monkeymama
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2006
I thought I would get home and be organized enough to pop this review right out but I forgot about getting ready for Christmas!
We were on the DDP and my overall review is that it was convenient but it was far too much food and we won't purchase it the next time.
11/26 Counter service dinner at Pepper Market - It seems kind of crazy this is a counter service meal because you have so many options. DH and I both got prime rib and the kids got pizza. The quality was fine; what you'd expect in a mid-range chain restaurant. When we left, the manager handed DH some extra sticky buns and deserts to take back to our room.
11/27 Breakfast at Cinderella's Castle. Pretty much what we expected; you are paying for the ambience and the experience and the breakfast is fine. I really liked the stuffed french toast. The kids mostly liked the pastry basket.
We skipped lunch because we were still full from breakfast.
Dinner at Tony's. I had read lots of mixed and bad reviews for Tony's so I had low expectations. We were very pleasantly surprised. I had the Spinach and Artichoke dip and Chicken pasta and both were delicious and far more than I could eat. DH got the calamari and the Seafood Diavolo and thought both were fine - not outstanding but not terrible. This was our first experience with the new children's menu and the kids both got macaroni and yogurt. This will start to sound like a broken record.
11/28 Lunch at Sunshine Seasons in the Land at Epcot. We really enjoyed this meal; I had a great panini sandwich and DH had stir fry. The kids had macaroni and yogurt.
Dinner at the Coral Reef. We had a table right next to the aquarium and this was delightful and distracting. DH had the crabclaws and mahi mahi and was underwhelmed by both. The mahi mahi was overcooked despite his request that it be cooked rare. I had the salad and NY strip steak. Pretty average. One of the children ordered pizza and the vegetables and the other ordered Triton's pasta (macaroni) and lobster bisque which DH ate. Coral reef was the only restaurant we encountered that wouldn't substitute an appetizer to something our picky child would like. He didn't care - he just ate more bread.
11/29 Lunch at Cosmic Ray's. This was a disaster. DH got the chicken and ribs basket and ended up throwing it away because it was so greasy and tasteless. I ordered a cheeseburger and fries and ended up with heartburn for 2 days. It was a standard, what you'd expect in a theme park burger. The kids ordered chicken nuggets and ended up throwing those away as well due to their poor quality. This was by far the worst meal of the trip.
Dinner at Crystal Palace. DH's favorite meal of the trip. He got all of the exotic stuff at the buffet and especially loved a Thai dish they had prepared and the chicken and mushroom pasta. I was still sick from lunch so tried very little; I tried to get prime rib at the carving counter and somehow ended up with Adobe pork which just contributed to my heartburn. What I did try was delicious and very good quality for a buffet. The kids mostly ate macaroni although dd was finally able to get some steamed broccoli and other vegetables.
11/30 Lunch at Pizzafari. What genious decided to take pizza off the children's menu at a pizza restaurant? Nonetheless, dh ordered pizza for everyone and nobody questioned us. We waited in line a long time here; even though it wasn't crowded, it took about 25 minutes in line. The pizza tasted like pizza!
Dinner at the Pepper Market again. Another good experience. I got the pasta special, dh got fajitas and the kids ordered pizza again. Another instance of way too much food but it was all delicious. This time a CM brought over extra deserts. They really seem to throw the food at you at this place! We ended up using our desert credits for more sticky buns to eat at breakfast.
12/1 Lunch at the Backlot Express. This one is pretty unmemorable to me - I think DH and I both got the turkey sandwich which was fine. I think the kids ordered hot dogs. The service at this counter service was top notch - more than anything I recall the wonderful CM who took our order.
Dinner at the Brown Derby. This is the real reason I am writing a dining review. We were sorely disappointed in our experience at the Brown Derby and I am at a loss to explain how Disney justifies this as a 2 TS credit restaurant. Our reservations were at 4:30 for the Fantasmic Dining Package (Fantasmic at 7:00). They seated us at 5:00 in a 3 person table because of some glitch where a 3 person party had left and it was that server's turn for a table. DH asked to be moved to a regular table (there were 4 of us) which they did after some more confusion. I should mention that the restaurant was less than half full during our entire meal. At 5:15, our server arrived and we ordered and I asked about the Fantasmic pass since no one had mentioned it when we checked in. More confusion. She eventually returned with a pass but made it seem like I was trying to trick them into giving us something extra. So we had to be at the meeting place for Fantasmic at 6:30 - you would think that is no problem with a 4:30 reservation, right? Our dinner finally came out at about 6:10 and it was very, very average. I had the tortellini and the filet mignon and dh had the sea scallop and salmon. The kids had the new standard kids meal choices and ordered (you guessed it) macaroni and yogurt. I guess they get charged 2 TS credits for this because the adult meals are still more expensive than the 2 credits we were charged for our meals? At any rate, we had no time left for desert and kindly, our server packed it to go with us but after sitting out for a few hours during Fantasmic and back to our hotel, we didn't want to chance it and ended up throwing them away.
I don't want it to seem like we are high maintenance people; we really aren't and are pretty easy going about service and food quality, especially in a theme park. If I had paid OOP for this meal, I would have been livid. I don't know how to explain our experience; maybe they were distracted because Kelly Ripa and husband had eaten there earlier in the day, maybe they were angry that dh asked for a 4 person table, maybe they lost our reservation in the system and just thought we were a bunch of moochers. I don't know but I do know we will not be returning to the Brown Derby on future trips.
12/2 We had one TS credit left due to cancelling a Chef Mickey breakfast on Thursday morning. We were able to get lunch reservations at the Liberty Tree. I had heard a lot of bad things about this restaurant so had avoided it but that's what was available at the last minute so no complaints. What a wonderful surprise! DH and I both ordered the pot roast and we could have fed the entire family from just one of our meals. This is not fancy food; just homestyle cooking but it was delicious! DH ordered the crabcake - he thought it was the best one he has ever eaten. I ordered the grilled poundcake for desert; not something I would normally try but after reading the reviews for this desert, I had to try it and it was wonderful also. The kids once again had the standard kids menu and ds ordered (say it with me now) macaroni and yogurt and dd tried the chicken pita pizza. I left feeling chagrined that I was so disappointed with the expensive restaurant and so pleased by the Homestyle restaurant and wondered if I could ever feel sophisticated again! (Well, as sophisticated as a mom with a kid who eats nothing but macaroni and cheese can feel.)
And I had concerns before leaving about the new Children's menu. I can't say that I ended up being happy with it. As you can tell, my kids mostly ate macaroni and pizza and that is not their normal diet at home. They don't live on chicken nuggets and burgers either so I can see that the old menus probably would have troubled me as well. The menus just seem to be devoid of the healthy options that most children will eat; where are the steamed vegetables and fresh fruit options like apples and bananas? At one point, I probably would have sold my right arm to be able to give them a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or some regular pasta with tomato sauce. I hope Disney is taking a look at this issue - I applaud them for trying to offer healthier options, I just hope they are consulting with some people who actually have young children and know that many of them don't enjoy salad, sweet potato fries or chicken salad.
So that's my longer than expected review and I'd be happy to answer any quetions. I hope I don't come across as a malcontent!
We were on the DDP and my overall review is that it was convenient but it was far too much food and we won't purchase it the next time.
11/26 Counter service dinner at Pepper Market - It seems kind of crazy this is a counter service meal because you have so many options. DH and I both got prime rib and the kids got pizza. The quality was fine; what you'd expect in a mid-range chain restaurant. When we left, the manager handed DH some extra sticky buns and deserts to take back to our room.
11/27 Breakfast at Cinderella's Castle. Pretty much what we expected; you are paying for the ambience and the experience and the breakfast is fine. I really liked the stuffed french toast. The kids mostly liked the pastry basket.
We skipped lunch because we were still full from breakfast.
Dinner at Tony's. I had read lots of mixed and bad reviews for Tony's so I had low expectations. We were very pleasantly surprised. I had the Spinach and Artichoke dip and Chicken pasta and both were delicious and far more than I could eat. DH got the calamari and the Seafood Diavolo and thought both were fine - not outstanding but not terrible. This was our first experience with the new children's menu and the kids both got macaroni and yogurt. This will start to sound like a broken record.
11/28 Lunch at Sunshine Seasons in the Land at Epcot. We really enjoyed this meal; I had a great panini sandwich and DH had stir fry. The kids had macaroni and yogurt.
Dinner at the Coral Reef. We had a table right next to the aquarium and this was delightful and distracting. DH had the crabclaws and mahi mahi and was underwhelmed by both. The mahi mahi was overcooked despite his request that it be cooked rare. I had the salad and NY strip steak. Pretty average. One of the children ordered pizza and the vegetables and the other ordered Triton's pasta (macaroni) and lobster bisque which DH ate. Coral reef was the only restaurant we encountered that wouldn't substitute an appetizer to something our picky child would like. He didn't care - he just ate more bread.
11/29 Lunch at Cosmic Ray's. This was a disaster. DH got the chicken and ribs basket and ended up throwing it away because it was so greasy and tasteless. I ordered a cheeseburger and fries and ended up with heartburn for 2 days. It was a standard, what you'd expect in a theme park burger. The kids ordered chicken nuggets and ended up throwing those away as well due to their poor quality. This was by far the worst meal of the trip.
Dinner at Crystal Palace. DH's favorite meal of the trip. He got all of the exotic stuff at the buffet and especially loved a Thai dish they had prepared and the chicken and mushroom pasta. I was still sick from lunch so tried very little; I tried to get prime rib at the carving counter and somehow ended up with Adobe pork which just contributed to my heartburn. What I did try was delicious and very good quality for a buffet. The kids mostly ate macaroni although dd was finally able to get some steamed broccoli and other vegetables.
11/30 Lunch at Pizzafari. What genious decided to take pizza off the children's menu at a pizza restaurant? Nonetheless, dh ordered pizza for everyone and nobody questioned us. We waited in line a long time here; even though it wasn't crowded, it took about 25 minutes in line. The pizza tasted like pizza!
Dinner at the Pepper Market again. Another good experience. I got the pasta special, dh got fajitas and the kids ordered pizza again. Another instance of way too much food but it was all delicious. This time a CM brought over extra deserts. They really seem to throw the food at you at this place! We ended up using our desert credits for more sticky buns to eat at breakfast.
12/1 Lunch at the Backlot Express. This one is pretty unmemorable to me - I think DH and I both got the turkey sandwich which was fine. I think the kids ordered hot dogs. The service at this counter service was top notch - more than anything I recall the wonderful CM who took our order.
Dinner at the Brown Derby. This is the real reason I am writing a dining review. We were sorely disappointed in our experience at the Brown Derby and I am at a loss to explain how Disney justifies this as a 2 TS credit restaurant. Our reservations were at 4:30 for the Fantasmic Dining Package (Fantasmic at 7:00). They seated us at 5:00 in a 3 person table because of some glitch where a 3 person party had left and it was that server's turn for a table. DH asked to be moved to a regular table (there were 4 of us) which they did after some more confusion. I should mention that the restaurant was less than half full during our entire meal. At 5:15, our server arrived and we ordered and I asked about the Fantasmic pass since no one had mentioned it when we checked in. More confusion. She eventually returned with a pass but made it seem like I was trying to trick them into giving us something extra. So we had to be at the meeting place for Fantasmic at 6:30 - you would think that is no problem with a 4:30 reservation, right? Our dinner finally came out at about 6:10 and it was very, very average. I had the tortellini and the filet mignon and dh had the sea scallop and salmon. The kids had the new standard kids meal choices and ordered (you guessed it) macaroni and yogurt. I guess they get charged 2 TS credits for this because the adult meals are still more expensive than the 2 credits we were charged for our meals? At any rate, we had no time left for desert and kindly, our server packed it to go with us but after sitting out for a few hours during Fantasmic and back to our hotel, we didn't want to chance it and ended up throwing them away.
I don't want it to seem like we are high maintenance people; we really aren't and are pretty easy going about service and food quality, especially in a theme park. If I had paid OOP for this meal, I would have been livid. I don't know how to explain our experience; maybe they were distracted because Kelly Ripa and husband had eaten there earlier in the day, maybe they were angry that dh asked for a 4 person table, maybe they lost our reservation in the system and just thought we were a bunch of moochers. I don't know but I do know we will not be returning to the Brown Derby on future trips.
12/2 We had one TS credit left due to cancelling a Chef Mickey breakfast on Thursday morning. We were able to get lunch reservations at the Liberty Tree. I had heard a lot of bad things about this restaurant so had avoided it but that's what was available at the last minute so no complaints. What a wonderful surprise! DH and I both ordered the pot roast and we could have fed the entire family from just one of our meals. This is not fancy food; just homestyle cooking but it was delicious! DH ordered the crabcake - he thought it was the best one he has ever eaten. I ordered the grilled poundcake for desert; not something I would normally try but after reading the reviews for this desert, I had to try it and it was wonderful also. The kids once again had the standard kids menu and ds ordered (say it with me now) macaroni and yogurt and dd tried the chicken pita pizza. I left feeling chagrined that I was so disappointed with the expensive restaurant and so pleased by the Homestyle restaurant and wondered if I could ever feel sophisticated again! (Well, as sophisticated as a mom with a kid who eats nothing but macaroni and cheese can feel.)
And I had concerns before leaving about the new Children's menu. I can't say that I ended up being happy with it. As you can tell, my kids mostly ate macaroni and pizza and that is not their normal diet at home. They don't live on chicken nuggets and burgers either so I can see that the old menus probably would have troubled me as well. The menus just seem to be devoid of the healthy options that most children will eat; where are the steamed vegetables and fresh fruit options like apples and bananas? At one point, I probably would have sold my right arm to be able to give them a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or some regular pasta with tomato sauce. I hope Disney is taking a look at this issue - I applaud them for trying to offer healthier options, I just hope they are consulting with some people who actually have young children and know that many of them don't enjoy salad, sweet potato fries or chicken salad.
So that's my longer than expected review and I'd be happy to answer any quetions. I hope I don't come across as a malcontent!
