Free Dining Part II - 8/26 to 9/2 - Day by Day Report

[kath1210]

August 26, 2006 - Spoodles

Our family - Me, DH, DS - 15, and DD-12. We've been to WDW several times, especially in the last few years. We did the free dining plan last year with a group of 20. It worked out so well, we had to come back this year, but just us this time.

We arrived on August 26 - late - at about 6:30 p.m. We checked into WL (got upgraded from std view to wood view and got bunk beds!!) We almost cancelled our 7:50 p.m. ADR at Spoodles because we were beat. Boy, am I glad we did not cancel.

We had never been to the Boardwalk area before, and it was gorgeous, especially at night! We were a little late (5 minutes) for our ADR, and were seated almost immediately. Our waiter was Jess and he was great, helping with suggestions and cracking jokes with the kids.

Some bad news about the Spoodles menu: The grilled shrimp and scallop add-ons are no longer available. Jess said they just recently got rid of them, but he was not sure why.

We ordered appetizers - DH and I ordered the Lemon Garlic Shrimp, which Jess highly recommended. It included three HUGE shrimp and the sauce was so good I wanted to lick the plate (but I did not ). DS-15 ordered the Four Cheese Flatbread, and DD-12 ordered the Greek Salad. DS really enjoyed the flatbread, but DD did not like the Greek Salad. It was really fresh and excellent, but just not to her taste.

For entrees, DH ordered the Portuguese Seafood Stew, which was awesome! He gave me his calamari, which looked a little weird, but had an excellent flavor! DD-12 and I ordered the Grilled Salmon and the Lemon Chicken, with the intent to share half with each other. They were both really good! The salmon was perfectly spiced and came with a vegetable ragout that was just OK. The chicken included two large breast pieces, couscous and veggies. It was wonderful! DS-15 ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo, which had a nice flavor, but was a bit too dry.

For dessert, DH and DS-12 had the Ice Cream Sundae, which comes on an artist’s palette, with several toppings. DS-15 had the Vanilla Bean Crème Brule, which came with a chocolate-dipped biscotti and berries. I’ve never really had Crème Brule before, but it was excellent, like a caramelized egg custard, which I guess it is. I had the Happiest Celebration dessert, which was sponge cake with orange cream and a bit of chocolate. It was tasty, but perhaps a bit too sweet.

Next - Tusker House and Whispering Canyon Cafe

 

[WAHMto5]

Great review.....thanks!! Looking foward to eating there next month!!

 

[kath1210]

August 27, 2006 – Tusker House and Whispering Canyon Café

Today we went to the AK and had lunch at Tusker House. We almost went to Flame Tree, but the lines were very long. We were eating late, and I was a little surprised at the crowd there at that hour. Plus, Tusker House offers air conditioning, so that made up my DH’s mind!

There was absolutely no one in line at TH, and I was afraid they were closed. But they were not, so we ordered lunch. DH got the fried chicken sandwich and fries, which was good, but not much better than fast food places. The chicken was thick and moist, and the fries were steak cut and cooked nice and crispy. DD-12 ordered the salmon with rice and green beans. The salmon was crispy and the rice was really nicely spiced. The green beans were also good, not the usual canned, overcooked variety. I had the ½ rotisserie chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and the same green beans DD had. The chicken was moist and delicious and the garlic mashed potatoes were creamy and yummy! This counter service meal was as good as a table service meal to me!

DH and DD both had the moist and gooey and delicious chocolate cake for dessert, and I just had a few grapes. I was hoping for a Mickey Bar later, but that never happened. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow!

DS-15 ate lunch at Food Quest (at Disney Quest) - he did not want to go to AK. He ordered his “usual” – pizza, root beer and the apple cobbler bar for dessert. He lived on this meal last December! I assume it was good – he is not into dining reviews, but keeps ordering the same thing!

For dinner, we all went to the Whispering Canyon Café. It was busy and crazy and a lot of fun. DS was full from lunch, so he just ordered the “bottomless” vanilla shake. DD, DH and I all ordered the All-You-Can-Eat skillet. It was all absolutely delicious! The salad was fresh and crisp. The corn bread was a little dry, but the taste was wonderful, and a little butter helped! The ribs were moist and tasty, but not too fatty. The sausage was flavorful without being too greasy. The chicken was moist, but a little bland (fixed that up with a little barbecue sauce), and the pulled pork was very tasty! I can’t believe there is more to discuss, but the mashed potatoes were awesome and the beans and the cole slaw were good, but not great.

We were too stuffed for dessert, so we took it to go. DH got the chocolate mousse cake – SO good! DD and I got the S’more Cheesecake, which was really tasty.

 

[kath1210]

Great review.....thanks!! Looking foward to eating there next month!!

Thanks. I hope you enjoy it!

 

[Bunchkin]

Thanks for sharing!!
They all sound yummy!!

 

[NC Belle]

Thanks for sharing.

I'm so disappointed in Spoodles getting rid of the shrimp and scallop add-ons---we are going to eat there next month. I'm glad to hear the good review on Whispering Canyon.

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reviews ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[Accash]

Great Reviews! I love Tusker House for lunch! YUM

Melissa

 

[luvpooh]

August 26, 2006 - Spoodles


Some bad news about the Spoodles menu: The grilled shrimp and scallop add-ons are no longer available. Jess said they just recently got rid of them, but he was not sure why.

Just wondering, did they get rid of it being eligible on DDP, or was it off the menu completely? I was dying to go back there in October and get the Alfredo with the scallops again, it was so good last year. We're not on the dining plan, I'm wondering if you can still pay for this...

 

[TigerKat]

Just wondering, did they get rid of it being eligible on DDP, or was it off the menu completely? I was dying to go back there in October and get the Alfredo with the scallops again, it was so good last year. We're not on the dining plan, I'm wondering if you can still pay for this...

I would like to know too, I was planning on it with my steak! I'd gladly pay OOP for it.

 

[Tinkerbell_Girl]

Great reviews!

 

[Schucraig]

Thanks for the reviews!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Just wondering, did they get rid of it being eligible on DDP, or was it off the menu completely? I was dying to go back there in October and get the Alfredo with the scallops again, it was so good last year. We're not on the dining plan, I'm wondering if you can still pay for this...

Those Scallops were worth the price of admission just by themselves. I hope they're still available for 6.95. Otherwise, I think I'll just get the stew. That was delicious. The Alfredo and Rigitoni were too, but without those scallop add ons, the stew would be the way to go.

 

[kath1210]

Just wondering, did they get rid of it being eligible on DDP, or was it off the menu completely? I was dying to go back there in October and get the Alfredo with the scallops again, it was so good last year. We're not on the dining plan, I'm wondering if you can still pay for this...

The waiter said that the skewers were not available at all, because I said I would be willing to pay for them. But who knows, after free dining is over, they may be back on the menu! We can hope, anyway!

 

[kath1210]

August 28, 2006 - Sunshine Seasons Café and Coral Reef

Today was Epcot day, and we headed for Soarin’ right away. (DS15 went to DQ *again* and ate the same meal *again* for both lunch and dinner. Boring!) After riding Soarin’, we decided to eat at Sunshine Seasons Café. We really loved all of the choices available. DD12 got the kids meal at the Asian food area because she was not very hungry – Sweet and Sour Chicken, rice and broccoli. It was very tasty. She and I also shared California Rolls, which we also enjoyed very much. I love the fresh ginger they include. I also ordered the Chicken, Noodles and Garlic soup. It was tasty, but the portion was very small and there was not a lot of meat. The veggies were nice and crisp, though. DH got the two entrees (Beef and Sweet & Sour Chicken), plus rice and broccoli. The food was fresh and quite good for “fast” Chinese food.

Dessert was awesome! I had the Key Lime Pie, which was light and tangy. DD12 had the fruit tart which was totally awesome – the fruit was ripe and sweet and the custard was a great accompaniment. DH had the chocolate cake – are you seeing a pattern here. It was actually very good – moist and rich.

(BTW, despite the weather forecast, today was absolutely gorgeous! It was not to hot, the humidity was fairly low, and there was a nice breeze.)

Dinner was at Coral Reef. We had never eaten there before and were looking forward to eating “inside and aquarium.” Well, it wasn’t exactly like that, but it was pretty cool! The food was really great, with one exception, which I’ll discuss below.

For appetizers, DH ordered the shrimp cocktail, I ordered the calamari, and DD12 ordered the Caesar Salad with scallops. The shrimp cocktail was very yummy – the shrimp was large and firm, with a really nice cocktail sauce. The calamari was spicy and seemed fresh, and the salad was very good, but the scallops were a bit too spicy for my taste (which, I’ll admit, is a bit bland).

For dinner, DH ordered the Grilled Mahi Mahi, which was so moist and fresh and came with wonderful couscous and spinach. The sauce was great! DD12 ordered the Salmon, which was served on greens and was grilled to perfection. Unfortunately, I ordered the crab cake, which was served on potatoes and a chorizo mash. The crab cake was heavy on breading and light on crab meat. It was the kind of crab cake I usually describe as “cat food.” Since I am a Marylander, I may be a crab cake snob, but this was truly not good.

Dessert more than made up for the crab cake. There have been many reviews on these boards of Coral Reef’s Chocolate Wave, and let me just say that it definitely lived up to the best of them! The chocolate cake was crispy on the outside, and warm and gooey with chocolate and vanilla ganache on the inside. If it just had more ice cream, it would have been perfect! DD-12 had the make your own sundae, which was good, but nothing too exciting.

Tomorrow – MK Day – __________? and Liberty Tree Tavern

 

[Catrin]

Thanks for the Up to the minute Dining Reports!

How were the crowds?? What is the BZZ there about Ernesto??

enjoy tomorrow!
Catrin

 

[kath1210]

Thanks for the Up to the minute Dining Reports!

How were the crowds?? What is the BZZ there about Ernesto??

enjoy tomorrow!
Catrin

The crowds were amazingly light at Epcot today and they weren't bad at AK yesterday. The Epcot parking lot seemed practically empty! Many of the rides were walk-on, except for Soarin', Test Track and Mission Space. But their wait times were listed at 30-45 minutes, so that was not bad at all. The line for Turtle Talk was practically non-existent.

I haven't heard much about Ernesto from anyone except the people on the TV news. I did not hear anyone in the parks discussing Ernesto at all. I'm sure that will change as time goes by!

 

[princesstigerlilly]

Excellent reviews! I am looking forward to having the salmon at Tusker House, so it's nice to read another good review of it

Thanks!

 

[beeayekay]

Thanks for the info on the crab cakes. After the picture posted several weeks ago and your review, I think I will cross the sad little crab cake from my list and maybe try the salmon...

Thanks again!

Babs

 

[tacomaranch]

Thanks for the reviews: We are Coral reef and wanted to try tuskers. We also have chef mickeys and LTT and the Crystal. I appreciate that you are doing a great job on the food and weather.