Back from a 6-day, 5-night trip that, as usual, flew by!
Tried some new places along with our usual, reliable old stand-bys. Here's what we thought:
Tuesday:
-Garden Grill dinner: Our first visit and we all liked it very much. Very good food...from the bread and salad to the entrees to dessert. Definetly better appreciated by younger children, it was very enjoyable. (We also took the boat ride through The Land Pavillion just before eating....the one that shows how agriculture has changed...and that got us even hungrier!)
A-minus.
Wednesday:
-Chef Mickey's breakfast: A family tradition...always our first breakfast. Kookie, rushed atmosphere....decent food...good selection.....just something about it that says a classic Disney experience.
A-minus
-Casey's Corner lunch: What can you say?! Hot dogs, fries and soda. Fat, salt, more fat and sugar. A classic American lunch.
-Liberty Tree Tavern dinner: Another must-do. Our kids (now 15, 11 and 7) insist on this dinner every trip. Always loved the turkey
and the trimmings, and this time around, I really enjoyed the flank steak for some reason. Wonderful atmosphere where the characters really seem to sincerely enjoy being there. And not a bad value either (grading on the "Disney scale.")
A solid "A."
Thursday:
-Aunt Margie's House: What's this...a new restaurant? No...it's the home of my 92-year-old great aunt who lives outside Orlando. We visit her every time we go down and amazingly, she cooks a huge meal for all of us! (Wife and I and three kids.) This time around, she did a traditional Thanksgiving meal...turkey and all the trimmings and homemade apple pie.
Never ceases to amaze us. 92 years old....drives to the supermarket to do all the shopping....and cooks the entire meal herself....with a fancy dining room table setting. (Yes...we do most of the clean-up afterwards!)
An A-plus-plus-plus!
Friday:
-Crystal Palace breakfast: Our second visit here and we absolutely love it. Excellent selection....love the "pick-your-own" omlettes. (I asked for an egg white omlette...no problem!)
Also discovered the cakes/muffins table this time. After my "main breakfast," relaxed with a fabulous mini assortment of coffee cakes, raspberry muffins, breads, etc.
We also love the Pooh characters.
A solid, solid A.
-Cosmic Ray's lunch: We were leaving the park at mid-day to head to Typhoon Lagoon and weren't sure if we'd eat at the water park or grab something at the Main Street Bakery and eat in the car. We debated this as we were leaving Toontown and heading into Tomorrowland so we ended up just walking into Cosmic Ray's and grabbing burgers/fries.
Harmless enough lunch.
-Ohana dinner: Of all our meals, I had some reservations about trying this for the first time. Reading these boards for 3 years now, I see how people absolutely love this place....but also read quite a lot of negative reviews. (I started a Ohana thread a couple weeks back that I see is still kicking around.)
Well, after trying it, I have to say that none of us were blown away. We did NOT experience the two most common complaints that I've read ("meat was dry".... and "service was bad, had to wait forever to get more food.") We just simply didn't think the food was that good. It was okay in our opinion. We all love shrimp, but not sure if it was worth getting all glopped up peeling it each time. Appetizers were pretty good (wantons, very good) and pineapple-coconut bread was very good. The pineapple with caramel sauce was a big disappointment, I guess because so many people say how awesome it is.
On the positive side, the two different cocktail drinks my wife and I had were excellent....the atmosphere is fun and festive...and the view is terrific. Service was also very attentive. (But, our 5 o'clock p.s. may have had something to do with that. We are early dinner eaters.)
Bottom line....we thought it was okay, but with so many different restaurants that we'd like to try, we would not go back.
C-plus.
Saturday:
-Sci-Fi lunch (MGM): A very fun place. We stick with the cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings and shakes. I think getting anything beyond that may be asking for trouble. Let's be honest...this place is atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere.
B-plus.
-Artist Point dinner: We want to LIVE in Wilderness Lodge...our favorite resort by far. Hadn't eaten dinner here since 1996 and couldn't wait to come back. Food quality is very high, but unfortunately, prices are equally as high! Excellent wine.....and the berry cobbler dessert (12 bucks....feeds 2-to-3 people) was terrific. I'd probably give it a higher mark if it was just my wife and I, but, hey...you're at Disney....how can you not eat with your kids?!
B-plus.
That's all folks....feel free to ask questions....sorry if I rambled!
Tried some new places along with our usual, reliable old stand-bys. Here's what we thought:
Tuesday:
-Garden Grill dinner: Our first visit and we all liked it very much. Very good food...from the bread and salad to the entrees to dessert. Definetly better appreciated by younger children, it was very enjoyable. (We also took the boat ride through The Land Pavillion just before eating....the one that shows how agriculture has changed...and that got us even hungrier!)
A-minus.
Wednesday:
-Chef Mickey's breakfast: A family tradition...always our first breakfast. Kookie, rushed atmosphere....decent food...good selection.....just something about it that says a classic Disney experience.
A-minus
-Casey's Corner lunch: What can you say?! Hot dogs, fries and soda. Fat, salt, more fat and sugar. A classic American lunch.
-Liberty Tree Tavern dinner: Another must-do. Our kids (now 15, 11 and 7) insist on this dinner every trip. Always loved the turkey
and the trimmings, and this time around, I really enjoyed the flank steak for some reason. Wonderful atmosphere where the characters really seem to sincerely enjoy being there. And not a bad value either (grading on the "Disney scale.")
A solid "A."
Thursday:
-Aunt Margie's House: What's this...a new restaurant? No...it's the home of my 92-year-old great aunt who lives outside Orlando. We visit her every time we go down and amazingly, she cooks a huge meal for all of us! (Wife and I and three kids.) This time around, she did a traditional Thanksgiving meal...turkey and all the trimmings and homemade apple pie.
Never ceases to amaze us. 92 years old....drives to the supermarket to do all the shopping....and cooks the entire meal herself....with a fancy dining room table setting. (Yes...we do most of the clean-up afterwards!)
An A-plus-plus-plus!
Friday:
-Crystal Palace breakfast: Our second visit here and we absolutely love it. Excellent selection....love the "pick-your-own" omlettes. (I asked for an egg white omlette...no problem!)
Also discovered the cakes/muffins table this time. After my "main breakfast," relaxed with a fabulous mini assortment of coffee cakes, raspberry muffins, breads, etc.
We also love the Pooh characters.
A solid, solid A.
-Cosmic Ray's lunch: We were leaving the park at mid-day to head to Typhoon Lagoon and weren't sure if we'd eat at the water park or grab something at the Main Street Bakery and eat in the car. We debated this as we were leaving Toontown and heading into Tomorrowland so we ended up just walking into Cosmic Ray's and grabbing burgers/fries.
Harmless enough lunch.
-Ohana dinner: Of all our meals, I had some reservations about trying this for the first time. Reading these boards for 3 years now, I see how people absolutely love this place....but also read quite a lot of negative reviews. (I started a Ohana thread a couple weeks back that I see is still kicking around.)
Well, after trying it, I have to say that none of us were blown away. We did NOT experience the two most common complaints that I've read ("meat was dry".... and "service was bad, had to wait forever to get more food.") We just simply didn't think the food was that good. It was okay in our opinion. We all love shrimp, but not sure if it was worth getting all glopped up peeling it each time. Appetizers were pretty good (wantons, very good) and pineapple-coconut bread was very good. The pineapple with caramel sauce was a big disappointment, I guess because so many people say how awesome it is.
On the positive side, the two different cocktail drinks my wife and I had were excellent....the atmosphere is fun and festive...and the view is terrific. Service was also very attentive. (But, our 5 o'clock p.s. may have had something to do with that. We are early dinner eaters.)
Bottom line....we thought it was okay, but with so many different restaurants that we'd like to try, we would not go back.
C-plus.
Saturday:
-Sci-Fi lunch (MGM): A very fun place. We stick with the cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings and shakes. I think getting anything beyond that may be asking for trouble. Let's be honest...this place is atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere.
B-plus.
-Artist Point dinner: We want to LIVE in Wilderness Lodge...our favorite resort by far. Hadn't eaten dinner here since 1996 and couldn't wait to come back. Food quality is very high, but unfortunately, prices are equally as high! Excellent wine.....and the berry cobbler dessert (12 bucks....feeds 2-to-3 people) was terrific. I'd probably give it a higher mark if it was just my wife and I, but, hey...you're at Disney....how can you not eat with your kids?!
B-plus.
That's all folks....feel free to ask questions....sorry if I rambled!
