Yum Food - Our TS Dining Reviews

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We decided this year to get AP’s and take a few shorter trips with one long trip to WDW this year and get the Tables in Wonderland card instead of trying to get free dining. We were only planning on 2 Family TS meals and 1 TS meal with just DD and I.

There were 4 of us. DH, myself, DD who was 8 and DS who was 12. DD and DS are picky about their food. When we eat out, DD is the queen of chicken nuggets and mac n’cheese. DS loves BBQ and chicken nuggets.

We were there Sept. 16 through Sept. 21.

I wanted to book a girls character breakfast for DD and I while she was still in the Princess Stage. After checking around, I went with Akershus Princess Breakfast since we’d be able to see a few of her favorite Princesses.

Then I chose Chef Mickey’s for breakfast since we were staying at the CR.

Then DH and DS said they wanted to eat at the Sci-Fi Diner – again. I'd planned on skipping this park since we weren't at WDW for long but now it was back in the running.

Then while I was on the phone making ADR’s at my 180 days, I asked about Le Cellier and they had an early supper on the day we were going to be in Epcot so I snapped that right up. DH is a steak and potatoes guy so I knew he’d love it there.

A few weeks later after I’ve made all the ADR’s, DH is telling me he’d like to stay at WL for our June 09 trip. So I grabbed my phone and was able to get us an early dinner ressie at Whispering Canyon so he could be sure he liked the atmosphere at WL. There’s nothing worse than paying a lot of money for a resort and then not liking it!

At that point, I realized I should have done free dining instead of keeping my 30% room only discount but it was too late to change. Ooops.

So those are the 5 restaurants I’ll be sorta reviewing. I say sorta because I’m sure not a foodie but I thought I’d pass along our experiences.

Up first is Chef Mickey’s.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Sounds like you hit some good ones. Can't wait to hear about them!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Ah, Chef Mickey’s. A CR institution. A place that can be packed and difficult to get an ADR for. For those who don’t know: Chef Mickey’s doesn’t take Tables in Wonderland. I knew it going in but witnessed one group who didn’t and were upset about it.

Well, I guess I got lucky because I had no problem getting a 7:40 ADR. Maybe it was because I called at my 180 days. Maybe because I was the only fool who decided to drag the family out of bed in the wee hours of the morning according to DH and DS just for breakfast.

It sure wasn’t the latter because when we got to the restaurant, there was a nice long line to check in that snaked past the Tempo Grab and Go (thank goodness that’ll be gone soon. The food in there is awful.)

Back to Chef Mickey’s: The line moved surprisingly fast and we got our beeper. While standing in line for the family pic in front of the Chef Mickey’s plate, the beeper went off. We got our bad picture taken. It was bad because they were rushing and didn’t center us on the plate or wait 15 seconds until we were even smiling so needless to say we didn’t buy that picture.

I did just read on another post that there is a photopass number in the corner of the picture. If you have time to write that down, you can add it to your photopass card. I don’t have a pic to verify it though. They won’t put the picture on your card for you since that would mean you wouldn’t buy their overpriced pictures but it’s good to know there’s a way around that if you want the pic.

After the picture taking, we went back to the hostesses who were guiding people to their seats. Wow, that place is packed tight. We were seated about 5 tables in the middle near the door where the characters came out – not in the main room. There were alot of larger round tables in the area with tables for 4 squeezed in between.

I was actually hit in the head by the person at the next table when they tried to take their backpack off and hang it on their chair. The woman struggling with the backpack apologized and finally got it situated. It is so tight we had a hard time getting out of our chairs just to fight our way to the buffet.

We headed over to the buffet and grabbed our choices. I didn’t take pics of the buffet since the lines were long and we were hungry. We grabbed our Mickey Waffles (yeah), scrambled eggs and bacon, fruit and struggled back to our seats. When DD wanted a refill, I got it for her so she wouldn’t have to struggle out of her seat and weave her way to the buffet. DS and DH could handle it but DD was getting grumpy fast because it was so crowded.

Here's a plate of the basics:

Our waitress was wonderful. She made sure we had refills of our chosen drinks and when a character was nearby, she would go to another table if she was on our way to ours so we didn’t miss any characters.

The day we were there, we saw Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Donald Duck. Pluto was the only one who took a couple of extra minutes with us. The others just swung over, signed DD’s book, took a pic and went to the next table before DD could say anything to them. Pluto teased DS and DH, tried to leave with DD’s book and was just being fun.

The kids and I enjoyed the napkin waving but we had to be careful not to hit the people at the tables next to us. DH thought it was silly and didn’t do it.

Here's DS having fun napking waving:

We actually thought the food was just ok. The eggs were barely warm but the bacon was cooked just the way we liked it. The Mickey waffles were good. We didn’t like the bacon and cheese potatoes or Goofy’s Vegetable Lasagna. I thought I’d like the lasagna but it just didn’t taste right.

I walked around and took a few other pictures:

Plus this one on our table. I don't know if you can see it but the condiment holder is a mickey head.

So my overall for Chef Mickey’s is we won’t be back. For the price of Chef Mickey’s, I expected better.

It was fun for a one time only meal but the tables were too close together and the food was so-so. I don’t know if the table problems we had were because of our location in the restaurant but I won’t be going back to find out.

Up next: Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge

 

[TigerKat]

Great start!

 

[mcrabeck]

Can't wait for more!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Great start!

Thanks very much. I've never done one of these before!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Whispering Canyon at Wildnerness Lodge

I was able to get us an ADR at 4pm 2 weeks before we left for WDW. I was so thrilled. With free dining, I didn’t know if we would be able to get in.

We took the boat from MK to WL. We just missed the boat so we did have to wait awhile for the next one but I had left an hour to get there knowing that might happen. DH wasn’t happy. He doesn’t like waiting for anything.

The boat ride was nice and the breezes on the lake felt great. We arrived with plenty of time and walked around the lobby, checked out the pool area and arcade. We also had DD rub Humphrey's nose for luck.

When it was time for our ADR, we easily checked in and the kids played with the WL Lincoln Logs while we waited.

We were seated quickly in the back room near the fireplace and the door for the servers. I was glad we were there because I didn’t know if DH and the kids would enjoy the antics. I didn’t tell them a thing about it. Unlike Chef Mickey’s, we had plenty of space between the tables in that area.

First up, Jailbird Jessie( hereafter known as JJ) took our drink orders. Before she’d even come to take our meal orders, DS had finished his drink. She noticed and when she came to take our meal orders, she arrived with a huge canning jar of root beer with a huge straw just for him.

The look on his face was priceless. He started to laugh and laugh. Yup, we had a hit with DS. And for those who want to know – DS did finish that drink and even had a refill that he half finished.

We placed our orders - DH and I had the skillet, DD had the mac n’ cheese with fries, DS had St. Louis Style Ribs which I forgot to take a picture of and substituted fries for the seasonal veg’s. DH enjoyed a few beers but I stuck with Diet Coke.

When JJ came clumping back with our meal, DD asked for ketchup. She was sure surprised when a bunch of kids came over with lots of ketchup bottles!

The skillet was yummy. I really liked the potatoes, pulled pork and peel and eat shrimp, DH’s fav was the potatoes and the ribs. DS chowed down his ribs but it turned out DD didn’t like their mac n’cheese.

So when Jessie came back to refill our drinks, DD told her she didn’t like it. She’d tried some of the skillet potatoes and liked those so she asked Jessie if she could have some. A few minutes later, Jessie comes back with a huge pan of those potatoes.

The kids just laughed and laughed. DD couldn’t eat them for a while since she was laughing so hard.

Next thing you know, the call for ketchup went out so DS and DD grabbed a bunch of bottles and took them to the table calling for it laughing all the way.

The kids didn’t like the pony ride antics. They both thought they were too old for that which I kind of agreed with since they were 8 and 12. But the younger kids sure seemed to enjoy it!

We also ordered dessert. We ordered 3 S’More Cheesecakes. Oh my, those were soooo good. Luckily DD didn’t eat much of mine since she was stuffed from the potatoes!

Whispering Canyon does take Tables in Wonderland – although since the name had changed from Disney Dining Experience, JJ didn’t know what it was. I had to explain it to her which turned out to happen at every meal. We went just a few days after the name change and our card said Tables in Wonderland so I wasn’t surprised the servers were confused.

They had a blast and we enjoyed the food.

I’d definitely return to the Whispering Canyon. And DH liked the resort so we’ll most likely staying there on our June 09 trip.

Up next: Akershus Princess Breakfast

 

[2xcited2sleep]

My own pan of potatoes is my personal !!!! I am obsessing over WL lately. I think I'm going to have to check that out soon. Glad WCC was a hit with the kiddos. Love the picture of the totem pole!

 

[HonnyDipp]

Nice pics and reviews! Especially of WCC! Thanks for sharing!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Awesome reviews and pictures!

 

[SGMsMom]

Thank you so much for the reviews. I am trying to decide where we'll eat next year on our trip in September. And you have given me quite a bit of 'food' for thought. We've bascially done the same dining for the past 3 years.

BTW, I loved reading that your husband doesn't like waiting for anything! My husband is exactly the same way! Maybe it's a southern thing.

-Belynda

 

[scotas]

Thank you so much for the reviews. I am trying to decide where we'll eat next year on our trip in September. And you have given me quite a bit of 'food' for thought. We've bascially done the same dining for the past 3 years.

BTW, I loved reading that your husband doesn't like waiting for anything! My husband is exactly the same way! Maybe it's a southern thing.

-Belynda

I'm glad I'm not the only one planning for Sept. already. DH thinks I'm crazy looking up menus already

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Thank you so much for the reviews. I am trying to decide where we'll eat next year on our trip in September. And you have given me quite a bit of 'food' for thought. We've bascially done the same dining for the past 3 years.

BTW, I loved reading that your husband doesn't like waiting for anything! My husband is exactly the same way! Maybe it's a southern thing.

-Belynda

I think for him it's more of an age thing. The older he gets the more impatient he is.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

And heres Akershus Princess Breakfast:

I picked this breakfast because of the plethora of princesses (say that 10 times fast. )

I knew DD would love it. I was able to get an 8:35am breakfast.
DD is like me – she’s an early riser so we had no problems getting up and moving.

It was a good thing I left us plenty of time. For some reason the monorails were slow that morning. When I asked the first CM at the monorail if we could ride up front with the driver, he mentioned it. When the monorail pulled in, we were able to ride upfront. :Woohoo: DD was sooooo happy since that’s something her older brother had never done. We had a nice driver who chatted with us part of the time.

We had the same issue when changing monorails at the TTC. The CM there said the trains were slow and said he hoped we’d left plenty of time to get to Epcot. I did – mostly because I didn’t want to take a chance on missing this ADR!

We found our way to the Princess Breakfast sign and hung out until a very nice fellow opened the turnstile to let us in. We entered and not 2 seconds later someone else comes running up to tell us we couldn’t leave the area because we were let in before they got the ok to do so. She apologized for the error and then proceeded to have a chat with the fellow who let us in. Ooops. We took a few pictures while waiting and then got the ok to head on back a few minutes later.

We met a very nice CM on a segway who took a pic of DD and I in front of the fountain in the front. Then we made our way back to Akershus.

We are ½ Norwegian so it’s always fun to see that area of Epcot. We checked in and were shown to the area to take a picture with Belle. Both DD and I are in the picture. I wish I’d just done it with DD only since it’s a really bad shot of me.

We were shown to a table near the front of the restaurant. It turned out to be 4 tables from the door where the Princesses came out. That was so perfect for us!

Our server brought us our choice of drinks and we headed to the buffet. I tried the smoked salmon (yuck!) loved the cinnamon rolls and fruit from the cold buffet. DD loved the biscuits (I thought they were hard), cinnamon rolls and fruit. The cheese was fine but we eat a lot of cheese at home so we didn’t get much of it.

Our server brought us the platter with bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs and potato casserole. I forgot to take pics of all the food this time. We loved it all, especially the bacon. I don’t know what kind of bacon it was but it sure was good.

Our server wasn’t very attentive though. I had to stop him to get refills on our drinks and food. When I asked for more food, he said he’d bring it in a little bit. Fifteen minutes later he’s still not around so I got someone else to bring it to us.

When he seated the table next to us, he never brought their drinks! They got their food before they got their drinks. Not good. That’s one of my pet peeves. You should have your drinks within 5 minutes of ordering them.

I actually had to stop him for one last refill of our drinks and told him about the people next to us still needing theirs. They were shy and didn’t want to complain but as I'm sure you can tell, I'm not shy at all.
After I said something about their missing drinks, they began talking to me about their trip and the fun they were having. I really enjoyed talking to them.

The Princesses were fantastic. They chatted with DD, answered her questions. She asked Mulan where Mushu was and was told he was helping to keep the fires going in the kitchen.

She asked Jasmine how Raja was and told her she liked cats and Jasmine told her that Raja wasn’t allowed in the restaurant because he ate all the food. That one was funny.

She asked Snow White if Grumpy still didn’t like her and she said that Grumpy just pretended not to like her.

She asked Sleeping Beauty how long she slept and she said for a very long time.

It was wonderful watching DD interact with them and not be shy. I can’t believe I missed the picture of her hugging Snow White. Snow White is her favorite princess.

Overall we had a wonderful time. The food was good and the princess interaction was great. Too bad our server wasn’t top notch. Such is my luck.

I’d definitely go back to the Akershus Princess Breakfast.

Next up: Le Cellier

 

[jinkies04]

Thanks for the great reviews. We are also going to Chef Mickey's for a breakfast and to Whispering Canyon too! It is good to hear what they are like.

 

[SGMsMom]

I think for him it's more of an age thing. The older he gets the more impatient he is.

Oh no!! My dear husband is only 42! If he gets worse with age, I don't know what we'll do.

 

[frdeb1999]

Great review and pics! Looking forward to more!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Great review and pics! Looking forward to more!

Thanks very much. DS sure got tired of me taking food pics. I think it embarrassed him!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Le Cellier. Why is this restaurant so hard to get into? My goal was to find out why. Plus the Mushroom Filet sounds sooooo good.

I didn’t think I’d be able to since it’s such a hard to get ADR. I was pleasantly surprised to be able to get an early dinner. The reservationist was surprised there was availability for the date we wanted. I guess we got lucky.

We were already in Epcot riding Test Track about a million and one times so we just walked on over to Canada. The kids were in a good mood that day. I think riding Test Track over and over with no wait made them very happy since it’s one of their favorites.

We had a 20 minute wait to get in after letting them know we were there. DD busied herself making a mask at the kidcot stop. It was the only stop she wanted to do all day.

I also snapped this pic while we waited.

When we entered we were shown a table by the door where the servers go in and out. I thought Oh goodie, another great spot, stuck in a corner again. I wasn’t thrilled with the location. It turned out to be a fantastic location as I discovered later when the restaurant filled up. We weren’t squished by other tables (a huge pet peeve of mine) and we had a wonderful server.

I loved the atmosphere of the restaurant. It’s so nice and cool in there and the cellar look is great. I wanted to meander around the restaurant and take a few pics but the tables were so squished together I decided against it. Plus DH was getting tired of all my picture taking. He didn’t want me to take pics of any more food or the inside of places.

DH had a Canadian beer and I chose a Canadian wine to drink. I think DH’s was Canadian Unibroue. He said the beer was tangy but wasn’t a skunky beer and wasn’t too sweet. I wish I could remember the wines name. I can’t believe I didn’t write it down. They were both perfect. DH loved his and I loved mine. After a couple of glasses, I was definitely relaxed.

The kids stuck with their normal diet coke for DS (he did try the Pirate Punch because he wanted the light up Pirate but switched to Diet Coke when he got it because it was too sweet) and water for DD.

DH and I both decided to get the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup. Yummy, yummy. That was sooo good. I didn’t take pics of this. DH gobbled his down before I even had the camera out and the kids sampled mine while I was prepping the camera. I was lucky to get any.

DS loved the pretzel breadsticks. I didn’t care for that one but really liked the multigrain and sourdough. DD didn’t like any of them. DH liked them all.

DD ordered a hot dog and French fries, DS ordered the Beef and Macaroni from the kids menu, DH ordered the Herb-Crested Prime Rib and I ordered the Mushroom Filet.

We all loved our choices. DH said the Prime Rib was cooked perfectly and tasted great. My Mushroom Filet Mignon was wonderful. It was so tender and the flavor was yummy. The risotto was ok but kinda looked like lumpy cement to me and I’m not sure I really liked it. DS and DD loved their meals as well. DS has asked me to make the macaroni and beef dish at home. DH wasn’t thrilled but I took pics anyway. And here they are!

Mushroom Filet with risotto:

Beef and Macaroni:

Hot Dog and Fries:

I didn't get a pic of the Prime Rib. DH was eating already and I didn't want a pic of half eaten food. Oh well.

When our server asked if we wanted dessert, I didn’t hesitate. I ordered the Maple Crème Brulee. That was just calling my name. The crunchy top, the creamy goodness. It had just the right amount of maple taste. I want some right now just thinking about it. Mmmmmm.

DH ordered the New York Style Cheesecake and both kids ordered the Campfire S’Mores. We all gobbled up our desserts and left Le Cellier full but happy.

Ready for the dessert photos?

Maple Creme Brulee

New York Style Cheesecake - I can't believe I managed to get this picture. It's missing the round cookie like thing on the top since he ate it before I could take the picture.

Kids S'Mores - DS took this picture so I'm just happy it turned out.

LeCellier does take Tables in Wonderland and for the first time our server knew what it was. She hadn’t seen the new card yet and said she liked the picture on it. At this point, the card had paid for itself.

We all loved it there. It was the best meal of our trip. The atmosphere was prefect and the food was delicious. Our server was attentive and made sure we had refills of all our drinks. She helped DH and I choose our drinks and they were exactly what we wanted.

I’d go back there every time if I could get an ADR. Le Cellier rocks.

 

[SunnieRN]

Great reviews, I'm really enjoying them! Love the picture of your daughter with snow white.