Reviews of Cali Grill, Boma's, Marakesh, San Angel and more...

[MariaEllerºoº]

Ok, onto our experience of the free dining plan...I've never eaten so much food before in my life! LOL Each person receives one snack, one quick service and one table top service meal each day. So, if your staying for 5 nights you get 5 of each per person. With the quick service (counter service) you get an appetizer, meal, dessert and drink just as you do for table service meals. Just too much food for one person to eat every single day so the best way to work it is to split your meals with someone. We normally used our snack option to get a muffin (they're huge) for breakfast and we bought our refillable mugs so we didn't have to pay extra or use a credit for our drinks at breakfast or when we returned from the parks. We also used a counter service on some days for a bigger breakfast and would split it. Everyone talked about how hard it was to book an ADR during the time frame that we vacationed..August 27th through Sept. 2nd. Most restaurants that we went to there was no problem whatsoever in being able to walk up with out ADR's and being seated in a reasonable amount of time. I did notice that a lot of menu's have changed from what has been posted on Deb's wonderful site. That would be one thing that would be very hard to keep updated since the menu's change so frequently.

Before our free dining plan started we ate at Trail's End Buffet for breakfast before checking into the Caribbean Beach Resort. Absolutely the best breakfast around! All you can eat buffet with everything you could ever want for breakfast. To give a clue as to how low the crowds were there were only 4 other families eating at 8am at Trail's End. Never saw this before in my life! We were also the only two people shopping at the Trading Post. Man that was eerie to walk around the campground and shop in the Trading Post without seeing another soul around.

We ate counter service at Tusker House as our first counter meal on the free dining plan and this is when we concluded that it was best to split meals instead of ordering two meals each because after this meal I was too full to move. LOL I had the rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies, drink and chocolate cake dessert. Justin had the turkey wrap with soup and chocolate cake for dessert. Our meal came to $28.50 but free with the free dining plan. Cha-ching!

Our first night on the dining plan we had ADR's for California Grill for 9:30pm, however, we showed up at 9pm and another couple in front of us had just arrived without having ADR's. They took us up to the restaurant at the same time. Justin and I were seated first and then they took the other couple who didn't have ADR's and sat them a few tables away from us. Since we showed up earlier than the time of our ADR's we were seated 2 tables away from the window...however...if we had arrived at the time of our ADR's we would have had a window table for sure since 3 tables opened up at 9:30pm. Pooey...oh well..we could still see everything very well from the table we were sitting at. After ordering we walked outside to the observation deck to snuggle while looking at the amazing view. Wow! What a view!!! I ordered the flatbread and Justin ordered the Yellowfin Tuna 3 ways sushi for an appetizer, we both ordered the Hearts of Romaine Salad as the first course, I ordered the filet and Justin ordered the New York Strip as the main course and then the banana custard for desert. Justin's New York Strip was out of this world delicious! I've never tasted a better steak in my life!!! It just melted in your mouth. We also received bread with our meals as well as the flatbread. Just too much food that I couldn't order a desert, but did taste Justin's. I didn't really care for his desert too much...the carmalized banana's tasted a bit burnt. Everything else was absolutely delicious and we'll definitely eat here again if we happen to have the dining plan! Even with it costing us 2 TS each it was worth every bit of it! The bill came to $135.46 but was free on the free dining plan. Cha-ching! I know gratuities are already included but our waitress was absolutely fantastic so we threw in an extra tip because she definitely deserved it.

Our second day at the parks we decided to do MGM. I didn't make any ADR's here since I figured we would just pick up something quick, but Justin decided he wanted to try Sci-Fi Dine-In. I told him of my experience there before and that I absolutely hated it, but if he still wanted to try it than I'll go along with it. So we walked up at 11:35 and were seated at 11:40 without having ADR's. I'm glad he talked me into it because it was very good this time around. Now, the day before I had learned my lesson of sharing meals after all the food we ate so we just ordered one meal and split it even though we didn't have breakfast as of yet because we had still been too full from our meals the day before. We ordered a chocolate shake, ice tea, cheeseburger, onion rings and the waiter had the kitchen cut everything in half and came out with two plates. Wow! I thought we would just share a plate...didn't expect them to cut everything in half. Our bill came to $29.71 but free with the free dining plan. Cha-ching!

That evening we had ADR's for Boma's at 5:30pm for 2, but because of Ernesto coming through my parents arrived earlier than expected and my brother who lives in Orlando wanted to join us so I called and switched our reservations from 2 people to 5 people and switched the time to 9pm instead of 5:30pm since my brother wanted to join us and had to wait for him. Boma's is still one of my top favorites! Out of this world delicious as it has always been. For Justin and I our meal came to $64.72 but free with the free dining. Cha-ching!

The next day we had originally had ADR's for Ragland Road that evening, but we were all having too much fun at the MK so we decided to cancel our ADR's for that evening and just stay at the MK. We ate counter service at Columbia Harbor House for lunch. I got a bowl of Clam Chowder, fries, dessert and tea. Justin got the 1/2 sandwich, soup, dessert and coke. Bill came to $28.64 but free with the free dining. Cha-ching!

That evening we ate at Casey's Corner since we were still pretty full from lunch. 2 hotdogs, chili, fries and 2 drinks and cracker jacks as dessert (lol)..yep, we got prizes too! I can't find my receipt at the moment but it was free with the free dining plan. Cha-ching!

The next day we had ADR's for Marakesh. Even though my chicken was a bit dry everything was absolutely delicious. We both got the Beef Brewat Rolls and the platter that you get to sample a bit of everything. The only thing that disappointed me was the chicken..it was very dry. Everything else was absolutely delicious as always. For the two of us our meal came to $70, but free with the free dining plan. Cha-ching!

The next day we had ADR's for San Angel Inn. Now this one was a new one for me. Never tried it before because I really don't care for mexican food, but Justin and my father both love it and I always wanted to at least try it once just for the atmosphere. We all got the nachos, Justin got the Puntas De Filete and I got the Camerones Con Fideos. Well, mine tasted like chef boy ardee...it was awful, but my mom liked it so we switched plates. She had ordered the Mahi-Mahi and it was absolutely delicious! Thanks mom! Your meal was a lot better than the chef boy ardee one that I had ordered. Aren't mom's nice? hehe I can't remember what our meal came to and can't find the receipt, but cha-ching it was free!

The rest of the snacks we used up on pastries in Norway and cheese, bread and pastries in France. Yummy!!! We also ate a counter service meal at the Polynesian at Captain Cook's. Captain Cook's isn't very convenient any longer since it's been moved due to renovations. Hopefully it will go back to being as nice as it use to be.

I could see where the dining plan could be very confusing in trying to keep track of points left if going with a family, but it's definitely worth it to purchase! I'm anxious to see if all the restaurants in Epcot will eventually be included on the plan for 2007 as it was this year. For $38 for adults and $11 for children 3-9 each day you really can't beat the dining plan, but you really can't beat it when it's free! hehe I also noticed that alot of CM's were unsure of how the plan exactly worked and what was and wasn't included which makes it even more confusing for some guests, but since I read about the plan on this site, Deb's site and Tagrel's site I knew what to expect and how it works. Mom is still lost and confused. LOL

 

[DeterminedOne]

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's encouraging to know that you were able to walk up/be seated early at some of the restaurants.

 

[Laurafoster]

Great review! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reviews ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[Cruz Family]

Great reviews, but I have one question.
You said at Cali Grill you each had an app., a first course, a main course, and dessert. Is that correct or did I misunderstand? Or maybe you paid OOP for something? We are going in a few weeks and just want to be clear exactly what is included on the DDP. Thanks, Melissa

 

[MariaEllerºoº]

Great reviews, but I have one question.
You said at Cali Grill you each had an app., a first course, a main course, and dessert. Is that correct or did I misunderstand? Or maybe you paid OOP for something? We are going in a few weeks and just want to be clear exactly what is included on the DDP. Thanks, Melissa

You read it correctly! We each were able to pick out an appetizer, first course, main course, dessert and drink. Dinner bread also came to the table. The only thing we paid OOP for was for my hubby's alcoholic drink. That was for the California Grill and probably the reason why it counts as 2 TS for each person instead of 1. We were also able to split other TS meals...just one person order a meal, but the two of us would split.

All counter service/quick service meals you get an appetizer, meal, dessert and drink. Which can be split between two people.

With snacks you can get muffins, bagels, donuts, drinks, ice cream, popcorn and such. So, you can use a snack credit as breakfast if you don't want to eat a large meal.

The best way to make use of your credits is to split meals if not big eaters, but even my husband who is a big eater had a hard time eating everything on his plate. Each person use a snack credit in the morning for a muffin, bagel or donuts as breakfast or one person use a counter service/quick service for breakfast and use the other person's for lunch. We were even able to share meals at TS Seating restaurants. By sharing meals this gave us enough credits to be able to use on our last day before heading for home and we definitely didn't go hungry. It was more food than we could eat at one sitting.

 

[Cruz Family]

You read it correctly! We each were able to pick out an appetizer, first course, main course, dessert and drink. Dinner bread also came to the table. The only thing we paid OOP for was for my hubby's alcoholic drink. That was for the California Grill and probably the reason why it counts as 2 TS for each person instead of 1. We were also able to split other TS meals...just one person order a meal, but the two of us would split.

All counter service/quick service meals you get an appetizer, meal, dessert and drink. Which can be split between two people.

With snacks you can get muffins, bagels, donuts, drinks, ice cream, popcorn and such. So, you can use a snack credit as breakfast if you don't want to eat a large meal.

The best way to make use of your credits is to split meals if not big eaters, but even my husband who is a big eater had a hard time eating everything on his plate. Each person use a snack credit in the morning for a muffin, bagel or donuts as breakfast or one person use a counter service/quick service for breakfast and use the other person's for lunch. We were even able to share meals at TS Seating restaurants. By sharing meals this gave us enough credits to be able to use on our last day before heading for home and we definitely didn't go hungry. It was more food than we could eat at one sitting.

I may have miss spoke about wanting to know what I get on the dining plan . Maybe what I should have said is that after all I have read about the DDP (which is a looooooooooooooot!) this is the first I have ever heard about anyone getting an app. and a 1st. course at any DP restaurant (1 or 2 TS credits). I thought I did not understand correctly, now I think your waiter must have made a mistake.
I am tempted to start another thread to see if this has happened to anyone else.

 

[dana1003]

Ok, onto our experience of the free dining plan...I've never eaten so much food before in my life! LOL Each person receives one snack, one quick service and one table top service meal each day. So, if your staying for 5 nights you get 5 of each per person. With the quick service (counter service) you get an appetizer, meal, dessert and drink just as you do for table service meals. Just too much food for one person to eat every single day so the best way to work it is to split your meals with someone. We normally used our snack option to get a muffin (they're huge) for breakfast and we bought our refillable mugs so we didn't have to pay extra or use a credit for our drinks at breakfast or when we returned from the parks. We also used a counter service on some days for a bigger breakfast and would split it. Everyone talked about how hard it was to book an ADR during the time frame that we vacationed..August 27th through Sept. 2nd. Most restaurants that we went to there was no problem whatsoever in being able to walk up with out ADR's and being seated in a reasonable amount of time. I did notice that a lot of menu's have changed from what has been posted on Deb's wonderful site. That would be one thing that would be very hard to keep updated since the menu's change so frequently.

Before our free dining plan started we ate at Trail's End Buffet for breakfast before checking into the Caribbean Beach Resort. Absolutely the best breakfast around! All you can eat buffet with everything you could ever want for breakfast. To give a clue as to how low the crowds were there were only 4 other families eating at 8am at Trail's End. Never saw this before in my life! We were also the only two people shopping at the Trading Post. Man that was eerie to walk around the campground and shop in the Trading Post without seeing another soul around.

We ate counter service at Tusker House as our first counter meal on the free dining plan and this is when we concluded that it was best to split meals instead of ordering two meals each because after this meal I was too full to move. LOL I had the rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies, drink and chocolate cake dessert. Justin had the turkey wrap with soup and chocolate cake for dessert. Our meal came to $28.50 but free with the free dining plan. Cha-ching!

Our first night on the dining plan we had ADR's for California Grill for 9:30pm, however, we showed up at 9pm and another couple in front of us had just arrived without having ADR's. They took us up to the restaurant at the same time. Justin and I were seated first and then they took the other couple who didn't have ADR's and sat them a few tables away from us. Since we showed up earlier than the time of our ADR's we were seated 2 tables away from the window...however...if we had arrived at the time of our ADR's we would have had a window table for sure since 3 tables opened up at 9:30pm. Pooey...oh well..we could still see everything very well from the table we were sitting at. After ordering we walked outside to the observation deck to snuggle while looking at the amazing view. Wow! What a view!!! I ordered the flatbread and Justin ordered the Yellowfin Tuna 3 ways sushi for an appetizer, we both ordered the Hearts of Romaine Salad as the first course, I ordered the filet and Justin ordered the New York Strip as the main course and then the banana custard for desert. Justin's New York Strip was out of this world delicious! I've never tasted a better steak in my life!!! It just melted in your mouth. We also received bread with our meals as well as the flatbread. Just too much food that I couldn't order a desert, but did taste Justin's. I didn't really care for his desert too much...the carmalized banana's tasted a bit burnt. Everything else was absolutely delicious and we'll definitely eat here again if we happen to have the dining plan! Even with it costing us 2 TS each it was worth every bit of it! The bill came to $135.46 but was free on the free dining plan. Cha-ching! I know gratuities are already included but our waitress was absolutely fantastic so we threw in an extra tip because she definitely deserved it.

Our second day at the parks we decided to do MGM. I didn't make any ADR's here since I figured we would just pick up something quick, but Justin decided he wanted to try Sci-Fi Dine-In. I told him of my experience there before and that I absolutely hated it, but if he still wanted to try it than I'll go along with it. So we walked up at 11:35 and were seated at 11:40 without having ADR's. I'm glad he talked me into it because it was very good this time around. Now, the day before I had learned my lesson of sharing meals after all the food we ate so we just ordered one meal and split it even though we didn't have breakfast as of yet because we had still been too full from our meals the day before. We ordered a chocolate shake, ice tea, cheeseburger, onion rings and the waiter had the kitchen cut everything in half and came out with two plates. Wow! I thought we would just share a plate...didn't expect them to cut everything in half. Our bill came to $29.71 but free with the free dining plan. Cha-ching!

That evening we had ADR's for Boma's at 5:30pm for 2, but because of Ernesto coming through my parents arrived earlier than expected and my brother who lives in Orlando wanted to join us so I called and switched our reservations from 2 people to 5 people and switched the time to 9pm instead of 5:30pm since my brother wanted to join us and had to wait for him. Boma's is still one of my top favorites! Out of this world delicious as it has always been. For Justin and I our meal came to $64.72 but free with the free dining. Cha-ching!

The next day we had originally had ADR's for Ragland Road that evening, but we were all having too much fun at the MK so we decided to cancel our ADR's for that evening and just stay at the MK. We ate counter service at Columbia Harbor House for lunch. I got a bowl of Clam Chowder, fries, dessert and tea. Justin got the 1/2 sandwich, soup, dessert and coke. Bill came to $28.64 but free with the free dining. Cha-ching!

That evening we ate at Casey's Corner since we were still pretty full from lunch. 2 hotdogs, chili, fries and 2 drinks and cracker jacks as dessert (lol)..yep, we got prizes too! I can't find my receipt at the moment but it was free with the free dining plan. Cha-ching!

The next day we had ADR's for Marakesh. Even though my chicken was a bit dry everything was absolutely delicious. We both got the Beef Brewat Rolls and the platter that you get to sample a bit of everything. The only thing that disappointed me was the chicken..it was very dry. Everything else was absolutely delicious as always. For the two of us our meal came to $70, but free with the free dining plan. Cha-ching!

The next day we had ADR's for San Angel Inn. Now this one was a new one for me. Never tried it before because I really don't care for mexican food, but Justin and my father both love it and I always wanted to at least try it once just for the atmosphere. We all got the nachos, Justin got the Puntas De Filete and I got the Camerones Con Fideos. Well, mine tasted like chef boy ardee...it was awful, but my mom liked it so we switched plates. She had ordered the Mahi-Mahi and it was absolutely delicious! Thanks mom! Your meal was a lot better than the chef boy ardee one that I had ordered. Aren't mom's nice? hehe I can't remember what our meal came to and can't find the receipt, but cha-ching it was free!

The rest of the snacks we used up on pastries in Norway and cheese, bread and pastries in France. Yummy!!! We also ate a counter service meal at the Polynesian at Captain Cook's. Captain Cook's isn't very convenient any longer since it's been moved due to renovations. Hopefully it will go back to being as nice as it use to be.

I could see where the dining plan could be very confusing in trying to keep track of points left if going with a family, but it's definitely worth it to purchase! I'm anxious to see if all the restaurants in Epcot will eventually be included on the plan for 2007 as it was this year. For $38 for adults and $11 for children 3-9 each day you really can't beat the dining plan, but you really can't beat it when it's free! hehe I also noticed that alot of CM's were unsure of how the plan exactly worked and what was and wasn't included which makes it even more confusing for some guests, but since I read about the plan on this site, Deb's site and Tagrel's site I knew what to expect and how it works. Mom is still lost and confused. LOL

so glad you posted this...we are also doing dining plan (7 adults) and i cannot eat all that food so the idea to split never occured to me. thank you, thank you, thank you! we also have made reservations at boma and san angel inn. one question? going w/3 year old twins-is san angel kid friendly? ate there 11 years ago for my honeymoon an loved it. now do they frown upon splitting meals/? i dont want to be embarrased..

 

[DumboDash2006]

so glad you posted this...we are also doing dining plan (7 adults) and i cannot eat all that food so the idea to split never occured to me. thank you, thank you, thank you! we also have made reservations at boma and san angel inn. one question? going w/3 year old twins-is san angel kid friendly? ate there 11 years ago for my honeymoon an loved it. now do they frown upon splitting meals/? i dont want to be embarrased..

I was there last month and in our group was dd (6) and my dn (5) and they really enjoyed San Angel Inn. It's in the Mexico pavillion so very busy and a bit noisy so kid noise blends right in. We were seated by the rail overlooking the ride in Mexico and the kids loved watching the people in the boats go by. Sitting there helped I'm sure, but even without the good seat, I think kids would be fine as long as it's not too late or they are really cranked up etc. The food is pretty kid friendly.

HTH

 

[ufgator]

Thanks for your reviews!

 

[Schucraig]

Thanks for the reviews! I can't wait to try San Angel Inn on our trip!

 

[dawgfan]

Thanks for the review.

 

[AJISU]

You read it correctly! We each were able to pick out an appetizer, first course, main course, dessert and drink. Dinner bread also came to the table. The only thing we paid OOP for was for my hubby's alcoholic drink. That was for the California Grill and probably the reason why it counts as 2 TS for each person instead of 1.

I just returned from my trip to Disney World. We ate at the California Grill on Sep 7, 2006. Our waitress informed us that with the DDP each person received an appetizer (one of the top categories on the menu), main course, dessert and a pop/tea/lemonade. She suggested that if we both wanted salad and sushi, each of us order one and split them. Otherwise we would have to pay for the extra items.

All of the 2 TS restaurants I've eaten at have told me the same thing. It must have been your lucky day!

 

[MinnieMousse]

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's encouraging to know that you were able to walk up/be seated early at some of the restaurants.

Absolutely! I had no idea you could do this either! Thanks for the info!

 

[Lexxiefern]

Loved your reviews! Thanks for sharing.

 

[scootert]

Thanks for your reviews. Quick question -- you mentioned that you used your snack credits in France for pastries and bread ... Is the pastry shop now allowing you to get pastries as a snack?? I thought I had read that you had to use a counter service credit to get pastries there... TIA

 

[weluvslinkydog]

I am curious--what is an appetizer at the counter service restaurants? I can't remember noticing they had these? what were some examples of what you chose for a CS appetizer? Thanks so much!!