Well well, this is the end! Sad, I know, but the trip is over (and has been since May 09, but finally I have caught up with my report as well, lazy me) and it is time for me to present my final thoughts, and of course my ultimate “Best/Worst” list.
It has taken me about a week longer than I had intended to, but I have put quite a bit of effort into it. For an obsessive-compulsive planner like myself, there is nothing quite as enjoyable as compiling lists
. So let’s start with that:
Our Best/Worst List
WHERE WILL WE RETURN AND WHERE WON'T WE?
So what restaurants will we be returning to, and which will we give a wide berth in the future?
Well, for all sorts of different reasons I rather think we
will not visit any of the following restaurants again: This does not always mean (or rather, hardly ever means!) that we hated it there, so I will try and explain our reasons for every restaurant. (Restaurants are listed in order of appearance in this report, apart from the “Biggest Loser” being number 1.)
San Angel Inn: Our “biggest loser”!
This is one restaurant that we really did not like: a long wait for a volcano-side table which we ended up not getting anyway; a very crowded setting with tables so close together that you develop the instant wish to drop a clothes size just to be able to squeeze past; and the food seemed a bit bland too, although I admit that we ate in a bit of a hurry since DH wasn’t feeling so well, so I didn’t give the food as much of a chance as I did in other restaurants.
Whispering Canyon Cafe: This was nice but as long as we don't stay at Wilderness Lodge, we probably wouldn't go to the trouble of dining at the WCC. It was very convenient while we stayed there, but especially since we've now already been three times, not worth driving to (unless they finally start abusing us just like they do with you Americans!
)
Boma: We didn't like it too well, even though the food was good - but it was ust nothing special for us. We will definitely try Jiko instead, though!
Spoodles: Can't go there anymore since it is now closed! We might give Kouzzina (the new restaurant at the spot where Spoodles used to be) a try, though.
1900 Park Fare: Boy, were we scared of the characters
…
The Wave: really nice breakfast, but no special Disney atmosphere and I don’t like the fact that is has got no windows, so we will probably skip it and try something else instead.
Chef Mickey's: We found this very noisy and not too great for adults sans kids, so at least as long as we do not have children we won't return there.
Liberty Tree Tavern: I am truly not sure about this one, especially since the dessert was so fantabulous (see below). However, the whole place was a bit dark and maybe we just didn't get the whole "colonial ambience", but we were not really that much into it. So not bad at all, just not as good as many others. (But then again, the toffee cake ... oh be still my beating heart ...)
Everything I haven’t mentioned here will definitely see us again on some future visit! In detail, we
will visit again (in order of appearance in this report – apart from our top favourite which gets mentioned first):
California Grill: This was the best of the best!! The short and pleasant wait time in the lounge by the window, the table location, outstanding food, the drinks, the service, the pixie dust and the views of the fireworks - the whole package was just perfect! We will so definitely return here during our next trip – and I am just realizing what this means: I will be back at the California Grill THIS YEAR!
Trails End: I think this is already a widely-known fact – nowhere else can you dine table-service at Disney World for so little money, and it still tastes good and has a nice wilderness atmosphere with friendly servers! I didn’t eat much due to the fact I was so tired and already not feeling well, but should we ever stay at the Wilderness Lodge again I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to take a nice walk along the jogging path to Fort Wilderness, have dinner at Trails’ End, wander by the campfire and probably stay for the movie, and then take a romantic night-time ferry-ride back to Wilderness Lodge via the Contemporary. A great evening for little money!
Crystal Palace: I am pretty sure we will turn an early breakfast on the first morning of our vacation here into a tradition – this is such a great way to start a WDW vacation! Stroll along an almost-empty main street, then have some breakfast and get hugged by Pooh. Perfect!
Tony’s Town Square: After I had to leave after the appetizer last time due to my stomach bug (or whatever it was), we might well return here during our next trip and have a more enjoyable dinner. (As far as I see it, this might be the best place to have dinner at the MK?)
The Plaza: Not something planned for our next trip, but we think it’s the nicest place to have lunch at the Magic Kingdom, so we might well end up here sometime.
Olivia’s Cafe: This was so enjoyable! Not crowded at all, and it was one of the rare opportunities to sit outside when dining (something that most Germans love – but then again we don’t often get the opportunity with all our bad weather, and the sun is hardly ever so harsh that you wouldn’t want to sit outside). It was pretty, the food was yummy, the server was nice – what more could one ask? (I still don’t think we will be back this next visit as Old Key West Resort is rather out of the way for us. But should we happen to be there, I would love to eat at Olivia’s again.
Raglan Road: Especially the entrée and dessert here were really yummy, and the live band was cool (the Irish tap dancing lady was really cute, too). We are not currently planning on returning here on our next trip, but some day we certainly will!
Tusker House: This was very enjoyable both for breakfast (with the characters in their safari garb) and for lunch (without characters, but with very inspired and varied ethnic cooking). As far as I have designed our dining plan for next trip (that is, only very roughly) this is not featured because I think we will prefer our beloved Yak & Yeti, but who knows … This would always be nice!
Sci-Fi Dine-In: See below at the Brown Derby – we might just return here next time. (In fact, I think we will as DH has just requested it – and rare is the moment when he actually specifically requestst a certain restaurant instead of leaving the planning to me!). In a word: Fun!
The Coral Reef: We HAVE to return here next time! I just have to have that beautiful appetizer again, and I have to try steak for an entrée – I have read they do such great steak, I just wanted to stick with the maritime dining theme last time, but next time I shall look at the fishies but devour the four-legged beasties instead
Flying Fish Cafe: Loved the food! The wait for a table was long even though the place was not nearly full, it was loud and the service was a tad slow, but the food was so fabulous it makes up for everything else. Plus we will be staying so close to this place at the Beach Club Villas, it will be no more than an enjoyable stroll along the Boardwalk home after our meal. See where I am going with this? Yup – back to the Flying Fish!
Kona Cafe: Great breakfast here! I have read that other meals are great here too, but I don’t think we will try them during our next trip. I don’t think we will be able to stay away from the Big Kahuna breakfast though!
Artist Point: We had two great and memorable dinners here. If we had not stayed at the Wilderness Lodge last time (making this our “home signature restaurant”) we probably would not have dined here twice, but I am really glad now that we did. I do not think we will return here on our next trip because there are so many new possibilities to try out and old favourites to revisit which are closer to the Boardwalk area where we will be staying next, but I just know we will return to the World more than once, and then we will be back at Artist Point for sure.
The Hollywood Brown Derby: This was so nice, enjoyable, yummy and full of pixie dust. We might well return next time – unless we decide in favour of much less suave but fun (and one credit per person cheaper) Sci-Fi Dine-In instead.
Narcoossees: Oh, this was really good. The prices are steep, but luckily this is not so much of a concern when using the Deluxe Dining Plan. The ambience was beautiful, as was the voew of the marina and the Castle off in the distance. Service was impeccable, the food was very nice even if maybe not as spectacular as at other signature dining experiences we tried. Next time, we won’t go for the Surf and Turf!
‘Ohana: This is a must for our next visit! Probably not for dinner, but the breakfast was so great we would love to do it again. What can I say – it had Lilo and Stitch, a glorious skillet and pineapple bread!
The only negative thing I need to mention is the air-condition: It was rather too cold there for us, but the same holds true for various other restaurants (like Chef Mickey’s and most especially the Sci-Fi Dine-In – arctic!
)
The Yachtsman Steakhouse: This is a must-do for next time, especially since we will be staying nearby so we will be able to have a nice glass of wine with dinner and can then just walk home. Loooking forward to the fabulous steaks already!
The Yak & Yeti: This was a lot of fun, very friendly and atmospheric and had some of the best food we have had the chance to try during our whole trip. Little wonder we will be back here on our AK day!
Cape May Cafe: I am sure we will be back here for a yummy character breakfast next time, especially since we will be staying so close by at Beach Club Villas!
In this summary, I have already mentioned several restaurants that we are very likely to visit again on our next trip this fall, so I should probably also mention a few new restaurants that we
will (very likely) try next time as well:
Marrakesh: I so wish we hadn’t had to cancel our reservation there (but alas, my stomach bug or whatever it was that day, didn’t leave us any choice!). We had a quick look inside and it looked beautiful, and I just love oriental cuisine (as long as it is not insanely spicy, which I don’t think will be the case in a WDW restaurant. Pretty much a must for next time!
Le Cellier:
This is the other restaurant ADR we had to cancel that day I was not feeling well … I do think we will give it a try next time, I have read so many good things about it and had really been looking forward to it.
Jiko:
DH talked me into cancelling this one and it was perfectly alright for me at the time, but I need to try this next time! I have read so many great things about their cuisine, this is the biggest must after California Grill (so there you go, DH! No use trying to talk me out of it this time!
)
Tokyo Dining / Teppan Edo:
We didn’t fit any of these two into our plans for the honeymoon, but since we both really like sushi and Asian cuisine we would love to try one of them next time round. Not sure which one of the two, though.
Hoop-De-Doo Revue:
And now for something completely different, as they say: The Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue! I would love to go to a dinner show, I never really have before. We briefly toyed with the idea of trying either this or the Luau show on our honeymoon, but ended up deciding against it somehow. Now that we have found our love for the Wilderness Lodge and adjacent jogging path, we have a good reason to try the Revue!
Has anybody done the Hoop-Dee-Doo and have something to say in favour or against it? I’d love to hear some opinions!
Citrico`s:
And yet another ADR that we cancelled
… To be remedied next time, I hope! Like I said before, DH is not that much into the Grand Floridian and therefore I may not be able to drag him there for dinner twice, so I will have to make up my mind whether I rather want to revisit Narcoossee’s, or give Citrico’s a try. We will decide that a bit later, I think. (Any opinions on this, anybody?)
Coming up next and last: The rest of my final thoughts and rankings ...
(I just felt that it was taking too long to get this finished, so I wanted tp at least share the parts I have finished with you.)