50's prime time Vs Mama Melrose

[Mr_Incredible]

Ok, so we have ate at 50's before.....LOVED IT!!! We would love to do it again.

However, we are planning on doing the fantasmic package.....So mama melrose was our choice.

We have recently been thinking about not eating at mama's due to our love of 50's and for the bad seats (so we've heard) in the fantasmic package (in the witch section)

So we were going to just show up early for fantasmic like normal folks (lol)

Anyways, we are going back n' forth....do you think, with everything included it's worth eating at mamas or sticking with what we like at 50's?

What are your experiences? We havent ate at mamas before. It will be me DW DS4 and my brother.

Thanks in advanced! :wave:

 

[AndrewnPatricia]

We love 50's Primetime as well.
Mama Melrose..tried..no like
What we recently tried was The Hollywood Brown Derby Fantasmic Package.
We were greatly surprised by the decor and Cobb Salad which they make right in front of you. (With a story of how it was created too.) The menu slection is pretty good and have seen normal kids meals. (Burger, chicken fingers, etc..) We were there for our 1st anniversary. They took our picture and made it into a playbill coming attraction. Very cool of them!
And make sure you show up extra early for Fantasmic. That fills up QUICK; too early

 

[BrittanyRose428]

In my opinion Mama Melrose's was standard theme park Italian. Being Italian, I'm not a huge fan of getting Italian food out anyways, but it wasn't bad. If I had the choice I would probably pick 50's since I love the atmosphere and the fried chicken. :slurp:

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

In my opinion Mama Melrose's was standard theme park Italian. Being Italian, I'm not a huge fan of getting Italian food out anyways, but it wasn't bad. If I had the choice I would probably pick 50's since I love the atmosphere and the fried chicken. :slurp:

You sound like me!!! My family refuses to eat Italian out. We did Mama Melrose years ago and never went back, but love, love, love 50s Prime Time. It all comes down to, what you're used to. Push comes to shove, you can always order a flat bread, however, I've been told, Mama Melrose improved over the years. As with any Disney restaurant, with a change in menus, brings new hope

 

[bethymouse]

Mama Melrose's

50's PT is good old fashioned food like meatloaf-yum!

MM is Italian w/ some other selections. It was just OK.

Guess whatever you feel like eating. it's all good!

 

[RonAnnArbor]

There is a lot to be said for Mama Melrose's.....

1) It is rarely crowded and the tables are spaced further apart -- very important if you want to unwind and don't want a screaming 4 year old crying in the booth next to you
2) The food is average, but decent - portions are very large.
3) It is much much quieter in Mama Melrose's that in Prime Time Diner
4) There is decent selection in the menu to keep almost everyone happy.
5) I have never been a fan of Prime Time Diner, so maybe its just me

 

[Mks95]

Maybe we had a bad night but we hated 50's (2adults and 3 teens). At mama melrose the steak I had was better than the one I had at lecellier and the chocolate ameretto cheesecake is one of the best deserts on property. My only complaint about mm is they run late on your reservation time so book early. This is the only table service we book at the studios now.

 

[MouseDreaming]

We plan on trying MM w/ Fantasmic next trip. Last trip, we tried 50's, and didn't like it. I figure at least with Mama Melrose, we get seats for the show.:ROFLOL:

 

[crispy]

I vote '50s Primetime. We have been to Mama Melrose's twice. It's been fine, but I like the atmosphere and fun to '50s better. I did enjoy the Penne alla Vodka at Mama Melrose's a lot, but in the end it was just dinner at a restaurant versus a dining experience at Disney if that makes any sense.

 

[lebeau]

I am debating this same thing. We love the 50s PTC. But I'm wondering if it is worth it to forgo the 50s in favor of the Fantasmic package. Is it that much more convenient to go with the package?

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I have never eaten at Mama Melrose but we LOVE 50s. I'm sad to give it up to try Sci Fi this trip MM just doesn't really appeal to us I guess. We get our fill of Italian food at Via Napoli.

 

[Kev1417]

We ate for the first time at Melrose this past Jan. While sitting waiting for a table I chatted up with some of the chefs. I asked them what they recommended and they all said to get the steak. I ordered it and was not disappointd at all. One of the best steaks I had on property. I heard mixed reviews about the place, but I would go there instead of 50's any day. I feel the food at 50's was just ehh, and the "schtick" gets old rather quickly for me. Just my opinion though.

 

[xdan0920]

One vote for Mama Melrose and the Fantasmic package.

Mama Melrose gets an undeserved bad rep. It's not up to the level of NYC italian, but it is around the level of any chain italian, maybe even a tad better? You are not going to have your socks blown off by the eats at either place, and if you have done 50's before, you can afford to skip it in favor of avoiding the lines for Fantasmic. As far as the reserved seating goes, it is fine. Firstly, there are really no bad seats for the show. And the reserved ones don't even qualify as sort of bad. They aren't the best seats in the house, but getting those seats is a crapshoot anyway. I say, try something new, and avoid the ridiculous wait to get into the amphitheater. Use that time to get in an extra ride on ToT.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I've eaten at 50s PT and done the Fantasmic! pkg at Mama Melrose. The only thing I haven't done is wait for Fantasmic! seating w/o the preferred passes. We have two younger children and there's just no way we could wait that long with them. It's one thing to be in a line that moves or isn't stationary for too long (i.e. like in between shows), but to just stand there for an hour or two is a recipe for disaster in our opinions. In all honesty, we didn't feel the preferred seating was bad and loved that we could just walk right into a totally packed house and have seats.

As far as food goes, I like the apps and desserts at 50s PT better; however, the steaks we had at Mama Melrose were better than the entrees I've eaten at 50s PT. 50s is a fun atmosphere, but MM is very relaxing...of course we felt the service was a bit slow and it took forever for us to be seated b/c it was so crowded.

On the flip side, now that they've moved to F! being shown pretty much every night- the demand isn't like what it was when it was only two or three times a week. I still think we'd probably do the pkg and eat at MM if F! was a must for us and there was only one showing on our DHS day.

 

[cornandacobb]

Two of the best meals I've EVER had on Disney property were at the Brown Derby. A must visit every trip going forward.
I like 50's Prime Time a lot. We usually have lunch there.
Have zero desire to eat at Mama Melrose's. I wouldn't mind seeing it replaced...not sure with what though.

 

[Doombuggy13]

After all these years, we are also trying Mama Melrose's for the first time because of the Fantasmic Dinner Package. We have missed Fantasmic the past 3 years because we would rather ride the attractions then wait in that hot, long Fantasmic line running down the entire street three hours before the first show.

 

[Unomas]

Mama Melrose was my wife's favorite meal of the trip. She got the NY Strip. This is a trip that included steak from California Grill, Yachtsman, O'hana, and maybe another places or two I can't remember. It wasn't my favorite but it certainly wasn't bad. We both really enjoyed our meal and cannot wait to go back.

 

[ScoutN]

We always do MM at least twice each trip for 5-7 day stays and at least three times for 10 day stays. I do not get where the bad rep comes from. And taking 50s Prime Time over it?

 

[lbrad]

There is a lot to be said for Mama Melrose's.....

1) It is rarely crowded and the tables are spaced further apart -- very important if you want to unwind and don't want a screaming 4 year old crying in the booth next to you
2) The food is average, but decent - portions are very large.
3) It is much much quieter in Mama Melrose's that in Prime Time Diner
4) There is decent selection in the menu to keep almost everyone happy.
5) I have never been a fan of Prime Time Diner, so maybe its just me

I agree with everything yo have mentioned :wave:

 

[Mr_Incredible]

Thanks everyone for the great info, think we will do MM cause we have never been there..We will post later on in Sept when we get back and let you now!!