Three years of Free Dining - no wonder I'm Pooh sized!

[undertheseas]

Ahhhh, Disney in early September..... Full of hurricane threats, free diners and low crowds, no wonder this is our favorite time to visit the World!

Here's the rundown on the cast and a little disclaimer:

DD – 10 years old but tiny for her age. We had to pay for an adult ticket for her and therefore she is an adult for the dining plan but some nights DS ordered the adult meal and she ordered off the kids’ menu because she’s so picky.

DS – turning 8 shortly after our vacation and big for his age, he’s a few inches and 15 pounds heavier than his sister. He’s a good eater and will try new foods.

DH – 41 and an adventurous eater who loves seafood, he's very patient with his family's obsession with all things Disney.

Me – 29+ who wants to be a foodie. I spent way too much time researching the food boards, checking the food porn thread, and scrutinizing the menus.

Note I did not include our tips in these reviews, we generally wrote down the food total as soon as we got the first ticket and didn't think to include the tip. I also didn't keep very good track of snack credits. I did try to take a lot of photos but for some reason I'm lacking a lot of counter service meals. We had early ADRs for most nights (from 4:30 to 5:30) so as to avoid longer waits and this helped with getting faster and better service, usually when we left the restaurants were very crowded.

 

[undertheseas]

Day One – Friday, August 29

This year it was harder to get ready for the trip, things at work were crazy and then my aunt died a few days before we left. I felt bad missing the funeral but we did get to attend the visitation the night before we left. That made for a long day to go to Illinois and then drive to Saint Louis. We stayed with SIL and she was so sweet to get up at 5:30 so we could make our 8:00 flight. We arrived at Port Orleans French Quarter around 12:30 and our room was not ready so we ate at Sassagoula Floatworks hoping that would give them time to finish the room.

Sassagoula Floatworks
DD and DS shared a pepperoni pizza, powerade and DD had a brownie and DS had chocolate cake. DH had a chicken wrap, vitamin water and beignets. I had the muffaletta and chocolate milk. The pizza was OK, the typical Disney pizza. The cake and brownie weren’t very good, too much icing and lacking in flavor. DH thought the chicken wrap was decent. The muffaletta was good but would have been better with less of the olive tapenade on it, the beignets were wonderful! Light, airy and great. $41.72 or 3 counter service meals.

Off we went to the Magic Kingdom. Since it was Labor Day weekend we didn't have any expectations on how much we might be able to get done, we just did any ride that we wanted if the lines were too long. And really we did get to do a lot. Usually Cosmic Ray's is our first restaurant of a trip but since we were killing time at the resort and ate there, we had to settle for dinner. As often as we have eaten there we've never sat in the room with Ray and the kids were really into it.

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café
DD had a chicken and ribs combo with chocolate cake and chocolate milk, DS had the kids’ chicken salad with carrots, chocolate pudding and orange soda. DH and I split the chicken and ribs combo, carrot cake and iced tea. The chicken was good, a little on the dry side but still good, the ribs were fattier this year and tougher too. DS’s salad was good with lots of chicken. The chocolate cake was a lot like the one at Sassagoula, bad! The carrot cake however was light and tasty, too much icing for my taste but DH thought it was fine. $46.59 or 3 counter service credits

 

[undertheseas]

We spent the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios (I still can't get used to that name) and ate lunch at Pizza Planet.

Toy Story Pizza Planet
2 cheese pizzas, one with apple juice and one with sprite, two chocolate chip cookies, one pepperoni pizza with a soda and rice krispie treat, one veggie pizza with coke and a sugar cookie. All of the pizzas were fine except for my veggie, it was really greasy and the veggies didn’t taste fresh at all. The cookies were so doughy, I couldn’t eat it. DH loves Disney’s rice krispies though. Approx. $50 or 4 credits

As we were leaving it began to rain and continued to rain off and on all day due to an outer band of Hurricane Gustav. Dinner was at Sci Fi and surprisingly we've never eaten here. I love Primetime 50s but DH wanted a change and with my fried herbed cheese gone, it didn't look as appealing so it was time to try Sci Fi.

Sci Fi
DD ordered the shrimp pasta minus the feta, black olives, etc so basically just shrimp, pasta and artichokes and she still didn’t like it. She also had the lemonade and chocolate tart which she said was good but just picked at it.

DS had the kids’ mac and cheese which he did not like at all, salad, coke and chocolate shake for dessert.

DH split his ribs with me which were better than Cosmic Ray’s but still not great, a strawberry shake and the cheesecake.

I had the shrimp pasta (as is on the menu and it was pretty good but we didn’t have nearly as many artichokes as DD, maybe because that was all she had on hers), cherry coke and the apple crisp ala mode.

The apple crisp was good but not outstanding.

Over all the food was disappointing but the atmosphere was great and our server Ryan was excellent. $102 or 4 table service credits

When we came back out rain was still threatening so we went back to the resort for ice cream and an early bedtime. Yeah like we needed more dessert but hey, it's vacation!

 

[undertheseas]

Up and at ‘em at the ungodly hour of 5:45 on vacation so we could eat at Kona. The front desk had told me two different times for the first breakfast bus, 6:15 and 6:45. We arrived at the bus stop at 6:40 where other people had been waiting for a while. The first bus to the MK didn’t arrive until 7:05 (there was one for DHS and Animal Kingdom before the MK). We ran to the monorail and arrived at the Polynesian 5 minutes late for our 7:30 Advanced Dining Reservation.

Kona
DD had a strawberry banana smoothie and split the Tonga Toast with DS who had the orange passion fruit smoothie. The orange passion fruit was really great although the strawberry banana was OK. The kids did not like the Tonga Toast and I can’t say I did either. It wasn’t bad, just too sweet for our liking.

DH had the blueberry pancakes which he said they were fine but kind of dry and you can order those anywhere at home.

I ordered the Big Kahuna and gave the sausage to DS, the bacon to DD, and some of the eggs to the kids. The eggs were weird, they were supposed to be scrambled but they were runny and buttery tasting. Ick! The ham I thought tasted sweet and DH said tasted watery, neither of us could eat it. The potatoes were good but we were too full to eat them. The absolute best though was the pineapple macadamia nut pancakes. They were light, airy, sweet and delish! My only complaint was that there was a LOT of butter on them and I wish I would have ordered it on the side. But I happily scraped most of it off and chowed down.

DH and I shared a press pot which was fabulous, it makes me want to buy some Kona coffee and a press pot for home.

Next time I’d skip the Big Kahuna and go just for the pineapple pancakes, the ones with the Big Kahuna are pretty small. $52.23 Out of pocket


After a very filling breakfast we rode the monorail to Epcot and decided to skip Mission: Space because of the full tummies, we rode Test Track, Soarin, the clam shells and watched Turtle Talk before the dolphin show. Soarin had a 20 minute wait and M:S had 40 minutes. We started the World Showcase with China. By the time we got to Norway we knew we’d eat a snack to hold us over until dinner so we tried school bread and an almond pretzel.

The pretzel was really good, we all liked it. I have to say I wasn't as taken with the school bread as I had thought I would be. It was really rich and too much for one person, since no one else in my family likes coconut (I know, they're weird) most of it went into the trash.


We continued through the countries ending in Canada with dinner at Le Cellier. This is a must-do on our trips! DS calls it "the place with the really good bread" and asked me about hundred times before the trip if we were eating at "the place with the really good bread" again.

Le Cellier
DS had the kids’ meal with the cheddar cheese soup, a hot dog with fries and an ice cream sundae. Really Canadian food, eh? The soup was really good and that’s all I can say about his meal.

DD had the NY strip, chocolate raspberry shake and chocolate mousse. This girl is going to OD on chocolate this trip! The shake was too sweet and had a strong fake raspberry flavor, the mousse looks much cuter than it tastes.

DH had the mushroom filet, Moosehead Pale Ale, iced tea, and crème brulee. The mushroom filet with the risotto was a HUGE hit

I thought DH might lick his plate...oh wait, I think he did!

It was one of his favorite meals this trip. The beer he didn’t care for but I did, LOL! He said the crème brulee was OK except there was too much sugar on top.

I had the NY strip which was super good. It was big, juicy and very tender but the potatoes were under done.

I also had an iced tea, the blue glowtini (which was super sweet but still tasty and I had no problems finishing it!) and cheesecake which had a weird tasting strawberry sauce.

All in all this was another fantastic meal, fantastic value and got a thumbs up from the adults. Apparently we didn’t write this total down but according to All Ears it was around $175-ish.

We waited 20 minutes for Test Track and Maelstrom had a 30 minute wait so we decided just to skip it. We watched Illuminations which was strange without the globe. Hurricane Gustav was headed to Louisiana and although it was cloudy all day it never did anything more than a light mist. The bright side was that it was windy and a lot cooler than this time last year.

That's it for tonight but I have another 6 days to review. Coming up: Wolfgang Puck Express, Captain Jack's and Narcoossee's!

 

[sandybobandy]

More please!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Awesome reviews, bring on more!

 

[Jenvenza]

Great!! Waiting for more!!

 

[John's Mom]

Great reviews and pics!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Enjoying your reviews.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Great reviews and special thanks for your picture of the 'pressed pot' I've been waiting months to work out what one is (we call it a cafetiere over here!)

 

[TigerKat]

I'm excited and ready for more!

 

[HonnyDipp]

Everything looks so good! I can't wait to see more!

 

[undertheseas]

Thanks for all the nice comments! It's nice to know someone is reading this and I like to feel like I'm trying to repay everyone because I learned so much from these boards before I went.


Wolfgang Puck Express
The kids had eaten breakfast in the room and we had an early dinner ADR but we were starving and I love Wolfgang Puck Express. This place is so great, and did not disappoint. The kids split a kid’s cheese pizza, a drink and what was supposed to be frozen yogurt but we got a cookie for both desserts when the food came and I didn’t feel like arguing. The kids loved the pizza!

DH and I split a 4 Cheese and Pesto pizza and I have to say it was probably the best pizza ever.

I love the light, airy crust, the cheeses are fabulous, the pesto tasted so fresh! Heaven I tell you! We got a cookie too which was OK. And the tropical iced tea is so refreshing, I love it. I think I had 3 glasses! 244 thumbs up. $29.87 or 2 counter service credits


Captain Jacks
DD had the kids' mac and cheese (which was gross), ordered salad but they brought clam chowder which I ate and it was really good, and a berry smoothie.

DS ate the same adult meal here that DH and I had, the twin lobster tails. Oh my, they were great!

The rice pilaf was shockingly bad but the green beans were crisp and seemed fresh. DS and DH had the key lime pie which was really good but the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake was delicious! (Sorry, I tried to remember photos before we started eating but I forgot here)

This place was a pleasant surprise. $135.70 or 4 table service credits

 

[undertheseas]

Pinocchios Haus
Another fun day at the MK! The kids like eating here because they spend the whole time waving at the IASW riders and I liked the Figaro Fries. DS had pepperoni pizza, soda and chocolate cake. DH had the chicken nuggets and fries, soda and strawberry cheesecake. DD had cheese pizza, lemonade, and strawberry yogurt. I had the Caesar chicken salad, iced tea, strawberry cheesecake and a snack credit of fake Figaro fries. The pizza was OK I guess and I thought that the cheesecake was icky but DD ate mine. The salad was just OK, I should have just stuck with the fries. I poured the ranch on myself and missed the tomatoes, the bacon had a really strong flavor.

We won’t eat there again. Unless the kids really want to sit and wave at IASW riders and then we’ll have to stick with a fake Figaro snack and eat a meal somewhere else. $58.66 and a snack



Narcoossee’s
This is our third trip to Narcoossee's and it's always been great. DS had the kid’s fruit cup, baked fish, and a brownie sundae. That fruit was so fresh and delicious! I wanted a cup too.

The fish was a tad overdone and pretty plain I thought. DD had the whole lobster and kids’ smores.

DH and I shared calamari and a raspberry mojito.

The raspberry mojito was incredible and DH said it was a little too good, it went down too easily. Even the raspberries in it were delish and I tried to scoop them out (nice table manners!) The calamari was mostly rings this time, we like the bodies better, they are less chewy.

The bread had a weird twang to it. I know that sounds strange that bread would have a twang but it did and I read another review here that someone else thought it tasted off too. The butter with the Hawaiian sea salt was wonderful, I just wish there was better bread to eat the butter with.

DH had the whole lobster and it must have been good, he never offered to share!

I had the surf and turf and almond cheesecake. The surf and turf was good but not as good as the last two years, the sauce on the steak was a little off and the lobster wasn’t as sweet. I wouldn’t say I was unhappy with the dish but I was a little disappointed. I asked to switch the potatoes and these mashed potatoes were wonderful.

DH had creme brulee. Again. He said it was good but too much sugar on top again.

I had my all-time favorite dessert here, the almond cheesecake! It tasted the same as last year and oh so good! I thought there was no way I could finish it but I sure did. Absolutely the best desert in the whole World!

$249.89 without the tip or 8 table service credits

 

[undertheseas]

Sassagoula Floatworks
After a magical morning at the AK where we won fast passes, we went back to the resort to shower before heading back out. We stopped here for a quick bit. DD had the turkey sub, a drink and chocolate cake. The sandwich seemed fine, she didn’t like the homemade potato chips and the cake is still that overly rich overly frosted cake. DS had the muffaletta, drink and shake. I tried to tell him that he wouldn’t like the olive tapenade that was on the sandwich but he didn’t believe me. Once we scraped that off then he liked the sandwich a lot. DH and I split the Philly cheese steak, drink and carrot cake. The cheese steak was good but kinda greasy, I love Disney fries I just wish there was cheese sauce like at Pecos Bill’s. $42.90 or 3 counter service meals

Boma
We had an early ADR here (5:00) and it was already packed with long lines. I have to say I was really disappointed in this meal. I think I’m a pretty adventurous eater but I didn’t find a lot of new things here that I enjoyed.

The ribs were good but it was hard to find a lot of good meat that wasn’t dried out. The kids did try a few things but pretty much stuck to the macaroni and American food. My surprise hit for the night was the grapefruit, avocado, papaya salad. I never in a million years would have put those flavors together but I really enjoyed it. The salmon was decent, the fruit was all fresh. The hummus was super, I really enjoyed those but they were kind of hidden down by the desserts. I tried 3 of the soups but I didn’t like any of them but DH liked the seafood soup with mussels and couscous. None of us fell in love with zebra domes either, I guess we’re just weird. The coconut tirasmu stuff was good but I was the only one to eat it. I let the kids try desserts that contained alcohol if they were interested in them but I just limited how much they had. Then DS kept saying I let him have alcohol, I was scared someone would overhear and believe him LOL! $100.07 or 4 table service credits


Coming up: Sunshine Seasons, Chefs de France, Pecos Bill's, Grand Floridian Cafe, and Coral Reef

 

[patches07]

Great!! Waiting for more!!

 

[luckytobeme88]

I hope I am not too late to join in.

 

[frdeb1999]

Love the honest review and pics!! Waiting for more!

 

[undertheseas]

Thank you so much for your kind words!

We had planned to have lunch at Epcot but we got hungry early and since we were in the hood, we stopped for Dole Whips. I like vanilla soft serve with pineapple juice, the pineapple soft serve is too sweet for me but the kids love it. DH sticks with rootbeer floats.

Sunshine Season Fair
DS and DH had ham sandwiches, powerades and a chocolate mousse cake and strawberry shortcake. The sandwiches here are good, heavy on the onions but I like onions. DD had the kids chicken drumstick meal, chocolate milk and ate my fruit tulip because she didn’t like the kids’ dessert choices. I had the Asian meal and chocolate milk. The spicy chicken was good, the beef had a weird flavor. I like that they have a lot of choices here but nothing is really outstanding. Apparently I only took one photo too. $51.87 or 4 counter service credits

Chefs de France
DH has been waiting for a year to eat here again and especially to have the escargot again so we paid out of pocket for this.

DH said it was different than last year’s but it was still good. I thought it was good but the chewy texture keeps me from eating more of them. I was so surprised that the kids tried it too! They didn’t gag but they didn’t love it either. DS and I love the garlic, wine, parsley, butter sauce and we kept soaking our bread in it after DH ate the escargot. DD had the kids’ salad, chicken with pasta, and ice cream. It looks plain and too boring to me but she loves it.

DS ordered the adult meal here and had the lamb, soda, and profiterolles. The lamb was so tender, had a great rich flavor and was very very good. I also liked the ratatouille vegetables, the tomatoes tasted garden fresh.

DH had the shrimp and scallops, iced tea and a dessert that I don’t see on All Ears but it was a tart with rhubarb and strawberries topped with a strawberry sorbet. He really enjoyed the scallops that were prepared perfectly and he also loved the rice that accompanied it.

I had the salmon, tea and the same strawberry rhubarb tart. I had the salmon last year with the red pepper sauce and potatoes and I was really disappointed in it but this year it comes with cabbage, apples and corn that I thought was different and not in a bad way. I wasn't crazy about it but it was good.

The dessert was OK, again nothing I was in love with but it was fine.

Total $148.47 or 4 table service credits

 

[undertheseas]

Hurrican Hanna stopped by for a visit and of course we had non-refundable tickets to MNSSHP. We got so lucky that it only rained off and on from about 12:30 until 6:00 and then it cleared up for a great party.

Pecos Bill’s
DD had the taco salad, water and strawberry yogurt. DD picked at her salad, I tried to tell her she wouldn’t like it but she wouldn’t believe me. I don’t think it was bad, she just doesn’t really care for hamburger cooked in taco sauce. DS had the Bacon double cheeseburger, lemonade, and chocolate cake. I can’t believe he ate almost the whole thing, that was a huge burger! DH had the bacon double cheeseburger as well along with a diet coke and chocolate cake. He liked his burger with the sautéed mushrooms but missed the cheese sauce and I couldn’t convince him to go back to get some. I had the hamburger with fries, coke and chocolate cake. I love Pecos Bill because of the fixings bar. I loaded up on the sautéed onions on my burger and on my fries too, which I had coated in cheese. Why can’t all the restaurants have cheese sauce and sautéed onions? The menu had carrot cake and I was hoping it was like Cosmic Ray’s but all they had was chocolate cake. I’m so sick of that stupid chocolate cake we saw everywhere! $53.55 or 4 counter service credits


Grand Floridian Café
DD had the kids chicken noodle soup, steak and worms in dirt.

She liked the soup, complained the steak wasn’t good. DS had the adult’s salmon and sorbet. The salmon was really good and his asparagus was super.

DH had the KY strip, chocolate hazelnut cake and key lime pie, café au lait with vanilla.

I had the NY strip, tiramisu, key lime pie and café au lait. The steaks here were not good. Nothing I’d complain about to management but compared to Le Cellier and Coral Reef, they were tough and just didn’t have a good flavor. I had booked this when the surf and turf with lobster scampi that was removed by the time free dining started. Now the desserts, well let me tell you that eating here is worth it for the desserts alone. First of all a coffee was included with free dining and it was really a nice night to have it because Hurricane Hanna was knocking at the door and it rained through part of dinner. Any other night would have been too hot to enjoy it. With free dining you could pick two of the mini desserts. DH ordered key lime and tiramisu but then I did too so he changed his tiramisu to the chocolate-hazelnut mousse cake. He loved both desserts, I wish I would have ordered two of the tiramisu. Not that the key lime pie (which had a chocolate crust) was bad but the tiramisu was just that good. Mama Melrose, take note of this recipe!

$148.34 or 4 table service credits