3 of us:
Mom 52 (likes almost anything)
DD 18 (pretty picky eater)
DD's BF19 (very picky eater, does not like vegetables or beef)
We ate here for lunch on Oct. 1, our first meal of our free DDP. Our ADR was at 1:30 and we were seated almost immediately. The restaurant was pretty busy and they were turning away everyone without a ressie. Service was great as was the food. We tipped extra. While we did not exactly feel rushed, we were in and out within about 45 mins which suited us fine because the rides awaited!!
Mom: crab cake (excellent), Colony salad (very good) and Buttered griddled pound cake for dessert (very good but too big to finish)
DD: declaration salad, turkey dinner, strawberry shortcake
BF: chicken noodle soup, turkey dinner, chocolate cake
- DD and BF loved this meal.
- We would rate it as an A-
Oct 2:
Lunch at Le Cellier at 12:30pm. We got seated almost immediately. Our waitress was from Kelowna, BC, Canada - the same town I grew up in and now live 100 miles from. However, even though I told her this, she did not smile once at us and while she did her job, she certainly was not friendly. I was really suprised - neither of our two waitresses were particularly friendly although they did their job adequately. Most of us are friendly, really!!
Anyhow, onto the meal:
- Myself: cheese soup (pretty good), beef tip stir fry, creme brulee dessert
- DD: cheese soup, beef tip stir fry, blueberry buckle dessert
- BF: beef and barley soup, BBQ chicken sandwich, creme brulee dessert
DD and I were planning to have the beef dip but they had a new menu and it was no longer offered. We were disappointed with this meal. Part of it was our fault as we should have ordered better choices. Soups were good as was the stir fry but BF found the BBQ chicken not to be good at all - he had one bite. We also did not love the desserts. Creme brulee was just OK - not nearly as good as I have had before and DD ordered the buckle thinking it was like blueberry crisp. We would rate this a C.
Oct. 3 - dinner at Boma's
This was the meal I was mostly looking forward to. And it did not disappoint. The resort was beautiful. Our waitress was very attentive and the buffet - well, what can I say, it was just so fabulous. I wish I could have eaten here again but it just did not happen. I tried a bit of most things. The desserts were great, also. We all rated this an A+.
Oct. 4 - dinner Crystal Palace
We aren't really into character meals but BF wanted a buffet. It was very very good. There were lots of choices and way too many desserts (no wonder my shorts felt tighter as the trip went by!) The waiter was very good. We would rate this an A.
Oct 5 - Kona dinner
We loved this dinner. We were seated almost immediately and had a great booth. Our waitress was the best we probably had. I went with her recommendations but I should have ordered what I had planned to - why, oh why, do I let myself get talked into things?
me- Kona chowder (excellent), mahi mahi, apple brown betty dessert. Oh yes, and a smoothie for a drink.
DD - sticky wings, coconut almond chicken, white chocolate cheesecake, smoothie for drink.
BF- chicken noodle soup, coconut almond chicken, kilauea torte dessert, smoothie for drink.
All in all, a very good meal. I just wish that I had got the shrimp and scallops instead of the mahi mahi as I like shellfish much better than fish. I am sure the mahi mahi was really good, but just not my taste. DD loved her wings. There were about 9 on the plate, enough for a full meal. They both really liked the almond chicken and the salad that went with it was really good. Our desserts were good, not spectacular. We rate this an A.
Oct. 6 - Sci-Fi diner for lunch
I know this is not as DIS favorite but it was one of DD's requests. I was not too hungry so I decided to share with her, me having the appy with her having the maincourse.
me - 7 bean beef chili, ice tea drink (OOP)
DD - vanilla shake, shrimp penne pasta minus the shrimp, cheesecake for dessert.
BF - shared spinach and artichoke dip with all of us, shrimpless penne pasta, choc shake and hot fudge sundae for dessert.
I was absolutely stuffed after some spinach dip and the chili - I could not even finish it. However, it was really, really good. Kids really liked their pasta, shakes and desserts. We all agreed that the appys were the best part of this meal. We would rate it B+.
Oct 7 - WCC dinner
DD and I decided to share again - just too much food for us. We all shared two nacho appys. Tons of food here. We all had the bottomless shakes - paid for mine OOP. They really filled us up.
DD and I shared the roast chickenwith Yukon gold potatoes and cinnamon apples. Tons of chicken here. It was good but tons of meat which turned out to be a good thing. BF ordered the grilled chicken pasta. The waitress told us that there was a bit of a kick to it. When it came, there was not any chicken to be found in it. It was just terrible. I tasted a bit of broccoli in it and that was enough for me. It went untouched and we all shared the chicken dinner. For dessert we shared the apple caramel pie (I really wanted the cinnamon tortilla but I graciously let DD choose) and BF had the same. Dessert was good but we were stuffed from the milkshakes. Our waitress was pretty good but not one of the livelier ones. We gave this meal a C with the pasta getting its own mark of an F.
Oct. 8 Mama Melrose FDP.
For appys we had salad and the 4 cheese flatbread (excellent - all pizzas should be like this). We learned our lesson and did not fill up on bread first. We all had chicken parmesan which was very good, but again, way too much food. For dessert I had some new lemon parfait with berries - berries were good, parfait was barely Ok, DD had honey hazelnut cheesecake which was good, BF had the tiramisu which he liked. The restaurant was quite nice inside. We would rate this a B+. It was great to get guaranteed seats for Fantasmic.
Oct. 9 - Planet Hollywood.
DD and I planned to share a meal here but they would not let us. The waiter was a little snippy at first but he mellowed out by the end of the meal. We shared 3 appys - bruschetta (BF ate all of this, without the sauce, he loves garlic bread), texas tostadas ( I was unsure of this but they were delicious), and parmesan spinach dip (this was soooo good). DD and BF had the LA lasagna and I had the chicken fajitas. For dessert DD and I had the strawberry cheesecake, BF had chocolate cake. We all really loved this meal. Yes, the restaurant was noisy inside, but heck, I have 3 kids who listen to loud music, and we did enjoy looking at all the memorabilia. The waiter, even with his bit of attitude, did a superb job. We only waited about 10 mins for a table. Truth be told, it did kind of bug me the way several people at the front of the restaurant just seemed to be socializing and not paying much attention to the customers. It seemed like 3 were talking amongst themselves and one was taking down names. Kind of like road workers doing construction here in Canada - one or two are working and the rest seem to be observing them! Ha. I am sure that it only seems that way to me, LOL
We rate this a B+, would have been an A except for waiters attitude and the front restaurant fiasco.
Oct 10 - a double header here, our last day on the free DDP.
Breakfast at CP. 8:05 am. What was I thinking? Who wants to set the alarm at 6:15 am on their 10th day? Well, we did get there on time, along with tons of other people. This was our only breakfast and it was very good. Even had decent coffee. We would rate this a B.
Dinner - Alfredo's. I had originally booked Chefs de France but reluctantly changed this as DD and BF did not think they would like it. DD and I decided to share this meal.
DD/myself and BF - each had the alfredo pasta appy, and lasagna for main course. I know, I know, tons of pasta but DD had the appy and I had the lasagna. BF had both - he does love pasta. For dessert, I wasn't blown away by any of the choices, so we go some kind of layered pudding. BF got the canneloni. Both were just OK. We did not finish. This is the only restaurant where we had a bit of problem understanding the waitresses. We tried to tell them that we were sharing a meal but they were confused for quite a while. This is the only place where we did not get an extra plate, but had to put the plate between us. Then, when BF finished his coke, they brought him another one, but it was iced tea, which I was drinking. I had two glasses of iced tea and one glass of water in front of me while BF had an empty glass. The poor helper was so confused with this but finally she realized that BF was drinking coke. They must have wondered why this crazy lady was drinking so much!! When she came around with fresh parmesan cheese to grate on our pasta, she accidently grated some into DD's glass.
She felt very bad, but we all laughed about it, and she brought a new glass. We hardly ever saw the waitress but this girl was all over the place, bringing drinks, taking away dishes, doing everything for all the tables around. We gave an extra tip just for her. Despite the mixed reviews on this board, I am glad that we went there. The menu did not thrill me but it was very friendly.
We would give this a B.
Well, that is it. We stayed on for an extra 3 days without the meal plan. Our tummies needed a break. There is no way that I would ever eat that many sit down meals without the DDP. We spend our remaining credits on snacks for the next 3 days and picked up a couple of salads for the next evening. We had 4 counter services leftover as we spent two days away from the parks, just coming back for the dinner.
Having done the free DDP I may do it again. We were not able to be as spontaneous as I would have liked to be. It is pretty hard to predict what time you would like to eat 6 months before your vacation. BF is used to not eating breakfast but would want to eat around 10:30 or 11am, even if we were having a TS lunch at 12:30. I felt guilty throwing out so much food. It was better when we shared. On the positive side, BF is a big guy - 6'4" - and it was nice that I did not have to worry too much about how much money the food would cost.
All in all, a wonderful trip. Any questions??
Mom 52 (likes almost anything)
DD 18 (pretty picky eater)
DD's BF19 (very picky eater, does not like vegetables or beef)
We ate here for lunch on Oct. 1, our first meal of our free DDP. Our ADR was at 1:30 and we were seated almost immediately. The restaurant was pretty busy and they were turning away everyone without a ressie. Service was great as was the food. We tipped extra. While we did not exactly feel rushed, we were in and out within about 45 mins which suited us fine because the rides awaited!!
Mom: crab cake (excellent), Colony salad (very good) and Buttered griddled pound cake for dessert (very good but too big to finish)
DD: declaration salad, turkey dinner, strawberry shortcake
BF: chicken noodle soup, turkey dinner, chocolate cake
- DD and BF loved this meal.
- We would rate it as an A-
Oct 2:
Lunch at Le Cellier at 12:30pm. We got seated almost immediately. Our waitress was from Kelowna, BC, Canada - the same town I grew up in and now live 100 miles from. However, even though I told her this, she did not smile once at us and while she did her job, she certainly was not friendly. I was really suprised - neither of our two waitresses were particularly friendly although they did their job adequately. Most of us are friendly, really!!
Anyhow, onto the meal:- Myself: cheese soup (pretty good), beef tip stir fry, creme brulee dessert
- DD: cheese soup, beef tip stir fry, blueberry buckle dessert
- BF: beef and barley soup, BBQ chicken sandwich, creme brulee dessert
DD and I were planning to have the beef dip but they had a new menu and it was no longer offered. We were disappointed with this meal. Part of it was our fault as we should have ordered better choices. Soups were good as was the stir fry but BF found the BBQ chicken not to be good at all - he had one bite. We also did not love the desserts. Creme brulee was just OK - not nearly as good as I have had before and DD ordered the buckle thinking it was like blueberry crisp. We would rate this a C.
Oct. 3 - dinner at Boma's
This was the meal I was mostly looking forward to. And it did not disappoint. The resort was beautiful. Our waitress was very attentive and the buffet - well, what can I say, it was just so fabulous. I wish I could have eaten here again but it just did not happen. I tried a bit of most things. The desserts were great, also. We all rated this an A+.
Oct. 4 - dinner Crystal Palace
We aren't really into character meals but BF wanted a buffet. It was very very good. There were lots of choices and way too many desserts (no wonder my shorts felt tighter as the trip went by!) The waiter was very good. We would rate this an A.
Oct 5 - Kona dinner
We loved this dinner. We were seated almost immediately and had a great booth. Our waitress was the best we probably had. I went with her recommendations but I should have ordered what I had planned to - why, oh why, do I let myself get talked into things?
me- Kona chowder (excellent), mahi mahi, apple brown betty dessert. Oh yes, and a smoothie for a drink.
DD - sticky wings, coconut almond chicken, white chocolate cheesecake, smoothie for drink.
BF- chicken noodle soup, coconut almond chicken, kilauea torte dessert, smoothie for drink.
All in all, a very good meal. I just wish that I had got the shrimp and scallops instead of the mahi mahi as I like shellfish much better than fish. I am sure the mahi mahi was really good, but just not my taste. DD loved her wings. There were about 9 on the plate, enough for a full meal. They both really liked the almond chicken and the salad that went with it was really good. Our desserts were good, not spectacular. We rate this an A.
Oct. 6 - Sci-Fi diner for lunch
I know this is not as DIS favorite but it was one of DD's requests. I was not too hungry so I decided to share with her, me having the appy with her having the maincourse.
me - 7 bean beef chili, ice tea drink (OOP)
DD - vanilla shake, shrimp penne pasta minus the shrimp, cheesecake for dessert.
BF - shared spinach and artichoke dip with all of us, shrimpless penne pasta, choc shake and hot fudge sundae for dessert.
I was absolutely stuffed after some spinach dip and the chili - I could not even finish it. However, it was really, really good. Kids really liked their pasta, shakes and desserts. We all agreed that the appys were the best part of this meal. We would rate it B+.
Oct 7 - WCC dinner
DD and I decided to share again - just too much food for us. We all shared two nacho appys. Tons of food here. We all had the bottomless shakes - paid for mine OOP. They really filled us up.
DD and I shared the roast chickenwith Yukon gold potatoes and cinnamon apples. Tons of chicken here. It was good but tons of meat which turned out to be a good thing. BF ordered the grilled chicken pasta. The waitress told us that there was a bit of a kick to it. When it came, there was not any chicken to be found in it. It was just terrible. I tasted a bit of broccoli in it and that was enough for me. It went untouched and we all shared the chicken dinner. For dessert we shared the apple caramel pie (I really wanted the cinnamon tortilla but I graciously let DD choose) and BF had the same. Dessert was good but we were stuffed from the milkshakes. Our waitress was pretty good but not one of the livelier ones. We gave this meal a C with the pasta getting its own mark of an F.
Oct. 8 Mama Melrose FDP.
For appys we had salad and the 4 cheese flatbread (excellent - all pizzas should be like this). We learned our lesson and did not fill up on bread first. We all had chicken parmesan which was very good, but again, way too much food. For dessert I had some new lemon parfait with berries - berries were good, parfait was barely Ok, DD had honey hazelnut cheesecake which was good, BF had the tiramisu which he liked. The restaurant was quite nice inside. We would rate this a B+. It was great to get guaranteed seats for Fantasmic.
Oct. 9 - Planet Hollywood.
DD and I planned to share a meal here but they would not let us. The waiter was a little snippy at first but he mellowed out by the end of the meal. We shared 3 appys - bruschetta (BF ate all of this, without the sauce, he loves garlic bread), texas tostadas ( I was unsure of this but they were delicious), and parmesan spinach dip (this was soooo good). DD and BF had the LA lasagna and I had the chicken fajitas. For dessert DD and I had the strawberry cheesecake, BF had chocolate cake. We all really loved this meal. Yes, the restaurant was noisy inside, but heck, I have 3 kids who listen to loud music, and we did enjoy looking at all the memorabilia. The waiter, even with his bit of attitude, did a superb job. We only waited about 10 mins for a table. Truth be told, it did kind of bug me the way several people at the front of the restaurant just seemed to be socializing and not paying much attention to the customers. It seemed like 3 were talking amongst themselves and one was taking down names. Kind of like road workers doing construction here in Canada - one or two are working and the rest seem to be observing them! Ha. I am sure that it only seems that way to me, LOL
We rate this a B+, would have been an A except for waiters attitude and the front restaurant fiasco. Oct 10 - a double header here, our last day on the free DDP.
Breakfast at CP. 8:05 am. What was I thinking? Who wants to set the alarm at 6:15 am on their 10th day? Well, we did get there on time, along with tons of other people. This was our only breakfast and it was very good. Even had decent coffee. We would rate this a B.
Dinner - Alfredo's. I had originally booked Chefs de France but reluctantly changed this as DD and BF did not think they would like it. DD and I decided to share this meal.
DD/myself and BF - each had the alfredo pasta appy, and lasagna for main course. I know, I know, tons of pasta but DD had the appy and I had the lasagna. BF had both - he does love pasta. For dessert, I wasn't blown away by any of the choices, so we go some kind of layered pudding. BF got the canneloni. Both were just OK. We did not finish. This is the only restaurant where we had a bit of problem understanding the waitresses. We tried to tell them that we were sharing a meal but they were confused for quite a while. This is the only place where we did not get an extra plate, but had to put the plate between us. Then, when BF finished his coke, they brought him another one, but it was iced tea, which I was drinking. I had two glasses of iced tea and one glass of water in front of me while BF had an empty glass. The poor helper was so confused with this but finally she realized that BF was drinking coke. They must have wondered why this crazy lady was drinking so much!! When she came around with fresh parmesan cheese to grate on our pasta, she accidently grated some into DD's glass.
She felt very bad, but we all laughed about it, and she brought a new glass. We hardly ever saw the waitress but this girl was all over the place, bringing drinks, taking away dishes, doing everything for all the tables around. We gave an extra tip just for her. Despite the mixed reviews on this board, I am glad that we went there. The menu did not thrill me but it was very friendly. We would give this a B.
Well, that is it. We stayed on for an extra 3 days without the meal plan. Our tummies needed a break. There is no way that I would ever eat that many sit down meals without the DDP. We spend our remaining credits on snacks for the next 3 days and picked up a couple of salads for the next evening. We had 4 counter services leftover as we spent two days away from the parks, just coming back for the dinner.
Having done the free DDP I may do it again. We were not able to be as spontaneous as I would have liked to be. It is pretty hard to predict what time you would like to eat 6 months before your vacation. BF is used to not eating breakfast but would want to eat around 10:30 or 11am, even if we were having a TS lunch at 12:30. I felt guilty throwing out so much food. It was better when we shared. On the positive side, BF is a big guy - 6'4" - and it was nice that I did not have to worry too much about how much money the food would cost.
All in all, a wonderful trip. Any questions??
