Bruce
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2007
Hello All!
Just got back from my first trip to WDW. Took me 40 years to do it, but I finally did it! Just thought I'd share some of my dining experiences with you. We were on the DDP, so breakfasts were pretty much fruit or pastries with juice or coffee...
Lunches
Sunshine Seasons at The Land in EPCOT - We went for lunch a couple of times because of the selections. The food was very good and fresh. The Mrs. and I both ordered the Turkey and Muenster Cheese on Foccacia. Both the kids liked the their selections. My 8 yo. chose the mini-sub (twice) and my youngest had the chicken leg and mashed potatoes one time and the sweet and sour chicken the next time. The desserts were fantastic. I had the Key Lime tart and the Butterfinger cheesecake. The Mrs. had the carrot cake and the chocolate brownie. The kids loved the Rice Krispie bars and the s'mores brownie. Seating is a bit limited, and avoid sitting under the overhead vents. The vents were blasting out really cold air, which made dining the first time there a bit hurried.
Pecos Bills at Frontierland in the Magic Kingdom - Went here for lunch one day when the 8 yo. was having issues about wanting lunch NOW. I orderd the BBQ Pork sandwich with baked beans. The sandwich was only so-so. The beans were horrible. They tased only of molasses. The Mrs. had the chicken wrap. She said it was very dry and not much taste. The kids both ordered the sloppy joe and did not finish it. I found it odd that for having lots of burgers on the adult menu there were none on the kids menu. I would not go here again.
Cosmic Rays at Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom - Went here for lunch one day and got picked as Family of the Day! Got our own private table and everything! The portions here are way more than I would ever eat for lunch. The Mrs. and I had the half slab of ribs. They weren't too bad. The kids were both pleased to have chicken nuggets. Maybe the sandwich line or the burger line would have been a better choice for lunch. I left there almost Thanksgiving full...uff da!
Tusker House at Africa in the Animal Kingdom - The Mrs. and I had the Turkey Wrap with Corn Chowder. Very nice and light. The Mrs. said the wrap was much better tasting than the one at Pecos Bills. The kids were happy with their chicken leg and macaroni and cheese. This was a very nice lunch site,especially being able to sit outside in the sunshine and fresh air. I was a very pleased with this site.
Dinners
50's Prime Time at MGM - This place was a lot of fun, especially if you played along with the waitstaff. The kitschy 50's decor was a hoot! My kids weren't too sure of what to make of the B&W TV's, though. The food was decent here. Both the Mrs. and I had the fried herb cheese appetizer, that was very good with the crusty bread it was served with. For dinner, I had the meatloaf and the Mrs. had the fried chicken. Large portions of your basic comfort food. Same with the desserts. I had the angel food cake with berries and she had the brownie sundae. Kids menu was pretty limited. Both my kids got the chicken noodle soup for an appetizer and seemed to like it. At least my 8 yo. finished all of his. My 4 yo. ordered the meatloaf (which surprised the heck out of me!) and the 8 yo. ordered the Hot Dog. Nothing outstanding, but nothing complain about either. Good, solid food "like Mom used to make". Both got the sundaes for dessert and loved the fact that they could put whatever topping on it they wanted to.What made this place for me was the interaction with the waitstaff. Got reprimanded for having my elbows on the table once. The Mrs. kept forgetting to say "please" after ordering a menu item and the server kept asking her "You want what?". My kids thought it was funny that Dad and Mom got yelled at instead of them. My oldest got into the action when he asked for ketchup and our server came back with a ketchup squirt bottle told him to open his mouth and he'd squirt it in!
Le Cellier at Canada in EPCOT- I think this was our favorite restaurant. The atmosphere was great. Very subued, not loud at all. Our server let the kids mix and match from the "Complete Children's Menu" and the kids ala carte menu. The pretzel bread was excellent with the Cheddar cheese soup. For dinner I had the pork tenderloin with sweet potato puree. The Mrs. had the Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon baby bella mushroom risotto. If she had her way we would have eaten there every night! The food was excellent and our sevrer was very friendly and accomodating, especially with the kids. The beer from Uni-broue were very good as well. This was just a fantastic dining experience.
The Coral Reef at the Living Seas in EPCOT - Wonderful! I had the crab claw appetizer and the Mrs. and my oldest had the smoked fish chowder. For dinner I had the Ahi Tuna (rare) and wasabi mashed potatoes. It was fantastic! The Mrs. was a littles scared of the wasabi mashed potatoes and ordered the blackened catfish. She said it was pretty good, but wished she had gotten the Ahi tuna. Both the Mrs. and I had the Chocolate Wave for dessert. Very good, but very rich. Both of us had coffee with it. The kids were able to mix and match their dinner again. Ordered the cheese pizza from the "complete children's menu" again, but were able to get the sundae for dessert. The kids loved being able to watch all the fish in the aquarium (including the sharks and the sea turtles!). The server we had wasn't the most personable, but she wasn't rude. I'd probably say efficient. The only other drawback was that the restaurant was very loud. I'd definitely come back here for the food.
Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort - I'm not really a buffet person, but the food here was surprisingly good. The Tamarind Glazed Salmon with Pesto and Wasabi Mango Coulis was excellent. Went back for seconds! The Penne Pasta with Chicken and Italian Sausage Florentine was good, but a bit heavy. The Madeira Wild Mushroom Beef Tips was very good, as was the Prime Rib and Bone-in Ham. The sides were all very good, especially the Parmesan Mashed Potatoes. The other sides were good as well, especially the garlic steamed broccoli polonaise. The thing that impressed me the most about the vegetables is that they were very fresh. My kids loved the dessert bar. I thought my youngest was going to wet his pants when Mickey came up to our table! The character interaction was great! I'd definitely go back again!
'Ohana at the Polynesian Resort - The food here is served family style. While some of the food was very good (the wood-grilled meats, the shrimp and chicken wing appetizers, and the bread pudding dessert) some were downright inedible (the mixed vegetable side dish was no better than a bag of Birds-Eye frozen vegetable cooked almost to a mush). The salad was nothing to write home about either. Leaf lettuce with a honey-lime vinagarette. Server was friendly enough, but I just wasn't impressed with the food enough to go back again.
Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge - This place was loud and rowdy and a ton of fun! For appetizers, we went with the nachos and the chicken wings. The nachos were ok, but the chicken wings were fantastic! For dinner I went with the grilled pork chops while the Mrs. went with the grilled chicken pasta. Both kids got hamburgers. The fun started when my oldest wanted some ketchup for his hamburger. Our server made him standup and yell out "I NEED KETCHUP!" Then we ended up with about two dozen ketchup bottles on our table! Soon others were yelling for ketchup. Then the kids had a pony race around the dining room. A couple of birthdays were celebrated by having the birthday boy run around the dining room singing "Happy Birthday to Me"! The dessert we both got was the apple carmel pie. Boy, was that good! I would definitely go back here!
Anyways, sorry about the long review, but I was really excited about my first trip to WDW...
Just got back from my first trip to WDW. Took me 40 years to do it, but I finally did it! Just thought I'd share some of my dining experiences with you. We were on the DDP, so breakfasts were pretty much fruit or pastries with juice or coffee...
Lunches
Sunshine Seasons at The Land in EPCOT - We went for lunch a couple of times because of the selections. The food was very good and fresh. The Mrs. and I both ordered the Turkey and Muenster Cheese on Foccacia. Both the kids liked the their selections. My 8 yo. chose the mini-sub (twice) and my youngest had the chicken leg and mashed potatoes one time and the sweet and sour chicken the next time. The desserts were fantastic. I had the Key Lime tart and the Butterfinger cheesecake. The Mrs. had the carrot cake and the chocolate brownie. The kids loved the Rice Krispie bars and the s'mores brownie. Seating is a bit limited, and avoid sitting under the overhead vents. The vents were blasting out really cold air, which made dining the first time there a bit hurried.
Pecos Bills at Frontierland in the Magic Kingdom - Went here for lunch one day when the 8 yo. was having issues about wanting lunch NOW. I orderd the BBQ Pork sandwich with baked beans. The sandwich was only so-so. The beans were horrible. They tased only of molasses. The Mrs. had the chicken wrap. She said it was very dry and not much taste. The kids both ordered the sloppy joe and did not finish it. I found it odd that for having lots of burgers on the adult menu there were none on the kids menu. I would not go here again.
Cosmic Rays at Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom - Went here for lunch one day and got picked as Family of the Day! Got our own private table and everything! The portions here are way more than I would ever eat for lunch. The Mrs. and I had the half slab of ribs. They weren't too bad. The kids were both pleased to have chicken nuggets. Maybe the sandwich line or the burger line would have been a better choice for lunch. I left there almost Thanksgiving full...uff da!
Tusker House at Africa in the Animal Kingdom - The Mrs. and I had the Turkey Wrap with Corn Chowder. Very nice and light. The Mrs. said the wrap was much better tasting than the one at Pecos Bills. The kids were happy with their chicken leg and macaroni and cheese. This was a very nice lunch site,especially being able to sit outside in the sunshine and fresh air. I was a very pleased with this site.
Dinners
50's Prime Time at MGM - This place was a lot of fun, especially if you played along with the waitstaff. The kitschy 50's decor was a hoot! My kids weren't too sure of what to make of the B&W TV's, though. The food was decent here. Both the Mrs. and I had the fried herb cheese appetizer, that was very good with the crusty bread it was served with. For dinner, I had the meatloaf and the Mrs. had the fried chicken. Large portions of your basic comfort food. Same with the desserts. I had the angel food cake with berries and she had the brownie sundae. Kids menu was pretty limited. Both my kids got the chicken noodle soup for an appetizer and seemed to like it. At least my 8 yo. finished all of his. My 4 yo. ordered the meatloaf (which surprised the heck out of me!) and the 8 yo. ordered the Hot Dog. Nothing outstanding, but nothing complain about either. Good, solid food "like Mom used to make". Both got the sundaes for dessert and loved the fact that they could put whatever topping on it they wanted to.What made this place for me was the interaction with the waitstaff. Got reprimanded for having my elbows on the table once. The Mrs. kept forgetting to say "please" after ordering a menu item and the server kept asking her "You want what?". My kids thought it was funny that Dad and Mom got yelled at instead of them. My oldest got into the action when he asked for ketchup and our server came back with a ketchup squirt bottle told him to open his mouth and he'd squirt it in!
Le Cellier at Canada in EPCOT- I think this was our favorite restaurant. The atmosphere was great. Very subued, not loud at all. Our server let the kids mix and match from the "Complete Children's Menu" and the kids ala carte menu. The pretzel bread was excellent with the Cheddar cheese soup. For dinner I had the pork tenderloin with sweet potato puree. The Mrs. had the Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon baby bella mushroom risotto. If she had her way we would have eaten there every night! The food was excellent and our sevrer was very friendly and accomodating, especially with the kids. The beer from Uni-broue were very good as well. This was just a fantastic dining experience.
The Coral Reef at the Living Seas in EPCOT - Wonderful! I had the crab claw appetizer and the Mrs. and my oldest had the smoked fish chowder. For dinner I had the Ahi Tuna (rare) and wasabi mashed potatoes. It was fantastic! The Mrs. was a littles scared of the wasabi mashed potatoes and ordered the blackened catfish. She said it was pretty good, but wished she had gotten the Ahi tuna. Both the Mrs. and I had the Chocolate Wave for dessert. Very good, but very rich. Both of us had coffee with it. The kids were able to mix and match their dinner again. Ordered the cheese pizza from the "complete children's menu" again, but were able to get the sundae for dessert. The kids loved being able to watch all the fish in the aquarium (including the sharks and the sea turtles!). The server we had wasn't the most personable, but she wasn't rude. I'd probably say efficient. The only other drawback was that the restaurant was very loud. I'd definitely come back here for the food.
Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort - I'm not really a buffet person, but the food here was surprisingly good. The Tamarind Glazed Salmon with Pesto and Wasabi Mango Coulis was excellent. Went back for seconds! The Penne Pasta with Chicken and Italian Sausage Florentine was good, but a bit heavy. The Madeira Wild Mushroom Beef Tips was very good, as was the Prime Rib and Bone-in Ham. The sides were all very good, especially the Parmesan Mashed Potatoes. The other sides were good as well, especially the garlic steamed broccoli polonaise. The thing that impressed me the most about the vegetables is that they were very fresh. My kids loved the dessert bar. I thought my youngest was going to wet his pants when Mickey came up to our table! The character interaction was great! I'd definitely go back again!
'Ohana at the Polynesian Resort - The food here is served family style. While some of the food was very good (the wood-grilled meats, the shrimp and chicken wing appetizers, and the bread pudding dessert) some were downright inedible (the mixed vegetable side dish was no better than a bag of Birds-Eye frozen vegetable cooked almost to a mush). The salad was nothing to write home about either. Leaf lettuce with a honey-lime vinagarette. Server was friendly enough, but I just wasn't impressed with the food enough to go back again.
Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge - This place was loud and rowdy and a ton of fun! For appetizers, we went with the nachos and the chicken wings. The nachos were ok, but the chicken wings were fantastic! For dinner I went with the grilled pork chops while the Mrs. went with the grilled chicken pasta. Both kids got hamburgers. The fun started when my oldest wanted some ketchup for his hamburger. Our server made him standup and yell out "I NEED KETCHUP!" Then we ended up with about two dozen ketchup bottles on our table! Soon others were yelling for ketchup. Then the kids had a pony race around the dining room. A couple of birthdays were celebrated by having the birthday boy run around the dining room singing "Happy Birthday to Me"! The dessert we both got was the apple carmel pie. Boy, was that good! I would definitely go back here!
Anyways, sorry about the long review, but I was really excited about my first trip to WDW...
