Hi all:
We just got back from our first trip in three years last night and I wanted to take the time to give my thoughts on the places we chose to dine for anyone who might be making some plans or for anyone just interested in reading about it.
We arrived on 10/18 and checked in at the Polynesian. We ate lunch at Kona Cafe. This has always been a reliable choice for any meal and this was no different. I had always either had breakfast or dinner here but lunch was good. Three of us had the BBQ pork tacos with the macaroni salad. The tacos were delicious and the macaroni salad was umm, macaroni salad - not much else you can really say about that part. It is served with some really nasty marinated vegetables that tasted like rotten fish but there is only a small portion and so it was quickly pushed over to the side of the plate. The other in the group had the grilled chicken sandwich with curry mayo and loved it. We got started on desserts right off on this trip and the four of us split the banana creme brulee and the kiwi coconut cream pie. They were really, really, really, REALLY good.
Dinner that night was was the Prime Time. This has always been a favorite of mine too but I will readily admit that over the past several years, things have gone down overall. After a moderate wait past our reservation time we were seated in one of the rooms with a party of 24 people that were so loud and boisterous that it was hard to have a conversation. Service suffered as a result as well and it took forever to get our food and refills on drinks were impossible. Pot roast for myself,my brother and his GF - tasty and tender but a smaller portion than I remembered and less than what you seem to get with other entrees. One of us had the meatloaf which was nothing to write home about in his words but he did devour it so who knows? He had the brownie sundae for dessert and the rest of us split the PB&J milkshakes which were tasty as always.
On Monday, we had breakfast at Chef Mickey's. It had been a very long time since I had been here, probably just after it moved to the Contemporary from the Village (boy, I sure did prefer it there.) I realize this is one of THE gotta go to places for many but I felt it was pretty blah. Scrambled eggs were sitting in "egg juice" which is just plain nasty to me and everyting else was just "meh." I realize this is great for families with kids but if good food is more important to you than 15 seconds with a character, then I think there are much better places for breakfast.
Dinner that night was at Whispering Canyon. This place never ever disappoints for us. Our server was so very nice and attentive and just kept bringing us food without us asking and we just kept eating and eating and eating. He overheard me say I liked the brisket and brought a skillet that would be used to serve four people full of it. We all four split a wonderful piece of apple pie for dessert and then I rolled out of the restaurant.
Lunch the next day was just a burger at Typhoon Lagoon. We rented a beachcomber shack and they took care of the rest for us. Burger was ok, not great but on a side note, the shack was GREAT and I really felt it was worth the money. (The rates were less than the summer rates.)
Dinner than night was 'Ohana. Again, this is a family favorite for us and all of us ate way too much. Miss the potatoes but there was plenty to keep us filled. Bread pudding??? YUM, YUM, YUM! The other three in my party did say the steak was chewy but I don't eat steak and so it was fine my me. The turkey is always my favorite.
Lunch on the following day at Le Cellier, our first time there. Brother and I had salmon BLT's and his GF had a burger. Her son had the prime rib sandwich. We all tried the soup since everyone raves about it. Nothing too spectacular here - it was ok. I am sure the experience was lost on us since we did not have the steaks but as I said, I despise steak and the others were not hungry enough to try one. The soup was tasty as was the pretzel bread but honestly? I have had far better cheese soup than that. So count me as one less person all you Le Cellier devotees will be fighting against for ADR's in the future. I would not complain about eating there again but I would not go out of my way to do so either.
Dinner was at the Garden Grill. First time ever we did not wait for an eternity to be seated and service was prompt. My nurse had eaten here last month when I sent her down for her trip and she said her family thought it was "just plain nasty." We all thought it was ok but not as good as on previous trips. The flank steak was bloody rare and oozed onto the rest of the plate and so that was sorta gross but the fish and turkey were good. One of my pet peeves though is that the server saw that we had pretty much cleaned the platter and told us he was going to get us more - he returned with one slice of turkey, no dressing, two strips of steak, no potatoes and no fish or vegetables. I told him we were hungry enough for more than that and that there was no fish so he came back with one piece of fish. When I am paying that much, I really don't want it rationed out to me like we are experiencing a famine.
Thursday, we ate at Yak & Yeti. We all enjoyed the change in cuisine and thought it was pretty tasty. Two beef and broccoli, one sweet and sour chicken, and one chicken lo mein. We had the chicked lettuce cups and egg rolls for appetizers. I know this is one of the love it/hate it places for everyone but we all enjoyed it and I think it is a welcome addition to a park lacking in choices in my opinion.
Dinner that night was the late showing of the Hoop de Doo. This is my fourth time having seen this show over the years and this was probably the first time I can say I had the time of my life. The crowd was small that night...maybe only half of the first floor tables were seated....and it was just so much fun. We were seated at Table 11 and I was right by the stairs. I was singled out as the "tooter" by Annie and she came down and talked with me and she and one of the guys kept fighting over me because I was not seated on her side but she got me to sing with her half of the room. Claire then tried to use me for one of the roles up on stage but I had to sit down since I had already been the "tooter." The food was great with meaty fried chicken and ribs. I loved the beans and needless to say, I lived up to my name of "tooter" later that night. :lookaroun:lol:
Friday was Brown Derby for lunch with Cobb Salad for everyone which was ok and filling enough. We tried the grapefruit cake which is different from the recipe they once used and was pretty much tasteless. The standout was the white chocolate, toffee, banana tower which was devoured in mere moments.
Dinner on Friday was at 1900 Park Fare. Again, I guess the buffets at WDW just don't do it for me. It was crowded, LOUD and there was an exceptionally long wait to be seated. You would think with a menu offering things like Coq au vin, beef stir fry, pasta with meat sauce and salmon, that we would be talking tasty good stuff. Maybe I was just burned out on eating but this was really a disappointment and my expectations were not that high to begin with. I am not a really picky eater (except for that steak issue) and will be satisifed with just about anything put in front of me, but the food here was just inferior to what we had had elsewhere. On the other hand, the characters were so fun and really spent time joking with us and yukking it up. As with Chef Mickey's, you are paying for characters and not food. Put that money toward a better meal and catch the charcters in the parks.
We flew home yesteray and I just could not bear another meal at Disney or else I would pop, so we had a salad at Friday's before heading to the airport.
So, all in all, we enjoyed it. A few disappointments, a few standouts, a few run of the mill places. But the best part was we got to do it with the people we cared about and had a fun time regardless.
We just got back from our first trip in three years last night and I wanted to take the time to give my thoughts on the places we chose to dine for anyone who might be making some plans or for anyone just interested in reading about it.
We arrived on 10/18 and checked in at the Polynesian. We ate lunch at Kona Cafe. This has always been a reliable choice for any meal and this was no different. I had always either had breakfast or dinner here but lunch was good. Three of us had the BBQ pork tacos with the macaroni salad. The tacos were delicious and the macaroni salad was umm, macaroni salad - not much else you can really say about that part. It is served with some really nasty marinated vegetables that tasted like rotten fish but there is only a small portion and so it was quickly pushed over to the side of the plate. The other in the group had the grilled chicken sandwich with curry mayo and loved it. We got started on desserts right off on this trip and the four of us split the banana creme brulee and the kiwi coconut cream pie. They were really, really, really, REALLY good.
Dinner that night was was the Prime Time. This has always been a favorite of mine too but I will readily admit that over the past several years, things have gone down overall. After a moderate wait past our reservation time we were seated in one of the rooms with a party of 24 people that were so loud and boisterous that it was hard to have a conversation. Service suffered as a result as well and it took forever to get our food and refills on drinks were impossible. Pot roast for myself,my brother and his GF - tasty and tender but a smaller portion than I remembered and less than what you seem to get with other entrees. One of us had the meatloaf which was nothing to write home about in his words but he did devour it so who knows? He had the brownie sundae for dessert and the rest of us split the PB&J milkshakes which were tasty as always.
On Monday, we had breakfast at Chef Mickey's. It had been a very long time since I had been here, probably just after it moved to the Contemporary from the Village (boy, I sure did prefer it there.) I realize this is one of THE gotta go to places for many but I felt it was pretty blah. Scrambled eggs were sitting in "egg juice" which is just plain nasty to me and everyting else was just "meh." I realize this is great for families with kids but if good food is more important to you than 15 seconds with a character, then I think there are much better places for breakfast.
Dinner that night was at Whispering Canyon. This place never ever disappoints for us. Our server was so very nice and attentive and just kept bringing us food without us asking and we just kept eating and eating and eating. He overheard me say I liked the brisket and brought a skillet that would be used to serve four people full of it. We all four split a wonderful piece of apple pie for dessert and then I rolled out of the restaurant.
Lunch the next day was just a burger at Typhoon Lagoon. We rented a beachcomber shack and they took care of the rest for us. Burger was ok, not great but on a side note, the shack was GREAT and I really felt it was worth the money. (The rates were less than the summer rates.)
Dinner than night was 'Ohana. Again, this is a family favorite for us and all of us ate way too much. Miss the potatoes but there was plenty to keep us filled. Bread pudding??? YUM, YUM, YUM! The other three in my party did say the steak was chewy but I don't eat steak and so it was fine my me. The turkey is always my favorite.
Lunch on the following day at Le Cellier, our first time there. Brother and I had salmon BLT's and his GF had a burger. Her son had the prime rib sandwich. We all tried the soup since everyone raves about it. Nothing too spectacular here - it was ok. I am sure the experience was lost on us since we did not have the steaks but as I said, I despise steak and the others were not hungry enough to try one. The soup was tasty as was the pretzel bread but honestly? I have had far better cheese soup than that. So count me as one less person all you Le Cellier devotees will be fighting against for ADR's in the future. I would not complain about eating there again but I would not go out of my way to do so either.
Dinner was at the Garden Grill. First time ever we did not wait for an eternity to be seated and service was prompt. My nurse had eaten here last month when I sent her down for her trip and she said her family thought it was "just plain nasty." We all thought it was ok but not as good as on previous trips. The flank steak was bloody rare and oozed onto the rest of the plate and so that was sorta gross but the fish and turkey were good. One of my pet peeves though is that the server saw that we had pretty much cleaned the platter and told us he was going to get us more - he returned with one slice of turkey, no dressing, two strips of steak, no potatoes and no fish or vegetables. I told him we were hungry enough for more than that and that there was no fish so he came back with one piece of fish. When I am paying that much, I really don't want it rationed out to me like we are experiencing a famine.
Thursday, we ate at Yak & Yeti. We all enjoyed the change in cuisine and thought it was pretty tasty. Two beef and broccoli, one sweet and sour chicken, and one chicken lo mein. We had the chicked lettuce cups and egg rolls for appetizers. I know this is one of the love it/hate it places for everyone but we all enjoyed it and I think it is a welcome addition to a park lacking in choices in my opinion.
Dinner that night was the late showing of the Hoop de Doo. This is my fourth time having seen this show over the years and this was probably the first time I can say I had the time of my life. The crowd was small that night...maybe only half of the first floor tables were seated....and it was just so much fun. We were seated at Table 11 and I was right by the stairs. I was singled out as the "tooter" by Annie and she came down and talked with me and she and one of the guys kept fighting over me because I was not seated on her side but she got me to sing with her half of the room. Claire then tried to use me for one of the roles up on stage but I had to sit down since I had already been the "tooter." The food was great with meaty fried chicken and ribs. I loved the beans and needless to say, I lived up to my name of "tooter" later that night. :lookaroun:lol:
Friday was Brown Derby for lunch with Cobb Salad for everyone which was ok and filling enough. We tried the grapefruit cake which is different from the recipe they once used and was pretty much tasteless. The standout was the white chocolate, toffee, banana tower which was devoured in mere moments.
Dinner on Friday was at 1900 Park Fare. Again, I guess the buffets at WDW just don't do it for me. It was crowded, LOUD and there was an exceptionally long wait to be seated. You would think with a menu offering things like Coq au vin, beef stir fry, pasta with meat sauce and salmon, that we would be talking tasty good stuff. Maybe I was just burned out on eating but this was really a disappointment and my expectations were not that high to begin with. I am not a really picky eater (except for that steak issue) and will be satisifed with just about anything put in front of me, but the food here was just inferior to what we had had elsewhere. On the other hand, the characters were so fun and really spent time joking with us and yukking it up. As with Chef Mickey's, you are paying for characters and not food. Put that money toward a better meal and catch the charcters in the parks.
We flew home yesteray and I just could not bear another meal at Disney or else I would pop, so we had a salad at Friday's before heading to the airport.
So, all in all, we enjoyed it. A few disappointments, a few standouts, a few run of the mill places. But the best part was we got to do it with the people we cared about and had a fun time regardless.
