We just got back: quick reviews

[JAM'S MOM]

My husband and I enjoy almost any kind of food and can be adventurous in picking restaurants. Our three daughters, 8, 11, 14, like salad, basic chicken recipes, and not too spicy Mexican. I spent some time picking out the restaurants. Some of the choices were disappointing but overall the food at Disney offers variety, good presentation, and is quite good.

One restaurant where we were all happy was Trail's End at Ft Wilderness. The buffet had everything from salmon, to chicken, to a salad bar, to dessert bar. We certainly got our money's worth and the service was good.

Boma -- Everyone found something they enjoyed although the kids did not really experience the cuisine like I had hoped. I REALLY loved this restaurant and it lived up to the adventure I expected. Definitely get reservations.

Whispering Canyon -- Biggest disappointment. Our kids were just a little too old to enjoy the antics. The food was not that great. However, the bottomless milkshake was worthwhile. My husband and I had the skillet and were not impressed.

Counter Service at Mexico in Epcot -- believe it is called the Cantina. Huge helpings of very good food. The servings can easily be shared by two. We all were happy.

Hollywood and Vine at MGM -- the food looked good and there was a children's buffet that had the usually kid pleasing chicken strips, meatballs, mac and cheese. While everything looked wonderful and there was a pleasant variety, nothing was delicious enough to want to return or even to recommend it. It lacked zippity do dah!

Bakery at Norway in Epcot -- had to try the School Bread, the Cloudberry Horn, and the Almond covered Pretzel. The girls liked the Pretzel, but turned their noses up at the other items. My husband doesn't like sweets either -- I'm a lucky girl as I thought they were wonderful.

Magic Kingdom Adventureland Counter Service. I can't remember the name of the restaurant but it basically is a burger and fries place. After so many days without a hamburger. this place fulfilled that "need" for a quarter pounder. They had a large selection of toppings for the burgers which made this a creative feast -- mushrooms, grilled onions, tomatoes, pickles, lettuce.

Kaki Gora stand outside of Japan in Epcot --- big hit with everyone. Try the rainbow with Tangerine, Melon, and Strawberry flavors.

Ice Cream -- the days we were at the parks were rather warm. Ice cream was refreshing and filling. Try the frozen strawberry bar for a pleasant treat.

Hope this helps in making your dining decisions. Please let me know if you have any questions on which I might be able to help answer.

 

[Wishn on a Star]

Sounds like a wonderful trip!

Where you on the DDP? If you were, did you experience the new snack options that are being reported on the board?

I enjoyed hearing about your experiences. I changed from H&V to Sci-fi based on reports I have heard.(now I want to change that to 50's PT, such decisions) Also, we are going to try Whispering Canyon. I hope that my kids enjoy it. They are 8,5 and 2.

Tracy

 

[JAM'S MOM]

Glad you enjoyed the quick reviews. When we were at Whispering Canyon, the younger kids -- like your childrens ages -- were the ones getting the most out of the experience. I'm confident that you'll be happy that you went.

We were not on the dining plan. Although we made reservations for some of the restaurants, we prefer to be more flexible and not driven by a reservation time. For our family of five, at the sit down restaurants, our total bill was usually around 100-125. Our family was generally considered 4 adults and 1 child for the buffets. Usually we ate breakfast in our room -- cereal and fresh fruit -- and then ate lightly until we had ridden all of the rides that twirled, spinned, and tossed us around. Dinner time in the parks was counter service with the exception of Hollywood & Vine at MGM. We wanted to get the special seating as part of the Fantasmic package --- something I would strongly recommend.

 

[jjatwdw]

I was not impressed by H&V either. I thought that CP was a better buffet. This year we're trying HBD at MGM.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the great reviews. I'm glad you liked Boma, it's one of our favorites. In fact it's the only buffet we ever eat at. I really like there soups. I could make whole meals out of just them.

 

[sunny04]

Mmm..the cloudberry horn...that was my first try at Kringla a couple years ago. Now I've tried different items each time, but I may have to go back and get one of those again......

 

[schatterjee]

Love reading reviews - thanks for taking the time to post!

 

[mking624]

I'm with you on Whispering Canyon. We ate there a couple of years ago. We really enjoyed the atmosphere and the desserts (I had the banana dustbowl), but we weren't impressed with the dinner itself. If the food was better, we'd return in a heartbeat.

 

[JAM'S MOM]

One thing I want to add to my review is that I found several items at the restaurants that were good enough to want the recipe to try at home.

If you like cornbread, there were two versions that were outstanding. Trails End Buffet had great helpings on the buffet. And, while I wasn't wild about Hollywood and Vine, they have a creamed corn cornbread to die for! I've since found that recipe on line.

I love potato salad, especially for the summer season. Boma has an American style potato salad that is better than my own homemade potato salad. And, that's hard to exceed. The recipe for Boma's is also available online.

Finally, I almost didn't try the Chili at Trails End as there were plenty of other items I loved. However, one spoonful convinced me to finish the bowl and have seconds. My husband tried it and also was impressed. We went back to Trails End later during our vacation and brought some friends. They too raved about the chili. There is some ingredient that makes it different than most other versions. I am looking for this recipe with no luck. Guess I'll write to the restaurant and see if they'll share.

 

[johnvree]

Thanks for the reviews. These buffets really seem to be hit or miss. I have read plenty of good reviews about H&V and plenty of so-so reviews like yours.

 

[Slapster]

Enjoyed reading your reviews! I think that WCC is hit or miss. We thought all the food in the skilliet was good - everything was hot and tasted fresh. I'm not a huge fan of BBQ sauce and I like the fact that it wasn't slathered over everything. The pulled pork was a little greasy, though. I really liked the smashed potatoes.

Glad you had a good time. We're looking forward to our trip in 15 days!

 

[BCV23]

Enjoyed your reviews. What did you enjoy at the Cantina?

 

[JAM'S MOM]

The food at the Cantina was plentiful and good. We ordered:

the Ensalada Mexicana - tortilla shell filled with chicken, black refried beans, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, cheese and Mexican salsa $7.99 This was very good and refreshing on an extra warm day.

Plato del Nino - child size beef burrito, tortilla chips and a small soft drink $3.99 We ordered two of these and the kids were not wild about the burrito but the chips and salsa were a hit --- plenty of food.

Cantina Nachos - tortilla chips, beef, cheese, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, sour cream, black refried beans $6.99 -- we also ordered two of these and it was way too much. They were served neatly with the ingredients separted which made it easy to use the ingredients that one liked. One of us hated something too spicy so it was helpful.

Plato Combinacion - chicken taco, beef burrito and a quesadilla served with black refried beans and Mexican salsa $7.99 The chicken taco was full of meat and not too spicy to be enjoyed by one of the younger kids.

Churros - fried dough rolled in cinnamon sugar $2.09 A nice treat.

Finally, two of us had margaritas and they were very good although the plastic cups were flimsy and we had to double cup.

We really hadn't expected such large helpings which is why we ordered so much food for our group. What started as a "snack" to tide us over till a late dinner ended up as the primary meal for the day. Because the food was pleasant and filling, we only had a kaki gora as a final snack for the trip!

Hope this info helps.

 

[Alan the Foodie]

Ah, the bakery at Norway! I figure Norway is probably the most overlooked culinary area along with Morocco. My daughter couldn't wait to get the schoolbread which she had enjoyed on her previous trip. Of course being just 20, she ate about a third of it! Still though, as a diabetic I just appreciate the appearance and aroma of many foods I can't eat. She picked going there not just because of the schoolread ut because they have a sugar free chocolate mousse from Nestle. I was sooo good that it makes me wonder why they bother making a sigared version, except it is probably less expensive to make. I have seen a boxed version on supermarkets and wonder if it is reall y the same item. It was that good!

Alan

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent reviews ~ Thanx for sharing.