CheshireVal
Can you stand on your head?<BR><font color="purple
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2003
Recently returned from a fantastic Christmas trip with my mom, my brother, and my husband. We ate a ton of good food, and thought I'd share some thoughts on our favorites and not-so-favorites. For the record, we were not on the dining plan.
I added pictures when I could, but we don't always take a lot of pictures of our food! (Will remember next time!)
Trails End (lunch): A+
This has long been a favorite of my family, and again we werent disappointed. The service is always the best anywhere, and the food never disappoints. Though the selection isnt huge, what is there is always fresh. Highlights for me were the chili, bbq, and fried chicken. I dont even want to admit how much chicken my brother and husband ate, though I will tell you that when DH went up for seconds, he came back with a plate with 7 pieces of chicken on it (and hes a thin guy!) We will always go back to Trails End!
Plate of food at Trails End-- yum!
Cape May Clambake (dinner): C-
This used to be my favorite restaurant. It wasnt fun last year because it was crowded and the lines were long, but we chalked it up to the fact that it was Christmas Eve, so we decided to try it again this year on Dec. 16th. We were there for the first seating at 5:30, and it was still so packed that the buffet lines were too long to want to bother with after we ate our first plates. The clams and mussels were pretty good, as were the peel and eat shrimp. The clam chowder and ribs were also tasty. The prime rib was disgusting. There was no carver at the stationit was just a pile of meat with no attendant, and my whole family felt like it was liver rather than prime rib or roast beef.
It had a liver texture and, even worse, liver taste. Aside from that, I would probably go back here if it werent for the crowds (they actually had ropes at the buffet like a queue for a ride!) I would try it again, but its just not fun so crowded.
Le Cellier (lunch with CP package): C
We used to love Le Cellier, but service was really lacking this time. Our meal felt pretty rushed, and we barely saw our waitress. It took about 10-15 minutes after we were seated for our drinks (nothing fancy, just tea and Coke) to arrive, and when my husband asked if we could get some bread (everyone around us had some and no one had brought us any), the waitress kind of snippily said that her tray was too small to fit it all on with the drinks, but that she was working on it. The food was excellent as always, but the crammed tables and loud atmosphere and service issues kind of ruined it. I dont know if well be back for this reason. I ordered the mussels for an appetizer (A+), the petit filet (A), and maple creme brulee (A). Everyone else enjoyed their food, as well.
Liberty Tree Tavern (dinner): A
We ate here right before MVMCP and, as always, it was one of our favorites. The turkey and dressing was fabulous, the ham was good, but the steak wasnt all that great. The service was prompt and friendly, and the character interaction was excellent (even though we were a party of all adults).
Me and my brother with Goofy at LTT:
Biergarten: A+
My family is German, so my brother and I especially enjoy Biergarten since it sort of takes us back to our roots.
The dining room/hall, especially at Christmas, is beautiful, and the Christmas show that the band puts on is neat. This meal was one of our favorites of the trip. We all had beers, of course, and we were seated with a nice family from somewhere up North, I think (I can't remember). They were the perfect mix of being friendly without making you feel like you had to chat with them the whole time. 
My favorite foods were the salads and the wursts, schnitzel, and the spaetzle. I was much too full to fully appreciate dessert at the end, though. We lingered for quite a while and had some coffee so that we could finish watching the band, and our waiter was very attentive and nice. Definitely would go here again!
Band at Biergarten:
Me and my husband at Biergarten:
Brown Derby (lunch) A:
I hadnt eaten here since I was a teenager, so I was excited to get to try it again. We had a hard time checking in (they gave us a pager when we checked in, but forgot to write up a ticket for us so they never called us, even though we were the first to check in at 11:25am!) We finally got seated, and it turned out to be a great experiencea nice, leisurely lunch to break up some time in the park, which is just what we needed. The service was good, even though our waitress seemed a little morose. I had the oyster and brie soup as an appetizer, which was delicious. My mom had the coconut shrimp, which was good, but she didnt feel that *two* shrimp was worth $8. Mom and I split the cobb salad as an entrée (definitely enough for two), and I give that an A+++. DH had the steak (he liked it but not as well as Le Cellier), and my brother had the Orecchiette which he also loved. For dessert, we split the grapefruit cake (nastyway too bitter) and the crème brulee (good but not as good as Le Cellier). Overall, we would definitely eat here again!
Brown Derby interior near our booth:
My husband at Brown Derby:
Steak at Brown Derby:
Cobb salad (looks gross, but was so good!)
I added pictures when I could, but we don't always take a lot of pictures of our food! (Will remember next time!)
Trails End (lunch): A+
This has long been a favorite of my family, and again we werent disappointed. The service is always the best anywhere, and the food never disappoints. Though the selection isnt huge, what is there is always fresh. Highlights for me were the chili, bbq, and fried chicken. I dont even want to admit how much chicken my brother and husband ate, though I will tell you that when DH went up for seconds, he came back with a plate with 7 pieces of chicken on it (and hes a thin guy!) We will always go back to Trails End!
Plate of food at Trails End-- yum!
Cape May Clambake (dinner): C-
This used to be my favorite restaurant. It wasnt fun last year because it was crowded and the lines were long, but we chalked it up to the fact that it was Christmas Eve, so we decided to try it again this year on Dec. 16th. We were there for the first seating at 5:30, and it was still so packed that the buffet lines were too long to want to bother with after we ate our first plates. The clams and mussels were pretty good, as were the peel and eat shrimp. The clam chowder and ribs were also tasty. The prime rib was disgusting. There was no carver at the stationit was just a pile of meat with no attendant, and my whole family felt like it was liver rather than prime rib or roast beef.
It had a liver texture and, even worse, liver taste. Aside from that, I would probably go back here if it werent for the crowds (they actually had ropes at the buffet like a queue for a ride!) I would try it again, but its just not fun so crowded.Le Cellier (lunch with CP package): C
We used to love Le Cellier, but service was really lacking this time. Our meal felt pretty rushed, and we barely saw our waitress. It took about 10-15 minutes after we were seated for our drinks (nothing fancy, just tea and Coke) to arrive, and when my husband asked if we could get some bread (everyone around us had some and no one had brought us any), the waitress kind of snippily said that her tray was too small to fit it all on with the drinks, but that she was working on it. The food was excellent as always, but the crammed tables and loud atmosphere and service issues kind of ruined it. I dont know if well be back for this reason. I ordered the mussels for an appetizer (A+), the petit filet (A), and maple creme brulee (A). Everyone else enjoyed their food, as well.
Liberty Tree Tavern (dinner): A
We ate here right before MVMCP and, as always, it was one of our favorites. The turkey and dressing was fabulous, the ham was good, but the steak wasnt all that great. The service was prompt and friendly, and the character interaction was excellent (even though we were a party of all adults).
Me and my brother with Goofy at LTT:
Biergarten: A+
My family is German, so my brother and I especially enjoy Biergarten since it sort of takes us back to our roots.
The dining room/hall, especially at Christmas, is beautiful, and the Christmas show that the band puts on is neat. This meal was one of our favorites of the trip. We all had beers, of course, and we were seated with a nice family from somewhere up North, I think (I can't remember). They were the perfect mix of being friendly without making you feel like you had to chat with them the whole time. My favorite foods were the salads and the wursts, schnitzel, and the spaetzle. I was much too full to fully appreciate dessert at the end, though. We lingered for quite a while and had some coffee so that we could finish watching the band, and our waiter was very attentive and nice. Definitely would go here again! Band at Biergarten:
Me and my husband at Biergarten:
Brown Derby (lunch) A:
I hadnt eaten here since I was a teenager, so I was excited to get to try it again. We had a hard time checking in (they gave us a pager when we checked in, but forgot to write up a ticket for us so they never called us, even though we were the first to check in at 11:25am!) We finally got seated, and it turned out to be a great experiencea nice, leisurely lunch to break up some time in the park, which is just what we needed. The service was good, even though our waitress seemed a little morose. I had the oyster and brie soup as an appetizer, which was delicious. My mom had the coconut shrimp, which was good, but she didnt feel that *two* shrimp was worth $8. Mom and I split the cobb salad as an entrée (definitely enough for two), and I give that an A+++. DH had the steak (he liked it but not as well as Le Cellier), and my brother had the Orecchiette which he also loved. For dessert, we split the grapefruit cake (nastyway too bitter) and the crème brulee (good but not as good as Le Cellier). Overall, we would definitely eat here again!
Brown Derby interior near our booth:
My husband at Brown Derby:
Steak at Brown Derby:
Cobb salad (looks gross, but was so good!)
I couldn’t bring myself to try anymore after that. My brother and husband, predictably, loved all the meat except for a few salty pieces they received as well. I’ve never had that problem there, though, so hopefully it was an isolated incident. The bread pudding was great, but of course by that point we were too full to really enjoy it! 
My husband received a special “diploma” for doing a duck call during the animal sounds event. Overall, we had a great time here and would definitely do it again. 
). But the food…. fabulous! I couldn’t decide if I liked the catfish or the steak tenderloin more, but I had seconds of both. The turkey was so-so (it was similar to LTT, so I didn’t spend a lot of time with it.) Veggies were fresh and good, and bread pudding was great, too, though the serving size was way too big considering how full we all were!
I had the stilton salad for an entrée, and that was excellent. My husband ordered the chicken pasty, which he liked okay. My mom ordered the fish and chips which she loved, and my brother ordered the steak, which he also liked. 
We didn’t send it back (we’re kind of wimps that way), but it was a disappointment to say the least. We might or might not try this again. Moral: don’t check in early if you’re not hungry! I might have enjoyed this more on a more empty stomach!
