GADISNEYGIRL
<font color=red>Maelstromer!<br><font color=purple
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2003
NOTE: We have never had a BAD meal at WDW. We have had some that we liked better than others, but even a "bad" rating from us is not really bad. If I don't specifically mention what DS ate, he had an Uncrustables PB&J. We brought our own, instead of paying $4 for one there. He generally only ate about 1/3 of it, anyway, so this really helped our budget. Because we had so many PSs, we knew in advance almost exactly how much our meals would cost. This was a big help in budgeting. Because he is not yet 3, we did fine with the buffets~I dread having to pay $9.99 in 6 months, when he only eats 3 bites of his meal! But I digress... For the best character interaction, do the latest available PS. A late dinner won't work for us, but late breakfasts are great. You end up with the characters pretty much to yourself.
On with the show:
Arrived at Pop Century about 7pm Tuesday evening. Because we were not sure at that point what effect, if any, Ivan would have on central FL, we had gotten Subways before we left home and had them in the cooler~just in case there were situations like with Charley and Frances where dining establishments were closed. Dinner: Subway. Review: Subway is pretty much Subway!
Now, on to the good stuff!
Wednesday, 9/15: Late breakfast PS at Cape May Cafe. Our server was Holly. She was very friendly and kept our beverages refilled. Food was good, no single dish was outstanding, though. Love the Krispy Kremes. Had good character interaction. Goofy drew a self portrait, and Minnie colored a picture, as well. Both of them signed their pictures. We brought them home! This was our second time at Cape May, and this was an overall better experience. We would do this again, but it is not a Must Do for us. Rating: A- Total price, including tip: $43.
Wednesday, 9/15: Early dinner at Trail's End. Our server was Joy. We had differing opinions on this. DH thought the food was good, I thought it was okay. He enjoyed the ribs. I thought the chicken was pretty good, it was moist and juicy. We both tried the chili, it was just average. DS had pizza and macaroni and cheese...oh yes, and Jell-o. We were glad we tried it, but both agreed that it wasn't someplace we'd eat again, unless we were already at Fort Wilderness. Rating: B Total price, including tip: $40.
Thursday, 9/16: 8:30 PS at Restaurant Akershus for PSB. Our server was Gry. Things were very hectic. It took a long time to get our drinks (diet coke and chocolate milk), and even longer to get my decaf coffee. They did pour orange juice immediately, though. We enjoyed the fruit and sweet rolls before the skillets came out. DH thought the sausage was really good. It all just tasted like breakfast food to me! The potatoes were tasty, but not outstanding. Most of the food I ate throughout the week was at best lukewarm, sometimes even cold~that's because I got DS duty while DH was videotaping everything, so I spent more time keeping DS from falling out of the chair or knocking over his milk than I did eating. That being said, maybe I would have been more impressed with all the breakfast food if I'd had it when it was HOT, as most breakfast food should be. The princesses moved very quickly through the room. We had Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Snow White, Jasmine and Mulan. They were all friendly enough, but none left a terrific impression~although both Belle and Jasmine remembered Wesley from breakfast when we saw them later. Only Jasmine gave him a kiss (we'd heard about boys leaving there with lipstick-covered faces). Snow White had the voice down, she sounded just like the real Snow White! This is not a meal we'll do again. Glad we had it before CRT, or we would have been terribly disappointed. Rating: B- Total, including tip: $50.
Thursday, 9/16: Ice Cream Social, The Garden Grill. Our server was Marcus. When DH requested a pitcher of water, he brought it right to the table. Saved himself a lot of trips!
Ice cream was good, as usual, and character interaction was very good. Chip and Dale were especially friendly and attentive. Dale spent about 10 minutes coloring with DS. He would draw a shape, and DS would tell him the shape and color. We saw each of the characters twice, and we saw Dale three times. This was our third time here. It is a Must Do for us. Rating: A Total, including tip: $17.89.
Thursday, 9/16: Tangierine Cafe. This is one of our favorite places to eat. DH had the chicken/lamb combo platter. I had the vegetarian platter. Yum, yum, yum! We ordered a Sprite for DS, and when he fell off his chair and knocked over his Sprite, they gave us another free of charge. We prefer to sit outside, and MoRockin' was playing while we ate. Rating: A+ Total: $23.33.
Friday, 9/17: 8:05 PS for Cinderella's Royal Table. Bobbie was our server. This was our first time dining in the castle, and it was a lot of fun! Very neat atmosphere. The fruit and basket of rolls/muffins held us nicely until our plates arrived. Beverages were replenished often. Several people walked around continually with coffee and juice, and were happy to fill you up~so you didn't have to wait on your server. We really enjoyed the Stuffed French Toast. Character interaction was fairly good. We saw Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Sleeping Beauty and Mary Poppins. Mary Poppins spent the most time with him, and called him by name later as she walked by. We had a window seat, and we didn't feel crowded at all. Very good experience overall, we plan to do this again. Rating: A Total, including tip: $30 (plus $20 deposit).
Friday, 9/17: 12:50 PS for the Plaza Restaurant. Rae was our server. This was another first for us. Nice atmosphere, very cool (important on a September midday!). Huge portions. I had the Reuben and German potato salad, DH had~ummm...can't remember what it was called. Seems like it had Plaza in the name. Anyway, a HUGE cold cut sandwich, with a side of fries. We could have easily split it. My Reuben was good, but not the best I've ever had. DH enjoyed his sandwich very much. The potato salad was also good. We would eat here again. We didn't have room for dessert this time... Rating: A Total, including tip: $32.48.
Friday, 9/17: 6:40 PS at Crystal Palace. Mike was our server. Another first! We really enjoyed it here. Good variety on the buffet, including GREEN vegetables!! We both really enjoyed the chicken/mushroom pasta. Everything I tried was very good. DS again had pizza, macaroni and cheese, and chicken. There was a huge variety of desserts, also. I remember trying Red Velvet Cheesecake (cheesecake with a Red Velvet cake crust)~very good, devil's food cake w/white icing~okay, creme brulee~okay, key lime pie~good...I know there was more, but it's not coming to me right now. Character interaction was great with Pooh, Piglet and Tigger, but we had some problems with Eeyore. Apparently he can only see you if you are over 5 feet tall. The first time he came on his rounds, he skipped our table completely. As he went by us on the backend of that round, we tried to flag him down, but he went across the restaurant. We asked our server about it, and he went to talk to the handler. The handler sent Eeyore back in our direction. He came up behind my chair, and stayed for all of 5 seconds. DS was trying to get to him to give him a hug, but Eeyore had gone back to the other side before DS even got to my chair. We again told our server. He again told the handler. Eeyore was sent back to us once again, where we did manage to have DS standing waiting for him, and we got a very quick picture. Eeyore never saw DS, I am sure of it. We apologized to our server about being pains, and joked about donkeys having bad eyesight. Mike (server) was very nice about it, and agreed that yes, donkeys, Eeyore, anyway, DID have bad eyesight. Aside from that, this was a great experience. We'd be glad to eat here again. Rating (minus the Eeyore problems): A Total, including tip: $54.84.
Saturday, 9/18: 10:50 PS at Park Fare. We arrived at the GF about 10:30. We didn't think we were really GF kind of people. It is rather intimidating at first! We didn't do valet parking (next time we probably will), but parked in self-parking, which is quite a ways from the entrance. When we arrived at PF, Mr. Penguin (DS is still convinced that he is Wheezy, NOT Mr. Penguin) was in the lobby. He left soon after, and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum came in. They had some pretty funny antics, very in character. We were seated before our 10:50 time, very close to the buffet. Lilia was our server. For the longest time, we didn't see any characters. Then Tigger and Pooh arrived at the same time. We got a picture with Pooh, but Tigger had already bounced off. Total time of visit, probably 45 seconds (less for Tigger). There was a good selection of food, more than just the typical breakfast fare. They had the strawberry soup, which I wasn't expecting at breakfast. Very tasty! I think our favorites were the cheese blintzes, though. Yum! Even better with some hot strawberry sauce on top! The omelette station looked good, but was very busy. Neither of us tried it. Mary, Bert and Alice finally made their way to our room. They were going in separate directions...who would we get first? Again, they all arrived at the same time. We actually got a very cute picture with all three of them, then Alice took off. Again, minimal interaction time. We were feeling a little disappointed. We went back for a refill. The crowd was thinning out, and Pooh came back to our table. We had some great interaction with him that time~probably stayed 3 or 4 minutes. Then Tigger came back, too~got a picture, and another couple of minutes with him. Then Mary and Bert came back. Mary actually moved DS' booster seat (he was standing up by then) and sat down in his chair. Bert stayed a couple of minutes then went to work the room some more. Mary stayed with us! At least 5 minutes, maybe more. Alice came back, too, and she stayed several minutes. Tigger bounced by a couple more times... then DH asked the handler something (his name was Mike) and we talked to him for about 10 minutes. Then all the characters disappeared into the back, and Mike went with them. Within a minute, Mary and Bert were back, and they sprinkled Mickey confetti on top of DS' head. He was so excited! He spent the rest of the time picking each individual piece from the floor (we put them in a pocket and brought them home with us). Mary sat down again and talked to us for about 15 more minutes. Over the course of the week, we saw 3 Marys, and though this one wasn't the most "in character" (the first one we saw was actually British, I think!), she was the friendliest overall, and we had such a good time talking with her! Bert was great, too, and thanked us for knowing who he was~said most people don't know. Huh? Have they never seen the movie? Alice was also terrific. She had a great accent and was very "Alice"! She was thrilled that DS knew the name of her cat, Dinah. Even though we initially weren't very pleased with PF, this turned out to be our best character meal of the week. We will definitely be back here. I just hope we see the same Mary, Bert and Alice again! Rating: A+ Total, with tip: $43.39.
Saturday, 9/18: 5:20 PS at Chef Mickey's. We arrived early, and they actually seated us right at 5. How funny, we were at the same table where we had breakfast last September! Glen was our server. Very prompt with refills, DH was very pleased! (He can drink 6 or more glasses of water, diet coke, whatever at a meal, so this is very important to him!) The meats were outstanding. The parmesan potatoes were pretty good. But...ummm...where were the veggies? Except for the salad bar, there were NO green vegetables to be had. DS doesn't really eat meat, he eats mostly veggies at home, so this is why he had pizza, mac and cheese and chicken nuggets/fingers all week. This kids loves broccoli, green beans, etc, and they just weren't there! Dessert selection was great. As soon as I brought my very overfilled "sampler" plate to the table, Glen offered coffee, and I accepted. Next time I'll do what the kid next to me did, and get a dinner plate to pile my desserts on. The key lime pie was pretty good, the cheesecake was a bit heavy...but the little tarts were out of this world. One was a creamy filling with sugared fruit on top (delish!) and another was a mini peanut butter pie (also quite good). There were two or three other varieties which also looked wonderful, but I already looked like a pig... I couldn't finish everything I put on my plate. Character interaction here was good, but not outstanding. DS loved the napkin twirling! Don't know that we would come back here for dinner. Rating: B+ Total, including tip: $65.36.
Sunday, 9/19: 10:50 PS for Chef Mickey's. We arrived at 10:30, and it was a madhouse. We were finally seated about 11:20. This time we were in a side room. Felt very cut off from the festivities. Our server was Robert. The food was okay, but not as good as we'd remembered from last year. They have some not-so-typical breakfast choices, which is nice, but nothing fabulous. DH did really like the potato casserole, and I thought the hashbrowns were good (I'm picky about my hashbrowns). I enjoyed the Krispy Kremes, too. Funny, we have a Krispy Kreme 8 miles from our house, and the only time I eat them is when I'm at WDW! Character interaction was so-so, although it did get better the later it got, as people started leaving. Chip and Dale were hilarious, as a server was clearing a table, they would put everything right back on. Then they started throwing sugar packets at him. Very Chip and Dale behavior! They were the highlight of the morning. Would probably do another breakfast here, it is a fun atmosphere and DS really enjoys it. Rating: A- Total, including tip: $43.
On with the show:
Arrived at Pop Century about 7pm Tuesday evening. Because we were not sure at that point what effect, if any, Ivan would have on central FL, we had gotten Subways before we left home and had them in the cooler~just in case there were situations like with Charley and Frances where dining establishments were closed. Dinner: Subway. Review: Subway is pretty much Subway!
Now, on to the good stuff!
Wednesday, 9/15: Late breakfast PS at Cape May Cafe. Our server was Holly. She was very friendly and kept our beverages refilled. Food was good, no single dish was outstanding, though. Love the Krispy Kremes. Had good character interaction. Goofy drew a self portrait, and Minnie colored a picture, as well. Both of them signed their pictures. We brought them home! This was our second time at Cape May, and this was an overall better experience. We would do this again, but it is not a Must Do for us. Rating: A- Total price, including tip: $43.
Wednesday, 9/15: Early dinner at Trail's End. Our server was Joy. We had differing opinions on this. DH thought the food was good, I thought it was okay. He enjoyed the ribs. I thought the chicken was pretty good, it was moist and juicy. We both tried the chili, it was just average. DS had pizza and macaroni and cheese...oh yes, and Jell-o. We were glad we tried it, but both agreed that it wasn't someplace we'd eat again, unless we were already at Fort Wilderness. Rating: B Total price, including tip: $40.
Thursday, 9/16: 8:30 PS at Restaurant Akershus for PSB. Our server was Gry. Things were very hectic. It took a long time to get our drinks (diet coke and chocolate milk), and even longer to get my decaf coffee. They did pour orange juice immediately, though. We enjoyed the fruit and sweet rolls before the skillets came out. DH thought the sausage was really good. It all just tasted like breakfast food to me! The potatoes were tasty, but not outstanding. Most of the food I ate throughout the week was at best lukewarm, sometimes even cold~that's because I got DS duty while DH was videotaping everything, so I spent more time keeping DS from falling out of the chair or knocking over his milk than I did eating. That being said, maybe I would have been more impressed with all the breakfast food if I'd had it when it was HOT, as most breakfast food should be. The princesses moved very quickly through the room. We had Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Snow White, Jasmine and Mulan. They were all friendly enough, but none left a terrific impression~although both Belle and Jasmine remembered Wesley from breakfast when we saw them later. Only Jasmine gave him a kiss (we'd heard about boys leaving there with lipstick-covered faces). Snow White had the voice down, she sounded just like the real Snow White! This is not a meal we'll do again. Glad we had it before CRT, or we would have been terribly disappointed. Rating: B- Total, including tip: $50.
Thursday, 9/16: Ice Cream Social, The Garden Grill. Our server was Marcus. When DH requested a pitcher of water, he brought it right to the table. Saved himself a lot of trips!
Ice cream was good, as usual, and character interaction was very good. Chip and Dale were especially friendly and attentive. Dale spent about 10 minutes coloring with DS. He would draw a shape, and DS would tell him the shape and color. We saw each of the characters twice, and we saw Dale three times. This was our third time here. It is a Must Do for us. Rating: A Total, including tip: $17.89.Thursday, 9/16: Tangierine Cafe. This is one of our favorite places to eat. DH had the chicken/lamb combo platter. I had the vegetarian platter. Yum, yum, yum! We ordered a Sprite for DS, and when he fell off his chair and knocked over his Sprite, they gave us another free of charge. We prefer to sit outside, and MoRockin' was playing while we ate. Rating: A+ Total: $23.33.
Friday, 9/17: 8:05 PS for Cinderella's Royal Table. Bobbie was our server. This was our first time dining in the castle, and it was a lot of fun! Very neat atmosphere. The fruit and basket of rolls/muffins held us nicely until our plates arrived. Beverages were replenished often. Several people walked around continually with coffee and juice, and were happy to fill you up~so you didn't have to wait on your server. We really enjoyed the Stuffed French Toast. Character interaction was fairly good. We saw Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Sleeping Beauty and Mary Poppins. Mary Poppins spent the most time with him, and called him by name later as she walked by. We had a window seat, and we didn't feel crowded at all. Very good experience overall, we plan to do this again. Rating: A Total, including tip: $30 (plus $20 deposit).
Friday, 9/17: 12:50 PS for the Plaza Restaurant. Rae was our server. This was another first for us. Nice atmosphere, very cool (important on a September midday!). Huge portions. I had the Reuben and German potato salad, DH had~ummm...can't remember what it was called. Seems like it had Plaza in the name. Anyway, a HUGE cold cut sandwich, with a side of fries. We could have easily split it. My Reuben was good, but not the best I've ever had. DH enjoyed his sandwich very much. The potato salad was also good. We would eat here again. We didn't have room for dessert this time... Rating: A Total, including tip: $32.48.
Friday, 9/17: 6:40 PS at Crystal Palace. Mike was our server. Another first! We really enjoyed it here. Good variety on the buffet, including GREEN vegetables!! We both really enjoyed the chicken/mushroom pasta. Everything I tried was very good. DS again had pizza, macaroni and cheese, and chicken. There was a huge variety of desserts, also. I remember trying Red Velvet Cheesecake (cheesecake with a Red Velvet cake crust)~very good, devil's food cake w/white icing~okay, creme brulee~okay, key lime pie~good...I know there was more, but it's not coming to me right now. Character interaction was great with Pooh, Piglet and Tigger, but we had some problems with Eeyore. Apparently he can only see you if you are over 5 feet tall. The first time he came on his rounds, he skipped our table completely. As he went by us on the backend of that round, we tried to flag him down, but he went across the restaurant. We asked our server about it, and he went to talk to the handler. The handler sent Eeyore back in our direction. He came up behind my chair, and stayed for all of 5 seconds. DS was trying to get to him to give him a hug, but Eeyore had gone back to the other side before DS even got to my chair. We again told our server. He again told the handler. Eeyore was sent back to us once again, where we did manage to have DS standing waiting for him, and we got a very quick picture. Eeyore never saw DS, I am sure of it. We apologized to our server about being pains, and joked about donkeys having bad eyesight. Mike (server) was very nice about it, and agreed that yes, donkeys, Eeyore, anyway, DID have bad eyesight. Aside from that, this was a great experience. We'd be glad to eat here again. Rating (minus the Eeyore problems): A Total, including tip: $54.84.
Saturday, 9/18: 10:50 PS at Park Fare. We arrived at the GF about 10:30. We didn't think we were really GF kind of people. It is rather intimidating at first! We didn't do valet parking (next time we probably will), but parked in self-parking, which is quite a ways from the entrance. When we arrived at PF, Mr. Penguin (DS is still convinced that he is Wheezy, NOT Mr. Penguin) was in the lobby. He left soon after, and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum came in. They had some pretty funny antics, very in character. We were seated before our 10:50 time, very close to the buffet. Lilia was our server. For the longest time, we didn't see any characters. Then Tigger and Pooh arrived at the same time. We got a picture with Pooh, but Tigger had already bounced off. Total time of visit, probably 45 seconds (less for Tigger). There was a good selection of food, more than just the typical breakfast fare. They had the strawberry soup, which I wasn't expecting at breakfast. Very tasty! I think our favorites were the cheese blintzes, though. Yum! Even better with some hot strawberry sauce on top! The omelette station looked good, but was very busy. Neither of us tried it. Mary, Bert and Alice finally made their way to our room. They were going in separate directions...who would we get first? Again, they all arrived at the same time. We actually got a very cute picture with all three of them, then Alice took off. Again, minimal interaction time. We were feeling a little disappointed. We went back for a refill. The crowd was thinning out, and Pooh came back to our table. We had some great interaction with him that time~probably stayed 3 or 4 minutes. Then Tigger came back, too~got a picture, and another couple of minutes with him. Then Mary and Bert came back. Mary actually moved DS' booster seat (he was standing up by then) and sat down in his chair. Bert stayed a couple of minutes then went to work the room some more. Mary stayed with us! At least 5 minutes, maybe more. Alice came back, too, and she stayed several minutes. Tigger bounced by a couple more times... then DH asked the handler something (his name was Mike) and we talked to him for about 10 minutes. Then all the characters disappeared into the back, and Mike went with them. Within a minute, Mary and Bert were back, and they sprinkled Mickey confetti on top of DS' head. He was so excited! He spent the rest of the time picking each individual piece from the floor (we put them in a pocket and brought them home with us). Mary sat down again and talked to us for about 15 more minutes. Over the course of the week, we saw 3 Marys, and though this one wasn't the most "in character" (the first one we saw was actually British, I think!), she was the friendliest overall, and we had such a good time talking with her! Bert was great, too, and thanked us for knowing who he was~said most people don't know. Huh? Have they never seen the movie? Alice was also terrific. She had a great accent and was very "Alice"! She was thrilled that DS knew the name of her cat, Dinah. Even though we initially weren't very pleased with PF, this turned out to be our best character meal of the week. We will definitely be back here. I just hope we see the same Mary, Bert and Alice again! Rating: A+ Total, with tip: $43.39.
Saturday, 9/18: 5:20 PS at Chef Mickey's. We arrived early, and they actually seated us right at 5. How funny, we were at the same table where we had breakfast last September! Glen was our server. Very prompt with refills, DH was very pleased! (He can drink 6 or more glasses of water, diet coke, whatever at a meal, so this is very important to him!) The meats were outstanding. The parmesan potatoes were pretty good. But...ummm...where were the veggies? Except for the salad bar, there were NO green vegetables to be had. DS doesn't really eat meat, he eats mostly veggies at home, so this is why he had pizza, mac and cheese and chicken nuggets/fingers all week. This kids loves broccoli, green beans, etc, and they just weren't there! Dessert selection was great. As soon as I brought my very overfilled "sampler" plate to the table, Glen offered coffee, and I accepted. Next time I'll do what the kid next to me did, and get a dinner plate to pile my desserts on. The key lime pie was pretty good, the cheesecake was a bit heavy...but the little tarts were out of this world. One was a creamy filling with sugared fruit on top (delish!) and another was a mini peanut butter pie (also quite good). There were two or three other varieties which also looked wonderful, but I already looked like a pig... I couldn't finish everything I put on my plate. Character interaction here was good, but not outstanding. DS loved the napkin twirling! Don't know that we would come back here for dinner. Rating: B+ Total, including tip: $65.36.
Sunday, 9/19: 10:50 PS for Chef Mickey's. We arrived at 10:30, and it was a madhouse. We were finally seated about 11:20. This time we were in a side room. Felt very cut off from the festivities. Our server was Robert. The food was okay, but not as good as we'd remembered from last year. They have some not-so-typical breakfast choices, which is nice, but nothing fabulous. DH did really like the potato casserole, and I thought the hashbrowns were good (I'm picky about my hashbrowns). I enjoyed the Krispy Kremes, too. Funny, we have a Krispy Kreme 8 miles from our house, and the only time I eat them is when I'm at WDW! Character interaction was so-so, although it did get better the later it got, as people started leaving. Chip and Dale were hilarious, as a server was clearing a table, they would put everything right back on. Then they started throwing sugar packets at him. Very Chip and Dale behavior! They were the highlight of the morning. Would probably do another breakfast here, it is a fun atmosphere and DS really enjoys it. Rating: A- Total, including tip: $43.
You've got me thinking that maybe we should try CP again. We ate there before the renovation, and thought the food was horrible. I wonder if they have changed chefs since then. 
