. I ordered the salmon ($18) and crème brulee ($6). The salmon was good, but it was more of a “lunch” portion---I am not complaining, we had enough food but DS loves salmon so I had to split it with him! The crème brulee was just okay. I would have skipped dessert if not on DDP. DH had the spaghetti and meatballs-this was a better portion size with 3 HUGE meatballs ($16) and cheesecake ($5). DH thought the cheesecake “plain” and would have not ordered dessert if not included. As you can tell, this is the point where we got tired of eating. DS had the cheese pizza ($7), again this is a good portion size for a child pizza-and it is pretty tasty. DS had a sugar cookie with sprinkles ($2) which he really enjoyed. We all ordered fountain drinks ($2.85 each)…we definitely would have skipped those as we only order drinks with meals maybe 50% of the time when eating out. (I think DS even got water). It was also nice to be served at a CS place; however, I felt obligated to leave a little something for the “server” which then adds to our cost.
While this was good food, and highly recommended if on DDP, I would not eat here if paying OOP. In DTD, I would have opted for T-Rex (which I felt bad for having to leave out this trip), and honestly, I think we could have eaten there for less than $66 (especially with the 99cent kid meal coupon and not eating dessert)
Total -$66.62 (3 CS used)
(5 adult TS, 3 child TS, 10 CS, 12 snacks remaining)

 

[smiths02]

So we HAD to make a stop at Goofy's. I had been craving one of these babies since I had one at Disneyland last year

Minnie Mouse Apple ($9.95)

DS of course wanted to make his own marshmallows on a Mickey straw ($4.95)

Now, in case anyone was wondering, neither of these was included on DDP and we were all tired of eating at this point. So we ended up eating these on the drive back home. (And yes, both were still delicious a few days later).

Totally worth the $15.87

 

[leslie826]

Loving your reviews! It's like you read my mind... CP breakfast, dole whip floats, butterfinger cupcake, and sci-fi lunch are on my list Glad to hear they've been good!

 

[smiths02]

Again, I had planned to use snacks or something for breakfast, but none of us were really hungry. I think DS ate a few bites of a Cliff bar we had brought with us and DH and I maybe had a handful of almonds (we also brought those with us)
We hit up EMH am at Animal Kingdom and were able to do the Safari, Dinosaur, Triceratop Spin, Bug’s Life and Jungle Trek and grab a fast pass for Kali River Rapids and still had time to check into our 10:10 brunch at Tusker House
We took the picture with Donald outside (he didn’t come inside but to peek his head in once)…a tip is that the photo people will take a picture with YOUR camera. If you have a digital camera, check to see if you like the picture before they come around and try to get you to pay $30 for the ones printed out. Oh, and my son had a duck bill whistle from a “Ride the Ducks” local attraction and got some attention from Daisy…I kept telling him that was his girlfriend 
The characters inside were Daisy, Mickey, and Goofy (my son’s favorite).
We love this breakfast. I think my son mostly drank juice-the jungle juice-yum! (This is basically the same juice they have at Ohana/Kona breakfast and 1900 Park Fare breakfast)
Some of the offerings…carved ham (with a mustard sauce-yum!), frittata, tater tots, roasted potatoes, corn beef hash, bacon, eggs, sausage, biscuits & gravy, beef bobotie, red potato/coconut casserole, fruit, cereal, oatmeal, cinnamon rolls, donuts, Danish, chocolate croissant, cobbler, bread pudding with vanilla sauce, Mickey waffles
Most everything was tried and most everything was very good. The chocolate croissant tasted like croissant here (not bread like at Crystal Palace). The bread pudding had too many raisins for me (nothing like Ohana). And even my 5 year old was starting to notice the sorry Disney bacon. But we had ham to make up for that!

This was our second time and we would definitely do it again. I would do this even if paying OOP.

Price $73.45

(3 adult TS, 2 child TS, 10 CS, 12 snacks remaining)

 

[smiths02]

DH had a long car ride ahead of him (he was leaving this afternoon), and we had lots of snack credits, so I went to Port Royal and bought DH 2 Coke Zeros for the rode and me an HonesTea Green Tea for the next morning.

Coke Zero-$2.49 (plus tax)
HonesTea-$3.99 (plus tax)

Now I like HonesTea and DH likes Coke Zero, and it was nice not to haul them with us (I hauled bottled water and other snacks), but if I were paying OOP, there is NO WAY I would pay $4 for HonesTea (I actually brought 2 of this with me which I paid $1 each for at CVS)

3 snack credits $9.55
(3 adult TS, 2 child TS, 10 CS, 9 snacks remaining)

 

[smiths02]

DS and I are seafood lovers while DH is not, so we saved this for once DH was gone.

I was really looking forward to this, and while the food was good, I was disappointed. First, I should say that I was not really hungry (although I ate like it!). Second, I like crab legs, but they are not my favorite seafood (salmon is the favorite of ours and there was none offered). Third, it took FOREVER to get here, I really should have just drove (the bus to DHS, the ferry, then, the walk took over an hour), but I thought I might want a drink. Fourth, there is really nothing “special” or “Disney” about the Beach Club to me. Fifth, the buffet set up was odd (square), and it was difficult to handle a buffet with my 5 year old (especially a square one), and it was difficult to have to wrestle two sets of crab legs to get any meat (mine and my 5 year olds).

As for the food. The salads were good and fresh…I really like the panzanella (sp?) salad. My son and I enjoyed the tomato bisque with the fresh hot rolls, but we didn’t love the clam chowder (it was okay). There were mussels, clams, pasta, fried shrimp, roast beef, steamed potatoes, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, parmesan crusted fish, etc. as the hot offerings. They were never out of any item (there was no mad rush on the crab legs). I had an unsweet tea and DS had a shirley temple to drink (included). The oreo bonbons were really good. My son had another cookie with sprinkles. The strawberry cheesecake looked beautiful, but it had an artificial strawberry taste.

Basically everything was very good for a seafood buffet, but it was just that, a seafood buffet, nothing "special."

Would I eat here again…probably not unless on DDP and/or staying at a hotel near Boardwalk area (or had some other reason to visit the Boardwalk). I really just rather have a nicely cooked piece of fish served to me (and not travel an hour each way for it!).

Total-$62.81 (1 adult, 1 child)
(2 adult TS, 1 child TS, 10 CS, 9 snacks remaining)

 

[smiths02]

Since we had traveled so long to get to the Boardwalk area, we decided to explore. I am glad we got to come here as it is a neat little area, but I think it would be more fun for adults than families (IMHO).
We stopped at Seashore Sweets and got DS a cherry slush.
Total $3.93 (1 snack credit)
I stopped at a stand nearby and got a Grand Margarita ($9.50)…it was alright.
We then participated in the special 4th of July dance party.
(2 adult TS, 1 child TS, 10 CS, 8 snacks remaining)

 

[smiths02]

After the long trip back to CBR, DH and I got out the glow sticks (we had purchased at the Dollar Tree) and headed for the beach at Martinique to watch the 4th of July fireworks (this was a great view and nice to be out of the crowded parks )

At the CBR poolside bar, I had a Mango Margarita (frozen)...again it was okay $10.25.

DS got a Sour Apple Freeze, which was NOT a snack credit $4.69.

So here I am with all these snack credits and again I buy things that aren't snack credits...seemed like a waste, but I didn't not want to order DS something when I was ordering something.

Total $15.92 (plus tip) OOP

 

[smiths02]

This morning (Tuesday) was supposed to be breakfast at Kona OOP to try Tonga Toast. Since we were up so late the night before and had such a long journey from CBR to Beach Club and had so many CS credits to use...I decided to just cancel Kona b/c it would be silly to get up so early and pay OOP.

Instead, we had breakfast at the CBR food court.

I had the steak & egg quesadilla ($6.19). Pretty decent. And an HonestTea ($3.99).

DS had kid Mickey waffles ($4.39). It was okay, bacon was "Disney" bacon.

This breakfast was fine, but I would not have paid OOP. Since we drive and we ate so many breakfasts already, we didn't need another Mickey waffle. If paying OOP, I would have either kept Kona or just ate snacks in the room.

Total-$15.52 (2 CS)

(2 adult TS, 1 child TS, 8 CS, 8 snacks remaining)

 

[smiths02]

After an exciting morning at Epcot (we were chosen family of the day for the Seas!)...I ran over to Chefs

Despite being 5 minutes late for our ADR, we were seated right away at 1:05 pm

As extras, I ordered the Cocktail des Chefs ($9.75)-very light and refreshing. I ordered DS a Lorina (sparkling lemonade) ($5.50)-it was hot so he enjoyed it (albeit overpriced). Here is a picture of the Cocktail.

I decided to only use 1 adult meal credit for this meal. DS and I shared. This was totally fine, and we were not charged a split plate fee.

For my included drink, I went with unsweetened ice tea ($2.99). Our waitress Emilie was fine, but not "great." The food was brought quickly (rather than paced well), but she was polite and did refill the drinks and get us started quickly I had to ask to bring sweetener for the unsweet tea, I would think that most places

We started off with the baguette that they bring...it was warm, but it was thin and long, so it was crusty (there was some softness on the inside). And it does come with ice cold butter (but, hey, at least it is butter and not margarine)

I ordered the prixe fix menu ($23.99). I stared with the Onion Soup. The cheese on top was done perfectly, but the soup was not as "robust" as I usually expect (like maybe they used some chicken stock instead of all beef or something?). I still liked it. The Croque Monsieur was really good! It is basically just a grilled ham and cheese, but it really hit the spot for lunch. The dessert was the profiteroles with ice cream and chocolate sauce. The pastry and ice cream were just okay, but the chocolate sauce was soooo good...it had the consistency of Hershey's syrup, but it tasted like real semi sweet chocolate was used. Just as we finished dessert, I spotted this guy, so we stayed.

My son was so excited to meet Remy!


I would eat lunch here again, but probably no ice tea if not on DDP.

Total included on DDP $28.73