buzz'smom2
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2002
- Messages
- 20
This was just a quick trip for DH, 2DS (7 and 8), and me. Usually, we do WDW combat style, but opted for a more relaxed pace this trip. I made only 1 PS for each day to keep us flexible. DH is on atkins, so I tried to stick to places where he would not be too tempted by pasta, pizza, etc. (FYI: He did a fair amount of cheating, but is already back on track and lost the couple of pounds he gained.)
We usually go during the summer or school breaks, so we were very surprised at how "uncrowded" things were. In addition to short lines for the attractions, we were amazed at how easy counter service was. We had no problem finding a clean table and the lines were short. I am not going to mention any of the counter service meals we had, but they were all good. (We ate breakfast at conceriege each morning, so it was just lunch and snacks at counter service. We had appetizers once at the Poly Concr. and once at the Swan Concr. (I am Starwoods platnum, so I get the automatic upgrade. We stayed 2 nights at the Poly because I made the reservations last minute and the Swan was full our last two nights.) I prefer the "feel" of the Poly concr, but the Swan's appetizers were better IMHO.
3/3: Dinner at Le Cellier. As always, the meal was great. This is one of my sons' favorite places to eat in the World. DH and I started with the chedder soup. I had steak and lobster, and he had steak. I can't remember what the kids had, but they liked it. We were so full that we skipped dessert. We have tried just about every "high end" restaurant in WDW, and this is our favorite.
3/4: Dinner at Jiko. This was the worst meal we had. The counter service food was better than what we had here. My son's grilled cheese sandwich was only cooked on one side! My curry shrimp was not even luke warm when it was served. It was gross. We should have sent the food back, but we were just too tired after a busy day. DH had a fish dish that was very good--I think it was grouper. I don't think we will ever go back to this restaurant. On the up side, we did enjoy seeing the AK Lodge. It is a really neat resort.
3/5: Dinner at Brown Derby (fantasmic package). What a wonderful meal. Last April, we had a medocre meal at BD, so we did not go during our August trip. Boy am I glad we went back. We sat outside, and really enjoyed our meal. DH had fish--salmon I think. I had the filet, and it was great. We both had the crab cake appetizer--which was out of this world. I can't remember what we had for dessert (probably has something to do with that bottle of wine we drank), but it was good. I cannot tell you how much we enjoyed sitting out on the patio on what was a beautiful evening. [Again, this was the first time we have been without big crowds. We certainly did not need the fantasmic package. There was seating right up until the show started.]
3/6: Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. This has always been one of our favorite Character meals. The food was just okay this trip. All of the meat was bit tough. It was a very busy night at the restaurant, and we will certainly go back. As an aside, there were some very ill behaved kids in the restaurant--which also detracted from the experience. Maybe it is just me, but I don't think parents should sit in a restaurant with one of their kids screaming at the top of their lungs. (My youngest DS used to have terrible temper tantrums, so I am sympathetic. However, if he threw a fit in public, we did our best to remove him to a place where others did not have to hear him. Yeah, that meant, that DH or I had to leave the restaurant, store, etc.) Also, one family was letting their kids attack the characters from behind--when they were on their way to another table. The poor character handlers had their hands full. Even my DSs noticed and commented on the poor behavior.
3/7: Dinner at O'Hana: This was our first time eating here--even though we have stayed at the Poly 4-5 times. What a mistake to not have visited before. We really enjoyed the meal, and the boys loved the activities. Another mistake was getting a late PS. Our PS was for 8:30. By the time we sat down, there was only "one round" of races and hula hooping. We will do this again, but treat it as an evening activity--as opposed to just a meal.
We had a great time, and with the exception of Jiko, we will likely return, at some point, to all of the restaurants.
We usually go during the summer or school breaks, so we were very surprised at how "uncrowded" things were. In addition to short lines for the attractions, we were amazed at how easy counter service was. We had no problem finding a clean table and the lines were short. I am not going to mention any of the counter service meals we had, but they were all good. (We ate breakfast at conceriege each morning, so it was just lunch and snacks at counter service. We had appetizers once at the Poly Concr. and once at the Swan Concr. (I am Starwoods platnum, so I get the automatic upgrade. We stayed 2 nights at the Poly because I made the reservations last minute and the Swan was full our last two nights.) I prefer the "feel" of the Poly concr, but the Swan's appetizers were better IMHO.
3/3: Dinner at Le Cellier. As always, the meal was great. This is one of my sons' favorite places to eat in the World. DH and I started with the chedder soup. I had steak and lobster, and he had steak. I can't remember what the kids had, but they liked it. We were so full that we skipped dessert. We have tried just about every "high end" restaurant in WDW, and this is our favorite.
3/4: Dinner at Jiko. This was the worst meal we had. The counter service food was better than what we had here. My son's grilled cheese sandwich was only cooked on one side! My curry shrimp was not even luke warm when it was served. It was gross. We should have sent the food back, but we were just too tired after a busy day. DH had a fish dish that was very good--I think it was grouper. I don't think we will ever go back to this restaurant. On the up side, we did enjoy seeing the AK Lodge. It is a really neat resort.
3/5: Dinner at Brown Derby (fantasmic package). What a wonderful meal. Last April, we had a medocre meal at BD, so we did not go during our August trip. Boy am I glad we went back. We sat outside, and really enjoyed our meal. DH had fish--salmon I think. I had the filet, and it was great. We both had the crab cake appetizer--which was out of this world. I can't remember what we had for dessert (probably has something to do with that bottle of wine we drank), but it was good. I cannot tell you how much we enjoyed sitting out on the patio on what was a beautiful evening. [Again, this was the first time we have been without big crowds. We certainly did not need the fantasmic package. There was seating right up until the show started.]
3/6: Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. This has always been one of our favorite Character meals. The food was just okay this trip. All of the meat was bit tough. It was a very busy night at the restaurant, and we will certainly go back. As an aside, there were some very ill behaved kids in the restaurant--which also detracted from the experience. Maybe it is just me, but I don't think parents should sit in a restaurant with one of their kids screaming at the top of their lungs. (My youngest DS used to have terrible temper tantrums, so I am sympathetic. However, if he threw a fit in public, we did our best to remove him to a place where others did not have to hear him. Yeah, that meant, that DH or I had to leave the restaurant, store, etc.) Also, one family was letting their kids attack the characters from behind--when they were on their way to another table. The poor character handlers had their hands full. Even my DSs noticed and commented on the poor behavior.
3/7: Dinner at O'Hana: This was our first time eating here--even though we have stayed at the Poly 4-5 times. What a mistake to not have visited before. We really enjoyed the meal, and the boys loved the activities. Another mistake was getting a late PS. Our PS was for 8:30. By the time we sat down, there was only "one round" of races and hula hooping. We will do this again, but treat it as an evening activity--as opposed to just a meal.
We had a great time, and with the exception of Jiko, we will likely return, at some point, to all of the restaurants.
Sorry you didn't have a good experience at Jiko 
