Most Recent Reviews
Review of 'Ohana Dinner
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 08/01/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
My two friends and I dined here on 7/28. We made reservations for 5pm, and arrived after an afternoon at the Magic Kingdom. Since it was still early, we sat at the Tambu Lounge bar and had a few drinks prior to checking in-Walt was a great bartender!
The line to check in was massive, or so I thought. The line was actually for people without reservations! I wish they would have made this clearer at the beginning. We were seated promptly at 5, right near the window and the fire pit, but the trees blocked much of the view.
Simo (I believe) was our server. We started with the always delicious pineapple bread, which was quickly followed by the salad. I loved the new dressing! Soon after we received the pot stickers, which our whole party loved, and the chicken wings. We asked for more of these items.
Not long after that, we were served the lo mein noodles and mixed vegetables. I enjoy the lo mein very much, since it has a bit of a sweet flavor, and my friend who loved broccoli had a field day eating the veggies! I'm also told the peanut dipping sauce was particularly good, and my party also seemed to like the sweet & sour sauce (there was no chimichurri sauce the night we were there).
I loved the chicken, and thought the steak and pork were good as well. I don't care for the marinade on the shrimp, but one of my friends liked it a lot. We were offered more meat several times, but were very full already!
I enjoyed the banans foster bread pudding more than in the past, and one of my friends liked it as well. My other friend doesn't like bananas, and asked if she could just have pineapple with caramel sauce like they used to do, but was told no. So she had bread pudding and ice cream with no sauce and was satisfied.
We were served so quickly that we did feel rushed. This is not a pleasant thing when you are being served so much food. That was our only real complaint. I enjoyed the meal much more this time than when I dined here last year, although I really believe that my perceptions were influenced by the company I was dining with (I liked my companions much more this time around).
One slight disappointment is that we did not receive leis upon the completion of our meal as we have in the past. I will definitely return, however!
Pros:
Great mealCons:
Food comes very quickly, rushed feelingReview of Yachtsman Steakhouse
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 08/01/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
One of my party of three recommended the Yachtsman, so we made it a point to dine here on our recent trip. Our reservation was for 7:20pm on 7/29. We arrived about 10 minutes early but were seated right on time.
Our server was Susan. We each ordered a drink from the bar: a beer of some sort, a Jamison Whiskey sour, and a "glow-tini". I don't really enjoy vodka, but I really wanted the glow cube! I also asked for a sprite, which Susan forgot to bring until I asked a second time.
We very much enjoyed the free sourdough rolls and onion muffins. For our appetizers, we had a crab rangoon (which I cannot find on any internet menu), the caesar salad, and the truffle macaroni and cheese. I thought the salad was okay; I wasn't expecting a sold half head of lettuce! I am told the macaroni was amazing.
I had to get the filet mignon with potaotes for my entree. Delicious! Very tender and flavorful. I did ask for it cooked medium, and I received it medium-rare but it was still great. My friend ordered the lamb with mashed potatoes subbed for the yuca fries, although she received both. She enjoyed this choice. My other friend wanted the Ramp & Goat Cheese Tortellini, but Susan warned him that it was a very small portion, so he also asked for a side of the Ratatouille. No complaints there either, and he said he was full but not stuffed when we left.
We were simply too full for dessert! It was a wonderful evening out and I'm glad this was my first "Signature" restaurant experience. Even with a 20% cast member discount and a mandatory 18% gratuity, the total was still just over $200. We did enjoy ourselves;I thoroughly recommend this restaurant and will make it a point to return!
Pros:
Delicious food, excellent serviceCons:
—Review of Wolfgang Puck Express Marketplace
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 08/01/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stopped by for lunch on our last day, 7/30. It wasn't very busy around 2pm and we were able to get a table with no difficulty. I ordered the cheese pizza and a frozen yogurt with sprinkles. One friend wasn't super hungry and just wanted the Butternut Squash Soup and a creme brulee. Since we had extra dining plan credits, my second friend ordered two of the chicken fingers and mashed potatoes, with one order to go. She got a creme brulee as well, plus a sugar cookie.
Service was great, as usual. My only minor complaint is that the vanilla frozen yogurt dispenser was broken, so I was only able to have chocolate.
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—Review of Earl of Sandwich
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 08/01/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
We went here on 7/30 to use up our 8 remaining counter service credits on the dining plan. This was just an insane amount of food, and all I've been eating for the last 24 hours is sandwiches!
We ordered two Originals and one each of the Earl's Club, All American, Hawaiian BBQ, Best BLT, Chicken Caesar Wrap, and Buffalo Chicken Wrap. We also got eight desserts: sugar, oatmeal, and chocolate chip cookies, a brownie, and mini-muffins. The eight bottled waters and diet cokes were given away to other guests since we couldn't take them on the plane.
All the items that I've eaten so far have been delicious, and there were no complaints from the other members in my party. Everything held up well during travel, but I am a bit sandwiched out!
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—Review of Raglan Road
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 08/01/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
My two friends and I dined here for dinner on 7/25. Our reservation was for 8:30pm, and we arrived right on time. We did have to wait a bit to be seated, but we spent time browsing the gift shop. Our table was in the main room with the entertainment, far enough away that we could still see the dancers and band but still have a conversation.
I ordered the Shepherd's Pie, one person chose the Braised Beef and the third went with the Serious Steak. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals. For dessert, we had Ger's Bread & Butter pudding, Black Forest Kiss, and the Strawberry & Apple Crumble. The fruit was baked into an oatmeal type tart, which was not what I was expecting, but it was still very good.
Our server was Rachelle, and while she was friendly enough, she didn't seem happy to be there. I suppose she was just busy. We did love the dancers and the band; my friend has family in Ireland and she had a great time singing along to the songs. Highly recommend this restaurant for a fun time!
Pros:
Excellent food, band and dancersCons:
So-so serviceReview of Disney Dining Plan
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 08/01/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
I was able to purchase the dining plan for myself and two friends at a discounted cast member rate of $33.99/person/night for 6 nights.
There was a snafu with my room key, and somehow we ended up with an extra day of CS credits. We ended up going to Earl of Sandwich on our last day to buy 8 meals, and gave all the drinks away before going to the airport. In addition, we used many of our snack credits at the Main Street Confectionery and Goofy's Candy Co.
For our meals we had breakfasts at Boma and Akershus, as well as meals at Ohana, Raglan Road, Via Napoli, and 50s Prime Time Cafe and various counter service restaurants.
I paid $652 and we ended up eating over $1100 worth of food, including what we got with the extra credits. We also had some meals off of the plan. I do not think we would have eaten as many counter service meals without the plan, so while we technically saved nearly $500, it's not really a fair equivalent. We probably would not have purchased the refillable mugs on their own either.
While this was a good deal because in general the table service meals alone were more than $34 per person, I do wish there was some sort of a la carte version where you could pick and choose how many types of each meal you want.
Pros:
Saving moneyCons:
Probaby would not eat as much without the planReview of Gaston's Tavern
Reviewed by vickie1016 Review Date: 08/01/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
Gaston's Tavern is so well themed it is worth stopping in for a look.
We ordered a cinnamon roll. which was great. Big enough for the three of us to share & lots of icing. DD (7) wanted to try Le Fou's Brew. Her words to describe it - gross. It was soo sweet & thick, looked like syrup on the bottom of the cup.
Only thing missing was Gaston!!
Pros:
cinnamon rollCons:
Le Fou's BrewReview of Crystal Palace Breakfast
Reviewed by vickie1016 Review Date: 08/01/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We chose to have breakfast here as we got a reservation time before the MK opened. Reservation time was for 8:15.
Upon check-in, CM was pleasant, took our name & handed us a pager. With in 5 minutes of restaurant opening we were seated.
The food was normal breakfast food, omelets, eggs, sausages, bacon, potatoes. Liked all the fresh cruit they offered. They also offered Puffed french toasted. Very good! There was bagels & bread to make toast. Mickey waffles!!. Everything was fresh & tasty.
Wait staff was very nice & drinks were always filled.
Characters took their time at the tables. Tigger bounced with DD(7) and Piglet was acting shy.
Glad we had breakfast here, it was a nice start to a very long day. We were finished with breakfast by 8:45.
Pros:
breakfast before park opensCons:
—Review of Magic Kingdom Fireworks Dessert Party
Reviewed by onejasper Review Date: 07/31/2013
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We booked the Tomorrow Land Dessert party for the week of July 1st. We had heard mixed reviews but wanted to try something special as one of our party was a first time Disney visitor and we wanted her to experience something very special. The line formed outside the area that we were to be seated at. We were seated fairly close to 845pm. Each party had a table reserved. All tables were placed well away from the perimeter so it didn't really matter where your table was placed because unless you staked out a spot early enough then you could only see the full fireworks if you were at the railing. Most parties came towards the railing and there seemed to be enough room but when i looked behind us, there were many parties seated as there was not enough room for all. As for the desserts our party of three were not impressed. They did refresh them a lot but they were not special which for the price...they really should have been something amazing. If you compare the desserts in CRT, BOG and even La Boulangerie in France/Epcot there was nothing anywhere that good and this event was not exactly inexpensive.The chocolate dipped strawberries were good but not much grabbed the attention of our DD who loves desserts. She only ate one plate of 4 desserts. The beverages were nothing special although they did have a selection of teas but the water tasted awful (both cold and hot). I think the taste of the water was so bad that it put us off any food. If this wasn't enough (and I do not enjoy writing a poor review) it appeared most of the servers were new as they looked scared and the lady in charge was quite vocal about how she was "surrounded by people who had no idea what they were doing" The tables were never cleared and even as we left they were all still overflowing with debris and the servers just wandered around, except for the "person in charge" who continued to loudly berate those around her. FYI, her 'station" was right beside the beverage counter so we could all hear her growling at everyone. It was as about an Un-Disney like experience that I have ever experienced. The best part was the fireworks. I would not not pay for this again and to be honest, even if it was part of the Deluxe Dining Plan I would not waste a credit here.
Pros:
View of the castleCons:
Everything elseReview of Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
Reviewed by vickie1016 Review Date: 07/31/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We eat here every trip for lunch at least twice. Good food, lots of choices, friendly CM. DH & I had the pulled pork - very flavorful. DD (7) had the chicken nuggets. (This was the only place she had nuggets the whole trip!) I also like that the desserts come in a container with a lid. We could not eat the desserts at lunch & was able to put in the cooler for later in the day.
I like the new seating arrangements - You are not seated until you have your food. No more walking around the room looking for an open table while your food gets cold because people are "holding" the tables while the rest of their party gets the food.
