And we're back! Our June 2012 dining report

[undertheseas]

We were headed back to WDW for DH’s conference and then extended for our vacation for a total of 12 nights. Because we didn’t have much notice I got most of the restaurants we wanted except Le Cellier. I had a lunch booked for four thinking in terms of credits instead of people (I guess since DD was two but turning three on the trip) and couldn’t get it changed to five so we had to cancel it. Otherwise we got most of the TS reservations we wanted. This was our 6th and 7th trip so we had a good idea of where we wanted to eat. Each kid picked one meal and DH and I picked the rest. He got there Saturday but because of a dance recital, the kids and I didn’t get there until late Sunday. Most of the table services didn’t happen until DH had a free night for the conference. DD2 is a light eater so she mostly shared meals with me, I think we only got her a kid meal once. We had a PIN code for free dining-counter service which we upgraded to the dining plan. Two months before the trip, DH and I started trying to lose weight. He lost 30 and I lost 21 so we were hoping not to over-do it and ruin our hard work. I told myself that if it wasn’t a super incredible meal, I would not eat it all.


I tried to write down the total before tips but sometimes we forgot. It doesn’t include tax or tip or any extras.


Here’s the restaurants we’re reviewing:
Flametree BBQ
Café Rix
Wolfgang Puck Express
Captains Grille
Katsura Grill
Biergarten
Pecos Bill
Fulton’s
Fairfax Fare
Primetime 50s Café
Kona Café
La Catina
Cape May
Columbia Harbour House
Crystal Palace
Raglan Road
Starring Rolls
Pizza Planet
Mama Melrose Fantasmic! Package
Tortuga Tavern
Narcoossees
Pepper Market


Monday, June 4 – We were in the Animal Kingdom for lunch which meant Flametree BBQ. It wasn’t as good as we remembered, the ribs were tough but the chicken was good. The baked beans had too much mustard, the cole slaw was EXACTLY like KFC. The key lime cheesecake was very plain, the kids liked the chocolate mousse. 3 counter service credits = $55.29

For dinner we had planned on going to Downtown Disney but my youngest developed a high fever this day. After lunch we went to First Aid where they took her temperature, it was 104.1! YIKES! They gave us a pamphlet for urgent care and a dose of Tylenol. By the time we walked to the bus stop and got seated, DD threw up all over me and a little on the bus. We got a towel from the driver to clean it up. We gave her a bath, took a nap, got another dose of Tylenol but her fever was still high, she was starting to shake and her heart was racing. I called urgent care who said they would pick us up at the front lobby. I knew better than to give DD milk but it was the only thing she agreed to drink so sure enough, we got to the lobby and she threw up all over me and the floor by the fountain. Ugh! Sorry to anyone in El Centro that afternoon! The staff was very nice and got someone right over to clean up for us. The service to take you to urgent care was a life saver. About 90 minutes later we left with an antibiotic for an ear infection.
We went back to the resort and just got sandwiches at Café Rix. We got a bacon cheeseburger, a Cuban, and cheese pizza. Dessert was a fruit cup, cake and chocolate mousse. The Cuban was really good, everything else was meh. 3 counter service credits = $44.85

(sorry, no pics! Too busy with the sick baby)

Tuesday, June 5 - DD was feeling better, we kept her dosed up on Advil and she was a trooper. We headed over to DHS but the big kids and I were still craving the best pizza ever since we missed it yesterday. At lunch we headed over to Wolfgang Puck Express. We got a pepperoni pizza, a cheese pizza and my absolute favorite ever, the four cheese pesto! That and a tropical tea is the BEST COUNTER SERVICE IN THE WORLD! Seriously, I drool thinking of it now. Dessert was frozen yogurt and brownies but no one except DD2 had room for it, I think that’s really all she ate but since she was still recovering I let it slide. 3 counter service credits = $55.91 SO WORTH IT! I would have had this every day if it had been more convenient to get there.

Dinner was at Captain’s Grille where DH met us. DD1 picked the “Captain’s Grille Experience” so she got an appetizer, the clam chowder. It was OK, just not what we’re used to. Then she had the Rosemary-brined pork chop which she thought was too dry. DS had crab legs which were good, Dh had the ribeye while I had the NY strip. Dinner was just OK, no one was impressed with any of it. Dessert was the angel food cake (weird black seseme seeds on it which odd), the turtle cheesecake (DS loved it) and the chocolate cake which doesn’t sound like the one on the menu at allears. It was good but I was able to take two bites and give it up. Overall I’d say the place was decent but not worth doing again. 4 table service credits = (we didn’t write down the total)

Ugh the photos are so small! I just uploaded a ton of them and I'm too lazy to resize them, let me know if you want to see any larger. Sorry! More to come.......

 

[scanne]

Great start - but so sorry to hear your baby had a high fever and ear infection. At least you got it taken care of right away, though.

And I am total agreement that WPE is the best QS option in all of WDW!

Looking forward to more.

 

[Brook1099]

Looking forward to your reviews!!

 

[undertheseas]

Wednesday, June 6 – We spent the day at Epcot. My DD1 wanted to eat in Japan because she loves all things Japanese so we ate at Katsura Grill. The big kids had the Tonosama Combo (teriyaki beef, chicken and salmon) which was OK. I let the cast member pick mine so she suggested the Tempura Shrimp Udon which I did not like at all. The Matcha Roll was not good but the strawberry ice cream was tasty. The iced green tea was really blah. I would not eat here again. 3 counter service meals = $59.24

Dinner was at Biergarten. We ate there years ago and it was just as we remembered. The food was decent but the real appeal is the entertainment. The schnitzel was really good, some of the salads too. DD2 loved getting up to dance, it was fun. DH had a beer flight so for 4 table services, beer and tip it was $151.19

Thursday, June 7 – Lunch at Pecos Bill. What is with the counter services at MK, do they need more? Because they were completely packed every day we were there. We had cheeseburgers, a BBQ sandwich, fries and the too-sweet chocolate and carrot cakes. Sorry, no total since we did the self-service checkout. As usual the fixin’s bar is what makes this place. Love me the sautéed onions!


Another new restaurant for us this trip was Fulton’s. It was pouring down rain while we were shopping at World of Disney and it never let up that night. (We had the wettest trip ever this time, rains that were torrential downpours or that lasted for hours straight). For some reason I forgot photos of dinner and we didn’t’ remember until dessert. Maybe it was subliminal because I wanted to tune out this meal. The table was not set completely (no bread plates so we were served bread with nothing to eat it on), the slowest service imaginable, etc. DD1 had a blue lagoon (yummy but no free refills), and the ultimate crab and lobster experience with me. For this amount of money I would have expected some kind of veggie with this, not just red potatoes. I was less than impressed with the meal. DS and DH both had the crab and whole lobster and it was OK, DS’s “surf’s up” drink was too sweet. DD2 got a carrot and celery plate which we paid out of pocket and it was a good thing, that ended up being all she ate! For dessert we had the Tollhouse cookie sundae (HUGE, DS ate it all and then felt sick but then ran a fever so I think he had a bug too), key lime pie (very good except I hate merguine so I scraped that off the bites I had, DH finished it for me and liked it all), DH had the cheesecake which was good but not enough sauce, DD1 had the triple chocolate cake which was very good but too rich. 8 table service credits = $264.12 without the celery and carrots, tip or tax. Very disappointing.

 

[Kat in GA]

That is so good to know that urgent care will come and get you - do you have to ask at the front desk - or do you call urgent care yourself?

I can't wait to read more dining reviews!!

 

[undertheseas]

Friday, June 8 – We were back to DHS on this day. Since it’s our least favorite park for counter service, we decided to try Fairfax Fare even though it’s not in the A/C. DS wanted to try the new gourmet hot dog with macaroni and cheese and truffle oil. He didn’t care for the truffle oil. We also had the ribs meal and two chicken with ribs meals. The ribs were just OK, the chicken was dry. It came with the same overly sweet chocolate cake and carrot cake as Pecos Bill. So DHS is still our least favorite counter service park! 4 counter service meals = $78.xx

DH was not pleased with my dinner choice but I wasn’t ready to spend more park time trying to get somewhere else to eat and then come back for Fantasmic so I picked Primetime 50s Cafe. I have loved this place from the beginning but that was back when the dining plan included appetizers and I could get the fried boursin cheese and onion rings…………sigh. I really don’t know why DH was unhappy about it, last time they teased him for licking his plate clean. Oh, maybe that’s why! Anyway, we showed up and I asked for an outgoing cousin to serve us. The lady at the front told me “you’ll get who I give you and you’ll like it or go to your room!” LOL! We were assigned Megan who was very funny, not as outgoing as the lady serving the table next to us but still funny and kept a good eye on us and our drinks. Speaking of drinks, DH was parched and downed his vanilla diet Coke in about 15 seconds so Megan went to get him another. It took a few minutes and DH was getting a little irritated but soon here she came, with THREE more drinks for him since he was so thirsty! He did finish them all too! DD1 had the pork tenderloin which DH said was good but she didn’t like it (she had a habit of ordering poorly this trip), DS and I both had the fried chicken (to die for! Super crispy and tasty chicken skin…….yummo) except I was smart and got green beans instead of the collard greens. He didn’t want to eat them but Cousin Megan used “jedi mind tricks” to get him to try it, HA! DH had the chicken pot pie which he really liked. Dessert was the Dad’s brownie sundae (too rich for me but the kids ate it up), and the Boston cream parfait which was OK with DH I think. Good fun service and that incredible fried chicken keeps this place on my to-do list for next time. 4 table service credits = $119.36

Saturday, June 9 – This was a big eating day for us. We had an extra table service credit and decided to do a breakfast. Last time we really loved Kona Café so it was on the list for this trip. Last time I had the Big Kahuna and wished I just had the macadamia nut pineapple pancakes so that’s what I got this time. It was just too much pancakes for me, I could only eat a small portion of them and wished I got the Big Kahuna. DS ordered the Big Kahuna and was pleased. DD1 got the “two eggs your way” that you can get anywhere, who’s kid is this? Oh well, she ate it and was happy. DH had the tonga toast and even though I warned him, said it was too sweet. The Lilikoi juice the kids had was good, DH and I had Kona coffee and it was very good. 4 table service meals = $63.71 Not as good of a value for your money, I don’t think we’d do it again. Not to mention it kept us from sleeping in another hour.

Lunch was at La Cantina because we all liked it last year. The nachos are good but the chips seemed stale, DH liked his tacos de carne. DD1 picked a kids meal of chicken tenders which she just picked at. DH didn’t like the churros this time and I didn’t care for the popsicles. I don’t think we’d eat here again. Had I known then that we were going to change our last Epcot day to another MK day I would have insisted on eating in Morocco. 4 counter service meals = $63.67

Last year our favorite new restaurant was Cape May so we were anxious to eat there again. This time the service was a lot slower (DH and I waited over 15 minutes for them to make more crab legs) and the selection seemed slower. The meat never came out of the crab legs cleanly so it took a lot longer. The carved beef was good, I like how they put mint on the fruit salad but I’m alone in that in my family. Then they rang up DD2 on our bill even though we said she was two years old and it’s on our KTTW so that took a long time to get fixed. Overall we weren’t impressed with this place this trip. 4 table service meals = $170.36

 

[undertheseas]

Sunday, June 10 – DD2’s third birthday! For lunch we tried Columbia Harbour House. I really liked my salmon with broccoli and the apple tart for dessert was OK. DS had fried fish with that same chocolate cake, DD1 had chicken nuggets, DH had the shrimp and broccoli but I don’t think he was happy with his. We used a credit for DD2 to get a PBJ which she didn’t eat. 5 counter service credits = $69.00



I was shocked when DD1 picked as her meal the Crystal Palace. I was completely unimpressed with this place last year but it wasn’t my decision so I just made the reservation on this day because of DD2’s bday. The characters were great but the food was decidedly not. I would not go back again. 4 table service credits = $174.62 (I asked when I called to be sure we didn’t have to pay for DD2 but because she started the trip at age 2, she was free the whole trip)

Monday, June 11 – DH got us a funnel cake for a snack from Sleepy Hollow. I used to love these but since my diet, I can’t take anything too sweet or too rich (at least until the next two days!) Everyone else loved it.

For lunch we couldn’t decide between Tortuga Tavern and Pecos Bill so the kids ordered at TT and we carried it down to PB where DH and I ordered. Again this place was packed, we had to be vultures to get a table that wobbled. I tried DD1’s nachos from TT and loved them! 4 counter services = can’t find the receipts!


DH’s choice for dinner was Raglan Road. In hindsight all these meals at Downtown Disney was a mistake, it always had the slowest buses. Anyhoo, he loved the “It’s Not Bleeding Chowder!” last year and was anxious to try it again. The bread and honey with Guiness they serve it with is great, I ate too much of it. DH was tempted by the scallop forest so we ordered that. I’m not a scallop fan and thought it was just OK, the citrus sauce it was served with was great. He loved it and that’s all that mattered. He was shocked to see another couple leave one on their table uneaten when they left! He had the chowder again and still loved it. Last year DS had the mixed grill and DD1 envied it so they both had it this time and they liked it but maybe not as much as last time. I had the lambo and it was OK, I was disappointed that the description said “carrots” and I got the smallest, saddest two carrots ever. DD1 had the Dunbrody kiss for dessert, it was too rich for her. DH and DS had the bread pudding and it wasn’t as good as they remembered. I had the strawberry and apple crumble which was very tasty although the ice cream serving was small. 4 table service credits = $182.65

 

[undertheseas]

Tuesday, June 12 – To use a couple of counter service credits we shared breakfast at Starring Rolls. The cheese Danish was awesome! We had that, chocolate milk and yogurt for one meal, the other was a cinnamon roll with water and an apple. 2 counter service credits = I forgot to write down the total.


Lunch at DHS again, ugh. We made a last minute change to dinner which was now at 2:50 so the kids took advantage of me and our sudden need to an immediate lunch. I had said no Pizza Planet but it was 11:00 and we were standing right in front of it. This is the worst pizza, the worst seating, etc! We had icky pizza, yucky cookies, small salads. 4 counter services = $64.10 Save yourself and spend the time to go to Wolfgang Puck Express instead!


Now comes the surprise hit of the trip! Our second favorite meal of the trip was……..drum roll please………. Mama Melrose! We ate there a few years ago and we didn’t think enough of it to book it again. But we wanted the Fantasmic package and DH really wanted to try it again. So reluctantly I booked it but the only opening was at 2:50! We saw them turn people away, I felt bad for them that they didn’t know they had to plan meals in advance. The bread and oil that was served was not good, my advice is to skip it. The Fantasmic package includes appetizers although some of them have to be shared so DH and I shared the calamari. OH MY WORD! If I had known how incredible the calamari was going to be, we would have ordered two. Probably the best we have EVER had! I think I ate all of the pesto that it was served with and DH loved the citrus sauce but the calamari were fantastic on their own. DD1 didn’t really want an appetizer so I made her order the fresh mozzarella and tomatoes for me which was good, it could have used more balsamic on it but it was good. DS got the Caesar salad and even though I warned him that he may not like the dressing, he ordered and didn’t like the dressing. I think he thought it was a garden salad. DH and both big kids ordered the Seafood Cioppino. DH loved it, DD1 thought it was too spicy (she’s kind of a wimp where spices are concerned) so DH ate her seafood that was left. I liked the penne alla vodka last time but it didn’t have chicken or shrimp or any protein so I ordered the charred strip steak because I thought DD2 would like the macaroni. Well she fell asleep so I got to eat most of this delicious meal all by myself (except the rest of the family kept stealing a bite). The steak was a little tough maybe but the flavor was super and that macaroni and cheese was DEVINE. For the dessert, with the Fantasmic package you get a sampler of a few desserts. I asked if the tiramisu was on the platter and our server, Amanda (who was great by the way) said it was but when it came out the tiramisu was missing so she went and got one for me. I don’t like the texture of panna cotta so I didn’t eat it, DH said it was bland. I can’t remember what the chocolate cake was but I wasn’t interested so I didn’t try it. The tiramisu was semi-frozen so that was odd but it was refreshing. The hit of the platter though was the amaretto cake. SO SO SO GOOD! I could have eaten a whole cake of that myself. This is definitely on our to-do list for next time! 4 table service credits = $159.32 and so worth it!

 

[undertheseas]

Wednesday, June 13 – Our last park day. I don’t know how it happened but we didn’t get our first Dole Whip at the Aloha Isle until now, what a waste! Man I love those things!

We liked DD1’s nachos so much we decided to eat at Tortuga Tavern. Normally we would have had a Cosmic Ray lunch or Pinocchio Haus but with the menu changes, we just weren’t interested. The nachos were good but half my beans/tomato topping fell off on the way to the table. DH had the chicken burrito in a last second decision and wished he got the nachos even though the burrito was good. The cookie and cream gelato had a flavor I didn’t care for. We got DD2 a quesadilla but she wouldn’t eat it, just the grapes. 5 counter service credits = $63.8x



We went to the Confectionary to get some gifts and DH who loves rice krispy treats just had to get a turkey leg!

Our final dinner of the trip was my special pick, I always try to make it the last meal so we can end with a bang. Narcoossee’s! And it certainly didn’t disappoint even though I thought last year wasn’t as good as it had been. Susan was our server and she was excellent. I think the butter with pink Hawaiian salt on it has crack sprinkled on it too, I ate a ton of it! DD1 ordered the whole lobster and complained it was too chewy so DH happily finished it off for her. DH, DS and I all had the butter poached lobster tail with filet mignon but substituted the risotto instead of the potatoes after reading that someone else on the DIS boards did that. This was all to die for! That lobster was so sweet and tender, the filet was incredible. The only way to finish such a delicious meal in my opinion is the best dessert in the entire World, the almond crusted cheesecake! DH had it too but he doesn’t love it as much as I do. DS had the chocolate cake with caramel sauce, he said it was too rich. DD1 had the strawberry cake that she really liked. I probably ruined my diet all in this one meal but it was so worth it. Whoever said nothing tastes as good as skinny feels never ate this meal! 8 table service credits = $345.02

Thursday, June 14 – We had to get up early to meet Magical Express so we decided to try the buffet at the Pepper Market. I didn’t try anything here that I liked except the fresh fruit. The gravy wasn’t good, the eggs were OK, the waffle was stale (even though we were there when they opened). I think everyone else was OK with it. 4 counter service credits = $63.86


Final notes: Since we had to pay to upgrade to the dining plan, I’m not sure how much it was worth it. Some meals were incredible but others were very disappointing. We would never order all this food if it wasn’t “free”. I missed Morocco’s counter service and Le Cellier. We didn’t eat at Chefs de France but most of the time I end up disappointed when we eat there so maybe that’s OK. The “free” refillable megs were wasted on us since for some stupid reason CSR doesn’t offer tea! What the heck? And I limited how much soda the big kids could have. Oh and as for our diets, all that walking certainly helps. DH had decided he would eat whatever he wanted and work it off later so he gained 8 pounds. I decided I would only eat finish what was really fabulous and because I shared every meal with DD2, I came home minus one pound so I was pleased!

 

[undertheseas]

Sorry again about the tiny photos! It took me a week to get around to picking out the photos and resizing them once, it would take me a month to resize them again.

Scanne, thank you! I thought about waiting to call our doctor but once I heard her fever was 104 then I knew something was really wrong.

Brook1099, thank you!

Kat in GA, the nurse at First Aid gave us a pamphlet with the information for Urgent Care. I called them from our room and they got our insurance info and they said they will pick us up from the front lobby. It was a life saver since we didn't have a car, they even had two car seats in the van! They took me and all three kids which was nice too, my big kids are older (14 and 11) but I'm not ready to leave them alone in the room or pool for a couple of hours. It really made it easier on me that I didn't have to call a cab and make sure they had a car seat, etc. Oh and there was no charge for the van, I just paid our co-pay and $15 for the meds plus I tipped the driver both ways.

 

[Kat in GA]

Thanks so much for posting all your dining reviews! We will be dining at Narcoosees for the first time in October - I am really looking forward to it. And thanks for a great review of Mama Melroses - that is one that seems to get such mixed reviews - and it's another that we are trying for the first time in Oct. I LOVE calamari - so your rave review seals the deal on my appetizer!

Thanks also for explaining a little more about the urgent care. It's good to know how it works - especially should I ever need to pass on the info.

Oh - and I have an 11 and 14 year old as well!!

 

[Krissalee]

Thanks for sharing your reviews!

 

[undertheseas]

Kat in GA, I hope you have the same good luck we did at Mama Melrose! It was so good this time, I can't say enough good things about it!

Krissalee, thanks for reading it!

 

[Goldilocks07]

I rarely make my way through all the reviews (I usually just scan for the restaurants I like or plan on visiting) but your post was great. I went all the way to the end!

I see how you posted table credits to dollar amounts.
I can never figure out if DDP is worth it for my family. To be honest, we rarely order dessert and much prefer starting with an appetizer. Just like you said, I would never order that much food if it weren't free (with the plan, of course).

I still don't know what to do for our next trip. UGH!!! Why can't they just let us order an appetizer OR dessert?????

 

[robinbutterfly]

We are not on the dining plan...do you think Kona meals for breakfast are big enough to share?

 

[undertheseas]

I rarely make my way through all the reviews (I usually just scan for the restaurants I like or plan on visiting) but your post was great. I went all the way to the end!

I see how you posted table credits to dollar amounts.
I can never figure out if DDP is worth it for my family. To be honest, we rarely order dessert and much prefer starting with an appetizer. Just like you said, I would never order that much food if it weren't free (with the plan, of course).

I still don't know what to do for our next trip. UGH!!! Why can't they just let us order an appetizer OR dessert?????

Thanks!

I know, it's hard to figure out. I wish you could pick a dessert or an appetizer but I guess most apps are too much higher?

 

[undertheseas]

We are not on the dining plan...do you think Kona meals for breakfast are big enough to share?

Yes, definitely! The Big Kahuna and the Macadamia Nut Pineapply pancakes are both definitely big enough. I think the Tonga Toast is too because it's so sweet.

 

[bunkkinsmom]

Hey did we have the same "cousin" at Prime Time?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRuCfzswY6k

 

[undertheseas]

Hey did we have the same "cousin" at Prime Time?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRuCfzswY6k

Yes! That's her. In fact we sat at the table right next to yours.

 

[bunkkinsmom]

Yes! That's her. In fact we sat at the table right next to yours.

We had such a good time with her. She was cute!!