WantToGoNow
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2005
We spent 8 nights at Disney, November 4-12 on the dining plan. Our group consisted of myself, dh, dd22, dd22s friend, ds5 and dd2. I was planning to taking pictures of our food but the thought horrified my dd22 so I didnt. She did take one picture of her plate at the Crystal Palace more on that later. We brought breakfast foods along and had most breakfasts in our rooms.
Day 1
We arrived around 10:00 am and was planning to go to Animal Kingdom and have lunch at Tusker House. Since our rooms were ready we decided to go on to the park and never managed to eat lunch.
Rainforest Cafe
Dinner was at the Rainforest Café. I had the BBQ beef wrap which was very good, dh had the pot roast, dd22 the turkey wrap and ds5 the mini hot dogs. We shared almost all meals with dd2 and dd22s friend paid for her own and I really dont remember what she had. It was an excellent meal and cost up $81.30 OOP.
Day 2
Electric Umbrella
Lunch was at the Electric Umbrella. Nothing fancy, just burgers and fries. The double burgers are huge. My ds5 and dd2 split the chicken strip combo and the rest had the bacon double cheeseburgers. Dh, myself and the kids had the chocolate cake and dd22 and her friend had fruit bowls as dessert. Total bill: $60.98 (5 CS).
LeCellier
I had been waiting for this meal for 6 months. Maybe my expectations were a bit too high but I didnt think the steaks were any better than what I could get at the local steakhouse. Everyone had the filet or new york strip and cake, crème brulee or smores dessert. Ds5 had the kids chicken tenders. My son decided to take a tantrum over a toy phone we had forgot to buy and I had to take him out of the restaurant. When we came back (about 15 minutes later) my plate had been cleared I wasnt finished but I guess my family thought I had had enough. The crème brulee was the highlight of the meal for me. Total cost: $247.77 (5 TS).
Day 3
Cosmic Rays
I seem to be missing one receipt but I know my dd22 and her friend both had turkey wraps with jello as dessert. I had the ribs/chicken combo with carrot cake and Im sure dh had a burger/fries with chocolate cake. The kids again shard chicken strips and chocolate cake. Total cost was $66.00 (5 CS).
Liberty Tree Tavern
The was a wonderful dinner. The food was excellent and the character interaction unbelievable I believe each character came to our table 4-5 times. My dd2 was still a bit afraid of characters at this point. This would be a good time to bring up the fact that my ds5 is allergic to latex. We had to speak to the chef at every TS restaurant. The chef here made my ds5 a special plate so that he could be sure that no latex had touched his food and personally washed plates and utensils for him. The plate that they brought out for this skinny 5 y/o could have fed 2 grown men I dont think hes ever seen that much food on one plate at a time. They even brought him a special napkin that was brand new and never been washed so they would know it had not been touched with latex gloves. The characters were a hoot and Goofy acted so upset because my dd2 wouldnt hug him he pouted for a good 10 minutes went over and sat on a chair and just looked at us. Finally, she waved to him and he was ok again. Total cost : $155.57 (5 TS).
Day 4
1900 Park Fair
We had breakfast this morning at 1900 Park Fair. The food was average breakfast foods and the character interaction was good. My children were both a bit frightened by the Mad Hatter and he acted a bit put out. We did have to wait about 10 minutes before going to the buffet since we had to wait for the chef to come out. Total cost: $108.26 (5 TS).
Coral Reef
This was the highlight of our week. The food was wonderful the steak was better than the one at LeCellier. The waitress was wonderful. We all had steaks except ds5 who again had chicken fingers. Everyone had the chocolate wave except me and had crème brulee. The chef here sent out special utensils and napkins for my ds. Total cost: $248.85 (5 TS).
Day 5
Toy Story Pizza Planet
We had not planned to eat here but we made a mistake of walking past with ds5. We all had the cheese pizza combo except ds who had the pepperoni, we all had the Mickey rice krispies treats. The pizza was really good and we all shared as dd2 ate 3 of the 4 slices of my pizza. My dd22 cant eat pizza so she got a chicken wrap somewhere else and didnt like it. Total cost: $68.64 (5 CS).
Sci Fi Dine In
Heres my vote for the worst restaurant of our trip. We have eaten lunch here every trip but this time we decided to try dinner instead. I think we got off to a bad start because the server was obviously upset that 4 of us were seated and the other 2 were in the restaurant. He said he needed everyone seated at one time. I think he really didnt want to be at work this day. My kids both had the kids hamburgers which I ordered with fries. I didnt notice until they were almost finished that they had been served with apples not a problem, they both liked them. My dd22, dds friend and dh all had the chicken sandwiches that they said were ok but not very tasty. I had the BBQ ribs which I would have guessed had been cooked the week (or more) before. I have never had ribs so tough/dry in my life. It was dark and I kept getting bites of bones with the meat. I finally had to give up. I do have to say that the onion rings here are really good. We had chocolate tarts, a chocolate shake and sundaes for dessert. Total cost: $4.97 OOP (dd2s meal) and $156.41 (5 TS).
Day 6
Leaning Palms
We spent the day at Typhoon Lagoon and had lunch at the Leaning Palms. The cashier I had here won the prize for the worst CM on property. She spoke very broken English and could not get our order straight. When I finally asked for a manager hoping to get someone that could understand me she got noticeably angry. Another CM behind the counter kept saying something to her in Spanish and then shaking her head at her. I had a BBQ sandwich which was very good, kids got the hot dog pail, dd22 and friend got chicken sandwiches and dh got the chicken wrap. We all had Mickey bars which melted while we were eating they would not let us come back and get them after we finished with lunch. Total cost: $60.87 (5 CS) plus the cost of dd2s Mickey bar.
Whispering Canyon Café
We had eaten here before and knew what to expect. We had a very good waitress and was seated in the center of the room. My ds5 had a blast with the ketchup bottles and pony races. Dd2 didnt quite understand and was trampled at the beginning of the pony race dd22 ran up to get her and was ordered to run the race for her. She was a bit embarrassed. DD22s friend drank her soda too fast and ended up with the BIG one. Dh and I had the skillets, DDs friend had a steak and dd22 and ds5 had chicken fingers (again). We took our desserts chocolate cake to go. Everything was very good. Total cost: $166.23 (5 TS).
Day 7
Pizzafari
We were supposed to eat at Flame Tree BBQ today but since I had had ribs the last two days, I really didnt want them. We ended up at Pizzafari. Pretty much the same good pizza we had at Toy Story and dd2 again ate most of my meal. My dd22 and her friend had the deli sandwiches which looked (and they said tasted) very good. We had chocolate cake and frozen lemonades for dessert. Total cost: $60.24 (5 CS).
Crystal Palace
We usually have breakfast here but decided to do dinner instead. We should have stuck with breakfast. The selections were not too great and dd22 ate one chicken finger and mashed potatoes for dinner. Dd2 would disagree since she ate more here than the rest of the week combined. The characters were great although we thought we were going to miss Tigger. Every time he would get close to our table he would take a break, then when he came out he would start somewhere else. I mentioned to our waitress when she brought the check that we had not seen Tigger he was there in a few minutes. Total cost: $155.57 (5 TS).
Day 8
We were supposed to go to Chef Mickeys this morning for breakfast but decided not to. We had stayed at the MK until midnight the night before and had a 7:45 ADR. Everyone was dragging so we decided to sleep in and have breakfast again in the room.
We had ice cream for lunch this day.
Ohana
Tonight was another meal that I was looking forward to. Dh and I thought the food was wonderful and enjoyed quite a bit of it. I ordered chicken fingers for the kids and we were not charged for dd2. Dd22s friend enjoyed one piece of turkey, one piece of steak and several chicken wings. Dd22s plate was still clean at the end of the meal she tried one piece of steak and it was under-done so she didnt eat it. My ds5 decided to be shy and didnt participate in any of the activities dd2 did the hula dancing but wouldnt go back up for the coconut or limbo activities. Total cost: $144.36 (5 TS).
Day 9 (check out day)
Backlot Express
Lunch was at the Backlot Express. As many times as weve been to Disney, Ive never eaten here. Basic burgers/fries all around except ds5 who once again had chicken fingers. Im missing a receipt so I dont know what dd22 and her friend had for dessert but I believe it was jello. Dh and ds had chocolate cake again and I had the strawberry parfait I could not eat it. I also had a frozen coke here as my drink and it tasted like medicine. I took it back and got a regular coke. No idea what the total is since one receipt is missing and I didnt write it on the other.
Cosmic Rays (again)
We had 2 counter service credits remaining and decided to stop for dinner during extra magic hours (receipts says 8:58). There wasnt much open so this was it. Kids had corn dog nuggets, dd22 had the kids salad w/ chicken, I had the chili dog and dh had a cheeseburger. Not sure of the cost of the 2 CS meals but we paid $21.25 OOP for the rest.
I really thought we would have no problem using up the credits but the dining plan keeps you so full that we fell behind, especially with the snack credits. We started with 40 and had only used 12 half way through the trip. We ended up buying a bunch of candy, rice krispie treats, etc. on the last evening to bring home.
I havent yet added up the totals to see how much we came out ahead but 2 meals (LeCellier and Coral Reef) takes to almost half. I really enjoyed the dining plan but I did feel like our schedule had to work around the restaurants we had chosen I would like to have a little more flexibility.
Day 1
We arrived around 10:00 am and was planning to go to Animal Kingdom and have lunch at Tusker House. Since our rooms were ready we decided to go on to the park and never managed to eat lunch.
Rainforest Cafe
Dinner was at the Rainforest Café. I had the BBQ beef wrap which was very good, dh had the pot roast, dd22 the turkey wrap and ds5 the mini hot dogs. We shared almost all meals with dd2 and dd22s friend paid for her own and I really dont remember what she had. It was an excellent meal and cost up $81.30 OOP.
Day 2
Electric Umbrella
Lunch was at the Electric Umbrella. Nothing fancy, just burgers and fries. The double burgers are huge. My ds5 and dd2 split the chicken strip combo and the rest had the bacon double cheeseburgers. Dh, myself and the kids had the chocolate cake and dd22 and her friend had fruit bowls as dessert. Total bill: $60.98 (5 CS).
LeCellier
I had been waiting for this meal for 6 months. Maybe my expectations were a bit too high but I didnt think the steaks were any better than what I could get at the local steakhouse. Everyone had the filet or new york strip and cake, crème brulee or smores dessert. Ds5 had the kids chicken tenders. My son decided to take a tantrum over a toy phone we had forgot to buy and I had to take him out of the restaurant. When we came back (about 15 minutes later) my plate had been cleared I wasnt finished but I guess my family thought I had had enough. The crème brulee was the highlight of the meal for me. Total cost: $247.77 (5 TS).
Day 3
Cosmic Rays
I seem to be missing one receipt but I know my dd22 and her friend both had turkey wraps with jello as dessert. I had the ribs/chicken combo with carrot cake and Im sure dh had a burger/fries with chocolate cake. The kids again shard chicken strips and chocolate cake. Total cost was $66.00 (5 CS).
Liberty Tree Tavern
The was a wonderful dinner. The food was excellent and the character interaction unbelievable I believe each character came to our table 4-5 times. My dd2 was still a bit afraid of characters at this point. This would be a good time to bring up the fact that my ds5 is allergic to latex. We had to speak to the chef at every TS restaurant. The chef here made my ds5 a special plate so that he could be sure that no latex had touched his food and personally washed plates and utensils for him. The plate that they brought out for this skinny 5 y/o could have fed 2 grown men I dont think hes ever seen that much food on one plate at a time. They even brought him a special napkin that was brand new and never been washed so they would know it had not been touched with latex gloves. The characters were a hoot and Goofy acted so upset because my dd2 wouldnt hug him he pouted for a good 10 minutes went over and sat on a chair and just looked at us. Finally, she waved to him and he was ok again. Total cost : $155.57 (5 TS).
Day 4
1900 Park Fair
We had breakfast this morning at 1900 Park Fair. The food was average breakfast foods and the character interaction was good. My children were both a bit frightened by the Mad Hatter and he acted a bit put out. We did have to wait about 10 minutes before going to the buffet since we had to wait for the chef to come out. Total cost: $108.26 (5 TS).
Coral Reef
This was the highlight of our week. The food was wonderful the steak was better than the one at LeCellier. The waitress was wonderful. We all had steaks except ds5 who again had chicken fingers. Everyone had the chocolate wave except me and had crème brulee. The chef here sent out special utensils and napkins for my ds. Total cost: $248.85 (5 TS).
Day 5
Toy Story Pizza Planet
We had not planned to eat here but we made a mistake of walking past with ds5. We all had the cheese pizza combo except ds who had the pepperoni, we all had the Mickey rice krispies treats. The pizza was really good and we all shared as dd2 ate 3 of the 4 slices of my pizza. My dd22 cant eat pizza so she got a chicken wrap somewhere else and didnt like it. Total cost: $68.64 (5 CS).
Sci Fi Dine In
Heres my vote for the worst restaurant of our trip. We have eaten lunch here every trip but this time we decided to try dinner instead. I think we got off to a bad start because the server was obviously upset that 4 of us were seated and the other 2 were in the restaurant. He said he needed everyone seated at one time. I think he really didnt want to be at work this day. My kids both had the kids hamburgers which I ordered with fries. I didnt notice until they were almost finished that they had been served with apples not a problem, they both liked them. My dd22, dds friend and dh all had the chicken sandwiches that they said were ok but not very tasty. I had the BBQ ribs which I would have guessed had been cooked the week (or more) before. I have never had ribs so tough/dry in my life. It was dark and I kept getting bites of bones with the meat. I finally had to give up. I do have to say that the onion rings here are really good. We had chocolate tarts, a chocolate shake and sundaes for dessert. Total cost: $4.97 OOP (dd2s meal) and $156.41 (5 TS).
Day 6
Leaning Palms
We spent the day at Typhoon Lagoon and had lunch at the Leaning Palms. The cashier I had here won the prize for the worst CM on property. She spoke very broken English and could not get our order straight. When I finally asked for a manager hoping to get someone that could understand me she got noticeably angry. Another CM behind the counter kept saying something to her in Spanish and then shaking her head at her. I had a BBQ sandwich which was very good, kids got the hot dog pail, dd22 and friend got chicken sandwiches and dh got the chicken wrap. We all had Mickey bars which melted while we were eating they would not let us come back and get them after we finished with lunch. Total cost: $60.87 (5 CS) plus the cost of dd2s Mickey bar.
Whispering Canyon Café
We had eaten here before and knew what to expect. We had a very good waitress and was seated in the center of the room. My ds5 had a blast with the ketchup bottles and pony races. Dd2 didnt quite understand and was trampled at the beginning of the pony race dd22 ran up to get her and was ordered to run the race for her. She was a bit embarrassed. DD22s friend drank her soda too fast and ended up with the BIG one. Dh and I had the skillets, DDs friend had a steak and dd22 and ds5 had chicken fingers (again). We took our desserts chocolate cake to go. Everything was very good. Total cost: $166.23 (5 TS).
Day 7
Pizzafari
We were supposed to eat at Flame Tree BBQ today but since I had had ribs the last two days, I really didnt want them. We ended up at Pizzafari. Pretty much the same good pizza we had at Toy Story and dd2 again ate most of my meal. My dd22 and her friend had the deli sandwiches which looked (and they said tasted) very good. We had chocolate cake and frozen lemonades for dessert. Total cost: $60.24 (5 CS).
Crystal Palace
We usually have breakfast here but decided to do dinner instead. We should have stuck with breakfast. The selections were not too great and dd22 ate one chicken finger and mashed potatoes for dinner. Dd2 would disagree since she ate more here than the rest of the week combined. The characters were great although we thought we were going to miss Tigger. Every time he would get close to our table he would take a break, then when he came out he would start somewhere else. I mentioned to our waitress when she brought the check that we had not seen Tigger he was there in a few minutes. Total cost: $155.57 (5 TS).
Day 8
We were supposed to go to Chef Mickeys this morning for breakfast but decided not to. We had stayed at the MK until midnight the night before and had a 7:45 ADR. Everyone was dragging so we decided to sleep in and have breakfast again in the room.
We had ice cream for lunch this day.
Ohana
Tonight was another meal that I was looking forward to. Dh and I thought the food was wonderful and enjoyed quite a bit of it. I ordered chicken fingers for the kids and we were not charged for dd2. Dd22s friend enjoyed one piece of turkey, one piece of steak and several chicken wings. Dd22s plate was still clean at the end of the meal she tried one piece of steak and it was under-done so she didnt eat it. My ds5 decided to be shy and didnt participate in any of the activities dd2 did the hula dancing but wouldnt go back up for the coconut or limbo activities. Total cost: $144.36 (5 TS).
Day 9 (check out day)
Backlot Express
Lunch was at the Backlot Express. As many times as weve been to Disney, Ive never eaten here. Basic burgers/fries all around except ds5 who once again had chicken fingers. Im missing a receipt so I dont know what dd22 and her friend had for dessert but I believe it was jello. Dh and ds had chocolate cake again and I had the strawberry parfait I could not eat it. I also had a frozen coke here as my drink and it tasted like medicine. I took it back and got a regular coke. No idea what the total is since one receipt is missing and I didnt write it on the other.
Cosmic Rays (again)
We had 2 counter service credits remaining and decided to stop for dinner during extra magic hours (receipts says 8:58). There wasnt much open so this was it. Kids had corn dog nuggets, dd22 had the kids salad w/ chicken, I had the chili dog and dh had a cheeseburger. Not sure of the cost of the 2 CS meals but we paid $21.25 OOP for the rest.
I really thought we would have no problem using up the credits but the dining plan keeps you so full that we fell behind, especially with the snack credits. We started with 40 and had only used 12 half way through the trip. We ended up buying a bunch of candy, rice krispie treats, etc. on the last evening to bring home.
I havent yet added up the totals to see how much we came out ahead but 2 meals (LeCellier and Coral Reef) takes to almost half. I really enjoyed the dining plan but I did feel like our schedule had to work around the restaurants we had chosen I would like to have a little more flexibility.
