cinderellasmom
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2001
I've gotten so much info from these boards when planning our vacation, that I wanted to try a review of the places we ate on our recent trip (11/3 - 11/11). We were not on the dining plan - the numbers didn't work out when we looked at paying an adult price for our 11 year old dd. She typically eats off the kids menu or orders a side for dinner. We heard several people complaining at CS restaurants about restrictions and we were glad we had flexibility especially with the new kids menus. We only ate about 2 meals a day, many days just got french fries or a pretzel for lunch.
Here goes:
Chef Mickey's - Dinner. Character interaction was wonderful as usual. Nice selection at the buffet. Mashed potatoes were delicious and we enjoyed the prime rib very much. Vegetables were also good. Ham was not very tasty. Desserts were great and the kids always enjoy making their own sundae.
Citricos - Dinner. Second best meal of our trip! We started with the Smoked Beef Carpaccio and the Warm Goat Cheese salad. Delicious! The salad had goat cheese in a puff pastry over greens. For dinner my dh had the Braised Veal shank and I had the Pan Roasted Tilefish. The tilefish was super and the risotto it was served over was wonderful and creamy. We also had the wine pairings with the two courses which were enjoyable and a trio of sorbets for dessert. The service here was great and the atmosphere very relaxing.
Raglan Road - Dinner. Wanted to try this place, since I've been to Ireland several times. Our server was good. The kids weren't too excited about this restaurant overall, but did manage to enjoy some mashed potatoes.
We had the ribs for an appetizer and they were very good. Also, had the goat cheese salad which was tasty, but we could've done with one appetizer. Dinners were fish and chips for me, which were very good (they say their fish is flown in from Boston? daily ). My dh had the Pork hock and he said it was very good.
Kona - Breakfast - Great breakfast! Had the Tonga toast, my dh had the Ham and cheese omelet. Both were super. Service here was great and of course the pressed pot of coffee is a nice change from the rest of the disney coffee!
Kona - Dinner. Wanted to try Kona for dinner, the menu looked interesting and we always enjoyed it for breakfast. Mistake! Much better for breakfast. The sticky wings were great and it went downhill from there. Our server was robotic in her mannerisms, and seemed to be reading off a script with no emotion. We had a problem with a drink order, and she was not very accomodating even when it was obvious there was dairy in the drink which was not mentioned on the menu. We were charged for it in the end and had to ask to have it removed. The teriyaki steak was not a very good cut of beef and the flavor was lacking. The prime rib was very thin and not tasty. Mashed potatoes were good and the kids said they had the best mac and cheese.
Contemporary Steak house - breakfast. Just okay. We were staying at the Contemporary, so it was convenient on a day we were taking a trip to Daytona Beach. Had the express breakfast. Did find in Disney that the eggs are not cooked as firm as my kids like them.
Crystal Palace - breakfast. First time trying this place and we absolutely loved it! Wished we had more time to relax and enjoy but we wanted to get to the rope drop at the castle. Everything here was great, but a mention must go to the Breakfast lasagna, which we had seconds of. Also the potato casserole was delicious and we enjoyed the different types of sausages. Loved visiting with Pooh and friends. Service was great and the atmosphere just beautiful.
California Grill - Dinner. A must do on every trip. We arrived at 6:30 for a 7 pm reservation and asked if they had a window seat. The said that one wouldn't be available until after 8:00, most people just sit and wait for the fireworks! No problem, since we could see the fireworks from our balcony, we took whatever table available, and it was the same table we ate at two years ago! This is our favorite restaurant, and we always have wonderful service. My dh had Tuna three ways to start which he loved. I had the cheese sampler which was done beautifully. We also shared the Goat cheese salad (lots of goat cheese on this trip!) Our server brought us various wines to try ( I love how they do that!) and helped us match wines to our courses. My dh had the Potato wrapped Lamb Loin with roasted artichokes which was new to the menu, and I had the Pork Tenderloin. Both were superb! We shared the Bananas and Butterscotch Buzz - very good and the crispy plantain was interesting.
Brown Derby - Fantasmic Package. I was a little concerned about this since my dd was 11 and I wasn't excited about paying adult price for a kids dinner. Asked the server and he said she could order from whatever menu and would be charged accordingly, so we got charged a childs price. We liked this restaurant, although I don't know if we'd do the package again. The rolls were super good! We shared the Cobb salad which was excellent. I had the grilled Salmon which was excellent. My dh had the tenderloin which was just good. The grapefruit cake was not what I expected, not as much grapefruit flavor as I wanted. The flourless cake was wonderful, we loved it!
(I also had the best drink here - the "Hollywood"!).
Backlot Express - We had the grilled vegetable sandwich and the Turkey panini. Both were wonderful. This will be our place to lunch in MGM from now on!
Contemporary Food Court - Not impressed at all with this place. Had a few meals here out of neccessity but would try not to again.
Kona coffee stand at the Poly - we ended up really enjoying this place and went several times in the morning and just picked up transportation from the Poly. We liked the banana bread, cinnamon buns and the muffins. Some of these things were available at Contemporary food court, but not the whole selections and especially not the coffee!
We love to eat, but wouldn't be able to eat the amount of food on the dining plan. On our next trip, we will have two children considered "adults" and it would make even less sense. I was surprised with the new kids menu at the Brown Derby, but they were accomodating in that they allowed both kids to order the ice cream dessert. We enjoyed dining at Disney very much!
Here goes:
Chef Mickey's - Dinner. Character interaction was wonderful as usual. Nice selection at the buffet. Mashed potatoes were delicious and we enjoyed the prime rib very much. Vegetables were also good. Ham was not very tasty. Desserts were great and the kids always enjoy making their own sundae.
Citricos - Dinner. Second best meal of our trip! We started with the Smoked Beef Carpaccio and the Warm Goat Cheese salad. Delicious! The salad had goat cheese in a puff pastry over greens. For dinner my dh had the Braised Veal shank and I had the Pan Roasted Tilefish. The tilefish was super and the risotto it was served over was wonderful and creamy. We also had the wine pairings with the two courses which were enjoyable and a trio of sorbets for dessert. The service here was great and the atmosphere very relaxing.
Raglan Road - Dinner. Wanted to try this place, since I've been to Ireland several times. Our server was good. The kids weren't too excited about this restaurant overall, but did manage to enjoy some mashed potatoes.
We had the ribs for an appetizer and they were very good. Also, had the goat cheese salad which was tasty, but we could've done with one appetizer. Dinners were fish and chips for me, which were very good (they say their fish is flown in from Boston? daily ). My dh had the Pork hock and he said it was very good.
Kona - Breakfast - Great breakfast! Had the Tonga toast, my dh had the Ham and cheese omelet. Both were super. Service here was great and of course the pressed pot of coffee is a nice change from the rest of the disney coffee!
Kona - Dinner. Wanted to try Kona for dinner, the menu looked interesting and we always enjoyed it for breakfast. Mistake! Much better for breakfast. The sticky wings were great and it went downhill from there. Our server was robotic in her mannerisms, and seemed to be reading off a script with no emotion. We had a problem with a drink order, and she was not very accomodating even when it was obvious there was dairy in the drink which was not mentioned on the menu. We were charged for it in the end and had to ask to have it removed. The teriyaki steak was not a very good cut of beef and the flavor was lacking. The prime rib was very thin and not tasty. Mashed potatoes were good and the kids said they had the best mac and cheese.
Contemporary Steak house - breakfast. Just okay. We were staying at the Contemporary, so it was convenient on a day we were taking a trip to Daytona Beach. Had the express breakfast. Did find in Disney that the eggs are not cooked as firm as my kids like them.
Crystal Palace - breakfast. First time trying this place and we absolutely loved it! Wished we had more time to relax and enjoy but we wanted to get to the rope drop at the castle. Everything here was great, but a mention must go to the Breakfast lasagna, which we had seconds of. Also the potato casserole was delicious and we enjoyed the different types of sausages. Loved visiting with Pooh and friends. Service was great and the atmosphere just beautiful.
California Grill - Dinner. A must do on every trip. We arrived at 6:30 for a 7 pm reservation and asked if they had a window seat. The said that one wouldn't be available until after 8:00, most people just sit and wait for the fireworks! No problem, since we could see the fireworks from our balcony, we took whatever table available, and it was the same table we ate at two years ago! This is our favorite restaurant, and we always have wonderful service. My dh had Tuna three ways to start which he loved. I had the cheese sampler which was done beautifully. We also shared the Goat cheese salad (lots of goat cheese on this trip!) Our server brought us various wines to try ( I love how they do that!) and helped us match wines to our courses. My dh had the Potato wrapped Lamb Loin with roasted artichokes which was new to the menu, and I had the Pork Tenderloin. Both were superb! We shared the Bananas and Butterscotch Buzz - very good and the crispy plantain was interesting.
Brown Derby - Fantasmic Package. I was a little concerned about this since my dd was 11 and I wasn't excited about paying adult price for a kids dinner. Asked the server and he said she could order from whatever menu and would be charged accordingly, so we got charged a childs price. We liked this restaurant, although I don't know if we'd do the package again. The rolls were super good! We shared the Cobb salad which was excellent. I had the grilled Salmon which was excellent. My dh had the tenderloin which was just good. The grapefruit cake was not what I expected, not as much grapefruit flavor as I wanted. The flourless cake was wonderful, we loved it!
(I also had the best drink here - the "Hollywood"!).
Backlot Express - We had the grilled vegetable sandwich and the Turkey panini. Both were wonderful. This will be our place to lunch in MGM from now on!
Contemporary Food Court - Not impressed at all with this place. Had a few meals here out of neccessity but would try not to again.
Kona coffee stand at the Poly - we ended up really enjoying this place and went several times in the morning and just picked up transportation from the Poly. We liked the banana bread, cinnamon buns and the muffins. Some of these things were available at Contemporary food court, but not the whole selections and especially not the coffee!
We love to eat, but wouldn't be able to eat the amount of food on the dining plan. On our next trip, we will have two children considered "adults" and it would make even less sense. I was surprised with the new kids menu at the Brown Derby, but they were accomodating in that they allowed both kids to order the ice cream dessert. We enjoyed dining at Disney very much!
