akaDaddy
"Thanks Charming, but my daughter's got this."
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2005
Just back from a 10 day trip to Walt Disney World with free dining. All I can say is WOW!!!
We consumed waaaaaaay too much food. I have always enjoyed the dining reviews so I thought I'd finally take a stab at one with a little twist. Here are the criteria for my reviews....
1) Service: how well we were treated as guests from beginning to end
2) Atmosphere: everything from décor to noise levels
3) Food: Quality, Quanity and most importantly Taste
Along with the above criteria, I will add a bonus catagory I have found missing in many of the reviews I've read recently. I'll call it Expectations. This "bonus" catagory will be used to level the playing field and treat foods fairly based on where they were prepared, how they were prepared and making a reasonable expectation for what the food should taste like. Thus, one should not expect the hamburger at Backlot Express in MGM to be the same as the hamburger at Le Cellier nor would one expect the cheese pizza at Pop Century to be on par with the Cheese Pizza at Wolfgang Puck's Express.
Also, just a note about the taste buds involved in this review. I'm a "red-stater" in rural America. I don't live down the street from a great Moraccan place, the Asian food I'm exposed to comes from a buffet and all the Mexican places have a Speedy Gonzales on the menu. I'm not easily impressed with different tastes but I'm not a snob who expects every meal to perfect either. Exspecially taking into context that the kitchens at many of the restaurants around WDW prepare enough meals daily to feed an army.
And yes, I am fully prepared for flames that will come from the above statements, so if you feel so inclined, start striking the matches.
Now, lets begin with the reviews.......
Thursday, September 14
Arrived at 4:00 pm and caught a quick dinner at Pecos Bills. Two Bacon double cheese burgers and fries for my wife and I. The daughters split a chilled chicken kids meal. (My oldest eat's like a bird and usually orders from the kids menu). The burgers were your run of the mill fast food burgers, good taste but nothing special. Fries were the same. The fix'in bar, with mushrooms, onions and hot cheese was great and made the burgers even better. My daughters didn't like the chicken at all. We wound up buying an extra order of fries for both of them with some snacks later in the evening. Overall for the adults it was a
for the adults and 
for the kids.
Friday, September 15
Breakfast was cereal bars in the room and off the Magic Kingdom. Lunch at Cosmic Ray'.
I hade the Chicken-Ribs combo and the wife had a burger. Daughters had chicken strips and nuggets. Wife enjoyed the burger which was the same as the on from Pecos Bills. I really enjoyed the chicken and the ribs were great, talk about tender, yum! The place was really loud and the show, the singing alien began to get old after a while. I thought my four year old would enjoy it but when we ate here later in our trip, she would only agree to eat here if we ate on the terrace.
Dinner was at Liberty Tree Tavern for the Haloween Party. The character interaction was great. Lots of pictures and fun. The food was served family style and everyone enjoyed the meal. The turkey was a little dry, but the ham and the roast was very good. Veggies were great and the dessert, cobbler, was really good. Atmosphere was a little loud but its a party night and everyone is in costume so we should really expect a little more noise than on a normal night. Our waitress was great but the hostess was must have been taking the zombee makeup a little too seriously. She barely spoke and when we were announced, it was a real chore for her to get our names out. Overall
Saturday, September 16
Again we had breakfast in the room recovering from the Haloween Party, then off the Epcot. Lunch was at Sunshine Seasons and the sandwiches were great. Both my wife and I got the ham sandwiches and chips and the daughters go the build your own sandwich meals. The kids loved making there own sandwich and even ate the leftovers. There was a great selection of desserts here as well, although the Key Lime pie I had was not very good. However, I don't believe any Key Limes were harmed in its preparation though. .
Dinner was at Alfredos and I was afraid this was going to be a omen for the rest of the week, thankfully this was an isolated problem. The food was OK, just OK. Here is where the expectations come into play. I assumed that a restaurant that had once been listed as a signature dining experience and labeled as the creator of the famous dish to be a little better than your run of the mill Italian Restaurant. But it wasn't, the lamb wasn't as good as what I've eaten at Olive Garden (and by the way I'm no big fan of the Olive Garden) and my wife said the Lasagnette was not very good at all. She said it almost tasted like a frozen entree. The desserts were good and the kids liked their spaghetti. Service was, well how can I say this nicely, awful! As soon as our waiter asked if we were on the Dining Plan and that we did not want alcohol he left for Neverland. He only returned to get our order and to tell us an assistant (a member of the bus staff) would be helping him tonight with our order. Now our waiter fell all over himself to help the tables on either side of us who appeared not to be on the Dining Plan as they did not order appetizers or desserts. I had read posts before about this type of service but have never experience it until now. We had to flag staff down for a refill and even to place a dessert order. I was so fed up at the end of the meal that I refused to flag someone down for the check so we just waited, and waited and waited. My wife and daughter got fed up with my stubborn attitude and decided to go out an shop. Another 7 to 10 minutes pass before our original waiter finally returned to the table to ask if there was anything else he could do for me. When I asked for the check, he actually made some comment under his breath that I couldn't understand. When I told him I was sorry I didn't hear him he just said "oh nothing" and returned with our check. Needless to say, no extra tip for this dinner and if I could have cut back on the automatic 18% from Disney, I would have. The score .
Sunday, September 17
Breakfast again in the room with Lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express. I had the Chicken Aioli Sandwich, wife had the Turkey Sandwich and the kids both had cheese pizza. All had brownies for dessert. Everyone loved this meal. By far the best counter service place on the plan. Everyone gave it
Diner at Le Cellier was as good as ever. Both my wife and I had the Mushroom Filet and it was great! Both of our daughters had chicken, one from the kids menu but the portions were almost identical. My wife had the Salmon Timbale as an appetizer and I had the cheese soup. Both were excellent. Service was great as well, with our waiter taking alot of time to explain the specials and other dishes and make several suggestions. Overall our second best table service meal.
Monday, September 18
Breakfast again in the room, this was becoming a bad habit. Lunch was at the Backlot Express at MGM. I was sad to see that the Dipsite was no longer serving the sandwiches anymore. They were always great. Anyhow, the Backlot Express was nothing to write home about but then again it your run of the mill counter service. The hamburgers were the same as all the other counter service but with no fix'in bar they were just ordinary. Nothing special but what we had expected so it still gets
Dinner was another subject all together. We ate at the Coral Reef in Epcot. This was the best table service we had all week. Food was excellent, atmosphere was excellent, service exceeded any expectation we might have had and everything was outstanding. Our hostess took extra time with our daughters to point our her favorite fish in "the sea". Our waitress informed us of all the specials and well as her favorites. My wife ordered the blackened catfish and I ordered the Mahi Mahi. The oldest daughter ordered a steak and my youngest ordered Mahi Mahi from the childs menu, which as a very large portion. When the meal arrived, the catfish was a little too spicey for my wife so we traded and boy I'm glad we did. The catfish was excellent, I would have never thought pepperjack cheese, grits and catfish would go together, but WOW. When our waitress discovered we had switched she made every attempt to get my wife to order another entree but she was very happy with the Mahi Mahi. The chocolate wave dessert was also outstanding.
That's all for now. More to follow, including Boma, 1900 Park Fare Dinner, Hollywood & Vine Breakfast & Cape May
We consumed waaaaaaay too much food. I have always enjoyed the dining reviews so I thought I'd finally take a stab at one with a little twist. Here are the criteria for my reviews....
1) Service: how well we were treated as guests from beginning to end
2) Atmosphere: everything from décor to noise levels
3) Food: Quality, Quanity and most importantly Taste
Along with the above criteria, I will add a bonus catagory I have found missing in many of the reviews I've read recently. I'll call it Expectations. This "bonus" catagory will be used to level the playing field and treat foods fairly based on where they were prepared, how they were prepared and making a reasonable expectation for what the food should taste like. Thus, one should not expect the hamburger at Backlot Express in MGM to be the same as the hamburger at Le Cellier nor would one expect the cheese pizza at Pop Century to be on par with the Cheese Pizza at Wolfgang Puck's Express.
Also, just a note about the taste buds involved in this review. I'm a "red-stater" in rural America. I don't live down the street from a great Moraccan place, the Asian food I'm exposed to comes from a buffet and all the Mexican places have a Speedy Gonzales on the menu. I'm not easily impressed with different tastes but I'm not a snob who expects every meal to perfect either. Exspecially taking into context that the kitchens at many of the restaurants around WDW prepare enough meals daily to feed an army.
And yes, I am fully prepared for flames that will come from the above statements, so if you feel so inclined, start striking the matches.
Now, lets begin with the reviews.......
Thursday, September 14
Arrived at 4:00 pm and caught a quick dinner at Pecos Bills. Two Bacon double cheese burgers and fries for my wife and I. The daughters split a chilled chicken kids meal. (My oldest eat's like a bird and usually orders from the kids menu). The burgers were your run of the mill fast food burgers, good taste but nothing special. Fries were the same. The fix'in bar, with mushrooms, onions and hot cheese was great and made the burgers even better. My daughters didn't like the chicken at all. We wound up buying an extra order of fries for both of them with some snacks later in the evening. Overall for the adults it was a
for the adults and for the kids.Friday, September 15
Breakfast was cereal bars in the room and off the Magic Kingdom. Lunch at Cosmic Ray'.
I hade the Chicken-Ribs combo and the wife had a burger. Daughters had chicken strips and nuggets. Wife enjoyed the burger which was the same as the on from Pecos Bills. I really enjoyed the chicken and the ribs were great, talk about tender, yum! The place was really loud and the show, the singing alien began to get old after a while. I thought my four year old would enjoy it but when we ate here later in our trip, she would only agree to eat here if we ate on the terrace.
Dinner was at Liberty Tree Tavern for the Haloween Party. The character interaction was great. Lots of pictures and fun. The food was served family style and everyone enjoyed the meal. The turkey was a little dry, but the ham and the roast was very good. Veggies were great and the dessert, cobbler, was really good. Atmosphere was a little loud but its a party night and everyone is in costume so we should really expect a little more noise than on a normal night. Our waitress was great but the hostess was must have been taking the zombee makeup a little too seriously. She barely spoke and when we were announced, it was a real chore for her to get our names out. Overall
Saturday, September 16
Again we had breakfast in the room recovering from the Haloween Party, then off the Epcot. Lunch was at Sunshine Seasons and the sandwiches were great. Both my wife and I got the ham sandwiches and chips and the daughters go the build your own sandwich meals. The kids loved making there own sandwich and even ate the leftovers. There was a great selection of desserts here as well, although the Key Lime pie I had was not very good. However, I don't believe any Key Limes were harmed in its preparation though.
.Dinner was at Alfredos and I was afraid this was going to be a omen for the rest of the week, thankfully this was an isolated problem. The food was OK, just OK. Here is where the expectations come into play. I assumed that a restaurant that had once been listed as a signature dining experience and labeled as the creator of the famous dish to be a little better than your run of the mill Italian Restaurant. But it wasn't, the lamb wasn't as good as what I've eaten at Olive Garden (and by the way I'm no big fan of the Olive Garden) and my wife said the Lasagnette was not very good at all. She said it almost tasted like a frozen entree. The desserts were good and the kids liked their spaghetti. Service was, well how can I say this nicely, awful! As soon as our waiter asked if we were on the Dining Plan and that we did not want alcohol he left for Neverland. He only returned to get our order and to tell us an assistant (a member of the bus staff) would be helping him tonight with our order. Now our waiter fell all over himself to help the tables on either side of us who appeared not to be on the Dining Plan as they did not order appetizers or desserts. I had read posts before about this type of service but have never experience it until now. We had to flag staff down for a refill and even to place a dessert order. I was so fed up at the end of the meal that I refused to flag someone down for the check so we just waited, and waited and waited. My wife and daughter got fed up with my stubborn attitude and decided to go out an shop. Another 7 to 10 minutes pass before our original waiter finally returned to the table to ask if there was anything else he could do for me. When I asked for the check, he actually made some comment under his breath that I couldn't understand. When I told him I was sorry I didn't hear him he just said "oh nothing" and returned with our check. Needless to say, no extra tip for this dinner and if I could have cut back on the automatic 18% from Disney, I would have. The score
.Sunday, September 17
Breakfast again in the room with Lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express. I had the Chicken Aioli Sandwich, wife had the Turkey Sandwich and the kids both had cheese pizza. All had brownies for dessert. Everyone loved this meal. By far the best counter service place on the plan. Everyone gave it
Diner at Le Cellier was as good as ever. Both my wife and I had the Mushroom Filet and it was great! Both of our daughters had chicken, one from the kids menu but the portions were almost identical. My wife had the Salmon Timbale as an appetizer and I had the cheese soup. Both were excellent. Service was great as well, with our waiter taking alot of time to explain the specials and other dishes and make several suggestions. Overall our second best table service meal.
Monday, September 18
Breakfast again in the room, this was becoming a bad habit. Lunch was at the Backlot Express at MGM. I was sad to see that the Dipsite was no longer serving the sandwiches anymore. They were always great. Anyhow, the Backlot Express was nothing to write home about but then again it your run of the mill counter service. The hamburgers were the same as all the other counter service but with no fix'in bar they were just ordinary. Nothing special but what we had expected so it still gets
Dinner was another subject all together. We ate at the Coral Reef in Epcot. This was the best table service we had all week. Food was excellent, atmosphere was excellent, service exceeded any expectation we might have had and everything was outstanding. Our hostess took extra time with our daughters to point our her favorite fish in "the sea". Our waitress informed us of all the specials and well as her favorites. My wife ordered the blackened catfish and I ordered the Mahi Mahi. The oldest daughter ordered a steak and my youngest ordered Mahi Mahi from the childs menu, which as a very large portion. When the meal arrived, the catfish was a little too spicey for my wife so we traded and boy I'm glad we did. The catfish was excellent, I would have never thought pepperjack cheese, grits and catfish would go together, but WOW. When our waitress discovered we had switched she made every attempt to get my wife to order another entree but she was very happy with the Mahi Mahi. The chocolate wave dessert was also outstanding.
That's all for now. More to follow, including Boma, 1900 Park Fare Dinner, Hollywood & Vine Breakfast & Cape May
