Our Dining Review - With Dining Plan - April 2-7

mcarthur205

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 3, 2005
First of all, the diners in this dining review are:

DW (me) ::MinnieMo - loves WDW and really enjoys all the planning (and eating) involved
DH ::MickeyMo - not as big a fan as me, but wants to make his family happy (and enjoys the eating too!)
DS11 pirate: - big appetite, not too picky, but won't eat most veggies
DD5 princess: - good appetite for her age most of the time, but sometimes eats very little for days on end!

I just had tp post a review of our experience with the dining plan when we stayed at the BWV April 2-7. We paid just under $625 for the plan for five nights, and our receipts total over $900! :banana: I kept all the receipts, although they don't specify prices on the receipts when you pay with the dining plan. I had to write the cost on the back of the receipt so I would remember what it was.

DAY ONE
Flame Tree Barbecue We went here for lunch at 1.30pm on our first day in the parks. We had just checked in to BWV and headed straight over to AK to check out the wait times for EE, as DH and DS wanted to ride at least once this trip. DH had the half chicken meal with corn and beans, he said the chicken was just a little undercooked but he finished it all! DS had the ribs meal, also with corn and beans, which he said was great, the ribs were tender but corn is a veggie so he didn't eat that! He liked the beans though. I had the BBQ chicken salad which was delicious, plenty of chicken and the salad was very freshl. I finished it all! DD had the kids hot dog meal, she ate the hot dog but left the roll, and also ate the corn and beans which she liked. For dessert, DH and DS had the chocolate cake which was a generous size and very sweet and moist - DS didn't finish his as he was too full. Although there was no dessert on the child menu, DD was allowed to order key lime pie but she was too full to eat it. I ate half and it was tasty but I couldn't finish it, and I had a frozen lemonade as my dessert which was very refreshing. DD had an apple juice and the rest of us had diet coke. The seating area was a little busy but we found a table down by the water with no great problem. I didn't write down the cost of this meal right away as I didn't realise immediately that my receipt had no prices on, when I noticed this I wrote down $45 and change, 4 cs credits used. We got a bottle of water a little later in the afternoon and used the first of our snack credits, $2.

Tangerine Cafe, Morocco Since AK closed at 5pm, we left the park about 4.30pm and headed over to Epcot. I had read great things about the Tangerine Cafe on these boards and we had never eaten there. We got hungry about 7.15pm and since we weren't far from the Morocco pavilion, decided to eat there. DH got the meatball platter with yellow rice which he said was great, he let me try a little and I regretted not getting it myself. I had the Chicken Wrap which was served with a small pot of couscous salad and another of lentil salad. The couscous was good but I didn't like the lentil salad. The wrap itself was ok but nothing special. DS and DD both got the kid's burger, but DD only had a couple of bites of burger and a few fries. There was no choice with dessert, baklava was the only dessert on the menu so we got one each. We only managed to eat a little of this, so we took two back to the villa for later. We ate one of them over the next couple of days, as we were hardly ever hungry between meals, and had throw the other one out eventually! We also got two diet cokes and two orange sodas. The cast member was a little confused about our order as we had two adult and two childrens meals and our cards stated that we were 3 (disney) adults and one child. She called another more experienced cast member over who had no problem with this and rang up our meals. Our bill came to $50.89, 4 cs credits used. This would have been more expensive if we had ordered the 3 adult meals and 1 child's meal, but we had more than enough to go round.

Total expense for the day = $97.89.

Day two next - MGM - Backlot Express and FDP at Hollywood & Vine. I'll keep this review all on one thread, its too confusing to try to keep track of different threads!
 
Thanks for the reviews...I will be checking back for the rest.

I have a question but not about the food. I noticed that you have stayed at CBR and at CSR over the years and wanted to know if you liked CSR after staying at CBR? We stayed at CBR last year and are planing to stay at CSR for our 2007 trip. I really enjoyed CBR but want to give CSR a try. What did you think?

TIA,

Loralie
 
CBR was the first resort we stayed at onsite. We really enjoyed our stay, we were in Aruba which was a hike from the food court and main pool, but my eldest DS (now 20 but only 11 at the time) and DS2 (now 11), loved the parrots on the little island on the way across the lake to the food court. We bought refillable mugs and still use them (only at home as we haven't stayed at that resort again!). The CSR hadn't been open long when we tried it in 1999 and it was even better IMHO than CBR. We were in Casitas which wasn't too far from the food court but a bit of a hike to the pool area. The Pepper Market is the best food court in all WDW in my opinion. We bought refillable mugs again here and as we stayed 14 nights, we got more than our money's worth!! The bus service was good and we were the first bus stop to on the way to and from the parks.

I'm sure you'll have a great time - its a great resort! pixiedust:
 
DAY TWO
We woke to a misty morning today. We had shopped at Publix before check in and had brought breakfast items with us. We ate a quick breakfast of cereal, toast and coffee and headed over to MGM on foot.

Backlot Express We were on our way to Star Tours and realised we were hungry. As we were just outside Backlot Express at the time, about 11.45am, we decided to have lunch. DH and DS decided on the double cheeseburger & fries meal. They both liked it and finished every bite! I had the turkey sandwich which was delicious. The bread was toasted and it had mixed peppers and melted cheese, yum! It also came with fries which I shared with DD, although she did not eat a lot. As I said before, she has days when she eats like a horse and other days when she eats next to nothing. We don't worry about it any more, if she's hungry she'll be sure to tell us! There were three desserts on the menu so we ordered one of each - strawberry parfait, chocolate mousse and chocolate cake. The strawberry parfait was a lot like strawberry trifle - strawberry sauce on the bottom, then custart and a mini blueberry muffin on top. DD ate most of this. DS had the chocolate mousse and it was good. The chocolate cake was very similar to the chocolate cake at AK the previous day - moist, sweet and delicious! For drinks we had two diet cokes and an orange soda. Total price for the meal was $40.17, 3 cs credits used. :)

When we arrived at this restaurant it was very quiet, we got served right away and found a table outside (the weather was perfect). Shortly after we were seated it got crowded very quickly. A performance of the Indiana Jones Stunt Show had just ended and it seemed like most of the audience headed to Backlot Express for lunch!

Hollywood & Vine We had an ADR here for 6pm with the Fantasmic Dinner Package. We had gone back to the BWV for a rest mid-afternoon and returned to the Studios, arriving at H&V about 5.55pm. We checked in and the cast member said we would likely have a wait of up to 15 mins. The waiting area was very crowded but we hoped we would get in quickly. This was not to be. :sad2: Our name was not called until 6.30pm! By that time we were hot and a little tired of waiting. We have eaten here before and the wait times always seem to be a little longer than other restaurants - or maybe we are just unlucky! Anyway, we got seated and ordered our drinks - diet cokes all round. Our server was Bill, an older man, he was from Ireland many years before. He did a great job of keeping our drinks filled and clearing plates, etc. DD was having a 'no food' day. She announced she wasn't hungry. I took her up to the buffet and she got a chicken drumstick and some broccoli and carrots :angel: (yes, she is one of the few children I know who actually like broccoli and carrots!) But she ate hardly any of it. I had some of the tomato and mozzrella salad, peel & eat shrimp and melon to start. I then moved on to the grilled salmon, seafood pasta, creamed corn and mashed potatoes. I also had some of the veggies. It was all good, but the veggies could have been warmer. DS stuck mainly to the children's buffet - chicken drumsticks, nuggets, mac & cheese. He did have some of the prime rib and mashed potatoes and enjoyed it all. DH is allergic to fish and eggs, so the seafood dishes were out for him. He also had the tomato and mozzarella salad and some fruit to start. He then moved on to the prime rib, he likes it rare but this was more medium, but he enjoyed it. He had some of the veggie noodles and also the sausage dish, as well as mashed potatoes, broccoli and carrots.

Believe it or not, we managed to force down some dessert as well! DH had the apple cobbler with soft serve ice cream, DD and DS had soft serve ice cream topped with m&ms and I had some of the mini desserts - pecan pie, brownie and cheesecake come to mind.

Total price for this meal was $89.60, 3 ts credits used. I paid oop for DD as she had eaten so little and we had more table service meals planned than credits available. Her meal cost $15.77 including tip. There was no problem in paying the bill this way.

We also used two snack credits earlier in the day for a bottle of water and an apple juice - $3.80. We would have used 4 more snack credits as we each had an ice cream bar earlier, but the card machine was not working at the cart I bought them from so I paid cash $10.

Total expense for the day on dining plan - $133.57. OOP expenses - $25.77.

Coming next DAY THREE - Magic Kingdom - breakfast at CP and Cinderella's Gala Feast at 1900 Park Faire!
 
DAY THREE
Crystal Palace We had an early start as we had an 8.05 ADR at the CP for breakfast with Pooh Bear and Friends. This would be the third time we have eaten here for breakfast. The first time was a late morning seating at 10.30 and the second time was at 8.30. We were admitted to the MK at 7.50am and proceeded up Main Street, it's great to walk up Main Street when its so quiet, great photo opportunities! :sunny:

We joined the line to check in and were admitted after about a 10 min wait. We were seated and our server, Kip, quickly took our drinks order. He said we would have time for a trip to the buffet table before the characters appeared so DD and I decided to check it out. As usual this week, she wasn't very hungry - excitement I suppose :goodvibes She does love pancakes though so we ordered some choc chip pancakes from the chef who said they'd be ready in a few minutes. DD loves fruit so we picked up some fresh strawberries, pineapple and banana for her to eat with her pancakes. She also ate some bacon later. I love most breakfast foods and soon filled my plate with fruit and a chocolate croissant to start me off! I also made another trip to the buffet later and had some scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and cheesy potatoes. I tried the breakfast lasagne for the first time and, although I enjoyed it, I found it very sweet and could not eat a lot of it! (I can't believe I just said that!) :rotfl: DH is allergic to eggs and fish so buffet breakfast is good for him because he can concentrate on the foods he can eat and avoid the eggy dishes. He had a selection of the foods on offer, bacon, sausage, etc his favourite was the cheesy potatoes. DS ate cereal first, then a selection from the buffet, mainly bacon (his favourite) and pancakes with syrup.

We met the characters in quick succession, beginning with Pooh Bear, then Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore. We had enough time with each character to take a picture and for the kids to get a hug each, but I felt that they were a bit more rushed than I remembered. All the characters had visited our table by 8.30am. We were finished breakfast and out in the park by 9.05am, just after opening, which was great as it gave us a good start with the big rides.

We paid oop for DD - $16.19 inc. tip. The price for the three adult breakfasts was $58.69, 3 ts credits used.

Cinderella's Gala Feast, 1900 Park Fare We had an ADR for this meal at 6.40pm, we had not eaten here or even been inside the GF before so were interested to see what it was like. DD wore her Sleeping Beauty dress princess: for this meal and got a lot of extra attention from cast members because of this. We arrived at about 6.25pm and were seated within 5 mins. Both the food and character interaction at this meal were outstanding. We met all the characters - Cinderella, Prince Charming and the two mice at least twice each, and the Fairy Godmother was available for photos in the lobby. They were all very willing to chat, pose for photos (I HAD to have my photo taken with Prince Charming!) and sign autographs. We'll definitely do this one again. :goodvibes

The food was very very good. I had peel and eat shrimp, and some macaroni salad to start. I then moved on to the salmon with dill cream sauce, mashed potatoes and the carrot and broccoli medley. The salmon was delicious. :love: I also made another trip to the buffet to try the pasta with alfredo sauce and seafood, some prime rib and the veggie egg roll which were all amazing. DH (allergic to seafood) had some tomato mozarella salad to start and then moved on to prime rib with veg as above, he also tried the chicken marsala, italian sausage with peppers and chorizo stuffed pork loin. All were great, although he does like his prime rib less well cooked (rare). DS didn't have a starter but he also loved the prime rib as it was cooked more to his taste (medium well). He also had the pork loin but no veggies apart from mashed potatoes. The children's buffet had the usual offerings, he had some cheese pizza from there. DD again didn't eat much. She had chicken nuggets and corn from the children's buffet and also tried the pasta with tomato sauce from the adult buffet. She didn't finish it but said it was good.

For dessert (yes, really), I had strawberry trifle and also a couple of mini desserts - brownie and key lime tart. DH and DS had the apple cobbler with soft serve ice cream and DD just had the ice cream. For drinks, DS had a Mickey Magic smoothie, DD had apple juice and DH and I had diet coke. Our server Kitty explained that the smoothie was included in the dining plan but no refills on that.

The price for this meal was $131.91, 4 ts credits used.

We also used two snack credits during the day for two bottles of water $4.

Total expenses for the day on ddp = $194.60. oop = $16.19.

Coming next, Epcot - Princess Storybook breakfast, Cantina San Angel and Character Dinner at the Garden Grill Restaurant.
 
Thanks for sharing your reviews, looking forward to more, especially the Garden Grill review. :thumbsup2
 
DAY FOUR
Princess Storybook Breakfast at Restaurant Akershus We walked over to Epcot and entered through the IG. We had an 8.30am ADR for breakfast in the Norway pavilion with the Princesses. DD wore her Snow White dress princess: and again got lots of attention from cast members, the cast member with the ADR list at the gate in particular made a lot of the fact that she was dressed up and told her, "you're looking very beautiful this morning Princess". She loved it :cloud9: We arrived 5 mins late for our ADR and had to wait 20 mins for our names to be called. The sea of "little princesses" outside this restaurant is a sight for sore eyes! They were all so cute! :cutie: Anyway, as we entered the lobby we were asked if we would like a picture taken with Belle, who was in her yellow dress that morning. We were later offered the chance to buy the pictures (one large, four small) for $31.90 which we did.

We were seated and were soon drinking orange juice and coffee and our server Andreas brought us some fresh fruit, melon and strawberries, to start. The princesses in attendance that morning were Snow White (DD was delighted), Jasmine, Mulan and Mary Poppins (?). They came by our table in quick succession with time for photos and a chat with each one. When we finished the fruit, Andreas brought a platter with scrambled egg, bacon, sausage, cheesy breakfast potatoes and biscuits. There were cinnamon buns too and he also brought DH and I some much needed coffee! Everything was good, although it was warm not hot, and we got second helpings of bacon and biscuits.

Cost of this meal = $85.87 3 ts credits used. Paid oop for DD = $18.18.

Cantina de San Angel We felt a little hungry again about 1pm although not enough to get a meal each. We were very near Mexico at the time so we decided to have a drink and bite to eat at the Cantina. We shared a plato combinacion and a churro between the four of us. DH, DS and myself got diet cokes and DD got an apple juice. I also couldn't resist the chance to have a margarita. :o Cost of this was $10.01 for the meal and drinks, 1 cs credit, and we paid oop for the margarita of course, $7.99. The food was okay, I liked the quesadilla best.

Garden Grill Restaurant We had a 6.30pm ADR for the character dinner here. We've eaten at this restaurant every time we've visited WDW, in fact the first time we got free straw hats to take away with us! :rotfl2: The Land pavilion is much busier now because of Soarin, and although we arrived about 6.20 we had to wait 30 mins before our table was available. As soon as we were seated we told our server Art that we were on the dining plan. He said that strictly speaking we should get three adult dinners and one child selection. However he said their policy was that as children were getting bored with the same food every meal, if we preferred, DD could have the adult dinner too! However, as she hadn't eaten a lot so far anyway and DS liked the mac & cheese and chicken strips, we decided we would just have the three adult and one child selection. We had drinks first, three diet cokes and one apple juice as usual. Art then brought us the very fresh and crisp salad to start and some of their delicious bread. We were careful not to eat too much of this though, so as to leave room for the entree and of course, dessert. Main course consisted of pork loin, fried catfish, flank steak with cabernet mushroom jus, cheesy potatoes, green beans and carrot & broccoli medley. DH tried everything apart from the catfish and enjoyed it, although the steak was a little tough. I ate the fish as usual and some veggies, and also some of the steak but I didn't like the cabernet mushroom jus much, the green beans were very tasty. and DS also had everything apart from the fish. DD had some chicken strips and veggies.

For dessert, DD got a special "decorate your own cupcake" which she had a great time with. She didn't want to eat it though, she insisted on taking it back to the villa later! I didn't write down exactly what the adult dessert platter was, but I think it was chocolate cake, cheesecake and key lime pie. All were lovely, but we had difficulty finishing it all as we were stuffed!

The character interaction was very good. We met each of the four characters at least three times - Michey, Pluto and Chip & Dale. We had plenty of time for hugs and photos.

Cost of this meal was $120.72, 4 ts credits used.

We also used 6 snack credits today for two bottles of water $4 and 4 ice cream bars $10.

Total cost for the day on dining plan = $230.60. Oop = $18.18.

Coming next - MGM again, counter service at ABC Commissary and Epcot Le Cellier dinner!
 
great reviews! you are making me incredibly hungry-- thanks for the reviews.. we are trying many of the same restaurants in 8 days!
thanks- jen
 
DAY FIVE
We had breakfast in the villa today. We had decided to start off in AK but when we arrived at the gate there was a sign outside informing us that EE was closed in preparation for the official opening the next day! :sad2: As we really wanted to ride EE we decided to go to MGM instead and return to AK the next day.

ABC Commissary We ate lunch here today. DH had the cuban sandwich and chips which he really enjoyed. DS and I had the cheeseburger and fries meal, which was pretty average. The burger tasted okay but it was warm rather than hot. There were three dessert choices on the menu so we had one of each. DH ate the macademia tart, he liked this as he is a big nut eater! I had the strawberry parfait (same as Backlot Express) and DS had the chocolate mousse. DD said she wasn't hungry but she managed to eat half my cheeseburger and all of the strawberry parfait! We also had two diet cokes and an orange soda. There was plenty of seating available and service was quick. Cost of this meal was $37.72, 3 cs credits used.

Le Cellier Steakhouse We had an ADR for 6.30pm for dinner at Le Cellier. We were really looking forward to this meal as we had never eaten here before and DH and DS are big steak fans. We arrived at 6.25 and were seated within 5 mins. This was the only restaurant where we were asked, on checking in, whether we were on the dining plan. Our server Jennifer asked if we had eaten here before and told us the story about the different provinces in Canada and brought us some breadsticks. We liked the pretzel bread best! We had studied the menu before we got there so we didn't take too long to decide on our order! DH got the beef tenderloin to start (melted in the mouth), the mushroom filet mignon as his entree and for dessert he had the canadian club cake. DS had the beef barley soup (he finished it), the pork tenderloin (loved it) and the strawberries and ice cream dessert (he shared this with his sister). I started with the cheddar cheese soup (couldn't resist trying it as I had read so much about it on these boards). :love: For entree I had the 7oz filet mignon with maple bbq sauce and dessert was maple creme brulee. Words cannot describe how smooth and delicious this dessert is - my favourite of the whole trip! :love: The cheese soup and filet were delicious too! DD didn't want a meal of her own, but Jennifer brought an extra plate and she shared our meals. For drinks we had three diet cokes and DD had an apple juice, which we weren't charged for even though she didn't have a meal of her own. Service was very good, in spite of the restaurant being very crowded. Cost of the meal was $155.71, 3 ts credits used.

We also used two snack credits today for two bottles of water $4.

Total cost for the day on dining plan was $197.43.

Coming next - our last day! :sad2: Tusker House and the Boardwalk Bakery! Also a summary of our experience of the dining plan.
 
Thank you. I am enjoying your post. I am using the DP for the first time in Nov., so I am anxious to here your thoughts on it.
 
Keep them coming!! Man - we weren't planning on Le Cellier this trip - but I may just have to go by for the Creme Brulee'! I think it 's my favorite dessert ever! :thumbsup2
 

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