We Rode IASW 5 Times and Were Still Able to Eat!!

[disneymom2twins]

Yeah!! I finally get to write a review!! Just back from a fabulous week in Disney (9/29 - 10/5). We are pretty plain type eaters - nothing too adventurous. Most of the places we went are old favorites, but nothing like a new review right?

Cast of Characters:

Me - 31 - not a fancy eater, but a million times better than my DH, but you will never hear "Let's eat at Jikos" ever come out of my mouth
DH - 32 - Please hold all vegetables and sauces unless it is barbecue
DDs - 2 - Eat like I guess most 2 year olds eat - mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza - not big on veggies, love fruit. It is a good thing, because there is nothing else for them to eat at Disney anyway!!


Places to be reviewed:

CS:

Cosmic Rays (yes, 3 times - one time planned, the other 2 just because we were in tomorrowland and it was time for lunch)
Sunshine Seasons
Liberty Inn
Toy Story Pizza Planet
Captain Cooks

TS:

Le Cellier Dinner
Liberty Tree Tavern Dinner
Chef Mickey's Breakfast
50's Prime Time Dinner
Kona's Dinner
Crystal Palace Dinner
Ohana's Breakfast


I have some pics, but DH got embarassed of me clicking away at his food, so I don't have a ton, but I will try to write very detailed reviews.

Coming up soon:


Cosmic Ray's (#1) and Le Cellier!!

 

[TigerKat]

Subbing....

 

[disneymom2twins]

We arrived into Orlando around 9:30am and using Magical Express, got to Poly around 10:30ish. We check-in and got the room type we requested (Raratonga, first floor). Though it was early, we had been up since around 4:00am, we were starving. We went to Captain Cooks before we headed to MK. We decided not to use our CS credit, instead of holding it until our last day (in case our money ran out).

(I know I said I was going to do Cosmic Rays first, but I will go in order that we ate it - Rays is next

Captain Cooks:

We both ordered the Traditional Flatbread - otherwise known as square pizza. We both thought it was tasty - the sauce wasn't too sweet, but I thought the cheese was a little too salty, but nothing to even remotely complain about. The crust was a little to "crusty" for me. I like to have some chewy bread to it, this was almost like a crisp. No worries though, it was huge. Probably almost the size of 2-3 slices of NY style pizza.

The girls had a grilled cheese sandwich and fries. Nothing special with it, a typical, but rather large sandwich. Tasted good - not too greasy and the cheese was melted all of the way through. The french fries were actually very good. DH commented he liked them better than McDonalds.

Would I make a special trip to the Poly for it - not at all, but if you are staying there or visiting it, it will do for lunch just fine.

We were paying OOP for this one. Total cost was about $19 for the food, but we bought our resort mugs here. We bought 2, and used them throughout the whole stay.

 

[disneymom2twins]

Ok - so after an early lunch we had planned on going to Cosmic Ray's for dinner. We wanted to save the TS credit for a double dip during the week, and thanks to all of your DISers, we knew that Ray's was one of the better choices for CS for dinner.

So, around 5:00ish Saturday night, we headed over to Tomorrowland. DH got the 1/2 ribs, 1/2 chicken combo with mashed potatoes and carrots. I had the 1/2 chicken with the mashed potatoes and carrots.

Both DH and I thought the chicken was good. Plenty of white meat, not too greasy, not too dry. Kind of like Boston Market. The potatoes were good, it had the red skins in it which I like, but some people don't, so just an FYI. The carrots were sweet, a little crunchy, but definitely well cooked.

The girls split an order of chicken strips with fries. If you ordering OOP, this was definitely enough for an adult for a lunch size portion.

We enjoyed Cosmic Rays for dinner that night. Like I said earlier, like ordering from a Boston Market type.

We both got brownies for our dessert. They were ok, not bad for being no sugar added.

Added: If paying OOP, it would have been about $35 for the two adults. Almost the cost of one of us for the dining plan for the day!


OK - Le Cellier is definitely next!!

 

[gogo65]

Can't wait to read more

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

I look forward to reading more!

 

[Minniespal]

Looking forward to reading more

 

[DLo]

Looking forward to the rest. My DH would probably crawl under the table if I took pictures so if I ever to a dining report - there will be no pics. At least you got to take some.

 

[disneymom2twins]

So Sunday brought us to Epcot. We had cereal in our room this morning (I had sent down a box of stuff before we left) and was at the park around 9:15ish. (Just an aside....the cereal in the room thing worked out really well. The kids ate, we showered then headed off for the day. No rushing around whatsoever)

Around 11:45 we were at the Land so we went to Sunshine Seasons for lunch. The kids had Mac and Cheese, which was one of the "sides" and some grapes. I swear Disney has the sweetest grapes in the world. My DH had the chicken and mashed potatoes. (Yes, same as last night) He said they were about the same as last night, which was good. I had the Ham and Salami Sub, which was fantastic. The bread was like a thin italian bread, I think it was foccachia (sp?), and the meat was tasty and fresh, not slimey. (Nothing grosses me out more than slimey cold cuts) I also had a side of pasta salad, which was decent, but a little too much italian dressing on it for my taste. For dessert I had the greatest Key Lime Tart thing in the world. Sweet, but not heavy, and I really wish I could have finished it. DH had this huge chocolate brownie with chocolate chips on it. It was gone in two seconds, so it must have tasted as good as it looks.

 

[disneymom2twins]

Le Cellier

Being the crazy Disney Lady that I am, I made my ADRs 180+10. We got Le Cellier at 5:00 on Sunday night, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Amy was our server and she told us that we could get smoothies on the dining plan. DH passed, but I got mango. Yummy! The breadsticks were awesome, even the sourdough and multigrain, not just the pretzel one. For appetizers, DH had the beef and barley soup. He said it was very good. I had the shrimp cocktail. Not the greatest I ever had (not fishy, but they were like "wet"), but tasty enough. DH had the NY strip, which he said was fantastic. I had the Maple filet, without the maple bbq sauce. I thought the meat was fantastic. Cooked medium well, it was still very tender and moist. We both had mashed potatoes with it (we are now starting to get sick of them), but they were still very good.

Sorry, I can't the pics to rotate, but I think you get the gist of it
The kids had pizza. Nothing earth shattering about it, but they ate it so that was a plus!

For dessert, I had the Smores. Don't really know why they call it smores, because it really isn't like one, but still very very delish. Roasted marshmallow on a stick, stuck into two graham cracker cookies, chocolate and ice cream. This should be its own food group. DH had the chocolate moose. He said it was excellent and happily performed the massacre of that little guy.

If we paid OOP for the two of us, it would have been about $105 after tax and tip.

I forgot to add in the post above, Sunshine Seasons would have been about $35 for the two of us OOP.


We were leaving EPCOT and stopped in Norway to use 2 of our snack credits. I got schoolbread, which no joke, is like the size of 3 dunkin donuts. DH got a cinnamon roll that puts Cinnabun to shame. We picked at them this night back at the hotel, and finished for breakfast the next morning. Used the refillable mug here for a drink. Double use of a snack credit!! Late night snack and breakfast!!!

Coming up:

Cosmic Rays (#2) and Liberty Tree Tavern

 

[sherry8253]

Great reviews. Thanks for posting.

 

[disneymom2twins]

Cosmic Rays (#2)

Monday brought us back to the Magic Kingdom, and it was raining on and off all day. We were in tomorrowland around lunch time and the rains came again, so instead of walking to Pecos Bills or Pinnochio's we decided that food was food. So, we all got chicken fingers and french fries. These were very good. Crispy and a touch spicy, and the french fries weren't too salty. I again got the brownie for dessert, which I saved and I ended up eating as a late night snack that night. DH got the carrot cake, which he said was very good.

If paying OOP for the two of us....about $25.


Liberty Tree Tavern

At 180 days, I was hoping this was going to be a Halloween Party night as it was last year, but it wasn't. We kept our reservation here because it was a character dinner, and the girls love these meals. We had eaten here before, and knew what to expect. It certainly isn't gourmet food, but it is tasty, enjoyable, and was a nice night.

The meal starts out with salad with a strawberry vineagrette. I hate strawberries, but if you never told me it was a strawberry vineagrette, I would have never known. It was a very good salad, the vegetables were fresh, and the right amount of dressing. Plus, DH doesn't eat salad, so I had to all to myself

The main courses are flank steak, pork, and turkey. I ate the turkey, DH ate the rest. He thought the pork was a little dry, but he ate it all so it couldn't have been that bad. The steak he said was good. I thought the turkey was nicely done, I think it was just made from a breast, not a whole turkey, but juicy enough and not fatty. With it was macaroni and cheese which the girls ate. I had some, was Stouffers. Again, edible, nothing fancy, but it was fresh and hot. It also came with mashed potatoes (I told you were were getting sick of them ) and green beans, which were actually good. Crispy, but not raw, and had some decent garlic taste.

For dessert we had the warm apple cobbler with ice cream. Very good. Nice big chunks of cinnamon cake pieces.

Character interaction was very good here. Chip and Dale came over like 3 times. Minnie Mouse came and went pretty quick, but still had enough time for pics.

If paying OOP - about $70

I think Liberty Tree is nice for a character dinner. The food is good and plentiful, plus it is a good family meal for little ones. It is right in the park, you don't have to take the time of leaving the park to eat, and then try to get them back for a few hours. We ate around 5:30, were done in about an hour, then the girls lasted another hour or so before we headed back. It started to rain, so we called it an early night.

Coming up next:

Chef Mickey's breakfast and 50's Prime Time

 

[disneymom2twins]

Tuesday Morning brought us to Chef Mickey's. Let me start off by saying, the character interaction was great. We saw the fab 5 and got pics with everyone. The food however, I was very disappointed. Granted, it is breakfast, so I am not even looking for anything special or original, but it was mediocre at best. The scrambled eggs were runny, but the three cheese ones were ok. Mickey waffles were good, but the tray for them was almost always empty. The bacon and sausage was fine, and the potatoes were ok. The meal was edible, but I really wasn't impressed. The pancakes were cold. There were barely any breads or pastries, and the ones that were there looked like the kind that were bought at a 7-11 and were unwrapped. There were different types of cereal too. I thought Donald's at AK last year was a lot better.

Cost of paying OOP = about $40


50's Prime Time

This was our first time here and I was a little skeptical. Aunt Cindy was out waitress, and she was fantastic. Didn't do too much as far as embarassment, but did make my DH set the table

I had the shrimp cocktail, which was actually better than Le Celliers and DH had the chicken soup which he said was good. He had the pot roast, which he was pleasantly surprised with, and I had the meatloaf. It was decent. Again, we both had mashed potatoes.

For dessert I had the smores - these were real smores. Chocolate, graham cracker and roasted marshmallows. Yum!! DH had the brownie sundae, which basically my kids stole from him

Would I come back here, yes, but not until the girls were older to enjoy the atmosphere. The food was decent, but nothing spectacular, but we did think the whole concept was really cool.

Cost if OOP - about $60

Coming up next - dinner at Kona!

 

[disneyfansx5]

I am enjoying your reviews. Keep them coming!

 

[Busymom85]

Great reviews. Looking forward to more.

 

[disneymom2twins]

Wednesday brought us back to EPCOT, and we had a quick lunch at Liberty Inn. DH and I both got the double cheeseburger, but I bought an extra bun, made my double into a single, and split it with the kids. The meat was your typical burger, but the roll seemed very stale. I don't know what kind of bread they use, it is not white, it is either wheat or multigrain, but it wasn't very tasty. The fries were fine, but even the toppings bar wasn't too healthy looking. I really only eat lettuce on it, but it was shredded, and very white. Not brown or anything, but just looked like the yucky part of the lettuce all cut up.

For dessert I got the apple cobbler, which was very good. DH got the rice krispy treat, and he was happy because it was chocolate covered

If paying OOP, it would have been about $27, and I would have not been happy about that.

Kona

This is the first time we ever had dinner at Kona, and it was a fabulous meal. I would definitely go back no question, whether staying at the Poly or not. For appys, DH had the sticky wings, but without the mustard sauce. He said they were good (and he is a buffalo, not teriyaki wing guy) and commented how much they gave you. I got the lump crab cakes, and they were very good. Not too much breading, and the sauce was tasty. We both had the filet with mashed potatoes (AGAIN WITH THE MASHED POTATOES ). The filet was good, but here it is char-broiled, giving it more that off the grill taste, not pan cooked. The meat was very tender, and would I order it again, yes, but I preferred Le Cellier's a little bit more, because I don't like my filet tasting like it was on a grill like a burger. But that is just me.

For dessert DH got the volcano brownie thing and he ate every bit of it, but complained he shouldn't have because it killed him later. I had the white chocolate cheesecake. I ate about half of it, but I actually loved the brandy snap that came with it I knew if I ate the whole cheesecake I would by dying to like my DH.

The girls ate a hot dog here, and to be honest with you, I was never so happy to see a hot dog in my life. It wasn't chicken fingers or mac and cheese. I think my girls were too, because they devoured it

I asked DH if he liked this or Le Cellier better. He definitely had to think about it for a minute, but he did give the slight edge to Le Cellier. I probably would too, but if I couldn't get one of those impossible ADRs for Le Cellier, I would be totally happy to get one for Kona instead. I just hope Kona doesn't get as impossible as Le Cellier now.

If paying OOP, it would have been $105. Literally, almost the same exact price tht we would have paid for Le Cellier.

Up next: Crystal Palace - dinner before MNSSHP

 

[disneymom2twins]

Thursday we were attending MNSSHP so we decided to lay off the parks in the morning. So we headed to DTD. We were going to go to WPE or Earl of Sandwich, but we decided to save our last CS credit until Friday because our flight wasn't until 7:30pm, so we would definitely be having lunch in the park. We went to Mickey D's. Something about McDonalds in Downtown Disney just tastes soooo good

So after heading back to the Poly, we took a swim and made the girls take a looong nap so they would hold up for the party. It worked!!!

We had a 4:55 reservation at Crystal Palace. We have eaten here many times before, but never for dinner. We did lunch last year, but otherwise it was always for breakfast. IMO, it is not even close to what you get for breakfast. The salad bar was fine and had a fresh and decent selection, but I wasn't impressed at all with the buffet. They had carved beef and turkey which were tasty enough, but other than the pizza and the vegetable pasta, I wasn't impressed with anything else. No pasta with marinara, no meatballs, nothing like that. I thought it was very "fancy" type food. Nothing to say I that I really full with. It was like a bad and small Vegas $6.95 buffet. For those who are familiar with Golden Corral, that was better. Even the desserts were nothing special. Ice cream, a chocolate cake, a strawberry cheesecake which was like mush, and maybe brownies. A couple of cobblers/puddings, but again, nothing special.

CP was definitely convenient with the halloween party, but I wouldn't go there for dinner again. Not bad food, just not my cup of tea. For breakfast? Absolutely. I think it is the best breakfast in WDW. Made to order omelettes, nice pastries, and a lot of variety. Even lunch last year wasn't too bad. Maybe just because for lunch it was enough, but for dinner, we were looking for more.

If payed OOP for the two adults - almost $70. For $70, I could have the Wynn or Bellaggio buffet in Vegas, which are like Picasso, compared to CP which is an 8 year olds painting.

The character interaction was just ok. Tigger rushed through us in 20 seconds, we never even saw Pooh, but Eeyore and Piglet came by to take some pics.

Up next - Ohana's breakfast and Cosmic Ray #3

Up next -

 

[my3disneygirls]

Thanks for posting

 

[disneymom2twins]

Our last day was Friday and we went to Ohana's for our final table service meal. (We did pay OOP for this, about $50) Breakfast here was pretty good. We waited almost 30 minutes past our ADR time and people were screaming at the cast members at the podium. Not really sure why, but it may have been because the characters were slow. We were done eating, and hadn't seen one character yet. So we waited. And waited. Finally, Stich, Lilo and Pluto practically showed up all at once. We didn't even wait for Mickey. Between the little parade they do, it was a mess.

But as for the food, the pineapple and cinnamon raisin bread they serve is fantastic. We demolished them both. The rest of the meal was served in a big platter - scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes. The eggs were well done, but my DH thought there was cheese in it. I think he is crazy. The bacon was perfect crispy, the sausage was a little spicy but good, and the potatoes were like little french fries. Yummy. Much better breakfast than Chef Mickey's, but the character interaction - too long. They also served a nice platter of fresh fruit and served Mickey Waffles individually.

Would I go back - I don't know. If I was on an extended family group trip and they wanted to go, I would and not fight them, but if was just my immediate family, probably not.


Cosmic Rays (#3)

Again, in tomorrowland, and we got caught in the rain. So we went to Cosmic Rays again and this time got burgers. See my description above of Liberty Inn and I could probably just repeat myself. Same average burger, same stale bun. I never saw the toppings bar because my DH did it for me, but again, Micky D's was better. We got cookies as a snack and they were yummy.

Up next - use of snack credits and final thoughts.

Thanks for reading everyone. I hope I helped someone out there.....

 

[disneymom2twins]

Well, coming to a close, we did have 12 snack credits between the two of us. As I mentioned in an earlier post, 2 credits were used at Norway for school bread and a cinnamon bun. Again as I mentioned, a great use of credits. We also used:

DH got 2 ice cream sandwiches from the main street bakery over the course of the week
1 dole whip - I can't believe I only got 1 the whole week!
1 order of pretzel sticks from goofy's in DTD - again, very large snack. They all had white chocolate - 1 with rainbow sprinkles, 1 with chocolate chips, and one with caramel. I ate this for two days at the hotel
1 oreo cookie from DTD at Goofy's... DH had so much junk on there, I couldn't even tell it was a cookie
1 chocolate chip muffin from Captain Cooks for breakfast - nice size
1 cupcake - DH had as a late night snack - yummy but probably not the most value for a snack, but it was late in the week already so we didn't care
2 strawberry yogurts from Cosmic Rays - the girls had these for lunch one day
1 piece of chocolate and vanilla swirled fudge from the confectionary shop on main street. If you have a bunch of credits left, this is a nice way to use them up and treat someone (or yourself) to a gift back home!


Overall - I love the (existing) dining plan. I am going to have to re-evaluate for 2008, but for us it was great. A little too much food - yes and no. We always try to do one TS a day. If it is breakfast, I don't think it is too much food. Obviously you are not getting just a cereal bar, but most are buffet or family style, so you eat what you want. I thought Le Cellier and Kona were fantastic - and yes, they did live up to the hype. Won't do Chef Mickey's for a while, and will now only stick with breakfast for Crystal Palace, unless it is another situation like MNSSHP or something like that. I would definitely do Liberty Tree Tavern again, and will definitely do 50's Prime Time again when the girls can understand it. Ohana's isn't off the list, but not on top of it.

I think we saved about $200 using the dining plan. I can argue more becuase at Crystal Palace, Ohana's, LTT, and Chef Mickey's, I didn't have to pay for the kids to eat. We either bought the girls one kids meal to share, or like the one day, shared ours and we used our snacks for a yogurt for each of them. Plus, would I have gotten an appetizer or dessert at each meal? Probably not, but if I also was paying OOP at the time, I would not be getting Filet Mignon and crab cakes either KWIM? Something about paying for it with the package, as opposed to shelling out $125 at dinnertime.

Thank you everyone for joining in. I hoped I helped someone!! Please let me know if anyone has any questions!