DDP Review 8/24-29RR Kona Cafe Le Cellier Narccoossees Grand Floridian cafe w/pics

[soxnation]

We got back last week and I am finally getting to my reports here is out review of our Free Dining experience August 28th - 29th! Me foodie who likes to try many different things Mom is willing to try things but sticks to lighter fare Sis picky eater will complain about not liking anything hard to please. ( mom and sis would not let me take pictures of their food, they said I looked weird but truthfully by the time the food was there I dug in before remembering to take a picture, I have a few and will get them up as soon as I can figure out how to do it )

8/24- Raglan Road Downtown Disney
Our first night we headed to downtown Disney for a late dinner at Raglan Road we had a 7:30 reservation and were seated around 7:15 when we were tired of walking in the off and on rain. We were seated in the main area of the restaurant next to were the band plays. Atmosphere is nice a bit noisy but we were not expecting a quiet experience. We were seated near the entrance to the back/kitchen so the area was a bit busy.
We started with drinks, I recommend trying a beer sampler to try the different Irish beers you would not normally get locally. We ordered for appetizers the crab salad with avocado (sorry can not remember the name it was not on the menu I had printed out ) and the For 2 baby back ribs. Crab Salad was tiny but was good had interesting flavor I would recommend it for someone who likes a lighter appetizer. Mom and sis had the Heaven on Earth Guinness ribs that were heaven on earth! Sweet little treat, they were large enough for 2 and had a wonderful different flavor to the ribs. We were also giving some bread which was heavy oatmeal type bread that was sweet. If we were not on the DDP I would have enjoyed just having the bread before my meal. We were too full to really enjoy the bread.
For our Main Courses we had the Raglan Risotto, Shepherds Pie, and Posh Chicken. I highly recommend the Raglan Risotto sis ordered this and loved it and she is hard to please it had a nice flavor with leek and mushrooms a bit heavy on the salt for my taste. I ordered the Shepherds pie expecting something different as it said it was given a makeover it was mashed potatoes and a ground beef mixture that was heavy on grease. Flavor was good but after a few bites got boring. The Posh Chicken (I think that was what it was called it was not on the menu I printed out) Oven roasted chicken with roasted potatoes and a veggie. Mom enjoyed it we all saved room for desert.
For desert we opted for a Dunbrody Kiss and a sampler. Sis loves chocolate and said the Kiss was "amazing" the sampler was good but the baked Alaska that was on it was frozen solid and we could not eat it. I recommend samplers at any of the restaurants for people who are on the DDp want to try the deserts but do not want to gain 20lbs on vacation.
Overall the dining at raglan road was good nice atmosphere good brews and friendly staff who when told we were on the DDP did not change their attitude or push alcohol.
( when ordering alcohol on the DDP watch the bill when it comes we realized after 2 dinners that they were adding the tip into the bill and we were tipping on top of it, we also would tip extra on dinner in the drink bill for good service )

more on the way....

 

[soxnation]

8/25- Kona Cafe, Polynesian Resort
Early Dinner before a night out in the parks. This dinner was fantastic!!!!! We again were accommodated arriving early as it was only 5:30 and not crowded. The decor is lovely and you barely realize that you are at the entrance to the resort. Our server was lovely and took us to see the deserts before we were seated. At Kona they had a system for the DDP guests that the server was given a slip with the spaces to write the choices for each guest in had not see it before.
We started with the Crab Cakes, Pot stickers, and Sticky wings all of which were fantastic! Lovely presentations and the tastes were fresh and interesting. I wish I could have a crab cake right now! Sticky wings were a big hit as well. Many appetizers were served with a small refreshing salad that was a nice balance to the first course.
For drinks we ordered Zombies they were fantastic nice addition to the theme of the location and meal.
For our Main Course we opted for 2 Shrimp and Scallops and the Beef Teriyaki. The Shrimp and Scallops with a passion fruit sauce were light fresh and cooked to perfection the wasabi cream on the scallops was perfect not spicy at all. Sis said the Beef was great perfectly cooked and the sauce was "amazing" the mashed potatoes served along with it were very good as well.
For desert we tried the crème brulee chocolate volcano and the apple brown betty. The volcano was by far the best, the crème brulee was too cold and very heavy on the banana and mom said the betty was tasty but we all would have loved to have the volcano.
This trip was to ReCelebrate sis's birthday and even though her birthday had been 4 months ago our server brought her out a lovely little birthday treat.
(I have photos of the drinks volcano and birthday treat if I can only get how to post them I will be all set)
Kona Cafe comes highly recommended excellent food would eat here all the time if i could.

 

[John's Mom]

Great reviews. Keep them coming!

 

[TigerKat]

Thanks for the great KONA review - I'm really looking forward to trying it, however, it's our first TS ADR, and I'm afraid everything after that will not live up to KONA!!

 

[soxnation]

hahah yes everything after our trip to Kona had to try to live up so i am sure yours will too!!! have a great trip enjoy Kona have a crab cake for me!

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoying reading your reviews ~ Keep them coming

 

[soxnation]

8/26- Le Cellier Steakhouse EPCOT
After trying to get a decent time for a meal here we settled on a late lunch rather than a super late dinner. Our ADR for 2:40 was almost missed do to the drenching rain, extraordinarily long time it takes to get from the Grand Floridian to EPCOT and Sibling bickering. At 2:40 on the dot we ran through the doors a bit wet and were told to sit it would be a bit before our table was ready. Ok with me because we were using this as dinner so that was fine and we were tired from speed walking though the park..no sis to the right to the right...put your self in the map!! See it is to the right!!! However others waiting were complaining that having a reservation apparently was useless because they had waited 20 mins. The host rather annoyingly made that statement that with out his ADR he would not be eating there because they were booked solid until October; do not pat your selves on the shoulder quite yet! Sis loves steak so I talked this place up and with all the hype I knew we could be let down. Our server was nice, we felt a bit rushed to make out selections as we sat down. The speech about the breadsticks seemed forced and she was uninterested. We were in Canada so Canadian beer all around it is. Did I mention sis just turned 21 yeah free food meant expensive bar tabs!
Well we went with Shrimp Cocktail, Mushroom Stack, and Mussels. Shrimp was alright sis did not love them. The shrimp was very cold and it ruined a bit of the flavor. Mom's Mushroom stack was alright but might have been better if cheese was in it. I opted for the Mussels after mom claimed I would be walking off the calories of the soup for months. Mussels were tiny but when put in the broth and eaten as a chowdahh they were good.
Main course choices were 2 grilled petit Filets and the New York Strip Steak. Filets were tiny but just enough after having an appetizer they said the mashed potatoes were "amazing". I had the Strip Steak, it was good much like I would get at any steakhouse at home it came with roasted Yukon potatoes well it should say 4 tiny potatoes under your steak it would have been fantastic with the potatoes from the Kona Cafe.
For desert which we were again rushed into making a decision because they said it took about 15mins for them to come out, well if we wanted instant deserts we would stick with the Mickey bars outside so it is fine if we sit enjoy our beer and each others company now go away and let us decide!!
We went with the 1/2 and 1/2 crème brulee, blueberry crumble and whiskey cake. Cake was great tasted just like a local bakery in newburyport, ma so nothing special there. Sis said crème brulee was not very good I tried it and it was much better than Kona but still was off..think the sugar was too burnt and had a bad taste. Mom said blueberry crumble was alright.
We did not tip extra here as we were irritated with the notion of rushing us, if you are going to rush the late lunch people before dinner seating then do not have those times available. Over all my take on Le Cellier is that it is way overrated. Steaks were average and portions of things small. The staff seem to feel like they are working at the almighty booked solid location. If you can get and ADR easily then try it but if you can not try other locations for steak I am sure they are just as good for less hassle.

 

[soxnation]

8/27-Gasparilla Grill and Games, the Grand Floridian
Well I will throw this review on this date because we ate there almost every day. For breakfast they had the usual breakfast platters, egg sandwiches, pancakes, and waffles. We tried it all! It was too hot to eat lunches in the park and by lunch time we were ready for a cool room and dip in the pool so we used our counter service credits for breakfast....I know big no no on the get the last penny out of the mouse, but I was not going to force feed my mom and sis hamburgers at 12:30 pm when the temp was 105 in the shade. Breakfast was good every morning can not complain things were fresh and portions were huge to hold you over into the afternoons. Lunch options were great as well they had the usual pizza chicken fingers but also had great sandwiches jerk chicken salad on a wrap was our favorite as well as the roast beef. Section for snacks were small had great deserts were yummy chocolate cake carrot cake ect. Limited for mug refills some more options would have been better like diet sprite!! I realize it is Grill and Games but I did not think it would be Grill and Games 2 feet away from your table, it was loud and the kids were running. I recommend if it is weather wise an option eat outside at the tables it faces the marina and gives a great view of the monorail and the castle across the way.

Cosmic Rays-We ate here for dinner this night because we were doing EMH at the Magic Kingdom. Ordering from different lines can be tricky especially if you have a large family and it is a busy time in the location. It was around 8:30pm the place was empty and we all wanted chicken so we were easy to please. We opted for 2 of the half roasted chickens and some chicken fingers. I could not go on vacation and not have generic chicken fingers like a kid!! Roasted chickens were good came with carrots and mashed potatoes, Chicken fingers came with fries which the portion was rather small 3 fingers for the 7 dollar price. The roasted chicken was large and we all shared nice and moist and a good option for those trying to eat a bit on the healthier side. We took the brownies as desert ...I think there is still one in my suitcase

 

[soxnation]

8/28- Narccoossee's The Grand Floridian
This was out special last night of mother daughter vacation 2 credit signature dinner. Our room was feet away from the restaurant so we smelled it all week and were excited for some lobstahhh. Well sis is not feeling too well from the heat and she said she just could not eat so much that night after eating so much all week, so we just order her a salad and pay oop for her, she also ordered a smoothie that the server was nice enough to put on the DDP as my drink rather than have to pay oop for it. The location of this restaurant is lovely looking out on the lagoon and I am sure it is nice for a late night dinner. We understood the dress code to be business casual so we dressed for dinner, the other bumps on a log waiting for dinner came right from the parks and were dressed for camping not dining, they looked at us like we were out of place, oh well. be sure if you dine early to get some pictures on the deck nice view, again those weirdoes who went right outside when they came in to take pictures, yeah we did nice shorts buddy.
Anyways we went with the Mussels and Crab Cakes for appetizers we wanted to see what a signature location did with these options. Well the Muscles were much larger that at Le Cellier but the broth was plain. Mom said the Crab Cakes were good but the ones from Kona were better, I did not get to try them she shared with sis. They do serve nice sourdough bread with butter and a seasoned salt. We tried some of their signature drinks that were recommended by the server but during the week I had better mixed drinks at the pool bar than at Narccoossee's.
For our Main Course mom had the Maine Lobstahh and I thought I would try the Surf and Turf. The lobster was large but cooked on the dry side, mom said it would have been better to get the whole lobster you only get one giant claw and a tail with a cleaned out head for decoration. The surf and turf was good Filet was cooked very well came with the potato gratin that was delicious but the lobster tail was Caribbean not Maine as I would have preferred but I tried it and it was a giant shrimp to me.
The most disappointing part of this dinner was dessert. We were expecting something fabulous from their kitchens but the choices were limited there was nothing chocolate on the menu. Mom and I both went with the sorbet that was 2 tiny spoons full of sorbet covered with too many slices of fruit.
Overall the draw to this location has to be the lobster, but for us who are fortunate enough to live in New England 30 mins from the ocean we can get lobster like that all the time. Prices are high if you are not on the DDP I think next time we are going to skip any 2 credits locations for the chance to try more places or go to Kona Cafe 2 times

 

[soxnation]

8/29- The Grand Floridian Cafe
We had 2 credits left from sis not having dinner the night before so we decided on doing breakfast at the cafe on our last morning. Sis went from not feeling well from the heat to we think food poising from dinner the night before. So it was just mom and me. we both had the breakfast platter that came with an option of biscuits or toast, new Englanders do not eat biscuits normally so toast it was. The location was bright and homey, very Victorian. When breakfast arrived we decided it was the same eggs, bacon, and sausage as from Gasparilla Games with real potatoes for double the price. Breakfast was lovely and we enjoyed being able to relax on our last day. A tip though for those thinking of breakfast here if you do not want a full relaxing breakfast stick to the Grill if you are interested in bacon and eggs. For all other breakfast fare hop into the cafe it is lovely.

Well that is my report on our dining experience. At first the DDP was tricky to decide to use, not knowing what came with what where because things were different all around. Once we had it down we were using it everywhere. We saw many people in the Grill on their last days using snack credits to get many items but we found we used all out snack credits by the last day, you had to when it is 100 in the park we would melt with out a Mickey and a bottle of water! I thought it would be weird being on free dining or be treated differently but cast members were willing to help you with your choices and advise you on what was included and not. We found many people had no idea about it and even there were families who had made no reservations at all for the entire trip so world may have not gotten out too far.
Hope my 2 cents helps someone in their dining choices the dining was fun and a nice departure from my last trip with friends from high school where French fries were considered a meal. We will do the dining plan again free or not. It was good to have the idea that the money would already be budgeted for the meals, less worry more enjoyment of dinner in many different locations. Enjoy your trips we are very sad ours has come and gone and are deciding when we can go back again!!!

 

[ufgator]

Thanks for your reviews!

 

[Schucraig]

Wow! Thanks for all the reviews!

 

[dawgfan]

Thanks for the review.

 

[CinderMelly]

Thank you so much for the reviews, especially for Narcoosee's. I was thinking of going there for the lobster. Boy, what a disappointment that sounds like. Think I'll be skipping Narcoosee's as I can get a better deal at Red Lobster! I might have to try Kona.

 

[sleeping beauty 2]

Thanks for the reviews. 10 days and counting and to our stay at GF. WE have ADRS at each of the places you reviewed. So it is great to know in advance that we made some good decision.

 

[PamNC]

We got back last week and I am finally getting to my reports here is out review of our Free Dining experience August 28th - 29th! Me foodie who likes to try many different things Mom is willing to try things but sticks to lighter fare Sis picky eater will complain about not liking anything hard to please. ( mom and sis would not let me take pictures of their food, they said I looked weird but truthfully by the time the food was there I dug in before remembering to take a picture, I have a few and will get them up as soon as I can figure out how to do it )

8/24- Raglan Road Downtown Disney
Our first night we headed to downtown Disney for a late dinner at Raglan Road we had a 7:30 reservation and were seated around 7:15 when we were tired of walking in the off and on rain. We were seated in the main area of the restaurant next to were the band plays. Atmosphere is nice a bit noisy but we were not expecting a quiet experience. We were seated near the entrance to the back/kitchen so the area was a bit busy.
We started with drinks, I recommend trying a beer sampler to try the different Irish beers you would not normally get locally. We ordered for appetizers the crab salad with avocado (sorry can not remember the name it was not on the menu I had printed out ) and the For 2 baby back ribs. Crab Salad was tiny but was good had interesting flavor I would recommend it for someone who likes a lighter appetizer. Mom and sis had the Heaven on Earth Guinness ribs that were heaven on earth! Sweet little treat, they were large enough for 2 and had a wonderful different flavor to the ribs. We were also giving some bread which was heavy oatmeal type bread that was sweet. If we were not on the DDP I would have enjoyed just having the bread before my meal. We were too full to really enjoy the bread.
For our Main Courses we had the Raglan Risotto, Shepherds Pie, and Posh Chicken. I highly recommend the Raglan Risotto sis ordered this and loved it and she is hard to please it had a nice flavor with leek and mushrooms a bit heavy on the salt for my taste. I ordered the Shepherds pie expecting something different as it said it was given a makeover it was mashed potatoes and a ground beef mixture that was heavy on grease. Flavor was good but after a few bites got boring. The Posh Chicken (I think that was what it was called it was not on the menu I printed out) Oven roasted chicken with roasted potatoes and a veggie. Mom enjoyed it we all saved room for desert.
For desert we opted for a Dunbrody Kiss and a sampler. Sis loves chocolate and said the Kiss was "amazing" the sampler was good but the baked Alaska that was on it was frozen solid and we could not eat it. I recommend samplers at any of the restaurants for people who are on the DDp want to try the deserts but do not want to gain 20lbs on vacation.
Overall the dining at raglan road was good nice atmosphere good brews and friendly staff who when told we were on the DDP did not change their attitude or push alcohol.
( when ordering alcohol on the DDP watch the bill when it comes we realized after 2 dinners that they were adding the tip into the bill and we were tipping on top of it, we also would tip extra on dinner in the drink bill for good service )

more on the way....

Hi there! I enjoyed your review of one of our favorites, Raglan Road. I too love the Raglan Risotto. Did you enjoy the live music and dancing? Did they sing a song all about "Whiskey in the jar." Did you coat your stomach with enough creamy food so you could drink drink drink? (I think I heard a song that said something like that while I was there). Seriously though, we love this place. The food, the atmosphere and you seem to meet other nice folks enjoying Disney. The band is really good.

PamNC

 

[soxnation]

we just missed the band that night it was our first night and we were too tired to go hang out at the bar for the dancing next time i will see the band and dancing that is the great thing miss a few and have excuses to go back!