Our 11 Day Deluxe Dining Report With Pics! *Update 5/1 Complete*

[rentayenta]

Loved Raglan Road in 2007.

 

[JessicaKnits]

Our first day we were going to be at Magic Kingdom, and that meant an early 8:05 AM ADR at Crystal Palace.

First, I will start of by saying that I don't have pictures of the buffet, or the food here, just characters. It was our very first full day in Disney World, and I honestly found this breakfast to be really chaotic. So, I know its not as good as food porn, but here are a few pictures of us.

Not very exciting so I'm going to quickly transition to the food. For a buffet, this was aboslutely awesome! Really wonderful variety, I'm not sure you could find a breakfast food that you would want that was not on this buffet! It also got an extra bonus for being the only buffet we went to that offered chocolate Mickey waffles. Delish! Great selection of both cut and whole fruits, a niced mixed berry blend of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. Also whole strawberries with cream, yogurts, swiss and cheddar cheese in cubes, whole boiled eggs, a wonderful spiced peach cobbler, chocolate crossaints, banana bread, Pooh's puffed french toast, glazed donut holes, pastrami smoked salmon, roasted baby reds, sausage, bacon, egg frittata (which really was not a frittata at all, just scrambled eggs with sliced tomatoes and cheese on top), omelettes to order, bagels, breakfast pizza, corned beef hash. I'm sure there was in fact more, but that is all I managed to jot down.

Between the two of us, we managed to sample a little bit of everything, with the exception of the cold cereals and the likes of things that you can get at home.

Our server was Jay, and he was really excellent. We had a nice chat about Brett Favre, and he was kind enough to bring me a bottle of water, even after he had dropped the check. While I think it would have been covered by the plan anyway, it wasn't added to our bill. I will say that for the food they served here, it is mostly offerings that are hard to screw up. It is standard breakfast fare, the reason this place stands out is due to the sheer volume of dishes here.

The one issue I had was with the pastrami smoked salmon. It tasted like pastrami. And it tasted like smoked salmon, but I'm really not sure those flavors go well together. This was a really really great start to our day. Service was great, characters were great, and food was wonderful.

Summary:
2 Table Service Credits Used
54 Table Service Credits Remaining
Total Covered by Dining Plan: $44.71

 

[JessicaKnits]

I'm in!

Me too!

looking forward to your reviews and pics. especially via napoli - trying to decide if i want to keep that adr.

joining in too...

Joining too!

Looking forward to reading your reviews!

IN!!!

Keep 'em coming! Really nice start!

I love hearing about the signature restaurants.

Joining in

I'm in!

Im here! Looking fwd to it especially lunch at Via Napoli which we will be doing next Sat!

great start

Great start with Raglan Road! Looking forward to reading more of your reviews

Great start! I really like your restaurant line-ups a lot

In!

I´m in! Looking forward to see if you liked Wishes and 50's prime (we have ADR there in october but the reviews of these two have not been so good lately).

Loved Raglan Road in 2007.

to all of you! I read all of the Deluxe Reviews religiously leading up to our trip, and it really helped me make a lot of decisions about where we were going to eat, so glad that I can hopefully give back a little.

 

[Kathy Z]

Keep the reviews and pictures coming. Did Tigger bounce by without stopping to pose with you?

 

[JessicaKnits]

This being our first park day, and having never been to Disney World before, I neglected to pack our waters in my purse before heading off. We only made it about 2 hours past breakfast before we were positively parched, so, our first snack purchase was sadly enough for 2 waters. Very unexciting, I know! They were Dasani. They tasted like water. And I didn't forget the waters again all trip!

2 Snack Credits Used
37 Snack Credits Remaining
Total cost covered by plan: $5.33

Before we even knew it, it was time for lunch, and to be honest, neither of us was really hungry, but somehow we managed. Our server's name on the receipt shows as Consuelo, but I think for some reason that her name was Consuela.

We started with

Crab and Spinach Dip for Two - blue crab, spinach, cream cheese and flatbread $10.99

This was the only time all trip I encountered artificial crab meat, so I'm really not sure why they went through the extra trouble of listing this as "Blue" crab on the menu, because it definitely was not. This tasted like your run of the mill spinach dip, similar to what you would get from TGI Fridays. No crab flavor at all. But, it was good, and the pitas served with it came out warm, but didn't stay like that for very long. I had a problem with the fact that our server neglected to bring out any plates for this, and they also don't have cloth napkins here (not that paper naps are a problem at all). So we ate our aps over unfolded paper napkins on the table, which was a little awkward, but neccessary, since they Pita's were crisp and toasted it was really difficult to control our crumbs.

It was right about this time that Consuelo (a?) disappeared for a long time. She never checked back with us after dropping our ap, which is why we never got plates for it. Our entree's arrived, and were brought by someone completely different, who also didn't bother to clear away our obviously finished appetizer plate.

But enough whining, on to food.

I got the Tri-Corner Sandwich - roast beef and swiss cheese with Liberty Slaw, horseradish cream sauce and arugula served on herbed focaccia with fresh fruit or tavern fries $11.49.

This sandwich was awesome. The roast beef was very moist, and the really strong horseradish cream was nicely balanced with the sweetness of the slaw. The fries also arrived piping hot and gloriously crispy on the outside, and light and fluffy on the inside.

Adam went with Pilgrims' Feast - traditional roast turkey with herb bread dressing, mashed potatoes and a garden vegetable $14.99.

This is best described as Thanksgiving, in August, on your plate. Very moist turkey, delicious mashed potatoes, fresh green beans and gravy. This dish got a big thumbs up from the self proclaimed king of meat and potatoes.

It was really lucky that our food was all to our liking and nothing was wrong, because we never saw Consuela until after our entree's were finished and our plates were cleared. In fact, our plates were taken by the next door table's waitress, who had walked by on 3 different occasions after we had finished our meal, and I think felt sorry for us that our plates hadn't been cleared.

After another 5 minutes she finally reappeared to take our dessert order.

Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake -- vanilla cake with a gooey toffee filling, vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce $6.49 for me.

Chocolate Brownie - dark chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream $5.99 for Adam.

So, I will say that both desserts were very tasty. But mine was not a cake, and Adam's was not a brownie. Mine had the exact texture of a chocolate chip cookie when you bake them in a pan as bars instead of individual cookies, and Adam's was just like Devil's Food Cake; neither rich nor fudgy like you expect from a brownie, and his cake, despite being ala mode and covered in ice cream, was pretty dry.

The food here did the job, but service left a lot to be desired.
Total Table Service Credits used: 2
Total Table Service Remaining: 54
Total cost covered by plan: $58.93

Up Next: Yachtsman Steak House

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Amazing start...love the detail in your food report...can't wait for more

 

[JessicaKnits]

Leading up to our trip here, I really really talked this place up to Adam. I have always read good reviews on the food and service, and this restaurant definitely was on my "nothing to worry about" list leading up to our departure. Adam lives for steak and I booked a reservation here specifically with him in mind. Sadly we had a some major issues here, one with the food, and another with service, including a truly disturbing incident that I will describe as we go on here. As a result, we won't be returning.

Things started off well enough, and we were in really high spirits leading up to this dinner:

Our server's name was Ben, and he was really excellent. He had an awesome Brooklyn accent, and he was very attentive. He obviously had a lot of experience serving. I ordered the Pineapple Flambe cocktail, and Adam had a Whiskey Sour. In Wisconsin these almost always come served with pickled mushrooms as a garnish. When Adam requested them, Ben didn't know what they were and had honestly never heard this request before. This was really funny, and Ben earned major points by bringing out a little sampler of all the garnishes the bar did offer for Adam to choose from. At this time, Ben explained that he would be assisted that evening by another server, Joey, and that both would be taking care of us. This is where things kind of started to fall apart and get weird. I'm not sure what was really going on. Ben clearly wasn't training Joey or the other way around, because they never interacted with eachother. There was clearly no communication between the two of them about who was taking care of what, and as a result, our dinner was interrupted about 5 or 6 times for the same thing, once by Ben, and once by Joey. Not very enjoyable, but definitely a do able situation.

For apps, I had the Black and Blue Beef Tartare - White Truffle Dressing and Pea Tendrils $16.00

I've had about a million beef tartares in my life...and I have to say, this one ranks very near the top. This was wonderfully seasoned and dressed. There was also a blue cheese cream with this that went beautifully with the beef. The tartare was special enough on its own that this dish would have been fine without it.

Adam had the Tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella. Heirloom Tomatoes, Basil, Garlic, warm Focaccia and aged Balsamic. $13.00

Another really well seasoned dish. According to Adam, perfectly ripened tomatoes, the freshest mozzarella he has ever had, and wonderfully aged balsamic.

No one came to check on us after our appetizers were brought, Ben arrived first to clear the dishes, and Joey followed a few minutes later to clear the already cleared plates.

Now, it was about this time that the table next to us, a family of four, with a young child under two, and a boy about 8, really started to bother me. I want to preface by saying that I welcome children at all restaurants, not just at Disney World. However, I do feel that if your youngest is wailing so hard her face is beet red, and your oldest is repeatedly screaming about how he doesn't feel well, then I think its apparent to all involved (except the parents) that maybe you just need to give up on the night out. Both children continued screaming...but really, what can you do in this situation? We just moved on and did the best we could to tune it out.

For entree's, I had the Braised Beef Ravioli. Garden Vegetables, Blue Cheese Fondue, and Cabernet Jus $32.00

Now, there were hardly any garden vegetables with this dish, but I can't say I missed them. There was some well seasoned wilted spinach over the top. This dish was absolute perfection. Well seasoned beef, tender, fresh pasta, creamy blue cheese fondue that had a nice sharpness to it.

Adam had Oak-fired Rib-Eye - 16-oz Boneless Rib-Eye, hand-breaded onion rings, and Red Wine Butter $43.00. This dish was supposed to come with onion rings, but came with mashed potatoes, with no explanation. Adam happens to prefer mash, so this wasn't a problem.

This is were the food problem started. Adam ordered his steak medium rare. Before he even cut into it, I could tell it was rare. When he cut into the middle, it was deep red and ice cold. For a restaurant that specializes in steak, this really should not have gone without notice, especially when there was a chef standing right at the pass expediting the meal. We simply just sent it back, and when it came back the second time was done correctly. Now, about 2 inches into the steak, Adam encountered some tendon and gristle. So, we were presented with the age old question. Do you send the whole steak back and have them start again, or do you assume that its just that one little piece and that the rest will be fine and continue on. We unfortunately assumed in this case, and, well, we all know what happens then. At least 1/3 of his steak turned out to be completely inedible. By the end, he had quite a mound of unedible tendons piled up on his plate. Now this was not fat, but actual tendon that could not be chewed. I'm not even kidding when I say the pile was easily the size of one of my gigantic raviolis. This was just a really really terrible cut of meat. They should have been embarrassed to serve it, and obviously quality control was lacking here. Even though we had two waiters, no one bothered to check on us after the steak came back (which was brought by a food runner). Now, after you have finished eating the steak, you can't very well ask for another one, and we didn't. But I was really surprised when Ben came to clear the dishes and obviously saw a huge mound of something inedible sitting there, that he still didn't ask us how anything was. If we weren't on the dining plan, we would have handled things differently. We just resolved to the fact that what was done was done and moved on to dessert.

Now, while we were waiting for dessert to arrive, that kid at the table next to us, really decided he was, as he predicted over and over again, sick. As Vesuvius began erupting, he made a break for the exit, followed quickly by Dad, but not before leaving a trail of lava from his table all the way out the door. Once we witnessed this I was really really off my appetite (who wouldn't be?) and I had to do my best not to erupt myself. I thankfully was facing away from the "lava" directly behind my chair, but poor Adam unfortunately had a view of the whole scene.

Split Seconds later, dessert arrived. I had the tasting of Pistachio. Chiffon Cake, gelato, valrhona chocolate mousse, and panna cotta.

There was no panna cotta as described. The gelato was fabulous, as was the mousse. I'm not sure what it was that caused it, but the chiffon cake was extremely sour, and did not taste at all like pistachio. A so so dessert.

Adam had the creme brulee. It was a creme brulee. Nothing really special about it, but it did the job.

Now, on to that really disturbing story I mentioned. As if it wasn't bad enough that there was vomit on the floor, in the restaurant, where people eat. What they did to resolve the situation was what was actually horrifying. Now, if you have been to the Yachtsman before, you know that as you enter/exit the dining room, you walk by the "Pass" where the food is picked up by the servers and brought to tables. So, since you can't exit without walking by the pass, there was some explosion remnants on the floor, and Instead of mopping up, they actually brought out towels, and laid them over the vomit. Our table was situated immediately when you enter the dining room, and we had a full view of the pass. If there had been a mop out there, we would have seen it. Then our server confirmed what has now become my absolute worst living nightmare. He said that mopping the floor would be dangerous as it would cause the floor to be wet and someone might slip and fall. No mention of the just down right disgusting ness that vomit was near food. I was just speechless. I couldn't even get out any other comment other than open jaw. How about maybe mopping the mess up and THEN placing towels over it?!?! I will be horrified for a long time about the unknowing people that entered and exited that restaurant and walked directly over vomit. Not to mention all the food that got passed in this area. There was no use arguing in person with the people that made this decision. I actually emailed customer service straight away when we got back to our room. Our dinner was covered by the plan, and we aren't looking for any type of compensation, but I just couldn't shake how I would feel as a manager if I found out my employee's did something like that and no one brought it to my attention. Someone made a serious judgment error with that situation and needs to be reprimanded. Good thing we weren't the health inspector, but I sort of wish we had been.

There really isn't anything else to say. We paid the check, left our tip, I held my breath and practically ran out of the place all the while dodging the towels on the floor.

Summary:
4 TS credits used
50 TS credits remaining
Total amount covered by plan: $133.91

 

[kaylea]

Your Yachtsman experience is horrifying!

But otherwise, this is a great trip report! Thanks for all the details and info! Congratulations to you both also!

 

[Colleen27]

This was the only time all trip I encountered artificial crab meat, so I'm really not sure why they went through the extra trouble of listing this as "Blue" crab on the menu, because it definitely was not. This tasted like your run of the mill spinach dip, similar to what you would get from TGI Fridays. No crab flavor at all. But, it was good, and the pitas served with it came out warm, but didn't stay like that for very long.

It is real crab. Not high quality, probably claw meat, but real at least. We confirmed it with our server, who in turn checked with the chef, because my husband has a serious allergy to fish but not shellfish. He has to be very careful about imitation crab, which is just crab-flavored fish, and Disney is one of very few places where he'll eat things like crab dip because they're so food allergy aware/accommodating.

about your Yachtsman experience! We weren't terribly impressed by our meal there, but at least the steaks were good and there was no involved. You would think any restaurant at Disney would have a reasonably acceptable plan in place for dealing with protein spills; it can't be a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence with as many kids as they have in and out.

 

[DisOrBust]

Having lived and drank in Wisconsin my whole life (that sounds bad doesn't it?) I have never had or seen a whiskey sour with a marinated mushroom. I feel cheated now,lol. A bloody Mary for sure but never a Whiskey sour, does that really taste good? I'lll have to try I guess....

As far as the puke goes I think they did the best the could in the situation, fast. I wouldn't want them trying to mop that up in a hurry and swill it around everywhere. In school when they puke they use the "miracle sawdust stuff" to absorb and sweep it up, I wondering if they can't use it in a food service situation. The parents should be shot for not listening to their kid but who knows maybe he cried wolf to many times in the past.

My daughter at age 4 did me the honor of puking in the middle of the lobby at the Poly with no warning right before we were off to the MVMCP. I was horrified but every CM was extremely helpful even the DVC guide. I can't remember how that got cleaned up but I do remember towels being involved.

I also have been in a restaurant where an adult puke ALL OVER the table and LEFT IT for the server!

We did the DXDP this August and also ate at the YMS and RR, they were are two top meals after 12 days. It was our forth trip in one year and it was sadr see how the menus have been standardized and overall quality diminished.

 

[JessicaKnits]

Having lived and drank in Wisconsin my whole life (that sounds bad doesn't it?) I have never had or seen a whiskey sour with a marinated mushroom. I feel cheated now,lol. A bloody Mary for sure but never a Whiskey sour, does that really taste good? I'lll have to try I guess....QUOTE]

I suppose it would be more accurate to say that they are served with whatever you normally take them with. So if you prefer mushrooms, they are always available. I've also seen them with olives and onions....I'm not a whiskey drinker, so I can't comment on if any of them actually taste good. My father was always a whiskey sour with mushroom guy too though.

As far as the spewage went... I think it wouldn't have bothered me nearly as much if there would have been efforts to do something after the towels were placed. From the time the towels went down to the time we got our check and made our exit took about 15 minutes and all the while they just sat there and everyone went about their business. I have no idea what happened after we left though.

 

[WAWDWLUVER]

I had a similar experience at 'Ohana last year except it was a lady in a wheel chair so she wasn't able to get out of the restaurant. The staff handled the "mess" the exact same way!!! Just put a row of towels over it and continued on as tho' nothing was wrong. To this day I gag when I think about it. Now, unfortunately, I have resies at Yachtsman next Tuesday and I pray I'll be able to forget all about your post before then!!!

 

[rentayenta]

Puke.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Sorry to read your experience at Yatchman's. The child told the parents he was not feeling well and did not listen. When we went to 1900 Park Fare the table next to us had a 7yrs old girl and she keep saying to her parents I wan to go back to our room to bed b/c I'm tired from throwing up and I feel its coming back. The mother took the girl to the bathroom and when she came back the father said we paid all this money and we will try to enjoy . As a parent, I don't care how much I spend...I would just take care of my son first and respect the people around me.
I would be upset that the place did not clean it up so you and other customers don't see it or even smell it...really its a restaurant...if I was entering the restaurant and saw it...I would turn around and eat somewhere else, Sorry to you guys had an awful experience especially trying to have a nice dinner.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

wow. i'm so sorry about your yachtsman experience. we had the most magical experience there for our birthdays. we even deemed it "the best meal ever"... not just in WDW, but... EVER. Oscar was our server and he was the one of the best waiters we have encountered as well. we're going back in november, and hopefully it's good again--we're going to eat and talk about having our wedding reception there. i guess every place has it's day. we had terrible experiences at lecellier, jiko and narcoossee's. all three of them are loved by most. as for the child... shame on the parents for not listening to their sick little one!!

 

[goodeats]

Yikes! I hate bad service, it's so annoying when you're shelling out the big bucks for a nice meal and you get ignored like that. Were you there (WDW) at a really busy time or did you just have horrible luck with servers? You got terrible service at YSH and LTT!

Now that I have a baby, I can not stand when people let babies/kids scream in restaurants. It's just so selfish! When DH and I go out alone it takes a lot of work to find a competent sitter. So when we do get to go out we want it to be nice. Sigh.

 

[ems_mom]

Wow, I'm really sorry about your Yachtsman experience. It sounds like the restaurant's atmoshphere went from bad to horrible...unfortunately we can't control our fellow diners, but it does appear the restaurant could have handled the situation better.

I also think you received poor service. Having tag team servers probably hurt the situation; one probably assumed that the other was checking in with you about your meal. As soon as the steak came out the second time they should have come over to assess your satisfaction with the quality and doneness.

Two years ago my DH and I dined here for the first time. We ordered the chateaubriand for two. It was very tasty but definetly overdone. (We had ordered medium rare). Now we almost never send food back and the restaurant was quite busy so we decided it was good enough and began eating. About halfway through our dinners our server came over to inquire how everything was. We assured him everything was great (sides also) but said he might want to tell the grill man to watch out for doneness as ours was somewhat overcooked. Well, he took one look, apologized profusely and offered to bring us another. Well, we were half way through eating and said thanks, but its not necessary. Then a minute later the chef comes to our table! He also apologizes and offers another chateaubriand. We were like no its ok, but he insisted! I mean, really insisted! We ended up taking our second $80 entree and desserts back to our villa. They made a wonderful gourmet meal the next night.

 

[canoe86]

Have eaten at the Yachtsman once, it was good. Not great, good. Nice restaurant though, and would give it another try.

As a parent of four, I can tell you, accidents happen. BUT, especially for kids say....4-5 and older, surprises rarely happen. There is 'normally' some sort of warning. As a parent, it is our jobs to make sure we take care of the child and even for younger ones, to try and watch for problems. For example, a 3 year old doesn't want a cookie. ALARM BELLS!!!! In this case, there would be NO WAY I would take the kid out. One of us would stay back at the room. That is just life as a parent. As for adults, there is almost no excuse for having a problem in a restaurant.....come on...you are an adult.

What chaps me is that when this happens, it can reflect poorly on kids/parents in some people's eyes. Morons are EVERYWHERE!!!! Young and old. There are those of us out here that are concerned about our kids, AND others around us. I think people are so wrapped up in Disney or eating someplace and having some $ on the line, they don't use common sense. And of course, others are just knuckleheads.

I would bet at Disney though, kids losing their lunch is pretty common. Lots of stomach turning rides, lots of food and treats....add in some heat and................PUKE!

 

[TruBlu]

How horrible of those parents!!! And to just leave it in the floor.

 

[My sister's princess]

Loved your CP pics! We are going to try it on our next trip for the first time!
DH is on a mission to get me to see Eeyore, and that seems to be the best place!

I don't even know where to start on the Yachtsman, so I am going to pretend I never read that