Cast of Characters:
Me - Alisa - trip planner and lover of most things Disney; I am by no means an adventurous eater, but I know good food and love eating it.
DH - Jim - tolerates Disney but is getting much better now that he's been on a trip with the kids and sees how much they love it; Jim loves fresh fish and is watching his cholesterol. He is also not a fan of junk food like the rest of the family.
DS - Jimmy - 3 1/2 - picky eater who can live off mac-n-cheese and chicken nuggets.
DD - Annabel - 18 months; This child has never come across a food she did not like. Her love of food is almost funny.
We were on the regular dining plan and stayed at VWL from 6/21-6/27.
Columbia Harbor House - Dinner
What we ate - We shared the following items: chicken breast nuggets and fish with fries and apple crisp, garden harvest salad with yogurt, and mac-n-cheese with grapes and applesauce.
The food was very tasty for counter service stuff. Jim really enjoyed the salad and apple crisp. I had thought in the past the chicken was more along the lines of Long John Silver's and not the standard nuggets, but I could be wrong. Jimmy enjoyed his m-n-c and grapes. You'll see that's pretty much what he ate for the entire trip. Annabel shared pretty much everything, except the lettuce from the salad. You will also come to find that she's not too hard to please when it comes to food.
The upstairs was relatively deserted when we got there. The "hostess" came along with stickers for the kids. All in all, it was a good meal.
Roarin' Forks - breakfast, dinner, and snacks
We had several breakfasts from RF. The kids and I shared the adult breakfast platter on most days. Jimmy and Annabel would share the pancakes, and Annabel and I would pick at the eggs, hash browns, and bacon (ok, I pretty much ate all of the bacon every day). Jim would eat oatmeal and finish off whatever was left from the breakfast. I made him coffee in our room almost every morning with coffee from home and bottled water. The one day he decided to buy a mug and get coffee, he didn't like it. I also had a cheese danish one morning. It was super tasty.
Jimmy and Annabel shared the chicken strips and fries one night for dinner. I also got the grilled chicken salad one day for a late lunch. We also sampled a cupcake (ok, again, I ate the entire thing), a chocolate chip cookie, one of those blondies (chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, walnuts, etc), and some fruit. Those freaking cookies are so good. It took me three days to finish the blondie cause it's just too much to eat at once.
All in all we liked everything we got from RF. We never ate there. We always carried our food to the villas. Also, when I got breakfast, I was there right at 7:00. After that the place seemed to become quite a nuthouse.
Cape May Cafe - dinner
I had given us an hour to get to dinner. Then it started to rain. We got wet waiting for the boat to MK. It seemed to take forever to get to MK, as we were idling out in the water until the other boats got out of the way. Then we got smashed into a bus with two sleeping kids. Thank goodness there were some very kind people who helped us by holding the strollers until we got to BC. Then Jimmy woke up, had no idea where he was, and began to freak out. Jim doesn't do well when the kids are freaking out. I think he believes I know of a button to just make it stop. This said, Jim ticks me off a ton when he gets like this. Yes, honey, I want to have my kids pitch a fit in a crowded line/bus/restaurant. Ok, enough of that, back to the food. From what I remember eating, it was all pretty good. I know I had mashed potatoes, which I loved. I also had some mussles, salmon, prime rib (not rare enough for my taste but ok), and maybe some peel and eat shrimp. Jimmy chowed down here and went to town on the chicken nuggets and mac-n-cheese. Jim seemed to enjoy his food, too. I also remember giving Jimmy a cupcake, and I had an Oreo bon bon. I don't quite recall it's exact taste because I was talking as I tried to eat. I would like to come back here some day when the lines weren't so long at the buffet, and I hadn't had a meltdown right before sitting down to eat. I could make a total oinker out of myself with clams and mussles.
Pecos Bill's - Lunch
I had high expectations for PB because we've had good lunches there in the past. This time I was less than thrilled with the food. I think part of the problem was that we got there too close to prime lunch time, and it was getting crowded. Also, until Jim got his slop on his veggie burger, my cheeseburger was less than hot.
We ordered a veggie burger with apple slices and yogurt, a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate chip cookie, and the kids chicken salad, grapes, and applesauce. Jimmy wanted nothing to do with the chicken from the salad, even though we tried, in vain, to convince him it was like a nugget (the boy is too smart for his and our own good). Jim slopped up his veggie burger (watching his cholesterol) and deemed it ok. My bacon cheeseburger was alright. I ended up taking the cookie home and later tossed it in the trash. I would have liked to try Cosmic Ray's because of the roasted chicken and taters for me and ribs for Jim. Also, that's the only CS place in MK where kids can get nuggets on the kids' menu. Next time that's where we're going.
Sunshine Seasons - lunch
On my last trip with my sister, dad, kids, we had a great lunch here. They had this fantastic peanut butter and chocolate cake that I had been dreaming about (much like the chocolate cake they had at Tusker House before it became a buffet - dumb move, Disney). Anyway, we had an early lunch here because our ressie for Le Cellier was a really early dinner. Jim got the Caesar salad with grilled chicken and some strawberry shortcake dessert. I had the 1/2 chicken with mashed taters, carrots, and chocolate cake. Jimmy went for mac-n-cheese, grapes, applesauce. Are you sensing a theme here?
Jim liked his salad well enough. I guess it didn't blow up his skirt , but he didn't want another burger. I thought it looked really good. My chicken was very good, moist, nice flavor, etc. The potatoes and carrots were good, too. I don't really care for cooked carrots, but these were tasty. Jimmy scarfed down the m-n-c, but he really wanted a hot dog. The desserts were fantastic. The strawberry dessert was nice and light. The chocolate cake was good but not as good as the one with the peanut butter frosting. I will definitely go back there because I think it's the best counter service you can find in Future World and one of the best in Epcot.
Le Cellier - Dinner
I was really looking forward to this. We had to cancel Le Cellier on our last trip because my sister got really sick the night before at CG, and we did not want to go without her.
The BEST thing that could have happened to us did happen. Jimmy fell asleep on the monorail and slept through the ENTIRE meal. Yes, I felt kind of bad about it, but I did not want a repeat of Cape May when he woke up and did not know who/where he was. We showed up about 10 minutes after our 4:30 ADR (Jim likes to eat dinner early). We checked in, and the host said it was no problem to bring Jimmy in in his stroller. Unfortunately, Annabel had peed/and or sweated through her outfit and was soaked. I had taken out the extra outfit I was carrying for her and only had a clean top. No biggie. I changed her diaper and put on the top. From the moment we checked in, the staff pretty much bent over backward for us. One of the hosts/runners fawned over Annabel the entire time we were there. We were seated about five minutes after we checked in and were seated at a four-top table very close to the restrooms and servers' station. I have read reviews on the DIS where diners complained a LOT about these tables/location. It was perfect for us. We were able to put Jimmy's stroller away from the other diners and server traffic. He did not stir the entire time we were there. Patrick from Ontario was our server, and he was fantastic. He started out by asking if we were using the DDP and proceeded to tell us what was included in the plan, including the smoothies. I ordered a diet Coke and Jim had an unsweetned iced tea. Patrick gave us some info about the items on the menu and gave us a few minutes to look over the menu.
The night we had dinner at Cape May we left and had a great walk through the World Showcase. This kind of became a nightly ritual for us because the weather at night was so great. So that Sunday night I showed Jim the menu and gave him a head's up on dinner there. My sister went to culinary school and is the food service director for our school district. Jim had some questions about how the food was prepared (according to the menu), so we called her and asked. He had decided on the halibut, and I knew I was getting the mushroom filet. I love me some beef, especially when it's really pink on the inside. So we knew what we wanted and gave Patrick our order. I got the mushroom filet, and Jim got the pan seared halibut. Patrick brought us the breadsticks and explained about the grains, where they came from, etc. Annabel is a little carb freak like me. She loved that pretzel bread. They brought her an additional breadstick later on during dinner. Our food came out, and it was perfectly cooked and delicious. I ordered my steak medium, and it was just what I wanted - very pink on the inside but warm throughout with a nice crust on the outside. The mushroom risotto and butter sauce were fantastic. I think my plate was darn near clean when they took it away. Jim also loved his fish. He later found out that it was cooked in bacon fat which freaked out Cholesterol Boy. He said he knew it was cooked in some kind of fat because it tasted too good. For dessert he picked the mandarin orange sorbet, and I had the creme brulee. I'd never had creme brulee before. It was good, but hell, talk about sweet. The sorbet was nice, and Annabel loved it. She also enjoyed both of our dinners.
I cannot say enough good stuff about Le Cellier. I will try to get an ARD there for every future trip I take if the quality of food and service stay the same. I would much rather eat there than California Grill.
Mama Melrose - Lunch
We hit DHS (I still have to call it MGM) the next day. Our only ADR for the day was at CG for 6:00. I had tried to get an early lunch at Sci-Fi Dine In, but they had nothing (granted I called less than a week out). My sis and her family had a great meal there a few weeks earlier.
After we left the Muppet movie, Jim could smell the wood burning fire at MM. It was only 11:00, and they don't open until 12:00. I walked in and asked if they had any availibility for lunch. They told me would could come back for 12:10. I think we had FPs for ToT, so we did that and came back. We were seated about two minutes after we checked in.
Pat was our server, and she was very nice. We decided to start with the crispy calamari because it's one of my favorites. It arrived not too long after our bread, which was nice and hot. The calamari was very good. Jim loved the fact that it was served with peppers, onions, and also peppercici(sp?) peppers. The dipping sauce was good, too. Even though Jim said he wanted a flatbread, he picked the spaghetti fra diavolo. He'd had this on our last visit. I ordered the chicken parm, and Jimmy wanted plain pasta with "Jimmy" cheese and butter. Pat told us this was not a problem. Also, we got Jimmy the vegetarian minestrone as his "app". He wanted nothing to do with it, but Annabel and I really enjoyed it. I think it's made with chicken stock, and there was enough garlic in it to stop an elephant. Our food arrived pretty quickly. We really liked our meals. I don't remember what I ordered last time, but the food seemed much better on this trip. Jim loved the sauce in his dish. He said it was just spicy enough. Annabel shared with us, and Jimmy ate the entire bowl of penne. He also got freshly grated cheese on his pasta and was in heaven. For dessert (not that we needed it) I had the warm chocolate truffle cake, and Jim had the tiramisu. I think Jimmy was given a bowl of vanilla ice cream. He's not too particular about desserts, so he was happy. Our server was good, but she got slammed with a bunch of tables after we ordered. She did refill our drinks, but we had to wait a while for our check. All in all I would go back there again. DHS is seriously lacking in decent counter service places, and I think the food at PTC has gone downhill in the last couple of years.
California Grill - dinner
I have always enjoyed my meals at CG except for the trip when I was pg with Jimmy and had to have the server take my filet far away so I didn't yak all over the place (this was after one bite). I like it because it's loud and taking small kids there is not an issue. Jimmy had a wonderful nap in his stroller there several years ago. On this trip it seem (to me anyway) that the atmosphere had changed a bit. The servers didn't seem warm or fun as they had in the past. Our server Claudia was efficient, but she could have cared less about being personable, etc. Jim and I ordered drinks, a beer for him and a margarita on the rocks for me. We started with the triple cheese flatbread. I had forgotten to tell Claudia we were on the dining plan, but she said it wasn't a problem. We did get our bread and a plate of Goldfish for the kids before our flatbread arrived. It was delicious, and I probably could have eaten the entire thing myself. I ordered the oak-fired filet of beef without the sauce, as I've always done. The only other thing I've eaten here is the pork and that was on our first trip. Jim got the brioche crusted halibut. Jimmy got plain pasta with butter and cheese. Our entrees arrived not too long after we finished our flatbread. My filet was very good, but I think the filet at Le Cellier was better. Jim liked his fish, but he wasn't crazy about the combination of peas and sauce that was served with it. If you haven't figured it out yet, Jim is a simple man. Give him some chicken, a veggie, good bread, and a salad, he's a happy man. He doesn't need what he deems to be "fancy" sauces, etc. with his protein. We finished our dinner and ordered two of the warm chocolate cakes for dessert. Claudia never offered Jimmy dessert, and I completely forgot about him getting one until after we left. The cake was good, and we left stuffed.
Crystal Palace - Breakfast
I've been to CP for breakfast many times, but Jim has never eaten there. I love that it's filled with sunlight, and the food has always been delicious. This time around we had an 8:10 ADR, which was before park opening. Don't you all love walking down Main Street when it's practically empty? They never asked us for an ADR number before we went through the turnstiles. I wonder if anyone ever just sneaks in and walks around without ever going to breakfast? We checked in and waited about 10 minutes for our table. It was a nice morning, and it wasn't too hot sitting on the porch. We were seated to the right of the buffets (if you're looking in from the front doors). We had a fantastic server, but I don't remember his name. He kept making the biggest fuss of Annabel and her Mickey earrings. We took turns making trips to the buffet. I got my usual: veggie fritatta (sp?), potatoes, bacon, fruit, and raspberry crumb cake. I also tried the puffed french toast from the kids' buffet. How freaking good is that stuff? It's like a mini-funnel cake rolled in granulated sugar. I had too many pieces to count. Jim enjoyed his breakfast a lot. Jimmy ate some fruit, cheese, and cereal. Annabel ate pretty much whatever we fed her. She's not a picky eater. Our server was great about refilling our drinks and clearing away our dirty dishes. We met all of the characters rather quickly, except for Eeore (sp?). It took a while until he got to our side of the restaurant. Jim really enjoyed breakfast here, and the kids loved the characters. This is a must do for us on each trip.
Beaches & Cream - Lunch
We spent our last morning at DHS so we could ride Toy Story Mania. It was not running the day we went to HS. I also wanted to go through the shops again because I'd seen some stuff there I wanted. I didn't buy anything there, though. After riding TSM we took the boat to the Beach Club. I had never done the boat from DHS before, and it was a nice trip. It's a better option than folding up the strollers and getting on a bus.
We got to BC around 10:30 and checked out B&C to make sure they opened at 11. We took a walk through the BC gift shop. I bought a few Jibbitz and some graham crackers for Annabel. She was ticked off and hungry. We hung out on the nice window seats outside the gift shop and munched on animal crackers until it was time to head to B&C. We were the first ones inside and got one of those lousy little round tables right up against the bar. I can't wait until we don't need highchairs so we can sit in a booth!
Maria was our server. She took our drink orders. I got a vanilla Coke, Jim got an unsweetened tea, and Jimmy and Annabel had juice. Jim and I had used all of our ts credits, but Jimmy still had one because he slept through dinner at Le Cellier. Maria said it was no problem to pay cash for our stuff and use his last credit. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and an order of onion rings, Jim got the grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and onions with fried, and Jimmy got the hot dog and fries. Annabel shared with all of us. Our food was fantastic! I think our experience was so great because we were there first thing and it wasn't elbow to elbow packed. All of the tables did fill up not too long after opening, though. My burger was excellent. It was a real burger, not one of the gross hockey puck ones at the parks. Jim loved every bite of his chicken sandwich. He would want me to tell you all that the red onion slices made the sandwich. The onion rings were also great, as was my real vanilla Coke. Jimmy got a Mickey sundae with his meal, which was vanilla ice cream scoops, Oreo cookie ears, chocolate chip eyes, a cherry nose, and the cherry stem as the tail. I think he devoured the whole thing. Jim and I split a banana split. I've been craving one ever since.
Casey's Corner - Jimmy's dinner
I think we ended up at Casey's on our last night. Jimmy had slept through the snacks we had in the studio and had been asking for a hot dog for a couple of days. We had arrived at MK while it was still raining, but at least the downpours had ceased. We walked down Main Street to Casey's. I guess it was crowded because of the rain and the fact that it was dinner time. I ordered Jimmy a hot dog and fries with a lemonaide. We sat on the bleachers and watched the old cartoons until he finished his food. The hot dog smelled good, and he ate every bite sans bun. The fries were a hit, too. I snuck a few which I promptly dipped in cheese sauce. All in all Jimmy enjoyed his meal. A duck wandered through the side door and was promptly escorted outside by a few cast member.
Me - Alisa - trip planner and lover of most things Disney; I am by no means an adventurous eater, but I know good food and love eating it.
DH - Jim - tolerates Disney but is getting much better now that he's been on a trip with the kids and sees how much they love it; Jim loves fresh fish and is watching his cholesterol. He is also not a fan of junk food like the rest of the family.
DS - Jimmy - 3 1/2 - picky eater who can live off mac-n-cheese and chicken nuggets.
DD - Annabel - 18 months; This child has never come across a food she did not like. Her love of food is almost funny.
We were on the regular dining plan and stayed at VWL from 6/21-6/27.
Columbia Harbor House - Dinner
What we ate - We shared the following items: chicken breast nuggets and fish with fries and apple crisp, garden harvest salad with yogurt, and mac-n-cheese with grapes and applesauce.
The food was very tasty for counter service stuff. Jim really enjoyed the salad and apple crisp. I had thought in the past the chicken was more along the lines of Long John Silver's and not the standard nuggets, but I could be wrong. Jimmy enjoyed his m-n-c and grapes. You'll see that's pretty much what he ate for the entire trip. Annabel shared pretty much everything, except the lettuce from the salad. You will also come to find that she's not too hard to please when it comes to food.
The upstairs was relatively deserted when we got there. The "hostess" came along with stickers for the kids. All in all, it was a good meal.
Roarin' Forks - breakfast, dinner, and snacks
We had several breakfasts from RF. The kids and I shared the adult breakfast platter on most days. Jimmy and Annabel would share the pancakes, and Annabel and I would pick at the eggs, hash browns, and bacon (ok, I pretty much ate all of the bacon every day). Jim would eat oatmeal and finish off whatever was left from the breakfast. I made him coffee in our room almost every morning with coffee from home and bottled water. The one day he decided to buy a mug and get coffee, he didn't like it. I also had a cheese danish one morning. It was super tasty.
Jimmy and Annabel shared the chicken strips and fries one night for dinner. I also got the grilled chicken salad one day for a late lunch. We also sampled a cupcake (ok, again, I ate the entire thing), a chocolate chip cookie, one of those blondies (chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, walnuts, etc), and some fruit. Those freaking cookies are so good. It took me three days to finish the blondie cause it's just too much to eat at once.
All in all we liked everything we got from RF. We never ate there. We always carried our food to the villas. Also, when I got breakfast, I was there right at 7:00. After that the place seemed to become quite a nuthouse.
Cape May Cafe - dinner
I had given us an hour to get to dinner. Then it started to rain. We got wet waiting for the boat to MK. It seemed to take forever to get to MK, as we were idling out in the water until the other boats got out of the way. Then we got smashed into a bus with two sleeping kids. Thank goodness there were some very kind people who helped us by holding the strollers until we got to BC. Then Jimmy woke up, had no idea where he was, and began to freak out. Jim doesn't do well when the kids are freaking out. I think he believes I know of a button to just make it stop. This said, Jim ticks me off a ton when he gets like this. Yes, honey, I want to have my kids pitch a fit in a crowded line/bus/restaurant. Ok, enough of that, back to the food. From what I remember eating, it was all pretty good. I know I had mashed potatoes, which I loved. I also had some mussles, salmon, prime rib (not rare enough for my taste but ok), and maybe some peel and eat shrimp. Jimmy chowed down here and went to town on the chicken nuggets and mac-n-cheese. Jim seemed to enjoy his food, too. I also remember giving Jimmy a cupcake, and I had an Oreo bon bon. I don't quite recall it's exact taste because I was talking as I tried to eat. I would like to come back here some day when the lines weren't so long at the buffet, and I hadn't had a meltdown right before sitting down to eat. I could make a total oinker out of myself with clams and mussles.
Pecos Bill's - Lunch
I had high expectations for PB because we've had good lunches there in the past. This time I was less than thrilled with the food. I think part of the problem was that we got there too close to prime lunch time, and it was getting crowded. Also, until Jim got his slop on his veggie burger, my cheeseburger was less than hot.
We ordered a veggie burger with apple slices and yogurt, a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate chip cookie, and the kids chicken salad, grapes, and applesauce. Jimmy wanted nothing to do with the chicken from the salad, even though we tried, in vain, to convince him it was like a nugget (the boy is too smart for his and our own good). Jim slopped up his veggie burger (watching his cholesterol) and deemed it ok. My bacon cheeseburger was alright. I ended up taking the cookie home and later tossed it in the trash. I would have liked to try Cosmic Ray's because of the roasted chicken and taters for me and ribs for Jim. Also, that's the only CS place in MK where kids can get nuggets on the kids' menu. Next time that's where we're going.
Sunshine Seasons - lunch
On my last trip with my sister, dad, kids, we had a great lunch here. They had this fantastic peanut butter and chocolate cake that I had been dreaming about (much like the chocolate cake they had at Tusker House before it became a buffet - dumb move, Disney). Anyway, we had an early lunch here because our ressie for Le Cellier was a really early dinner. Jim got the Caesar salad with grilled chicken and some strawberry shortcake dessert. I had the 1/2 chicken with mashed taters, carrots, and chocolate cake. Jimmy went for mac-n-cheese, grapes, applesauce. Are you sensing a theme here?
Jim liked his salad well enough. I guess it didn't blow up his skirt , but he didn't want another burger. I thought it looked really good. My chicken was very good, moist, nice flavor, etc. The potatoes and carrots were good, too. I don't really care for cooked carrots, but these were tasty. Jimmy scarfed down the m-n-c, but he really wanted a hot dog. The desserts were fantastic. The strawberry dessert was nice and light. The chocolate cake was good but not as good as the one with the peanut butter frosting. I will definitely go back there because I think it's the best counter service you can find in Future World and one of the best in Epcot.
Le Cellier - Dinner
I was really looking forward to this. We had to cancel Le Cellier on our last trip because my sister got really sick the night before at CG, and we did not want to go without her.
The BEST thing that could have happened to us did happen. Jimmy fell asleep on the monorail and slept through the ENTIRE meal. Yes, I felt kind of bad about it, but I did not want a repeat of Cape May when he woke up and did not know who/where he was. We showed up about 10 minutes after our 4:30 ADR (Jim likes to eat dinner early). We checked in, and the host said it was no problem to bring Jimmy in in his stroller. Unfortunately, Annabel had peed/and or sweated through her outfit and was soaked. I had taken out the extra outfit I was carrying for her and only had a clean top. No biggie. I changed her diaper and put on the top. From the moment we checked in, the staff pretty much bent over backward for us. One of the hosts/runners fawned over Annabel the entire time we were there. We were seated about five minutes after we checked in and were seated at a four-top table very close to the restrooms and servers' station. I have read reviews on the DIS where diners complained a LOT about these tables/location. It was perfect for us. We were able to put Jimmy's stroller away from the other diners and server traffic. He did not stir the entire time we were there. Patrick from Ontario was our server, and he was fantastic. He started out by asking if we were using the DDP and proceeded to tell us what was included in the plan, including the smoothies. I ordered a diet Coke and Jim had an unsweetned iced tea. Patrick gave us some info about the items on the menu and gave us a few minutes to look over the menu.
The night we had dinner at Cape May we left and had a great walk through the World Showcase. This kind of became a nightly ritual for us because the weather at night was so great. So that Sunday night I showed Jim the menu and gave him a head's up on dinner there. My sister went to culinary school and is the food service director for our school district. Jim had some questions about how the food was prepared (according to the menu), so we called her and asked. He had decided on the halibut, and I knew I was getting the mushroom filet. I love me some beef, especially when it's really pink on the inside. So we knew what we wanted and gave Patrick our order. I got the mushroom filet, and Jim got the pan seared halibut. Patrick brought us the breadsticks and explained about the grains, where they came from, etc. Annabel is a little carb freak like me. She loved that pretzel bread. They brought her an additional breadstick later on during dinner. Our food came out, and it was perfectly cooked and delicious. I ordered my steak medium, and it was just what I wanted - very pink on the inside but warm throughout with a nice crust on the outside. The mushroom risotto and butter sauce were fantastic. I think my plate was darn near clean when they took it away. Jim also loved his fish. He later found out that it was cooked in bacon fat which freaked out Cholesterol Boy. He said he knew it was cooked in some kind of fat because it tasted too good. For dessert he picked the mandarin orange sorbet, and I had the creme brulee. I'd never had creme brulee before. It was good, but hell, talk about sweet. The sorbet was nice, and Annabel loved it. She also enjoyed both of our dinners.
I cannot say enough good stuff about Le Cellier. I will try to get an ARD there for every future trip I take if the quality of food and service stay the same. I would much rather eat there than California Grill.
Mama Melrose - Lunch
We hit DHS (I still have to call it MGM) the next day. Our only ADR for the day was at CG for 6:00. I had tried to get an early lunch at Sci-Fi Dine In, but they had nothing (granted I called less than a week out). My sis and her family had a great meal there a few weeks earlier.
After we left the Muppet movie, Jim could smell the wood burning fire at MM. It was only 11:00, and they don't open until 12:00. I walked in and asked if they had any availibility for lunch. They told me would could come back for 12:10. I think we had FPs for ToT, so we did that and came back. We were seated about two minutes after we checked in.
Pat was our server, and she was very nice. We decided to start with the crispy calamari because it's one of my favorites. It arrived not too long after our bread, which was nice and hot. The calamari was very good. Jim loved the fact that it was served with peppers, onions, and also peppercici(sp?) peppers. The dipping sauce was good, too. Even though Jim said he wanted a flatbread, he picked the spaghetti fra diavolo. He'd had this on our last visit. I ordered the chicken parm, and Jimmy wanted plain pasta with "Jimmy" cheese and butter. Pat told us this was not a problem. Also, we got Jimmy the vegetarian minestrone as his "app". He wanted nothing to do with it, but Annabel and I really enjoyed it. I think it's made with chicken stock, and there was enough garlic in it to stop an elephant. Our food arrived pretty quickly. We really liked our meals. I don't remember what I ordered last time, but the food seemed much better on this trip. Jim loved the sauce in his dish. He said it was just spicy enough. Annabel shared with us, and Jimmy ate the entire bowl of penne. He also got freshly grated cheese on his pasta and was in heaven. For dessert (not that we needed it) I had the warm chocolate truffle cake, and Jim had the tiramisu. I think Jimmy was given a bowl of vanilla ice cream. He's not too particular about desserts, so he was happy. Our server was good, but she got slammed with a bunch of tables after we ordered. She did refill our drinks, but we had to wait a while for our check. All in all I would go back there again. DHS is seriously lacking in decent counter service places, and I think the food at PTC has gone downhill in the last couple of years.
California Grill - dinner
I have always enjoyed my meals at CG except for the trip when I was pg with Jimmy and had to have the server take my filet far away so I didn't yak all over the place (this was after one bite). I like it because it's loud and taking small kids there is not an issue. Jimmy had a wonderful nap in his stroller there several years ago. On this trip it seem (to me anyway) that the atmosphere had changed a bit. The servers didn't seem warm or fun as they had in the past. Our server Claudia was efficient, but she could have cared less about being personable, etc. Jim and I ordered drinks, a beer for him and a margarita on the rocks for me. We started with the triple cheese flatbread. I had forgotten to tell Claudia we were on the dining plan, but she said it wasn't a problem. We did get our bread and a plate of Goldfish for the kids before our flatbread arrived. It was delicious, and I probably could have eaten the entire thing myself. I ordered the oak-fired filet of beef without the sauce, as I've always done. The only other thing I've eaten here is the pork and that was on our first trip. Jim got the brioche crusted halibut. Jimmy got plain pasta with butter and cheese. Our entrees arrived not too long after we finished our flatbread. My filet was very good, but I think the filet at Le Cellier was better. Jim liked his fish, but he wasn't crazy about the combination of peas and sauce that was served with it. If you haven't figured it out yet, Jim is a simple man. Give him some chicken, a veggie, good bread, and a salad, he's a happy man. He doesn't need what he deems to be "fancy" sauces, etc. with his protein. We finished our dinner and ordered two of the warm chocolate cakes for dessert. Claudia never offered Jimmy dessert, and I completely forgot about him getting one until after we left. The cake was good, and we left stuffed.
Crystal Palace - Breakfast
I've been to CP for breakfast many times, but Jim has never eaten there. I love that it's filled with sunlight, and the food has always been delicious. This time around we had an 8:10 ADR, which was before park opening. Don't you all love walking down Main Street when it's practically empty? They never asked us for an ADR number before we went through the turnstiles. I wonder if anyone ever just sneaks in and walks around without ever going to breakfast? We checked in and waited about 10 minutes for our table. It was a nice morning, and it wasn't too hot sitting on the porch. We were seated to the right of the buffets (if you're looking in from the front doors). We had a fantastic server, but I don't remember his name. He kept making the biggest fuss of Annabel and her Mickey earrings. We took turns making trips to the buffet. I got my usual: veggie fritatta (sp?), potatoes, bacon, fruit, and raspberry crumb cake. I also tried the puffed french toast from the kids' buffet. How freaking good is that stuff? It's like a mini-funnel cake rolled in granulated sugar. I had too many pieces to count. Jim enjoyed his breakfast a lot. Jimmy ate some fruit, cheese, and cereal. Annabel ate pretty much whatever we fed her. She's not a picky eater. Our server was great about refilling our drinks and clearing away our dirty dishes. We met all of the characters rather quickly, except for Eeore (sp?). It took a while until he got to our side of the restaurant. Jim really enjoyed breakfast here, and the kids loved the characters. This is a must do for us on each trip.
Beaches & Cream - Lunch
We spent our last morning at DHS so we could ride Toy Story Mania. It was not running the day we went to HS. I also wanted to go through the shops again because I'd seen some stuff there I wanted. I didn't buy anything there, though. After riding TSM we took the boat to the Beach Club. I had never done the boat from DHS before, and it was a nice trip. It's a better option than folding up the strollers and getting on a bus.
We got to BC around 10:30 and checked out B&C to make sure they opened at 11. We took a walk through the BC gift shop. I bought a few Jibbitz and some graham crackers for Annabel. She was ticked off and hungry. We hung out on the nice window seats outside the gift shop and munched on animal crackers until it was time to head to B&C. We were the first ones inside and got one of those lousy little round tables right up against the bar. I can't wait until we don't need highchairs so we can sit in a booth!
Maria was our server. She took our drink orders. I got a vanilla Coke, Jim got an unsweetened tea, and Jimmy and Annabel had juice. Jim and I had used all of our ts credits, but Jimmy still had one because he slept through dinner at Le Cellier. Maria said it was no problem to pay cash for our stuff and use his last credit. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and an order of onion rings, Jim got the grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and onions with fried, and Jimmy got the hot dog and fries. Annabel shared with all of us. Our food was fantastic! I think our experience was so great because we were there first thing and it wasn't elbow to elbow packed. All of the tables did fill up not too long after opening, though. My burger was excellent. It was a real burger, not one of the gross hockey puck ones at the parks. Jim loved every bite of his chicken sandwich. He would want me to tell you all that the red onion slices made the sandwich. The onion rings were also great, as was my real vanilla Coke. Jimmy got a Mickey sundae with his meal, which was vanilla ice cream scoops, Oreo cookie ears, chocolate chip eyes, a cherry nose, and the cherry stem as the tail. I think he devoured the whole thing. Jim and I split a banana split. I've been craving one ever since.
Casey's Corner - Jimmy's dinner
I think we ended up at Casey's on our last night. Jimmy had slept through the snacks we had in the studio and had been asking for a hot dog for a couple of days. We had arrived at MK while it was still raining, but at least the downpours had ceased. We walked down Main Street to Casey's. I guess it was crowded because of the rain and the fact that it was dinner time. I ordered Jimmy a hot dog and fries with a lemonaide. We sat on the bleachers and watched the old cartoons until he finished his food. The hot dog smelled good, and he ate every bite sans bun. The fries were a hit, too. I snuck a few which I promptly dipped in cheese sauce. All in all Jimmy enjoyed his meal. A duck wandered through the side door and was promptly escorted outside by a few cast member.
but glad little Jimmy had a rest during Le Cellier and you could enjoy it! I love the mushroom filet there too! 
