Meal reviews for 12/8-12/15 Trip

[golden1]

I'll give my reviews in stars 5/5 being the best food of the trip and 0/5 being inedible. 12/8 Lunch - Intermission Food Court - 2/5 stars - We got a pizza for the kids and dh and I split chicken strips. What can I say, they were fries and chicken strips. It took the lady at the counter about 10 minutes to cook them which was annoying.

12/8 Dinner Hoop de Doo - 4/5 - I've heard a lot of mixed reviews of the food from this place and I suppose that if you were from somewhere with great BBQ food, you might be more picky. Us northern types really liked the food. I was busy trying to corral my restless 2.5 year old son, but I enjoyed everything. Good cornbread. The salad was tasty with a decent amount of dressing but not too much. The ribs and chicken were both tender. The corn and beans sides were decent but not spectacular. The strawberry shortcake was good also.

We were lucky enough to have a front and center table - no. 24 - which is one row back from the stage. It was a perfect table! My 4.5 year old dd loved the show but it was not entertaining for my 2.5 year old. If I had to do it over I would have had a babysitter for him that evening.

Here are some pics of the show:

Pioneer hall:

DH and DD enjoying the show!:

Six Bits posing for the camera:

My son writhing in his chair:

Six Bits exasperated at my troublesome child:

 

[golden1]

12/9 - CRT Breakfast - Just me and DD 4.5. 4/5 stars. This was the highlight of dd's trip. She had been waiting for it for almost a year. I was surprised at how good the food was. Actually, for $64 it better have been good! There were pastries and a fruit cup at the table when we sat down. I had eggs, bacon, sausages, a super yummy potato cheese cassarole and this blueberry fried dough thingy that was sensational! DD had french toast sticks and syrup, bacon and eggs which she wolfed down. She is a breakfast eater and she didn't eat much at the HDDR the night before due to extreme fatigue and crankiness.

The princesses were great although dd was very shy. She wouldn't smile much but she had a great time anyway.

 

[golden1]

12/9 Lunch - Pinocchio Village house - 2/5 because we were in a bad mood, really 3/5 stars.

We were really tired by this point especially DH, so my review is tainted by us being crabby. DS had an uncrustable sandwich and dd ordered Mac and Cheese but wouldn't eat it. I can't blame her actually. I think that Disney Mac and Cheese makes Kraft taste good. I have a theory that they store it all in the big EPCOT ball. Anyway, my dh had a turkey panini sandwich that he said was fair and my antipasto salad was just okay as well, nothing special. The dressing was very flat and tastless. I will say that I am happy that they serve grapes and carrots with kids meals instead of fries. Sure, we got fries sometimes but it was nice to have some variety. Usually the kids would eat a few of our fries while we would eat some of their grapes and carrots.

12/9 Dinner - Intermission Food Court - 3/5

Hot Dog for me, Chicken Quesedillas (sp) for Dh and Grilled cheese for the kids. Again, nothing special although tastier than the aforementioned chicken strips.

 

[golden1]

More later including ....

Sunshine Seasons Food Fair
Le Cellier
Hollywood and Vine Play and Dine
Mama Melrose
Crystal Palace
Cosmic Rays
Flame Tree BBQ
Boma
Perfectly Princess Tea
Boardwalk Room Service
Garden Grill

Just be patient...

I have young children...

 

[rlduvall]

Great reviews. Really enjoying them. I love the "bit" about your 2.5 year old son. My DS 7 can be the same way, still.

 

[Disneyof3]

Glad you had a good time. I'm waiting for your reply on Mama Melrose. Did you do the Fantasmic package? Were doing it in March and am nervous on the restaurant and the food with 3 kids under the age of 10. I love the Blueberry fried things at the castle too. They were the highlight of the breakfast for me. I hate 3 of them I wish I could get the recipe? Thanks for the reviews so far.

 

[WDWBetsy]

Great review so far! Your kids are adorable!

 

[latexscooter]

I think that Disney Mac and Cheese makes Kraft taste good. I have a theory that they store it all in the big EPCOT ball.

 

[golden1]

Sunday Dec 10th - A quick breakfast in Intermission Food Court - 2/5

I ate a tasteless croissant and bottled strawberry/passion fruit juice. DH had some sort of apple turnover type pastry. The kids ate pop-tarts and a fruit cup with milk to drink.

Lunch - Sunshine Season Food Fair - The Land Pavilion at Epcot - 4.5/5. This was BY FAR the best CS of our trip. DH and I both ate from the Asian Noodle pod. I got a sweet chicken dish, broccoli and Lo Mein. All of it was delicious! DH got the same plate but with a beef dish in place of the chicken. He raved about his meal also. The kids had mac and cheese (yuck!) and an uncrustable sandwich.

Snack- as we were walking around World Showcase, my kids spotted the ice cream trucks and demanded a popsicle. I only mention this because I wish they would have toddler size popsicles and ice cream treats. The size popsicle I purchased was too big for me, let alone a 4 and 2 year old.

Dinner - Le Cellier - 3.5/5 stars.

Yep, you read that right. Only 3.5 stars. I know this restaurant is highly rated but I was a little let down. I liked the ambiance of the restaurant, and the breadsticks. DH and I were boring and ordered the same meal. We started with the cheddar cheese soup - good but I've had better. It was just too heavy and actually upset my stomach a bit. My first reaction when I saw the teeny cup that they brought it in was "That's it?" but once I realized how rich it was, I was glad of the small portion.

Next was the Filet Mignon with Maple Barbeque Sauce. Now, I should have known better, Steak , especially a filet, does not need such a strongly flavored sauce. I thought it was overkill. The cream cheese potatoes were delicious though. I ordered the filet medium rare, but it was actually quite rare, dark red in the middle almost all the way through. I would advise people to order one more grade of "wellness" than they usually do.

Finally, we split a dessert. They had a s'mores type dessert. It was cute looking. It was a round graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow creation with a stick stuck in the middle of it and a marshmallow on top. Very cute. The dessert was only fair though.

I can see how people would like this place, and it wasn't bad, but the food was bit too rich and I think it is a bit overrated.

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reviews ~ Thanx for sharing.

Lovely piccies.

 

[latexscooter]

I'm eager to hear the rest. We've selected some of the same restaurants for our trip in May. Our daughter is just a bit younger than yours and it's nice to hear that your daughter enjoyed CRT so much. This was an 11th hour add for us and now I won't second guess it.

 

[golden1]

Monday, Dec 11th

Breakfast - Hollywood and Vine Play and Dine -3.5/5

This is a really great and well planned character breakfast. We were seated and drinks were ordered. We went up to the Buffet. They has a second childrens buffet with eggs, bacon and Mickey waffles. The adult buffet included pastries, breads, bagels, eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, Mickey waffles, corned beef hash and fresh fruit - basically all your standard breakfast options.

The food was good but the character interection was outstanding! June and Leo from little Einsteins, Jojo and Goliath made their way around the room and about every 15 minutes, entertainers would come out and sing Playhouse Disney shows. The restaurant is divided into two sides and each side had an entertainer. The kids would get up and dance - at least everyone ELSES kids did. For some reason, my kids were just not that into it. Oh, well.

Lunch - Backlot Express - 2.5/5 stars

I got a hot dog, DH and I split chicken finers again, and the kids split a hot dog. My in-laws were with us at this point and they got a hot dog and chicken salad. We had an ADR at 4pm so we didn't want to overeat. The food was adequate. The location of the restaurant is nice because it is so out of the way that people don't find it. It was a quiet mid-day respite.

Dinner - Mama Melrose Fantasmic Dining Package - 4/5 stars.

We were seated right away even though the restaurant looked pretty busy. We got a nice booth. I expected that we would be getting some flatbreads and salad. I just finished explaining this to my family when the waitress came over and told me that they had just changed the policy and that everyone could order an appetizer instead of getting pizzas and salad. Cool!

I got the Mozzarella and tomato salad along with my MIL. My DH got calamari and my FIL got a sausage soup. All of the appetizers were reported to be very good. I liked my salad and DH's calamari was perfectly done and battered.

Next came the entrees. I got the wood fired chicken and pasta which was good - not great but good. DH got the Seafood Fra Diavlo. He said the sauce was not very spicy but it was good. FIL got the salmon which he reported was "the best salmon he's ever had". My MIL got the chicken parm which she reported as fair. She had to ask for more sauce to put on it. Then came dessert. DH and I were boring again and both got Tiramisu which was excellent, rivaling the best Tiramisu we've had. FIL got vanilla gelato with chocolate suace and MIL got a lemon cream custard which I tasted and was very good!

 

[Lexxiefern]

Thanks, loved all the pictures!

 

[swankybeth]

Thanks for sharing your reviews, looking forward to the rest, especially Garden Grill.

 

[golden1]

Tuesday, December 12th

Breakfast in Room

Lunch - Crystal Palace- 4.5/5 stars - This was probably the best meal of the trip. I went here 6 years ago and remember liking it then but I think it has improved since then. We were seated a little after our 11:30am ressie because we arrived a bit late. As soon as we sat down, Tigger arrived at our table and posed with the kids.

We also got pics with Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore later. First we got the kids their plates from the kids buffet, mac and cheese and chicken fingers. There was a HUGE line at the buffet. I think they had let in a ton of tables at the same time because later on, the line got a lot shorter. They had a basket of rolls, and then the salad area. They had the BEST Mediterranean pasta salad I have ever had! It was so yummy. Actually, they had a lot of tasty salads. I took a spoonful of anything that looked good. Later, I returned for the main courses. I wish I could remember everything, but there was a spoonbread that was excellent. The cuury noodles were also good. Another hit was the chicken in Asagio cream sauce. The Salmon was fantastic also.

The only reason this didn't get 5 stars was because of the desserts. They were just fair. They had cookes, brownies, Boston cream pie, and ice cream bar, apple crumble. Nothing really stood out to me as special.

Dinner - Cosmic Rays - 3/5 stars

We stopped for a quick bite here. I got a burger that was pretty good. They had a great fixins bar here. The kids split chicken nuggets. DH didn't eat because he was still full from lunch.

 

[Disney owl]

thanks for sharing