Our December meals- chef mickeys, trails end, mama melrose, 1900 Park, etc.

[hdmichael]

Disney Dining Reviews for 12/8-12/17

Hi,
Since I definitely use the dining reviews when planning my trip, I thought I would share our experiences. I apologize in advance for how lenghty my reviews are. I keep trying to make them smaller, but I just can't seem to get it right.

Cast of Characters:
Me, 40 something, try anything, prefer vegetables and desserts to main dishes
DH, 40 something, picky eater- meat and potato type guy
DS, 9, severe food allergies and very picky eater- meat and potato type guy
DC,9, my cousin’s daughter, tends to love vegetables and fruit, but fairly picky about anything new or not done the way she was used to, stuck primarily with the chicken strips

Background: We haven’t been to Disney since 12/04 right before the DDP went into effect, and we did notice some subtle differences in the attentiveness of the wait staff (they seemed to have more tables and less time than previously- drink refills, checking on whether everything was ok, etc., definitely occurred less frequently than in the past- typically only once per meal) and the variety of the food offerings. Nothing too major, but the differences did affect how well we liked some of the restaurants compared to in the past. We have been to Disney several times over the previous five years and have eaten at most of the restaurants several times, so for us, this trip consisted of revisiting some of our favorites.

We didn’t use the DDP this time, but chose to use the DDE for the 20% off.

We tend to eat breakfast in the room (breakfast bars, cereal, yogurt, fruit) or on the go from our snack bags (kids always have some fruit, drinks, chips, beef jerky, etc.). Lunch is usually a quick table service (shared meals- the kids get something, and we get the left overs). We almost always do a table service restaurant for dinner or a very late lunch.

Because of the kids’ love for characters and just the overall pickiness of my family, we tend to favor character meals and the moderately priced restaurants. They don’t do gourmet or gourmet-like well at all.

About my pictures: I seemed to always forget to take pictures until we had eaten some of the food, but I am going to try and include pictures from most of the meals after I have written the reviews.

About the character meals: The kids had custom designed autograph books which the characters usually loved.

About food allergies: My son has a severe peanut allergy, and a not so severe allergy to eggs. Every restaurant went out of their way to work with us, and DS loved the chefs. The chefs were very prompt in coming to our table, very friendly, and very accommodating. One thing we learned was that all of the desserts at the restaurants we ate at were made off property and therefore had a chance of containing peanuts, so DS was not able to order dessert any where (a couple of restaurants did offer some alternatives such as ice cream and popsicles).

Thursday, 12/7
Checked into All Stars Music for one night; ate at food court- DC ordered double cheeseburger which was way too much for her, but my DH finished it off, it was good for a burger; DS ordered chicken strips and fries– the kids and husband think the chicken strips at WDW overall are great- big, with lots of white meat, not too greasy, great breading.

Friday, 12/8
Chef Mickey’s
check- in: We had one of the first seatings, so we stood in line a while before they started checking people in. Once the line started moving, it was quick and efficient. We were seated within five minutes of confirming our reservations.

Character interaction: Started out good and warmed up to excellent. Most of the characters made it to the table at least twice during the hour we were there. Minnie had a great time with DC, just dancing, etc.; and Pluto had our room for dancing and tended to migrate over to the kids since they really got into the dancing and the napkin twirling. In general, over the years, I have noticed that the character interaction tends to be at least decent and usually good here. The characters will have fun with the kids, particularly if the kids ask a question or two; and ours always had two questions prepped for each character, such as “Minnie, do you have a date with Mickey?”

Food: Typical of Disney buffets, offering a decent variety of side dishes and a few main dishes. I love the parmesan mashed potatoes here, so I tend to fill up on the mashed potatoes (which were divine this evening- perfectly done) and the salads (I only managed to try about ½ of them but really enjoyed the ones I tried). They had a nice variety of salads, including several seafood type salads. My DS and DH had the prime rib which they liked quite well. My DS found the Mickey ravioli a bit too soggy for his taste. DC had several of the children’s offerings and the fresh fruit: she liked everything she tried. I have to say that while I liked the desserts all right (I tried the carrot cake, fruit tart, cherry cobbler, and something with a sauce- just took a bite or two each, nothing I really absolutely loved), I have liked the quality of the desserts a bit better in the past.

Overall impression: Service was ok, not wonderful, but not bad- the server was nice and helpful. Food was decent, sometimes quite good, and the character interaction was great. Already on our return list.

Saturday, December 9
Trail's End Buffet
Well, this was the one day we did not make ADRs because my DH said we could snack around Epcot. Did that happen? Of course not. He and DC did the EE at MGM and had breakfast at the ABC Commissary. Now DH doesn't like breakfast food at all, so he said the meat was ok, but not great. DC liked the eggs. Nothing great, but nothing bad.

DS and I along with DH and DC had lunch at the food court at ASSports. Chicken fingers for DH and kids- what can I say, they like them? I discovered a great yogurt, oat, and strawberry parfait that I think I had at four times during the week- filling, lots of fresh fruit, and the oats on top were great. Great snack.

After the kids went swimming, we headed over to Epcot for one of the mousefest activities- guide to the magic, which was great. The kids had an ice cream snack and a frozen lemonade which they loved. We then headed over to Fort Wilderness for a carriage ride. Now the carriage ride was scheduled for 9:30, and it ended right around 10:00. The kids had snacked, etc. so although they were a bit hungry, they weren't starved. My DH on the other hand was becoming quite grumpy from the lack of food.

Check in and buffet: Luckily, we made it to Trail's End right before they closed the doors. We were there for about 45 minutes, and the buffet remained open and plentiful the entire time.

Food: Although there wasn’t tons of variety, everything was tasty and, for Disney, a great value. I was actually surprised by how good the chicken, ribs, and potatoes were. My DS and DH definitely had seconds. The salad was fresh and plentiful. Fruit was good. The shrimp cocktail was fresh and cold (not lukewarm like it can be on a buffet). I loved the fruit cobbler and the bread pudding. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures at this meal.

Overall Impression: What a pleasant surprise- good, home style food at a great price. Actually, this was among the best service we received at any of the restaurants- attentive, courteous, fun, personable. Everyone was full, satisfied, and happy at the end of the meal. We will definitely do this again.

I will add another review a bit later- coming up is LTT, CP, Akerhaus, Boma, etc.

 

[hdmichael]

Sunday, 12/9
Mama Melrose
Check- in: We checked in about five minutes early for our 4:30 p.m. Fantasmic Dinner package. Check-in was friendly and efficient, and we were given a beeper. We waited about 15-20 minutes to be seated.

Service: Service was friendly and good, but it was just very slow, so slow that the kids were beginning to get restless. This meal took a little over 1hour 45 minutes because of the length of time between courses and how long it took for our order to be taken and served.

Food: Although my DH and DS had eaten here a couple of years ago, I had never tried this restaurant so I was really looking forward to it. The food and the atmosphere did not disappoint.

The Fantasmic package has changed from that posted on allearsnet.com. Everyone got an appetizer, main course, and dessert. They brought a loaf of bread to the table which the kids loved. It was good. We ended up getting a second loaf.

Now this is where we started having trouble with the children’s menu at non-buffet restaurants. My DS took one look at the offerings and nearly had a heart attack. He finally settled on the broiled chicken breast and raw carrots. It came out with the vegetables and fruit. Let’s just say he was not pleased. He only took one bite of the chicken which he said was too dry and too plain even with his hot sauce. (Note: We carry a bottle of Red Hot Sauce because, even though he is a meat and potatoes person, he definitely wants it be very flavorful, preferably hot and spicy.)

My DC ordered the kid’s pasta dish with the fruit salad and the vegetables. She only took one bite of the pasta and decided she didn’t like it because it wasn’t the sauce she was used to eating. She did eat the fruit and vegetables though.

I ordered the crispy calamari with peppers and onions and spicy marinara sauce for my appetizer. I loved it. I won’t say that it was the crispiest calamari I have ever had, but it was very tasty. DH ordered the oven-baked caprino cheese in a tomato-basil sauce served with Rosemary-Garlic Crostini for his appetizer. Oh, my gosh, this was good, especially with the crostini. I ate more of it than my DH did. For his entree, my DH, to my DS’s dismay, ordered the spicy Italian sausage with rigatoni pasta, peppers, onions, and a tomato basil sauce topped with caprino cheese. My DS really wanted him to order the steak. My DH thought the sausage was quite tasty. He would definitely order it again.

Because I was worried about whether my DS would actually eat anything, I ordered the Charred Butcher Tender Steak over roasted red pepper polenta, grilled asparagus, with gorgonzola butter and red wine reduction. I ordered it medium well, but it came out medium which was fine with me. The polenta and asparagus were both yummy. I could have licked the bowl clean of the polenta. Now I am not that fond of steak but this was good. My DS loved, loved it. I had about two bites, and he finished it for me.

For dessert, my DC ordered the tiramisu. Neither she nor my DS liked any of the kid’s offerings. She took one bite of the tiramisu, and because it was not exactly like the one she had tried before didn’t like it. (Do you see a pattern emerging?) The tiramisu was beautifully presented. I tasted it and found that it was quite good. I think it was a bit too heavy on the cream and not enough cake compared to what DC had expected. However, I liked it. I ordered the lemon cream with the cranberry biscotti and strawberries. It was divine, light, fluffy, lightly flavored, and it had a nice cream texture. My DH ordered the Honey Hazelnut and Ricotta Cheesecake with a blood orange sauce, topped with a dollop of whipped cream. He liked it and would order it again (if there wasn’t something he really liked on the menu the next time). I had a bite and thought it was quite tasty, a bit mellow.

Overall Impression: Although the meal was quite lengthy and we really didn’t have time to do much of anything before we had to be at Fantasmic, we loved the food and the atmosphere, so much that we ate here again a week later.

 

[hdmichael]

Monday, 12/10
Cinderella’s Gala Feast at 1900 Park Fair, Grand Floridian Hotel

Check- in: We had the earliest seating and arrived about 10 minutes early. Because of the number of people waiting to check-in, it took several minutes to go through the line even though it was efficient. They had a little girl and her brother cut the ribbon to open the doors, and then everyone was seated very quickly.

About the Characters: I know most people eat here to meet Cinderella, but the mice are the stars here as far as character interaction goes. They are wonderful as is the Fairy Godmother. The prince and Cinderella are good, just not as good as the others. They took time to talk with the kids. Prince Charming even kissed DC’s hand, and both were wonderful about posing for pictures. Cinderella and the prince came by once; the mice stopped at least two times.

Food: Here’s where we noticed that there was a bit less variety than in the past. My DH liked the hot wings they had a few years ago, and some of the meat offerings that are no longer there. The strawberry soup was good and very sweet. I tried four of the salads (I don’t know the names) which were great. The two pastas were wonderful- one had shrimp and asparagus and one was tomato based. My DS and DH thought the prime rib and turkey were good; and I liked the mussels, salmon, and vegetable egg rolls. The desserts were good , not great, but definitely decent. I can’t remember exactly what I had which is really unusually.

Service: Our drink order was taken quickly, and the chef appeared immediately. Service was friendly, our plates were cleared from the table in a timely manner, and our drinks were refilled at least twice.

Overall Impression: Good buffet with a decent variety of offerings. The mice are wonderful. The meal, including transportation and check-in, took about 1 hour 45 minutes.

 

[Stick_to_Disney]

Thanks for these great reviews! I was curious about Mama Melrose's because I booked the Fantasmic package for June, and now I have an idea what I'll order. I have a question. How did you do the custom autograph books? Did you do it yourself or order it? My daughter would love this, since collecting autographs is one of her favorite activities at Disney!

 

[hdmichael]

I actually made a few autograph/ scrapbook books for them since we did so many character meals. This may seem like a lot of work, but because everything is pre-cut, and you use the same "pattern" for every two pages, it can be put together quickly. I think I spent 4 hours on each book.

1. I bought everything on sale at AC Moore's at 40% off over several weeks, because the stickers and 3 dimensional paper piecing can get expensive.

2. I used both 5x7 and 6x6 spiral scrapbooks. I then went on line and figured out which characters were at which meals and in what order we were doing the meals. For the books we carried to the parks, we figured out which characters they were going to try and see and made each one a page and put them together in alphabetical order.

3. I covered the first page with a piece of Disney paper and then each kid filled out a tag with their identifying information and glued it and other decorations on.

4. For every two facing pages, I used one side for the signatures and left one side for pictures of each child with the characters.

5. To make the pages cute, I bought pre-cut cardstock the same size as the scrapbook pages and glued it on the pages coordinating the colors for the characters. Then on one of the pages, I glued a 3x5 piece of white cardstock for the characters to sign; and on the other page, I glued 3x5 or 4.5x6.5 (depending on the size of the book) colored piece of cardstock as a frame for the picture. Then I used stickers, clip art, etc. to decorate the pages with the characters names and likenesses.

Hope this helps. In a few days, I am going to post the pages on one of the scrapbooking sites, and I'll post a link here. I know it seems like a lot of work, but their scrapbooks were done and all they had to do was glue the picture in and write their favorite memories.

 

[Stick_to_Disney]

Thanks so much! I'm not very creative, but I'm going to try this. My DD will love this activity!

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoying reading ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[toy]

I made autograph books for my DDs 4 and 7. I took some chip board (like cardboard) I cut it to the size of a small notebook. The chip board serves as the cover. I cut some cardstock to fit. I punched two holes in the tops of all and put book rings thru. This allows the girls to flip the book easily. Since dd (4) is into princesses, I decorated her book with Cinderella and Prince Charming 3-D stickers and matching Bazzill cardstock. My oldest is in love with anything Mickey. Her book is decorated in Mickey paper and 3-D stickers. Since the trip is a secret, they can't see the books yet. I am so excited to show the books to them.

 

[disneymom06]

Thanks for the reviews, we are trying Mama Melrose and 1900 PARk Fair. We also have 2 picky eaters. I am hoping that at least I can get them chicken tenders(or at least chicken nuggets). I know that I am looking forward to these two choices and my girls will try anything new, once.