We ate HOW much?? 10 days of total gluttony at WDW, with pics! UPDATE 9/2/12!

[bangzoom6877]

Hello my friends! I’m back to share my review of Yachtsman Steakhouse!
We had a 5:50pm ADR for dinner at Yachtsman. This was the first time we were going to a Disney signature restaurant and we were excited! Eric always enjoys some steak, and steak is Philip’s favorite food! I love it too, and Jonathan can take it or leave it.

We left BWV at 5:20 and took a leisurely stroll over to the Yacht Club Resort. At first I couldn’t find Yachtsman Steakhouse (only Captain’s Grille), so I asked a CM at the front desk of the resort where there was no line. He directed us to go through the hall to the right of Captain’s Grille and follow it around. We checked in about 15 minutes early for our ADR, and we were sat within 5 minutes.

Our server’s name was Eric! He was very nice, but the one person who stood out here was the chef, Daniel. He took such wonderful care of Philip and went out of his way to accommodate him. I’m planning to write a letter to Disney very soon, and to mention how attentive and wonderful he was with our family. I love writing letters like that for people who do their jobs so well!

Daniel said that the children’s steak would be fine for Philip, but said the fries were not OK for him because of cross contamination with shellfish. Philip was a little disappointed, but he is used to this at some restaurants we frequent at home too. He asked if they had plain rice but they only had lobster risotto so that was not good for him. They did not have broccoli either, his next choice. The chef offered him some corn, and Philip’s face lit up! He also said that he would make him some roasted potatoes and they would taste like fries. He was just so nice to him and so patient and attentive. We were very impressed!
Eric ordered one of the Sam Adams beers, and I ordered a glass of white zinfandel. Eric also brought us some bread, butter, and fresh roasted garlic. The pull-apart onion rolls were the best! They tasted like they already had butter in them, and they were even better with some of the roasted garlic, which spread so easily and melted in your mouth. The regular rolls were great with the roasted garlic too. Here are a couple of pics:

Eric and I decided to each order an appetizer ad split them, and to share a large entrée and add one side. This turned out to be plenty of food for us. He ordered the Charcuterie Board, which had different types of meat, and I ordered the Caesar salad. The charcuterie was delicious. Each meat had a unique flavor and was very tasty. Accompaniments went perfectly with everything too, and we found that everything given was a generous portion for an appetizer. The Caesar salad was not a tossed traditional one, but the romaine hearts were whole so had to be eaten with a fork and knife. It was also not overloaded with dressing, which I like…I don’t like my salad drowning in dressing, I like just enough to give it flavor and complement it. There was also fresh shaved parmesan cheese, some prosciutto underneath, and freshly made croutons. This was a very delicious Caesar salad. Eric was laughing and making fun of the structure of it. He was like, “It’s a lazy Caesar salad! They couldn’t cut your lettuce for you?!” Ahh, Eric…always good for a laugh. We laughed together but we both enjoyed the salad very much. Here are pics of our appetizers:

For dinner, Eric and I shared the porterhouse steak (it was either 24 or 28 ounces, on the bone), which came with herb seasoned fries. We also ordered an extra side…creamed spinach. We both prefer our steak medium rare, and it was perfectly cooked! The strip side of the porterhouse was very flavorful and still had enough tenderness to it that made it the perfect combination of both flavor and texture. The filet side just melted as soon as you bit into it! Also delicious, and just perfect. The steak had some sort of seasoned butter on top which made it even more decadently delicious. The fries were very good at first, nice and crisp too. But as we got further into them, they tasted very salty. It was a very large portion and we stopped eating them when they became too salty for us. The creamed spinach was amazing. It was made with fresh spinach, was not mushy at all (Eric doesn’t like mushy spinach), and was rich and flavorful. Here’s a pic of the portion of steak I took for myself, plus the fries and some of the spinach I took:

I didn’t get to take pics of the boys’ food. I don’t remember exactly what Jonathan ordered, but I know it wasn’t steak. It must have been mac and cheese or chicken nuggets or something like that for sure. Philip eats his steak medium well, and it was cooked exactly the way we asked. Chef Daniel brought him out a FULL portion of corn, the same size as an adult’s side portion! And Philip enjoyed the roasted potatoes, and said, “These taste just like Mommy’s special fries!” I make roasted potatoes at home and call them ‘Mommy’s special fries’! Hey, whatever works to make my kids eat something a little healthier works for me! Philip enjoyed his meal very much. I took a bite of his corn and it was delicious. I can tell it was corn that was grilled on the cob, and then cut from the cob. It was well seasoned, and very tasty.

We were way too stuffed for dessert. We enjoyed this meal very much and look forward to going to Yachtsman Steakhouse again on our next trip! We are so happy to have such a wonderful steakhouse within walking distance of our home resort. This was a terrific first signature restaurant experience at WDW!

This meal for the 4 of us cost $121.78, including tax and gratuity, after the TiW discount. We saved $20.80 off the food cost an $2.80 off the cost of the drinks. Definitely well worth the cost!

Next up: a brief, quick lunch and dinner at Ohana! Stay tuned...

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I'm so happy to hear you had a great meal at Yachtsman. I don't even like steak (and I typically order other things there), but Yachtsman is still one of my favorite Disney restaurants.

 

[bangzoom6877]

I'm so happy to hear you had a great meal at Yachtsman. I don't even like steak (and I typically order other things there), but Yachtsman is still one of my favorite Disney restaurants.

Oh yes, we enjoyed it very much. For Eric, usually he says I should book whatever restaurants I think are good for us, and he doesn't give much input. But Yachtsman is a place he said we definitely have to return to on our next trip. He also says this each time about Kouzzina and Kona. It's great that you find great things to eat there even though you're not a steak person. I'm sure everything there is really good, but I can't picture myself going there and not getting steak!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Oh yes, we enjoyed it very much. For Eric, usually he says I should book whatever restaurants I think are good for us, and he doesn't give much input. But Yachtsman is a place he said we definitely have to return to on our next trip. He also says this each time about Kouzzina and Kona. It's great that you find great things to eat there even though you're not a steak person. I'm sure everything there is really good, but I can't picture myself going there and not getting steak!

Oh, their non-steak choices can be wonderful. Last time my mom got halibut an I got lamb, and they were both incredible. Of course, it's good to see that their steaks are still excellently prepared. Yachtsman, Kona, and Kouzzina are all respectable choices for must-do's

 

[bangzoom6877]

Oh, their non-steak choices can be wonderful. Last time my mom got halibut an I got lamb, and they were both incredible. Of course, it's good to see that their steaks are still excellently prepared. Yachtsman, Kona, and Kouzzina are all respectable choices for must-do's

Oh yes, their steaks are wonderful. MUCH better than Le Cellier was on our 2010 trip in my opinion. Eric and I both agreed that at Le Cellier, the food was way too salty for us. We immediately compared Yachtsman to our experience and Le Cellier, and Eric's words were, "Le Cellier was salted steak but this is steak with some great flavor."

I saw the lamb on the menu and it looked great, and it's funny you mention the halibut because I did point that out on the menu to Eric, saying that it looked really good but I had to order steak there!

I could easily go to Kona twice for dinner and twice for breakfast! And as I said already, I love it that Kouzzina is right there for us, so we can enjoy it as a first night dinner without the hassle of traveling to another area.

 

[PISCESANGEL]

Subbing! Can't wait to read more!!

 

[ljcrochet]

Great review! Can't wait to read the rest.

 

[butiflfeet]

I don't know why I never thought about sharing the porterhouse. Its a huge steak but not for two to share. And the creamed spinach sounds so good!

 

[bangzoom6877]

I don't know why I never thought about sharing the porterhouse. Its a huge steak but not for two to share. And the creamed spinach sounds so good!

Portherhouse is yummy and plenty for 2 to share. We thought it was the best of both worlds...the strip and the filet! Heavenly!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Hello everyone! And here’s my review of Ohana dinner…

We had a 5:20pm ADR for dinner, and I have read that a lot of times people have a long wait at Ohana despite having an ADR. So I knew we had to arrive earlier than ADR time to play it safe (we usually aim for 6pm for dinner). We left the villa at 4:40pm and drove to the Polynesian. I just love that resort so much! We love staying at BWV and it really feels like home, but I told Eric that if they ever build a DVC unit at the Polynesian I would love to stay there. I love the look of it when you walk into the lobby, it’s just beautiful and so exotic looking. Not to mention being able to get Dole Whips any time at Captain Cook’s! I could go on and on, but I’m here to review Ohana!

Anyway, we walked up to Ohana a little after 5pm (the opening time). It didn’t seem all that crowded so that was good. I checked us in and we sat down around our 5:20 ADR time. Excellent!

We were seated and soon our server, Yesenia, greeted us. She explained how the meal works and said the chef would be right out to speak to us about Philip’s allergy. I had noted on our ADR that we were celebrating Jonathan’s graduation from pre-K and she said she would bring him a cupcake. I remember this being much more personal and special for Philip 2 years ago at Disney restaurants when I noted his pre-K graduation on some of our ADRs, than it was for Jonathan on this trip. Eric and I definitely noticed a huge difference, and this was consistent in most places where I had noted it on the ADR.

The chef soon came out and explained that the shrimp are cooked on a separate grill, in a separate area from the meats, and that they are never carried out of the kitchen together with any of the meats. We informed him that we did not want any shrimp. They are peel ‘n’ eat shrimp and we were too nervous about accidentally touching Philip or touching something he might touch. We’re not that crazy about peel ‘n’ eat shrimp anyway (whether warm or cocktail shrimp), so this really was not a big deal to us at all. We were here for the meat, not the shrimp. The chef also informed us that the children’s platter comes with chicken nuggets and French fries but there is cross contamination with a crab cake appetizer they serve in the lounge, which is cooked in the same fryer. So Philip couldn’t eat those things, but he was here for the steak, broccoli and noodles! The chef said that all the traditional foods they serve at Ohana, minus the shrimp of course, were perfectly safe for Philip.

Yesenia soon came back for our drink orders. I ordered a Lapu Lapu, a tropical drink served in a fresh pineapple, and Eric ordered some sort of other tropical drink. Some pics for you:

Our salad was soon brought to our table. It was very good, with a honey lime dressing. I don’t think it deserves the amount of hype I have read about it on the boards, but the dressing was tasty. My boys don’t eat salad and they opted to join in some of the entertainment, including coconut races. However, this was all done on the opposite side of the restaurant so it was not so convenient for us. But the boys did enjoy themselves. A few minutes after the salad came, a man brought us a platter with chicken wings and dumplings, as well as another platter with noodles and vegetables. He also brought the sauces to dip the meats in (sweet & sour, Ohana spicy sauce...not too spicy though, and the third, I want to say was peanut but I forget). He just said what they were and placed them down….not the usual Disney friendly at all. It felt like he was just in a rush to put our food down and move to the next table. The wings were very good and the dumplings were excellent. The noodles were good and so was the vegetables (broccoli with some snap peas and carrot). Here are some pics:

Immediately following the appetizers being brought to our table, Yesenia brought a loaf of bread over. I had also read a lot of rave reviews about this bread. It was OK (it had coconut in it and I like coconut a lot), but not as good as I expected. The bread at Kona is much better, IMHO. I found it to be a little dry at Ohana. I also enjoyed the bread better at our first 2 dinners than at Ohana. But, I don’t go to restaurants for the bread so this was no big deal.

Immediately after Yesenia brought the bread, and VERY shortly after we started eating our appetizers, CMs started to come around with skewers of meat. We started with some pork, then had steak, then chicken…one right after another. Eric and I felt like this meal was being rushed very much, and we would have liked to enjoy our appetizers for a little longer before they came around to ask if we wanted meat. I know we could have declined, but we had never been to Ohana and didn’t know if they would return when we were ready, so we just took the meat as they brought it. Here’s a pic of my plate:

The meats were good, but not great. I liked the steak, but Eric thought it was too well done. It was done medium well, and while I prefer my steak medium rare, I don’t mind it medium well as long as it’s not dry. This was not dry, but Eric didn’t care for it. I thought the pork was tasty, and Eric thought it was good but not great. The chicken was very good, and this was surprisingly Eric’s favorite of the meats. I did enjoy all of the sauces, with the Ohana spicy sauce being my favorite. We both agreed that the best thing about the meal was the drinks and the dumplings. Philip enjoyed his steak very much, along with the noodles and the broccoli. He tried a dumpling and loved it so he had another one. Jonathan ate some of the chicken nuggets and fries, as well as some of the broccoli, noodles and a bite or 2 of steak.

Yesenia kept asking us if we were ready for dessert. We needed a few minutes, so we asked her to come back. Again, we felt very rushed. After a few minutes she came back and we told her we were ready for dessert. I had read about this bread pudding with bananas foster sauce for a very long time, and looked forward to it. Many people say it is their favorite dessert in all of WDW.

Yesenia brought a cupcake for Jonathan, and that made him very happy.

She brought the boys each some vanilla ice cream with Mickey sprinkles, which was very nice, and she brought a small portion of the bread pudding with ice cream and bananas foster sauce for me and Eric. It would have been nice if she would have asked if the boys would like some bread pudding too because there was only enough for me and Eric. She just assumed they wanted plain ice cream with sprinkles, but I thought the boys would love bread pudding with banana. Yes, I could have asked her for some more, but the boys seemed content so I left it alone. The bread pudding was delicious, and I could drink the sauce! The main disappointment was that there were 2 tiny pieces of banana in the sauce. I expected at least a few pieces, not only one tiny piece for each of us. The dessert was delicious, but I wouldn’t classify it as the best dessert I have ever had at WDW. Dessert pics:

This meal cost us $135.16, including tax and gratuity, after the TiW discount was applied. We saved $21.99 off of food and $4.20 off of drinks with the TiW card.

In my opinion, Ohana is completely over-hyped. I think it is just as over-hyped as I thought Le Cellier was on our 2010 trip (and we didn’t return there). The food was good, but not great. We found it way too expensive for what we got, and for feeling so rushed. I know we shared an entrée at Yachtsman, but we paid less there for far superior food. Also, the service could have been better. The best service we received here was from the chef when we first sat down, because he was very informative and took the time to explain any safety issues for Philip’s allergy. Otherwise, we were not impressed with Ohana. The only way we would return here is for the character breakfast because it allows you to see Mickey without having to get up for a buffet and coordinate trips to a buffet with photos (they serve family-style for breakfast too). We are definitely not returning for dinner again. We think Kona Café is far superior to Ohana both in food and service. Was it a bad meal? No. Is it a place that other people might consider their favorite? Absolutely. I am glad we tried it once.

Next up: Plaza Restaurant lunch at MK and a very impressive Disney chef! Stay tuned…

 

[RHMH]

Ohana, Non-Park day and Yachtmans Rest reviews. I was off from Dis for only a day and you were able to do three reports. I was behind, now I am caught up now.

DD did not like the LoMein Noodles and Boy!!! the Grilled Shrimp was tough to peel, but it was YUMMY !! and FUN !!. Will do it again in July 2013. Got to get more Dessert at Ohana's.

 

[canopynut66]

try Beaches and Cream and get the kitchen sink on your next trip for all of you to share. it is wonderful and is so mcuh fun to do at least once. it is a trip must for us each year

 

[bangzoom6877]

Ohana, Non-Park day and Yachtmans Rest reviews. I was off from Dis for only a day and you were able to do three reports. I was behind, now I am caught up now.

DD did not like the LoMein Noodles and Boy!!! the Grilled Shrimp was tough to peel, but it was YUMMY !! and FUN !!. Will do it again in July 2013. Got to get more Dessert at Ohana's.

I'm glad you're all caught up and enjoying my reports! I think on All Ears they have the recipe for the Ohana dessert, so if you want to make it you don't have to wait until next July to have some again!

try Beaches and Cream and get the kitchen sink on your next trip for all of you to share. it is wonderful and is so mcuh fun to do at least once. it is a trip must for us each year

I have always wanted to try Beaches & Cream. I think for the next trip it will be a good idea the day we arrive. Eric and I are talking about going to Tampa again before WDW so we can go to Legoland from there again, and visit with our friends for a couple of days, go to the beach in Clearwater and relax before WDW. So, with only about an hour drive to get to WDW we can leave in the morning, check in at BWV and check the luggage in, and walk over to Beaches & Cream for lunch and a kitchen sink!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Hi there everyone! We have been busy this weekend, but I should have the Plaza Restaurant lunch review done tomorrow! And maybe I will even get California Grill reviewed too! I will be back tomorrow.

 

[bangzoom6877]

And here’s my review of Plaza lunch…

We ended up going to Plaza very early. We had a 12pm ADR, but because of the fastpass return time for Splash, we took a chance and got to Plaza at 11:15. We only waited a few minutes and were seated!

This is a very small but beautiful restaurant, with a beautiful view of the castle. I think this restaurant is overlooked because it is a casual sandwich shop and it is cheap for a Disney restaurant (not a great value on the dining plan I suppose), but it really is gorgeous inside and a terrific place for lunch or a casual dinner.

Once we sat down, our server Carlos said he would send the chef right over because of Philip’s shellfish allergy. Within a couple of minutes Chef Ken came to greet us. He was wonderful, the BEST Disney chef I have ever encountered (and we have met a lot because of Philip’s allergy)! He told us that they did not serve any shellfish at the restaurant so there was none in the kitchen, but that he would still take very good care of Philip, and that he was also going to take great care of his little brother Jonathan. He asked the boys what they like as an appetizer and there was not much that appealed to them on the kids’ menu. So he asked them what kind of fruit they like best and that he would make some Disney magic and get them their favorites. They both said banana. Chef Ken soon came out with a large platter of not only banana, but other fruits as well! He asked me if I would take a pic of him and the boys, so of course I gladly did:

Ken explained to us that his nephew also has a shellfish allergy and it is airborne. Eric told him the story about Cape May Café 2 years ago, when we walked in and had to leave right away because Philip couldn’t take the steam from the crab legs at the buffet. Ken had been a CM at WDW for 30 years! He started working there when he was 19, shortly after graduating high school. We could tell that he loved his job very much, which is a wonderful thing. The boys loved Ken very much…they ate up their fruit and they were having a great time.

Ken took the rest of the boys’ order. Jonathan had a burger, and Philip had a grilled cheese sandwich, which was Mickey-shaped and made him very happy!

Eric had a Philly cheesesteak. He enjoyed this very much. It looked VERY good!

And, I had the veggie sandwich on freshly baked foccaccia. This has hummus, fresh vegetables, fresh mozzarella, and pesto. The combination of flavors was outstanding, and everything tasted extremely fresh. This was a very tasty sandwich and I would get it again in a heartbeat! I had the homemade chips with it which were crispy and very tasty. Not too salty at all, just the right amount of flavor!

When we were finishing up our meals, in walked the fire chief (or sheriff, he called himself something like that!) and said he had a special family of the day and guest of the day. He went over to this one family after calling the name, and named the little boy the special guest of the day. It was very cute and a lot of fun!

Ken asked what the boys would like for dessert. I knew we were going to get some Dole Whips before leaving the park in the afternoon, but I still allowed the boys to get dessert. They each got the Mickeylodeon, which is an upside down ice cream cone with chocolate Mickey ears! Ken allowed each of them to get TWO flavors of ice cream in their dessert! Philip got chocolate ice cream and strawberry ice cream. Jonathan got chocolate ice cream and cookie dough ice cream. Here are pics of their desserts:

We enjoyed Plaza very much. The food was fresh and delicious, the service was impeccable…Carlos made sure we always had drink refills and was very attentive…and Chef Ken was amazing with the boys! It was a nice break from the afternoon heat and took the same hour that a CS lunch takes us at MK when we factor in finding a table, figuring out what we want, ordering and waiting, and sitting down and eating. But this was much more relaxing than a CS and didn’t cost that much more, especially factoring in the TiW discount as an added bonus.

This meal cost us $44.01 including tax and tip, after the TiW discount was applied. We saved $8.53 on this meal by using the TiW card.
We will definitely return to Plaza on our next trip! Perhaps we will go to Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch and Plaza for dinner, and then finally take the boys to see the Electrical Parade! It was a terrific place for a nice lunch or a casual dinner. It is not difficult to get an ADR here and I recommend it to everyone!

 

[CatNipRules]

Signing in!! I love how attentive the chefs are to Phillip's shellfish allergy! I am also allergic to shellfish and sometimes can't tell when and what will set it off. Sometimes I fine being around it being cooked, but other times I have bad reactions!

I love how wonderful the Disney chefs are. I made ADR's for the first time and have my allergy noted on all of them. It's great to see that the chefs really do come out to talk to you!!

Can't wait to read more! Loving the honest and forthright reviews!

 

[Leshaface]

Can't wait for DH to get home from work today to show him your review of Yachtsman. He's still iffy about the place, but I really want to try it and I know my mom will love it because she loves steak!

Ugh, I hate feeling rushed at dinner. Sorry that happened for you guys at Ohana. The drinks looked good though!

I would never think about going to Plaza, but wow! The service sounds amazing, and have to admit, Philip's grilled cheese looks so tasty...might have that for lunch now

 

[Tracerr00]

What a fun review of the Plaza! It's amazing how far good customer service goes. And Chef Ken really sounds like he loves his customers! Both of your sandwiches look great too!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Signing in!! I love how attentive the chefs are to Phillip's shellfish allergy! I am also allergic to shellfish and sometimes can't tell when and what will set it off. Sometimes I fine being around it being cooked, but other times I have bad reactions!

I love how wonderful the Disney chefs are. I made ADR's for the first time and have my allergy noted on all of them. It's great to see that the chefs really do come out to talk to you!!

Can't wait to read more! Loving the honest and forthright reviews!

You have absolutely nothing to worry about with your food allergy! Just be aware though, if you are going to Cape May Cafe for dinner, they steam the crab legs right on the buffet and this is very obvious as soon as you walk into the restaurant. I always reminded the host/hostess that we had a shellfish allergy in our party and they always told me that they saw it on the reservation. Our ticket they gave us when they seated us was also stamped in red with allergy, so the server was aware that we needed to speak to the chef. WDW is definitely a place I feel very comfortable taking Philip because I know they handles things very carefully. I think this is truly amazing, given that they really feed the masses!

Can't wait for DH to get home from work today to show him your review of Yachtsman. He's still iffy about the place, but I really want to try it and I know my mom will love it because she loves steak!

Ugh, I hate feeling rushed at dinner. Sorry that happened for you guys at Ohana. The drinks looked good though!

I would never think about going to Plaza, but wow! The service sounds amazing, and have to admit, Philip's grilled cheese looks so tasty...might have that for lunch now

I definitely think your mom will love Yachtsman! Eric and I also love steak and we thought it was amazing. Definitely going back next time! And we weren't crazy about Le Cellier in 2010...we thought the food was way too salty. Not the case at all at Yachtsman, and the beef is very flavorful, tender, and they cooked the steaks exactly as we ordered them (ours and Philip's). I think next time I might order the filet mignon and Eric the ribeye (he loves that cut), but plenty of time to figure that out! Tell your hubby not to worry...Yachtsman is a wonderful restaurant, and we were even impressed with the appetizers!

Plaza is really a great place to go for lunch! Like I said, I would even plan it next time so we go to LTT for lunch, take the usual afternoon break and go to Plaza for dinner, then take the kids to the night time parade. They have cheesesteaks and burgers in addition to sandwiches and salad, if you prefer something hot. And we got a choice of side dish...fries, homemade chips or broccoli slaw. They also have some yummy looking desserts on the adult menu!

What a fun review of the Plaza! It's amazing how far good customer service goes. And Chef Ken really sounds like he loves his customers! Both of your sandwiches look great too!

Yes, we were very impressed by the service at Plaza, not only by the outstanding Cheg Ken, but our waiter also. Just very friendly and attentive. But the food was excellent too. I know it is just a sandwich shop, but they seem to make them with great detail and the freshest, most delicious ingredients. We really loved it there!

 

[CatNipRules]

You have absolutely nothing to worry about with your food allergy! Just be aware though, if you are going to Cape May Cafe for dinner, they steam the crab legs right on the buffet and this is very obvious as soon as you walk into the restaurant. I always reminded the host/hostess that we had a shellfish allergy in our party and they always told me that they saw it on the reservation. Our ticket they gave us when they seated us was also stamped in red with allergy, so the server was aware that we needed to speak to the chef. WDW is definitely a place I feel very comfortable taking Philip because I know they handles things very carefully. I think this is truly amazing, given that they really feed the masses!

We are going to go to Cape May. Although after reading about Phillip's reaction I'm thinking that I might want to cancel. I just don't want to take a chance. Especially on vacation.

This is one of the reasons I love reading trip and dining reports. you find out a lot of helpful and good information!!