We're STUFFED!!

[Heluvsme]

We just returned yesterday from 7 days at WDW and 6 days on the DDP. This was our first experience on the DDP and it was so much food, we actually returned home with 5 unused counter service credits (for our family of 4).

Day 1 We were tired from the 2 day drive and just needed something quick and easy. We were staying at Caribbean Beach Resort and were meandering around admiring the grounds when we decided we would just pick up something quick at the Old Port Royale food court. We ordered a large pepperoni pizza and it was great! The crust was thick and the cheese was perfectly bubbled up. Good for food court pizza!! Bill would have totalled $28 if we weren't on the DDP.


Day 2 This was our first Magic Kingdom day. For lunch, because it was right in the middle of our jam-packed touring plan, we ate a counter service at Pecos Bills. My dh and I both had the hamburger (love that fixin's bar!) and fries with the sugar free brownie. That brownie was so good!! Chewy, yummy, very chocolate-y. My kids each had the chicken nuggets/french fries basket and they really liked them. I think they also each had applesauce and shared our brownies. Good lunch!! Bill would have totalled $48 if we weren't on the DDP.

That night we had ADR's at The Plaza. The food was excellent! We all loved what we ordered! My dh and I each ordered the Plaza Club. It was so thick. The ham was stacked at least an inch and a half thick on each layer and the bread was a multi grain bread, lightly toasted, and it was perfect. The bacon was crisp, but not too much. It was so thick I couldn't take a complete bite, I had to bite the top, then the bottom, LOL!! I had the green salad with mine with ranch dressing and it was very fresh and crisp. My dh had the fries with his and he loved them. He made the comment that he was surprised all the fries weren't the same in the kingdom, and he's right, everywhere we went it seemed the fries were just a little different from each other. My dd had the grilled cheese and she ate every bit of it. My ds ordered the macaroni and cheese and he nearly finished the entire thing. Now, the desserts at this place....oh man! I ordered the banana split and it was too big to come close to finishing, but it was very yummy! Vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream with whipped cream, strawberries, and chocolate fudge toppings. Mmmmmmm. My dh had the chocolate brownie sundae.....again HUGE!!! Wonderfully messy and HUGE!! My kids each had the build-your-own sundae and they loved it. It's always fun to dig into each cup provided and sprinkle on your own toppings. Great night of food! The bill would have totalled $122 if we weren't on the DDP.


Day 3 We went to MGM this day. We had ADR's for lunch at Sci-Fi. We loved the theming here!! This was our first time here and it was a lot of fun. The food was OK, but the theming made it worth it. Besides, it was so nice to get out of the bright sun and heat and sit in the dark, cool, 'drive-in' and just relax for a while. I ordered the onion rings for my appetizer....the plate had SO many on them I barely made a dent. They were really good though, just the right amount of breading. My dh ordered the warm spinach and artichoke dip with tortilla chips and he LOVED it! He was wishing he could have had more chips and just made a meal out of that. Speaking of more chips. He had a rather large cup of dip, but very few chips. He asked the waitress for more and she told him that was all that came with the order. Not nice. Anyways, I ordered the Reuben and fries and they were OK. The Reuben was light on the sauce and needed more, but the bread was really good. My dh ordered the ribs and was surprised when they arrived dry. He liked them, but we are more of a sloppy-sauce kind of group when it comes to our ribs. My dd ordered the cheese pizza and didn't like it. I tasted it and the crust was a little doughy. My ds ordered the mac & cheese (you'll see a trend here, in fact I'm considering leaving him out of this report simply because he ordered Mac & cheese nearly everywhere we went!) and of course he liked it. The desserts were awesome! My dh and I both ordered the chocolate cake and it was wonderful. We are suckers for good chocolate and let me tell ya, this was wonderful!! Overall, because we loved the theming, we were fairly satisfied with this experience. Bill would have been $129 if we weren't on the DDP.

Dinner this night was at Shutter's at CBR. This was ne of the best meals we ate on our whole trip!! Our waiter was Chai and he was so attentive, but not overly so, you know what I mean? He brought bread out to us first, and it was almost obscene how we attacked this delicious bread! Seriously, I was slightly embarrassed at how quickly we devoured it. I started with a ceasar salad and it were great! The dressing was really good....not too salty, not too sweet. My dh started with the coconut shrimp appetizer and he said it was very good! Not too much horseradish in the sauce, just the right amount to give it a bite. My dh ordered the prime rib, cooked medium (and it was perfect!!). It was so tender and perfectly seasoned. I ordered the herb chicken and it was juicy and mouth watering. We both ordered the Shutter's potatoes....scalloped potatoes in a heavy cream with a cheese blend melted on top (Parmesan and cheddar at least, I think there was one more). These potatoes were sinful they were so good! My kids each had the, wait, can you guess? The mac & cheese!! For dessert I ordered the cheesecake and it was really good.....dense and creamy, just right. My dh ordered a slice of chocolate cake I think, forgive me for not remembering his reaction, I think we were just so impressed with the meal that is all that is standing out to me for now. We really loved Shutter's and wish we had more time to go back and eat there again, but sadly that was our one and only time this trip. I highly recommed it! Bill would have been $154 if we weren't on DDP.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Great reviews!

 

[Heluvsme]

Day 4 This was an "off" day for us. No parks. We decided to hang out at the pool and visit Downtown Disney. Lunch this day was at Planet Hollywood. We were there early, around 11:30 and they were not busy at all. Apparently something had taken place just prior to us getting there, as the staff was very mad about something. We're guessing there was a staff meeting or something like that. There was lots of whispers and exchanged angry looks and talk of "....pss, pss, psss if I'm treated like this I'll leave...psss, psss" that kind of thing. It was awkward at best. And it was prevalent. Not just one or two of the wait staff, but all of them. Our waitress did put a smile on for us, but it was forced. Food was average. I had a salad (this was excellent! Very crisp and fresh) and my dh skipped the appetizer. We were OOP on this meal and didn't use the DDP. I orderd the chicken quesadillas and my dh ordered the hot wings. They were both OK, pretty non-descript. My dd ordered penne pasta and she really liked it! And she's fairly picky too, so this says a lot! No dessert this meal, we were so stuffed and it was SO HOT outside, the thought of too much food was unappealing today.

Dinner this night was at ESPN at the Boardwalk. We were there early, around 4:45 or so, and I gave our names. I looked into the dining room part and saw there were only 4 families seated. The hostess (misnomer in this instance, she was anything BUT a hostess, more like a drill sargeant, not nice at all, not just to the patrons but also to the staff) told me there'd be "at LEAST an hour's wait. You can seat yourself immediately in the bar, oh I see you have kids, or try someplace else." YEP! She actually said that! I said, "Well, since there's only 4 families in there, we'll wait and take our chances." My dh really wanted to eat here and we didn't feel like trekking all over trying to find another place to eat. After 40 minutes, she bellowed out our name and we were seated. We were family #5 in the dining room. The table we sat at was so tiny, it was almost comical trying to get us, our drinks, our appetizers, then our food all squeezed onto this teeny tiny end table! It resembled a living room end table!! The food was pretty good though. We started with the Nachos and hot wings as appetizers and both were good and HUGE!!! The nachos were made with chili instead of just ground beef and/or refriend beans. I liked them, it was different, but good. The wings were really hot, just how my dh likes them. For entrees I ordered a turkey sandwich that was good but dry. The waiter quickly and kindly brought out honey mustard for me though and that helped. My dh ordered a hamburger, a HUGE hamburger and he really liked it! He said the bun was really good, very sweet almost. We each ordered the chocolate cake for dessert, to go, and it was scrumptious! My kids ordered the chicken strips and fries and had so much neither could finish them! Good though! Good pub food overall. The bill would have been $137 if we weren't on the DDP.


Day 5 This was our Epcot day. This was by far one of the hottest days we had on our whole trip! We had ADR's at Coral Reef for 11:50. It was cool and dark and felt so good just to be in there! The place was absolutely beautiful! We were on the 3rd tier and that was fine with us. Our waitress was Blanca and I can't say enough good things about her! Very professional, very friendly, very knowledgable, quick service, quick with the refills, great!!! I have to say here that this meal was by far, the BEST MEAL WE'VE EVER EATEN ANYWHERE!!! Everything was just right. The bread she brought to us was a sourdough focaccia (sp?). Oh, so tender on the inside and a crusty outside...just perfect!! My dh started with the shrimp cocktail and his eyes actually rolled up in delight!!! I ordered the mixed greens with the key lime vinaigrette....OH MY GOSH!!! I didn't want it to end. The salad was scrumptious! Crisp and fresh and probably the best dressing I've ever tasted. We both ordered the New York Strip Steak with scalloped potatoes. The steak was so tender and so flavorful. The potatoes were tender and crunchy all at the same time.... not too much cheese to be runny, and just the right amount to give a hint of cheese flavor. Perfect!!! The broccolini was wonderful too....tender-crisp and not wilted at all! My kiddos each ordered the pasta....they loved it! Now, for dessert, you know what's coming dontcha??? Yeah baby......THE CHOCOLATE WAVE! No, I"m not sad, it was so good it almost brought a tear to my eye!!! I told Blanca that and she hugged me. Yep, the waitress hugged me and then slipped me the recipe card for the Chocolate Wave. It was a beautiful moment. LOL! This dessert is to die for. Warm and gooey and chocolately. I don't think my dh nor I spoke the entire time we were savoring this little piece of Heaven. Incredible! If you haven't had one yet, you need to make an effort to get there and try it. We loved Coral Reef, it was the best dining experience we had this entire trip!!! I do not remember the bill total this day, I think I was in food drunk. In a food coma. A food stupor. Bill I'm sure would have been high. Very high. But worth every penny!!

Dinner this night was in America....the food court there. Pretty light, I was still stuffed from lunch. I think we all ordered the hot dogs and fries. The hot dogs were actually really good, but big! Be careful if you order one, it's huge! Bill would have been a ridiculous $42 if we weren't on the DDP.

Now later on this evening, as Coral Reef is becoming a memory, and room is being made in our stomachs, we make our way into France. Well, the Patisserie is so tempting I can't pass it up. I go in and order a couple Napoleon's for dessert for the 4 of us to share. OH MY GOSH!! These are so good! Four layers of puff pastry with the creamiest, yummiest vanilla custard in between the layers of puff pastry, and then generously dusted with confectioner's sugar. Oh man....talk about good. We loved this. We kept joking, "This Napoleon's dynamite!" Loved it!!!

By the way, I wore my pedometer each day I was there, and on this day we walked 15,673 steps. Low considering our MK day was 17,553 steps and our AK/MK day was 19,550 steps. But on this Epcot day, if I hadn't walked ALL those steps, I'm wondering how much weight I would have gained. Ugh, I hate to think about it.

 

[TigerKat]

Great reviews!

Shutters at CBR is a hidden gem indeed, we love it! Great to read your review of Coral Reef, we're going for the first time next trip!

 

[Heluvsme]

Day 6 This was our Animal Kingdom day. We LOVED Animal Kingdom by the way! I had read here on Dis that Restaurantasaurus was one of the few indoor eating areas where you could be in air conditioning. Plus they server McDonald's Happy Meals for the kids . Well, we got there early, around 11:20 or so, and if you're planning on going, I HIGHLY recommend getting there that early also. The reason is, a line forms, a LONG line forms. We got in promptly at 11:30, when they opened, and immediately got a table while my dh stood in line and ordered. Within 10 minutes the line was so long out the door and people were standing there waiting for tables! Get there early, really. Lunch was OK, it was cool and indoors so that was good. My kids liked having Happy Meals. My dh and I each had a burger and fries....they were good; typical burgers. The fries of course were McDonald's so they were good as usual! They do have a small fixin's bar here and it was good...typical lettuce, tomatoes, onions, relish, etc.

Dinner this night was at Rain Forest Cafe. We had a 5:00 ADR. Service was quick, almost too quick, but that's alright. I ordered Chicken quesadillas, they were made in soft pitas and were really good. My dh ordered a turkey sandwich and fries and he liked them, not too much comment from him this night, but he did like the meal overall. We paid OOP this night and the bill was $57. My kids ordered the pasta and the chicken tenders and both liked their meals. No dessert here....just too much food!! The experience is fun though, loud, but fun.

Later this evening we went back to MK to catch Spectro and Wishes. I picked up, using our snack credits, some Deluxe Oatmeal Cookies from the Frontierland Trading Post. These are so good!! They're thick, they should be called Oatmeal Cakes instead of cookies. This was our dessert this night, and I loved them so much I made it a point to get back there again the next day and buy extras to have in our room!! YUM!!!

Day 7 Our last day. Lunch was at the Old Port Royal food court. We spent the first half of the day at the pool and went to MK later in the evening. Lunch was a grilled cheese for my son, which he loved and ate all of. My dd had the penne pasta and loved it also. My dh had a personal pizza and ate all of it....again, their crust is really good!! I ordered a turkey sandwish and pasta salad and it was really good! The mustard was pretty spicy though. I think the bill would have been $33 if we weren't on the DDP.

Dinner this night was again at the Plaza. Our server was Gerald and he was funny and very good! We ordered the exact same thing as we did when we went 5 nights earlier and again, it was good and very satisfying!! The only difference was I didn't order the banana split for dessert this time, I ordered the cheesecake and it was, of course, very good! It had a strawberry sauce poured over it and was the perfect topping!! We like the Plaza. If you haven't been there, just keep in mind there are no bathrooms inside, but they are right outside their doors. It is small in there, but it's nice, it doesn't get TOO loud. The sweet tea is wonderful too! I had 2 glasses at each meal and it was just right.....not too sweet, just right.

The DDP worked for us. I know it doesn't for a lot of folks, but for us it was good. We don't typically eat at the up scale restaurants this much when we go to WDW. We may eat at one nicer table service restaurant, but for the most part we are counter service people. This allowed us the opportunity to eat a little better and not get too burnt out on typical burgers and fries. We ate some of the best meals....Coral Reef and Shutters were just great and will definitely be worked into future trips for us.

 

[BriarRosie]

Your Coral Reef experience alone was "worth the price" of reading your report. Sounds like you had a gem of a server in Bianca.

I could tell by the tone of your writing that you absolutely LOVED the DDP.
Unfortunately, I haven't been on a trip yet that I can take advantage of it. Maybe I'll do it if I do a trip that isn't around the Food and Wine Festival.

And next time you're in Downtown Disney, try Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express. IMHO, either place is way better than Planet Hollywood.

 

[pperfectmom]

Thanks for your wonderful reviews. We're from Ky. too and will be staying at CBR in Sept. so the food court info was really helpful. How did they do the large pizza? Was it 2 CS credits? And your Coral Reef review has me soooo excited. .

 

[DisneyJo]

Great reviews

 

[Heluvsme]

Thanks for reading everyone!


The large pizza at the Old Port Royale was 2 CS credits, and well worth it. We really liked it, and we're sorta pizza snobs, LOL, we like good pizza and we're picky about our sauce. They did good. The cheese was bubbly on top, but not burnt, just right. The sauce was not too sweet nor too tangy and it wasn't slopping all over.

I forgot to mention, and how could I now that I think about it, the Dole Whips and Dole Floats at Aloha Isle. I know most people love them once they try them, but I just want to reiterate how yummy these little gems are! For one snack credit you get to savor this little bit of goodness. I personally prefer the float. They were the perfect solution to our hot and humid days!

Thanks again everyone!!

 

[John's Mom]

Great reviews! Thanks for sharing!

 

[mamasha]

First, great reviews!!!
I have a question about coral reef. You wrote that your kids had the pasta. I didn't see it on the Ded's allears current menu....Was it something that they made for you or is it on a current kid's menu?
My little guy doesn't eat meat and I am really worry about this ADR.
Thanks

 

[Jen66]

We have an ADR for Coral Reef on July 19 for dinner, which i was kind of worried about because of the mixed reviews I've read. Your (excellent) food report has eased all of my concerns! I am getting exactly what you did--yummo

 

[Heluvsme]

Coral Reef has Triton's Pasta with a red sauce or cheese on top. My daughter likes just melted butter on hers so that was no problem, they gladly brought her pasta just as she liked it. My son likes Mac & Cheese, so that also was not a problem. It was part of the children's coloring menu they handed to us....their sides were carrot sticks, applesauce, and a dessert. They both ordered the make your own sundae. Oh yeah, my daughter ordered, as her drink, the yummiest strawberry smoothie! My dh and I both were drooling over it, LOL!! It was great, and a nice, cool, refreshing drink on such a hot day!!

 

[Heluvsme]

I also should have mentioned that at Sci-Fi, my kiddos were allowed to substitute their dessert (which was a poor offering in my opinion....apples or fruit salad I think is what it was) and get milkshakes!

Excellent substitution!! They loved the milkshakes!!

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent reviews ~ Thanx for sharing

 

[wilma-bride]

Great reviews - you sounded like you absolutely loved it. So nice to hear some positive reviews

 

[disneyjunebug]

Great review!! We are staying at CBR in November and are getting in early too. Eating Pizza sounds like just the ticket!

 

[Tinkerbell_Girl]

Thanks for the great reviews!

 

[ehershey]

I just thought I would throw in my two cents about Coral Reef. When my husband and I went, we enjoyed every one of our Disney meals (we were on the DP), but we were least impressed by Coral Reef. It's not that it was bad, necessarily, it just wasn't great like everything else. Everything else for us included Le Cellier, Chefs de France, California Grill, etc.

If you have kids (we don't), you should probably choose Coral Reef over somewhere else simply because the fish and turtles in the aquarium will keep them entertained so you can enjoy your food and relax a little more.

The best thing we ate at Coral Reef was the lobster bisque. Other than that, the food was so-so.

 

[Tikihula]

Thanks for posting these great reviews with all your comments and lots of details. It was very helpful.