Two parents, one tween, and SO much good food!

[vinotinto]

Hi there!
What I'd do if I were you is look at where you'll be on that day (for the Signature dinner) and make the most convenient choice -- for me, especially on a short trip, that would be a huge factor. If you'll be in DHS I would definitely feel comfortable recommending Brown Derby. If you'll be at Epcot, I'd go with Yachtsmans Steakhouse at YC -- I haven't gotten to that review yet but we had a stellar experience there.

The other thing I'll say is that indeed, while our Citrico's experience wasn't great first time around, I'm always willing to give a place another try. I've read other reviews from people who have raved about it, so it's entirely possible we just had an off-night.

As far as food inside MK:
Boy, I am SO looking forward to the completion of the Fantasy Land expansion and the new food options it will bring! If you've got TS credits to use, I'd go with Crystal Palace (we've been very impressed with the quality of the buffet even though we don't usually go for buffet places (except for breakfasts)) or Tony's. I'd say CP has the edge because for us, since we wouldn't be worried about catching all the characters, it would give us the greatest flexibility for getting in and out. If you're looking for CS, we think Columbia Harbor House is the way to go.

Hope that helps, and I'm so glad you're enjoying the reviews!!

Thanks for taking the time to provide some ideas. I'm also SO looking forward to the Fantasy Land expansion and to "Be My Guest." I have booked CP for lunch on our MK day. I think that will work the best. Regarding my dinners, I have my MK and Epcot dinners. The ones that I'm unsure about are the dinners on my two waterpark days (Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach). My DH requested that we do the waterparks this time and I'm humoring him. One of those nights the kids are going to Simba Club and we're going to Jiko. The other night, I currently have Citricos booked just for the adults, but I'm still debating whether we want to leave the kids for the second of a five night stay (it is, after all, a family vacation). I considered the Mouseketeering Club, but it looks lame, and I don't know if I want to drive to the Poly just to drop them there and then have to go get them and then drive to AKL. Sounds like a big hassle. So, again, not sure what we'll do that night.

Anyways, thanks again. Really enjoyed the Yachtsman review.

 

[bleeps]

Crystal Palace

What's sadder than waking up on your last day at WDW? Hmmm. Must be waking up every other day that you're NOT in WDW and don't even have a trip planned....

Anyway.

Our last-morning tradition is an 8:00 breakfast at Crystal Palace, and fortunately for us it has always worked out NOT to be an EMH morning so we get that fabulous experience of walking into an empty park.

Through the magic of the transportation pixie dust that was working for us the whole time, we walked out of our resort that morning and the MK bus was right there. We'd checked out and checked our luggage through to the flight (we aren't DME folks; we go with town car service), and made it to the MK gate at about 7:30.

This enabled us to walk up to the "Breakfast Reservations" turnstyles and be the first people in line to enter the park. As the time approached, and we moved up to the mouth of the train station underpass, the CMs were having people line up behind us. We're not pushers, and if we'd ended up back in the herd I wouldn't have been concerned nor stressed 'cause I know we're all just headed down to check in at CP (or the Castle) anyway, but there we were.

And I, my friends, I was the first guest to enter the MK that morning!

What a rush! Really a fun little element to cap off the whole wonderful trip experience!

I took a few photos as we walked along, but Ken and Dean insisted on heading straight to CP to check in. We did, and were walked right in and seated, first ones of the morning -- just lovely. (They don't seem to be doing Chef of the Day the way they used to; Dean once had that fun treat -- on our first trip in fact -- when we were the first family to be seated for lunch service and as Chef he got a special hat, cupcake, and photo op with all the characters. Or, maybe they gave the opportunity to another family with younger kid(s) that day which would have been fine by us!)

Here's Ken up at the buffet. As a general rule of thumb he avoids buffets, but this one is fairly spectacular. Lots of nice fresh food, chefs standing by to cook omelettes, etc. to order, and the piece de resistance:

Puffed french toast. Now HERE'S a french toast offering that's completely different from what he gets at home and Dean can't wait to get to this stuff. Ken is also addicted, as am I.

I also really, really appreciate the fact that WDW is in Florida, and therefore you get grits on the breakfast buffet. Oh, I do love grits!

Our CM was terrific -- we told her we weren't concerned about seeing all the characters and that we did want to pay our bill right away so we'd be free to go when we were ready. She set us up, and she also made sure I had my coffee carafe right away (please, please don't make me wait for my coffee in the morning!).

The Winne-the-Pooh crew is Dean's favorite, but we'd already had quality time with all of them over at AK. Although checking my photos, I see that we did manage to see them all even though we weren't counting on it.

Note that the things that can make buffet breakfasts take longer than you'd anticipate are getting your bill paid and having all the characters make the round to your table. Settling the bill up front helps, even if you and your kids do want to catch the whole crew of characters.

Those plates I showed you of our food? That was plenty for us -- just one trip through the buffet. $70. Without the dining plan? No way.

Value: Well, I guess if you came really hungry, and didn't have the chance to see the characters elsewhere, you might be able to make the value thing work for you.
Atmosphere: B -- I do love this place.
Service: A -- Even though it's buffet service, our CM was terrific and really took good care of us.
Food: A -- I mean, the stuff here is good and fresh and varied, and that puffed french toast is soooo good!

 

[ThePrincess&TheJohn]

Been loving your review! Tried CP for lunch in January and dying to try it for breakfast next trip (will be on the dining plan)...I love breakfast food AND Pooh characters so it's a dream come true. How exciting to be the first person in MK!

 

[wdwfanatic316]

Just read all of your reviews and really enjoyed them! So glad you decided to write them!

 

[disneyfan61]

We love going to CP. In May we also have an early ADR (8:05) & the park opens at 9:00.

I also ask for the check ahead of time. My 2 boys are 22 & 18 now so we do not need to stick around to see all the characters. We usually do see them though.

Loving all your reviews.

 

[vettegirl]

That toast at CP looks sooo good. Really need to try that place!

 

[kelleigh1]

Love your reviews! Sad to see them end. Can you go back soon so we can have more? ;-)

I love that you provided grades for value, food, etc., but not just the grades but explanations too. I am going to read through these again.

 

[sunshineNJ]

I really enjoyed your reviews!! I may have to rethink some of my adrs.

 

[maiziezoe]

I enjoyed your reviews last year and I enjoyed them again over the past couple days.

Your son is a lot like my 14 year old daughter. All of my kids are adventurous eaters, but she is the only child of mine who ordered Eggplant Parmesan when she was 3 years old... and ate it all. She also HATES to miss school!!

Thanks again for the fantastic reviews!

 

[podsnel]

I have spent the last couple of days reading your reviews- they were WONDERFUL, and I am so glad you took the time to write them! I was especially wondering about the Kouzzina breakfast involving the sweet potato hash- I'm a big fan of that Somoan over there at Kona's, too!! Thanks for filling us in!

 

[bleeps]

Beaches and Cream

Ive been debating about whether or not to include this one; I had included on the list in my initial post because it was on my master list of meals we ate, but we didn't have ice cream and made only the most basic use of the place so I feel like it's a little misleading for people who are expecting a real B&C review.

We had a late afternoon flight for our departure. After our CP breakfast and a wonderful morning in MK, we decided that rather than grabbing CS at the park we should head back to the hotel so that we would be there in plenty of time to get our carry-on things from bell services and meet the town car driver*.

We checked on B&C first and found there was no wait for a table!

Ahhh. Huge, tasty iced teas, and a whole dish full of lemons! As you may have already heard, this place is really tiny. If you look in the mirror that's behind Dean, you can see a CM working at the grill that's behind the long counter (with seating) that runs down the right side of the restaurant.

And so you see we just had hot dogs for lunch. Nicely cooked, though -- not boiled or steamed, and a healthy (?) portion of crispy fries. Fast, simple, and just what we wanted.

Much to our collective disappointment, we just couldn't handle ice cream -- by this point, just too food-ed out from the trip.

I don't know how I would re-design it, but somehow I wish there could be more flexibility on the way they structure their dining plans. I appreciate the point is for Disney to make money, and to have offerings that aren't too complicated for guests to understand (or for the restaurants to deliver).

I do feel that the existence and popularity of the plans has allowed them to push food prices higher, and certainly the menus and meals are more streamlined than they were when we first started coming to the parks 8 years ago. But that said, the plan still works for us and we still do go on these trips partly for the great meals -- and we were not disappointed.

Thank you once again to all of you who've read these, and especially to those who have taken the time to comment! I look forward to hearing about YOUR dining adventures on your trips!!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Great reviews!! I'm so sad they're over though.

 

[mrmdisneyfl]

Thank you for sharing! Great reviews!

 

[Mum from oz]

Just wanted to say I loved your reviews. Great photos too.

 

[solgent]

Excellent reviews. Informative & fun to read & look at!

I like what you said in your first post, that you don't go to find fault but to find fun. Lovely way of putting it. We try to cultivate the same attitude. No matter what happens, we can have a good time because we're together and often it's the mishaps that make the best stories!

I hope you can start booking your next trip soon!

From a fellow New Englander

 

[bleeps]

. No matter what happens, we can have a good time because we're together and often it's the mishaps that make the best stories!

Exactly! The other thing I find myself saying to Ken and Dean from time to time is that since we know we'll look back and laugh about (whatever's happened) someday, we might as well just laugh about it now!

We don't expect the pile of snow in our yard to disappear completely until June; hope winter's a little less tenacious in your neck of NE! Thanks for your comments~~

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I have just devoured your reviews in a single sitting. Truly great reviews - photos, descriptions, writing style, everything! Thank you so much for sharing them!

I want you to book another trip too just so we'll get another set of reviews! On the one hand, you must be so proud of Dean for loving school so much and being so disciplined that he doesn't want to miss even two days. But on the other...

Hope you're able to find a way to get away and F&W would certainly be a great time to do it. I'm sure you would all love it!

 

[lilandvisma]

Really enjoyed reading your reviews!!!

 

[Satchmo128]

Thank you so much for your positive reviews of Corral Reef and San Angel! Those are two restaurants that I really want to try on our coming November trip, but I've always been wary (especially of San Angel) from some of the reviews I have heard. I think we are going to make ADR's for both once we are able to.

Also, I'm LOVING your reviews and all of the pictures - thanks for sharing!

 

[bleeps]

Thank you so much for your positive reviews of Corral Reef and San Angel! Those are two restaurants that I really want to try on our coming November trip, but I've always been wary (especially of San Angel) from some of the reviews I have heard.

It's hard, isn't it? I, too, devour reviews here and wonder, and second-guess, and work so hard to try to make the very best choices so we have the very best vacation experience. I think what I've learned over the years is that as long as the menu looks interesting and the location is right, I'm willing to give a place a try. Any person's experience on any given day can be *negative* for so many reasons, and someone else's can be positive -- you just never know!

I do hope you enjoy both places, as well as your entire WDW vacation, and thanks for leaving such a kind note!