Some Dining Plan reviews for 9/23-10/2

[liquid]

We ate so much food, and most of it was quite good! We shared several meals so we could stretch our credits, which worked very well for our TS meals but was unnecessary for our CS meals - we had several unused credits when we left! Some restaurants were very careful about kids credits and adult credits (Biergarten, Prime Time) and some didn’t care what or how we ordered (Le Cellier, Rose and Crown). My comments will be in chronological order so I don't forget any meals.

Oh - I should introduce us!
My husband, Me, K (dd14), S (dd12), H (dd turning 7) and B (ds5)

9/23
CRT for dinner - lovely. We had about a 20 m. wait, but Cinderella was in the lobby for a bit so we were happy! Our waiter was fine and dinner was very good, especially the filet of beef. The Slipper dessert was a big hit, though it did look a little better than it tasted. We had a table near the window and were able to see parts of Wishes – it was a nice addition to our meal!

9/24
Old Port Royale (food court at the Caribbean Beach) for breakfast – not bad. Food court type food with a large selection, and much of it was tasty.

Cosmic Rays for lunch – very crowded, excellent burgers. The sugar-free brownie was better than I expected.

Liberty Tree for Dinner – great meal. Delicious food, charming atmosphere and plenty of time with the characters made for a wonderful dinner. I was expecting Boston Marketish food, but it was better. The gravy and stuffing were exceptionally good! Chip and Dale were hysterical and we just loved Minnie’s outfit!

9/25
OPR for breakfast

Le Cellier for lunch – marvelous. I was expecting the service to be snooty but everyone was just wonderful. Delicious soups, wonderful breads, great potatoes, tender steaks, fabulous desserts; my husband was impressed! S wanted a moose dessert and they gave her one, even though it wasn’t on the adult menu.

OPR for dinner

9/26
OPR for breakfast

Prime Time Café for lunch – delicious! Our server didn’t get into it much but we witnessed some fun antics at other tables. We all loved the great mashed potatoes, fried chicken, pot roast and sundaes.

We split up for dinner. I took the younger ones back to the pool and dinner at OPR while my husband took K and S to the Sci Fi. They paid OOP for this meal and just had appetizers and shakes. When asked, K and S say the food was good and the cars and movie clips were a lot of fun.

9/27
OPR for breakfast

Just snacks for lunch

Shutters for dinner – very nice. We enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and the excellent service. Oh – the food was pretty good too! We especially liked the prime rib and garlic mashed potatoes and my husband loved the French Toast Bread Pudding.

This is getting long, so I'll post the rest later...

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reviews ~ Thanx for posting.

 

[fizz13]

Great reviews. I love the pot roast at Prime Time, very yummy and tender. Will look out for the rest later,

Claire xx

 

[liquid]

Here's the rest...

9/28
Storybook Princess Breakfast at Restaurant Akershus in Norway – very nice. The food was fine, especially the potatoes, and our waiter was cheerful about bringing us more fruit. We met Jasmine, Mulan (who was exceptional!), Snow White, Belle and Aurora. We were celebrating my daughter’s 7th birthday and they brought her a birthday card signed by all the princesses, as well as a birthday cookie. H had plenty of room for it, as she was so excited about the princesses that she barely ate her breakfast! The restaurant was charming.

Snacks for lunch

Crystal Palace for dinner – all right. We waited about 20 m. Yes, the food was good, but it was just tooooo crowded. My husband and I felt rushed but all the children were quite happy! H got another birthday card, signed by Pooh and friends, and a birthday cupcake. I think I was disappointed because I remember the CP fondly from our honeymoon as a relaxing, lovely place and it all seemed so different.

9/29
Supercalifragilistic Breakfast at 1900 Park Fair for a very late breakfast – wonderful. We were all very tired so I decided to cancel our plans (we were going to a water park) and remembered this restaurant. I thought it would be a good idea for a relaxing day and I was thrilled to get a last minute reservation. The buffet was delicious and the character interaction was very relaxed. Maybe I felt this way because we were there so late and it was quite empty??? We never felt rushed and we were all glad we went. Mary Poppins was in the lobby (though she did come into the restaurant later, admonishing K for her elbows being on the table and then complimenting us on our polite children -she was *very* Mary Poppins-ish!) and Pooh, Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter came to our table a few times.

No lunch – we were still stuffed!

Biergarten for dinner – great food, great fun. We had a 15m. wait. My husband is German-American and he especially enjoyed the meal and ambiance – Hoy, Hoy, Hoy!! Meeting the other couple at our table was especially nice. My younger ones danced more than they ate, but the rest of us tucked in. Sauerbraten, schnitzel, spaetzle and a good apple strudel with vanilla sauce – mmmm….. My husband ordered the German Beerflight (4 different beers, 6oz. each) which was a big hit!

9/30
Just snacks for breakfast – we weren’t hungry.

We split up for lunch today. Dad took K, S and B to Chef Mickeys for a late breakfast and I took H to CRT for the Princess lunch. B told me that Chef Mickeys was “awesome” and my husband reports that the buffet was even better than the one at 1900 Park Fair. CRT was, well, awesome! The appetizers were delicious, the Major Domo Pie was fabulous and H actually ate half of her baked pasta! We met Belle, Snow White, Aurora, Cinderella and Mary Poppins, who was in her white dress and not as MPish as the one we had met the day before. It was surprisingly relaxed – our waiter was Sir Mark and he was very nice! We had decided to celebrate H’s birthday again (it is Disney, right!!!) and this time she received a Magical Moment Certificate, signed by all the princesses as well as a birthday cupcake.

We split up for dinner as well – the little ones were tired so Dad took them to the pool and they had pizza at OPR. K, S and I went to Downtown Disney and had a great meal at the Earl of Sandwich, with one Frenchy, 2 Caesar salads and 3 big cookies.

10/1
Main Street Bakery for breakfast – high-carb! No eggs here, just bagels and banana breads and blueberry muffins!

The Whispering Canyon Café for lunch – great meal. Not as much fun as I had hoped, but our server did throw stuff at us and sat with us for a bit every time he came by and we did get to do the hokey-pokey! We didn’t get the skillet as we thought we weren’t that hungry but we ended up eating every bite! The chicken sandwich and apple caramel pie were the big hits.

Just snacks for dinner

10/2
We split up for breakfast – my husband and S at the Main Street Bakery and the rest of us at OPR.

Pinocchio Village Haus for lunch – wonderful! The fresh basil made the turkey panini sooo tasty and the kids thought the pizza was pretty good. Surprisingly, the cannolis were fresh and quite yummy!

The Rose and Crown for dinner – just right! My husband told me that his steak was almost as good as the ones he had at Le Cellier and the girls and I devoured the cottage pie. The apple crumble was very good and the Chocolate Guinness cake was just divine! We sat right above the terrace and had a perfect view of Illuminations - B went a little wild over the fireworks!

Let’s see what else I can say…

Best all around meal – Le Cellier
Best entrée – Filet at LeC
Best appetizers – CRT lunch. I don’t know exactly what they were but they were fabulous!
Best dessert - Chocolate Guinness cake at The R&C

I don't know how I feel about the Dining Plan. Sure, it saved us a huge amount of money but it did make our trip more stressful than I would have liked. Being tied down to all those ADRs was difficult and eating all that food actually made us tired! Then again, it was a huge pleasure, eating at the sort of restaurants we haven't been able to afford since we had our children and I stopped working - each meal was a special treat! I think I will just think of the meals as long *attractions*, as that focuses on the specialness!

Boy, this is long! Thanks for reading!

 

[Viki]

Great review, thank you for posting it. We, too, like the Rose and Crown and we're looking forward to trying the Crystal Palace for the first time in Dec (I'm a great Hundred Acres Wood fan).

 

[Steffy]

Thanks for sharing. Great reviews.

I think of meals as in-park rest time. We didn't intend to do Disney commando style, but did. We truly only used the room for showering and sleeping. No kids, no naps, no pool time, just get up, get to a park, have breakfast or lunch, ride, ride, ride, eat, rest, ride, ride, watch, watch, watch.... last fireworks show, stand in long line for bus or shop.

We loved the dp.

 

[liquid]

A little update -

My husband went through all of our receipts and the grand total for the *free* dining plan meals was $2,237.98. Not as much as I thought it would be!

We also spent $267.78 in cash, for food at the airport, a few OOP meals (the SciFi, some kids meals), a few alcoholic beverages, some extra tips and Chinese take-out our first evening back at home.