"Cinder" Ella's Mom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2006
Dining Reviews: Jan. 1-5
I grew up going to Disney at least once a year. This is the first official trip here with my DH and DS5 and DD3. We ate breakfast in our room each day, sometimes bought from Roaring Forks in WL. DH had coffee from there every day and we were happy with it overall. The selection in Roaring Forks for snacks and breakfast is really small compared to my other experiences at the Poly (Captain Cooks) and GF (Gasparillas) but it was adequate.
Day of arrival.
Lunch1/1: Pinnochios at MK
Food was ok. DH and I each had the cheese pizza and salad combo. I shared pizza with DD3 because there was no kids pizza on the menu. DS5 had peanut butter and jelly. Fortunately he likes Uncrustables, since that is one of the few choices for kids at counter service restaurants. Pizza was ok, not great. It was bland, but decent sized easy to share. The salad had the dressing on it already, some kind of Italian. It was pretty good. We were on the Dining Plan, so DH and I gave the kids our chocolate cake desserts. The gelatin snack my son got was horrible. I eat sugar free Jello at home. This was not Jello, but a rubbery substance with juice running on the outside. So gross!
Dinner 1/1: LTT at MK
This was a great experience. The ambiance of the restaurant is so nice and cozy. The numerous smaller alcove rooms make it seem more private as well. The character interaction was great (Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Chip and Dale). The food is served family style. Salad was good, with a very light dressing. Yummy. Bread was warm rolls. Kids enjoyed them. Dinner is a platter of turkey, roasted pork and beef. It comes with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, as well as green beans and mac and cheese. Turkey was great. The pork looked dry and overcooked. I wouldnt try it, but DH said it was ok. Some posts list it as ham, but it definitely wasnt ham. The beef was seasoned. DS loved it and he has just recently started to like eating meat. Dessert was apple cobbler and was great. Most of all, this was the best service we had on our trip. Our server refilled our drinks several times and we never felt rushed. A wonderful meal for our first night!
Lunch 1/2: Cosmic Rays in MK
I have eaten here before and it has always been fine, but is always crowded. The worst part about Cosmic Rays is that there are three separate lines depending on what you want to eat. Since it was so crowded, I got a table and DH had to choose just one line to wait in to get all of our food. DH had chicken and ribs combo and I had roasted chicken. These were both amazing. The chicken came with mashed potatoes and veggie. So much food!! Our kids were able to get chicken nuggets and they were happy. They could have split one meal, though. They gave us no sugar-added brownies. I dont think any dessert came with the kids meal, except grapes. My DS likes grapes and DD loves carrots, so despite the lack of choice on the kids menu, they ate well. DH and I always gave them our dessert. On the Dining plan we had lots of snack credits too, so nobody was going hungry! Get there by 11:00 to avoid the huge crowd!
Dinner 1/2: Coral Reef (Epcot)
I had read mixed reviews about The Coral Reef and was worried about the choice. It was lovely, our best experience overall. We checked in about 20 minutes early and were not seated until about 10 minutes past our ADR time. They were crowded! We were seated in a big booth in the first tier looking right at the fish tanks. The kids (and us too!) loved watching the divers, sea turtles and sharks as we ate. Great ambiance. They even give you a handout with pictures and names of all of the fish in the aquarium. DS5 loved finding the names of each fish. DH and I each had two glasses of wine (Merlot and Riesling). Both were great. We had salad for appetizer with balsamic vinaigrette. I had the New Your strip steak. It was medium rare and came with amazing au gratin potatoes and veggies. It was really great a little fatty in spots, but overall good. DH had Mahi Mahi and loved it. Our kids each ordered cheese pizza (not the pita pizza-this was normal pizza and good) and were thrilled that the server allowed them to have make your own sundaes for dessert (the pizza is a combo meal that doesnt include ice cream as a dessert). I tried the Chocolate Wave and it was amazing. I had to stop myself from eating the whole thing! DH had cappuccino (not included in Dining Plan). We charged the drinks to our room charge and I was surprised to see that 18% gratuity was added to the drink bill as well because we were on the Dining Plan (even though the alcohol was not). We usually tip 20% or more, so we found this to be odd. I guess some people who order in addition to the plan forget to tip on the overage???? I dont know. We ordered drinks everywhere we could in hopes that we would get better service (since they would want a tip on the alcohol). The service here was ok. I cant remember our servers name Carlos maybe. He was fine, but it was really crowded and he was busy. We had to track him down for more wine, etc. This was a great meal overall, especially the ambiance and setting.
Lunch: 1/3 American Pavillion (Epcot)
We know why eat in America while you are in Epcot where there are so many great choices. Simple, really: tired, hungry, picky kids. DH and I had double cheeseburgers and fries. They were fine, but too huge for me. DS had a peanut butter and Jelly Uncrustable (again!) and DD chose chicken nuggets (again). She barely touched them. I have to say, the choices were really limited here for kids and adults. It was ok. They did give the kids crispy rice stockings for dessert that were cute, but the kids didnt like them. They were frosted. We got here by 11:00 and it was not crowded, so that was a plus.
Dinner 1/3: Mama Melrose (MGM)
We originally were going to go to the Crystal Palace, but we changed our ADR to Mama Melrose so that we could be at MGM at night to see the Osborne Family Dancing Lights. The lights were spectacular and made the change in plans completely worth it. Mama Melrose was just ok. Our kids had cheese pizza here, although we tried to get them to order the kids pasta. They were happy, but starving by the time it came. I had minestrone soup and loved it. DH had mozzarella and tomatoes and really liked it too. We both had pasta for entrees; mine was with chicken and artichoke hearts. I had to ask for salt (none on the table) as it was bland. DH had vodka past and it was just ok. Our service was not good. We ordered beers and the server commented about how she really needed a drink and that her son would have a beer in the car waiting for her when he picked her up. That was a little odd. She was very busy and we rarely saw her for drink refills, etc. Our bread was brought after the appetizers and with the main course. I really enjoy restaurants with some ambiance, but didnt think Mama Melrose had much of it. We were seated all the way in the back; maybe that makes a difference. The kids had chocolate sundaes. DH tried a dessert (dont remember which!) but the menu didnt appeal to me. Overall, we were glad to have seen the lights, but service was poor. We would not eat here if we were not on the Dining Plan.
Lunch 1/4: Tomorrowland Noodle Station (MK)
Choice here for kids was poor. My kids split the Mac and cheese. DH got beef and broccoli and I had teriyaki chicken. Ours came with rice. I have heard people rave about this place, but I didnt like my chicken. It seemed undercooked and was in really big pieces. They all were fatty and seemed to be all dark meat. I saturated it in soy sauce to make it edible. DH liked his. Adult dessert was Nestle Crunch ice cream bars but they make us take them with our meal. The kids ended up eating them first so they wouldnt melt and barely touched the mac and cheese. Location was convenient. If we ever went back, I would order something different.
Dinner 1/4: 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian)
We were so disappointed to find that the gingerbread house was down already at the GF! I have stayed at GF many times, so I was happy to show it to my kids. My DD3 was dressed as Cinderella for this character buffet. We were given a pager since our table wasnt ready. This was nice as it allowed us to go to some of the shops while waiting. The Fairy Godmother was in the hallway and we took pictures as we were seated. Again, I have only heard good things about this buffet. However, we were disappointed. The room has NO ambiance. It is loud and bright with kids running all over the place unsupervised. I expected the buffet to be larger. (I guess I was thinking of Las Vegas buffets!!) We had to wait in line for all of the food choices. They did not have any turkey left while I was up there, but they may have added more later. Cinderella, Prince Charming and two female mice (Suzy and Perla-not sure where those names came from!) came to our table for pictures. My DD was excited about his. Other kids chased the characters around the room with no parents in sight. We ate salad, roast beef (very fatty), some fruit and the excellent tri-colored tortellini. My DH had some soup too. We didnt love anything except the tortellini. The kids buffet had chicken drumsticks, Uncrustables (!) pasta with butter and pizza. They decided to change the soft serve ice cream machines bags just as my kids got in line, and that took 10-15 minutes. Our server was decent. We again ordered wine (the 18% gratuity was automatically added to this too!) and he did bring drink refills for the kids when asked. My sister is in Disney now and had ADRs for Park Fare. When she saw our video tape (lack of ambiance) and heard the noise she cancelled them. My DD was thrilled to be dressed as a princess and danced in the lobby with her dad, so I guess that made the night worth it!
Lunch 1/5: Pizzafari (Animal Kingdom)
My kids (no surprise) wanted pizza and there isnt any on the kids menu here (They did have cheese quesadilla which my kids do like, but they wanted pizza!) We ordered two adult pizza meals and split them. They were plenty big and we had all eaten hot pretzels earlier anyway. The desserts were chocolate cake and a frozen lemonade (DS5 loved this!). The cake was actually a cut piece and very tasty (not pre-packaged).
Overall, this was our first experience with DDP and I liked it. I am a planner so it was nice to have to make ADRs ahead of time and know where we were going to eat. The new kids menus are so limiting and really repetitive, but since we did a couple of buffets and were only there for five days, it was ok for us. I loved having pre-paid and also liked the freedom of being able to order alcohol or extras and just charge it to our room. The snack credits were plentiful. We got huge collectors bins of popcorn at MK and MGM. At AK they wouldnt allow the collectors tub for the DDP snack credit. The kids had cookies from Roaring Forks at WL and slushy drinks in MGM. We also were able to buy a huge bag of Chip and Dale pretzels (shaped like Mickey) for one snack credit. We used all of our credits, but it was a challenge! DH and I decided that while the service wasnt great at some places, overall, all of it was fine. There are so many people at WDW, so many with birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations. We think that Disney does such a great job of making so many familys experiences special.
I grew up going to Disney at least once a year. This is the first official trip here with my DH and DS5 and DD3. We ate breakfast in our room each day, sometimes bought from Roaring Forks in WL. DH had coffee from there every day and we were happy with it overall. The selection in Roaring Forks for snacks and breakfast is really small compared to my other experiences at the Poly (Captain Cooks) and GF (Gasparillas) but it was adequate.
Day of arrival.
Lunch1/1: Pinnochios at MK
Food was ok. DH and I each had the cheese pizza and salad combo. I shared pizza with DD3 because there was no kids pizza on the menu. DS5 had peanut butter and jelly. Fortunately he likes Uncrustables, since that is one of the few choices for kids at counter service restaurants. Pizza was ok, not great. It was bland, but decent sized easy to share. The salad had the dressing on it already, some kind of Italian. It was pretty good. We were on the Dining Plan, so DH and I gave the kids our chocolate cake desserts. The gelatin snack my son got was horrible. I eat sugar free Jello at home. This was not Jello, but a rubbery substance with juice running on the outside. So gross!
Dinner 1/1: LTT at MK
This was a great experience. The ambiance of the restaurant is so nice and cozy. The numerous smaller alcove rooms make it seem more private as well. The character interaction was great (Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Chip and Dale). The food is served family style. Salad was good, with a very light dressing. Yummy. Bread was warm rolls. Kids enjoyed them. Dinner is a platter of turkey, roasted pork and beef. It comes with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, as well as green beans and mac and cheese. Turkey was great. The pork looked dry and overcooked. I wouldnt try it, but DH said it was ok. Some posts list it as ham, but it definitely wasnt ham. The beef was seasoned. DS loved it and he has just recently started to like eating meat. Dessert was apple cobbler and was great. Most of all, this was the best service we had on our trip. Our server refilled our drinks several times and we never felt rushed. A wonderful meal for our first night!
Lunch 1/2: Cosmic Rays in MK
I have eaten here before and it has always been fine, but is always crowded. The worst part about Cosmic Rays is that there are three separate lines depending on what you want to eat. Since it was so crowded, I got a table and DH had to choose just one line to wait in to get all of our food. DH had chicken and ribs combo and I had roasted chicken. These were both amazing. The chicken came with mashed potatoes and veggie. So much food!! Our kids were able to get chicken nuggets and they were happy. They could have split one meal, though. They gave us no sugar-added brownies. I dont think any dessert came with the kids meal, except grapes. My DS likes grapes and DD loves carrots, so despite the lack of choice on the kids menu, they ate well. DH and I always gave them our dessert. On the Dining plan we had lots of snack credits too, so nobody was going hungry! Get there by 11:00 to avoid the huge crowd!
Dinner 1/2: Coral Reef (Epcot)
I had read mixed reviews about The Coral Reef and was worried about the choice. It was lovely, our best experience overall. We checked in about 20 minutes early and were not seated until about 10 minutes past our ADR time. They were crowded! We were seated in a big booth in the first tier looking right at the fish tanks. The kids (and us too!) loved watching the divers, sea turtles and sharks as we ate. Great ambiance. They even give you a handout with pictures and names of all of the fish in the aquarium. DS5 loved finding the names of each fish. DH and I each had two glasses of wine (Merlot and Riesling). Both were great. We had salad for appetizer with balsamic vinaigrette. I had the New Your strip steak. It was medium rare and came with amazing au gratin potatoes and veggies. It was really great a little fatty in spots, but overall good. DH had Mahi Mahi and loved it. Our kids each ordered cheese pizza (not the pita pizza-this was normal pizza and good) and were thrilled that the server allowed them to have make your own sundaes for dessert (the pizza is a combo meal that doesnt include ice cream as a dessert). I tried the Chocolate Wave and it was amazing. I had to stop myself from eating the whole thing! DH had cappuccino (not included in Dining Plan). We charged the drinks to our room charge and I was surprised to see that 18% gratuity was added to the drink bill as well because we were on the Dining Plan (even though the alcohol was not). We usually tip 20% or more, so we found this to be odd. I guess some people who order in addition to the plan forget to tip on the overage???? I dont know. We ordered drinks everywhere we could in hopes that we would get better service (since they would want a tip on the alcohol). The service here was ok. I cant remember our servers name Carlos maybe. He was fine, but it was really crowded and he was busy. We had to track him down for more wine, etc. This was a great meal overall, especially the ambiance and setting.
Lunch: 1/3 American Pavillion (Epcot)
We know why eat in America while you are in Epcot where there are so many great choices. Simple, really: tired, hungry, picky kids. DH and I had double cheeseburgers and fries. They were fine, but too huge for me. DS had a peanut butter and Jelly Uncrustable (again!) and DD chose chicken nuggets (again). She barely touched them. I have to say, the choices were really limited here for kids and adults. It was ok. They did give the kids crispy rice stockings for dessert that were cute, but the kids didnt like them. They were frosted. We got here by 11:00 and it was not crowded, so that was a plus.
Dinner 1/3: Mama Melrose (MGM)
We originally were going to go to the Crystal Palace, but we changed our ADR to Mama Melrose so that we could be at MGM at night to see the Osborne Family Dancing Lights. The lights were spectacular and made the change in plans completely worth it. Mama Melrose was just ok. Our kids had cheese pizza here, although we tried to get them to order the kids pasta. They were happy, but starving by the time it came. I had minestrone soup and loved it. DH had mozzarella and tomatoes and really liked it too. We both had pasta for entrees; mine was with chicken and artichoke hearts. I had to ask for salt (none on the table) as it was bland. DH had vodka past and it was just ok. Our service was not good. We ordered beers and the server commented about how she really needed a drink and that her son would have a beer in the car waiting for her when he picked her up. That was a little odd. She was very busy and we rarely saw her for drink refills, etc. Our bread was brought after the appetizers and with the main course. I really enjoy restaurants with some ambiance, but didnt think Mama Melrose had much of it. We were seated all the way in the back; maybe that makes a difference. The kids had chocolate sundaes. DH tried a dessert (dont remember which!) but the menu didnt appeal to me. Overall, we were glad to have seen the lights, but service was poor. We would not eat here if we were not on the Dining Plan.
Lunch 1/4: Tomorrowland Noodle Station (MK)
Choice here for kids was poor. My kids split the Mac and cheese. DH got beef and broccoli and I had teriyaki chicken. Ours came with rice. I have heard people rave about this place, but I didnt like my chicken. It seemed undercooked and was in really big pieces. They all were fatty and seemed to be all dark meat. I saturated it in soy sauce to make it edible. DH liked his. Adult dessert was Nestle Crunch ice cream bars but they make us take them with our meal. The kids ended up eating them first so they wouldnt melt and barely touched the mac and cheese. Location was convenient. If we ever went back, I would order something different.
Dinner 1/4: 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian)
We were so disappointed to find that the gingerbread house was down already at the GF! I have stayed at GF many times, so I was happy to show it to my kids. My DD3 was dressed as Cinderella for this character buffet. We were given a pager since our table wasnt ready. This was nice as it allowed us to go to some of the shops while waiting. The Fairy Godmother was in the hallway and we took pictures as we were seated. Again, I have only heard good things about this buffet. However, we were disappointed. The room has NO ambiance. It is loud and bright with kids running all over the place unsupervised. I expected the buffet to be larger. (I guess I was thinking of Las Vegas buffets!!) We had to wait in line for all of the food choices. They did not have any turkey left while I was up there, but they may have added more later. Cinderella, Prince Charming and two female mice (Suzy and Perla-not sure where those names came from!) came to our table for pictures. My DD was excited about his. Other kids chased the characters around the room with no parents in sight. We ate salad, roast beef (very fatty), some fruit and the excellent tri-colored tortellini. My DH had some soup too. We didnt love anything except the tortellini. The kids buffet had chicken drumsticks, Uncrustables (!) pasta with butter and pizza. They decided to change the soft serve ice cream machines bags just as my kids got in line, and that took 10-15 minutes. Our server was decent. We again ordered wine (the 18% gratuity was automatically added to this too!) and he did bring drink refills for the kids when asked. My sister is in Disney now and had ADRs for Park Fare. When she saw our video tape (lack of ambiance) and heard the noise she cancelled them. My DD was thrilled to be dressed as a princess and danced in the lobby with her dad, so I guess that made the night worth it!
Lunch 1/5: Pizzafari (Animal Kingdom)
My kids (no surprise) wanted pizza and there isnt any on the kids menu here (They did have cheese quesadilla which my kids do like, but they wanted pizza!) We ordered two adult pizza meals and split them. They were plenty big and we had all eaten hot pretzels earlier anyway. The desserts were chocolate cake and a frozen lemonade (DS5 loved this!). The cake was actually a cut piece and very tasty (not pre-packaged).
Overall, this was our first experience with DDP and I liked it. I am a planner so it was nice to have to make ADRs ahead of time and know where we were going to eat. The new kids menus are so limiting and really repetitive, but since we did a couple of buffets and were only there for five days, it was ok for us. I loved having pre-paid and also liked the freedom of being able to order alcohol or extras and just charge it to our room. The snack credits were plentiful. We got huge collectors bins of popcorn at MK and MGM. At AK they wouldnt allow the collectors tub for the DDP snack credit. The kids had cookies from Roaring Forks at WL and slushy drinks in MGM. We also were able to buy a huge bag of Chip and Dale pretzels (shaped like Mickey) for one snack credit. We used all of our credits, but it was a challenge! DH and I decided that while the service wasnt great at some places, overall, all of it was fine. There are so many people at WDW, so many with birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations. We think that Disney does such a great job of making so many familys experiences special.
